"well...you almost won"

{okay before i begin my request for commiseration i will start with first things first...}

today is cissy's birthday {my mom}...here she is as a young{er} girl

beautiful huh? still is. inside and out. she is an incredible mother AND grandmother AND wife AND sister AND friend AND everything else. her own mother died when she was only 12 years old and the more i mature, the more i realize just how amazing she is to be the mother she is without any example. no one was there to 'teach' her how to be a mother. or a wife. or a grandmother. she just knew. she still does. there is so much she just knows. i've asked her before on certain occasions ' how do you know that' and she just smiles. that is unspeakable wisdom. and it's so beautiful because she doesn't even know she has it. hopefully some of that is in my dna.

so again...happy birthday cissy. muuuuaaaaahhhhh.

next of the first things was another birthday celebration this weekend. my niece, maggie, turned a whole 8 years old. and here she is as a young{er} girl

{i'm going to be getting a phone call from miss thang about this pic just you wait}

i can't believe this little one is 8 years old. phew. and what better why to celebrate than with another trip the ice skating rink with all her 8 year old cohorts. i only got a few pictures before 'the incident' but here ya go...

the birthday girl...

the bday girl with one of her friends...

aunt ginger and georgia...


winn and georgia breaking into the arcade room...
and here is max and aunt kristie on the ice right before the race...which caused 'the incident'.

if you're still with me here, let me set the stage. all the kids {and kristie who really is just a big kid...well an obviously me too} anyway, all the kids were ice skating and the adults watching. 'cept kristie. so i decided to ice skate too. and after a round or two decided i would challenge kristie to a race. on the skates. on the ice. i even got max and maggie to pick their winner. they both said aunt kristie. well whatever. anyway, if you know me then you know that i was determined at this point to win the confidence and praise of my niece and nephew {and whoever else might be watching}. so we set the guidelines. lined up on one end of the rink and asked for a countdown. we where racing down one side. all the way to the end. it was maybe 40 yards.

kristie got off to a better start than i did and the whole time i was trying to make up the 6 inches that separated us. and can i just add that we were GETTIN' it. going full speed to the finish line with the kids cheering us on. well i think they were. i was focused on winning so i heard nothing but it makes for a better story to say there where cheering right. so anyway, about the time we reach the end...at FULL speed...i realize that i need to turn. well. i don't know how to turn. and i hadn't considered that before that very moment. and about that time...WHAM. right smack dab into the wall of the ice rink.

thank goodness i had enough sense to turn my head or i would have had a broken nose. unfortunately my knees weren't so lucky. they hit first. it's a wonder that i didn't shatter my kneecaps. wanna see the damage???? here...

{and can i just add that this picture doesn't do it justice. the flash masks the bruising quite well. you should see them in living color :) .}

anyway, they are so darn sore. like can't even turn over in bed or cross my legs, sore. and to top it off i'm getting no love from my husband 'bout this injury. he says i knew better. says is was a really dumb idea. and when we were leaving the party and i could barely walk to the car he says...

"well...you almost won".

i love him so. even in his lack of sympathy, he is so positive. and right kinda. but shhhhh....don't tell him i told you that.

and what about kristie???? she turned alright. right into a 5 year old boy. who she knocked down and kept going. what a winner eh???
{baaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaa...okay so she didn't knock the boy down. it just looked like she did and everyone kept saying she did which TOTALLY irked her cuz she didn't. so ya'll....SHE DIDN'T KNOCK THE BOY DOWN.}

i'm done now. peace out.