Happy Birthday!

This morning, I tried to get Ryder to tell me "Happy Mother's Day!"  Instead, he said, "Happy Birthday!"  In essence, he got it right though.  When I became a mother, it was like being reborn.  Suddenly there is tiny little being who changes your life completely.  Yes, at first I was more consumed with the sleepless nights and constant diaper changes, where I just felt like I was in survival mode.  Eventually though, it became more about the smiles, the giggles, the sweet kisses.  Now I look into his face and I feel this overwhelming joy because becoming his mother made me into a better person.  I am sure many other women feel the same way as well.  So Happy Birthday to all my fellow moms out there! 

Burn, baby, burn....

As you can imagine, since I have blond hair and blue eyes, I am very pale.  In high school and college, I worked as a lifeguard and normally only needed to use sunscreen the first few weeks until my skin adjusted.  I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or the sun is stronger--I am probably personally responsible for at least one layer of destruction to the ozone with my heavy use of Aqua Net as a teen--but I burn much easier now.  During our neighborhood garage sale, I spent most of the time in the shade; however, what time I did spend in the sun was enough to make me look like a warped candy cane.  Half of my arms are red and half are white.  My face is also a scary shade of red--one more garage sale and I could start competing with the "tan mom" on the disturbing-effects-of sun spectrum. 

As I was attempting to take a shower yesterday (because nothing feels worse on a sunburn than the stinging razor cuts of water from the shower), I realized I really need to make sure I use sunscreen this summer.  I am very good about remembering to get the kid lathered up, but I often forget about myself.  So I have decided that our shower needs some modifications.  I'm sure the husband will get right on it.

For those of you who have done spray tanning or Mystic Tan, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.  For the rest, there's a picture below. 

I want to have basically a Mystic Tan sprayer installed in my shower. Instead of the chemically-filled mist that mysteriously tans your skin, mine will shoot out a mist of sunscreen (hopefully with minimal chemicals).  Think about it--how awesome would it be to finish your shower, put on your protective eye wear, and then push the button for your perfectly-applied sunscreen application?  I mean surely I am not the ONLY person who seems to sizzle like bacon under five minutes of sun! 

So now I just need to think of  cool name for my invention so I can patent/trademark it!

I have survived...

I promise not to bust out into Gloria Gaynor (at least in public), but I have survived!  This week was hell challenging.  I had two papers due Monday, a final on Wednesday, and a trial notebook due Friday.  Add getting prepared for a massive garage sale...oh, and then there was the added situation of two coworkers unable to work.  Yep, made for an interesting week of minimal sleep, lots of coffee, and possibly some insane muttering on my part with a slight head twitch.  I'm happy to report that after a two-hour nap this afternoon, those symptoms are disappearing.

Honestly, I could not have survived this week (or really the past two years of school) without the support of great family and friends.  So I am going to make sure I list some of the people who made this week possible (no trophies are being given out--sorry):

My husband: He took off Thursday so that I could work all day uninterrupted.  Oh and for ignoring the pit of despair our house has become recently. 
My in-laws: They watched Ryder twice this week (and close to every week for the past two years-sometimes on short notice).  
My parents: My mom was awesome enough to get Ryder signed up for fun Indy Park classes this summer - I would have forgotten.  There are a million other things she and my dad have done, but this is a blog post-not a novel.
My friend Natalie: I probably would have flaked on the garage sale if she didn't motivate me and help me!  Looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow. 
Natalie's sister Stephanie: (Also my friend) who wonderfully volunteered to bring us food today!
Scharme from work: Every time I thought I couldn't type any more, I just thought "transcriptionist hoarder", laughed, maybe cried, and got back to it.  I'm being melodramatic, of course, about the crying part.  
My son: He's just awesome; it's really all there is to it.  Although, he doesn't look real thrilled to see his stuff being sold!