Celebrating 12 years, and more to come!

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Yesterday was an odd anniversary. Odd in that last year we were in Florida soaking up sun on this day. That anniversary was so beachy-cool-night-on-the-towny. The year before that we were getting dressed up to go down to dinner at the one of the most glorious places I've ever stayed, the Grand Hotel. That anniversary was horse-drawn-carriage-utter-sheer-pure romance.

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And then there was Yesterday. Ah, it was a different sort of animal. I spent most of the

first half of the day trying to find a babysitter. For what I did not know as neither I nor Mark had any "specific" plans so to speak. My sister offered to come over in the afternoon...but by the time she came over I was still not ready to go. I finally got a teenager from church to agree to babysit after her track practice in the evening. We were originally hoping to have a "half day" of fun out -not really sure what that would have comprised but anyway... I desperately wanted to get out on a day/night date with my sweet hubby as we haven't been on a real date since before Elsie was born....yes that's over 2 1/2 months. Yikes.

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So I spent way too long getting ready for the "unplanned date" and by the time I WAS ready, it was almost time to pick up our sitter, so having my sister over to babysit earlier became pointless.. so we sent her home with thanks.

I was feeling rather dramatically bummed at how this day was going and to add insult to injury I slipped on our front stair in my cute swarovski studded kitten heels and thought I threw my back out. I sat on the stair in my front foyer, all dressed up with no where to go, and a sore back- and cried. I almost cried my mascara off, but luckily it stayed on pretty well.

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So instead of doing anything else, I went down to the computer and started updating our budget. Might as well do something practical while I was waiting to leave. How unromantic right? Yep. In my polka-dot maxi dress and swarovski sandals I sat and worked on the budget. Woop-de--freakin-doo. Yeah-that's how I felt too.

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Then FINALLY we got the sitter, and we left with sweet baby Elsie in tow. We made it over to Easton, the outdoor shopping mecca near us.... and sat down on a bench so I could nurse the little lamby. At that moment I started to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It was quiet. The darling man had his arm around me. The baby was nuzzling me quite perfectly. And there was no whining, begging, fighting, teasing, or wrestling from the peanut factory. Just us three. Perfectly happy together for one quiet evening.

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As we strolled down the lane, we of course made it into my dearest favorite of stores, BCBG. And there the Anniversary stepped up a notch. They told me that all the clearance was an EXTRA 20% off!! Yikes!! So, I was able to get some seriously fabulous attire for my larger self that I am now and it was sooo-ho-ho fun.

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After that we headed to an upscale local chain restaurant, Brio. It has this YUMMY dessert sampler right now that I could just swoon over. Ohhh, to die for. We had dinner and dessert, and it was great. Just us, talking and enjoying each others company. This night may not have been sparklingly glamorous or intensely romantic, but it was a sweet reminder of our love for each other. It was our love that brought these 3 little munchkins into our family, and it's our love that will keep us happily together for many more years to come.

"Attack of the Evil Red eye!!"

This restaurant has a really pretty interior. I especially like the fabric draped every where.