Mommy, I'm really slowing....

I get a kick out the funny things that Chloe is always saying, but the other night she had me rolling on the ground. It was getting close to bedtime, and as usual, Chloe was avoiding me like the plague so that she could stay up longer. Finally, I managed to wrestle her upstairs and got her started on the nightly rituals... but let me tell you, Chloe was on one. She was running around and flinging toys to the four corners of the house, when all of a sudden she got a glazed look in her eyes. She came up to me and took my hand and said, "Mommy, I'm so tired. I'm really slowing." She then got into bed, closed her eyes and fell asleep. I wish I would have had the video camera recording that moment. Every time I think about it, I still laugh. Three-year-olds are definitely funny people.

The Best Kinds of Kisses

Okay... So I know that this post is going to be kind of corny, but bear with me anyway...

Tonight, as I was putting Chloe to bed, she grabbed my hand, and then planted a big wet smoocher on my cheek, and then said in her sweet little voice, "best friends - today, tomorrow and always." I burst out laughing and gave her a huge hug and pressed about 20 kisses all over her adorable little face. I then proceeded to tell her that tomorrow we would go buy all of toys she wanted at Target (which I didn't mean, but what she said was just so dang sweet that I couldn't help myself).

After she fell asleep, I crept in and layed down by her side to snuggle for a little while. I started to think about her little kisses and the cute things that she does and then I started to think about kissing in general (I know... keep bearing with me). I thought about life and how there were all sorts of kisses that marked a rite of passage for me - each taught me all sorts of lessons. There were the kisses from my parents that made me feel special and loved. There was the grudging kiss from my sister, Krista, who had just stood at the top of the stairs waiting for me so that she could drop an ice cream scooper on my head to kill me (that one taught me to keep my enemies close, you never know what's going to happen). There was the kiss from that silly boy on the playground at recess that taught me not to dare someone to do something unless you really want them to... ewww, gross. There were the cheek kisses that bff's pretend to give when being silly. Then came the heavy duty arsenal... there was that first kiss from the boy I thought I loved (yes, it really was perfect) - hello hormones. Then there were a few more yummy kisses from more boys (some I thought I loved, some I just... ya know, whatever) - hormones continue. There were the angry kisses where I told the big jerks who wronged me bad to kiss my $%# (these kind of kisses could be from men or women, I'm not discriminating with these)! And then, there was that kiss from the boy who I really did love and who I ended up marrying (he also sometimes gets the "kiss my *$#" when he's been a booger). There were kisses from my grandparents... kisses that I miss terribly now that they are gone (except for my grandma Hoggan, who I miss and don't get to see very often). The kiss goodbye from my mother as we moved to California, sometimes it really sucks to be a grown-up. And then tonight, there was that sweet, sweet kiss from my little girl. The one who said she was my "best friend - today, tomorrow and always." It was too sweet and too adorable.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've learned all sorts of lessons in my life. Some suck, some weren't so bad and some I kinda liked. But all those lessons learned that were puncuated with kisses were the best kinds. So here's to wet, slobbery kisses; cheek peckers; french kisses; midnight kisses; kisses that accompany the four letter words; and the sweet kisses that teach us that life's all about the little moments.... CHEERS!!!