A day to celebrate

Father's Day and our 6 year anniversary happen to fall on the same day this year. John went to enjoy a morning of golf with his dad and all his brothers and I was pretty proud of myself for getting 3 kids fed, dressed, reasonably clean, and out the door on time for 9 o'clock church. Granted, I did start getting ready at 5:30am but that's besides the point. And my lovely sister-in-law Rebecca greeted me at the door with a helping hand and an icy-cold Starbucks coffee, which kept me awake during the service.

Last year we were riding roller coasters, dining on steak, and enjoying a fancy hotel overnight on our anniversary. This year we are snuggling a new baby, ordering take-out, maybe a little wine, and spending the night at home. It may not be very glamorous, but a quiet night in with my best friend sounds pretty alright with me.

This morning when I was up feeding Gavin at 5:30, John woke up and wanted to show me this video he had made me for our anniversary before he left. I was a little bleary-eyed, but it still made me cry. It is extra sweet to me because John isn't the most technologically savvy man (no offense babe) and I know he worked hard to figure out how to put this together for me. So here's 6 years of our marriage in about 4 minutes.

And Happy Father's Day John! Thanks for partnering with me not only in life, but also in parenting our kids. I couldn't imagine anyone else to share all the ups and downs with. And thanks for working so hard to provide for this growing family and for doing it with a smile on your face. We love you! 

Finally!

After 12 years and 230,000 miles, John finally traded in his beloved 99' Corolla that he has been driving since he turned 16. And his wife is very relieved that he is now driving a reliable, safe car and no longer has to crawl in the back seat to open the driver's door from the inside. He always said he planned to drive the Corolla into the ground and I think he can check that goal off his list because that car is ready to be pushed off a cliff into oblivion. And although it was the car that he picked me up in on our very first date, I am not sad to see it go because if anyone ever deserved a new car after years of sacrificing his own comfort and pride in order to put his family first, it is definitely John.  Enjoy those leather seats babe, you earned em!

To The Birthday Boy...

Today is John's 28th birthday. The day started the same as every birthday has for the 5 years we've been married. I got up and prepared his favorite breakfast of biscuits and gravy and served it to him with a hot cup of coffee in bed. It is a birthday meal tradition long ago started by his mom and the one day a year that I will happily serve him this heart-attack on a plate and not even worry that he's eating an entire roll of sausage.

John never likes to make much fuss about his birthday and doesn't understand my need to hype it up and try to get him really excited in the days leading up to it. He never asks for any special gifts or a favorite dessert and trying to get him to request his favorite foods for dinner is like pulling teeth. And I guess I should be thankful that he's not a birthday Diva (like I totally am), but I just want him to feel extra special on his big day, even if it requires some cheer-leading and motivational speeches from his wife.

So in honor of his 28 years of life, here are 28 things that I love about John, and in no particular order.
1. he loves Jesus
2. he is a hands-on daddy and a true partner in helping to care for our kids
3. he is affectionate even when I forget to be
4. he can get a roomful of people laughing with ease
5. he doesn't complain about changing poop diapers...even cloth ones that require spraying
6. he works hard at his job and takes pride in providing for his family
7. he supports my desire to stay home and sacrifices things he wants so we can live on one income
8. he still drives the car he got when he turned 16, although it has well over 200k miles, the driver's door doesn't open from the outside, the windows remain continuously fogged and it feels as though it will crumble into pieces when you drive it on the highway. The fact is that it starts every morning, it is paid for, and he is content with that.
9. although I know he comes home tired from work, he plays on the floor with the kids, wrestling, tickling, giving horsey rides, and making them erupt in fits of laughter just when I have completely run out of steam.
10. he spends every morning up bright and early with Norah reading her the same books over and over while they drink coffee and milk respectively and snuggle in our bed so I can have my devotional time downstairs.
11. he has such a compassionate heart and loves to give his time and resources to others
12. he remembers to compliment me and makes me feel beautiful and noticed even when I feel much less than
13. he drinks the green smoothies I concoct for him every morning more because he knows how much it means to me and less because he cares that its so good for him
14. he has a bizarre love of shoes and has way too many pairs of Pumas in the closet
15. he finds the same thrill in Saturday morning garage sale hunting as I do
14. he gets along great with my parents
15. he supports me in getting out of the house to do things I enjoy while he stays home with the kids
16. he lets me pick out most of the movies we watch
17. he has beautiful green eyes and the greatest thick hair
18. he knows how to do handy-man things around the house and I am confident that he can fix most anything that breaks
19. he cooks waffles for breakfast for us on the weekends
20. he is financially wise, a good steward of our money, and always planning and saving for the future.
21. he goes on late-night ice-cream runs for me way too often and knows that its a sure bet way to fix a bad mommy day
22. he brings me flowers for no reason and leaves the occasional love note on my mirror before heading off to work
23. he is way better at being silly and carefree with the kids than I am
24. he is super low-maintenance, gets his hair-cut at Great Clips, shops for himself at thrift stores, and rarely asks for anything
25. he gives the best warm bear-hugs when I am falling apart
26. he's not great in the kitchen, but he's more than happy to go and pick up take-out when I need a night off from cooking
27. he gets up with the crying kids at night because I am an extremely deep sleeper and he always hears them before I do. Most mornings I am surprised to hear that someone was awake because he leaves me to sleep while he cuddles and comforts.
28. he still loves me and pursues me. Though I am crazy and high-maintenance and emotional, he keeps coming home to me and taking care of me and showing me a selfless love.

Happy Birthday John. I love you and am so thankful for you. Here's to 28 years!

The 1 hour book-rack

For several months I have been oogling this hanging book-rack from the Land of Nod....

as well as this one from Pottery Barn Kids....


I wanted something that was a mix of these two pieces to hang in Eli's room in order to keep me from losing my mind picking up 50 books off the floor every single morning  have an organized area where he could display his favorite children's books.

So I recruited my handy hubby (multiple times) until he agreed to head to Home Depot (by himself please!) to gather the supplies needed to create the masterpiece I was imagining. Not to mention, we would be saving a fortune making this project a DIY.

John pre-cut all the 2 X 4's and dowel rods at Home Depot to save time and I think even he was surprised by how quickly he was able to whip up the shelf once he got home. A few nails, a little wood glue and it was  ready for me to start painting.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out and that John has the skills to turn my visions into reality. And Eli is pretty excited to have a library of books at his disposal at nap and bedtime. As are we, because a quietly reading toddler, is much nicer than a jumping on his bed, kicking the walls instead of sleeping toddler.
Here is the finished product:

Am I making myself clear?

In honor of my birthday today, a video staring 2 of my favorite people that I'm lucky to be celebrating the day with.

5 Years Baby!

This Friday will be our 5 year anniversary. We celebrated a little early and planned a fun "stay-cation" around town without the kiddos. Thanks to my parents and grandparents, we got to have two whole nights to ourselves. We dropped the kids off Saturday night and, after meeting up with friends for a quick celebratory happy graduation drink for John's cousin Brit, headed home to pack our bags. Sunday we left early, grabbing breakfast and coffee on the way, and drove to King's Island. Now, don't snicker, I know an amusement park is not your typical romantic destination. But for all of our 4 prior anniversaries, I have either been pregnant, or recovering from childbirth and we had to take it easy. So we wanted to do something different and carefree this year. And on a nostalgic note, the first time I can remember falling for John was on a chaperoned friend's trip to Cedar Point the summer between our 7th and 8th grade year. I asked him then what he wanted to be when he grew up and he told me, "maybe a trucker," and yet somehow I still found him irresistible.

I surprised John by hacking a pair of old jeans into cut-off shorts for our special occasion and we were off to hit the coasters. Let me tell you, we had such a great time. Nothing makes you feel like a kid faster then flying through the air at 60 miles an hour screaming at the top of your lungs. We enjoyed a half empty park and quick lines and complete freedom from schedules. We did not remember experiencing such severe whiplash on the rides when we were 14, but that was the only thing that made us feel old.

 

We had originally planned to stay at the park through dinner and then drive back to our hotel downtown. But by 4pm we had ridden all the big rides, thanks to the short lines, and were ready to head back to Columbus. We upgraded our dinner plans from chicken on a stick, to Hyde Park in the city. Only problem was, we didn't pack any nice clothes, and we thought the restaurant might frown upon my cut-offs and John's bathing suit. So we stopped at the outlet malls on our way back into town and split up for 30 minutes so we could each purchase a presentable outfit to wear to dinner. I felt slightly like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, except instead of Rodeo Drive, I was at the Banana Republic... factory store....scouring the clearance rack. Same difference really.

With outfits in tow, we drove to the Westin hotel downtown and checked in. The concierge found a note in our reservation that we were celebrating our anniversary and she quickly upgraded our room to a Junior King Suite. Giddy, we headed up to shower and get ready for our late dinner out. Just as we were getting ready to leave the room, there was a knock on our door and another concierge delivered us a complimentary plate of chocolate-covered strawberries, champagne on ice, and a card signed by all the hotel staff.  Now how's that for customer service?

Dinner at Hyde Park was delicious and fancy, and we tried not to scream when the bill came. I had our waiter box up all the leftovers just on principle, and then realizing we had no place to keep them cold,  threw them away on our walk back to the car. It was a fun splurge on a place we'd always wanted to eat at someday.

Monday we slept in as late as you can sleep in once you have kids, which is 8am, and then finished off our stay-cation with breakfast on the patio at the Northstar Cafe. I finally got to try their famed praline scone, which lived up to every bit of it's best-scone-ever reputation. Just sitting at that restaurant is an ego boost because you are surrounded by trendy, artsy, cool people who assume you must be one of them.

We both agreed that this was our favorite anniversary celebration so far. It was the perfect mix of fun and romance and brought those old 7th grade heart-throb feelings right on back.

Home Sweet Home??

Yes, of course we are so delighted to be back home to our adorable children. And yes, I wanted to cry this morning when I realized no one would be delivering breakfast to my room on a silver platter with the morning paper. Its a shock to the system going from "What can you I bring you to drink Mrs. Costello?" and "Please let me roll out your towel for you Mrs. Costello" to "Noooooooo, I wanted to bluuueeee cuuupppp" and "mommy,  I peed in my pants, but just a little bit." 

You see what I mean?

It only took me about 5 seconds to realize that back here in the real world, I'm the butler. If I want a plate of cheesy hot nachos, I'd better start digging in the fridge for Velveeta.

Oh, but those days in paradise were so worth the vacation hangover I've been fighting all day. 6 uninterrupted days of doing whatever we wanted, at whatever time we felt like it, was bliss. We were lazy, we napped in the sun, we read books, we frolicked in the ocean (seriously, I made it a point to actually frolic), and we were waited on hand and foot. I busied myself ordering every tropical drink I'd ever heard of or seen someone else drinking, and John busied himself napping and eating so much shrimp cocktail he actually made himself ill. Turns out I really enjoy Mudslides, and anything that someone else is delivering saying "Its a pleasure Mrs. Costello." We ordered a room service breakfast every day because it was free, and because breakfast in bed is one of my favorite indulgences. We were lulled to sleep by the crashing ocean waves outside our room and awoke to the sun rising over the water.

Vacation John even agreed to participate in an early morning yoga class by the lagoon and a couples massage, both of which I am sure will be his last. We were treated to a private lobster and steak dinner on the beach, which was again free, and got to drink fancy champagne and eat under the stars. We didn't have to push elevator buttons, hang up towels, get refills, or even carry our plates to the table.

Can you understand why we felt quite torn in coming home?

We appreciate vacation immensely more now that we have kids. Even a flight delayed for 2 hours is no big deal when you are not responsible for any of the crying babies, and you can quietly read in the corner.

And now the clock starts ticking again until our next romantic vacation comes around....hopefully in 2 years :)

From the Archives...

Last night I wanted to show John a video I had taken of Eli dancing earlier that day. We watched it laughing several times and then started looking back at all of Eli's funny video moments over the years. It's amazing how fast he has changed. We had some good laughs watching our silly boy grow. Here is a gem we found from last year when he was 11 months old. Its one of John's famous home videos he loves to take whenever he's on kid duty. Enjoy. (Make sure volume is turned up)

Happy Father's Day

(Click video to enlarge to full screen)

Happy Birthday John!

Happy 26 years to you my love. I still think of you as the sweet teenage boy with those beautiful eyes who stole my heart at our Senior Gala 8 years ago. Thank you for standing by me and reminding me to slow down and cherish the simple gifts in life. Watching you as a father has brought an entirely new depth of my appreciation and respect for who you are. God has blessed us with a wonderful provider and leader in you. We hope you feel as special today as we think you are all the time.
Love,
Rachel and Eli

Happy Monday

To me, there is nothing better then having flowers brought home to me

for no reason at all. Especially, beautiful flowers like these stunning Gladiolas.

Thanks John, you certainly brightened up my day!