Often when I walk out the front door I notice that I have a goober (or several) on my clothes – you know baby snots, or baby food, a grubby hand print – the regular. By the time I notice it is too late to turn around and change – because the girls are in the car waiting or I quite honestly I don’t have it in me to find something else!

Today as I walked out the door I realized that something even more magical, more strange more…special than the regular baby goober was going on with my wardrobe.

It all began when I put this scrummy little number on. It made me feel…dare I say it? Zippy!

I threw this on Clara (she’d worn it for part of the day yesterday and managed not to get any goobers on it so you know what that means, my friends? Two days of wear for the price of one!)

Are you noticing a trend yet?

Now, it wouldn’t have been so bad but then when you add my purse to the equation

And this baby carrier sling thing (I hardly ever use this but today I needed really it)

I felt like we were ready to take up residence in this place

SING WITH ME!

You’re out of the woods, You’re out of the dark, You’re out of the night.
Step into the sun, Step into the light.
Keep straight ahead for the most glorious place
On the Face of the Earth or the sky.
Hold onto your breath, Hold onto your heart, Hold onto your hope.
March up to the gate and bid it open

That’s right! Clara and I were ready to take up immediate residence in the Emerald City! If we had marched up to that gate and bid it open – it would have swung wide and the people of that fine city would have embraced us!

Now, you all know I like to be a little matchy, matchy with my girls – but even this was too much for me.

Poor Clara had to endure many comments.

And in case you’re wondering, during our errands I left my purse in the car.

That would have just been TOO much of a good thing.

Bliss. It was bliss, my friends. The evening before I had been doubting that my husband would come through this year – I was a fool. Jan is the KING of providing me a birthday of bliss. He nails it every year. And this year was no exception.

A few highlights of the day…

I dressed myself and the girls in coordinating outfits. Which leads me to a confession – if Laura Ashely Mother & Child were still in full force I would be deeply tempted to purchase matchy matchy outfits for me and the girls. I KNOW it is SO LAME! But there it is! Luckily for people like me there is J. Crew and Crew Cuts – which Millie and I wore(me the Crew and she the Cuts) and Clara provided the “accent” in a floral number – she looked like a little Spode dish…as you can see.

Knowing of my deep need to be “matchy, matchy” with my daughters Jan provided this perfect gift:

Eat your heart out Maria Von-Trapp. Gretel was cute and all, but she didn’t have plastic princess shoes like Millie D. And yes, we are going to make culinary masterpieces together in the near future. I am thinking a little mac-n’-cheese might look good on our aprons.

Amanda brought us her famous cup cakes but with a new addition – peanut butter frosting. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Thank you so much, AJ!

Best of all though, and the thing that made me feel like an absolute love glutton was a website that Jan put together where every member of my family and some of my dearest friends wrote me love notes.

I just cried! It was so wonderful! People were so generous (I still haven’t been able to read it all).

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

P.S. THANK YOU!!

Love,

The Dawsons