Abby's 4th Birthday Party

Abby's birthday party was this past Saturday at the Zoo. She had the BEST birthday EVER! It was a fun filled day! Her party itself was in a party room at the Carousel at the Zoo, where she took full advantage of unlimited carousel rides. Her friends came, they had food & cake, did some crafts & temporary tattoos, ate cupcakes & she opened presents. By 4, she's quite the expert at birthday parties.

After the party itself, we walked around and enjoyed the Zoo. It was a great day with family & friends!

Here's some pictures:

Before moving on, there is some stuff on my mind that I feel needs to be said. So I'd like to go ahead & use my blog as the forum for that, have it out there & then hopefully I can move on. 

First - I need to express the amount of gratitude I have for my parents. They are there for myself and more importantly, my children in every sense of the word. They literally help clothe, feed, and raise my kids. The term "it takes a village" applies to my parents. No question about it. Do I roll my eyes at some of the things my mom does? Sure. But I wouldn't want her to be any less involved in my girls' lives. I'm immensely grateful to her for all that she does & I don't think I tell her that nearly enough. Small things, like walking around the zoo & carrying Brooklyn so that I can hold Abby's hand, or bigger things like taking the girls overnight so we can have a date night, even buying Abby clothes for her birthday, or taking us out to dinner after the Zoo - it is all a help to our family and a huge support.

That said, to be frank I'm deeply saddened that my children do not have any extended family that they get to enjoy other than my parents. It bothers me constantly that my extended family, who lives across the country would LOVE to be a larger part of my girls' lives. Yet the family who lives minutes away cannot make the effort to visit, or even call her to wish her happy birthday. It bothers me to the point that Brandon & I regularly discuss if we should pick up & move. We want to raise our children surrounded by family. I want them to have that strong sense of family and loyalty and being a part of a larger family unit. And you bet I take it personal when local family members are too selfish (yes, that's right, selfish. that's exactly what it is.) and self-centered to make a point to be involved in their grandchild's life. Brandon takes it personal as well, it's the saddest thing - seeing him a mix of happy for my girls to have my parents around & then realizing that none of his family even bothers to call (some will even go so far as to try to sabotage the enjoyment we do have). Obviously I'm mad. Hurt. Sad. Frustrated. Helpless. Hopeless.

I do not want anyone to feel obligated or forced to spend time with us or our girls, at the same time, I know how badly my extended family wants to be here. How they would jump at the chance to visit with us, they would make sure to be there for every holiday, every milestone moment. They send cards, they call the girls on their birthdays, they want so badly to be involved. To my family: rest assured, we FEEL this love! The girls know who you are, even though they don't get to see you in person often. It means a LOT to our family, so thank you for making these efforts! And those who have that opportunity & are so neglectful? It's inexcusable. Shame on you.

So yeah. That's what I wanted to address. I needed to say it to someone/somewhere before I end up going off on the wrong person :) 

OK moving on. Need to end this on a positive note. Yesterday, I went on a run with some girlfriends, then took the girls on a nature walk, made stuffed acorn squash for dinner & finished the day off with an hour long cardio workout. phew! It was a great weekend, but I feel like I could use an extra 8 hours of sleep :)