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Our Anniversary: He Had Me at ‘Maybe Later’

December 4, 2015 by momindcity 8 Comments

Today is a big day—11 years married to the Marine I met in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Who would’ve thought that the guy who didn’t even want to dance with me would be my husband and baby daddy all these years later?

I remember the night we met at Sywanyks Nightclub, a bar covered in Marine paraphernalia that I never noticed thanks to one too many Red Bull and vodkas. My friend pointed at Dave from across the bar and remarked on how cute he was. “You should go talk to him!” I told her. “No, YOU should go talk to him,” she said. Never one to turn down a challenge, I marched my tipsy self over to the table where he was playing Jenga and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, do you want to dance?” I asked.

He looked at me like I had interrupted open heart surgery.

“Maybe later,” he said and turned right back around.

“Ok! I’ll be right over there whenever you’re ready.” Can you spell loser?

I kept slamming down cocktails and suddenly someone tapped me on my shoulder.

“You ready for that dance?”

Under normal circumstances, I would have said “hell no,” but Pour Some Sugar on Me was playing and you really can’t dance to that alone.

We danced. And danced… to Rob Base’s It Takes Two, Nelly’s Hot in Herre, and (of course) J-Lo’s Love Don’t Cost a Thing.

He bought me a drink and I pretended to sip it, then said I needed to use the ladies room where I poured it down the toilet because I had already had one too many but wanted to keep talking to him.

The club was closing and my friend and I needed a ride home. Somehow, I wound up wearing a French beret and snuggling with Dave in the trunk of an SUV. When we got to my friend’s house I turned to Dave and gave him an almost-kiss (as in I turned my head at the last minute and gave him a hug instead), and went inside to sleep it off.

The next day I got a voicemail from the Marine at the bar. And then he called again. And again. I couldn’t remember what he even looked like. What if he wasn’t even cute?!

On the fourth call, I answered. We talked for hours. We went on a date that week and have been inseparable (for better or worse) ever since.

Dave jokingly reminds me that he had me at “maybe later.” But I’m pretty sure it’s true.

I try to “maybe later” him back all the time. Playing it cool. Pretending I don’t notice how lucky I am. But anniversaries make me sentimental. Time moves too fast and I can’t believe we’re here all these years later. Is our marriage good? Is it bad? Is it easy? Is it hard? Will we be doing this for another 11 years? Yes. Every day, yes.

To the man who:

Serenades the baby to sleep with his guitar
Takes hours putting the girls to bed because he loves reading to them
Loves fabulous food, but also doesn’t mind eating cold soup out of a can
Thinks real men don’t own more than one pair of shoes
Jams out to Better Than Ezra and Beethoven
Will never stop trying to teach me how to read a map
Never thinks our crazy life is crazy enough and always wants MORE kids
May secretly be Albanian because he’s so stubborn
Believes I’m beautiful
Always wants to go somewhere with me
Never complains
Always loves me
Had me at “maybe later.”

Dave, I love you. Happy Anniversary.

My Holiday Card is Bigger than Yours Na-na-na-na-na

December 3, 2015 by momindcity 11 Comments

Some of you will receive your annual holiday card from the Pinchottis soon. The extras arrived at our house yesterday and I was shocked and impressed with myself. This is no ordinary holiday card. This is bigger and better than any you’ve seen from us before. And when I say bigger, I mean BIGGER.

Before you start talking about me behind my back, consider this: there are many reasons why one’s card would be this big. You never know what that person is going through or how much sleep they had before purchasing.

Let me help you by presenting these reasons why my holiday card might be bigger than yours:

Shutterfly increases your card size based on how cute your family photo is.
We are trying our hardest to keep up with the Kardashians.
I’m from Texas.
I really wanted to make sure you got a good look at the pores on my nose.
I’ve been to your house and you really need some new wall art.
You said you miss me and I want you to feel like I’m always with you.
Go big or go home.
I thought, when you add a family member, you add 10 inches to your card size.

Leave it up to Shutterfly to make their standard card a 6×8. I knew 30 was the new 20 but I didn’t realize “life-sized” was the new “standard.” I did wonder why each one cost $24.75. Don’t say I never bought you anything. If you haven’t received your card yet, it may be because it didn’t fit in your mailbox. You should really buy a bigger one because this is only the beginning. Just wait until next year when the Pinchotti doll collection comes out.

And while I’m over here acting like Kanye, I’m going to take this opportunity to share a few more of our family photos taken by the fabulous Gabrielle Zoey:

Baby #3 Brings New Sense of Calm

September 18, 2015 by momindcity 16 Comments

Oh hey, MomInDCity readers. It’s only been an ENTIRE YEAR since I’ve written. Not much has happened. Just, you know… got pregnant and had a “boring baby,” as Zana likes to call him. “Why do babies have to be so boring??” she has asked on multiple occasions.

I don’t know, dude. How do you think I feel? I’m the one who hangs out with him all day. She also refers to “the baby” in air quotes. I have no idea what that means.

Lorik (baby #3) was born June 17 and has been making our house a total snooze-fest ever since. Not really. That would mean people were actually snoozing, and we all know that isn’t happening. Lorik has turned our lives upside down. The house is a (even more of a) disaster, there’s always someone screaming and crying—and I haven’t even gotten to the kids. They’re doing great.

Between ballet, gymnastics, running club and soccer… and more soccer… I got bored, so here I am back to blogging. The other day at ballet, a mom friend of mine said “Where’s the baby?! I’ve never seen you without him!” And for a split second, I didn’t know the answer. Had I become one of those “whoops I left the car seat on top of the car moms?” Oh wait, BeeBop (my mom) is in town. Whew.

And it’s because of that, that I currently have two free hands and am able to type. I mean, my foot is still on the bouncy seat, but it’s almost like I’m taking a break!

Where’s BeeBop, you ask? Making me look good to the PTA moms by baking up a storm for the bake sale.

It’s true, I’m superwoman.

So let’s see if this boring baby lets me write a little more often. Until then… please leave me your juggling act tips in the comment section.

Be Kind to Traveling Families… Or Else

June 26, 2014 by momindcity 12 Comments

Have you ever been comfortably sitting on a plane, minding your own business when someone asks you to move? Did you do it?

If you did, you probably felt good. Like you’d just done that person and/or their family a favor. If you didn’t, well… the rest of this post is for you.

As my family and I dragged our way to the back of the plane last night, we looked around hopefully. The 3-hour delay had left us cranky and tired. The girls pulled their princess suitcases and fought over ratty haired dolls while Dave and I tried not-so-subtly to make eye contact with potential seat-trading strangers. Our assigned seats were all over the plane, and Zana was already crying at the thought of not sitting with one of us.

People just stared. Most people, anyway. One man did jump up and offer to move saying, “I remember those days!” He even took a middle seat to help us out(thank you, thank you!).

But not everyone was eager to help, including one guy who had the pleasure of sitting next to Zana.

Good luck sitting next to this kid — Why wouldn’t you be nice to this face?

He learned a hard lesson. Since I don’t think anyone else should have to learn this the hard way, I’m going to lay it out for you.

If you’re not nice to traveling families…

1. You might get coughed on. (a lot)

2. You might get kicked. (hard)

3. You might be forced to listen to a very loud rendition of “Let it Go.” (on repeat)

4. You might get sprayed with vomit.

5. You might then be forced to eat your Lunchable while smelling that vomit.

6. You might be referred to as a “magar” (that’s donkey in Albanian) while you’re talked about right in front of your face.

Or if you’re the lucky guy sitting next to Zana during the flight because you wouldn’t change seats… you might just get the grand prize of all of the above!

So what have we learned?

When a family asks you to move so they can sit together, just do it.

And remember… you’re not doing them a favor. You’re doing yourself one.

Slow Down Second Kid! Mama’s Not Ready

June 9, 2014 by momindcity 1 Comment

Why does the second child have to grow up so much faster than the first?

Zana had her ballet showcase today and wore the same costume Lira wore in her recital last year. How does Lira’s costume, from when she was 6, fit Zana, who’s 4? She’s growing every day but some days, like today, I notice. Really notice.

Zana was the only one dressed in costume at today’s showcase: hair in a bun “because I’m a ballerina,” smiling from ear to ear, so proud. She couldn’t have pointed those toes any better if she were wearing actual pointe slippers.

Our lives are moving so fast that we can’t keep track of what’s on the calendar from one day to the next. If we see a block of time that’s free we wonder if the calendar is broken. I want to… need to… stop and breathe. Take it all in. Let my 4-year-old’s sweet breath fill my lungs and her sweet smile fill my soul.

Today I did.

Today I savored every hug.

Today I listened… really listened when she told me about her day. She giggled about the boy at school who kissed another girl who “wasn’t even in her family!” She let me know that while some girls only wear dresses, she also really likes wearing shorts. She asked me what color I’d be if I weren’t the color I am, and let me know that she’d probably be brown.

She told me she loved me, without me saying it first.

I’m sure it was no coincidence that today was one of her best behavior days on record. I may not always have time to blog (y’all still love me, right?), or to write thank you notes (sorry, Mom), or cook dinner (takeout works!), but I will… I must… make time for what matters.