Overachievers in our own right.

Today was one of those days... The Storm had me in tears before 10 am. It was as if they all woke up and plotted out their day with all the ways to make me crazy, before they ever left their bedroom. Those boys need to be outside. Spring-like weather needs to hurry up and get here... to stay.

Divine intervention occurred when one of my oldest and dearest friends called to say she was bringing cupcakes over this afternoon for all of our kids. I love that my girlfriends call me up and say, "Hey, I'm coming over, and I called the rest of the gang. We'll be there at 3:00. Oh, and we're bringing the food. See ya." God couldn't have sent me a better group of friends. I have the best gal pals in the world. They know my house will be a mess. They know my boys will probably cause some trouble. But yet, they still love me... and bring me food.

The three girls that showed up today had no idea just how much I needed them this afternoon. Love, laughter, and sunshine can do wonders for a Mom who has thrown one too many pity parties lately. Though they were here only a short while, I felt renewed... rejuvenated... refreshed... you get the picture. I was ready to tackle the rest of the day. Suddenly, my children seemed cute and funny to me again, the laundry pile didn't seem quite as high, and the thought of cooking dinner didn't make me roll my eyes.

Girlfriends like these make life so much more colorful.
I love you, girls!

Another thing I love about my girls is just how competitive we are... in a healthy way. In a world where women are known to be overly judgemental and down right vicious towards one another, I'm thankful to have found a group of friends who are definitely "toppers" but not in the way one might suspect.

Here's how a typical conversation might go--

Girlfriend 1: "My kids have had frozen pizza three nights in a row."
Girlfriend 2: "So. Mine have eaten fish sticks for lunch every day this week."
Girlfriend 3: "Yeah, well, I can't remember the last time we had a fresh vegetable... I mean, why go to the trouble when they aren't going to eat them anyway??"
Girlfriend 4: "I just wish my kids would eat something other than chicken nuggets."

Or we may be heard "bragging" about our workout routines....

GF 1: "I have got to hit the treadmill tomorrow. I ate a red-velvet cupcake for breakfast this morning."
GF 2: "I haven't been on my treadmill since before I got pregnant... for the first time.... six years ago. Now we just use ours as a giant clothes rack."
GF 3: "I stuck a workout dvd in the other day, but only because I like the upbeat music."
GF 4: "My husband said the front desk clerk at the gym asked if he wanted to just cancel my membership."

And our version of locker room bragging is a little different from that of high school boys...

GF 1: "I really wanted to stay up and watch the rest of the Olympic ice skating last night, but I had to hurry up and fall asleep 'cause I could tell my husband was in the mood. Then this morning he was complaining about not getting any for the last week and a half."
GF 2: "Week and a half?? Shoot! We're going on a solid month!"
GF 3: "A whole month??! How in the world do you get him to leave you alone though?? I have to hurry up and grab a towel, before I even step out of the shower, then I wrap my robe as tight as I can, and pull the collar all the way up, cause if he sees any skin at all, stretch marks even, he's all 'Woo-hoo!' so I have to dart into the closet and get dressed in there!"
GF 4: "Yeah, getting out of the shower is a problem for me too. But not for him! He 'accidentally' drops his towel every time, as if that's going to get me fired up. I always pretend I hear one of the kids crying and run out as fast as I can."
GF 2: "Girls, girls, girls. It's really easy. What works best for me is to just keep bringing up his Mom. As soon as he gets 'the look' in his eyes, I usually mention a funny comment his Mom made during our phone conversation that morning. Or, say that his grandmother really wants us to come down for a visit soon. Works every time."

What in the world would I do without you girls?