Say "Yes" to the Dress? Not so much.

A couple of years ago, I bought a dress to wear to Bear's company holiday party. As someone who hates shopping and has been known to try on upwards of 12 items and still emerge from the store empty-handed, I was thrilled when I found a dress I loved on the first try, and even let the incredibly perky 19-year-old behind the counter talk me into buying matching earrings and bracelets. (Ask me when I last wore any accessory besides my wedding ring...then watch me try to count back that far.) Bear and I had only recently emerged from the Sleepless Months with Keira, and were looking forward to an evening out together like you wouldn't believe--unless you're a parent, and then you know exactly how giddy one can become over the idea of getting out amongst adults and having a drink or two. Or nine. (Just kidding--after being pregnant for nine months and nursing ever since, I think I could look at a wine cooler and blow a .06 on a breathalizer!)

Unfortunately, the dress ended up staying in my closet unworn, because it turned out that Keira just wasn't ready to be left with anyone but Mom or Dad at bedtime. It wasn't worth the stress for me to force the issue, so we called it off. I was disappointed, but knew it was for the best. As my friend, Silas' mommy , says, I'm a mom first and everything else second!

Fast forward to this past weekend, when I dug through my closet in search of something to wear to a high school friend's wedding, and came upon The Dress. Aha! At last, it would fulfill its destiny. Since Elliana was born, Bear and I had gone to a couple of afternoon movies, but it has been eons since we'd had been able to get dressed up and go out for an evening. Bear's parents came over to babysit, Keira exclaimed over Bear in a shirt and tie ("Daddy, you look SPECTACULAR!!"), and off we went.

The wedding was lovely. The reception, as far as we know, was awesome; but it wasn't long after the bride changed into her Chinese wedding gown and the dragon dancers performed that we called home to check in, and found that Elliana was VERY unhappy. She was refusing to take a bottle, freaking out when Bear's mom tried to put her down to sleep, and even got so upset at one point that she vomited. That was our cue: we bowed out early and scurried home to change out of our formal wear and back into our Mom and Dad hats.

I felt horrible for Ellie-Bug, was a little disappointed to have to leave early, and told Bear that I think this dress is cursed...but even when the responsibilities of being a parent are a bit of a drag, I'm grateful to have them. The dress will keep; our two little girls, on the other hand, will both keep growing up crazy-fast. They'll only believe for so long that bedtime cannot occur without Mommy, so I'm going to soak it up while I can. In fact, that's the mantra that's keeping me from getting (too) impatient over Ellie still waking up every 2-3 hours throughout the night: soak it up, soak it up, soak it up...who needs fancy parties when I get drooly grins and whispers of "I love you, Mama" right here at home?

(Wow--motherhood has definitely turned me into a sap. Remind me to post something smart-alecky, snarky, or completely immature as soon as possible, before I start collecting Precious Moments figurines and sobbing at country songs!)