Lovenuts.

I took Inara to a birthday party a couple of months ago, and at that party she spied a coin-operated photo booth in the corner. She was immediately drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. Firstly, because it involved me shelling out some cash, and secondly, because it involved the possibility of sitting in close quarters with me and slobbering me with goopy, wet kisses (which is one of her favorite pastimes, especially when I make a game of protesting).

We had the choice of picking borders for our photos, and as we scrolled through the options I instinctively knew which one my love-obsessed little bug would want. So we made a deal, which of course necessitated the shelling out of more cash on my end. I asked (it was actually more like begging) her if she would be okay with me picking a photo. She was of course up for it - IF she got to have her choice as well. I feel like most of my day is spent making compromises like this, because it's incredibly hard to get an extremely smart four year-old to do anything I want her to do unless she absolutely wants to do it as well. Hence the constant negotiations.

I opted for the simple yet classic, four-in-one borderless spread, because it gave us the option of most poses for our buck(s) (Photo booths are expensive! El Cheapitan would not have been impressed.). I think it turned out quite nicely:

And then of course, we had Inara's masterpiece. Keep in mind that she picked this out BACK IN OCTOBER:

Seriously. What am I going to do with this girl? I'm really worried that she's going to grow up and give her heart away to whoever comes sidling along and gives her goo-goo eyes first. Like I did. Hmmmm...maybe there is more to this than I initially thought.

Ah, but who am I kidding? I love the kid (and her little sister) to bits and pieces. You can read all about it at my other gig. The post is called (And nobody told me)...that I would fall in love more than once in my life, and I would be thrilled if you took a minute to check it out.

The truth is that even though I might masquerade as a tough, commercial-holiday-hating mama, on the inside I'm a big fat mushball. Believe me, you would be too if you had these two lovenuts in your life. Every morning, I wake up covered in baby kisses from my girls, and you know something? I LOVE IT.

So yes, I'm a pathological liar and a hypocrite. Just wait until you read that post at And Nobody Told Me - you'll see, it's all true. But I have a feeling that I'm not the only mama who feels this way.

Have a great day, friends. No matter what you do, or don't, celebrate today - thank you for being here. I really love you goobers. You know I do.