Meredith Carson... Across the Pond and Back Again...

It shouldn't be this easy or this fun to deceive a loved one especially after we've done it so many times, but after pulling off another flawless surprise for my father in law, we realized that we laughed just as hard this time as we did the first time. The first Carson Surprise (that included me) happened at the Greensboro airport.  Pawpaw was coming to visit us and our first, new baby for Christmas.  His other son, my precocious and adorable brother-in-law David,  was already at our house but had spoken to Pawpaw several times previously and apologized about the fact that he would not be able to come for Christmas.  Before we left for the airport, David got dressed in a full-on Santa suit complete with beard and hat.  During the drive he practiced disguising his voice.  Seated in the backseat next to my clueless seven-month-old, he drawled in a gravelly voice, "Hey Buddy, can I bum a cigarette for the road?"  Over and over he ...

To be clear I am not a competitive "Build-a-Better-Birthday-Party" Mama.  I have definitely rolled my eyes at some of the over-the-top kids' birthday parties I've seen chronicled on the reality TV shows on TLC.  No, I'm pretty sure your two year old doesn't need a 10 foot tall Cookie Monster ice sculpture on his big day, but if it makes you happy, whatever.  I generally try to keep birthdays relatively simple.  Cupcakes and "Pass the Parcel" are more my speed, but this year Harry got involved, and things got a little bit colorful.  So please know, if you are reading this, that I fully support whatever level of birthday party planning you're into.  I happen to be a ridiculous Harry Potter fan, so all of this was a labor of love.  I already had the Harry Potter character dolls, the Harry Potter Christmas lights, the Gryffindor scarf, and a head full of crazy Harry Potter ideas.  We also found that lots of our Halloween decorations worked wit...

This morning my daughter and I got up really early.  I made coffee, the real kind, and fed my girl the breakfast cookies I had made around midnight the night before.  We made our way to the Community Center at 7:00.  My daughter donned tacky mismatched socks, had her hair painted red, stretched her muscles, listened to some motivational tunes on her mp3 player, and then set off with her official "running buddy" on her first ever 5K run. Emma ran and ran with her trusty running partner, Mrs. Adams, who also happens to be her adorable art teacher.  While my girl ran, I cheered for girls.  I cheered for all of the girls, especially the girls in blue shirts who were part of the Girls on the Run program.  (I also cheered for an old guy wearing a neon yellow "Jogging With Jesus" t-shirt, not that he needed my encouragement.)  I cheered and cheered.  I yelled until my throat felt sore, "Go, Girls!!"  I hooted and hollered and shook a pink...

For many weeks we have been planning, and now I, with a little help from my friends, have finally pulled off a successful Harry Potter party to celebrate my oldest daughter's tenth birthday.  I had a notebook filled with lists of ideas for games, activities and Potter-themed snacks.  I had purchased sparkly fabric, pulled out Halloween decorations that seemed appropriate, and scoured the Internet for inspiration.  Mentally I was prepared.  The night before the party, however, I started to hyperventilate a little as I attempted to sort and separate different shades of brown and pink and yellow Jelly Belly jellybeans into individual party cups for the "Bertie Bott's Bean Guess."  My husband walked into the kitchen as I sat at the table staring stupidly back and forth between a marigold-colored jellybean pinched between the fingers of my left hand and the slightly different goldenrod-colored jellybean held similarly in my right hand.  "I ...

Lately I have not felt at peace.  Stress has been bubbling up in my chest.  It furrows my brow and causes a ringing in my ears.  My body has been telling me to pay attention to the fact that something is out of balance.  I have taken a leaf from Stuart Smalley's book.  Since I cannot practice hours of meaningful, deep, quiet meditation.  I settle for moments of silent affirmation.  My mind tells the rest of me, "You are patient.  You are loving.  You are blessed.  You are peaceful."  I pause and repeat such phrases silently in my head even when I do not believe them, even as chaos erupts all around me.  Sometimes before I fall asleep, I manage to affirm, "My dreams bring me clarity." And lately my dreams have been speaking to me, obediently responding to my request.  Sometimes dreams appear to be meaningless mishmashes of nonsense, but lately I have on occasion awoken from my sleep as...