Big Weekend! Big Mama! Big Love!

Thank y’all so much for asking about my neck. The pain has died down from excruciating to mild. 

But, I’m here to claim the pain because it’s all totally my fault. Look at the below picture of me meeting one of my blog idols, Big Mama. WHO STANDS LIKE THAT??! I’ll tell you who, someone who is looking to get a pinched nerve in her neck, that’s who.

And this picture was taken on Saturday, when I was trying my very, very best to stand with my super perfect posture so I didn’t damage my neck further.

Hmmm. I think I see the problem.

Friday night my folks and brother were still here, and we had a lovely TexMex dinner at one of our favorite places. The kids had a blast in that they played in the sandbox the whole time, except the three minutes it took them to inhale their chile con queso puffs. A good time was had by all.

On Saturday I got to see Chelsea, one of my favorite people. She’s funny and smart and perceptive and a great mom and we see life pretty much the same. It’s always just really fun and relaxing to be with her. Plus, I’ve known her forever, which is my favorite kind of friend because we know each other’s stories without having to tell them. I’m a big fan of friendships that don’t require lots of work.

Anyway, Chelsea introduced me to Big Mama’s blog years ago, so it seemed so fitting we met her together. Chelsea and Big Mama are actually friends who tweet to each other, where I was more Chelsea’s tag-along friend. With my daughter.

A few words about bringing Catie to the signing…she sensed my drama about meeting one of my blog heroes, and Catie can’t stand to miss out on drama. I think I made a mistake when I told her the signing would be a little like meeting One Direction. I was trying to convey the point that she might have to stand around and wait for a long time, but she took this as MEETING BIG MAMA WILL BE THE BIGGEST DEAL OF MOMMY’s LIFE. So, anyway, she came along.

Which was wonderful because I was kind of hoping Big Mama’s daughter, Carloine, would also be there. And she was! I’ve read Big Mama daily for years, and I feel like I know Caroline. And the stories about Caroline always sound so much like Catie.

Big Mama often blogs about how Caroline dresses in these shabby outfits when she has an entire closet of beautiful clothes she could wear. So, when Catie did her own hair and wore her usual wardrobe of Justice t-shirts and holey shorts, I figured, she’d fit right in with Caroline, and they’d become best friends..

Then we met Caroline (below), and I saw her “shabby” outfit was better than any designer outfit in my closet. So, Big Mama and I didn’t really bond over our daughters’ lack of fashion sense. In fact, Caroline may have been looking away from Catie and wondering who the girl with the tattoos around her eyes was. But sweet Catie was her cheerful self and totally oblivious that doing her own hair might not have been a huge improvement over not combing it at all. In defense of both girls, the whole thing was probably surreal to them. I was like, “Catie! This is my ‘friend’ who writes all about her daughter on the Internet. I’ve never met her before, and she has no idea who I am, but I feel like I know her! Can you say hi?”