cup of joe: thank you, kind stranger.

I would really like to know where time goes. As a kid and all growing up, time seemed to drag on forever, and now that I'm an adult...well, chances are you understand. It just goes so quickly and I don't know how or where it's going so fast!

Somehow, we are on the doorstep of Thanksgiving, and we all know what a whirlwind the rest of the year is and quickly it will be 2015. Sheesh.

A few weekends ago, Team Hildebrand made a weekend trip to Zanesville so Jesse and I could go to our college's homecoming events. The girls had a blast staying with Grandma and Grandpa so Jesse and I actually had an entire day to ourselves! It was fantastic. I love my kids and am so happy I get the chance to be a stay at home mom, but it's always nice to occasionally get a few minutes to myself, let alone a whole day! Jesse and I enjoyed ourselves seeing friends, revisiting our old stomping grounds and going to the basketball game in the evening. The girls did great with Jesse's folks and Lily and Emma were excited to tell us all about it.

Kaylee has hit a rough patch...which I'm antsy to get through. She is working on a few more teeth, so her sleeping has been off as she's been fighting congestion and the soreness of her gums. Additionally, I apparently am either feeding her something that upsets her stomach or I'm eating something that I'm passing on to her that is upsetting her, but either way, she's been fussy from that while I try and figure out what is bugging her system. Of course, I could be completely mistaken and whatever it is could be part of teething, also. I tend to blame everything on teeth either moving around or coming in. I'm so highly scientific and probably accurate.

Lily and Emma are doing great. They have both been extra clingy, which is weird and can be frustrating since I always have little people underfoot, but I'm trying to make sure I hold both of them and love on them as much as I can. Lily has especially been clingy and moody, bursting into tears if I make her sad or don't return to her quickly enough. Which is of course precious and I love that I'm so important, but it literally means I can't go anywhere without her trying to follow me or panicking when I'm not right there. We will power through with lots of hugs and explaining that I will always come back.

The past few weeks have been a real test of patience for me, I think. I am not the most patient person typically and it is something I have been working on over the years. The girls just have been crying, whining and bickering an extra amount. I'm sure it's a bunch of stuff all crammed together that makes it seem that way: daylights savings, teeth, growth spurt...I'm staying up too late so I'm tired and my tolerance level is lower...that kind of thing. Anyway, with how the past few weeks have been, I am trying to put forth an extra effort to be patient with the girls, hug and cuddle them more and make sure I take the time to drop what I'm doing and play with them. We are hopefully on the upswing of this frustrating period, but it made what happened yesterday just seem a bit sweeter, when the girls and I were blessed yesterday by a kind lady outside the grocery store. We had run to town to do some Thanksgiving shopping, trying to beat the probable craziness of next week, and gotten through our list pretty quickly. As I was loading the girls and groceries into the car, a lady stopped me and handed me a $20. She told me she had so enjoyed watching how the girls interacted with each other, how well behaved they were and how I handled them in the store that she wanted me to take them to lunch and buy them a Happy Meal sometime. I was absolutely blown away and didn't know what to say. Not only was incredibly sweet of her to buy us lunch like that, but it also was such an ego boost for me that hey, I'm not a complete failure! Not that I really think I am, but it was an effective pat on the back for me that my children are well behaved enough for a stranger to notice in a grocery store.

Anyway, that totally made my day. She could have just left it at telling me she enjoyed watching how well behaved my girls were and I'd have been over the moon.

That's about it from here for now...