seriously, how did i get so lucky????

friday, september 3rd, 2010 started off just like any other day. i woke up slowly, secretly wishing that the girls could just get themselves ready for school and out the door without my help so i could stay in bed. after laughing at myself for even thinking it, i grabbed my compression knee highs and struggled around my belly to laboriously pull them up onto my tired legs. i swung my feet off of the bed and planted my hands behind me anticipating the heave to push my heavy body onto my feet, when the bedroom door opened.

 

i looked up expecting one of my children, sleepy eyed with ratty haired to ask me why i hadn’t woken them up yet. instead, my amazing husband walks in and says, “get back into bed!” in his playful “what are you thinking” tone of voice! a bit confused, i obeyed (but let’s face it, it doesn’t take much these days for me to obediently “get back in bed” when told to!!)

 

he then brings me a breakfast in bed tray complete with fresh fruit smoothie, bagel with peanut butter, and scrambled eggs. oh, but that is not all that is on the tray. laid across the top of the tray is a single white rose and a green envelop with my name printed on it.

 

as he was walking in the room carrying this labor of love i was thinking, “what day is it? did i forget something?” which isn’t unlikely in my pregnant state, in fact it is VERY probable that i would forget something, something even very important. i’m only speaking from experience here! but as much as i strained my brain, nothing was coming to mind. nothing was coming to mind because it was just an ordinary date on the calendar! no birthday, no anniversary, nothing! just a desire to spoil the woman he loves and adores! i know! how did i get so lucky, right?

 

i looked at my handsome husband with a sideways glance, full of mystery and a slight smile, as i opened the envelop. this is what i read:

Mahina’s to do list

September 3, 2010

• 7:00am Breakfast in Bed
• 8:00am Swim laps
• 9:00am prenatal massage with Aleen

i was shocked! i think i said something like, “really?” then, he left me in peace to enjoy my breakfast while he set himself to the task of getting the girls off to school. as i ate my delicious feast alone in my quiet bedroom, i was in awe of what just happened. the amazing thing is that the night before as i climbed into bed i was thinking to myself, “i really need a massage, my back is killing me!” little did i know what had been planned for me this morning!

 

just as i was finishing up my delicious breakfast, in walked mitch ready to shower me with even more than he already had. he tells me that he has something else for me and pulls out this:

• a new maternity speedo
• a swiMP3 player for listening to music while doing laps at the pool
• a heart rate monitor/triathlon watch with gps (tells you distance, cadence, speed, etc for swimming, biking, and running)

again, the amazing thing was that two nights previous to this i had been looking online for a maternity speedo. they were all pretty ugly, and there weren’t many options. this one was the best of the bunch and i had decided that i would order this very same suit that mitch had just handed to me!

 

i was seriously floored! but he didn’t give me time to dwell on it. he hurried me out of bed to get ready to go to the gym for my lap swim and prenatal massage. a few minutes later he comes in with a gym bag that he had already packed with everything i would need to get ready for the day. the only thing he said was, “don’t look in the bag until you get to the gym.”

 

when i was ready to go, i said goodbye to everyone, but mitch stopped me and said, “wait, i’ll take you and drop you off!” so, as soon as the girls were out the door to school we loaded up the two youngers and we were off to the gym. i asked him what he was going to do about work and he said, “i’ll just go in later.”

 

after a quick swim, i met the aleen at the front desk of the club and she took me to the massage room. as soon as she closed the door she said, “your husband leave this for you” and indicated another green envelop addressed to me with a single red rose. shocked, yet again, i slowly pick it up and read the contents:

the top of the note was the same as the previous note, but 7:00am thru 9:00am were checked off and the next two lines read:

• 10:00 Shower
• 10:30 Brunch with Jessica at the Grove cafe & market (Jessica to pick up at gym)

i couldn’t believe it! from the moment this all began i had been thinking, “how did i get so lucky, to not only find this man, but to earn his love and affection?” as i laid there under the amazing hands of this massage therapist, (seriously the best massage i have EVER had) i couldn’t help but smile at my good fortune! i am in awe everyday of this man that i gave my heart to over ten years ago.

 

after the massage, i quickly showered and got ready for my lunch date with my friend jessica. after showering, i opened up the gym bag that mitch had packed and had implored me not to open until at the gym to find this:

there was a new sexy bra in the bag too, but i decided you didn’t need to see that! (ahem)

 

all new, all picked by mitch, all totally cute, and all the EXACT RIGHT SIZE! it was scary how perfectly EVERYTHING fit! i don’t even get that lucky when buying clothes for myself!! i tell ya, A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

 

when jessica walked in to get me she was carrying, can you guess????? of course, a rose, white this time, with another envelop! you’re beginning to catch on!!

 

upon opening it this is what i read:

 

again the top was the same as the previous notes with everything checked off except the new “thing to do”:

• 12:00pm Nap

how sweet is that? he knows how much i NEED my daily nap. he knows that if  don’t get it i am grumpy by dinner time and no fun to be around. so he worked it into my day!

 

jessica and i enjoyed a yummy lunch downtown. i had the best b.l.t on toasted wheat bread that i’ve ever had! it had guacamole on it, something i hadn’t tried on a b.l.t before. super good! you should try it!

 

after a great lunch and even better company, jessica dropped me off at home where mitch had been watching her daughter so she could take me to lunch! mitch rushed me off to our bed to take my nap. upon entering the room this is what greeted my eyes:

and this is what was inside the envelop:

same thing as previous notes with this added:

• 2:00 Hair cut, style, make-up, Manicure and Pedicure at La Bella Salon and Spa

okay, another amazing thing about this part of my day is that i have needed a haircut for ages! the previous week i had called a salon to make a hair appointment, but i had called after they had closed. so, i was supposed to call back during the week and schedule my appointment, but life got hectic and i never did.

 

not only that, but i had painted my toes back in july and the paint was coming off and i really needed to get it off. there was one big problem, though! i couldn’t reach my toes to get the old paint off or to get new paint on once the old stuff was off! i had been talking to my mom the day before and she told me that i needed to go get a pedicure and some pampering. i had decided i would do just that!

 

all day i just kept thinking, “how did he know that i was going to make an appointment for this? how did he know this was exactly what i needed?” i love when things work out so perfectly! it reminded me of the allison krauss song, “when you say nothing at all”. this song has always been a favorite of ours because it is so us! (song 44 on my playlist if you want to listen).

 

i laid down for my “nap”, but it became evident that it would only be a “rest”. i don’t know if it was all of the excitement or my complete wonder at all that was going on, but i could not for the life of me doze off! but it was alright with me! i felt refreshed after resting and ready for the next portion of my secret adventure.

 

the only downfall of the whole morning is that i didn’t realize what a big day this was going to be.  up to this point i hadn’t had my camera with me. i wish i would have known that i would have wanted to capture all of this on film. seriously, this was quickly turning into a day that i NEVER wanted to forget and i didn’t even know that the best was yet to come!

 

before i left for the spa, i made sure to put my camera in my purse. i have to admit, unfortunately, that i was so overwhelmed by every new thing that i forgot to snap pictures of most of it! on my drive to the salon i decided i would get a before and after of my hair and make-up, but once there i totally spaced it and didn’t take, but one picture! lame, i know!

 

when i got to the reception area at the salon they asked for my name. when i told them they said, “oh, this is for you!” and handed me yet another white rose with another green envelop:

added to the previous “Mahina’s things to do” list was this:

• 5:30 Back home to get ready for a night out

 

for the next 3 1/2 hours i thoroughly enjoyed being pampering at the salon and spa. it was exactly what i needed! sadly, like i said, i only got one photo at the make-up table:

i got cute purple toes and a french manicure which i took pictures of after the fact once i got home:

aren’t the sandals that mitch gave me so cute?! i love that there is no heel on them. most of my shoes have some sort of a heel and they are killing me these days! he is so thoughtful that he took that into consideration when he picked these!

 

when i arrived home the house was empty. i figured mitch had just gone out to pick up the babysitter and would be back shortly. so, i went back to the bedroom to get ready for my night out to find this on the bed:

 

he had picked out my evening wear down to the very last detail. in fact, upon getting closer i noticed these laying on the dress:

 

i just about fell over from shock! these diamond earrings are gorgeous and HUGE! i couldn’t believe it! what more could he do to shock me! this whole day had been a dream to me! from the moment i woke up until this point it was pure pampering and it was ALL about ME! no special occasion, it was just because he LOVES ME and ADORES ME!

 

all day one phrase kept running through my brain, “how did i get so lucky?!” what did i do to deserve such a man!

 

the note that came with this get-up was this:

• 6:30 pick up for dinner

so, i got dressed, which was a bit of a struggle as my nails were still a bit damp. have you ever tried to put on stockings with newly painted fingernails? or attempted to screw on the backs of diamond earrings? how about zip up boots that are getting a wee bit tight around the calves? all while working around a huge belly? well, i can now say that i have and i wouldn’t recommend it!

 

but, with much effort, i got dressed and was ready when mitch arrived to pick me up. he was ALONE… no kids, no babysitter. in he walked carrying a white rose, a green envelop, and wearing a huge smile and pouring out words of adoration and love! and he looked HOT! i’m not talking sweaty hot, i’m talking hubba, hubba HOT!

 

the note he handed me said:

• 7:00 Dinner at Bien Shur restaurant with Mitch

he walked me out the front door to this:

 

yup, total complete shock, again, and i’m thinking, “what more can he do? does it ever end??” never in my life had i dreamed of a day like this! days like this don’t happen to little old me! these sorts of days are the ones you only read about in fictional books or watch in fictional movies, but never do you expect that it would happen for you in your REALITY life!

 

(haha! i just noticed that the light above mitch’s head makes him look like he has little devil horn’s or something! nothing could be farther from the truth of his character!)

 

the restaurant was on the top floor of the sandia resort casino and had an amazing view of the city out one side and the mountains out the other side. we were seated just as the sun was beginning to set out the west side of the restaurant.

 

as soon as we were seated our waitress, who was absolutely wonderful, walked up to our table and said, “i believe this is for you.” handing me a red rose and an envelop. i looked at mitch with a mixture of unbelief and awe and just grinned from ear to ear!

i will not translate this one for you and, yes, the rose was strategically placed for a reason! this is a family friendly blog, you know! but this did explain the lack of children and a babysitter when mitch picked me up from the house. he had arranged for barbmom and papa clyde (mitch’s second parents) to have the kids overnight!

 

over dinner mitch asked me, “what would your ideal day be?” i thought for a moment and said that i had never really put much thought into it. as i thought about it more he said, “i knew that your ideal day would have to involve swimming.” then i said, “first of all, on my ideal day i would not be pregnant (at least not this big), but this day would pretty much cover my ideal day. i can’t think of anything else that would make it a better day!”

 

we ate way too much and i was hurting by the time we were finished, but it was so worth it! before our delicious desserts came the waitress came and asked us if this was a special occasion. mitch and i looked at each other and slowly shook our heads and replied “no.” but then we realized that it was actually our 10 year 9 month anniversary and we might as well be celebrating our 11th anniversary (dec. 3rd). we deicided that with our luck we would probably be in the hospital in labor on our actual anniversary!

 

our waitress was so sweet and she said, “well, i am just going to give you your desserts on us to help you celebrate!” then we indulged ourselves on crème Brule and frozen lemon mousse! again, i forgot to have the waitress take a picture of us! what kind of photographer am i anyway? i’ll blame my pregnancy brain! i’m kicking myself for not documenting this incredible day. that must be why i feel that i need to record this in such detail, now!

 

after dinner, mitch helped me waddle my way to our room:

if i had thought that he had gone above and beyond and that there was nothing more that he could possibly do, i was wrong!  the best part of this whole experience was right through this door!

 

i walked in and saw this:

and this:

in total there were 4 dozen roses in various bouquets! the roses were UNBELIVABLY GORGEOUS! but as beautiful as they were they paled in comparison to what each arrangement symbolizes!

 

My Eternal Friend Bouquet

 

on this card he told me that the yellow roses with the red tips symbolizes our friendship. he told me that i truly am his best friend and the red tips symbolizes how he loves me more with each day.

 

 My Eternal Bride Bouquet

 

in this card he explained that the white roses represent my purity. he told me what an amazing bride i was and that i get more beautiful in every way with each passing day.

 

 My Eternal Companion Bouquet

 

these red and white roses were the ones that he had given me throughout the day. on this card he explained that the red and white roses represent our unity. then, he went on to say that throughout the years we have become closer in so many ways. he longs to grow old together and cannot imagine spending eternity with anyone else but me!

 

My Eternal Lover Bouquet 

 

um, i think i WON’T be telling you what this card said, … you know, family blog and all!!

 

at this point in my unbelievable (that is seriously what i was feeling. did this really happen? am i really sitting here with this incredible man? it was hard for me to believe what had been planned and carried out for ME) day, i was in awe of my husband. how did i get so lucky? how much time and effort and planning had been put into this one amazing day? and all of it was done without even a small indication or hint to me of what was being planned!

 

i thought back to all that had transpired in the past 15 hours and there were no words sufficient enough to express what i was feeling! it truly was an unforgettable, “fairy-tale-dream-come-true “kind of a day!

 

we slept in late and then awoke to this beautiful view from our room window. i love the sandia mountains in the background!:

 

before we went downstairs for some breakfast, mitch had one last surprise for me. obviously, he had packed our suitcase, but what i didn’t know is that he had one more new outfit that he had bought for me (well, i guess it would be more like one and a half outfits):

i love everything that he picked for me throughout this whole thing, which, if you knew our history with him buying clothes for me, is a tremendous feat! mitch hasn’t bought me clothes for a long time because he got frustrated watching me return clothes after clothes that either didn’t fit or that wasn’t quite what i was looking for, or that i thought was to expensive, or …you get the idea. but to my credit, you have to understand that i am a bit neurotic when it comes to buying things for me. i mean, i do the same thing with clothes that I purchase for MYSELF. it would not be uncommon to see me walking around with a shirt or pants that still has the tag on it just in case i decide i don’t like it! crazy, i know! but i digress…

 

so, like i said, the clothing was truly an accomplishment and just added to the incredible day!

i love this man! i love him more than i did on the day that i said “yes!” to his proposal, more than on the day that i married him and gave him my whole heart, more than on the day when our first child was born, more than i did yesterday! he is my best friend! he is my eternal companion! i will forever be his bride! he makes my heart go pitter patter with a glance of his blue eyes or a flash of his brilliant smile.

 

i can’t imagine loving him more, that my heart is capable of more love, but my heart never ceases to amaze me and neither does he!

 

i just read this on another blog,

“They say that a good marriage is the ability to fall in love over and over with the same person.”

according to this standard, i would have to say that we have a VERY good marriage!

seriously, how did i get so lucky??