I have always loved you, you can see it in my eyes

When we got home from church yesterday, Tony took Ari straight upstairs for a nap. We had gone out to lunch and she had drifted off in the car, so her nap was well overdue. He changed her diaper and her clothes, while I flitted around the upstairs doing other things.

Tony laid her down in her crib, but she popped right back up, which is really unusual for her--she's usually so good about going to sleep. She had her pacifier in her mouth, and she stood at the end of the crib, babbling and pointing out the door. The commotion caught my attention because, like I said, it's unusual for her to fight her nap. I went in the room to see what was going on, and her babbling went down a notch, as though whatever it was she was trying to say had something to do with getting me into the room. I kissed her on the forehead and said, "Good night," and without another moment's hesitation, she laid herself down on her belly. Tony covered her with a blanket, and we shut the door... and she went to sleep without another peep. I walked around with a big grin on my face for the next several minutes.

She was in a great mood when she woke up from her nap, and we had a really good evening together, just us girls (Tony went to a friend's house to watch a movie). She had her moments a couple times, but actually listened to me pretty well. For example, I was letting the dogs out when Ari decided to chuck her sippy cup on the floor, hard. I turned to look at her, and said, "No, we don't throw our cup. Pick it up."

She stared right back, and whined, "No."

I fixed the I-Mean-Business Stare on her, and simply asked, "Do you want a spanking?" hoping she didn't realize I was powerless to do anything at that moment, since I had both dogs' leashes in my hand.

"No," she whimpered back, flopping onto the floor in perfect drama-queen mode.

"Then pick it up and put it on the table."

She contemplated her options for a moment, then finally, slowly, reached over to pick it up. I gently reminded her that her next step was to put it on the table, and she did. "Good job, honey, thank you," I praised her.

She glanced at me, then started clapping for herself, while a big smile spread across her face.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I mentioned last week that Tony was taking my car in to have a new stereo installed. He did that last Thursday. But then he decided that my car was in desperate need of a deep-cleaning, inside and out, and he took it on himself to clean my car like it's never been cleaned before. He got it washed and did a special treatment on the tires to make them incredibly glossy. Then he cleaned all the crap out of my trunk--let's just say my trunk was virtually unusable because it was so crammed full of junk. And pretty much everything in there was junk--which is why the trunk is now empty. He also detailed the entire inside of my car--it looks brand-new inside (and even smells brand-new, thanks to the "new car smell" air freshener he added). I wish I had thought to take before and after pictures, but I had no idea the difference would be so dramatic. He's quite proud of himself, and he should be. He literally spent hours doing this.

At one point during the day on Friday, I was talking to him on the phone while he was in the midst of cleaning. He told me he was cleaning out the center console in my car. "There is just so much trash in here," he commented.

"Well, it's not all trash. Don't just go throwing out everything."

"What do you mean? It's all just old receipts and expired coupons and stuff like that."

"Well, some of it is notes to myself and stuff like that. I need that."

He paused, thinking over what I'd just said. "You mean like that old car wash coupon that has the word 'GAS' written on the back of it in big letters?"

"Um... yes."

"How is that important?"

"That's how I remind myself to get gas."

Another pause. "So what do you do--on the days you need to fill up, you put that card on your dashboard or something?" I could hear him stifling laughter.

"Maybe. Or I just put it on my passenger seat where I'll see it." Little bits of laughter were escaping him at this point, so I defensively added, "Well, otherwise I'd forget!" Which was obviously not the right thing to say, since it induced him to make some age-related jokes.

When I got home that afternoon, he wasted no time in showing off the car, and I oohed and ahhed appropriately. He showed me my new stereo, and popped in a CD so that I could hear. He even made me sit in the driver's seat, so that I could fully appreciate the cleanliness of my car. Then, pointing at the emergency brake between my driver and passenger seat, he said, "Look there."

I glanced down, and saw this card...



I laughed and rolled my eyes at the same time, but he just grinned, and told me to pick it up. When I did so, I realized it was not just one card--it was a whole pile. There were other car-related reminders...



And more reminders, along with other silliness...



(Those are Ari's grabby little mitts in that picture.)

Isn't he a nut? Now I know where Ari gets it from.

And the sad thing is.. I will probably actually use most of these, for real.

But even if I don't use them, I will probably hang onto these little "love notes" forever.