i'm alive, i swear! and challenge day 4: my parents

sorry i've been MIA for a bit. i've started my new job, and things have been a little hectic as i get back into the groove of being a working mom. so far the job is stressful and a bit confusing because there is a definite learning curve. i love my co-workers, though, and i'm sure once i get the hang of it everything will be alright.

now, onto day 4 of the 30 day challenge: my parents......wooooooooo, boy.

my second halloween with mommy and daddy
(both 18 years old in this pic). holy mullet.

me, mommy, and daddy on the big day, 7/7/07

my mommy (yes, i still call her "mommy"), or "uh-ma," as ryan calls her. oh, susan...where to begin? she is ridiculous and inappropriate and balances perfectly between constructive criticism and support, and being my friend and being my parent. she's amazing. all my friends love her and have constantly commented on how awesome she is and how lucky i am to have such a cool mom. it definitely helps that she is comparatively young (only 18 years older than me). i've always felt that i can be open with her. i definitely owe it to the small age gap between us and how honest she has always been about her own experiences.

my entire wedding day she marched around demanding people tell her

how pretty she was. looking at her, i know exactly how i'll look in

another couple decades. i think i'll be ok. =]

then there's gary, my daddy (yes, "daddy"), or "uh-pa" to ryan and kiki. he plays the grumpy bad-ass introvert act a lot, but between tommy and the grand babies, he has definitely mellowed out and loosened up. growing up, my friends were always very intimidated by him because he was very quiet and would only talk when absolutely necessary (with as few words as possible). then tommy came along about seven and a half years ago, and everything changed.

my friends will attest to the fact that my dad is nowhere near as scary as he used to be. my maid of honor, erin, still brags that on my wedding day, he actually spoke to her: "hey, tina has to pee" (as my maid of honor, erin was on potty-break-dress-holding-up-duty). my wedding day was the beginning of the end of his scary image; i wish someone  had managed to get a picture of him running around the reception hall with a rainbow belt wrapped around his head, shouting his support of alternative lifestyles and how chocolate cake shots do, in fact, taste like chocolate cake. epic. truly.

during the father-daughter dance

i sobbed. he got misty as well (though he'll never admit it) 

and, because i feel they deserve some recognition too, there are also my in-laws, tom and maria. they welcomed me into their family the day tommy introduced me to them and have never stopped supporting me. they are insanely generous and thoughtful. i am so fortunate to have lucked out in the in-law department; although we have hit a couple bumps along the way, they are amazing and we have a great relationship.

so there you have it: the people who have loved me and supported me my entire life (or in my in-laws' case, from the day they came into it). i am who i am because of them, and i am eternally grateful. thank you guys -- i love you so much!