U paint It

Today is Cinco de Mayo and I didn't celebrate with a margarita. I celebrated it with my plus one, Maranda, as well as Payce. Yes, I let Payce skip school. She is a AB student and I checked with her teacher to make sure it was ok before I pulled her out for the day.  Maranda is finished with classes and said she would love to take a break from finals to spend the day playing with Payce and I. I truly can't believe she has two more years left and she will graduate from Texas A&M.

Maranda texted me two weeks ago and said for my birthday she had a coupon to U Paint It and she wanted to take me there for my Birthday.  Today was the day, but what the girls didn't know was I had a surprise for them both. I didn't tell Maranda that Payce was coming and I didn't tell Payce that Maranda was coming. I get to see Maranda once a month but Payce doesn't get to see her at all since she moved to Bryan.

The girls were so excited to see each other. We decided on Golden Corral for lunch. They walked in hand and hand and it made me a very sad because Payce misses Maranda so much. They have a very special bond even now. After we sat down I went to the bathroom and when I came out both girls were having dessert. They are my kids!!! I taught them well. It is always dessert first when it is a fun day. The girls laughed and giggled and Maranda and I got to talk a little and then we headed to our next stop.

U Paint It was cool. We have never been. Just in case you haven't even been here's what you do. You walk around and pick out your pottery and then get to paint it. Payce picked a horse of course. Her horse was black. She decided Maranda and I were taking to long so she went and washed it off and painted it all different colors. I painted a cupcake. I'm thinking that is the name I'm going to give myself for my grandkids to call me. It also represents my birthday. The cool thing is the sprinkles on the cupcake were our fingerprints to represent the day.

Maranda picked a monarch butterfly coffee mug. That really got me to thinking. When I first met Maranda we were both in the Chrysalis or the Pupa stage of that butterfly. I was closed off from the world fighting my battle with depression, anxiety and other things and she was fighting to reunite with her family. Now look at us. We are both beautiful monarch butterflies thriving in our environment. I think we picked perfect pieces that represented all of us. When it was time to pay Maranda had her wallet out to pay. Of course I didn't let her but it is the little things with me and the fact that she would spend her own money on me was one of the really big little things. Proud FP moment.

Then we headed next door for a real cupcake at Cupcake Couture. It was so yummy We each got a cupcake and a cake ball. I had to laugh because while we were there this lady walked in and opened the drink cooler and her three year old grabbed an apple juice. The mom said, "put it back we have that at home, have a water." I just busted out laughing because I hope they have water at home too. I know, I know I just can't get away from the topic of water!!!

When I looked up at the time it was time to leave because we had to be at the ball park at 5:00 pm for Landon's game. As we dropped Maranda off I was so happy she went out of her way to spend the day with me and took a break from her studying. If you know her that says a lot about how she feels about me. I love her and am so glad that after almost two and half years she still wants to be part of our life. I'm so blessed to have been chosen as her FP and now we are her plus 5. She is our little monarch butterfly. I can't wait to see her spread her wings and fly. Just don't go to far Maranda, we would miss you.

At this point your thinking did I miss who Maranda is and how does she know Kay?  The truth is how we met isn't my story to tell anymore but I like to think of it as that Texas sayin "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could." She may not have been born in our family but she got here as fast as she could.