Stressed, But Beautiful

Since my last post on the baby blog we've received some wonderful news from our families (a new baby and a Cali wedding next year), taken another trip to the Dr. with little Lucy (the dermatologist says her birthmark is a port wine stain. not horrible, but a PITA we need to constantly keep track of until we can treat it), and had our front lawn torn up by a backhoe (the village is finally fixing the swamp). Not to mention, with Christmas right around the corner and Lucy banned from the mall and all other shopping centers (her Dr. does not want her out for fear of cold & flu season) I have started to really stress about the handful of gifts we still need to buy. (Those of you on our list will most likely be enjoying handmade knitty things, gift cards, and great Amazon finds...) It is a hectic time around here and I have resorted to living (and, if I may add, thriving) off of cold coffee and adrenaline while I adjust to life without sleep and way too much to do (diapering, shopping, cleaning, cooking, birth announcements, laundry, Christmas cards, blah, blah, blah, yuck).
This morning, while I was sitting around unshowered and in yesterday's pj's (which just happens to be my new way of dressing up), drinking coffee, reading emails, and checking out my cousin's blog, I came across a new post by her that made me feel great about my disheveled existence. Apparently she had been having a similar morning and was reminded of something her sis said to her about being "cute" and "pretty" sometime back:
"you can spend all the time in the world "making yourself pretty" for a day/night out, but the next day, no matter who you are, your makeup runs or wears off, your clothes go out of style, and your hair gets bed head. A good heart, fun personality, and the quirks that make you "cute" never fade."
It was what I needed to hear this morning. Granted, I'm not exactly functioning anywhere near what I would consider cute right now either, but I do have a wonderful husband that still tells me I'm beautiful when I'm stressed out in 2 day old pj's, a mangy ponytail, and children clinging to my limbs (among other things). He encourages me to feel beautiful all of the time, something I could not manage on my own.
So, Jenny & Megan, thanks for helping me keep things in perspective...now if you don't mind I'm going to try to shower because 3 days is a little too long to let some things go.