how have i not posted about this?

my friend? my friend alana?

how in the world have i not posted about our meeting?

but first let me give you a history. alana? yeah, she's my first ever commenter who i didn't know. she gave me a big head about myself. i'm like, "who is alana? what is a kiss, a hug, and a squeeze? why is she visiting my blog?"

and then, i noticed she started commenting on a regular basis. and so i decided to head on over to her little neck of the woods. and i was SO loving her little abode.

she is real. she is honest. she is encouraging. she has LOADS of friends.

go ahead. head on over there. look at all of them. i'll wait.

see? lots and lots of people love her. and i am one of them. so when i heard she was coming to my neck of the woods, i politely invited her over for tea.

or maybe i YELLED WITH LOTS AND LOTS OF CAPS that SHE BETTER COME PLAY WITH MY KIDS AND ME AT A MALL WHERE WE CAN EAT FAST FOOD AND PLAY.

remembering that she has kids of her own, i'm sure she was thrilled to play with kids on her vacation. without her kids. and you know my venue of choice. malls. with play areas. for my children to release loads and loads of energy.

so, we decided to meet. and you know what's weird? i wasn't nervous. at all. we decided on a time. i saw her standing by the play area and i knew it was her. weird seeing that i had never met her. and we showed up. we hugged. like old friends hug. she met big h and the goo. and, of course, felt as though she knew them. so we talked. well, in between me telling big h not to lay on top of goo and both of us making sure we knew where pink blankie was at all times. she also felt as though she had met pink blankie. crazy. weird. fun. guess that's the thing about blogs.

then, we headed to lunch. and headed out for some shopping. and to be honest, i think it was nice for her not to have to corral anyone. but my kids totally took to her. we finally parted ways. i hugged her tight. again, like old friends do. my kiddos said their goodbyes. and we headed back to where our car was parked. i let big h and the goo play in a little toy store for a little while.

when i realized that goo had had an accident. and let's just say not a #1 accident.

so i texted my new friend (whose cell phone number i now had and she probably wished i didn't) and told her we might see each other again after all.

and my new friend? that i just met? texted me with "i'm in children's place. what size does she wear? and i'll bring it to wherever you are."

i know.

so we met at children's place to score goo some really inexpensive stuff.

and seriously. it was like i had run into an old friend at the mall. except this old friend lives MILES away.

i'm so glad we're pals. and i'm POSITIVE she would tell you i'm just as much a delight as my blog. :) and humble.

why does big h make these faces?

amy franklin, what do you think of her dress? see how great she looks? can we please hang out again soon so i can give this back? or i'm pretty sure i'll keep it forever. :)

here we are. aren't we cute?

sure do love you, alana. come back any time.