Post-partum elation?

First of all, this weather: so good, it is almost obscene. I just went outside to locate my three and seven year old sons, who had decided to ride around the neighborhood sans helmets or shoes, but with dirt smeared faces and brown feet, and I stepped out into the orange blossom filled 75 degree evening. It was a heady moment of pure joy. Does anything smell better than orange blossoms? Perhaps only warm sugar cookies with brown butter frosting. But perhaps not. Is maybe a tie.

I keep having these moments. I got teary-eyed while listening to Coldplay on the way to pick Jane up at a birthday party; my heart swelled whilst doing dishes and thinking about how lucky I am to be able to see the Superstition Mountains out my kitchen window; I couldn't stop grinning as I planted my feet on the coffee table during conference today and stared at my skinny-again feet and ankles, thinking wow, those are some gorgeous feet, Kelly (not really so gorgeous, at size 10AA, with at least 2 inches of toe); sitting up at 4:30 in the morning after a feeding, watching my baby sleep and not wanting to put him down.

I know I mentioned it before, but I think I have the opposite of post-partum depression. It is like, after the baby is born, I get giddy and happy again. I feel like I'm back.

I also feel like a supermodel. The swelling is mostly gone. My tummy is mostly flat (is a gift from the genetic gods, not result of any sort of exercise or diet program, hahaha, like anyone would accuse me of exercise), my hair still shiny and thick. I don't even care about the 30 more pounds I'm carrying around on my backside. I don't have to look at it!

Sorry if you sit behind me in Church, though.

And this whole thing where people send me flowers,

and bring me dinners every night with plates and plates of cookies,

or boxes of See's chocolates,

and tiny outfits,

and fresh eggs from their very own chickens,

or loaves of warm, homemade bread,

and take my kids to the movies and me out to lunch,

and my Mom comes over and does my laundry,

and does my dishes,

and I can take naps at 8 am or 10 am or 1 pm

(although I've only worked that one like twice),

and people don't even blink when I answer the door wearing Jake's sweats at dinnertime,

and all I have to do is hold my baby,

which is what I want to do anyhow?

This is a good thing I've got going over here.

It just seems funny to me cause I feel so much better now than I did in the first months of pregnancy, when I was barfing so hard my eyes were bleeding.

Those were some rough times.

I feel like a phoenix rising, and yet everyone is coddling me. It is so lovely. Thanks, everyone. I'll send you proper notes in the mail very soon.

As if all this isn't enough, my baby slept for seven hours last night. IN A ROW. And he is 1.5 weeks old. Now, the pregnant Kelly would say, that was a fluke, he's just getting my hopes up, but the regular Kelly says, wonderful! That's one night of sleep I didn't expect to get!

Now I'm going to go eat some Cadbury eggs for dinner, hold my baby, and stare at my beautiful ankles some more. Maybe I'll paint my toenails, since I can reach them again!

Happy Easter, all!

I'm making lime jello fluff, which is my favorite. How are you celebrating?