Love list: A big thanks

There's pretty much only one Love that matters on the list this week. The Austin Fire Department.

I'm a little nervous to share this with you because I'm really ashamed of what happened. And it was really traumatic. Tuesday we were headed to the pool to meet Em's playgroup. They had been there for a while and we were the last to get there due to a late (and not great) nap. I got in the backseat with Em to buckle her into her car seat, tossed my keys in the front seat, buckled her up, shut the door, went around the car and.... the door was locked. I don't even know how - the car cannot lock when doors are open. It makes a loud warning buzz to tell you a door is open and it can't lock. I tried all doors, already getting frantic. We have no spare key. The car wasn't on and it's Texas. In July. And it was 4 p.m. As I called Hans to tell him what was going on, I went in the garage to get a hammer thinking I would just bust out the window. But Hans is so good about being calm when I'm panicking. He instructed me to call AAA. They said they could send a guy, but it would take 20 minutes, so they also called the fire department. The nearest station house is about a mile away - I heard the sirens immediately. Minutes later four very nice gentlemen used some crazy tool to pry the door open enough to thread it through and unlock the car. During all of this, Emma just sat in her seat waving at Mama, giving me weird looks because I was crying and hysterical, and playing with her baby doll. Only near the end did she start to whimper, and I think that was actually because the four big firemen trying to break into the car may have scared her. She wasn't even sweaty and from the time the door shut until they got it open again was no more than 15 minutes, with the car in the shade. But I was a sobbing, shaking mess and sat there clutching my daughter while they checked her out to make sure she's ok.

I have literally had nightmares about this happening and it was one of the longest and worst 15 minutes I have ever experienced. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I am so thankful I had my phone (I usually leave it in the diaper bag in the back seat and just happened to have it this time), thankful that Hans was calm enough to help me call for help, and I am so, so, so grateful to these quick firemen for freeing my sweet girl. I recognize that this situation could have been so very much worse and I am so grateful that she is ok. A big, big thank you to those wonderful firefighters.

Folks, be extra careful with your little ones in the car. Make sure you have a spare key. Leave another door or window open while you put them in their car seats. And should this ever happen to you, call the fire department. Hopefully yours will be as quick and amazing as ours.

And now because that was extra heavy, I present the rest of the Love List to lighten the mood, though it seems pretty inconsequential right now. Maybe that's why I need it - to help me focus on some good moments from this week, no matter how small or silly. Celebrate little wins, right?

2. Peek a Zoo
Bapa has been sending a lot of books. Best Bapa award. We love them all, but he really hit it out of the park with this one. It's called Peek a Zoo and there's really not much to it. But for some reason the kid is obsessed with it. She will literally read it over and over again. As soon as finish it, she demands to start over. One day last week we read it nine times in a row. I'm a little sick of it but I do love how much she loves it. It's adorable. Thanks, Bapa.

3. New bathing suits
We just booked flights for a little vacation in California (in a couple months). I am so very excited. We are planning to live at the beach with our little water bug. Shortly after buying tickets and as I was getting Em dressed to go to the pool, I realized that a) her swimsuits are a little snug right now and may not fit at all by the time we go to Cali and b) it's almost the end of summer and in a couple weeks swimsuits will be hard to find! I rushed over to the mall to see if I could find any and was very, very pleasantly surprised - BabyGap was having a huge end of season sale. So I snagged THREE at about $6 a pop. I was on such a shopping high. It *almost* made up for the fact that it broke my heart buying my baby girl 2T clothes...

4. YouTube curling tutorials
Remember last week how much I sucked at curling my hair? I'm getting better! Mostly thanks to this video from Gal Meets Glam. I have been practicing and I think it's helping. But seriously, I watched a ton of youtube videos and this one was by far the most helpful.

5. The new gym
My younger brother (the one that recently moved in with us) got us a membership to this amazing gym near our house, LifeTime. That's the beautiful pool you keep seeing in our pictures. I'm kinda obsessed with it and we go there almost every day. They have a great child care center that we tried for the first time a week ago. I planned to take a Pilates class so I got there 30 minutes early to give us time for her to get used to the center and acclimated and all that. She ran right in and started playing right away and didn't even notice me leave. I ended up chilling in the hall for half an hour waiting for the class. Almost every time we go (today being the one exception and I blame teeth) she runs in all happy and excited and plays hard for 1-2 hours. And goes home tired :) And I go work out, guilt-free! (slash... sit in the cafe and drink a smoothie and work on some freelance writing... What. Mom's gotta get it done). I haven't really done much besides the Pilates class yet and I'm suspicious that the instructor might be a spandex-clad spawn of satan. Seriously, every part of my body hurts after just two classes. Planks. Arms. Ouch. But seriously, we love this gym. Thanks, Josh!