A Visit From One of My Favorites

My long time friend Noelle visited on Saturday. She moved to Florida in 2008 but her family is in Connecticut so she comes to visit when she can. I last saw Noelle in February/March of 2012 when I was very pregnant with Nicholas. It was so wonderful to see her and I love that she got to meet Nicholas. It meant a lot to me that she took the time away from her family to make the trip up. We had a great time catching up, eating snacks (read: Kit Kats and Cheez Its!) and attempting to tire Nicholas out (which didn't work).

Nicholas was also kind enough to help me clean up my dusty house before she got here:

Fancy Photo Shoot

I'm not a big fan of fancy photo shoots. Nick bought me a beautiful camera a few years back- although I don't know how to use it properly, it still takes amazing pictures. I feel like since I have this beautiful camera, why am I paying a buttload for someone else to take pictures? I did a photo shoot at Babies R Us with Nicholas when he was six months old and that's it. A friend of mine, Laurie, (who is best friends with my good friend Maggie) started doing photography as a side job last year and she had a great special on a mini photo shoot that I couldn't pass up. Laurie is a friendly, beautiful woman and we had a great time. Here are the results of that shoot. It took place at Shedd Park in Lowell.

If you have a moment and are on Facebook, please like her page: Natural Capture Photography. xoxo

Also, I should point out Laurie and I have the same camera but she is CLEARLY 1,000 times better with it than I am.

Also, yes, I realized my hair looks ridiculous in some of these pictures and I'm getting it cut on Wednesday. I wanted to not cut it for a year (it's been six months) but it is just grossly out of control.

Mom Life

I'm a lot less anxious than I thought I would be as a Mom. I readily admit that I am high strung and can be difficult, but I'm definitely a lot more calm and patient with Nicholas than I thought I would be, and I am very thankful for that.

One problem I've had is that sometimes I envision these awful scenarios where Nicholas gets really hurt because I make a dumb mistake (I've also had these "visions" with Dexter prior to Nicholas being born, and I still do.) Not to get awful and depressing, but for example I imagine me losing Dexter on his leash and him getting hit by a car.

Well, today something pretty awful happened. Nicholas is a huge fan of closing any door that he sees open. Of course Dexter doesn't get this (as much as I might anthropomorphize him - ooh a school word), and still acts pretty much as he always did. Well, Dexter was sticking his head out of the sliding glass door that Nick left open while he threw out some garbage and Nicholas happily closed it..thank God, slowly, on Dexter's head. Dexter yelped and pulled away and thankfully I was about two feet away and everyone was ok.

THIS is what I'm talking about people. This fear of these awful things happening. I know all was ok, but I also know I will probably have nightmares about it tonight.

With that being said..I hugged and kissed and gave Dexter even more treats than normal. Also, I gave him a little photo shoot (because I'm slightly nuts you guys, get over it.)

Kisses to my furry child. xoxo

A Day in the Life Of

Nick and I had a wedding last night (yes, on a Thursday, and yes, it was awesome) so I kept forgetting that today was Friday. Nick took the day off so it was great for all of us to be together.

Here's the day, in pictures. I failed to take pictures of the delicious dinner (Brussel sprouts, whole wheat pasta, lemon, parmesan, garlic, butter) and muffins (fresh pears, whole wheat flour, almonds, etc) I made, but lets just say they rocked.

Life Update

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I have been this happy. It's a whole new world not having a job (I still say things like "oh well I'm off on Monday" and then say duh..) but things have never been better. I always felt that being a stay at home mom (or dad) was one of the hardest job in the world, and I still agree with that. At work, you can take a break. You can go to the snack machine, take a walk at lunch, talk to a co worker, etc. When you're home with a child, those things don't really exist. You can't even pee alone. You can't have a (warm) meal all to yourself. I'm not complaining one bit.

I feel so lucky to have this time with Nicholas and I enjoy every single moment. Even when he won't nap or thinks it's hilarious to hit me 100 times in a row or cry for no reason at all. There's no where else I'd rather be than with him. It's the best.

School is going wonderful. I am really enjoying my classes and am learning a lot. I thought I knew a lot about animals but I've already learned so much more. I look at both Basha and Dexter differently and already feel that I can understand them better. I have my first big test coming up next Thursday and although I'm nervous, I think I'll do well. I haven't really talked to any of my classmates, but it's funny to hear them talk about their boyfriends, parents, etc. Gosh, I am so much older than them. :)

xoxo

Maggie's Baptism

This past Sunday we celebrated the baptism of Maggie. Maggie is Nick's cousin Sam's daughter and she is an adorable little girl, just a few months younger than Nicholas. Sam and his wife Aisling are two of our favorite people and we felt so incredibly special to be a part of such an important and wonderful day. Nicholas didn't know what the heck was going on, but had a blast exploring the church and running around like a mad man. Alexis was kind enough to take photos while I chased him.