Well

Well, I've already fallen off the wagon with posting, haha. But honestly, we have not had too much going on, which is a pretty great thing! The last few weekends have been pretty low key, we had a children's party here and there, but we've had a really great time just relaxing, and just "being." With all the terrible and insane things that are happening in the world right now, it's nice to just focus on the things that are most important- family, friends, and being happy.

I'm really enjoying school and as this is my last class, I will be sad when it is over. I'm taking Fundamentals of Animal Health and it's very interesting and exciting for me, which makes it easy to go to class when I have it. I have a relatively big class (25 students) and I see a lot of familiar faces and friends so that is nice too.

We celebrated Alice's 3rd birthday a few weeks ago and our friends Andrew and Shaela had a party for their 2 and 1 year old, Ashlyn and Kailyn. It's always good to be with friends we've known for years and to see their beautiful children grow (and same goes for family, of course).

Hope you are all well and enjoying life. I know I am.

xoxo

A Great New Year

Last Wednesday I headed to New York for a few days. Nicholas will be starting kindergarten (!!!) in the fall and I realized we won’t be able to just get up and go visit whenever we want. My last class starts next week and I will be graduating from my certificate program this May and plan on getting a job once Nicholas starts school as well. The type of work I will be looking for (anything with dogs, really!) will most likely have me working weekends and even holidays. My Dad recently also turned 71 and as much as I do not like to admit it, he’s not a spring chicken anymore. I want him to get to see Nicholas and spend as much time with him as possible, so I’m glad we were able to make the long trip down.

The week before we were leaving I heard from my long time friend Lisa, and she invited me to her stepfather Steve’s 75th birthday. I thought that was such a wonderful gesture (I’ve known her and Steve since we were kids) and I was glad I got to make it there. Her Mom told me that Lisa was so excited when she learned that I could go, and that just made my heart happy. We played trivia about Steve and I actually did pretty well- the memories of the farm where we worked as teenagers had me laughing so hard. Nicholas ran around with another young boy and Lisa said it was really great because the boy was usually pretty shy- if anyone can bring someone out of their shell, it’s Nicholas. That’s one of the many things I love about him. Nicholas made so many friends and Steve told me that he was simply adorable :)

Nicholas and I also got to meet my brother Dylan and his wife Mariana’s son, our new nephew and cousin Ethan, for the first time. Our plan was to visit for a few hours but we ended up getting snowed in and spending the night. Mariana was wonderfully welcoming and Dylan picked up dinner on his way home from work- we had a great time and I don’t get to see them nearly as often as I would like so it was great to spend time with them.

Erik and Joe’s house was wonderful as always, not too much chaos with the dogs- I left Dexter at home this time around and we missed him (oh and Nick too, haha), so much! Nicholas is really attached to and loves Uncle Joe so much- as we were driving down I asked if he was excited to see everyone and he said ‘I’m so excited to see Uncle Joe.” It’s good to be home and I’m looking forward to the upcoming celebrations we have in the coming weekend.

xoxo

Lila's Birthday

I met my friend Maggie in 2007 at my former employer. She had just started and I was there for about 4 years- she was training in my office and we happened to have lunch at the same time. I was rambling on about how I had recently gotten engaged, and come to find out Maggie and her husband Adam had just gotten married at the reception hall that Nick and I had booked. We quickly became friends (I think when I got back to my desk I emailed her about going out to dinner).

Maggie and I have been friends since then and we've had the most wonderful relationship. Her daughter Lila was born just about 5 years ago, and when I became a Mom about 4 years ago she was one of the friends that truly saved me when I was at my wits end. I am so lucky to know her and am so grateful that she is in my life. Awhile back she told Nick that when we met it was "love at first sight" and I think that is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

I also want to mention- I recently joined a Mom group on Facebook and the first post I made was very positive and in less than 24 hours I was torn apart, called a Sanctimommy, and left the group. I apologized for offending anyone, and left it at that. I will never sink to the level of attacking people on the internet that I don't even know. I try to take the high road and am very fortunate that I am surrounded by a wonderful group of women friends.

Ok, enough of my sappy self- here are some pictures of our wonderful day celebrating Lila!

Nicholas' 4th Birthday

For the last 6 months or so Nicholas has gone back and forth with 5-10 ideas about what he wanted for his 4th birthday. For those of you that know me, I am a super organized gal so the faster I could nail the plan down, the better. Being a Mom, I realize know matter how much you try and plan, that doesn't always work out. Well I kinda SWAYED him in to the construction vehicle theme, and I am thankful to say that it all worked out. I tried to tone it down this year with guests, but we are so beyond lucky to have so many wonderful friends that it was a huge party.

I also want to note that Nick has maintained friendships for the last 20+ years and it is just so awesome to see all the kiddos growing up together. It is truly what life is all about.

My 36th Birthday

I'll be the first to say I absolutely love celebrating my birthday. This year I went low key and just had a great gathering with some of my favorite friends. I specifically requested "shrimp and mozzarella sticks" for the night, and Nick happily obliged, haha. My friend Deanna made me the most beautiful and delicious birthday cake. We laughed, ate, and drank the night away. :)

Sistah Boo Wedding

Hey everyone! So, as you know I am super far behind in my posting- I've got this wonderful ongoing list of blogs I intend to write, but just can't seem to find the time to do it! The (not so little) guy went to bed on the earlier side tonight so I have a little bit of free time, woohoo!

Alexis and Rich were married on February 6th and it was the beyond perfect day. Alexis was hoping for snow and she got the perfect amount the day before the wedding. The photos we have seen so far are absolutely amazing, and we cannot wait to see the rest!

We got ready at the Renaissance Golf Club, where the wedding took place. It was exciting, relaxing, and so much fun, to say the very least. It was great to be together and to see Alexis smile approximately every 30 seconds was absolutely wonderful.

The ride to the church was filled with anticipation. The ceremony was perfect- Nick and I kept stealing glances at each other and smiling like dopes, remembering how almost 8 years before we were in the very same spot as Alexis and Rich. It was beautiful and mesmerizing to watch the two of them exchange vows, knowing they are headed for a wonderful lifetime of being together.

The reception was so much fun- our friends Matt and Deanna were there and we had SUCH a blast together. Dancing (and of course drinking..) the night away. It was truly a wonderful winter fairy tale, from beginning to end.

We love you Alexis & Rich! <3 xoxo

Halloween 2015

Hey folks! It has been wayyyy too long. I partly blame my recent binge watching of House of Cards, but also life, as always, has been crazy- crazy wonderful, of course.

Here's my long overdue Halloween post!

When Nicholas was born we started a tradition of inviting over friends and family for Halloween. We are lucky to have a great neighborhood. The houses are close together and we get approximately 100+ trick or treaters. It is SO fun to watch, we even had a great time before Nicholas was born. This year Nick's brother and wife came over with the kiddos as well as our friends Matt & Jen and their daughter Eva, my Mom was visiting, and Nick's parents and sister stopped in to see everyone as well.

Nicholas went back and forth a lot on his costume (Iron Man, Superman, Wolverine, a super dino robot....) and one day he pulled out his Superman shirt today and I said "how about you be Superman for Halloween?" And it was settled! My brother Erik has bought his costume every year and this year was no exception. The costumer came in and Nicholas was in love, haha. I let him try it on but then had to hide it so he didn't ruin it before Halloween came.

Also, Teddy's birthday falls on Halloween so we celebrated his big day as well. <3 Here are some pictures of the night.

This Dude.

Just wanted to give a shout out to my handsome little dude. We went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese today. Always a blast, right? Although it might not be a parents favorite place to be, Nicholas started screeching when we pulled into the parking lot because he was so excited.

I know I'm biased because he is my kid, but man oh man. This little 3 year old is polite, says hello to everyone, says please and thank you, and almost always has a smile on his face. When it was time to leave he understood we had to go and didn't put up a fight. I know some of it has to do with our parenting, but we are truly lucky to have such a cool little dude.

Love you, booger.