Hey, Pop.

Hey Pop.

It's been almost 4 months since we've had you here with us... and I can't say that the pain has lessened.  Because it hasn't.  I have voicemails from you, that I play every now and then just to hear your voice. To ease that moment of pain.

Our first round of holidays without you will be here in a few days. Shit. We are not looking forward to celebrating without you.  We WILL have each other though, to hold each other up... just like you taught us.

Miss you so much Pop.  Gwen is getting so big.  She's such a talker, and a dancer, and well, a little ham.  We read her "Family" book almost every day {we did tonight}, and every time we get to your page she smiles and says "Pop-Pop & Mam-Mom." I am so happy that she knows you.  Even if she may not remember her time with you on her own... I will always remind her.

I don't usually speak for anyone other than myself, but I think it is safe to say that we are all especially thankful to have had you in our lives.  To have many many memories with you.  Memories that take that little sting away.  That help clear the lump in our throat. The memories that remind us that you love us just as much as we love and miss you.

Look after us, Pop... even though I know you already are.  Hold us a little tighter these next few months. Visit us in our dreams.  Please.  I miss you.

I love you, Pop.

xoxo.

Free Treat Card - 2 days only!

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I personally LOVE Treat!  It is a great way to make all of our friends and family feel super special with cards that have pictures of them and Gwen, or us on it.  They love it too!

Now, hurry over to Treat! Offer ends 11/20.

I'm going to go make mine now!

xoxo.

***This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.***

Thankful Thursday 2012

Man, WHERE did fall go???

Did it even make a stop here?

Between Sandy and the nor'easter, we had sort of lost track of days. Then, the power came back on and BAM!  We were like, "Oh, shit! Thanksgiving is going to be here before you know it."

So, yes, I slacked on my thankfulness... BUT I am going to make up for it now, because...

...I have SO much to be thankful for.

Join me, won't you? Even if it's just a comment on my post, or FB page, let's be thankful together.

I'm so thankful...

...to be alive. Cliche'? Yup, but I don't care.  Life is so unpredictable and not guaranteed, yet we most often take it for granted.

...for my little family.  Gwen and Jason... ok and Wiley, complete me.  Some days, I wonder how we got so lucky!

...for our loving extended family.

...for dance parties with our tiny dancer.  Girlfriend can boogie.  And she makes sure that everyone else boogies with her.  It's a guaranteed smile laugh!

...hot showers, electricity, cable, cell service, and all of the other technologies that we were missing for a week.  We are glad to have you back!

...that new {used} car shopping is OVER!  It may have only last less than a week, but I think that Hubs and I were ready to wring each other's necks!

...to be done with my Thanksgiving shopping.  Shop-Rite has been an even BIGGER madhouse than usual!

...for those moments when Gwen says, "Momma, meeeeeeee huuuuuuugggga!" and then runs to me, arms wide open, giving me the biggest squeeze.

...to have survived Sandy. I can't believe some of the horrible things that people are having to endure. My heart breaks watching all of the coverage.  We are very lucky.

So, there you have it.  Of course there are many more things that I am thankful for, these are just a few.

What are you thankful for??  I'll leave this up until Black Friday, feel free to link up any time!
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A Bow Day

I was in shock today when Gwen actually wore a headband for longer than 5 seconds, so of course I had to get out my camera... even though we were headed out the door.  Lol. There's always time for a mini photo shoot, right?

My little jumping bean!

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo.

30 Q's - #2

2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

1. Hospitals/needles/doctors/blood - When I was 5 years old, I had pneumonia and a ruptured lung sac and had to be admitted to the hospital.  When they tried to put an IV in, they failed, and failed, and failed some more. I think it took over 5 times.  I remember that room and those moments SO vividly. I HATED every second.  And every since then I have been traumatized!

2. Death - I don't know where this comes from. But I am very afraid of death, not because of where I would be going but who I would be leaving behind. Especially now that I am a wife and mother.  I couldn't imagine my life without them.

3. Spiders/bugs/snakes/anything in that same genre - Isn't that a normal fear? lol. Yes, it's amazing that something so small could cause so much fear... but you bet your ass that I am waking Hubs up in the middle of the night to kill a spider on the wall.  And will be persistent until he does :)

Happy Tuesday! Can't wait for my fill of Jax Teller tonight... SOA!

xoxo.

Holiday Dresses!

This dress, only $15 with free shipping on your first order today on Totsy. This and many more dresses! Hurry!!

Show & Tell: Cold Weather Activities

Linking up with Becky today.

1. Tell us what you like to do when it is cold outside.

Snuggle. Cook, bake, make the house smell cozy. Take pictures of Gwen. Play outside... I think this year is going to be so much fun with Gwen and snow!

2. Tell us some of your favorite "winter" recipes.

I love all things crockpot in the winter. Chicken Noodle Soup. Chili. But lately, I have been in love with this recipe...

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Cindy on Pinterest

3. Show a picture of something that makes you think of the cold.

4. Tell us/show us some of your favorite accessories/outfits for the winter.

Scarves. Boots. Sweaters.  Is there really ANY OTHER attire for the winter in the Northeast? Umm. No. :)

Source: evokingyou.com via Samantha on Pinterest

5. Tell us if you had the option snow or no snow, what would you pick?

Snow, for the first day... then let it disappear.  I am a big fan of snow and how beautiful it is and that I now have an adorable little one who will relish each and every snow day, but I can't stand the melting process.  The slush. Half puddle/Half ice.  Then it freezes over night... and then dun dun dun... Black Ice! Ick! So, yes, I'll take a snow day, but then, BE GONE. :)

Social Sunday: Thanksgiving.

.Thanksgiving.

.Favorite Thanksgiving Memory.

Easy. Our first Thanksgiving as husband and wife. Why? Because we decided to call it quits on the driving to 18,000,000 places for just ONE HOLIDAY and decided that we would stay home each year and invite everyone and anyone.  It was a BIG step for us, sort of standing up for ourselves and for our family.  It has become OUR tradition, and frankly, it feels really good. :)

.Favorite Thanksgiving Food.

I'm not a HUGE Turkey fan, I mean I like it, but I would much rather Ham, so I would have to say stuffing or actually, wait, my Mom's{and Mam-Mom's} candied yams.  Mmmm. Delish.  But my all time favorite was my Pop's Pumpkin Roll, and Pies, man, no one could bake like he could. :(

.What is a Thanksgiving tradition you and your family have?.

Well, see Numero Uno up top.  And of course Football.  What would Thanksgiving be without a little football?  

.Show us a favorite Thanksgiving picture (or 5) from years past.

2010

2011

.What are you most looking forward to about this Thanksgiving?.

Relaxing. Eating. Having some of our family around. And watching Gwen enjoy her time with them. I am also looking forward to the introduction of The Elf on the Shelf!!

Hope you had a great weekend.

xoxo.

Thankful Thursday Coming Up

Last year, I attempted to host a link-up each Thursday of November, sharing what we had to be Thankful for.  Although it was minimally successful, I want to bring it back, for just one day to help get into the spirit of the holidays.

So, next Thursday, November 15th, join me and share all that you have to be thankful for.

I'll have the button up Wednesday of next week.  And here is one from last year.

As for today... we had a snow filled day. Yup, because a hurricane, week long power outage, cold week was not enough... we added a nor'easter.

BUT... it gave me the opportunity to sneak in a photo sesh for our Christmas card!!! Yay!  And although I will not be showing you the actually pic, I'll give you a sneak peak.

xoxo.

Unknowingly Spoiled.

The power came back on last night.

{Thank the good Lord!}

And today, we are falling back into our normal routine a little bit at a time! {Insert HUGE happy face here}

It is amazing the things that we are accustomed to, some that we aren't even aware of...

like flicking a switch. {I can't tell you how many times we walked into a room and flicked the switch, KNOWING that we didn't have power.  It was just instinct. Even Gwen tried to turn the switch on, but quickly told me, "Momma, light's broken"}

heat and hot water.  Let me tell you, I am about to take my first hot shower in a week... and I couldn't be more excited.  I am going to soak that baby in for as long as I can.  We spent the week heating up pots of water and taking fake showers/baths and huddled up in our bedroom {us, Gwen, and Wiley}, trying keep warm.

doing laundry and dishes.  I have NEVER WANTED to do laundry and clean dishes SO much in my entire life. I will GLADLY be spending the day doing both. 

tv. oh, tv.  Just having sound in the house. It was too eerily quiet.  And when we did get tv... it made all the loss, real.  And it hurt.

And keeping a toddler busy for seven days straight... no easy task.  I admit, come day 5, I was starting to lose it a bit.  Jason was working everyday, so it was just us, which isn't far from normal, but not having power definitely made it hard.  

So what did we do?

We colored... alot.

We BEGGED for some cell service to call our families.

We ventured out for some supplies... and to see what damaged had occurred.

We charged anything we could with our generator.

We watched Toy Story 1, 2, & 3... MANY times.

We ate cereal in bed.

We cuddled, in bed, a lot.

We watched the long gas lines {the gas station is 6+ blocks from us}

We shared our bed, with the cutest little cuddlebug.

It was a very long week. Lol.

But.

We have a house.

We are all healthy.

And now we have power!

I couldn't be more grateful!

I am off to fill my day with laundry, dishes, and maybe catching up on some TV.

Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers to all of those suffering from Sandy's damage.

And IF you can please text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to help with Hurricane Sandy Relief!

Thanks so much!

xoxo.

Alive, Yet Heartbroken

We survived Sandy.

We survived with no damage to our house, although lost one of our cars. And we still have no power or heat. BUT, we're alive.

Our families are all ok. And so are their houses.

We are extremely grateful to have made it through Sandy intact. (I must say that a week without power and a toddler can start to drive you a little batty!)

We most definitely are heartbroken for our hometown and the surrounding areas of the Jersey Shore. We grew up there. A lot of our life is still there. And it is beyond painful to watch it all be washed away. To watch other people lose everything. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and please know that we will be there to help rebuild.

We are Jersey Strong and we will get through this. I just know it.

If you can, please text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to help with the Hurricane Sandy relief.

Thanks!

Hope to be getting power back soon.

Xoxo.