A Match Made In Puerto Rico

We are off celebrating the wedding of my best friend, Jennifer to my hubs' cousin, Tim!!

It all began six years back, when Hubs (then fiance) and I, began planning our destination wedding... we also began planning who we could set up with who.  And our immediate thinking was his "best man" and my "maid of honor."   We weren't even "quiet" about it either, we were all "HEY! Got someone perfect for you!"  Yeah, we didn't make it awkward at all. LOL.

In October of 2009, we all packed it up and headed down to Puerto Rico for the big day/weekend, and, to make a long story short... they were inseparable... from day one.

They just clicked.

It didn't matter that they lived in different states.  That they didn't no what the future held.  They just followed their hearts...

...which led her to moving to a new state.

...both finding new jobs.

...to her finally becoming dog person.

...to them both finding the loves of their lives.

...to their wedding day...

which is today!!!

I can't say that I knew that day in Puerto Rico would lead to this, but I sure am happy it did!  In a few short hours, my best friend of 24+ years, becomes my family... legally!!

MORE importantly, I have never seen either of them as happy as they are when they are together.

Jen and Tim, we wish you many, many, many years of love, happiness, friendship, and blessings!!  Enjoy every second of the day, and make sure to take a minute, just you two, and appreciate the amazing thing that you guys put together.  Can't wait to party with you!

Here's a pic of them on their first "date" :

And here they are last night at their rehearsal dinner.

Let the fun begin ;)

What A Strange Milestone.

At first, I had a completely different post written for this day.  A sad and somber post, about how much I miss my Pop on his first birthday in Heaven.  But, if he were here, he would have quickly said, "Cut the shit, Sammy.  Now, let's go to AC and win some money!" And that's the honest truth.

So instead of sulking, I'm celebrating.

My Pop had an amazing life.  Of course a life still filled with trials and tribulations, but a life that many would envy.  He had an infectious laugh and smile.  He knew how to put a positive spin on everything all while teaching you a life lesson.  He had a huge heart.  He gave everyone second chances. And he loved to have fun.

I could go on and on about how amazing he is, but for anyone that knew him, they already know how great he is.

So, maybe today, instead of us being down that he isn't here, let's celebrate for him... because, let's face it, he's up there having a big ole' party himself :)

Pop, I do miss you.  We all do.  But today, I'm gonna do it your way... the Pop way.

Happy Birthday, Pop-Pop!  I miss those wrinkly hands! Love you SO much!

The Best Kind Of Surprise.

One January morning, four girls (who've known each other since before they knew how to walk in heels), sat down to a very Sex and the City breakfast to catch up on each others lives.  And that morning, our lives were all changed when a pair of tiny little Uggs sent straight from Australia were placed on the table.

We SHRIEKED!

Another little one to add to our clan.  The joy was overwhelming... except for one little tidbit.  Baby's Auntie would not get to enjoy any of the pregnancy.  She would be away "Down Under" until after the due date.  And we all saw the hurt in Momma's eyes.

THAT day, we went home and the planning began.

A surprise shower.

With a surprise guest.

The next few months flew by, and before we knew it, the big day was here... and she had no idea.

The day was amazing, the plan...perfect.

Here are some pics from my best friend's baby shower, and the most heartwarming reuniting of sisters I think that I will ever encounter.

Now we wait for Baby Harrison's arrival... :)

  

Wreck-It-Ralph, Baby Jesus, Wake Up Calls, and a Life Vest

Linking up with Melissa today :)

Every since Christmas, Gwen has called every book she has about God, The Bible, Jesus, etc., "The Baby Jesus book."  "Baby Jesus" for short.  And the way she says it, is oh so cute.  The other morning, she woke up and was calling Jason, "Daaaad, c'meeeeereee.  I GOTTA find Baby Jesus!"  I died.

It's been no secret that Wreck-It Ralph has taken over our household, but lately we have even taken it into the public.  After checking out of places like the grocery store, I usually tell Gwen to say goodbye to whomever has helped us at check out, especially if they were sweet and engaged conversation with her.  And what does my daughter say, "BYE!  SEE YOU LATER! GOING TO LISTEN TO WRECK-IT RALPH!"  Although, I know what she is saying, to them it sounds like "BYYEEE DLJFEWPTUSGLJSLEJT'IAGU;LTHL'ATUPGUPU!"  So, the look on there face is one of those "Oh-kaaaaaay."  But they giggle, as do I, and they appreciate the acknowledgement.

The other morning, I picked Gwen up out of bed and brought her into our room to lay with us, as it was still a little early.  Jason was still sort of sleeping and had his back to us trying to catch a few extra minutes.  Well, she wasn't fond of that one.  She poked him in the back and said, "Good MORNING, Dad!  It's ME, Gwen!"  Hey, my girl knows how to make an entrance.

Yesterday was a decently nice day out, just a little brisk in the morning, so when left the house early, I figured that a vest would be fine for her.  As I was zipping her up she asked, "Mom, go on boat?!?"  At first, I couldn't figure out why she would say that, but then I realized, she actually remembered going on her Grandma & Grandpa and Gigi's boats.  And that she had to wear a life vest!  How crazy!?!  I laughed and said, "No, baby, no boat today... soon though." Love my smart little cookie!

Hope you all have a fabulous Saturday!

Finish the Sentence...

I am linking up with Holly and Jake today!

1. I laughed so hard I cry when... ever someone falls. I can't help it. I can't even muffle it while I ask them if they need any help. They must hate it, but I have no control over it. 

2. My high school... has gone to shit.  I didn't think that it was bad when I was there, but some of the stories that I hear these days are sad and sickening.

3. It really pisses me off... when I see "Baby On Board"  signs on cars... and I don't know why.  I just hate them.  I will never use one, or give one as a gift.  Sorry.

4. In ten years... Gwen will be almost 13.  Holy crap! Hopefully, my boobs will still be perky (even if I must seek a little "help"), I'll have another child, still be partly sane, and loving life just as much as I am now.

5. If I could erase one thing... it would be the mullet hair cut that my mom made me get in the 2nd - 3rd grade.  It's painful to look at... sorry ma!

6. In 1999... I was 15, and my husband was 21. Creepy, then. Fine, now.

7. Honestly... I have an awful memory.  Like, I should probably write things... wait, what was I saying?!?  Just kidding, but really, I should utilize Siri more often.

8. To me, Sushi... is divine.  I could eat it every day.  And I can't stand the people that go "Ewww, Sushi." Especially because most have probably never tried it. Quit being babies, just go for it.

9. Someone really needs to invent... a telephone in Heaven so I could talk to my Pop and all the others who aren't here with us anymore.  

10. The first time I drank alcohol... was the beginning of the end ;)  

11. The one question I would ask God is... you didn't see that, right?  I kid.  I would probably ask if I could see my loved ones.  Or if I was a good mom.  

12. Lindsay Lohan... is a really great role model for young girls, bahahahahaha.  She's an effin' train wreck, and I hate that we even talk about her and give her the attention she is so whoring herself out for.

Bachelorette Party.

This past weekend was amazing!  Relaxing, fun, much needed and... I made it past one am!  Lol.  I love my girls, and it's not often that we all get to get together like we did, which makes it even more memorable.  Not to mention, we always have a good time in Atlantic City together! We had a spa day (manis and makeup).  We got all prettied up.  We had a delish meal.  And then we danced and drank our asses off.  I loved every second of it, and I just hope that the bride-to-be had the greatest night!

Some pics. (If you follow me on IG, you've seen some of these already.)

Our view, so gorgeous!

Survival kits, jello shots, snacks, and booze, oh my!

Selfie sent to the Hubs during dinner.

Cousins!

Besties since Kindergarten!

With the bride :)

OF COURSE I missed my little family and couldn't wait to see them, but it was nice to hang with my girls.

Only 10 more days until the big day!!!! Ahhh!  Can't wait!

Friday's Letters

Dear Gwen,  I am going to miss you so much this weekend!  I love you so much and will be thinking of you and Daddy while I am gone.  Make sure that you and Daddy have a ton of fun!

Dear Hubs,  Although I know that I don't need to say this, take care of our girl.  Don't give her too much candy or let her stay up too late. {that I DO have to say lol} Have fun.  And know that I love you so much.

Dear Jennifer,  I cannot wait for tomorrow to be here and to celebrate your "last night of freedom"!!!  We are going to have so much fun!!!!!

Dear Bridesmaids and other attendees,  Let's party!!!

Dear Mam-Mom,  Thank you for all of your help this week, and always.  My dress looks great, and it's all because of you!

Dear Weather,  Make up your mind.  Actually, let me make it up for you.  No more temperature drops.  Relax with the rain. 70's would be cool.  Thanks.

Dear Saturday Night, No pressure here, but I am expecting you to be nothing short of epic, just sayin'.

Dear Atlantic City,  Brace yourself.  We're comin' for ya.

Bee Gone.

This whole story, happened in about 5 maybe 6 minutes.  But, it felt in slow motion.  And looking back, I can only laugh at it's silliness.

Gwen and I were sitting in the living, watching Daddy & Uncle Keith get ready for work.  She gave kisses and said her goodbyes, then climbed up into our bay window, to wave and watch for Daddy's car to pull out of the driveway.  

She saw Uncle Keith, and was patiently (not really) waiting for her Daddy as she pushed her face into the glass.  I leaned up closely with her, reassuring that he would be seen soon, as she said, "Momma, BUG!"

{Let's take a moment here to tell you that, I don't do bugs.  Total wuss in that dept.}

I looked over and saw what I thought was a wasp!! And Gwen was almost nose to nose with it!

Without thinking about how MY reaction would affect HERS, I yelled, "HURRY! MOVE!" probably with a look a sheer terror on my face.

She reacted exactly how I hoped, if we were ever in this situation, she wouldn't.  She panicked.  Took a flying leap into my arms and began crying hysterically while clinging to me for dear life.

Mind you, Jason has not left the driveway yet.

I try to put her down, to attempt to either kill the bastard or flag down Jason to come to our rescue.

Neither of those things worked.  And now I was half out the door, with a screaming child, in my pajamas, trying to flag down my husband, whom did not see us at all.

Great.

I head back into the house, attempt to put Gwen on the ground again, with no success.  With my head held low, because I know how silly of a situation this is, I pick up the phone.

"Hun, Gwen almost got stung by a wasp, I freaked, then she freaked, and now she won't let me put her down to kill it... can you come back home?!?!"

Laughter.

"I'll be right there."

Two minutes later, because he literally was a stone's throw from the house, our Superhero came to the rescue.

"Daddy, buuuuuuuuuug in the window.  You kill it?"

And that's what he did.  He saved the day.  We clapped.  And gave thankful kisses. Then sent him back off to work.  Not before he told me, "It was only a bee, Sam."  

Bee, schmee.  Still has a stinger, no?!?

That was our morning.  6 minutes of chaos.

Size Denial

I realized today that I am in denial.  Size denial.  And not mine.

Weird, right?

As I was dressing Gwen this morning, and we were putting on her size 6 sandals {thank God for warmer weather!} they were a bit tight, actually so tight that she said, "Ouch, Momma, they hurt!"  And I thought, "No, she can't be a size 7 already."

I do that a lot.

Nooo, she can't be in a size 5 diaper.

She's not a 3T, is she?!?

And it became clear.  I am in size denial.  

I don't want her to get any bigger.  I don't want to "move up" a size.  I never have wanted to.

Now, relax, it has nothing to do with "size" like it would if I were talking about myself.  I love knowing that Gwen is growing, and healthy, and getting the nutrients that she needs.  But I want her to stay "little" forever.

Tiny enough to scoop up in my arms.  So little that she fits so perfectly in that little nook when she cuddles with us. 

I guess, underneath it all, I am afraid of her growing up.

That, I will blink and she'll be graduating high school.

I am afraid of not having those baby  moments anymore.

I know that there will be more moments, fun moments, in some ways even better moments.  I am just scared of losing that baby of mine.

Can't I keep her this little?!?!

Our Easter Rundown. Part 3. The Finale.

Part 1.
Part 2.
We had two more stops on our Easter train, thank goodness they both were only minutes apart.  Our next destination was Jason's Mom's {Nanny's} house.  And can you believe that the Easter Bunny stopped there too?!?  Man, that guy gets around. Lol. We had a bite to eat, Gwen played the piano with her Nanny, and we relaxed for a while.

Then, off to my Dad's to see Mimi and Poppi, it was.  Gwen's Uncle Michael and Aunt Megan were there too!  There was an Easter Egg hunt, some more food, and thankfully some wine for Mommy :)  All that traveling deserves wine.  All in all, we had a great day with lots of family.  

Oh, yeah, Gwen decided she needed some peace and quiet... so she hid in the dog crate... and shut the door.

 

We headed home Monday morning with all of our baskets, candy, toys, and stuff... surprisingly we all still fit in the car.

Another holiday in the books.  Gwen's 3rd Easter.  How in the world did that happen?  I must admit though, she was a ton of fun this time.  Maybe, just maybe, next year we will go see the Easter Bunny... maybe.

Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

The awesome Sabrina from cattails & cardigans is letting me be a part of this great giveaway! So enter, then go check her out! 

One winner will win a $30 gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.

Once a winner has been selected, the winner will be emailed & have 48 hours to reply.  Once the winner claims the prize, you will be emailed the gift card.

Good Luck!

Our Easter Rundown. Part 2. Easter Morning.

It's safe to say that, even though we weren't home, the Easter Bunny managed to find us!  Gwen woke up nice and early {6:30am}, but we didn't really mind because we were just as excited to see Gwen find her basket.  We headed downstairs {quietly, as her Aunt and Uncle were still asleep} and found this...

Girlfriend was PRETTY stoked!! Wreck-it Ralph AND M&M's?!?!  Screw the Mega Millions, she had just hit the jackpot.  

We watched helped her tear through everything then I tried to explain that M&M's weren't a breakfast food to her AND her daddy, before heading up stairs to get ready for brunch at Grandma & Grandpa's.  Tried  being the key word here.  I specifically said to Jason, "Whatever she does, don't let her con you into opening some M&M's."

After my shower, I peeked down the stairs, and there was Gwen, holding up her trophy... her open bag of M&M's.  "Look, Momma."

I headed downstairs and asked Jason what happened.  His reply?  "She gave me a kiss and told me she loved me.  She's very convincing"  Big softie, he is.  And I figured it was Easter, so no harm, no foul, right?

We continued on with our morning and headed over to Gwen's Grandma & Grandpa's house for some Easter brunch.  Yum!

We ate some delicious food.  Blew bubbles {for what seemed like hours}.  Played with Easter grass.  Got another Easter basket :) And took some pictures.

We got in as much time as we could together before heading off to our next destination... which is another post, for another day.

She Looks Back.

The toddler years are so fast paced.  They grow fast.  They talk fast {sometimes not making any sense}.  They run.  They jump.  They tear the house apart.  So, it's easy to get wrapped up in all of that yourself.  You lose track of hours and sometimes even days, because you're caught in the whirlwind of their tiny, crazy, world.

Then there are those moments.

The moments that pull you back.  That make you look at the bigger picture.  The moments that make you realize how you are such a big part of this amazing thing.

I had one of those moments, the other day at the park.  It was a gorgeous day, one of those days that it should be illegal to be inside, so naturally we had to go swing on swings and slide down slides.  Gwen couldn't have been more excited.  It had been a while since we had been to our park, and the moment we pulled up the shouting and squealing began.

We hit the ground running, well she did at least, and left everything that would tie us down in the car.  {Except my camera, of course}  Crossing the street, I held her hand tight, but as soon as we stepped into the gigantic fenced in playground I let her free.  Free to run and explore as much as she wanted.  And oh boy, did she.

Amongst all the craziness and excitement, she did something so simple but something that made me feel so fulfilled in my role as a mother.

Running from one playground to another, there grew some distance between us, I could see her perfectly and she was in no danger, but it was a bigger distance than normal... and realizing this, she stopped and looked back.  At first, she didn't see me right away, but we quickly met eyes, and she smiled and said, "C'mon, momma."

That was it.

In that moment, I knew that I was her safety.  I knew that she knew that I was her safety.  That I should be with her.

And she did it more than once. {Ok, maybe the next two times, it was a test, to see if she would do it again, LOL, but she did.}

It's so hard to describe how something so little can have such a huge impact, but it did.  She looked back.  And it melted me... and may have just been the reason that I let her stay at the playground past her naptime.  :)

But, it's those moments that put into perspective, what we as parents are doing for our children, sometimes without even knowing it.  Even though, they may not always look back, they know that we are here for them, to support them and protect them.

And that, is a really great feeling.