The Awesomeness of My Parents

(Yes 2 posts today...I'm having a busy brain day and it needs to be released) With every life event there is a lesson to be learned. I feel very strongly in that. I've always known that my parents were great, but I think I really took that for granted. My parents are not just great, they are AWESOME! They would bend over backward for any of us. I have always been thankful for them, but I am even more thankful for them today than every before. They have raised three great girls who have all branched out and started their own chapters in the book of life. My Dad - where do I start with him...Did I mention he is awesome? I have always had a very special bond with my dad. I was the athlete and since my mom and dad had no boys, my dad and I spent a lot of time together. We are exactly 30 years apart in age and 2 years ago our family threw us a surprise 60/30 Birthday Party! It was great and I could never imagine celebrating with anyone else. He's stubborn and has a temper - I get that from him. He's clean and particular (I only like big paperclips, can't stand the small ones and am really particular about the paper I write on, the pens I use and highlighters...no comments please) - I get that from him. He likes popcorn, sugar and soda - I get that from him. He puts everyone else before him - I get that from him. I could go on and on. The thought of life without him is traumatizing to me, but I try not to think about it. He's a great Dad! My Mom - Growing up my Mom and I always got along, but have grown much much closer in my adult years. She has been a very strong sense of reason for me, especially as of late and I appreciate her even more for that. She loves to read books and magazines - I get that from her. She loves Target - I get that from her!!! She loves girly movies - I get that from her and love watching them with her. She's likes to make jewelry, loves CPK and Pizza Hut - I definitely get that from her. She's thoughtful - I hope to be like her. Growing up I can always remember my Mom's little notes. In my book bag, lunch, anywhere where she knew I would find them and they just brightened my day. I definitely get that from her. My husband gets little notes and cards from me all the time. I love to do it. It feels good to make someones day. The thought of life without my Mom is devastating, but I try not to think about that either. She's wonderful. Thanks Mom & Dad for setting such a great example of what it truly is to be a parent. If only every child were as lucky to have you as we are! I love you, The Middle One

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Family.drama.on.Christmas...yep, it's happening and unfortunately to my family. It's draining, emotional and heartwrenching. After much anger and devastation over the situation I am searching for the positive in all of this, as I feel no matter what you can find a positive out of most anything. Christmas should be an exciting time filled with family, laughter and gooooood food, amongst so many other things. I have always loved Christmas and all of the fun events leading up to it - christmas lights, Rudolph, Frosty, decorating the house, making gingerbreads and so much more! I still get excited when I go to bed on Christmas Eve and I'm 32. There is still a lot of excited Christmas morning child running through my blood. And I am so excited to be a Mom on Christmas morning. Each year it will get better and better. My husband, on the other hand, does not like Christmas. He is not a big fan of the holiday season and this is the first year I have truly understood why. I found a quote that is very fitting and sent it to my husband who is having the roughest time of all of us. “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” I hope you find the Merry in your Christmas!

Da and Da and Santa

Mia's vocabulary is getting stronger and stronger each day. It's amazing to watch her learn. She can identify a lot of things around the house: clock, lamp, dog, TV, tree, light, fan, and so many more. She recognizes so many objects and ideas. Give Momma a huggie, she will and follow it with an awwww....., what does a cat say....eow.....Old MacDonald had a farm....eieiooo (we normally do that part together). But everything goes by the same name...da!...and I love it. All night long, it's da...da...da...da as she points to the object. Our poor dogs, who now get very little of our attention, will bark a lot and play with each other to entertain themselves and in an attempt to get our attention, a pet, a treat or something. I think we say No and yell at them more than we think because Mia has started mimicking us when it gets really loud (the dogs, not us LOL). She will stand there and point and shake her arm up and down and yell No or some other unidentified noise. It's too funny! On a separate note, tonight is Mia's first official picture with Santa. We're heading up to Chesterfield Mall after work. She'll be all ready with her Christmas outfit on (including tutu). I just hope she wants to sit on the Jolly Ole' Man's lap. We practiced at a Christmas party a few weeks back with her cousins and let's just say she was fine, but Santa almost dropped her. I think three kids on his lap was one too many. Anyway the picture should be sent to Ellen because it's hilarious! It would be a great addition to her Bad Santa photos - www.ellentv.com. Assuming we don't have to pay $100 to buy a copy of the picture and/or I can scan it, I will post it tonight or tomorrow. Happy Day Before Friday and The Last 5 Day Work Week For Two Weeks (but who's counting...)

Wordless Wednesday

I'm kind of feeling like this today...

Annoyed

I'm am very easily annoyed by people who are not good communicators, especially at work. This is not a difficult task or something that is hard to understand. Should you need something from me that you need me to get for you discreetly, gather all of your thoughts and tell me everything at once. Don't ask me to get something for you, I then deliver and then you want me to go after more information. News flash...that is not being discreet. I work with two brokers (one is the building owner) on the property I manage. They are both heavily involved in our new deals, but they do not communicate well with one another. They often have me do the dirty work for them, which I'm used to and on most days I do not mind. What I do mind is when they do not communicate well with one another and have me running around in circles for them to get the answer to their need at no benefit to me. I am more than willing to help, but let's stop wasting so much time. There is a lot of wasted time in real estate; a lot of it is a BIG game. I don't like to wait or dilly dally, let's just get down to business. I am also annoyed by people who call me just to point out that I have an alternative schedule that they do not. I don't have time for your attempted guilt trip or pity party. I work 7:30 am - 4:00 pm and seldom take a lunch. It is not my fault that people choose to wait until the very last 15 minutes of my day to call me for things they need. It is not my fault that people don't start working until 9 or 10 in the morning and therefore have to work into the early evening to get their work done. If it has to wait, it has to wait. I have other priorities and responsibilities as a Mother and Wife that I have to attend to when I leave work. I've been working this schedule for a year, if you are not used to it by now that is your inefficiency as a time manager, not mine. I get my work done on my schedule unless it is an emergency. If you need me to do something for you, I would be happy to do so, between 7:30 am and 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday, advance notice appreciated. Venting Session Over....have a wonderful Tuesday!

That's All

I'm getting my hair did Monday (thank god because the root situation I have going on right now is not good) and I'm going to shop for a new camera tonight and it's FRIDAY...that's all. Have a great weekend! Make sure to take the time to catch your breath and do a little something for yourself. Who else is excited about waking up on their own and not the alarm tomorrow morning?!!!

Reason #1,451 why I love my Mom...

Back in 2007, my mom sent me an email with a very important message accompanied by a picture from one of our favorite movies. I have kept that email and every once in a blue moon I will open it, read it and laugh. It's the little things that make her the best Mom. Here is what her email said: Today's Message of the Day is: Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.... And here is the picture that accompanied it:

Love you Mom!

Now it's your turn to share. What do you love most about your Mom?

Yep....

She's just that cute...And even cuter here... And don't you just want to squeeze her cheeks and give her hugs and kisses?

Happy Wednesday!

New Design and Keeping Happy

I've livened up my blog page a little bit. It's happier and not so baby poop yellow - I see enough of that as it is! :) I hope you enjoy all the extra "stuff." It's the second overcast day in a row after 5 days off of work and I must confess it's testing my mood and motivation. Things that are I am focusing on that make me happy...looking forward to the next several weeks of holiday activities - Christmas parties, Gingerbread house making, seeing Christmas lights, coordinating a Toys for Tots donation at work, enjoying the lights on the outside of my house and loving the decorations on the inside, a fire in the fire place, Mia's personalized stocking that I was so excited to order last year, Christmas music and the lights on our mini tree. I opted out of setting up our big tree this year with Ms. Curious running around. Even more exciting about having another tree is that she can put that tree in her room during the holidays. I know I would have loved that as a little kid! Other things that make me happy include buying a new camera...pause and side note, I sat on mine Saturday during Mia's Christmas card photo shoot in her playroom and broke it...it was not intentional, although I will admit I am SUPER excited about having a new fancy camera that will take pictures when I press the button instead of seconds after. As any parent of a young child would know that makes picture taking a bit of an issue...continue...my daughter, my husband, my parents and sisters, my nieces, my brother-in-laws, my cousins, my aunts and uncles and in-laws (most of them anyway), wine and chocolate...I could go on forever and that is A REALLY GOOD THING. I can't complain. I have a wonderful life and I think the classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie is on tonight! Yippee!!Happy Tuesday Everyone and Happy December tomorrow!

Well....it's been a while! Jumbley Joo...

I fully admit that it has been almost six months since my last post, but I've been busy and that's my excuse. Therefore this is my Jumbley Joo of a post. So much has happened since May (really...May), including Mia turning 1 and having quite a celebration at her 1st Birthday Party!

This week marks Thanksgiving and I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by. I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately as I've watched Mia grow and grow and grow more and more and more every single day. She even has a few words in her vocabulary already and is walking like a champ! This time last year I was a brand new Mommy and no idea what I had gotten myself into. I was like a lost little puppy. Last night I even popped in the delivery DVD for the first time. It was interesting to watch and place myself back in that moment in time. I am so thankful that we captured it. Here I am one year later and I feel like we are headed in the right direction. We have a great routine and a wonderful family that has been helping us out by watching Mia, so she doesn't have to go into daycare. I've tackled (most days) what it takes to work full time and be a mom. It's difficult and there are days where I wish I could stay home with Mia, but at the end of the day I am thankful that I am able to find the balance to provide for our family as well.

Our Thanksgiving is a little different this year as there will be some missing pieces to our puzzle. My sister and her husband will be in Key West and Mark's mom, dad, sister, BIL and nieces will all be elsewhere. It's unfortunate, but life is busy and we just can't accomodate everyone's schedule. Mark and I have really been struggling with our relationship with his mom lately and it's really taken a hit and effected our entire family. I will save the details, but hope that things get better and that we can create a healthy relationship that will be a benefit to Mia in the future. I'm trying to keep focus on what is best for our family and most importantly Mia. This is the time of year to reflect on what we are thankful for and my family is definitely a large part of that list. I've developed a strong relationship with Mark's cousin (my cousin now too) and I really appreciate that extra support in my life. I've taken for granted what wonderful and open relationship I have with both of my parents and how supportive, understanding (and often opinionated) my sisters are. I could not imagine not having that as a part of my life. I would not be the same person I am today.

Above all, I am finally getting some consecutive days off of work that I have not had since Memorial Day and it is much, much, much needed. I need some rest, down time and no alarms. Getting to work everyday at 7:30 takes it's toll. I am thrilled that I get in early and have time to myself before the days chaos ensues and that I can leave at 4:00 and feel like I have some time with Mia in the evenings during the work week, but this time of year is tough. The chill in the air and the sun going down earlier is rough on the soul.

This weekend will include a few projects that hubby and I have been putting off for some time, but will also be including holiday decorations. Yay! I am in full holiday mode, especially now that 102.5 is playing Christmas music 24-7!

As I close this tangent of a post, I will leave you with a little something, but before I do, be sure you take a moment to reflect on what you are thankful for. After all, this is what this time of year is for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

Stole this idea for Wordless Wednesday from a friend who is an excellent blogger and a phenomenal writer. She truly has a gift.

http://www.minivansarehot.com. You should check out her blog.

My First Mother's Day

What a great weekend! Mark came home from work on Saturday with flowers and candy for me. He is so wonderful and knew exactly what to do to bring a smile to my face. I've kind of been a little down in the dumps lately, which is really not very normal for me. I'm by no means perfect (:)), but I try really hard to be positive as much as I can. Our lives have become so busy and with Mark's work schedule, our weekends are practically non-existent, so I've been struggling a lot with our lack of family time together. Life is going so quickly and it's getting to the point that we don't really feel like we have a break or anything to look forward to, as a family, since our weekends, and only time together during the week, have been depleted to only one day. I'm trying to accept what this is and pray that it is only temporary. It's amazing how much I took weekends for granted prior to this. I enjoy the day, just Mia and I, but I miss having Mark on Saturdays. I feel incomplete without him. We try to squeeze so much into our Sundays, that we have no down time together, it's is just chore, after chore, after chore it feels like sometimes. And by the end of the day Sunday, we are both exhausted and can't believe another weekend is gone and work week is upon us.

Saturdays are really busy days for me between the baby and all the errands and house cleaning that I try to get done before Mark gets home, so he knew I would be pretty spent by the time he got home. He knew exactly what I needed. A night of relaxation and time at home with my family!!!

So we spent the night on the couch, relaxing, carb and sugar loading while eating Cecil Whittaker's, watching baseball and the beginning of SNL (we are quite the party animals these days, we seldom make it through all of SNL before falling asleep...I know, pathetic!). Betty White was fun and of course, Kristen Wiig is always a good laugh.

Sunday was a day of beautiful weather and time with family! After a nice long, hot shower and about an extra hour of sleep, Mark gave me a beautiful card from he and Mia. It was very sweet and thoughtful and will make a beautiful addition to Mia's scrapbook. Mark cooked me pancakes and hash browns for breakfast and then we headed to Laumeier Sculpture Park for the annual Art Fair to meet up with my family. We had a great time looking at all of the things we could not afford, although Mark bought me a beautiful necklace with a glass pendant! Later that afternoon, we met up with his family for an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and then heading to his parents' for cake!! :)

It was a great weekend. Now we are back to Monday and another work week!

6 months

Wow! That was fast! Yesterday Mia turned 6 months old. I'm going to blink and she is going to be diving into her cake on her 1st birthday.

Weekend Craziness and Other Random Thoughts

Does anyone else feel like there is never enough time in the weekend? Each week I feel like this becomes more and more true! Seriously! Every Monday I think, what happened to the weekend and why doesn't the work week go that quickly?? :) A lot of my busy scheduling is of my own doing, but what can I say I like to spend time with family and friends. Between that and my motherly and wifely duties that keep me plenty busy, I just feel like the weekends are gone in a flash. Mark and I were discussing this in length last night. Where did the lazy Sundays go, when we had nothing planned and all the time in the world? I want just one of those days again soon! I cannot remember the last weekend day that we had nothing going on. I need to find the pause button! May I also mention that I am running a 5K in just a few weeks and I haven't ran (unless you count up and down the stairs at home) anywhere in almost three weeks. Pathetic! I've really fallen off the wagon the past few weeks. Once I got the green light from my OB to work out again I went at it and was feeling really good. We did the St. Patty's Day 5 mile race downtown and I felt awesome. Our schedule has become so crazy lately that there is no time to go to the gym unless I want to put Mia in the box they call child care at my gym. Mark just can't get home early enough for both of us to get to the gym. How do you work full time, take care of a baby and workout on a regular basis?? I never wanted to be the person that used the phrase, "There are just not enough hours in the day," but I am using it because there are not enough of them. If I would just win the freakin' lottery I could hire someone to bust my a**!! Until then, I need to reset my goals and get back out there. I cannot workout like I used to. I can't go to the gym for an hour anymore, so I need to do what I can. It's better than nothing! It's up to me and as much as I wish I could pass the buck onto someone else, I'm the only person that can make me get back to my routine. Plus I have to be in a swimsuit in 4 weeks - eeeeekkkksssss!!!! I'm not complainin,' I'm just sayin!'

From Baby to Carrots

I'm so disappointed in myself that I have yet to write one single post for 2010. So this is called catch-up!

Wow - what a whirlwind the past 4 months have been. We have been so busy, but I am loving every minute of it (mostly).

My maternity leave ended and I returned to work on January 18, so our life has been super crazy since then. With two full-time working parents time certainly does fly more than I ever thought it would. We are in our rhythm, but it's tough. I hate having to be away from her more than I am with her, but bills don't pay themselves so to work we must go. We have some positive opportunities that we are diving into this year, so I am optimistic that our schedules will become a little less chaotic by the end of the year.

Motherhood is amazing and I really am enjoying it. I never thought I would love a human being as much as I love that little girl, but she is transforming each and every week into a bigger and brighter energy that has brought so much joy to our lives.

I feel like just yesterday I was giving birth to her and now all of a sudden she is eating carrots.