The Rules...

One of my favorite places to shop is Home Goods. Whether I'm actually on the hunt for something or just looking to browse and look for new ideas, I always head to Home Goods. While I was there recently, I ran into this adorable board with family rules on it. I found myself looking at it for a short while and debating where I could find room for it. Then another shopper came by and started chatting with me about how wonderful the rules were but neither of us decided to buy it. For $30 it was a steal, like most everything in that store, but in person it looked and felt kind of cheap/cheesy.  It's exactly the kind of chotchki that Brians not a huge fan of and I don't really have the perfect spot in the house for it. Nonetheless, I've saved the picture on my phone because I like it that much. Too bad I don't know anyone who is an artist and that could personalize one for our home, I love every line... especially:
LOVE
Do the right thing
play nice, be kind
keep your promises...

What are your favorites?

Face lift is complete!

Finally, I can stop talking about the work we did on the outside of the house! Everything was completed yesterday and we couldn't be happier. The house looks preTTy different than when we moved in and now we can enjoy the improvements!

Before and After:

Spring Birthdays!

I love birthdays because they're a reason to get together with friends and family and always a good time! Last weekend we had a great time together as a family celebrating Brian's __th birthday! :) Madelyn couldn't wait to give him his presents, and she helped him open everything, including his cards. Brian arranged for a night out with friends on Thursday, then we had a delicious dinner with my parents, a date night, and the weekend wrapped up with a beautiful day which Brian spent out on the golf course with friends! I think he had a great b-day, made extra special with Madelyn here this year to share it with!

Yesterday we visited the Palleschis in New Jersey to celebrate Anthony's 1st Birthday!! It's hard to believe a year has passed since our dear friends welcomed their son into the world. He is a handsome little guy with an wonderful personality.  He was full of smiles all day and seemed to be enjoying his day, which turned out to be a perfect day!

Happy Birthday kisses for Daddy!

Anthony's birthday!

a little paint, goes a long way!

Our landscape project was broken into two parts, the first was the new walkway and stoop and next week we're getting all new lanscaping. The 3 week gap in between was the perfect opportunity to finally paint the trim on the outside of the house. Brian can atest, that I have hemmed and hawed about the cream colored trim since we moved in. The door trim was different than the window trim, which all seemed to be a different color than the trim around the garage doors. It was a challenge to find the time and motivation to paint it though, so we wound up living with it for 2 years. As we were mentally preparing ourselves for a weekend full of trim-painting outside, we received a flyer in the mail. One of the flyers that you'd normally throw out. This one was offering a free power wash and 25% discount on any job.  Hmm... perfect timing, it was no brainer. While we were at it, we had them throw in painting the whole house... the price was just so right. A week later and we have a a newly stained deck, and freshly painted gutters, shutters, trim and shingles. Amen! We are ready for landscaping :)

Mid-landscape picture with the old paint:

 Mid-landscape picture with new paint!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day in CT and we had a great day celebrating with family. Earlier in the week, Sara took Madelyn to have her first visit with the Easter Bunny, and she did great! She was completely mesmorized by him/her/it :) I included a picture of their visit below.

Our Easter Sunday started at church and although Madelyn was due to eat and nap, she was an angel! After that, M had a few Easter baskets to open and Uncle Brendan surprised her with a big Easter bunny which she loved!

It really seems as though every day our little munchkin is discovering something new. She is starting to recognize people and toys and her personality is starting to develop. She throws up her arms to be held and now grabs on to everything. It's easy to sit around and hang out, watching her for hours, smiling and laughing as she makes faces or chuckles at you! Miss M is a joy, every day is brighter because of her!

second opinion

The summer of '09 was tricky one for me, health-wise. It started with an emergency appendectomy, fresh off of a great week-long family vacation in the Vineyard and ended with a diagnosis of Celiac disease. I had heard of Celiac disease but I had a really hard time accepting that I had the disease. 2 1/2 years later, it was still a challenge. I don't care what anyone says, it wasn't an easy way of life for me, or us and it didn't get easier with time. Almost every meal I ate had to be a planned event, being spontaneous just didn't fly. Not to mention, our expenses sky rocketed because gluten free food is tre-expensive! The plus side, was I became a wine connoisseur and a master at finding yummy gluten free desserts!

While on my maternity leave, I made the decision to leave my primary doctors practice and start fresh (maybe the smartest thing I've ever done). The last leg to that transition came recently when I met with a new gastroenterologist, who I loved from the get-go. Last week, I had an upper endoscopy as a follow-up to my original celiac diagnosis. I was never happy with how my original diagnosis was delivered and had been considering a 2nd opinion for a while, so the timing was good.

Flash forward to about an hour ago. I was at the grocery store picking up formula for Madelyn on my lunch break when the Dr. office called. All of my tests came back NEGATIVE - I do NOT have Celiac disease! A - freaking - MEN! I nearly did a dance in the aisle :) I have a follow up on Thursday to go over my tests, so I'm not in the clear yet but this is pretty exciting nonetheless.

What are we going to eat for dinner!? I haven't had a beer in 32 months..... 32 months! Granted, I've worked on my love of wine during that time, but something tells me a beer might hit the spot! Especially, if I have it with REAL pizza :)

After that long winded story, my reason for writing today is to encourage you to always listen to your body and trust your gut - especially when it hurts ;) Cheers!!!

Girls best friend...

Nope, not diamonds... (well those too) but this is all about dogs! I came across this quote recently that explains my love for the four-legged furry friends:

"I have had a long unabashed love affair with dogs that stretches back to early childhood" - Caspar Weinberger

The quote is a little intense, but honestly, I have loved dogs for as long as I can remember.  I'm the crazy lady who always bends down to meet a strangers beloved pet, who talks to their dog like it's a person, who treats their dog like it's a child, who would adopt 5 more dogs if my husband would let me and who often day-dreams about quitting her job to work with dogs in some way. So you get the picture?

Almost 3 years ago, while Brian and I were living in a cozy 1 bedroom apartment in Stamford, we went to a puppy adoption day. We really were going just to look. After all, we had parameters - we wanted it to be girl, a "good" breed, a good apartment-dog, yadda, yadda.  As we stood in line waiting to get in, we guessed there was less than a 30% chance we'd leave with a dog. Sure enough, I spotted HIM first and was smitten. Although Brian initially labeled him scary, we spent about 10 minutes with him and we were sold. Quigley was suddenly our dog!

Here he is on the day we got him. He was about 7 or 8 months old and only 30 lbs. He was found on the streets in Georgia, as a stray. I'm sure the food, shelter, warmth and love we showered him with were a dream come true those first few weeks. Our quiet, shy, calm puppy quickly opened up to us and grew into his own.

Now, 3 years later, Quigley is 65 lbs of muscle and 100% love.  He is obedient, wise, and incredibly loyal. He is a gentle giant and a total lovebug, he will shower you with kisses and cuddles whenever you want. Some dogs don't like to cuddle, they prefer their spot at our feet. Not Quigley, he is happiest when he is snuggled up on top of me on the couch. I always said I'd never let my dog on the couch, or the bed, but his snuggles are too good to pass up.

Quigley has always been protective of Brian and I, our house, etc.  Before Madelyn arrived, I worried about how he would handle having a baby in the house. It was love at first sight though and he continues to be so good with her. She lights up when she spots him and I often catch him sleeping in her room, right next to her crib.  I've talked about it before and I could probably take hundreds of pictures a day of my two babies interacting. It's so neat to watch them watch each other and I look forward to them growing up together :)

I often wonder if Madelyn will love dogs as much as her momma. Regardless, she already has two best friends, in Quigley and Sophie, her Aunties dog that she hangs with every day. What a lucky girl!

Quigs showing his love for his baby sister

hi Quigley!

I couldn't find Quigley one Saturday afternoon... until I peeked in Madelyn's room during her nap and he was curled up next to her

Madelyn and Sophie watching for squirrels

Cuteness!

Being a parent...

brings longer days, more laundry, interrupted sleep, a dirty house, fewer date nights and more responsibility. When you say it like that it sounds a little daunting, right? Before becoming a parent you spend time thinking and preparing for how much your life will change, the adjustment it will be.  What you aren't prepared for, is while it's about that other stuff, it brings SO much more too... We didn't wait too long after getting married to start a family, and although we got a handful of "you are wasting no time" comments from people, I am so happy we didn't wait any longer.

You aren't able to comprehend prior to starting a family, just what a blessing it is to have children. Even after its hard to explain and put into words. Granted our little one has only been with us for 5 months, but what she has done for my life and me as a person is invaluable.   People make lists of things they want to accomplish and places they want to go before they have kids... almost as if when you have kids your life is over so get it in now.... Well yes, things change but to me, that couldn't be further from the truth, my life began when I became a Mom. Now, I appreciate the little things, I recognize the beauty in every day, I love deeper, I pray more, I dream bigger and I live a richer life.


I was reminded recently of how precious life is and how short it can be sometimes.  There is nothing more rewarding than bringing a baby into the world and God willing, we'll be able to do it again, and again, and again ;) Kidding....probably not that many times! I look at Brian sometimes while I'm holding Madelyn and I think, look at what we did. Then I think, how on earth did I get so lucky :) We are a great team and we are really enjoying this ride. Thank you Madelyn Jayne for coming into our life, we love you higher than the stars!