Happy Birthday, Brian!

Happiest Birthday wishes to my other half!

 

 

This picture is from a surprise party I threw for Bri 8 years ago! The first birthday that we celebrated together. I think we'd been dating for 6 months at this point. When I look back at old photos of us, time and time again, the Springsteen song - So Young and In Love, instantly starts going through my mind. This one is no exception. It was a beautiful April day and Brian went to play golf with friends. While he did that, we set up a party in our friends backyard. His face when he walked in was priceless, and this picture was snapped just a few minutes after. I'd pulled off a great surprise and was giddy that he was so excited. I wanted to give him the ultimate birthday party celebration, which was followed by a weekend in Boston. It was a ton of fun, and we were so young and in love.

 

 I feel like not much has changed... well, this year there will not be any wild party, or big surprises, and we're not that young any more :) And, we're married, have purchased a few homes, have a few kids, and on and on. BUT, I love him more than I thought possible, and I wish him a perfect day that he so deserves. I feel like the luckiest, and I know our little ladies are the luckiest to have him as their Daddy. Happiest wishes to our favorite guy - we love you to the moon!

 

 

 

Third times a charm?

I've been wearing glasses since I was 10.  As soon as I could wear contacts, I did and I've been a consistent contact lens wearer since. I swear after my pregnancies my eyes changed a bit, and I switched from 2 week disposables, to daily lenses. I love them but they tend to be pricey. Brian also wears glasses/contacts, so between both of our vision needs, we spend a lot of money each year just to see!

 

Last fall, Brian upgraded to a new pair, after like 7 years, and I was instantly jealous. Because I tend to only wear contacts, buying new glasses has always been a real treat, and I was quickly obsessed with finding a new pair. I'd been wearing mine for about 4 years and the style was outdated and the lenses had scratches. I thought if I could find a great pair, then I would wear them often and save a little on buying contacts regularly.

 

For about 20, of the 24 years, I've been seeing the same doctor in town. I had a change in insurance when I was working at Vineyard Vines, and saw someone else who was basically next door to our office. Now, back with my original doctor, he offered me a discount on a new pair from his showroom. I tried on probably 20 pairs, before I settled on this pair by Coach, and I was smitten. I couldn't wait for them to be done. Easy-peasy... or so I thought!

 

This past Saturday I picked up the glasses for the 3rd time, with the 3rd set of new lenses. I've baffled my doctor, and his technician because each of the other two lenses just didn't work. Now, I've completely frustrated them, and I've become the client they dread seeing. So, no matter what, I can't go back there for a while.

 

My last pair of glasses was an easy transition for me, especially since I bought them at Warby Parker. So, the whole process is essentially done online. The prescription that was used for those glasses, was prescribed by the other doctor. I ordered them, received them and it's been seamless ever since. I really wish this experience was similar. When I first picked up the glasses like 2 months ago, I got a headache within minutes. It took the excitement of the new frames and just squashed it in instantly. I read online to give it time, etc so I tried to wear them for a few hours at night, but they made me nauseous and dizzy, it was a mess. So, I went back and we reviewed everything and I even brought my old glasses in for comparison. If they've always worked, I figured maybe they could just mimic those. It shouldn't be so difficult, right? They agreed to lower the prescipt and give me new lenses for no charge. Those were a lot better, but after a month of non stop wearing, I was STILL having issues focusing and with quick movement. I went back a week ago, and this time, they weren't so nice. I apologized a few times, because they were clearly annoyed but quite honestly I shouldn't have to apologize. I understand that I was insulting their work, but I thought I did so gently and with good reason. I mean, I just spent the money on the frames, I'm not going to waste that - I want these to work!

 

Anyway, I'm on day 3 with the latest and greatest, and I'm not sold. At this point, I can't tell if my eyes are adjusting, or if I've slowly forced my eyes to see. From my understanding, the difference in the doctors prescriptions is very marginal (or so he's telling me). So, it's anyone's guess at this point. Or, maybe I'm just crazy? Totally possible ;) Whatever it is, I've vowed to make these work, so I'm not giving up now! Wish me luck.

 

Happy Monday! XO

Family

This week we had a death in my family.  It wasn't necessarily sudden, but happened quickly nonetheless and has been difficult to grasp. It is an unfortunate reminder to slow down, and appreciate how precious life is. To stop and smell the roses and have perspective on your priorities.

 

 My family means everything to me and it's so important to spend time together, during the good times and in bad, because family helps you through.

This weekend will be a quieter one and all about family.

I am very much looking forward to spending time with these peeps - my favorites :)

 

 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend with your favorites! XO

My baby is 2!

I'm pretty sure I will be am one of those moms who will call their kids "babies" forever. I suppose there are worse things though, right? Although once my babies are teenagers, I can only imagine how much they'll appreciate it. Thankfully, that's a long time away because I can barely handle TWO (and 4 1/2 years old).

Where did the time go? How can it be? My memories of her birth-day are so vivid and fresh, it truly feels like yesterday. When Anna was born, she cried a little more, her eyes were wide open for hours, and I quickly noticed the differences in her features, from her sister. While the practice of comparing isn't necessarily beneficial, for me, it highlights their uniqueness and makes me appreciate their individuality. I mean, it just wows me, that two little people could be so wildly different. It goes without saying that I love my girls beyond words, and each of them has taught me something and helped me grow as a mom.

Anna is petite, and has a larger than life personality bursting from her at all times. She's feisty, animated, sneaky and determined. She's as sweet as they come with affection galore, but she knows what she wants and will not shy away from manipulation to get it! She challenges me and surprises me sometimes, and there have been numerous occasions where I've admitted - I just don't know what to do. Challenging moments aside, she wakes up so happy and is non stop laughs and action all day, until she's pleading at bedtime to stay up and play with her sissy. She's easy going, and flexible and can function just fine with no nap... although when she naps, she's extra happy in the afternoon. She loves playing with her sister, antagonizing her too (already - uh oh!), singing, playing with anything that makes noise, coloring and being outside. Her zest for life is infectious, and she's our constant entertainment. I love that she keeps us on our toes, and reminds us she can't be left alone (how do we forget!).

I love you Anna-nana girl - thank you for bringing us so much joy! Cheers to you, and let's do this TWO!

Some pictures of our girl, and our little celebration!

 

Kindergarten

Hold your horses! Stop the presses! Say it ain't so! It is official - Miss Madelyn Jayne is registered for Kindergarten. Oh, my, gosh. I thought I might cry, but I didn't. After the work putting all the information together, the actual meeting for registration, was quick and easy. Sort of anti-climatic if you will. I'm sure on the first day of school, or the week or two leading up to, you will find me flying through tissues as I bawl my eyes out... but for right now, I'm ok. I just can't believe it. We all know that time flies, but every now and then its as if the reality of it just hits us upside the head.

A few months back I went to a pre-registration meeting for all upcoming kindergarten parents. It was very informative and insightful as we looked ahead to the coming year.  Madelyn had only recently turned 4, and the start to kindergarten was almost 10 months away, so it felt like I had time. Time to process, adjust and cope with all the changes coming up. One speaker had a few great tips about prepping our little ones for their new adventure. In addition, they touched on how a large part of a smooth transition has to do with Mom and Dad, and how we handle it. Sure, I can be excited for her and speak positively about it, because I am looking forward to her experiences. However, seeing that this is our first time, there is a whole lot of more to it, for me. So, forgive me but letting go just wont be that easy.

(There they are... the tears, that were hiding)

My sweet baby girl seems to have grown leaps and bounds lately, both physically and mentally. She's essentially the size of a 1st grader, and she seems (to me) to be fully equipped for learning, reading, writing and all that will come next year. But, I am not ready. Thankfully I still have a few months until day 1. Starting school is like real big-kid status, it's the real deal. I have so many worries, so many hopes, and most of all, so much love for my little munchkin. I hope she doesn't ever lose her innocence, her spark, her empathy and love for others, and I hope she has f-u-n. They recently did a whole lesson on butterflies at school, and it seemed appropriate - that's just like her. She's beautiful and delicate, and I've loved to watch her grow.

We painted the lyrics to this song on the wall in Madelyn's nursery in our old house, and now a few years later, it holds even more significance as we're looking ahead to this big milestone - my wishes for my little butterfly:

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

The Swoon Series

Not sure why, but I liked my Swooning post so much, I thought I'd start a Swoon Series.  I'll share whatever I'm daydreaming about, happy with, or obsessing over at the moment. My first swoon share was our new bed, which quite honestly, months later I am STILL swooning over. But, moving along, now I wanted to share some really inexpensive things I've picked up recently. Totally swoon-worthy!

 

Disclaimer- I may have spent years working in fashion, but I do not claim to be a fashion expert. I just know what I like and what works for me, in my budget. I do not intend to blog often about fashion either, because I'll probably disappoint or under-impress. However, recently, I've picked up a few things, that have become fast favorites and I just have to share! I tend to try to make things last year after year, and really don't shop much... but it's so fun to pick up a few new things in the spring. Obsessed, might be an understatement when it comes to these 4 things, probably because in addition to fitting well and being comfortable - they were inexpensive! A win all around.

 

1. The MOST comfortable (and adorable!) Espadrilles from Payless
2. I love this cute shirt for warm summer nights, or cooler spring days and it has the perfect fit!
3. My new go-to chunky necklace for a pop of color from J. Crew Factory
4. A relaxed boxy fit - I couldn't believe this online purchase was a keeper - I am obsessed!

Happy (almost) Spring! Happy shopping :)
XO

HOOKY

On Wednesday, the girls and I played hooky, and had so much. I can remember hooky-days well from my childhood. They didn't happen often, but just when you least expected it, my mom would say - lets not go to school today! And, we would break out in celebration.

I get 10 vacation (and some sick) days a year. Coming from 30+ days off a few years ago, this is a struggle for me/us.  To have had that time while I was single didn't mean much, but I have a different appreciation for it now since having a family. It certainly is true, hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Anyway, 10 days mean I have to chose my days wisely. While we've had lots of family time over the last few weekends, I just wanted to the day off to hang with my kiddos. So I did something that was hard for me, I lied and called out sick. And, it.was.perfect :) We got a (dreaded) doctors visit for shots over with for Madelyn, went shopping and to lunch with Mimi, took great naps, and then got to play outside before dinner. It was a great day, and the extra bonus was that it hit 70 degrees! I came back to work yesterday, all better from my illness ;) refreshed and happy, and now it's Fri-yay!

Have a great weekend! XO