Easter 2012

The cousins were together again. Beatrice and Theo love them some JuJi (as Theo calls Julian.)
I owe Easter a proper recap but I am in crazy mode this week. Gearing up for girls weekend in CT. Yahoo. Trying to finish up a bunch of Farmers Market stuff. (Anyone know a cheese maker?) Trying to do my actual paid job. Trying to make Cory rest (Lyme Disease story to come.) Ah, things will slow down eventually.

Welcome Eastah!

Peep, peep. How long before my front porch is covered in bird, raccoon, and squirrel shit? You know those nasty little critters will be eating the crap out of these peeps (yes, they're real.) I did spray the whole wreath with hair spray so maybe that'll deter them.
Here's the tutorial I used. If I had it to do over, I'd break apart all the peeps and use the toothpick approach. Live and learn.

Happy 4th Birthday, Beatrice Isabel

My lovely Beatrice,
I am sorry this post is a couple of days late. You turned four last Friday but mama was up to her eyeballs in a pink princess world getting everything ready for your birthday parties. We also took a special trip to Disney Princesses on Ice and boy were you excited. Daddy and I had so much fun watching you watch the magic unfold. And your auntie and cousin Julian surprised us with a special visit from VA. You are one lucky birthday girl!
These last four years have been so special. I never could have imagined what having a baby girl would do to my life and your father's. Yesterday while I was rushing around to put stuff away before leaving for dinner at Nanny's, you grabbed me around my waist and said "Mama, thanks for making my birthday come true. I love you." It's moments like those that take my breath away.
My precious girl, thank you for choosing me to be your mama. I love you to the moon and back.

4th Birthday - JetBlue Style

While we were in Virginia this past week, my sister threw an early birthday party for Beatrice since she won't be with us on Beatrice's actual birthday. She gave Beatrice a Birthday Princess crown that she wore the duration of the trip. On our way back home, while boarding the airplane the flight attendant noticed her crown and informed us that Birthday Princesses get to sit in the cockpit. The pilot jumped out of his seat and ushered her into the pilot's seat. So much for TSA security in our nation's capital!




Then while we walked down the aisle towards our seats the flight attendant announced "I'd like us all to wish Beatrice a happy 4th birthday." People were high-fiving her and clapping. She was loving it.

Spread the Love

This is the Valentine I made for Beatrice to give out to her buddies.












This is the Valentine my sister made for her son to hand out.













We didn't discuss this beforehand. Creativity runs in the family. Or we're both just really good at copying things off of Pinterest.

HappyValentine's Day 2012!

This is what I see when I think of love. I am blessed.

Happy 33rd (Larry Bird), Cory

Happy 2012

As you know, I am a Resolutions kind of gal. I like the idea of starting each year anew while putting behind the challenges of the previous year. It's refreshing and rejuvenating. Here are my 2012 Resolutions:

• Participate in a Monthly Give every month of 2012: Research shows that you feel better mentally and emotionally when you help others. I will post the January Monthly Give later this week.


• Create and accomplish monthly, measurable CrossFit fitness goals: I just started a new gym, CrossFit. I'll post more about it later but so far I love it and it was just what I needed to re-boot my workout regimen.


• Aim to eat Paleo: I don't remember if I've blogged about this way of eating but I tried it last summer and it really worked well for me. Basically it encourages you to eat like a caveman-- meats, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits. Basic, old fashioned eating before we became engulfed by modern agriculture and the evils of sugar! I've read up on it and while I can't spout out all of the biological research behind it, I can tell you it makes sense and it made sense for me when I stuck to it. If you are one of those people that can eat just one piece of chocolate or one piece of bread, this way of life might not be for you. But if you're like me and sugars and carbs trigger more cravings and you've never been good at this whole 'willpower' thing, maybe think about it. I wet my feet with this book, Primal BluePrint. In all reality, I will aim to live the 80/20 rule where I'll do my best to stick to it most days but will indulge in certain non-Paleo foods at parties, holidays, vacations, etc. I heard a good quote the other day- "Everything in moderation, including moderating."


• Blog more: I find blogging to be a great creative outlet. Blogging is good exercise for my mushy, decaying gray matter.


• Participate in my community: There are lots of good things happening in our little town. Cory and I joined the Farmer's Market Group. We are hoping to start a Farmer's Market in the town square next Spring. This is a great group of like minded people and its been really fun working with them. I've also become involved in Beatrice's school PTO and that's been fun too. I think this kind of ties into my first resolution. I feel good when I'm connecting with people and helping out. I like the team atmosphere as I lack this in my day-to-day since I primarily work from home.


• Floss daily.


• Find a way to work remotely 1 month in the next year: (This goal is a carryover from last year.)


• Continue to work on mental health goals. (This goal is a carryover from last year.)

So research shows that you have more success at keeping your resolutions when you share them with others and declare them loud and proud. You also have a greater chance at success if you make them measurable and attainable. You also should check in periodically to see how you're faring. I'll set a reminder in my calendar to check back in on March 1st to keep myself accountable.

So let's take a look back at last year's resolutions. I've added my annotations.

• Use my brain more: I did read a good amount of books last year. I also subscribed to Vanity Fair so I read some great articles there. Don't laugh, I count magazine articles are literature! I also attended a screening of Food Inc. at our local library and went to a couple of author readings.


• Eat dinner as a family 1 night a week: FAIL. The problem with this goal is that our kids eat dinner at 5pm and go to bed by 7. Usually Cory and I will eat dinner once they're in bed. We do eat breakfast together most mornings though so I think as long as we eat one daily meal together, we're getting that family bonding time around the table. Once they're a bit older, we'll eat dinner together.


• Get my mental health in order: This one is ongoing. I was doing well after a rocky start last year. I'd say February-October was good. My medication was working and then things got rough again in November through December. My mental state can pretty much be tracked on the calendar. My low points come at the same time every year and strike with the same symptoms (lethargy, trouble getting out of bed, disassociation, irritability, sense of being overwhelmed, anxiety, poor eating habits, lack of motivation to exercise, negative self talk.) Then Christmas comes and my mood improves slightly. Then the New Year comes and I feel refreshed and re-charged. Every year after I come through the 'dark period' I tell myself, "Don't let this happen again next year." I've added it to this year's list.


• Drink more water: I succeeded at this tangible goal. Sometimes you have to throw some easy ones on the list.


• Find a way to work remotely 1 month in the next 2 years: We only have about another year to make this one come true. I've added it to this year's list.

What are your resolutions/goals for 2012?

Merry, Merry 2011

We had a very, very Merry, Merry. The festivities started on Christmas Eve when we hosted Noche Buena for our family and friends. We did a Latin American themed menu, serving Pollo a la Cerveza (Chicken in beer sauce), Congri (Cuban black beans and rice), Carne Asada, Grilled Plantains, Pork and Chicken Tamales, and homemade roasted poblano salsa and tomatillo salsa. Cory and I had a lot of fun making the meal together. It pleased me to see lots of people serving themselves seconds (and thirds!) The night was a lot of fun.

Christmas morning was wonderful. Beatrice was very excited to come downstairs and see all of the presents. She was so cute, opening her gifts from Santa. At one point she commented "Santa knows just what I like."

After present opening we went off to Cory's grandmother's and then to my aunt's. It was a really special day.




I hope your day was filled with laughter, joy, and merriment.

Happy Hanukkah

This car was parked next to me at the mall the other day. Fantastic.

Boozin' and Shoppin'

That photo above is of my kids in a club. This was their first time in a club but it was daytime so we figured it was ok. Actually this was technically Beatrice's second time in a music venue (she attended a Snoop Dogg concert while in utero.) Anyhow, we brought the kids to TT's Rockin Holiday Flea Market and Bloody Mary Bash.

We drank killer Bloody Mary's and shopped the kitschy goods. We even got the kids a steamed dog and a Narraganset beer for $4. You can't beat that. Cory helped them out with the beer.

We walked away with a couple of treasures. Cory had to have this elf cookie jar (obviously.)

We also bought this RipeGoods handcrafted necklace for my sister in law.
The owner of this outfit is our friend from high school. I had heard she made jewelry so I was pleasantly surprised to see her selling her wares at TT's. It was great to catch up with her and shop her beautiful jewelry.

Thanksgiving ReCap 2011

Ate lots of food. Laughed a lot. Played with the kids. Danced our asses off.

(What? You guys don't have dance parties at your Thanksgiving Celebrations? Maybe it's a Portuguese thing. *)

And now for the more civilized family shot.
Do you like Theo's Bieber circa 2010 hair? Do you know how much blow drying and hairspray that takes.

*Another notable moment, was when my mother launched into a turkey story just as we all stuffed the first bites into our mouths. While prepping the 26 lb turkey for cooking, she reached into the cavity to pull out the innards and thought she got most of it out. She went back in for a final check and found the neck. It was the longest neck bone she's ever seen! It was as long as, and I quote "a giraffe's penis." Who says that!?!

American Baby

Last week my mother took Beatrice to the American Girl Store. Theo and I tagged along to make sure the brainwashing wasn't a complete success. I wasn't feeling too good about it as we pulled into the parking lot and Beatrice squealed "The American Girl store!" I hadn't told her where we were going so I asked "How do you know where we are?" She retorted "Mama, I can read the star sign." Wow.... that's some shit, girl can't even write her own name or tie her shoes but she knows the doll store.

This trip was planned by my mother as a reconnaissance mission for Christmas. Since this is Bea's first American Girl doll, I suggested we make a beeline for the cheaper Bitty Baby (read Gateway Drug) section. Bea's eyes lit up as my mother pulled one after another off the shelves for her to hold. Then she saw the twins in the next section and flipped the f out. I think at that point my mother would have bought her a set of octuplets.

W then we made our way up to the larger sized dolls (read Heroin) section. I don't think I'll have to worry about the American Girl marketing geniuses converting my little boy. He spent most of our twenty minutes up there hiding and trashing the joint:


On the way out the door my mother caught my eye and motioned to the section of mini-sized dolls, pantomiming buying one for Beatrice right then and there. I gave her a "Are you f'ing crazy look" after we turned it over to see the price tag of $22. It's 6 inches tall. My mother is totally drinking the Kool-Aid.

Halloween 2011

This year's Halloween was a 2-part extravaganza. The Friday night before Halloween we had a wedding to attend. A costumed wedding for the entire family. Cory most definitely represented well with his bandleader uniform. Beatrice and I rocked it out as ballerinas and Theo went as a skunk (of course.)

Then a couple of nights later, the kids donned their costumes again and we hit the pavement. Beatrice liked it a bit better this year and Theo totally got into it.

Here are some pictures.

Under the Sea

I had an ocean filled birthday weekend. Friday night we dined on mussels. Saturday we went to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. Saturday night we had an old fashioned Portuguese clam bake with steamers, 2 lb lobsters, and corn on the cob. And Cory went over the top by getting us oysters too. By late Saturday night I was one salty, sandy mess inside and out. There is nothing like a New England summer.

Happy 32nd Birthday To Me!

That's a self-centered title for a post, huh. Well, a lady only turns 32 once. 32 is a weird age, I have to say. I am not someone that generally gets worked up about the age number but 32 feels somewhat 'mature.'

My day is off to a rocky start. Beatrice threw a fit about going to daycare again. For the past month or so she's been getting all upset in the morning. But then she's fine when she gets there. Pre-school should be a good time. To get through the morning, I reminded myself what we were doing last year on my birthday. -- (dealing with a 5 week old baby, a 2 1/2 year old, and oh ya moving into a new house during the hottest, most humid summer ever.)

Cory redeemed the morning by giving me a lovely birthday present- tickets to Cirque de Soleil, a sweat towel for the gym, and an antique hook to hang our kitchen dish towels. Perfection! He really is the best gift giver.

My birthday celebration actually started a day early. Yesterday Cory and I played hooky and hit the beach. It was by far one of the best days I've had in ages. We even brought our bikes to ride up to the beach.


The celebration continues tonight with dinner and drinks on the patio at John Stone's and then the beach again tomorrow. I love having a summer birthday.

Posting...

Posting has been light this summer. I'm just not feeling the blog-thang lately. Oh well.

Another thing that has been light this summer is house cleaning. We usually clean on the weekends but summer weekends have been overflowing with visits to the pool, the beach, and parties. We are trying to soak every last bit of leisure out of the weekends so there's no time left over for the mundane business of cleaning. Hopefully we can catch up throughout the week.

This weekend is jam-packed again. We have my beloved nephew's 3rd birthday party and a wedding. The wedding is a backyard casual affair. I am very much looking forward to it as a night out. And we don't have to drive. Uh-oh, let's hope we don't have a repeat of the last wedding I attended.

Beatrice Wishes America a Happy Birthday

We had a great 4th of July weekend. If I wasn't such a deadbeat I'd have photos to share. There Here some highlights and lowlights.

Let's get the bad out of the way:

Pulling up to the beach and realizing that I'd packed everything but Theo's bathing suit. Oops.

Pulling back the shower curtain, jumping in (sans contacts so I was basically legally blind) to find a garter snake waiting for me. WTF?!? My brave husband removed it and humanely disposed of it in the yard. He used one of these. Why does he have that laying around the house you ask... obviously for garter snake removal.

Some highlights include:

Beatrice discussing what kind of cake "America" will have at her party.

Watching Beatrice play with all her little buddies. She is at the perfect age now to play with her friends without needing constant adult interaction.

Watching Theo crawl along the wet sand, covering himself in the mud-like grit. He loved it.

Dunking Beatrice and Theo under water. They both wanted to do it over and over, in the pool and the ocean. We have some water babies on our hands.

Beer

Ice cream

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Summer should only be made up of sunny long weekends.

3 Became 6

This past weekend at Baby Bella's 1st birthday we finally updated this photo taken one year ago:

What a difference a year makes!?!

Happy Father's Day 2011

We celebrated our second Father's day this year as a family of 4. This year was a bit less chaotic than last year.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am in constant awe of the Father my Husband has become. From day 1 he has amazed me with his love, patience (most days), and support. He is the father I didn't have, the father I hope Beatrice one day finds for her children, and the kind of father I hope Theo becomes. We are all truly blessed.

One of Cory's gifts was Theo's name and birth date inscribed in his wedding ring. (to accompany Beatrice's name and birth date and our wedding date.) There isn't any more room in his band so I guess we're done reproducing. Plus, we're running out of room on our accordion Father's Day card.