Goodbye, 2011! Hello, 2012!

Hi, remember me? Yes I am that person who has not updated her blog, in uh…months.  I have been busier than ever at work and with my family.  I am very blessed though to have a job in which I love and an awesome family.

Our Christmas was wonderful, Cecilia is very loved (and spoiled!)  I will recap Christmas in a later post. We are having a get together for New Years with some of our closest friends at our house.  Since the majority of our friends are parents it will be kid friendly.

I can honestly say I am happy to put 2011 behind me though.  While this year had a lot of ups, it was also possibly one of the toughest years for me emotionally.  I said goodbye to an amazing mother in law and the one grandmother I ever really knew.  I watched my uncle’s health deteriorate dramatically because of his ALS and a childhood friend was killed in a car accident.

There were some great parts of 2011 too.  I started a new job where I have the best boss ever (seriously I do, she bought me a Coach wallet for Christmas).  One of my coworkers at my new job is now one of my best friends, I really don’t know what I would have done without her this year. One of my favorite cousins married the love of his life and there were three births within my family and circle of friends.

2012 is going to be a great year, I know it!

I hate resolutions, but I do like goals.  So my goals for 2012 are:

To lose at least 30 pounds. I’ll be 30 in 2013, by the time I am 30 I want to be in a healthy weight according to my BMI chart.

To be more organized! I am a typically a very organized person, but for some reason that went out the window this year.

To budget better (my husband will like this one!)

To become involved in charity work!

To blog MORE!

I hope all of you have a safe and happy New Year! I will see you in 2012!

I am still alive!

Hello blog readers! I haven’t disappeared from the face of the earth, I promise! I have just been extremely busy with this thing I called life.  Every time I went to write a blog post I was at a loss for words {which rarely happens!}.

The last few weeks all of my free time has spent consumed by this:

A combined party, a 30^th Anniversary Party for my parents and a 75^th Birthday Party for my grandfather.  The party was Saturday and it was a success! All of my hard work the last few weeks paid off. My life is back to normal {for now.}  I know my husband is happy to have his wife back and this week I will work on getting our house back in order. 

I promise a recap post of the party very soon. I am going to have to get pictures from others.  I was too busy being a hostess and I didn’t take a single picture.

Happy Monday everyone!

Saturday's Top Five Laughs: 10/8

I am sorry I haven't been as active on my blog this week.  It's been a crazy busy week at work and at home.  We are super bummed here in the A Household that the Phillies are out of the play offs.  Congrats to the Cards fans though (especially Julie!).  We have a busy day planned today, we're taking Cecilia to a local orchard for their annual Fall Fest.  Then we are heading down to Southern Delaware to Daniel's step father's house in Lewes for a little family get together.  It will probably be the last time we eat crabs for the season, as the crabbing season on the Chesapeake is winding down.  I promise more posts (and tweets!) next week.

Cecilia's Top Five Laughs from this week were:

1. On Sunday morning while getting Ci dressed I went to put socks on her.  She looked at me and said "I don't wear socks (except when she says socks, she drops the s so it sounds like "ock") I don't go bye, bye!" I told her we weren't going anywhere.  She still refused to put socks on. It was still chilly and I didn't want her walking around with bare feet.  Luckily she did have a pair of Dora slippers she got for Christmas last year that were too big for her then. She agreed to put them on, they just barely fit this year.  Once again Dora saves the day!

2.  On Tuesday at daycare Cecilia got in trouble at daycare for biting a little boy, B who is also her age.  This is Cecilia's first time biting at day care.  B has bit her at least ten times since about March.  I hope she's not getting into the biting stage now.  Anyway, when we got home from daycare we put Cecilia in time out and let her know it was from biting B.  After two minutes in time out was up I made her tell me she was sorry for biting B and that she wouldn't do it again.  When she got up, she ran and got her sock monkey, she brought the monkey over to me, touched his mouth to my leg and then said "No, bad monkey!" She ran over put the monkey in time out and said "Don't bite mommy, monkey! It's not nice...now you go in time out for 2 minutes! Then say sorry!"   I was able to snap a pic while she was putting the monkey in time out.

3. We are potty training Cecilia and it's not easy! I thought she'd be potty trained in no time, because my mom said I was super easy to potty train.  She is no longer wearing pull ups while at home, just underwear. This morning while I was getting her dressed she asked me to put her monkey diaper on her. Her monkey diaper is the Luvs diaper we used when she was at daycare. I guess she saw them in her changing table.  Sigh My girl will be going to college and still wanting to wear her monkey diaper!

4. Ci loves her stuffed animals. Every night when she goes to bed she does a roll call of her stuffed animals.  There's my Ellie, there's dolphin, there's ray (sting ray), there's teddy bear, there's piggy, etc.  Well on Sunday her Pop Pop Charley (instead of calling her grandparents by their last name, Ci started calling them Pop pop or Mom mom and then whatever their dog's name is, so my parents are Mom Mom and Pop Pop Cody, Daniel's dad and step mom are Pop Pop Charley and Mom mom Chloe and Daniel's step dad is Pop Pop Ernie, which is his real name or Pop Pop Sinsin, his dog's name is Sinamon) gave her another sock monkey and another elephant. So they have been added to the roll call.... one night the sock monkey wasn't in bed.  "Where's my Pop pop charley monkey?" I don't know I told her.. Then she said "Oh, he's in mommy and daddy room, he sleep with you tonight!" I thought that was so sweet she thought of others, even though the sock monkey was actually in her play room.

5.  When we pick Ci up from daycare she insists on puting all of the toys away.  She'll even try to take toys other kids are playing with and put them away.  It amazes me how she knows what bin toys go in.  Yesterday she must of been baking cookies, she had an oven mit on and was pretending to get something out of the oven.  She insisted on putting every little piece of kitchen toy away in the right spot.  (There had to be 15-20 things out). I love she loves putting her toys away at day care, she  needs to start putting them away at home!

Well, I am off to get Ci and myself ready for the pumpkin patch! Have a great weekend!

The debate that never ends

I came across a blog post last week that really put a sour taste in my mouth.  My first thought was to write a nasty comment on the blogger’s post, but then I stopped myself.  I knew I wouldn’t want anyone to do the same on blog, so I just left the blog.  Almost a week later and I am still bothered by the post, here’s just one quote from it:

 “I think it's a bit selfish to put a child in daycare if you don't have to, would you want to spend all day every day in daycare?”

My response to this quote? Yes, I could probably afford to stay at home with Cecilia.  However, on just my husband’s salary that would mean we’d have to move out of our 2500 square foot house on an acre lot and into a singlewide trailer in a trailer park.  It also means we’d only be able to afford one vehicle and we could forget about date nights and going on vacation ever again.  Instead I work and Cecilia goes to daycare from approximately 7:20 am until 4:40 pm every day.  Does this make a bad mom? I hope not!

She still has two parents who love her more than anything in the world.  She eats better at daycare then at home sometimes (this morning for breakfast she had homemade waffles with turkey bacon).  I trust her daycare provider just as much as I trust my mom. At two, Cecilia knows her ABC’s, she can count to 30, she can tell you her colors and shapes and she has a huge vocabulary.   Do I sometimes wish I didn’t have to work and that I could spend all day with her? All the time!  I also think it’s healthy that I am not with her 24/7, because when we do get our time together I appreciate it more. 

I have a ton of friends who are stay at home moms and I have several friends who are working moms.  I don’t think one is better than the other, but I think it’s time that we respect each other.  I have so much respect for stay at home moms.  They don’t get the break I get every week day. They probably work harder staying at home and taking care of their little ones then I do in an 8 hour work day.  I sit at a desk all day and punch numbers {I do more than that, but you get the point.}  Working moms have it hard to, we have to say good bye to our little ones every morning.  There’s the occasional tears, because they don’t want mommy to go to work, but then there’s other days they run off without even giving you a hug or kiss goodbye.  We put our children in someone else’s hands every day.   We aren’t there to kiss every scrape and bruise, we might miss their first step or first word, but regardless that doesn’t make us a bad parent.

What are your views on working moms verses stay at home moms?

Weigh In Wednesdays

I am starting a new weekly series on my blog called, Weigh In Wednesdays.  For months now I have been trying to get back on the weight loss train and well it just hasn’t happened.  I can’t seem to get myself motivated.  I am finally working out again, but I need to start eating right too. By the time I am 30 (in July 2013), I want to be at my goal weight (approximately 50 pounds less then what I am now).   I am no longer going to say hopefully I can do it, I know I can do it!

I have committed to run my first 5K with my boss and another coworker who happens to be one of my good friends. My boss is in amazing shape, she is in her 50’s and runs 5Ks several times a year.  My friend is also in good shape and unlike me she enjoys running.  Our 5K is a little more than a month away so I have to get my ass in gear and start training.

My goal is to train at least four times a week, whether it’s running outsider, on the treadmill at the gym or the treadmill at my parent’s house.  I want to do an accelerated Couch to 5K program.  I also plan to continue with my fitness classes.  Last night I took my first Zumba class and I have to say…I wasn’t impressed.  I didn’t get that great of a workout.  I feel like I get a better work out in my Insanity and Boot Camp classes.  I am not a quitter though, I am going to finish this session out of Zumba and if I don’t like it come the end of the month I will go back to Insanity.

Each Wednesday I plan on checking in here and letting my blog readers know my progress for the week and if I met my goals.

 My goals for this week:

·         Train for the 5K at least four days.

·         Track my calories on the My Fitness Pal app on my phone.

·         Drink 8-10 glasses of water.

If any other bloggers want to join in on Weigh In Wednesdays let me know.  Even if you only have ten pounds to lose I think having others encourage you helps. Maybe we can make a challenge of some sort and we will have prizes (maybe weekly if we get enough people involved) for the challenge winner.

2 on Tuesday: Favorite Childhood Toys

It's almost that time of year, time to start Christmas shopping {for the first time I ever, I have already started...usually I don't start until Black Friday}. This year I am so excited to shop for Cecilia.  Hopefully this year she will understand the concept of Santa Claus more and she'll be really excited about opening presents.

This week in 2 on Tuesday, Andrea asks


What were your two favorite childhood toys?


Cabbage Patch Dolls

I loved playing with my cabbage patch kids.  I had several of them, I believe my mom still has a few of mine upstairs in their attic. This year I plan on buying Cecilia her first Cabbage Patch Doll.  She love playing with her baby dolls so hopefully she will add this one to the collection.

Cricket Doll

Does anyone besides me remember Cricket? You put a cassette tape in her back and she sung songs and counted with you.  Looking back this doll was kinda creepy, but at four or five years old I loved her. She went everywhere with me.  I believe Cricket came out around the same time as the Chucky movies and whenever my cousin, Connie babysat me she made my parents take Cricket with them.

Honorable mentions are: Popples, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Lincoln Logs, I could go on and on..
You can link up for 2 on Tuesday by visiting Andrea at My Chihuahua Bites

Lots of Blog Love

Melissa over at The Mommyhood Chronicles awarded me with two blog awards earlier this week:

 

Thank you, Melissa! Melissa's blog is one of my favorites, be sure to stop by and say hi and enter her current giveaway. 

I would love to give this award to some of my other favorite blogs:

Fiddle Dee Dee
Mommy Musings
Jill's World
My Chihuahua Bites
Simply Me
The Queen's Kourt
The Young and The Relentless
Confessions of an Impulsive Addict
Happy Heart of Mine

Be sure to visit these fabulous bloggers!

I am also supposed to tell seven things about myself.

1. I love wine.  There's nothing better then a bottle glass of Cabernet or White Zin after a hard week of work.

2. I never have liked the taste or smell or coffee which is odd, because both of my parents are big coffee drinkers.

3.  I'm a big baker, I love making, cookies, cupcakes and brownies. With the holidays coming up, I will be doing a lot of baking.

4.  I have quite the potty mouth, when I am around my friends or when it's just Daniel and I let loose.  I am pretty good around Cecilia, but occasionally a curse word will slip out.  Thankfully she hasn't repeated anything yet.

5.  I love to read. My Kindle goes everywhere with me.

6.  I have never been a very artistic person, I can't draw or paint well at all. I hope Cecilia gets my mom's artistic kills, my mom is super crafty.

7.  I am working on a 30 before 30 list.  One of the things on that list is to run a 5K.  I signed up to run my first 5K the second weekend of November. I am scared! 

Thanks again Melissa for the awards!

Saturday's Top Five Laughs

I loved doing last week's Saturday's Top Five Laughs, I plan on doing it every Saturday.  It is where you put the funniest thing your kid(s) have done this week.

1.  On Sunday while watching the Ravens game over to my parents, (they won, yay!) Cecilia took the remote off the coffee table which was next to where my dad was sitting.  She handed it to him and said "I watch Dora & Boots, Pop pop." My dad laughed, but kindly let her know, "No, Cici we're watching football." She put one hand on her hip, the other hand on the remote and said "Nooooooooooooooooooooo, Pop pop I watch Dora & Boots!" This went on for about three minutes. It was hilarious, because my dad couldn't keep a straight face.  Every time her told her no he tried hard not to laugh.

2.  All week during her bath Cecilia is a dog.  She wants me to give her a bath like I give Cari, our dog.  She even got the doggy shampoo out of the cabinet and asked me to use it on her.  Don't worry I didn't, I pretended to use it, but still used her baby shampoo.  After her bath she'd crawl around the house pretending to be her doggy.  Thankfully she didn't eat anything out of Cari's dog dish!

3. On Wednesday night, Ci's Halloween costume came in from ETSY seller minnieschild.  I tried it on her just to make sure it fit and ever since she has tried to wear it to daycare every day and even today to my cousin's daughter's second birthday party (which was a Mickey Mouse theme).  It is going to be a long month if Cecilia is asking to wearing her Minnie Mouse costume every day.

4.  Like Hayley (Melissa's from The Mommyhood Chronicles daughter) Cecilia has learned that she can delay her bedtime. One night this week she played shy and didn't want to give my husband kiss before bed.  I put her to bed to tuck her in when she tells me, "I need to give daddy a kiss." She gets out of bed runs to the family room where was Daniel was and gives him a kiss, then she tells him she wants to watch football (he was watching baseball). We let her stay up another five minutes, but she eventually went to bed.

5.  My mom just told me of this last one.  I am sick today (I've been sick all week with a cold, but today it seems to have gotten worse..I just wanted to stay home and rest since I worked crazy hours with our aduit at work) so I didn't go to my cousin's daughter, Gracie's second birthday party.  I felt horrible for not going, but I would have felt worse if some else got this nasty cold. My mom took Cecilia.  When they left mom said Cecilia gave my aunt and cousin a hug and the next thing she knows she ran back inside and gave every single person at the party a hug, including my cousin's husband's family.  She does this at daycare every day, she has to give each of the daycare kids a hug bye as well as Miss Sally and Dawn (Miss Sally's daughter in law who helps out), but it surprised me she gave complete strangers a hug.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday (and that no one else is stuck home sick like me!).  Be sure to root for the Phillies againest the Cardinals tonight! We want a repeat of 2008!!!

Here's Cecilia in her favorite Phillies shirt

Be sure to also check out Melissa over to The Mommyhood Chronicles Saturday's Top Five Laughs and enter her giveaway while you are there.

Five Question Friday - 09/30/11

Happy Friday and happy last day of September! Is it me or has the month of September flew by? I am excited for October though, we have some big events next month including Halloween.  Ci's costume came in yesterday, I am in love with it (and so is she!).  I can't wait to show you guys!

Anyway, it's time for Mama M's Five Question Friday.

This week she asks:

1. Do you apologize to your kids if you're wrong?

I do apologize to Cecilia if I am wrong about something, which is rare.  Even though she's only two and a half I think it's never too early to let her hear you say "Sorry."

2. Do you have a class ring, letterman's jacket, or similar obscenely priced high school "must have"?

I still have my class ring in my jewelry box.  I haven't wore it since my sophomore year. It was a big waste of money (sorry mom and dad!)  Class rings for girls have gotten a lot cuter in the last few years.  My sister in law's ring isn't bulky like mine was.

3. If you could be one age for the rest of your life, what age would you choose?

 Probably 35 (seven years from now).  Hopefully by that time both the hubs and I will be where we want in our careers, we'll have one (maybe two) more kids and we will be in our dream house.

4. What is your favorite (unused) baby name?

 This is a tricky one.  I like a few names Quinn and Elliott (for a girl) and Bryce or Cameron (for a boy). My husband hates all of these names and if we have another girl her name would most likely be Giulianna (not sure on a middle name) and our son would be Dane Michael. DH's family is Italian (we have a very Italian sounding last name) so he insists on any girls name sounding Italian (like Cecilia, who does not look Italian at all with her blonde hair and blue eyes). Dane is the name we fell in love with when I was pregnant with Ci.  Daniel (who is a Jr.) didn't want a III, but Dane is close enough to Daniel and Michael is a family name in both of our families.

5. If you could make your child like something what would it be?

This is hard, because Cecilia likes almost everything food wise.  It would probably be I wish she liked riding in the car more.  She has hated the car since we brought her home from the hospital.  A car trip more then twenty minutes she gets fussy unless we have the DVD player (but we only allow the DVD player on car trips over 2 hours). 

Do you want to join in on Five Question Friday? Head on over to Mama M's My Little Life to link up! 

Oh and P.S. head over to Melissa's blog, The Mommyhood Chronicles to enter a great giveaway for Lovable Labels! Let her know Mindy sent you.

The Sweetest Place on Earth

Earlier this summer one of my former co-workers posted a link on Facebook for free tickets to Hershey Park if you were a Chevy owner.  Neither my hubs or I are Chevy owners, but Daniel's step father was. He gave his VIN number, we punched it into the website and approximately two weeks later we received four of these babies:

The usual price for an adult ticket? $55! So thanks to Chevy and the hubs' stepdad we saved $220. We had originally planned to go to Hershey a few weeks ago, but thanks to the crazy amount of rain that has been dumped on the east coast this month the park was flooded. So we rescheduled for the last weekend.
 
Since Cecilia was free (kids under three are), we decided to ask our good friends, Mike and Amy to go.  Daniel has known Amy since they were in Sunday School together before they even went to Elementary School and he met Mike in high school. Before kids and mortgages we hung out with Mike and Amy all the time, but now with our busy schedules (and budgets) we don't get to see them nearly as much we used to. Mike and Amy have two adorable little girls,  Miss M who just turned 4 and Little A who is exactly a month younger then Cecilia (she turned 2 on May 17th).

We originally were going to stay the night since Hershey is a little more then a two and a half hour drive from home, but last minute we decided to go up there and back on the same day.

Miss M seeing how tall she is

It had been years since I've been to Hershey Park. I believe the last time I went when was when my grandparents my cousins and I, I was only 10 or so at the time. That was over 18 years ago.  It has changed a lot since then.  Instead of being more of a kiddy park, they have added several roller coasters.  This trip however was all about the kids.  Mike and Daniel snuck off twice to ride rollercoasters and Amy and I snuck off once.

This was the first time Cecilia had been to a bigger amusement park.  She loved it!

Miss M, Little A and Ci "driving" cars

"Mom, these aren't like the swings at the park."

"Nevermind, I like them better!"

You can't go to Hershey Park without taking a tour of Chocolate World where they show you how Hershey's famous candy bars are made.  You go through a replica factory on these little carts.  Suprisingly, Cecilia stayed entertained.

Picture Amy took of us on the cart before the tour (I look horrible!).

Chocolate

Wrapping Hershey's famous candy bars.

Look at all that Heshey's chocolate syrup!

Hershey's famous kisses!

The store after the tour (surprisingly all of this candy was very reasonably priced!)

Daniel, Ci, Miss M & Mike

After the tour is completed they give everyone a sample of a Hershey's product.  I remember when I came 18 years ago I got a full size Kit Kat candy bar.  Now they give you four Hershey Kisses.  It is better then nothing though considering the tour is free.

We went back to the park after the tour.  We were hoping the girls would take a nap in their strollers, but we had no such luck. All five of us rode in the observation tower, it was neat to see the park and the actual Hershey factory from an aerial view.

Daniel and MIike, friends for almost fifteen years. 

We rode some more rides with kids, Ci enjoyed "driving" a classic car with the help of daddy.  I sneaked a picture of the picture the park took.  There's no way I was paying $15 for that..

Miss M wanted to drive too, but was shy when it came picture time.

Here's all three girls, it was nearly impossible to get a picture of them all looking.

Ci, Little A & Miss M

Cecilia was quickly growing tired..

 

Before we left though the girls wanted to one ride again.  Can you guess which one?

 The swings!

We left right after the last ride and before we ever got to the car Cecilia was out.

Overall we had a great time, we all agreed next time we need to stay the night.  Going there and back in one day is a lot, especially with little ones. (Can I say, I told you so?) Hopefully next summer we can score some free tickets again.  I'll be sure to let my blog readers know if they are running the promotion again (apparently they run it every year) so those of you close to the Hershey area can take advantage of it too.

Congrats goes out to one of my favorite bloggers (and long time blog buddies), Julie who guessed where we were going! Congrats Julie, e-mail me {mindy71183@gmail.com} or Facebook me your address.  I picked a little something up for you and Issac while we were at Hershey Park.

We Want Know Wednesday: 09/28

Wow, this week has been crazy both at work and home! I apologize for not commenting on your blogs like I usually do.  Hopefully by tomorrow night everything will be back to normal.

I wanted to take some time out of my busy schedule and participate in one of my new favorite weekly blog hops, Mamarazzi’s and Queso’s We Want To Know Wednesday.

This week it’s all about food.  If you know me in real life (or follow me on Twitter) you know I love food.  My parents raised me to try everything at least once, if you don’t like you don’t have to try it again. I take that same rule into my adulthood, except I have yet to try guacamole. The texture freaks me out, but some of my besties claim it’s to die for.  Maybe I’ll be brave one day after a few margaritas.

This week’s questions:

1} What is one thing (food or drink) that you MUST have everyday?

There isn’t one particular thing I have to have every day.  I do have to have some sort of caffeine, whether if it is in the diet coke form or Sweet Tea form it is a must have!

{2} What is your "go to" food when you don't feel well/need comfort?

Cinnamon toast and hot tea. This is my go to comfort food when I am not feeling 100%. I think I am coming down with something, I have a sore throat, chills, congestion and I cannot wait to get home and have a glass of hot tea with my toast.

{3} Is there a dish that you make that people request when they visit your home/a family favorite?

Whenever we have poker night at our house, the hubs friends get upset if I don’t make Buffalo Chicken Dip.  If we are going to a picnic or family get together I always get asked to make Pretzel Salad or Tortellini Salad.   This time of year my pumpkin roll is also a huge hit.  The hubs loves my mom’s pork chop casserole and requests that I make it every week, even if it’s 100 degrees outside.

{4} What are 3 foods you have TRIED, do not like and will NEVER eat again?

Brussel Sprouts, I hated them as a kid and I still hate them now.

Venison (or deer meat), I only eat it when it’s mixed into chili; otherwise I refuse to eat it.  It tastes gamey to me.  We have a whole freeze full of deer that the hubs makes when I am not home.

Onions, I don’t like them raw. I hate them. I can eat them when they are cooked into something, but raw? No thank you!

{5} What's one thing that you love to eat that most people would think is weird and/or gross??

I can’t think of anything out of the norm. I love sushi, but so do all of my friends.  Maybe in some areas of the country the fact that I eat Maryland Crabs might gross people out.  My friend, Becky from Colorado hates watching us pick up crabs, because you see the intestines, the mustard (the poop), and other parts of the crab.  I just eat the crab meat itself, but if a little mustard is on a piece I don’t wash it off.  I know some people do, but I don’t  I think it gives it flavor!

I promise I will write an actual post soon! I have lots of pictures from our weekend trip!  Link up with Mamarazzi and Queso if you want to join in on this week’s We Want To Know Wednesday.

2 on Tuesday: 09/27/11

On last week's 2 on Tuesday you obviously saw that I spend way too much time in front of the TV. I am so glad it's fall again and my favorite TV shows have returned.  I also have a few new shows that may also make it to the season pass on my DVR (Two Broke Girls, The New Girl, Revenge & PanAm).

What I hate though is when you get attached to show and its characters and then all of a sudden it ends.  That brings me to this week's 2 on Tuesday question from My Chihuahua Bites:

What two television shows that have gone off the air do you miss?

Like the rest of America, I loved tuning into Friends on Must See TV on Thursday nights. My mom and I watched together every week, rooting for Ross and Rachel to get finally get together, we couldn't believe that Monica and Chandler became a couple and eventually got married and every week we laughed at Phoebe and Joey's great one liners. Even now when I catch a Friends rerun on TV I get hooked (even though I have most of the seasons on DVD and I've probably seen every episode at least 50 times).

I wish they would do a Friends reunion or movie so we could see where our favorite characters ended up, but I doubt that will ever happen since most of the cast has moved onto other things.

Sex and The City, oh how I miss you! I didn't jump on the Sex and The City bandwagon until college (fall of 2001), but I fell in love with the characters, the clothes and New York City.  I was Team Aidan, but I think in the end Carrie and Big are meant for one another. I loved the movies (even the second one) and I hope there will be a third. Every year I ask the hubs for the seasons on DVD, but in the six years we've been together I haven't gotten one season yet (maybe this year?) 

Close runner ups are The OC, Party of Five and The Hills.

What two TV shows do you miss the most? Go over to My Chihuahua Bites and link up! I hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!

30 Years

Thirty years ago today two of the very most important people in my life said "I do" in a Methodist church in my Maryland hometown in front of 200 of their closest family and friends. 

Thirty years and after having the best daughter ever (a little less then two years after saying I do) they are still very much in love. 

This couple has the relationship that most couples strive to have.  Their relationship isn't perfect, but it's damn near perfect in my opinion.  Marriage isn't easy, but you have to work through rough patches and they definitely have.

Happy 30th Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you!

I wish I had pictures to accompany this post, but I couldn't sneak any out of their wedding album.

A to Z of me

I found this on LilyBaby's blog.  I loved the idea and since I have a lot new followers I think it would be a good way for them to get to know me a little better! If you decide to do this copy & paste and let me know, I'd love to read your answers.

A. Age: 28...2 more years to 30. Yikes.
B. Bed size: Queen, hopefully in a few years we'll upgrade to a King.
C. Chore that you hate: Putting clothes away, I hate folding them, hanging them up or putting them away in drawers
D. Dogs: One. I call her my first baby, a Miniature Schnauzer, Carrie.  Her birthday is December 16, 2005.  Yes, we celebrate her birthday. She's part of the family, I wouldn't want her to feel left out.
E. Essential start to your day:  A shower, and then eating a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios
F. Favorite color:  Pink
G. Gold or Silver: White Gold..
 H. Height: 5'4"
I. Instruments you play:  None. I was in my school's color guard (twirling the flags or silks) in Middle School
J. Job title:  Accountant
K. Kids:  Cecilia Anne, she'll be 2 and a half next month. She's my world!
L. Live:  Del-a-where? Yeah...exactly. J/K After six years of living here I am finally considering Delaware home. Maryland will always be my first home.
M. Mother’s name:  Michelle
N. Nicknames: Mindy (yeah, my real name isn't Mindy...)
O. Overnight hospital stays:  Four. For pneumonia when I was 5,  for a bowel obstruction when I was 23 (you really wanted to know that, didn't you?) and then two nights when I had Cecilia.
P. Pet peeves: People who don't say please and thank you, bad customer service
Q. Quote from a movie:  "Crab cakes and football, that's what Maryland does!" Wedding Crashers
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings:  None
U. Underwear:  Of course.
V. Vegetable you hate:  Onions
W. What makes you run late:  My husband.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: CT- Scans, ultrasounds, dental x-rays when I had my wisdom teeth pulled.
Y. Yummy food that you make:  Pumpkin Roll, I'm craving one badly..
Z. Zoo animal: Kangaroos & Panda Bears.

Saturday's Top 5 Laughs

This week I am joining in The Mommyhood Chronicles Saturday's Top 5 Laughs.

Cecilia is getting to that age, she'll be two and a half next month where she is very vocal. I love it! Years from now it will be fun to look back on this with her.

Here are my top 5 laughs from this week:

1. Cecilia was quite the dancer at my cousin's wedding reception on Saturday, it didn't matter what type of music was on she was out on the dance floor shaking her booty. She was determined to keep up with the big kids!

She's the littlest one there.

2. Every night after Cecilia is getting out of the bath tub, brushing her teeth and while we put her pajamas on we sing songs.  Each night I ask her what song she wants to sing, her current favorites are "Bumblebee Song", "ABCs" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." On Wednesday night I asked her what song she wanted to sing and she said "Birthday song." So we sang the "Happy Birthday song." When I got to the part of whose birthday it was, she said Jackson's (little boy from daycare who recently had a birthday.) I love how she is beginning to remember things.

3.  On Thursday night as we were putting her pajamas on I asked her what we were going to sing.  She said "Play-doh" (her play doh was still out from where she played with it earlier). I told her there wasn't a play doh song.  She said "Uh huh mommy "and sings," Play-doh, play-doh, PLAAAYYYYYY DOOOHHHHH. All done mommy, now you sing.."

4.  Friday night after work we went grocery shopping to the place I hate the most, our local Super Wal Mart.  Wal Mart is the most convenient place for us to shop after we pick Cecilia up from daycare.  I loathe Wal Mart, I'd much rather spend the extra money and go to Safeway.  Daniel refuses though, he claims WalMart has the best prices (which they do), but I just cannot stand some of the people who shop there.  There isn't a website called People of WalMart for nothing.  We still don't buy our meat from there though...just the essentials (toilet paper, paper towels and some groceries). Anyway, when we turned in the opposite direction of home, Cecilia asked "Are we going to Mom mom and Pop pop's?"  We told her "No, we're going to WalMart." Then she said "We're going to WalMart!? Cici's Walmart?!" As we get closer every building she sees she points, "That's Cici's WalMart." I tell her, "No that's Lowes." Then she sees another shopping Center, "Is THAT Cici's WalMart?" "Nooo.."  Finally when WalMart is in view, "There's Cici's WalMart!" I love how everything is hers and how she refers to everything in third person even if it is WalMart.

5. Tonight we showed Cecilia the brochure for the amusement park we will hopefully be visiting tomorrow (weather permitting!) and she sees it and says, "Wow, mommy look at those slides!" Referring to all of the rollercoasters.  We laughed, we never thought of how a roller coaster, especially on a map can look like slides to a two year old.

Visit Melissa from The Mommyhood Chronicles' "Saturday's Top 5 Laughs" What are your kids Top Five Laughs from this week?

Also, I don't have any guesses to where we are going today (Saturday) yet.  The first follower of mine to guess correctly will get a prize, regardless if we go or not.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Uncle Glenn: Part 3 {Happy birthday!}

On Sunday morning, everyone still tired from the festvities from the night before we all met at my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn's for a 60th Birthday Breakfast for Uncle Glenn. My mom, another one of my aunts, several of my cousins, Uncle Glenn's cousin and his family, Daniel and I were there to celebrate.

We all (or Ci, Lesley and I) had our jerseys on since it was football Sunday.

Lesley, Ci, my cousin, Char, me, my cousin, Connie and my cousin, Becky

Daddy and his girl

After everyone had breakfast we made sure leave one of Uncle Glenn's favorites a cinnamon roll for the ever important birthday candle.

Here's Connie bringing in the "cake:". (Don't you love the deer head on the wall, that used to annoy my Aunt Bonnie, but after all that's happened she said she would let Uncle Glenn hang a thousand animals on her wall if it would make him healthy again.)

And Uncle Glenn blowing out his candle.

Daddy and his little girl.

Happy birthday, Uncle Glenn! I am sorry our Ravens played a horrible game and couldn't give you a win on your birthday.  I love you and I hope they will find a cure for ALS and you will have many more birthdays to celebrate!

xoxo,
Mindy

To Go or Not To Go?

Remember the weekend getaway I was hoping for this weekend? As of yesterday I didn’t think we were going to go.  According to weather.com it was going to rain at our destination (oh and at home!) all day on Saturday. I had already had it in my head that we weren’t going.  The weather gods didn’t like us.  I was planning a day of fall cleaning since there wasn’t anything else for us to do. Then the hubs e-mails me and asks if we were going to go to tomorrow.

At first, I typed, no, because of the rain.  Then I decided to go and see if the weather had changed.  It had, but very little.  It says Rain showers in the morning then thundershowers in the afternoon. High 77F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

The Weather Channel has been known to be wrong before, but the way it looks it may just be scattered showers in the afternoon when we’re there (the majority of the activities we will be doing are outdoors.).  

I am still up in the air about whether or not we should go. I really want to get away even if it’s just for the day, but I don’t want to go and not be able to anything, because of the rain.  We also have tickets that expire this weekend if we don’t go.  I have a feeling they will extend them though since the last few weeks we’ve had nasty weather.

Where are we going you may ask? It just might be the “sweetest place on Earth.”  The last time I was there was over twenty years ago! The first blog reader to correctly guess where we are going in the comments will get a little memento from our destination.

Y3W: Three Little Monkeys

Here's Cecilia with her friends, Jenna and Aubree jumping on Jenna's bed.  These three little girls play suprisingly well with another.  Usually when three toddlers get together it's pure chaos.  There were only a few tears shed when there weren't enough of the same toy to go around for all.

In the years to come I am sure there will be a lot more play dates, gymnastic and dance classes, soccer games, princess parties and of course sleepovers.

Link up with Jenni from Jenni From The Blog for Your Three Words!

My Uncle Glenn (part 2)

A little over two weeks ago a benefit was for my Uncle Glenn.  The benefit was put on a business in Easton, Maryland.  The owner of the business went to high school with my cousin Allan and has remained close with Allan and Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn.

When Daniel and I arrived there was a line outside of the door wrapping outside of the building.  It brought tears to my eyes to see that many people in my uncle's community came out to support him.  The tickets were $30 a piece and there were families of 5 there, who paid $150 to come to a local 4H park for a buffet dinner.  It meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn. In the advanced stages of ALS the average cost of care for an ALS patient can be $200,000 a year.  Uncle Glenn now needs a nurse to be with him while my Aunt Bonnie is at work (that nurse costs $40 an hour).  Unfortunately Aunt Bonnie can't quite her job, because she has excellent insurance. Even the insurance though only covers a portion of the costs.  They didn't cover the new wheelchair Uncle Glenn needs, that wheelchair costs $30,000. Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn had a decent nest egg in their savings, but their savings is quickly being depleted.

These programs were on the table as we walked in

There also was a silent auction with various items to bet on

When Daniel saw these Flyers pucks in the Silent Auction and a photo signed by the entire team, he told me he didn't care how much we bet he wanted them.  So I was going back and forth with "John Smith" who I thought a middle aged man.  John would write $20, I'd write $23 we went back and forth.  Finally when the DJ told us that there were only a fe minutes left in the silent auction I wrote down a bid. THen this girl pushed me out of the way and out bid me writting down "John Smith." She looked at me and asked "Who is Daniel ****?" Totally butchering our last name. I told her he was my husband. She said "Well, John Smith is my ten year old brother and I think he needs these pucks more then your husband." I wasn't going to fight with a 15 year old.  Although I did have a few choice words about how it was a charity event and the object was to raise money for the items and for the charity.  I kept my mouth shut and went back to tell Daniel we were outbid by a 10 year old.

 Even a basket of produce was for sale (my cousin, Connie's friend Tara who came down from Philly won it.)

This was our table, my great uncle, my grandfather (my dad's father), my dad's cousin, my dad and family friends sat there.

This is my girl, Darby. She's Uncle Glenn's youngest granddaughter (my cousin, Allan's daughter). Darby had a soccer game in NJ (where they live) earlier in the day, left the soccer game and came to the benefit.

Here's Darby's oldest sister, Emma (who also had a soccer game that day) and Darby's cousin, Uncle Glenn's second to oldest granddaughter, and my cousin, Connie's daughter, Morgan (Morgan and her family came from the Philly area)

See this girl? She's the one I almost told off.  I felt bad when my Aunt Bonnie (holding the microphone) said she was one of the top sellers for raffle tickets that went toward Uncle Glenn's fund. Because she was one of the top sellers my Aunt Bonnie presented her with a certificate paying for her driving school donated by Bayside Driving School (valued at $400!)

Uncle Glenn hates being the center of attention.  You can see him at the end of the table.

 I am not sure of the exact amount raised from the auction, the benefit and raffle tickets that were sold in August, but I know it will be a big, big help to my Uncle Glenn and Aunt Bonnie!