5 on friday

I really love these 5 on Friday posts. Especually since Ive been slacking majorly in the whole blog department, this gives me a chance to catch up on the small things

O*N*E
Im officially an aunt again! my sister-in-law gave birth to a cute baby boy, Francis "Frankie" James, on Tuesday Sept 17th, 7lbs 3oz, 20inches long. This means that Matthew is also officially a big cousin! Im so happy he is going to have a cousin around the same age as him, seeing that my sisters kids are 13 and 6, these two lil boys will only be a year apart. I cant wait to see them be best buds and having lots of family get-togethers where they are running around with each other. And oh-my-aching-ovaries!!! lets just say holding him when he was less than a day old did not do any good for the looming baby fever ive been having.......

T*W*O
So with my nephew being born, and the maternity/1yr photoshoot i booked for my friend a couple of weeks ago, its really got me starting to think about turning this little photography hobby of mine into a business. My friend said that she got so many compliments on the photos i took of her lil expanding family and her lil girls 1st bday, and mentioned that she wished i had a facebook page for my photography so she could tag them/recommend me. Which then got me into thinking of a logo for my possible business. what do you think of my first idea? After playing around with my initials for a little while, i feel like it almost looks like a butterfly, and i LOVE butterflies. So im sure there could be a few tweaks, but im really liking it so far


T*H*R*E*E
More photography stuff (sorry its been on my mind alot lately), i cant really afford another lens right now and while scouring pinterest for newborn session ideas for my nephew, i came cross this site called borrowlenses.com, have any of you used it? I asked a couple of my photog friends and they all seem to recommend the 50mm as a wonderful lens to use. So im definitely contemplating whether to rent it for a week or two to try it out on my nephew. And then if i fall in love with it, maybe i can ask for it for christmas?

F*O*U*R
Ive had enough with this whole laxidasical (did i spell that right?) approach ive been having with weight watchers over the past 3-4weeks. I know the program works, i know i can do it, i know im successful with it, but im just too dam lazy. urrgghh. so this week i told myself there were no excuses. Granted ive only just said that yesterday (since wednesday was my weigh in day and i gained basically 5lbs in the past 2 weeks), but im going to track, eat healthier, exercise, and NOT step on the scale until next wednesday. so far so good. ive tracked every single little bite ive put in my mouth, i went rollerblading yesterday morning before matthew and i even ate breakfast, and im going to publix on my lunch break to stock up on healthy food. wish me luck.

F*I*V*E
Its actually starting to feel like fall around here as of this morning. As I walked matthew out to my sisters car this morning for pickup, i could feel a cool breeze and the i wasnt covered in sweat when i made it back in the house. and that says alot when you live in south florida. I love fall. Not winter, but fall. Normally right around Halloween is when i feel like our seasons somewhat change around here. But i have to to admit, i am completely jealous of you ladies who are already rocking the boots, scarves, and jeans. Oh and also those who get to go apple picking. I LOOOOOVE me some apple! I wish we had an orchard somewhere around here, but i think thats only for you northerner :( but that wont stop me from making this apple cinnamon baked oatmeal recipe. Not only is it apple, but its also weight watcher friendly. If any of you are following the plan, you must go check out Emily Bites. She has some great ww recipes that do not disappoint!!! (and you dont even have to tell your hubby its diet-friendly, he wont be able to tell!!)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

And if you havent already, go enter my latest giveaway to win a The Little Mermaid Diamond Edition 2-Disc Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack with Digital Copy!

If youre new here, leave a comment and ill make sure to hop on over to your blog too!

a quick update

remember that time i took an unexplained bloggin hiatus for 2 months? yeah, im not going to try and explain, lets just say, life gets in the way sometimes, and unfortunately this little blog here of mine ends up going on the back burner. No need for me to try and make excuses, ill just skip over all that and jump right back into blogging.

note: i wish I had some elaborate reason like we won a million dollars and have been vacationing for the past 2 months, or hey baby #2 is on the way and i just havent had the energy to blog, but instead you get the lame "life happens" reason, sorry.....

moving on......lets do this is bullet fashion for the time being

• Matthew turned 1 three weeks ago today! I cant believe how time has flown by so quickly. We had an awesome mickey mouse inspired birthday celebration the Saturday after his birthday. Man does this kid have alot of people who love him and want to spoil him! You should see all the new toys, to the point where im thinking of hiding a few and rewrapping for christmas? what?! dont be jealous you didnt think of it. is not like he will even know, especially if he never gets to play with them in the first place

• Speaking of Matthew turning one, i still havent published his birth story. i know total mom & blogger fail. Part 1 is complete and i should just hit publish, but if I do that it means i have to finish part 2......

• We got family photos taken a couple weeks before matthews birthday by the same photographer who did my maternity pictures. I think they turned out great and I promise to share them all with you soon!

• We also took Matthew to the beach for the first time. I know, kinda odd considering we live so close. It was a quick trip with just me and hubs, but i wanted to do the monumental "First trip" before summer came around so that my sister could take him and her kids to the beach if she wanted.

• Operation Bathroom Renovation is in full swing. We're currently living at my parents house and have been since Memorial Day weekend. The first week we were here my parents were actually still in New Jersey, but all the following weeks we've been all living under the same roof again. it was nice in the beginning, having that extra hand to help with Matthew, my laundry getting done every day (my mom has a laundry addiction), and home cooked meals on table before 6:30, but now, lets just say its time to have our own space again. Hubs is working on the bathroom as much as he can, but with him working a regular M-F 9-5 job, he only has the weekends to work on the bathroom, and the past couple of weekends have been extremely busy.

• The big project i was working on for my day job has come to somewhat of a completion. Allowing me a few extra spare moments during the day to catch up on blogging. There are a few lingering projects, but for the most part it was a great success rebranding the entire company. Looking back, i understand why i was so stressed, i mean hell i lost about 10lbs just from skipping lunch everyday for about 3 weeks, but it was all so worth it (not the skipping lunch part, i actually missed that). And because of my hard work and all the effort i put into the project, the head of the company actualy gave me the "Pony of the week" award that our company gives out each week. It was nice to be acknowledged in front of the entire company and rewarded (even if it was only a $25 giftcard) for all the hard work i had done.

• On a completely separate topic, im really starting to get the baby fever over here again. I dont know if its all the mommy bloggers who are pregnant again, the fact that I am planning my sister-in-laws baby shower for this august, or one of my best friends is pregnant again with another baby girl. But im not going to lie, my ovaries are definitely feeling the need for more babies! probably not a good time to bring it up to hubs tho, you know considering the fact that we are currently leaving with my parents again! oh yeah that thing :/

• And also, the next lingering thought in my head, that relates to the last bullet, if we do decide on baby #2 relatively soon, we will most definitely be in need of a bigger home. What am i talking about? whether we have another kid or not we need a bigger home! a 2/1 is just not big enough for us anymore, and I am way over having my office in the dining room, and in return having no dinning room!

• Weight watchers has been going really good for me lately (probably due to the whole stress thing....) and Ive lost a total of 28.2lbs. I felt extremely proud of myself at the birthday party when everyone kept complementing me on how much weight ive lost. Its always nice when someonve else sees the difference and dedication.

• That being I bought my new rollerblades but with the welcoming of summer it has been just WAAAAAAYYY to hot outside down he in SoFl. Plus my stroller isnt really made for that kid of exercise. Ive been on the hunt for a Bob Revolution SE stroller. I tried it out when I went with my SIL to register at BabiesRUs and fell in love. Im not even embarrassed to admit Ive been scouring craiglist like a mad woman. Thinking of maybe stopping by the local consignment shop too to see if they have one.

Ok so now that Ive bored you all with a not-so-quick update like I promised in the title, and no pictures, i let you know that I do have a list of posts i want to get out that include Matthews updates, Bday party, Weigh-ins, photo dumps, etc.

hopefully theyll be posted sooner than later. we shall see.

matthew's first easter (photo dump)

This year Easter was not only special because of it being Matthews first easter (and we all know my obsession with "firsts"), but it was also special because it was our first easter as a family. The first easter I got to start new traditions with my son. And let me tell you, the Easter Bunny, he was good to our family ;)

We started off the day with an absolutely beautiful church service at 8am that was held in the park across the street from our actual church. The park is beautiful, especially that early in the morning. Right on the water. And with such enjoyable weather. We were running a little late (as per usual) but this particular service is a great one to bring kids to because its outside and has so many things for them to be amused by. In our case it was the boats passing by, the birds chirping above, the green grass below, and a stroller tray full of puffs!

 

 

We followed up the service with a nice little drive down by the beach. When i say it was absolutely gorgeous out, I am by no means exaggerating. This view, this ocean, these palm trees, this is why i love living in south florida.

I think what also made this years easter so memorable, was that we didnt really have any plans to be anywhere until about 4pm. Usually we are scrambling to get from hubs familys house to my familys, and rarely have anytime to enjoy the day. But this year we kind of just went with the flow. We decided at the last minute that we would head over to my sisters house to dye easter eggs with them. And of course, since it was so beautiful out, what better place to do the dyeing than outside! Matthew even got to take part too! (even if it was just to observe and chew on a spatula)

 

 

 

 

Somehow, Matthew ended up taking all the credit.....

After my sisters house we came home to let matthew take a nap before the evening filled with family and great friends. I headed over to my moms a little early to help out since she had gotten off work a little late. This year I actually got to help my mom make the riddles for the easter basket hunt. I remember fondly all those years that "EB" (easter bunny) left my sister and I little riddles that we had to figure out to lead us to our baskets. They were funny riddles, and I swear we always ended up finding our baskets in either the dryer or the shower. My mom even made a comment about how the last riddle needed to lead my neice and nephew to the shower. I laughed at her and said this year it was going to be a different place to really fool them. Best part was when my nephew, as he was reading the last riddle that lead them to the shed, said "but this doesnt take us to the shower." I about died with laughter.

 

 

 

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out with family and close friends. It was so relaxing. The kids got to enjoy their easter baskets. The adults got to enjoy a few good beers and delicious food. Matthew enjoyed observing everything and everyone between the pack-n-play, swing, and being carried around.

 

We got a few good family pics squeezed in there too!

love his expression in this one, such a goofball, takes after his father in more ways than one ;)

You know, I knew I would always love having a family of my own, i just never thought about how much I would enjoy all the holidays with my own kids.

Well, I hope you all had as nice and relaxing of an Easter as we did!

on being the breadwinner

this is one of those post that Ive debated on writing. Is it too personal? Will I come off sounding ungrateful? If my in-real life friends read it would they take it the wrong way? But then when I saw Becky's link up go live on Monday, I started thinking about what I would write.

You see last year I didnt participate because I honestly couldnt think of anything that I could share that would help empower, motivate, or just relate to other women. I post about the normal everyday mom/wife/woman stuff on a regular basis. But what made me different, or better yet, what made me relate-able.

And then I read a few of the link ups. And it really hit me. All these women, they are sharing the topics that empower them. Topics that they are frightened about. Topics that they wouldnt normally put on display for the whole world to see. And even if I didnt relate on the exact same situation, I at least immediately felt empowered by how they embraced each of their own obstacles. So back to the drawing board I went. I racked my brain for topics that I would normally be too intimated to share. And then it hit me. A topic that I normally dont discuss with others, let alone go full in depth about on paper. But this is who I am

i am

a

friend

wife

mother

blogger

designer

and

THE breadwinner

of our family

Ill start by saying I grew up in a "traditional" home. I say that vaguely because I am honestly not here to put down anyone who didnt, nor who isnt, brought up this way. But for me, it was understood that my dad worked and my mother stayed home. Mom would dress us, feed us, clean us, discipline us, and just overall take care of us on a daily basis. Dad, on the other hand, would leave the house by 5:30am to drive an hour to work, spend all day earning his salary, and then would sometimes make it home for dinner with us around 6:30pm. Was I close to my father? Of course! I was Daddy's lil girl, and still am. But my father not only worked his ass off every day (excuse the french), but he instilled  hard-working morals unto me. 

daddy's little girl

I always just assumed that when I one day had a family, the dynamics would be the same. Except, I knew that I wanted to have a career myself. This, as you can see, caused some contradictions in what I wanted. My sister, she knew what she wanted. She was going to be a stay-at-home mom. Yes, she went to school for nursing, and even got a job at the local hospital upon graduation. But we all knew that the job was merely a placeholder until she got married and had kids (of which happened merely a year after said job). I, on the other hand, studied, hardly ever went out, worked a full time job, plus an internship, all while getting my bachelors in Graphic Design, and started my career, just 3 months after graduation.

graduation 2008 with my parents

I felt successful. I was proud of myself. More than that, my FATHER was proud of me. I had saved money from my high-school job to be able to move out on my own (well with hubs) the summer before college. I rarely asked my parents to borrow money. I was self-sufficient to say the least. And I prided myself on that. I was responsible. I was established. I was, in-fact, a career woman.

Our First Apartment - 2004

Now, let me get back on track a minute and make it clear that I would never marry for money. Nor marry someone solely based on success. They are all admirable details, but the heart wants what the heart wants. And for my heart, it wanted Matt. He's smart, handsome, funny, a great father and husband, but since day one, he has always lacked motivation. He's the type that would rather enjoy every minute of life opposed to worry about all the tiny details. Lets just say, hes completely opposite of me when it comes to that. He dropped out of high school when he was a sophmore and got his highschool diploma before his expected graduation date. But instead of going off to college (which he now regrets), he decided to work for for his uncle laying tile. Now, it sounds bad when I write it like that, but let me make it clear that he wasnt just some "tile-setter." His father (before passing away) had established a very well known business with high-class clients. The jobs they worked on werent just your everyday kitchen tile jobs. They worked in mansions, installing marble ceilings, among the numerous remodeling projects that these millionaires had. And he was making very good money doing it.

However, he was also coming home unhappy everyday because he hated his job. And then with the economy being in the position it is, people stopped spending money on remodeling. And work got real slow. So slow, that hubs decided to try and find work in another field, hell a completely different industry. Which meant he had to start from the bottom. Something we both had talked about and agreed that it would be best for not only him, but for us. Only problem was, starting at the bottom meant a major cut in pay.

We decided it was worth it. We I had saved enough and was making decent money myself, so we could survive until he worked his way up the ladder. I had always felt like I was the breadwinner anyways since hes horrible at saving money. But now, it would be official. Our family would be depending on me to live. 

Pregnant with Matthew 2012

Then we got married, bought a house, had a baby, and here we are now. Im still the bread-winner. Now I have another person depending on me. I wont lie, it scares the hell out of me sometimes. I mean honestly, anything could happen. Hell, since we decided to make this decision my career has gone from being bought out, changed departments, bought out again, and it truly is hard to believe that my job isnt indispensable.

I love my job. I love what I do on a daily basis. But I would be lying  if I said I never thought about being a stay at home mom. It was hard enough going back to work after my maternity leave. And again, Ive always wanted a career. But I just never thought I would be put in a situation where I didnt have the option of staying home. 

I love that my husband comes home from work happy now. I love that he loves what he does. Im grateful that we both have jobs that can contribute to a great life for our son. And I am so glad that I have my sister to watch Matthew while we are both at work. But i do envy those that have the option of being a working-mom or stay-at-home-mom. I dont know, even if I had the option, if I would ever take it. But I would still like to be given the option.

Christmas 2012

Being the bread-winner of a family is alot of stress and takes a very strong and hard-working person. All of which I endure on a daily basis. When bills come around, its me who figures out when and how to pay them. When something happens to one of our cars, its me who decides if we have enough money to fix them. When its dinner time, its me who decides if were staying home or going out, and trust me, i DONT cook, so I would much rather go out. I hate that I get labeled as cheap sometimes by friends and family, but i honestly dont believe Im being cheap. In actuality its me being mindful of our finances and budget.

I know one day the choices we've made will pay off and the stress of being the bread-winner wont over come me. Maybe one day I will have the option of staying home with the kid(s), and I just might take that opportunity. But until then, if I seemed a little stressed out, you may now understand a little bit more whats going on in my little head.

fridays letters

 

dear hubby, i know we're a lil tight with money lately, but yesterdays valentine date night was just perfect. i dont care if we didnt get all dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant. I loved that we were casual and went to a quick dinner at Chili's and then out to see Identity Thief, which was absolutely hilarious. But that time, the time we spent together, just the two of us, meant alot to me. i know i say it all the time, by i do truly love you sooooooo very much!

dear matthew, you scared mommy yesterday with waking up at 3:30am with a 102 degree fever. Im glad I made an appointment for you this morning just in case. Even though you were already back to being your normal somwhat-annoyingly bouncy (literally nonstop bouncing) self when the doctor came to check up on you. He says your perfectly healthy, but if it happens again or goes about 103 to make sure to call him immediately.

dear work, i know with this whole transitional phase due to the acquisition that theres alot of loose ends and busy work to be done, but it would be nice to go back to somewhat of a normal workload/schedule. Although, I guess I cant really complain since i am back to doing the things I love (design for marketing) plus my normal day to day responsibilities.

dear diet, thank you for making me feel proud of myself. i know 10lbs isnt a whole lot, but you know what? you have to start little by little, and Im sure I will get to my end goal.....even if it is years from now ;)

dear valentine chocolate, please dont let my diet know I gave in to eating quite a few pieces of you last night after we got home from our date.

dear unorganized self, how many times are you going to tell yourself that you are going to get organized? stop procrastinating and get your butt in gear. as with everything else, you have to start small. I see that you started with the kitchen pantry, now continue doing those little projects and eventually you will have an organized house. fingers.crossed.

dear moms-to-be, trying-to-conceivers, and breastfeeding mamas, i have a giveaway coming up soon on this lil blog of mine. ill give you a hint, do any of you have a hard time taking your prenatals? well i sure did when i was preggo with lil man, and now that im thinking about #2 (not like anytime soon soon but the idea of #2 lol) i know i need to start taking prenatals again, and I have the coolest new product to share!

dear hubby, i want to make something clear, i LOVE your family, i LOVE that matthew now gets to spend more time with his grammy, and i LOVE that your sister is going to have a baby cousin for him to play with, but i also LOVE having alone time and just us three time. So just because they live close and have nothing to do doesnt mean I need to hang out with them EVERY weekend.

dear matthew, i know i keep saying this, but i swear i feel like any day now your are going to crawl. im pretty sure you can, you just have to put all the motions together. i dont want to miss this milestone so I keep grabing my phone to try and video record it whenever i think you might possibly do it, and then you fake me out. please just somehow, can you give your mommy fair warning when you finally decide you want to? ok thanks :)

and i know there was an overload of cutest yesterday on this here blog, but as usually i will never leave you without a picture. This was taken before our photoshoot and I just thought it was so cute how they were staring at each other.

p.s. if you dont already link up for friday's letters, go check out ashley's blog and link up today. plus also, ashley got to share some amazing news yesterday!

twas the night before christmas

Yes, we did indeed celebrate Christmas, but lets just say from November until after Valentines Days it seems like its all a blur in our house. We start off with Thanksgiving, then our anniversary, then my birthday, then christmas, then new years, then 3 birthdays back to back (BIL, hubs & mom) and then finally valentines day. So please excuse me for the delay in a recap of all the wonderful holiday cheer that happened this past month.

We started off with Christmas Eve going to our childrens service at church at 5:00pm. I was scrambling to finish wrapping presents all day, and nearly almost missed going to church altogether as I didnt notice the time until 4pm. Somehow I managed to squeeze in a shower, dress Matthew in an adorable elf outfit my mother-in-law bought him, convince hubs to take a quick shower, pick up my mother (who was going with us), and make it on time for the service.

Now, I do admit, Matthews outfit was a lil over-the-top festive, but boy was it great to see all the smiles from the church members as we passed to the front to be seated. He had fallen asleep on the ride there, but as soon as he heard the childrens choir begin, he was all smiles. At one point it sounded as if he had joined in with the kids singing, to the point the pastor glanced our way with a large smile. Kinda ironic, considering my favorite part of christmas eve service is the fact that I get to sing off-key the entire time ;) Of course after the children had finished singing he went right back to being fully amused by the ever so large elf booties he was wearing. You see he thought it was a better idea to eat them opposed to wearing them.

We finished the service with my all time favorite tradition. The lights in the church were dimmed so low they were nearly off completely. A row of volunteers gathered at the front to light their candles. They walked throughout the church lighting others' who proceeded to do the same. The church was nothing but a glow of candle lights. And then softly you could hear, "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright......"  I turned to look at my husband, who was holding my son, and got the greatest sensation of overwhelming love I could ever feel. This was my family. These were the beginning of our traditions. And my face lit up even more when I saw the pure happiness my son expressed while staring at all the candles lit around him.

After the service we went back to my parents where we had a surprisingly low-key christmas eve dinner. It was just the five of us. My mom, dad, hubs, matthew and myself. We didnt spend long there, as it was past matthews bedtime. So my mother handed us a wrapped present and sent us on our way. I knew what the present was. I had been waiting for this moment for quite some time. Under that wrapping paper was Matthews very own "A Night Before Christmas" book. I remember my mother reading it to us every year, to the point where I could probably recite the entire thing without hesitation. I couldnt wait to read it to Matthew for the first time. I know he wont remember it or anything, but i surely will.

After I read it to him and tucked him into his crib for the night, hubs and I had some last minute wrapping to finish.  Stockings to hang and presents to rearrange under the tree. Plus a couple of our friends were going to stop by too. One of hubs good friends recently got married to a girl who I absolutely love. Shes from England and between her accent and continuous random sayings, she has me constantly cracking up. They seriously are so cute together and Ive never seen him so happy.

She insisted on bringing over one of her traditional holiday treats, mulled wine. It smelled absolutely delicious. Bringing me right back to christmas when I was younger and my mother would have the mulling spices set on the stove for the aroma to spread throughout the house. However, this particular treat was of the adult beverage kind. It was a mixture of wine (i think she said pinot noir), mulling spices (not the prepackages kind, more like the individual kind she had to search for), and brandy. She set it on the stove to keep warm and poured the four of us each a small glass. I took a sip of mine, gave a small smile and i told her it was "different." Different as in, i feel like im drinking a bottle of cough syrup, different.

We proceeded to move out onto the back patio where we relaxed, talked, and just enjoyed the presence of friends. I dont remember exactly where in the evening it happened (probably due to the amount of "cough syrup" i had just taken), but one of us had mentioned that we couldnt possibly drink any more of the mulled wine, maybe due to the beverage now sitting cold (trust me it doesnt taste any better cold, probably worse). Then it dawned on us, why not introduce her to one of our holiday treats. And thats when the spiked eggnog was cracked open ;) We explained to her, that considering it never really gets below 70degrees in south florida around christmas time, that we like to drink our adult beverages more on the cold side, opposed to the hot cider-ish cough syrup lol. Then, the kicker, she said she would have probably added more brandy if she had been home in England. lmao.

I think right about midnight was when I realized I had forgotten to get eggs for Christmas morning breakfast. I quick texted my best friend who was on her way over, to stop at the quicky mart down the street and buy me eggs (what? youve never done that before?) She was a life saver and showed up about 15mins later with a dozen eggs for us. We then proceeded to introduce her to the mulled wine. I dont know how she did it, but by the time she left there was not one drop of the stuff left in the pot on the stove. She even claimed the next day that she liked it. We're still a little confused.

We realized it was well best 1am by now. And considering we were hosting christmas morning, we should probably already be all nestled and snug in our beds. ;) So we wished them all a merry christmas and off they went. I snuck into Matthews room one more time to make sure he was snug too. It looked like Santa had already visited our house and I knew there would be so much excitement in the morning.