Christmas 2012

It was a really nice Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve afternoon at my grandma's house.

Grandma sets a beautiful table.

Christmas morning

Making funny faces

Talking on her phone

What is it?

 It's a crepe pan!

 Ball popper from the au pair

Push toy just like the one at daycare - she loves it!

 She loves it so much she wanted to take it down the slide!

 Kitchen from her Aunt & Uncle

Christmas dinner at my cousins house

Since having my daughter, I have a whole new understanding and appreciation for all my parents sacrificed for my brother and me all year, especially at Christmas. I had a good childhood. We had everything we needed, and a lot of what we wanted, in life. Both of my parents worked throughout most of my school-age years. We weren't drowned in luxuries at Christmas time like some of our friends were. I like to think I wasn't jealous of my friends who had more extravagant Christmases but I probably was, as kids so often are. When the pre-arranged time came on Christmas morning that we were allowed to get up, I would run into Mom and Dad's room and make the announcement. Mom and Dad would groan at me and ask for more time. I would say no and probably whine a lot. Now I know why they needed the time - they were completely exhausted from all the working, shopping, assembling and wrapping, baking, prepping! Eventually they would drag themselves selves out of bed. It was at that point that mom would tell us we would open presents after she was done in the bathroom and Dad made a cup of coffee. Holy TORTURE!! I would do it, only because I had no choice. Finally, when the coffee was flowing it would be time to open presents. We usually did stockings first and then everything else. I could go on all day about all my amazing memories of Christmas. Point is, maybe we didn't have the most extravagant things under our tree, but we had so much LOVE, all year and at Christmas. My parents worked hard and made sure I knew what was important. I can only hope I'm doing the same for my daughter.
Enough with the reminiscing, I need to get my butt in gear for our trip because our flight leaves tomorrow!  It was definitely not my idea to go to Vegas with a toddler but, I do it because it means getting to see my brother & SIL for the holidays. The real problem is that here we are, 12 hours out, and I'm not finished packing and I'm still doing laundry. So, the next time you hear from me, I will be in the desert. I can’t wait. On the agenda...Las Vegas for 5 days with my brother and SIL. Then they fly home and the three of us (me, dd, au pair) will drive to California to stay with my parent's best friends for a week.

But first I have to actually get ready to go.

Happy Birthday Ryan & Dylan

Today is their 3rd birthday. When strangers ask me how many kids I have I say one because it is too heart wrenching for me to have to explain, but I never forget that I am a mom of three. My daughter is my rainbow baby, she was conceived almost a year to the day after I lost the boys. The only good thing that came out of that loss is my daughter because I would not have her if that pregnancy had gone full term. I am so grateful I was able to get pregnant again and now I have my sweet Serena. I am so incredibly lucky.

Sadness

I am utterly heartsick over the terrible tragedy in Connecticut yesterday. I just can't stomach thinking or talking about it. I cannot imagine what those families are going through right now.

Last night my Grandma called me to tell me that her sister died. She was in her early 80's and had a long and happy life but it doesn't make it any less sad. She leaves a husband, 7 children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When I woke up this morning I just had this overwhelming feeling that my Great-Aunt had to go to be with the kids who died in Connecticut.

Hug your little ones and those you love every day.

17 Months Old

I'm glad to be on break from school but I'm anxious about what's ahead. Will I get a job after my clinical or will I keep going with my studies? And there's a question of moving (again) and buying a house occupying my thoughts... Here's some pics from the this week...

She loves looking at books and having them read to her. 

She’s a great little eater. Her new favorite is ice cream.
I don't normally give her ice cream but 

last week she wasn't eating because
she had 2 teeth coming in, plus she was sick with a cold, 

so I caved and was rewarded with a big smile! 

She sleeps well at night but you can definitely tell when
she’s hitting a growth spurt because
she’s more restless during the night. 

She still naps in the afternoon and 

usually wakes on her own after about 1 ½ hrs. 

She loves her blankie

We went and saw Santa yesterday at the mall. 
Here we are at the front of the line. She can see Santa and is not.quite.sure.she.wants.anything.to.do.with.Santa.

We have the classic screaming on Santa Claus's lap photo.

But then we came home and she was all smiles!

The Christmas tree is finally up,
I had to buy a new one yesterday because 

we lost parts to the old tree apparently in the move. 

Serena loved the tree blanket so much that
she cuddled up and nearly fell asleep!!

She loves the au pair and the au pair loves her!

Well, that’s all I can think of in the way of updates...

School Update

I officially passed my phlebotomy classes and got an A!!! Clinicals here I come!!! Yay!!

12/12/12

Let's see, I've lived through 1/1/1, 2/2/2, 3/3/3, 4/4/4, 5/5/5, 6/6/6, 7/7/7, 8/8/8, 9/9/9, 10/10/10, 11/11/11 and today is 12/12/12. The next time these numbers will align will be on 2/2/22...do I have that right? Anyways, I have to keep this post short because I have a huge Final Exam to study for tomorrow (more on that in a future post). In the meantime here are some recent photos:

Our au pair making a big batch of crepes! Yummy!

Enjoying the crepes (and some blueberries)

She loves helping with whatever my au pair or I
are doing…like unloading the dishwasher. 

That's a dirty fork. Oh well.

I love the cat!

Hugs 

Who Does She Look Like?

My daughter has a few of my features (I look more like my Dad), but I think she takes after my Mom. My grandma gave us a copy of my Mom at 3 months old for her 1st birthday -- a photo I might add that I had NEVER seen before -- and we all got goosebumps! There's not a day that doesn't go by that I wish my Mom and Dad were here in person to watch her grow up.

 My Mom and my daughter

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt's house. It was a wonderful evening of good food and time with my Mom's side of my family. My Mom's birthday was on Thanksgiving, she would've been 64 and it was her favorite holiday, so it was tough for me. My family just ignored it completely which I understand is a way of coping but it's weird and frankly a little hurtful for no one to say anything.

 Our au pair enjoyed her first Thanksgiving

 She loved playing with her older cousin ;)

 Sitting like a big girl at the kids table

 Big hugs

 Playing with her cousins

 Yes, I went out on Thanksgiving to shop but I swear
I didn't buy anything. 

I just wanted to hang out with my BFF who was shopping for just one gift, and she got it!

In other news, I turned 39 over the weekend! I don’t feel a day over 38. Ha ha. It was a great birthday and I have so much to be thankful for. The birthday celebrations were low-key, just the way I like ‘em. I enjoyed a facial and massage, and a fun evening at the casino with my BFF.  Now I gotta start thinking about what to do for next year for my 40th birthday!! I'm toying with the idea of going away. And with kids involved, what I really want is to rent a house vs staying in a hotel. And then the problem of figuring out where to go. Any ideas?