I've Been Having An Affair...But Its Over!

It's true. I've been having a full-blown affair for the past 6 weeks and I'm finally able to say that its run its course. Has it affected my marriage? Yes. Has it affected my baby? Yes. Has it affected me? Duh! Thankfully, the whole house is happily moving on and enjoying our affair-free life once again.

Let me introduce you to what was the bane of my existence these past few weeks:

(I'm too tired to fix this stupid text right now)

Over 100 cases to read, analyze, organize, synthesize and prioritize in order to stay within the required limitations so I could create a little something that looks like this:

I guess its nice to see that not everyone despises this stuff :).

When I finally turned it in on Monday evening, this is what I came home to as my completion gift:

I had pretty much two straight weeks (including some of Spring Break) of staying up until past 3am working on this damn thing, all the while starting each day anew with a smile on my face for my sweet Bridget. Who knew the hours between 10pm-4am could actually be productive working hours? Shout out to my special pal who hooked me up with "staying up late candy", without which I would never have succeeded!

As hard as I tried not to involve Bridgey in this mess, she definitely grew weary of Mommy's absences (long nights at the library, as well as weekend visits whenever Daddy was available to stay home) as well as Mommy's short temper :). Somehow we both stuck it out to the end and enjoyed an amazing day of fun together this past Tuesday. And what would I have done without my amazingly supportive husband?! He is truly one-of-a-kind in his devotion and I never tell him enough how important he is to my life (gotta add that to my list...see below). Sure, all our lives get tough sometimes and we find ourselves tested to see just how far we can really be pushed. Thankfully, we can always look to the light to be reminded that peace is always in our future. Allow me to share a favorite quote that's helped me recently. Recognize it??

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkness of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Things I plan to do, now that my paper is finally complete (stream of conciousness order):

1. Spend more time with Bridget (check!)

2. Get a haircut

3. Get a mani/pedi

4. Update the blog (check!)

5. Take advantage of some photo discounts and make a photo book or two

6. See Hunger Games!

7. Go on a real date with my husband (maybe combine this with #6 - when he finishes!)

8. Send some Thank You cards

9. Sign B up for swim lessons and dance class

10. Sleep!!!

11. Visit some friends I haven't see in a while - mend those neglected relationships!

12. Get ready for Easter! I love Easter!

13. Repay some favors

14. Think about summertime :)

15. Give my man some thanks!

A gift to myself!

I’ve been ready to bite the bullet and get a nice, new camera for at least a year. As I can’t stand spending a big chunk of money on ANYTHING, it was not easy to take the dive into the deep end. Thankfully, I finally did it.

Picking it up when it arrives!

My own treasure chest…

A post is coming soon regarding what’s taken oven my life for the last 6 weeks (particularly the last 2 weeks!), but for now, here are some of my favorite shots. You decide why .

 

Cheers!

My Special Little Heart

Putting Bridget to bed tonight:

(she’s recently had some “bootie” issues and though she initially refused after bath, she requested bootie cream as I was tucking her in – oh, she’s also become a genius manipulator)

As I’m rocking her and singing together:

Bridget: “thanks for giving me bootie cream tonight, Mommy. make me feel better”

Mommy: “you’re welcome sweetie. its my job to help you. do you know why mommy likes to help you all the time?”

Bridget (just a one second pause): “mommy loves me”

She helps me fall in love with her so many times everyday!

Can You Tell Me How to Get…

…how to get to Sesame Street!

What a delightful time we had with our friends at Elmo Live! recently. Music, dancing, picture opportunities – this mom was in heaven. I’ll just through you a ton of shots to help give an idea of the memorable time we had with the McCauleys .

So excited, she had to RUN inside:

And running turned into FLYING once Daddy got involved:

Let’s go!!!

Our little Elmo friends are ready to go:

This was her absolute favorite thing of the whole event. This piano really should have just come home with us. Could save me a lot of money on babysitting!

SHOWTIME!

And they had the most adorable picture-taking spots in the foyer. We took advantage of each and every one!

And…back to the piano

Getting these two to BOTH stand still and look at the camera together is pretty much like parting the Red Sea:

More from the awesome show!

As a mom of a toddler, I’ve decided that I’m out on “intermissions” at kid shows. Just make the dang show 1 hour total instead of two 40 minute sets. Officially TOO LONG. But we made it through. And intermission meant more opportunities to enjoy the cool Play Zone!

DANCE FLOOR!!

Of course B knows all about visiting the grocery store…

My favorite pic spot of all. It’s 123 Sesame Street!!!

More piano…had to let Daddy in on the fun!

We were pretty tired when it was all said and done, but man was it a fun time! I’m happy to have the chance to expose Miss B to live performances. Never too early to model good audience behavior, people. Never too early!

Love our McCauleys. Thanks for the good times, friends!

Help Me! (Blog to Book)

Of all the lessons I've learned lately with digital media and what happens when its lost, I definitely know now that I need to get this blog to book project underway. Honestly, I don't even care that its the BEST blog book of all time, I just want to make sure I get all the posts (well, the posts I care about) printed off in hardcopy so I can have it in my hot little hands WHEN (not IF) a catastrophe happens again. You know it will. If you don't know it will, then your time is about to come so beware!

This being said, what do you recommend for blog book programs? Likes? Dislikes? Of course, cost is a factor but so are convenience, quality, and reassurance. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the whole process and how your blog books have turned out. Asking the experts (you!) is always my favorite way of researching.

Thanks in advance! Send me a comment or message with any and all suggestions...nothing is too much. You know how I like to ramble :).

Perfect Picnic

Hello?! This weather has been AH-MAZING, right? I’m so thankful that even through the craziness of school/work/life we’ve managed to get outside and enjoy the natural gifts that have been laid before us.

Last weekend, we made time to scamper over the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve (a fav of ours!) for a family picnic. Even Penny got to come with!

A family-self-portrait is never easy but here’s my favorite attempt from the day:

Ready to eat!

Our ever-faithful watch dog. Isn’t she the cutest??

Eating her sandwich like a big girl. No small bites! (‘cause Mommy forgot to bring a cutting utensil)

Of course, Penny got her share of picnic snacks, too!

Daddy’s girl!

Sneaky puppy…

How adorable are B’s teeny Timberlands???

Food is done – time to run!!!

We love this beautiful park. It’s only 5 minutes from our place!

Playtime!!!

My little adventurer. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of her next to the sign saying this area is designed for 5 year olds and above! There’s a perfectly lovely toddler play area right next door, but she’s never been that into it. Always the explorer, just like her pal, DORA .

How sweet are they? Telling Daddy “I love you” over the playground phone!

Right after I took this pic, Penny had her turn down the slide. She’s the best!!!

Leaving the park is way easier when Daddy and Penny are with us. Usually tears and tantruming ensues, but who can resist an upside down exit?!