Tuesday, December 30, 2014

New Years Resolutions- 2015 edition

I am a sucker for New Years. A fresh, new start. I like making resolutions. No, I don't always keep them. But I like the idea of a new year and getting the chance to start over. You know, since you cant start over in the middle of the year (according to my brain).
So.. this is what I have come up with so far:
1- Make a weekly cleaning list and stick to it. You know, like.. Mondays are floors day, Tuesdays are bathroom day etc. Dan and I are in a terrible habit of letting the house go for awhile and then crash cleaning it top to bottom. It is really annoying actually. If we just kept up with it all week long we wouldn't have to do that.
2- Get to the office once a week. Having a job that has no requirement as far as office hours goes makes it really easy to just not go to the office. Throw in the fact that Im home with Tori and then Dan gets home at like, 3:30.. then I just want to hang out with him, do dinner together, etc. I am thinking if I have once a week I go in for like 2 hours or so where I have no distractions at all Ill be uber productive.
3- I am considering putting away my scale(still haven't committed yet).. or having Dan hide it is more like it. I am a numbers person, if I were to work out every single day and get on my scale and it said one pound more than I wanted it to, regardless of the fact that my fat is turning into muscle which is more dense and "weighs more"... and my body percentage could be going down.. I would still panic over that one pound. I have obsessed over the scale my whole life. I am thinking it could be really freeing (is that a word?) to just not even have one. As long as my clothes fit and Im working out to maintain my health, that is what my goal should be.


And now, just for fun.. some past New Years pics....




Wednesday, December 17, 2014

random q&a

4 names people like to call you other than your real name:
1. Ang
2. Angie
3. Angel (yeah that happens a lot!)
4. Angiebaby (because that's about as original as my nicknames get)

4 jobs you've had:
1. Business Analyst for Clipper Magazine (terrible job, hated everything about it)
2. Hostess at Texas Road House/Round The clock Diner (In high school, love them both)
3. Personal Banker for Wachovia Bank
4. Realtor (current job that I love so so so much)

4 movies you've seen more than once:
1. Zoolander (one of my daddy and I's favorites)
2. The Holiday (who wouldn't want to do that life swap? Seems like an awesome experience)
3. A league of their own (All things girl power)
4. Armageddon (Because I love Ben Affleck and sometimes I just feel like crying)

4 places you've lived:
1. Sicily, Italy... (lived there as a child for almost a year, Italian was my first language)
2. York, PA (Thank you Jesus for getting me out of there)
3. Lancaster, PA
4. N/a

4 places you've visited:
1. Montego Bay, Jamaica (I was 19.. there were 5 of us girls, it was madness)
2. Mexico...(our honeymoon)
3. Ft. Lauderdale Florida (my bestie moved there after college)
4. Myrtle Beach (an amazing beach trip we have done with our best friends Meg&Ray)

4 places you'd rather be right now:
1. Asleep
2. cuddling in bed with my daughter
3. Asleep
4. cuddling in my bed with my daughter

4 things you don't eat:
1. chicken pattys
2. oysters
3. McDonalds (see chicken patty)
4. Raw carrots (cooked is fine lol)

4 of your favorite foods:
1. Eggplant parmesan
2. Pizza
3. Cheesesteak hoagies
4. Cheese, in general

4 TV shows you watch:
1. The Walking Dead
2. Friends (yes it Is cancelled but I don't care, I will watch every episode a million times)
3. Kardashian anything
4. Teen mom (stop judging, I love all things reality)

4 things you're always saying:
1. "There ya go!"
2. "You're welcome" (complete with an annoyed eye roll)
3. "Yea, no"
4. "stop hitting Mommy in the head" (life with a toddler)

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

When Tori met Santa

I love the Manheim Township Library. This is where I take Tori for her 'Toddler Time' events and it is so beautiful. The staff is so nice and its a great way to spend an hour a week so Mommy and Tori get out of the house and Tori gets some time with kids her age. Tonight, they had Santa there. Santa, it was free, there were crafts.. all you had to do was register so I jumped on it quickly. If there is one thing the library Santa was going to give us that the Mall Santa wasn't is a cheap picture haha. The library event was free so other than Dan sticking a $5 in the donation bin, it was a cheap event for Mommy, Tor and Daddy. I wasn't sure how Tori was going to do this year. Last year she was only 8 or 9 months old so when she sat on Santas lap she just kept staring at him. She wasn't scared at all, more so because she was too young to understand what was happening so she just sat there and stared at him. Every single picture they got of her you could only see the side or top of her head so needless to say, we didn't buy any. This year, at almost 2.. I knew stranger danger was going to kick in(and it did). As soon as we got to the library my anxiety went through the roof as there was literally no parking. We made our own parking spot and then headed into the library.
 *INSERT STRANGE INCIDENT*
We are walking into the library, its dark out and very light rain.. and I see this little boy (probably 6 or 7) following this man to a car.. the man says to him "Ok, that is my van over there.. the white one, come with me and Ill take you to your mommy"... WHAT THE HECK?! Instantly I ask Dan if he just heard that and he said no so I tell him what I just heard and he starts sort of freaking too like what should we do? So strange. It could be nothing. Or it could be something. I mean.. don't you always hear of these sort of abduction cases happening like that? "Come to my car.. Ill take you to your mommy".. so Dan runs over behind the car and gets the license plate number of the van. We go inside, talk to the staff.. tell them what we hear.. and after a couple of them get together and talk they figure out what the situation was. There was a boy there with his grandma, she ended up getting sick or hurt or something while there and had to call someone to pick him up because she was taken to the hospital.. so pretty much a neighbor or distant relative or someone of that sort came and got the boy. RELIEF. I am really glad we handled the whole thing like we did because I really couldn't stop thinking about it. It made me so uneasy and Im glad we were as proactive as we felt fit.
*BACK TO TORI AND SANTA*
The line moved super quickly to see Santa (thankfully... Im not good with crowds.. they make me anxious). She would NOT sit on Santa's lap she was not letting me put her down lol.. so instead, she sat on Mommys lap while next to Santa. That girl, she loves her momma. After we got a couple of pictures of that (which turned out hilarious) we gave Daddy a library tour. He had never been there before so we showed him where Tori colors, where Tori climbs, where Tori likes to sit, where Tori reads stories(lol).
It was a fun and exhausting night. The amount of work and errands I had to do today were not even sort of normal and Tori was such a trooper all day. I am glad we got to do something fun as a family to finish off the evening.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Thanksgiving

I am late on this post. Thanksgiving was like, a week and a half ago and now we are onto Christmas but Thanksgiving was too fun not to mention.
This was the first year that Dan and I hosted. Our old house was this super skinny, tall house that could barely fit me, Dan and Tori into the dining area, let alone 10-15 people. This is our first holiday season in our home and we are just too excited to not volunteer to have everyone over. So anyways, we were in charge of the turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. Dan made all of those items. I am more of a baker, I stuck with simple cupcakes that were decorated to look like turkeys which made my niece Izzy and the neighbor kid so excited because I used candy corn for the décor and well, they love candy corn.
Dan brinded(sp?) the turkey and it turned out awesome. My dad is not usually a turkey eater and he couldn't stop raving about it. He even said it was better than my moms, which my mom immediately followed with "good, then Dan can make the turkey next year too". He also had vegetables and such cooking with it. Yummy, yummy. My mom made stuffing in the form of balls which was pretty cool, my gma brought some ham and green bean casserole. Like every Thanksgiving, all of the food was delicious. For the dinner portion it was me, Dan, my parents, my gma (aka Mammy) and Dan's mom. Then came the dessert. For this part, my brother and his fiancé (Summer) and my niece Iz came, then also my sister (aka Banana or Donna as her birth certificate says)... with her husband Kenny and my other niece Sam. There was SOOOO much good dessert. I was in heaven. Oreo balls, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake... the list goes on. Needless to say, I couldn't move for like, 2 hours because I was so full.
After dinner and dessert we got out Scattergories which was hilarious. First off all, the ongoing joke is my brother and mom sharing a brain (which has not been proved otherwise) but surprisingly my brother did pretty well. Summer did the worst (summer, if you are reading this, you know I had to mention that haha I love you).
It felt so good to laugh and be silly with my family. I don't know about anyone else, but the past few years, the holidays have felt different. It was almost like they became a chore. We had to go to this house, then this house.. then make it to that other one first thing in the morning, etc. And then other than the running around and trading gift cards, the day just didn't feel special anymore.
This year, Thanksgiving was a breathe of fresh air. My dad watched football, my neurotic (in the best way) mom was cleaning and running around like a crazy person, my Mammy was playing with all of the kids, we laughed at my brother who seriously is just a funny dude, my sister rolled her eyes and laughed at the craziness that is our family, Summer and I goofed off and tortured each other like we are sisters, Dan laughed and appreciated all that was happening around him (compared to his small and much more tame family). The little girls played together, like for real played... slapped, tickled, threw the ball, colored. I love our growing family so much. Cant wait for Christmas.





Tuesday, December 2, 2014

21 Months

My baby girl is 21 months old!
She is going to be two SO SOON. CRAZY.

Tori now:
-Says so many more words: "Tail" (and even knows when she sees one and then points to her butt and also says tail, so cute), knows the word "hair" and where it is...etc
-Loves to dance and sing in the car. We have legit dance parties. It is my dream.
-Is really stubborn. When she makes up her mind about something, it is not over until she does it. This is really tough.
-Pinches and smacks. Something else that is really hard to deal with. We tried the 'time out' chair.. and then she ended up liking it and now just sits there for fun. Mommy fail.
-Is such a lover. She loves hugging and kissing.
-LOVES to color. It is my go-to thing for her to do. If she colors something in the kids club or the library she cannot leave until she gets it and gives it to me.
-Is obsessed with stickers and they are all over the house.
-Loves the snow. And by loves the snow I mean she likes to look at it and she likes to be in it but she doesn't like walking in it or touching it.
-Mommy is still her favorite (which I love).
-The girl is always sick. Seriously. Always has a runny nose. Drives me nuts.
-Her "monk monk" aka monkey is her most favorite stuffed animal.
-Loves Daniel Tiger (still). He saves us when we need time to ourselves.. you know, to throw on makeup... do the dishes, etc.
-Says "cheese" when she is getting her picture taken (which is often) and even looks at the camera (Sometimes lol).
-Makes the funniest "mean face"
-Loves to play the copy cat game while at the dinner table
-Loves to get chased
-Loves to get scared
-Obsessed with balls and always tells you what she is going to do with the ball "Throw" "Kick"

Victoria is the smartest, cutest girl I know. Another month of watching her beautiful mind grow and learn. I am the luckiest to be her momma.

These are pictures from our Xmas card photo shoot. Man I need a real camera!



 

Friday, November 28, 2014

Black Friday 2014

Last night around 11:30 my mom and I went black Friday shopping. We love it. Black Friday itself is a holiday for us. Hot chocolate, cold weather, bundled up in our coats and gloves... and totally ready to handle anyone who tries to get in the way of us and a good deal. Sort of KIDDING about the last part, we keep it together and mostly play well with others. Last night we headed right for the outlets. I have no idea what time they open anymore. It used to be midnight on Thanksgiving but when we went out last night, most of the stores had already been open for hours. The outlets had some sort of rule this year where they weren't allowed to be open all night long.. so the stores opened at various hours, stayed open until 2am.. then closed and opened up again at 6am. I cant say I hated that. It made for very little traffic and people didn't seem as crazy. I got a couple of really awesome deals last night that I wanted to share.
My knuckle rings! FINALLY. They will take some getting used to. I already obsess over my rings and wearing them because I am scared of losing them so these now get added to the mix. Claires for $3.50 -They had a buy one get one half off deal so I got these for myself and then came across some My Little Pony earrings that I picked up for my niece.
(Total: $9)
 
The following picture is a combo from KOHLS and Kirklands. I LOVE KIRKLANDS. And they never disappoint on Black Friday. Or any day, really. Their prices are pretty reasonable and seriously, their stuff is adorable. The stockings were $5 each!!! Yes, you read that correctly, only $5!!!!  Original price were $15 each. They are beautiful and I was finally able to throw out our horrible dollar store stockings that we had lol. Dan was very happy about that. The Christmas bell hooks that they are hanging from were only $8 from KOHLS. Original price was $30 for the set of four but they were 50% off and then my mom had a coupon.
(Total $23)

 
I have been looking for an 'R' wall piece for our downstairs and had not had any luck. Stumbled across this beautiful piece at Kirklands. I LOVE IT. This was $25 originally, not on sale.. but then the whole store had a 15% deal off going on so I got it for $21.25. Its pretty big, I love the color and the burlap ribbon on it. Now I just have to find the exact place for it. There is a spot in our living room, beside the fireplace that I am considering.. and there is also a spot right beside a window in the dining room that I think it would also look really great in.

 
And below: me and my shopping parner in crime. She is a wild woman, that mom of mine.

Friday, November 21, 2014

When your baby grows up

This morning Tori was sitting in her high chair and she looks at me and says "Hair" and points to/touches her head. This has literally been an EVERY SINGLE DAY thing. She says a new word or recognizes something new that I say or do.. it is just insane. The pediatrician had said that 18 months to two years we would notice a significant difference in her verbal skills and my gosh was she right. Its actually shocking. I feel like more often than not I can actually just ask her what she wants and she will tell me. Not like, in full sentences... but enough with her words and pointing that we can get the idea. The feeling I have about the whole thing is strange. I am so proud of how smart and funny she is and I just love watching her learn... but at the same time... it makes me sad. I have gotten teary eyed so many times in the past few days because of how much it is reminding me that my baby is growing up. As hard as those infant days are... you have such an amazing feeling and bond with how much your baby needs you. I know she still needs me, it is just in different ways now. I guess depending on how you look at it, she needs me more now in even more important ways.. Teaching her to be kind, to love to learn, to have fun, to build her imagination, teaching her trust, how to be a good friend.

My God she is beautiful
 


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

My Xmas Wish List

Dan and I don't really do Christmas gifts for each other. We head to New York the day after Xmas every year and stay there for a week visiting his family. We consider this our Xmas gift to each other as we usually go out to eat or do something else fun while we are there. With that said, we get gifts from my family so in case anyone needs ideas for me.. I have decided to put together a little list. As you will notice, I am really easy to please and often called a "cheap date". You're welcome for that, Dan.

Knuckle rings. Im obsessed. They must be silver. They must be dainty. The picture below is pretty close to exactly the look I want. Available on amazon, etsy and of course Forever21 ranging from $5-15ish dollars. Not bad!
 
Black bookbag purse. Preferably leather. I can carry my own things in it, I can carry Tori's things in it... the idea that I can wear it on my back and not have to worry about it is pretty sweet. Wont need to hang it off the stroller, etc. Convenient. Available at Walmart, Target, etc. Ranging from about $15-30ish dollars.

 
Pandora House Charm. 'Home' is a lot of things, both personally and professionally so I think it would be a very fitting charm to add to the collection. I think it was $30 at Pandora.

Fingerless gloves. I need to be able to touch my iphone screen. They look trendy and cute and I can still show off my nail polish. A matching hat wouldn't be terrible either. Target, Wal Mart, H&M, Forever21.. $8-15ish bucks.

 
You're welcome.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Iphone last 10

I have seen this post on a couple of blogs that I follow and I think it seems fun so here we go. I am posting my 10 most recent pictures that are on my iphone and giving a little detail of what was going on in them.



This picture is me and my cousins (Martina, Haley and Madison). The picture is 5 years old and I came across it on my moms fbook, I was planning to share it on IG for TBT. I cant believe how different and how much older we all look in just 5 short years. I love these girls so much.

 
This adorable turkey design was on my latte I got at an awesome little shop called 'Café di vetro' in downtown Lancaster(you HAVE to try the drink.. organic chocolate mocha latte.. not too sweet). It was a fun morning date that me, Dan and Tori went on. A coffee date is a fun, cheap date and I love those random morning trips with my family.

 
This post I came across and had to share on IG. I am a total sucker for an instant tan or a little black and white action that the IG Filters give you. Sorry Im not sorry. I love IG.

 
This is a night stand I am currently trying to sell. It comes with a matching dresser. Dan and I bought it like, two years ago from Boscovs.. not great quality but it was something to hold us over for our bedroom and then when we bought our new house, my parents surprised us with a beautiful new bedroom suit so we really don't need this stuff anymore.

 
This is what my phone USUALLY looks like because Tori LOVES my iphone and is working on her photography skills. The floor, feet, etc.. those are her specialties.

 
Saw this on Pinterest and thought it was worth a share.. I am saving it for IG/Dan lol. Dan hurt his back while ago and had stopped working out...now that he is feeling better he wants to start getting back to the gym but is feeling weak and discouraged with 'starting all over'. I have been trying to convince him that it is worth it and everyone has to start somewhere. Today is supposed to be Day 1 of Dan back to the gym, so we will see.

 
Here is Sami and Tori on a lunch date together. They are only two weeks apart in age and I usually refer to them as "the twins". They don't get to see each other much but they are now at the age where they recognize each other and they play and interact so well. As soon as we got to my parents house Sam yelled "Hi Tori!!!!" It was adorable. And their hair.... seriously?! ADORABLE.

 
Stickers, stickers, stickers. Tori is obsessed. I came across a steal at Staples, .50 a sticker book. They had hundreds of stickers in them. Victoria loves to ask you to give some to her... and she sticks them on anything and everything. Below she gave mommy some new leg tattoos.

 
My friend Amanda has two sons; Luke and Logan. Luke is 1 year older than Tori and Tori is 1 year older than Logan. Tori LOVES babies so much and as soon as she saw Logan she HAD to hold him, completely unprompted she reached her little arms out for him and when we gave him to her she rested her little head on him and kept hugging him. So stinking cute. She is going to make the BEST big sister!!! Although Dan says she may think she is the mommy lol.

 
Another pic from our visit with my sis and Sam. My sister never smiles for pictures. This is a pic with her real, genuine smile(which I love and is beautiful).. and Sam in her little pigtails. Cuteness overload.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Right now

I have to share three things that I LOVE right now... because you will love them, and you will be very thankful I shared them with you and I like sharing and when people love things that I love.

First:
Cocoa white chocolate chip cookies.
I made them yesterday. They were a huge hit. Both sets of neighbors got them, a friend got them, Tori and Dan got them...my belly got them... a LOT of them. The best part was I had all of the ingredients in the house so I didn't have to run out for anything. I hate grocery shopping.

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Morsels

  •  
    PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

    COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

    BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
     
     
    Caramel Macchiato creamer by Coffee House. So good. Especially since I have been averaging two cups of coffee a day right now. Not too sweet. Not to bland. Just right. (Note the bucket of cookies in the background lol). 

     
    Snooki Self Tanner. Say what you want about Snooki but seriously, the girl knows her tanning. I bought this spray off of Amazon for $15. Normally, this would be too much money for me... but my whole point of buying it was for touch ups if I was having a particularly pale day or if I got a spray tan and missed a spot so I knew I wouldnt fly through it or anything. Just this morning I went to the gym and TWO different people made a comment about how tan I looked. This compliment is one of my very favorite lol. I simply spray my face (up and down 2 or 3 times) and then my neck/chest area.. my arms.. and the bottom of my legs (knee down). With this weather, those are the only parts of my body anyone sees and the color is not so intense that Dan notices or anything.
     
     
     
    There you have it. Three of my favorite things right now. No category. No specific reason to share other than the weather is crappy and I need something to make me smile.
     
     

    Wednesday, November 5, 2014

    20 Months

    This post is a few days late but yes, my baby... my little girl, she is 20 months old. 4 months until I have a two year old!!! That sounds SOOO soon!!! By the time the holidays pass and the new year is here, we will be planning a second birthday party. How terrible is it that I have already started planning a possible "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" party in my head? LOL. She is at a super fun and trying age right now. It is virtually impossible to get anything done while she is awake (lol) as she is into anything and everything but she is also really getting to know and understand everything around her and that is awesome. She is soo stinking smart and cute... and really, I could go on and on...

    20 months has brought:
    -Teething like crazy. She is miserable. Seriously. Brutal.
    -SO MANY WORDS. Just started saying "Monkey" , "Toys", "Slide", "Mamma" (pronounced Mammal which we call my gma) and one of my personal favorites is "Pizza". I swear its not because we eat it constantly, she has this adorable shapes book and one of the shapes is triangle and shows a slice of pizza, this happens to be her favorite book so she hears that word a lot.
    -Singing, singing, singing... little girl loves music and sings herself to sleep most nights.
    -Officially on sippy cups full time, bye bye bottles.
    -Paci addict. Her pacifier will not be a fun one to try to break.
    -Her hair is getting so long and finally filling out her whole head, not just the mullet lol.
    -She is a whopping 26lbs 8oz. Our little chunk.
    -She loves to eat: pasta, strawberries, bananas, goldfish and "coo-coos".. aka Cookies. She is the cookie monster.
    -Makes the silliest faces. She has a "mean face" she makes where she puts her head down and looks up at you with these mean eyes and sticks her lips out in the cutest duck lips style.
    -The time change hasn't bothered her night routine much but she is waking up at 6am pretty regularly right now, I think because it gets brighter out earlier now, so I think we need a darker blind for her door in her bedroom, she has the door that leads to the balcony and right now there is just a pretty pink and white sheer curtain hanging on it.
    -We are still getting to the kids club at the gym pretty regularly and also going to Toddler time at the library. She definitely likes the kids club more, I am noticing she isn't a fan of the structure at the library. She wants to be able to sing, dance, run, etc all on her own terms.
    -Girlfriend loves to color.
    -She loves the iphone. She can get on the phone, pull up pictures and do her favorite thing ever which is watch videos of herself.
    -Bath time is still one of her favorite things ever. She loves swimming in the tub.
    -She recognizes when someone says the number one that two comes next which is adorable.
    -She has shown some interest in potty training which is exciting and terrifying at the same time.

    Another month of watching my sweet girl grow and learn. She never seizes to amaze me.



    Friday, October 31, 2014

    The secret society.

    I have been going back and forth on whether or not I was going to post this (and have had it written for days) but decided to move forward... so here it is:
    I had a miscarriage. Ugh. I hate that I just had to write that sentence but I am not going to mom-shame and pretend it didn't happen. Did you know that 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage? I knew it was common, but I have always thought it was weird just how common it is because NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT. I get that its not an easy thing to talk about(hello, I have been on and off crying for days over this) but it sucks to feel lonely and I personally am the type who needs to talk about things to feel better. It sucks to feel like no one gets it. It sucks that it seems as though so many women are embarrassed about it. I know a TON of people who have had miscarriages, but I cant talk to them about it because guess what?! Im not supposed to know they had a miscarriage. Someone tells a friend, a family member, a coworker, and it sort of goes down the line and that has especially happened once I revealed that I have had a miscarriage. "It will be ok Ang, my cousin-sister-roommate-neighbor's nephew's girlfriend had a miscarriage and has had perfectly healthy pregnancies too, so you will have a healthy baby again".
    The background:
    I found out I was pregnant the same day we were in Urgent Care with Tori for pneumonia. Dan and I literally laughed when I had the positive test. Mostly because we just couldn't believe the sort of emotions that came with the day. Terrified that our baby was so sick, elated that our hopes in making her a big sister were coming true. In awe that we are so lucky that pregnancy happens so quickly and easily for us.
    We were already dreaming of this baby and what it was going to mean to be a family of four. He was due May 31st. He was going to be really easygoing, yes... he. We just knew already that he was going to be a boy. The pregnancy was different this time around, I had morning sickness and was showing sooner... so that all meant it was a boy. Plus, Tori is our Princess and we couldn't imagine her ever having any sort of competition in any way. She would always be our princess and we would add our prince to the bunch and our little family would be complete.
    A couple of weeks had passed and I decided I wanted to use a different OB this time around because the place I used with Tori was HUGE and they had lost urine tests etc and I felt like maybe a smaller place this time around would be better. I scheduled my first appointment (expecting an ultrasound because that is what the first place did).. and the nurse told me they would not do any ultrasounds until week 18. Oh, also... they didn't do any ultrasounds or blood work in house, they ordered them and you had to go to another place to get them done. None of this sat well with me. Being that some of my appointments would be during the day, that would mean carting my toddler in and out in the middle of winter to different places and I would rather have had a one-stop-shop. I came home from my appointment and could not stop thinking about the no ultrasound until 18 weeks thing. It bothered me so much. I told Dan I hated that idea, he told me its fine... It was on my mind when I went to sleep that night and I pretty much tossed and turned all night long until about 4 am when I woke up for the day and had decided at 8am I would call the OB place, tell them I wasnt going to go there anymore and then call my original OB place and schedule my appointment with them. 7am hits and I have spotting. Panic mode. I did not experience that at all whatsoever with my first pregnancy. I call my original OB at 8am... explain everything to them and they get me into the place within an hour to get an ultrasound and check things out. Dan didn't have to be at work until noon so he was able to stay home with Tori while I went.
    I go into the ultrasound room, change.. and before the nurse comes in, I say a quick prayer "please make my baby ok"... I am not religious(although raised Catholic). I pray when I get scared. Im not sure thats right but its what I do. Nurse comes in and says I am ("I am" meaning my uterus) measuring at 9 weeks but the baby is only measuring at 6 and there is no heartbeat. "Im sorry" she says... she looked at me with very sympathetic eyes and follows with "take a minute, get dressed and the doctor will talk to you about it in the other room". I cry by myself and am shaking and am nervous and feel weird and just feel a lot of different things at once. I keep thinking how strange it is that I couldnt shake the whole not getting an ultrasound thing and how it had even woken me in the middle of the night... almost like I knew something was wrong. My doctor was amazing. She too had just suffered a miscarriage a few months before and she got really emotional with me talking about it and then there we were, two adult women, sitting in a doctors office and blubbering about how much you can love something you only had for a few weeks. It is such a strange thing to love someone you don't know. To be so excited for something that you only had for such a short time.
    So next week comes surgery. Being sad and disappointed comes and goes. I had a friend announce his wife's second pregnancy on fbook the other day and lost it. Do not get me wrong, I am SO happy for them... their little one is due June 4th (5 days After my #2 was due)... but it stung. They are getting their June baby, I am not getting mine.
    I keep Victoria in the front of my mind as I know some people don't even get to experience one perfectly healthy child.. and she is mine, she is my miracle and I am very grateful to have her. I know there are people out there who will say "at least it happened at 9 weeks and not 9 months".. or "at least you can get pregnant"... "at least you have one healthy child".. and I get it, I really do, but that doesn't make it any easier.
    Being a mother, a wife, this is what my life is about. I have to keep trust in my body, that it knows what is best for me and also keep faith that being a mother is what I am made for and that we will get another perfect, healthy baby when the time is right.
     
     

    Monday, October 27, 2014

    Corn Cob Acres

    About two weekends ago we got the family together for a fall fun day. We ventured over to Corn Cob Acres in Mountville (right at Field of Screams).
    They had a ton of stuff for the kiddos to do. Pumpkin painting, slides, a huge area with corn kennels for digging, a wagon ride, a bounce house, etc.
    So lets Review:
    Fact: The kids' age's who participated were 1.5, 1.5 and 3. The adults were: 27, 24, 20, 26, 47, and 69. I think this is important to note as not everything about the place was both toddler and grown up friendly.
    Price: Not bad, not great. $12 for anyone over the age of 2. Luckily Izzy is the tiniest person ever so she passed for 2 and only the grownups had to pay. I do think that $12 to supervise your kids is a little steep but that may also be the cheapskate in me.
    Face Paint: I still haven't tried this with Victoria. I am not sure that she would sit still for that and it would be a matter of seconds before she would probably wipe her hand across her face and ruin it. I am sure Izzy would have sat there if she wasn't so interested in being with her cousins.
    Corn kennels for digging: Very friendly for all involved. The kids LOVED digging in it, it was sooo cute. My brother buried Tori's legs and she thought it was about the funniest thing she has ever experienced. Sam was using the tools like she does it all the time, totally normal to just dig piles and piles of corn.
    Pumpkin painting: We skipped this because Tori paints pumpkins all season long at home. It is so easy to stick her in her high chair and let her paint a pumpkin and she loves it.
    Wagon rides: SO CUTE. The line moved fairly quickly (thankfully) so it wasn't as difficult to stand in line with the kids as I thought it would be. They liked going in the big circle, beeping the horn and being able to see each other from their wagons.
    Slides: There were slides by the haystacks and there were caution signs that said "beware the slides are really fast"... and they weren't kidding. And then there were the huge blow up slides which Izzy enjoyed and Sam just kept butting in front of everyone in line but didn't actually get to go on.
    Bounce house: The lady in charge of this said the kids were supposed to go into the entrance, bounce around a little and then come out of the back/exit. Try explaining that to toddlers. Izzy was fine and she was adorable trying to wrangle up her cousins but Tori and Sam just wanted to jump and fall.
    THERE WAS NO RIDE TO PUMPKIN PICKING like I thought there would be. It said pumpkin picking but they literally meant like -here is a bunch of pumpkins on a shelf so pick one out- LOL. Which we did... I need to find one next year where you physically go to a pumpkin patch and pick off a pumpkin you want. That is so fun and cute.

    Anywho, so overall on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) I would give Corn Cob Acres a 7.



     
     

    Wednesday, October 15, 2014

    310 Glen Drive

    Do you know what's fun? Showing up to a new listing appointment (with a couple you graduated from high school with)... and the husband brings out a picture of the two of your from 9th grade. And you remember memories as far back as the 8th grade with the two of them. Pretty wild. Now, all grown up.. I get to see them living their adult lives, working, getting ready to sell their first house and buy their 'family house'. The past is pretty wild and my God am I thankful I grew out of that awkward teenager stage.. Landbeast, if you are reading this.. get rid of that picture ASAP or I will place an Italian curse on you. So yeah and another cool thing about my job is reconnecting with people from the past and it feeling totally normal. Sort of like we have been friends/never lost touch this entire time.

    Let me give you the deets and some pictures of this beautiful home:

    -3 bedrooms/2 full bathrooms
    -First floor master bedroom
    -First floor laundry room
    -Newly painted (great colors by the way, nothing too in your face)
    -1 car garage
    -HUGE closet in upstairs bedroom
    -Northeastern school district
    -Close to EVERYTHING (Giant, pizza, highways... you name it, its there)
     
    Back of house:
     
    Front of house:

     
    Downstairs full bathroom, connected to master bedroom

     
    Master bedroom, currently used as 'mancave':
    
     
    1 car garage:

    Kitchen:

     
    Laundry area:

     
    Living/Dining area:

     
    Large bedroom on second floor:

     
    Huge closet in second floor bedroom, this closet lines the entire wall:

     
    third bedroom located upstairs:

     
    upstairs full bathroom:

     
     
    If you or anyone you know would like to schedule a private showing or has any questions regarding the home, please contact me at 717-332-4407 or arera@cbsp.com
     

     
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