Plan vs Reality

Inspired by a fellow blogging mom, I decided to blog today about the same thing she did. The topic was where she thought her life would be in 5/10 years based on her high school self and then where the reality actually was. So my "then" would be when I was 18. My ":now" is today, 26.5 years old.

Then (5 year plan):
I would be graduated college and living in a big city. I would have had a super awesome job, working public relations for some awesome celebrity who paid me lots of money and bought me lots of nice things. Everyone would want to know what I was wearing, where in the world the said celebrity and myself are going to next and what gorg celebrity Id be dating. What can I say? There is little more I love than the feeling of being busy, travelling, fashion and getting my picture taken hahaha. Public relations for a celebrity would be the perfect fit. I also always thought Id live in a big city because NO ONE in my family leaves York lol. I thought New York would be the perfect location. I do not think of serious relationships. I date around. I don't get too attached. I will not commit my life to a guy until I am 30.

Reality (5 year plan would have taken me to 23 years old):
I would be living in a bigger city than York, but not New York lol. Lancaster city. Turns out the half hour difference from there to York was exactly the amount of space I needed. I sell real estate full time. I have a job where I make my own hours, can dress up, get to interact with people, help people and be my own boss. Those things all happen to be my new most important things I need in a job. I am engaged to be married. To a teacher. A super nice, low key, sweet guy who doesn't take my crap and pushes me to do things and experience things I never thought I would. I cant wait to get married. Take note: my 18 year old self would have seen me as a mother before a wife, that's how NOT into marriage I was lol.

Then (10 year plan)
Lets be honest. My 18 year old self did NOT think that far into the future.

Reality (It has only been 8 years not 10, but you get the picture).
I work in the real estate industry. I love what I do. I am a mother to my beautiful 1 year old daughter. I am happily married. I like to workout and do it regularly. I still love all things fashion and celebrity. We live in the city but are buying a house outside of the city to raise our children. Yes I said children.. and no I am not pregnant. I just dream of our growing family and am excited to give Tori a sibling. Someday lol. Its weird that I live such an "ordinary" life but somehow, its EXTRAORDINARY. I think when I was younger I was so anti the "typical" life because I didn't understand what it meant. I thought it meant losing myself. I didn't understand that it didn't mean I was boring or that somehow I was too good to lead this sort of life. I am not defined by my life, I am defined by who I am. Yes, I am a dedicated wife, yes, I am a mom who plays on the floor with her baby and goes grocery shopping and to the library. I also am loud, and wild... and laugh all the time. And sassy. And weird. I like to be adventurous. I like to experience life WITH my family. I like to build memories WITH my family. The life I have now is so, so much more than I ever knew it could be. I am so lucky and blessed!

Tori turns one!

My baby girl is a big one year old! We had the best day celebrating. In the morning I finished up all of the last minute party things. A few people cancelled on us due to the possible snow (ugh, don't get me started).. and I took a minute to take in the fact that my baby is one. There were tears, obviously. Once the car was loaded we headed to the community building. We only had a half hour to set up because frankly I wasn't paying as much as they wanted for a full hour and I figured with enough people we would get it taken care of and I was right. Basically all of our immediate family came early to help out. There were streamers, a banner, fun table clothes and little "centerpieces" (no picture ugh), cupcakes, rice krispie treat party favors, lots of food, balloons... and Tori had a LOT of presents. Girlfriend got a bunch of clothes which is awesome because we didn't really have any spring/summer clothes for her yet and then she got a couple of really cool toys that she likes. A couple people also very generously put money in Tori's bank account. We didn't end up opening the gifts at the party because right now there aren't many kiddos in our lives (lets go people, make babies!) so I figured 40 adults didn't really want to watch her open 100 gifts lol. And then.. cupcake time. Baby girl LOVED her cupcake. I really didn't know if she would totally dig into it or if she would be confused and well.. she dug right in. I swear at some point she actually tried to fit the whole cupcake into her mouth in one bite lol!! It was freaking adorable and hilarious. She had pink in her hair, all over her face, her clothes.. lol. Then there was a lot of Tori following Izzy around.. Tori pushing the baby stroller around.. Tori pushing the chairs around. She is really into using anything she can as a walker. Baby girl fell asleep right when we got home and slept for a good 2 hours lol. Party time wore her out.

I am so thankful to our friends and family who have celebrated Tori's bday with us. Whether it was coming to her party, sending a card, texting, a fbook message.. I appreciate it so much. One of the best things ever is seeing people you love love your child.

 

Temper Tantrums

WHEN DO THESE STOP?!

 

It drives me nuts. I am losing my patience and it sucks. I hate the out of control feeling I get when she starts having one.

She throws herself backwards. She kicks. She screams. She pinches. She slaps herself.

I try to ignore as much as I can but the whole throwing herself backwards thing is horrible. She hits her head HARD. Its getting dangerous because she will do it at any time. She will sit on the floor and do it (we have hardwood floors)... she will be sitting on the couch with us and do it... she will do it while I am holding her. I cant even tell you how many times she has head butted me. I am getting really frustrated.

Ok.. time for a glass of wine.

 

 

 

I miss warm weather

I have officially been hit with Spring fever. Winter doesn't normally bother me. I like all 4 seasons.. but we have had soooo much snow I am just over it. I don't shovel, so its not that part (thanks Dan!).. .its just the cold wind and the ice that has pushed me over the edge. I am infamous for falling so obviously I have had a couple wipe outs in the ice and I am not one for dressing weather appropriate (I hate bulky coats and gloves that make me feel like I cant grip things properly and hats that mess up my hair LOL). It is also much, much harder for me to get going for the day over the winter than over the summer. It legit takes me a couple of hours to get the ball rollin in the morning right now. I miss how morning feels when its warm outside.. just enough of a breeze that you might still need a light jacket but in a few short hours itll be nice and warm and youre ready to seize the day. I miss the sun. I miss walking around downtown. I miss going to market. I miss the park. I miss hiking. I miss driving with my windows down. I miss summer dresses. I miss flip flops. Most of all, I cant wait to experience this summer with Dan and Victoria. Last summer Tori was too little to really enjoy the summer but this year, shell be over a year-year and a half ish. We can go for ice cream. Take her to the park. Take her to to the beach again where she can actually walk around and play. Start teaching her how to love the outdoors just like her daddy. And mommy (sometimes lol). In honor of Throwback Thursday, a few pics of warm weathers past...

My fav thing about our house: backyard parties

 



 

Dewey beach, making our own bloody marys:

 

Dewey beach: bronzed and dancing the night away

 

Our honeymoon in Mexico

 

 

What do you guys miss the most about warm weather?

 

The many sides of Tori

Victoria's name leaves us lots of room for nicknames. Her name plus her wild woman personality...

Tori the terror aka Luna
This little lady is just a miserable thing. She screams. She slaps. She pinches. She throws things. She cries to the point of making herself gag. She head butts things. Luckily, this is not a side that we see everyday. Sometimes we can even make it a whole week without Tori the Terror peeking her nasty head. Its crazy to me how she even has this side of her because normally she is just so, so sweet.

Tori the tank
This is my baby who doesn't stop eating. She will put anything in her mouth that she can find on the floor. She will see you carry a plate of food into the room and drops whatever she is doing to come get a bite. She will stare at you. She will smile and make you feel bad. She has her daddys appetite.

Tori the tornado
This is the baby girl who destroys everything in her path. She will knock things over, pull things off of the table, throw things onto the floor. Anything she can get her little hands on is being destroyed in that moment. It is going as far as her trying to put things in her mouth and try to rip them apart.

Some days we get to see all of those sides.. one after another.
I think today is going to be one of those days. Wish me luck.

House hunting

I do this everyday for a living and it does not make it any easier to decide what it is that I want and need in our next home. Let me rephrase that: I know exactly what I want and need in a home. The problem is that so does Dan (lol) and those things happen to not be right on point with each other.
We have started the negotiation process with someone who is interested in buying our house and should have an update in a couple of days. I am trying not to get my hopes up. Go figure, we had totally been ok with the idea of not selling and staying in our current house for at least another year or two... after just under 6 months on the market, our listing expires and the very next day we get a call with an offer on our home. It wasn't quite what we are asking for but it wasn't off by much so now its a waiting game to see if these people will take our counter offer.
Dan and I both like the look of older homes. I like cottage looking houses, neither of us is into the new construction look. We just personally feel like they tend to look the same and don't really stand out. The problem: older houses = older features. I LOVE newer features...central air and natural gas.. good luck finding an old home that has both of those. So then we have to decide.. which takes precedence? The look of the home or the gas/ca systems? What if we find a house that has the old look we like and has central air but then has oil heat? What if we find a house that is the "typical" looking house but has all of the features we like? I want an eat in kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice yard, a finished basement...maybe Im being too picky? I am feeling extra stressed because everything has happened so suddenly which is totally how the real estate industry works anyways but when you haven't been looking for a home for yourself because you didn't think it was in the cards for you right now and then all of a sudden you could possibly be moving in two months, its stressful!
I love looking at houses. I love that I can go into a house and imagine exactly what I would do to the house to make it mine. I believe that is one of my best qualities in being a real estate agent. I love going into a house and letting my mind dream up a home. What colors to paint the walls, where I will set up the couch in my living room, the bed in the bedroom, where will we hang the flat screen tv?  This will be our first official family house that we have picked out together and will hopefully be expanding our family in, the neighborhood our kids will learn to ride their bikes, where I will meet other moms that we have playdates with, etc.
Please send us your good vibes and keep your fingers crossed for us! Thank you!
P.S. why cant we find this house in our price range.. 3 bed, 2 bath, 1400+ sq feet, central air, natural gas, a garage, finished basement, plenty of storage/closets, an eat-in kitchen... Is that too much to ask? LOL

What have you done to be nice to someone today?

I read a blog the other day written by a mom, it was talking about how she tries to ask her child really good questions. She doesn't ask yes or no questions. She doesn't want dinner to become a series of head nods. She doesn't accept one word answers. She wants her children to realize she remembers the things they tell her. She wants them to see she is involved in school, she knows what they are learning, she talks to their friends' parents, she is the all-knowing-all-asking-Mom. Just like I want to be. The Kardashians (haha whatever dont hate)... had an early episode talking about when they were kids and how dinner was always family time. Everyone had to be at dinner unless they had a school function and at dinner her dad made them go around in a circle and talk about the pit (worst part of their day) and their peak (best part of their day). I am going to do that. I want to make dinner OUR time. I want it to be about us, talking about everything, enjoying catching up with each other after a long day apart. No cell phones. No computers. Don't get me wrong, I am not unrealistic about the fact that it probably wont happen every single night. Life gets busy. But Ill try.

A few of the blogging moms questions:
"What did you learn in school today?"
"How did Mrs. Smith introduce your new book to the class?"
"Who did you sit with at lunch today?"
"How is Nicole's new baby brother?"
and then.......
"What did you do to be nice to someone today?"

Pause.

I just love this question. I love it so, so much.
I want Victoria to remember how important it is to help others feel good. Whether its asking someone new to sit at her lunch table, picking up a book that someone dropped, telling someone she likes their outfit, sticking up for someone being picked on... just to always do the right thing. To always follow what her heart is telling her to do. To always remember to think of Mommy and Daddy, what would we want you to do? What did we teach you to do in this situation?

I hope I am a person that Victoria can always think of as a role model for finding the good in everyone and for always doing what is right, even if its not always what happens to be easy or what everyone else is doing.

Btw, random side note.. Tori kisses now. The biggest, wettest, BEST kisses ever!