the one where Tori is twenty six months old

For everyone who hates that title, Ill rephrase it to

"The one where Tori is just over two"

-She has a list of Disney movies she loves right now. The Lion King ("Mommy, king"), The Little Mermaid ("Mommy, fish", Lady and the Tramp("Mommy, puppy"), 101 Dalmations("Mommy, yucky doggie")! She's addicted. Like she can tell you whats going to happen in the next scene sort of addicted. I could not believe how watching the movies literally made all of the words to every song come back to me. I can literally sing every song. Dan hates it lol.
-She is loving animals and dogs more than ever. She has always been obsessed with dogs but its on a whole new level right now.. we can be in the car and if she sees someone walk by with a dog she will scream her head off because she cant pet or hug the dog. She likes to walk around our backyard and look for bunnies. She bird watches. I am accidentally teaching her to not like cats (the cats in lady and the tramp are evil & Im not a fan of cats so I sort of make a big deal out of that lol). She LOVES the opening scenes to the Lion king because of all the animals. "ZEBRA!" ... "EFANT" (elephant).. "BIRDS".. "MONKEY".
-With her love of animals and being over two years old now, Dan and I are so excited to take her to zoos this year. We are going to start out with Lake Tobias because they have a little safari tour and its not super expensive. Tori would actually be free. I know she would love that. We will probably try to go next month.
-Tori is very interested in other people. She is always asking me (when we go to the grocery store or anywhere in public really) who people are.. "Mommy, who's that?"... (She thinks I know everyone lol). After we look at their name tag (if they work at the place) or ask the person who they are, I always make her tell them what her name is. The response is unreal. People smile, they tell me how sweet she is, you can tell for some people it really makes their day that Tori asked about them. It is so sweet. A lot of people comment on how surprised they are that she is so outgoing already and how in tune she is with others.
-Tori is as obsessed as ever with her cousin Iz. She is always asking me about Iz, where she is, wants to call her.. she gets so happy to see her. They are the best of friends.
-Tori has also had a new found obsession with her daddy. She used to ALWAYS be Mommys girl.. and I mean, she still is.. she still wants to lay on me and wants only me to take her to bed and stuff but shes asking about Dan a lot more during the week.. I guess shes finally realizing that hes not here and that work is a place he goes to. "Mommy, where Daddy go?" ... and shes even been hugging him when he gets home and stuff which is adorable &makes him feel much better, it used to be he would get home and she needed to really warm up to him being home. Shes asking that Daddy do bath time instead of Mommy.. she does this adorable thing when Dan does something silly, shell look at him and say "Dadddddyyyyyyy....." in this almost annoyed but funny way.
-She is an outdoors kinda girl. This tease of spring weather one minute and winter weather the next has been terrible for her. I could take her out back and she will play for HOURS & she doesn't get it when its cold or raining outside so she has a meltdown for awhile and then its distracting her with her favorite movies which I hate. I don't mind that she has movies that she likes and letting her watch them at some point during the day but it is hard not letting her sit in front of the tv and trying to get her distracted with other things. Especially with me and work right now. I have been busier than ever in the real estate world and the fact is, I am on the phone and computer a lot.

So anyways, that's where Tori is right now. The older and more independent shes getting the more I realize shes less and less of a baby. I am without a doubt, more clingy to Tori then she is to me but whatever, I own it. She is more fun than ever, smarter than ever, more beautiful than ever (have you seen this girls curly hair and blue eyes?!)  and I am just more in love with her than ever.

the one where I accept my hair

Did anyone else use an iron to straighten their hair? I mean a legit, shirt iron... not a flat iron lol. I did. Terrible. Who does that?!

My hair is this annoying mix of wavy/straight. I am not curly enough to be considered curly and I am not straight enough (without said iron) to say I have straight hair. I HAVE to do something to my hair or its an afro. A big, frizzy, lions mane- afro.

I used to always straighten my hair. Every morning... I had a system.. I washed it at night, straightened it the next morning and wore it down, then wore it half up and half down the following day... and then all up the next before having to wash it again and start this whole thing all over again. Back in the day I would mix it up with crimping.. maybe some braids. Fun.
Now, at my almost ripe age of 28 (almost 30, I can hardly believe it)... I have finally accepted my hair. I have set it free. I save it from heat. I don't go too crazy with colors. I am sure my hair is much, much happier.
I have been asked often how I get my new 'beachy look' so I thought a post about what I do (or don't do) was fitting.

STEPS:
1-Wash hair
2- While hair is wet... I use my hands to "scrunch" my hair (I don't know another word that for that?)
3-Add about a golf ball size of mousse to hair
4-Spray hair with hairspray
5- Run fingers through hair
6-Let air dry

AND IM DONE.
I would say this whole process takes about 5 minutes and then it air dries so however long that is?... I think my hair is definitely softer, its definitely easier.. and I think hair with a curly to it is much easier to work with. I can wear it down and it can look dressy or laid back. Putting it up has the same effect.. its so much more full and fun looking. It can look like I really tried too which is very deceiving and I like it.

the one with our house to do list

I feel like time has gone from the longest winter ever to BOOM spring is here. If that makes any sense? It just came out of nowhere and we are very excited to start our Spring/Summer house TO-DO list... so for the sake of sharing (as I have been a terrible blogger lately) here is our list of things we would like to get done to the house by the end of the summer...

1. Paint our bedroom- When we moved into our house the whole place was freshly painted top to bottom. We couldn't justify spending money on painting when everything was so crisp and new... but a year later, the same color paint all through the house is boring. We have a really beautiful dark espresso (almost black) bedroom suit so I want to paint the bedroom charcoal gray. A lot of our pictures/frames/décor are black and white which I think will look great against the walls and then Ill have a splash of colors throughout. Our bedding set is blue and green so we may add touches of that throughout. Heres a pic of the color I was thinking of:

2. Paint the playroom- The playroom is located off of the kitchen and has a door so its a fun room because no matter how it looks in there, we can close the door and no one will know. Tori takes full advantage of destroying that place. Anyways, its an off white color right now and I am thinking a mint green/aqua color. We have a section of a wall specifically for her art work and then I have a little chalkboard area for her. The aqua is a bright and cheery color and would be good for girls or boys...unisex playroom for whatever Rera babies join the party lol. Color idea below:

3. Backsplash in the kitchen- Currently there is no backsplash. This makes for a boring look and also an annoying mess when cooking. Its not as easy to clean food splatter off of a painted wall then it would be to clean off backsplash. ANNOYING. Looks terrible. Must change. Our countertops are a blue color & our cabinets are white so I want to change the overall look to feature light grays/whites/blacks.

4. Change the flooring in the kitchen: The previous owners of this home had a son who was in a wheelchair.. so the doors are wheelchair accessible (including first floor full bathroom), the flooring was chosen so that it would be easy and durable with the use of wheelchair wheels on it at all times. It is hideous. Its a fake brick look and it doesn't match anything. It is in both the kitchen and bathroom. It is currently the biggest eye sore of the house and I think could potentially be our first thing we change (outside of paint which is just easy and cheap). Again, I want to do something to stick with the gray/white/black color scheme.

5. Landscaping. The previous owners had some pretty bushes outside and cute bird houses etc but then they also had some pretty terrible looking ones that you can tell they just used to fill up space. We want to mulch. A lot. Flowers I am a bit nervous about, Tori loves to pick flowers for Mommy and Daddy so that could be a waste of money? We will see.

6. Paint our shutters/front door- They are this weird green right now, lighter than hunter green but not green green....we dont really like it. So we have decided on navy blue. That with the colorful flowers/bushes and our adorable seating set we put on the front porch is going to look great.

 

NOW THAT I WROTE THE LONGEST BLOG POST EVER.. have a great week everyone.

 

 

the one where its a new month

A new month, new beginnings.
I am going to follow the lead of Kat over at cheshirekatblog.com/ and share my list of goals for the month of April.
First off I would like to note, Dan and I have a family calendar where we put all of our appointments, work schedule, weekend events, etc. I did our April calendar today and we have FOUR DAYS THIS ENTIRE MONTH that do not have an appointment or something scheduled for either me, Dan or Tori. Craziness.

Goal #1- Stay calm. I can get overly anxious when I know I have 101 things going on during a certain day. That makes me not be able to eat properly, it makes me not be able to sleep. I am trying to learn to let go and just take things as they come. This is not a measureable goal outside of maybe the amount of times I have a meltdown to Dan. So Ill tell him to keep track lol.
Goal #2- Add a spin class a week to my workout schedule. I figured if I try for one time a week that is realistic and it will give me something to spice up my workout routine.
Goal #3- Give my business card to at least one brand new person a week.
Goal #4- Get to a park at least once a week (weather permitting). This isn't always easy either with our gym and naps and lunch schedule but starting this month with one day a week and working up to more for the summer, doable.
Goal #5- Update Toris baby book. I have SO dropped the ball on this. Its so easy to take pictures and upload them onto the computer and facebook, I rarely develop them so I need to get on that.

Ok.. so this is where I am starting. Ill keep you posted on progress!

the one where I catch you up on life as of late

-Work has been so busy. I am not complaining even a little bit about that. Winter was brutal so it feels good to be catching up. 3 settlements next month, my listing in CV just got two calls for showings (3 days on the market).. those sellers will be buying. Lots of other buyers. Things are good.

-Tori and I are getting stir crazy. I swear I can thank my gym schedule on the fact that its cold outside and Tori and I need a break and excuse pretty much everyday to get out of the house.

-April is creeping up on us right now. Besides the 3 settlements I have scheduled we also have such a busy month as a family. Pretty much every weekend we have something going on. Easter is a really busy weekend for us every year. We have Passover celebration (Dans mom is Jewish) and then the following day we have Easter. This year, Isabellas fourth birthday falls on Easter weekend (the Friday before Easter) so we have a busy weekend celebrating that also. We also have our friend Jess' birthday stuff that weekend. Phew.

-Izzys birthday plans are as follow: On Thursday I have a settlement in York, my mom will be watching Izzy and Tori during that and then afterwards Izzy is coming to our house for a sleepover with her baby cousin. Im a little nervous about having the two of them together overnight lol. They have a love/hate relationship right now. They always want each other and ask for each other and play.. but then they also fight like sisters, hit, fight over toys, etc. Then Friday morning we are getting up and starting the morning off at Monkey Joes in camp hill. Tori loved that place when we went the last time. Its reasonably priced and not too busy in the morning which is great. Thennnnnn we are leaving there and having lunch at my daddys pizza shop, complete with cupcakes. It is going to be so fun!!!

-April is the month of birthday celebrations... Izzy, Ray Ray, Jess, Erica, Courtney... my gosh. People need to not be born in April.. or I need to have less friends LOL (JK! love you all!).

-Dan has a couple college friends visiting us for the last weekend of April. That is exciting also. Dan really loves and appreciates his friendships with his college guys. Even though they don't get to see each other very often.. they get together and aren't off beat for even a second.

-I am adding a spin class a week back to my schedule. I am SUPER PICKY about music for working out and as of the past year or so, Meg is the only spin class whose music I like enough to take for an hour. The problem there is that she only teaches in the evening and I do not like to take Tori to the kids club in the evening. There are sooo many kids there and I just don't like that lol. So anywho, back to spin.. Liz is teaching a 9:15 twice a week (has been for just a couple of months).. and a bunch of my friends said that her music was great and to take her. I took it last week and loved it. The hour went fast. 19.4 miles on the bike went fast. One thing I forgot about spin... was how much my lady parts were sore afterwards LOL. Sorry, that is so TMI but seriously, the bike.. for an hour.. sore. LOL.

So anywho, nothing too crazy exiciting.. mostly work and the fam. In honor of the April birthdays.. here are some fun pictures of me with the bday people:

the one with the family friendly st patricks day

St Patricks Day is one of my most favorite days ever.
I'm Italian, so no, I have zero Irish heritage. I just like to day drink, and hang out with my friends.. and I love a good theme. Green clothes and fun St Patricks necklaces, glitter, glasses, the works. Doesn't get better than that.
This year we decided to have a family friendly St Patricks day. No need to worry about babysitters, picking up/dropping off kiddos, etc. Tori hasn't slept overnight anywhere since Dans birthday in November and I'm ok with it. I like having my baby right upstairs.
This year we invited The Reeds with their broad (Quinn, Reagan and baby #3 just baking away in Christines belly).. The Comerfords (John, Laurie, Ellie, Jack and Will) and the Howes (Eric, Adrienne, Alexis and Bubba aka little Eric). We asked everyone to bring something food/drinks related and we had a bunch of stuff here too. Dan made wings and then we had hot dogs/sauerkraut, chips.. then others brought booze, brownies and ham and cheese sandwiches. Everything was delish and went quick. For booze we had beer, car bombs, and the guys shared some bourbon.
In our house we have an awesome playroom on the first floor. Pretty much every toy or stuffed animal you can think of is in this room. An easel, books galore, two different sets of blocks, stickers, chalkboard, two 4 wheelers, a tent, a ball pit. Yes, that is all for one child LOL. So anywho, it is the perfect set up for the kids. For the most part, the kids are pretty good at playing with each other in there. The room is right off the kitchen so its easy to be sneaky and check on the kids. This was the first St Paddys in awhile where I didn't have a hangover and I must say, I loved it. Hangovers are for the birds. It was so nice having the families over too because if there is one thing I love about hanging out with other people who have kids its this: there is absolutely no judgment. Oh your kid just hit one of the other kids on the head? That's fine because that kid just kicked the other one for taking their book. Oh your kid wont stop crying so you gave them a third brownie? Totally fine because mine will eat leftover hot dogs for lunch everyday this week. The kids are alive, they are having fun (for the most part), the parents have a nice little buzz and the kids will still go to sleep at 8pm. All is well in the world. This will most definitely be a tradition.

Below: Lex had a bet with Dan over who could beat who in trivia crack. Dan won so this is Lex eating a spoonful of sauerkraut, strawberry jelly and soy sauce. TERRIBLE.

Q and Reagan enjoying some brother sister time :)

the one with clothes from Rosegal.com

Spring is finally here. I think.
Its almost mid March and its finally getting warm with todays weather hitting almost 60 degrees.
I am so, so excited to put away winter coats and boots and get out capris and sandals.
Because I am finally getting a taste of Spring, clearly I have started online shopping so I figured I would share a couple of my must haves...

Below: I purchased this adorable top offline at rosegal.com. It was dirt cheap and I haven't received it yet so Im not sure how the quality is going to be. I am a sucker for a shirt that shows off my colar bone lol. And I think Ill wear it like the model.. with skinny jeans

 

This sort of top is a go-to for my everyday Spring wardrobe. Easy, casual but still somehow looks like you actually tried to be put together.

Below: lifting weights makes for happiness when you see definition in your shoulders and back which clearly means you buy a shirt to show off your shoulders. I like how that can be dressed up and I also love a high neck.

 

Below is a good one for Spring because although its long sleeve, it has the cut outs so it will let a nice breeze go through. Also can be dressed up or dressed down.

 

A pencil skirt, I have yet to try this trend for work but am going to make it a goal for this season.

 

*All of the pictures above are from rosegal.com. I have only ordered the first shirt. The websites clothes are dirt cheap and there is no shipping fee but you don't get what you ordered for at least 14-30 days. Also, because of the low prices I didn't want to commit to ordering more than one thing right now because I wanted to see the quality before I spent more money. A friend of mine at LAF orders stuff from there and so far shes liked everything she has gotten.