It's the New Year

It is a new year, and I am thankful for the little things. There is nothing quite like...

...the smell of my baby's hair after a bath.

...that first sip of good wine.

...catching up with an old friend after a long time.

...petting my cat.

...getting licked by my bunny.

...opening the windows in the house for the first time in the spring.

...looking at my rings after they have been cleaned.

...my husband's dress shirts.

...when Maddy first wakes up in the morning (if she's happy, that is!).

...a really good laugh.

...a really good book.

...walking outside on a brisk fall day.

...a deep, long sleep (what's that?).

...coffee.

...good friends.

...family.

Happy New Year!

Katie, this one's for you :)

Katie and Oliver were here over the weekend. We were laughing about how MUCH we have changed since we met, and I had to blog about it....

1999: Katie and I had met through Scott the year before, but this was the year that Katie pledged AZD and I was her big sister. The night she sistered up she drank a whole bottle of champagne as fast as she could. We arrived late to sister-up night, and she still won the champagne chugging event. I was so proud. We drank... we smoked butts...we probably threw up...Too much info, I know. But nevertheless, we had a blast.

9 years later....

2008: My four month old baby is napping in her swing and Katie's twenty month old is exploring, petting my bunny, and giggling. Katie is expecting her second, a precious baby girl, in February. Katie and I are probably talking about the grueling days following delivery and baby poop.

What's more memorable, you ask? Look at the picture below, and you tell me.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Ode to Brady and Max

Those of you who know me know that I am totally in love with animals. I grew up never allowed to have a cat or a dog (only a few hampsters and gerbils and even a mouse!). The second I was able to get a pet, my friend (and roommate at the time) Jen and I got a cat, Brady. From that moment on, I was in love. Since meeting Brady, my love for animals has led me to volunteering at a shelter, doing a walk for the MSPCA, and even starting a fundraiser for homeless animals with the fourth graders at my school (one year we raised over $2,000.00!). I have pet sat, and I was a foster "mom" for an adorable kitten named Bob. By the way, fostering is amazing, but SO hard when you have to give them up! I cried for days. Literally, ask Joe.

Which brings me to my post for today. I still have Brady, who is almost 6 1/2 years old and a whopping 18 pounds, and a bunny named Max who is almost 4 years old (on 12/21 and yes I bought him a present). Before Maddy was born these guys were on my Christmas cards. I followed THEM around with the camera. I obsessed over THEM. When I got pregnant I vowed that I would never stop doing this, but of course, I have. I still love them to pieces, and they got their names on the Christmas card this year, just no picture : (.

So, Brady and Max, here's to you.

Brady: I will never forget how when my aunt died and I was crying all night long, you came up on the bed and laid across my chest, purring until I fell asleep (this cat never even sat on my lap!!). I will never forget when you and I lived with my parents during grad school, and how you loved to listen to the music in your favorite chair. I will never forget when I had to leave you at the vet overnight because you were sick...I missed you so much. I love how you follow me around, and how you curl up in a ball at the foot of the bed. You are my first big pet, and you will always have a special place in my heart.

Max: I will never forget going into that pet store to buy cat food, and there you were with all of your friends. I will never forget how I put my hand in the bin and all of the other bunnies ran away, but you came right over and licked my hand. I knew I had to have you. I will never forget how Joe and I were in that store for an hour as I begged and begged him to let me get you. I will never forget how you slept on the dining room chair and sprawled out your little legs. I love the way you hop around the living room, and grab raisins out of the box yourself. You are my little Ming Ming, and you are so special.

You guys are my first children, as crazy as that makes me sound, and I love you!!

Elf: The Best Christmas Movie Ever

Well, maybe not the best (It's a Wonderful Life!), but hands down the funniest. For all of you Elf fans out there, here are some of my favorite quotes. Only Will Ferrell could deliver these lines so funny!

"Hey Ming Ming"

"Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad." "Thanks Mr. Norwall."

"I'm here, with my dad, and we never met, and he wants me to sing him a song. And I was adopted, but you didn't know I was born. So I'm here now, I found you daddy. And guess what! I love you, I love you, I loooove you!" "Wow, that was weird."

"Francisco. That's fun to say. Franciiiiisco."

"I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite."

"Buddy the Elf what's your favorite color?"

"I'm a human. Raised by humans." "Hmmm."

"You smell like beef and cheese, you don't smell like santa."

"Wow, you're fast. I'm glad I caught up to you. I waited 5 hours for you. Why is your coat so big? So, good news - I saw a dog today. Have you seen a dog? You probably have. How was school? Was it fun? Did you get a lot of homework? Huh? Do you have any friends? Do you have a best friend? Does he have a big coat, too?"

"First we'll make snow angels for a two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle."

'Tis the Season

We got our Christmas tree today!

Here's how I always thought it would be: We would take our new baby to pick up the tree. She would smile, laugh, and reach out to touch the prickly pines and we would snap millions of pictures. We would take the tree home, play Christmas music, put up the tree, and hang the ornaments while drinking wine. The baby would be watching in her swing, or one of us would be holding her while she stares at the tree with wonder and delight. Everything would look perfect, and the lights and ornaments would fall into place beautifully.

Here's how it actually happened: It was snowy and cold, and we bundled Maddy up so much that she was in her misery in the car. She passed out in her car seat the second we started driving. Having been hell bent on holding her during the whole tree-buying excursion, I took her out of her car seat and woke her. The poor child was not pleased! Our displeased child led us to rushing to pick out a tree, and only getting 2 pictures before screaming ensued. When we got home, we had to let the tree sit in the hallway for a few hours so it could dry and open up. Later on, Joe strung the lights (I am way too impatient), while I reluctantly poured myself a glass of wine: I was not feeling well anyway, but I was also a bit hungover from the party we had the night before. Mind you I didn't drink much at all, yet still managed to feel like crap... Anyway, Maddy was cranky and tired (having never fully recovered from her rude awakening earlier in the day!) and had to be in her bouncy chair facing the TV to be happy. My wine was not going down easily, and all of the beautiful ornaments that we have are way too heavy for the branches, causing the tree to look nothing like it did when Joe first strung the lights!

All in all, it was indeed a great day. I know that I am very lucky, but I have to say that I did find some humor in the way we romantics envision certain events. Of course, we are blessed and happy, and I have a lot to be thankful for. It could've been a lot worse...the lights could've been broken! ;-)

I Cannot Stand Rude People

I cannot stand RUDE people. I don't care how old they are...

Here's a little background info: I had been feeling a dull ache in my lower right back for about 2 weeks at least. Of course, I thought I was just having the normal back pain that comes with carrying a new baby, sitting on the couch feeding all of the time, and added weight. On Tuesday night the pain was so unbearable, and I was also getting sharp pains in my right side. One doctor's visit later and I have a bladder infection that has definitely affected my kidneys. That explains the feeling like total crap these past few weeks! Hello Lauren!

Flash forward to yesterday. I was in line at the CVS pharmacy picking up my medication, feeling like crap and in SO much pain (Joe was working from home so Maddy wasn't with me). There is one lady in front of me and the pharmacist's assistant was helping her. All of a sudden this old lady comes barging over and stands right in front of me. So, I politely tell her that there is a line, thinking that maybe she just needed a little gentle reminder. She starts going on about how she is in a hurry and that she needs to be helped now. The lady in front of me, who was already being helped, had the nerve to turn around and tell her that she could go next. NOW, I am not a mean person and I understand that old people have their own fun personalities, but first of all, the lady in front of me had no right to say that old lady could cut me, and old lady had no right to just go to the front of the line. I mean really, I was literally grasping my side in pain.

So, I looked at the lady in front of me, then at the old lady I said, "well, I am not feeling well either and I need my medication too, and I am next. This is a line." The pharmacist heard everything and came over to me and said, "you were next, can I help you?" As I was waiting for my prescription and I heard the old lady yelling at the pharmacist telling him that she was in a big hurry. Unless this woman had some medical issues that caused her to act like this, she was the rudest person ever!

The Holidays

I always get quite sentimental around the holidays, especially that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also feel the need to free myself from any weight issues during this time due to the "it's the holiday" excuse, but that's a different story entirely.

A friend of mine just suffered a terrible loss this past weekend, and it makes me realize how very lucky I am. I have wonderful parents, a wonderful group of friends, the best husband in the world, and a little baby girl who lights up my life. Some of my friends are going through so much right now, and it just breaks my heart. I have never seen such strength.

This is a perfect time to reflect on what's really important. It's not being in the shortest line at the grocery store, or buying a certain gift, or having the best holiday party. It's about the people that we love. It's about peace and caring. Wow, and I didn't even have any wine tonight!!