our easter weekend

we just returned from a quick 4 day vacation to visit topher and teppie in virginia in their new house and to celebrate easter with my entire family.  we decided to bring our easter baskets along, just in case the easter bunny wanted to find us and fill our baskets.  the girls and i decorated eggs the day before, and awoke sunday to the egg bowl empty and the eggs and baskets hidden.  the girls were up before anyone else, so we hunted while the rest of the house was sleeping.

we celebrated easter mass at topher and teppie's church, and then spent the rest of the day doing a little of this and a little of that- hiking at a local park close to the potomac river, helping with outdoor chores, and cooking up a late-night meal.  unfortunately, nana fell as she was getting out of bed friday morning and broke her humerus bone in her arm, so she was relegated to the couch for a majority of our trip.  teppie brightened up her view with tulips, which made for a really fun photo prop.

on monday, the girls and i headed to the salon to get hair cuts with teppie.  she was able to clean up the girls' chlorine hair from their weekly swim lessons, and give them fresh, shorter cuts for spring.  they soaked up the relaxation of the salon, and all the attention that two little girls with plastic bags and heaters on their head will gather.  they were amazingly well behaved, and i am just in love with their new cuts.

over the weekend, we were also able to squeeze in a visit with our cousins and their new third baby girl at a fun, local park so the kids could run around.  and monday evening, i met up with a friend i've known through instagram for almost 2 years, and since she's a photographer, we had our entire family pictures taken.  it's funny meeting someone for the first time who you've only known through social media.  we knew so much about each other, because pictures and stories and snippets into our days for the past 2 years tell you a whole lot about a person, but it was still the first time i was "meeting" her.  we talked and talked and talked outside a coffee shop before the photo shoot, and could definitely have talked some more.

tuesday morning, we packed up and headed home.  the girls were fabulous travel companions and our trip each way took less than 8 hours.  and now we're home and getting ourself back to the rest of our spring break week, enjoying these last couple of days before hitting the home stretch of school before summer vacation.  

taking stock

on the early morning of the second day back to school after our Christmas vacation, i reflect back at what a relaxing, enjoyable time we have had.  michael was able to take the entire 2 weeks off with us, and it was so amazing having him home.  while i didn't check off everything i had on my to-do list, we certainly got several things accomplished and had loads of snuggly, family time as well.  

our break in a nutshell...greenfield village holiday nights with michael, me and harper.  michael's family christmas and his parents birthday celebrations.  michael had a golf lesson while we had a playdate with friends to decorate sugar cookies for santa.  i taught many, many spin classes.  the imax polar express with nana and papa.  christmas eve mass.  christmas day gifts.  i was able to sneak in a relaxing facial and a haircut.  michael and i took a private yoga class with my mom and dad, to see how they would like it.  i, for one, crave it, and i was also able to fit in a couple additional yoga classes on my own.  new years eve celebrations with neighbors and friends staying up way too late and waking up way too early the next morning, but having so much fun.  grocery store runs.  ice skating.  a going away party for college friends.  tons and tons of reading, watching movies and shows, playing new games from christmas and old ones we've had, laughing and chatting.  and on sunday night, a snowy, chilly, windy walk for all of us and the pups after a long day of lounging in our jammies.  

it was a wonderful, amazing, relaxing break and so needed.  we're all a little bit sad to get back to the grind.  but we have goals and aspirations to work on and look forward to in 2015, and we all have to make that first step forward to get where we want to go.  

i liked this idea my friend, kellie, posted a while back about taking stock on what's currently going on in your life.  (she was inspired from her cousin who posted this, who was inspired from another blogger.)  so, here's my take on what is currently on my mind.  i'd like to continue this on a monthly basis, another goal of mine for 2015.

making : my mouth healthier by oil pulling for 20 minutes 
hoping:  for a snow day sometime this week

cooking : tons of healthy food for michael's and my whole30 food challenge this month
drinking : nothing but water, tea, coffee with canned full-fat coconut milk
reading:  where'd you go, bernadette? for book club
wanting:  my basement organized and cubbies built in our hallway
playing:  lots of board games with harper
deciding:  where to vacation this year- somewhere warm over spring break or london in the summer
wishing:  for summer vacation 
enjoying:  watching my girls learning daily
waiting:  for my 1-year post cancer treatment scans in february
liking:  the feedback i am receiving on my photos i'm posting in my 2nd online photography class
wondering:  what life will be like if we have a third baby
loving:  my family right where we are
watching: the new season of downton abbey

marveling:  at how beautiful the snow is
needing:  a warm vacation
smelling:  the diffuser with essential oils
wearing:  my new winter hat, a christmas gift from michael
following:  harper's newest loose tooth- her third and one of the top middle ones  
noticing:  how much better i feel since starting up whole30 again january 2nd
knowing: i have to go upstairs to shower in 5 minutes and get ready for work
thinking: about last night's hot vinyasa yoga class and how much i crave it
feeling:  overall happy and peaceful
admiring:  my friend maria's positive attitude and photo/video organization, always!
sorting:  my papers in the office
buying:  coconut milk, goji berries and vanilla bean powder on amazon for our whole30 program
getting:  anxious about all the personal things i want to accomplish
bookmarking:  recipes
disliking:  being back to work after a wonderful 2 weeks off
giggling:  while listening to my girls talk- their words are so big out of their tiny mouths
feeling:  healthy
snacking:  on nothing while on the whole30- 3 meals only
coveting:  a vacation somewhere this year
wishing:  for a healthy, cancer-free year
hearing:  the shower running upstairs as i click on my computer and swish coconut oil in my mouth

caught red-handed

we joined friends on friday night for a first birthday family costume party.  super fun.  because harper hasn't been into dressing up for halloween much the past couple years, it took us a good long car ride to solidify a family costume.  sofia the first's family was out for sure (no princesses for harper).  despicable me...nah.  superheroes.  milk and cookies.  a rainbow.  peppa pig and family.  we covered it all and finally got it with robbers.  not cops and robbers.  nope, we were all gonna be bad.

super easy.  so fun.  kids loved their loot bags (free drawstring bags from each toms shoes purchase, turned inside out- thank you toms.)  i made the masks with felt and nana sewed the ribbon on (nope, i can't sew.)  purchased some black and white striped tops for the girls, beanie hats for all of us and found black pants and dark shoes in our closets.  watch out.  we're comin' for ya.

lemons

as the saying goes...when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.  all well and good, and i have definitely become more of a lemonade-maker in recent years, but in the last few weeks, my family has been holding a whole lot of lemons and none of us know what to do with them yet.

just over 2 weeks ago, my sister and her family flew home from london for their easter holiday.  i couldn't have been more excited to bust through the door of my parent's house and into the arms of my sister, sobbing and hugging tighter than ever before, quickly feeling all the moments we missed with each other over the last 6 months.  all the holidays.  my entire cancer diagnosis and treatment.  but the visit had a gray cloud over it from the start.  heather found a lump in her breast a few weeks before coming home, and immediately had the feeling that it wasn't good.  she scheduled several doctor's appointments the monday after they arrived.  by tuesday, we were quickly thrown back into the cancer world.  it was confirmed that she had ductal carcinoma, and it was highly encouraged that she have surgery and that she stay in the states for the duration of her treatment.  within 8 days of being diagnosed, after numerous doctor appointments, phone calls, texts, e-mails, weighing decisions upon decisions upon decisions, she was in surgery for a double mastectomy.  our brother, chris, flew in for a few days to be with us.  and today, a week post-surgery, as she's oh-so-slowly healing physically, she had to say goodbye to her husband and her boys who are flying back to england to return to work and school.  they'll be back within 5 weeks, but right now, no one wants to make that damn lemonade.

so, here's where my head is at.  once she got this diagnosis, something became very clear to me.  the why.  the reason why i may have had to endure my cancer diagnosis and therapy.  i truly think it was for heather.  i think that God said, hey, i'm going to give you a little bit of this cancer thing.  it won't be much.  it will be small and it will be quick and you will heal.  but you need to know what your sister is going to go through.  and you need to be there for her and understand her in every sense of this journey.  and while my journey is a mole hill compared to the mountain that she is going to climb, i totally and completely and fully understand every single emotion that she has come to these last 2 weeks.  i get that she's scared and empty and lonely, even in a room full of people.  i understand that she is on a roller coaster of emotion and she doesn't know what decisions to make.  i have felt what it's like to feel the love of hundreds of friends and family through e-mails, texts and facebook messages, and yet feel so overwhelmed that you just want to turn it all off and not respond to anyone or anything.  i know how scary and apprehensive surgery and treatment can be and how you have to completely trust your doctors.  and i know the heartache of not being able to be with your children while you try to heal your body, and gosh, that is what hurts the most.  all of that.  i get it.  i don't think it's just a fluke that i received my all clear 2-months-post treatment scans only the day before her big surgery.  God absolutely had his hand in that.

all my life, i've been 9 years and 9 months behind heather.  she's done everything first and being the older sister, she had the responsibility (and felt it her duty) to tell me what i should do and not do.  save your money.  don't overspend.  date.  don't date him.  drive safely, and let me teach you how in the parking lot of a middle school when you're 14.  go to college and get a good degree.  graduate and gain some employment.  get married.  have babies.  i have looked up to heather for my entire life, and i've listened to every piece of advice she has doled out.  and i think this time, i had to do it first.  i am now engaged in every step of what she will go through and i can be the one closest to her to tell her, it's ok.  i've been there.  i'm here with you.  i'm listening.  and we'll do this together.

so, heboo, listen up.  it's scary.  it hurts.  it's not fair and it sucks so bad you want to scream.  but i love you more than you know and i am so grateful that i get to share this journey right along with you.  i promise i will stand by you whatever comes our way and we'll come out the other side of all this stronger and wiser and healthier and even more amazing mamas for our kids.  and one day soon, we'll sit together, we'll talk about this journey, we'll laugh, we'll cry.  and we'll be drinking a whole lot of lemonade.

let it snow.

so it snowed just a bit today.  well, ok, a lot.  i think at this point just past 10 pm, we're close to 7-8 inches on top of what fell last week.  michael hit up the grocery store last night for some last minute items, along with everyone else in our county who cleared the shelves, so that today, we could just stay inside and hibernate.  and then it just kept snowing and snowing and snowing, until it took michael outside to clear the driveway late this afternoon, and the girls followed to shovel the deck and play.  oh and eat some freshly fallen powdered snow.



they played, they ate snow, and then they came inside to warm by the fire, drink hot cocoa, read books and weave with our loom.  basically, resume our positions from the earlier part of our day.



and bonus, we have already received our call for a snow day tomorrow.  all of us, including michael.  it's bad out there.  and we don't plan to do anything more than what we did today...stay inside and huddle up.  stay warm wherever you are.  and make sure you take the opportunity to eat some snow.
 

one year.

another day and more photos of my adorable niece, emma.  these were her first birthday and family photos.  so much love and happiness and a beautiful fall day.  and what's not to love about a little lady in pink.



oh, some of those faces were killer.  stinkin' cute.

smashing

our niece, emma, is already 1. seems like only yesterday my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were welcoming her into their arms.
 

to celebrate her big day, we had a little party. and no first birthday is complete without a cake smash.
 

i love the cake smash. it's such a rite of passage. from the first questioning looks and hesitant taste to the inevitable parental forcing of the hand into the cake to encourage the kiddo to try a bit more. then the realization that this bright, colorful, smooshy thing in front of me is actually quite tasty, and the dive in with all gusto, can't get it to my mouth quickly enough, not caring that it's now all over my face and hair. it's sort of magical to watch.
 

we as adults are sending an invitation...here is your first taste of the sweet life, child. the good stuff.
 

enjoy it.
 

and remember that sometimes in life, it's ok to eat dessert first.
 

happy first birthday, sweet girl. ♥

a summer road trip, part one

i have been a rollercoaster of internal emotions lately.  i started back to work on monday, and it seemed this year more than in the past i just wasn't ready for it.  then last night, we took harper to walk through at her new school.  seeing her little self walk the big halls, meeting her principal, peeking into her classroom, showing her where she was going to play at recess, eat lunch, have computer and art class was a bit overwhelming for me!  harper seemed pretty ok with it all.  i am preparing myself for next week with kleenex and big sunglasses.

there are still so many good memories of our summer that i'm hanging on to, and will be updating here as we roll into the school year.  here's one of our trip to virginia at the beginning of august.  we were set to vacation for a week in north carolina, and planned to make a stop at my brother and sister-in-law's house for a few days on the way in order to break up the long trip to nc and to spend some time hanging out with family.  we did this last time we made the trip to outer banks, 4 years ago, and it worked out well with drive time.  bonus that we got to spend several days catching up with my sib.

we spent a day at the national zoo, where harper pointed out all the animals we saw and the ones we might see in her board-book-turned-guidebook.  we ate lots of froyo.  we swam a whole bunch.  we visited chris and stephanie's new house, and took a stop at a national park with amazing views.  we made a must-stop visit to georgetown cupcake beacause it's just not a trip to virginia without a stop there.



we had a wonderful 3 days, and from here we ventured to the outer banks.  more on that to come.