Snowed in...

As most of you know and experienced - we had one heck of a snow storm over the weekend!! I realize that lots of people love the snow and think it's pretty - blah blah blah.... not me!! I hate it - yes - HATE it! We've been lucky the last few years and haven't had too much to deal with but this weekend we made up for it. The final total on our deck was about 22 inches. WOW!!

Ben decided to shovel in the morning to try to make the process easier in the end. Taylor watched out the window and kept pointing to him so I bundled her all up to take her outside. Once we got out there - she was NOT interested in what Daddy was doing anymore.








So that didn't last long! Actually - it took me longer to get her dressed than our time outside did! Hmmmmm - not loving the snow? She is her mother's daughter! ;0)
I took my turn shoveling later on that afternoon. It was like Ben had never done it with how much had come down in the time in between. It definitely worked out by the time Sunday rolled around though....we only had a few inches to take care of while some of our neighbors had almost 2 feet. We tried taking Taylor out again that morning but again - she wanted nothing to do with it. I'd like to say maybe next time but I hope there isn't one! HA! Dear Crazy.....

Here are a few more pics from Sunday....

Get me outta here!!

You can see the driveway!

Our street

Ho Ho NO!

This past Saturday, our little town of Leesburg had a Holiday Festival! I got a flyer in the mail about it 2 weeks ago and I was looking forward to it ever since. The weather cooperated - and by cooperated I mean it wasn't like we were living in Chicago as the day before felt when the freezing winds came whipping through.

We all bundled up that morning and headed downtown to see what this festival was all about. After a brief walk through town (and finding all of the restaurants that I've been reading about online and wanting to try) we ran into Frosty! Taylor was not nearly as excited as I was but she let me hold her next to him to get a quick pic.

A short time later we saw Santa from a far as he was getting ready to go set up shop on his chair to meet all the kids and listen to their wishes. Now - knowing that Taylor wouldn't go for standing in a long line, I took a shot and asked Santa for a picture right there. He agreed and I asked Taylor if she wanted to meet Santa? She said "NO"! Santa kinda laughed it off and we got a quick shot.....

From there we saw Rudolf and she wanted nothing to do with him either! He tried waving and she stared him down. We tried to approach him and Taylor grabbed onto Ben's jacket, buried her face in his chest while saying "no no no". Oh well.....next year.

Her mood instantly changed when continued our journey, turned the corner and saw the little train making it's way around a parking lot. She took one look, pointed and yelled "CHOO CHOO!!" Needless to say - she got to take a ride on the choo choo.......

Last but not least, the Fun Bus was there. She is a bit too young to go in by herself and adults don't fit in but the guy was nice enough to let us put her at the top of the slide so she could take part in some of the fun.

That's where our festival experience ended. I'm already looking forward to next year when Taylor might have more of an interest in Santa, Frosty, Rudolf etc.

Later that evening, I went over to Seca's with the rest of the bridesmaids for a little wedding planning fun! Seca had gone to look at dresses that afternoon so we got to see the pictures and give her our opinions on what we liked. I can't wait to see what she picks and how amazing she is going to look on her special day (Sept 17th 2010).

That's about it from our end. I gotta put the computer away and start working on our Christmas Cards! One year I will work on them toward the beginning of the month.....one year! HA! Dear Crazy....

The Holidays are in full swing....

It's been a few weeks since the last post and the holidays are now upon us! We had a fantastic Thanksgiving - 2 day celebration. Turkey Day started out EARLY with Amanda and our Landsdowne Firehouse Run 5K. It was cold & foggy but I gotta say it made for a beautiful run. Obviously I didn't have my camera so you're just gonna have to believe me on this one! After our run, we hit up Starbucks for a quick coffee & snack. Then it was off to Sissy's house for dinner with the rents and Todd's parents who were in town from Michigan. A great time was had by all.
The next morning was another early one with meeting up with Jac & Mom at the Leesburg Outlets for our yearly Black Friday Shopping. We didn't buy too much but it's always a nice time to get together just us girls. I look forward to when Taylor will join us but that's a few (many) years away still.
We celebrated our second Thanksgiving with Ben's family that evening and it was tons-o-fun as well.

This past weekend started out with family photos! We got some good ones but I just put my favorite one below. The rest will be in my December pics on Snapfish later on this month.

Taylor LOVES her "Melmo"

Then it was off for "Christmas in the Burg" down at Nanny's. This is always one of my most favorite weekends. This year was no different! Tons of food, laughs and ELMO!! Doesn't get much better. Here are a few pics......

Best. PJs. EVER!! Thanks Aunt Jack!

All the other day to day stuff is pretty same old. Taylor is getting bigger by the day - both her actual self and her attitude! Wonder where she gets that from?? HA! Dear Crazy......

Runnin' just as fast as we can......

So not too much has been going on since my last post. Everything has been pretty same old. Same old except for the fact that I have finally gotten off my lazy a$$ and started running again. Yes, you read correctly - I am running. Amanda and Jacqueline (and we can't leave out Todd) inspired me to get started. Amanda told me about a race that was in Leesburg and Jac pointed me in the direction of the Couch to 5K program. The program is great! It starts off slow and works you up week by week. So I completed the first 3 weeks just in time to take part in the 7th Annual Freeze Your Gizzard 5K here in the Burg yesterday with Amanda. I knew that we would be run/walking and was perfectly content with that. What I didn't know was what a "cross country" race was. Do you? Well - let me tell you.....it was running in mud, dodging tree limbs, jumping over creeks, avoiding tree roots sticking up out of the ground and trying to get through long wet grass. Awful!! Other than that - it was tons of fun! I had set a personal goal of finishing in 45 minutes and we crossed the finish line at 41:20! Wooohooo! Go us! The last and final push was made easier with my dad trotting beside of us clapping and then looking up to see my mom, Ben and Taylor at the finish line! It meant alot that they came out to cheer us on although I'm sure they are looking forward to coming out again when the weather is warmer! HA! Dear Crazy!

Almost Done!

Me and Amanda post race!

Taylor wanted to cross the finish line too!

No rest for the weary though - we are signed up for the Landsdowne Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning! Woot!

Quick trip to Nanny's

This past weekend we (Me, Ben, Taylor and Mom) took a quick trip down to Williamsburg to see the Nanny!! I haven't seen her in quite a long time and although we are headed back in early December, I wanted her to have some alone time with Taylor. She was thrilled to spend the time with her! I'm not sure how thrilled she was watching Elmo over and over again but she didn't complain! HA! Dear Crazy!!

Speaking of Elmo - I'm not exactly sure how/when it started but Taylor has a borderline OBSESSION with him. I kid you not - she will bring a remote over to me while saying "Melmo" with her puppy dog blue eyes. It's hard to say no - especially when you get to see her reaction the first time "melmo" comes on to the TV screen. Just precious! So it looks like we've moved on from Dora and the Wonder Pets......for the moment anyway!

Back to the weekend..... we came home from the burg Saturday night after dinner so we could have Sunday to do things around the house and get ready for the work week. So the trip was short but well worth it!

Last night after dropping off the truck in Tyson's for routine maintenance - we went to Jac & Todd's for dinner. Jac made pulled pork (pulled by yours truly) and she bought Taylor organic Elmo mac n cheese with veggies. She was pretty proud of herself and couldn't wait to show TP when we walked in the door. It was a fun night for all!

That's about all that's going on with us. Hope all is well with everyone!

Halloween 09

Here are some pics of Taylor, Kiara, Amiayah and Baby Jordan!

Mike & Mike In MY Morning

I'm going to start with saying - 4 AM is not an hour I don't want to see again for a very long time! But man was it worth the early rise! I stayed at Jac & Todd's last night so I could guarantee that I wouldn't oversleep and miss my big morning at ESPN Zone! We had a nice but short visit before it was time to hit the bed so we could attempt to get a decent amount of sleep before the alarms started going off. Then there it was - 4 AM but I couldn't be more excited! Mom met us at their house around 4:30 and we headed out to the Metro a few minutes later. We were down there quickly and in line by 5:35. Luckily it wasn't too cold and the doors opened shortly after we claimed our spot. Once we got in, we signed up for a raffle to win tickets for tonight's MNF game (I'd already turned down a few sets of tickets - I mean really? Who wants to see that debacle!?) I digress..... for signing up we received a Mike & Mike In The Morning Tshirt and then were escorted to our table. We were in the corner but we could still see the guys so no complaints. We were all told as soon as we sat down that they would be signing autographs and taking pictures throughout the morning. It was at this point that I was cursing the fact that I hadn't totally put myself together as I normally would! LBH - we all know I'm a pretty vein person but I was in no mood to do my hair and I had convinced myself that I would never get the photo op that I was hoping for! Apparently I was wrong and there I was - ponytail and all. HA! Dear Crazy! I'd like to let you all know that this ponytail made it on TV just before 7am when mom and I were in line for our pics. ;0)

I'm not going to lie - I'm a little tired now but I would do it again and I plan on it once the Skins are good enough to have another home MNF game so M&M come back! Wishful thinking huh?

Here are a few of my pics.......

Pumpkinville

This morning, Heather and I decided to get out of the house before the rain came around and took Taylor to Pumpkinville at the Leesburg Animal Park. Once we got through admissions and turned the corner, Taylor saw all of the animals and her face lit up like a Christmas tree!! Cows and sheep and roosters - Oh My!! We walked around and she laughed and pointed and made noises for each individual animal that she recognized. Then we got to a part of the park that we were able to enter an area with animals that we could pet and get face to face with. The pic below is far from flattering but it was the funniest part of the day. Taylor made a beeline for the sheep that was minding his own business - she got as close as she could comfortably get and just stared at him. Then out of nowhere - she (not quietly mind you) screamed" BAAAAAAAA" in the poor things face. I cracked up so she did it a few more times before I felt bad for him. I know what he was thinking.....who is this little girl?? DEAR CRAZY!!

She's a pretty brave little one....she let the goat get right up in her face and giggled. Personally - I was the one a little intimidated until Heather reminded me that they wouldn't have this "contact area" if it wasn't safe. Ok- True Story.

We spent a little over an hour with the animals and sliding down slides. Taylor picked out her own little mini pumpkin at the end. All in all - it was a perfect morning!

Coolest. Mom. EVER!!

No - I'm not talking about myself silly! I'm talking about MY MOM! Why you ask?! Well - yesterday I received a very excited phone call from mom asking what my upcoming Monday looked like. Not too much going on I told her and she asked if I wanted to take the morning off so we could go down to ESPN Zone in DC with Jacqueline and Todd to watch Mike & Mike In The Morning LIVE!! Um - YES PLEASE!! For those of you that don't know who Mike & Mike are (please don't admit it to me) - they have a daily tv & radio show on ESPN2 from 6-10am and the Dadiani ladies LOVE them! I'm super excited to be able to have the chance to see them in person! Not too excited about the time we have to wake up to get downtown for when the doors open at 5:30 am but I will survive! So now that you all know - I expect you to get up early and watch for us on TV! Hahahaha - I know what you're thinking.....DEAR CRAZY!!

NC Weekend

This past weekend we traveled down to North Carolina to visit with the Elliott's and Kevin & Katie. We left EARLY Friday morning! When I say early - I mean 5:30 AM early. It worked out really well though since Taylor fell back to sleep after we got on the road and gave us a few solid hours of driving before we had to stop for breakfast. She was a rock star the remainder of the trip - she moo'd at the cows we passed going down 81 and enjoyed being able to watch Dora from the comfort of her car seat! (Thanks Scott & Leslie for letting us borrow the portable DVD player)

That afternoon -after nap time was over for both Taylor and Jonathan - we walked over to the playground so the kids could run around on a beautiful afternoon. Good times were had by all!


Saturday it was Pumpkin Patch day! We went back to the same one that we visited last year and we had an even better time than before. Over the last few weeks - Taylor has learned different barnyard animal sounds and man did she put them to use that morning! She moo'd at cows - baa'd at sheep and I can't even type out her impression of a rooster but believe me when I tell you it's hilarious!
We all took a hayride (tractor ride was more like it) that went around the whole farm and ended up in the pumpkin patch. Jonathan was so excited to pick out a pumpkin. Taylor was more interested in sitting in the dirt and eating her goldfish! HA! Dear Crazy......
That afternoon was spent playing at the house. Taylor found Jonathan's inflatable hippo that was filled with balls and she had a blast in it.


Sunday - I have to start this off with saying Jen is the hostess with the mostest!! She and Ian had a set of FREE club level tickets to the Skins vs. Panthers game and she gave up her ticket to me so I could go and see the Skins play!! I tried (honestly I did) to say no and convince her to go but she didn't go for it! She got to spend time with her BFF and I got to go to see my miserable awful football team lose yet another game. Don't get me wrong - I had a fantastic time hanging out with Ian and getting to see Kevin & Katie at their tailgate! And club level seats!?!? Man am I spoiled! ;0)
Ben and Jen took the kids to Monkey Joes - a super fun place with tons of "moon bounce" type contraptions!! Clearly - they loved it!
Later that evening -after the kids went to bed - Jen, Ben and I went out to meet up with Kevin, Katie and all of their friends that were in town for the game.


Monday - sadly the long weekend was coming to an end. We were trying to figure out what to do that morning before we had to get ready to hit the road and I could only think of one thing! STEAK 'N SHAKE!! Obvi - I couldn't be within 20 minutes of one without going! Plus - Taylor had never been so I could not deny her the shoestring fries! YUM-O!! It was everything I remembered and more.
Then it was time to head home but the fun wasn't over quite yet! After we started our journey - we decided to stop in Christiansburg for a quick visit/dinner with some of the Dadiani family friends and Billy! It was so nice to see Suzanne and Michael who are expecting their first baby! It's crazy to think about since Suzanne and I have known each other since we were ity bity little things - we are both going to have kids ages apart about the same as we are! Also - what a BONUS that Billy was so close and was able to join us. I can't begin to tell you how excited Taylor was and believe me when I say - she let everyone in the restaurant know it as soon as she saw her Uncle Billy!

So that's the wrap up of our fabulous weekend! There are soooo many pictures that I couldn't begin to pick a few for this post. If you are interested in taking a look - click HERE!!

Oooops! I did it again.....

Over a month has gone by again with no posts! I have to tell ya - once the evening rolls around and I've been on my computer all day - getting onto the laptop isn't high on my list of things I want to do. Now that I've given you my excuse - let me tell you about our month of September.

Once again - it was a BUSY month. Let's start at the beginning.....

Labor Day weekend/Scott's birthday. We had a family dinner at the Bradley's to celebrate Scott's birthday - moon bounce and all! Yep - you read correctly - there was a moon bounce for the kids! Taylor LOVE LOVE LOVED it! She got in and Ben bounced her up up and away for a good amount of time and she just wanted more. I'd say it was a great purchase on Leslie's part.

The next night we went over to Tom & Angela's for a BBQ. Taylor had a blast playing with their little pugs. They didn't mind her either since she was feeding them Chex Mix all night! HA!

The next weekend was the girls football weekend in Green Bay. I couldn't believe it was finally here. Heather, Stacy and I had been waiting since back in Spring for this weekend together! A little history behind the trip.....Heather and Stacy meet up once a year for a Bears game. Sometimes in Chicago - sometimes other places. This year, the first Bears game of the season happened to be the first Sunday Night Football game in Green Bay. So naturally this was the game they chose to meet at and I was the lucky one that got an "invite" to join them. It was a no-brainer on my part - especially when Ben said he didn't mind having a weekend with Taylor all to himself. (Yes - I know I'm the luckiest girl!!)

The weekend was nothing short of outstanding. The only thing that would have made it better was a Bears win over the Packers. If you are a sports fan - I highly encourage you to make your way to Lambeau Field at some point in your lifetime. They are BY FAR the nicest people/fans you will ever meet. We made a lot of new friends in our short time there - both Bears and Packers fans. I'm already looking forward to finding out where we are going next year! ;0)

The next weekend marked the start of my working every other Sunday at Glory Days for football season. I haven't worked a Football Sunday in years but I was happy to take it on once asked. I get to work with Heather so that just makes it even more fun for us - and the guests (LBH)!

The last weekend - our friend Tony from NC came into town to visit. If you remember a few months back when I solicited all of you for votes for Taylor in the photo contest for best Caniac - Tony was the one that submitted the now famous (in my world) photo. I haven't seen him in years so the visit was much anticipated. He and a few of his friends came over on Saturday for the Hokies game! Taylor - being the flirt that she is - enjoyed having a few more guys in the house to show all of her toys and books too. They were good sports and played along great. Tony didn't come empty handed - he brought Taylor her first Carolina Hurricanes t-shirt to wear while watching hockey with Aunt Heather. It's cute but we all know she is a CAPS fan at heart. Hint hint Uncle Todd - she needs CAPS gear! ;0)

So there you have it - our month of September in a few short paragraphs. I will make every effort to post more often but October is looking crazy - starting with a trip to NC this weekend to see the Eillott's and Kevin & Katie. Looking forward to it!!

Link to August Pictures and Dinner with Petre

First - CLICK HERE for our August Pictures on Snapfish!

Tonight, we (myself, Taylor, Todd, Jac & The Rents) went out to dinner with Petre at our normal spot in Arlington - Kabob Bazzar! Petre is a dear dear friend of the Dadiani family and we try to get together every few months for dinner so he can be kept up on the family. We had a delicious meal as always and Taylor enjoyed "barking" back & forth with Petre across the table. Here are a few pics from the evening.....

2nd Annual OC Trip

This past weekend we headed back to OC, MD with Tom, Angela, Lauren and Antonio for our 2nd Annual Trip to the beach!

We left Thursday evening per my request so we could keep Taylor somewhat on schedule. Oh - and the fact that it would be dark by the time we went over the Bay Bridge had a little to do with it as well. HA! Dear Crazy.....

Friday morning - Lauren, Taylor and I ran some errands while we waited for Tom & Angela to arrive. Once they did - the boys went to play golf and the girls decided to take Taylor to the pool to see how she liked it. A few days before we left - I had bought her an inflatable princess car and it turned out to be the best purchase I've made in a LONG time. She LOVED it - both in and out of the water.

"Driving" around the pool

Relaxing poolside

After we were all done with our different activities - we all met up for dinner at Nick's! Now - I normally don't order ribs - I will just sneak of bite of Ben's but the smell was overwhelming so I just had to do it and boy were they good! I highly recommend them if you are even down in OC around 154th street!

Saturday morning we woke up to a sight I had never seen before! Hurricane Bill was way off the coast but he managed to produce a fierce surf/tide that brought the water up to the fence line of the condo! There was barely any beach to be seen! This was our view from the balcony.....

By the time Taylor was done with breakfast there was a strip of sand in between the ocean and the pools of water the tide left behind so we took Taylor down for a walk to check it out. It was just a strange sight but pretty cool at the same time.

Since there wasn't much beach to be had that day - the boys played another round of golf while the girls took advantage of the time and went to some local shops to see what we could find.

Dinner that night was "entertaining"..... I have to back up to Thursday night when we arrived. Once we were unloaded - Ben and Lauren went to the store to grab some essentials for the next day while Antonio and I got Taylor to bed. He went to return the cart that brought all of our stuff up and when he returned he had a look of pure joy on his face!
Antonio: You will never believe what I just saw!!
Kristen: What did you just see?
Antonio: A guy carrying a pizza box THIS BIG (arms almost fully extended)
Kristen: Really? This big huh? (said sarcastically with arms extended)
Antonio: Swear! I gotta order one - I gotta get it before we leave!

So Saturday night we appeased Antonio and ordered our 28 inch pizza with 40 wings for $49! What a deal! About an hour later there was a knock on the door and Lauren was almost taken out by a pizza box! She could barely get it in the door. I couldn't stop laughing long enough to help her! I had to run and get my camera so you could see for yourselves.......

Antonio getting ready to attack his 28 inch pizza!

BTW - it was DELICIOUS

Sunday was a beautiful day and we took advantage of it spending the majority of the day down at the beach (minus nap time). Now if you remember - back in June when we went to Duck, NC - Taylor was not too fond of the beach. This time was a completely different story. We had no problems putting her down on her towel to play in the sand with her toys. Also - the little pools of water were still there that morning so we put her "car" in the water and she just hung out waiting for little waves to come up and give her a ride and making new friends with all of the other kids playing in the water as well.

Taylor happily playing in the sand

Family shot by the water

That night we met up with our friends Kimmy & Todd who happened to be staying close to us for a seafood buffet dinner! Crab Legs Crab Legs Crab Legs!!! Delicious Crab Legs! That's all I have to say about that!

We all went to the Boardwalk to finish off the night. The night before - the boys had gone down and Tom & Antonio stood in line for the Slingshot ride. Well , the weather got bad so the ride closed and they got a pass to use the next day. As we were walking towards the ride - I said to Ben - "who in their right mind would ride that?!?!" About 3o seconds later - Tom handed me his pass and said that I had to ride with Antonio cause he wasn't feeling too great. Um - OK!!! I guess I wasn't in my right mind cause I did it and it was SUPER!! I'm a big fan of thrill rides once they are over. The waiting to get on is enough to make me lose my mind. :0)

Our last day - the boys played golf and the girls took Taylor back to the beach for the morning. Then reality hit and we had to clean up the condo and get ready to go home.

All in all it was a FANTASTIC trip and we are already looking forward to the 3rd annual trip next year!

I have a TON of pics from the trip and once I have them all uploaded to Snapfish - I will post the link for those that are interested!

Welcome Baby Jordan!!

Jordan Anne Brunetti was born yesterday - August 18th at 10:56am. She weighed 6lbs 13.4ozs and was 20 inches long. She's beautiful!! Jason and Sara are both doing great. They will be bringing home the new addition to their family tomorrow morning!

Here are a few pics that I got when I went to see them this morning.......

Amanda Palooza & Visit from the Elliott's

Our weekend was a BUSY one! Friday was our friend Amanda's birthday. She took a night off of her volunteering duties at Friday Night Live to hang out with all of her friends and to celebrate with AMANDA PALOOZA!! We all had matching tshirts - including Taylor!! Gonzo's Nose was the band for the night and we all had a blast. This wasn't Taylor's first FNL but it was the first one since she started walking and boy was she hard to keep up with. She was all over the place wanting to talk to people, dance etc! Once it got dark - Amanda gave her a glow necklace that she didn't put down until it fell out of her hand when she fell asleep in the car!

Birthday girl and Taylor in their matching shirts

The bday girl and ME!

Saturday, Taylor and I did some shopping with Heather and her daughter Jessica. Then Heather offered to stay at the house that evening with the 2 girls so we could go out to meet up with Jen and Ian who were in town visiting Ian's parents for a long weekend. We went to Ned Devine's in Sterling since Antonio was working and it gave them a chance to catch up with him during their trip.

Group Shot!!

Sunday afternoon we went over to Ben's parents house and Jen met us over there with Jonathan so the kids could play together for a little while. They did so great together!! They each had a container of Goldfish so those got passed back & forth since the others was more interesting than their own! HA! Dear Crazy!

Jonathan and Taylor playing

Jonathan sharing his goldfish with Taylor. SO CUTE!!

Taylor was clearly having a good time!

Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!