Dear Crazy

What a weekend!!

2010-09-20T21:00:00.003-04:00

This past Friday, September 17th 2010, two dear friends of mine joined together in holy matrimony. Oh who am I kidding trying to be all prim & proper.....THEY GOT MARRIED!!!!! I was honored to be asked to be part of the wedding and stand up with them as they said their vows and began their lives together as Mr & Mrs Gorey. I couldn't be happier for them and wish them all the happiness in the world!

Saturday morning, Taylor had her first day at Soccer Bugs!! She is in a small class with other 2-3 year olds, including our friends little guy Aaron. It was quite entertaining watching the kids pop bubbles, act like animals, play red light/green light and then a little bit of kicking a ball around in there. Not as much "soccer" as we were expecting but 45 minutes of running around on a Saturday morning sounds good to us!

We capped the weekend off at Heather's with a full day of football and then a visit from Jen & Ian later in the evening. This week is looking to be pretty quiet for once! Good thing since all of our TV shows are starting back up. ;0)

Back in business

2010-09-13T21:44:00.002-04:00

So I've been told lately that I'm a slacker and haven't updated my blog since April. I know! It's true! I have been using Facebook as my means of keeping everyone updated as to what is going on in our world. Not good enough huh? Well, for all 5 of my followers......I'm back! I can't promise it will last a long time but I will put in a good effort to stay on top of things.

So summer has come and gone. It was so much fun! We were super busy and had something going on almost every weekend since June but I wouldn't take any of it back.....I'll catch up on sleep one day! HA! Dear Crazy.....

What did we do you ask? What didn't we do? We went to the beach twice - once to Duck, NC for our annual trip with Todd & Jac and once to Ocean City for our 3rd annual long weekend with Tom, Angela, Lauren & Antonio. Ben played a lot of golf and Taylor & I spent most weekends at Heather's pool. We went to a carnival, down to National Harbor for Pa John's birthday, Housewarming parties, bowling at King Pinz (new bowling alley in the Burg - go check it out!!), closed out Labor Day at the VA Tech football game and had lots of family time.

I've ran in 7 5K's so far in 2010! Amanda and I have a goal to run 10 in 2010 and we are well on our way to making it happen. Every race has been fun and challenging. This last one on 9/11, I set my personal best time and it's only made me want to go harder and do it again on October 9th! I'll have sissy pushing me along and Amanda waiting at the finish line with my Pumpkin Spice Latte (it's her sister's wedding day so she won't be running this one) so between those two - I'll have the motivation I need.

I'm attaching a link to our Summer pictures. WARNING - there are ALOT of them! So if you feel like looking through them all..... CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO SNAPFISH

We've got lots of fun stuff coming up - starting this weekend with Seca & Brian's wedding on Friday and Taylor's first day of soccer on Saturday. Until then.....

It's Spring - no wait....

2010-04-09T21:58:00.003-04:00

....it's summer! Or is it really spring? Mother nature had me a little confused this week. One day it was perfect and in the 70's - then it was in the 90's and I don't think we hit the low 60's today! I'm not complaining though - better than 2+ feet of snow we had two months ago. ;0)

Things in the Killian house are going really well. Busy as always but having tons of fun doing it all. We had a wonderful Easter. Taylor had her first (and second and third) egg hunt and she loved every minute of it. She woke up on Monday and before both eyes were open she said "eggs?" Ha! Dear Crazy......

Speaking of Taylor - man is she getting big. Can you believe she is going to be 2 soon!? I sure can't! Her vocabulary is amazing (not that I have much to compare it to). She is very proud of herself when she tells me "Mommy! Daddy's at work." A 3 word sentence! Are you kidding me?

That's about it for now. Gotta get up early and get my butt on the treadmill - two 5K's coming up in the next couple of weeks and I'm trying to finish them in 40 min or less. Yikes!

Goodnight!

Picture Links & Recap

2010-03-08T21:02:00.004-05:00

January Pictures

February Pictures

Now that that's out of the way - Once again I don't know where to start. One of these days I will remember how hard it is to catch up and start updating more often like I used to.

Spring seems to be right around the corner! I couldn't be happier! If you looked at the picture links you will see a common theme - snow, snow and more snow. It was borderline depressing. Luckily Taylor started to enjoy the white stuff so we could go outside and play in it - there wasn't much else to do. ;0)

I realize February is the shortest month in the year but it flew by quick! Between snow storms, working a few extra shifts at the bar and enjoying Taylor's daily expanding vocabulary - I hardly believed March was here. And with March - you know what that means......I will be buried in college basketball and probably not updating for awhile. Anyone care to place a bet?!?! HA! Dear Crazy!

Hope this finds everyone well!

The SUN has set

2010-01-30T23:06:00.003-05:00

It's official - SUN Microsystems is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle. It's been a LONG few months waiting, wondering and searching Google for information of the acquisition and what my future would be. I have to admit - I have made it through quite a few layoffs in my 9 years at SUN and was pretty convinced that my luck had run out. I was wrong - and I couldn't be happier about that fact! I received my offer letter from Oracle yesterday and felt a wave of relief that is barely describable. I'm still not certain what the future holds but I'm looking forward to seeing what Oracle has to offer. It will be a tough task as SUN was an amazing place to work but I suppose since they did it for me - I will give them a chance. ;0)

I'm back....

2010-01-25T21:18:00.002-05:00

I do believe I hit a new high in the number of days since my last post. To say we've been busy is an understatement!! The holidays were fantastic - filled with tons of fun with family & friends! Taylor isn't to the point of understanding who Santa is or what Christmas is all about but she definitely enjoyed coming downstairs that morning to find all sorts of new Elmo stuff waiting for her. ;0)
The weeks since then have been jam packed! We had a date night, Ben's company dinner, a baby shower, Kiara & Amiayah's 3rd & 1st bday party, breakfast with Tucker and most recently a quick trip to Nanny's! I'd like to say things are calming down but it's just getting started. We have more fun stuff coming up - starting this Sunday - Mom's bday! We are heading back down to the Verizon Center this year for another CAPS game! WOOHOO!!

Taylor is growing up faster and faster as each day passes. Her vocabulary is expanding rapidly and she just talks talks talks all the time. Wonder where she got that from! HA! Dear Crazy.....

I never posted a link to our December pics so if you are interested - CLICK HERE!!

Hope this finds everybody well. :)

Snowed in...

2009-12-21T20:18:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-12-14T21:02:00.006-05:00

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....

2009-12-07T20:54:00.004-05:00

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......

2009-11-22T21:12:00.006-05:00

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

2009-11-09T21:15:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-02T21:35:00.003-05:00

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

Mike & Mike In MY Morning

2009-10-26T20:56:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-24T22:43:00.005-04:00

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!!

2009-10-22T23:15:00.006-04:00

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

2009-10-16T08:52:00.008-04:00

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.....

2009-10-05T20:51:00.007-04:00

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

2009-08-30T21:53:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-28T22:54:00.014-04:00

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!!

2009-08-19T13:55:00.005-04:00

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

2009-08-18T12:51:00.008-04:00

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!

You know the saying......

2009-08-12T20:25:00.003-04:00

......the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?? Well - that was the perfect statement for what Taylor was doing this evening after we got home. Ben has layed out all of her pairs of shoes in a neat little line in front of one of our cabinets in the family room. While I was putting the groceries away - Taylor brought a pair to me. She held them up and shook them in front of me until I stopped what I was doing to put them on her. She seemed pleased and walked away starring down at her feet. A few minutes later - she brought me another pair - this time she flopped down on the floor and was taking off the first pair I had put on her. So we repeated the process with this new pair and off she went. I'm sure you can guess what happened next! Yep - she brought yet another pair over and I had to swap out that pair for the 2nd one we had just put on a few minutes before. She stood up and flashed me a huge smile as she strutted away looking so proud of herself. Luckily Ben came home shortly after and it was dinner time or she might have brought the other 2 pairs over to complete the fashion show. Oh the fun she and I are going to have one day with our shoe obsessions! HA! Dear Crazy.....

Pool Party

2009-08-09T20:33:00.004-04:00

Today was HOT HOT HOT!!! Luckily for Taylor and Kiara - Nana and Pop Pop have a little pool that they set up in the yard for them to play in and cool down. Taylor LOVES the water so she is totally in love with the pool. She went in for the first time this past Tuesday and had a blast. Ben said that she started fussing when they were leaving that night as they walked past it cause she wanted to go back in! My little fish! HA! Dear Crazy.......

Ben and I had a night out together last night thanks to Grandmama and Grandpa John. They asked me on Friday night when we were going to bring Taylor back over to spend the night and I totally took advantage and asked what they were doing the following night. Earlier that day I saw that The Reflex was playing at Ned Devine's in Herndon on Saturday. They are an AMAZING 80's tribute band and an old friend of mine (Marc Taylor) just so happens to be the drummer. I haven't seen them play in a while so I didn't want to pass up this opportunity. I do encourage all of you to sign up on the mailing list so you can find out when they are playing at a bar near you - and then you must RUN - DO NOT WALK - to go see them. I promise you will not be disappointed. BTW - they are playing here in Leesburg on Saturday the 29th! I will be there - will you?!?!?

Hope you all had a great weekend! Leslie gave me a new book today so I'm off to get that started. Until next time......

What do you mean it's August??

2009-08-01T20:50:00.007-04:00

Seriously - it's August 1st!?! What happened to July!? The last month has just come and gone. It's been a ton of fun but I'm still trying to catch up.

I don't even know where to begin! Ben's grandfather was here in town for the first half of the month. It was so nice to spend so much time with him. He loved being able to see & play with Taylor as much as he did. He hadn't seen her since last August so clearly she was a totally different little girl. Here is a pic of Da with all his "kids"......

The weekend after Da left, I co-hosted (with Lauren) a small Baby Shower for our friend Sara. She was on bed rest so we just went over to her house and had lunch and opened presents with a few of us - Taylor included. As of the last time I checked in with her (on Wednesday) she was doing well but no sign of Baby Jordan. We are all looking forward to meeting her when she is ready to make her presence.

The next day - Tom, Angela, Antonio, Lauren, Ben and I went to Six Flags for the day. It was super exciting as I LOVE roller coasters. Tom & Antonio managed to convince me that I needed to go on the Skycoaster - as described on the website.......Plunge down ten stories and then soar like a superhero on the Skycoaster..... what it fails to mention is that you are strapped to your friends and free falling those 10 stories. WORTH. EVERY. PENNY!!!!

Last weekend was Jessie's 30th birthday celebration. The night involved a limo bus, multiple bars downtown, jello shots in a large plastic syringe - with 26 of us! Madness I tell you!

In between all of this - is our most exciting news.....Taylor is walking!! All by herself - no propping up necessary. Man are we in trouble now!?! HA! Dear Crazy!

That's all I got for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

Congratulations Jason & Sara

2009-07-05T17:51:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to our friends Jason & Sara who tied the knot today!! We are super excited for them!! The only thing to get more excited about is the arrival of little miss Jordan next month! WoooHooo!

Happy 4th!!

2009-07-04T19:55:00.003-04:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope this post finds all of you enjoying a beautiful day with friends and family! We are hanging low this evening - Taylor still isn't feeling 100% better so Ben and I have a big date with our deck and a glass of wine (well - that part is for me).

For those of you that I haven't talked to in the last few days - Taylor has a little virus. She was up most of the night on Wednesday and wasn't her normal self the next day. Our daycare provider called to tell me that she was running a slight fever. I went and got her only to find that her nose wouldn't stop running and she was burning up. The doctor's office was all backed up for the remainder of the afternoon so I decided to take her to Urgent Care. With her history of ear infections - I didn't want to take any chances waiting since it was a holiday weekend. It was a MISERABLE experience for both of us but on a good note - no ear infection, no strep throat, no flu....just a virus. So 3 LONG hours later - we were home and helpless since there is nothing that can be done for a virus.

All is not lost though - we were able to see fireworks last night. Sterling has their firework show on the 3rd so the three of us, the Bradley's, Melissa, Buck & the girls, Billy and Joe all went to check them out. I have to say that I was beyond impressed with Taylor. I figured that since they started almost 2 hours after her bed time that she would fall asleep in her stroller - nope. Then I figured since she was up that late and loud "BOOM's" not too far away that she would be a hysterical mess - nope again! She just hung out and watched the show - every once in a while pointing to the air and making a funny face. The night was a success!

I'm a little behind..... CLICK HERE for our June pictures.

Until next time!!

She's Got Legs....

2009-06-24T21:04:00.003-04:00

....and she knows how to use them......

Taylor and I had a lot of fun this afternoon as you can probably guess from the little clip above. It's not the best quality but it was hard to get her to start walking towards me and then hitting the record button! I'll get better at it - promise!!

The rest of our vacation was fantastic!! We had a few chilly days so we missed out on the beach on Tuesday & Wednesday. By the time Friday came around - Ben & Uncle Todd had Taylor walking back and forth between them on the sand! She finally warmed up to it - I can only imagine what we would have been doing if we had those 2 extra days! Oh well - NEXT YEAR!!

I will get my pictures uploaded soon but for now - you have to settle with watching the video over and over again (like I have done) HA! Dear Crazy!!

Wait for it......

2009-06-15T21:04:00.003-04:00

Cutest. Picture. EVER......

OBX - Days 1 & 2

2009-06-14T21:28:00.008-04:00

When Jacqueline and I were kids - the rents brought us down here to the Outer Banks with dad's sister and her family every year until I was in college. Last year - Jac came up with an idea to start our own yearly tradition of going to the beach together with hubbies and kids. Brilliant I said and there started the research! Todd found us an awesome house in Duck and booked it - June 13th - June 20th.

Ben and I left Friday night to break up the trip for Taylor and stayed with Nanny. Saturday morning we got - had breakfast and hit the road again. The trip was pretty easy - minus one little traffic backup - we were down here just minutes after Jac & Todd. The house wasn't quite ready for us so we decided to hit up Scarborough Faire to find something for lunch. We went to a little pizza place and all enjoyed the yummy food......

We walked around the shops for a bit before we went and got the keys to the house. Boy was it worth the wait! It's amazing - Todd did a great job! I don't have pics yet but I will soon! We did the normal first day stuff from there on - got unpacked - went to the grocery store to stock the house - I made dinner for us and then we enjoyed some wine on the deck.

This morning was exciting for me! I couldn't wait to take Taylor to the beach. After breakfast I got her dressed in one of her new bathing suits.....

We were off!! We got down to the beach and set up a spot. Then - just as I was getting ready to put Taylor down - she let me know - loudly - that she wanted NOTHING to do with the sand. Ok - no big deal - we walked down to the ocean and got the same reaction. Not exactly what we were expecting but totally fine. She got passed back and forth for a while and then sat in her new little chair from Nana and was perfectly content.....for over an hour!

Finally - today was even more of a special day as Jacqueline and Todd celebrated their 1yr wedding anniversary! Congrats guys - Love you both!!

Until next time!!

BIG Thanks!

2009-06-09T07:46:00.004-04:00

Thanks to all that voted in the Caniacs photo contest! It worked - TAYLOR WON!! Won what you ask? Just bragging rights it looks like but that's good enough for me!

Click HERE to see for yourself!

A day of Firsts.....

2009-06-07T20:58:00.003-04:00

Today was a day of "1sts" for Taylor. She took her 1st trip to Lake Anna to see Aunt Heather's daughter Jessica's softball double header. She had her 1st Happy Meal from the Golden Arches (LOVED IT) and most importantly - she took her 1st few steps ALL BY HERSELF!!! OMG - BIG DAY!

Honestly - I didn't even see it coming. She was playing on the floor with Ben and she was pushing herself up off of him into a standing position, and would keep it for about 5 seconds. After multiple repetitions, Ben stood her up against our ottoman and sat back to see what she would do. Well - she took a few steps - that's what she did. 3 was the most she took before falling face first into his lap. They were 3 steps that I will never forget. I was asked if I cried when it happened? Nope - I was jumping up & down screaming like I had just won the lottery! HA! Dear Crazy! ;0)

Here are a few pics from our softball/happy meal adventure.......

Oh What Fun....

2009-06-05T22:37:00.003-04:00

.....Taylor is 1!! Can you believe it? You can? You're a liar! Ben and I sat here a week ago tonight talking about how we were admitted to the hospital that night a short year ago. We went through the events of the days that followed and were just amazed at how quickly we had gotten to that point. A year (and a week since I'm a slacker) has passed since our little Taylor was brought into our lives and we wouldn't change one single part of it!! It's been a fun ride and we're looking forward to seeing what this next year will bring.

We had a little BBQ for her bday last Saturday. She got to see lots of her friends (not all of them since we were a little limited on space) and got lots of new clothes and tons of fun new toys to play with. What I thought would be the highlight of the day - the cake - didn't turn out the way I thought it would. Would you believe she didn't care for it!?! She truly is her father's daughter as he's not a huge fan of desserts. HA! Dear Crazy.....

Click Here for our May pictures!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Vote for Taylor!!!

2009-05-28T10:29:00.002-04:00

So here is what happens when we leave Taylor alone with Aunt Heather for a little while.....

Last week during the hockey playoffs - Heather brought over one of her North Carolina Hurricanes jerseys (sweater for those that want to be technical) - layed it out in front of Taylor and took her picture. Purely innocent right? She then sent the pic to our friend Tony who lives down in NC and is a HUGE Hurricanes fan because we knew he would get a kick out of it. What we did not know was that he posted the pic on a Canes fan site and she is now a finalist in a photo contest! HA! Dear Crazy!

So your job now is to click HERE so you can vote for our little CAPS fan that is posing as a Canes fan for the time being. Voting ends at noon on June 5th and you can vote twice a day!!

Game Over

2009-05-13T22:03:00.003-04:00

Well - it was a fun ride but the season is over for us CAPS fans! The last few weeks were pretty intense watching the playoff games - the wins, the loses - the multiple overtimes....sad day! In the words of all Washington teams fans.....there is always next year. HA! Dear Crazy.....

Backing up to the weekend. Friday night - Ben, Lauren, Taylor and I went to Friday Night Live in Herndon. It was a beautiful evening and the band was great. Amanda took care of us like always - and Taylor did pretty well despite the fact that we kept her up a little past her bedtime. I also ran into some people that I hadn't seen in a long time so that was a BONUS!

Sunday was my first Mother's Day! It was another gorgeous day - it was great to spend it with my little girl and she is the best present I could have ever gotten. We went to the Bradley's that night for dinner along with Melissa and the girls. Billy is home from Tech so it was great to all be together.

Ben is in Dallas for ""work". And by work I mean he and his boss are in TX for a golf tournament with one of their customers. Heather was kind enough to come and stay with me so I didn't have to yell at the TV alone. She's a good friend. ;0)

On a serious note - an old friend of mine that I went to school with from Elementary through our first year of college at Delaware has passed away. It's a terribly sad time for his family and enormous circle of friends. I'm keeping his mom and sister in my thoughts.

It's officially past my bedtime.....until the next post!

April Pictures and quick recap

2009-05-04T22:27:00.005-04:00

I was working on Saturday and I ran into the Poplawski's! Mrs Pops was kind enough to remind me that it has been a few weeks since I had updated my blog so I promised there would be one soon. I apologize for the delay - it's been a BUSY crazy last few weeks.
Here is a quick recap.....

4/17 - Ben took a trip to the ER for a severe allergic reaction to at the time we didn't know what it was. He had a similar (not near as serious) reaction this past Friday after taking Aleve for a headache. This time he only had to go to Urgent Care and was feeling better shortly there after. He has an appt with an allergist this Wednesday so we are hoping that we can get this all figured out so he doesn't have any more field trips to the doctors.

4/18 - We went to Member Appreciation Day at the Credit Union. It was pretty cool but will be more fun next year when Taylor is able to play the games. Later that day we headed out to Winchester to Marcelo & Gretchen's house to celebrate Gretchen's bday.

4/19 - Taylor and I had a fun day of shopping with Miss Lauren. It wasn't so much shopping as it was an excuse to get outside and walk around the Outlets.

4/22 - Antonio's bday dinner!! Always a good time to see everyone!

4/24-4/26 - Weekend at Nanny's with the WHOLE family! We were celebrating milestone birthdays and anniversaries.

In between all of this we have been making sure to catch the CAPS games! WOOT!

I worked the bar this past Saturday. It was Game 1 for Caps vs Pens and I have a few friends that are Pens fans that came to keep me company. Needless to say - I was happier than they were when the game was over. After work, Ben met me at work and we went to Jen & Josh's for the evening. Heather had offered a few days earlier to come over and watch her Bulls game (sad day for her) while Taylor slept so Ben and I could have a night together. Thanks girl!!

The April pictures have finally been put on Snapfish. Click HERE for the link if you want to check them out!

Taylor's 1st "Arts & Crafts"

2009-04-15T21:31:00.004-04:00

I had a little treat waiting for me when I picked up Taylor from day care today!!

Taylor (with a little help I'm sure) made the above magnet with the following saying......

I am like a flower that's
Raised with love by you.
You help me grow up big and strong.
Mom, thanks for all you do!!

Yeahhhh......it just might be the cutest thing I've ever seen. We came home and immediately cleared a spot on the fridge for it!

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T22:24:00.006-04:00

Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend! Ours was busy and a lot of fun

Saturday, Taylor and I went to lunch with Amanda and Lauren. Afterwards we headed over to the rents house for an afternoon of hanging out with Grandmama and Grandpa John and then dinner with family.

Hanging out with Aunt Jack!

Digging in her basket

Sunday we had a nice quiet morning at home and then we were back on the road for Easter Dinner 2 at the Bradley's! Good times were had by all! Melissa and I are looking forward to next year when all the girls can do the easter egg hunt together! :0)

Too Fast! Too Furious!!

2009-04-08T09:30:00.003-04:00

I think most of you know that I have what some would call an unhealthy obsession with Paul Walker and the Fast and Furious movies. Not to disappoint anyone and not to break my tradition of seeing a Fast and Furious movie (with PW) on opening day - I took a vacation day last Friday so I could go to a matinee showing of the 4th in the series!! Oh it was SOOOO worth it! I can't really explain it as I'm more of a Legally Blonde/Bring It On fan but there is something about the cars that makes me love the Fast movies. Who am I kidding - it's totally the cast! HA! Dear Crazy.....

So that is how my weekend started! Really - it couldn't have been much better. Saturday was nice and relaxing. Ben played golf so Taylor and I played around the house, ran some errands, played some more....you get my drift. We went to my new favorite Italian store here in the Burg called Galletta's - they make the BEST sandwiches! After Taylor went to bed, Ben and I enjoyed our sammies while watching the Final Four! I'm fairly certain that I didn't see the end of the UNC game that night. What happened?!?! I turn 33 and I can't stay awake for my favorite sports night of the year! UGH!

Sunday we were up and at 'em and heading down to Falls Church to meet up with Jac & Tood at their house after they ran in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler! They did great!! They ran it 9 minutes faster than they did last year! Good job guys! Proud of ya!
Ben and Todd went to the CAPS game that afternoon while Jac, Taylor and I got to spend some quality time together. Taylor got to go on her first Loehmann's trip. What can I say - the girl likes to shop with mommy! ;0) After the boys got home, Jac made us a delicious sinner - Stuffed Shells! Yumm-O!!!

Taylor is doing great! She is "cruising" around from table to couch to toy and having a good old time. She's funny every once in a while - you can see it in her eyes that she thinks she doesn't have to hold on to things and will let go and look so proud of her self for the 0.2 seconds before she falls flat on her rear. She gets really frustrated and will pull herself back up and try again. I love the determination!!
She and I are meeting up with my friends who past & present worked for SUN. It's always a good time with them and they haven't seen Taylor since August - boy are they in for a treat!

Hope everyone is doing well! Happy Hump Day!

Link to March Pictures

2009-04-02T08:44:00.000-04:00

Click HERE to check out our March pictures on Snapfish!!

Where do I begin!?

2009-03-30T09:17:00.008-04:00

We've had a BUSY last week and a half! My last post was about the NCAA Tourney. I'm sad to admit that my bracket this year was even worse than the ones in the past. Looks like I'm buying Tucker lunch again this year! :) Bracket or no bracket - it's been a fun tournament to watch. Ben, Seca and I were able to go out and watch the debacle of a game where Maryland was embarrassed by Memphis. It was a tough loss but I was satisfied with the fact that they were back in the big dance this year! I'm now on the Tarheel bandwagon for Jacqueline. Can't hurt to cheer for a fellow ACC Team right!?!

My birthday is tomorrow. I'm hoping that 33 is still considered early thirties as I'm not ready to say MID thirties yet. HA! Dear Crazy.... The celebrations began last Thursday night at the Bradley's. Leslie made me a bday dinner of all of my favorites....Bubba burgers, hashbrown casserole and meatballs - oh my!! MMMMM.....Yumm-O!! Melissa, Buck, Kiara and Amiayah were able to join us - family dinners are the best! Thanks again to Scott & Leslie!

Friday night was nice and quiet. Ben went out with the boys to watch the games and I had a lazy evening on the couch. Heather came over after her niece's softball game so she could be here the next day for Starbucks and getting ready for Kim & Tony's wedding. Little did I know that her and Ben had planned a surprise for me......after we went to Starbucks she told me that we were going to the COACH outlet. I argued with her and told her that I wasn't going in there. Let me back up a few months....I love COACH - I can't tell you why as I'm not one to spend a lot of money bags - a $10 one from Target will make me just about as happy on any given day but over the last few years my love for beautiful bags with a COACH tag hanging from the zipper brings me much joy. Back last fall I cut myself off from buying COACH bags. I just didn't feel the need for them anymore now that I had a beautiful baby that could reap the benefit of my love to shop. LBH - she's the best dressed baby in all of NOVA!! I've done really well on all of my trips to the outlets watching Heather, Amanda and Lauren buy new bags. I went in there a few weeks ago and fell in love with one sitting on the shelves with a big 50% off sign above it but I restrained and reminded myself that I didn't need it. Apparently I talked about it a "few" times and even contemplated using a Visa gift card that I had gotten for my bday to actually buy something for me because that's what I was instructed to do......it was not to be used on Taylor. Unknown to me - Heather and Ben had decided the day before that they were going to get it for me. Back to Saturday morning....they were afraid that I was going to buy it for myself before my bday actually rolled around so after I was done yelling at Heather that I was not going into that store she told me why we were going - that I was going to get my present early. OH - here's the other kicker.....Ben and I don't do presents - Heather and I don't do presents - I don't do presents with any of my friends....I'd rather just go to dinner and hang out. So now I don't know if I should laugh or be mad at them but I quickly got over it when she put the bag in my hand. WHO HAS THE BEST HUBBY AND BFF EVER!?!?! I DO!! I DO!!

Speaking of "I DO" - Saturday evening we went to Kim & Tony's wedding! It was held at Hillsborough Vineyard in Purcellville. It was a beautiful ceremony and wonderful reception. Delicious wine, amazing food and even better company.

Congrats Kim & Tony!!!

Lauren and Amanda were so kind to play with Taylor that night! And here at the house no less so she could go to sleep at her normal time and in her own bed. The 3 of them had a good time! Taylor even got to go to COACH that day as well!! Don't say it - it's not like mother like daughter - unless you mean she won't get her 1st one until she's over 30 like me - then we can be the same! HA!!
Special thanks to Lauren for both dropping us off and picking us up at the hotel! Much appreciated girl!

Yesterday we went to the Rents for lunch and some basketball! I took some pictures but don't have them all downloaded yet. Once I finish that, I will post a link to the pictures.

Enough about me.....Taylor will be 10 months old tomorrow!?! Can you believe it? She's getting so big and has such a great little personality! We are having a lot of fun with her!! Most of the pictures referenced above are of her so you will see what I mean!

Last but not least.....happy news for our friends Seth and Susan!! Seth proposed yesterday and obvi she said YES!! YAY!! Seth has been a regular at Glory Days for as long as I can remember. I only just got to know Sue better the last couple of months - she's a fantastic person and I couldn't be happier for them!

You guys better come see me at the bar soon so I can see the ring in person!!

So there you have it - you are all caught up now. Hope everyone is doing well! Until next time.....

Let the Madness Begin!!

2009-03-19T09:30:00.003-04:00

My favorite day of the year has finally arrived!! The 1st day of the NCAA Tournament is here!!! I've got my bracket and high-lighters ready so let the games begin!!!

I don't have to skip bowling this week since Maryland is playing at 2:55pm! I'm picking Taylor up early from daycare and we're heading to the rents to watch the game! Everyone has been asking me - "so do you have the Terps going all the way?" NO! As much as I would love to see another National Championship trophy in Comcast Center - I have them losing in the 2nd round to Memphis. Now will I be sad if my bracket is totally messed up with Maryland making to the Sweet 16 (or farther) - of course not!! I'm not in any pools for ca$h - just one with Tucker - loser buys lunch and one with Ben - just for Pride. I've lost both of these the last couple of years so maybe this year will be mine! Quite a few upsets need to happen for that to be the case but anything is possible right!?!

Taylor news of the week - her first tooth has popped through! :0)

That's all for now....gotta go work so I can leave early! Enjoy the games!!

March!!

2009-03-09T20:58:00.004-04:00

I LOVE MARCH! It is by far my most favorite time of the year. The weather is getting warmer, the sun is out longer and of course.....COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS!! The regular season is over and the fun starts on Thursday with the ACC Tournament! Maryland plays that night and I have to bowl. Sad day! I wonder if I can call in sick to my bowling league!?! Priorities right!?

So it's been a busy week and a half since my last post. The weekend before last was fun with Kevin in town. Mine and Taylor's lunch with Amanda was fantastic. It's always nice to catch up with her. I'm not a big fan of snow so I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else did. Plus I caught a cold around that same time.

Last Thursday was Taylor's 9 month check up! Everything went great. She's 18 lbs 9 ozs and 28 inches. During our Q&A session with the doctor - she asked us about Taylor's appetite. I told the doc that she used to eat everything but lately she wasn't too interested in much. She explained to us that TP is pretty social and aware of her surroundings that she probably sees what Ben and I are eating or what the older kids at daycare have and want that as opposed to the baby food she was getting. She gave us a lot of suggestions of "real" food that we can start trying to give her and man am I having fun with that!! So far she's liked pretty much everything we've given her - bananas, cottage cheese, mashed regular and sweet potatoes & little bites of Paula Deen biscuits! Guess the love for Paula runs in the family!

Friday night - after TP finished her last bottle for the day - mom and I packed her up in the car and drove down to Williamsburg for a visit with Nanny!! I really wanted Nanny to see her crawling and I also hadn't seen her since early January. My cousin Denise and her daughter Kendall also went down. We all had a fantastic time! Below are a few pictures from the weekend.

The next house project starts tomorrow. We I are having all of the windows and the 2 sliding glass doors replaced. I'm excited to be able to sit on the end of the couch near the door and not feel and constant cold draft! Woo Hoo!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Catching Up

2009-02-27T20:37:00.004-05:00

So I figured I should catch up with the past week before the fun starts again tomorrow!!

Last Friday night Ben went out for a little while with Antonio. Taylor had been in bed for a while by the time they left so I was able to enjoy a quiet night - all by myself!! Just me, the couch, a glass of wine and American Idol! Does it make me old that I consider that to be a fantastic Friday night! HA!! Dear Crazy...

The next day was busy busy!! Around lunch time I drove out to Falls Church to pick up Heather and Leslie. Leslie was in town for Kim's bridal shower and bachlorette party! We dropped her off at Kim's moms house to get ready for the shower and Heather & I headed back to the house to play with Taylor. A few hours later we were back on the road and heading to the shower ourselves. The shower had a Mexican theme - complete with food from On The Border and a Margarita Pinata!!! So food, Pina Coladas and a couple of smacks on the pinata later - it was time to get ready for the bachlorette party.

Kim's mom was so kind to get us a limo for the evening. We were ridin in style in our stretch Hummer Limo as we headed down to Dupont. We went to a few different places - Lucky Bar, Porter's and Madhatter. It was a great night and I'm happy to say my old a$$ survived - even long enough to enjoy an IHOP breakfast with Heather and Leslie. Hey Leslie - you know that comes with Pancakes right!?! Hahahaha!

It took me a few days to recover from the lack of sleep but I managed!

Off to Wednesday night. 2/25/09 - the big Duke vs. Maryland game that I had been waiting for since our HORRIBLE 41 pt loss back in January. (I'm still trying to get over that one). I went up to Glory Days to meet Tucker - besides that game in January - we've watched all the Duke/MD games together since about 2001! Deb was able to join us so that was a BONUS! It was great to see her - it's been too long!! Antonio came by in his DUKE jersey so it was just me sitting in a sea of blue. It's ok though - I had m new shirt on and I was ready for game time!!! I think most of you know that Tucker and I have a handkerchief that we pass back and forth to the loser of each game. This past game makes it 4 in a row that I've had it. Boooooo!!

Tucker and I at the beginning of the game.

End of the game with my hankie covering my tshirt!

The shirts make this picture perfect!!

Ok - enough about me......Taylor is still a little crawling machine! She had a little cold this week but it hasn't slowed her down. Tonight she tried "cruising" around the ottoman which was exciting as well. She fell on her little butt a lot but she kept reaching to get back up so I was impressed with her determination. More to come on that.

My niece Amiayah is doing GREAT!! All of her tests came back and she got a clean bill of health! No issues and she is gaining weight like a champ. I can't wait to see her again soon!

We've got a big weekend coming up! Taylor and I are going to lunch tomorrow with Amanda. Kevin is in town so Ben and I are meeting up with him and Matty tomorrow night and Taylor is having a slumber party at the rents house! Actually - we are too since it's closer to where we are going than our own house and we won't have to get up too early to go pick up Taylor. Aunt Jack and Uncle Todd are coming over Sunday to see little TP in motion!

Hope everyone is doing well and has a great weekend!!!

1-2-3-4....

2009-02-18T08:30:00.003-05:00

....Taylor is CRAWLING around the floor!!! Yahooooo!!!
She got so close yesterday when she was home with me and then Ben's mom called him shortly after I dropped her off before work to let him know that she was doing it! He and I got to witness it for ourselves this morning and it is the cutest thing ever!! You can see the determination in her eyes and the fear in ours! HA! Dear Crazy!

I'm not that technically savvy but I will figure out how to post a video at some point!

Happy Hump Day!

What happens when you leave food on the high chair and walk away for a minute???

2009-02-16T23:01:00.006-05:00

THIS.....

Friday night - while feeding Taylor her dinner - one of the cats jumped on the counter and knocked over a cup of water. I got up real quick to try to chase her and then grabbed a towel to lay on top of the water on the floor. All of this took about 10 seconds.....apparently that's long enough for TP to make a big mess on her face with the bowl of food that I thought I had moved to the kitchen table when I got up. She was so happy and looked so proud of herself that I couldn't pass up the photo op. She'll thank me for it one day! HA!! Dear Crazy!

A few hours after the big orange mess - it was off to bar cleaning. For those that don't know what that is - all the bartenders have to come together at the hole to literally strip the bar of EVERYTHING and scrub it all down. This begins as soon as we can get the last "guest" out the door and goes until the sun comes up. It's nasty and gross but part of the job.

I managed to get about few hours of sleep before having to get back up and start a new day. Not just any day though......VA Tech vs Maryland basketball day! I was so excited - you would have thought it was Christmas morning. We dropped Taylor off at the rents house and headed to the Comcast Center. We had some time to spare so we went to the team store to look around. I got myself a prize but I can't share what it is yet. Let me just say I'm even more excited to watch the PUKE - oooops - I mean DUKE game with Tucker next week. ;0)

As we walked around - a few people asked us (Ben in VA Tech and me in Maryland) how we got along. We explained that we're Tech/Maryland and Skins/Eagles and we get along pretty well.....there are only a few days a year that we don't.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Nothing says love like.....

2009-02-13T09:33:00.004-05:00

.....a pair of tickets to the VA Tech vs Maryland basketball game on Valentine's Day! Ben is the best husband ever - and with the help of Todd - got us tickets for tomorrows game! WOOOHOOO!!! I'm so excited! I've been to a few games at the Comcast Center but I've never been to a conference game. Fingers crossed the Terps come through for me and actually play for 40 minutes! HA! Dear Crazy.....

Things here have been good - busy - but good. Taylor is 100% all better now. She's back to being the little ham that she is. She is still trying to crawl - and still going backwards. All that little girl wants to do is stand so I'm not sure if she'll ever move around on all fours or if she is just going to bust out walking one of these days.

I got to meet my new little niece Amiayah last weekend. She is so precious and adorable! She is doing pretty well but had to go have some blood work done on Wednesday. Melissa got a call on Tuesday evening that Amiayah's newborn screening had come back with some elevated levels and that they needed to do some more tests. The tests are for Cystic Fibrosis so please keep the little beauty in your thoughts and prayers. It will take a couple of weeks to get the results back but I will keep you all posted.

Hope you all have fun weekends planned! I have bar cleaning to night but I'm 'almost' ok with it since I've got something so fun to do tomorrow to look forward to. The rents might be more excited than I am since they are going to be able to watch Taylor for a whole afternoon/evening! The Daytona 500 is on Sunday - NASCAR season is back again! GO JJ!!!

Our latest pics are HERE

Got Sliders?

2009-02-04T09:27:00.004-05:00

No? Well you can with just a simple click on the web.

Glory Days has a new promotion for $5 sliders. Go to gotsliders.com and print out your $5 coupon for Cheeseburger, BBQ Pork, Buffalo Chicken or Sausage & Pepper Sliders. Rules and restrictions are on the coupon and it is good until 03/31/2009! Yumm-o!!

Play Ball!!

Good news all around

2009-02-02T22:04:00.005-05:00

The good news.....

1) Taylor's ear infection is gone and her chest is clear

2) Baby Amiayah came home today

3) Fast and Furious 4 comes to theaters on 04.03.09 - both Vin Diesel AND Paul Walker are in it - Happy days are here again!!

So I'll back up.....I took TP to the doctor last Thursday and we got a clean bill of health. Although she was feeling a whole lot better and back to being her little hungry hungry hippo self - it was suggested to me that I keep her home from day care for one more week just for the sake of the other kids - because of the RSV. No problem.....I've got a ton of vacation time that I am going to use and tomorrow Taylor is going to take a whole day field trip to Nana and Pop Pop's house! Thanks Scott & Leslie - much appreciated. :)

Our weekend was a lot of fun. Heather came over Friday night so she would be here bright and early in the morning for her day of fun with TP. Saturday was my mom's bday. After Jac saw the CAPS schedule a few months ago and there was a game on the 31st it was a no brainer as what to do for mom. Neither mom or dad had ever been to a hockey game so the 6 of us (the rents, Jac, Todd, Ben & I) headed downtown bright and early! We started off at Clyde's with a delicious brunch. Mom got a little crazy and had a Bloody Mary. Clearly I couldn't let her have one alone so I had one as well. One of the best ever (except for the ones Kim & Heather used to make me). After brunch we quickly walked over to the Verizon center and checked out the team store to kill time - then off to the Green Turtle (we had a lot of time if you haven't picked up on that)

The game was AWESOME!!! The CAPS beat the Red Wings 4-2! It was a fantastic bday present for mom. :)

We got home to find TP having tons of fun with Aunt Heather. Heather tried to get her to watch some Lifetime movies with her but Baby Einstein won that battle hands down. Hahahahaha! Antonio and Lauren came over that evening. It had been a while since we've seen them so it was nice to catch up. We watched a comedy special with Kevin Hart and I haven't laughed that hard in a while. Try to find him on Comedy Central - you won't be disappointed.

Sunday - Heather and I went to breakfast and then enjoyed the semi warm weather outside of Starbucks for a little bit. Nice break from being in the house most of the week before. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with TP. She's getting closer to crawling. She got herself up on hands & knees and rocked back and forth before moving herself backwards again. She got a little frustrated that she was going in the opposite direction of her toys and threw herself down on her belly. From there she ended up sitting herself up and we cheered like we had just won the lottery. She hasn't done it again but it's a moment I will not soon forget!

Then it was SUPER BOWL time! Seca is dog sitting here in Leesburg so she came over to hang out with us. I haven't seen her in sooooo long! We had a yummy dinner and cheered for the Cardinals (sorry Scott!). I have to admit - my favorite commercial was not the Doritos one that everyone loved or the E*trade baby that was singing....it was the preview for the Fast and Furious 4! New Model. Original Parts. BRILLIANT!! Only 56 more days until it is released! 04.03.09 - remember it people....cause you won't be able to find me that night! HA! Dear Crazy!

The best news of all today was Baby Amiayah came home! We're so excited for Melissa, Buck and Kiara! Apparently Kiara is handling it really well. She wants to hold and help feed her baby sister. AW so cute!! She is beautiful and I can't wait to meet my new little niece! Here are a few pics that Melissa sent....

Coming Home!

Kiara helping to feed Amiayah!

Sleeping Beauty!

That's it for this update! It's way past my bedtime........

Cabin Fever

2009-01-28T13:30:00.003-05:00

Cabin Fever is defined as is an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in, for an extended period.

I have not left the house since early Saturday morning when I went to get Taylors prescription filled so I think it's safe to say that I'm feeling this cabin fever. I am by no means complaining - I'm just wondering if I'm still going to know how to drive when I do finally get out! HA! Dear Crazy.....

The last few days have been "better". Taylor is slowly getting her appetite back and beginning to act like like her fun little self. I'm not having to force the liquids anymore and she hasn't had a fever since Saturday morning so we are definitely on the right path. It's been hard for Ben and I to see her so miserable but seeing the progress of the last day or so is helping. She just finished a full bottle and that was a huge VICTORY in my book!

We go back to the doctors tomorrow morning so they can recheck her ear so fingers crossed everything is clearing up. I'll let ya know!

Happy Hump Day!

Sick Baby

2009-01-24T20:26:00.004-05:00

Well - It's been a long two days. It started EARLY Friday morning around 2:30am when Taylor woke us up in a screaming fit. Now - there have been many a night that she will wake up and talk to herself, blow raspberries, clap a few times and then go back to sleep. This was completely different. The scream itself was one that we hadn't really heard before and we could tell she was far from happy. I went in and took her temp (101) and gave her some Tylenol. Ben went in from there to try to calm her down and after a while in the room, some time spent on the couch and a little bottle - she finally went back to sleep. The next morning when we all woke up again, Taylor had a horrific cough. Not just your normal cold cough but a deep one. Between that and the fact that my little hungry hungry hippo wouldn't eat - a trip to the doctors was in order. Luckily - on Friday in the middle of winter - I was able to get an appt for that morning. After a complete check up - it was determined that Taylor had RSV. The doctor explained that this is a Virus that medication cannot help. We did try breathing treatment with a Nebulizer and that helped clear her up a little so we got a prescription to rent a machine and for the medicine to go with it. We were also told that with this virus - she would get worse before she gets better, she would lose her appetite and that we would have to make sure we kept plenty of fluids in her to avoid dehydration.

The rest of the morning and afternoon were pretty rough. Once we got home I took her temp again and it was 103 - I gave her some Motrin and made a bottle. She ate the bottle with no problems....that was until she was done. It wasn't more than 2 minutes later that it all came back up. Sorry - I didn't have any warning so you don't either. :0) I tried and tried throughout the day to take a bottle, try some water, Pedialyte - anything to get fluids in her. No luck.

Around 6pm she woke up from a nap and was burning up. Temp check - 104.7 = Kristen in full blown panic mode. I put in a call to the doctor while I packed up a few things to get ready to go to the ER. Doc confirmed that's what we needed to do and I actually felt pretty ok with it. We didn't' have to wait too long before getting taken back to get checked in. Normal stats were taken - temp was still high but it had gone down, BP was fine and her Oxygen levels were "perfect". Once we saw the doctor he explained that RSV does not cause as high of a temperature that she had so she had a strep test, flu test and they checked her ears. DING! Another ear infection! We also had a chest xray done and everything came back clear. So about 4 hours and few more tests/treatments later - we were on our way back home. She had a pretty good night and slept more than we thought she would. Today was long but there was progress. She definitely acted more like herself attitude wise but she still doesn't want anything to do with food/formula/water/juice - not even popsicles! So a little force was needed :0( but it got done. We're keeping our fingers crossed that tomorrow is a little easier but are also prepared for her to still get worse before better.....although I won't be upset if the doctor was wrong about that one.

Amiayah update - she had her MRI on Thrusday night and everything came back A-OK! She is still having a few problems taking to the bottle but it will come in time. As of now - still no time frame for a homecoming but the important thing is she is doing so well!!!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!
K

Amiayah is doing good!!

2009-01-19T21:39:00.005-05:00

I just got off of the phone with Melissa. She called to let me know that Amiayah's doctors stopped the cooling process last night and began warming her. Everything went well - no problems at all. The doctors are very pleased with her continued activity, reaction to light and the lack of seizures. The EEG is coming off tomorrow morning and they are hoping to start Amiayah on a bottle for feeding. This is GREAT news all around! The MRI is still scheduled for the end of the week and Melissa is hoping once that is done they can start discussing when Amiayah might be able to come home so everyone keep your fingers crossed!
Melissa is home and doing well - just waiting patiently to see her daughter. When they go on Friday - they will be able to hold her for the 1st time. It's going to be a special day!! :0)

Hope you all had a nice long weekend (if today was a holiday for you)! Ours was pretty good. Not so good for our sports teams though - Maryland losing to Florida State in OT and the Eagles losing to the CARDINALS!?! Sad day!

Taylor is a trip! She's starting to try to get up on her knees while on her tummy and she ends up pushing herself backwards. Hahaha - I wish she found it as amusing as I do!

Until next time......

Melissa & Baby Amiayah

2009-01-16T17:52:00.006-05:00

Baby girl Amiayah Kaylee Belle was born yesterday, January 15th at 5:38pm weighing in at 4 pounds 6 ounces!

Now here is the story....

Melissa called me around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. She was on her way to the hospital and told me that she was in a lot of pain. She was more concerned about Kiara and someone getting her from daycare and I told her not to worry - that I would do it! Even though I didn't have an extra car seat or know where day care was....but I remained calm. ;0) Luckily - Scott was able to bring home a car seat and directions so Leslie and Billy went to get her while I got Taylor and rushed over to the house.

While I was on my way to the Bradley's, talking to Leslie, she told me that Melissa had been admitted and was "screaming" for drugs! Ummmm......who in their right mind wouldn't be!?! Dear Crazy! They had done a sonogram shortly after she got there and everything looked to be ok so they wanted to monitor her for a little while.

We were getting little updates here and there but it was when Scott called to tell us that she had been rushed into an emergency C section because they thought the placenta had detached from the uterus and the baby was in stress due to the cord being wrapped around her neck a few times - my heart just sank. At that point I told Ben that I would be skipping bowling, made sure it was ok with Leslie, and I left to go to the Hospital to join Scott, Billy and 2 of Melissa's friends who were already there.

By the time I arrived the surgery was long over. The baby had been delivered - she was not breathing when they took her out but they were able to resuscitate her. Because of the placenta detaching from the uterus - Melissa had some bleeding they had to get under control while in surgery but that was taken care of as well by this point and she was in recovery. This is the point where I learned that Baby Amiayah was in the NICU being prepped for transport to Children's Hospital. After the initial shock left me - Scott explained that she was going to Children's because they have a "cooling unit" that the baby required to help bring down her body temperature. Apparently - during labor - both Melissa and the baby's blood pressure got pretty high - thus making the brain too warm. Melissa was not aware that her baby was being prepped for transport and ended up finding out by accident when a nurse called to ask her nurse to ask Melissa for permission for the transport. Obviously this didn't go over so well and Melissa was drugged and confused. She gave the permission and they promised they she would be able to see Amiayah before she left.

Once Melissa was out of recovery and had some time with Buck and Scott, myself and her two friends - Nicole and Carrie were able to go in and see her. Needless to say - she was not herself but was handling the situation very well. She's a STRONG one! Little by little - her and Buck's other friends and family came by to share their love. Around 8:30-8:45ish the Children's Hospital Transport Team (4 of them) brought Baby Amiayah to meet her mommy. She is PRECIOUS! It was too short of a visit - especially considering it was the first time Melissa had even seen her but it was special none the less. Carrie was able to get a few pictures.......

So this morning after working for a few hours - I headed back to the hospital. When I got there - Melissa had talked to a nurse at Children's and learned that Amiayah had been taken off the respirator and was breathing on her own! GREAT NEWS!!! She spoke to the doctor that was in charge of the cooling unit and that's when we learned what was explained above on why she was in it and would be for 3 days. Also - the APGAR test done at Reston was scored a 1 and when it was redone at Children's - she scored a 7 so they were very pleased with the progress over the night and early morning. I spent most of the day with her, Scott, Leslie and Billy. She's doing amazing! She's walked to and from the bathroom and those of you that have had a C section understand what an accomplishment that is. Once she was moved into her post partum room she was asking to walk around the hallways to help her start her recovery process.

Right before I left this afternoon - Melissa talked to Children's again to find out that Amiayah was very active! She has an EEG hooked to her to monitor brain activity and make sure she wasn't having any seizures -so far so good. Originally - she was told the baby would have to stay there 3-4 weeks but she was told that it was looking more like 1! YAHOOO! She is scheduled to have a Neuro scan and MRI at the end of her stay so we've got our fingers crossed she will be home sooner rather than later.

Melissa and Buck send their thanks along for everyones prayers and well wishes! I will post more updates as I get them.

K

Everybody clap your hands!

2009-01-11T20:52:00.006-05:00

Cause that's what Taylor started doing this afternoon! OMG it is so cute! And she is SO proud of herself when she does it. Ben is convinced that she is cheering and clapping for the Eagles big win against the Giants today.....I'll let him believe it - he's in too good of a mood to burst his bubble! ;0)

Our weekend was a good one! It started Friday night with dinner at Jackson's with Jason and Sara! My 2nd time at the restaurant was just as delicious at the first! We had the deviled eggs again and tried the calamari as well. Both were great! As much as I loved the Lobster Roll that I got last time - I wanted to try something new. I got the Salmon with thin beans and potatoes as my side. AMAZING!! I can't say enough about this place except - GO!

As nice as the meal was - the company was better. We hadn't seen Jason & Sara in a long time and we had a special reason to get together and celebrate. I'm happy to announce that they are pregnant and engaged! CONGRATS guys!! We're so excited for you!

Saturday - Taylor and I met Amanda for lunch at Tortilla Factory in Herndon. I haven't been there in years and it is exactly the same. Yummy food in a nice casual environment. As always - it was great to catch up with Amanda and she enjoyed a little one on one time with Taylor and Taylor had fun trying to get Amanda's thumb in her mouth!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and watching football.

This morning I went to Williams Sonoma at Reston Town Center with my mom and sister for a cooking class. Today's class was on classic French food and the two items were French Onion Soup and Crepes. The soup was pretty good but the amount of work that went into it was not appealing to me. The instructor explained that she made her own broth and started it the night before and it simmered all night. She went on to tell us that we could make our own beef stock and could start with calling the local butcher to see if he had rib bones/knuckles etc to use to flavor the broth. Ummmm.....no thanks. I'm going to "Sandra Lee" the recipe and start with buying a nice box of broth to make my soup with. Already I've cut out hours of work. :0) We didn't get to try the crepes but I am looking forward to making my own. I'm thinking of going with a ham & cheese crepe - I'll keep you posted.

I got home in time to watch the 2nd half of the Eagles game. Needless to say - Ben was up and down - excited and frustrated until it was over. This is about the time that Taylor started clapping and being the little ham that she is! As happy as I was for Ben - I was clapping along with her because tonight is the premier of 24!!! YESSSS!! Jack Bauer is back!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

I'd like to buy a vowel....

2009-01-07T22:03:00.003-05:00

So apparently we have the next Vanna White on our hands. Taylor LOVES Wheel of Fortune! Leslie (my mother in law) had told me that they would watch it when Taylor was over there but I had no idea that she was so fixated by it! So tonight - while I was making dinner - Ben and Taylor watched the show together. I peaked in on them and had to take a picture cause they were just too cute for words sitting together..........

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T22:13:00.006-05:00

Wow - 2009!! Personally I can't believe it. 2008 just flew by so fast. It was a fantastic year and I'm looking forward to seeing what 09 will bring.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years. We had a good time here at the house. We had some company.....Jac, Todd, Antonio, Lauren, Josh, Kamber, Derek and their little guy Cooper. It was a fun night of watching football, basketball and a few mean games of Pictionary.

New Years Day was more football, dinner at the rents house with cousins Claire, Emily and Audrey and back home for the VA Tech game. I wish I could say I stayed up and watched the entire game.....I 'think' I made it to the beginning of the 3rd quarter but I not even certain I saw the end of halftime. I was trying to stay awake to see if Billy's friend Kristen who is a cheerleader for Tech made her BCS Bowl Game TV debut. Sadly if she did - I missed it.

Friday morning Taylor went to daycare and Ben and I headed down to Tysons to meet up with Todd who drove us down to Dupont to meet up with Jacqueline and her coworkers Sarah & Diane for lunch. I came to a few conclusions that day.....I sometimes miss the office environment but I don't miss having to dress up and wear heels everyday. Also - I could never work where they do.....I wouldn't get anything done....there is a different yummy restaurant every other store front and there is so much shopping to be had down there as well. Anyway - Lunch was delicious and the company was fabulous.....looking forward to the next time.....and Sarah - I will bring Taylor. ;0)

Today was Christmas part 2! Normally we go to Williamsburg for Christmas with Nanny but we switched it up this year. We went to my parents house w/ Nanny, Aunt Kathy, Jerry, Denise, Brinton, Kendall, Ryon, Donna, Alan, Jac & Todd. We all had a great time and as nice as it was not to travel.....I'm looking forward to going back to the Burg next year.

We're heading back over in the morning for breakfast and then we have another full day of football to watch. Ben and Todd both have big games so I've got my fingers crossed for them. As for now - I'm going back to cheer on the Colts for Leslie.

CLICK HERE for link to Snapfish and December Pictures

Pictures from cousin Denise's camera are HERE

In the words of my sister.....

2008-12-31T08:56:00.003-05:00

"OK! We get it - you like Jackson's....next post!!!" I know, I know - I've been ignoring my blog. I'm making it my New Years resolution to keep it more updated. I think I have a better chance of sticking to that than the "I'm going to exercise and eat healthy" - let's be honest here! HA! Dear Crazy!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday. Our 1st Christmas with Taylor was tons of fun! She had no idea what was going on but it was entertaining to watch her play with the wrapping paper and try to eat the bags. She got lots of new toys between us and our parents! Next year Ben and I are asking for a new house so we have a place to put them all! ;0) It was also our 1st Christmas with Todd! He got to experience all of the crazy Dadiani traditions - Christmas Eve lasagna, Christmas morning fight over free Clinique/Lancome makeup, yummy brunch.....and no dinner! What!?! No dinner!? Those of you that know my parents shouldn't be surprised at all about this. We have a big brunch and then maybe pick at leftovers later on in the day. Well - that changed this year.....the rents actually made dinner! Nice work Todd! Personally - this is never a problem for me as Ben and I spend the afternoon and evening at the Bradley's so we get a 2nd meal!

The next day - Taylor and I went to lunch with Aunt Heather and our friends Leslie and Chris who were in town from Indianapolis! I hadn't seen them since the baby shower in May so it was such a treat to get some one on one time with them. We ended up being able to go out for a little while that night to see them again - Thanks Lauren!!!!

Saturday we went over to Melissa's house for Kiara's 2nd bday party! I can't believe she is 2 already. Amazing. Today is her actual bday so Melissa - give her a big hug for me!!

Speaking of "amazing" and "birthdays" - Taylor is 7 months old today! Where is the time going!?! She's getting so big and full of personality. I'll post some pics soon - just gotta get them off of my camera. One thing at a time here guys - I finally updated the blog - pictures are next!

Finally - I want to wish you all a safe and Happy New Year! See you all in 2009!!

Jacksons!

2008-12-16T10:19:00.004-05:00

For all of you local readers - I just had to post a note about my dinner last night because it was amazing and I do believe you all need to get to Jackson's as soon as possible!! It's located at Reston Town Center - in yet another new section. It's right across the street from Big Bowl and Rio Grande and has a free parking garage right next to it. Very convenient! We got there early and didn't have to wait for a table - but when we were leaving about 2 hours later - the lobby was standing room only!

The food was nothing short of FABULOUS!! For apps we got the Spinach, Parmesan & Artichoke dip - yumm and the Deviled Eggs w/Spiced Pecans and Sugar Cured Bacon - OMG amazing! The Bacon had big pieces of sugar on them....made 'em taste like they were dipped in maple syrup. I had the Lobster Roll as my entree. I substituted fries for the potato salad and it also came with a grilled ear of corn. Now let me tell you - I can grill a good ear of corn but theirs totally killed mine!

We skipped dessert to go and sit outside on their patio to enjoy a beer.....on a December night! Perfect ending to a delicious night!

That's my PSA for a local restaurant!

Santa Baby!

2008-12-14T21:21:00.003-05:00

We took Taylor to meet Santa on Saturday! He was at our Credit Union and it was nice to be the 2nd person in line and not have to wait but a minute for our turn! :)

She did really well! She didn't give us one of her big smiles....she was more interested in staring at Santa and tugging on his beard. The pictures are still cute though and I wouldn't have changed the experience one bit!

Later that day we headed over to Aunt Jack and Uncle Todd's house. We had Ben's company holiday dinner that night and it was less than 2 miles away from them so they graciously offered to play with Taylor while we went. Thanks guys!!! :)

Today was your average Sunday......watched the Skins lose and family trip to Super Target. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night - meeting Donna, Kathy, Sandy and Debbie for dinner at Jackson's in Reston Town Center. I haven't been there yet but I hear it's great! Really....how could it not be since it's part of the Sweetwater/Coastal Flats family! YUMM-O!!

Catching up

2008-12-12T10:28:00.003-05:00

Well - I actually had a few things to write about this week but I felt like I got hit by a mack truck and was layed up for a few days! :( All better now - and not a moment too soon!

Last weekend Ben and I had a date!! It was so nice to go out just the two of us. We had a delicious dinner at Bonefish Grill - it was our anniversary present from his parents - we were just a few months late. ;0) Thanks Scott & Leslie....for dinner and for watching Taylor!

After dinner we went over to Jen & Josh's to hang out for a bit with everyone that was there to watch the fight. We left before the fight started as we wanted to get Taylor and get home at somewhat of a decent time. All in all - it was a great date night! :)

The next few days were the sicky days.....I won't go into details!

Wednesday night we went to Portrait Innovations to have our family picture taken and our Christmas cards made! I think they turned out GREAT!! You would never know Ben and I weren't feeling well. HA! Here are a few of the pictures that were taken that night......

We've got a big day tomorrow. Santa is coming to the Credit Union so we're taking Taylor over there to see him. I'm excited to see how she likes him. Then tomorrow night we have Ben's company Holiday dinner. Taylor is going to spend some time over at Aunt Jack's & Uncle Todd's house! She's really looking forward to it since she hasn't seen them since Thanksgiving and she can't wait to hear about their trip to Hawaii! ;0)

Happy Friday everyone - hope you have a great weekend!

Taylor's 6 month appt

2008-12-05T11:43:00.003-05:00

We took Taylor in for her 6 month appt on Wednesday! Weight - 17/Head - 17/Height - 27! The nurse said we should play the lottery with all those 7's! HA!
All in all the appt went well.....until the doctor looked in her ear to find she had an ear infection. We were all a little surprised as she was just happy as a clam. We got another perscription for antibiotics and things seem to be fine with her. I wish I could say the same for myself - I've got a little head cold that I'm looking forward to getting rid of. :(

That's it for me! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Where has the time gone?

2008-12-01T17:02:00.005-05:00

Wow - the saying is true - time DOES fly when you're having fun! It's been a while since my last post and I've gotten a little bit of grief for it! I promise I'll try to be more on top of things. ;0)

The last two weeks have just been a blur. It's been a lot of fun - despite work being insanly busy. The weekend before last - Ben, Taylor and I went to the rents house for a get together with my cousins. They hadn't seen Taylor since she was 4 weeks old and Denise's daughter Kendall had never met her. We finally had a day when we were all free and it worked out really well. We don't get to see Denise and Donna too often so it's always nice when we can get together. I'm hoping Denise got some good pics from that day cause I was a slacker.....hint hint!

The few days before Thanksgiving were crazy - long hours and not a lot of sleep made for some hard days so I welcomed the holiday break with open arms! Wednesday evening - Jen, Ian and Jonathan arrived for their long weekend. We were so excited to have them staying here as we always have so much fun with them.

Thanksgiving day we went to my parents house with Jac, Todd, Todd's parents from Michigan, Ben's parents and brother Billy. It was a full house and we had a great time. Great food and the whole family being together - you can't go wrong! Even TP got to enjoy some "home cooked" goodness. Grandpa John made her some carrots the night before since she has been having "solids" for a few weeks now. Apparently it wasn't as easy as he thought and it took a while to puree them to a consistancy appropriate for her but it was worth it in the end. She gobbled (no pun intended) them all up along with her banana that Aunt Jack mashed up for her. Thanks guys!!

Group Shot from Thanksgiving

Antonio and Lauren came over that night and we played a few games of Pictionary. I did not remember that game being so much fun. You put 6 competitive people together with a big dry erase board and markers - watch out. We had a lot of laughs.....just ask me about my Bill Clinton drawing! HA!!

Friday morning started EARLY with me meeting up with my mom and sister at the outlets at 6:30AM for a little Black Friday shopping. Believe it or not - they weren't too crowded. All of the other crazies went when they opened at midnight! There were lots of good deals but I mainly went to hang out with them. I wanted a little big of time with Jac since she and Todd left the next morning for their 12 day honeymoon in Hawaii! Yeah - we don't really like them right now. ;)

The rest of the weekend was pretty chill. Taylor and I had lunch with Amanda at Sweetwater on Saturday. Taylor had her fun restaurant chair and had a blast hanging out and flirting with our male server. She and I went to the mall after lunch just to walk around.....well - I wanted to walk around since she fell asleep as soon as we got in the car - she got a nice long nap and I got to see what kind of deals were there.

Yesterday was a gross day - perfect for staying inside and watching football. Too bad the Skins made it hard to enjoy. Oh well!

So today it was time to say goodbye to the Elliott's and get back to work. This week shouldn't be as crazy so I'll check in later.....Taylor goes for her 6 month check up on Wednesday! I'll let you all know how that goes.

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday!

Click Here for our November Pics

I heart 90210

2008-11-19T22:28:00.004-05:00

Ok - so my post has nothing to do with the new 90210 but I'm watching it and I'm too tired to come up with a crafty title.

Jac's bday weekend was tons of fun!! Friday night we headed down to Arlington for our yearly trip to Clarendon Grill. A great time was had by all - even though Ben and I made it an early night! ;0) Taylor had a little night of fun of her own at my parents house. They played with her all evening and then put her to bed. Instead of waking her up and taking her home we decided that we would spend the night there as well. It worked out great for all of us! We headed home the next day to get ready for Aunt Jack and Uncle Todd to come over and hang out with Taylor. We had a nice bday dinner (my pulled pork - yumm-o) with them, Antonio and Lauren. Our friend Kamber came over later with her little guy Cooper. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of him but believe me when I tell you he's a CUTIE!! It was a nice relaxing night of hanging out and watching college football.

Sunday started off better than it ended. Started with a little family breakfast and ended with the Skins losing to the Cowboys. Boooooo - sad day.

Taylor and I went to dinner tonight with Donna, Kathy & Sandy. She was SO good and such a big girl. I brought her "hook on" seat to the restaurant and she sat at the table with all of us and ate her squash while we had our meal. Adorable!

Here is the link to the pics from Jac's bday weekend.......CLICK HERE!

Happy Birthday Jacqueline!!!

2008-11-14T07:33:00.003-05:00

Happy 30th Birthday to Jacqueline! Can't wait to see ya tonight!
Love you!
~Sissy

Busy Busy

2008-11-10T23:58:00.005-05:00

Well - it's been a busy couple of weeks for us! Here is a quick recap and a link to our "November" pics.

Taylor has started eating "real" food. We started spoon feeding her rice cereal a few weeks ago and she really seemed to enjoy it! We then moved on to oatmeal cereal a few days ago. She didn't act as if she liked it as much. I can't blame her - it smelled pretty bad. ;0) It was just as entertaining as the first day of rice cereal seeing as we have created a raspberry blowing monster. She would take a bite of cereal - give me a big smile - and then blow a raspberry at me resulting in cereal all over both of us. I tried not to laugh as I was really trying to concentrate on feeding her but it was just too funny of an experience. More so because you all know how much I LOVE a mess. hahahahaha!

Tonight we had our first family dinner. Taylor got to sit in her little chair at the table and she had some sweet potatoes while Ben and I had our own dinner. She seemed to be ok with them. I wouldn't say she loved them but she was definitely interested in the orange goo.

The past weekend was eventful as well. Taylor got her ears pierced on Saturday! She did great and they look SOOOO cute. She is such a trooper. The lady who did it said she thought it was harder on me than it was on her. True Story!

Ben and I attended Frankie & Debbie's wedding yesterday. It was a really nice (little chilly) ceremony & reception - both held at Meadowlark Gardens. Congrats to them!! Here is a pic of us with the newlyweds!

Here is the link to a few pics on Snapfish of Taylor's first rice cereal adventure, Taylor & Madison (Clinton & Alisa's daughter) and the wedding.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Cutest Bunny EVER!!

2008-10-31T22:31:00.006-04:00

Here are some pics of Taylor in her Halloween costume!

The rest of the pics are on Snapfish (Click here to view)

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2008-10-31T08:41:00.001-04:00

happy monday to me!!

2008-10-27T09:57:00.004-04:00

Ok - so Monday mornings are normally such a drag....you know - back to work after enjoying a nice weekend knowing you have 5 more days until the next weekend.....

This was a typical Monday morning until Mike W sent me a text to let me know that Maryland is RANKED in the AP Poll!! WOOOHOOO! #25 baby! Bring on the Hokies!

GO TERPS!!!!

Congrats Sissy & Todd

2008-10-26T18:50:00.006-04:00

They did it!! 26.2 miles! WOW!! Today was the 33rd running of the Marine Corps Marathon and Mom, Dad, TP and I headed down to Arlington to cheer on Jacqueline & Todd as they ran. Months and months of intense training paid off but I did hear Jack say that she will never do it again! ;0)

Here they are at mile 22....

It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun cheering on all of the runners. As nice as it was - it was still too chilly for Taylor to take her jacket off. She was sad cause she really wanted to show off her new tshirt that Aunt Jack bought her......

Hahahahaha! Brilliant!

TP had a fun weekend of wearing new clothes from Aunt Jack & Uncle Todd. Today it was the running shirt and yesterday she wore her new pink Maryland Terps shirt from Todd for the Homecoming game....which we won on a last second field goal! GO TERPS!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend! :0)

Pictures from NC

2008-10-22T22:09:00.005-04:00

Here is the link to the pictures on Snapfish from our trip to NC. They are part of the October file so you'll have to scroll down to see the new ones.

CLICK HERE for the pics.

Oh Thank Heaven....

2008-10-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

....for Kevin! I'll explain later in the post what I mean by that. I'm going to back up to Friday and tell you all about our weekend in Charlotte, NC!

I left off on my last post on Friday afternoon after my lunch with Katie. That night Kevin and Katie came over to Jen & Ian's for dinner and we had a great time just hanging out and catching up with each other.

Saturday afternoon we were off to the Pumpkin Patch. We got there and got out of the car to find the temperature was a bit chillier than it was at the house. :( We got a few pics with Taylor but then had to wrap her up and put her back in the stroller to make sure she was nice and toasty. Here is my newest favorite picture of the family......
Despite the chilly weather we had a great time! Jonathan got to go on a Hay Ride and pick out a big pumpkin for carving. He and Ben also got to feed some of the animals in the barn which was super exciting to the little guy. There was also a Tomato Slingshot that Ben and Ian mastered. It was then that I saw the swings that looked like little horses. I LOVE swings so that was my excitement for the afternoon! Believe me - you'll see when I get the pics posted. HA!

We got home that evening and got ready for Jen and Ian's friends Kevin and Amber to come by and watch the VA Tech game! They are pregnant with their first baby - a little boy due in January! YAY for them. For those of you that watched the game - it wasn't pretty and apparently not exciting enough to keep Jen, Ian, Ben or myself awake past the 3rd quarter. Apparently Kevin and Amber found his entertaining - they will feel our pain in just a few months! ;0)

Sunday morning rolled around and we were sad knowing that our vaca was almost over since we were leaving bright and early the next day to get back on the train. Now - the thought of getting back on train made us miserable! After a lot of debating - I called Amtrak and found out that it is super easy to get a refund on your unused tickets! That is when we decided to rent a car to come home in. Yahoo!!
After that decision....Ben went to the driving range with Kevin and Jen and I drove out to the outlet mall to walk around for a little while. As we were turning onto the street with the mall I remembered that Heather had told me there was a Steak n Shake over there. I asked Jen if it was true and when she said Yes you would have thought I had won the lottery! I know most of you know about my obsession with this place (thanks Lesalie and Heather) so I was pumped to be able to get a yumm-o milkshake and shoestring fries! I would have loved to get a little burger but my pulled pork was cookin in the crockpot so I wasn't going to ruin my dinner. :)

That evening Kevin and Katie came back over to have dinner with us! While we were getting things together - Ben was calling around to find us a car to get home in. After calling at least 8 different places - there was not one car available in the Charlotte area! WHAT!?! I couldn't believe it. Our happy day turned into a sad day since we were again getting back on the train the next morning. This is where the Oh Thank Heaven for Kevin comes in.....Kevin offered to drive us home. He said that he didn't have anything going on this week and he had told some of his friends up here that he's come home for a visit soon! Happy day - turned sad - was turned happy again! WoooHooo! A thank you shout out needs to go to Katie as well since Kevin had to use her car and she is driving his big Ford F150! THANK YOU KATIE!

So all in all we had a fantastic time down in NC. Jen and Ian are fabulous hosts and it was great to spend so much time with them. Thank you so much for getting all of Jonathan's baby stuff out of storage for Taylor to use....especially that swing! :0) We are already looking forward to your trip up here at Thanksgiving! Give Jonathan a big hug and kiss for us!

It was fantastic to see Kevin and Katie again as well. Katie - it's been way too long! Thanks again for letting Kevin use your car to bring us home in! It was a great ride and so much easier than dealing with the madness of Amtrak!

I'll get my pics uploaded to Snapfish tomorrow and will post the link afterwards!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

All ABOARD!!!!

2008-10-17T10:10:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Charlotte, NC!

So a little over a month ago Ben called one afternoon to tell me that he looked up train tickets to go to Charlotte to visit our friends Jen, Ian, Katie and Kevin. It seemed like a brilliant idea! It was fairly cheap and then we wouldn't have to worry about driving down and stopping every time Taylor needed a diaper change or a bottle. So we booked the trip and were counting down the days to our mini vaca!!

The 16th finally came!! We had an eventful day before noon even hit! Taylor woke us up @ 530 so I fed her and then went to log on to work for a little bit before I got ready. We were out of the house a little before 8 and got to Scott w/ a few min to spare. Good thing we left a few minutes early cause there was traffic everywhere we went. We got to Union Station about 1010 and we heard that it was the last call for checked baggage for our train so we went running to the counter.....thats where everything got a little crazy. We were told by the not so nice man that we couldn't check luggage b/c we were going to an unmanned station. Ben asked about his golf clubs and the guy shrugged his shoulders and said it would be up to the conductor whether we could take them on. Ben then asked him if this information was anywhere on the website and the man looked at him and said "dunno-i don't go on the website". Are you kidding?!? Rude! So we go to the gate and just wait to hear what our fate is going to be-will we be allowed on the train or will we be renting a car. We got to go to the front of the line b/c of TP! Score one for the baby! The lady standing in front of the door took one look at us and all of our stuff and I think she felt bad. We explained that we didn't know we couldn't check bags blah blah blah - she told us not to worry about it and just get on the train. YES!!! This lady is our new best friend. Not only did she not give us a hard time about our bags but she let us sit in the section reserved for parties of 3 or more even though TP doesn't count since she doesn't have a ticket. Yay!
So off we went on our little adventure. What seemed like such a good idea when we booked the tickets - little by little didn't seem like it anymore. Don't get me wrong - it was great to feed her right when she was ready and we did diaper changes with ease but it was a B-O-R-I-N-G ride. After leaving a few minutes late and having an extra long stop in Greensboro for too many reasons to go into - we finally arrived at our destination almost 10 hours later. I've never been so excited to see a car! HAHAHAHA! Dear Crazy!

It's a little bit of a dreary chilly day but that hasn't stopped us from having our fun. Ben went to play golf with Kevin and Jen, Jonathan, TP and I went to the store to get all of the fixins for our meals this weekend. After we got back and unloaded - TP and I went back out to meet Katie for lunch. We went to this yummy little pizza place up the street! Good times!

That's about it for today! Hope everyone is having a Happy Friday! More from NC to come......

2008-10-13T21:25:00.007-04:00

It was another fun weekend! It started Thursday evening with the arrival of Jen and her son Jonathan. I was able to hang out with them for a little while before going bowling. We were having a great time catching up and I was packing Taylor up to head out when Jonathan tripped over himself and went head first into our bottom step. Insert PANIC here! There was a lot of blood - more than normal for biting his lip according to Jen and then we realized that he had bitten all the way through! OUCH! Poor little guy. He was a trooper though - as was his Mommy. I've been told to enjoy the non mobile time with TP and I then understood why. :(

Friday was a normal work day for us. Jen and Jonathan spent the day with grandma and came back to the house later that night. Antonio and Lauren stopped by as well so they could spend some time with them.

Saturday morning - Ben, Jen and Jonathan headed over to the playground by our club house to run around while Taylor was taking a morning snooze. Jonathan had a great time and apparently Ben went down the slide a few times with him. Too bad we don't have a pic of that! ;)

Later that afternoon after both kids were fed and rested we headed over to Sterling Fest. It was almost over by the time we got there but we were still able to walk around the local community booths and check out the scene. We walked over to the Fire Station and were lucky enough to run into Becca! Taylor actually woke up while we were there so we got a pic of us with our favorite volunteer firefighter!!

The fun didn't end there. After Sterling Fest we went over to Ben's parents house to see Billy who was home from VA Tech for the weekend. Taylor was so excited to see her Uncle Billy.....

We were all excited to see him. We miss you buddy! :)

Taylor was apparently pooped after the fun day because after she took her last bottle she slept from 9pm to 7:30am!!!!! YESSSSSSS!!! ;0) BUT that's actually not the most exciting part of the morning. She rolled over for the first time and Ben and I were totally taken by surprise! She has been so close for a few weeks but she hasn't been able to get over shoulder. This time I was holding her and I put her down for a second and over she went! Just like that! Big day for us! It was a great start to a long day for me. I had to work at the bar but it wasn't too bad....despite a horrible Skins game.

Only 2 more days of work for me this week. We're leaving on Thursday morning to head down to Charlotte, NC until Monday. We decided to take the train so we didn't have to worry about stopping whenever we needed to feed or change TP. Keep your fingers crossed that it goes well!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

TGIF!

2008-10-10T15:06:00.004-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! It's going to be a beautiful weekend - hope you all get out to enjoy it!

We have a fun weekend planned! Jen and her little guy Jonathan planned a last minute trip up to NOVA to visit with the grandparents and they are staying with us! It's so great to see them again and such a bonus since we're going to be down at their house next week!

So Jonathan and I were just watching Sesame Street - my how's it's changed since I was a kid. Same concept - just a little more "hip". I have to say that I just heard the funniest phrase and I never would have expected it on Sesame Street......

3 of the characters (names that I will one day know when TP is watching) were reading the Action Dog book that had a motorcycle noise coming from it. When the question was asked what kind of noise is that, - one of the little guys answered "a lactose intolerant antelope that just ate a batch of cottage cheese!" I almost feel off the couch laughing! Oh the things I have to look forward to! HA! Dear Crazy!!!

The Weekend and Pictures

2008-10-06T21:36:00.007-04:00

So it was a fun weekend for Taylor and I.....yep it was just TP and I. Ben had the opportunity to go down to VA Tech with the boys for the football game and some time with his little bro Billy so I said "GO GO GO". Friday morning rolled around and that was when I started to get a little nervous about being by myself....Friday night came around and I got over it quickly. I picked up TP from daycare and we had a nice quiet evening just the two of us.....we had dinner, went to the grocery store and then I did some stuff around the house after she went to bed. We got up Saturday morning, played for a while....did some tummy time and got even closer to rolling over. Then it was time to get ready for our visit with Amanda. She brought over lunch and we had a great time eating and catching up before we took a trip to the outlets so she could spend her hard earned gift card to COACH! TP loves going into COACH.....no - it's not cause it's full of amazing beautiful purses.....it's cause of how white and bright it is!! At least that is what we tell Ben! HA!!

Later that evening, TP and I went over to my parents for dinner and to hang out with Joan & Bob - my parents dear friends from Jersey. Now - being as they are from Jersey - they are big Eagles fans. We don't hold that against them.....anyway - they brought Taylor a few presents....a new book, a fun 1st Halloween Outfit and a bib that can't be described so I've posted the picture that I sent to Ben....

Priceless huh!?!

After dinner I took up on an offer from Tom & Angela to watch TP for a little while since one of my most favorite bands - Emmett Swimming - was playing at Ned Devine's. They very rarely play in the area anymore and the one time they do - it's the same weekend that Ben is gone. It worked out well though - I got to see the band play a set and TP got to play with Sammie and Baby Daisy (T&A's dogs) ;0)

Sunday morning we got up really early, got all bundled up and drove to downtown Herndon to get on the WO&D Trail and wait to cheer on Aunt Jack & Uncle Todd. The background for this adventure is.....Sissy & Todd are training for the Marine Corps Marathon. They have a pretty intense training schedule and this past weekend run was the longest one - 20 miles. They start near their house in Fairfax and the 1/2 way point was right smack in the middle of Herndon. When I spoke to Jac the night before, I asked her when she would be at the 10 mile mark so we could meet them and she said...."well, if we start around 6:30am then we should be there around 8:30". Honestly - I was at a loss for words when she said that! DEAR CRAZY!! So we got there around 8:15 and started walking. It wasn't long before we could see them running towards us and the next thing I know - Jac asked if she could push TP and away they went.....

Jac & Todd running with TP

TP all bundled up - it was only 60 degrees in Leesburg when we left the house! Thanks to Leslie S for the outfit she gave to us at the baby shower - it came in very handy!!

I have to say - I'm very impressed with Jac & Todd and how much time and energy they have put into the training for this marathon. We'll be there to cheer you on on the big day!

Next it was back to the rents house for breakfast and relaxation! They left to go downtown with Joan & Bob so it was NAP TIME for Taylor and I. Boy did that feel good! We woke up just in time to watch the Skins game. HAIL TO THE REDSKINS BABY!!! I love my husband but man it feels good to beat his team. ;0) Once the game was over it was time for the fun to continue and we headed over to Ben's parents house for Melissa's bday dinner. Taylor was so happy to see her Daddy! We had a nice time and a delicious dinner. Taylor laughed a real laugh for the first time when Nana (Ben's mom) was playing with her. I got some great pics - the link is below.

Hope you all had a nice weekend! :)

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=242410998/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

It's a .....

2008-10-01T22:11:00.004-04:00

GIRL! Congratulations to Melissa - she found out today that she will be having another little girl. She said that she is destined to only have girls as payback for when she was a kid. HA! Dear Crazy!

We're excited to meet our new niece mid/late February 2009.

And in this corner.....

2008-10-01T12:55:00.003-04:00

....weighing in at 14 pounds 6 ozs and 25 1/4 inches tall.....Taylor Paige Killian!

We had Taylor's 4 month check up this morning. Everything went really well. She is in the 50th percentile for weight and head and the 75th percentile for height. The nurse said this puts her on the taller side. I almost laughed because you never hear the word "tall" when talking about either mine or Ben's families. ;0)

Taylor was all about showing off for the doctor when she came in. She was standing on my lap (obviously I was helping her) and then she sat with her head straight up. She followed all of our voices back & forth and added her own "comments" here and there. The doctor said we had a little social butterfly! Wonder who she gets that from!?!

She passed the visit with flying colors and it was the first one for us that we didn't get a referral to another specialist. Yahoooo! She handled her shots as we thought she would.....she was far from happy for a minute or two but she was perked up once she saw her little sun/mirror rattle! Ah - the magic mirror. (Thanks for bringing that back to me Sissy!)

That's it for this update! I'm waiting to hear from Melissa a little later this afternoon and I'll make another post after I talk to her.

:)

Happy Bday Melissa

2008-09-29T12:00:00.002-04:00

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Melissa!! It was supposed to be a big day for her because she is pregnant with her 2nd child and she was going to find out if it was a boy or girl this morning but she wasn't feeling well. She's scheduled to find out on Wednesday now! I know she is disappointed but this way she gets to stretch her bday out a few more days! ;0)

Taylor went for her follow up appt for her Fernulectomy. Everything looked good and the surgery was a success. Good news!

Happy Monday everyone!

Did you have your popcorn ready??

2008-09-28T21:47:00.011-04:00

Sorry there were no updates last week. Not too much going on except work, work and more work. Blah! I'll be better this week - we have a few doctors appts that I'll let y'all know about.

The weekend was tons of tun! Friday night Antoino & Lauren came over and I somehow had convinced them that we needed to watch Sex And The City - even though I had just watched it on Wednesday for my 1st time!! Yes - that's correct. The movie that I had been waiting for YEARS to come out opened in the theaters on the same day that I was admitted to the hospital back in May so I had ended up having to wait until it came out on DVD to finally see it. It was worth the wait! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was everything I was hoping it would be. The 2nd time seeing it was even better and I did cry just as hard as I did the 1st time and in the same parts. HA!

Saturday was full of football and people coming by. Sissy stopped over after her quick trip to the outlets. We had enough warning so Taylor was able to change into her new "I my Auntie" onsie which clearly Aunt Jack loved. We watched some of the Maryland game and had a quick lunch before she was on her way. TP and I remained on the couch watching what turned out to be a GREAT game and win over #20 Clemson! YESSSSSSSSS!! Big day for the Terps! Shortly after the game was over - Matty stopped by to say hi and see TP since he hadn't seen her since she was itty-bitty. Then it was Heather's turn. She was coming over for baby, dinner and then our girls night out to see Julie's band play at Bunkers around the corner. BTW - dinner was delicious. If you're ever in the mood to make fajitas let me know so I can send you the recipe for the marinade that I used. OMG was it good. Modest huh? ;0)

Anyway - Taylor went to bed and Lauren, Heather & I left to go check out Julie's new band. We had a blast - I'm sure that won't be hard to figure out from the pictures. I feel the need to explain the pink duct tape.....the band had a roll of pink duct tape that they were taking pieces of and putting on peoples arms. Well - towards the end of the night - the roll ended up on our table and.....well....they are going to need a new roll. Oh - and don't' ask me about the pink wig.... I have no idea who's it was or where it came from. Here are some pics from the night......

Me & Heather

Lauren, Me, Heather, Julie, Diana and Tyler

I told you "don't ask"

Sunday - GAME DAY!! We had a nice relaxing morning & early afternoon before the 3 of us went to Jessie's for a Redskins vs Cowboys BBQ! Taylor had on her pink Redskins onesie and looked so cute for her 1st of many of the great rivalry. It was great to see everyone and what a game! I will be the first to admit I didn't think my boys had it in them but they proved me wrong - love it when that happens. As exciting as the game was.....there is more exciting news that needs to be shared. Mackenzie and Brandon are PREGO!!!! Congratulations to them! :0)

The Mommy-To-Be & Taylor

Me & Seca

We came home as soon as the game was over since it was getting close to TP's bedtime. Ben had to log back into work when we got here so I took TP upstairs for a quick wardrobe change in honor of the Sunday Night football game. Needless to say Ben was pleased......

Cute but green really isn't her color! HA! Dear Crazy!!

Here is a link to the pics.....it's the same "September" albumn so you have to scroll down to see the new ones....

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=242236173/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

The weekend

2008-09-21T22:26:00.003-04:00

Our weekend started off with a relaxing night at home on Friday - just the 3 of us. :0) After TP went to bed, we got all of our stuff packed up so we could hit the road bright & early on Saturday for our trip to see Nanny!!! And that's what we did. Once TP was done eating we all jumped in the car and headed down to the Burg! She did really well. She slept until we got to our exit and then was happy to let us know we she was awake and ready to get out of her car seat.

Nanny was SUPER excited to see TP again. It had been 12 weeks since our last visit and she couldn't believe how much Taylor had grown and changed. We had a quick lunch and then Uncle Jerry came and picked up Ben for a round of golf. Nanny and I had a fantastic afternoon playing with TP and getting everything ready for dinner. Later in the evening - Aunt Kathy & Jer came over to join us for some yumm-o casserole (tucker - you know the one!!) and play time. Ben and I tried hard to stay up for the football games but we were so tired that we went to bed before 10:30! Big Saturday night for us! ;0) Sunday morning we had a great breakfast and a little bit more time with Nanny before we had to get back on the road again to get to Aunt Jack's house to watch the Skins game with her and Todd! Go Skins!! It was another fun afternoon that was capped off by Jac's pasta with homemade sauce! Good work Sissy!

Now I have to back up a few days to tell you all about the not so pleasant times. Poor TP - we think she is teething. It started Thursday night with a 3am wake up call. This isn't normal for her but we just wrote it off as everyone can wake up hungry in the middle of the night. Friday night it was the same things and then again on Saturday. Now - we really aren't complaining - it's hard to do that since for the last almost 2 months she has been sleeping from9pm til 5,6 and sometimes 7am. So Saturday night after her 4am bottle, I couldn't sleep so I went online through my phone and found that everything that had been going on recently were on the list of things that happen when a baby is teething.....uncontrollable drooling, waking at odd hours, refusing food (sometimes), rubbing her face and sticking anything and everything that she can in her mouth. If this is truly the case - we are hoping that it doesn't take too long for the teeth to break through - for her sake. She definitely has some miserable times here and there and we just feel terrible for her. So fingers crossed and we'll keep you posted!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Below is a link to some pics from Nanny's and some random ones that I had on the camera from the last couple of weeks.

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=242236173/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

Taylor's Frenulectomy

2008-09-16T08:42:00.004-04:00

Taylor had her Frenulectomy done this morning and everything went well.

Everything was FINALLY scheduled and taken care of yesterday afternoon - there has been a lot of confusion and rescheduling but I won't bore you with those details.

We had to be at the Loudoun Surgery center at 6:30 this morning for her 7:30 appt. The tricky part was she wasn't allowed to have anything to eat after 12:30 last night because of the anesthesia. Well - since she is such an angel and normally gets her last bottle b/t 8 & 9pm and then sleeps until 5 or 6am (or 7:30 like yesterday - YES!!!) we ended up having to wake her up around 11:45pm so she could eat in hopes of avoiding a hungry and cranky Taylor in the waiting room. For those of you that have been around during one of her cranky spells - you know it's not pretty. ;0) Anyway - it worked!! We woke her up at 6am to put her in her car seat and by the time we arrived at the surgery center she was wide awake and charming every nurse in there with her little smile. Clearly they all fell in love with her. We met with the doctor so she could explain the procedure one more time and then were sent to the waiting room after 4 nurses came to being Taylor back. They all wanted to see her and let us know that she would be in good hands. So off to the waiting room we went! I barely had enough time to be nervous as they called us back to the "chat room" to meet with the doctor not even 10 minutes later. She let us know that everything went fine and TP was still sleeping but we would be called back in a few minutes to sit with her so she would see us when she woke up. So back to the waiting room for a few minutes and then we got to go back and see her. She woke up shortly after and we braced ourselves for a screaming baby....she woke up and gave us a little smile and stuck out her tongue. How appropriate! So she is doing great! She's back asleep now so fingers crossed she wakes up somewhat happy again the next time.

Thanks to everyone for your notes/calls of encouragement. It means a lot to all of us. She's such a happy baby because she knows she is so loved!

I'll post another update later if needed.

They say you are what you eat.....

2008-09-15T21:16:00.003-04:00

.....so call me DELICIOUS!!!

I'm going to copy sissy on this post as she lets everyone know when she's tried a new recipe and it's successful.

I made a new chili from this month's Bon Appetit magazine. If you're a chili person - I highly recommend it.

White Bean and Chicken Chili
-------------------------------
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno from jar (we used extra!!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 15-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained
1 pound cooked chicken breast, chopped
1/2 cup half and half

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno; saute until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder and cumin; saute 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add beans, chicken and half and half. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls and serve.

Note: I think you can leave out the jalapenos if you don't like spicy food. It shouldn't change the flavor - will just take the "lip burning" effect away. HA! Dear Crazy!

Was I dreaming??

2008-09-15T11:45:00.004-04:00

I had to wonder yesterday....was I dreaming?? Did it really happen?? Did both my Terps and Skins both win on the same weekend!? They sure did! YEAH!
The rest of our weekend was pretty good. Saturday, Taylor and I watched Maryland take on #23 Cal. She witnessed how mommy gets really excited when her team is winning and then how mommy goes into panic mode when her team looks like they are going to blow it. :0) Afterwards we went to Ben's company picnic. It was super hot but they had lots of shade and fans so we were all pretty comfortable. We hung out with his co-workers and had a yummy dinner then headed home to watch a movie with Lauren and Antonio. We watched Diary of a Mad Black Woman - good one! It's the 1st of Tyler Perry's movies. I know I've told some of you this but his movies are fantastic and if you're looking for something to watch one night - pick any one of them. You will laugh out loud, then cry, then laugh......you get it.
I worked at the bar yesterday for the 1st set of football games. It was a good shift - not too busy (since the Skins were at home), no drama and good friends! Thanks to all that came by!
I'm looking forward to tonight's game. As I explained to Amanda yesterday - I'll be an Eagles fan. The only time I cheer for the Eagles are when they are playing the Giants or Cowboys! HA! Dear Crazy!

Friday Night Lights

2008-09-13T11:14:00.002-04:00

I got to relive a little piece of high school last night! My adopted son Justin (Heather's son) plays for the Falls Church High School football team and last night they were playing my alma mater - South Lakes! Heather, Jessica (Heather's daughter) and I got there just in time so see our guy run in with the team. Such a proud moment - maybe more so for Heather than me but I still cheered like a maniac! ;0)
Justin hurt himself in the JV game the night before so he wasn't able to play - clearly that's why Falls Church lost. HA! Dear Crazy!

SUNDAY!!

2008-09-11T09:54:00.003-04:00

For all the locals that read this......

I'll be working the bar on Sunday for Football. I'll be there from 11:30am through the 2nd set of games so if you don't have the NFL ticket at home and want to watch more than just the Redskins - come see me!

:0)

MD Basketball Schedule Released

2008-09-10T09:33:00.004-04:00

http://umterps.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/md-m-baskbl-sched.html

Ok - so I realize this may not interest most of you but the day I realize the Maryland Basketball schedule has been released is always a happy one for me. I love planning my schedule around important games months in advance!

So Mom, Tucker and Antonio......I'll be seeing you guys to watch my MD Terps take on your PUKE - Opps - I mean DUKE - Blue Devils on Saturday January 24th at Noon and then again Wednesday February 25th at 9pm!!

Sissy - we are playing UNC TWICE this year! WOO HOO! Feb 3rd and Feb 21st!

We are playing VA Tech at home on Valentines Day - maybe Ben and I will actually have to make a date this year! HA! Dear Crazy!

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Happy Anniversary Ben

2008-09-09T07:30:00.004-04:00

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my hubby Ben. I still can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It doesn't feel like 2 years ago that he was wiping away my tears as I cried through my vows. ;0)

It's been 2 amazing years and I'm looking forward to all the ones to come. I love you Ben!

Oh What A Night

2008-09-06T22:01:00.006-04:00

Last night was AWESOME! Brandi and Will were in town from Kentucky, Marc Taylor's band was playing and Ben's parents offered to watch Taylor for the night - yes - the WHOLE night!

So....Ben, Antonio, Lauren and I traveled out to the Ned Devine's in Centreville to meet up with Brooke, Brandi and Will. A great time was had by all. Marc's band - The Reflex (http://www.reflexlive.com/) is an 80's tribute band and they are AMAZING! I encourage all of you to check out the website for the upcoming shows and if they are playing anywhere near you - GO GO GO!!! The music is great and I promise you will all be singing along to your favorite 80's tunes. It was just like old times for Brooke, Brandi and I. We were front and center dancing cause like Brandi said - we are front row bitches! HA! Dear Crazy!

A few pics from the night below.....

Me, Brooke & Brandi

Me & Lauren

Marc!

Happy Bday Scott!

2008-09-06T11:37:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my father-in-law Scott! We hope you have a great day despite the hurricane that's traveling through. We love ya!

Holy Cow!

2008-09-01T22:39:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Nicole and Steve for hosting a BBQ yesterday for everyone to get together and sample the 1/2 of a cow they purchased. Yes - I really did say 1/2 a cow. It's a pretty cool concept....they picked out the 1/2 they wanted and what cuts and the butcher took care of it. :) It was nice to see a lot of our friends in one place so hats off to them!
The rest of the long weekend was pretty chill. We enjoyed a lazy day on Saturday watching college football. Sad day for the Hokies - happy day for the Terps!! Taylor handled all of our screaming and cheering really well. This was just a preview for her of Ben and I for the next few months. Just wait until college basketball starts! She ain't seen nuttin from me yet! Dear Crazy!
Afterwards we hung out with Lauren and Antonio over at Tom & Angela's where they were watching Sammie and got to take advantage of the hot tub! Good Times.
Grandmama and Grandpa-John came over today to see TP (and us). Grandpa-John had a front row seat to experience Taylor's projectile spit up. He took it well and had flashbacks of when I used to do it to him. Sorry Daddy!

Congrats to Caryn and Brett who got married yesterday! Caryn is a close friend of Jacqueline's and special to the Dadiani family. :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

DING - Round 1 goes to Ben

2008-08-27T11:57:00.005-04:00

So you all know what huge sports fans Ben and I are. I'm sure you also know that we pretty much can't agree on any team and our favorites just happen to be in the same conference/division. People have been asking us who Taylor is going to cheer for....Redskins or Eagles....Terps or Hokies? Well - once she is old enough to make her own decision - we will stand by and respect it (unless it's Dallas - sorry Amanda but there will be none of that in this house!!) Until then - Ben and I are going to have to fight about what outfit she will wear on a particular Sat & Sun. My solution for the time being is .....on the Saturday she wears VA Tech - she will wear Redskins on Sunday. And for the Saturday that she wears Maryland - she can wear Eagles on Sunday! Let's be honest though.....she will look better in Burgandy & Gold than in Green! Obviously!! ;)

Anyway - The fight has begun and I'm at an unfair disadvantage......Ben's parents bought Taylor a prize when they dropped off her Uncle Billy at school last week. I got home from working at the hole last night to find a few pictures strategically placed on my keyboard so I would be sure to see them.....Taylor was dressed in her new VA Tech onsie! OH NO! I'm a slacker and she doesn't have anything with Terps on it yet! Looks like she'll be a Hokie fan this weekend for the start of the college football season!
Don't fear fellow Maryland fans - our time will come. But for now.....Round 1 of this fight goes to Ben.

Thank you Scott & Leslie! As much as it hurts to say it......it's adorable! And hey - it could be worse....it could be DUKE! HA! Dear Crazy!!

Beach Trip!

2008-08-25T22:51:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! For those of you that don't know - Ben, Taylor and I went to Ocean City this past weekend for a quick trip with Tom & Angela and Lauren & Antonio. After a LOOOOONG week at work - I couldn't get out of the house any faster on Thursday night. :) So let's start there. Actually - let's back up a bit. I've only been to OC once.....for beach week after my Senior year of High School - 14 years ago! I'm not the biggest fan of bridges so I was never really interested in crossing the Bay Bridge just to go to the beach. Well - then we had the offer to join our friends for the weekend and I figured why not!?!

So we meet Antonio and Lauren at their house for some pizza and a bottle for Taylor. After we're all done we finish packing up the car and hit the road. BTW - traveling with a baby is insane! We had to give T&A the stroller or else that would have been the only thing we could have taken. HAHAHA! It was a pretty easy ride - no traffic at all! I texted with sissy (Jacqueline in case you didn't know) about how far away from the bridge I was so I could prepare myself. Antonio was driving and he and I made Ben and Lauren's life pretty miserable for a bit while we sang along to the Grease and Grease 2 soundtracks.....all the while - we go through a toll booth and get on the bridge and I didn't even know it. So it's all clear now - go over it in the dark with what you think is fun music and everything is A-OK! Anyway - we met up with Tom & Angela shortly afterwards and followed them the rest of the way to their condo. The first night was spent on the balcony with a couple of beers and lots of conversation! Good times!

The next morning, Angela and I went to the store to stock up the place and I made breakfast for everyone. Then the fun began! We got Taylor all ready in her new bathing suit for her 1st trip down to the beach. She was too cute for words! We covered her all up and strapped her in to the little carrier and we were off. It was just a hop, skip & a jump away. The boys set up the big tailgating tent so the sun wouldn't get anywhere near Taylor. You'll see in the pics that she had fallen asleep before we even sat down so we just layed her down and she slept peacefully for a while. After a fun & relaxing time - Ben took her up for a feeding and a nap while the girls stayed down for a little bit more fun in the sun. Then it was time to go back and get ready for our night out. We headed down to the Boardwalk to find a place to eat while taking a stroll. It was a little chilly so Taylor got a new (pink - shocker) OC jacket. After passing a million places to eat we finally decided on Shenanigan's Irish Pub. It was great! They had a meal called "The Deadliest Catch Dinner" - I had to do it because of my love for the show and the fact that we were at the beach- how could I not!?! Dinner was followed by a little bit more walking and then back to the condo to rest up for the next day.

Saturday morning started with another Kristen breakfast. The boys were off to the golf course and the girls were heading back to the beach. Taylor did great again! Just like the day before - she napped and just hung out. I decided to try putting her toes in the water to see how she liked it. She LOVES her bath so i was hoping she would like the ocean too. Well - there is a BIG difference in the temperatures and she did NOT enjoy the little dip. She let out a little scream and gave me a nasty look. So we went back to the umbrellas and she was happy again. She and I started to get a little warm - even in the shade so we headed back to the house for a bottle and to relax before we went shopping. The afternoon and evening went by quickly and after some shopping for us and 36 holes of golf for the boys - we were all pooped! Antonio made us a yumm-o sloppy joe dinner and we just hung out on the balcony again. I tried so hard to stay up to watch the gold medal basketball game that started at 2:30 in the AM. I got to see the 1st period before my eyes just wouldn't cooperate anymore. Don't worry - Ben and I got to see the replay as soon as we woke up the next morning. GO USA!!

Our last day was pretty chill. Lauren, Angela and I went to Bethany Beach to check out a couple of shops and a fun little place called Mangos. Mangoritas are fantastic!! Gotta find those somewhere around here! :)

We came back and cleaned up and headed back home. So sad to leave but the real world was expecting us back. BTW - it was dark again when we went back over the bridge - holla!!

So now that you have spent your entire lunch break reading my recap - go check out the pics! Here is the link.....

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=241900912/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

Hope to see you all soon!
:) K

Good Luck Billy!!

2008-08-20T14:08:00.003-04:00

So today is the big day for my bro-in-law Billy! Ben's parents are taking him down to VA Tech where he will begin his college career! I met Billy when he was 11 so the fact that he is off to college is crazy to me! We're so proud of him and know he will do great!
Billy - try to have some fun in the middle of all that studying! AHAHAHA! Miss you already!

thought of the night

2008-08-16T22:10:00.006-04:00

So I'm sitting here watching the Olympics and just saw the end of the Women's marathon. First of all - the woman that took gold ran 26 miles in 2 hours and 26 minutes. Unbelievable!!! My thought as I watched the 2 runners that came across the line in 4th & 5th place was - I would be BITTER if just ran 26 miles and didn't win a medal! But then again - I'd never run a marathon.....just too darn lazy for that! HA! Dear Crazy!

BTW - on a different subject.....I heart Colt Brennan!

Daycare update

2008-08-13T21:57:00.004-04:00

Thank you to everyone that has checked in on Taylor to see how she is doing with daycare. It's been so far so good. I was a little anxious on Sunday night and not looking forward to the next day. I tried to forget about it so I started going through her clothes to pick out her outfit for her first day. That ended up being harder than it needed to be so I just went to bed to watch the Olympics! HA! Dear Crazy.....

I thought Monday morning was going to be harder than it turned out to be. When I dropped her off she was happy and smiling so I knew she would be ok (as would I). The day kind of dragged on and on as I counted down the hours & minutes until I could go and pick her up. She was awake when I got there and the smile that she gave me when I picked her up just melted my heart. :) She did well again today - sleeping and eating peacefully. There is a little girl at the daycare that was so excited that there was a new baby there on Monday. Today when we were leaving she looked so sad and said "bye bye baby - bye bye baby's mommy" Adorable.

On another note - the first shift back at the bar last night went well. It was tons of fun to see all of my regulars again and to show off some pictures of Taylor. Thanks to Ben, Amanda, Tiz & Lauren for coming by. It was a nice little break but I'm super excited to be back. Can't wait to see all of you!

Weekend Recap & Picture Link

2008-08-10T21:51:00.006-04:00

What a fun weekend! Friday my parents came over to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. I think they were sad that I didn't have a world atlas here so they could show me where all of the different countries are as they were introduced like they did when Jacqueline and I were kids. No need for them to worry - Taylor has lots of opening ceremonies to come so I'll let them do that with her so she can think they are crazy and not me for giving her a geography lesson on a Friday night! ;0)

Later that night we had bar cleaning. Needless to say - its not the best part of the job but it has to be done. It was the 1st one without PJ - sad day! It was a long night with lots of hard work but the 'Hey Mickey' dance tradition still lives on! Leslie S - it will never be the same without you.....miss ya girl!

Saturday morning - Taylor and I headed to Fairfax to hang out with Aunt Jack. It was nice to just relax and spend time with her - especially since I was running on no sleep (literally). After a few hours of fun, yummy lunch and a quick power nap - we jumped back in the car to go to meet up with Ben at his parents house cause DA (his grandfather) was coming to town. We haven't seen him since the wedding so we were pretty excited for his visit. We had a nice dinner and good quality time catching up and introducing him to his great grand-daughter. Ben's family "generation" pic below.....

We came home - gave Taylor a bath & fed her and put her down at 9:30.....she slept until 6am!!! That's right people - our little 10 week old angel slept for 8 1/2 hours! There is a god! ;0)

Today was another day of running around. Taylor and I stopped by Glory Days to have a quick bite with Aunt Heather since she was working the day shift. Then we went to my parents house to check out their new TV. They have finally joined us in the 2000's and have a flat screen HD tv. Good job guys! Then it was back to Ben's parents for dinner and more time with DA. Melissa and Kiara were there again. Kiara looked so excited when we walked in and we thought she was excited to see the baby - we then realized she was excited to see the car seat which means there were buckles to hook and unhook. She's a hoot! We're home now watching the Olympics and I'm ready for bed. Taylor starts day care tomorrow so I need to get some rest since I'm sure I'll be a mess all day. :(

Here is a link to some more pictures. They are in the same "August album" from last week so you need to scroll down a little bit to see the new ones.

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=223603304/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

Hope you all had a good weekend!

The Tuesday you all have been waiting for......

2008-08-07T10:48:00.002-04:00

It's official - I'm going back to work on Tuesday nights at Glory Days - starting next week - the 12th. I know its been a long sad summer for you guys without me there (modest huh?) so come one up to visit whenever you have time! I'd love to see you all!

Pictures Posted

2008-08-01T22:58:00.004-04:00

I finally posted some pictures on Snapfish. Here is the link.....

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=223603304/a=5781352_5781352/t_=5781352

Some are random - most are from dinner tonight at Ben's parents house. We had a nice family dinner - Melissa, Kiara and Buck were there. Kiara loves to play with Taylor's car seat - just buckling and unbuckling over and over. Love it!

ENT

2008-08-01T07:28:00.005-04:00

The appt with the ENT went well. We just talked with her about the procedure that is performed to snip the membrane. I was assuming we were going to have this done while we were there but apparently Taylor is too old. The only time they do this in the office is for baby's a week or two tops - that are having problem s with feeding. Well - we're past that mark and she definitely doesn't have any problems eating. So we have to wait until she is at least 3 months old and it is an out-patient surgical procedure. The doctor explained that she will be given anesthesia and it will take 15 seconds from start to finish. Most babies feel just fine shortly afterwards. This will be scheduled for sometime after Aug 31st.

Later last night I met up with Heather, Heather, Tyler and Don to go over some promotion ideas for Football Sundays and Mondays at Glory Days. A lot of great ideas were passed around - they will be doing beer and food specials (a first for us and Football) and they will be having give-aways for the Sunday and Monday night games. The Sunday "prizes" will be something with the team logo for the teams playing on that specific night! So what I'm trying to say - GO WATCH YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS PLAY AT THE HOLE! You might even get lucky and see me working a Sunday or two ;0)
After our meeting we hung out for a little while and Heather and I learned that we are way too old (and sober) to be hanging out with those girls. We couldn't keep up even if we wanted to. HA! Dear Crazy! We still love them and I did get a good pic of the lady bartenders.........
Happy Friday everyone! :0)

What a trooper!

2008-07-30T15:49:00.003-04:00

We took Taylor in for her 2 month check up this morning. She weighed in at 11lbs 4ozs and is now 22 3/4 inches. :) The doctor checked her out and said everything looks good.......except that she is tongue tied! Not uncommon - it's when the connecting skin (membrane) under the tongue is short or it extends too far toward the front of the tongue. She referred us to an ENT to take Taylor to see and they will decide if they need to perform the procedure of snipping the membrane to correct it. That appt is tomorrow afternoon.
Next it was time for the shots. She had fallen asleep while waiting for the nurse to come in so we had to wake her up and get her ready. I stood over her and talked to her to let her know everything was ok and then it started. Poor baby - her eyes almost popped out of her head when they gave her the 1st one. There was a total of 5 and I have to give the nurse credit - she did them quickly! Obviously - Taylor was less than thrilled but the crying did stop sooner than I thought it would. We got home and she slept for a little while. After she woke up and ate - she was in a great playful mood.....picture below ....yes - that's a sticker on her shirt. I took it from the Drs office cause it says "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!" True Story!!
So she is a trooper! Thankfully we don't have to do the shot thing again until her 4 month check up. Fingers crossed she will handle this tongue issue as well as she did the shots today. Actually - fingers crossed that I can handle all of it as well as she did! HA! Dear Crazy!

How do you spell slacker....??

2008-07-29T21:58:00.004-04:00

K-R-I-S-T-E-N!!

I can't believe I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks! It's not like stuff hasn't been going on - I just got a little lazy about it. So for all of you loyal readers......I'm back and will be more on top of updates!

Things are really good. Taylor is amazing and is growing every day! We are going to the pediatrician tomorrow for her 2 month appt! Can you believe it she has already passed the 8 week mark? Ben and I sure can't! The picture below is one I took today to send to her Aunt Melissa to see her in the outfit she bought way back in January when we found we were having a girl.

I'll make another post tomorrow to let you all know how the appt went.