An Extraordinary Daughter with a Goal and a Drive

Snow days in town means for cancellations and postponements.

Including school, practice, parties, and more. The weather left us with a Saturday dilemma. Go to a birthday party or rescheduled gymnastics team practice.

I told Lyla she had to decide which to go to. It was her decision and I'd support what she decided. Because of the locations, we could not possibly do both.

She was very upset at first so I told her to think about it for a bit. She then came to me with the following:

Lyla: I decided. I am going to gymnastics practice and not the birthday party. I'm serious about gymnastics and I have two meets coming up so I need to be able to do my best. So I need the practice. It's more important to me than going to a birthday party and eating junk food.

I was taken aback for a minute simply because SHE'S 7! And to have that much determination, drive, and discipline at SEVEN is unbelievable.

I look at her in doubt unable to believe she came from me. But I see so much of her father in her so I know where she gets it from for sure. No one can stop her; she has goals and a fever to reach those goals that I've never seen before.

Not only am I proud to be her mother but I'm so excited to see what she achieves. No matter what, she is steering her own path; I am not going to interfere or push or drive any doubts. She alone will drive her passion to extraordinary heights. As high as she wants to go.

My baby girl - so grown up. My baby girl - pushing the limits and making something of herself. So incredibly proud.

I’m Turning into My Mother... And That’s Okay

I was about to embark on my first ever sleepover field trip with my class. We were heading down to Washington DC on the traditional 8th grade trip. That year, jelly shoes were all the rage. All I wanted was a pair of clear jelly shoes to wear on my 8th grade trip to DC.

The day before we were to leave, my mom took me to every store imaginable to find them. We kept striking out and then on a whim we went to Lord & Taylor at the mall. A store we could never afford but nevertheless this was important. There were the jelly shoes, in all their glory and in my size. My mom bought them of course; the cost didn’t matter. She wanted me to have them but not because she wanted to spoil me or because she wanted to give me everything I wanted. She bought them for me because she is that kind of person. The kind of person who would move heaven and earth to make someone happy. The kind of person who goes out of their way, taking shirts off their back to put a smile on someone else’s face.

I find myself looking at my life as a spectator lately. I’m standing at the forefront of a situation watching my interactions wondering what kind of person I am. It’s the strangest feeling to be in the audience of your life.

My mom & me

There is an older woman walking down the street every day. I drive by every day and each day I find myself waving at her. She is so adorable and so dedicated to walking with her cane and trendy glasses. I watch myself waving and smiling at her every day and think, that’s my mom.

I’m in the grocery store and there is an older man waiting at the deli counter with me. He looks over at me as I take my cheese from the man.  He tells me he loves cheese. I can tell he wants to chat and despite being in a crazy hurry I chat with him about cheese, smile, laugh, and as I leave telling him to have a great day. I watch over this interaction realizing, that’s my mom.

There is a young girl trying to get into the music store with her big guitar case. I run across the store and open the door for her calling her sweetie. I can see this happening. I can see my mom.

Every girl in my daughter’s gymnastics class got a brand new gym branded leotard except one girl. There was one left and I was standing right there as the girl quietly asked her mom if she could have it. Her mom wondered how much it was and said she’d think about it. I nearly spoke up saying I would buy it for her. I don’t have extra money for that but the mere thought of her daughter missing out made my heart ache. I wanted to buy it and almost did. I stand by watching myself aching wanting to buy it while stressing about my own bills. That is my mom.

There is a new girl at my daughter’s school in her grade. On the field trip I see little, beautiful girl standing by the teacher rather than other kids. She wants to hold the teacher’s hand as if she doesn’t have other friends. I pulled my daughter aside and told her to be friendly with her and include her. I tell her every day now to do something nice for someone. I see this happening between me and my daughter. I see me and my mom.

It’s wear your favorite team shirt day at school but my daughter doesn’t follow anything but gymnastics. She wants a Simone Biles shirt to wear. I can’t find one anywhere. It’s 11 p.m. the night before as I make her a Simone Biles shirt to wear the next day. She wakes up so excited and grateful. I stand by and watch over knowing it’s my mom.

I’m watching myself turn into my mother. I’m not meaning to but I can’t help myself. My whole life I was taught by watching her; one selfless act after another. Now every situation I watch myself doing exactly what she would do. I’m turning into my mother and that’s okay. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My Little Sister Got Married!

I cannot believe over this past weekend, my little sister got married. Talk about feeling old!

I was lucky enough to the Maid of Honor and thought I'd share some photos and my speech.

the happy couple: Jodie & Jimmy

My speech:

Before I start officially, I wanted to let you all know that for the past 10 months or so, Jodie has been planning this wedding. And everything you see here has been her vision and dream. She also did all of this, for the most part, on her own. So a huge round of applause for my sister for pulling off this gorgeous affair. I must say she learned from the best.

Now I have been planning this speech for a very long time - even though I just wrote it last night! I had these ideas of grandeur with dances, videos, poems, and walks down memory lane. But at the end of the day, I embarrassed Jodie enough at her shower and I also didn’t want to take away from the bride and groom with my awesomeness. Instead, those of you that know me, I will blow your mind with the route I decided to go with.

Growing up 7 years older than my little sister, I sometimes acted more like her mother than her sister. Okay that’s not true, I did it a lot. So rather than mess with tradition, I’m going to give Jodie and Jimmy some advice.

Now listen here, you two...There are two important things about marriage that I want to share with you.

#1

Getting married is not just about spending the rest of your life with someone you love, having babies, paying bills, and arguing over what to have for dinner. Marriage is so much more than that. Someone once told me, and it’s really been stuck with me for a while, that being with someone for life is more about sharing your life experiences with them. It’s about having a partner or copilot to go through all the ups and downs. About having someone at the end of your day to talk to and laugh with and of course argue with. It’s like going on a never ending roller coaster ride with a seatmate. You’re not alone and you have each other to witness your lives.

Never forget this because what’s the point of going through life without having someone to share it with. Now you have each other and I can’t stress enough that you need to talk and share and argue, all with passion.

I love this quote: We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet….. I mean, what does any one life mean? But in a marriage, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things….. all of it, all the time, every day. You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness.

Never forget that.

#2

My second tip for the two of you is also a very important one. You just agreed to love one another no matter what for the rest of your lives. But more importantly, you have to agree to love one another as you are. You both are two unique individuals with some similarities and many differences. In some respects, you are who you are. Don’t change. You each have to accept each other for who you are and you can’t expect the other to change. So if Jodie is moody or Jimmy drops clothes all over the floor, get used to it. We are who we are and we shouldn’t change. Accept it now and you’ll be much happier. The minute one of you tries to change a big part of the other, your marriage will suffer. So love each other for who you are today and grow together and more in love over time.

To quote a movie: In my opinion the best thing you can you do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out of your ass. That’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking with.

You can’t sugar coat marriage though. Every wishes you congratulations and such but no one really tells you the truth; that sometimes marriage is hard. Marriage is hard - trust me. But it’s also one of the most satisfying things you’ll do in your life. I know the two of you are so in love and I’m looking forward to watching you grow old together.

I hope my tiny bit of wisdom helps you both.

Jodie, I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become. I’m lucky to have gone through my life with a sister. And now that we’ll both be old married ladies I can’t wait to bond even more.

Jimmy, all I’m saying is back when I was in 5th grade, Mickey brought out the baseball bat. Many a guys have been tortured by the thought of it. And he’s not afraid to use it.

Finally, Jodie, just because you’re married to Jimmy now, you’re not all of a sudden Polish like you thought you would be.

I love you both! Salute!

Some more photos:

Preggars (me), Lyla and Jodie

Lyla was the "wedding girl"!

Lyla and Gramma

Family Time

I had a great photo of me and Lyla at Buttonwood Farm and yesterday I got this great photo of Jared and Lyla. Love it!

SportsKids Amazing, Beautiful Story

Have you seen this?  If not, watch.  Beautiful.

Sunny Days

Lyla adores Sesame Street so when I saw the chance to take her to Sesame Street Live, we definitely knew we wanted to take her.  All three of us went and Lyla really enjoyed the show!

We got her all dolled up in Elmo gear down to the undies!

The great seats we got were perfect. Not too close and not too far.  We even lucked out with no one in front or behind us!  Lyla loved the show and asked to go back again tomorrow!

Happy Mother's Day

Moms are extraordinary, selfless, amazing, and are lunatics all at the same time!  Well the ones I know are!  It's a crazy love that makes you stronger and relentless.  Happy Mother's Day to all the crazy moms out there!

Especially to my mom.

Happy Mother's Day to me too

And we're back...

On the lovely day of June 26, 2011, my family and I took the walk into an insane asylum, on board a cruise ship.  Any one else in their right mind would have thought better than to take a one year old and a light stomached, always stricken with seasickness husband.  But no, I was brave and as I stepped out of my car, sun hat on while I glanced up at the ship, I thought, spectacular!  

It kind of looked liked this below but my hat was a tad smaller, I was wearing a tank top, and my boat was not destined for a gigantic iceberg where my beloved would die and I would then throw away millions of dollars back into the ocean 80 years later... you did see the movie, right?

I was full of excitement at the thought of a relaxing vacation with lots of sun and family fun.  You would have thought I would know better after this trip.  But not so much.

I could probably sit here all day long and write a novel just about this one week.  I could go into detail about every single day, all the pain, the fun, and stupidness but who has time for that with a one year old?  So instead I'll just post the highlights and the lowlights.  To leave you with a happy note, we'll start with the lowlights first:

LOWLIGHTS of our Cruise:

1. Jared was not seasick but I was.  UGH!  As soon as the boat started moving, I was dizzy and it didn't stop until we docked again.  My head was spinning, I couldn't walk straight and my stomach was doing flip flops the entire time.  I didn't vomit - thankfully - but it was awful.
2. We have a one year old.  She goes to bed at 7pm.  So no hot nights out for us partying like it's 1999.  And even when my mom offered to watch her so we could go out - which she offered daily - we felt either A. way too guilty or B. way too tired.
3. The food was just okay.  I guess I'm a major food snob but the food was just okay.  The only food that was good was the Asian restaurant so we ate there like 4 times.
4. The food was everywhere.  Freestyle cruising on the Norwegian Gem meant you could eat whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted.  It was a tad overwhelming.  I felt I needed to eat and eat and eat to make sure I got my money's worth.  
5. Lyla was teething the entire week.  FUN!
6. Lyla doesn't like to be confined - this made for fun bus trips in Bermuda and any walking around which required hand holding.
7. Lyla started having temper tantrums if she was confined.
8. Trying to fit nap times in was just exhausting.
9. Did I mention traveling with a one year old is stressful?
10. Being with family for 7 days in close quarters alone is stressful.  Especially when decision making is being done and no one can agree or make decisions.
11. I couldn't really work out because I was so dizzy. I took three tries on the promenade to do some speed walking laps and I only lasted a mile for each because of the rocking.
12. So in other words, I gained weight - ugh.
13. After day 2 I lost my medication (I'm on blood thinner medication so I don't get a blood clot).  It pretty much sucked that I lost this but I had to make up for it by drinking more heavily than I usually would to regulate my blood that way instead.  I don't condone this nor do I recommend this people...
14. When I got home, I found my medication in Lyla's toiletry bag (which might I add I was in and out of every day but never noticed my meds).  And I still will not admit to Jared that I found them.
15. Lyla decided to sleep well until 3am every night.  Then because the walls were thin, I was forced to put her in bed with us so she didn't wake everyone up.  Unfortunately I can't "just make her stop crying" as my sister suggested I do.  I told  her she'd understand when she had a kid.
16. No romance with a one year old in a tiny cabin who sleeps in your bed and with thin walls.  

HIGHLIGHTS of our Cruise:

1. The weather was perfect.  We hit one storm at night once and that was all.  Though it was horrific trying to sleep while your stomach was doing backflips.
2. The beach in Bermuda was incredible.  We had an amazing day there, the best ever.  I swam in the water for hours and Lyla had fun too.  
3. I saw some dolphins swimming in the ocean.
4. I got to drink lots of frozen mudslides, peach bellini's, and mai tais.  See #13 above.
5. I got some rest with the help of my family watching Lyla which was nice.  Especially when Jared and I could have dinner just the two of us.
6. There was a little kiddie pool which rocked.  Lyla had a blast in there.  Plus it was completely covered so I didn't have to sunblock the crap out of her when she played in there.  
7. The staff were accommodating and very friendly. I didn't meet one staff member on the ship in a bad mood.  They were all so happy and helpful.  They loved Lyla and by the end of the week, they all knew her name and she would wave to them.
8. I read two whole books!  Since Lyla went to bed so early, I had to do something so I read and loved that.
9. The breakfast buffet.  I LOVE breakfast foods.  Every morning I splurged on an omelet or pan au chocolat or bacon or grapefruit.  I was in heaven and definitely went to town.
10. I didn't have to worry about chores or cleaning my house.  It was nice to be away from all the day to day stuff.
11. But the best part of our vacation was coming home again.  There is nothing better than being home after being a week away.  

All in all it was a good trip.  I will never cruise again.  The dizziness just wasn't worth it.  And since we love food and weren't a fan of the food on the ship, I'd rather not do that again either.  I would prefer to go to a resort and stay on the beach for a week without the rocking and without the overwhelming food choices everywhere.

We also both agreed that we're not taking any more vacations until Lyla is older.  It's just not relaxing when she's so little and we'll definitely bring a babysitter too!

We are so eternally grateful to my parents for taking us on this trip.  We are so lucky to have them and they are way too generous.

I made a photo slide show of all my crap photos.  Jared is just sorting through his "professional" ones so I'll share a link of those later.  Those photos are amazing!

Caring for Coconuts

Yesterday friends and family joined together to walk for the cure as part of the Komen for the Cure walk in Hartford.  Our team was Caring for Coconuts.  Jared designed our awesome palm tree shirts, we wore leis, and Lyla sported her grass skirt.  We had fun and hopefully they raised a lot of money!

Jodie, Amanda, & Stacy

The whole team!

Jodie, Mom, & Me

Lyla

Lyla after the walk aka after her nap :)

Hanging out with auntie

Mammograms Myth - Busted!

I had my first mammogram today.  I know, I'm a little young, but with breast cancer in my family, I pushed my doc to allow me to get one today and yearly for the rest of my life.

I have to say I was nervous after hearing so many horror stories but honestly, it was not bad at all.  It didn't really hurt and for one pose it did a tad bit but for only 5 seconds.

So ladies, if you've not had a mammogram yet in your life or are afraid to, make an appointment now.  Mammograms save lives and for 5 seconds of minor discomfort it's worth it.

Get a mammogram now!  They don't hurt - unless you're a total wussy, but really they don't!

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes, I just have a look around at life and realize how grateful I am and how lucky.

Sometimes I wake up and think it's a dream that this is my yard.  It's so peaceful and serene.  And my husband is so wonderful taking such great care of it every day.

My dad is the coolest.  Lyla got her initial-shaped pancakes.

My kid is just the cutest.  Sometimes I can't believe she's mine and I just love her so much.

90 Wonderful Years

Today my gram turned 90.

We took her to Mystic to walk around the shops, came home and lounged in the sun, and had a really great dinner thanks to hubs.

My brother took this great shot of gram.  She is my hero; this woman is amazing.  Love ya, gram and happy birthday!

Lyla's Very Hungry Caterpillar Party!

We celebrated caterpillar style!

Check it out here.

My Grandfather

He was a hero.

Gram, Gramp, and my uncle Al

Fluff

My inlaws are here from England and they've never had PB&J or fluff!  Can you believe it!  Scandalous.  Across the pond, they eat cheese and pickle as their PB&J.  So naturally I had to introduce them to the wonderful world of PB and all it's fun mixings.

Chris went to town on the Fluff.

Fluffernutter!  

Platter for all.

Consensus was that Colin despised all of it saying it was rubbish and disgusting while Chris enjoyed the fluff the most.

Ta for now!

Picnic at the Park

I love Harkness Memorial Park in Waterford, CT.  It has the beach, lots of grassy land, sand, and great fun for picnics, flying kites, and just taking a walk.  We invited our friends, the Pazz family, to join us for a picnic at the park last night and we had a blast.  The Pazz family includes twin boys Zachary and Owen, and little Parker (oh and their parents too!) - all of which loved Lyla.  

We had fun watching the boats go by, playing in the grass, watching the boys ride their bikes, eating bbq, and counting the F-bombs coming from the obnoxious punks the next picnic table over. I got some cute photos of the kids to share.

The three boys having a picnic.

Parker waving hi to Lyla.

Lyla posing.

Lyla eating her hands.

Lyla is the petting zoo.

Having fun!

Jared cooking kebobs...yum!

Zach playing with Lyla.

Hmm..what's going on with these two?

Lyla wants a cookie too...

Parker joins the fun.

Getting ready to go home...tired baby.

One last smile in her!