Pancreatic Cancer Walk/Run

9 Feb

Today, Liam and I participated in a 1k fun run for Pancreatic Cancer Research. My aunt died last year of this horrible disease. We raised $350 thanks to our awesome friends and family!

20130209-132638.jpg

He wore his “Auntie loves me” shirt in honor of his Great Aunt Nancy.

20130209-135647.jpg

Ready to go!

20130209-132948.jpg

20130209-133013.jpg

It was actually way too short, considering he doesn’t walk yet, so next year we’ll do the 5k and he can ride in the stroller.

20130209-133236.jpg

He got his own purple ribbon! That was his favorite part, I think.

20130209-133341.jpg

20130209-135918.jpg

We went to brunch after with his honorary Auntie Angie and her family and Liam watched the kids playing on the fountain. It was a great day for a great cause!

Home from work

14 Jan

Some days, I pull up into the driveway and see someone peeking at me between the curtains.

20130114-184542.jpg

Is there anything better to come home to than this?

20130114-184712.jpg

I don’t think so.

20130114-184812.jpg

Happy New Year!

2 Jan

We had a pretty lame NYE, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate how wonderful 2012 was to us. It gave us our beautiful baby boy and lots to be thankful for.

20130102-192151.jpg
At least Liam got fancy for NYE.

For 2013, I have a few things in mind I’d like to focus on to improve myself, but I’m not huge on resolutions, so let’s call them goals.

1. Be healthy. Go on walks, eat right, yadda yadda yadda. We’re taking family photos in less than three months, so I’d like to look good for those.

2. Be happy. Choose to focus on the positive and be satisfied with my life. Appreciate my family and my job and don’t be a negative nelly.

3. Be me. Do some stuff for myself every once in a while. Get my nails done. Decorate. Plan parties. Shop. But don’t blow the budget.

Sound good? What are your goals for the year?

Holiday Cards 2012

28 Dec

I copied a picture I found on pinterest (never was able to track down the original source) and I think it came out pretty cute.

20130102-185601.jpg

I love having all of the cards we received hanging up on the coat closet doors so I see them right when I walk in the front door. It’s like being greeted by all of my friends and family each time I come home!

20130102-185800.jpg

I hope you had an amazing holiday season. Stay tuned for a New Year’s resolution post because I know you haven’t had enough if those lately…

Christmas!

25 Dec

This was the best Christmas ever. Liam made it so wonderful. He is such a happy baby and we love him more than words can express. Here’s a bunch of pictures from our day:

20121225-204832.jpg

First row:

My husband putting together Liam’s first radio flyer. Santa came! Liam didn’t want to come into the living room in the morning, which meant I didn’t get my classic Christmas face picture. Finally, he attacked the presents.

Second row:

He liked the wrapping paper best. Getting a ride from Dad in the walker/wagon. Dad teaching his son a little golf. The place cards came out very cute – thanks to my mother in law for putting them together at the last minute!

Third row:

Liam with his cousins Gwen and Ava. Mother and son. Liam with his second cousins Kevin and Elizabeth. Father and son.

Fourth row:

My mother in law Ann with her grandchildren. Ava and her favorite person, her grandpa. Eating dinner at the pretty tables I forgot to photograph. My sister in law Molly with Baba (Grandma Barbara).

I hope you had a great Christmas full of love.

xoxo

Heart Broken

19 Dec

I’m so heart broken over the events of last Friday. As a parent, I’m devastated for the families and as a teacher, I’m so proud of the heroes. I’ve never feared school shootings, even though several have occurred since I’ve been a teacher and while I was a student because I knew that I’d just do what I had to do to protect my students. However, now I can’t imagine sending Liam to school. If something were to happen to him, I don’t know how I’d go on…

Life is so fragile. I’ve been reminded of this a lot lately. Two weeks ago, one of my colleagues fell while hiking and has severe brain injuries. She is now awake and talking a bit, but she has a long road of recovery ahead. She also has a one and a half year old.

The day after that accident, my mom, stepdad, and brother were all in a bad car accident. Everyone is ok, thankfully, but when I pulled up to pick them up and saw the car, my heart sank. I could have lost my whole family that day.

This Weekend: Holiday Extravaganza

28 Nov

Our plans for this weekend include: a visit to Santa, getting our tree, putting lights up outside, decorating, holiday card photoshoot, my first holiday party of the season, and finishing our gift shopping. If I had extra money to spend, I’d wear this outfit:

holiday party

 

Liam will be wearing this for his picture with Santa:

I chose this sweater for him because I wanted something that would make him and his eyes pop out of the picture – I figured If I dressed him in red, he’d blend with Santa’s suit. I can’t wait to see how he acts!!

Thanksgiving X 2

27 Nov

Every year, we go to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving day and to my husband’s parents’ house for the weekend after where they make a big Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. I love that this is one holiday we don’t have to stress about and plan how we will divide our time. It’s a great tradition!

20121127-192241.jpg

My aunt’s family came to my parents’ house on Thanksgiving and Liam had a great time playing with his cousins. He ate so much at dinner – mashed potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, cranberries, and pumpkin purée (my mom scooped some out for him before she made the pies).

20121127-193901.jpg

There were lots of dogs at the ranch – our two, my husband’s parents’ two, his sister’s new puppy, and our friend Paul’s dog, who is Jackson’s brother. Liam loved watching them all play!

Saturday was my husband’s birthday and we always celebrate down there. Some of his friends come and it’s fun to see everyone and their growing families. Liam loved Stella, our friend Caren’s daughter. She gave him lots of kisses and covered him with her special blanket.

We also got a picture of Liam sitting in the exact spot where we got married.

20121127-194530.jpg

I really want to take some professional family pictures here!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Giving Back

18 Nov

Tis the season for making wish lists and hitting the mall, but it’s also when we think of those less fortunate and try to give back. I found Operation Christmas Child and decided it would be a fun way to help a child in need and maybe even gain a pen pal. I also asked my principal if I could involve my students and after much encouragement, we packed a box in each of my five classes.

I’m sad I didn’t get a picture of the boxes or gifts inside or the sweet notes, but just know that a lot of love went into these shoeboxes and each one was packed with love. After they’re sent, I’ll get an email letting me know what country each one went to. Our donation center had this sign out front:

20121118-225605.jpg

So, we know they’ll go to children in either Peru, Indonesia, Panama, Nepal, Mongolia, or The Philippines. I included our address in each box in hopes that the children who receive them will write back, which would be very rewarding for my students.

20121118-230005.jpg

I’m so glad we are starting the tradition of giving back this time of year now that Liam is here and I hope we continue each and every year to do something like this together as a family.

Lincoln Premiere

9 Nov

Tonight my husband and I went to the world premiere of Lincoln.

20121109-001012.jpg

It was a great film. My favorite parts were those depicting the relationship between Abe and his younger son. Very touching.

This is what I wore:

20121109-001053.jpg

And while our seats were less than ideal for movie watching, they were perfect for seeing Steven Spielberg up close.

20121109-001319.jpg

Also, on our way out of the theater, we were walking about 5 feet behind Oprah, but we didn’t know it was her until later. Sally Fields looked amazing and Joseph Gordon Levitt was cute as a button. We talked to producer Kathleen Kennedy, who my husband worked with when he was a kid, and she was so very nice. It was such a fun night!

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.