Back on the Hamster Wheel

I’m going to go ahead and be cliché and start a diet right after new years. That’s right….I’m getting back on that hamster wheel and going back on weight watchers.  While I don’t believe in new years resolutions (remember) what I do believe in is fitting into my clothes :)  and it pisses me off frustrates me embarrasses me that I’ve allowed myself to gain back almost all of the weight I worked hard to lose last year.

My husband is dieting too (Atkins) so that should help with motivation a bit.  I may pop in a little Jillian Michaels 30 day shred to boot once I get a couple weeks in (she kicks my butt).  But for now I’m going to jump start myself with a little wii fitness and my weekly volleyball games.

Wish me luck….I think I need it this time around ;-)

2012 Year in Review

2012 was a sad year in terms of current events.  For our family it was (as always) a busy year full of parties, vacations and outings.  I am extremely grateful that we have the means to be able to take these trips and do things with our family.  When I summarized our year in review I was kind of shocked at just how many things we did this year.  I didn’t realize it until I started writing them all down in one place.  (Of course the summer  months are more busy) 

 

Bye-Bye 2012…..Hellooooo 2013. 

January

• Anthony’s First movie theater experience
• Knickerbocker Ice Festival (in Congers, NY)
• Charlotte's Baptism Party

February

• Dominick’s Birthday Party
• Swapping valentines at school
• Visit with my NJ and SI friends & their kids
• Girls weekend away @ Foxwoods

March

• Trip to Florida to visit my mom & stepdad
• Gavin’s birthday party (school friend)

April

• Anthony turns 4!
• RJ’s Birthday Party
• Easter (with 2! egg hunts)

May

• Anthony gets eyeglasses
• Jack & Chase’s Birthday Parties
• Matthew’s Communion
• Our week with Wally Koala (school project)
• Memorial Day Weekend BBQs

June

• Family trip to Sesame Place
• Anthony’s “graduates” from 1^st year of Preschool
• Anthony breaks his 1^st board in Tae Kwon Do
• Gilly’s dance recital
• Matthew’s Birthday Party

July

• Pirates on the Hudson Festival (Sleepy Hollow, NY)
• Sparklers with our neighbors for 4^th of July
• Our niece & nephew's joint birthday party
• Vacation with my extended family to Lake George, NY
• Tuula’s Birthday Party (school friend)
• Natalie’s Baptism Party

 

August

• Anthony’s ear tube removal surgery
• Mommy & Anthony day at NJ Children’s Museum
• Charlotte’s & Aiden’s Birthday Parties
• Lots of swimming & outdoor play

September

• Annual Clam Bake Party (Labor Day Weekend)
• Anthony’s 1^st day of Soccer (local AYSO)
• Anthony’s 1^st day of Preschool (2^nd and final year)
• Anthony’s 1^st Circus (Shriner’s Circus)
• Fisher Price House Party
• Alexa’s Birthday Party

October

• Family vacation to Sanibel, FL
• More soccer practice for Anthony
• Halloween Party
• Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy

November

• Thanksgiving celebration at Anthony’s preschool
• Celebrating thanksgiving with our family
• Christmas picture photo shoots
• I got my first keratin hair treatment (and fell in love!)

December

• Annual outing to cut down our family Christmas tree (Red Hook, NY)
• First ride on the Polar Express (Essex, CT)
• Anthony’s Celebrity of the Day @ Preschool
• Anthony’s first x-rays at the dentist (did great!)
• Christmas Party at work
• Christmas Eve & Day with both our families
• Parent’s night out: dinner & a show in NYC (Rock of Ages)
• New Years Eve party with our closest friends

 

 

 

Our Family Portrait - 2012 

 

The K Word

It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of it….kindergarten.  How did this sneak up on me so fast?!?!  Wasn’t he just crawling and sleeping in a crib??  School applications are available starting today and I have no idea how I’m going to fill it out without it getting tear stained.  I know he has to grow up at some point but I’m just not ready to have my baby get on a bus and head off to school.  You’d think that it would be easier considering he’s been in full time daycare (and now preschool) since he was 17 months old but somehow the K word is hitting me differently than I expected.  It’s the new teachers, new surroundings and a school of 625 kids.  Yes, our district is THAT big – and this school is just pre-K and K!!  Oh and of course the bus ride to/from school. 

 

Educational wise, he's ready and has been for a while.  He's an extremely bright kid so on one hand I'm excited for him to go and start learning new things.  On the other hand, the "mom" side of my brain is worried for him.  Will he easily make new friends?  Will he get picked on?  I have so many thoughts floating through my head already and I know it will only get more intense over the next 9 months.  I’m trying not to psych myself out just yet (since I have plenty of time for that) but now that the process has begun I’m already dreading that day in September.

 

Project 365 – Complete!

I DID IT! I completed my project 365!!  I have to admit that there were a few days where it was a challenge to remember to take a picture or to think of something I haven’t taken a picture of 10x already.   It’s pretty cool to look back on all of these pictures and see where this year has taken me.  There are so many little, yet wonderful, things that happen during the year and these pictures help me remember it all.  I’m proud of myself for keeping up with it throughout this year.  Now I just have to make a book with all of the pictures next time I see a good deal online. 

 

Would I do it again?  Absolutely.  I probably will wait another year or two before doing it again, but it was a great and easy way to document my family and our life over the past year.  Maybe in another year I’ll attempt Project Life, but for now I’m giving myself a year off :)

 

 

 

 

 

on my shelf

You either love him or hate him.  He’s the (little creepy) bribery tool parents use to keep their kids well behaved for the month between Thanksgiving & Christmas.  You guessed it….he’s the elf on the shelf.  For the 2^nd year now this little elf has graced our house with his presence.  I have to admit that he creeps me out a little, but he’s become a tradition in our house and my son looks forward to finding “Adam” every morning.   (If you’re asking yourself “What the heck is an elf on the shelf?” then click HERE) 

The elf has been around for many, many, years but has recently picked up in popularity.  If you do a google search or just log into pinterest you’ll find hundreds of ideas for this stuffed sprite.  Some of these ideas are outrageous and as a working mom I don’t have the time to dedicate every night to setting up some elaborate scene for my elf.  I can barely remember to move him every night so to spend 15+ minutes setting something up each night is exhausting.  Maybe that’s just me but my 4 yo is not going to give a hoot if the elf is hanging off the chandelier or if he’s riding in a hot air balloon that was home crafted out of paper, ribbons and a balloon.    He enjoys finding him regardless. 

I’ve tried to get a little creative only because I’m running out of quick ideas of where to put this thing.  Half of me wants to wrap him in an ace bandage and say that he’s had an accident and can’t move for a week. But I can't disappoint my son, even though I’m pretty sure that he is not buying the whole story about the elf and is just humoring us as we move him every night.  But for now he’s playing along and we’ll continue to move our elf every night until Christmas Eve when we bid him farewell for another year.

Do you have an elf on the shelf?   cast your vote – creepy bribery tool or cute holiday tradition??

elf acrobatics

 

chocoholic elf

 

going for a ride on the Sodor Railway

 

made his own design with our window decorations

flying home to the North Pole makes for a hungry elf

zipline!

 

 

The Great Purge of 2012

You may remember me mentioning a few times how I want to clean out the clutter in my house.  Well, I finally did.  My husband and I started “the great purge of 2012” nearly 5 months ago.  Slowly but surely we have been attacking each room of our house and getting rid of anything we haven’t used or need anymore.  Almost everything we purged ourselves of has been donated to a good home.  Initially I was going to sell some of it on ebay, but gave up on that idea fast.  Donation was a much better idea.  There are so many people out there that could use these things more than we could.

If you remember back to my summer goals from last year, my first goal was:

“Clean out/organize the built in shelving area in our downstairs. It has become a kind of make shift storage area that I’ve begun to cover up with Chinese screens so that I don’t have to look at it anymore. It could use a good purging. “

We started with our bedroom closet and progressed to other areas of the house.  We still have a few places left to work on (mainly A’s closet and his toys) but we've made great progress and I am feeling much better about the house.

What we got rid of:

• 12 huge bags of clothes
• 36 glasses (everything from water to martini)
• 6 glass vases
• 1 table & 4 chairs set (from our kitchen)
• 1 parpasan chair
• 1 (very) old radio
• 3 bags of A’s toys (so far)
• 8 pairs of shoes
• 1 pair of snow boots

We also put a lot of stuff into a storage unit (holiday decorations, winter clothes, baby items) since our closet space is so limited in our townhouse.  De-cluttering was a little difficult for me in the beginning since I’m one of those people who tends to keep things (come on, you know you have your skinny jeans hidden in your closet too) but once I started purging it was like opening the flood gates.  I was tossing things left and right.

Time to go shopping??  (just kidding)

anyone thirsty?  I think I have a glass around here somewhere

Kickin' it old school!!

Aftermath

It’s been a surreal past few days.  Sandy came and she came with a vengeance.  We were extremely lucky where we were and the brunt of the storm went around us.  Even though we’re a mile from the Hudson River, we were high enough up that flooding wasn’t an issue.  We somehow didn’t loose power either.  It flickered a lot and we had a couple brown outs, but I’m shocked that we kept it. 

 

However, a LOT of people weren’t as lucky.  They lost everything they own. Their homes, their memories and some even lost their life.  To say that the storm was devastating is a gross understatement.  I’ve never experienced something like this in my entire life nor do I think anyone else has.  There have been a lot of pictures floating around the news and the internet.  At first I was curious to see how other areas had fared, but after seeing picture after picture of pure devastation I just can’t take the sadness anymore.

 

I’ve been home all week due to the commuter trains being suspended on my line.  The train I take is pretty much on the Hudson River so the damage to those rails were extensive.  flooding, debris, etc.   As crews have been cleaning up the rails they found a boat (!) on the tracks between my stop and the next stop to the south.  It’s just mind boggling.  I don’t think any of us can fully grasp the sheer magnitude of destruction that Sandy caused. 

 

While there are so many heart wrenching stories being publicized in the media, we can’t forget that there also have been stories of human kindness.  Neighbors helping neighbors and strangers helping strangers.  Those are the type of stories that I prefer to hear.   Things will be rebuilt.  It will take time, but it will be done. 

 

If you want to help those families that have been affected by Sandy you can donate to the Red Cross via their website, phone (1-800-RED CROSS) or by texting REDCROSS to 90999 which will send an automatic $10 donation. 

 

My prayers go out to everyone who lost something or someone during this storm.

 

 

Sandy's Path (picture from google)

a boat(!) on the tracks I travel every day to work (picture from www.metroinfo.com)

 

what is left of the Atlantic City boardwalk (picture from gooogle)

yes that's a roller coaster in the ocean (picture from google)