Happy Anniversary!!!

Happy 7th Anniversary to me and the Hubs!!!

Today is not a mushy post because I don't think I can top last year's post (it's one of my all time favorites).
Today is all about having fun, enjoying each other and our family.
Today is about us.

Our Wedding Day: January 7, 2006

Our 1st Anniversary (Noah was born 5 days later)

Our 4th Anniversary (not sure where pics of the 2nd and 3rd are)

5th Anniversary

6th Anniversary at Disney

Today we're headed to Seasons 52 for dinner then to see Les Mis.

I promise that the Hubs won't be wearing the same purple dress shirt that he's worn in almost every picture.  

Football Widow

I'm sure I'm not the only girl who loses their husband to football in the fall.  Some lose their husbands to the NFL. I lose mine to the University of Florida.  Every Saturday.  Well let's be honest.  I lose him to NCAA football in general but mostly to the Gators.  It's been like this for as long as I've known him.  In his defense, he did warn me of this when we met.  He told me, and I quote, "You will always be my #1, until Saturdays in the Fall."  At that moment, I was caught up in wide eyed love for this man.  Never did I imagine he was being truthful.

Now fast forward 8 years and 2 kids later.  I'm constantly battling with the Hubs on this.  It's hard to be around someone who gets so personally vested in a football game. Like the outcome truly affects his life.  It's quite obnoxious actually.  I have to keep reminding him that there are 2 little people who depend on him, no matter what day it is, no matter what the Gators's schedule is. I know it's a hard one for him to deal with because this is his life.  He lives for Florida sports, especially football.  It's something that he and his dad have bonded over.  It's what they do.  I'm just waiting for that moment when he truly realizes that what he has right in front of him trumps whatever goes down in the Swamp.

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm a big football girl too.  I love my USF Bulls and I'm a proud Alumni.  I might have been known to get really into a game or two.  And I may hold some grudges based on outcomes of said games.  However, my life does not revolve around the Bulls.  I just don't get it sometimes.  And it can cause some serious frustration on my end.  So until that "a ha" moment happens for him, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm a single mom of 2 on Saturdays for a few more months.

So who wants to hang out with me?!?

   

A little bit of Random

Here I am again, all by my lonesome, in our big house.  I really think there's something wrong with me that I'm not loving this feeling as much as I should.  Oh well.  I was in the mood to be a little random today so here goes......

~We survived Tropical Storm Isaac.  And by survived I mean life went on as usual.  The kids were off from school, the Hubs worked from home, and I went to work.  I think we have worse weather during normal thunderstorms.  Such is life in Florida during hurricane season.  I am keeping my prayers aimed at the Gulf Coast where Isaac is supposed to make landfall.
~We signed Em up for dance this weekend. I feel like a complete fish out of water in this arena.  I'm a sports girl.  I've never done tutus and ballet slippers.  I never imagined how expensive dance outfits are, especially for toddler sizes!!!  I'm going to go broke!  But she looks so dang cute and I know she's going to love every minute of it.  Her first class is Saturday so you know I'll be there, camera in hand.

How perfect does she look?!?!?!?!

~The kids did well with their first week of school.  We only had a minor meltdown this morning, courtesy of sweet Emily, who did not want to go back.  But once she was there, she was fine.
~Saturday the Hubs planned a movie night for us.  He popped in Knocked Up, one of the funniest movies ever!  We can recite the whole movie.  It's always fun to watch something that we both enjoy and end up in tears over.  We've actually been having movie nights a lot, come to think of it.  We've watched Hunger Games, Crazy Stupid Love, and now Knocked Up.  Go us!!!
~I went to bed at 7pm on Sunday.  Yes that is 7pm. Like before the kids went to bed.  I woke up at 10:45pm, only because the cat wanted out of the room and then it was back to sleep until 6:15 the next morning.  I think Noah thought it was funny I went to bed before him.  And the worst part, I woke up completely exhausted.  I'm hoping my lab results will shed some light on the subject (which I found out are sitting on my doctor's desk for review, which makes me very anxious)
~Speaking of labs, I have the most beautiful bruise on my right arm from the labs I had drawn on Wednesday. The phleb brutally attacked me with a HUGE needle.  OK more like straight needled me with a 18g and kept messing around with the tubs so they would fill.  Worst lab draw ever!!!!!

It looks like the Hubs beats me.  Which he doesn't.  I'm almost embarrassed by it.

~I finished a great book last night.  Becca let me borrow it weeks ago and I just couldn't get into it...aka...I fell asleep every time I read it.  I read over half the book last night and it was intense.  You need to go out and get Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  It will be worth it, I promise.
~Today is my last day off during the week for a long time.  My schedule changes next week. I'll start working 7-3 (3:30) Monday-Friday.  I'm excited for the change because it will mean more family time, less eating out, and more control over my life.  I'm definitely going to miss a day off during the week and only having to work 4 days a week but my family comes first and this is what we need.
~Now I'm off to either a)start another book b)catch up on Days or c)curl up in my bed and sleep for the rest of the day (yes I'm still that tired)
~And another ballet picture, just because:

   

When the To-Do list takes a back seat

I love lists.
I love the satisfaction of crossing something off of said lists.
But I love spending time with my family more.

I had a very big To-Do list for this weekend. I was going to get every single piece of laundry washed, folded, and put away.  Grocery shopping was going to be done. The house was going to be immaculate. Every toy was going to be back in their place.  My book was going to be finished. My PCD for my annual review was going to be completed.  The Olympics were going to be watched...nonstop.  But as usual, my brilliantly planned out weekend turned into something a little different.

We did a pretty good job cleaning the house.  Most of the toys found their way back to their respective homes.  Some of the laundry got washed.  Folded and put away is a different story. {This should shed some light on the problem}  Grocery shopping eventually was finished.  I caught a few moments of the Olympics.  I didn't read a page of my book.  My PCD wasn't even started.  We ate out for every meal.  But, you know what?  It's completely OK.

Saturday the Hubs and I got to spend some "us" time at the movies.  I might have embraced the whole babysitter thing.  I don't know why I was such a crazy person before.  The Hubs and I enjoyed time with the kids over fro yo (well the Hubs and Em got real ice cream) and Hello Kitty spoons.  Sunday we spent the morning sneaking in a few extra hours of sleep before spending time together as a family at Church.  We ditched our housekeeping tasks in exchange for smiling faces at the Disney Store, a little Mommy shopping, and school shoe shopping (which of course took us to not 1 but 2 malls.  Gotta love private school dress codes).

While I'm scrambling to finish my PCD (it's due today), I'd never trade spending time with my family for anything. As crazy as I feel being out in public with them, I welcome the crazy.  I've learned not to take any day for granted.  And if today would be my last day on Earth, I'm happy that I spend the weekend with  my family, not with a bottle of windex and a vacuum.


Now back to today's To-Do list ;)

      

Extreme Home Makeover....Non Extreme Version

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you might have noticed that I've been talking a lot about my living room makeover that we had planned.  The Hubs and I have been making the most of our extended weekend and did a complete room redo in our family room.  We moved into our house 3 years ago (over Memorial Day weekend) and I had grand plans of how I was going to decorate our first home.  But then, 2 weeks after we moved in, Emmy decided she was going to cause us some grief.  I was 28 weeks pregnant and had a placental abruption and landed myself on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy....aka we only had 1 paycheck coming in.  So any money we had saved for the house went to paying our bills since I ended up being out of work for a total of 15 weeks.  So for the last 3 years, our house has never been completed finished.  Our dining room finally got a coat of paint.  We I couldn't decide on curtains for the dining room.  And I HATED the color of our living room (and I was the one that picked it out). Just sitting in the room made me depressed.  So finally decided it was time to figure out what I wanted the room to look like.

I've been quite inspired by the current trends in home decor.  I love grays and yellows.  I love turquoise and greens.  I just knew I needed to choose a color palette that would allow me to change the look of the room without much work.  OK let's face it...I change my mind a million times and get bored easily.  I needed a color that would accommodate my indecisiveness.  We scoured Lowe's paint section and came up with 3 colors that the Hubs and I thought might work.  I had the paint chips taped to our wall for a few weeks before I decided it was time to actually test out the colors.  I love that major paint brands now have sample sizes.  I scooped up the 3 samples and painted them in random places on our walls.  I had to see how each color looked on each wall in any type of light.  So for a week, our walls looked very similar to this:

We pretty much narrowed it down to the middle color and the one on the right.  Depending on my mood, what time of day it was, what direction the wind was blowing, I knew what color I wanted.  It changed by the minute.  So on Saturday we headed to Lowe's and I had about 30 seconds to come up with my paint choice.  We shopped around a little bit before hitting the paint aisle.  We went to the curtain section and I fell in LOVE with the curtains we purchased (and the ones we purchased for our dining room).  And as we headed to the paint section, I happened to glance at the curtain packaging and noticed that the brand of curtain is also a specialty paint line too.  They suggested 2 different allen+roth paint colors that coordinate perfectly with our allen+roth curtains.  We checked them out and decided to go with the color Portland, a happy color that was the perfect blend of the 2 colors I was originally debating between.  We loaded up our shopping cart (Lowe's was quite good to us....it was pretty much 1 stop shopping) and headed home.  We unloaded the car, loaded the kids back up, and headed to the mall for some shopping, then hit up Bed Bath and Beyond for some finishing touches (a new rug, slip covers, a huge mirror for our room, and more).

We came home and once the kids were asleep, the Hubs and I put on the first coat of paint.  I was in love the minute the paint touched the wall.  The color was perfect.  We finished up around 2:30am and hit the sack.  The kiddos let us sleep in a little and then it was back to work for us.  We ended up not needing to put on a second coat so the Hubs seriously cleaned the floors while I helped Noah clean his room.  Then we put the new slip covers on the sofa/loveseat, put out the new rug, changed out our outlet covers and switchplates, and hung the curtains.  I'm so happy with the way it turned out!  We're not done yet but we need to save up some more for the finishing touches.  I hate the way our old end tables look in the room so those are next on our "to buy" list along with a new desk, accessories, and a double curtain rod.  I have an idea of how I officially want the curtains to look but need the double rod to make it look right.  I'm also waiting on 2 canvases to come in from Canvas People, I have to order the wall art for above the TV, and I have to decide how I want to make my gallery wall.  But all in all, we're so proud of how our room is and everyone who's seen it so far has loved it.  Now I sit in the room and just smile because how amazing it is!!!

Here's a before picture of the horrible brown couches and ugly green wall (ignore me...this was from way back when for  My Style Mondays)  We also had dark brown curtains to match.  It was like mint chocolate chip ice cream threw up on my living room.

And now, without further adieu, here is our new family room!!!!!

Before the ugly end tables returned to the room

Curtains drawn...they're reversible!!! 

I love this rug!  And Lucky is sulking because I won't let him on the new couches

The walls aren't finished.  I'm waiting for the canvases and I'm putting up shelves where those pictures are.  Isn't the Hubs cute?!?!  He's looking at our wedding album!!!

I just love the room!  I can't say that enough.  But we also put the finishing touches on our dining room.  The dining room was probably the most complete room in the entire house.  I never could find curtains I liked.  We were going to have them custom made until they quoted us $1300.  We quickly nixed that idea.  But enter Lowe's to the rescue!  I found curtains instantly!  The Hubs hung the curtains, moved our candle holder and hung our family tree wall art.  Now I love this room!

please ignore the 3 areas I have to re-spackle and touch up

I just love this room!!!

The curtains I fell in love with....and my sad wine rack

I'm so proud of the Hubs and I for completing our first true home improvement project.  We did it all by ourselves (minus my dad rewiring an outlet and helping to hang the template for the wall art).  We didn't kill each other which is also a plus.  I just love it so much and can't wait to complete the room!!!
 

For the love of baseball

I love baseball.
I love everything about the game.
I don't quite know when my love affair with baseball started.  I played softball for about 2 years in middle school before finding my true love (volleyball) so I had a pretty good understanding of the basic concept.  My middle school BFF was a huge Atlanta Braves fan and she rubbed off on me.  My dad's good buddy just happened to be the son of a MLB player/St Louis Cardinals coach, so we were exposed to baseball for as long as I can remember.  It was just a part of who I am.  This love just grew even more as I got older.

I followed the Braves forever. When Tampa got an MLB team, I went to the second game (which happened to be the team's first win....and a kinda date with my then "love of my life."  When I met the Hubs, he shared my love of baseball, the Rays, and the Braves.  I even impressed his dad (the biggest sports fan in history) with my ability to read a box score and that I was a wealth of baseball knowledge!  So it was something that we all bonded over.  The Hubs and I spent many nights at the Trop, watching our team lose all the time but enjoying being at the ballpark all the same.  We always have a game on TV every night (until I say I can't take another inning of baseball anymore).  I'm trying to plan trips to the Trop every chance I get.  And now that my boys are good, it makes it even better!  We've been the the first playoff game in Rays history, the first World Series game in Rays history, and we're looking forward to many more firsts for our team.  Eventually when we retire (if we ever retire) I want to have season tickets and go to every single home game.  Number one thing on my bucket list is to catch a game at every MLB stadium...yeah I'm not your typical girl.  I just can't get enough. Oh yeah, did I mention I take Fantasy Baseball very seriously???  Yeah that's me!

I'm so glad I've found someone who shares my love of the game.  It makes for so many great memories and many opportunities to share the love with our kiddos.  It's nice to be able to talk ERA and batting averages with!!!

This weekend, before I was struck down by the wicked wicked stomach bug that's wrecking our house, we caught a game against none other than the Atlanta Braves!!!  I was torn over what team to support.  The last time Atlanta was in town (years ago) I sported my ATL gear but I now have a strong loyalty to our boys here in Tampa so of course I sported my Rays gear.  But in the back of my mind, I knew no matter who won, I was coming out a winner because I just love both teams!!!  I didn't take a lot of pictures but I did get a few of the amazing Chipper Jones.  Baseball will never be the same without him in a Braves uniform!

ATL pitchers....who doesn't love boys in baseball pants?!?!?!?!

The Hubs and I taking in Atlanta's BP....I will catch a HR ball one of these days!!!

Chipper Jones....a huge reason I'm a baseball fan

He signed autographs for at least 30 minutes

I love my Atlanta boys!!!

But not as much as my Rays!!!

First pitch

I wish I could be standing in that batter's box, taking a pitch from an MLB pitcher

Hendrick is fired up about something!

I waited all afternoon for this!!! Fernando Rodney is a BEAST!!!!

I can't get enough of my baseball loving boy!!!!

Here's to a great season and a great life filled with numerous nights at the ballpark!!!!   

A long time coming

I've been wanting to write this post for a week now but you know how it is.....life gets in the way.  And as I've been spending the past 36 hours taking care of my poor sick babies (the Hubs included), I can't help but feel so compelled to write about this.  Let me start by saying that I am not one to openly discuss what I'm truly feeling.  I'm not good with emotional stuff.  I can offer advice to anyone on emotional topics but when it comes to me, I try my hardest to avoid talking about it.  So this is huge for me.  But so vital to the process that I'm going through right now.

A very wise person told me that people who have successful relationships are those people who put themselves out there, 100%, each and every day.  They are vulnerable in every way possible, no matter what the situation.

How true this statement is!  Allowing yourself to be vulnerable is key in a healthy, safe relationship.  This allows you to truly be present, to be in it 100%, to experience everything to it's fullest.  So why then is it so hard for me to do this?  That's all I can think about.  What has made me so afraid to truly open myself up to anyone?  And even more so, why is it so hard to open up 100% to the Hubs?

I'd like to think that I'm 100% in my every day life but let's face it.  I'm not.  With all of the technology out there, it's so easy to get distracted from the things that are truly important.  I used to get mad at the Hubs when he'd complain I was on Facebook or Twitter wherever I was (my phone has made it so handy).  It boiled my blood when he'd say that.  But in retrospect, it's so true.  I'm constantly looking at FB whenever I get a chance.  How much is that taking away from the Hubs and the kids?  There have been tons of times I've told the kids, "hold on, Mommy's almost done" when they've asked me to do something for them or with them.  Want to know what I was doing???  Playing on the computer.  I put the computer above my kiddos.  How bad is that?!?!  {Now I'm not saying I'm not going on the computer anymore...let's be real...Momma needs a little break from time to time plus she needs to keep up with her faves online!  But I am reevaluating things}

My biggest fear in life is failing at being a Mom.  All I've ever wanted to be was a Mom and now that I am one, I know I'm not the mom I always imagined myself to be.  Mostly because the mom I dreamed I would be only exists on TV and in books.  There are not enough hours in the day for me to accomplish everything I ever thought I would.  But I can come as close to that dream as possible.  And while my 2 precious angels are sicker than sick, I'm truly seeing how much they rely on me for everything.  Why not give them 100% of me?!?

And while we're on the subject....why not give the Hubs 100%?  He deserves that for putting up with me on a daily basis.  A great friend told me that I needed to be the best wife I could possibly be to the Hubs.  Those words rang loud and clear.  While I haven't been giving my kids 100%, I definitely haven't been giving our relationship 100%.  It's easy to get comfortable and ultimately get lazy.  And unfortunately, that's where we find ourselves.  We're working on getting back on track and while I'd love to blame the Hubs for everything, I just can't.  I am just as responsible for the state of our relationship.  I've gotten just as lazy as he has. Plus I have that tinyhuge problem with opening up.  But as I've had time to reflect on my life, where things are, and where I want them to be, I've realized that it's not all up to him.  I have to step up.  I have to put myself out there every day.  I have to get over my insecurities because at the end of the day, I'm surrounded by the 3 people who love me the most in this entire world.  Because without those 3 people, my world is empty.

So from now on, that's what I'm doing.  I'm putting myself out there.  100% every day.  100% every time.  I know it will be hard and I know it will be challenging but who say this stuff was easy?!?  God doesn't throw anything at us that we can't handle.  And while it may seem like it is way too much to take, I know that I can handle it.  It's going to be a slow process but one that I'm looking forward to embarking on.

Wish me luck.....

On a side note...Happy 34th Birthday to the Hubs!  I feel horrible that he's so miserable (he got the stomach bug that ripped through our house) but we'll celebrate once everyone's back on their feet again.  I love you Hubs....more than you'll ever realize!!!!

At the Rays game on Saturday (about 1 hour before the stomach bug attacked me)

   

A Day with the Rays

Have I ever mentioned that I love baseball?  No.  Well I do.  Opening Day is my favorite day of the year (behind my birthday and Christmas).  There's nothing like spending the day at the ball park, watching cute boys in baseball pants play ball!  The Rays have become quite the team in the last few years and the Hubs and I are trying to instill our love of the game in our kiddos.  We have been planning to go see the Braves when they come to Tampa in a few weeks and on a whim, we bought tix for us to take the kids this past Sunday.  I was nervous because Em has never been to a game.  She doesn't have the greatest attention span so I had it in my mind that she was going to be a big pain in the rear.  All week she kept saying how much she didn't want to go (she was going to stay home with the dog and cat) but surprised us on Sunday when she woke up, raring to go.  We got the kids dressed and headed down to the Trop.

To say the kids did a good job would be a complete understatement.  They were AMAZING!  They sat in our seats really well, didn't whine too much, and had a good time.  The game started out great (we jumped to a 4-0 lead) but then it went downhill.  The game was dragging and by the 5th inning, Noah was ready to go home.  So we packed it up and headed home.  All in all, I love that we had a great time and that my kiddos loved it!  I can't wait to take them back to the Trop!!!

Heading up to the Trop

Yes she brought a purse

Love my little baseball lovers!!!

Me and the Hubs

She loves her Daddy

The loves of my life

Keeping themselves entertained...thank god for Androids

Rocking her Joe Maddon glasses and silly bands

And I just have to share a few sweet pics from Sunday night.  Emmy dressed up in her Rapunzel costume and wanted to dance with her Daddy.  I am so glad I caught a few pics of this special moment.

She was so happy!  She was twirling and everything!!!