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.  

The reason I really need to figure out Photoshop

All I need to do is actually watch the tutorials that my BIL put on my computer and I'll be able to take Noah from the first picture and add him to Emmy from the bottom pic.  Then I'd have the greatest Christmas morning picture!

2013 is going to be the Year of Jess

I just have this feeling.  The feeling that this year is going to be a great one for me.  I probably said this last year which is why I'm not going to do a recap of my 2012 goals.  I really don't feel like starting the year off depressed.  Instead I want to start the year off with a positive attitude.

I had a lot of wake up calls in 2012.  I realized that people are not invincible. I dealt with another loss of a grandparent.  I am so blessed that I spent 29 years with all 4 of my grandparents.  I know not many people can say that.   But losing both my grandpas, with one of my grandmas currently in the hospital, really started to make things register for me.  Life is precious and we can't take it for granted.  I really want to make 2013 the year of memories for my family.  Living in the now.  Taking advantage of everything that comes our way.  Show my kids what it means to live life.

My marriage was another wake up call last year.  Without going into too much detail, mainly because there really are some topics that need to stay off the blog, we almost called it quits.  That's a difficult thing to swallow.  No one expects to be on the brink of divorce when they get married.  I would have never thought things would come to this.  But we wanted to do everything we could to figure things out.  We found a great counselor and learned a lot about communication.  We're two stubborn kids who don't know when to just calm down and listen.  I'd love to say that everything was his fault (and I might to my friends) but I know I share just as much blame.  I want this year to be about rekindling that spark.  Getting back to that amazing place we once were together.

Obviously health and weight are huge areas I need to focus on.  I've had a few health issues this year and I really don't feel like repeating them this year.  I want to make 2013 a year of healthy choices and good decisions.  Not only because I need to be healthier myself but because of my kids.  I really want to be a good example for them.  If this means our grocery bill sees a few extra dollars each week, then so be it.  My kids are young and I want to instill good choices and good decision making in them now so when they get to be my age, they're not blogging about how they wish they'd done something differently the year before.

Weight will always be at the forefront for me.  I've struggled for years.  I've lost weight and gained it back (and repeated this cycle a few times).  I always say this time is the last time yet here I sit, ready to give it another try.  But not this year.  I had a very rude awakening to my own body issues and how it affects not only me but the people around me.  Case in point...we like to go to a local pizza place and there's a Yogurtland and an ice cream shop on either side.  I go for fro yo every time and most of the time, Em comes with me.  The boys go for the real stuff.  This last time we were getting ready to walk out of Yogurtland and I was helping Em get her jacket on.  We were in front of the store window so we could see our reflections.  As I was zipping up her jacket, Em looks in the window and says "Ugh I'm so fat Mommy."  Break my heart into a million pieces right there.  My sweet sweet girl, who is actually underweight for her age, is looking at her reflection and calling herself fat.  Now I'm sure she has no idea what that word really means but obviously she's heard it and learned to associate it with looking in the mirror from someone.  I have never felt like such a failure in my life.  So from here on out, it's not about focusing on numbers.  Yes, I'd love to see a number show up on the scale that's about 40-50 lbs lighter than it says today.  But I need to focus on loving me, loving the girl I am, and loving the body I have at this current moment.  Because if I don't figure this out, I'm going to have a little girl who will follow right in my footsteps, regardless if she's got a weight issue or not.  (if anyone has any advice on this front, please please please send it my way)

I think this year I'm going to take it one step at a time.  I'm not going to put unrealistic goals and expectations on myself.  I'm going to make this year about a healthier me, both physically and mentally.  It sounds kinda selfish that I plan on this year being all about me.  But I've learned the hard way the hard way that I cannot and will not be any good for anyone else if I don't take care of myself.  I can't be the mom that I want to be, the wife that I want to be, the friend that I want to be, the Jessica I want to be without putting some focus back on myself.

So here's to me.  May this year be the year that it finally clicks.  That I finally realize that taking care of me is just as important as taking care of my kids, the Hubs, or my patients. That I can look in the mirror and love the girl I see staring back at me.

Happy 2013!!!
  

2012

Happy New Year to everyone!!!

I can't believe it's 2013 already.  Time truly is flying and I wish it would slow down just a little.  I feel like life is passing me by and I can't keep up.  As we ring in this new year, I want to take a trip down memory lane to remember the past year.

2012 was both a great year and a horrible year for us.
~We started the year off thankful for my Grandmother's presence.  It was touch and go for a moment at the end of 2011.
~Noah celebrated his 5th birthday
~My Grandpa celebrated what would soon be his final birthday
~The Hubs and I had a magical anniversary night in Cinderella's Castle
~I started my weight loss journey
~I got up the urge to branch out and meet some blogger gals and boy am I glad I did!
~I did my first guest post
~We took the kids to see The Fresh Beat Band
~My mom and I spent Spring Break at Disney with the kiddos
~Baseball returned!!!
~Celebrated birthdays and weddings
~I finally let go of my crazy and left the kids with a non family member babysitter for the first time
~Went to concerts a plenty
~Did a total living room home makeover and couldn't be happier
~The Hubs and I hit the very bottom.  I mean rock bottom.
~Started seeing a counselor
~Made a commitment to each other to make it work
~We said goodbye to my Grandpa
~We spent a few days in Orlando with my Grandma after Grandpa passed.  Thanks to that, I have the most amazing memories and pictures
~I turned the big Three Oh and welcomed it in with a great tailgate and concert with my faves
~Our baby girl turned 3
~Em had her first day of PreK and Noah started Kindergarten
~Em got her first haircut (and first busted lip and black eye)
~Em started taking dance
~Em stopped taking dance
~Em is now back in dance (long story)
~I battled a few different health issues.
~B12 is now my friend
~Kidney stones suck ass
~I gained all my weight back
~We had an amazing Thanksgiving
~Our Friends Dinner was a huge success
~We were blessed to have all of our family together for Christmas morning

2012 was a year of impact for me.  The loss of another grandparent and the realization of the frailty of another helps to put things into perspective.  The Hubs and I almost called it quits.  That moment was probably one of the lowest moments I've ever faced.  But we love each other so much that no matter how frustrated/angry/hurt by the other we were, it fueled our drive to make us work again.  And I'm happy to say it's pretty good.  We've been blessed with so much and I'm so thankful to have my family and friends there to experience everything with me.

To you and your family, we wish you a very Healthy and Happy New Year!

  

Christmas morning seen through the lens

Santa was here!

This was about 75% of the gifts opened this morning

You should have seen the faces she was making all morning

Check out Em mean mugging in the background

My favorite picture of the day

She opened her eyes and saw her bike being rolled in

Her new princess bike

Again...check out the attitude

Busy opening gifts

Darth Vader outfit for his Build a Bear

A new dance bag

The best gift ever!

Slider maker!

Opening their iPads

A Christmas Celebration

I realize that I'm almost an entire week late on Christmas posts and I probably should be working on my Year in Review post or a New Years Goals post but late is better than never, right?  I have loved reading/seeing everyone's Christmas posts!  It's definitely my favorite time of year and I enjoy seeing everyone else have a great a time as we did.

John's brother and his family spent Christmas Eve with us.  It was nice having our nephew with our kids this year.  It was also fun watching the Hubs and his brother try to build Emmy's Santa gift....priceless!!!  We hosted our entire family on Christmas morning. All 3 sets of grandparents, my brothers (and 1 of their girlfriends) as well as Jim and his family gathered in our living room to watch the kiddos open gifts.

We were all very spoiled this Christmas. Santa was very good to the kids as were their grandparents.  They got more than they could have ever wanted and I think a Lego factory has taken over my house.  There's so much pink I just might throw up.  I "bought" the Hubs some action figure he wanted (aka he bought it and said it was from me) and he got me some new Vera.  My parents got me a Keurig (YAY!!!!) The Hubs's mom got the kids mini iPads (which I love more than I thought I would).   Santa brought Em a bike and Uncle Justin won the Best Gift of the Year award by gifting Noah with his very own Slider burger maker.  I mean what 6 year old doesn't want a Slider maker?  It truly was his favorite gift.

We are so blessed to be able to share in these moments with our family surrounding us.  It's moments like these that I hope my children remember when they grow up.  I have the best memories from Christmas Eve festivities growing up.

And now to overwhelm everyone with pics of my adorable children from Christmas Eve!!!!

Excited to open her present from AJ

He was a little excited

The PA that I work with got me this for Christmas.  It's one of my favorite gifts!  She definitely  put thought into this gift and that's what means the most

Our cookies for Santa and Reindeer food that Emmy made at school

Noah and AJ (our nephew) on Christmas Eve

The Hubs and his brother in their matching shirts. I bought this shirt for the Hubs and his brother ended up wearing the same one!

Santa showed up!!!

The stockings were hung....

Our perfectly crooked Christmas tree

  

Meet Froggy

We had a house guest a few weekends ago. Noah was chosen to bring home his class mascot, Froggy.  He was super excited to have him for the weekend, especially because we had a very exciting weekend planned!  Little did I know that it would be a lot of work for me but that's totally besides the point.  The idea behind Froggy is that he gets to go everywhere with you.  Noah had to bring him everywhere we went and we captured the experiences in pictures for his journal (aka scrapbook that the parents have to make aka Momma homework).

Excited that Froggy is with us!  Froggy was definitely in the holiday spirit

Noah started the weekend off by spending a hour or so with his Grandma and PaPa (my parents).  He and Froggy played games, played catch, and Froggy even climbed to the top of their waterfall.  I don't have any pics of this but my Mom snapped a few for the scrapbook.  That night, the Hubs and I were hosting a Friends Dinner at our house.  A little combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.  While the Hubs finished up the cooking, I took the kids across the street to Winterfest with one of our friends.  Noah wanted to tube down the snow hill and play in the bounce houses for a bit.  Of course Froggy came in tow.  He went down the snow hill with Noah and had a blast.  Mindy went down with Em so I could snap a pic.  Dinner turned out to be a huge success.  I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time.  The Hubs and I are blessed with great friends (yes I sound like a broken record).  I'm thankful for my job because without it, I wouldn't have met these awesome ladies.  OK sappy part over.

On Saturday, we hung around the house for most of the day because we were headed to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens that night.  It was a cute event!  We waited for 1.5 hours to play in the "snow" for 10 minutes but it was well worth it.  My kids haven't seen snow before so they were enchanted!  Noah got to take Noah in the snow!  Froggy seemed to have a great time as did Noah and Emmy.  The Hubs and I even got into the winter spirit!

Noah, the Hubs, Froggy, and the snowman 

making snow angels

Froggy just chillin in the snow

Noah was saying "My hands are cold. My hands are cold"

The Hubs and I having a little fun in the snow

Sunday we slept in a little and then Noah took Froggy for a bike ride.  Let me tell you how hard it was to get Froggy to stay on his bike securely.  There was no way I was going to let something happen to the class mascot on my watch.  We printed out pictures, I got to work on Froggy's journal, and Noah took Froggy to bed with him one last time.  Monday morning meant Froggy and all of his things, had to return to school again.

riding with Froggy

It was really nice seeing Noah having a good time with Froggy.  He was wishing and hoping that he would be chosen to take him home this particular weekend because we had so much planned.  His teacher was planning on sending him home with us for Noah's birthday weekend but he was so excited for this weekend so we opted for this weekend instead.