Summer Bucket List 2016

This past weekend was the unofficial start to summer, but up here in the north, we still have 3 weeks of school left.  So although I may be a little late with this post, I think I'm still in the realm of acceptable!

So, without further ado,

LIFE AS I KNOW IT 2016 SUMMER BUCKET LIST

1.  Take a week long beach vacation

It's booked!  This year we are trying out Cape May.

2.  Have friends over for dinner and drinks on the deck
I make excellent kabobs and pasta salad!  Want to come over?

3.  Make S'mores in our fire pit

OK, first we have to purchase and then put together said firepit.  But once it's good to go, I want to make S'mores!

4.  Take the kids to the Drive In Theatre 

Maybe see The Secret Life of Pets?

5.  Visit a couple state parks

Swimming and picnics please!

6.  Take a day trip to a water park 

Enchanted Forest?  Zoom Flume?

7.  Pool day at mom's house once a month  

Hopefully more than once a month, but it's an hour and a half drive, so we'll see...

8.  Go to a concert (not sure which concert yet)

9.  Hit another Red Sox/Yankees game

10.  Impromptu weekend getaway with the hubby (any ideas??)

11.  Continue reading!  

My goal is 6 new books this summer

12.  Ice cream dates with the kiddos

One of the best things about summer is soft ice cream at our favorite ice cream spot!

I think it's a pretty do-able list.  And although I do hate the heat (um, why is it already 85-90 degrees in NY??) I do love the longer days, getting outside, and the relaxed pace of summer. 

What's on your summer bucket list? 

Thursday Thoughts

Here's the 411 on all things me lately...

I have a new TV addiction... Dinner at Tiffani's.  I'm not super big on cooking shows, but this one is fun!   And really, how can you not like a show starring Kelly Kapowski (aka Tiffani Thiessan for those of you too young to remember Saved By the Bell)?!  Check it out on Cooking Channel.

I'm feeling very emotional lately.  I just got the invitation to Nick's Kindergarten Celebration (our school does a Celebration rather than a Graduation).  How is my baby almost done with kindergarten already? How did he become an almost 1st grader? Time is going WAY too fast, and I need to slow it down!

I want a pool.  Like REALLY want a pool. Our old house had a pool and I have literally been having dreams that we moved back there so I could have my pool back.  No joke.  Unfortunately, we will not be getting a pool any time in the near future. We are only allowed to have inground pools in our development, and since our backyard is basically a giant hill, it would be crazy expensive to put one in (think gigantic retaining wall). So my plan for the summer is to take many weekend trips to my parent's house to use their pool!

I'm doing Weight Watchers.  Time to shed some pounds!   Do you have any awesome WW recipes to share with me??  I am always on the hunt!

I love Spring!  May brings the prettiest greens and pinks to NY!  It also brings the Mango black tea lemonade back to Starbucks!   #yesplease

I have been reading!  Finally finished Station Eleven, My Grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry, and The Silent Wife.   Up next is When Breath Becomes Air and then I plan on ordering A Man Called Ove and Britt Marie Was Here (written by the same author that wrote the Grandmother book).  What are you reading?  Any recommendations?

We booked a last minute Memorial day weekend family trip.  We originally had plans to go to Hershey Park, but instead we will be headed to Maine and Boston.  More about our weekend plans coming soon!

Baseball, baseball, and more baseball.  Oh, and karate.

So that's what's up with me.
What's up with you?

For you, in heaven

I think about you so very often.

I think about how old you would be, what you would look like, what you would be doing in your life right now.

I wonder how my life would be different if you were here. 

I have guilt.  Did I make the wrong decisions?  Did I do something wrong?  Was it karma?  Was I being punished for sins of the past?

I feel sadness.  Sadness I will never know you.  Never see you.  Never hug you or smell your sweet skin.

I remember when I lost you.  I remember the pain.  I remember the room, cold and bare.  I remember the stained ceiling and the parade of doctors.  I remember KNOWING but praying for a miracle.  I remember the ride home from the hospital.  I remember the pit in my stomach that took so long to dissipate.  I remember the emptiness. 

I want you to know I am sorry.  I’m so sorry if it was my fault. I’m so sorry you never got the chance to see the world outside my womb.  I’m so sorry your life ended before it even began.

You are always with me.  You are a part of my heart, forever.

I love you.

Mommy

Friday Favorites-Boston, pizza and cookies!

Friday... you are here!

This week has been all about baby shower preparation (and work, baseball, mom and wife duties mixed in of course).  I actually almost forgot that Mother’s Day is Sunday!  Ooops.  Oh yeah, and also a little thing called my wedding anniversary was on May 4^th.  14 years!

So on to the favorites.

Number 1 and 2:  Baby shower favors!

Our shower colors are hot pink and lime green.  My cousin is doing an ocean animal theme in the nursery, so we have also mixed in whales and seashells into the décor.

Favor 1 is from favorsbyangelique on Etsy.  How adorable are these soap whales and the tag attached?!  And I even got them baby powder scented!

Favor 2 are these amazing cookies my friend Katie makes.  She has some serious cookie artistry skills, not to mention her cookies are delish!  These are the only pics she would send me (I am picking them up this afternoon and it's against her "cookie code" to show you your cookies until they are delivered).    I am super excited to see what else she has created!

Number 3 and 4:  Anniversary trip and pizza!

So as I mentioned, we celebrated 14 years of marriage this week.  We hit Boston and the Red Sox/Yankees game to celebrate.  We had a great time!   

I also found my new favorite pizza on the trip.  If you are pre-gaming at Max and Leo's, you HAVE to try the pizza!  So good!

Number 5:  This funny!
I laughed and laughed because this is SO me in the morning!  My co-workers can totally vouch for that fact.

To all my fellow mommies out there... I hope you have a wonderful Mother's day and get spoiled rotten!!  And don't forget to show some love to your own mom, or a special woman in your life!  As for me, I think we are going out to breakfast/brunch and I am really hoping the hubby lets me sleep in!  It would be sooo amazing if he would clean the house too, but I'm not holding my breath!  
What are your Mother's day plans?

Linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals

and

Friday Favorites!

Hello!!!  I'm stopping by the blog today for some Friday favorites!  It's been a pretty exciting couple of weeks around here!  I got a new car and a new phone!  Got to go visit my friend Irene and sniff some lovely candles at her candle party.  And, she may or may not have made a delicious chocolate lasagna and sent me home with leftovers! This past week was Spring Break and honestly I am sad to see it end.  It's been so relaxed and peaceful in the mornings not having to rush around and get to the bus on time.  I am already looking forward to the slower pace of summer!

OK, on to the favorites!

#1  Booked my plane tickets for North Carolina!
Woo hoo!!!!  I'm so excited to take a solo trip to NC this summer to see my friend Linda.  It's been like 5 years since I've seen her and I miss her!  Can't wait to see how much her kiddos have grown, her new house, and just catch up on life!  And yeah, I'm also a teeny bit excited to get some Bojangles'!!  

#2  Anniversary get-away!
The hubs and I will be celebrating 14 years of marriage on May 4th.  Next weekend I am busy with my cousin's baby shower and Mother's day, so we are heading out of town this weekend for a quick anniversary trip.  It all got thrown together kind of last minute, but I've found those usually turn out to be the best trips!  We are doing an overnight in Boston and got tickets to the Yankees v Red Sox game.  My favorite!

#3  Spring is here!

Last Sunday the hubs went hiking so the kiddos and I were on our own (This chick don't hike.  You wanna go on a nature walk...sure!  Up a giant steep hill that is known as one of the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains?  Nope.  Did it once.  Never again.).  Anyhoo... the kids and I hit the playground and had a great time.  Weather was lovely.  Sun was shining.  Sky was blue.  And I got some cute pics with my new phone.

#4  Pretty flowers
Thanks honey!

#5 Baseball games
Baseball season has begun!  Our first game was last Saturday.  It was a tad cold, OK REAL cold, but our Wednesday night game was warmer.  Love sitting in the grass watching my boy play some ball!

And after baseball, we love ice cream dates!

#6  A new recipe

I made some super yummy chicken chimichangas this week.  I won't go as far to say they are healthy, but they are healthier than your normal chimi because they are baked.  I'll be sharing the recipe on the blog this week!

Have an amazing weekend friends!  Stop by my Instagram to see pics of the weekend!!

Linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals

Friday Faves- it's me!

Did you just choke on your coffee when you saw I had a new post up??  Hehehe.  Yeah, it’s been awhile.  Again.  What can I say?  My heart just hasn’t been into it.  But never fear, I am still among the living and will still be posting.   When I feel like it.  Which could be a lot.  Or a little.  We’ll see.  But I’ve missed y’all and this little space o’ mine, so I thought I would join in for Friday Favorites this week!  This is actually going to be an April-so-far Favorites since I feel like we have a lot to catch up on.  J

#1
The hubs and I went to Lake Placid the first weekend in April to celebrate his birthday.  We’ve stayed several different places in Lake Placid (our favorite being the Whiteface Lodge), but in all our years visiting have never stayed at the Mirror Lake Inn.  So I decided this visit was the time to check it out. 
Can I tell you folks, it’s amazing!  The view from our room of Mirror Lake and the Adirondack Mountains was gorgeous (and our room wasn’t even one of the rooms with the "good" views).  My photos totally don’t do it justice.  The service was impeccable.  The food was delicious.   Highly recommended!

#2 
This goes along with the Lake Placid trip.... We decided to try a relatively new restaurant called Smoke Signals.  This is a BBQ joint and I’m not a huge BBQ person but I heard good things and wanted to try it out (plus the hubs is a BBQ fan).  We were excited to see this is actually a BBQ buffet!  There were all sorts of items... ribs, brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, collard greens, mac & cheese.... The mac & cheese was amazing and the pulled chicken was literally the most delicious pulled chicken I have ever had.  I don’t know what type of sauce they used on it, but I need to find out!!   So if you ever find yourself in Lake Placid and want some good BBQ, head over to Smoke Signals!

#3
Do you Hulu?  I didn’t, but I heard great things about this show called 11.22.63 so I decided to sign up.  OK, no joke- this show ROCKS.  It stars James Franco (who is a favorite of mine) and is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name (and produced by JJ Abrams).   The basic premise is that James Franco has gone back in time to try and stop the assassination of JFK.  This show is cool and interesting on several levels.  Check it out!!  There's only 8 episodes so you could totally binge watch it this weekend.  But no spoilers please... I haven’t watched the ending yet!

#4
We took the kids to see The Lion King last weekend.  I really wanted to go to a matinee, but I waited too long to get tickets and all I could get was the 8pm show.   Nick loved it- the scenery, the costumes, the music, the dancing.  Alec.... Well, about 2 minutes after the show started he asked, “Can we go home now?”  It did get better from there.... he was enjoying the show until he crashed.  And he crashed from right before intermission until the end of the show.  With the exception of about 15 minutes when he was actually in his seat, he slept on me the entire time.  It was a tad hot (OK, REALLY hot), and he was a tad heavy.  But I knew this was probably one of the last times my little guy would fall asleep on me so I held him close.  And how could I resist this sweet little face?!

#5 
My beautiful friend Cindy (hi Cindy!) sends the BEST snail mail and packages!  She is super creative and talented, and always sends the most heartfelt and pretty things!  This week I received a package that included (among other things) this beautiful card she made just for me and these adorable planner clips!!  I didn’t even realize they made cute clips like this until I saw them on Cindy’s Instagram feed.  Now I think I’m going to be addicted!! 

This weekend is supposed to be gorgeous- high 60’s (maybe 70) and sunny.  I can’t wait to get outside and enjoy!  The grass is greening up, the trees are budding and almost ready to show some leaves!  The daffodils are in full bloom.   On the agenda for the weekend is the playground or park with the kiddos, and also Nick’s first official baseball practice of the season.  We’ve been trying for 2 weeks to get a practice in but had to cancel due to rain and SNOW.    Eek!

Happy Spring everyone!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals

and

Books and Bloggers swap!

Hey friends!   No Friday favorites today (I've been busy getting ready for a weekend away with my hubby), but I've got something better!  I'm telling y'all about the Books and Bloggers swap hosted by Chaotic Goddess Swaps!  Sign ups are going on right now which means you still have time to join in on the fun!
This is one of my favorite swaps...you get to meet another blogger and exchange 3 great books and book related goodies!

Important dates to temember:

• Sign-Ups Close on April 4th, 2016
• Partners Assigned by April 6th, 2016
• Packages Ship by April 16th, 2016

• Swap Show-Off Post/Linky goes live on April 20th, 2016

You can sign up right HERE

Do it! You won't regret it! :)