Hello Again

Oh boy, I am a bad blogger! It's been too long since I've updated. Hmmm, where do I start? We had an exciting event in our house last week, Gabe lost his first tooth!! I cried! I'm sure by the time Garrett rolls around I won't be so emotional but to me it's just another sign he's growing up. I don't cry because I'm sad necesarily, I'm just grateful. I greive but I embrace is what I say. I'm happy to see each stage. The tooth fairy came and he was a happy camper.:)

Garrett on the other hand is battling a bug. Grant was very sick last week and now GareBear has a fever....ahh the joys of cold and flu season. My running is going good. Sunday I went 7 miles!! This comes from a person who used to loathe any form of exercise and complain at running a 1/2 mile! So I'm pretty pleased that I've stuck with it and keep improving (ever so slowly). That's it for today, just a quick update! Hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather.:)

Cheese!

Smiley! Oh, how he melts my heart. All my boys do with their big blue eyes (and daddy with his green ones)! Garrett is 10 months now and his personality is blossoming a little more each day. He claps, giggles, dances, and makes the funniest faces. He's well on his way to walking too! He's "cruising" and sometimes even stands alone for a few seconds. Our entire family has been sick this week and this weather isn't helping.:( I'm not happy about going back to 30-degree temps but hopefully that will just make us appreciate spring that much more.

I am trying to hard to resist buying clothes, I've been so good for so long but I'm itching to hit the stores (and Internet)! Thanks to our financial planner we set a goal amount for a spring wardrobe budget, and a date as to when we can go shopping for the family. I am a buy-on-the-go type of person though, if I see a good deal or great sale I'll pick up a few things and buy a little at a time. I can still do that but I'm not allowed to touch that fund for another few weeks and it's been so hard! Lol.:) It's not very much money but last year I had Garrett in May, and most of my clothes are the transition sizes and are too big now. So I just need a little refresher. That's it for now, stay warm!

Time to Train!

This weekend I started my training schedule for the Cleveland half marathon. This is not going to be easy. Thankfully the family is cheering me on and yesterday the boys and I created a progress chart. I printed and cut out the photo above, drew a road on big poster board, and marked all of my runs in red marker. Every time I go out and train the boys will the cut-out photo and move it down the road to the next spot. We are calling it "Move Mommy"! I wish I could remember who e-mailed me that suggestion but thank you because it's already made it fun! I am still apprehensive about it though because it's going to take so much time. Just looking at the schedule made me want to back out! I am doing good so far though and it's become a family effort and I think that helps a lot; knowing my boys are rooting for me keeps me going! That's about it for today. It's so gorgeous outside I want to get some play time in while we can.

Book Club and Spring Clothes

Someone asked what wedding dress I went with-this is Henry Roth (from The Perfect Bride in Rocky River). Originally I was going to wear my only skirt, stretched out from 3 pregnancies so I am VERY grateful I had another option! Lol.:) I would be remiss if I didn't thank Steph in our sales dept. too, she whipped the whole thing together...THANK YOU!

So now that the vow renewal has passed, it's time to get back to the real world.:) We have so much coming up! I always hear parents today are busier than ever and I am starting to get a glimpse of that (and I only have 1 school age child so far)! This weekend is soccer sign-up, a birthday party, swimming lessons, and a special event I'm attending with my mom. Whew...no vegging any time soon! I'm also excited about joining a book club with several other ladies. A friend of mine told me about it and invited me to join her group. She is the only person I know and usually I would run for the hills because I am very uncomfortable in those settings! Still, I went for it and now I'm really excited. They are all moms and we are in the same area of our lives so I think it will be good. The other area I'm excited about is spring shopping! Our family wardrobe needs some refreshing and I can't wait to pick up a few new items! I have been exceptional because shopping is my vice but I didn't buy anything all winter (just about)! That is very unusual for me.:) Poor Gabe looks like he's wearing high water pants though because he's growing so fast so it's definitely time for reinforcements. With the snow and cold it's also fun to look at shorts and dream of warmer days.:) One of my new favorite places is Boston Proper but I have to shop the sales because everything else is overpriced (in my opinion). I love their stuff but charging $89 for a tank top is just ridiculous to me, I could never justify that! Well I better get going-Garrett just woke up!

The Big Day!

God is good. Our vow renewal went better than I imagined and the entire process leading up to it was just as memorable. When we started planning this I honestly didn't expect to have such an event but God led us in that direction and the people that I met along the way I will be forever grateful for! Cathy from The Perfect Bride in Rocky River is someone I am indebted too and she lent me this dress for the big day. The people at Rito's Italian Bakery and Deli are some of the kindest, most talented people I've ever encountered! Fred at Tuxedo Junction in Beachwood is someone we will definitely refer people to, I was very impressed by their service. Maria Giallanza (and Christina) came over to do my hair and make-up and that was like a dream. Talk about exciting! My mom came over to help with the boys but ended up getting her hair and make-up done too, it was a ball! Every little detail was even better than I dreamed. The finale' was the dinner at Papa Joe's and everyone walked out stuffed and happy, you can't beat that!:)It was very small, we only had a few people there and in a way I wished we had invited more. We opted to keep it as simple as possible but I have no regrets, and I am thankful for the people who attended. My brother Matt lives in Wisconsin and I rarely see him and miss him a lot. As I was walking down the isle I thought I caught his profile and asked my dad "Is that Matt?!". I couldn't believe my eyes and started crying and realized he was really there!! It was such a surprise! Once again I just feel so unworthy of these blessings. I am humbled and infinitely grateful!

Tux Time

Check out the dapper dudes! Last night we picked up the tuxes at Tuxedo Junction at Beachwood Place. Thank you so much to Fred Survelli who took such good care of us (and they offer a military discount...good people)! Anyway, my heart melted seeing how handsome my boys looked! I'm not sure what Garrett will wear yet, probably his Christmas outfit. The next few days are going to be hectic with picking up the cake, my dress, hair, etc. I will definitely post pictures after the big event this weekend but I just had to show a sneak peak now, this was too priceless.:)