too.much.fun

The end result of an awesome play date:

more snow!

Finally, we got snow! Two rounds of the white fluffy stuff & lots of fun playing in it!

12.30.12

busy

We are a bit busy making snow angels, having snow ball fights & enjoying the white fluff Mother Nature dumped on us. We will be back in the new year with updates, photos and resolutions...

12.25.12

I always feel a ton of photos are taken, & then I look back at the pictures and realize not enough were taken. We got a ton of video from Christmas morning, but I still feel like there are so many things that could have been captured, but weren't.

Christmas eve was spent pretty low key. Baked cookies, went to church, had dessert before dinner and got the house ready for Santa & Co.  

Time to bake.

TCBY- our new date spot

 

Christmas was a good day. Our original plans were changed because my mom ended up being sick...so we postponed Christmas with my parents. We stayed home- in our pjs for  the day. It was a good day.

The night before...

Snow flakes left behind by Santa & Co.

Most favorite gift

The old lady

Open this one, Daddy!

Merry Christmas! 

Love, 

Andrew, Liam, Star & Olive

sweet dreams

Andrew: "Liam, what did you dream about last night?"

Liam: " Tacos, video games & mini marshmallows."

like a boss

tonight

Give them hugs. Give them kisses. Let them eat a double dessert tonight, before dinner. Let them watch two movies. Let them jump on the couch. Let them stay up past their bedtime. Let them skip their bubble. Let them turn the music up really loud, play the same song 12 times in a row and dance with them. Let them be kids because it can all be taken away so quickly without reason. Keeping CT in our thoughts & prayers.
 

flash friday

Thumbs up for train rides, reindeer and family time.

Christmas on Main Street in Old Forge. We went with my mom & dad. Liam loved the train ride.   We all had a blast that day. I think the love and magic of the season made all of our hearts warmer. Thumbs up were given by all.

busted

Check out who was telling Santa he would be a good boy, & listen to mom & dad...all while crossing his fingers. Busted!

tummy troubles

Day #2 of tummy troubles for Liam. It is going around school, so it was just a matter of time for his little belly to get it. Snuggles and hugs go along way until you are thrown up on.

holidays

The time is almost here! I am so happy to say that Andrew and I are 90% done with our shopping for the holidays. We managed to shop with each other and not kill each other.  I even have some gifts wrapped and ready to ship. Ahhhhh I love this feeling!

spare time

Spare time? Not so much this week. This week flew by & I am sure the weekend will zip by as well. Lots of updates to make & stories to share. Hope some spare time falls into my lap at some point this weekend. 

the bowling shoes crack me up.

3yr check up

Liam had his well child visit today. I love his pediatrician's office. The ladies at the front desk always remember him. There is one lady who just adores him and spoils him with many, many stickers (the one sticker rule is out the window with her). Overall, the boy is healthy and doing well. Speech and language eval was requested to have his occasional stutter assessed. Now that he is 3 the referral needs to go through the school district, but I am told it shouldn't be too hard to get that set up. Let's hope not.

I did end up choosing to have him get the flu shot. Lets just say he got a milkshake on the way home.  Liam told me "I don't like the doctor anymore, just the dentist". I hope the boy never gets a cavity.

bowling

Now that Liam is older, there are so many more ways to celebrate his birthday. Andrew and I have all these ideas of how we can celebrate his future birthdays and I can't wait. We met up with his buddy, Dylan and his parents, to try out bowling. A new adventure that can be labeled as a success.  Even with the bumpers out for the kids, I still did awful. I think Liam may have had a better score than me.

family

Thanksgiving was great this year, not only because we celebrated Liam's #3, but because we had a house full of family. It was so nice to have everyone here. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I know that everyone's hearts are a bit happier.

he's back...

Welcome back, Bo-Bee.

happy day

11.22.12

three.

Dear Liam,

Happy 3rd birthday my sweet boy. Today you share your birthday with Thanksgiving- the holiday when we give thanks for all that we have in our lives and fill our bellies to capacity. In honor of your birthday, you got full control of dinner today. I am not sure what your dad & I were thinking when we left you in control of the menu-but it is your day-enjoy! This past year has opened my eyes to how truly special you are. How truly bless I am. I give thanks not only today, but every day for you.


This past year you have challenged your dad and I. You have pushed us to our limits and you have made us each laugh so hard. So hard, that we remember those laughs more than any of those so-called challenges. I can honestly say that we experienced the funny twos, not so much the terrible twos.  You are a little boy. You are funny. You are so smart. You have an incredible imagination that takes you on adventures all over the world doing such fun and silly things. You love to build forts. You love to scare your dad & I "boo!". You have a special "daddy story" & "mommy song" at bedtime.You are independent. And I forget sometimes how little you are, because you want to be so big. You are stubborn. You love the"pinchers". You are honest. You are independent. Conversations with you are the best. You always request family hugs. You love our 3 squeezes. You think Olive is the funniest thing. You love Lightning McQueen. You make the best pumpkin muffins (with a little help of course). You love to race cars. You are fully potty trained! You use your manners. Your memory is out of this world. Books are still your favorite and reading to you is one of mine. You request bonus minutes for everything! You love school and your friends you have made there.  You love to get yourself dressed. You love music and have some killer dance moves.You are so your father's son and it cracks me up. You continue to amaze me & put a smile on my face every single day.

I can't wait to see what this new year bring you. Brings us. I am excited, I think 3 is going to be even more fun than 2. I look forward to all the new experiences you will have, we will have.  I can't wait to see the changes, watch you grow, watch you learn, watch your personality shine through and watch you become, you.

I love you my little sweet potato. As we say every night, I love you all the way to the moon....& back. Thank you for being my little one. Thank you for making me one of the happiest people on earth. I love you. Happy #3, Liam!

xxooxxoo

dream come true

Last week I got hit with the flu or something of the sort. Not fun. By the time Saturday came the last thing I wanted to do was go grocery shopping. So I finally got to try the shop from home option that my most favorite grocery store offers. And it was pretty fantastic. Sitting from home in my pjs, put my order in online (didn't take nearly as long as I anticipated), hit place order and  then pick out a time to pick up the order. Genius and every parent's dream.  They do deliver, but I am a bit creeped out by that, so I go with the pick up option. And they even gave me flowers for my first time order. The con-  one item was missing from the order and there were some substitutes (all reviewed with me before making the purchase).  I can't wait to do it all over again this week. Time saver. Money saver. And I am not coming home with a bunch of impulse purchases, standing in line for ever or having to deal with the craziness that is grocery shopping. 

vote

We took Liam to vote with us today. I was highly disappointed with the new voting system. Fill in the bubbles with a black sharpie and put it into the black box that sucks in your voting form and electronically scans the sheet and get yelled at by the ladies from the 6th ward. No more secrets behind the curtain.

dentist

First visit with the dentist was a complete success. I wasn't anticipating a melt down, but I also wasn't anticipating Liam to behave and be so complaint. I know the distraction in the room, aka the television, played a huge part in all of this. 

He was able to sit through a complete cleaning and exam without any fuss, complaints or squirms. I was truly impressed (so was the hygienist).

Liam got graded on his oral hygiene and behavior by the dentist: Att. I graded her and the facility: A. I hope the next visit in 6months goes just as well. 

ahhh november

November, already??? This month is going to either zoom by or crawl like a snail. There is so.much.going.on.  I have already started to make lists & more lists to help keep me on track.

A quick synopsis of our November: Liam’s first dental appointment; Presidential Election; Family visiting!; celebrating Liam’s 3^rd birthday with Hello Kitty cuppy cakes; iPhone 5!; Eric Carle Puppet Show; Furnace cleaning; Falling  back; Cleaning; Organizing; Olive Physical; Liam Physical; Decorating; The  return of Bobee (elf on  a shelf); Being Thankful; Black Friday; Finishing up the Christmas list; Harvest lunch at school... I am pretty sure I am forgetting at least another ten things to add to this list.  Cheers to November.

halloween

It started off with a parade at school. It was crazy- people are nuts. People are even more nuts when it comes to their kids. Liam enjoyed the parade and getting to "ka-chow" all over the place.
Then trick or treating time came. Some little kid at school told Liam that trick or treating was "scary" and  Liam said he didn't want to go. So we told him try a couple houses, if you want to go back home we would.
Once he realized that candy was involved that somehow changed everything and he could not wait to go to the next house and the next and the next. We had practiced the day before what would happen and what he needed to say. He cracked me up when he would go up to the house and when the person appeared with candy, he would say "trick or treating".  He was so disappointed when it was time to go home.
Then he couldn't wait to hand out treats to all the kid who came to our door. Liam was all about giving out treats to the "customers".

whats shaking bacon

Lightning McQueen

pancakes

t or t

neighborhood creeps

happy halloween

boo

Happy Halloween!

sandy

We got lucky. Power stayed on.  All tree limbs remained in place. No flooding here.  No damage. I believe the only difference is that there are more leaves on the ground. We are grateful. However, not everyone got off as lucky as we did. Sandy left so many people and communities devastated. The pictures and stories are heartbreaking. Please keep those people in your thoughts & prayers as they begin to face the loss that Sandy left them with.

brb

We are having a  visitor tonight. Her name is  Sandy. I am being told  she should be arriving sometime this evening. She is so thoughtful, she is also visiting some other family on her way up the east coast today. We are batten down the hatches and getting some non perishables ready for her. School is even closing early today for her arrival.  I guess she is really mad...hopefully she loses her attitude by the time she gets to NY.  Will update after she leaves...hoping she doesn't leave too much of a mess for us to clean up.

flash friday

family tree 2012

Today's post is dedicated to my one and only -no particular reason, just because I love him so much. We have had a good week, minus this weird virus I picked up somewhere that took my voice away for a day, an unexpected car repair and a missing Lightning McQueen car. Andrew and I even played hooky on Wednesday and started our Christmas shopping. I felt a bit guilty about sending Liam to daycare when we both had the day off, but as the day went on, I realized how important it was for us to just be us for a little bit. Plus, Liam was super pumped to have made pumpkin pies at school.   And tomorrow I am off for an overnight. I do believe this will be my first overnight without Andrew or Liam. So while I am excited and looking forward to a girls weekend away, I am sure my heart will be even more excited when I return  Sunday to both of my guys (& Olive, of course). 

swoon

photo credit: Family Tree Photography 2012

*sigh*
This photo makes my heart melt into a little love puddle.
 I love this photo and these two sooooo much.

Thank you April!

bob the builder

I avoid anything Bob the Builder and Thomas the Train at all costs.  Because those creatures are freaking creepy. I put them into the porcelain doll creepy category. Liam gets so offended when I refer to Bob or Thomas as a creeper. And honestly, the shows are lame-o.

Liam loves to sing "Bob The Builder, Can we fix it? YES we can!". So I have taken it upon myself to switch it up a bit" Bob the Builder, Is he creepy? YES he is!"  Which outrages Liam.  Which makes me chuckle a little bit on the inside.

However on Sunday when Liam was suppose to be having "rest" time I over heard Liam singing " Bob the Builder, Is he creepy? YES he is!". (insert evil laugh here).  Next mission- to take down Thomas...

10.14.12

Liam-
I had so much fun with you this weekend. I missed Dad & I know you did, too. But spending time with just you is one of my most favorite things to do.ever. Seriously.  Have I told you lately that you are one of my most favorite people? Even though our slumber party was a bust and Olive was obnoxious with her dog bombs, I think this weekend ranks high on the "best times ever" list. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Until Our Next Adventure...

extra life

If you have a few extra buck or a lot of extra bucks, please consider making a donation to Extra Life. You can read all about it here on my friend Andrea's page. Bascially, a group of our friends are dedicating 24 hours to playing video games in order to raise money for our local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.  Awesome.

 I know a few families who have used this hospital during times of need and crisis in their lives; I can't even begin to image what these families and children have been through.  I am proud of my friends who are taking time (a whole day) to dedicate to these families and children. I can't wait to see how much the group raises, and how much they will contribute to the families and children who live here, locally and in our communities. Good friends. Good cause.

3bucks

If you ever find your self with three bucks in your pocket and in need of a HUGE pumpkin or small pumpkin, please go visit the Amish on Newport Road in Schuyler. I am intrigued by their way of life. They seem to keep life simple. basic.  & they don't fool around when it comes to growing pumpkins.

weekend

 ice cream. m&m's. rainy day treat.

Indian Ladder Farm.

Almost 3.

 Go West.








All mine.

flash friday

No pictures this week, but this post by Allison Tate is a great reminder to be in the photos, more often. I really need to do this, and remember that Liam loves me not because of my hair, my weight, my outfit, my painted (or unpainted)toe nails, but because I am his mom. Another reason I am excited to have our photos taken tomorrow- rain or shine.

rad

Color me Rad was a great time. There were some issues with traffic; poor Andrew & Liam sat in those issues for about 2hours. I had already crossed the finish line by the time they got there. That was a bummer. Then leaving was a good hour wait in the car before we even got to the road. So that was another bummer. Overall, it was a lot of fun, I felt great and there was nothing more exciting than being able to see the finish line. On to figure out the next run...Turkey Trot 2012, perhaps?

Before...

During...

after

we crushed it like a Billy Blanks round house kick to the face

flash friday

Phewwwww! This week crawled by. Thankfully it is Friday and we have almost survived another week without any craziness.

The end of last week Liam came down with pink eye. It was not fun for the little guy because the first medication caused an allergic reaction so he had to stay out of school longer than we anticipated-- which was fine expect we both had to juggle our work responsibilities and  everyone was thrown off schedule and it was just a bit stressful. Liam is much better and the second antibiotic did the trick. Liam has wonderful grandparents, but none live close by. We need to somehow find some local surrogate grand parents for him & us. I envy those people who complain about their parents/inlaws always being at the house with the kids...grrrrr what I would give to have that "problem". If you know of any, please send them my way.

We also got to spend some time with my Dad's side of the family last weekend- which was great. We don't get to see everyone enough. Distance, time and life always come in the way, but when we do spend time together it is so much fun and I wish we could do it more often. It made my heart happy that Liam finally got to meet his Great Aunt Gina and fully embrace the Bonomo family. I also learned that day that twins do in fact run on my father's side of the family.  I hope I got this right-My grandmother's grandfather's (so my great, great paternal GF) sibling's had twins. One had two sets and one had one set; unfortunately, not all survived. So maybe it wasn't a total fluke that I was pregnant with two. This is good information to know.

Liam and Aunt G.

Families Dine Together Night at school happened on Monday. Nothing more awkward than sitting in tiny chairs, at a tiny table, eating food with other parents so are there for the same reason we are...to support our kids and get a night off from cooking. You try to start conversations with these people, but they never go anywhere and there is always grape juice being spilling on someone's crotch.

Photo day at school was yesterday. I never take those days too seriously. The night before we were picking out an outfit. While other parents brought in prom dresses and three piece suits. We are scheduled to have our family photos taken next weekend. So that I will take seriously.

I wish this picture had sound. Best. Laugh. Ever.

This weekend is looking pretty great. Dinner date tomorrow to FINALLY celebrate our anniversary. Almost two months later & we finally have an opportunity to celebrate. Sheesh.  Decorating the house for fall, making pretzels, hair cut for Liam and chili. Happy Friday!

ps- photos from Color Me Rad coming soon.

flash friday

I am always excited for the weekend, but this weekend is going to be even more fun. 

Tomorrow I will run the Color Me Rad 5k. I can not wait to run, get bombed with color and cross the finish line. More photos to follow!

hair

A quick trip  with Liam to one store and two ridiculous questions.

First question: " Do you curl his hair?"
Ummm really? Did she look at my hair? Clearly I can't be bothered with curling, let alone doing anything with my own hair, so why would I take the time to curl my son's hair? I politely told her no, it was all natural.

Second question, different person:  " Is his hair color natural?"
Really? Really?  Now the smart ass in me wanted to reply, but since she was elderly and may have been holding an ice pack on her head, I held back ( maybe someone else couldn't hold back, hence the ice pack). I just stared at her and repeated her question- just to make sure I heard her correctly. I did hear her and I told her yup, all his, all natural.

I guess some people are watching a bit too much of toddlers and tiaras these days.

s'more

before

during

after

sunday

We took a trip out to my parents' house on Sunday. My brother was home, and he didn't come alone this time. Which was even more exciting. We got to meet his girlfriend, Kristen, and their dog, Cruz. Cruz is a great dog and I could have rubbed his belly all day long. Kristen is fantastic, too. I think we all had fun, except Olive. She was totally intimidated by Cruz and somehow she got into it with a bee and she lost that battle.

Just some of what Liam picked from Grandpa G's garden.

living dangerously without a helmet

morning walk, from one of our walks

Uncle A and Cruz

Angelo, Cruz & Kristen

today.

  I have been contemplating  whether or not to put this on the blog. I feel like on one hand, I should because it would be helpful to put it into words, it may help someone else who is going through something similar and it  may help me to continue to heal and find closure. This is part of our journey. On the other hand, I feel that I want to keep this between Andrew & I. I don't want to re-live it; I just want to put it all behind us.  I can't, so I decided to put some of it into words. The rest will forever be burnt into our memories & hearts.

Today, 9.11.12, would have been my due date. Today would have been the day that our little family of 3 grew into a little family of 5.  Today I would have felt that strong feeling of love that makes my heart want to explode, times two. Today Liam would have become a big brother. Today we would have started a new chapter in our lives.  & today I would have fallen in love with Andrew all over again.

Leaving out all the details, I was pregnant with two- one was intrauterine; one was ectopic. After numerous blood draws, testing, exams, and bargaining, we learned that happiness can leave just as quick as it arrives.

 Today, 9.11.12,  I have the love of an amazing man who has stood by me, loved me and held me up so many times these past 7 months that I have lost track. Today, I am reminded of those vows "in good times and bad". Today, I can't count how many times in the past 7 months I have fallen in love all over again with him. Today I am healthy. Today, I am fortunate for medical technology. Today I have a healthy, strong, beautiful, witty, little boy who calls me mommy; who one day will be a fabulous big brother.  Today, I have family and friends who supported us and continue to do so. Today, I have this life that I am so fortunate to have been trusted with. Today, I am blessed more than I know how to put into words. And today I look forward to what the future holds for us.

flash friday

Liam has been doing great at preschool all week. He seems to be fitting in well with the new class, friends and teachers. And his teachers are great! Liam asked me on our way home from his first day if he could "go back to preschool tomorrow?" So I think it is safe to say he is enjoying it.

Andrew has been sick the past couple of days. Really sick. So sick he didn't even watch the whole football season opener game.  And he stayed home from work- which hardly happens. I will be busy lysol bombing the house this weekend to get rid of any lingering germs. I told Liam that dad was sick and that when we got home we should let dad relax. This is how that conversation went:
Liam: "Daddy, sick?"
Me : "Yes, he has some germs that are making him feel yucky"
Liam; "No, its from too much dancing"

Clearly that awesome dance off that occurred at 60 Chestnut St. is the true reason why Andrew was sick.

preschool

"When I grow up I want to be Daddy"