Day 14

Thankful that I have a husband who cooks and tries to do so healthfully.

Hubby found a new recipe for Rocco's "almost" General Tso's chicken and made it for dinner. Yummy, healthy, and spicy!!

Day Twelve

Thankful for another beautiful fall day ... same as it was six years ago.

Happy Anniversary, Hubby!

Revenge

My husband posted a photo to Facebook of myself, Maddy, and Libby all asleep on the sofa today. He must have had a memory lapse that he falls asleep sitting up about 5/7 nights. Revenge will be mine.

Let's just say that the first night in big girl bed's was as tiring as any night with newborn twins. Here's to hoping that tonight is better.

Obviously, I can't count

Hubby's 40th birthday is next week and I ordered a cake for a dinner that we had last night.

4 candles x 10. We told him he had to blow them out that many times.

I thought we would have 12 for dinner, so I ordered a cake to feed 12-16, but ended up with 9 for dinner, but I think only 6 had cake (losers).

So, do you know what that means? I'm left with a truck-load of yummy cake.


If this stays in the house, this may be my downfall.
Cake, anyone?

NYC Recap

We had a great mini-vacation to NYC that involved 26.2 miles of running (Hubby) and a lot of eating (me).

Hubby ran the marathon for the second year in a row with a time in 4:07. His goal was under 4 hours, but I thought he did a great job and shaved over 20 minutes off his time last year. I watched from Central Park and had a blast watching the elite runners finish, as well as seeing Bobby Flay red-faced and serious on the course, along with thousands of other finishers. So inspiring.

Pre-race

Just being a spectator and not a runner of this marathon, I will say that they seem to have theiract together ... everything from the Expo to the race day logistics seems smooth, especiallywith 45,000 runners and 2.5 million spectators. The only issue I had were that the text messages I was supposed to receive updating me to Hubby's whereabouts didn't come as timely as I had hoped.

Post-race

We decided to rent an apartment this year and I have to say, that was a big thumbs up in our book. Not only were we convenient to pretty much everything (57th Avenue and 6th), it was less expensive, roomier, and we had a doorman. Of course, it came with a few drawbacks ... on the first night, we couldn't get the key to work in the lock and it took us forever to get someone tohelp. We also had to wait for 3 hours for the super to check a suspicious non-flushing toilet. But, all in all, I was happy with our decision and would do it again.

Here I am showing how small the kitchen was, but it was perfect for our needs. I could touch from cabinet to cabinet. Not what you'd want to prepare Thanksgiving dinner, but again ... perfect for most New Yorkers.

We did some of the typical New York sightseeing/touristy things ... MoMA, Magnolia Bakery (ehhh - wasn't that impressed), boat cruise around the city, Top of the Rock, caught a show(Promises, Promises), ate NYC pizza (Joe's and John's ... I may be slightly partial to Joe's), window shopping on 5th Avenue, crazy taxi rides, etc. One must do for me is to buy the City Pass ... we did this last year and also this year. The City Pass that gives you tickets to all the major museums, Empire State Building,etc. It's so worth the price even if you don't use every ticket.

Statue of Liberty from our cruise.

We also found a great tour in Greenwich Village called the Foods of NY Food Tour. They host several different tours around the city, but this one was perfect. A three hour tour filled with historical tidbits, and 6 different samples of Greenwich Village hole in the wall restaurants and bakeries. I really loved Greenwich ... so much more quiet, laid-back, arty, and unique. I would definitely like to spend more time in this area again. You can see where my eating marathon took place!

Holy Cannoli from Rocco's

Holy macaroni and cheese from Home.

Holy big chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie from Milk & Cookies.

My favorites ... hmmm, almost all of them. I would definitely have to say Home Restaurant (we decided to go back for lunch the following day), Milk & Cookies Bakery, Rocco's Bakery, Amy's Breads plus these rice/risotto balls from an Italian specialties shop. Oh my gosh.

Did I tell you that the day after our food tour, we walked from 57th street to 12th? Holy food coma. We spent some time in Chelsea, visited the Chelsea Market and the High Line Park. While High Line isn't the prettiest park in the world (read: manicured), it was a great idea to take a train trestle and turn it into a 1.5 mile walking trail above the city. It's still under construction, but made for some pretty neat vantage points above the city streets. It's a little bit gritty, but it's nice to see something turned around in positive way.

Cool street view

Flowers and bricks.

So, here's my long-winded recap and if you're still reading, thank you.

See you next week!

Movin'

We're moving to NYC ... Ok, ok, not really, but we'll be living there for 5 days this fall. Does that count? Yeah, probably not, but I'm pretending.

Hubby is running the NYC marathon again this year and we decided to make a little vacation of it since it's also near the time of our five year anniversary.

We were looking at hotels, debating if we wanted to return to where we stayed last year, and on a whim, decided to look at vbro.com

We've used vbro in the past and have had good experiences. Once, we rented a neat architect's home in Key West, and another time we stayed in a condo at Wrightsville Beach. We found two apartments that we liked and found out yesterday that the one we really wanted was available.

It's kind of exciting to feel like you're actually living in that location and not just visiting. We'll have a doorman, a great city view, 2 blocks from Central Park, close to the museums, shopping, etc. Plus, who doesn't love drinking coffee at "home" each morning, as opposed to dropping $10 each morning at Starbucks. Maybe I'll be like the scrunchie girl from Sex in the City who thinks that Carrie and Berger actually believes she lives in NYC.

Answering ... motherhood

MER asked, "What surprised you most about being a Mom? What's the hardest part and what's the most rewarding?"

I think the instantaneous bond that I felt with my children surprised me the most. I had no idea that I could feel the love that I feel for my children. I was never one of those crazy baby people. I've always liked babies, but I didn't grow up around lots of babies, didn't ogle stranger's babies in the grocery, but when I first held them, something shifted in me that I still can't truly describe.

The hardest part ... Well, the early stages before they were sleeping through the night was definitely hard. Now, it's truly a blur and I honestly don't remember how difficult it was, or how sleep deprived we were. We had a system, we put the babies on a schedule, and we just kind of powered through it. I have some hard days now. Two at two is hard. Heck, I guess one at two would be hard, and I'm sure two at three will also be hard, but there are days when you have tantrums, or screeching, or you've just gotten hit with the Elmo phone for the 2nd time, and I want to lose it. I'm not proud to admit that I've lost my cool and yelled when it wasn't necessary, but I've done it. I've also walked out of the room during screaming and gone back in 5 minutes when I could better handle it. There are days that I'm glad I work, but there are days that I look forward to Friday (when I typically don't work) and we can have special outings together.

The most rewarding parts for me comes in little snippets throughout the days, weeks, months, and years. Lately, it's been when I'm walking Maddy down the stairs and she asks, "where sister?" because Libby was already downstairs, but she didn't know where she was. Or when Libby gives me a kiss when I ask, or when Maddy's upset and Libby brings her a toy to make her feel better, or when you can hold a freshly bathed, PJ'ed, damp curly haired child in your lap and read a book about meerkats, monkeys, and giraffes and adore the interaction. Or asking them 8 different animals and they get them all right. Or seeing your husband hold/play with your child and see a different kind of love that is so endearing. Those are some of the best moments for me.

Date night

Hubby and I haven't seen too many date nights in the past two years. Yep, I could probably count them on two hands I'm sure. We've actually had two dates in the last three weeks, so maybe things are looking up ... or maybe we're just shelling out money for a sitter + dinner that we really shouldn't spend, but we know that it may equal sanity.

We have a local restaurant that has a great patio/deck area and on certain Friday nights during the summer, they play movies on a large screen out on their patio. The dinners are themed around the movie and we've always talked about checking it out and we finally went last night.

First, the weather was gorgeous and actually cool by the time we finished dinner. Amazing for the beginning of July.

We watched Bottle Shock, which is a great movie about how Napa Valley wines came to be known back in the 70's. Lots of good actors and we really enjoyed it. Better yet, the dinner included five courses and four wine pairings. Each pairing included one California wine and one French so everyone there had to guess which was which. Lots of wine and great food. Lucky for me, I had already done my long training run on Friday morning so I didn't have to worry about getting up for a 6:30 AM run. Lucky for me I had a little extra sleep to ward off any after-effects of four wine pairings.

So, here's to date nights, fun wine dinners, cool weather in July, and good memories.

The Firm

Hubby has a 3rd interview with a company this afternoon, and they have also asked to meet me. So, I'm going to lunch on Friday afternoon. Gulp. I totally feel like we may be in the movie, The Firm. I didn't realize that companies still did this ... it feels very old school.

So, of course some of my questions are where are we going for lunch, and what should I wear?

Lunch will be downtown, and still no idea what I'm wearing. Since I've been a quasi stay at home mom/part time marketer/unemployed marketer for nearly 2 years, my business attire is a little lacking.

Luckily, I have the trusty Ann Taylor black pants and a selection of spring-ish sweaters, so I think I'll be OK.

Now to brush up on current events so I don't blurt out something like "Have you seen the new BPA free children's plates from Tupperware?" or "You should have seen me trying to catch the roll away poop from Libby's diaper on Monday." or even better, "Guess what Maddy said today? Boogie! As in booger." Ugh.

It's hard enough to go on a job interview for yourself, but to go on one for your husband is a new one for me. I certainly don't want to be the one to mess it up!

Tiny

Hubby and I started Weight Watchers online back in December. We've both done well with it, especially the Hubs. I think he dropped something like 8 pounds the first week. Let's just say that my biggest weight loss week was maybe 2 pounds. I was most impressed with my recent loss of 2 ounces, but hey, it's still a loss. I think I'm down almost 5 pounds and Hubby is down over 13 pounds. Probably the only holiday season that we haven't gained. Whoo!

We both have a sweet tooth and there's only so much yogurt or an apple will suffice.

So, Hubby brought home a box of chocolate creme cakes that are made by WW and only 1 point. On the box, they look great. Big ol piece of cake, ooey gooey filling inside. Yum.

Not bad, right?
Not bad until you start comparing it to other similarly sized items lying around your house.

Oh, look! Slightly bigger than the Little People person!

I'd call it a tie. Chapstick vs. Cake.

Sorry, Cake. 2 binder clips got you beat.

The big red box

On Christmas Eve, we attended our church's candlelight service, took a drive to see Christmas lights and then headed home since it was nearing 7:15 and Maddy and Libby's bedtime.

When we got home, the girls were wandering around downstairs and Hubby and I were grabbing a few items that we needed to take upstairs.

Maddy walked back to one of the guest bedrooms and I found her patting a BIG gift wrapped box. Hmmmmm .... I know I didn't put that there, but I was trying to figure out when it arrived.

I told Hubby that Maddy had sold him out and led me to a surprise that I could only assume was for me. He just stood there and laughed. After moving it from the front porch to our mud room, then wrapping it, he showed it to Maddy.

This sucker would have been hard enough to wrap, but also to hide? Nearly impossible! I had to also laugh that he did this while I was out running a couple of short errands and was probably only gone about 30-40 minutes.

Oh, and what was inside? Not a refrigerator, but a new cubby/shelf with hooks to hang in our mudroom so there is a place to hang my purse, their backpacks, diaper bag, dog leashes, etc.

Who knew?

If you want your entire family (yourself included) to take a nice afternoon nap ... have them all go work at your church nursery for a 3-hour shift. Well, I guess Hubby and I worked while Maddy and Libby checked out all the other kiddos, ate their weight in cheerios, and enjoyed new toys, puzzles, and books.

Once we got home, Maddy and Libby slept for over 3 hours and Hubby and I both napped for well over 1.5 hours.

Pure lazy Sunday bliss.

Hubby and I also had a nice, real live date yesterday afternoon. First movie we have seen in well over a year. His parents came to visit, kicked us out of the house, so we went to see Julie / Julia and it was wonderful. The theater was packed with young and old alike and there were a ton of laugh out loud moments. We topped that off with yummy burgers and beers at a downtown Brew Pub. The weather was nice enough to sit outside, which is always a plus in my book. It felt wrong to go out to eat after watching that movie, but there was no way I was going home to fix up a little french cuisine! I do have a bit of a craving for Beef Bourguignon. Maybe I'll get brave and try it.

Playing along

Kelly's Korner is hosting "Show us your life ... wedding reception & honeymoons." I can't find some of our honeymoon photos ... they may be on the old desktop computer. So, here is a glimpse at what I could find.

Our reception was held at a great downtown place in our city. It wasn't our original location, but it turned out to be perfect. Nothing like stressing a bride out to hear that the City Club where you booked your wedding reception was closing!

Here is a photo of our cake. I've blogged a million times about Maxie B's who made our cake and they are still one of our favorite bakeries. We had different flavors for each layer: raspberry lady (white cake with raspberry jam), chocolate with raspberry, red velvet and peanut butter. All with cream cheese frosting. Yum. We displayed my Great Aunt Lucy and Great Uncle Horace's wedding toppers that they had used at their 1927 wedding. I found a similar cake in a magazine ... it was square (our invitations were also square) and just had simple piping and our monogram.

Here is our first dance to "It Had to Be You."
Here is a photo of our "guest book." We had everyone sign it at the wedding and reception. It now hangs in our dining room and I absolutely love it. I had a calligrapher write our names, wedding date and information, along with part of 1st Corinthians that was also read at our wedding.

We also served ice-cold milk (regular or chocolate) along with our cake. Here are the martini glasses lined up and ready. Not sure if anyone drank milk since they had the choice to opt for the open bar. Who knows?
I love this shot that our photographer captured towards the end. We truly had an evening surrounded by our family and close friends ... exactly what we wanted.
We didn't leave for our honeymoon until Monday morning and I never regretted that decision. I was wiped out on Sunday, so we had the day to spend with family, open presents, finish packing, and rest.

We honeymooned in Antigua in the British West Indes and stayed at the Blue Waters Resort. It was wonderful. They are a relatively small resort (80 rooms, I think) and were so attentive and great. The grounds were gorgeous and we enjoyed a lot of pool, beach, and relaxing time while we were there.

Antigua was a perfect mix of relaxing and exciting. We did some great tours (the 360 degree speed boat tour, snorkeling, swam with sting rays) and we also did a lot of vegging, reading, and relaxing at the resort.

One of the little umbrellas on the beach at our resort. Beaches are small in Antigua (compared to other areas), but there 365 beaches across Antigua. There are definitely no long strolls on beaches here.

One of the sunsets at the resort.
We met another couple who shared our wedding date (Nov. 12, 2005) and we ended up enjoying some meals together and also doing a few outings. If you knew my husband, you would understand that he's never met a stranger. It was actually really fun and we still stay in touch with this couple and were excited to hear that they just had their first baby a few months ago.

This is after a great meal at Viveyn's.

Enjoying a Wadadli on the 2nd evening there.


Like Kelly said, I look back at these pictures and had forgotten the tan and skinny part. I think this is before we ventured out into town for shopping one day.


This last photo is at an amazing bed and breakfast called Harmony Hall. If you are ever in Antigua, you must go here. No, I'm not kidding. It may still be one of the best meals of my life and amazing views.

T. and I enjoying our lunch.



When you arrive, you are asked if you want to take a little boat cruise. They take you out to this little island where you are free to walk around and enjoy the private island before your meal. We had fun exploring and I wish I had my photos of this!

When we returned, we noticed employees carrying up burlap bags. With fish that is about to be cooked for you. It is really that fresh. Bread and butter - beyond amazing. Wonderful desserts. Seriously ... everything here was amazing. They had a great art gallery and shop with art, pottery, jewelry, clothing, soaps, etc.

Sigh. Would love to go back ... Blue Waters has a great house called the Rock Cottage that we have always talked about getting a group of friends together and renting it. Can you tell I've enjoyed my stroll down memory lane? Wish I was sitting under one of those little thatched umbrellas right now!

Sweet

I was very surprised to receive this special gift a few days after Mother's Day. Hubby took Maddy and Libby to paint a coffee cup for me for my 1st Mother's Day!

Isn't it cute?

It has both of their little hand prints, names, and Happy Mother's Day 2009 written on the top. I love it and I can't wait to use it each and every morning.

I just wish I could have seen a photo of Hubby and the girls making this. I also heard there was a poopy diaper and no changing table fiasco, but that is probably best saved for another post!

Big pimpin'

Hubby and I were talking about something work related (his work) when we were feeding the girls and getting them ready for bed. He's in outside sales and always carries a small photo album of Maddy and Libby so he can show off the latest pictures.

I think the conversation went something like this.

Hubby "Dr. So and So really liked the latest picture of the girls. She said they are really getting big."

Me "Oh, that's nice. Just as long as she's using your products, I guess you can keep pimping out M&L."

Hubby "Of course ... I have the (insert product name here) sticker on the back of the album."

Me "No you don't."

Hubby "Yes I do. That product may pay for college."

Next thing I know, they're going to be wearing little t-shirts and going along on calls with him.

Whatever works, I guess.

Maddy - Libby, 9 months old

Date day

Hubby and I had plans to run in the Beerun today. (Yes that is how they spell it.) It's a 5 mile run that starts and ends at a neat little pub in our city. We've done it several times ... it's hilly, but always a good, fun run.

Well, we were going to register today because we missed the cut off for early registration. Today has turned out to be a cold and rainy mess. I was ready to go for it when Hubby reminded me of the rule that states "If you've already registered, you run. If you haven't registered, then you aren't obligated." I guess that's so if you already have the tee shirt, it wouldn't really be fair not to run. Kinda like having the concert tee shirt without going to the show.

So anyway, we already had a sitter for this afternoon so we have decided to go ahead and do something. No real plans ... a late lunch and watch the Tar Heels play some basketball. Isn't that what rainy Saturdays are supposed to be for anyway?

Still here

It's just been a blur the past couple of weeks and I don't even know what I've done that worth mentioning! I started back to work two weeks ago and I'm loving it. There have been days that I literally worked in my pajamas. I probably shouldn't admit that, but it's wonderful! I'm still learning the ropes, but so far, so good.

We also had Maddy and Libby's christenings yesterday ... they were perfect during the service. We had no idea what they would think about the new sounds and experiences, but they were great. We had to sit up front, so they were entralled with the children's choir and the row of 8 -10 year old girls who sat in front of us. We are Methodist, but our Ministers believe in using a lot of water on the head for the christening, so they were both dripping a little, but it didn't seem to phase them. I was lucky to have 5 family dresses to choose from for the big day, so they were both in dresses that are at least 100 years old. We wish we knew the stories behind the gowns, but they have been lost over the years. They fit them well and they looked so sweet. They also loved to grab handfuls of the dresses and chew on them. Hey, a toy and dress in one!

After the church service, we hosted about 30 people for lunch. Mom and I had been busy this week ... we made 4 pans of lasagna, 2 pans of brownies, a red velvet birthday cake ... all made with love. My Mom doesn't claim to be a cook, so we had our share of mishaps along the way, but everything turned out great. We won't talk about the cheesecake that had to be thrown out ... that's another story! The day was a blur, but it was a great day of celebration ... we used my holiday china for the first time, along with my Grandmother's china, so that was special. A lot of dishes to hand wash, but nice that they were used.

Hubby also turned the big 38 yesterday, so it was fun to have family and friends around to help him celebrate.

So now it really feels like Christmas is right around the corner ... the stockings are hung, cards are mailed, some presents are purchased, wrapped, and under the tree. 10 days to go ... where did the time go??

money, money, money

I bet the anticipation is killing you ... I wish I could tell everyone that there were bigger bills hiding under the ones ... when I first opened the drawer, I really thought that Hubby was gearing up for a bachelor party. So I had to ask him what was up with the cash stuffed in the drawer.

Apparently, it's one of his new savings plans - every night he takes all of the ones out of his money clip and saves them. I have been shocked how quickly it has added up. For me, this trick wouldn't work because I'm addicted to my debit card and rarely carry cash.

So no worries - he's staying away from dances that require tips and saving for the holidays. I've told you we buy for 25+ family members on his side, but that's a post for another day!

I'll leave you with a picture from a few days ago. The girls have recently discovered the Baby Einstein star from their floor mat. Baby Einstein star = coos, smiles, and wide eyed stares from m & l.

why i heart facebook

His friends post pictures of Hubby from his college days, circa 1990.


I love you! xxxooo!