Happy Thanksgiving

We are celebrating Sam's first Thanksgiving today. We are incredibly thankful for a healthy, happy, and sweet little boy who has changed our lives in the greatest way forever more.

Enjoy your meal and your friends and family.

Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight kicks off Hanukkah - the festival of lights, and Sam's first year celebrating. We will light our menorah and have weekend filled with delicious recipes including roast, latkes, kugel and matzo ball soup. 

My girlfriend prepped me with a Jewish cook book when I married G. The kugel recipe has been tested and approved!

And, fortunately enough, Sam is lucky to open eight presents, one for each night. Tonight, he will be gifted his first menorah.

Sam's first menorah, first dreidel, and some goodies to be revealed later!

We are happy to be safe and NOT traveling in this nasty weather - although Sam didn't seem to mind the traffic or falling snow yesterday!

Ick.

Happy Hanukkah!

Blessed.

My hubby travels for work. It's not constant, but it is a lot. And I know it's a lot for him, and it's a lot for me. And we are determined to make it easy for Sam. Of course as he gets older he will miss his da-da, and we understand that and will need to find ways to navigate those times. 

But as G "read" Mortimer over speaker phone to Sam last week while he was away, and both Sam and I stared back and forth from the phone to the book that da-da "read", I know how blessed I am.

And another night when G got back from Boston and raced upstairs in his suit and thanked me for keeping Sam up to say goodnight; and Sam stood straight up and stared at his da-da after clasping his hands in front of his little body, his sweet face smiling with excitement, I know that I am blessed.

And when Sam cuddles up to his da-da for bed time books, I look over and my heart swells with happiness. And I know that I am blessed.

My husband spends more nights at home than he does away on business. He is not missing Sam's milestones, and he has been there beside me through the thick and the thin of bringing a babe into this world, including midnight feedings, early morning wake-ups, frustrations, joys, smiles, first steps and giggles.

My husband is making a difference in this world and I am so proud of the work that he does. I am so blessed to have an incredible partner and amazing father for my son, an example of hard work, commitment, and loyalty. We sleep soundly at night in warm beds with full tummies because he works so hard.

And, I am pretty lucky for a hubby who has memorized Mortimer so he can "read" it from Denver, or New York City, or along Interstate 95.


"Read" is in quotes because Mortimer has been permanently memorized. We read it every. single. night. 

Buffalo is Back!

Our annual girl's Thanksgiving took place this past weekend in Boston. This is our sixth year of gathering at my girlfriend's house, bringing our favorite recipe, wine, apps, snacks, dessert, and feasting while playing games and catching up. 

I made a new dish, sweet potatoes with Parmesan and pecans from Real Simple. The toasted pecans were super yummy atop the potatoes. An easy, flavorful side that accompanied our turkey "Buffalo", skillet cornbread, cream cheese mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac'n'cheese, stuffing, biscuits, salad. Wowzers. Whole lot of carbs - whole lot of goodness. 

Sometimes you just need some girlfriend time. It's good for the soul.

Yes, we are wearing matching t-shirts created for our annual feast.

A thank you to my wonderful pal La'Vie Jaime for letting me crash at her place, for sharing wine, lots of catch-up chit chat, and delicious sushi on Saturday night. 

This was my third night away from Sam in his 10-month old life. It's hard to be away from that lil Mister. He was missing me too - thanks to my old driver's license, he wasn't without a photo. 

I love this face. 

You may notice in the photo above that Sam has a nice bruise under his eye. He collided with the TV stand. He will have a nice black eye on his first Thanksgiving! These injuries happen when you have a WALKER on your hands.

Yes, Sam is officially walking! Not well, not all the time, but very frequently. About 6-8 steps before plopping down again. It's AMAZING to see this little boy grow. 

And he is growing. My 10-month old baby is currently in 18-month clothes. He wore his PUMA track suit to school - and is looking so big!

Props to Betty

Everyone loves a homemade treat. But I am going to keep it real and say sometimes, you would rather be playing with your 10-month old son or sitting on the couch enjoying a glass of wine than prepping, cooking, and cleaning in the kitchen.

When Sam's school asked for a dessert for an annual Thanksgiving dinner, the week after we had been prepping, cooking, and cleaning away for the baptism, I knew I had to call on my gal Betty. 

These bars are delicious! I highly recommend for a sweet treat - and they look more "fancy" than most out-of-the box mixes. I've made these for a few gatherings at Sam's schools here and also in Boston and they have always been a hit! 

I suggest using an 8x8 pan for best results. I've also made this line's Lemon Bars for a birthday party and everyone thought they were homemade. I didn't want to be rude and correct them - so I allowed them to roll with that thought...

Enjoy that glass of wine or playing with your kiddo! 

Godspeed Little Man

A few weeks back a package arrived at our door and we were instructed by K & A not to open it, to place it in the guest room, and not to peek! The package had a picture of a boom box on it.

I assumed that it was something from Etsy - for those of you who have ordered from the site, you will know that sellers use an assortment of boxes for shipping. I assumed that the seller placed his/her goods in this old boom box box.

On Saturday over the baptism weekend, when Sam was showing that he was ready for his morning nap, K & A raced upstairs to "prep" his gift as they believed it would be helpful for nap time. 

When G, Sam, and I climbed the chairs to put Sam down, K & A were waiting in Sam's room with the boom box (it actually was a boom box!) and a basket of goodies. We were instructed to play a CD on the boom box first... and what did we hear? K & A singing one of my favorite songs - a lullaby for Sam!

They recorded the Dixie Chicks' Godspeed, a song that I have loved for YEARS and have played on repeat while dreaming of welcoming a child into this world. Come to find out, it is also one of A's favorite songs as well. 

Here is the song from the Dixie Chicks:

Sorry - can't share K & A's version. It's too special. How amazing to hear the beautiful voices of Sam's godparents singing this incredibly special and emotional song.

And the gift didn't end there - more goodies were in the basket, all tied to the lyrics of the song.

A beautiful hand-painted cross incorporating the star of David with the title of the song.

A Superman cape for the lyrics "Superman's in pajamas on the couch" and a Superman t-shirt (not pictured).

A DVD of Peter Pan for the lyrics "Pirate's sail and lost boys fly"

There was also a very special letter and a yamaka from K & A's wedding that have been tucked into a special keepsake box. 

This gift brought both G and I to tears. It was incredibly thoughtful, shared the talents of K, the beautiful voice of A, and I know that once he is older Sam will listen to that song on repeat and will be delighted to hear the voices of his aunt and uncle. 

We can't thank them enough for loving our boy. 

Sam's Baptism

What a special weekend. My heart is full today and I am thankful to so many who made this weekend so wonderful. 

I am also exhausted. These events are hard work!

Sam and I kicked off our busy weekend with a visit to Grammy & Grampy's on Friday morning, followed by an epic grocery shop. Our cart was overflowing and when I looked down after Sam had thrown his toy on the ground for the 1000th time, I noticed he was missing a shoe. I had no idea where it went missing. I started to search the aisles and eventually asked a manager if a shoe had been turned in. He got his grocery manager on the case, who was walking up and down every aisle helping me look. Our paths crossed, and he asked if I was the one looking for the shoe. I said yes, and he reached into my cart where Sam's shoe was stuck in the bars of the grocery cart. 

My face was BRIGHT. RED. 

I am not (usually) so spastic - that's what planning and prepping will do to a girl!

Mr. and Mrs. A, Sammy's godparents, arrived on Friday night. We were up LATE chit-chatting - this is the first time we've seen them since their nuptials so we did a debrief of the wedding and puppy Oakley - who opened her eyes this weekend!

The five of us (well, four of us, Sam wasn't much help) spent Saturday prepping. Decorating cupcakes, baking casseroles, making muffins, creating bunting and favor tags. It was our own little factory.

Sunday was our big day! We arrived early to the parish hall to set up for the reception, attended mass, and then Sammy was baptized following the service. 

My beautiful boys.

I was so emotional through the baptism and felt so strong to be standing beside my husband and Sam's godparents. My cousin C, our family photographer, took beautiful photos for us. They are being edited now but she has shared a few, all of the photos on this post are from her.

More to come! Including our decor and menu.

Prepping for a Special Weekend

This coming Sunday, we will celebrate Sam's baptism. This is a very big day for me, my husband, and my first born child and I am so thankful that so many will be celebrating with us.

Crafting - Tissue ball decor.

We asked G's brother and sister (in-law) to be Sam's godparents. This was a very thoughtful decision as they are of two different faiths, just like us. Mrs. A was raised Catholic and Mr. A, like G, is Jewish. We know that they will guide Sam, in action and words, to live a life of love, faith, and respect. I am so confident in the two of them as godparents and my heart bursts for my son - he is so blessed to have them in his life.

Yummy Party Dip

For many gatherings on my mom's side of the family, we are asked to bring an appetizer. Easy enough! I have routinely fallen into bringing a Crock-Pot filled with meatballs or sausages and an easy chili-based sauce. Something that is bite-sized, yummy, warm throughout the evening (and these parties last a LONG TIME - especially if Springsteen is played)... I believed they would go like hot-cakes.

They are NEVER eaten. Think I would have learned my lesson? Nope - I keep going back to lugging that Crock-Pot. 

I am done. Never again. I have vowed to myself - I will never bring a Crock-Pot filled with bite-sized appetizer meat again. Thus begins the search for the perfect appetizer. AND I THINK I FOUND IT. 

Warm Blue Cheese & Bacon Dip. 

Don't like blue cheese? That's ok. This dip is still worth a try. The smoky bacon flavor really dominates this yummy dip.

Photo courtesy of The Larson Lingo. 

You’ll Need:

7 slices bacon, crumbled (I used pre-cooked bacon)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c half & half (or whole milk)
4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons fresh green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons smoked almonds, chopped

Then:

Cook bacon in large skillet OR zap your pre-cooked bacon and let it cool.
Once cooled, chop the bacon.

In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth with a mixer.
Add half & half (or milk) & mix.
Stir in crumbled bacon, blue cheese, garlic powder & green onions.
Stir until combined.

Transfer to a 2 cup oven proof serving dish.
Cover with foil & Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

After it has cooled, sprinkle with chopped almonds.
Serve with slices of apples or sliced baguette – both are great escorts for this dip.

And say goodbye to your sausage bites. Although - - this would stay warm in my mini Crock-Pot! Looks like I will be lugging it around again...

Send me your favorite appetizer dishes - I am always looking for inspiration. 

Recipe courtesy of The Larson Lingo.

Sam's Bookshelf

Sam is growing up. Hurts my heart a little - but my baby is becoming a toddler. His "nursery" wasn't reflecting this, so I've started to work on Sam's big boy room. The crib, rocking chair, and changing table remain, but we need to add a bookshelf, toy chest, and color! My cousin made a beautiful quilt for my baby shower - it's orange, blue, gray, green. I love the pop of orange it brings to the room, so we will focus on adding some additional orange accessories.

For now, the bookshelf. 

This bookshelf was in my old room at my parents. I asked if I could use it for Sam's room, and of course they said yes. I believe if I asked them for their entire house for Sam's benefit, they would say yes, of course. Such amazing and loving grandparents this boy has.

I primed it.

And ended up putting three coats of paint on it.

And, I made this! A new home for some stuffed friends and his growing book collection. Older boy books are on the top two shelves and his books are on the third shelf for easy access. His books are those thick, chunky, cardboard that are fairly indestructible. 

We'll save the older boy books until he isn't such a menace. No harming of books in this house.

I am so proud of myself! And Sam continues to amaze me. The night we placed it in his room he made his way over to the shelf and picked out Mortimer for bedtime reading. This little boy loves his Mortimer!!

Our Weekend - the Raddies!

I have been such a slacker in the posting department. Surprisingly, not being employed has kept me away from my laptop more than when I was employed.

This past weekend the Raddies visited! Their baby girl M was born in August of 2012, Sam followed in January of 2013. It's been so special to watch these two grow, and grow together. M is now 15 months, walking (adorably), sharing (at least in action, not in execution), saying a few words including, "Da?", always as if there is a question mark at the end of the title.

Sam didn't know what to do with her. That's a whole lot of woman. She climbed the stairs and Sam sat at the bottom in  utter disbelief of the pure (excuse the French) ballsy-ness. She stole his book, and when he tried to get it back, she screamed and cried. Again, he stared at her in disbelief, as I imagine he was thinking, "Those are my emotions, I should be screaming and crying, not you!" 

It was a great weekend filled with many laughs. All in all, the two played together so well - and the adults had a good time too! The boys went out golfing, the ladies spent most of Sunday in our PJs. A pretty great visit - filled with such yummy food - those recipes are to come!

Grillin'.

Love their faces in this pic!

Sam had enough.

Love a baby in a diaper.

Sesame Street. Sam wanted in on the action.

Just love the way he smiles at her. True friends!

I love Sam in this pic - he looks so Euro.

M was so sad - she didn't want to leave!

So excited to see the Raddies again for a special NYE2014!

Biggest Baby of 2013

Luckily, Sam had nothing on this 14 lb. baby of Utah - 14-Pound Utah Baby May be America's Biggest for 2013. 

My 11-pound 1-ounce masterpiece. 

Our Weekend

After Sam was born, G's boss said to him, "The weekend. It's a diamond." At first we laughed it off but really - each weekend is a diamond. I feel so blessed to have my boys and to be able to spend quality time with them.

Sam and I kicked off the weekend with a visit from the Pope's! I worked with Mama Pope at Northeastern. She is the mama to two beautiful babes - J who is 4.5 and L who is nearly 3 months. I held J when he was 3 weeks old - celebrated his first birthday - it's incredible to see this lil boy turning 5!

This past summer, the Popes also gifted Sammy ALL of J's hand-me-downs, from 6 months-12 months. It was one of the better days of my life. Piles and piles of clothes. Cute clothes. Burberry clothes. 

The visit was a good lesson for Mama Pope and I. One, I discovered what this house would be like with 3 children. Two, I discovered what this house would be like with a 5 year old boy. Our open floor plan makes for a perfect race track, as J ran around and around and around our first floor. Sammy just stared at him in utter wonder and amazement. Mama Pope discovered that while J is probably one of the sweetest big brothers EVER, he has a few things to learn about a growing baby. Like, don't leave a 9 month old baby alone on the couch. Sammy took a dive to the floor after he was placed on the couch by J. BOYS!

Saturday we headed to a my cousin's baby's gender reveal. We stopped at my parents to help them get on the road. Sam took a few moments to play in my walker from 1985. 

I was helping my Dad with my Mom - and the three of us erupted in giggles. I nearly peed my pants, my mom had snot running down her nose from laughing so hard. My dad attempted to stiffle his laughs but I know he was smiling. It was a memory I want to hold on to - even in the midst of doing not so fun things, we can laugh and enjoy one another.

The big moment... the gender reveal - - - It's a girl! Baby Eleanor Josie is due at the end of March! So excited to welcome the little lady and shop for a baby girl. 

Sam enjoyed some chicken and also took 3 steps!!! Apparently, I also dress Sam and I as twins. 

After church on Sunday we feasted on Cookie Jar donuts. Such a perk of moving to Maine. These donuts are just life changing. We visited Gram and Gramp, raked some leaves, visited with aunt Jo and headed back home. I then headed south, visited my former coworker at her shop Lively Kids {such an adorable store. wanted everything.} in Portsmouth and then grabbed dinner with her while the boys had guys night. Friday wrapped up my time at BU and the transition was tough. The dinner helped with closure.

This week, I am looking at unemployment! My to-do list is a mile long so I have plenty to occupy my time, but this is a strange, strange feeling. Our next weekend will be such a diamond - the Raddie's are headed north!!

Sammy's First Halloween!

We celebrated our first Halloween in our new home with our baby gorilla. We were all so excited to be in our own house handing out candy and were so worried about the rain keeping our treaters away. I think G checked the front door over 5 times before our door bell started ringing.

King Kong and a poor group of bus tourists.

And King Kong after the spices.

We also realized we need to amp our Halloween decor game in future years - our pumpkins were  not doing the trick. Our neighbors had black lights, massive spiders hanging from windows, the works.

It's my last week of work - so after wrapping up a few last minute details via email, I raced to get Sam and get him home and into his costume. He was such a good sport in that costume!

We ended up with around 30-40 kids. The last few treaters got a good haul as I emptied our candy bin into their buckets. Get that stuff out of the house!

Baby Gorilla!

I went to bed in my Christmas PJs. Halloween is over and I am ready for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas! This weekend I hope to get our holiday stuff from the basement and start decorating. 

In addition to Halloween, it was quite a week! The Red Sox winning the World Series (!!!) - what a team. Sam also FaceTimed with his lady friend Maddie who is visiting in two weeks! We can't wait to see her - and her amazing parents. 

We are looking at a crazy weekend as always - including the announcement of my cousin's baby - Boy or Girl!?? My money is on boy - - we will see!