2014

2013 - You were a YEAR. A new baby, a new home, leaving my job, a wedding in the family; many joys, many tears, and some tough and trying times. Emotions were clear across the spectrum. This has been the longest and shortest year of my life! Shortest in that I cannot believe my little guy is turning one in mere days - and longest in the amount of STUFF that occurred over the course of these 365 days. 

As we approach January 10, I am looking forward to writing and sharing our birthing story with the blog. As it's been a year, I finally feel in a good place to record it. Don't worry - there will not be many gory details.

For now, I wish health, joy and laughter to my family and yours. Cheers, 2014!

Sam's First Christmas

Here are some snippets of our first Christmas with Sam.... Lots of photos - be prepared!

This was our first Christmas Eve mass not at St. John's, as it closed in September. St. John's was a three minute walk from my grandparents, and each year we would meet at my gram and gramps' and then walk over to mass together. It was just MAGIC. I LOVED being surrounded by my cousins and family on this joyous night. The tradition was a highlight of my childhood, and then seeing my cousin's children in such excitement for Christmas Eve became such a highlight of my adulthood. It bums me out that Sam will not spend his Christmas masses at St. John's. 

We attended Holy Cross which is the church I grew up in; where there are many familiar faces from extended family and friends.

As we arrived at 3pm for a 4pm mass in order to get a seat, I knew that it wouldn't end well for Sam. He lasted from 3-4:20pm and then took a snooze with dad in the back of the church.

We spend Christmas Eve at my grandmother's. She serves an absolutely delicious seafood lasagna. Sam was dressed in his finest! I love his lil bow tie!

Get ready for some cuteness!

Look at lil M and A snuggling on the couch reading books! I feel like this is a vintage holiday card - especially with the TV guide book on the coffee table!

Can't stand the cuteness.

Sam was loving on those Christmas balls and just wanted to pick them up and throw them so badly.

Sam on Christmas morning. Guess he got into the eggnog the night before...

Not too excited for new presents from Santa. He went right over to his old toys after his bottle, asking me to read him a Mickey book by shoving it in my face.

Santa purchased this learning-walker in late September to help Sam get walking. Silly Santa - Sam started walking at the end of October! He still loves the buttons and peek-a-boo cow.

He also decided that Christmas was the PERFECT time to get over the fear of the tree and attack all ornaments within arm's reach.

Christmas morning nap to face the day.

In the middle of the craziness and absolutely loving it.

Sam was up and out WAY past his bedtime (until 9pm!) both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. He did such a great job. We had a really nice Christmas with new traditions, though Sam was more interested in the k-cups that Santa left in my stocking than his own gifts!

Teacher Gifts - Sugar Scrub & Sweet Treats

Sam is attending school (daycare) a few days a week while I am on the job hunt. It is working for us, as Sam is such a social baby and school is a great release for him. We also had such a hard time with the transition to a new school (tears, and tears, and more tears - from both of us) that we hesitated pulling him out to go back in again when I am employed.

We wanted to thank Sam's teachers for taking such care of him these past few months, so Sam and I made a sugar scrub and chocolate-dipped treats!

The sugar scrub was super easy to make. I found a ton of recipes online but this was the easiest - and I had the ingredients in the kitchen!

Yup - Just Dawn soap with Olay and Domino Sugar. This is Dawn's pomegranate scent, they also have a lavender scent. I love the pale pink color - this would be a cute favor for a baby or wedding shower!

I used 2/3 sugar to 1/3 soap and then worked the mixture with a butter knife to find the right consistency, not too sugary and not too soapy. The best part - I had to test each one to ensure the consistency was just right.

I used jelly jars, a "garden" paper print and a holiday ribbon. I downloaded this fun font from <http://www.kevinandamanda.com/>, a cute blog which features a ton of fun fonts.

The finished product.

I added white chocolate dipped mint oreos topped with holiday sprinkles for a sweet treat and placed into a holiday printed box - the box can be re-used for holiday decor.

Some extra oreos for the school's director and teacher's room.

My friend S also gifted sugar scrubs to her fellow teachers. She used the Dawn for Olay lavendar scent and printed circular labels. Are they not adorable??

I figure if a teacher is giving it to another teacher, it must be a solid teacher's gift! Sam's teachers were appreciative - saying that they are elbow-deep in dirty diapers all day long that it was nice to get some hand pampering.

Merry Christmas, Sammy.

Wishing our Sam a very, very merry first Christmas.

You are our miracle little one. Thank you for blessing us this year.

Print from Kiki & Company.

Holiday Cards

I LOVE receiving holiday cards and sending them too!

Here is Sam's first holiday card:

I ordered these from Tiny Prints <http://www.tinyprints.com/>. 

The photo was taken by my cousin C during our family's October apple picking trip. I love how it came out!

Our Weekend

It's the final countdown - 2 days until Christmas! We were busy this past weekend running errands and prepping for the holiday. Here are some snippets of our days...

On Friday, Sam and I headed out to the mall and Walmart for some shopping. Holy cow. Sam was just as overwhelmed with the crowds as his momma! Luckily, they were handing out samples of delicious pear in the produce section at Walmart. Sam devoured it.

After our adventures, Sam had an epic breakdown in the car and ripped off his sock and shoe. As he attempted to pull off the second, he fell asleep and snored the rest of the way home.

Saturday we attended services at temple and then headed out for some last minute errand running. We were "iced-in" on Sunday, so we spent the day wrapping gifts, making lasagna for Christmas dinner, and building some new counter stools.

Sam was a big help.

Just testing the sturdiness of this bar dad.

I need to inspect your work, dad. It passes.

Honeymooning!

Wishing K & A and very happy honeymoon! Enjoy sippin' some margaritas in the sun, guys! We love you.

K&A - October 13, 2013

Sam's First Holiday Concert

This past Tuesday Sam and his pals at school celebrated with a holiday concert. Yes, my 11 month old and his infant buddies participated in a holiday show - it was too cute!

This momma of course teared up. How can you not when you see this little face?

I thank God every day for this boy. What an incredible gift.

Sam held down the auxiliary percussion (a set of bells). I am certain he would have made Uncle Keith incredibly proud. 

The performers. I see a star!

Starting to get bored.... I did take video for da-da. Sam got a lil antsy and proceeded to kick the seat in front of him, yell, stick out his tongue. So funny to watch!

Just making sure my mom is still there.

Sam and I made our way back home on Tuesday evening in the snow. Look at our snow bank! We've got 22 inches of snow in the last week - yes, 22! This photo was taken from the car on Wednesday. Enough is enough.

Warming things up - Salsa Chicken

It is COOOLLD up here. As I type this, it's -2. FRIGID. I made this easy and filling dish to bring some HEAT back into the house.

You’ll Need:

1 lb. shell shaped pasta

1 lb. cooked and shredded chicken (I HATE shredding chicken. Hate it. So I just cut my raw chicken into bite size pieces and cooked it in a little olive oil on the stovetop and it came out great)

1 (8 oz) jar of salsa (mild, medium, hot – it’s up to you)

1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles

1.5 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 (2.8 oz) can French Fried Onions (yup.)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta to al dente (about 7 to 8 minutes).

In a big bowl, mix together your chicken, salsa, tomato sauce, water and green chilies.  Drain your cooked pasta and add it to your bowl along with your cheese.  Stir to incorporate everything.

Pour your pasta mixture into an 8x8" baking dish lightly sprayed with Pam. Sprinkle French Fried Onions over the top. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 to 10 or until your pasta is bubbly and your onions are browned.



So easy.

This recipe could be doubled and placed in a 13x9 pan to serve a larger crowd, and could also be frozen and tucked away for a day when no one feels like cooking. 

Recipe courtesy of Mix & Match Mama.

It's the Holiday Season...

I can't believe Christmas is here! We've had a lot on our plates so my poor notebook has been missing my entries. Here's what we've been up to...

Last Friday, Sam and I headed down to New Hampshire to visit the P's. Sam was gifted little J's TRAIN SET. J is growing up and decided to pass it down. It's beautiful, in great condition, and currently in about 500 pieces. G and I need to figure out where to set it up...

After our trip to NH, we headed down the street to get our tree!

We purchased our tree from the local little league. 100% of the profits go to the league and this is their largest fundraiser of the year. We were thrilled to support our new community - and also learned that t-ball is played at the field next to our neighborhood.

Love this shot of my family.

Hysterical watching my husband attempt to set up his first Christmas tree.

On Saturday, we brought Sam downstairs to see the tree. He exclaimed, "ooooooo" - it was too funny. My parents came over to help us decorate our tree and eat some holiday fare. Sam was sporting his "Dear Santa, I can explain.." t-shirt. I attempted to get a good shot of him but this lil bugger does not EVER want to sit still. I love this tee with the lil pup on it - makes me think of puppy Oakley and the T-R-O-U-B-L-E the Oakster and Sam will get into.

Our tree! We love it. Minimal decorations on the bottom because we don't have many and because my lil pal has grabby hands.

G's aunt and uncle gifted us this delicious hot chocolate mix and giant marshmallows for a holiday gift earlier this month. We kicked it up a notch with some added spirits and prepped for the storm.

On Sunday we woke up to a foot of snow (with more in the forecast for today AND later this week) and a lil boy who is having some tummy troubles. While G was shoveling the driveway (God love him. We need to ask Santa for a snow-blower) Sam and I took a lil snuggle on the couch. Right before he fell asleep, he air-kissed me. I nearly melted.

Sam's Christmas List

This holiday season, G and I have had an interesting time sharing a Christmas list with Santa. Sam is just a lil guy and he doesn't need many toys. But, it is his first Christmas and we want it to be special. Because, "special" means an abundance of gifts... (sarcasm.)

We found this list written by a 10-month old and decided to put it in the mail to the North Pole. It's like Sam wrote it himself, especially the sought-after wall mount entertainment center.

Check it out here - http://theuglyvolvo.com/2013/12/10/a-ten-month-olds-letter-to-santa/. 

Weekend in Maryland - A's Holiday Gathering

This past weekend we headed down to Maryland to visit G's parents, Sam's Nana and Grandad. Here are a few snippets of our time!

Sam and I at the airport in Portland. Please notice Sam is missing a shoe. We were also missing da-da, who got stuck in Chicago after a business trip in Wisconsin. He met us in the Baltimore airport. Thank goodness for my cousin C, who helped me unload the car, check baggage, and keep Sam smiling prior to our going through security. I would not have got to this smiling picture without her!

Landed in Baltimore and da-da picked us up in the rental car. Sam was BESIDE himself to see his Dad. The biggest smile! He hadn't seen da-da's face in a week!

At Nana & Grandad's - photo courtesy of Aunt A.

There were holiday gifts exchanged on Saturday morning - and Sam ended up in one!

Another from Aunt A - Sam and Uncle K.

On Saturday night we toured the holidays lights and feasted with extended A's. The visits and weekends spent with the A's are always filled with delicious food, including lasagna, waffles, quiches, bagels, and lots of cheese.

On this visit I also learned more about Sam's namesake, his great-Zaydie (great-grandfather.) He was described as a man who was always positive, put family first, and didn't have a malicious bone in his body. I hope our lil Sam shares these same qualities as he grows.

Our trip home was epic. After a snowstorm in Maryland which made for a white-knuckled drive to the airport and three-hours stuck on the tarmac prior to take-off, we finally arrived home around 10pm on Sunday night.

Some photos of Sam's journey on Sunday...

Packing up at Nana and Grandad's. Photo from Aunt A. Just love his little side smirk in this one!

Snoozing in the airport prior to boarding.

The following photos reflect a calm, angelic, baby sleeping on a plane. Let's just say photos were not taken during the screaming, crying, and sadness that results of three hours of NOT MOVING in a confined space. Poor kid. Had to share these angelic ones though!

Trying to find any way to get some cozies going.

Snuggling with momma. 

We landed!

Thanks to the A's for having us! So glad that everyone made it home safely after the weather troubles on Sunday. 

Sam and I won't be flying any time soon.