Thankful

Before we start the countdown to Christmas, here's what I am thankful for most this Thanksgiving weekend...there are so many things, but here's what comes to mind. :)

Having our own dinner, just Ian, Lauren and I Saturday night. Ian cooked a delicious turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and broccoli. It was simple. It was just us. The food was hot - there weren't 25 people there - and it was Lauren's first Thanksgiving. It was unplanned, but it was very special.

My parents and all of the nice things that they do for us...Lauren and I were treated like princesses for two solid days. It's nice to have a place to go back to, where you always feel like a kid. The food is your favorite, the gas tank gets filled and for a short period of time, there are no bills, obligations, or chores - only family and fun.

Lauren's piggy bank. Who knew my dad was stuffing money in it all summer when they came to visit! He let me in on the secret, and helped me get started on Lauren's Christmas shopping. What an unexpected treat.

The first day of the Christmas season when you play Christmas CD's and put up all of your old Christmas decorations. Opening the box of Chrismas ornaments you have had since you were a kid, and thinking back to when you still believed in Christmas. Lauren has her own tree and ornaments now, but it's still fun to look at the homemade ones I've carried around all of these years.

Baby Lauren...how do you really express the gratitude you feel for your children? Through all of the sacrifices, and the nights spent worrying, that little smile lights up your day - and your heart, every time. Her squeals, her babble, those baby blues looking up at you...it's what I live for.

My health. Yeah - I ate more calories than I should have, but an extra 5 or 10 pounds is a small worry compared to what some are facing. I've been reminded of that recently. This body makes it downtown 5 days a week, pounds the pavement, climbs the ladder, then comes home and snaps into mommy mode. I'm thankful that even though it's exhausting, I'm able to do it.

My Ian. We've had a hard year financially, but somehow we haven't let it affect us. We're happy. We're content. We're not made of money, but we have beautiful little girls and great family and friends. Have I mentioned that he cooks? He is a godsend...literally. I heart my Ian... ♥

His adorable children. It wasn't easy at first, but I truly love our time together. They are sweet and funny and have welcomed me with open arms. I think that God knew that I needed a family to call my own, and that Ian needed a partner and someone to tie it all together. It may not be tied together with a perfect bow, and no were not traditional, and it wouldn't be for everyone - but it takes a village to raise a child, and we're doing that every day.

Ian's family - what wonderful people! I adore them. There are no words for how they have helped us over the past year. They're just "good people." They've made me feel like a part of it all. Every time I come to pick up Lauren, it reminds me of going to my grandma and grandpa Cantwell's...the dogs barking, dinner cooking...after facing what I face at my job - it's like a little piece of heaven. Lauren loves them, I know she is safe and happy, and there is NO better feeling than that when you are a working mother.

My sister Amanda. She's hilarious. You only share DNA with a few people on this planet. When I just don't think I can take people any more, she gets it! She's a great wife and sister and aunt and daughter. There's only one "Manda."

My yayas! It's so much harder to talk or see my girlfriends now that we are all approaching 30. We've got careers, not just jobs now. Lots of irons in the fire and people that depend on us. But that just makes the talks we have that much better.

My job - as in, having one. A pretty good one.

So those are the big ones. I hope that you have just as many things in your life that you are thankful for.

♥ V :)

Most recent pics!

Happy early Thanksgiving!

What a great week this has been! Work is slow and the living is easy...

I posted a picture of Sara and I, circa our old party days above. This was taken in Florida, on spring break. We're so happy, I kind of want to slap us! I'm trying to get us PUMPED UP to go out this weekend! Sara is a traveling saleslady. She works a billion hours. She is always out and about, entertaining important clients and closing deals and living the high life. She is in town all week. Sara in town = Us going out = having a glorious time!!! I can't wait!

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Kelly came up last weekend to Indy for a Connor and Lauren playdate! We had a great time shopping at Carter's, enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Bravo, (with Sara as well) and then watched the IU vs. Purdue game at my house. This brought back good memories, as Kelly and I went to IU together. :) The babies played together - actually quite nicely. Refresher: Connor is 6.5 months, and Lauren is 9.5 months. Connor is much more on Lauren's level - she actually even tried to assert herself! WOW! Connor had her books and she was NOT HAVING THAT. She takes after me; she really hearts books. I think she sensed she was in her element, and she was older, and so she said: I will not put up with this! I WILL get my book back! But they were adorable. I will post pics of the babies asap. Ian's girls and I also were VERY craft last weekend. We made some cool "Thankful Trees." We painted molds. We did nails. We sang Taylor Swift songs. Much fun was had by all. I will post some pics of our trees. Very cheap and easy to make! And of course, nice to remind of us of all the things we are thankful for.

Congrats to Brie and Chris on the birth of their son, Cole Brayden Blake, 6.8 oz, 18 3/4 inches. I am hoping to get to the hospital to visit her today.

Happy early Thanksgiving everyone!

♥ V :)

9 month checkup: baby ballerina

We have to fatten our little baby up.

Lauren had her 9 month checkup this week. Apparently we have to work on fattening her up, as she is in the 10th percentile for weight. Tenth!! She's in the 80th for height, and she grew another inch and a half in the last 3 months. She's 28 and a half inches long. Obviously, this child is taking after Ian's family, as she is not getting this characteristic from me or anyone in my family. She's a long, string bean ballerina. I have called her this from her very first ultrasound. It never failed, at each ultrasound, the tech would say, "Look at those long legs!" And when the nurses checked her over after she was first hatched, they said, "She has long legs, like a ballerina!" All of this long and lean business is coming from Ian's family. My people are not waif-like. So, over Thanksgiving, I have to work on fattening my little turkey up!

She's also about ready to start full-on belly off the ground crawling. She is SO CLOSE! She's done her army crawl for what seems like months now. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, and I think at any second that she might take off and be crawling like a big girl. And then, she drops back down and takes off in her army crawl. She's very mobile, and I'm not complaining. I will have to do some serious baby proofing once she is big girl crawling. The whole deal - gates, latches - whatever people do to keep the babies from crashing the whole house down, I will have to do! Thank God Ian has done this twice before so he knows what in the world we are supposed to do when this happens.

I'm looking forward to lunch with the girls and some Carter's shopping with Kelly Saturday! And we have Ian's girls this weekend, so I will be in step-mother mode as soon as the clock strikes five...and as soon as I fly home on my step-mother broom...

TGIF! :)

♥ V :)

Shopping trip to Nashville!

Last Saturday, six of us took a day trip down to Nashville, in Brown County, to do some holiday shopping. My mom, Ian's aunt Laura, my sister, Aunt Amy and my cousin Leslie met at my house at 8am to start the day. We had some donuts and drank coffee and set off before 9am. In about an hour and half, we made our way to Nashville in Brown County. The trip brought back so many happy memories of Bloomington (because of course I'm an IU girl!) Nashville was decked out for the holidays, and we had great weather - almost 70 degrees! We wine tasted at the Brown County winery. We ate pizza at the Blue Moon pizzeria. We tried fudge. We ate popcorn. We saw many crafts and many ornaments. I added to my flocked Christmas tree collection - long story, but I'm obsessed with nostalgic flocked Christmas trees. On the way back, we stopped at the Edinburgh outlet shops. There were many glorious baby stores with deep discounts!! We ate at Cracker Barrel after all of our shopping and headed home. I hope to make it an annual trip. Thanks for a great day girls!

♥ V :)

Splurge vs. Steal

A funny story I heard from a girlfriend today about getting her hair done "on the cheap" got me thinking about all of the adjustments that we make when we start having children. Add on top of the baby factor the recession factor and WOW, how times have changed for us girly girls, us lover of products. Our formerly pampered selves...are certanily less...frilly. But I'll be damned if I'm going to give up! Oh no, I will press on! Discount beauty, here I come! Coupons for hair color? Yes, don't mind if I do.

I have learned that it is kind of ridiculous to pay over $5 for body wash. Really, I don't know what I was thinking. Philosophy makes some great body washes...but so does Suave. And they smell really good. And they work as bubble bath, too. Oh, how I heart Suave's tropical coconut body wash! I wish they sold it in vats. I would definitely buy a vat of this stuff. It always makes me think of happy times, if even for only a minute. I also like Suave's limited edition Peppermint body wash. It is spa like! And has shimmer! And it's all white and pure and did I mention, spa like. For less than $2. Glorious, I say.

Let's also talk hair color: as in Loreal Preference hair color. Goodbye, salon, hello, EASY! For $8, you too can have your roots gone in the comfort of your own home. Really, I may go back to a salon for a special occasion like my wedding, and a couple times a year for a cut, but I do not even want to tell you what I have spent on hair color over the past five years. It is embarrassing. A child in an impoverished country could have had many, many things for what I have spent at pricey salons. Self, I am so mad at you. But you didn't know, you just didn't know! In addition, in my quest for those brushes that they paint your hair with at the salon, I found myself at my local Sally Beauty Supply, where I found a great $5 sugar scrub, and a $4 eye cream, among other things.

The "steal" list goes on and on...shampoo: Garnier Fructis smells fruity and nice. Dove beauty bars I love. It was about time to give up the tanning bed, so that is no loss. Surprisingly enough, now that I can't go running around town drinking martini's, I go to bed earlier, never look or feel hungover, and don't have that smoke in the hair smell in the morning - thank you, motherhood! And can you say breastfeeding: as in burns calories without even going to the gym. Nature's best invention EVER. So change can be good.

And to anyone who thinks, "I am a mom" so it doesn't matter what I look like, I say, it DOES matter. It matters because we owe it to ourselves. We owe it to the person that lived before the babies and the men came along. That person is still there, even though it's harder to find her. It matters because we owe it to our partners to be the vest version of ourselves we can be. And we owe it to our kids to be fabulous, beautiful creatures that love them and teach them how to be beautiful little people, inside and out.

Some things I will admit, I won't give up: a good face lotion and a night cream. My Nars blush. And when all else fails... I can always stash my products in the trunk and sneak them upstairs when Ian is sleeping. In our case, the early bird gets her makeup. :)

More pics from baby showers

Amanda posted some of her pictures from the last two baby showers. Check out my favorites! Look at Lauren's face - she's all, "Don't you come up on me, Charlotte!!" haha. I love the next one too. Charlotte is a cutie-pie. Also check out Lauren with Charlotte's teddy bear. Lauren loves a good stuffed animal!

I also posted one of Jessica, me and Lauren from her shower at Amanda's house this past summer.

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I had a great weekend! Six of us went to Nashville, IN to shop, eat and carry on. I will post pics and more about that trip later...

Have a great Monday!

♥ V :)

Getting into the holiday spirit: Lauren the Elf!

Click on this link to see Lauren doing the elf dance:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/9rOEoc9O2ob9wk3t

Baby showers and Birthday parties on this Balmy weekend...

Lauren and I set out today to two different parties. First, we headed to my friend Brie's baby shower held at our friend Wendy's house. On this beautiful November weekend, Lauren rocked out a scoop neck short sleeved tunic (complements of Chaffee) with pink leggings and completed the outfit with a Hello Kitty pink bow. Mommy wore a cami from Express and brought out the coconut body wash and Jergen's sunless tanner to celebrate the warm weather. As the girls of summer that we are, we must enjoy any sunshine that we can get.

It was good to see all of the girls, eat yummy appetizers and watch Brie open all of the presents for her little boy. Of course, we all love a good cake from Classic Cakes in Carmel...it's become a tradition for our group of friends...raspberry for my shower, chocolate chip for Jess's shower, and almond with chocolate in the middle for Brie. Lauren played with her friend Charlotte, who is two months older. I use the term play lightly. Apparently, two months is equivalent to about one million light years in baby terms. Charlotte was cruising around the furniture, walking in big girl shoes, eating REAL macaroni and cheese, and drinking out of a sippy cup. Lauren was pretty much content to play with stuffed animals, a few toys and eat a little bit of cake in my lap. Hmmm. It seems that we have a big two months ahead of us!

Next, we headed to Cliff's birthday party at Paula's (Grammy's.) Lauren had a quick outfit change into her Colts onesie for the soiree. We love the tradition that Ian's family has of getting together on Sunday nights to celebrate birthday's and special occasions. Lauren made the rounds, and even seemed to have dropped her grudge against Grammy! WOW Lauren! The food was delicious as usual, and it was a great way to wind down the weekend.

As I put Lauren to bed, I left the window open while we read books and the cool air blew in. I tried to soak up every bit of the moment, knowing that we have so many long months ahead of frigid nights and cold temps. The holidays are near, and it is a good time to be thankful for all that we have been blessed with...this village of beautiful friends and adoring family that love her so much. I prayed and wished and hoped for her to have sweet dreams...and to know how much she is loved. We are very lucky girls...

♥ V :)

Family Pictures!

I'm so excited...we had family pictures taken two weekends ago and they were posted this weekend to the photographer's blog! We had a beautiful fall day at Holliday Park in Indy off of Springmill Road. It was a little chilly, so we had to work quickly, but I love how they turned out. Here is the link below:

www.jamiesangarblog.com

Sorry for the overload of pictures but I have to get caught up since I just started this blog...

Love, V :)

More fall pictures of the girls!

Beyonce Dancing Baby

Go to the link below, and watch the 2nd video on the page. It's another dancing Beyonce baby. I was laughing out loud when I saw it!

http://singlebabies.com/

Animal Wars

It came out of nowhere...but at our house we have been in the heat of an animal dispute for two days now. Our 10 year old has decided she cannot live without....*drum roll*....a guinea pig. Nonchalantly, she mentioned two days ago that she would be interested in having said rodent. I diffused the situation pretty quickly with a pretty solid answer of no, supplied with the various reasons why...you are gone at your mom's every other weekend, Daddy works late 3 days a week, you never spend time in your room, and of course the most obvious reason, they smell bad, and we have enough stinky things in our house: the kitty litter, diaper genie and the lingering memory of a small black and white dog named Lilly that used our upstairs as her own backyard on several occasions. Not knowing what was to come, I was pretty certain that that brief discussion would be the end of it.

Fastforward one day. Overnight, the desire for this creature has doubled, tripled, quadrupled!! Pouting. Sulking. Research with classmates about how GREAT life would BE! If ONLY she owned one has occurred...what was I thinking! Amateur! We are not done with this yet.

I think I need to back up and explain first that Audrey is the greatest lover of animals that I have ever encountered in my entire life. This is not the typical love of kittens and puppies that most children display. No, this is animal LOVE. I mean, she REALLY HEARTS animals. ANY kind of animal. She currently has a pet snake and Lilly dog living at her Nana and Pappa's. She wanted a rat for Christmas and got it, two years ago. She shows pigs in the 4-H fair every summer. And just the other night when we were giving baby goose her bath, she picked up one of her new squirty bath toys and said, "Oh look, a sand ray!" Huh? a what? But I don't doubt at all that this is the actual name of that thing and I'm certain that sand rays exist. She watches Animal Planet constantly. Basically, Audrey is earthy and like a beatiful little hippie. That's what I named her when I came into this family...I thinkI just assumed that all little girls are obsessed with Bratz dolls and pink and purple, and that is just not the case here.

So back to the animal war. I don't know if this is good parenting at all, but I think we are going to compromise with getting a new kitten. I mean, we have Gracie cat at our house, but let's be honest - when you date someone and you are almost 30 years old and he's lived with someone for 7 years before you, I've just never really felt the love with that cat. I mean, I feed her and all - you could say she has "food, water and toilet" (a little Meet the Parents referance - that's for you sis) so she doesn't go without. But...let's just say I'm not exactly curled up by the fire with her, stroking her fur and listening to her pur, either.

So operation KITTEN may go down this Saturday. It's an off weekend with nothing big planned for the girls. With the holidays approaching, I have visions of long evenings by the fire, the snow falling and baby kitten sitting in my lap, purring contently. Plus, I want Lauren to grow up with a pet that we got as a family when she was young. We have been working on "petting nice" with Gracie. Every time she sees her she kicks her feet in excitement, and tries to get to her as quickly as she can. She looks at me, and then rakes her little hands quickly through her fur while I supervise and Gracie scowls. Sorry Gracie.

We'll see. Mr. Awesome has not approved this mission. Will report back with the final decision soon...

Love, V :)

Welcome to my very first blog entry!

This is my answer to the "facebook" question that I keep getting. As in, "Why don't you join Facebook?" Over and over again, the question arises. I have a variety of reasons why I do not want to join Facebook. I will not go into detail here. However, I plan to use this blog to let my friends and some family in on what I'm up to with Baby Lauren, my (soon-to-be) stepkids Audrey and Olivia and of course, Mr. Awesome himself, Ian! (Inside joke - he likes to be referred to as Mr. Awesome, and no, I am not kidding.)

I will do my best to not be one of those mothers who over-shares about her children. I'm realistic - it wasn't so long ago that I was on the other side; I had not fallen down the rabbit hole yet, i.e. I was a martini drinking, Sephora shopping, high-heel wearing, highlight having un-mom. But alas, those days are in the past, and now you can exchange arbor mist, CVS, ballet flats and Clairol into the appropriate blanks of that last sentence. But for all I've given up, I have gained so much in return. So, so, so much. And that is the reason for this blog...to celebrate our little family, my new and different life...how funny and crazy it all is on any given day.

love, V :)