Death

I kept this info away from my blog because it was mostly for "happy" things. Also, I just don't think I was ready. This blog was a happy place and life recently, not so much. I see my last post was Aug. 6 and during that time my mother in law was still alive but very, very sick. She was diagnoised with StageIV liver & lung cancer at the end of July and passed a week after her birthday on August 26th. This was one hell of a hard summer. We have been calling it the curse of 2013. I wont go into all of the details but here is what happened with her. I wrote this shortly after her funeral so I would remember things. Everything was a blur. I didn't edit it because I wanted it to be what I was feeling and thinking at that moment and "raw". Mostly it is a timeline. If you have ever been through a close family member death you know about "God's numbness" and how powerful and true it is.
 I think this is the first time I have actually got to sit at the computer and write. We lost my mil last Monday morning. She was diagnosed in July with stage IV liver & lung cancer and died a short month later so I assume she had the cancer for awhile and was unaware (scary). The day of the death my husband woke me up crying around 6 am and said he lost mom, she died. The day before he called her and could tell something was seriously off, said he hoped she would make it through the night. I was shocked and kept saying no she didnt, no, no, then just held him and we both cried in bed holding eachother. We had the triplets so we pulled it together (sort of) for them by 7am to send them off to school and planned to tell them when they got home as we didn't want to send them to school with that news, had to go see my fil and knew they would be missing days for the services. We headed to fil house right after they went to school we all hugged and cried. He said she was doing really bad on Sunday. Unfortunatly, my husband had a sinus infection or broncitus so he didn't want to go visit her on Sunday because something like that could have killed her, we saw her on the prior Thursday in the Hospital and she actually looked good, all pumped up with fluids. She went in for four days because of how dehydrated she was. She really didn't eat much for 3 weeks before her death. I think that maybe a blessing for us, seeing her Sunday before she died may have been a worse memory. She had her first chemo treatment on Friday and I believe she was to weak to even get it but felt like she was doing it for us. 
 When we told the kids one instantly balled, one was sort of scared and hid under the blanket with light tears and one was comic relief (she hates, hates sad things and I read that trying to lighten the mood is a coping mech.) So in their true style as they are so different, they all coped different. The baby, the poor baby got the shaft. She will never remember this wonderful , inspiring, loving, selfless woman. I am so thankful for the visit she had with the baby 2 weeks before death and she and they baby actually took a snooze together, mil holding her, I have the treasured picture. Her memory through us most live on for her. It breaks my soul, no it broke my soul. Still mending. 
Silver lining is sucks for us good for her no suffering. The services were beautiful, we pulled it off. There were around 700 people that came to the visitation, husband, fil and I stood there and shook everyones hand, lines were out the door. She had an impact on a lot of people. Starting the local University from scratch, running for Senate, and being a teacher for so many years. We held a reception with food and drinks at a nice hall after the funeral and brought the baby. It was nice for friends of hers to meet they baby and see she was there. She really loved the baby, when fil asked me to go through her phone 90% of her text were doting on her. I am going to screen shot and save them for her later in life. She touched so many lives and will be sorely missed. Now its time for us to grieve. Our whole family feels broken. 

That is what I wrote a week after death. We are slowly moving forward and coping. My fil is in Florida right now where they stayed in the winter. Their condo was rennovated just this Summer, (al lher doing) and he really wanted her to get to see it. Sadly she did not. I know with time we will heal, but she was such a huge, huge part of our family. None was expecting this or ready. I really have to step up for my husband and fil, staying strong  for them. Thats all I know to do at this point. Life is very short and it scares me. 
The baby has turned one (WOW) and the triplets (9). I cannot believe it. I hope to post pictures of birthdays this week. 

6 err month photos

I finally got some of the digitals of my girls 6 month photos! I am sooo in LOVE. I knew she was beautiful but wow. One happy momma. Enjoy. Incase you are wondering about the "err" in the title she is going on ten months but hey the photographer finally sent just recently!

Our Summer..& exciting NEWS

It seems as though my little blog has been put on the back burner this Summer. Anyone here? I know I am a more active blogger in the fall and winter months, how about you? I also know I put on more weight in the summer, anyone else? All the cookouts, boating, pool instead of gym, ya know. We have spent fun times at the river, trips to Kings Island, the pool, and the husband and I are going to sneak off and go to Chicago THIS WEEKEND to the lalapoloza festival. Follow me on instgram for some fun Chicago shots. Its an awesome people watching festival we have scheduled out our weekend and which bands we have to see, so excited! Will be good and do a trip recap post. 
The girls seem like they are now pre teens instead of kids  & the baby transforming into a toddler right in front of our eyes! Life goes way too fast. Watching them change on a daily basis is just mind blowing. The baby can pull up on everything, my bet is that she will be walking by 10 months, 11 max. I have started to put away some of her infant things and she is outgrowing 6-9 month cloths, sad panda!

News....NEWS FLASH ....WE ARE MOVING. Yep. We are moving onto our parents property & rennovating their home, adding a new wing and foundation. Super excited! Everyone will have thier own room. More details to come...this will be our backyard :

I can imagine my husband and kids out there having picnics, fishing, and enjoying the beautiful view for years to come!

A very gross chore

Sooo one of the grossest things I've ever had to do happened to me this week and no it has nothing to do with kid poop. I would have preferred that. Several months ago our renters at our condo were down on their luck and fell into some hardship aka couldn't pay rent any longer. Being the nice folks we are we allowed them to pack up and get out without consequence. We made them do it rather quickly because we needed to start cleaning and finding new renters. They left a lot of stuff they couldn't take (nothing of value) and unfortunately their dog did a number on the carpets. So I was caught up in riding the items and getting the carpet replaced, the Mr. patching and painting, we both didn't check the fridge. Big mistake. BIG. When opened we were greeted with a HORRIBLE SMELL, mold , liquid food, ugh I can't go on without vomiting. Anyway, I was given the task to try to restore this gross sucker. Before and after shots:

Now how to rid the smell? Baking soda has been used, read about white vinegar, vanilla extract...even coffee beans. Any advice would be apprechiated. We may have to bite the bullet and by a new. Ever consider renting? Don't. 

Losing my marbles

Today something happened that confirmed I've lost my damn mind. I went to the store bought my things and packed the van up. Realized I put the wine in the passangers seat instead of in the back with the other things...hmm ok whatever. Two lights down the road I go and panic sets in after I look on that said seat. Where is my purse?? Pulled over and checked everywhere, no luck. My phone, Id, credit cards, house keys and fresh atm cash (I never have cash) were all stowed away in that little purse. So I drive 100 fast and try to remember where I parked, see the cart boys and gun it. One cart boy is holding my purse starting to open it as I shout "Thank gosh, that is mine!" He hands it to me no questions asked, when I opened there was no phone! Shit! I ask him if he has a phone so I can call it, hands it over as well. As I call I feel my bra/dress strap viberating. Even better ? Cart boy texted me "You forgot your receipt" (which I didn't). You're welcome, feel free to laugh. Also laugh that apparently wine is my priority. 

7 months

7 months

Katelyn you are 7 months! Full of personality, we're loving it! You are a VERY , VERY alert baby, constantly scanning the room  nothing gets past you. I have a feeling that is going to be a problem when you out smart us soon, ha ;). you still have those two bottom teeth, SO  close to crawling and the worlds fastest baby "roller". You LOVE the water which is good since we are boaters, you flap your arms up and down when you see water, too cute! You also have a case of "mommyitis" as daddy puts it, please stay small I will miss these days, love you! 

Sun Saftey Kit

This could be possibly the best sun saftey kit Sephora has ever had! Not only is it a $210 value for $30 but $20 of it goes to skin cancer foundation! I also love trying out all of the products and the reusuable cosmetic bag. I have already found some favorites compared to others so I will be shopping very soon. I think I am sunscreen obsessed especially on the face, protect the truth peeps! What is your favorite sun product? Mine is the peter thomas roth  BB cream (in the kit)  it has sunscreen and gives you a flawless finish, I have tried others and the texture is my favorite, and oh for the babe? Baby Ganics sunscreen & Bug spray, a safe organic spray with natural products, a must. I love all of their products for the baby actually!

15 Things you may or may not know

Soooo...I have tons of post planned full of pictures and family shenanigans because we have been one BUSY crew since the trips have been out of school BUT right after I loaded my pics on my Mac it died and so did the battery SINCE this lady doesn't have time to drive 50 min to Apple to get a new I had to order. The bad boy is in the mail (in China ...I checked) supposed to be here on Wednesday. In the mean time I will do a useless 15 things about me, you can play along if your heart desires. 
1. I keep bug spray and bite relief on me at all times in the summer ..HATE bug bites ( I am not a good camper). 2. I make a MEAN meatloaf, ask the Mr. I think he told me he loved me while eating it the first time. 3. I cannot stand ANY spicy food. 4. My favorite wine is a good glass of pinto grigio, but anything will do (unless too sweet I cannot deal). 5. After a few rum runners the Mr. and I may or may not have partially participated in a nude West Indies beach.  6. I feel happiest on a boat with family. 7. I used to be a cheap date (bud light girl) the Mr. ruined years ago by being snobby about his beer and wine.  8. To me, the BEST thing in the world watching your child experience NEW small things, it really is the small things as they say.  9. Most of the time while the Mr. and I are winding down while the kids are in bed I am playing/checking my phone (those days are over when I could anytime), I think it annoys him, meh. 10. I cannot sleep well when my kitchen is messy and I need my sleep so it is always clean-ish by the end of the night.  11. When I get the chance (Mr watches baby) I can still sleep till 10, I AM NOT a morning person, I cannot fall asleep early either unless I am sick, even when the baby was colicky and I was a zombie, pretty ridiculous actually.  12. I have watched someone die by being hit by a car, worst night ever.  13. I can have a hard time of showing emotion.  14. I have been told I am fearless. 15. My husband is my very best friend, but the best friends whom I have been close to the longest are the loyal ones. Loyalty means everything to me. 

Album of the (my) summer

Gatsby. I wouldn't go as far as saying movie of the summer (against Iron man & Star Trek c'mon) but album ?! Yes! Talk about motivation while running , working out, partying, boring car rides... Gatsby's where it's at. I love majority of the songs, not only that Leonardo pops in here and there with some Gatsby lines (perfect). There is hip hop, rock, 20s sounding bop mixed with currents, I could go on... Highly recommend go DL it !

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (one of the songs ........true statement). 

Pool and Summer begins

We took the kids to the club on Saturday for their "soft" opening before Memorial day, and we had a blast! Katelyn is going to be a water baby, she loves it and the cold water didn't even bother her. The trips and their cousin had a great time on the diving board and slides. I am so happy the weather is *finally* warming up so that we can enjoy being outside! We plan to launch the boat this weekend. Hoping the baby likes boats as well because we are boaters! 

On Sunday we did some back porch sitting, wine drinking and a little grilling. You could say were living for the weekend around here!

Amazon

Shopping site addiction.
Amazon. Anyone? Anyone else? Um...Yeah. Amazon is my bff. From ordering baby items to hair products to anything under the sun! Super easy, free shipping (prime member holla!)
Since baby girl has came along I haven't been able to go out shopping per usual so Amazon prime is my best friend! The best part? The midwest Amazon shipping facility is just a few exits away, so everything is usually shipped within a day or two. The Mr. calls me the Amazon Queen since now he sees all of the boxes unlike before where I was able to hide/trash my shopping bags (oops) but everything is needed. Plus Amazon is usually always cheaper than most stores, I just love it. I hope there are other mommies / busy ladies out there that concur! 

New name , new look!

I've been wanting to change my blog look and name for some time now BUT I had NO idea where to start. 

I write mostly about the family and baby. I love to write about favorite products of ours and fun adventures the Mr and I go on as well. I feel like we live two lives, the family life and we want the exciting exploring couple life. It is so important for my husband and I to keep our relationship a priority and not get sucked into being only a worker for the family. 

Whats in a name? When the Mr and I first started dating we would go out on some dates and really dress up, we still like to when we can (but that is very rare) to keep the romance alive. Well once mommy hood came along full time and all of the things with the trips I started to wear yoga pants  A LOT so there is a running joke with the Mr and I.  He loves to shop for me instead of gift cards (which I love) so this year one of my Christmas gift was yoga pants & stilettos in the same box as a joke. 

So welcome to my new blog, Yoga pants v.s. Stilettos a question I ask myself every day. I'll give you a guess which one is winning lately, maybe it should have been yoga pants v.s. wine or AND wine, but that would make me out to be such a lush. 

A bunch of things are coming soon in the links so look out for them! Thanks for your support. 

Blog done by Whitney at Hearts & Arrows Design ! 

Mother's Day

Mothers Day was wonderful. The weekend was extremely busy I was very tired and lethargic after the Mr's grill steak dinner (my fav) ! My little love let me take a long nap on Sunday (much needed). We went to brunch with the in laws and then my mom came over for the steak. Lots of memories made.

I am SO happy to be her momma. I love her so very much. She is everything we could ask for and more! I hope all you mommas out there enjoyed your day!

Derby Weekend

We had a impromptu family derby party on Saturday. The girls were interested in the horses and we tried to explain the hats and the traditions, so we told them to go get fancy and lets have a derby party! We wore our dresses, hats, bet and had a grill out. We did a "lotto" style bet. I was going to put my name next to Orb first but of course daddy got him right before me. Since he won, the condition was you get to pick what we do for the rest of the night (we all knew that meant video games). Even little diva joined in the fun.

On Sunday we finally got to meet my friends son who was born 3 days before Katelyn. It was fun comparing notes and the milestones. He can do this crazy "army" style crawl , was so cute! Katelyn is only roly poly (for now).

Atlanta

Oh Atlanta. We came , we saw, and we played (a little too hard). Last week we took off to Atlanta for the last leg of the Mr.'s birthday month. Our friends moved down there for work ( sorely miss) and we have been wanting to go visit them. They are Romanian but have lived in the US for 12 years now and used to be our neighbors turned good friends.

I was so giddy, excited and nervous leaving baby I took a bunch of selfies on the plane to distract myself while the Mr. worked.

Too much coffee.

Shortly after it was time to bring on the wine & twist my arm (when flight attended refilled mine without asking). 

After landing it was lunch and an early happy hour 

Found an old style phone booth, of course that means I have to pose "call me maybe."

Later that day we went to a good dinner and several bars. Probably shouldn't look for those pics. I felt so bad Saturday morning! Not used to it I guess and getting older, I can't hang like back in the early 20s days!

Saturday we took it easy recovered  and waited till later to start. We went to a really nice night club so we could dance (one of my favorite past time things to do).

We had dinner at a really cute authentic Mexican restaurant.

Sunday we had brunch, good food and booze.

For dinner we finished the trip out a cool Jazz restaurant called Dantes, there are ligit crocodiles walking around and ship artwork all over, pirates and all. Felt like I was in the pirates of caribbean ride at Disney. Sadly, he is closing down this summer because the city is building a high rise condo. If you are in Atlanta soon it is worth it to check out!

Croc's grave. First time seeing that, also didn't know they could live really LONG lives! 

One of the cars outside. Looked like HBO's gangster Boardwalk Empire style!

All in All awesome trip, missed my baby terribly and was happy to be home!