Celebrating Karina and her upcoming marriage! August 2-3, 2014

This weekend was a little busy.. and unfortunately I only have like 3 pictures to show from the entire thing, but it definitely deserves a blog post.  I didn't take many pictures, because I actually tried to keep my phone in my purse and away from me so that I could focus on celebrating what we were all there for.  And, like the flake I am, I left my actual camera at home :(

Luques, Damian's brother, (well my brother also!!) is getting married on August 30, 2014.  he is marrying one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met-- Karina. 

On Friday August 1, 2014- Karina celebrated her 30th birthday. What a great age!!  Also, what a great month for both her and Luques.  They each celebrate birthdays this month and now will be celebrating their wedding anniversary as well.  So exciting.

I was invited to Karina's bridal shower on Saturday August 2nd.  It was a surprise for Karina and was being held at a nice restaurant called, Café Archetypus in Edgewater, New Jersey.  I had also been invited to attend a bachelorette party for her on Sunday August 3rd in New York City.  I had decided early on that I would drive to new Jersey on Saturday, come home that night and then attempt to take the train on my own into Grand Central on Sunday and then travel by the Subway to get to the actual venue for the bachelorette.

Weeks before either of these events, I could feel my anxiety rising.  I am a very loud and outgoing individual--- in certain occasions.  Honestly, though, I suffer from SEVERE social anxiety. I knew this was an extremely important event and I love both Karina and Luques dearly, so I was determined to overcome these nerves and make sure that I was there in support of their exciting new adventure in life.

Lisa and Madison decided to take the ride to New Jersey with me, so we headed out a little extra early on Saturday to ensure that I got to where I needed to go in time.  In addition to social anxiety, I also get VERY nervous about arriving somewhere late.  Especially today since I knew it was a surprise so I needed to be there before the guest of honor.  It was a nice 2 hour or so ride.  Lisa and I caught up, laughed, listened to music. Madison got a lot of reading done for her summer assignments for school.  The plan was for them to go to the movies while I was at the shower.

OH MY WORD!!  The area where the shower was being held was beautiful.  Karina's mother, Julie, and Justine did such an amazing job making sure everything was perfect and where it needed to be.  They had their personal touches on everything and it was gorgeous.  I loved the book that they had set out for each guest to write words of wisdom for the bride in and then they also had little hearts for the guests to write their favorite thing about Karina on.  (So easy for me to do-- I have always admired Karina's genuine "niceness" <---- not to sure if that is even a real word or not, haha. Luques and Karina have been together for about 7 years I  believe, and I will admit that I have not spent as much time with Karina as I would have liked,  No ones fault, but my own...but every time I see her, she is so full of grace and kindness, it amazes me.  And it is just so real.  I love that.. envy it actually!)  When Karina arrived at the shower, she was definitely surprised, and completely overcome with emotion.  So sweet.  This shower was so nice.  It was such a privilege being able to attend and see her mother again and be a part of something that was so special to her.  You could tell by the environment and people that were there that Karina is surrounded by love, compassion, and strength!  A very special lady indeed.   I actually ended up leaving a little early because I knew that I had to drive back home and had to get an early start the next day as well.  Madison and Lisa were in the front waiting for me and Karina had asked that I bring Madison in to say hi to her before we left, so I made sure to do that-- Madison was so excited and happy to be able to see Karina.  She was also excited to tell Karina that while they were waiting for me, she actually found the dress that she was going to wear to the wedding and had bought it with her own money. Oh how she melts my heart.

Myself & the guest of honor, Karina.  Isn't she just beautiful??

Madison and Karina - so nice of Karina to ask if Madison could run in to say hello

Nadia wearing her toilet paper wedding dress--  Nope-- our group definitely didn't go for traditional

Saturday night, my anxiety kicked into EXTRA OVERDRIVE! I couldn't sleep and had a really rough night.  But as planned I woke up early headed to New Haven to catch the train and wound up at Grand Central Station about an hour and a half early.  That was perfect.  My original goal was then to take the subway from Grand Central to a little closer to Fairway Studios, but I started panicking so I decided to walk the 15 minutes that it took to get there.  because I was early I hung out at a Starbucks that was around the corner.  Won't go into specific details about the bachelorette party, but once again, Karina was especially surprised and her, 12 of her closest friends and family, myself were there to celebrate.  There was a lot of laughter and it seemed like a good time was had by all.  I would have loved to stay a little longer, but Damian was in Boston for a gig and I didn't want to intrude on Karina and her family/friends, so at the end of the party, I headed back to the station..and started my journey home.  Got home safe and sound-- Damian actually beat me to picking up the kids by like 5 minutes, so I arrived at the house before him surprisingly.

I talked to Damian a little about my anxiety and he his so darn respectful of it.  I am really trying hard to overcome these little quirks about myself and I think if I keep pushing myself to do things that are out of my comfort zone, it will just get easier and easier.  I know I can tackle this and WIN!

All in all-- this past weekend, celebrating Karina and her upcoming marriage, was a GREAT time!!  I was honored to be a part of this weekend and look forward to spending more time with Karina AND Luques in the future!! I am so excited for the both of them and cannot wait until the end of the month to share in the moment when they exchange their vows to one another!!

The month of December

The month of December just seemed to fly by for our family this year.  I still cannot believe that it has come to an end...WOW!!!

Mayci's month seemed to consist of the same sorts of things for her: playing, spending most of her time with Myles, testing boundaries as usual; sneaking out of her bed after being tucked in, you know..the usual 2 year old sorts of things.

Myles' December included his norms as well: basketball on Saturdays, hanging at Mama and Pop-Ups house the majority of the time, expressing his MANY concerns quite loudly for all to hear, decided he is more a deejay than he is any superhero this month. He was also introduced to the world of video games(thanks Damian) and his most current obsession: DONKEY KONG!!

Madison had a pretty normal December also: school projects, dance, school vacation, the annual Christmas Show in East Hartford for dance, oh..and did I mention..dance?!?

On the 7th of this month the kids and I joined Ted,Abby, and Uncle Chuck  as we have every year for the past 8 years with picking out their Christmas Tree.  It was quite a COLD morning and we went VERY early because Madison didn't want to miss out and was performing later in the day the the East Hartford annual Christmas Show.  Umm..I have to admit that I definitely had a complete MOMMY FAIL while out hunting for the Christmas Tree.  I don't know what I was thinking by not making sure that each kid had gloves and, I don't know, like a hat? So, needles to say, we were super cold which caused us all to be just a WEE bit moody and grumpy to the end of our hunt.  But int he end, Abby picked out a beautiful tree that ended up looking nice as always in their living room for the holidays.

The Christmas Show in east Hartford that Madison danced in turned out very well. She was in 4 numbers: 2 competition numbers, one dance made just for that show, and her jazz/musical theatre solo.  I thought she did fabulous, but if course she was her own worst critic.  She also told me that she felt super supported by the number of people that took time out of their day to come and watch her: Grandma Virginia, Grandpa Wayne, Aunt Lisa, Mama, Pop-Up, Damian, Myles, Mayci, her step mother Lisa, her brother Brandon, and her step brother Lou(who also got to watch his step sister dance as well).  I am always so grateful for all who support my kids int he the things they are interested in!! THANK YOU ALL!!  I didn't take any pics that night, but I know that many have been posted on my Facebook page, so you can definitely find them there if interested.

The rest of the month kind of just flew by.  Madison took an extra day off before school vacation.  She had "earned" it due to a PHENOMENAL report card and parent teacher conference. ( everyone deserves a special break sometimes)  I know that Myles and Mayci have LOVED having her home this past week and a half and will be extremely sad in Jan 2nd when she goes back to school.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were so nice for the kids.  On Christmas Eve, Damian and the kids were able to spend time with Ted, Abby, Luques, Karina, Zaccai, Julie, and Albert.  They went out to dinner and their fav restaurant for Ted and Abby's anniversary and then sadly had to say goodbye to Luques, Karina, and Julie who were headed back to the city for Christmas Day.  I was unable to see Luques, Karina, and Julie and am hoping to make more time for them in the upcoming months and plan some long weekend trips to NewYork sans kids just to "hang out" and spend quality time with each other!!!

On Christmas Day, the kids woke up super early around 630a and immediately opened gifts and went through their stockings.  Lisa, Amanda, Grandma Virginia, and Grandpa Wayne came over a little later with their gifts for the kids and to have a little informal brunch.  Then the early evening part of the day brought us to Ted & Abby's for the rest of the day for the kids 3rd Christmas.  WOW!!! Damian and I hung out with his brothers and cousins until about 3am talking, laughing, making jokes, going to the movies....the usual.  This was my first time going to the movies with all of them in over 5 years-- and I had so much fun! I think that the kids had an amazing Christmas , as always, thanks to all of the family and friends.  Our little Christmas at home was rather small this year due to finances, but the kids didn't seem to notice, and I am thinking that we may keep it that way regardless of finances from now on!!  It definitely makes the kids more grateful for all that they do get!

All in all...this holiday season was wonderful and filled with love, kindness, and family time.  I enjoyed every moment of it and can't wait to see what this next year has in store for us!!

Hoping that you all had a great holiday and would love to hear what everyone has planned for 2014!!