Damian has been busy

One of the bands that Damian is in, Orquesta Espada, has been keeping VERY busy this summer.  They played twice at the outdoor stage at Bushnell Park and I was lucky enough to be able to attend both gigs with the kids.  I tried to take short little videos, please enjoy:

Ray Mantilla-- Hartford Jazz Festival Monday Night Jazz Series- July 28, 2014

Don't ask-----  I think she was amazed by how big the cheeto was

Clearly Mayci is more concerned with her snacks than her daddy's piano skills

I LOVE watching this man play the piano and don't do so nearly as often as I should.  I am hoping to attend more of his gigs in the near future.  Such a talented  husband I have!

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!!

Mayci's 3rd Birthday July 27, 2014

Mayci Dai Curtis turned 3 on July 27, 2014.  Mama and PopUp threw her an impromptu princess themed party for her birthday.  She was a little confused at first and had several little meltdowns before people arrived.  But once she saw her friends, the meltdowns disappeared and she was a HAPPY BIRTHDAY girl!!

 Please enjoy her birthday pics:

 

 

 

 

 

And here are just a few from the small little birthday celebration at my parents house:

 

 



 

 

 

And always, I am so incredibly grateful for everyone who took time to wish her a happy birthday or spend some portion of her birthday weekend with her!!  We love you all!!

 



 

 

Still amazed that I have no more babies left!  BITTERSWEET!!

 



Monthly review -- July 7th-July 29th

July has just completely flown by! Yup.. and I still haven't mastered the art of weekly updates! :)

So many little things have happened and I have really had trouble with staying on task with weekly updates, so now as the month comes to a close I figured I should hurry up and give brief updates on the month before we roll into August.

Madison looking like a "New Yorker" before her trip

Madison has had quite the busy month. (what else is new-- I feel like every month is busy for her) Dance picked back up for the summer and once again she is dancing far more than I could even imagine.  She does an hour on Tuesdays and the 4 hours on both Wednesday and Thursday. Good thing is that they are only 5 week summer classes, so she is off from dance after this week for a little while. The beginning of the month caused us to bump heads quite a bit because she had wanted to schedule several sleepovers, but I only allowed for one because it was a birthday party/ sleepover combo and they were friends from school.... I am trying to reduce the number of sleepovers and play dates and get togethers.  And not because I don't trust those people, but for one- Madison has expressed how she would rather go to a sleepover than to have one at her house because her house is boring and I am no fun.  Another reason-  our family is still lacking any sense of structure.  And I think that I may be to blame.  So in an effort to fix that, I am going to be having a hold on get togethers for a little while.. especially for this last half of the summer except for a few pre planned events.
     Madison also went to New York for the 3rd time this past summer.  We had decided that this would be the last time she would go for a little while.  A little bittersweet for her, but she says she had a good time.  Luques and Karina always hope to be able to steal her away for a little bit to spend some time with her, but with the schedules and rules, it never works out, but Madison and Karina texted at least so she knew they wanted to see her.  She took several pictures at the Central Park Zoo and I hope to upload those in a separate post in the near future.  They also went to see Cinderella on Broadway-- SO JEALOUS!!  I am so grateful that Madison has these opportunities and appreciative of all the people that help Damian and I out with getting her there!

Happy 3rd birthday Mayci

Mayci has had an exciting month.   She went to her friend Alyce's birthday party--Frozen themed!  She was so excited because she got to dress like a princess and decided on Belle, since that was the costume that we already had.  Of course it had to be the hottest day ever, but she had fun eating, playing on the bouncy house, and climbing in and out of the pool a couple times. Dance started for Mayci this month.  Morlock School of Dance offers 5 week summer classes, so we thought it would be best for Mayci to try out then.  She only made it to 3 of the 5 because of swimming lessons, but seems to be doing okay( that's what Liz says) so she will definitely pick back up in the fall.  I can only imagine what she will look like on stage at the recital :)  Swimming is going well.. it's a parent and tot class to familiarize the kids with the water and she did attend when she was 1, but because of the gap between, we started her from the beginning.  Timing was a little off for me and Damian so Mama (Abby) has been taking both her and Myles and getting in the water with Mayci.  Mayci comes home tired, but says that she has fun.  Another milestone is potty training.  My ultimate goal was to get her potty trained before she was 3.  She is pretty much there except for the occasional accidents and her fear of going #2 in the potty.  But we will keep working on that.  Sometimes I think that Damian and I sabotage her by putting her in Pull-ups or Diapers when we feel it is inconvenient for us to worry about the bathroom, but I am getting better. 
Mayci also turned 3 on the 27th!!  What?!?!  I know-- my baby is no longer a baby anymore.  Wearing undies and being 3- my goodness, definitely a big girl.  On the 26th, Ted and Abby hosted a birthday party at their home for her.  She was so excited.. and of course-- it was Princess themed.  I took several pictures on my phone and just a few on my camera, so I will post them in a separate post.  I am also hoping to get the pictures that Byron Dean took at her party also.  I know they will be AMAZING!!  On her actual birthday we went over to my parents house so my parents, sisters, and Jaida could sing happy birthday to her and give her her gifts.

Notice Mayci's outfits in these pics..  this is her new choice of  outfits  A "pocketbook", undies, and a shirt!!

Happy Birthday Alyce!!

Myles started soccer and basketball this month.  Whew--  who knew that the parents need to be as involved as they do hahaha.  Normally Damian takes him to both, but because of work, I had to take him. Lord have mercy- I thought I was going to pass out- running around with him in the gross heat.  Not to mention I had to keep Mayci contained as well.  I will say though, I notice a huge improvement in both sports for him.  And he seems to be enjoying them a bit more this year than last.  I am hoping to keep both sports going throughout the course of the year based on their availability, but only time will tell.  Mr Myles is getting ready to start kindergarten this year!  I try to talk about it at least once a day so that it stays fresh in his mind, especially as we draw near.  And with how fast time seems to be going, the first day of school will be here before you know it.  I worry about him a lot starting school.  This will be something so completely different for him.  He has always been with either Mama and PopUp, Damian, or me.  He acts like he understands, but I'm not so sure.  I mean, getting on a bus by yourself with a backpack and a lunchbox, then arriving at a school that you have only been to once, and having all those kids and teachers around, and trying to give someone your information so they can get you to your classroom-- seems overwhelming to me. But I am excited for him either way.  Makes me remember back to Madison's 1st day of kindergarten.  Oh, what sweet memories.

Not sure why Myles look like he is under the influence of something in this pic-- but this is the aftermath of falling off of his bed one night :(  He is all healed and back to normal now!

Damian has been playing a lot lately.  One of the bands he is in, Orquesta Espada, has been keeping him VERY busy this month.  I was able to take the kids to go see him twice.  Once at the Hartford Jazz Festival and then just this past Monday at the Monday night Jazz on the green- both at Bushnell Park.  Unfortunately Madison missed out on both performances but Mayci and Myles had a blast.  For the Hartford Jazz Festival, they were kind enough to let the kids and I "backstage" in the VIP area.  The kids could eat, have cookies, run around, and Myles even made a friend.  I enjoyed it over there, but actually prefer sitting out in front where I can see the performers more.  But I was grateful nonetheless.

This month I started trying to come up with an organizational plan for the home and our lives in general.  This is all part of "Operation get some structure in this home"  Haven't made much headway yet, but something 's gotta give.  I also ran in my first 5k this month. Lisa and I did the Run or Dye on the 19th!  Had such a great time.  But, let me clarify- I COMPLETED my first 5K, I did not run the entire thing.  I only ran 2.5 miles of the 3.1 and it felt GOOD!!  I was so proud of myself!  My friend Jen and I are running another 5K on August 24th and participating in the Fitahlon in October, which is a 5k with timed obstacles.  oh crud-- speaking of which-- I need to sign up today for that one because the price goes up on Saturday.  My goal for age 31 was to run at least 4 5K, so I should probably start looking for another one.  Lisa is interested in the Electric Run, so that may be #4 for me. 

I hope you all had a fun filled July and here's to an even better August!!

 

I think Ms. Jaida  is trying to figure out if she like Aunt Michelle-- I get this face pretty much every time I hold her

 

Before getting "dyed" at the Run or Dye

 

 

 

 

Spending some quality time with Jaida Serai

 

 

This is Mayci after dance!!

Just a few pics from the playground while Madison and Myles were off doing other things: