Another amazing weekend: Halloween + New BMX Bike + Hurricanes Hockey!

Another great Halloween for the books! Valentino was so excited for this day, and he was bouncing off the walls and ready to trick-or-treat from the time he woke up. But first, we had to have a full day of school - much to his dismay! Valentino thinks Halloween is a holiday worth having the day off for... can't say I disagree, but I'm a meany and we did school anyway! Long weekends can be tough to come back from, and we've had far too many of them so far this year. Thankfully he was an attentive student, and we made it through the day.

When it came time to get his costume on, Valentino couldn't move fast enough! He was so excited to be an alien:

He's kinda creepy.

Obligatory shots with the proud parents. MEOW.

Vic and I went back and forth over what to do about the candy-passing-out situation. I walked with Valentino most of the time last year, while Vic stayed back and passed out candy. He joined us about half-way through the night, by leaving the bowl on the porch (which we heard ended quickly once teenagers dumped the whole bowl and took off). This year, I volunteered to stay back because I was bound and determined not to let some punks steal all the sweets from the kids. That didn't last long... our group (Valentino, Vic, and Vale's best buds and their parents) was taking off and I didn't want to be left alone, so I grabbed the candy bowl and became a mobile candy passer-outer:

I win because I did my duty AND enjoyed watching my son trick-or-treat/hung out with the group. Score!

Valentino made out like a bandit - see that orange bowl in the picture above - Friday night it was full, to the top, with candy. And not a bunch of necco wafers and bit-o-honeys... it had all the good stuff. We indulged in candy, then had cider and donuts with my brother in law and nephew (new family tradition for us? Vic's family always had cider & donuts on Halloween night). Valentino finally passed out around 11 and didn't get up until after 8 am on Saturday (which never happens!).

Best Halloween yet!

Saturday, Vic happened to see a Facebook post about a barely-used junior-sized complete BMX bike for sale. We have been searching for a bike for Vale since he started to really show an interest in riding at the track in the past month. The stars aligned, and we were able to go pick it up Saturday afternoon. Both of my boys were beaming with pride as he took his inaugural cranks on his new ride:

Saturday night, Vic and Vale were treated to a Hurricane's game together - I won a drawing at work a few weeks ago, and since Vale and I went together this past spring, it was Vic's turn to take him (and momma's turn to have a quiet evening alone!). Vale got a Jeff Skinner jersey from my dad for his birthday, so he was stoked to wear it to the game:

My little CANIAC

To make the night even more special, the Hurricanes won their first game!! They have been stinkin' something awful so far this season, but they shut out the Coyotes to take their first win... then followed it up Sunday night with a win against defending Stanley Cup champs, the LA Kings. Valentino loves the 'Canes no matter what, but he was so proud of their wins :)

Another non-stop weekend, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So many smiles and laughs and quality time together.

Happy Halloween!

As cliche as it sounds, I cannot believe today is already the last day of October! The past two months have seriously flown by in the blink of an eye. My inbox is already filling up with sales for Christmas, and Valentino was singing "Jingle Bell Rock" this morning... slow down 2014! I am not at all ready for Christmas nor winter.  Nor turning 31. Why does 31 sound way older than 30??

Valentino is seriously excited to get out there tonight and fill his pumpkin to the top with everything sugary. He is going as an alien - he looks super cool (and kind of retro!) in his robe and mask.

We carved our pumpkins Wednesday night, which was a lot of fun. Valentino is finally old enough to do most of the process by himself, and he was very determined to do it without our help.

I was impressed at how hard he worked and how good his pumpkin looked afterwards:

Pumpkin carving is definitely turning out to be a fun family tradition that I hope our kids will remember, just like Vic and I do.

One Lucky Momma

Sunday is Mother's Day {as if you didn't know!}, and it's "my day" only due to this awesome little dude:

Being Silly in Target with sexy-arms Daddy

A few Saturdays ago, while we were still sleeping, he stamped himself 22 times

Yep, he's mine :-)

Freestylin'

This boy is at such a fun an interesting age. His personality is blossoming, and we've really started to see how he thinks and functions. I feel so amazingly lucky and blessed to have this little person in my life. He is smart as a whip, funny, thoughtful, kind, assertive when he needs to be, polite, and creative. He is the perfect blend of his parents' best qualities, and I can't believe that he's ours :-)

Lately we've been enjoying: endless games of "post office" (he makes mail, then delivers it to Vic and me); making Mother's Day paintings and cards for his grandmas; tricks on his bike; huge, proud grins as he rides his new, geared mountain bike; willingness to try new foods - including vegetables {he LIKES carrots!!! I still hate them.}; planning another possible summer trip to MI; picking the perfect blue for his bedroom; using big boy words like "eventually" and "possibly" in the correct context.

On a personal level - I've been having a great week, if I do say so myself! I've booked 5 workouts {9-mile bike ride, 2 spins on the trainer, a run, and a lifting session for the arms} so far {4 of which occured prior to 6:30AM}, and I've been critically watching what I eat and getting down a lot more veggies. The scale is rewarding me with -2 since Monday :-) I like that! SELF: Let's keep it up over the weekend...

Mommy and Son Day, In Pictures {and a few words}

Valentino requested a planned long-weekend, so it was time for mommy to deliver one. I told him that today would be all about him -- no housework, no errands. Just whatever he wanted to do. Here's our day, in pictures:

6AM: Spin on the bike before the beast awakens

6:30AM: Bedhead and a happy boy

7:00AM: Epsom salt bath while the boy eats breakfast

8:00AM: Getting started on our painting project

9:00AM: Hard at work on a rainy morning

10:00AM: MASTERPIECES!

11:00AM: Being a boy

12:00PM: Jet's Pizza for lunch

1:00PM: Iced Hazelnut Macchiato w/skim for Momma, Birthday Cake Pop for the boy

2:00PM: Museum of Natural Sciences

3:00PM: Dem Bones

4:00PM: Sun shining, sno-cone in hand {yes, he's spoiled}

We came home, made and ate dinner, then he and daddy played with a paper airplane out in the yard. Later on, he helped me price items for our garage sale this weekend.

Such a wonderful day that I hope he remembers - it was nice to immerse myself in his world and his thinking, and to enjoy him at this age. Visiting a museum is SO much different now that he is so inquisitive and in to learning!

A Friday "Cheer Up" Post

I’ve been in a hard-core slump this week for some reason, and I’ve totally felt like that limp wind-up doll from that Pristiq commercial. I was even sitting at my desk yesterday bent forward, head on my wristrest, looking just like that doll {I was stretching my back, not imitating the doll.}.

From Google Image Search

Basically, I’m just having a hard time getting my heart to catch up with my head. I know I have SO much to be happy and thankful for, but the sadness in my heart is often paralyzing, and then I feel like a schmuck for having a wonderful life but still feeling sad when there are so many others dealing with things that are so much worse. I’m sure it will shake off and pass soon, but for now this is what I live with.

It’s also been such a heavy, sad and confusing newsweek - my heart and thoughts go out to everyone affected in every which way and in every place this week. What a reminder that life is so fragile and precious; nothing is guaranteed – not our safety, not our freedom {scary thought!}.

From Pinterest

 In light of this, and because it’s Friday and the “end is in sight” for this week, I’ve composed a list of things that make me happy:

1.       Hearing my husband and son play together while I cook and/or clean up dinner.

2.       Making dinners that my boys actually like {a rarity in our house – a cook, I am not!}.

3.       Warm, perfect spring days filled with bright green leaves, fresh-cut-grass smell, and endless Carolina-blue skies and sunshine.  It’s hard to be down with such perfection surrounding you!

4.     Admiring my cleaned-out flower beds and the flowers that Valentino and I planted together last weekend.

5.       The intense happiness and excitement Valentino gets from taking packages to the Post Office. I’m currently selling a lot of stuff on ebay, which means we make weekly trips – he loves every second of it {probably because right now, his favorite thing to do is play “delivery man”}.

6.       Iced coffee! I’m going to make Pioneer Woman’s recipe this weekend. I made it last year {or the year before?} and I think I remember it turning out decent… I’m going to give it a whirl again, to save some $ and time in the mornings.

7.       Super sore muscles. I’ve been getting out there more – running, lifting, and doing workouts in our “gym” {aka: garage}. My hamstrings and hips are still worked over from a killer leg workout I did on Wednesday night (thanks Fitnessista! )… I’ve also cut out the nighttime snacking and I’ve been super conscientious about what I eat. A few pounds down, many more to go! By the way, I will be treating myself to a hair chop-off once I reach a certain goal. I’m really over having this super-long hair and I desperately want my hair {okay, and BODY!} to look like this:

Pinterest via johannarogersrff.blogspot.com

 

8.       Valentino’s Rainbow Tea – the preschool is putting on a little “show” for us today {the kids will be singing songs about springtime and the colors of the rainbow, then they are serving rainbow-themed refreshments afterwards}. Valentino has a small speaking part, and he is totally geeked about it. He and I assembled rainbow fruit skewers {strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, red grapes} to share with the kids and their parents.

"Mom, we're like real chefs putting these together for people to eat!"
{Idea via Pinterest - OF COURSE!}

 

Side note: If you’ve seen “This is 40,” do you have the urge to say “fruits” like the Indian doctor all the time, too? I pretty much can’t say “fruit” without wanting to say it his way… I’m a nut.

9.       Lunchtime walks {minus the silkworms}. Bright, refreshing moments for me during long, seemingly never-ending days.

 

Here's to a restorative, happy, and relaxing weekend! Please take your time, Monday.

Today I am thankful.

Things I’m thankful for lately:

1.       Warmer weather – hallelujah! Although, as mentioned in my previous post, I am not *physically* ready for it yet! It is nice to get out in the mornings for a run, or at lunchtime for a walk. I’ve been trying to be outside as much as possible. I’m pretty sure I was sick so much this past winter from the lack of sun and fresh air {not to mention the stress!}.

2.       An amazing husband who is also a stellar dad – he’s always been great with Valentino, but lately I’ve been very pre-occupied with side projects in the evening, so he’s been keeping the boy occupied with bike rides, bike tricks in the street, and other fun projects. Even when the man is exhausted after his very physically-demanding job, he gets out there with our son. My heart is so full of love when I hear them together J

3.      Being mostly done with vehicle maintenance that has been looming for the past few months… I hated knowing that we needed new tires {so. much. $$!!) and some other normal maintenance things. Car maintenance is an annoying necessity, and I’m glad to have the big $ stuff done and off my mind. Plus, my new tires are snazzy! Big thanks to the aforementioned super-husband for spending one of his days off getting most of this done!

4.       New paint in my kitchen! The transformation is pretty amazing, and I’m so glad it’s {almost} done. The original, builder-white paint was filthy and BLAH. Pictures and details soon!

 

Painting is dangerous business!
{He was headed out with Super Daddy to ride bikes}

 

My Most Memorable Thanksgiving Ever

While I love the concept of Thanksgiving - pausing to remember all that we are thankful for, celebrating the discovery of our country - I have to say that Thanksgiving Day in itself is... not my favorite. As non-football watchers and non-fans of turkey, Vic and I agree that it may be our least favorite of all holidays. It's usually cold/gloomy, there's endless football on TV, and everything is CLOSED. BORING.

That being said, Thanksgiving 2010 will go down in history as my most memorable Thanksgiving {and possibly holiday} EVER. It was certainly NOT boring, and we still chuckle about it to this day.

It was our first T-day in NC, and we had been invited to my BIL's house to celebrate with his family. At this time, I was driving the 1999 GMC Yukon that we had inherited from my MIL. It was in great shape with only about 43k miles on it, and it was our only vehicle. I walked out of work on Wednesday evening as one of the last people there {it had been a buzy week!}, and I went out to the truck like I always do. Put the key in, turn it... and nothing. Not a click, not a buzz... nothing. I hadn't left the lights or anything on, so it didn't seem that the battery was the culprit. I called Vic frantically, and we couldn't diagnose anything over the phone.

I went inside to find someone that could give me a ride home, and thankfully my boss at the time, who happens to live in my neighborhood, was able to help me out. She had a little pickup truck, but I was able to squeeze in the back on a jump seat, and she graciously stopped to pick up Valentino at daycare and he rode up front.

Being that our only vehicle was now about 20 miles away from home and we had no friends to call for help, the next morning - a chilly, drizzly, cruddy morning - we were able to get a rental car from one of the agencies at the airport. This involved Vic bundling up and riding his road bike about 12-15 miles up and down hills to get to the airport. Luckily, his bike fit in the back of the 2010 Chevy Malibu and he was able to drive home. At this point, we were still packed and planning on making it to MD for dinner.

With a little bit of research, Vic thought he had the problem diagnosed. Amazingly, Auto Zone was open, so he headed there to pick up the parts he {thought} he needed. Long story short, he drove back out to my office, installed the parts, and the truck still wouldn't start. Obviously, we weren't headed to MD.

Here's where it gets interesting. We didn't want to pay to tow the truck to the garage that Vic wanted to work on the truck, so his idea was to TOW the truck WITH THE MALIBU for about 10 miles - inluding getting on a major highway. I would be driving the Malibu with the truck hooked up to it, and he would be steering/directing me via cell phone. This sounded like a terrible idea, especially because I freeze up in nerve-wracking situations like this << Cue my hyperventalation >> He assured me that it would be fine, and we really had no other choice.

My heart was racing as we drove to my office.

We got the truck hooked up to the car, and off we went. Thank God that RTP was empty - we only saw a handful of cars the whole way. Even though I was a sweaty, nervous wreck, things were going smoothly. We got off the highway and on to a busy road {Glenwood, for you locals}. It was now dark, and I was starting to have a hard time keep my speed right with all the big hills. I had visions of the huge truck rolling over me. We had to turn left to get to the garage - we could see it from where we stood - but I blew it... I passed the turn. This is where it all goes downhill...

Let's also not forget that Valentino is only 3, and he is with me in the car. And it's past his dinner time. He was an angel through this whole experience, thankfully!

We tried to back up, but the tow strap we were using snapped. Vic attempted to fix it, but it was not very strong. We ended up having to turn left at the next light, which took us onto another road. The strap gave up, and our truck was stranded half-way up a hill. Vic and I tried to push it, but it's nearly 6,000lbs and the hill was steep. At this point, a cop shows up. Then another one. I am about to have a nervous breakdown, thinking we're in trouble for some reason {I have a thing about not getting in trouble - I really get nervous about it!}. Thankfully, they're only there to help us push. But even with their help, the beast wasn't budging. So they give up on that, block the road, and allow the truck to roll backwards so that they can then push it forward on to the shoulder of Glenwood Ave. At this point, we can literally see the garage that we're trying to get it to, but we have to somehow get the truck another 1/4 up a hilly road, then turn right and go up another hill to the garage's parking lot.

We had a tow chain with us, so Vic hooked that up and hoped that the bumper of the rental car wouldn't get damaged. We were able to tow the car to the garage, and the saga was over.

At this point though, it was about 7 o'clock on Thanksgiving, and we had no food in the house, since we were supposed to be out of town for the next four days. I frantically called around to find an open restaurant. The only place that was open long enough for us to get there was Golden Corral. So we ended up eating our Thanksgiving dinner at about 8pm at Golden Corral, which was a.) shockingly busy and 2.) quite tasty!  We were beat, but we had a great meal and chuckled the whole time about our crazy day.

Thankfully, the garage was open the next day and they were able to diagnose and fix our truck, so we picked it up and enjoyed the rest of our long weekend together.

And that, my friends, is my most memorable Thanksgiving ever.

All Hallow's Eve

Another holiday that just gets better every year that Valentino gets older and is able to understand and participate more - HALLOWEEN!!!

Happily, Valentino agreed to be a fireman again - he was the cutest fireman ever last year, and we're definitely getting our money's worth out of this costume! It's going to be chilly again so this will hopefully keep him warm too.

Halloween 2011 - Valentino @ 4 years old

Some pictures from Halloweens past:

2010 - Our first Halloween in NC

Valentino @ 3 years old - He painted pumpkins and had a monkey costume, which he refused to wear. We ended up going to a church carnival instead of trick-or-treating {which turned out to be perfect!}.

I look terrible here, but still a cute pumpkin carving picture of us :)

And a few from Sunday night, when we carved our pumpkins:

Daddy and Vale on the front porch

Mine - Valentino's - Vic's

We'll be trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood and we're all looking forward to it!

2012 North Carolina State Fair

We spent Tuesday {Valentino's Birthday} at the NC State Fair. It was a gorgeous day - high 60's, not a cloud in the sky - and we had a great time together. We were there from about 11am to 6pm, and Valentino was a trooper the whole time {no doubt thanks to the stroller that lugged him around!}.

The State Fair is one of my favorite events of the year - we haven't missed it yet since moving to NC {this was our third time}. The atmosphere is great, there are a lot of free performances {a ventriloquist, jugglers, sawmill demonstration, and the BMX/motocross stunt show to name a few that we saw}, endless food and rides for everyone, lots of animals to see, and the weather is almost always perfect. Valentino is so lucky that he gets to celebrate his birthday there!

Some highlights:

His millionth time meeting Smokey

A pony ride for the Birthday Boy

Milking a cow!

Riding the kiddie roller coaster alone

Waiting in line for the Ferris wheel

Riding the Ferris wheel

Saying "Hi!" to Stormy

Family photo at the National Guard booth

Vic climbed the rock wall at the National Guard booth

Waiting in line for the big roller coaster

About to take off!
{He did great - he was scared the whole time, but got off with a huge smile on his face!}

Family photo

Getting squeezed by a giant walking tree

I can't wait to go back next year! Valentino and I really want to go at night to see the fair all lit up - we'll definitely plan to do that in 2013 :-)

Half a decade.

This boy:

At Durant Nature Park this past weekend

Turns five years old tomorrow. I can't believe it.

It's been an incredible five years, full of so many life-changing events. But that boy has been a constant for us. Constant joy. Constant amazement. Constant worry. Constant LOVE.

It was hard to pick these favorites out - this doesn't even scratch the surface - but here's a quick flash back at five years of Valentino.

Three days old in his "grandpa pants"

Four months old in a cooler.

First birthday

One-year pictures

Almost two

Second birthday

Almost three

Third birthday
{PS: I miss those curls!}

Almost four

Fourth birthday

Happy Birthday, Valentino - Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know.