My 2 Sweet Men

Today was tough, but I had 2 very sweet men that made it extra smooth...

My B-bo was super sick today...103 fever at its highest.  Anyway, Vince was the one this morning to notice Bella being warmer than usual.  I noticed her pink cheeks, but for some reason it didn't register immediately.  From now on, I need to remember that if Bella's cheeks are hot pink that one of 2 things is going on... Either she has been running around in the snow and her cheeks are flushed, or she has a fever...This has been a tell tale sign since she was a baby.  We all know though that I am not at the top of my game in the morning, but thank God for Vinny!  Mad props to my spouse for being the parent I couldn't be this morning :)  He brought to my attention how hot our kiddo was, which prompted a temperature reading, and that confirmed the fever... Poor Mooga Bear!  So V went to work, and I assumed my role as kiddo nurse effective immediately.

Well, I knew I needed to make a run to the Target for more medicine for Bella, so around 10:30, I got the 2 of us dressed and ready to go.  I went out to start my car to warm it up before leaving only to discover that I had a dead battery.  With a little investigation, I realized my trunk was open and it has a light in it which would explain the drained battery... I called Vince with the news, and he said he had been thinking about his girls all day and contemplating coming home, so this was just confirmation that he needed to take a half day.  After his noon meeting, he stopped at the store for the few things we needed and then headed home to help his little girl feel better.

Now to talk about the 2nd sweet man.   All morning long, Bella mentioned at least 5 times the desire for Pap Pap's french toast.  I told her the best I could do would be to call him and put in a request, which I did... Around 11:45, Pap Pap returned our call responding with an absolute YES to french toast for his sick little grand daughter, and he even brought over a charger for my car battery.  I LOVE that man.  He is not a replacement for my own Father by any means, but he is my second Dad, and he loves me like I was his daughter.  I know that my Dad is smiling in Heaven because he knows that I am being taken care of by both my husband and my father-in-law.

I am very blessed...

Wonderful Weekend

We had a really nice family weekend... best part was that I was able to get out of my head for a bit and relax with friends.

On Saturday, we had a lazy morning complete with bacon/egg/cream cheese bagels made by chef Vince, coffee and cartoons... Netflix instant queue of course in order to avoid commercials :)  I also took an hour to make a onesie for Jacob Bean for his birthday party later that afternoon.  It was family only plus us <3 and we stayed for a little over an hour for cupcakes, singing and pictures.  After the party, we made a quick stop back home to pack up a few things before heading down to Greenville, SC to see our friends the Popkin Family for a little bonfire and socializing.  Vince and Kamran met due to my t-skirts and we have been friends ever since.  I have made 10 t-skirts so far for Kamran's Swagclub clients, with plenty more to make in the future.  I have also been invited into the Instigators... code name Betsy Ross... you will have to ask me about it sometime and I just might fill you in :)  Anyway, they have 3 kiddos Hunter 13, Jacob 10, and Katie 7... Katie and Bella LOVE each other, and those 2 couldn't be happier that we were all spending the night.  The girls were up by 7 a.m. Sunday morning playing away just as happy as they could be. Once everyone was up and moving around, Kamran made a huge silver dollar pancake breakfast with bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and fresh avocado and tomatoes, DELISH!  Plus 2 cups of coffee and I was good to go.

After breakfast, we hung out and chatted while the kiddos played.  It is always nice to be able to carry on an adult conversation without interruptions.  Oh, and did I mention, we fed the kids first, cleaned up, and then the adults had a nice quiet breakfast... it's the little things...  After packing up, and getting dressed we said good bye and decided to head into downtown Greenville for a bit.  They have a beautiful downtown with Falls Park that includes some river falls and a really cool bridge and picnic area.  We walked around for about an hour and took pictures before calling it a day and heading home.  Greenville really is a cool little town, I see why Vince would love to work there...maybe one day...

We got home around 4 p.m., unloaded the car and just relaxed.  Vince took care of dinner and getting Bella to bed.  I fell asleep around 8 p.m.... winner...

Now it's Monday morning and I have a sick little girl on my hands.  She has a 103 fever right now, so no school for her.  Poor baby...  Agenda for today, small Target run for medicine and ice cream, a little house cleaning, laundry and relaxing.  

Stressed out...

I am so glad it is Friday, because it has been an unbelievably stressful week.  About a year ago, Vince and I made the decision together to stop paying on my credit card bill.  It was either that or lose our house so really it was a no brainer.  Well, this week it is all coming to head because I got the letter saying that Citibank had filed a judgement of default against me, and I had no clue what that meant, plus it scared the crap out of me.  Once Vince got home from work Wednesday night, we went online and began to do some research.  Turns out the credit card has to file judgement against you in order to file a claim to the IRS to get a $3000 or so credit for non payment.  They can't touch our house, they don't want my car, and I haven't had a "job" in over 2 years.  Essentially my credit is just shot for about 7 years, and I can handle that.  I will NEVER have another credit card for the rest of my life, and I mean that.  Clearly I can not be responsible with one, and if I don't have the money to buy what I want, then I don't get to buy it...simple as that.  Needless to say my anxiety has been off the charts over all this, and I just feel shitty about it all.  It's quite embarrassing.  Laura also made me feel better, because she and Karl have had to do the same thing.

So to try to relieve some stress today, I decided to do 2 things... 1. I went to the library to find some books on sewing and fashion so that I can really learn all the terminology, and I need to learn a lot of different stitches and what they are used for as well as how to handle different types of fabric/material.  I put a couple on reserve, found some new books for B-bo and then got super excited because they had a copy of "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" available.  I have been ready to read it for about a week.  Too bad the author died suddenly in 2004... It was supposed to be a 10 book series... There is a 4th, but it is tied up in court between the author's girlfriend and family... I hope it eventually gets published because the books really are amazing...intense but soooo  good.


Now on to #2... I am working on a "RED" photo collection right now.  Vince is doing a blog for work that is of pictures featuring the color red because that is his company's signature color.  I thought it would be a fun project for me so I took my camera around today and took a few pix featuring the color red.

My Aunt Cathy sent Bella, Mynus, the little red ugly doll below.  Last night she decided that Mynus needed a blue friend named Lily Meludi, and she drew a picture of her and asked if we could make her out of fabric.  I really love my kiddo <3



I am feeling better, and it is supposed to be 60 degrees on Saturday!  Exciting stuff.  Ok, time to go relax a bit before heading to pick up Bella from school...

xoXXoOoo

Rainy day...

It's a gray and rainy day today...Guess I will do laundry since I have 7 loads that need to be done...BOO!  I am feeling better today, weak but better.  Oh, and no fever so far today :) 

I'm a little miffed that my latest Project Runway DVD was scratched and I couldn't watch 2 episodes, so I will have to find something else on Netflix to fill the void after Housewives of the OC  at 11.  They have been running any one of the housewives series on Fox at 11 each day, and I have never really seen any of them before.  It just reinforces that I am not missing anything by not being uber rich.  I have a much better life than any of those women hands down!

Wow, I just realized that I have not showered since Sunday night... maybe I should remedy that right now.

Happy Wednesday <3

Driving

I did a few calculations in my head as to how many miles I drive a week just getting Bella to and from school.  It is 13.5 miles one way, so 27 miles round trip, and I make 2 round trips a day totaling 54 miles a day... 5 days a week = 270 miles... wow...

All that being said, I would drive twice that a week if I had to because I absolutely love her school.  Plus, my Dad took me to school every morning and my Mom picked me up everyday in the afternoon.  It was a bit of a drive just like it is for me, so a part of me feels like I am just paying my dues.  My parents did it for me, and I gladly do it for my B-bo.  It makes it easy though when I pick her up everyday and she tells me how much fun she had at school that day, and how much she loves to learn!  Warms my soul actually <3

So Sweet...

Bella's birthday celebration at school today was so sweet.  Everybody sat down for circle time and we started by singing the months of the year song.  Then Miss Angie put a candle in the middle of the circle and put a ring of clouds around the outside of the candle which represented the sun.  Bella got the earth and then stood next to the January cloud.   Before her first trip around the sun I talked about her baby picture that I brought.  Then she walked around the sun once and then I talked about her picture from when she was one.  This went on all the way to 5, and then the class sang happy birthday to her before she blew out the candle and made a wish.  I am going to include the pictures I took today below because seeing them really puts a smile on my face :)


4 months old

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

I realize this final picture is in a previous blog, but it's what I used today since all her classmates are in the photo with her <3

I love this little girl to pieces, and she amazes me everyday.

Swimming in my head

So the bug I caught the day before Bella's party has officially moved in and set up shop.  My head is so full of snot I feel like I am swimming inside of my face.  Hopefully I am on the end of this sickness though and will start to feel better tomorrow.

So today... Today is Bella's birthday recognition at school.  I take in a picture from each year of her life so far to pass around while we sing to and honor Miss B-bo.  Then I am going to stay and have lunch with her today, and as a treat I am bringing Chik-fil-a :)  She is so excited she can hardly stand it.

I finished cleaning up from the party last night so it was nice to wake up to a clean kitchen this morning <3 Now I must get dressed, put on a pretty face and get ready to conquer the day... boy do I not feel good :(

Bella's Birthday Party

What a fabulous day it turned out to be today!  Bella's birthday party was great, and most importantly B-bo had a blast <3

So, our day began around 6:32 a.m. when Bella got up.  How did I get such an early bird?  She has me trained though, I can't sleep past 7 a.m. now, even if I try.  I made my first cup of coffee, and began shuffling around picking things up and putting them away.  Bella was helping, and doing it with the biggest smile on her face.  She skipped everywhere she went today :)  Vince made a run to Lowe's to get the piece he needed to fix the toilet in the hall bath.  Halleluhia!  We have a working, non running toilet!  I cleaned up the backyard, while Vince cleaned both our bathrooms.  When I was done, I took a shower and some deep breaths, and then I put my party face on and got ready to have some fun.

Jen Hamilton got here at about 1:15 with the most awesome birthday cake I have ever seen!  It was strawberry cake, two layers that were covered in blue butter cream frosting and gorgeous coral and sea algae in bold colors with pastel white chocolate shells sprinkled all about.  It was topped with a real sand dollar that had "Happy Birthday Bella" written on it, and a glittery number 5 candle for obvious reasons :)  Frank and Diane arrived soon after that with a plate full of cookies from the cookie press in the shapes of number 5's, hearts, stars and shells.  Yummy!  There were only a handful of cookies left by the end of the party, a total crowd pleaser.

The first kiddo to arrive was Cameron, a little girl from B-bo's class.  After that, it was a steady flow and everyone was in attendance by 2:30.  In all we had 10 party guests including Bella, 6 younger and older siblings, and 14 adults.  So my calculations were correct...30 people!  While all the kiddos were arriving, everyone met and played in Bella's room for a bit until everyone was present.  Our first activity was a sea shell hunt in the backyard.  Bella hid 2 big shells, and I hid 42 little ones and we let everyone loose.  Bella was the official counter and prize distributor so she watched :)  It was a huge success, and Rachel found the big clam shell, Stella found the starfish, and Cameron found the most shells!  Since everyone was outside with bags in hand, we decided to do the pinata next.  They all lined up, and the birthday girl went first with 2 big whacks.  We went down the line letting everyone take a turn.  Marty and Stella put the biggest hurting on the rainbow fish and I believe Marty actually finished it off.  It was full of necklaces, rings, erasers, glow in the dark stars, bubbles and fun stuff like that.  It was a definite crowd pleaser.

Now it was time to take a break, head inside and have some cake.  After all the coats were removed, we shuffled everyone into the breakfast area to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake.  Bella loves this part, and had the biggest smile I have ever seen on her face while everyone was singing to her.  She blew out the candle, and I'm sure made a wish, but I will never hear what it is because she will never tell... She is good like that :)  Liz cut up the cake, and kept my Mother-in-law in check while doing so.  Diane thought Liz was cutting the cake slices to big and said something.  Liz just looked at me and said, "Do you want any cake left over?"  I said nope, and she said Ok... Diane was quiet after that :)  The kiddos, all waited politely for their slices and then nicely filed into the living room and sat around the coffee table and on the couch.  It was so cute seeing them all around the table munching down on some birthday cake.  This is a really great group of kids, and they are all so sweet to one another.  Sure they have their moments, but for the most part the do genuinely get along.  I really love Montessori School!

After cake, we moved on to a round of animal rescue rangers.  Vince and Bella had hidden all her animals around the house prior to the party.  It was cute to see 14 little ones scurrying all over the house looking for animals.  Once they found them, they took them to Bella's room to put in her bed so that she could check them out to make sure they were all ok :)  Stella really loved this game and continued to look for animals long after everyone else had quit.  Her persistence paid off and she did find a few more animals.  I let them play in B-bo's room for a bit after this game since everyone seemed to be having a good time in there.  And did they ever, B-bo's room is a disaster, but it is the only room in the house that is, and it easy to clean up.

Next, I got them all to put their coats back on, and we headed back outside to draw with chalk on the patio, blow bubbles, or toss balloons.  They also had lots of fun in the hammock, before challenging the 2 older Popkin boys to a game of tug o war.  This was one of the cutest things I have witnessed in my life.  It was a 10 and 13 year old boy vs. 10 4/5/6 year old girls.  Uncle Kamran hung in the middle as a ref, and wow, the boys actually had a hard time.  Adorbs!  After a couple of rounds, a game of tag ensued where the 10 year old was being chased by 10 little girls all over the backyard.  He was truly a great sport, and I think he was even having fun :)

After some good running around in the fresh air, it was time to wrap the party up and say good bye.  She hugged each of her friends before they left, so sweet, and then we sat down to finally open presents.  She got some really great stuff, I was pretty  impressed.  She then played with her loot until bath time, and then after bath time continued to play with her loot until bedtime.  She skipped dinner, which was fine because they all grazed the entire party.  Just before running off to brush her teeth, she stopped and said to me, "These really are wonderful gifts and I had a really great time at my party."  This is why we do the things we do!

xoxoxo

Squeals of Joy

I woke up to some of the happiest little squeals of excitement because today is the day, it is finally here... Bella is 5!  The whole they grow up in the blink of an eye thing is making a bit more sense to me.  I have a 5 year old, really?!  She spent the first 10 minutes of her morning running around the whole house saying, "Oh yeah, it's my birthday!  Good bye 4, and hello 5!  I'm 5, I'm finally 5!"  Excited much <3

So we will be getting dressed soon, and headed to Build-a-Bear, one of her most favorite places on the planet, to pick out some outfits for all her shmanimals, and possibly get talked into another animal... She has already started her spiel.  Later she has ballet and tap, and we are going to take some cookies to share with all her friends after class.

In between all the fun, I will be cleaning, organizing, setting up, and freaking out!  I need to get my anxiety under control because everything is going to be great and awesome.  Plus I will have plenty of help because La, Liz, Diane, Frank, Adrienne, Jen Hamilton and of course Vince will be there.  Oh, and Jen Hamilton took care of ordering/picking up/paying for/delivery of the cake.  How sweet is that?!

All right, time for that second cup of coffee, and then it will be time to get dressed.  Looks like it's going to be a great day....

xoxoxo

Hot new thing...

So the hip thing right now seems to be to delete your facebook page, but not before telling everyone that you are and lamenting about reading more books, writing letters, and blah, blah, blah...Well I call bullshit on all of you.  Involvement in facebook is purely up to the individual.  I happen to really like fb, and it helps me stay in touch with all of my family spread out all over the country, as well as friends.  I am pretty particular about who I allow access to my page and regularly delete folks I never interact with.  Just because I knew you in high school, doesn't mean I want to know you now.  I only post what I want viewed, and I keep a close watch on my privacy settings as well.  If someone really wants to steal my identity, well go for it because they will not get far...my credit is shot ;)  Facebook is what you make it, but can it be a waste of time?  Sure if YOU let it.

Where am I going with all of this...if you want to delete your fb page, then go for it.  No need to make a production about it, just delete it and move on.  I don't want to hear about all the awesome things you will be doing with your time, and I will laugh at you when you decide to reactivate your page.

There, I said it, and I feel better <3

BYOT 2011

On January 15th, 2011 the 6th annual BYOT party commenced and it was AWESOME!  23 peeps plus 21 Christmas trees equalled a flaming good time.

At around 1pm, Jen Hamilton came over to hang the lights, while Vinny cooked like a mad man in the kitchen and Keri, Nathan and I got the fire pit dug out and ready to go.  We set the first tree on fire at 3 when the lights were done and before Jen had to head home to change, grab Hammy and head back.  The party was supposed to start at 5, because last year we got a lot of complaints that it started too late...well our first guest did not arrive until about 10 till 7, go figure :)  In the mean time, I spent most of the 2 hours keeping Keri from burning all the trees, which it is usually the other way around because I love to light stuff on fire!

Once people started arriving it was on like Donkey Kong!  We would set a tree on fire about every 30 minutes or so for several hours.  I always love watching all the reactions, especially from folks who have never seen a Christmas tree go up in flames and the sheer magnitude of it.  At around 10, Karl went and got their tree in order to compete for biggest flamer.  He threw it on, and it rolled off so Vince tossed it back on.  Well it rolled off again, but this time it was on fire, and what does Vince do... grabs it and tosses a flaming tree back onto the fire but right at the crowd.  Quite a show, dangerous, but entertaining :)  He walked away with a nickel sized burn on his forehead from it, and I can't help but giggle every time I look at him now.  He looks like a retarded Indian because his red dot is off center...lol!

Around 11, folks started wrapping things up, finishing drinks and heading home.  Laura and Karl passed out on the sofa and went home around 3:45 in the morning.  I did my disappearing act around midnight, but not before stripping off all my clothes and jumping into bed.  V said that anytime he came into our room after that to use our bathroom, I would lift the covers and say, "Look what's in here :)"  Silly Q...

It was a really great party, the house was not a wreck the next day, although our kitchen counter looked like it belonged in a fraternity house for sure.  The fire pit was also still smoking so of course Keri and I made some coffee and got it going again :)

BYOT 2011 was a fabulous success and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Time flies...

Today is Bella's very last day as a 4 year old... Bittersweet really because watching her grow has been one of the most amazing things in my life, but she is doing just that growing up.  She is out of school tomorrow and Vince took off work so that they can go to Discovery Place together.  So sweet.  Me, I will be getting everything ready for her birthday party on Saturday here at our house.  It will be her first big birthday party, because in years past I have kept them small knowing we would reach this day soon enough.  She is having a beach party with activities like a bonfire for smores,  a sea shell hunt in the backyard, the limbo, 3 pinatas and a game of animal rescue rangers with clues in the house.  Hopefully this will be enough activities to fill 2 hours of party time.  I invited 15 little girls and so far all are showing up except one.  Plus a parent and younger sibling here or there and we may end up with 30 people at our house and to be honest, I am quite nervous.

Time to make Bella's lunch, and when I get back from school this morning, I will write all about BYOT 2011!

Nothing like a quiet and clean house

I got more done yesterday in 3.5 hours than I did all week!  I went through each room and put up everything.  I have Bella's room and the Master left to do and then it will be time to wipe down all surfaces, clean the bathrooms, and do the floors...  I sure do love a super clean house, it is just so relaxing for me.  It is also uber organized too which just makes my heart go pitter pat :)

Ballet and Tap/Jazz class begin today, and I have an excited little dancer on my hands.  Keri and Nathan should be here around 7ish tonight and a mini celebration will ensue.

Happy Friday <3

Serenity now...

This is now day 4 of Snowpocalypse 2011 and my sanity is being tested for sure.  Today Bella has a 2 hour delay meaning school does not start until 11:15.... Seriously, what's the point?  I guess I should be thankful for the 3 hours I get today and stop whining.  I am coming home to clean like a mad woman, so that tomorrow I can get all set up for BYOT 2011.  This will be the 5th one!  As it stands right now, we have a total of 20 trees waiting to be set on fire, and I am so excited about it I can hardly stand it :)

Now on to another new development in the Ammirato household... Bella has decided she likes pants now. She dressed herself yesterday and put on 1 of the 2 pairs that she owns, hand-me-downs from Allie.  I couldn't believe it, so while at Target, I got her 2 more pair and a pair of jeans.  They were all on clearance and cost me a whooping $12, but I had to get her a some because I love her in pants and I really want to see where this goes.  I will keep you posted.

I will close with a picture of one of the many fun things we did to combat the extreme cabin fever that had a firm grip by day 2... Vince and Bella put on a puppet show for 2 reindeer, 2 owls, and me involving a story that included a pirate ship, ballerina, ghost and so much more <3

Exciting News!

Keri and Nathan are getting married!  I am so unbelievably excited for both of them, and it is so refreshing to see Ker Bear so happy.  She also asked me to be her Matron of Honor, and since I will be the only one she gave me the green light to choose my dress myself... I may wear my lovely dress from Jen's wedding because I love it so much and it would be perfect for a summer wedding in May :)

Congrats to Keri and Nathan!  We will be celebrating it up at this year's BYOT!

Another Snow Day

And we have yet another snow day today.  Vince is delayed for 2 hours, but then he has to try to make it in.  The roads are really bad, and where we live, the hardest part is getting to Albemarle Rd, a main road, from our house which is tucked back off some winding, hilly, icy roads.  Looks like my cabin fever is here to stay for another day...

So let's see, what do I want to try to accomplish today?  I need to complete the office clean out, meaning put up everything sitting on the guest bed right now.  Then I need to do some general picking up, and I should clean the bathrooms.  That seems like a pretty good list to start with.

Well, time to reheat my coffee and get this party started :)

So Bored..

It is a beautiful winter wonderland outside and I am sooooooo BORED!  I have a million and one things that I need to do, but I don't really have the motivation to do any of them.  It's looking like it will probably be another snow day tomorrow too which means that I will more than likely do nothing tomorrow as well starting the domino effect of it all piling up by the end of the week and me rushing around to get it all done... vicious cycle!

Well maybe getting bundled up in snow clothes and heading out for a little fun in the white fluffy stuff might help me snap out of things, get some fresh air and have fun with my family.  B-bo actually just asked when we were going to build a snowman...

Brisk winter air, here I come... Maybe I will set a Christmas tree on fire while we are at it ;)

Animal Rescue Rangers

For my first post, I want to tell you all about Vince and Bella's current favorite game to play. It is called animal rescue rangers and here is how it works. Bella has a bin full of teeny beanie babies that Vince takes and hides all around the house while B-bo waits in her room. Then Vince and an animal run to find Bella because animals are in dangerous situations all over the place and they need her help. So one by one, they rescue all the animals and take them to the "hospital" or Bella's room, to be checked out. The excitement and creativity that come out of those two while playing makes my heart grin as big as my chest. In fact, we have even decided to include the game in her birthday party festivities in a couple of weeks... This is a truly magical age and I am trying to soak up every second of it while I can.

One more before I go... we were listening to the Squeegees in the car and "Jonathan the Redwood Tree" was playing. At one point the tree talks about being depressed, and Bella asked me what that meant. I said it means very very sad, and her response was, "You know what else means really really sad? Crestfallen." How many 4 year olds do you know that know the word crestfallen? She said she learned it on Word Girl. Gotta love PBS!

All right, time to enjoy this beautiful snow day! Both V and B are out of school/off work so we are gonna have some fun today!