S'08 GTG Weekend

**Disclaimer** I could have sworn I hit "Publish" about a week and a half ago until I came on to start another post today. Apparently I didn't. Oops!

I had an AMAZING weekend with my friends! It was incredible to FINALLY meet these women. I picked a few of them up from the airport and when I got there it was so cool to know exactly who was who. There was no need for introductions! It was kind of a sureal feeling. 


The girls I picked up were incredibly nice and went with me to drop off Chance after babysitting for a few days. (Talk about exhausting.) We then took the EL to our hotel and after getting settled (and finding a nice surprise of wine in our rooms) we met at the hotel bar for drinks and appetizers. As more and more people arrived they joined the group before we all got ready for dinner. 




There were 11 of us for dinner that night and the company and the food were both great. Everyone pretty much went straight to bed that night since we were either tired from travel or running after a 12 month old and a 9 month old. ;)







The next morning we got up early to go to breakfast. It was a pretty cool breakfast joint that when you walked in you got a donut hole, you sat down and got a box of Milk Duds and then after you had your meal you got a little scoop of ice cream. Ice cream at 8AM? YES PLEASE! ;) 







After we all got ready for the day and one of the other ladies arrived most of us went on a Trolley tour of Chicago. (The other ladies did a food tour) We met the Trolley at Millenium Park and before we did that we took a bunch of pictures by the bean.





One of the stops on the tour was Water Tower Place where we got off to grab a quick lunch. (And stop at the Hershey's Store for our free chocolate bar!)


(Can we talk about the size of that Hersheys Syrup?! YUM!)

For the next leg of our journey we had to ride on the top of the bus! HOLY COLD!



Our next stop was the Sears Tower... ok it is now called the Willis Tower but not in my mind.
We all had tickets to go up and J was going to be bringing B down to meet all the ladies so they were going to join us there. Sadly he was running late and the line was supposed to be 2 hours long and he wouldn't have been able to meet up with us. So I decided to save my ticket since it is good for a year and went back to the hotel to wait for them.

It worked out ok in the end since all of the ladies got to meet them.






I put Brynnie in the window for a photo shoot after I fed her. :) She LOVED it!







That night we had dinner at the hotel - China Grill. So yummy.








Thanks for the bracelet Amy! I wear it all the time!

We also had plans to go out dancing but since it was so cold we ended up staying at the hotel and going to the bar there.




































2 of our lovely ladies that couldn't make it were there in spirit. :)

Several of the ladies had to leave early to catch their flights but those of us that didn't met for a quick breakfast.



After we all went our own way I took the EL back to my sissy's picked up my car and headed home. It was much too short of a visit but I was so happy to meet them. We are already talking about our next GTG. We are thinking a beach somewhere... :)

Hopefully even more of us will be able to make it to that one.


xoxo... P

9 Months...

I can't even believe that Brynnie B is 9 months old today (the exact minute this post went up actually!)

It doesn't seem possible that she has been an "outside" baby for the same amount of time that she was an "inside" baby. How do 9 months fly by so fast?!

She amazes me more and more as each day passes. She is SOOOO smart! She recognizes things so easily. She saw a picture of me while I was gone this weekend and J said she went nuts talking to it. She has realized which songs come out of which toys and which part of said toy. (And she now dances to them!!! YAY!) She pulls up on anything she can get to. And she doesn't want to sit still. She would still rather not crawl but will if someone isn't there to help her walk. She HATES to be put down after walking. I have mentioned it before but we don't feed Brynn purees. Everything she has ever eaten she has fed herself. She picked it up so quickly and I was so proud of her! She now eats all kinds of fruits, veggies and meats all by herself. So far I think the only thing she won't eat is sweet potatoes.

We have her 9 month well visit soon and after we do I will update with her size and news from the DR. I will also include her monthday pictures in that because I will be taking them tonight. :)

Here is a picture from this weekend when J brought her to meet my friends! (The next post will be about that I promise!)


xoxo...P

S'08

I can't wait!
Some of you know what S'08 and others are thinking what in the world is this crazy cakes talking about but I'll say it again before I explain I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

S'08 is September of 2008.
My wedding month.
The month of weddings for some of the most amazing women I am lucky enough to "know".

These ladies and I all "met" on a board on the knot.com back before we got married. Most of us still talk on pretty much a daily basis. We now have several outlets for our communications and it is incredible how we have become so tight knit.

We have been through so much together and are always there to support one another through all the ups and downs of life. Planning weddings, the actual weddings, buying/building homes, having babies, illnesses, deaths, and also a divorce. Because of these events that can so drastically alter your life we have formed strong friendships. Even though most of us have never met face to face. I know that these girls will be there for me in good times and in bad just as I would be for them. I am eternally grateful. No matter what has happened in our lives we will be welcomed back to this group of women with open arms. It is a safe haven for a lot of us. We talk about things we don't talk about IRL (in real life) with people who have known us forever. It is real regardless of what others think. Some of these friendships are more real than with people I have known for years.

Now what can't I wait for you ask.... This weekend. March 25, 26, 27 of 2011 I am FINALLY going to be meeting 12! of these women! We are spending the weekend in Chicago eating, sightseeing and talking talking talking!

We have arranged a couple dinners, a night of dancing at a dueling piano bar, going to the top of the Sears Tower (because I refuse to call it by it's new name), a trolley tour and some ladies are doing a food tour.

J & B are going to meet us downtown for a while on Saturday afternoon so I can show her off introduce them to all my friends!

I'm so excited to meet these women and wish the rest of them could come as well. Hopefully one day next year we will get it worked out to have a GTG with all of us.

I consider myself so lucky to know such an amazing group of women and am grateful to have each and everyone of them in my life.

To my nesties: I love you all! I will of course be back with pictures galore! :)

xoxo...P

The ABCs of P

I stole this from a blog that stole it from another blog that stole it from another blog…so here it goes…



{a} age; 29


{b} bed size; Queen - Tempurpedic baby!
 {c} chore you hate; putting away laundry


{d} dogs; Two: both Norwegian Elkhounds; Smokey and Gus


{e} essential start to your day; kissing my baby girl
 {f} favorite color; Aqua


{g} gold or silver; White gold


{h} height; 5’4″


{i} instruments you play; non
 {j} job title; Sales?
 {k} kids; 1, but of course you already know that. She is the little B part of the blog after all.


{l} live; suburbs of Chi-town


{m} mom’s name; Marilyn
 {n} nicknames; Paigey, P, PBJ
 {o} overnight hospital stays; most recent was when B was born
 {p} pet peeve; how much time do you have? I HATE when people tYpE lIKe ThIs. or when people mess up really easy words like past vs passed
{q} quote from a TV show; ‎"This is why you are burning in hell!" Phoebe - Friends, "Look at me I'm Chandler, could I be wearing anymore clothes?" - Joey - Friends, "I mean I know Ross but what is it short for? Rossel, Rosstopher?" Joey - Friends


{r} right- or left-handed; Right


{s} siblings; 2 - Younger brother and sister
 {t} time you wake up; by 6 on the week days, whenever B wakes up on the weekend and then I nap during her first nap. ;)
 {u} underwear; thongs
 {v} vegetables you dislike; Mushrooms
 {w} what makes you run late; J underestimates how much time things take to do or how much time it takes to drive to places.


{x} x-rays you’ve had; broken arm when I was in 1st grade
 {y} yummy food you make; spaghetti, stuffed green peppers, lasagna, monkey bread, zucchini bread and I'm an ok desert baker (though I usually use a box for cakes 'cause I'm lazy)
 {z} zoo – favorite animal; flamingos (too bad my zoo got rid of them) and giraffes.

My girl makes me laugh!!

I mean seriously laugh - belly laugh - especially when she laughs. She is so stink'n funny!
This weekend was wonderful!!! We spent Friday night at home and actually fell asleep BEFORE 10! Unheard of!
Saturday we spent lounging around the house and then went to dinner at Islamorada inside Bass Pro Shops. It was so much fun and Brynnie was the hit of the restaurant. Seriously. Our waitress said that 5 tables (other than hers) stopped her to ask if she was waiting on our table and to say what a cutie B is! As we were walking in 2 girls in their midtwenties commented on her. And a sweet little older woman at the table next to us stopped to talk to her and told us about her daughter adopting a little kid. It broke my heart. She is adopting a 3 year old from Ethiopia who weighs only 19 lbs. The thought of that malnutrition makes me so sad for the helpless child. But that could be a whole different post.

And in other Brynnie news girl is now rock'n 4 teeth! 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top! Way to go baby love!

She now eats like I'm never going to feed her again. We are doing what is called Baby Led Weaning which basically means she self feeds. I have tried to give her some purees and she wants NOTHING to do with them. I mean nothing. She will turn her head away and scream if you try to spoon feed her lets say sweet potatos but if you plop a "fry" shaped or a bite sized piece on her tray she can't eat it fast enough. I am SO glad we decided to feed her this way. It is slower at the get go but now that she has gotten the hang of it she is a champ. Yesterday for breakfast she had 1/2 a banana and 1/2 of a pear. She also takes to new tastes much faster now, I can't think of a food she won't eat if I hand it to her.

Here are some pictures from this weekend.
J feeding B to a bear...


Shoveling in the food. ;)

Soooo Big!

The 2 best things in my life

This girl could have stayed by the fish tank for hours. She was so excited!

More fishes.

I love her!!!!!!!!!!!

Watching Monsters Inc. She LOVES this movie. Normally when we put it on she will sit up straight and bounce up and down screaming and talking to Mike & Sully. She was sleepy before bathtime though and just layed there for about 10 minutes. It was so sweet.


xoxo...P

8 Months Old

My girl is 8 months old!!!!!!!!!!!! 4 Months until she is a year! Here are some of her 8 month pictures.


Here I come mommy!

Yum-o!



Her smile couldn't make me any happier!

This picture makes me want to scream and jump up and down with joy! My little girl "reading". If you know me you know I LOVE to read and always have. I hope that my girl enjoys it just as  much as I do someday.

"Wow, can you believe how cool this is mom?"

"Hey mom! Do you see me? Do ya? Do ya?"









And because today is a VERY special day here are some bonus pictures!
J & I met 5 years ago today. We went on our first date 5 years ago tomorrow and have been together ever since. I love him more and more all the time and I can't believe how our lives have changed in 5 short years. (Though sometimes it feels like I have known him my whole life.)
I LOVE YOU BUBBA! xoxo!

March 4, 2006

March 4, 2011 (Crappy Cell Phone picture taken at work even though J didn't want to take one- because yep J and I now work together! - more on that in another post)


xoxo...P

Un-Stuffed Green Peppers

Thanks to the inspiration of some lovely ladies I know I have decided in an effort to blog more I'm going to start blogging some of my favorite things to cook. I hope you enjoy some of these recipes. I know we do.

Up first since I just made a ton of it this weekend.... I always make at least 2 lbs of meat if not 4 to freeze the mixture so the next time we want some I just have to cut the green peppers and bake!
Un-Stuffed Green Peppers
Sadly I didn't think to take a picture of it. But I can next time if anyone wants to see it.

Ingredients:
4 good size Green Peppers.
1 lb ground beef (I'm sure you could substitute ground turkey if you chose but my ILs split 1/2 a cow with us for Christmas so I have pounds and pounds of ground beef.)
1-2 cans tomato soup (I use Healthy Choice)
1 cup Instant White Rice (Uncooked)
1 small onion
shredded cheese (I use a Mexican blend)
1 packet taco seasoning (and the water needed to make taco flavored meat)

Directions:
Cook ground beef until done - drain grease
Follow directions on taco seasoning packet
While cooking cut up and sautee 1 small onion
Once the meat is cooked add sauteed Onions and 1 Cup Uncooked Instant Rice
Remove seeds from Green Peppers and cut into bite sized pieces (hence the "un-stuffed")
Layer Green Pepper pieces on the bottom of a 9X13 pan
(If you like things cheesey I always do a thin layer of cheese over the green peppers.)
Then I add a layer of Tomato soup
Layer the meat mixture
Cover with more tomato soup
Bake at 350* for 30 minutes
Add a layer of cheese and continue baking for another 5 min
Enjoy!!!

xoxo...P