I made a video to talk about this Spring Giving thing that my SFAM is talking about that Jill suggested.  I like making videos – I think I’m funny.  Other people don’t always agree…but I am.  I’m really funny in a sarcastic, self depreciating, facial expression, boob grabbing way.  For this reason I give you a video.  I also give you outtakes…these are mostly for my grandma who thinks that I’m awesome because I’m her favorite first grandchild.  And I always will be.  Because I’ll always be first.

So the essence if you don’t want to suffer roll your eyes study ENJOY my video is this: it’s Spring….everyone is feeling the positive vibes from this seasonal shift and we all have so much stuff – it’s the age of simplicity after all.  Lets all go and live a little simpler together while getting that good giving feeling.  For more information click on the button.

And now for the outtakes:

November 5th: Plant a woods

I have so much respect for my Papa.  He influenced me far more then I realized…his love of photography, his desire to do things right, he has incredible work ethic, he’s just plain awesome in my book.  One of the things he did was plant a woods.  He planted trees every year that they lived in their house in Medina.  He planted so many trees that when I was growing up there were woods all around their house.  And we played in the woods, we made forts, we picked the blackberries, we ran through the neat rows of trees.  It was so great to be out there.

I’m a city girl – I spent the day in Manhattan yesterday and I love it – I love the bustle – the smell of sweet peanuts roasting – the number of chins you get to see as people take a minute to look up.  I think part of me loving the city though was because it was the farthest thing away from where I grew up.  It was great – don’t get me wrong – but there was a desire to be as far away as possible.  And now there is a desire to plant a woods, a woods that maybe one day my grandchildren will build forts in, pick blackberries and run through neat rows of trees.

My Papa way back in September 2007 (he’d probably like me to note that he’s gotten EVEN more handsome since then…and I would agree)

Postlette 1: On Wednesday Ross started to mention my present would be on Friday.  And that I would need to be really dressed up.  I didn’t believe him.  But this continued and evolved to the point on Thursday I was told a car would be here to pick me up at 6:45.  And so on Friday I got really dressed up, got into a car which drove me to pick him up where we continued on to Manhattan to eat at the 21 Club (aka Four Seasons).  It was like stepping back in time – the place, the food, the service was meticulous.  My date – was handsome, attentive and funny.  It was a truly memorable evening.

Postlette 2: Mandy is such a good girl.  I thought that by this point I’d have wanted a break from the walking and petting and snuggling and the walking but I love it.  I love the reason to get out and enjoy the day.  Lexi and Mandy love each other as is evidence on every car trip: Lexi gets in her carseat – then I open the other door – Lexi pats her leg (apparently, I do this) and says “come come” and Mandy hops in and sits next to Lexi and Lexi pets her the whole car ride.  It’s honestly the sweetest thing ever.

Postlette 3: Lexi and I went up to Miss Lyla Beans 1st Birthday party and had such a good time.  Lexi clung to me for about three minutes before she saw the fun of playing on the floor with the balloons and all the other kids and there were a TON of people to smile and wave at.  At one point we put all the little girls on the couch to take pictures in their dresses (a whole other post) and these kids sat there for MINUTES without moving as we sang Happy Birthday and clapped – it was INCREDIBLE.  At the completion of each round of Happy Birthday my girl got so excited and was clapping – completely unfazed by the mass of people staring at all of them.

Postlette 4: Where are my people?  Recently Mandy and Ross have been bonding to the point that we are now both her people.  Before, I was her person and where I went, Mandy went.  It was that simple.  But now, Mandy has to be with both of us – regardless of the floor we are on.  The struggle she has when I am upstairs and he is downstairs is equivalent to the cold war.

Postlette 5: Sunday was a fun family day but it started with a panic attack.  At 6 the animals were fed and Mandy went out and then we all went back to bed.  When I rolled over at 8:40 and saw the clock I was pretty sure that someone broke in, shot the dog and kidnapped Lexi.  When Mandy licked my face I decided she was an awful guard dog because someone could take Lexi and not a word out of her.  It turns out that Lexi just slept in too – SHOCKING.  In the morning we went to Whole Foods and then we went to Pepsi to walk around the grounds, it’s closed off to cars on Sunday and it’s honestly gorgeous.  It was a fun walk without avoiding cars and at every fountain and sculpture Lexi pointed and gave a smile that is very much like this one.  After a nap Lexi and Ross went swimming at the pool here – it was so fun watching them swim, splash and laugh together.  It was an awesome weekend.

Wednesday is my least favorite day of the week.  It’s too early to really be counting on the weekend and it’s when the sweetness of the past weekend starts to run dry.  This past weekend was particularly enjoyable.  After Ross’s marathon trips that killed the month of July and some of August I was given the gift of a day – one day where I was just Cass.  Not Mommy, not the dogs walker, not dishes do’er, laundry cleaner/folder.  Just.  Cass.

It had been a while that I had been just that girl for a whole day.  A few hours, sure.  A Day?  Unheard off.  It was lovely.  I shopped, relaxed, sipped coffee, read a magazine, had a hot lunch, got a massage without guilt or rush.  And Ross was home hanging with Lexi doodle and the crew.  He was wiped out when I got home at 4:30 for our date night.  But he put on a refreshed face and we had a nice workout and I actually got ready for a real live date night.  I can’t remember the last dinner where we laughed so much – it was good to laugh with him.  It had been too long.

Sunday was family day with dog walks, pool visits (in which Lexi went underwater three times, only two on purpose which is why my heart is still not in a regular rhythm), family nap time and just playing.  It was a great weekend.

Growing up we had a big extended family – we had over a dozen aunts and uncles between both families and marriage.  We had grandparents and great grandparents.  There were tons of cousins, second cousins, great aunts and great uncles.  Family things were big both in spirit and head count.  I love that – Lexi loves it.

A few weeks ago my cousins came to visit – it was so great to see them and for my Lexi to get to know them.  She loved them instantly and wanted to scale them like they were fun blocks made of chocolate and frosting.

Here’s Lex and Linnay before bedtime – Lexi doesn’t relax on everyone – she must sense how chill my cousin is.  Linnay is very easy going and so kind and she makes me feel very very old because I remember her sitting in a high chair and testing her ability to say words at Gramma and Papa’s house.   Lexi is of course drinking with her pinky up….such a proper lady.  Nay is starting her senior year of college.

And this is Marcia.  She’s a few days from starting her freshman year of college and that fact blows me out of the water.  College?  Baby Marcia?  How?  When? Where?   Freshman year of college was one of the best years of my entire life – We lived on an all girls floor of Kearney dorm – There were 8-10 of us that were always together and we lived in a five room block.  Wegmans, Papa Johns pizza, Bean Dip.  Then we lived in Lordes for two years – it was so damn fun – it was endless fun.  I met people that changed my life, Jane, Mr. Buntich, Manda, Faz, Lease, Petryk, Albert, AnneMarie…..god, I miss it.  And now my college roomie is a freaking PhD.  She’s a legitimate DOCTOR and professor.  It goes so fast Marcia, enjoy it and stay hydrated.

Have I mentioned how good life is right now.  Aside from the FH being on the longest road trip in the history of road trips and missing him and his good hugs and his man smell (Nivea Shave Balm is damn good stuff) life is so sweet.  Here we go in pictures:

Miss Maddison had such a good time playing with Lexi this weekend.  Lexi loves her so so so much!

My main man Ed.  When I tell you that he is the CUTEST I’m not even kidding.  He’s charming.

Me and my brother.  I miss him.

Lexi enjoying jam from Aunt Becca.  She licked that piece of toast dry before eating the toast.

And my favorite shot of Mandy so far.  She is such a great fit with our little family.  We had such a great night and she’s being so so so good.  Oreo is still unsure about her but Teddy thinks she’s pretty rockin company.  It’s a big week in our family.  Lexi turns one. Mandy is here.  I feel so….happy.

There is a new family member at our house today – Mandy came home today!  Mandy will be a star on this blog that is for sure.  So here’s her deal:

She’s an English Yellow Lab and is about 40lbs – she’s incredibly calm and sweet.  I haven’t heard her bark yet and she’s met both the boys.  She was a very good girl riding in her seat in the car the whole way home.  When we got home Mandy met Grandma & Grandpa and got reacquainted with Lexi.  Lexi was sleepy so she went and took a nap and Teddy came down to visit – he gave Mandy a good hiss when she tried to play and they seemed cool after Teddy established his role.  Now they are snuggled up on the couch together.  She’s honestly the sweetest dog I have ever encountered.

I’m not sure how my husband is going to feel about her on the couch – I’m not sure how I feel about it….but she’s happy and snoring with Teddy and it seemed unfair to let Teddy sit up here and tell her “OFF”.  I did try.  I gave it a good five minutes.  But she has these puppy eyes.  And she’s had a tough day.  Her home for the last 4 years has been so good and this is an adjustment.  Luckily I have three days to come up with better reasons for Mandy to be on the couch before Ross gets back from his last jaunt of the month.

We’re so lucky.  

I’m lucky.  I say this all the time and yet I still say it again.  I’m so lucky to have my Gramma and Papa. Ross goes away for these long trips and they pick up their lives and move in with me to lighten the load, to keep my company, to be here and I am so blessed.

It’s not just the help (although, that’s nice) it’s the memories that we make, the memories that they share with me, it’s the time that I get to share with them.  I love them and I’m so glad that these opportunities come up where my girl can love them and enjoy their company too.

I don’t want to lose these moments so I’m going to write a few glimpses into this past week:

My Papa told me all kinds of stories about when he was in the Army – about how he was drafted, about how he picked the job he’d be doing, how he volunteered when picked and had a sweet gig at the base library, about the drives he took to see my Gramma – how they met in NYC for a weekend when my Gram was pregnant with my Uncle Mike, about Fort Monmouth.

My Grandma was telling me about how Uncle Mike’s first word was Bob because they had a friend in the service that would hold him all the time and just say Bob over and over again and about how his crib mattress fit perfectly in the back of the car and he’d sleep the whole way from Ohio to Medina…this was (gasp) BEFORE carseats!  Then Gramma told me about how they never could have done that with my Mother because she would have been all over the place .

My Papa takes care of stuff.  He really does – he hung up real curtain rods all over the place and went to another Home Depot to make sure that they were all ‘just so’.  He helped me put together a cabinet for our dining room that was very heavy and very complicated.  My Papa is very handy.

I watched Gramma and Lexi together a lot – clapping, playing patty cake, sharing food.  My gram has pet names that she calls all of us – snickle-fritz is one of my favorites and when she called my girl that it made me cry.  Lexi’s her snickle-fritz too.  Lexi likes to tell you she’s done with her meal by throwing things off of her tray and on to the wall or floor or both and Gramma said “you little sh*t” and that made me smile because I remember hearing that a few times (ahem ahem).  It’s said with love after all.

My Papa has his pace – that’s the pace in which he operates.  Sometimes it’s a little on the slow side for me and he always said “hey, now, wait just a second” in just such a way.  I want to remember that always because it makes me slow down.  It pushes me to take a second.  And as my Gramma told me – I need to learn to just relax.

My grandparents have an interesting way of figuring out years – it goes something like this:
Gram: Earl? When did we go to THIS SPOT?

Papa: Janice, I don’t know.
Gram: Well…I think it was in 1968.
Papa: It couldn’t have been then.  We had the INSERT CAR then.  And we took the INSERT CAR NAME to THIS SPOT.
Gram: So, when was that.
Papa: Welllllll….lets see (pats stomach) that would be in 1971 and we went with the band.
Gram: That’s right.  Yup – and we stopped and had waffles.

They love each other.  He always says her name the same and she says his the same too.  They look out for one other.  They lighten each others load.  They’re not always sticky sweet but there is a lot of love there and it was good to see that too.  It’s good to be reminded that this journey of I Do doesn’t end – that it can last a lifetime.  That you can build a family, and have grandchildren and then great grandchildren and have so much joy.

I love you Gramma and Papa.  Thank you for everything.

XXOO

Today Lexi, Gramma and Papa went to Jersey.  We went to see my friend AndreAnna to celebrate her little guy’s first birthday.

Birthday boy giving me his very best “nananananana” face.

Birthday boy and the lady that did all the hard work to get him here.  A year ago I was so damn envious that she had this little guy and I was still waiting….but clearly she cooked him just right because he’s perfection.

This was one of my favorite moments of the day.  I had bought Miss. Charlotte a few princess dresses and I gave her one today – Belle and a book that had Belle on the cover.  She put the dress on and she asked her Mom for her princess shoes and then she said “I’m gonna need gloves with this.” This girl has got it together people.  She knows her princess attire.

And my girl had a pretty rockin time too in the kiddie pool and check out those teeth – she’s a biter.

My grandparents are coming to visit today for a week to keep me and Lexi company.  I’m sure my mom is jealous or envious or sad or all of the above.  I miss my Mom.  So these are for her:

Lexi loves to sit in the big chairs.  She thinks its very fun.

This is her favorite swim suit and I modified the suit. I cut between the legs the way a onesie would be and sewed in velcro so that I can easily take off her wet drippy swim diaper.

Reading books with a TuTu on – like everybody does, right?

Her response to the word “no”.

The reason why I was saying NO.  Her favorite activity is open cabinets, empty cabinets, crawl away from the destruction.