i miss my blog!

well, it has been a long time since i wrote on this blog. 

life got busy... and i lost track of it some how. 

but it is always in the back of my head... tugging at me. 

i like to share things, i'm sort of a "public" person- where my feelings on my sleeve kind of girl. 

and this blog was a type of outlet for me... me thinks i shall begin dabbling again! 

this time of year brings such time of reflection.

of what the year gave to me, us, our family. what things we accomplished, the trials we hurdled, and the memories we have made. with this year marking the "year of firsts" after my dads passing, some how i find myself somewhat... correction... very emotional this holiday. it has caught me off guard. i miss him terribly. 

my family has done great things this year... despite what seems like the most unhealthy year of our lives with our family of 4... we have purchased a home, settled in to make it feel like our own, the tooth fairy has come twice, a new talker has entered the family {with quite an opinion i may add}, we have learned things and grown, we are blessed. i love looking through our pictures, its such a time of reflection. of all we have done. it some how reminds me of the things i didn't get done too... there is always next year! maybe instead of a summer to do list i should make a 2012 to do list. not a new years resolution... but just things we'd like to do. a check list! 

i have begun working on our annual yearbook album i make every year. 

here is a peek at my favorite pictures from our 2011 {in no particular order}... 

me & my main squeeze on our way to charlotte to visit my bff 

my boys!

my three loves

i love this kid. he is so spirited... full of life!

a halloween trick... snow!

watch out momma!

first day of school for sammy!

first tooth!

summertime fun & memories

rainy days

christmas tree ligthing 2011

one of my favorite pictures. unedited. my monkey in a beautiful fall tree. 

this is what it is all about!

what i look like all the time to others!

tooth fairy prep!

swingin

HUGE snow storm... and that baby face! 

fall love.

batman & robin

miss you dad... 

sam picking a perfect one

my new obsession!

sam at my sisters house

jackabie

winks!

tired fireman

the perfect night. 

summtime fun

brotherly love

keeping busy during the long months of winter

silly boy

crazy boy!!

god bless america.

my love.

a future fashionista

first day of kindergarten!

surfer

a beautiful day  in avalon

happy 5th birthday to my baby

sam. 

yum

too cute

me and my sammy

our family. vacation. avalon. 2011

familiar & cozy

i have neglected my blog in recent months.
we have new diggs! finally a house of our own! every nook & crannie is ours! the first real night here we went to use our microwave, which is brand new installed over our oven, and it blew the power out.... my hubbie and i looked at eachother and kinda laughed as we proudly realized this was OUR problem... there was no one to call. and we loved that!
we are busy nesting and settling.
i was just reading another blog where the author referred to something as familiar and cozy. these words really stood out to me. they hit home.
i like things familiar & cozy. i don't do well with change. i have been fighting the feeling of homelessness ... almost a sense of displacement. yuck!
but i do love our new digs! i love the light that pours in, the family room downstairs, the colors we have chosen to paint to make it more our own, i love the deck, the pool and our attic fan! i love the quiet hum of birds and dogs and kids running around... this is a real novelty as our old home was perched right beside the highway! we love to sleep with the windows open and enjoy just cruising around on our bikes!
we do miss our old neighbors though!!!! we had it good and boy do we miss them! hopefully in time we can find some new friends to make new memories with!
here are a few random pictures of us enjoying our new familiar & cozy (well almost familiar and working on cozy!)

my little fishy loves the pool we acquired!

having lots of fun with friends over to swim

my favorite little man and favorite little lady all bundled up after a swim!

this guy couldn't be happier to have his own yard to tend to! 

sometimes its super cute.... and others id like to kill him as he would spend every waking moment out there primping the lawn and landscape!

first night at our new house for a pizza picnic!

 for some reason i have not taken any pictures of the new house! guess i need to work on that...

our new digs need lots of lovin. nothing major, just lovin! some paint, some updating, in the long term a bit more space... but its great now too! ready for lots of family memories, familiar and cozy!

all i ever wanted....

sing the tune.
vacation all i ever wanted! vacation time to get away!

oh wait... we are back!
but it was a MUCH needed get away.

time to be back to reality!

but now i have that song in my head.
i love music.
not in the way that i love to go to concerts or follow certain bands around.
i love how music takes me to a certain place.
some songs its a moment.
some songs make me remember an exact moment and memory in my life.
others, its an era or time in my life.

sometimes the song will come on and make me ooze and gush with happy and amazing memories.
sometimes i reach for the dial and turn the song as it makes me think of a memory that makes my stomach turn.
or i laugh with embarrassment.
or cry.
a song can bring me down or bounce me out of a funk.
i find music so powerful.
when i find a song i love i literally play it on replay, learning all the words, singing in my car as loud as i can.
weird!
right now my song of the moment is "raise your glass" by pink.

it takes me to a moment when my sister and her 17 (now 18) year old son and my little man were driving around after christmas SCREAM-SINGING the song and dancing in the car. driving aimlessly.
not only was this a great & fun memory. it was a moment... it was the moment in time that i can actually pinpoint shortly after my dad died that we had to rally. rally and have some fun. and i let myself. i hear that song these days and it makes me smile. want to raise my glass and toast my dad and live life to the fullest.... and drive around the streets singing and dancing...
until i hear my son sing "dirty little freaks"... hmmmm!

do you ever wonder if people hear a song and think of you? a memory or moment or something??

well in an effort to be completely random. and include some pictures in this post...
enjoy some highlights from our recent trip to naples florida.
it was delightful!

sammy in his "al-e-gay-derrrr"

ridiculous but well worth the purchase. by stearns. it kept him floating. although you must keep your eye on them... it was a nice safety helper!

this my friends is what i got when i asked my boys to "sit nice for just ONE picture".

such is life!

too cool!

sam loved the hammock!

these two besties are a riot! 

in florida our great friends from home also have family that have a condo in the SAME complex as our familiy. it is VERY fun to have your friends on vacation with you. for the kids AND the grown ups!

boys having breakfast on the lanai

only in 2011 does a 5 year old sip a pina colada while playing with his daddy's itouch. 

im not sure if its funny, ridiculous, or embarrassing!

paradise on my birthday! 

on our way out to dinner on 5th ave.

we went to cafe larcat.

it was the most fancy meal i've ever had. i ordered a $40 filet and it was absolutely heaven in my mouth. 

it was amazing. then we had homemade WARM cinnamon & sugar donuts. they melted in my mouth. 

it was amazing. i will remember how special it was always. 

i even tried sea bass- i don't eat seafood. it was even good!

i wished i could call my dad and tell him all about it! 

he was the kind of man who really appreciated a good meal! 

i am pretty sure this does not need a caption or explanation! just needs a good laugh!

there is something about this photo i love!

it captures him.

holding hands with his daddy!

monkey habitat at the naples zoo!

amazing!

sammy tried a lemon at bellini for lunch on 5th ave!

this just happened. unposed. unplanned. and my hubby was on his a-game and caught a moment!

i love this because im always behind the camera and never in the photo. so i treasure this moment! 

good times!

sammy screaming at seagulls.

also documenting his never ending desire to refuse to eat! nice ribs kid!

i love his fruity little euro-suit! it keeps him rash free!

why do boys bathing suit trends have to be so long that result in all the boys having to where spandex under their suits. it drives me nuts!

i love him. and love this picture. a little sass & tude. so handsome!

this damn digger haunted me. he says "digg-garrrr" and insisted on tossing it into the surf MULTIPLE times and would then scream "ohhhhh noooooo" and cry so id chase it down. 

but i do love this photo of his sandy hands and body with his prized diggg-garrrr!

most kids play football in the surf with goggles, right?

next time i am sad or down in the dumps or he is driving me nuts... i will look at this picture and smile!

happy hump day... almost! 

xo