Snow Day!!

Well we had a snow day here in Jersey (even though it is Saturday)! Last night when my husband called on his way to work and said he heard on the radio we were supposed to get 6"-12" I dashed out with both boys to Target to buy snow boots- and boy am I glad I did! We took the boys outside two play today, twice, and while the snow was too powdery to make a snowman they had plenty of fun. Our day was filled with Christmas movies, hot cocoa, grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for lunch, blankets on the floor, and good quality family time spent together!! Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to make the "noman" my 3 year old has been fascinated with this year!

10 things

I was recently looking over a fellow friends blog, Heart, Courage & Brain, when I realized she had tagged me in a post to write down the 10 things that make me happy, YAY! There are still people who read along to my blog haha!

10 Things that make me happy (in no particular order):

10. My husband and two loving children, and watching how excited Ayden gets when his brother gets excited! I swear he's like a carbon copy of his older brother :)

9. Keeping my house clean for an entire week, and staying on top of all the laundry we accumulate before it takes over our house!

8. Actually being able to watch Rachel Ray and the View in the morning while enjoying my coffee!

7. Having successful trips outside of our house with the boys (ie. a trip to the mall/restaurant without a public melt down!)

6. Driving in our new car, listening to country music with my sunroof open!!

5. Phone calls from friends to catch up

4. Thinking about the wonderful times I shared with my pop-pop, and knowing that he's up there looking down at me and my family looking out for us!

3. Our loving and caring church family that in 1 year has made us feel like we have been there a lifetime, and who I know will do anything for us!

2. Watching how excited baby Angel gets for christmas, and santa!!

1. When Baby angel tells me "Mommy your my favoritest mommy everrrrrr!"

I will pass this along to Hayley Miller.

ACRM

I feel great!
I just finished my application for becoming a volunteer at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. I always knew they existed in the town that has provided my employment for the past 4 years or so, and I have heard in the past that they are the best rescue mission in all of South Jersey and I am ecstatic to have the oppourtunity to volunteer there. Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it turns out!

Playdates

Today I had a playdate with a co-worker of mine and her 4 year old daughter. For those of you who are not at the parenting stage in your life just quite yet a "playdate" is basically getting a couple of kids together to play with eachother. We decided to meet at the mall in a little play area the mall put together with a soft floor, smaller slides, tunnels, and apparetuses for the children to play on. At first I wasn't sure how it was going to go because we were meeting at 12:30 which is right in the middle of Ayden's nap time, (so that worried me ALOT) but I was able to get him to take an earlier nap than usual today. As soon as we arrived Angel dove right in and began playing with not only my friends daughter but with all the little kids that were there, while Ayden (who is usually slow to warm up) took a few minutes to survey the area and what was happening before hopping out of his stroller and joining in the fun as well. After spending almost an hour or more in there we ventured into a new store they just put in our mall named Air Circus. The kids looooved this store, they had all kinds of neat toys on display to play with- they thought it was amazing. Next, we ventured over to the pet store to visit and play with some of the puppies and last we ended up grabbing a bite to eat in the food court. The kids had such a good time, and I'm really glad I was able to get out of the house and spend time with a fellow mom! I'm looking forward to many more playdates in the future!!

Our sick little man

Ayden woke up in the middle of the night last night with a fever of 102.7, and again early this morning it was 103. So there we were AGAIN at the pediatrician's office (we were just there Tuesday for the boys H1N1 shots). Turns out the little guy has his first ear infection and a virus on top of that :( So for the next week I'll be playing the dual role of nurse and mommy!

Giving thanks

We just finished celebrating Thanksgiving this past week in our house as I'm sure most of you have. Dinner was held at our house where We had about 20 people in all. I love the feeling of a full house, and really his family is one of the best out there! All the women spent the day in the kitchen cooking, talking, and enjoying some wine while the men and children were in the livingroom watching the Macy's parade and football. Later in the day eventually they were so inspired they took all the kids outside to play a real game of football. Angel's aunt brought a fun game for everyone to play called Guesstures, and we ended up having a blast with it. At about 6 o' clock we began putting the food on the table- ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, rice, stuffing, baked ziti, corn, rolls, and sat down at our two tables (because there were so many of us)! We said Grace, and got to work haha! We finished thanksgiving dinner with 2 apple pies, and 1 pumpkin both topped with vanilla ice cream and cool whip! Even though this was my first Thanksgiving with out my Grandfather, Angel's family was able to come along and manage to fill that deep,dark whole in my Heart with their love, humor, craziness, warmth, and guidance and for that I am forever thankful.

Thanksgiving shopping!!

I ventured out to the grocery store today to pick out my **FREE** ham/turkey from Shoprite as well as all of the other goodies we'll be needing for thanksgiving dinner this year. For the past 3 years we have done Thanksgiving dinner at our house because it's a little bit more roomy and it can be such a hassle to pack up, now 2, children and travel an hour up to central jersey. My husband, Ayden, and I ventured into Shoprite with the notion that we would be fending off SAHM's, elderly ladies, and rude holiday people and it turned out to be quite the contrary! I have a feeling because we prepared ourselves ahead of time with a list of EXACTLY what we needed, it made the trip go a little bit more smoothly. We even happened to bump into a co-worker of mine and my husband's and were able to chat with her and her almost 1 year old daughter for a few minutes!! All in all it was a very successful trip to the grocery store (which have become few and far between these days with the two boys)! Tonight begins the "cleaning" portion of getting ready for Thanksgiving because family starts arriving tomorrow evening!!

3 months!

Today is our 3 month wedding anniversary! Yes I know most people say "oh just wait till It's been 10 years or so, you won't be that excited then"! The truth is I want to celebrate the time we are in now, and hope that through hard work, family, and our faith that we will continue to be as happy as we are now 10, 20, even 50 years from now! So here's to us hun 3 months down with many, many more to come! I love you.

More, more more!!

So the yard sale shopping didn't work out as well as i thought it was going to this morning, but as it does turn out my 3 year old is fascinated with them so next time i go a hunting i know who to take with me!! On the flipside I was able to take advantage of some really great sales that were going on today, again! I had coupons that were good for today and tomorrow at Oshkosh, Carters, and Kohl's. All coupons were spend $10, save $10 - you can't beat that! So i did, and i did it childless. Yup, you heard right folks, Daddy stayed home with Angel and Ayden while Momma was able to go shopping. Now, don't get me wrong i love my kids with my whole heart and would do anything for them but sometimes when your trying to shop in an overcrowded, tiny, messy, child's clothing store two children pulling at you in different directions, dropping their Bobo, and throwing their juice doesn't exactly give you the state of mind to pick out what you want...and toy stores are even worse because they have a tendency to just RUN after whatever catches their eye! All in all I was able to pick up 2 toys each for the boys and some books as well to add to our growing christmas presents!

Soooo excited!!!!

I'm so excited to say that I am going garage sale hunting tomorrow lol!!! I know i know, I'm such an old lady but its sad to say this is what excited me these days!

What a great deal!

I am so proud of myself right now. I actually took advantage of an awesome sale that saved me well over $50. I stopped by our local CVS to pick up infant Tylenol and Motrin because Ayden is sick and as I was checking out I passed their leftover Halloween odds and ends. Much to my advantage I noticed they had a few leftover halloween costumes, and after reading an old childhood friend, Haley's, blog i thought what a fantastic idea to buy some and put them away for christmas presents for baby angel! I was able to pick up 3 costumes that were 90% off. 1 bumblebee transformer, 1 optimus prime transformer, and 1 red power ranger all for $4.50!! This now means that I have officially started Christmas shopping for the boys, haha!!

Craigslist

For the first time in almost a year I finally am able to believe that craigslist is a REAL place for people to buy and sell items. What seperates this site from others such as Ebay is that usually most transactions happen locally, within a few miles of where each of the people live, therefore cutting down on shipping cost. I first heard about the website almost a year ago from my father in law, then from a few close friends. Today was the first day that I actually sold something on there and was able to make a few extra dollars- which doesn't hurt when we are this close to the holiday season!! I was sad to see some of our baby stuff go, but happy that I was able to help someone who was able to put the items to use rather than them sitting in the kids closet collecting dust!

Insomnia

I keep reading everyone posting lately about not being able to sleep and I'm afraid it is now my turn. For the past 3 or 4 nights I have not been able to sleep whatsoever. I feel restless, overstimulated, and my mind will not stop racing. As a mom we have about a million things on our mind at any given minute during the day and it feels like at night my brain will just not stop going to take a rest. For now I'm going to cut down my 3-4 cups of coffee throughout the day to 2-3 cups (I know I still need some sort of kicker to help me make it through with these 2 kids!), and also try not to drink ANY coffee after 6 or 7 p.m. at night. We'll see how it works :)

Pictures

I just booked our portrait session to have our family/holiday portraits taken this year. This is something we started last year after the birth of Ayden and it's something that I'd like to do with our family every year so we can see the changes in our family from year to year. I also like it because I always use one of the pictures for our Christmas cards that we send out, and this year I can finally write FROM THE ACOSTA'S!! Now I just have to come up with outfit ideas for the kids as well as Angel and I.

Frustration

Geico car insurance can go to H-E- double hockey sticks!! Today they are my latest frustration, along with about 20 other things on my mind, ha. Anyway I have been a loyal customer of theirs for 5+ years now and at the beginning of the month our NEW car was involved in a four car accident -luckily we were the last to get hit in the rear, and was the only car to drive away, and nobody was hurt. Well the guy whose car started this big mess happens to be a Geico customer as well, so they are trying to make us pay a $500 deductible for the damages to our new car when we were not found any percentage at fault because of course they are not going to go after themselves for the $500! He was found 100% at fault, and Geico themselves are claiming 100% at fault too. GRRRR! I will now be spending the next few days getting auto quotes from different companies because I am very upset with how they are dealing with this situation, wish me luck.

That time of year...

I was out driving with Angel and the boys recently when our oldest son, Angel, noticed a curb side Santa advertising for a store that was going out of business (only in America, right?!). Angel was completely infatuated, he knew it had to be the real Santa, afterall to 3 year olds Santa is kinda a hero!! He was standing there, with his big red belly full of jelly, his red suit, and his white beard. Angel asked his daddy to put the window down, and began frantically waving his hand out the window at Santa saying, " Santa it's me Angel I've been a good boy this year, can I please have a Wii." Haaaa, it was the cutest thing in the entire world. It definitely made up for the rough morning we had that day, pre-santa! I love my children <3

Thrifty!

I've recently discovered an amazing world that I never knew was out there! I've discovered that you can totally buy items second hand (in amazing, clean condition) for half as much, if not more, than the item would cost if it was new. Where have these places been all my life?! I mean of course you do have to search really hard sometimes and make sure that nothing is broken or damaged but as long as it is in working condition why not right?! I'll let you know how my adventures turn out!

Fort Hood

This image will forever be engraved in my mind.
This one hit us in America. On our own soil. That is what makes it even worse. I sat at work today and watched the memorial for our fallen heroes. I sat through the whole program as tears filled my eyes. I have never felt such sorrow for people of our country as I did today. Maybe it brought up memories of my grandfather (who was a Marine) and passed away back in May, or maybe it was the overwhelming feeling of patriotism that washed over my body I'm not quite sure. The 13 lives that were taken last Thursday in Fort Hood Texas as well as their family and friends will continue to be in my prayers. I can't even imagine the pain, and agony their families are going through. Innocent and noble men, women, mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers' lives were lost for the safety of all of us. So from the bottom of my heart thank you, and we will never forget what happened on November 12, 2009 in Fort Hood Texas.

A good book.

I don't know what it is about this time of year but it just makes you want to snuggle up on the couch with a warm cup of apple cider, open your curtains to watch the leaves fall from the trees, and read a good book. I used to be an avid book reader, jumping from book to book quicker than anyone else I knew. With the addition of Angel and Ayden my book reading days have been few and far between. I am trying to get back into the swing of things and I was lucky enough to catch an episode of The View last week where Sherrie was plugging her new book Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break. And let me tell you this Wife, and momma of two young boys could use a break here and there. I have only just begun this book but so far I have LOL'd (yes literally laughed out loud) while wiping the tears that were streaming down my cheeks from laughing so hard -or maybe it's the fact of realizing that there are other people out there that I have done and made the same stupid, idiot mistakes that i have- more than I can count. I will let you know how this one turns out :)

Follow me

It's official. Along with being the first person to stand up and say "My name is Erica and I'm a FB addict," I can now add that I am a twitter addict! I just joined, so come follow me here!

1st day!!

Last week our 3 year old started preschool...I know, i can't believe it's here already! Don't get me wrong there were definitely tears shed (and all on my part, none from him), but i know this is what he needs to begin his education, learn daily interaction with other children, and enrich his knowledge about God. We chose to send him to a preschool through our church because. . .
1. We are very comfortable with and close to the staff
2. He's familiar with his surroundings
3. We feel that this preschool is there not just to make $$ to pay their staff, but to really teach and make an impact on their students.
I could not be happier with the decision we made to send him to this preschool-in fact today I got my first "Mommy, just go! I have to play with my friends now!" from him and it broke my heart a little bit :( Here are some pics of his first day!

Don't really know...

Now that the wedding is over I don't really feel like this blog is AS important as it once was :( I'm trying to figure out what direction I am going to take this thing in. I wish I could be one of those whimsical writers who could write about anything, add a little sarcasm, and write a post that peaks the interests of many people- unfortunately I don't think that is going to happen. Perhaps I'll just try to post a few times a week on what is going on in the lives of The Acostas! Until then I will leave you with a few pictures from our wedding as I had previously promised. Enojy.

It's official!!

I'm officially Mrs. Acosta and I love when Angel calls me that! I know I have been neglectful but I promise there are lots of pictures, stories, and recaps to come! For now we're headed to Mom and Dad's in central jersey for pool, bbq, and labor day activitive :)

8 1/2 month pregnant lady!

That is exactly how I am feeling these days. I feel like I am about to explode with anxiousness. I am ready to do this. Ready to get all of this clutter out of my house ( I no longer have a bottom step on my staircase because of it), ready for the family drama to be over(unfortunately after this even there will be family that I will never speak to again), and ready to be on our surprise honeymoon( hoping somewhere with blue water, white sand, and UNLIMITED alcohol)!


5 days!

Coming together!

At this point, I'm feeling like we might actually be able to pull off this whole "wedding" thing! Haha! And this is going to be a REAL wedding. Not in a VFW, not paying $25 a head for a family member to cook all the food and cater the event (not that there's anything wrong with this, its just NOT my style). It's going to be in a ballroom, there's going to be tables upon tables of people who love and support us, champagne toasts, bride and groom kisses, the whole works!!

The florist and photographer are officially paid off...We just returned from getting our marriage liscence, and we're headed to Sea Oaks now to make our final payment!!!!!!

8 Days!

BFF

I swear i'm becoming AC Moore and Michael's best friend, haha with all this last minute wedding preparation stuff! I think I know almost every sales associates name, and they all recognize me--is that bad?!


12 days!!!

Almost there...

We've officially hit August-and have only 18 Days till the wedding!! I'm trying to complete all the "last minute" stuff, which seems to be everything because this whole process I was like oh we can wait till the end to do that and it IS the end!! In a way though looking back, it's kind of sad that this process is ending and I wish i could bottle up all of my feelings/thoughts/emotions from this past year of planning and open it whenever I needed a pick me up!

As promised!!

Pics are finally posted on my FB from my bachelorette party last weekend, here's a preview!!




*Drinks* and dinner at Hard Rock





Shots before the male review!





Group shot at dinner!





Bachelorette shot-NO HANDS!!!

naked and cheap lol

I am still waiting for some friends to post pics from my bachelorette party this weekend so until then here's my next post!

Today I feel naked...and cheap all at the same time!! I had to go to Zales to have my engagement ring re-dipped and all the diamonds polished for the photographer for the wedding so I won't have it back until our wedding day :( That is why i feel naked...

I feel cheap because I refuse to wear nothing on my finger until the wedding so I opted for a fake set from Piercing Pagoda! It's actually not bad and I've decided to wear it at work after the wedding because since I am a bartender I tend to bang up my rings pretty badly and don't want to chance it anymore with the real thing. And i'll wear my real set everywhere but work :)

ohhh the things us girls do!

Bachelorette Party

Last night was my bachelorette party and we did it up in AC. One word can describe the entire night........PERFECT! I had a sash, a penis veil, a penis candy necklace, male dancers were involved, oh and did I mention I had to carry around a 3 ft. inflatable penis the entire night? Haaaa...my girls are the best!!!

26 Days<3

Sad

It's sad really...it's sad that you want to make my life hell. It's sad that you can't see that you're ruining my "wedding planning" memories. It's sad that those who take care of you most and watch out for you--you don't care if you ruin their lives. One day I hope that you wake up and realize that you are completely alone and that you did this to yourself. You have burned every single bridge into and out of your life.

Goodbye forever...

AC Moore

DIY here I Come....

I stopped into AC Moore today and picked up supplies to make a pomander ball and the best part was the flowers i loved were 90% off--how GREAT is that?! I also picked up blank dinner menus for our rehearsal dinner, and stamps to make them a little more personal! Wish me luck.

David's Bridal

My first trip to David's was almost 2 years ago when I went shopping for my bridal gown and my BM's dresses. Like many other opinions I've heard they put a very very sour taste in my mouth and I took an vow to NEVER give them any more of my money as long as i shall live. Well don't you know I ended up at their new Mays Landing location for my flower girl's dress because they have one that is a miniature version of my bridal gown. I took my little sister to go try it on because I thought it would be such a cute idea to have her in the same gown as myself, just a miniature version and don't you know it DID NOT fit. GRRR! Our sales lady, Danielle, was so very sweet. She took the time with us (while helping 2 other ladies with their fittings, ringing up sales at the register, and answering just about every possible question that another sales associate had) to find a dress that would compliment my sister's figure...

.... 2 hours later with many blood, sweat and tears shed we found the dress. She was able to suggest a color for her to compliment my wedding colors (since only FG dresses come in white and my BM's are in celadon which DB has recently discontinued) and a matching sash to put around it. Oooooh, and in the midst of all this she was able to fit me for the crinolin I needed for the underneath of my bridal gown :)

THANKS DANIELLE!

Yet Again...

Yet again I have changed my mind completely about something I am having for my wedding haha! I went to DB this past Tuesday night to look for a flower girl dress for my little sister and happened to stumble upon the most gorgeous veil in the whole entire world! Now, I know I already purchased my veil when I bought my dress, nearly two years ago at this point, but this new one is SO much better, 100x's more gorgeous, and the complete opposite of my original that i just had to have it! I'm not posting pics because people think I'm already sharing too much and won't have any surprises to reveal on my wedding day ( I can't help it I'm just so excited people!!)--so I'm going to try to keep this a secret from everyone even my BM's until the day of the wedding.

Hair Trial #2

After taking everyone's recommendations from the SJ forum on Theknot to have Karen Capcino do my hair and makeup for my wedding day I could not be happier!! I first went to Karen back in February and while her makeup was amazing-i wasn't 100% with the job she did on my updo. Even though she kept assuring me my hair would look exactly how I wanted on my wedding day my "worry-wart-ness" wouldn't allow my mind to be at ease. Plus like every indecisive bride I changed my mind and decided to wear a headband/tiara thingy! So today she did a second hair trial and for no extra charge...and it is AMAZING!!!

2 things. . .

There are only 2 things I am requesting to be at my bachelorette party:

1. Lots and lots of alcohol consumption
2. Male stripper/stripperssssssssss!

June 30th

Tomorrow's the first...which means today was the last day for our guest's to RSVP to the wedding.

The final count is:

86 Yes
16 No
18 Unanswered

The ironic part is that all of the unanswered's are either members of my family, or members of our wedding party. This is the conclusion I have come to. Even if you KNOW that you are going to be in our wedding, please have the decency to RSVP so I don't have to hunt you down and feel *tacky* by asking you v.i.a. email, text, or phone whether or not you're coming to our wedding just so I can sleep at night, or if you are a family member please don't assume that I think you're coming to our wedding because some of our family members actually RSVP'd as No's and well if nothing else...you know what happens when you assume! Ok now that that vent is ova----onto my next dilemma:

Seating Chart or Reception Cards????

Bridal Shower!

Today was my bridal shower thrown by my amazing bridesmaids. I can't thank them enough for all the hard work and effort they put into my shower today. It was amazing, and exactly what I wanted! The shower was a bridal brunch at The Smithville Inn. The brunch was served buffet style in a beautiful room with windows on every wall that allowed you to see out to their garden and lake area. It was a gorgeous view, and we lucked out with sunny summer weather! We played games, had girl talk, ate so much yummy food and opened a ton of presents! My girls and family are the best and truly a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who was at the shower today and to those who sent presents we are very grateful. Here are some pics to share!


Table set up--the small flower pots are the favors, aren't they adorable?!




Me with my rehersal bouquet one of my MOH's made for me!





Prizes for the winners of the games we played!




The best bridesmaids in the world!!!!

Yard Sale!

Just wanted to write a quick blog about my day yesterday. Our development had a yard sale and for us it was VERY successful. Confession: When I turn 50 I so badly want to be a 'driving around on Saturday morning's, carrying change in my fanny pack, picking through other peoples trash to make my treasure yard sale hunter!! We were able to get rid of a lot of baby stuff that was taking up room in our house...only to make room for more stuff that we needed to bring out of storage lol! I was able to spend the entire day outside with my two sons and soon to be sister in law, and thankfully we were having good weather here in jersey!

Excited

Tomorrow is my bridal shower...and i'm so excited!

That is all :)

Buying local!

So today on my way to have my first dress fitting in Williamstown I passed about 6 fresh fruit stands. I couldn't help but remember all the posts from fellow blogger, Holly, about Jersey fresh blueberries and how delicious they are--not to mention loaded with antioxidants and lets face it I'm determined to eat healthy and drop another 5 or so pounds before my wedding in August. So i stopped at a local produce market and bought fresh blueberries, peaches, bananas, and a watermelon for myself and my family. Can't wait to cut them all up and start making some yummy snacks. Recipes to be posted later!

*Bonus* it feels good to buy local and support our local farmers and their families :)

break

Taking a break from the wedding stuff tonight.

Too much drama in too few days.


I thought weddings were supposed to bring everyone together---not push them apart?

Retail Therapy

I hear pocket's on party dresses is the big trend for summer so of course I went searching for the perfect bridal shower dress...with my MOH in tow of course! After looking for what seemed like forever I was about to give up when she suggested Macy's. Yuppp the store I have a credit card to and NEVER, ever shop at-go figure! Get this it was originally $69.00 and was on sale for $20...NO JOKE! How wonderful is that? Ahhhhh can you say excited??! Here is a sneak peak of my heels to go with it!

No words

I feel like I hit a wall-and there's no one to pick up the pieces of me.

Those who I thought would, are bystanders just watching.

This too shall pass.

It always does....and I always grow stronger.

strength

It hits me as hard as running into a cement wall.

It feels like plummeting 500 feet into freezing cold water.

For a second I can't breathe.

I feel myself falling into the moment.

I try to pull it together before anyone sees.

I can't fall apart.

I'll keep going until the next time this happens-get through it-and keep going again.

That's what life is all about right? I'll make it through this.

Give me strength.

ching ching baby bring it over here

Angel and I turned in our change today that we have been collecting for-E-V-E-R. Obviously we're putting it towards the wedding, cause that's where all of our extra money goes these days! We were surprisingly shocked when all of our money was counted we had a grand total of....


..... $492.oo!!! Yippeeeee! Centerpieces here we come :)

Shoes!

Wedding shoes are in...
and you guessed it-just like with everything else
I'm on the fence about them!


Can you blame a girl for always thinking there's something better out there?!




Tonight: Putting the boys to bed early and having some wine with my other half :)

To photo booth or not to photo booth?!

Trying to see if we can fit one of these into our budget!!! Ohhhh can you imagine all the pictures, haha.

Ohhhhh mother's guilt how I hate you.

73 days

Wedding shoes...ordered

Reception shoes...bought on Friday and L-O-V-E!

Bridesmaids Shoes...finally decided

Undergarments...found crynolin need bra top

First fitting...scheduled

Count so far: 36 yes 5 no

P.s. I am trying really hard to keep all of my RSVP's in the same place...and if you know me, you know what a feat that is!

blahhhh

I'm tired of being exhausted allllll the time. . .

...when do I get a break?

Neglectful

I have been very neglectful to my blog this past week, and I apologize. Almost every night after work this week I was at an old friend's house consoling her because she lost her father last Sunday. My prayers are with her and her family...

Wedding news!!!! As you may have read we began mailing out invitations over the past two weeks and a few days ago we started receiving reply's in the mail. Amidst all the invitation craziness we somehow lost our mailbox key too, so we had to have a new key core placed in so we could actually check our mail!! Ohhhh our luck haha!

I would love to receive more like this one!




Count: 11 Yes 2 NO

3 months

Wow! 3 months till our wedding. I feel like it is going by entirely too fast. I'm trying to take in and absorb every emotion and thought I am having throughout our wedding planning process so I can get the most out of this experience. Yesterday we went and had Angel fitted for his tux, and picked out the rest for the groomsmen, our two sons, and our ring bearer. I don't want to give away too much but one hint that I will give you is this: WHITE! Invitations are going out by the bunches each day, and I'm still contemplating whether or not I want to do a program of some sort. OHHH and the biggest news is that I found out when and where my bridal shower is YAY. . .now i just have to find the perfect dress- any suggestions ???!

He will be there

Thanks to fellow blogger Preppy Bride, and this fantastic creator on Etsy I am going to make sure that my Pop-Pop is with me on my wedding day! In fact, he will be walking me down the aisle along with my Dad and Uncle like I always wanted. I am going to hang this charm from my bouquet with a picture of us!

Now it makes sense!

While searching for wedding invitation etiquette i found this:

Wedding invitations were once delivered by hand. If you were a bride back in those days, your footman delivered your invitations to your guests' homes. Their servant received the invitation and removed it from its mailing envelope (an envelope much too pedestrian for your guests to handle themselves). The servant then presented the invitation to your guests in its pristine inside envelope. Because the invitation was already at its destination, the inside envelope had only the names of your guests written on it. The address was no longer needed. It just had to be directed to the appropriate members of the household.

You learn something new everyday!

I caught myself singing today

Today was a good day! I'm finally back in my groove at work minus the bitches I still have to put up with... lol, an ex-friend emailed me to tell me how well she wishes mine and Angel's wedding to turn out, and I was able to go grocery shopping after work with both boys in tow and neither one had a meltdown =) Mood: accomplished!

Onto other topics...

Last night Angel and I sat down to start working on our invitations...and they are still a work in progress. Nobody tells you how time consuming, and how much "wedding invitation etiquette" slows down the process of putting together the invites! Ugghh it was an exhausting and overwhelming experience, and not a very productable evening either. All you see are peoples final product of their invitations, not the sweat shop process it took them to get to that point! Nonetheless I'm hoping a little work every night between now and Thursday will allow us to get them all in order and in the mail by Friday morning.

Next topic: Wednesday we are off to Men's Warehouse to check out suits for our groomsmen.

He was my rock.

It's not such a wonderful life anymore...

I've been dreading sitting down to write this post, but here it goes. We lost my Pop-Pop last Tuesday. A week ago from today. Life has been a blur and all my days have melted together since then. He passed away in the hospital with family gathered all around him, at 92 years old. He was my buddy. We were inseparable and I don't know how I am going to go on without him. Not a day has passed that I haven't cried about losing him. Life will never be the same. The viewing was yesterday and I think that was possibly the worst day of my life. I was asked to give his eulogy, and hope I made him proud of what I said. While figuring out how to write about a man I've known my entire life (24 years) on a few pieces of paper I came across this poem that fit perfectly for how Pop would have wanted us to feel.

To Those Whom I love & Those Who Love Me

By Mary Alice Ramish

When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do,
You mustn't tie yourself to me with too many tears,
But be thankful we had so many good years.

I gave you my love, and you can only guess
How much you've given me in happiness.
I thank you for the love that you have shown,
But now it is time I traveled on alone.

So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It is only for a while that we must part,
So treasure the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away for life goes on.
And if you need me, call and I will come.

Though you can't see or touch me, I will be near.
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear,
All my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile and a 'Welcome Home'.

I love you Pop!

Big Boy's birthday!

Yesterday was our oldest son's 3rd birthday! I can't believe time has passed so quickly. We celebrated with a Spiderman themed party at our house with close friends and family. Now that I have children I actually feel as though I appreciate the celebration of birthdays so much more. When you're a teenager you don't understand why your parents want to take you to a special birthday dinner, or still have family over for birthday cake- even if it is your 17th birthday and you'd rather be out driving with your friends, or buying new clothes at the mall. Every year on Angel's birthday I make sure to take a few minutes to think about the day we brought him into this world. I feel like God has really blessed us, and we are able to appreciate life's moments so much more now that we are a growing family! Here are some pics from yesterday's festivities to enjoy!


Party table all set up!


Enjoying his cupcake cake!!


Present time!!


Angel and his Godsister, more presentssss!


Pinata Time!

Mmmm...

Last night I attended my first Tastefully Simple party at my cousin's wife's house and all I can say is YUMMY!! I can't wait to receive my Bacon Bacon dip, and my chocolate covered cheese ball mix (not that those are the only two things I ordered)! It was very nice to be able to have a girly get together, get out of the house, and gossip with other moms. Thank goodness I need to stay tiny in order to fit in my wedding gown, otherwise I would have ordered everything we tasted at the party! There was so much food to sample that I don't think anyone left the party hungry! I had such a good time that I'm actually thinking of hosting my own party =) Thanks Heather!

Rings!

Since my camera is cooperating with me today and I've been meaning to post pictures of our wedding bands. . .here they are!

Head piece!

Yesterday one of my MOH's and I ventured to a local bridal boutique in search of some things for the wedding. I have to say I have always been skeptical of small boutiques because from the outside they look very shaggy, out dated, and are most of the time over priced. Well, this boutique was anything but! The owner, Tesi, was so helpful and so was her staff. I was able to find my head band/ tiara for my wedding up do and will definetly be going back for a lot more stuff! I finally got my camera working so here are some pics of it!

4 months!

As of Tuesday we are within 4 months of our wedding!!! That's only 16 weeks! I am so excited! There are so many things I am looking forward to like my bachelorette party, my bridal shower, our rehearsal dinner, and most of all the BIG day!!! Did I mention I was excited, lol!! Soon we'll be putting together our wedding invitations that we bought and I'm hoping to make it into a girls night with most of my bridesmaids! Wedding invitations, a bottle of vino, and hopefully this is how it all turns out!



Find pic here.

Diet, Diet, Diet!

I just can't do it! For the life of me I cannot make myself diet. I'm tempted by everything bad for me, and the idea of the gym has gone right out the window. I need to get back on track ASAP. What is the trick- someone please let me know. I need to fit into my wedding gown in almost 4 months!!!!!

I wasn't kidding

I wasn't kidding when I said I was going to be living at my job for the next 2 weeks. Last week I logged 56 hours! Onto better news though we're officially one step closer to summer since I have had my first taste of Johnson's popcorn on the OC boardwalk =) There is just no comparison to Johnson's- I think I could eat an entire bucket by myself, don't worry though I know I have to fit into my bridal gown lol. Our ring bearer pillow did arrive this week, from this etsy shop. I'll post pictures later but needless to say its gorgeous! I'll end this post with the news that Ayden has begun crawling, so now he is a mobile machine making his way all over the house and anywhere he can! Now I have two children to chase after!

My job owns me...

I feel like I have a closer relationship with my managers than with my own family at this point. It was sad when I realized that I've worked 22 hours in the past 2 days at my job. Oh, and I'll be going back there tonight at 5 =( At this point in my life everything is for the wedding and my kids, so here's to both of them!


P.S. Everyone have a Happy Easter and remember why we celebrate this holiday!
Matthew 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Promotion!

My boss sat me down today and told me that after waiting 4 months to be a bartender at my work, it's finally going to happen. And with the wedding bills that are piling in this could not have come at a better time =) I'm sooooooo happy!

I can't wait . . .

for THIS moment!!

Find pic here.

Letterpop!

So I have just discovered the best site for sending pretty emails! Many thanks to fellow blogger Jessica. I've decided to use it to send emails to my bridesmaids to keep them updated on wedding news since we are scattered all throughout south and central jersey! Letterpop is like this amazing service where you can write an email and then give it a makeover and face lift with girly colors, fonts, templates and did I mention you can even add your own photos to it as well? You have to check it out and let me know what you think =)

So my latest task to accomplish for the wedding is to come up with a hairstyle for me for the big day. Trust me, this one is easier said than done. I'm such an indecisive person, so of course I change my mind almost every day. So far this is what I have come up with. I think it will look even more polished and perfect with a headband to match! I'm also still in the process of finding a hairstylist and makeup artist to come on location the day of the wedding who aren't charging me and arm and a leg in travel fees. Stupid South Jersey!