Day Two of Being Thankful

Today I am thankful for yoga. I'm thankful for the ability to leave everything behind and loose myself for an hour and a half, stretching, pushing myself, finding my inner voice and listening to it, trusting my body and my self. Today I am thankful for yoga!

The One For Being Thankful!

I am not going to make excuses for why I can't keep up with this whole blog idea, but again I will try to energize this blog. It's a commitment that I'm having a hard time committing to for reasons I can't define. To get into the habit of posting more frequently I'm going to try something new for this entire month. The month of November. The month you get to eat turkey and dressing, think about Christmas shopping, throw away the Halloween pumpkins after they rot, hopefully cut down a Christmas tree and wait for winter to arrive. But the truth is November is more than all those things. November is for being thankful. Being mindful of our blessings and looking with joy and confidence into the future. So for each day during the month of November I will find something I am thankful for and write about it.

Today I am thankful for my new friends. Having a baby changes relationships with your friends. You seek friendship in others as a means of socializing your child. You sometimes hide behind stories about first words, first steps, teething and a whole host of other infant and toddler milestones. But then it happens. You find that you've made friendships that transcend your child. Friendships where you want to spend time together without the children.

This past week has been filled with many such friends. I am thankful for workout buddies who are moms but also my friend. I'm thankful for friends who drag me to kick boxing class on Saturday mornings when there's snow (more on snow in October another day) on the ground. I'm thankful for laughter through sweat as we kicked it out together! And I'm thankful for friends who persuade me to rally for Halloween, grab a last minute babysitter, and throw on a silly costume. Only to head out and laugh harder than I've laughed in long while dance more than my sore body could handle, and come home far too late on a school night. For, somewhere in all the baby play dates, countless diaper changes, milestone discussions with each other, and meals at restaurants with two toddlers, it happens. You find a couple that are deserving of the title - friends.


                                

The One with Another Friday Ritual

A Friday ritual from Soule Mama, one of my favorite bloggers.  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

The One with the Friday Ritual

A Friday ritual from Soule Mama, one of my favorite bloggers.  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your “moment” in the comments for all to find and see.

 

The One Where I Rented the Runway

Late one night, several months ago Eamon read an article in the New Yorker about the founders of a website called renttherunway.com, who are ironically both named Jennifer. One goes by Jenn (good job with the 2 N's) and the other by Jenny. The girls were roommates at Harvard Business School and they felt the same dilemma that most girls I know have felt at some point in their life, the one where you have tons of clothes but nothing to wear.  The basic premise behind the website is that you can rent a dress from an expensive designer that would cost you hundreds to purchase but pennies to rent. Eamon thought I might be able to find a dress for at least one of the 6 weddings and events we have this year. We sat there that night, perusing the website, eyeing dresses and wondering how they would look on me. After a few weeks I finally decided to give it a try and rented two dresses for weddings we have on back to back weekends this month. The first wedding on the beach in Charleston, the second one in a park in New Orleans.

The dress arrives 1-2 days before the wear date (which you select on the website) and comes with a "fit kit" that contains fashion tape and other fun little accessories, a package with pre-paid postage to send the dress back after your 4 days you're allowed to keep it and a garment bag. I chatted with the fit specialist about the sizing and my body type. I did my research on the FAQs (what if the dress doesn't fit? what if it doesn't arrive in time? what if I spill something on it? what if I rip it? and the list goes on). The dress arrived perfectly packaged on Thursday before the wedding on Saturday. I've never been so nervous to open a package before.

The website offers handbags, jewelry for rent and also sells undergarments and intimates so I choose a pair of matching earrings. The customer service is unmatched. I had to have the package mailed to address, other than my home because we were already going to be at the destination wedding on the day it would need to arrive. They handled the different billing vs. shipping address perfectly! 

By now, you're dying to see the "the dress," I'm sure. I rented a Nanette Lepore dress, one I'd probably never purchase on my own and it was PERFECT, actually, it was beyond PERFECT. I felt beautiful in the yellow and blue preppy "Girls Only Dress" that  was ideal for a May wedding on the beach in Charleston, SC. 

Eamon and I had a great time at the wedding and I have Rent The Runway to thank for dressing me perfectly! I can't wait to try it again. Next rental - coming next week for yet another wedding; this one in New Orleans! 

Until then... I recommend RenttheRunway.com to everyone. Their prices can't be beat and the selection is incredible. Thank you to Jenn and Jenny... 

The One to Celebrate Mother's Day

May 8, 2011 was my first official Mother's Day. I was pregnant last year on Mother's Day and even though Andy hadn't been born and I had no idea how she'd look or what her name would be, I knew I loved her and I knew I was her mom!

The day started with breakfast in bed. Eamon got up super early and got cooking in hopes that he'd have breakfast ready before our sweet baby woke up. She clearly knew something was different about this particular Sunday morning because she woke up early. He kept her occupied in the kitchen until it was time to serve me breakfast. Mimosas, fruit smoothie, coffee, fried eggs, bacon, biscuits, and a cinimmon roll came in on a tray accompanied by a bouncing, drooling, smiley baby girl! It was the most perfect breakfast.

 It was the most beautiful day in Western Loudoun County so after church, we decided to grab everything we could think of and head out to Fabbioli Cellars for an afternoon picnic celebration.  The perfect way to celebrate before a hectic week of travel for work, family and fun. 

I headed out to Pasadena for a quick site visit with my boss the day after, then jetted off to Greenville, SC to visit my Aunt Jo and the rest of the family, then it was off to Atlanta for the celebration of a beautiful bride to be! One of my best friends from college, Beth Markle, is getting married in July. She asked me to be in the wedding and unfortunately I have a work commitment that will have me in Denver that weekend. I can't believe I'm going to miss her wedding. After meeting her Atlanta friends contingency I know it's going to be a weekend to remember.

The One Where We're Dating

We recently went on a date, a first date. We were nervous, wondered what to wear, had sweaty palms, used all the manners we've been taught, tried not to drink too much, and didn't overstay our welcome. It went pretty good we think. We'll have to see if they call! ....They?

Yes, they! We're dating other couples. I've noticed a trend among my friends who have children. Somewhere around the time their babies turn 5-6 months old, they start to try and find a life outside of "babyworld" again.  Please tell me I'm not alone. You have a baby, your world changes, your trying to keep up with friends, family, day-to-day tasks of life and somehow you realize it's 6 or so months later and you haven't seen your friends who don't have children in months. Why? How can you have fallen this out of touch with the outside world? How could you be so wrapped up in first teeth, introducing solids, a weening schedule, baby proofing and developmental milestones that you forgot to keep up with your babyless friends?

So, what next? Well - you date. You try to meet other couples and you date. You eye other people at church or the grocery store or at the playground, other couples who have children. You whisper about them and wonder if you should ask them over for a play-date or better yet, dinner (with the kids of course). You join meetup.com groups and try to find other mothers/fathers around your area. Which is how we met our latest date; a couple around our age who lives within walking distance of our house. We went over to their house for dinner a few weeks ago for our first date and since then, there have been several subsequent dates. We're getting more comfortable and not as concerned with what we wear or how clean the house is before they come over. What stage of this relationship comes next? A night out without the kids? What do you think we'll talk about? My guess is the kids! But that would be just fine with me. I'm just happy we're dating.