Mommy's 50th Birthday!

Tuesday was my mother's 50th birthday (shh! don't tell her I told you how old she is . . . not that the decorating doesn't give it away)!


That day, I spent my entire lunch hour decorating their house. Jumping up and down like a little Mexican bean trying to get all those spirals hung from the ceiling. But it was a good work out, and well worth it for my mommy.

I asked my mommy what she wanted to do for her 50th . . . NYC, Toronto, surprise party, skydiving, spa day . . . but she just said she wanted a quiet night with my dad, shane, and I. . . so that's what she got.


Some yummy pizza from Hungry Howie's (garlic & herb crust is the BEST)!


And a delish and cute cake from Giant Eagle!


I got her a fun shirt and this framed piece from pictures of the quad that we did together. The 100 yard swim, the 12 mile bike, the 5 mile run, and the 2.5 mile snowshoe.

Thank you sooooooo much to my awesome hubby for his engraving skills (it has our times engraved in the frame along with "Mommy & Me Quad . . 2010 - 2011). And to one of my BFF's, KT, for her graphic design skills in laying out the pics for me.


(Behren wanted in a pic.)

My mom kept saying she didn't even feel old until she realized I was going to be turning 27 in a few weeks. (Does that make me old too?!)

I personally think that for 50, she looks awesome . . . and I told her she acts like she's 30, so she's good.

We had a wonderful night and it was so good to spend time with my mommy. No matter how old I get, there's nothing like snuggling in my mommy's arms.

Mommy & Me Quad : 2.5 Mile Snowshoe

Last Sunday, my mommy and I did the last leg of the quad . . . the 2.5 mile snowshoe! (The competitive participants had to do a 5 mile cross country ski).



It was a blast! And so great to finish the last part. We did it all. And we did it together.




We stayed in the back to start. .. it was crazy up front!!



We passed a guy on the way that fell in like 4 feet of snow. My my mom said, "are you ok?!" The guy said, "Yep." . . my mom said, "I missed it." The guy said, "it was a pretty good face plant." And then I found $5 . . . . .



All done! What a great way to get out and exercise, and even better to do it with my awesome mommy! You should sign up for next year! April 10th. 100 Yard Swim. Who's in?!

Parents 31st Anniversary!

For my parents 31st anniversary, we went to the Sloppy Duck for dinner and then headed over to see the sunset on the lake.



I cannot begin to say how proud I am of my parents for their 31 years of marriage. Yeah they've had lots of ups and downs, what marriage doesn't?! But they prevailed and as their only daughter (and child), there is no greater gift they could give me.



This is one of my favorite pictures of them (taken on their 31st anniversary). It just shows how head over heels my mom still is for my dad. I'm sure my dad feels the same way, right dad!?

An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow.

Here's to another wonderful 31 years! I love you!

Mommy and Me Quad! 5 Mile Run!

Saturday, September 11, 2010, my mother and I competed in the third event in the quad! The 5 mile run! It started at 9am in North East, and after only being 44 degrees out when we woke up, it warmed up fast and ended up being beautiful weather for the run (through the amazing smelling grape vines).


Do you see us?! Although you might think your heart should be pounding most at the end of the race, mine was pumping the fastest at the beginning. The suspense. The anticipation. The rocky music. The "runners on your marks . . . . get set. . . GOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


Here's us on the home stretch!


We did it!! Here is where I started to cry because I was just so proud of my mommy for doing this with me. 5 miles is a long way, and for her to do that with me and be excited and not complaining at all was just so great! She was so motivated and ready!


5 mile run . . check! Next and last event is the 2 1/2 mile snowshoe walk!


p.s. - thank you so much to my awesome hubby and pup, Behren, for coming to the race with us, capturing all these moments, and cheering us on. It was so nice.

Mommy and Me Quad! 12 Mile Bike Ride!

If you remember, my mom and I signed up to do the Highmark Quad. (See here for details of the quad). We completed the swim back in April, and had the 12 mile bike race on Saturday, July 10.

Don't let the sweet jersey fool you. I'm really not that good. GE wanted to support us and get more people involved at work by providing us with jerseys to wear at the race. They were pretty awesome. And it was so cool to see so many people from GE (in their jerseys) doing the bike race!

Here my mom and I just finished! I didn't want to make Shaney stay the entire race (it's not like the swim where he could watch us the entire time), so he got there right as we were walking over to the "thank goodness there is water and powerade tent". (Shane is how we got pictures of this event and I am so thankful to him for capturing these memories).

I stuck with my mommy the entire time, and she stuck with me. We were each others cheerleaders. And when this little 10 year old kid passed us for the fourth time, we just looked at each other and laughed, and it was just such a great mommy and me experience.

I just love her so much, and I am beyond proud of her for doing this with me. She is already so busy with work (going above & beyond), busy taking care of her mother who has Alzheimer's (feeding her and spending the night with her so they don't have to put her in a nursing home) , busy taking care of her mother-in-law who also has Alzheimer's, busy taking care of her hubby and doggy and kitty, and busy taking care of the neighborhood kids that she takes to playgrounds and cooks for. So for her to take more time to do this with me is just so great and so inspiring. Never have I met someone who spends so much of their time helping other people. I look up to her in so many ways, and I love her with all my heart.

Mommy and Me Quad!

I really wanted to do the QUAD this year, and asked my mom if she wanted to do it with me. I thought it would be something fun, something challenging, something called exercise, something to bring our bond even closer than it already is.

FACTS:

• First QUAD ever that we will be doing . . . . EVER
• You can do the "Competitive" or "Fitness" category. We chose fitness so we don't have to fall down doing cross country skiing. The only other difference is that they post your times alphabetically for fitness and by fastest time for competitive.
  
• SWIM = 100 yards April 11, 2010
  
• BIKE = 12 Miles July 10, 2010
  
• RUN = 5 Miles Sept 11, 2010
  
• SNOWSHOE = 2.5 Miles Jan 9, 2011
  

Obviously, these aren't all done at the same time (THANK GOODNESS!!), but it will help keep us active throughout the ENTIRE year (hopefully). . which will be good!

We actually went to the YMCA last night to see if we could even complete 100 yards swimming. . . . success! We actually swam 250 yards (not without taking a little breather in between, but still . . . we know we can do it! . . as long as we are allowed to do that there!)!

Next weekend marks our first event! Hopefully I can bring Shaney and/or my dad along to take some pics of us!

Mommy and Me QUAD . . here we come!

p.s. - This isn't an April Fool's joke.

Mommy's Birthday!

Today is my Mommy's birthday! We actually celebrated yesterday, because she has to work until 8pm tonight (I know, right?!)! We brought her a cake and flowers and a picture of us and some custom coasters and an eyebrow pencil and a bag where some of the proceeds went towards Breast Cancer Research.
Behren was helping her open the presents. He's such a good helper!
Got the cake from Giant Eagle in Harborcreek. Was very happy with it! I told them I didn't want the normal "flowers" or "balloons" . . . that I wanted something different. I said hearts and purples and blues and this is what they came up with!
I really hope my mom has the best birthday ever, because she deserves it! My mom is the most caring, selfless person I know. She is always putting other people first and takes so much time out of her day to help other people and to make their lives better. She is such a strong woman, who knows what she wants. Whenever I need her, she is there, and she loves me more than anyone I know. She is my best friend.

I love you mommy! :-)

Mommy's Day!

Little over due . . . but I was so fortunate on Mother's Day. What I thought was going to be a breakfast with my mom, dad, grandma, and aunt (that I was going to have to miss), turned into being an awesome huge breakfast @ the Golden Corral with my mom, dad, both my grandmas, my aunts on both sides, my uncles on both sides, my cousins, and Shaney of course too!
My mother is the most amazing person. She truly inspires me. She is the most generous, thoughtful person I know. She is always trying to do something for some one else or buying them goodies. She takes care of everyone she knows. She makes the best cookies (chocolate chip and no-bake especially)! And is the best grandma to our little pup, Behren (even though she spoils him WAAAAAYYYY too much)! I can see so much of her in myself, and that makes me so glad, because my mom has the biggest heart and is the best mommy ever!
Here is part of my mommy's gift. Shane and I made her a flower box for by the front steps. We made it two tiered. We still need to fill in the 2nd row with some more potting soil and plant the flowers. I think we will get some annuals to put in there too. Those are all perennials (come up every year). Shane did an awesome job! I helped a little, but he definitely deserves most of the credit!
Here is my cousin, Carrissa, who I got to see at the breakfast as well. This was a complete surprise! I had no idea she would be there and it was so great to see her because it's been forever! She will be a mommy next month!
Here are the flowers I got for my mommies, grandmas, aunt, and sister-in-law. They are beautiful gerberas from Wegmans! All of the mommies I know are so great and have taught me so much about love and about life. Shane and I are getting ansy to have some of our own, but we know now is not the right time. But when we are ready, we know we will have wonderful mommies all around us to help guide us and support us. We love you all!

The Big Day!

It is the big day!! No, I'm not talking about the superbowl (although, I am very excited about that too), I am talking about the birthday of the woman who loves me the most, who cares for me more than anyone, and who has helped make me who I am today. It is the birthday of my lovely mother!
We celebrated her birthday on Saturday. My parents and Behren came over for breakfast (Jack Frost doughnuts that they brought from Erie . . yum! Seriously. Best. Doughnuts. Ever.), then my mom and I headed off to Empyrean day spa in Edinboro. She got a 30 min massage and a manicure and I got a pedicure and manicure. It was very fun and relaxing. After that, we went to Walmart to pick up the cake and got some John's Wildwood Pizza.
Here is her cake! It was very cute and very yummy!

I felt bad because we did not have any candles and I totally forgot to get some at Walmart (everything we own is pretty much in Virginia, so I think I have stuff, and I do . . . but it is all in Virginia). So we had to use a regular candle. And Behren and his happy tongue almost got the first taste!
We all napped for a bit, took the pups for a walk, then headed off to dinner. It was definitely an interesting evening, and the place we ended up was not that good and took forever and they waaaaay undercooked our "well-done" steaks, but we made the best of it and still enjoyed the time we got to spend with each other. Good thing I was still stuffed from the pizza and cake earlier.
It was so nice to spend an entire day with my parents and Behren.

Today is my mom's real birthday though, and I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! To the most caring, most genuine, most optimistic, cutest story-teller there is. Who always makes sure I am watering my plants enough, taking care of myself and Shane, and some how can still get a laugh out of falling and hurting yourself. Every day I hope I can become more and more like you. I love you mommy!

This Weekend!

Welp . . . it's been another one of "those" weeks at work. But I really should not complain . . . at least I have a job. It's so sad and depressing to see so many people that I love and care for . . and even people I do not know . . . lose their jobs. My one friend at work just said that her dad lost his job today, and I've never even met him, but I almost started crying. So for all of you out there that are struggling to find a job (my husband included), I will pray for you. Hang in there.

In case you forgot . . . tomorrow is FRIDAY! I love Fridays! . . . in case you forgot that too! Friday . . . I have plans to go to work, then workout, then go out to dinner with the hubs! We haven't gone out for dinner together since we were in Virginia (about 3 months ago or so) . . . we used to go once a week.

Saturday, (hopefully if my mom is feeling better), we are having her 28th birthday celebration! Yes. .. she is only three years older than me. ;-) My dad, mom, and Behren are planning on coming over for breakfast, then my mom and I are going to the spa! She's getting a massage and mani and I am getting a mani & pedi. Then we will probably have some pizza and cake while watching Mamma Mia and drinking some of my new favorite wine (Almonderia). Then play some games and off to dinner! I can't wait!

Sunday we might go skiing again, and of course . . watch the Steelers kick some butt!! Here is a fun song that my friend KC sent to us. Get pumped!

to the best mommy's ever!

Happy Mother's Day!!

shane and i were going to try to make a video (take a pic) to send to our wonderful mommy's, but it probably would've turned out something like this . . . . (minus the slight violence)

so instead i am writing to say how lucky we are to have the two best mom's in the world! we love you, we miss you, and we can't wait to see you soon! thank you for being our mommy's!