10 years together!

On December 21st Mr. R. and I celebrated TEN years together. That's right folks, we have been dating for TEN years! I can barely believe it myself. We decided to have a special date to commemorate our little milestone. We went ice skating, then out for fancy drinks, and we ended the night with a sinful dessert. And I didn't even think twice about the calories.
Our date was fantastic, but the best part was coming home to our house, kissing our daughter goodnight, and relishing in all the date nights that got us to this moment.

Our 1st date: Mr. R. and I went to a local air show in my hometown and out for Icees.

Our pre-wedding date: Pizza Paradiso in Georgetown. We enjoyed aracini and the best pizza of our lives after we booked our honeymoon!

Date with the best view: sunset dinner of souvalki overlooking the Acropolis

Date when we held hands for the first time: Sea Isle City boardwalk right before I left to go backpacking in Montana

Date with the weirdest people: late night showing of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Best Stayhome/Homemade date: Our faux Caribbean cruise vacation. We spent an entire weekend going back and forth to the pool and the beach soaking up the sun, reading magazines, not answering our phones, and eating as much fresh fruit as possible.

Best family date: Our first dinner with Pip to Harry's. She was 4 weeks old and slept the whole time.

The date we seem to do over and over again: sushi and Barnes and Noble browsing

Date where we let go and tried new things: Dinner and drinks at the Miter in London. Mr. R. had pigbelly and I had chips (fries) with mayonnaise (the British condiment of choice).

Worst Date: Mr. R. invited me to be his date to his brother's wedding and then got the FLU at the wedding.

Best Valentine's Date: a trip to visit Mr. R. on his undergrad campus. We walked everywhere enjoying the monuments, the Smithsonian mall, and watched the sunset from Robert E. Lee's porch.

Date with the most foreigners: We attended open house Saturday for the European Union Embassies. So much culture in one afternoon.

Date with the best coffee: Cafe DuMonde in New Orleans, LA. We listened jazz music while sipping cafe au laits and eating beignets.

Mr. R., here's to ten amazing years of falling in love with you all over again.

Goodbye Christmas, Hello 2013!

As much as I loved our Christmas chalkboard wall, it was time to say goodbye. I took down our cards, the wreath, and Piper's beloved felt tree on Saturday morning and started the process of wiping and washing our chalkboard, bringing it back to its original clean slate. To celebrate the new year I borrowed an idea from Whimsy Designs on Etsy. Lots of free printables and subway art from Pinterest and a free banner from Catch My Party. 

 Our entryway table.

 New Years subway art and a bottle of sparkling cider.

 Lucky Pennies

 New Boxes of chalk just waiting to be used!

 Design Credit: Whimsy Designs
A cute 8 x10 print of this message is available on Etsy.

Our dining room table

 For Auld Lange Syne My Dear

The best is yet to come!

Welcome 2013!

A Christmas Report

I can hardly believe it has been one week since Christmas. I guess I have been following my own advice in slowing down, relaxing, enjoying the moments. While time has continued to march forward I have been drinking hot cocoa, watching TONS of Christmas movies, taking naps, playing kitchen and grocery store, wearing tiaras, and eating more Christmas cookies than I wish to say.

Our Christmas was fantastic. We had my Mom and my Uncle Robert here this year and Piper was ALL IN when it came to Christmas. She loved the excitement, opening presents, playing with her toys, and we all soaked up her enthusiasm and energy.

Merry Merry

 Christmas Eve Service at our church, dinner with my Grandparents, homemade Christmas cookies, reading the Night Before Christmas to Pip, Christmas Sangria, exchanging gifts with Mr. R. on Christmas Eve, enjoying the twinkling lights before bed. My heart is so full.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

The Weekend Lens

This weekend we laid low. We took time to recharge our batteries. Mr. R. and I  had a date night Friday night. We eagerly anticipated my Mom's arrival. I deep cleaned the house and Mr. R. raked our lawn. We spent several hours putting together Pip's Christmas present. I made pasta fagioli on a cold winter's night. We indulged in fantastic desserts. We laughed really hard. We wrapped presents for each other refusing to give hints about the contents inside. We ordered Chinese food. We watched our favorite Christmas movies, laughing and repeating the lines we look forward to hearing every year. I squeezed in a quick two mile run. Mr. R. cheered on the cowboys. We had a few of our favorite people over for dinner. 

We are slowing down. We are enjoying the moments. And I hope you are too.

Naughty List? Not me! 

Caught in the act! Don't worry Grandmom Republican we grabbed the gift before she opened it.

We somehow deciphered the pictorial directions and Pip's gift from us is waiting for her in the garage!
I think I am more excited for her to see it than anything.

Aunt Cole sent Miss Pip Olivia the Pig!
We allowed her to open Aunt Cole's box early and to say she was excited is an UNDERSTATEMENT.

I made another dress sock and gift card bouquet. 

Playing Princess and the pea in Simon and Sophie's new dog bed. 

My Mom sent down copies of our old Christmas cards. My dad designed and drew each one. I love having them on our wall this year. 

All is CALM...

Wow, this week was intense.

It started with Simon's limp, which turned into intense whining, and then ended with a vet appointment. It turns out the limp is not because of his paw, it's actually attributed to a neck injury. The vet is thinking he wrenched his neck and that muscle relaxers, asprin, and rest will cure it.

Now to Pip, Wednesday we discovered she had a bump on her bottom. By Thursday the bump had grown in size and required a trip to the doctor. I got coverage for my classes drove faster than I should have to get to the doctor on time. The doctor thinks her bump is attributed to a bacterial and we cam home with antibiotics.

About school. This week was midterms. In between teaching, testing, and planning I spent my afternoon closing out my gradebook and planning for next semester. How is the year half over? This week has been crazy with the buildup to Christmas. My students are running on sugar, adrenaline and the promise of presents. And me, well I am running on coffee, luna bars, and the hope that I will feel recharged after a few days at home with my family. Luckily, My students did very well on their exams and I walked out of the building today with just my purse. I am officially planned out for the first two weeks of the second semester.

Mr. R.'s turn. The government fiscal year closed in September and his clients are updating account plans so they can pursue new business after the holiday. This had led to intense spreadsheets, longer hours, and more meetings for him. He handles the pressure in stride, but work has been creeping into our family time and I am grateful that he is taking a few vacation days during my Christmas break. He finished his accounting class this week. Hooray!

So as I sit here on Friday night at 5:00PM all is calm.
And we are relishing in it.

I SPY! A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Mr. R. and I took Pip on a light tour around our neighborhood tonight. We waited until dusk, found the Christmas station on radio, and went in search of the house with the best light display. At the last minute, I pulled this Christmas display scavenger hunt off of pinterest and took that with us. And I am so glad I did! Mr. R. and I had a blast scouring the lawns of neighbors for inflatables, manger scenes, and moving reindeer. Below are a few iphone pictures of our favorite houses. The pictures don't do the beautiful displays justice AT ALL.

I SPY a new Christmas Tradition!

Stylin' and Profilin' @ the doctor's office

 25 pounds

35 inches

and sassy as ever!

She showed all the nurses her light-up shoes and Christmas books. 

She greeted the doctor with a screaming fit and was ALL smiles when we walked out the door. Luckily, no shots today!