Memory Lane

Do you keep a memory box? You know, the little box where you store all those little keepsakes like a picture of you and your best friend when you were twelve, a ticket stub from your first movie date, a letter your grandmother gave you...those kinds of things. Well, I do. Or I did anyways. You'd think I'd be more sentimental about those things now that I have children but I guess I'm still pretty sentimental, I'm just too preoccupied with the children themselves to remember to save everything!

 Memory Boxes

Back when I was a kid, probably say, pre-teen up until having my own kids, I kept all sorts of things like that! I eventually bought these two big red hat boxes and deemed them my 'memory boxes'. I had a big one to store all my 'friend' items and the smaller one held all my 'boyfriend' items once Eric and I met. I would hold on to all kinds of pictures, (because back then we actually printed them) mini golf score cards from dates, funny birthday cards from friends, little notes folded into footballs from back in highschool, I even saved a napkin from Applebees because it was Eric and I's favorite spot when we started dating! Overboard? Maybe. But it was sweet and I always loved getting home and tucking them away in their safe place, and then pulling them out on a rainy day or when I needed a reminder of just how great my life was. As my life changed with time, so did my memory boxes. What was once my small 'Eric' box, soon became overflowing with keepsakes and my 'friend' box slowly started to look a little lacking. I felt somewhat guilty when I noticed, but with time I decided that it was okay to swap them and in a way it represented my life too. Not that I didn't love my friends just as much, but I guess that's what happens when you start to grow up and find relationships, right? 

Life changes...but with my little boxes there to remind me, the memories don't. It was sort of comforting at times. As I get older and my life is different, it's kind of nice to remember what's in those boxes and a time when everything was just that way. I still have my memory boxes stored away and every now and then I go digging in the basement and pull them out for a walk down memory lane. Care to take a stroll with me??

  

                       

                     

Life Lately.

Life lately, or more like in the past couple of years, has been full of everything you might think it would with a family of five. Yes, I said five. Because after scrolling through my old posts I realized I sort of jumped from being half way through a pregnancy to all of a sudden being thankful it was Wednesday. Well, somewhere in between all that I did give birth so don't worry, he's not still in there!

 Meet baby Gavin! 

...Who is now 18 months old!

Throughout my pregnancy with Gavin and the time following his birth we also made our way back to Massachusetts, and spent some quality time with my parents. (and by that I mean crashing in their spare bedroom for months until we could close on a house) And finally we did. Back to where we started out and finally settled in our home for over a year now. Amazing how time flies! 

Here's a family picture in our front yard at Mason's 3rd birthday last September

Also in the fall Owen started preschool! He goes right down the street from our house two mornings a week and loves it! He turned five in November but missed the kindergarten cutoff so I've come to realize my already super big boy will probably be the giant in his class next year. I guess no one will mess with him, right? He's also been playing soccer in the Spring and Fall where Eric has been his coach! Mason is still too young but likes to be 'assistant coach' for Daddy. Mason spends most of his time trying to be Owen by getting ready for school and soccer and whatever other thing Owen decides to take an interest in. For now, Owen seems to like the admiration but I'm pretty sure that will turn to annoying far too soon. Maybe at that point Gavin and Mason will bond more? Perhaps when Owen does start kindergarten they'll shift roles in the family...time will tell! Gavin has already started to try and tag along with them lately. He imitates their dance moves, runs after them in the house and will do mostly anything they tell him to. Perfect little brother! Here's some memorable moments of the three of them and some others that I just can't resist! 

P.S. Here's where I get picture crazy...Enjoy! Or don't! :) 

 July, 2011... Playing with their new 'toy'

My three sons <3

Superbowl 2012 reppin' the Pats!!

Why are these guys in my cribby, Ma?

 Wild boys in Spring 2012

 

 May 2012 visiting the Palmquists in VA

 Boston Fans...Go Red Sox!

 The Brat Pack

Daddy helped build a snowman last month after the storm, and with muscles!!

  Sweet Gavin, waking up with bed head just last week, and playing toys

 Mason on Thanksgiving and then practicing his name!

 Owen's Fall pix, Soccer and First day of preschool!

As for other news, Eric now works for Utz and loves his job in Human Resources! I'm still at the same job as before, stay at home Mama to the crazy, exhausting, adorable little boys and loving it every single day...even when I don't like it! ;) 

Hopefully you enjoyed this little update and now I can feel less guilt about moving forward without acknowledging my third child! Haha! I'm sure there's things I forgot to mention that have probably had some significance along the way, but for now this should suffice. Hope you've all had a great couple of years as well and I look forward to posting again in 2015!!! Just kidding...I hope! 

Doing good does you good.

Almost a year and a half of no blogging. About time, huh? Maybe at some point I'll try and get a "Life Lately" post up, but today it's not about me. Today is about something bigger than myself...

Have you ever heard of "Freezin' for a Reason" for Camp Sunshine? It's a fundraising event that takes place all over the country. Our local one happened just this past Saturday at a mountain...yes, a mountain. In Massachusetts. In January. Full of snow and ice. And wind. Ok, you get it. Well, I had heard of this event over the years and thought how crazy these people must be! At our Wachusett Polar Dip here in Mass, they set up a pool and fill it with the snow guns right there in the middle of all the people skiing and snowboarding in their warm winter gear. The fundraising teams get out there one by one and stand on a ladder and literally 'dip' into this pool...and by dip, I mean jump, canon ball and belly flop. It's pure madness. You have to be some kind of crazy to go through with that kind of thing, don't you think?

 Well, the news of the Polar Dip came about and I decided I wanted to be a part of it this year. After becoming more aware of families right around me, even in my own hometown that are struggling with cancer and tumors and all kinds of terrible illnesses that should never be part of a childhood, I wanted to help. I wanted to find a way to be part of something bigger than myself, and this was it. So, there I stood this Saturday atop that mountain freezing my butt off. Wind blowing, hands and toes numb, cold beyond cold...watching my husband get ready to plunge into that ice cold water!! Waitttt....you didn't think I was going to jump in, did you?!?  No, thank you!!  I did what any sane woman would do...I signed up my husband! There he stood in his bathing suit, barefoot on an icy mountain while waiting to hear 'Team Tommy' called to take their turn to dip. What a champ! Back when I got that urge to be part of something great, I turned to Eric and made a deal. "I'll help you raise the money if you do the jump?" He agreed. What a team we were! With the help of all our family and friends who so generously donated to our cause, we were able to raise a whopping $505 to contribute to Team Tommy for Camp Sunshine. It was incredible!

When it was Eric's turn, we moved forward with the boys to get a closer view of the pool. He climbed on top of that ladder and the announcer welcomed him as a Polar Dip 'virgin' and told him to have at it. In typical Eric fashion, he chose to belly flop into the pool and the crowd cheered and cringed as we watched that dreaded smack into the water. I was so proud. To be there watching each of those people was amazing to see, but my husband in particular was something pretty special. I stood there alongside children who are suffering from cancer, families who are supporting their own child, people who have lost a child and still come out to participate. We were all standing there for the same reason. To give back and to be there for these kids and join together to do something as crazy as jump in freezing cold water to make it all happen. (or at least cheer on someone who would)  This is what it's all about I thought. This is my something bigger. 

HE DID IT!!!!

Camp Sunshine in Maine

We are already looking forward to next years Polar Dip and truly appreciate the support from everyone who helped us accomplish our goal! Team Tommy as a group raised about $8000 to contribute to Camp Sunshine and it's amazing to think of how many families will benefit from those funds! Have you ever done a fundraiser or been part of something 'bigger than yourself'? Did you get that sense of pride and accomplishment like I did? If you haven't, consider it...it's a feeling like no other! Doing good does you good!!

**Updated...Check out THIS post I wrote later, which piggy backs just how amazing this cause is! 

Just because it's Wednesday.

Well hello there, welcome to The Laundry Room! If you haven't caught my blog as of yet, please feel free to browse through...I'm kind of interesting if I do say so myself! For those of you who already follow my blog, I do realize I'm a little bit lagging on my updates and I apologize. The truth is, life has been a bit nuts around here and we all know how that can be so I get some slack right? Anyways, I've finally felt a little bit of clarity through all our chaos and have the urge to write again and to share with you whatever it is that rolls off my tongue...or my fingers, since I'm typing and all. So here goes nothing...

As of late there have been a handful of circumstances surrounding me that have given me the opportunity to sort of re-evaluate my priorities. Not so much that my priorities were very out of whack to begin with, just kind of like putting life in perspective I suppose. I'm sure that many of you, if not all, can probably relate to what I'm trying to describe here because it's such a familiar feeling that comes and goes. You kind of sit back and think to yourself, "Wow, life is short....like, really short." And there starts the beginning of seeing things in that new light. People become more important to you, petty arguments or annoyances slowly drift away, and that new found appreciation for your life and everyone in it comes about. It's an amazing thing and if you ask me, it's good for the soul. We all need those times to plant our feet back on the ground if you will, like a reality check. So, now that I've gone on and on I'm sure you have to know what I mean by now. Well, that's kind of where I'm at anyways. Loving life.

I spent some time talking with a good friend of mine today about this very concept and we were placing it in terms of our kids. She says to me, "It's like you want to go rent a bounce house and let your kids stay home from school...just because it's Wednesday." It kind of stuck with me and I think she's absolutely right. Why can't we do anything we want, just because it's Wednesday. Or Thursday, or Friday, or any other day of the week for that matter! We deserve to enjoy life and should allow ourselves and the people we love those free passes to just sort of do what you want, have fun! It reminds me of the whole saying/song, "Live like you were dying." And every now and then we should remind ourselves that you really do only live once, and life is short.

While talking with her I started to think about my husband and how he's "the fun one" in our family. Now it's ok, I know my role and I kinda like being the boss...the responsible one with all the rules. But, I started to think and realized how grateful I am for Eric and the balance that he brings to our family. He IS the fun one, and he always tries to remind me to lighten up now and then and I'm really appreciative of that. Just last week he got up in the morning and gave the kids fruit snacks for breakfast, followed by peanut butter and fluff sandwiches. What?!? I almost fell off the couch when I realized what was going on. Why would he not have given him the standard fruit and yogurt or cereal I usually serve up? But today while talking with my friend I explained it to her and said, "what was the big deal?" I should have embraced Eric's easygoing demeanor and enjoyed making those memories together.

I guess you probably get what I'm trying to say here, appreciate life and the people you love.

Life. Is. Short.  

I'll wrap things up for tonight but hopefully I gave you all a little food for thought. And just in case anyone is wondering, tomorrow I will be serving peanut butter and fluff for breakfast...just because it's Tuesday.

Home is where the heart is...

Home is where the heart is...

Could this be any truer? For me I think it is pretty much dead on. I could be anywhere in the world and be just fine I'm sure, but there's always that one place where you will call home no matter where you are or what you're doing in life. Mine is Massachusetts. It is where I grew up, where my friends are, and most importantly it's where my family is. Eric would agree as well since all of those statements would be just as true for him. It's  like when everything in the world is changing and you're looking for that sense of stability and reassurance, you know you'll find it back home. As most of you already know Eric and I decided to move our family to Northern Virginia last summer after Eric was offered a great job opportunity in Washington, DC. For us it was a hard decision and yet not so hard all at the same time. The funny that about having that one place that feels so secure and normal is that you always wonder what you're missing way out in this great big world of ours. With so many different countries, states and cities to choose from why the heck would we want to be in the same 'ol little place that seems so normal for us? I bet I am echoing the words that so many of you play in yours heads every day. When the opportunity came for Eric's job it was almost as if we would be passing up a once in a lifetime chance to take off and start fresh in a whole new place and at that time in our lives, it was just what we were looking for. And that's just how we ended up leaving our "home" and looking for a new one.

After being here for almost a year now it's been quite an adjustment for our family. Being a stay at home Mom to two little boys and having Eric work long hours with a less than perfect commute has made things kind of exhausting to be quite honest. We have had a lot of fun while here and got to experience some really amazing things, meet some wonderful people and learn some extremely valuable life lessons. I am truly grateful that we were able to have the opportunity to take such a leap of faith and that things worked out well. 

With that being said, being away from everything you've ever known also puts things in perspective. How else would one ever really know what it is that they're looking for unless you tried it right? I guess it's probably like me saying that I hate every single kind of seafood and gag when I even think about being near that slimy, disgusting sea creature type cuisine...ugh, gag me. But, if you want to know the truth I have never eaten seafood. I think I might have eaten fried clam strips doused in sauce as a kid once and had tuna from a can a time or two...that was enough for me. I hate seafood. Now all of you are probably yelling at your computers saying I'm crazy because I could never know unless I try it. Well, you're right I'm sure...but I'll take my chances with this one since I can tell you I will lay to rest without ever tasting a lobster, shrimp, clam or any other disgusting thing crawling on the ocean floor. Yuck. So, if we can just take that really long and drawn out example of what I'm trying to explain here and put it back into the context of this post then that would be helpful huh? Sorry. I told you in my first post that I ramble so to be fair, I warned you. Anyways, it's pretty much the same thing. I was kind of a dreamer and don't think I would have ever really known where I was meant to be unless I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried it. I needed this experience to show me what is important to me and it did just that. 

My family is important to me. My friends are important to me. My "home" is important to me. As I said in the beginning, I'm sure we could be just fine anywhere. We would adjust and our children would grow up knowing nothing else but is that really what we want for our family? We've come to realize it's not. Eric and I have done a lot of soul searching, growing, talking, a whole lot of everything since we moved and what it comes down to is this. We want to go home. Home is where the heart is. It's where our nieces and nephews are growing up without us. It's where our children's grandparents are sitting while they look at each other through a computer screen from time to time, and it's where our friends are sitting around laughing over a box of cheap wine while they reminisce about old memories and plan for new ones. I don't want to miss that and our boys shouldn't have to either. So, now starts the beginning of our journey "home".

We are moving back to Massachusetts!