The best feeling in the world.

The best feeling in the world is feeling your baby move inside of you!

 Prior to this week, I felt only flutters of movement and now I'm starting to feel like this baby is practicing martial arts inside my belly. The initial fluttering movements that I felt a few weeks ago have definitely turned into full-fledged kicks and nudges. Movement picked up as each day carried on this week and every night I'd call for my husband to run into our bedroom... "Hurry, put your hand here. Do you feel it?" and the baby would stop moving. It was really frustrating! 

We played the "hurry, come in here" game a few times yesterday afternoon and finally my husband felt the baby moving and kicking! It was the absolute best experience in the whole entire world. I will never, ever, ever forget that moment for as long as I live. Grow, baby, grow so that we can meet you soon!

Pure Joy.

I saw my niece on Friday afternoon, yesterday morning, and again today.  Since she was staying at my parent's house this weekend, I took full advantage of having Sarah and Auntie time every single day.  My sister, her husband and daughter live in Boston, which is a three hour car ride away.  We don't usually see one another very often, so when we do, we like to spend as much time together as possible before it's time to say goodbye.  

Sarah's growing rapidly.  It seems like even as just a few weeks go by, she's saying more than she did the last time.  It is pure joy to watch a 20 month old explore the world.  Every encounter with everything and anyone is new and exciting.  She never gets tired of asking, "why?" or "what's that?"  or today's famous, "where did it go?"  

It was a ball watching her with my parents as they chased one another around the front yard yelling and screaming and laughing.  She'd fall down and lay in the grass, and a few times, my mom joined her.  Her laughs are contagious and it is impossible not to laugh with her.  

Here are my top favorite things about Sarah this weekend:

1. We used sidewalk chalk to draw on the driveway.  She had an amazing way of unloading the entire carton of chalk, asking you to draw more with more colors.  

2. Pizza makes everything better.  

3. Standing on line for coffee at the Bear Mountain Inn.  I couldn't believe how patient she was!

4.  Walking through the zoo making animal noises.  The kid can say coyote.  I was impressed. ;) 

5. When my parents pulled into the driveway after a day at the zoo, she exclaims, "We're home!"

6. She has the sweetest way of saying "no" all day long.  Yes...it's that phase! haha

7. She had to count every single one of the lights in front of my parents house.  About 10 times a day. 

8. She loves dressing up and wore a tutu over her clothes all weekend.

9.  If you ask her for hugs and kisses, she'll give you one.

10.  Hearing her little voice say, "I love you" will make you melt.  After she says that, you'll basically do anything she wants. 

It was a good weekend. :)

Derek Jeter Commercials

I'm from New York, and was born a Yankee Fan.  I'm not the girl who watches every chance I get, but I will tell you that if you ask me which team is my favorite, my loyalty is with the Yankees.  My boyfriend is a Red Sox fan, and regardless of how much I love him, I'll never stop rooting for the pinstripes!

Derek Jeter is preparing to play his last games of the season, and the few commercials that commemorate his retirement are ones that will give you goosebumps!  Enjoy!

Thanks for the memories, Captain!

Holding a Newborn Today!

Today I was finally able to visit my best friend, Frances, to welcome her new bundle of joy into the world... Baby Chase! Baby Chase arrived almost a month early and is a healthy, happy, beautiful little boy. Frances' due date was planned for tomorrow, September 15th, and as I held him in my arms, I couldn't imagine that little boy being in her belly for that long. He is SO precious and especially hard to put down. I just wanted to keep holding him, all while staring at his perfect little features. Obviously, this visit made me eager to meet my sister's baby in November, and of course, very eager to meet our little one in January. Time is flying and I know it will be here in no time. I just can't wait!!!

One of the toughest days of the year.

Not many people understand the true gut-wrenching feeling like New Yorkers do.  September 11, 2001 is a day that will be forever etched in my memory.  

I was going to tell you all about what my day was like 13 years ago, but today isn't about me.  It's about all the heroes who put their lives on the line to save others, one of those heroes was my cousin, Billy Wik.  

Today, at school, we stood for a moment of silence after we said the Pledge of Allegiance.  I couldn't help but think about the family members whose hearts still ache for the ones they lost, especially Billy's family.  My thoughts and prayers are with them today, and always.

I'm proud to be an American.  God Bless the USA.  

First Day of School SUCCESS!

I was listening to the news this morning as I was getting ready for my first day of school and all that they kept announcing was, "Today is going to be the hottest day of the year." I almost couldn't believe it because we had such a mild summer. With the central air blasting in my apartment, I was still in disbelief that the temperature would sky rocket that high. I stared at the dresses in my closet and tried to choose the one that would keep me most comfortable in my hot classroom. 

Besides the uncomfortable temperatures, today was an awesome first day! I love my new students and I'm looking forward to getting to know their personalities more this week. I asked them to bring in an object that tells about their summer or to bring in their favorite book of all time to share with me tomorrow. I'm excited that Day 1 is crossed off and I really hope the weather cools down soon! :-)

High Five for Friday: My Sister's Baby Shower!

Happy Friday! I came home from our vacation in Florida and hurried to finish up last minute stuff for my sister's baby shower. I loved every minute of planning the shower and had that much more fun decorating! 

Here are a few highlights from our day (and night!) of decorating (more to come on the actual shower!):

1. I walked in to find my sister icing over 100 mini cupcakes in pink and blue frosting. She looked exhausted already and we still had so much to do! 

2. We began by decorating her mantle first. After finding various story book themed photos on Pinterest throughout the planning process, I knew we needed to incorporate this vision. The mantle came out incredibly cute!

3. Being that the shower was story book themed and guests were asked to bring a book, I envisioned a book station with book crates and stuffed animals. This table was one of my favorite "decorations" and it was completely filled with books by the end of the shower! SO fun!

4. One of the things that I was most excited about was hanging the "monthly onesies" along with favorite book covers on a clothesline. We hung three of these in Rosie's living room and dining room. It was a big hit and I was thrilled at how it came out! 

5. Another fun decoration was making the "Who's that Baby?" Hungry Caterpillar. We had anticipated to mimic the caterpillars large arch, but couldn't fit that on the given wall and we were worried about people seeing the photos. Here's our Hungry Caterpillar version:

This was a super Fun Friday! More baby shower posts to come! 

We're Having a Baby!!!

We announced our pregnancy to "the world" on Saturday, our one year wedding anniversary. We've been dreaming about starting our own family for years and we're beyond thrilled to be expecting our first child together! The moments that we've experienced over the past few months have been absolutely incredible. 

When Amanda and I started this blog, I swore that I wouldn't blog constantly about teaching, my classroom, or my wedding. If you follow us regularly, you would know that I try to sprinkle those posts in, but I do, admittedly, go through spurts... writing more than a few posts about those life topics sometimes. (I blogged a lot about classroom stuff this summer!) Holding true to that original belief, I don't want my blogs to consistently be about my pregnancy. I will, for sure, sprinkle some posts in here and there. 

We're over the moon excited and there are no words to describe how amazing it is to be sharing in this journey with my husband, life partner, best friend, and soul mate. 

That feeling when your heart sinks.

That feeling when your heart sinks. That's the feeling that I had during our last few days in Florida. It made me homesick and I just wanted to be home to hug all of my loved ones. The passing of Robin Williams was a hard one to swallow. My siblings and I grew up with him. We sang every song from the Aladdin soundtrack. We watched Mrs. Doubtfire a gazillion times. Jumanji and Hook were also watched over and over again. The tributes were heartwarming and I got goosebumps every time someone said, "he was the most genuine, caring person you'd ever meet." May he rest in peace. 

Beach Time & Manatees!

If you know me, you know that I LOVE the beach. My idea of a vacation is spending it on the beach and in the water. We explored a different beach each day that we were in Florida. One day, after exploring different parts of the island that we were on, we spotted two manatees... they swam right past our feet! It was awesome! 

Celebrating Our Anniversary

We spent our one year wedding anniversary on Boca Grande beach in Florida. The water was like bath water, the palm trees were swaying with the beautiful breeze, and it was deliciously quiet. Relaxation at its best! My idea of heaven!

One of my favorite moments of the day:

 Quiet moments at night, as we opened and read beautiful anniversary cards from our parents and loved ones. 

One Year Wedding Anniversary & Our Wedding Video!

Today's our ONE YEAR wedding anniversary! This year has truly flown by and I can't believe our big day was already one whole year ago. We're celebrating our anniversary in Florida and we're flooded with memories of what this day was like a year ago. We're reminiscing about everything - getting ready, traveling to the venue, our first look, taking photos before the rain came, the beautiful ceremony and all of our favorite moments thereafter. What an amazing day! Today has been an emotional day for sure - so many memories that bring back smile after smile, laugh after laugh, and of course, tears of happiness. 

Many people comment on the fact that I "can't let our wedding day go" and I think that's because Paulie and I have been together forever (since high school). I always dreamed about what our wedding day would be like and after living through it, I never thought it would be as stunning, spectacular, and dreamy as it was. This has been an incredible year of "firsts" and our journey together gets better and better.

Today I'm sharing our wedding video by the amazing Fairy Tale Studios - please check out their website!  David captures your story perfectly and you instantly fall in love over and over again when watching your big day on the screen. His work is breathtaking. If you live in the NY, CT, NJ region, be sure to check them out!

PS- We have celebrated on the 9th of each month and I always receive something special. Cards are my favorite! 

Rehearsal Dinner Memories - A Year Ago!

A year ago today was our rehearsal dinner and we're spending our one year wedding anniversary in Florida. I didn't think that being away from family and friends during this special time would be difficult, but it is! We want to be able to share in the excitement and "remember when's" with them, but instead, we keep reminiscing on our own!

I posted this picture on Facebook of me and my sister. Most of my rehearsal dinner memories include her because we were stuck together like glue that day. A few fun memories:

-Packing both of our cars in my garage, the last thing to pack: my dress!

-Arriving at the hotel and noticing our "Welcome Bags" behind the front desk!

-Carefully hanging my dress and veil in the suite... and then moving it because we were worried about the location!

-Quickly getting ready and trying on several dresses for the dinner. Our phones were ringing like crazy because we were kind of late!

-Carrying gift boxes downstairs as Rosie snapped a quick photo of us near the elevator! You can see the excitement dancing in our eyes and smiles- what a special photo! I love it! 

A Year Ago... Our Wedding Weekend!

A year ago today, I was driving in the car with my mom and soon-to-be husband. We drove from place to place to drop off wedding "stuff" and to review last minute details. We met with the florist, we visited with the DJ, we dropped off a bunch of "stuff" at our venue and at the hotel... and I was finally able to say, "whatever will be, will be." Everything was, pretty much, officially out of my hands. I felt a roller coaster of different emotions! Yes, I was relieved. But, I was also nervous, anxious, and excited at the very same time. 

Last night, I drove down to Westchester, NY with my husband and I took a similar ride with my mom today. The memories and emotions came roaring back to life. These next few days will be filled with phrases like, "Last year at this time, we were..." and we'll probably laugh and cry as we reminisce. Our wedding weekend was filled with the absolute best moments of our lives that we've experienced so far. 

And now I'll go stare at my gown for a little while... ;-)

BREAKING NEWS: New *NSYNC Album Released!!!!

They're BACK!!!!! Well...kind of.  Today, SONY released an album with 34 (yes THIRTY FOUR) *NSYNC tracks!  I'll admit, most are still in my collection of *NSYNC CD's from my high school days, but I can't resist a good old school *NSYNC song.  (I'm currently singing along to Tearin' up my Heart.  I'm swooning

The band isn't getting back together anytime soon.  In fact, the newly released CD was put out without the guys even knowing about it.  The Essential *NSYNC is currently #5 on the iTunes charts!!!  Come on, guys, your fans are dying for a reunion.  We're still proving we're loyal fans!!!  A girl can dream... In the meantime, go download your Essential *NSYNC!

Granada

Granada was one of my most favorite stops, and we were only there for one night!  The town was beautiful, with canopies in the shopping areas so you never got too hot.  The plants and flowers were gorgeous, and we loved the older area of the city.  And...we found the best gelato of our trip there.  It was from a little Italian place, of course! ;)

Morocco

This was my first time in Africa, Marc's second.  We only saw one part of Morocco, Tanger.  We walked through the Kasbah, ate at a Moroccan restaurant, and shopped for souvenirs before taking the ferry back to Spain. 

Checking out the port that is under construction.

Snake man!

Fresh vegetables

Inside the restaurant 

Grains for sale

Fresh fruit

Freshly baked bread

What kind of olives do you like?