Lately.

Well, it's been a while.
We've been busy!
Lately, life has been so full...

in the best ways possible.

Visitors, lunch with friends, sunshine, walks outside. 

We've really been soaking it all up.

This is a {little} phone photo dump
to catch you up
On some favorite happenings from the last month.

How was Valentine's Day was over a month ago?
Lil pup loving her baby sis.
Sweets and flowers from the hubs.
Cutest monkey butt I've ever seen.

 

 

 

Mommom came to visit!
Our little family before a mom & dad night out.
Auntie Katie came too! Snuggling at it's finest.

First time in the bumbo!
Tiny toes. Delicious.
Happy baby girl.

Winter trying to give it one last hoorah. And my watch dog, Mocha, in her spot...waiting for daddy.
How our family dinners look these days.
Me and my girl with matching stripes :)

Story time with dad.
My baby turned 2 months old. And she'll be 3 months next week. Crazy.
More puppy love.

Craving rice krispy treats. The goods.
And the end result. Delish.
Sometimes a good beer at the end of the day is necessary.

Baby legs!
Visiting daddy at work.
Gosh I love this little one.

Auntie Meg headband makin'.
Auntie Meg and {soon to be} Uncle Kyle came to visit.
More headbands for Emma's collection :)

Cuteness overload.
Trying out the statement finger trend.
Little one loves bath time!

Signs of spring...I think it's here to stay!
Morning snuggles are the best.
We've had abundant sunshine lately. Loving it.

Emma and her honorary aunties at breakfast!
So serious sometimes. Just taking it all in.
My best friends. Love these girls.

My little sidekick.
Wickford, RI...on a walk one beautiful day.
More smiles from my little love.

 * * *

Life has been good.
Really, really good.

A Trip to Labor & Delivery and Hurricane Irene Part II

A week ago Sunday, 

we were awoken around 7:30 am

by the sound of hubs' alarm clock beeping obnoxiously.

Apparently it has a setting to go off if the power is lost.

It was a pretty rude awakening as we knew from the news the night before

that this was just the very beginning of what was now Tropical Storm Irene.

We were kinda hoping for a day hunkered down watching movies and reading and baking.

Instead, our electricity was gone. 

Once that fact hit us, our attention quickly went to the bedroom window

where the rain was coming down sideways and the wind was howling.

The gusts were enough to bend some of the branches in the yard

in ways I've never seen before. 

So we hunkered down in the den, which in hindsight 

was probably not the smartest place to hang out given the wall of glass sliding doors!

It was dark and gloomy all day, so we lit our lanterns

and spent the day with scrabble, books, and snacks.

Around 10 or 11 in the morning, I remember hearing a huge wind gust

that sounded like a freight train.

"That sounds like a tornado" I said.

To which the hubs shrugged and shook his head.

With that gust, we watched two huge oak trees fall in the yard, split right down the middle.

Day one without power wasn't SO bad.
But after a week, I wasn't so content.

By the middle of the afternoon, the storm had died down a bit

so we ventured outside to check out the scene. 

It's crazy what some strong wind can do!

This was the view from our cul-de-sac, up the street.
The middle photo is a huge tree in the yard up the street that was also split down the middle
and right onto the power lines.
After our little stroll and talking with some neighbors,
who also heard that freight train gust, and saw a "wind cloud"
and seeing the path of tree after tree split down the middle,
we're pretty sure it was a small tornado that came through our little neighborhood.

Luckily, not one house was harmed!
Lots of downed trees and power lines,
and a whole lot of debris,
but everyone was safe, which is such a huge blessing.

Irene definitely left her mark on us,
and a week later when we were going absolute stir crazy without power,
we were still remembering her!

This weekend was the big clean up.
Day after day of yard work.
All I have to say is thank goodness for family and friends
who made life so much more manageable!
Thanks for the help, the food after we lost everything in our fridge and freezer,
and the showers after we lost our hot water!

Things this week are finally back to normal.
We have lights, hot water, food in the fridge, and a babe who is constantly kicking away.
I think one MAJOR melt down in that stressful last week is perfectly acceptable
and I'm reminded now how good life really is :)

Juggling.

{via}

Hopefully I'm not the only one....who feels like this photo is a pretty accurate description of themselves on a day to day basis :)

Trying to find a balance between work, home-life...cleaning, cooking, laundry, being a good wife, daughter, sister, and friend, exercise, hobbies...reading, blogging, and SLEEP!

And this is me, who only works 3 night shifts a week. Granted, it's more like I work 4 due to the amount of daytime hours I spend sleeping, but I know some of you add school and babies on top of all this, some of you work two jobs...how do you do it?

For now, I'm off to the gym, grocery store, Target for some necessities, post office, back to shower and clean up the house, cook dinner, eat dinner, and hopefully spend the rest of the night on the couch with my husband and Lilly, catching up on blogs and TV...because it's my day off.

In all honesty, I like to be busy, and I really don't think I would want it any other way. It's just those days where I drop one of the many balls I'm juggling...and something gets neglected or pushed aside, that really make me wonder. How do you juggle? Wouldn't it be awesome to have a couple extra hours in the day?

Hope you're having a good Monday, friends!

a fresh start.

This year I'm looking at 2011 as a fresh start. No crazy unrealistic resolutions here. We are already off to a great start, finally living in the new place, so these are some goals I have set for myself.

{via}

• Read more. I used to really enjoy a good book, but somewhere in my four years of nursing school where I was reading mainly for necessity rather than pleasure, I kind of lost interest...and I haven't read much since then. This year I'd like to change that. No more going to bed with the laptop...which I'm admittedly guilty of. Instead, I'm going to wind down with a book. Tonight, I'm starting The Help, which I'm really looking forward to. If you have any other must reads, I'd love to know!
• Exercise at least 3-4 times per week. I love to run and have an active lifestyle, but occasionally I'm guilty of becoming lazy...and before I know it, it's been weeks without exercise. I don't feel as good about myself and I feel like I my eating habits are less healthy when they aren't combined with exercise, so this year, I'm sticking with it. No more long breaks!
• Organize. My house, closets, life. I'm generally a pretty organized person, but right now with the move I'm kind of overwhelmed. I know it will take time to get everything where it needs to be, so this is a big one for me. I feel like my life has kind of been "in limbo" for the last couple months and I'm looking forward to getting everything back in order.
• Friends. Make more phone calls and emails and visits! Since moving away from my home town, I don't see my good friends nearly enough. We are all busy, but I'm making it a goal to connect somehow each week! 
• Enjoy the moment. We have been incredibly blessed this last year and I hope to continue to really soak up those blessings in 2011!

 So that's it for me. Do you have any goals for the new year?

A Look Back

My ode to 2010. Quite possibly the best year ever.
In January, we took our first plane ride together to Miami for a wedding. Such a nice weekend escape from the frozen New England tundra and a great time with great friends.

We carried on through winter and snow storms.

With the arrival of spring came wedding planning crunch time and the epic 2010 flood. Our apartment, in an old renovated mill building, sat right on the bank of the Pawtuxet River. We were evacuated for two days. The amount of water and the devastation it caused was unlike anything I've ever seen. Much of I95 was closed making it extremely difficult to navigate this tiny little state.

In June, I married my best friend.

And we took an amazing honeymoon to Anguilla and St. Maarten.

The rest of the summer looked a lot like this. Sailing, nights on my in-laws deck, taking in the beautiful rays and soaking up what is best about Rhode Island.

As summer came to an end, we took a weekend trip to Maine. I love staying at bed & breakfasts and this weekend was no exception. We ate and drank and strolled the streets of Kennebunkport.

 I took a beginners photography course and enjoyed learning to use my DSLR. Still learning :)

Fall came around and we spent time apple and pumpkin picking. I went to Pittsburgh for a girl's weekend. J and I took a day trip to Salem and threw a Halloween party. Oh, and I started this little blog. So glad I did!

The holidays rolled around and we've spent lots of time with family. We closed on our first house and working on making it our home. 

If this year was any indication of things to come, I'm eagerly awaiting what's in store for us in 2011!

Happy New Year!

I'm in Love.

With my new house!

Wow, what a week it has been! First off I just wanted to say thank you to each and every one of you for sharing in my excitement with all your sweet comments!! Seriously, you're the best. It is such a bright spot in my day to read through each and every one!

Tuesday was right up there with our wedding being one of the best days ever. I hope I never forget the gamete of emotions I was feeling as we did our final "walk through" of the house and then sat and signed paper after paper. There was fear, nervousness, anxiety, apprehension, happiness, excitement. You name it, I probably felt it in that short time we spent at our closing. With each moment the fear and anxiety subsided a little bit and the excitement took over. Like, this is really happening!

I also hope never to forget the way it felt to realize the house was ours. Hubs and I went back to OUR house, and kinda took it all in. We kind of reveled in the moment for a little while, hugged and kissed and smiled and laughed...then promptly got to work! We enjoyed our first pizza in our dining room. Granted we sat on beach chairs in the middle of an empty first floor, but it was perfect nonetheless. I finally got some better photos of the house and I can't wait to share those with you, along with some of our plans, after the holidays!

So, I won't be doing much blogging over the next week. We are moving in slowly and won't actually spend our first night in the house until sometime next week. There are more boxes to pack, wallpaper to take down, cleaning to be done, walls to paint, unpacking to be done. Such a process! The hardwood floors were done yesterday so I'm itching to get back in there and start tearing down some wall paper! We had planned on waiting to paint until we decided on some furniture, but after seeing the house empty, with the minor imperfections on the walls, we decided we're going to tackle it now before we move in. And in between all of that, we hope to enjoy some time with J's family! I'm certainly not complaining. This has been such an awesome Christmas gift. One Christmas that we will certainly never forget.

I hope you all have safe travels to wherever it is you're off to, and that you get to enjoy the peace and quiet of the holiday with your family. I am hoping to do the same!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

onto the next chapter!

It's official. We're homeowners! Woohoo!!

{images via}

Never gets easier.

Today I'm feeling drained. Just worn out in every way possible. You see, I spent the weekend working. And the last week very well may have been one of the hardest weeks in my five and a half years of being a nurse.

Normally in a cardio-thoracic ICU, people get better. They get operated on...the surgeons fix their heart, and they come straight out of the operating room to our unit. We are the "recovery room." As ICU nurses, we see people in their sickest state, with tubes and lines coming from every orifice. We stabilize them, monitor everything from the number of breaths they take, to the amount of blood their heart is pumping out each minute, to the color of their feet. We are the nurse solely responsible for that patient. We work with a team of doctors, physician assistants, and respiratory therapists to optimize every little thing...from their heart rate, to blood pressure, to the amount of urine they make. And gradually, they get better. Sometimes it takes twelve hours, sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes even a week or weeks, but they get better. This is one of the joys of my job. Seeing a patient come out of the OR, completely dependent on me, and watching them improve. Knowing I did my very best to care for them in their sickest time...and then being able to see them up and walking around a few days later. With their new and improved heart, they are able to go home and live out the rest of their days.

Sometimes this is not the case. Sometimes, even the very best surgeons cannot fix a broken heart. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, people don't get better. It's so hard to feel like you, in some way, have failed.

Last night I came to realize that it never gets any easier to tell someone's family that their loved one is going to die. Watching the faces on a group of 25 people stand around a patient's bedside and pray, and looking at that patient, so fragile. Dependent on my care for everything, for every body system. Really it is just overwhelming sometimes. I have seen death. And I've seen miracles. But it will never get any easier to be in this moment, with that family, as they realize their loved one is dying.

Sorry for such a depressing post on a Monday. I'm sure I'll be back to my cheery self after a day of rest. Take a little extra time today to remind those people you love how much they mean to you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

{via}

I thought this little illustration was too cute not to share, and so very appropriate.

Today involves lots of fun things: a hair appointment, manicure, and lots of time in the kitchen.

Baking pumpkin pie, {my fave!} a cranberry salad, and candied yams {another fave!}

Tomorrow will by spent with my husband and in-laws & then my work family.

Looking forward to yummy food and a long weekend off with that hubby of mine!

Hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving!

A Sneak Peek!

I wanted to share a few photos of our house! Well, in 33 days it will be ours...but who's counting?

Sorry about the poor quality of these pictures. Some were taken with my phone, and the others are from the real estate website. I'll have some better ones very soon!

{front entrance. view from street. front patio

Some Stats

• built in 1952
• 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
• 1.67 acres
• about 2500 square feet
• tucked back in a cul de sac in a little neighborhood

{dining & living room}

{breakfast nook. kitchen. sun room/den}

{back deck & yard!}

 

you are the best thing.

We had a low key weekend here in Little Rhody. Woke up to snow this morning. Snow? Thanks but no thanks.

Friday night the hubs and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, The Mew's Tavern. They have an amazing beer selection and we both love a good beer. Dinner conversation consisted of house stuff and budgets and crunching numbers...literally we were sitting at our high top table with calculators in hand. Nerds? Yes we are. I'm sure this is just the start of the joys of home ownership!

Saturday we both worked. At opposite times of the day. The life of a nurse and a resident.

And by the way, the end of daylight savings time is really not fun when you work night shift. Writing down vital signs for 2 am, twice, is very discouraging!  Especially when you're recording those vital signs along with continuous dialysis numbers, intake and output numbers, and cardiac output numbers on a really sick patient. The extra hour makes for an even longer night.

Once I emerged from bed at about 1pm on Sunday, the rest of the day was very productive. Made the whole weekend lovely overall. I managed to get all the cleaning done that I wanted to and spend the rest of the evening in the kitchen. I really love to cook and bake, but sometimes I'm in the mood much more than others...and yesterday was one of those days. We had a little of this guy playing on Pandora...

Seriously, whoever invented Pandora was genius. We love it. Dinner consisted of a roasted asparagus appetizer. Just a little olive oil, lemon zest, salt & pepper and bake at 400* for about 20 minutes.

And baked potato soup. Recipe found here. That website is awesome for recipes, by the way! The soup was delicious paired with some crusty bread!

And of course, there was dessert. J's request: oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I think this was the best batch I've ever made. I'm gonna give credit to my Kitchen Aid mixer. Best gift ever.

After all that, I was more than happy to snuggle up with my man and this little bug.

BIG NEWS!

We found a house!!!

A perfect little house for us right now!

Negotiations have been made.

We have a mortgage.

Inspection is scheduled for Tuesday.

If all goes according to plan, we will be joining the ranks of home ownership on December 21st!!!


It will be a very Merry Christmas, for sure!



We are SO excited!

I can't wait to share more :)