Saying goodbye...

This last week has been really tough for me. Obviously I have known that the day would come that Sean would be leaving daycare and heading to preschool at Judah, and we could not have asked for a more incredible school. But somehow, for some reason, I was a mess. Literally, I think I cried like four times. Parents meeting - cried. Preschool screening with his AMAZING teacher - cried. Wednesday night - cried. Friday (last day at ABC) - cried. In my defense, ABC is all we have known since Sean was 10 weeks old. How is it possible that my BABY is old enough for school?

I wasn't worried about Sean - he is an AMAZING boy who is so laid back and so loving. I knew he would love his teachers, make some fantastic friends, and learn so much. No, it wasn't him I was worried about - it was me. I do not like change. And my baby growing up - going to the school he will attend until he leaves for college... it's almost too much for me.

But I made it through. Sean made it through. And we are now moving on to the next exciting chapter in his precious life. I still get teary every now and then, but I'm SO proud of my little man and the awesome kid he is becoming. Afterall, he'll always be my baby. ;-)

Here are a few snapshots of some of his friends from ABC:












Sean and some of his wonderful, loving teachers

Big pizza and bowling

The day after the Cubs game, we got invited to a birthday party at "Big Pizza and Bowling", or Jupiter's for those of you who know Champaign. Although it always costs us a small fortune in tokens when we go there, the boys love it... and we loved the birthday boy, so why not?

Cubs game

For the second year, our broker at work has given us tickets to a Cubs game. It's about the one and only "perk" I get with my job, so I'll take it! They always offer for our families to go as well, so this year we decided to take them up on that offer and bring Sean, and our nephews Nick and Kyle (who came last year). It was a fun day, perfect weather, and... the Cubs won!!! Love making these memories...

My Birthday - Part 3

The evening of my birthday, my parents came over to babysit so that Jamie and I could go out to dinner with some of our very best friends, Kelly and Mason. We always celebrate our birthdays together and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way! We started at Kamakura for a WONDERFUL dinner, and then headed to Starbucks on campus for an after dinner treat. It was so nice to have time - just the four of us... I honestly didn't want the night to end! Great food, the best friends... what more does a girl need???

The gang



Kelly and Mason



Me and the hubby



Very pensive, no? ;-)



Our chef (really nice guy, trying to look... well... "tough")




The deliciousness

My Birthday - Part 2

On my actual birthday, Sean had a birthday party to go to at the bowling alley (a friend from ABC) - he was SO excited! Although kids were encouraged to dress up in their favorite princess character, Sean decided to just go low key. ;-)

Paige, the birthday girl... I mean, princess.



He had SUCH a fun time, even though the ball just about weighed more than him.

My Birthday - Part 1

Well I'm FINALLY getting around to updating the blog... so let's backtrack a little to my birthday! It was a wonderful month (yes, month) of celebrating! On the Friday before, my Girls Night group headed to Dos Reales for some delicioso mexican food and then went to see Friends With Benefits (cute movie). It was so much fun and I'm so blessed to have such an amazing group of girlfriends that celebrate with me every year! Love you guys!

Waterpainting fun

I'm not sure how much water the actual paper got on it, but the table sure got a lovely "drink". ;-)

5 Meals - 1 Hour, Week 6

Well, week 5 was kind of a bust. Nathan and I kind of shared some kind of stomach bug, so food wasn't really all that appealing to us. For example, sadly I cannot tell you how the Parmesan Tilapia was, as I just couldn't stomach the thought of fish! So, here is my sad review of week 4:


Monday - Parmesan Tilapia
I still am not sure if I could stomach this, this week. :-(

Tuesday - Frozen pizza
Umm, always good! ;-)

Wednesday - Bourbon Marinaded Pork Chops
Delish, but we discovered this week that these really need to be done on the grill.

Thursday - Onion Garlic Pork Roast with potatoes, carrots and onion (crock pot)
This was really, really good (I thought), but Jamie is just not a fan of pork in the crock pot.

Friday - Leftovers

Now that we are all feeling better, here's what's on the menu for week 6:

Monday - Salmon Patties

Tuesday - Meatloaf Balls (the name cracks Jamie up... I'm using MY meatloaf recipe and the concept from the post here.)

Wednesday - Jamie's Famous Spaghetti

Thursday - Tater Tot Casserole (two cans of cream of mushroom soup make this soooo good!)

Friday - Onion Ring Chicken

Saturday - Grilling out steaks!

Until next week, happy cooking!