Mothers Day 3K

On Mothers Day, my Mom and I spent the morning running her first 3K race. What an amazing experience for us both. To be able to encourage my mom to keep going...take deep breaths and just enjoy the whole experience was the best. We started in a baseball stadium, rounded the warning track, out the stadium, down the road and then circled the outside of the ball park before coming back in again. On two corners we saw my Dad, sister, Stew and IV. At one point we even got to hi-five IV as he yelled "Baaaa" on the way by (he calls my Mom, Ba).

My mom's goal was under 25 minutes. We finished in 23:45. My Mom finished 18th out of 39 in her age group! Outstanding job, Mom!

We're off...

Lil Kicker

On Saturday, IV had his first morning of soccer camp/lessons. It was somewhat surreal. I know that sounds crazy...it's just a measly soccer camp/class. But watching him walk out onto the field - he looked so grown up. He was out there doing things I didn't realize he could do. I had tears in my eyes...yet so proud. He is growing up and I'm on the sidelines watching him become such a big boy. It just made me realize that I and we will have so many more of these days....where I'm on the sideline watching him do what I taught him to do. Ok. ok...I'm now whipping my tears. Here are some of my favorites from the morning.

My Letters...

Someone read my Dear John letters because this weekend was AWESOME!

Stew and I had the best date night on his birthday.

Us at the baseball game

And I kicked my 27:00 goal on our first 5K.

25:32 and Stew finished just behind me at 25:34

And finally...we have a showing today! YAY! Let's hope this is "the one". 

Dear...

Dear Nate,
Today was almost your last day on earth. I could have killed you. (Yes, I said it). You ran away and wouldn't listen to me...you almost ate another dog in the neighborhood and almost made me cry.

Dear leftover birthday party Trail mix,
I can't stop eating you. You are so very good. But, you make me feel all swollen in the morning. Stop that.

Dear Husband,
I'm really really excited for your birthday weekend.

Dear Mom,
You are an amazing lady. I'm so proud of you. Thank you for asking me to run the Mothers Day 3K with you. 

Dear Warm New England Weather,
Thank you.

Dear Cinco de Miles,
I hope to crush you on Sunday. I have a goal. It's 27 minutes. If you were a "normal" 5K, it'd be slightly less, but you are riddled with HILLS. BIG HILLS. 

Dear IV,
Your first boo-boo brought you to tears...but the way you say "hi boo-boo" is freakin' adorable. I love you.

Dear Potential Home Buyers,
Come check out this gorgeous 2 bedroom 2.5 bath home. I think you'll love it here. 

Dear Hormones,
Get the efff in check, would ya. 

Dear Lawn Guys,
If you leaf blow my walk way during IVs nap one more time...I'm going to lose it. 

And finally...

Dear Dad,
Thanks for the morning pick-me-up today. It was nice to have sipping coffee with you. 

Happy Thursday, Friends. 

Curious George Birthday - More Details

I started planning IV's 1st birthday party months in advance. This party...I would say 2 months in advance. We had a busy late winter and I after coming back from vacation - I had to get started.

I knew the themed had to be Curious George. I say "had to be" like it's a bad thing. It's not, but I'm not a "child themed" type of person. Does that make sense? But my sweet boy is in LOVE with George and it's the only thing he will ask to watch on TV in the morning. It's adorable. His little voice saying "Mama? George?"

Ok. I thought "Curious George it is". I started with the invite: Vintage, modern and carnival-esque.

Next on my list - Food & Decor:

1. Build your own sandwich: This was easy. I hired my Dad to take of this. He loves to cook and does an amazing job with platters and specialty items. Ham, roast beef, turkey. Three choices of cheese and a variety of breads.

2. Steamed Wieners: An all time favorite and this was my sisters idea. She rented a hot dog machine from a local dealer. I prepped all the fixings: chili, sauerkraut, chopped onion, ketchup, mustard, relish, cheese. 

3. Wax Paper: I fell in love with these. Found here.

4. Food Tray: Again...these were just perfect for my theme. You can find them here. 

5. Variety of chips in vintage Coca Cola crate: I borrowed these boxes from my Uncle who just so happened to have exactly what I was looking for. But I did see similar ones on Etsy and Ebay. 

Coca Cola Crate

6. Banana Bread: Again, easy. I hired my Mom to bake mini breads. 

Baking pan (similar) | Bakers Twine (exact) | Gift Tags (made by me)

7. Old Fashioned Soda Pop: With IV's real name being Stewart...this was a no brainer. 

Stewart's Soda 

8. Popcorn Cones: I bought 12x12 scrapbooking paper at Michaels, created a template, cut out each cone and glued them together. Each paper was 20 cents. Super easy to do and worked out great. These were placed in a Coca Cola crate to give it that old fashioned carnival feel.

9. I took the same scrapbooking paper and covered an existing painting we have in our dinner room. I shouldn't say "I"...I should say "My Mom". She's the one who pain-stackingly cover the painting for me. Banner created by me.

10. Kid's Party Favors: I wouldn't normally do a party a favor this "big"...but IV only had three of his closest friends coming to the party. Everyone else was a lot older and they got small party favors. These were special buckets for the littles his age.

Beach Pale | Curious George Book | Annie's Trail Mix | Lolly Pop | Pip-Squecks | Glow Sicks | 

Jelly Belly Scented Bubbles

11. M&M's: These are IV's favorite treat. So I decided to order three colors in and make favors. You can buy any color on the website. I purchased the wrapper on Etsy. 

12. IV's Birthday Shirt was actually found through Ashley's blog. I spoke with Sandy at Room to Romp and received my shirt within a few days. She was amazing to work with. I used the promo code: CARROTS and received free shipping. 

Shirt Room to Romp

14. And finally, the cake. That was my thought and vision...I brought a few photos to my local pastries shop and they worked their magic. The cake is to dye for delicious and well worth the money.

IV's 2nd Birthday Party | The Details

We hosted about 40 of our close friends and family yesterday to celebrate IV's 2nd Birthday. 

These are my favorite details. More to come. 

 Check back this week for more photos and details.

I'm off to have a glass of wine and put my feet up. It was such an amazing BIRTHDAY celebration weekend.

These are the best days...

I can't imagine loving someone more.

These are the best days.