Happy Holidays

Well I really can't believe that another year has almost come and gone. It has been a great year, with tons of heartfelt memories of Corey, and the boys. Also the September 6th engagement of Corey and myself made the year one to not forget. The holidays flew by and really I just don't know where time has went.

Christmas Eve the four of us went to the 6:00 children's church service with Grandma, Pa Pa, Great Grandma, Great Grandpa and Uncle Dave. We had a very nice service followed by dinner at Grandma and Pa Pa's. After dinner the kids opened their presents first and then went to play with them. Then the adults exchanged some gifts. It was a great night of awesome company, good wine and lots of laughs. I love the tradition of getting together with my family on Christmas Eve, we have done if for years and years and I love it. Christmas Morning we woke up with the boys, and had a great time seeing what Santa brought, then the boys opened presents from Corey and me. After they were done with all of our presents, we hung out for awhile, then we went over to Corey's brother Chris' house to spend time with him and his Family. Bryce (Corey's brothers son) is Braden's age so they play nice together. We had a wonderful breakfast brunch at their house and opened presents from them as well as Corey's mom. We hung out there until mid-afternoon. Then Corey & I went to my grandma and grandpa's house while the boys went to open presents with their mom. At my grandmas we got to enjoy the company of my Aunt Jane, Uncle Dave, Claudia, Brendan, as well as my sister and parents. We all hung out and ate and just chatted. Corey and I are very grateful to have such kind family to spend the holidays with and are very grateful for each and everyone of them.

Now as the year rounds to an end, it is crazy to think that our wedding is in a little less then 3 months from now. The day after Christmas was exactly 3 months. I think the next 3 months are going to fly by, this next month all of my bridesmaids are going to get together to do their dress fitting. I am beyond excited to see their dresses on them in my colors. One of my bridesmaids Amanda Perry will be in town for that and my bridal shower thrown by Amanda Fernandez and my mom. I am very excited to get to see Amanda Perry since she lives in NC we don't see each other as much as I would like so it will be a treat to see her in a few weeks. With all of that just a few short weeks from now I have a lot to look forward to.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year. Corey and I are going to go to a dinner the two of us on New Year's eve followed by a get together at our friend Chris & Steph's place. I hope everyone enjoys their last few days of 2009 and I am beyond excited to welcome 2010 with big wide open arms. 2010 is going to be my year, with the wedding and March and lots of other exciting things happening. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

A Visit to Maryland

This past Sunday December 6th we had the pleasure of going to Hagerstown, Maryland and visiting my Aunt Chris and Uncle Tom, along with my cousin Jenny, her husband Chad, daughter Audrey and my other cousin Liz, her husband Steve and her son Drew and new baby Tyler. It was truly great to see everyone. My dad and mom rode with Corey, the boys and myself and Heather and her boyfriend Lane drove up as well. Unfortunately my brother and his family couldn't make it this time. The kids all played very well together, and even Nathan was content playing with the younger kids toys. My Aunt cooked a wonderful meal and we spent the afternoon eating, hanging out and catching up. Enjoy all the pictures below, I took a lot of the new little one. There is something just irresistible about babies, so I couldn't help myself. :o)

Things to be THANKFUL FOR

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone, and man November flew by. This year as Thanksgiving approached, I spent a little time reflecting on things in my life I can be thankful for. As I started counting them, I learned real fast that I truly blessed for all the things in my life. Here are ten of the things I am very thankful for:

1. I am thankful to have a loving fiance, who tries hard to make me laugh even when I am trying to be mad, and really want to do anything but laugh. He understands me and knows what my faces mean even if I try to hide my feelings. He truly has been the best thing to happen to me.

2. I am thankful that Corey is such an amazing Dad and has brought two adorable, fun and loving little boys into my life.

3. I am thankful to have completely wonderful parents, who love and support me through thick and thin and every change in my life whether its a job or falling in love with a man with two kids, has been completely behind me and opens their arms and embraces all things.

4. I am thankful to have met Jenn (my boss) in a class, and by chance have her be looking for an employee out more by my house. She has given me an amazing opportunity to on a daily basis feel like I am making a difference in these children with Autism's lives and their families.

5. I am thankful to have learned that you don't need 100 of acquaintances, but it is much more valuable to have a few friends you can count on one hand that will be there when your Grandfather gets hospitalized, you are having a bad day or you just want to giggle at something funny that happen to you. I am beyond blessed to have had some very close friends since Middle School and High School and am so lucky to have them to share my upcoming wedding with me and all the planning I have been going through.

6. I am thankful to have an amazing family who I am unbelievably close with from my Godfather in NY, to Aunts & Uncles & Cousins in PA and MD, to all my Aunts & Uncles Locally, to my brother his family, and my sister, I couldn't ask for a better family and am lucky to have them.

7. I am thankful to be at a spot in my life where I can look back and say man it was fun going out and partying nightly when I was younger, but at the same time *sigh* to myself and know I wouldn't trade movie nights, cuddles, wine and staying in with Corey for anything.

8. I am thankful to be starting a new chapter in my life and marrying someone who I can see myself growing old with in March.

9. I am thankful to have a warm place to live, plenty of food to eat, and love all around me. Even if bills stink at times, and there are weeks that money is tight I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know we are very fortunate and there are people who would die to take our places.

10. I am thankful to have two crazy dogs, who although at times they drive me nuts, I wouldn't trade them for the world. They are so loving and great with our family.

So those are some of the things I am thankful for, Thanksgiving this year we held at Corey and My house. We had my parents over, my sister and her boyfriend, and Corey's brother Chris, his wife Jane and their little boy Bryce. It was a great thanksgiving. Corey made a delicious turkey, sweet potato's, we also had appetizers, stuffing and then my mom brought bread/muffins, green bean casserole, corn casserole, Jane brought mashed potato's and my sister brought 2 pie's. Everything turned out very well and there were no huge problems. We all drank wine, and hung out from 1 to about 6. It was great to have part of Corey's family with my family and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. Below is a little movie clip with a few pictures, unfortunately in my attempt to be a good hostess we somehow didn't get any pictures of my mom or Corey's sister-in-law Jane, although I promise you they were at our house. :o)

On that note I can't believe it is December 1st, Corey and I haven't even started shopping for the boys. Other then the boys we are going to keep Christmas very low key, with the wedding in March we have lots still to save for. We have wedding bands to buy, honeymoon to save for, rehearsal dinner, along with a few other odds and ends related to the wedding. I will just be glad to spend time with the family during the holidays. :o) Hope everyone is getting in the holiday spirit, I know we are going to try and put our tree up this week. Happy Holidays to everyone and enjoy every moment like its the last.

WOW I'm Behind

Okay, well I know I have been totally terrible at this blogging thing. It is going to be my new goal to catch up or write one blog AT LEAST a week...whether its on the latest happenings in our house, or just a thought or topic I want to comment on. I am going to put it on my To Do List.

So now lets play a little game of catch up on the last few months. So since I last wrote I went to NY, I had my "Engagement Trip,"there and it was beyond fun. I flew in on a Friday afternoon and came back to VA on Sunday Evening. While there I got to spend Friday hanging out with my amazing uncle and godfather, we went and did a little shopping when I arrived, saw a movie, and then me, my uncle and John went out for a very nice dinner. Saturday we spend looking for the perfect veil....it turned out to

be right there on Long Island at Estelle's. I can't even describe how perfect it is...matches my dress to a T. We also found my head piece to go with my veil there. I couldn't be luckier to have my uncle and John help me pick these two important things out and get them for me for my engagement gift. Saturday night we went to see the season opener of Saturday Night Live in the city. That was beyond fun, especially since it was something I had always wanted to do. It was a great trip and I was beyond excited to spend time with Dave and John.

So that was my little excursion, Corey went to Fantasy Fest in Key West and if you don't know what Fantasy Fest is then it is best described as Mardi Gras Meets Halloween. He went the four days before Halloween...it's a week long event down in Key West and Corey and his two friends who went down there to visit their friend Aaron decided to dress up the last day they were there (Oct 30th). Well they looked absolutely ridiculous to me, but if you have seen any of the other pictures from while he was there on facebook then you know they actually weren't dressed that crazy. The guys get a huge kick out of dressing up ridiculously was my conclusion. Since Corey got home at after 900 on Saturday the 31st we laid low for Halloween. We went out to Bonefish when he got back in town and had a nice dinner the two of us and it was a great time. So that was October.

November we went over the first weekend to celebrate my mom's birthday with a little BBQ. Corey, and I went over with the boys, my brother and his two kids (savanna and austin) came and my sister was there with her bf Lane. It was really a great time. Very casual birthday party, and great company, it is also very exciting because the 4 kids play so nice to each other, over the time Corey and I have

been together they seem to play nicer and nicer together. So I really enjoy to see them all together. To the right is my mom and dad at the Birthday BBQ and little tazzie. Happy 55th Birthday to the most amazing woman I know, full of strength, unconditional love, and always willing to help or be there to listen when you need to vent about anything. She truly is the best mom. :o) Oh in November Addie turned 4 and Mylo turned 1 not that too many people care how old our dogs are. HAHA, I know in our house I am really the only one who was telling them Happy Birthday Over and Over Again. I love my little puppy dogs, even with all the times they wake me up early.

Okay so that is all the events/trips that have occurred over the past few months however there have been many other changes. I have been beyond blessed with a new job. Many of you knew that I was teaching kids at The Goddard School, and I really thought that would be what I ended up doing for the rest of my life, while continuing to do Freelance Graphic Design jobs on the side. I did enjoy the small children, I have a love for children that is indescribable, however the monotony of the same days over and over at the Preschool was not what I was looking for. I had worked in a preschool before, but after doing it for 7 months, I just was looking for something more. Well I was taking a class on Thursday nights, the class was called The Exceptional Child, it was on children with special needs. ENTER OPPORTUNITY, I met an amazing lady in class who happened to express one day before class that she was looking for help in her business. She has a business BCS Inc, who does ABA Behavioral Therapy for children with Autism. Some people know and others don't that while in middle school I worked after school with children with special needs, and it was a great experience. Well after talking with Jenn on the phone a few times and exchanging numerous emails, I decided the job could be exactly what I was longing and looking for. A job with children, that would not only be different daily, but different from child to child. Two children with Autism are never the same. Not only would be able to work with children, I would be able to be a part of very rewarding field. So I did some Saturday Training's, did a week out in the field with other therapists, did some DVD classes and now I am working as a ABA therapist. Let me just say that I am IN LOVE. I love my job, I never wake up anymore and roll over to look at Corey and moan I don't want to go to work...it hasn't happen. The hours are amazing, the people are amazing, the CHILDREN ARE EXCEPTIONAL, and it makes me happy to be working daily. So that is my update on my job. I am still able to do graphic design freelance on the side, so I have the best of two worlds I love. Working with children daily, and doing graphic work at my own will when I want.

So in between all the trips, holidays, occasions...new job, comes WEDDING PLANNING. I told you I had a lot to catch up on. My mom aka THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE, has been a blessing. She has been my wedding planner and kept me very organized. We have moved right along, and I am happy to report that we have pretty much all of our vendors lined up and ready to go. We just booked the DJ last weekend and he was our only real loose string. We have cake taken care of, caterer, photographer, venue, church booked, and now DJ. We have the bridesmaid dresses due to arrive in January, and the girls will get fitted for them January 16th. I think we are going to have my Bridal Shower on Saturday January 16th as well, since one of my bridesmaids will be in town for the fitting, and I really want her to be able to participate in the shower but not be inconvenienced too much and have to keep coming in town. My wedding dress has been fitted for Length and under the arms, you know things that won't change between now and a month before the wedding. I went last weekend with my mom, matron of honor Amanda, and grandma to try it on after the length alterations and I DID NOT WANT TO TAKE IT OFF. I loved standing there in it. I will be trying it on again when I go with the girls January 16th. Then my fitting for waist, etc will be a month before to see if they need to take it in or what. So that is the wedding...we are going to take a little breather from wedding planning and try to enjoy the coming holidays and pick up the crazy wedding planning in the New Year.

So that brings me to the present, Next week THANKSGIVING. I am very excited to say Corey and I are hosting turkey day here this year. My mom, dad, sister, sisters bf, and coreys brother, wife and son will all be out to join Corey, Myself, Nathan and Braden. Everyone is bringing something and it should be a good time, and good company. So I think that catches me up for now, now all I need to do is post on here at least once a week. Wish me Luck. :o) Hope everyone has been doing well and taking time to smell the fresh air. :o)

Corey & I Are Engaged

As must people know Corey and I got engaged on Sunday September 6, 2009. We are beyond excited to move forward in our relationship and become husband and wife.

So how it happen, we had been talking about getting married, for months and months, then before the start of summer we talked about a possible summer engagement. Well summer went by, and Corey decided he was ready to make the step. So, that Sunday, he asked me to go return the redbox movies to 7-11 so I went, although not without questioning why I had to go out at that moment and return them...well if I didn't ask 4500000 questions then it wouldn't be me. He knows that and loves that. haha. So he said so we don't forget too later, which we are KNOWN FOR. So I said fine and went, the 7-11 is about 10 minutes from us, so 20 round trip. When I got home he had his camera around his neck, and said why don't we go upstairs. I said ummm okay. So we headed upstairs he told me to sit on the bed, then he said lets play an old fashion game of hot and cold....so I started looking around the house, as he snapped pictures and was so into the picture taking that would forget we were playing hot and cold only for me to say "hello am I hot or cold." I looked all through the upstairs bedrooms and nothing, went downstairs and started looking and nothing...then I decided to look in the chocolate jar, because anyone that knows Corey knows he loves his chocolate. So I opened the lid, only to find the ring box in there and open. I started crying before I had even got the ring out of the jar, once I was holding the box, he said to me as I was crying, "So is this a yes you will marry me." Well I of course said yes, we hugged over and over while I sobbed on his shoulder and that's how it happen. The boys are very excited especially Nathan who has more understanding of a wedding and knows he is going to have a special job of being a ring bearer. I am very thankful to have the boys in my life and Corey.

Everyone has been asking what date we are looking at, we are looking at an early Spring wedding 2010, March or April really depending on the reception places we are looking at and their availability. We are looking a place I really love on Saturday so we will go from there and see what happens. We will definitely keep everyone posted, thanks to all our wonderful family and friends for all the well wishes and nice messages. We are glad you are all in our lives, and we look forward to celebrating our marriage with you all in the Spring. LET THE PLANNING BEGIN...Oh wait it already has. :o)

Enjoy a few pictures from the "hot and cold game" along with some ring pics and A picture of Corey and I from Sunday night when we were at my parents and we had a champagne toast for our engagement.

August Already

Okay so time flies by, seriously is Summer already rolling to an end? August Already?  Well I have been majorly slacking on the blog over the last couple months, so I will do a quick rap up.  

    So Corey and I went to St.Thomas and had an amazing time. The hotel we stayed at was beautiful and we got to hang out with the owner of the shop he works for and his wife, which are both very nice people, along with another guy who works at the shop and his fiance.  Overall a great time, we got to have some much needed alone time, as well as go on some great dinners with his coworkers and get some time in the sun to relax.  Since Corey has kids, we haven't always had the luxury of having time to ourselves.  Although we only have them exactly half the week, and she has them half the week, it made dating at times very different then the usual dating since their were kids involved.  It also has limited where and when we can go away the two of us.  So being able to go on a paid for trip to St.Thomas was awesome for us.  I am working on getting pictures from the trip. His boss took all the pictures and has to get us the CD....I know we are months behind, but hopefully pictures soon.

    Lets see we also had Mothers Day right after we got back from St.Thomas, that was good. Corey and I went to my parents and had a nice dinner with them.  We also celebrated my Dads birthday at the beginning of June and then just a mere like week later Fathers Day.  My parents, my sister and I took the boys to Baltimore Aquarium for Memorial Day because I had off for work, we had a lot of fun and the kids love it there. Other then lots of family events, we spent fourth of July with my parents, my niece and nephew, and his two boys. We saw fireworks had dinner and relaxed on the lawn waiting for fireworks.  The brings us pretty much up to date.  Not much else has been going on, just enjoying the summer.

     However Sunday August 9th we will leave to take the boys to Hershey Park. We are very excited to get away the four of us on a family vacation. We are going down Sunday and will go to ZooAmerica which is a park with animals and things.  The boys will for sure love that.  Then Monday and Tuesday we will go to Hershey Park, one day we will devote to all the rides, and the second day we will do the huge water park they have added.  Then Wednesday we will tour the Hershey Chocolate Factory and then head home.  Corey has never been to Hershey Park, either have the boys and I haven't been since I was a kid....so it should be great. The kids love rides and love water parks so we are expecting them to be pumped, we however won't tell them where we are going, we are surprising them on Sunday when we arrive.

    I think that catches me up, below are a few pictures from the past few months, of course minus St.Thomas pictures (soon I hope). ENJOY and I am going to work on Keeping this updated more often.

One Day in Counting

Well tomorrow early in the morning Corey and I leave for St.Thomas. I am beyond excited....the most we have ever gone away for has been a night and it was to pick up our little man, Mylo in Niagara Falls. So it will be nice to get out in the warm tropical sun and have a real vacation together. We will be gone until the end of the week, hopefully Mylo will be a good boy while be watched, and I am not worried in the least bit about Addie. So everyone have a good week, and we will update everyone on our wonderful trip upon our arrival home. :o)

A Sunday at the Parks

Last Sunday, April 26th we had the pleasure of taking the boys to Burke Lake Park for a while, then we headed to Bull Run Park for a day of fun filled parks. We also took Mylo with us to practice with him on walking on his leash. (Oh how fun puppy training is) It was a beautiful day outside, but for some reason the kids weren't feeling the playground at Burke Lake so we walked around the lake on the trails instead. The picture above was at Burke Lake during our walk. After walking for a while, we decided to head to Bull Run Park and check out that playground, and tire the kids and Mylo out even more. :o) I think we definitley succeeded in both, as you can see from the picture of Mylo below he got pretty tired and the kids were ready to crash as well.

All in all it was a good day, and I love to get the kids outside. Kids today just don't play outside like we used to. When I was growing up, I loved to go run around outside, play games, run around in the woods, and just play. Unfortunately today must kids would rather be inside in the AC watching a movie or playing a video game....Corey and I are trying to make sure the boys start to learn to like to go run around outside, afterall boys will be boys and they should learn to get dirty. :o)

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend turned out to be a very nice weekend. We had the boys, which was nice so we got to spend the holiday as a "family". We got up, we saw what the Easter Bunny left for the boys in Easter Baskets. Then we hurried, got everyone ready and the four of us headed to my parents house to pick them up to go to church. We went to my church in Centreville for the Easter service, then we headed back to my parents to have Easter Lunch.Easter Lunch at my parents turned out quite nice because my brother & his family came in to spend it with us, along with my grandparents, Aunt Jane, Uncle Dave, Cousin Claudia and her boyfriend. We had quite the gang assembled and spent the afternoon eating, relaxing, talking and just enjoying the day.

My niece and nephew always enjoy playing with Nathan and Braden so that was fun. Once we were done at my parents we headed home to do an Easter egg hunt with the boys. It was definitely a perfect afternoon for it and the kids really enjoyed it. Overall a very productive and family fun filled Easter Day.

Oh and on another Easter side note. My mom and dad made the four kids Easter goody bags, and they had these adorable "bunny mouths" lollipops.....so needless to say it was a perfect time to get a Kodak moment of the four kids, they did really good and after shot after shot after shot, trying to get 4 kids under the age of 6 to all look at the camera at once, we got 3 out of 4 to look, and well Savanna was still trying to decide if she liked this weird lollipop from Grandma and Pa Pa. Hahaha, enjoy below. From Left to right {Savanna (almost 3), Austin (5), Nathan (almost 7), and Braden (3)}

Spring is in the Air

Although I am not at all a fan of the rain, spring is definitely in the air. Having a few nice days of 60's and 70's has put spring fever into full affect around our house. The kids are ready for the warm days as are Corey, myself and our two crazy dogs.
Yes for those that didn't know in January Corey and I got a new puppy, Mylo. He is an American Bulldog and is just as cute as can be. He was born November 13th so he is just right at about 5 months old right now. He gets bigger and bigger everyday and Addie has been pretty tolerable surprisingly. I have been slacking on getting new pictures of him, but below are a few pictures that are only a week or two old of him. Of course he loves to bother Addie and recently use her as pillow, but she is a good sport for the most part.




Besides Mylo our house has been pretty calm and routine, well maybe calm isn't the word to use with an untrained puppy in the house who likes to terrorize Addie, or sometimes uses Nathan or Braden as his targets....Along with two active boys, who are very good for the most part but of course have their days. Not much else going on, just getting ready for Easter on Sunday which will be a lot of fun with the boys, their little Easter Egg Hunt we are going to do then, church and lunch with my family, and Corey and the kids.

The only other exciting thing that we are looking forward to right now is Corey and I get to take a vacation at the beginning of May. His boss for his bonus for doing so good last year is sending Corey and I with him, another artist and their girlfriend to St.Thomas. We are beyond excited and will be gone Sunday May 3rd through Thursday May the 7th. This trip can't come soon enough....Here we come warm sunny weather......

The Boys New Haircut

When I got back from the cruise, the boys had gotten a haircut, goodbye long hair. They looked like such cute little men. Their hair is much shorter now and we have been keeping it like that, it was so long when Corey and I first started dating if you look back to the Spring 2008 Pictures I posted of the kids. Here are few pictures of them with their new haircut, their new PJ's I got them and their turtles I got them in St.Thomas.

Looking Back on Summer 2008

This past summer besides enjoying the nice warm weather which I am beyond ready for right now, as I look out the window at inches and inches of snow....we did a few small things together and I took a cruise with my parents.


The cruise was beyond amazing, I had never been on a cruise before and loved every minute of the relaxing vacation. It definitley wasn't a vacation that you get home from and you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation....it was actually R&R. Our cruise took us from Miami, to the Bahamas, then to St.Thomas then to St.Martin (St.Maarten). The islands were beautiful and although I missed Corey while I was gone...experiencing a relaxing cruise is something everyone should do if they haven't yet.




Something else we did this summer was take the boys on a few day trips, we did the Air and Space Museum with them, which they thought was a lot of fun, looking at all the big big planes, and of course getting some astronaut ice cream. The next trip we took them on was to Ocean City for the day, unfortunatley I was in anti-camera mode for the day and I didn't get any pictures which I regret now...but this year I will definitley be better about that. The last trip we took them on before Nathan's school started up again was the Baltimore Aquarium for the day. The kids were on cloud nine there, they thought everything was sooooo cool from the HUGE turtles to the tiny tropical fish . I got one good picture of Corey and the boys that day (below), the rest were pictures of fish for Nathan I took.

Life Has Been Changing

A lot has happen in the past year and continues to change everyday, so I decided to write this blog so everyone can keep up with the changes with me....lets get started.

Almost a year ago (March 26th) to be exact, I started dating a wonderful man, Corey Taylor.

We of course had met a year and half prior when he did one of my tattoos, we stayed in contact over the year and half leading up to last February 2008.....that's when Corey and I actually met each other out at Neds where he met Matt and a few of my other friends.

Corey and Matt at Neds In Centreville

After that we starting hanging out more and more...then we just clicked and at the end of March 2008 we were together......Almost a year has passed since we started hanging out and he still makes me incredibly happy. Not only did I get a great guy, but Corey has two great boys Nathan who is 6 and will be 7 in April, and Braden who just turned 3 in February. Here are few pictures below of the boys last year in the Spring. Braden was 2 and Nathan was 5 (almost 6).