A Whole Lotta Hoopla

I can't believe that I have not updated the blog since mid-May.  So much has been keeping us busy that finding the time to sit down and talk about it has been very limited.  So here I am...a month later with lots to share and only a small amount of time (James is already 45 minutes into his nap!).  Here is a brief synopsis of what the Mangiaracina's have been up to.

Mother's Day

This year we had a low-key Mommy's Day with extra morning sleep time for me, a home-cooked breakfast, Mother-Son nap time and a BBQ with the Grandparents.  I know that Mother's Day is looked at as a "Hallmark Holiday", but I don't care.  I love any excuse to spend quality time with my family - especially my wonderful Mom who not only is the best Mom out there (and who taught me all I know!), but the best Grandma that James could ask for.

A Quartuccio Wedding

We were cordially invited to the wedding of Kristen Quartuccio and Bill Kinslow on Memorial Day weekend.  James spent lots of quality time with Grandma M., Aunt Adriana, Uncle John, Aunt Lee Lee and Uncle Joe while Ed and I made our way to CT to celebrate the happy couple. Fun was had by all and I think the Mangiaracina's were ready to collapse by the time we left.  :)

Celebrate Fairfax

For the first time in many, many years, we were in town during the Celebrate Fairfax Festival and we took full advantage.  Ed and I secured some sitters on night 1 (thanks Mom & Dad!) so that we could enjoy the All American Rejects concert (awesome show, BTW).  On day 2, we took James to the fair and met up with friends Amanda, Kyle and Rafa to enjoy the rides, games and food. The boys had a great time as did the parents.  What's funny is that the shuttle bus ride to the fair and back may have been James' favorite part of the day. :)

Happy Birthday Ed!

This past week, Ed celebrated his 7th annual 29th birthday.  If you know my husband, you know that he is a BIG fan of his birthday so after we opened presents, we headed to Ted's Bulletin for a family breakfast and then onto the Reston Zoo.  Even though it was Daddy's birthday, we had to keep James smiling and animals seem to be the trick.  The kid even was brave enough to conquer is first pony ride!  It was a great day that ended with crab legs and birthday cake with the family.  

Sue & Ivan are Engaged!

Over the weekend we celebrated a very special couple - Sue & Ivan!!  They, along with lots and lots of family and friends, were in town for their engagement party.  My parents planned the top notch shin-dig and it went off without a hitch - and without electricity. Wouldn't you know that just as the party got started, the power went out!  We like to keep things interesting. :) It didn't matter because it was a great day celebrating a great couple.

Father's Day

We rounded out the weekend by celebrating all the great Dads in our lives.  Since Sue, Ivan and family were still in town, we were able to dole out our Dad-love in person which is always a special treat.  Our morning started with coffee and gifts for Ed who is THE most AMAZING Dad out there (in addition to my Dad and Ivan's Dad of course!).  I count my blessings everyday that I found Ed and that he is James' Dad because he is the most wonderful and perfect man for the job!  We then headed to the Quartuccio house to have breakfast with the family and give hugs to my Dad - the best Dad (and Grandpa) a girl could have asked for - and Ivan's Dad - the best Dad a guy could have asked for!  It was so nice spending time with these 3 amazing Dads (and some amazing Moms and a sister as well!) and it makes me wish that we all lived a little closer.  At least driving distance.  Can we all work on that? :)

As you can see, we have been quite busy and it does not end here.  Coming up:  a week at the beach, a long weekend in Philly, a visit from Adriana and John and a trip to Dutch Wonderland.  I'm exhausted justing thinking about it, but I wouldn't want it any other way.  #luckiestgirlintheworld 

Easter Happenings

Easter 2013.  It came in like a lion, kicked our butts and left us going to bed at abnormally early hours when it was over.  Yes, it was THAT fun!

We made a long weekend out of the holiday and headed up to NY to spend quality time with the Mangiaracina/Kolb family. We crammed so much stuff into the 4 days that we needed to take a nap in the middle of writing this post to get through it all!  Here is a run down of the hectic schedule:

Thursday, 3/28 | 6:30 PM

Dropped Lucy off at the Quartuccio house and hit the road for a 5 hour trip to Long Island complete with a stop at White Marsh Town Center for a diaper check, BK dinner in the car and a cranky, non-sleeping toddler.

Friday, 3/29 | 12:30 AM

Tried very hard to settle a SCREAMING kid who was 100% overtired and didn't want to sleep in a pack n' play in the same room with his parents.

Friday, 3/29 | 10:30 AM

Kept a (finally!) napping kid napping by driving around the old neighborhood while on the way to our favorite breakfast spot, the Eggery.  The nap worked ~ check out these smiles:

Friday, 3/29 | 1:30 PM

After playtime at Aunt Adriana and Uncle John's new, beautiful house, we headed back into the car to visit Grandpa Mangiaracina at the cemetery.  It was a lovely moment to have James there with us.

Friday, 3/29 | 4:00 PM

Time to play with the puppies and kitties at Grandma's house.  James was enamored with Marty, Uncle Joe's black lab and Princess the cat was enamored with James.

Friday, 3/29 | 6:30 PM

After another failed quick nap, we had a quick dinner at Grandma's house and a visit from the Green family.  This was the first time James met Dominick and Guilianna and they all had a blast playing.  James played hard to get with his new lady friend. :)

Friday, 3/29 | 7:30 PM

Cue the James melt down.  We stuck it out as long as we could but it was time to head back to the Kolb residence for a bath and bedtime.  I think he fell asleep before he hit the not-so-comfortable pac n' play mattress.

Saturday, 3/30 | 4:00 AM

Wake up call courtesy of James.  He refused to go back to sleep in that damn pac n' play.  I broke a cardinal rule and let him sleep with us just to get some more zzzz's.

Saturday, 3/30 | 6:00 AM

And we're up.  Sorry Uncle John and Aunt Adriana!

Saturday, 3/30 | 11:00 AM

Daddy hit the car show at the Javits Center with Uncle Joe so James and I decided to head out east to meet adorable cousin Kevin.  The boys were adorable together and Nean and I had chance to catch up.  We shared lunch with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jimmy and ended the awesome visit with a walk through the neighborhood.  Jeannine and I grew up together and spent our childhood playing Mommy to our Cabbage Patch Kids.  It was a surreal moment to share now that we are Mommy's to real kids. 

Saturday, 3/30 | 6:00 PM

It was dinner time again at Grandma's house and because of only one crappy 45 minute nap earlier in the day, a full on melt down ensued at the dinner table.  Luckily, he was more well behaved during dessert but I think it was the ice cream that Daddy was feeding him that kept him happy.  

Saturday, 3/30 | 9:00 PM

With James down for the night, it was time to dye those Easter eggs.  There were strict rules to obey - one color per egg, but after lots of lobbying of Adriana, I was able to make my grenade egg.

Sunday, 3/31 | 6:00 AM

Awake.  At least he is consistent.  The Easter Bunny found James and gave him a great basket filled with all sorts of toys.  James was more interested in the new game we invented called "I'm gonna get James".  Basically we say "I'm gonna get James" in a silly voice and he gives us big smiles and giggles and walks away from us.  Or towards us.  Depends on his mood at the time.  Apparently this game was more fun than his Easter basket.  We did not take offense.

Sunday, 3/31 | 9:00 AM

It was back to Grandma's for Easter breakfast.  James (in bunny ears) had some yummy bagel and was treated to some awesome gifts from Grandma. Now, while I love when his Grandparent's spoil him, I can't say that I love the Yankees hoodie that he is now in possession of.  From the looks of things, he wishes it was a Mets hoodie too! :) 

Sunday, 3/31 | 11:00 AM

NAPPING!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!

Sunday, 3/31 | 2:00 PM

We were back in the car and headed west to Staten Island for Easter at the Giocolano's.  Guess what, MORE NAPPING!!!  Good thing - traffic on the Belt was thick!

Sunday, 3/31 | 3:00 PM

James was full of smiles and giggles as we settled into the cozy Giocolano home for Easter dinner.  A big thanks to cousins Renee and Mike for the awesome new duckie that keeps him laughing for hours!

Sunday, 3/31 | 7:15 PM

After a delicious dinner, the clothes came off and the peep show began.  Ha!  Kidding.  Kind of.  Mr. James was down to his undies and decided to put on a show for the neighbors.  Thanks to cousin Mike, he had a ball playing in the window.

Sunday, 3/31 | 8:00 PM

With jammies on, it was time to head home.  But not before some extra hugs from cousin Renee.  The little man was sleeping within 5 minutes of being in his car seat.  Upon arrival at the Kolb house, we did a quick diaper check and put him down where he was out cold.  Looks like the lack of sleep caught up to him...finally!

Monday, 4/1 | 6:00 AM

Up and at 'em! Seriously...this kid needs to learn that 7:00 AM is a very good hour to wake up!  We said our goodbyes to Uncle John who headed to work, had some breakfast with Grandma and Aunt Adriana, packed up and hit the road. James slept most of the ride until we hit Delaware where we stopped for a potty break and some lunch. He wasn't happy about the rest of the ride, but once he saw Lucy girl, he forgot all about it!  

So that was Easter weekend in a nutshell.  We are still trying to recover and are hoping James will be back on a normal sleeping pattern soon. It's always fun to visit the family and we are all looking forward to seeing them again very soon.