A Family Baptism

What an amazing weekend we just had as we welcomed family into town to share in the celebration of James' Baptism.  We feel so blessed that our baby boy is surrounded by people that love him so much and is now a member of the Catholic faith.  Thank you to all that made the trip down to see our little guy welcomed into the arms of God!

Getting Ready

The Godparents

Mommy and Daddy

St. Mary of Sorrow's Catholic Church

Welcome James!

Totally Beat!

Time to Celebrate

Love you, Buddy!

Best Title EVER

Since I entered the work force, I have held many titles in my many jobs.  I've been Department Manager, Assistant to the President, Marketing Manger and Meetings Coordinator...to name a few.  With each new position, I felt a sort of pride in obtaining that new title.

Well, the best title I could ever and will ever have was given to me a little over 10 weeks ago.  It didn't come with a salary increase, but it does come with a lot of satisfaction.  I don't get paid to do this job, (well unless you count smiles as currency) but I have a feeling it will be the best job I will ever have.  The title is Mom and it was something that was celebrated yesterday on Mother's Day.

Since it was the weekend, Ed took care of the baby during the night feeding so I started my first Mother's Day very well-rested.  My baby boy not only treated me to a barrage of coos and smiles, but he also awarded me with a beautiful Coach watch.  Lucy was in charge of the card, and she did not disappoint. :)

During James' mid-morning nap, I spent some time with my Mommy at the nail salon - you gotta love mani and pedis!  As you could imagine, the place was packed with Mother/Daughter duos.  After our pampering, we headed to Mom and Dad's house for a Mother's Day BBQ.  It was gorgeous out so we ate on the deck and just enjoyed each other's company.  It was a great first Mother's Day and I look forward to many more.

Friendship

I consider myself very lucky to have the friendships that I have.  In addition to the special relationship I have with my sister and the deep friendship I have with my husband, there are a number of people in my world that hold a special place in my heart.  They are people I've known my whole life and whom I have met only just a few months ago. They are people I went to high school and college with.  Whom I shared laughter and tears.  Whose shoulders I lean on and whose advice I cling to.  I cherish my many friendships and look forward to the new ones that I will make as the years go on.

Why so sappy about friends?  Well, I had the pleasure of spending time with two of my best friends this past weekend.  We had such an amazing time that it really made me think and appreciate that I have such wonderful people in my life.  Who, you ask, would bring on such strong emotions?  Well, Jim and Daniel of course!

It's hard to believe that Jim and I have been friends for close to 15 years.  We met at JMU through the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity and it was friendship at first site.  We spent LOTS and LOTS of time dancing at the frat house, shopping at thrift stores for our many themed parties (pimps and ho's party anyone?), and grabbing a much needed bite to eat to cure the hang overs.  

But our friendship really blossomed post college when we both moved back to the DC area.  I remember spending hours and hours on the phone with him talking about everything - but mostly our dramatic relationships.  We hit the clubs with the best of them and spent Sundays lying around watching SATC and Will & Grace re-runs.  When he moved back to NY, things didn't change - in fact, we became closer!  We were there for each other through good times, bad times, challenges and changes.  At this point, we were no longer friends.  We were family.

I visited NY a lot after Jim moved and in the summer of 2006, we made the decision that it was time for me to move up to NY and live with him in his awesome Forest Hills apartment.  We were both single and thought we would live it up in the city - Sex and the City style (our favorite show and form of therapy!).  Well, wouldn't you know that 2 weeks before the big move, I get a phone call.  Guess who met someone?  Enter Daniel.

From the moment I met Daniel, I knew that we would share a special relationship.  We spent a lot of time together those first few months - he essentially was dating both Jim and I!  I still remember the first night we met - we all went to dinner at a Thai restaurant in Forest Hills and went to see The Devil Wears Prada.  Daniel had brought some of my favorite candy to the movie and from that point I was hooked.  It was a fun summer that got even better come Labor Day because that is when I met Ed.  The boys LOVED him from the start and we all became good friends.

The boys came down to VA this past weekend to spend some quality time with us and meet the baby.  We had an amazing time - toured the burbs of VA, had a BBQ with Jason, Betsy and Stella, enjoyed brunch in Reston and just laughed.  They both totally dove in with all things James and fell in love with him (how could you not!) It was such a good time and we can't wait to do it again.  

We have come a long way since 1997 and I think that there are many more memories to come.  We all feel very blessed to have each other in our lives and wouldn't change a thing.  As Samantha says in the second SATC movie, "We made a deal ages ago. Men, babies, doesn't matter. We are soul mates."  So very true. 

Parson Me

Remember when we told you guys how we used our AMEX Membership Rewards to get our hands on something for the house that we have been craving for a while?  Well, we finally took the plunge and we couldn't be happier with the end result.

In our house, we are always looking for ways to maximize our space.  Don't get me wrong, the size of this house puts our apartment in NY to shame, but we seem to continually accumulate stuff and that stuff needs a place to go.  That couldn't be more true now that James is in our lives!  We started creating more storage space on our main floor when we installed the bench under the front window.  The bench not only dresses up this room, it also adds a ton of space for us to store things like toys, blankets and other things.

To the left of the window, we had a bookcase that housed all of our DVDs - we have a TON of them.  Let me rephrase ~ Ed has a TON of them.  He used to buy one a week back in the day which created quite a collection that just took up lots of space.  There are 2 things we hated about this: 1.  They didn't look so hot in the bookcase and 2. It wasn't really a great use of space.  I mean rarely would we reach into the bookcase to grab a DVD and watch it ~ especially since we have a Netflix streaming subscription to satisfy our movie needs.

So we brainstormed.  What would work best in that space and satisfy our needs right now?  We thought of going this route and create a pseudo mud room area for us to store coats and boots and bags.

But knowing us, it would just become a dumping ground and start to look really messy.  So instead, we decided to create a work space.  Not only can Ed use it now to conduct his at-home Sprint business (and I can reclaim my kitchen table for meals!), but it will come in handy down the road when James has all that homework to do.  

I knew immediately what piece of furniture I wanted there.  It took a little more convincing for Ed, but after he saw that we could buy the coveted Parsons Desk from West Elm using gift cards, he came right on board.  Between some Christmas gifts, some store credit and some AMEX Membership Rewards, we ended up only paying $88 for this classy desk that we dressed up with a Pier 1 lamp and a beautiful chair from World Market.

We are SOOOO thrilled with this update to the living room that already being used on a daily basis.  We still need to hang some art on the wall (we have a few things in mind), but other than that, we are good go with this new spot.  We even managed to find a great lidded basket to house James' growing toy collection that lives under the desk.  It actually plays double duty by holding all of the chargers as well! 

And where are the DVDs you ask?  Not too far away - thank goodness for that bench! :)

James' Monthly Photo Project: Two Months Old

I can't even believe that my little baby boy is already 2 months old today.  Where does the time go!  Some milestones to report:

• Tummy time appears to be a success as he is holding his head up on his own like a true champ!
• He has lots to say... especially during his diaper changes.  Mommy and Daddy love the cooing!
• And to match the coos, there are lots and lots of smiles.  Those are our favorites. :)
• We are now wearing 3 month clothing - he certainly is a BIG BOY!
• His hairstyles have reached EPIC coolness levels.  I mean look at that faux hawk!!

HAPPY 2 MONTH BIRTHDAY BUBA - WE LOVE YOU!

Birthday Weekend: The Official Recap

My, my - what a weekend we have had here in casa de Mangiaracina.  Ed, James and Lucy did a great job to make sure my 34th birthday was special...and it was!  Friday was the actual day and I was treated like a Queen.  James was happy... Lucy was playful...Daddy worked from home so I could treat myself to a mani/pedi...I received some fabulous gifts (2 pairs of shoes, 2 Minions and a massage gift certificate) and was treated to a delicious dinner with a yummy margarita and ice cream in Clifton at Peterson's (family favorite!)!!  It was a great day filled with smiles and love - exactly what I wanted.  :)

James even surprised Mommy by spending some quality time in his bouncy chair which up until now, he hated!!

The fun continued on Saturday despite the gloomy weather.  We packed up the kid and headed into Old Town Alexandria for lunch and a stroll. One of my favorite DC restaurants, Pizzeria Paradiso, now has a location on King Street in Old Town so of course we had to indulge. And to my excitement, our favorite Dogfish Head beer, Black and Blue, was on tap - Yeah!!  After lunch, we walked around, did some shopping, got some more ice cream (this time at Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream) and then headed home to spend some quality time with our Lucy girl.

Yesterday was a little more low key. We needed the rest after the "get up and go" days we had had which are more rare these days.  :)  Plus, our little man is battling some tummy issues so he had a rough night which meant that Mommy and Daddy had a rough night.  But we powered through and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Sweetwater Tavern with Grandma and Grandpa Q.

So there you have it.  Turning 34 was pretty awesome and I'd like to thank my boys, my Lucy and my parent's for making it so special.

XOXO!!