Back to business people

Phew!  The past 10 weeks have been, to say the least, a complete and utter blur.  I have finished practicum (grad school blahhhh) and while for weeks every free moment I had was either consumed with working on assignments, thinking about working on assignments, or racing between work and school.... Now that it is over, I can't believe it is already December.  Holy Moses, where did the fall go?


And now, I'm back to business.  Top 5 things to do now that practicum is over:

1.  Begin to shop for Christmas presents.  Pretty late over here this year.  You can set that expectation bar pretty low. 

2.  Visit Sue and Sis's new digs!

3.  Introduce myself to my kitchen once again and say adios to my recent friends Taco Bell and Wendy's.  

4.  Practice, practice, practice yoga sculpt teaching to schedule a tryout in January or February.  Any takers want to help? Please.  Pretty please.

5.  Oh... well, there is that wedding thing that hasn't been getting planned... at all.... about that.... 

Starting.... now. :)

n & a connection session

Compliments of Jessica Drogosz.  Enjoy the sneak peak!

 

Run, Mommio, Run!

This past weekend Andrea completed her first full marathon (26.2 miles!) and being a part of it was quite an experience.  Deb, Zach, and I tracked her from the wee hours, and Dad, Greg, Finn, and Aron met up with us later in the day.

 It was amazing to see so many people tackling this huge goal, people of all ages and sizes were streaming by us as we scanned the crowded for our runner.  It can almost become a blur of faces and I couldn't help but feel a "Where's Waldo"- like frustration as minutes went by with no sight of her.  (I actually DID see Waldo running though!)  And then... just when you start to give up and think that we must have definitely missed her.... BAM she zooms by, her face quickly lights up when she sees us, and then she's off and gone again!  And so are we... to make our way to our next viewing station on time!  Even though we were privy to El trains and long breaks in between, I was exhausted afterwards!  And to think of Zach- he was SUCH a trooper and so excited to be there for his mom.

Way to go Andrea, you rocked it!  So... what's next?  :P

Welcome Jack, we've been waiting for you!

The little dude made his grand entrance last week, and he is already setting the stage for years and years of adoration and love.  Alright, so maybe I am a little biased, but I have to say that he is completely perfect.  He has one of those baby faces that you could just stare at for hours and hours and still wonder how God can make something so adorable and flawless.  Can you tell I'm a pretty big fan already?  See for yourself.

Gratitude

I have noticed an even longer drag in my step this year as the new school year has begun.  Maybe it is the early alarm clock or the anxiety of what is to come this year.  Maybe it is the fear that my busy schedule will soon consume me again.  Whatever it is, I have to admit that I am dragging into this year with less than an average amount of excitement and anticipating very little other than upcoming days off.  I spent so much time this summer taking it all in and focusing on all things positive, that this gravitation downward has me a bit unsettled. I also think my poor attendance score on my yoga mat has got me feeling blue. Anyhow, today I am setting out to "reshift" my brain into proper alignment again.  In the spirit is appreciation and gratitude, my goal is to write down 3 things each day this week that I am completely and totally happy about.  

Monday- Aron is almost done with grad school- (you have no idea what this will mean for QT together someday soon), less than 2 weeks til baby M arrives, seein some fam this weekend that I am missing very much.

Tuesday- Fall TV shows starting up again (got to find out who survived the plan crash at Seattle Grace!), my parents' continuous love and support in so many ways, and finishing up my last yoga requirement a few days ago- Sure feels good to have set a goal and reached it.

Wednesday- Each day that I realize I get to spend time with Aron that night, I get excited and giddy (not much this week, unfortunately).  I love my tiny apartment and really feel at home there, even when it is slightly or majorly messy.  I think I have the best friends in the world and I don't know how I got so lucky to have so many amazing women in my life, all of whom I genuinely love and trust.

Thursday- My adorable nephews who bring me more joy than I can describe. Fall color and flavors, looking forward to a pumpkin latte shortly.  Red wine.

Friday- WEEKENDS!!!  (Especially when you get an extra day).  My Nonna and Bumpa.  My cousins.  My soon to be in-laws.

New York, New York

As mentioned, Aron and I decided to take a summer trip to NYC.  It was an absolute blast and I am so thankful we took this time to ourselves.  We enjoyed every minute of this adventure through this unbelievable city!!  After miles and miles of walking, exploring, touring, sightseeing, tasting, sipping, and lots of picture taking in just a few days, I really feel like I saw a lot of Manhattan, and also had a wonderful time with my travel buddy.

On the way home, Aron and I talked about our "top 3" favorite moments on our trip. While it was a really hard decision to narrow it down, here is what we came up with:

Nicole's Top 3:

3.  Walk through Central Park together, stopping at the Boathouse for mid afternoon drinks.

2.  The Comedy Cellar- have never laughed so hard, and going there felt "so New York". ;)

1.  Little Italy- both day and night visits

Aron's Top 3:

3.  Our Sunday afternoon Trek:  Starting at Katz's Deli for lunch (famous diner from When Harry Met Sally!) and walking all the way downtown to the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island - (the walk included Little Italy, Soho, & Wall Street). He kind of cheated with this very vague answer haha.

2. Yankees Game

1. Comedy Cellar, again - we must have really loved this place!!!  

 Truthfully... there was so much to enjoy and do that we have both agreed that we'd love to go back.  It was a remarkable experience visiting the Memorial for 9/11, and look on as the construction continues to rebuild the Freedom Tower.  I also stood where President Washington was inaugurated, walked through the halls of Ellis Island, and took a Ferry to the Statue of Liberty.  We also stayed in a historical hotel and walked the "high line"- an old rusted train line turned into an elevated garden pathway through the city.  Oh, and had some delicious New York thin crust!!! 

... and now for the bottom 3:

3.  Times Square.  Okay, its not that it was bad- it was exactly what I thought it would be.  And I am glad that I saw it. But as soon as I got there, I was ready to leave.  Talk about an absolute over stimulation of the senses!!!  Crowds, smells, noise, commotion, 10,000 Golden Arches, plus we saw a police gun down! 

And to further prove my point, you never know when you will be walking down the street next to Elmo.

 2.  The NYC movies and TV shows that we've all come to know and love... not real.  The Friends fountain... fake.  The How I Met Your Mother Bar.... set in LA.  The Sex and the City neighborhood... sham.  Basically... its all mostly filmed in LA.  But... the Law and Order Courthouse... real.

3.  New York has no alleys.  So everything that belongs in alleys... winds up right there on the street. ---> pretty icky.



 And thus ends our tour of Manhattan.  While there were other things we enjoyed doing and seeing, I am going to close with... you MUST go to NYC. For four days.  And then be thankful for going home to Chitown :).  I love my city!!!

Shower for Baby M!

Yesterday was the baby shower for Kate and baby M, who I am more anxious to meet each day!  I'll share a few pictures of crafts, baked goods, and games... some of which turned out exactly as I'd imagined, and others, well you'll see.

With this note inserted into the ABC inspired invitation, baby M received quite the library to start an early love for reading!  (Yes, that is what happens when your invitations are sent out by a budding reading specialist).  

 The decorations turned out well... thanks for helping me collect those tin cans, Mom :).  All of the "clouds and shower drops" that I made were left at home, as it didn't turn out the way I'd thought it would.  Live and learn.

The games went well!  I thought it was a great mix of small and short activities without anyone feeling like they had to participate in a dreaded shower game.  (I don't know why I always worry about that, considering I always like games myself!).  Many people attempted the "Baby Brain Busters Quiz" and entered a ticket in the M Baby Raffle- which I need to remember to keep track of the winner for!

 

The bottle and rattle cookies turned out well after about 3/4 of them ended up in the garbage.  Who knew that cookie cutters actually loose their shape entirely once you bake them in the oven?  I was so confused by this.  

The last picture I'll share is of the "baby face cupcakes" I made, inspired by none other than pinterest.  They did not turn out awful enough to leave them at home, but compared to the picture on the right... I think I can safely say "Nailed it!"  (for non pinners... that means that I most definitely did not succeed in duplicating this idea.)

Left:  My alien baby cupcakes.  Right:  Pinterest's easy enough looking adorable baby cupcakes.  I blame the fake pacifiers! :)

Engagement Party!!

Our engagement celebration was this past Saturday at my Dad and Deb's home in Naperville.  To say that it was an amazing day is an understatement.  Aron and I felt so incredibly blessed to have so many of our friends and family arrive to show their excitement about our future nuptials.  Quite honestly, I was a bit overtaken with emotion seeing so many people that I care about all together.


The details of planning that D&D came up with, the special gifts from many of our loved ones (wow- so unexpected!) and overall the feeling that so many people were willing to share their day with us was overwhelming!  The feeling of trying to spend time with every person in the room and failing miserably at it is something that I've been told we'll need to get used to!  Here are a few (ok.. more than a few) highlights to share...

The preparations before hand were almost as fun as the party itself!!

....And the delicious dishes, decorations, and details were so delightful!!  .....

(Special thank you to D&D, Mom, Nonna, Kathy, Joyce, Jenne, Dawn, Nita, Heather, and all of my girls for bringing such amazing food!!)

But, BEST of all, were the guests who came! :)  Family is so important to us, so having so many of our immediates and relatives come was so fantastic.  And although I know the Morrises may not remember ALL of the names just yet, they certainly met a lot of people I love!  (p.s. if I incorrectly pluralized Morris there, I promise I will memorize the rule by next year!)

And then there were friends on both sides coming from near and far (Chicago, St. Louis!)...

And a very special ending to this post is some of the surprise messages that we got to see in the morning!  Deb had this crafty idea to allow people to send us messages and pose in front of my Dad's Model A.  I had been hoping to ride in this car to the wedding, and found out that is unlikely to work out.  So using it in these memorable pictures was so neat!!

Some messages were very touching...  Here are some from our families...

And then, of course, many of our friends got a bit silly!!

All in all, it was a fantastic night.  We are so fortunate to have all of these people in our lives and although of course the most important thing about our wedding will be each other, none of these celebrations or events would be the same without each and every one of these loved ones there to support us.  There is so much joy and gratitude in my heart knowing that Aron and I have the love and support of so many people around us as we begin our "forever chapter" together.  Love!

Adventures in babysitting!

LOVING every second of getting to spend time with my favorite little ones.  So blessed.

Crafting for a living...

I have been keeping myself very busy lately with many trips to Joanne Fabrics and Michaels... and Aron has been very patient as our small living space has temporarily transformed into my crafting stations.  Our engagement party is coming up, as well as a baby shower for Kate, and I've decided that this could/should be my full time job!
Here are a few creations in the making... with more to come!

Check, Check, Check... :)

I must admit... planning so far has been a breeze!  Thanks to Susan and Lauren's weddings... I have kind of gotten to pick up their people without all the research time!  Between hair, makeup, photographer, videographers, and florists... I have really just taken ideas from other people and run with them!  Thanks for all the hard work, girls!

Our biggest challenge is nothing new... finding time for each other in our busy, busy schedules.  Most weeks have been jam packed with events and obligations- most often separate ones at that.  So, last weekend Aron and I decided that it was a necessity to spend an entire day/night on a date just the two of us. (Which Aron says is just called hanging out... to which I informed him that I hang out with my girlfriends... and will be going on "dates" with him forever).  Here is us in the awesome seats at the Sox game Aron got us for our day date!

Well our day had us in such high spirits that we finally decided to buy those plane tickets to NYC to spend a weekend seeing a new city together this summer!  August 11-14  we will be in the Big Apple!

Pretty Pretty

We have the entire next year to take glamour shots... so here are my girls at their finest!  P.S.  A few of you REALLY don't have a single silly pic up- hmmm.

Why are they called "maids?" Will they clean my apartment?

I had always thought that I'd ask my loves to stand up with me in my wedding in some dramatic, fantastic fashion.  Take them on a trip.  Surprise them with a fancy gift.  Have some props involved somehow.  Turns out... there really isn't time for all of that when you have 10 other balls juggling in the air!  So after much deliberation... I decided that a handmade card with a letter about their importance to me would have to do the trick.

I am having seven attendants... which is a lot in my opinion, but I guess that also makes me one lucky girl.  I have so many fantastic friends, that narrowing it down to just a few was not a fun part of this experience, but 12 BM's was out of the question!  My maid of honor is my best friend, Meghan.  I am also having her daughter be my flower girl!  The other leading ladies include:  my cousins, Sue and Sis, my sister in law and future sister in law, Andrea and Kate, (whose babes will also be representing!) and two special friends, Lauren and Dani.  All in all- 7.  And I'm FINALLY done asking!
 
Each response was equally special... from "Awwww" (Meg, who didn't have much of a surprise element), to tears (Susan,  and Dani to be expected.. Andrea, not so much!), to "Hell ya I'm in!" (my sissypants Sarah) and lots and lots of hugs.  These girls have made me who I am today, have helped Aron and my relationship grow, and I am certain will all continue to be a major influence on us as we continue on our journey. 

Here's to being surrounded by beautiful ladies- inside and out- on my big day!  Now... how to ask my Zacherino if he'll deliver some rings???  Ideas?

Let the planning begin!

So after being engaged for over 2 months now... it is finally beginning to sink in a bit that we actually need to plan a wedding!  Aron and I have had the most crazy, hectic, busy schedules of all time since the proposal, so very little has gotten done.  Which... is okay!  I am so glad that we are going to have a long engagement and enjoy this stage together.  

So far... we've chosen a venue... gone to hear a band we'd like to hire... and begun to ask some folks to stand up with us.  So really... we are making progress!!  But really... I am beyond excited for the school year to end so I can begin to plan all the fun details!  Hopefully Aron will also enjoy it, even just slightly, when the ball gets rolling!  For now... here is the website that I created on the knot.com!

http://nicolearon.ourwedding.com/