the good old days

On Saturday night, I went out for my friend Matt's 30th birthday party (OMG IM GOING TO BE 30 THIS YEAR- end rant) at a local dive bar. I have to admit, I was aware of the fact that it was going to be somewhat of a high school reunion and that made me a bit uneasy). I had a wonderfully wild time in high school, but my life now is very different than my life then and its sometimes easier if those worlds dont collide. I decided to go with 2 of my best friends from back in the day to soften the blow a bit. As soon as I arrived, I was greeted with a "Holy S**t! Simonton (my maiden name)!" and a sea of about 50 familiar, albeit 10 yrs older, faces. I spent the next 4-5 hours chatting it up with people I hadnt spoken to in more than a decade and to my surprise, I had a really great time! It was so nice to see where life had taken everyone. Most were married, some with kids, some still "figuring things out" but most everyone seemed to be in a good place in life. There were some mildly awkward moments, the realization that the sting of failed friendships and relationships still exists but no longer in the life changing way that hurt so deeply all those years ago. All in all, it was a really great night and I even have plans to go to a Zumba class with a few of the girls!! {sidenote: 5 beers and a jager-bomb after about 2 years of not drinking is NOT a good idea}

six confessions

image via weheartit



taking a cue from LA i am going to jump on the chance to divulge 6 of my deepest darkest secrets to the blogosphere. here goes:

1. i really dont understand the dark chocolate craze. its bitter, it makes me gag. milk chocolate (with nuts!!) for me all the way!
2. i rarely finish an entire song on the radio/ipod/pandora. i suppose i have extreme musical ADD.
3. i havent had a single thing to drink. all day. {i am aware of how not good this is and will be rectifying it shortly}
4. i recently started going to church again and im fairly certain its changing my life!
5. i completely regret chopping my hair off. i going to get my hairstylist to sign something refusing to comply if i ever ask her to do it again.
6. i do not drink milk out of anything but a glass or coffee mug. plastic makes it taste funny.

that was fun! {and i hope you weren't too disappointed at the lack of depth and darkness of these secrets}

happy valentine's day!

i hope that everyone had a really sweet day!

while we really didnt have anything "romantic" planned, we were really excited to be spending the day together as a family!! a relaxing morning {made complete by a cute card and beautiful roses} was followed by a trip to the pediatrician with milo to collect his lab results. 100% perfect {just as i expected}!! this was such a relief and brought such a feeling of warmth to my heart. my little guy still has to be seen by a pediatric GI, but the larger concerns are no longer weighing on our minds.

zoe had a blast hanging out in the van watching movies with ian while we were in the pediatrician's office. she really loves to spend time with us individually and we need to make an effort to make that happen on a more regular basis.

we spent the rest of valentine's day relaxing together and watching the kids run off their sugar highs from an overload of conversation hearts.

ill leave you with a photo of me and ian from our v-day rendezvous from last year!

Hashbrown Casserole...

...at Cracker Barrel is the BEST FOOD EVER! If you dont like it, there is seriously something wrong with you.

We were treated to this deliciousness by my Dad and Ms. Sheila on Monday. It was super tasty {as always} and we had a really nice time.

Milo was so well behaved and my sister's boyfriend Paul was able to make it {usually ALWAYS working}.

We are so happy to be able to spend such quality time with our family!








{Fun!}

4th of July

We spent Sunday at my Dad's house eating delicious food and hanging by the pool. {I should have taken a picture of the food, it was soooo good}.






After dark we headed home to watch the Harbor fireworks from our deck {Zoe-less because Aunt Ray took her home for a slumber party!}. The Harbor show was awesome, but so were the fireworks set off by our neighbors! Milo was a little startled at first, but eventually he settled in and really loved them!

3rd of July

This year, the holiday fell on a Sunday which prompted many of the celebrations to be held on Saturday. We went to 2 family parties and had tons of fun!

Ill let the pictures speak for themselves:











{fun!}

Daddy Daughter Date

On Monday, June 28, Zoe went to see her first movie in the movie theater!! She went to see Toy Story 3 in 3-D {glasses and all!} with her Daddy. She was so excited and was completely happy to be spending some time with her Daddy by herself.




They left around 6pm {a little late, but it was the only available showing} and went straight to the AMC theatre in White Marsh. Zoe was awesome and Ian was relieved that they didn't have any major issues. She loved the "flippy" seats and only ran down the row once! After the movie, Ian took her to McDonalds for a dinner date and then to the book store where she picked out a Toy Story 3 "find-it" book. A sort of Where's Waldo type book with a TS3 theme.

When they got home {around 10:00} Zoe could not stop talking about the movie, the seats, McDonalds, her new book... She went to bed with a big smile on her face.

I am so happy that Zoe has such a wonderful relationship with Ian. Especially since having Milo, I have been worried that she isn't getting the attention she wants or needs. Ian is always there to listen to her, to talk with her and be a great Daddy {even if its just letting her spend an extra half hour in the tub!} I am really trying to divide my time, but sometimes it's a challenge. I cant imagine how it works when you have more than 2!



{just some cute shots of the kids being cute}