2013 Recap

I can't believe that tomorrow starts a new year! Being completely honest, I'm more than ready to say goodbye to 2013 {I'm not a fan of odd numbers anyway}. It was a difficult year for me... a lot of personal changes, loosing my grandma, drama that ensued with my mother, and trying to find myself after graduating college. However, there were a lot of good things that happened this past year as well

- Spending our first entire year together in four years

- Graduating college

- Going on our honeymoon cruise

- Finally going to a Backstreet Boys concert {favorite day of the year by far!}
- Getting a job that I adore
- Spending so much time with our family and friends

- Watching Duke grow

Without a doubt we are extremely blessed and even though it wasn't the best year it definitely wasn't the worst. I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us!

Family Pictures

Ever since we added Duke to our family I knew that I wanted to get professional pictures taken, but I also knew that we had to wait until he was old {and therefore calm} enough. So a few weeks ago we finally got them done! We used a photographer that graduated from my high school and had the pictures taken at Newburg Lake- the same place that Thomas proposed!

And I couldn't be happier with how they turned out! Duke did so well and I think we looked pretty good too ;)

Heaven Gained One Hell of an Angel

Saturday morning my sweet grandma passed away while I was holding her hand. She was 90 years old and lived a life that many can only dream of. She met the love of her life when she was only 16 years old and spent 74 beautiful years with him. And it's because of them that I know what true love is. She was so feisty and full of spunk. She loved to shop and I definitely got that from her. She was one of the most beautiful {inside and out} woman I have ever known. And I was so lucky to call her my grandma.

This picture captured the definition of true love.

She told me more than once that our wedding was one of the best days of her life.

Rest in Peace Grandma <3 

We will always love you and carry you with us.

And we will keep an eye on your sweetheart until he can be with you again! I know he can't wait.

Duke Turns One!

Thomas and I both worked crazy overtime the week of his birthday and that forced us to celebrate on Thursday, the night before his actual birthday, but I don't think he cared ;) I realize some people might think I've completely lost my mind {because lets be real this whole party was all me haha} but maybe I have...

Anywho, we had the party with my grandparents at their house and I'm glad they were such great sports! We started the party off with a "scavenger hunt" to find his presents aka new toys that were spread around the living room with treats.

Next we busted out the party hats and for the most part Duke didn't mind it!

 Duke and my grandma

 Love this one!

This one kills me... my grandpa is a funny guy!

And then it was time for cake! I ordered him a peanut butter cake from Three Dogs Bakery and it was a huge hit!

 Waiting so patiently..

 "OMG I'M SO EXCITED"

 His eyes kill me!

 Best picture of the night!!

"OMG SO GOOD!"

I think it's safe to say that Duke had the best birthday any dog could wish for! It's also safe to say that Papa thinks he's in charge of the rest.... not happenin' ;) Now I need to get crackin' on Duke's scrapbook!

Perfect Fall Weekend

Here I am recapping our weekend a day late.. sometimes Monday's just don't go as planned ;) But it was a great weekend!

Friday night we went out to dinner with our friends to a local Mexican restaurant called Las Palapas that is delicious! It helps that two of my close girlfriends work there too. But the food was good and the company was great.

 Boots! Scarfs!

After dinner we headed to an Oktoberfest festival {I'm not sure if that's the right term..} where we met up with Thomas' cousins and had a great time chatting and drinking. Next year we're definitely hoping to make it to Frankenmuth's Oktoberfest!

 Thomas' cousin Matt doing some crazy German drinking... thing lol

Saturday morning consisted of errands and watching One Tree Hill with my sleepy pup.

Once Thomas got off work we headed to the Cider Mill! We picked up fresh cider and spiced donuts and then headed to Newburgh Lake! One of the best things about fall in Michigan! :)

 Duke was not amused lol

 I took a billion pictures of the goof ball with his head sticking out of the window!

 My baby!

It was a perfect fall day!

Then we wrapped up Saturday night with watching Iron Man 3 with Thomas' parents. It was alright... felt kind of slow.

Sunday we cleaned, did laundry, went shopping, and then had dinner with my grandparents!

Columbus Zoo

Yesterday we headed to the Columbus Zoo with two of our friends. Since it's a 3.5 hour drive from our place we hit the road bright and early {6:30am!!!} and got to the zoo around 10am.

DITL | Nanny Edition

My day to day life has changed a lot since I became a full-time nanny last month. I'm working 45+ hours {with a 30min commute each way}, volunteering with my cousins soccer team three days a week, taking a workout class at the local community college, and in crack down mode preparing for the GRE. I've honestly never been this busy- not even in college!

As I've mentioned before day in my life posts are one of my favorite to read and to write. I love looking back and seeing how my days have changed with big life changes. So here we go- how I spend my weekdays!

6:20am- alarm goes off
I'm not a fan of snooze, so I'm usually up as soon as the alarm goes off. Then I lay in bed for roughly 10 minutes checking my social media accounts {email, Twitter, & Instagram}.

6:30am- time to get ready
Get dressed, brush my teeth, throw my hair up, eat a quick breakfast, ect. Once that's done I pack my bags and then spend a couple minutes playing with Duke before leaving for the day.

7:00am- on the road
I have a half hour commute and thankfully traffic isn't too bad in the morning.

7:30am- get to work
As soon as I get there I make the girls breakfast, they finish getting ready, and then if we have time they watch a TV show {usually Clone Wars} and I read a few blogs on my phone.

8:45am- drop the older girls off at school
Then it's just N and I for the rest of the day. We play games, ride bikes, run errands, go the library, eat lunch, have quiet time {which is when I do an hour of GRE studying! It's amazing being able to do it while at work}, and watch a movie.

3:45pm- pick the girls up
Now the day is crazy and hectic again! I make them snack, they do their homework, and then we play until one of their parents get home.

5:30pm- time for me to go home
Some days it's earlier, but I'm typically always off by 5:30. Then I start the 35-40 minute drive back to "my area".

6:10pm- workout class/soccer practice/taking Thomas dinner
Now this varies depending on which day of the week it is. Monday I take Thomas dinner and then have my workout class 7-8, Tues & Thurs I go to soccer practice from 6-7, Wednesday T & I have a dinner date in between his classes, and Friday we have date night.

7:45ish pm- finally home
And this is when I wish I could collapse. I usually eat dinner or if I've already eaten I have a snack and unwind for a couple of minutes. Thankfully I usually don't have to cook because my in-laws save us food from their dinner or Thomas cooks.

8:00pm- take Duke for a walk
It's extremely important to us that Duke goes for at least one walk everyday. On the days that I can't take him my MIL does {IE: Mondays}. We usually walk 20-30 minutes around the neighborhood.

8:30pm- shower time
I'd look a lot more presentable everyday if I could take a shower in the morning, but let's be honest... I love sleeping more. So during the week I take my showers at night.

9:00pm- time to unwind/family time
This is the time when I blog, read, watch TV, or just chat with Thomas. I usually do some GRE vocabulary flashcards before bed as well.

10:30pm- lights out
By now I'm definitely exhausted and just craaaaash! I will say that it is nice that I never have trouble falling asleep!


And that is how I spend my days Monday through Friday. Crazy busy which makes the days fly by! Definitely a huge change from college and the daycare.

What does your day-to-day life look like?