Time Flies Fast Enough to a Senior Prom..

Almost 18 years ago, I remember my sister's swollen belly, feeling the kicks of her first born while she was still safe and sound, away from all of the chaos the world has to offer..

After she was born, Samantha Joann became the most incredible tiny human that ever walked the face of the earth. She became my own personal baby doll. I got to feed her and dress her, and sing preschool songs (mostly The Wiggles or Barney)and swore that the reason I stayed fit was because I was dancing with Captain Feathersword, and chasing after her every weekday! When I wasn't with her, I was at school, and eventually working. At the time, one of the seasonal jobs I picked up was at The Children's Place. Oh my gosh... I remember that year on Easter, Auntie-Easter-Bunny went a little overboard and purchased the ENTIRE new spring line, and displayed them in a basket the size of an ottoman. 

I loved being a part of her life, and her sister's (who was born several years later) so much when she was so little... I was sad when she got older, and just because of distance (I lived in Florida, her family lived in New York) I missed a lot of the fun Elementary school stuff.. 

The best news was hearing that my sister and her family decided to move down to Florida, too!! When they moved down, I was excited to know that I could be a part of both Sammy & Brooke's lives again. 

So, life happens.. and well, Aunt Lauren isn't as cool as friends, and boys, and the mall. So, I stayed busy with my three kids. I still saw the girls as often as I could, and we share some holidays together, but there were no longer 3 hour Wiggles-Dance Parties happening. She had a permit, and was cheer captain, and homecoming court, and just got accepted to Florida State University! It all seemed impossible.. she was just 5!!! 

Fast forward a bit.... Then, one day, I got a phone call, asking if I wanted to come over before HER PROM to take pictures with her. UM. Prom?! I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Holy hell! My niece has officially become a young woman! She went with a friend from school and a group of really fun kids. They all looked dashing in their outfits, and even while stressing about how exactly to pin the boutonniere without stabbing her friend, she maintained poise, and just emanated beauty and grace.

In a few short months, she will be graduating and off to college... and I will get to go through the same denial and reflection trying to wrap my head around the fact that Sammy's baby sister, the two year old flower girl at my wedding, is going to prom.

It's a funny thing... life, how it just seems to fly by. When your a teen, it seems to drag out so slow, and you can't wait to be an aduult.. now, what I would give to have one extra hour.. to have one more three-hour-Wiggles-Dance-a-thon.

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Happy July! *WIN 100 Prints from SHUTTERFLY!* Ends 7/13

Summer is under-way, and the memories are rolling in. It's been an INSANE two months here. I cannot believe my new little bundle is already 8 weeks old. Life with three kids is crazy! I honestly have no idea how parents with more than two children live to tell about it... and why they don't warn the rest of us how chaotic three (or more) are!

That being said, I love having a baby in the house again. The coo's and goo's, the new wonder in his eyes as he's seeing things for the first time, learning about everything he touches.. I'm head over heels in love!! The big kids are such great helpers.

Tropical Storm Debby hit us pretty hard. Our block flooded, and we had some water come into the house.. not as bad as some of our neighbors, but it was the first time I've ever experienced a true flash flood. It was kind of scary.

The same view... outside the front of our house within 15 minutes.

Thankfully, our immediate area, no houses were catastrophically affected. In my old neighborhood, where I lived just a year ago, most of the houses in the whole subdivision had 4-18 inches of water in them.
My heart hurts for my old neighbors, many of them lost the entire contents of their house and garage. I am grateful that they are all ok, physically, but emotionally, they all need your prayers.

My mom started chemo this week. Turns out the pain she was feeling by her gallbladder was not her gallbladder.. Her breast cancer (which she's a survivor of- three years this month) settled in her liver. It's been a heck of a journey with my mom. She's a fighter- and she's determined not to let this disease get her.  Any well wishes for her would be greatly appreciated. If you comment on Facebook, she actually reads that. ;)

We were supposed to have a fourth of July get together at our house, but our pool was three and a half inches underwater, and our pump motor is shot. Who knows what we're going to do for the fourth now, but we always manage to pull something together. The fourth of July is one of our family's favorite holidays. We love to grill and share our time with friends and family.

Speaking of friends and family, our family is going to be receiving a very special visitor from up north the week of the 16th, so I'm super excited. The kids have no idea who is coming, just that someone is. This will be the first of our family from New York that will be meeting the baby.

How do you celebrate the fourth of July? What special activities have you been busy with this summer? What kind of memories are you hoping to make this summer???

To help you celebrate family, we are giving you a code for 100 free prints from Shutterfly!

Here's how to win:
Leave a comment on this blog post telling us what you've been up to this summer, what you're planning on doing, or what special memories you're making.

You MUST leave a comment to be eligible to win. If you do not leave a comment, your extra entries will not count.. Seriously- don't bother clicking on the widget if you have not completed that task.

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Wedding Dress Blog Hop- My dress..

I was blog hopping, and I happened to come across Shasher's Life and wanted to participate in this blog hop for multiple reasons. First, the wedding industry was such a big part of my life- (My sister owned a bridal shop, and I started modeling with her. I worked in the bridal industry for almost 10 years!)

Anyway, I decided I would participate in this blog hop because I loved my dress. I never ever thought that my daughter would be interested in wearing it, but I did have the goals, hopes and dreams that I would make a gown for her dedication. I never did it, I couldn't. I tried using some liquid courage, but again- no luck.

So it sits in a preservation box in my garage and I glimpse at it every now and then while I do the laundry.

I wore my dress on October 10, 2003. My favorite part about my dress was the train. It was a heavy beast, but it was so pretty. The back was a lovely "V" nothing too revealing, but it made me feel sexy, and so was the neckline that was beaded and it sat on the edge of my shoulders. The hemline was scalloped, and the organza overlay was beaded and sparkly. My veil had crystals and beads throughout it, and really complimented the dress. Actually, my veil has been the "something borrowed" for my husband's cousin, and will be for my friend who's getting married in August.

So, now I want to know- Did you keep your dress? Did you sell your dress? What did you do with it? If you still have it, are you planning to do something with it, or just keep it tucked away?

Thanks for letting me reminisce.. I can't wait to read your answers, and if you post about it, please feel free to add the link in your comment.  Be sure to let me know on Facebook, too!

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Happy 6th Birthday, Cookie Bear!

Today marks the day that my life changed forever. It no longer was about me.. it was about the 10lb, 5oz, 23 1/4 inch long little man that came into my life needing *me* for the rest of his life.

I don't care what the experts say, 6 is much harder than 5 was. Sure, 5 is the age that they start kindergarten and move from little boy to Elementary school kid.. but honestly- 6 is *that* age. The age where you look at your little boy and see that he really is an Elementary school kid.. how much he's grown, matured and developed. As he pranced into his class this morning with his Munchkins in tow, it made me remember when I was in Kindergarten, Munchkins in tow. How the years flew by, how life grows and changes.. It made me want to scoop him up and take him home and rock him like I used to six years ago, dreaming of all the wonderful things life had in store.

This morning he woke me up, with his big smile that's missing two teeth, and declared, "It's my birthday today, Mommy!"

Yes baby, it is- and I wish you the happiest of days!

{Edited to add:}
I just wanted to share with you all the best completion to the day I could have ever hoped for. We just sang Happy Birthday to Alexzander, and I happen to look up. The time says 7:39.. to which I make him wait the 40 extra seconds to blow out the candle at 7:40, his actual birth time! Needless to say, I ended up in tears again. LOL! 6 was definitely harder than I thought. Thank you all for the emails and comments of love and support!

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