Nothing Is Ever Really Lost To Us As Long As We Remember It

Well... it's been a long time. Over a month in fact. It's kind of funny how you grow up hearing how fast life flies by and then, seemingly out of nowhere, you become someone who can't stop saying things like "wow... where did the day/week/month go?". I am officially one of those people. 

E always told me that I would notice it even more when there was a baby in the family. A baby that grows and changes and makes new faces every day. He was right.

This past weekend, E and I packed up his new Jeep and headed South for New Jersey. I had bought him Yankee Tickets for his birthday and, at the time when I bought them in March, I felt like the game day was so far away. The time just flew by though... two months gone in a flash. We drove down on Saturday and had planned to stay at my parents place in Jersey and spend some time both there and in the city. Sunday, which also happened to be Mother's Day, turned out to be nothing short of an amazing day. The sun was shinning, and it was just one of those days where everything went our way. 

We started off with a nice walk through Central Park where we finally got to enjoy a warm day with lots of greenery. 

During our walk, we decided that perhaps we should make a rough plan for the day... maybe an activity or two planned out. So, being the kid at heart that I am, I asked if we could go to the Central Park Zoo. Since it was Mother's Day we made sure to check with Mama H, but she loves animals so I knew she would be down for the adventure. 

After the zoo, we headed toward Rockefeller Center and decided to grab a late lunch before heading back to the apartment. As we sat and watched the world go by, I thought a lot about Mother's Day and how much my mother does for me. I know it's cliché to say that I have the best mother in the world and that I couldn't have asked for a better mom... but it's the truth. I don't know any woman who is stronger, kinder, more caring, or more selfless than my mother. Despite the fight my mom is fighting, she is rarely thinking of the impact this has on her... but she is instead thinking about how this is impacting others and is thinking of protecting her children. That is the definition of being a mother.

Even though we couldn't be all together as a family...the day was otherwise perfect. I stopped a few times and tried to soak it all in. I want to remember the smells of the park on that day, the sounds of the people and the children, how the sun was warm and how the grass was still a little wet. I want to capture that feeling of being happy and feeling like everything is going to be ok... because I know it will be. It was so special. Not because we went to a fancy restaurant or bought my mom fancy gifts... but because we spent it together doing something she loves. 

E and I finished our visit there by going to see the Yankees play. It was something on my bucket list and I am so happy we got to do it. I know how much he loves baseball and, even though we didn't stay until the end... we had a great time and I truly felt the passion in that stadium.

Well, that's all for me... for now. I'm hoping you all had a lovely Mother's Day Weekend.

With Love,

S

It's A Girl!

Welcome to the world Emma Judith Allen! It is my pleasure to announce the birth of Emma Judith Allen, born March 24th, 2013. She is the most perfect little bundle of joy, weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces hard to believe since T's baby bump was so small! Mom and baby are doing extremely well and Daddy is very proud. We are all overjoyed and are already smothering Emma with love and kisses. She is the most beautiful little girl and we are so blessed. Since we didn't know the sex of the baby, we had to rush out today to make sure that our niece would be the best dressed little munchkin on the block!

 

 

 

We Love You Emma.

Love S & K

It's A Birthday (But No Baby Yet)

I've wanted to write this post all day, but haven't out of fear that everyone receving it would think that Baby has come. Well he/she has not yet come, and we are all anxiously awaiting said arrival. K, K & I cannot wait to become aunties and I know that T has waited her whole life to become a mama. Well... hang in there T, because Baby will be here any day now. 

The reason for this post is that it happens to be a very special day: K's birthday. Seeing as Mama H and Dad aren't home, we didn't do a blowout celebration, or shower her with gifts (or give her the gift she wanted which was a new niece or nephew)... we did have a small dinner to celebrate her day. 

As anyone who reads this blog already knows, my sisters and I are extremely close... in fact, they are my best friends. We share everything... whether good or bad... but, most importantly, we support one another. Whether they come to me with happy news, or sad news, I know that they know I will be there to share in the good... and cry during the bad. I will listen without judgement, be happy without jealousy, and be protective when I need to be. The same way they would do for me. What it all comes down to, is that there is no one in this world who knows you better than your sisters. No one has been through what we have been through... but us.

For as long as I can remember, K has been there to protect her little sisters, to listen without judgement, and to love us as hard as her strong little heart would allow. And soon (hopefully) there will be a new addition to our family that will find his/her own little spot in her heart as well. She will love the new baby as fiercely as she loves every single member of her family.

So... on this very special night... I want to wish her a very Happy Birthday and tell her that I hope this year is nothing short of spectacular. She deserves no less than that.  She is the best big sister you could ever ask for and we love her. Plain and simple. 

Never stop being you K. 

Much Love,

Your LSF

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

When I announced that I had decided to spend my Spring Break overseas as a chaperon for 41 fifteen and sixteen year –olds, an overwhelming number of people told me (in short) that I was crazy; “You’ll regret it. You’re going to be exhausted. Europe is beautiful but it’s not THAT worth it.”

We left on February 27^th, our flight was at 8pm (but thanks to a snow storm we sat in the plane for 2 hours & finally took off at 10 pm.) We landed somewhere in the vicinity of 10 am Paris time immediately set off on a tour of Paris (Notre Dame Basilica, the Seine River etc) and arrived back at our hotel around 10 pm. The routine of 5:30am wake ups, all-day tours and late returns continued for the entire 9 days- including our final day which saw zero hours of sleep the previous night, two flights and a 4 hour layover before arriving home- I did the math, 32 hours without sleep!  

The final verdict: I would not have changed even ONE moment for the world! On top of visiting some of the world’s most beautiful cities and seeing some of the most treasured pieces of art/ fascinating ruins I also had the opportunity and pleasure of getting to know a phenomenal group of young adults (I was going to say kids but was corrected by them constantly while away ha ha ha!)

Some of my favorite moments from the trip include the following:

•       One of our boys, a quiet, insecure young man spent his whole trip (and all of his money) searching for the perfect gifts for each of his family members, soccer team scarves to be exact for his younger brother. On our final day in Rome, he was wearing an “Italia” scarf and I said “Great, you've found all of the scarves for your brother.” Instead, he explained to me that this one was not for his brother but rather having seen him spend all of his time and money on everyone else, the “popular girls” on the trip had all pitched in and bought him the scarf so he could have a souvenir from the trip.
•      When asked “What was your favorite part of the trip?” A simple question. A grade 11 girl explained to me the following: “High school has not been easy for me. I don’t have a lot of friends and I got the idea that not a lot of people actually like me. But this whole trip has redefined my memories of high school.”
•      Hour 10 of our trip home, one of our “less popular” girls had hot coffee spilled on her lap. Before I could get out of my seat to try to rectify the problem the one of most popular guy on the trip, a jock, got out of his seat, went back to the washroom, returned wearing basketball shorts. He had the sweatpants he had been wearing in hand and was offering them to the “geeky girl” he had probably never spoken to prior to this trip.

Some other highlights:

The Louvre- Paris, France

San Gimignano, Italy

Colosseum- Rome, Italy

Piazza Del Duomo, Mlian, Italy

Eiffel Tower- Paris, France

Pompeii, Italy

Hall of Mirrors, Versailles

Sistine Chapel- Vatican City
*No, I didn't not disobey and take a photo, this is thanks to Google image*

MEGA HIGHLIGHT: Being one of the FINAL groups to be granted access to the Sistine Chapel before it was closed to the public so they could begin the preparations for the Papal Conclave- AMAZING!

Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t get up every morning to go to work; I get up and get to do what I LOVE (and just happen to get paid for it.) More often than not when there is talk of teens, there are negative connotations or less popular feelings towards them but let me tell you, there are some incredibly intelligent, compassionate, empathetic, interesting young people out there and I feel absolutely blessed to have had the chance to spend my spring break with them... and the surroundings weren't bad either :)

xoxoxox

With love,

K