Mother's Day Fave Fives

In the spirit of loving on our mommy's follow me over {or send your hubby over} to The Post Social for some goodies that would make any mom happy.

my Nano

Today is my Nano's 80th birthday and since he is on my mind and since he is such a huge force in my life I can't resist but to tell you a story. When I graduated from college I was a bit of a mess. I spent 4 years in a small Jesuit University {having too much fun} working towards being a teacher and months before graduation I decided to 'jump ship'. I graduated but with very little direction. Eventually I moved to Boston with a one way ticket and $200 bucks but for the months between graduation and the move I explored everything from advertising, to holistic medicine, to....... {this is embarrassing}....... acting. So the first thing I was going to need was head shots. Once I figured out that my tips from Taco Surf were not going to cover the expense my Nano decided to take matters into his own hands. He asked me to come down to his house and he would do my head shots. He had taken a piece of astroturf and stapled it on to the side of his garage {back drop} and in front of it sat his exercise ball {prop}. Voila photo shoot. He took about 3 rolls of film, drove down to Walgreens, waited for the photos to be developed and brought them back to me. Those were my head shoots. They got me one call back for an Impala commercial and a lifetime of gratitude for my Nano. I love him. Happy Birthday Nano.

One more thing... how cute are these center pieces?! My aunt made these for my Nano's party on Sunday. He has a group of guys that he golfs with every Thursday some of them he has known since he was 17. Pretty amazing.

a month ago today

Above is a photo of Henry, Conrad and I. Just moments before Henry hopped into my lap for this shot, he met his brother, Conrad Michael. Holding both of my boys for the first time was a feeling hard to explain. My heart hurt. How am I going to be fair, consistent and loving to these two boys for as long as I live? How am I going to teach them to be good men? How am I going to last another day without sleep? Where will our first camp out be? So many thoughts have been circling my head as now I know that I am and will always be the mother of boys. There was a night when Henry hung his head over Conrad's bassinet and said "what a cutie" which melted my heart. And then there was the day that Henry went in for a hug and bit Conrad so hard that he broke the skin. Conrad was purple before he let out a wicked cry and Henry got his first spanking. It is the first of many times that they will both break my heart. Overall Henry has been a good boy. I miss him though. It used to be just us and now there is another little person taking my time and I know that it is hard on Henry. For months, way before Conrad, Henry has preferred Ross putting him down at night, but one night a couple weeks ago -in the height of postpartum emotions- Henry asked me to put him down. While I was rubbing his back he looked at me and said "Are you still my Mommy?" At that moment the realness of my 3 year old's feelings hit me... "Yes, I am your Mommy and I love being your Mommy." And Henry said "I love you too." How do I bottle up the pureness of that moment?

Having two is hard. I can't stop thinking about all of my friends with 2 or 3. My mom had 5! How do you do it? You make going to Target or a birthday party look like a snap. I am not that mom. I have been showing up to swimming lessons with blood shot eyes, nursing accidents, maternity jeans and a grandma to help. Or all of the bloggers out there with 6 kids who home school and have a new post every morning. What is that? Even this post I started 3 feeding ago.

When I think of the last month I think of smelling Conrad's breath... it is heaven. I think of all the amazing meals that our friends have given us. We still have two more! What a gift. I think of being rolled out of the hospital with Henry and Conrad on my lap. I think of my girlfriends coming over in their jammies with dinner, gifts and love on Ross's first day back to work. I think of the day I had a 104 tempature with mastitis. Ross was the most amazing nurse and my sweet friend Cara, came to the rescue. I was a mess and I really needed help. I think of having a glass of wine and Ross toasting me saying that I am his hero. It was so sweet it has gotten me through many low moments. And speaking of those. I think of crying. I remember this from Henry. I cry because I am so in love with my new baby or because I miss my big baby or because I can't imagine every wearing normal clothes again. I will think of all the times that my grandma has shown her spirit to me. I miss her but I know she is here with me. I think of calling my father in law minutes after Conrad was born to tell him that his grandson is his namesake.

It has been a month and I actually feel like I am getting a little less socially akward. You know when you are so tired that you say dumb stuff like "you too" when someone says "Congrats on the new baby" even though they don't have a new baby? I blew my hair dry {well I blew the front dry}. I turned the ringer back on my phone. I went to Costco, although I came home with 25 lbs of pinto beans so maybe I wasn't ready for that outing. I made dinner last night {cold cereal and beans}. And this weekend we are going to a wedding. A wedding I have been looking forward to since I heard "he got his knee dirty and she said yes." Life is pretty darn good.

love & light,

Alexis

ta ta for now

My wheels are falling off... the wall has officially been hit. As I get all my ducks in a row for the new little one I am feeling a serious urge to let go. Let go of all the things that I usually spend hours on. I am going to sit on the bench for a few innings maybe even a game. I want to cuddle with Henry a million more times before a new little one enters our lives. I want to be still and quiet as I steal every free moment to take a snooze. I am going to tackle a couple more Art Barn projects {which I promise to share}. I am even hoping to fit in a movie or two with the Boss. This week the theme is 'wrap up.' I have a meeting on Thursday with the client that I have spent most of my time with in the last year. I am handing over my key as the last few items have been buttoned up. And as for my blog... well... I am going to be around... popping in every once in a while to share the latest project or to shout from the roof top about this little boy or girl in my belly. But other than that I will be less consistent than I have been for the past year and a half. Because of this PLEASE PLEASE sign up for my "newsletter" {I don't really have a newsletter but my pregnant brain can not think of another thing to call it}. I promise not to share this info it is for my eyes alone. It is really just so that I can let all of you loyal readers know when I am posting more regularly. {See that little Subscribe to Newsletter go there and sign up!}. Well anyway... I hope you all have a wonderful week and don't be surprised if I pop in soon.

Love & Light. Alexis

mommy-hood

My Mother's Day was very tender... I love my guys and am so grateful. Truly it wasn't anything out of the norm. We ate at some of our favorite spots, had a little beach time, nap time and rented a movie. But it was exactly what I wanted to do. During nap time I read more of my book {I will elaborate on this book later... it deserves an entire post... I have started reading slow at the prospect that soon it will be over} and I also started to go through baby clothes. I have been so nervous about baby number two. It wasn't until Henry was 2 years old that I could really even think about having another baby. Henry was a healthy~sweet little guy but he ROCKED MY WORLD. Everyday it has gotten easier and I feel like now we are totally under control {or as under control as a Mommy can be}. And just as this carefree~easy feeling has started we are about to start all over again with number two... yikes! With all of that said going through Henry's baby clothes this weekend gave me a huge amount of peace and excitement. Just as Henry and Ross were celebrating me as a Mom... the baby clothes made me realize that I get to be a Mommy all over again to Sweet Pea {this is a name that Henry and I came up with this morning... He is my Love Bug and now we are going to have a Sweet Pea... it feels even more real giving him or her a name}. The two little pieces of layette that I was the most excited to find are the ones above. I should have photographed them with a penny so you could see how itty bitty they really are. These are the two outfits that I packed for the hospital when Henry was born. Since we didn't know if he was a girl or boy either I took two little onesies. I found these on Saturday and I woke up on Sunday morning to wash them; all day yesterday I carried them with me. I have rocked them, smelt them and laid them on my belly. Who are you in there? Which outfit are you going to wear home? At 29 weeks today the excitement has set in and the night feedings don't seem so bad. Even labor doesn't seem so scary today. I love being a Mommy and I can not believe that I get to do it again.
Ross thank you for such a wonderful weekend... thank you for your confidence in me to be a good mommy... I love you.

Jill's Graduation weekend

My youngest sister graduated from high school this weekend just outside of New York in a little boarding school called Blair Academy. I flew out solo {& missed my guys desperately} to support my sister and spend time with my family, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Here are a few highlights from one night in Blairstown and a few nights in NYC. {Nick you were missed... my brother... there are 5 of us}.

Jillian and her adorable British sweetie {Ed Mumford... so good} taking her photo. As soon as the graduates get their diplomas they are able to light up a stogy or in my sisters case a "Camel Crush"... Jill I am so happy for you! I can not wait to see what you do with all your creative energy at Parson's film school!! {yeah!}

We were only in Blairstown for 24hours, as soon as Jill got her diploma {and a schmegal... code for a smoke} we were off to the city. First stop Zac Posen sample sale. Yes it was amazing! To all my girlfriends who loan me dresses constantly {you know who you are} I got 'us' 3 drop dead amazing dresses.

M & J Trimming. The home of every ribbon ever made, so so so much fun. {I was particularly obsessed with the double weave grosgrain... sigh}

ABC Home. I think my exact words were... "I have died and gone to heaven." Floor after floor of inspiration, and home decor perfection. It is not a great picture but the hanging pennant on the left with the wire and birds was purchased by me and will soon be living in Cardiff by the Sea over a claw tub. {yeah!!}

Penelope's was a sweet little breakfast cafe where I met my girlfriend Sarah. I actually woke up this morning thinking of my Abuelo Sandwich {it was that good}.

And finally it was the best to spend so much time with my sister's. I missed Henry and Ross but loved every moment with Jillian, Vanessa and Christiana.
Jill I am so proud of you. You are amazing for sticking it out at Blair... I cannot wait to see what your bright future holds. I will be right here on the sidelines cheering you on. oxo, Lucious

V's Graduation

To say that this was a hectic weekend would be a serious understatement. It began with my sister Vanessa's graduation and ended with a Sip n' See for my dear friend Cara. But first the graduation...

On our way... Isn't she the cutest.

A little bit about my sister... First I love her to death. She is an incredible friend and is loved by everyone who knows her. She is wildly passionate about film and is going to have an amazing career, I know it. This weekend she graduated from USC's film school... which is truly awesome... there were only 70 kids in her department. It was her dream. Years ago she photo shopped a picture of herself in front of Tommy Trojan wearing a cap & gown and it really happened. She is already in the industry working for the Masses. And has so much ahead of her. I love you V- Woman... keep dreaming.

www.vanessaeblack.com