Our First Night Away

This was a first. Brett and I were able to get away for a night without our baby boy! On first trip to PA this summer my mom arranged for us to spend the night at her friend's condo at a ski resort a little over an hour away. She didn't have to ask us twice. While I don't love leaving the little guy, I knew he was in good hands and this would give Brett and I some much needed quiet time together. We left early on Thursday morning and drove straight to the condo just to make sure we knew where we were going. Then we decided to be a little adventurous and drive even farther "out there" to visit Falling Water, the amazing Frank Lloyd Wright house. We stopped at a local restaurant on the way for lunch, the See Mor Cafe where we stuffed our face with home cooked meatloaf, chicken pin wheel, and blue berry pie. The house was amazing. It fascinates me that there are people with such vision, who could look at a piece of landscape and imagine what could be. We went out to dinner that night and enjoyed lingering even after we were done eating.

We don't get out together a lot any more. Brett works long hours, our weekends are usually full of commitments and babysitters are to come by. So this truly was a wonderful getaway. As much as I love spending time with Owen and even more spending time with Brett and Owen as a family, it is so important to me that Brett and I maintain our relationship. I read a quote once that said the greatest gift you can give your children is to love their mother/ father. So true! Brett and I laugh that our hope is that we can embarrass our kids long into their teen years by showing each other more affection that kids want to see out of their parents. Kids learn what a marriage is from their role models. I want to be a good relationship role model for our kids. I want them to learn respect and communication from us. I want them to learn how to laugh with their partner and how to have fun doing just about anything. I want to teach them that disagreeing is part of being married but with disagreeing comes compromise and the ability to see things form another person's perspective.

My dream is to one day be sitting at a large family dinner and look around and see our kids looking into their partners face the way I look at Brett and the way he looks at me.

Owen's1st Monkey Themed Birthday Party

We planned Owen's party for the day after his actual birthday, May 12. All week the weather did not look like it would be in our favor and my plans of our backyard being host to a beautiful spring party seemed lost. When we woke Saturday morning, it was pouring. The patio was soaked, the grass was wet...but, no need to worry. The boys all set to work setting up tents and planning out the garage for the food and a table or two. While it wasn't the beautiful sunny day I had hoped for, the party was perfect and a lot of work and love went into every last detail.

I absolutely loved the monkey theme as soon Brett and I settled on it. I didn't want to stick to sock monkeys, Julius or Curious George so we went with a little bit of everything and centered it on our blue and yellow colors. Things couldn't have turned out better.

I worked with an amazing seller on Etsy to create the PERFECT t shirt for Owen to wear on his big day (he wore it to the zoo also since I wanted to get more than one wear out of it). Missy from Tiger Chic Designs matched our colors perfectly, and designed the perfect party hat for the monkey to wear!

Other than that, we pretty much did everything ourselves. The favors included a few things from the Target dollar bin (Paul Frank key chains, notepads and pencils; monkey water squirters and masks), some things from Oriental Trading (beach balls with monkeys, monkey tattoos) and a package of animal crackers (not monkeys, but close). I got the treat bags from the clearance bin at Party City (they were Curious George and I got 12 for $1). Each bag was tied with blue curling ribbon and had a monkey that I made from construction paper templates and glued together with a thank you note from Owen on the back.

As for food, it could not have been more simple and perfect! We rented a hot dog steamer = AWESOME! Steamed hot dogs and buns and all the toppings for both a Chicago dog and a 'Shorty's with Everything" (Shorty's is a local hot dog shop in Washington, PA). My parents also brought a nacho cheese pump. I think the nachos were the biggest hit. In additional we had yummy pasta salad, a veggie tray and a great display of fruit skewers. On the tables were buckets full of blue and yellow candy (sixlets, gummy bananas, and blue raspberry rings) and well as blue and yellow chocolate covered pretzels that Brett and I hand dipped.

What I was most proud of was the cake and the cupcakes. I wanted cupcake toppers but didn't want the expense of ordering them, so I set out to make them. They turned out to be slightly time consuming trying to figure out the best way to do it, but after I figured it all out, they were very easy. They looked adorable atop yellow cupcakes in blue and white striped papers.

The cake was in the shape of a monkey! I found the design on Parenting.com and it turned out to be so much easier than I thought. I made it Friday night and took so much time to make sure it was perfect. Everyone commented how cute it was and I was feeling pretty proud. When it came time to sing, I carried it to Owen's seat and as I fixed the tray on his highchair, I bumped the cake and it fell to the ground!!!! Cool, calm and collected, I pieced it back together and 30 seconds later Owen dove into it.

Because of the weather, we didn't have much in the way of decorations. I originally planned to hang tissue paper pom poms around the yard, but when the threat of rain appeared in the forecast, I decided it wasn't worth the time. Basically the colors from the table cloths, other things I have already mentioned served as the decorations. We also had a 5 foot inflatable monkey gracing us with his presence.

Honestly, the day could not have been better! Owen was blessed with a birthday party full of lots of friends and family that mean a lot to him and to Brett and I. That was my one simple goal. Our family truly is blessed and it really showed on this special day.

Happy Birthday to our baby boy!!!

A 1st Birthday Celebration at the Zoo!

It's hard to believe that Owen's first birthday has come and gone. It has taken me this past week and then some to recover both mentally (my baby is 1!) and physically (we had an eventful weekend).

The birthday boy in his super cute birthday tee!

His birthday fell on a Friday and this little boy was blessed with family that drove from all over and took time off of work to spend it with him. My parents and brothers arrived on Thursday night and on Friday we were all off to the Brookfield Zoo, along with Brett's stepmom and sister and Owen's amazing babysitter, her two kiddos and an extra friend. The weather could not have been more perfect and the zoo was not overly crowded, short of a small mad rush of kids on field trips at the beginning. Owen was a trooper and powered through nap time although he did fall asleep for a short time.
Brett and I have always loved zoos. We once spent an 8 hour day at Brookfield, just the two of us, enjoying watching the animals. I think Owen has inherited this love of animals as he was mesmerized by anything that was moving. Those sleeping furry things did nothing for him, but as soon as they moved, he was in awe. he loved the aquarium building; standing in the glass and watching the fish was his absolute favorite. The highlight of the day was when he was standing in the underground dolphin observation area and a dolphin swam by very quickly. It startled him and his reaction was priceless!

What a wonderful day to spend celebrating with our little boy!


The perfect spot for our little monkey to see the real monkies!



Owen (getting sleepy) and Dad with a very observant gorilla in the background.





Daddy making Owen his first Mold A Rama! This was special for Brett because he rmemebrs making these as a kid when visiting Brookfield. Owen's first Mold A Rama was a gorilla (they didn't have a monkey) and then Grandma Kate bought him a dolphin too!



A very sleep 1 year old

Mesmorized by the fish

Owen with Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Clancy #2!

Happy Birthday, Owen!

Life 1, Bogging 0

No. I didn't crawl into a deep dark hole, curl up and refuse to go back to work or interact with the rest of the world! Let's just say that life has gotten in the way of blogging, unfortunately. I've always enjoyed sharing our ups and downs with friends, family, and those of you out there that I probably will never meet. But when things get rocky or even just busy, sometimes the smartest thing to do is to know what to let go of. Taking time each day to sit and type and upload pictures just happened to be that thing that I needed to let go of for a while. So...what kinds of crazy things have gotten in the way of blogging? Oh, you know, being a working mom to a crazy little guy, trying to maintain some control over the four legged creatures in our house and trying desperately to still be a semi-good wife to the love of my life. You know just a few little things and maybe a few big things here and there. Here's just a few highlights I've missed blogging about...

In November, we traveled to St. Louis to visit a good friend of Brett's from high school and his family. They were such a great hosts to all (even Lucy and Tucker made the trip) of us. Owen loved the top of the Arch.

Owen's first Thanksgiving...we spent it at home in our PJs. Brett and I ate frozen turkey dinners. Not kidding.

We celebrated our first Christmas as a family of 5!!!

Everyday is a new adventure!

Our Valentine's traditional date at Chipotle and Oberweiss was a little different this year, but for the better!

Owen loves the warm weather and his first 1st birthday present - a Little Tykes 3 in 1 Trike. When my parents came to visit in March they took Owen to Toys R Us to pick out his present a little early.

Owen posing with Gammy, Grandpap and his new trike.

Happy Easter!

And last but certainly not least, Owen is going to be a big brother! We are expecting another little one in October!!!

Fall Fun

Boy does time fly when you're having fun. And, boy, are we having fun being parents to this little boy.

Two weekends, we made a family trip to The Morton Arboretum. We had always wanted to see what the arboretum had to offer, but their admission price is a little steep for what were thought were just walking trails through a  bunch of trees. Thanks to their partnership with Groupon, I was able to get us in for less than half the price. While I still think their normal admission is a little steep, especially for large families, it was definitely more than walking trails though trees. Since we had no idea where to go and were struggling to read the map (yes, we are both beyond college educated), we went to the Children's Garden first. As you can imagine, Owen is a little too young for most of the activities but his parents sure had fun walking thorough imagining what he'll be like in the place next summer.

After the children's Garden, we headed down the Conifer Walk and saw some pretty amazing trees. this also leads into most of the "Nature Unframed" pieces. The pieces were interesting to say the least. I admire the artists for their imagination.

Lichen It!

By this point in the day, we had decided that we really liked this place, enough so the we ended purchasing a family membership. We're looking forward to going back this October with Owen in his costume and painting a pumpkin and this December for breakfast with Santa and a sled dog demonstration. The Arboretum also offers snow shoe rental which sounds like a fun day date for us! Overall, the Arboretum is beautiful. It is meticulously cared for and we are so excited to spend time there enjoying nature and the peace and quiet.

This past weekend, we visited Kuiper's Farm with the intention of picking apples and bringing home a family pumpkin. We had visited this Farm years ago and were excited to go back...until we got there. Much of the apple side has been redone and it is much more commercial than it was before. The line to pick apples was ridiculous and the line to pay for bags of apples was just as long. We did buy a bag of apples and took a few pictures. unfortunately, we didn't plan to spend so much time waiting in the line and by the time we got to the pumpkin side, Owen was not in the mood to be his usual smiling self. we're learning!

What have we been up to?

We have had an exciting past few weeks. I'll try my best to catch up...

• Scotty went to college! On August 20, Brett, Owen, the puppies and I packed up and drove to Dayton to meet my fam and move Scotty in to the University of Dayton. We stayed at an awesome hotel, The Drury Inn, and had a blast relaxing in our suite and enjoying their free food. On Sunday, we said good bye to the baby of the family. We know he'll do great things!

The fam in Dayton. (love the use of a stranger's car as a "tripod")

• I turned  the big 3-0! The Sunday that we left Dayton also happened to be my birthday. It was wonderful getting to spend it with my family, even if most of it was in the car and we ate at KFC.
• We went to Washington! When we left Dayton, Brett drove home, but the rest of the Clancy crew drove back to Washington for 2 weeks. It was wonderful getting away for a while and watching Owen spend so much time with my parents. It was also nice being there for so long because I got to visit with people that I usually don't get to see.

A visit from our good friends Sarah and Aunt Zoe!
I think Owen and Shane will be good buddies when they're older!

Lunch at Bahama Breeze with Gammy.

Still lovin' the Moby!

Getting ready for the Steelers preseason game with Grandpap.

Owen and his buddy Bryce.
Bryce is my cousin's son so they are 3rd cousins? 

"I wanna be big like you, Uncle Ben!"

• Owen rolled over! On Thursday, August 26, Owen and I were playing at my parents house. He was on his back playing with his feet and before I knew he flipped himself over. I don't know if he was proud or surprised. He hasn't done it since.

• Owen sits in his high chair. It will be another month before Owen has a taste of something other than my delicious milk, but we decided it was time he join us at the table. He loves it!

• Happy 6 year Anniversary! September 10 was our 6 year anniversary. We celebrated with a FABULOUS night out and a babysitter! Is it bad that for a second I forgot about Owen and almost thought we were carefree with no responsibilities again? It didn't last long :-) We had a yummy dinner at Maggiano's and then went to Tasting Divine for a wine flight. Let's just say I can't drink like I used to!

Hard to see in the picture, but Owen
is wearing a handmade onesie that says "Happy Anniversary".  How sweet of him to remember!

• Souper Sunday Week 1 2011! Last Sunday was the kickoff of the NFL season and the start of what we like to call "Souper Sunday" or Dirtball Sunday in the Clancy household. We started off with our favorite soup - The Clancy's Crock Po Potato Soup - and of course had Buffalo Chicken Dip. It was  good start to the season for Chicago. As for the Steelers, not so much. 
• Yesterday Owen and I went to Whole Foods. We returned to find that one or both of the dogs had eaten a box of raisins. (my money was on Lucy) After a call to the vet, we all went to the Glen Ellyn Animal hospital where Lucy and Tucker were given an injection to induce vomiting. After the evidence that came out proved that it was Lucy, she was given charcoal to rid herself of any of the toxic raisins that remained. Love our crazy dogs!

The big 3-0...

today, i turn 30.

i said it. 

it doesn't bother me. 

i belive that age is nothing but a number.

as i enter this whole new decade it's so fun to look back and see what my 20s gave to me. they gave me my first time away from home at a beautiful college and a chance to make some lifelong friends. they gave me a college degree that allowed me to do what i love; allowed me to offer a gift that i have to children and young adults with special needs. they gave me fun times with my family, both at home and on vacations.
they gave me a trip a to myrtle beach where i was young and wild and free with those lifelong friends and where i met a young man named brett. they gave me a job right out of college where i gained some confidence in my profession even though i made little money. they gave me the chance to watch my "little" brothers grow up (they were 8 and 10 when i entered my 20s and now they're 18 and 20). my 20s gave me a wedding that was more beautiful and memorable than i deserved. i had my mom and dad beside me as well as so many friends and family to watch me marry my best friend. they gave me the chance to leave my family a strong and confident young woman and try my hand at being a wife. they led me to a new home and the opportunity to belong somewhere else, to buy a house and create a home and make new friendships that also will last a  lifetime. they gave me trips between IL and PA to spend time with those i am physically far from, but in my mind we are always together. they gave me 5 years of memories with my husband - doing so many things that we were so blessed to be able to do. they gave me my first baby, lucy, and then another, tucker, who allowed me to figure out how to care for "someone" other than myself. and finally my 20s gave me a son. they gave me the chance to be a mom and parent a sweet little boy right along side that boy i met so many years ago in myrtle beach.

what advice would i give my 20 year old self? absolutely none. the last 10 years of my life have brought me to where i am, and i wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here.

Suprise!

All last week, I was looking forward to Saturday night. Brett and I were going out. Like, for real. We were meeting at Natalie and Jason's house and there would be a BABYSITTER to stay with Owen and Camille. They love each other, so even Owen was looking forward to it.  I was so excited I was even stressing over what to wear. Saturday evening came, and I was ready. Dressed by 3:00 and diaper bag packed (with everthing the boy could need for a month). We got to their house about 5:00, and walked in....

Surprise!!!

There was  no babysitter, but rather tons of our friends there to celebrate!

I was absolutely shocked! Everyone asked if I had any clue about the party and I really didn't. The only thing that I had thought a bit off was that Brett had not asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday and I leave this weekend for two weeks. That's unlike him since he usually has something in mind. I also told everyone that had I known anything about the party, 1.) I would not have walked in wearing my hideous yellow raincoat and 2.) I would have changed Owen out of his poopy clothes before we left the house.

The party was a blast. Brett ordered way too much food from Portillo's, extra chopped chicken salad just for me, and Natalie did an amazing job (as always) of creating such a warm and fun party atmosphere. Her house is always beautiful and she put on quite a spread of munchies and desserts.

It's amazing how things have changed though. Most of the guests had to leave early, because well, bed time for little ones is not to be missed. Owen was an angel and slept on their bed until midnight so we could celebrate a bit later.

Over and over, I continue to be amazed by the generosity and friendships that our friends provide. It was wonderful celebrating this milestone with everyone!

Thanks to my mom, there was a wonderful picture on the cake from my freshman year in high school!

Our little man did a great job of keeping the secret!

To top off this fabulous weekend, Brett told me Saturday night that I would be spending Sunday at the Coldwater Creek Spa, a combination "Happy birthday" and "New Mommy" gift. It was heavenly!!!