Starting the year off right - January 2015

We began the year bringing home the flu from NYC and never shook the germs for the whole month of January. I guess that is what a dreary January is supposed to be like, right? We did however manage to fit in some fun in between doctor visits and ear infections.

Isabelle played the part of Betty Davis in the 3rd grade musical and loved wearing Grandma Isabelle's vintage fur stole to school. She felt beautiful and all of the comments from others was enough to make her blush. Olivia had pajama day at school and loved when the sun was shining and she could ride around the neighborhood on her scooter. Both girls went on a one on one date with mom or dad and I even snuck away to Atlanta for a weekend to visit some besties from our San Antonio days. Leo turned 4 years old and we continued with basketball, piano and ballet. Although January gets a bad rap sometimes for being cold and germy I have to admit, the days and nights spent as a family doing our normal everyday routine is pretty fine by me...even if we did cough and sneeze along the way.

Blessed in December

I cannot believe that 2014 is already in the record books. Although I am only a young 35, I feel like an old lady when I say that I am sad to see the days and months and years going by so rapidly. Soon Olivia will be 5 years old, Isabelle will be turning 9 and Ben and I will be much closer to 40 than 30. How is this happening?












When I look back at some of the odds and ends of the month of December, I am overwhelmed with feelings of peace, love and joy. Perfect for the holiday season. We have great friends, a wonderful family, a lovely home and we are healthy. I am grateful for Ben and his love for me and the girls. He is dedicated to us and works hard and plays harder. He is a good husband and an even better dad. We are blessed with two sweet girls who love each other more than is almost humanly possible and somehow love us even more. Isabelle and Olivia keep us on our toes and teach us daily. I feel an increasing urgency to prepare them for the world and I know that their futures are so bright. We have been blessed once again for the year 2014 and move into another year with hopes and dreams for the future. Here we come 2015....watch out.

Start spreading the news...NYE in NYC

We have been known before to take advantage of one of Tara's job perks, but this New Years Eve was by far the best yet. After doing some business for Arthur Murray with the Marriott Marquis Times Square, Tara found herself with two hotel rooms for the biggest party of the year...NYE! My parents and I both decided to take the plunge and just days after Christmas we boarded a plane for the Big Apple.

New York City was busy. And not just normal NYC busy, it was NYC/NYE busy. Thankfully my girls love chaos and we fit right in. We bundled up in everything we could find and spent the week walking up and down 5th Avenue and Broadway. We took the hike one day all the way to the Natural History Museum and the girls loved seeing The Night at the Museum with their own eyes. We played multiple days in Central Park, visited FAO Schwartz twice and ate and ate. We celebrated Grandpa Elmo's birthday at the famous Ellen's Stardust where the waiters sang as they served and Isabelle even got a turn on the mic. Despite being freezing cold, the weather was dry and clear and we had a great time being a part of all of the madness.











On New Years Eve we started the day by attending the last show of the Radio City Rockettes Holiday Spectacular. It was fabulous and all 7 of us loved every minute of it. (The girls left with a new goal for their future.) After the show we headed back to our hotel where thousands of people were already waiting for the big ball drop moment. We were SO LUCKY to be staying RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of Times Square and with our ID walked right past all the crowds into our hotel. We had our own NYE party with the infamous Rays pizza and snacks and the girls looked out the window at the party beginning on the street. Soon they were fast asleep and my mom, Tara and I dressed up in our heels and experienced a once in a lifetime experience. Tara managed to get us tickets to the Marquis Gala where after eating cocktails and appetizers galore, we were escorted right out into the magic in our own private viewing area of the ball. The countdown began and we were there in the flesh to see it all take place. It was an adrenaline rush and something that we never would have done without the amazing Arthur Murray ticket.

It was definitely a week to remember and other than bringing influenza home with us on the plane (Isabelle threw up in the cab on our way to the airport...just like a real New Yorker) it was a picture perfect New Years Eve. Happy 2015!