The Sillies Turn 7

I feel like I'm in an alternate universe. I seriously cannot believe my kiddos are seven years old. How is that even possible?!

Every year I make a video recapping their year. I feel like it gets longer every year and it's hard not to include everything.



7th Birthday from Amanda Nethero on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, Aaron and Jillian!

The Nubbins Turn 6

I cannot believe my kiddos are 6. Ugh, where have the years gone? No, seriously. I feel like I just had them and now they are 6.

Sigh...

I have a ton of photos coming, but until then, here is their birthday video. Enjoy!



Aaron and Jillian's 6th Birthday! from Amanda Nethero on Vimeo.

Happy birthday, kiddos!

Birthday Week - Age 31 (Yikes!)

So much has been going on over here and I have not taken the five minutes to sit down and write about it. I mean, if we're being honest, I did spend this past week celebrating my birthday.

If we're being completely honest, 31 was a hard one. I think it's the fact that I'm officially "in" my thirties that is strange/depressing. The thing that keeps me going is knowing that Scott is a lot closer to 40 than I am. *wink* Love ya babe!

Like I mentioned, I spent the majority of my week celebrating and eating truly awful for you but totally delicious meals. My frolleauges took me out on Tuesday to Mellow Mushroom. Let me tell you the backstory on this one. When I went to the Vocus conference last year one of the sessions was led by the PR director of Mellow Mushroom. She talked about a campaign that they did on Twitter and I have brought this up in many meetings declaring it the best campaign ever. Take a  peek:

Anyway, the creepy mushroom is a staple in my office. I give you exhibit a:

If you have a Mellow Mushroom near you, go over and have a calzone. You won't regret it. 

Wednesday was my actual birthday and when I arrived at the office apparently I was too early. Alyssa slammed my office door and yelled at me that it was my birthday and I should learn to sleep in. The door slamming was worth it though. The girls did an amazing job and made me feel the love!

There was also another birthday lunch (Qdoba!) and then we went to volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank to sort donations. I really wanted to make volunteering a part of my birthday. I've been volunteering there for almost a year and I love being able to give back.

After the food bank I met up with Scott, the kiddos, Mimi, PawPaw, Aunt Buddy and Karyn at Abuelo's.  It's seriously my favorite Mexican restaurant. 

Thursday was birthday lunch part three, this time we went to one of my favorite places on campus, Burger U. I love their garlic parmesan fries, they are worth the two sticks of gum and handful of mints I have to consume after the fact.

Thursday night is when everything kind of went downhill. Aaron was complaining of a sore throat and then he puked all over us in the middle of the night. I knew in that moment...strep. How he managed to catch strep I have no idea. All of the times Jillian has had it this past year, he has not caught it once. 

I took Friday off to confirm my suspicion. I think the test turned almost immediately. Our afternoon was spent snuggling, eating yellow rice and drinking strawberry kiwi juice. 

The rest of the weekend was spent letting Aaron rest and a girls lunch with my Jilly. I will thank the awful strep virus for making me actually deep clean my house. So...there's that. 

I think we're finally caught up! Phew! Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott, who motivates me through his weight loss journey. I am so proud of him and so happy he is on this path!

• Aaron who made sure he gave me an extra birthday snuggle.

• Jillian who made sure everyone in a 10 mile radius knew it was my birthday.

• Family all around us.

• Friends that send you the sweetest cards with the funniest things written inside. Love you bench!

• Frolleagues that decorate your office to the point that you have to duck to leave. Also, for making me feel loved the entire day.

• Starbucks giftcards. It's always the perfect gift :)

• Margarita's.

• Sparkle mail!

• A great year 30 and what I'm hoping will be a better year 31.

What are you thankful for this week?

Aaron and Jillian Turn 5!

Every year I make a video of the kids throughout the year for their birthday. I cannot believe they are already 5, it seriously feels like they were just born.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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Happy Birthday Aaron and Jillian!

The Big 3-0

Taking a cue from one of my favorite sites (Suri's Burn Book, naturally), here is a retrospective on my year, on my 30th birthday:

• I went on a cruise with a huge chunk of my family. I do not think it was a coincidence that a tropical storm formed upon our return. 
• I learned to spot an ear and/or sinus infection before a doctor could. I am that good. 
• I unsuccessfully judged Olympic gymnastics from my couch. Seriously, I love when you're watching these 70lb girls tumble all over the place and you're like "Wow, that was pretty good" and then the commentator chimes in with "Oh, that's going to cost her some points. Not her best performance". 
• Earned cool Mom status by taking my kids to see Sharky and Bones from Jake and the Never Land Pirates. 
• I survived my kiddos going to preschool with minimal tears.
• I went back to work and was able to communicate in complete sentences.
• I ran more 5ks in my 29th year of life than all 29 years combined. 
• I completed my 3rd half marathon...barely.
• I began an unhealthy relationship with food truck cupcakes. 
• I ran in a Santa suit because a friend asked me to. That's big people.
• I was with my Mom as she crossed off something on her bucket list: hearing Gary Sinise at Candlelight.
• I survived the flu and strep epidemic of 2013.
• I said goodbye to my Grandma. 
• I ran a conference and was complimented by someone from the U.N.
• I witnessed my second Papal conclave.
• I learned more from my two 4 year olds than from anyone else in the world.
• Scott didn't run away screaming.

There you have it in a nutshell. Goodbye 29...hello 30!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's 75th birthday and in honor of that, today's post is dedicated to him.

That's him and his sisters when he was like 4 or 5. He smiles the same exact way and I'm like 90% positive he wears his hair the same exact way.

See, same smile, similar hair. (The above photo is from the Golden Anniversary mass)

Happy birthday Dad! I am so thankful to have you as my Dad and the Dzia Dzio of my kiddos. You've taught me more than you will ever know, especially how to live each day to its fullest. I love you!

Ever have one of those weekends?

Ever have one of those weekends that just makes you go, "Wait, what just happened?" This was one of those weekends. 

Saturday started out normal, it really did. It was Mimi's birthday, so we took over the yellow cake with chocolate icing (not strawberry cake like Jill wanted) and sang her happy birthday with party hats on.

The kiddos even helped blow out the candles. After some cake and visiting we headed home and then Scott and I had our first date in I don't even know how long. We just walked around Epcot and had a chance to actually have a conversation, without having a 4-year-old (or two) chime in with a comment (read: demand).  This is where the 'normal' part of our weekend essentially ends.

Sunday morning we went off to church to welcome our new pastor. Technically he's a parochial administrator, but po-ta-to pa-tah-to. During the homily while Father is introducing himself I heard a jingling sound, and thinking it was just a baby playing with keys I didn't pay any mind to it until I saw something move on the ground out of the corner of my eye. It was our new pastor's dog, Max. Max walked down the aisle, next to the seats of course so he could get a couple of good scratches in, and then headed back to the pastor's office to catch another nap.  In that moment the kids made up their mind that Father Dave is awesome. It doesn't take much people.

After mass we got ready to head out to the Magic Kingdom to finally celebrate Paw Paw and Mimi's birthdays.  On our way to the park the car in front of us collided with a U-Haul. Scott saw the accident before it even happened and was pretty much parked by the time the cars hit and out the door helping. Now the area the accident happened in is called 4 corners, it's called 4 corners because it's where 4 different counties all border. Normally this is a nonissue, when you have to call 911 and figure out which county you're in, it's an issue. So here I am on the phone and trying to figure out where I am. I know across the street is Osceola but I'm not sure where I am. After the fact I'm reminded that when you look at the road signs it tells you the county. So while I'm staring at the oranges on the road signs I'm reading I should have been able to immediately recognize that I was in Orange County. Duh. 

There were no serious injuries, thankfully, with the accident.  Scott was the great hero in my book for jumping out and handling the accident until the police arrived. It ate up an hour and a half of our day, but it was worth it to know that those people were ok. 

We finally made it to Magic Kingdom and had a fabulous time. Paw Paw really wanted to eat at Liberty Tree Tavern for his birthday, so that's what we did. The food is always really yummy over there, and even the kids were having seconds. We even managed to get on a few rides while we were there too.  

Aside from the strange events on Sunday, we had a great weekend. Hope you had a great one too!

Paw Paw's Birthday Par-tay

Yesterday the kiddos and I finally made it to one of the events at the local library. The Talako Indian Dancers were performing and I knew the kids would love it! The Talako Indian Dancers are made up of kids under the age of 18, most of them have Native American heritage (the majority yesterday had Cherokee heritage).

The kids absolutely loved the performance and Jill was pretty much dancing in her seat the entire time. As we were leaving the show I tried to explain to them that they have Cherokee heritage on their Daddy's side. Now I'm talking a very very very small heritage, but one nonetheless. Jill interpreted this as "I can now do these dances" which she proceeded to do down aisle 11 at Publix. To my fellow shoppers yesterday, you are welcome.

We also celebrated Paw Paw's birthday yesterday. We met up with them at Red Lobster, which is Aaron's favorite. On the way there we had a debate (and by we I mean Aaron and Jill) about the name of the restaurant, was it red "lobster" or red "monster". All I know is Aaron kept shouting "Not MONSTER! LOBSTER!".  Debate settled.  It should also be noted that Jill told everyone in our area that it was Paw Paw's birthday. Thankfully, the one person she forgot was our waitress. Paw Paw was definitely happy with that.

After dinner we came back to the house for cake. The kiddos naturally had to help blow out the candles. They also put on a show with their party favors. 

The cake itself was crazy delicious, I'll post the recipe later today, but here's a sneak peek:

We hope you had a great birthday Paw Paw! 

Paw Paw's Birthday

Today is Paw Paw's birthday! 

The kiddos and I have been hard at work today to help make the day special. We made him a cake, picked out some decorations, and are now patiently awaiting dinner. 

We went to the library earlier and Jill proceeded to tell the librarian how it is her Paw Paw's birthday today. She also told the cashier at Publix, and the guy stocking the shelves. It's a shame she doesn't love her Paw Paw ;)

Happy Birthday Paw Paw! We cannot wait to celebrate with you tonight!

Age 4 Stats

I was going to put up photos with the kids stats on them, however, my computer is "resting" (read battery dead and no way to charge) and I do not have the photos on Scott's computer. Soooooo....we are going to make due with this:

Aaron age 4

Loves:  Firetrucks, motorcycles, trucks, model trains (with Daddy and Paw Paw), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (or samiches as he calls them), meatloaf, and of course sausage, all things chocolate, playing outside, helping Mommy in the kitchen, Captain America and Iron Man. He believes every man on a motorcycle is, in fact, Captain America

Aaron wants to be a fireman when he grows up (please cue the George Strait song now).

Aaron's catchphrase is: "Are you kidding me?" or "You betcha!"

Jillian age 4

Loves: Cinnamon Swirl Bread (without raisins), Barbies and Princesses, spaghetti (which she calls Lady and the Tramp), Madeleine's from Starbucks, coloring, singing, playing outside, helping Mommy in the kitchen, and crafting with Mimi. 

Jillian wants to be a princess when she grows up (same as her Mommy at this age) or a mermaid, with a tail, and the hair and seashells (her exact description).

Jillian's catchphrase is: "Um, how about..." or "I do it!!!!!"

I still cannot believe my babies are going to be 4 this weekend. Keep checking back all week for more memories from the past 4 years.

Birthday Week Kick Off

It's officially birthday week for the kiddos. I cannot believe they will be 4 years old on Saturday. We've learned so much about them over these past 4 years, and so much of what they did in those sleepless night filled early days are still proving true today.

Aaron has always been laid back, even before he was born. While Jill kicked and grabbed and rolled, he just hung out. Because he is so laid back he's always done everything after Jill.  He's never really been one that demands attention to be in the spotlight, but don't count him out.  He's wickedly funny and gives, hands down, the best hugs ever.  He's also a protective big brother, even if they don't always get along, he will protect his "seester" no matter what.

Jill is my diva, and always has been.  I remember when we were getting our 3D ultrasound done she blocked our view of Aaron. She was a pound smaller, and somehow managed to take up more room than her brother.  She was the first to walk and practically started running.  She demands the spotlight, unless of course, we are in public, then she's shy. I promise you, there is nothing shy about this child. She is slapstick funny and can be the sweetest little girl you've ever met. She's also fiercely protective of her brother.

I'm going to be sharing memories all week about the kiddos, so keep checking back!

Goodbye 28, Hello 29!

Yesterday I was awoken around 5:30 by Jill poking me in the back and then she whispered, "Mommy! It's your birthday! No more bedtimes, it's your birthday! Happy Birthday!" I told her thank you and gave her a hug and then she said, "Can we watch cartoons?" Um, no. I told her Mommy doesn't get up before the sun, especially on her birthday, or birdday as Jill and Aaron say it.

After we all woke up Jill asked why Daddy wasn't home,"It's your birrday, Daddy should be home. You need a party." Seriously, Lord help the man that marries Jill.

We went out for dinner to one of my hometown favorites that just happens to be in Orlando, Maggiano's.  We were doing good, nobody spilled the beans on it being my birthday, so a spectacle would not be made. I'm not a fan of having "Happy Birthday" sung to me in a restaurant. It's so not my jam. Well, apparently it was someone else's 'birdday' and Jill saw the candles.  She couldn't even contain herself when the waiter came back to the table: "It's Mommy's BIRDDAY!!!!! Mommy's Birdday Mommy's Birrrrrrrdddddaaaaayyyyyy!". Thankfully, our waiter is not one to sing, so I simply had this yummy dessert:

I've also decided that this year I would do a 365 album, basically chronicling each day in my 29th year of life. I got the idea from a friend of mine, so I can't wait to see what the year brings. I'll add the album to my Facebook fan page so you can follow along!

Thank you to everyone that helped start year 29 off on a super great note!

Happy Birthday to my MOM!

Today is my Mom's 70th birthday, for real. Trust me when I age (who am I kidding, I'm already aging) I want to age like her because she looks nowhere near her age, and after 6 kids that's amazing.



I have so many amazing memories with my Mom. Like the time we went with Cathy to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat when Donny Osmond was performing and she suggested we go to the stage door to get the cast autographs because "you know I did that all time". I swear one minute she was standing next to us and the next minute she was getting Donny's autograph. I have no idea how she got to the front of the line so fast.

She was also the Mom that went to every single band competition when I was in high school. She was even brave enough to chaperone one. She also wrote me a note before every competition and put it in my bag for me to read on the bus.

She has had a card for me for every single event in my life. Even when I went back to school recently, I got a card on my first day.

She taught me it's always important to at least have makeup on when you go to the store because you never know who you are going to run into. Can I add that this is hilarious because nine times out of ten she goes to the store in lounge pants and an old Disney t-shirt. She usually runs into someone she knows.

She has the funniest stories from her childhood and I love hearing them. For example, I sent her a card when I was in college that said "Hey Sailor, buy a girl a drink?" and she called me laughing and said "Oh my God I used to do that all the time at Navy Pier!". Scott said this explains so much about me right there.

I truly cannot express how much I love my Mom, she's always there for me and I could never have asked for a better Mom!


Happy Birthday MOM!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for:

• Scott having a four day weekend, he totally deserves this break!
  

• Aaron's imagination, he is really big into reenacting things and you must acknowledge all of his figurines, by name. That part is difficult though when I don't know the name of some of the super hero's, usually I just call them purple guy and red guy.
  

• Jill's imagination. Ever since Mimi's birthday last week it has been someone's birthday, or birdday as she says, whether it's one of the princesses or one of us. We even have to "wish" and blow out candles. Of course all of that happens after her rendition of Happy Birdday You Too. Priceless.

• Conversations with my Dad that go like this, "That Lopalooza thing was thing weekend, it really rained on them." "Lollapalooza" "Lolla, lopa, what do I care".

• My MOM trying to offering me a velour track suit, she was laughing so hard she couldn't get it out. Velour is not my thing in case you were wondering, but it was pretty funny.

• A girls day this past weekend, it was pretty nice.

• My first mani/pedi since 2006, for real it has been that long. And yes, it was so heavenly.

• An upcoming dinner at Buca di Beppo with Dawn and Dys, cannot wait and may start fasting now so I can eat my weight in garlic bread. SO GOOD. So good.

• A tweet back from Steve Burton of General Hospital. I almost died. It was almost as good as my tweet back from Rocco. Swoon.

What are you thankful for this week? Link up below or leave a comment in the comment section.

Our Three Day Weekend

Scott had a three day weekend and it was fabulous! I cannot tell you the last time he's had that much time off at once. We definitely stayed busy this weekend and took full advantage of the fact that we had three days with him.

Friday we met up with our friends Bob and Vanessa. The kids love them and are actually going to be their flower girl and ring bearer. We did a whole bunch of swimming and may or may not have shut down the kiddie pool because Jill may or may not have swallowed too much water and again, may or may not have thrown up. May or may not.... Anyway, after swimming we hung out and the kiddos got to play with their new puppies. We truly wished we lived closer to Bob and Vanessa so we could spend more time together.


After a day of swimming Scott and I got to head out and go to dinner and a movie. This was the first time we've seen a movie on opening night in I don't even know how long. Usually by the time we get to see a movie it's the week before it comes out of the theaters. We saw Friends with Benefits by the way...hilarious.

Saturday was Paw Paw's birthday so we all went out to dinner and then came back to their house for some cake. Then the boys went to the garage to check out Paw Paw's new project, the model trains. Aaron is in love with them and really enjoys just sitting a spending time watching them.



Sunday we went to SeaWorld because that sounded like an awesome idea. The heat was awful so we really didn't stay that long, just long enough to go see the beluga whales.


Hope you had a great weekend as well!

The Birthday Parties

Yes, parties...plural. While we were in Chicago my parents threw the kiddos a birthday party with all of our family. It was pretty awesome having everyone there and I finally got to meet my cousin Becky in person, which was pretty much the highlight of the day.


Then on their actual birthday we went out to lunch (Gator's Dockside, their choice) and came home for some cupcakes.

Finally, on Saturday we had their birthday party at our favorite indoor play place. Talk about the best decision ever, I didn't have to clean anything up or really do anything. It was amazing.


Jill did not want Happy Birthday sung to her, again, so I just have a video of Aaron blowing out his candles. He even coughed after he blew them off...he's too much!

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Thank you to everyone for coming to all of their birthday parties!

Thanksgiving Thursday

For those of you that don't know what Thanksgiving Thursday is, it is the one time during the week where you stop and basically count your blessings. Even if you've had one of those weeks, I promise you can find at least one thing to be thankful for, no matter how big or small.

This week I am thankful for one thing, well...two things...my darling babies that are 3 years old today!

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What are you thankful for?

Happy 94!

Today is my Grandma's 94th birthday. Can you imagine living to 94? She's lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, Korea, Vietnam, presidential assassinations, and a slew of other things.



She's the person who gave me my love of baking, and my very own Kitchen Aid Mixmaster that's just like hers. I remember spending many days of my childhood in her kitchen making cookies. She also used to make me pancakes in the morning in either alphabet shapes or like Mickey Mouse, Donald, Minnie Mouse, you name it. I know it drove my Mom nuts when she would try and make me pancakes and I would say "That's not how Grandma makes them".

She also gave me the cross my Grandfather gave her on their wedding day. I wore it on mine and plan to give it to Jill to wear on her wedding day.

We may not be as close as we were when I was growing up, but she's still my Grandma and she gave me some amazing memories and helped shape me into the woman I am today. No matter what I will always be grateful.

Happy 94th Birthday Grandma!

I came to get down I came to get down so get out yo seat and jump around

Wednesday was Mimi's birthday so we went out to dinner and then headed back to the house for cake. Paw Paw and Scott thought they would be funny with how they arranged the candles:

We also went to a local bounce house place on Wednesday. I'm just going to put this out there now, I am not a fan of these places. I am proud to say I lasted over an hour before I looked at Scott and said "Yeah, we're done". The kids were having a blast though. My only concern was the other kids that were there. You know what kids I'm talking about, the ones that are like monkeys all over everything pushing people out the way with moms that are sitting oblivious to everything around them and too busy talking about how little Jimmy doesn't watch tv and he's such a well behaved child. Got news for you mother of the year, little Jimmy just shoved my toddler out of his way to get to the slide first. The shoving seriously happened and Aaron gave the kid a "what the hell?!" look.

Maybe after school starts we'll take the kids back, at least this way we know half of the local pee-wee football team won't be there. Am I the only one that doesn't like these places?