bvt.

Last weekend we spent three days up north. WAYYYYYY up north in Mommy's old stomping grounds. It was the big introduction of Max to all of my college friends. Something I had been so excited to do. I miss them terribly and a part of me misses that life terribly but that only makes going to visit even more exciting. I had seen everyone about a month before for Corey and Lindsey's wedding but this time mommy was coming with baby. The thought of spending 4 hours in the car with a 5 month old was scary to say the least. Was she going to sleep the whole way? Was I going to have to stop and nurse her? Would I be able to make it without peeing? This last one scared me the most because if I stopped to pee it would set off a pretty lengthy chain of events which would include having to stop the car, take Max out of the car, pee, change her, probably feed her, burp her, probably change her again and probably have to change her clothes too because she ALWAYS pukes the second you put her in the car seat! But no matter what I was ready for this adventure and ready for some serious time with some of my best and oldest friends. The ride to say the least was LONG but we made it, no pee breaks (although it was REALLY a close call for me) and Max slept for almost the entire ride. I would like to pat myself on the back for the awesome timing I had though by getting her in the car right at nap time. It was a pretty successful start to what ended up being a very successful weekend.

The oldest and the youngest of the "crew" children

I spent two of the three days with Jenny and her girls - 4 people that I love to death. I wish they were my next door neighbors for so many reasons but that will be for another time and place. But we managed to fit in some lovely time shopping downtown and a "crew" dinner (dress code=sweatpants=my kind of party).  The shopping experience on Church Street was a bit different than it would have been a few years ago considering the fact we now come complete with three strollers and 5 children - yes we were a serious site to see - but we rocked it!On Sunday I packed Max up and got ready to hit the road but not before taking Lily over to her dad's house- Dad being Nemo- one of my most favorites people in the world. I wasn't ready to leave Lily quite yet, especially because her and Max had become quite inseparable over the three days. I know that sounds crazy because Max is 5 months old but she would just light up anytime Lily walked in the room. So after some legos, a corn maze and a home cooked me we decided our weekend in VT would last one more night and we would hit the road in the morning. Looking back now I realize this was absolutely the best idea because there was no way Max was sleeping in the car for 4 hours then going back to bed when we got home if we left at 6PM, I would like to call this a good call on Mommy's part! I also realized upon our arrival at home this was probably the first time EVER I had spent that long in VT and I remembered the entire weekend, I didn't require McDonalds to cure a hangover and I wasn't wearing sweatpants or on the verge of death for the entire ride home. Holy grown up!

Have you ever tried to get 4 kids to sit still for a photo? This is the best you will get <3 PRICELESS

5 months.

It is that time again. Time to reflect on how damn quickly time passes - seriously how do I slow this down? I feel like I blink and here we are again... setting up the same corner of the couch with the same white blanket, stripping Maxie down to her diaper and playing around with the camera to get a couple good monthly photo shots. Who am I kidding though, it might be passing quickly but I wouldn't change a second of it for the world. I actually sort of look forward to these little sessions because it keeps me busy all night after (as if having a baby and a full time job and living with your boyfriend isn't enough to stay busy all night). I could sit and stare at the pictures starting and one month and going forward for hours. The changes in this little baby (who is not so little anymore) are just so dynamic and amazing. She can hold her own for the most part in the same couch corner every time I prop her there and I swear she is actually getting to know that when Mommy has that big camera thingy up at her face she needs to sit, smile and look pretty. Could she be anymore of my daughter? What a ham!

Poop!

Warning the next post is not going to be nice. Well it will be nice but it will not be about nice things. It is going to be about poop. Yup - that is right poop. Seriously I would have never thought that a life could revolve so much about poop as it does after you have a child... I am not sure exactly how many times a day I discuss poop but I am sure, actually 100% positive that it is waaaaaaaaay more than the average person. I bet some people actually go an entire day maybe even days at a time without ever having a discussion about poop. Now, I swear, most of the time it is one of the first topics that comes to my mind and is almost always one of the first conversations I have. "How was that diaper, was there poop?" If there was poop "What was it like, was it an explosion? Did it smell" What color was it?" And those are the tame ones that now just roll off my back like there is nothing to it.  Poop sort of makes this life go around now, has she pooped today, has she pooped enough, was there anything weird in the poop (which is weird in itself because there is obviously weird things in poop it is digested food) was it runny or thick... yup all every day conversations at 127 Pennsylvania Ave now. But the weirdest part about all of this poop talk is that it just sort of comes out naturally now, it isn't weird and I think the weird thing would be not having a conversation revolving around poop at 5:30 in the morning before starting my day or having coffee. A babies poo apparently tells a lot about the baby and with that being the case our little Max has a lot to tell us about.

Just for a little extra fun - here is a nifty little poop chart in case you were curious about just how telling a babies poo could be: Baby Poo Guide . Warning there are real poo pictures in that link. Not Max's either which means you probably won't find them that cute!

apples.

Apple picking in September is a tradition. It is a tradition that my Ma, Pa and sister have had for

years now. I don't remember when it started and I am sure the first few times we went Brit and I probably thought it was uncool and that there were better things to be doing but now it is one of my most favorite days of the year. What is not to love about a gorgeous fall day, sun shining, crisp air blowing and all the apples you can eat - that is right NOTHING! It is perfect. It is a perfect day that I can't wait to share with Max in the years to come. Well technically I did share it with her this year but she wasn't quite old enough to remember it and she sort of slept through most of it... but that is why we took so many pictures so we can remind her in the years to come that she has been apple picking since before she could walk. I can already see me throwing that out there in 13 years when she is too cool for school and would rather be painting her nails and talking on the phone with her friend that is a boy... what a glorious thought...

.mini session.

I love my camera and I love taking pictures. It is something I wish I could do all day every day - ok maybe not all day but I would love the chance to make photography my job or at least something I get to do much more often. But that is off track. The point is I am almost always the one behind the scenes when it comes to capturing the events of the day and the memories we are all making together. So today after I spent the morning taking pictures of the beautiful Bastarache family I was more than happy to have my camera over for a few so I could have a few shots of Max and I and Grandpa, Gigi and Auntie Brit... Not much beats a beautiful fall day with your family <3

3 Generations <3 

bald.

I am going bald. I am sure of it. Why does no one warn you that all of that beautiful body and

glamorous hair you get during pregnancy is actually because you stop shedding when you are growing a human? SERIOUSLY for the last month I have been pulling chunks of long blond strands out of my poor little head. I know your body changes when you make a baby and I have to be honest most of those changes are less than glamorous but I was convinced that my new found luxurious hair with lots of body and extra shine was going to be something that I would be "stuck" with well after Miss.Max joined us in this world.  I mean your feet grow, your stomach and well pretty much everything else stretches like a pair of pair of yoga pants on a chunky person, your skin itches in a way that makes poison ivy feel good and even though your boobs grow - you know deep down that is only temporary well and because everyone reminds you that is only temporary.

This new found grasp of my daughters probably isn't helping the hair cause either... 

So why oh why can't we keep the hair? I have wanted thick hair that bounces around my whole life and now I can still have that if I make a WIG out of the pieces I pull off my brush every morning! And why don't we shed when we are growing babies - is that your body saving energy to help make sure your little one has all of the fingers and toes she is supposed to? What a crazy thing to have happen and it is even more depressing when it reverses itself. Depressing and messy. Our floor looks like a Super Cuts gone bad and the other day David sent me a picture of hair he pulled out of his underwear? How does that even happen? I have to be honest... I panicked for the first few days once these chunks started falling out like petals off of a dead flower but after some research and lots of lint roller sheets on my work attire I realized that this is yet another side effect of the little one that is peacefully sleeping upstairs right now...

big e

The Big E should probably be considered another wonder of the world - think about it... amazing people watching, some of the most amazing (and worst for you) food you can even imagine, shopping, the great outdoors and drinking beer while walking around. Not much beats that. Sorry folks but this place is just a wonderful little bubble to escape from the world. So of course because I feel the need to take Max everywhere and build her into my yearly traditions I packed the 4 and a half month old babe up and we hit the fair (with Babci for support). This may not have been one of my best ideas yet. Pushing a stroller through thousands of people is a bit intense and eating fair food while pushing the stroller or wearing Max is also a bit intense but never fear I managed. Just like I have with everything else so far. Max will probably never remember that she saw baby chickens hatch and piglets with names like Jennifer Hamiston and Kim Kardashiham race around a track but I will and right now that is all that matters. Because I will be sure to pass these stories on down to her year after year when I am dragging her along to our fall family traditions! 

lactation.

Not once in my life did I EVER imagine I would be Googling breast milk and how to increase the production of it. But I am and I did and now I am on a mission to make it happen. Ever since I came back to work I feel as though I am just not being quite cow like enough. Seriously though even when I pump it just isn't cutting it. Maybe it is because most of the other Moms I know are like cows - legit cows, they could sell that fresh from the boob gold and be millionaires. I on the other hand need to pump 2-3 times to make one bottle for the little one. I know, I know, I know... stress isn't good for the whole milk production thing either but I can't help it. For someone who wasn't convinced that the breast feeding thing was even going to work I have become pretty attached and proud of myself for making it this far. Which in itself is something I should give myself a little more credit for and be proud of - which I will do when I figure out just how to make more damn milk! I drink milk, I eat yogurt and I practically live on cheese - don't you think that ingesting all of that should motivate my body to lactate like it is going out of style?

One would think... but they would be thinking wrong. I drink the 10 zillion ounces of water a day, I get "well-rested" (seriously that piece of advice must have been written by a childless man because being well rested with an infant although not impossible is not an every day occurrence, especially when you are back at work) and I pump religiously every two hours. When I say religiously I mean it. I pump in the car if I have to, I leave meetings, I set an alarm to get one extra pump in at night, I do it all. I mean seriously I am a manufacturer of baby food for the most important person in the world. I have ready every breastfeeding blog, witch doctor recipe and manual there is out there so it is time to bring in the big guns and get this calcium river a flowing (I am pretty sure boobie milk has calcium...oh god... I don't even know what I am feeding my baby...). It is time to add on some assistance to the pump/feed schedule and show these boobies who is boss. After much research I have found there are some natural ways to increase your boob milk- one of those ways includes cookies - so guess what that is happening.So of course I had to try this. Well that is after all of the crazy ingredients were found including brewers yeast (yes I know drinking a beer would be easier to get the yeast but that will be how I wash down the cookie!) ground flax seed, coconut oil and who knows what else. It was an educational shopping experience though because everyone that was visited in order to get these ingredients had another tip and trick to increase the milk flow. So now on top of the cookies (which are amazing and knowing that they are "helping" to make milks totally alleviates the guilt of eating two or three or four at a time) I have hops to make tea with, Fenugreek (which makes me smell like a maple syrup factory because apparently whatever Fenugreek is it is also used to make the maple flavor in syrup - the Aunt Jemima kind not the straight from the tree crap), condensed milk and some tea that smells and tastes just like black licorice (which I hate). But I guess this is just another one of those motherly things that you do - yes I know eating cookies dipped in sweetened condensed milk sounds terrible and you are not jealous one bit (hahah, yeah right! you know you want it) but honestly every time I eat one all I can think is - go straight to my boobs! I am honestly not sure that all of these things are doing my milk any good. Somedays I am sure I see improvement when I pump and somedays I am pretty sure I eat an extra 1000 calories and drink a nasty tea for absolutely nothing... but it is all in the name of baby.

4 Months

I can't believe it is time for another monthly update post?! Ahhhhhhhhhh PLEASE MAKE THE TIME STOP! I feel like I wake up and blink and a day or even week has passed by again. If anyone knows anyone with a time freezing machine - PLEASE - share the secret with me. I am so in love with Max and her crazy little personality at this stage it is unreal. Sure she has always been cute (and maybe I am biased but she is seriously adorable) but now her cuteness is almost toxic. I mean the smile and personality that is coming out of this little 12 pound nugget of fluff is amazing. It could melt the abominable snowman's heart to pieces. In the last few weeks Max has kind of left that blobbly little baby stage behind, kissed it goodbye and moved right into an adorable slightly moldable, I can kind of sit up and play with you stage. I use the term play loosely because she mostly just grabs at whatever she can and non-intentionally throws her stuff on the floor and this is all after she puts whatever it is in her mouth to gnaw on and drool all over. Her true colors are really starting to come out she smiles like it is going out of style and that baby talk is a constant background noise now (she will definitely be like Mommy with this character trait). Even when the nurses shot her up with 4 different shots this time they sat and stared in awe at her reaction. Yes she screamed and cried but the second I picked her up and cuddle her into me she stopped. Just went quiet and cozied right up into my arm pit. Bottom line is we had a great baby. She sleeps, she smiles, she shits like a machine and she rarely fusses. It actually almost makes me want to go and have my tubes ties because every ounce of good baby I had in me was  used up on Maxwell. There is no way that I could have a second child that is so calm and not fussy and well just kind of easy. Honestly at times I almost feel bad when I am talking to my friends and family that have babies about the same age because I don't have a whole lot to complain about. Actually on that note I am done talking about it because I am SURE I just jinxed it all.

Overnight

It happened. I turned 30 and left Max for a night. Yikes. Two giant milestones all on the same day - way to go for timing on that one Mommy. I have never really been one of those people who is scared of turning 30 (I guess I should saw was scared!) but I have to be honest I did feel a bit "out of it" in the days leading up to the big day.

I am not quite sure what it was exactly that was making me feel so uneasy - whether it was the fact that I have a kid and I am no longer in my 20's which means I really am a blue blooded grown up now or if it was the fact that even 5 years ago I would have never guessed this is where I would be a 30 or maybe it was just because everyone else was making me feel like I needed to be feeling something? In all honesty it was probably a combination of everything. But here I am alive and well and I got over the turning 30 thing pretty quick and now that I look back I even survived the night without Max ...although... I have never wanted to be up and at em after a night of serious drinking before ever in my life. I woke up with this feeling of pure anxiety just knowing that I was going to miss even more than I already had in the last 12 hours.  No I didn't miss her learning to walk, or her first word, or her first piece of filet mignon but I missed the extra smiles and the snuggles we have every night before bed- she is pretty much the world's best little spoon - even better than I am and I am a pretty damn good spoon! I just missed the feeling of knowing she was in the next room and could fix (or at least try to fix) anything that may happen. I didn't necessarily feel guilty for leaving because she had daddy with her all day and all night and I couldn't ask for a better Daddy-O to spend time with Max, I just felt a bit homesick and alone. Even now as I type this I am not sure how to fill in exactly how that whole turning thirty and leaving Max emotions felt but I know it was one of the stranger feelings I have had so far in life but probably not the last one I will have either. At least Daddy did a seriously good job documenting her day in photos for me. That helped ease the blow of being babyless like you would not believe!

food?

I have been dying to give Max some real food. Ok... not that rice cereal should be or will ever be considered real food by anyone except a 3 month old but you know what I mean. I am not rushing her growing up and I don't actually want her to get much bigger but as a serious foodie myself I feel like she must be so bored on her liquid diet. I have read (probably) way too much about when you are supposed to start rice cereal and what is the best kind and how to feed it to a baby and all of that happy stuff. After reading it all and watching Max watch us eat and pull her head up and only sort of bobble in her Bumbo seat...I decided she just needed to try a bite or two. I'll be honest it was not nearly as successful as her taking a bottle for the first time or even breast feeding for the first time but she didn't scream and I think that is a "bite" in the right direction. After mixing up the powdery flakes that were once rice pieces into a few drops of boobie milk we gave it a go. I have to be honest the mixture looked a lot less than appealing - sort of like a gooey homemade play dough, actually, more like paper mache paste (I am 99% sure that is not the spelling of mache). The smell wasn't the most enticing smell either but I guess we have to start somewhere. I am pretty sure if I started with the mushy bananas or apples that the little one would never go back to the rice cereal thing. I mean who would choose glue when they could have tasty mashed fruits? Not this Mommy. Our first few bites may not have been the most successful taste wise but her faces were hysterical and she knows that a spoon is supposed to go into her mouth...Which made keeping the ooey gooey cereal on the spoon a bit easier. I think this whole cereal thing is something we will have to come back and visit again in a few days, maybe a week. I am sure with a little more neck strength and being able to forget the taste of the cereal will make round two a bit more of a success.

always on my mind

This time of the year always makes me a little bit of a memory-aholic. Two years ago we lost an incredible lady that helped raise me and was my Mom's best friend and who really just inspired all of us to be fun, adventurous, healthy fun loving people. Max will never get to  meet one of the most amazing women I had the privilege of knowing and calling my family. Sometimes when I look down at her I wonder what Jane would have thought about her and how many adventures we could have had together. Sometimes it still amazes me that we have gone two years without her energy and laughter around. But what also amazes me is how much living we have done in those two years and it is that living that I hope she sees when she looks down on us. I like to imagine that Jane would see my amazing little girl as her own "grand baby" and love her and play with her and teach her how to squat properly just like she did with all of us. Some of the best times in my life (and soggiest camping trips) were with the Wamsers and these are moments that I will one day be able to share with Max. Besides the memories, Max will be lucky to have the love of the rest of the Wamsers, starting with an extra
special aunt who I know adores her. I know that her Auntie Kath will make sure she knows how to tie up her babysitters, swim across a pond, paddle a kayak (while it is tied to a dock), wear the coolest sunglasses and have a serious love for adventure. Even though Max will never get to meet the original she will have as close to her as I can provide. I miss Jane every day and I think of her so much but knowing that she is smiling down (and hopefully laughing) at us really does warm me up just a little. Even if that sounds full of cheese and completely ridiculous.

aunts, uncles, cousins and footie pajamas.

I love family - it means so much to me and I really want Max to see that as she grows up. Not everyone has a family quite like ours, I know every family is different but ours is a whole new bag of beans. For starters it is huge - like gigantic - but that is what happens when 4 families combine into an awesome unit like we have done. But we are also crazy, the dynamic of this clan just can't be beaten. We have good days and bad ones and crazy antics and emotional moments and sometimes we just sit around and enjoy being in the same place as one another but we always love each other and support each other no matter what. This weekend was filled with nothing less than any of that. We packed up on Saturday and headed to Templeton to spend time with the Denis crew. Our trip out the door was quick and after experimenting on a new route to get to that side of the state - my GPS said recalculating quite a few times- we finally made it with two dozen corn ,baby, baby stuff and camera in tow. We were ready to start our adventure. Max hung out with Grandpa/Papa (the name is still out for debate on this one!) and Gigi while Uncle Brandon and I took off to take Nicole's senior pictures (Mommy's first official photography gig) Although little Max decided to not nap while I was gone I am sure she had a grand old time cuddling and hanging out with family - I know how much she cherishes the time with her grandparents - how do I know you ask - she tells me.... yup you may think all those baby noises are just noises but nope that is her talking to me. Anyway, Nicole, Brandon and I  took our pictures and had an amazing time but the fun was only beginning. We spent the entire afternoon playing pitch and eating delicious grillables, laughing about silly baby things and stories of the summer. But for me the best part as I am sure I have said before is watching Max with her family. I sit and wonder what she remembers about everyones faces and the expressions they have when playing with her. Days like that make life feel complete and makes me know how lucky we are to be surrounded by such fantastic and loving people. We didn't just end the night there though, as Max sat all bundled up in her awesome new owl hat that Uncle Nate's sister crocheted, Auntie Meg, Nicole and I decided that she looked comfy and so should we and so we took it upon ourselves to set up a little photo shoot with our own little footie pj moment. 

But the best part of the weekend was the one on one time Max and I got to spend together in the early Sunday morning hours, we had breakfast and heard Max really giggle for one of the first times, I am not sure that Gigi and Grandpa/Papa realized that this was even happening but it is now a  forever memory for me. The four of us sitting around watching her smile and getting those throaty little noises out when we tickled her was just incredible. But of course the goodness did not end there after a tasty little breakfast we headed on over to Great Gigi's house to bless her with our presence. Just a short visit because the little one needed a nap but long enough to spend some time and catch up and even have a quick visit from Uncle Richie and Aunt Sue and their kiddos. I don't nearly see them enough and Uncle Richie is someone that even though I don't see as much as I should or would like he holds this amazing and special place in my heart. I have the most amazing memories of growing up with him, ice fishing, Dugays Chicken dinners, talking about skiing in Colorado, summers camping on the Cape and getting pizza at the local place in Sandwich and early mornings trying to get the big one on the beach.  Introducing him to my little one warmed me up and made me want to cry just a little. Not sad ones but happy ones because it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Watching his eyes light up as he held her for the first time made me really happy. You can't beat the joy a baby brings to the world and knowing that you have made someone feel happy when they may otherwise be having a tough time is nothing short of amazing. 

Soooooooooooo big.

I swear some days I get home and Max has grown inches and pounds since I left in the morning. Today she was in a spectacular mood and was loving showing off what a big girl she could be. She didn't want to be held or cuddled, she wanted to try and stand and sit up straight all by herself just to prove that she isn't a little newborn anymore! It was hysterical - her Charlie Brown head was wobbling around on her tiny little neck (some days I am really not sure that her tiny little neck will hold up her big bobble head and that makes me wonder what kind of baby neck exercises there are out there that could help grow her muscles big and strong because right now she kind of looks like a brontosaurus). But when she got herself up against that pillow and her head semi up she smiled and cooed like it was absolutely the best thing in the world. In fact she had so much fun that when she would timber over (which she has no control over and hasn't quite realized that if she puts her hands out it will stop her) she would smile even bigger and just look up like "Please Mommy, help me, I want to sit more"! It was almost like she was playing a game - you sit me up, I'll timber over - and we will see how many times we will do this before one of us gives up and I bet it's Mommy. I am sure that isn't the case though I think she has a few more months before she actually makes the connection between her timbering and me picking her up but who knows maybe we have a little genius on our hands???

Realizations

Today I had a big one. I know lots of things have changed and I have also tried really hard to keep as many things as I can the same but today there is one thing that was just cemented in my brain. I am a proud, in love to the moon and back Mommy. OK - don't be concerned I have always loved being a Mom and I have always loved Max. It was a pretty amazing and overwhelming feeling at first but today it hit me in this rush that made me smile from the inside out. I took a couple hours this afternoon and spent a couple dollars on myself at the beauty salon. Oh how I had missed being in that chair, looking like a fool with foils in my hair and almost falling asleep when she is scrubbing and conditioning my hair. But this feeling started well before the hair started, I walked over to the table to grab a magazine, hoping to find the trashiest one possible to catch up on some serious gossip, but when I walked over and saw the options I went straight for a new title... one that I would have never even taken a second look at up until 3 1/2 months ago - Working Mother.
Yup that is right, I passed up US Weekly,People and InTouch for the latest issue of Working Mother and it was then and there that I realized "this is the new me", I am officially a working mother and so I guess I better start reading up on how to be a cool one. That wasn't the only thing though, it was the fact that I had to put so much effort in not bombarding my hair stylist with pictures and stories and gushiness about the world's cutest, most precious and adorable child ever - Maxwell Elizabeth Gawron, because well she is (even I would put myself second now in that category)! It actually took almost every ounce of my energy to not whip out my phone and show her the hundreds of pictures I have taken since May 11th - documenting every little move and gurgle that she makes. At one point I actually thought about sitting on it just so that I wouldn't be tempted to shove it in her hairstylist face. Every question she asked I just hoped it would be able to lead back around to bring my little one back up. This wasn't because I had nothing else to talk about because I always have something to talk about that is not a question, it is just that Max was all I wanted to talk about. I don't know if it was the fact that coming back to work has made me miss her incredibly and so I need to feel connected when I am not there or if this is normal or if it is just a phase but I do know that the feelings of love were just overwhelming.  It was one of the most incredible feelings ever. I walked into the house that night - with new shiny hair and didn't care if anyone noticed because I just wanted to squish up on my little girl and enjoy every second of it.

Vermont holds a very special place in my heart. I spent some of the most wonderful years of my life in Burlington surrounded by some of the most amazing people I have ever been blessed to know. College was the cliche growing experience, love, parties, adventures, homework, three jobs at a time,

heartbreak, more love, drinks (and more drinks), and learning what I needed to do to grow up and take care of myself a little bit more than I had in the past. I made some of the best memories of my life in Burlington and there are days when I wonder where I would be if I had stayed or had moved back. But I didn't and I am here now, happy, content and settled. I made some very good friends up there in the 802 some of them in school and some of them outside of school. Through the years I have come to realize that some of these friends and my party people and some of them I have a true blue bond with that has yet to be broken whether I am thousands of miles away or just a few hours down the street. Yesterday one of these friends took the time on her 4 hour drive back up to VT to stop and spend a little time with Max and I. Although our visit was short because she still had a long road ahead of her it made my day in so many ways. Not only did I get to see one of the girls I have long considered one of those true friends but it was so awesome to introduce my little girl to that part of my life. It is a part that someday I will gladly tell all about to her, but, not until she is plenty old enough (I am going to deny deny deny I did anything crazy until she is way past her prime). Until then I hope to include Burlington and my friends up North in her life as much as possible... even if it is on drives through and quick visits and FaceTime phone calls.  ometimes now I feel a bit disconnected from that life and the people up there, I know it is partly my fault but it still is hard at times. No matter what ... I love my VT roots and my VT friends and nothing will ever change that. 

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can't pick your friend's nose... unless you are bigger than your friend <3