We love our neighbors

This past week, I haven't slpe much at night and unfortunately, I don't have Matt to blame for it (hehe!). My cold progressed from a sore throat and slight congestion to a nasty cold and horrible congestion at night, to the point that for two nights, I slept for about 2 hours. The bronchial spasms were so bad that Matt slept on the Airobed in the spare bedroom for 2 nights. I really felt horrible about it; Mucinex and Robitussin didn't seem to do much and after another sleepless night on Friday, I decided it was time to go to the Dr. Well, sure enough, I had a low grade fever and a severe case of bronchitis. 4 prescriptions later, I walked out of the office and may my way over to CVS. The pharmacist looked pretty impressed when I handed over the 4 prescriptions; just a slight smile on his face but when I left out a pretty nasty cough, I think he knew it was for real.
The weather was absolutely beautiful Saturday, I took my book outside, a blanket and a big glass of water to stay hydrated along with my sidekick Wrigley. As soon as we got outside, Wrigley spotted her best friend, Amber, across the street. Amber is a 2 year old German Short Haired Pointer or as Wrigley knows her as, her wrestling partner. Lisa brought Amber over and the two ran around the backyard, kicking up dirt and leaving tracks in their path. Lisa and Brian are expecting their first child, a girl, in December. We bought them two very adorable outfits I found in Macys as a thank you gift for watching Wrigly when we went to Chicago; one was purple and yellow poca dots with a cute hate and pretty pink pjs with footies ( I love footies!) To repay us for the outfits, Lisa gave us a kiddie pool for Wrigley since Amber doesn't like the water. It was one of the best gifts Wrigley could have gotten. She was hesitant at first as we filled it with water; I think she thought it was a giant water dish becauase she kept on drinking the water out of the pool. Matt threw some of her toys in, which got her front paws in but it was a little too cold and she bounded away. She creeped closer again, gently touching the water with her paws. And since she seemed to be taking too long to adapt, Matt picked her up and put her in. She was in total shock; she just stood there, starring us down like we were the most evil parents ever. She soon walked a few laps around, jumped out, ran like a crazy, possessed dog around the tree and then dove back into the pool. I really wish I had it on tape because it was such a classic Wrigley move. We played out there for about an hour and she still wasn't tired...to be young again!

Saturday night, Matt and I were invited to a meet and greet of Rivercliff neighbors as well as the neighborhood dogs. The party was co-hosted by Rich and Sandy, who live about 3 houses away as well as Liz and Kent, who live around the block from us. We had the pleasure of meeting about 6-7 other couples, all around our age, that have moved into the neighborhood all within the last year. Some are couples, some engaged and others are newlyweds but none of us are native to Milford. It was great to see that eventually, this neighborhood will be packed with kids riding bikes, running from house to house and alot of gatherings amongst families and maybe eventually, a tradition of Friday night with the ladies of Rivercliff. Liz was my favorite, maybe because she is native to LI so we had alot to chat about. She is extremely outgoing, personal and an excellent cook; we exchaged some recipes last night and I'm super excited to try them! Overall, the evening really made me feel like Matt and I chose the perfect neighborhood to start our roots as a family. I just can't wait until the next party when I can drink!

Mama said there'd be days like this.

Well it wasn't actually a day, more like a week. This past week was the work week from hell. My boss was on vacation, which lead to myself and one of the other therapists responsible for her patient load. Lets just say 100 paitents later, a 50+ hour work week and multiple headache conversations with stupid insurance companies, I was beyond shot! I came home Wednesay night with the start of a sore throat and the stress of the week left my body and mind in complete exhaustion. So basically I've been a bump on a log this weekend, tyring to dewind before another fabulous work week!
I've spent most of my time hanging with little Miss. Wriggs. Wrigley is now 30 lbs, 4 1/2 months old and is developing quite the personality. In the mornings, when I left her out of her crate, she now proceeds to run up the stairs and jump into bed with Matt. She now likes up jump up to put her paws on the counter to see whats up there. Twice this past week, she has eaten half my egg sandwich or gotten some of my fruit salad. It really is messing with my morning routine. She hasn't been doing a very good job with listening to her commands, especially when it comes to calling her name. This week, she lost a tooth while chewing on a treat; I guess in most cases, you never know that the dog lost its tooth because they usually swollow it; though the tooth fairy didn't come and up a present under her pillow, we did go and get her some really tasty treats from Petco : ) I am such a good mom!
She's starting to act like a teenager; but then, there are moments in time, when she snuggles up into your neck, gives you kisses on the cheek and falls asleep on your chest. Those are the moments I love with her.
So as much as I wish this weekend could extend itself by a day, Monday is quickly approaching...

Hallmark says it all...

Last week, I made my usual trip to Stop n Shop for the usual groceries for the week. They are creating a new layout, which completely screwed with my usual aisle routine, but there is a reason for everything. The card aisle is now where I used to restock on my potions and lotions and a card caught my eye...black and white, shot from the end of a bed, with a pair of leg cuddling each other. Inside the card read, "My favorite place in the world is next to you." I laughed and put it in the cart; perfect card for Matt! I guess you can say I'm a sucker for a good card...

Matt deserves alot more than a card these days; he has truly become the domestic man of the house. Work has been a little overwhelming lately; walking in the door @ 9:30 is a late and yes, I don't start until 11 on those days but 20 patients in a day; yeah its a little crazy. Paperwork takes up most the hour or so I'm there later at night. On those nights, he makes dinner; most nights, waiting for me to get home to eat. Our conversation is typical...the how was your day, how was Wrigley, did she destroy anything...etc. Most of the time, he'll do the dishes, sweep up the floor and tuck Wrigley in while I get myself ready for the next day. Wednesday night, he surprised me with ice cream from Walnut Beach Creamery; a local stand with the most delicious homemade ice cream EVER! My favorite flavor is there Vanilla ice cream with cinnamon, vanilla and honey; Matt loves the Mud Pie. Thursday night, I arrived home with a bunch of paperwork still leftover. He massaged my low back as I laid with the laptop on the bed; seriously, you have no idea how good it feels when someones pampers you for 5 minutes when you work on patients all day...it is really a treat! TGIF brought a night of cleaning the house from top to bottom, with Matt doing most of the labor. Without him this past week, I would have been a more angry, stressed mess.

I truly do appreciate all the little things he does for me; a hug and kiss when I walk in the door; dinner on the table with the occasional glass of wine; assisting the the house chores and allowing me to vent. I don't need presents, a vacation, a new bag...I just need him.

This weekend, we were able to be around the house. Saturday morning into the afteroon, we did alot of yard work and created a spot in the yard for Wrigley to "do her business" so we can start to grow some green grass again! Saturday afternoon, we took Wrigley to her favorite dog park in Southbury and met up with Andy, Kelly and Jack. Kelly and I met in PT school; Matt and Andy hit it off because Andy is a football coach, Matt is the UA rep so they have formed a great relationship. Jack is their almost 2 year old son; the most adorable little kid on earth! He is a spitting image of Andy but a mama's boy at heart. Jack absolutely loves animal crackers so while I picked up the necessary ingredients for dessert, I picked up a box of the Barnum Animal crackers; you know the classic animal cracker box with the string to carry! Well, I walked in the door with those and we were instant friends. Jack showed me how to get into a football stance, snap the ball and run for a touchdown; he throw a baseball like his favorite Yankee and splashed in his liitle pool in his favorite Elmo bathing suit. We played airplane, draw lots of pictures and played with blocks. Jack even rubbed some lotion on my sunburn; he is a true lady's man!

Sunday Funday included a trip to Stop n Shop, Costco, Macys and Target; I actually found a Macys gift card with a $100 on it this morning at home so we bought some new picture frames, a new cookbook (for me!) and a hair trimmer for Matt. We also bought our neighbors, Lisa and Brian, some new baby clothes; before we left for Chicago, we found out that Lisa is 18 weeks pregnant and expecting a girl. To thank them for watching Wrigley, we bought the cutest bigs and outfits I could find! We also bought Amber some delicious treats from Petco to thank her for letting Wrigley wrestle her.

So here's to another weekend that went to fast and a work week that will last way too long!