So Much to be Thankful For

Just a quick post to put pen to paper for all myself and the Bagalini Family are thankful for.  Today marks Dani's 3 year anniversary with our family.  Since becoming a family of 5, we have been blessed in more ways we could possibly have known.  Dani truly completes our family and brings joy to our lives with every new milestone she reaches.  Happy Anniversary Dani Jade!

Today we also depart for Mexico to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family.  This is the first time we will have all ventured down as a family and to say that we are excited is a gross understatement!  Even Dustin is joining us, taking 3 planes, to get there.

We are thankful for the many family and friends in our lives, our good health, and the roof over our heads.  Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~T

It's the MOST Wonderful Day of the Year! {1st Day of School}

YaaaaaHoooooo!  This week marked the return of the kids to school.  Technically, it was the beginning of Dustin's 2nd week of his freshman year in college and Dylan started 8th grade at his middle school.  He's the big man on campus now and Dustin is back at the bottom of the totem pole.  Funny how things change.  As for Dani, she began her very first week at pre-school.  She was soooo excited to begin and I am soooo excited to have 11 whole hours a week to myself.  She had a great first day and there were no tears from either her or me!  Below are a couple of pics of the kids on their first day.  Sorry, I don't have one of Dustin on his first day of college (don't think he would have let me take a picture!) so I posted a couple from our trip back getting his dorm set-up.

Dani bringing Yellow Roses to the Teachers in her Yellow Room

Power Breakfast

Dylan 1st Day of 8th Grade (2012)

Dustin's Nirvana!

Dorm Shopping with Mom - A 2 cart Target trip, my Nirvana!

Graduation Movie {Dustin}

Probably THE highlight of Dustin's graduation party was a movie made by a very dear friend of ours, Marc Gariss.  Marc and Chris have been friends for over 20 years and as such he has been there from the very beginning of Dustin's life.   He’s attended almost every single birthday party, usually bearing extravagant gifts such as t-shirts with Dustin’s image on them for all in attendance (1st birthday), ice hockey skates (2nd birthday) and much needed lacrosse gear throughout the years, just to name a few.  Dustin has always looked up to his “Uncle” Marc and will cancel his plans at the drop of a hat if he knows Marc is coming over.  Very impressive for those of you who don’t have teenagers!  

Feeling a little stressed, I asked Marc if he could help me out and put together a brief slide show that we could show to everyone the night of the party.   I knew it would be more creative than anything I could do, but as usual, Marc went above and beyond.  Words cannot explain how grateful we are to Marc, not for simply taking a task off of our to-do list but for capturing the spirit of Dustin and our family and providing us with a gift that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.  THANK YOU MARC!

T

Marc and a 2-month old Dustin

18th Birthday

Graduation Day

Catching Up . . .

Hello Again! Yes, it has been a while since I last posted.  As usual, life interferes with my writing.  Where to begin, where to begin . . .

{Dylan}

June marked the end of the school year for the boys, in which Dylan earned his highest GPA ever, a 3.5!  We are beyond proud of him as he worked his butt off this school year.  He attended tutoring at school 2, sometimes 4 days a week in addition to working with a private tutor once a week for math.  He independently established goals for his homework, tests and projects all while maintaining the ever important citizenship grade.  The reward for all of his hard work was the class trip to Yosemite National Park.  He and one of his best buddies roomed together for a week and hiked up to 5 miles each day.  It was a great way to end the school year and a trip Dylan will not forget.  Be sure to check out his pics below as he is also a budding photographer.

{Dani}

June also marked the end of school for Dani - sort of.  Her twice weekly, group speech therapy sessions at the local elementary school came to an end. In addition to the speech therapy she undergoes weekly at Children's Hospital, she is able to participate in group therapy sessions with other kids and the results have been amazing!  Our little girl gives new meaning to the term "Chatty Cathy!"  She resumes the sessions when school starts again in the Fall, as well as begins attending pre-school three days a week.  I cannot believe she will be 4 in just a few short months!

{Dustin}
June was an event filled month for Dustin with his Sr. Prom, Disneyland Grad Nite and not only marked the end of the school year for Dustin, but the end of high school.  Yes, our 6' 4" "baby" boy graduated from high school! It was a crazy, chaotic, emotion-filled day, one we were fortunate to spend with all of our family.  Tutu & Hootie (aka Grandma and Grandpa Edgeworth) flew in from Kauai, Auntie Laurie, Uncle Dave, Emily and Jake from Mexico in addition to Grandma Mernie and Grandpa Larry and Grandma and "Jim".  We took advantage of the family being all together for the first time in over 15 years with a week full of activities . . . Belmont Park, The Wave House, Graduation Party for Dustin and Birthday Brunch for Auntie Laurie.  It was truly a wonderful week and we are so appreciative of everyone taking the time out of their summer to spend it with us.

Prom

Graduation Day

Wave House & Belmont Park

Graduation Party

Memorabilia Wall

Birthday Brunch

I think that about gets everyone caught up for now.  I hope you and yours are having a fun-filled summer!

T

Belated Happy Mother's Day

Belated Happy Mother's Day wishes to all the wonderful mommies out there!  As usual, time escaped me last week and I either could not find a spare moment to blog, or was too tired to do so.

Last week was bitter sweet as it was the end of Dustin's High School Lacrosse season.  Normally, I would be jumping with joy due to the amount of work it entails (OK, I did do a mini jump for joy), but sadly, I realized it is the last time we are able to watch him play in high school.  Yes, he is going on to play in college, but we will not be there for every game as we have during his 4 years in high school. We are very proud of how he managed to attend practice every day, keep his grades up in school and work a part-time job.  He also received the award for Overall MVP from his coaches this year which is a fantastic way to end the season!

So I hope all you Moms out there had a wonderful, relaxing Mother's Day.  Mine began in the morning when our son Dylan brought me breakfast in bed - and even made it himself!  I was treated to a cheese omelette, a bagel with grape jelly and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  It was very sweet that he did all of that himself.  Shortly after we all went to visit my Grandmother's grave, aka Big Grandma.  It's times like these, with all of the milestones our family is experiencing that I miss her.  I know she would be so proud of both the boys and would love the spunk and fire Dani has. Not only was I fortunate to be able to spend the day with my own Mom, but with other important women in my life as well.  Auntie Sharon, Lynn, Lynnae, new mommy Angela, Allison and those that I was not able to spend the day with but are just as important, my Mother-in-law, Karen and Sister-in-law, Laurie.  It was a crazy busy day, but I am so blessed to have not only my own Mom in my life but other women who mean the world to me.  I don't always have the time I would like to spend with each of you but hope you all know how much you mean to me and my family and how much I love you.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that I often think of Dani's biological mom, but especially on a day like today where I feel like my family and my life are complete now that Dani is here.  I hope Dani's Mom  knows how eternally grateful we are for her allowing another family to give Dani the life she was unable to provide.  There is no love like a mother's love and Dani's biological mom made the ultimate sacrifice allowing her to become part of our family and we are forever grateful.

T

Dylan's First Video Production

Wordless Wednesday

The Couple that Diets Together, Stays Together

Today is mine and Chris' 19th wedding anniversary.   While the modern gift theme associated with the nineteenth wedding anniversary is bronze, Chris and I decided we would go completely out of the box and forego any gifts for each other (we did just celebrate our B-days after all) and instead . . . . .  drum roll please . . .go on a diet together.  Woo Hoo! We're party animals aren't we?  We both have a few extra pounds we would like to shed and want to recommit to more healthy eating habits, so we are giving each other the gift of health.  Wow that sounded cheesy even to me.

In all seriousness, I can't believe it has been 19 years.  As I have said in previous posts, it seems like just yesterday.  I'm so honored to have Chris as my husband, best friend and father to our kids.  He is calm when I am anxious, strong when I am weak, and still so damn sexy!  I don't know what I would do without him and I look forward to many more years together.  Love you Babe!

T

Fabulous Friday {Gift Idea}

I love a bargain and at 50% off could not resist purchasing these pj’s. Honeydew intimates is one of my favorite brands so I’m sure these will not disappoint. With Mother’s Day right around the corner (hint, hint) any Mom would love to spend her special day relaxing in these comfy pajamas. Head on over to Nordstroms.com now though, as I’m sure they will not last.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/honeydew-intimates-love-lines-pajamas/3221149?origin=PredictiveSearch&resultback=1572#BVRRWidgetID

  T

Class of 2012 {Dustin Update}

I was a little worried after committing to stay on top of the blog and my writing, that I would run out of things to post. Turns out the ideas are coming to me in my every day activities. Yesterday, Dustin's high school announcements arrived and as with Monday's update regarding Dani, I thought, well there's my next post!

So what's new with Dustin? Let's see . . . he turned 18 in October, so naturally, he is an "adult". Funny how teenagers think that just because they have turned this magical number, that they are all of a sudden an adult. Never mind the fact that they still rely on Mom and Dad to feed and cloth them, give them spending money, a car to drive, gas money, a roof over their heads, more money . . .you see where I am going with this? I can't blame him though, because shortly after I turned 18, I did truly believe I was an adult and left my home to move in with my boyfriend whom I had only known for 4 months. Did I just hear you gasp? Well this post is not about me, so let's not go there! Thank goodness that boyfriend turned into my husband of 19 years, or I am sure, I would have never heard the end it!

In addition to turning the all-mighty 18, and being less than 2 months away from graduating from high school, Dustin will soon venture off to college. As I opened the box of announcements yesterday, I am not going to lie, I thought to myself, "how did this happen?" I feel as if it was just a few weeks ago that he was a Freshman in high school, just a few months ago he was graduating from Elementary School and seems like just a few years ago he was the little boy bringing joy to his Dad and I with each new milestone he achieved. Naturally, I realized this day would come, but it kind of caught me off guard yesterday and the realization that our time with Dustin as a child is coming to a close. Soon he will be off away in college, forging new friendships and becoming even more of an independent man. Our relationship will slowly change over time from that of parent and child to a more adult relationship rooted in our mutual love and respect for each other. We are so proud of the young man he is and is on his way to becoming and his Dad an I thank God every day that as far as teenagers go, he has been relatively easy and we have survived these high school years somewhat unscathed. Note, I said "somewhat" and "relatively". Let's face it, a teenager is a teenager, they can be horrible, scary people! Dustin however; has surprised us with his maturity and determination. So where, you ask is Dustin going to college? Here's a hint . . .





My Mom's personal favorite . . .



My favorite (that's Dustin in the pic) . . .



Yep, our baby is off to Aurora, Illinois, a short 30 minute drive from downtown Chicago. He is attending Aurora University where he was offered a scholarship to play lacrosse. For those of you who don't know, my Mom is from Chicago and we still have family that live in Illinois. She could not get away from Chicago and their weather fast enough so it is ironic her grandson is attending college there. This however; was no small feat. When Dustin was first contacted about coming to play for Aurora I believe his exact words were, "hell no. There's no beach in Illinois." To which we replied, "Oh yes, there's a beach! Lake Michigan has lots of beaches." Which he then clarified, "there's no ocean in Illinois." Yes, our California boy did not want to leave his beautiful Golden State. We can't blame him, but kept after him to at least consider the awesome gift being offered to him. We finally convinced him to at least go visit and check the school out before writing it off. Once there, he fell in love with it all. The school, the coach, the team and yes, even downtown Chicago. While on his official visit, he and Chris went to a concert at the original House of Blues. It was easy to spot the California kid standing in line in his shorts and tank top in 20 degree weather!

So that's the latest and greatest with Dustin. You can expect a more tearful, insightful post as his high school graduation nears, but for now, we are so proud of the young man he has become, the hard work he has done and everything he has achieved thus far and look forward to the many exciting experiences and opportunities yet to come his way! Go Dustin!

T