Family Archives - 2 Cats and Chloe

To Life, Love and Unexpected Twists!

Last month I had the privilege of being a matron of honor for my sister and (now) brother-in-law. I’ve been a maid of honor a ton of times in the past. Like, a ton. More than anyone should ever commit to doing. I’m just that good of a friend I guess… or I’m crazy. Jury is still out on that one.

This time it was a bit different. Partially because it was my sister. Partially because I’m really not that same, fun-loving, carefree person that I spent the first 31 years of my life being.

I was extremely anxious about giving a toast. To the point that I honestly did not want to do it. Why would anyone in their right mind give a person like me a microphone right now?? I feared they would either slow clap me off or there would be crickets. (Because we were literally in a barn.) I tried to do something creative, like that time I rapped at a wedding, but it just didn’t feel right. So two days before the wedding, I sat down at an old, wooden, camp picnic table with a bottle of delicious white wine, and I did what I do best. I wrote.

I’m proud of this toast. It has a lot of my heart in it. And a lot of semi-jaded wisdom I would want to share with any newlywed couple. Or not-so-newlywed couple.

Several people stopped me when I was done, with tears in their eyes, and said they enjoyed my toast. Then I read it to my therapist a week after the wedding and made her cry. So I figured I would share it here as well… You won’t get the full effect without hearing my bites of snark or emphasis on certain words, but I hope you enjoy.

Hello everyone! For those of you who do not know me, I am Susan, Leslie’s sister. And before you ask, no, we are not twins.

Some of you know that I have been a maid of honor too many times to count. I’ve rapped at weddings, I’ve shared embarrassing stories at weddings and I’ve delivered epic toasts. Or so I’ve been told.

But that was Old Suz. And New Suz isn’t quite as fun as Old Suz was. So, not to disappoint you, but I will not be rapping tonight, nor will I be sharing old embarrassing stories like the time Leslie tried to drive the lawn mower up the steps at the cottage or when she was wearing a long dress in the kitchen, tried to kick one foot up in the air and the dress pulled her other leg up behind her, causing her to land on her back in the middle of the floor. (Don’t try that move tonight on the dance floor…)

Before I give my official toast and share some words of wisdom to the new bride and groom, I need to say just a couple tid-bits about myself and what my family has been through over the last two years. Early last year, not only did our daughter show up 7 weeks early, but she born with an extremely rare, complex, life threatening disease. And I’m not going to lie, since we got married, it’s been a tough few years. She has completely turned our lives upside down. Making us stronger and more exhausted than we could ever imagine. (Hence me not rapping my matron of honor toast tonight.)

When I tried putting my thoughts down for you - I’m not going to sugar coat this… (The wedding planner in me is cringing right now thinking someone take that mic from her…) - life and marriage are not easy. You will face bumps, curves, highs and lows together. You will face the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful together.

Take a second to look around this room. Look at all of the details. Look at the decorations, the center pieces, the twinkling lights, the chandeliers. Remember this atmosphere and it’s loving energy. Remind yourself of it when you feel like you’re in a dark place.

Look around again. Look at all of the people in this room. These are literally ALL of your favorite people. These are your friends and family. They are your tribe. They, we, will be your support, your cheerleaders, your drinking buddies. We are going to be the ones here for you when you can’t ask for help.

Now look at each other. (Smile and act like you like each other.) This is your person. This is the person who is facing life with you - no matter what speed bumps you hit. This is the person who you will have your best adventures with - whether they be vacations, concerts, camping, kids or grandkids.

But there will be days when you are tired. When you are crazy. When one of you smells bad. (Am I right Mike?) And on those days, remember this barn. Remember the joy. Remember your tribe. Remember the magic and the rustic.

Now grab your drinks and everyone raise your glasses:

To Leslie and Aaron, to life, love and to unexpected twists! Cheers!

Baby Lorelei & Mommy Suz Update

by Susan

You know what’s crazy? I have written several posts here, a few great and a few that are simply rambling thoughts… but I haven’t been publishing them. While I love the recipes, the DIY’s, home decor and trending products, the core of my blog always goes back to my words. I write to express myself. I write to get things out of my head. I write because it helps me feel better. But I don’t always share it with you.

A family friend, who knows nothing about my blog, told my mom that when he was praying a couple of weeks ago, he clearly felt like God was telling him to tell me that I need to write. Write for me. Write for others. Write for Lorelei. It didn’t matter, I just needed to write.

Tonight, as I scramble to get my life back to some sort of semblance of a life I once again recognize, I realize that I have been writing more and publishing less. So maybe I should click that publish button and let things fly out into cyberspace. Maybe that is one of the first steps toward finding myself again.

Gals and guys, having a baby is tough. Having a baby with special needs (notice I didn’t say a special needs baby!) is even more difficult. So, since I have left y’all in the dark, let’s catch up. Where are we and are how we surviving this adventure!

Lorelei is doing well. She is growing. Boy is she growing! Her calorie intake has been cut back because she was gaining about an ounce and a half per day! Our tiny little nicu baby, who looked like a drowning rat the first day I met her, now has so many rolls you could hide pennies in her folds. (To be fair, both Michael and I were chunky as babies… heck, I’m still chunky… apple doesn’t fall far I suppose!) As a mito baby, she has sleepy days and awake days. Some days she babbles, some days she doesn’t feel like it. Every now and then she will take a few sips from a bottle but at this point she is 97% fed via g-tube. She is 6 days away from being 6 months old. Six months of growing, fighting and pure badassness on her part. Six months of proving them wrong and surprising the doctors who thought she would never leave the NICU.

How am I? Like I said, I am struggling to find myself. At 6 months into this adventure and I feel like I am finally starting to get over the PTSD of the NICU… and beginning to navigate through postpartum depression and anxiety. Finding joy is hard when your life, plans and dreams have been turned upside down. I still cry myself to sleep on occasion. But not because I’m sad about how my daughter “turned out.” I think cry because, in addition to simply feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I am mourning the loss of the innocent, happy Suz I used to know. I liked her. She wasn’t jaded. She wasn’t numb.

That being said, I know I am processing and growing because I am finally at a point where cannot imagine my life any other way. I have tried. Trust me, I’ve tried so many times. But if life had gone as planned, with a full term pregnancy and a healthy baby with a normal life expectancy, I don’t know if I would appreciate things like the slightest babble or the weeble wobble of her head. If life had gone as planned, would some of my closest friends have gone missing in my life? If life had gone as planned, I wouldn’t have a handful of folks that I’ve met through the NICU, therapies or doctors, who have stepped up and stepped in as my support system where many friends have stepped back. I’m thankful and I absolutely adore my daughter and all of her quirks.

Enough rambling. I have a few older posts that I have written and saved - that maybe one day I will share. Maybe they will help other moms who are navigating through NICU life, postpartum depression and anxiety, or having a baby with extra special needs… but right now, those posts need to stay private. But coming up soon (because apparently Jesus wants me to write, share and create again) I have a confessions series I want to start, I have recipes I need to share, I strung y’all along with our house updates all last year so how about I show you a few of the finalized rooms?? I also have some big collaborations and business ventures to share with you! Are you okay if we keep things light, but trickle in some wordy posts here and there that may have been typed up on a keyboard covered in salty tears? Good, because it’s my blog so it’s my rules! 😛

Welcome Home “Newborn” Pictures

by Susan

9 months. Well actually 10. That’s a long time to plan and dream and spend hours pinning away colorful nursery ideas, creative maternity pictures and then later, peeking at fun birth announcements as your due date gets closer. It is 40 weeks of trying to decide between cloth diapers and disposables. 280 days of anticipating the unknown, wondering what color eyes your baby will have and packing just the right items to go into your hospital bag.

Unless you are like me or so many of my new NICU mom friends. Our plans were flipped upside down along with every spec of comfort and normalcy. Many of us still find ourselves not only hopelessly searching for joy in the situation or unexpected diagnosis, but we are also mourning the loss of what was supposed to be normal. What we pinned onto our pinterest boards, they aren’t options. That vision we had of being wheeled out of the hospital in a wheel chair, holding our freshly baked baby in our laps while our significant other held an “it’s a girl” balloon, that concept popped right after they said “emergency c-section.”

My pregnancy was cut 7 weeks short. 8 if you count the week prior that I was on mandatory bedrest and in the hospital. The week Lorelei arrived we were supposed to have my maternity pictures taken. While I wasn’t thrilled with how I looked at the time, in the end I am still crushed that we didn’t have the opportunity to capture and record the end of my pregnancy. When I found myself in the NICU for an indefinite amount of time, I lost another “normal” and anticipated event: newborn pictures.

Most NICU families do not have quality pictures of their babies. We have pictures that are taken on our iphones through plastic baggies. 77 days in the NICU means that you take “newborn” pictures later. Later when you are excited to be home. Later when you are celebrating survival instead of birth. Later when they are no longer newborn pictures, but “Welcome Home” pictures.

Since Lorelei has a prognosis of a life much shorter than most littles, her Welcome Home pictures were very important to me. That being said, all pictures of her are very important to me. My father in law continuously comments that Lorelei has had more pictures taken of her in a few weeks than most babies have had taken of them in a few years.

When you aren’t promised tomorrow, you document every moment of today.

As a wedding planner I am blessed to be surrounded by tons of amazing photographers, one of my favorites being my college roommate Katie Wilson of Katie Wilson Photography in Richmond, VA. We go way back. It’s so crazy when you can say you have a friendship older than a fifth grader! I have loved watching Katie’s business grow and her photography skills shine. I knew when Lorelei came home, one of the first guests we wanted to have was Katie and her camera!

A couple months ago I was so excited when Katie was able to visit us in the hospital and snap one of our first family photos. When I heard that the NICU was looking for a photographer to take pictures of the babies for Mother’s Day - I immediately thought of Katie. It meant the world to us when she snapped a couple quick pics of Lorelei at her bedside. I was so happy to hear that she volunteered her time and skill to bring some light to other families who are in the midst of the dark NICU storm. Pictures are something that I have always felt are important but I never realized just how important they are until we were not given the chance to have them. Aside from that, now that we are home, let me just tell you - it is SO NICE to be able to hold your baby and snuggle up without annoying wires, lots of beeping and those not-so-fashionable gowns.

Lorelei was an absolute champ and a little bit of a diva for Katie. We quickly realized that we should be taking a fancy camera to PT with us because boy did she track it! I may be a bit bias but I am pretty positive she is the prettiest baby ever.

Without further ado, Welcome Home Lorelei! (These pictures were taken at 14 weeks old - with an adjusted age of 7 weeks.)

We have come a long way from that 2 pound 15 ounce baby that was born 7 weeks early. This kid is a beautiful fighter who’s spirit and spunk shines through her big blue-green eyes. These are pictures we will cherish forever. Thank you so much Katie for trekking down to Hampton Roads to capture Lorelei’s Welcome Home pictures! If you’re in Virginia and you are looking for an excellent baby photographer - give Katie Wilson a shout. Pretty sure her business tagline should be “I am a baby whisperer with a camera!”

December Confessions

by Susan

When in the world did 2015 decided to practically up and leave? How is it already the middle of December? (For the record, it is 75+ degrees here - which is far from normal - so mentally, I am still in enjoying late-summer / early-Fall.)

As I sat in my dark, dark batcave this morning - see picture above of our room at Nana’s house, in the middle of the afternoon, when it was bright and sunny OUTSIDE - I was simply in awe of the fact that it really is December. Christmas is less than two weeks away! TWO WEEKS! I have just a couple decorations out, Christmas Vacation hasn’t been watched more than twice, there are presents to wrap and still a couple more to buy!

Which got me thinking… maybe instead of a “Five on Friday” this week, I needed to do some sort of December Confessional. Partially because it’s Monday and not Friday. But also because let me be frank - I cannot be the only one who does the following:

Confession: I try to send out my Christmas cards really early. Why? Only partially to be ahead of the game. More so because I LOVE receiving Christmas cards and I figure, if I beat you to it, maybe you will remember to include me on your mailing list. Selfish? Yes, definitely. (Who doesn’t like getting real mail that isn’t a bill??) However, this year, since we are in such transition, I wanted to be sure to include all of our mailing address(es) too… So selfish, yeah… but I’m also trying to help you from getting a “Return To Sender” card next month.

Confession: I purchased “Ugly Christmas Sweaters” for my dogs. Yup. I’m that girl. But quite frankly, they love dressing up. While they may look terribly silly, these two border collies are thrilled to be so dressed up, festive or not.

2 cats & chloe: Christmas Lights Williamsburg VA

Confession: I wait until after Thanksgiving for all things Christmas, except music and movies. I start playing Christmas music, except for the occasional Nsync “Merry Christmas” that is allowed to play all year long, in early-November. I typically kick off the cheesy holiday flicks as soon as Hallmark Channel starts playing them! But everything else (decorations, cookies, cards, etc) waits until December. #RespectThanksgiving.

2 cats & chloe: December - all dressed up for holiday party

Confession: Last week I went to my first real business holiday party. As someone who works from home, runs my own businesses and rarely sees other human beings - it was nice to dress up, drag my husband along and attend the holiday party for one of my biggest clients. Even if we had to drive 4 hours there and 4 hours back in one night!

2 cats & chloe: Coffee on my front porch

Confession: I am beyond devastated that we will not be “Home for the Holidays” this year. Considering that we began packing up our home in Newport News, VA last January - I really did hope, deep down, that we would be in our new home by the end of the year. As my dad, our builder, told me last month - “Suz, it’s just not happening!” And then I cried, like any self-respecting, 6 months pregnant woman should do…

2 cats & chloe: Busch Gardens Christmas Town Germany

2 cats & chloe: Pregnant Suz at Christmas Town

2 cats & chloe: Busch Gardens Christmas Town England

2 cats & chloe: Family Selfie at Christmas Town in Williamsburg

Confession: Even though it isn’t easy, sometimes you just have to put the drama, home building crap and life aside… It took quite a bit of coordinating, but yesterday my family put our busyness aside and spent some quality time at Busch Gardens’ Christmas Town. (Nana didn’t join us because she preferred to watch the Duggars…) If you are in Virginia, I highly recommend you trek it to Williamsburg for a festive night of lights and entertainment at Busch Gardens! So much fun. So many twinkle lights!

2 cats & chloe: December Confessions Holiday Border Collie

Confession: I feel like every year the holidays come and go, quicker and quicker. As I get older, I find myself fighting to not get “lost in the motions” of the season. Am I alone in this? I cannot wait until Lorelei is here with us for Christmas next year. Will the magic return when there is a child in the house? What do you do to stay in touch with the reason for the season?

Do you have any December Confessions you need to get off your chest? Leave them in the comment section below!

Gender Reveal Party with Paint!

by Susan

I think there is a rule somewhere about how many photos are allowed in a blog post… I don’t know, maybe 5 or 6 tops? Well we are about to blow that rule out of the water.

Sunday afternoon 30 of our friends and family members drove from near and (mostly) far away to find out the gender of #BabyMagotes! Oh, and we cannot forget the 10-ish people who joined us online! They say it takes a village to raise a child… We are truly blessed to have such an amazing village of folks who care so much about us and our little baby!

And with that… I bring you a trillion pictures and the big blog announcement of #BabyMagotes’ gender!

As a professional event planner, I know every shindig needs a Plan A and a Plan B. Our Plan A included the back deck, a fire pit, tons of space for tons of guests, a canvas in the middle of the yard, sunshine and eggs filled with either blue or pink paint. Plan B? Well Plan B involved a cake with either pink or blue on the inside and a lot less space in the house… My parents knew how much Plan A meant to me, so when the forecast was terrible we tried to work around it!

The gal who made our wedding cake (Cake Delights in Virginia Beach, VA) made us an amazing gluten free gender reveal cake. When I told her about my Plan A, we decided a white cake with pink and blue paint splatters all over it would be 100% fitting! Don’t ya just love it?! At the very last minute I added the cake topper to match the other rustic decor I made for the party. I was simply obsessed. And if I had to go with Plan B, inside, in one room - this was exactly how I envisioned it! Along with a ton of other sweet treats, delicious food and the pink/blue rustic decor that my mom and I put together…

Easy, gender reveal treats included: Pink and Blue gum balls (from Target), M&Ms with nuts and no-nuts, trail mix with extra blue m&ms, puppy chow (or garbage, depending on what you call it) with extra pink m&ms and cute little pink and blue party cups (from Hobby Lobby) for guests to carry around their treats!

I made Gender Reveal gifts for all of our friends and family members who are not local or who were unable to make it to the party. There were quite a few extra so these then became party favors! (Detailed post on these later…)

In addition to the wine and beer for the non-preggos, we had blue hawaiian punch and pink lemonade. Not paleo but easy. And fit the pink and blue theme. I had clear plastic cups and colorful straws for guests to continue to show off their vote!

The Mommy’s Been Craving Buffet included nothing paleo, but almost everything gluten free! Buffalo chicken dip, a baked potato bar and toppings, veggies with ranch, chicken salad, fruit, chips and salsa… NOM.

Above is my college bestie who drove a total of four hours in the rain to be with me for this reveal.

Below, my previous neighbors who are my Newport News family! We miss them terribly and were so thrilled they were able to join us now that we live an hour away!

I was super impressed by my grandmother’s commitment to Team Pink. From head to toe she was wearing pink! Even her earrings! Way to go Narn!

This was a first attempt with Google Hangout for me. And I learned A LOT. Like tell everyone to put mute on their laptops! Apparently my online guests spent most of the time watching my cousin in Switzerland instead of the actual reveal! Whoopsie! But I was told that they were able to see the important parts! Above, J and her hubby in ATL. Below, my friend of 25 years, Cait and her husband-to-be, and actually #BabyMagotes’ Godparents (!!) in Charlotte! And then we had some family from Switzerland and several friends in Northern VA too!

Before we did the actual gender reveal, we took team pictures!

2 cats & chloe: Gender Reveal Party Team Pink Photo

My Plan A included eggs filled with either pink or blue paint. About an hour before the party my husband, college roomie and I filled them with paint and then glued pink and blue tissue paper on top of them so our guests could not see the color of the paint inside.

Plan A was supposed to take place outside, in the sunshine. But because of the rain, my dad generously opened his garage up for us to all cram into! We put the canvas just outside the door, underneath an umbrella. Then I reminded them all that they needed to throw the eggs HARD. (When I practiced this several weeks prior, the first time I threw a paint-filled egg, it didn’t crack at all! So in order to get the splatter, you gotta THROW IT!)

And then, it was time for the egg toss and actual reveal! Look closely at everyone’s facial expressions! These pictures are priceless!

I’d say, based on the pictures above, my folks were over the moon when the eggs revealed several shades of pink! I really wish my in-laws could’ve been there to enjoy this fun moment too!

(If a gender reveal with paint eggs is something you plan on doing, keep in mind that you can pick the half-broken eggs back up and toss them again! They still had quite a bit of paint left!)

Once the eggs were tossed and the gender was revealed, Michael and I shared that we are going to be naming our little girl Lorelei Elizabeth! I was so happy that, despite the rain, we still had the opportunity for our family to create this fun piece of art to go in Lorelei’s nursery.

Then, the gals of the fam celebrated the fact that there will be yet another strong, amazing woman in this family! Four generations in one picture!

And of course, we still ate the Plan B. 🙂

Many thanks to the family and friends who joined us in person and online to celebrate this sweet little girl who we are all anxious to meet! I cannot believe we are 21 weeks into this… we know it’s a she, and now she has a name! While I’m no where near ready, there’s no turning back now!

(Photo credit goes out to my amazing sister Leslie Benjaminson Photography!)

To Life, Love and Unexpected Twists!

Baby Lorelei & Mommy Suz Update

Welcome Home “Newborn” Pictures

December Confessions

Gender Reveal Party with Paint!

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