Weekend Part 2 and guest blogger announcement

Cravings: pink pink pink!

On Sunday morning my mom and I woke up in the hotel (Marriott - we get lots of points with them and great military upgrades when I'm traveling with Charlie). We looked at different websites of videographers. I used to not want a video of the wedding until I saw a highlight reel that Sarah, Charlie's sister, was tagged in on facebook. I was hooked. It is more "cinematography" than "videography" and is something I actually would watch quite often, such as if I am having a sad day, or maybe if I miss Charlie, etc. It's short, you pick a song it goes to, it captures all the highlights from getting ready to getaway, you can include your vows or speeches if you want, etc. I think at this point I may have found a company to do it, but am still taking suggestions!

After we looked at reel after reel, it was time to head over to the shower. When Em first got married, I forgot her invitation at my apartment in Baltimore. I had no idea where to go! Luckily I remembered a few details and called a few hotels and found it. This time I forgot the invitation on my fridge, but luckily Em texted me right back with the address :-)

We walked in to see this:


Em's sisters in law, best friend, mother in law, and mom did everything by themselves. I couldn't believe the cake pops weren't professionally done! Her s.i.l. got styrofoam spheres, hot glued moss to them, put them in the buckets, and put the cake pops that she made into it. 
Something really creative that she did was dip marshmallows and white oreos - the oreos were my favorite.

I got to see Shaya, Em's 2.5 year old princess:


She showed me her rapunzel case and put stick on earrings on me. So glamorous!


I got to give baby Talya some kisses:


And taste yummy food, including a sampling of the cake pops!


One of my favorite parts was seeing the soon to be family of 4 (David came to pick up Shayna):

Unfortunately I didn't snap a picture of all of them together, whoopsie.

Here mom came and brought this:


She appraoched me and said "I was horrified to find out that Em took you to get your tattoo!" So funny. She read it on the blogpost I had written about Emily's pregnancy photos. To this day, none of us can get over the fact that Emily is the one who took me to get it when I was so young! So out of character!

I think my favorite picture of that day is actually this one:


Me and Emily both have such special relationships with our mommies. Boschnack/Rackow clan - start coming back to Vegas for Thanksgiving!

While we were at dinner for Emily's birthday, she spoke about a parenting tip that was so phenomenal, I got excited, without even being married yet let alone pregnant. I am very excited to announce that Emily will be making a guest appearance on the blog with tidbits of parenting! I can't wait for her advice to reach you all.

LA weekend part 1 and my attachment to my mommy!

Over the weekend, my mom and I drove to visit my dear friend Emily for her baby shower (and a birthday celebration for her the evening before). I have written about Emily here.

My mom and I rented a Hyundai Sonata for the drive. My dad is a firm believer that if you're driving a long distance, you rent a car. This way, you don't put the miles on the car, the wear and tear on parts, extra oil changes etc, AND since driving long distances increases your risk of accident, you don't risk your car needing body work. About 1.5 years ago, my mom and I were driving to a conference in LA and someone with a bb gun shot our driver side back seat window. Besides being terrified, we just dropped the car off at the airport and got a new one! Anyway, the car was comfy for my mom but I couldn't find the perfect driving position and kept having to crack my back. What a great idea though - rent a car for a couple of days before you commit to buying it!

We arrived on Saturday evening and met Emily and her husband David, and a dozen of their close friends at Casa Escobar in Ventura County.

Here is my mom, Emily, and me:

I had a very good chicken mole and my mom had chicken fajitas. She can't handle spicy food so Mexican is not a good option for her usually.

For Emily's birthday gift I did something that my sister did for me several years ago. Instead of buying her something I'm not sure she wants, I made a donation to a charitable foundation important to her. I have been doing this with most of my friends for their birthdays, and I think it means so much more than buying them a drink at a bar - fun, but who remembers that?

There was a very delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert:


Here is the cake being presented to Emily - her hubby David is to the right, and baby Talya is in her belly. Baby Toddler Shayna was at home with grandma.




I love this picture because you see the cell phone taking a picture in the picture:


Here is a cute picture of me and my mommy:


Speaking of my mommy...

We are close.

Very close.

We used to work in the same department at school, while I lived with her, and we didn't get sick of each other.

We have a special VT/Ima voice that we use. I am VT - my first name is Ravit, so nickname is Vity - aka VT. Ima is mom in Hebrew. The voice is really for nobody else but each other, and lucky Charlie. We have to hide it from my sister! Haha.

I am extremely proud of my relationship with my mom. Not only is she the woman I admire most, she has taught me so much of what I know, without even trying, just by modeling. If I am a good teacher it's only because of her. If I am organized and creative it's because of her. If I am a good cook it's because of her. I can't wait until I am a mom, not just because I've always wanted to be one, but also because I will get to be reminded of all the creative and wonderful things she did with us, that I can't wait to replicate with my children.  You should see the games we played and the cakes she made us.

I am so fortunate to live so close to her! I am also at an age where I think it's socially acceptable to have her involved with my friends. Katy (one of my best friends) and I love spending time together with her, and I almost always invite her to things, such as the girls watching the Bachelorette last night. With her living so close, why would I not take advantage and see her every day?

We are extremely lucky that Charlie and my parents love each other. While we have "ima/VT" time, Charlie has Charlie/Danny time. They probably watch 60 minutes and break things on the computer so they can be fixed, but it works out perfectly.

On Saturday I am going to Alabama and will be there for 6 weeks.

I was gone for college and work for 6 years. Did my mom and I speak every day? Multiple times! Did we see each other several times a year? Fortunately, we were able to. Did we survive without living a mile away from each other and sharing shoes? Absolutely. I will always miss her if we have to be separated, but for the next week, look forward to seeing her every day, and doing exactly the same when I get back.

Ima and VT at Taste of the Nation 2010

And boy, did I find the best groom in the world, who when we were in Hawaii last year on vacation, said out of nowhere "I wish Lauren and Danny were here with us".

I am one lucky lady with the best family ever, and I can't wait to spend time with my future family in one week in Alabama!

Emily's pregnancy shots

Emily is one of my very dear friends. She was my sister's camp counselor years ago (I think I was 14, she was 17), and is the person who took me to get my tattoo when I was 15. Yup. 15. My how I have changed. She is like a big sister to me and although we don't get together often since she lives in a different state, we stay in touch a lot. She has given me life advice and career advice and is one of the most put together people I know, with the biggest and kindest heart. She was one of those geniuses that was in college by the age of like, 16 or something, and taught herself fluent sign language! She also is prettier than barbie with her blue blue blue eyes and blonde hair, and I will always remember the bright red lipstick she USED to wear every day. Remember that Em? She mentored me a lot when I was doing behavioral therapy (for kids with autism) since she is one of the best ABA consultants in the business.

Em has a daughter Shayna, who will turn 3 on our wedding day! (October 20th). Hopefully she will be able to be one of two flower girls (along with Clary). How adorable would that be?

Since Shayna was born in October, Em had a "pumpkin shower" for her and wore this:

Seriously, cutest idea ever.

Well, Em is pregnant with babygirl 2 and due in July. So no pumpkin shower, but look at the pictures she sent me the other day! 

Beach ball for a summer baby!

This got me thinking - what are some belly shots you could do? (Yes I know I'm nowhere near pregnant but I love thinking of themes etc).

Here's what I've come up with:
-globe
-basketball for march madness
-fish bowl
-snowman
-ladybug
-Mickie/Minnie Mouse (if your guy has a beer gut....tell him to work out! Just kidding, he could be mickie and you could be minnie)
-clock
-man in the moon (or ET over the moon)
-watermelon

You could honestly paint anything on it but I was trying to think of things that are spherical so that it looks like you're actually holding it.

Anybody done something like this? Tell us about it!