Anything about Everything

F amily traditions have always been so important to me. It's predictable, sure, but there's nothing better than spending time together as a family at the holidays. If you are unable to spend time with family during the holidays, there is always a place for you with my family. Growing up, we would typically visit my paternal grandparents on Christmas Eve, and visit my maternal grandparents on Christmas Day - after going to Christmas mass. The excitement around seeing family for two days straight was never lost on me as a child. I can almost guarantee that it was exhausting for my parents, driving from Methuen, MA to Dracut, MA one day, then Methuen to Randolph, MA the next. But the memories we made were probably worth it. Spending time with both sides of the family was so special, until my dad's parents moved to Florida. Then we did Christmas Day in Randolph, and that was that! We got to spend time with cousins we rarely saw, enjoy homemade goodies, and share laughter.  Now,...

Who doesn't love this time of year?  I mean really...  The stores are decorated, holiday music is playing, Thanksgiving dinner is coming...  Families are gathering together... It's a magical time of year. Families celebrating traditions that have been a part of their lives forever! It's just wonderful. I already touched on this in another post, but I will elaborate here. Growing up, the holidays always made me feel amazing. We were always spending time with both sets of grandparents, while holding our own traditions.  I always looked forward to Thanksgiving, because it meant family was coming over.  It meant spending time with family members I didn't always get to see often. It meant the house was going to smell the best smells. It meant Mom was baking up a storm!  It meant jammies after dinner and Christmas movies on the couch. Since my parents moved away, I have been going down for almost every Thanksgiving. There was one year they stayed up here, when I ...

  I look forward to this time of year - every single year. I find it to be a warm, loving, happy time of year for me and my family. And that is worth looking forward to.  Our family has so many traditions during the holiday season. This year, however, is going to be more magical than most years. Kyle and I get to share our family traditions with our significant others this year! I have never been in a situation where I can share my family traditions with someone and they share theirs with me. Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. No gifts, just good food and family. Name a better holiday! The tradition of watching the parade is something I have never gone without. When we were in the high school marching band, we would often MISS the parade, but thanks to DVRs, we were able to catch it later that day. The smell of Grammy's stuffing cooking really hits me in the feels. I can't wait for all the delicious smells and memories in a few weeks! I am looking forward to shari...

Day 1 of 30 It's common for a newborn child to receive a middle name.  At least it used to be.  I can probably count on one hand the amount of friends I have with out  middle names. When they got in trouble, did their moms just yell their first names REALLY loud? Or did they yell their first and last name? I was a firm believer for a while that middle names were simply part of parenting tradition in order to confirm exactly how pissed your mom was. Once you heard your middle name, you knew you were in for it.  My middle name is Theresa.  Growing up if I heard "Kathryn Theresa" it usually meant I had pissed my parents off pretty royally. But when I wasn't causing chaos as a child, I was always very proud of my middle name.  I thought it was beautiful. From a young age, my mom always told me it came from St.  Therese of Lisieux, also known as "the little flower" or the "little child of Jesus." Therese was a nun of the Carmelite order in...