Today has been a beautiful day! We met Kate and Chris and Eve and Cole at the lake. We ate breakfast and then let the kids run off some of their energy! It was a bit nippy out, but we had fun in spite of the colder temps!

Coleslaw is going to take after his granny...he's already into taking pictures!!

And here's a few pictures of Kate and her beautiful family!

and last but not least...grandma and pop pop with our little angels!!

okay, gotta tell ya, I love this coat I have on....it's from JCrew and is a thinsulate coat. It is light weight but keeps you nice and toasty! Im embarrassed about the way it's fitting me here, it's pulled a little too tight! Ugh...this is those extra 16 lbs! OUCH! I used to fit into a size 0 in JCrew clothes and now I'm pulling a size 4 apart at the seams! I've got to lose some of this weight!

You know how I told you I'm a "label whore" in my previous post? Well, what I didn't tell you was that I have this champagne taste on a beer budget! Aside from 3 1/2 (I lost one of my coco pearl earrings, so can't wear them, but refuse to throw the one that is left out, so I count it as half a pair), anyway, aside from those earrings, my Chanel bracelet, and a gucci watch that I bought about a hundred years ago (okay, so it really wasn't 100 yrs, but it has been 23 yrs ago, I bought it when we lived in Sicily), the only other designer label thing that I own is a blouse from Ralph Laurens collection. It was on the runway...do they call this couture? Whatever, I bought it more then a few yrs ago and have only worn it two or three times. I honestly cannot remember what I paid for it, but it wasn't cheap! We're talking hundreds of dollars, i'm thinking around $700? Now if it's not bad enough that I at one time shelled out this much money for a blouse, what's even worse, is I recently took it out of my closet and WASHED it in my washing machine! It should have been dry cleaned, but I wanted to take the cheap and easy way out! Who in the hell (excuse my french) would toss a collection piece into a washing machine?!! and THEN..the dryer!! OMG...I am about as crazy as a loon! When I pulled it out of the dryer it looked like it came from walmart! I ironed it hoping that this would make it magically look like it did before I put it in my cheapo washing machine...NOT! I do have to say that it did make a huge difference from how it looked right after I took it out of the dryer, but it is no where near as nice as it was before I threw it into the washing machine! This is it, my Ralph Lauren collection piece, probably the only piece of clothing that i'll ever own from a collection.....oops it posted above and not below this like i wanted it to! I'll try another one here....

YAY...the picture went where I wanted it to go! I do have to tell you that IF I could afford it, I would buy better clothing! You can FEEL the difference in better clothing. Some people may say that they can't tell a difference by LOOKING at it, but believe me, you can FEEL the difference! Dave said he will no longer buy his jeans from anywhere else but Walmart. He used to buy better jeans, but after buying a pair from Walmart, said that to him, jeans are jeans...they all look the same to him, so he figures he might as well take the cheap route! Which is a good idea for Dave, he isn't even on a beer budget...his budget is more of a water/redbull budget! Not that it mattters, he's happy with his walmart jeans and he looks good in them, so that's all that does matter!
It's funny because our kids all dress different from each other. They all have their own unique style! Dave being a typical guy, will throw on anything that is clean, (and sometimes not clean) and so long as it fits him, he's happy! Ally is a very classy dresser, but since having her kids, she dresses for ease and comfort during the day. Her husband, Mark, recently surprised her (for their anniversary) with a Louis Vuitton bag..OMG...I would LOVE a Louis Vuitton bag, but with Pat not working for the past year, it's going to be a looong time until Mr. Vuitton comes into my life! If ever!! Kate used to be my trendy girl...she loved following the trends! But she like Ally, dresses for ease and comfort since becoming a mama! Her style is evolving, she's growing up, so to speak, she's already passed her old mom up with her style sense! I'm still wearing the trends...and yet another BIG aging with grace NO NO! Christie used to be our little sex pot with her style. She used to wear those sky high stripper heels...she would wear them around the house! Are you kidding me? I once tried one of her shoes on and about fell off my feet just standing in it...it is beyond me how on earth the girl used to WALK in those things! I can't even walk straight in a pair of low heeled high heels. I once fell and broke my foot while running in high heels (okay I was drunk) to board a plane. Ever since then, I have been afraid of all my heels! I have a closet full of them and it gives me a near panic attack just looking at them! Forget putting them on! I live in Uggs and flipflops! Unless were on a cruise. On formal night on the cruise, I will brave wearing a pair of heels. I look like bambi on ice when i try to walk in them!  Back to Christie, (I get sidetracked so easy), she like her sisters, has traded in her old style for one of ease and comfort since having Chloe.
and now I must get off this thing, Chris and Brian and Chloe are coming over for supper. The perfect ending to an almost perfect day! Only thing that could have made it any better were if Ally and her guys could have been here too!
Tomorrow I'll tell you about all the fashionistas in my family! Ciao!