A Look Inside a 20-something's 'Relaxing' Weekend

Hope you had a fantastic weekend!  My weekend was certainly fun-filled. On Friday night, after taking my niece and nephew out to the park, my Mom and her fiance came over
my sister's house to have dinner together. It was so nice to have a quiet night in with the family (OK, that's a lie – my niece was hopped up on goofballs and didn't shut up for two hours.) It was entertaining to say the least. My sister threw her back out, so she appreciated our help with the kids and cleaning.

I woke up early Saturday morning for a road trip to my alma mater, Purchase College, to attend the 30th Annual Science Symposium. It's crazy that less than one year ago I was a nervous wreck, anxiously awaiting my stage debut where I would present my exciting research about childhood obesity. I was so proud to see all my fellow nerds showing of all of their hard work. I was beyond thrilled to see all my old professors, who were so interested to know what I've been doing in the year after graduation.

Later that day, I headed due North to Mercy College's "Spring Fling" where my friends work in the beautiful Dobbs Ferry in Westchester, NY. Then, we headed towards the City to their apartment on the Upper West Side. We spent about two hours figuring out what to eat, when we should get dressed, and how to rearrange the apartment for the pregame party. We munched on chips and gossiped  while getting dolled up for my friend's "Gossip Girl" themed 24th birthday bash. We sure did pound on the makeup, pump up the hair, and layer those accessories while we attempted to walk around in 6-inch heels. (OK, I quickly reverted to golden sandals once in the bar...) We celebrated with a bottle at Bar Basque and danced the night away in the tres chic hotel downtown.

On Sunday, I was off to Brooklyn to help get the kiddies dressed and ready for my nephew's 1st birthday party!  As usual, I was the designated photographer (a task I didn't mind one bit). My 2-year-old niece was so excited, she loves parties and presents and cake and attention (but what kid doesn't!?) However, my one-year-old nephew was cranky, so I kept loudly singing "it's my party and I can cry if I want to, cry if I want to..." He loves my obnoxious voice and sound effects, whereas my niece silences me, "shhhh Aunt Noel!!"

My sister went all out on his Star Wars-themed party. She should REALLY be a party planner. Chocolate-molded lollipops shaped like Darth Vadar, a Stormtrooper and R2D2.  There were Star Wars character cupcakes and goodybags. The BEST feature was the Darth Vadar piñata and the whacking stick my super artistic brother-in-law crafted into a silver light saber.  Many people even chose to wear themed shirts, such as Aila who donned a Chewbacca T-shirt. I'm pretty sure my nephew had no clue it was his birthday, especially because he was asleep during half of the party.

My boyfriend and I shared laughs about how the party smelled like a petting zoo, between the diapers and drool and nose-picking, he was ready to vomit.  Clearly we aren't parents yet and we are in NO rush. (OK, maybe I pretended I was one of the Moms there, holding kids and making sure to feed and entertain some of the kids that I've babysat.) It was so funny, my Aunt kept asking: "so is this another one of your clients?!" Out of the 30 children there, I've probably babysat half of their kids at one point or another.

 Overall,  this was one of the best weekends ever. I can't wait for many more adventures!

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