Time Flies When You’re Having Fun: Hello 2012!

I cannot believe that it is the end of 2011 already. I guess the saying is really true; time does fly when you’re having fun! This last year has been a whirlwind of new experiences and fun for my family.

We welcomed the newest addition to our family, a beautiful baby boy, in April. He is the perfect addition to our family, a happy healthy little boy who loves to laugh and is curious about everything. Steven is already taking assisted steps and loves to pull himself up on his big brothers train table and work on building {destroying} tracks. It is awesome!

Big brother William is a talking machine. He has an opinion on everything and loves to converse with everyone. He is still obsessed with trains, but has added scooting around on his scooter to his repertoire of favorite activities. He loves to be outdoors playing, but with winter weather fast approaching this will sadly be coming to an end... hello arts and crafts time!

My husband and I will be celebrating our fifth year Anniversary and could not be happier or feel more blessed. Life is good. He is my best friend and the best father a child could ask for.

This year was a year of firsts for our family as well. We took William on his first trip to Six Flags; he rode his first roller coaster and loved it! We took the boys to their first Bears game {Oh Jay Cutler – Why did our season have to end?}and cheered on our favorite team. I started a little blog called Mom Mart and have been having a marvelous time writing.

A Maggiano’s Bruschetta Inspired Recipe

My hubby and I attended a wedding this summer and had to entertain ourselves in between the wedding and the reception. We went to Maggiano’s Little Italy for an appetizer and a cocktail. We had the Bruschetta appetizer and it was out of this world delicious. I knew that I wanted this appetizer in my repertoire. When I started planning my Christmas Eve menu I immediately thought of this dish and decided it was the perfect time to give it a go.  

The “Maggiano’s Inspired Bruschetta Recipe.”

#WW: Wordless Wednesday The Joy of New Toys!

Christmas this year was a blast and a half! My toddler is almost three years old and gets Christmas. He has been practicing his prayers and we have been talking about Jesus, Santa, and presents. He was incredibly excited this Christmas!

Since my little peanut is too little to open gifts his big brother took over the unwrapping duties and was happy to do so.

I think the kids were quite pleased with their haul! I have been having so much fun playing with them and their new toys as well…. Let’s be honest, I enjoy the toys just as much as they do.

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To return or not to return, that is the question?

Christmas is over and the house is filled with new toys, cardboard boxes, and a million garbage bags filled with wrapping paper. What now?

After the wonder and chaos of Christmas is over I take a long look around at what I have, what I need, and what needs to go. How can I better organize my life? Do I have multiple of something? It is essentially a mini spring cleaning.

Rizzoli & Isles: Season Finale

Most of my evening entertainment has already taken a “break” until January/February. For the last couple of weeks my evenings have been relegated to reruns or movie rentals, with the exception being Rizzoli & Isles. Thank you TNT television programming people! I need my grown-up television shows after a long day of playing planes, trains, and automobiles with my children. Tonight is the season finale and I am excited about how this season is going to play out.

O Holy Night!

 To me "O Holy Night" is what Christmas is all about, Christ.  This song encapsulates the feeling of Christmas to a tee and I always stop to listen whenever I hear it played. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I stop to listen. This song is simply beautiful. Since I am so moved by this song, I thought that I would share the beauty of the lyrics with you as well.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

I hope your Christmas is filled with joy, love, and laughter.

Christmas Traditions

Every year {the past three years} I host Christmas Eve at my home. My in-laws come over and we have dinner, we open gifts, we attend a Christmas Eve service at our church, and then we play games and visit after the children go to bed.

This year there are two new additions to the family {baby Abby and baby Steven} and the Christmas Eve service starts too late for the little ones. So our Christmas Eve tradition is changing this year L and I am very sad about this. It just won’t feel the same to me, but I guess that life is all about change and adaptation to new situations. Nothing ever stays the same. So I will go with the flow this year and see how things turn out…

In addition to changing our Christmas Eve tradition we are also changing our Christmas Day tradition of visiting my family as well. Now that we have two children and one of them is old enough to appreciate Christmas we have decided to stay home for Christmas Day and let the kids enjoy their gifts. Instead of spending the day on the road traveling we will be at home watching Christmas movies, playing with the kids, and eating Christmas Eve leftovers {I am NOT making two huge extravagant meals}.

Here is my question for all you people who stay home for Christmas: What are your Christmas Day traditions?

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A Blogtastic Extravaganza Sponsor Spotlight – Heys

I cannot believe that this year is already coming to an end. A Blogtastic Extravaganza (ABE for short) is right around the corner! I am getting really excited about this awesome event and all of my awesome prizes! I have some seriously amazing sponsors and who are generously donating fabulous prizes for the Mom Mart “On the Go” prize package. Are you ready for the first Sponsor Spotlight for the January 23-28 ABE event?

How to make Lasagna Roll-Ups

I pinned a  “Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll-Up” Pin that looked really tasty. It also looked super easy and something that would not be hard for me to try my hand at. Unfortunately chicken in my lasagna would not go over great with the family so I changed up the chicken and instead used sweet italian sausage instead. I also made a few small tweaks to this recipe to suit my own tastes as well. This recipe is perfect for tweaking, as it is really flexible about ingredient. I think next time I will add spinach and mushrooms as well...

Wordless Wednesday: Ho Ho Ho!

My boys were introduced to Santa this year. They sat on Santa’s lap and whispered him their wish lists. Although Steven’s wish list was more of a gargle followed by some cooing, I think Santa got the gist of it. We did a breakfast with Santa this year with my in-laws and the kids had a blast. My boys were a little apprehensive of Santa at first, but then quickly warmed up. Cousin Abby on the other hand was not thrilled to put into the arms of a big scary bearded stranger.

I cannot believe that in just a couple more days it will be Christmas!

Ho Ho Ho

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Mommy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

It is not a typical Tuesday. Nope, it is not a typical Tuesday in my home today.  Thankfully I had my first cup of coffee in me before things started to really go downhill.

It’s Monday Again… Are you ready to start your week with some drama?

Monday to me is all about the beginning of another week. My hubby goes off to work and the kids and I get cracking on whatever needs to get done at home. We pick up the house from the weekend chaos and spend the morning working chores. Afterwards we plan our arts and crafts for the week as well as play-dates and special trips. While the kids are down for a nap I get to run on the elliptical in the hopes that the baby weight will eventually come off! Then we spend the afternoon gathering supplies and picking up whatever we happen to be missing from our supply closet. By the time Monday evening rolls around I am usually ready for the week to be over... Then I get to put the kids to bed, put on my pajamas, and sit back and relax with the Jane and Maura for a fun filled hour of crime solving. 

No Rules Social Media Hop

Join Mom Mart for a Google+, GFC, Twitter, & Facebook Hop!

Once again I am changing things up. With the constant change into social media forums there is a constant need to keep up with and stay ahead of the curve.

I gave added Google+ into the mix.

This social media hop is designed to create more traffic, more followers, and more unique page views for your Blog. It is a great way to get more followers and make some new friends.

While it is not required, it would be greatly appreciated if you could spread the word about the Social Media Monday Hop by grabbing the button for your blog. Feel free to send out a blog post, a tweet, or share the news on Facebook! After all, the more people that participate, the more blog traffic and potential followers there are.

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Here we go again… Mom vs. Potty Training!

My son William will be turning 3 in February and he is still not potty trained. I hear from other mothers that boys take a lot longer to potty train than girls. Hooray for me, as I have two boys I get the pleasure of potty training.

I have tried several different methods of potty training with no true success. My gauge of success is measured by my sons’ ability to go potty in the toilet as opposed to his diaper/underwear. Since he is not yet fully potty trained, I feel that none of my previous methods of potty training were successful.

I have tried naked potty training, pull-up potty training, and cold turkey potty training. I have put my son on a timer. We have tried charts and stickers. We tried reading special potty time stories. I even pulled up a Lego table to the potty to play with while on the potty all in the hopes of catching him at the right time. Nothing thus far has made a dent in my sons’ ability to be potty trained.

So we took a break (probably not the best thing to do) until my son started to show an interest in potty training again. I like to think that I am a patient person. My husband would not agree with this statement. I know my limits and as far as potty training was concerned I was reaching the bottom of the barrel. Then the other day my husband turns to me and says, “I want William to be potty trained by the time he is 3.”

Uummm… Congratulations?!?

Mother and bebe Custom Anka Full Buckle Baby Carrier: Stylish and Unique!

I am a huge fan of handmade products. I feel that handmade products are one-of-a-kind special items that are made with love. The artists who create these objects are able to design and create their own masterpieces and sell them as they see fit on this fabulous little website called Etsy. I am an Etsy fanatic.

Etsy is my one stop shop for all things handmade, adorable, and fashionable for me and my peanuts! It is no great surprise then that I happened upon a wonderful Etsy shop called Mother and bebe.

Mother and bebe is a fabulous shop on Etsy that creates a variety of baby related items. This shop caught my attention with their amazing looking baby carriers. They offer a wide selection of carrier types (Mei Tais baby carriers, Half Buckle baby carriers, SSC (soft structured baby carriers), & Ring Slings) and can create custom carriers with the fabric of your choice! This customization is what truly drew me to Mother and bebe. I like having options, and being able to choose the fabric and design of my baby carrier was the icing on my baby carrier cake!

If you have not guessed it yet, I am a bit obsessed with baby gear. I love baby wearing and I love baby carriers! More specifically I love baby carriers that are stylish, ergonomically supportive, easy to use, and affordable! Mother and bebe’s Anka full buckle baby carrier not only meets these criteria, they exceed them! 

Wordless Wednesday: Laughter is the best medicine!

It is raining outside.

 It is cold and gloomy and I need a pick me up.

-Insert Funny Pictures, Funny Quotes, & Funny Signs-

So this Wordless Wednesday is all about making me laugh... You too.

Enjoy!

 

"A day without laughter is a day wasted."
Charlie Chaplin

...

Santa Claus and all that Jazz!

When I was growing up my family attended church every Sunday. We knew that Christmas was all about the birth of Jesus Christ. We were celebrating HIS birth. We were also told about Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas). We made our wish list, wrote our letters to Santa, baked cookies and left out milk for Santa.

I don’t exactly remember when I stopped believing in Santa, but with three older siblings I am sure that I wasn’t too old before the secret was out of the box. I don’t really remember being devastated by this realization. I think that it was broken down to me in a way that made me feel special, like I was being let in on a secret. I still had a younger sibling who believed in Santa so the family holiday traditions kept right on going.  I happen to like my family traditions.

Monday Meet & Greet Week 20: Six in the Nest

Good Morning and welcome to another edition of Monday Meet and Greet!

For the last 20 Monday mornings I have introduced you to new bloggy friends of mine and the blogs that they write. I hope you have enjoyed getting to know my friends and the blogs that they write. I believe that this is the last Monday Meet & Greet, although my numbers could be off?!?

 Week 20’s featured Meet & Greet blogger is:

Jenilee from “Six in the Nest”

 

Monday Night Drama for Mama: Rizzoli & Isles

With winter fast approaching the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. One of my favorite ways to spend my short days is playing with my two boys. We play with toys, do arts and crafts, read stories, and spend a majority of our time laughing. Exerting so much energy throughout the day leaves me wanting to throw on my pajamas, pop some popcorn, and settle in for a good comedy or drama. I take my drama in the form of television entertainment.

One of my favorite crime dramas on television is Rizzoli and Isles. I think that I am partial to this show because the main characters are both strong smart successful women. Rizzoli and Isles stars Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Rizzoli is a Boston police detective who is on top of her game and Isles is a fashion forward brilliant medical examiner. They are best friends and coworkers who work together to get the bad guy.

My Backseat Driver is Two Years Old!

My mother always told me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I try to live my life this way as much as possible. In general I believe that I am a very positive upbeat person. I like to look for the good in the world… And then I get behind the wheel of my vehicle and I turn into Captain Crazy of the S.S. Minivan!

It is utterly ridiculous. I seem to completely run out of patience whenever I climb behind the wheel of a vehicle. My sisters say that I have road rage. I don’t think it is road rage, I think it is a lack of tolerance for bad driving. Since having children I have stopped completely going off the deep end. Progress, right?

A name has been drawn and a prize will be given, is it you?

The winner of the Mom Mart 12 Days of Gift Galore Giveaway is...

Baby its cold outside: Crockpot Turkey Chili & Recipe!

Turkey chili recipe you say with a questioning expression? Why in the world would someone use turkey in their chili? My husband has decided that he will no longer eat red meat. Goodbye steak dinners, goodbye cheeseburgers, goodbye tacos, goodbye meatball subs, and hello turkey!

I was skeptical at first, having come from a family where meat red meat was served on a platter with a side of potatoes. My mother did not make turkey meat loaf, she made real meat loaf. When my father is in charge of dinner the whole meal is the meat (he has a tendency to forget silly things like side dishes – vegetables-).

Needless to say the idea of turkey as a red meat substitute did not sound appetizing. I tried being sneaky with the meal planning and made a meal with red meat instead of turkey meat and my husband refused to eat it *stinker*! So I decided that I would give turkey meat a try since my husband was going to be so stubborn about this issue. Please note that my husband usually lets everything roll right off of his back, so the fact that he was raising such a stink about this sent up red flags to me that this issue was important to him and I needed to compromise. So we tried turkey meat…

I am still on the fence about cheeseburgers. Although I have an awesome recipe for turkey burgers (which I will share the next time I make them and can take pictures), I still love a good old fashioned cheeseburger! Surprisingly the turkey meatballs, turkey tacos, and turkey chili tasted better than the red meat alternative. Crazy, right? So without further ado I will share with you my Turkey Chili Crockpot Recipe.

Wordless Wednesday: They call me Mr. Stitch

My toddler is now at the age where dressing up is fun. He has discovered his imagination and is using it to its fullest! On our recent trip to visit my family we were given my nephews old Lilo and Stitch costume.

Obviously my son is smitten with this costume. He likes to dress up in it and chase mommy and daddy around the house in it. If that loses its luster, mom or dad get to wear the costume and chase William! Those pictures will not be posted, but are quite entertaining!

This time of year when having an imagination is the key to the magic of Christmas I am thrilled to see my son getting into the swing of things. Now if only I could get him out of the Stitch costume long enough to get him into the bathtub!

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Making my house a home.

I love this time of year. People are nice to one another, there is a general excitement in the air, and I get to decorate my home with beautiful holiday décor! The holidays cannot begin for me until my home feels like Christmas! I do not go overboard with holiday décor. I just add little splashes of holiday cheer throughout my home. I feel like these little touches are what transforms a house into a home, personalization.

I want my home to feel like a home. Before I had children my furniture and decorating style consisted of hand me downs that I got from family and friends. As much as I appreciate these gifts, these were not items that I chose for myself. Therefore they did not reflect me or my style. This didn’t really start to bother me until I became a stay at home mom.

Before I became a stay at home mom I was a Pre-K teacher and I was rarely home. When I was home I was too exhausted to care what color the couch was or weather the rug went with the wall color. Then I became a stay at home mom and *poof* the blinders came off and I took a good long look at my home and cringed.

Product Review of the líllébaby Nordic Carrier: Smart and supportive baby wearing!

I love baby wearing. Although when I started baby wearing it was just considered carrying your child. The term baby wearing has really taken off in the last couple of years and become a social phenomenon of its own.

What is baby wearing? Baby wearing is the application of wearing or carrying a baby or a child in a baby carrier. It is a form of baby transportation. Instead of putting your child in a stroller or an infant car seat carrier; you transport your child around in a carrier that you wear.

There are many different types of carriers and I have had the opportunity to try several different carriers in my baby wearing journey. There are mei tais, pouch slings, ring slings, structured carriers, and wraps just to name a few. These are types of carriers, not brands.

One of my favorite types of carriers to use is the soft structured baby carrier, otherwise known as the buckle carrier. I like this style because it is adjustable, ergonomically supportive, and easy to use. I was recently given the opportunity to test out the new Nordic baby carrier by líllébaby and I have to say I am smitten.

Monday Meet & Greet: Week #19 Eco Baby Mama Drama

Welcome back my Monday Morning friends!

Do you have your coffee?

I have had two cups this morning and am now just starting to truly function.

It is Monday morning and that can mean only one thing, Monday Meet & Greet!

Today I am introducing you to a really nice friend of mine. She rocks out the eco friendly lifestyle and has fabulous giveaways as well. Her kids arte adorable and she shares a lot of personal triumphs and tribulations, I hope you enjoy her blog as much as I do. But before you go check her out, take a minute to get to know a little bit about her.  

Oral-B Winnie the Pooh MommyParties: Good Clean FUN!

I was incredibly excited to find out that I was going to host an Oral-B Stages MommyParty. When my Oral-B Stages party kit arrived I opened it immediately and gave a little whoop of delight.

Inside my kit was Oral-B Stages toothpaste, Oral-B Stages I and II brushes, Disney hair and body wash, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh DVD, gift bags, popcorn boxes, popcorn, balloons, napkins, and cups.   It was literally a party in a box!

Since I am all about organizing I jumped right into my party planning by creating a Facebook event. I got click crazy with my invite list. But my philosophy in life is the more the merrier. With my party taking place smack dab in the middle of the holiday season I figured that not everyone was going to be able to make. Surprisingly, I had an amazing turnout.

Extra Entries for the “12 Days of Gifts Galore”

In case you missed it I am participating in a lovely little blog hop called 12 Days of Gifts Galore. If you have not already entered to win I would highly suggest entering!

If you have already entered… well I just added two more extra entries!

Google+

So there is a new kid in town in the wide world of social media. Google+ has joined the social media networking race and they are demanding to be recognized.

In case you are unaware many Blogs, such as my own, have a button on their pages called Google Friend Connect. Google Friend Connect (GFC) is a way for bloggers to tally their “followers” and get a general idea of the amount of people who like their blogs. Bloggers work incredibly hard to get this number to grow. It is pretty common for a blog with a lot of “followers” to have higher end product reviews and giveaways. Blogs with a lot of followers are usually given more opportunities. The dream of most bloggers is to be big. Now that Google+ has come along, Google is doing away with GFC for Bloggers who do not use the Blogger platform.

Harsh, but true. It seems that Google wants to move away from the GFC platform and get more interactive with their new Google+ system. After spending some time on Google+ I can definitely see some positives to making the leap. It is streamlined and categorized to your specification. In my opinion it is a cross between Facebook and Pinterest.

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

Hello December!

It is December 1^st and I have already gotten to open up a couple Christmas presents. My mother sent me home from Thanksgiving with three presents to be opened on December 1^st. So this morning I came down the stairs and ripped into those packages.

Inside my Christmas gifts were a Christmas countdown reindeer that my little boys will thoroughly enjoy and additional figurines for my nativity set. Needless to say, my home is in full blown holiday cheer. The holiday décor is up and I could not be filled with more excitement for the season (Thanks Mom!).

Since it is now December most people have their Christmas trees up, their Christmas lights strung, and their wreaths displayed prominently on their front doors. I like to spend the weekend after Thanksgiving changing out my holiday décor. My Christmas tree is up, my Christmas lights are strung, and my wreaths are displayed throughout the house… Yes I have more than one wreath. But my absolute favorite part of preparing for Christmas is decorating the Christmas tree.