The Bump is slowly taking over: #Pregnancy Journal Week 17

How Far Along: 17 Weeks
Due Date: June 22^nd, 2013

Boy or girl: We don’t know the gender yet… but will find out soon!

Bump Picture: For some reason I was unable to take a very flattering bump picture this week. The ones I liked were out of focus and the ones that were in focus I am not a fan of. This is the best one of the bunch… Still not a great one though. * I may be slightly hormonal and more than a little crazy – please be kind *

Karate reminds me of a little movie about Russian Royalty …

Whenever I think about karate I think about the 1997 Fox Animation Studios film called Anastasia. I am reminiscent of a little bat named Bartok – who I found hilarious. I just cannot help myself. It is just where my mind seems to wander. 

There is one quote in particular in which Bartok is talking to Rasputin about Anastasia that comes to mind… “Just wishing I could do the job for you, sir. I'd give her a HA! And a HI-YA! And then a OUU-WA! And I'd kick her, sir.”

My oldest son is enrolled in a karate class and loves to show off his – and I quote – “Cool New Moves”. I am quite sure that these all have official name, I just don’t know them as of right now. These moves consist of his karate kick, a downward arm motion, a punch, and a bow. But his favorite is the totally the kick. Every single time he does it I hear a little bat named Bartok in my head going HA! HI-YA! and OUU-WA! …and I giggle.

By the way – I am huge fan of the little karate outfit. I think it is called a Gi. I call it adorable.

Http://MomMart.blogspot.com

Product Review: JJ Cole Broadway Stroller

As many of you know I am a bit obsessed with baby gear. I love it! I am a baby wearing - stroller watching - swing/bouncer enthusiast.  I have no shame when it comes to how much I truly enjoy baby gear and I love sharing my obsession with you.  {Happy dance}

I have acquired quite a few strollers over the last couple of years. I have bought some, blogged some, been given some as gifts, and have also been lucky enough to win a couple as well. My husband thinks my stroller obsession is hilarious, but I use each and every one of them for different situations. And he finds new ways of storing them efficiently in our garage.

My latest obsession is a single stroller by JJ Cole Collections. It is the Broadway Stroller and I use it whenever I am in need of a single stroller. Why do I like this stroller so much? The JJ Cole Broadway Stroller is extremely versatile and easy to use. It is super sleek looking and you can easily and affordably change out the colors whenever the mood strikes.

The Letters of Life … Looking at life through different perspectives.

A friend of mine recently created a space of her own on the World Wide Web. She created her very own blog. But this is not your typical blog. It is a compilation of humorous letters written from various perspectives to various audiences.

The best part is that these letters are funny. They are funny in a completely PG family friendly way. There is no vulgar language and there is no inappropriate content. The author is witty and uses perspective to tell a story that you might not have ever considered.

Kid Craft: Home Made Slime Activity

I have been racking my brain trying to think of some fun things to do with the children indoors now that the weather has turned chilly. While there is no snow on the ground, and yet it is still too cold and windy for outdoor play. This means that the kids and I are trapped inside a lot…. This usually spells trouble.

In order to avoid cabin fever and children bouncing off the walls I have decided to turn one day a week into craft a day. We will be working our way through a list of crafts and activities. I will then come back here and share them with you. At the end we will chose our favorites and create a boredom jar out of all of the crafts and recipes {free boredom jar printable to follow}. 

This week we made homemade slime.  I have two little boys, so slime was a HUGE success in our house. We even saved it to show to daddy once he got home from work.  The slime was super easy to make and surprisingly not that messy. Clean up consisted of washing two bowls and two spoons and sweeping the floor {which kind of needed it anyways – toddlers are messy eaters}. Here is the recipe...

I keep growing and growing and growing… #Pregnancy Journal Week 16

How Far Along: 16 Weeks

Due Date: June 22^nd, 2013

Boy or girl: We don’t know the gender yet.

Bump Picture: When I look down now I see bump and then my toes.

When the big brother is away, pirates come to play!

My boys are all about pirates. They love to play with pirate ships and dress up as pirates and run around the house. They love to watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney Junior as well. Our home is very pirate friendly, so long as you know what pirates say {Yo, Ho, Ho} and what pirates wear {Pirate Hats and Hooks}.

While my oldest was at preschool this week my youngest decided that he needed to play pirates with mom and he wanted to wear his brother’s pirate hat. We had a great time showing off our hooks and yelling “Aaarrgg!” throughout the house.

Is there something special that your little ones like when playing pretend?

Http://MomMart.blogspot.com

Not your classic grilled cheese sandwich

I have been on a cold weather hot meal kick lately. I love soups and I love hot sandwiches. And while I am a huge fan of grilled cheese, the traditional grilled cheese sandwich just has not been cutting it for me lately. So I decided to spice things up a bit today and take a chance.

I thought I would raid my fridge and see what came about… dangerous, I know. Especially after spending some time on Pinterest this morning ogling over brie and hazelnut and pear grilled cheese and every variance in between. Some of which I pinned to try at a later date.

Since lunch time was fast approaching there would be no quick trips to the grocery store to pick up must have items for the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich. It was make or break time and I went a little cheese happy. So what did I make? Not your classic grilled cheese sandwich, that’s for sure. First things first, I had to check out my cheese situation in order to decide on the flavor I wanted to go for. I had shredded low fat mozzarella cheese, sliced provolone, and American cheese…hhmmmm. Combine the power of multiple cheeses, or stick with one? Who was I kidding, the more cheese the merrier!

After a quick glance at my condiment section I decided that the ranch was out- I have been eating a lot of raw veggies in ranch sauce lately and I wanted something a little nuttier. I decided to use my pesto sauce as a spread for my sandwich, it had been a while since I have eaten pesto {hubby is not a fan}. So I threw some stuff on the counter and went to work making my ultimate grilled cheese pesto sandwich. Sounds yummy, right? It totally was… I ate two.

Home Improvement Update: Paint, Paint, and more Paint!

While I took the boys over the holidays to visit my family my husband was busy painting. He was kind enough to paint the master bedroom and our youngest son’s bedroom. Both rooms were adorned with painted borders. As mentioned before the new home had quite a few borders {I am not a fan of borders}. We are now down to just one room with borders – the laundry room.

I went back and forth about the paint colors I wanted to use. Our old bedroom was a tan color and I loved it. Our bedding and furniture went well with tan walls. We had a whole tan, white, soft blue, and sage green color theme going in the room. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that again or change things up. At the old house we painted Steven’s nursery green and I did not pick out the right shade of green, it was just too dark. So I decided to go with a blue this time around. The grey is Behr Subtle Touch 790E-1 and the blue is Benjamin Moore Harbor Haze 2136-60.

Shopping at DOM itp European Housewares in Woodfield Mall

I was recently invited to have a ladies night in at DOM itp European Housewares – a fun and unique store that I cannot wait to visit again. I met up with some Chicago area bloggers to learn more about this store and its unique wares. It is not often that I get to go out by myself and enjoy a night out with the ladies. I had a blast!

What is DOM itp European Housewares? It means house {Dom} etcetera {itp}, and there are some exceptional and interesting items to be found there. My favorite room was by far the scarf/hat room in the back. There are some beautiful purses there as well, but I was all about the knit scarves and ended up buying three!

Into maternity clothing #Pregnancy Journal Week 15

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Due Date: June 22^nd, 2013

Boy or girl: We don’t know the gender yet.

Bump Picture: tada! Here I am getting bigger by the day. I feel huge already, although my sister-in-law says I look tiny {thanks Wendy- you totally get brownie points for that}.

Back From Break!

I am back from my break and ready to clean things up and get organized. I thought I would start my year fresh so on New Year’s Eve I took down my Christmas tree and all of my holiday decorations.  Everything got packed away and put back into storage for next year. And since I did not share any pictures of my Christmas tree over the holidays {due to being on break} I thought that today’s not so Wordless Wednesday would be a great time to share my children’s Christmas morning Christmas tree.