Mommy Musings

The bags are packed, the house is clean, the laundry is done, the dogs are taken care of, and there is a full tank of gas in my car. Tomorrow morning {waaay earlier than I would like to think about} Skip, Little M, and I will be heading out on a roadtrip to Florida!!! I am excited, scared, anxious, and nervous. I have never been a roadtrip this long before...and definitely never with a 15 month old. There are a lot of unknowns with the trip too, which is also making me anxious. But I am determined to get outside my comfort zone, relax, and enjoy the ride! And who cares how stressful it is....I am tired of looking at this and am looking forward to seeing a little of this I will miss you all and look forward to catching up next week! {I do have a couple of posts scheduled, so keep looking back for them!}

Baby Wanted asked me to post some pictures of Little M in the Valentine's Day shirt we got her. It says 'Love Me Do' in big letters and lists the titles of other Beatles love songs in smaller letters. {disclaimer: I hate the Beatles....loathe them....always have. But Skip loves them, almost as much as my mom, and so I got this shirt for him. And because it was on sale for $1.99 at BBB}

I just want to take this time to wish my mom a very happy birthday! I can't wait to go over my parent's house later to celebrate! My mom really is the best in the whole world, and I can only hope to be half the mother she is one day. She was, and still is, always there for us, encouraging but never pushing. She knows when we need her and when we need our space. Thanks for being one of my best friends mom, and the very best Grandma in the world!

Five years ago I was with these girls waiting for this plane which was bringing this guy to me so I could do this and this after a long year apart. If you ask a wife what the happiest day of her life was, she will probably say her wedding. If you ask a mother the same question, her answer will most likely be the day her child was born. But if you ask me, it was February 26, 2005....the day Skip came home from Iraq. Because if that day never happened then we would never had been able to have this or this So today, and every day, I thank God for bringing my boy home to me.

We took Little M to the doctor today {yeah in the raging snowstorm} for her 15 month visit. While he was asking her about all of her milestones {which she has reached!} he asked us if she scribbles yet. Ummm, what? I never thought my 15 month daughter was old enough to start her coloring career. Apparently I was wrong. So being the calm, relaxed mother who never ever worries that her child is behind her peers in any way, I broke out the crayons and paper as soon as we got home. I used a crayon like this one so it was easier for her to hold. She seemed to really like it and here are the results! {yes I am already looking into art schools because obviously she's a prodigy!}

What do you think this is??

Did you know that today is National Pancake Day! IHOP was giving away a free short stack this morning {thanks ice, snow, and rain from preventing Little M and I from going!} So instead we had some pancakes at home! It was the perfect beginning to our lazy, pj-filled day! Little pancakes for a little girl! They taste yummy! The sweet syrup makes me thirsty! Thanks for the breakfast Mom!

It is rainy and icy and just plain miserable out today. So all Little M and I want to do is this: So I think we just might. Well minus the sippy cup for me! ps....I promise to be a better blogger soon!

It has been freezing and snowy around here for a few weeks, so comfort food has been the main bill of fare around these parts. The other night I decided to make some home-made macaroni and cheese. I used this recipe. My mom has been making it for years. I made a few adjustments...I doubled the recipe so I could use a whole pound {1 box} of pasta, but I only used 4 cups of milk instead of 5. I also added a breadcrumb topping. I melted half a stick of butter and mixed it with a handful of breadcrumbs and a cup of cheese. It wasn't quite enough topping for my liking though, so I would make more next time. Other than that it came out really good! Boiling the whole wheat pasta Melting the cheese sauce Breadcrumb topping Before baking All done and ready to enjoy!

I just wanted to say a *huge* thank you to Ava's Mommy over at All About Ava for this award: Ava's Mommy has a beautifully honest blog about her trials and triumphs with her daughter, who has been diagnosed with the Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am deeply grateful for this award and also for her letting us into her world. Head on over and check out her blog! I'm going to be lazy and not tag anyone specifically {sorry!} But if you need some sunshine pick up this award for yourself!

According to random.org {I couldn't figure out how to get the picture on here} our winner is: Baby Wanted!!! Baby Wanted said... I reuse plastic grocery bags as trash liners! Congratulations on winning this great gift certificate! Please email me with your information at mommymandymusings@yahoo.com so I can pass it on to ecostoreUSA. A *huge* thank you to everyone who entered and thank you for all your great ec0-friendly tips!

I have always loved Valentine's Day {okay, maybe I was a little bitter about it when I was single, but deep down I always loved it} I love the idea of it. I know that everyone says it is just a made-up Hallmark holiday and people should show their love for one another every day, not just this day. And I believe that 100%. But I also like that there is one day that we can pause and take time to show love to the special ones in our lives. I also don't think that it has to just be about romantic love. Today should also be a day to show love to your family and friends...even pets! The people who complete your life. And let's be honest...all the chocolate and candy hearts aren't too bad either ;) We had a nice relaxing day as a family. Skip took off of work today so he could hang out with me and Little M. We had a pretty typical day {with the opening of some gifts this morning. Little M got a 'love' shirt...Skip got some candy, and I got some candy, flower, a

My parents came over today to visit with me and Little M. My dad took a ton of pictures because my daughter loves to show off for the camera. How can this little girl not make you smile!

I would never describe myself as the most eco-friendly person ever...I drive {and love} and SUV, I clean with the harshest chemicals I can find, and I will never ever clothe diaper {I have absolutely nothing against anyone that does, it's just not for me}. But don't think that I totally hate the planet or anything...I recycle everything I can, I buy in bulk which uses less packaging, and I am constantly trying to repurpose things around the house so I don't have to buy new. Now that I have Little M, I am rethinking the way I do things in other ways as well. Recently I've noticed that I'm coughing whenever I'm cleaning. And if the chemicals are causing problems for me, I can only imagine what they are doing to Little M. So when I was contacted by ecostore USA recently to do a review of there products, I was very excited! It was as if they knew I was thinking of making the switch to greener cleaning products. They quickly sent me the Citrus Spray Cleaner and

Today is one of my most favorite days of the year....SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!! I have been watching coverage since noon and cannot wait for the game to start! There was a pretty good chance I was going to be watching the game alone this year:(:(:( But thankfully my husband didn't get overtime and I get to watch it with him and his best friend D. I'm wearing a Jersey and can't wait to plop down on the couch, eat a ton of food that's bad for me, and cheer on the COLTS!!! {if the Giant's can't be in it, I might as well cheer for Eli's brother (who I actually like a lot more)} Who are you cheering for tonight??

I did it! I completed the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred!!! I'm pretty proud of myself for finishing it. Some days it really took some planning to get in the workout, but I realized that I really do have time to work out almost every day. That's one of the best things about this workout...it is only 20 minutes long. I may not always be able to do a an hour long workout, but I can definitely do 20 minutes. I also really liked planning my days off. I took one day off between level 1 and 2, and again between level 2 and 3. Because I planned to take those days off they felt like treat. Before, if I didn't work out one day, I felt bad about myself. So from now on I am going to try and stick with the workout 10 days straight, one day off routine. I have definitely seen some great results from the Shred {I promise to post pictures this week!} but I definitely don't think of my workouts as over. I really love the Shred as a jumping off point. I saw some great re

Thanks to all the good wishes and prayers the snow held off {in fact we still haven't gotten any!} and Skip and I were able to go on our date night! It was the best date I have ever been on. It felt like it did back when we were first dating and everything was new and exciting. It was just so much fun. Unfortunately I forgot to take some pictures of us all dressed up:( Sorry guys! First we went to dinner. I was *starving* by the time we got there, so I was glad we only had to wait 10 minutes for a table. I started off with this... Then we split this as an appetizer {it is the sampler...we got the fried mozzarella and calamari}..... I had one of the new dishes for my main course and it was delicious!..... And I of course had to have this for dessert...it's my favorite!!!...... We had some time to kill before the movie started, so we just drove around where we used to live for a while...we used to do that all the time when we first got married, so it was really fun. Final

Pending the snow {which better not get here until waaay after midnight} Skip and I are going on a date night tonight!!! A real one. A dinner and a movie on Friday night date night. I cannot even remember the last time this happened! I have been excited about it for weeks! Thanks to my baby sister and her boyfriend and their fabulous baby-sitting skills, we are going to dinner at the Olive Garden . {don't judge...that place is awesome!} Then we are headed to a late night showing of this I seriously cannot wait. It will be so nice to just spend a few hours together as husband and wife, and not as parents. {though we will miss Little M dearly!} Now if you'll excuse me I must go workout, shower, do my nails, hair, make-up, put on some HEELS{!!!} and get all ready for my man...oh yeah and keep on praying that no flakes touch down in northern Jersey until after midnight...thanks!

One of my oldest {in terms of how long I've known her, not her actual age} and very best friends in the world has started a blog! You can find her here . Stop on by, show her some love, and welcome her to the blogging world!

Casey over at Mine All Mine is having her first ever giveaway! It's some super fabulous make-up that will surely put you in the mood for spring. Head on over and check it out!!

Do you remember this post about how Skip and I check on Little M every night? Well my dad read the post {thanks for always reading Dad!}. I think he was worried about his little granddaughter and the fact that we were unnecessarily waking her up almost every night. So a few days later he picked up this for us! We were so excited!!!! A video monitor is something I had always wanted, but I thought of it as an extravagant extra that I didn't really need. But now that we have it I don't know how we lived without it before! And I'm pleased to announce that Little M is no longer woken up in the middle of the night by her creepy parents staring at her, haha.

Little M thinks that everyone should have a 'baby' to snuggle with when they are napping And yes, she really put it there herself!

As the snow started falling tonight {grrrr} I looked up at the calendar and remembered that in just four weeks Skip, Little M, and I will be packing up the car and road-tripping to sunny, warm Florida! Skip's parents and aunt and uncle are spending the winter down there and we are going to stay with them for a few days of relaxation. But I've never taken such a long roadtrip with a 14 month old before. In fact I've never been in a car that long myself! So I'm asking advice from anyone who has done something like this before. Tips, special things to pack, etc. All advice welcome!

Apparently Mr. B {our bulldog} was failing at decorating his cage, or so Little M thought. So she decided to help him out by adding a patriotic candle holder!

First off, another *huge* thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway! Because I was giving away four different items that you could give your preference for, I did not use Random.org for this giveaway. But I did document how I picked the winners so you would know I didn't fix it! First I wrote out everyone's name {you name got its own piece of paper for each different comment!} Then I crumbled up each piece And shook them up in a plastic bag Then my 'assistant' picked out each of the names And here are the winners! Winner of 'Princess' Winner of 'Country' Winner of 'Faith' Winner of 'Welcome' Please email me at mommymandymusings@yahoo.com with your information so I can mail these out to you!