Mommy Musings

Mothers are always looking for ways to dress their babies up for special occasions. They want their tiny babies to look their best and show them off to loved ones. When it comes to a baby's wardrobe, a mom can really get creative when it comes to shoes. Shoes with soft soles made of leather are becoming a popular favorite with moms and dads. Here are some of the reasons why these baby shoes are gaining in popularity. Shoes with soft leather soles are easy for moms and dads to put on and take off the feet of their baby. Other shoes may have laces that come untied and need to be retied. Shoes with leather soles slip onto a baby's feet very easily. They don't have laces or straps. They are the equivalent of slippers, but can be worn to a special occasion like a church service, a wedding or a more formal celebration. There are many shoes with leather soles available in fun designs. A mom and dad can find shoes with a cute animal theme that are sure to get lots of attention fr

Saturday August 24th marked 10 years since Skip and I met.  Obviously that was not a date for celebrating this year as it was the day we buried my Grandma.  But I couldn't let this special anniversary pass without a mention.  The bench where we met I've now known Skip for 10 years.  TEN YEARS!  That's an entire decade of being by his side.  For those of you who are new, here's a quick recap of the night we met: I met Skip August 24, 2003 at my best friend's house.  She was dating Skip's best friend, and they strategically placed us together in her backyard.  The first thing I liked about him was his piercing blue eyes and the fact that he smoked the same cigarettes as me {yes we used to smoke..I blame it on the young age}  We talked for hours that night and the conversation never lulled.  I can't tell you that I knew I would marry him that night, because I didn't.  But I did know I felt some sort of connection with him and knew he would impact my life

I hate that Emmy has had to deal with so much death in the past year.  It's almost too much for Skip and I to handle, and we're adults.  Thankfully though, my sweet girl has handled it with so much grace and understanding. Braddock's death hit her really hard, but since then she has come to such a place of peace when someone dies.  As she said to me last Tuesday, "Mommy, why are you sad?  Grandma the Great is in heaven, watching over us with Mimi".  At the repass at our house after the burial, Emmy was talking with my grandma's neighbor and best friend.  Emmy gave her a big hug and said "I'm sorry your friend died.  But she's can see us because she's a big beautiful angel with wings."  The waterworks among the adults began again. And then Monday morning, Emmy was awake before Skip and I.  She was playing in her room with some old birthday cards and crayons.  She came in to our room to give us the cards she had drawn pictures of us on, to

I wanted to write a post on here about my Grandma...about the amazing woman she was.  But every time I typed out one sentence or another, it wasn't quite right.  But my older sister on the other hand, was perfectly able to capture the spirit of my Grandma in her eulogy on Saturday.  So instead of trying to come up with something myself, here are my sister's beautiful words {obviously I changed all the names to initials} Good morning. My name is L, and I’m A’s eldest granddaughter. On behalf of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, I’d like to thank all of you so much for being here to celebrate her today. I’ve been struggling with trying to find the right words to share with you this morning to sum up what my grandma meant to all of us. How do you fit 90 years’ worth of love, lessons, and laughs into a few short remarks? But I’ll do my best – by Tuesday night, I already knew that I wanted to be able to honor her today by telling you about who she was. A was bo

This past week I've felt like I'm drowning in grief.  For months now, I have been so focused on Skip's grief over losing his mom.  And it was only just recently that I started to mourn her for what I lost. And then we lost my Grandma.  She died peacefully and pain-free from a massive stroke.  She had been sick with various things for the past four years.  We all knew we were on borrowed time with her, but the shock of her actually being gone is overwhelming.  It was not how I thought I was going to spend last week at all. On Friday and Saturday we gathered together, family and friends from all around the country, to mourn and celebrate my Grandma.  Both days were a beautiful tribute to her life and legacy, though immensely harder than I ever thought they would be.  While I am blessed in so many other ways, this year has just been so hard for my little family.  We barely get a chance to grieve one thing before another is thrown right at us.  Braddock, my MIL, my Grandma....

I am proud to bring you this post brought to you by Genworth and Brandfluential .   These days, people in our country are living longer and longer than ever before {and what a great blessing that is!} But with that must also come with the knowledge on how to make sure you have enough money to carry you until the end of your life. Many people these days retire in their 60's.  They are then living well into their 90's.  Which means that person needs to have enough money coming in for 30+ years.  Now I don't know about you, but this fact overwhelms me, and I'm only 30!  But planning for retirement is not something you should start looking into when you're 50.  It's something we should all be doing right now. Skip and I have already started saving for our retirement, but there is lots more we can still be doing.  Thankfully Genworth , an easy to navigate site, is there to help with some of our questions. I love looking at whether or not we're ready for retirem

Today heaven gained another angel.... At 90 years young my wonderfully sweet, generous, strong, and funny grandmother went to be with her husband up in heaven. While it is hard for us, I know she is smiling down on us and happy to be with her beloved Vincent after 30 years without him. We love you Grandma the Great.

Who doesn't love a little light humor on a Friday.  I've been writing down a few of the funny things Emmy has been saying recently.  Enjoy my sweet girl's humor! Emmy wants to be my age so she can be a mom, a school teacher, cook, go shopping, read, use knives, and put her fingers in the fan.  While playing soccer with Skip: Please don't block my way sir Mommy, I'm not a baby.  See {moves her mouth} I know how to talk! Of course I can do anything, I'm a girl! Mommy, I need to wear village clothes to bed at night. {can you tell we watch a lot of Sophia the First} Mommy, when you're done working out, make sure to drink a lot of water.  I don't want to worry about you not getting hydrated! Oh bummer sticks!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

Happy Sunday everyone!  It's actually my family's Monday {cop wife problems} but I hope you and your family are spending a great day together. Since my last post was so heavy, I thought I'd lighten it up a bit with some of my favorite beauty products.  This is not a sponsored post {though I am using affiliate links} these are just the best make-up products that I use! CoverGirl Trublend Liquid Make Up Classic Ivory 410, 1.0-Ounce Bottle I have probably tried every single foundation they stock at CVS.  I have never been able to find just the right one, and I refuse to pay lots of money for one.  Then I stumbled upon CoverGirl Trublend and I swear my world changed.  It has great coverage, lasts a long time, and gives my skin the perfect dewy look.  Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Trio - Eye 1, 2, 3 Colour Compact: Base (Come Heather Single Shade Eye Shadow Trio), Contour (Lilac Truffle Single Shade Eye Shadow Duo), Definer (Seashell Pink/fawn Satin Single Shade Eye Shad

I've had something on my mind for awhile now about which I've wanted to blog.  It was simmering back in my brain, only bubbling to the surface occasionally.  But last week, with all the discussions over nursing in public {in reference to a certain You Tube video} it practically exploded out of my brain.  In fact, I hand wrote the blog post first because my computer wasn't working and I just couldn't wait to get it all down. Now, don't worry, I'm not trying to stir up another breast feeding in public vs. private debate.  I think we've all rehashed that enough.  But it does tie into that.  I was motivated by AP, after her brilliant post , to bring up the discussion of what has happened to a little common courtesy and decency in our society? Sometimes Skip and I sit at night, talking about our day and whatever is on our mind.  And one thing that comes up a lot is our growing lack of faith in our generation.  The "selfish generation" as we've refer

Time for another week of accountability!  Here are my miles for the week Thursday August 8 - none Friday - none Saturday - none Sunday - Shred level 2 no miles Monday - 3.1 mile run Tuesday - 2 mile elliptical / 3 mile bike Wednesday - Shred level 2 Weekly Total - 8.1 August total - 19.7 miles Okay, not a great week.  I wasn't feeling well at the beginning, which is why I took a few days off of working out.  If I'm serious about hitting 50 miles in August, I really have to step up my game.  I have 30.3 miles to go in only 16 days.  That's an average of just under 2 miles a day.  Totally doable, with some motivation.  Let's see if I get it done!

There's a free little farm near us that has a few animals you can pet and feed.  We've been there before, but honestly, we forget about it a lot of times.  Thankfully we remembered last week when Emmy was begging us to take her to see some goats.  WHY IS SHE SO BIG HERE!?! Seeing the chickens and getting to feed the goats were definitely the highlights of the outing for the girls.  Even Charlie wanted to get in on the feeding!! Both girls cried when we had to leave to get home for dinner.  A sign of a great time out if I say!  Thankfully they have each other to console:) We'll definitely be making another trip here soon!

It's been awhile, but I think it's time for a good Dear So and So post! Dear Summer: We had a rough start, then you were nice and hot for about three weeks.  But recently it's been more like September weather.  Can we please please please go back to the heat?  If you don't shape up soon I'm going to resume my house searches in Florida. Dear People Who Fly Planes: Now, I'm not talking commercial or military pilots.  I'm talking about people who fly those little personal, four person planes.  Could you please stop and pick up another hobby?  I'm still heartbroken over the terrible crash in Connecticut last week.  Most plane crashes these days are the result of amateurs with a pilot license. Leave flying up to the professionals. Dear One-Uppers: I get it.  Your lives are either totally perfect, or your problems are so much worse than everyone else's.  I'm all about people showing off good things in their lives, or asking for prayers and support, b

I took a few weeks off, but I'm excited to be linking up with Becky again today for her 52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose. Today's topic is our goals for motherhood. I have to be honest, my first instinct was to shy away from this topic.  It just seemed too big, too overwhelming, too deep.  But then I realized that I want to take a good long look at myself as a mother and what I hope for the future.  And what better way to keep me accountable than to blog about it! Emmy, Charlie, you girls are my whole world .  I live and breathe for you both and want to give you nothing but the absolute best of everything the world has to offer.  I obviously wasn't a mother before I had you girls, so these past four and half years have been a bit of a learning curve for me.  Especially once you could each walk and talk and it was way more parenting than just keeping you alive. I hope I improve as a mother every single day.  I hope each day is better than the last. I hope to find a bal

I just wanted to pop in this weekend and say hi! I also wanted to make sure that you are all following me wherever you can! Besides this blog you can also find me: On Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bloglovin' Instagram: mommy_mandy Leave a comment where I can find you so I can follow along as well!!

I'm in a rush and don't have the brain capacity for a real, raw, from the heart kind of blog post today, so I thought I'd link up with Darci again for another Five on Friday! {ONE} My college friend J is getting married today, and I cannot wait to head up to her wedding! It's been a few years since I've seen all the girls and I am so looking forward to catching up and dancing the night away. J is all the way on the right! {TWO} I cannot tell you just how happy it made me to be watching football last night.  I do hate that the start of preseason means that fall is just around the corner, but I'll put up with it just to see a few games after a long season apart!  Even better?  My boys are on tomorrow night.  GO BIG BLUE!!   {THREE}  We had been trying for weeks to get together with some of Emmy's little friends from school, but plans and the weather just kept getting in the way.  Finally , on Wednesday a few of us were able to meet up!  Emmy was just beside