Mommy Musings

First off I want to thank Kim over at Life As I Know I t for becoming my 100 th follower! I love her blog and just know we would hang out all the time if she didn't live across the country. I am completely humbled that 100 people actually want to read what I have to say! Blogging has opened up a whole new world of friendships to me and I would probably not have kept doing it if it was not for all of you! Okay, now it's down to the good stuff. I am *dying* for a little spring around here. We had a few days of warmth and sunshine, but for the past three days it has been raining...again....I heard they have even mobilized our National Guard in case the rivers decide to really get out of hand...you know more than the crazy flooding they've already been doing. Anyways, one of my favorite things to do to get ready for spring is to paint my nails a fun, bright color. So today I am giving away these beauties. One lucky reader will win all four of these fabulous colors! I g...

Here is the full bathroom upstairs in our house. Before After This towel rack used to be silver...so I just spray painted it brown to go better with the decor Same thing with this one!

{Note: This is my 300th post! Yay! I will be hosting a giveaway tomorrow in honor of it and the fact that I am only one person away from 100 followers!!! So make sure to check back!} I had done a few before-and-after shots of our house a few months ago. If you are new to the blog you can check them out here , here , and here . I totally forgot to keep up with this, so I will really try now! Here is Little M's nursery. I obviously didn't add any of the pink until after she was born...it was all very neutral before then! Before After {please excuse the fact that I did not clean or tidy before I took the pictures}

I have been making a few touches to Little M's room recently. We didn't find out the sex of the baby before she was born, so everything was very gender-neutral. But now that she's here I want her to have a few splashes of pink. Since her walls are a very pale green {even though you can't tell very well from these pictures}, it works nicely. Here are the two projects I've been working on recently.... I bought these foam letters at Michaels , along with the ribbon {it is a deep pink with green polka dots...perfect!} I painted the letters myself and then just glued on the ribbon. I got these mirrors last week at the dollar store!! {which I am currently obsessed with} They had a tan frame so I just painted them the same color as the letters and added on the leftover ribbon I had. I am so happy with the way these came out! I will be posting some pictures of her whole room soon, so you can see the finished product!

This picture was taken on Mother's Day 2008. I was about 2 1/2 months pregnant with Little M and so excited to be celebrating my almost-first Mother's Day! {you can also totally tell I am knee deep in morning sickness by my lackluster hair, pale skin, and tired eyes!}

I have been a bad blogger recently....only posting 'fluff' posts and barely commenting on anything! I just have been so busy recently! We spent a TON of time outside last week, enjoying the few days of warm spring weather. I also have been working on a lot of house projects recently...actually staying on top of cleaning, laundry, and some organizing. I also spray painted some things in our bathroom and made the cutest improvements to some mirrors for Little M's room. I promise some pictures soon! I also want to get back to my 'Before and After' posts about all the improvements I have made to our house in the past two years we've owned it. I also have been busy thinking of wedding ideas because my friend J.O. just got engaged and I am going to be a bridesmaid. So exciting! I just love weddings! So that's what I've been up to recently {well those things and chasing after a very active almost 16 month old!} I have been reading all of your blogs and...

I promise more posts tomorrow!

This is what happens when I am desperate to entertain Little M while I clean the kitchen What? I'm just reading it!

Mr. B...let's take this ball and go up the stairs to take it inside We have to sneak past Mom first...don't look at her! Are you coming Mr. B? Okay, I'll try it out first See you go up one step at a time You're getting it! We're doing it now! {Don't worry, I busted them before they got any farther. But I'm sure they are plotting to do this again!}

My friend J recently sent around an email version of this survey. It brought me right back to high school when I used to send these out constantly! Anyways I decided to post my answers on here for all of you to enjoy:) 01. High heels, boots or sneakers- High heels..the higher the better! 02. What time did you get up this morning? 8:00 am 03. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds = 04. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Dear John....soo good 05. What is your favorite TV show? Grey's Anatomy 06. What do you usually have for breakfast? nothing...although I did have some M&M's this morning...real poster child for heathy eating over here! 07. What is your middle name? Patricia 08. What food do you dislike? red meat and vegetables 09. What is your favorite CD at the moment? the new mix CD I made 10. What characteristic do you despise? people who are late 11. Favorite Clothing? jeans and tank tops 12. Anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go only if it's sa...

Before all the rain last weekend we did have a few days of warmth and sun {which thankfully is back in full force this week!} We were able to take Little M outside in the back yard. It was her first experience running around back there, {since she learned to walk this winter} and she is really enjoying it! {almost as much as her mom!}

Here are some giveaways over at Gather.com I wanted to tell you about. Head on over and check them out! Deadline March 19 th “Kendra" Season 2 Poster Giveaway - Comment to Win! http://entertainment.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978097057 Deadline: March 22 Win an iPod Shuffle ! http://bedtimetheater.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978081343 Also for this week’s Friday Freebie, Gather will be giving away 2 $50 iTunes gift cards! http://gathergiveaways.gather.com/

We've been busy in my little section of the country the past few days. Hurricane force winds, 7 inches of rain in one day, flooding, power outages, and tons and tons of trees down. You know, all fun stuff. The storm began Saturday and raged into Monday. My best friend J had to stay with us Saturday and Sunday night since she didn't have any power or heat...and with my husband working crazy hours it was nice to have some company. Our friend D had to come over to charge his Blackberry and soak in some warmth and light as he was also without both. And you all saw pictures of the pond in my backyard. But by Monday night the storm was over, all our friends had gotten their power and heat back, and Skip and I were looking forward to a relaxing evening watching The Secret Life of the American Teenager {don't judge that show is fabulous!} Skip was heading upstairs to put Little M to bed when all of a sudden OUR POWER WENT OUT!! 'Are you freakin kidding me!!!' I yel...

I normally don't blog about politics or celebrities or anything on here because I try to keep this blog just about me and my family. But I have to throw my two cents in on this whole Jesse James thing. First off, seriously dude WHO CHEATS ON SANDRA BULLOCK???!?!?!? How dumb are you. But I am so happy to hear that Sandra has moved out of the house. I am so tired of all these women 'standing by their man' when they openly cheat on them. It's just disgusting. Women do not need a man to support them, so I don't know why these women stay. Good for you Sandy. We all support you! Okay, rant done. Post to follow about what's been going on with us!

My dad took this adorable picture of Little M tonight at dinner. She just loves St. Patrick's Day....and her new hat from Aunt L!!

I am asking all of you to say a prayer tonight for Mrs. P who at 23 just lost her husband, a Marine, to the war in Afghanistan. They just had a beautiful baby girl two months ago. Pray for strength for her and her family as she must go through this terrible tragedy.

What's this a picture of you might ask? Some adorable ducks swimming peacefully in a nearby pond. But wait a second....why is there a fence surrounding the pond? And a garage at the edge of it?? Well in answer to your questions...there is a fence and garage around the pond because the pond is in MY BACK YARD!!!! And no it wasn't there previously. Having waterfront property is a new exciting chapter in our lives today. Thankfully The Mrs. has her dash boys making me an arc. Because I'm definitely going to need it!!!

This is a picture of Little M from about a year ago. Cannot believe how much she has grown!!!

For just over a year, I was worried about Little M. She had no lovies! No specific toys she wanted when she was sad, no blankey she took to bed. And it was not from a lack of trying on my part. I was constantly trying to force different lovies on her. "Skip, she's not normal...every kid has a certain toy she loves" I would cry to my husband {as you can see I'm totally rational about everything to do with my daughter} Well about a month ago Little M started favoring these two guys. She now wants these two 'pals' as we call them whenever she naps or goes to sleep at night. She wakes up holding them and snuggles with them at night. Sigh...all is right in the world:)

Sorry, these are out of order and I'm just too lazy to fix it! Outside the Marine Corps Museum National Museum of the Marine Corps Driving and driving and driving some more! So happy to be driving the last 5 hours home! Skip at the bar in our suite at the Ramada...*love* that place! Little M's favorite hotel activity...pulling out all the tissues! Playing on the bed She loved playing in the big king-sized bed! Visiting some friends on the way home Empty baby pool as a make-shift playpen....Little M was not happy Palm trees Check out how windy it was! My two loves enjoying a little sunshine...Little M obviously not happy about being held