Mommy Musings

I don't think I've sent out Valentine's Day cards since I was in middle school.  Nope...high school.  You could send a chocolate rose to the boys at the local boys schools and cross your fingers you got one in return.  And of course they would hand them out during homeroom so everyone would know if you did, or did not get one.  I wasn't the most popular girl by any means, but thankfully did receive a few roses over the years. Okay, enough of that rant...back to the topic at hand.  Like I said, I hadn't really planned on sending any Valentine's Day cards this year, but then I started browsing through  Tiny Prints  collection of Valentine's Day cards and I was hooked!  I have seriously never seen cuter cards than these.  I mean I will *have* to get this card for Skip since we are Fantasy Football Superbowl winners this year!!! Card found here But what about the girls?  They have enough family and friends who I'm sure would love a card!...

I haven't done this in a while, but I'm excited to be linking up with Andrea for her 2 on Tuesday!! Today's topic is: What are your two go-to meals? One of my new favorite recipes {which I'm actually making tonight, is based off a recipe I found here .  It is for Sausage and Peppers.  Here is my version of it: 1 package of sausage {I prefer hot} 1 green pepper {chopped} 2 sweet onions {chopped} Extra virgin olive oil salt pepper garlic powder tomato sauce rolls, rice, potatoes, etc...just something to serve it with 1. I prick the sausage with a fork and put it into a skillet I had already put some olive oil in.  Keep turning until they are nice and crispy...about 8 minutes.  Then move the sausages to an oven safe dish. 2. Put the cut up onions and peppers into the same skillet and cook until either slightly crunchy still or totally mushy {the way Skip and I like it} 3. Towards the end of the cooking process, add some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  I just kin...

Sometimes I get tired of picking up the girls toys all day long.... .....but then I think about all the children without toys. Sometimes I get so tired of Baby C not sleeping well.... ....but then I remember she is my last baby and I will soon miss these days. Sometimes I worry about money and how much our mortgage is.... ....but then I remember how lucky Skip and I have been to be homeowners since I was 22. Sometimes I get stir crazy sitting at home with the girls because it's too much to bring them out..... ....but then I remember just how lucky I am to stay at home with them everyday. Sometimes I complain about my husband's weird/long hours.... ....but then I remember to be thankful he has a job. Sometimes I forget Skip was ever deployed..it was so long ago and I occasionally take advantage of seeing him every day now... .....but then an image like this burns in my mind. It is our front yard.  We are flying the flag at half staff..in honor of the New Jersey Marine who was ki...

I was tagged by two of my favorite blog ladies, Allie and Bri  to answer a few questions about myself!  And rather than bore you with multiple posts, I combined them into one!  Here are the rules: The Rules 1. You must post the rules (and link up who tagged you) 2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post. 3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged. 4. Tag however many people you want 5. Let them know you've tagged them! Eleven Facts About Me 1. I am allergic to alcohol.  Can't have a drop or I'll immediately start puking.  It's one of Skip's favorite things about me, haha 2. I will only drink coffee out of a travel mug..I don't like it in a regular mug. 3. I majored in English and Elementary Ed in college 4. I went to an all-girls Catholic high school. 5. My girls will go to private Catholic school for elementary and high school. 6. I have to have my toes ...

It may be decently warm today, but it is so rainy and crappy out that my brain can't see to put anything more than a random list of ramblings together. 1. I think we *may* have turned the corner with Baby C's sleeping.  She has slept unswaddled from 7pm till 7 am the past three nights.  Let me tell you, the sleep I've gotten because of it has been *amazing*  2. Also, Baby C is sooooo close to crawling.  She can scoot backwards and rocks back and forth on her hands and knees.  Two mobile children is going to make life a whole lot more exhausting , tiring , interesting very soon! 3. Not sure if I mentioned it on here before, but hubs and I have been working on refinancing our mortgage {wow, how old does that make me sound?!?!}  We really needed our house to appraise for a certain amount though, and with the market being down so much, we were really nervous.  But we finally heard back from the bank and the house appraised for more than we needed it to!!!...

I was recently given the opportunity to review the book entitled "Confessions of a Catholic Cop".  As a cop wife myself I knew this would be a really interesting book.  The book is written by a man named Thomas Fitzsimmons and I was actually surprised I had not heard of him before.  As per the book, Fitzsimmons "worked ten years as a New York City police officer in the precinct dramatized in Fort Apache, the Bronx.   He is a Vietnam era Navy veteran, film/soap opera/TV commercial actor and the former co-host of the NBC-TV magazine-format talk show, 'Now'.  A private investigator and recognized security expert, he has appeared on shows such as 'Good Morning America,' 'Geraldo Rivera,' and 'Montel Williams'." Based on his background, I knew this book would very realistic and accurate.  And it did not disappoint at all!  I normally don't read books like this, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.  Here is a little des...

I was recently given the opportunity to review a book entitled "iParent: Gender Trends, Online Friends, and the Soul of your Child", and I am so glad I did.  It is written by a man named Don Pearson.  His "28 years of youth ministry and legendary mistakes have led to increased prayer walks and growing insight.  A graduate of MoodyBible Institute, Cornerstone University, and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, Don splits his time between student ministry and working with parents of adolescents.  He and his wife, Julie, have three grown children and a son-in-law, and have recently entered the magical world of grandchildren." {taken from the back of the book} I seriously believe that every parent should be given this book when they leave the hospital with their newborn.  It is a technology world we live in now...hello, I am writing this review on my blog:)  But with that much technology comes a lot of opportunities for children to get into trouble.  A...

Last Friday night, this little girl got to go on a very special date with her mom and grandmom.. We took her to the movies to see Beauty and the Beast!!  I knew it would be a win because we have the movie at home and she is straight up *obsessed* with it.  I let her pick out whatever outfit she wanted to wear {though I did veto her Jessie Halloween costume} and she really could not have been more excited This was the best she did at the theaters too.  Once the movie started she didn't really want to sit by herself, but was happier snuggling up with my mom or I.  And we were more than happy to oblige!  She laughed, cried, sang, and recited the dialogue right along with the movie.  And of course devoured most of a large popcorn all by herself {okay, maybe I helped on that one} It was just such a wonderful night.  I think my mom and I definitely had as much fun as Little M did.  It was nice to get Little M out for a special night to herself with...

Over the weekend we got quite a few inches of snow here in Jersey.  It's not unusual at all for our area this time of year, but this year has not be normal by any means weather wise.  This is the first real snow fall we've had since that freak 9" of the powedery stuff we got back in OCTOBER .  I have to admit, I did not miss it one bit.  I am a summer girl through and through, and the less snow I have to deal with the better.  We have had our fair share of really cold days, but we were lucky with the precipitation so far. So while I may not have been too happy about the snow, one little girl I know was EXCSTATIC!  Seriously.  All I heard all day was, "Mommy can we go play in the snow?" Over and over and over.  It was a bit too chilly for Baby C to go outside, so I told Little M she had to wait until Skip got home and could take her.  And you can bet she was dressed and waiting for him as soon as he walked in the door! Baby C and I got ourselv...

Image from google.com It was a long hard battle....one I really didn't think we had it in us to win....but by some luck....and a few things going our way.... Image from google.com image from google.com THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!  WE'RE COMING FOR YOU TOM BRADY!!! Oh, and sorry 'bout the loss San Fransisco!! Image found on Facebook.com

I love getting to share the love here in the blogging world, and so today I thought I'd share with you some of my new favorite blogs.  I'm even luckier because they are all friends of mine in real life!  I'd love if you could go check them out, become a follower, and show them some love! The first blog I want to tell you about is my mom!!  She blogs over at "Between the two...... Living life between two cultures, two homes, two basset hounds and two granddaughters ."  Here's a little description she wrote about herself..."We supposedly speak the same language, but with differing accents and phrases. Married life with an Englishman has been quite an adventure! I am the mother of three amazing, now grown up women, I live life between our home and "future retirement" home, caring for two basset hounds and loving every minute I spend with my two granddaughters."  It's so great getting to see my mom perspective on so many different things......

....to bring you some rather exciting news. A few years ago some of my friends and family started going on Twitter.  I didn't see what the fuss was about.  I had Facebook...wasn't that enough?  But one night my friend Billy was over here and telling me how he had just signed up, it was great, blah blah blah.  But then he told me that Michael Strahan was on Twitter, and he was following him {in case you don't watch football Michael Strahan was one of the greatest Giants players ever.  I once waited in line for FOUR hours to meet him at a book signing...it was amazing} He is super famous for the gap in his teeth Hold the phone...he was following Michael Strahan?  Like he could read what he was saying?  I immediately signed up for Twitter and Michael was the first person I started following. Fast forward to yesterday.  Hoda Kotb {from the Today Show} asked her followers who the first person they started following on Twitter was.  I immediately r...

This morning Skip and I got up way too early, {on only three hours of sleep...but that's another story} my mom came over to watch the girls, and Skip and I headed up to one of the local Catholic elementary schools.  Promptly at 7:30 we walked in the doors to register for this little girl for preschool in the fall. Let that sink in for a minute....PRESCHOOL.  My baby!  Sure, in theory it will be nice to have a few hours a day with just Baby C, but I don't think that's enough of a benefit.  I'm going to miss my girl!  I'm so nervous about her peanut allergy and trusting other people to watch her, and the thought of all of us having to be up, dressed, fed, and out the door by 7:30 every morning makes me tired.  And that's the other thing...it's every day.  Five days a week for preK 3?!?!?!  Sure they're half days, but still...every day.  Just seems like a lot to me, but that is the trend with most schools around here. I know Little M will not on...

I've been sitting here racking my brain, trying to come up with some sort of thoughtful or enlightening post to share with you this Monday.  I have the time...Skip took Little M to the store and Baby C is napping....I have plenty to write about, Baby C's sleeping, Little M getting registered for Pre-K, some amazing new blogs you need to be following.  But honestly, I got nothing in me.  And it's all thanks to this..... MY GIANTS BEAT THE PACKERS!!!!  First off, yes, they are MY Giants in case you didn't know:)  And last night they beat Aaron Rodger and the Packers....the 15-1 Packers...the ones I picked to win the Superbowl this year.  The game was amazing...seriously.  I'm sure we're going to lose to the 49'ers next week, but it is nice to have just one more week to watch my boys!  Anyways, because I'm still on a high from last night, all I can seem to muster up today is an IPhone photo dump.  No judgies okay...I promise I'll have something ...

Wow...what a week this is for my little blog!  Today I'm a featued over on Blogger .  It's a website that connects millions of bloggers together.  Head on over and check me out!!!

While Skip's actual 30th birthday was on Thursday, we had his huge party on Friday.  I had been stressing over it for a bit, but honestly?  I think it was our best party ever!  There were tons of drinks, a keg, and waaay more food than anyone was going to eat.  It was a great mix of people, and everyone seemed to get along really well.  And any party that doesn't wrap up until 3 am is a good time, right?  But you want to know the best part?  Little M didn't make a peep once and Baby C {who was up about 8 times the night before and up until 4:30 the night before that} woke up once...ONCE!!  With almost 40 people in my house, girlfriend slept straight through...maybe I should have a party every night then??  But enough chatter...here are the pictures! The theme of the party Decorations every where I taped up cloths pins everywhere with pictures of Skip Giant cake And yes, I made everyone at the party sing happy birthday to him We got our trophy...