Mommy Musings

I thought I'd kick it really old school today and share a few pics from when I was a kid {sorry to my sisters for sharing these!}Cause when you grew up in the 80's and 90's, it's only fair to share pictures like this so that others may laugh as well:) Best jackets ever! Obviously Uniforms forever Just 80's...also, that was my most favorite dress ever Happy Almost Friday!!

If you have any friends from New Jersey, you're probably sick of all of the "THE SUPER BOWL IS IN NEW JERSEY NOT NEW YORK POSTS".  I get it, it must be annoying, but sadly it is something we feel must be constantly defended.  Today I'm here to explain to you why it is so important to all us Garden Staters that the media and everyone else gets this right. {one} First off let me reiterate once again that the Super Bowl this year is indeed being played in New Jersey....East Rutherford, NJ to be exact.  That is where the stadium is located....always has been.  Yes, they are called the New York Giants and Jets {I have no idea why} but the stadium is in NJ. {two} The players are not actually going to be in New York at all.  They landed in New Jersey, attended media day in New Jersey, are practicing in New Jersey, have been sleeping in New Jersey, will play the game in New Jersey, and will fly out of New Jersey.  All Jersey, no York....

Five years ago today I was a young new mom, with a four month old baby.  I was the first of my friends and family to have kids, and my new role as a stay-at-home mom was more amazing than I ever dreamed...though also most lonely than I thought.  A few friends from high school had started blogs, and I decided to follow in their footsteps.  I was looking to connect with other new moms to share our stories, and veteran moms who would impart their wisdom. I had no idea the path this blog would take, and am forever grateful for the community and friends I have found in the blogging world.  I also will be forever thankful for the memory keeper that this blog has become. I don't know where this blog, or I for that matter, will be in the next five years, but I am thankful for every post, every reader, every comment of the past half-decade. Now I probably should have done some huge giveaway or something, but as I honestly forgot about it until this morning, you'll just have t...

I bring you today's post from the confines of my couch.  I am snuggled up under a blanket, rocking my bathrobe, and I haven't washed my hair since Thursday.  Yup, I am on day #3 of the flu .  It's about as awesome as it sounds.  I have gotten my flu shot every year since I was 23.  This year I just kept forgetting.... that'll teach me . Thankfully my husb was off this weekend, and has been able to take some time off to take care of me.  I have done little else other than sleep and lay around.  It would be amazing if I didn't feel so horrible.  My mom's coming up in a few days too, so I am definitely feeling loved and taken care of! I sure am glad I pushed myself in my workouts last week, because it's going to be a few more days at least until I can get back out there. Super Bowl Mania has begun!!  Both teams arrived in NEW JERSEY {despite what Pete Carroll says} yesterday. I'm a little bummed I'm not going to any of the events taking place ar...

Here are a few pictures of baby Emmy from when she was first born until she was only a few months old.  I cannot believe she was ever that little!!

Anyone else feel like winter should be put in a time-out?  It is waaaaay too cold out there.  Obviously, all my workouts have been indoors recently.  I have even been doing most of them at home because I prefer not to leave my house if I don't have to.  So let's see how I did! Thursday January 9 - Shred level 2 Friday - none Saturday - Ripped in 30 level 1 Sunday - 4.5 mile elliptical Monday - 3 mile elliptical Tuesday - Shred it with weights level 1 Wednesday - Kickboxing levels 1-3 Weekly Total - 7.5 miles January total - 28.9 miles I haven't been paying attention to my total mileage this month, so I was really happy when I saw I'm almost at 30! Not a bad place at all to kick off this year! How have you been doing this month?  Keep up the motivation! 

It's snowing and well below freezing again.  I fear this winter is never going to end.  Maybe having the Super bowl in an open air stadium in New Jersey in February  wasn't the best idea anyone has ever had. Speaking of The Big Game, make sure you all remember that it is in NEW JERSEY this year.  Yes, it is close to New York, but it is clearly and without a doubt in the glorious Garden State.  Skip and I got to go out on a date night last night.  It was glorious and way over due.  We saw The Lone Survivor.  Such an amazingly touching, powerful movie.  Obviously I cried through most of it.  Do yourselves a favor and go out and see it, as well as read the book, immediately.  One of the most respectful, well-done war movies I've ever seen. I've been working on a lot of purging and organizing of our stuff recently.  Not only is it nice to get rid of all the crap, it's also fun to take a little trip down memory lane.  Here a...

I came across this article the other day on Twitter.  As a food allergy mom, it sparked my interest. Basically, there is a mom in Canada is filing a human rights campaign against her daughter's school for not being accommodating enough to her severe allergy to milk and eggs.  The mother would like to ban both of these items from the school.  The school has already made a lot of accommodations for her daughter, but the mom doesn't feel like it's enough. Now first off, I see both sides to this issue.  I am the mom of a severe allergy child...one whose life is in danger if she ingests peanuts.  I have also been a teacher and a camp counselor.  It is hard to make exceptions for one child {or a few} when the majority of kids are able to eat a certain food.  But in the cases of a deadly allergy, it always needs to get done .  I feel for this mother, I really do.  I also think that there is only so much a school can, and should have to do.  T...

Another week another chance to log my workouts! Thursday January 9 - 3 mile treadmill run Friday - kickboxing Saturday - none Sunday - Shred level 2 Monday - Shred level 2 Tuesday - 3.4 mile elliptical Wednesday - 3.5 mile elliptical Weekly Total - 9.9 miles January total - 21.4 miles Definitely not my greatest week mile wise, but I'm happy to have also added in some workout videos that also have strength training in them.  I'm going to try and maintain this balance until it gets warmer and I can start running longer outside. How are you keeping up with your winter workouts?

On New Year's Eve, I was in the kitchen, cooking, baking, and getting ready for the small party we were having with our friends after the girls went to bed.  Emmy came up to me and asked if I would set up my computer with my workout video, so she could "do her workout" in the playroom.  {She was talking about the Jillian Michaels Shred that she's jumped in and done with me a few times.} I happily obliged her, giggling as she got out my yoga mat and two wooden blocks to use as weights.  She was very serious about the whole thing. And for 10 minutes straight, Emmy followed right along with Jillian....jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches, she did it all.  Even Charlie got in on the action and was trying to follow along! I have to say, I could not have been more proud of my girls...and a little bit of myself to be honest.  Because my girls see me exercise as a way to get strong, as a way to stay healthy, as a way to blow off some steam.  They don't equate working ...

It's no surprise that both my girls are getting older.  They both sit at the table, eat what we're eating {well, sometimes} and can use utensils.  They can also both drink out of a regular cup.  Just because they can  doesn't mean I actually want them to all the time.  They like to run, play, be a little careless, and I prefer not to spend my day cleaning up milk and juice, so they still use sippy cups a majority of the time. I have used tons  of sippies throughout the past five years.  My only real requirement for them is that the girls like drinking out of them, and they don't leak.  The sippy leak drives me bananas!   I am happy to report that this hasn't been a problem at all with the Nuby  Clik-it™ No Spill™ Insulated Cool Sipper™.   First off, this cup is a great way to transition from a sippy cup to a regular drinking cup.  It has a No-Spill™ soft silicone rim as well as Touch-Flo™ Technology, that activates as soon as ...

I always get antsy this time of year.  Christmas and the bustle and magic of the holidays are over.  There are a few exciting football games left, but even those will be over soon.  And we're still knee deep in winter, spring still too far away to get excited about. I get super whiny when it's cold.  Super whiny .  I feel like my hands are always freezing and I would much rather sit under a blanket in my heat than bundle everyone up and head out.  I eat way more in the winter and workouts are harder to get motivated for.  The grief we have been dealing with over the past year seems to engulf me at more regular intervals now.  I suffer from insomnia much more frequently than when it's warm out.  I absolutely believe I have a touch of seasonal depression every year.  Indoor tanning used to help {judge away} but I know the dangers and don't do that any more.  I long to just pack up my family and drive south until I hit the much wa...

I am so so excited  to share the following product with you.  Over the years, I have received a lot of great products to review through my blog.  But never before has an item brought tears to my eyes.  That is until the other day. Everlasting Memories contacted me about evaluating one of their jewelry pieces.  I jumped at the chance as this was no ordinary necklace...they specialize in photo pendants.  A chance to have a picture of my babies on a necklace?!  Count me in! There were so many different options to chose from, but I finally decided on the Heart Photo Engraved Silver Keepsake . I emailed off the picture and engraving I wanted and anxiously awaited the results. I honestly have never been so pleased with a piece before...ever.  Look at what I got. "I love you most" For comparison sake, here is the photo I sent them: Can you believe how beautiful  this is?!?  I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have such a beautifu...

Welcome 2014!  A new year and a fresh start to start really wracking up the miles.   Wednesday January 1 - 2 mile elliptical / 2.5 mile bike Thursday - none Friday - none Saturday - none Sunday - none Monday - Ripped in 30 Tuesday - 4 mile elliptical / arms and abs Wednesday - 3 mile treadmill / abs Weekly Total - 11.5 miles December total - 11.5 miles Not a great week, but after taking so much time off in December, I'm just happy to be getting back into it.  I really want to not only improve my miles each month, but also try and add in a lot of strength training.  Time to get toned!  I'm also proud of myself for actually hopping on the treadmill yesterday.  I definitely don't enjoy it nearly as much as running outside, but with the epic cold and ice out there, I don't know how often I'll get to do that.  And I definitely don't want to lose the momentum I've got! How has your year started off?

I will not admit how long it took me to think of what day it is.  Between Christmas vacation, snow days, and my husband's weird schedule, I barely know where/when I'm supposed to be. Thankfully Skip is off today and was able to take Emmy to school.  Mandy doesn't go out in -17 weather..I probably would have called her out. Who else is excited that Pretty Little Liars comes back tonight?!?! I can't wait to see that Ezra is NOT really A...cause I'm just not okay with that. Skip and I were thinking of getting into House of Cards...is it any good? Poor sweet Emmy woke up screaming  in pain early Sunday.  Apparently she slept funny, and had put her neck out.  It hurt her to move it at all, and in fact movement of any kind made her scream out in pain.  It was the saddest thing ever.  She was so super brave, and understanding that she had to rest all day {not easy for a 5 year old}.  Thankfully after lots of rest, ibuprofen, and alternating hot/cold, she...