Archives for November 2013

A funny hubby, a cute baby and the Target Cartwheel app

November 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Thankful?  Yep, I’m absolutely thankful!

I have a funny hubby, cute baby and the Target Cartwheel app… what else could a girl need (seriously I think those 3 things make up the ‘basic’ level on the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs)?

I think we all try to be extra aware of the good stuff around us at this time of the year (at least until we wake up at 2 am the day after being thankful to arm wrestle people for hot deals on laptops, but whatever).   I could write about all the obvious things in my life that I love, but who’s got time for that… there’s food to be eaten!  So I thought I’d go a different route and think about all the little itty-bitty things that make life sweet.

……………………

::  A day in the life of a Thankful mom  ::

5:30 am – Alarm, snooze, snooze, hear baby girl, slip out of bed to get sweet sleepy baby… and the thankfulness begins…

…Thankful for flannel sheets (even if I don’t want to get out of them), thankful for Kenzie’s adorable bed head, thankful for extra absorbent diapers, thankful for morning snuggles…

20131023_064159

Little pumpkin bed head… melts my heart!

6:21 am

…Thankful for hot showers, thankful for tights so I don’t have to shave my legs, thankful for a husband who did laundry the night before (true story, Denny does all the laundry)…

7:05 am

…Thankful (SO THANKFUL) for Tim Ho’s K-cups, thankful for morning playtime with Kenz, thankful for the Today Show, thankful for binkies on a string, thankful for Cheerios…

tim hos k cup

Mornings haven’t been this amazing since the days of kegs & eggs in college!

7:32 am

…Incredibly thankful for a wonderful caregiver, thankful for a baby that (usually) doesn’t cry at drop-off, thankful for a commute that gives me just enough time to catch up with a few loved ones…

7:55 am

…Thankful for Pandora, thankful for cute baby pics to look at while I’m in the office, thankful for a system to prioritize e-mails, thankful for my OU mouse pad…

11_22 TUrkey 2

Speaking of pictures on my desk, here’s Thanksgiving 2012. Our little turkey was about 7 weeks old.

8:45 am

…Thankful for a job that I really truly enjoy, thankful for a cool view of medical campus out office window, thankful for funny co-workers…

11:45 am

…Thankful for flat shoes to run errands, thankful for $5 foot longs, thankful for texting to send a note to a friend I haven’t talked to lately…

flat shoes

3:10 pm

…Thankful for a husband who likes to check-in during the day, thankful for leftover Subway cookies from lunch…

4:35 pm

…Thankful for flex time, thankful for blue tooth in my car, thankful for a husband who does pick-up duty…

5:40 pm

…Thankful for fun mail, thankful for Digiorno pizzas, thankful for sweat pants, thankful for sippy cups…

7:40 pm

…Thankful for adorable bare baby bums, thankful for baby shampoo that doesn’t burn if it goes in eyes, thankful for the smell of a clean baby…

8:20 pm

Thankful for a chance to just sit, thankful for baby video monitors, thankful for ice cream, thankful for DVR…

9:40 pm

…Thankful for a few minutes to share my thoughts on the blog, thankful for YOU for stopping by to read it…

And at the end of the day (every day)

…I’m thankful for all the countless blessings we have, and I’m thankful the people in my world (both with us and the ones we carry in our hearts) for the impact they leave in my life…

(Speaking of, this is one of my favorite pictures of when Aunt Lorraine met Makenzie last Thanksgiving.  Tomorrow (Thanksgiving) would have been my Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Jim’s 50th wedding anniversary.   She’ll be in our thoughts all day)

11_19 Aunt Lorraine and Kenzie

What I would give to go back to last year for just a little more time with Aunt Lorraine…

Wishing you and your families an awesome, turkey-filled holiday as you celebrate with all the people who make you thankful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like Mommy McBlog on Facebook

I’ll be even more thankful!

Mommy McBlog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , , ,

Fall-la-la-la-la

November 20, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

There’s no doubt that we are already knee-deep in the holiday season (who else is feeling the pressure?).   BUT before we dive into the land of Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, I’m blogging once more about fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall-fall.

It’s been a fun few weeks since Kenzie’s Birthday party.  Our little baby has quickly turned into  a toddler (sobs!) and she’s ready to take on the world!

Here’s a peek into her busy little schedule…

::  Saturday Morning gymnastics class!  ::

Kenz-o falls under the Bumblebee category at a local kid’s gym center and she’s doing great!  Can we say Nadia McGee?

image

Bounce, bouncin on the ball!

image

Climbing on the obstacle course.

::  Driveway dismounts  ::

Speaking of tumble, our little gymnast tried to run down the driveway but unfortunately didn’t get a perfect 10.   She took a big Fall-la-la-la-la.  We went to urgent care who sent us to the ER.  Scary stuff, but luckily the ER told us the best news — we didn’t need to be there and she would be just fine!  We spent 12 hours monitoring her and she’s A-Okay!   We are thanking our lucky stars!

image

A few days after the fall and she’s feeling great!

image

Tweeting about her trip to the ER on her iPad. Such a modern-day babe.

:: Eating chili, the lunch of champions  ::

We’ve been taking advantage of the crisp fall weather to enjoy football Sundays.

image

Yum!

::  And getting Holiday ready  ::

We can’t deny it.  Christmas is a-coming!  This weekend we did a quick trip to Ohio to see some friends & family.  We got some holiday photos and had a great visit.

image

Kenz & Keene… best buds and future bride & groom, perhaps the year 2042?

image

Still hard to believe Melissa and I have our own kids. Seems like just yesterday we were playing with our Cabbage Patch babies!

image

Our little girl looking very grown up and ready for the holidays. She makes us smile 🙂

There’s a lot more to do before Santa arrives and the next few weeks should be full of fun.
Thanks for taking time to visit the good ol’ blog!
Until next Thursday…
fa la la

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like Mommy McBlog on Facebook

It’s hotter than door busters on Black Friday!

Mommy McBlog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , ,

One Tense Mama

November 13, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

My 2014 planner arrived this week, woo hoo!  There’s nothing I love more than having a fresh planner to mark birthdays, work events and vacation dates.  Totally lame but life’s all about the little things, right?

But before I could even flip to February I started thinking about my New Years resolutions.  I’m serious about this… 2014 WILL be the year I make and stick with my resolution.  I’ve known my resolution for a while so it’s time to get moving on it… and there’s not better way to hold myself accountable than to announce my resolution to all my millions thousands hundreds-ish readers on the blog (Hi Mom!). 

So without further adieu.

My 2014 resolution is…. (drumroll please)….

To be one tense Mom.

No, not tense as in uptight.  Tense as in present tense.

And here’s why…

Lately I’ve been thinking about how Moms are master multi-taskers.   Even when we’re with our babes we’re sometimes not with our babes.  Life pulls us in lots of directions and Moms, more than anyone, have a lot on their minds.   And I’ve come to the conclusion that even when you are with your kids, you may not be present with them, hence the Three Tenses of Mommy-ing.

Present Tense Mama – The present-tense Mom is with her kiddos and having fun. This is the Mom that’s fully engaged and paying 100% attention.  The present-tense Mom makes memories and lives in the moment.  She rocks!  This is my goal!!

Future Tense Mom – This is the Mom that’s spending time with her kiddos but rather than engaging she’s thinking about life 20 minutes from now, 4 hours from now and 3 days from now.  This mom’s packing sippy cups for the afternoon trip to the park…. while thawing meat for tonight’s dinner…. while making a shopping list for Sunday’s grocery (no doubt we’ve all done this).   She’s 10 steps ahead of the rest of the world.  Watch out world!

Past Tense Mom –  This Mom is spending times with her kids too, but rather than playing she’s caught up with the memories of the past.  This past tense mom is too busy to have fun because she’s taking pictures, making calendars and sending photo books to the grandmas.  Aside from carrying the baby, this mom carries passwords to all the accounts – Instagram, Shutterfly, and Snapfish.

………………………………………………….

It’s not a bad thing to be a past tense or a future tense Mom.  In fact it unavoidable at times, but my NY resolution is to focus on being a present-tense Mama with Makenzie as much as possible, and here’s a few tricks I’ve learned to achieve this….

  • Night-time prep – the more I can do while she sleeps, the less I have to do while she’s awake.  Nighttime = full-on prep mode.  Set out clothes, K-cups, keys, bags, bottles, binkies… you name it!   Granted mornings still get crazy at times, but once in awhile all the prep will give me some free time before work and Kenzie and I get to play, play play.
  • Committing to activities – It’s true that the swim class and baby gym class benefit Kenzie but the other perk is that committing to a regular activity requires me to be a present-tense Mom as we splash, tumble and make memories.

And lastly, the key to being a present-tense Mama is…

  • Dance parties – We love these!!  We stop everything and turn on 80’s station on Pandora to dance and get silly.  There’s no time to stress about planning for the future or snapping photos, there’s only time to get crazy and dance your cute little 13-month old heart out.  Awesome!!!

………………………………………………….

Now Bring it on 2014!

I’m challenging myself to be more tuned in as a Mom.

Will it work???  I hope!

I’ve got a goal.   I’ve got clear steps to achieve the goal.   So now let’s see if I can be less tense and more present tense.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join the 80’s dance parties with Mommy McBlog on Facebook!

Mommy McBlog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: , , , ,

50 Shades of (every color but) Gray

November 6, 2013 by · 2 Comments

This post is long overdue, but I haven’t forgotten about it.   Way back when, Denny and I committed to a few items on our To Do list.

They were List Items #81, #82, #83 & #85.

  • Commit to re-painting front room. 
  • Select color. 
  • Buy paint.  Paint.
  • Buy fluffy area rug.

Surprisingly, we did them.  But let me start at the beginning…

Over the past few years our front room has been experiencing an identity crisis – rightfully so – but I think we’ve finally figured out its purpose in life: a relaxing family room and play room.   Check it the experience to get there.

Feb 2009 – Purchase house, yeah!  At time of purchase, front room is bright blue color and used as a sitting room.

Sold!! (But not sold on the color inside)

Photos from final walk through of house (that’s not even our stuff in this picture)

Another final walk through photo of the front room

Feb 2009 – Decide we like sitting room concept but decide we need to repaint it.

March 2009 – Do nothing except change mind of what we want to do.

April 2009 – Decide room should be a dining room – add crown molding and chair rail and paint top half of room red.  No, burgundy.   No, brown.  Yes, brown.  We finally decided on a chocolate brown color.   Move small table into room with non-matching chairs.  Hmmm, we don’t love it.

Sometime in late 2009 – Finally replace non-matching table set with my grandparents beautiful dining set!   Better.

Holidays! (Blurry picture apparently taken after wine consumption)

2010 & 2011 –  Put down hardwood flooring on the main level.    But despite new floors, dining room didn’t get used for anything except  storage.  Maybe a dining room might not be a good way to go?  We decide we’re not dining room people.

2012 – Decide a sitting room is the way to go.  (I wonder if the former owners did this journey too?)  Move out dining room table and add dark rug and couch.  Hmm, not loving it, but functionality has improved.

20130727_201205

Getting there, but too dark and too serious.

May 2013 – Commit to function of room in a new color.  Beige?  Gray?  Yellow?  Green?  Ahh, yes, let’s pretend we’re not beige-aholics and try green.

August 2013 – Buy paint samples.  Test paint samples.  Commit to a color.  Change mind.  Commit to another color.  See if parents can visit and keep busy baby away from wet paint.  Make it happen.  Yay!    “Painting with a very busy baby is fun!” – said no one ever

Sept 2013 –   Celebrate completion but wonder if we should have gone with beige.  Darn!

October 2013 – Realize we like lazy weekends more than we like to repaint.  Commit to green and take pictures.

fron room 1

Cozy couch view (end table still needed)

front room 2

Full room view, The wall above the brown chair will eventually become our family picture wall.

Nov 2013 – Finish this post.

Dec 2013 (maybe, possibly, hopefully) – Finish off room with a picture wall

I know we’re not exactly the team at Young House Love, but we’re pretty happy with the change.

What do you think?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Home is where the projects are.

Facebook is where Mommy McBlog fans are.

Mommy McBlog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With:

Thirsty Thursday!

November 4, 2013 by · 1 Comment

Thursday Thursday Thirsty Thursday!

I love me some Thursdays!

Some random reasons why:

  • Thursdays are like a mini Christmas Eve every week!!  It’s hard to not spend the day dreaming about unwrapping that big gift full of sleeping in and family fun.
  • Lots of good people were born on a Thursday – my sissy Melissa, Denny, yours truly, Ryan & Kenzie
  • Visits from my Friends back in the day – Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey & Phoebe!
  • 2 words – Quad Night!  Ever since the excitement of Thursdays in Athens I’ve kept a special little place in my heart for Friday Eve

  • Dunder Mifflin and the Dept. of Parks & Rec are always open on Thursdays
  • Turkeys!  Thursdays are the only weekday when you get to sit in elastic pants, eat like a fool and then watch parades and football

and coming soon…

  • Mommy McBlog posts every Thursday morning (I’ll actually post sometime Wednesday night but likely you’ll be sleeping by then)

In my attempts to balance it all I’ve decided that scheduling a little time each week to blog would be a good way to ensure I get a little me time and to ensure I don’t forget about one of my favorite hobbies.  So grab your bottle, get your sippy cup and fill your mug, it’s a Thirsty Thursday on Mommy McBlog!

I can’t guarantee there will be any Junction Punches, but hopefully you’ll be a little bit thirsty for some coffee, you’ll be a little bit thirsty for a little break in your morning and you’ll be a lot thirsty for some random rambling of an Irish Mommy.

I hope to see you here!

Cheers!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belly up to the mousepad, your morning is about to get a little wild!

Follow the fun on Facebook!

Mommy McBlog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: