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Cape May – the 1st official McGee Family Summer Vacation

September 8, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Today we went back to reality – back to alarm clocks, back to schedules and back to real shoes. It was the first day in about a week that I came home and didn’t find sand everywhere. But despite being sand-free, today wasn’t nearly as good as the past week and a half. Last week was the 1st official McGee Family Summer Vacation.

Beach, Sun, Sand, Strolls, Family Naps… the GOOD stuff of life!

We spent 5 days in Cape May, NJ, and we had a great time! I could ramble on about our visit, but I think the pictures tell a pretty accurate story…

The McGee Mobile all loaded up and hitting the road (just kidding, it’s not our car but I wanted to make sure you are paying attention)

Kenz living the dream – Baby Einstein, jammies, a paci and her big girl car seat. She was a rockstar traveler!

View from Room 209. Not too shabby!

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And the lovely little views on Beach Avenue. Cape May Is such a cool little town…

Too cute!

Voted favorite house on Beach Avenue by cute hubby.

Voted favorite house on Beach Avenue by your (hopefully) favorite Mommy McBlogger.

Happy little picket fence

A snapshot of the houses looking out to the Atlantic Ocean.

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And the lovely little views of Mom-cam.

Say Cheese!!

Makenzie’s 1st dip of her little tootsies in the ocean

And Makenzie’s 1st dip into the pool (how cute are those chunky thighs?)

She Loved the sand – playing in it and eating it!

And she loved the view (so did I) 🙂

We sure loved Cape May!!

And it sure tired us out…

See you soon beach, we’ll be back!

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Mommy McBlog – Apply liberally

SPF 50 – Waterproof

Won’t clog pores or cause breakouts

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Adventures in Parenthood, McGee Journeys, The Story of Us

Dear Makenzie – Some thoughts about your ears

September 6, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Hey Kenz girl,

It’s me, Mom.

You’re probably going to roll your eyes at this… but I want to remind you that you have absolutely precious, adorable, sweet, little, perfect baby girl ears. They are so cute and they make me smile. And the reason I remind you of this is because yesterday at the grocery store I saw a girl about 16 years older than you who decided she didn’t love or appreciate her ears in their current shape. In fact she wanted to change the shape of her ears so much that she put giant plastic round spacers in them to create a huge permanent holes in both of her ears.

It’s possible that this girl thought that it’s cool to permanently put giant holes in her ears. Or perhaps she put giant holes in her ears to impress people in her life. But maybe, just maybe she decided to stretch out her ears because her mom forgot to remind her just how precious her ears were.

So if you ever think it’s super cool to stretch the crap out of those ears, just remember that your lame old conservative Mom thinks they are perfect as is. Plus if you ever want to stretch out your skin, you’ll easily be able to do this when you have kids (which is of course not likely to happen for at least 29 1/2 years since you aren’t allowed to date until then).

If you have any questions about this, ask your dad. He’ll be more than glad to clarify about this situation and what you are and are not allowed to do to your ears.

Much Love,

Mom

PS While we are on the topic of things that we are not excited about in our house, don’t even think about dancing like Miley Cyrus did at the VMA’s unless you want to be grounded until you are 73. That’s absolutely not what we refer to when we sing the Shake your sillies out song.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Adventures in Parenthood, Dear Makenzie, My View on Life, Parenting Humor

Get your Stitch Fix!

August 28, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 2 Comments

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has mornings that go like this…

5:15 am alarm… (groan)… snooze… snooze… snooze…

5:30 am, oops… (more groans)… wake up and see cute baby in bed… realize you made that decision at 3 am when cute baby would not stop crying, oops… also realize your daughter will be sleeping in your bed until she’s 18 if you don’t do something soon… silently vow to yourself that tonight you’ll let her cry it out…but for now, snuggle her and hit snooze again… and again…

5:48 am… sleep too late (curse words)… move babe to pack n play… run for shower… lather, rinse, towel dry… run for bedroom

Commence the what to wear game … stare at closet (groans)… stare more (curse words)… realize baby is getting antsy… dance around in frumpy mom underwear and make monkey noises to keep baby entertained… keep staring at closet… silently curse at yourself for not getting back to gym… make more monkey noises for giggling babe…more staring at closet… settle for boring black turtleneck and gray pants… groan at lame-o wardrobe … make more monkey noises

Run downstairs with baby on hip while making coffee, packing bottle bag, putting on make-up and making monkey noises…

Silently vow that you’ll either buy new clothes or lose weight to fit into pre-baby clothes

Run out door and let the day begin…

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If only there was a personal shopper who could send you stylish, affordable clothes each month… oh wait, there is!! Hello Stitch Fix!!

For those of you not familiar, here’s how this fabulous little idea works:

Go to stitchfix.com and create your style profile (there’s currently a waitlist, but it’s not long at all). Pick a package arrival date and wait for your little box of fashion happiness to arrive on your front porch. You’ll receive 5 pieces hand-picked by your stylist. If you like them, keep em. If you don’t, send them all back! Easy peasy.

There’s a $20 styling fee, which can be used toward your order.
If you keep all 5 items you receive 25% off your order.
The more feedback you give on the pieces sent to you, the better they get over time. So be sure to be very specific to your stylists so that they can send you things you’ll love.

I couldn’t resist this awesome little concept anymore and put in an order for August. Here’s what I got!

All the clothes didn’t work out (I clearly forgot to tell my stylist that I don’t get along with skinny jeans) but it was definitely a good experience! And it’s perfect for busy moms with no time to shop.

So for those of you dancing around in your frumpy mom underwear while making monkey noises while cursing at your lack of clothing options, go to stitchfix.com today (tell them I sent you) and let the fun begin!

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If you think dancing around in frumpy underwear is fun,

you should join Mommy McBlog on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Mom Must Haves, Parenting Humor, Random Ridiculousness

FIVE Years!

August 16, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 1 Comment

Five Years! And Yes, I’d say I Do all over again!

(Denny, I sure hope you feel the same)

This year has brought the most change so far! I can get wordy and sappy and long-winded about this year, but instead I’m going to use the same method to explain how I feel as 554 million users do each day… hashtags!

In honor of 5 years of marriage I’m going to recap our years together using only 5 hashtags for each year! (Don’t try this at home)

Here goes…

2004 – The year we met…

#IWasOnlyCallingForADonation #StarsAreAligned #HottieHottieAlumni

#TimeToMeetTheParents #SoHappySoSappy

2005 – A Year of Fun and new Zip Codes

#BricksAndBeer #PompAndCircumstance #TimeForABigKidJob

#UnexpectedJobTransfer #WeMustLoveEachotherToDriveThisMuch

2006 – The Year we found out if we really liked eachother

#FinallyLivingInTheSameState #LifesBetterInTheBuff #Don’tTellGrandmaWe’reLivingInSin

#MeetLexiKitty #WhoKnewWeEvenLikedCats

2007 – The Year of Will You

#WillYouMarryMe? #YES!!!!!!! #WeddingPlanningPalooza

#GoodThingWeGoToSoManyWeddings #WhereWasPinterestWhenIWasABride

2008 – The Year of O-H-I-dO!

#TheCountdownIsOn #FunHappyBestMostAmazingDayEver #PartyInAthens

#WeHeartOurFriendsAndFamily #AmazingAruba

2009 – The Year of Being Adults

#SOLD #WereHomeowners #RememberWhenWeThoughtPaitningWouldBeFun

#WhyDidWeThinkGradSchoolWasAGoodIdea #INeedANap

2010 – The Year of Surviving on little sleep (or so we thought)

#75HourWorkWeeksSuck #UhOhWeHaventEvenStartedThatPaper #MmmmmCoffee

#SpouseStudyBuddies #WeLoveTakeOut

2011 – The Year of Lots of Celebration

#GradSchoolGrads #FlipCupAtTheMcGees #BahamasBaby

#FreeTimeRocks #BabyMaybe

2012 – The Real Year of Surviving on Little Sleep aka The Year of meeting our Makenzie

#WerePregnant! #ItsAGirl #MeetMakenzieRuth

#WereMadlyInLove #BestYearEver

2013 – The Year of Hey We’re Parents

#ItRocksToBeParents #WereCluelessAsParents #MakenzieIsHilarious

#IStillNeedANap #HeyWeMadeItFiveYearsAndWeStillLikeEachOtherMostDays

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And it’s the truth! We Still Like Each other (most days) and we still love each other all days!!

Denny, I don’t think I’ll ever stop asking, How’d we get so lucky? With each other, with our families, with the opportunities and experiences we’ve been given and with our awesome little family. We got lucky. Really Really lucky!

Wedding laughs I Love You! Here’s to 50 more, xoxo

PS Maybe by then we’ll really figure out how to learn hashtags!

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If you think pretending to use hashtags is fun,

you should join Mommy McBlog on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Anniversaries, People we Heart, The Story of Us

Schedule it!

August 11, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Sunday nights are notorious for the Oh man, I didn’t get much done this weekend feeling. But sometimes the best way to deal with the stress of balancing it all is to get away from it all. It’s taken me months way too long (10 months to be exact) to figure this out, but I finally did! Just a few nights ago, I finally got away with a close friend (also a new mom) and we spent two hours relaxing, drinking wine and eating cheesecake. No diaper bags, no high chairs, no puffs – just us! AMAZING!!

So reading my blog won’t finish your laundry, it won’t pay your bills, it won’t scratch any items off your to do list, and it won’t beat your Sunday Blues, but hopefully it will remind you that you just need to get away sometimes.

So, do it! Text a friend and pick a date. The cheesecake awaits!!

: Wine and peanut butter cheesecake, yeeees!

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If you think Mom’s Night Out is fun, you should join Mommy McBlog on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Mom's Night Out, Super Mamas

Double Digits – Kenzie is 10 Months!

August 7, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 1 Comment

Another month has come and gone and our little Mak Attack is 10 Months Old! It’s crazy to think she’s in Double Digits already!!!

Life with Makenzie is fun x10!

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Here’s what we’ve been up to the last few weeks:

* Taking her 10-month pictures. I can’t believe we just have 2 stickers to go *

10 Months photo shoot! The girl doesn’t sit still so these pics were taken on the move.

She can’t believe she’s 10 months either! PS Check out how cute she looks in her little jeans

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* Almost Walking! *

She’s flying through the house with Mr. Puppy

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* Visiting friends & family (she’s a popular little lady)! *

Learning with Emma! Kenzie is a popular girl on the block

Fun with Nana

Kenz and all her boy cousins

Miss Makenzie with Great Grandma and Grandpa Synk

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* And here’s one of my favorite new Makenzie tricks… waking up to pull the video monitor off the side of the crib. *

The girl apparently wants some privacy. I heard the rustling from her crib one morning and checked out the action on her monitor…

and walked into room to find this proud little sweetie. Busted!

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* Getting ready for the beach! *

The countdown is on until we put her little tootsies in the ocean!

Pretty girl in her sun hat

Just playing in her swim suit

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Exploring and Making messes!

She loves her books! 🙂

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And having lots of fun!

Love this little face

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We’re trying to savor it all. How’d we get so lucky?

Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Makenzie Ruth, Month by month

The McGees have gone Green!

August 4, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Hi.

My name is Erin… and I’m a beige-aholic.

I enjoy beige. I relish beige. I cover my house in beige.

And that’s not all. I find other neutrals to be very habit forming. In addition to being a beige-aholic, I’ve even considered myself a gray-aholic too. Both colors are so safe and comfortable that I can’t get enough!

But this weekend, I switched it up a little. Our formerly dark brown front room was too dark and too drab and I had the itch to brighten it up. So I did. With the help of my parents (Dad to lend a hand to paint, and Mom to keep an eye on our busy little crawler) Denny and I brought green into our typically neutral house.

So after 2 rolls of frog tape and 11 hours of non-stop work, the room was transformed. Talk about quitting neutral-aholic’ism’ cold turkey. But now I’m having concerns and sweats… Is it the right color? Do we like it ? Is it too green? Too minty? Too bright? Too springy? Hmmm…

Overall I’m glad we did it. The room is much more cozy and definitely brighter, but I can’t seem to commit to hanging pictures just yet. I’ll get there eventually. Perhaps I need some inspiration that can only be found during a trip to Pier One or a visit to Pinterest. Hmm, after perspiration comes ‘Pin’spiration (is that a quote somewhere)?

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions to finish off the room, please pass them along. The path to no longer be a neutral-aholic isn’t going to be an easy one but let’s be honest, we’re way too tired to re-paint. So it looks like we’ve gone green and we’re not to looking back!

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Pictures of the finished room coming soon!

In the meantime, find out if we stay neutral free by following us on Facebook

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Home is where the projects are, Random Ridiculousness

Pictures of the Week It’s baaaaaack!

July 28, 2013 by erinqmcgee · 2 Comments

It’s baaack! After a very long hiatus my interest in doing home projects has returned. Step right up Home Depot shareholders, your time has come.

In the fall of 2011 we finished a pretty big kitchen upgrade (part of which we did on our own), and I swore up and down that after all the blood, sweat and tears, I was not going to do another home project, ever! Stick a fork in me. I was done!

We got pregnant with Makenzie a few months later (yay!) so I stood true to my no more home projects rule (with the exception of excessive nesting) and we pretty much managed to continue the strike against paint, backsplash and any type of physical work altogether.

But all good things must come to an end… and so is the case with our no home projects rule.

Perhaps it’s because we’re finally getting into a good routine with Kenzie… perhaps it’s because I fell back into the arms of Pinterest … perhaps it’s because we have a very big 1st Birthday party at our house coming up in a few months… but regardless of the reason, my interest in home projects has been rekindled.

This weekend we managed to cross some items off the To Do list. Check it out…

# 42 – Install cat door — CHECK!

According to Denny the cat door installation is purrrrfect!

(On a side note this was my favorite step of the cat door installation. I can’t make this up!)

Hilarious!! But Lex did not think so.

# 63 – Take down broken shelves in kitchen.

#64 – Spackle holes and repaint OR just cover them up. (clearly I chose the latter)

#65 – Find artwork (thanks Etsy). Print artwork. Frame artwork.

#66 – Hang artwork.

Awww yeah, Check, check, check, check, check and check!!!

Pretty cute and all for less than $43!

And finally, we committed to To List Items #81, #82, #83 & #85. Commit to re-painting front room. Select color. Buy paint. Paint. Buy fluffy area rug.

Hooray!!!! It’s not a done deal yet but the fluffy rug is purchased and color samples are on the wall. Which means we either have to move forward with the project or risk looking like idiots with big sample splotches or green and blue paint on a brown wall.

Trying to find some color inspiration!

So that’s what the McGees have been up to for the past 48 hours. Oh yeah, and LOTS of fun with Kenzie girl. Weekends really are the best.

Stay tuned, it’s going to be a fun few months!

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Pick up a paintbrush and join the party on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Home is where the projects are, Picture of the Week

Watch out World – Kenzie Girl is NINE Months!

July 24, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Fun times this month! Our Makenzie is now NINE Months!!

How did that happen?

Going to her 1st parade on her 9-month Birthday! Happy Birthday America and Happy 9 months baby girl!!!

In some ways I feel like she was just born but in other ways I can’t remember what our lives were like without her. She’s a lot of work, but the love we have for her is more than I ever imagined. My hope is that we are giving her the best possible childhood while making sure we teach her to be a fun, appreciative, thoughtful, compassionate kiddo. Seems like kind of a lofty goal considering that some days we can barely get her dressed and out the door but we keep trying.

This months she’s been busy, here are the updates:

Eating: The girl can eat, but our biggest worry is her recent obsession with cat food. She hasn’t managed to get it into her mouth yet, but she’s getting quicker. Yikes!

Learning & Exploring: Watch out world! Kenzie is coming your way… she’s a fast little crawler and is making her way through the world one room at a time.

Sleeping: Still hit or miss. Some weeks she’ll sleep all night, other weeks I think she drinks Red Bull at midnight. Thank goodness for coffee!

Best Part of Being 9 Months: Everything! Here’s what she’s been doing…

Getting weighed at her 9-month check up.
She’s still a peanut, only 18 lbs, 5 oz (30th percentile)

Graduating swim class! She was top of the class – “Swimma Cum Laude”

Loving her paci like its her job

Sitting in the shopping cart like a big girl

Crafting! Yes, this really is her work (thanks to the help of her teachers)

Visiting Mamaw and Pap pap

Wearing shades AND using a sippy cup (multi-tasking at its finest)

Playing with cousin Connor

Teething (super sad face) but her 2 lower teeth have finally arrived and they look extra cute

Standing & practicing walking (check out those cute leggies)

Riding in the swing, wheeee!

Going for walks with toys AND puffs… talk about the good life!

We Love You from the very bottom of our hearts Makenzie Ruth! Thank you for bringing us so much happiness.
xoxo, Mom & Dad

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Kenz-o hits double digits next month, join the countdown on Facebook!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Makenzie Ruth, Month by month

Dear Makenzie – a little tale about Lysol and Love

July 21, 2013 by erinqmcgee · Leave a Comment

Dear Makenzie,

I have a little story I thought you might someday enjoy… it reminds me of someone I know.

XOXO, Mom

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Once upon a time, there was a little house with red shutters. In that little house with red shutters lived a (relatively) happy (but not annoyingly happy– what do you think this is, a fairytale?) husband & wife, and a cute kitty. The happy wife was what some people would call “type-A” and kept a very organized and really clean house. She liked Lysol, Windex and Pledge and she disliked messes. She was happiest when everything in the home was in its appropriate place.

When the happy husband & wife found out they would be parents, they spent months and months making sure the house was perfect for their new arrival. After months and months of preparing a beautiful, sweet baby girl was born. Everyone was happy (but not annoyingly happy, c’mon they were totally sleep deprived and completely unsure of what they were doing).

Then something happened… the beautiful, sweet baby girl turned into a beautiful, sweet baby girl who crawled. She crawled all over and made huge messes. She dumped out blocks, pulled down books, poured out sippy cups, opened up toy chests and turned the little house with red shutters into a complete mess. She did it every day like clockwork, and she did it all day with an adorable grin.

The happy wife who once panicked at the site of a mess was slowly realizing something. She loved her beautiful, sweet baby girl who crawled. In fact she loved her beautiful, sweet baby girl that crawled SO much that her heart overflowed with happiness more than she ever thought possible.

And the once type-A happy wife that kept a neat & tidy home realized it was tons of fun to make messes, especially when in the company of that cute little crawler. So the once type-A happy wife joined forces with the cute little crawler and together they played and giggled and turned the house into a mess. Rather than filling her lungs with Lysol, the happy wife (and now happy mom) filled her heart with love.

And the happy husband & wife were now a happy family, and together they realized that the best home isn’t one full of clean floors and organized spaces… the best homes are ones filled with messes made by those you love most.

And they lived (mostly) happily ever after (except when they had visitors and the happy husband & wife bickered with each other because the house was a mess — like I said before, this is reality, not a fairytale).

The End.

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Once upon a time, someone cool like you “Liked” MommyMcBlog

You lived happily ever after while enjoying random ramblings of a Mom.

The End.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized · Tagged With: Adventures in Parenthood, Dear Makenzie, Makenzie Ruth

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Cape May – the 1st official McGee Family Summer Vacation

Dear Makenzie – Some thoughts about your ears

Get your Stitch Fix!

FIVE Years!

Schedule it!

Double Digits – Kenzie is 10 Months!

Another month has come and gone and our little Mak Attack is 10 Months Old! It’s crazy to think she’s in Double Digits already!!!

Life with Makenzie is fun x10!

We’re trying to savor it all. How’d we get so lucky?

The McGees have gone Green!

Pictures of the Week It’s baaaaaack!

Watch out World – Kenzie Girl is NINE Months!

Fun times this month! Our Makenzie is now NINE Months!!

Dear Makenzie – a little tale about Lysol and Love

Meet Mommy McBlog

Subscribe to MommyMcBlog via Email

Like Mommy McBlog on Facebook

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Another month has come and gone and our little Mak Attack is 10 Months Old! It’s crazy to think she’s in Double Digits already!!!

Life with Makenzie is fun x10!

We’re trying to savor it all. How’d we get so lucky?

Fun times this month! Our Makenzie is now NINE Months!!

Meet Mommy McBlog

Subscribe to MommyMcBlog via Email

Favorite topics to McBlog about!

Archives