fill it.

Spring Break is almost over, which really is depressing.  I am hoping you are all having a great Friday and a great Spring weekend!

1.  My greatest strength is   probably the face that I am not lazy.  I am always doing something and always a hard worker  .

2.   My greatest weakness is   That I never relax.  I always feel like I should be doing something   .

3.  People always compliment me on     Jack.  I must agree    .

4. If you found me procrastinating you'd probably find me    on the computer...pinning or reading blogs...it's a great time waster .

5. The most cozy place in all the world is  home .

6. Something new that I tried recently was    my new converse sneakers.  I have never had a pair, and I am so excited to wear them!

7.  This weekend I would like to   sleep.  I am exhausted and I just need a nap   .

Wordless(ish) Wednesday....25 years

Happy 25 years Disney Store!!!!!

There's a new sheriff in town

Jack's new obsession is Woody.  We have watched Toy Story about one million times.  I have to say I really don't mind watching it, I have always love the movie and there could be worse things to watch over and over (Yo Gabba Gabba).  


So Jack decided that he wanted a cowboy hat just like Woody.  My mom went out and found him the closest thing she could. 

And while I don't like toy guns, Jack just loves his new water gun, and had to take the hat gun out on a walk.

 Have a great week! I am on Spring Break!  Woo hoo!

Last day to enter Stamped With Love Giveaway!

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter to win a personalized Mother's Necklace!  This is perfect for a Mother's Day gift or for yourself!  

You can enter here!

Stamped with Love Review and Giveaway!

I haven't done a giveaway in a while, too long.  So I am super excited to be back in action with the cutest little shop on Etsy...Stamped with Love.  


Erica is a fellow teacher who now stays at home with her little one. This gives her more time to make great items like these:

Wine Charms

Mother's  Handprint Necklace


{{win it}}

One of my readers will win their very own Personalized Mother's Necklace.
 

Erica was so generous to send me one of my very own charms.  I can't wait to wear it, it's perfect with his October birthstone!     

With Mother's Day coming up, Stamped with Love is full of great gifts for every mom, grandma, or sister on your list! Erica also does grill sets, golf ball markers and guitar picks; it's never too early to think of your guy for Father's Day!

Be sure to enter below, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I've been bad...

I feel like I have let myself down.  And you.  I have not been blogging much lately.  It may be because I am super busy and stressed out about work.  It may be because I can't seem to find the time for anything and blogging has been getting pushed to the side.  It MAY be because the past few months, I feel like I don't have anything to blog about.  Or it may be that I have been kinda down about having little to no comments on here daily.  Maybe it's all of those put together.

Whatever it is I am really going to try to be a better blogger.  Spring Break (and summer ) is almost here, so I plan on taking tons of pictures and blogging a lot that week.  I also hope the weather is as nice as it has been here this weekend. In the 80's!  I can't remember having 80's in March!  We biked, played outside, went for walks, went to a maple syrup fest...and it was perfect out.

I like it but I also feel like it's a little too much too soon.  I like my spring.  Jack (as you can see below) likes his new sunglasses.  He wears them EVERYWHERE.  

I hope you all had a great weekend.  I hope you all comment more, it makes me happy, and I hope I will be back in the swing of blogging from now on.

Have a great Monday.

thank God I'm not alone...

I have to admit, there are days I sit and rock my sweet boy to sleep or go into his room at night and scream to myself, "Stop getting so big, stop growing up!".  Do I really want him to stop growing?  No, of course not.  I want him to have a great, fun filled, life, enjoying every year, every age....just as long as he's doing it with me.  

I know that day will come when he will leave me.  I know.  I am just trying to push it as far back in my mind as I can.  I would like to think that it will never happen.  My husband thinks I'm crazy.  I am happy to know that I am not the only one who feels this way.  Jenny Isenman, is one of those mom's who feels the same as I do.  Her article in The Huffington Post says it perfectly:

The moment you bring a baby boy into the world, you start to wonder when he's going to leave you. That's right. You know that one day he'll leave you for another woman -- even though he'll propose to you all through toddlerhood and tell you that you are the only girl for him.

Liar.

You're already quite certain that the woman he marries will probably resent you for being so awesomely cool. And you're betting she'll do whatever she can to break the strong bond you have with your sweet prince. Women say it's good to marry mama's boys, but they don't really want to deal with the mama part. 

Wenches!

My husband has told me time and time again to cut the cord... no f*****g way! I'm waiting until that thing rots and falls off. I mean, for how much longer is he going to say "I love you" when he walks out the door, or hug me in front of his friends, or ask me to lie with him at night? Frankly, I don't know, but I won't be the one to stop it.

If he's 40 and wants me to lie with him and scratch his arm, I'll be all "Move over, Megan," or whatever his unappreciative, son-stealing wife's name is.

Let's be honest: he may be 5 now, but before we know it, he'll be shaving, and driving, and then he'll leave us to go to college somewhere cold. Then he'll get married and move to be near her mother, because that's what girls make boys do: move near their mothers! Then he'll be a father, and then one fine holiday he'll have "wifey" call us to cancel our plans. Then he'll try to make up for it by sending one of those Harry & David gift baskets filled with pears, because he'll remember that we love pears, but they'll be bruised -- like our hearts.

No, we can't go down that road. We have to take a stand against son stealing right now.

We'll make those Jezebels pay... no, sign! Yes, a contract for us to make them sign, besides the pre-nup. That's right, like using WiFi in Starbucks, they'll have to agree to our terms. 

This is a MIL-nup, and it goes like this:

• I will compliment my mother-in-law's (MIL's) cooking, her decorating, and, most importantly, the incredible way she raised her son, my husband.
• I will marvel at my MIL's beauty and miraculously never-aging skin every time I see her.
• I will acknowledge that my MIL's son is on loan to me so that we can make grandbabies, which will probably look like her and have her wonderful traits, which I will mention in conversation frequently and with great fervor.
• I will remind my husband to call my MIL daily, saying, "Have you told your mother you love her today? You should, she rocks." Plus, I will throw in phrases like this:
  • "That amazing woman raised you! You should call and thank her... again."
  • "You can truly never thank her enough."
  • "Let's go over and thank her in person."
  • "We should bring her a gift when we go."
  • "She's so deserving of gifts."
  • "Let's take her on vacation with us."
  • "And get her another gift."
  • "Maybe a beautiful locket with pictures of you and our children."
  • "No, I don't need to be in the pictures; she didn't raise me... unfortunately."
• I will tell other women that their mothers-in-law are not as fabulous as mine, and I shall be willing to throw down in the event that said women disagree.
• I will take my MIL to her weekly hair salon appointment and shopping at Loehmann's, when it is deemed necessary by age.
• I will spend all holidays with my husband's family, because they are so awesome and gracious, and I realize how much mine sucks by comparison.
And lastly:
• I will move to be near my MIL, whether she has retired to Century Village in Florida, decides to live in a nudist colony in Arizona, or goes bat-s**t crazy and moves to Alaska for the fresh sushi. She is so wise and wonderful that I'm sure her choice of habitat will suit me and my husband perfectly!
Oh, and:
• My MIL can so live with me and my husband when she's old and can't remember who I am.

There. You can print this to be signed when the inevitable happens. I just saved you from losing your sweet, sweet boy. You're welcome.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I have a weakness....and it's name is chocolate chips.  I am not a big cake or dessert person, but give me something with chocolate chips in it, and I'm done.  This chocolate chip coffee cake recipe from two peas and their pod, is one of those recipes that does me in.  Cinnamon, chocolate and the light and fluffy texture will make anyone's morning, afternoon or long day at work better.  I promise. 

  

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Yield: 9-12 pieces of cake

Cook Time: 40 minutes

ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Cinnamon Sugar Topping/Filling:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set dry ingredients aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beat until smooth. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

4. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. In a small bowl, make the cinnamon sugar topping/filling. Stir together sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread half of the batter into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar and half the chocolate chips. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling, spreading gently. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar and chocolate chips.

5. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Fill in the blanks...

1.  My favorite room in my home is     the kitchen    because     I love to cook and I love to eat   .

2.   My current decor style is   mish mash  .  but I wish it were more     organized.  I see so many ideas on pinterest and blogs.  I am just waiting until we can move to use them .

3.  I wish I could redecorate the     Master bath     room in my house to make it more      updated.  That is the only room we didn't redo when we moved in, and I hate it. .

4. My dream house absolutely has to have a    a walk in closet, and a master bath.  My life will then be complete.

5. One house item I am willing to splurge on is    a couch.  Right now ours is sinking fast.  My next one will be a NICE one that doesn't sink. Maybe it means we sit on the couch too much.

6. A decor trend that I just don't "get" is    nothing.  I like all of them .

7.   Our photo wall    is a little touch that makes my house feel like home

Hope your weekend is fantastic!

wordless(ish) wednesday..random

For some reason I feel like this school year has really kicked my butt.   Maybe it's the new job, maybe it's the 2 year old running around my house all non-stop, but I feel like I have no time to take pictures which really makes me sad.  For Summer I have a goal to take photography class and get back into things.

For now I have some random photos I took of Lenny and Jack.  I hope you have a great Wednesday.

Join other wordless wednesdays over at the paper mama.

The power of the sticker.....

I posted last week about how Jack was going through a "phase".  I think it was called the"No I don't wanna, screaming, laying on the floor" phase.  Well, being in a the Special Education field, I have some experience with reward charts and behavior plans.  So I made one for Jack....and it looks a little something like this:

Cute right? Jack earns a sticker for each item he does and at the end of the day he can choose a penny or an M & M for each sticker earned.  

 We had a rough start last week with Jack earning stickers in 2 out of the 6 areas.  Being nice to Lenny was a hard one, as was being nice to Mommy and Daddy.   But from day 1, Jack was able to tell me what each picture was and was really motivated to earn a sticker for each one.  By the end of the week, Jack was earning all of his stickers!  Maybe it's just luck, but I really believe the chart and stickers have been great for motivating Jack to be a good boy.  

I would love to hear things that have worked for you, and I will keep you all informed as time goes on...I hope this all keeps up!

I hope you are having a great week!

Friday Friday!!

1.  The highlight of my week was    seeing Jack get almost all of his stickers on his behavior chart!

2.   If I had to classify my interior design aesthetic it would be   I have no idea.  I like the rustic, but modern look  .

3.  My first vehicle was    a Yellow Tracker, with a voice alarm system and all.

4. An item I need to have in my day in order to function is    My large Vanilla Hazelnut coffee from Einstein Bagels.  I love it.  I really could drink like 5 of these.  Also chocolate.

5. My favorite way to waste time is   play around with my etsy shop and to read food blogs.

6. Right now I could really go for    a beer  .

7.  This weekend I will be   relaxing .

Hope your weekend is super!!

Be sure to join other fillers over at the little things we do.