just a day

I am off from work today.  I love that.  Today is just like any other day I am off.  Jack and I spend it together and we run errands or go somewhere just the two of I.  But today was just a little different.  Today was such a great day..and there wasn't a reason why.  We got up, played and had our day off "bagel date" .  

 Can you tell that he loves his chocolate chip bagels?  Getting a bagel may seem like no big deal to most, but for us it's one of our favorite things to do.  I get my coffee, Jack gets his bagel and we sit and talk...about nothing.  I love it.

Then we headed on over to the pool.  You know nothing better than a refreshing pool on a 9 degree day!   Jack is a little fish and we have a ball in there swimming around and playing catch.

Now

 I love that little face.  I loved today.  Now we are both ready for our naps.

I hope you are having a wonderful day (hopefully day off!).

love is a four legged friend

Valentines Day is a little more than a month awa!!  And with all the hearts, pink and talk of love and gifts for your significant other, some of our favorite friends are forgotten about.  Our dogs.

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite Valentine's Etsy finds for our four legged friends. They truely show us the meaning of love.

1. dogs incorporated yorkie print   2.  heart collar by shop sew fetching 
3. dog id by dog leg left designs   4. small threads mom shirt   5. custom dog bowl by lucky pups

3 years old

Jack had a great 3rd birthday.  We went to the pumpkin farm, and rode ponies, went through corn mazes, saw all kinds of animals, and even saw a pumpkin eating dinosaur.  Jack also learned how to show 3 with his fingers.  

I can't believe I have a 3 year old.  I know it's said all the time, but I swear he was born just yesterday.  Now I totally believe it when people say "enjoy it, it goes by fast".  They weren't kidding. 

I finally got to my video of his past year and thought I would share it with you.  It's 5 minutes so feel free to watch only a bit, but I love looking back at the past year and all the fun times we had.   He is the smartest, cutest, funniest little guy I've ever met, and I can't wait for many more years of fun.

I hope you are all having a great week.

a first

 

With Summer ending so soon, and us not taking a vacation this year, we went up for a day trip to Michigan.   It was a great time and Jack did something we have been working on for 2 years....

 

 

He conquered his fear of the sand.    After screaming a bit, we distracted him with some rock throwing.  From there it was smooth sailing...he had a blast.

 

 

 

 I hope you are all having a great week, work starts for me next week and I am going to be busy spending as much time as I can with Jack. 

 

 

 

 

wordless(ish) wednesday

So over the weekend we went to visit friends and Jack was able to play with one of his friends he hasn't seen in a while.  It was just too cute seeing them interact and have "conversations" with each other. 

We are already planning their wedding.  I they they are pretty cute....

Have a great Wednesday, and keep cool.

it happened...

So I have talked since this blog started about how difficult it is to leave Jack everyday to go to work.  I am actually happy I leave before my husband and Jack are awake so that I don't have to actually say Goodbye to Jack...it would make me too sad everyday.


But Friday, I had a later start, which meant Jack was up before I left.  And it happened.  Jack looked at me and said "Don't go to work Mama."  My heart hurt a little and I said what would make sense to any kid...."Jack, do you like toys?"
"Yes Mama!" he replied.  
"Well then Mama has to go to work to buy you toys."  


It didn't make it any easier to leave to go to work that day, but it seemed like a good enough reason for Jack.


I am counting down the days until Summer break.  




I hope you have a great Monday.

a top 10

I hope you are all having a great Valentine's Day.  I thought this year, I would post the top 10 things I am luvin this Valentine's Day. 


1.  My family
2.  Pinterest
3.  My new job
4.  New spring clothes
5.  Bad reality TV
6.  The fact that Jack is now starting to "read" his bedtime      
    stories to me.
7.  Finding great new food blogs
8.  Hearing Jack say "I wuv you mama"
9.  My new Keurig coffee maker I woke up to this morning from my   
    husband!!!!!!
10. Chocolate 

a few of my favorite things...valentine's edition

With Valentine's Day only 14 days away, (I can't believe it's February!!)I thought I would share with you all a few of my handmade, favorite things from etsy.  Etsy has everything.  I swear, everything.  These, are just 9 of my favorite things.  

From top left:

Miss Brittany's Organic Fun Dough

Chocolate Lips by Nicole's Treats

Dad keychain by Keefer Style Creations

Dog Bow Tie (Charlie Heart's Diesel)

Lola and Cash's Heart Earrings

Silhouette Plate's by Aedrial Original 

Personalized Cufflinks by Block Party Press

Knotwork Shop's Coffee Cozy

Golden Heart Ring by Toosis

have a son? then read this...

I cry a lot.  Songs, commercials, movies, you name it, I am a sap.  So when I found this post over at Team Studer, of course I cried.  The post titled "25 rules for Mothers of Sons", is perfect for any one that has a little (or big) guy in their life. 


For example Rule # 25
25. Be home base
You are home to him.  When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back.  When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile.  When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times.  When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands.  When he is sick, he will call you.  When he really messes up, he will call you.  When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious.  Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun.  Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.
They are things we should all remember as we raise these little guys to be amazing, caring big guys.  


I hope you check it out, and I hope you are having a great weekend.  

Your love is better than chocolate...

way better.....

(one of my fav pics of my two guys)

I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day. 



One.

As this day approched, the lump in my throat grew bigger and bigger.  It may seem silly to some.  "He is still little!", they say, or "You should be happy, not sad!"  And I am happy, SO happy.  But along with the happiness comes all of the other new emotions I have experienced since becoming a mom....one of those being the bittersweetness of seeing this tiny, perfect little person grow. 

I sit an think about how I can express a lifetime worth of waiting, and a years worth of love into words; and it doesn't seem possible.

One year.  A 1st birthday.  The day exactly one year ago that I sat nervous-excited-overwhelmed-scared out of my mind, listening to the melody of the a tiny thump, thump, thump on the monitor.  That day waiting for the greatest gift life has to give.  The moment "we" became "three".

I could try to list all of the things I love about him or all that he does that makes me smile, but that list would be endless.  I could list all of the things you have learned this year or how you've grown so much, but it would take up pages and pages on here. 

What I can say is Jack has made me realize what being a Mom truly means.  He has made me feel emotions I never thought I could feel, and feel so deeply.  He has a smile that melts our heart and I am amazed at all the magic he has brought into our lives.  I wish, at times, I could stop time, just for a while and take in every single second of him.  At the same timeI look forward to all the amazement, learning and love he will experience. 

I will end it with some of my favorite pictures from Jack's 1st year.

\

"Happy Birthday Jack, we made it....I love you always.....Mommy"

xoxo

I love.....

I love Sundays. I love the slow, relaxed feel it has. I love reading the newspaper sale ads while drinking my coffee. Sundays also mean big breakfasts; full of pancakes and eggs and crispy bacon.

Today was no exception. We lounged around, stayed in our pajamas, and relaxed.

We ate pancakes, bacon and eggs. I read the sale ads. We watched basketball while eating KFC! And we caught up on some much needed sleep.

The worst part about Sunday is that uneasy feeling of what is soon to come. Monday, which means work along with rushed evenings, rushed mornings, and rushed everything in between. 

But for now I'll enjoy my Sundays.

My Heart Belongs to Mommy

I was able to spend the day with Jack because I was off for Martin Luther King day.  I am not looking forward to having to leave him again tomorrow.  It's amazing how fast this weekend left.  It makes me value every minute I have with him.  Hopefully things will get better as time goes on, and this will still not be a full week. 

This is my new favorite onsie for him.  I found it at Buy Buy Baby, and it is adorable, and not only for Valentine's Day!  And I must say, he looks quite handsome in it. 

Time is Up.

So it's time to start work tomorrow and I won't ramble on because I have a million things to get ready before then.  It's amazing how time flies.  It seems like just yesterday I was in a panic at the hospital about how my life was never going to be the same, and now here I am thinking the same exact thing.

I never thought leaving someone for 8 hours a day would be such a painful,heart wrenching thing.  I never thought I would wish to be a stay at home mom.  I never imagined I would love another human being the way I love Jack.  But what I need to say over and over to myself is that this is for him, to make his life better, to give him everything we can.

I worry that Jack will wonder where I am when wakes up, or that he will wonder why I am not there to sing to him all day or cuddle him when he cries.  I know he won't remember these times, but I will and I know I will spend every second of every day at work thinking about him.

For now I need to get through this one day at a time and enjoy every second I have with Jack.  I only hope it gets easier.

Forget the Mall!

Something that I have always loved is shopping.  And I love a good deal.  Since becoming a new mom, I have turned to shopping online, because it's hard to get out.  I am in amazement at how many wonderful things there are online, and may just change from a mall shopper to a permanent internet shopper.

One of my discoveries has been Etsy.  Now I know it has been around for a while, but I am a little slow with these things.  I love Etsy.  I could spend days looking at all the shops and items. One item I came across is this vinyl wall sticker.  

Now I always told my husband that I would NEVER buy one of these because they are cheesy.  Well cheesy or not, I bought this one, and I received it today! I can't wait to put it up, and Etsy seller Leen the graphics Queen,( http://www.etsy.com/shop/LeenTheGraphicsQueen) does a great job and I received this so fast! 

This quote is from a book I have read many times to Jack, while sobbing my eyes out at the thought of leaving him for work.  Anyways, the quote is perfect, because that is exactly how I feel about him . I will post pics of it our nursery once it's up. 

Actually.....

 Actually, forget TIVO, this is better than any TV show, hands down.