Reminder!

Just a reminder to enter this giveaway!  It never showed up in my Google reader so I'm extending it a bit through tomorrow night!

Two

Dear Brady,

As I sit here thinking of the past year, I can't help but smile. There were some bumps in the road but having you in our lives has made the ride smoother and much easier. You have always been there to make us laugh and to bring a big smile to our faces. I can't help but thank you for that.

I found myself looking at pictures from your birthday last year and you've lost the chub in your cheeks and started looking more like a little man. You have more words and hit new milestones but deep inside, you will always be my little baby.

Today, you turn two. Another year has come and gone and I find that I love the same things about you but I am always finding something else. That is the thing buddy, with each age and stage, I find more to love about you.

I love each part of you, each piece of your puzzling personality.

I love the way your hair curls on the top of your head and the way you twirl each strand when you are sleepy.

 I love the way that when you laugh, your whole body laughs with you and how contagious it is. I even love how when you get mad, you can see it all the way from your head to your toes.

 I love that you do your own thing and I hope you never lose that as you grow up.

I love your red boots too, buddy. 

 I love the curiosity in your eyes and your love for animals, things that go and anything that bounces. I even love that you call cats, 'pumas,' and  horses  'Annie!'

  I love that you are happy. It makes me feel that I have done my job and done it well. Seeing you grow, seeing you learn new things and each little thing you accomplish makes me proud to call you my son.

I love to watch you sleep. I still love to watch your chest rise and fall with each restful breath. There is something calming, something peaceful and something beautiful about watching you sleep. 

I love that you notice everything. We joke that you don't miss a beat but you notice all the details. It makes for a fun shopping trip as you point out everything!

                            

 I love your self-confidence and self-determination you carry at such a young age. The accomplishment in your eyes shines bright and I know that will continue to grow as you do.

 I love those dimples. Oh, how I love those sweet dimples.

 I love how sometimes when you get really silly or laugh really hard, you squint your eyes and throw back your head. Then, you look at me with those big eyes of yours that are so full of love and trust, it can bring me to tears.

 I love your sense of style and how you find joy and excitement in every small moment.

I love that you love to read and pick me to read with you. 

I love that each holiday is so much more special with you in our lives. Birthdays and Christmas carry so much more meaning and you make me feel like a kid again. 

I love that you are my child. I love that I was given the gift of watching you grow and being your mom. I am so blessed beyond measure. There is not an emotion that can describe the feeling we feel for you but it is an immense love that grows with each day.

Happy Birthday, baby boy. I hope your day is filled with love, laughter and cake :)

Yep. That happened.

Some days, laying on the floor at the dollar store is necessary in the eye of an almost two year old because apparently life is so hard.

Later that day, he poured mouthwash into the toilet (um, he can open childproof things now?)

Took a bite of my chap stick.

He figured out how to open our screen door and ran out the door....while I was making dinner! Good thing, I'm always asking him what he is doing so I caught him right after he ran out there! (Childproof locks, check!)

Unrolled half a roll of wrapping paper

Took his pants off 100 times but then get this. He runs to his room and brings me a PAIR OF UNDIES and says, "I pee!"

<----nearly passed out.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted and I'm afraid of big boy undies.

Very afraid.

It's almost that time of year: Tiny Prints

Christmas season is going to be here before we know it. I find that each year as the holidays approach, my giddiness grows. With the excitement my child exhibits with the smallest things, I can't wait to see him when we put up the tree, decorations and after Santa visits!

I'm already thinking of Christmas cards. We have SO MUCH going on between now and the the onset of the holiday craziness and this is my attempt at avoiding procrastination (which I run into every.single.year. I must learn!)

Tiny Prints always seems to amaze me on their selection and well, they are adorable, modern and classic.

I love that this one doubles as an ornament. I mean, what a fabulous idea! I love that it can be used as a keepsake and not just thrown away! I always hate throwing away Christmas Cards. It feels wrong to me! 

I love that this one is simple, elegant and modern.

Gotta love polka dots. You know I have a thing for dots. 

 Wow. This one would be perfect for my child. 

I like that this one it different yet reminds me of classic cards. 

Lastly, I love the saying on this one but unless I borrow a sweet newborn from someone...

Do you send out Christmas Cards? I know I love receiving them!



I was given the opportunity to write this post in exchange for holiday cards. I've always ordered from Tiny Prints before and the opinions are all my own. I mean who can resist cute cards? 

Bad days

Some days, I'm tired. 

Some days, I'm just a little cranky. 

Some days are full of spilled coffee and running ten minutes too late. 

Some days, just suck. 

Then, there are those days full of meltdowns, tears and constant battles of will. 

 Then, there are smiles.

 Big cheesy grins.

 Smiles that are so full of excitement, joy and pure happiness. 

Smiles that are full of the future and hold memories of the past.

It's that smile that makes my bad days seem to dissipate as soon as those sweet dimples appear and I feel my lips turn into a smile. It's that smile that defines so much of him and that I love so intently.

That smile. Oh boy. I'm in trouble.

Proud to Support Pink

Last weekend, I was happy to attend a party for a friend. It was a party unlike most parties you'll attend. We had cheese balls in the shape of boobs, cupcakes that looked like boobs and we wore bras outside of our clothes! It was a all for a good cause and to celebrate a friend (and her new boobies!)

 (read her shirt, I love it!)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Freschcetta Pizza is doing their part in helping out. From now to October 31st (hurry!) when you purchase Freschetta pizzas and Artisan Pizza Crusts you will be helping to donate to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Each specially marked pizza will have a unique code that you can enter on their Proud to Support Pink site! They will donate a $1 for each code up to $50,000! The site also has a place to share their breast cancer journey and maybe inspire someone else. Cancer is in so many lives that I know and we all could use some inspiration. It helps that the pizza is good too! Our favorite is always pepperoni!  Eat some pizza, help find a cure!

Freschetta is also giving away 50 Ipod Shuffles each week in October and 50 each week will be donated to cancer centers around the country! Enter here.

I am excited to offer a giveaway in honor of my friend and those out there in the fight. One lucky person will win a Freschetta Proud to Support Pink pack which includes a coupon for a free Freschetta pizza and TWO pairs of Proud to Support Pink earphones (one for you and a friend!)

To enter:
 tell me who in the fight inspires you or what you have learned from the Proud to Support Pink site!

Enter by October 25th!







I am a member of the Freschetta Fresch Connection and received product to review and to giveaway.  The opinions and experiences are my own. 

Be the one

I've posted here and there about a friend whose child  is battling Leukemia is going to kick Leukemia's ass. When they found out that she failed to reach remission, they were understandably devastated and she has became an amazing voice for Childhood Cancer. O will now need a bone marrow transplant so continue to keep her in your prayers.

Did you know?
- that federal funding for childhood cancer research is on the decline
-that the National Cancer Institute (NCI), faced with budget cuts, has decreased grants and that those dedicated to children's cancer research are being hit especially hard.
-that all children's cancers combined only receive 3% of NCI's annual budget
-that cancer is the leading cause of death among adolescents in the united states
-that for every 6 dollars spent on AIDS research and every 1 dollar spent on breast cancer research, only 30 cents will be spent on research for children with cancer
-On the average, 1 in every 4 elementary school has a child with cancer. The average high school has two students who are a current or former cancer patient. In the U.S., about 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every weekday

There are ways you can help:
Donate to Light the Night
Walk for Light the Night
St. Louis's event was two weeks ago and I always participate (in honor of a co worker's son.) I actually work with two mother's who went through this battle and both are very active in raising money for childhood cancer.

Be the one for a child! Sign up to donate bone marrow. You have no idea what an act like this could mean for someone. Most of the time, parents are not a match. One out of 560 people that sign up, a match is found as there are so many factors that go into play but sometimes a match does not come soon enough!

Donate your cord blood. I donated mine and this could save a child's life. Ask your OB how to do this and it's really simple as filling out a questionnaire and signing up.

Read this post. She has more ideas on how to help whether it is five minutes out of your day that could make a difference or a simple phone call or email.

Follow her journey and pray for that beautiful little smile!  Her momma is doing an amazing job raising awareness and the love in her posts is so evidently beautiful as they both are.

As a mom

As a mom, I am practically a superhero and have magical powers. I just do it without wearing a cape.


 I can decipher Toddler gibberish.

I can change a diaper on a wiggly, squirmy, 30 pound toddler in less than 15 seconds flat.

I know that 'I do it' may not be the quickest way to do something but will save sanity.

I can do 10 things at one time with a toddler hanging onto my legs without skipping a beat.

I can stop boo-boo's before they happen and make even the ouchiest of boo-boo's go away through a magical kiss.

I can cry at the simplest of things.

Today, as I was leaving for work, I watched my son color with the sitter before I walked out the door. Something inside of me burst with happiness and I felt a love so strong, it was hard not to turn around and scoop him up into my arms. Then, never let go. He sat there and colored so confidently and with sheer accomplishment, I wondered where this child came from and how he grew up so fast. It might have something to do with the fact that my child will be turning two in less than three weeks but he looked so grown up. I suddenly felt like time was slipping away and that before I knew it, he would be shipping off to college. It was a fleeting moment because I had to remind myself that it's just a perfect example of why I must truly soak in every moment, even those full of whiny words and temper tantrums.

Two years into the trenches of motherhood and I have learned a lot-about myself and about the world. The world is so much scarier when you are a mom. There is so much bad that you want to protect your child from but there is so much warmth.

Happiness.
Joy.
Peace.
Laughter.
Love.

The world is full of beauty and a child's eye can illuminate it.

Being a mom, especially one to a very determined and spirited toddler with a unique personality is not easy but it's makes for a very interesting life. I find the humor in the days that end in tears and make sure (even on those days when life gets is so hectic and the house looks like a tornado hit) that I never take for granted the gift of motherhood I have been given.

It is that, a gift. I can never say thank you enough or write a 'thank you' note that would encumber the gratitude and joy that is worthy of this amazing gift. I can at least try by soaking in every tiny moment...even those that I wish to pass. I know it won't be easy all the time but it's the least I can do.