Today was supposed to be the end of my Christmas vacation, but a power outage at the office gave me an unexpected extra day home! Merry Christmas me! So while Matty naps, I get to do my Music Monday post. And it's before 9 p.m.! Unheard of...lol.
This morning, I also was able to spend some time catching up on my favorite blogs and I'm so glad I did. Moriah over at Josiah's Nest shared a song that I find beautiful and uplifting: Chris McClarney's version of "God of Our Yesterdays". I have been feeling so blessed these days and this song reinforces that feeling. I know that our life is in His hands, and that no matter what we face or how down we may be, there is always so much for which to be grateful. I have friends and family who are being challenged in many different ways these days, but I hope this song can bring some comfort and peace.
Tonight I share no pictures, and few words, but lots of love. ♥
Christmas Eve is magical and I strive to feel this way everyday {no it's not the wine talking.} Ha. =)
Cookies and milk are waiting for Santa. Matty is tucked in. All is lovely {well except for the bright red boo boo on Matty's forehead which will be present in all Christmas pictures tomorrow.} Matty took on the vacuum cleaner today and it won. Yikes! Ah, well... boys will be boys.
Time to cuddle with hubby and fall asleep to A Christmas Story!
Lately, Matty's favorite phrases are "mine" and "I want it." Ha. That said, tonight I share, "The Sharing Song," by Jack Johnson. I think we'll have to have this one on repeat for a while...
My dear friend, Mary, gave us these pretty, vintage Christmas cards. I adore them! The snowman and squirrel card is Matty's and the caroler card is for me and my hubby. Definite keepers. Please share your favorite greeting that you have received thus far this holiday season :)
Lisa Loeb is one of my favorite female musicians. Because I am interested in finding music that I love, that I can also share with Matty, I started searching for some of her tunes that Matty and I could enjoy together. Not only did I find what I was looking for, but I also discovered Elizabeth Mitchell, a folk musician who writes children's music and who has collaborated with Lisa. Here is "Catch the Moon", the title track off of Catch the Moon, a compilation of children's songs by Lisa and Elizabeth.
Yesterday, we went to the Christmas tree farm. It was so exciting because we haven't cut down a tree in forever and it is our first time cutting one down with Matty. We took a hayride out to the fields and roamed rows upon rows in search of the ONE. Matty loves the outdoors and had fun making his way through the maze of beautiful trees despite the cold. I swear, he was happy! I think he was just unable to form a smile because his facial muscles were too cold ;-)
We ended up bringing home a Concolor, which has longer, fatter needles and a bluish tint...I love it! We decked it out last night, including setting up a train to go around it. Speaking of trains, they are one of Matty's fav toys at the moment...he loves to say choo train {almost as much as we love hearing him say choo train.}
One of my favorite parts of decorating the tree is looking at all of the ornaments I have acquired over the years; I adore Hallmark ornaments and couldn't resist adding this one to the collection for Matty:
Matty loves Curious George {or Doorge as he says}. Multiple times a day, Matty can be heard saying "Doorge, Doorge" and that is our cue to put on Jack Johnson's Upside Down vid featuring none other than Curious Doorge. I have been playing this video for Matty, here and there, for the past few months. I would say just in the past month though, he has become completely enamored with it. We watch it at least 10 times a day! This video habit has also made Matty love the guitar even more. We have two around the house because I have always wanted to learn, but haven't yet...maybe Matty will be teaching me one day! The past few months, he has taken an interest, but even more so now. He stands with the guitar, plucking the strings and dancing to the vid...it is the cutest thing. Ever. Seriously.
A little elf {not THE Elf on a Shelf because I'm still a little creeped out by him and do not think that Matty would understand the concept yet anyway} told me that Santa is bringing Matty a "Matty size" guitar, as well as the Curious George movie, which includes the Jack Johnson vid...hoping to get some cute video footage of Matty rockin out on his guitar to the vid so I can share the adorableness with you all.
Happy Sunday. I'm not sure what the weather is like where you are, but if it's anything like it is here in NE PA, I'm sending warm snuggie filled wishes your way....brr!
I'm in Christmas mode, therefore, tonight's song is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! Matty has been listening and dancing to it for the past few days, and I can't wait to see his reaction when we watch Rudolph, which airs tomorrow on CBS at 8 P.M. EST.
When I went to bed last night, I was thinking about my Thanksgiving Day post, but when it was time to get up, less than 4 hours later, I was feeling anything but thankful. I was tired and cranky, but after a few cups of coffee, I was able to remember why and for what I am oh so thankful :)
Just a few of those things:
my son and my husband {my little family makes me so happy and constantly reminds me of what really matters at the end of the day.}
my parents
old friends
new friends
second chances
forgiveness
hope
love apples
music
Speaking of music, I missed my Music Monday post because I've just been enjoying my out of town family, but here is a song by Jonny Lang that is perfect for today. I hope you enjoy it. Have a wonderful day with friends and family and eat A LOT!
The smell of Friday...gotta love it! Friday evening seems like the perfect time to reflect on my favorite memories of the week. Maybe I'll make this a new weekly post. I don't want to commit though. It's too much pressure!
A few weeks ago, I taught Matty Ring Around a Rosie and he loved it. We do it daily, and just this week, he decided he wanted his "friends" to participate. Him and I were ringing around a rosie right before bedtime. We got halfway through and he stopped, dropped my hands and ran over to his rocking chair. He proceeded to pick up a stuffed animal that was on the chair and he brought him into the circle! It was too precious. I wanted to laugh and cry! We began again, with the little red and white doggie that we gave Matty for V-day, and yet again, we get halfway through and Matty stops. He runs back over to the rocking chair and grabs Curious George {this was my Curious George as a child..aw!}. And don't ya know it, Matty brings George into the circle and now that everyone is included, we can finish the song :)
Then, last night, Matty, Matt and I were in the playroom and Matty motioned to me that he wanted to do Ring Around a Rosie. We started, got a few seconds in, and Matty stopped, said dada, and ran over to Matt to pull him up off the couch. The three of us did Ring Around a Rosie a few times...it was my favorite memory this week!
What else? Well, this week, those apples I was bragging about turned into a not so cool game...Matty decided that once he gets bored with the apple, it is fun to spit out the pieces and stomp on them.
Also this week, we bought concert tickets for The Avett Brothers on NYE in Asheville, NC! Take some time to check them out and watch this video; it's one of my favs.
We'll be meeting friends that we adore and are so so excited! It will be a nice little getaway and a fun start to the New Year, but we'll surely miss our lil monkey.
Today, I had the day off which meant extra Matty and Mama time! After breakfast, which included apples of course, we decided to venture outside to play with the dogs, despite the chilly temp. Mama was cold, but Matty and the pups didn't seem to notice.
In the afternoon, we went to the park with Nana, Papa and Juliana. Besides snack time, Matty's favorite part was the swings:
Matty and his Papa
It was a great week, if you don't count the Miami Dolphins loss last night...boy oh boy, did I have an unhappy hubby on my hands.
Next week will be fun. On Sunday, our KC family invades {and I mean that in the most loving way possible} for the holiday and it is always a blast. Speaking of the holiday, if anyone has any fab Thanksgiving dishes, I'd love if you would share them!
Ah, Bob Marley's Three Little Birds...one of my absolute favorites and quickly becoming one of Matty's too. This song has always helped me maintain a hopeful, positive attitude regardless of the circumstance, and I love that I can share it with Matty on a level that speaks to him. As parents, we want our children to feel that we will always be there to guide and protect them and no matter the challenges that they face, they can overcome it.
Thank you Nick Jr, for making this song and video a staple on your channel! Whenever it plays, I pick Matty up and we sing and sway to it...such a lovely little bonding experience. It's the sweetest video...
When Matty's temper cannot be cooled, I bribe him. First I attempt the "soothe by talking calmly" and then the "plead like a desperate mama" technique, but there are times when more serious steps need to be taken.
When all else fails, I give in...
and break out the apples.
I consumed A LOT of apples and apple juice when I was pregnant with Matty, {you can read about that here} and I guess I passed my cravings on to him! Seriously. Matty can be having a complete melt down and I whip out an apple..voila! No more tears. I do feel guilty because his own mama can't make him feel better, but an apple can. Well, it could be worse right? At least they're healthy for him!
Tonight was an "apple" kinda night. Stuey wanted a bite too :)
Do you have any tricks {aka bribes} for zapping those nasty tantrums?
Nothing compares to MJ's Man in the Mirror, but I think James Morrison's version is beautiful; he makes it his own, but the meaning of the song comes across with as much passion as the original. It's a message I want Matty to embrace.
I hope you all are having a splendid weekend! I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce you to my new sponsor, Heartsmiles.
Heartsmiles is an Etsy boutique, founded by Abbie Torroll, that sells beautifully handmade hats and headbands for girls, women and boys. As the name implies, these items will leave your heart smiling :)
{Santa, are you reading? If so, Matty would look sooooo adorable in this}
In the very near future, I will be reviewing one of Heartsmiles lovely pieces. In the mean time, please visit Abbie's shop, and tell me about your favorite item!
Ok, so as of late, I have failed miserably at "What's for Dinner Wednesday." I've decided to take the pressure off and scratch that idea. Whew...I feel less stressed already! I just don't necessarily cook something worth blogging every Wednesday and even when I do, I don't always get to blog about it on Wednesday evening and then one, two, three days roll by and it becomes a "What's for Dinner Wednesday" post on any day but Wednesday. But of course, I will still be sharing recipes that I have tried and those that I want to attempt, like this one:
Spicy Red Lentil Chili
This fantastic dish is brought to you by Wegman's, my favorite grocery store. I discovered this chili a few years back while browsing the cafe section over my lunch break. It will surely leave you warm and full, a perfect combination as the autumn chill sets in. You can find the recipe here. I hope to attempt it this weekend, because my sister-in-law {she loves it too} will be in town to run the NY Marathon {you go girl!} and I want to stuff her full of power food!
Counting Crows version of Big Yellow Taxi is my song of choice tonight. My husband and I love Counting Crows and Matty is following in our footsteps...he can't get enough of dancing to this song as well as Hanginaround.
Matty's dance moves have really developed in the past few weeks! It's the cutest darn thing. He has this signature move he does with is arm {love it} and his face, it's so serious; you can tell he's super focused! There's video of it here, but I think only those of you with Facebook accounts can view it, so I will have to post some more very soon.
Back to my song choice: the basic message is appreciate what you have without trying to change it because change isn't always a good thing.
Last night was trick-or-treat in our town and my mom and niece, Juliana, joined us. We fed the kiddos dinner and then it was time to put on the costumes and head on out. I was glad that the weather cooled down; trick-or-treat when it is humid and 70 just doesn't feel right! I was beginning a cold {which is in full swing today...poo} but I welcomed the crisp autumn air.
Matty wasn't too excited about getting dressed:
Once we were outside though, he was all about trick-or-treat:
My beautiful niece Juliana makes a lovely Snow White, don't ya think?
Cousins...♥
Matty was handing out his own sweets...he was full of kisses last night!
Matty and Juliana lasted about an hour and 15 minutes before he started to get cranky and she got tired. {Dada appeared to be a bit disappointed in the size of our candy collection...lol.} There was a lot of "when I was a kid" stories...haha! After I persuaded Dada, we went home, the monkey went to bed, and Snow White enjoyed pizza and chocolate milk. The End.
Recently I discovered CSN Stores which houses over 200 online shops. That said, you can find items such as trendy shoes for your toddler, stylish luggage for your business trips or a classic dining room table for entertaining your guests. Honestly, I am a bit overwhelmed at the plethora of merchandise they offer! I'm thinking Matty just has to have this shirt:
In the coming weeks, I am excited to announce that I will be completing a review of a CSN Stores product, so stay tuned.
I finally got my act together and bought Matty his Halloween costume.
We really had no clue as to what he should be, but Dada suggested Superman and I saw that Old Navy had them, so we headed there. Being that it is only a few short days away until Halloween, the choices were slim, but on the bright side, they were 40% off! We ended up with a monkey costume, basically because it was the only boy costume left in Matty's size.
When we put it on him, he took off, darting in and out of clothing racks, full of joy! We knew it was the perfect costume for his personality and he barely seemed to notice it, which means it is comfortable, a very important factor!
Trick-or-treat in our town is on Friday night, so pictures of Matty the monkey will follow soon!
