Music Monday

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.

Oh So Thankful

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!

Ring Around A Rosie

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!

Happy weekending all!

Music Monday

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...

Bribes

I do it. I'm not proud of it. Still, I do it.

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?

Music Monday

This song speaks for itself...



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.

Introducing My New Sponsor, Heartsmiles!

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!

"What's for Dinner?" Wednesday I Give up!

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!     

Music Monday

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.