Showing posts with label Music Monday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music Monday. Show all posts

Monday, January 23, 2012

Music Monday

My son thinks I don't know his name.

It happened like this:
Matty: Mommy! Me: Whatee? Matty: I'm not Woody, I'm Matty!

He thinks I am calling him Woody from Toy Story! Oh my goodness, I love this kid.

So tonight, here's a song I'd like to dedicate to my boy, Woody.  It's a great tune from Toy Story by Randy Newman, "You've Got a Friend in Me."



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Monday, October 31, 2011

Music Monday


Last night at bedtime, Matty started singing along to "you are my sunshine" with me...we sang it over and over and it was just one of those emotional firsts that I will never forget. His cute little "...how much I lub you" got me all choked up <3

so tonight I give you one of my favorite versions of a sweet little tune that I can remember my own mother singing to me....



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Monday, September 19, 2011

Music Monday

"Now the sky could be blue
I don't mind
without you it's a waste of time"




Monday, August 22, 2011

Happy Birthday, Mom and Music Monday

My mom turned 50 on August 12, and we celebrated this past Saturday with a Coney Island themed surprise party!

During the planning stages of the party, I went through a lot of old pictures for a poster board I was putting together and a dvd that a friend created as a gift to my mom. It was fun and emotional. I saw deep, unconditional love in my mom's eyes for my sister and I. I recognized it because I possess the same look now in my own eyes for Matty.

A few days before my mom's party, I was listening to Taylor Swift's, "Never Grow Up" {which makes me sob every time.} All of the previous occasions when I had listened to it, I only thought of how I felt about the song in regard to Matty. This time, I put myself in my mom's shoes. And my grandma's shoes. I imagine that my mom's 50th birthday is bittersweet for both of them. It's sad yet so incredibly amazing to watch our kiddos grow up.

As much as I may want Matty to remain my little boy that I can always protect, I would never want to deny him the the joy that he has brought me. If I never would have grown up, I would have never known love like this.

Happiness is different things at different stages in our life. Some days, happiness is sitting back and watching others take the main stage. As parents, we do that from the beginning. I'm sure it gets harder as our children get older and we become less integral as they make their own way and build their own families. But I have to think the ability to do that symbolizes the greatest degree of love and selflessness and is a sure sign of  your own contentment; to be genuinely happy for them and to know you had some sort of hand in creating the love they have in their own eyes, for whatever it may be that gives them that sparkle! And if we never completely let go of the simplicity and innocence of our own childhood, it will make it so much sweeter as we watch our own children grow up. Of course we all have days where we wish we {and they} never would have grown up, but the truth is, the circle of life is a beautiful thing.



Here's to you, mom! Thank you for letting me grow up, even when it was hard to do.



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Monday, July 18, 2011

Music Monday

Oh my...it's been over two weeks since I posted last. I attribute this to the fact that Matty goes to bed later because it stays lighter longer and by the time I get him to bed, I am exhausted! I also get to catch up with hubby at this time, so my writing has taken a backseat to quality time with my boys. No big deal really, except that I like to have this blog to record and reflect on the many precious moments and milestones that our family experiences and time is simply moving way too quickly. I can't keep up with it! In my last post, I mentioned that I couldn't believe June was gone, and now we're over half way through July already. Matty has made progress with potty training, frequents time-out, likes to tell me that my cooking is "deewishis" and has sort of replaced his love of Thomas with a love of the Disney film, "Cars."

While coloring tonight, Matty came across a Christmas coloring book which sparked a tantrum because he wanted me to pull out the dancing snowman that I display for Christmas and throughout the winter. {He settled on watching a video from my phone of himself dancing with said snowman in December.} It made me think of Christmas in July and so I googled it to see what I could come up with for Music Monday.. and here you have it..enjoy!



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Monday, June 13, 2011

Music Monday

Lately, being Matty's mama means never tiring of singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." He requests it over and over again at bed time. He also throws "You Are My Sunshine" and "The ABC Song" into the mix, but mostly, it's just "twinkle star" as he calls it. Although I am getting slightly sick of this classic children's tune, I do cherish these moments. When I'm in a rush to get through our bedtime routine, I remind myself that this will be over all too soon and why the heck would I be in a hurry to tuck my baby in when all I'm trying to get to is laundry and dinner dishes! Those things can wait :)

My recent bedtime repertoire inspired tonight's Music Monday choice...Bad Company's "Shooting Star."



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Monday, June 6, 2011

Music Monday

After a slight hiatus from these types of posts, tonight I'm happy to bring you Music Monday again. Matty's been watching a show called "Oswald" on nick jr and it features an octopus, so I thought it would be fun to listen to "Octopus's Garden" by The Beatles. For Matty, I hope it stimulates his imagination and for me, well it provides a cute little creative escape...
enjoy!


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Monday, May 16, 2011

Music Monday



"this life is a beautiful one
and though I've seen it coming undone
I know most definitely
that it's gonna be you and its gonna be me"



It's an exciting time in the Leluga house and tonight, I dedicate this song to big and little Matty ♥
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Monday, April 25, 2011

Music Monday

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" is simply beautiful. One of those tunes that makes me smile as I wipe away tears. It came to mind while I was tucking Matty in tonight. There was an amazing breeze coming in through the window and I just started humming this song. It's also in one of my favorite movies, "50 First Dates" and more importantly, it reminds me of my best friend walking down the aisle to marry her love!

I hope it brings a smile to your face. It surely brings one to mine!

Monday, March 28, 2011

The BIG 2 and Music Monday

Well it's official: Matty is 2!

The big day was on Saturday and we started Matty's birthday off by introducing him to his Thomas big boy bed. He loved the Thomas face, but was not impressed when Dada started assembling the rest of the pieces to it. I think he thought he was just gonna have a gigantic Thomas head to carry around. He did get used to the idea and even slept in it all night, but only after a lot of carrying on. We tried the bed: he wanted to play.  We tried the crib: he wanted to climb out.  So we resorted to leaving him in his bedroom, closing the door and putting up a gate. This resulted in a screaming toddler.  Eventually he found his way to the bed and when we checked in on him a little while later, he was all cozy in it. I was not quite prepared for Matty to reject his crib so quickly after getting the bed. Another one of those bittersweet moments, but I'm really happy he likes it!
UPDATE: I've been working on this post for a few days and Matty has slept in his bed since Saturday night, including naps, but tonight for whatever reason, he wanted his crib, so that's where he is.  Guess we'll be leaving it in his room a little bit longer.  Yes, the part of me that wants to keep the "baby" in my baby is happy about this!

After showing Matty his bed, we came downstairs to the living room where Matty found a Thomas train table; needless to say, this pretty much occupied the rest of his morning.  This first pic pretty much sums up Matty's feelings about it:
{hooray!}
 {peek-a-boo}
{which of my boys loves it more?!}

Now with all of this train talk, you would think that would be the natural theme choice for Matty's party. Nope. Matty's first love used to be Curious George, but now George has taken a backseat to Thomas. That's not to say that Matty doesn't still love George. So mama made an executive decision and decided to have a Curious George themed banana split party. I figure the train stage will last a lot longer, so there will be plenty of opportunity for a Thomas and Friends party in the years to come.

We woke Matty up extra early so that he would nap early and be ready to party at 2 p.m. Our master plan failed and Matty went napless.  {He was a trooper, but eventually it did catch up with him...}


Gift opening began as soon as guests started to arrive. Try and tell a two-year-old that he has to wait!

The banana splits were fun, but we have way too much leftover, so if you're in the mood for one, you know where to come! We ordered the cake from Wegmans and as usual, it was excellent!  If you have a Wegmans in your area, I highly recommend their cake.  Ours was half vanilla cake, half chocolate with chocolate pudding filling throughout and whipped cream icing. Scrumptious!  And it looked awesome too!


When we began to sing "Happy Birthday," Matty got shy for a second.  He stuck his fingers in his mouth and buried his head in my shoulder.  It was such an "awwwww" moment!

It was a fun, happy time.  Matty had a blast and we are so thankful to our family and friends for making it a spectacular day. We look forward to what year number 3 will bring for our family!

In sticking with the "Curious George" theme from Matty's party, I chose yet another song off of the soundtrack {can you tell I love me some Jack Johnson?!}  It's a beautiful song, that to me, shows us that our curiosity just may lead us right back to where we were. Where we were always supposed to be.


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Monday, March 21, 2011

Music Monday

Jem's "Just a Ride" conveys an attitude we all need to adopt. It's an upbeat, fun tune about the highs and lows we all experience and that we should take it all in stride whenever possible. Minor mishaps should not sour our entire day; laugh, adjust, move on! 

Matty and I had our own little dance party tonight while watching this numerous times. In fact, he started crying when it was time to go to bed and kept yelling, "again, again, dance." He really enjoyed the music and when he's old enough to "get it," I will definitely be playing it for him in the hopes that it will help him not sweat the small stuff. Listen to it and during your day tomorrow, remember Jem's advice:




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Monday, March 14, 2011

Music Monday

"Without you I was broken, but I'd rather be broke down with you by my side."

The lyrics above are from tonight's song, Jack Johnson's "Broken."  It's from the Curious George soundtrack and is on my mind after watching the movie this evening.  It's a mellow, happy song as is most of Jack's music and it makes me think of my Matty. And hubby too, of course!  

Curious George is such a fun, touching movie, full of great tunes.  George and  Matty are a lot a like: little explorers that often get in trouble, but their cuteness usually prevails ;)

Enjoy!



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Monday, March 7, 2011

Music Monday and A Mother's Gift

With Matty's 2nd birthday a little less than three weeks away, there is a lot of thought going into presents and party prep, but I also often reflect on the gifts I want to give him that he will keep for a lifetime. The kind he can't play with, but the kind that will make him smile anyway. The kind that will comfort him. The kind that he will turn to when faced with a dilemma. The kind he will teach his children...

I strive to be a person he can be proud of and look up to; one who instills morals, strong family values and traditions and optimism to name just a few. God willing, I will be around for 60+ more years, but when the day comes that I am no longer physically with him, I pray I'll know that I have done a good job and that Matty will hold close to his heart the many gifts I will have given him. The ones that do not have a price tag attached.

My friend, Joy, lost her mother two years ago and she recently shared a post about their last Christmas together. You can read it here. It is a beautiful display of what every mother wants for her children: to leave footprints on their hearts. Her mom was obviously a lovely lady, as is evident in Joy!

And her mom was very wise, especially when it comes to the Miami Dolphins. Hehe.

In keeping with the mother/child theme, for tonight's song I chose Carole King's, "Child of Mine."



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Thursday, March 3, 2011

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Happy birthday {yesterday} Dr. Seuss! Matty doesn't appreciate your books yet, but I'm sure he will in the future. This past Saturday, we took him to the Dr. Seuss story time at Target. The setup was cute: a colorful rug and Pillow Pets were placed on the floor for the kids to get comfy. There were goodie bags with snacks, juice, crayons and coloring books and bags of popcorn. Employees took turns reading.

Matty sat in the cart for a while. He didn't pay too much attention to the stories and when the newness of the goodie bag wore off, he wanted out. I stalled and walked him around the store for awhile because once Matty gets out of the cart, it's all over. On our stroll, we picked up a new Thomas the Tank Engine movie. Eventually, we made our way back to the story time area and I finally caved and let him out of the cart. He walked around showing all of the other kids his Thomas movie and saying "James" {the name of the engine on the cover}. It was too cute. I nearly started crying because he looked like such a big boy; all of the children were older and were amused by Matty. He did sit a few times, but only for a few seconds. It was as though he was trying hard to be a big kid, but he is still in that very busy toddler stage and just couldn't keep still.



Now, this trip to Target was all about not spending money. These days, I get really excited about having fun for very little or better yet, free!

I had my ten dollar Starbucks gift card that I received from Swagbucks.com, which I promptly used as soon as we arrived. I got a grande skinny peppermint mocha latte, a blueberry muffin and an organic vanilla milk for Matty and there is still $3 + dollars left. I also had a coupon for free Coffee-Mate Liquid Creamer and a coupon for Nice'n Easy Color Blend Foam hair color. I picked up my Coffee-Mate, but when it came time to check out, Matty was in tantrum mode, so as I wrestled to put his coat on him, hubby checked out and I forgot to give him the coupon. I don't normally even use cream in my coffee, so I was ticked because I was only getting it because it was FREE. And I completely forgot about the hair dye, which I guess ended up being a good thing, because if I would have had it in the cart, hubby wouldn't have had the coupon anyway. At least my coupons don't expire until May.

The highlight of my weekend took place on Sunday when I'm pretty sure Matty told me he loves me!

I missed Music Monday, so today I bring you a truly beautiful, classic tune with a timeless message.

It goes a little something like this:

You may say that I'm a dreamer.
But I'm not.

If you just laughed out loud, then you've seen Dinner for Schmucks. If you're like "huh?", you should definitely see it soon! It is funny, yet heartwarming.






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Monday, February 21, 2011

Music Monday

I know we are all ready for spring, but tonight's song makes me want to fast forward to December! I simply could not wait almost a year to share it, but yes, tonight's song is technically a Christmas kinda song, but too bad ;)

"All I Want for Christmas is Us," by Tristan Prettyman and Jason Mraz is the cutest, sweetest, sexiest song. Ever. What makes it even better, it that these two awesome musicians have also recently gotten engaged! If their interaction in this video doesn't melt your heart, you need a dose of love potion #9. Seriously.



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Monday, February 14, 2011

Music Monday

Being that it's Valentine's Day, I chose a song that expresses my love for my two favorite guys {Matty and hubby}..."In My Life" by The Beatles. Today and everyday, they are the greatest inspiration in my little world.






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Monday, February 7, 2011

Music Monday

Why in the world I am already relating songs to the time when Matty will eventually leave home and go off to pursuit his passion, I have no idea. Ha, but tonight's song makes me think of just that, complete with chills and tears. I hope you enjoy Michael Franti's "I Got Love for You" as much as I did.





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Monday, January 31, 2011

Music Monday

Jack Johnson is a family favorite in our house and tonight I chose to showcase his song, "Banana Pancakes."  Matty and I love when dada makes us banana pancakes for breakfast! Being that it's Monday, this song makes me long for the weekend.  It's all about relaxing, forgetting responsibilities and obligations and living in and loving the simple moments. It's just a super cute, fun song that makes my heart happy. Often times when there's music on (which there usually is in our house}, Matty grabs mine and hubby's hand and wants the three of us to dance. It is one of my most favorite family moments. I can't wait to dance with my boys to this song!



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Monday, January 24, 2011

Music Monday

Matty has taken quite a liking to Thomas the Train. So much so that bath time, which he usually loves, turned into a tantrum this past weekend, complete with a naked baby chucking toys down the stairs and refusing to get in the tub without Thomas. Thomas is wooden and doesn't like water, but Matty didn't grasp that concept. Eventually Matty gave in, but Dada did go out and buy a water-friendly Thomas to ensure that bath time goes smoothly from now on.


In honor of my train adoring toddler, I bring to you tonight, The Doobie Brothers, "Long Train Runnin." Thank you, Matty, for loving trains, making me think of this song and allowing me to discover an amazing performance of a great tune!




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Monday, January 17, 2011

Music Monday

Today, as we remember Martin Luther King, Jr., The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love" comes to mind.  It is quickly becoming one of Matty's favorites and I can't wait for the day that he truly understands the beauty within the song.  For now I'll simply enjoy the cute little doo doo doo and ahhhh sounds that Matty makes as he attempts to sing along while he waves his arms in the air to the beat.

I also dedicate tonight's Music Monday choice to my hubby, who is celebrating his 32nd birthday ♥


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