Friday Favorites.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Another week has come and gone which can only mean one thing... time for Friday Favorites!

ONE.
TGIT.


TGIT came back last night, and I, for one, was SO EXCITED! I even stayed up until 11pm to watch the whole thing! :)


TWO.
Drive-in movie laundry basket chair.


I saw Andrea (from Momfessionals) post a picture similar to this of her kids the other day and it got me thinking. So yesterday afternoon, when we were watching Planes : Fire and Rescue (Mason's FAVORITE movie EVER), I set up a little drive-in movie laundry basket chair for him and he LOVED it. He sat in there for a good 20 minutes, got out to walk around, and then went back in for the rest of the movie.
#mommywin


THREE.
thredUP savings.


I sold a bunch of stuff to thredUP and had a credit so I went shopping last night. I found a bunch [read 9 pairs!] of shorts and a swim suit for Mason for the summer and paid $0 for them!
Nothing better than free clothes!
#eventhehusbandapproves


FOUR.
This nail polish.



I saw this on Instagram last night and LOVE the sparkles over the color. Definitely might have to get me one of those!


FIVE.
Goal check-in.

A couple weeks ago I talked about the goals I have for myself for 2015. One of the goals I had for myself was to check-in every once in a while, to keep myself accountable. It's officially the last Friday of the month (say what?? didn't January just start??) so I wanted to do a little check-in.


2015 Goals :
- take Mason to at least one new park a month and at least one park a week - yep!
- continue Mason's swim lessons - yep! and he's doing so much better with the back float that he HATED so much.
- assess Mason's skills and determine if enrolling him in a kids soccer class would be good - not yet
- date my husband at least once a month - yep! January date.
- decrease screen time - not so much.
- budget - as I said... I'm HORRIBLE at this. and I still haven't done it. Told you I am horrible.
- come up with a weekly or monthly rotation of meals and stick to it - since we're doing the whole30 right now, we do have a meal schedule, but before that, we didn't. I hope to continue after we finish though (mid Feb).
- set up a cleaning schedule and stick to it - not started - still need to work on.
- spring (or more winter?) clean - kind of. still in progress. ordered a thredUP bag to get this going.
- send more snail mail - yep! yesterday.
- re-do pictures in house and get some canvases printed and hung - got some pictures developed but haven't had a chance to hang them yet.
- go on a family walk at least once a week - not yet. we have gone to some new places and walked around but not quite the "walk after dinner" I had hoped for.


5 out of 12 isn't bad for it being the first month of the year!

Happy, HAPPY Friday!




[It's the Little Things] A Lazy Weekend.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

This past weekend, we had a lazy weekend. You know, the kind where you don't have plans and you just get to do whatever you want. Ahh, yes, that kind. I mean we had our regular grocery shopping on the agenda but that's about all. And it was GLORIOUS.

Saturday was our first weekend morning of being on the Whole30 and I must admit... we ate like a king and queen (and a prince)! Seriously. I wish we had more time in the mornings on the weekdays because our meal was delicious. We had a couple leftover sweet potato and sausage cups leftover from the week that we mashed up into a sort of sweet potato hash and then had some prosciutto, a fried egg, and lots of fruit on the side. I paired mine with some hot black tea with lemon and Seth had coffee.


After breakfast, Seth and I quickly took showers and got ready and then we decided to head to a new park before heading to Whole Foods so Mason could get his wiggles out before having to sit in a cart for an undetermined amount of time.

It was crazy windy outside (those Santa Ana winds are no joke) but beautifully warm and we had a blast running around and checking out the new climbing structure. The park was a little smaller than I thought it would be, seeing as how it was in a neighborhood with super expensive houses. Nevertheless, we had a blast playing.


Once Mason seemed like he was over it, we packed up and got back in the car, gave him a snack, and headed to Whole Foods. I was looking for a few new things for our pantry staples but we only successful on buying one thing. We headed home, had lunch, and Mason took a nap. About an hour into his nap, the power went out. We were guessing because of the wind (knocked over a power line maybe?) or maybe because people were using the AC and it was super windy and something just overloaded. I'm no electrician, so I have no idea what happened, but it was out for almost two hours. The power outage interrupted Seth watching TV and me blogging (the horror!) so I took the opportunity to clean up a little around the house and Seth ran a couple errands.

I feel so bad saying this (total #firstworldproblems) but when the power first went out, we had no idea what we were going to do. In this day and age, we have become so dependent upon technology to entertain us that we don't know what to do without it. I will admit, that was my first thought, what are we going to do?? And then I realized that I had been procrastinating filing away some papers and sorting through the mail from the week an reading magazines (that go back to November) that I took this opportunity to do so. I made a positive out of what some might think of a negative.

Mason woke up about a half hour after the power came back on, we played, made and had dinner, and then watched some TV and played with blocks.

We got these blocks in our last Citrus Lane box and this is the first time we really played with them. I don't know why I'd never pulled them out before because Mason LOVES them and loved helping to stack the blocks and then of course, he loved knocking them down too.


Sunday morning, we had a lazy morning, leisurely eating breakfast and getting ready for swim class. Swim was at 10am and though he is enrolled in a parent and me class and there's usually as many as 6 kids (and parents) in the class, Mason was lucky enough to have a private lesson (since nobody else showed up). We LOVE his teacher Miss Ashley and she is so good with him. He got bumped up to intermediate a couple weeks ago and they do a lot of back floating... which he HATES. Sunday he did SO SO good though and made awesome progress. I was seriously so proud.
#allthehearteyeemojis


After swim, I wanted to check out the farmer's market at the Great Park. We've gone a few times and I really like it. Swim is right by it so I wanted to stop by real quick after class. "Real quick"... that's what I told Seth but we ended up being there for almost two hours!

The Great Park also happens to be the location of "The Orange" - a hot air balloon in the shape of an orange. It was super windy so it wasn't flying, so we got to see it on it's landing pad. I've only ever seen it in the sky before (from afar) and I have to admit, it was a LOT bigger up close than I thought.


Over by the hot air balloon area were two airplanes. The Great Park is the former El Toro Airforce Base and so they had the airplanes on display to commemorate the history. I thought Mason would be super into them because he has been obsessed with airplanes recently but he was perfectly content sitting in the stroller. Bummer. Either way, I was super into them and went to take a closer look.

N3N-3 Canary

SNJ-5 Texan

Next to the planes was a carousel and a small playground. We went to investigate both and when Mason seemed too tired, we put him back in the stroller and headed to the farmer's market to get some fruit.


By this point, Mason was getting pretty tired (a combo of waking up before the crack of dawn, a swim lesson, and running around) so we headed home for lunch and a nap. Mason slept for almost four hours (cue the angels in heaven singing!) and then we went over to Seth's mom's house for family dinner Sunday.

Overall it was the perfect, no plans, no obligations weekend we've had in a long time!

Is it Friday yet?


Linking up with Jess.









What to do when it {gasp} rains in Southern California.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Believe it or not, it does get cold (cold for us at least!) and it actually does rain in Southern California. Very, very rarely. But it does. And we need it and welcome it. Boy do we need it.

And yesterday? Yesterday happened to be one of those days! So, while I was at work during most of the rain storm, I wanted to share what we do when it's not bright and sunny and warm... 

We find fun things to do inside!

We play with fridge magnets and practice our animal and noise identification.


We look for and read books.


We bake.


We do laundry.

We make swords out of old wrapping paper rolls.

We do dishes.


We play with toys and the containers that the toys come in.


We go to the aquarium.


We watch movies.


And if all else fails?
You let your kid sit on your face and play with your phone.


What do you and your kids do on rainy/snowy, cold days?



Linking up with Stephanie for Mom Talk Tuesday.

[Recipe Share Monday] Easy Shredded Beef.

Monday, January 26, 2015

I seriously didn't intend to share anything about the Whole30 so soon, but seriously, I HAVE to share this recipe with you. It's crazy easy and perfect for mom's who don't have a lot of time. We made it last week for the first time and it lasted us all week for various lunches and dinners. We will totally be using this recipe once we're off our diet.

I'm not one to use the crock pot often. Why? I have NO idea. It is seriously SO easy and SO convenient. You just pop all your ingredients in the pot, turn it on, set the timer, and go on about your day. But for some reason, I never think to use it.

Until now.


Easy Shredded Beef


Ingredients
2-3lb sirloin steak 
(or round roast or rib roast - whatever is cheapest)
1-2 large yellow onions, sliced
½ cup chicken or beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon chili powder

Instructions
Pull out crock pot.
Put meat in pot.
Put broth in pot.
Put onions on top of meat.
Put spices on top of meat and onions.
Cover.
Put crock pot on low for 8-10 hours.
(I did 8 hours).
Take 2 forks and shred that b*tch.
Eat it like you mean it.

No joke. Those are her exact words - "take 2 forks and shred that b*tch and eat it like you mean it". Love it.

I found this recipe for easy shredded beef (that is Whole30 approved) and immediately knew we would try it on our diet. The recipe made it sound so simple and believe me, it was. I literally put in my slow cooker liner (love easy clean up!), tossed in all the ingredients, shut the lid, turned on the timer, and left it to do its thing for 8 hours. And then? 8 hours later = perfect, easy to shred beef.


We used it multiple times throughout the week. These are just a few examples.

paleo nachos // stuffed red peppers
salad // sweet potato topped with shredded beef and other goodies


Bookmark it, print the recipe, or save this post now and thank me later.
If I can do it, you can do it!

Happy Eating!


Five Friday Favorites.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Hello Friday! I've been missing you... ever since last Friday ;)

Even though this was a holiday week for some, I still had to work all five days, and this week seemed to drag on forever and ever (and ever). Needless to say at 3:30pm today, I will be one happy camper :)

ONE.
Surprise emails from Starbucks.



I got this email the other day from Starbucks and to say that I was surprised and happy would be an understatement. How do they know I have a card from 2006 that I haven't used?? Either way, I'm hopping on the opportunity to transfer that $5 to my account! High five Starbucks. Thanks for the reminder! (Glad they have a better memory than me!)

TWO.
Ellen's Design Challenge.


Has anybody else seen the commercial for Ellen's new show? It starts on Monday and I am so excited for it! I love her regular show and can only imagine that this one will be just as great. It's already set to tape on my DVR!

THREE.
This kid.


I just love watching his mind work. He LOVES the puzzle part on his Disney Junior app and could seriously play it all day. While I know it is obviously better to do a puzzle in real life, not on an electronic, I am always so impressed with his skills that this time I had to take a picture. I swear he knows exactly where each piece goes and knows exactly what to do and it blows my mind.

FOUR.
Desserts on Instagram.

I seriously did not realize how many people post food pictures on Instagram until I started the Whole30 on Monday.



Holy temptation Batman! Maybe I'm just overly sensitive now that I can't have these things but I swear like every person that I follow posted a picture of a donut this week.

Oh and not to mentioned that on Day 2 one of my co-workers brought a huge bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies in to work. I'll be honest, I wanted SO bad to have a cookie, but I didn't. Instead I just stared at the bag every time I walked by the break room table lol. Will power at it's finest! We're on Day 5 now and going strong!

FIVE.
The dentist.



Seriously. Why do they do that? I swear they ask you a question and then put their cleaning instruments in your mouth directly after, all the while waiting for you to be able to answer the question they just asked. Come again?

The dentist is not normally something I would post about because it's usually the furthest thing from my mind, but I had the pleasure of going for my half yearly teeth cleaning last night and let's just say my teeth are still thanking the hygienist for the gum stabbing she did last night. Oy. So while it's no secret that I don't enjoy the dentist, I will say (and this will make me sound totally old) that I DO enjoy the fact that I can go for free twice a year to have my teeth cleaned. I mean, I am fully aware that it's not "free", I do pay a lot for that good insurance, but it is free in the fact that there is no co-pay. In, cleaning, out, and I'm good to go for another six months. Gotta love that!



And with that... I wish you a Happy Friday and a Happy Weekend!







[A Year of Dates] January.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Last weekend, Seth and I were lucky enough to be able to sneak away for a date night... our first date night of 2015 and in our year of dates! I sort of teased about it on Instagram when I posted a picture of us wearing warm jackets and used the emoji duck and snowflake but now I can share... we went to a hockey game!



Seth kind of already knew about where we were going to go because back in December I started looking for tickets and asked him which teams would be good to see. I know next to nothing about hockey besides the fact that it is a) COLD and b) there are lots of fights (my favorite part!) so I definitely needed some advice on which team would be fun to see.

We ultimately decided that a weekend night game would be best and the Devils game seemed like the best option for us. I secured us a babysitter (thanks nanny!) back in December when I bought the tickets so we were good to go come Friday night.

Nanny came over at 5:45pm on Friday and Mason was so excited to see her that he didn't even notice that we had left. This always makes me slightly sad that he doesn't miss us but more happy because I'd rather have him in a good mood when we leave rather than crying for us to stay.

With traffic, we finally got to the Honda Center around 6:30pm, parked, and headed in. The Honda Center doesn't allow outside food to be brought in (whomp whomp) so we had to figure out what we wanted for dinner. We ultimately decided on sharing some nachos and a beer (which probably cost us $25 - yikes! - which was why we shared). We grabbed our food and headed to our seats slightly after the game had started. We had to wait to get to our seats until a break in the action, which just so happened to be the Ducks scoring a goal in like the first minute or two of the game - always a good way to start!


Our seats were up pretty high, but centered, so we could see everything. I always find it hard to focus on hockey games because the puck moves so quickly but I always love going. We rarely go to hockey games since hockey isn't one of Seth's favorite sports to watch (he much prefers baseball) but I thought it would be fun to change things up a little and head to a game this season.


Overall, we had a great night! It was so nice to be able to get away for a night and just get to spend some alone time (as alone as you can be with at least 10,000 other people), just the two of us. Plus, the Ducks won! What could be better? A date night with my husband and our team won (and I got to see a fight!). Win - win - win!

And now? We're already looking forward to our February date night!




[Whole30] Ready Set Go... Starting Today!

Monday, January 19, 2015

We're doing it! We're actually doing it!

I'm the QUEEN of saying I'm going to do something and then never follow through (horrible, horrible, I know, I'm working on it) but this time, I talked about it and I'm actually doing it!

I mentioned a week or so ago that Seth and I were debating doing the Whole30. I'm not one to go for a fad diet but I feel like this was more than a diet... this was a lifestyle change. Honestly, I don't think we eat that badly normally, we have definitely improved our eating habits in the past couple years, but we could definitely use a little help in the health department. I'm not sure if we will do another one of these in the future or not (probably not right away if we do) and I don't think I could live for the rest of my life without ever having dairy or chocolate again (though, never say never) but I do hope to at least learn more about the food that I eat, learn to check labels more carefully and find out what exactly it is that I am putting in my body, and discover some healthier recipes that we can put in our normal meal rotation.

I will admit, I was SO intimidated by this meal plan at first. There is SO much that you can't have - stuff that we eat on the regular - dairy, pasta, bread, chocolate. Seriously, how could I do this as a working mom? Oh, and as a woman who doesn't cook? Literally, I don't know how to cook. I mean, I'm sure I could survive on a desert island (scratch that... NO WAY could I survive on a desert island!!!) if I had to. I wouldn't starve. But I definitely wouldn't be eating as well as I do now with Seth cooking for me (THANK YOU for preventing me from starving on a daily basis Seth!). So when Seth said he was on board with whatever I wanted to do, I knew that we could do this.

A couple people that I follow on Instagram have done the Whole30 and their meals looked SO good. Seriously, they looked like things I would want to eat normally, so I figured, why not try? And when I broke it down, it didn't look so hard and as intimidating as I first thought. I searched Pinterest and blogs and Instagram's and the Whole30 website for what I needed to buy, what I could and couldn't have, and for recipe ideas. It literally took HOURS on a Saturday. Once I felt like I knew what I wanted to do, I made a meal plan that laid out breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. I knew I needed an exact meal plan if I wanted to be successful because without planning ahead and forgetting to pack enough healthy snacks for work, I wouldn't have very many healthy options to choose from. 
I wanted to be prepared.

So once I had some ideas, I made myself a weekly plan. As easy as that sounds, it literally took more hours on a Sunday to figure out exactly what I wanted to have and when and what we needed to buy. I did a small Costco run and a Trader Joe's run two weekends ago, a Whole Foods run during the week, and another big Costco run this past weekend as well as a regular grocery store run. And NOW we're ready.

Trader Joe's // Whole Foods
Costco trip # 1

Costco trip # 2
My little Costco helper

(not pictured : grocery store run for odds and ends)


Why did I talk about it so long ago and we are just now starting it? We waited so long to start because of a couple reasons. And these are the honest, truthful reasons.

1. I wanted to be sure what we were getting ourselves into. As I mentioned, this plan takes a lot of prep (meal planning and food preparation) and I wanted to be sure we had a plan to succeed. We both work full time and we knew we would need to have a meal plan and a game plan for making the Whole30 successful for us.
2. I wanted to clear out the pantry. We have a lot of Whole30 not approved items in our fridge and pantry (which hopefully shouldn't come as too big of a shock as I'm sure most of you have some sort of milk, cheese, yogurt, pasta, wine, ranch dressing, etc. in your fridges or pantries right now). I didn't want it all in the house while we are on the Whole30 but I also didn't want to throw it away. So we meal planned for last week and got rid of most of the bad stuff.
3. I had a work lunch planned for the Cheesecake Factory on Friday, January 16th. Now you may laugh and say "wow, she ate at the Cheesecake Factory mere days before starting this healthy living meal plan". Why, yes, yes I did. And I had cheesecake. When your work pays for you to eat cheesecake, you eat cheesecake. I'm sure some people are cringing reading that while others are shaking their heads in agreement. Judge if you want, but I don't turn down a free meal at one of my favorite restaurants.

I don't plan to post all day, everyday about the Whole30. I am not a food blogger (as is evidenced from my food photos - sorry!). But at the end of our journey (and maybe in the middle? I'm not sure yet), I do plan to share. For those of you who are curious and for myself; to see the results and to refer back on if we do another one. This is my online journal, after all, and this is 1/12th of my life in 2015.

Wish us luck!



Disclaimer : Please keep in mind that I am obviously not a dietician or an expert on the Whole30. All statements are purely mine based on Seth and my experience. Results may vary for others. We did read part of the book, It Starts with Food, but haven't had a chance to read the whole thing yet. But from what we have read, it is a very interesting and eye opening book! 
Please go to The Whole30 website for more information.

Five on Friday.

Friday, January 16, 2015

We've had a bit of a rough week this week over here. We found out (via an urgent care trip on Tuesday night) that Mason has a double eye infection AND a double ear infection. While we could tell his eyes had a problem, we had NO idea his ears were hurting! What a trooper he is. So after the diagnosis from the doctor, we were off to Target Pharmacy to get our meds and I am happy to report that Mason is on the mend now. However, that didn't come without a fever on Wednesday night and a call to the on-call nurse line to find out if we could give him Tylenol with the meds he's on. Oy. Definitely in need of some weekend time!

But before we get too ahead of ourselves (after all, I do have an 8 hour work day between me and the weekend), here are my weekly five.

ONE.
Starbucks Strawberry Cheesecake Frappuccinos.


These beauties  will soon be available!!!!!
Now before you go all crazy and thank me for sharing these, hear me out. These baby's are becoming available in... Australia soon. Whomp whomp. But, according to the article, all hope is not lost. They debuted elsewhere and are now being introduced in Australia (since it's summer there now). I think we should start a petition now for these to come to the US. Who's with me?

TWO.
Bus Riding Dog.

Did you guys hear about the Seattle dog that rides the bus by himself to the dog park? If you haven't, you seriously need to check out this article. I thought for sure it was impossible but if you watch the video, the dog gets on the bus at the stop by his house, rides the bus until the dog park stop, and gets off to go play. Seriously. Dogs. They never cease to amaze me!

THREE.
25 Rules for Mothers of Sons.


I was searching Pinterest the other night when I came across this blog post : 25 Rules for Mothers of Sons and I LOVED it. Some of my favorite rules are :

2. Be a cheerleader for his life.

There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games.  There is no doubt that he will tell you to “stop, mom” when you sing along to his garage band’s lyrics.  There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts.  There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you’ve been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade.  He will tell you to stop.  He will say he’s embarrassed.  But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.

The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform like Batman will surround your son from birth.  But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen Mark Twain, and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity, and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.

The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphna Blake) will surround your son from birth.  But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Maria Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.

You already are all of those things.  If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this:  If you have done any of the following:  a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero.  do not doubt yourself for one second.  Seriously.

9. Teach him to have manners.

Because its nice.  and it will make the world a little better of a place.

12. Let him ruin his clothes.

Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes.  You’ll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don’t waste your energy being angry about something inevitable.  Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes.  Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.

14. Go outside with him.

Turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away.  Just go outside and follow him around.  Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions.  It’s like magic.

16. Give him opportunities to help others.

There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help.  Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities.  Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together. 

20. Let his dad teach him how to do things.

…Without interrupting about how to do it the ‘right way.’  If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything.  You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers.  And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom,  you will stay connected to what is happening in his life.  Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.

22. Build him forts.

Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic.  Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders.  For the rest of his life, he’ll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.

23. Take him to new places.

Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.

24. Kiss him.

Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet.  They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day.  But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender.  So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, ‘what happens in between that made you lose that?’  Let’s try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they’re loving and kissing them even more when they’re wild.  Kissing them when they’re 2 months and kissing them when they’re 16 years old.  You’re the mom – you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets – and make sure he knows it.   p.s. (this one is just as important for dad’s too). 

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.


FOUR.
Date Your Spouse : A Year of Dates.


Did you see my post on Tuesday where I shared the Christmas present that I gave to Seth this year? If you have a spouse who is hard to shop for, check it out for a great birthday/anniversary/Christmas present idea!

FIVE.
No-Reply Blog Commenter.


I've noticed some new friends around here (hi and welcome!) and I've been wanting to reply to your comments but I can't because your account is not linked to your email! Check out the super simple and easy tutorial that Beth posted last week.

Happy Friday!


Find out who I'm linking up with HERE

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