Tag Archives: parenting

Weekend Adventures

Posted on April 28 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We had some serious fun this weekend!

Since our week pretty much stunk (like I mentioned in this post), I really wanted to make sure we had a good weekend. I wanted to spend time together as a family, both being productive and getting out of the house and enjoying the slowly warming weather. However, I kept our weekend free of set plans, it always seems when we plan something in advance, those plans fall through (well, other than my pedicure, but more on that in a bit), and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I wanted to have a really lovely time with my guys!

We all know Spring is here and the temperatures are slowly warming, which means one thing in my world… Sandals! I love them, but during the winter I let my feet go. I rarely lotion them, and I definitely don’t paint my toe nails, so an intense pedicure was needed. My friend and I booked an “Excuria Ultimate Pedicure” at Excuria Salon and Med Spa. Oh my goodness! Not only do my toenails now look gorgeous, this was one of the most relaxing pedicures I have ever experienced. They have massaging chairs, and the products they use are to die for. It was heaven! I will definitely be going back (and I recommend anyone who lives in the WNY area, plan a visit to Excuria). We then had a lovely brunch at Milos. I am so grateful to Seamus for handling Emmett, while I went out and enjoyed some relaxing lady time.

Cuddling while momma got a pedicure.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking some more boxes (we still have so much to go), Emmett napping, and then a trip to Home Depot. We’re planning on painting our laminate bookcases. I know you’re all probably thinking I’m crazy, but I found a great article on how to do it properly so that the paint actually sticks and lasts. We’re going to use a new backing on it, rather than the cardboard that it currently has. We got that yesterday, our paint brushes, primer and color swatches, so we can choose the color that best matches our TV console. We still need to get some sandpaper and the paint. I’m really hoping for a nice weekend, next week, so we can get started on this project (I’m really excited).

And our Sunday was just as good!

Emmett had us up early, cuddled up in bed, watching TV, so there are no complaints from me. We spent a lot of the morning coloring, and when we weren’t coloring we were running around like a chicken with our head cut off. LOL Eventually we sat down and made our shopping list and hit Wegmans for our weekly grocery trip. We grabbed some Little Ceasar’s for lunch (because you know you can’t make any of the food you just bought). 😉 And then lil E took a nap.

Emmett has these alphabet cards, when he got to “M for Monkey” he decided he needed to go on a monkey hunt and find each monkey he owns, and pile them all on daddy.

While he was sleeping I did a great deal of laundry, organized some things around the house and spent some time blogging / perusing the internet. I was super excited for Emmett to wake up, though, because I was looking forward to a trip to Anderson’s and the playground.

It was my first Anderson’s of the season, and MAN! did it hit the spot. My vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone with rainbow sprinkles was just delicious. Emmett had a baby-sized vanilla ice cream that he very obviously enjoyed. Then it was off to the playground for some epic swinging. 🙂 Emmett loves loves LOVES swinging right now! He squeals and giggles and has the biggest smile on his face while he goes up and down. It makes me endlessly happy. He also did some sliding, playing in the sandbox and running with mom and dad. He was one happy little boy!

This ended up being a bit longer than I had intended, but as you can see it was an awesome weekend!

Your turn!

How was your weekend? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

PS: I completely forgot to mention – WE GOT OUR COUCH ON FRIDAY!!! And it fit!!

It’s growing on me. When we first got it in, I hated it. But as we slowly rearrange things and make this a home, I’m liking it more and more.

Filed Under: Family

New Year’s Resolutions for Moms

Posted on January 5 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Even moms can make resolutions!

We all strive to be the best mom we can be, not all days are full of rainbows and glitter, but I’m sure that you put every effort in to make sure your child(ren) have everything they need to be happy and healthy. However, since it IS January, and I’m a very goal oriented person, I thought it would be fun to make some resolutions that will make me an even better mom in 2014.

New Year’s Resolutions for Moms

Embrace Good Enough – This may not be the number 1 for all people, but for me, it is THE most important goal this year. I am constantly striving for perfection from myself, my husband, at work, etc, but perfection is just not doable, and pushing so hard to get there is making me miserable. I need to embrace good enough, and realize how wonderful the life I am currently living is.
Disconnect – Like many adults these days, I am attached to my phone like it is a third arm, or an eleventh finger. When I am at home, playing with Emmett or talking to Seamus, the phone needs to be put down. Nothing earth shattering will occur if I don’t look at my phone for a couple of hours.
Meal Plan – Seamus and I already do a pretty good job of planning our weekly meals, but if I’m honest with myself (and you), the meals we choose aren’t all healthy, I’d say we have a 60/40 split, that’s not terrible but I’d like to shift that to 80/20. If we take the time to find new recipes and plan meals for the week on Saturday night, instead of Sunday before we shop, we’re more likely to choose healthier foods.
Stop Worrying About Others – I cannot even tell you how frequently I say things like, “I wish I had so and so’s life,” having no idea what so and so’s life is really like. I need to keep my eyes on my own life and truly embrace what I have, only then will I be truly happy.
Mother AND Wife – Sure, I want to be the number 1 mommy on the planet, but I need adult time too. I want to ensure that Seamus and I have plenty of time to spend together, keeping our relationship fresh.
Be Patient – Days are long, and we experience so many stresses throughout the day, but that shouldn’t be a reason that you start snapping at your child. If Emmett makes a mistake, or touches something he shouldn’t be, it is important that I take several deep breaths before reacting. I don’t want his youngest memories to be of his mother snapping at him because she had a tough day at work.
The House can Stay Messy – I resolve to spend much less time worrying about the cleanliness of my house, and more time playing with my guys. Dishes will still get done, and the toilet scrubbed, but if Emmett’s toys aren’t put away every night, who cares!?
Picture Perfect – Go through some of the thousands (literally) of pictures of Emmett and get them printed, in frames, and on our walls. You can never have too many pictures of your loved ones, is what I say, I’m sure my mom would agree (Hi mom!).
More Crafts or Family Outings – Right before the holidays, we spent time as a family painting and it was so much fun. I want to do more of this and other crafts, as well as take more trips to different museums in the area.
Get Enough Sleep – I am finding that as I become more and more involved with this blog, I am choosing to blog over choosing to sleep. While I do find complete and utter happiness in blogging, I still need sleep. Now I just need to find a healthy balance.

Alright those are my 2014 mom resolutions, I can’t wait to get started! 🙂

Your turn!

I’d love to hear your resolutions as moms/parents, share in the comments below.

Filed Under: Family

Happy First Birthday, Emmett!

Posted on July 25 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

I think if I were a one year old, I would have been really happy with how Emmett spent his first birthday.

When my niece celebrated her first birthday back in May, my sister had commented how she wished she had taken the day off just to spend it with her. I made a mental note of this comment. I know me and I know how much it means to me to be with the ones I love on their special days, so I took off July 23rd, as did Seamus. We made no real concrete plans, we didn’t want to, we wanted to go with the flow of the day and in the end it was simply perfect.

Emmett woke up at his normal weekend time, around 6 am and we spent a little time cuddling in bed (our normal weekend routine, described here). After awhile, Seamus was still tired and I wanted to go get breakfast, so Emmett and I headed out to get bagels at Bagel Jay’s an awesome local bagel restaurant, while Seamus tried to nap longer. Emmett and I ate there, I wanted to just be alone with my baby boy before our day really got going. He was wonderful, just smiley and loving, I was so happy.

We got home and while daddy ate his breakfast, I got Emmett dressed in his birthday shirt. It had his name, a train and a 1 on it. It was a hand-me-down but it was perfect for his special day. Don’t worry, we’ll be getting him his own for his birthday party in August.

Not that a one year old can make their own decisions, but I wanted Emmett to dictate how the day went to the best of his abilities, meaning that he’d nap when he wanted to and we’d go out for lunch when he woke up, we’d play with the toys he chose, read if he decided he wanted to be curled up in our laps, I didn’t care. I wanted the day to be about him (and our memories of his birth).

We played and he practiced walking all morning long. By the time nap time had rolled around he’d been so active that he was pooped, he nursed and fell fast a sleep for a nice long nap. He woke up with a squeal (of delight) on the monitor. I went in to find him sitting up in the corner of his crib, playing with his pacifier and blanket, just smiling away. I know that he’s only one and likely had no idea that it was his birthday, but he sure acted like it was a special day, maybe it was just being home with Seamus and I.

Before we headed out for lunch, Seamus gave Emmett his first present from us (he’ll get more at his party in August), a set of Duplo Legos. Oh my goodness, this child is in love with them! We spent so much time just opening the package and examining every block. We’d then stack them up and Emmett would knock them down, it was a blast.

At lunch, we had a happy, silly boy. I got a ton of great pictures, as you can see below. He always seems to really enjoy himself when we go out, I think it’s because he has new scenery to look at. We don’t give Emmett a lot of sweets, typically the sweetest thing he eats is fruit but we let him splurge, since it was his birthday. He had his very first Cone Head sundae at Friendly’s and he loved it SO much!

Seamus and I decided that for as long as Emmett will tolerate it, we will take him to Friendly’s for his birthday. I think it might be the first tradition we’ll be making as a family, you have NO idea how excited this makes me. Along with my love of reminiscing, comes my love of traditions, I’m sure you can understand why.

The rest of the evening was spent playing with his new Legos and going outside for a bit.

See! Doesn’t it sound like THE perfect first birthday?

Question of the day:

How did you spend your children’s first birthdays?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Emmett's Birthday, Family