Weekend alone with the kiddos...

I am a very lucky woman. My hubby who works from home is also the main care taker of the kids during the week. He does an amazing job with them while trying to get everything he needs to get done for work. He struggles, just like any of us would if we were put in the same position. I am very grateful for all that he does and definitely do not tell him enough how amazing he is. He makes it possible for me to go to work everyday without worrying about my kids every second of the day. I know that this often means he has to work late into the night to make up for time he missed during the day. Here is my handsome hubby on one of our date nights that he organized which he tries to do once a week for us (like I said, I'm super lucky)...

Since he does so much for us, one weekend, every couple of months, he goes away for the weekend on a guys camping trip while I stay home with the kids. This gives him something to look forward to and a necessary break so that he doesn't completely loose his mind. One of these weekends is coming up soon, so while the hubby is away I need to come up with a plan...

So here is my working plan for a weekend with the kiddos...
1. Cinnamon rolls (the kids love them and the hubby can't really have them with the whole diabetes thing and all so better not to tempt him with them) with morning cartoons.
2. Crafts/practice writing names/water colors, on their table on the tile (easy clean up) while mom watches a show or two and keeping an eye on them at the same time!
3. Outside play with the playset and digging and tag...burn some energy while mom chills on the patio furniture maybe with a beer or a glass of wine if needed :)

4. Order pizza (no cooking for this mama on this weekend if I can help it :) plus it will last for two days lunch both days)
5. Indoor games like hide and seek or fort building
6. Movie and popcorn...maybe a couple movies if I can get my kids to sit for that long.
7. Lots and lots of snuggles, hugs and kisses...I mean I do love these kids and all and maybe it will help them to fall asleep early but unlikely.
8. Straightening up some parts of the house...don't want to look like I sat on my butt all weekend ;)

There it is, a weekend plan with my kiddos and just me. Some fun, some relaxing and some time for the hubby. So what are some ways that you entertain the kids? What are your favorite weekend activities? What do you have planned? I would love to know if you have any ideas or stories to share. Until next time I am going to continue enjoying this journey of an everyday mom...

2017 Goals

It's a new year, although this first week left a lot to be desired between my kids poor behavior and me being sick, I am looking forward to meeting some goals that I have set for myself. I figured I would share my goals with you so you can see what I am trying to accomplish and to help keep me accountable for committing to them.

My goals are for my all around life. The things I might feel I need to work on, dislike about myself or want to be better at in general. I have work goals, mommy goals and personal goals. So here we go...

1. Write more. I thoroughly enjoy writing and would love not only to write more on this blog but one day I would love to write a book. So for my own relaxation, enjoyment and feeling of fulfillment I am going to work on writing more.

2. Stay in better contact with my friends. I love them and wish I saw them more. I have a bad habit of staying in my head or being a homebody so my goal is to reach out to them more so that they know and understand how much they mean to me.

3. Share and learn more about Autism. It has become such a huge part of our life since Bugaboo was diagnosed but there are times where I don't feel like I know how to share exactly what it is I wish people knew like what happens during a meltdown. Joseph had one this week and people just stared thinking he was throwing a tantrum which is so far from the truth.

4. Enjoy life more. Laugh more. Be more adventurous with my clothes and make-up. Talk to people. Just get out of my head and stop fretting about how truly socially awkward I am. Learn to love and embrace it. I am getting better about this but need to do even better.

5. Do better for my kids. Read more books to them. Get more strict about chores. They help around the house now but want to set up something more rewarding for us and them.

6. Spruce up the house. I want to completely re-organize my house and change up the decor. Create a home I am truly proud of. It is definitely a work in progress but we are getting there.

7. Spread kindness. I know that my day is better when I smile and sometimes it makes someone else's day better. We need more kindness in the world so why not stop with me.

8. Get in shape and eat better. Now this is a lifetime goal because it is not a simple process, but it is definitely needed especially with my husband having Type II diabetes.

9. Learn more. Learn more for work. Learn more from my elders. Learn more from my friends. Keep an open mind, open heart and learn from the world.

10. Take a vacation. Last year the hubby and I took a vacation together just the two of us. It was amazing and I would love to make this happen again this year. We could definitely use it.

Creating goals, reflecting on yourself and truly looking at who you want to be is never ending. I am continuously wanting to be better for myself, my kids and my husband. I want 2017 to be an amazing year and am willing to put in the effort to make this happen. So these are my goals that I am going to be working towards. I might not make them all happen this year, but that is why they are goals. Something to work towards.

Tell me about you. What do you want to work towards? Maybe we can work together on making these things happen for each other. I would love to know all your goals. Until next time I will just enjoy another day in this Journey of an everyday and ever changing mom...

Cooking with the kiddos...

My mom is an amazing baker, and makes the cakes or cupcakes for all of my kids birthday parties. The woman even took cake decorating classes just to make special birthday cakes for the kiddos. These are a few of the cakes she has made throughout the year.

See what I mean, they look amazing but even better than that they taste amazing as well. I mean chocolate cake with oreo marshmallow fluff filling, butter cake with raspberry filling or spice cake with apple pie filling. Completely delicious! Since my kids love her cakes and cupcakes so much they wanted to learn to make them as well. So while we were out shopping earlier they asked if we could make some cupcakes. Luckily for me, I asked my mom how she doctors the cake box to make it taste so good ;)

So here we are making some funfetti cupcakes, I'm not adventurous or talented enough to stuff my cupcakes. The kids have been practicing breaking eggs. I let them crack them in a bowl before baking or cooking eggs in a pan that way if they get any shells in the eggs I can remove them before cooking.

They are getting pretty good at it. They crack them and split them now without any assistance from me.

They also help me pour all of the other ingredients into the bowl before mixing. I, of course, measure everything out first because they can't quite do that yet.

After we have mixed everything, they also put all of the cupcake holders into the pan for me. Then I scoop all of the batter in, using an ice cream scoop so that they are evenly sized. I bake them at 350 and start checking to see if they are done at about 10 minutes. Don't go by the box because last time I did I overcooked them :( Then when they are out and cooled I let the kids help me frost them and decorate them with whatever sprinkles we have. They love that part. Then we have a snack in the house for a week.

I enjoy teaching my kiddos things that will help them as they grow up. Learning how to cook is such a good tool for them and they truly enjoy it. Lucky for this mommy, they even share and take turns without bickering, thank goodness. What type of things do you like to cook with your kiddos? What is your favorite recipe? What life tools do you like teaching to your kiddos? I would love to hear it all. Until next time I will just continue on this journey as an everyday mom.

The best of friends...

I have always been a shy and quiet person. I don't always speak my mind. I don't have a lot of confidence. But I am honest, trustworthy and extremely loyal. It's not easy for me to make friends, but once someone is my friend, they are more like family. You see my friends are extremely important to me and are always more like family than just mere friends. I love them all for such different reasons. Luckily for us we have some of the most amazing friends. 

Being parents now we are crazy busy, don't get to spend as much time with our friends as we would like to and since we had to move about an hour away from our friends for financial reasons we definitely wish we can see them more. Sometimes you just need a friend. Someone you can lean on, trust your secrets to, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, a hug, some to drink with or do stupid things with or someone to make you laugh. Someone that isn't your significant other, because lets face it sometimes the person you need to vent about is your significant other. My friends are incredible. My husband and I are lucky enough to have amazing couples to call our friends. Although we don't get to see them, when we do it is always crazy moments that we hold as wonderful memories throughout our lives. I hope that they know exactly how much I love them. They are an incredible group who we are blessed to have in our lives. Last night we rang in the new year with them in our typical themed party tradition and we had a blast, as you can see. 

Sometimes we go out for a meal together just to talk and catch up on things we may have missed in each other's lives since the last time we saw each other. 

 These ladies are like my lifeline, They keep me sane in moments where I feel like I am going to lose my mind. They make me laugh and smile. We drink, dance and hang out together. I know that no matter what is going on in my life I can count on them. When I am at a low point, I know I can tell them and they will be there and help any way they can. Ladies, I hope that you know how much I love you all and am so utterly thankful for such wonderful, crazy, funny and beautiful ladies to call my friends.

My best friend is one of a kind. She is incredible, strong, smart, sassy and beautiful inside and out. She is a wonderful mother and friend. She is always there when I need her. She is funny as hell. She can make a day so much better from one conversation because she gets me. Her friendship is one that I know will last a lifetime because she is so much more than just a friend, she is family and always will be. Sweets, I love you and hope you know that no matter how far away we live from each other I will always be there for you. One phone call is all it will take for me to be at your side. Life is so much better because you are my best friend!

These people are kind, hard working, loving, caring and incredible in every way. We love you all and are so glad that we began the year with you. Our lives are so much better for having you in it. One of my 2017 new years resolution is to make sure we all spend more time together because frankly I need you all in my life. 

So my lovely readers, how did you ring in your new years? I would love to hear about your friends, because we all need them. Until next time I will be enjoying this Journey as an everyday mom made so much better by my amazing friends...

Holiday Madness...

Now that the madness of the holiday season has passed, I am going to be able to focus more time here...

So between shopping for presents for everybody, planning a holiday meal, getting the house ready for company and school things for my son, it has been a mad house around here. Christmas though was a success!!!! Always love when that happens, but before I tell you about Christmas let me share some good news about my son.

We were invited to the school for an award ceremony because Bugaboo made it on the honor roll! So proud of him. We we also had to go to the school for an IEP meeting because he was showing such vast improvement that they wanted to retest him. After this retesting it was decided that they wanted to move him to a program with higher level of curriculum so as not to hold him back, which is incredible. I mean my husband and I are completely shocked about how much he has gained in the last year. When Bugaboo was first diagnosed with Autism he was also diagnosed with a global developmental delay, after the retesting they said that he shows absolutely no signs of the delay anymore. Hubby and I are so incredibly excited about this. We were also invited to the school for a special holiday program put on by all of the special education classes. It was wonderful. Hubby and I were also so happy given the fact that every student in the audience from the general ed classes were so supportive and welcoming of all of the special ed kids. It was wonderful and heartwarming. Given all of this good news we were very excited about the holiday.

Now for Christmas, we held it at our house. We had a wonderful meal. Lasagna with wheat noodles and marinara specially made at a winery that is delicious. It just makes the lasagna taste so much better. Plus garlic bread that we made from french bread, melted butter with minced garlic and mozarrella cheese and a salad. We also had an amazing spread of cookies and breads made from scratch from both my mother and mother in law. The food was amazing.

We started the morning opening stockings from Santa and the kids were thrilled. Just some small gifts and snacks filled their stockings that they opened in their special Christmas pajamas that they got the night before as we tracked Santa online.

 As the kids opened their presents, Hubby gave me mine. A special charm bracelet in which each charm had a special meaning from our lives.

 The way he gave it to me though was even more special. He typed up our story and for each page that he had written he gave me a charm. It was sweet and romantic. It of course made me cry and I couldn't have been happier. He tends to be romantic on Christmas, I mean he did ask me to marry him on Christmas eve 12 years ago.

Hubby is a big kid so while he got me sweet and romantic, I got something for the kid in him. A new 4 wheel drive, remote control truck that can go up to 60 mph that he and all the men in our house on Christmas played with for hours. While he got that, the kids got  a new air hockey game that they are loving, not to mention me and hubby had an epic battle on it this morning. Here is a picture of the kids playing it. 

So how was your Christmas? Tell me about the food, the gifts, the drama, the family...

Anything or everything is welcome, I would love to hear it. I hope your holidays were filled with a lot of love, laughter and memories that will last a lifetime. Until next time, I will just continue on this journey of an everyday mom...

Christmas Decorating

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, we have started decorating for Christmas. My kids have gotten really excited about the upcoming holiday. They are so thrilled about Santa coming. Every time they see the Christmas tree they say, "Yay!!!! It's Christmas!" I love their enthusiasm, excitement and enjoyment for the holiday. When they look outside and see the lights on the neighborhood houses they shout, "Look at the pretty lights!" I love the way a children's belief in the holiday magic rubs off on us. It makes this season brighter and more filled with joy at least for me.

I figured I would share some of our Christmas decorations with you. The first is our nutcracker, garland, and stockings on the fireplace.

Our Christmas tree, the kids helped put ornaments on it. It was a fun evening.

Our small town on snow. Eventually we will add to it, maybe some more snow, trees and possibly old vintage cars.

Our small dining centerpiece, the wooden reindeer and two LED candles. It is new this year, we got it at Lowe's. We were very excited about it.

Please feel free to share your own Christmas decorations. I would love to be inspired by anything you are willing to share. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I would love to hear about all of your experiences.

Until next time...

Happy Thanksgiving...

I love fall, the colors, the weather, the food, Thanksgiving, spending time with family...I love the idea behind Thanksgiving, how people come together, share, are gracious and thankful for all the good in their lives. Fall just makes me happy.

I visited family in Kentucky one year during the fall and the leaves changing colors was unbelievably beautiful. The way that a tablescape during fall can look with pumpkins, candles, acorns is lovely...I enjoy the way we can bring nature into decor. Fall incorporates so many wonderful things

This year my mother is hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Since Hubby and my father were diagnosed with Type II diabetes, we try to create healthier food options for them. We make traditional Thanksgiving food items but with less carbs. Sometimes we are successful, other times not so much. Last year we made mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes, that was not so successful. It definitely did not turn out as we had anticipated.

This year instead of turkey my dad is making a prime rib roast. Now I enjoy turkey, but prime rib roast is delicious. I'm not exactly sure how my dad is planning on preparing it, but I found this recipe online and it looked yummy. What do you all think? What is your favorite meat to have on Thanksgiving? I am not a fan of ham, although Hubby enjoys it...so I'm glad they are not making that.

My favorite side dish is stuffing, particularly the way my mom makes it. She incorporates celery, carrots, onion, apples, hot breakfast sausage and cranberries into it. The combination of flavors is delicious. This is the splurge I have on Thanksgiving. If there are any leftovers I always take them home. I get to enjoy it all to myself  because Hubby and the kids don't like stuffing...What is your favorite side dish? What is the one item that makes it Thanksgiving for you?

This year for dessert my mom is making a triple berry crisp. She made this for an event that we had earlier this year and it was a crowd favorite. Since it is made out of berries, it makes it healthier and better for Hubby and my dad. She used steal cut oats for the crisp. She altered the recipe in slight ways to make it healthier and it was unbelievably delicious. I can't wait to have it again. What is your favorite dessert?

I am looking forward to our meal this year, plus the family time tomorrow. From my family to yours, wishing you a wonderful and yummy Thanksgiving. We hope your day is filled with lots of laughs, love and memories that will last a life time. Feel free to send any Thanksgiving stories or recipes. Until next time...