Girlymama

When Colin is hungry, he means business.  This has been the case since birth. He was a very mellow baby until he was hungry. Then watch out!! But, once his tummy was full, he was all smiles again. 
This changed little as he got older. When he sees food, he wants it. This can be a problem, for example, in the grocery store (Open those Goldfish now!). And in a restaurant (I want that food! Over there! On that other table!) And while cooking (Why is my mom so mean? She won't let me eat the raw hamburger!!).
Anyway, this week he has decided he is a big boy. And when he's is hungry, he now has the power and gumption to do something about it. This is what greeted me when I returned to the kitchen after running to get the phone while cooking dinner:

This week I learned that I need childproof latches on my cabinets.

Read more about what others learned this week here.

This is our new favorite meal. A friend of mine made these on Memorial Day and now my Husband is obsessed with them. We just made them on family vacation and they were a HUGE hit!

Amazing Burgers
 
good burgers (we love the 'pub burgers' sold at Acme, but this is a great recipe to make your own)
cheese (provolone or blue cheese)
lettuce
tomato
pickles (these are the best!)
carmelized onions
mushrooms sauteed in olive oil and a splash of wine
avacados
thick cut bacon (thick cut is worth it. oh, yes.)
good hamburger buns, toasted
whatever else floats your boat

Eat at your own risk.

**I'm reposting this now that my comments are actually working! Please leave a comment and help us fill local food banks!**

When we look around the world, we are constantly reminded of how lucky we are. No one can argue that we have incredible abundance here in America. It is shocking that, even here, people are going to bed hungry.

In fact, more than 36 million Americans go to bed hungry every night – 12 million of them are children. That is 11% of US households. When I look around my comfortable little suburb of Philadelphia, its hard to imagine. Surely, this isn’t happening not in my neighborhood. I will never forget last year when I saw the guy who bags my groceries waiting in line at a food pantry. I was floored. Floored. This man who I saw every week, who always had a smile for me and my kids, who always offered to help me to my car, needed help. You never know who is in need, who is going to bed hungry.

And, according to Feeding America, nearly 18 million children received free or reduced lunch. How are these children being fed during summer vacation? The holidays aren’t the only time to remember the hungry. Food banks need our support in the summer too! A $1 donation can purchase 10 pounds of food from a food bank.

This month, I’m joining 100 local bloggers and ShopRite Partners In Caring to raise awareness and help fight hunger in our area. ShopRite partners in Caring supports local emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, child care centers, battered women’s shelters, senior programs, drug rehab centers, programs for the mentally and physically disabled, after school programs and other organizations that support those in need in ShopRite communities. Every time a customer purchases products with the ShopRite Partners In Caring shelf tag, they support the brands that support the fight against hunger. At ShopRite, customers are not just filling a grocery bag; they are helping to fill empty bowls for thousands of hungry families in your community.

General Mills and ShopRite will donate one box of cereal to a food bank in ShopRite’s trading area for the first 30 people who comment on this post! Leave a comment and help fight hunger.

So Colin has a new fun habit. Biting me.

Whenever he gets mad or frustrated, he chomps down on my shoulder or leg. Its been two days and it is already getting really old. He's never bit anyone else – just me. How sweet is he?

My older kids were not biters, so I have no idea what to do. He's only 16 months old, so something like "time out" probably isn't going work. I've been giving his hand a smack and saying "NO! No biting!" Then he cries and cuddles until he calms down, but he's still biting. So I'm not sure if its even working.

Any suggestions? Did your kids bite? What did you do?

Vacation was so, so, SO fun!! I love the beach. I'm totally pooped due to Colin getting four – FOUR – molars while on vacation and not sleeping at all. But I'm nice and tan, so I guess its a wash.

 I have a zillion pictures! But I have to find the camera first. Its buried somewhere under the pile that is taking up the entire family room.

Meanwhile, I'll be here plowing my way through piles and piles of sandy laundry. And (after not having internet access for seven whole days) answering eleventy jillion e-mails. And sending up all of the orders I received this week through my shop. And I still haven't figured out why my blog comments are turned off, but I've given up and contacted the "ACK! Help Me" People at Typepad and hopefully things will be resolved soon!!

I can't wait to get some time with my Google Reader and see what all of my Interpeeps have been up to 😉

COMMENTS ARE FIXED!!!YAY!!

And here's a peek at my little beach bum:

for some reason, my blog is not accepting comments.

i'm trying to fix it! sorry!!!

This was originally posted one year ago today. Today is the anniversary of my dad's death. Please pray for me and my family today, as we're together, enjoying our first family vacation since he died nine years ago.

The other night, I was rocking a fussy Colin to sleep and cuddling him. I was thinking about my sweet baby boy, how much I loved him, how much he was loved by all who know him, how lucky he is to be in our loving extended family. Suddenly, I thought of my step-dad – who Colin is named after.
And I couldn't breathe. A fresh wave of grief crashed into me.
It breaks my heart to know that Colin will never know his grandpa. He'll never get to play with him. He'll never get to sneak Grandma's fresh-baked cookies with him. He'll never get tossed into the pool in his pajamas. (Dad was famous for that one.) He'll never get to sneak into Grandpa's home office for a mid-day cuddle. He would have been such a fun Grandpa. He would have been crazy about these grandkids. But he never got to see them.
He died eight years ago today.
I always find myself wondering if he can see them from heaven. Do you think he knows about them? Does he know my babies even though he's not here anymore? I really, really hope he can. That he can see them and love them from where he is. Even though I know its silly to think he's missing out on something when he's in heaven…   

Its going to be a really hard day.

"I'm going on vacation, I'm going on vacation. I'm going to the beeeach, I'm going to the beeeach."*

*The above must be sung while doing a little happy dance. Thank you.

Today we're leaving for vacation.
Hallelujah.
I don't know about you, but I've been dying for a little vacation lately. Maybe its because we've been planning our 10th anniversary trip for the past two weeks. (Hawaii won, by the way!) Maybe its because we're headed to Las Vegas (ALONE!!!) at the end of the month. Maybe its because we're looking into a return trip to India for 2010. Maybe its because the summer is so darn long when you are home with all three of your children all. day. long.
But I'm ready for this little trip, let me tell you!
We're headed to Wildwood, NJ, where I have never ever been. I'm very excited. WhenI've told people where we're going, I've heard fantastic reports about how gorgeous the beach is and how great it is for families.
On Sunday, we're headed into Atlantic City to attend the Grand Market event at the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival, which I won tickets for on Reviewsings! (Always enter giveaways, people! Someone has to win – might as well be you!) I'm super excited – me and my Food-Network-loving, cookbook-reading self will be in food heaven!!
The rest of the time, we will be bumming around the beach with my family, eating boardwalk food, sleeping and beating the pants off my siblings at MarioKart. (Did you know I was a Mario Kart Superstar? Hidden talent of mine.)
Anyway, I'll miss you! But I'll try to post here and there. Lots of updates have happened at Girlymama this week, including adding a review blog and expanding Eliza Grace Design to include some graphic design work. Enjoy!!

 
that literally happened in less than 5 minutes while i wrote a quick post yesterday.

the culprit:
 
my little stinker. i won't even show you what the bathroom looked like, but the toilet paper and trash came from somewhere. a single picture wouldn't do it justice. you would need a video tour at the very least.