treasuring him more

Melissa

Colin now goes to school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Some days he even stays until 3.

This is very new for us. I mean, we used to be together all the time. All. The. Time. I was very ready for him to go to school.

You should see him when I walk in to pick him up. His teachers all giggle. He yells, “MOMMY!!” and runs over into my arms and kisses my cheeks three times, then hugs me, then kisses me again, then he says, “How was your day? I was worried about you without me.”

Oh, I miss him when he’s gone. Now that I have a break a few hours a week, I am appreciating him more. His silliness, his jokes, his snuggles… Being apart has been great for us. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we play cars and trains, go on outings, play outside… and I treasure every minute. Because when he goes back to school, I remember how fleeting this time is. And how quickly it is going by.

fashion friday: mom bags that don’t look like it

Melissa 10 Comments

I got a request last week from Megan: “Can you do a post on fall purses? My criteria are: not black, big enough to throw two diapers in, sturdy and the outside has to be wipeable (think leather and not suede)…”

She said “Purses” so I’m in! There are about a zillion good options, so lets narrow it down to just a few. Here they are from cheaper ones to the most expensive.

The Kim by Big Buddha is on Piperlime. Love the grey, love the structure, love the shoulder strap…

Um, YUMMY! Again, this Melie Bianso Ariana bag is so totally on trend that no one will notice the diapers you have stashed inside!!

Loving this color – and hobo bags are huge 😉 Wouldn’t this look great with a charcoal gray peacoat? Or a trench?

If you don’t want boring black, Orla Kiely is perfect! Does this bag just scream “fall”???

This is gorgeous. The Extra Mile bag from Hobo International is divine. And speaking of divine…
You can never go wrong with Kate Spade.


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when they try – and lose

Melissa 6 Comments

Last week, Ellie announced she wanted to run for student council. She’s only in third grade, so I’m not quite sure what the student council actually does, but whatever. It would be good for her.  She was so excited. We mentioned that she might not win, and she was like, “Yeah, I know, I know. But I might win!” I so loved her optimism.

She asked me to help her prepare her speech on why she would do a good job. It was the cutest little speech about how she showed all the Six Pillars of Character her school emphasizes (Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Trustworthiness, Caring and Citizenship):

She practiced her speech over and over on Tuesday night, in front of all of us, with a big smile and very political hand gestures. (It was like she was watching political speeches with the finger pointing for emphasis.) Before bed, she prayed she would win and asked the family to pray for her too.

So, it broke my heart when she came home on Wednesday and told me she lost. She tried to act like it was no big deal, like she didn’t really care and was happy for the winners. But I found her last night in her room, sitting under her desk. Crying.

It hurts when you try for something and lose.

We’ve been telling her over and over how proud we are, how important it was that she tried, how brave she was to run.

But it still hurts.

 

 

mean

Melissa 11 Comments

Yesterday Colin came home from school and we were sitting at the table eating our lunch. He was telling me about his day at school, how he had music class and painted on an easel and played with cars. Then he said, “Mommy, some boy called me stupid.”

*insert sound of my heart breaking*

I felt so terrible. He’s only three. Stupid is not a word we use in our house. He knows its a bad thing to call someone that.
Colin said, “When he said that, it made me feel really, really sad.” Then he asked, “Am I stupid?”

“No, of course not!” I said.
“Then why did he say that?”

Three is too young to learn that sometimes people are mean. Its too young to learn that sometimes people will say things to hurt you on purpose. Its just too young to be mean.

 

 

Barbie Charm School

Melissa

Last week my girls went to Charm School courtesy of Barbie. They were so so super excited. We had scheduled it for a few weeks ago, but it got canceled thanks to a little rainstorm called Hurricane Irene. Meanwhile, Grace was asking every 5 minutes since we had to cancel it when we were going to have it. She was dying – DYING – to see what was in the huge box marked Barbie Princess Charm School that I wouldn’t let her peek inside 😉

We turned our playdate in to a Charm School party!! The girls set the table for their friends with the adorable pink and orange plates and napkins we picked out.

We had these cute placemats to guide them. My girls set the table every night, but they still struggle with where to put the silverware.
Before we served our cupcakes (because one simply cannot have a princess party without cupcakes, according to Gracie) and pink lemonade (because princesses ONLY drink pink drinks, according to Gracie), we had a lesson in manners.

We practiced asking for things politely “Would you please pass the strawberries, Ellie?” “Yes, Gracie, I would love to!” “Why, thank you!” “You are so very welcome!”

If only every dinnertime could be so pink and polite.

Gracie was the official hostess, so she poured the pink lemonade.
Ellie was the big girl at the party (being in third grade now) so she read off the manners checklist and made sure we covered everything.

After the party, I opened the last surprise in the box…. BARBIES!!!!!! After the girls stopped their high-pitched squealing, Gracie handed out the dolls to her friends and they immediately ripped them open and were playing for the rest of the playdate. Gracie’s friend said, “This is the BEST playdate EVER! Do you do this every time????”

We can’t wait to see Barbie Princess Charm School!!

We love Barbie movies and I’m sure this one will be no different. We’ll have to watch it wearing our tiaras.  We passed on the Charm School placemats to Ellie’s brownie troop – they’re working on their etiquette badge this month and are learning table manners and how to set the table. Perfect!

disclosure: we were provided with supplies for the party from One2One network. As always, all opinions are my own.

 

fashion friday: target chic

Melissa 10 Comments

With all the hoop-la about Target this week with the Missoni launch, I was reminded how much I LOVE that store. You really can get awesome style for super affordable prices!! Check out my looks for fall:

I adore fall dresses. And Target has amazing ones!!! This is a total fantasy outfit, since there is no way I can wear mustard and not look like I’m ill. Sometimes life is really unfair.

mustard - target look for fall

 

 

And sweater dresses!!! I LOVE SWEATER DRESSES!!!

brown- target looks for fall

 

 

And I am so buying this cape. It is only $25. For real.

weekend casual with target

 

 

If I worked in an actual office (as opposed to the desk in my bedroom) where I wasn’t allowed to wear jeans (or, lets be real, yoga pants), I would wear something like this little number. And, by the way, cute blouse, pencil skirt, heels and cute accessories? This is SO my sister.

target to work

 

 

What is your favorite fall find from Target? Did you score any Missoni items? If you did, can you send them to me?

Fashion Friday is the most fashionable day of the week! Thanks for stopping by: link up your fashion posts and join in the fun! Fashion Friday Sponsorships are available – contact us for more information!

 

and then my baby went to school

Melissa 6 Comments

This morning Colin went to school for the first time.

He was so excited. Super-dooper excited is more like it.  I opened the car door at the drop off line and he leapt out of the car and ran inside to his teacher.

And I drove away. Alone.

I’m home alone for the day. For the first time in…. well, ever.

Now what?

 

kelly ripa on OCRF, finding balance and the “mom uniform”

Melissa

Last week, while I was busy with a sick boy and couldn’t get to New York (or even to a phone), the folks at Electrolux were kind enough to video my interview questions with my fav celeb mom, Kelly Ripa.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, so show your support by stopping by Kelly Confidential. During Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Electrolux is donating $200 to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for every washer/dryer pair purchased. Plus, when you join Kelly’s virtual sleepover, Electrolux will donate another $1 to the cause, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win the set!!

I’ve posted here several times about the pressing need for more Ovarian Cancer research. Ovarian cancer is difficult to detect, as the symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, similar to those in other non cancer conditions affecting women. Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among American women. Until we have better early detection tools, all women need to be educated about ovarian cancer so they can get an early diagnosis and successful treatment.

Be sure to take a minute and educate yourself at OCRF. And take a moment to support this important cause at Kelly Confidential! (And send me your Perfect Steam Washer and Dryer when you win, cause my washer and dryer are dying a slow and painful death.)

 

 

what a difference a day makes…

Melissa 11 Comments

First, thank you for your kind words. for your hugs. for your prayers. for your words of advice and encouragement. Knowing we are not alone in this, knowing people are coming along side us in prayer and are there to help has been a lifeline. Truly.
from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Every one of you.

  • Colin really has turned a corner today. He’s back to almost normal – still really thin and tired – and his system is really delicate. He can only eat really bland foods – and will have to stick to that for awhile. But he has gone one whole week without throwing up and over 24 hours without diarrhea. We have follow-up visits, but the doctors are optimistic that this really was just a nasty virus that caused some damage to his system that will probably take 3-4 weeks to heal.
    Praise God!
    He went to preschool today to meet his teacher one-on-one for 20 minutes and he loved it. LOVED it. They had dinosaurs. And monster trucks. He was chatting his teacher up and says he is so excited for his first day on Wednesday. Last Wednesday, I wasn’t even sure he could go to school this week! (Not to mention, last week he told me he hated school.)
  • Grace went to school this morning, without crying. Although, she did bring her favorite doll. And she came off the bus with a huge smile and told me that she didn’t cry all day and had a great day. Then she had dance and discovered not one, but two girls from her class at school are in her dance class. They are her new best friends and they want to have a playdate.
    This is good. This is very good.
  • Husband’s car got fixed. And it was under warranty.
  • I’m still far behind at work and still have a massive to-do list. But suddenly, its not quite so daunting.

Keep praying.  It is working.