"There's no place like home, there's no place like home......"

Sorry for the silence over here but I am actually coming to you from a satellite location.

In case some of you readers are not familiar with the Nor'easter that struck the tri-state area over the weekend, I'll be the official mouth piece to tell you that it was bad. The Wile family was forced to pack up and leave our home on Sunday morning because we have had no power, heat or hot water since Saturday night at 7pm as a result of the storm that trashed our area.

What started off as a tres romantique evening with wine and candlelight after the little man went to bed on Saturday night, turned into a cold wet reality on Sunday morning when we woke up and realized that not only had our services not been restored but also that our entire County now resembled that of a completely devastated war zone. Huge 100yr old Oak trees that our town is famous for came crashing down taking out power lines and crashing into people's homes (no damage to ours, thankfully!) due to the 50mph winds that blasted the area and rain soaked ground that gave way to huge root structures being lifted up out from the soft soil.

We have been lucky enough to stay at my Dad's farm out in the equestrian fairyland of Morris County until we're able to go back home. We're having fun making an adventure out of it but it does start to get tiring being displaced with a little one and so many responsibilities left at home. Still, we'll enjoy the mini-vacation while it lasts. Which, by the way, we're told may last until the weekend as there are still 90,000+ people without power in the area!

I'll try to post while I'm here but my Wi-Fi access has been spotty at best, so if you don't hear from us in a few days, we'll give a full recap once we're settled back at home.

Hope everyone else from the area is making out ok and that all of your friends and loved ones are doing well in the aftermath!

The Friday Highlight

Today's Friday Highlight is dedicated to a site where I have become so addicted, so obsessed, that I think they should have a self-help group devoted entirely towards the people who LOVE this site.

Etsy is THE place to buy or sell all things handmade. You can sell your wares if you are super talented, which is a great way to get your entrepeneurial biz off the ground, or if you are less than inclined in that area, pick up some beautiful handmade items to buy and enjoy the fruits of someone else's creative efforts.

Etsy sellers literally sell EVERYTHING you can imagine. I have purchased items on there for my husband for christmas, cute unique items for Little Man and even a few special scores for myself. But for the sake of the blog, I shall only highlight the area of the website that pertains to the wee ones.

As of today there are 14,998  pages of items for kids for sale!

I swear every time I go on this site either just to browse, or specifically look for an intended item, I fall so far down into a shopping crazed rabbit hole that I often don't even remember what I went in for.

If you haven't discovered the delight of Etsy yet, I highly recommend you do.

You can thank, or curse me later.

Some of the items offered up for grabs today

Fabric Wall Decals 

 

Penelope Dress

Portland Booties     

                                                  

Party Munchkin

                                                            delicate floral headband  
                                     

Bundle bunny

Overheard at Chez Wile

7:34am 

As I was racing around this morning having just given LM a bath since he woke up soaked and quickly trying to throw some clothes on for myself before our babysitter arrives and I have to leave for work, all while my son cries out for breakfast that I'm clearly late on making. I glance over at our daschund mutt Chino as he snuggles back into our bed, head under the covers because clearly all this commotion has disturbed his morning sleep.

Me: "In my next life I want to come back as Chino."

Hubbs (calling out from the shower): "That would be like winning Powerball!"

This guy has the life.

Not feeling the L.O.V.E ?

The last 7 months have been filled with endless amounts of Joy and Love since I had my son. Every day is an adventure with him and he has such an adorable personality that I find just about everything he does to be infectious. But that's how every mom feels about their new baby, right? Unfortunately that's not always the case.

While I have been enjoying just about every single second with my son, there have been moments along the way where the exhaustion, mountains of dirty diapers, a to-do list of things that never seem to get done and a weekly shopping list that resembles Groundhog Day every time I look at it- that were it not for my still lingering Baby Brain, I would have already had it committed to memory- can make even the most confident and blissed out mom feel tired or stressed.

Going from a twosome to a threesome can have multiple effects on your marriage, your life and your career. For most women this new endeavor is met with at first, some trepidation, then some nervous excitement, a little juggling and then ultimately an easy settling in. For others the responsibility, as well as the drastic change in lifestyle and as an individual, can be downright overwhelming. (Whichever side of the spectrum you fall on is completely justified.)

Being responsible for someone else's life, as well as their overall well being and shaping as a citizen can be daunting. It's a huge task, one you most certainly should feel ready to take on. Even women who feel this however before their baby arrives can start to second guess themselves, or their ability to succeed, which is totally normal. Add those feelings of uncertainty to a household where a colicky baby has just arrived and cries for several hours a day, a baby that even after several months still isn't sleeping through the night, perhaps a partner that isn't necessarily pulling their share of the weight, or just the shock of going from a full time career where freshly blown dry hair and cute spit up free outfits are replaced with days where finding the time to shower can seem downright impossible and it's no wonder that 1 in 8 women suffer from post partum depression.

While some women never reach a full blown state of depression, over 80% have reported feeling some level of highs and lows following the arrivals of their babies. Fortunately for most women, this emotional roller coaster is mild and usually remediates itself naturally, but along the way I'm sure many could use a few pointers on how to handle it all while, well, handling it ALL.

Enter Mindful Mommy, where Jennifer Brosnick, MSW is helping mothers-to-be as well as new mothers, cope with this new life change through a wide range of techniques, counseling and products. Mostly, through various Buddhist centric traditions, she teaches women who are either embarking on this new journey or whom are currently in the throes of it, how to live in the moment and ultimately enjoy the ups and downs that come with being a new mother.

No matter where you are in your life and journey as a new or expectant mother, it is truly a time to cherish as these little ones grow so quickly everyday and amaze us with all that they learn, see and do.

However, no matter how put together any woman may feel at times, the old adage holds true, it takes a village to raise a child and there is never any shame in reaching out or accepting help when you feel less like Superwoman and more like barely a woman on any given day. The fact is, we all have our moments and like the good times, we should embrace the tough times as well because it is in those moments where we ultimately find the most strength and really see what we're made of.

Adventures of Little Man

Here is a shot of Little Man at Madison Square Garden yesterday for the Big East Tournament.

Call the mom police.... I brought a 7 month old to a basketball game to cheer on our Alma Mater, St. John's University, as they took on and ultimately defeated UCONN.

And guess what? He LOVED it!

 Sadly, our fate during today's game vs. Marquette did not fare as well.

And by "NO" you mean...."YES?"

Just this past weekend, I was having an interesting conversation with some great friends about when and how we could start to implement some disciplinary structure into the lives of our little loves.

• At what point do they really start to understand? 
• What is considered a temper tantrum at 7 months? (For the record, I believe I'm starting to recognize them.) 
• How do you really teach these little ones- whom I'm pretty sure do not posess the ability to reason just yet, to stop doing that thing you wish they weren't doing?
• At one point do these exercises in discovery turn into bad habits?

Sadly, you won't find the answers to any of these questions here. I'm a first time Mom, remember? I have no idea what I'm doing!

I did however find this morning's post on Stroller Traffic to be interesting in regard to certain things we should take note of as we start to descend down the slippery slope of "NOville."

Turns out all that clapping and enthusiasm already has me off to a bad start....

We're back!

Sorry for the complete and utter lack of posts recently. The long hiatus was not intentional, life just sort of happened and managed to get in the way.

I hadn't even realized it had been as long as it had until a friend pointed out this weekend that she was wondering where all the new posts have been? I thought I was only a few days behind until I realized that my last post was on February 19th. Yikes, sorry about that. Doesn't look like I'll be dominating the blogosphere any time soon with that track record.

 Remember that time I mentioned my penchant for starting projects and then ditching them? I'll try not to let that happen here again.

In case you're wondering where and what we've been doing for the last few weeks, a quick recap I suppose is in order.

The Little Man and I made another journey down to the Sunshine State as the hubbs was traveling there on business, so we arranged to meet up and have a few relaxing days by the sea. It also provided a great opportunity for me to meet my new nephew Aimon as well, since they don't live too far from where we were staying. Aimon is such an adorable little nugget that I almost couldn't believe that my little man was ever that small. It really feels like a huge amount of time has gone by when he was that little but it was a just a few months! The time really flies, to see where he is now from where he started, is astonishing.

While yet another huge winter storm raged on at home dropping over 2ft of additional snow on our already snow smothered lawns, we enjoyed mild 60 degree temps while lunching alfresco and looking at the ocean. Remind me again why I live in the Northeast? Oh right, one word- O.C.T.O.B.E.R.
 But that's a whole other story.....

The sunsets were beyond gorgeous and we were even able to sneak in the LM's first swim on one of the warmer days as the pool happened to be heated to a balmy 90 degrees, essentially simulating a giant bathtub which made my son downright giddy, as there is nothing he loves more than his baths.

We spent the rest of the weekend enjoying some Spring walks on the beach and relaxing dinners after the little man had gone to sleep as well as just generally enjoying some nice family time away from the everyday grind.

After a long cold winter at home, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Retail Therapy- Zulily!

Just for all of you special little lurkers out there, I mean kind readers of my little blog. :)

Zulily has kindly offered a $10 promotional credit that is good for one week for the little spending monster inside you.

What a perfect way to start the weekend- with a little retail therapy.

Simply go to their site, pick out any adorable, discounted item and apply the promo code GROWUP10 in the appropriate box at check out and Voila! $10 will be taken off of your total that you can then spend elsewhere on something more pressing like diapers, or martini's with the girls. what??

Some of today's deals to be had are on Melissa & Doug toys, Petit Couture, Baby Creationz and super cute Primigi shoes.

Psssst, Monday they are doling out deals on one of my faves- Swedish brand Polarn O. Pyret! (be still my heart!)

Happy Friday!

600 Plus??

So I just noticed today that my blog has had over 600 plus views? Really?? I thought the only people reading this were my immediate family and bestest of friends judging by the amount of followers I have. Unless of course it's just my mother hitting refresh all day long, in which case if it is, thanks Mom. :)

For most other bloggers 600 views is a measly number but for me it's substantial as I'm not even sure I know 600 people. Or 300 people for that matter that would be willing to check this out more than once.

All of a sudden I feel the need to become a better blogger since it would seem I have a decent amount of lurkers. I'll get to work on that asap but in the interim, thank you to all of the secret readers for making me feel as though my random ramblings on life and motherhood are worth checking out.

Feel free to follow along publicly (as it would be shamelessly great for my ego ) and offer your suggestions, favorite products or random musings of your own. I'm an open book and love to hear about what other mom's are doing, as I'm all about sharing the wealth.

Rescue 911

So I came across a great find today. While LM isn't quite old enough yet to have any truly cherished plushies, nor will he ever have a beloved doll to tote around, (at least we don't think so. :) ) I couldn't help but rejoice in this little stack of doll rescue services that were rounded up on Stroller Traffic this morning for possible future use.

If only these had been around, or had my mother known about them, when my brother decided that my BELOVED Emily was too cold in my grandmother's basement and decided that she needed to warm up on the radiator, my childhood love could have had a fighting chance. This "solution" that my brother concocted up resulted in her back catching fire and most of her head melting off, which resulted in my first full blown panic attack of epic proportions.  My mother's valiant effort to try and patch her up, quite literally with a mishmash of iron-on patches on her back, did help to soothe the burn (no pun intended) for both Emily and myself. Sadly though not much could be done with her half melted head.

So in honor of Emily, I'm reposting these great sources here in hopes of no other dolls having to suffer such a horrid fate ever again. And if they do, have faith that help is just a short call away.

R.I.P Emily.

The Doll Hospital & Toy Soldier Shop is one of the oldest in the country, with five restorers and more than 100 years of doll restoration experience among them. Services include everything from patching leather body parts to restyling hair to cleaning, repairing, and restoring plushies. President Stacey Zagrodzki says broken limbs are the most common injury, though she sees a lot of bald dolls—hair shorn by scissor-wielding toddlers (they can re-implant hair). Evaluations are free, and in their 60 years of operation, they've never met a doll they couldn't fix. Visit the site for instructions on how to mail in a toy for repair.

The Doll Hospital & Toy Soldier Shop
3947 12 Mile Road
Berkley, Michigan 48072
248.543.3115
Dollhospital.com
 

The Madame Alexander Doll Company store, with more than 600 dolls and sets inspired by Eloise and Little Women, has its own hospital, where dolls of any lineage (not just Madame Alexander dolls) can be brought for repair. Hospital staff work Tuesday through Friday, from 9am to 4pm; appointments are not required for evaluations. Cost of repair is based on the damage, but an example of the cost for rejoining an 8 inch doll is $30, and larger dolls slightly more.
 
Madame Alexander Doll Company
615 West 131st Street
212.283.5900
madamealexander.com 

 

While the American Girl Doll Hospital is equipped to handle the worst of injuries (re-attaching a head is $14), not all doll repairs require major surgery. Owners can opt for a "wellness visit," during which a doll's skin is cleaned and hair brushed—and the doll is returned in a hospital gown with a certificate. The cost is $14, plus $6.95 shipping. Doll ear piercings are in the offering, too. They'll work on non-American Girl dolls as well; most repairs take two to three weeks.

American Girl Doll Hospital
609 Fifth Avenue
877.247.5223
americangirlplace.com

Young Love

So yesterday we went to the Sweetheart's Party that was hosted by one of the playgroup's that the Little Man attends.

All was going well and sweet until LM decided to start getting frisky with some of our little friends.

It started off innocently enough with a sweet attempt to plant a kiss on one of their cheeks but quickly progressed into inappropriate lengths. I kid you not, whenever he was within arm's reach of one of these poor little peanuts he was groping her like they were in the back of his Dad's car on Prom Night.

By the end of the day I couldn't help but feel like I had already failed him as a mother.

Terrible thoughts started flipping through my mind rapidly such as:
Is my kid going to grow up to be the dirtbag paying the girls in M&M's to "show me yours and I'll show you mine" behind the jungle gym at the playground? Or worse yet, be the guy in school that breaks girls hearts with a love 'em and leave 'em mentally? Surely those boys all started their "Quests to Conquest" innocently enough, right? How does one teach their 6 month old to quit being a floozy?

All jokes aside, I realize that he has zero idea what he is doing but are these subliminal acts signs of what's to come? (shudder)

Here is some evidence of my son being the town tart. I have blurred the faces of the innocent to protect their privacy, as well as in the hope that their father's won't recognize them and come to my house wielding any blunt objects.

LM's first attempt to give "A" a little sugar

Never one to discriminate he sets his sights on "M" and goes in for a squeeze

I'm too horrified to even think of a witty caption for this

one last attempt to get whatever he can

this directly followed his efforts being rebuffed.

finally a willing participant in the form of a much older woman.

It is becoming increasingly more aware to me that I have a lot of work ahead of me. *sigh.

Old Man Winter Strikes Again

Today was a huge snowday in the tri-state area and our town was covered with over 14 inches of snow! Everything looked so beautiful blanketed in the bright white stuff. I just love how quiet everything gets after a big storm like this, what a treat to just stop and enjoy how amazing mother nature can be at times. We had lots of fun playing out in the cold fluff again with Dad who managed to score a day off from work, that it made us all feel like kids again. It's going to be awhile before all of this melts and things are back to normal, so we're going to enjoy it as much as we can while it lasts as Spring will be here before we know it.

Wintery Weekend's and Mom Mafia Delights...

We're back from a glorious long weekend in Vermont with some of our besties and we couldn't have had a better time. Everything was perfectly snowcovered and beautiful in its wintery wonderland glory. It was just what the doctor ordered.

We were able to get some great skiing/snowboarding in on Saturday afternoon with perfect blue skies and sunshine, that gave way to some magical snow flurries later in the weekend. Jax had a great time visiting all of his little buddies and we had a blast with our big buddies, which makes us partly sad that we can't spend every weekend having that much fun. HUGE THANKS to our loves, the Owens' for having so many of us this weekend and for being such gracious hosts and friends, as usual. We love you guys.

The best part of the weekend though from a Mom standpoint, were all of the great tips and product finds that were shared with me by some of my mom idols.

My amazing friend Amy is the kind of Mom that I aspire to be- her kids are sweet, considerate, kind little loves and she makes it all seem effortless.

To boot she always find the best products for kids and is kind enough to pass on the wealth, which as you know, is a theory I subscribe to wholeheartedly.

This past weekend she told me about two great label companies that have a seemingly endless array of uses.

Stuck On You is a great company that makes adorable little sticker labels for everything from labeling bottles to backpacks with your child's name on them, so as to not confuse who owns what at school and daycare. They also make a cute line of labels identifying the now ever present kid allergies, so you can rest easy knowing that anyone looking over your child when they are not with you, will know not to give them that helping of PB&J or the pint of milk that everyone else is enjoying with their cookies.
They also make adorable star charts for tracking and rewarding good behavior.

If you order some lables from S.O.Y for your little bean, pass on the "Mom's helping other Mom's" good will and check off the agent box on your order with Kate Lester as the agent, as she was the original Mom who passed along this great company to Amy (envisioning the makings of a kick ass Mom Mafia happening here.)

Another great label company that Amy passed along was Mabel's Label's that is based in Canada and make super durable iron on clothing label's for kids that withstand the abuse of constant washing and they don't irritate sensitive skin.

Our other friend Jill who is an incredible mom practicing mostly green principles and makes it look so easy that she has me green with envy, bought Jax the cutest little pouch to carry around his treat's in once he's snacking on the go.

Per their website, SnackTaxi's are a great alternative to plastic ziploc bags for carrying around snacks and sandwiches, especially when one reusable bag has the potential to eliminate 1000 plastic bags in its lifetime. An important fact to recognize when an estimated 4 billion plastic bags end up as litter each year. Tied end to end, that's enough to circle the Earth 63 times!

SnackTaxi's have a 100% cotton exterior and can be machine washed and dried or simply handwashed and air dried. They were developed by a mother of 3 (noticing a trend here?) and come in a bunch of adorable fabrics and colors.

Here are a few examples of the super cute SnackTaxi.

All of these fab finds for the little ones that I can now pass on to you, while spending quality time with my friends in a beautiful relaxing setting? Weekend Success.

The Friday Highlight

Patemm Pads

Patemm Pads are a great solution to the wrestling match that takes place during diaper changes once the little ones begin to move around much more freely. Their round design makes it easy to place your little bean in virtually any direction while knowing that their little bits are easily covered. 

No more trying to gently pin your kid down on a small rectangle that they outgrew months ago. Nor do you have to worry that as soon as they roll to one side- while you quickly gather supplies- that they have their hands (ultimately ending up in their mouths) touching dirty changing tables or play gym floors.

Patemm Pads come in a rainbow of colors and designs and are available in organic fabrics as well. Each pad is eco-friendly and PVC free, is capable of storing spare diapers, wipes and even a spare set of clothes, all while folding up neatly into one little pouch that is easy to carry and cuts down on the amount of stuff we lug around.

What's not to love?

A Very Vermont Weekend

So this weekend we are headed off to Vermont for some fresh snow, skiing, s'mores by the fireplace and the all important aprés ski - complete with hot toddies. It will be Little Man's first time in the Green Mountains, one of our favorite places on Earth and we will be spending the weekend with the Owens's, some of our favorite people on Earth. We'll be sure to give a proper recap of our wintery weekend when we return!

My Son Officially Hates Me.

 my guys 

So after the last 6 Months of doting, snuggling, cuddling, kissing, playing, feeding, rocking and carting my son around to all of his fun activities and playdates that I arrange for him- this morning he woke up and said one word that broke my heart in two, right on the spot.

"Dada."

I'm crushed.

Don't get me wrong, his Dad is pretty great but I have to admit that I'm a tinge jealous.

I'm also sad /proud/ excited/ amazed by how quickly he is growing up and that he said his first word today. It's incredible to me everyday how much he learns and is becoming more independent right before my eyes.

I love him so much it kills me.

So does however, the fact that he didn't say "Mama" first but I'm sure I'll get over it.
If I never do though, I'll be sure to give him guilt trips about it well into his adult life. :)

I keed, I keed. The wound is still fresh!

Really though, I'll be drilling it into his head, er I mean, we'll be practicing all day saying..... "Mama, Mama, Mama"

Welcome, Aimon!

So my new nephew Aimon was born last night at 9:23pm and was 5lbs even and 17 inches. He is a petite little bean as my sister was only 34 weeks when her water broke yesterday but both Mom and Baby seem to be doing great, so sighs of relief all around.

Welcome little guy!

Baby, Maybe?

So my step-sister is in the middle of labor right now about to give birth. Which means that I am just a few seconds? minutes? hours? from being an aunt again. Before I had my son I would be both equally excited and terrified for my friend's and family before they gave birth, partly because it was such a mystery to me. Post delivery, I'm just excited for her because I know how drastically her life is about to change, in the best way possible. As I wait for the call from my Mom, all of my most positive thoughts are going out to her tonight as she awaits the arrival of her little boy, hopefully safe and sound. 

I'll be sure to share the good news once the little guy makes his debut.

Love

Speaking of Love.

I adsolutely adore everything in the Sarah Jane Studios shop on Etsy.

Her vintage inspired artwork for kids is so sweet it makes my teeth hurt.

Be Mine.

Happy February!

This month is just what I need to perk up from the post holiday haze and frigid January temps that have left me feeling less than inspired. Above and below are a few Valentines I found crusing the internet. Aren't they cute? I love that we have another holiday to look forward to and celebrate with the Little Man. I can remember being in school when I was younger and being so excited for Valentine's Day. It was so exciting to collect all of the sweet homemade paper hearts (or the cute storebought kind) that filled the DIY mailboxes we attached to our desks. What a sweet little way to let someone know you think they're special. No grand romantic gestures, no sweating trying to find a reservation only to eat one of the 5 items available for the evening, just a sweet little note with a loving sentiment- and maybe some chocolate. :) I look forward to when the LM is bigger and we can make some together. He is most definitely my little valentine this year

 (and his Dad ;) ) who's yours?