"Stop & Smell the Roses" link up with Mandy :)

The lovely Mandy, from House of Rose, has put together an awesome link up called "Stop & Smell the Roses", which is a vlog (video blog) of what we are thankful for, or better yet, what we have taken time to "stop & smell the roses" for this week.

I must say that I was very intimidated at first to do this, but after seeing Mandy's and Kodi's vlogs, I was definitely put at ease.

So this is my vlog- I apologize that it is a bit of a ramble-fest on my part, but hopefully it brings a bit more insight to my readers :)



Thanks again Mandy for a great link up! XOXO

Check out Love to the Moon's Sponsors for iPods from Cohen!!

Hi loves!!

 One of the fabulous sponsors for "iPods from Cohen" is a friend of mine from college who is hosting an Avon party for my readers!! Her name is Kristen, and you can check out all of her cool stuff by clicking here.

Go Shop around and pick out the things that you love and must have!! Just be sure to enter the eParty code: LOVE2THEMOON with your order!

 

Another one of our new sponsors is Jodi, who sells Scentsy products, so please visit her site! She is a doll and will appreciate all of your assistance getting her small business up and running!!

 

 

 

 

And lastly, another new sponsor is a friend who I went to grammar school with who owns her own dance studio in New Jersey, Kim!!

 

Thank you all for supporting such a wonderful cause!!

 

For the sponsors mentioned in the previous post, all buttons are working now and my sincere apologies for the delay!

 

Thank you all!

Giving up, giving into and giving thanks...

Hi everyone!!! My sincerest apologies for being quite MIA, I will admit that I wasn't sure how to follow my last post because I opened a can of worms I wasn't anticipating. Anywho- back on track now and despite a case of the sickies returning, I will be a better blogger- promise!!! The other day I may or may not have had a quasi emotional meltdown and the husband thankfully came to my aid and reassured me that all will be fine- I worry so much, enough for this whole family, which I really need to cut back on because it truly is impacting my health- more migraines, feeling runned down, yeah I get it. So husband suggested that in addition to "giving something up for lent, I try giving in to something else". I think this is a novel idea really!! I am giving up candy because I have a major sweet tooth and that will be challenging so I think that is a good thing for me to give up, but I am also heeding husband's advice and giving in to bettering me by trying not to be so hard in myself- worrying a little less each day, and being grateful for each moment and opportunity I am given. I have always worried about what people think of me, how I act/react to things, is someone mad at ma... Haven't heard from so & so in days/weeks/etc...what did I do to upset them. And the truth is- I worry...like a lot! I need to kick this habit so I can be a better and less stressed wife to my husband and mother to my girls. I want to be able to give thanks for each day I have with my family and be grateful for each moment, good or bad, because the good moments are great and the bad ones will teach me important life lessons. And on that note....I currently have a beautiful 18 month old that just woke up from her nap- I still cannot believe she is 18 whole months old today!!!! Wow!! And today is also my "blogiversary" if you will...one whole year of being back on track and blogging about the randomness of this crazy life, one that I wouldn't trade for the world!! Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday...and best wishes for all those who celebrate lent...good luck on the journey!

Mom-epiphany

I know I have a bit of catching up to do here on this little ole blog! I hope everyone can forgive me as I've been working on our current fundraiser, iPods from Cohen, and nursing a wicked migraine which is thankfully and hopefully almost gone, all while having two adorable little toddler girls love all over me and fight for my attention. I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! I enjoyed the day with my girls since the husband had to work late, but I am hoping for a family dinner this weekend to enjoy some family time together and because the husband wants to take all of his velentines out, how sweet of him right? Last night, while laying in bed, hoping and praying to fight the exhaustion and be able to stay awake to see my husband, I came to a "mom-epiphany" if you will. I have been on Facebook since its debut back in 2005 and I only joined twitter once I started blogging again because let's be real...we blog to tweet and tweet to blog..no? But honestly, I am beyond thrilled and blessed by the friendships I have developed through twitter and I couldn't be more grateful to such a wonderful method of social media in aiding me when I need it the most. My "mom-epiphany" came when I realized just how much I despise Facebook more and more and how much I love twitter more and more. I realized that I am much more selective with whom I follow on twitter than who I am friends with on Facebook because I have always feared hurting people and therefore making me a people pleaser to the umpteenth degree. But then I thought about my job...being a SAHM, and I found much more support and comfort in my twitter friends. I was actually extremely hurt on Facebook a week or two ago when I read by quite a few people how "SAHMs" are "lazy", "ONLY have to stay at home and take care of their kids", "maybe cook once in awhile". Yes those were exact words I read amongst posts and status updates on Facebook and I must say, I've done the working mom thing, the work from home mom thing, and now the stay at home mom thing, and as much as there are many things to juggle with each, being a SAHM has been my most difficult challenge yet. I won't go into the details as to why I feel this way because I do not want to offend anyone, and please know that this is simply my take on this, I respect everyone's opinion on the matter, however I do wish people would respect mine as well. I feel that this topic has created so many discussions and debates but it's one that is near and dear to my heart because having done both types, if you will, of mothering, I feel I can make an honest point of view as to which I feel is harder for me. I know I can be sensitive to things I read/hear, but it is hard not to take something personally when it puts down another mom in some way. I don't know what this world has come to but I feel like its a "mom-war", who has dealt with more issues with their baby vs another, who breasted their baby longer or at all vs who didn't, who co-slept vs who didn't, all I know is that enough is enough. I wrote about this also in my "no judgies" post, but I feel the need to say that my official "mom-epiphany" is that no matter what methods you have chosen to raise your children, no matter whether you work out of the home or in the home, whether it is paid or unpaid, being a mother is probably the most challenging job any of us will face in our lifetime. It means being "ON" 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. It means making some of the most difficult decisions we have/will ever have to make in our lifetime to benefit our children. But at the end of each day as long as we have provided for our children, made them smile, hug and kissed them as much as we can, and met their basic needs to the best of our abilities, then guess what- we are all successful!! And there is no price tag or salary that can be placed on the gift we have to be the mother to someone or multiple someones. Again, I pray that I have not offended anyone, but I ask that people think before speaking/typing because what you may say or write may actually hurt someone, directly or indirectly. I wrote this post 5 times in hopes that I didn't offend or hurt anyone myself, and after asking my husband to read this, he agreed that maybe I could help unify more moms by writing it versus bottling it up, so that is my hope. Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave any comments, I will do my best to reply via email ASAP. Thank you again!!

Big Thank You to our advertisers!!!

I just wanted to take a minute & thank the sponsors I have received so far for our IPods from Cohen fundrasier! You will see their logos on the right sidebar here on Love to the Moon & Back again, and they are buttons that you can click and they will take you directly to their sites :)

Thanks to Pam for advertising her "thirty-one" business button with us!!

Thanks to Tiffany for advertising her blog designs with us!

Thanks to Lena for advertising her Stella & Dot business with us!

Thanks to Ashley, for advertising her Scentsy business with us!!

There will be other advertisers I will be adding very soon. Some will be for similar/duplicate companies (i.e. thirty-one, scentsy, stella & dot), but all have donated to this great cause and I don't want anyone left out!! If we notice that I get multiple for one particular business, we might split them between Patty & myself so that you get a fair advertising scenario.

Thanks to all who have made this possible!! And for those who I have up and running your invoices will be posted tomorrow :)

Weekend Recap & ad space....

Hope everyone had a great weekend!! I, myself, had a rather relaxing one, which was much needed!! The hubby & I celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday since I am fairly certain he will not be getting out early on Tuesday, and after dinner we saw "The Vow"...I know there are mixed reviews out there, but I found it to be a phenomenal movie! I mean, who could possibly resist Channing Tatum without his shirt on....not this girl!

Sunday was a bit rough, I was in bed most of the day with a terrible migraine, which I am so over at this stand point, but I am hoping to hear back from the neurologist as to a new medication we can try to resolve/prevent them a little bit better. Sunday night, Andrew & I gave the girls their Valentine's Day gifts so that Daddy could watch his little valentines open them. The girls were excited and it was nice to do that as a family.

I wanted so badly to update all the moms who were giving me great potty training advice on a previous post, but I didn't want to jinx myself (superstitious much?). Julianna did three days straight of going on the potty until Sunday morning when she had her first accident. She knew exactly what had happened, apologized and ran over and sat on her potty seat. My heart broke for her because she felt like she had failed, but I reassured her that accidents happen and we are still so proud of her for doing such a great job! We used the no pull-up, no underwear, just a bare bottom method, and now I am trying to figure out how to put her in regular underwear without her thinking it is ok to go to the bathroom in them...dilemma I tell ya. So feel free to help a mama out with suggestions on that!

I can't thank everyone enough for the overwhelming response we received so far on the advertising spaces to raise money for "iPods from Cohen". Patty has already put up the buttons she has received, while I have an email to go out today to try and get everyone's buttons/badges, and then send invoices. Regardless though, we are thrilled that we can help Megan & her family with this great cause! If you haven't already noticed, I did go ahead and added a page here on the blog with the information about this fundraiser so that if you post with either mine or Patty's blog links, the information is readily accessible.

I hope everyone is looking forward to a great Valentine's Day! All of you are in part my Valentines this year because we love you to the moon & back!

Come join a great cause!!!

I can't even begin to tell you all how excited I am to be partnering up with my bloggy bestie, the lovely Patty from the Pittman Show, as we are fundraising for a fabulous cause known as "iPods from Cohen".

One of the most incredible bloggers I have ever read, Megan, has been through a mother's worst nightmare. Unfortunately, her first child was born with a congenital heart defect and survived only 11 days before receiving his angel wings. Patty & I adore Megan, her family and her blog, so we asked Megan if it would be ok for us to host an advertising fundraiser to help benefit their cause. Well, Megan was so happy when I contacted her and now we all get to work together to help such a wonderful cause!

You can click this button to read more on Megan's journey and her details about the donation of iPods to their Children's hospital, or you may click the links above.

Here is how you can help!

Patty and I will be offering ad space on each of our blogs for $7 for one month, all proceeds will be sent to Megan, so that she may use the money to purchase as many iPods as she can. We will be starting the advertising effective as soon as we receive a button/badge for your blog/business via email, and it will be a rolling month from when your button is first published. Patty & I will also make use of your advertising by using twitter/facebook fan pages to promote your business/blog and your support in helping this wonderful fundraiser. 

If there are other fellow bloggers who are interested in joining this effort, please contact Patty or myself.

If you are interested in helping support a wonderful cause, please contact me at: lv2themn {at}gmail {dot}com or Patty via her blog : http://www.thepittmanshow.blogspot.com/

Thank you all in advance!!

Our Wedding...

After yesterday's link up with the fabulous, Becky, I got the sweetest comments and then a few emails asking me for the details of my wedded bliss (because I'm a dummy and forgot to actually answer the great questions Becky proposed for all of us)...

So for your viewing pleasure... Our Wedding...in photos!!

This collage is the prep work of the morning of our wedding...I had 3 hair stylists and two make-up artists at my mother's house to get the girls glammed up while the guys went to an old fashioned barber for shaves & haircuts.



This is my immediate family (my sister, my mom & my brother) and then my amazing bridal party at my mom's house the morning of the wedding.

Hubby & his family (now mine too!!) and his groomsmen :)

A glimpse of our ceremony and pictures surrounding the ceremony...

And our beginning of Happily Ever After!!

We began dating January 28, 2002...

We got engaged September 30, 2006...

And we were married October 26, 2007...

I love this man to the moon & back!!!

Linking up with Becky with my Love Story...

Thank you so much Becky for this fabulous link up!! I love reading others' stories of how they became a couple, and I'm hoping some will get a chuckle from reading mine!
Luckily for me, I had this post kind of already written, just needed a few tweeks because a week ago, husband & I celebrated 10 whole years  of being together, so here is our love story...

January 28, 2002...a cold, wintery night that my best guy friend and I decided to attend the Villanova vs St. Joe's basketball game at the Pavillion. My best gal pal, Lorin had been telling me for weeks that said guy friend was interested in me even though I wasn't really picking up the clues, but I confided in Lorin that I in fact, really liked this guy. We hang out, watch the game, cheer our team on, as we had done at every home game this season, he walks me back to my dorm and says goodnight.

I knew there was something there, but it wasn't like he leaned in for a kiss or asked me on a date, so I went with it and just walked inside. Prior to me living in this dorm- I lived right below this guy friend, and every night for MONTHS, he would dribble his godforsaken basketball on the floor while I studied my tush off as a nursing major. And everynight , I would walk up those steps, knock on his door and politely ask him to stop. I had no idea at the time that he had been doing this to get me to come up & see him because he was so shy, but I was pretty freaking annoyed.

Back to that January night- I hopped on AIM (yes this is before facebook,twitter and the like), and saw that he was "online", so I said "Can I call you- I want to ask you something", he replied "yeah sure". Well I mustered up every ounce of courage I had in my , back then- skinny self, and asked him out. He was taken aback and said "yes", and well the rest is truly history.

 

Here are my top ten memories of Andrew and I over the past ten years...

So grab your kleenex (just kidding), and laugh along at our top ten memories as a couple!

1. Villanova beating the living daylights out of St. Joe's the night we started dating (1/28/02)
2. January 30, 2002- Our first kiss
3. May 22, 2005- Graduating from Villanova together with our families there to celebrate
4. September 30, 2006- You proposed- on the beach that I grew up on, and of course I said "YES"

   


                                                                                                                                                                  
5. October 26, 2007- we became husband & wife and partied all night with our amazing family and friends!!

    

6. April 28, 2008- we bought our first house together!!

7.July 3rd, 2008- we found out we were pregnant with our first child

8. January 21, 2009- we welcomed our first baby- Julianna Lynn into our lives with open arms and   open hearts!

9. January 6th, 2010- we found out we were pregnant AGAIN!

10. August 22, 2010- We welcomed our second baby- Kelsey Rose into our family with so much love!

Of course there are so many other memories we have together and so many more I could list (I should have done a top 100, but that would really bore my readers!)

I don't know what I would do without my amazing husband in my life- he has been my best friend, my soul mate and my confidant for ten years now and I am truly blessed.

 

Love to the moon & back!

Superbowl Sunday & a BIG Thank You!!

It is certainly no ordinary Sunday for me, because my football team, the NY Giants is playing in the Superbowl today!! Given the fact that I came home from the hospital after being born in a NY Giants onesie, I can say with pride that I have been a Giants fan since birth!! I can't even begin to explain the excitement I had two weeks ago while celebrating Julianna's 3rd birthday, the Giants won the NFC Championship against the San Francisco 49ers. Needless to say, we are celebrating the Superbowl today because we are elated at our team's victories amongst very challenging circumstances. 

I had made cake pops and got some ingredients to make some appetizers to bring to the party we were going to. We were up at 5am thankyouverymuch Kelsey. This may very well be the longest day for me because I have glued myself to the television and do not plan on moving because I need to cheer my guys on every step of the way!!

Kelsey and Julianna are both sporting the great #10- Eli Manning today!! Poor Kelsey has had wicked diaper rash with her teething which has lead to her not sleeping all that great- so this picture isn't too bad for 8am! hehe!

Here is me and my Kelsey after her nap- at least she is smiling :) Julianna did not want to pose for a picture, but that's ok. I am sporting my Victor Cruz jersey and I am hoping to salsa with him many times today, as that is his touchdown dance!

But more importantly than the Superbowl today- I wanted to take a moment and thank each & everyone of you because on Monday, January 30th- Love to the Moon & Back officially became the home of 100 followers!

I cannot even begin to express my sincere appreciation for every reader/follower and I am overwhelmed with teary eyes just thinking about how one year ago (well on 2/22) I had just come back to blogging since a long hiatus in 2008 and how much I am indebted to the wonderful friends that I have made through this experience for your unconditional love and support. 

Love you all to the moon & back!

 

GO GIANTS!!!

I've been tagged!!! Now who is next!!

OK fellow bloggers- I'm sure you have seen this fun little game going around town, so here is my response and my questions for the 5 lovely ladies I tagged below :) Enjoy!

 

 

 

I've actually been tagged by multiple ladies, but most recently by Pam so I will roll with her questions since that is my latest tag!

 

 

 

The Rules
1. You must post the rules (and link up who tagged you)
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4. Tag however many people you want
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

11 Fun Facts About Me

1. I am 28 1/2 (yes 18 months away from the big 3-0)
2. I married my College Sweetheart and last weekend we celebrated ten years of being together!!
3. I have two amazing daughters- Julianna Lynn (3) & Kelsey Rose (17 mos)
4. I went to Villanova University and graduated with a Bachelors in Nursing (that is also where I became friends with Pam's SIL, AP )
5. I am beyond  excited that my NY Giants have made it to the SuperBowl!! I can't even contain my excitement!
6. I have one brother, one sister (both younger), two wonderful BIL's and two SIL's that are more like sisters to me at heart!!
7. I thrive on being organized but with two toddlers, it has become a bit challenging...not going to lie about it!
8. My favorite food ever is my grandmother's lasagna- its just to die for!
9. I may be a RN turned SAHM, but I still google the silliest things when I can remember them from nursing school!
10. I really, like really want to run a 5k this spring, I just need my knees to cooperate because I have an auto-immune disorder and they swell like mad!
11. I am over the moon excited that so many of my friends are having babies!! It makes me so happy to know that my girls will have cousins/friends to grow up with :)

Here are my 11 questions from Pam :)

1. What is your favorite season? Spring- I like it warm but not hot!
2. What is your favorite place to vacation? Disney, especially now that I have kids!
3. What is your favorite meal to cook? my homemade mac & cheese- super simple and the best comfort food!
4. What are you most afraid of? Dying- I know it is inevitable, but I am afraid that I will leave my husband and kids behind and I don't want to ever know they had to suffer through that pain
5. What is your favorite sport? My favorite sport right now- football- GO GIANTS, but I love baseball & basketball too!
6. Who do you consider to be your 'best friend?' My mom & my husband are my two best friends- no doubt about it!
7. Where did you grow up? I grew up in NJ and still reside there!
8. What college did you attend? I went to Villanova University, Villanova PA (studied nursing)
9. Do you have any pets? yes, Pam & I both have doggies with the same name!!
10. What does your typical Sunday morning look like? Attempting to sleep in while husband gets up with the girls before having family time :)
11. Which would you choose: Chipotle or Qdoba?! (Sorry, I've got burrito on the brain :o)) Chipotle definitely!! and they just put one in like 8 minutes from my house- SCORE!!

Now how on earth am I supposed to come up with 11 questions...

1. What is the #1 thing you want to cross off your bucket list?
2. How long have you been blogging/when is your blogiversary?
3. What is your favorite quote?
4. What is your favorite pasttime?
5. How many children do you have/hope to have, if any?
6. Where would your dream vacation be?
7. If you hit the lottery, what is the first thing you would do with your winnings (PS- remember lil ole me if you do ok!!)
8. What was your favorite TV show as a child?
9. What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
10. Do you have any tattoos/piercings- if so how many & where?
11. Who is your favorite sports team (if you have one)?

Ok- wowzers!! I was actually able to do it! yeah!!

Now here are my 5 ladies I've tagged:

1. Patty
2. Annie
3. Shannon
4. Jennifer
5. Quinn

Groundhog's Day...

Can I tell you that ever since becoming a SAHM, I can officially relate to the movie Groundhog's Day ! I never lived the same day over and over until I became a SAHM. The routine that gets put into place to maintain some type of order in an otherwise chaotic household, leads me feeling as if we are in a constant state of repetition.

Like I have always said, I love this job and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the entire world, but you know your days are a bit redundant, maybe even mundane when you thrive on a random thursday trip to Target or the grocery store because, well- you need to get out!!

I often wonder if I see my shadow if that will mean that I will stop being such a creature of habit...ha! But I am sure most SAHM 's can relate...wake up- get self somewhat together (i.e. brush teeth, put on black yoga pants, pull hair back into some arrangement), get child(ren), change diapers, clothe said child(ren), feed the little animals, attempt to feed self but really one pot of coffee will suffice, play with them, maybe let them watch an educational program or two while you catch up on social networking , clean/do laundry, make more meals, put them down for a nap, maybe shower/actually nap while they nap, make more meals, clean up, bath time, read books, and put to sleep. Pretty standard for this house...how about your's? 

And I think it is safe to say that my husband is also a member of Groundhog's Day because he has his routine down to the minute and nothing varies unless the time he gets home at night is so effing late different which may cause him to oversleep a bit. He even eats relatively the same types of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner (mainly because of what is easily portable to work or what is preference is when he gets home).

Do Groundhog's have the same day everyday? Was that a cliche in the movie that I didn't necessarily pick up on the very first time I saw it?

So what is your Groundhog's Day like?

So What Wednesday!!

So awhile back I linked up with the wonderful Shannon, from Life After I Dew for her "So what Wednesday" feature and this week I am happy to say that I finally got my shit together to do it again :) YEAH!



So what is everyone else saying "so what" to this week?

I'm saying....

So what if the girls' morning routine consists of eating their breakfast at the coffee table while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...it means mama gets to eat and catch up on good blogs :)

So what if I still celebrate my dating anniversary...I am proud of it and this past saturday was 10 whole years! Kudos to husband for putting up with me! lol

So what if I haven't cleaned out my car in over a month....its desperate for a good cleaning, but the girls are just going to mess it back up...catch 22?

So what if some of my twitter friends have become some of my closest friends...I like to think of us as modern day pen pals :)

So what if last week I sucked at blogging...I am sorry but mama had a vicious migraine and needed the rest big time!

And so what if I feel like when I go to my MIL's its like vacation for me- everyone swoons over the girls and mama gets a break! So I am really looking forward to going there this weekend!!

Thanks Shannon for doing this awesome link up!! I need to prioritize it more often! :)