Marvelous Monday {#6}

Happy MONDAY friends, Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Besides the fact that it flew by, ours was pretty  low-key and relaxing. We did do a couple of little things around the house that made the weekend extra fun, thus making it spectacularly marvelous on this Monday, if I do say so myself! Thanks Katie for hosting another Marvelous in My Monday!

Marvelous is…

I good ole’ cup of coffee…without it, I’d DIE! Not really, but…yeah REALLY it’s a must.

Marvelous is…The entire month of *JUNE* because we have a special holiday along with a certain  someone’s birthday AND a lovely anniversary to celebrate!!! Lots of cake, cards and XOXO’s this month.

Marvelous is…

A handy man! He’s so much like my Dad, always involved is projects around the house. ❤

Marvelous is…

my mini herb garden. Ok, I know it’s not a real garden, but it’s better than nothing. I’ve never had a plant of any sort (crazy! I know), but I’m hoping to have inherited my Dad’s green thumb. *fingers crossed*

I LOVE cooking with fresh herbs but I hate that I when I buy a bushel from the store I only use it sparingly and the rest goes to waste. With fresh herbs on hand I feel that I will 1. only use what I need and 2. be MORE inclined to use fresh herbs on a regular basis. Anyhoo, wish me luck, I might need it…

Marvelous is…this little cutie patootie who always wants to touch the “ball” at Target!

Marvelous is…

a Sunday Funday at Home Depot with my *15 month* old little darling.

Marvelous is…A killer full-body kettlebell workout thanks to Giselle! ❤ I was in NO MOOD to workout, until I came across this workout via Pinterest and decided to give it a go. Though  it kicked my booty, it felt SOOO GOOD! #justdoit

Marvelous is…

getting lots of laughs from “Penelope” played by Kristen Wiig. I know a few real life Penelope’s who are totally hilarious. 😛

Welp, that’s all folks, hope your Monday is a Marvelous one as well!

So tell me…what was MARVELOUS about your weekend?! AND Got any herb plant/gardening tips for me! SEND them to me! 🙂 

❤ Alicia

Marvelous Monday {MiMM #5}

Happy Monday Darlings! Hope you had a GREAT weekend and a FUN Cinco De Mayo, for those who celebrated. 🙂

Today is a MARVELOUS Monday {Thanks to the lovely Katie for hosting!} because…

1. I am DONE with my classes for this semester!! 😀 Hello SUMMER!! AND remember how I was stressing out a several weeks ago about completing & passing my licensure exams?….well I got all of my exam results back and I PASSED ALL THREE OF THEM!! 😀

2. Now that I’m done with classes it feels SO SO GOOD to just RELAX and do whatever I want. 🙂

3. On Saturday I got a little worried over the fact that my little man has been extra picky lately and I can’t get him to eat veggies and any type of meat. He LOVES fruit and cheese but rarely touches meat or veggies. Well I sorta got upset and super worried about it and began to really doubt my mommy-abilities. In fact, I felt like a complete failure as a mommy. 😦 But then I saw this sign somewhere online and realized that there will always be challenges we face as parents and no matter how difficult they are, these “obstacles” do NOT define who we are as parents. Half of the time we over-think and over-worry about the little things (which I know I’m completely guilty of) when we really should just acknowledge the positives and continue to persevere because any challenge can be tackled.

{Isn’t it just lovely!? You can order one here via Etsy!}

4. After a stressful Saturday evening trying to get my {teething} picky eater to eat, we ended up having a marvelous Sunday Funday in D.C. and enjoyed some good eats {YAY!}, which included yummy ICE CREAM!!

{Doesn’t ice cream just make everything better!}

5. This morning we had a marvelous breakfast which included lots of yummy VEGGIES!

{Zucchini squash, baby portabella mushrooms, spinach and a sprinkle of cheese omelete with a side of Sriracha sauce} {p.s. have you tried Sriracha? OMG!!! I ❤ it! & prefer calling it “srirachi* instead-don’t ask why 😛 I’m a goof}

{A peak inside…..sooooo good!!}

And after much praise and admiration…somebunny ate all of his eggs AND oats…and afterwards  he DIDN’T even want many blueberries which is usually ALL he ever wants. 😀

{this was him saying “Mmmm”}

{Mommy did a HAPPY DANCE over this almost empty oats bowl! YAY A!}

6. Lastly…a little marvelous movtivation for the week..

Hope you have a MARVELOUS day!!

❤ Alicia

NYC trip + MiMM #4

Lately I’ve realized how precious life is. Obviously with the two tragedies from last week and other personal instances that have occured recently, I can’t help but feel grounded in the notion that in life every second counts and nothing should be taken for granted.

So after this past week, I’ve realized that I need to embrace, acknowledge and enjoy every moment including all the chaos and the imperfections of life. ❤

(source)

Last weekend we went to NYC! While I was totally stressing out about traveling with a toddler, I have to say it was 100% BETTER than I anticpated, in fact it was pretty stinkin’ AWESOME. A did absolutely wonderful and was a complete traveling champ. 🙂 It made us realize we need to get out MORE!

{Elmo kept him happy during the early mornings in our hotel room}

One of my favorite parts of our trip was the bus tours we took, lots to see in a short amount of time! l would definitely recommend them to everyone, especially those with little ones!

All A wanted to do was walk around like a big boy and say hi to everyone. He definitely got tons of attention from others visitors as well, but can you blame them?…who wouldn’t smile at this sweet little face!?!

Despite all my worries about the trip, we had tons of fun with our little man and some great friends. ❤ Lots of exploring, sight-seeing, getting lost, and tons & tons of walking with a baby in the Boba carrier (mommy definitely got a full body workout!) but it was SO SO worth it!

Along with last weekend being wonderful, this weekend ended nicely as well, making today extra marvelous!

Marvelous in My Monday, thanks to the lovely Katie! ❤

Yesterday, I entered to win a free photo session with the girl who took our 2012 family Christmas photos &

I *WON*

All credit due to family & friends who voted for me via FB! ❤

So sometime soon I’ll hopefully getting some photos of my little man! ❤ Especially now that he’s rocking his boy haircut! 😉

To top things off last night, I ended it with a much-needed, mind-clearing, sweat-drenching interval run on the treadmill. I hadn’t ran but maybe ONCE all week and felt frustrated that I wasn’t keeping up with my workout schedule. I tend to stress over the smallest things, including the pressure of working out regularly, especially since I read tons of blogs where mommy’s are getting their sweat on a daily basis, typically in the early mornings. I sometimes feel like I’m not as commited to fitness as I should or would like to be when I compare myself to others, but after yesterdays run, which I completed promptly at 10 pm on the dot, I thought to myself “WHO CARES!?”

I realized I’ve got to do what works best for ME and if that means working out at night, so be it. I also realized that the comparision trap in ugly and I’ve got to stopping subjecting myself to it.

& of course after that intense, yet joyful run…I was in a complete state of peace-my mind, body and soul were in complete and pure state of bliss.

(source)

After yesterday’s cleansing run, I’m so ready for this week!

Happy {Marvelous} Monday friends & also

Happy EARTH DAY!

❤ Alicia

Marvelous Monday {#3} & bunny lovin’

Happy {Marvelous} Monday Friends (Thanks Katie for hosting)!! ❤

We had a fabulous weekend especially since my little man finally started to feel much better! 🙂 A happy, healthy baby makes for a happy & blessed mommy! ❤

We hung out with our sweet friends all weekend and even strolled the mall some to let the babies practice walking. By the end of the day A was a mall walking pro & shopping expert. 😉

We had initially planned on just taking them to the kid’s play area, but quickly realized that our brave little 1 year olds wouldn’t stand a chance there since it was full of walkers, runners, and super hyperactive kiddos of ALL ages. So instead, we just let the two babes walk around the not-so-crowded area of the mall.

A LOVED it! He walked all over the place…he even walked himself into ONE store in particular….BUILD-A-BEAR! 🙂 It was too funny, of all the stores to choose from..(thanks GG for introducing him to the world of Build-A-Bear workshop!) He merrily walked around the store looking around and observing everything and then immediately went straight for a shelf of mini stuffed animals, grabbed a tye-dye bunny and walked off.

After walking around some more with his little bunny in hand, he headed straight for the EXIT…..(the entire time he was walking, the hubby and I were 3 feet or so away from him at all times) so we stopped him and proceeded to put the bunny back on the shelf before we left. As we attempted to grab the bunny from him….he SCREAMED! After a few seconds of embarressment, we tried it again. AGAIN he SCREAMED! After exchanging several confused looks at one another, the hubby and I laughed and tried it one more time. Sure enough, he screamed and began to whine some and then proceeded to walk around again like a big boy or better yet, a little man on a mission!

While all of this was going on the workers at Build-A-Bear laughed and said he was so cute. Finally, after several minutes of trying to redirect A, the hubby just figured it would be easier to just purchase the bunny so we could leave.

And just like we realized: A had us wrapped around his little finger.

Before leaving, we asked A to choose the bunny he wanted and after showing him a brown one (instead of the tye-dye one) he immediately grabbed it and joyfully walked out of the store like a champ, leaving daddy in charge of paying for it. 😉 Thanks dad!

Apparently, throwing a tantrum works…just ask our little Mr.

Score: Aiden 1 Mommy & Daddy 0

Afterwards the hubby and I spoke about it and agreed we couldn’t let him do this on a regular basis, obviously. Though it was CUTE this time around, we know we need to be more stern in the future. We both also just laughed about it because it was TOTALLY UNEXPECTED! How on earth did he KNOW to do that? It just further verifies the fact that KIDS ARE JUST SOOOOO SMART.

Honestly, I’m just happy to see that he’s feeling so much better. Fit or no fit, it was great to see him walking around exploring his surroundings. 🙂

Oh & I just had to share this one too..

{“it SO FLUFFY!!!” Despicable Me}

Besides this weekend being completely wonderful, this week is absolutely MARVELOUS because it is *SPRING BREAK*!!! 😀 Timing wise, it couldn’t be any better!! 🙂

This week I’m planning on:

Doing lots of Spring cleaning

Meal planning/menu planning

Working on A’s photo books/scrapbook

Reading for fun

Relaxing

oh & studying for my last teacher exam

🙂 Talk about a fun-filled week!! Hope you guys have a great one as well!

❤

Alicia

A double munchkin meal win kind of Monday

Happy Monday ya’ll! I swear the weekend comes and goes SO quickly and Monday creeps up on us all the time.

Although, the semester “technically” started on Saturday, I finally opened up my textbook and read through each of my syllabi today….and you know what…I’m pretty EXCITED!! While I must say I greatly enjoyed the winter break, I immediately started to feel bored…I kept thinking to myself “what should I do now?!” lol I guess I’m just a busy body, or better put…. a *busy-brain,* always needing something on my mind to keep me challenged and focused.

While the challenge this semester is definitely going to be juggling classes and keeping after little Mr., I’m still planning on being more accountable fitness wise as well. I need to get into a workout routine and stick to it. I’m trying, really trying to workout early in the morning as a jump-start to my day…but everytime my alarm goes off it is just SO much easier to hit the lovely snooze button over and over again..lol But, I know that by getting into a regular routine of working out in the morning will help allievate the anxiety I get towards the end of the day when I’m trying to cook dinner,  chase a cute little 10 month old, and converse with the hubby. I hate looking at the clock and seeing it’s dinner time and I haven’t even workout yet…that totally kills my motivation and makes me a total grump.

So….any tips for getting into a daily EARLY morning workout regime??

Now to the good stuff…my Monday was pretty stinking Marvelous because…

1. I actually read my first chapter for this week’s assignment earlier rather than later…(waiting til the last minute totally stinks…and I’ve promised myself to be more accountable this semester and read ahead/as early as possible!)

2. I got to *sleep in* this morning, thanks to my super sweet hubby! ❤ YAY for 9 am wake ups during the week!

3. I experimented with two of A’s meals today and they were both a hit! I made him blueberry oatmeal pancakes for breakfast & a mango-banana yogurt & oats smoothie for dinner. 😀 It was my first time making him a smoothie and he wouldn’t put the cup down! *insert proud mommy happy dance here*

 

(REAL MEN use their g/f’s pink cup! 🙂 lol)

4. I saw this awesome quote while browsing pinterest and HAD to share it!

5. And last but not least….today is my brother’s *19th* birthday!! Happy Birthday Vince! ❤

 

 

Hope you all have a *Marvelous Monday*!

❤ Alicia

MiMM #2

Marvelous in my Monday {Brought to us by the super sweet and lovely Katie!} for me has to be the fact that…

While I’ve felt absolutely AWFUL with a severe headache and other nasty symptoms since yesterday, it’s truly amazing how wonderful it is to have a guy take care of me and my sweet little baby.

 

Seeing him bathe, feed, change A non-stop since yesterday is seriously the most endearing thing EVER.

Even though we may  sometimes drive each other crazy, its moments like these that I look at him and FALL IN LOVE all over again and think to myself, “that’s why I married that man!”

 

(source)

Another side note that has made my day week…I found out my classes don’t start until the 12th when I originally thought they started today. *{sick & sappy} happy dance*

Hate to cut it short but I have a cute little munckin that I have to keep my eye on while daddy is at work for it a bit!  Hope you have a more marvelous monday than I my friends! ❤ Alicia

Marvelous Monday

Today is not only a *Marvelous Monday* because we had an awesome weekend, but most importantly because it is CHRISTmas Eve! ❤ So I decided to participate in my sweet friend Katie’s MIMM, {for the first time!!}

On Friday we hosted GAME NIGHT at our house and it was SUPER FUN! The babies got to play while us adults shared some great laughs while playing Pictionary. We also munched on some PIZZA….and someone else joined in on the fun as well…

He totally LOVED it and kept grunting at us to give him more! 🙂

Since we stayed up til 3:30 AM (WHAT!?!…I know!!) We ended up having a LAZY Saturday and took a marvelous 2 hour nap!

We also received our lovely Christmas photos on Saturday and I LOVE THEM ALL! I’m finding it very hard to choice which one(s) to use for our holiday card this year..(YES! I’m behind sending out my cards this year but I couldn’t help it. Better late then never?! ;-))

This weekend I also got in a nice 3 mile run!! A FULL NONSTOP 3 miler!! 😀 I was very proud of myself because I haven’t ran that far in a while, since way before baby. I’m thinking about adding this to my New Year’s resolution so that I can start running again on a more regular basis. (I would love to run a 5 & 10K this upcoming year!)

Sunday I baked more cowboy cookies! Including a new-to-me recipe of Mexican Wedding Cookies that are full of powdery goodness 😉 

This weekend I also finished another DIY wreath! 😀 I had initially make this one…

I wanted to add a personal touch to one so I decided to make this one:

Though it may not be perfect, and I haven’t finished decorating it, I really like it and think it came our pretty darn cute if I say so myself!

Today we are going to just enjoy this MARVELOUS day with our sweet friends and this adorable little Santa baby…

Hope your Christmas Eve is MARVELOUS friends!! ❤ Alicia