My first official giveaway is closed! I will be posting the winner tomorrow. A *huge* thanks to all who entered!

Three Hours Left!

I will give you all until 11:00 pm EST to enter my giveaway...get your comments in!

14 Months Go by in a Flash

My little girl is 14 months old today, so I thought it was a good time to do an update post on her!

- She is growing like a weed. She hasn't been to the doctor since her 12 month visit, so I'm not sure how big she is but it's definitely over 20 lbs.

- She has officially become a toddler....walking, running, and getting into EVERYTHING!

- She sleeps from 7:00 pm until between 7:30 and 8:30 am {yay!} but only takes a one hour nap once a day from 2:00 pm till 3:00 pm

- When she climbs the stairs she puts her feet down, not her knees anymore. And if you hold her hand she walks up them just like a big girl!

- She babbles all day long! We can't figure out most of what she says but her official list of words is as follows:

Dada

Mama

Yay

Yea

Hello {or something like that}

Taaan {her version of thanks}

What's this?

Who's this?

Who is it?{she only said it once, but it counts!}

Uh oh

-She says 'Mmmmm' when she wants you to give her a kiss {best thing ever!}

- She gives hugs and pats your back while she is hugging

- She has 6 teeth

- She eats a pretty decent variety of real food, but refuses to eat any kind of meat

- She finally started drinking a little bit of juice, only if it's mixed with mostly water

- She always pretends she's on the phone when I am..or even if my phone rings!

- Her favorite thing to do is make huge splashes in the bathtub

- Elmo is still her favorite character in the whole world

- She obeys lots of simple commands

- Whenever I ask her "Where's Daddy?" she runs and looks out the window

- She gets frustrated when she can't tell us what she wants, so she just screams {not fun, let me tell you}

- She can climb on and off the couch all by herself

- She gets the biggest smile and squeals whenever Skip comes home

I just can't believe how big she has gotten! My little baby is definitely growing up!

My Very First Giveaway!

I am very excited to announce my very first giveaway! Without further ado, I am giving away not one, but FOUR items! Four different people will win one of these beautiful little signs.

I am obsessed with these. I have a few around my house. They are a simple way to dress up any spot in your house. I have one on top of my oven even! Anyways, I purchased each of these and hand-painted them myself! {because I love you all so dearly!}

See, proof I painted them!

Here are the ways you can win one of these beauties {Shipping is included, so unfortunately I can only open this up to U.S. blogger}

1. {mandatory} Leave me a comment saying which sign you want to win

2. Follow my blog publicly

3. Follow me on Twitter....mommusings

4. Tweet about the giveaway {just once and make sure to include @mommusings

5. Blog about the giveaway

Each one is worth one entry. Make sure to leave a different comment for each one! The giveaway will stay open until Sunday night. Good luck everyone!

Happy Anniversary to Me!!

Today is another milestone in my life as a blogger...my one year blogging anniversary! I began this blog one year ago today at the urging of my big sister L. She had been telling me for years to start a blog about football {my obsession} I never thought I would have the time or that people would care what I had to say.

I obviously did not make this blog all about football, but instead decided to dedicate it to the 10 week old baby girl I was at home with, struggling to be a good mom to. As the first in my family and of my friends to have a child I felt like I had no where to turn for good advice. Until I 'met' all of you! I love all the advice and support I have gotten over the year...it really made me feel like I wasn't alone!

Another reason I love my blog is I love have a record of Little M's life. I'm not very good at recording these things in her baby book or a scrap book, but I have it all on here...the good and bad. I think it will be a great record for me to look back on one day when she is all grown up!

A huge thank you to all of my followers and readers. It still blows my mind away that this many of you want to read what I have to say! I've enjoyed reading all of your stories, and hope you've enjoyed reading mine!

In honor of my First Blogiversary, I am doing my first ever giveaway!!! {it's not on here because I still need to take pictures of what I'm giving away...oooops!} So check back here later today!!!

Don't Be Shy...Say Hello!

I've seen this on a bunch of blogs recently, and even though I don't think it's the 'official' delurking week, I'm making it mine! I'd love to get to know all of my readers better so leave a comment to say hi, ask me a question, or tell me who you think is going to win the Superbowl! {It's the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New Orleans Saints in case you didn't know} Hope to hear from all of you soon!

Menu Monday {on Saturday}

After I got married I developed a love of cooking. I don't really get to do it that much because one, I am like the *pickiest* eater in the world and I have trouble finding recipes I'll actually eat, and two, Skip's schedule is such that he is only home for dinner every other week. It's nice that I don't always have to cook a big dinner, but I also get lazy and don't want to make a whole dinner for myself. But this year I would like to start cooking more regularly and expand my recipes. It also helps that Little M is eating regular food so I want to be cooking good meals for her! I'm going to start out slow and just make planned menus for the weeks that Skip will be home with us for dinner, and just wing it while he's working. Just taking it one step at a time. So here's my menu for the week!

Sunday: Ordering pizza while watching playoffs!

Monday: Homemade chicken fajitas with rice

Tuesday: Tomato-Sausage Lasagna

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Sausage and Cheddar Cheese Strata

Friday: Penne with Vodka Sauce {jarred sauce...don't judge!}

Saturday: Perdue Sesame Chicken with homemade lo mein noodles

Sunday: Tomato, Basil, and Cheese Baked Pasta

Chicken Fajitas {the actual recipe calls for steak..but I don't eat red meat so I'm going to try substituting chicken}

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 dried oregano

1 pound of chicken {cut into strips}

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium onions thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves thinly sliced

3 large red peppers cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 large green pepper cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 teaspoons finely chopped pickled jalapeno chile

12 flour tortillas

1. In cup, combine lime and orange juices, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and oregano. Transfer to a ziplock plastic bag; add chicken, turning to coat. Seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate chicken 1 hour to marinate, turning bag once.

2. In a 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook chicken until no longer pink inside. Add onions and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add red, and green peppers, jalapeno, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring until peppers are tender, about 7 minutes.

3. Serve together in tortillas.

{found in Good Housekeeping Great American Classics Cookbook}

Tomato Sausage Lasagna

1 pound of hot Italian sausage links, casings removed

1 medium onion chopped

1 can {28 ounces} plum tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/4 teaspoon of salt

12 lasagna noodles

1 container {15 ounces} part-skim ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups {8 ounces} part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Prepare meat sauce: in 4 quart saucepan cook sausage and onion over high heat, breaking up the meat with side of spoon until meat is well-browned, about 6 minutes. Discard fat. Add tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Heat to boiling, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepot, cook lasagna noodles as label directs. Drain and rinse with cold water. Return noodles to saucepot with enough cold water to cover.

3. Preheat over to 375*. In medium bowl, stir ricotta, egg, parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and pepper until well combined.

4. Drain noodles on clean kitchen towels. In 13" by 9" baking dish, arrange 6 lasagna noodles, overlapping to fit. Spread with all of ricotta mixture and sprinkle with half of mozzarella; top with half of meat sauce. Cover with remaining 6 noodles and spread with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

5. Cover lasagna with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake until sauce is bubbling and top has lightly browned, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes for easier serving.

{found in Good Housekeeping Great American Classics Cookbook}

Sausage and Cheddar Cheese Strata

1 1/2 pounds ground breakfast sausage

4 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon dried sage

3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 potato or other soft white bread slices

2 cups {6 ounces} grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, flat-leaf parsley, or green onion

1. Preheat the over to 350* Butter a 9x13x2" baking pan

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Put the sausage in the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until it is thoroughly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

3. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, sage, Kosher salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Layer the bread in the prepared baking dish and top with sausage. Poor the egg mixture over the sausage and top with the cheese. Bake until the strata is set in the middle, about 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

4. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with chives just before serving.

{Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook}

AWARDS!!!!

I want a give a *huge* thank you to The First Year Wife for bestowing on me not one, but two awards!!!!

The first is the Beautiful Blogger Award and here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award

2. Copy the award and place it on your blog

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award

4. Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself

5. Nominate 7 bloggers

6. Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate

So here are 7 interesting things about myself

1. I went to an all-girls Catholic high school and I love {almost} every minute of it

2. My high school won a radio station concert my junior year and we got a concert with Christina Aguilera and LFO in our gym!

3. My toe nails are never not painted

4. My first car was an old blue mini van

5. I worked in a school uniform store for three years and met my best friend there

6. I really wish I liked coffee, but I just hate it....and that is disappointed

7. I have achieved all the goals I had ever set for myself growing up{be a teacher, wife, mom...go to Paris...buy an Xterra}...not sure what I'm going to do now!

Here are the rules of the second award {which looks totally yummy!}

1. Copy the award image into a post

2. List 10 things that make you happy

3. Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day

4. Put a link to their blogs

5. Notify the award receivers

6. Recipients should link back to the sender's blog {this is totally optional!}

Here are 10 things that make me happy! {obviously my family and friends make me the happiest, so I'm going to keep this list totally superficial!}

1. Diet Coke

2. Pizza

3. Crumbly sugar cookies

4. Football!

5. Reading a good book

6. A fabulous tan {terrible for me I know}

7. A great hair day

8. Working out

9. Taking a walk on the beach

10. Sleeping in late

I am going to break the rules a little bit and only nominate 10 people total {mainly because I'm tired and need to go to bed soon} So here are my 10 nominees for BOTH awards. Congrats guys and everyone head over and check them out!

Stephanie at Because of Love

Amanda at Growth Chart Moments

Her Womb, Our Hearts

Hoping for Our Own Peanut

Allison at I Heart Change

Ashley Paige at I Love You More Than Carrots

Kerri at Party of Five

Mindy at Ponderings of the Heart

Sarah at The Stroller Ballet

What Was I Saying Again

Get To Know Me

Juliana over at A Blond Walks Into a Blog did this in a post and I thought it was so fun I tagged myself! If you want to do this, feel free to tag yourself and let me know so I can check it out!

8 TV Shows I Watch

• Secret Life of the American Teenager
• The Biggest Loser
• Grey’s Anatomy
• Gilmore Girls {reruns}
• My First Place
• Spice Up my Kitchen
• Property Virgins
• Bang for your Buck {I *love* me some HGTV!!}

8 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink:

• Granita Grill

• The Melting Pot

• Pompilios

• Mount Fuji

• Olive Garden

• Panzones

• Howards

• Sonic

8 Things I Look Forward To:

• Sleep
• Finishing up my 30 Day Shred commitment
• Football
• Date Night with my husband on February 5th {dinner and Dear John!!}
• New episodes of my favorite TV shows
• Little M's smiling face in the morning
• Warm weather
• Our trip to Florida in March

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

• Got to sleep in
• We treated ourselves to Burger King for lunch because we hadn't had fast food in MONTHS
• Day 15 of the Shred
• New episode of Grey's Anatomy
• Girls night with my friend J
• Food shopping
• Mourned the death of a true American hero from my area
• Found some time to read a little bit!

8 Things I Love About Winter:

• Christmas
• Football
• New Years
• Hot Chocolate
• Tall boots
• That's pretty much it...I hate the winter!

8 Things on My Wish List:

• More hours in the day
• Longer hair
• Summer year-round
• New kitchen countertops
• Safe return of all our service men and women
• Weekly manicures/pedicures
• My dogs to be well-trained
• Weekly date-nights out with my husband

8 Things I'm Passionate About

My daughter...she is my world
My husband...if we weren't married I'd just be his stalker...I'm that obsessed with him, haha
Football, specifically the New York Giants!
The military
Home improvement and home decorating projects
The beach
Reading
Being a good hostess

8 Words/Phrases I Use Often:

• I love you
• Braddock stop
• Seriously?!?!?
• Crap {gotta stop that one before Little M repeats it}
• This woman whose blog I follow....
• Braddock get down
• What are you doing {that is mainly yelled at the TV when the Giants are on}
• I am sooo tired

8 Things I've Learned From the Past:.

• Enjoy every minute of each stage of your life
• Everything that happens teaches you something
• What doesn't kill you really will make you stronger
• Some things weren't worth the time and energy I put into them
• I can finally laugh at the things that once made me cry
• I am stronger than I think I am

8 Things I Currently Want/Need:

• This sharp pain in my shoulder to go away
• A snack
• A massage
• The perfect pair of jeans
• A manicure
• Someone to cook dinner and do my laundry
• A day to just snuggle and play with Little M and not worry about anything else
• Pizza

Shred It Up!

So after hearing a lot of good things from all of you and my real life friends, I jumped on the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred bandwagon a couple weeks ago and I am LOVING it! Okay, so I don't love actually doing the workouts, but I love how I feel after.

I did 10 days of Level 1 and then took one day off {the day of the incident my husband had at work...I had more important things going on that day} I started Level 2 the next day and just finished up day 3 of that tonight.

Level 2 is definitely much harder than 1, but thankfully I have not been too sore yet. I am already noticing more definition in my legs and arms. I would probably notice some more changes if I could just put down the brownies, but I'm still working on that:)

I'm hoping to do 10 days total of Level 2 and then immediately start 10 days of Level 3. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture, but I forgot. I will post an 'after' though!

I love that the workouts are only 20 minutes. Even as a busy mom, I have time to fit that in. And I am less likely to talk myself out of it since they are so short.

I seem to have started a movement as well...my sister and two of my best friends ran out and picked up their own copies and are going to be starting this. I may not care for Jillian on The Biggest Loser {I think she is too mean} but I love the workouts!

What kind of results have any of you gotten from the Shred?

My Big Baby

I was not sad when my little girl turned one. I was excited and loving each new stage she was entering. But today I got very sad...my Little M is not so little anymore. My baby is growing up and officially more of a toddler now than a baby. Today my baby officially gave up her bottle:(

After my previous post, Skip and I decided to take the plunge and ween Little M off the bottle. She has been drinking water out of a sippy cup for months, and after doing some research, we realize she should also be drinking he milk out of one as well.

I told Skip last night that we should make the switch. I was nervous about doing it, only because that was one more step away from babyhood. But Skip let me sleep in this morning and when I woke up he said that he gave Little M her morning milk in a sippy cup. And she drank all of it! I wanted to cry:( My big girl. She did well the rest of the day as well...she really didn't seem to miss the bottle.

I'm happy that the transition is going well, and I hope it continues to go as well. But like I said, I'm just getting a little sad that my baby is growing up.

Goodbye baby.....

....hello toddler!!

Another Birthday!

Today was a very special birthday in my family...my dad's birthday! It was a milestone birthday and we had a special party to celebrate. It was a British theme! My dad was born and raised in England and so we had British food, music, decorations, and an English Jack cake {made by my husband!! I'll post pictures later}

I know alot of people say this, but my dad is really the best dad in the world. He has always worked so hard to make sure we had everything we needed. He is always willing to stop whatever he is doing to help all of us with anything we need. He loves us without judging or expectations. And the love he has for Little M is so wonderful. She is so lucky to have such an amazing Grandad. Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Busy Girl

Little M is a very busy girl these days {I promise an update post on her soon!} Here are just a few pictures of her favorite ways to spend the day

Hanging out with her buddy Mr. B

Watching TV

Playing and dancing with Elmo

Eating pizza {no, she really doesn't eat it every day!}

Texting {and ignoring her baby}

And making some very important phone calls {and still ignoring her baby}

Looking mischievous

Sounds like a pretty good life to me!!

Mommy Question

This is a question for all your mommies out there. When do you take away your child's bottle? Little M drinks water out of her sippy cup, and has for a few months {she only drinks water because she doesn't like juice...any kind....I still can't figure that one out} But we are still giving her milk in her bottle. She gets a bottle in the morning when she wakes up, another when she gets up from her afternoon nap, and one more before bed. Should we try and give them to her in her sippy cup? I haven't even attempted it yet because I'm just not sure.

You Can't Scare Me, I'm a Cop's Wife!

I blog alot about the fact that Skip was a Marine and in Iraq and how happy and lucky I am that he came home safe to me.

But my husband's career is being a cop. And that can be dangerous too. There are things that can happen at his job, that are scary, but are almost expected to happen sometime during a areer. I know that and he knows that {maybe more than me}

But when it happens...and you get a phone call one morning {umm, like yesterday morning if you're me} that it has happened to YOUR husband...your heart still stops.

My husband is fine and he will be fine, and I will be fine. But yesterday was a long day for our family and it was a reminder that while he is no longer being shot at or mortared, he is still in danger. He still straps on a bullet proof vest everyday, works with some of the worst people in society, {the bad guys, not his fellow officers} and has dedicated his life to making the world a safer place for the rest of us.

I could not be prouder to be his wife. And my thoughts are always with all the police wives out there!

2008-2009

I rang in the new year with some friends at a local bar

Skip had to work but made it there just before midnight!!

We had a bowling party for Skip's 26th birthday

We nervously watched the Giant's continue on each week of the playoffs

Celebrated when THE GIANT'S WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!

Skip and I rejoiced when we discovered WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!!!! {this is not actually my picture...i just got it from google....but I did take the same tests!}

We sold our condo and said goodbye to it before moving into our very first house!

We went on a wonderful {though I would never do it 10 weeks pregnant again} trip to Paris...it had always been my dream!

I got to see the Lombardi Trophy up close and personal at Draft Day

I said goodbye to my kids and fellow staff and 'retired' from teaching

My belly started to grow!

My big sis L and I went on a trip to Florida

To celebrate the wedding of one of my military boys

And my belly got bigger there too

When I got home, Skip and I added a new member to our already growing family

And my belly got bigger

And bigger

One of my Marine's Girls got married!

And my belly got bigger

And bigger!

I got to meet Tiki Barber again!! {this is the last picture of my pregnant, btw...4 days before I gave birth!!}

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I became a Mommy

Skip became a Daddy

We began our new life as parents

Little M's first holiday...Christmas!

Finally a family of three {or five if you include the dogs!}

2007-2008

I rang in the new year with my husband and some friends at our local bar

Skip turned 25!!

Skip and I went away to the beach during my Easter break {it was fun but FREEZING!!}

Of course we went to Draft Day again

My whole family attended a gala dinner for my dad's business on Ellis Island

Skip taught me how to fish in a lake

One of my 'Marine's Girls' got engaged!!!

We went down the shore for the most perfect vacation ever to celebrate our second wedding anniversary

I repainted and organized our condo and we put it on the market {right as the market started tanking!}

I moved up at school and became a fifth and sixth grade teacher

I fulfilled my life-long dream and met TIKI BARBER!!!!!!!!

I got to go to some Giant's games

I turned the big 2-5 and my wonderful husband threw me the most amazing party with all my family and friends

Hugh Hefner and his g/f Holly made an appearance at Halloween

The first of my friends had a baby

And we had one final Christmas party at the condo