tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89678256111470006192024-03-28T01:54:22.687-04:00Boston Baby MamaMama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.comBlogger858125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-81401774332749877112016-04-15T21:21:00.001-04:002016-04-15T21:30:55.158-04:00My Very Honest ResumeIt's something everyone has been asked when they were little, and something I have asked both my kids on numerous occasions. No, not "did you flush the potty after you pooped?" I am talking about "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
When I was around 5 years old, I wanted to be a singer and an actress. A few years later it was all about marine biology after I saw Stark Trek 4 - the one Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com91tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-56969663851954842522016-03-06T15:55:00.000-05:002016-03-06T15:55:21.726-05:00Mama J's Guide to Making a Beautiful Floral Arrangement
I love flowers. I love fresh flowers. I love silk flowers. I love dried flowers. I love planting flowers in my garden. I love making paper flowers. I love a floral print - on clothing, fabric or wallpaper. Something about flowers just makes me happy. It is that simple.
I buy fresh flowers as often as I can. I will spend a long period of time at a grocery store bunching flowers together, Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-5395700066824284042016-02-23T11:22:00.000-05:002016-02-24T13:16:31.184-05:00Beet-y Smoothie Goodness
What? Beets in a smoothie? Hell yes. Beets in a smoothie.
I didn't taste a beet until I was probably 25 years old. Damn my mother for never giving them to me when I was little! But I guess if both your parents don't like something, there is no way they are going to be feeding it to their kids. Now that beets are a part of my daily life I enjoy them in all sorts of ways, including in my Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-24436413920592455402016-02-16T17:29:00.002-05:002016-02-16T17:29:40.045-05:00Boston Baby Mama's Guide to Winning Instagram
some of my favorite IG accounts - see details below!
So you joined Instagram...what now?
Are you using it to share family photos with friends? Good for you! Have fun! This post is not for you.
Are you into taking creative photos that you want the world to see? Do you want thousands of followers? Lots of likes? Tons of comments? Features (more on what this means in the IG community in a bitMama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com142tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-43351093919785163922016-02-02T13:43:00.000-05:002016-02-02T13:43:59.482-05:00Where I Find "My People"
Being a stay at home mom can be lonely, especially when both your kids are in school. You get them up, get them dressed, feed them, pack their lunches, argue with them about not watching tv before school, get their school stuff together, bundle them up, strap them in the car, drop them off at their respective schools...and then you are by yourself.
You have responsibilities, like errands Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-77300387530247210022016-01-20T20:26:00.000-05:002016-01-20T20:26:21.558-05:00Young Lovers are IdiotsI had a conversation with a 23 year old female today that ignited a fire inside me. Not a good fire of passion and motivation, but a fire of rage and frustration, so I am taking to the blog to share my feelings.
Without giving away who said 23 year old is - let's call her Sara for this story's sake - I will give you a little background on our relationship. I do not know her very well, but we Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-88447997388231336742016-01-12T12:56:00.000-05:002016-01-12T17:03:49.380-05:00Time for some Botox!!!My entire life I have been told I look like my Mom. Not that we resemble each other, but that we look exactly alike. If someone has met my mom, and then sees me for the first time by myself they will tell me "oh I knew you were Donna's daughter as soon as I saw you!" And it is true - we do look a lot alike. We are about the same height, both have short hair, pretty much the same eyes, and other Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-41012121670496815462016-01-05T12:03:00.000-05:002016-01-05T12:03:05.148-05:00What to Play with a Terrible No-Good SportI am a competitive person. I am the daughter of a professional athlete, and I think because of that I have always been an ultra competitive person in some aspects of my life. I wanted to be the first person down the hill when we went skiing. I wanted to have the best backhand and the fastest serve at tennis camp. If you have it, I want it bigger and faster and with more gadgets (cars, cameras, Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-86831296121055759722015-11-23T20:20:00.000-05:002015-11-23T20:20:26.508-05:00Six shows you should be watching, but probably are not!I was going to entitle this post "Six television shows you should be watching..." but I just realized that I don't watch any of these shows on my actual television anymore. Who needs TV when you have Hulu and Netflix, and you can carry around your iPad with you from room to room while you put away laundry?
Most shows on actual broadcast networks are total garbage. To find groundbreaking "Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-14019934502483946332015-11-12T13:59:00.000-05:002015-11-12T13:59:55.284-05:00Dinner WinnerLast week I wrote about our struggles with dinner, but this week I write about our triumphs!
A friend read my post Picky, Picky, Picky Eater and immediately informed me of this amazing product that has changed dinner time in their house, the Dinner Winner Tray by Fred & Friends. I am willing to try anything with my kids, so I hastily purchased two trays via Amazon as I could Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-5464900463243112302015-11-10T19:54:00.000-05:002015-11-12T14:00:15.420-05:00Rave Bath
My kids get up early. Most days they are both up before, or close to 6 AM. Couple that with school from 8-3 (Tuesday through Thursday - Monday and Friday they have half days), and come 6 PM my kids are on a one way train to Crankville. It is hard enough to get them to sit and eat all their dinner when they are like this, let alone get them to eat and then go upstairs to take a bath.
There Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-63440064381907666152015-11-05T21:15:00.000-05:002015-11-12T14:00:28.242-05:00Picky Picky Picky EaterI had the following conversation with my children tonight:
Me: Who's excited for roasted cod, parsnips and carrots for dinner!
Marlo: Not me!
Val: (who now repeats everything that her sister says) Not me!
Me: Come on! This is dinner. You have to eat it.
Marlo then sidles up to me and puts her arm around me and says...
Marlo: Mom, you can put it in front of me, but I am just going to stare Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-66955583966795155612015-06-23T13:37:00.000-04:002015-06-23T13:37:41.945-04:00Zig a Zig AhhhhIf you haven't watched the Spice Girl's "Wannabe" video lately, you should stop what you are doing now and watch. It is a brilliant piece of pop culture history. Sure, it might be one of the silliest music videos ever, but it is mesmerizing.
Why have I seen it recently? Well, I let the girls watch the Chicken Little movie recently and there is a scene where Ugly Duckling is doing karaoke to Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-43421444077338073742015-06-11T13:13:00.000-04:002015-06-11T13:13:28.162-04:00Project Playroom: The Accent Wall
I am not afraid of color. You would not know that if you stepped into my house as most of the walls, tile, cabinets and furniture (so far) are white, beige, gray or greige (a combo of the two). I made two very bold color choices when designing this house. One (which you will see in a post in the near future) is a kelly green vanity in the girls' bathroom. The second is this accent wall in the Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-6910545197268775492015-06-10T19:30:00.000-04:002015-06-10T19:30:28.976-04:00Project Playroom: A Family Portrait of SortsLet the new house posts commence!
I have decided to start sharing some of my design ideas/projects that I have been working on lately. I am starting small for now (new nightstands, an accent wall, etc.), but have other big things in the mix (recovering chairs, wallpapering and designing the formal living room) that I will happily share with you all, and more importantly ask for your opinion! I Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-39437202989490158552015-06-03T07:28:00.001-04:002015-06-03T07:28:43.289-04:00Sprouts 2.0Food trends are a funny thing. It isn't like in clothing or technology, where something can be actually invented and created. There are no new foods items being invented (have you tried Smagbloff yet? It is the hottest new vegetable!) so it is so odd to me when a food becomes trendy and popular, when it has been there all along, people. Kale. Kale has been around since the beginning! Can't go to Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-40486305385647132992015-05-29T12:12:00.001-04:002015-05-29T12:12:55.930-04:00My five month vacation is over!
We did it friends. Almost 2 years after signing our P&S agreement in 2013, as of April 23rd, we are finally living in the house that crazy built. Here I am, sitting as I do every day on my kitchen counter after sweating my ass off at the gym, just like in my inspiration photo that started it all (see previous post). You can't even tell the difference between the two photos right?
Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-4499335671453291882015-01-29T13:09:00.000-05:002015-01-29T13:09:28.622-05:00Our Humble Abode: Kitchen Counter StoolsThe kitchen...where do I begin. I was the most excited about designing the kitchen in our new house (which is still not completed, FYI). It is the center of the house (literally), it is the hub, it is where we (well, I) will be spending most of our time when in the house. There are a few things that I knew I wanted going into the design of the kitchen:
1. I wanted a white kitchen. No discussion Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-6514672251537869882015-01-26T16:56:00.000-05:002015-01-26T17:28:26.051-05:00Casting Director Mama J: Beauty and the Beast (updated)See update in Gaston section after my brother blew my mind with a new suggestion!
I just read online that Emma Watson has been cast to play Belle in the live action version of Beauty and the Beast, and I couldn't be happier! One of my favorite things to day dream about is casting live action versions of animated films. It sounds so silly, but at one point I actually kept a list of whom I would Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-88323336465477855662015-01-20T12:03:00.001-05:002015-01-20T12:04:07.054-05:00Our Humble Abode: Wood Floor StainPicking out a hardwood floor stain is not as easy as one might think. There are about 40 to choose from in one brand of stain (Minwax brand is what we are using on our house). When looking at the swatches one might not be able to differentiate the brown of Dark Walnut from that of Special Walnut, but there is a difference!
When my builder first asked what color I wanted the hardwood floor to Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com239tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-91722277661118202342015-01-20T11:35:00.000-05:002015-01-20T11:35:11.721-05:00Our Humble Abode: Family Room
I'm BAAAACK!
Hello friends. It's been a while, I know, but things have been crazy pants over in my neck of the woods. We are getting down to the wire with our house build - FINALLY. We are nearing the light at the end of this seemingly perpetual tunnel, and it is coming quickly. I went to the house today and there were approximately 10 trucks in the driveway and about 20 men working all over Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-30812416294782946282014-11-30T19:39:00.000-05:002014-11-30T19:39:48.313-05:00Blah, blah, blah6 weeks.
That is how long it has been since my last post. 6 freaking weeks.
It isn't that I didn't have things to write about, or stories to share, it is that I am at an odd place in my life when it comes to the blog.
Let me explain.
Lately my time has been spent mostly on picking out things for the new house. Oh, yeah! Remember that new house we are building? That we were supposed to move Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-24191334872200025882014-10-17T11:34:00.000-04:002014-10-17T11:34:03.543-04:00Acting a Fool!I was just in the bedroom playing with Val on the floor. She stood up and walked over to my side, put her hand on my shoulder and said "it's ok Mommy," and then leaned in and gave me a huge hug and a kiss...and then another kiss and an even bigger hug. My heart melted. This is one of the many "bits" she does that gets me to smile ear to ear and be thankful that I have such an amazing child.Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-34014699312153855552014-09-30T19:15:00.000-04:002014-09-30T19:15:06.541-04:00Rules of the RoadThe apartment we are currently living in while our house is being built is approximately 30 minutes (give or take 5 minutes depending on traffic and school buses) away from M's school. This means that I spend at least 2 hours a day in the car. Most days I am in the car for at least 3 hours, as I have to run errands, take Val to class or doctor's appointments, in addition to driving to and from Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8967825611147000619.post-38579698562931290242014-09-10T20:02:00.000-04:002014-09-10T20:02:46.951-04:00These are a few of our favorite books!
Back in the day when I could actually call myself a blogger (meaning when I used to post multiple times a week, not months like now) I was good about sharing lists of our girls' favorite books. As I was just reading the same book to M that we have been reading to her every night since I purchased it two weeks ago (The Snatchabook), I realized that I am long overdue in sharing the wonderful Mama Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12387800442027775111noreply@blogger.com4