Emskyrooney

As all of you readers know, November 17th was Paul's second birthday.  We decided to celebrate the weekend before with a small family-only party.  My parents came up for the event along with my brother and his fiance.  Paul's parents were there as well and we all had a great time!  Here's the run-down of events! First, I made cake.  A cake and brownies actually.  The brownies were cut into squares, dipped in melted chocolate, and then decorated with icing and candy to look like a little train. The final product (chocolate cake with peanutbutter cream cheese filling and chocolate ganache; brownies with a crapload of sugar): I think it turned out pretty well! Once everyone had arrived we headed over to the local playground for a while. This photo is like one of those lightbulb jokes:   How many adults does it take to help a two year old go down the slide?   5 apparently.  1 on top, one to help from the side, 1 to watch, 1...

Well folks, I decided to change up the old blog design... After 2 + years with the same header I thought something new was in order. So if you're reading this in a blog reader, click on over!! The main changes?  There's a new header and background.  I also updated my list of blog links and added them to tabs at the top of the page.  So there's now a tab for friends with blogs, and a tab for my favorite other blogs. I added little descriptions of each blog too in case you're looking for something specific (or just want to know what I'm recommending before you click over!) Hope you enjoy!  Let me know if you have any issues with anything- it looks pretty good on both my home computer (wide screen) and my work computer (standard screen)- although it's definitely cuter on the wide screen as there are some cute borders that get cut off on the normal sized screens.... My next post will be a re-cap of LP's second birthday- complete with piles of presents, pho...

Allrighty folks- I know all 8 of you who commented have been waiting for this moment ALL day!  I used random.org to choose the winner of the gift certificate to CSN Stores.... And results are: Comment #6!  OhHenryThomas- that's you!  I'll send you the certificate code shortly! For those of you who didn't win- CSN Stores is having some special Black Friday savings that will start on Monday, Nov 22nd and will run as long as supplies last. Since these sites are offering exclusive savings at incredibly discounted prices, gift codes and other promotional codes won't apply , but there are still some pretty amazing deals! http://www.csnbaby.com/ holidaydeals http://www.everygameroom.com/ holidaydeals   http://www. fitnessequipmentandmore.com/ holidaydeals http://www.toysandgamesonline. com/holidaydeals And keep reading folks- I'm hoping to have some more giveaways soon!

Today, after several days of celebrating with visiting family and friends, (and way too many presents) Little Paul officially turned 2.  And all I can think (which is such a cliche) is that these two years have gone by so fast.    And I know I'm probably the millionth-billionth mother to ever say this, but wasn't he just born?...  Wasn't it just yesterday that he weighed less than 6 pounds and fit just so in the crook of my arm?... Didn't he just learn how to hold his head up?... And figured out that he has (gasp!!) HANDS to chew on!!?? And didn't LP just learn how to express his displeasure for light blue hooded sweaters? Didn't he just start taking in the whole big world around him? I could have sworn that Little Paul just learned to sit up, so proudly, on his own... And that we just celebrated his first birthday with some yummy, sugary cake... Didn't LP learn how to walk, all by himself, just moments ago? And how to m...

Welcome to my very first blog giveaway!!! After having the opportunity to try out CSN Stores for myself a few weeks ago I was thrilled when they asked me to host a giveaway here on my blog!  Since you can find everything from bar tables and stools to kid's toys on their 200+ stores I'm sure the winner of the giveaway will find something they'd love to have! Here are the rules for the giveaway (a $35 gift certificate to CSN Stores- perfect timing for the holidays!!) CSN Stores only ships to the USA and Canada so you have to be in one of those 2 countries. Just leave a comment on my blog (NOT on the link from Facebook) to be entered!  Make sure you leave a valid email address so that I can contact you if you win! The giveaway will end at Noon Eastern Time on Friday, November 18.  The winner will be picked randomly! Good luck!

Every year it seems as though the time between Halloween and Christmas gets shorter and shorter. Now we're coming up on Thanksgiving and while I'm trying to relax about it and just look forward to Turkey Day, I'm finding myself stressing out about Christmas already! With a toddler in the house who has just caught onto the idea of "presents!" I think this Christmas might just be our best one yet... Paul and I are really looking forward to watching LP's face as he comes down the stairs Christmas morning to see what Santa brought- even if he doesn't really have a clue who Santa is... One thing I've already started working on is our annual holiday card. In 2008, since LP was born about a month before Christmas we did a combo birth announcement/holiday card with these photos (I think! Since I was in a daze caused by a newborn I can't remember exactly!): Last year I used this adorable photo (one of my all time favorites) for our cards, which I had pri...

A few weeks ago I mentioned that csnstores had approached me about doing a review of their site and a product on my blog.  They ended up providing me with a $35 gift certificate which I used to purchase 2 things for Little Paul's bedroom.  The first thing I purchased wasn't anything terribly exciting, but is a definite must when there's a toddler around: a waterproof mattress cover .  The mattress pad I ordered is great- it's not a thick pad, so it doesn't add any extra comfort to the bed but it sure adds some peace of mind (and LP proved that it truly is waterproof when he got sick all over his new bed on his second night sleeping in it!).   It washed up easily and seems like it should hold up for quite a while! My other purchase was a bit more fun: the Room Mates Alphabet Peel and Stick Wall Stickers .  These wall decals are a great price for the number of stickers you get and are super easy to apply and remove.  Little Paul loves pointing out ...

Last week I took a personal day from work and stayed home finishing up a few final projects for Little Paul's big boy room.  It's basically done now (eventually we'll purchase a nice area rug when we find a great deal on one and Paul is planning to install overhead lights in all of our bedrooms some time in the next year which will be fabulous!). So here's a quick tour of the final little details! This is the light switch I blogged about earlier.  It was just a basic cheapy wooden switchplate that I painted with a coordinating color.  Then I glued scrapbooking letters to it, painted over it again, and gave it a quick spray with a clear coat for durability.  It's subtle but I think it beats an ugly wood switch plate any time! I recovered the shade for his hanging lamp.  I'd bought 2 of these lamps on clearance at Ikea a few years ago (the other one, with the original cover, is in the nursery) and while the original cover blended it just wasn't cute enough.  ...