Monday - On the Radar

Good Monday morning to you! How was your weekend? Ours was fun and relaxing. We had a quiet Friday evening and on Saturday the in-laws came up to go out for dinner. Then when we got home, the hubs and I watched "The Avengers".  It was good, but we both agree that the new "Batman" was a lot better. Sunday was anothering relaxing day.  The perfect way to end the weekend and prepare for the week ahead.

So what is on my radar these days?
Well little Miss Magster turned 26 months on Thursday.   I'm not doing "official" updates anymore, but I don't want to let it pass completely unnoticed...
The other day I took a look at her 14 month update and it had her 2 month pic for comparison.  Oh man, I thought there were a lot of changes then....LOL

Really can't get over it....

From an itsy bitsy baby, to a jegging Phillie's fan, to Miss Shaggy hair silly pants....Where has the time gone?
So what's up this month?  Just a whole lot of increased communication, discipline and overall fun.
Mag's communication is really advancing, I would have to say more and more everyday!  She mimics everything we say and is starting to understand A LOT!  Yesterday, she wanted to be story time lady and sat in the chair and invited me to "Sit down everybody it's story time.".  Ack, I LOVE this pretending.  And then I pulled out some Disney dress up shoes that she got for her birthday...forget about it.  She loves toddling around in them all over the place and I dare say, she walks better in heels than I do (not saying much....).   
But also, this age is a challenge, I'm not going to sugar coat it one bit, discipline is tricky!  I think Mandy over at Harper's Happening, summed it up best when she characterized toddlers as sour patch kids, especially with their new ad campaign, "First their sour and then their sweet.".  That my friends is a two year old, it volleys every minute (on my part) from such intense love and pride to utter frustration and embarrassment.  And there are more things that we can do, but then some of the things we used to do are becoming more difficult with a greater sense of awareness.  Let's just say it's an adventure and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Just an example of the sweet....

And her official monthday pic...example of the struggle...this one pic took about 30 minutes to get....

And now for some things on my radar....
LOVE the new Mumford & Sons album.  The single "I Will Wait" has been out for about a month, and the whole family, especially Mags, are big fans.  Now that the entire album is out, Brian and I agree that "Babel" is probably the standout, but Mags still loves to belt out, "I will wait, I will wait, I will wait for you!".

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And since I seem to have a thing for British period dramas, I caught the new to the US, "Call the Midwife" last night and I am hooked.  It is so smart and interesting, I was so engrossed I only looked at the clock once and it was almost over.  Can't wait to watch more.

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Also, just finished Mitch Albom's, The Timekeeper.  It was a super easy read with some really strong points on time and how to really savor it, told in a The Alchemist way.  I did not like The Alchemist, but I really enjoyed this book.  I would recommend it.

So those are the main things on my radar these days!
Hope that you're having a great day!

What I'm Reading: Blogs

Hello!  Happy Thursday!  Woot, Woot the weekend is almost upon us!!  Although, we did get a special treat yesterday since the hubs had off.  Such a lovely interruption of the weekly doldrums!

So anyways on Monday I updated you on my current book reads, but I thought that I might also share with you some new (to me) blogs I have been really digging lately!

Last week I stumbled upon the stellar Everyday Reading, and I have to admit it will probably become a part of my daily reading (see what I did there???).  The gorg author, Janssen, is a young mom (of a daughter that I am pretty sure is right around the Magster's age + one on the way) who used to work in a school and now part of her blog is about reviewing all types of books.  She has already increased my Goodreads "Books to Read" list by a bunch, andplusalso, she has two cool sisters and they do joint posts about books and fashion that they are into at the moment ( just one of the many reasons a sister would be so cool for Mags.....).  And finally, she is marking her current pregnancy with a ton of really cute outfits that I would love to rock in my next pregnancy!

And then there's Young House Love, which I KNOW, I am SUPER late to the party on this one.  In fact, John and Sherry are celebrating their fifth blogging anniversary as we speak.  I remember stumbling upon them when I first started blogging, but I lumped them into the DIY blogs and I didn't think their posts would interest me.....WRONG!  They are such a cute couple and their daughter, Clara, is so adorable.  I really enjoy reading their posts and hearing about all their new projects.  I really enjoyed the timeline that they posted this week, to show how they got to where they are.  Really made me wish I had Photoshop (and knew how to use it).

And finally, another late-to-the-party, but new-to-me find is, Momastery.  Glennon is so real and honest, and the community that she has created seems so strong and helpful.  It really seems that she is helping the supportive mom movement, where instead of bashing each other for our personal parenting choices, we embrace the fact that everyone is different and the majority of us are just doing what we feel is best for OUR kids.  I absolutely adore this post and love the saying "Carpe those Kairos!".

And of course, I am still loving all my old faves....
Enjoying the Small Things
Loves of Life
Mom-A-Logues
Harper's Happening

What are some of your favorite blogs?  I am always on the look out for some new, fun and interesting reads!

And I leave you with the blur that is my daughter these days, at the mall yesterday.....

This was her reaction to seeing  the ride-on arcade toys...Alas we had no quarters or cash...poor kid....

Hope that you are having a great day!

Wordless Wednesday- Smirky

 

A Pinteresting Fall

As I said yesterday, I have been looking forward to fall for a couple of weeks now, and I have a month old Pinterest board to prove it!

First, of course, here's my agenda again....

 Definitely going to try to make this for a little get together in October...

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

And I am pretty sure that this is going to be a part of our Pumpkin Carving fun...

 

Might try this..

Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte

And this just looks amazing!

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

Overall, I think that this says it best....

 

What are your Pinterest Plans for the fall? 

Hope you're having a great day!!

 

And it is fall...

Happy Monday to you all! Instead of lamenting this start to the week, I'm embracing it for all it's worth! We had a wonderfully relaxing weekend, doing ABSOLUTELY nothing really, just hanging out and enjoying each others company, so I feel ready for the week ahead!  Also, it is finally fall and I am stoked.  I LOVE the fall, and we have so much fun planned in the next few weeks...can't wait!

But before we start this brand new week, I have some updates...

So last week was Mag's first MOPS experience (if you missed the explanation of what it is, check it out here) and it went wonderfully!
We started the morning out with a little photo shoot...

She was super into as you can see...LOL

I tried the whole, she holds a piece of blank piece of paper-which I would put info on later, but she wasn't really on board (shocker!!!).  So here's what will have to suffice...

Please excuse the blank stare and slack jaw, I made the mistake of leaving the TV on....Rookie mom photo mistake!

So as I said, the morning went really well.  I dropped her off in her 2 year old classroom and she ran right in.  Outside the classroom, a set of twins were expressing their EXTREME dislike of the situation and Mags was distracted by them, but only for a minute.   Luckily, she was concurrently distracted by the "Toys!" and ran off to inspect.  At this point, I decided to make my exit and started backing out of the room.  She looked over at me a little confused, with a look on her face that said, "Hey, where are you going?" but then another shiny object caught her attention and I made my escape.

The meeting that I attended was really interesting and informative and the food they served was awesome.  I think that this is going to be a great setup for us.  When I went to pick Mags up, she was excited to see me and tell me all about what she did.  She even had a marker stamper craft to show off.  She told me that she played and I asked her if she shared with the other kids and she said, "Two kids, I share with two kids!".  Better some than none....LOL. 
She also informed me that she did something "team" and I thought, oh maybe they talked about being a team and working together...how cute!  Then this weekend she pulled out her tea set and said,"I making team, Mommy!"....ahhh, gotcha sweetie!

All in all a great time, and I can't wait till our next meeting, to that end I wish it met every week instead of two days a month....Oh well.

In other news, the winner of the Minted Giveaway is Gina M. I will be emailing you shortly. 
And just so there isn't any confusion, there was another entry, but I accidentally deleted the comment, so I did the Random.org drawing out of 2 and the second person was the winner.

So what else is new?  I finished two books this past week.  Both were short story collections, which are not what I regularly read, but I really enjoyed both of these!


The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: This one got me, because hello!  the title....yes, please!  And the short story that accompanies it is awesome!  I liked a lot of the stories, but the title story and "Sin City" were my faves.

Shout her Lovely Name: I read about this in People and thought that it looked interesting.  Most of the stories are independent of themselves, but there are a few that revolve around the tumultuous mother-daughter relationship of Ruby and Nora.  I really enjoyed the title story and "Plum Trees".

Next up are The World without You and The Timekeeper.  I'm on Goodreads (in case you want to be friends) and when I joined in May I gave myself the challenge of reading 20 books by the end of the year, so far I'm about halfway there.  Guess I have to step up my game! 

In fall season TV news, I am loving "Glee" so far, can't wait for "New Girl" to come back this week, not sure how "The Office" is going to wrap things up and I'm still working my way through "Gossip Girl" 's last season.  Can't believe that show, "30 Rock" and "The Office" are throwing in the towel this year.  And now I hear rumbles that this may be the last year of "How I Met Your Mother"...say it ain't so (actually I am mixed on this since I am DYING to know who the mother is, but will miss the show once it is over).

And on that note, I say goodbye!  Happy Fall!!!  And I hope you are having a great day!!!

 

Lately

Last Sunday, we had the opportunity to take Maggie to her first Phillie's game. It was a day game and it fell right around her nap time, but we couldn't pass up the chance to take her to the baseball game, especially since we got the tickets for free! So we didn't expect Mags to sit quietly and pay attention to the game that much, but we were pleasantly surprised at how well she did. She mostly amused herself with her sippy cup and a straw and would get excited when everyone else cheered or there was music playing.

Can't get enough of the straws!!!

Couldn't ask for a better view!

Wearing her Phillies hat proudly!

We made it all the way to the 8th inning before Mags let us know that she was ready to go.  Pretty good for a 2 year old, if you ask me!  And then we went over to Nana and PopPop's, where we finished watching the game on the TV, and they won!  Go Phillies!!!

Then this weekend we headed down to MD for a visit with MeeMaw and PPaw.  Lots of fun!

Enjoying the "roller coaster" toy next door

 

Flying with PPaw

It was a very relaxing visit and we had a great time!

Don't forget to enter the Minted giveaway!

Hope you're having a great day!!!

 

Minted Giveaway

Have you started thinking about the holidays yet? If you have, then you have probably started thinking about picking out your holiday cards. 
If you are starting the search, check out the selection at Minted.

Whether you are looking for a photo card...

or a Non-photo card....

Minted has you covered!  There are so many choices, basically something for everyone!  There are corporate cards and New Years cards, as well. 

And the nice people at Minted want to get your holiday card shopping started with a $50 giveaway and free shipping.  All you have to do is be a follower of A Better and Magnificent Mom and leave a comment letting me know which card you might pick if you win!

The giveaway will end Friday, September 21, at midnight and a winner will be chosen through Random.org.  Good Luck!