Tag Archives: perfect mommy day

A Sundae Spa Girls Day!

24 Feb

Over the long weekend I had a great opportunity to indulge in some girl time with kiddie number two!  I feel bad because many days she gets lumped into playing Legos or Starwars with her brothers and does it without complaining.  So when I showed her this package that arrived from the Sundae Spa, in Waterbury CT she was ecstatic to have some mommy – daughter girlie time! 

Our kit was complete with a days worth of little girl spa treats!  A cupcake bath fizz which is a signature Sundae Spa item.  If you attend a birthday party there it is one of the items each girl gets to pick as part of their goodie bag.  The other products included a strawberry cheesecake whipped sugar scrub, a popsicle soap, glitter body spray and lip balm.  We started our girl time with a spa inspired bath. 

My daughters first words when she got our of the tub were “Mom feel my skin feels soooo soft”.  Yes I know starting them young with these products could create a monster…but I mean how fun!  She felt like a beauty queen, pampered and grown up.  These are the memories I want to create with her.  As a mom I like that the products from the Sundae Spa are made using organic and vegan products.  No harsh dyes or additives.  I even used the whipped sugar scrub which now…((I have to admit is in my shower)).  It’s heavenly!

The cutest part of our spa day was putting on the body spray and lip balm.  I have to say my daughter has become obsessed with perfume and lipstick.  I guess that’s the life of a 7-year-old.  Most perfumes and lipsticks are too harsh smelling and bright for my taste on a little girl.  The body spray was the perfect combination of a light scent and a small amount of glitter!  The small sparkly glitter was a HUGE hit with my girlie girl.  She starting jumping up and down when she realized she had glitter on her.  She said “Glitter makes me giddy mommy!”

Last but certainly not least…the lip balm.  I have to say again I had to arm wrestle this from my daughter.  I wanted to steal this for my own purse, but I reluctantly gave it to her.  The lip balm is very smooth and smells wonderful, it’s not over powering.  She thought she looked like a million bucks putting on her lip stick and as her mom I thought she looked beautiful!

Even my little guy likes to wash hands with the Soda Pop Soap!  Wow if all if needed was Soda Pop Soap to get him to wash hands I would have gotten this a long time ago!

So there you have it!  A complete girlie day thanks to Sundae Spa, Waterbury CT.  Check out there party packages and upcoming special events.  We had my daughters 7th birthday party there and it was a blast!  They made their own lip gloss, got a hair wrap, spa manicures, a dance party and make your own sundaes!  Needless to say every girl had a rocking time.

Also they have some great gift sets that would be the perfect gift for any little girl.  I mean what little  girl wouldn’t just gush over a the Little Miss Delight or Sprinkles gift sets!  Trust me as a mom I would so rather my little girl get one of these as a gift vs another stuffed animal or Barbie doll.  Mom’s you can sneak a little of the product too!

A Silver Lining…

30 Apr

Sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t always seem right in the beginning.  Take today for example…Today was going to be a fantastic weekend.  The plan had been set in motion back in November when I signed up for the NJ Marathon 2011.  It was my back up race if I didn’t go to Napa. ((which I did :) Yea!)  But I had coursed my workout warrior friend to sign up for the 1/2 in January and also another friend to do it, so the plan was a super girlie athletic weekend.  When I got back from Napa I was crippled literally from my IT band and the recovery has seemed like forever…8 weeks to be exact.  But I kept plodding along, floundering slightly, having a personal pity party some days, doing what I was told (for the most part), less running and physical therapy etc etc.  But as the NJ race got closer I decided to down grade to the 1/2 marathon.  But about 6 weeks ago my one girlfriend got sidelined by back problems.  Then my workout warrior friend became sidelined 3 weeks prior to race day with a severe hamstring pull.   I had such mixed emotions about her not running.  We had been running together and reporting out weekly mileage for weeks, but I was struggling to keep up.  Part of me was relieved for myself  but was devastated for her and all that she  has been working so hard for, her goal just within reach, now put on the back burner because of a pulled hamstring. So then I needed to decide… do I go it alone?

My chiropractor said “well Deana, you could do it…but will you run a personal best, not likely… will you be sore… most likely, your decision”.  So against what the “game on athlete” in me would do (which by the way is go and run the race) I am not at the NJ marathon this weekend.  It is a bummer because the conditions for race day are going to be spectacular.  Very different from the rain I endured my first go at the 1/2 there 3 years ago.  But I know that I have come this far back in my marathon recovery and pushing the mileage too fast and far would be dumb.  Right now I feel fantastic, actually better than before I did my first race which was NJ.  My IT band seems 100%, I am running pain-free. Yesterday I logged 6.5 miles and it felt incredible, almost like poetry in motion.

Hoof it for Haiti 5K~ Family Pics

So today to catch a glimpse of a silver lining in the weekend I signed up for the 1st Annual Southbury Hoof it for Haiti 5K.  It was a fantastic morning, blue skies, no wind and 50 degrees at race start.  My three little cherubs ran the kids fun run.  Little Griffin my 4 yo ran the 6 and under 600 yard dash.  He smiled the whole way! Sophie and Benjamin both ran in the 7-12 yo 1/2 mile race.  This was Sophie’s first race ever and she was nervous.  She cried when she was done.  When I asked her why she was crying she didn’t know why. (chalk it up to girlie hormones). 

My 5K PR: 25:47

So mommy ran the 5K.  I had my cheering section, and I met up with a few local friends at the starting line which is always nice.  While hanging out afterwards I met one of my blogging buddies, Susanne Navas from Smile Pacing.  She came in 2nd in the 40-49 division!  (Go Susanne!!) Susanne is a Connecticut runner, wife, mother, Ironman finisher and a personal life coach.  We’ve been virtual friends via our blogs and she has been a constant support emailing me through my marathon training &  recovery offering words of encouragement and even to join her in yoga to aid in stretching.   Her motto and trademark smilepace: V 1. To pace yourself by going as fast as you can with a smile on your face. 2. To gage your progress based on…happiness and fulfillment.  I think today I had that covered.  During my run I realized I just love running.  I enjoy the comrade of it.   The feeling of personal accomplishment and the energy of the event.  Everything about my run this morning felt right.   My pace felt strong, no nagging knee pain, just me and the road.  I had my garmin on but never looked at it.  I kept repeating to myself ” if it feels good, go with it, no need to look.  Who cares, your just having fun“.  I crossed the finish line with my hubby and 3 cherubs looking on, yelling and screaming, “hi mommy! go mom!”   I did a 5K personal best today 25:47, 108 overall and 5th in my age group females 40-49 yo, out of 59 runners .  How cool is that!  So in a weekend that seemed like it was clouded by bad luck and storm clouds, it looks like I found my silver lining.

I now have a tween!

21 Mar

OMG~ am I really old enough to have a 10-year-old boy?  Doesn’t seem possible.  I mean maybe he is getting older but I am certainly not.  Benjamin was born March 18, 2001 via an emergency c-section after being on bedrest for over 3 months due to a car accident.  Crazy crazy stuff.  But my 6 lb 1 oz little baby is now a spunky, handsome, polite and loveable tween.  His smile can melt your heart.  I am very proud of the young man he has become. 

2006~ dressed as a race car driver with his sister- 5 years old.
2008~ 8 years old!
The birthday boy! Dbl digits!

 

Have you noticed the trend….always a hat on his head.  :)

I think this quote says it all!  Happy Monday to all the moms out there.  Its a hard job!

The celebration begins!

4 Mar
The Celebration is almost here!  All of the events over the past 6 months have been leading to the next 5 days.  I’m feeling a flood of emotions…from anxiety about the race itself, fear of letting people down, leaving my 3 kids with my wonderful MIL blah blah blah.  But as the alarm woke me at 3 am today, I put those fears behind me and focused on the positive… A fantastic trip with my husband that just happens to include a 26.2 mile run. (right DD?)  California wine country seemed fitting to commemorate this event and decade.  This is where my hubby and I get to be foodies and drink really expensive library wines we may never get a chance to experience again.  It’s where we come to reconnect as best friends and replenish our relationship as a couple.   Napa Valley is  tranquil, beautiful and peaceful.  It’s where we renewed our vows on our 10 year anniversary,  so the journey back here feels perfect for this moment in time! 
For me this is a celebration of my life~ my health~friendships and loves that have supported me~ and believing in myself.
Many people have asked me the logistics of my trip, so I thought I’d share a sneak peek at what I will be doing over the next few days. 
Friday’s Itinerary is to fly into San Francisco.  We arrive about noon time- PST.  We will rent a car and travel about 1 1/2 hours to Napa Valley.  It’s such a beautiful ride, over the golden gate bridge. 

Golden Gate Bridge

Then it’s to downtown Napa, where we will stay our first night at Avia. 

Avia~ Napa Valley Boutique Hotel

Saturday it’s off to the Cottages of Napa Valley.  This place is to die for!  You have your own cottage nestled between vineyards in the quaint town of St. Helena.  When you stay at the cottages a breakfast basket is delivered to your porch each morning with freshly baked pastries from Bouchon Bakery.  I have been to Bouchon bakery in the past and the goodies are unreal, almost better than S!x, if ya know what I mean!  So I’m super excited for that!  The cottages are what I can only describle to people as looking like something out of a  ”pottery barn” magazine.  They bring a movie basket to your cottage one night, and a smores basket the next.  Really it’s a beautiful thing.

Cottages of Napa Valley

Cozy King Cottages of Napa Valley

A few key vineyards we will be “revisiting” are, Luna Vineyards, Joseph Phelps and Schramburg! 

Schramsberg

Schramsburg is an American sparkling wine that is a delight. It is dry, crisp, not too sweet. A bottle of this is definitely on the agenda after the race. Ok maybe not the whole bottle but a sip or two, a girl’s gotta celebrate! :) Some new wineries on our list for this trip are Obrien Estates, Pride Mountain, Spring Mountain and Bennet Lane.  Dinners are a bit more complicated. Just deciding where to go can be a monumental task. Too many good places to eat! But two places that are on the agenda, Tra Vigne.  They have the most outstanding wine bar and a short rib dish that is AHHHH- dare I say….really, R-E-A-L-L-Y good.  Ad Hoc by Thomas Kellar, the famous chef of The French Laundry!  At Ad Hoc each day the restaurant only makes one meal, with 5 courses.  It changes daily using fresh and local ingredients.  It is a pre-fixed price, which is great because eating out can get pricey here!  A few other restaurants we hope to explore are Mustards Grill.  This was on our agenda our last visit to Napa but we were too tired to go out!  So maybe this time and Bottega by Chef Michael Chiarello.  He is one of my favorite chefs.  I would love to be one of the guests at a dinner party on his show!  {so hey Michael- get me on there ok? Whip up some fantastic food for the napa valley marathoner!}  His entertaining style is so casual, with an emphasis on combining favors with wines you enjoy.  Amazing! 

And of coarse lets not forget I’m here to run a race!  And do a PR- which won’t be hard because just finishing my first full marathon is a PR right?  Friday we will head to the expo and check in. Grab my race number, tech tee and goodie bag. Always a fun part of the race. We will cruise the expo which here- they have wine tastings- who knew! And the course itself…we will drive the route tonight just so I can have a visual of what is to come, where the up and on hills are. The course is a slight 400 foot elevation drop, so hopefully a nice wind at my back!

Here’s a few pics of the coarse!

Course view

Course view 2

Course view 3


To quote a great friend and supporter….Game On!

The Mommy You Love to Hate!

10 Feb

Oh yes… you know who I’m talking about.  That “mom”, the polar opposite of you.  The one you love but secretly hate.   The mom who comes into a PTO meeting , ballet or class party wearing her high heel boots and pretty clothes.  Meanwhile you showered at the gym and forgot your hair dryer and showed up with a wet pony tail.  We all have those days.  But sometimes you have to celebrate when it “goes right“, vs always looking at when it’s “wrong”.  The ladder is usually my m.o. if you ask my loving hubby (smile).  He always seems to remind me that I am a 1/2 glass empty girl and that I forget to celebrate the good things~ hence this blog!  Celebrating the different roles of motherhood.

So back to yesterday.  Well yesterday I was triumphantly that mom you hate!  Doesn’t seem to happen to me often.  But yesterday for lack of a better term I had my s*!t  together.  If you know what I mean.  Every Tuesday afternoon I dawn my “chauffeur” shoes and run my kids around gods green earth.  The mad dash starts at 3:25, and continues until 6:30 or later.   My daughter gets off the bus at 3:25, just in time to hop in the car, to race to my son’s school where I pick him up at 3:35.  I usually pull into the fire lane, run in, run out.  The whole time yelling “go, go, go!”  We then proceed to haul 20 minutes to gymnastics practice, praying we don’t get behind a bus on our way.  Gymnastics practice is 2 hours long.  Now if I choose to drop him off and not wait,  it’s another 20 minutes home and 20 minutes back.  How much time does that really leave me to be productive? 1 hour and 20 min if I’m lucky.  That’s not including time to suit up the other two kiddies in and out of the house and car.   So yesterday I decided I would be productive with my time and we would make my daughters Valentines at gymnastics.  So I outfitted my tote bag with heart punches, colored paper, scissors, tape, lollipops, glue, hole puncher, ink pad and stamps.  I mean two hours is a lot of time to kill, and wasteful for my productivity. 

So I walked into the waiting area and grabbed my place at the table.   First task feed the two little ones there snacks.  Then I proceeded to coach my 6-year-old through her homework.  Next it was onto punching paper hearts.  I could feel every person in the waiting  area looking at me.   5 moms, 2 dads staring intently, yet no one said a word.  Then my daughter started making her friendship flowers for her Valentines.  ((I cannot take credit for these crafty little things- my friend emailed this link to me.  Her daughter had a blast making them as well.))  Friendship Blossoms from Family Fun magazine.   

One mom commented on how “crafty” I was.  “I just buy the boxed kind”, she stated.  I said “I too have gone that route however this year, I thought I could help them make something with the same amount of time, money and effort”.  Even if you buy the card set you still have to write all the class names on those little cards and put some ridiculously small sticker on the side to keep it closed.  That takes a lot of effort.  Seriously what child can write that small?

So after we made 25 flowers and my 4-year-old son and daughter stamped and colored on scraps of paper.  It was time to go home.  As I was walking for the door, another mom commented on my winter boots saying that they looked “really cool“.  Another mother said she ”loved my scarf.”  I came home and made my kids their favorite dinner… Pancakes~ Breakfast for Dinner.  Which is one of the meals on my list, another YEA to me!  Then I had them all showered, read books and in bed by 8pm.  AHHHHHHHHHHH perfection.   Today I kept my kids in line and entertained.  I was productive during the day, fed them a healthy meal and the fashion gods were smiling upon me!  Yesterday was a great mommy day!

So when I’m blogging about having the “other kind of day“.  You know the one where my kids are screaming,  I have no snacks, no toys and I am the mom crouched yelling in her kids ear that I will “throw all their toys away if they don’t behave”.  When I’m having the kind of day where the s*!t hits the fan… remind me of this perfect mommy day!

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