Young At Heart Mommy

Managing Motherhood Through Love & Laughter

Archives for April 2012

100 Day Picture Challenge: Day 4

100 Day Picture Challenge
Day 4:  
 A picture of  yourself and a family member

This is a photo of myself and my Uncle Mike when I was two years old.  
 He passed away suddenly of natural causes last September and this photo brings me a lot of comfort. There isn’t one day that goes by that I don’t think of him. He wasn’t only my uncle but also my friend. I miss our conversations, laughs, and hanging out in my room during our family get togethers. I couldn’t think of anyone better to share my Day 4 photo with. This only reminds me of how important it is to cherish your family and the time you have with them. Tomorrow is guaranteed to none of us.  I miss you Mike and love you! Until we meet again.

Recycling Broken Crayons

Ever wonder what exactly to do with all of those broken crayon pieces scattered around your house? Most of the time I just pick them up and throw them out because I am so tired of stepping on them everyday. Toodie has tons of crayons but within a week they end up mutilated and destroyed. I even find them in her clothing hamper! I can’t even say how many times I have washed crayons with her laundry.  After searching for crafts on Pinterest I found a new use for those crayons pieces without a home. Instead of tossing them RECYCLE! You can make your own chunky crayons at home.

Make sure to peel off all of the paper from the crayons. Collect all of the broken pieces and keep them in a jar or tupperwear container until you have enough of each color. If you want to make giant rainbow crayons, you can just throw all of the colors in together. Don’t worry about sorting. For the molds you can use disposable baking pans or rubber silicone shape molds. Once you have enough pieces you can begin with the five easy steps below.

1- Turn on your oven to 300 degrees

2- Spray the inside of the mold lightly with cooking spray to allow the crayons to be removed easily. (optional)

3- Fill the molds with the broken crayon pieces. Here is where you can sort like colors together or mix them together for the rainbow effect. Experiment and have fun.

4- Place into the oven and wait until all of the crayons are visibly melted. It only takes about 10 minutes.

5- Remove and allow to cool before popping them out of the tray. 

Our Friday Funday At The Park

Yesterday the weather was perfect! The sun was out, no clouds in the sky, and there was a warm breeze making the day enjoyable.  Days like these are rare. It is usually very hot ad humid here. On a normal day you could stand outside with a popsicle and it would be melted within minutes! Given the comfortable weather we decided to take a trip to the park. Toodie was more than willing since she loves to play outside and would never pass it up. The best part was we practically had the whole park to ourselves. I guess  no one else wanted to enjoy the breeze but we weren’t complaining! Toodie was in pure heaven. She loved sliding down the slide over and over … and over again. We brought all of her sand toys, our big bouncy ball, and even the bubbles. It’s hard to believe that only a few  hours later we had a heavy thunderstorm accompanied by a ton of rain. Good thing we took advantage of the beautiful weather while it lasted. Another successful Friday Funday for the books.

Surprise.. I won a Liebster Blog Award!

This afternoon I received a nice surprise tweet from my new blog friend Yoli at Yoli Dreams. She nominated me along with four other new bloggers for the Liebster Award. Thank you so much Yoli! You have no idea how much this means to me and how much i appreciate the support. Please check out her blog because she is a new blogger just like me and she has some interesting posts.

If you are not familiar with the Liebster Award it is given to fairly new blogs with 200 or less followers. This is a way of giving recognition to bloggers for a job well done. It brings undiscovered blogs to the light and helps them gain exposure to attract more followers. If you receive a Liebster the person giving it to you i basically saying, “Hey YOU ROCK!”

Being nominated for a Liebster comes with a few guidelines…


1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog
2. You must link back to the blogger who presented the award to you
3. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog
4. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs you thing deserve some recognition.  Remember they have to have 200 followers or less when presented with a Liebster!
5. Make sure you let the bloggers you nominated know they have a Liebster! Leave a comment on their blog, DM on twitter, Facebook post–however you normally get in contact with them!
Here are my five nominations and who i think deserves a Liebster Award of their own!  They are in no particular order. These are all blogs I feel deserve a little extra attention and I enjoy reading each day. Please follow them and show your support.

1. Alice  from  Alice Views Wonderland

2. Adena from Food, Fun, and Fotos

3. Felicia from My Personal Legend

4. Bethany from It’s A Wonderful Life

5. Kate from Life As I Know It

Refreshing Spring Time Treats On A Stick

Fruit Punch Pops
  • 1 cup of seedless green grapes
  • 1 cup strawberries finely chopped
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 1/2 cups of Fruit Punch
  • Popsicle Sticks

Directions:  Combine the fruit in a large mixing bowl. Spoon the mixture into 8 popsicle molds. Fill each mold with enough punch to reach the fill line. Add the popsicle stick and place in the freezer. Freeze for at least 4 hours up to overnight, or until the popsicles are frozen solid. Allow the molds to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes or place under warm running water for 10-20 seconds to remove popsicles.
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100 Day Picture Challenge: Day 3

100 Day Picture Challenge
Day 3:  
 A picture of the cast from your favorite show

This is the cast to my favorite television show. I’m sure a lot of people won’t be familiar with it but it’s called Mistresses and is straight out of the UK. I remember exactly when I discovered this show and started watching. Toodie was only a couple of months old and I was downstairs late one night surfing through channels. I never watch BBC which is a British channel because none of their programs ever interested me. Then that night I saw a preview advertising Mistresses. It looked really interesting so i decided to watch the first episode. Well that’s all it took, I was hooked! Mistresses follows four best friends through their escapades, affairs, tragedies, marital and extramarital relationships. Judging by the title you can probably tell it’s got a lot of juicy situations within it. There were only a few seasons of this show created but I still find myself going back and re-watching the episodes online!

The Luxury Of Sleep

Do you ever try and take a nap but no matter what you do something interrupts it? Almost like it wasn’t meant to be.  Since Toodie has been going to school Tuesdays and Thursdays our schedule has changed drastically. We have been getting up early everyday between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning. Of course this is probably a normal time for the average person to wake up but for me it’s awful! I have been a stay at home mom for three years now so the whole “wake up early for work” thing has flown right past me. I remember not even having to set my alarm because my internal clock would wake me up each day. I guess that’s what happens when we are in a routine and have the same work schedule day after day. That and a fear of being late. I have always been a night owl and when Toodie goes to bed at night I stay up to get things done. I work on my blog, finish up laundry, catch my favorite show on the DVR, or watch YouTube videos. These are all things I used to take for granted. I mean, I don’t even watch TV anymore! Nick Jr, Sprout, and the Disney Channel are what I find myself watching each day. Even when my shows come on I decide to record them so I can watch them later in peace and quiet. I know i’m not the only one who does that! 

Last night I couldn’t even fall asleep until 2. All I kept thinking about was, “I am SO taking a nap after I drop her off at school tomorrow.”  I woke up at 7 this morning, got everything prepared, and headed out. As soon as I got home I went to my room and attempted to get some rest. I felt dead tired but laid there thinking of the million other things I could be doing. Should i do more laundry, watch a movie, clean the bathroom, go pick up my books for school, enjoy the day, etc. Just couldn’t shut my mind off. Can you tell that I am not used to having much free time? I don’t know what to do with myself when i have it. I don’t know why in the world I thought that I was actually going to be able to get some rest in. After 30 minutes the phone was ringing, the lawn man was mowing the grass, dogs were barking, and my wacky alarm on my phone was going off. Everything happens all at once! Perfect Timing. NOT. Needless to say, i gave up! Does this ever happen to you? I feel like sleep is a luxury now a days.

100 Day Picture Challenge: Day 2

100 Day Picture Challenge
Day 2:  
 A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

The person that I have been closest to the longest is also the most important to me. Let me introduce you to the wonderful woman above, my mom. For obvious reasons my mom has known me the longest out of anyone in my life. She is not only but my mother but my best friend. We are one in the same and I wouldn’t have it any other way.There is no way in the world I could be the person I am today without her by my side. She has supported me through rough times, encouraged me, and always loved me unconditionally. I admire her strength, courage, and confidence. I can only hope that Toodie and I have the same wonderful relationship when she is older.

Spring Clothing Trends For The Kiddos

Pretty floral patterns, patchwork, bright colors, stripes, fluttery tops, and lots of yellow!  Spring is here and Summer is not far behind. Along with the sunshine comes fresh fun trends for the tots. Popular stores such as Children’s Place and Gymboree have a full line of fun colorful clothing choices for the little person in your life. 

 The Children’s Place has always been one of my favorite stores to shop at. They have adorable pieces and at a great price. You can really stretch your dollar there. Their Spring line for girls is colorful, cool, and flirty. Butterfly dresses, striped skirts, and jeweled sandals are just some of my favorites. They even have a huge section of mix & match pieces that you can create your own look from. 



The boy’s section has just as many choices. Tons of plaid button down tops, boat shoes, denim shorts, and camo sunglasses. There are a lot of casual looks to choose from and several pieces can be used to layer.You will be able to find the perfect outfit for a family outing or a walk on the beach!


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Gymboree has quite a selection of fun pieces this year. For the little girls flower dresses, mermaids,  and tropical two pieces are available. The one thing I have always loved about Gymboree is their variety of matching accessories. You can pick out the outfit and there are always cute sandals and hair pins to tie the outfit together. 


For the little guys sea creatures, patchwork shorts, and palm trees are found in their new Spring/Summer collection. Girls aren’t the only ones with extra accessories. Gymboree even has adorable matching hats, shoes, and even cool sunglasses!



You can find all of these Spring items in store or online. Gymboree is currently having a 60% off sale while Children’s Place just started their “Buy More, Save More” sale. The “Buy More, Get More” sale offers 15% off your purchase, 20% off $30 or more, and %25 off $40 or more. Stop in or shop online to stock up on your favorites!

Everywhere