Day is over, Night has come....

This says it perfectly!

7 days back to work!

While the transition has gone better than expected...I'm thoroughly exhausted trying to get it all done!!

After a long day and a long night... Nothing is better than giving extra good night kisses to my sleeping boys!

I am so thankful to have 3 happy, flexible, easy going boys!

And nothing is sweeter that seeing them sprawled out in their beds hopefully dreaming the sweetest of dreams!

After a long, hot shower...

The day is over, night has come.

Today is gone, what's done is done.

Embrace your dreams, through the night,

Tomorrow comes with a whole new light!

These Were A Few of My Favorite Things

These Were A Few of My Favorite Things

Having the past 17 weeks home with Zack and being a full-time Mommy to all 3 boys has been absolutely amazing!

As I prepare to return to work tomorrow, I'm trying to put my worries aside and focus on all of My Favorite Things from the past few weeks and being a stay at home mommy!

-Staying in bed until 7 on school days

-Having a leisurely morning..making breakfast..feeding Zack...getting myself and the boys ready for the day (without breaking a sweat)...

-Driving Nicholas to school every morning

-Being the "Mr. Chloe Car!"

-Rocking out to Blurred Lines, Don't Wake Me Up, and Roar

-Hanging with the mom's at the bus stop

-Hearing the kids yell.."1, 2, 3....NOT IT!"

-Getting Zack into a routine for his 1st nap (Falling asleep most days before the bus pulled away)

-Watching my 7..then 8 year old wave to me out the bus window

-Doing laundry whenever I felt like it

-Watching Kelly and Michael and The View (SO CHEEZY)

-STARBUCKS

-Pumpkin coffee

-Going running with the jogging stroller

-Days of no tv and blaring music

-Reading (even though only one of the three books I started got finished...Im still working on it!)

-Taking pictures of everything autumn!

-Football practices and games

-Zack's adorable green and blue hat

-Playing with Nicholas at the playground at dismissal

-Walking to the bus stop

-Racing Luke as he ran home from the bus stop

-Blogging

-Mid-day phone dates with friends

-Catching up on RHONJ

-Allowing Nicholas to be a "1/2 day friend"

-Taking all 3 boys for a special lunch and Disney store trip....just because

-Driving Luke to school the first few days in September and hanging out at the memorial gazebo

-Snuggling with Zack even after he'd fallen asleep eating

It's all been wonderful! It feels harder going back to work this time...but I also feel like I've done a better job appreciating this time!

21 sleeps until Thanksgiving....
48 sleeps until Christmas...
and 219 sleeps until my birthday (usually around the end of the school year!)
UGH!!!!!

Cut Yourself Some Slack

Cut Yourself Some Slack

 

When you let random thoughts cause you stress...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you need to cry...Cut Yourself Some Slack 

When there are still piles of laundry all over the house...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you pour a Wednesday night glass of wine...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you're not able to finish the various projects you started...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you feel jealous of stay at home mommies...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you stay in the shower for an extra 5 minutes...because it's warm and quiet...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you know you should me sleeping but you need to read to relax...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you eat more treats then you should...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you toss your to-do list out the window...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When all you want to do is snuggle with your baby...so you do...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you wear the days make up to bed because you don't feel like washing your face...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you feel frustrated with your messy counters...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you let the ringing phone go to voicemail...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you fear the dads reading this will roll their eyes...Cut Yourself Some Slack

 When you have to force yourself with every bone in your body to find the silver lining...Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you need to edit a post tomorrow...Cut Yourself Some Slack

Wish I was better at taking this advice!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

They say, "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words!" I don't know about that. But this picture is definitely worth a thousand thoughts.

This smattering of objects was spontaneous!  There was no fabrication here.

Here's what you see:

3 1/2   Vinylmations

1 baby bottle

1 half drank a bottle of water (or half-full if you choose to see it that way)

1 Finn McMissile mini car

1 happy meal toy book

1 Journal

2 packages of Post-it's

1 package of Listerine strips

2 copies of the November calendar

1 laptop

1 Target toy catalog

1 baggie of cut up coupons (Nicholas is cutting homework)

And a few stray drops of water...

Like I said, no fabrication here! 

Just another day… On the counter… In the Mingacci house!

RELAX....And take a minute for yourself!

RELAX....And take a minute for yourself!

I think I will!

      (Written on my lunch bag!)

(Still snuggling as I finish this post)

Playing Hooky for the Afternoon

Playing Hooky for the Afternoon...

With only 10 true days of maternity leave left, there is a desire to cherish every waking moment and take advantage of the extra time I have right now.

Nick has been begging to be a "half day friend!" These are students who are in his class that get picked up at 11:45 as opposed to 3:15. There aren't many 1/2 day friends but nevertheless I think some days its hard to see other kids leave with their moms and dads at lunchtime.

So today was a field trip day for him. His class was going to the farm for the morning! So yesterday when he asked if he could be a half day friend, I smiled and said "Absolutely!" I also remember many kids going home early after field trips when I was a kid.

Of course, once Luke heard Nick was going to be a half day friend, we decided to make it a family affair.

And it has been so lovely!

I picked Luke up at 11:30 and make it to pick Nicholas up at 11:45. We decided to go to the mall for lunch. And no trip to the mall is complete without a swing around The Disney Store. Of course, we couldn't NOT take advantage of the Vinylmations being BOGO (twice!)! The boys left the mall super excited and appreciative!

                                 

We came home...I fed Zack (who's now quietly napping upstairs on my bed) and the boys have been playing for over an hour...together...with no tv on...and no bickering!

It's been a great afternoon so far! A great opportunity to make new memories!

When the Going Gets Tough

When the Going Tough...

This is a reminder that all we do doesn't always go unnoticed!