Mommy Monday: "Recessionista" Friendly Finds!

In the current economic climate, we can all benefit from a little savings here and there, after all it adds up. Check out the right column of my blog for regular updates on budget friendly finds. Below are a few recent finds. Happy shopping!



Little Twig: Enjoy free shipping for orders of $100 of more. Also, as an effort to encourage recycling, Little Twig is offering 30% your next online purchase, if you send in 4 empty, full size Little Twig Bottles.




Nordstrom is having a fabulous Anniversary Sale!

Baby Gap: 20% off first favorites (Online ONLY). Also enjoy free shipping on orders over $100, use code (FREE100) at checkout.

Beyond Boredom

Author: Carole Mayhall

Boredom can rob a person of joy. Apathy may not sink my boat but it can becalm me and cause despair as the wind is taken out of the sails of my life. I thought about two verses in Proverbs. Wisdom...is speaking, "I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race." (8:30-31)

because Christ lives in us, these verses are ours! We can be filled with delight daily. Let's emphasize that: We can be filled with delight daily. And those things that can and will delight us have nothing to do with position or ministry or fascinating things to do. We can have delight in the dull, monotonous months, in the routine, mundane days, in the lean, hungry years.

Three things will bring rejoicing to our souls: (1) God's very presence, (2) his world around us and (3) people! God's promise to be present with us always can bring us comfort and delight. So can the complexity and variety of his creation: a flower, the misty rain, the billowing clouds. Sometimes we may have to look hard into some of the people we encounter, but as we ask, God will help us delight in them too. These are the three pools of delight we can bathe in when we're young and strong, old and feeble or incapacitated or ill.

Anytime. Anyplace. Any condition.

I'll probably have to remind myself often when dullness of soul creeps over me, but the truth is that God provides...no excuse for boredom!

Father, when I feel disgruntled-dissatisfied with the "ordinary" life you've given me-please remind me that my circumstances aren't necessarily the problem. When I fee like a plug has been pulled from the bottom of my soul and all the meaning has disappeared down a dark drain, remind me to look for your delights-your purpose in my everyday life-until I find fresh joy in your presence, your world and your people.

Passage: Proverbs 8:22-31

Staycation Outing #2: Visual Art

The second stop on our tour is to the Houston Museum District. My husband J and I refer to this as our old stomping grounds (pre-baby). Having a background in art, we have spent a great deal of time in this part of town and want to introduce E to the Museums in our area.

Product info.
Mimi the Sardine, Child Aprons made of organic cotton. Coloring Blocks made of pesticide-free beeswax at Serena & Lilly

Mommy and Me day #2

We got a little crafty today and made pink popcorn to go in the nifty pop corn box. E liked tossing the paper bits all over the house.

I set a fun table tonight for dinner. The pink pop corn made an appearance, along with markers and note cards at each place setting, and a few key limes. E loved the markers and could not wait to get her hands on them. Note to self, wait until after dinner is complete before revealing the fun markers. E did not want to have anything to do with her food at first, it took some convincing!

Hubby showing his creative side

After dinner we had a little photo shoot of E in her pink tu tu! She had a good time playing with the wind chimes and running around with daddy.

Mommy and Me day

I am taking a few days vacation from work this week and have the privilege to just be mommy. Today E and I went shopping at a local toy store and purchased the Melissa and Doug farm fresh fruit play set. Then we did some grocery shopping to prepare for tonight's dinner. On the menu tonight was tofu nuggets and butternut squash quesadillas (a combo of multiple recipes) , from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook (awesome cookbook). E helped mix some ingredients, but mostly watched me cook while playing with her new play food. We had a great day. Tomorrow we are getting crafty. I will post the finished products if all goes well.

Mommy Monday: Sweet Tooth

I am on a diet and have had such a sweet tooth recently! While shopping at Anthropologie, I came across a cookbook titled Babycakes. Anything with baby in the title catches my attention, and cakes just sealed the deal! Turns out BabyCakes is a bakery in NY, that offers an alternative to the average tasty treat. Click here for more on this unique bakery. To sum it up, their treats are pretty much free of all the junk that finds its way into most desserts. And the best part is, they deliver!

Soulful Sunday

A big rain storm moved in yesterday evening after we got home from Galveston. We have not seen rain in such a long time, so this was a welcome sight. Just before the rain came, we took a few minutes to enjoy the drop in temperature outside, and admire the beautiful sky. A little dragon fly stopped by as well.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23)

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble" (1 Peter 3:8)

Exploring Sea Life Recap

Off we go to Galveston Island!

Welcome to Moody Gardens Aquarium

This was our first trip to the aquarium with E. She was amazed and apprehensive, but overall seemed to really enjoy it. Follow us on our tour...

E looking up at a replica of a shark. Her eyes were as big as saucers!

Checking out the fish with daddy. She did not really want to be too close to the glass at first, but warmed up to it after seeing a few friendly looking fish. A rather large fish came up to the glass while E's back was turned. When she turned around it was there and it frightened her, but not enough to stop her from going back for more fish watching.

Here we are under another shark replica, E did NOT like this one at all. I don't blame her, he is one ugly shark!

Daddy and E looking for Penguins. This exhibit was great. The Penguins were so playful and would swim up to the glass under water and jump out. E really liked this, I think it was her favorite part of our day.

The Megalodon shark mouth! So freaky, but E loved it. She growled when she saw the big teeth!

Under the "sea", well in the tunnel under the giant tank. We saw three sharks, a huge sea turtle and a ton of other fish both small and large. It was fantastic being under the water, up close and personal with all of these fascinating creatures.

My favorite moment was watching E explore the aquarium.

Shark!

The shark kind of scared E.

Some blurry fish.

Leaving the aquarium.

Historic Galveston

The Seawall

E did not like the sand at all. She said it was gross and hot!

She really did not like the sand in her shoes, especially when it got between her toes! When we got back to the car she took a baby wipe and was cleaning between her toes to get the sand out... too funny!

Bye Bye Galveston! We had a great time.

P.S. This was the first time back to Galveston since hurricane Ike paid us a visit. The place has really seen it's better days, but you can tell people are really trying to get things back to "normal".

Toddler bed transition!

We have met another milestone in the Maduzia house. Our sweet baby has graduated to her toddler bed! It happen so fast and sooner than we were prepared for. E is just about 20 months old, and is very tall, and today showed potential to launch herself over the top of her crib rail. This stunt showed us that it was time to take the crib rail off and convert her bed to the toddler bed. It is so strange knowing that she is in her "big girl bed" and can get out whenever she wants to! My husband J and I are going over the house tonight for any unsupervised toddler hazards. Don't get me wrong, we have baby proofed the house, but there is a level of uncertainty with her being able to roam free without us right there! I am hoping any roaming will lead her straight to our bedroom. Wish us luck!

Staycation Outing #1: Exploring Sea Life

As part of our staycation, we are becoming tourists in our own city. The first stop on our tour takes us just outside of Houston, to Galveston. The Island is home to Moody Gardens, featuring an Aquarium and Rainforest. Check out the Penguin webcam.

I will share photos of our adventure, in tomorrow night's post.

Little Twig

20% off, July 16th-20th at Little Twig. Their products are fantastic! I especially like the diaper cream and lavender bodymilk. Enter code 20JULY at check out.

Janie & Jack Summer Sale

Up to 60% off at Janie & Jack. Girl sale items, Boy sale items, Layette sale items.