Happy Weekend……and some prayers!

Today is the start of the unofficial summer season for us!! Yeah!! It is so nice that the weather here is finally starting to warm up and we can actually head out to the parks. My kids are total park kids….we are at the park practically everyday. And that is why I am not investing thousands of dollars in a swing set…I know they will not enjoy it was much as going to different playgrounds!

It is so amazing that nice weather can actually put you in a better mood. I know I feel better and I am noticing people in general seem to be nicer too. You know, us NYers tend to not be so social….LOL! I am glad I can wear flip flops and bright nail polish on my toes : ) These small things just set the tone for feeling good and being happier in my book!

With that said, I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend. Hopefully you will spend time with family and friends and take time to remember what the holiday is really about!


I will be around next week but in limited supply! LOL! I am joining my friend Daphne in ‘a time of social media silence.’




This is to recognize and pray for all those affected by the tornados in Missouri and around the country. Each time you would sit and open your laptop to write a post or read a blog, say a prayer instead!! Hopefully with lots of prayers and the hard work of volunteers and rescue workers, the damage can get cleaned up sooner rather than later.  Check out Daphne's site for a linky that she will be posting on Monday if you would like to participate.

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for the purse organizer!! A winner will be chosen on Tuesday, May 31st!

Tell Me Something Good….....a Giveaway!!

Good morning all!! This is a quick post to share a some goodness.

As many of you know, a few weeks ago was my one year Blogiversary. With that, came a new look for my blog…..thanks to my buddy Shannon. I want to do something nice for all of my readers, really my friends, so I decided I am going to do little giveaway of something I make. Now, remember, I am not a professional (not yet..LOL) in the sewing department. So the item will not be perfect : )

I am going to make one of these to giveaway….a PURSE ORGANIZER!! With the new seasons comes new bags for many of us. A purse organizer is great for keeping your belongings organized and easily transfering from one bag to the next. This is the one I made for my sister a few weeks back. It will be like this one, just possibly in a different fabric.


All you need to do to enter is be a follower and leave me a comment….it is that simple! Be sure to include your email address so I can get in contact with you. 

This giveaway will be open for one week, until Tuesday, May 31st. A winner will be chosen via random.org and the winner will be notified by email.

Thanks for being there, reading my little corner of the blog world and for being my friends!! Now that is SOMETHING GOOD!!

Kindergarten…...not like when we were kids!

Happy Monday!! Hope everyone had a great weekend. A new week is upon us and my only hopes are for some nice weather!! Well, I had a few things I wanted to post the end of last week, but I was having some problems with Blogger. Yes, again!! But, you will see directly below this post is some random post that my kids somehow published from my phone!! LOL! Yes, I uninstalled Blogger from the phone as you all do not need a ton of nonsense coming through your Google Reader that my kids have published!!

Anyway….about to last Friday. Christopher had his Kindergarten orientation. We were so excited to go. Neither of us has ever been in the elementary school before so we were anxious to see the school and meet the teachers. I really had no idea what to expect from the two hours that we were scheduled to be there but I knew Anthony was not coming!! LOL! It was nice to have some special one on one time with Christopher for this special day.

We got to the orientation and we saw a few familiar faces which was nice. There were some kids we recognized from the library and soccer. None of the kids that he currently goes to school with will be with him in Kindergarten so it is kind of sad. But he will make all new friends and he never has a problem doing that.  As soon as we got there they separated the parents and the kids. They took the kids into 3 different classrooms and they alternated an activity in each room. The first room the teacher read a story, the second room they did an art project and the third room was free play.

While the kids were doing that we sat in the cafeteria and listened to the principal talk. Now, here is where I see the Kindergarten is not like when we were kids!! I mean, I knew that. But this all made it so real. I will tell you some of the things that I was amazed at. The first being cupcakes.


You remember when you were a kid and your mom would bring up cupcakes for your birthday in the bottom of a gift box?? LOL! Well, our school district is all about being healthy. And yes, I get it to a certain extent. But you are not allowed to bring in any foods baked from home. You can bring in a store bought snack as long as it meets the guidelines (x amount of calories, x amount of sugar, x amount of fat, etc..). I am sad about this. I will never be able to bake for my sons class. Who wants to bring in carrot sticks to celebrate a birthday?? And, by the way, they celebrate all the kids’ birthdays for a particular month together on the 15th of the month. So, it is not like your kid is even getting a special day to himself!!

I am sure you all agree that the curriculum these days is crazy. And again, yes, I get that we want our kids to be smart and excel on all of these tests. But really. They need to know so much going in that I feel they don’t really have time to be kids anymore. As the principal went over what the school day entailed, I was flawed. What happened to playtime and nap time??  I know that there is going to be an adjustment just from going to a full day. But on top of that, it seems like we will be doing a ton of homework too!! As we went on a tour of the building we saw third grades sitting at their desks on laptops!!! If we had one old computer in school when we were kids, it was a blessing..LOL!

They finished up the orientation by taking the kids out to sit on a school bus. Wow….Christopher was ecstatic!! He can’t wait to ride the bus in September. They also let the kids go through the cafeteria line and get a snack. He said that was the best part of the day!


Lastly, we went on a tour of the school. Oh, did you know that kids play this is in gym??


Well, I can sit an go on and on about what I like and don’t like about the Kindergarten. But I do know that my son is so excited to go. It is going to be a new experience for the both of us. A new chapter. We will both learn new things together. I know that I had tears in my eyes as he walked out of the cafeteria. I can’t believe that time has gone by so fast. I love my little boy and want him to stay little forever!!

I know for sure I will be a mess on the first day of school! LOL!

sAwa

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Semi Wordless Wednesday….

Happy Hump day ladies! Hope your week has been great so far. Ours has been kind of BLAH. The weather here has been rainy. I mean really rainy…since Saturday. So rainy that you do not want to leave the house or get out of your pj’s!!

With all the rain it reminded me of a picture that I took last week when the weather was beautiful. Everyday last week we had clear blue skies and temperatures in the 60’s.

 I drive the same way everyday when I take Christopher to school. Pass the same houses and see the same cars. Kind of like ‘Groundhog Day’…LOL! Well, I snapped this pic in the middle of the winter as I was driving…..


Here is the same street last Wednesday…..


It makes me so happy that Spring is finally here!!
Now…we just need the rain to stop so I can enjoy that view again!!




Have a great day….

Something new and a fun weekend….

Happy Monday!!  Today we are starting off the week a little different around here. Have you noticed anything new?? Of course you did….how could you not?? This little blog of mine has a new look….yay!!! Isn’t it awesome?? A few weeks back my friend Daphne hosted a blog makeover giveaway. I was all over it once I saw that the designer was Shannon from Sweet Bean!! Shannon is amazing….not just as a designer, but as a person : ) She is so easy to work with and listened to all my needs and comments. She came up with my new look in no time. I feel it totally represents me. So, thank you Shannon for giving my blog a great new design. You are the best!!

So, now on to some more awesomeness. This past Saturday night we had a wedding. The girl getting married is a close family friend…and my hairdresser. It isn’t often that we go to weddings anymore….I mean, really, more people we know are getting divorced these days, not married…LOL! I was really looking forward to a night out with good music, good friends and good food.

I wasn’t sure what to wear or how to do my hair. I ended up wearing a little black dress (yes, the wedding staple that we all have in our closets) and just bought some fun new shoes. More on those in a minute. My friend Lisa loves to do hair and she offered to do mine, so I was super excited. I wanted to wear it up since I really never get the chance to do so anymore. Well, she did a side french braid and it came out great. Thanks Lisa!


The wedding was really beautiful. Unfortunately the weather was not so great and the ceremony was outside near the beach. But the rain held off until later that night. Doesn’t she look stunning?? Her dress was gorgeous. Weddings just make me so happy!!


The great part about the whole thing was that my entire family was there. Meaning, my sister’s and my parents minus the kids. It is not often that we are all together without the 7 little darlings in our lives. So it was nice to be able to have a drink and have adult conversation.

Me and Chris (in a blurry picture…LOL)….


Oh…back to my shoes. Aren’t these cute?? Guess how much I paid for them?? Are you ready??  $5

And yes, you are getting to see more of my tattoos!!

This is me and Chris with my 3 sisters and brother-in-laws….

This pic includes my parents….

And lastly….the wedding cake. It was beautiful and looked delicious but we left before they served it…LOL! That is what happens when your kids are with the sitter : )

Happy Blogiversary to me….

Today is a special day here at ‘Circle of Love’ as it is my 1 year Blogiversary!! This blog started, like most blogs, as a way to document what was happening in our family life about 3 years ago. I was pregnant with Anthony at the time and wanted to let our friends and family know how my pregnancy was progressing and what new things Christopher was doing. Well, it didn’t last very long. I posted a few times and then I got so busy that I let the blog slide.

Well, last year I decided to start it up again. But this time it was not only to share what was happening with my family, but as an outlet for me. A way for my to be able to write (yes, keep my brain functioning) and to share my ideas and thoughts with others. And in turn, to search for tips and tricks from other mom’s on a variety of topics….from raising my family to cooking, decorating and crafting.

I can honestly say that this blog has been very rewarding personally. I never in a million years thought I would be so inspired to do and try so many new things. Sewing being the major one. I always wanted to dabble with it, but the last year has really been amazing as I have learned so much. And most of it was by being inspired from others.

I have thought about trying to make money with this blog. I have thought about doing reviews. I have wanted to have hundreds, even thousands of followers. But in the end, what I got from this blog was a great group of friends (ladies….you know who you are!!). Women that live all over the country that I have connected with. Women I truly enjoy talking to and hearing about their lives. Women who walk in my shoes and who understand me.  And that means more to me than anything!!

So, thank you ‘blogland’ for being a great part of my life. I do not know what the future holds for me or this blog, but I do know that there will be some fun things happening in the next few weeks. So, stay tuned and THANK YOU for taking this journey with me!

Have a great weekend….

A quick little project….

A few months ago my younger sister Jeanna went to the ‘Regis and Kelly’ show. Now, most talk shows tend to give things away to the audience. I have gone to my share of shows in the past, Rachel Ray and the View being my favorite. I was lucky enough to get a $250 Coach gift when I went to the View….it was awesome. Yes, living outside NYC does have its advantages!!

Anyway, when my sister went to ‘Regis and Kelly’ they featured a lot of great products in the show, most of which the audience got. The one thing my sister wanted that they did NOT give to the audience was a purse organizer. She was mad that she did not get one….LOL. Many of you have seen them on TV and even in blogland. You place all of your belongings in the organizer and you can easily transfer it from bag to bag. And us women usually like to change our purses quite often, so it can come in handy.

Jeanna’s birthday was a few weeks ago and so I knew I wanted to make her one. I had some leftover fabric and I thought it would be a perfect gift. The only problem was I wasn’t sure how tall to make it. Not knowing what her bags look like or what she was going to put in it made it a little difficult to design.

She was super excited when I gave it to her. Here is what I came up with…..


I could have made it taller, but now I know for next time : )


It fit perfectly in her bag. Now I need to make one for myself!!

Tell Me Something Good…

Happy Tuesday!! I hope everyone had a great weekend and an even better Mother’s Day! Our weekend was filled with sports, errands and parties…as usual. But I got to enjoy and awesome morning at the spa on Sunday and I was thrilled. I totally needed it. It is sad when the massage therapist says to you in the middle of your massage ‘do you have trouble relaxing?’….LOL! After that, I came home and ‘relaxed’ for a bit with my three boys before going to visit my mom and my mother-in-law. All in all, it was just what I could have asked for for Mother’s Day.

Now…I have something good to tell you.


I am thrilled with the fact that I have found an awesome new face cream. I have to let you know that I have very dry skin. I have tons of skin issues, the main being psoriasis on my many areas of my body. The funny part is that I never had skin troubles until I met my husband. I always tell him that I am ‘allergic’ to him…LOL! Anyway, I do not have psoriasis on my face, thank God. Hey, that should be my ‘something good’ for today : ) But I saw an ad for this cream…..



I tried it and I love it!! It is so hydrating. You apply it to your face and neck before bed and you wake up with a nice glow! I highly recommend it. On my trip to Target yesterday I bought this one….



Hopefully it works just as well!

Spread some positivity, link up, and tell us something good in your life!!

Weekend Wishes…

Today I am attending a Mother’s Day Tea at Christopher’s school. I have no idea what to expect, but whatever it is, I am sure it will be adorable. This is such a fun age when the kid’s are able to actually ‘make’ you presents…..it truly is just so sweet! And of course, I keep all of the cards and pictures my kids make : )

I wanted to quickly share something I got myself for Mother’s Day 2 years ago. I wanted something to symbolize my kiddos….something I would have with me forever. And I am sure you guessed it….a TATTOO!

I had always loved the jewelry with the mom and the kid. I also collect figurines that are called ‘Circle of Love’  by Kim Lawrence…hence the name of my blog. LOL!

Here is an idea of what they look like….


So, when I went for the tattoo, I brought some pictures of some mom jewelry that I liked as well as some of my figurines. This is what we came up with….


I love it. It is simple and just what I had envisioned! I guess I cannot have any more kids…not sure sticking a third head in the tattoo would look good…LOL! I will let you in on a little secret, to your surprise, I have SEVEN tattoo’s!!!

Anyway….please enjoy your Mother’s Day with your family and friend’s. Celebrate the awesome, but hard, job we have as mom’s. Take some time to relax and reflect on all that you are blessed with!

Teacher Appreciation Day….

Okay…I may be a little behind on this one ladies! Last week all over blogland there were posts on tons on 'Teacher Appreciation' crafts. I am kind of confused…apparently the whole week is Teacher Appreciation week but yesterday was Teacher Appreciation day??

Well, I decided to do a little something for Christopher’s two teachers. I had wanted to try a new recipe too...that being said, I made some sweet treats. I made Apple Snackin’ cake….something I saw recently on an episode of Kitchen Boss. It looked so yummy and it contained apples….get it, teachers, apples??  In addition to that, I made my good old stand-by MUGS…LOL! Then I thought it was perfect, some sweet snacks and a mug for a nice cup of coffee to go along with them : )

Of course I needed to make a cute little ‘apple’ gift bag and card to go along with gifts. Oh, and I had to decorate the bakery box too!! Since I didn’t have too much time, I had to keep it simple.

Here is what I came up with…

Gift bag….


Card (inside and out)….


Treat box….


Mug….


The entire ensemble….


When I gave the teachers' their presents, they were so thankful. They did not even know it was Teacher Appreciation Week….LOL! It makes it all worth it when you know someone really appreciates your hard work.

Until tomorrow….

Tell me something good….

Happy Tuesday blogland! I did not post yesterday…I think that was the first time in awhile that I was not around on a Monday. But the calendar is getting quite full these days and there are simply not enough hours in the day…LOL!

I couldn’t let Tuesday go by without linking up with LeeAnn. I am all over this ‘positive’ thinking and spreading the word of some happy thoughts.


Well….I am surely happy this week. And the reason being is this……THE SPA!!


I have had a gift certificate that I got from the hubs and the kids last Mother’s Day that I had yet to use. Sadly, I couldn’t find the time in a whole year to make myself a priority and to go and relax. So, this Sunday, on Mother’s Day, I am headed for some quality time with myself!! I can’t wait!!

Hope you all are having a good week!