September 2016

Happy 3rd Birthday Orlando Moms Blog!

Last weekend, we gathered together to celebrate a very happy occasion….

The 3rd Birthday for Orlando Moms Blog!!

While the blog was created in May 2013 by our owner/founder, Ms. Kristi Corley, it officially launched & went LIVE in September 2013. So, for that, we celebrate this September as our 3rd birthday.

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We were also SO excited to celebrate this birthday because this year has been one of significant growth for OMB. We reached a milestone with our Facebook page following with 5k followers during the year, and now proudly have over 6k!!! We also have almost 2500 followers on Instagram and over 1k followers on Twitter. We love Orlando Mamas & look forward to all the new adventures this next year will bring ❤

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So fun to be able to hang out with some of our team…love these ladies!

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Also got to have my favorite boys along with me for the evening ❤ …so fun!!

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photo credit for above two picturesWhere You Went Photography

Liam enjoyed coloring these cupcakes 🙂

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HUGE thank you’s to all the sponsors for the fab swag bags we got to take home!

Sweet by Holly!

Mustache on a Stick

Orlando Just Between Friends

Aleva Naturals

The Fluff Factory

The Confetti Bar

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Also, thank you to the Paper Goat Post for hosting our soiree. Such a lovely venue!

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It’s been 2 years and 3 months since my 1st article when live with OMB. You can check out all my posts with them HERE.

It’s been a while since I’ve cranked out a post for OMB, but Kristi has been so supportive in allowing me to make family a priority these last few months so that’s why you haven’t seen me there…but my support for those mamas remains strong. I love that this group is a great parenting resource for our community, and I’m excited to see the ways we will grow in the future! Each contributor brings their unique background, story, and perspective to each post, and I really love that!

Orlando Moms Blog is part of the City Moms Blog Network, and if you’re not local to Orlando, please click HERE to find a sister site in your area 🙂

CHEERS TO YOU, ORLANDO MOMS BLOG!! …AND, HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY! 

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Latest & Greatest News, May 2016

Catching Up

I mentioned in my previous post that through the craziness that is life, I’ve gone on a hiatus from blogging, so let’s try to catch up! We’ve definitely been busy these last few months….so, here are some highlights:

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At the beginning of March, Liam went on his very 1st field trip! It was to the movies with his class at Pre-K, and they saw Zootopia. He had a blast, but I have to tell you that his most favorite part of the entire experience was riding the school bus! The director took this pic of him before they left. She said his face lit up when they got on the bus & started pulling away. It was all he could talk about when I picked him up. They could have just drove around the block & he would have been thrilled. LOL! He has seen the daycare’s school bus for the last few years each day, and has always asked when he would get to ride it. So, you see, this was a BIG deal!

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Easter came early for us this year. It fell during the last weekend of March. We really love the Easter Bunny in Casa de Murphy & he brought lots of fun goodies for wee-man again this year ❤

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Liam woke up before the sun came up….although at bedtime, he cautiously asked if EB would be gone before he got up. He loves him but he does not want to see that gigantic guy….lol! Can’t really blame him for that…I think the mall EB’s have left an impression on him. However, all of that was forgotten when he woke up, and he was stoked as he went through his basket & checked everything out.

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The EB always hides eggs in the front yard & this year was no different. However, there was no deterring this 4 year old’s excitement. So…..we hunted eggs in the dark (before 7 a.m.) WITH a flash light. It was awesome!

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I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I wanted our little family to get back into church, as well as give this essential foundation to Liam, so he could build his own relationship with the Lord. I’m very happy to say that we found a wonderful church home early this year & it’s just been a blessing for us all. Service on Easter Sunday was great!

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Easter weekend was jammed packed for us! It also brought on Stephen’s BIG 40th Birthday! We always share Liam’s milestones, but this was definitely one for Daddy 😉

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Since his big day fell on a Friday, we had a yummy dinner out at Kobe with friends.

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The next day, we celebrated with our little guy ❤

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The festivities continued right after the weekend, as my mom flew in from North Carolina for a few days. Liam was so excited to see his Grammy, as we hadn’t visited with her since she moved up there last summer. It was a great time with her 🙂

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While she was down here, we spent the afternoon at Disney Springs. I hadn’t been out there in forever, and was really impressed with all the renovations & changes. We will definitely be back, again, soon!

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So fun that there are a few rides for the littles there now, too!

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In April, I had the pleasure of working alongside my fellow Orlando Moms Blog mamas for Bloom 2016. It was a great time & a huge success.

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Great information was shared for both new & expectant moms by several guests in our local community. We gathered at a local coffee shop downtown — Credo.

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City Moms Blog Network gave us these fab swag bags — LOVE THEM ❤

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Honored to be part of this team…..

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Are ya still with me? 🙂 ….We’re almost caught up!

At the beginning of this month {May}, we met up with our FABULOUS swim instructor, Ms. Katie Mosley from SwimSprout for our spring swim refresher lessons for Mr. Liam. If you’ve been following along with us over the last few years, then you know we’ve been swimming with them & Liam has been doing amazingly well in the water. Here’s a look back HERE and HERE. This season was no different, except that it will most likely be our last refresher with Ms. Katie, as Liam has been doing so well, and is now at a point with his muscle memory, that he is retaining his skill. So proud of him!

He has quickly gone from his basic swim-float-swim to jumping off the side of the pool & also diving for rings. We can already tell that this summer is going to be super fun poolside!

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Last, but certainly, not least, is an impromptu  dance performance little man graced us with after dinner over the weekend. I have laughed every time I have watched this. He loves to dance & is SO good at it. Love this kid!! I posted a snippet of this on IG & FB, but this is the full-length feature 🙂 ….Enjoy!!

Until next time, friends!

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February 2016, Latest & Greatest News

Melted Crayon Hearts ~ Valentines Fun

Happy Friday…and, almost Valentine’s Day ❤

I’m over on Orlando Moms Blog sharing my most recent post with you and just in time for this special day of love. A perfect chance to have some fun with the littles. I hope you will check it out 🙂

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You can link to the full article HERE

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You can also check out a few fun Valentine’s projects I did with Liam last here and shared with OMB.

First up — Valentine’s LOVE Art Canvas

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Link to the full article HERE

We also had so much fun Growing Heart Lollipops

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Link to the full article HERE

We are looking forward to a fun-filled family weekend. Hope you have a Happy Valentine’s, as well!

Happy Reading!

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June 2014, Latest & Greatest News

A Potty Star Is Born

If you’ve been following us, then you know that we’ve been in this potty training race for about 4 months now. I kept promising an update on our progress, but we were running into different obstacles along the way, and I just didn’t feel we were “there” yet.

Then, recently, a NEW exciting opportunity came my way that allowed me to share our potty training adventures! I am SUPER EXCITED to share with you all that I am a GUEST CONTRIBUTOR today on the ORLANDO MOM’S BLOG!!!! Please click here and go over and check it out!

Here are some additional pics that I did not share as part of that post:

Throwing the last of his diapers away back on the "Potty Training Boot Camp Weekend in February....Liam was VERY excited to do this!
Throwing the last of his diapers away back on the “Potty Training Boot Camp Weekend in February….Liam was VERY excited to do this!

 

We quickly got rid of the changing table and gave little man a nice, new bookshelf!
We quickly got rid of the changing table and gave little man a nice, new bookshelf!

 

It took awhile & some diligence, but we have a Potty Star at school!!! :)
It took awhile & some diligence, but we have a Potty Star at school!!! 🙂