Hi Friends!
My latest post with Orlando Moms Blog is up today and it’s another one that I wrote from my heartstrings. ❤
Being a mom is hard work but it’s THE MOST rewarding part of each & every day. In this post, I share some snippets of what being a mom means to me.
Because we’re moms, we hold their hands for a little while….but they will hold our hearts forever.
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thanks for reading!
Happy Halloween! We recently had a great time looking for tricks & treats at Spooktacular at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens.
We headed up their opening weekend & it really was a fantastic time. We went with my dad & stepmom, who also live up in Jax. You can read more on our road trip in my latest post with Orlando Moms Blog HERE.
Over the summer, Liam started watching Grease a lot …like ya know, how kids are when they hone in on a movie or show. It becomes an obsession. It was definitely like that for us with this movie. It’s a classic & we were pleasantly surprised he became so fond of it. When we acquired a bag of hand-me-down clothes recently from a friend for him, there was this black leather jacket in it. Little man immediately grabbed it out and said, this is Danny’s jacket!!! {a.k.a. Danny Zuko} ….He then declared that he was going to be Danny for Halloween, and it stuck. A few more miscellaneous items later & the transformation was complete ❤
Ladies & Gentleman, let me present ….Danny Zuko
The entire gardens were decorated for Halloween. It was impressive to see the amount of pumpkins that were carved! This scarecrow was a real person 🙂 …Liam was not too sure of them. We tried to get him to take a picture with it, but that was a no go. LOL!
Several different themes were displayed throughout the park, and were definitely from movies we all know & love. First up was The Wizard of Oz!
LOVE THIS! Catching up with all the gang ❤
This event was event was at night, so almost of the animals were asleep. Only the nocturnal animals were out. Totally ok & understandable. We did, however, get to see some of our favs, still. The giraffes were hanging out when we 1st got arrived. The baby’s are adorable!
Also snuck a peak at Mr. Elephant 🙂
It was a gorgeous night. A cool breeze was coming through & the moon was full & bright. I loved the lights that were up all around. Such awesome atmosphere & so pretty!
Glow in the Dark Cotton Candy! …super fun, but oh my!!
Spooky Bridge all lit up for the night
Liam’s all time favorite Halloween movie is The Nightmare Before Christmas. We were all over the moon excited to see the section the was decked out for this movie, including his fav main characters, Sally & Jack Skellington.
Look! We found the Lost Boys 😛 …don’t tell Peter Pan
Fantastic night & great memories made! The holidays are busy times but we really love to get out there & adventure through our community….there are awesome events to experience together!
Until next time, friends!
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.
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 ❤
So fun to be able to hang out with some of our team…love these ladies!
Also got to have my favorite boys along with me for the evening ❤ …so fun!!
photo credit for above two pictures — Where You Went Photography
Liam enjoyed coloring these cupcakes 🙂
HUGE thank you’s to all the sponsors for the fab swag bags we got to take home!
Also, thank you to the Paper Goat Post for hosting our soiree. Such a lovely venue!
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!
Hi Friends!
My latest post with Orlando Moms Blog is up today and it’s definitely one that I wrote from my heartstrings. ❤
You can link to the full post HERE.
Our Orlando community experienced insurmountable tragedy in recent days, but in the wake of this, we have pulled together and will rise above with LOVE and as one, strong community unit, as well as county. I did not want to necessarily talk to our little one about this just yet, but it kind of just naturally unfolded. However, I did so in a way that was age appropriate and with love and respect to his little heart & mind.
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thanks for reading!
Hi Friends!
My latest post with Orlando Moms Blog is up today….just in time for the start of summer, which is sneaking up on us, right?!?!
You can link to the full post HERE.
I’m definitely not a fan of over scheduling our family time – which can be easy to do these days! I want to focus on making memories this summer, so this post gives you a simple list of activities to do together this summer!
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happy reading!
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:
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!
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 ❤
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.
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!
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!
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 😉
Since his big day fell on a Friday, we had a yummy dinner out at Kobe with friends.
The next day, we celebrated with our little guy ❤
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 🙂
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!
So fun that there are a few rides for the littles there now, too!
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.
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.
City Moms Blog Network gave us these fab swag bags — LOVE THEM ❤
Honored to be part of this team…..
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!
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!
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 🙂
You can link to the full article HERE
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
Link to the full article HERE
We also had so much fun Growing Heart Lollipops
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!
Hi friends!
I’m sharing my most recent post with you today for Orlando Moms Blog. I hope you will check it out 🙂
You can link to the full article HERE
Sharing my New Year’s Resolution with you. I’m not one to make resolutions, but I think this is a pretty good one. While taking care of everyone else, I realized I had forgotten to take care of ME. Join in with me — let’s make 2016 the year we take back our worth & recognize our value!
Happy Reading!
Hi Friends!
I’m sharing some holiday fun over on Orlando Moms Blog. I hope you will check it out 🙂
You can link to the full article HERE
I am all about having fun with my kiddo at the holidays and making memories to last a lifetime. What I am not about, however, is stressing myself out in the process. One tradition we enjoy each holiday is getting together to decorate gingerbread houses. Over the years, we’ve perfected the process to make it as simple as possible, so today, I’m sharing my tips with you!
Happy Reading!
It’s Elf Return Week!! Exciting times around Casa de Murphy, people! Our elf, Mr. Elf, flew back on Saturday night & Liam was SUPER excited to discover him when he woke up Sunday morning 🙂 ….I will be sharing pics of our first week of fun with him later this week.
For now, be sure sure to check out my latest Orlando Moms Blog post for some Elf on the Shelf fun.
You can link to the full article HERE.
I’m sharing some ideas for keeping the Elf on the Shelf fun & lighthearted in your home. Plus, a list of easy & simple suggestions to get you started with your elf. I also am excited to share a FREE printable calendar to help you plan your stay with your elf ❤
Happy Reading!
Casa de Murphy 