Mugs & Muffins

Mugs & Muffins, Poplin Party, Pacey Pie, Pj's & Popcorn, Coffee Cozies...do you see a pattern here? I am a bit obsessed with Alliteration (just googled to find that out). Planning things, whether it be parties, play dates, family activities, anything is what I love. It excites me to have plans, little scribbles filling our calendar, and makes me anxious when there's free time.











One of the first things I do when planning is think of a name, even if I am the only one who knows it, everything has a name. Mugs & Muffins has been around for a while and I've used that term before but today was different. As you know much of my inspiration comes from the Enjoying the Small Things blog; she amazes me and challenges me to fulfil God's plan for my life right now. She has a group of friends and they get together for coffee and breakfast all the time. The way she describes it is magical, mamas sharing stories, little ones playing dress up, building blocks and loving life. Ahhh, now that seems wonderful to me.

(picture by Kelle Hampton)

In true Nicole style I said, "yes let's do it", gave it a name and planned it! This morning we had a Mugs & Muffins with five moms, ten kids, lots of coffee, homemade muffins (which I slightly regretted, they weren't very sweet), bubbles and a sandbox. It was just as I had read in the blog, mamas sharing stories, asking questions, laughing while the little ones played, chased and got dirty.














Mugs & Muffins...so successfully sweet!

Sun and Shade

Summer seems to have finally arrived and I am trying to balance time between sun and shade. My mind loves the sun, warm temperatures and the thought of being golden brown. My body on the other hand likes the shade. From a very young age I've had super sensitive skin; my cheeks would break out from spaghetti sauce, arms itchy from the garden and swollen bug bites bigger than a dime. Now in my late 20's (really, do I have to consider 26 late 20's, I don't want to!) this skin hasn't changed much.




Hats are a staple for me in the summer (Pacey had a rough weekend).






I listen to my mind, lay out in the sun and wham...an instant headache, legs covered in red rash and the delicate skin on my face boiling with anger. My skin just doesn't like the sun, it desires shade so I am done fighting and am embracing my whiteness. Yes I have close to glowing white skin, will occasionally get red in the summer but won't be tan and would rather be inside sewing instead of soaking up the rays. I've learned...the summer shade is just as enjoyable as the summer sun.

Today's PB & J Day was perfect for the shade lovers. Town of Burke Park was peaceful, shaded and an amazing play date spot. I had the treat of being a mama to only one today as Trex stayed with his Nama. It was a shocking difference, I actually chatted with other mamas, held my littlest and didn't leave exhausted. Although I missed my eldest and felt sad as his friends one by one asked where he was, it was much needed bonding for Pacey Pie and I.














Hope you are enjoying the sun and shade, soaking up the season and enjoying this moment right now.

Fresh Fruit

It wouldn't be summer without a variety of colorful, delicious, fresh summer fruit. We kicked the week off heading to a friend's house for a fantastic lemonade stand. The mamas may have been a tad more excited than the kiddos but the little ones loved waving at cars, pleading for customers to stop and jumping up and down when some of the daddies, aka best customers ever, pulled up. After two hours in the sun we piled in the car bellies full of sweet lemonade, sticky fingers and heavy eyes.
































As our fruit week continued we delivered lemon cookies to neighbors, took our weekly trip to the Mackenzie Center and spent time with cousin Rowan.
















The week ended with PB & J Day picking red ripe strawberries. U Pick Strawberry Farm welcomed 15 moms and about 30 kiddos with big smiles showing us where to find the good berries, being patient as kids unintentionally crushed some of the plants and fed the goats way too much corn. To my surprise there were no major meltdowns, injuries or stressful situations. All the kids loved running through the field looking for red berries with most of them coming out dripping with strawberry juice and faces stained a nice color red.


































***Strawberry Pictures courtesy of PB & J Mama...Amber- check out her website

Can't wait for our Mama's Night Out next week where we can chat, catch up and relax a bit without little ones pulling us away. Happy Weekend!

Friday Already

When your first thought out of bed is "how can it be Friday already?" you know the week was successful. We had an extremely busy week kind of throwing off our good balance and routine but filled with all fun stuff. Our building theme week kind of lacked however. I wasn't quite sure where to take the theme from the beginning, holiday Monday shortened our week, PB & J day at the zoo and then some alone time for grocery shopping didn't leave us much time for building.

We managed quite a few forts, stacking (and eating) mini marshmallows and artwork on a giant cardboard box.












The zoo was crazy busy, little ones, chaperons and teachers everywhere. Didn't stop us from having a good time though, the kids were fantastic and enjoyed the animals.

Summer Park Tour

A really good friend of mine and PB & J mama was talking about the summer and what she could do to entertain her four year old without spending a lot of money. At the time we didn't come up with much but as I was sewing that afternoon my mind was of course going faster than they machine and I got an idea. What about a summer park tour... a list of really cool parks all over the Madison area that moms could take their kids to each week. You could visit a new park each week or two in one, pack a picnic, invite others and the only cost would be gas for the car. This option is flexible for weather, works with kids of all ages and could always be combined with mommy errands.

So after my sewing time I created the "Summer Park Tour". I researched and found some awesome parks around the Madison, WI area, included their address and made a table listing out common park features. This way your kids can check off the park features when found making it a little more thought provoking and like a scavenger hunt.

At the end of summer any family who participates can turn in their Summer Park Tour table for a fantastic prize! Have fun.

Featured Mama

Each week we will feature an amazing, marvelous mama. You will get a peek into the daily lives of other local mamas, see pics of their family and learn some fun facts. This week we feature...

Jenny Dickinson














~Age- 30 yrs
~Birthday- April 4th
~#2 profession (mommy is #1)- Hmm... First I went to UW Eau Claire for Communications and Web Development. I worked as a computer programmer for 3 years before deciding it wasn't for me and went back to school at MATC to become a Certified Veterinary Technician. I worked as a surgical nurse for a specialty clinic on the west side of Madison for 2 1/2 years before deciding to be a stay at home mom when Elin was born. I am currently doing some free-lance web page support for a couple of places in my free time and plan to go back to being a veterinary technician when Elin is around 2 or 3, but who knows where I'll end up to be honest. You never know what opportunities life may throw your way!

~Names/Ages of Kiddos- Elin 5 months
~Favorite Nap time Pastime- Staring at the food porn on Smitten Kitchen and deciding which of her recipes I'm going to try next and/or trying a new recipe.
~Guilty pleasure food item- Sugary cereal, I don't eat the whole box but definitely way too.














~Most Challenging Hour of the day- Between 2 and 3pm, usually I am bouncing Elin pleading with her to go to sleep for one more nap because if she doesn't she will be crabby when Garret gets home and dinner will be rushed. This is also the time she is least likely to want to nap.
~Favorite Baby/Child Product- Baby Bjorn. I would never get the dishes done/dinner cooked/laundry done/vacuuming done/etc, etc, etc without it.

~Blogs you like, follow or have- Smitten Kitchen and of course PB & J.
~Favorite local place to take kids- So far we haven't gone to tons of places since the weather is just now starting to get nice, but going downtown Madison and walking around the Union/Monona Terrace is nice.
~Your mommy style in 3 words- Structured attempt at chaos (ok that was four)

As a new mom I love advice and meeting/talking with other moms!

The Great Outdoors

The goats were talking, sun shining and kids running through apple trees, the great outdoors sure were great this week. Lapacek's Orchard offered a wonderful adventure and another successful playdate. The kids loved being able to run wild, sprinting ahead of the mamas thinking it was so cool to lead the way. Chocolate mini cupcakes were the perfect treat to celebrate Mia's birthday and the warm air was much appreciated after our unusually cold spring. We met little Pip and swooned over the two cutest babies.

Thanks for another fantastic PB & J Day.

Mid-Week

Our mid-week day was filled with green and blue activities, lots of whining, a fun play date, way too short naps, helping my mama out with her daycare kiddos and an anything but peaceful dinner. It hit me today how God's timing really is absolutely perfect. A year ago, heck six months ago, there is no way I could have stayed at home full-time with my boys. We dealt with colic, crying and no sleep for almost two and a half years making my time away at work necessary and restful. We needed my mom during the day so we could stay sane at night.

Life is different now, they are generally sleeping and we have a consistent bedtime. Just knowing there will be an end to the day, a time just for me, some quiet helps get me through the day. Yes my kids are still difficult (if you've ever come for a play date you know:) but they are easier when I get to sleep, so thankful for this time.

A few tips from my current read, The House that Cleans Itself:

• Determine a floor plan and flow- prioritize your spaces and determine what to clean 1st, 2nd, etc. Follow this same flow each time you clean.
• Decide on your "Home Base Zone"- what is the one spot in your house that makes you crazy when dirty??? (kitchen sink, closet, bathroom, pantry, etc.) Keep that one spot clean at all times, this will relieve stress and anxiety.

More to come along with a fun new "Meet Mama..." feature thanks to miss creative Kim L!

See you at the orchard Friday.

Upgrade and Promotion

Our PB & J (play, bond and join) blog is getting a bit of an upgrade and I a promotion. I start my new job as a stay-at-home mama Monday and I view it as the most wonderful promotion. More time with my kids, more playing, more snuggling, more fun and more opportunities to show them the world.

As I've been preparing for the change it hit me that for one we will need some kind of schedule and for two I now have time to show my kids and teach them a variety of things. I love teaching and for the past 4 years have prepared lessons for over a hundred kids each week yet haven't had much time to do that with my own little ones. Well now is the time!

(Picture below: our new chalkboard schedule area)

Up until now this blog has been a spot for me to organize weekly playgroups, post pictures and occassionaly share my mama experiences. Moving forward the blog will continue all that and in addition include weekly themes because well life is just more fun with a theme! Under the "weekly theme" page you will find themes including easy craft projects, games, lunch ideas and other fun stuff. Use this blog to best suit you, if that means you try some of our weekly themes-great, if you attempt one of the crafts-awesome or if you simple want to read, laugh and move on with your day- fantastic.
(Picture from our playdate today)










Winner of Beans-n-Cream gift card...commenter #2- Jenna!!! Your gift card will be on it's way.

Week of Change

Change is good, necessary and exciting but can also be scary. My transition week is here; wrapping things up at my job and preparing for my new one as a full-time mommy. I am extremely excited to be a stay at home mom and can't wait for this summer but part of me is nervous. Not that I can't handle my kiddos or housework but that I won't be able to fully enjoy it.

My type A, on the go, get it done side of me is literally freaking out. I need a schedule, a plan, some little lessons, daily craft and way to feel accomplished when 6pm rolls around. I love to have big projects going on, big plans and dreams, big events to look forward to and all this freedom is making me anxious. I can plan our day any way I like, I decide what to teach my kids, what experiences to show them and when to take them to Nama's.

These next few weeks will be tough but amazing at the same time. I am going to try to find the right balance, embrace my personality yet learn to be present in every moment. I plan to share any mini lessons, craft ideas, daily disasters and wonderful mama moments with you.











I'd love to hear from you as well. I will post questions, parenting topics and of course some giveaways! Comment on this post to let me know which day of the week you would prefer to have PB & J- any day works for me now! Do you like the same day every week, change it up or don't care? A random commenter will get a Beans-N-Cream gift card, they have delicious ice cream!

As Planned

Planning is a large part of my life. I like to plan, feel secure when planned, enjoy looking forward to plans and get filled up when things go as planned. Since a little girl I have planned my whole life out; from my occupation to how many kids. I couldn't wait to grow up and live life as planned.

Funny how things work out sometimes. Much of what I planned has happened; I live close to my family, married my best friend, God is the center of our life, have amazing friends and I had my first child at age 23. However lots of things are different; I didn't become a teacher, I haven't been a stay at home mom, I don't live in the city and I definitely don't have little girls decked out in pink.

As I find myself smack dab in the middle of a huge unplanned transition I realize although plans are wonderful and many times necessary, experiencing something unplanned can be great too. For the past 5 years I have worked in ministry and loved it all. Truly I have had a job I absolutely loved and got to use so many of my gifts to serve God and others. In one week though I will leave that for a completely unknown, scary yet exciting new season of life. For a short time I will be a stay at home mom, this fall I will get to be a teacher and who knows maybe a baby girl is even in the plans.

Continue to plan, dream and enjoy life, all of it.

Weather in Wisconsin

Well this weather sucks, yep I said it! I never thought our plans this week would be mixed up because of rain and snow.

Our Easter Egg Hunt is this week! The hunt will go on UNLESS it is raining, then we will postpone until April 29th. Please make sure to check Facebook Friday morning for updates. If the weather can cooperate a bit the hunt will start at 10:15.













ALSO there will be a TON of kids which is fantastic but our goal is FUN. The majority of kids are little but we will have some older ones since there's no school. Mamas I know I don't need to even say this but it makes me feel better:) please help your kids share, enjoy the experience and have fun. My mom always used to tell my sisters and I, "you had better share and be kind, I can always go to the store and buy you a bag of candy". So true, the egg hunt is more about the experience and not the goodies. We'll have a section for the real little ones with empty eggs so they can just play and put them in their baskets. When you pull up you will see eggs everywhere but we will try to wait for everyone before starting.










If the weather is nice feel free to bring a snack or lunch. The orchard has a great little walking trail we can check out. See you Friday, I hope I hope!!!

Super Mama

Bouncy Town didn't disappoint; it was fun, filled with running kids and an outstanding team of super mamas. Every PB & J is a new adventure even if we do the same thing or visit a familiar place. My passionate 2 year old (as my mom calls it) can change on a dime, happy and enjoyable to a complete meltdown in a matter of seconds. Sometimes I feel calm, relaxed and confident in my role as a mama of 2 little boys; other times I am stressed, on edge and unsure.













This past Friday took me from one extreme to the next in a matter of hours. Our morning was good, slow, calm, even time for a coffee and curling iron. Bouncy Town was busy and loud but my kiddos enjoyed. I was actually able to help some of my mama friends corral their kiddos, encourage one of my besties she was doing great with her new one and held the meltdown off til the very end.










The afternoon came and oh my did our mood and day shift. Nap time just didn't work out, couldn't get them from the car to beds and couldn't convince them sleep was necessary. As we tried to change scenery and go downstairs the dog pushed Trexen and he tumbled down the basement steps, Pacey fell off the kids table (he shouldn't have been on there!), Trex got a tummy ache and poop went everywhere and I was trying to make a birthday cake during it all. Ugh!

In the end I realized every mom is a super mama. It is hard, down right difficult to be a mama. One kiddo, two, three it doesn't matter, motherhood is filled with moments, some fantastic others not so much. As I watched all the mamas at Bouncy Town it just hit me how super they all are. Loving their kids so incredibly much they find themselves racing around an obstacle course, climbing a tall ladder and taking pictures to capture it all.










Mission complete super mamas, another superb PB & J!

Exactly

Today's PB & J was exactly how it's supposed to be. Almost a year ago now I started praying. I had a stirring, a desire to connect with some mamas while my kids met new friends. At this time I found myself in a new place, my group of friends from high school/college are wonderful but not married and no kids, my family is amazing but I wanted some friends I could relate too. Mamas who could love my chaos, realize my kiddos are challenging but still make the effort to gather once a week.











A year later on a snowy April Fool's I am at a playdate surrounded by incredible mamas and awesome kiddos. We always talk a mile a minute trying to fit in every word while chasing little ones, wiping noses and encouraging the ever so hard concept of "sharing". Today we met baby Grant, snuggled a new little body remembering how blessed we are to be called mommy. We also celebrated pregnancy as we grow with anticipation for Kim to have her 3rd baby girl. Two new mamas joined us today, we exchanged stories, our kids played and it was exactly as it should be.











I am simply speechless, it was absolutely perfect. Exactly as it should be.

Full of Bounce

Bouncy Town didn't disappoint; it was loud, wild and full of fun. We are usually the only ones there which is a treat so when "big" kids raced through the obstacle courses knocking our little ones over we were a bit surprised. I am glad for this small business to see them filled with customers but it sure is nice to have the place to your self!

























In addition to Bouncy Town fun I got a glimpse at life with 3 kids. My close friend Jenna who normally attends PB & J is due to have her second boy any day and didn't think Bouncy Town was a good idea. So I picked up her 4 year old and off we went. The kids loved bouncing and of course worked up an appetite so McDonalds was the next stop. All three boys were so incredibly good, laughing, holding hands and making plans to go to Disney World (December 1st to be exact). Three was crazy, a bit stressful but so joyful!











Have a fantastic weekend, see you next Friday!!!

Mid-Week Wonderful

Ahhh, the sun is shining, it is not freezing cold and the snow is melting. I am filled with joy and smiling ear to ear. If only I were at home with my kiddos!

We had a totally awesome Macaroni Monday. In fact I enjoyed myself, my friends and all the kiddos so much I completely forgot to take pictures! Oh well, picture it in your mind...6 mamas, 11 kids, about 100 trains sprawled across the floor, a heeping pile of books, laughter, crying, sharing, a little fighting and a big kettle of macaroni. Simply wonderful.










See you all this Friday at Bouncy Town!

Spring Fever

You are on your own this week! Once in a while we take a week off and don't officially get together for PB & J Day. This is one of those weeks. I am hosting a baby shower Friday evening for one of my very good friends which means I have lots to do! My sister is taking the kiddos Friday as I will be decorating and preparing for a vintage toy baby shower! (Pics will be posted:)

I do have a little homework for you though. Not sure about you but I have a bad case of spring fever! I want to get out, open the windows and visit the zoo. This week I would love for you to send me some ideas for the spring PB & J season. Where would you like us to go, what do you want to do, are you interested in hosting a play date?

Please comment on this post or email me with some ideas for March-May. I always try to have a variety of "free" activities mixed with ones that cost something; the majority of our kiddos are 4 and under too.

There will be a giveaway for those of you who send ideas. Winner will be picked Friday sometime!

Wonderful Wednesday

We mixed it up a bit this week and met today, Wednesday. Two of the PB & J kiddos have birthdays tomorrow so we had a little celebration at the Britto house today. Another great turnout, lots of running, laughing, chatting and eating. A perfect mid-week boost.