Category Archives: Uncategorized

Winter Wonderland at Congress Hall

Posted in Uncategorized by
Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post but as always, all opinions are my own.



Yesterday my family and I had the pleasure of attending Winter Wonderland located at Congress Hall in Cape May, NJ.
Winter Wonderland runs November 29th 2013- January 1st 2014.
Winter Wonderland consists of Breakfast with Santa, a magical Christmas train ride, a carousel ride, story time with Mrs. Claus, and and amazing shopping village certain to fulfill all of those Christmas wishes!
Breakfast with Santa runs Saturdays November 29th 2013- December 21, 2013 with 2 seating times offered:
The first seating is at 8:30 am and the second at 10:30 am.
They also encourage you to make reservations for Breakfast with Santa as well by calling 609-884-8422.
I can honestly say this was my first time ever at Congress Hall and certainly my first time partaking in their Breakfast with Santa event!
Congress Hall certainly turned up all the magic for this event!
From the moment we arrived you could tell they completely transformed the grounds into a true Winter Wonderland complete with a carousel, Santa’s workshop where Mrs. Claus read to children for story time, a beyond huge Christmas Tree, and even an adorable little train that took you around the grounds of Congress Hall.
We started our day off  enjoying breakfast with Santa and as we entered Congress Hall’s Ballroom it surely did not disappoint!
The teal colored walls, extravagant chandeliers, and black and white checkered ballroom floor were an amazing backdrop for the enormous poinsettia Christmas tree fixed in the center of the room where Santa himself was seated!
Breakfast was out of this world delicious and the fact that it was a buffet really gave my children the oppurtunity to eat whatever suited their fancy that morning.
They had options of  oatmeal, cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, and everything in between!
After we finished breakfast we headed to the front of the room to meet the big guy himself!
SANTA!!!
I can honestly say for me as a mom, this was the highlight of my day!
Congress Hall had one of the nicest, most gentle, down to earth Santa’s I have ever met- he was even funny too!
In fact, he was able to get our 5 year old-for the first time EVER-to whisper into his ear what he wanted to Christmas!
Our 5 year old has never even gotten close enough to Santa to tell him what he wanted to Christmas!
Plus we were able to snap a quick picture with all of our children in it-and that is priceless!
Needless to say that experience in itself made the trip completely worthwhile!
After we met Santa we bundled up and headed out doors to enjoy the outside entertainment.  First up was the train!
We all piled into the train (the caboose of course) and were off for a ride.  
It was a pretty smooth 5 minute ride, and my boys were just over the moon to be riding on a train!
They could not contain their excitement!
After the train ride, we headed over to the carousel where our older boys were able to go for a little merry go round ride and enjoy themselves.  
After the Carousel we headed off to Story time with Mrs. Claus- which came in a close second for my day’s favorite activity, as well as my children!
Just as I can not say enough for the Santa Claus that is inside Congress Hall-I had the same feelings about Mrs. Claus.
The Mrs. Claus at Congress Hall just had such a cheery, upbeat disposition to her-and she’s surely got an answer for every question the children asked her!
Her enthusiasm, encouragement, and the way she prodded each child to join in during story time was just magical for our family!
You could literally see the sparkle in all of the children’s eyes that were gathered around her for 
Story time.
Once story time was over, our oldest son was able to write a letter to Santa which was addressed to the North Pole and placed it in the “Santa Mail” special mail box making sure it would reach the North Pole-he was so excited!
We certainly were lucky to experience such a magical morning this Holiday Season thanks to Congress Hall in Cape May, NJ.  I highly encourage you to  check it out with your spouse or family as well as it is an event that does not disappoint!  As we left my kids immediately asking if we could go back the following weekend because they had such a great time!
Enjoy some pictures below!

Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post but as always, all opinions are my own.

Textbook here, Textbook there!

Posted in Uncategorized by
Remember this post from a while back about the genius creators over at Campus Book Rentals?  Well they have struck again!!
Thanksgiving is over, and it’s the perfect time to sign up for Winter classes at college…get in those extra few credits you can because with the rising cost of tuition these days such a large percentage of college students have to sacrifice classes for cash who wouldn’t want to graduate a little early?
With the  Campus Book Rentals website the one thing you will not have to sacrafice for your winter semester at college is your time in the bookstore! 
 By visiting this site and taking advantage of their amazing prices and deals it will save you
 time AND money!
Forget those long bookstore lines, or having to leave the comfort and coziness of your apartment-you now have access to a plethora of college text books via this website!
And when the semester is over and you’re finished with the textbook take advantage of their
I sure wish someone had thought of this website when I was in college!
With a few clicks of your mouse you can have all of your text books shipped directly to you-for FREE!
Campus Book Rentals offers
  •  HUGE discounts (40-90% off bookstore prices
  • FREE SHIPPING
 and 
  • RETURN shipping labels are included with each order as well!
Plus for those last minute emergencies or forgetfulness they offer an extremely flexible return policy because they know how hectic college life can be!
It cannot get any easier or more convenient for you!!
Below is a little video below explaining the ins and out of their services they offer, and a BONUS about this company is they donate a portion of each text book rented to Operation Smile!
See you’re doing well for yourself and for someone else…
now that’s what I call a win-win!
Happy Holiday and Happy renting 🙂


Disclosure:  This post is sponsored, however all opinions are my own.

My Season

Posted in Uncategorized by
We all have different seasons of life we go through.
Just as there are four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall
as people our minds and bodies go through different seasons too.
We go through changes, we grow, and we stumble along life’s way.
This particular season I have been in and am still going through has been a challenge.
I haven’t made time for things that make me genuinely happy.
I haven’t blogged, I haven’t sewn or crafted.
I’ve been bitter, and cynical.
I’ve made poor choices, I’ve been selfish, and withdrawn from my relationships.
I haven’t made an effort to keep up with my in real life relationships.
I’ve gossiped, I’ve been emotional, I’ve been hasty and shown malice toward others.
I haven’t been supportive, I’ve been hot tempered and quick to react.
I ‘ve been judgmental, and I’ve been overwhelmed.
I haven’t put God and my faith first.
I haven’t been listening for God’s voice and seeing the path He wants me to walk.
I’ve been making my own rules and walking my own path.
I texted a friend the other day and she set me straight.
I am so thankful for this friend 🙂
She reminded me that this was completely normal, and that it was just the season I was going through.
My season is: Emotions!
And boy is it a tough one.  I’m wiped out!  I’m exhausted!
Just because we are having a particularly rough season doesn’t mean that season has to define us.
It just means we have to pray harder to be shown the lesson of the season we are enduring.
To make it through to the other side.
There’s always a lesson, always a greater purpose.
His purpose.
This friend recently told me that, “my relationship with Jesus is personal and that I don’t need a particular Pastor or mentor to lead me, only Jesus!”
How true!!
I’ve been feeling particularly down and out of place since our wonderful Pastor moved back in July.
I do not do well with change-of any kind…but I had to remember…
 My faith is not based on the teachings and lessons of our Pastor, of course hearing those great sermons every week is an added bonus, but they are not what solidify my relationship with Jesus.
I am what solidifies my relationship with Jesus.
These past few months and weeks have been a pretty dark place for me.
A place I’m ready to move away far, far away from.
I am ready to come out of the dark and step into the light.
I need to remind myself that I am a child of God.
I am redeemed, I am fogiven.
Each day is a new day.
Each day his mercies abound.
Each day I am given a new chance, a new oppourtunity to make the most of my life.
To live my life to honor Him and His works.
“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven” Matthew 5:16
My light has finally been re-lit.
I am ready to move onto the next season of my life 🙂
BRING.IT.ON

Then there are days like today

Posted in Uncategorized by

Some days I’m pretty good at this whole parenting thing then there are days like today.  Some days I wake up and can hear the birds chirping outside, I’m able to meet the needs of everyone in my house and keep smiles on everyone’s faces.  Then there are days like today.  Most days I can get three kids out the door and off to school with pressed clothes, Tied shoes and a little skip in their step.  Then there are days like today.  Let me preface this post by saying yesterday was DST (daylight savings time).  Boy is this a dousy of a day- especially for parents!  DST for parents with small children ( I can’t speak for those with older children as our oldest is only 7) is in one word: exhausting.  It means the little boy who normally wakes up at 6:30am is now awake at 5:30. Or worse the little boys who wakes up at 5:30 is awake at 4:30! True story.  On the opposite end the child who is ready to go to bed at 6pm, starts getting fussy at 4 pm and is ready for bed by 5pm but can’t go to sleep because it’s too early.  So by 7 pm you have three children who have been up since 6 am, and in a downward spiral and ready for bed for atleast 2 hours.  This morning pretty much followed suit.  Everyone was exhausted ( including me)… So everyone was a grouch including our oldest who in a matter of about 30 seconds lost pretty much every privelage known to him! This morning was the pits.  I was thankful that I was able to get everyone on the bus, and myself off to work on time.  If I only knew what this evening had in store for me I would have considered this morning a blessing!

Now you may or may not know my husband and I work opposit shifts.  I work days, he works nights which means there’s always one of us home with our kids, it’s a great system that has worked for our family since we had our oldest.  It also means that a lot of the nighttime activities fall onto me.  Which most nights I am fine with.  Then there are nights like tonight.  So after working all day and rushing to get home to relieve our babysitter I packed up 3 kids and headed off to soccer practice in 45 degree weather.  I remembered the snacks, I made myself a hot chocolate, and even packed some toys for the kids, and I was only running 5 minutes behind schedule. As soon as we pulled up to the soccer fields I let our middle son out ( the one who plays soccer), gathered my bags and folding chair and headed towards the field.  Not a minute after I unfolded my chair my oldest and youngest began fighting over who was going to sit in my chair!  Our youngest won the battle; However immediately after trying to sit in the chair he fell over on top of the chair and gave himself a nice scrape on his face in the now 40 degree weather!  Not a great combination.  You guessed it tears galore!! For atleast a good 10 minutes too.  Now , normally his would have been fine but because of how absolutely cold it was the other parents around me hadn’t brought their other children.  So here I am bundled up feeling like a snowman (barely able to move, snot dripping from my nose) and trying to soothe an overly tired 2 year old!  Not fun!  Eventually he stopped when older brother offered to play with him and the wrestling figures they brought with them! Excellent, I could finally sit in my chair, drink my hot chocolate and watch my middle during his practice! I would actually be able to wave back at him when he looked over at me and waved excitedly.  Boy was I wrong! Things pretty much went downhill from there. There were moments of dirt being thrown, dirt being eaten because someone wanted to taste the rocks, and complete and utter breakdowns…by all of us.  Practice could not end soon enough tonight, and I could not have gotten three kids into the car faster.  In fact, I enforced the “quiet rule” on the ride home.  Sometimes Asa. Mom you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I was very thankful for our local pizza place tonight who cooked our favorite and had it ready for pickup: a large cheese pizza. 

 Some days are top notch and then there are nights like tonight.  Nights where I’m given the remind: I can’t control it all.  Nights I hope I look back on  when our house is empty, clean for more than 15 minutes at a time, and our children are raising their own families, and can laugh about these times that seemed so stressful to me!  I still wouldn’t trade any of this life for anything in this world, but tonight was definitely rough.  





New beginnings

Posted in Uncategorized by

 Hi there!  Remember me?! The girl behind this little space?  Well I’m still here.  Lately I’ve been tossing around the idea of completely revamping this space of mine and I’ve finally decided to take the plunge!  Are you ready for some BIG changes?  I feel like the blog as it is now was a representation of who I kind of still am, but it doesn’t encompass all of me at the point I am at in my life.  For the past few months I’ve been dealing with a blog identity crisis and today I am happy to say that crisis is over!  I’m ready to embrace the life I am living  with open arms, an open heart, and a smile on my face!  So stay tuned, there are big surprises on the horizon I promise!  

College Textbooks

Posted in Uncategorized by
Remember at the beginning of every Spring/Fall semester wandering around the campus bookstore trying to find what seemed like a never ending list of textbooks for your classes?
Well thanks to the brilliant creators over at  Campus Book Rentals you can not only skip the giant campus book store line, but you can shop from the convenience of your dorm room, or apartment in your nice comfy jammies as well!
Campus Book Rentals is a one of a kind website that allows you to “rent” your textbooks (with the option of keeping them or selling them back at the end of the semester) for 40-90% off bookstore prices!  That’s something to make EVERYONE happy for sure 🙂
Plus there’s always free shipping and return shipping labels are included as well.
You are even allowed to highlight in the textbooks to help with note taking.
Additionally, because Campus Book Rentals understand just how crazy a college student’s life can be (especially with finals, and a social life) there’s always a 15 day grace period when returning your rented text books.
Let’s face it…college kids run on a different time zone all together so this is a great idea!
If you’re interested in checking out their website head over here and sign up!
Or check out the video below.
As if that wasn’t already enough amazing information about this company they also donate a portion of each text book rented to Operation Smile, so really when you think about it it is a win-win situation for everyone.
Happy Renting!
Disclosure:  This post is sponsored, however all opinions are my own.

Jersey Love #2

Posted in Uncategorized by

A few weeks ago I was invited to be a part of an amazing Social Media/ Social Good trip at the Jersey Shore.  40 women came together from all across the country to promote that after Superstorm Sandy our shore and beaches are still open for Summer 2013.  Some of you may remember this post and this post.  Where my family is located Superstorm Sandy literally passed right over top of us.  We are located just about 15 minutes outside of Atlantic City.  I can still remember being huddled with our entire family that night as she passed over.  All 5 of us were on a queen air matress in the middle of our tiny living room and when we lost electricity at about 6pm our children could not for the life of them figure out what a “boom box” was 🙂 For me, the eye of the storm was the most surreal.  For about a good 30 minutes all was peaceful, calm, and quiet and then her fury picked up just as fast and powerful as it left off.  We were very lucky that we did not incur any large losses or destruction from Sandy, but others were not.  That is one of the reasons why this trip took place.  There were many false reports in the news about the Atlantic City boardwalk being completely destroyed, which were not true.  The boardwalk is alive and very much thriving this summer,  we were able to witness and see this first hand on our trip.

Our gracious host, Caesars Atlantic City, were amazing just amazing to us.  Our hosts, travel arrangements, meals, room service, everything was top notch!   Every person who worked at Caesar’s maintained an upbeat, gracious attitude.  There was also  the marble/tile shower which felt like you were in heaven, the tv in the bathroom mirror, the exquisite sheets on their beds, and their priceless views they had to offer.  All of this wrapped up into one was the best little treat I could have asked for!  From the moment I walked into the room I was in complete bliss.  Like I said before my family and I are locals to the area and one thing I can say for sure is this: Caesars was able to show me a side of Atlantic City I.never.knew.existed!

Stay tuned for more posts on our #jerseylove trip! 




Social Media Moms Travels

Jersey Love #1

Posted in Uncategorized by

After an almost 4 month hiatus I am back!  I know, I know I’ve said that before…but this time it’s for reals!  This past weekend I had the most amazing experience at my first social good/ social media/ blogger conference.  I was surrounded for 48 hours by some of the most intelligent, beautiful, caring women this community has to offer, and I cannot wait to tell you ALL about it… As soon as I’m able to gather all of those thoughts :). For now I will leave you with a sneak peak of just some of the awesomeness that was experienced this weekend!  And if you want some more details head over to Twitter and search #jerseylove to see all of the love that was experienced! Follow me too @3_litlebirds

“40 Bloggers travel 4 social good & lets get NJ back in Business #jerseylove”

From the Heart

Posted in Uncategorized by

Healing.
Lately my heart and soul have been doing A LOT of healing.
Healing is difficult.
It means letting go of all that has happened in the past for hope of what the future holds.
I didn’t always have the perfect childhood growing up and what I did have was way less than normal.
For so many years I have been ashamed, embarrassed, and downright depressed at the thought of some people in my life.
People who were supposed to be next to me every step of the way growing up.
People who were supposed to be my strongest supporters.
People who were supposed to get me through every struggle I ever had to face, without fear.
People who were supposed to tell me it would all be okay.
People who were never supposed to abandon me.
I didn’t have that kind of experience growing up.
And for that I harbored a lot of animosity, hurt, and hatred
For many, many years…
perhaps too long.
Now that I have children of my own I see my life through a different perspective.
The lens through which I see my life is clear because I know how I don’t want to live out my life.
My life is now lived through my children.
My days are focused around them and has been since before they were born.
My children’s earliest memories will have me in them.
Their wants, their needs, their trials and their successes, I was there for.
My whole world is saturated by them.
They are the reason I wake up every morning.
Every smile, every tear, every twinkle in their eye I have been able to experience first hand.
I am so lucky!
And for that I am forever grateful.
I now realize that for whatever reason certain people who weren’t in my life-in the way I would have liked them to be-for a long time weren’t for a reason.
I would be lying if I told you I knew the reason they weren’t.
But I don’t.
And I may never…
And I’m okay with that.
What I can tell you is that no matter how bad things have gotten you can always, always start over.
It has taken me 28 years, a marriage of almost 9 years, and 3 kids to realize all of this.
And that is OKAY 🙂
This road to healing has been anything but easy.
Most days it took every fiber of my being to not look back at all of the hurt I have endured in my past.
It would have been much easier to harbor all those feelings inside me, to lock them away in a dark place, and throw away the key, forever.
But that would not have been good for anyone.
There has certainly been a lot of hurt, but I have so many beautiful beginnings to look forward to.
From this point we have begun to build new.
We have new beginnings filled with a new love, new respect, and new caring for one another.