A Fairy Fourth Birthday

Emma's fourth birthday party was a success with a turnout of about 20-something adults and 8 kids. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. I was overwhelmed and stressed the night before and morning of but it all came perfectly together with the help of my amazing friends and family who all pitched in to make her day super special. Some of the things I made to eat were "Fairy Themed" like Mushroom Toadstools (pieces of cheese sticks cut up with a grape tomato placed on top), fairy berry salad, Tinkerbell fruit snacks, Magic fairy wands (pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles), a fairy kale chip forest, stuffed mushrooms and then just some other yummy snacks like sandwiches, bacon wrapped sweet potatoes, chips and dip, and a veggie platter.

I made a "Mushroom Toadstool" cake using a funfetti cake box mix. I put strawberry pie filling in the middle and layered it. The white dots were just white chocolate melts and I found the cake topper at Walmart.

The beautiful four year old Fairy Princess herself.....

My amazing friend Liz helped out at the party and did face painting for all the kiddos...

Her new mini cooper...

Theme Song Thursday

Last week I gave you a song chosen by Emma and this week I bring you the same band but one of my favorite songs by them.

Happy Single Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all my fellow single mothers out there. You deserve a huge pat on the back for all the hard work you do everyday. Sit back, relax and enjoy your special day. We all deserve it. Being a mother...single mother moreso is not an easy task. It is a 24/7 responsibility. Yes as rewarding as it may be it is tiring. So this is going out to all you special ladies out there....

Happy Single Mothers Day!

Theme Song Thursday- Emma's Pick

This week I present to you a song chosen by Emma. We recently went to the Daffodil Festival in Meriden, CT and this local band played. I had seen them play before at a show with my friends sans child. But this time I brought Emma with me since it was a daytime family friendly event. And Emma instantly fell in love with the band...this song is especially her favorite, she calls it the "getting married song". She is my little Americana loving music lover. I am thrilled that she is following in my footsteps and developing a love for Americana and folk music. She has recently really gotten into the fiddle and now want to take lessons. So that will be a new adventure for her 5th birthday. The gal has good taste in music.

Four

How fast the time flies....

I can't believe in only four short years how much that she has changed and grown. She so quickly went from baby to toddler and has now developed into a little girl with her very own personality, right before my eyes. From the first moment I held her in my arms my heart was instantly filled with never-ending love for my sweet little angel.

The first year...

And beyond...

Each year, every moment, memories made.



Happy Birthday my sweet love. I love you more than words can say...forever, always and beyond!

Theme Song Thursday.... My sweet girl

Dedicated to my sweet love on her birthday weekend...

Good Cop/ Bad Cop

I don't spoil my daughter not only because I don't have the means to but even if I could I wouldn't. I don't want electronics, name brand clothing and expensive toys to be of high importance to her. I want her to live a humble life and learn to appreciate the little things. So I don't spoil her.

I also want her to grow up well-behaved, respectful and lady-like so I discipline her. I set rules and boundaries which she may not always like but they are necessary. As she gets older (especially as a teen) she will probably hate these limitations even more but hopefully one day she will understand I am doing all this because I love her.

Unfortunately the ex does not follow this same viewpoint. So whenever he comes to visit he showers her with gifts which result in her making comments like "I love my daddy because he buys me such nice things". Or he allows her to do whatever she wants, eat as much candy as she likes, eat dessert instead of her meal, etc. Then she comes back to me...and I am the bad guy. And to be honest I get it...I really do. He's not around much so he feels that this is the way to win her affections. It's just not exactly the right way to do so.

Yes we are playing a game of good cop/ bad cop...and it needs to stop before it spirals out of control. Because I'm afraid as she gets older she is going to learn how to manipulate the situation. Not only that but it isn't fair on me to always have to be the bad guy. I need his support in making rules and being a parent. Something I'm afraid I will never get.

I know she is just a child but I wish she could see how much I love and care about her. How I am here for her each and every day. How instead of showering her with expensive gifts I shower her with endless amounts of hugs and kisses. How I am the one who wakes up in the middle of the night when she had a bad  dream, how I kiss her boo-boos, how I make her homemade chicken noodle soup when she's sick, how I read her a bedtime story as we cuddle under the covers every single night, how I make her eat her veggies only so she will grow big and strong, how I don't let her eat unlimited ice cream so she won't get a belly ache and cavities, how sometimes I lay awake in my lonely bed at night worrying about her and analyzing the choices I make, how I make my life choices based upon how they will effect her and I always put her before myself. I wish I could make her realize that money does not buy love. I hope she will understand that I am not the bad cop. That I love her with all my heart.

This damn co-parenting shit is not easy.

Theme Song Thursday

Why she makes me smile....

Because when we cook together more food ends up in her mouth than in the cooking dish.

Because in the morning when I'm getting ready in the bathroom, she wakes up to sneak into my room and hides under the covers (and I pretend I don't see her or didn't hear her tiny feet pitter patter across the floor) waiting patiently till I enter so she can jump out to "scare" me.

Because she likes to eat olives off her fingers.

Because when I put on her favorite show (Fresh Beat Band) she is never able to contain herself and I always catch her standing up midshow to dance along with the actors. And she does a really good rendition of the chicken dance.

Because when I tell her hold still I'm going to take a picture she almost instantaneously breaks into a funny shot worthy pose.....

Or if she hears "Say Cheese" she will immediately strike a diva pose.

Because the words that come out of her mouth hold so much innocence yet so much wisdom....

Or is just really embarrassing funny!

My goodness I love that little girl.

Why

I wrote a post before explaining why I blog (Unfortunately I cannot find it because I don't remember when it was posted and maybe I'm just overlooking it so sorry but I can't link to it here). And really why I do it is for a variety of reasons. One, writing is very therapeutic for me. I have always loved to write. Even as an angst ridden teen I would express myself through words jotted down in a journal. A habit that followed me long into adulthood. And really this is very similar to that where now it's just an online journal with a huge community that can respond and support.

Thus leading into my second reason for blogging. We are a community. Since becoming a single mom and blogging about my own personal experience my following has increased drastically! The support and feedback that we all give to one another is amazing. Sometimes being a single mom can feel very lonely and knowing that this little support we have amongst each other even if only virtually...really helps. I have even come to think of some of you as friends. And the emails and comments I receive from some of you asking your own questions, talking about your own problems or explaining how being able to relate to my story has helped you really means a lot to me. So I will never stop writing. I will never censor what I write. Everything here will be the cold, raw hard truth. Some people may not like it but it is what it is. It is my freedom of speech. It is my creative ability to express myself. I allow the words to flow from my heart without suppression. If you don't like it don't read it.

Another reason is to keep all my thoughts, pictures, story, etc. together in one spot as a memory for myself. And having a reason to write everyday also helps to keep my skill alive. I once read a book about improving the craft of writing when I was taking my creative writing class and it said how important it is to write every single day if you want to get better at it. Since then I have tried to follow through with that piece of advice whether it's here, on Mommpy Poppins, for another freelance writing gig or even at night when I'm writing in my journal.

Skinny Cow Candy

With summer approaching many of us are trying to watch what we eat so that it doesn't ruin our plans of looking sexy in our bikini's....am I right? I am attempting to cut back on my chocolate ingestion which is extremely difficult for a die hard sweet tooth. But....maybe I don't have to now....

Skinny Cow Candy is introducing new Skinny Cow Divine Filled Chocolates! The new divine filled chocolates are these amazing, velvety milk chocolate pieces with creamy centers of either rich caramel or smooth peanut butter cream. The best part is that each single-serve package contains not one, but three tasty pieces of divine filled chocolates for only 130 calories! These new mouth-watering chocolates will be sure to fill your desire for sumptuous chocolate taste without the guilt. Since the chocolates are wrapped individually it helps with self-control and any temptation to over-indulge. This tasty little treat really hits the spot with it's creamy chocolate goodness.

You don't have to sacrifice your indulgence for the sake of your waist anymore! Skinny Cow Candy Divine Filled Chocolates will be sold in single serve pouches with three pieces inside for a suggested retail price of $0.99, and in take-home 6oz. boxes that include six single serve pouches for a suggested retail price of $4.29. For additional product or nutritional information on the entire Skinny Cow Candy collection please visit www.skinnycow.com or www.facebook.com/skinnycow

Super Easy Dinner for the Working Single Mom

Do you work all day and have to rush home to have dinner on the table? Yea that's the story for my house. I usually don't get home from work until about 5ish and at that point Emma is usually pretty hungry and looking for food. So for weeknights I like to make things that are quick and easy, can be prepped the night before or are crockpot meals! Well a few nights ago I made this really tasty version of a sweet sesame chicken. I prepped everything the night before and let it sit in the refridgerator to marinate so when I came home from work the next day all I had to do was stick it in the oven and make a side dish. I served this with broccoli and rice! It was all gobbled up before I even had a chance to take a picture.

Pineapple Sesame Chicken

1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized chunks

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp honey

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 cup of pineapple cut into bite sized chunks

black pepper and ground cinnamon to taste

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl and mix well.

Add chicken, mix together well so the chicken is coated in the marinade. Cover and let sit in the refridgerator for atleast 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degress.

Arrange chicken on a cookie sheet and pour any leftover sauce over it.

Bake in oven for 10 minutes.