Young Love

This is my son and his beautiful girlfriend, they are only 16.  I see them and I can't help thinking back to when I was 16.  I remember being that age and thinking that everything about my life and my loves were so important, they were not.  I also remember the dreams I had, in my case of becoming a lawyer and having a wonderful marriage and family.  Well, I'm not a lawyer and I don't have a wonderful marriage anymore but I do have three incredible children.  I work a regular desk job, struggle with money worries and I am sometimes overwhelmed taking care of three boys.  It may not be the life I planned when I was 17 but it is my life and I am so grateful for it.  However, no matter how old I get I will never stop coming up with new plans/dreams because change is inevitable.      

S'mores Cake

First off, I apologize for the horrible quality of these pictures. I would blame my phone but we all know the iPhone can take pretty great pictures if the user knows what she is doing. 

My family decided at the last minute to get together for Memorial Day, which was a nice surprise except that I was put in charge of dessert, since it was last minute I decided to use what I had on hand.  I made this chocolate cake using my favorite chocolate cake recipe, and added marshmallow fluff in between the two layers.  For the frosting I used this S’mores frosting from Betty Crocker just to keep it simple. 

The cake came out pretty good however next time I better keep it in the refrigerator.  The marshmallow fluff kind of began to melt and ooze out of the cake, which wasn’t pretty, but it still tasted delicious. 

Happy Weekend

I was reading this article about 12 Rituals Happy, Successful People Practice Everyday and even though these simple reminders seem so basic I was happy to be reminded of them.  I shall spend my weekend attempting some spiritual growth. 

Argan Oil

I have very dry skin and living in the cold, dry northeast does not help with this problem.  I sometimes wonder if moving up North after growing up in Florida's humidity has caused my skin to change or if it was always dry and sensitive and just getting worse as I age?  Either way this winter I found Josie Maran's Argan Oil and it has helped my skin so much.  My skin would sometimes hurt from being so dry but since I started using this argan oil my skin doesn't feel dry or tight anymore.  My skin feels so much softer.  For some reason this argan oil doesn't make your face feel greasy and doesn't cause break outs.  I think it actually helps break outs.  Originally, I thought I would stop using it after winter was over but I love it so much I will continue to use this product all year round.  as a bonus, it's also great for your hair too. 



I have been using the Josie Maran concealer and color stick too.  The concealer is really nice and creamy.  It blends and covers well but I don't use it under my eyes.  The color stick is great too, it provides moisture and natural looking color, I use it on both my cheeks and lips.  Plus it's little and easy to carry or pack.  

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, a day late, I took my son to get his learner's permit Friday and all I could think about is where has the time gone?  I love being a Mother, I always have, it's the one and only thing I knew I wanted to be.  However, being a Mother of teenagers is hard, it's harder than you imagine and in ways you never really thought about.  

My children need me much differently now.  I actually have less free time now than I did when they were younger.  I'm a chauffeur, a short order cook, a person who fills out a lot of paperwork and writes the checks, literally, I have never written so many checks.  They are so busy we rarely have time to sit down and eat as a family but I keep trying because I think it's important.  My boys prefer time with their friends or computers over time with me, which is quite normal, but I miss hanging out with them.  I miss snuggling and watching movies, I miss them being excited to go run errands with me and I just miss the quiet time we had together. 

I do enjoy watching them become these incredible young men but it's kind of sad because I can see them preparing to grow up and become independent.  Also, the older they get the bigger their problems become and less I can do to protect them.

So this Mother's Day I just cherished the time we had together.  If they wanted to take me to see the Spider-Man Movie, I couldn't think of a better way to spend the afternoon.  I just kept reminding myself, as my two younger boys annoyingly wrestled in the hall, that someday they will grow up and move on and I will miss these days.

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