Don't you just love a good monogram?

I love a good monogram. SUCH a great way to personalize something and make it special. And it doesn't HAVE to be expensive, y'all! My favorite items in Robby's wardrobe are shirts that I bought at Target and got monogrammed. It's my secret weapon to looking pulled together. Or do we just look pulled together in my mind?.....

Anyway, what can really be a pain is not having a go-to monogrammer for all your monogramming needs. I am here to solve your problems. Two sweet friends of mine started their own monogramming business called Monogramming Mamas! Check them out: www.monogrammingmamas.com

Here are some photos of the cuteness that they have done:

They make the sweetest seasonal items too. Look at these Easter pajamas they did for Mr. Robby!

His are the blue ones, obviously. Have you seen anything cuter in your life? I didn't think so. I CAN'T wait to show y'all a photo of him in them. But he is napping right now (praise God from whom all blessing flow), and I don't think he is in the mood to play dress up. There's always this afternoon, though.

If you need something monogrammed, give Monogramming Mamas a try. They are so reasonable and get things done quickly. And the sky is the limit on what you can get monogrammed. They've done clothing, pillow shams, towels, place mats, bags, etc. Way to go mamas! 

Happy Thursday!

Hump Day Happenings: Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

In need of something sweet to get you through hump day? These cinnamon sugar pretzels won't disappoint! I make them every year during Christmas and whenever I'm craving dessert....which is always. Carbs. Sugar. Cinnamon. Why not?

Ingredients

• 1 bag pretzels (16-ounce bag)
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions

• Dump pretzels into a roasting pan. 
• Mix oil, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour mixture over pretzels and stir to coat.
• Bake in 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.

FYI - If you have as much self-control as me (none), it is seriously hard not to eat all of these in one sitting. Sorry! Pretzels are kind of like diet food though, right?

Happy Hump Day!

Baby Must Haves: Month Eleven

Eleven months have come and gone since Robby joined our little family. It has gone by in the blink of an eye. He is the busiest, smartest, sweetest, most loving baby I know. I am going to tell him that and kiss him and hug him every.single.day. until I'm dead. Or can no longer speak. Or he gets married or something and moves away from me. NOOOOOOOO!

Here are the things we can't live without lately! There were lots of things to choose from this month but these are our true baby must haves.

Hape Pound & Tap Bench - Robby LOVES this toy. His KK got it for him for Christmas and he has played with it every day since then! His favorite part is the hammer. He carries that hammer around all day long pounding on stuff. Luckily, it is very lightweight, therefore minimally destructive. ;) Robby is generally destructive so this is good. To date, he has broken five items so far in our home. What's crazy is three of the items were crystal pieces. My vacuum is my new best friend. I guess you live and learn? No more nice things within a ten-foot radius of him. If you like this toy but want something a little more simple, R also LOVES his Melissa & Doug Pound-A-Peg toy.

Fisher-Price Musical Croc Block Wagon - This little number keeps Robby busy for what seems like hours to me. Which is actually somewhere near 20 minutes. It has cute little blocks that make noise when you shake them and a little handle that he can drag it around with. Disclaimer: There is a musical feature. However, it can be turned off for those times when you need your sanity and cannot possibly listen to another children's jingle. Which for me, is all most of the the time. I love music though. Just not the jingles from toys all day long, ya know?

Boogie Wipes - We seem to have had a runny/stuffy nose since October. JOY. A series of colds/allergies/teething are to blame. Poor R. We tried putting him on Zyrtec every night but I didn't really see a huge difference so we stopped giving it. I'm going to ask his doc at his 12-month appointment what he thinks about all this snot. I think it's gross. And sad. These little Boogie Wipes help so much though. They are soothing and keep his tiny baby nose from getting so chapped and red since I am CONSTANTLY wiping it. And the best thing is, they are like booger magnets! Somehow, the little boogies just come right out and stick to them. If you need some boogies wiped, I'm your gal and these are your wipes.

Nuby No Spill Flip-it Cup - We have had the hardest time finding a "sippy" cup that R will drink out of. I think I tried literally every brand and type there is. Straw cups are favored over the traditional hard-spout sippy these days so we tried straw cups first. He totally didn't get it. Then we tried the traditional hard spouts. He'd take a sip here or there if I held it in his mouth, but wouldn't do it himself. Then I tried these Nuby straw cups and he loves them! The straw is flexible and soft, similar to the nipple on a bottle, which helped. I think in a few months we will try to move to one with a more structured straw. He only drinks water or a little juice out of them right now. We are still on bottles for his formula. Oh sad day when the baba has to go. You should see R's face when he sees me carrying a bottle his way. It is one of pure delight. It'll be hard to take that away from him. Tear. But I'll just remember that I can do anything with the power of prayer. And wine.

That's a wrap for our must haves.

Robby Update:

My baby is eleven months old today. I have so many emotions about this. I now have a complete understanding of how fast our little lives go by, and how short my time with him really is. OK, now I'm crying. Help!!!!

Robby is loving cheese, cheerios, and any carb you put in front of him. We are not really a veggie lover yet. R is the SWEETEST, yet roughest creature. He throws himself around and literally rolls over other children. He doesn't know his size yet. Or the concept of personal space. Playdate, anyone?

He weighs somewhere around 24 pounds, wears 18-month size clothing, and my wrists are killing from carrying him. However...he took his first few steps this week! He will only do about 3 steps and then fall over so we are working on getting our balance. His favorite book is Goodnight Moon and he enjoys being read to. He digs music, animals, and wrestling - he could so win an Olympic medal in wrestling right now. Is wrestling a winter Olympic sport? Those mom commercials for the Olympics have me envisioning Robby on the podium 16 years from now. Have you seen those commercials??? Tears every.single.time.

Not much else going on around the Lombardi casa - I'm getting a few fun things together for Robby's big one-year birthday, but I won't be sharing them until after the par-tay. I can tell you that my fingers are throbbing from a little craft I started yesterday. Pinterest, you are the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. OK, off for advil and maybe a little vino.

Nighty-night and Happy February 9!

P.S. - February 9 means it is close to Valentine's Day. And if you still need some personalized gift tags or cards for your littles, I added some super cute items on Etsy!

Mommy Must Haves: February Favorties

Happy Wednesday! Here's my February favorites plus a FREE printable if you're needing a little Valentine's flair in your life.

Olay 2-in-1 Daily Facial Cloths - I cannot go to bed without washing my face. I think I can count on one hand how many times I have ever gotten in bed with makeup on. And I think all of them probably had a little something to do with over-indulgence in margaritas. Wait, one of them was the day I had my c-section. Getting out of bed and leaning over a sink to wash my face was the last thing I felt like doing. And I did have makeup on. I had carefully applied it, after shaving my legs, after my water broke at 4 am. Ha. These cloths remove all your makeup and can serve as your skin care routine all in one step. Plus eye cream, night cream, and zit cream of course. Oh, to be a lady. With a lot of products. #icanthelpit #ilovecosmetics #homesweetCVS  These cloths are especially great for travel! Say goodbye to spilling face wash in your suitcase. They come folded in a cute little package and are dry - you run them under water to suds them up. Just toss in the trash when you're done! With regular use, I do think these improve skin tone and texture.

Vaseline Spray and Go Moisturizer - I was very skeptical of this before trying. I am no longer skeptical. I know it sounds funny that this is a "time-saver," but it is. If you are a mom, you know what I mean. If I can save 30 seconds here and there, it adds up and increases my online shopping/texting/instagramming habit time. Hmmm, is that bad? Some days I find myself with a jar of peanut butter in one hand and an apple in the other. And I'll spoon some PB in my mouth and then take a bite out of that apple. Because I literally feel I do not have one minute to waste actually cutting up an apple and spreading peanut butter on each slice. So yes, I want to save time in ridiculous ways and I do it using this spray lotion. Try it out and gain more time for your bad habits!

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray - Oh. My. Gahhhh. This stuff is alarmingly amazing. Thats right. I just said alarmingly amazing. Do you roll out of bed with crazy hair? No time to wash and dry? Just me? This will be your best friend. It is a hair spray/volumizer/dry shampoo all in one. The smell is divine. I don't know another word to describe it. You will be turning heads as you pass with your heavenly-pretty-scented-angel-hair. Your man will be like what.is.that.scent? Go get some. You won't be sorry.

90 Degree by Reflex Active Yoga Pants - OK so I haven't exactly been to a real live yoga class since before Robby was born. But I am loving these yoga pants! They are perfect for moms (or anyone) on the go. I probably over wear them but its because they are soooooo comfy. The fit is great and they don't stretch out at all like many other brands. And the best thing is, I found them at Marshall's for $16.99. Regularly priced anywhere from $40-70! Marshall's carries this brand often, as well as TJ Maxx. They are so awesome that I'm not sure how they are ending up there but I'll take it. And the $50 in savings. I can't seem to find them online so I don't have a link for you but look for them if you are at Marshall's or TJ Maxx.

Now go check out hipmamasplace.com to get a FREE Valentine's LOVE banner that I made! I met Jocelyn, who runs Hip Mama's Place, on Etsy and she is always posting fun stuff for us mamas. She also makes really pretty jewelry that she sells in her Etsy store. And aren't we always needing jewelry? Enjoy!

Baby Must Haves for month eleven coming up soon.

The Easiest Chicken Pot Pie You'll Ever Make

Let's talk about chicken pot pie. There are lots of varieties. Lots are flavorless. However, I have a full of flavor recipe that never disappoints. I have been using this recipe for years after finding it in the newspaper. That just made me sound so 1950's-ish. I cut a recipe out of the paper, y'all. Ha. 

When you read the ingredient list, you may think about skipping this recipe. Please don't! I promise it's delish and that you will make it more than once.

I'm sure some of you are questioning my cooking after the last recipe I posted included....ahem....Mountain Dew. And I know this recipe uses a jarred ingredient which in the "foodie" world is a no-no, but it adds SO much flavor and honestly, you would never guess it's in there once you taste the finished product.

Disclaimer: I will say that despite using a jarred sauce in this recipe, I never ever, ever use jarred sauce on pasta when we're eating it as is (as in not mixed with something else or baked or what have you...). I just can't bring myself to do it. And its not because I'm a food snob. I only kind of am. But I'm a weird food snob. Because I will use canned cream of chicken all day long. And crescent rolls...I mean - those are heaven in a can. Just no jars of sauce on spaghetti.

I think it's because I cook like my mom and she always made homemade spaghetti sauce. It's really not that hard and tastes way better than the jars. Perhaps I'll post my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe soon. OK, sauce rant over. And thanks Marmi for teaching me the joys of a homemade spaghetti sauce.

On to chicken pot pie!

Ingredients

• 1 package Pillsbury dough pie crusts
• 1 15-ounce jar Alfredo sauce *I use Bertolli mushroom alfredo.
• pinch of dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 10-ounce package frozen veggies *Use whatever you love. I do the mixed package with peas, carrots, corn, and green beans.
• 1 pound chicken breasts, cooked and shredded *If lazy pressed for time, use a ready-made rotisserie chicken from the store and shred it up.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Stir together chicken, alfredo sauce, veggies, thyme, salt and pepper. Line pie pan with one piece of the dough. Fill with the chicken mixture. Top with remaining pie crust and crimp edges. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and pie is hot and bubbly.