Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wordless Wednesday- A Borrowed 'Bad Paid for Family Photo'

Woah.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Toddler Talk Tuesday- The Machines

Toddler Talk Tuesday!

The Machines-

Me: Brennan, you are being such a good boy!  Look how well you are eating!  You've become such a good eater lately.
Brennan (mouth stuffed): I'm an eating machine!

Continues to chew.

Me: Haha... Who told you that?!?
Brennan: Daddy!
Me: Well, he was right!
Brennan: Yep.  Daddy said I'm an eating machine and YOU said Bryleigh is a POOPING MACHINE!

Haha!  I'm sure she'll love this someday... :)

Monday, January 28, 2013

Adorable Personalized Shirt Review and Giveaway by Monogramme Maison

I'm a huge fan of personalized clothing for kids.  I think it is so cute, and once they are old enough to understand it, they feel very special having a shirt with their name, too!  Brennan has has a few shirts with his name including a birthday shirt and a couple of big brother shirts.  But even though Bryleigh had a little sister shirt, it wasn't personalized because we wanted it to fit her in the hospital and I don't 'pre-name' my kids! :)  It is time for her to have her first personalized shirt!!!

 Monogramme Maison has generously provided one of their shirts for me to review for Bryleigh!  Valentine's Day isn't far away, so we thought that a personalized Valentine's shirt would be cute for her.  I picked out a ridiculously cute heart cupcake shirt.  I really like this style because it will not only look super cute for Valentine's, but it is adorable for anytime of the year.  It is a simple design with only Bryleigh's name and the cupcake applique, which is sparkly by the way. :)  We love it!

There are so many other adorable designs available from Monogramme Maison that I HAVE to show you a few of my favorites!

Studly Boy's Valentine's shirt!

Boy's monogrammed shirt!
For NEXT Christmas- Monogrammed Rudolph shirt!
Girly owl shirt!
Princess birthday shirt!
This is only a small sampling of what they have available now.  You really need to go check out the rest!  I especially love their selection of boyish shirts.  Having both a boy and a girl, I find that it is typically much easier to find clothing I like for my daughter, and more of a challenge for my son.  Monogramme Maison has tackled this issue well!  Their boy (and girl) designs are great.

Monogramme Maison's shirts are more than cute, they are also high quality and carefully made.  Bryleigh's shirt is soft and thick compared to many other shirts she has.  The stitching is precise and looks perfectly centered and even.  I really appreciated the included product care card.  It gave very clear care instructions to make sure that Bryleigh's shirt stays in the best shape possible.  The packaging was so cute, too!  Each shirt comes wrapped in a cellophane bag tied with 2 colors of raffia.  You wouldn't need to gift wrap these before giving them to someone. 

The sizing, in my opinion, seems to run a bit big.  Bryleigh is kind of between sizes right now, so we figured we would rather be safe than sorry and request the bigger size, 12-18 months, instead of 6-12 months.  These shirts are 100% cotton so we expected some shrinking, as well.  When the shirt arrived, I was a little surprised to see that the 18 month size looked a lot more like a 2T.  I held it up to a couple of Brennan's 2T shirts and they were the same size.  When I washed it, I dried it on high and hoped for some shrinking.  Sure enough, it did shrink down about a size and ended up being a lot closer to what I would consider an 18 month size shirt.  Bryleigh's shirt is one of the ruffled ones, so I can't speak for how the sizes are on the onesies.  I don't find this to be too big of a deal either.  This shirt has plenty of growing room.  This is just something I would want people to know when choosing a size.

This is a fairly new shop, but they are off to a great start!  They have 100% positive feedback with great, encouraging comments left by many happy customers.  They are accommodating and here to please!  The turn around time is fairly quick, too.  They also let me know that they are introducing a brand new line of premium shirts made with Peruvian Pima cotton.  This is the same cotton that many popular boutique brands use.

Monogramme Maison has been a pleasure to work with and I expect nothing but good things for them!  Two Thumbs up from this Five Foot Mama!

Alright lucky duckies!  Monogramme Maison has generously offered to give away a $25 store credit to one lucky winner!  Just use the form below to enter (US only, please).  Maybe you could stop by their shop at Etsy or their Facebook page to say thanks, too!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Busy, Busy, Busy! Moving and projects!

Wow.  It's been awhile!  I haven't intentionally been on a blogging hiatus, but our busy circumstances have contributed to it a lot!

So here's the deal.  I've been working on organizing and packing in preparation for our big move in the middle/end of February.  It was also moved up by 3 days, so I have just a little less time to get it all done.  Besides that, I'm beginning to plan Brennan's birthday party.  We are doing a monster theme (especially Mike Wazowski) and I'm going to be crocheting him a Mike Wazowski hat. I also think I'm going to make him a pair of these slippers as a gift.  They not only go with the theme, but he needs a pair of slippers and these are fun!!!



I have been working on a couple of product review for the blog, so watch for them to come up soon!  They both come with giveaways, that you are all going to love!

I've also had some projects keeping me busy.  Before packing up my sewing machine, I wanted to get all of my sewing projects finished.  That meant extending the legs on Bryleigh's fleece bunting (of course, she had a growth spurt right after her Grandma finished sewing it and I needed to make room for her toesies), and finishing up a tedious toy stroller cover replacement.  I didn't have a pattern, so I had to disassemble the old one to use as a pattern before putting it all back together.  That included the seat and the basket underneath... Honestly, I spent way too much time on a toy stroller, but hey- it was free at a garage sale and made a good diy project.

And though the next project wasn't necessary immediately, I always need to be in the middle of crocheting something so I have something to keep me busy on car rides and when the kids are playing nicely but still need close supervision.  I decided to make my Bryleigh a dress.  It turned out adorable and I just love it!


We're going to be awfully busy through the end of February (actually, the end of March is probably more realistic), but I hope to blog more often anyway!  Wish me luck and good time management!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

We Bought a House!

Woo Hoo!  We are super excited to announce that we sold our house and purchased another!  It all went very quickly.  We put our house up for sale by owner just a few days before Christmas.  By January 9th we had signed the purchase agreement to sell it and signed a purchase agreement on our next home!

This is going to be bittersweet.  Our little house has served us well, but it is truly that- little!  We are out of space and it is always a challenge to find enough closet room to store our stuff.  At the same time, we will really miss it.  This was our first house.  This was the house that we did so much to in order to make it our own.  This was the house that we brought our babies home to!  This house holds so many of our memories, both good and bad, but luckily, our memories will also move with us, and so will our pictures!

We are very excited to get into the new house, have more room, and make it our own!  Wish us luck!!


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Toddler Talk Tuesday- NOT a boy!

NOT a Boy!

The other day I was reading a book  to Brennan.  It was a book that we'd read many times before.   This book...


The conversation/book text went as follows.

Me: A boy needs help and kindly asks-

Brennan quickly interrupts me.

Brennan: That is NOT a boy. (pause) That is a MONKEY!
Me: Yep.  It sure is.

Brennan waits expectantly for something that I'm not sure of...  Finally he continues to read.

Brennan:  A MONKEY needs help and kindly asks, "Can you please get that ball?"
Me: You got it, kiddo.

I can't help but laugh at my little guy...

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Awesom blogger giveaway event!

i

It's a MPM Birthday Celebration Event

Prizes: iPad 2 with Wi-Fi 16GB in Black
Event dates: 2/4 - 3/4

Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED


Saturday, January 5, 2013

My Boy and his Stuff.... Yeah, that...

Well, it looks like I've entered a new stage with my sweet, precious son.  He is slowly but surely growing into a young man, and his natural curiosity about his body is blossoming.  To put it in a less fruity way, the kid can't stop playing with himself!

Now, he's only two, so it is of course very innocent, but still, it isn't something I care to watch all day long.  Brennan is in the midst of potty training, so when he wants to run around the house in only his underwear, I let him.  It simplifies the potty process.  On the downside, that also makes penis access much easier for him. I mean, there is a hole right there!  And in his mind, what else would a strategically placed underwear hole be for, but hanging himself out of?

I can't even tell you how many times I had to tell Brennan to quit messing with himself, only yesterday!  And if I didn't notice, then I'd hear his little voice say, "Mommy?  Can you put my penis back in?"  or "Mommy?  My penis is out again."  I'm not gonna lie- I can't help but laugh.  But still, after the 14th or 15th penis tuck, I was getting tired of it.

Finally, I'd had enough.  I brought Brennan to his room and put on his only underwear without a hole in the front!  Let's see you yank it out now, buddy!  After this, things settled down for the day.

Yesterday wasn't the first time we've had issues with this sort of thing.  Last week, I was in the bathroom cleaning one of Bryleigh's diapers when Brennan came in- "Mom?  I peed a little..."  Without looking up, I told him that accidents happen and I would get him some clean undies.  He says, "But they're dry."  Huh?  I looked up to see him standing there, undies up with the little guy poking out.  Sweet.  Now to find the puddle on the floor.

If there is a bright spot in all of this, my Dad found it.  "If there is ever a time in his life when Brennan can't keep it in his pants, now is the best!"

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Wordless Wednesday- Some Deer family


Great Photobook Deal with Promo Code!

Hi everybody!

I just wanted to tell you about a great deal I ran across this morning for photo books.  York Photo put out a coupon code for a free 4x6 custom softcover photo book- 'NewYearFans'.  This code expires January 7th.  It doesn't include shipping and handling and there is a one book limit. 

If you were planning on making a photo book, this is a great way to go!  Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Resolutions, Shmesolutions...

I've never been big on resolutions.  I don't know why... just never made much sense to me.  I think when I was a tween I made a resolution once or twice, but not since then.  But today, I was thinking about what I would resolve to do if I actually did make resolutions.

  • Take more time for just me.
    • Paint my toenails at least once a month.
    • Read a book.
    • Crochet something for myself.
    • Write more blog posts.
  • Shower if I want to, even if the baby cries when I shut the door.
  • Cut the cord, get a part-time job, and give myself some time out of the house.
  • Go get at least 2 massages this year!
After looking back at my list, I'm beginning to think I should make resolutions.  Hmmm....