the swap...

...headband style...

about a month or so ago, i participated in my first headband swap! this was seriously so so fun!
danielle over at take heart lined up this lovely idea! {thanks lady!}

my swap partner was anna over at the joy cottage.
this lady if fabulous, creative, and super nice! annnnd not to mention she has a fabulous shop!!!
{i may or may not have ordered a pillow from her shop with mason's name on it}
just sayin' :)

after emailing each other a few times, it was time to mail off our headband(s), hoping she will fall head over heals for my little gift :)
i sent mine, and in a couple days i received my headband from anna....and......guess what?!?!

we sent each other the same headbands!!! it's like we were meant to be partners! :)
seriously.so.cool.



annnd how nice and sweet of her to send me a coffee mug sleeve from her shop! :)
i use it everyday because you know the only way i get through the day is, caffeine and lots of it!
i have often thought i just need an I.V. with a drip bag of caffeine :)

cute, ey?!?
head to her shop and get something nice for yourself :)
thanks anna for everything!!

xoxo

embrace the camera: feb 10

this weeks embrace the camera is taken while i'm rockin my little before nigh nigh
"ahhhhhh", i can hear ya now :)

i {love} these moments of cuddle time....they are starting to be few and far between :(
as mase is getting older, the cuddle time becomes fewer....
...he is a mover and becoming {much} more independent.


this week has been absolutely crazy!!
i think i need to simplify my life.
monday i saw mason for 1 hour. seriously?!? yes. and i.hate.that.
tuesday i didn't see him AT ALL :( he was still sleeping when i left for school, then we had parent/teacher conferences until 8pm {and i have a 30+ drive home} so he was sleeping when i got home too.
wednesday i finally got to play, love, cuddle, smooch, giggle, hug, change diapers, and clean a ucky dirty cd {i know you wanted to know that} from 4:30 until bed time. i was a baby hog that afternoon!!!
today, i have parent/teacher conferences AGAIN until 8pm so it is unlikely to see him tonight :( this makes me want to be a sahm even more!!! {still praying for God's Will!!!} :)
soooo i.can't.wait.for.friday.to.be.over.!!!!!!!!!

have a dandy day :)

xoxo




head on over to the anderson crew and see what's the buzz about
embracing the camera!!

mmmmmmm....

...pizza roll...

if you like pizza but you wanna change it up a bit. this is for you!
tastes like a pizza. just looks a bit different.

good ol' comfort food.
husband is sure to love it :)

first, roll out some pizza dough onto a jelly roll pan.
next add your toppings. we just added pepperoni because that is all we had in the house.
i think green peppers, sausage, chicken&jalapenos, or mushrooms would be good too.

add as much cheese as you would like. we like it cheeeeesay :)
it ain't easy bein cheeesay :)
oh, and add some italian seasoning too

then start rolling the dough until you have a log lookin thing.
{you can add red sauce if you want, but i think it would be hard and messy to roll}
you choose though.
put it in the oven at 400 for 15 minutes....and voila!


yum yum yum!!!!
love.

make this.
you will thank me later that you did.
just sayin'!! :)

xoxo

ps stay warm friends....25 below brrrrrrrrr

we made the switch....

...from luvs...

to...bum genius


we will see how this CD-ing journey goes. i know it isn't for everyone, heck! i don't even know if it for us yet....we will see starting this weekend.

the fact that i figured it will save us around $2,000 by the time mason is out of diapers.....i'm sold!!

if anyone out there in the blogospere uses CDs or has any insight using CDs.....
...i would take some loving advice :)

and some random thoughts from my ADD brain:
TGIF TGIF TGIF!!!!!! we finally made it to the best day of the week :)
ahhhhh yeeea :)

my sweet older sister just got ENGAGED yesterday night!!! yippeeeeeee :)
i think she has had this wedding planned for a few months now :) they could probably throw this shin-dig this weekend if needed....{hi amanda!!!}
i'm so happy for them! love you both manda and phill :)

going consignment shopping this weekend and hoping i snag some sweet deals :)
i really do love being a cheapoooooo!

i wish the sleeping fairy was at my house last night. being up since 3:30 isn't my idea of getting rested :) and the worst part...mason was sleeping! it's one thing to be up because of your kids, but no...i just couldn't find that peaceful rest....blah!

enough from my brain......

have a fab friday and enjoy your weekend!!!!
xoxo
melinda

embrace the camera: jan 27

happy thursday friends!!!

i really need to use my moby wrap more often. mason loved it!!
i never want to put mason down once i get home but i need my hands free when i'm making supper....this is the perfect solution!
i can be hands free and have mase on my hip at all times :)

and when mase isn't on my hip, he's on my boob (jk jk jk)
we play and explore our world :)

i know you want to join in on the embracing fun!! it's your lucky day, you just head right on over to emily's blog and link up!!!



xoxo
melinda

mason's musings....

...life is busy right now. very busy....
...juggling being a mommy, wife, and teacher is getting the best of me....
....i'm.exhausted...

however, i am thankful husband is home with mason 3-4 days a week to capture what i miss out on. gosh. typing that hurts. i hate missing out on mason's musings. shouldn't that be my job, to capture every waking moment of mason's life???
not now. the Lord has different plans. His plans not my plans.

mason has been getting bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger with each new day.
i mean heck, he's already in 12 month old clothes and he's not even 6 months old yet!!!

husband has caught some moments we will treasure forever....thanks mr.!!!!

enjoy friends. enjoy.


seriously, is he trying to crawl. i thought he was still my little snuggle bug!?!???



sidenote: husband is an avid deer hunter.
daddy went to cabelas and mason was spoiled and got his first buck. it's his new favorite toy :)



his exer-saucer is also one of his favorites. i struggle with this thought though. to be a baby wearer or use toys for entertainment? i guess what works for us and mason is the exer-saucer for now.

have a fabulous evening friends!

xoxo

ps-something is coming in the mail tomorrow afternoon that i have been waiting for! but i'm not sure i should be excited.....you will have to come back to see what it is :)

a peek into ....

mason's room during his evening naperoooo......

this scares me. thank God we saw him before he was out for the night. he was sawin logs and content as could be though.
jeepers mase.
give your mom a heart attack why don't ya.