Me as a Mommy

The Joy of Life

Posted on January 23, 2012 by measamommy

Sometimes kids are really really good at reminding you to find joy in the little things. Tonight, Mason had A and I smiling and laughing because of his sheer joy. Over a hot dog.

About mid-morning today I realized we had no dinner-makings in the house, and sent A an email asking if he had any special requests. I didn’t get a response, and I got lazy and never went to the store… so we had to go out for dinner. In the car we had to keep Mason engaged in conversation (since he doesn’t nap anymore he falls asleep if you put him in the car anytime after 4…. and that’s just AWFUL) and so the three of us talked about the day and what Mason would like for dinner. He told us a hot dog and french fries.

We decided to try somewhere new, and when I took a look at the kids’ menu, I was only a little saddened to see that a plain hot dog was nowhere on the menu – only a corn dog. All fine and well for most kids, but I know my son and he DOES NOT like changes to his standard foods. We tried corn dogs at home once and he slowly pulled the corn coating off all the hot dogs and told me that part was yucky. However, it was a corn dog or nothing even close to a hot dog, so we took our chances.

As we waited for our food, Mason continued to tell us (over and over and over again) that he would like a hot dog for dinner. And french fries. And salad with ketchup. Finally the corn dog arrived. Mason picked it up and showed it to me. “Wow mama. Big Lollipop!” and then he licked it. A few licks in (A and I were too busy laughing to help him) he put it down and told me “that’s yuck mommy.” He stuck to food from my plate, his side of broccoli and hush puppies until I reached over and pulled some of the corn coating off to give to his sister. AND OH!

WHAT A FANTASTIC SURPRISE!!!

Can you believe, there was a hot dog hidden inside that disgusting lollipop?!?!?

Posted in cutest kid, Food | Leave a comment

Because she’s cute. {and the boys are too}

Posted on January 22, 2012 by measamommy

A long time ago, I posted about my favorite deal sites. Zulily has quickly become my go-to for good deals and adorable clothing for Audrey (and Mason too – but ruffles and tutus and headbands are way cute and way frequent on there) Anyway, I recently got an outfit that just screamed cute. Yesterday I put it on her and just about died from the cuteness. So when Katie and Austin wanted to go to the playground, I grabbed a white tablecloth and my camera before heading out. Could she be cuter?

And don’t think for a second I just totally ignored the boys while they played. They were mighty cute too!

Posted in awesome friends, cutest kid | Leave a comment

Kiwi Crate Fun!

Posted on January 15, 2012 by measamommy

Mason and I have been pretty big on arts and crafts lately, so when we were offered the chance to review a Kiwi Crate I was pretty sure it would be a big hit. It’s a pretty cool idea. For $19.95 a month, you then get a new crate (full of crafts and projects) delivered to your door. It looks like this:

Inside is a bunch of fun crafts, projects, and things to do. Mason only sorta liked it:

The Kiwi Crate we got was all about colors. Rainbows, prisms, and just colors in general. Mason made a stained glass window out of tissue paper, contact paper, and a frame; he colored on some paper that we then attached to the supplied top and spun to watch the colors mix; he investigated the world from behind a pair of blue glasses; and he got to do my favorite part: make a colorful bag!

We started by getting the little bag all wet and putting it on a cookie sheet. Then Mason took tissue paper and laid it on top the bag in whatever pattern he wanted

Once he had the tissue paper all lined up the way he wanted, I handed him a dropper full of water. I thought for sure this would be where the craft turned disastrous, but he actually did it really really well!!

Mason and I watched the colors bleed onto the bag and once it was dry I was really impressed with the way it looked! Mason loves carrying his little bag around and filling it with toys, books, or anything else a 2 year old boy might need!

Kiwi Crate is definitely a fun thing, and something I think lots of kids would enjoy! The instructions for the projects were very clear and easy to follow, and they all encourage the kids to take pictures and post them on the Kiwi Crate website to share their artwork!

Posted in crafty mommy, cutest kid, reviews | 4 Comments

Happy Birthday Hubs!

Posted on January 14, 2012 by measamommy

My darling husband celebrated his birthday a couple days ago. We thought it only fitting that we take some pictures of him as well…

I ended up with some assistance. I think it helped Daddy smile

Posted in cutest kid, sweet husband | 2 Comments

My Baby isn’t a Baby!

Posted on January 9, 2012 by measamommy

Audrey is 11 months today!! Can you believe it?!?!? Her pictures this month were even more challenging as she DOES NOT SIT STILL ever.

Did I mention I had an assistant today? He was oh so helpful.

What do you think of Mason’s curls?? I’ve been wanting to grow his hair out for awhile, and so I told A we weren’t cutting his hair until the new year (A likes it short). Now Mason gets asked every other day (sometimes every day) if he’d like a hair cut… so far he’s always said no. I can’t decide which I like. When his hair is curly and long I say I love it. And then we cut it and I say I love that. I think I’d like him with his hair any possible way

So I have 1 month before Audrey’s first birthday. I started planning Mason’s first birthday approximately 5 months in advance. I have yet to even think about Audrey’s. Sure, I have a board on pinterest with tons of cutesy things I want to do for her… but I need a theme and a color scheme and a date and all that before I can really look at that board and start decorating/crafting/buying.

Posted in cutest kid, Gorgeous Tortoise | 3 Comments

Patriot’s Point

Posted on January 6, 2012 by measamommy

A month or so ago, we took the family out to one of the islands to see some Christmas lights. Ever since then, Mason has been requesting that we go see more “Airplane lights.” {side note – he calls them airplane lights because there was one section that was all airplanes. It was his very favorite} So yesterday, we decided to take a trip out to Patriot’s Point. We knew there would be LOTS of real airplanes to see and figured Mason would be pretty psyched about them. As we pulled into the parking lot, I looked over at my husband and realized that this trip wasn’t about Mason. It was for him. I confirmed that thought when we got out of the car and Mason stayed fast asleep while my husband ran around like a kid in a candy shop.

Eventually, Mason did wake up. And he DID enjoy the airplanes and Helicopters. He was adorable. We had so much fun walking around with him. I loved watching the awe and excitement on both my boys’ faces!

Audrey had a good time too….

And I had fun playing with my camera and looking at all the cool parts of the boat and planes!

Posted in babywearing, cutest kid, excitement, sweet husband | 1 Comment

A Photo Dump

Posted on January 4, 2012 by measamommy

So I’m now totally obsessed with Instagram, and am taking pictures like a maniac. Obviously, it helps that one of the owners of AppleCheeks was visiting with her family and I needed to take 6 bajillion pictures to prove she existed and I met her. I swear, I felt like I was meeting a celebrity – except she is totally a completely normal person and is way nicer than I imagine any celebrity would ever be. Anyway… for those of you that don’t follow me on Instagram (either because you’re a loser who doesn’t love me… or because you don’t have an iPhone… or because you have no idea what I’m talking about), here’s a dump of some of my recent pictures. For the record, you can also see some of my most recent pictures over in the left sidebar

We spent all day yesterday at the Children’s Museum, and Mason and Audrey both had a blast. Katie’s Austin taught Mason a really fun trick. And Audrey taught herself how to play with the ball ramp!!

Posted in awesome friends, cutest kid, siblings, toddlers | 2 Comments

And then I became a Mommy

Posted on January 2, 2012 by measamommy

Ever since Mason could talk he’s been calling A and I Mama and Dada. We have always been fine with it, but we also have always preferred Mommy and Daddy. From day one, that’s what we called each other, and so I pretty much expected Mason to do the same. But he didn’t. Because he’s a kid, and kids (or maybe just mine?) have one sole purpose in life and it’s to make liars out of their parents. Anyway, no matter what, Mason would not say Mommy or Daddy. We play a game lately – which is super fun for me and A – where we ask Audrey if she can say ________________ (fill in the blank with any random phrase), and then Mason, who thinks he’s absolutely hilarious, will parrot it back to us. Even playing this game, and asking ~~him~~ Audrey to say I love you Mommy resulted in an “I love you Mama”

And then 3 days ago he randomly walked up to me and said “Juice me Mommy.” It was the first time I had ever heard him say Mommy and I thought for sure it was a fluke…. but it wasn’t!! Mama still comes out sometimes, but probably 90% of the time I’m a Mommy now!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!! A just started getting called Daddy today too, so hopefully both will stick!

Want to know the best part? I know EXACTLY who got him saying Mommy… and it wasn’t either of his parents. No, I owe it all to Ilana’s children. Ilana, one of the owners of AppleCheeks, is in Charleston visiting me and Katie this week (and I guess they are visiting the town too….), and all three of her gorgeous girls call her “mummy.” Well after just a few hours with them, Mason was completely infatuated with them… and apparently picked up the proper way to address me

Posted in awesome friends, toddlers | 2 Comments

12 Pictures from 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by measamommy

The last 2 years, I’ve posted a picture from each month sometime around the end of the year. I figure it’s a pretty fun tradition, and realized today that it was time to do this year’s! So, here ya go! Happy New Year!!

January

February: Audrey is born!

March: We went to the beach to find Mom Rom and Pop Pop's Beach house

April

May: Audrey and I visit some bloggy friends

June: Mom Rom and Pop Pop move into their beach house and we start our visits

July: Mason Turns 2 at Sesame Place

August: The family explores Charleston, our new hometown

September

October

November: Her first Thanksgiving

December

Posted in cutest kid | 1 Comment

Christmas Recap

Posted on December 28, 2011 by measamommy

Ok, so I know it’s been ages since my last post. But this one is going to be short. Sorry. It’s been a whirlwind of activity here. Like crazy activity. We went up to Baltimore and stayed with my parents for Christmas, then drove back down the past two days. It wasn’t nearly as awful as I expected it to be, but it wasn’t exactly fun either (especially getting stuck on 95 for what felt like forever in Virginia). Anyway, I’ll update with stories later, but here’s a bunch of pictures from my time away And make sure you check out my Instagram feed (you can see a few of my recent pictures in the right sidebar) for even more pictures if this doesn’t give you enough of a fix!