[It's the Little Things Link Up] You Know You Live with a Toddler When... Part 2

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

... you find your DVD player remote control "going down the slide"...


...and your kid's socks "going down the slide"...


...your legs become a table and movie stand...


...you open the trash can to throw something away and find a sippy cup. the one you were looking for yesterday...


...and you find out that apparently the plane needs a bath in the dishwasher...


Never a dull moment around here! And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Love this boy. so. much.


PS if you missed part 1 of "You know you live with a toddler when...", you can find it here.

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Weekends are for... bike riding.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

But not just any bike riding!

On Saturday we had plans with our friends Seth and Lauren and their son Logan. We were supposed to go to this festival/carnival thing in the city that Lauren grew up in - the city her parents still live in. It sounded really fun and we were excited. Lauren had said there were rides and games and stuff and it would be really fun for the kids. We had plans to BBQ at her parent's house after the festival. I texted her on Saturday morning to see what we could bring to the BBQ when she told me that her mom was sick and we couldn't go. We were bummed, obviously, but totally understood. When I'm sick the last thing I want is tons of people around.

We all still really wanted to hang out so we thought of something else to do. We decided on going to a local regional park and going to the zoo they have there. It's not the biggest and doesn't have all the "popular animals" but for $2 for each adult and kids get in free, you can't go wrong.

The boys had a blast running around and touching everything and the parents had fun running ran around after the kids.



Logan was a lot more adventurous and stuck his hand in with the goat... Mason wandered around and looked scared when the goats and sheep would grunt too loudly. Either way, I'd say they had fun seeing the animals that were there. Our next zoo trip will definitely be to the LA Zoo or the San Diego Zoo though. The boy wants to see some elephants, monkeys, and giraffes!

After the zoo, we decided that we wanted to try out one of these bad boys...
the double surrey bike.


Every time we've been to the park, I've seen people riding these around. And I've ALWAYS wanted to try them. Seth and Lauren agreed so we rented one. When you rent one, you get it for an hour. Now an hour may not seem like very long, but when you are out of shape and riding up and down hills, an hour is PLENTY of time.


The boys did AMAZING. I was super scared that Mason would freak out when we put the helmet on him. And while he did try to pull it off at first, once we snapped it on, he was fine. We sat the boys in the front seat, snapped them in, and they just starred at each other, confused why they were wearing helmets.


We all hopped on and we were off!

Contrary to what you might think since I took a bunch of pictures, I really was peddling! Honest.

There were some big hills that we definitely would not have made it up it it weren't for me.
Kidding. I'm sure I was no help, but at least I could say I was peddling.



Logan didn't trust the dad's driving and tried to take matters into his own hands.
And what you can't tell from this picture was that Mason had his hand on the break cord THE WHOLE TIME. Haha.




It was hard work but was SUPER fun!
We will definitely be doing it again!




[BOY MOMS] Sarah from Seeing All Sides

Monday, April 28, 2014



Hi there!  I'm Sarah, a 31-year old wife, mom, and high school math teacher enjoying life in Kansas.  I blog over at Seeing All Sides. I have an adorable 21-month old boy, Brantley, and a very new-to-life one-week old baby boy, Holden!  I'm obviously biased to little boys and so excited to share my experience as a #boymom!

{First Mother's Day}

One of my friends recently learned that the baby growing inside her--her first--is a boy.  Though I know she is over-the-moon excited and thrilled to finally picture her life as a mommy, there's a part of me that also knows she would have loved the pink, the frills, and the prissiness of a little girl.

I get it.

I, for one, made no secret of the fact that I wanted a baby girl more than anything in this world.  And when I got pregnant with my first in October of 2011, I was certain that's what I was getting.  After all, I'm way too girly myself to let all that girliness go to waste!  I love to shop.  Love to be pampered.  Love getting dressed up.  Love the color pink.  I could go on and on.  If it's girly, chances are, I love it.  Besides, I am one of two girls and my husband is the only boy of three siblings, so double X chromosomes seemed to be favored in our families. Baby Sides just had to be a girl.  I convinced not only myself, but nearly everyone around me.  For 19 weeks.

Then in February of 2012, at our Gender Reveal Party, my husband and I opened a box full of BLUE balloons. Ummmm....what???

Surprise.
Shock.
And a little disappointment, as well.
Gone were my visions of a future dancer, or perhaps cheerleader.  Tutus were quickly replaced by trucks.  Everything girlie I had dreamt of for weeks (more like years) was no longer my reality.


I thought maybe I was seeing things.  Or perhaps the party store employee had read the sonogram technician's handwriting incorrectly?  Blue balloons?  Really??

{I think my husband is really concerned about me here...}

Shortly after opening the box full of blue balloons, we peeked at our baby's sono pictures (that had been sealed inside an envelope for five days) and sure enough, there it was.  His little boy part.  There was no doubt about it - I was having a BOY.  The baby inside me was not my future daughter, but instead a little boy. My son. I was officially a boy mama.

My husband was ecstatic.  And of course, I was excited, as well.  Mostly to start planning all the little details. But to be completely honest, I think it took a few days for the news to sink in.  And a few more to realize there was no point in being disappointed.  There was a perfectly healthy little baby growing inside me and it just so happened to be a boy.

Fast forward two plus years and I can't imagine having anything but this precious little boy.  He's been more fun than I could have ever imagined.  As girly as I am, I've also come to realize that I'm a perfect boy mama.  From day one, I've enjoyed dressing Brantley in sports apparel for all of our favorite teams.



And taking him to his first sporting events have been some of my favorite days of his life.

{First KU football game at nine weeks old}
{First Kansas City Royals game at nine months old}
{First Sporting KC soccer game at 11 months old}

Even things as low-key as high school sporting events are a thousand times more fun with a little boy along.



Luckily, I'm about as big of a sports fan as my hubby and I so look forward to the day when Brantley laces up his cleats and steps onto the field. I'll be one proud (albeit nervous) mama excited about cheering him on!

Another favorite part of having a boy?  Dressing him in "little man" clothes! Sure, baby girl clothes are super trendy and I can barely walk past the toddler section at Target without wondering what it would be like to buy those adorable pieces, but boy clothes are simple.  I know he needs a few basic pieces--shorts, polos, button-ups, tees, and jeans--but you can pretty much pair anything with anything.  Shopping for Brantley's wardrobe has been unbelievably fun!  I truly look forward to dressing my kid each morning, and each day, I think he's cuter than the day before.







Then, there are the trucks.  And blocks.  And balls.  Things that are staples on my living room floor these days.  Things that scream all boy.  And things I've adjusted to very well. 


He's ornery.  He's a daredevil.  And we've already been to the ER for stitches once in his 21-month life.  He's definitely all boy.  And this #boymama loves it.  More than I ever thought possible.




Like I said earlier, I gave birth to another baby boy just over a week ago, and I couldn't be more excited to raise a little brother for Brantley.  They are 21 months apart and I know they will share an incredible bond.  I look forward to the day when they can play together as best buddies.   My husband and I are already discussing a baby #3 (a few years down the road, of course!), and shockingly, I think I'd prefer that baby to be a boy, as well...something I never thought I'd say!  (Which, of course, means it will be a girl...)



So, if you find yourself a little bummed about the results of your gender-revealing sonogram, take it from me and know that you will not be disappointed.  In fact, instead, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised and find yourself wishing for a family of boys.



Thanks to Elizabeth for allowing me to be part of this series!

 

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If you would like to share a post about you and your son, email me at chasinmasonb@yahoo.com .
I would love to feature you! You don't have to have a blog to participate!



Five on Friday

Friday, April 25, 2014

ONE.
Yummy Yucky.


I ordered some new books for Mason and they finally came in the other day. Yummy Yucky has got to be one of my favorites.

Spaghetti is yummy. Worms are yucky.
Blueberries are yummy. Blue crayons are yucky.
Soup is yummy. Soap is yucky.
Chocolate sauce is yummy. Hot sauce is yucky.

The sayings are so cute and the pictures are even cuter!

TWO.
Spa Finder Gift Card


My Regional Manager stopped by the other day and to my surprise (I was very surprised!), she gave me a "reward and recognition" certificate. The reward and recognition certificate is when someone wants to really thank someone for a job well done. There are other ways to do a regular thank you so when you get one of these, it's really special. I was very honored.
 I had gotten one before and it was for like $15-$25 (it was a while ago, I don't remember exactly) so I expected it to be around the same amount. So I logged on to the gift website to redeem my gift and clicked on one of the gift card and it said "$100 gift card". I'm sorry, WHAT?!?! $100??? I was officially MORE surprised. I originally thought about being practical and getting the printer (we need a new one) but then I thought, "this was a reward for me for a job well done"....pamper yourself! So... mama's getting a massage and a pedicure when this baby comes in the mail!

THREE.
White Plum.


The other day I was reading Hello Erin's confessions post. She was wearing this SUPER cute tunic with leggings and sandals in one of her pictures and I loved it so much. Turns out it's White Plum's Favorite Tunic. I visited their website and fell in love. I'm thinking of getting this forest green one. Along with everything else on their website. Holy cuteness!

FOUR.
Family selfies.


We don't get a chance to take many family pictures with a toddler on the move all. the. time. so I'm still relishing in the fact that we got Mason to semi smile for this Easter family selfie on Sunday. 
(And in case you missed it, the full Easter recap can be found here)

FIVE.
And just for fun...


My friend posted this on Facebook last night and I got a little chuckle out of it, so I thought I would share. So true... so true.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

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Linking up with the lovely ladies of  The Good LifeCarolina CharmA. Liz Adventures, and Hello Happiness



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