[Review] The Bouqs Company

A couple weeks ago, The Bouqs contacted me about reviewing their flowers. I love having fresh flowers in my house so I gladly accepted the opportunity.

I quickly hopped on their website and searched through the flower selections. And let me tell you, there were SO many GORGEOUS bouquets to choose from. It was definitely a hard decision. 

Some of my favorites included :

Sweetness // Depth

Desperado // Fortified

But ultimately I decided on the Hope Full bouquet. 

source

How did I choose this bouquet out of all the gorgeous bouquets they have?

I liked the mission. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), The Bouqs has certain bouquets that give back. While I'm sure you are aware that flowers themselves cannot "give back", when someone purchases one of the bouquets from the breast cancer collection, a portion of all proceeds gets donated to the Susan G Komen Foundation to help fund research to find a cure for breast cancer. Being October and being that my mom had breast cancer, I knew this was the bouquet for me.

The package arrived on the day it was set to and the box came perfectly intact (it traveled from a different country - I was a little worried!).

I wrote myself a little note (cheesy, I know) to see how it would come and what it would look like.

The flowers came with this little divider pop up in the box to ensure that the flowers didn't get smashed and the buds came wrapped so they didn't get ruined.

They also came strapped into the box so they didn't move around and get damaged during shipping 

 (I had to use scissors to cut the red tie off).

I opened the flowers and put them in a vase.

As the days went on, the buds opened more...

... and more ...

... and more.

Buying the bouquet was super easy! All you do is add the bouquet of your choice to your cart, fill in who it is for and what their address is, and then add a message (if you choose). You can also choose if the bouquet will require a signature for FedEx to deliver it or if it is ok to leave without a signature. I chose to have mine left without a signature required because I was almost positive nobody would be home when FedEx tried to deliver and I didn't want to wait. Luckily it wasn't too hot the day it arrived (if it was in the middle of the summer or in the middle of a snow storm, you may want someone to sign for the flowers so they don't wilt or freeze before you even get them). It will also tell you the soonest date that the flowers can be delivered. Since they do come from different countries, sometimes it takes up to a week for them to come. If you need them sooner though, they do have a note saying "shop from our California collection" (might be different for you if you live outside CA).

Hit the button to go to the checkout and it will tell you your total and recap your purchase. It adds tax but shipping is free! (Which is HUGE because almost all other online flower shops that I have EVER shopped at always charge a shipping fee - of usually $14.99 or more).

And it's that easy!

The flowers arrived, were BEAUTIFUL, and lasted about a week with normal care.

Thank you so much The Bouqs Company for the beautiful flowers! I will definitely be purchasing flowers from them again! The bouquets are comparable to the other flower sites but the best part is that they offer FREE SHIPPING (and have BEAUTIFUL flowers!)

***

Click here to shop all of the bouquets.

Click here to find out how The Bouqs can help you never forget a birthday/holiday again!

Click here to find out more about the company and how it works.

And click here to save $10 off your first bouquet purchase (and help me earn a free bouquet!)

***

Disclaimer : I was compensated with a free bouquet of flowers in exchange for the review of their service on my blog. All statements and opinions on their service are 100% mine.

[Featured On] Wife Mommy Me

Happy Wednesday friends!

If you need me today, you can find me guest posting over at my friend 

Stephanie's blog, Wife Mommy Me.

I hope you'll head over to see what I have to say :)

***

A little sneak peek...

As a blogger, we put our lives out on the world wide web for all to see. What made you decide to start blogging? Do you ever fear you are sharing too much?

I started my blog shortly after Mason was born in 2012. And to be honest, looking back now, I wish I had started it from the minute I found out I was pregnant (well maybe not the minute, but you know what I mean). I started my blog to document Mason's life. It originally started out as a place for me to write about our days and updates with Mason so friends and family far away could keep up with what was going on with us. The blog has since grown into so much more, but still remains with my same purpose. I love that my blog is like an online scrapbook of Mason's life and I actually often refer back to old posts when someone asks "when did Mason first start crawling? or walking? or what was his first solid?". As much as I should remember off the top of my head, I have so much going on in there that it's nice to be able to refer back to something that can give me an exact answer.

Sometimes I do fear that I am sharing too much. I've heard so many horror stories of people getting pictures of their children stolen by random people and claimed as their own that it really scares me. The fact that someone can learn about your life through your blog, steal a picture of your child, and make it their own worries me. I've been lucky so far to not run into that problem (or at least that I know of) but I am looking into putting some sort of logo or watermark on my photos so nobody can do that.

***

And I can't leave you without a couple pictures of my sweet boy...

so here's a couple throwback Wednesday (yes, I just made that up!) pictures that I love love love!

[Fall Bucket List] Leaf Art

This past weekend, Seth had to work at the swap meet. 

Mason and I waved bye bye to daddy and were ready to start our weekend together.

Saturday, we played together for a little while before it was time for Papa to come over and for me to go pick up Ally from the airport. She had flown into town for my mother-in-law's surprise birthday party that we were having that day. So, I passed the baton and I was on my way. I got Ally and we headed to Fashion Island for the party. Shortly after we got there, my sister-in-law and cousin arrived and we all decorated for the party. They picked out the most gorgeous table settings and the place looked beautiful. My mother-in-law arrived and was thoroughly SURPRISED! Seriously. SO SURPRISED. Had no idea surprised. 

SUCCESS!

We're still so amazed we were able to pull it off so successfully since her sisters had flown into town and she knew that her niece was there. But what can we say, we're good :)

(aka they are good. thankfully they didn't make me lie about anything.

i am a HORRIBLE liar!)

Family love.

LOVE THEM.

After a successful surprise, we ate lunch, chatted, and then parted ways. I went back home to pick up Mason and then we went over to my mother-in-law's house for dinner (everyone wanted to see Mason - by then I was old news!).

Sunday, it was just me and Mason. I woke up early in order to make sure I could take a shower and get ready before he woke up (I still haven't mastered the showering/getting ready while he's awake yet since I so infrequently have to do it alone) and was surprised that I was ready before he woke up. I enjoyed the quiet time while it lasted and made myself some coffee and sat down to read my "newspaper" (aka bloglovin') and catch up on all the posts I hadn't read yet.

Of course the quiet was short lived and Mason woke up about 5 minutes after I sat down.

Mason hung out in his pj's for a while, we watched cartoons, and ate breakfast. 

After breakfast, he seemed like he was in a good mood, so I thought it would be fun to work on an art project that I had in mind : leaf art!

We had actually gone on a walk last weekend to gather our leaves and I had planned on doing the activity then but shortly after the leaf collecting walk, Mason got sick, so we had to postpone the second half until this weekend.

Oh, and if you're wondering, yes... I was that mom that let her son go on a walk around the neighborhood with no pants on.

#sorryimnotsorry

Flash forward to this weekend, everybody was well again, and we were ready for some fun!

(Or so I thought)

For some reason I remembered this activity being so much easier/different when I was little.

I taped two pieces of paper down on the table, with the leaves tucked under the paper.

I strapped Mason in to his seat and thought he would go to town.

Instead, he analyzed the crayons for what seemed like forever.

I tried to encourage coloring, but he just wanted to play with the crayons...

... and the tape...

... and the crayons.

I ended up coloring his leaves and he colored the table.

Overall, I had fun coloring and he had fun playing so it's a win in my book.

Leaf art was over and I made our grocery list and we headed out. I packed enough snacks to get us through the grocery store without a meltdown, or so I thought, but he finished them in like 2 minutes flat. Luckily I was able to distract him for a while and we only had a minor meltdown right before we headed to the check out line.

We got home, went to the park for a little while, ate lunch, and Mason took a nap. And then by the time he woke up, daddy was just walking in the door. We hung out for a bit and then went to my mother-in-law's house for Sunday night family dinner.

Overall, it was a great weekend! Too short, but great nonetheless.

***

Now, tell me!

What Fall fun have you been up to?

Pick an item, celebrate Fall, and link up with us!
I would love to see how you and your family are spending Fall.

 Desiree at Macke Monologues | Stephanie at Wife Mommy Me | Elizabeth at Chasin' Mason

[BOY MOMS] Megan from Latte Everyday

Hi! I'm Megan from Latte Everyday, and I was thrilled when Elizabeth asked me to share a bit about my experience as a boy mom. I have loved following along with this series and hearing different stories and insights from other moms of rowdy little men.

I grew up with two younger brothers, and I was basically scarred from that experience. They were wild, loud and always dirty. I remember them ruining outfits, staining the sofa and constantly scuffing up the wall coming down the stairs. They caused my mom all sorts of headaches and extra chores, and I was determined to only have girls when I started my own family.

As usual, The Lord laughed at my perfect little plan of having a house full of squeaky clean, calm and quiet girls. On May 7, 2013, he blessed us with a bouncing baby boy, and I was simultaneously overjoyed and terrified. The gender was no surprise, but the powerful immediate connection with that little boy was. I am not sure what I thought I would feel, but I remember the first thought that entered my mind when I saw him was, "This guy is going to be my best little buddy, and I cannot wait to show him the world!" I had no knowledge at that point what mothering a boy would be like, but with 17 months experience, I can now say that first thought was spot on.

This little buddy keeps me laughing, pushes me to try new things and reminds me of the immeasurable joy that can be found in the tiny little things. He makes me stop and think about the incredibly detailed bark of a tree, the wonder of the floating clouds and the mind boggling weirdness of an earth worm. I mean, have you looked at an earth worm lately?

He pushes me out of my clean and pretty comfort zone and into the woods, off the sidewalk and over the fence. Teaching him about the world around him is the greatest joy, and all that he is teaching me is the greatest surprise. I don't even mind the piles of muddy laundry, the stacks of collected sticks or taking a shower with various animals, cars and bouncy balls. For the record, I do mind the pile of dead bugs that keeps appearing at my back doorstep and the fact that he insists on stripping off his diaper all the time. (Apparently that is totally a boy thing.)

He makes a mess per minute, torments our dogs and defeats every baby proofing mechanism we put in place. He also keeps us laughing with his creative dance moves, has a tender heart and always wants to be a helper. After being this precious boy's mom for the past year and a half, I can't imagine life any other way!

*********

If you would like to share a post about you and your son, email me at chasinmasonblog@gmail.com .

I would love to feature you! You don't have to have a blog to participate!

Five on Friday!

Happy Friday all! I, for one, am SO glad that it's Friday. This week has been hard.

But before we get ahead of ourselves and pretend it's the weekend already (8 hour countdown until work's over is on!), let's get to this weeks fives.

ONE.

This.

I saw this on someone's Facebook or Instagram (sorry I can't remember where!) and thought it was so fitting. I mean, seriously? Mason does all of these things.

TWO.

Hobby Lobby.

I had the pleasure of visiting this place last weekend for the very first time and... WOW. That's all I can say. I walked in and felt instantly excited and overwhelmed. It was like Michael's and JoAnn's combined and intensified. They had some amazing sales going on and at one point, I had a whole basket full of stuff, but then I came to my senses (or maybe my check book hit me in the head) and I put it all back. I plan to be back (and to pack a basket full or maybe cart full) but I need to figure out what I really need and make a list.

THREE.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

I picked up some of Trader Joe's pumpkin muffin/bread mix last weekend and whipped these puppies up on Sunday. I added chocolate chips to the mix and they were heaven!

FOUR.

Sparkly Green Earrings.

My sweet blogger friend, Stephanie, sent me this book for my birthday and it arrived last week. I'd heard of it before but never read it and am so happy that she sent it to me. It looks amazing!

FIVE.

Stella and Dot.

The trunk show officially opened on Sunday and is open now through November 2nd for your shopping enjoyment. Click here to start shopping!

Happy Friday!

********

Linking up with the lovely ladies behind 5 on Friday.

And Momfessionals.

True Life : I Live with a Little Boy

As you all are fully aware, I have a little boy.  This is no secret.

But this post is not to inform you that he is a boy, this post is to SHOW you that he is ALL boy.

And if what I am about to tell you is any indication of what my future holds, we are in for some serious trouble. Full disclosure : this post may be graphic (not in pictures, but in description)

A couple weeks ago Tuesday, Seth had a softball game at 8pm so he left the house around 7pm which meant mommy was in charge. It seems like something exciting always happens when I am left fully alone with Mason so I don't know why I thought this night would be any different.

After Seth left, we played for a while and then I turned on an episode of Mickey for him to watch before bed while I checked my email and set up some bills to pay. I was paying attention to what Mason was doing and looked up every so often to make sure he wasn't getting into too much trouble.

At one point, he walked over to me and I could tell that he pooped. It was about 10 minutes until his bed time so I made the decision to let him finish watching the show and then I would take him upstairs to change him, brush his teeth, and read a story before bed.

I looked down for a second and looked up and what do I see? Mason is sticking his hand in the back of his pants.

Really kid? Really?

I tell him no. He takes his hand out. I look down. He puts it back. I tell him no. He takes it out. This goes on for a good minute. So I decide that the show is over and it's time to go upstairs. I know this trick. This happened once before and someone ended up with poop all over his hand and someone ended up screaming NO NO NO! I'll let you decide who was who.

So as Mason is climbing up the stairs, I notice the smell is getting stronger. I think, yikes, this will be a doozy, and then I see it. POOP ON HIS FINGER. I start freaking out inside because I think he put his finger in his mouth.

Oh my gosh!!! Did he? No... doesn't look like it...wait... DID HE????

I let him finish climbing the stairs, pick him up, put him on the changing table, wipe off his finger with a wipe and proceed to get ready to change his diaper. I tell him not to put his hand in his mouth because it is dirty and what does he do? Put it in his mouth. 

How naive of me to think he would listen!

I pull it out and the conversation goes as follows :

Me : Mason! Don't put your hand in your mouth. It is dirty.

Mason puts his hand in his mouth. I pull it out.

Me : Mason! I said don't put your hand in your mouth please. It is dirty.

Mason puts his hand in his mouth. I pull it out.

Me : Mason! Please don't put your hand in your mouth. It is dirty. It had poop on it.

Mason puts his hand in his mouth. I pull it out.

Me : Mason! Your hand is dirty. It had poop on it. Poop is yucky!

Mason puts his hand in his mouth. I pull it out.

Me : Mason! Please don't put your hand in your mouth. It had poop on it. You will get sick. You will throw up.

Mason puts his hand in his mouth. I pull it out.

By now, he is laughing. LAUGHING. Giggling so loudly and cutely. 

Laughing every time I pull his hand out of his mouth.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. He thinks it's a game.

It was seriously SO HARD to keep a straight face while Mason was laughing so much.

SO HARD.

I tried to keep a straight face and tell him to look into my eyes so he knew I was serious, but let's be honest, I was probably not very convincing. Since I hadn't taken off his dirty diaper yet, I picked him up and took him to the bathroom to fully wash his hands so I at least knew they were clean when he chose to stick them in his mouth again.
Little victories.

Can someone please tell me why it is so hard to discipline a toddler? It's like they know. 

I did something bad so I need to be extra cute so I don't get in trouble.

Touché Mason, touché. It worked on this mommy!

#mommyfail

#toddlerwin