[Fourth of July] Our Red, White, Blue... and Pink Eye Weekend

Monday, July 6, 2015

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe weekend! Our weekend didn't end up as planned, but we still had fun none the less. If you follow me on Instagram {@lizbir}, you might already know what I'm talking about, and if not, let me tell you....

Our weekend started off on Friday when Seth had off so I decided to take the day off as well. Bubbie (Seth's Grandma -- Mason's Great Grandma) had been wanting to take Mason shopping for some new shoes for his birthday as well as some other birthday presents and we've been busy every weekend since she asked, so we thought this would be a perfect time. We picked her up at 9:30am, headed to the mall for some breakfast and some shopping, and then stopped by Toys R Us to get some other stuff. We had success on the shoe front and on the toy front and we were all having a great start to the weekend. Seth dropped Mason and I off at home since it was Mason's nap time and took Bubbie grocery shopping and then dropped her off at home before he headed back. But, in the mean time, while he was gone, I decided to get a little festive. Friday I had blogged about my favorite 4th of July inspired pins on Pinterest and mentioned that I was kinda bummed that I had slacked and not done anything for July 4th. Before we left for the mall, I decided to make some festive ice so by the time we got home, the ice was all ready for use. I poured some of my favorite La Croix water and popped the ice cubes in there and enjoyed my festive drink.


Seth got home and a couple hours later, Mason woke up. He had woken up that morning with a little bit of a watery eye but we thought nothing of it until... he woke up from his nap with his eye crusted shut. OH NO. He wasn't upset but he was clearly struggling to open his eye so I helped him and then told Seth that we better head to urgent care. And sure enough... pink eye. UGH.

And weekend plans ruined.

When we got back from urgent care, I texted my friend that Mason had pink eye and by the time we were scheduled to see them on Saturday, it would have been 22-23ish hours that Mason was on the antibiotics and 24 hours is when they say he's not contagious anymore, but since she is pregnant, she didn't want to take any risks, which is totally understandable. Heck, I probably would have made the same call. So, while we were all SUPER bummed, we postponed our plans to hang out until the next weekend.

Seth, Mason, and I had dinner and then for dessert, I thought I would try to re-create one of my favorite pins -- the champagne bomb pop sparkler. For the record, it was a lot harder to do than I imagined, especially since it was ever so slightly windy and it took me like 20 matches to get the sparkler lit. I'm sure that ruins the magic of the picture, but hey, real life :)



I had also planned on making cheesecake stuffed strawberries for dessert for our friend BBQ gathering so I had some strawberries on hand as well as all the fixings for the cheesecake. So, when in Rome... I made some for Seth and I for dessert.



Saturday morning we got festive with our breakfast when I asked Seth to make blueberry pancakes and I cut up some strawberries to go on the side. They were a huge hit with everyone, especially Mason who ate 3 pancakes and some blueberries and strawberries. AND this was after he had already had a waffle and some Cheerios. God help me when he's a teenager!



To be honest, after breakfast, I was pretty bummed that we had no plans for the day. Since Mason had pink eye, our plans were pretty limited to... being inside all day. I kept trying to come up with ideas of things to do that were outside enough where he wouldn't be contagious to others, but Seth kept saying no since technically being around anybody, anywhere would be bad. I honestly had no idea what we were going to do that day and I was already tired of being inside. I was pretty sad but decided I better get ready for the day anyway so I headed upstairs to take a shower when an idea came to me. So I finished getting reedy and then headed to the store to get some supplies.

I came home a little while later and attempted a craft project that I saw on another blog that I'd been dying to try. I thought it was too late, but hey, better late than never! So, we attempted to make fireworks!








Turned out pretty great if I do say so myself! I mean, I know I am partial, but seriously, it was a fun activity for us to do and something that I look forward to taking out and displaying every year. It was a little messier than I expected (see the last picture of Mason rubbing his hands together to make purple paint), but nothing a bath couldn't fix!

After bath time, it was lunch time, nap time for Mason, and baking time for mama. I had planned on making these cupcakes for our friend BBQ get together so I had bought a ton of strawberries and blueberries and I couldn't let them go to waste. We ate some the night before and then I used the rest to make these : 



Mason woke up a few hours later, we got our picnic dinner ready and headed off to the park. I figured that it had been long enough for him on antibiotic drops (22-23ish hours) and I was dying to get out of the house, so we went to a nearby park and had a picnic dinner of hotdogs, chips and guacamole, and beans and had fun running around until we were all tired. We came home from the park, lit some sparklers, had some popsicles, and enjoyed the last hours of Independence Day together.







Despite being quarantined for half the day and having our plans cancelled, I'd say we had a pretty great day anyway!

Sunday was a typical Sunday of errand running, grocery shopping, Sunday family dinner-ing, and getting ready for the week. So thankful for the extra day off this weekend with my little family!

Now, somebody tell me, is it Friday yet? :)


[Friday Favorites] 4th of July Edition

Friday, July 3, 2015

Happy Friday! While I've totally dropped the ball on decorating for the 4th of July, I thought I'd share some of my favorite patriotic Pinterest pins with you all.... just in case you're looking for some last minute ideas. I do have a few dessert ideas for a BBQ we're going to on Saturday night, but you'll have to wait until next week to find out what those are!


ONE.



TWO.


THREE.
Originally from Little Baby Garvin blog


FOUR.


FIVE.


As for me, I didn't decorate at all and completely regret it. I swear every year that I will make a note to look into decorations earlier and then always forget. Will someone please remind me at least a month before the next holiday.. which I guess would be Halloween? Many thanks.

Happy 4th and have a great weekend!


[3rd Birthday] Blogger Toddler Birthday Exchange -- Round 2!

Thursday, July 2, 2015

First of all, it just felt SO weird to write THIRD BIRTHDAY. How is that even possible? Luckily Mason's been really into saying "two!" lately so maybe I can be in denial for a little while longer until he learns he's three? A mom can dream.

I had so much fun hosting the first blogger toddler birthday exchange last year that I knew I wanted to do it this year as well. But this year, I was lucky enough to have a co-host help me! Laureen from Chateau Deveau has quickly become one of my good blog friends and when she emailed me to ask if I was planning on doing the exchange again, I was excited to tell her yes and to ask her to be my co-host. We exchanged a few emails, picked some dates, and sent out some invitations. Everyone from last year wanted to participate again and we made some new friends so overall, I'd say this exchange was a success! That and Mason pretty much scored in the present department.

Mason and I were actually lucky enough to be paired up with Laureen and her kids, Tyson and Harper this year. One might think that this exchange was rigged seeing as how she and I were the ones that set up the Elfster account to make the partner matches but I assure you, this match was made solely based on Elfster. Regardless of how it happened though, we were super excited to see the package arrive with their names on it!

And to say Mason was excited about his gifts would be an understatement. No joke. In fact, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Warning : this post is picture heavy!

and a personalized message!


Since receiving these gifts, we've done the Mickey puzzle no less than probably 50 times. It is Mason's go-to. He runs straight for it when he gets home from school and then pulls Seth or I over to help him. It's so cute. He LOVES his new puzzle! The book has quickly become one of his new favorites as well and the numbers are such good quality. We love to put them in order and count. Seriously, Tyson and Harper chose the BEST presents for Mason. It was love at first sight!

Mason and I were lucky enough to be able to send Sara and Mac of Running from the Law some presents. We picked out some things we thought Mac would like, wrapped them up and sent them off and then it hit me. It's Mim's birthday in July too! And we couldn't leave her out. So I found some goodies for her on Amazon and off they went. Mac and Mim, we hope you like your birthday presents!


Thank you to everyone who participated in this exchange! Once again, we had the best time and we wish all the toddlers a VERY happy birthday!

The mamas and minis participating in the exchange were :

Amanda & Lily : Tickled Pink
Ashley & Waverly : Words About Waverly
Elizabeth & Mason : Chasin' Mason
Jess & Sadie : Sadie Sky Boutique
Laura & Liam : Tiny Toes, Little Nose
Laura & Presley : Happily Ever Parker
Laureen & Tyson : Chateau Deveau
Natasha & Ethan : Schue Love
Sara & Mac : Running From the Law
Sarah & Brantley : Seeing All Sides
Stephanie & Gray : Olive and Tate
Traci & Charli : The HALLway

Head on over and check out the goodies they all got!



[Favorite Finds] Instagram Lovin'

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

It's no secret that I love Instagram. I've found that it's definitely my social media app of choice. Far above the rest. In fact, if I had to rank them, it's probably be IG followed by Facebook followed by Pinterest with Twitter in a distant last. And don't get me started on SnapChat. I don't really know what it is and I think I might be too old to use it. Regardless, I LOVE Instagram and I love the accounts that I follow. I get so much inspiration from them and I wanted to share a few (or 18 -- oops!) of my current favorites.

@karratipton // LOVE this idea -- painting rocks fun!
@poppylaneandco // I've been swooning over her bracelets for forever now. I haven't been wearing as much jewelry lately as I used to, but I'm dying for some of her gorgeous bracelets!
@paperdollclothingco // I think I shared this on IG a while ago, but the quote is perfection so I wanted to include it here too
@targetdoesitagain // No words necessary
@weelicious // Sweet potato black bean enchiladas -- sounds delish!
@alissamcircle // She lives in Southern California near me and when she posted this ice cream sandwich... I knew I wanted to try it!
@saltybison // I'm dying for one of their prints!
@jillian.harris // This bed! It's different and I kinda love it.
@sharpewerks // I actually don't follow this account, but someone I follow must have posted about it because I found this gorgeous necklace. It's different and I kind of love it. I envision the largest circle being Seth, the next largest being me, and the smallest being Mason. Three different circles in three different metals, all connected. Love.

@damn_delicious // My love of pineapple margaritas runs deep. This seems like the next logical step.
@katie_did_what // Amen sista. Amen.
@discoverystreet // LOVING that shelf/towel rack that she has in her bathroom. If I remember correctly from the comments, she made it! Genius.
@karratipton // This mama is rockin' it with the toddler ideas! First painted rocks, then custom hop scotch. So creative!
@projectnursery // Loving this shorter bunk bed idea. The bottom one is on the floor and the top one is not too high. Kind of looks like toddler sized beds too? Either way, super fun!
@thedaydesigner // I don't have this planner, but I'm loving these stickers. They are from @fayecreates and I think I need some!
@persnicketyprints // Washi taped Instagram pictures on the wall. Genius.
@jennycollier // "Welcome to Summer" buckets for her kiddos. Such a fun way to end school and be welcomed to summer vacation!
@henandco // I'm a sucker for avocado anything and this toast with those tomatoes and balsamic looks AMAZING!

I'm always looking for new, wonderful accounts to follow. Who are your recommendations?



[Christmas in July] The Match Ups

Tuesday, June 30, 2015



It's here! The day you've all been waiting for. Does it feel like Christmas yet? No? Why? Because it's 95 degrees outside? Yeah, I feel your pain :)

First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone who signed up for this exchange. I had so much fun participating last year and I'm even more excited to be co-hosting this year! I hope you all have as much fun as I did last time.

Second, and most important, here are the match ups :

Meghan from The Adventure Starts Here --> Chelsea from The Williams' Journey
Courtney from Sweet Turtle Soup --> Liz from Ellie and Addie
Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me --> Elisabeth
Ally from Even Miracles Take a Little Time --> Nina from The Joni Journey
Jamie from Cocktails and Carseats --> Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason
Amanda from A Greathouse Wife --> Jamie from Cocktails and Carseats
Brooke --> Ally from Even Miracles Take a Little Time
Nina from The Joni Journey --> Brooke
Tia --> Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me
Elisabeth --> Ashley from Everything's Hunky Dorey
Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason --> Tia
Liz from Ellie and Addie --> Meghan from The Adventure Starts Here
Chelsea from The Williams' Journey --> Amanda from A Greathouse Wife
Ashley from Everything's Hunky Dorey -->  Courtney from Sweet Turtle Soup

Ladies, look out for an email from me either tonight or tomorrow with the information that your partner provided for you. If you don't get anything from me by Thursday, please send me an email at chasinmasonblog@gmail.com and I will see what happened.

Some things to remember...

- please ship your packages by July 13th
- box contents should be $20 before shipping
- link up with a blog post of the goodies that you got on Monday, July 27th. No blog? No problem! Share on social media with #xmasinjulygiftexchange

Merry Christmas and Happy Shopping!


Weekending + [A Year of Dates] June.

Monday, June 29, 2015

I'll be honest... I've kinda dropped the ball on the Year of Dates present that I gave Seth for Christmas. May came and almost went and we were able to get in a family date. Then June came and almost went, and we improvised with something we already had planned for the weekend as our June date. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do when life gets busy. But don't worry. We actually have July's date planned (and a babysitter lined up!) so we're good to go there :)

But, getting back to the weekend plans...

Saturday started off with our bi-weekly date to the Lowe's Build and Grow. We're on vehicle #2 in the series of 6 for Marvel's Avengers and this weekend's vehicle was Captain America's Motorcycle. Mason wasn't quite as excited as he was last time for the AvenJet but he still had fun helping daddy put it together.




We followed up Lowe's with a trip to Costco and were disappointed that we were too early for samples. Noon seems to be the prime time there but it's also a complete zoo. I'd gladly bring snacks for Mason and go around 10:30am than try to brave the hungry crowds at lunch time.

After Costco, we came home to unload, have some lunch, and hang out until we headed over to our friend's co-ed baby shower. Mason and their son had a BLAST in the bounce house that they got for the party!


Sunday we had plans to go out to brunch for our friend's birthday. I hadn't originally thought of it as our June date because there were other people there, but since we had a babysitter and were kid free and I miiiiiiiight have had bottomless mimosas with brunch, I'd consider that a date!


We got home around 2:30pm and found out that no nap ninja had struck again. He had fallen asleep for like 5 minutes max on the way to Nanny's house in the morning and then 5 minutes max on the way back home for nap time and so nap time was shot. Luckily he was in a good mood so we took advantage and went swimming. I had high hopes of finally going in (I usually just send Seth in with Mason because I don't feel like getting in) and then when we got to the pool, it was sooooooo cold that I didn't want to get in. #partypooper But the temperature of the water didn't stop the boys and Mason jumped in about 10,000 times in a row until we called it a night.

This picture isn't the best as both of their eyes are closed, but I think it's so sweet they are smiling so big!


We came home from swimming and I had these high hopes of making pizzas on the grill. You know, Pinterest made it look easy.... or that's what I told Seth. Ha!


Keep in mind, these both started off as normal looking rectangles. And this is how they ended. They might look crazy but they tasted darn delicious! We plan to try again because it actually was super good and if we figure out how to make it better, I'll be sure to share.

And there you have it. Our weekend in a nutshell.


***


(while we didn't end up going here, I'd still like to try it out sometime so we'll add it to the list)


You can find our May date here
You can find our April date here
You can find our March date here
You can find our February date here
You can find our January date here
Introduction to "A Year of Dates" here



Fri-YAY!

Friday, June 26, 2015

Happy Friday! This week went by relatively fast, but I'm still super happy it's already Friday again! We're off to a baby shower on Saturday and then celebrating my friend's birthday on Sunday so this weekend is sure to be a good one.

But before that... my weekly fives.

ONE.
Vans and Disney collaboration.


My sister-in-law sent me the picture of those Mickey slip ons last week and I instantly fell in love. If Mason's feet weren't so fat, I would totally buy him some of these! How stinkin' cute!
To see everything in the collection, click here.


TWO.
This article.

My friend sent me the link to this article -- To The Person Who Said My Son Doesn't Look Like He Has Autism -- on Autism Speaks' blog last week and I instantly could relate. To be honest, before she sent me the link to the blog article, I didn't even know Autism Speaks had a blog! I've been searching around the past week-ish and have found some great articles. Since she introduced me to the fact that they have a blog, I inquired about submitted a post to them since I thought I would like to share my letter to Mason. I submitted over the weekend and on Wednesday I got an email saying I was featured! You can see my featured blog post here. It is such an honor to be featured and an even more incredible honor that over 2,500 people have shared my post on Facebook!


THREE.
Dove chocolate.



I've been wanting to get some chocolates to have around the house just in case that chocolate craving strikes (which is often for this chocolate loving girl). I love Dove but it's usually so expensive. I happened to be walking past the candy aisle (it's right across from the cereal!) and I saw this incredible sale going on that I just couldn't pass up. These Dove sea salt/caramel/dark chocolate and mint/dark chocolate swirl chocolate are AH-MAZING and the perfect size treat for dessert.


FOUR.
Oreos.


Speaking of chocolate... when I was at Walmart yesterday picking up a couple things, I happened to walk down the aisle with the Oreos (to get something else... I swear!) and I found these. I thought about adding them to my cart when I thought "Seth would make fun of me for buying those if I brought them home and would mention how much other candy we have. Don't do it". So instead I texted him a picture of them, just to show him, and he said "YES". Well there's a surprise. So in the cart they went! And to say Mason loved them would be an understatement. For a kid that notoriously hates all dessert except for ice cream, he sure looks like he enjoyed these!



FIVE.
Christmas in July.



Don't forget that TODAY is the last day to enter our Christmas in July gift exchange! We would love for you to participate! To sign up, click HERE.


Happy Friday!


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