Cell Phone Dump

Some of the pics I am "dumping" to my laptop this week from my cell phone:

Getting Valentine cards in the mail is the BEST!

"I can still fit into the bouncy seat Mama"

Finally a day nice enough to open the sunroof! 

#selfiewhiledriving  #dangerous

 

Time again for a haircut!

Cruising with my little man!

Mason's teacher at daycare was sick so we made her a "get well" sign & texted it to her :)   #rockchalk

 Mason & Mama selfie that we sent Daddy!

V-Day Party 2015

We got to Mason's daycare this morning with the monster box, gifts, treats & Valentine's in hand & he was SO excited to give the gifts to his teachers & show them his Valentine box.

As we were talking to his teachers, a couple other Mom's from Mason's class came in carrying their treats, Valentines & boxes bags. Then came the snarky comments. 

As my little guy was proudly showing his box to his teachers I hear the one Mom say "Wow - that is quite an elaborate box for a 2 year old!" Then the other Mom saw his Valentine's for the littles laying on the counter (not knowing they were Mason's) & said "Wow - someone went a little overboard with their Valentine's didn't they?!" It took all I had to not say something sassy back to them. I just awkwardly smiled, kissed my little guy goodbye & got the heck out of there. 

All the way to work I was bothered by their comments. Maybe I did go a little "overboard" with his box. Maybe I do appear to be one of those "over-achiever Moms". Maybe they were just jealous they didn't have the time, energy or mad creative skills like this Mama did? 

Regardless of the answer I wasn't going to let those 2 other Moms ruin what was a fun & exciting evening & morning for me & my little man. I said it earlier - I ENJOY doing these things...especially with & for Mason. I'm not going to change what kind of Mama I am so those other Mama's are just going to have to deal with me for the next several years - or step up their game :)

So when I picked Mason up at the end of the day he had his box filled with candy & Valentine's & was SO excited to show me what was inside. When we got home he had so much fun pulling everything out of the "monster's mouth" & going over all his little paper Valentine's & candy from all his friends. 

After seeing all his little paper valentine's the other littles brought I kind of thought to myself that maybe the 2 year old room just wasn't ready for what this Mama has to bring. Perhaps I need to lay off the elaborate creations until he starts Kindergarten?! I just don't want him to be labeled as the kid with "that kind of Mama". Or maybe I am just blowing this whole thing out of proportion??

Hmmm - we will see what next year brings.

Valentine Party Eve

Valentine's Day is fast approaching & with another holiday = my creative juices start flowing :) Those of you who know me know that I LOVE to make crafty stuff - especially for Mason's class. Yes - I have been known to be one of those "over-the-top Mama's" & you know what? I don't care. I don't do it to show off or make other parents feel bad.....I do it because I enjoy it & love to create fun, crafty things not only for myself but for Mason as well.

Like last year, I needed to get something for Mason's teachers as well as make Mason's valentines for his class. I again turned to Pinterest for ideas & came up with some really cute things to make. I absolutely LOVE Pinterest!!

First, I needed to make/get his Toddler 1 teachers a "thank you" gift for all they have done for him throughout the year. They had so many teacher gift ideas on Pinterest it was hard to pick just one. I ended up making this M&M jar because I loved the little poem on the front & what it stood for. I also got them an insulated Tervis tumbler with their favorite sports team & filled it with candy as well as a gift card to Target:

I also gave these tumblers to his 2 male teachers in Toddler 2 for their Valentines gift & filled them with candy. Wasn't sure what to get two guy's I hardly know for Valentines Day from Mason so hopefully these work ok?!

For Mason's afternoon teachers, I made these M&M jars again just like I did last year. They are SO easy & cheap to make & who doesn't like M&M's? The tag says "It takes a big heart to shape little minds" - so cute!

Next on the list of creative items to make was Mason's valentines for his class party. I had seen these on Pinterest awhile back & "pinned" them to make in the future. They were little baggies filled with bubbles & Blow Pops with a cute little saying to go with them. Ziplock baggies, some scrapbook paper, stickers & a stapler & voila - you got yourself some cute Valentine's!

Mason's teachers had sent home a note the week before requesting they bring a Valentine box to his party along with 12 Valentines so I started looking online for a cheap, easy box to make. I came across a "monster" box that looked fairly easy to make. I wanted to involve Mason with the assembly of his box so I let him help me wrap, trace, cut & paste. He had SO much fun "helping" & was so excited to see his creation come together :)

Looking so forward to delivering all the teachers their gifts & hearing how Mason's little Valentine party goes! He is SO excited to bring his monster box to "school" & hand out his Valentines & secretly, so is his Mama :)

Park Play

It may be the middle of winter but for whatever reason Mother Nature has blessed us with one random beautiful 65 degree day & we took full advantage of it! 

Since we have been cooped up in the house most of the winter months, we took our afternoon outside to enjoy this awesome day! We first headed over to our usual park that we like to hang out at but after just 5 minutes we decided to go elsewhere due to all the mud on the playground. 

 

 Ugh - look at those shoes!!

We then went over to our local aquatic center where I had discovered an awesome little park & playground earlier this summer. Seems that quite a few other parents knew of this little gem also as it was hoppin' with little kids!

Mason had fun playing on all the equipment & even met some new little "friends" while there! As soon as the weather starts getting warmer out we are for sure heading back to this great little playground!

Cell Phone Dump

If you follow me on Instagram then most of you will have already seen these photos but for those of you who don't then lucky for you these will be new.

I have a huge fear that I will one day lose my cell phone along with the hundreds of pics on it so every couple of weeks I upload my photos from my cell into my laptop. I usually end up posting more pics/video on Instagram than I do Facebook & a lot of my friends & family aren't on IG so in order for them to see pics of Mase & what goes on in our lives, I thought it might be fun to do a post a couple of times a month called "Cell Phone Dump" - that is if I can keep up with it :)

So here are a few of my favorites from the last couple of months:

 

 Helping hang ornaments on the Christmas tree

 

Wearing Daddy's cowboy boots

Mase & I made his daycare teacher from the infant room a "get well card" & sent her this pic & yes, he is sporting a faux-hawk :)

Mase & Mama "selfie" that we sent Daddy

Millie says: "This looks like a good place to take a nap"

Watching TV with the bullies!

Bubba loves snuggles with Mama

 Playing drums - Daddy is starting him early!

Checking out the headphones at Target

Those eyelashes - LOVE!

 Came home from work late one night & found these two asleep in the chair!

 Lunch with Uncle Steve, Aunt Meghan & Caleb