Mom in the shot {Nov 10th Remember to live in the moment}

Life is so busy.

Things happening everyday.

Schedules to follow.

Play dates, lunch dates, and errands fill up the space in between.

The other day I was tired.

Tired of feeling like I had seconds to breath and regroup before moving onto the next thing.

Then I decided we needed a day off, well when I say "we" I mean, Bean and I, Hubs still had work and Buggie school.

But Bean and I lived in the moment.

Which for us meant some super silly photo moments. When Em started Embrace the Camera, I knew it was important, but honestly the gravity of it has grown more on me with each and every post. Will Bean look back at these photos of his Mom with fond memories, I sure hope so because thats the goal here folks. These moments when Mommy put on silly masks with him and made funny faces in the computer, he now has these photos to remember it was not all Mommy dragging him around all day.

Then we went outside for a snack picnic. Where we shared grapes, hummus, and cherry tomatoes. It was just us and the birds flying high in the sky. Life moves around us, stop and watch it sometimes, you might learn something about it.

Because I sure did on this day.

I learned I need more of these days in my life.

It left me refreshed with a new sense of love and worth for my family.

My favorite moment of our day, was laying on our blanket in the shade of the tree, pointing to the the clouds as they slowing passed by us. And just listening, listening to my little boy ramble about the clouds, birds, Toy Story, Cars 2, and dinosaurs. These are the moments that make life sweet. Moments I will always remember and now we have captured for my little 2 year old to look back on and know his Mommy took time out of our hectic life to just be.

I linked up with Em.

You should too, promise it is SOO worth it.

They say it was your birthday!

{I made him Funfetti Bithday Pancake}

Sunday Bean turned 2.

It's amazing to me because it is hard to imagine him like this fresh out of the oven.

He is such a little dude now.

{I told him back then, if he wanted some cool shades he just needed to ask. Silly boy}

He is such a light in our lives.

There not a day that goes by that he does not have us laughing.

{"Blowing" out his candle.}

We decided to take him to Animal Kingdom to play. He LOVES it there.

The animals, the dinosaur play area, its heaven for him.

"How old are you Nolan?"

"Tew."

{Dino diggin with his Sisty}

He is such a loving boy.

Never short of hugs.

And he looks up to his big sister so much.

She calls him Babykins and it makes my heart skip a beat.

And he may not be a baby anymore.

But he will ALWAYS be my little baby boy.

I hope to post his b-day party later this week.

It was a DINO-MITE time, ha.

Let's get our swap on!!!

Whats up loves! I'm not sure how many of you guys remember but Leonora and I Hosted a "Swag Swap Week" back in May. What was swag swap week? Well, the cliff notes version is for one week participating handmade shops were able to trade their loot for other loot in other shops! It was a lot of fun & Leonora and I made new bloggie friends from it. Best part? No one was assigned partners, you were able to swap with any of the participating shops!

I really really REALLY wanted to host another swag swap week before the holidays so people could squeeze in some holiday shopping. But being a handmade shop owner I realized it would be too much to try to keep up with inventory in my shop for my holiday customers as well as anyone who wanted to swap with me.

Alternative? Leonora and I are going to host an "After Holidays Swag Swap Week". The pros? As a shop owner, you won't be stressed out making sure you meet the holiday deadlines with your customers *and* your swappers. Also? it's a great way to network and make more friends since we encourage everyone who is participating in the swap to blog about their loot!

Can we be real for a second? Who wants to stop giving/getting presents right after the holidays anyway?? And also, it'll give you a chance to nab some swag that you *really* wanted to get for the holidays but didn't get (I guess emailing the links to your hubs of what you wanted, and printing them out, highlighting them and leaving said print outs on the kitchen table wasn't as big of a hint as you thought it would be…)

Last time Swag Swap Week was only for handmade shop owners. A lot of people who didn't have a handmade biz wanted to know how to get in on the swap, so the lovely Lindsay had a genius idea. Now even if you don't have a handmade shop you too can participate! We are allowing people with popular blogs to swap "ad space" with handmade shop owners in return for their goods. We are encouraging that just people who DO NOT have a handmade biz to swap ad space, we know a lot of handmade biz owners also have popular blogs and do offer ad space as well so we really don't want this to turn into a "Swap-an-ad" week. So please let's leave the ad-space swapping to those with out shops :)

(ok, here is the pseudo sucky part) read ALL the Rules & Regulations below to see if you qualify!

That sounds pretty rad, how do I participate?!
You want in?! STOKED! This makes me squeal like a little school girl. Simply send an email to SwagSwapWeek {at} gmail.com with the subject line "Holiday Swag Swap Week". If you are a handmade shop owner please include your name, a link to your shop and a link to your blog. You may also include any other links such as your facebook and twitter accounts. If you are a popular blog author who wants to swap ad space please send us your name, your blog, and a SCREEN SHOT of your stats. We also need to know the number of followers on your blog, facebook and twitter accounts. Also please include your rates (ex: 1 month of ad space pricing, 3 months of ad space pricing, if it comes with a shop feature blog post and a giveaway etc) and what size buttons you would need from your partner. Please read rules and regulations below before emailing us, we want everyone to play nice on the Swag Swap Week playground! We want this to be as fun as possible.

Ok, I definitely want in, what rules are there for the Swag Swap Week playground?
First off there is no pushing and shoving on the monkey bars and no jumping off the swings (might break your neck) Ok, I'm getting to the point...I really dig bullet points (what? they're convenient, I know you dig em too!) so here they are in no particular order.

• Swag Swap Week will be going on from Sunday, January 15th 2012 and ending on Saturday, January 21st 2012. We are making it a week long so no one feels pressure to swap right away and it gives owners enough time to get their swappage on. Also we figured this was enough time to replenish your shops with new inventory after the holiday rush.

• You need to register with us by November 30th (you can do so by emailing either Leonora or Myself at SwagSwapWeek {at} gmail.com) The registration ends early so I have enough time to create graphics for my blog of all the participating shops/blogs.

• All participating shops and blogs are asked to please blog and spread the news about all the new items they received in the swap. Please also include links to your swappers shop, blog, twitter, facebook and any other places to get in touch with them in your post :)

• Etsy, Big Cartel shop and Blog owners can participate (Sorry guys only U.S. shops and blogs for now)

• If you have an Etsy Shop you must have at least 20 positive ratings and 20 items for sale. (and no we don't mean 20 positive ratings out of 100--we ask this so that we don't have any "bad egg" shops who won't play nice! :) )

• Big Cartel shop owners: since there is no "rating system" on your shop you must supply us a link to your blog that has at least 50 followers. This is the only way we can tell that your items are "A-O-K". You also must have at least 20 items in your shop.

• It is not mandatory but we are highly encouraging shop owners to supply our readers with coupon codes to your shops. This will help gain traffic to your shop if someone not participating in the swap sees this blog post and digs your loot.

• It is also not mandatory to participate in a "swag swap week giveaway" but if anyone is expressing interest in giving away any items or store credit from their shops or if any blog owners want to giveaway ad space, then please let me know and we'll set up a blog post for a group giveaway.

• If you are a blog author you must email us a SCREEN SHOT of your blog stats as well as how many followers you have. Please also include your facebook and twitter following. Only certain blogs will be considered for swapping ads, we want our shop owners to get the best exposure out there. Also include your rates (ex: 1 month of ad space, 3 months of ad space, if it comes with a shop featured blog post and an optional giveaway)

There is a limit to the number of shops/blogs allowed to participate. We will have no more than 10 shops per category:

Art, Jewelry, Accessories, Home Decor, Bags & Purses, Baby & Kids, and Ad Space

Unsure if your shop fits one of those categories? No worries, here is what we are looking for.

ART: Graphic Design, Fine Art, Photography, Painting, Letterpress, Posters, Stationary, Cards

JEWELRY: Necklaces, earrings, broaches, bracelets, watches & rings. Since this is a popular category we will be putting "hair items" with accessories not jewelry.

ACCESSORIES: Scarves, Hair Accessories, Shoe Clips, Fashionable Clothing Items, Camera Strap Covers, Key Chains, Belts

HOME DECOR: Pillows, Towels, Linens, Coasters, Gadgets, Kitchen Accessories, 3-D Wall Art, Wreaths

BAGS & PURSES: Clutches, Totes, Wallets, Evening Bags, Camera Bags, Back Packs, Lunch Bags

Baby & Kids: Any of the categories above but geared towards children..although I don't know what baby will need a purse, but hey ya never know.

AD SPACE: Popular Blog Owners can Swap Ad Space with Handmade Shops, If you are a handmade shop owner who also supplies ad space on your blog we ask that you try to just trade your goods-we don't want this to turn into a "Swag swap ad week" haha <3

**if we can not fill up one category with at least 10 shops then we will consider adding more shops to the other categories to even it out**

• We want this to be an even playing field so there will be a screening process of your goods. We also do not want too many "similar" shops. For example: If you sell jewelry and make fabric rosettes and another shop contacts us who makes virtually the same item we will only pick one of the 2 stores to participate to keep it diverse. Sorry guys! We want to have a plethora of items but don't worry we'll do more swap weeks so just try again then :)

• We will periodically post on our blogs the participating shops/blogs for Swag Swap Week. We will keep updating the list when we get more entries. We will also supply you a button to add to your blog so you can let others know your are participating in the Swap. This will help get the word out and help have people out there who are not shop owners to see your stuff and potentially get new sales.

• Right before January 15th we will post a final list of all participating shops. If you are participating in the swap you are NOT ALLOWED to contact the shop/blog owners before hand. You must wait till the week the swap is taking place. We also ask that you supply us with an email address so we can include it on the list. This is how you will be communicating with other stores/blog owners participating in the swap.

• Once January 15th rolls around you are allowed to go shopping around and contacting shop owners/blog owners to work out a barter. THIS IS IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: Unfortunately if you really dig someone's shop/blog they might not feel the same way back. Both shop/blog owners must agree to the swap so if someone contacts you and you are not interested in their items/ad space you are not obligated to swap with them. Let's keep things nice though and please tell them gently that at this time you do not need their items/ad space.

• When you find a shop/blog that you want to swap with and you are BOTH in agreement then its up to the 2 of you to come to some sort of agreement. Leonora and I ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS TRANSACTION. Whatever is said between you and other swappers stays between you and other swappers. We are not responsible for any items that may get lost or stolen. We are also not responsible for the actions of others participating in this swap. If you run into a problem with you and your swapper you must deal with it with them directly.

• In order to prevent one person from getting more out of the swap than the other we are setting a "difference limit". If the difference of the items in the swap is OVER $5 then the shop/blog owner who will be eating this cost has THE OPTION to send a bill to the other swapper via paypal to pay the difference. YOU MUST LET THE PERSON KNOW AHEAD OF TIME IF YOU ARE BILLING THEM THE DIFFERENCE. If it is under $5 this action can not be done. You also can NOT charge your swapper for shipping fees (which works out anyway because you are both paying shipping fees for your own items that you are shipping) Please also note we are NOT RESPONSIBLE for whatever transaction happens between you and your swapper. Any problems or questions must be dealt directly with the person you are swapping with.

• The 2 swappers must make an agreement upon when each other should be expecting their goods. Someone like me who prints out graphic prints can get items out sooner than someone who has to make 10 hand bags. So be understanding of one another guys :) Also people who are trading ad space for goods must let their swapper know when their ad will run.

• There is no limit to how many shops/blogs you want to swap with-go crazy and have fun! But please be respectful of other shop owners who do not want to swap back, they might just be getting too many requests and unfortunately can not accept all of them :)

• After you are registered we will look over your shop/blog to make sure you meet the criteria. You will hear back from either Amy or I in 5-7 business days after we received your email to let you know if you are a candidate for Swag Swap Week. If you are not chosen it does not mean we don't like your stuff! There might already by a participating shop/blog that has similar items to you or we have already met our quota.

Here are some Benefits!
• We are asking everyone who decides to participate in the swap to blog about the products that they received. This helps to get exposure to your store. Also any bloggers who are giving away ad space we would love for them to please blog about the products they received!

• Great opportunity to test out other store's products before you commit to an ever bigger purchase from them

• An opportunity to meet other "handmade" folks and grow a network with people.

• The items being swapped don't necessarily have to be for you! You can even swap items that you can see giving away as gifts!

• We will also include on our blogs links to your shop, blog, twitter and facebook accounts--giving you free exposure!


so now, whose in??

PS:

If you go to Leonora's blog post, yes it is exactly the same. Cause she wrote it so well, why rewrite, ha.

PPS:

Leonora made all the graphics for swag swap week, see she is made talented, hence why you should swap with her!

Let us take a look, what's in your pocketbook? {Guest Starring Anna from IHOD}

I have been toying with the idea of a month blog feature for some time now.

I wanted something fun and different.

But a good way to feature fellow bloggers and maybe see a little bit about them that we may not know yet.

So "Let us take a look, what's in your pocketbook?" is coming the first of every month.

When I was thinking who's pocket book I wanted to sneak a peek at first,

Anna from In Honor of Design popped in my head right away.

See Anna was pretty much one of the first blogs I ever started following.

And her Mom style is something I am envious of, as you can see from this picture.

She is gorgeous, I mean really gorgeous inside and out.

Here is a little bit about Anna's bag:

The Bag:

Cute Tote Bag / disguise diaper bag (via Mimi Boutique)

The contents:

Mama must haves:

Several lipsticks, lip glosses, lip balm, lip everything - its been an obsession since high school. Its just an easy 5 second fix to make it look like you tried that day;)

Phone

Wallet

Emergency Sew Kit (thanks to my awesome friend Monica)

Nail filer/buffer (they have really cute kits at H & M right now for $2.50!)

A pack or three of chewing gum (not pictured)

Baby must haves:

Diapers

Changer Mat

Pacifier

Toys for both kids (always a train for my son;))

Disposable scented diaper bags (for when no trash cans are available. Life saver.)

And of course, my camera fits in there too, which goes with me everywhere!

- As a Momma what do you look for when buying a bag?

Exterior style and interior SPACE...with lots of pockets;) I like to fit the world in my bag.

- Fashion is such a big part of your life, how do you make it work

when you are just not feeling it?

To be honest, there are many a days when I stay in sweats and don't get dressed till the afternoon. However, I do notice that when I make an effort(even if its just for my husband that day), it gives me a little more pep in my step;) Its fun for me to throw together an outfit. Its that artist in me I guess. On the days I am not feeling it, I like to at least wear a fun pair of earrings. necklace, or scarf with a cute tee to make it feel like I tried at least.

- I see Thomas hangs in your bag, do you have any more boredom busters for kiddies when you are out?

Yes, trains travel with us everywhere for our little man. They solve the limited attention span problem. I always have a teether or two for the baby as well....even if that means a long beaded necklace;) (They now have baby safe ones for those mamas that are more pre-cautious than me.) And of course mini snack packs always do the trick for toddlers.

- What's your best McGayver moment, you know us Mommas have forgotten wipes or diapers at one point, how did you make it work?

We had a very big blowout accident with our son within moments of arriving to a restaurant. Of course, it was the only time I had forgotten to bring an extra outfit (blowouts were a regular occurrence at home), PLUS only had a few baby wipes on me. After borrowing wipes from my sister in law, and practically giving him a full body scrub down in the public bathroom, my husband brought our poor naked baby next door to Target to buy him an outfit. When the day seems to want to take you down, you have to laugh and make light of it:)

- If you could have any bag, price not a issue and you do not need to share it with the kiddies, what would you get?

I am not actually a huge name brand bag type of gal. I guess its the common sense in me. No bag is worth a couple hundred dollars (ahem- a car payment?!). However, I do have a weak spot for Kate Spade bags. Each design and pop of color makes me feel like a kid in a candy store!

Thank you so much sweet Anna for being my first :-)

I hope you enjoyed this little look into Anna's bag.

You can check out more of Anna at:

Her bloggity blog.

Her Shop

Facebook and Twitter

See you in Nov.

This weekend I bought milk that expires on Dec 1.

Dec 1 people.

Time is not flying by, its more like missing.

I feel like days of my life are just missing.

Oct has turned into one thing after another, the biggest being planning Bean's birthday.

I am starting to feel my posts are forced, which makes me cringe.

So I am going to take the rest of October off to finish up projects, line up some projects, and come up with a game plan for some new bloggie things.

One more thing before I dip, thank you for everyone who responded to the Orlando Meetup,

we are going to push it out to January, that way we can do it right and make it super special.

More details to come on this.

"Nolan how old are you?"

Those little fingers can't figure it out just yet.

See you in November!

So how about we meet?

Leonora and I have been friends for like 10 years now, ok more like 9 months, but honestly it feels like 10 in a good way. And over the past weekend we got to meet up, since she was in town for a wedding.

See we talk almost every day at least once, through twitter, email, texting, or gchat, so I was not worried about some actual face time. If anything I knew it would rock, and it did.

The ONLY thing I would have changed about it would have been making it last longer.

Oh and for more croutons and prosciutto crisps.

It was too short and honestly sad to say goodbye so quickly.

But we are hoping for another chance on her turf, NYC, next spring.

Fingers and toes crossed.

Meet ups are fun.

Emily and I were wondering if any local central FL bloggers would like to meet up with us one night in the next few weeks?!

Maybe some dinner and shopping.

Thoughts?

Please leave a comment here or feel free to email me.

Look forward to meeting some of you!

Mom in the shot {Oct 4th} Citizenship

Last Friday my Mommy proud meter was flowing over.

Every month a student from each class is chosen for displaying the trait for that month.

Buggie was chosen for September, which was Citizenship.

We got to bring her a special lunch and got to eat up on stage in the cafeteria.

{lookie there Daddy made it into a picture}

She has done a complete 180 with school this year. And has gone for the kid that cried at drop off {even up til the last day of school}, to the girl winning awards.

Our favorite part of the lunch had to be when her class started a "AVERY AVERY AVERY" chant. She could not stop giggling...