Squeezable goodness {Peter Rabbit Organics giveaway}

I want to introduce you to one of Moses’ favorite snacks; the squeezable puree pouch. We teamed up with Peter Rabbit Organics who offers 100% pure fruit or fruit & vegetable purees in a convenient grab and go pouch for this review and giveaway. Moses has loved these pouches long before this review so he was thrilled to receive his very own package in the mail filled with all 6 pouch varieties. I’m not kidding… want to make your toddler the happiest guy on the planet…put something special for him in the mailbox!  Moses loves the BPA-free resealable, individual packaging and feels like a big boy because he can have this snack without any help; I love them because I know they’re healthy and filled with nothing but pure fruits and vegetables.

 

There was no favoritism when it came to flavor options; whether it was sweet potato, corn, & apple or mango, banana, & orange he loved them all. I tasted the pea, spinach, & apple and was very surprised how strong the pea flavor was however mixed in with the fruit it simply tasted like a sweet treat to Moses and he loved it. They are perfect for a morning on the run, an afternoon snack, or when we are stuck in the car longer than expected.  You can find them in Starbucks nationwide, in select Whole Foods Markets, Publix and Albertsons, and natural food stores, in all Buy Buy Baby stores, and online at Amazon.com, Diapers.com, BabiesRUs.com and Spud.com.

Peter Rabbit would like to offer someone their own gift pack featuring all 6 flavors two times over; meaning someone will receive 12 pouches of their own! 

To Enter: Leave a comment telling me which flavor you’re most interested in trying! 

Extra entries: Please leave an additional, separate comment for each of the follow you do:

Tweet about the giveaway; make sure to include @BusylandB and the blog link

Share the giveaway with your Facebook followers and including the blog link

Fan on FB OR follow Peter Rabbit Organics on Twitter @PR_Organics

The giveaway will close on Saturday and I’ll announce the winner next week!

{good} excuses.

Hi,

I've been "busy". You know....working like crazy, cooking dinners, exercising, pinning "fitness" things so I avoid eating sweets, avoiding the couch all together to avoid eating sweets, finishing and completing my first ever sewing project which happens to be Mo's costume, tweeting, taking showers, sleeping....that kind of busy. 

I have four different reviews & giveaway's brewing so expect a couple of those next week as well as pictures of Halloween and my pretty dang impressive considering I've never sewn much more than a Barbie sleeping bag decent costume.

Parents of the Year.

You know you’re parents of the year when you refuse to let the toddle fall asleep for the night at 6pm so you bribe him with chocolate ice cream topped with marshmallows and episodes of cartoons.

You know you’re Mommy of the year when you shove your toddler in the corner of a walkway and let him pee in a bush after standing in front of a rushing water fountain too long because you are afraid his little bladder can’t hold it any long and there is no way you’re dealing with pee pee pants at Downtown Disney.  

You know you’re parents of the year when you let your toddler not only sit but hold onto the toilet seat in a public restroom because he needs to poop and he’s too much of a “big boy” to accept your help.

You know you’re parents of the year when you tell your toddler to wipe his bugger on his jeans opposed to the window because it’s more discrete and there is no tissue in sight.

You know you’re mommy of the year when you order your toddler a Birthday Cake Pop in the Starbucks drive thru line at 8am because it is way too early to hear him throw a fit the entire ride to school.

Moses is 73 days away from turning 3 and our parenting skills are dissipating faster than Kim Kardashian’s marriage.

Pregnancy Lane.

Among being one of the best places to stalk those from your past Facebook has some other fun features as well like taking strolls through memory lane. I came across a picture of myself pregnant and it caught me off guard; I was 9 months pregnant and radiantly happy. It got me thinking about my 41 week journey and the way it can emotionally, mentally, financially physically change a person. Let’s take a stroll…

My first pregnant picture. Oh….this picture, the bittersweet joy it brings me. Back then I thought I was a little chubby but oh my gosh what I wouldn’t give to have that body again!

This was always a fun situation; pregnant tailgating. I got so many stares and drunken girls touching my belly and asking {inappropriate} questions.

I love this memory; our semi planned out and slightly rushed maternity session. My friend Sarah snapped these at sunset on the only strip of undisturbed scenery we could find in Destin that evening between restaurants and condos. 

New Year's eve...officially past my due date but that didn't stop us from going to a party to downtown 2010! The guys were showing off their "catching" skills.

And this, this is the picture. I was 9 months pregnant and having a blast with girlfriends. We were laughing and taking a group photo and I remember feeling great. Looking back my jaw drops at how huge my belly had grown; I was so oblivious back then!

One thing all these pictures have in common; happiness. I had such a happy wonderful pregnancy and these little life snapshots show it. Yes I did have a numb butt in my office chair for months but honestly everything else was a breeze. Ladies, don’t ever be camera shy when you’re pregnant….it’s those little movements in life worth remembering.

{Family} Farm Tour

Once a year our local natural/organic/health store invites to the public to come tour 31 of the area farms they use as a way for us to get to know our farmers. “Aunt Beth” invited us earlier in the week and after browsing some of the farms I thought it was be a wonderful family outing. We all loaded up in our car and headed out Saturday morning. Driving all around North Florida was not an option we stuck with one general area and bounced around visiting a goat farm, a bee/honey exhibit, a vineyard, and a family farm. I am so thankful Aunt Beth was there capturing the little moments for us because we truly has such a wonderful time watching Moses explore.

 The first farm had fainting goats, baby goats, chickens, sheep dogs, a hayride, and Moses' favorite part…the tire swing! 

My favorite part of the trip was stumbling upon the chicken coup at the vineyards and watching the process of a chicken laying an egg.

We were so excited when one climbed into her little cubby and I was only half joking with Moses about waiting to see if she laid an egg. Sure enough on came rolling down and we were smitten with joy! I think the highlight for Moses was when the chickens were pooping but I’ll just pretend he loved our special moment the most!

The perfect pit stop treat…something sweet!And while we were enjoying our treats and watching the bee expo a girl was walking around letting people make their own bee's wax candle!

It was so nice to have someone else there to take the pictures for me! Normally I am the one behind the camera so this was an extra special treat! Thanks Bethy for playing Mom of the day!

Overall it was a fun, quality day spent outdoors and I am so glad we decided to go do something out of our comfort zone for the day!

{complete}

Today I fully intended on writing a woe is me hormonal mushy mommy post. I was going to write about how everyone on the internets seems to be getting pregnant with baby #2 and how although I am very happy for them I am also extremely jealous. I was going to whine and cry about how I want a second baby right this very moment and blah blah blah. But then around 10am this morning I hear one big and one small knock on my office door. To my surprise the boys came to say hello and bring me a treat. My favorite order from Starbucks, a lunch time gift card, and something I left at the house. They were all smiles and soon my entire office lit up as Moses walked around talking up a storm. I was extremely happy to see them and after they left I realized; it’s okay. It’s okay that I’m not pregnant with our second child, it’s okay that we’re not even planning on walking down that path for a while, it’s okay that it’s just the three of us. They make me so happy and I feel complete when they’re around. I am content yet again. Of course I could mentally talk myself back down into a woe is my hole but there is no need; if it’s in The Plan then baby #2 will come…eventually. But for now…I’ll rejoice in the fact that those two wild nut case boys complete me.

Moses is less than 3 months away from turning three and I’m on a slight caffeine overload.

Blip.

I was home sick yesterday so my week has started off kind of wonky!

We had a great weekend! Look for a fun post including pictures (that I didn’t take, of course) this coming week from our Saturday morning adventure.

A little fun teaser for another upcoming post…something wonderful arrived in my mailbox yesterday I cannot wait to share! It was one of those moments where I opened the mailbox, saw the package and squealed! Get ready to fall in love!

Other posts to come include another big milestone at our house, hormonal mommy messes, and a picture post from a wonderful event that I failed to even mention on here!

There is a lot swirling around in my head today and I’m eager to share….but…seeing as my Tuesday is my Monday and there are other (ya know, important) things to do I will be sharing another time!

{give yourself} Fifteen minutes.

Sometimes in my head I play out how I would write a post, really think it through, and then forget to ever write it! That’s exactly what happened with the following! 

Weeks (maybe months) ago Roni wrote a great post about feeling overwhelmed about a daunting task and intern it never gets done; case in point, cleaning that big junk room. She talked about giving yourself a 15 minute time limit and work on what you can in those 15 minutes then walk away; it’s a short enough amount of time to not feel swallowed by the task. Feeling inspired I set out to work on the one place in my house that is never clean…my bedroom. It should be my sanctuary, my retreat but instead it’s my oh-crap-people-are-coming-over-throw-everything-in-here room. Seeing that I don’t have octopus arms I knew I couldn’t clean the entire wreck in this time limit so I focused on the closet.

Oh how I wish so bad this was a staged picture but nope, that’s my little ol’ disaster of a closet. I’m a terrible wife and make Davy keep his clothes in the office because there is NO WAY this thing is big enough for two people. The shirt cubicles store about half of what I’ve put in there…the other half has dove off onto the floor; the shoe drawers always remain open with mismatches shoes strung about. The floor is literally covered with clothes because a. I have no counter space to throw them and b. a laundry basket can’t fit in the closet!

And here is what it looks like 15 minutes later! I picked up all the fallen clothes and refolded them into their proper cubby. I rearranged the bags on the floor so my drawers could actually be pulled all the way out. I placed shoes with their match and neatly stacked in the right place. I picked up all the junk that has accumulated on the floor and put it away. It felt so nice to see what things could look like after 15 minutes of refocusing my attention. And after those 15 minutes were up I immediately hung up all the clean shirts off the floor so the closet was complete.

And get this…I felt so motivated I went on to clean the entire room! The disaster center was transformed into a bedroom complete with clean floors, clean dresser tops, and a made bed!

I DARE you to try this task! It was great motivation to snap a before and after picture of the space. I bet your biggest challenge is going to be stopping after 15 minutes!

Even sick puppies need treats!

We lasted almost three years without getting one of these but I guess when it rains it pours; Moses had his first ear infection yesterday. Actually, make that a double ear infection. I got the “he’s not feeling well” phone call yesterday early afternoon and raced right over to school. My big boy had melted into a poor little puppy not even wanting to walk on his own. After finding out his Doctor was gone for the day we were directed to his insurance’s urgent care facility and 30 minutes later we were staring into the ears of a sick boy. The left ear was the one that really bothered him and was the worst of the two but the other one was also infected; a $25 co pay later we were headed to get fill his prescription. Moses insisted the only thing that would make him feel better was a cookie from the Publix bakery; not just any cookie but the big-as-your-face $1.50 cookies on the bottom shelf that are loaded with m&ms. We needed to kill 20 minutes so I caved in and watch my sick puppy turn into a happy boy!   

After relaxing together on the couch in our jammies for a while he started to feel better and by this morning he was back to his goofy self. Yesterday during the whole ordeal I was feeling so thankful and blessed that we have jobs that offer good insurance and just for insurance in general; I cannot imagine the inconvenience and expense this would have cost us without it.

Side note: Remember the broccoli obsession Moses had the other day? Well yesterday morning another freak vegetable occurrence. I made a spinach and egg white scramble for myself (about 70% spinach 30% egg ratio) and Moses kept asking for bites. He loved the taste and was eating huge chunks of cooked spinach. I couldn’t deny the boy his own plate after he ate all mine so I did just that; I made him his own big plate of spinach and eggs. Guess what? He ate the entire thing! When I picked him up sick later that day the teacher also informed me he’s had bad gas; I didn’t think twice about it until I was driving home and started to chuckled to myself knowing exactly what caused it!

{smiles}

You know it’s been a good weekend when:

• You spend quality time with quality people.
• You eat over 100+g of sugar in one 24 hours period…including but not limited to carrot cake, frozen yogurt, Ben & Jerry’s, a doughnut, and cinnamon rolls.
• You keep guard for any employed customers of Wal Mart so you’re 14 year old sister can climb a display of deer corn to get the perfect planking picture.
• You “cone” the night crew at McDonald's.
• You get cussed out in front of your 14 year old sister and toddler in the parking lot of a grocery store for no good reason at all.
• You stay up past midnight.

This weekend we “babysat” my little sister and in turn got to act like teenagers.

Note to self: eating too many sweets and not working out for 5 days straight will make you gain back all the weight you’ve lost in the last two weeks.

Capturing [the cleaned up] Us.

The fall weather is here which means it’s getting closer to…family picture time! Last year I had such a great time prepping and loved the way they turned out! Simple, casual, happy, and easy!

 Going the same route as last year I want to avoid the white shirt/ jean cliché photo wardrobe and go with something that is more, us. 

I had so much fun going into the Old Navy pulling an entire look together then going home and making us all try on the different pieces until I saw what I liked. It’s going to be hard to find a different color scheme this year because all my favorites were wrapped into last year’s look; the boys look great in blue, the grey complimented the photo, and I love purple! Thanks to Pinterest it’s been great gathering looks and colors I like together; now I just need to make sure Old Navy is selling those colors in their fall line!

My other hurdle is going to be getting the [almost] 3 year old to sit still. Last year he was more easily entertained and gave a natural smile when he thought something was funny but nowadays he throws his hands in his face or squints his eyes to be funny…

…not something I need to be happening when the camera is clicking!

Time to put him into a shoe box so he’ll stop growing so fast!

If potty training was a football game we would all be waving our hands in the air with 4 fingers stretched high. It’s the 4^th quarter at our house and I couldn’t be more proud of my little guy.

1^st & 2^nd Quarter: He’s been wearing Big Boy underwear for weeks now and only has about 1 or 2 accidents a week.

I’m honestly not quite sure why he feels the need to hide and poop; he gets so much praise and a big sweet treat when he does his big business on the little potty however sometimes he is so wrapped up in what he’s doing he doesn’t want to stop. Just the other night we were building big block towers and he jumped up and said “let’s play hide and seek…I’m going to hide and you come find me!” I quickly realized why he wanted to change games and once I asked him if he had to go he said yes while running down the hall towards the bathroom.

3^rd Quarter: He will let us know most of the time when he has to go or simply take himself into the bathroom and do his business. I love that he needs his personal space and will often say “mommy, get out of here” with his hand in the air if I walk in before he’s done.

4^th Quarter: Sunday night marked the start of the 4^th quarter…going to bed overnight in Big Boys! We noticed he was starting to wake up with dry diapers and knew he was ready….ready to try at least. The first time went great! He woke up at 11:30am telling Davy he needed to potty; once he did his thing he crawled back into bed and woke up dry! The next night…not so much. I think he held it all night but once he woke up and it was really cold in the house he just sat in bed stirring until he had an accident. He cried and was very upset it happened reaffirming to me mentally he was ready. Happy to report last night was another successful night! He woke me up this morning by running into my room saying “Mommy, I had noooo accidents last night”! I love, love, love that he loves positive affirmation and wants to make us proud.

We are so excited for our big boy!

Moses is 3 months shy of turning 3 and I’m starting construction on that over-sized (but not too big) shoe box.

Oh how He loves us.

For the past couple days, well weeks, I’ve really been struggling with myself. I started to fall into a slump I knew all too well except this time I couldn’t pull myself back out. Feelings of unhappiness and life’s not fair started to creep in and then the snowball effect started happening. Every day I find myself moping around wishing I was anywhere but here. On the weekends, bliss, but come Monday morning the feelings were back again. I kept trying to figure out ways to solve the problem; win the lottery, cut back and save enough to stop working, move away, ect. And then today it hit me…

Contentment: the act of being content.

For days I’ve been trying to change life around to make it fit this lavish picture of happiness I’ve created when all I need to do is stop. Stop wishing myself out of my current state of life and start enjoying it. Start being content in what I do have…living everyday to the fullest so to speak. It’s incredible how quickly I take advantage of my blessed life. I have an amazing husband, and healthy adorable son, a large family that loves us, and friends that make me laugh. I live in a home with a lush grass yard that’s in a neighborhood I feel safe in. We have jobs that offer insurance and give us stable paychecks. We get to wake up every day and live in on this beautiful Earth God created yet for whatever reason I simply forgot. I’m one of those people God would never let win the lottery because I think money can solve everything and if everything materialistic is perfect I wouldn’t need God anymore. God has given me so much that it would be foolish to not be thankful. Today and for many more days I’ll pray for contentment; contentment in where we are in life right this very moment.