Wordless Wednesday

Like Mama, like son...

All About Me...30 Day Challenge! Day 9

Day 9 - your dream house...

Oh boy! Here I go dreaming again and this one has me thinking about traveling again too! *Happy sigh* My dream home is an Italian villa in Tuscany that is surrounded by rolling hills, cypress trees, and olive grove and a vineyard (of course)! It would be an old rustic home with all of it's charm, but have all of the modern upgraded amenities discretely added in. It would have plenty of room for family and friend who come to visit, a great big Italian kitchen and a wine cellar! There would be fruit trees and animals and plenty of room for our little man to run and play and climb trees! 

Oh, you know, just a little something like this!

Welcome to our home! Come on in!

 Oh look! Here we are at our dream home! Want to stop by and join us for some coffee?  ...just kidding! This was a home that we stayed in outside of Sienna in Italy on our vacation a couple years ago. I sure would love to have a home there though! Ahhh... *happy sigh*!

 

  

All About Me...30 Day Challenge! Day 8

Day 8 - your favorite quote...

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.  ~St. Augustine

I love, love, love to travel and this quote helps to keep my dreams of continuing my travels at the forefront of my mind. Travel is like another love and I hope that my hubby and I can instill that love deep within our son. Traveling is such a marvelous adventure and hubby and I can not wait to share it with him!

All About Me...30 Day Challenge! Day 7

Day 7 - a picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

My hubby is my best friend in the whole-wide-world! He knows me better than anyone (yes, even better than my best girlfriend) and he loves me just the way I am! Yay! I can tell him anything, talk to him about everything, he will let me take forever and a day to figure out what is actually on my mind, he loves me when my moods swing up and down and even when they go a little crazy and seem to come out of left field. He is the person I love to spend my days with and am looking forward to all the days to come and growing closer to him over the years to come. We have been together for 8 years now - 3 years dating and 5 years married - and it has been absolutely wonderful! I am truly blessed by his love and friendship.

Giveaway Ending Today!

Don't forget to get your entries in for the I See Me! personalized book giveaway! The giveaway ends today (11/29) at midnight PST. This would be a fantastic gift for any little one in your life!

Good luck!

All About Me...in 30 Days! Day Six

Day 6 - your favorite book...

Well, this one is surprisingly hard for me! I don't often have time to sit down with a book for some "for me" reading time. Most of the books I've read lately have titles like, "What to Expect...", "Healthy Sleep Habits..." and books that have to do with making your own baby meals for our little self feeder. I flip through a lot of magazines with articles on parenting, mothering, cooking, being greener/more eco-fiendly/organic and home decorating. But books, hmmmm...

So, I thought about my little library of "good reads" and asked myself, if I could re-read any of them, which one would I pick? I immediately thought of a book that I have actually never finished: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri J. M. Nouwen. 

I was introduced to this book my freshman year in college and the teacher only had an excerpt from the book typed into the class notes. But, I was so intrigued by that excerpt, that I went out and bought the book right after class. It is amazing to me that I have still not finished the book, being that it is a relatively short book, but to me it had a profound message that I have not yet been able to work my way through. The story's inspiration begins in the authors viewing of Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son and the ensuing long spiritual journey that this work of art inspires. I could never get through the book, because each time I picked it up to start reading it, I could only get so far before a section of the book would delve so deep that that was all I could read. It was like each time I picked up the book, I was able to read as far as there was something for me to learn about myself and the remaining chapters are waiting for me to be ready to read them.

All About Me...in 30 Days! Day Five

Day 5 - your favorite television program...

Well, we don't have cable... *gasp!* I know, I know, how could we survive?!? But, I actually like it. It's one less bill and I don't have to watch commercials. :D But, hubby and I do get netflix, so we are able to play "catch-up" and are usually about a season behind on our favorite shows. My current favorites are:

Bones

House

 and

Lie to Me

It's fun to relax together on the couch at the end of the day and watch a few of these together! I like them because they are each different as far as it comes to main topics, they aren't tooo graphic or "scary", the character development is fun to watch as it progresses and I love how they wrap up each problem into a nice, neat little package for the viewer.

All About Me...in 30 Days! Day Four!

Day 4 - a photo of you as a child...

Here is a photo of me as little girl! My first "photo shoot" It was for a newspaper ad for my Aunt's children's clothing store! My dad took the picture and my friend and I were the "models". I'm the one on the left with the long wavy hair and white shoes. :)

How embarrassing, huh? This one was taken by grade school best friend in her front yard with a polaroid camera. I was rocking leggings and some sort of cotton shirt-dress thing. And by this point, I'm sure I had braces to go along with my glasses. I had forgotten how long my hair was back then too! It's amazing, I can still remember both of the days that these photos were taken on so clearly!

I love looking at childhood pictures...they make me smile and cringe all at the same time. Well, at least my childhood memories were happy ones!

All About Me...In 30 Days! Day Three

Day 3 - your favorite movie...

Oh boy! I could go on forever about movies! I love watching movies! But, for the sake of my dear reader, I will stick to just naming my favorite! :) I love Breakfast at Tiffany's!

It is such a fun 60's movie and I love Audrey Hepburn's role as Holly Golightly! I love her make-up, her clothes and her quirky personality in the movie. I was even Holly Golightly one year for Halloween! ...so it's not the exact dress and get-up, but you get the idea ;) It's such a fun movie for me to watch- I just love those old 50's/60's movies! Guess I'm just a sucker for Audrey Hepburn, Doris Day and Carey Grant movies! 

All About Me...in 30 Days! Day One...and Then Some!

I recently started reading and following Marine Parents and I just saw that April started an "All About Me in 30 Days" challenge! I have seen similar things floating around the blogging world lately and I decided to jump in! I'm starting a little late, so I'll just play "catch up"!

Here's a little bit about the challenge and feel free to check it out if you have a blog and feel like joining!

"Ever wonder who your blogger friends really are?  Wonder no more!  We've put our own spin on the "All About Me in 30 Days" blogging memes floating around to share a little bit of ourselves with our friends. 

This 30 day challenge begins today and ends on December 24th.... if you miss a few days, just play catch up!  No pressure :)  Be sure to grab the button so we know you are participating - post it anywhere on your blog or in each daily post!  Be sure to link up below and join in on the fun!"

Day 1 - a recent photo of you...

This picture was taken by my best friend Jennifer Yount (of Jennifer Yount Photography)! Last year this time, she was taking the last on my 9 month maternity photos...then I went into labor! We were up at Riley Farms and have since decided to make a family tradition of taking yearly photos at the same place that I went into labor with our little man! What a wonderful way to celebrate and perfect for our Christmas cards!

Day 2 - your favorite song...

That's a tough one! I love music! (Although I can't sing to save my life) Don't tell our little man though, he thinks I sing great and likes to "sing" along with me when I walk in singing to him to get him up from his naps. I definitely make sure the monitor is off before I start singing!

Our home was full of all varieties of music as I was growing up, everything from Michael Jackson to The Beatles to the Rolling Stones to Van Morrison and beyond! I would say that my favorite song is "Blackbird" by The Beatles. My favorite lines are: 

 

I think that it is a beautiful song and it always makes me so thoughtful whenever I hear it- it is definitely a moving song for me.

Ok, so, I love music and I don't really think I could pick just one favorite ...and one genre of music that I picked up in college that I did not get from my home is country music! I did grow up in the country, but my family's not big "country" fans, but I love Brad Paisley's songs! Some of his songs, I could swear are about my hubby and I! I love it when they come on the radio, such a sweet reminder of our love and wonderful, happy life together that is just full of joy and adventures to come! Some of my favorite songs of his are: "Little Moments" and "She's Everything". I just heard the song, "Anything Like Me" on the radio the other day and, oh-my-goodness, it made me think of our little man! Oh boy! If he's anything like my hubby and I ...I can't wait to see what we're in for!

So, obviously, I can't pick just one song, but music had been such a big part of my life, I hope that it will become an important part of our little man's life too!

I hope you enjoy learning a little about me over the next 30 days!

Winners! Come See if You Won!

There were FIVE winners from the Gifts from the Heart review & giveaway! Congratulations to the lucky winners:

 Congratulations to: 

• Comment # 15, Danice @ Pawlicious who said... Email subscribed and verified 
• Comment # 17, MommyTrenches who said... I follow via gfc and would give this to my son! 
• Comment #10, dotcomkari who said... Twitter follower @dotcomkari 
• Comment #7, Stephanie-jean Life:SemiCrunchy who said... email subscriber #1

 and

•  Comment #23, Nan who said... I am publicly following your blog. If I won it would be for my nephews.

Thank you to everyone who entered and also a big thank you to Simon & Schuster for sponsoring this giveaway! 

 

 

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday

Baby's First Boo-boo!

Little man got a little cut on his foot a little bit ago! :( How did it happen...I don't know, I just saw the blood and a scrape. I guess it's the aftermath of a crawling/standing/mobile little dude. But, I got out my little "Dr. Mom" kit and applied the bandage to the "wound" ...and a kiss for good measure. :)

The "7 Days of Giving" EcoMom Event!

I'm sure most of you know, I love EcoMom! I already have my little man's Christmas gift that I purchased from EcoMom- shhhh... don't tell him, he doesn't know! EcoMom is constantly introducing new products, specials and EcoMom some exciting new news! Starting today, (Tuesday November 23), EcoMom is starting an event called the 7 Days of Giving.

The 7 Days of Giving is an exciting event that will run from Tuesday, November 23 to Monday, November 29. EcoMom is using the 7 Days of Giving as an opportunity to give back to their customers. They will randomly choose FOUR ECOMOM ORDERS per day and make them ABSOLUTELY FREE! Wow! How exciting would that be?!? Over the length of the event, a total of 28 EcoMom shoppers will get their entire bill paid for by EcoMom! No matter what you purchase size is - from $10-$100, you could be a winner and your whole order will be free! Their 7 Days of Giving event gets even better too! For every order that "wins" by being a free order, EcoMom will then duplicate that free order and donate it to Baby2Baby -- a wonderful organization that helps support families in need! Baby2Baby supplies Los Angeles families in need with essential baby gear and clothing that is either new or gently used for their children 0-4 years old.  I think that that is just a wonderful, giving spirit and it is such an awesome way to help families in need and at the same time provide them with some quality eco-conscious products! On top of that, everything on the EcoMom site will be on sale, so even if your order isn't one of the free ones, you'll still be getting a great price on eco-friendly products for your family.

The wonderful sponsors for this event are Ecomom, Baby2Baby.org, Plum Organics, SmartyPants and Episencial. I think that the 7 Days of Giving is a fabulous giving event and not only benefits the EcoMom customer, but families in need. I just want to send a a big "Thank You!" to EcoMom and the sponsors for this event!

Happy Shooping everyone! Have fun with the 7 Days of Giving event!

Friday Blog Hopping!

Ok, so it's a little late in the day, but it's still Friday (in California at least)! Anywho... I just hopped onto the Feed Me Friday blog hop! 

             

        

Welcome new followers! So glad you chose to stop on by and follow me blog!

-CLOSED- I See Me! Review & Giveaway

I was so excited when I got the opportunity to review a book from I See Me! I have wanted a personalized book for our little man for a long time and I have looked at countless sites for personalized books. I See Me! really stood out to me, not only because of the option to do a virtual tour of the book, so that you can make sure that you are getting the perfect book for you little one, but, I loved the illustrations as well as the fun, sweet and touching stories that they have.

I See Me! books was created by Maia and Allan, a husband and wife team whose "...mission is to increase self esteem in children through personalized books that celebrate the uniqueness of each child. The goal of our books is to show each child how absolutely unique and special he or she is, to teach the child how to spell his or her name, and to build vocabulary skills."

I chose the "Who Loves Me?" book for our little man and it is just perfect! The illustrations are beautiful and they actually remind me of an Eric Carle book a little (little man LOVES Eric Carle books!). I also loved the story- we had it personalized so that the story would read how much all of his different family members loved him. To me it is a sweet reminder of how much our family loves him, even though they may live far away. I love reading it to him and telling him how much each and every member of our family loves him! I also think that the rhythm and flow of the book is perfect to keep my sons attention span (at 12 months, that is no small task!) and I also think that as he gets older he will continue to enjoy it as he can easily remember the rhyming sentences and read our families names and remind himself that they all love him so much. This will definitely be a book we will treasure for years to come!  

 

  

The "Who Loves Me?" book is written by Jennifer Dewing and illustrated by Maria Carluccio. It is 8.5" x 8.5" and is a hardbound 20 page book.  The pages are very high quality and they also seem very durable, which is a big plus with a 12 month old little boy who likes to turn the pages all by himself! :) You can "flip" through the pages HERE if you'd like to take the virtual tour of "Who Loves Me" and read the sweet story. 

The book is just about infinitely personalize-able! We personalized it to have little man's full name and the date he was born on. Then underneath that it says, "We Love You! Mommy and Daddy, 2010" You could have any number of sayings in your own book though. I See Me! books can be personalized for any number of family members or friends. This would make a wonderful Christmas or birthday gift for any child or a special baby shower gift! 

Some of the other personalize-able books include

Did you see a book that would be perfect for your little one for Christmas or as a "just because I love you" gift? You can buy any of the I See Me! personalized books from their website

-Or-

You can enter to WIN a personalized copy of "Who Loves Me" from I See Me! books!  I See Me! has been so generous and offered one of my readers to win the same book I received (personalized for your child, of course)

  Here's how to enter:
Mandatory Entry:

 

*This mandatory entry must be completed for the rest of your entries to be valid. I will be checking/verifying your comments, if you say you signed up for something or did something, you do need to actually do it for it to count as an entry*

• You must my publicly follow my blog via Google Friend Connect AND visit I See Me! and tell me one other item you like!

Extra Entries:

•  "Like" I See Me! on Facebook and leave them a comment thanking them for the giveaway on The Little Hedgehog (2 entries)

• Add my *NEW* button to your blog and leave me a link (2 entries) 

• Follow me on Twitter: @lttlehedgehog then, comment here with your Twitter ID to get your entry. (1 entry) 

• Tweet about this giveaway. Comment with a direct link to your tweet so I can see it to get your entry!  You may use this tweet or make up your own:  #Win a personalized book: "Who Loves Me" from I See Me! books on the @lttlehedgehog blog! http://bit.ly/aVHrRQ {Ends 11/29} #giveaway  (1 entry per day)

• Sign up to receive the little hedgehog emails via feedburner and have your subscription verified. (2 entries)

• Blog about this review/giveaway. Be sure to include a link to this review/giveaway. Comment with a link to your blog post to get your entry! (2 entries)

Don't forget to put your email address in each comment so I can get a hold of you if you are the lucky winner! If I cannot get a hold of you, I will have to draw another winner! Also, I will check to make sure that the winner filled out the mandatory entry.

Open to U.S. residents only.

I'll accept entries until Monday, November 29, 2010 at Midnight PST. I'll select a winner using random.org's random number generator, then email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email and if I don't get a response, I will have to choose another winner. Again, make sure you leave your email address in your comment!

*I See Me! will be mailing the winner’s book to them directly.

Thank you to I See Me! for providing me with the opportunity to host this review & giveaway at no cost to myself. The item sent to me for review has not influenced my opinion of the product. I have sought to give my honest opinions and experiences on this product. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Thank you again to I See Me! for sponsoring this review and giveaway!