Four kids, a mini-van and a lot of love

My kind of summer!

2012-06-02T09:22:00.000-05:00

Where will we be all summer?!

Well, it's my first summer in 6+ years to be a stay at home mom!

So....we will be at the park/beach!

I CAN'T WAIT!

This park near us is amazing...tons of fun things to do!

They also have a chlorinated beach to swim in with great big umbrellas to sit under!

Nets to climb in

There is a little 'Kenzie sized' playground too!

Swinging hammock

Twist and turn!

Cool skateboard thing that the kids love!

Bring on the sun!

A camping we will go!

2012-06-01T08:20:00.000-05:00

We did it!

We took our first trip with our camper with our best friends!

We loved it!

We had a blast!

We can't wait to go again!!

There is nothing better than playing outside!

What's camping without baseball!?

Even our dog loved it!

More playing!

Nap time!

This is how Blake spent a lot of the weekend!

Happy little guy, loving the weather!

Kenzie being a good big sister, keeping Blake;s hat on

The news crew did a segment on camping at the park we were at and we got on TV. The boys went to take a look inside the new truck.

My 4 kiddos!

LOVE them!

The kids side of the camper!

Blake and our side

(Blake sleeping in his bed)

Movie for nap time

Our new favorite game...Sticks n' Cups!

The kids even loved it!

Playing at the park

This is a hobby that we will be doing with our kids for years to come.

Nothing like forgetting the 'real world' to go have some fun camping!

::

Don't forget to enter in the

GIVEAWAY over HERE for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate!!

Blake's Dedication

2012-05-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

I am very behind on my blog, but with 4 kiddos to chase around, I don't always get all the time I want.

Blake got dedicated on Sunday May 20th {Mother's Day}

He and his cousin Caleb were dedicated together.

We had a great time with family and friends and they boys couldn't have been cuter!

Their amazing cake made by my cousin in law

Grandma and papa O

The sweet boys!

My brothers and my hubby!

{3 of my favorite guys!}

Family photo

The whole family!

Godfather Nick!

(he gets to meet his Godmother in 2 weeks!)

Granny and Gramps with their great grandchildren

Us and our parents

I promise to be a better blogger, I have tons of pictures to catch up on and a few great posts coming up!

Stay tuned!

Happy Little Monkey Review and GIVEAWAY!

2012-05-30T14:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Little Monkey got started as a creative outlet during nap-time. Carrie wanted to make and share my favorite things with other people, as well as support her addiction to fabric! The shop has continued and grown from a little hobby of selling online to include craft show appearances, swaddling demos, and retail locations. Her goal is to create functional items that become favorites of every recipient and your 'go-to' gift to give. She loves to create personalized gifts too.

I found Happy Little Monkey when I was browsing through personalized shops on Etsy. You all know how I love personalized things, especially since this is my last baby.
I also LOVE to swaddle my baby. All my kids have been swaddled and I love how it gives them a sense of security.

Happy Little Monkey has a variety of swaddle blankets that can be personalized. They can also be made into a matching set with burp rags and or bibs.

What better gift to give than a gift set of personalized things. Everyone can use another blanket and burp rags are a must. Then come time for baby foods, the matching bib is a necessity.

Happy Little Monkey adds the touch of fabric to their personalizing. I love embroidered personalizing, but coordinating fabric added in there is awesome! Carrie had tons of graphics to personalize with and loves to create custom orders.

Carrie sent me a swaddle blanket to review and also a burp rag. Since my SIL was expecting too, she sent me a swaddle blanket for her little guy too.

They are huge blankets to swaddle with and work great for getting the swaddle tight. They came with their names embroidered on them for a great personal touch.

They came wrapped in a cute bag and tied with ribbon....

This is the set she sent for Blake...

and the blanket she sent for Caleb...

Caleb swaddled in his blanket

Blake loves being swaddled and goes to sleep very easy when swaddled.

The blankets are big enough, so you do have to worry about not having enough material to swaddle with.

Happy Little Monkey makes a variety of blankets, bibs, burp rags and gift sets.

Carrie is giving away a $20 gift certificate to her shop

Here is how to enter...

Head over to Happy Little Monkey and check out her awesome products. Then come back and leave me a comment letting me know which product you would choose, if you won. {mandatory}

How can you get a few more entries?!

1 extra entry- Follow my blog or let me know you do

1 extra entry- 'Heart' Happy Little Monkey on Etsy

2 extra entries- 'Like' Happy Little Monkey on Facebook

1 extra entry- 'Like' my Etsy shop, Your Life Long Memories, on Facebook (or let me know you do)

4 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link
10 extra entries- Buy something from Happy Little Monkey and let me know what you bought.

***Be sure to leave a comment for EACH separate entry you are entitled and leave your e-mail address, if you aren't on Blogger***

This giveaway will end Thursday June 6th and the winner will be chosen with random.org

Blake 2 month old!

2012-05-25T15:59:00.002-05:00

(this post is really late, but summers keep us running around here)

The past 2 months have been a blast and I have loved watching you grow! You make me smile on my worst of days and your smile melts my heart daily!

Blake...at 2 months you are...

*You smile and love when you hear the 'kissing' noise

*You have the most gorgeous blue eyes

* You try so hard to lift your {heavy} head up

* You like belly time, and sometimes fall asleep during it

* You are trying to giggle

*You take naps in your crib, but are still in mommy's and daddy's room at night

*You LOVE being swaddled

* You sleep 6-8 hours a night

* You wear 0-3 month clothes

* You are in size 1 diapers

* You love being outside and taking walks

Your stats at 2 months are...

Height 23 3/4" (72-85%)

Weight 12 lbs. 6oz. (50%)

Head 39.2 cm (50-75%)

You and your cousin Caleb (5 months)

We're off....

2012-05-17T15:44:00.001-05:00

...on our first camping trip in our camper!

This is my happy almost 2 month old boy, excited to go on his first camping trip.

My little man, loving his play mat!

Getting my old body back...

2012-05-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

Have any of you ever heard of

I know I am not the only one that doesn't have the same body I did before I had kids. I will however be the first one to tell you that it is totally worth it.

I just don't want to look at a body that I am not happy with. I know I will never be 110 lbs (like I was when I graduated high school) and I don't even care about the number that the scale says, I just want to look in the mirror and like what I see.

Since I have had 4 babies, I have that lingering fat that just won't go away. It is the kind of fat that even working out and eating healthy doesn't really make it disappear. It is that little pooch that forever stays.

Now that I am done having babies, I want to get fit again and be able to put on one outfit in the morning and like what I see, versus putting on 10 more outfits after that, trying to find one that I like the way I look in.

I had the opportunity to try out Cool Sculpting. I {obviously} chose my lower belly area to get treated.

My treatment was last week, so I am waiting for results, that will come in 4 weeks - 4 months.

(the reason it takes longer, is becuase that is how long it naturally takes your body to dispose of the fat cells)

I took before pictures that will be posted later with the after pictures.
My treatment was done at Mesna Plastic Surgery. I would highly recommend Dr. Mesna's office. They are very nice and explain everything that they are doing.

Here is how it works:

The procedure uses a targeted cooling process that kills the fat cells underneath the skin, literally freezing them to the point of elimination. Only fat cells are frozen. Your healthy skin cells remain, well, healthy. (No knives. No suction hoses. No needles. No scars) Once crystallized, the fat cells die and are naturally eliminated from your body. In a few months, boom: say hello to a new you.

(information taken from the Cool Sculpting website)

From my point of view:

I went in to get the procedure and they put a cool gel pad on my belly. Then they put the suction machine on top and turned it on. It sucked up my fat into the machine (which I won't lie...was a little uncomfortable, but nothing compared to childbirth) then when it sucked up as much as it could, we waited for 1 hour while the machine worked. (the uncomfortableness went away after about 5 minutes, when everything went numb)

(this is a view of what the machine looks like with a Boppy pillow to hold it up)

After the hour had passed, they turned the machine off and took it off my belly. (this part was gross)

My belly was formed like a large stick of butter. It was red and cool. The tech massaged my belly for about 5 minutes and everything was normal again.

The next day my belly was sore, like it was bruised. 2 days later my belly is much better and I am anxious to see the results. (I am not a patient person)

Here are a couple before and after treatment pictures of other patients:

Check back to see the results and the before and after pictures.

Playing his favorite!

2012-05-10T15:40:00.002-05:00

It's Baseball time!

He was so excited, he got to play catcher!

Batter up!

Big hitter with daddy pitching

Be ready!

We are busy with games and practices and Chase is in 'heaven' playing ball twice a week!

I am not sure how parents do it with 3 or 4 kids in sports, but with only 2 in sports and my hubby playing softball, it leads for very busy weeks!

We still have to fit in time for our new summer toy...

{lots of fun and pictures to come this summer!}

Summer's on its way...

2012-05-09T15:25:00.003-05:00

...when the girls go out to play!

On the search for bugs...

And I can't forget my littlest spring cutie...

leaving you with a smile...

(many more to come)

Patience for Parenting...Please

2012-05-04T07:55:00.003-05:00

With a 6, 4, 2 your old and 6 week old, it is key to have a good discipline plan.

I have tried everything...

A magnet chart with different things like...no whining, clean your room, no talking back, put away your dishes...etc. Well, that failed! The kids like it for about 2 days and loved putting their magnets on, but then they started to not listen again.

I have tried a tally chart, with each of my kids names on the top and tally marks under for good behavior and listening. The kids would earn tally marks for doing things they were asked and listening the first time they were asked. Tally marks could be taken away for not listening and bad behavior. When they got 20 tally marks, they got to pick a place to go out to eat or a prize.

I have tried a 'naughty' and 'nice' box. Each box had many different slips in them with things I wrote on them. For example:

Slips in the 'nice' bin said...

"Extra TV show before bed"

"Cook with mommy"

"Play a video game with daddy"

Slips in the 'naughty' bin said...

"Lose your night time TV show"

"Have a favorite toy taken away for that day"

"Do an extra chore"

If the kids did something nice or good that day, they get to pick a slip from the 'nice' box. If the kids did something naughty, disrespectful or mean, they had to pick from the 'naughty' box. This technique failed a lot faster than it took me to think of it.

I have also tried taking time outs on the stairs. Starting on the 4th stair up and moving down every minute, if they sit nicely and don't talk rude, they get the last minute off timeout. This shows the kids how much time they have left on time out and is supposed to reward them for sitting nicely and not talking. My kids didn't do very well with this technique and it too, failed quickly.

Now we have moved on to marble jars. I have a huge bin of marbles that get placed into the kids individual glass jars, when they do things I ask them to do the first time, when they are helpful, and when they are extra nice to their siblings. When they are not nice or a bad listener, they get marbles taken away. This way they get to see their progress. When the marble jars are filled, they get to pick a toy from the store. This technique is the one we are currently using and as long as I remember to reward them for the good little things they do, it works great. I do however make them take the marbles out of their jar, when they do something bad, so they can see that they are loosing marbles. When their jar is filled, they get to pick a prize or a place for us to go out to eat.

My kids are not to blame for some of these techniques not working. I don't always follow through and hold true to discipline and rewards. It gets hard and life gets busy!

My 6 and 4 year old are really resting my patience lately and I have tried everything to come up with something to get them to listen better, so I will yell at them less and they will want to listen.

Being a mom is one of the greatest gifts! I will be the first to tell you, it is not all 'cupcakes and frosting!' There are days I just want to pull my hair out and I ask myself...it this payback for me being a naughty kid when I was little?! I often actually feel bad for my mom having to raise my brothers and I as kids.We definitely weren't easy, by any means.

Life is tough and it is our job to teach our children how to get through life the best they can. That isn't an easy job and it has its ups and downs, but I will also be the first to tell you that the good does outweigh the bad and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your children learn, grow and be happy. Their smiles will always melt my heart.

Discipline is just another part of parenting and whether I have the right techniques or not, doesn't really matter, as long as my kids are getting the most out of life and striving to be the best they can!

2012-05-02T09:11:00.000-05:00

There is nothing like growing up with friends your own age. I mean, who doesn't love telling someone that they have been friends with someone for 10+ years?! Best friends are hard to come by these days!

These three cuties are close and age and get to see a lot of each other.

They are going to be best friends....

Here are all the kids from our group of friends...

(is it sad that 4 of them are mine?!)

4 weeks to 6 years

2012-05-01T11:00:00.001-05:00

Chase's baseball season has started!

Busy weeks are far from over!

He has a permanent smile on his face, he is doing something he LOVES!

Lots of practices...lots of games...

A LIFETIME of happiness!

NEW Winner and New Park!

2012-04-30T08:30:00.000-05:00

update

The NEW winner of the giveaway from

is #23 Erin over at Ridin' with the Robertsons

{Congrats Erin! You have 48 hours to email me, or another winner will be chosen}

The weather has been hit or miss lately, but we finally got to visit a new park...

My little camera ham!

'Ham' in training!

{Even a sleeping smile!}

She could swing all day

Fun and different toys at the park

Chit Chatting!

3 reasons why I am blessed!

Perfection!

The Winners Are...

2012-04-24T15:39:00.001-05:00

My mommy says she's sorry she didn't post the winners sooner...but she has been soaking up every snuggle with me that she can.

It doesn't help that she has two divas like us with so much energy

but...she finally found a few minutes to sit down...

and the winners are....

The winner of the giveaway from

is # 12 Tanya904

The winner of the giveaway from

is #28 Stefanie over at Lexie Loo, Lily Boo & Dylan too

The winner of the giveaway from

is # 12 Joeylee over at Sweet N Sassy Girls

Congrats to all 3 winners!

*The winners have 48 hours to contact me, or new winners will be drawn*

BLAKE - One Month Old

2012-04-19T08:35:00.000-05:00

By child #4, time really flies!

Nothing like before. I'm busy chasing around 3 other kids (not to mention the little girl I watch too)

I am definitely blessed to have such a good baby as my fourth.

He is simply amazing! He sleeps, eats and poops.

No really...he doesn't ever cry, he is just one happy little man!

You are just starting to stay awake more during the day.

You are also just starting to take a Nuk every now and then.

All About You!

You are still in newborn diapers

You wear size newborn clothes

You sleep 3-5 hours at night

You nurse every 3-4 hours during the day

You have real smiled once for sure, but not looking at me (so it didn't count)

You don't like being naked

You don't mind getting a bath, but once you get out, you get very mad

You love being swaddled (just like your sisters did)

You are spoiled by your siblings

I attempted a few photos, but your one month photos will be taken tomorrow

Play date with the Garskis

2012-04-18T17:10:00.000-05:00

For the past 14+ years, they have been my second family and now my kids adore them!

I used to go over to their house, just to hang out. They took my to Disney World on their family vacation. I have watched their kids grow up and baby sat them longer than I can remember.

We went to hang out with the Garski's before baby Blake's arrival.

The crew!

Silly photo!

The boys and Kenzie (my little ham!)

They think of their house as a play palace!

Syd and the girls!

Kenzie LOVES their kitty Ty

Silly girl with her Nuk in her mouth

(working on getting rid of that)

Syd holding Kenzie in the blanket and Trevor holding Abby

Avery and my silly girls!

Syd is such a big help!

Watching videos on the ipad

Being goofy with Avery

~BACK IN THE PAST~

2007

2008

2009

2012

Reminder...

GREAT GIVEAWAYS!

Don't forget to enter in my giveaways on the top of my blog. They end tomorrow and Friday!

Blake's Birth

2012-04-17T14:40:00.001-05:00

Here are some long over due pictures from Blake's birth!

His birth story is coming soon!

Ready to go...bring on baby boy!

Meeting my littlest man!

One happy mama...of 4!

One tired daddy!

My mini me and I

Meeting their brother for the first time

{Our perfect family of 6!}

Papa and Blake hanging out with me

Grandma and Papa 'vroom'

Our awesome nurse!

Tiny sweet little feet!

Hello world!

Soaking up my little guy!

Big sister is so in love!

Daddy taking a snooze and Kenzie snuggling

Melts my heart!

Hanging out!

Grandma and her newest grandson!

Adam, Katie, Caleb and Blake

Meeting family and friends...

Uncle Sean and Auntie Kate meeting Blake

Cousin Matt too

Auntie Rara and Godfather uncle Nick

The best naps are spent with snuggles!

Big sister being such a big helper!

Brotherly LOVE!

2012-04-13T10:41:00.000-05:00

He is so in love with his little brother!

Little does this cute guy know, but he has one of the best brother's to learn from!

Until he's big enough to run around and play, he will watch him grow and give him hugs and kisses everyday!

To say 'I am blessed' is an understatement!

Don't forget to enter in the 3 giveaways going on, at the top of my blog!

Pink Hearts & Polka Dots Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

2012-04-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

I feel like everyone has (or is getting) a DSLR camera. I went over to a friends house once and we all had our cameras laying on the counter. From afar, the only camera that was different was mine.

I had a unique custom strap made by Pink Hearts & Polka Dots, so I knew right away which one was mine.

I think theses adorable straps give cameras some flare.

You can even get them with a pocket for your camera lens.

Check out some of Pink Hearts & Polka Dots cute camera straps..

You can look on Etsy and find tons of camera straps, but they range from $10-$50. I don't know about you all, but I am not the one to spend $50 on a camera strap.

Pink Hearts & Polka Dots has affordable and quality made camera straps, that can be made with or without lens pockets. They fit any DSLR camera strap just perfect!

If you have been reading my blog for some time, you know that my favorite colors are pink and black combo. Zebra and damask with pink are my favorite!!

When you put my two favorites together, this is the strap for me...

(my hubby thinks it is a little girly, but lets be real, I take 99% of the pictures)

You all have a chance to win a custom camera strap cover because...

Pink Hearts & Polka Dots is giving away a custom camera strap cover to one of my readers!

Here's how to enter...

Head over to Pink Hearts & Polka Dots and check out her awesome products. Then come back and leave me a comment letting me know which design you would choose. {mandatory}

How can you get a few more entries?!

1 extra entry- Follow my blog or let me know you do

1 extra entry- 'Heart' Pink Hearts & Polka Dots on Etsy

2 extra entries- 'Like' Pink Hearts & Polka Dots on Facebook

1 extra entry- 'Like' my Etsy shop, Your Life Long Memories, on Facebook (or let me know you do)

4 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link
10 extra entries- Buy something from Pink Hearts & Polka Dots, and let me know what you bought.

***Be sure to leave a comment for EACH separate entry you are entitled and leave your e-mail address, if you aren't on Blogger***

This giveaway will end Friday April 20th and the winner will be chosen with random.org

Flaunt the Name Review

2012-04-11T10:00:00.001-05:00

Might as well 'go out with a bang'...right?!

Baby #4, and I am in love with personalized things!
Flaunt the Name is a great Etsy shop to find just that!
Adorable personalized things!

Burp cloths that are unique and simple adorable! They have tons of Bibs, bloomers, pillowcases, totes, aprons and so much more!

Look at these burp cloths...

There is so much detail and they are all unique!

What little precious princess bottom, wouldn't be that much cuter in these personalized bloomers?!

These little tie onesies make your little man look so handsome!

Bibs!
One for every holiday of the year!

I love these totes! They are great for little trips. We use ours for taking to the church nursery with some diapers and wipes in it.
They are also great for short trips in the car or trips to a restaurant with a few toys in them.

Who wants to take a boring ol' wipes case out of their diaper bag to change their baby?!
Not this mama!
Flaunt the Name sent me this adorable personalized wipes case and matching burp cloth. I have already got tons of comments and compliments on it and Blake is only 3 weeks old!

I love it because the fabric is so 'our family.' Anything sports, especially baseball!

The burp cloths is soft and very absorbent and doesn't 'deform' when you wash it.

There are a ton of items in Flaunt the Name's Etsy shop, but if you can't find exactly what you are looking for, just send them a message and they will work with you to personalize something for you.

Flaunt the Name is giving away a gift certificate for $20 to one of my lucky readers!

Here's how to enter...

Head over to Flaunt the Name's Etsy shop or Flaunt the Name's website and check out their awesome products. Then come back and leave me a comment letting me know what you would get, if you won. {mandatory}

How can you get a few more entries?!

1 extra entry- Follow my blog or let me know you do

1 extra entry- 'Heart' Flaunt the Name on Etsy

2 extra entries- 'Like' Flaunt the Name on Facebook

1 extra entry- 'Like' my Etsy shop, Your Life Long Memories, on Facebook (or let me know you do)

4 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link
10 extra entries- Buy something from Flaunt the Name and let me know what you bought.

***Be sure to leave a comment for EACH separate entry you are entitled and leave your e-mail address, if you aren't on Blogger***

This giveaway will end Thursday April 19th and the winner will be chosen with random.org

Landy Knits review and GIVEAWAY!

2012-04-10T14:20:00.002-05:00

I was a ~~bad~~ not very good mom with my first two kids and then when Kenzie came, I decided it was time to get newborn pictures taken. Now that I am on baby #4, I decided I wanted ~~cute~~ adorable newborn pictures, so I had to have some props to make that happen. So where else to look, other than Etsy!
{I LOVE ETSY!}

For girls, it is easier than boys, you just get an adorable headband, hat or tutu, and you are set. For boys...hats are about it, until I found Landy Knits. They have some adorable things for babies. Hats and diaper covers that coordinate, little booties, cocoons and more!

I mean...who doesn't like Mickey and Minnie Mouse?
These hat and diaper cover sets are precious! Very unique and would make any newborn picture perfect!

Landy Knits makes great cocoons! How cute would the football be for sports fans?! The mermaid is too stinkin' cute! I have never seen a cocoon like that before!

Landy Knits makes all size kids hats. You don't have to stop being cute when you are a baby. I know my kids would love fun hats like these, much more than the boring hats I usually resort to buying them at Target.

These little booties are perfect for christenings, photo shoots, weddings, or simply to keep your little ones feet adorable!

When I came across this diaper cover and hat, I knew with our families love for baseball, this was a winner for newborn photos. I love the adorable rim on the hat and the 3D baseball on the butt.

After getting the colors to match our home team, the Twins, Landy Knits sent me this diaper cover and hat set. I couldn't wait to get them on Blake! They are so soft and made very well, with the cutest little detail, like the baseball buttons on the rim of the hat.

Well, when you have an adorable client and a super cute diaper cover and hat...this is what you get!

PERFECT newborn pictures!

(the front of the diaper cover ties, so it can grow with your baby for a few months)

Landy Knits has a Etsy store full of adorable diaper covers, hats, cocoons, booties, personalized hats and more! Go check it out!

Landy Knits is giving away a custom hat to one of you!

They are also offering everyone of my readers 15% off during this giveaway.

{use code '4KIDS'}

Here's how to enter...

Head over to Landy Knits and check out her awesome products. Then come back and leave me a comment letting me know which hat is your favorite. {mandatory}

How can you get a few more entries?!

1 extra entry- Follow my blog or let me know you do

1 extra entry- 'Heart' Landy Knits on Etsy

2 extra entries- 'Like' Landy Knits on Facebook

1 extra entry- 'Like' my Etsy shop, Your Life Long Memories, on Facebook (or let me know you do)

4 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link
10 extra entries- Buy something from Landy Knits, and let me know what you bought.

***Be sure to leave a comment for EACH separate entry you are entitled and leave your e-mail address, if you aren't on Blogger***

This giveaway will end Thursday April 19th and the winner will be chosen with random.org

Newborn Pictures!

2012-04-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

I did my best attempt at newborn pictures...

I did have a cute client, so it made it pretty easy, but remember...

I am no photographer!

(this was my favorite outfit of Chases)

(ending of a sleeping smile)

Soaking it all up!

2012-03-31T10:58:00.001-05:00

I'll hopefully be back on Monday, with some great giveaways, but for now....

I am soaking this little precious guy!

{I am SO in love!}

Winners!

2012-03-28T14:34:00.000-05:00

The winner of the

giveaway is #33 Becca over at Made With Love

The winner of the

giveaway is #2 Stefanie over at Lexie Loo, Lily Boo & Dylan Too

Congrats to both winners! You have 48 hours to e-mail me or another winner will be chosen

Let me just say...I have been a big blogging slacker...but I have an excuse...4 kids (one being a newborn) is a lot of work. I am NOT complaining...but I just don't have my schedule down yet to fit in blogging every day. I am working on it. I have quite a few giveaways to post and TONS of pictures, so bear with me!

Dotted Zebra Boutique Review

2012-03-23T08:21:00.002-05:00

How many of you have a million blankets laying around for your kids?!
I know I was obsessed with buying cute, soft and fun blankets for my kids. At my last garage sale, I got rid of blankets galore, cause I didn't have any use for them anymore
. A lot of them my kids never like and never even used.

Well, I wanted a blanket for baby boy that would match his room (since we aren't doing bumpers), be soft, practical and cute!
So I started my search on Etsy....
I came cross

and knew I just had to have this blanket...

Not only is it double sided soft, with a satin edge, but it has an adorable monkey on it.
(which just so happens to match his nursery)

When it came in the mail, I opened it and showed Makenzie and she said, 'Mine mommy?!'
She was very hesitant on letting it hang on her little brother's crib.
This blanket is super soft and comfy. I can't wait to wrap Blake in it! There are no rough edges and it is soft minky on both sides, so the baby doesn't slip around.
{I will definitely be ordering another one of these as a baby gift!}

Dotted Zebra Boutique makes a large array of personalized products. Here are some of her burp clothes and a monogrammed bib.

These mugs are a great gift idea or a great idea for a mug for your office. Everyone can have their own color and initial on them.

Talk about a cute teacher gift idea. Personalized glass vase to hold pencils/pens or even flowers.

Sports teams or school names glasses. What better way to show your pride!?

Koozies! Everyone needs a personalized koozie. These are much cuter than the boring store bought ones!

Dotted Zebra Boutique is offering all my readers 15% off their orders till 3.29.12

Use the code 'MONKEY'