happy mother's day

so i remember to grab my camera before leaving the house yesterday.
it was my first mother's day & i was going to capture every minute of it!

...well i didn't. in fact, i didn't get a single picture. not of alex. me & alex. me, alex & the hubs. my mother, his mother, alex, flowers, family, breakfast, cards- nada.

and this fact wasn't even realized until i dropped (exhausted) onto the couch after putting my child to bed. as i was sitting there basking in the glow of a day full of "it's about YOU mom!" i suddenly remembered that not a single picture had been snapped.

at first i wanted to get weepy & blamefull (is that a word?). why didn't the hubs remind me? why didn't HE take any pictures? why didn't our mother's take pictures? why why why?

but i was too tired. honestly- that's the only reason i didn't say anything (or wake up my poor sleeping child and demand the hubs TAKE A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY PICTURE OF US RIGHT NOW!!!!)

and i'm so thankful that was the case. because that would have ruined it. instead i went to bed and woke up this morning & realized that mother's day still happened! even without pictures to document this momentous occasion- it still happened. and even without pictures, i'll still remember it 30 years from now.

so while i fully intend on going home and snapping pictures of Alex's card to me, the lilac plants the hubs selected with me in mind, the gifts my own mother got me & maybe even alex & myself (thank you camera remote)- it's ok that i'm doing it today instead of yesterday. it's ok!

(but you bet your ass that i'm getting pictures next year! mark my words!)

happy (belated) mother's day!

- and kudos to those that managed to get pictures yesterday. i bow to your genius.

Horizon Chocolate Milk Review

i like chocolate milk. i recall being a child and pouring way to much chocolate syrup in my milk filled glass which resulted in a serious sugar rush & a really upset mother.

"do you not know the meaning of the words, "in moderation"????"
no mom- i'm, like, 8. gosh. anyways.

now days you can actually buy pre-made chocolate milk (gasp) so now mixing or excess sugar worries. and you can also buy it organic- which is where Horizon comes in:

the pros:

- it's milk

- it's chocolate milk

- it's organic

- it's 1% which = my jeans still fitting after 3 glasses

- ...it's chocolate milk

the cons:

- only getting said 3 glasses because your husband drank the rest cause it's that good

hmmm- looks like way more pros than cons (and that con isn't even Horizon's fault...really)

so- if you're looking for a glass of chocolate milk that you can feel good about drinking or letting your kids drink- then hit up your grocery store & pick up some Horizon Chocolate Milk.

it's good stuff!

(horizon sent me a few free coupons in order to try this product. no money changed hands so i'm not saying horizon's milk is good because i'm rolling in dough :) i'm saying it's good because i tried it & it is)

Anima soap Review

i'm not sure i've ever met anyone who didn't like the smell of grapefruit. it's fresh, clean- and you want to eat it (with sugar). so i was pretty pleased when i opened the box from Anima Soaps & the smell of grapefruit assaulted my nose. it was a good assault. which is like an oxy-moron. anyway.

i had no issues using the soap on myself- my skin is pretty much down with anything- but alex is like sensitive skin queen of the universe. but i was assured that Anima Soap would be A-Ok. so i sat her in the bath & lathered her up with their unscented baby bar.

after a nice little splash session, i rinsed her off, lotioned her up & put her to bed. my fingers were crossed that come 4am, i would not be awakened by a screaming child covered in a rash.
and i am happy to inform you that i was not! she looked like a normal baby. whew.

so- i've decided that i like Anima Soap.
1. it's all natural which is always a plus.
2. it smells like grapefruit, again, always a plus
3. my kid could handle it & it's way cheaper than the stuff we've been buying her.

so i'd suggest you take a gander at Anima Soaps & buy yourself a few bars. it's awesome.

Thirty One Gifts giveaway winner!

the Thirty One Gifts giveaway winner is:

Comment #56- Congrats E! please contact me within 24 hours with your info!
to everyone else- thanks for playing as always!

and a Happy Mother's day to all you moms & moms to be!

welcome to my new internet home!

so look up there at your address bar- see? it says: http://www.lookatthebirds.com/ ! it's mine, all mine!

if you have me linked (ie: your blog listing or something to that effect) you shouldn't have to change anything as you will be re-directed. but you can if you want!

or if you want to find me on the interweb, all you have to do is type in lookatthebirds.com (or add the www. if you like being specific) & it'll take you there! hooray for technology!

also- thankfully all my comments came over (i had a near heart attack last night when all my comments = 0. like literally- my heart stopped & my bowels dropped.) so no worries!

so there we are. fun, huh? ok- moving on. pictures from the weekend & last night:

my 35 mm 1.8 Nikkor lense came yesterday. i quickly ripped open the package (whilst drooling) and clicked it into place on the Nikon.

i love it. it's so small & light & gives me so much more (angle wise)- i also get great bokeh. woo hoo!

my poor child- slathered in Aquaphor & forced to submit to mom's need to take photos.

but she's a good sport.

and this weekend my husband's boss let me borrow his 85 mm 1.8 so i got some shots with that as well:

alex has an obsession with our floor- and my hair clip.

and then some outdoor shots:

puffs!

purple columbine

summer is coming...

and then i had to run inside because the bugs were trying to kill me. i'm not even exagerating.

pssst

new header & new button!

hooray for new things!

and by tomorrow we should have a new http address!
that's right- i'm finally going to switch over my domain (hopefully)

so to get to me all you should have to do it type in www.lookatthebirds.com (don't click that link cause nothing is gonna happen yet)

we shall see....

Thirty-One Gifts review/giveaway!

(please notice the following corrections

- winner recieves a $25 gift certificate so they can choose whatever they want! (ie you don't HAVE to pick a Thermal Tote) yay!
- follow Suzie on her Facebook Page
- check out Suzie on Twitter

thank ya!)

Thirty-One Gifts makes some really adorable stuff, from thermal totes, to book bags, baby bags, purses, big totes- etc etc etc. the list goes on.

So when Suzie R. contacted me in regards to reviewing/giving away one of their Thermal Totes i was all for it. now, if you know me you know that i'm actually not into "cute" things. i don't like pink & flowers & oh-so-adorable things- it's just not me. buuuut- this Thermal Tote is really cute! see?


and plus you don't have to pick pink & flowers & etc- they have simple colors like black & brown or stripes & dots.

i chose flowers because i think alex likes them. (yes- at 7 months old i'm pretty sure my kid might like pink & flowers...i'll keep you posted. anyway!)

what's also cool is that 31 Gifts will embroider your name or initials on whatever you order (if you feel so led):

nice huh?

also- the Thermal Tote is the PERFECT size to carry around lunch, or bottles, or dessert- anything you need to keep cold. i used it this weekend to carry Alex's bottles, baby food & my lunch. i stuck a couple ice packs in the bag for some addtl "keep cold" and it worked perfectly!

So! Suzie is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one of my readers so that you can choose whatever you'd like from the catalog! (ps. see pg 13 in the Spring Catalog for the Thermal Totes!) you get to pick from the available color/pattern options & even have your name/initials embroidered!

Required Entry:

- go to Suzie's 31 Gifts page & take a look through the catalog. tell me which item you like the best! (leave 2 comments)

Additional Entries:

- Vote for me @ TopMommyBlogs! Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com! (leave 2 comments)
- Follow Suzie's 31 Gifts page on Facebook (leave 2 comments)

-Check out Suzie's Twitter page (leave 2 comments)

and that's it!

this giveaway runs from 05/03-05/07!

Good luck!