We're going to Gabba Land!!

This time Wednesday we will be gearing up in our favorite Gabba clothes to head over to the Orpheum theatre in Minneapolis. Why do you ask?! To see Yo Gabba Gabba Live! I can't even explain to you how excited we are for this opportunity! You know you are truely a domesticated mama when you get more excited about Getting the Sillies out with Yo Gabba Gabba and you're family than a dinner/date night with the husband (sorry babe).  Read below for more details - and follow the link to see when they're coming to a city near you!

YO GABBA GABBA! LIVE! GET THE SILLIES OUT! Tour at the Orpheum Jan. 16th

The sillies are crazy little creatures that live inside of us and need to be shaken out! DJ Lance Rock and everyone’s favorite cast of colorful characters are calling all fans in Cincinnati to get ready to jump, shake and shimmy them out at the new live tour Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out!. Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get The Sillies Out! tour will visit more than 50 cities across the U.S. in 2013.  Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! is touring in support of their first national beverage launch, a new line of toys, a new line of kids sportswear and a DVD/ CD collectors' edition.

For a complete list of tour dates, cities and show times, and a preview of the show, visit www.yogabbagabbalive.com 

Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! will be in Minneapolis on Wed., Jan. 16th for two shows (3:00pm and 6:00pm). CLICK HERE for ticket information. Tickets start at $25.00. VIP Party packages are available as well which include a ticket in the first 15 Rows, a pass to "Get the Sillies Out" in the private VIP room featuring a super fun party with the Gabba Gang (costumed characters) and more. Children under 1 year old do not require a paid ticket to sit on a parent's lap.

Yo Gabba Gabba! is an award-winning, live-action television series and live stage show whose unconventional formula has created a triple stacked fan base, making it one of the most popular entertainment properties among preschoolers, parents and indie music lovers alike. The television show, now in its fourth season, airs several times a day on Nick Jr.

Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! marks the third tour for the successful Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! concert series. The first tour, Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: There’s a Party in My City!, launched with a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a performance at the White House in 2010.  Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! 2010 tour played to sold out venues in 60 cities. Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: It’s Time to Dance! enjoyed repeat success in 2011, energizing audiences across North America at over 120 shows.

Summer Lovin...

*sings* Summer Lovin'... had me a blast...
What a fun weekend! We spent pretty much the whole day outside...
We did water balloons...
*spent about 20 minutes filling them... and they were gone in 3 minutes*
but it was a blast and worth every second!

*Izzaq - Gracie - Zavery*

Then we pulled out the sprinkler... and the kids spent about an hour chasing Gracie around. They both absolutely adore her... and are convinced every day that she has to choose which Zrust boy she will marry... Im so not ready for this - and am doomed by the time they turn 13.

Ladies First!

Lastly - after almost drowning while trying to drink from the sprinkler... we headed in for the day for a family movie night... what a great day... don't you wish sometimes that real life could be this? Just playing and fun... no worries, no bills, no work... just. summer. lovin'.

Wordless Wednesday - Lucky

Pictures from Easter Sunday.... im sorry for bragging, but could they be any cuter?? How did I get so lucky... ?

New Giveaway!! CHASE DREAMS! Recycled Shapes Crayons for toddlers!

Many of you awesome blog followers are also twitter followers... and if your a twitter follower i KNOW you have seen me tweet about Chase Dreams... (and if I remember right, they have had a few shout outs on the blog too... a couple Favorites Fridays... and a Creative Play Christmas post :) Anyways, im rambling already... I feel SOOOO horrible because I have just been SO insanely busy trying to catch up since the move... Chase Dreams sent me a HUGE package full of awesome little St. Patty's Day & Easter crayon sets to do a big giveaway and i TOTALLY couldn't get it up in time because of the other giveaways in front of this one.  But here I am now, ready to rant and rave about the awesome-ness that is Chase Dreams.

I love me some Chase Dreams... For Christmas this past year I came across her AMAZING mustache crayons while putting together a huge Mustache themed christmas gift for my sister...  they were a MUST! And If I remember... my girlie BabyBooFelt even got some for Gavin!

I also snagged a set of Lego crayons (check back in her store, there aren't any listed right now). Then of course, thats when the obsession began... because come Valentines Day... I had to go get The Valentines Hearts!!

 

So clearly they're totally rad, right!? But I havn't even told you the best part yet... Their totally eco-friendly!! "All of my crayons are made from recycled, non-toxic crayons. Previously slated for the landfills, I gather up all of the bits and pieces from schools and families that have outgrown them. I melt the crayons down and hand-pour them into new shapes to give them a fresh, new existence."  Could this be any cooler?? Oh yeah, and they're so cheap!! Great quality crayons and MORE than great prices... and of course, kids love them :)

GIVEAWAY! This week we have LOTS of prizes... Lots of winners... First off... ONE lucky winner gets to pick their choice of ONE Crayon set from the store... ANY CRAYON SET YOU WANT! And then!!!!!! I have 3 sets of the St. Patty's Day crayons... 

and 3 sets of the easter crayons... that I will also be giving away... Rad right!

HOW TO WIN!!

1:  Mandatory entry:  Tell us your favorite crayon set that you would just LOVE to win from the ChaseDreams shop.

Extra entries?? But of course :)
EACH ENTRY MUST BE LEFT IN A SEPARATE COMMENT TO COUNT!!!!!

#2) Follow us publicly here on (blogger) - Leave a separate comment for being a (old or new) follower on our blog.
#3) Follow/Tweet us (Twitter) - Leave a separate comment for being a follower and TWEETING about this giveaway on Twitter... If your already a twitter follower of ours, TWEET about it for an extra entry anyways :) Can tweet once daily for extra entries!

Tweet This: "Free Giveaway: Recycled Shapes Toddler Crayons by ChasedDreams - MANY WINNERS @RockerByeBaby! http://bit.ly/bpUX6h"

#4) Random entry: Share with me your favorite creative past time.

#5) Fan RockerByeBaby on Facebook...

#6)"Heart" the ChaseDreams etsy page, and "favorite/heart" two items...

#7) "Heart" the RockerByeBaby etsy page, and "favorite/heart" two items...

#8) BIG BONUS: Make a purchase from CHASE DREAMS... any $ amount, just a purchase... come back here and leave FIVE comments with the link to the transaction.... thats 5 extra entries per item you purchase...

Wordless Wednesday Eco @ the park

it's no secret that we lovvvve barley and birch... I snapped this photo with my iPhone yesterday at the park and just love it. Zaverys flowing hair... Adorable shirt...and running through the air, lol ... Pretty awesome shot if I must say so myself :)

Sunday Snuggles...

I woke up this morning... snuggled up with hubby on this slow Sunday morning... dozed back off for a bit... woke up to a toddler tugging at my arm...

"mama... mama... wake up! Its sunny out... its morning... its breakfast time!"

well, no way was that happening, it was like 7am... so i told him to go take his diaper off (he only wears a diaper @ night time, and I have him trained now when he wakes up, to take it off, toss it in the trash and go potty, yay!) He climbed into bed with me & zaq... we clicked on some cartoons... and continued with the sleepy Sunday snuggles... after about 30 minutes Zavery woke up... I dragged myself outta bed... one foot after the other... did his diaper swap... and dropped him into bed next to me. This sweet little 2 year old man wrapped his arms around my neck... sniffed and whimpered pretending to be a puppy... then meowed like a little kitty... kissed my nose the just rested his hand on my cheek... Oh how I wish I would have had my camera... it was pretty much the sweetest thing he has ever done. I looked around... and there were my men... snuggled up... just lovin' their Sunday snuggles... luckiest mama in the world.

Something to be thankful for...

So - let me start this out with saying I hate Thanksgiving... I hate the holidays... and it hate it all even more being so far away from family... When I was 13 my parents split... then my grandpa died about a week before Thanksgiving... But the time Thanksgiving had actrually rolled aroun we were so tired of Ham, Turkey & casseroles that we actually made Turkey Taco's & burritos for dinner that year. Let me tell ya, it made it hard to be thankful that Thanksgiving... But every year it gets a little easier... instead of being angry... instead of crying... now I just spend the week a little sad... trying to make the best of the day... and get it over with as fast as possible. But, Im always trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel. And this year... it was easier to find that flickering light... the store has been super busy... thus I have busting my butt and staying distracted... this year I did a big push for Black Friday... worked all wednesday and half of Thanksgiving just trying to get ready for it... and biggest kicker to a good Thanksgiving? Hubby did it all!

The day started out with me totally screwing up some Blueberry pancakes... lol the MIL was missing the boys and always made them Blueberry pancakes in the mornings when she had them, so she sent a box of mix in a goodie box last week to make for Thanksgiving breakfast :) I totally destroyed the first two... "thankfully" daddy stepped in and took over... doing a MUCH better job than I did.... either way... the toddlers ate them. We didn't have a "who's was better" contest... but if we did, I probably would have won. lol



After breakfast there was lots of snuggling... watching the Macy's parade... dancing to Yo Gabba Gabba... watching movies...
and prepping dinner... yes... while wearing grown man butt drop zip up feety jammies.

it was nice... after that the babies napped... we hung out... daddy watched football while I took photos and listed all the new goodies you now see in the shop, well... whats left of them... :) And then when the boys got up we started putting together the tree...

I love my tree... its big and full... 9ft tall... Full of pink purple and black glitter ornaments... Skeleton hands made by me with cute little matching bows added to them... handmade skulls from etsy.. and awesome dark pink and purple damask ribbons and matching tree skirt... oh, and lets not forget the lineup of Nightmare Before Christmas Stockings ;)

I suppose if you have to do Christmas... you should do it up right, lol And in this family... that means lots of skulls, pink, black & glitter, lol
Finally - the feast was ready... it was about 3 days worth of food for zaq, myself and the boys... aparently you can't make thanksgiving dinner for just a couple people, lol It was amazing... He hit a total of 3 out of 4 things right on... The turkey was possibly the best I had EVER had... and a close second was the home made mashed potatoes.... i was actually excited to eat it the next day... the rolls... so warm and yummy... the stuffing? FAIL! lol it was dry, crunchy, hard... and sadly... it all ended up in the trash except for what we tried to eat, lol He did SOO great though. I was proud...



So thats it guys... Thanksgiving turned out to be a pretty decent day after all... But just like Brooke said in her blog... Im thankful for my friends and family every day... and every day I kiss on them and love on them... and tell them thank you every time im thankful.. I don't need a day called Thanksgiving to be thankful... let alone a day dedicated to food and football... and family when their not doing one of the other twothings... I just need my friends & my family... every day... and for them to love me like i love them.

A Sad little Sunday Something... Sharing...

There are a million things that sometimes suck about being a mom... right? I think we can all agree... the fighting, the yelling... the cooking... the cleaning... the working... and after all of that, at the end of the day they all still need more... kids & husband alike... But, there are a million things that are great about being a mom... The love of your kids... feeling that love in someone else... and KNOWING they feel the same... that feeling of being needed and wanted... growing a child... teaching them new things and watching their little wheels turn... and seeing that excitement when they learn something new... and today... today was an all new experience. Zaq was home watching the football game & I had some errands to run... were down to just one car now so when I have an opportunity I have to take it. So I loaded up the boys... and off we went. First to the post office... Zave fussed the whole way there... and back into the car... zave fussed some more... and some more... he was on a roll for the fussiness. Izzaq was being great... its amazing how this little baby has turned into a 3 year old walking talking little man... he has so much personality... i love it.... we were having a nice little talk about the big mountains and the hot sun when we rolled up to a stop light... Now, Sun City *where the post office is* Is a retirement community. Filled with all sorts of sweet old men and women just living it up in Cali. Except for one man... At the corner of this stop light was a sad old man. My eyes filled with tears, he looked exactly like my Grandpa Brown *who passed away when I was 13 and miss dearly.* Skin tanned from the sun... wrinkly from age... with big 'ol apple cheek bones.. a scruffy salt & pepper beard... bushy eye brows and loving brown eyes. Its amazing the details that you can pick up in an instance. I swear... they were so alike that It could have been him. I guess if you believe in that sort of thing... maybe it was. He was wearing an army jacket & pants... holding a sign that said "Every Little Bit Helps." I looked back at Izzaq & said... Izzaq, see this man? He doesn't have a house. And he is hungry, so were gunna share our money with him. *im choking up just typing, geesh* So Izzaq said ok mama... lets share. So I pull up to him... roll down the window... grab a HUGE handfull of change from the car... and izzaq yells from the backseat... "HI! We gunna share my moneys with you to eat!" and he reached across the car and held out his hand... with a big smile on his face..."Bless ya Girl, Thank you" I smiled. Looked back at izzaq and fought back tears. I have NO idea why this hit me so hard... maybe because he reminded me so much of my grandpa... maybe because im just an emotional girl today... or maybe because IzzaQ is growing up... I dunno. I always try to help anyone out when I can... I donate money when I can... I donate product when I can... I donate clothes and toys to shelters... and if I have change... i give it... but this was different. It was the most rewarding moment as a mother that I have had yet... in that 30 seconds sitting at that stop light I taught a lesson to my son... Share... not just your toys when you playing... but everything... if you have enough, give to someone else... and in those 30 seconds... i realized I really have a chance to help change the world... Its more than just an opportunity to "Pay it Forward"... more than good Karma... Our world is a crazy messed up place... and i face it with my irrational fears every day. And us moms & dads really can make a difference. It doesnt matter if your black or white... a hippie or a punk... a christian or an atheist... if we all took the time to teach these simple morals and values the world would be a better place... we have the opportunity to help grow one more selfless caring and sharing person to make a difference... Thats enough rambling for my day off of blogging... I just wanted to share that with you... it was very emotional for me... I ljust want to leave you with one more thought... What did you teach your child/children today? What do you do as a mom (or dad), to instill good values in your children?

A Sad little Sunday Something...

Sad mama...
hubby is gone for the weekend... I just had WAY too much work to do... and with crabby babies, decided to stay home. I have bouncing back and forth between babies & the sewing machine for 24 hours... got about 4-5 hours of sleep, MAYBE... And just wanted to take a little time out to blog. While I brewed yet ANOTHER pot of coffee in 24 hours...

Ya know - I may be an anxious, overwhelmed spaz 90% of the time... Trying to jugging my growing store... a clean house... happy children... and a... well, um... lets say a satisfied husband... It doesn't leave much time for happy & relaxed reflectionBut the other 10%... like this last hour... I can still sit back and realize im a very lucky girl. The boys took a crappy nap... but today I didn't care...I went up there... snuggled with Zave... we giggled... pretended to sleep & snore and then... pop up & *RAWR* and scare IzzaQ... it was fun... I got sweet texts from ZaQ... saying he missed me and hoped my day was going well... Can you believe after 4 years we still miss eachother? My ADD brain jsut flashed to the movie Super Bad...
*Evan's Mom (Stacy Edwards): "You gonna miss each other?"
*Evan: "No. Miss each other? No, thank you. I don't-- I don't miss each other."
*Seth: "Yeah, I'm gonna cry myself to sleep everynight."
*Evan: "Me too."
I Knocked out some orders & the LIttle Peanut Boutique bunch as well... etc. etc. etc. overall a good day... and its not over. But it was mainly good for one reason... because I let it... Sometimes it is SO hard just to let yourself have a good day... I know it sounds silly... but usually its the stupidest things that can ruin it for me... Pizza on my carpet... Ants in my garage... bad naps... fighting kids... and after all that... all it takes is one comment from zaq... spoken in the wrong tone to make my head spin... and then after HIS long day, he will come home and im just a bitch... he didnt ask for it... and he didn't do it... Its not like he called Izzaq and said, "hey dude... be sure to mess with your mom today... its not like she does anything around here," lol *at least I hope he's not!!* So yeah, my point is... i gotta learn to roll with it better... shit happens... and you just gotta get over it. Cuz lets face it, it could totally be worse... Which brings me to the inspiration of this post... A article I came across today on twitter... It is me 100%... over caffinated... over anxious... and over-bitchy, lol
*sometimes... not always i promise... but mostly...*

SIPPY CUPS ARE FOR DOUBLE FRAPPUCCINOS By: Dani Klein Modisett:

"His jacket and backpack are so dirty he looks like a homeless person," my husband said to me on the phone after dropping my son off for the school bus this morning.

Then I hung up on him.

I'd just sucked down the last sip of my daily double breakfast cappuccino (you know, for the calcium) and was perhaps a little prickly. Mommy needs some inspiration to wake up lately and I'm finding espresso beans are exactly the right bait to lure me out of bed with a smile on my face. Not without it's price though, like I said, caffeine makes me a little "sensitive," a little trigger happy with the feelings of persecution and rage. Not necessarily in that order.

My husband claims he didn't mean his observations about our ragamuffin as a criticism, but that's how I heard it.

Sure, my ego was swollen and tender from caffeine and warm milk, but isn't it the mother's job to make sure her child looks cared for by keeping him and his stuff clean? Given that, and I do take that as a given, the question is how do I do all that requires and work and make sure all the teachers get cards for their birthdays, and do volunteer work at my son's school, and remember to feed the bunny, not to mention clean his cage?

Am I whining? I hate whining. I hate when people like me who have enough money to put food on the table and keep the heat on and have two healthy children and a spouse they still occasionally find attractive and for some even more perplexing reason still finds them attractive starts complaining about volunteer work or thank you notes. Just. Shut. Up.

I'm getting cranky a little cranky. Latte anyone?"

Quoted from: http://www.momlogic.com/2009/01/coffee_high.php#ixzz0UKYn34NY

That last paragraph is the best... if you skimmed, go back and reread the last part, lol This made my day... I hope it made yours as well... Do me a favor? Try to enjoy the rest of your Sleepy Sunday... *Now that I took up all your time with this blog* But really... Appreciate the little things, at least try... Remind yourself that (like right now) dodging baseballs at the face can be fun while blogging... not just stressful... and like earlier... IzzaQ asking me if I wanted to see his Poopies! Thats not just stinky & gross... Its good! Cuz this time they were in the potty!! AND not hiding under my kitchen table! yay! See... theres always a positive spin... Just gotta look for it... Check there... buried under the laundry pile... No? There in the dirty dishes? Hmmm... it must be next to the trash still waiting to be taken out ;)