Made with Love

Random.org says the winner of a Sweet Sienna Designs is... entry #4... Heather R said... It is very hard just to pick one, but I think my daughter would love the "Stella". Her fav colors are pink and purple!
I will send you an email shortly about claiming your prize. Thanks to everyone that entered. Free shipping ends TODAY so go now to order Sweet Sienna Designs!!

Now on to this week's Made with Love:
Wool Dryer Balls... specifically Buddha Bunz Dryer Balls made by Melinda, who, when not making dryer balls is also a firefighter in Tennessee.

There are several different brands of wool dryer balls but I found the Buddha Bunz ones while looking for Wool Wash for Ben's wool soaker that Katrina made for him.

You may be asking what is a Wool Dryer ball?

It is a ball of wool that is tightly wound and felted.
Some benefits from Buddha Bunz website:
Wool Dryer balls are the all natural alternative to plastic PVC dryer balls. Made with 100% wool they gently bounce in your dryer to keep your laundry soft while reducing the amount of time it takes to dry... saving you time and money and reducing your footprint on Mother Earth.
Some facts:
~Approx. 9" in circumfrence
~Approx. 3oz each
~100% wool to the core
~Handmade in the USA (Tennessee to be exact)!
~Using 4 dryer balls on a 90 minute cycle will cut a small load of laundry in 1/2 and a large load by 1/4!
~Saving you approx $.26 on a large load and $.51 on a small load of laundry!
~Dryer balls will reduce static, but it may not take it away completely.
~Dryer balls are completely safe to use with your cloth diapers.. we keep them in our dryer and use with all of our laundry.
~Scented dryer balls are also perfectly fine to use with your cloth diapers, they will not cause any repelling or problems.
~We tell everyone to try and start with around 4 dryer balls, the more you use the better they will help with dry time and softness.



A Gator Dryer Ball made by Melinda for another gator Melissa- I'm going to have to get one of these!



When we started cloth diapering Benjamin we bought detergent that was clean rinsing, we went with Rockin Green Detergent. Rockin Green seemed to being doing such a good job that we switched to using it for ALL our laundry. But something that comes from using a clean rinsing detergent is you no longer have the fresh smell of laundered clothes. I kinda missed that smell so I started looking into scented wool dryer balls. Since I already had 2 plastic dryers balls I just added one scented (my first I went with Clothesline Fresh and my newest is Gain) from Buddha Bunz to the 2 plastic ones from the store. It gives the laundry a nice clean scent without overpowering it and does all the great things dryer balls do. I use these instead of dryer sheets and since they are reuseable I'm also saving some trash from going to the landfill while still having fresh smelling clothes. When the smell wears off I can reorder a rescenting kit from Melinda (or send them back to her for rescenting) and have fresh smelling clothes out of the dryer.

You have the following choices all in either scented or unscented...

~undyed (all natural off white wool colored)

~colored (hand dyed in solid colors of your choice)

~designed (let your creative side lead the way... you tell me what you want and I will make it for you. I've done everything from sea animals, monsters, flowers, college teams, you name it I will create it!)

Each month she does a color of the month, August was green, September had two- purple and orange October is going to be pink. Fans on Facebook vote for the color they want to see.

There are a lot of scents to choose from so whether you like a fruit smell or a fresh linen or a spice there are some interesting ones to choose from.

Find her on Etsy: Buddha Bunz

Find her on Facebook: Buddha Bunz
She also has a website: Buddha Bunz

I don't have a giveaway for a Buddha Bunz but I will share a coupon code that is good for 15% off that ends today (9/30/10) just enter '1900friends' at checkout.

If you know of something Made with Love I should check out to write about, let me know by either commenting or emailing me at missibea at hotmail dot com. I can't wait to see and share all the wonderful and fun things out there!

Weekend Tidbits Volume 11

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old!

He is really starting to interact more with his surroundings. He kept trying to put Gator in his mouth and pulling him all over the chair.

Then on Sunday after church we are trying really hard to master sitting up on our own.

He's also scooting around, He's doing really well with rolling and inching his way all over the floor it is only a matter of time before he is crawling everywhere.

Don't forget to enter to WIN in the Made with Love Thursday post from last week!!

Made with Love Thursday!

I know I skipped last week but I got sick and was super busy at work... So I will make it up to you this week with a featured product and a giveaway!!

Sweet Sienna Designs for the Bald and the Beautiful was started by Krissy, she is a fellow Gator. When Sienna was born she was not blessed with a full head of hair. So Krissy started making these adorable hairbands for her and then began selling them to friends and family.

Krissy and Sienna

I actually know Krissy through her husband, I used to work with him in Orlando. They are an adorable family and I really wanted to share her great headbands for girls, both babys and older girls.

Since I had a boy and I won't torture Ben by making him wear one. I ordered one for Ben's future bride, Camdyn.
 

Camdyn wearing the "Syndee"



So adorable!! The feedback I got from Camdyn's mom was great "They're so soft! This is the first one that doesn't hurt her head."

Since then I've ordered more for other family and friends. Krissy is very quick in her turn around time and these headbands dress up any little girl.

Camdyn in her Red Sox gear with matching "Katie" headband

On her website you can order the above Baby Headbands or there are also Barrettes and Girls Headbands



I'm wearing orange and blue flower clips Krissy made for me (AND the Gator necklace from the last Made with Love)

She recently named an orange and blue headband after me, the "Melissa"!! Thanks Krissy!

Sweet Sienna Designs is also offering free shipping now through the end of the month, so don't wait too long to order the most adorable headband for your baby, daughter, yourself, or anyone else you know!

Visit her website : Sweet Sienna Designs
Find her on Facebook : Sweet Sienna Designs

Camdyn wearing the "Julia"


Now for the Giveaway!


Krissy has been very kind to offer one of my readers a Sweet Sienna Design.
To enter go to her website and then come back and comment on this post which one you would want if you won. THAT'S IT! Pick out the one you like and you might win it! If you don't have a blogger profile please leave your email address so I can contact you if you won. I will pick a winner using random.org next Thursday September 30th after 10am, so you have a full 7 days to pick out what you like.


If you know of something Made with Love I should check out to write about, let me know by either commenting or emailing me at missibea at hotmail dot com. I can't wait to see and share all the wonderful and fun things out there!

Weekend Tidbits: Volume 10

So this is going to be a rare post with very few pictures of Ben. I KNOW- CRAZY!!

This past weekend we went to Tennessee for the Florida- Tennessee Game - GO GATORS!

We rented a cabin near Craig's dad in Townsend with our friends Jason and Katherine. For the same price as getting a hotel in Knoxville we were able to get a 2 bed 2 bath cabin with a screened in porch, it also had a full kitchen, grill, and a pool table but we weren't at the cabin enough to enjoy much of that.

I have to say I am very thankful for how well Ben travels. He is a trooper. The drive is about 3.5 hours which usually works out just about right as far as feeding him and a nap.

We got in late Friday night and got up Saturday got our stuff together and dropped Ben off with Craig's dad and Carol around 9:30a and headed to Maryville to go to Kroger and pick up our supplies for Tailgating. Traffic wasn't bad and we were set up for the tailgate by 11. We grilled bratwurst and chicken. The temps weren't too hot but the sun was beating down, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Then we headed closer to the stadium to meet up with one of Jason's friends.

Our seats were about 5 rows from the top, the only plus (besides being inside Neyland stadium to see the Gators win the game) was there was a breeze from the water.

On the way back to the cabin from the game, we saw this car leaving...

I've picked up a few new toys for Ben, he's a fan of the Gator on wheels, might rival the Smokey car above...

He's starting to sit up on his own for a few seconds here or there, but since he doesn't sit still much longer than that he leans back and falls over.

His gums are bothering him and he has a little runny nose. I'm beginning to think this whole teething thing is a joke. So until I see one it's that his gums are bothering him.

It was a fun weekend, now back to work.

GO GATORS!

Weekend Tidbits: Volume 9

For this update I will begin with Thursday because my sister was in town for some training.

Before she left on Friday to head to Gainesville for the USF-UF game we had dinner and hung out some more.

Saturday we watch some football. We were not hapy with the first half but they turned it around in the second half.

 Ben wore himself out playing in the jumperoo, 2 minutes before this picture he was jumping up and down giggling then boom- ASLEEP!

Sunday was Rally Day at church, our church has grown so much that we are moving to 2 services. There will also be a Korean Service. In our second service this week we held a joint service, Korean and English. It was really neat. After service we had a picnic near Lake Lanier.

Ben made friends with several of the Korean girls. LADY KILLER!
When we got home he played in the jumperoo!!

AND since I didn't get a chance to write this yesterday I am sharing some pictures from last night.

Sophia Joyce and Ben holding hands!!

Say it with me... AWE!!!

Sophia Joyce is the daughter of Tony and Jen, she is 3 weeks younger than Ben and currently lives in Germany. We are renting their house while they are there for work for the next several years. We were very excited to meet Sophia Joyce and spend time with them while they were in town. Ben definitely made a friend and we can't wait to see her again next time they are home.

Made with Love Thursday!

So I have been wanting to do more with my blog, beyond talking only about Ben (though I'll admit that is fun!) So starting today I'm going to do Made with Love Thursdays!! I will try to find something either on etsy or a handmade gift or item to highlight. The first few will be my friends that have started making and selling fun items for adults and/or children. Then I will branch out from there.

This week I'm going to start with Lauren's Beading!

I met Lauren through my best friend Lauren. She lives in Joliet, IL, I've never met her in person but we have shared many stories together. She started making fun necklaces about a year ago. I have two, one she made me custom with green and purple beads and the second is my Gator gameday necklace I added a Gator ribbon to finish it off.
The picture is of the one she made for me before I added the Gator ribbon to it.

Here it is on, the blue is closer to Gator blue than the above picture shows.

For a while she did Wear it Wednesday and that has slowed down recently with the birth of her daughter Zoe (she's only a few weeks younger than Ben). If you are in the market for new jewelry and you want something Made with Love check out Lauren's Beading!

Visit her Etsy shop : Lauren's Beading Etsy Shop
Find her on Facebook : Lauren's Beading on Facebook

If you know of something Made with Love I should check out to write about, comment below. I can't wait to see and share all the wonderful and fun things out there!

Weekend Tidbits: Volume 8

WOW that was a LOOOONG weekend.

It started on Thursday afternoon, we drove up to Nashville.

Craig flew to Omaha, Nebraska with our friends Jason and Butters. It was the annual gathering of the boys this time without significant others for their fantasy football draft. 

Ben and I hung out in Nashville with Katherine.

Thursday night he slept through the night.

Friday we went to Bowling Green to visit with one of Katherine's friends Ashlee who has a little boy named Davis who is 3 weeks older than Ben.

Ben's shirt says... "Hold on Gators... I'm Coming!" SOOO CUTE!

Then we went to visit Jason's grandparents that live in Bowling Green. Kat and I decided they were Ben's Great Grand Godparents.

Saturday we stayed at the house and watched the Gator game

He ate some more cereal.

Sunday we went for a hike.



AND I mean HIKE. Katherine said it would be about 3 miles or so and I put on my sneakers and since it was a little cool I put some jeans on and we headed out. After about an hour of climbing hills and pushing the stroller I realized this wasn't only 3 miles. We hiked for about 2 hours and after we got home I looked up the trail and it was 5.8 miles.

 During the hike we saw an owl and a deer.

Afterwards we went to McDougals for chicken fingers. I had definitely earned the McDougals. They are the BEST chicken fingers. It is a must have when in Nashville!

That night Laura came over to meet Ben. She had fun playing with him...

Then she fed him his bottle while we watched Jane Eyre

Down the street from their house was this street sign.

FUN!

Monday we drove home.

Ben slept 90% of the way home. Now to get back into a routine!