My Coffee Turns Cold: 5 Minutes of Motherhood

 

I take my mug and put it in the microwave, heat it for a minute and a half. I heat it because it has gotten cold. Cold as I change a diaper. Cold as I mix up a bowl of cereal. Cold as I dress her warm. Cold as I redirect her from playing with cords to play with a more appropriate toy.

I pick up, I put down. I tell her it's okay when she bumps her head. I take her with me when it's time for me to get dressed. I blow bubbles on her tummy and make her laugh. I show her her reflection in the mirror and watch her grin with delight. I listen and lean and lift and love.

And in the meantime, as my love warms us both, my coffee turns cold. But that's okay. Because when it comes to coffee, a microwave will do. 

These days of motherhood are consuming and taking the time to blog can easily get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. But these days of motherhood are also fleeting and I don’t want to let them slip by. And so this series of posts, Five Minutes of Motherhood, are my attempts to capture some of these moments—whether poignant or not—in the short spurts of time available to me these days: a time-limit of five minutes. That way the moment gets memorialized and then I can get back to life—back to motherhood. Click here to read all the posts in the Five Minutes of Motherhood series.

READ FULL POST >>

Redeeming Motherhood: Iradis' Story

Redeeming Motherhood is a series of posts where women open up about some of the struggles they've faced as mothers and how the Lord has redeemed those situations and brought beauty from them. Check out all the posts in the Redeeming Motherhood series here. (And if you want to share your own story of hope and healing, please check out the bottom of the post for instructions!)

Many thanks to Iradis of Live Faithfully for kicking off the series and sharing her experience in today's Q&A. (And boy do I know all too well what she means when she says she has a "spirited baby." Mine was one of those, too!) 

Iradis and her son at 5 months old,
now "a fairly happy baby" ;)

Describe one of the hardships you've faced as a mother. What made this time so difficult?
As a new mom, I had a few preconceived notions about how our baby would be, from his temperament to how he would look physically. We were blessed with a very spirited baby, who from the very beginning made his presence known loud and clear. One hardship I faced as a new mom was in the first 4 months of our baby's life. Having a newborn who cried inconsolably most of the time during his awake times was difficult. It made me feel like somehow I had failed as a mom.

What were some of the emotions you were feeling during this time?
I felt an overwhelming sense of insecurity. I had absolutely no idea what to do to get our baby to stop screaming. I felt frustration, failure and helplessness. Yes, there were times I even felt anger and resentment.

How did the Lord speak to you during this time? How did he bring redemption or healing to you?
Amid all the noise (literally), it seemed like God's voice was distant even though now I know it wasn't. I knew He was working in my heart to have more patience with the situation. God used my husband and a friend (also a new mom) to speak truth into my life, hard as it was. At one point, I knew that only God could cover me with his peace, as our baby screamed for hours at a time. Honestly, I feel like I am still healing and trying to find redemption for those first few months. It's an ongoing process but I am thankful for God's grace with me.

Is there a Bible verse that you think speaks poignantly to this experience?
During those first months, Philippians 4:4-13 is a passage that I would read over and over again. I was clinging to the knowledge that God would somehow bring peace and contentment through it all and that it would never be more than I could handle. If I made the choice to rejoice, even when I didn't feel like it, God would strengthen me to get through this experience.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:4-13

ABOUT THE WRITER: My name is Iradis, aka Urban Wife and I've been married to Red Beard since 2008. In May of this year, we welcomed our first baby boy into our lives. We are excited to see what God has in store for our little family and are forever in awe of His mercy & grace. Feel free to stop by my blog Live Faithfully or Instagram @urbanwife to follow along on our journey.

If you are interested in contributing to the Redeeming Motherhood series, contact me with your responses to the questions in this post. Include a short bio and a photograph, if you like. It's not necessary to have your own blog, just a heart and a story to share!

{ photo source }

READ FULL POST >>

A World of Wonder

It’s incredible to try to look at the world from my daughter’s perspective. It’s nearly impossible, really. How she explores things that we take for granted—cause and effect, gravity, object permanence—and finds delight in them. Not just mere interest but squeal-with-joy delight.

It makes me look at this world of mine with a bit more wonder, a bit more awe at how the Lord made it work, how he made it work so well. I look at how he made her body, so soft and malleable to tolerate her tumbles and falls without ever getting a bruise. I look at how he gave her a thumb, which she found the other month and hasn’t stopped sucking since, and how that is a gift to her because it brings her such calm and comfort. He gave that to her. I look at how he made her personality and how she wears it so beautifully. He gave that to me.

It’s these little things that make me stop and realize the gravity of it all, whisper prayers of thanks in response.

I recently read a book that does much the same. A beautifully written little book whose premise is to do just that: Open your eyes to the world around you, show you how to look at it—in all its brokenness and heartbreak, even—and awe. Because there’s more to this world than what we see on the surface. When we take the time to look deeper, we see the one who made it so wonderful, the Creator behind every leaf and laugh and life.

From Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson:

“This world is beautiful but badly broken. St. Paul said that it groans, but I love it even in its groaning. I love this round stage where we act out the tragedies and the comedies of history. I love it with all its villains and petty liars and self-righteous pompers. I love the ants and the laughter of wide-eyed children encountering their first butterfly. I love it as it is, because it is a story, and isn’t stuck in one place. It is full of conflict and darkness like every good story. And like every good story, there will be an ending. I love the world as it is, because I love what it will be.”

Let us not forget that last part. This world is a wonderful place. And, in time, it will only become even more wonderful.

Find Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson on Amazon. (I received a copy of this book from Booksneeze to review.)

Related Posts
Three Months Old and Full of Personality
The Windows are Open and I'm Waxing Nostalgic

{ photo source }

READ FULL POST >>

Redeeming Motherhood: My Story of Hope

Motherhood can be tough. That's a lesson I learned early on when I had my daughter. Sometimes you don't know how you're going to get through it, whether you can get through it, or where God is in the midst of it. Ugh. But I also learned another lesson: That God is in the midst of it. Sometimes you just have to look hard, maybe harder than you ever have before. And that's what this series, Redeeming Motherhood, is about: Sharing our stories about how God has met us during some of those tough times of motherhood and the work he's done to redeem them. Because he always redeems. If you find yourself in one of those similar seasons of struggle, I hope these posts encourage you in that, too. Check out all the posts in the Redeeming Motherhood series here. (And if you want to share your own story of hope and healing, please check out the bottom of the post for instructions!)

To kick the series off, I wanted to go ahead and share part of my own story:

Me and Claire, much more well-rested,
at seven months old

Describe one of the hardships you've faced as a mother. What made this time so difficult?
When my daughter Claire was first born she struggled to sleep. We all struggled to help her sleep and nothing, save time, seemed to help. We could be seen pacing the floors, bouncing, rocking, shushing, swaddling, nursing, singing to try to help her settle down. We’d lay her down, pick her up, pat her back, turn on water, run the vacuum—anything to try to help. It rarely did. One night, my husband took to jogging with her around the kitchen to finally get her to succumb to sleep. Surprisingly that worked—for that night.

What were some of the emotions you were feeling during this time?
The thing that made this time so difficult was beyond just the obvious of utter exhaustion. What really made it difficult was that I felt abandoned by God during this time. I prayed and prayed that Claire would fall to sleep. Prayed that when we got her asleep, she would stay asleep. I prayed so many prayers over her, over myself. And then she’d never fail to wake up, screaming, and it would all start all over again.

It seemed God wasn’t listening to my prayers, wasn’t concerned with aiding me through them. I tried praying scripture over her sleep, quoting the Psalms as I prayed, “God gives rest to his loved ones.” I turned that verse into a lullaby I sang over Claire and sang it over and over again. The more I sang it and didn’t see fruit from it, the less and less I felt as though I was one of those “loved ones.”

In my head I knew that God did hear and I knew that he would prevail. I forced myself to praise him during those arduous days and nights. But I didn’t feel it. Honestly, I didn’t feel like God had answered my prayers until my husband started to get the call-backs for the job in Ohio. Not coincidentally, it was around that time that Claire finally started succumbing to sleep and taking naps all on her own.

How did the Lord speak to you during this time? How did he bring redemption or healing to you?
Although I felt like he was distancing himself from me, I knew that he was not. So I continued to seek after him, continued to pray even when it felt a waste. At the time, I didn’t feel hope or see how all this was going to get better or get easier. Still, I pressed on. I think that is the takeaway I have from the experience: A willingness to seek after God, even when it feels he’s stepping away. To chase after him, as the woman in Song of Songs does when her lover comes to the door and then she goes searching for him through the streets.

Because the truth is, if we seek after him, we will find him. That truth has never failed me. It took awhile, but after a couple of hard months, it felt like the floodgates of heaven opened and the Lord’s love rained down on me. Such blessing we received when he did start answering my prayers: Claire started napping, my husband got selected from 231 applicants for a single position, we sold our house in three days. Boom, boom, boom. Miracle after miracle. The Psalms also says, “Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.” That was exactly how I felt during that time.

While I don’t think I’d ever willingly go back and live those days over again, I can say I’m grateful for them. I’m grateful that during a time when I felt so low, that I had the strength and the courage to cling to the Lord. I am proud of myself during that time, even when that strength was weak and wavering. It was still there. He was still there. And I know there will be more trials and tribulations to come, and so I know I have this stake in the ground to look back on, my own pile of stones that recall a time of hardship—but also God’s inevitable sweet and divine deliverance.

Is there a Bible verse that you think speaks poignantly to this experience?
I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.
Bend down and listen as I pray.
Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways…. – Psalm 17:6-7

If you are interested in contributing to the Redeeming Motherhood series, contact me with your responses to the questions in this post. Include a short bio and a photograph, if you like. It's not necessary to have your own blog, just a heart and a story to share!

{ photo source }

READ FULL POST >>

Eating Her First Banana: 5 Minutes of Motherhood

The other day, Claire ate a banana all on her own. She's been teething and consequently kind of clingy, so I was holding her as I was finishing my oatmeal for breakfast.

My husband had put some banana in his oatmeal and laid the rest down on the table. She was reaching for everything, my spoon, my bowl. So when she reached for the banana (which was one of her first foods when we started her on solids about a month and a half before), I let her have it.

She squealed with delight, crushing the soft fruit between her fingers. It took some practice to get a hold of it, as it slipped from her grip until she mushed it into her fist. But once she did, she took her fistful to her mouth and bit off a chunk, spit out any extra, chewed, swallowed and repeated.

By the end of it, I had a handful of banana that she'd spit out, a tabletop to wipe down, two pair of hands to wash from the mess of it. But she was delighted. She was so happy, in spite of sticky hands and a banana-smeared face.

It was a messy moment but it was a beautiful one, too.

I'm beginning to think that's a lot of the way this motherhood thing works, as well.

These days of motherhood are consuming and taking the time to blog can easily get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. But these days of motherhood are also fleeting and I don’t want to let them slip by. And so this series of posts, Five Minutes of Motherhood, are my attempts to capture some of these moments—whether poignant or not—in the short spurts of time available to me these days: a time-limit of five minutes. That way the moment gets memorialized and then I can get back to life—back to motherhood. Click here to read all the posts in the Five Minutes of Motherhood series.

READ FULL POST >>

A Barstool, a Bloody Nose, and a Step Closer to God

Now that Claire has learned to pull herself up and stand up, the world has become one big curiosity. Every ledge has the potential to expand her horizons, lifting her up to have a bigger perspective on this ever-changing world of hers. And so it is that at any given time, I'll turn around and she's hoisted herself up by clinging to a couch or a coffee table, sometimes a trashcan or a large toy.

This skill, though it has delighted her, has proved to make her world a bit more perilous. She doesn't yet understand that not everything is sturdy, not everything is meant to hold her up and, though it might for a moment, may not continue to do so.

She learned that lesson the other night when, while I was do some motherly multitasking, turned my back to her. She'd been contentedly playing with a toy piano. Then, I heard a thud and a screech of a scream. I turned around to see she'd left the piano in favor of a wooden barstool, which had evidently fallen on top of her when she pulled up to it.

I ran to her, lifted her, hugged her and rocked her. And then I saw a little stream of blood trickle from one nostril, then the other. As a new mom, it was a terribly scary moment for me and a million worst-case scenarios flew through my head.

Fortunately, within a minute, the blood had stopped and we settled her down. After phoning the family pediatrition and finding out that we probably didn't have anything to worry about since she hadn't bled "a lot," was able to nurse without trouble (and, consequently, breathe through her nose) and was acting normal.

Still, it was a really good bonk that left her pretty sore. So when I tried to put her down for bed, without fail, she'd end up rubbing her nose which would lead to more shrill cries. As I cradled her and tried to comfort her, I prayed over her and the pain she was feeling that she surely didn't understand, as a baby who heretofore has been incredibly healthy.

I prayed that God would take away the pain. Then, without even thinking about it, prayed that God could transfer the pain to me, so that she didn't have to suffer through it. As soon as I prayed it, cuddling my little girl whose sobs had subsided to pitiful little sniffles, I realized the enormity of it. I realized that is exactly what God did for me.

As a parent, he too wanted to spare the pain that I would otherwise endure. The pain was so unbearable, he didn't want us to ever know it. And so he wore it himself. On the cross. To a death that we can't even imagine.

Then, as my daughter finally gave way to sleep, I laid her down. Walking away from her crib, I couldn't shake the awe that came from this glimpse God had given me. Of something so simple but that hadn't yet really understood until now.

Then, in the still and quiet dark, I moved the barstool so that it wouldn't ever hurt her again.

Related Posts
A Prayer for Love
Learning About God's Loyalty Firsthand

{ photo source }

READ FULL POST >>

How to Earn Free Gift Cards Simply By Switching Your Search Engine

One of the things that has been a life-saver as a new mom has been the availability of shopping online at the last minute. When we were first moving back up to Ohio, I was able to go online, find a mattress to go inside Claire's pack-n-play for sleeping at her grandparents', and have it there by the time we moved up. Plus, there are so many online reviews that make purchase decisions easier and more reliable.

It's no secret that one of the things that has helped fuel this online shopping of mine (almost always at Amazon), has been Swagbucks. I've mentioned it a few times before but with Christmas coming around the corner, wanted to give it another spotlight in case anyone is interested in taking advantage of signing up to start earning points that can be cashed in for all kinds of gift cards to places like Amazon and other prizes.

If you're unfamiliar with the basics, Swagbucks.com is a new search engine, with the perk that they reward you for searching with them. Swagbucks uses Google and Ask.com to generate its search results so it's not really any different if you already use either of those. Except that you can get rewarded for it!

You sign up for an account with them, and they reward you with points as you perform your searches or complete other tasks through Swagbucks. Personally, my favorite ways to earn points are through searches (I have Swagbucks set as my default search engine in my internet toolbar), by printing any online coupons through their tab (you earn 10 points for every redeemed coupon), by having Swagbucks TV (which is basically just a bunch of video ads) play in the background of my computer or iPod while I'm doing other tasks around the house, and by referring friends and family to try out Swagbucks for themselves.

Through those different methods (and there are plenty of other ones that I don't take advantage of), I've earned literally thousands of points that I've cashed in for hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards. (In a typical month, I usually have enough points to get $25 worth of Amazon codes if that gives you any idea of the potential the site has.)

If you want to sign up, follow this link. If you do, it'll show that I referred you, and I'll get extra points for doing that! Also, if you want a more thorough introduction to Swagbucks, you can check out an indepth primer I did a couple of years ago. I've been a member since 2009 and haven't looked back since, so feel free to check Swagbucks out for yourself if you haven't already!

Related Posts

How I Got My Daughter's Cloth Diapers for Free

3 Easy Ways We've Learned to Stretch Our Finances

{ photo source }

READ FULL POST >>

Printing Out the Photos and Looking Back: 5 Minutes of Motherhood

I finally got around to printing photos of Claire. In the age of the digital camera, you can imagine what a rare occasion that is. She’s seven months old now, so we’d accumulated quite a trove that I painstakingly went through to weed out photos. There were the serious ones, the striking ones, the funny ones, the cute ones.

Lest I remember all her life as one perfectly preened photo session, though, I also included a few others, that would typically be deemed outtakes. The ones where she’s screaming or crying or just has a mad look on her face. Truth be told, those are the pictures that make up a lot of her first few months.

I still cannot fathom the newborn baby photo shoot. I can’t wrap my head around a baby who will sleep soundly long enough to let you dress them up and put them in adorable poses and then take a reel of images. I can’t wrap my head around a baby who will just lay there, looking around, to get enough good pictures to make it worth your while. I can’t understand it, because that was not my experience.

Consequently, we didn’t start getting consistently “good” pictures of Claire until she was almost three months old. Sure there were a couple here and there when we caught her in a good mood or when I had the energy to get my camera out and capture a moment. But a lot of those early days caught on film are not the prettiest. Still, I printed them because they were our days.

When I was showing the pictures to my sister, she said it so truly: “She looks so different in these photos. She looks so mad in them all.” Because when you move the stack of pictures to the side, standing before you, you see a baby so bright and happy that it seems she’s a completely different person. That this girl in the photos is another, not the cheerful one right here who’s so excited that she’s bouncing up and down with joy.

So, I put the pictures back in their envelope and return to play with my baby girl. The one who smiles with glee and makes my world a happier place.

These days of motherhood are consuming and taking the time to blog can easily get lost in the hustle and bustle of it all. But these days of motherhood are also fleeting and I don’t want to let them slip by. And so this series of posts, Five Minutes of Motherhood, are my attempts to capture some of these moments—whether poignant or not—in the short spurts of time available to me these days: a time-limit of five minutes. That way the moment gets memorialized and then I can get back to life—back to motherhood. Click here to read all the posts in the Five Minutes of Motherhood series.

Related Posts
A Prayer for All the Mamas Out There
The Grace in "Spirit-Led Parenting"

READ FULL POST >>

Dear Claire: 7 Month Update

(I've been writing monthly updates to my daughter, Claire, documenting all the changes that come with the passing weeks. You can catch up on past letters here.)

Dear Claire,

Well, this has been quite the month for you. Probably your biggest yet. In the past 30 days:

• You have officially perfected your ability to crawl (which you'd only just learned days before turning six months old). When you see something you want, you're off!
  


• Within a day or two of first learning to crawl, you figured out how to pull up. You even have started a little cruising. Especially when you spot someone eating something. (See point below for more on that; the first time I saw you take a step while standing/holding on was when your grandpa opened a chocolate bar.)
  


• And within a few days of that, you were able to sit up on your own. You can sit on your toosh but you prefer kneeling on your knees. I think maybe because it makes it easier for you to get up and move should the need arise?
  


• You figured out how to suck your thumb all on your own, and have never looked back, even pretty much giving up your pacifier already. Invariably you can be spotted with your thumb in your mouth almost all the time. It makes me a little nervous for a year or so from now when we need to break it, but today has worries of its own. I'll deal with that when we get to that point!
  


• You want to try to eat and drink everything. You see someone eat or hear a wrapper crinkle and your eyes suddenly shoot that way and you start bouncing up and down in hopes of getting your own taste. Consequently, you have eaten and drank a huge variety of foods, from homemade baby food to table scraps of all sorts. You also love drinking water out of a cup. You are growing up so fast!
  


• Your balance and ability to catch yourself has improved so much that you rarely bonk your head anymore (which at one time was more like an hourly occurrence!). This makes life for mama much easier!
  


• Your two bottom teeth finally started cutting through. They haven't really made you fussy, but you have struggled more with sleep than usual. Otherwise, you're pretty much an all-around happy baby.
  


• You also had your first playdate, which was with (and your father loves this part) with an older (10 months old) boy! You were pretty forward, crawling up to him straight away and trying to grab his curly hair. Then you tried to lick his forehead. He tried laying his forehead against you, which you found frustrating so we soon called it a day. But it was hilarious and I'm looking forward to more and more playdates in the future.
  
  
• You also have figured out how to make it up a stair or two. Oh boy. Here we go!

Can you believe all of that? In one single month? Yes, you're a trailblazer around here, always keeping us on our toes. It's been a joy to try and keep up and guess what you're going to be up to next. Here's to another month!

Love,
Mom

Related Posts
Dear Claire: 5 Month Update 
A Look Back at Claire's First Month

READ FULL POST >>

Seeking Wisdom While You Wait on Marriage

This is a post I shared a few months ago (while I was still pregnant!) in one of our monthly Women Praying Boldly emails. WPB is a group of women coming together to pray for those who are waiting on God to provide them with godly spouses. (You can read more about this initiative here.) I recently passed the torch along to two other ladies, Leeann and Jen, who are now overseeing the group. In celebration of the change in leadership, I wanted to share this post in hopes that it might encourage more of you to check out Women Praying Boldly, if you haven't already:

Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. She offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. - Proverbs 3:13-17

Lately, as I prepare for my role as a mother, I've been reading a lot about the need for wisdom in Proverbs. But I realized that that necessity for wisdom is no less important (perhaps even moreso) when it comes to the search for a godly husband. Because whom we tie our hearts to, whom we become one with is going to affect our lives in the most incredible of ways.

As a mother, I must remember that someday, my child is going to leave our little nest and grow and make her own life, likely becoming one with someone else—not with me and my husband. But as a wife, no matter what life brings or how old we get, I will always be tied to the covenant I made with my husband. There is no such covenant made between me and my child.

So entering into this marriage covenant must not be made lightly. Which is where the deep, sacred call for wisdom comes in.

As I read in the Proverbs, one of the things that encouraged my heart in this matter was the idea that wisdom (which comes from God, not books or education or anything else man-made) is yearning to be found. It is not hiding or elusive, running away and taunting us. Instead, God is calling out to us, desperate to be found and followed:

Proverbs explains: "Wisdom shouts in the streets.She cried out in the public square. She calls out to the crowds along the main street and to those in front of city hall. ... 'Come here and listen to me! I'll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise. I called you so often but you didn't come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.'"

And in James, it tells us that if we desire wisdom, we only need to ask God for it, and it will be granted. So simple:

If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. - James 1:5

So let us ask rather than ignore. Let us turn to God's vision of wedlock rather than our own culture's definition of what a spouse ought to be like. Let us seek his guidance in preparing our hearts for marriage rather than idle the time we've been given. Let us draw closer to him and wait for his answer—which will surely come.

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the LORD grants wisdom! - Proverbs 2:2-6

(If you want to find out more about the Women Praying Boldly prayer group, you can read more about it here and sign up to receive the monthly e-newsletters here.) 


Related Posts
How I Knew My Husband Was "The One"
A Few of My Favorite Things: Books About Love Edition

{ photo source }

READ FULL POST >>

Shopping for Quality: A Review of My Husband's High-End Headphones

At heart, I’m a girl who loves a good deal. You’ll find me flipping through the clearance racks, popping into a thrift shop to see what’s in store, a grocery basket stocked with generics. But even I’ve learned that there are times when it makes sense to splurge—when a good buy might really mean buying the more expensive item initially, but since it’s built well, it lasts far longer than the cheap alternative. So that in the long run, you end up saving more....

At heart, I’m a girl who loves a good deal. You’ll find me flipping through the clearance racks, popping into a thrift shop to see what’s in store, a grocery basket stocked with generics. But even I’ve learned that there are times when it makes sense to splurge—when a good buy might really mean buying the more expensive item initially, but since it’s built well, it lasts far longer than the cheap alternative. So that in the long run, you end up saving more.

I’ve found that it most often comes into play when shopping for higher-ticket items that you use on a daily basis like vehicles, electronics, home repairs, etc. On those things where reliability and durability matter, it makes sense to spend more for a brand or job-well-done that you know you can trust. Which is why I was thrilled to get a pair of high-end headphones for my husband—the real music-lover around here—to try out. When I pulled the box out to surprise him, his reaction, even then was simple: “Wow.”

The Monster N-Tune on-ear headphones are known for providing high-quality sound with durability to last. (While we haven't put it to the test, the box boasts that they are "virtually indestructible.")

When my husband tried them out, his immediate reaction was how comfortable they were on his ears. (Did you see how much foam padding is all around the ear- and head pieces?) Plus, they’re built to be lightweight so that you can wear them for extended periods of time without feeling weighed down.

My husband also plays music on the side, so he could also tell that the sound quality was much better with these than his other headphones. They kept the richness of the music crisp and intact, while isolating out all the background noise that comes from a house with a baby who loves to be heard! They also include a mic and controls so that you can hook them to your smartphone or tablet and use them to chat with friends.

All in all, he was impressed with the Monster N-Tune headphones, and they’ve proved to stand up to the brand’s reputation for being sturdy and delivering superior sound quality. The color we received was cherry red, but they come in a rainbow of colors to choose from. With the holidays just around the corner, this might be a good gift idea sure to impress the music-lover on your list!

To win your very own pair of N-Tune headphones (valued at $150),  read all about the Monster headphones here and let me know in the comments of this post which color you prefer. The comments on this post will be aggregated with the comments on the posts from the other bloggers participating in this review, and 25 pairs will be given away. This giveaway will close on Nov 1.

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

• Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
• Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
• Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
• For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. BlogHer will pool entries from participating blogs and select a sweepstakes winner at random and will contact the winner with details about fulfilling the prize. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 10/2/13 – 11/1/13.

READ FULL POST >>