Social Saturday

I think I must be feeling a few more fragments from Friday.

I'm thinking about starting a Social Saturday. I'll post a meme and if you feel like playing along, copy the info and post your answers on your blog during the weekend. I'll even make a button. I love getting to know you guys! (Also, I love making buttons and banners.)


Speaking of banners....My hubby has decided to enter the blogging arena...can you imagine?! I am under strict orders NOT to reveal his super secret identity, so sorry all, I hope you come across it because I won't be telling you where it is. Sigh.

I was also messing around with Photoshop and made a new photo with J's birthmark. I've been keeping tabs on it and it seems to be staying about the same shape and size. It's slightly raised now, but looks very similar to the last photo:

Carmi at Written Inc. hosts a photo theme each week he calls Thematic Photographic. This week's theme is SIMPLE. I've posted this photo before, but I like it a lot so I'm putting it up again. Simple happiness. Simple sun, wind, sky, water. I love this photo.

Please check out Carmi's site, and if you live in the London, Canada you should stop by and see his awesome photography. "Photography for the Rest of Us." A REAL EXHIBIT! How cool is that???!

As for my hair, well, it's done, and it's red. You'll have to wait until "NOT ME!" Monday, because I have a confession I won't be ready to admit until then.....

This One's For You, Mom of the Year...

This is new - so I hope you'll play along...

We've all been there. As hard as we try, sometimes we don't catch every little sign that something's wrong. We aren't able to prevent every bump or bruise. We love our children with all our hearts, but we are only human. Super-mom has her kryptonite. We would not be parents if there were times we didn't regret something, if we feared we had somehow irreversably damaged them by some slight on our part. Yet our children seem to be OK. They love us unconditionally and we love them. WE LOVE THEM....that is what matters. So don't be so hard on yourselves. As parents we do all that we can and leave the rest to God. Don't beat yourself up for that one little thing.
That being said I am introducing a new award...

<a href="http://fraasefamily.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="MOM of the Year" src="http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq208/affectionatelyyoursphoto/MOMofyear200px.jpg"/></a>

Here are the rules:

1) Admit that ONE thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are NO LONGER allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!

2)To remind yourself that you ARE a good mom, list SEVEN things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself of EVERY DAY that you rock!

3)Send this to FIVE other Moms of the Year that deserve forgiveness and a reminder that they, too, are the best moms they can be!!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you!

So here's my story:

When MD was about 20 months old we were on our way out of our apartment so that I could go to work by way of the baby sitter's. MD was already in his jammies (I work overnights). Garbage bag in one hand, I couldn't carry him, so I led him out the door. He was slow getting out as steps were still kinda new to him. I tugged to get him moving, only looking forward. He wouldn't move from the doorway and was starting to throw a fit. So I thought. I look back to see that the heavy door had closed on his two smallest fingers...and I was TUGGING on him!! I actually had to open the door back up to free his little fingers! Blood was starting to run down his arm and on to his jammies. I had nearly taken off the tip of his ring finger and his pinky was flattened. At the ER we learned that he had fractured the ring finger. To this day that finger is scarred and the nail is odd shaped. I felt SO horrible for being so concerned about getting to work that I didn't see the door close on him!

The things I love about my kids:

1. They always want to play games with me, apparently I'm not lame yet.

2. Jumping on mom's bed is allowed. No jumping off, no pushing.

3. I'll say no to a toy, but I'll almost never say no to a book at the store.

4. I make mac & cheese from scratch, no boxed stuff!

5. I've spent entire days at a park because I didn't have a good enough excuse to ask the kids to leave.

6. My hubby & I love art, we always have a large supply of plain white paper, markers, pencils, pastels, paints etc. and encourage the kids to create!

7. I've breastfed all of my kids past 1 year (well, I'm still working on the last), I feel really good about being able to do that.

The five moms I'd like to nominate are:
The RaMbLeR @ the Rambler (you are my inspiration for this!), Abby @ Me and My Boys, Keri @ It Flickers Dimly, Jen @ Life is Chaos, Give Me More, Dawn @ Dawn's Diversions

Play along if you want, or anyone else who wants to, grab the button and nominate your own crew. And remember, YOU ARE ALL AWESOME MOMS!!!

Friday Fragments

♥ I finally got around to coloring my hair again. I have had just about every color and style you can think of.

◄ Here's me last week.

Here's me with nice dark brown hair. ►

♥ I plan on doing some very very red highlights on top of this.....tune in TOMORROW for the results!!

♥ And did you notice JC has a pacifier?!? I think we may have found one he likes! Ah the quiet! The boy is by no means starving to death, and his little fingers are getting raw because he found out how to cram ALL of them in his mouth at the same time. He just needs to suck...and I am NOT a pacifier ;)

♥ AM managed to cut her foot on dry rice. Yeah, I know...huh? She stoop atop a large Tupperware container to (unbeknown to me) grab a snack for school. The container slipped, tipped, and popped open. She slid off into the dry rice and somehow one grain embedded itself in the bottom of her foot. After bandaids and hugs, she sucked it up pretty well and we were only 5 minutes late for school.

♥ We have missed SO many of PM's OT in-town appointments this month due to weather (still have home visits as well). We finally went Wednesday and she did really well. We are scheduled to see the PT in two weeks (they've only been seeing her every few months as they are happy with our homework!). We will talk about possibly new AFO's soon and maybe one more round of CIT.

♥ A friend from church had a baby Monday!! I'm making her a carseat cover. I'll post pics later. I am considering opening an Etsy shop for the covers, bibs, blankets, etc. Any input Etsy entrepreneurs??

♥MD is reading!!! He sounds out each letter and can read words I know he doesn't recognize. He's so smart! Kindergarden is going to be so fun for him next year!!

♥I am SUPER excited to be a contributor to Kel & Cammie's Girls With Books blog. I will be picking out my first few books this weekend. Please come by and follow!!

There are more Friday Fragments at Half Past Kissin' Time!

A Thousand Words Thursday - kisses

See more photos worth a thousand words ~ Cheaper Than Therapy

I was able to sneak the little two kids downstairs into the studio for a quick shoot. Daddy works nights and sleeps in the guest bedroom right next to the studio room. I was shushing (is that a word?) PM the whole time. 2-yr-olds have no concept of LOUD. We managed to get a few in without waking Daddy up. I posted one of JC alone HERE. Here's a great one for today:

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Question of the day: Are you a groomer??

I'm sitting on the couch having put the other kids to bed, nursing JC. I'm also picking wax from his ear. I mess around with his hair and note to myself to scrub his head again well tomorrow. Earlier MD was sitting by me and I started looking at his nails. I broke out the nail clippers ASAP. PM's pigtails part in just such a way that I can see her scalp is dry and I dab some baby lotion on. I feel like a mama monkey grooming her young. I'm always looking at their skin, their scalp, their ears. I suppose I'm just being attentive (retentive perhaps?). Do you constantly groom your kids?? Do they get tired of it?

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Don't forget to check out Girls With Books!!

Wordless Wednesday - Joy

I'm participating in I ♥ Faces photo contest - the week's theme is Joy. What says joy better than a boy and his daddy :)

Totally Talented & Tempt My Tummy - Piper & More Soup

For Totally Talented Tuesday I must nominate PM. She did something last night that I found totally awesome. She got undressed. OK, I know for all you moms of 2 1/2 year olds this is no big deal, in fact you've probably been trying to keep them from continuing to do it. The thing is, as most of you know, PM has hemiplegic CP. Her right side doesn't work very well for her. The fact that she managed not only to unzip and strip, but to unfasten a diaper was WAY cool. We have been working for quite some time on the dressing and undressing. She still can't push her right arm through a long sleeve or coat without major assistance. So I say GO GIRL!! Way to take your clothes off! You can guarantee that I WILL NOT be saying that to you later in life. I hope.... Check out more great talent at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House.

on to Yummier things...

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

This recipe came direct from an Indian cuisine kitchen, I call it my husband's, but I made it myself last week and it is soooooo gooood. It's more involved than most of the recipes I like, but well worth it:

Curried Carrot Soup

1 lg onion, chopped

4 tbsp sesame oil (very important for flavor!)

4-4 1/2 c. vegetable broth

4-5 med carrots, grated (1 3/4 c.)

1 1/2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes WITH mild green chilies

dash cayenne pepper (to taste)

sour cream (garnish)

In large saucepan, saute onion in oil. Stir in the broth, carrots, curry, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until carrots are tender.
Discard bay leaf and add tomatoes. Cool slightly. Transfer half of soup to blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Pour into soup pot or dutch oven. Repeat with remaining soup and add cream cheese. Combine with soup in pot. Heat through. Stir in salt and cayenne pepper. Serve with dollop of sour cream, garnish with chives or minced parsley.

YUM!

There are lots more tasty recipes at Blessed With Grace!

Twilight - just checking

TheMomJen at Cheaper than Therapy turned me on to this site... Twilighters Anonymous. Lots of neat quizzes and info on the books and upcoming movies. Just thought you'd like to see it - and I wanted to see if this cool little trailer pic would work..it does!! I can't say I'm totally obsessed yet, I am still a recovering Harry Potter addict, so those books are tough to out do. I DID laugh when DH's friend and his girlfriend went to see the first Twilight movie. He really thought he was in for a cool, intense vampire movie. "I was robbed!" Yep, he got high school romance with a taste of blood. Well, at least his girlfriend liked it. I thought it was only OK - I'm really hoping that with the success of the first movie they'll get a bigger budget and really kick butt with the next one.
Being I have very little time I have been listening to the audio books on my iPod while I drive or do dishes or whatever . The woman who reads is not bad (no Jim Dale - Harry Potter's book reader who actually won a Grammy for the work) but she seems to have the mood and tone I would expect Bella herself to have, so it works.
ANYWAY - until tomorrow!

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PS Our friend Kel from Girl in the Glasses and her friend Cammie are starting a new blog - Girls With Books - come on over, follow, and join the literary fun!

Not Me Monday - Reporting from..

First and foremost, I am NOT blogging from work. I would NOT waste my employer's time doing such a thing.

I also DO NOT have mustard on my scrubs from eating a sandwich.

I DID NOT attend a work party on Saturday night so there will NOT be several slightly embarassing photos floating around Facebook this weekend.

I DID NOT skip blogging most of last week to be sick, maybe your computer is broken, those posts are there...somewhere...right?

I DID NOT lose a verse of lyrics to a song at church. With such a fast (not) and modern (not) computer as the one in our tech center, there is no way I would have let the poor musician leading a song start full tilt on a verse to find himself singing solo while the rest of the congregation stared at him. How embarassing, NOT ME!

I also DID NOT let my son watch several hours of Power Puff Girls thus setting off a weird obsession at our house. I DID NOT receive several Power Puff Girl drawings from him while he sat quietly (HA!) beside me at church...where I was NOT screwing things up.

See what else everyone did NOT do with "Not ME!" Mondays at My Charming Kids.

Friday Fragment - Getting my SHT together...

Friday Fragments are nice little posts started by Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissing Time. All the stuff too small for it's own post, but too good to forget about. This week Mrs. 4444 put up a post about SHT (Stupid Human Tricks). Any of these nice little awards we give each other Mrs. 4444 has asked that we, in turn, give a little taste of our unknown talents. I sent her mine :) You can take a peek HERE! More of my talents in a minute...now I give you a few fragments:

• I made frozen pizza for the kids this week. MD ate several pieces, then later on I saw him eating the last one. I asked MD if he was still hungry. He explained: "I had heart-eyes for the last piece, so I had to eat it" - Well in that case...

• My DH's good friend and war buddy is spending the night tonight - I may have to post some of his photos tomorrow. Strangely, he has the identical laptop as I do, even the same funky-colored design on the casing. OMG, he just showed us ACTUAL photos of S. Hussein, the REAL GUY. HE was THERE when they pulled him out of the hole!! Can you imagine?!?!

• I moved our elliptical machine to a nicer spot in front of the TV in our bedroom. I'm hoping this will actually encourage us to stop hanging shirts from it and USE it!

• I have been enjoying a top shelf vodka and cranberry juice drink tonight. I think this post may be a bit disjointed...

On with the SHT I meant to post:

More AWARDS!!
From my lovely lovely friend Keri and my lovely lovely friend the RaMbLeR ...

The Honest Scrap Award

The honorees are to: a) first list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! B) pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap, whose blogs you find brilliant in design or content.
So here are ten things:

1) I have 4 kids, 2 girls who had birth injuries, 2 boys who did not. I have also had a miscarriage in between.

2) I dated my DH for 5 years before we were married.

3) I prefer salty snacks unless I'm pregnant, then it's all about the sugar.

4) I never had to diet until all these kids came. I'd like to lose the pants sizes and keep the cup sizes.

5) I've breastfed all of my kids at least 15 mos. I love the nurturing, but also I'm too cheap to purchase all that formula.

6) I do not shower every single day, more like every other.

7) My best friend has been the same one since 5th grade when we met.

8) 3 out of 4 of my kids were born on the 17th of a month, the last was due then, but I didn't make it that far.

9) I have not heard from or seen my birth father since I was 5, I consider my step-dad my real father and have a good relationship with him.

10) I am done having my own kids (unless we win the lottery soon) but am totally looking into being a surrogate.

Now for the "award" part where I pass this on to those I feel really deserve this award. Please don't feel offended if I do not mention you here, I mean it's only 7 and I really feel you all are fantastic!! Also, I re-gift, so even if you have this award, you don't have it from me!!

RaMbLeR @ The RaMbLeR, Keri @ It Flickers Dimly, Kel @ Girl In The Glasses, Jen @ Life Is Chaos, Give Me More, Abby @ Me and My Boys, Mrs. 4444 @ Half Past Kissing Time, Ellen @ To the Max..ooh that's already 7, I could go on!!!

on that note, you all need this
The Friendship Award

an to all you lovey people who have posted a comment or two, come back again, I think this award is meant to be shared often!! Your turn is next!

Oh, yeah, SHT....

I have one more little "talent". My DH hates it and I can't do this in front of him because when he was in high school he dislocated both thumbs at work and to this day has sympathy pain every time he sees it....

yes, my dis-locating thumb. Cool.

A Thousand Words Thursday - Basket Case

No, the title does not describe me this week, but good guess.

Hey, whatever makes him smile...

Yes the laundry is clean. Or was. I just couldn't carry both (pre baby sling).

Go see Jen's site, Cheaper Than Therapy, for more photos worth a thousand words!

Weekend Wrap-up Wednesday

Yes, that's right. Weekend. Last weekend. You may or may not have noticed that I have been AWOL since almost this time last week. I work every third weekend at one of the hospitals an hour's drive from home. My shift is 3 12-hour nights, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. So Friday I didn't get to post any fragments because I was busy trying to pack four kids up, launder whatever we needed for the weekend, and get myself packed as well. I have to arrange for the kids to stay somewhere as DH works nights, too. Usually he can deal with them Friday on his day off, he brings them to his parents Saturday, and Sunday morning I retrieve them and come back home to sleep while he takes over. Since the baby I've most of the time had to find an extra sitter because there are just not too many brave people that will take all 4 with JC being so little. HE gets his own place, even when daddy keeps everyone else. Same with the in-laws. Apparently moms are the only ones who are allowed to completely exhaust themselves watching 4 kids all alone while most couples won't do more than 3 big kids OR one little one...

ANYWAY, JC and I left for work Friday night after packing the kids for tomorrow's overnight adventure (also falls under the "only moms can do" category I guess). I work in the birthing center and it was a busy, but not totally out of hand, night. I truly do have a wonderful job. One that makes you really experience the highs and lows of life. If you have ever scrolled to the bottom of my blog, there is a banner for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, an organization that I participate in. I did not have any calls this weekend, but the threat is always there. If you are not familiar, NILMDTS is a non-profit organization that provides bereavement photos at no charge to families that have lost an infant or child. It is a wonderful group and I highly recommend donating if it is something you can do. The sessions can be very sad. Devastating. I seem to be able to handle that stuff. But like I said, they didn't need me this weekend, I only got to see the good stuff. New babies, new families, happy crying macho fathers and ecstatic mother-in-laws. The good stuff. I really do like my job. I think it's a job I'd still want to do even if we won the lottery.

SO I went to collect JC in the morning and I felt really COLD, I assumed because I was so tired because it was the first night. When I got to my friend's, she let me nap a bit and I just couldn't warm up. That's when I knew I was coming down with something. I went from freezing to feverish (101.2) so she gave me some drugs and I started to feel better. So much better, in fact, that I thought Taco John's was a good idea for lunch....NOT. Threw that up a few hours later. Note to self: when feeling ill DO NOT eat at a Mexican restaurant. Ever. Spicy is bad. Especially twice. Too long story short, I was sick, I called in sick to work. During that time it appears that everyone in the state came in to deliver a baby. We should be out of pregnant women for a few weeks. I watched 27 Dresses for the first time and let my other friend watch JC while I was lying miserably on her couch. This all worked out nicely (for me anyway, not so much for my poor co-workers), my friend watched the baby and my in-laws had the other 3. I am pretty certain that this was the first time in 7 years that I was allowed to just be sick. Sadly, it was great, if you like being in the bathroom alone (every 15 minutes).

I collected the rest of the kids Sunday morning and went home, my butt dragging like I had actually just worked the last shift and not slept most of it. DH let me sleep in the afternoon and I decided that although not 100% I'd give it a go at work. So I packed up JC again and headed out. About 7 minutes out of town I ran across some pretty large snow drifts and slid right into the ditch. Of course. I feel like an idiot. I knew as soon and I hit that there was not way we were backing out alone. I called my friend's hubby, a farmer, who has the big stuff. He got me out, I made several calls, and I got to work late. Busy night, my temp stayed around 99.5, blah blah blah, new babies, I made it through the night. Home.

Mostly I've just been trying to catch up. The house work fairy did not visit, so besides sleep and health, there is a lot of cleaning to catch up on as well. So my dear friends, I have neglected you all week, but I have returned. Slightly sleepy and grumpy, but at my keyboard. I will be visiting you all and catching up, so keep an eye out for week-old new comments!!!

A Thousand Words Thursday - my boys

It still feels funny to say that. The boys, my boys. I have two of them. It's growing on me! I have no terribly profound photos this week, just some everyday fun.
Here's MD wearing daddy's glasses.

Here's JC just being cute, and happy.

You can see more A Thousand Words Thursday, photos worth a thousand words, at Cheaper Than Therapy.
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I also wanted to mention I have made my first baby sling. I've tried several store-bought slings that are just uncomfortable and don't fit correctly (I'm 5'1"). Baby usually ended up swinging around below my hip and my shoulder would hurt. I wanted to give baby-wearing a go (again) because this little guy is really needy and with 3 others I have a hard time just carrying him on my hip. I found a great Baby Sling Patten for free and used stretchy fleece. I L-O-V-E it!! Baby wearing will be SO much easier with this. It's snug, above my waist where it belongs, and I actually feel free to do my thing without constantly steadying JC with my other hand. The shoulder part is wide and really disperses his weight so my back and neck feel fine. He's getting used to it, I wore him most of this evening. I will for sure be bringing this to the mall next time I go. I'll post a pic tomorrow!

~UPDATE~

Us and the sling - it's reversable chocolate brown & baby blue fleece

Wordless Wednesday - "New"

The Thematic Photographic theme at Written Inc. this week (until tonight) is "new". My mind, of course, immediately goes to our newest...this is us, JC is about a week old here.

There are also more Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes for Mom.
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I also never posted my photo tag picture...I was tagged by Abby at Me and My Boys . This is my DH and AM this fall just before a ride around the block. DH bought this cycle right after he got home from his deployment from his 1st Sgt, who bought a new one. In turn DH sold his car to another guy in his unit. I think they had lots of time to plan all this before they came home.

Here are the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

It seems this tag is spreading like wild fire, so I had to find people it appears have not already participated...I want to tag:

Jen @ Life is Chaos, Give Me More

Keri @ It Flickers Dimly

Kel @ Girl in the Glasses

You - the one I didn't mention...I hate tagging people I'm not sure want to play, so YOU, you want to play right?

Thanks for playing - if you don't get to it, no big deal! I just like peeking at other people's pictures!!

Totally Talented & Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Artists & Apples

Time got away from me today. I had two different people call me that took up a majority of my time. I got a call first from a gentleman down the street. He's 87. He likes history, and the history of our little town. He talked my ear off for 72 minutes with minimal grunts from me, then at the very end let me know he needs some photos done sometime soon. He ended every sentence with "are you getting this" or "and so on" or, my favorite, "now are you catching on?" as if the stories he's telling me had some ongoing conspiracy I am now privy to. THEN some other guy, who isn't nearly as old or as cute just for being old, called to ask about photo stuff. My DH knew who it was, knew what I was in for, and snickered while handing me the phone. What kills me about this guy is that he wants to talk "shop" about photography but he really just very lonely and not much of a photographer. He's a really nice guy, both are, but my ear was getting sweaty and my neck hurt. I can't be mean. I really want to stop publishing my phone number....would that work for a business. I feel obligated to allow these people to monopolize my time, this is such a small town that I'd end up burning more bridges than I care to. And people around here remember. Everything. For. Ever. Any suggestions for getting these people off the phone?????

But I digress.... Today is Totally Talented Tuesday. This week I bring you my 7-year-old's artwork. And her sense of humor. If you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she wants to be an archaeologist. She also wants to be an artist and a photographer. I told her she could actually do all of that. She's totally pumped to go to college. I hope it lasts.

Here's AM painting her Egyptian Sarcophagus box. She found the idea in a kids Egyptian book.
Then she decided she needed a moustache. Love it.

There are talents abounding at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House!

And then there is, of course, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays.

I just made this the other day and pretty much ate it all myself. I'll make more, to be sure:

Apple Dip

8oz (1 pkg) cream cheese, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1c sugar (part brown, part white sugar to your taste)

1 pkg Heath Toffee bits w/ chocolate (It's just as good w/ half and a bit cheaper!)

Mix in resealable bowl, serve with apple quarters.

I usually give up on the apples and start in on it with a spoon. This ultimately requires an intervention by my husband. YUM! There are more tempting recipes at Blessed With Grace.

Not Me Monday - Another Snow Day

It's Monday AND a snow day...once again. We seem to get hit every other weekend with another storm! Will the snow and cold ever end?? Oh yeah, in April perhaps. ANYWAY, it's "Not Me!" Monday, a chance to NOT admit to all those little things you'd never do, and certainly did NOT do this week. You can see what else was NOT going on at My Charming Kids.

I DID NOT crash the hotel room DH stayed in Saturday night. Especially not since he worked all night and wouldn't be in until 2am. Not me!

I DID NOT bring an expensive camera down to the pool (in the hotel we did not go to) just to take pictures of the kids. Not me!

These pictures DO NOT exist...

I DID NOT give AM an ice bucket to hold when she felt like puking. That would be gross and unsanitary...not me! (I wonder how often those get cleaned.)

and to top it all off...

I DID NOT meet a client and talk with her for an hour, say good bye, then look down to see the 50+ stickers PM stuck to the front of my shirt earlier that morning. That would be totally embarrassing...not me!!

Things I've been meaning to do...

I have received these fantastic little recognitions...and I have been meaning to give them away. Today is the day. The first, and my first as well, is this lovely Lemonade Award, given to me by the RaMbLeR. I am now to make sure you all give her a little love and then pass it on to ten others...
So come and get it:

<a href="http://fraasefamily.blogspot.com/2009/01/things-ive-been-meaning-to-do.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Lemonade Award" src="http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq208/affectionatelyyoursphoto/lemonadeaward.png"/></a>

Back to you RaMbLeR at the RaMbLe Room
To get you started - Sherrie at Syverson Saga
I know you just received one, but for the comment love Keri at It Flickers Dimly
For all the comment love:

Jen at Life Is Chaos, Give Me More!

Abby at Me and My Boys!

Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time

Ellen at To The Max
Brooks at Babbling Brooks
Dee at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House
Kel at Girl in the Glasses

And because you are all such beautiful people, I want to share this award with you... (sort of a two for one)

Also given to me by the RaMbLeR:

<a href="http://fraasefamily.blogspot.com/2009/01/things-ive-been-meaning-to-do.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq208/affectionatelyyoursphoto/beautiful_blog_award180.png"/></a>

Take them and spread the love!! You guys deserve it!!

Friday Fragments

Here we are, the end of another week. I can't believe its January already...and 2009! Friday brings Fragments, all the stuff too short for it's own post, too good not to mention. You can read all sorts of Fragments here, at Half Past Kissing Time.....

• AM is home this morning, feeling pukey, but she may get a ticket to afternoon school if she is still feeling OK


• I had MD eat, get dressed and put on his boots (all the while I'm chanting "lets go, lets go") just to realize he does not, nor has he ever had pre-school on Fridays


• I have had such a good time talking with the RaMbLeR this week...its amazing all the stuff we have in common!!! Google chat is totally cool. (And for the record, RaMbLeR, I've talked to you more than my DH this week, he's not home until Sunday)


• I have a date tonight with a gal from work, we both finished Twilight and are going to see the show!! A real night out!! With a real live adult!! I'm excited. Now to find a babysitter. I originally planned this outing thinking DH was home to watch the kids, not knowing he had National Guards all week.


• I told a few people, but MD's preschool pointed out to me that he figured out how to spell "B-O-O-B-E-S" on the white board. And then drew a picture of them! I have an early reader on my hands, and apparently he's just like his dad.
• His two teachers are also breast feeding advocates, and were just loving it when MD told he other kids (in an exasperated "well, duh!" tone) "don't you know everyone is breast fed?" I guess in his world they are!!


• I have a client coming to the (disaster) house to look at proofs at noon-thirty, yet here I sit blogging instead of cleaning. Yes, its an addiction!

I guess I'd better get to cleaning. I want my hubby to see all the work I can get done while he's gone. Proof that one CAN in fact watch 4 kids and still maintain a house (hint hint). It's nice when the TV is off during the day, but talking him out of it all together would be a challenge. I'd miss TLC, FoodNetwork, & Discovery Network more than anything, I suppose. I know some of you out there already do not have TV in the house, for those that do - would you be able to get rid of it??

A Thousand Words Thursday

For this Thousand Word Thursday I have decided to include most of the words that went along with this series of photos. Jen at Cheaper Than Therapy has even more pictures to see worth a thousand words. Background: Quite some time ago my mom dropped off a box of my childhood Barbies. AM had no interest, but now PM is totally into them. Only they're not Barbies, they're all "princess" and the lone Ken in this sea of women is only known as Daddy. Here's today's drama acted out the 2-year-old..

Players: Princess Blue (pronounced beeew), Princess Yellow (pronounced yeddow), Daddy

Daddy: You have blue dress

Princess Blue: Yeah

Daddy turns to the blonde, who is obviously trying to monopolize the conversation.

Daddy: What goin on?

The blonde stares demurely.

Daddy: You have yellow dress

Princess Yellow: Yeah

Daddy: You like it yellow dress?

Princess: Yeah

The brunette can see this witty blonde is no match for her in the tiny and very low cut party dress. She decided to take action before she loses Ken forever...

Suddenly the blonde plummets off the cliff (couch)

Princess Yellow: (falling) Aahhhhh! (from the floor) Oopies!

The brunette is now thinking, darn that woman! I can't even shut her up at the bottom of a cliff...but I can't let Daddy know it was me



Princess Blue:(in concern) OK? Princess? OK?

Daddy:OK?

Princess Yellow:(from the floor) Help me! Help me Daddy!

Daddy:OK!

Princess Blue is now tossed aside to rescue the damsel in distress. She knows it's probably over with Daddy.


Daddy manages to haul the blonde back up from the bottom of the cliff.

Still longing for affection, the brunette gets to her feet. But just as soon as she's up, Daddy passes out inexplicably. She always knew he was a wimp.

The girls stare at each other for what seems like an eternity. The brunette has her doubts that Daddy is really unconscious, the blonde's dress is awfully short, this could just be a better vantage point. The two girls decide to make amends.
There is some unintelligible whispering, probably something to the effect of "sorry for pushing you off the cliff - you can have him"

Princess Yellow: Let's dance!! (She starts dancing like a drunk girl at a frat kegger.)

Princess Blue:OK! (joins in)

At this point Daddy, no opportunity wasted, pops up to join the dancing.

So are the days of our lives....

Awesome Giveaways...

There are so many cool giveaways right now, I HAVE to tell you about them. THEN you need to get that cute rear end of yours over to those blogs and sign yourself up!!

Dee at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House has some cool goodies. The Pop-A-Tot looks super cool, like a camping chair for babies! There are also the neat pieces from A Passion for Pendants by HotWyre Jewelry - even a photo pendant, which is the giveaway!! They are made from real Scrabble pieces and are very cute! (UPDATE - the poor woman running her shop had a family emergency & temporarily closed!) Then there is the Diaper Case from Hiccup they also have matching burp rags, and my favorite - nursing cover-ups!

The Mom Jen over at Therapeutic Reviews has a cool giveaway, too. Birthday in a Box has tons of B-day themes for all ages, sorted by themes so you can get everthing you need to have the best bash ever!!

Also, don't forget to wish Brooks a HAPPY BIRTHDAY some time before Monday and she may choose your name to make you a little somethin'.