A Thousand Words Thursday - Primal Scream?

Dig out all those photos worth a thousand words and share them with us!! Join the fun at Cheaper Than Therapy!

I did a mini session after the elementary spring concert to benefit Destination Imagination. I set up a nice background and a single light. I wore JC on my back the whole time. PM couldn't be left out.

I get a little restless..

So if you've visited once in a while, you've seen my backgrounds change time to time. Mostly I like to play with all this stuff, and I've held out as long as I could. I figured with my "blogoversary" I would roll out a new background. I'm also stretching my legs and extending to the edges of the page...ahhhh. SO, what do you think? :)

And yes, mom, those are leg warmers. No, I don't think they're girly. I think they're cute.

I Heart Faces - Reflection

Here's my rockstar in a moment of reflection. I thought about editing out the studio junk in the background, but I think it feels more "behind the scenes" by leaving it in.

Go to I ♥ Faces to see more "Reflections"!

Mini-Blogoversary Winners..

Hey, I only gave you overnight - so thanks to those who caught on! You were to find my fourth born's birthday AND let me know in the comments what you like to drink with your cookies!

SO...

JC was born on September 12, 2008. (I posted on the 14th.)
AND my favorite thing to have with cookies is MILK, until I learned how good a nice Gewürztraminer-Reisling wine is with them... mmm wine....

Um, anyway, the winner is........... Anissa!!

I'll e-mail you and let you know! Congrats!

SO, if you didn't get a chance to enter, you still have time to get in on the Custom Photo Pendant giveaway. Click HERE to read and enter. And don't forget to check out these:

It's my Blogoversary - and the gift is for you!!

For one year I have talked about my kids and posted tons of photos. AND now, as a way of saying THANKS FOR READING, I want to send you a gift. Well, one of you anyway! Here's all you have to do. Check out this blog and tell me:

When was my fourth child born?

It's here, somewhere!

THEN just e-mail me the answer (find my e-mail, don't comment the answer!) AND please do comment here as to what your favorite thing to drink with cookies is!!

Easy, right?

In return I'll send you THIS:



REALLY! That's all you have to do! You have until 4/26 at 8:00 am CDT!!! So start digging!!

Want the chance to win a Custom Photo Pendant, too?? ENTER HERE until 5/1!

Saturday Social - 8 Things Tag!

Welcome to Saturday! I was tagged by Angela at Nine More Months.



8 Things I am looking forward to:

1. Warm weather

2. Visiting my parents in WA

3. Visiting my crazy relatives in WI

4. The baby sleeping through the night

5. MD in full day kindergarden

6. My husband returning from duty w/ National Gaurd



8 Things I did yesterday:

(maybe this should be did NOT do, I have a whole list of those..)

1. Made muffins for kids' breakfast (yay mom!)

2. Got my monthly visitor for the first time in 16 months.. ooh sorry, TMI!!!

3. Danced the baby to sleep at nap time

4. Walked all the kids to school to pick up Aria and let them play in the park

5. Laundry

6. Supper

7. Blog

8. Photos



8 Things I wish I could do:

1. Cure sick kids...

2. Win the lottery

3. Lose that baby weight (I'm sticking with blaming it on babies!)

4. Remember to send birthday cards on time

5. Cook better, and like doing it

6. Plumbing and Electrical

7. Drink all the regular Coke I wanted without consequence

8. Comment on all the blogs I follow every single day!!



8 Shows I watch:

1. House

2. Lie to Me

3. Always Sunny In Philidelphia

4. Grey's Anatomy

5. The Office

6. I will miss Boston Legal!

7. Medium

8. 30 Rock





8 People I'm Tagging: Anyone out there who wants to play. Hey, no pressure!! It's just fun to get to know you all!! Enjoy!

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments, all the stuff too good not to post, too little for it's own post. So I managed to cram it all in today instead. Thank to Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissin Time, where there are more Fragments to be enjoyed!

↑ PM finds me in my room, "I give more cereal!!!" I find this. She's so helpful!

↑ Washcloths rock for teething. Sitting up rocks for bath time, too!

↑ PM asked for diapers for her baby, I obliged. Even dolls can go green!

↑ MD likes red peppers. A.LOT.

↑ I am SOO gonna be sorry in 8 years.

I was a bit of a photo junkie this week. Took tons of pictures. Let MD take some. Then MD dropped my camera on carpet, but still managed to damage my lens. Fortunately we have two of the same one. Still...grr...

Cleaned out the van. Removed one full bag of garbage from the back 2 rows of seats. Threw most of the stray french fries on the ground because I knew the critters would take care of them. The neighborhood cat promptly came over to help out.

It was 80 degrees or better yesterday. Hot. Nice. Today...it was barely 40 degrees. Well, summer's over folks! Hope you enjoyed it!

A Thousand Words Thursday - The Princess and the Rockstar

We all have those shots worth a thousand words, now is your chance to share them....at Cheaper Than Therapy!!

Yep, there's my girls.
I have to mention that the Princess is wearing a crown made by Melanie at Better Than Normal (oh, and she's hosting a giveaway until April 30!). We won it at Keri's CP Awareness Sweepstakes on her blog Life of Logan!! Please check out both!!

Aaannd the rockstar. Actually, she wants to be an archaeologist, but front a band on the weekends. Works for me!
She's the coolest first grader I know.

Wordless Wednesday - Warmer Weather

More wordless Wednesday posts from other moms can be found at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Three Weeks Ago...

...it looked like this. I'm posting this little bit of winter for Written Inc's Thematic Photographic. The theme this week is "floral", but it these parts flora is pretty scarce right now. I DID see a few tulip fronds peeking up from the garden, so soon spring will truly be here!!

Orange For Stellan

Please pray for Stellan & his family. As I type this he is in surgery! Pray for the skill and wisdom of his doctors and peace for his family!

Totally Talented Tuesday - P.O.V.

This Totally Talented Tuesday will be the last as Dee at Two of A Kind, Working on a Full House has decided to put it into retirement! Please drop by her site and let he know how much we've appreciated Tuesdays full of Talent!!

Today I wanted to share 5-year-old MD's photos. He decided to get a few shots of the yard now that the snow is gone.

I really like this one...

And he takes a pretty good picture of his mom from the back seat of the van...

Please stop by Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House to see more talent of all kinds!!

Blogoversary Giveaway!

~~~ CONTEST CLOSED - WINNER ANNOUNCED 5/4/09! ~~~

Here it is, the week of my "Blogoversary"! You can read my very first post HERE. I started this blog to journal about my kids & family. It's been a great way to meet new people, some who are going through similar experiences, some who already have, and some who soon will. I've cried and laughed reading stories from around the world, and close to home. My heart is full. Being a mostly-SAHM this year has really not seemed too secluded when I get to know all of you.

I was moved to help out one new friend in particular. I found a way to do something special...
I made a special pendant just for Cole, a beautiful little boy who has cerebral palsy. You can go to Cole's blog and read all about him HERE. I've gotten to know his mom and we admittedly chat more often lately than I've been able to with my own husband (who is on duty with the national guard). She has really helped me keep my sanity!! When you purchase COLE's pendant from my shop, $4 goes to his Special Care School fund! He & his family need our help to keep him there where SO much good is being done! Any family with a disabled child knows that it can be difficult sometimes to finance all the special care and equiment they need. This is a way we can all help AND get a totally cute pendant too! As a bonus, if you ask me I will, at no extra charge, personalize the pendant with YOUR CHILD's name!

<img border="0" alt="Cole‘s Pendants" src="http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/qq208/affectionatelyyoursphoto/coletiles160.jpg" />

I also offer a Ducky pendant in honor of sweet angel CAROLINE. $4 for each of her pendants goes to Make-A-Wish!

To really express my thanks to all of you out there, I am offering a giveaway that I think you'll really like. AND, it's just in time for Mother's day! I've started an Etsy shop and my specialty is personalized photo pendants. Here's an example...

I will be offering this pendant TO YOU with YOUR choice of photo AND A CHAIN! The contest ends 11:59 PM CDT on May 1, 2009.

Rules:

Leave each entry in it's own comment to be counted accurately!
First, please visit my ETSY SHOP HERE (http://affectionatelyyours.etsy.com/) and tell me one OTHER pendant you really like. :) This must be your first entry.

Extra Entries:

Follow me on my blog and leave a comment letting me know you have. If you already follow me, leave a comment saying so!

Follow me on Twitter AND Tweet this giveaway. Make sure you do both, then leave a comment with the link to the tweet.You may tweet once a day during the giveaway for one exra entry. Don't forget to comment!

Grab my button and display it on your site! Leave a comment to let me know where to find it!

For TWO extra entries, add the Cole's Pendants button to your sidebar and leave a comment x2 telling me where to find it.

For THREE extra entries, link this giveaway in a post on YOUR blog! Leave a comment x3 with a link to the post you've created.

For THREE extra entries, purchase something from my shop, leave me a comment x3 (this is for your entire purchase, not each item purchased!!).

For FIVE extra entries purchase a COLE or CAROLINE tile from my shop, leave a comment x5 (this is for your entire purchase, not each item purchased!!).

Good luck and thanks for playing!!

What Celebrity do you most look like???

And lastly, my boy who apparently looks like a girl...

Translate - Re-Translate FAIL

I just found these while digging up some info on SmartMom's "Teething Bling". They are really cute pieces of jewelry completely intended for baby to chew on. It's non-toxic, phthalate, BPA, PVC and lead free. I will be purchasing soon... But I digress.

While googling all that I came across the same article. The original (I assume) is Celebrity Baby. The second is on a Latin Celebrities site, and I am kind of guessing they used an online translator machine. Once to translate to Spanish, once to translate back to English so I can read it. Here's what happened:

Celebrity Baby:

How many times have you been at an appointment just wishing for one minute of peace from your teething baby so you can hear what the doctor is saying? Amazing teething jewelry from Smart Mom and Dr. Bloom are just what you need to get a word in edgewise the next time you need a moment (or ten!) of quiet from the wee teething one.

Latin Celebrity:

How many modern times have she been at an ordinance just velleity for one minute of amity from you precocious dentition blue baby so she can hear what the intern is saying? amazing precocious dentition bangle from smart mom and Dr. bloom are just what she want to get a hyponym in edgewise the next time you want a moment (or ten!) of quiet from the wee teething monad.

The wee teething monad? I'm totally going to start calling JC that. Was this translator from Scotland somewhere? I love that in re-translation the doctor was downgraded to intern. Wait, it gets better....

CB:

Every time I wear my pretty Brown Snowflake Donut Teething Necklace from Smart Mom Jewelry, my daughter chomps away happily and I use the time to have a conversation with a pal, eat a meal without interruptions, or, heck, just sit and enjoy a moment where I’m not the entertainer!

LC:

every time I wear she pretty brown snowflake raised doughnut precocious dentition chain from smart mom jewelry, you mother’s daughter chomps away happily and I development the time to have a talk with a cobber, pick up a square meal without interruptions, or, heck, just roost and devour a eleventh hour where i’m not the entertainer!

Yum! Raised doughnuts! Um, what's a cobber? I think the person copying this little bit of the article took some liberties with that eleventh hour nosh...where she's not the entertainer. A) No teething baby should still be up at the eleventh hour B) Entertainers AT the eleventh hour are usually strippers...just sayin. Hey, strippers have babies, too!

CB:

Same goes when I’m wearing my gorgeous Rectangle Plum Necklace from Dr. Bloom’s. Even my son has benefited from the useful baby distraction — he got to enjoy a local story time and my daughter enjoyed… well… a local chewing time, if you will.
These lovely, chewy jewelry pieces are a brilliant solution for moms on the go. There’s nothing to pack, since you just wear whatever pretty necklace or bracelet happens to match your wardrobe (and let me tell you, people are shocked when they find out these pieces are for chewing – they look like elegant stone pendants) and you’re all set.

LC:

Same goes when i’m deflation we gorgeous square wild plum string from dr. bloom’s. guest night he son has benefited from the useful war baby distraction — she got to feast one’s eyes a local story time and we daughter enjoyed… well… a local chomping time, if he will.
These lovely, chewy pin pieces are a brilliant infusion for moms on the go. there’s nothing to pack, since they just wear whatever pretty strand or bracelet happens to safety match he clothes closet (and let me tell you, business are shocked when you find out these pieces are for chewing – they spark like elegant stone pendants) and you’re all pair.

I'm really at a loss. Too funny. I'm in deflation. War baby? Chewy pin pieces? The article is turning to gibberish.

CB:

Both are free from harmful chemicals and are safe for babies to chew on. Dr. Bloom’s are even dentist-created and endorsed while Smart Mom necklaces come with a breakaway safety clasp. And both companies donate a portion of their proceeds to children’s charities. You can’t go wrong.
There’s a necklace or bracelet style to appeal to every mom. Find yours and enjoy the peace. You can thank me later.
– Stephanie

LC:

Both are free from harmful chemicals and are safe for babies to chew on. dr. bloom’s are guest night periodontist-created and endorsed while smart mom necklaces come with a breakaway safety clasp. And both companies pledge a substance of we economic rent to children’s charities. we can’t go wrong.
there’s a string or bracelet drape to adjuration to every mom. find yours and enjoy the peace. they can recognize me later.
– stephanie

What's with guest night, am I missing something? I wonder how much their economic rent will cost the children's charities? I guess Stephanie wrote both of these. I wonder if she's aware.... She probably won't be able to recognize herself later.
OH, and the BEST PART:

Spelling shows off her Smart Mom necklace

Tori misspelling shows off her smart mom collar

Fragment Friday - Visits and stuff

Fragment Friday - all the stuff too good not to mention. See lots of other fragments at Half Past Kissin' Time!

• My cousin brought her kiddos over on their way back to Wisconsin. These are all the current "great-grands", and they're all ours. We have tons of cousins, older and younger, but so far she and I are the only two providing Grandma with any greats! The funny thing is some of our cousins are younger than our own kids. We had a good time and I wish they could have stayed a few days instead of a few hours. Maybe this summer....
• I made lentil stew and it was super yummy. Well, if you ask me it was. Don't ask the kids.
• My house is still a mess, what else is new.
• I have made good on my threats - before Daddy gets back PM will be potty trained and JC will have teeth. PM has only worn 2 diapers (night time) in the last 2 days and I have not cleaned up one accident. Let me rephrase that, I had not NEEDED to clean up any accidents. Poop included.
• MDx's school has been closed for the last several days due to the town being nearly underwater. I truly hope they get up and running again soon. MAN can 5-year-olds TALK!! I remember being concerned that he wasn't.....
• I like booking weddings for the summer. So far I have only two, but I tend to get a few last-minute ones as well.
• I am this close <------> (see?!) to buying my first stash of cloth diapers. Any input from you cloth mommys would be appreciated :)

Thousand Word Thursday - Ignore the kitchen

Show off your photos worth a thousand words. Go to Cheaper Than Therapy to see more!

My sweet baby boy. Please disregard the cupboards hanging open and the breakfast stuff still on the counter. I was enjoying the kids instead. It reminds me of a poem MckMama posted a while back. In light of all the sad circumstances lately in the blogosphere, I hope you, too, are ignoring the dishes once in a while and soaking up the baby goodness!

Hope for PM

I was truly lifted today. A sweet girl named Molly messaged me on YouTube about videos of PM and that she herself also has hemiplegic CP. Sometimes I think about what PM will be like in school, or as an adult. I wonder if she will be made fun of, if she'll be excluded, hurt. It breaks my heart to think there will be those times, but even regular old kids have those times. I just hope that she will have the right attitude and support to get through it all. Molly mentioned that the Miss Iowa 2008 had CP. I didn't even know! SO I dug around and found this video. If this lovely young woman can compete in Miss America, certainly PM can. PM is such a princess already, I can see this being something she would aspire to!

I wanted to post this, and say THANKS to Molly for giving me a little encouragement that PM truly can do it all. I hope that PM will have Molly's spirit, actually I know she will.

My Kids are Stinkin Hilarious - Totally Talented Tuesday

My kids give me a good laugh. I nearly wet myself Saturday. I said nearly. We went to Pizza Hut to cash in on our free personal pizza inventory (Yay BookIt!!). After AM was done, she went to scope out the quarter-crap-machines by the door as the rest of us finished our lunch. She comes back with a plastic egg and tosses it to MD.

"I had to spend three quarters for this. It's a MOOstache for MD." I help them open it to discover a teardrop shaped piece of plush with a sticky back. What a racket, three quarters for THIS?? I help him apply it to his chin, telling him is was a "soul patch". It actually looked pretty good, and matched (sorta) his hair color. As I clean up the table, I overhear the two talking. AM is instructing him on the care of his MOOstache.

"It's made from a cow, so it's a MOOstache."

"And you have to keep your food off of it" she brushes some crumbs away. With her hands still on his shoulders she looks him in the eye, "And, MD, when you swim you have to keep it dry, so you have to swim like this..." she doggy paddles furiously and sticks her chin way in the air to keep it out of the water. She has several other tips for him, but I can't really hear anymore with all my snickering and snorting.

I am dying! She is so absolutely serious about the maintenance of his MOOstache (and she keeps saying MOOstache) I am in tears. It was SO worth the seventy five cents.

Have some talent in the family? Do your kids make you laugh? Go to Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House and share!!

A Thousand Words Thursday - Checklist

Why I hope my kids' friends never google them. Eh, who am I kidding, they will. Enjoy...

Winter hat - check
Big Girl underpants - check
Map drawn on belly - check
Dora backpack - check
Shirt in washer - check
Pants, too big - gone
I'm ready for pizza.

A Thousand Word Thursday is hosted by TheMomJen at Cheaper Than Therapy. Check out lots of other pictures there!!

Totally Talented - Etsy is here!

Totally Talented Tuesday is hosted by Dee at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House. See what undiscovered talents lie HERE!!

FINALLY I've set up shop at Etsy and put a few items in. I have more to list and if you want something specific, please feel free to contact me! SO I feel I'm entitled to this week's Totally Talented Tuesday nomination!!

Chef Hats and Apron sets!

Also Cole's and Caroline's fundraiser pendants are available!! I don't have my chains for the pendants available yet (they're on their way!) but soon! Come check it out! Click the header below...

Friday Fragments

It's time once again to clear the week of all those little bits of info you really wanted to share, but just couldn't fit them in somewhere else! See other's Friday Fragments at Half Past Kissin Time!

• My husband has been gone for a week now with the National Guard in Fargo doing the flood fight. I think I've spoken with him 3 times. He says he may be able to come home as early as Sunday...let's hope! By the time he gets home: the 2-year-old will be potty trained, the baby will have sprouted his first 2 teeth!


• JC's bottom teeth are threatening to break through any day. In the mean time he chomps furiously on anything he can get near his mouth!


• I plan on travelling to a funeral tomorrow for a good friend tomorrow. Keep us in your thoughts as I'm not sure all the roads are very clear. I heard one area I need to use was upgraded from closed to single lane open (with water on each side!)
  
• Although the circumstances are not ideal, I am looking forward to spending time with my BFF as we travel to the funeral. I miss her!
  
• Please continue to pray for Stellan and his family!!

• I REEEAALLLY like cottage-style bacon, our neighbor dropped off a big package of it for us!! Guess what we had for dinner last night....

• Sewing like crazy - Etsy is almost ready. I made some super cute children's apron/chef hat sets! I just want to have something ready to go!! The Scrabble Tile Pendants are SO cute, I can't wait for everyone to see them!!! Ok, here's a peek..

^ One of my fave's! But they aren't all for me...

^ This one will be sold to benefit our friend Cole's Special Care School fund.

^ This one will be sold in honor of Caroline Vetter and procedes will go to Make-A-Wish, a foundation that was so good to her family!