Surprise was a bit sidetracked

Last night was my kidnapping. It was almost successful, too! Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. They DID kidnap me, but I found out. Again. hehe
Last year I refused to shower and get ready, Donnie said he wanted to take me to a movie, but I decided I didn't want to go out. So he had to ORDER me to do it and I figured it out. So this year he wasn't going to even hint about going anywhere or anything. Smart move. I had no idea it would be last night. Of course I KNEW it was coming, just not when.

In a strange twist I had a guy coming to look at our van to possibly buy it. So I asked Donnie if he would be home about 5:30-6ish. And he asked why and I said "Because that's when he's coming." I'm not sure what he heard there but he asked "How did you know?" I'm thinking How did I know he is coming or when he would be home? Well, he must be asking how I knew when he'd be home, because obviously I'd know when the guy said he was coming over. So I said "You drove mom to work and she gets off at 4:30, so you should be home around 5:30." and he said "No, how did you know they are coming to get you?" "He isn't coming to get me, he's coming to look at the van............ OH!!" And then I started cracking up! Yep, he spilled the beans, again!
At least I got to get prettied up first! I was going to cover his butt and tell them I was dressed up to go to a movie with Kaytlin, which I was hoping to do before I found out. But Donnie told my mom already.

We went to the Pine Loft, a nice restaurant in our town. It would be the place our kidnappings started, too. And where we overheard the infamous Sexual Addicts Anonymous group sharing, loudly in a quiet restaurant, how long they've been celibate.
So, here we are at the restaurant with Jody's new baby Kassie. I'm holding Kassie, then it is Sarah (sassyfrazz), Mom (bring your own cheese), Jeannie (I'm Losing It) and Jody (who doesn't blog but would have the funniest blog of all). We had a great time, talking and laughing.


Here is Jeannie holding Kassie in her super cute "I'm a sleeping princess" pose. We oohed and ahhed over her all night! She is a tiny little peanut! Not even 6lbs yet.

So, when I found out about the kidnapping, I had to put my surprise off until today. I wasn't going to tell Donnie, but I broke down, or more like he busted me. Just figured it out in 5 seconds flat when I asked him to think about how much he really loves me. "You want a dog!" "What? How did you get that out of loving me?" "It is, isn't it? What did you do?" How did he get that right away? I wouldn't even ask about getting a dog, but it is my dream dog at the perfect price! I can't wait to go meet him today! Because of a divorce, this cute little dog doesn't get attention often. He is loved, house trained, kennel trained, and a tiny little Shi Tzu/Pekingese dog, neutered, too. They don't want to give him away, but he often spends 17 hours in a crate. Not fair to him. The guy giving him to me is thrilled that I am a stay at home mom so he won't be crated as often. His ex stayed home before the divorce, and they just can't do it now.
I have wanted a Shi Tzu for years and years. I drool over them in the pet store windows. But I can't spend $600+ on a dog! I can't do it. I WON'T do it, I could find the money, but would never spend that. I was so thrilled to see him on freecycle, I couldn't help but inquire about him.
Later today I'll get him and put up pics. At least I will go see him, not sure I am picking him up right away or not. I need to see if he is a good dog or not.

I just may have lost my mind.

Really. And I think Donnie is going to be a touch mad at me. But I can't help it! I can't say until tomorrow for fear of death, though.
I have a little surprise happening tonight!

Revolution Money Exchange

I just wanted to let people know that even though they missed the boat on the $25, you can still sign up and earn money referring people. Yes, if you sign up I make $10. And you can put a button on your blog or send emails and make money when people sign up. It doesn't cost anything. You do have to put in your social security number, your address, etc. It is a very, very secure financial company. They have more security features than Paypal, even. I have been in it for many, many months and made almost $150, without spending a penny, and without losing my personal information. It is safe and secure. Hopefully it will replace paypal soon. Paypal has had some breaches in security, but also so many people are scamming people in emails with paypal's name. (NOT paypal)

Disney Music Block Party!

Disney is having a Block Party! Disney sent me 5 new music CD/DVD's to check out.
Barney is fun, Sesame Street is educational, but after 7 children, those kids songs get annoying with a capital A. I get tired of the same old songs I've listened to for 18 years. (yes, Barney has been around a LONG time!)
These CD's were so refreshing! One of my favorite entertainers, Wayne Brady, even sings a song on one of them. These are songs for kids, though, and the kids like them a lot.

Our favorite was the Choo-Choo Soul DVD. Trinity and Sam just stared at it at first, but soon were dancing along to it. And now when they see it on TV they get excited because they know it!

We received Imagination Movers: Juice Box Heroes, The Mighty Giants: Here comes the 123's, Ralph's World: Rhyming Circus, Choo-Choo Soul, and Disney music Block Party.

The Disney Music Block Party is touring the US through Labor Day. You can pick up tickets at Ticketmaster. What is it, you ask?

Sing and dance with your family’s favorite artists live on stage! Explore the
festival grounds and fun-filled activity zones where kids can try out the latest
PLAYSKOOL toys, create arts and crafts, make their own music, move and shake on
the dance floor, and more!
The Disney Music Block Party Tour is an engaging
festival experience for the whole family incorporating live musical performances
by They Might Be Giants, Imagination Movers, Dan Zanes, Ralph’s World, and Choo
Choo Soul as well as multiple interactive activity areas focused on stimulating
the imagination through music, arts, and play. Kids are encouraged to explore
their inner superstar in a fun, kid-friendly environment.

Go check them out HERE. You can hear samples of the cd's on that site and you can purchase the CD's most places that sell music.

37

You are all now reading an older blogger. I turned 37 yesterday. I am an old, old lady now.



I needed to get up early, yes a bummer, for sure, so I set the alarm for 7am. Just after hitting snooze for the 3rd time, my bedroom door opens. Hope-Anne walks in with breakfast in bed for me. Hope-Anne is a sweet, giving person, and she loves to make me breakfast in bed for anything special. I love that she loves me and wants to make my day special.

However, I don't eat breakfast. I usually can choke down a few bites, but my mom suggested that she make me a breakfast of pepperoni scrambled eggs. Apparently neither of them know why I pick pepperoni off my pizza, because there were pepperoni in my eggs. The plus side is that she finally made a perfect pan of eggs! I'm very picky about my eggs, and she managed to do it right, before the whole pepperoni thing.

(Donnie loves my special days, he always gets breakfast in bed! I slip it to him to snarf down when she leaves the room on one of my made up missions)

Hope-Anne also bought me a pretty necklace. She knows just what I like in jewelry! Gold, hearts, bling and cheap! I lose things too easy to go for expensive things. I have a hard time keeping the things Donnie buys me. My mom also bought me some pretty jewelry, stuff I would have picked out for myself, too! Mom tried to hijack my blog again this year, but since she can't remember much, being senile and all, she couldn't figure out that my log in is my email address, even though she did remember the password. Bwaaaahaha!!

So, after my forced breakfast I had to get moving because Kaytlin had surgery. She has an adult tooth that grew sideways and didn't come down. So now she wears braces to bring it down. The surgery was to expose the tooth and put a chain around it to help pull it down. She had to be completely sedated. THAT is a very not cool procedure for a parent to endure. I don't want my children to be put completely under anesthesia! And all the dangers I had to initial to go along with it....... unreal! I cried. And Kaytlin is 17. But I cried. I am a very paranoid parent, you can't even imagine the fear I had, and it wasn't her dying.



After the surgery Kaytlin didn't come back perky. Well, never mind, she is never "perky" anyway. But she slept and slept and slept. We expected a few hours of it. But it was all day and evening. I couldn't get her to eat so she could take her pills. She finally ate supper, but was soon back in bed. Kaytlin is going to buy me a pair of shoes for my birthday, but for obvious reasons we didn't get to it today. She wants me to quit stealing her Nike flip-flops, so she is buying me my own pair!!! I would NEVER spend $20 on a pair of flip-flops myself.



I got a birthday call from my step-mom as her and Dad were driving to the airport to go visit my brother Shane. For my birthday. Not once in the 12 years I lived away from Minnesota did they come visit me. They have gone to see Shane at least 4 times now. But Dad doesn't have a favorite. (according to him, the rest of us 4 kids hear the "Shane is the greatest" from the mountaintop Dad stands on) Shane is great, we all love him silly, it's not that. It's just the rest of us are not Shane. We are not nuclear scientists, and he is.

Donnie took the day off for my birthday, I'm not sure what he had planned, since I had the whole surgery thing with Kaytlin, but he used it to fix my computer. He had to get all my new pics off of it and then wipe it out and start over. I got internet on my computer!!! No sound, yet, but that doesn't bother me. And it only took him until 11pm!

My new favorite show is on Tuesdays, so we got to watch that. Mom and I both love it. It is a game show called Wipeout! Super funny! I have the DVR recording them. Last night was the Wipies awards night, which highlighted all the hilarious wipeouts. So funny! Afterwards we watched the end of the "I Survived a Japanese Gameshow." I was not happy that Justin won, not that he didn't deserve it, he dominated the game, but I wanted Donnel to win. He's married and wanted to use the money to improve their life. Justin wanted to go on a vacation and buy jewelry for his girlfriend.

I got Cody to rub my feet with lotion, but he whined about the lotion being "sticky." So Trinity took over. She poured over half the lotion on my feet, rubbed it a second, and left. I couldn't get up without ice skating on my wood floors, so Hope-Anne had to rub it in. LOL

So, there you have it, my boring birthday. There wasn't even any hanky-panky. Am I getting old, or what?

Woohoo!

The dog's owners are found! His name is Zeke and they live 4 blocks from us! I found them by calling the vet, who usually gets the strays who are found, for $100 fee. This way they didn't have to pay the $100. The kids were so happy to have thier dog back.
I know my hubby will be happy to not have the dog at our house when he gets home.
We are glad not to have to throw the ball for hours on end. Or for Cody to be "appreciated" against his will, lol. I bet my mom's dog is relieved, too. She was getting jealous.

Hubby is home

And still no internet for me. Sure, it works, for everyone else. Just not my computer. And since I told Donnie that my computer was not working, even though his is, he started a fight with me, and I was the one picking a fight. Yes, because I said "Nope." to my computer working. OK, then. Well, it boils down to something about a tunnel being on my computer that doesn't let things work. No idea what it is or how it got open, but there you have it.
So, he's home, fixed the main problem on the internet, and we fought a few times, and then slept on the edges of our very large California King bed with Sam between us. No footsie for you!

Because I can't do it on my computer I will have to do the list of winnings on my mom's, which is difficult because it is slow as molasses in January. I won big, I must admit. I really needed to win a backpack or the Soapnuts laundry soap or even the Kindergarten workbooks. Those would be a big help to my budget! But I didn't win those. I'm not complaining though, because I won some fun things!

A box of Cocoa Puffs from Mommy Mandy.
Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living, by Robert Arbor & Katherine Whiteside. from eye-dyllic. I don't even remember signing up for this one, lol. I think my mom would love it, though, and that must be why I signed up for it.
And one I was so happy to win is the Tornado shirt for Sam from the Happy Panda blog. That is Sam to a T.
A $10 gift card to Target from Smiling Sally. School supply help!
And I won the The PC Swag bag contains:
1 Scholastic bag, 3 samples Bath and Body Works products, Norton 360 for PC, Embrace Your Grace Tshirt, Macy’s coupon, chocolate, Dentaburst stuff, TNT DVD, Kinderprint kit, 2 coupons for Cocoa Puffs AND the awesome kaiseralex.com biz card from Kaiseralex.
I was browsing the giveaways and came across a giveaway for something I don't like to eat, but I said to Donnie "What if I won THAT for you? That would make up for all my time on here!" And sure enough, I actually won it! Death by Chocolate 1lb Cuppie from The Chocolistas.

But the biggest one, or the most surprising, is the First place in the ice cream giveaway! I won 8 pints of ice cream and an ice cream scoop! That is the post I blogged about a few down. And yes, I will be ordering one pint of black licorice ice cream.

I had 7 pints picked out and was working on the 8th when Samuel shut the computer off on me. So, I'm back to the drawing board. And maybe, if I decide to start speaking to Donnie again, I'll tell him I won it so he can help pick out a flavor or two.

Still no internet on my computer

I'm anxiously waiting on Donnie to get home so I can get my internet up and running again. It is storming pretty bad here. A few minutes ago there was a loud lightning strike that made my mom and I both scream! We could feel it in our bodies and see the lightning. Kaytlin was cleaning the bathroom and thought the tub had exploded behind her, lol. Devon even saw it through his closed, sleeping eyelids! The neighbors internet connection didn't like it one bit, either, and is giving me a hard time.

Yesterday the kids took in a stray dog. It had been seen running around for a couple of days. He has a collar but no tags. He is really pretty good, and part of me would love to keep him if we can't find his owners because we had to put our dog down a few weeks ago. The dog is really good except that he likes to, how can I put this nicely?, get REALLY friendly with Cody against his wishes. Just Cody, though. And he has the weirdest bark. It sounds like a cross between a goose and a turkey. But LOUD. And annoying. However, housebroke is good. I'd rather a loud, house broke goose/turkey in the house than our old rambunctious pee-er of a dog. This dog must be old. When we throw the ball, which he insists upon, and there is no not playing with him, he walks to go get it. And if we throw it down the stairs, he looks down the stairs and thinks long and hard about how badly he REALLY wants to play. Then he trudges down the stairs to go get the ball.

So, Kaytlin decided to call him Nicholai, and Drew loved it. Devon, who brought the dog home, decided he looks like a Butch. I decided we should try to figure out his name. So I thought to myself, "What would I name a dog like that? What would be maybe popular?" And I said "Here, Toby." and he came whipping around to me. And to everyone who called him that. Wow!

For about an hour, anyway.

Hopefully the signs we put up will be seen soon and he will go home. Tomorrow I will call the local vets, especially the one that usually gets the strays. (but then you have to pay $100 to get your pet out of doggy-jail.)

How do you keep a dog from getting, ahem, overly friendly with people in an inappropriate way? LOL Cody is getting mighty ticked off!

My bad day

Here we are, at the end of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. The giveaways are ending and winning emails are being sent all over the blogosphere.
Let's say you entered maybe 500+ giveaways out of the well over 1000, and just as they are all ending you lose internet access. And can't get it to work. And your computer techie husband is not only out of town, but out of state at a bow shooting tournament. So you can't get it fixed.
And the next day it hasn't miraculously fixed itself.
That would be a bad day.

But, thankfully my mom's extremely, tediously, painfully slow computer has a very low signal from our neighbor's wireless router that they are not smart enough to block.
So I do know I have won a couple of things. And some big ones, at that! Oh, and there is nothing like the random number generator picking a number who happens to be one of your favorite commenter to give a prize to! So, my day was only half bad. I also found a ton of great deals on some clothes for the kids for school yesterday! Devon says I bought last year's style though. That boy needs a job.

I'll post my prizes and give linky love later today when Donnie is home and can reset my router to my modem again. I will say that following the extra steps and blogging about prizes paid off this time, though. In a big, cold way!

Sad Rejoicing

Today is such a strange day. This morning I got to go and rejoice with a friend and snuggle and cuddle and kiss on her brand new baby girl. Who happens to be so amazingly cute and tiny, at 5lbs 12oz, with a head full of adorable hair!

Then I got to run home and change clothes to go bury a friend's baby.

Same day.

My friend Jeannie's step daughter, Ruth, lost her baby to placenta previa at 21 weeks on Sunday. His tiny little hands and feet were perfectly formed. You could even see the eyelashes growing in.

The funeral was a small, grave side service. Very short and touching. The casket was so small it broke my heart. Standing there thinking of the babies I've lost and how hard it was made me ache for Ruth. And thinking of how I would feel standing there looking at a casket that held one of my babies that I had grown inside of me, that tore me up inside.
By 21 weeks of pregnancy a mother has already imagined her sweet baby's birth, and dreamt of what he would look like. Imagined that child growing up and being great in the world! The dreams you have for your child before they are even born!
Lets just say I didn't make it through the funeral without crying, a lot. Without tissues.

But then I went and held little Kassie and sniffed her sweet newborn smell! I'm so happy for Jody and her husband, Dan! Congratulations, you guys!

Love your pet?

My mom over at Bring Your Own Cheese is having a hard time getting started back up with her art work. She needs a little inspiration, or more accurately, a BIG PUSH to get started again.

So, she is doing a giveaway of her artwork. Not these things, but a custom picture of some one's dearly loved pet.
It may be a sketch, or a water color or an oil painting. It all depends on how the pet strikes her artistic fancy.

Head over there before Saturday night and leave a comment on your favorite pet. She really does need a reason to pull our her paints and chalks and things.

BBB

I have officially filed a complaint with the BBB against Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC.
They call up to 4 times a day saying we are late. I make them read alllll the files, they see we are not late. They apologize, say it is their fault and they will clear it up in 3-5 days.
Soon we get a certified letter, that they charge us for, stating we are behind anywhere from 1-3 months. And charge us late fees for it.
We call them, they say we are current and they will clear it up. This person is THE person, he can get it done! Forgive me if you are about to prove yourself wrong, but you are.

At this point they are harassing me. And if it is not cleared up in 5 days, I will be calling our lawyer and charging them with harassment. Thankfully we have prepaid legal services. The thousands of people on the internet complaining about Ocwen have had horrid things happen to them, or had to hire a lawyer out of their own pocket.

I can't take the harassment and emotional turmoil this is causing me. Today, literally FIVE minutes after Donnie made a payment they called our house and said we were two months behind.
They have reported our mortgage 90 days late for at least 17 months. I don't know what they've done the last 2 months, so it could be worse.
Today I told them they are harassing me and I was going to sue them for it if it didn't get cleared up, and I got hung up on.

Bloggy Giveaways Update

I was almost done entering giveaways. I had the last few up in windows to go to. Then........
My computer shut off! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
My mom's dog is terrified of even the threat of rain. So she hides under my computer desk at my feet. And when she moves, she hits my power strips off button. I banished her from under the desk.
She is pouting now.

So, I'm all caught up at the moment. 980 giveaways. I'm entered in almost all I want to enter in. (I did NOT enter all of them, people) I'm waiting until a few more people enter a couple of them because I don't want to be in the beginning where people rarely get picked, hehe. I bet we actually see 1000 giveaways this time. That is a LOT of prizes. So you would think that there would be well over 1000 people entering, wouldn't you? I'm participating in both the giving and the entering, but I think several people only do the giving and most people ONLY do the entering.
One of the BIGGEST give aways is for 3 prizes,
$300 Gift Certificate to Amazon
$100 Gift Card to Williams Sonoma
$50 cash via Paypal
and they have 1206 entries!
Can you imagine their delight?! However, my odds of winning that one are not good.

A $50 gc to Target has 1391 entries!

I joined a new game that wins you money. You can help me play just by clicking this link and feeding my piggy bank! HERE Please go feed my pig. You don't need to register or click anything once you get there. However, you can sign up to get your own pig, too. And I'll go feed yours if you let me know you did it.

The Healing Choice

This is one of the two books I have ever had an internal struggle about reviewing on my blog. Both for personal reasons. This one needs publicity.

The Healing Choice by Brenda Stoeker and Susan Allen is a book about moving past the betrayal of your husband through pornography and infidelity.
I wasn't really thrilled with the comparison of Brenda's mother's death to cancer and a husband's sexual betrayal. I get what she was saying in a lot of the feelings and the anger with God, but I feel like they are so completely different. One is something that happens, it doesn't matter who you are, it can just randomly happen, and you can't stop it. The other is a choice someone chooses to inflict upon you. The betray is totally different. However, the denial, the pain, the guilt, the anger, the hatred, the mourning; those may be similar. The book is excellent, still.
Recovering from such a horrid betrayal in your marriage is not easy, and it is not fast. Even years after the healing things will come up to tear away your peace if you don't work hard all the time to live in forgiveness and healing. I think that eventually you do accept and find peace with losing someone to death.
Women need someone who has been there to help them through their pain, to help them see that God is still there and has a purpose for their lives. He hasn't betrayed them, even though He did allow this to happen. God prepared me in advance to deal with the blow I would take not once, but twice, in our marriage. He taught me that I am not so much more special than everyone else that I deserve a "perfect" husband, and that no matter what the sin, every one's sin brings the same price, no one's is worse in God's eye. Jesus had to die for my little white lie just as He did for my husband's pornography use.

I am so thrilled to see this book and the accompanying workbook! I am praying about starting a Healing group in our community with this set.

Summary: In the aftermath of discovering a husband’s battle with pornography or other forms of sexual infidelity, countless wives are left feeling humiliated, betrayed, angry, and desperate. Worse still is the sense of isolation created by the fear of revealing the truth even to trusted friends.
Authors Brenda Stoeker and Susan Allen understand all too well the pain inflicted by a spouse’s sexual duplicity, and in this empowering book and companion workbook they lead women out of the closet of shame and into the light of God’s healing. With biblical wisdom and compassion born of experience, they lovingly guide women in moving toward genuine spiritual and emotional restoration, even if their husbands never change.
Drawing on their own stories and those of other women, the authors provide step-by-step counsel in grabbing hold of intimacy with God and the community of women to find the needed support to move beyond devastation and into a restored wholeness. Through these powerful, practical resources, women will be equipped to find healing and to make wise choices for themselves, their children, and their marriage.

Author Bios:

Brenda Stoeker is a registered nurse, mother of four, and seasoned marriage teacher with life experience in rebuilding a broken marriage. She and her husband, Fred, are coauthors of Every Marriage Restored, which lays a foundation for the deeper personal needs addressed in The Healing Choice. Brenda and Fred live in Johnston, Iowa.

Susan Allen is a counselor and, with husband Clay, the cofounder of Avenue, a ministry centered on healing and restoration from sexual brokenness. The author of Avenue’s acclaimed curriculum for women’s small groups, she specializes in helping women create and maintain effective healing groups, both in churches and communities across the country. She and Clay live in Danville, CA.

If you would like a copy, leave a comment, you don't need to have a story or reason to have this book, just leave a comment. I will be giving away one copy of just the book to one US winner, or US military member with an APO/FPO.

I am more than willing to email with anyone who is going through this pain or has been through it. qtpies5 at msn.com. Giveaway ends August 3.

The Healing Choice is available for purchase HERE.

I Scream!

July is National Ice Cream Month and Moms in a Blog is having a massive giveaway! Since the prize is big, you have to blog it to win it. I'm playing! It IS ice cream.
The Pomegranate Chip by Haagen-Dazs does look amazingly delicious. And I would love to try it, and so would a few other people in my house, I'm sure.

And the Toasted Coconut and Sesame Brittle by Haagen-Dazs sounds really good and I would probably love it. I'm sure some other people would, too.
That would mean sharing.
It would.


I think the flavor I would want to order is Black Licorice. I'm probably the only one in the house who likes it! I get all the black jelly beans. The kids would leave this ice cream alone!
If I would win the giveaway I would definitely order one of these for me alone. I'm selfish like that.


I think I should win the ice cream because with 7 kids I get a lot of headaches. Ice cream is a cure for stress headaches. I know there is research to back that up somewhere. I deserve some sweet, delicious frozen dairy product to bring some relaxation to the end of my day, don't you think?

Wordless Wednesday #61

Why does my son look more like my brother than he does me? Or my husband?

Kids don't like "Ignore Your Family Week"

Samuel either doesn't like my ignoring the family to enter the massive amounts of blog giveaways (already at 601 at the end of Monday!), or he has wanted to visit the doctor something terrible.
On Saturday night Sam started screaming and ran to his daddy holding his nose. We finally figured out that he had something stuck up his nose. (we are smart like that, what with 6 kids having done it before him and all) Ugh! It looked like something pewter with my handy dandy otoscope. We tried to get him to blow his nose, nothing doing. We tried to get it with a tweezers, nope! I tried rubbing it out from the top of his nose down, uh-uh. At last, after sitting him up he just gave a bit of a blow and out came a little opaque bead. Just after we had decided to take him to the ER. So we were saved the trip.
About an hour later he tried to stick a bead in his EAR! Knucklehead.

Well, today he got the trip to the ER. Right in the middle of my first day of entering giveaways. He set me back 3 hours, so I am only at 250!
Sam started screaming and holding his throat, sticking his hand in his mouth and acting all dramatic. Surly he had swallowed something huge or nasty tasting. We could not get him to drink anything, even his beloved crack soda. I was pretty worried! Drew did the upside down back pounding and he did seem to get a bit better, but he was still obviously uncomfortable. So I decided I better take him in to make sure whatever it was, that it was passable.
Once I got there we discovered he had a fever over 101. Hmmm. The doctor felt he probably has a stomach bug or strep. But I insisted on the x-rays just to be sure, I have to pay the co-pay anyway, might was well get some peace of mind along with it.
Nothing.
Apparently nausea turns Sam into a little drama queen. Just like his daddy.

(Donnie would lay on the couch with his arm over his eyes and moan all day over loosing a tooth!)

Bloggy Giveaways

The Random Number generator picked number 4, Lisa said...
Ahhh, the Swizzlers the rose one would be nice to try, I just used a Lush bath bomb last night....
I am so glad she won! She is such a faithful commentor on my blog!

It is that time again! The Bloggy Carnival is back! Or, as I like to call it, "Ignore your family week." This is the week that we enter 800+ giveaways and give up cleaning and cooking, and please, dear children, make PB&J, leave mommy alone.
I am participating again this season and will be giving away a little piece of relaxation and pampering. Something pure, handmade, natural and luxurious. Delightful, even!

Fraiche makes lovely bath products because "bath is more than just a daily chore; it’s a place to escape from the worries and cares of the day."

They sought out to make luxurious bath products that are all natural and hand made. They have done a fantastic job!

Fraiche makes an enormous selection of bath Swizzles (bombs) and hand made soaps. A scent for every one's taste, truly.

I really enjoyed the Lavender Fields Swizzle. When I dropped it in my hot bath water it was like a small volcano of fizz bubbling up from the bottom. It was quite amazing to watch! The goat's milk in the Swizzle left my skin soft as can be, and the lavender scent lingered on my skin.

Just look at their gorgeous soaps! This one is their Rose soap. I love the special touch of roses all along the top. All of their soaps are unique and gorgeous and delicious smelling.

With thanks to Fraiche, I am giving away a Bare Naked hand made soap.

Strip off the day’s impurities with one of the most cleansing elements found in
nature. With Bare Naked, you can bring the beneficial properties of Australian
Red Reef clay to your bath. Containing elevated amounts of iron and essential
minerals to help renew and soften the skin, this cucumber-melon scented soap
leaves you glowing. Both moisturizing and purifying, Bare Naked is the perfect
adversary for your skin’s battle with harsh contaminants.

1. To enter the giveaway you need to head over to Fraiche (click on the button) and find the scent of soap or Swizzle you would love to try.

2. Then come back here and leave the comment on this post with a way to contact you if you win.

This is open to US and Canada and of course my military friends with APO/FPOs!

In addition, if I reach 400 entries I will add a second winner, and the first winner can choose between the soap and a Swizzle in Soothe Me or Hibiscus, the second winner gets the what the winner did not choose.

Giveaway ends Friday, 5pm CT.

Family Reunion news.

As usual, the family reunion was delightful. A refreshing visit with the kindest, most loving family ever. I really do enjoy my husband's family reunions more than mine. No craziness or drama or LOUD, just nice visiting and love. But I do enjoy my family, too. This top picture would be at the gas station before leaving town. That is Donnie getting into his car after putting plastic over the pump to show it is out of commission. You know, after he drove off with the handle still in the gas tank....... LOL
He went in with the handle and said that he had screwed up and the clerk, who sees him all the time when he brings him mother in for her morning coffee said "Ohhhh, I'm telling your MOM!!!" So, that is how we started our trip. But we made it there without incident after that.

There was much eating, as usual. And there may have been some rather full bellies......

And then there was the traditional begging the bachelor uncle to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck for all the kids.

Of course there was the cute baby smiles!

And the toddler fun times 2! The boys are 6 weeks apart and are going to be great trouble buddies in a few years!

I was taking pics of them playing in the stroller together, smiling so cute together. That kid in the front there, he was a pointin' away. I thought he was pointing at me. But he was really warning me.

"Hey, Aunt Lisa, look behind you at my daddy!"

And then I may or may not have been seen taking the last Rice Krispy Bar.

Potato Salad Day!

I hate potato salad. I do. However, there will be a huge selection so I can avoid it like the plague and not suffer a bit.
We are going to Donnie's family reunion. I love going to his reunions! I've been going since I was 15. Last week of July. Every Year. We missed a lot of years living in Germany and Virginia. But we don't miss a year now that we live in Minnesota. I have even gone without Donnie.
My current header of the kids was taken at last years reunion. I wanted to repeat that to watch them grow, but two of the kids are not coming with us this year.
Kaytlin says I didn't tell her so she can get the time off. But I did. And I have proof. Drew and I told her and Drew even told her that if she went up to work that day that it was still in time to get the day off. But she didn't go. And now I'm to blame?
Devon went off to stay with a friend he met that lives in Stillwater to go to Lumberjack Days. Of course, he arranged a ride there, but not home. I wanted to go get him yesterday, but he says he can stay another week, lol. We'll have to go get him tonight, or Donnie can get him after work tomorrow.
So, bummer, I won't get my shot. And next year, Drew won't be with us. He'll be a grown up in a military job that is still unknown to him.

However, I will be listening for a bloggable gem like I got last year. Potato Salad Committee! Remember? Oh, yes, Donnie's aunt is on the potato salad committee! That just tickled my funny bone!

As much as I have loved Donnie's family all these years, I now look at the reunion in a whole new bloggable light. And taking pictures is certainly expected! There won't be any exciting ones, I assure you, because most of the people are elderly, we are one of the young couples, lol. But there could be a rowdy fight or two over who sits on a chair. But it won't be the kind of fight you are thinking, it will go down like this:

Oh, did you want this chair?
Oh, no, no, you should take the chair.
No, sit, sit, you take the chair.
No, I don't need to sit, you sit down.
I couldn't sit there, I'll sit over there.
No, I'll just stand and eat. You sit there.

And then I'll go sit in the chair! Believe me, I HAVE heard this fight before, lol. Who can out-nice each other, lol. I'm not like that, so I'll take the chair. Or the last rice krispy bar. Whatever.