Stuck at home........

Guess I'll have to blog all day! Sam has pink eye, I'm thinking from going to the gym, we really haven't gone anywhere else or been around other kids.
Right now I'm treating him with breast milk in the eye. I know it sounds weird! I've done it before with Hope-Anne and it worked great! But with Sam its taking some time. He does seem a little better today. I was going to take him in today, but he is a little less swollen and red. So, we'll try the milk for today, too. And see how tomorrow looks.
A nurse told me about using breast milk for pink eye AND ear infections. It works great for ear infections! Trinity had one and Donnie made me take her in and get meds. I never got the prescription filled, I decided to try the milk first for a few days, and then it was gone! Now Donnie trusts me a bit more on this. I don't remember how long it took for the pink eye, though.
I'm worried I am getting pink eye, too. That would stink. I'm not sure if it is that or the smoke from yesterday's incident. Another awful thing about yesterday was having the doors open to get the smoke out let flies in the house. They are SO annoying! Its August and this is the first we've had flies in the house. Another reason to praise God for our house with air conditioning! I really wasn't sure about buying this house. It has its problems. But Donnie was so sure about it being perfect and he just felt that God was leading us here. So I followed. And I do love the house now, even with all it's imperfections. If I have to be stuck at home, I'm glad I have this home to be stuck in!
This actually is not the first house that Donnie decided to buy that I hated. And he turned out to be so right on both of them! But I still think I need to pick out the furniture. It took us 15 years to pick out a dining room table. We could not agree, and there was NO way I was going to get what he wanted: black lacquer, he doesn't wash the fingerprints off, and it is UGLY anyways. (not all black lacquer is ugly, it is ugly with my furnishings, all country and flowers) I wanted one of those wooden tables with the ceramic tiles on them. Donnie hated those, thinking how they would stain in the grout. Well, that would not have been the bigger problem, which was our growing family. We finally got a table after our 6th child was born. It is expandable, which we leave up almost all the time. We bought 12 chairs so we could entertain. And the price was right. What did we end up with? Country looking style! LOL Not exactly what either of us were looking for at first, but it is perfect for us, our family, and our old dining room. We have a 97yo house with a very neat dining room.
I'm droning on here, guess I should go fold clothes or load the dishwasher. Maybe clean the house. I want it clean tomorrow, and it won't happen unless I do it. Even though tomorrow is "my" day and all I ever ask for is a clean house, I never get it. So, it will have to be my present to myself.
Don't forget about Nell's 30 Day Blogging Challenge! I'm well on my way to making it. (have I ever run out of things to say?)

Can you guess what this was?

Cody set the microwave for 1 minute for this and Trinity decided it wasn't long enough. I don't know HOW long she cooked it for, but there was still 4 minutes left on the timer when Hope-Anne found the kitchen filled with thick smoke. I couldn't even breathe while setting the fan up. I can't get the smell out of my house or my clothes.

It WAS a Hot Pocket!

End of Summer contests!

Tasra at Lessons from the Scrapbook Page is hosting an End of Summer Blog-Abration through August 31st. Tasra has lined up tons of fabulous prizes! All you scrapbookers should head over on the double!
I want to scrapbook again. I need to pick it back up, its been years and years. My last 2 kids aren't in any albums at all! Maybe I'll win something and I'll get motivated to start again.


Blue Thistle Books is having a big giveaway.... and a huge Back to Homeschool Sale throughout the month of August!

Blue Thistle Books is giving away a brand spankin' new Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2 QT Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker! It is an amazing machine, valued at $79.95! This contest is also open until August 31st.

The BIG Reveal!

A week or so ago, my mom told me that she thinks I should write for a magazine. Now, being that it came from my mom, I just laughed it off, not because my mom isn't smart, but because she is biased about me. But then Kaytlin didn't laugh about it, so maybe I should think about it. Donnie didn't even laugh, though he wasn't enthusiastic, he said he thought I could do it. I'm not really looking for a magazine to write for yet or anything.

Well, I was going along checking out blogs and things and came across a new site about mom blogs. Nell at Casual Friday Every Day started a new website for mom bloggers called MomsBlogging.

Nell has two podcasts up right now, which is a great feature of this new site.

While reading through the site, which I found because Heather was featured on there, I saw that Nell was looking for a columnist for contests. All my readers know I LOVE contests, and my mom thinks I am a good writer, so I applied! Now, personally, I think that I was the only one looking for the position, because I don't think I'm all that great, lol, but my family thinks its great!

I waited to make the big announcement until my first Contest Frenzy post was up. It is now up!

I will be featuring contests on mom blogs in the column. So, hopefully, I will not fill as much space here with contests, though I will still be linking to them in order to enter if I need to! Plus the other great contests that are not on mom blogs, like the crazy guy who is giving away $2500!

I don't do this for pay, so make my day and leave a comment over there! I work for comments, people!

For now I plan to post on Thursdays, but that may change. I need a few days to find all the contests, and I need to get them posted before the end, which is usually Friday or Saturday, so I may change to Wednesdays. We'll see. If you find great contests, please pass them on to me! And if you are a mom blogger who is going to have a contest, give me a heads up so I can get it out there for you.

Now, this is just ONE of my August events! The other will have to wait a bit longer, but it will be worth it, and it will be featured in my column...........

What is my BIG announcement?

What could it be? What could it be?
Should I tell you today?
Should I wait a day? Maybe two?

Oh, ok, I will announce it later this afternoon, ok?
Maybe I will be the only one excited about it, but we'll have to see! I'm happy!

*Update**
I am NOT pregnant! LOL I wouldn't be able to keep that one a secret! And besides, Kris, you know that you would already know that long before it got on the blog!
Yofed, I would LOVE to be pregnant, but I would NOT like it if one of my kids were engaged while still in high school OR if they were secretly married and now pregnant with me! YIKES!!!! That would NOT be a big announcement to me! The big announcement then would be that I killed one of my children, lol.
It's coming later today, I promise! I just can't "show" you yet, so it has to wait!

Thursday Thirteen~ ingestion

13 Things ingested by my kids that shouldn't be ingested

1. Windex with Vinegard~ flu-like symptoms.

2. Bottle of Infants Tylenol~ way more serious than the Windex.

3. 3/4's of a crayon

4. Various coins- they make pretty x-rays!

5. A bunch of dead lady bugs in a bottle of water on a bet.

6. An uncle's chew spit that he spit in a soda can. (and yes I did ream him a new butt-hole! and no, he didn't have kids then)

7. Beetle and a June bug.

8. Soggy, ant covered Oreo.

9. Plasticy backing to a band-aid, found in p00py diaper.

10. Human p00p.

11. Cat p00p.

12. Cat litter.

13 Cat food, dog food, bird food.

I have to work hard to kiss my kids! I really never know!

Don't forget to go see what my BIG announcement is!

More contests!

I will soon post less of these contests, and I will tell you why later. But for now, here are some awesome contests, thanks to my friend Laura!

Wow! This mom blogger is giving away 3 Disney Software to celebrate her 300th post! This is quite a collection!

Contest ends 9PM (PST) on Wednesday August 8th!

Would you like to win a $50 gift certificate to KooKoo Bear Kids?

You can win over at An Island Life if you enter by August 4th.

Musings of a Domestic Crunchy Goddess is having a giveaway for a super cute shirt of your choosing from her CafePress store Cute As A Bug! And these shirts are really cute!

Enter by August 3rd.

Win A Hawaiian Prize Pack! This prize pack values at over $60! Bonus Prize: If you link to this contest from your blog or website, we’ll add a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate to the prize pack, if you win.
Sometime between now and the end of August, Go Visit Hawaii will put a secret message (at the bottom of one post) that only subscribers will see. Once you see the secret message, copy and paste it into this contact me form along with your name and e-mail address. I will then include your entry into the random drawing.

Robinznest is having a giveaway in honor of her 100th post. She is giving away a one year subscription to Martha Stewart Living, Today's Christian Women, Real Simple or Home Companion. You can read her "100 Things About Me" and get more details on the contest.

When 2 became 3 is having a contest, her first ever!
Renee is giving away a canvas grocery bag from Myconservationbaby.com. Join the mailing list, link to them both, and post a pic of you doing something "green" like cloth diapering!

The bag is fun and useful! It says "Paper, Plastic or ME?"

Kaytlin called

Kaytlin called from my mom's this morning. She had some time between mom going to work and being picked up by her step cousin and step aunt to go to a lobster fest on the coast of Maine.
My mom lives on a mountain area. And I know there are all sorts of creatures out there, like porcupines and wild turkey for sure. And my mom has a cat, Midnight, who they affectionately call Nightmare, and she doesn't like people much. She pretty much isn't seen by guests. Drew stayed there for nearly a month once and he rarely saw the cat. Mom told Kaytlin that the cat doesn't go all sweet and follow you around and rub on your legs like normal cats.
But then why was Kaytlin tripping over the cat so much and having to brush off layers and layers of black cat hair off her pants? Its because Midnight LOVES Kaytlin. Like all cats do.
Kaytlin was on the phone with me, sitting out on the deck admiring the view................. of spiderwebs. She counted 12 huge spiderwebs on one side of the house. My mom is a creature lover, she doesn't get picky about what they are. She admires the spiders spinning their webs. And Kaytlin spied the spiders that make those huge webs. Their bodies are the size of Kaytlin's thumb! And at least 4 of them live over a door to the house. I would NOT be walking in that door! And my mom asked her to photograph the spiders, yuck!!!!
As we were talking she started kind of freaking out, more like getting creeped out, by something following her and clicking. She went in the house, but she heard it again later, too. Then it flew over the house! She thinks it was a locust. lol
I can't wait to hear how much fun the lobster fest was! Maybe Kaytlin will do some guest blogging while on her vacation!

Wordless Wednesday~ No, I'M the baby!

Our cat, Lexx, is always crawling in the baby furniture. The crib, the bassinet, the car seat, the bouncer, the exersaucer...... The kids like the treat him like a baby when he gets in them. He loves it. But he doesn't like the baby very well, because Sam eats his tail, pulls his ears, etc. This is our big, strong Tom Cat who roams the neighborhood and catches squirrels without his front claws.

30 Day blog challenge

Nell at Casual Friday Every Day is leading this 30 Day Blog Challenge. The challenge is to post on your blog every day for 30 days straight.
No problem there! I almost do it daily now! I have a hard time not posting multiple times a day, lol.
I will be participating in this, and I will enjoy it.

I will also be making a couple of big announcements in August! Stay tuned!

Am I normal?

*Update at that bottom*
I'm using this picture because Kaytlin reads my blog and won't find it funny, lol. (ok, I just answered my own question!)

Kaytlin just left my house with Donnie on her way to the airport. She is flying from Minnesota to Boston with a layover. I had a hard time sleeping because I kept thinking of all the things I needed to tell her about traveling alone. Or just being in the world alone.

Don't go somewhere that is empty, don't stand by a door, don't go with a security officer or airport employee alone, insist that they get another employ to accompany them. You know, things to keep her safe. And then I taught her about getting away, like keeping her phone in her pants so it goes with her in case she's put in a trunk. (they'd throw her purse most likely) And if she is being drug off or something to scream "Fire" because that is what will get people to move fast. And to get away by stomping on the foot, kicking the shins, kneeing the groin and headbutting or smashing the nose with the heel of her hand, which she says is called a "pootong" or something, lol.
Whew. I didn't want to scare the p00 out of her, but I want her safe and to have the best chance possible. I've gone through with both her and Devon about airport safety, Devon I told not to go in an empty bathroom or one with only one person in it. (I've heard one too many stories) We've told them to head straight for their next gate, then check to be sure it is correct with an employee before sitting down or finding a store to browse in. Never leave your bags anywhere. Don't take candy from strangers.
What am I forgetting????
How can I send my baby off on a plane!!????!!! By herself?? She's only 16! Its not that she isn't very responsible, because she is. And she is very smart and capable of getting through the airport. Its that she is my child and I can't protect her from the world. I want her to keep her innocence, you know? She is tough and can handle a lot. But I'm her mom!

Ok, She belongs to the Lord. Not me. Nothing is going to happen to her outside of the Will of God and for His glory. We and she can handle it.
All better!
Have fun Mom! Take care of my baby! (oh, and thanks for the push you gave me the other day, it paid off!)

*Update
Kaytlin called from St. Louis airport and she made it to her layover and to her next gate with no problems and even did some comparison shopping and found a bottle of water that didn't cost $2.50! She refused to pay that much for water! I'm so proud! My husband gave her money, so why is she so frugal with it you may ask? Because he told her that whatever she has left when she gets home she can put toward her new guitar.

The Eight~ A meme

I've been tagged by Diary of 1 for a meme of 8 random things about me.
Here's the fine print:
1. All right, here are the rules.
2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
I've done several of these, so can I come up with 8 new things? So, I've asked my family to give you the 8 random facts, enjoy!
1. I wear glasses.
2. I'm a computer hog.
3. I'm a female Cliff Huxtable, from the Cosby Show. Devon says I act like Cliff towards girls like he acted towards boys wanting to date his daughters.
4. Apparently instead of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, I have 9 billion rules for girls being friends with my boys.
5. I like to embarrass my children.
6. I like to scare my kids by standing outside the bathroom door with Halloween masks and scare the pants off my kids. Some of them like it.
7. I think its funny to freak our kids out about sex. (we think its more along the lines of the kids knowing that we are a couple and that being together is natural and wonderful, not being kinky or nasty, but they act all grossed out when we kiss or something.)
8. I wear a size 8 shoe. Yes, a woman's size 8. Yep, boring, lol.

So that's what my kids have to say about me. Feel free to play along! I'm kind of busy with getting the house in order and getting Kaytlin out the door to the airport in the morning.

Whew, what a day already!

It is just after 2pm and I have gotten myself, Hope-Anne and Samuel out the door by 7:45, 15 minutes late to leave since I did not expect to bring Sam. And he CRIED and cried all they way to the orthodontist's office. We made good time through the morning rush hour traffic and the construction, so we went to McD's for a little breakfast so he could calm down. He wouldn't eat a thing, and he was very mean and contrary, which is very unlike him.
We went to the ortho who recommended pulling 5 of Hope-Anne's teeth and to come back in 6 months to see how things are progressing. They are sure she'll need braces, I'm holding out that she won't, after all, the dentists and Otho's were so sure Kaytlin needed them at 10, and her teeth are all perfect except the one tooth that didn't' come down because we didn't get a baby tooth pulled. The good thing is that I don't expect to put her in braces until Kaytlin's come off.
Then we headed back home, but Sam screamed and screamed along the way, so we decided we were going to stop at the thrift store. He was good, as long as I was holding him. Otherwise he was a turd. This is so unlike him. I got a TON of clothes for the kids and me, and a backpack (super cute, great condition with Winnie the Pooh on it!) and a duffle bag for Devon, and I spent under $50! It was awesome! I really want to shop for clothes for me, but I need to do it with no "help" so I can really go through each item and try them all on.
Sam was still a turd when we were leaving so we headed over to Walmart to distract him, wear him out, feed him. I picked up some school supplies, shopped for groceries, had lunch. Sam would NOT eat. Not even fries. He would eat Hope-Anne's McFlurry, though. And soon after he ate that he started squealing. Really loudly. In Walmart. Over and over. Really loudly. But he was happy!
We went home, and he finally, finally went to sleep.
I'm beginning to wonder what was in his craw. He IS getting a few more teeth on top, but why won't he eat? He ate while getting the other teeth? Could it be the 3/4 of a crayon he swallowed last night? Oh, yes, he did swallow it! And he CRIED about it. I'm hoping that it comes out easily, but I'm watching him for behavior issues. He seems happy now that we are at home.

Tomorrow Kaytlin flies to Maine to visit her grandmother. You can probably see what is going on during her 2 weeks on my mom's blog. Then she comes home and Devon flies out. We'll have to make 2 trips to the airport that day, but they will cross paths for my mom, she'll drop one off and pick the other one up in an hour. She'll have to be there for a few hours getting Kaytlin there early enough, but since its a 4+ hour drive for her, its better than 2 trips!

Now, about that poll over there on my sidebar. Drew and I were discussing how the Ouija board is not a good idea for Christians to dabble with. And we got to discussing the Magic 8 ball. Its a toss up, I mean, really should we mess with it? Is it just a game, or could there be something to it that Christians should not mess with. Scripture tells us to have not appearance of evil, and that if something (some Powers) is not of God it is of the Devil. So, I tried two balls out at a bookstore last weekend. I asked it 3 questions. I asked it if I was going to have more children. Both balls, each and every time I asked it, said Definitely. I asked both balls if I was going to have twins. Both said absolutely, I can count on it, each and every time I asked it. I then asked if I was going to be in a car accident and they both said "Concentrate harder and ask again." Don't you think that out of 12 questions there would have been a variation of answers? Now Drew, who doesn't think there is a big deal to it, said he got different answers to the same question, but I don't know when he tried it.
Then there is the "ring" thing for seeing what the sex of your unborn baby is. It has not been wrong for me. Or my friends. If you put a needle on a string and hold it over your wrist, or palm it will swing in circles or back and forth and pause in between for each child you have/will have. It was exactly on with my friend who is done having children, it went in order with mine, and then some that I haven't had, and with my two other friends who tried it with us. So, is that a form of witchcraft/divination/whatever? I want to believe that its just random, but I'd rather know the truth, because we should not do it if there is more to it than just randomness. Know what I mean?

A real post! Really!

Ok, I'm so excited! Whew....... I want to keep up my normal posting, too. I just got so excited about all those contests!
On my agenda today:
1. take Hope-Anne to the orthodontist. This could go either way, but I'm ready, I think.
2. I think I'm going to hit a thrift store or two on the way home.
3. Download pictures! I've got some cute stuff on my camera to share!
4. Clean up after the teen feed last night. The teens had movie night at our house and we went ahead and fed them all a chicken dinner. Now I have to clean it up. (yes, by "clean" I mean make Drew, Kay, and Devon clean it)
5. Blog. Really blog.
6. Donnie is off work today, so maybe I can talk him into doing something together. We are never alone. Even at night. Sam will NOT sleep in the crib, and IF we happen to get him in there, if he slightly wakes up, like to turn over, and realizes he is in the crib, he will wake up screaming, and NOT STOP. When I go get him he is shaking and all red. He really hates it.

I could come up with more, I'm sure, but I wouldn't want to be overly ambitious. Plus I really need to finish off my last sip of coffee and get Hope-Anne moving, she didn't get up when I woke her up. And I am not dressed yet. We leave in 28 minutes or less. Rush hour traffic, through construction, 30 miles away. We need an hour and a half to get there.

SOOOOO Stay tuned, I will blog today! (maybe explain that Magic Eightball poll on my side-bar)

My new addiction.....

I think I've become addicted. Seriously. It all started innocently enough. One here, one there. Pretty soon I was even blogging them. Then I started winning. Then came the Dog Days of Summer Blogging Giveaway, and I was so completely hooked on contests and give-aways that it has pretty much become an addiction.

So, here are some more!

Gymboree is offering two of Love Shak, Baby's readers a $250 Gift Card to be used at the Gymboree store or Gymboree online. Go read about it at Love Shak, Baby for all the details so you know what kind of comment to leave! Contest open until August 17th.

Lille Punkin' Reviews is offering a fun prize pack now through August 12th! The prize pack includes the new American Idol All Star Challenge DVD game along with some fun samples! Linsey wants to make life easier for parents by finding and reviewing new products.

In Style Moms is giving away a Camouflage baby sling to one lucky winner who signs up for her newsletter in the month of July.

Tangled and True is offering a super chic Square Dance Area Rug, from FLOR, to one one lucky winner! All you have to do is leave a comment! The rugs are so neat, they come in pieces that go together so you can design it the way you want it to look. Comment by Monday, July 30th.

Go to Scribbit's blog today to enter for a Mint Workshop pouch, with King Leo mints. Closes noon on July 30.

Mamanista has a few contests running:
Mamanista has a darling little girl, Diva, who has congenital heart defect, she has had a successful heart surgery. Please head over their and learn about what you can do to help other little ones with this diagnosis.

***Heart Healthy Birthday Contest***Donate to the American Heart Association and spread the word about congenital heart defects to win one of two AWESOME prize baskets, including sweet mother's jewelry, hip and fun clothes for kids, children's book, the best swaddling blanket ever, and more... see the contest for prizes and details. (deadline: August 9)

Lindie & Friends Contest: Huggable and Lovable and Baby-Safe! Win a Lindie & Friends Handmade Doll. See post for details. (deadline: July 31)

Miracle Blanket Contest: Sign up for our newsletter or leave a comment on the contest post to win a blanket that helps baby (and you!) sleep. Click here for details on how to win a Miracle Blanket for swaddling your baby. (deadline: August 8)

No-Cry Discipline Contest: Help other parents with your stories and tips and win a signed copy of "The No-Cry Discipline Solution". See post for details. (deadline: August 20)

Facipiers and Stinky Toes is have a cool give-away of Mustard Sprout Marshall Diaper Bag, compliments of Baby Browns! You can enter once a day until August 5th.

You have until August 1st for the free template contest!

And then you have the Remove Before Flight t-shirt contest! "For all those out there that would like a Remove Before Flight shirt, you can enter in the new contest by posting a comment to any post from now until August 18th." Just go check out Pilot John's blog and leave a comment and you are entered!

Check out Laura Williams Musings for free sample leads! Thanks, Laura, for the contest and sample leads!

What is going on?

Our town is a pretty unusual town, as far as I've ever lived in, anyways. When we moved here the population was under 4,000, and there were 21 churches. That's about 190 people for each church. Now that isn't what happens, of course, but we do have a few very large churches and several very small churches. And now our town has had a growth spurt, too. Another unusual thing is how wonderful this community is. I've lived in other small towns in Minnesota, and they are usually all busy-body and snarky and clique-y. Here, I've only seen amazing love, kindness, friendship, and so little gossip and busy-body stuff.
(none of this has much to do with my post, lol, where am I going with this?)
Anyways....
Our town has been hit so hard with our kids being hurt and dying. I think we've lost 8 teens to driving accidents, 1 to drowning, and then all the sickness and injuries that happen.
This week one of my kids' friends was in a dirt bike accident. He ALWAYS wears a helmet, his dad is STRICT. But for some reason when his friend asked him to try out his dirt bike he took it for a quick spin without his helmet, and of course THAT is when he hit a drop off and broke his neck and his jaw. He also has a partially collapsed lung. He's doing good, he's making progress in the right direction. Kelvin just graduated from homeschooling, now he'll be recovering for months.
And at church today two families either got calls or called in to let us know they were heading to the ER. One family's dd has a slipped disc, she lives far away in Duluth, so they have quite a drive to even get to her. The other is covered in hives like Devon was recently, and he happens to be a friend of Devon's, lol.
And two much younger children in our church were recently hospitalized, one with meningitis, the other I think had a really, really bad ear infection???

Trinity and her cuteness!

Last night several of us were in the kitchen talking and Trinity runs into the kitchen shreiking (cause she doesn't talk, or yell, or hollar, she shrieks) "I playing Hide 'n Geek" To which we all laughed and laughed!

Another great give-away, or more....

Adventures in Babywearing is having a contest to win a shirt for us moms from DivasNBabes, "Divas wear their most valuable accessories". DivasNBabes has the cutest baby and mommy shirts! You could get matching shirts, for mom: I am at work and for babe: I am my mom's job! They also have some great slings and Mai Tai's, some named after celebrities.
All you have to do is go to Adventures in Babywearing and follow the instructions, which is to find two baby carriers named after celebrities besides the Tori Mai Tai that Steph owns, then email the answers to her.
On top of that contest, DivasNBabes has another offer on their site:

"See your names in lights! Save 25% on your next purchase and get the chance to be our featured Diva and Babe when you send us your idea for an upcoming couture shirt. If we choose your idea, you and your babe will be showcased in a special section on the homepage. Diva, you're a star!"


What are you waiting for? Enter by Sunday at 9pm(cst).

Journey of 1000 Stitches is having a give-away! You need to enter by 10pm tonight.

She is giving away anything in her Etsy store, really, anything! Its a no-brainer pick for me! If she had cloth diapers it would be harder, but since she doesn't carry my favorite hobby, I would so pick this shirt because Trinity IS the little sister and she IS BIG trouble! And everyone in our house would agree.

*Update* Don't bother, since its past 10, and I WON this cute shirt! Oh yeah!!!

ModMom is having a give-away of either a toybox or an area rug from notneutral. You need to leave a comment with your favorite Notneutral product and the reason why by July 31. This is an awesome prize! Bookmark Modmom, she does great give-aways often!

Five Minutes for Mom is giving away 10 copies of “Sesame Street’s” latest DVD, “Ready For School.” Elmo is a little nervous of starting school and gets some encouragement from his friends. All you have to do is leave a comment to enter. What a great way to prepare your little preschooler or kindergartener for their first day of school this fall. The drawing will be August 16th. On Monday they will have a few more contests, sounds like it will be books!!!

The Opinionated Parent has another fabulous prize give-away going on. The Badgemaker is a kit that lets you create and make your own little buttons! You can use their little papers, or pictures. It’s from The Bead Shop and retails for under $10 on Amazon. You need to go to The Opinionated Parent and then email with the answer to a question. You can do it! Make sure you sign up by midnight July 30th. And keep checking back, there are lots of contests running at The Opinionated Parent at various times. (3 ended yesterday!)

TeensReadToo is having a mass give-away, of what you may ask? Well, Books of course, silly! 45 books geared for teens! All you need to do is email them with some info before August 1. There are some great books listed there!

Lille Pumpkin Reviews has a chance for you to win movie tickets for two just by leaving a comment and telling what movie you would like to see this summer. Contest ends July 30th.

And don't forget about the The mother of ALL give-aways! But I really don't need the competition on that one, thanks so much for your concideration!

The mother of ALL give-aways!

Five Minutes for Mom is giving away an Insignia® 37″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV!!!

Best Buy is sponsoring this incredible give-away of a TV worth $799.99. This model has the v-chip for parental control and you can use it as a computer monitor so you can download and play high def movies.

I may even be able to talk my hubby into starting a blog so he can enter into this contest!

End of Dog Days of Summer bloggy give-away!

Whew! This is the last day of the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Give-Away. It was hard work going through 506 blogs to enter contests. I did not enter all of them, but I think I hit at least 450 of them to look at. I may have missed a few when the whole linky disaster happened, lol.

So I get up this morning to try to enter my mom's blog in a few more contests (she actually WORKS, so she's too responsible to sit around and let the house/work fall apart while entering all these glorious contests) and what do I find in my emails? I've already won one contest! I featured Highlights from Higher Ground on my TT post, I wanted to win her crocheted name doily, but I did win her hanging dish towel! I actually NEED a new one, so this is great news for me!

Some of the contests are still taking entries, but its too much work for me to sit and go through them to find maybe one in five that still are. But its not too much work for me to check my mail several times a day today to see if more wins filter through.

I'm hoping to win one of the FIVE Starbucks gift cards so that I have something to send with my dd on her trip to Maine. She may find one in the airport and have a nice cuppa while waiting for her plane. Or if my mom wins one, that would be great for her, too.

Is anyone else super excited????

Oh, and hands off my Scrabble Blog bracelet!!!!

*Update* I also won some pop up books (not for kids, more like cards) from Dawn at Coming to a Nursery Near You.

And again! I won a super cute shirt from Journey of 1000 Stitches in her awesome Etsy store! Go check out her store, you'll love it! (she's a part-time cloth diaper user, so you know I love her!)

Thursday Thirteen~ Dog Days of Summer!

Thirteen awesome giveaways in the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Give-away! These are but a small portion of the items, and there are some I don't want you to find because I want them, but alas, they all have at least 100 entrants, lol.

1. Rocks in My Dryer is hosting the most amazing mass blogging give-away ever!

This is a first in bloggy history, I would imagine. There are over 500 bloggers giving away prizes or multiple prizes on their blogs, all linked up here for one week of bloggy love!

2. Skimbaco is giving away this cute swimsuit with matching sandals and hairbow! Isn't it cute? Trinity would look so cute in it and she needs a new suit.

3. Are We There Yet is giving away a Bath and Body Works lovtion and shower gel, plus two books. She is even giving them in my favorite scents, lavender and vanilla!

4. Love, Laughter and Laundry is also giving away a Bath and Body Works Shower gel!

5. Jesus and Dark Chocolate is giving away........ guess.......... yep, chocolate! Super awesome chocolate!

6. Highlights from Higher Ground is giving away this incredible crocheted doily name. Well, not that one, unless your name is White, she'll custom do your last name, or someone you'd want to gift it to. Plus she has two other things up so far, too.

7. These gorgeous earrings are being given away by a very generous and talented lady at Fruit of Her Hands. They are real silver, and I hope to win them for Kaytlin. She loves silver jewelry and I am a gold only lady.

8. I love, love these baby leg warmers! Crawler Covers is giving away a pair of these and a fancy little tutu! You can even pick the colors you want.

9. Heartsong is giving away a $10 gift card to Starbucks!

10. Sgt. and Mrs. Hub is giving away a $25 gift card to Starbucks!

There are at least 3 more if you search for them at Rocks in my dryer!

11. Sugarfoots is giving away this awesome blanket, and it can be personalized.

12. Multitasking Moma is giving away this awesome Scrabble Blog bracelet! Please don't go enter, I want this!

13. Praise the Lord and Pass the Prozac has 12 books to give away, and I want the first one, its an awesome book!

Check out all the wonderful blogs and their generous gifts! I've gone through over 400 of the blogs so far, and yes, my house is completely trashed now! LOL

Wordless Wednesday~ Tape Art

Yippee!

My prize winnings have been arriving!

First is a Berit Design onesie that I won on Adventures in Babywearing. This will not fit Sam, but there is a baby shower I am throwing next month, this will be perfect!

I just recieved this the other day and Drew is reading it first. Can't wait! I won this on Book Splurge, Bloggin' Out Loud told me about it. There are book giveaways on there regularily. Go check it out! There is another one on the site to read and review during an author's tour.

Now I didn't actually win Apples to Apples Bible Edition, I won a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate from No Diet Coke for Mommy. She hasn't posted all week, and I miss her!

I bought this game because we love the original game so much and we need some new cards to entertain us, and I can't wait until it gets here!

Callapidder Days had a bunch of book give-aways and I won this book. I was so excited because I love romance novels and pirate romance novels, but since becoming a Christian I have stopped reading books with smutty stuff in them. (thats sex, if you didn't get it, hehe) This was just the ticket! Christian, romance, AND pirates! I need to buy the first book now, and there better be a third one coming out!

I will say that this was a bit graphic for me. I loved the story and would probably have told my 16yo not to read it, but she read it without asking me. We were both a bit torn up about it, but there is so much scripture throughout the book, and the graphic parts are part of piracy, but they are never glorified, so I still have to say its good. Oh, and the author autographed it to me!

Then there was the Viking post. Diary of 1 had a Sports logo contest in conjunction with TeamMascot, her business website. I wrote a post about my favorite sports team and plugged her business. And she sent me this awesome pillow! It arrived yesterday and has a place of honor on my bed, but will not stay long as the boys start sneaking off with it.

I also won a cute sleeper for Sam from Apples'n'Oranges and blogged about it. That is in the mail on its way, and I'm anxious to get it, even though Sam can't wear it for a couple more months when the weather gets cooler and Sam gets a smidge bigger.

And we're back in business!

My husband, who HATES computers, finally, finally, finally fixed my computer! I'm not in safe mode anymore! I have sound now! My computer runs faster without all the old games and junk we didn't use anymore!
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
I don't know why Donnie hates computers, he's really pretty good with them, he manages to provide for all of us. He doesn't make a ginormous salary, but we live in a nice, big, old house. And we have finally paid off all of our vehicles this month! We are making it, even when things get tight, he's a great provider. I can't imagine going to work every day, but to go to work every day to a job you just hate because it provides all your family needs. We could live in a smaller house where the kids have to share bedrooms, get down to at least two vehicles, never eat out or go play and he could have a job that he at least likes a bit. But he makes sure we are given more than we need and I'm so thankful.
Ok, not the point of my post!
Another awesome amazing thing happened! My dryer just up and decided to work! It hasn't been working for a couple of months. It would "work" but shut off after 3-4 minutes with LOUD screeching noises. I wanted a shirt dried on Sunday morning, and it was a tiny, thin shirt for Trinity, so I thought "maybe" it would stay on long enough to dry it if I ran it a couple of times.... well it just kept going and going and going! Now its working! (Ok, its "working" but its not working, it runs without stopping, but its not actually drying, lol, babysteps!)
And then.........
I've been looking for a job, sort of, for a little while now. I've applied but not gotten even a call back. I'm not even reaching high here, we're talking Dairy Queen, lol. I've gotten applications for the nursing homes right on the next block over, but I didn't really have the heart to fill them out. I just don't want to leave my kids at home, plus I'd need to pay the kids for watching the little ones, or have daycare during the day and be home with them in the evenings. It just didn't feel good to me. So I've been praying for God to provide the right job for me. And out of the blue I ended up talking to a friend and offered to baby sit for her, which works out well for both of us because she needs someone to come to her house in the morning so she can leave at 6:15am without waking her little kids up, and I don't have to wake mine up to go there because my husband is home until 9am, and Cody is going to school at home, so I'll have sitters until I get her boys dressed and fed and over to my house! It works out so well, and its only two days a week, two VERY long days, but it won't interfere with my husband's day off! It's enough extra for me to feel good about it, and no daycare costs for me, so its just perfect!
God is so good! My friend is just so excited because I was an answer to prayer for her, as well, she said she's even been dreaming about me babysitting!
So, sometime around the end of August I'll be working, but still at home!

Help control the pet population.......?

I don't know what happened at our house. A couple of years ago Donnie lost his mind and brought home a cat. He's a cute cat that Donnie bought at a pet store so that we would have a cat who would stay in the house. (HAHAHAHAHAHA!!) The little hunk missing off of one of his ears should have told him something.... Well, he doesn't stay in the house, but he IS a great cat! Then there were the parakeets. I think we went through 3 of them. 1 flew out the door and 2 died. Well, then we moved. So I picked up a Love Bird from the Humane Society. They don't get the name because they are sweet, loving birds, that's all I'm saying. She died from the cold, we had her in a room with a space heater, but it wasn't enough.

I had been searching for a dog, a GOOD dog. I troll the humane society weekly. I saw the cutest puppy that looked like a teddy bear! I IM'd the link to Donnie who told me to go get it! I don't know what he was thinking! Its a puppy! All went well until I got pregnant and was too sick to keep training. But he is a smart dog and not too bad.

Then Donnie told Hope-Anne she could have a hamster. I really don't know what he was thinking then! (lets just say he can't say no to any of his girls.) This is Rose. She's a good hamster.

Because she took such good care of Rose, Donnie told her she could get another hamster. The one petstore told him that Teddy bear hamsters need to be alone, they fight. So he went to a different petstore and they said it would be fine. So he bought another one. (they don't get along.)

So, here is Lilly. She climbs up the very top of the cage, hangs on the bars and sleeps up there. I woke her up with the flash, but that's how she sleeps.

Then, a couple of days later Donnie went to his men's group meeting at a friends house. The guy told him that he had 2 kittens that he had to get rid of and Donnie said he'd take one! So he comes home at 10pm with this little orange tiger kitten for Cody. We oohed and aahed over him for about 10 minutes when there was a knock at the door. (Yes, that late at night, lol) Apparently he let Donnie pick the wrong kitten and his son was bawling, so he drove for 1/2 an hour that late at night to bring us a different kitten, the very one I would have picked!

So, here is Midnight, who is a girl, which is WAY better than another boy cat. (it also is a stolen cat name from my mom)

This would all be from the guy who said NO MORE PETS. I think he had a couple of brain farts recently. Now we have a dog, 2 cats, 2 hamsters and a fish tank. I may just have to start gunning for a new dog, lol.

Ok, we are NOT this BAD!

$300 in dairy products!

Five Minutes for Mom is giving away gift certificates for $300 in Horizon organic dairy products! How exciting is that!?
Not only to win such a fantastic huge prize, but to win one that will bring your grocery bill down, now that is what I call winning!
I do want to buy organic, but I just can't swing it all the time. This product also incorporates DHA for our children's brain and eye development! The only thing I would like to see added is for it to be raw milk instead of pasteurized. But free milk is better than raw milk to my budget!
The winner will receive about 60 gift certificates for Horizon Organic products - each with a value of $4.99.

I won!

Apples'n'Oranges had a give-away for the opening of their new store, and I won! This adorable sleeper/outfit is going to look so cute on Samuel, and I am so excited to get it for him! Go check out their store and also their new give-away of a really cute shirt for a little one.

Recently I have been on a winning streak, and it stopped for a bit, but hopefully its back because with the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Give-away hosted by Rocks in my Dryer starting today, there are a ton of blogs prizes to be won all over the net! Get out there and sign up like crazy! I can tell you my house won't be getting clean any time soon with all this fun going on!

There is a really cute diaper bag giveaway at Facipiers and Stinky Toes, go check them out!

Whoa! I hope to win this adorable baby shirt and babylegs from My Rockstarbaby, on Fina' Drea. This is not part of the bloggy giveaway.

This one is a very unique prize give-away! From Life is Just Ducky, Kool-Aid points! I seriously would love them!

Check out this contest for a Lavender and Vanilla Bath and Body Works Lotion and body wash, plust TWO books at Are We There Yet? I have to make a trip to Bath and Body Works just to smell that lotion! Yummy! A combo of my two most favorite lotion scents!

* A very important note! Today was the best dental associated visit I've ever been to! I took Devon to his orthodontist appointment and she said his teeth are fantastic and that once his baby tooth is removed the permanent one should go right in place with no braces!

Be thankful I don't have my camera at home

Isn't this just one of the cutest faces you've ever seen? I love to photograph him because he is just so beautiful and joyful!

But this morning, this morning I found something so horrible that he beats even the worst story I've told about Trinity. And if you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you know what I'm talking about here.

Be very thankful that Donnie took my camera to work with him today. It was an act of God for my readers, I'm sure, because you do not want to see what I saw, but I would have had to get a picture of it if I could, because it is an actual first for me as a parent of seven, and that doesn't happen very often anymore. I keep thinking I've seen it all and heard it all at my house. But Trinity challenged all that, and I figured that she couldn't be topped. But she has been unseated.

This morning I let Sam "air out" after being in his diaper all night. I checked on him every minute or so in case he peed on the floor, and he was playing happily, chewing on toys and dragging things out of the toy box and chasing the new kitten around. (yes, I'll have to blog about the pet population in our home soon, Donnie has had some sort of brain fart or something)

I look at him again and he is still there chewing on something in his hand. Aww, he's so cute! What's that on the floor between his legs? Is that p00p??? Oh, dear! Yes, thats a pile of p00p! Oh, God, please let that be a toy in his hands!!!! Oh no! Its not a toy!!! No, please no!!!

So I rip his hand away from his mouth and he gets MAD at me! For taking his poop away! He was eating his p00p! And liked it!

Where I step on my soap box......

I am pretty set in my ways against vaccinating. Though I believe strongly that a parent should make the choice, one they can live with. I just wish the truth were out there.

Jock Doubleday has offered $80,000 for a doctor or a pharmaceutical CEO or a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to drink a body-weight calibrated dose of vaccine additives. This is not even going to include live or dead viruses, just the standard vaccine additive ingredients. This includes: thimerosal (mercury), ethylene glycol (antifreeze), phenol (a disinfectant dye), bensethonium chloride (a disinfectant), formaldehyde (a preservative and disinfectant), and aluminum. And possibly some other ingredients used, like pig and monkey parts.
Medical school costs a LOT of money. Why is this offer almost a year old and increasing monthly with no takers? If its so safe for our children with developing brains, why isn't it safe enough for the doctors whose brains are developed already?
There are many links to vaccine information and truths in this website. I haven't even begun to get through these yet! I heard about this amazing offer through Dr. Mercola's website.
Before anyone thinks they need to go off on me about not vaccinating, I have a vaccine injured child. He suffered through behavior and learning problems for many, many years before we figured out the problem and discovered a way to help him. If the mercury in those vaccines was so safe and couldn't be causing him harm, why is he getting better as we detox him from mercury? There is absolutely no doubt and there is absolute proof that mercury from vaccines has caused a brain injury to my child.
(I do not necessarily believe in or condone things on these sites! Many things are ridiculous! I am intrigued by the huge monetary offering that is not being accepted since it first came out in 2001. That tells me something, it tells me far more than any of the other things I've read on either side of this fence.)

Thursday Thirteen~ Dental nightmare

Thirteen things that happened at my routine cleaning at the dentist today. Or 13 reasons I am going to be drunk next time I go to the dentist!
I thought I was going to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned because I couldn't get it finished after the x-rays last time and the hygienist made it sound like that would be my next appointment. I am a complete puddle of mush when it comes to going to the dentist. I am frightened silly, and I won't go until its so painful that its better to risk the dentist than live with the pain. I was traumatized by a military dentist years ago.
1. I sit down in the chair and the hygienist says "Ok, we're going to get those cavities on the bottom left filled today." I say "Um, oh no we are not!" And we sort of go back and forth on what I expected and what they actually scheduled. I most definitely would have cancelled if I had known!
2. They bring me into the financing office because I am crying and making a scene and because I say there is no way I can afford it this month. They talk me into doing it now and paying later since I'm already here. I'm pretty much crying uncontrollably, but they talk me into one tooth.
3. Then they come back in and tell me they may as well do the other two since I will be numb already. This brings it up from the $50 tops they were saying, and I do NOT want to rack up debt. (I have three kids going to the orthodontist already this month!)
4. Ok, fine, I sit in the chair, all the while the tears won't stop. But we numb me up. This is at 2:20pm. Appt. was for 2pm.
5. After I am numb they get started on the first cavity, which is kind of deep. It hurts as they are working on it, but not bad enough that I want to get another shot.
6. They start on the next tooth's cavity. Oh boy, this one hurts, I gotta say something. Ok, more Novocaine and waiting for it to work. More crying.
7. They get back to work. I still feel it, but I'm not going to say anything! I'm gripping the chair so tight that I am left shaking.
8. They put a weird contraption in my mouth which holds two long, rolled up pieces of gauze in my mouth on either side of my teeth. I have a BAD gag reflex, so this was FUN. And it clamps in there. Oh, the shaking continues from being so tense all over waiting for the agonizing pain to start like the military dentist did to me.
9. They put some sort of metal ring around my tooth, it feels like that, anyways. It bends, they have to do it two more times.
10. They fill the cavities, and they rise the stuff out because my gums won't stop bleeding. My gums don't normally bleed, so I have NO idea what they did to cause that. But they spent 10 minutes putting stuff in my gums to get it to stop so they could finally put the fillings in both teeth.
11. Then they go to extract a bad tooth. It hurts, but again, its gotta be over soon, and I just want to leave. They start cutting and pulling, and piece by piece it falls apart. I'm starting to cry again at this point. They can't get the roots out. I have to go to an oral surgeon NOW, and its 3:45pm.
12. I run out to the oral surgeon who agreed to fit me in at the end of the day on a moments notice. And as I wait there, hoping that they take my crappy MetLife insurance that almost nobody takes, they tell me I have to pay right then or they won't do it. I can't do it today, I expected a free cleaning, not to spend a month's paycheck! So, finally they agree to a postdated a check, and they do take our insurance.
13. The surgeon asks if I am still numb and I say I think so, but she thinks she should give me some more. I'm thinking she wants $$$. She gives me the shot and oh man does it HURT!!! I'm so glad she did that! That makes 3 numbings in less than 2 hours. And when she does to get the roots out she tells me to close my eyes before she brings out the tool she is going to use. Like I'm not crying again???? And it HURT!!! But it was over in a minute. And then they had to lay the bed back and let me get over the crying and shaking and light headedness before they let me up.
I was shaking so bad I could barely sign the check. And I was pretty scared to drive. And I definitely was thinking about getting drunk when I got out of there! I don't drink hardly ever, but I'm pretty sure I will be drinking before going in again!