Backpack DEALS!

First Staples is having a deal with all their backpacks.

Buy one and get a FULL REBATE for the cost of it.

This ends tomorrow, so HURRY!

Second Toys R Us is having a sale on their backpacks.

Buy one at $12.99 or greater and get a FREE lunch box of $9.99 or lesser value.

Hope this is helpful!

xoxo

Mom in the shot Ju 30th {I am melllllllting}

So I am a day late and a dollar short on this post, oops.

It was one of those days yesterday that we did a bunch of stuff and I can not even begin

to tell you what the heck it was we did!

But I can tell it was HOT.

Have you ever wondered what the surface of the sun feels like?!

Come visit Florida in July.

Not my best embrace the camera shot, but man is it hot.

My brain does not seem to work normally under these conditions.

Which means 10 out of the 12 months of the year I am in a heat coma.

Sorry I am late to the party this week, Em.

All about family giveaway {Jul 28 - Aug 3}

So it is not Monday or even the morning, but I am bringing you a giveaway.

This little giveaway is all about family.

First up, I came across this lovely little store I Love It All, great little items for the crafty Mommas.

And used this fun print in a treasury I put together, I know enough about the stinkin

treasuries!

I asked if it would be possible to have a giveaway for one of the prints, Monika was so nice to oblige!

Winner will pick one from any color offered.

Fun right?!

Second in this giveaway is two of France England's family friendly CD's. I *heart* her music, it truly is ear candy!

Lastly I made a special crown. One I had been thinking about making for sometime and never got around to it. I love this crown as a way to create a family tradition. Say someone gets an A on that science project, got a promotion at work, or just needs a little boost of confidence, put this crown on, take a picture and keep it in a special "It's my day!" album, with a little note about that day. And maybe they wear it during dinner that night.

So there it is FOUR family fun items for one lucky winner!

Here is how to enter {You have up to THREE ways to enter, please leave a separate comment per entry to get all three!}

1. Follow my blog, you do already you know the drill that counts.

2. Head over to Monika's blog and follower along with her {she is VERY talented you will not be disappointed!}

3. I would love to hear about your favorite family moment or tradition.

Open until Aug 3 at midnight Eastern time. Winner chosen via random.org.

**OPEN to US residents only**

Some new reads.

Just wanted to share a few new blogs I have stumbled upon.

I know I know, "Do I really need ANOTHER blog in my reader?!"

I would just say check them out and decided for yourself.

I have added them.

But I am a little crazed about finding new blogs.

Sewing in No Mans Land

{this is a brand new blog filled with a ton of sewing tutorials and other fun things,

I suggest going back to the very first post and reading the story behind the blog, it is pretty darn cool!}

Creature Comforts

{I am sure I am late to the party on this one, but you can not know about ALL the amazing things out there all the time. This one is filled with GREAT free downloads and crafty projects. I love this one, perfect for back to school.}

Staci Edwards Design Blog

{Love all the picks Staci puts together, beautiful eye candy for sure!}

Hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Sorry if you already know about them, I share cause I care!

xoxo

Toot Toot, our weekend and a Lucy Fifity Three winner.

TOOT TOOT

Thats my horn today.

I really don't toot it a lot {ha thats sounds funny!}

But I did it AGAIN!

Front page of Etsy.

I have to say this time I was not surprised.

I think it was a pretty darn clever treasury.

And the comments that were left were so sweet.

Check it out!

Cute huh?

TOOT TOOT!

This weekend we went away for a few days.

Away was not far, 45mins to Disney.

We were out there with our friends who have a little girl Buggie's age.

On a whim we called the Bibbidi Boppity Boutique in Cinderella's Castle to see if they had two

appointments open for our little princesses.

And they did!

The Before:

The girls were treated like true royalty. It was SO cute and SO fun. They got to choose a hairstyle out of three. They both decided on the fairytale princess. All in all they each got a crown, a jeweled Mickey clip, makeup, two bottles on nail polish, and a sash.

I highly recommended this experience. It truly was magical.

The After:

Lastly winner of the Uber cute little girls apron from Lucy Fifty Three was

comment 25:

Kristen Kelley!

Congrats Kristen, please reach out to me within the next 48hrs to claim your

winnings. If do not hear from you I will have to pick another winner!

That boys got moves.

I never thought I would share videos here.No reason other then did not want to bore you guys with my home videos, HA.
But this is my little Bean in action, he really has it down now.And I loved how it shows his LOVE for his big sister.{by the way she had rolled herself up in a mat and was saying she was a butterfly.}
Enjoy.

Mom in the shot Jul 22th {Peek-A-Boo}

Protecting our castle from Bean the Destroyer.

One day he will play the role of Prince Charming but today he was a total conqueror.

Hop on over to Em's for the complete run down on this weekly challenge.

Post of randomness, you know how I roll.

Did you read this post?

Ok so that was my first day making a treasury on Etsy.

I made a total of three that day.

Went to bed.

And woke up to find out one of them made the FRONT PAGE!

Ok, so I totally missed it in all its front page glory.

But I did it!

I put it out there in the universe and it happened.

I did not even have to submit it, holy cow!

Think I could put lotto winning vibes out there and that will happen too?

Onto the next topic:

So it is official.

I have a crawling boy.

He now has swiffer sweeper bum.

He totally says Dada.

Nope not Mama, you know that lady that is up with him in the wee hours of the morning nursing him back to sleep.

He choose Dada.

Whatevs.

Ok so I really only call him Bean on here.

He is more a Bubba.

Or if his sister is talking to him he is "Cheeky Mac & Cheese", oh that girl cracks me up.

We got our craft on this week, more to come on this later.

Can you believe it Thursday already?!

Who knows what my picture will look like today, it maybe rough. Just to forewarn you!

Almost done. Hang in there.

Did you enter my current giveaway yet?

It is super cute, do not miss out.

Off to pack. We are getting "away".

Going to the most magical place on Earth for a long weekend, with some great friends.

Ok done.

Did you stay with me?

Wow you are good.

I am a self professed long post skimmer.

XOXO

Another reason to *heart* Target

Did you see that Target has teamed up with Baby Buggy, a foundation founded by Jessica Seinfeld.

They got together with Petunia Pickle Bottom and Maira Kalman to create exclusive items for Target with a portion of the proceeds going to Baby Buggy.

Only happening until Oct 16, so happy shopping!

Calling off all playdates!

We are quarantined, nothing serious but enough to keep us inside.

We decided it would be nice of us not to spread our green boogie selfs among others.

So inside we sit.

Bored, yes.

Had to figure things for my idle brain to past the time.

Hence my new addition.

Creating Etsy treasuries!

Created two, for now.

In between nose blowing, bum wiping, and just plain fits of laying flat out on the couch, I made these:

Wind Blue Through Our Family Tree

&

Cherri-licious

So now I have a mini goal.

To get one of my treasuries on the FRONT PAGE!

Anyone done it before? Oh how exciting.

Do they tell you if it makes it or do you need to just happen upon it?

Details please.

Oh and if anyone has some amazing pull over at Etsy, a bribe or two would not hurt either!

XOXO

Off to wipe something or other.

Lucy Fifty Three Giveaway {Jul 19- Jul 25}

Why is it shopping for the kiddos is SO much more fun then shopping for ourselves?

One reason is that their clothes can be SO much cuter then ours!

Case in point is Lucy Fifty Three.

Shelly is a local chickie who is producing UBER cute, high quality clothes.

Plus she is a sweetie to boot!

Her eye for combining fabric makes her stand out in my book.

Shelly is giving away to one lucky follower this scrumptious apron!

Here is how to enter {remember ONE comment per entry, with up to THREE entries!}:

1. Follow my blog {you know the drill if you do already that counts!}

2. Head on over to Lucy Fifty Three and come back with your fav item.

3. Become a fan of Lucy Fifty Three on FB.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will be open until midnight on July 25. Winner will be announced on July 26 {chosen via random.org}

Off to go wipes some noses, my kids are crusty today!

Happy Funday, check this out for a good laugh...

My Hubby just showed me this site.

Awkward Family Photos.

Now I am stuck in front of my computer in complete amazement, shock, and laughing till my cheeks hurt.

Enjoy.

{note my favorite so far HAS to be this one! What's yours?}

Please and Thank You.

{mini photo shoot I did with Buggie yesterday in her new Evy's Tree Mini Simple Hoodie, to see more check out Evy's Tree Facebook page}

I have had a hard time lately.

Where has all the politeness gone?

When I was a wee little one, I can remember my Mom telling me anytime I went to a friends house "Amy please remember your Please and Thank Yous. And your Yes Ma'am and Yes Sirs."

Of course I have continued that with Buggie {and eventually Bean}.

My BIGGEST pet peeve is when I hear "What?" "Huh?", it is "Excuse me?"

And it AMAZES me when I see the looks on other Mommies faces when my little girl comes up to me and says "Excuse me Mommy." when I am in a conversation with someone. Why is that AMAZING?! That should be natural for EVERYONE {even a 4 year old}.

I will say I sit in shock when I see a child say "Mom I want a drink." And that Mommy pops up like it is the most natural thing they have ever done and run off to get a drink!!!

Where is the PLEASE?!

Then the icing on rudeness cupcake is that there is NO "Thank you" when it is delivered.

I guess this another thing that seems to be fading out in America.

Why?

So now I say Thank you for listening to me vent a little this morning.

And Please have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Mom in the shot Jul 15th {Short & Sweet}

Just the two of us.

xoxo

Go embrace your cameras!

And the much anticipated Evy's Tree winner is...

Best Tweet of your life Meredith!

Love that her Tweeter name is MereShopsAlot, classic!

Now which will she choose a tee or hoodie?!

Meredith please email me within the next 48hrs from this post to claim your winnings!

If you do not then I will have to say you snooze you lose and pick a new winner {which some peeps might be hoping for, hehe!}

Dear Gerber...

Please include the following warning label on the side of your tantalizing Puffs:

May cause will cause grown man to shake handfuls into their own mouths.

May cause will cause Moms to carry these bottles in bulk quantities and find themselves stashing bottles throughout their house and car.

May cause will cause all four-legged furry family members come crashing down the stairs at the sound of the bottle being dumped onto a high chair.

May cause will cause older siblings to BEG for some of their baby brothers food. Which in turn forces Mommy to carry EVEN more.

May cause will cause babies squeal and kick their legs at the sight of the bottle.

May cause will cause Mommy to open the package in the middle of Target to clam a cart of screaming kids.

May cause will cause you to reach out to other Mommies to have a Puff’s support group.

Thanks.

Can you help me out?

Last day for Evy's Tree Giveaway!

Do not miss out on this amazing giveaway, you have until midnight Eastern today.

Enter here.

And I can now attest to the wonderful products first hand as we received Buggies

Simple Mini Hoodie yesterday {and a little something for someone's upcoming b-day}.

They are made so well, with the SOFTEST hoodies.

Buggie test riding it. Full photo shoot to come {note I ordered her a 6, and she is a TRUE 4t. So as Amy states in her listings these run small.}

Many thanks and some inspiration needed.

I want to say Thank You.

To all of you who left such wonderful words of encouragement on my hard decision.

And I know it is the right one, given a few days have pasted and I still feel good about it.

You never know, I might feel the need to make a crown and offer one up here, wink wink!

I have another Thank You to give.

Your uniform advice was AWESOME.

I placed my order last week and think it will be the perfect amount, all thanks to you ladies!

I am just creating another opportunity here to say thank you.

I need some inspiration. I am going to start working on a photo wall {see below}.

I am LOVING the eclectic walls out there.

Do you have one? I would love to see it.

Added a linky here so you can share. If you do not have a blog no worries, link up with flickr or FB.

I love this girl.

My daughter is the funniest person I know {besides her Daddy}.

She doesn't try to be funny it just happens.

Hubby and I joke at least once a week and say "That girl needs to work on her imagination."

She is the perfect balance of funny and crazy imagination.

Case in point, this weekend she was partaking in her favorite activity of playing dress up. When she walked in the family room as Minnie Mouse. Walked right up to me and asked me "Um Ms. would you like my autograph?" When I said of course. Her reply was "Ok whats your baby's name?" As she scribbled in a notebook. Then pulled her camera out of her bag and asked if I wanted a picture with her.

Classic Buggie moment.

So was I surprised at her making up a song after getting her first letters from her penpal, nope.

Check it out over at little penpals.

Hard but right decision...

I have been thinking for sometime now that I might shut down True Love Found.

I LOVE the creative outlet it has given me.

I *HEART* the relationships it has built.

But I DO NOT enjoy the added stress it has brought.

For the time and money I have put into it I really would need to take it to the next level to get anything back. And right now I am not ready to commit to that.

I enjoy being able to wake up in the morning and just ring up a friend for a playdate without having looming deadlines over my head.

I am not saying this will be forever but it is a right now choice.

I will be fulfilling all open orders and giveaway winners.

Then I will be getting my dinning room back {those of you who have been to my house know exactly what I am referring to!}

Much love to all those who have supported my little venture, it has meant the world to me!

xoxo

{More time for blogging, woo hoo!}

Sorry could not resist another crack shot! HEHE.

Mom in the shot Jul 8th {poolside}

Cozy snuggles.

Naked babies.

Sisterly love.

New found summer freedom!

I love days like this, nothing but friends and good times.

I will say it again, cool kids embrace the camera. Are you cool?

I about fell off my chair...{advice needed}

the other day when I realized that today Bean would be 8 months.

Which "HELLO" means he is going to be 1 in 4 short months, SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!

My little guy help model these monkey hats for a local photog.

I think I will be finding corn for at least the next week under his neck after the 4th!

He is attempting to crawl as I type this.

Oh man, time is slipping through my fingers.

Party planning starting, haha!

Ok total random sidenote:

Buggie is going to be going to school full time in the fall and will need to wear uniforms.

Can you please help me with ordering?

How many of each item should I buy?

Please read if you have entered my Evy's Tree giveaway

I am having problems publishing comments with blogger. I had to copy and paste from my email all your entries. I may have missed some, so please check if your comments are there. If not please repost!

Check under all those comments under Amy H., looks like entered 20 times but they are your comments.
Sorry!

Xoxo


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Evy's Tree Giveaway {July 5th - July 13th}

First let me give credit where credit is due.

It is all because of Mande that I discovered Evy's Tree.

So I thank you sweet Mande!

Evy's Tree, oh Evy's Tree, how I love.

The minute I saw what Amy was coming up with I was smitten.

Her items are just plain and simply GORGEOUS!

Anthropologie/J. Crew has nothing on her, I am just saying.

So I kinda stalked Amy, but she was totally cool with it.

I think it helps that I live clear across the country.

I asked Amy to share a bit about herself and Evy's Tree.

My name is Amy and I am a mom to two of the best little luvies on the planet, Jacob {Jake-3yrs} and Evelyn {Evy-1yrs}, and wife to an incredible guy, Brandon. Before I was a mom, I was a 4th grade public school teacher. My husband and I also serve as youth pastors at our local church, Christian Life Center in Stockton, CA.

I wear a lot of casual clothes, so therefore I am ADDICTED to hoodies, and have been for years: especially ones that I can dress up a little and not give off a sloppy look. I can be known to spend all my clothing $$ on ruffle-ly hoodies from Anthropologie {hehe}.

Last fall 2009, my parents took my little family and my sibling’s families on a trip to Florida. I DESPERATELY wanted to buy some new fun hoodies, but our budget just couldn’t afford it. I follow a blog called Made by Lex {www.madebylex.com}; it’s written by a mom my age who takes old clothes and refashions them or embellishes them to come up with these FAB new items. Although at the time I didn’t know how to sew {couldn’t even sew a button on} I borrowed my mom’s old sewing machine, and with 3 broken in hoodies from my closet, and about $20 of embellishments from Joann’s, I created what I call the original three hoodies: “The Rainbow”, “The Love”, and “The Hoot”. They were DARLING. I took them on our family vacation and got so many compliments. Of course, my three preteen nieces begged me to make them some, which I did for their Christmas gifts. Then my sister in law wanted one and I created, with some help with my mom in law, The Brilla, which has become my best seller.

After Christmas, I put pictures of them on my blog, got a great response and then decided to sell some through a paypal link and sold 15 hoodies in 30 minutes; my little business was born. That was January 5, 2010- not too long ago. After selling almost 100 hoodies off my blog, I decided to open my Etsy shop. We needed a name, so my son Jake came up with “Evy’s Tree”: Late one night he was watching me make The Hoot hoodie {which has an owl on it} and my daughter Evy has a tree in her room with an owl on it- he got so excited and asked me, “Mom, is that Evy’s Tree?”. It just seemed to fit.

Currently, Evy’s Tree has a flourishing shop on etsy and has a variety of hoodies and tees for men, women and children. I am constantly introducing new items, and some items are limited and/or one of a kind. I also sell wholesale to boutiques on the side. I am very thankful for my little business, it allows me to stay home with my children but yet tap into my creative side as well. I hope you enjoy my creations and come visit my shop soon!

xoxo

{just ordered this mini simple hoodie for Buggie in red to match school uniforms, TOO STINKIN CUTE!}

Now lets get down to the good stuff.

Amy is offering up winners choice of either a hoodie or tee!

Can I just say one word, JEALOUS.

Here is how you can enter {PLEASE oh pretty please one comment per entry!}:

1. Follow my blog, already a follower that totally counts.

2. Hop on over to Evy's Tree and lets here what you would pick if you won.

3. Follow Evy's Tree the blog and/or FB {Amy offers up exclusive deals on them, wink wink}

4. Blog, FB, and/or tweet about this giveaway {drop a link if possible}

US residents only.

Open until midnight on July 13th with a winner announced July 14th via random.org

Will you join us?

Do you feel we are lacking something these days?

A certain connection with one another.

We live in such a instant gratification society.

What ever happen to good old mail?

I *heart* mail.

I will admit that if it is a holiday, no mail day, I get a little tinge of sadness.

My little girl has gain these same feelings.

So when I heard that Hayley from little pinwheel's, daughter Keely had the same

feeling towards mail, I had a crazy thought.

Will you follow these little girls as the create a friendship through mail?

Head over to Little Penpals to join in on the fun.

And please do not mind the dust, the blog is a work in progress.

Be back in a little bit for a SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL giveaway for us ladies!

Happy Birthday America!

{I could not get them to open their eyes to save my life, I swear it was a shady spot. Oh well.}

Wishing you a safe and happy 4th from our family to yours!

And thank you to those men and women {& their families} who have given their service to our country.

God bless America.