Wordless Wednesday

Nothing like catching tapoles

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!!

Thank you to all who have served for this country!!

 

 

Today makes me remember marching in my hometown's parade with the band, playing all the services theme songs. I also recall standing by the creeks edge listening to the dedication and gun salutes followed by taps on the bugle. I think of my Grandfather being a part of the parade and seeing him stand tall with all the others who have served and those that are still serving. One word comes to mind when I recall in my mind what the brave men and women looked liked standing there.

Strong.

Not the Grundy County Auction - but SOLD!

    It's FREEZING here this morning! News says it is currently 39 degrees. I am bundled up to delay the temptation to turn the heat on. Must resist.
    There are few things that I will admit when it comes to country music. (Very few things) Granted I grew up in "the country" but that doesn't mean I listened to country music. Too many horses, women leaving, beers drinking or left alone, moonlight river walks, tractors and trucks for me BUT thanks to an old co-worker I use to ride with I know all the lyrics to "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" sung by John Michael Montgomery. That is exactly what I am singing in my head right now.

    The Hubs drove by the house we're buying and it had the red SOLD sign on!! Yikes!! Then I got sign envy - where is the red sign for the front of our house? Actually, it's okay we don't have the red sign yet. I'm still trying to process the house inspection and news from the buyer (like I have a choice).
    I came to the conclusion last night that it feels like we're the ones that are putting up the parking lot. You know - "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot - ohhhhh lalalalala"  I'm going all Joni Mitchell  Big Yellow Taxi on this house and land. It's silly I know!
    How I can be so super excited about the new house and so saddened by leaving this one?

My house is not happy with me

    Today was the home inspection on our house. The kid and I left for the afternoon so we were out of the way. When we got back home and I walked through the door I had a weird, sinking feeling. It felt like my house was mad at me, like I just allowed her to be violated.
    I did a quick walk through to make sure all the lights and windows were taken care of after being inspected. I just could not shake this feeling like the house seriously was upset. Did I pimp my house out? Can a house have a personality? Am I getting too sentimental over this house the closer we get to leaving it?
    I did meet the potential buyer and he explained to me who was all coming today and what they were doing. He mentioned carpet guys taking measurements and a kitchen guy coming to check things out. Did he just dis my kitchen after we were told he was going to leave it? Hhhmm.., maybe I heard that wrong. I hope I did.
    He told me he was going to contact the hubs to let us know what we had to "clean up" before we left like if the garage might be taken down then we wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it. Thanks man, thanks.
    He also mentioned the soil sample they were going to take in a few days so that they can outline where the basement will be on the side yard. Buh-bye land. Hello New House. (Should we warn the neighbors?)
    I feel like I'm doing this house wrong. It's weird. I did not think in my wildest dreams that I would become so sappy about leaving it. Is this normal?

Wordless Wednesday

Big Sis, Big Bro and Baby Bear hand prints

- actually got this on the first try!!

 

Inspector Gadget - House Update

     The contingency is released! Whoop whoop!! Let me back track for a moment. We put an offer on a house and it was accepted - however we had to go in as an contingent offer because we did not have a buyer for our current house. After three open houses, a dream about needing St. Joseph, a complete basement clean out and a conspiracy theory on the number "3" we finally received an offer.

The Puck Number!

    The offer is a bit bittersweet. Turns out it is a builder who intends to build a new house on our side lot and do some update work on our house. Not our kick ass kitchen though.., well it does need a true counter top because the one in there now was intended to be a temporary until I figured out what exactly I wanted and the windows will need to be updated because I couldn't decide on an herb/garden window and new doorway so we never did that either but the the cabinets are wonderful (Thanks Ikea!)
    It's weird to know that the land that our kids play on, ride their dirt bike on and the land we love to have is going to have a house built on it. I look out my window now and it's just surreal.

Adios yardage

    I can't get hung up on this though. We are moving. This wont be our land and house any more. We're going to have a new house and new bit of land (although it wont be as much).
    I'm going to miss a bunch about this house but we're moving on to make more memories and stories at a new house. A new phase. A new story.
    So Thursday is the planned home inspection on our house. We'll be one step closer to closing. One more step closer to a sold sign in front of our house. Lady Luck has taken her time getting here but it feels like most of everything is falling into place. Hard work and perseverance. And a whole lot of wishing!!

It's Camp Time! Get ready with Stuck On You - *Giveaway*

    School is winding down for the year which means it's almost Summer Camp time! Which camp is your little one going to this year? Whether it be a day camp program or a week long camp away from home, there is plenty of supplies that need to go with your kiddo - and make it back home with them.

    I want to introduce Stuck On You. They have everything to help you get ready to send your little one off to camp! Where to start?

    I am big on labels. With three kids practically nothing leaves the house without a label. Each of my kids have their own label color and design. Makes it easy to know at a quick glance what belongs to who. Not sure which labels you'll need? Stuck On You has a wide selection of Value Packs.
    The Camp Sleepaway Pack offers a great spread of different types of labels and a personalized toiletry bag. The Travel Pack is perfect to pack lotion, shampoo and such in four personalized bottles with a matching toiletry bag. One of the bottles come with a spray top which I can think would be great for hair detangler or even sun screen.

Camp Sleepaway Pack

    Stuck On You also has Personalized Towels. These are adorable with the stripes. The names are embroidered on the towels so they wont fade like a screen printed personalization would.

Embroidered Beach Towels

    Let's not forget about piling all the supplies in a bag or two! Stuck On You has a wide variety of bags that can be personalized. Backpacks, Lunchbags and even Sports Bags are available. The Sports Bags are perfect for packing for longer stays. The pockets on the outside are very helpful keeping smaller things where they belong and not shuffled in the mix.

Sports Bag

 

    Need tags? They have a great selection of tags to choose from. Embossed Tags and Bag Tags are available to match.

Embossed tags offer up to 5 lines of information

    And definitely do not forget about making sure your kiddo stays hydrated in style! The Drink Bottles feature wrap around designs on a stainless steel bottle.  

Drink Bottles

    Last but not least - I want to highlight one more item. I am a mum who likes to surprise my kiddos. How fun would it be to tuck away a journal or diary for them to write their thoughts and adventures in while they are away? They can even use it to write down addresses or contact information of new friends. I would even go as far as write little "thinking of you" notes on sporadic pages throughout the book. (Far less embarrassing than a t-shirt with my face on right? haha)

Paper bound Journals               Spiral bound Diaries

    I told you they had a wide selection of items to get you all ready for Summer Camp! How cool is that? Everything can match! That is definitely a win in my book. The fonts are fun and easy to read. They offer a wide variety of themes and icons. Big Sis fell in love with the "Sweetie Pie" theme. Big Bro is into anything with space right now so "Space Journey" was his natural choice.

       Sweetie Pie with Pancake font   Space Journey with Cocoa font

    The personalization process is easy to use and design. The preview is generated as you work and you can switch out fonts and themes quickly.
    So now it's your chance to get stuck on Stuck On You! They have been so incredibly kind to allow me to host a giveaway for a $50 voucher to their site. Get a jump on the Summer Camp season and enter below - Giveaway is open to United States and Canada. Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The not so tiny fine print: Promotion open to U.S. and Canadian residents ages 18+, void where prohibited. Winner will be chosen at random on, about, or after May 27, 2013, and will be notified via email. If no response within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen.  Prize provided by Stuck On You. Not responsible for lost or misdirected mail.

Disclosure: This is an amazing sponsored promotion by Stuck On You.

All opinions are my own.

Wordless Wednesday

A few weeks ago I taught Big Sis to finger knit.

She's on a roll! A rainbow roll!

Stylin' in white - Old Navy Style Council Feature

    I was very lucky to be chosen for Old Navy's Style Council's White Jean Sampling. (I'm signed up through Crowdtap and I love it! It's fun and with chances to participate in programs like this - why not?!)
   I know what you might be thinking - white jeans? I was kind of like that too but these are super fun! I was sent a coupon to pick out a pair of Old Navy's white jeans for me and a friend - I asked my soon-to-be sister-in-law and she did not hesitate one bit. Then again, who would hesitate at this opportunity?
   I have always been a huge fan of Old Navy's jeans. They just fit me the way that I like them to fit. In the past few years they have expanded their jean collection to tailor to all different body types, shapes and preferences. I like my jeans on my hips - not below or above. I also like boot cut or flares - I just can't bring myself to wear straight leg. Then again, if I ever get into the fashion trend of wearing boots over jeans I'm sure a pair of straight legs would be best. But I'm not there yet. (Let's not forget - this mama is working on revamping her wardrobe. That means no more maternity clothes, soon to be no more nursing tops, no more in between pregnancy clothes and no more clothes that I've been clinging onto thinking I'll wear again)
    Big Sis and I ventured into Old Navy to try on some white jeans. I really like the cropped ones (but I guess they are not classified as "White Jeans" even though they are white and are jeans. No worries though.) I tried on a pair of Rockstar, Flirt and Sweetheart. I liked them all. There was one (sorry I can't remember) that you could see the pocket liners through the jeans. Might have just been that particular cut or fit but all the others I tried on where fine.

How fun!

Perfect cut to wear with heels

The crops I was digging

I think we have a winner!

    I can't wait to wear these out on a date night. I have just the perfect outfit in mind. A teal top with my teal flip flops and a fun coral hand knitted necklace Big Sis made for me.

Cute right??!

    What would you pair with white jeans? Where would you wear them?

First run of 2013!

    Happy Mother's Day!! What a wonderful day I had. It started off cold - chilly and freezing! Could not believe it was even May with the temps we had. In fact right before Big Sis's 1 mile fun run it was pouring rain and there was even hail!
    But exactly 20 seconds before the whistle went off the sun came breaking through the clouds and off she went! I don't know why but every time I watch her run I get all misty eyed. She just amazes me. She makes me so proud. And she did wonderful!! She ran this time her mile in under 14 minutes. Knocked a minute off of last year. This is her first run of 2013 and she's not going to stop!

There she is! That teal blur running on air is my girlie girl!

    Ok, so she can drive me up a wall when she's dancing around when it's time to clean, or when she is singing when it's quiet time, or when she's bouncing around on my couch when she should be sitting on it (I still vow that the day she buys her own couch I'm going to jump all over it as pay back) but she really is a wonderfully, beautiful and fantastic girl! Sometimes I am just beside myself when I watch her. I am really amazed. I wonder and hope that I brought my mum the same feelings that Big Sis brings me.
    It's moments like these that leave me breathless about the sweet and tender moments of Motherhood.

Wordless Wednesday

Target cartin'

Wordless Wednesday

Big Bro holding onto Bear's pinkie - Sibling Love!