Things I Love Thursday- Playin in the Water

I DID make it today! We are actually making an early run to the beach to find shells for the kids, but I wanted to post quick... the rest of the day will be busy packing.

Today, the thing I love is playing in the water. To be specific, the ocean (the Gulf) or a pool. Here, my little guy is loving his first time in the Gulf. He came to Florida once before when he was 2 months old...



So, tell us... what do YOU love today??? Please share with us by linking up below directly to you post telling us what you love!

Happy Thursday!

Don't Forget to Enter!!!

Don't Forget to enter in our 2 giveaways! Our UV Skinz giveaway for any ONE item from UV Skinz, is going to end tonight! So don't forget to enter before it is too late!!!

Also, enter our giveaway for $20 in items from Piggy Paint! It will be ending Saturday, July 11th. If you have little girls, neices, granddaughters or someone else who you know would enjoy these, don't forget to sign-up!

We Made It!!!

I just wanted to let you all know we made it safely to Florida. Thank you for all of your prayers!

We got to Florida yesterday, and made a stop at Disney Marketplace in Orlando, which the kids LOVED.... of course! I wish we could have stayed longer.

But we got to Ft Myers LATE last night.

Today, we got alot accomplished and tonight we got to go to the beach!

I will try to keep you updated, and maybe post a few of the normal - "Things I Love Thursday" and such. Talk to you all soon!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is MY dad's birthday (even though he may try to hide from it...). Happy Birthday Dad! I love you lots!!!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday America!

I hope you all have a happy and safe 4th!

Garden Update!

In the last 2 weeks my garden has really started taking off! Here are some pics of my garden right now:

This is my "corn garden"~ Notice the new little sprouts coming up on the left...

This is the rest of the garden. Potatoes to the far left. 3 rows of green beans (I recently had to replant for the 3rd time, so some a quite small...), Cauliflower, the all the way on the right is a mixture of summer squash, zucchini & Cucumbers. At the bottom of the pic are my tomato plants. Remember those guys? I planted them from seed in my house, and some people thought I was nutty. Now who's laughin'? hahahaha HAHAHAHHHAAA!!!! (that was ME!)

Did you have a garden this year? How did it do??? I invite you to leave a link in the comments, so we can all see!

I already have plants for next years garden. One of them includes making my 2 gardens into one... I hope my hubby doesn't freak out TOO bad! =)

New Swagbucks Perk...

You have probably heard me talk about how great I think Swagbucks is. (You know, doing searches, earning money, FOR FREE>) Well, Swagbucks just keeps on getting better!

They JUST added Paypal to their list of gift cards. For 80 Swagbucks, you can get $5 to go toward your Paypal account. You know Paypal. You can take money from Paypal and put into your checking or savings account, and you can pay bills!Swagbucks said they saw the need in these hard economic times to offer something like Paypal. I think it is an awesome idea!

TO kick it off, Swagbucks is offering NEW MEMBERS 5 Swagbucks to start off their new account. All you have to do is enter CASHISKING for the registration code, and they will give you 5 Swagbucks. The code expires on July 6th at 12pm PST. So hurry!

And to remind you all, if you have Swagbucks or if you are new to Swagbucks, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS NORMAL SEARCHES TO EARN SWAGBUCKS! That's it! You can add a Widget like mine to your blog or download their toolbar to your computer, and keep searching! Then earn money for whatever!

Have fun!

Things I Love Thursday- An Ornery Face

It's Thursday, and time again for Things I Love Thursday! Today is the day we get to share with each other what we LOVE! All you have to do is link up below, directly to your post. And I would also appreciate if you mentioned this blog!

So, here we go! Today, the thing I love is this:

An ornery face. Isn't this little dude just the cutest thing.... BTW~ I DID NOT make his hair into the Mohawk that you see, the wind did that. I didn't even notice it until after we got home and I saw it in the pics! This boy tho, he is going to be an ornery one. He has the nose crinkle and everything... I think I'm in trouble!

So, now it is YOUR turn! What do YOU love today!???

Wordless Wednesaday

Deklyn, covered in clay from the Dunes (Warren Dunes, Michigan). Goofy Kid...

Super Mom???

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Do you ever scan your home? Seeing crushed Cheerios on the kitchen floor from 1 baby boy spilling them and 3 other boys running over the top of them with trucks? Seeing a small mountain of laundry waiting to be separated and put away? Seeing your own "to-do" list on the table with hardly anything marked off? Seeing the calendar telling you that tomorrow is grocery day, and you haven't got a clue what your plan is yet? To see that same calendar also telling you that in less then 6 days, you are leaving 4 family members behind to fend for themselves for a week while you travel 4 states away from them?

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Ahhhhh!!!! This is my day. Actually my minute. Because as soon as I can get the end to this paragraph, I am going to keep on, keepin' on. Because with God, all things are possible.

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Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Piggy Paint- Review and GIVEAWAY!

Piggy Paint. I had seen it advertised on blogs, but honestly didn't pay much attention to it, because well, I have boys! I thought it was a cute name...

Then Piggy Paint contacted me about trying their polish. I said 'why not? I have fingernails too...'. So they sent me a sample.

When I got it in the mail, I of course saw the color right away. Blue. My boys said, "what is THAT for?". I told them I was trying out this new product for my blog. And they said, "It's BLUE".

SO, to their amazement, I painted MY nails blue. My baby couldn't keep his eyes off of my shiny BLUE nails... =)

Piggy Paint is made especially for little girls. It is non-toxic (There are no toxic chemicals; it’s free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate and acetone.), and it is odor free. It even dries pretty quickly.

I decided to paint my nails because I thought I would give the polish a good workout. With all that I do during the day, we would see how durable this polish was.

When I painted my nails, I noticed that there was no scent. I sniffed the bottle and smelled a very faint smell. It smelled almost like play dough. Mind you, I don't normally sniff the bottles of fingernail polish. But for the sake of this review, and the company saying "odorless", I thought I would check it out. Plus, I think I have an abnormally good sniffer...

The paint went on very nicely. It dried in a very short time, about a minute or less. I payed attention because one of my boys kept asking if they could touch it...

I added the second coat and it covered very well. And again dried in a short time.

Then I put it to my daily grind. Here are some of the things I made my nails endure on "Piggy Paint Day":

• dishes
• gardening: pulling weeds, digging in the dirt, hoeing and raking.
• laundry: hanging wet clothes on the line.
• giving baby a bath
• replanting flowers (chickens dug up) in mulch: digging into mulch and replanting.
• time in the kitchen ( I am a fanatic about washing my hand while I am in the kitchen).
• tw0 showers

So, I think I gave then a pretty good workout! And here is how they looked after a full day of wear and tear:

Not bad eh? I don't usually polish my fingernails because they get chipped and look horrible so quickly. But I was pretty impressed. My thumbs didn't have any chips, and my other hand didn't look bad either. I am right handed, so I figured I would show you the hand that is the busiest...

Piggy paint also sent me some fingernail polish remover. I opened it, and also noticed no smell. I again sniffed the bottle (FOR THE REVIEW!) and notice absolutely NO smell at all! I was seriously in shock. And it works like it is supposed to! I am a fan!

So, what do you think? Think your little girl (or one of your nieces) would like to use this stuff?

Right now, if you order $25 or more from their web site, you get FREE SHIPPING (domestic)! Nice! And if you order, be sure to use the code MUDDY15L to get an extra 15% off or your order! Even includes sale items! Gotta love that. (Code is good through August 15, 2009)

BUT, you just might get a chance to try it for free! Because Piggy Paint is giving away, to one lucky reader, a $20 gift code! You can order anything from the Piggy Paint website with the $20 gift code!

What do you need to do to enter??? You ready? Here we go:

• Go to the Piggy Paint site, How would you spend your $20 gift code???
• Follow Piggy Paint on Twitter.
• Become a follower of this site (or tell me if you already are).
• Subscribe to this site (or tell me if you already are).
• Follow us on Twitter.
• Blog about this giveaway on your site, on facebook or on twitter (then leave a link).

There you go! Nothin' to it! Now, go ahead ENTER already! Get those piggies painted!

Things I Love Thursday- Roses

It's Thursday, and it is already BLAZING HOT out. It's been blazing for the last few days. It would be nice to have A/C but we don't! Right now, ceiling fans keep it in the 70's in our house. Thank goodness for those big shade trees around the house! We do have a window A/C unit for the boy's upstairs, and it feels quite nice up there!

On to the things I love! Even in the blazing heat and LOTS of rain we've got, some things (namely plants) LOVE this weather. I know this is ONE plant that does. And this is the thing I LOVE today!

Roses!

These are the roses that were my GREAT-GRANDMA's. I got a start of them last year and so each one of these roses are about the size of a nickle. But, they bring so many memories to mind as I look at them. SO many good memories of being able to live beside my great-grandma growing up, her cooking, these roses floating in a vase, looking so pretty...

So, now it's YOUR turn! Tell us what YOU love today. Share with us by linking directly to your link, not your general site. We would LOVE to see what YOU love today!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Vacationing with Family- Tips on Traveling with Children

Today we will discussing traveling with children! This will mainly be for DRIVING with children, but some things can also apply to flying.

Traveling with children... it can definitely set a bad mood for the trip if you have children asking every 2 seconds, "Are we THERE YET???". So, how do you keep them entertained on a long card trip? How do you keep from having to make stops at the rest stops ever hour? How do you keep them from FIGHTING the WHOLE TIME? I cannot guarantee miracles, but I do know what has worked for me.

• Before you leave on your trip, a week or more before, start packing an activity bag. This should be a bag that the child is allowed to have access to, or one that you pull items out of for them during the trip. Items in this bag, should be all "new to the child" items. Items should obviously be age appropriate, and something that they are going to love doing. Ideas include (but are not limited to): Coloring books, notebooks (for drawing or writing), colored pencils, crayons (I wouldn't suggest regular markers, unless you enjoy graffiti in your vehicle), small hand-held games (anywhere from ones for $10 that have Yahtzee, Battleship, etc or Nintendo DS, our range would be more the $10 range!), card games, small toys (my boys would enjoy Hot Wheel cars, little army men, or Cowboys and Indians, etc.), travel bingo ( you can buy these, copy them off the Internet from several sources, or make your own!), plus MUCH more. You will probably want items that are relatively quiet. For obvious reasons. And all items you should not have to worry about. Example: if you gave them markers, you might be a little worried they would make a mess with them...


• SNACKS & DRINKS. This one seems obvious, but there is a better way to do it. DO NOT purchase snacks on the road. You are going to overpay BIG TIME. Instead a week before you leave, make a list of all good snacks to travel with. Like pretzels, fruit & veggies (grapes, apples, celery, carrots, etc), cookies (homemade or store bought), crackers, etc. All snack should be lower in processed sugar so your kids don't get a huge burst of energy while you are driving. Also, don't buy the small snack bags. MAKE YOUR OWN! This will also save you lots of money. Plus on everyone's baggie, you can put their name. Little kids think this is extra special. Drinks. Ah drinks... to be real here, I am going to tell you I give MY kids VERY LITTLE to drink while we travel. Reason, my oldest son has a bladder the size of a grape. You give that boy something to drink, he will have to go potty within 5 minutes. I am not exaggerating. Ask my extended family. My in laws took my oldest with them on a 2 day trip. I told them not to give him anything to drink. So what did grandpa and grandma do? The first stop they made, they got him a big drink! My SIL said to them, she heard me say he shouldn't have anything to drink. But they said he would be fine. Long story short, they end up pulling over on the side of the road and he ends of pottying in someone's yard. SO! Know your child's potty habits, and give them VERY LITTLE if their bladder is very little!


• Meals. If you can, pack them on your own. It not only means less stops, but it also means it will be cheaper, and healthier! Make a cold meat sandwich with lettuce and tomato, or something else easy, non-greasy, and not too heavy. Obviously, a cooler is a good idea here. If you have to use ice in your cooler, make sure everything is packed in Ziploc bags, to keep from getting wet. If you have to stop somewhere, make sure you eat as healthy as possible. You don't want car sickness or upset bellies.


• Make sure you have necessities handy. Necessities like Tylenol, kid's Tylenol, bandaid's, fingernail clippers, etc. You never know when you will need it! I know we usually need those things in the most unexpected time, like while traveling! Also, carry lots of wet wipes. This a re a blessing when you have an unexpected accident with juice or sticky fingers from that PB &J.


• If you have a long drive, discuss leaving after dinner time. If you leave in the evening, your kids will have had all day to get tired, and will most likely sleep all night in the car for you. This has been a wonderful time for us travel when we are going longer distances. This is only an option if you don't mind driving through the night. I would suggest doing the following: See if a friend or family member can take the kids during the day. You wake early that morning, get all of your packing done, then take a long nap. Then, when you wake up, kids are tired and you are ready to go!


• Traveling with a baby. This can be easy, or it can be hard! With my kids, it was easy for one simple reason. They were on a feeding schedule. By the time my #3 was 2.5 mo, we were going to drive to Florida (from Indiana, 19 hours). We ended up only having to stop ever 4 hours because that is when my son ate. In between, he slept!


• When you make your stops, make the MOST of them. Don't just stop for gas, and nothing else. When you stop for gas, make that a potty break, a food stop and an energy-out break, if possible.


• When you stop, use it as an opportunity to let your kids run! Make sure they are in a safe spot (not a parking lot). And let them RUN! We can't expect them to sit for 12 hours and not get antsy!

The last thing I will leave you with is that I suggest that you PLAN. Plan ahead on snack, activity bag, etc. If you have everything you need at your fingertips, your trip will go much smoother.

I hope this helps you. I know these things have really helped me. I am actually making a driving trip to Florida in about 2 weeks, and will be taking my 4 yo. I will definitely be following everything here!

Any of you have great tips for traveling with your kids??? Please share!

Happy Traveling!

Happy Birthday Austin!

7 years ago today, we had our boy #2, Austin. And right out of the womb, he wanted to eat.

Little has changed today, as Austin is always having to confirm with us when the next meal will be arriving, and what it will be. Even though, we have NEVER let him starve, he still has to make sure!

Austin is very loving, VERY smart, and very naive. He loves animals, he loves to spell, and loves to eat. He likes baseball and soccer.

Today, we celebrated Austin's birthday by taking him to the zoo. Hubby had to work so I, my boys, my mother, and 2 sisters and 1 nephew went. We had fun, although the temps got up to 92 degrees! And it was HOT. Then I discovered when I got in our truck after the zoo, that our A/C doesn't work in the truck. Nice day for THAT to surface!

But it was a nice day. Here are some pics:

So, Happy Birthday, Boss (Austin)!

Garden Update

My SIL, Megan asked how garden were doing, so I am answerin' the call out and took some pics of my garden.

The weeds went a little nutty over all of the rain we have been getting lately. And we have wonderful soil for them to thrive in too! So, anyways after working on the garden for about an hour or so, I was able to finish clearing out the weeds and have a good looking garden again. Here are my pics:

My green beans are a little sparse but I am going to go back and REPLANT AGAIN, hopefully third time's the charm! Now, I can't wait for harvesting! =) Do YOU have a garden? How are YOU doing this year?

Winner of Mother's Necklace!

We have a winner for the mother's necklace by Lauren Nicole!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers: 138
Timestamp: 2009-06-23 03:56:46 UTC

Christina Burrell! YOU are the winner of this lovely Mother's Necklace! I hope this is a beautiful reminder of your two precious children.