Friday Faves

Missy at It's Almost Naptime has one of the funniest blogs I've ever read. She's so real and thought-provoking and wonderful I just can't get enough of her! She started a new carnival recently - Friday Faves. This week's theme is the music you are listening to in your car.

So I figured I'd link up my children's favorite that they BOTH have memorized. Even the one year old sings along with "baa, baa, baa". It's super cute.

To see what other people have been listening to, check out Missy's website. It will take you longer than you anticipate. Yeah - she's THAT good :)

Emily - This is for YOU!

Oh my goodness! Savvy Mode is having the most amazing giveaway I've ever heard of - SHOES!

Not just any shoes - these are more expensive shoes than I have ever worn in my life :)

Everyone should check this one out, but especially a sister of mine named Emily!!!

Frugal Kid Gifts

Gina from the fabulous Moneywise Moms hosted a carnival on cheap gifts for kids. Since I have to do lots of kid's gifts due to all the siblings I have, I thought I'd add my two cents. Here are some recent popular birthday gifts I've given:

RM turned 8 recently so I used the Mars free chocolate coupons in conjunction with a Rite Aid BOGO sale and bought him 8 candy bars. That was a couple weeks ago and he's already eaten them all :p I've also seen people use this idea for cards (1 starburst, 2 M&Ms, etc.)

LA turned 6 in July & I got him a giant frisbee from Oriental Trading Co. for $5. Then I got a sharpie and wrote messages all over it. You could also use this idea for homemade kites - the idea is to cover the item in birthday wishes and fun phrases.

For my son's first birthday in a couple weeks, I am making banana shaped bean bags and my husband is going to make a bean bag toss out of a sheet of plywood and then I/my sister will paint it to look something like this:

Those are the most recent gifts I've done. I'm sure I could think of more, but my baby just woke up from his nap....

I feel like partying...

Wanna come party with me and 400+ of my friends? :)

Things I love Thursday - Coconut Oil!

After coming home from the store the other day I was bemoaning that I forgot to get more coconut oil and my husband said, "You should write a blog about how coconut oil is so awesome."

My husband is a genius.

Coconut oil IS awesome. I was a little sceptical when I first tried it, but I am completely hooked now. Only one, ONE, grocery store in our area carries it :( I have read both that coconut oil is wonderful for you and that it's the worst thing you could possibly eat. We haven't had any problems with it.

I like using coconut oil as a lotion - it makes my skin really soft without a greasy feel, plus it doesn't have a strong odor. It rubs in easily too. I am convinced that coconut oil is responsible for my lack of stretch marks from my last pregnancy.

Coconut oil is great to use for baking. I'm told it makes the best popcorn, but I haven't tried that yet.

The best use for coconut oil though, is as a KY substitute :) Seriously, this is why I buy the stuff.

It. Is. The. Best. Period. Natural, safe, odorless, not sticky or greasy, actually beneficial to your body, it is just awesome stuff. In case you haven't noticed, I really, really, really love coconut oil!

What do you love? Head over to the Diaper Diaries to let everyone know.

This made me cry.

I found this song on You Tube and I started crying as I watched it. It is just such a sweet testimony for a guy and it made me think of my incredible husband.

I am going to see if my husband will sing it for church (he would ROCK it).

What do you think? Is it just me or is that a great song?

To ALL Parents

Monday in a Harlem middle school, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a group of 120 students that administration officials are actively discussing “when and how it might be possible to join” (that is, ratify) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As before, she also communicated what a disgrace it is that the U.S. would stand with only Somalia against such a widely-accepted treaty.

This is the first direct public statement by the Obama administration that it will seek ratification of the UN CRC.

In my 30 years of political involvement, I have learned to recognize this as what is called a “trial balloon.” Like in World War I trench warfare, our opponents have “sent up a balloon” to see if it will draw fire. If things remain quiet, they will proceed with their plans to push for ratification of the CRC in the U.S. Senate.

To discourage them from doing so, we need to make sure that our voices are heard with unmistakable clarity. We must let the Obama administration know that we oppose this anti-family, anti-American treaty.

Here’s what we need you all to do:

1. Call the White House comments line at 202-456-1111. Tell them you heard the administration wants to ratify the CRC, and you strongly oppose this giving away of U.S. sovereignty to the UN. Also keep in mind that this treaty gives the government jurisdiction to override any decision made by any parent if the government thinks that a better decision can be made—even if there is no proof of any harm.

2. Call Ambassador Susan Rice’s office at the United Nations. Tell her that you want her to represent the United States to the world rather than trying to get the United States to go along with international law initiated by the UN. Her office number is 212-415-4000.

3. Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose ratification of this treaty. (Find your Senators’ contact information by typing your zip code into the box here.) Ask them also to defeat it once and for all by cosponsoring SJRes 16 – the Parental Rights Amendment.

It is very important that we speak up right now. Please call before you close this email!

Sincerely,

Michael Farris

(I called - would you?)

To learn more about this latest attack on parental rights, visit the Parental Rights website.

Unfortunately Courtney

I was reading Kathryn's blog the other day and she was talking about how a friend of hers did a search with "Unfortunately (their name)" in Google and wrote a little story with the results that popped up. I thought this sounded like fun & I am totally burned out after writing 32! articles this past weekend. (I can tell you all kinds of cool facts about lobsters, the Foreign Exchange market, real estate, buying a boat, internet scams, etc. I am a plethora of weird information :)

The greatest disappointment, perhaps, is that one can imagine an interesting play here; unfortunately, Courtney didn't write it, and one can only wonder...

Unfortunately Courtney was afraid of the photographer and cried.

That's the NBA and unfortunately Courtney is getting a little of that right now.

Unfortunately, Courtney just doesn't have time to surf during the school week.

Unfortunately, Courtney cries at everything

Boo hoo :)

Moving on...

I'm back! Did you miss me oh imaginary blogger friends? Since my last post I:

Celebrated my third anniversary (with a great deal on steak from Giant & my wedding video now also known as the "daddy movie")

Turned twenty-four (I only changed 2 diapers on my birthday!!! That's a record for me :)

Got hired as a free-lance writer (something I have always wanted to do)

So what does this mean for the future? I won't be posting every day anymore so I can write for my job, but I will still update this blog once or twice a week about whatever I feel like.

I know there are more creative/focused/better blogs out there so if you are reading mine - THANK YOU! You deserve a medal or something :)

Vacation

I am on vacation for the next two weeks.  I want to think about the direction of my blog and maybe you'll see some changes here after that.  I also want to focus on my anniversary and birthday with my family.  So until then, I'll still be around and available, but I won't be blogging.

See you in June!

Brotherly Kisses

I turned around and caught sight of Will leaning on Evan's highchair to give him a kiss the other day.  It was so precious I grabbed the camera to catch the moment.  Brothers=love.  So very special :)  It just gives me warm fuzzies all over.

Check out the Diaper Diaries for more Things I love Thursday.

(Bet none of them are as sweet as this though :)

A Tribute to my Husband

Today is my handsome husband's birthday.  He is turning 32.  In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I would post 16 (half of 32) things I love about him :)  These are all from THIS LIST I made for him one year.  I was going to post 32, but it's midnight & I'm tired...

1.  My husband is the most grateful person in the world.  Seriously, he thanks me for little things or things I don't think he notices.  He really challenges me in this area cause he is so much more content than I am.

2.  His voice.  He is an amazing vocalist, but even just hearing him talk makes me smile :)

3.  His wittiness.  He is SO clever it kills me.  One line quips that are hysterical = my hubby.

4.  Related to number 3, his sense of humor.  My husband can make me laugh so hard!

5.  How patient he is with people.  He plays the same game over and over and over with Will and never get impatient with him or stops until Will loses interest.  It is so neat to watch them play together.

6.  How smart he is - my husband is so amazingly talented & smart.   He knows how to do EVERYTHING.  I'm not kidding.  He really does!

7.  How he is sensitive to my feelings.  This especially means a lot to me when I'm PMSing :)

8.  How excited he gets when he has an idea.  He gets really enthusiastic & it's contagious.

9.  How persistent and hard-working he is.  He worked for YEARS to build our house while also working full-time.  It's amazing to me.

10.  I love how my husband shares his worries and concerns with me.  I try and ask him occasionally what I can pray for him & he is always so open with me.

11.  How his dream is not to be rich or important, but to own his own business and work at home.

12.  How he treats his mom.  This is something I noticed and liked before we got married.  He shows such respect/love for his mother.  How could I not fall in love with my man?

13.  How he calls me every day on his lunch break.  Even if we have nothing much to tell each other, just having him think of me & connect with me is so awesome.

14.  How he is always willing to help others.  If someone needs something done or help with something, my husband is the one they call.  Because he knows how to do it & because he is always willing.

15.  How he kisses me at stoplight/stop signs.  This was something we started when we were engaged & I love how he still does it!

16.  His heart for Christ.  My husband loves the Lord & everyone who knows him knows that.

I love you so much honey!  You are the best husband anyone could ever wish for.  I'm so grateful to God for giving you to me!  Happy Birthday <3