Monday, February 28, 2011

Spring Cleaning for Uncle Sam

This is the time of year like the rest of America, my husband and I start organzing our paperwork for tax time.

We handle our paperwork quite differetly. I prefer to keep all receipts in one location, adding it all up before our visit to the accountant and he tends to conduct a search party between the months of February and March to find everything needed.

While we do things very differently, the one thing we agree on is that our personal information needs to be destroyed before we put any paperwork into the trash.

Fellows is a manufacturer and marketer of business machines, and paperwork storage solutions.

Something we could totally use right about now is this cute, little Fellows P-12C shredder. We used to have one, now we tear it all up and use different garbage bags. This would be great because it is small and affordable. It also has cross cross cutting action so each sheet will be cut into 399 particles. In a world where people can use your personal information in so many damaging ways, this is a must!

To Purchase: head to Target where it is currently on sale for under $80.00, a small price to pay for financial protection.

Disclosure: I recieved this information from a campaign with One2One Network and Fellows and these opinions are strictly my own.

Moody Monday - Round

Moody Monday
Face Paint-Blogged

ornament - round - blogged

Happy Mellow Yellow Monday - "Mixed Media Art by 5 Year Old"

Mellow Yellow Monday is such a cheery meme especially on days like today when it is rainy and gray.

Goddess loves creating and spends a lot of time putting art together. She has no idea how great she is. At 5 her ideas are inspiring and way outside the box. She constantly is brainstorming some craft idea and saves certain items until she has everything she needs for her project. If she is this organized and creative at 5, I can only imagine where this natural ability will take her as she gets older.

Here is one of her pieces which has since this picture, been turned into a multi-page book.
mixed media by 5 year old-Blogged

In this she used tape, chalk, crayons, paper and embellishments. She had no idea that a term "mixed media" existed until I told her. She is of course very happy with herself.

Blue Monday - Baby Bunny

This Blue Monday, I present a Easter Bunny Doll that my Father sent to my daughter on her first Easter. It was part of his collection and he wanted her to have it. It sits on a shelf in her room. Every once in a while she asks to play with it and I tell it she has to be careful because the face is porcelain. She says, "I'm good with glass things" and usually only holds it for 10 minutes before she asks me to put it back. The only reason I hold onto it is because my father sent it to her. Once a big doll collector now I see them as mostly dust collectors. I have about 20 dolls in storage tat Goddess has never seen. I hope they are still intact. One day, I will haul them out and go through them. Hopefully, she doesn't' want to keep them all.
Baby Bunny - Blogged

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Wish Me Luck On My New Job


I am sure you have seen this sweet, little logo on my blog by now. Baby Bindle was created by Sandra, one of the winners of the Huggies Mom Inspired Grant Program which I mentioned on Maria's Space. She is a personal friend and reader of Maria's Space. When I heard she was selected, I was thrilled that one of my readers had won.


Baby Bindle's first product is called a SeatPak. It is a one of a kind diaper bag and attaches to your baby carrier freeing your hands and arms to take care of your most prized possession. Your baby!

So, what does this have to do with me? Well, head over to this post and find out. While there, feel free to wish Sandra luck on her quest to make the lives of parents everywhere "smoother"

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter if you are interested. We would love to  hear from you and I could use all the support I can get as I head back to workforce.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Please Vote For Handsome and Goddess



Check out Handsome and Goddess and if you feel like voting for them or another participate, please do. We would love to win and finally give back to a hospital. After receiving thousands in charity care at my hospital, it would be great to pay it forward. You can vote daily.


Here is the link
http://danceoff.primroseschools.com/Gallery/Individual?videoId=20169467

The Weekend In Black and White

The Weekend in Black and White!

Here is my baby girl playing ballerina last week. There is just something adorable about the way the ribbon looks on her leg. 

Ballerina-blogged

Saturday 9: Monday, Monday



Saturday 9: Monday, Monday

1. How does your day usually go on Monday? The same as every other day of the week. My son wakes me at 6:30 and we lie on the couch until I can open my eyes. Then I get the kids ready for school. Drop them off. Park. Heard into the morning meeting. Go home. Throw a load of laundry in. Make beds. Put on the computer. Check email. Eat breakfast. Dust a room. Call a friend. Eat lunch. Blog.  Pick up kids from school. Do homework. Make dinner. Bath time. Put kids to bed. Read, Netflix, and Webkinz. Facebook. Bed.

2. Who was the last band you saw live? Bon Jovi, over 10 years ago.

3. When was the last time you purchased something over $50? Christmas Toys for the kids.

4. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Hell no! One of my favorite subjects.

5. Do you wish you were someplace else right now? I would like to be sleeping in a comfortable bed, dreaming a pleasant dream.

6. Tell us about the last wedding that you attended. It was so long ago, I don't remember. May have been my own.

7. What's annoying you right now? The sound on TV movies. Constantly having to adjust the sound. Up, down, up, down. Can we get some consistency please?!

8. What is your best skill/ability? Why? I can deal with most personality types. I like most people and have no problem dealing with all.  Why? Because I can accept people just as they are. I have been doing it my whole life.  I can also forgive and forget a lot of things by simply saying, "if they could do better, they would do better. This is their best." Who am I to judge?

9. If someone asked a friend of yours, "Hey, what is one thing your friend is exceptional at?", what would they say about you? Why? She is a good person. She will say hello to everyone and takes takes good photos.  Why? Because, that's why.

Journaling My Medical Drama of 2010 - The Final Chapter

Part 3


Last week, I spoke to my friend Maria who I had called accidentally while trying to call my friend Marianne, who was in the hospital for a heart problem. It was great to talk to Maria even if it was an accident. We worked together before I stopped a paying job to be a stay at home mom. She was big Maria (she is over 6 feet tall) and I was little Maria (4'11 and 3/4). For a while we sat next to each other and were just the Maria's. Any way, I digress as usual....while talking to Maria she said, "so are you eer going to write part 4 of the medical drama?" I asked, "you read my blog?" She said, every day and mentioned how she has watched the kids grow through my blog. Cute. She has never even met Goddess but knows all about her.

My reason for holding off on the post was, I wasn't far enough from this particular experience. It was still to raw but I can do it now. After discussing it with Maria on the phone, I am ready to write it down and let it go.

So....Maria and anyone else reading, here is the final installment of my medical drama.

Last we left off, I was home. It was the 21st of December and I was walking up and down the hall.  That night was OK. The next day sometime after lunch, I started feeling some pain. It started small enough but soon progressed to an unbearable. Every breath I took made it worse. Every move I made was excruciating so much so that, doing anything brought tears to my eyes.

When I had to go to the bathroom, Teach would come over, I would wrap my arms around his neck and he would lift me. Then I needed another minute or more before we started moving. The bathroom is only two doorways away but it would take us almost 5 minutes to get there and then the same thing. He would help me with my pants, then lower me to the toilet. Coming in until he was needed to help me again. Goddess saw us coming back from the bathroom and asked if we were dancing.

The pain was so bad that I wanted to die. It felt worse than anything I had ever physically experienced in my life. There was no breathing through it and if I had a knife in my hand, I would have killed myself to stop the suffering.

Beside this pain, my stomach had been leaking a disgusting fluid for two days and although I wasn't concerned about it, it added to my stress. My clothes were soaked. The pain unbearable and unable to even participate in my kids lives. I was there but not.

I called the doctors office on the 23rd asking his front desk to please have him prescribe a pain killer for me.  She asked if I had run out and I explained that I was sent home with nothing but couldn't breath through this pain. She put me on hold and when she came back said, "the doctor wants you to get to the emergency room." He says you shouldn't the kind of pain you are describing. I told him you said, your pain was above a 10 he said, it shouldn't even be at a 4!

Turning to Teach, I started crying and told him what I was told. My biggest fear; "they are going to keep me!"

I called Clarissa and told her that I had to get to the ER, could I drop the kids off to her. She said of course and wouldn't come to the car when I dropped off. She said she could tell by my face how bad my pain was and she didn't want to cry or make me cry.

The ride was unbearable and Teach called out each bump. I was leaking everywhere from my stomach and the pain was above a 10. He got a wheelchair and we headed in telling them that I had just been released 2 days earlier and was told by my surgeon to come back.

We were there almost 5 hours. Waiting for test results while I suffered and worried about the pain and whether they were going to keep me. Teach told everyone who came in that if there was no infection, they would have to give me something for the pain so I could be home for Christmas and if anything, we would come back.

The fluid was supposedly serous fluid and there was nothing showing up in my blood. The verdict was that this was the beginning of an infection from stool going through my sutures. If this was only the beginning, I hate to think what a full fledged infection would have been like.

I asked for pain killers and they gave me an antibiotic. Since being on antibiotics off and on for over 6 months I was concerned about going on another but took it anyway. I guess these people don't believe in antibiotic resistance.

When the nurse was leaving I asked for a pain killer to get me through the ride home. If you know me, I don't take meds unless necessary. If I am taking a pain killer, I NEED it.

I took two because of my pain level and we headed back to get the kids. We called Clarissa to have them ready and I asked for a plastic bag because I was feeling nauseous. I called my girlfriend Susan because she had text me while I was at the hospital and as speaking felt very loopy and tired. Teach was getting the prescription filled while I waited in the car. When he came back I told him I was tired and felt loopy like I couldn't hold my head up.

He asked if we could pick up the kids and take them to McDonalds because he had promised them. I told him fine since I would probably sleep through the ride.




Nope!

We got the kids, drove to Mickey D's and on the way back, I started getting very nauseous. We were only 6 minutes from home when I threw up. Unfortunately, the bag had a leak it leaked all over the car.

For the next two days, I would take my Oxycontin with the biggest regret since it made me nauseous 15 minutes after taking it.  Then I would sit there unable to hold my head up with a throat full of vomit waiting for it to finally come up. It went something like this. Teach would come over with the pill and water. I would take it. He would come and sit with me holding a plastic bag over my face, until I finally 15-30 minutes later would throw up. How the hell do people get addicted to that stuff?

Day 3 I woke up and refused to take the pill. It wasn't worth it. The pain was now an 8 and I could breathe through it.



When I finally got back to the doctor's office he wasn't there and I had the day wrong. So I made an appointment through his office at wound care at the hospital. They were great. I loved them but while there, they made me very nervous. They didn't like the fluid coming out of my stomach, didn't think it was serous. The cultured it. I also had two holes that were refusing to close. One was 3 cm. and the other 10 cm. They wanted to do another cats scan which I refused. They did a sonogram and when they made me head down to admissions to get a hospital band. I totally lost it. They probably thought I was crazy but I was sure I was being admitted. Wiping my tears they stuck some probs in my belly holes and under sonogram tried to figure out what was going on. They worried that there was an infection or that some of the sutures had popped. Really?!

I should have split this into two posts. This is way longer than I intended but there is so much to cover and its not just for you guys my readers, it is for me too.

Anyway, the short story is. Finally after a month of problems after surgery, more antibiotics and still wearing a surgical band. Me and my belly are doing much better. It isn't an attractive belly anymore. It kind of looks like a little baby butt with the line going through my little gunt but really all that matters is I am much better!

Enough!

So how was the start of your New Year?

Self Portrait Sunday - February 26, 2011


I hope to see your smiling face!

Just me and my Melissa Etheridge shirt, rocking while the kids are playing.


My Son's First Girl "friend" - A Re-post from 2009

This is being re-posted because I had been reading some of my old stuff and realized how far away I have stepped from writing. This is how I imagined all my blog posts to be. I wanted to memorialize everything my kids did so we could all read it again one day. While this post seems so long ago it was only 2009, yet I had forgotten all about it. Mikala the girl in this post had moved away right after graduation from preschool. Last month, I walked into the school to pick up the kids and there she was. Back and happy. I loved seeing her and asked handsome if he remembered her. He said yes and that she and he talk sometimes. They are not in the same class. Sweet. They may not remember this moment I write about below, but when I see them talking together when I pick him up, I will be reminded of this post from 2006.

Original date 3-17-09
I really am just writing this to document the moment so I won't forget it. In my mind, I am lying on my stomach on my bed, with a super thick comforter in a beautiful room that smells like lilacs instead of sitting in this hard wooden chair trying to breath through an extremely stuffed nose.

This morning when I arrived at my kids school to pick them up I saw my daughter right away. She was playing in the dirt. Dressed in her St. Patrick's day outfit of green cords and a pink sweater with her hair in a high pony tail I walked up asking, "why are you playing in the dirt little girl?" She answered "because I like it". I guess that is as good an answer as any.

She went on her way to play in the leaves as I noticed my son in my peripheral vision. He was running and laughing by a big tree. The sun light caught his hair and I smiled as I watched him laughing alone. His arm was stretched around a tree out of my sight. I thought to myself, "playing alone, with all these kids around? Why doesn't he stay with the pack? Oh well!"

As I walked toward his teacher who had started telling me about my daughter's inability to sit still if there isn't an organized activity (more on that some other time), my son came running under our noses. "Hi Mommy!"

"Hi, honey," then, as if I was looking at a slow motion scene in a movie, I noticed another little hand, attached to his as he passed by. Attached to that other little hand was Mikala. Mikala is the most recent name that is mentioned in the house. For the past two weeks he has talked about her. It used to be Leo and Daniel, the boys he plays with in school. Now, it is her.

They ran past, and together, still holding hands, climbed onto one of the monkey bar sets on the school property. I said to his teacher, "they are so cute together."

She said, "oh yes, they play really well together. She didn't know how to deal with it in the beginning. She would tell me he is always following me and I told her to tell him not to do that. Eventually, they just spent more time together. They are always together."

It was like my heart fast-forwarded by 12 years. Watching them...it was if everyone else faded away. He had to get to his speech class which is why I was there in the first place. If he didn't have speech he would have another 1/2 hour with his friend, running, smiling and holding hands in the sun.

I called Handsome, and told him it was time to go. Mikala came up to me. "Can he come to my house tomorrow and then the next day I could go to his house?"

I leaned down as she tried to tell me where her house was, "down the road, you will see a really big fence, my house is there." I told her that I would give her my business card with our phone number for her mommy and that we would try to set up a playdate.

They said good-bye to each other and we walked to the car.

As I answered my children's preschool type questions, my mind kept focusing on their little hands clasped together, smiling and laughing in the sunshine.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Dinosaur Train Make A Match Game - Review

Product Description

Classic matching game with one twist: it comes with a cute little fully decorated Buddy figure. Great for ages 3 and up, and 2-4 players
 
What I Can Tell You:
My kids and I love games. My parents didn't spend a lot of time playing games with us which is why I do it with my kids. Kids love spending time with you and games are a great way to do something together as a family but also provides a valuable opportunity to teach, manners and social skills.
 
Dinosaur Train Make A Match Game with a Buddy figurine, takes the basic rules of your typical matching game and adds an exciting twist.
 
IMG_7017

To begin play, 48 game cards featuring favorite Dinosaurs from Dinosaur Train are shuffled and laid face down in 6 rows of 8 cards each.
dinosaur game-blogged

Players take turns turning over any two cards ‹so all players can see them) to find a matching pair. The game features ³Take Buddy² cards, ³Wild Cards² and ³Lose a Pair² cards to add to the excitement.

Dino train-Blogged

If you got the Take Buddy cards, you literally took Buddy the little figurine. We loved the Take Buddy cards and laughed or boo'd everytime someone swiped him from another. The holder of Buddy is the rock star of the game.

IMG_7022

Just like every matching game, the person with the most sets wins. However, if you are holding the Buddy figurine at the end, you get an extra 4 points which means, you could still win if you have less sets. Such a cute idea!

The Dinosaur Train Make A Match Game is for 2 to 4 players, ages 3 to 6, and is available at Toys ³R² Us stores nationwide for just $9.99.

The hit television series Dinosaur Train airs daily on PBS KIDS® (check local listings).


Dinosaur Train on PBS: http://pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain/
The Jim Henson Company: www.henson.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/hensoncompany

Twitter: http://twitter.com/hensonparents

Geocache: www.geocaching.com/dinosaurtrain
Pressman Toy: http://www.pressmantoy.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pressmantoy


Disclosure: We recevied  a complimentry game for our honest opinion.

The Healthy Home - A Must Read


Did you know that the dirtiest, most polluted homes are often the ones that look and smell "clean"?

The Healthy Home: Simple Truths to Protect Your Family from Hidden Household Dangers(Vanguard Press; March 22 2011; 978-1593156558), father and son team, Dr. Myron Wentz and Dave Wentz, walk readers room- by-room through a typical house, pointing out the surprising health risks posed by everyday products and behaviors of any modern family.

From the bedroom to the backyard, and with the help of colorful illustrations, you will learn about the negative effects of commonly- found toxins and receive simple solutions to help minimize exposure without foregoing convenience.

What I Can Tell You:
This is one of the most interesting books I have read on protecting my family from the every day products I use in my home and on our bodies.

I was shocked at how many toxins we have in our house. Once you get educated, it is easy to see why these items are a danger to you and your family.

We are all scent based and if something smells good, it is good for us. This is far from the truth. I remembered while reading this book that a friend of mine while taking clothes out of the dryer after as wash commented on how nice  her clothes smelled. I wanted to call her and say, stop using products with scents. Our pores take in these toxins created by scientists in a lab.

"The whiff of moutain spring comes from Scientists dressed in white lab coats and masks, sitting on stools mixing compounds until they reproduce natural smells through the use of chemicals."

It was also an eye opener to read  the section on pest control. The cartoon shows a guy wearing a protective suit armed with an oxygen tank and a spray can standing over two unprotected kids. The words under it are: "I think I saw a fly." In the summer, I spray the gazebo like crazy to keep the flying nats and mosquitoes out. It is time to read the labels or like for some pyretha (thanks Vexcon).

There is so much to discuss here. Like did you know that OJ after a few weeks loses Vitamin C? Or that Milk is acid producing which means it cancels out calcium intake.

I could go on and on. This is one of those books that you will want to highlight, dog ear and discuss with your friends and family for years to come.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Vanguard Press for my honest opinion.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

How To Flirt With A Naked Werewolf

Don't you love that title?

It's title of a book by Molly Harper the author of the Nice Girls series.

How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf
by Molly Harper.

Molly Harper wrote this book during a 2009 ice storm experience.

In Molly's Words:

An ice storm. Stranded in a strange, isolated place without power. Children with an unsettling ability to win staring contests. This is how horror movies start.

Watching the news coverage as cities across the Midwest are pelted by the much-touted historic blizzard, I m having strange sympathy pangs. In January 2009, an ice storm ripped through Kentucky, taking out power and phone lines for thousands of homes, including mine. The first night I spent camped out in my in-laws darkened living room with my two young children, I was sure this was just a temporary blip.  It was going to be a funny story we could tell the next winter. As in, Remember that night we had to sleep on an air mattress in front of Grandma s fireplace and cook on a gas grill in the garage?

By the sixth night, I was no longer amused.

Over the next week, Kentuckians were cold, cranky and progressively ill-groomed. I returned to my dark, cold house to forage for supplies one afternoon, only to find my neighbor shaving his head in his driveway. I sincerely hoped that was related to the lack of electricity and not just a personality quirk I'd never noticed before. Neighborhood block parties have been stilted and awkward since.

But I managed to channel my cabin fever, before going the full fire-ax-through-bedroom-door and elevator-full-of-blood route. I started writing. Having recently published the Nice Girls books, a vampire romance series about an undead librarian in small-town Kentucky, I d already decided that I wanted to write a werewolf story. And being isolated, in the dark, in an increasingly crowded, enclosed space, I decided to set the story in the frozen regions of Alaska.

While we waited for the power to come back on, I wrote about twenty pages of notes by candlelight.  What emerged was the story of Mo Wenstein, a woman who moves across the country to escape her intrusive hippie parents and make a life for herself in the remote town of Grundy, Alaska. Cantankerous neighbor Cooper has been giving Mo a hard time about her place in her new community since day one. But when Cooper stumbles onto her porch, naked, with a bear trap clamped around his ankle, she realizes there s more to him than a surly- though attractive- surface. A series of werewolf attacks, for which Cooper may or may not be responsible, dysfunctional werewolf clan drama, and romantic hijinks ensue.

The manuscript grew over the next few months and became HOW TO FLIRT WITH A NAKED WEREWOLF, which was released by Pocket Books on Feb. 22, wherever books are sold.  The sequel, THE ART OF SEDUCING A NAKED WEREWOLF, will follow on March 29.

So, while the encroaching claustrophobia is frustrating, make the best of your snow days. Use the milk, eggs and bread you hoarded to make French toast. Plow through the To-Be-Read pile of paperbacks on your nightstand.  Write journal entries about the sights, sounds and emotions you re experiencing as a blizzard survivor.

You never know.  You could turn this experience into your first manuscript.

What I Can Tell You:
I can only imagine the kind of book Molly could have written this year. It was a ridiculous winter.
Mo or Moon, our female lead in How to Flirt With A Naked Werewolf is a girl after my own heart. She takes chances, she is fun, witty, sweet and can kick ass and take a punch!

When Mo finds herself looking for a change after a broken engagement she packs up and heads to the wide open spaces of Grundy. Where she finds a job, makes friend's easily and eventually comes face to face with the blue-green glowing eyes of a wolf/man. 

The story is quick and witty.  Mo has a way with words, especially when it comes to the male anatomy. I loved it.  Research Werewolf girlfriends on the internet? Too funny.

The cover is adorable, giving hint to how fun and clever the story is.

I am looking forward to the sequel; THE ART OF SEDUCING A NAKED WEREWOLF, due out next month.

If you like paranormal romances, this is a great book.

Back Cover:
Northern Exposure


Even in Grundy, Alaska, it’s unusual to find a naked guy with a bear trap clamped to his ankle on your porch. But when said guy turns into a wolf, recent southern transplant Mo Wenstein has no difficulty identifying the problem. Her surly neighbor Cooper Graham—who has been openly critical of Mo’s ability to adapt to life in Alaska—has trouble of his own. Werewolf trouble.

For Cooper, an Alpha in self-imposed exile from his dysfunctional pack, it’s love at first sniff when it comes to Mo. But Cooper has an even more pressing concern on his mind. Several people around Grundy have been the victims of wolf attacks, and since Cooper has no memory of what he gets up to while in werewolf form, he’s worried that he might be the violent canine in question.

If a wolf cries wolf, it makes sense to listen, yet Mo is convinced that Cooper is not the culprit. Except if he’s not responsible, then who is? And when a werewolf falls head over haunches in love with you, what are you supposed to do anyway? The rules of dating just got a whole lot more complicated. . . .

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy from Simon and Schuster for my honest opinion.

This Way ThursWay #92 - The Ballerina

Goddess spent some time playing dress up again today, so I grabbed a few for Freda's This Way Thursway.

Photobucket


Picnik collage - Ballet slippers

All photos are available for purchase. Email me here

Alphabe-Thursday - T

Jenny Matlock

T = Tongue
snow removal
Eating snow is my kids favorite thing to do (beside sledding) in the winter.

T = Touch
Daddy's Loving Hand
All photos are available for purchase. Email me here

One of my favorite pictures this year. A father's loving hand! My daughter was complaining about hair in her mouth when dad came in to save the day.

T = Tools
Jan 15, 2011 (10)

Goddess loves to create. She is a natural and uses many elements to make art. She thinks outside the box and comes up with things that no one else does. Her teachers have always been impressed with her creativity.

Finished product was a Valentine ornament
Jan 15, 2011 (8)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Primose Family Dance-Off - Enter and/or Vote for My Crazy Kids


This has been one of the funnest (yes it is a word, I looked it up) and most rewarding campaigns I have been lucky enough to be involved in. Anytime I can include the kids, it is a good time.

We put on the music and the kids danced their little butts off. They laughed and carried on for about 40 minutes listening to songs like Who Let The Dogs Out, Celebration and YMCA. They had a blast! My son who has been listening to Baby Einstein tapes to go to sleep since he was born now listens to these songs instead. They ask for a Dance Party every afternoon after school and we boggie down before homework. Beside working off some energy, they are having so much fun! I love our new ritual.

Primrose School is hosting a Family Dance Off to promote healthy habits, physical fitness and good old fashion good times, along with a contest that anyone can enter.

The Dance Off supports Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children's hospitals, treating 17 million children annually for every illness and injury imaginable.

Why Should You Enter?

The Prizes offered are:
•Grand Prize: $5,000 and a $30,000 donation to the winner’s local CMN Hospital
•2nd Prize: $3,000 and a $20,000 donation to the winner’s local CMN Hospital
•3rd Prize: $1,500 and a $15,000 donation to the winner’s local CMN Hospital
•All 14 Finalists: A FLIP camcorder

Sounds great right?! It is, and benefits so many children.

Step-by-step instructions
1.Record a 30-second video of your family’s best dance moves.
2.Visit http://danceoff.primroseschools.com/and upload your best take by March 19.
3.Share your video with your friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
4.View and vote daily (you can place five votes per day) for your favorite family dance video!

General Voting takes place February 1 at 12:00 a.m. EST through March 19 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Each week two finalists will be selected – the two videos with the most number of votes. Fourteen finalists will then compete in Finalist Voting Week March 20-26. Be sure to tell your family and friends about these great videos by sharing via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Enjoy!

Check out Handsome and Goddess and if you feel like voting for them or another participate, please do. We would love to win and finally give back to a hospital. After receiving thousands in charity care at my hospital, it would be great to pay it forward.


Here is the link
http://danceoff.primroseschools.com/Gallery/Individual?videoId=20169467

Follow Primose on Twitter, Facebook and their blog.

Disclosure: I received a Primose Family Dance off Party Kit from Primose Schools, through Mom Select to write about the contest.

ABC Wednesday - F Stands For????

Frozen
Feb 21, 2011 (56)

Framed
Yesterday when we headed outside, I grabbed an empty picture frame. My kids were like, what?????? Asking them to grab a piece of the frame and pretend they were the picture was so much fun. I love the result!
framed sibs
When the kids come inside after playing in the snow they are freezing. I can ask them 100 times outside as I sit there freezing and pleading to go in. It is only after we are heading up the house steps that they say they are frozen. It takes us about 15 minutes to thaw out as we remove everything. Then it is hot chocolate, blanket and TV time with the family. It is soooo worth being frozen for two hours.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Happiest Project - What Makes You Happy?

Photobucket

Smiley

My crazy baby makes me happy. Her faces crack me up. She is a total clown.

Funny Face

Feb 21, 2011 (26)

Ruby Tuesday

This week my Ruby Tuesday submission are these yummies I received from Red Envelope this past Valentine's Day. There were filled with dried cherries wrapped in chocolate and make a perfect Ruby Tuesday. The red just called out for a photo.

Candy

Monday, February 21, 2011

Color Carnival - Daddy's Loving Hand

Color Carnival



Daddy's Loving Hand, originally uploaded by on_angel_wings2001.
I love her face in this picture. She looks so happy. She was complaining about hair in her mouth and couldn't get it with her wet gloves. She asked for help and daddy stepped in to assist.

The hearts were added in Picnik because it fit the photo. She looks soooo happy. One of my favorites from the day.

Mommy and Me Monday

Mommy and Me Monday at Really, Are You Serious?
Hosted by Krystyn


It is scary how fast the years go. My son is only 4 months old here. He is going on 8 this May which makes this almost 8 years ago and I look so much younger, so much thinner.


Sept 18, 2003 (4)

This is before his mole appeared under his nose which I am completely in love with now.

Feb 5, 2011

There was a time, about 2 years ago when he didn't want any pictures drawn with a mole. He would try to erase it. When I put it on his Mii in the Wii game, he wouldn't play with that Mii. Now, he accepts the mole. If he one day chooses to remove it, or grows a stash to cover it, it would be hard for me but as a loving mom, I would respect his wish and not make a big deal of it. At least I don't think I will.

Happy Mellow Yellow Monday - "Girly Room"

MellowYellowBadge

Happy President's Day Everyone!

Here is my son hanging out in the "girly room". I walked by asking him, "honey, what are you doing?

"Hanging in the girly room" was his answer. He was playing with Squinkies that belong to my daughter. Too cute. I love that at almost 8, he is so not embarrassed by this.

"girly room"

Blue Monday - Enough Already

Smiling Sally

OK. That's it. Enough with the snow. Just when we start seeing some ground and a cleared deck, this morning, we get this....

enough already

(that is a broom handle left on the deck from yesterday)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Pear Tree February Giveaway - $20.00 in Pear Tree Money

Photo Cards
As a Pearista for Pear Tree, I am authorized to host a giveaway every month showcasing some of their beautiful stationary, stickers, cards, post cards and more. This month, Pear Tree wants you to shop from the heart. What does your heart want during this month of love?

Pear Tree Greetings has something for everyone, whether it is greeting cards, save the date cards, graduation cards (check out their early bird special price) and more. 


The Giveaway: One lucky winner will receive a $20.00 Pear Tree Gift Code to be used on anything at Pear Tree Greetings.

The Sponsor: Pear Tree Greetings

To Win:
Mandatory Entry. If this is not followed, none of your extra entries will count.
Leave me a comment telling me what you would use the $20.00 on by March 5, 2011

For Extra Entries:
*Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link for (5 extra entries) (each entry must be separate).
*Subscribe to my newsletter/email (3 entries) (each entry must be separate)
*Follow my blog (2 entries) (each entry must be separate)
*Follow me on Networked Blogs (2 entries)
*Tweet ((leave your link) (3 entries)
*Share this post on Facebook by using the button below.
*Enter another giveaway on my blog and let me know which one.
*Comment on a non-giveaway post and tell me which one (up to 10 comments).
*Become a fan of Maria's Space on Facebook (Not my personal Facebook) and post a message that you entered with a link to the giveaway on your Facebook page and leave a link to the message in the entry form (3 Entries).
*Add me to your blog roll and leave the link (3 Entries)
*Add my main button to your side bar
button


*Open to US & Canada only.
Disclosure: I am hosting this giveaway for Pear Tree Greetings and 
received no monetary compensation.

The Weekend In Black and White

The Weekend in Black and White!

I really love this in color but in black and white, the detail really stands out.
January 26, 2011 (3)

January 26, 2011 (3)

Last Day To Enter Street Angel Anklet Giveaway


Enter before Midnight tonight to win the Street Angel Anklet.

Valentine Anklet-BLOGGED

Self Portrait Sunday - February 20, 2011


After taking a few weeks off from Self Portrait Sunday due to life and medical nonsense, I am back and hoping some people will play along. Freda?????