How can anyone resist baby toes?

How can tiny naked feet by so smelly?…PU!!!!

Abby took a nap over 3 hours this afternoon. I did absolutely nothing. Think of all the things I could have gotten done and didn’t! All I did was watch the news and read an article about life insurance rates. Now that she is seriously mobile, I needed to rest to recharge for when she woke up! She still doesn’t have any teeth but she’s working really hard on them. I think the bottom ones are close. She won’t let me near her mouth but if I get her to laugh out loud I can see something different down there in her gums. Jake was nowhere near this bad, in fact he was easy with the teething and had his first tooth around 5 months old.

Anyhow, hopefully the teething will get better soon, she’s just not all that happy right now because of it. Although we just spent 20 minutes blowing raspberries at each other from across the room only for me to realize I got my laptop screen all wet! Yuck!

Bugalug Baby has created an entire line of cute and yet, very hip, hair accessories.  They generously provided two barrettes and one hair band for us to review.

About Bugalug Baby:

From their site

Of course, like most products, Bugalug Barrettes were born out of a need. There were so few cute barrettes out there and nothing that would stay in my friends newborn’s hair. Together we tried many different styles, ribbons, clips etc. and this was the best product we could make. We loved the idea that they were safe (non-toxic glue), super cute and yet not too cutesy, and that they stayed where they were put! And Bugalug Barrettes was born.

Would it be too greedy, to say I’d love to have one of everything?  Just kidding; I’m not enough of a real girl to wear them, but I LOVE the colors and designs!
Continue Reading……

This weeks blurb is about:

Queen of the Click.

Queen of the Click is written by “a Thirty-something Brooklyn Chick taking over the world from her computer”. She writes about her life in Brooklyn combining humor, faith, recipes and all kinds of other good things. I really enjoy all her posts, but my favorite are the ones that remind me of my trip to New York many years ago.

Go check out Queen of the Click have a laugh or two and learn something new. You can even enter a giveaway. If you find yourself touching your neck while you are visiting, don’t worry, it just means you are getting old.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND ENTRIES ARE CLOSED, PLEASE CHECK OUT ONE OF OUR OTHER GREAT GIVEAWAYS OR SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE NOTICE OF FUTURE GIVEAWAYS

A couple of weeks ago I posted a review of the Princess Linens Doodlebugz Crayola Dufflebag. The Dufflebag was a hit in our house and some of you had expressed interest in getting one for your own kids or as gifts.

Well, Princess Linens has generously offered one of our readers a Doodlebugz Crayola Doodlebag in your choice of color/pattern. The Doodlebag takes the Dufflebag to the next level by acting as complete art center!

Continue Reading……

I know I’ve posted before about RV’s and how the newest ones are nicer than my house. I’m still intrigued with them and I think a lot of it has to do with how much I really enjoy seeing the good old USA traveling by car, and my desire for my kids to be able to see it too. I can just picture us a couple of years from now, renting an RV and driving to all the great places the USA has to offer.

Some of my favorite places are Upper Michigan, South Dakota, Arizona and California. I also like Nevada, New York, Tennessee and Colorado. I’ve driven through a few other states, but these are the ones that I’ve actually spent some time in and I can’t wait to be able to travel to all the others and visit all the great tourist destinations, and the scenery and beauty that you can find off the beaten path. It can be done by car of course, but an RV provides so much more comfort while driving and also makes some of the destinations more interesting and alleviates the need to deal with hotel rooms which saves time and money.

I’m sure there are other places that offer RV rentals but the one I came across is for California RV Rentals. They rent all the different styles of RV’s so you can pick the best one for your family and your vacation. The RV’s they rent really are like moving hotel rooms, with all the conveniences including full baths with showers, heat and a/c, color TV’s, DVD players, full kitchens and more.

I can’t wait to set out on the open road and explore the country in an RV, in fact I recently met a blogger who actually lives in an RV! If she’s reading this, hopefully she’ll leave a comment with a link to her site so you can see what her life is like!

How about you, do you own an RV or have you rented one and toured the country in it?

“MOM!  Michael just knocked Madeline’s tooth out with a tub toy!!” 

She had discovered the tooth was loose that morning.  It fell into the bathtub, and Don had to do his CSI impersonation to find it.  For those of you keeping score, that’s two teeth in eleven days. 

Are 8 month olds (just turned 8 months) supposed to be standing up and trying to walk?

She doesn’t even have teeth yet!

As the web grows, it has become increasingly easier to get things done right from your fingertips, without ever making a phone call. A couple of months ago I got some quotes to move a piano (a family heirloom) from my Aunt’s house to mine. I did everything online, even uploaded photos to them so they could provide insurance, and they emailed me a quote and I set up service by responding to emails and filling in web forms. Quick and very easy.

I’ve been noticing lately, a lot more companies offering online quotes, and even some online services where you can receive multiple quotes from different vendors so you can pick the one you like best. From swimming pools, to home security, to insurance to fence installation and more, you can get all your quotes and set up service online without ever having to pick up the phone. This is especially nice for those of us with screaming children at home!

Have you ever used the web to get quotes and set up service? Car rentals? Airplane tickets? Anything?

We have a winner in the Smashbox Cosmetics giveaway.

There were 1060 valid comment entries for this giveaway and all I can say is, WOW you guys really wanted this stuff!

It really was pretty obvious that Kristi added the most comments and therefore is our winner. The top commentators box reports she had 220 entries, when I exported it to count, Microsoft Word counted 221. The next closest commentator was Lin with 140 comments.

Congrats Kristi, I’ll be in touch by email!

I haven’t mentioned it previously on the blog, but a few months ago my Dad was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. The gave him 2-3 years with treatment, mere months without.

He has been participating in a clinical trial since the diagnosis, going every couple of weeks for chemo and even having to wear a pump.

This weekend we found out that he is in partial remission! We knew the lesions were getting smaller and he was reacting well to the clinical trial, but apparently it is working better than anyone expected.

So today, on my birthday, that is the only present I need. Any extra time my kids can have to get to know him is a priceless gift!

Please stop by and wish Kim a Happy Birthday!

Last Friday, Don took the girls to their first Cubs game.  Wrigley Field was giving away a Build-A-Bear to the first 6,000 kids.  They got there early enough to get one for each.  They had a great time, even though the Cubs lost. 

Meanwhile, Michael, Gram and I went to Lincoln Park Zoo.  We also had a good time, and actually found a very good vegetarian lunch.  You can’t go wrong with a panini, in my book.  I think I need one of those machines. Kim, try to win me one, okay?

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When you get married, you not only marry the man, you marry his family. Whether they live next door or in another country (if they live in the same house, RUN away as fast as you can), they will likely have a huge influence on his life, especially his mother. The species of humans known as the “mother-in-law” often leaves fear and trembling in her wake. There is something that happens to a woman, when another woman takes over control of her son and it often defies all logic and reason.

Here is a illustration:

Well now there is some hope for those women plagued with the dreaded mother-in-law, in the form of a book called The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law! by Sally Shields.
Continue Reading……

First off, our internet has been intermittent so my usual posting schedule has been interrupted because the only time I can get online is when I stand on my head on the roof with the laptop balanced on top of my feet. Then I can access the web using the neighbors unsecured network. It’s their fault for not securing it…

I saw the X-Files movie yesterday, woo-hoo! It’s a shame I can’t sit through a whole movie anymore though…I needed 2 potty breaks, sheesh! I loved the movie, but they could have had a whole movie of Mulder and Scully wind sailing and I’d probably enjoy it. I’m a geek.

Why is it that older kids revert to playing with baby toys? Jake is obsessed with some new stacking cups I bought Abby. He keeps taking them and I find him off in a corner playing with them. Ed gave him some plastic cups from the kitchen cabinet and told him to give Abby her toys back and you know what? HE WAS PLAYING WITH THE KITCHEN CUPS! Kids are weird.

What else….

Abby is teething something awful, we better see a tooth here soon!!!!

Well, that’s all for now….my head hurts from standing on it and typing….

From Momdot.com:

“Hey BlogoSphere! MomDot is so excited about our launch! We had been working hard to get going for August 1st, but with all the amazing support of mom boutiques and mom bloggers, we are ready to get the Party Started! We want you to come every day starting on July 28th with the party ending on August 31st, including prizes daily and feature bloggers, just in time to bang out the end of summer and into the school year. Don’t forget to list your blog for free and connect with other mommies on our forum!”

The other day Abby woke up and I discovered something strange….

I didn’t notice it at first, I KNOW it was fine when I put her to bed…

She must have grown alot in the middle of the night! Look at that piggie sticking out!