Happy Friday!

I know, I've been away from my blog and leaving you all hanging. Thanks for the e-mails checking in on me. I appreciate it.

Things are good...just busy. I've been reading your blogs and commenting once in a while too, but I just haven't felt like writing much.

So, here are some bits & photos:

*School is out for our students at my tutoring center. Yesterday was their last day. So Monday starts our summer program with different hours. Plus other things that I really want to talk about soon.

*We had a great Memorial Day weekend with family and friends. We had great weather and spent a lot of time outdoors doing things. And Matt loved that the fish were biting too.

*Zachariah got a much needed hair cut this week. Perfect for summer. And he's happy to have it off his forehead and out of his eyes.

*No news on the TTC front. I took ovulation tests last month, but that apparently didn't help. Even with careful planning. Bummer. I really need to find a good OB/Gyn and schedule an appointment to talk about things. I'm a bit discouraged about the process. But still of the mind that it will happen. It's all about God's timing.

*Rachel is doing awesome! Thanks for all your thoughts, well wishes, and especially prayers!

*I can't believe that May is almost over.

*I also can't believe that the class I had for student teaching (who were in 5th grade then) are graduating this Sunday! I'm fortunate enough to have known one of my student's family very well, so we will be attending his graduation party.

*Last week we reorganized our office/guest room, so it's more of a guest room and a little less of an office now. We still have a desktop computer that we use from time to time, but mostly we use our laptops. So we don't really need all the office space. We are going to sell our 6 foot x 6 foot "L" shaped desk, and we bought a smaller corner desk instead. It's great. I still have some organizing, sorting, and cleaning to do, but it looks nice. Plus I really like the new flat-screen monitor we bought. And there is a new wireless printer on it's way. Yay! Our printer hasn't worked right in a while.

*I have two giveaways up at my review blog right now. One is for a cool DVD for the whole family (contest closes Sunday, May 31st), and the other is a Hip-T to cover your back in those low-rise jeans.

*That is all. Hope that you have a Happy Friday! And a great weekend! We're happy to spend ours at home with few plans.

Catch Up

* I picked the green shoes. I am developing a review for my review blog with them. Keep an eye out for more in upcoming weeks.

*Speaking of my review blog, I have some other reviews and giveaways that I really need to get up.

*My house is messier today than it's been all week. I tore apart Zachariah's room and reorganized it. But that means there are toys to be given away, toys and stuff to be put away, and other things spread throughout the whole house now.

*Rachel is doing great. I'll write more sometime when I can sit and think it all out.

*I can't believe this is only my 3rd post here this month. Slacker! So much has happened, but I just haven't felt like blogging about it. I only had 5 posts up for the whole month of April too.

*There are other things that happened recently that I want to discuss here. It's been a rough month.

*Lots of projects I'd like to work on at home and online. I just can't make myself do it all. I don't know why. I'll get back to it soon enough.

*I hope you're all having a great weekend.

*I'm looking forward to doing some fun things next weekend. I can't believe it's almost Memorial Day already. Wow! Summer is almost here.

Shoes...the great debate

If you had to choose, would you pick this?

Or this?

Help! I've narrowed it down to those.

I want something that I can wear a lot and be comfortable yet cute.

What do you think? Please discuss and offer advice.

Thanks.

Wasn't Meant to Be

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen my family has had some bad things happen this week. I will talk about them more later. But something else happened that I didn't post about there. I wanted to talk about it here, though. And I will tell you about the rest (which seem minor compared to this...at least for me) later.



My sister, Rachel, whom I love and adore is going through a terrible thing right now. She went to her OB appointment for her 18 week check up. Instead of finding out whether they were having a boy or girl, they found out there there is no heartbeat anymore.



They lost the baby.



She called me shortly after she found out. She was devastated. So was I.



But this sister of mine, she is awesome. She has grieved, and she is OK with it. Really! She is. She knows that God is there to comfort her. She isn't questioning why it happened. She's just dealing with it. I'm constantly amazed at the wonderful woman that my sister is.



They don't know what caused this to happen. Nothing apparent as of now. She never suspected any problems. Never even knew anything was wrong.



Today Rachel is at the hospital. They are hoping she can deliver the baby. It not, they will do a D&C. It's been a few hours since I last spoke to her. But she's a trooper and doing well. They will keep her overnight. We're just hoping things will go perfectly for her, and have the best case scenario happen.



She's asked for me to come up to visit at the hospital this evening. Hopefully it will all be over by then. She knows her husband might need some support or a break. And other people might be stopping in, so I can help by being crowd controller. Or I can just help to take her mind off of things.



They've told her different things there, and she has some tough choices to make. To hold the baby or not. To find out whether it's a boy or girl or not. To take pictures or not. To get footprints or not. To bury or not. To donate for research or not. And some of these choices might not be hers to make.


More to come later...

Support March of Dimes

I'm so sorry that I've been MIA for the past...almost 2 weeks. Eek! It's been longer than I thought.

So some things have been happening with my family (well, it all happened today unfortunately) that I really need to share, but now is not the time.

I wanted to tell you about my awesome friend, Shannon. She's a great mother and woman. She has two little girls who were both born too early. Fortunately her little darlings are happy little girls now. But they have had their share of trials. And Shannon is now expecting their third (surprise!) baby. Yay!

She will be participating in her local March of Dimes walk on Saturday. She is trying to raise money for this and is offering up one of her beautiful baby quilts or a bag (winner's choice) for anyone who donates to the March of Dimes through her.

Go HERE to donate!

Shannon still needs some help. I have offered up a hand-crocheted baby blanket for another winner too. All you have to do is make a donation and contact Shannon letting her know you did.

Here is the baby blanket that I made. It's not quite finished, but it won't take me long. The edges will have a white shell all the way around. Or if the winner wishes, I also have a pink/white/purple baby blanket just like this. Unfortunately I don't have a photo. But you can choose either.



Please help support a great cause!

My little break...kind of

Ahh, it is so nice here. Quiet and very peaceful.

Zachariah is at his grandparents' house for a few days. He's having a great time there. And I'm having a great time here.

Last night Matt and I got to walk the aisles of the store without chasing someone else around. And we went out for a nice, leisurely meal and enjoyed ourselves.

Today I went to the grocery store alone. I could get what I needed and get in and out with no hassle. And this afternoon I've been able to watch movies that I want to watch, meaning not Bob the Builder or Strawberry Shortcake.

This evening we have a Good Friday service at our church. The choir is singing, so I have to be there early. But it will be nice not having to worry about whether or not Zachariah will behave through the whole thing. And afterwards we have plans to go out with some friends.

Yay! We're going out tonight with friends! We're having a late supper after the church service. I'm sure we will all have a great time.

The rest of our weekend will be pretty busy too. Saturday morning we're having Easter brunch with my family at my parents' house. She has an Easter egg hunt planned for the kids too. Then we'll head home after that, and in the evening we have plans to have supper with some other friends. Going out again! This time with a kid in tow, but I'm sure we'll still have a good time.

Sunday is Easter, of course. We will be at church in the morning as usual. Then I've invited Matt's family over for an Easter dinner. I have plenty of food planned, and I hope everything turns out well.

And I guess we really don't catch much of a break, because we're still having our regular small group meeting here Sunday night. I'm hoping they'll help us eat the leftover dessert from lunch.

How about you? What fun does your Easter weekend hold?

Still Spring Cleaning

I spent several days last week finishing up my first Spring Cleaning project. And it is finally finished. I did somewhere between 6 and 8 loads of laundry. All the blankets and towels that were stored in there needed wash so badly.

I was happy to get that closet cleaned out. And it has needed reorganized and cleaned out anyway. Then the layer of drywall dust in there has kept us from using it for weeks. That is no longer, the dust is gone, and the layout is easier to use now too.

I also packed away baby blankets and towels. Zachariah says we're saving them for his baby. He talks often about wanting a sibling. Some day, child, some day.

I haven't started a new project today. I will keep an eye on my list and either start something tomorrow morning or perhaps work on something tonight.

*****
Anyone have any new ideas on who to get a certain little boy to poop on the potty? He will pee on it. He does great with that most of the time. He goes at home, at stores, at church, or anywhere else we go. But poop, not so much. Many times he poops when he's in bed and wearing a Pull Up. Then he of course wants changed right away.

I've tried bribing him with numerous things. It works now and then, but nothing consistently. He wanted a Cadbury Egg, so I told him he could gladly have one when he pooped in the potty. So later that day he did just that. And I gave him a Cadbury Egg. I told him there were more where that came from. (Like I told Matt, I'd go buy a whole case of them if I knew it would solve the problem.) Unfortunately that didn't do it.

So, I'm up for ideas. Nothing we try seems to work. And we've tried plenty of things.

*****
In other news I have a new post up at PS Mom Reviews. I did a review for a new Thomas DVD. Go check it out. I am giving away two copies.

Accomplished

I am feeling pretty accomplished today (and this week really).

I did work on my Spring Cleaning Challenge. I started on the bathroom closet, because that needed done first. It was terrible, because everything in there was covered in drywall dust since the work our friend did weeks ago. I cleaned out the rest of the bathroom stuff, but I never got to the big closet. It was full of extra towels, blankets, and bathroom remodel supplies. In general the closet needed cleaned and reorganized anyway.

Yesterday I worked on washing all the towels and blankets. I think I did 5 loads (maybe more) of laundry yesterday, and I still have 2 more to do. I cleaned out the remodel supplies and got them all dusted off. There are a few extra things that I need to pull out and clean, and I'm hoping to do that this evening. Then all the supplies need to go to the garage. The baby towels (that haven't been used in ages) and baby blankets need to be put in bins (will have to buy some) and stored.

It's been funny washing all these baby things. I can't wait to get them out and use them again. But for now, I won't torture myself, they need to be put away. Then I'll have more room in that closet anyway.

So I've worked on that project off and on for 2 days now. Hopefully I'll have it done by tomorrow. And I'm not sure where I'll start next. We shall see.

*****
I'm feeling accomplished (not that it's under my control) that Zachariah has easily taken good naps for the past 2 days. Finally! He's really been fighting them for a while now. We've discussed whether he's ready to drop naps or not, but ultimately we believe the answer is no. He fights falling asleep. He'll continue to come out of his room with different excuses. But once he actually falls asleep, he'll sleep for at least 2 hours. I think that's a kid who still needs a nap. On days when I have to wake him up so I can go tutor, he is a grump. And he's even more of a grump on days he doesn't get a nap at all. Thank goodness it's been a good week for naps.

*****
And lastly I'm feeling accomplished that I made the leap to get a new blog up and running. I have posted two reviews and giveaways already. If you haven't entered, go do that now.

I know I still have a lot to work on with the blog, but I'm making my way. There are some things that I need to learn about that I haven't had to worry about here. But this blog is different. Hopefully things will continue to go well.

A Challenge...Spring Cleaning Style

This is no April Fools joke. I am challenging myself this month in Spring Cleaning. Yes, you read that right. I am going to make a BIG effort to do this.

Here is the challenge. Every day (weekday? 4 days a week?- whatever works) I will do one extra housecleaning project. This meaning something other than the normal laundry, dishes, dusting, vacuuming, bathroom scrubbing, etc.

Right now all my closets and cabinets need emptied out, cleaned, and reorganized. So that is where I plan to start.

Here is my list (and I'm sure it will grow and change):
*bathroom closet
*Zachariah's bedroom closet (that's a big one!)
*my bedroom closet
*hallway cabinet and drawers
*pantry
*upper pantry cabinet
*office cabinet

Some of these things will be a more than one day project, so it will definitely keep me busy. I will get to work and post my progress here.

How about you? Do you need to do some spring cleaning? Would you like to join my challenge? We can encourage each other. Tell me what you need to do with your house. You can leave comments here or post about it on your own blog.

New review blog

So, I finally did it. I started a review blog. Of course I just got it up and running, so there is not too much happening there yet. But I will be working on it.

I just posted my first review there AND I have a cool DVD to give away right now too. We got a preview copy of Marley & Me. We loved it. It's available in stores today. And I have two copies on my new blog to give away. Go check it out now! Thanks.

Well, Don't Wait Too Long

What is that supposed to mean? "Well, don't wait too long?"

That is what someone told me last night. She had asked if we planned to have more children. I told her "Yes, someday". She laughed and said "Well, don't wait too long." I didn't respond.

What can I say to something like that?

I don't even really know how to respond to "Do you plan to have more children?" This isn't the first person to ask. I usually respond the same way.

If I was a snarky person, I'd just start saying things like "Well, we'd love more children, but some people don't get pregnant as easily as others." or "We'd love more, can you snap your fingers and make me pregnant?". Or something equally as good.

But that's not me. What also is not me is revealing all the details of my life. I don't typically tell people that we're trying to get pregnant. In fact the only people that know are you, my lovely blog readers, and my sister, Rachel. That's it. I just don't feel like this is something I want everyone to know.

Most people that know us pretty well, know that it took us a while to get pregnant with Zachariah (this lady who I spoke of earlier probably didn't know that). But we didn't really tell people that we were trying then either.

What do you think? Is this something I should be more candid about? Or should I just develop a better answer for nosy people? Suggestions?

Lucky Me

Well, if this didn't lift my spirits, I don't know what will.

Thanks by the way to EVERYONE who commented on my last post. I am feeling a bit better about things, and I'm so thankful to have friends here how genuinely care about me. Thank you!

So I have won four (4!) prizes from bloggers in the last few weeks! Woo Hoo! I'm won a little something for everyone in my house.

Today I won a Freestyle watch for Matt from The Funky Monkey. He chose this one in black.

Thursday I won a Dunebug's Sand Truck Playset from Sprig Toys and from Babies Gotta Have It for Zachariah. I think this will be a good Easter gift if it comes before then.

2 weeks ago I won a milk storage magnet, courtesy of the authors of The Milk Memos and The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog.

And a week or so ago I won a Yoplait gift pack from Mom Knows It All. It had a Yoplait Yogurt reusable insulated bag (which is SUPER at the grocery store), a coupon for free Yoplait yogurt, a reusable water bottle (that I also LOVE), and a little notepad too.

Guess I'm on a role. I'm glad that I'm able to host some giveaways here, so that I can at least pass the love along a little bit. And Thank You to everyone who I won from! I love it!

I'm a little hum drum

Here I am, blogging from McDonald's PlayPlace. The best place to blog right? Not really (I had a photo of my "happy" face, but I can't get it to load). There are toddlers running around everywhere. I just figured if I had to take Zachariah here, I may as well do something while I'm here (and we're only here thanks to a gift card that Zachariah got in the mail from my aunt for his birthday). Besides, I really wanted to get a new blog post up today.



I feel a bit neglectful. I've been copping out on real blog posts and using giveaways to fill the space. Well, I had the giveaways to do anyway, so why not. But still, I have no intention of turning this blog into a giveaway blog. I am entertaining the idea of starting a separate review/giveaway blog, but I'll let you know if/when that happens.



I've had a rough week. There is no one particular thing that makes me say this. Just several little things that make me feel blah emotionally. That and I have a cold. We all know that doesn't make anyone feel their best.



Things have felt rather "funny" (for lack of a better word to describe it) to me at work (my tutoring job) lately. Just a lot of things that felt like they added up this week. I don't think I really want to work there anymore. But for other reasons I will continue on for now.



I normally try not to let things get to me. But this week has been different somehow. I guess it just happens every now and then. I'm hoping it will improve.

I have been having thoughts about wanting to quit my job, so then I can just be a full time stay at home mom. That's basically what I consider myself, since I'm only away to work 2 hours a day 4 days a week AND my son comes with me. But it sure is not the same. I think I'm worn out and tired of it. I have to get Zachariah up from his nap most days in the middle of the afternoon. Then he's a bear the rest of the day. I can't make my family dinner most nights, because I'm not home when I should be preparing it. Matt's a great cook, but he's getting tired of that too...I can tell. And mostly I'd just like the freedom to do a little more when we want to do it. Right now I'm pretty set to going to tutor at the same time each day. Then there's the whole question of our summer tutoring schedule, and that gets really crazy.

I guess Matt and I will have to discuss it some more. I know he understands my feelings on the matter. Honestly he's probably mentioned more times than I remember about me quitting in the last few months. His raise at work put us in a pretty good situation financially, but I love that we're going to have all our student loans paid off soon at the rate we're heading. And that's what my income (small though it is) is working towards. There is a possibility that Matt could get another step raise this year yet. If that happens, and depending on how much it is, we may be in a great position for me to leave my tutoring job. We'll just have to see.

I think I said more than I really wanted to about this whole thing, but I just had to get some of it off my chest.

Then there is the whole trying for a baby thing. I'm a bit frustrated that it isn't happening yet. I know it will in time (took us a while with Zachariah), but I was really hoping it would be easier this time. And Matt goes from not wanting more children (though he's willing to try for me) to wanting more than one more (yay!). I guess I can't fault him for having different feelings about it. I know he will be happy with another baby, and most times that's what he's telling me he wants right now.

I'm just tired of being patient.

OK, end venting. This is why I haven't had many real posts lately. I'm afraid all I'd do is whine, and I don't want to do that all the time. Hopefully next week will be a better week.

Fireman Sam DVD Winners

Here are the winners for the Fireman Sam DVDs!

#7 - Andria at Boy Crazy

#4 - Nicole at Our Hotrum Family Chronicles

Congrats to both of you. I will get those out ASAP. Thanks for entering.

I should get another giveaway posted today. (I still have a few left for all of you.)

Barney DVD Winners

I have two copies of the Barney: Once Upon a Dino Tale. Thanks for signing up. The winners are:

#2 -Karin

#3 - Emily at Live with David & Katy

Congrats to both of you. Karin, I will need your mailing address. I will send you an e-mail now too.

Please come back, I am having more giveaways here soon. And don't forget to sign up for the Fireman Sam giveaway going on now.

DVD Review & Giveaway: Barney

Released in January, the new Barney DVD Barney: One Upon A Dino Tale enters the enchanted world of fairy tales. Barney is a great story-teller and has a fantastic imagination. Some of Barney's friends come to play and they help him reenact some classic stories.

Some of the stories we see are The Fisherman and His Wife, Alice in Wonderland, The Lion and the Mouse. Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff get to act out Cinderella...this time with evil step-brothers. At the infamous ball, Barney comes along to teach them all the "Dino Dance".

They tell a story that we'd never heard before: The Emperor's Contest. I enjoyed hearing this Chinese fairy tale about finding the most honest person for the new Emperor.

And at the end they make up their own fairy tale. Baby Bop wants to be the princess. What little girl doesn't? So they tell a new story.

Zachariah loves Barney. And he really enjoys listening to tales. So this DVD was right up his alley.

*Buy It: You can get your own copy of Barney: Once Upon a Dino Tale in stores or online now. Amazon has it on sale right now for HALF-PRICE!

*Win it: I have 2 copies of Barney: Once Upon a Dino Tale to give away here. Who would like to win this for their kids?

To enter, tell me who in your house is/was a Barney fan. Zachariah is definitely our Barney fan. Matt & I neither one liked him. I know my sisters watched him for a while when they were young, but I was a little old for him by then.

Make sure that you include your e-mail address in the comments (if it's not linked to your log in, or I don't already have it). I will post winners here, and I will send you an e-mail too.

**To earn a second entry, post about this contest on your blog OR post about it on twitter. Then come back here and leave another comment telling me you did that.

The contest starts now and will end at 12:00 Noon on Monday, March 23rd.

Good luck! Please come back for more contests coming soon!

Bob the Builder DVD Winners

I had two copies of the Bob the Builder: Race to the Finish DVD. And I used random.org to draw the winning numbers. They are

#3 - Sarah at No Whey, Mama

#7 - Kara-Noel at Eli's Lids

Congrats to both of you! I need your name/address, so I can get these sent to you asap. (Sarah, I have yours already.)

The rest of you stay tuned, because I do have more giveaways coming soon. And I even have another Bob the Builder giveaway coming up in a while.

Zachariah's 3rd Birthday

All sorts of stuff

1. My sister took Zachariah for the day and overnight. She is on vacation this week but didn't have any plans. So she wanted to keep him overnight. This is the first time he's done that with her. Not because we won't leave him with her, but because they were in a one room apartment until this winter. Now they have a house (good thing too with a baby on the way), so he has a place to sleep there.

I know he'll have a blast with them. Rachel and Jared are always on the go and love to play with him. He just soaks it up when they are around. Plus they might go for supper at Buffalo Wild Wings tonight, which is one of his favorite places to go.

I am happy to have this afternoon (if only a few hours) to myself. And then Matt and I will have some time together tonight. I should be able to have the morning to myself too. I can't wait to not have someone wake me up in the morning. Ahh, a nice break. Some day I'll return the favor to her.

2. I know, I know, I need to get birthday pictures up here for you all to see. To be honest, I still haven't loaded any off my camera. Maybe I'll get to it since I have a little more "me" time right now.

3. My computer has been on the fritz again. Actually I think it's my fault. I dripped juice on it a week ago. Oops. We do have accidental coverage on our warranty, so I may have to take it in. Although, today it is acting fine. I'll wait a while and see what happens. It's just meant that I'm not online as much...which could be a good thing.

4. I am almost finished with my crocheted afghan for Matt. It has taken me quite a while, but it's looking nice. It's the best I could do for what he wanted, but it was a little more time consuming.

5. I'm also trying to finish a book, read a book for small group, and work on my growing/huge pile of magazines that I like to read.

6. We haven't done any more work on the bathroom. :( It needs to get done.

7. I've already started buying baby clothes for my to-be-niece/nephew. I found some clearance onesies/shoes at Old Navy, so I bought sizes for next winter. Eee! And she has her first ultrasound scheduled in about 2 weeks. She's already into her 2nd trimester...with NO morning/noon/night sickness. I'm very jealous.

8. I had to buy Zachariah some new jeans finally. He was still wearing 2 pairs of 18m ones from over a year ago. The waist on those was still cinched, but the legs were creeping up towards his ankles. I decided to get him 3T pants (with adjustable waists), because they were just a tiny bit bigger than the 2T's. I had to cinch them in REALLY far on the waist, but the length is perfect. I was really surprised. He's always been my tall skinny boy.

Shaun the Sheep DVD Winner

Thanks for reading the Shaun the Sheep DVD review and entering the giveaway. I have 3 copies to give to you. And I am now drawing the winners. They are:

#8 - Jana of Dress-Up & Diaper Changes

#2 - Kelsey of Midwest Mom

#3 - Carrie of The Q Collective

Congrats to all of you. I will need your mailing addresses, please. I'll get an e-mail out to you too. Thanks for entering.

For the rest of you...I have MORE DVDs to giveaway VERY soon!!