13 in 2013 {a link party} – Baby Products

Hey guys!  Kelli from Eat Pray Read Love and I are so excited to bring you a brand new link party called 13 in 2013!  You can read all about it here!!

Today we are sharing our favorite baby products!  Kelli and I both had been up to our eyeballs in diapers for quite some time now and have tried the gamit of things!  I’m sharing some of my fav’s below! 

Read mine and link up your favorites!  What a GREAT way to glean ideas for other moms!!!  Might be a fun post to send to those moms to be!!!

My FAV’s:

1.  Born Free Bottles - I've used them with all 4 kiddos and no gassiness!  

2.  Kirkland Brand Diapers from Costco - These are inexpensive and work WONDERFULLY!  No leaks!

3.  Valco Tri-Mode EX Twin Stroller - If you have lots of littles to push around like I do this stroller is AMAZING!!!  It is a bit pricey BUT both my husband and I agree it is worth EVERY PENNY!  It is lightweight, turns on a dime and has a ton of storage!  I LOVE THIS STROLLER!

50 Shades of Stupid – A conversation in the car

A recent conversation between my husband and I went like this:

J:  “What’s your favorite Christmas carol?  Mine is ‘O Holy Night’.”

Me:  “Oh, um, mine is probably ‘Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer’.”

J:  “Really?!?”

Me: “Oh, oh…OR ‘Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer’.  The version with the call backs…(ya know Rudoph The Red Nose Reindeer – Reindeer.  Had a very shiny nose – like a light bulb, etc etc).”

J:  "Wow…you are deep."

Blog Design, That Song in My Head & Giveaway Stuff

A new blog design has been rolling around in my head for about a month now and I finally buckled down and did it this weekend.  What I love about my old design was that it had meaning!  It was all about my kids.  Heck they were all over it!  That lent itself to memories; which is one of the reasons this blog was born.  With my new design I wanted to keep those memories but simplify the design.  I wanted to stick with the “party” theme since my blog name states just that.  And with those ideas in hand the firework idea came.  I took quite a few pictures of the fireworks while we were down in Florida this summer and I thought if I could figure out how to edit them enough to make them into the calming color scheme I was desiring, I would be happy.  A little time and experimentation in Photoscape & PicMonkey and here we are.

I LOVE how my blog design still has a special meaning for me but that simplistic look I love.

Switching gears now…Have you guys seen this video?  My girl Brooke shared it on Facebook and I think it’s AWESOME!  So funny!! 

Now, you will be singing “Call Me Maybe” all day too.  You are welcome.

Oh, and don’t forget to enter the current GIVEAWAY going on now!

Coffee Date

First of all, I want to tell you how blessed I am to be sharing my heart over @ Simply Helping Him today.  I am explaining how my priorities are different now and what a blessing that TRULY is!

AND...I finally make a Coffee Vlog!!  

Super excited to be linking up with Alissa from Rags to Stitches today!  

Happy Friday ya'll!

October Check-In

Hi All!

Things have been cray-cray over in this neck of the woods as you can imagine BUT I just wanted to do a little check in with ya!

Hope you are all well!  A special THANK YOU goes to all the AWESOME women who've been guest posting while I've been sorting through boxes this month.  I hope you've enjoyed them!  There are more to come the rest of the month as well so come back!

We are well!  Our move had our fair share of…shall we say…bumps in the road!  More on that in November...

For now, here’s a little sneak peak into the new place!

Totally in LOVE with my Mr. Ed door!

We are still in transition as you can see by this shot from my front porch lookin' in (love that song!).

Yes...that's a couch in the hallway...it was supposed to go upstairs...didn't fit up the narrow stairway...#oldhouseproblems...the AmVets are gonna come take it I hope.

And I just couldn't resist sharing this one just because it’s cute!

Talk to ya all soon!

XOXO

Scarf & Scripture Swap w/ Big K Fam

Happy Friday ya’ll!

Today is THE DAY to sign up for something awesome I’m co-hosting with my girls Viv @ Big K Fam, Sarah @ The Fontenot Four & Allison @ Sweatpants & High Heals. 

Sign up to be paired with another person to exchange a scarf along with your favorite bible verse & why it’s your favorite.  AWESOME encouragement along with a nice little treat in the form of a new fashion accessory just for YOU!

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

If you would like to participate in the scarf and scripture swap, please link up by leaving your first name and what country you live in under the "title" section.  For example, "Viv-USA".  If you are not a blogger and would like to participate, please email Viv @ bigkfam@gmail.com and she'll add you to the swap.

Why Didn’t I Think Of That?!?!

So I’m hanging with the kiddos watching Sesame Street.  Ya know a usual morning in our house…

and what comes on but a little girl showing a fish how to wrap a present with…

wait for it…

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ALUMINUM FOIL!!!!!!!

How many times have I went to wrap a birthday present and I’ve only had baby shower wrap or Christmas wrap or only a scrap of birthday wrap????  How many times have you? 

This is GENIUS I say GENIUS!  

And if you already thought of this tidbit of wrapping goodness well then you are way more inventive than I am!  

And yeah...when I googled it...OF COURSE someone already HAD! 

Thank goodness for people like this!!!  Makes me SEEM a whole lot cooler when I show up with a fun present wrapped up in aluminum foil!

October 2012 Blog Angels

HOLY COW PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BLOG ANGELS booked up in 8 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The October Blog Angels program is all booked up for October but check back because there will be another session of Blog Angels in another month or 2!

On behalf of Rosie thank you SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much to all of those who are participating in October!  This is going to be soooo fabulous!

Hey all!!  I am helping my girl Rosie spread the word about an AMAZING Blogger encouraging Blogger program! 

Check it out!

You might have heard the name 'Blog Angels' popping up all over your social media over the last few months and wondered, what ARE they going on about?

Blog Angels is run by Rosie at Craftbotic. Every two months 100 bloggers get the opportunity to help each other out, build friendships and community in the Blogosphere.

The principle is easy. By signing up to be a Blog Angel you are promising to help another blogger for a whole month.  The least you need to do is comment twice a week on their blog, but the possibilities to do more is endless.

In the first two rounds of Blog Angels we had people commenting, guest-posting, giving social media shout outs, new blog design features and warm words of encouragement. Some people swapped addresses and sent little packages. The choices are endless.

So what's the catch? Well, it's all done in secret. For this round, things are changing slightly. Here are all of the details:

1. Sign up opens today!

  2. The form is slightly more detailed to help with the matching process. It still takes less than 5 minutes to complete though.

 3. The project will start on 1st October and will be secret for the first two weeks. This will allow you to get to know your blogger, build up a relationship and start to act to help them. You would need to as a minimum comment twice a week on their blog.

 4. After two weeks you link up a 'reveal' post at Craftbotic on 15th October.

 5. You can then communicate with your blogger and give them more specific help, build friendships and develop your role. This is the newest part of the project and came out of a long conversation with the angel regulars.

 6. On the 31st October you write a 'reflection' post reviewing your experience of Blog Angels and what you achieved with your Blog Angel.

It's pretty simple. These small steps will help you to be part of growing community of bloggers who care.

On a serious note, there is always a 'drop off' of Blog Angels. Those folk who get busy and disappear. Apart from being incredibly uncool, it is completely unnecessary. Please make sure you have time to help out in October BEFORE signing up. If life gets crazy you just need to email and let Rosie know. Orphaned bloggers can then be reassigned.  In Blog Angels the only thing you are guaranteed is the opportunity to help some-one else.

And what an amazing opportunity that is! Still interested? Then fill in the from right now! And tell your bloggy friends. The more the merrier!



Thank you sooooo much for filling in the form. We all can't wait to meet you!

My Obsession w/ Junk Gypsies & a little Raffle Announcement!

Junk Gypsies.  Have you seen the show?  I’m OBSESSED.  Not a little bit, not mildly, but TOTALLY 100% OBSESSED!!!

Junk Gypsy Company  is a family run business based in Round Top, Texas.  They styled Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton’s wedding…

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…and now have a TV show chronicling their many projects and “re-dos”.  Do you think making a lamp out of a piece of “junk” sounds intriguing? 

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How about a desk for your boys out of an old pickup truck bed?  
(I PROMISE it’s AWESOME!  I just can’t find a photo of it online….BOOO!....)  

Yeah, me too!  THIS is the show for YOU!

My all-time FAVORITE thing I’ve seen on the show is the JuNK-O-RAMA Prom!!  What a FUN party the Junk girls put on EVERY year.  Check out the photos from their Pinterest page!  

I am DYING here!  

Guess what these my little girl’s 1^st Birthday will be?  That’s right kids…JuNK-O-RAMA Prom!!!  

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I SOOOOOOOOO can’t wait!!!

PS: Here's a little WINNER info:

Hey Everyone!! Today is the day! 

We have selected the winners of the Sayonara Summer Raffles! 

Before we announce them, though, we'd like to take a moment to thank

each and every one of you that gave to these wonderful causes. Our

families are blessed by your generosity and kindness. We are so, so

thankful for your support and prayers throughout all of this. It means

more to us than you know. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.  

And now...The Winners are....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Ladies!!!

You will be contacted very soon! 

Love, Brooke & Kelly

Tuesday 10 – It’s about The New Kids on the Block

Last month Lauren posted a comment saying she really wished my post was ACTUALLY about NKOTB even though OF COURSE she loved meeting some of my friends!!!

Well Lauren your wish is my command!!!

Since this week’s Tuesday 10 over @ Mom 2 Memphis and Ruby could be about anything, I though I would make this list an ode to The New Kids!  I was excited to write this post because it’s ALWAYS fun to write something JUST because you can.  That’s what I like about blogging.  I’m free to write whatever I like and make it FUN!

So without further ado:

New Kids Randoms:

1)   I always thought the cutest NK (New Kid) was Jordan.  My best friend Al loved…Jonathan…or was it Joey?  If Mark Wahlberg hadn’t quit before they got started he totally would have been my fav!  PS:  This photo is a recent photo of Mark since the younger ones I found were a tad indecent for a family blog.  GEEZ!

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2)   You can follow The New Kids on the Block on Twitter here.  Do It!  I did!  I am pretty sure I’m going to tag them when I tweet this too!  EEK!

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3)   And lets not forget Facebook here.  

4)   I always wanted a NKOTB pin with Jordan’s face on it.  I never got one.  I’m still bitter.  Can you tell?

5)   August 18^th they are TOTALLY going to be joining a bunch of other AWESOMENESS @ Hershey Park for Summer Mixtape Fest 2012!!!  HOW can you NOT want to go to this?????????  You can follow that on Twitter here.  PS:  LL Cool J is going to be there too!!!  Be still my heart!

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6)   Donnie Walhberg’s birthday is August 17^th!  One day before they perform at above said venue.

7)   I NEVER owned a New Kids tape!!!  I spent a ton of time with friends who did thank goodness?  Does this make me a strange child of the 80s & 90s?

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8)   Come to think of it I didn’t have ANYTHING from the New Kids……I WAS deprived!

9)   Anyone else think they sorta had “Pauly D” hair?

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10)           I did NOT remember that Donnie Wahlberg had a rat tail!!  Did you?

Love/Hate & the New Kids on the Block

Just a few Love/Hates for my girl Noel.

LOVE:  how much fun the kids had at Chuck E Cheese!

HATE:  thinking about how gross everything I touch there probably is.

LOVE:  how Ian chased Chuck E. until he could high-five him.

HATE:  thinking about the poor chap inside the Chuck E outfit and the last time it was cleaned was?

LOVE:  that the new & improved pizza at Chuck E Cheese is actually pretty darn tasty.

HATE: that even though I washed my hands before I ate I was still a bit grossed out for some reason.

LOVE:  how I’m HONESTLY not much of a germaphobe.

HATE:  that this list TOTALLY makes me out to be.


PS:  Thanks Auntie Megan B. for the giftcard for Ian's birthday!  He had a blast!

A few days late to the party over @ Noel's Beautiful Life but better late than never right?

 

Now, on to some New Kids on the Block!

Not the band but some EQUALLY awesome newer LADIES on my sidebar!

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We write about faith, family and the adventures (or misadventures) of life. We love being married and just added to our family with our first baby girl. Come see what Beauty for Ashes is all about!

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Hi!! I'm Lindsay, the Momma behind Little Mudpies. I love chocolate and wine. As a Momma of two boys I am learning to Embrace the Chaos that is my life. Little Mudpies is a record of my every changing journey though Mommahood. I share recipes and tutorials too. I recently opened my Etsy Shop and I couldn't be happier. Making jewelry has always been a passion of mine, and now I get to share that. I'd love for you to stop by and say "Hi!" sometime!!

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I'm pretty sure Kelly might just be my long lost twin on the web.  I mean, we are both married to men named Justin...enough said right?  I guess I should also mention that we both love the Lord, love our kids, and our 30's seem to be treating us pretty well.  There is one difference: she has 4 little ones and I have 1 baby girl.  My husband and I want a house full of pitter pattering feet so I'm pretty sure that Kelly can teach me a thing or two about family life.  Her blog is one of my new daily favorites.  I see tweets about her upbeat and uplifting blog pretty much every time I log onto twitter.

I started this whole blogging addiction back in March, as an outlet for the 180 degree turn that my life took when I became a mom.  I went from full time speech-language pathologist to stay at home mom.  I LOVE this season of my life so I mainly blog about motherhood, my faith, and the Carolinas (specifically Charleston) but you'll also find a post here and there about military life (proud Marine wife here) and the extreme hot zone that is the deep South...but the Gamecocks and breathtaking views of Charleston tend to make it worthwhile.   So come on over to my blog, take a look around, and say hey!  I would love to have ya'll!

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Hi! My name is Pamela from Pamela's Heavenly Treats, where I make healthy cupcakes and cookies mainly, I will dabble in other desserts if need be.  I make all my treats with 100% whole wheat flour and I have a few special ingredients that I also add, to give my healthy treats that moist, delicious taste.  I also have an Etsy shop where you can purchase my healthy mixes, new mixes in shop now!  I am a wife, mother of 6, homeschool teacher, and I have 

a healthy cupcake and cookie business.  I must say that without God none of this would be possible.

Now, head on over and give 'em some LOVE!