Broward Patch Winner

The winner of the Broward Patch custom camera strap is Cheryl

Congrats! I will be contacting you today! 

meetup momday, and a photo challenge

So I may not be posting as much this week.  This is my last full week of with Jack. I am going to be staying away from the computer and cuddling my little guy as much as I can. In the meantime, I am hoping that Meetup Monday will continue to grow.

Also.....the paper mama is having "water" themed photo challenge. This is my first time entering and I am nervous! Check out her amazing blog and check out my entry to the photo challenge!

Have a great Monday! 

<a href="http://www.justanothermomday.blogspot.com"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/agrip76/coffee.jpg" /></a>

If this is your first time linking up to Meetup Monday, here's the info:

Add a link below to a specific blog post or your main blog address

If you could grab my button and pop it up on your blog someplace visible, that would make my day!

Most importantly: Make someone's day by commenting on the blog post of the two blogs (or more) before you.

getting sentimental...

As the beginning of school gets closer and closer I have also started noticing this pain deep in my stomach.  It started out small, like a little upset stomach.  But as the days went on, it has gotten worse and worse, and I've realized it's not really in my stomach, but in my heart. 

This has been the best summer I can remember.  Better than those summers in high school full of bon fires and no worries, better than summers in my twenties full of Chicago bars, and Cubs games and sleeping in late.  But along with this summer comes the knowledge that I will never have this again.  I will never have this little 9 month old full of smiles and wonder and curiosity.  A summer of seeing everything for the first time. 

I will have many more amazing summers, I know that.  But maybe I am more sentimental becuase this is my first.  Our first.  And I don't want it to end.  I want to breathe in every second....deeply.

I want a million more days like this one.
Days full of warm days, snacks, and pools to ourselves. 

Days full of wagon walks and rest stops.

Days full of swinging, wondering and taking it all in.

Take it in.  Enjoy every second. 

Take a Break, and Win a Weekend Away!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hampton Hotels. All opinions are 100% mine.
My husband is away with the guys fishing tonight, and the girls got together with the kids.  We were talkinga about how we REALLY need a girl's getaway.  Nothing special, some shopping downtown, a manicure and pedicure, and a nice dinner. Well once the craziness of summer activities and get-togethers are over, we are definately going to do it. 

Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes would be a perfect contest to win for a  girl’s weekend getaway. This summer Hampton is offering a really cool way to get together with friends and family that you might need to reconnect with. Enter to win the grand prize of an entire hotel (100 rooms) for an entire weekend (2 nights). Imagine a weekend long slumber party with the people you love best. 100 first prizes are available too; weekend stays for the winner and three of their friends, given away daily.

I would use my prize for downtown Chicago getawaay for sure, and invite all my best girlfriends; some I haven’t seen in years. We’d visit all the usual tourist spots plus take advantage of the prime location for some really fun people watching, tasty food and excellent shopping.
Entering the Hampton Chain of Friends Sweepstakes is easy. Just complete a quick form and wait for your prize. The contest started 6/1/10 and ends 9/4/10 so you have plenty of time to enter. Visit Hampton Hotels for complete details, rules and restrictions

Good luck, and be sure to enter, you deserve it!

more please!

Lately I have been making sweet potato pancakes for Jack.  He can't get enough of them.

I found the recipe at Wholesome Baby Food, and it's super simple.  What's even better, is these can be frozen and heated for those mornings you just don't have time to make something .

Sweet Potato Pancakes

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
1 egg (or 2 egg yolks)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (use graham flour for a nice taste.)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk (or more)


Mix sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl with egg. Stir in the flour and add the baking powder. Add up to 1/3 cup of milk while stirring. Stir in 1 tbsp butter.
The mixture should have the consistency of thick, lumpy sauce like an "instant" pancake mix.
Place a non-stick or heavy iron skillet over medium heat on top of the stove and add 1/2 tsp butter.

Spoon batter into the skillet and cook until bubbles rise to the surface of the pancakes and break. Approx. 1 to 2 minutes.
Using a spatula, flip the pancakes and cook another 2 minutes.
Remove pancakes from the skillet and keep warm on a covered plate in the oven.

How do you do it?

I'll be honest.  Lately I have been having a bit of "blogger burnout".  Maybe it's the summer.  Maybe it's becuase I am not bored at work.  It could be a lot of things.  I feel like there is not enough time in the day for everything "blogging".  Blog posts, Facebook, Twitter, Blog message boards, blog communities, I could spend the whole day "blogging" and still not feel caught up!

So how do you do it?  All of you other bloggers out there.  Do you choose certain things to focus on?  Do you have a "blog" schedule?  What is your blog strategy?  Do you ever experience "blog burnout"?

I know this phase will pass, but blogging is way more overwhelming sometimse than I thought it would be. 

Wordless Wednesday

So I took Jack to the park this week.  He has a fascination with fountains...any kind.  I could watch him stare at those fountains forever.

You can check out other Wordless Wednesdays at the paper mama!
 

Make mama proud!

So I was ready to say goodbye to Meetup Monday, but then I thought, "I am not a quitter, I will stick with this!"

So sticking with this is what I am going to do.  I have faith in my readers, make me proud and join myself and other bloggers for Meetup Monday.  You just might make some new friends!

<a href="http://www.justanothermomday.blogspot.com"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i219/agrip76/coffee.jpg" /></a>

If this is your first time linking up to Meetup Monday, here's the info:

Add a link below to a specific blog post or your main blog address


If you could grab my button and pop it up on your blog someplace visible, that would make my day!


Most importantly:  Make someone's day by commenting on the blog post of the two blogs (or more) before you. 

Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy what you see.  I hope you have a great Monday!

New Friend Friday

Another Friday which is bitter sweet.  I'm glad it's the weekend, but every Friday means I am one more week closer to going back to work.  I have three weeks until school starts and that awful feeling in my stomach is starting to form. I just need to enjoy these last few weeks of summer break and be happy I have this time off with Jack and Lenny.

Enjoy your weekend, and be sure to check out my giveaway below for a custom camera strap! 

Participating in New Friend Friday and Five Question Friday


1. Did you have a favorite blanket or toy as a kid? If so, do you still have it?
Yes, I had a favorite blankie for so long my mom finally told me she "accidently" gave it to good will.  I cried for days.  I found it in her dresser drawer when I was in college.  I loved that blankie!


2. Do you dream in color?
Yes, every time.
3. How tall are you? Do you wish you were shorter or taller?
I am 5-6, I wish I was a bit taller.

4. If you could have anyone's (celeb or other) voice as the guide on your GPS, who would it be?
Trace Adkins.  Very sexy.


5. Do you return your shopping cart to the corral or leave it wherever in the parking lot?
I always return them, otherwise I feel like people will say "oh look at that lazy girl, she can't even put her shopping cart away!"

A Fabulous Giveaway!

As some of you may know, we recently bought a new camera.  I LOVE it.  I don't know how we took pictures without it.  What I am not too happy about it the strap.  Not very comfortable and also not the most stylish. 

Along came Jennifer at the Broward Patch on Etsy. She sent me a custom made strap from her shop; all I told her is I wanted something that is not too girly for my husband as well.  She sent me the perfect strap!

These straps are soooo soft because they are made from cotton and they are padded all the way around, so they are way more comfortable than the strap that came with the camera. Most of all, the designs are super cute! Anyone who has a camera should have one of these!  Jen is a stay at home mom, and LOVES custom orders!

Don't I look so stylish wearing it!?!?!

Jen is offering one of my readers a custom camera strap! And  if you don’t have a big camera, she also makes smaller digital camera straps, too!!

Official Entry: (Required)

Please visit Broward Patch on Etsy, and comment on which strap you would choose if you won!

Bonus Entry (after required entry)
1. Follow Jennifer's Blog at http://browardpatch.blogspot.com/
2. Follow my blog (if you do just tell me)

**Contest will end Sunday August 7, at 11:59pm. Winner will be choosen using random.org!
Good Luck!

A 9 month old wordless wednesday

First of all I have a winner for the Pear Tree Greetings cards.  With only 12 entries, Jayda won!  Congrats, I will be emailing you! 

I don't know if I mentioned this, but Jack just turned 9 months.  I CAN'T BELIVE IT! Nine months!!!! Where did time go?  So of course I did my usual monthly photo, although this month was more difficult because Jack would not sit still, he wants to crawl ALL THE TIME.

So here are some of my pictures of my 20 lb. 12 oz., 28 1/2 inch guy,  from our 9 month photo session.

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

So our internet has been down all weekend.  We had an awful storm Friday night and we just FINALLY got it back working, after days of being on the phone.  So I am back, I am sorry about Meetup Monday, but I think it is best to put it on hold for a while since I am having such a sad, low turnout.  : (.

Anyways I am happy to be up and running and looking forward to a giveaway later in the week!

But now for today.  Today was one of those days.

One of those days where you feel like you are THIS close to losing it.  I usually am VERY calm and cool on those days, but today was bad.  Jack was in an AWFUL mood, he was whiny and screaming all day.  I don't know why, and nothing I could do would calm him down.  Lenny was on a barking rampage all day and he woke Jack up twice from his nap. 

I was on the phone with the phone company all day trying to fix the internet and the house was a mess.
I lost it.  Once Jack finally went down for a nap I sat and cried.  I haven't cried that like in a very long time.  It felt good to get it out. 

So once Jack got up I got everyone together and we did what would make anyone happy.....we went swinging. 

For some reason, swinging makes me feel great.  Maybe because I loved it when I was little, but I love it.  It released all my stress and made all of us a lot happier.

Even Lenny felt better just by watching us swing!

So I had a bad day. Being a "new" mom is hard sometimes.  Life is hard sometimes. There will probably be many more bad days ahead for us. But at the end of it all, that's all it is...a bad day.  Tomorrow will come and I can start my day all over.  And we will make it good, because we have each other.

Surprise!

 My husband and I always love a good meal.  A few weeks ago I received an invitation to attend an appreciation dinner at Ben Pao, in Chicago which has amazing Chinese food and is one of our favorite places. General Mills and MyBlogSpark sponsored the event as a thank-you to their bloggers who've posted giveaways of General Mills products. The dinner was free, and I received a $50 MasterCard gift card to cover gas and parking in the city, providing a truly "free" night out.


So last Thursday, my husband and I went to Ben Pao.  The restaurant was even closed for this dinner!
We were served four courses.  Soup, appetizers, entree and desserts.  I choose Beef and Broccoli and my husband choose Kung Pao.  The food was amazing, like always, and we were STUFFED!

Throughout the meal, a camera crew roamed the restaurant asking the guests about their blogs and their thoughts on the meals. Little did I know there was a "catch" to this dinner.

When we finished our meals, our server brought each of us fortune cookies, and the cameraman returned to the table to ask if he could film us opening the cookies.
This is what was in the cookies.

We laughed SO hard, we were shocked.  We would never have guessed that we had been eating frozen Chinese food available at the grocery store! The soup, appetizer platter and desserts were actually Ben Pao's own restaurant food, but the entrees were bagged, frozen meals from Wanchai Ferry.

The camera men were filming a commercial for Wanchai Ferry!  We had a great night because of   MyBlogSpark, Ben Pao and Wanchai Ferry!

Hot Hot Hot! And welcome new friends!

It's hot here.  Very hot.  Because of this we have been stuck inside alot.  Going outside would mean we would be a big sweaty mess after 2 minutes.  

This means we are stuck inside most of the day.  Which also means I am starting to work on our photo wall.  I have no idea where to begin or what pictures to choose.  Do any of you have a photo wall?  How do you choose which pictures to use?  Where do you get your frames?  Do you have a theme?  I could use some help.

To all my new friends, hello, and welcome! 


 I hope you all have a great weekend!  We have ABSOLUTELY no plans, which is music to my ears.  This means a weekend of grililng, pools and relaxing.  The summer is quickly passing by, so enjoy it!