Lost Post

Okay, so I stay up really late to finish a post I started a couple of weeks ago. I save it as I go along, and then I hit publish but forget to update the date. So instead of posting on today's post it posts it way back when I started it. I think, "no problem I'll just edit it and change the date", but guess what? None of my work from today has been saved and when I pull it up it keeps showing how I left it two weeks ago. Even weirder is on my blog page it shows the updated version. I am baffled. If any of you know what is going on please share and please so I don't feel as if I wasted a whole evening on this post go check it out here.
Sincerely,
Blogging Basics Reject

Winner of Bloggy Anniversary Give-Away

I am happy to announce the winner of my anniversary give away was Mrs. Smockity! WB was disappointed that he was not eligible:)

This is how I picked the winner.

My Random Integer Generator:

I numbered the posts 1 to 5 and my random integer generator picked 3!

Thanks for everyone who participated and who reads my little blog, you are loved:)

Not so good news and a Tag!

First, I must say that we got another letter from Em today and she is not a happy camper. It was her third day of camp and she was bored and sad. She said they do the same thing everyday, unlike the first day of camp where they had no idea what they were in for so everything was a surprise. So she really, really, really, really, wants to come home and she is anxiously awaiting our response. Oh boy, I'm using every ounce of strength not to run and pick her up. I know this was to be expected and tomorrow is her last day, but it stinks. I wish I could just call her and let her know everything will be fine. She's probably forgotten that all notes are delayed a day so she probably kept waiting to hear from us yesterday and now when I send a note she won't get it until tomorrow, the last day. I'm putting all my faith in those Girl Scout counselors and praying they are handling the situation with care. They better be!!

Now, to lighten things up I was tagged by MaddieLynn over at Smockity Frocks. I am supposed to list 7 songs that are shaping my summer.
Here are the rules:
List seven songs that you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your Summer of 2008. Post these instructions in your blog, along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what their favorites are this year!

We have a keyboard that Em is using to teach herself how to play. It has a large song bank and she randomly picks a song then works on it until she gets it. Yes, her mother needs to get it together and find her some piano or guitar lessons but so far mom has dropped the ball! Anyway, she has picked House of the Rising Sun(1). We printed out the lyrics and well it's not the happiest of songs but she's "into it". She did say that it's much snappier on the keyboard then when Dad plays it on the guitar, then it's kind of sad.

WB edited out the very end where you get a full head shot of Little One screeching into the camera. Geez, what does an artist have to do around here to get a little peace and quiet?!!

2. Waltzing Matilda - Once again Em has tackled this on her keyboard. Now we are all singing it and even putting Little One to sleep with it. It's an Australian Folk song. WB looked up the meaning of the lyrics to find out exactly what a billabong is and a jumbuck along with swagman. It became an impromptu history and cultural lesson.

3. Itsy Bitsy Spider - Little One is learning the motions to this one.

4. Any Jonas Brothers Song - I can't name them for you, it's just that I hear them over and over and over.

5, 6, and 7 are the various songs I listen to on my MP3 player while mowing the lawn. I listen to a retro station and they play The Beetles, The Doors, Steppenwolf etc. Cool, stuff man, really smokin'.

So now I pass this on to, and when I do this I know that some of you will be too busy to respond and "it's all good" (phrase I have learned from the teenagers at our pool).:

Sasha

Karen

The Fritz Facts

Michael

Okay, I know that is not seven but it's getting really late and I'd like to sleep a few winks before Little One wakes up for one of her several night wakings:)

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for the give-away!

My Heart is Full of Joy And A Give Away!!

Thanks everyone who particpated in my anniversary give-away, I'll announce the winner later today:)

First of all let me just say that I did a little happy dance today when I went to our mailbox and what should appear but a tiny green envelope from Em. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been quite so excited about a letter. Soph wanted to open it and so I waited patiently while she tore open the letter then handed to WB to be read. And guess what? She is having an awesome time, in fact she mentions that little tidbit twice. She said she slept really well and that she passed the swimming test so she gets free reign of the pool. Praise the Lord, my baby is not just surviving Girl Scout Camp, but thriving. I shall rest easier tonight:)

Now on to the second order of business I promised a give away in celebration of my 1 year anniversary. I've been negligent, as Little One broke out into some sort of terrible rash that left us sleepless here at Cotton-Top Hills for several nights. And we've been just a tad clingy and grumpy and Little One has had her moments too:) But here it is, finally, the give away and then maybe I'll get a chance to catch up on my blog reading because I'm wondering what everyone has been up to these last few days!! Okay, back to the give away. I really wanted to find a great thing, and lets face it a not too expensive thing since we just had to replace a transmission and load up our AC on freon, and I went through several ideas and settled on this...a year subscription to BABYBUG Magazine.
This is truly the neatest magazine for kids 3 and under. They are full of colorful illustrations, rhymes, and short stories. They are very sturdy and I still have the magazines I got when Em was little. Now I know some of you don't have little ones at home, but maybe you know someone who does and you could pass it on to them. I promise you, whoever gets this will love it. Em was reading by the age of four and I know that this magazine helped to instill a love of reading at a very early age.
So here's how to enter. In the comment section tell me your favorite book or story you remember as a child. Then make sure I have a way to reach you if you win. If you don't have a blogger account you can still enter, just post under anonymous. I'll leave the contest open until Saturday, July 25th at 9:00 AM Central time. That sounds so official, I almost feel like I'm giving away one of PW's Kitchen Aid Mixers instead of a magazine subscription. Anyway, thanks so all of you who care enough to read my posts and make my day with your comments. It truly is a bright spot in my day!!

Girl Scout Camp

My memories of Girl Scout camp, if I'm really honest aren't so great. I only got to go for part of the week because I had to leave early for yet another ear surgery, someone kicked dirt on my English muffin pizza I had spent thirty minutes cooking on the campfire, and a trip to the nurses office ended with me being shuffled out as another camper was brought in with a vegetable peeler cut to the finger and the nurse asking her, "Have you ever had stitches?". ..

But none of this I shared with my eight year old daughter, because overall Girl Scouts is a wonderful organization. I loved every minute I was involved with them, minus the above experiences. I learned all sorts of neat things, I met kids with the same interests , and most of all it was fun. My Mom was always our troop leader which helped because she gives 110% to whatever project is in front of her and she made sure we were always busy and doing something awesome.

But today as I watched my eldest in the rear view mirror of the car as she leaped up the steps of her little stone cabin and away from me for five whole nights I prayed she'd love Girl Scout Camp. I think she will. She's my outgoing, adventure seeking child. She thrives in social environments and she never blinked twice about going off to a camp where she might not know another living soul. Turns out she will know two of the other campers, but she found that out today as we were checking her in.

Here's Em standing on the front porch of her little cabin. Her t-shirt says The Alamo and she kinda looks like she'd be willing to hole up in that cabin and not come out no matter how much I pleaded and begged and got down on my knees and asked her to just come home with me...ahem, excuse me I just had a moment.

We were the first ones to arrive at her cabin so she had first pick of the beds. I believe she got the newest looking mattress and only one bed away from the floor fan!


WB and I watched with raised eyebrows as she methodically rolled out her sleeping bag and neatly tucked her blanket under her mattress on all sides. Then she tried it out.

So tonight I'm wondering how she is doing. We've already bought little e-mail notes to send to her each day. She will receive these like mail, as they will print them up and pass them out. But she's not allowed to communicate with us, unless there is an emergency of course.

Yes, here I sit looking out my window staring off into the canyons.

Do you see that dark area way over there? It's actually the shadow of a cloud, but right down there in that canyon lies the Girl Scout camp. Did I mention it was literally just over the hills from us? Well, it is. But now I just find myself randomly gazing in that direction knowing my first born child is over there and that I'm right here. Really, did anyone ever tell you how difficult it was going to be to watch your child grow up? It's pretty scary stuff I tell you!

One Year Anniversary!!

Can it really be one year since I entered the blogging world?!! Yes, and that proves that time does fly. My friend Connie kept telling me about her blog and I kept forgetting the address so I never went to check it out. I really didn't get the whole blogging thing either. But finally I asked her for the 50th time what her address was and waa laa I fell in love. I entered a new world and my very baby soaked brain slurped up all the mommy talk. I've laughed, cried, and sympathized with so many other moms that I feel like I have this wonderful new circle of friends. Plus, my family has enjoyed keeping up with our daily antics, as well as friends near and far.

A trip down memory lane: one year ago Little One was three months old.

And today she is walking, blabbering, and has teeth. But she does have the same amount of hair that she had a year ago!

Here are sweet Em and Soph traipsing through the garden back then.

Here they are now scaring the beegeezees out of their Mother as they act like they are falling off the pools edge.Ah, yes and here is WB a year younger posing for Country Backyard Living Magazine.

And here he is now posing for If Only This Was Our Backyard Magazine (not so much mowing involved here).

What a year it has been. Thank all of you who actually read my blog, I love all ten of you dearly. I'm thinking of a give away to celebrate, so stay tuned because as soon as I come up with something I'll let you know:)

Works For Me Wednesday- Laundry Hamper Help

I'd like to say I'm a domestic diva, but all that know me know that is not true. I like to keep things simple and I love to get help in any way I can. Laundry is like Mt. Everest to me. I stand at the bottom of this gigantic mountain and wonder how I'm ever going to conquer it. So when my two oldest were about five and three I got an idea to help me sort through the mess. I bought three hampers (these are the original three and yes they look a little beat up, what do ya expect?) for their room and put color coded labels on each one.

Whenever we'd take off our clothes I'd help them decide which hamper each article of clothing belonged in. Pretty soon, my three year old had this amazing ability to sort her own clothes and would love to tell us which piece of clothing went where and why. When the hamper was full they would bring it to me and tell me we needed to do the wash. And yes, with all girls in this family you can imagine that the pastel hamper filled up quite often.

My two oldest are 8 and 6 now but we are using the system and they are excited to teach their 15 month old sister the ropes.

For me this works great and makes life for this not so domestic diva a little easier! For more WFMW tips head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

Keep Austin Weird

If you've never been to Austin, you need to go. It is the capitol of Texas, a good size city but it still has small hill country charm. And yes, it definitely has it's strange places, okay you may even say weird. But that is its appeal. They have a campaign that is called Keep Austin Weird and they are serious about it. It really all started to keep a quickly growing town from being too commercialized.

On our recent trip to Austin I took a few pictures that I deemed perfect for Keeping Austin Weird. I really only touched the tip of the iceberg and on my next trip I may have to expand my post. But here are a few things that could be considered weird.

Deer outside window looking up to see if you're going to throw her another chocolate chip muffin.

Squirrel on the lawn of the capitol, obviously floored by recent political events.

People gather on the capitol lawn to do what else, feed the squirrels of course!
Or ride unicycles. Going to the capitol is kinda like going to the circus. Can you guess where the clowns are?

This is on the grounds of WB's Elementary School. Yes, it is a very old cemetery. Most kids grow up with a big playing field outside their classroom windows, but not in Austin.

But I suppose it is a good history lesson.

You just gotta love Austin. And if you've never been you really need to plan a trip!!

.

Memorable Moment Monday- Cotton-Top Hills Posse

Yep, folks there's a new posse in town. They can be ornery and cantankerous, but the Sheriff believes they are up for the job.

He rounded them up a few weeks ago when Cotton-Top Hills was threatened by a lethal fellow. Blue received a blow to the head by this guy, which quickly sent her to the vet. Needless to say his type is outlawed out here in these parts and our posse was organized to find him:

Dead or Alive

The posse searched high and low. They scattered woodpiles, cleaned up along the fences, checked under rocks, trying to oust this criminal from his hiding place. As dusk approached and the orange and pink streaks of sunset stretched across the sky Sheriff WB's posse came home empty handed.

But never fear Sheriff WB is always on the job and a few weeks later this venomous varmint slinked a little too close to WB's outbuilding. His warning rattle gave Sheriff WB just enough time to draw his weapon and this outlaw found himself staring down the barrel of WB's 22.

We can all rest a little easier knowing we have such a virile, um I mean competent, man watching over us.

Happy Birthday!!

Okay, our internet has been out so I have been chewing my nails while waiting for WB to figure out what the heck was wrong. Dear man fixed it in the wee hours of this morning, bless you. So I'm back online, but about to meet my friend at the pool since today the sun is actually out!! So until I get a chance to do a longer post I need to say Happy Birthday to my Dad. Today is his day, exactly a week after Soph's:) And since I did not get the card off in time I just wanted him to know we were thinking of him.

Love ya Dad!!

Vacation Pictures

Whew, where have I been! Actually, I've been battling some sort of illness that's got me down and the weaning of one 15 month old. I haven't nursed since last Thursday and now realize that was my only downtime and chance to blog!! So I will try to catch up, sorry about my absence. Thought I'd show you some pics from our trip to Austin. It was a working trip for WB, but the girls and I sure enjoyed the resort.

We really enjoyed the pools. If only I could have justified spending 100.00 to rent one of the little cabanas for half a day. It would have been nice for Little One to take her nap in after I nursed her. Probably if WB had spent a day chasing three little ones around the pool he would have welcomed the little oasis with it's fresh fruit, water and flat screen TV. But really, the price was a tad extravagant and so I just ignored the other moms with Little Ones who found a way to justify the expense. I almost asked one lady if she wouldn't mind me rolling my sleeping baby into her cabana to nap next to her sleeping son...no, no that wouldn't be right, would it! Besides, WB did send me off to the spa to have a pedicure and really I have no way of justifying that expense, but it sure was nice.
Em and Soph loved the slide. I was nervous about Soph going down it since this would be her first time on a big slide, but as I held my breath as she reached the top, she didn't even hesitate before plunging down. I was so proud of her, yippee!! (I was busy nursing Little One and holding my breath so I missed getting a picture of her on the slide, but she looked alot like the picture of Em except with blonder hair and a different swimsuit;) )

Our hotel room had a sweet little balcony that face Lake Austin. We went to the store the day we arrived and bought breakfast goodies so we could enjoy the view while we ate. We had visitors that happened along as we munched.
This little one appeared when her momma let her know it was safe. The girls enjoyed sharing their breakfast with our visitors. The girls did ask why these deer were so small. They have gotten used to our mule deer, which are quite a bit larger and of course have those mule like ears.
So WB called from his golf outing ( I mentioned this was a working trip right?) to tell me we had been invited to dinner at Hudson's on the Bend. This is a very swanky restaurant with a well known chef soooo even though I was exhausted (we'd already been out to dinner the night before without the kids and I'm just not used to so much excitement in one week or one year for that matter) I dragged myself out for one more evening of fun. So I dressed myself up, borrowed a Spanish lace shawl from my dear mother-in-law at the insistence of my sweet father-in-law who was worried I might catch a chill and met up with WB. It was worth it. We dined on rattlesnake, duck, elk, bison and even had a homemade fig newton topped with goat cheese. See, I never would have put that together myself but it was yummy, really.
I had the elk for my main course and it was very lean and delicious.

WB went with the Bison tenderloin which was equally scrumptious. After dinner we waddled out to the car and that night I slept like a baby. And thanks to my in-laws my children were well cared for!!

WB's 20th Reunion Pictures

The crew. Here is part of the core group of WB's friends while going to school. I've listened to stories over the years of lunch hour crams into WB's scary green van. I'm not sure what model it was but I'm thinking it was from the 70's. I'll have to find out and get back to you with the details. These three we met for lunch at Central Market where there was a nice outdoor playground where our kids could play. We all looked at pictures in WB's yearbook and laughed over the 80's hair, among other things.Here's WB with another friend hanging out at the family picnic on Saturday. She looks just like her yearbook picture, even after 20 years and three kids. Her husband is a fireman and she's a stay at home mom like me!

This is me melting. Yes, it was hot and we were at the park for two hours during a fairly warm part of the day. By the time we left I was sporting a very fashionable heat rash. It is also at this picnic that I got word most people were going casual to that night's shindig. Really? WB had told me cocktail attire, hence the silk dress I went out and bought. Hmmm, I should have checked on the whole dress thing myself, make note to self for next gathering


Here I am in my silk dress. Oh well, at least I was nice and cool. I am dancing with another wife. You can tell I really know how to get down. I believe we were dragged onto to floor by another female classmates of WB's. Our husbands remained across the dance floor chatting refusing to bust a move with us. Here is WB (upper left with white shirt) and the classmates that all started kindergarten together.

Oh, and you know those awards they give like most changed, most kids etc. Well, WB got the Most Baby Face Award!