Our Pumpkin-A Collaborative Effort

*Make sure you check out the previous entry for info on my Halloween Special at Dirt and Lace Designs!*

Spreading the Word

I posted this on Facebook but I know a lot of you aren't on there, so I wanted to share. If you planned on getting a blog makeover done any time soon, or you wanted to add an element to your current look, such as a nifty Favicon like my purple flower up there, now is the time!! In honor of my second favorite holiday (you just can't beat Christmas!), I'm offering 20% off ALL services from Dirt and Lace Designs. E-mail me at dirtandlace@gmail.com to place an order between now and midnight tomorrow to receive the discount.

*Coming up as soon as I'm done editing the pictures: pumpkin carving that we did yesterday evening.*

Hopefully Stepping in the Right Direction

***I would REALLY appreciate it if you would take a second to answer the poll in the sidebar at Dirt and Lace Designs. Please! I'm trying to figure out my next move, plan for the future, have an idea of where I'm at, and your input is important!***

Our Gingko tree is so beautiful right now! Definitely the brightest on the street.

We got the finishing touches for Summer and Camryn's fairy princess costumes today. They are going to be absolutely adorable!

I had intentions of us all carving our two big pumpkins this evening but we ran out of time so it looks like we'll be doing that tomorrow.

Joe just applied online for a part-time job at Lowe's. We have tried to make it work on one income for a long time but it just isn't cutting it in this economy. I know most of you can relate. The prices of groceries have doubled in the last two years. Gas, utilities, you name it. And of course, pay rates have NOT doubled. We figure he can work a couple evenings a week and it will help enough, and then when he gets a raise, or once my blog design business picks up (fingers crossed), we won't need that extra income any more. I'm not sure how I feel about this, and I don't want him to over-work himself, but he says he wants to. For those who don't know, Joe worked at Lowe's as an assistant manager a few years ago, but left to continue his apprenticeship for a plumbing company. His old manager and some others have tried to get him to come back quite a few times, so we're hoping that with their input, it will be an easy process getting hired and getting a good schedule (pleeeeeease, no weekends!). I'm not looking forward to it at all, but you have to do what you have to do, right?

We're going to story hour at the library tomorrow morning, and visiting my Grandmother and Great Grandma at the nursing home afterward, so I've got to get these kids to bed. I hope you are all having a good week.

Reminder: Femme Forum, hosted by Simply Femme, is tonight at 10pm EST. If you need details, e-mail me, comment, or find me on Facebook.

Blog Makeover Giveaway

One of my favorite bloggers, the beautiful and talented Summer at Le Musings of Moi, is hosting a giveaway for a free Ultimate blog makeover, courtesy of Dirt and Lace Designs. It's very simple to enter, so head on over and get all the details! Click on the image below.

An Open Letter

Dear Tish and Billy Ray Cyrus,

I am deeply disturbed by the Halloween costume you let your nine year old daughter wear this past weekend. What the heck were you thinking?!

Nine year olds dressed up as witches wear long black dresses, striped tights, and a pointy black hat. They don't wear hooker boots and dresses that are so short and tight they could be mistaken for Victoria Beckham's lingerie.

Provacative dresses are worn for one reason, and I think we all know what that reason is. Letting a young girl dress that way is just asking for trouble. It's like dangling chocolate in front of a woman with PMS. Have you not heard of pedophiles? Or what about those girls on Maury who get knocked up when they're 14 because they dress and act like little hoochie mamas?

I am begging you to re-examine what you allow your young daughter to wear in public. Get her a big ol' t-shirt, some non-form-fitting pants, and maybe a baby doll while you're at it. Give her a chance to be a kid, and a few more years of innocence. That's not something you are going to regret.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Mom Who Would Never Let Her Kids Outta The House Like That

Fit for a Fairy Princess

I love fall and the warm colors that come with it. I love Halloween and orange and black and pumpkins and witches and ghosts.... But, I thought I'd switch things up a bit after I saw this digital scrapbooking kit yesterday and fell in love with it. Summer and Camryn are going to be fairy princesses for Halloween, so what better theme than this?

Wrestling and Mermaids

A few evenings ago, the girls and I sat down on my bed to read a story. They were looking really cute in their pajamas, so I grabbed the camera and captured what turned into a preschooler wrestling session.







I also got a video when Summer decided to tell me a story. Enjoy!

Two Years Ago...

Two years ago, I married my best friend. I am happy to say we are still as in love and happy as we were that day.

Click here to view the post I wrote on our anniversary last year, which has details on our wedding and some more pictures.

Our plans for today include dinner somewhere cheap, and seeing a movie. Not sure which movie yet.

I've been sick AGAIN this past week. Joe got it first, and now I'm really achy, with a sore throat, and exhausted. I'm feeling a tiny bit better today, as far as not flinching as much when I swallow my spit, but still pretty out of it, so hopefully I'll be able to enjoy myself today.

The girls are going to stay at my mom and dad's while we're out today. They are always excited to do that. Summer got upset when I told her she had to wait till this evening.

Time for a coffee refill. Have a great Tuesday!

In Dirt and Lace Land...

*Summer has been walking around in a pair of my heels for two days. She can walk better in them than I can. (That photo is from July 2008, so clearly she's been practicing for a long time.)

*I'm on cup of coffee #2 #3, it's been a slow morning. Why is coffee so much better when you know it's cold outside?

*I just sneaked away from the living room to use the bathroom in peace for once, and they STILL found me.

*My aunt came over a couple days ago and gave us two huge bags of my cousins' old dance costumes. The girls are having so much fun dressing up, and I think we may use a couple of them as their Halloween costumes this year - we're thinking either princesses or fairies.

*Monday was my Uncle Bobby's birthday. We went and visited him at the cemetery. We took him a big bunch of Mums from my mom's house, and sang him Happy Birthday. We also stopped by my Granddaddy's grave while we were there, and left him some flowers. It makes me so sad that neither of them got to meet Joe or my kids.

at Grandaddy's grave

*My Nanaw and my great aunt Mary Jo came over the day that my aunt did, and we had a nice visit. I miss my Nanaw a lot, because her and my Papaw live a few hours away. They have been trying to sell their house for a few years so that they can move back up here, but no luck. Maybe this will be the year. I'm trying to get them to find a house in my neighborhood.

*Joe was sick for the last few days. It seemed to be a bad head cold or sinus infection, with body aches. He spent the last few days in bed trying to recover. He's a bit better today, and went to work. Hopefully he's making it through the day alright. And hopefully the girls and I can stay healthy. I've been eating an apple every night before bed. You know, to keep the doctor away...

*I just found out a friend of mine is pregnant. Yay for playmates for Summer and Camryn!

*I'll be doing that review and the accompanying giveaway either later today or Monday. I just need to clear out a few of the hundreds of pictures in my camera first.

*I feel really lazy on days like this, where we stay in our pajamas. I have a question for the stay at home/work from home moms... Do you get yourself and your kids dressed every day even if you have no plans to go anywhere?

Kelly's Show Us Your Life - What I Make

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is letting us show off our at-home businesses this week! While I don't make cute hair bows or tutus, I do have a small at-home business - Dirt and Lace Designs - designing blogs. I started it up recently after teaching myself a bit of html and experimenting with my own blog. It's really nice to be able to do something from home that I enjoy, and that I can do on my own time while still taking care of my kids. And contributing, even a tiny bit, to our bank account feels great, too.

I've really enjoyed working with everyone who has "hired" me, so far! Here are some of the layouts I have completed recently:

(Click on the image to see the design)

Check out my portfolio to see the rest!

Don't forget, I am offering 10% off Ultimate layouts (reg. $35) now through the end of this month.

Also - if you are here from Kelly's Korner, mention that's how you found me and receive 10% off any order.

CLICK HERE to visit my design blog and for pricing and ordering info.

It's a great time of year to get a blog makeover and have a new look for fall and winter, and I want to make sure it's an affordable and easy process for you. E-mail me at dirtandlace(at)gmail.com to place an order.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wordless Wednesday

Nak3d and Not Yo Mama

**EDITED 11/6/09 - Edited the n*des and n@keds in my post after seeing how many disgusting people arrived here after searching for things like "n@ked 15 year old girls in front of tractor" and "beautiful n@ked little girls".**

I was sitting here drinking my coffee and reading the Celebrity Baby Blog, as I do most mornings, and came across a post that made me say, "Huh?" I thought I'd share it here and see what you all think.

Hilary Swank on Motherhood: ‘When the Time Is Right, I’ll Know’

Million Dollar Baby star Hilary Swank has babies on the brain — but the Oscar winner says, for now, there is a different kind of baby taking center stage.

“For me, my career is like, for lack of a better word, a baby,” she tells Marie Claire. “I always knew that I wanted to act, since I was 7-years-old.” For just as long, however, Hilary concedes she has been “thinking about the day” she would become a mom. She adds,

“When the time is right, I’ll know. I am aware that next week, I turn 35. But I am also aware that the timing has to be right.”

She’s already learning what it’s like to live with a child, by way of boyfriend John Campisi’s 6-year-old son Sam, and beginning to consider her choices more carefully as a result. A self-confessed fan of sleeping in the n*de — “I just toss and turn too much…if I’m in clothes, I get all twisted up,” she explains — Hilary predicts that the practice will be coming to an end soon.

“You wonder at what age you should stop walking around n*de,” she muses. “Every morning he comes into the bedroom, and you’re just n*de.” Hilary is quick to point out, however,

“He doesn’t look twice; he doesn’t think about it yet.”

Source: Marie Claire, November issue

If I was this kid's mom, I would be really upset. Six-year-old's are well-aware of parental relationships and n*dity. I don't understand why an intelligent woman, like Hilary Swank has always seemed to be, wouldn't see that this could affect the child, and stopped this practice as soon as she moved in. And the father of the boy should know better as well. But, as I sit here and get upset about her laying there in a bed n@ked, in front of a little boy who is not her child, I also realize that it's just a human body. So, what do you all think? Wrong? No big deal?

**EDITED TO CLARIFY: I'm not talking about n*dity in general, or being n*de in front of your own children. That is fine with me and certainly a personal preference. I'm referring to a woman being n@ked in a bed next to her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's 6-year-old son coming in and seeing her n@ked every morning, as her quote describes.**

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Saturday, we took a trip to Huber's Farm, about 50 minutes away in Indiana. It's a really popular place to visit during the fall, particularly to visit the pumpkin patch and to eat some Pumpkin Ice Cream. We met Audrey, Olivia, Audrey's mom, aunt, and sister there. We all rode out to the pumpkin patch on a wagon pulled by a tractor, and spent about 30 minutes walking around choosing the perfect pumpkins. Joe and the girls and I had a goal of finding one really big pumpkin and two smaller pumpkins. We already had one bigger one at home, so that would make one for each of us. Let's just say, we accomplished our goal, if you consider a 35 lb. pumpkin really big :) No pictures of them yet, but I'm sure I'll take some when we carve them!

After the pumpkin patch, we walked around a bit and had some ice cream. There really is nothing better than eating Pumpkin Ice Cream in October. It's fresh and delicious and has a perfect flavor... and yes, I would choose it over a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The girls got to get up close and personal with some ducks. They threw them some corn and laughed at how they were sleeping in the water.

The icing on the cake (cool whip on the pumpkin pie?) was getting some of the Huber's restaurant food to go and taking it home for a nice meal. Their fried chicken is better than KFC's!

Today was a boring day. Lots of sitting around and watching TV. Tomorrow I'll be baby-sitting Bella... Hopefully the weather is nice and we can get out of the house a bit.

I hope y'all had a great weekend! Make sure you check out Simply Femme in the morning and answer our Question of the Week: If you could look like any female celebrity, except Megan Fox, who would it be and why?

Drink More Wat-Ahh!

This Summer, I was asked to participate in a summer challenge for Wat-Ahh, a company founded by moms who were bothered by the amount of sugar in drinks like juice and Gatorade. They didn't like that kids chose those drinks over pure water, which is always the ideal beverage, especially for little minds and bodies. Together with their kids, they created a brand that not only is appealing to little eyes, but is ultra-healthy. I jumped at the opportunity to try it out and share my opinion, because I loved their ideas and the concept. Anything that will get kids to make healthy choices and encourage them to drink more water is okay with me, especially in a day and age when obesity in children is at an all-time high.

I recieved a bottle of each of the Wat-Ahh beverages. There are four types of Wat-Ahh, each infused with a different all-natural brain and growth enhancers. One has electrolytes (BRAIN), one has Oxygen (ENERGY), one has Magnesium (BONES), and the fourth is pure spring water (BODY).


The true test came when I set the bottles on the table while the girls were watching Barney. They ran right over and insisted on drinking the water. I let them each have a bottle, and watched as they drank it all up. They said it tasted great, and were very excited. They kept asking what the cartoon was saying, and when I said, "WAT-AHH!" they laughed hysterically. They then asked for me to re-fill the bottles with more water. I'm convinced the bright design and funny little guy yelling on the bottle did the trick.

Joe and I each had a bottle as well, and the taste was pure and clean, way better than any expensive bottled water I have tried before.


Wat-Ahh can be found at some stores in your area, although it is not carried in every state yet. You can purchase it for $1/bottle on Amazon.com, though. Visit Wat-Ahh's website for more information!

Coming Soon: A Review and a Giveaway

Good morning! I wanted to let you all know in the next few weeks, I will be reviewing a product from AllChildrensFurniture.com, and hosting a great giveaway! It's going to be something all of you parents of younger kids would love to win, so stay tuned. In the meantime, check out AllChildrensFurniture.com for some awesome products from brands like Roadmaster, KidKraft, Little Tykes and more! I spent forever looking around on the website, and I think I could probably do every bit of my Christmas shopping for the girls on there. It's got everything you can think of, from bedroom furniture to baby dolls.

Here's a sneak peek of what I will be reviewing. If any of you can guess correctly what it is, you'll get an extra entry into the giveaway!

Our Week and a New Look

It's been a pretty uneventful week. I baby-sat Monday-Thursday. Thursday morning my mom and I took Summer, Camryn, and Bella to story time at the library. They had so much fun, it will probably become a weekly thing for us. They weren't shy at all, singing and dancing and listening to the stories.

Friday Joe left to stay at his dad's overnight so he could hunt the next morning and help him with a lot of work around the house. The girls and I drove out there on Saturday morning. Not until after a stop at Starbucks to experience my favorite part of Fall...

...A Pumpkin Spice Latte :-)

It's about an hour drive, so we got out there around lunch time and ran around outside most of the day and played with the dogs. His dad has so much land, it's amazing. The weather was perfect, too. We left around 7:30pm and Joe stayed out there again. To hunt. And no... he didn't get a darn thing.

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. I did accomplish one big thing... I re-did Dirt and Lace Designs!!

Click on the header to go to the site. Please take a look and let me know what you think. I'm currently running a special for October, for those of you who are thinking of giving your blog a Fall or Winter makeover. Order an Ultimate design package between now and October 31st, and get 10% off your total!

Yesterday we decided to have chili for dinner. It was a perfect day for it.


Tonight we're having black bean soup! I'll be sharing the recipe this Friday on Simply Femme for the Recipe Challenge. It's a great fall and winter meal.

I think while Bella and the girls are coloring I'm going to look around online at some Halloween costumes. We still haven't chosen any, and I'm sure if we wait much longer there won't be much to choose from. I'm thinking little witches... or princesses...