And the Winner Is.....

#1.....Lauren!

Y'all, I promise I did this randomly, through Random.org. It's just so odd that the random number would be 1, but I guess with only a handful of comments, it's much more likely!

So Lauren, email me with ideas for your mousepad, and I'll come up with a design and send it to you for proofing.

For those who asked, yes these are for sale. My digital design class does a lot of custom printing, and this is one of our projects. I'm just purchasing one to use as a giveaway. We probably sold 40+ of these around Christmas. I'm not sure who had more fun, the students or me!

I had really hoped that this would help me get some more blog readers and commenters. According to my Sitemeter, there are people out there reading, in places that I don't even know anyone, but hardly anybody posts comments. Do any of you have any suggestions for getting new readers, and then getting them to comment?

A big thanks to all of you who did comment for my giveaway! I appreciate you so much! Have a great weekend!

My First Giveaway!

Anybody want to win something? As in....FREE? I sure hope so! I hope you like what I have planned for you!

Would you like to have a cute little customized mousepad for your computer, or even to give as a gift for someone? Like one of these.....

These are just a few options for the mousepad I will create for you. I can also do other colors, multiple initials, names, whatever you'd like. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and include how you found out about my blog (who referred you, if it's b/c I left a comment on your blog, etc.) In case you're wondering, yes, I'm trying to get some comments! I know there are people out there reading, in places that I don't know anyone....or at least that's what Sitemeter is telling me!) Would you please consider coming out of "stalking"? :-)

You must leave your comment by 11:00 a.m., Central time, Friday, May 29. I'll pick a random winner sometime Friday afternoon or night and post the winner. Be sure to include a link to your blog or some method of contacting you if you win. Good luck!

Maybe Granny Was Right

My grandmother on my mother's side lived with us from the time I was 8 or 9 until a few months before she died at age 90. For background info, my mother was an only child, and after Granddaddy died, Granny would stay with us on and off for a few weeks at the time. She lived in the country and didn't drive, so we worried about her being there by herself. After my daddy died, it just kind of became permanent. There was no big discussion or decision about her staying with us, it just happened.

One day a friend came home with me, and saw Granny in the kitchen. My friend asked, "Is that your dad's mom?" I replied, "No," without any further explanation, figuring that my friend would figure it out. But instead, her next question was, "Well is she the MAID?" So that kind of became a joke to Granny, and she'd even say from time to time, "I''m just the maid around here." Well, now I think Granny was right! Do you ever feel like you're "just the maid"????

You see, this is how I'm spending my Memorial Day...

However, not to overdo the martyr role, I must admit that the weather here is too yucky to do anything else. We've had 5 inches of rain in the past three days. It's already rained this morning, and although the sun is trying to shine at the moment, I see more storm clouds in the sky.

I had hoped to spend some time here today...

I'm learning from Darby about value of transparency. So judge me however you want, but I must put in my two cents worth about these pools that have been popping up everywhere over the last few years. At first, I thought, "There's no way I'd have one of those in my yard. That's tacky!" Then I became a mom and for the sake of my child having some summer fun, I gave in and gave my "blessing" for us to get one. Well, I am converted now! These pools are great! A whole lot of fun for a little bit of money. We just don't have an extra $20,000 laying around to spend on an in-ground pool right now! :-) Plus, since they aren't that deep, I feel much more comfortable with Matthew getting in, since he doesn't yet know how to swim. (He's taking swimming lessons this summer though.) Anyway, if you just like to splash around and cool off and aren't really into swimming laps or anything, these are a whole lot of bang for the buck! Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

And finally, I swapped the Vera Bradley laptop bag I got for Mother's Day for this one, and I'm so much happier with this pattern! (It's called Cafe Latte if you're wondering.)

Happy Memorial Day!

Birthday Recap

We spent most of this past weekend celebrating Matthew's 7th birthday. The fun began with a party in his classroom Friday afternoon. I am so blessed to teach at his school! Even though I rarely see him during the day, at least I'm close by and can slip down to the elementary hall if I really need to!

Yes, my child is licking icing off his arm!

Those cupcakes must have been really good!

We had a "family" party at home on Saturday night. We had grilled chicken, hashbrown casserole, pinkeye peas, corn, rolls, and of course, birthday cake for dessert. It was a relaxing, very enjoyable way to celebrate!

Matthew was pretty excited over his new DS game!

Luke got in on the action by playing with all the wrapping paper.

The birthday boy....I love this little guy!!!!!

A Little Man

This was one of the gifts I received for Mother's Day from Matthew. His teacher dressed the kids up and made these photos and even framed them for us! I thought it was one of the best ideas I've seen for "school" gifts!

The other little man has been standing in my living room, looking at how the afternoon sun comes in, and discovering this odd thing called a shadow! I wish y'all could see him!

Had lots of fun this weekend celebrating Matthew's birthday. Pictures to come later!

Would You Believe....

...that anything good could come from all this mess?



Well, it did.





I decorated Matthew's birthday cake tonight. Is it perfect? Far, far, far from it! But does he like it? He loves it! He kept saying, "You did a good job on my cake, Mama!" So it was more than worth all the effort tonight!

This was probably the hardest cake I've ever done, as far as coming up with a design. I'm not that artistic, and unless you're familiar with the Super Mario games, you may not "get" it. It's supposed to be like a scene from the game, with Mega Mario and the coins, the pipes, etc. I cheated a little by cutting the Mario figure from a placemat that I ordered with the rest of the party goods. I don't think...no, I KNOW, I couldn't have drawn Mario!

I'm having a little party for him in his classroom at snack time tomorrow. Nothing fancy, just cupcakes (bought this time), cheese puffs, pretzels, and Kool-Aid Koolers. Then he wants to go play putt-putt golf tomorrow night. We'll have his family party Saturday afternoon/night. We're going to grill and eat and then do the cake and presents. Then Sunday, I'll be ready to rest!

Two more weeks of school.....I can't wait!

I Was So Excited...

...to arrive home yesterday afternoon and find this on my front porch.

And even more excited when I opened it and saw this...

You see, I had been wanting a bag for my laptop, since mine didn't come with any kind of case. But I really wasn't thrilled with the idea of just the standard, plain bag. So I did some looking and discovered that Vera Bradley has laptop bags. A few weeks ago, I mentioned it to Tracy that I needed to get a laptop bag before going on my photography trip this summer (more about that later) and that I really would like to have a VB one, although they were kind of expensive. So he suggested, "What if we get you that for your Mothers Day present?" and I agreed. (It's hard for me sometimes to feel "okay" about spending money on that kind of luxury for myself.) So I picked out a beautiful pattern online, and ordered it, along with some other items for graduation gifts. I opened the box and this is what I found:

It did NOT look the same as it did online! Actually, I think this picture makes it look much better than it does in person! I was thinking a deep, deep pink.....it's more coral/reddish, and waaayyyy too much yellow. :-( So, I am going to be making a visit to a local store that carries VB and check out the colors in person, and then either purchase there, or re-order. Either way, this one will not be my bag!

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Moving right along to the weekend. We spent Saturday afternoon/night "partying", or at least as much partying as we do! There was an 80th birthday party for my uncle that afternoon beginning at 4:00. We stopped by there for about an hour, and headed straight to my nephew's (step-nephew, actually) wedding. It was an outdoor wedding at the Peacock House, and it really was beautiful. I only got a few pictures, but here's a couple of the reception area.

Here Matthew and I are at the reception. Yes, I'm finally posting a picture of myself on the blog! For some reason, I've been hesitant to do that. One, I'm usually taking the picture and don't have that many of myself, and two, well, you just want to be sure you look good, and I'm pretty critical of myself in pics! I finally decided, what the heck...y'all have posted lots of photos, so I can be brave and do it too! Forgive the flat hair....the humidity was rough on it!

Luke was pretty content to sit in the stroller and eat goldfish crackers and rolls. He had a mouth full here!

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Yesterday was Water Day at school for the elementary kids. They had an absolute ball! I think they enjoyed this more than a field trip! There were three different sizes of slides, but Matthew said the biggest one was his favorite! I was so proud of him; when I was in first grade, I don't know that I would've had the nerve to go down a water slide that big, but he didn't bat an eye! I have the feeling he's going to have a lot more fun than I did as a child. That's not to say I didn't have a wonderful childhood, it's just that I was a bit of a scaredy cat sometimes!

I can't believe that this little guy will be seven years old on Friday! Where has the time gone? He wants a Super Mario Brothers party, and the cake has me totally stumped! All the cakes I've found online feature a scene from the game made out of fondant, and honestly, I just don't think I'm enough of an artist to tackle that! So who knows what I'll come up with! I'd better figure it out soon though!

Happy Mothers Day!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Mothers Day. For those who are celebrating for the first time this year, congratulations! I hope this year will be the beginning of wonderful traditions for your family. Regardless of whether this is your first day as the honoree or your 40th......enjoy every minute of this weekend. Hope you get to spend lots of time with your "babies"!

I want to give a special salute to all the new mommy friends I've made through blogging. You girls are the best! Thanks for your honesty and transparency and encouraging words. We're all in this together!

Enjoy your weekend!