What's better than Free??

Um, the answer to that question is, of course, NOTHING!!! Oh wait, there is something better than just plain free. How 'bout numerous things for free. It's Friday and I am teaming up with Mizzzz Heidi over at Sacred and Profane for a Friday Freebie. Today is super special because you can win one of 3 prizes!

The first prize is one of my kiddie creations! The winner will choose a onesie or tee of their choice. Be it a girlie birdie or lollipop flower for your darling girl or a manly man tie for your manly debonair little man, you choose! Check out my Punchkin Wear blog or Etsy shop for some of your options. You know, in case ya win, you'll have something in mind already!

The other 2 prizes are from Heidi's vault. She has 2 subscriptions to Better Homes and Gardens to give away. Who doesn't want their home or garden to be better?? I know I do! It's just a shame I can't win!


What do you have to do to get your name in for all of this goodness?? I'm so glad you asked. Since Heidi and I are a bit mean feisty and unpredictable, you have to leave a comment on both of our blogs since we aren't telling you where we are drawing the winners from. No, not ever, of course we'll tell you on Saturday. Even we aren't that mean! You can get 2 extra entries if you blog about the giveaway and link to both of us. That's a total of 4 entries.


So here's the lowdown:

1- Onesie or Tee designed by yours truly

2- Subscriptions to Better Homes and Gardens

3- French Hens....sorry got distracted for a second.

4-Chances to win!


The giveaway will be open until 12pm PST on Sat. Hop to it.

Random Ramblings

Tis Thursday and, as slow as each individual day this week has trickled by, the week itself seems to be flying. How is that even possible?? Who knows, but it's true...for me at least. It seems like a good day to ramble on a bit so here's all of the tidbits from my week that aren't awesome enough to warrant their own individual posts!

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Why exactly, at 25 months old, has my uber independent boy decided to start the separation anxiety kick? Is it because I was absent for 2 weekends in a row? Is it just that he is late getting to his clingy, tree monkey (me being the tree) phase? He whimpers mommy when I put him down at night, has woken up the last 3 nights in a row crying for mommy (several times every night) and velcros himself to my legs when I drop him off at daycare now. I am coming back, my child. I promise. No really, I PROMISE! Please get over this phase soon. Mommy is pregnant and already has a tiny person interrupting her sleep. Don't add insult to injury!

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Potty training is going pretty well. He has had 3 days in a row where he hasn't had an accident in his bug boy undies. Although, last night, he did tell me he went poop in the little potty only for me to investigate and discover he had pooped facing the potty like he was going pee. Ya gotta turn around for it to be "in" the potty, just so ya know bud.

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I'm tracking pretty well with the pregnancy weight gain. I scared myself for a minute since, over my vacation week, I gained 4 pounds in one week. It has evened out since I haven't gained anything in the previous 2 weeks. I just have to concentrate on self control now because last time I had a 9 pound month between 6 and 7 months. I'm not down for repeating that fun jump! So far I have gained 13.5 pounds at 24 weeks. I think that's ok so far. I just have to resist all of the sweet temptation (read: ice cream and frozen lemonade) summer has to offer.

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I really want a pedicure right now. My feet are atrocious. Maybe I'll go on my lunch break today and fix that problem. Yes, it is decided!

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Only 5 more days until my friend Joelle and I go to the Jason Mraz concert. I'm so excited! I will be able to cross another goal off of my sorely neglected 101 in 1001 list. I also like that my 2 pregnancies have had fun things in common. Both of my babes will have gone to a Red Sox game, a concert, and on a plane all while in utero. If they only knew how exciting their life was even before they arrived!

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Why is it when you have an idea for exactly something you want, you can NEVER find it?? I am trying to start Natey's big boy room. I had a quilt purchased already and Aaron vetoed it. Why does he even care?? Why can't he be like most men and not be remotely interested in my decorating plans? Anyway I changed my direction and now want a quilt that is blue, orange and lime green. I found the perfect one and of course it is not available any more and I can't find it anywhere, or anything that resembles it (that isn't from rip-off Pottery Barn kids for like 300 bucks. Yeah right!). If you have any ideas please share them with me. I am at a loss.

24 Weeks

24 weeks with Natey~~~~~~~~~24 weeks with Baby Girl

I think it's starting to even out..at least a little bit!

Wordless Wednesday

A hot muggy day at the zoo. Who needs to take pictures of animals when I have this little mug staring at me!??

Hunting for Treasures

Do you ever feel like you have gotten so behind that it is useless to try to catch up? Like you want to just call a do-over and start from scratch? Me too, but I am way too damn OCD for my own good. I have been frantically reading posts thinking to myself, "Self, are all of these lovely ladies Wonder Woman or something??" How the heck y'all (I stole that from you southern belles) manage to go on all of these adventures, edit and post your photos in a timely manner is beyond me. In my defense I AM growing a person, work full time, AND have an insane 2 year old that doesn't let me even get a breath, so I guess that gives me a little leeway. At least that's what I tell myself. And if you saw my house, I would hope to get major points for choosing to blog rather than clean. There's always tomorrow for that.

I am going to cop out and do a couple weekend posts and then save what I should have written for my Not Me! post (last week because that's how far behind I am) for tomorrow. So here goes...

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Saturday I was on a mission. The object of this mission was to go to as many yard sales as possible on our "treasure hunt". That's what I told Natey is was so he would not flip out from being in and out of the car a million times.

Stop laughing at my ambition. Yes, I did get a wee bit excited when I started planning this adventure. I went on Craig's list and looked at every freakin yard sale in a 15 mile radius and then highlighted the ones that sounded the most promising in gray. I mapped them all out by distance away from my house and we headed out with the help of my best car friend, my Tom Tom GPS! I only got about half way through the list and I was disappointed in much of what I saw. I was also ripping my hair out at the two boys I had in tow. Next time I'm rocking this quest alone. They survived 2 hours with me and then I dropped them off at our friend's house while I made 4 more stops by myself. Thank God I did because the last one was a 20 minute quest of looking through bags of baby girl clothes and they would have lasted 8 whole seconds, I'm sure.

Here is a tiny sampling of some of the cute things I found at the last one. I ended up with an entire bag of clothes 0-12 months for $20 bucks! They are all in really great condition and good brands and I got a ton of stuff. Disregard the grape juice stain on my table cloth. Um, I said move on!
Nathan's treasures for the day were 2 Spiderman figurines for 0.50, a standing microphone toy that claps for you and cheers for $2 and this Diego step stool for the bathroom for $3. The lady even threw 2 books in for the same price too!

My tuck and run find (as Raechel would call it) of the day were these 2 bird cages for $6! I am going to incorporate them into the baby's nursery. They are so sweet and whimsical and I am stoked to use them.

I also got a bunch of kids books for 0.50 each and a leather case for my ipod for $2. Mostly I was proud of myself that I didn't give in and buy crap...I have a habit of doing that. I didn't feel the need to buy something at every stop and left quickly to continue my quest if nothing caught my eye. These finds topped off a great Craig's list week, in which we scored a "Best Chairs" brand upholstered swivel glider and a toddler bed for Natey on the cheap. I say it was a good week.

Weekend Update on Thursday-Balloon Festival

http://www.rhodeislandhotairballoonrides.com/images/gallery/hot-air-balloon-content-01.jpg

Last weekend was the much anticipated debut ( I am not counting that whack excuse of a "craft show") of mine and Liz's awesome creations at a festival! We teamed up to tackle the Wakefield Hot Air Balloon Festival as vendors. It was far less daunting to go in a a duo and it was nice to draw people into the booth for one item and have them love the other as well! The first evening we quickly realized that some changes needed to be made to our set-up and we corrected them for Saturday. The booth looked so much more appealing the second day. Not to mention we befriended the vendor behind us and, with a little sweet talkin', managed to get our booth moved into a more desirable location.

Here is pregnant me chillin' in our booth Saturday morning, and by chillin' I mean sweating my tuckus off in 100% humidity and 80-some-odd degree heat....at 10 am! Saturday was rough, temperature wise, but we made even more modifications for Sunday which included a tarp across the back of the booth for some shade! It made all the difference on Sunday!

Here is some of the stuff laid out flat before we got wise and hung it up for display.
One of the onesies hung up on Sat is my favorite, which reminds me, if it is still in my arsenal I may have to keep it for baby girl because i love it so much!

All in all, it was such a wonderful experience. Teaming up meant we had someone to talk to, bounce ideas off of and take a bit of the pressure of filling up an entire booth with stuff off! We both brought our sewing machines with us so we could get some stuff done while we sat. I managed to finish a bunch of onesies on Saturday before I had to leave for a wedding (that is a completely different post of amusing antics I will try to get up this week!) and Sunday I sewed a dress someone had ordered the day before to be picked up and one for Alicia's sweetie Brea! We handed out a lot of cards and I already have 3 orders from the contacts I made at the festival and one from being logged in to my other blog (www.punchkinwear.blogspot.com) while I was voting for Tem Tem(You go vote too! She's #5 in the kids category)! Liz and I will definitely be teaming up again for some more festivals and the Providence Open Market in September and October. If all goes well, I will have my fancy new camera before baby girl arrives. Yes!!

Natey at 25 months

Sorry bud. This is the longest it has taken me to get up your monthly post. In my defense I have been pretty busy lately but I have still been keepng track of your latest and greatest feats!

• At your 2 year check-up you weighed a whopping 31 pounds even and were 35.75 inches tall. Yup, that puts you in the 75-90th percentile for both height and weight. You're a beast! I can't believe you have gained 23 pounds in 2 years. Then again I'm going to gain more than that in 9 months!


• You have a memory like a steel trap! You can remember things I don't even think about. It cracks me up, especally when you bring it up in context.


• You have moved on slightly from Batman. Unfortunatey it is Spiderman that is your latest obsession. Daddy lets you listen to the original cartoon theme song and you know it from start to finish. Some of the words are a little jumbled together but I have to giggle every time you try to say "radioactive blood".


• You are fully aware of directionality now. You tell me when things are behind you or on your side or mommy's side of the car.


• You are getting quite the fresh mouth on you buddy. You need to stop telling me and daddy no. At least you feel remorse because your newest thing when I ask you to do something is to say, "No, sorry". Also saying "Go away" and "You bad boy" to everyone in your vicinity is not acceptable ethier!


• You have been learning to swim in the pool with daddy. Mommy hasn't made it in yet, but maybe this weeked I'll give it a try. You float and kick around the pool by yourself in your innertube and you love it!


• You are fully aware of your little sister growing in mommy's belly. You still seem to think we should name her "No Hittin" but I'm trying to convince you otherwise! You felt her kick the other day and you were so excited. Let's hope the excitement stays when she arrives!


• You saw Rachel's dog throw up and announced that "Masey puked up" and then proceeded to say it about every name you could think of. It's kinda gross, bud, but thanks for the running commentary.


• You have your colors down pat. It makes it easier for me when I ask you to get your orange crocs.

• You went to the dentsist for the first time this month. You were so good, I was actually surprised. You weren't quite sure about all of the stuff going on in your mouth, but you sat still and the hygenist wanted to take you hom with her, she loved you so much!

• You are still an excellent eater. It is rare that you wll turn your nose up at anything, especially if mommy and daddy are eating it.

I will continue to watch you grow into a full fledged boy, but not without a heavy heart. Please hold on to your sweetness and awesome sense of humor. I'm pretty sure once you get to school age I will be getting lots of notes sent home about my "class clown". Hopefully with your dimpled cheek, your sweet curls and endearing smile you won't get in too much trouble!!

Mommy-cation

I'm back! I mean, um, I've been back for a week now. I know I am just getting back in the action. I have an excuse, but that's a completely different post that I may or may not get to tonight. Ugh! Anyway, I went to Oregon way back (in blog time it seems like an eternity!) last weekend to attend a festival that I have been going to for 23 out of the last 24 years of my life. I also attended in my momma's womb, but I don't technically count that year in my stats!

My parents were (in dad's case still is) fun loving hippies who started going to this festival from its inception, 40 years ago. It is like a second home to me. I have lived in so many places that it has really been the one constant in my life. The place I would return to every year to see friends and family and pick up where we left off for 4 days before returning to the real world. Now I don't exactly think of myself as a hippie. Don't get me wrong, I would love to not shave my arm pits, wear tie dye and patchouli (I just threw up in my mouth) oil and live a carefree lifestyle. Wait, nope, I don't really dig any of that, so I just go every year to visit the magical place that this small town in Oregon has become for me over the years. The festival is called the Oregon Country Fair. It is a 3 day event with all handmade items, delicious food, wonderful music, entertaining acts and random $h*t that makes it one of the most endearing places to me. This is one of the many fanciful things you would see if you walked through the wooded loop where the OCF takes place.

The best part for me is seeing my friends and family. My sister's family recently moved up to Oregon from So. California and she and my niece came down for the day on Friday. We ate yummy food, got Meg's face painted, her hair braided and watched an acrobatic act with my friends. Of course, no visit to Oregon would be complete without a picture of my tie dye wearing, motorcycle riding, goatee sporting, tattooed teddy bear of a daddy. I miss him a lot and only get to see him a couple of times a year, so it was nice to spend some quality time without the distraction of crazy Natey!

I attend the OCF to work. Yeah, I know, it doesn't sound like much of a vacay now does it?? We work traffic crew and do 4 hour shifts each day parking cars in dusty mowed down hay fields. Well, that's what I USUALLY do when I go. Thankfully when you are preggers you get what we lovingly call "Fair Welfare" in which you get to sit your bloated self behind the traffic desk and answer the phone and radio shift supervisors when retards park their cars in the wrong place or lock their keys in the car with it still running (yes it happened). I met one of my best friends, Darcy, at the fair when we were 15 and we have been friends ever since. She and her boyfriend still had to work out in the dust bowl, but if you have to direct traffic for 4 hours you better look festive while doing it!
I didn't have computer access, but did manage to get some tweets out while I was there. And I wasn't kidding when I said I saw a man powered Hippopotamus go by. Can you see why this place is so much fun?? No, well you have to go to get it!
There are some really talented people out there in crafts I rarely think of, like metal work. There were so many metal sculptures placed around the fair this year, I only captured a few though.

There are all types of vendors there from handmade clothing, pottery, food (have I mention the food alone is worth going for??), jewelry, candles, blown glass pieces, artwork, etc. I could go on and on. One of the booths I remember seeing since I was a small child was a midwifery booth where they have info for natural births. My mom had both my brother and I without drugs and she inspired me to do it with Natey (and again with baby girl). At this booth they also paint pregnant bellies. No, that's not a typo. You tell them how far along you are and they paint a baby true to size for your gestation, with any design you want to go with it. It was one of the things I have been enamoured with since I can remember and I always said, if I were ever pregnant come fair time, I'd do it. Well, this year I was so stoked to go and get my baby girl painted on for the world to see. Since the moment I found out my due date was the day my mom (and grandpa) passed away I knew she had angels watching over her. I asked the woman to paint angel wings on my little girl to symbolize her guardian angels.
All was well...until the sky opened up and rain drenched everything on Sunday. It has only rained like that during the fair one other time in all the years I have been going . Thank God I was parked under the covered traffic desk with my fleece, a cozy blanket and my surrogate mommy Suzie to keep me warm during my shift. It didn't stop me from pouting since I felt like my rain cloud had followed me all the way from RI, but I survived.
Too bad I can't say the same for my shoes.... It was nice to see everyone and have some alone time, but I cried on Sunday because I missed my boys so much. Well, that and it was finally freakin sunny in RI and they were on their way to the beach without me. Six planes, 22 combined hours of flying, 3 nights sleeping in a tent, one rain storm and lots of good quality time with people I love later and I'm back in RI! Staye tuned for Natey's 25 month post and the recap of my sewing and balloon festival adventure.....if I ever get the time to finish them!

Later Gator!

Right now I am somewhere over America in a United Airlines jet. Let's hope I am on schedule and not subject to any delays on my 2 layover-each-way trip! I am headed to Oregon and a festival I have been going to since I was in the womb. Seriously, my mom went when she was pregnant with me! I have only missed 1 year since I was 6 years old. The best part of the trip is getting to see my family and friends, but the little added bonus of a mommy only trip is nice too. Yup, the boys will have to fend for themselves until I get back on Sunday night!

I used to hate flying. It was such a nuisance. But after making it through 4 separate trips with Natey in tow, I look forward to the almost 10 hours I have to read, do sudoku, nap, have my snacks and my seat to myself, zone out to my ipod. You know, all of those things that are an impossibility when you are traveling with a baby or toddler. I also have one suitcase and one carry on, which is doubling as my purse. Yep, I am traveling light people and it is going to be great.

Don't get me wrong, I am going to miss my boys desperately. I do every time I have to travel without them (usually for work). I even let Natey stay up late reading truck books and doing puzzles with me since I won't get to see him in the morning. I was also secretly happy when he woke up crying a few minutes ago and I went in and picked him up and rocked him back to sleep. Yes, I will miss them, but I will try my best to have a good time alone... ;o)

I wish I had a crackberry because, besides the twitter mobile updates, I will be shut off from my technology addiction. No blog {gasp} and no email {rip my eyes out why don't ya}. So you won't hear from me til Monday...unless you peek on my tweets. I have to stay connected SOMEHOW! Wish me luck in my travels and I will see y'all when I return!

Gettin Lucky!

Ok people, scoop those minds out of the gutter. Especially you, Nikki and Alicia! I know right where your thoughts wandered! ;o) I have won a few things, via giveaways and the like, in the last couple of months and thought I'd share my booty with the group. Sorry, my choice of words tonight is slightly misleading.
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The first giveaway I won was on a site I love called Little Birdie Secrets. They do all kinds of awesome tutorials and they hosted a huge giveaway and I won a custom print from a very talented woman over at Sweet World Photography. Check her Etsy site out because she has a lot of awesome artsy prints!

The second glorious thing I won was a beautiful felt headband from BlogBaby's mommy at Bubbalou bands. I participated in an auction of sorts for a really good cause and I was the winner! I won this before I found out I was having a girl. I looked at the gorgeous felt creations for a month and STILL didn't know what I was having, but I took a chance and picked one of my favorites in hopes I was in fact carrying a darling that could wear it. Low and behold I am, and she is going to look so precious in this (and the many more I plan to but before and after she comes) precious accessory. Oh, and of course I had to try it on Natey. He looked so sweet I left it on him until he started to mess with it and then I rescued it before any damage could be done! Daddy wasn't as amused as I was by the way!
I also won a $20 Amazon gift card from Rachel over at Once Upon a Miracle. I won't call this a giveaway, per say, because I had to really work for it!!! She did a blog trivia post where she asked a million questions about her life that could be answered in previous posts. I got them all right, and even corrected her on the month of one of the posts. Yep, I'm that anal thorough.

I am feeling so lucky at this point, lemme tell you! I just recently won Krissy's giveaway too! She went to Florida on vacation and put together a prize pack from her trip. It included a super cute burp cloth (which I think she added just cause I'm preggers!), a delicious smelling bar of goat's milk soap, a super cute beaded bracelet and some orange gum (not pictured cause I had already busted that yummy goodness open before I thought to take a pic). Check out her blog and her cutie-patootie son Drew. He's only a couple weeks younger than Natey and always smiling!

The last thing wasn't a giveaway, but I have to mention it because I am in love with these shoes! My cousin's wife Heather did a giveaway post that included Pediped shoes. I saw these on the website and fell in love. When she found out I was having a girl she sent them to me and I was so surprised. I love getting things in the mail that I'm not expecting!!

Thanks everyone for all of my awesome loot! Who doesn't love winning things and getting lovely little packages in the mail?? If you answered that question, feel free to kick yourself for me!