Tackle it Tuesday...the clutter catching table

This week I decided it was TIME to get the house back in shape & since the kids are out of school for the Summer, I decided to put them to work helping me. The kids in question are 9 and 11, so they are big enough to really help with a lot of the organizing & cleaning around the house.

Ever since school got out almost 6 weeks ago, our kitchen table has been buried in papers, art supplies, books & other things that don't even belong in the kitchen. The chairs have also gotten more than their share of messes.

Today, the kids & I finally sorted through all their books & papers. We found homes for the art supplies & then I let Maggie take the worst chairs out on the deck to wash them down with Murphy's Oil soap while Morgan got to give the table a total scrub. A trick I learned a LONG time ago was that if I want them to willingly help, I either have to bribe them or the task I want them to do needs to be something they LIKE doing. Washing the table & the chairs down with Murphy's Oil soap is one of those things my kids LOVE to do....maybe because I only let them do it 3 or 4 times a year & it sometimes involves using a spray bottle too.

Tomorrow, I may break out the pledge & "let" them dust.

Take Me Back Tuesday

Maggie turned 9 last Friday, but it seems like just yesterday she was turning 4.

Music Monday

This is probably one of those "I'm a bad mother" type things, but when my daughter Maggie was a toddler, this was one of her favorite songs.

WARNING....I'm messing with the template on my blog

Please excuse the possible MESS

I'm trying to number my comments, but I don't seem to have the same template that is sited in the blog posts I've found.

Pink Saturday

It's Pink Saturday again!!! Yesterday was our oldest daughter, Maggie's 9th Birthday. Of course the cake & candles were PINK.

She had a Hawaiian theme to her party. Here she is in her pink bathing suit, lei & grass skirt. This bead kit was one of her favorite gifts. Her sisters had a good time at the party too.



This card was just too adorable to not include.



Sorry about the screwy timestamps on some of the pictures, we didn't reset the date the last time we put fresh batteries in.

Be sure to stop by to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see lots more PINK on this beautiful Saturday.

Smartipants Diaper Giveaway! & the Winner IS...

This is my very first giveaway & I can't figure out how to do a screen shot, so here is the text:









True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 190 Powered by RANDOM.ORG



Carrie said...
My favorite feature is definitely the snap closures! :) My daughter will not leave a Velcro diaper on.
June 26, 2009 4:27 PM



Carrie, you've got 48 hrs to respond to my e-mail or I will need to pick a new winner.

Friday Photo Flashback--Happy Birthday Maggie!

Today my oldest daughter, Maggie, turns NINE!!! These years have flown so quickly. There was a time when I was certain that Hubby & I just weren't capable of having a girl baby. This picture was taken at the County Fair when she was about 3 weeks old. People thought I was nuts because I took all four of the kids to the fair by myself, but we had fun & of course she slept the whole time.

Visit More than Words to see more Friday Photo Flashback!

A Thousand Word Thursday...RIP Star

In the Spring of 1994, my husband purchased a border collie puppy from a farmer who raised champion herding dogs. Hubby was an animal control officer and his department had a program that used herding dogs (mostly border collies) to assist with rounding up stray live stock in the rural areas of our county in California. The puppy was for work purposes, but he instantly also became part of our family. We named him Star because of the stunning white blaze across his face. Star went to work with Hubby everyday, helping him & keeping him company in his truck. Every night he came home & played with the boys and then went to sleep in his crate. After a few years Hubby stopped working for animal control & Star became a fulltime pet. He loved to play fetch with a ball or stick and was very protective of the kids and his yard.

When we moved from California to Tennessee in 2004, Star rode shotgun in the u-haul with Hubby. One of my favorite pictures is of our son Morgan sitting in the u-haul with Star during that trip.
In the last few months Star had started to lose his sight & his hearing. Last week we noticed a limp. We knew his time with us was coming to an end, but since he didn't appear to be in any pain we decided to let nature take its course and let God decide when it was time for Star to leave us. This morning when the kids went out to play they found that Star had passed in the night.

Music Monday

What would Summer be without songs like this? I have vivid memories of listening to this in the car....I think it was on the radio, but it may have been an 8-track.

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday Everybody!

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to check out all this week's wonderful PINK!

After many years of wishing for a daughter, I'm now greatly enjoying the three I've been blessed with! Pink has always been my favorite color & so far it seems to be their favorite too.

Take Me Back Tuesday

This is one of my favorite pictures from our June 2006 vacation at Norris Lake. Morgan and Maggie were 8 and 6 at the time and LOVED the jetski. Don't worry we didn't actually let Morgan drive.

To see more Take Me Back Tuesday click on the button or visit A Giveaway Addicted Mommy

Music Monday

I LOVE this song! I actually have this on an old vinyl LP.

Smartipants Review & Giveaway!!!.....CLOSED

Smartipants are the world's smartest one size fits all reusable (cloth) diaper. I'm really excited to be doing this review and giveaway. I've used other pocket diapers, but there are several features about this diaper that are unique. The first thing I noticed was the smart sleeve....the pocket is open at both ends. The open design of the pocket allows the insert to come out on its own in the wash. I LOVE that the entire inside is lined in suede cloth, it really contributes to how easy this diaper is to stuff. The pocket is very wide, even my husbands hand fits easily inside. Another benefit of the open pocket is that it is easy to smooth out the insert to make sure it is evenly distributed. The pocket is definitely large enough to accommodate both inserts for extra absorbency overnight.

It is a one size diaper that fits babies from approximately 7 lbs to 35 lbs. The size is easily adjusted using the three rows of rise snaps on the front of the diaper. The diaper has snap closures which I definitely prefer. I have found that snaps hold up much better than velcro over time and are much harder for Melanie to undo by herself. Melanie turned 2 last month. She is the kind of toddler who really enjoys taking off her messy diaper & making as big a mess as possible around the house....Smartipants snaps kept her from getting her diaper off!!! I LOVE this diaper!!! She has tested it during the day, at nap time & overnight without any leaks. The fit is fantastic! Smartipants come in Bright White and 6 adorable pastel colors. The one we tested on Melanie is Think Pink.

A single one size diaper comes with two micro terry inserts & retails on their website for $14.95. I'm really impressed with how inexpensive this diaper is.....one of the things that has kept me from buying very many pocket diapers is the price. Many other pocket diapers retail for considerably more and most of them do not come with any inserts. Smartipants also has a GREAT Smart Start 3 pack that comes with 3 reusable diapers and 3 smart sleeve inserts for only $36.95. That is just over $12 each, I've paid more than that for fitted diapers that require a separate waterproof cover!

Smartipants has also given me one Smartipants Reusable diaper in Mellow Yellow with 2 Smart Sleeve inserts to give away to one of you!!! This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only.

Mandatory entry: Go to smartipants and come back to tell me your favorite feature.I will not accept entries such as "please enter me", etc. If you don't do the mandatory entry all other entries will be invalid

Extra entries:
Follow my blog (1 comment entry)
Follow me and smartipants both on twitter (1 comment entry with twitter id)
Tweet this giveaway daily (1 tweet per day & leave me a separate comment with the permalink of each tweet)
Blog this giveaway with a link back to Smartipants and me (2 comment entry)
Fav me on technorati (2 comment entry)
I will close this in 2 weeks on Friday June 26th at 9 pm EST. A winner will be chosen by a 3rd party number generator and announced shortly after. The winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.Good luck! If your e-mail is not visible in your profile, please include it in each of your comment entries.

To see more Things I LOVE Thursday visit The Diaper Diaries

Have you ever considered registering to be a Bone Marrow Donor?

Last year, my son Mason and I both registered to be bone marrow donors. A simple kit was sent to us in the mail. We swabbed the inside of our mouth and sent the swabs back....it was very quick & easy.

The National Marrow Donor Program is currently holding a Marrowthon. During the Marrowthon, Be The Match Registry is trying to add 46,000 new marrow donors and raise funds to save lives. June 8-22, it’s FREE to join (until they meet their goal and funds are depleted). If you haven’t joined yet, now is the time! Everyone who gets involved takes us one step closer to helping all patients get the life-saving marrow transplant they need. We all have the power to help, the power to heal.

Find more ways to help save lives at BeTheMatch.org/marrowthon.

Take Me Back Tuesday....Introductions

This picture was taken just before Christmas 2006. Since I've already introduced our youngest (Melanie), I decided this would be a good picture to introduce the other five kids. I had originally planned to write individual introductions of each of the kids, but I don't have time right now. From left to right...Marvin (oldest), holding Marissa (2nd daughter), Morgan (youngest son), Mason (2nd son) & Maggie (oldest daughter).


To see more Take Me Back Tuesday click on the button or visit A Giveaway Addicted Mommy

Music Monday

Today was the first day of VBS! The theme is Summer Camp, so I instantly thought of this song. Fortunately, every kid I saw at VBS today was having FUN & it didn't rain. I'm working in the snack section & we are serving snack outside, so I'm really hoping the weather stays nice all week. All my kids had a blast and can't wait to go again tomorrow.

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday Everybody!

Last week was so much fun!!! I really enjoyed visiting all the pink parties for Pink Saturday's 1st Birthday! I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by last week. I also want to Thank Beverly at How Sweet the Sound again for all she does to make this wonderful event happen for all of us every week!

This week I'm sharing a couple old pictures of my youngest daughter Melanie. In a few days I plan to do introductions of all my family members. I've been blogging for almost a year, when I first started I decided not to use the kids names, but over time I've realized how hard it is for me to talk about my kids without using their names.

Have you heard about Smartipants Reusuable Diapers?

Smartipants is a new pocket cloth diaper. They are currently trying to reach 1000 followers on Twitter. As soon as they reach 1000 followers they will be having a giveaway on Twitter. Click here to join in the fun & have a chance to win a prize.

Friday Photo Flashback

Hubby LOVES to fish. This is from our June 2006 vacation to Norris Lake. We rented this boat for the day & he had a blast taking the middle kids out fishing.


Visit More than Words to see more Friday Photo Flashback!

SkyWatch Friday

A Spring day on the Tennessee River. Click the picture to see it fullsize.


Visit the SkyWatch Blog to see beautiful pictures from all around the world.

What's in a Name?

Stole this from my friend Jenni over at One Thing…I've seen similar things on Facebook, but avoided those because they were asking for info that I felt was too close to many password hints. This one doesn't ask for any info that I personally would ever use in password hints, but please consider that before answering these questions yourself & feel free to modify or leave things out as necessary.

Rock Star Name: (1st Pet’s name & current car) ~ Thumper Grand Voyager
Fly Girl Name: (1st initial + first 3 letters of your last name) ~ D-Cro
Detective Name: (Fave color & fave animal) ~ Pink Poodle
Soap Opera Name: (Middle name & county born in) ~ Marie Burlington
Star Wars Name: (First 3 letters of last name + first 2 of first name) ~ Crode
Superhero: (”The” & second fave color & fave drink) ~ The Burgundy Strawberry Daiquiri
Nascar Name: (1st names of grandfathers’) ~ Kenneth James
Stripper Name: (Fave scent/perfume/cologne & fave candy) ~ Vanilla Chocolate
Witness Protection Name: (Mom & Dad’s middle name) ~ Jane Stanley
Weather Anchor Name: (5th grade teacher’s last name & a city which starts with the same letter) ~ Sanders Sacramento
Spy/Bond Name: (fave season/holiday & fave flower) ~ Spring Rose
Cartoon Name: (fave fruit & article of present clothing + “ie” or “y”) ~ Strawberry Shirtie
Hippie Name: (What you ate for breakfast & fave tree) ~ Oatmeal Maple

Three Things This Thursday

1. I finally have a clothesline up on my deck!! I've heard good things about hanging cloth diapers out in the sunshine to dry, so I decided to give it a try. Of course today, when I used it for the second time ever it decided to rain just after I got the diapers all hung. At least the sun is out now & it looks as though they will dry before the next storm starts in a few hours.

2. Speaking of cloth diapers, I've had a very lucky week!!! Yesterday the winners were announced for the Chocolate for Diapers giveaway on the Swaddlebees/Blueberry Diapers fan page on Facebook. I was one of the 20 winners!!! You can get information about future giveaways by becoming one of their fans. I also won this Bummis giveaway!!! Baby Daughter is going to be so excited to try out all this new clothdiaper stuff!!!

3. Today I'm going to the Eye Dr. I've decided it's time to get new contacts. I HATE wearing glasses, they hurt my nose, they get dirty, they fog up when I open the dishwasher & I don't feel like I see as well with them as I do with contacts. It's Hubby's day off, so I'm going all by myself.

To see more Three Things this Thursday visit Pridelands Mommy.

Things I LOVE Thursday....Flotation Swimsuits

I am extremely paranoid about my little kids being around water. When my oldest was little, we bought him a life jacket with a BIG collar that came up behind his head. Anytime we went to the lake or a pool or any other body of water the life jacket went on as soon as he got out of his carseat & didn't come off until he went back in his carseat. Everybody thought I would loosen up about water safety as I had more kids, but it hasn't happened.

This is my 2nd daughter in her new flotation swimsuit. The top portion that you see here is both a rashguard & a flotation device. The top snaps onto the swim bottom. The little ring at her neck makes it easier for her to stay upright when she goes into the water.


The suit Baby Daughter is wearing is a different brand. I bought it for our 2nd daughter last year & this year it fits Baby Daughter. The style is a little different.

It allows her lots of freedom of movement
and instead of snapping to the bottom, this one has a buckle that keeps it firmly attached. I really like this style for Baby Daughter because she just turned 2 & these buckles prevent her from being able to remove the flotation portion by herself.




The suit creates buoyancy in the water & gives my almost 4 yr old a little added confidence.
WARNING: Flotation suits are NOT a substitute for adult supervision!!!!

Even Baby Daughter gained confidence after a little while & was able to enjoy our day at the river.



My absolute favorite thing about each of these suits is that they came as a 3 piece set, with a matching bathing suit top. I do not know what brand they are & couldn't find them online, but I bought both of them at Walmart for less than $20 each.
To see more Things I LOVE Thursday visit The Diaper Diaries

Weeeeeeee!!! Thousand Word Thursday

Visit Jen at Cheaper than Therapy to see more A Thousand Words Thursday

Making your Home a Haven

This week, Tammy has set up 4 mini challenges for us:

1. Set a timer for 15 minutes and work on cleaning or organizing in an area that you dread getting started on. Just 15 minutes! After that you can stop if you want to. :)

2. Do something you've been procrastinating about.

3. Clean up or organize a pile. A pile of dishes, a pile of laundry, a pile of papers... whatever needs your attention most urgently! :)

4. Spend some quality time with your family. Look into their eyes and laugh with them! Do something out of the ordinary for or with at least one of your family members. :)


1. I spent 15 minutes on my kitchen counters...clearing clutter

2. I finally got my clothesline put up on my deck & hung my first load of diapers outside!!!!


3. I got ALL my clean towels folded & put away in the linen closet!!!

4. I took my two youngest with me for a quick shopping trip & shared a special treat with them.

To see what everyone else is doing hop over to Tammy's Recipes and check out Making Your Home a Haven.

Music Monday

Last week was the first week of Summer Vacation for my kids. My 11 yr old son was THRILLED to be out. My 8 yr old daughter, not so much, she always cries on the last day of school because she is going to miss her friends & the teachers she loves so dearly. I LOVE this song (other than the blowing up the school part, but I just ignore that) It amazes me to think this came out in 1972...I started kindergarten in September of 1972 (yes, I know I'm OLD).