out trip to see the fishes

We spent this morning at the aquarium. Julianna loved seeing the fishes and we got lots of cute pictures with the new camera. FUN!

i wish i wore a size three

Last night my mom and and went shopping for Jules some new clothes. I've been wrestling with her this week trying to get her chubby little arms through the sleeves of her shirts and then when I do finally get the shirts on, her belly sticks out underneath or it's stretched across her chest so tight that you can practically see every fine little baby hair she has across her torso.

We started out in Carter's. I immediately found the most adorable little brown sweater shrug with white polka dots and started searching for her size. My heart sunk when I realized that I was in the baby section so I quickly started making my way back to the toddler sizes. As I walked through the rounders I saw another outfit that I was determined to buy for her, thinking that they would certainly have that same outfit in the larger sizes too. Wrong.

Utter disappointment came over me when I looked at the choices I had for toddler size clothing. The selection was not as good, the prices were higher and the colors not nearly as soft and pretty. This same thing happened at three other stores. Walk in, pass the cute little rompers, dresses, and bubble suits, journey to the back of the store to the limited selection of T-shirts and sweatpants. *sigh*

My baby has grown up and she doesn't get adorable baby clothes anymore. Carter's didn't have either outfit in the larger sizes and although I did get a couple of pairs of leggings and a few shirts for her for this fall, I was still extremely sadded by the realization that my little girl is no longer a baby.

And I still can't believe that my 1.5 year old will soon be wearing a size 3T.

you’re so vain

As you might already know, we're at the beach for a few weeks. The condo that we're staying in has an entire wall in the living and dining room covered with a mirror. For what that mirror is for I simply don't know, but we'll leave that for pondering another day.

Anyway, we've gone out to eat for a few nights and we've actually cooked dinner several nights as well. As we would sit to eat at the dining room Julianna would start to make weird slow movements while she was chewing and picking up her food to eat it.

After being here for several days and watching her eat a few meals like that we finally figured out what she has been doing as she's eating her dinner every night. She's been watching herself eat in the mirror. She'd cock her head to one side or put her food in her hair and watch calmly as it happened.

On other occasions she'll be dancing in the living room as a commercial on TV or something or other plays some music and she'll catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror and her body will still be twirling in a circle but her eyes will stay fixed on herself in the mirror.

It's ridiculously amusing entertainment for us and I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER ENROLLED IN A BALLET CLASS.

recipe Wednesday

I was going to write about this Barbecue Chicken Ring Pampered Chef recipe for today's post. Then we made it for dinner last night and it wasn't so good. Well, it was good, just a little dry. I think I would make it again, but use barbecue sauce instead of chili sauce. I can't find a link to the recipe so tomorrow when I get un-lazy I might post it.

Instead you should try this one for the Florentine Chicken Ring. This is one of my favorites. My husband even likes it and it's easy enough that I'll keep making it. Plus it's got meat and vegetables. What's not to like?

sixteen months

Dear Julianna,

Today you’re 16 months old. That seems like such a small amount of time to represent the time that you’ve actually been here with us when you try to imagine how much love that has grown in those short 16 months.

Let’s see… what has happened this month? It seems like I wrote the last birthday letter to you last week. I guess what pops into my mind first is that you’ve cut so many teeth that I can’t keep up with them all. Another one came in this week. I think you have all but one on the top and all but two or three on the bottom. But man! It must be hard being a toddler, cutting teeth, and having diarrhea all the time.

We’ve been at the beach with Nanna and Papaw for the past week and you’ve done so many adorable things I’ll never be able to recount them all, but I’ll share just a few that I remember. Tonight on the way home from dinner we found out that you’d fully learned the meaning of a new word when Nanna said something like, “Now Courtney, I know you’re going to laugh at me for saying this, but…” and right on cue you laughed out loud amusing and surprising us all (and beating me to the punch). It was really cute because we weren’t totally aware that you were even listening to our conversation, much less fully comprehending it.

Another time this week you were begging for Lucy so you could go take a nap so I told you that we’d go take a nap but first you needed to tell Nanna and Pap that you loved them. When you realized that you were standing in the middle and they were on either side of you, you simply held out both hands at the same time and waved to both of them – your one finger wave to “sign” I Love You – but you did it with both hands outstretched to either side. It was hilarious and precious at the same time.

We walked over to the neighboring hotel’s pool the other morning, but didn’t have bathing suits on yet so we just dipped our feet in from the side. A nice looking family stopped by the waterfall to photograph their three daughters and you watched the big girls with wide-eyed anticipation. I told you to tell them to “Say cheese” and you would reply “cheece” quietly. I took my eyes off of you for a split second and as soon as I had noticed you were gone, you had already reappeared by my side again – with one of the big girls shoes. Which you promptly threw into the pool. I apologized to the family more than once, but still I was humiliated when the teenage girl carried off her shoes delicately as if they were covered in manure.

Anyway, while you can sometimes be a little booger, you’re also so sweet that even the bugs can’t resist you. Earlier this month you had several bug bites that kept swelling up and getting pretty red. We took you to the doctor just in case it was something we should worry about. I made Daddy go too because it was a Saturday (and because I’m afraid the nurses and doctors are starting to think I’m a neurotic, overreacting first-time mom who thinks everyday that something’s wrong with her precious little baby). There we learned that you’re now over 27 pounds, but mostly that we shouldn’t worry too much about your bites as long as we made sure to keep them clean so they didn’t get infected.
We hung up a paper growth chart for you one day a few weeks ago. Because you grow like a weed. It only makes sense to start marking it somewhere. After all, you wear mostly 2T and 3T clothes now.

You’re still working on the potty stuff, but lately you’ve been “telling” me more and more when you need to go. You’re learning new words every day. Recent words include “bubble” and “ocean” and your new signs include “cracker” and “I love you.” You’re making lots of progress this summer with swimming, blowing bubbles in the bath tub and “swimming” with your arms and kicking your feet with Pap in the pool.

Along the same lines, you’re still being instructed on manners and temper tantrums, but all of these things take time and I realize that. I also realize over and over how again how my time with you keeps going by so fast, that’s all. I feel like I close my eyes each night and the next day you’re a whole month older. Your father even pointed out to me how easy it is to not celebrate the present and take it all for granted so I’m going to work on that. So Jules, know that I love you with all my heart. And stop growing up so fast!

Love,
Mama

this one’s for my family who couldn’t be here earlier today to hear (and get) this joke

My mom's little bity bandages are slowly coming off from where she had the staples covered after her knee surgery. They told her to let them come off on their own as the scar heals and the scabs go away. They're very irritating to her as the edges curl up and get caught on her pants, the sheets, a blanket, or whatever might be on her lap.

This afternoon I walked out to join her on the balcony and the wind was a tad bit chilly so she was covering up with a beach towel that had previously been hung out to dry. We were sitting there pretty quietly when all of a sudden she exclaimed, "To heck with this! This one's going to have to be a present for the people* staying a couple floors below us!"

And with that she ripped that little sticky tag off and threw it over the balcony.

*Actually, she used their condominum number, but I'd rather not post that information here.

list of the week

Things I Love About JK Rowling:

1. She's dedicated. Seventeen years. Countless hours of hard work. Over 4,000 pages. All to bring us a fictional story about a young boy. Need I say more?


2. Did you read jkrowling.com the other day? Her acknowledgements? Just plain awesome.


3. She's so darn creative. How in the world did she come up with things like a patronus, house elves, polyjuice potion, and names like Hagrid, Mundungus, and Dumbledore?


4. She was insistent that the movies stay true to the books.


5. She describes ordinary people in a magical way. Really when you think about it, the main characters are all normal people that you can relate to in some way or another. JK Rowling provides realistic descriptions of their feelings throughout the book and you can just imagine that it's all perfectly real.


6. Her writing appeals to people of all ages and I guess say that she doesn't intentionally write with one specific age group in mind.


7. She doesn't shy away from difficult topics to write about. Death and having integrity, fear and searching for truth are all issues she writes about in the HP series.


8. Her writing is so brilliant, can draw you in so much that you'll get cranky not being able to keep reading when you want to, stay up until waaaayyy past midnight to get your hands on the next copy, and weep with sadness when the journey is almost over.

sorry i can’t come to the blog right now

...I'm too busy Harry Pottering.

If you need to reach me it'd better be an emergency. Because I'll be busy wringing my hands, sobbing, biting my nails, and trying to slow my soaring heart rate as I finish a very important part of life over the next couple of days.

I'm sure you understand.

oh of the joys of parenting

My little girl woke me up at 6 am this morning. She normally gets up around 7:15 but lately we'd been pushing bedtime back 30 minutes and she'd been getting up around 7:40. This morning? Not so much.

Since we're sharing a room here at the beach she's laying in the pack 'n play on the other side of the bedroom. I'm laying there on my back staring straight up at the ceiling and trying to be as still as a stick so she won't hear me and *might* go back to sleep.

(She does this sometimes at home - wakes up an hour or two early and then goes back to sleep for another long while before finally getting up for good - so it was a good theory. Stop laughing.)

So all of a sudden my stomach growls LOUDLY and I hear my daughter (my flesh and blood who gets her morning personness honestly) shout "MA?!"

So much for going back to sleep.

Then around 9 am this morning we're all getting sleepy and I take her back into the bedroom to lie down. She gets Lucy and starts sucking and patting and sucking and patting. She rolled and rolled on the bed with me until she was situated Just Right. Then she fell asleep. Her butt in the air. Her head right against my side.

We slept for over an hour together. Pure bliss. I haven't co-slept with my girl since she was a wee little baby.

(I feel I must point this out. It was not by my choosing, but by hers, the co-sleeping thing that is. We've often tried to bring her back to our bed and catch a few more winks, but she just usually wiggles too much.)

Anyway, this morning? Awesome.

*smile*

let’s see….. what’s up?

I'm at the beach. It's hot as Hades. I just came in from running 2 miles. Today was supposed to be my easy day. It was not. See my previous statement about the heat.

I am having major anxiety over the Harry Potter book release tomorrow. I don't know why. I just keep having random thoughts about it like every 20 minutes or so. Besides, I of course am worried that since everyone is going to complete it before I am even through Chapter 5 that I will hear some parts that I don't want to hear before I even get a chance to read them myself. This will be my first experience reading an HP book as a parent so I know not to expect to read it too quickly. That means I'll have to be patient for a looonnnnngggg time. Ugh. Not my strong suit.

The parents of a good friend of ours were in a serious car accident. There were several major injuries involved. Please pray for their family. It's hard being at the beach so far away and not being able to help a lot but I'm sure it's even harded to be the daughter stuck in Florida unable to do anything until she gets here.

Sorry. Back to the running thing. I just realized that now my monthly total is already higher than my May and June totals were. AND it's only July 19th. I rock. Now I think I'll go eat a fudge round.

I miss my husband. Since someone has to earn us a living I had to leave him at home this week although he will join us next Friday. With all the packing and cleaning and getting ready to leave and all, I didn't realize how much I'd miss him once I got here, but now that I'm here I do. At least we'll have some good quality time together when he does get here. He certainly deserves a vacation. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to mine. :)

recipe wednesday

I love this recipe for Tomato Pie. I've made it once before and it is certainly a keeper. I bought the ingredients tonight at the store and I plan on making it tomorrow. YUM! You should try it. Those girls at Home Ec 101 know what they're talking about.

can you hear me now?

Tonight my daughter held an uncooked, unshucked ear of corn up to her ear and said "Aaallo?"

Fifty seven, huh?

That's a lot of years.

Happy Birthday, Mole!

and once again she’s spoiled by a grandparent

reminder

There's only 14 days left until the contest of the month winner is chosen. Get your entires in soon!

list of the week

Wheee!! Shopping Spree!

Fun things I bought today:

• Three bathing suits from the Disney Store for twenty bucks! Twenty bucks! Granted, they'll have to wait until next summer because they are 3T and 4Ts, but they're cute.



• A "Bed in a Bag" set for Julianna's big girl room (whenever she gets there). It's so adorable! Light blue with some big retro circle-like designs on it in pink and orange. I want to paint the walls an orangey sherbet color. The best part? It was only $47.99 on clearance (with FREE SHIPPING) and includes the queen size comforter, flat and fitted sheets, pillow cases and shams, and bed skirt! Whoo hooo!



• A new camera. (Actually the husband bought this one.) We had a $100 credit from Dell left over from a little mixup we had when we ordered my laptop. Then my most-awesome-in-the-world husband "found" some forgotten money in his Paypal account and wham! We ordered a new camera. He is so sweet to use all his money on me. :) I won't have it in time to take to the beach on Wednesday but he should be able to bring it down when he comes later on. Awesome!

reminds me of meat curing

My sister.

Gotta love her.

Somehow she talked us into going to something called "Metabolic Effect." It's supposed to be a "scientific based exercise that works FOR your body and not AGAINST it." It's a "high energy, science based 30 minute work out" with the concept of "pushing an individuals muscles to overload in a safe manner." This class is offered at the Y for free for July and August and while it is only 30 minutes, during the class last Tuesday I glanced in the mirror at my cottage cheese laden, huge and jiggly thighs and would have been repulsed if I hadn't been too busy DYING.

When they say, "you will use multiple joints and muscles concurrently by doing hybrid based exercises... the effects have been known to last hours and even days" they weren't AT ALL kidding. I winced in pain just rising to a standing position or going upstairs to bed at night for at least three days afterwards. I am glad I went. Empowering. Somehow my sister can do that to you.

Anyway, I just read this article on the Diet Blog. The quoted instructions for the patches especially struck me. And I can't help but wonder, how big do they make those patches? I might be willing to try them if they come in giant ham-hock size.

eating her weight in blueberries

recipe Friday

So I spent all day trying to write a couple of blog posts and couldn't get the site to work. I couldn't even get the home page to load, much less even get logged in. Then after checking with J to make sure he could get on I rebooted my laptop and justlikethat I was able to get logged back in. I'm an idiot. Sorry for not posting.

Also, I totally realize that I neglected to post a recipe on Wednesday. I have a very good reason. My aunt and uncle have gigantic blueberry bushes at their house and they mentioned that the berries had come in, we should come pick some. Yesterday, my mom, sister and I went with Julianna and picked a couple of gallons. Yum-o!

Today I made this blueberry pound cake. I haven't had any yet, but it's looking delicious.

Blueberry Pound Cake

1 (15 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups blueberries

Glaze:
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix first 4 ingredients well.
3. Fold in blueberries (these may be dusted with flour or powdered sugar to keep them from sinking).
4. Bake for one hour in a tube or bundt pan which has been greased and floured.
5. Allow cake to cool.
6. Mix the glaze and drizzle over cake.

*I added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water because I realized after it was too late that my cake mix was 18 ounces instead of the called for 15 and the batter was really, really dry.

news

Today I was sitting on the couch doing something on the computer and I heard the little girl slam the potty lid down. I got up to go find out what kind of trouble she was getting into. As I headed to the bathroom she came running out at full speed. Then when she saw me she did a big 'ol U-turn and went back to the potty and started squatting down. I quickly took her pants and diaper off so she could use the bathroom.

My kid is the greatest. Anyone want to argue?

because Mary Murphy isn’t quite entertaining enough for me

The other day I mentioned that I missed Will and Grace which once I actually wrote it down (so-to-speak) it got me to really thinking about it. Either I’m just missing something or there are no good sitcoms on TV anymore. Maybe it’s just that it’s summer, but it sure seems to me that there used to be some great Must See TV on all the time a year or two before September 11th and then the reality show craze hit. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some reality TV. But then after 911 some of the reality shows disappeared or became much more light-hearted and less serious (like the utter waste of time that Fear Factor was). Granted, American Idol came out during that time period, but still. I’ll admit that maybe I’m just missing something big, but in my opinion ever since the nation experienced such a life changing tragedy they didn’t want a short comedy anymore. They didn’t want shows that mirrored what we thought was real life. They wanted game shows and unrealistic dramas apparently (er, can you say 1 vs. 100 and Desperate Housewives?) When is it time to go back to comedy?

So you could say I miss it. I miss being able to sit down on the couch each evening and watch shows like Seinfeld, Will and Grace, or Friends and being totally enthralled with the mundane, everyday realistic storylines with a witty joke thrown in every 30 seconds (or minute or two). I miss forgetting about real life for a brief half hour and being entertained by silly humor. I like all of these new dramas like Heroes and House just as much as the next guy, but they’re certainly not Friends.

My favorite newest sitcom is How I Met Your Mother, but it’s being re-run now. And besides, where are the rest of them? Please leave me a comment if I’m missing something you love. Because TV’s just not that fun for me anymore.

Sigh. Now back to the regularly scheduled program, SoYouThinkYouCanDance!

can you find me?

Check out this cool mosaic. I'm in it. Can you find me?

Leave me a note in the comments if you want me to tell you where to look.



Mosaic created by Twitter Mosaic. Add yourself as a follower and maybe you'll be in the next one.

i’m an addict

I saw this on my friend Merritt's blog.

Yes, My name is Courtney and I'm an addict.


78%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

pictures from last week’s playdate

gotta love those search engines

Is it just me or do you also find it funny that someone searched for "pooping on jeans video" and found my blog?

this one goes out, with love, to my dearest husband

Let's head down to the shore
There's so much to explore
When you find yourself beside the SEA
So come out of your shell
Down where the fishies dwell
There is no friend like an anemone

BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE
There's lots of fun in store for you
BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE
Let's build a castle, maybe two
BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE

And don't you really wish
We'll find a nice starfish
Or some seashells from the ocean DEEP
Be careful trust me 'mon
Don't bug a crustecean
Crabs are crabby when they've had no sleep

BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE
There's lots of fun in store for you
BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE
Let's build a castle, maybe two
BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE

BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE
Now you try it!
BE-SIDE the SEA-SIDE

video here

Don't you wish you were here at home with us, Booger?!
Thanks for coming home to see us during lunch. We love you and miss you!

list of the week

Things that are making me angry this week:

• Julianna got a gigantic infected splinter in her heel. We basically had to pin her down on the bed and dig it out. It took two of us and she still screamed for at least ten minutes. It was heartbreaking to have her crying so hard and screaming for her lamb and even then nothing would console her. We did finally get it out, but not until after she’d shed a bucket of tears right before bedtime.


• The extra-large and sore zit that I’m getting on my chin.


• The fact that there’s NOTHING ON TV!


• People who keep emailing me asking for things.


• My muffin top that won’t go away (despite all of the cupcakes I’ve been eating).

Things that are making me happy this week:

• We have a babysitter and tickets to go see HP and the OotP on Wednesday night.


• I’m finally getting to go to the beach next week. I’m so excited! I’ll probably start packing this week because I am SO READY to get to the beach and feel that ocean breeze, read a good book on the balcony during naptime, and take the little girl in the water!


• Some of our friends are here from Florida. Yay! I love visits from friends! We're having lunch tomorrow and catching up. Fun!


• We’re saving for a new camera. We have no money, but still this excites me.


• My new sling.


• Blueberries are in! My aunt said to come pick some at her house and our playgroup is trying to arrange a day to go to a local blueberry farm together. YUM!

a note from jules

Dear Nanna and Pap,
My Daddy tells me this is where you're going to live. Is that true? If so, then I like it. I especially like the trucks and the bulldozers that are nearby. And the flowers and the water. Can I come visit you lots when you come to live here? It looks like so much fun!

Love,
Julianna

she loves things that make noise

she may make it into the next iCommercial

She stood on her toes to get my iPod off of the counter. I had pushed it way back on the counter so she couldn't pull it off (or so I thought). When I came in the kitchen, this is how I found her.

Click here to watch


from c525600 and Vimeo


Small Change Update and Monthly Challenge

Well, I've failed to mention my successful completion of last month's Small Change Challenge for a very good reason. It was an easy challenge this past month. The only problem is that I didn't take the time to do it. Which would be why I've failed to mention it. But wait!

This morning we had a playdate at the park and Jules and I stayed and tried to redeem ourselves. We picked up three or four pieces of trash, but for the most part the park was relatively clean. I'll put it on my agenda to tidy up the next playground we visit. And this time I promise I'll really do it.

good news

I got some pretty good news today. The Y has officially set their childcare hours. They provide free childcare for children of of all ages from 7 am - 12:30 pm and 4 pm - 7 pm each day. Isn't that wonderful?!

Now:
I looked in my running spreadsheet and quickly glanced at my progress over the last six months. Here's how it looks. It won't take you long at all to see a pattern.

monthly totals

January - 29.0
February - 38.9
March - 36.3
April - 31.6
May - 13.9
June - 9.6

I've got to step it up in July. I'm getting a new running routine and I'm setting a new goal. No excuses now. [Remember the last 10k I *ran*?]

There's another one on my calendar now. September 22nd. That's 11 weeks from Saturday. Eleven.

Think I can do it?

a mini-parade

recipe Wednesday

My SIL was kind enough to have us over for dinner last night and I was given the task of making dessert. I decided to make this key lime pie recipe from WW. I have made this oddles of times before and each and every time I have had to cook it for longer than the recipe calls for (like 15 -25 minutes longer than it says). Well, for some reason yesterday I took it out after the called for 15 minutes and decided it would eventually set in the refrigerator. Well, I was wrong. I couldn't put it back in the oven because it was already topped with whipped cream and I didn't have the ingredients to make another one in time. Needless to say, we had key lime pudding for dessert last night, but at least it was still fabulous tasting. I will highly recommend you trying out this recipe although I would encourage you to bake the pie for at least 30 minutes and maybe more. Mmmmmm. A nice cool summer treat!

Weight Watchers Key Lime Pie
serves 10
5 points per serving

6 oz pie crust
14 oz fat-free sweetened condensed milk
8 oz fat-free egg substitute
8 oz fat-free whipped topping, thawed if frozen
1/2 cup fresh lime juice, from key limes

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Place graham cracker crust on a baking sheet; set aside.


Whisk together condensed milk, egg substitute and lime juice. Pour mixture into crust.


Bake until center looks set but still slightly quivery, like gelatin, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Transfer to refrigerator and chill completely, about 1 to 2 hours.


Spread whipped topping over cooled pie. Cut into 10 slices and serve.

it won’t be long before she’s walking along the sandy beaches… or maybe even running a race with us…

As you probably remember, my mom had a total knee replacement last Monday. I was surprised to learn how involved the major surgery would be. I am even more shocked to report how well she is doing. The recovery period for a knee replacement is usually 2 to 6 months. The patient is typically hospitalized for four days. Most people walk with a walker for at least a month afterwards and it's often six months before they can put all their weight on the new leg. Physical therapy is required for a minimum of two weeks after the surgery.

My mom's surgery went really, really well. Her doctor was great and he (or a member of his team) called us almost every half hour in the waiting room to let us know the progress. It was great to be surrounded by family and a few friends during the wait too. Her time in the hospital was rough. The pain medicine and anesthesia made her quite sick and the nausea made it hard for her to eat and keep food down. She's made tons of progress though with her physical therapy. I'm so proud of how hard she's worked with it and how quickly she's become so mobile. She's already said on more than one occasion that she has pain now, but that it's a different kind of pain than what she had before the surgery.

Today, a week after the surgery, she is growing tired of the support hose she has to wear and she is running out of the pain pills they've prescribed her. Even so, she's hanging in there. She's had lots of family and friends bring her dinners and I've told her that she'd better keep sitting down when they come because if they saw how well she was walking they might think she made the whole surgery thing up! She's been walking with just a cane through the weekend and I'm confident that she'll be fully mobile in no time.

Thanks for being such a strong inspiration to us all, Nanna! Way to go! We're proud of you!

random musing

I miss Will and Grace.

list of the week

Here’s a Lazy Weekend Recap for you.
This weekend I…

• had dinner with my parents



• watched The Children of Men again



• got a new phone



• took care of my roses



• went to the Y



• ate dinner with my FIL, his wife, SIL, and BIL



• caught up on reading and sleep



• made zucchini muffins and fried squash (YUM-O by the way)



• went to Lowe’s to buy more yard supplies



• dinner with my hubby and little girl

Who Else Wants A Prize?

My silly little June contest only invoked two comments. Either you guys just weren’t interested in the prize or you had nothing to say about the picture. So which was it?

I am choosing my LOVELY mom as the winner and the wonderful recipient (who has super surgery healing powers BTW) of these cards with her hilarious caption entry. I’ll deliver them this week thankyouverymuch.

Now. For the July contest.

People. There is really NO EXCUSE for not participating in this month’s contest. It’s SO EASY. I need some help getting my house clean. Like most moms and wives, I have very little time. All you have to do to win this contest is post a household cleaning tip in the comments to this entry and the person who suggests the most innovative (and simplest) (and least time-consuming) cleaning tip wins….

…drumroll please…

An all expenses paid trip to Myrtle Beach, SC any weekend in the month of August.


OK I’m just kidding.

The winner (as chosen by me of course) will receive a $5 gift card to a very cool store. And no, I'm not going to tell you the store ahead of time. You have to play to find out.

OK GO!