October Give-Away Winners!

I know you have been losing sleep over my give-away posts. Biting your nails. Wondering if it was YOU who was the winner of such wonderful prizes. Well, now you can rest easy. And a few of you can jump up and down in excitement.

The winner of the Organic Cookbook Giveaway is:



Robin at Heart of Wisdom

The winner of the Pirate's Booty Giveaway is:



Jen at the Happy Little Homemaker


The winner of the Smart Girl's Guide to Twitter E-Book Giveaway is:



Penney Douglas of A Penney With Some Sense


And the red dress goes to.... Martha Rogers.

Just email me your addresses and I'll get you in touch with your AWESOME stuff!

Thanks so much for participating. Hope you have a safe and fun weekend.

Embracing Imperfection

Let's face it. Life isn't always rosy when you are raising kids. There's grime in the bathtub. Crispy grated cheese left under the lunch table. Cat hair on your favorite black jacket. Stinky diapers that need to go out. Piles and piles and piles and piles of paperwork and projects to attend to.

And someone ate mom's last Special Dark chocolate bar. {I kid you not.}

That someone is most likely pictured in the image below... holding a baby.



Inside every mother there's a hope that her children will be better than she is. We want them to have more, get all the breaks, find joy and live out their dreams. We want them to soar. We picture them as geniuses. Gifted. Spiritual giants. I guess that's why it is so surprising to us when we encounter less than perfect moments in the daily grind of life. While we are busy daydreaming about 'all green lights and rights'; the toast burns, the laundry gets moldy because someone forgot to turn the dryer on, and the day's hopes vanish in the horror of a two hour math page melt-down.

Things get gritty. Let's not mince words here.



But there is beauty in imperfection. The trick is to realize that it's all about the relationships.

As my friend, Ann, would say, "Love is what matters." I think she got that from Jesus.

I said trick because it isn't easy.

Did you hear me???

One more time:

IT ISN'T EASY to see the beauty in 'unperfect' moments.

{Yes, I know 'unperfect' isn't a word.}

Or in my case, unperfect days. Heck, I'll be honest. Unperfect school years. Multiple ones. In succession.

Today was one of those days. I actually threw a fit (and I might have actually thrown a few dirty clothes and toys in the general direction of some un-named children's rooms - but I'm not admitting that online or anything). Now that's a stellar example of Christ-like parenting, no?

Would you believe I could be frustrated with those gorgeous kids while I was trying to take a picture the other day? They were just trying to have fun and make me laugh. "COME ON, Kaden. Stop it! Just smile for Pete's Sake! Quit ruining the picture." Grumble. Grumble. Frown.

I sit here now - days later, looking at that picture (my lost moment), and all I can do is smile and laugh (when it doesn't count any more) - and realize that unperfect pictures - like our unperfect lives - are beautiful.

I implore you (and me) to embrace your imperfect kids and lives. They're the only ones you get.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ~ Ephesians 4:2

Dear Jesus,

Please let us smile even when circumstances don't warrant it. Give us arms that hug, eyes that sparkle, voices that pray and sing, words that offer wisdom and comfort.

Amen.

One Red Dress

My grandma wore a red dress when she was in school. She only had one dress and it was during the Great Depression. When she got teased about the fact that she wore it over and over, her brother lied at school, sticking up for her and said that she had FIVE red dresses that all looked the same.

I couldn't help but think of Mawmaw and her red dress when I agreed to 'review' this saucy Shabby Apple smock. I don't know what the one that my grandma wore looked like, but I sure loved the way this one looked on the model at the Shabby Apple website.



Sultry. Sixteen at best. Skinny. All things I am not at the moment.

Models make everything look great. Being in the midst of a recession myself, a free red dress to review sounded like a win/win situation. Free dress, something to wear to church, great review for Shabby Apple, and everyone's happy (mostly all the people having to look at my same two dresses over and over)... right? Well, I hoped it would turn out that way.

I failed to recall the fact that I am notorious for buying clothes that look GREAT on the hanger and not so wonderful on me. It isn't that this dress wasn't gorgeous or well-made. The style is hip, the bow is precious, the color is one of my favorites... but it just wasn't ME once I got it on. Those tell-tale words were the first to pop out: "Does this make me look fat?" Even my husband (who is very tactfully honest) said, "Man, Heather - that dress really makes you look top-heavy". Not something a nursing mama with a few extra pounds to lose needs to hear - but at least I know it wasn't just me that felt like the match (between me and the shiny new dress) wasn't made in heaven.

I fell in love with the Shabby Apple website after they contacted me. Seems they have a lot more to offer in beautiful clothing and accessories than just this one red dress. There are some classy outfits there (you can check them out by clicking their name in this post - I'm sure they would be thrilled). I wish I could exchange this red dress for one of these beauties below (which would probably hide a few more real and imagined flaws better than the one they sent):



I love a dress or skirt that I can hide in and wear tall boots with! Neutral colors and black are my favorites (along with fall colors). I look horrible in high heels, so casual, bohemian or long works best with me. Broomstick skirts are one of my favorite clothing items ever.

Even though it wasn't a match for me, I was impressed with the hand-sewn look and quality craftsmanship of the red dress. There are times when high heels are warranted; and some who don't shudder at the thought of wearing them (while carrying a 22lb infant around on your hip). I got a lot of compliments wearing the red dress (people noticed that there was a change in my wardrobe when dress #1 or dress #2 didn't show up at church). I have to admit that even if I felt frumpy, I know the dress made my frumpy a lot prettier. However... being a nursing mom, a picky clothes-picker, and a tad over-weight from this past pregnancy, I felt a little 'poofier' and more 'on display' than I would have preferred in it. I like to be behind the camera, so posing for the pictures was difficult. I still like to look nice even if I'm not having photos made, so it was nice to get compliments about how red was "my color".

I am my own worst critic... so I probably will not be wearing it again. You can likely identify with the reasons why. I'm sure that there's something in your closet that you THOUGHT was going to look great - but every time you put it on, you just don't feel like a movie-star in it? Well, that's how I felt in this dress. Such a sad 'free-dress' shame.

I'd gladly pass along this beautiful dress that I wore only once to someone who thinks they would shine in it. Do you know someone who wants a gently used amazingly cool Shabby Apple dress that just didn't look good on ME? I'm saving up so I can get a dress that hides all my real and imagined flaws better. I know that times are tight right now for a lot of folks, so I just want to share the love (and swag) with those who might not be able to afford a pretty church outfit themselves. I'd much rather someone be glowing in this dress than it collect dust in my closet.

Shoot me an email and stumble this post if you have a match in mind for my pretty red dress... and I'll pick someone who needs it and pass the red dress to someone who can truly appreciate it.

Home Made Grocery Cart Cover

My aunt can sew. I have always wanted to learn how to sew, but somehow it hasn't happened yet. I'm a little busy, you know. As much as I love home made things, I have to wait until they are given to me to get them; because I have no time to make them or money to buy them. Thankfully we have some talent in the family... and I lucked out that my aunt sent me a little something in the mail this past week for baby K.

I knew I had to share her cute little grocery cart cover: just look at that grinning baby face below. He loved his first ride in the Wal-Mart shopping cart today. In the past day he's gotten to ride in the stroller (without the infant car seat) facing forward, and ride in the grocery cart! What a big boy he is! Literally. The kid's feet are now hanging over the edge of the infant car seat and I think he has exceeded its weight limit. He's going to have a lot of fun being more 'in the action' riding along with our busy family where he can see the world.

Thanks to my aunt, we can leave the heavy carrier behind and just bring the Viking along with his diaper bag. She also included little pockets on the inside that can hold a passy, bottle, or cell phone (but my cell phone would be eaten if it were that close to baby's chubby's fingers). The only things that would make it better would be more padding (in case baby tumbled and bumped his head on the rail by leaning too far to one side) and maybe a loop hole on one of the pockets so that we could attach a pacifier CLIP to prevent the passy from falling on the grimy grocery store floor. Hey - she might even put her own little velcrow strip in there with a loop on the end of it so that it can stop other toys or sippy cups from falling to the floor, too!



Another reason I wanted to tell you about these cool cart covers is that she's making them for sale. I even talked her in to donating one for the Homeschool Blog Awards. For reals!

I hope Aunt Nee does good with her sewing business. What a nice skill to have. She wants me to set her up a blog so she can share all her goodies with you wonderful people. Hopefully the basics of blogging won't be too hard for her, because it would be a shame if she wasn't able to showcase all her soft creations with the world. Her sewing has blessed many a baby in our family.

Thanks again, Aunt Nee - for the neat hand made gift. I already feel better about taking my 'calipitter' to the grocery store since he won't be touching all those scary flu germs on the cart handle. I know we'll get a lot of use out of it!

Laundry Piles and Smiles

We are still wringing out our laundry because the washing machine won't spin. If there's one thing that I didn't need, it was a broken washing machine. Our schedule is maxed out and my wrists are feeling a lot older these days with aches and pains. Can you get arthritis in your 30's? I hope not.

Wringing out the laundry is NO fun. I feel for the pioneers. Thankfully my big kids are great helpers.

Of course, the laundry at our house stays piled up in one state or another - even when the washer isn't broken. There's usually a clean pile - on mama's bed - and a few dirty sorted piles in the hall in front of the kids' bathroom. I hate it when there is laundry on the floor, but you can only do so much, right? In a perfect world, or even just in the future when I get my act together, I'll have dirty-clothes sorting bins and a nice laundry room with places to fold, sort and hang clothes that need to go back to the kids' rooms. My big pet peeve is keeping the floor uncluttered and laundry is always keeping me from reaching that 'chore utopia' I long for.

I'm convinced that you only truly have a clean house if you 1. don't homeschool, 2. don't have kids, 3. don't have pets, 4. don't have a baby in the house, and 5. hire a maid once a week. Yet I still keep trying to keep the house clean regardless. I guess you would call that insanity.

I love what Alli Worthington says - "We can't both look good. It's me or the house." In my house I would say it's either SCHOOL or housework. They just can't ever seem to both get done on the same day without major meltdowns.

Baby, while adding another ten loads a week to our laundry pile, has shown us that laundry is a lot more fun than it looks. So what if jumping and sitting on the laundry makes us all look wrinkled and frumpy. How can you resist that grin? Now that 'baby bee' is crawling, he loves to scale the laundry pile and laughs when he looses his balance and rolls off of it.

Even though baby is a lot more work, he brings a smile to our faces. And smiles are a good thing during chore time.

Power Source: What Are You Plugging In To?

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

~ Isaiah 40:31

At the blogger conference I attended a few weeks ago there was no shortage of technology. Glowing laptop screens, blinking iPhones, and lit-up faces with shining eyes that stared down at their Tweetdeck to catch every word passing by. Someone said that it sounded like "gentle rain" (the clicking of fingers on keyboards while the sessions were in progress). Even while a speaker was delivering a message, everyone was tuned in to their twitter and reading what other attendees had to say about it. Cords littered the floor to trip you in case you weren't paying attention to where you walked. Everywhere, people were plugged in.

Technology and cords are great. Being busy is great. We have to have cords. We need the energy to run the laptop... to charge the iPhone... to keep things in motion. But motion needs DIRECTION... and PURPOSE... or it's just wasted energy.

I can't help but think of my source of encouragement and energy when I look at this power stick. I know that when my only power source is the electric company - or my own pigheaded determination to "GET IT DONE", I'm going to fail miserably with everything I put my hand to that day. It happens more than I would like to admit.

I need a real re-charge. I need the Word. I need to pray and meditate on God's purposes, plans, promises, and the wonders He has blessed me with. I need Son-light. God provides super-natural energy... the kind that won't let me run down.

What are you plugging in to today? Check your power source.

Wondering Where I Am?

I've been absorbed by the Homeschool Blog Awards. But don't worry. I'll be back to a regular posting schedule soon. I was busy getting posts up over at the Homeschool Post all weekend.


In case you missed the memo:

The Homeschool Post's Give-Away Blog Hop is going on right now! Don't miss all the chances to win groovy stuff.


Letter W has been posted in the Homeschool Post's A B See Photomeme. Go add your alpha-photos to the linky! You don't have to post a V - you can pick any letter you like and showcase it there so we can click over to visit your blog.


The Homeschool Blog Awards have begun! Get your graphic and go fill out the nomination forms at the Post now! If you are still wrestling with who to nominate, don't worry - you have until the 30th to decide.

I'll be back after I get back in to my own winning homeschool groove in our little bee hive. We have suitcases left to unpack, housekeeping to do, and our washing machine is still on the fritz... plus a homeschool virtual history co-op to organize! That leaves little time for blogging.

Your Daily Dose of Cute

The Beatles say "all you need is love".

I beg to differ.

It never hurts to have a daily dose of cute to go along with the love.

'Twitter Like a Rockstar' Give-Away

Because I'm a #namedropper, I am bringing you this wonderful e-book about Twitter by Allison Worthington Media: The Smart Girl's Guide to Twitter. Yes, that's THE Alli Worthington that I had my picture taken with at Type-A Mom; the very one that runs BlissfullyDomestic.com and the Blissdom Conference. When I say THE, I laugh at the fact that she would giggle and shake her head at me for saying it. Maybe even give me the 'crazy Alli eyes' in shock. No matter how hot-to-trot Allison Worthington may seem in her fancy green dress, she's also the most down-to-earth person you'll ever meet; and honest to a fault.

She's real, y'all. And real - in blog world and in books (even e-books) - SELLS.

That's why I was so thrilled when she told me I could give away a copy of her e-book. Not just because I get to namedrop or to get traffic from people interested in getting a copy of her book... but because I WANTED TO READ IT MYSELF! And so she gave me my very own personal copy (there's your stinkin' disclaimer, FTC). Too bad she can't autograph it. That's only one thing about e-books that bums me out - I'll be honest. I am not really an e-book gal. I love a good smelling book in my hands. I'll have to print this one out eventually, because it HAS to go on my bookshelf. Somehow.

I wasn't surprised that Alli can write. I mean, duh, right? She is a fab blogger. And I was amazed that even though I thought I knew all there was to know, I learned something about tweeting! [Proceed to check-out and purchase her book if you don't know what 'tweeting' means. Do not pass go, and for the love of PETE, please don't wait a second longer!] I've been using Twitter for... like... EVER in blog years... and I'm a pretty active tweeter. I thought I knew my way around.

But NOT like Alli! She knows her tweetiebird, baby. Alli has it goin' on! If she doesn't be careful, her blogging will suffer. But I don't have to tell her that.

Just listen to the topics in this book (and let them go right on over your head - cuz you should just admit it now that you NEED to read this book... ):

Getting Started (basic twitter stuff for newbies)

Setting up Twitter (helping you 'get your twitter groove on')

Mechanics (@mentions, direct messages, ReTweets, #Hashtags, spotting spammers, building your network, being followable, what not to do, etc.)

Action Plan (staying power - getting good at your tweetness)

Tweet Magic (Taking it to the Next Level - where she discusses and compares applications that make your tweeting RAWK!)

Cool things You Can Do with Twitter (COOOOL!)

Twitter for your Business (awesome tips and instructions - gotta have'em)

Twitter TOOLS (connecting accounts to facebook/blog, etc)

Answered Questions (yeah - someone else is asking, so you don't look dumb!)

And there are graphics, yo! LOOKEY-HERE DUMMY graphics for those of us who are visual learners (you know who you are - QUIT SKIMMING THE BOOK and READ IT!). It's almost like she's sitting there over your shoulder teaching you in your living room on your own PC screen. Kinda spooky.

If free virtual tutoring lessons isn't enough, she's donating 10% of her proceeds to Compassion International: one of my favorite charities. When I do a search on Goodsearch.com, I donate to them, too.

So, win this sweet Tweet of an e-book and do what Alli says:

"Kick up your heels, grab a cup of coffee, and join me as I show you how to use Twitter like a rock star."

Get Alli's book and start using Twitter BETTER. Form relationships and bless the online world with YOU. You can do it. It isn't hard. Twitter is nothing to be afraid of. Alli explains it like your best friend would. And she promises if you read till the end of her book that you'll know more about Twitter than 90% of the people that use it (even tho she admits she just made that statistic up - I told you she was honest!). And she'll give you a cute little #SGC (Smart Girl Community) badge for being smart by LEARNING SOMETHING NEW about your online world.



Yeah. I know. You want this e-book.


HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:

NOTE: Each of these counts as one entry and must be listed in a separate comment! You may enter once for each item (except the tweets - you can tweet once per day).

Mandatory:

For those who use Twitter already: Tell me your favorite tweet. I want it in quotes! Share your 140 characters of tweety goodness with me.

For those who don't use Twitter: Share your favorite blog post by Alli

For those of you who don't Twitter and have no idea who Alli is: Go check out her blog and tell me if you like it.

Extra:

* Tweet about this post - @Sprittibee is giving away a copy of @alliworthington 's e-book: Smart Girl's Guide to Twitter - come enter here: http://bit.ly/1eMDuL #SGC

* Join my Google Friends

* Stumble this post (or use another bookmarking site of your preference)

* Follow my blog on a reader or by email


Entry comments must be dated on or before October 29th, 2009. The winner will be chosen at random on October 30th. All winners will be announced on October 31st.

This contest is one of the 4, 5 or 6 give-aways I'll be having this week. Don't miss them! I'll be linking them all at The Homeschool Post's Give-Away Blog Hop. Be sure to visit the Blog-Give-Away Linkup over there to catch all the groovy Give-Aways that are going on in the homeschool community online.

Do your friends tweet? Well that's cool. Rock out!






Quick Links
Win an Organic Cookbook
Pirate's Booty Treasure Chest Give-Away
Don't Miss the Homeschool Blog Awards!

Arrrr... A Give-Away Fit for a Pirate

Ahoy there! I told you all yesterday that I needed a blog T-shirt that says "I blog for food", right? Now you know it's true. Today, you get a chance to actually win the snacks! Pirate's Booty snacks, that is.

On the surface, they look like chips - but they have a whole lot going for them:

* baked: made from air-puffed rice and corn
* unrefined: rice and corn bran still contain germ and endosperm (vitamins!)
* no trans-fats
* no gluten (grains kept in dedicated silos that contain no wheat)
* no preservatives
* no artificial sweeteners
* Kosher
* light: no more than 140 calories per single-serving bag
* Original Tings and Veggie flavored Pirate's Booty are Vegan friendly
* made in a nut-free facility

They say Pirate's booty is so good for you that it only has a six month shelf-life... but after tasting them, I highly doubt anyone has made it that long to test the theory. They are really tasty. They sent us a groovy paper pirate box full of snacky treasures - a sample of each piraty flavor - and a pen with their logo. After the snacks disappeared in a few days, my son confiscated the treasure chest and filled it with all his fake gold pieces and money and it sits at the bottom of his closet shelf. I dare you to try and take it from him!

Our favorites were the Aged White Cheddar Pirate's Booty, the Original Tings (which taste like a Cheetos without all that nasty dye and fake flavoring), and the Smart Puffs with Real Wisconsin Cheddar. These crunchy snacks reminded me of a story about a raccoon that my sister-in-law met on a camping trip one time. Even raccoons know that humans eat trash... because he got a hold of my sister-in-law's bag of Cheetos and rubbed the flavoring off before he would eat them! Took them in his wittle paws and scrubbed the orange stuff off so he could just munch on the puffed corn underneath it. I bet that little critter would have loved him some Pirate's Booty, too.



Pirate's Booty is pretty hip as a company as well. Above is their iPhone wallpaper (they have other sizes, too) - great for "Talk Like a Pirate Day". They even have a piratey blog and a piratey facebook page!

Here's some advice from their food "Booty Blog":

* Don't be a Son of a Biscuit Eater: Trade in the white bread for slices of a whole-grain or a whole wheat wrap instead.

* Cut the Sugar, Scallywag – Avoid over sugary snacks and cakes and your child will surely avoid the inevitable energy crash and possible weight gain.

* Avast ye the Salt – Super salty snacks can dehydrate a youngling, so watch the sodium intake.

* Don’t Drop the Snack Anchor – Noshing on snacks that are low in sugar and fat will keep a child’s energy up for that big test in between breakfast and lunch.
Wallpaper designs

Would you like a treasure chest full of snacky goodness and a Pirate's Booty pen of your own? Do you have some young'ns that are in need of something crunchy to munch on that won't rot their gut and make them sea sick? Well, Pirate's Booty can be yours soon... if you just follow these simple rules, mateys:

NOTE: Each of these counts as one entry and must be listed in a separate comment! Aye, you may enter once for each item (except the tweets - you can tweet once per day).

Mandatory:

* Fan Pirate's Booty on Facebook

* Go check out the Pirate's Booty Website and see where you can purchase them that's close to where you live

Extra:

* Tweet about this post - Arrrr... come win a treasure chest of #piratesbooty snacks from @sprittibee : http://bit.ly/2jn69Y Please RT!

* Join my Google Friends Crew, Matey!

* Stumble this post (or use another bookmarking site of your preference)

* Follow my blog on a reader or by email


Entry comments must be dated on or before October 29th, 2009. The winner will be chosen at random on October 30th. All winners will be announced on October 31st.

This contest is one of the 4, 5 or 6 give-aways I'll be having this week. Don't miss them! I'll be linking them all at The Homeschool Post on October 15th. Be sure to visit the Blog-Give-Away Linkup over there to catch all the groovy Give-Aways that are going on in the homeschool community online.

Good luck and 'Fair Winds'.






Quick Links
Win an Organic Cookbook
Don't Miss the Homeschool Blog Awards!


Subscribe to Sprittibee by Email

Organic Food Cook-Book Give-Away

Today starts my week of Give-Away Madness. What better to start it with than a 'GREEN' cookbook? I don't know if you knew this about me, but I also have a food blog (that I sadly neglect most of the time). I may or may not admit that I go on and off with cooking and that I eat too much fast food and junk food. But if I did admit it, I would certainly tell you that I WANT to eat right. It just gets hard sometimes when life is so fast paced and the budget is so thin.

I love food. I tend to attract the foodie PR people, too. I need one of those t-shirts that say "I blog for food." This give away came about because someone dangled a carrot in front of me. Literally. Earthbound Farm offered to SHIP me some fresh apple and carrot snacks for my kids. And so they did. In a cute little Styrofoam box - by UPS. And they were delicious. Organic and delicious. I had eaten baby carrots in a little baggie before, but the apple slices - pre-sliced and ready to eat? I thought only McDonald's was that cool. I hate slicing apples. My mother would tell you that she's been on to me since I had my first kid that I am 'so lazy' for buying pre-sliced fruit. I would so buy Earthbound Farm's sliced apples for snack time and pay the extra few dollars they are worth.

I know you may be asking, "What's all this hype about organics?" Now days, a lot.

Organic means:

- no synthetic pesticides, herbicides
- no fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge - eeew! (which has prescription medicines in it as well)
- no genetically modified ingredients
- no irradiation
- no hormones, antibiotics, artificial ingredients or trans fats

Can you believe they put that junk on our food in the first place? So I guess we can agree that Organic is best. We buy organic when we can, but I'll admit that sometimes the grocery budget isn't long enough to cover the cost. According to the brochure that Earthbound Farm gave me, there are some fruits and veggies that are 'most likely' to contain multiple pesticide residues (ICK). They suggest that if you can't buy ALL your produce organic, at least get these items (especially for children):

- apples
- imported grapes
- pears
- nectarines
- strawberries
- peaches
- spinach
- lettuce
- bell peppers
- celery
- potatoes

I'm sure that I'll be making a more concerted effort to purchase organic after working with Earthbound Farm on this give-away.

And here's the kicker, I didn't even get a cookbook! So who ever wins it will have to tell me if it is wonderful so I can go buy one. I adore cookbooks. I have a whole shelf of them. That's why I started my food blog. I could never remember which cook book a recipe came from, so I started keeping each of our favorite recipes online where I could access it from anywhere with a keyword search.

So now for the part where YOU can win the Organic Cookbook. Here's how:

You get one entry for all of the following and you can enter only ONE time each (not once each day):

Mandatory:

1. Visit Earthbound Farm's website (I love their website!) and tell me in the comments box about a recipe listed there that you would like to try.

Extra:

1. Blog about this contest and include a link back to this post and to Organic Farms.

2. Leave me your favorite recipe in the comments section or email it to me and leave me a comment telling me you did so.

3. Tweet about this contest using my twitter handle @sprittibee and a link to this post: such as - @sprittibee is giving away an organic cookbook by Earthbound Farms at her week of give-aways : http://bit.ly/VN9CZ

4. Follow this blog by email, feed reader, or my Google Friend Box.

5. Add me to your Technorati Favorites or stumble this post.

6. Follow my food blog by email, feed reader, or Google Friend Box.

Entry comments must be dated on or before October 29th, 2009. The winner will be chosen at random on October 30th. All winners will be announced on October 31st.

This contest is one of the 4, 5 or 6 give-aways I'll be having this week. Don't miss them! I'll be linking them all at The Homeschool Post on October 15th. Be sure to visit the Blog-Give-Away Linkup over there to catch all the groovy Give-Aways that are going on in the homeschool community online.

Have fun and eat responsibly!




[disclosure: after posting this, they sent me my own copy of the cook-book. IT ROCKS, y'all!]

Parenting for the Future: Stopping to Smell the Flowers

This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

So many beautiful things in this world... and so little time to enjoy them. This rose has been on my mind lately. It reminded me to 'smell the flowers' in a much larger and more general sense. I mean, we all are busy, right? But the busy-ness is not why we are here. We're here to be fruitful.

Fruits grow. They ripen. They smell lovely. They bask in the sunshine. They soak up the rain. Fruits are good at doing what God made them to do... nourishing people, being beautiful, thriving on the vine.

There's a sermon in there somewhere. Ahem.

With my nose stuffed in this heaven-sent masterpiece of pink scent and softness; I realized that I'm loosing time - time to spend on what is truly important.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

~ Unknown

I asked myself... "How much time do I have?" ...and... "How will I use it?"

Help us not to waste our lives' precious time with useless endeavors.

~ Robin Sampson, author of Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach

As a homeschool mother, I'm determined to build the best in to my children. The best roses are fertilized, trimmed, cared for. What do I need to give them - or give up for them? What do I need to trim from our garden - can I identify the weeds that are keeping us from the glory God intended?

Am I willing to spend time in the garden?

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

~ Psalm 90:12

Flowers may not be able to talk, but the fragrance of roses on the wind in my back yard and this lovely pastel visitor in my kitchen certainly were speaking to my heart today. They taught me all these things through the Holy Spirit in a brief moment - through a smell, a glance, a touch. I pondered them in my heart.

Tomorrow my rose will be wilted, but I am determined not to forget the message. I'll be working on ways to redeem the time in my homeschool, my household, my life. How about you? Don't let the chance to savor the beauty of what you are given slip away.

Gather ye rosebuds while you may, Old time is still a flying, And that same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.

~ Robert Herrick

Carpe Diem. Seize the day.

V is for VBS (and Very Busy)

V is for 'Very' - Very BUSY over here in the bee hive. Well, yes, ... and VBS, too.

In less than three weeks I've:

VERY CRAZY: Driven through nine states, taken the kids on a field trip to the Biltmore Estate and the North Carolina Arboretum, attended my first photo walk and blog conference...

VERY REVIVING: Gone to a women's retreat with my mom, aunt, cousin and some friends (out of town)...

VERY DRAMATIC: Participated in VBS where my entire family sans myself and baby were in multiple plays...

VERY EXCITING: Launched the PR portion of the Homeschool Blog Awards...

VERY YUMMY: Stocked the refrigerator and pantry and saved the family from sheer foodlessness (hoping to eat at home all week next week)...

VERY AGRIVATING: Managed to keep up with the laundry - while wringing every item out by hand (or by my kids' hands, poor things!) - even though the washing machine is on the fritz...

VERY FUN: Gone to science and poetry co-op at a friend's house last Thursday with the kids.

Unfortunately for me, the busy season has no plans to let up. With fall coming, it seems the calendar in real life and online just goes in to overdrive.

For you, that's a great thing. Because I'll be catching up with my give-aways on the blog this week! I've got food, books, toys and more planned - so please don't miss a day here at Sprittibee this coming week! It would be wise to stop in at the Homeschool Post, too.

If I'm not posting here, I'll be helping out over there.

Last week we put up the official page for the Homeschool Blog Awards and tonight I added some updates you'll not want to miss about the awards, the swap, and more.

Hope you are enjoying this cool weather and managing to keep your schedule tame despite the racing clock! If you figure out how to slow time down so you can get more done in a day, let me know. I could use a clone (or a maid) if this new pace keeps up.

Woeful Wednesday: Business Card Blight

Most 'Wordless Wednesdays' around here aren't that wordless. This one is no different. I love this picture. I just had to talk about it. Robin, the purdy lady in the photo, would totally know what I was talking about - since she's also the queen of all things wordy. We are two peas in a pod, me and the poetry-loving Pensieve.

The picture may not be the BEST shot ever, but there are a few favorite things in it that you need to notice: 1. Robin (she's great, y'all - even better in person - she just radiates southern charm), 2. the Biltmore tour (oh, my dear that was one of the most wonderful field trips we have EVER been on in our seven years of homeschooling), 3. BUSINESS CARDS (I mean, if you can't take the bloggers home with you from a blog conference, you should at LEAST get to take home their cards, right???).

Well... I had the cards. I even had a custom, handy, bright yellow, little bee zipper pouch to hold them in. All of my cards and the ones that were given to me at the conference by all the PR people, marketers, and amazing bloggers were in my tiny bee bag. It was like a pirate treasure - hidden away for me to sift through in greedy revelry as soon as I got home.

You can't imagine the grief I felt upon discovering that my little yellow zipper bag - my Queen Bee ditty bag with all those glorious cards - was MISSING.

Gone. Just like that.

So I have only 'misty water color memories' of the Type-A Mom conference now. And if you aren't over 30, you probably have absolutely no idea what that quote is in reference to.

Were you at Type-A Mom with me? Did you take home one of my business cards and happen to be reading my blog (stranger things have happened)? I would love for you to mail me a business card. You have my address already. And I love snail mail.

If you find my Queen Bee zipper purse, please return it to me. No one could throw something that cute in the trash. I just know it has to be out there. It's buzzing my name. Silently... from some trash heap in Asheville, or some maid's little girl's backpack...

I guess I have to go to Blissdom now. In February. Want to sponsor me?




Quick Links
Type-A Mom Conference Sponsorship Request
Not on the A-List
Type-A Mom Recap
Type-A Mom Photo Walk

The Homeschool Post... 5th Annual Homeschool Blog Awards!

It's that time of year again. And quite honestly, I don't know how I'm going to do it with a baby in the mix. This will be a new experience.

I know you are all excited to get the awards started, but first there has to be a lot of behind the scenes work and housekeeping done first.

Just to give you a heads up so you can start tweeting and spreading the news... the awards will be covering October and November this year. There will be 2 weeks to nominate, and 2 weeks to vote. Nominations begin in October, voting takes place in November. We want to have the entire process finished by Thanksgiving break so that all of our team can enjoy our holidays! There's a lot of work involved, but it is worth it when we get to check out all the groovy blogs you all nominate.

Now that I'm back from North Carolina (Type-A Mom) and my womens retreat, I'll be working on:

1. Finding someone to help me fix the broken washing machine while wringing out every item of clothing that comes out of it before it goes in the dryer - by HAND.

2. Trying to maintain order while we get the baby back in to a regular napping and sleeping schedule after long hours in the car.

3. Getting my butt in gear with homeschool... we just ate up one of our weeks off in December for sure!

4. Rounding up some prizes for the award winners of the 2009 Homeschool Blog Awards (nominations will be starting on October 19th!)...

Do you know of a great homeschool-friendly business that is interested in rewarding some bloggers for their passion and voice in the blogosphere? Please email me with contact information so we can send them a formal request to be a HSBA sponsor for 2009.

We're excited to launch the FIFTH ANNUAL Homeschool Blog Awards at the Homeschool Post and are hoping that it will be our best year yet!

Hop over and take a look at this year's lovely author line-up that Darcy made for us on the sidebar! And in case you didn't know, The Post is open for business every day - not just during awards season. You can find great homeschooling and parenting information and encouragement there all year round.

I hope you fall in love with all the ladies there like I have. They are such a great team to work with! I'm very honored to be part of such a great collaborative site.

Don't miss our big announcement Wednesday at the Homeschool Post!

Field Trip Foto Friday: Asheville Type-A Mom Photo Walk

I mentioned the Photo Walk we took last weekend briefly in my Type-A Mom recap post, but today I wanted to share some of the photos from the event. The photo up top is my favorite from the walk. I edited it a bit - cropped a tiny bit off of the lady's dress up top, colorized it some, and added an edge burn (Pioneer Woman's site has these Photoshop actions available for download). I adore the shot - and the feeling it evokes. I love shoes and bags... and bokeh.



Bokeh is the faded part of the photograph that has a nice blur - and sometimes makes the picture look more like a work of art and less like a photograph. The Chocolate Lounge shot has NO bokeh. Everything is nice and crisp. Don't you just want to mosey on in there and have some sweets? Mmmmm. Chocolate.



I had a groovy crew to hang with for the walk. TYPE (see above photo - sorry, had to include it) A Moms. A for AWESOME. We had less time than we planned since our conference session went longer than scheduled, but it was a wonderful FIRST Photo Walk for me. Dawn and some of the others had already been on these types of photography events before.



Here's Dawn, Little Tech Girl and Mishelle. I plan to make Photo Walking a new hobby. Only, I'll have to get Morgan's camera fixed so the kids can share it. She borrowed my camera a few times and helped me change lenses. She was my photo assistant!



Dawn's "shoot sack" was pretty cool, too. Wish they would send me one to review! If you can't have an assistant, it pays to have your lenses nicely squared away on your hip.



Driving through a city gives you a small taste of what it is like, but when you are on foot, you get to see so many little things that you would miss in a car. Take for instance: this neat little 'Doggie in the Window'. I whistled at him when he disappeared inside to come back and he posed for us. I love standing still and listening to the buzz of traffic and people moving while I'm on a busy city street.



We got to see the bustling city at dusk. And we got to enjoy performances by local musicians. These are the Lyrical Vocalists, I think. There was a guy painted in white with a black guitar, too. When he was finished singing, he froze and tried to appear as a statue. The city is full of strange sights and interesting people to photograph. Dawn got some head shots of this guy. I was too far behind the crowd and our bus was about to pick us up for a ride back to the hotel.



We enjoyed the picturesque display of neon, groovy shops, and artwork. Below is a Viking Helmet (which of course, I had to photograph since my little baby was 9 lbs. and 4 oz. - two weeks early - and we've been affectionately calling him 'The Viking' since before he was born).



We even enjoyed snapping shots of each other.



I figured I would be really out of place with the big-shot photogs and their colossal lenses. However, they were really nice people - and they didn't make fun of me for asking questions about my DSLR. Mishelle even showed me a trick or two. If you like taking pictures, and you have a chance to get out and do a photo walk in your area... by all means, don't chicken out! You'll be glad you went!





Quick Links:
More Photographs from the Walk at my Whrrl Story
My Homeschool Series - where you can find more field trips by grade/year
Another Out-of-State Field Trip Adventure