Some Crazy-Good Things

I just couldn't wait to tell you all the good news! I've got CRAZY good news. Some things are big, some are little, but I'm feeling really thankful for positives!

{Morgan took that photo up there. Her and the big brother were goofing off today at our family reunion we attended. I love to see them being creative and getting along.}

If you had been at my house this week, you might have seen me doing my happy dance (a few times). Much like a little kid bursting at the seams, I MUST SHARE!



1. GM has offered me a vehicle to drive to Relevant in. FOR FREE. Of course, I have to return it when we get back from Hershey, but HELLO? That ROCKS! I asked them if I could advertise for them and they said, "We don't like to think of it as sponsorship, but rather GM just reaching out to share our cars with people - and in turn we hope you'll spread the word about how great they are."

Their response made me want to get a GM tattoo on my forehead. However, I restrained myself and asked for a logo for this post, instead. You might hear me twittering about them a lot between now and October, though. Just warnin' ya.

Their vehicle lease means my impossible fundraiser ticker on the sidebar went from $4,500 for the trip - to $3,300 for the trip. The rental car cost was $1,200. GM is making this trip much more possible for our family and we can't wait to try out their vehicle this October (and we hope they provide us one that is big enough to fit six people in)! Now we just have to raise the money for travel, lodging and food.

Would you be so kind as to follow Donna (my new vehicular best friend) on Twitter? She's @GMTexas! I heart her.



2. I joined up to do the I Heart Faces Photowalk in June! Next weekend I'll get to meet Julie Rivera and hang out with lots of photo geeks (of various skill levels) in the Lone Star Capitol. My kiddos are graciously allowing the group to snap a few shots of them for practice.

There are still a few Austin spots left, if I remember correctly. You can sign up - you just have to pay a measly 5$ plus the fee for using Evenbrite. It is going on all over the country, so if you aren't an Austin-area photographer, never fear - there's probably one in your city. Hurry to join up before all the spots are gone and they close registration!

3. I'll be chit-chatting online with Dawn, Sarasophia, and Robyn on The Motherhood on June 2nd at 1:00PM EDT. The topic for the show is "God Never Blinks", the book by Regina Brett (which I haven't read, but now desperately want) which covers life lessons learned. What a fun topic!

I'll be the comic relief for the group, I'm sure... me and the Texas twang, that is. I'm still learning life lessons the hard way, so maybe they can give ME some advice while I'm on the show?



4. I got my books! My photo books I told you guys about (the ones that charged me lots of shipping fees even though they were free) finally came in (from Hong Kong - Artscow.com). I was impressed with them. They were SO worth the shipping price I paid. I am officially addicted to digital scrapbooking. Now if only I could find time for it!



5. I added a link to Mingle Monday at Robyn's blog. She asked for a favorite post of mine, and I just couldn't resist adding my french fry story. If you haven't read it, you are missing out. It could provide you with a hefty Monday laugh; I promise!

If you are a blogger and you would like to hang out with your invisible friends vicariously through the blogosphere on Memorial Day Monday, hop over to Our Homeschool Home and add your favorite post or something that helps readers get to know you.



6. There is music on my iPhone. It took me forever because the iTunes kept telling me it was going to erase my data if I synced up my music. I did it anyway and I now have TUNES! Finally. After an entire YEAR of owning the thing, you would think I might take the time to figure it out, right???

7. My blogiversary is coming up! June 8th makes FIVE FULL YEARS that I've been picking away at my keyboard and trapping Google Surfers here at Sprittibee!

I was planning to migrate to Word Press or redesign the site, but time got away from me... and the pocketbook is empty. I guess you'll have to keep having my orange template burn your retina for a while longer. At least it's cheerful, eh?


I guess that's it for tonight, unless I think of something else.

I hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day! May God bless our military families and troops overseas.

In Him,

How to Be a Good Homeschool Swap Gift Giver

As the founder of the Homeschool Swap over at the Homeschool Post, I get the fun task of pairing the swappers. Usually, I pair swappers in the order they come in, preferring to let the seemingly random order for a swap play itself out. Who knows, maybe God wanted the swap to be exactly like it ends up for a reason, right?



Every now and then, though, I just can't help myself - I have to hand-pick a swap partner. Renae (of Life Nurturing Education) was one of those chosen picks. You see, I spent some time at her house on the way back from Asheville, North Carolina after one of my whirlwind blog conference road trips. I tweeted out that we were on our way back and very tired... and she offered me a place to stop and rest (even though we got in very late). She gave up her bed for us and slept with her children, and she cooked us pancakes. She's the most wonderful, generous, and loving sort of person you could ever meet.



And I had a disc full of photos of our short time there to share with her. So I had to pick her as my swap partner - to force myself to finally send her the pix!



I'm so glad I did. Her sweet card had me in tears.



Renae is a GOOD SWAPPER. Want to know how you can be a good swapper, too?

How to Be a Good Homeschool Swap Gift Giver:

1. GET TO KNOW YOUR SWAP SISTER.

Read your swap sister's questionnaire. That seems like a simple thing, but often times, we get so busy that we just grab whatever we think is a good swap gift for our own tastes and dig through email for the address in a last minute rush (I know this because I'm guilty of doing it every now and then). Really get to know what she likes and imagine the things she might like to receive. After all, you aren't buying for yourself.

Renea sent me a Special Dark chocolate bar (something I had on my list).

2. EMAIL your swap sister and get to know her even more.

Ask her about your ideas for swap gifts. Maybe you have something (like a movie or book) that you want to share with her - but you need to know if she already has it. Don't be afraid to ask. Busy homeschool moms don't need extra errands to run - returning things they don't need.

Renae sent me a used library book about Texas plants and natural things because she talked with me (over email) about how we enjoy nature study, love Texas, and adore books. She knew my son really likes bugs, too. You really can't go wrong with books for a homeschool swap - especially if you clear it with the swap sister that she has an empty spot on the shelf and the book isn't already in her collection!



3. INCLUDE HER KIDS.

That's an easy one... that really goes without saying. On each questionnaire, there's a blank for how many children you have and their ages. If you email your swap sister, you might even find out more info about what the likes and dislikes of her children are. Renae had her kids draw for mine, and she included parts of the swap gift (like the books, the pretty office supplies, the magnets, etc) that the kids could get excited about.

You wouldn't believe how often I hear from swappers that something in the box disappeared as soon as the children scattered - because a kid claimed it for their own! Make sure your box has something for everyone and you'll be a swapping hit!

4. PERSONAL THOUGHTS and PRAYERS matter.

Sometimes the best part of the swap box for me is the note of encouragement from a friend - a fellow sojourner on this homeschool path that understands the difficulties we face. It is especially helpful if you get to know a little about your swap partner enough to leave them a message that is personal to them. Since Renae and I had met briefly in real life, her note was even more special. In fact, it had me in tears. It is certainly a keeper.

We have a spot on our questionnaire for prayer requests, too. It is the highest honor a person can have to stand in the gap for someone else - in real prayer. You may not know how the prayer resolved in their life, but you can make a real difference if you pray for someone else. I'm sure that Renae prayed for me - her note eluded to that fact.



5. HEAVY ON THE HOMESCHOOL. 

 Homeschoolers are notorious for the love of books, sharpies, mechanical pencils, spiral notebooks, binders, office supplies and art supplies. You are almost always going to make a homeschool mama happy if you send a little in your package that will make her "day job" run smoother. I like to send cooking supplies as well as office and school supplies - because cooking is part of our school and a big part of our day.

6. CHOCOLATE TASTES GOOD - EVEN MELTED AND RE-FROZEN.

That one should speak for itself. If your swap sister says she loves chocolate, don't be afraid to mail her some, even if it is 106 degrees outside in August and she lives in Texas. Just sayin'.

There you have it. Renae has modeled for us a GOOD SWAPPER. I hope I can be like her when I grow up.

Say No to Robots.

Original Artwork by Kaden (drawn at age 10)

Robots find words, and only people can find relevance.

~ Alli Worthington

Hi there. I'm sure if you were listening to the buzz yesterday on Twitter, you heard about the new site: "Blissreads". Blissreads is a project that was put together by Alli Worthington, creator of the Blissdom blog conference that I attended last year in Nashville (and her amazing team of geekish friends).

Blissreads is a site where PEOPLE (not robots or internet 'spiders') share the best of the best on the web - the blog posts they read that make them smile, cry, laugh-out-loud, or exclaim "EUREKA!"

It's like a content blog carnival that goes on every day, all day... a place where you can be sure to find the most interesting things to see and read.

I'm one of those people. I'd love to replace a robot in your life and be your human content filter. I wanna sift through the digital muck for you - and hand you the shiny sea glass of blog posts on the net.

What are you interested in reading about online?

Do you love to HOMESCHOOL? Check out the www.blissreadskids.com site.

Are you a BREASTFEEDING advocate or the mama of a little love bug under 2? There's www.blissreadsbaby.com !

Looking for a recipe? Look no farther than www.blissreadsfood.com to tempt your tastebuds!


There are a bunch of topics you can pick from over there. Just check out the sidebar and see how many fun things you can look through each day! I am "curating" for Alli in these channels if you want to stop by and see the things that I find super-cool on the net:

Blissreads Food
Blissreads Kids
Blissreads Baby
Blissreads Photography
Blissreads Deals

Each post on these sites takes a tiny snip of information and an image off of the original blog post as a teaser - and then sends you on your merry way to the source so that you can read the full article. Blissreads directs you to the author's blog so that you can read the full story and give proper credit (and comment) there.

It's kind of like a blog-post hall of fame.  

{And it's a great way to drive traffic to your site if you have awesome content.}


I would love for you to check out this video about Blissreads - put together by Amy of Taste Like Crazy. Sorry about how it cuts off on the page - you can click over to Amy's site to see the entire view or you can also see it at the Blissreads main page!



And be sure if you find a GREAT post about Food, Kids, Babies, Photography or Frugality that you EMAIL me the link so I can see if it would be a fit for Blissreads! I know my readers have good taste! I trust that you are finding great things on the net - and would love to know what you think is wonderful.

Yellow Shmellow

11 year old Morgan drew the picture up there. Isn't it pretty? She inherited her mama's artist streak (just like her big brother). The jury is still out yet on little hunk-o-chunk. He has yet to pick up a pencil and draw. Hopefully it won't be a wall that he creates his first masterpiece on.

The kids and I love to draw and create pretty things. You DO know that they did my blog artwork, right? And you DO know that we have sold graphics to bloggers before? Shameless plug, I know. A girl has to do what she can to earn her way to Relevant in October... especially since the sponsorship has been slow coming.

I figured if I couldn't find time to go take pictures in the yellow flowers, I could at least take time out to scan my daughter's artwork and post it for you. Today is the cut-off date for entering in the 'Yellow' challenge with I Heart Faces (I mean yesterday now, naturally). So instead of a photo, I'm doing 'Illustration Tuesday'... er, Wednesday.

You see?

This post took the E N T I R E DAY for me to write; off and on, of course.

There were many interruptions - like bowling with the old people at the nursing home, eating lunch with our co-op friends, taking care of baby, picking up every. stinking. piece. of Tupperware (over and over) off of the floor in the kitchen, making sure that the baby didn't swallow the letter magnets or climb up the stairs, etc. These are important things.

Which brings me to.... I have a beef to pick with I Heart Faces.

There, I said it.

They just go too fast for me!

I am a busy woman. I homeschool my kids. I am the educator, cook, secretary, principal, mediator, chauffeur, courier, nanny, nurse, maid, and chief executive blogger of this household. As much as I adore a great photograph, there is often very little time to take them with my schedule.

That being said, it would be cool if they put their photo challenges up RIGHT AFTER they announced winners... to give us an entire WEEK to find the time to snap some pictures.

I had a few other images in mind for the yellow theme... but no time to post them. Until it was too late.



Now, I realize that I'm not a high-paid professional photographer... I'm just a 'budding' one... a low-paid 'budding' one. Rarely low-paid or even paid at all, actually... But that doesn't mean I should be denied the fun of an inspiring photo challenge each week - just because I have this other, really busy DAY job(s)... the SAHM Ninja kind - with all of its super-powers.

By the time I Heart Faces linky closes each week, I'm always too late... or the dog ate my homework. "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

I did manage to get a yellow picture up at the Homeschool Post today. I was working on it before we ate dinner... but by the time I got around to finishing the post, it was after 9PM. So I didn't even get to enter it in the challenge. How's that for cruel irony?

And then this post didn't get finished until tomorrow.

Yellow-bellied, cruel irony. This spinning Earth - out of control...

"It was all yellow."

Oh, well... at least now I know after scanning my entire catalogue of pictures on Picasa that I'm sadly lacking in the cheery color department. I'm planning to rectify the situation as soon as I can find some free time with the camera. Me and Canon are going to work on that little problem together real soon.

I know just the field of yellow wild-flowers to start in. [PLEASE PRAY there are no rattlesnakes. I'm scared of rattlesnakes.]

The end.

Our Lazy Weekend and the Baby's New Hat

Our lazy weekend:

[1] Baby got a new hat. He looked really cute in it at church today. But he wouldn't leave it on long.



[2] We ate out at Sarah's in town and took a few photos on Lamar in Austin.

...I enjoy taking pictures of the strange things you'll find in the city limits. I'll put up a few photos tomorrow of what we saw on our little drive... along with a review of Sarah's on the food blog. If I can get around to it....



[3] I ate the first tomato of the growing season - a cherry tomato - from our yard.

[4] We watched movies on Netflix (free through our Wii).

[5] Chickie gave us a fake Wii remote (meant for candy - sort-of like a PEZ dispenser) that she got at Walgreens. The baby is finally leaving our real Wii remotes alone (until he figures it out).



[6] We destroyed the house. Please send over a maid.

Bloglessness

I've been hiding from the internet lately.

I even contemplated disappearing forever. [Shhhhh.]

I dreamed I deleted my Facebook account and some guys that looked like the 'Men in Black' came to the door demanding that I check in on their facebookish site because they suspected that my son was involved in witchcraft activities. Strange, eh? In the dream, I was certain that it was just a ploy by the government to keep me online so they could monitor my internet presence. [I won't bother to discuss the meanings of such a dream - I choose to live in denial that our government would ever stoop to spying on law-abiding citizens.]

I really shouldn't be posting things like this. I've never been one for political correctness, though. I'm sure you know that by now.

So what would a blogger do while she was avoiding the internet?

Let's see...

* revamping her to-do lists. 4 pages of high expectations.
* making a list of things I'd like to blog about when I emerge from my funk.
* contemplating how many grammar rules I break when I write on my blog.
* grading homeschool grammar pages. being accutely aware i'm a grammar hypocrite.
* wondering where my mouse went after husband moved our school and office piles.
* plotting how to get him back for moving our school and office piles.



* taking care of my mom who went in to the hospital Wednesday and got out yesterday.
* nursing the Viking. pondering weaning before I need a new wardrobe.
* whining about how much it costs to move to WordPress.
* deciding to stay at Blogger for at least another six months.
* feeling guilty for not getting my food reviews done last week.
* ignoring a few thousand emails. [Keep bugging me if it was you. I'll eventually get to it...]
* reading a lot of blogs through RSS. feeling very unbloggish and irrelevant.
* getting a swap package ready to mail for my Swap Buddy.
* racking up library fees on books that have been overdue for a month.
* planting herbs.
* watching the peppers and tomatoes grow in our raised bed gardens.
* praying, writing in my prayer journal, reading my Bible.
* updating my calendar.
* trying to psych myself out to pay bills (chew glass) since yesterday was payday.
* cleaning up my desk and organizing school stuff.
* rethinking the functionality of our space.
* folding 8,250,945 piles of clean laundry.
* wondering what's for dinner.

Is it any wonder I've been hiding?

Don't worry. I'll eventually be back to my usual blog-addicted self.

[I think.]

Doggies are Good at Waiting - People, Not So Much

Once upon a time, there was this cowboy who got very ill with a rare disease. The disease prevented him from being able to ride his beloved horses any more and he was heartbroken. He lived in a custom built home with a stable on one end - one that his mama had built for him because she loved him so much. The view from his front porch was of a valley filled with beautiful horses and twisted oak trees. It made him sad to see the horses and not be able to ride them. It was the only life he had ever known and the only one he had wanted.

This cowboy loved only one thing more than riding in rodeos and being at one with his bronco... and that one thing was... his little girl. She had her daddy's eyes and the most mischievous freckled nose and welcoming smile. This pint-sized cowgirl was happy to live in the country and adored working on the ranch. She loved only one thing as much as her daddy, and that was... her puppy dog.

And her loyal, patient, puppy dog loved her back. He waited on her to get home from school each day - lying on her bed and keeping watch....

...

It is nice to meet people and hear their stories. Everyone has a story.

Sometimes you just need to listen. It feels good to listen and connect.

And then there's that part about being still and waiting on the Lord. Keeping watch.

I've been waiting today... how about you?

To Spray or Not to Spray - A Bugged Out Dilemma

Yesterday, the bugs in my house got terminated. Not long afterwards, I lost a battle with a tiny pink Benadryl. I’m not sure how long it has been since I’ve had to take it – being pregnant and nursing has prevented me from it for almost two years… but after the bug man sprayed in my house, I got the most horrendous allergy attack I’ve had in ages. It was almost like the bugs were paying me back. It was crazy. I couldn’t stop sneezing. They say you can’t smell the chemicals, but my nose sure knew something was up.

“We had to spray,” I told myself. But now, I’m not so sure I would have done it again, if I had the chance for a do-over.

We certainly have enough pests around here. A gigantic black widow with a huge egg sack lived on our porch overhang. The bug man kindly pointed her out while he was soliciting. There were fire ants inside the house, too. I’d even seen a scorpion on the driveway under our porch light a few days back. My son wanted to kill it, but it was cowering in fear – flattening itself into the cracks where two slabs of concrete come together - and I just couldn’t hurt the little fella. We captured him in a glass jar (very carefully), tossed him on the street and turned him loose. [I haven’t seen him since… but that doesn’t mean much since scorpions are masters at staying hidden.]

I’m a softie when it comes to killing things (even evil bugs that can kill or hurt you). I had a hard time letting the bug man kill the monstrous ‘Queen of Death’ black widow on my porch. He convinced me that while ONE black widow that you can SEE is not bad, a gazillion tiny babies in every crevice of my porch and yard (and even inside my house since they were close and small enough to get in) would NOT be wise. Still, killing her had to be done far from view. He took her, dangling politely on a thin thread of webbing, down to the curb before he squashed her and the egg sack she had worked so hard on. I screamed a few times when the wind blew her towards him, that brave soul.

I owed him one. So I bought his service. It was, after all, "below half price" - kind of cheap at 60-something dollars. I figured it was past due since we haven’t paid a bug dude in the entire 3 years we have lived here.

I asked him if I should leave while he was working, but he told me it wasn’t necessary. He dusted my attic, sprayed the exterior of the house down, and left granules on the grass around my trees. Walking through my house, he sprayed ‘troubled’ areas, too. When my husband came home he said he could smell it. Being home all day, I never did – but my nose went on strike and I zonked out soon after dinner in an antihistamine high. Thankfully the baby went to sleep with me and didn’t wake up until the wee hours of the night to nurse, well after the stupor had worn off.

The moral of the story? Now you know how to sell a woman a pesticide treatment service if you decide to go door-to-door for your local bug guy: just kindly point out the deadly spider on her porch and offer to kill it for her. Voila! Instant hero.

The other moral? Now you know how to get a night-owl blogger to bed before 9pm: drug her. [I highly suggest you make sure you have her permission first, however.]



I’ll be glad that we don’t have any more fire-ants inside, but I have to admit that I’m worried about our birds eating tainted crickets. We spent the better part of the hours after the bug man’s visit running around on the porch making noise to keep the birds away; since they were flocking to the fleeing bugs like it was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

You live and learn. Between my sinuses and the pretty birds in our yard we feed and have come to love, I doubt I’ll be signing up for bug spraying again any time soon. Just don’t let the spiders know! [Particularly the black widows!]

All Aboard!

I'm really not going anywhere. I've just always wanted to yell that.

"ALL ABOARD!!!" 

I feel so much better now.

My friend Robyn, however, is a jet-setter. Or rather, a Cruise-taker... and a Race-car lover. And a camper. She really gets around town. She even went to Blissdom with me as a stowaway in my luggage. Well... she was in my luggage on the way home. She flew out there via air mail to meet me in Tennessee. Remember?

I posted about it after I got home from Blissdom. And if you don't remember, you can take a look at Robyn's blog because I wanted to share that post about her flat adventure with her. She posted it this week while she's cruising around the... well, somewhere with gorgeous blue skies, crystal clear waters, exciting and exotic port adventures, carefree relaxation on sunny decks with every imaginable delicacy on the menu... you know - I'm sure you've watched an episode of 'The Love Boat', too. That's where I got all my cruise information, what little I have of it.



I'm staying home and trying not to be jealous. I wonder if she took my flat self with her to paradise? One can hope I'm having fun vicariously at least, right?

Stop over at Robyn's and let her know you are jealous, too!

The Viking is Alowing Me to Check In (and How You Can Win 100$)

Helloooooooo out there???

Popping in to say that I'm alive.

Still nursing a 10 foot Viking baby that is now running, tripping, and falling around our house... and getting in to everything he can find.

I thought I had free-time scarcity BEFORE he started walking. Sheesh!

On my blog plate: I've got a foodie post coming up today or tomorrow - be sure to click over on my food icon tomorrow to check for it. Also I have another installment of the Order of Operations (getting your ducks in a row/juggling it all) series and quite possibly another Homeschool Series post coming soon. I'm also thinking of starting a Wordpress for Extreme Dummies series (to discuss the migration of my Blogger blog over the next month or so).

We'll see how quickly the Viking-man lets me get to all this bloggy goodness. If it were up to him, I'd be on the floor handing him blocks to throw all the live-long day. Or allowing him to crawl up in to my shirt on a whim. Just call me Bessie.

He's a very busy milk-drinking boy. Did I mention that - or those?

DON'T CLICK AWAY JUST YET...

I did manage to get a post up somewhere ELSE today. A post in which you could win 100$ for commenting on. Yes, yes, I'm serious.

If you are a mom (doesn't matter if you homeschool or not), just answer my question at BlogHer for a chance to win some CASHOLA.

When did you wean your breastfed baby?

Here are a few details about BlogHer's "The $100 Question" in case you haven't participated before:

* It's a week-daily program (each Monday through Friday).
* A different blogger asks a question and one lucky commenter wins $100 from BlogHer.
* Comments must be made at BlogHer.com to be eligible for the prize.
* Commenters must be registered BlogHer.com users (all you need is an email address to register.)


My question contest will be open to comments on Friday, May 14 through Monday, May 17. Hurry over!

I can't wait to hear everyone's answers... because I'm currently in that "should I wean the baby" or "should I wait" phase. I'm torn between. The little rat has me wrapped around his Kewpie Doll finger.

He does look like the Kewpie, right?

I'm in his spell. The baby, not the doll.

Weaning is such sweet sorrow.

And so is not ever having time to blog. Not that they compare or anything.

I'm done now. Must. not. think about weaning. or I will cry.

Click away!




Subscribe to Sprittibee by Email 

Credits: photograph by Galessa (Wikipedia contributor)

Drifting off to Sleep... Remembering the Bluebonnets

I was tired tonight when I finally had time to get online. I sat down tonight to post and was flipping through my photos for inspiration. I got caught in the bluebonnets (they are almost all gone now - replaced by bright, sunny yellow wildflowers along the roadsides). Needed to share a few more shots from that day with you... straight out of the camera... before moving them all to my external drive where they await eternal storage or hopefully, printing.

They weren't perfect shots, but I love them anyway.

Just like life - wonderfully imperfect.

We pass up oportunities (like my extra outing I kept promising I would make to take more photos in the bluebonnets) all the time. Every day we miss chances. I've been pondering a lot lately about missed chances - about fleeting things I need to grasp... and somehow it seems far more important than blogging.

Not that blogging isn't wonderful, but it takes time... and thought... and lately my thoughts have been on the here and now.

Most of the time I have a posting schedule with a lot of ideas for things that I want to write about. Even on nights when I don't have a set topic I have been working on, the thoughts will follow if I just let my fingers hit the keyboard running.



Tonight wasn't one of those nights. Sorry for pulling a random on you.

I sat here for a while.

I stared at the blank screen with my fingers resting on the keys.

I wandered through the bluebonnets - remembering my promise, now broken, of taking more pictures before the flowers went to seed.

I felt my eyelids droop and imagined all the things I had to do tomorrow - the things I should have been doing tonight... like paying bills (ick) or putting away laundry (double ick).

I kept reminding myself of how I needed to post something, but my mind continued to drift off to the sleeping baby upstairs...

... the smell of lavendar linen spray on the sheets...

... the promise of darkness and quiet to come...

Sleep is a sweet blessing.



Even if there are things forgotten today. Even if there are things left undone. Even if the bluebonnets are gone.

What a gift to know that there's a new day waiting tomorrow. New adventures and wildflowers to discover.

See you there.

Help the Viking WIN Parents Magazine's Cover Contest

I heard about the Parents.com Cover Contest and couldn't resist uploading a favorite photo of the little Viking. Lo and behold, they sent me an email a few days later that said:

"Your photo is currently in the running to become one of our weekly Reader’s Choice finalists! The photo with the most votes this week will go into our semi-final Reader’s Choice round for a chance to travel to New York City for the Parents Cover Contest Photo Shoot."

I've never been to New York and we'd love to have his handsome mug on Parents Magazine, so would you mind helping us by voting for him? It only takes a few clicks...



You can vote for him daily... Voting ends 05/16/2010.

You can pass this link on and have your mom, uncle, and great-aunt-Sally vote for him, too if you want. The more the merrier!!!

Here's the link:
http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/283001

Thank you!