All {Gussy}eeed Up - A Giveaway

Ryan and I went to the wedding of a dear friend last Friday.


And I did get all {Gussy}eeed up, for the first time in a very long time.

I had the dress and the jewelry and I said to myself,

but I still need a {Gussy} bag. I really do.

I would have enjoyed this little wristlet for the wedding...

Yeah, I'm gonna have to get one, dontcha know?

And also, I shall purchase this cutie patootie for my computer-toting...


Now, won't you come along with me to Mama Manifesto, and I'll give you a chance to win some {Gussy} for yourself.

One last time. Say it with me....{Gusssssy} I love. Now let's go! (click click win win)

~COMMENTS ARE CLOSED HERE, BUT TOTALLY OPEN AT MAMA MANIFESTO~

From the mouth of Miles

Posted on Wednesday~March 10, 2009

The helpful brother:
Miles was trying to keep Asher out of a room and went to slam the door closed.

I said, "Watch out for his fingers!"

His reply? "I'm just trying to help you cause I'm a capable kid!"

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Potty training continues to go really well (or not):
I know he has to use the bathroom, but he's stalling so I say, "You realize if you pee in your Spiderman costume I'll have to wash it so you won't be able to wear it."

"That's OK BY ME! If I pee in it, I don't mind."

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On baking:
We made cookies together and I have no idea what happened to them, but they turned out awful. Flat wafers that tasted more like flour than sugar. I'm guessing some ingredients were added when my back was turned. Upon trying the nasty cookies Miles said,

"These cookies are not very tasty...it's like they're not very...sugary. I guess we'll have to call them healthy cookies."

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In the buff:
He has taken off his clothes and is walking around bare, carrying different clothes. Ryan asks him if he thinks he's going to take a bath.

"I'm not naked for THAT...I'm about to get UN-naked."
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I'm over at the Mama Manifesto today, thinking about the inevitable teen years and how a person goes about handling them. Will I be footloose? Or fancy free? You can check that out here. See you there. If you want.

Word up!

Posted on Wednesday~February 25, 2009

It's no secret that I'm a total scatter-brain. I'm in my own little world quite often. I've humiliated myself due to my busy and randomly over-flowing mind more times than I can count. Being this way does make for good stories though. So I'm rolling with my homies and telling one of the stories over at Mama Manifesto today. See you there. (If you want.)

(GRANDMA, PUT YOUR CURSOR ARROW THINGY ON THE WORDS MAMA MANIFESTO AND CLICK! MAGICALLY, YOU'LL ARRIVE AT MY POST! LOVE YOU)

Anger Everywhere

I've been in a bit of a funk lately. Okay, not a "bit" of a funk, but a full-blown funk.

I'm struggling with moods that aren't pretty. I've been allowing the negative thoughts that pop up throughout the day to win out.

One of the emotions that I so easily fall back on is anger. It's triggered easily for me. Sadness and confusion, they turn to anger. Fatigue and frustration, they turn to anger. I'm quick to snap at my kids and if my husband were here I'd snap at him too.

The irony of my feeling this way right now is that two posts of mine about anger are on two different sites today.

God certainly has an excellent sense of humor. And impeccable perfect timing.

One of these posts is all about allowing anger and then doing something healthy with it. I cannot tell you how much I needed to be reminded of that today. Anger is okay. Snapping at my boys is not. I will find a way today to release my negative feelings, without hurting another soul. This post, called The Color Red is over at the Bloggers Annex today. If you haven't been there, please check it out. It's a great place to discover some really good posts and bloggers. Anyone can join and submit their posts for consideration.

The other post is a recent one called Shake it Off. That one was posted today on Mama Manifesto. I talked in this post about falling back on the habit of anger. (Oh, the irony.) I said in this post that I do anger without even thinking. It rears it's head and I go with it. I want to learn a new way, a more peaceful way. But I've been forgetting in the midst of parenting alone with Ryan out of town, toddler tantrums every three minutes and the loud cries coming from Asher every time I leave the room. My response? Anger. Yelling. Impatience. Ugliness.

I've been talking about being more positive and going a little easier on myself lately here at the EO. I will keep trying. I will remember that I'm still a good mother. Sometimes I forget how to do that because it just doesn't come all that naturally to me. But if you check out any of the links in this post, have it be this one by Jess over at One Wild and Precious Life. In the midst of my frustration and anger yesterday, it was exactly what I needed. Like I said, God is good with timing. And He loves me. He even lets me know how much right here on the internet. If you are a praying person, you will absolutely love her post.

Here's to starting over. Again. Today. Thank God I'm not in this alone and that He thought up grace and mercy. He still believes that I am good. So I will too, because I think He's pretty smart.

A Latte Lunch and SOS

When it comes around to lunch time here in house of EO, I find myself standing in the kitchen, staring off into space, wondering why life has to be so hard. I mean...wait. Wondering why LUNCH has to be so hard.

I say things to myself like, "Why DO people have to eat three times a day? Isn't the prep and eating and clean-up enough of a time-suck that we could just skip at least ONE?"

Yeah, that's what I think about lunch. Most of the time. SO, I'm grateful for what's going on over at the lovely Jenny's place, A Latte Talk today! LUNCH IDEAS with Mr. Linky! If you have some, get your butt over there and share because (obviously) I need your help!

So you want to know what ideas I'M sharing for lunch? In true Heather fashion, I'm going to cut corners. Since I've shared that lunch DOES NOT come easy for me, I am stealing ideas from the Mama Manifesto for Foody Fridays over at Latte Talk. Yay, Manifesto to the rescue! You see, all I had to do was go over there and click on recipes and I was bombarded with PLENTY of tasty, healthy, quick and easy recipes for any meal. Many of which would work for, you guessed it, LUNCH. Here is the direct link to all the Mama Manifesto recipes: click here.

Speaking of Mama Manifesto, don't miss out on another Friday Give-Away over there today. This one makes me want to have more babies...sigh. But not right now, cause it really really hurts and I'm busy typing this.

Lastly, it's still September. Which means Soap Opera Sundays are being hosted here at the EO. If you haven't been bombarded with that information, you can read about it here. And if you've got a story to share, please do! The theme is "Three's Company...or Three's a Crowd" (You. A guy. A friend.) Don't forget that you can definitely stray from that theme. Submit anytime and look for an SOS post here on Sunday. To get your creative juices flowing I just have to share one that was already submitted. It's hilarious and um....SHOCKING. Good read! Thank you, Charrette!

Guess What?

You'll notice today (if you feel like it) that a post of mine is over on Mama Manifesto (you subscribe to it, right? I know you do because it's great and hip and informative and encouraging). So anyway, having a post over there is pretty exciting for me. I've been reading and enjoying everything on the Mama Manifesto since the first time I saw it. I guess you could say it was love at first site. Ha! Get it? Site? Yup, wicked sense of humor, huh?

But the excitement? It gets better. Why, you ask?

I have been asked to contribute to Mama Manifesto on a regular basis!

I couldn't be more flattered at the request, or more honored to be a part of such a great adventure.

Yes. Me. Little ol' Heather of the EO. I can't even stand it. So check it out and stuff. I really am a big fan of the Mama Manifesto. I'm a firm believer that encouraging other moms is one of the best things to do with the internet. The Manifesto is doing just that and much more.

P.S. I'm not only overly excited, but also just a wee bit nervous. What if they just had a little lapse in judgement asking me to do this? What if they fire me? What if I embarrass them?
My picture will not be as great as those beautiful photos of the Mamas! You know, stuff like that. Just ending with a little bit of honesty for you there. Thank you.

P.S. (again) I really will do the post I promised yesterday soon. Our family members are here helping us finish up the details on our addition today and I should really be helping. These people are a good example of what I talked about yesterday, doing something to help someone else. Not that our family is in the state of need as many others in the world, but in the words of Dar Williams, every act of kindness echoes, all over the world.