What kind do you use?

Are you loyal to a specific brand of soap? Do you just find whatever is least expensive and run with it? Do you use the same kind as your spouse, or do you (like us) have a few different bars in the shower?

Well dear readers, Victorian Rose Soap Company is hosting an absolutely fabulous giveaway! They are giving away 3 bars of their simply divine goat's milk soap. I've not tried this specific company's soaps yet, but I do use goat's milk soap and it is wonderful, especially now that we are getting into the colder, dryer, harsher temperatures of late fall and winter.

Please go visit their website and look around...they have so many different scents, some of which might actually make you lick your lips (please don't eat the soap ;). Take a few extra seconds to enter the giveaway. They have all sort of different ways to get more entries, upping your chances of winning. And if you don't win, consider buying some of their product (fabulous Christmas gifts, even if it's for yourself!).

It's been too long...

...not to let you know about a GIVEAWAY as one of my first posts back! Head on over to Catholic Icing for an awesome rosary giveaway! The Clay Rosary Girl is giving away one of her amazing handmade clay rosaries to one Catholic Icing reader! You get to choose any rosary!

Any.Rosary.You.Want.

Her stuff is just gorgeous, and she even shows you the process and the meanings to the beads as well!

So please, check out Catholic Icing and The Clay Rosary Girl today. Two incredible websites + one fantastic giveaway = lots of happy readers!

Spring is coming 'round.

At least this is what I hope. We had a breakthrough of warmer weather just a little while ago, but it gave way to nastiness and cold again. Today, the sun is shining bright in the sky; although it looks warm from my window, the breeze still has a bite to it. I hope that this is the last of it though, and that warmer winds will blow our way soon.

Spring break has arrived, and how quickly it came! The Boys are outside washing their bicycles down, getting them all purtied up. They've got cabin fever something fierce, and need to be outside!

Beanpole had a birthday...I now have a double-digits son!! *tear* He had friends over to the house to play the wii, and we had cake, ice cream and snacks. And after running out of gas on the main drag here in town, we also had pizza (ooops...apparently that low fuel light was burnt out!). Thanks to Andy for coming to pick me up, pizza and all!

Little Linebacker has also had a birthday, turning 8 years old. He did not have a party, which didn't seem to bother him in the least. Chances are, two months from now, he'll realize he never got a party, and pout about having one. That's how he rolls.

And just to my left lies a very sleepy Angel Cakes in her bouncy chair, which is decidedly *not* bouncing right now, because she's sleeping. We had a visit from my sister and nieces this morning, and Cakes' nap was way too short because of all the excitement. So I'm glad she's down now.

Big Boss Man also celebrated a birthday, same day as Little Linebacker's. One year older, adn I love him even more now than when we met.

We had a wonderful visit with my in-laws. I can honestly say, thankfully, that I have in-laws that I love dearly and actually enjoy spending time with. They came up from their home in a much more southern, much warmer state, to celebrate all the birthdays. BBM's brother was also able to visit for a couple days. It was wonderful having family near.

Oh oh oh!!! I also (drum roll please) finished my very first crocheted bag!!! Okay, so I asked Lisa about a pattern that I found online, which she has, not surprisingly, made before. Well, that's not the bag I made, ha!! Let me start at the beginning. My dear sweet mother taught me to crochet when I was younger, but taught me basic crochet...I never learned to read a pattern, and if I knew what a half double crochet was, I certainly didn't know I knew (ya follow me?). So, this bag isn't the first thing I've ever crocheted...but it is the first pattern I've ever followed. It turned out alright. I really don't like the yarn, but it was all I had on hand at the time, and I'm impatient and didn't want to wait for a trip to Michael's. And it was supposed to be a felted bag, but I didn't felt it because 1) I don't really like that look, and 2) that darned yarn again...wasn't the right type for felting. So, all in all it works for a crochet bag - it has room for a book of patterns, my travel-contact-lense--turned-crochet-supplies-bag, etc. The bag I'd originally asked Lisa about turned out to be, well, a little too complicated for my sort-of-beginner crochet brain, so I postponed it.

Now. I recently came across a website that sells incredible little hats...wait, I'm sorry, beanies and headbands for the little girls in your life. They are absolutely adorable! Well, they're having a grand opening give away (and when I went there today to copy and paste their web address, I saw a post that says they've gotten their store open as well!) So, go check out their Grand Opening Giveaway!! And take a gander at their store as well! (Plus they have a really good playlist on their website, lol! Normally those things freak me out, because I never know who's going to have them, and random music starts playing...but this one's good!)

Well the phone has been ringing off the hook, and I really should be upstairs painting, not down here playing. So until next time folks, have a sunny day!!

Right quick!!

Hurry! I know, I know, I'm being pushy. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I just found out about a great giveaway, but it's ending soon (like a coupla hours soon). And I haven't linked to a giveaway in SO long. But this one's worth it. Go check it out. And you know what? If you don't make it over to the site before the giveaway closes, check it out anyway. It's an excellent site, and it links to more excellent sites. I've created a link to her place on my sidebar, for easy access.

All Things Ribbon

Seriously folks (especially mom's of young lasses), get yer hineys over there and check her out.

What's in a month?

Seriously. What's a month in a lifetime full of them? Let's delve into exactly what a month brings at Whirlwind Lodge.

A month is me going back to work. This past Monday was my first official day back at work. I opened...on a Monday...which is scary. Thankfully, it didn't go badly at all. I even left on time, which is very unusual for a Monday. Also thankfully, BBM was off work, so I didn't have to think about Angel Cake being at the sitter's house all day. However, everyone and their brother (and uncle, and sister, and mother, dog, fish, etc.) wanted to talk about Cakes, or see her picture, or ask how her birth went (they may not be family, but these people have been customers for life, and went through this pregnancy with me). This means I had to think about Cakes ALL. DAY. LONG. And it means I talked about her ALL. DAY. LONG. And it means I cried A. LOT. Thankfully (I promise that's the last time I use that word), I got through it, and it's become easier throughout the week.

************************************

A month is The Boys and Angel Cake being christened. This happened last Sunday. It was a wonderful day, as we had multitudes of family in town for the event. My father-in-law and aunt-in-law joined us for 9:30 mass, we came home for a quick bite to eat, and then joined back up with them and the rest of the family for the christening. There were 2 other babies being christened, so lots of family and friends. Angel Cake wore a family gown made by a family friend from the wedding dress of BBM's aunt (a different aunt than the one that was here). The Boys were treated to special outfits by my dad (who was also in town). I think they're growing up just a little too quickly for my tastes.


The Boys all decked out.


During the christening.


Not that I'm biased, but those are some adorable children.


With the bonnet on...{sigh}

************************************

A month is dropping Angel Cake off at a sitter's for the first time. That happened this past Wednesday, and then again on Friday. She's only there for a little over an hour one day, and then about 7 hours on the other day. Luckily, our sitter lives just behind and down a ways from our house (within walking distance), so it's not like I'm driving all over creation before I get to see Angel Cake after work. The sitter also called me the very first day, at work, and said that BBM told her I was going to call her because, well, I'm me, and I don't like being away from Cakes. So she called to check in.


Beanpole holding Angel Cake.

************************************

A month is winning a contest over at Lisa's blog!!! She had a giveaway for one of her awesome little notebooks, and I won!! I got a "You're a weiner!" email (oh wait, well, nevermind) that said the package would make its way to me in Misery just as soon as her little fingers could package it up. A few days later, I spy a large white envelope in our mailbox, and I know that my prize has arrived! Inside, I find these: (and you're just going to have to excuse my pictures. I live for blurriness...really, I do.)



TWO packages?!?! How do I rate?!?

Inside the littler package:



Seriously, how nifty is that? She even included a pink pen, since I'm all about the pink now! What a fantastic prize. Then, she *really* got me, however, with this other thing I found in the envelope:

***I have to preface this picture with a short story. Ever since I've "known" Lisa, I've also known about her etsy shop. She makes rockin' things like stuffed weiners with really neato names (c'mon...Balle-Weiner? Cup-Pooch-ino? You just can't get any better than that!), log carriers (don't worry gals, she's got 'em in pink too!), and reuseable produce bags, among other things. Well she'd had something for sale for quite awhile, and I wanted it. I wanted it baaaaaad. But I couldn't swing it in ye ole budget, and I selfishly continued to hope that no one else would buy it so eventually I could get my hot little hands on it.***

So, story being told, here's what was inside the bigger package:



But wait, there's more!



Of course, I cried when I opened it, but then I promptly tried on the apron.



One side has the tea towel.



And the other? A pocket. A pocket fit for...a *notebook*!!!!



And the bag? The bag is lined in green gingham. I LOVE gingham.



************************************

A month is celebrating another year of being married to my soul mate. Big Boss Man and I reached 5 years of marriage on October 11th. We didn't go out...we didn't wrangle Mom into watching The Kids so we could invade some stuffy restaurant filled with candles...oh no. We ordered in...Steak Out, I believe. So while the celebrations weren't large, our love is, and continues to grow each and every day.


On our wedding day.

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So, while my hiatus from blogging didn't leave me with oodles of extra time in which to get the house all spic and span, or reach the bottom of DirtyClothes Mountain, or to finally finish Angel Cake's room, or to put down newspaper on the grass that we want gone for next year's hopeful flower garden...it did make way for other things. It was the last portion of the last maternity leave I'll ever take. I had precious time to spend with The Boys and Angel Cake. I think BBM and I even got to go out to dinner once.

But it's good to be back. Here's to many more months!!

My last prenatal appointment

Well, it's almost here!! In a little over an hour, I have my last prenatal appointment, ever. Should I take a picture as I go in the door or something? As much as I'm W.A.I.T.I.N.G. for this to be done, I'm sad about it too. Maybe I'll go in today and he'll tell me "Uhm, whoah! You're dilated to 5 centimeters...don't you feel those contractions?!?"

Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Other than that, I've got errands to run today...more of them. Well really, I just need to go to Babies R Us, because I found some old gift cards that I *think* will give us enough to buy the last big thing we need to get...we have one, but it's old and I can't figure it out and it will be safer to get a new one. We were going to buy it tomorrow, but I'll go today with the gift cards and purchase it. I also have some forms to fax off to work, and I have to call disability, because:

Yesterday was my last official day at work!!! W00t w00t!! So that must be done today so my pay won't get screwed up (hopefully). I've heard horror stories, so think good payroll thoughts for me, 'kay?

I also need to call The Boys' school and explain to them what'll be happening next Tuesday, and see if their teachers might have some extra worksheets or something to send home with them that day...to help occupy their time at the hospital. I'm also going to print out some coloring pages or puzzle pages I think, and have those packed with some crayons and colored pencils and plain paper. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated! And thankfully, I'm not worried about snacks, because this hospital *rocks* as far as keeping family members happy goes...seriously...it's like being in a hotel...they are there for no other reason than the patient and their family...it's refreshing, actually.

I think the rest of the stuff is home stuff to do...laundry (but no baby items...those are ALL. DONE), and that includes clothing and sheets, tidying up the living room/hall/kitchen, and vacuuming. This sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Well, first, I don't want LMJM coming home to an untidy house. Second, it'll feel so much better if I get it done now, then the upkeep will be easier once we come home. Third, I'm trying to go into labor here, people!!! But I promise to go easy and not do anything that makes me feel icky. Pinky swear.


*********AUTHOR'S EDIT: I haven't posted about a giveaway in awhile, but my morning blogroll found me staring this one straight in the face over at Around the Quilt Block. What an adorable bag!! Plus there's chocolate...and fabric (which I have a serious lack of). Check it out!

*********AUTHOR'S EDIT #2: Let me pose a question for all you etsyers out there. I found a fantastical book at the library this afternoon with patterns for some kitchen accessories...stuff that's probably way out of my league, since I was recently excited for a straight line; however, I looked through the book and although it says "no portion of the publication can be reproduced or transmitted", it doesn't mention anything about making things off the patterns and selling them. What's protocol on this? What if I make the cutsie-wootsie things, but change something slightly about the pattern? What if I don't change anything, sew it as is, but link to the author/book when trying to sell it? I've got no clue how to proceed.

CONTEST!!!!

I know, I know, I have to come here and glaot about how in less than 24 hours, I'll be in sunny Florida and not in gloomy Missouri...I'll get to the gloating, I promise! But for now, I have a contest to announce! I've been led to a new blog, and lo and behold, she's holding a Pampering Gift-Away!! You should see the list of loot you'll get if you win! So, as usual, Go. Read. Enter. Return.

The Simple Woman

I'm off to pack, and I promise I'll be back on later, to, well, gloat some more!!! :)

Been awhile, hasn't it?!?!?

Yes, quite awhile since I posted about...

A GIVEAWAY!!!!

So, without further ado, let me link you to a cool website with an even cooler giveaway. I'm going to make you click to see what the prize is, instead of telling you here. Give her traffic, people, give her traffic!!!

Old Red Barn Co.

So take a moment to go on over. Enter if you wish, or just take a gander around her site.

Did someone say "Contest"?

Alas, I did not win Patriot's BEKA Giveaway, but a really cool chic, Park Wife, won, and that makes the world a better place.

This week, he's giving away a Tazza Transparent Rainbow Glass ornament...it's stunning, truly stunning, even in the photo. So...yes...Go. Enter. Read. Now. Return.

Patriot's Tazza Glass Ornament Giveaway.

Are you back? Good then. Now I have another one for you. Pioneer Woman, as I've said in practically every post in some shape or form, is another cool chic. She's having a Surprise Give That Photo A Name contest today. It's supposed to be a surprise, but she spilled the beans a few days ago. Now she's teasing us, because as of 8:40am, it's still not posted. Ugh! Except that I just went to double check that, and it is posted. So Go. Now. Enter. Read. Don't-be-as-clever-as-me. Return.

P-Dub's Give That Photo A Name Contest.

Are you back again? Excellent. And now? The news. I just want to say that homes are not all they're cracked up to be when you view them online. I spent a good while in the past few days searching for homes for sale in certain areas of southern Illinois, and found a few that were actually in our price range and that looked "nice" in the pictures.

HA.

Apparently, realtors are realtors because they are actually magicians, but there are no magician positions open with their company. Did you know that they work magic with a camera? I'd swear to it. And they know when to take pictures of homes too...like when the grass is cut...and when the windows are all intact. I actually read a description the other day that said something along the lines of "All window coverings present". I imagined a classroom full of windows:

Teacher: Front family room?

FFR: Here!

Teacher: Side kitchen?

SK: Here!

And so on, and so forth. Then I actually may have teared up, because this home was so bad, or in such a bad neighborhood maybe, that they felt the need to report that all the windows still had their coverings...at least the last time they'd been there.

So I grabbed my mom, tied her hands, gagged her, and forced her to come with me into what would become one of the most terrifying experiences of my adult life (the basement of my current home still has it beat, but not by much). She actually volunteered to go, but I don't think she had any clue what I was getting her into.

I came out of the experience with a higher understanding of homes and the pricing of them, a greater knowledge of the backroads of a certain couple of towns across the river, and a newfound thankfulness for my life. And one, count it, ONE home left on my list to actually call on.

Contest alert!

Alright folks, it's that time again. Time for me to inform you of a cool giveaway on some other blog. Now I'm resting assured that you'll either A} Right click on this link and open in a new page, or B} click on this link, but promise to return to my page later. As much as I hate leading you away from my ramblings and carrying on, I do love a good giveaway! So go. Now. Read. Enter. Then return. Now.

Patriot's BEKA, Inc. Giveaway!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Did you know that our cat, Dexter, is hysterical? I think maybe all cats are, but he's hysterical and really cool all rolled into a furry little tabby. He's becoming whiney lately, which Big Boss Man blames on me, and I blame on him. BBM, for the first time in his life, has started sleeping with our bedroom door cracked, all because of Dexter. The cat would come in to sleep with us (or more accurately, sleep in between my knees), but then at around 4am, would decide that he wanted out. To pee? To eat? To chase his tail or a random piece of paper The Boys balled up for him the night before? Dunno. But out, all the same. So one of us would be forced to get out of our nice warm cozy bed to open the door and let him out. Then, just as we were starting to doze back off, he'd decide that being out of the bedroom wasn't all it was cracked up to be inside his wee little Tabby Cat brain, and by God, he wanted back in.

*sigh*

As I'm sitting here enjoying the last few minutes of the day, Dexter is sitting on the floor to the left of my chair. He's not laying there, like cats do. He's not even sitting down, with his front paws curled under him, dozing. He's standing there...almost at attention, looking at me.

At least I think he's looking at me.

No wait. He's not looking at me at all. He's eyeing the phone that's next to me on the desk. You'd think that a cat would have higher standards when it comes to playthings, but not our Dexter. He reaches up, standing on his hind legs, pawing at the phone. He wants the phone. He needs the phone. I'm thinking he may have found a girlfriend on one of his escapades outdoors, and is expecting her to call at any minute.

Now I'm wondering if his little wee-hours-of-the-morning trips were for more than just food or water. If I ever see him show the ability to unlock and open our backdoor, I'll know the truth. We'll have to rename him Dexter Bigolo, Male Gigolo.

Wanna contest?

Okay, so I'm not cool enough (yet) to hold my own contest. But I'll certainly link you to other ones I know about!! How about a cutsie wittle keychain digital camera?? C'mon now, you know you want it!! So go. Now. Enter. Read. Now.

Okay, addition: She's also added a subscription to Domino magazine! Because she's nutty like that! (Thanks Upstate!)

I'm telling you, her blog is cool. And since you all know and love me, you'll trust me when I say this. And if you don't know or love me, you'll at least be curious enough to click the above link and check it out. You'll click just so you can prove me wrong, but then you'll realize that I'm not wrong and you'll be forced to come back and visit me again. So go ahead. Click. I dare ya.

Romance novels and computer screens.

Odd combination, wouldn't you think? Me too. I'll admit it: I love me a good, trashy Harlequin. I am also a computer addict. But who would ever think that these two things could be combined?

Well friends, I've got news for you: I've got a website that lends romanctic real-life tales, but also, fantastic photographs, cute l'il anecdotes, tales of a family farm, and calf nuts. Yes, I said calf nuts.

I'm not one to linger over something. Okay, yes I am. I'm a harper. I'm a nag (no really, go ask Big Boss Man). I annoy. I harrass. I henpeck and carp about many a thing. This is no different. I've become addicted. Addicted to a story, first and foremost - a love story. A love story surrounded by cattle.

Now before you all run away screaming things about crazies and white jackets, let me explain. I came across this website. I don't even remember how at this point, but I did. And I'm glad I did. It's written by a woman with a fantastic view on life. She's got a humor that captures everything good about farm, family, food, love, and again, cattle. And she's a cook...an excellent cook. She makes some cinnamon rolls that most would kill for. And she has kickin' contests with even kickin'er prizes!

Alright. Are you ready to go look at her blog?

Not yet. That's right folks, I have to go on a little more about it. She's writing a story...a story of true love (and not in a "Wove...twue wove" kind of way). It's entitled "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels: A Love Story", and the latest installment tops her homepage. Now I'm going to warn you: go back into her history and read, from Chapter I all the way to where she writes now...you will NOT be disappointed. I don't care if you're not the romantic type. I don't care if you don't have time, or the spaghetti water is boiling over, or your washing machine has become unbalanced and pulled itself away from the wall, or that your leaves need raked. I don't care. Go. Read. Now.

Oh wait, I still haven't given you the website.

The Pioneer Woman

Now that you've seen it, I know you're all saying "But Ax Lady, this link is over in your Blahgs section...why bring even more attention to it?" Well kids, it's because her cinnamon rolls and love stories are good...they're that good.