You Capture - Feet

You Capture has a new home for two weeks....what? you haven't heard? Beth is snuggling her newborn baby boy and Keli is hosting the next two weeks. Go check out this beautiful bundle of love and then link up at Keli's for more You Capture.

Feet!

Happy Feet touching the warm grass after being stuffed in boots all winter.

Duck feet and little boy feet.

Baby boy feet

Sleepy feet

Make Room for Bella

Ramblings.

It's all you're going to get here today.

In case you haven't noticed, I've been gone, no really gone, not just absent from blogging.

Spring Break.

One week in beautiful sunny, except for one day, Arizona.

With the family.

Well some of them.

More on that later, because it deserves a well written post.

This is not a well written post.

This is f&^k me I have a migraine, the neck roll, heating pad thingy filled with jell popped in the microwave, I didn't notice and it got my neck wet and when I went to touch it and see what the hell that was, I got what could be best described as gellied antifreeze all over my hand while I was on the phone with the union and now I'm going to die because they're denying coverage. f&^k me!

All because my head hurt too much to move stuff around in the linen closet to find the neck roll thingy that's filled with beads or rice or whatever that stuff is. f&^k me!

I had to do that now anyway.

Thank you Sister Mary ClaraCelibate for drilling into my head that haste makes waste.

Ahhh 4th grade at Saint It Was Dirt Cheap to Send Your Kid to Catholic School in the 70's. THAT would be a good post too.....someday.

My. head. hurts. way. too. much. (those of you mumbling imitrex just look up there where I said denying coverage)

So I'll be brief. I've noticed several (like 4 so far, in 2 days) bloggers are mentioning a well known blogger, whose name I will NOT mention here, because, well I'll leave it at just because. But anywho, my pup, Bella, has mentioned to me that this not-mentioned blogger has a dog that prolly makes a 6 figure income by parading around this well known blog and well Bella thinks she's way cuter and smarter than this other dog and deserves her 15 minutes of fame.

She doesn't need 6 figures, but a bag of chow and a bone tossed in this direction would be nice. Ehem, you hear this Iams! It's the Eukanuba for small breeds puppy food. We found that out the hard way, after 4 other brands in as many months. Bella could so be your spokesdog.

Just look at her!
She has a 16 lb bag of dog food on her head.

Take that Chuckles.

Just wondering, if I do mention her, and link back to her, will those links link back to me when people search for her? Cuz I sure the hell don't want to add to her crazy income, but would like a little more exposure for moi.

I'm Not an Etsy Virgin Anymore!

I recently made my very first ever Etsy.com purchase. Oh I've been looking plenty, borrowed some of the crafty ideas, just never had the desire to actually purchase anything until now. I actually found Sweet Tea Shoppe on a blog I follow. I had been searching for a stamped necklace for quite some time and when I saw that button I felt like it was time to take the plunge and get it done. Mother's Day is fast approaching and if I wanted a gift I truly loved, I'd have to get it myself LOL

Nicole was great to work with, she listened and made suggestions. Oh boy, did she listen, I've included excerpts from some of our emails:


Nicole,

Please don't laugh, I am horribly indecisive. I'm getting sweaty palms just thinking about this LOL. I love the heart with the cutout in the middle (rustic). Although I'm not too fond of that font pictured. Maybe I would prefer one uppercase letter and the rest lower case. Is that possible? Maybe just all lower case? Is there a single heart that is large enough to accomodate two names? TOF and Baby Moose. Maybe like the little cabbage or with all my heart? Sorry for all these questions, you're probably thinking I am a nutcase by now.

Thanks!

Rita

Hi Rita,

Don't worry, I'm exactly the same way when trying to decide on a purchase. :) The heart used in the my little cabbage necklace would easily accommodate both names. (Also, the caps font used on the rustic necklace is a very small font, and I do not have lowercase letters in that size. I could use the lowercase font I stamp most of my designs with instead, but it will take up the entire width from top to bottom, just so you're aware.)

Let me know what you think! And honestly, I welcome any and all questions. :)
Thanks,
Nicole

Ok I think I'm all set. The necklace I want is the "with all my heart" heart, the hammered one. With the names TOF and Baby Moose. I would prefer the word 'and' spelled out and since the heart will hang at an angle can you stamp the names on an angle instead of straight across as pictured? I would like the pearls to be pink and cream and the 18 inch chain is perfect.

Thanks for answering all my questions, I'm really looking forward to wearing my new necklace. I'm not sure how this private listing works exactly, so just let me know and I can submit Paypal later today.

Thanks again!

Hi Rita,

Sounds perfect. Would you like 'tof and baby moose' entirely in lowercase, or do you want the first letters capitalized?

Nicole

Nicole,

Yes I would like the first letters capitalized.


:)
Thanks, Rita! I'll let you know when I have this crafted and ready to ship. Enjoy your weekend!


Nicole,

Thank you so much, I'm really excited and can't wait to show it off!

Rita


Hi Rita,

I just wanted to let you know that I shipped your necklace out yesterday; it should be arriving soon. I really hope you enjoy it! If there's anything else I can do for you, please be sure to let me know.

I deeply appreciate you helping us along on our adoption journey.

Have a lovely week,
Nicole

Nicole,

The necklace came today! I absolutely love it! You did an amazing job and so quickly too. Thank you so much!

Rita

Hello Rita,

Thank you for letting me know! I'm so glad that you like it. Have a wonderful Friday and a happy weekend.

Warmly,
Nicole

Tada! Isn't it beautiful?

I love it! I love it! I love it!

TOF loves it too, he can read his own name now and his brother's too, so he just likes to gaze at the shiny heart and remind me that it says, TOF and Baby Moose love Mema.

Nicole did a beautiful job. The necklace arrived in an adorable little box. The Etsy equivalent of that little blue box. Seriously, the box is so stinkin cute! It was a very quick turnover. I ordered my necklace on March 5th and had it in my hands on the 11th, but be sure to allow ample time the closer it gets to Mother's Day.

Pop on over to Sweet Tea Shoppe and pick up something special for mom, grandma or yourself!

One last message from Nicole:

I'd be happy to offer your readers free shipping for a week after you blog about it. Please tell them to mention your blog when they make their purchase so I will know to adjust their invoice.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post in any way. I just wanted to share my opinion of a recent Etsy purchase with my readers. Nicole has offered free shipping to anyone who orders from her site for seven days, ending 3-26-10.

You Capture - Reaching

I'll be REACHING for bigger jeans,

now that the Nutella jar is empty!

Join Beth to see who else is REACHING.

Psssst, as long as you're here - check out my giveaway.

Zippity Doo Hair Products

Ahhhh SPRING!

It's that wonderful time of year again. The birds are chirping, the earth is alive again and that note from the school nurse has you itching all over.

Head lice.

Don't be embarrassed, it happens to the best of us. Poor Glitter Gurl was infested in the 2nd grade. I'm slowly getting over it (she's 22).

But now there's help.



Zippity Doo's is a new line of children's hair care products that help prevent head lice. This children’s hair care selection includes shampoo, conditioner, shield spray, leave-in detangler, and styling gel. The special combination of all-natural, organic ingredients found in these products repels and helps prevent the invasion of lice and other insects.

When my samples arrived I smelled each and every bottle, and the smell? AMAZING! No harsh chemical smell. Instead, I experienced the aroma of tea tree oil, lemongrass and lavender. Of course I tried them all myself and then Augie Dawgs used them on herself and the boys and I even got Glitter Gurl to try it. I can honestly say we were all pleased with the results. Shiny, smooth hair with the bonus of lice prevention. My favorite was the Shield Spray, I used it on TOF'S carseat on the bus. Can't be too careful in those shared spaces.

Use Zippity Doo’s™ :

	Bath Time: Zippity Doo’s™Shampoo and Zippity Doo’s™ Conditioner as first line of defense against lice and other insects.
	Every Morning: Zippity Doo’s™ Leave-In Detangler or Zippity Doo’s™ Styling Gel for an added and fresh layer of lice prevention before the kids head off to school or camp.
	Daily/As Needed: Apply Zippity Doo’s™ Shield Spray on all surfaces, including hats, helmets, backpacks, pillows, bedding, toys, combs, clips, berets and other items and hair accessories that may harbor lice, nits and other insects.

Look for Zippity Doo's at your favorite store or leave me a comment below to try to win a complete set of hair care products.

How to enter:

• Visit Zippity Doo's website then come back here and leave a comment telling me one of the natural ingredients used.
  

After that you can earn one additional entry for each of the following:

• Subscribe to my blog
• Follow my blog
  
• Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (you can do this once a day).

You must leave a separate comment for each entry and please leave a way for me to contact you. Contest ends 3/27/10. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I was provided an entire collection of products by Zippity Doo’s and MomSelect, as well as a collection for the giveaway. There was no exchange of monies to provide my thoughts in this blog post.

Just Fifteen Minutes

I am a Reading Mom.

I love to read. Books, magazines, blogs, makes no difference, I love all of them.

I began reading to my son shortly after I learned I was pregnant. If memory serves me correctly it was a Little Golden Book, titled The Gingerbread Man. Long before the Internet and digital books, I read that story to him every night so that he would become accustomed to the sound of my voice.

Check out Chicago Moms Blog to read the rest. Be sure to look around at all the other great posts too.

You Capture - Quiet

I almost didn't post today.

It's hardly ever completely QUIET here on The Avenue. It certainly wasn't QUIET early this morning as I sipped my coffee and listened to the thunder and lightening.

QUIET is something I really treasure. They don't call me the Sleep Nazi for nothing. When it's QUIET, very QUIET, I can have some me time.

Time to blog, time to catch up on Facebook, time for a little tweeting. But it must be QUIET, and we're almost there folks....




as soon as Teen Titans is over.

QUIETly head over here to enjoy more.

Suri and Shiloh Got Nothin'.....

Suri and Shiloh got nothin' on this boy's sense of style.

Rain boots and Spider-Man jambos is what every fashionable preschooler is sporting these days

Passing the time waiting for the bus. Best $2 I ever spent a garage sale - CandyLand Castle! We love this game. It's quick, it's easy, it's educational and it doesn't make me bonkers when I play it eleventy billion times.

Yes those are pajamas, or as we refer to them, jambos and yes, I sent my grandson to school like that today. Paleese. Don't judge and don't tell me you've NEVER done THAT! Besides its was a Spirit Day. This week the 3rd and 4th graders at his school were taking the ISAT (Illinos Standards Achievement Test). In support of their hard work, today was Wear Pajamas Day to say, "relax it's over, you did a great job."

TOF was up at the crack of dawn, ready to get dressed into his pajamas LOL. It's important to get excited over this kind of stuff and excited he was, just look a that cheesey grin.

You Capture - Hopeful

I took pictures this week, and as I released the shutter I didn't realize that those pictures celebrating love and family would fit in the category of HOPEFUL. Not until later that evening when we attended a celebration party. As my neighbor greeted us at the door, he was wearing a shirt that simply said "Got Hope?" And BINGO a light bulb went off in my head and it all made sense! (of course I didn't have my camera with me then)

Monday, TOF and I made a trip to Family Court. I'm not a stranger to Family Court, it's typically a place where people hash out their differences regarding child custody and/or support. But Monday was different, everyone was happy and I didn't feel the usual stress and tension. We had the honor of attending the Adoption Finalization Hearing for our long time neighbors and dear friends. Really decent people, professionals, who I never had a doubt would make awesome parents someday. Unfortunately, infertility reared it's ugly head and the road to adoption was a difficult one with several birth mothers changing their mind shortly after delivery.

Through it all, this is a couple that remained HOPEFUL and their persistence finally paid off when on March 1, 2010, the judge declared Baby Jay Z no longer their foster son, nor their adopted son, but their son, in the same way and with all the same rights as any child that would have been naturally born to them. When he brought down his gavel there wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to check out all the other HOPEFUL posts today.

1, 2, 3 Get Off My Apple Tree

If you're looking for me, I'm over here!

Chicago Moms Blog