Great deal on Women's New Balance

Today only, you can score a pair of women's 850 New Balance walking shoes for only $29.99 and FREE s/h! AND they're pink - part of the Lace Up for the Cure collection (October is Breast Cancer Awareness month!). Get them here.

Can't wait to get mine!

Thanks to the Frugal Girls for sharing!

Give.

Blood, that is. Today, I gave blood for the first time. Here are my thoughts :)

1. I was a nervous wreck! I was so scared and I prayed the whole way there for God to give me strength to get through it. And guess what? It really wasn't bad at all! I can't believe I've been such a baby and let my own fears get in the way of helping others in need! So if I can do it, anyone can! No excuses!

2. There is a great need. The Red Cross's blood supply is really low right now. I know that when most people hear that, it affects them for a second and then they quickly move on. It's one of those "anonymous" things that we become numb to. Well folks, if you're reading this - you know a blood recipient. Blood donors saved my life. So please give. It could save someone you know.

Be nice to me, I gave blood today!

Mama Monday - Back to School

Mrs. Raccoon smiled. "Now,"

she told Chester,

"whenever you feel lonely

and need a little loving

from home,

just press your hand

to your cheek and think,

'Mommy loves you.

Mommy loves you.'

And that very kiss will jump

to your face and fill you with

toasty warm thoughts."

-From The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn

This morning the little prince started his 2nd week of kindergarten! He is such a big boy now! He did great every day last week, although this morning there were a few tears (I think lots of us want to cry on Monday mornings though, right?!).

Here's a picture of him on his first day of school.

Precious, huh?

My dear husband (let's call him "DH" from now on, mkay?) also started his 2nd week of school. He's teaching middle school World History and coaching football. He wouldn't let me get a pic of him on his 1st day. Men! Anyway, last Thursday, the football team had a jamboree game (a pre-season game for all you non-sporty folks) and they WON! They'll have their 1st regular season game this Thursday. I'm so proud.

I know both of my boys are going to have a great year!

****Disclaimer: You may have noticed that I didn't blog ALL SUMMER! I do apologize for being MIA but I was busy spending time with my sweet family. Now, I hope to be back to regular scheduled blogging ;)****

Thrifty Thursday (on Friday) - Pillows

Check out this awesome deal on pillows at Kohls.com! Use promo codes "SAVE15MAY" and "SHIP4FREE" for discount and free shipping. I just got 4 pillows for $17.65 shipped!

He is Risen!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Here's a quick recap of ours:

The little prince had an Easter party and egg hunt at Pre-k


Easter morning


My boys at church. They got so many compliments on their matching outfits (bow ties made by yours truly, of course!).


Ready to find some more eggs!


So blessed!

Kindergarten

I registered the little prince for kindergarten today.

KINDERGARTEN!

I am so not ready for this, although he was very excited. Especially because we ran into several of his friends while we were there. And he thought the playground was "giant".

I guess it's so hard for me because I equate starting school with not being a baby anymore. I mean, I know he's not technically a baby now, but he is my baby. It's gonna be a HUGE transition in our lives. Now where is that pause button ;)

Grow Your Own Easter Basket Grass

Do you hate dislike that tacky, plastic Easter grass as much as I do? Thought so.

A quick search will yield tons of tutorials on how to grow your own real grass for an Easter basket. But I think THIS is one I'm going to use. Cute, right?

If you plan to do it, get started right away because it takes a week to 10 days for the grass to grow.

I'll let you know how it goes. And please let me know your results too, mkay?

Interesting...

Womb transplants. Sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, right? But it could soon be a reality for infertile women. This is something I've actually been following for quite a while, although I'm sure I could never afford it. Still in it's infancy and very controversial, but amazing nontheless. Read the article here.

Lent and Project H2O

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I don't normally participate in Lent, mostly because I don't think about it. But this year - New Year. New You. - I'm doing it. For the next 40 days, I'm giving up Coke; it will be difficult but so worth it. Which I guess is kind of the point.

Also, as part of the Lenton season, I'm participating in Project H20. I've ordered a kit for 10 people. Basically, we'll pick a day (or maybe 2) and for that entire day, we'll drink nothing but water. Then, we'll send the money we would have spent on drinks that day to Project H20 to help provide clean drinking water to people in need. Pretty neat, huh? Let me know if you want to do it too :)

February Recap

February was a great month. Here's a quick recap:

February was mostly filled with party planning and the little prince's pirate birthday party. Aside from him being under the weather, everything went very well. We got him a membership to the zoo and we can wait to put it to use!

I started Spring Cleaning, but at my pace I won't be finished until April ;)

This time of year also means that it's time for the hubby to start on job applications for next fall.

Lastly, I ordered the little prince a BOOSTER SEAT. Those of you who know me well know that car seat safety is a big deal to me. He's 5 years old AND at the weight limit on his convertible seat. After a ton of research (I'm just a little obsessive), I settled on this one:

He's so excited!

Can't wait to see what March has in store!

Weight Loss Wednesday and Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

I forgot to weigh-in this morning (oops!) so I will do it tomorrow am.

This week I joined myfitnesspal.com, a free online program that helps you track your calories and exercise. Yep, I'm countin' calories... and let me tell you - it's no fun.

My motto for this week has been "calorie counting = my new enemy :("

Hoping to see results soon though! Wish me luck!

-----------------------

Also, this week is Read Across America Week and today is Dr. Seuss's Birthday!

The little prince has been celebrating all week at pre-k.

Monday was wear a hat day

Tuesday was team shirt day (he wore his Braves jersey)

Today (Wednesday) was sunglasses day and they visited the local high school library where they enjoyed a Dr. Seuss book as well as cookies and juice boxes

Thursday is pajamas day - the day the little prince is most excited about. we even bought new pjs for the occasion :)

Friday is crazy sock day

We love Dr. Seuss around here so this week has been fun!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
- from Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

Happy Birthday!

Mama Monday - My baby is FIVE!

The little prince turned FIVE (!) last Thursday. He's such a big boy now, even though he promises he'll always be my baby.

For his birthday we took cupcakes to his pre-k class and they sang him "Happy Birthday". He really enjoyed that. Later that evening, we had a t-ball meeting (yep, my baby's gonna play baseball!) and then went out to eat at his favorite Mexican restaurant. He wasn't feeling well by then though, so he didn't eat much and didn't want to wear the giant sombrero or let the wait staff sang "Feliz Cumpleanos," (which has become sort of a tradition in my family and is, imo, the best part).

Then, we had his party on Saturday. It was a pirate theme and I think it went very well. In fact, aside from the fact that the birthday boy wasn't feeling well, I think it might have been my favorite party that he's had so far. I'm not sure if it's allergies due to the change of seasons, or something he's picked up at school, but he was definitely under the weather. I don't have many pictures because he didn't want anyone to take any of him and he didn't want to wear his pirate suit. He didn't even get to open his gifts at the party because he fell asleep in my arms. But I do think every one else had a good time. We had a bouncy house, a treasure hunt, a tattoo and mustache table, yummy food, and a pirate ship cake. And all the kids looked so cute!

He finally felt well enough to open his gifts on Sunday morning. He loved each and every single one. You could tell by the "treasures" strewn across our living room floor that his is very loved :) Unfortunately, when everything was loaded into my car on Sat, some of the cards got separated from their gifts. So as soon as I can sort it all out we'll be sending out thank you notes, since he didn't get to thank everyone at the party.

and just for fun...

The little prince is born!

1st Birthday Party. Theme: The little prince is ONE!

2nd Birthday Party. Theme: Farm

3rd Birthday Party. Theme: Knights

4th Birthday Party. Theme: Rock Star!

Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Happy Birthday Little Prince.... er Pirate!

Party Planning

The little prince will be 5 on Thursday. FIVE. I'm still in disbelief, but alas there's lots of party planning to do... and this year it's going to be a PiRaTe PaRtY! I'm even working on my very first tutorial. (I hope it's ready by tomorrow!)

Thrifty Thursday - Cute, cheap, fabric shopping bag tutorial

I saw Morsbags on a another blog and fell in love! Cheap AND easy? My kind of craft!



Go here for the tutorial. Click on "make one" and you can view/print the instruction as word doc or pdf.



Of course, these can be used for so many other things - library book bags, day trip bags, etc. and you can choose any fabric you like! I'm thinking about adding some embellishments... maybe a flower or an applique... so many possiblities!



Happy Crafting!

Tshirts?

Alright mockingbirds, I need your help! I've been reading adoption blogs all evening and have noticed that many families are selling tshirts to raise money. I'm thinking I totally need to add some cute tees (for the grown-ups :) to my Mama Mockingbird line (after all, 100% of the proceeds from the things I make/sell goes into our "baby fund").

I'm thinking something cute (like the ones sold in boutiques), maybe with a favorite verse on the back.

Here's the part where you come in - Do you think people would buy them? And how in the world would I get them made? I have no clue! I need help!

Thanks in advance! :)

Weight Loss Wednesday - Week 2

I didn't lose ANY weight :(


... but I did get a Wii Fit and it's got me inspired so maybe that will change next week!

Hope you're all having a good week!

January Recap

A few days late, but here's my recap of the month of January:



DH (Dear Husband) started teaching Math as a long-term substitute. He'll sub for the entire semester. He loves teaching, but isn't crazy about Math (his degree is in History). Unfortunately, subs don't get benefits such as health insurance, so he's still working at his regular job too. Fingers crossed that this experience will help him get a teaching job in the fall so I can have my husband back :)!



The little prince (our darling son) had quite a month. He learned about dinosaurs at pre-K (his favorite is stegosaurus). He spent 4 days at Children's Hospital because of a sinus infection that spread to his eye. Thank goodness the antibiotics are working and he's doing great now. It was just so out-of-the-ordinary for us because he's always been amazingly healthy! Also, the last few days of January he started learning to read. He can read and spell only a few basic words (nothing tricky yet), but we're so proud of him!



As for me, I took the month of January off from Mama Mockingbird to spend some time focusing on being a wife and mom, and praying about my "new year. new you!" motto. I'm definitely ready for a new me!



Additionally, we visited a new church (and we really liked it!), helped the little prince raise money for a St. Jude Trike-a-Thon at pre-K, and signed up as neighborhood coordinators for an American Lung Association fundraiser.

Weight loss Wednesday - New Year. New You!

My motto for 2011 is "New Year. New You!". Part of the "new" me is, hopefully, a skinnier me (which is really more of an "old me" but whatever). And so here is my first Weight Loss Wednesday post. :)


I will NOT be posting my current weight because it is completely embarrassing! I will, however, be posting a weightloss tracker and any progress I make.

I'll also be setting goals for myself. My first goal will be tough but sooo worth it... when I lose 25 pounds, I'll be rewarding myself with some new boots (I'm thinking about these ... aren't they fabulous?) !!!



Wish me luck!

Tip Tuesday - "Double-sheeting"

One of my favorite tips to give new moms is to "double-sheet" the bed. This works for older infants, toddlers, and even big kids.

Here's how to do it:

When you make up your baby's/child's crib or bed, layer the bedding like this (from top to bottom):

Fitted sheet

Waterproof mattress pad

Fitted sheet

Waterproof mattress pad

Mattress

This way, if you child has a leaky diaper, wets the bed, vomits, etc. in the middle of the night, all you have to do it remove the top layer and you have clean bedding. So much faster than having to complete change the bedding at 2 am! I always did this when the little prince was a baby and I still do it if he has a stomach virus. Just makes life a little easier :)

I'm back!

After taking the month of January off, Mama Mockingbird is back in business. Things are still crazy around here, but I hope to be a better blogger this year. This post will serve as an introduction of sorts to my new blog format.

Mondays - Mama Mondays (anything "Mama" related; may be about being a mama; or Mama Mockingbird, the business)

Tuesdays - Tip/Tutorial Tuesdays (I'll post tips about pretty much anything OR a tutorial)

Wednesdays - Weightloss Wednesdays (here's where I'll be held accountable for all the weight I'm trying to lose!)

Thursdays - Thrifty Thursdays (this can be about coupons, trash-to-treasure finds, ways to save money, etc)

Friday - Family/Faithful Fridays (I've debated about whether Fridays should be for Family or Faith and decided that I cannot choose. so I'll do a little of both :)

I'm not promising to post every day, but I have made a commitment to myself to post at least twice a week.

Happy February!

Under Construction!

Hey guys! Mama Mockingbird is taking the month of January off to get her stuff together. Be back in February (with a new and improved blog!).