Wordless Wednesday - Blackmail is Beautiful!

I can not wait until Little Man is 16 and giving me a fit! I'm going to whip this picture out so fast he won't know where to hide!! Hehe!

What a Busy Weekend!

Saturday was a big day for our little family. Little Man celebrated his 5th birthday with a small birthday party and Bear got his first tooth!!! Of course Jellybean was floating around all over the house during this time... Unfortunately he did not hit any milestones this weekend. Poor guy.

I still can't believe that my oldest is 5 and in school already. It feels like just yesterday I was laying on the couch, 4 days over due, still waiting for him to make his arrival so that I could walk again. Celebrating a birthday is such a bittersweet occasion. It's exciting to see how big they've gotten and to stop and reflect on all I've accomplished as a mother in the last 5 years. But it's also sad when you look at how quickly the time has gone by.

(When it was time to cut the cake we all sang happy birthday to him, and then I yelled "Make a wish and blow out your candles!" He then proceeded to lean over his cake, close his eyes and loudly whisper, "I wish I had a race car!" and then blew out his candles. It really was too cute!!)

It's also bittersweet when your baby gets his first tooth. It's exciting because you know that soon he'll be able to eat real food and will no longer require spoon feeding, but it now hurts when he grabs your hand and starts to chew on your finger. I know it's just one little itty bitty tooth, but boy is it sharp!!

We're Buying a Home!!

As many of you know I recently started working full time. Well as you all know with a full time job, comes full time pay!! And well, lets just put it this way.... my husband and I LOVE to spend money! So what will we do now? We've decided to buy a house! I'm so excited!

We started looking at homes about 2 weeks ago. We found a few that we really liked. Unfortunately they were all under contract. We were so bummed. Then we found this huge beautiful home about 10 miles from where we currently live. We fell in love.

And with any great love affair, comes a commitment. So on Friday morning at 8am we placed an offer. And on Friday evening at 8:30 pm we got a call from our realtor. They had accepted our offer!! (No, they didn't accept it just like that, but that's a whole other story!)

My husbands I screamed into the phone when she told me the news. I don't think I did. He's delusional. :) But we are very excited! So now comes all the fun parts... packing, paperwork, money, inspections, more paperwork, more packing, more paperwork, more money and more paperwork!! I hope you all will enjoy my ramblings as I document our venture as first time home buyers!!

We Will Never Forget 9/11

September 11, 2001

We Will Never Forget

Paper Culture Review

I LOVE cards! I love sending and receiving cards! Really. I know that snail mail is going out of style, but I still love checking my mail every day. Especially when I get a fun letter from a friend instead of a bill!! Maybe that's why I love Christmas time so much.... all the cards I get to send and receive. Well, I try to send them, when I don't forget. So when I was chosen through MomFluence to review a few products from Paper Culture I was more than a little curious and excited!

A few days later I received a little package in the mail. Being absent minded like I am I had no idea what could possibly be in the little brown envelope. I ran inside thrilled to have a 'fun' package to tear open! What was it? An assortment of brightly colored samples from Paper Culture!

Here's some background on the company:

The products are Eco-Friendly!! They come from 100% post-consumer recycled paper, are generated by wind power, and printed on FSC certified paper. This company really truly cares about our environment and is making every effort possible to provide outstanding quality products while respecting the environment. To learn more about all of their extensive eco-friendly practices visit Paper Culture here. And don't let the eco-friendly paper fool you.... it's super thick and GREAT quality!! I was shocked! It's much better than a Shhh... Hallmark..... Shh card!!

Paper Culture is also very modern in design! I was pleasantly surprised by how lovely the designs were! They pride themselves on the bright colors and are influenced by brands such as Apple and Kate Spade!! Have I ever told you I LOVE Kate Spade?

And my favorite part about this awesome company? The convenience solutions it offers! Seriously, if you read no other part of this post.... please, READ THIS PART!!!! Paper culture will actually stuff, address and mail your letters!! I know what you're thinking.... that's too expensive. No way. But it's not! The only charge is the price of the stamps!!! How cool is that?! Remember how I was saying I love Christmas cards, but always forget them? Well, here's my solution!! It's so simple!

What exactly do they sell? Invitations, announcements, thank you cards, and much more!!

How much are they? The card are as low as $1.49 each. And they're only $2.29 if you buy only one card! That's way cheaper than that standard run of the mill card that you can pick up in the mall! And now through September 30th you can save $15 on a purchase of $75 or more!!

I really to do LOVE this company!! The stationery is affordable, fashionable, high quality and environmentally friendly. Coupled with the convenience factor... you can't beat it. And I'm not the only one who loves it! Paper Culture has also been featured in Cookie magazine and in the 2009 Tony Awards Gala gift bag!!

Get more info!!

Website: http://www.paperculture.com/ Email: contact@paperculture.com

Phone: (877) 77-CULTURE (877-772-8588)

Paper Culture Location: California (Northern, Bay Area)

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/paperculture

Twitter: http://twitter.com/paperculture

About Us Page: http://www.paperculture.com/about-us.html

My 100th Post!! With a Target Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!

On November 15, 2008 I wrote my first blog post. It was a post about our sonogram results... when we found out that baby #3 would be another boy! Now, 9 1/2 months later, I've written 100 blog posts! Can you believe it!? It's my 100th post!!! I can't believe that I've written 100 posts! I didn't think I'd make it to 10 when I first started! It's so hard to really get into your groove and figure out what to write about, especially when you first start! But don't worry..... 100 posts later I have LOTS to say! Ok, then again, that may be a reason to worry....

And of course, I have to take a minute and reflect on all the fun I've had since I started writing!! I've "met" so many wonderful people blogging!! And I've even gotten a few awards! Personally, I've graduated from grad school, given birth to my 3rd son, celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary, had a child start kindergarten, had a husband get laid off of work, and then thankfully find a new job, and I went from being a stay at home mom to working full time! Holy cow! It's been a busy year! :) And there was even a few weddings and a funeral somewhere in there two! Shew!

Ok, well here's the fun part..... I'm going to be giving away a $15 Target giftcard to one of my lucky readers to help celebrate my milestone!!! Why Target? Well, it's my favorite store! And since it's MY milestone on MY blog, that's what I pick. :) (And because I thought all of you would like it too!)







Here's how to enter:


Mandatory 1st Entry: Tell me how you found out about this giveaway. For example, you already follow me.... or you found me through a link somewhere..... tell me where that link came from. You MUST do this to be qualified to win.



Extra Entries!



(1) Extra Entry- Follow me on blogger (or tell me you already do)!

(1) Extra Entry- Follow me on Facebook

(1) Extra Entry-Follow me on Twitter

(1) Extra Entry- Tweet this giveaway, be sure to link back to this post! This can be done once per day.

(2) Extra Entries - Leave a comment on another one of my posts here and then come back and tell me which one.

(5) Extra Entries- Blog about this giveaway!! You must leave a link to your blog post here.





Fine Print: Contest open to Continental US residents only. You MUST have an e-mail address easily accessible either on your blog or on your profile. I am horrible at scavenger hunts, so make sure I can find it, or just leave it with your comments. The contest ends at 12Midnight EST on Saturday, September 26, 2009. A winner will be chosen using Random.org within 24 hours of the contest closing. I will notify the winner by e-mail, and the winner will have 72 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn.



Thanks for entering! Good Luck!!

And be sure to check out the other giveaways going on around the blogosphere!







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