I know ya'll love contests and your kids, if they are like mine, LOVE Fruit Rollups. Am I right? My kids always have me running up to the store because they've ran out of the fruit rollups. Hey, they aren't candy, this is suppose to be a lunch snack. But some how they always run out too fast. Hmmm. Well now you can win a personalized fruit rollup just in time for Valentine's Day.

Here's what ya do, head over to www.MyFruitrollups.com and click on start a new design. Once there you'll be able to decide what picture you want and a message. As you wait for things to load you'll be entertained by a little green guy with goggles on jumping up and down. (very cute, my youngest loves it)

Pick a picture, write a message and click order. That's it, it's that simple and you are even given a confirmation email.

I picked the: You Drive Me Nuts, which is a squirrel holding two arms full of hearts. I thought it was cute and knew the kids would get a kick out of eatig that in front of their friends. But being the sentimental mom that I am for the message I wrote: But I love you, Mom. You'll even get to pick if you want a 2 or 3 piece pattern Fruit rollup. After all is said and done and you've placed your order an email will come to thank you for your order, at this point you can click on a link and visit a page where you get to watch the process. I'm currently watching them stamp out my design.

The process: makes the rollup, prints it, cuts it, sucks it up and drops it in a box all wrapped up. The kids will love watching this.

My Fruist Rollups Giveaway:

Enter to win: All you have to do is comment below telling me your favorite Valentine's Day message that you ever received or gave. I can't wait to read the responses.

Prize: 3 free ($30 value) order of My Fruit Roll-Ups fruit-flavored snacks. This includes shipping and handling.

For those of you that don't want to wait and make sure you've got something for your kids, there is a $10 coupon code when you order. Simply type in: BEMINE and get $10 off your order.

Labels: contests, fruit rollups, giveaway list, myfruitrollups, valentine's day

Do you make under $60,000 a year? If so, your child may be able to head on over to Harvard for college. Yes, I know how expensive it is but so does Harvard. It appears that Harvard finally realized why the school was only getting those that had "money" and not those that didn't. In a way to get "the poor" families to the school they've decided to make going to Havard Tuition Free. That's right, for families that make $60,000 or less a year it will be tuition free.

Labels: Harvard tuition free, Harvard University

If you mail something from the US to ON (ontario) how long should it take? Friday I sent something for Next day delivery. It still hasn't made it. Should I be worried?

Labels: Fed Ex

Did anyone else lose all their favorites on technorati or is it just me? Okay ya'll, I need your favorite links for technorati, this'll be a long day. lol. Send them my way, drop them in the comments or email me at homemom3@gmail.com

What do you think of all the changes at technorati? I do like that the pinging is going faster.

Labels: technorati

I guess this picture fits the entry since I am 30 and I needed a change in appearance. My hair went past my bottom, it was chopped to just below my shoulders and I love it. Took them 4 hours to do this.



For more Wordless Wednesday participants please visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: perm, wordless wednesday

Okay so you already knew that but here is a quick list of what has been sent to me by email. Oh and later I'll come back with another list from what I've found searching. Remember if you have a giveaway and it isn't listed here drop me an email at homemom3@gmail.com

Or if you have a product you want reviewed, send it my way, I've got four eager children waiting to try things out. If you'd like a household product for moms or dads I'm always up for a challenge too.

Giveaways:

MomGadget has yet another fun giveaway, this time Gayla is handing out Momager Calling Cards. The next time you are on a playground or having coffee you won't have to search for a pen and paper, instead you'll have your card handy and ready so other moms can call ya up for a playdate. Your child will love ya for it.

Kailani is giving away a Insignia Pilot Video which means you'll be getting an awesome video MP3 player. Woo hoo! You know you want this, hurry over and sign up. Don't forget to sign up for her other contest to win personalized note cards from Sweet Pea Creations. Still looking for more? That's okay she's got two more for ya, enter to win The Tessy Tab Reading Club subscription or the Surf's Up with the Backyardigans DVD, which my daughter insists I sign up for.

Melody over at Pennies in my Pocket has two giveaways, one I posted last week, which was Custom Blog Design and this new one to win Set of 10 Gift Bags.

The girls over at Pinks and Blues blog have a few contests going on. Enter to win a Phil&Teds Vibe Stroller, which I could totally do since the two little ones and I will be walking everywhere. (another story)

There are a ton of giveaways over at Mama Loves Giveaways from OV Watch tests, $50 GC to Hanes, or even $60 basket of going green.

Today's task:

Clean following rooms: living room, dining room (wow I can say that now), kitchen, kids' room and stairs.

I have found that having a new house the above rooms are done in a matter of minutes, then I can start blogging, which I love. In the meantime I must tell ya'll I got to meet the stairs yesterday. See our stairs (width wise) aren't very big and I stepped a bit too far and went down a flight. My back is sore, bottom is sore and some how my left foot (in the arch). I now know to be careful, course I'm such a clutz I'll probably do it in a month or two.

Today we are learning the letter F, which means we must eat some fudge. haha, yes I know anything to eat the yummy stuff right. Hey, it's a good reason, it's for education. I guess I shouldn't tell ya that...

A is for apples
B is for baking
C is for cooking cookies
D is for dessert
E is for egg which is what you use in cakes
F is for fudge

hehe, hope ya like the alphabet so far, not sure what the rest of the week holds for us.

Currently it is snowing outside and if you'd like to read a little thought I had on it you can over at a new blog I'm writing at called Kansas City Blog.

The little man, he's busy playing with his toys and saying ma, mamum, etc. I'm loving this time in our lives, the only thing he hates is being blocked from places. The only thing I hate is he is a daredevil and tries to figure out how to go around those blocked places.

Labels: blogs, kansas city bloggers, schedules

The furniture arrived yesterday, which makes that the beds, dining room set and the hutch. Now I can't recall but someone asked me to take pictures of my furniture which sounded like a really fun idea, but I won't take one of the bed. Instead I'll tell ya the beds (4 of them) were all Sealy types with that feathertop mattress, which goes great with our Snoozer Pillows (review coming soon). Now I was told that our couch should be here on Thursday...we'll see.



Here is the dining room table and 6 parson chairs, I did toss a tablecloth on it though so I'll have to add one more photo so you can see what it looks like underneath.



The Chair: (our chairs are olive)



My favorite thing in the world is my hutch, which is already displaying a few of the dolls we got in Vegas. Isn't it pretty?

Labels: dining room table, furniture, Nebraska Furniture Mart

How was your weekend? Mine has been pretty interesting and a bit busy, I mean with the cops at my door late last night. (read that post for more details.) Friday we treated ourselves to Bob Evans, which I'll definitely be eating there again. Now I'm no meat eater, however I LOVE their meatloaf and I seem to be on that kick right now.

Yesterday and today we basically stayed home, this is nice as we haven't done this in a long time. Instead we organized the house a bit more, unpacked a few more boxes. Heck check out the new kids' toy room.



What kid wouldn't want a room like this to play in? Oh and to help the older three out, I let them have my office for now, since I don't have a desk yet. It was the only way I could see keeping Little A from attacking all their tiny toys.

I've always been working with my buddy, GarryConn, together we've built a site called, "Bitchingandblogging" yes I know there are curse words in it but this will be a place away from Homemom3 that I can basically vent without worrying about what words slip through my mouth. Please stop in and visit us, drop a message or a rant. Yes, even you can post your own rant, without worry about revealing your name.

In order to leave a rant just email your rant (with a title) to: AddYourRant@ Gmail.com and like I said it won't reveal your name. To prove this check out one of my rants: Cell Phone Drivers

So what have you been up to this weekend?

As ya'll saw, at the beginning of the year I started my blog off with a whole new look. I figure 2008 is the year for a change, a time to take chances on things I normally wouldn't and since my site is my job (more or less) that is what I'm doing.

New site
New equipment
new books

These are just a few things I've done for my site. The new site design was done by my pal, GarryConn, who just so happens to have just released his own version of his wordpress design today. He even has a DIGG article for those that would like to digg it for him. Check it out! Hey, he makes money.

The new equipment? Well as I mentioned over at twitter.com today (homemom3), I went to Best Buy and grabbed up a lot of movies. That's when hubby saw a 2 computer program set for $30. It was a Website Promoter and the Website Creator, which I've already started using the first one. Has anyone checked out either one of these? I'd really like to know your take on them. So far I love the fact I don't have to submit my stuff to search engines any longer as it does it for ya. I'll give it a try for a little bit and let ya'll know how I rate it.

Books, well besides Hooked on Phonics I've been grabbing all types of Dummy books on blogging, designing and website stuff. Any suggestions?

Labels: digg, make money, promoting, website creator, website promoter

You may and may not remember when I use to homeschool my two older children and how very sad I was when they went to public school. I just loved homeschooling so much. Guess what?

Okay as ya'll know three out of four of my kids were in school when we were in the mlitary, however getting out here the age limit for Kindergarten is 5 by July 31 and BabyGirl will be 5 August 2. She won't be started Kindergarten out here this year like she was going to be in Camp Lejeune. Which means I have decided to finish the rest of her preschool year and kindergarten by homeschooling her. Oh and I'm loving it.

So far this is what we are learing:

Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read PreK Edition. I am loving this too, she pulls out her cards for the day, watches a dvd, plays a computer game, colors some pages, sings ABC songs and reads a book. Course we also do things related to the letter, for instance on C we cooked cookies. B was baking brownies and today she made Dinner for D.

Don't think I'm slacking on teaching Little A either, he's learning how to read. Yes, he isn't even a year yet. He's learning by using the Your Baby Can Read which I'll be reviewing very soon.

What do you use to teach your preschooler?

Labels: your baby can read

OpinionMom is offering to help some of ya'll sign up for FREE sample of Skin MD Natural lotion. Hurry on over to sign up, she only needs a few more. Have you ever tried this? If you have what did you think?

Opinion Mom is all about one mom giving her opinion on products and life and every Wednesday she posts a Wordless Wednesday photo. This week she's got a gator, eeek, I sure hope it wasn't in her backyard. Plus if you stop in on a Friday she has a Frugal Friday, learn how you can save money on things you normally do.

Labels: free sample, opinionmom, product sample

Ya'll liking the giveaways today? I sure hope so but I couldn't stop there. Here are a few more that I was told about.

First, as ya'll know I write at many different blogs. One that has become a favorite of mine is Celebrity-Access and I currently have a contest going on over there. All you have to do is link to the site in a blog post to win 3 free months of advertising in the sidebar there. For 2 extra entries in the pot, toss a link to it in your blogroll. Good luck!

Over at MomReviews, Elizabeth is giving away a Kiehl's Crème de Corp pack

Let your little girl be stylish with her very own Plum Peony black hat from the girls over at Momma Loves Giveaways, sponsored by Baby Cha-Cha Boutiquete.

Before I forget head on over to Table for Five for a chance to win a $50 Target Card

Seven Dogs and a Baby is giving away a pair of Muffatees to warm the tops of your hands without wearing mittens.

Labels: gc giveaways, giveaways, January giveaways

Oh gross! That was my first thought as I hear "Moooomm, I just got sii..." and immediately following that upchucking sound that makes you jump up and rush your child to the bathroom. Course we didn't quite make it, we marked the carpet and the bathroom floor as we ran. This was how I woke up on Monday, the day we were suppose to sleep in because of holiday.

Let's just say after scrubbing the carpet, moping the floor and wiping down BalletGirl I didn't feel like going back to bed. Heck, I'd probably get it on my face the next time she got sick. No thank ya. I love her dearly but this was not the way to start the day. Ikkk. No clue how she got sick either, it just came over night. How long did it last? It seemed like a 14-24 hour thing, depending on when she began feeling ill. She was fine though by the afternoon.

But due to the occassion run to the bathroom that day I kept her home on Tuesday as well. She claimed she still didn't feel well and cuddled up to me in the living room. Since we still only have the one vehicle I wasn't chancing having to walk up to the school and pick her up in case it happened.

She was bored for most of the day until I broke out the coloring book, crayons and reading books. That's what seemed to make her come back to life, by the afternoon she told me she definitely wanted to go to school Wednesday as this was just boring. hahah.

What do you do with your child on a sick day?

Labels: sick, sick day, sick kid

This was taken yesterday while the kids had fun reviewing a product. (review coming soon) Don't forget to check out all my giveaway listings.



For more Wordless Wednesday participants please visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: face painting, wordless wednesday

Do you have a giveaway that isn't listed here? Make sure to email me at homemom3@gmail.com and as always we are always willing to host a giveaway here or review a product. Just drop me an email at the address above or leave me a comment.

Pennies in My Pocket wants to give someone a $50 GC for Quote. These are beautifully scripted phrases you place on your wall.

Blonde Reviews is giving away a $75 GC to Peternity, make sure you buy something special for your pet.

Bloggy Giveaways always has something to giveaway and here are a few: $50 GC to Kangaroodle, Oreck.

It's a $240 Valentine's Day Giveaway at MomGadget. Items like a beautiful black purse, perfume and of course Ferrero Rocher Chocolates (yum).

Remember a while back I reviewed The Boon Animal Bag from Boone over at MomGadget? Well we loved the stuff very much and hopefully we'll have money to buy a few of the items. In the meantime I'm signing up for the Boone plates over at Our Seven Qtpies. There are so many wonderful ideas over at Boon, you should check them out.

Christine over at From Dates to Diapers is giving away Love Notes earrings.

Spoiled Pretty is all about spoiling yourselves and with their newest contests it is no different. Enter to win their "Philadelphia Phocus Giveaways for Moms. The Butter Kisses sound very nice, I'm definitely entering this one. You can win a $50 gift basket (full of yummy smelling soaps and stuff), $25 and $15 gift certificates.

Labels: gc giveaways, giveaways, January giveaways, plate giveaway

Okay here is a quick list of book giveaways from around the net. Not to worry I'm not just doing book giveaways, stick around I'll be back with more. If you have a book giveaway that isn't listed here, drop me an email homemom3@gmail.com

Before I forget if you have a book out or coming out I'd be happy to review it and give my opinion in exchange for 2 books. One book for myself to review and one to giveaway. homemom3@gmail.com

Variety of Words is having their very first book giveaway, show a little love and sign up.

Katrinastonoff (sorry don't know the name) has a Monday giveaway. Next week there'll be three winners.

Stray Talk is giving a copy of Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton anywhere in the world, even Canada ya'll.

Here's one that'll be fun for those of you that like to dress up your pets. Martaa Costa is interviewing Nancy Levine and having a giveaway. Enter to win by leaving a comment and you may be getting The Ugly Pugling in the mail.

Over at EverythingMoms they are giving away The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James, hurry on over to enter. You may even when the bracelet.

At DollDiaries they are giving away magazine subscriptions that your children will be doing their chores to get. One is Barbie and the other is Hot Wheels....got any little ones?

Last, but certainly not least we always have Camy's Loft and this week she's giving away two different books. Not Exactly Eden and Heaven's to Betsy

Labels: books, books giveaways

Okay, as many of you remember, the place in North Carolina had a bug issue and instead of bringing them with we decided to leave EVERYTHING behind. By everything I mean we brought no dressers, beds, desks, tables...furniture at all. We knew we'd have to rebuy everything once we got here but the cost. Oh my! But it was high time we bought new stuff, everything we owned (besides beds) were hand-me-downs from one place or another and we've been married over 10 years.

We couldn't do any shopping until we finally found a place to live and of course the day we were told we could move in we drove to the stores close by. Course those were Walmart, Kmart, Target and Sears Grand. We didn't really want to put anything together though, but we did buy a few dressers from Walmart and an entertainment center. Both were good prices and we'd shopped around. Sears Grand doesn't deliver so we decided against the dining room table but still got a few toys for the little ones. Hey I had searched for that tiny little Leap Pad guy that sings the ABC song everywhere.

After we thought we'd just have to buy everything at WallyWorld we asked our landlords about furniture places nearby because everything that came up on google had gone out of business. They directed us to a place called, Nebraska Furniture Mart. WOW! This is a two story building (more like a furniture mall) and has everything you could possibly need to decorate your home inside. Prices are reasonable too, in fact they are so reasonable that people in both Kansas and Missouri go there to get furniture, which is why many places had to close their doors. Normally I'd boycott a place like that as I believe in the underdog but with prices like they have I had to say yes.

First thing I saw was a beautiful black desk, that came with a soft chair and filing cabinet all for under $200 and this was a VERY nice desk. We didn't pick it up right then as we wanted beds first. So off to the beds we went and grabbed one for everyone...everyone except Little A as he'll be in our room in the crib. Once old enough we'll go back and get him the pirate ship bed for under $200. We also picked out a sectional couch with a chaise (sp) that was really soft. Both the beds and couch were suppose to be here this Monday (tomorrow) but something happened and the couch will be here next monday but the beds will be here. Before thinking kids are sleeping on the floor, we bought each of them air mattresses (and us) which I think I'll still keep mine. lol. Shhhh.

We went back yesterday as I still wanted a table to eat on and we just couldn't see paying $200 per chair at some of these other places. No way! In the clearance side of Nebraska Furniture Mart there were many dining room table sets. We saw this dark one that I loved and had six chairs and immediately sat down. It was a dream but I was afraid of the cost. $899! OUCH! Right? Nope, not only did this nice table come with 6 Parson chairs (normally $200 each) but it came with a china hutch. WOW! I've always wanted one and with all the porcelain dolls he bought me during our trip I had to have a place for them. So I guess I'm writing this to tell you I've found a great place for furniture and if you have one in your area you might want to check them out.

Omaha, Kansas City and Des Moines are the only places I see them at on the site. Hopefully you've got something like it. We never had, otherwise I think we would've had new furniture a LONG time ago. Check google.com and type in Nebraska Furniture Mart to see if one pops up in your area.

Labels: beds, couch, desk, dining room table, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Parsons chair

The kids got yesterday off school due to the snow. Yep, it's a Snow Day! The kids were a little down until 10 am when I had them go throw snowballs at each other. Now lets rewind a bit, when they woke I took each one to the back door and opened it. They got to feel the cool breeze blow against their skin and then I had them bend down and put their hand in the snow. Hey, I wasn't sure how long the snow would last and it was way too early to play in it.



To me it looks just like powder when the kids are playing, it's still to....ummm, I guess too dry to make snowballs but they scooped up the snow and tossed it anyways. I love the way it makes everything look.



Outside my window is a few inches of snow, the chair that sits out there is piled in it. But looking past it you see the city as quiet and everything seems to be in slow motion at the moment. There isn't much traffic and the few people that come out are quick. I saw someone try walking their dog, but it didn't last before they quickly ran back in. Across the street are kids sledding down the hill, looks like I'll need to buy a sled. Not sure where though.

Oh but of course we all sat around the dining room drinking hot chocolate. Now off to show you some photos.

Labels: school closing, snow, snow day

During the course of living on the road, from one hotel to another we ate out a lot. As I'm sure many of you can imagine, it put on some weight....a lot of weight. So once the house is completely moved in I'll be hitting the treadmill, little bike machine and walking up and down my three sets of stairs many times a day. Once the weather warms up the two younger ones and I will be going on daily walks. There's a cemetary near my house and I can't wait to visit that and find out the history of the town. Anyways, hubby plans on joing the 24 hour gym down the street while I work out at home, I might stop in there from time to time though.

What are some ways you lost weight? I'd love to hear some things. I know there are many weightloss companies and books out there but there are just too many to choose from.

With all this being stated I was wondering how many of you gained weight over the holiday? Did you make a resolution to lose weight? Have you done it? I know there are a ton of bloggers that have either gained/lost weight and some have began to diet while others have stated they plan on going on one. Garry Conn has even wrote an article on it where he believes when you begin making more money blogging you eat out more. Do you believe this? I know from just us getting out we ate out more, heck why do you think there are no pics of me on the computer right now.

Before you ask, I do plan on stopping the breastfeeding thing here in a month so I'll be free to diet as well. Got any great secrets for me? I just bought myself a few boxes of Special K so we'll see how that goes and I'll be drinking tons of water, fruits and veggies now. Thank goodness we have a home finally, real food instead of take out and drive thru. Don't get me wrong that's good and all but you get that tire from it when you do it too much.

Other blogs that mentioned weightloss:
Weightloss 6 Strategies for Success
Lose Weight Fell Great

Labels: gaining weight, losing weight, weight loss

For more Wordless Wednesday participants please visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: wordless wednesday

Well, things were a bit crazy yesterday as we had to run out and buy a few more things for the house. Next on the list is a dining room table and a desk for me. Right now the kids are getting a kick out of using the boxes as tables. I'm waiting for them to try to make their own forts in their.

Hubby got home moments before the kids yesterday and told me that SoccerBoy got into a fight at school. I was worried of course and he really had me going for a while. Then he said, NOT, he only fell and cut up his head. Eeeek! I'm thinking the worse as kids never really had recess in the other school and this one has recess and gravel. That's when he got off the bus and I saw the bandaid on his head. One look and yes it was a goose egg but it wasn't as bad as I was picturing. Poor thing had a headache though.


Okay I'll be posting my wednesday pic here in a minute. It's suppose to snow tonight so it'll be in regards to that. Oh this morning I had a heck of a time getting the kids to the bus stop, only 3 houses away. The whole sidewalk was iced. haha, Imagine me (clumsy) and three kids with a stroller. Yeah not fun and in order to get back in the home I have to walk up stairs with a baby in my arms, BabyGirl walking in front and me dragging the stroller. Fun fun, thankfully I'm not going anywhere today. Hope to take actual pictures of the snow for ya'll though.

Labels: goose egg, injury, school

Hmm, can ya not figure this one out?

Unpack, but this is a huge task and I don't expect to do it all this week but we need clothes so that is #1. Unpack clothes.

- unpack clothes
- assemble 4 dressers
- assemble 1 bookshelf

- Bring up a box of toys (not bringing all toys up until beds are here)
- Bring up box of books (kids)
- set up area for homeschooling. (BabyGirl will be homeschooled for a year)
- get back to blogging
- call for trash schedule
- call for cable (I'm going nuts without tv) (love news and BabyGirl likes cartoons)
- meet other families at school dinner get together thing
- decide if going to game night (thursday)


The paper will begin arriving soon, so I have some form of area knowledge.

Labels: monday, to do list, unpack

Yesterday was the first of many things in our new life, we officially moved in. By this I mean Sunday Night was our first night in our new house and Monday was the first day for the kids (going to school) and hubby going to work. The two younger ones and I stayed home unpacking and assembling dressers, bookshelves and a few workbooks.

Due to only having one car I was unable to do the whole, "walking your kids into school on the first day" so I felt pretty weird and lousy by it. It is strange, they've been home since the beginning of December and went back all day yesterday. By all day I mean they start at 9 and end at 4. I had never heard of this but it works out great for them, except because of coming home later it is darker faster so there is no playing outside.

BalletGirl came home with a friend's phone number and SoccerBoy told me he made friends with four boys and a girl so this is both great news. I honestly wasn't worried about BalletGirl, but SoccerBoy I wasn't sure of.

Don't think everything went smoothly though. lol. It's me, how can it? School called right after I came back in for putting the kids on the bus (first time ever doing that) and they told me they needed the lease. Without it kids couldn't start. Akkk. Okay I had it, got it during the weekend...but no car and it was too cold to walk the kids (two younger ones) all the way up to the school. They pulled the kids from the bus and had them sit in the office until things got worked out. They'd call me later when they knew what to do. Within 10 minutes I was called and asked if I was okay with the principal driving over and picking it up.

WOW! Talk about cooperative and a blessing. Yes! That's great. I thanked her like a million times. Kids were sent to class and I hear that my little girl (BalletGirl) chattered away the entire time in the office. lol. She is my social butterfly.

The principal came took it and brought it back after she copied it. I think I'm going to LOVE this school. As for students, there are less than 300.

I did wait for furniture to get here and we bought a bunch over the weekend and were told see ya monday. By 8 p.m. I called, I was mad, where was it. Apparently they meant Monday, the 21st. lol.

Labels: first day, first day of school, first day on job, moving in

This is currently on the news:

Sheriff Ed Brown has apologized for stepping out of his normal character, it seems that this case has hit him really hard. (of course it would) He is stating that he is a fair man and will only announce things in a press conference for all.

His notes:



Received info last night that someone has seen Cpl Cesar Armando Laurean and there is a massive manhunt. (near midnight) The sighting was not in North Carolina but they were hoping to bring him in around 8 a.m. The sighting was a transient sighting.

No news on whether others will be arrested.

A female body with a fetus was found buried in Loren's yard, however it hasn't been confirmed yet that it was the Missing Pregnant Marine.

The remains were found in a fire pit in his backyard in a foot of ashes. Laurean had left his wife a note telling her where the body is. He left her a note and fled.

Labels: armando laurean, jacksonville, marine corps, missing marine, north carolina, pregnant marine

Missing pregnant marine is being stated as dead, currently the Onslow County department is in search for her body. They are also in the search for the comrad, Cpl. Cesar Armando, they believe to have possibly raped, Maria Lauterbach. She was due in court to testify and instead turned up missing, no one has seen him either.

Labels: marine corps, missing person, pregnant, pregnant marine

Do you ever find the need to write down a password so you don't forget it? I'm none to do this and have lots of sticky notes all over my computer wall, it gets crazy. Course when it comes time to find that one particular site it takes about 15 minutes to look through all those little notes for the right one. Gayla over at MomGadget is currently giving away a neat little Internet Password Organizer to give away...actually she's giving away two. Hurry over and sign up, I just did.

Char over at CasualKeystrokes is having a giant Sticker giveaway. Here is the list of items you can win.
one (1) Smell Sticker collector Album
one (1) diary with lock
one (1) scented stationery set
four (4) packs of Smell Stickers

Matthew over at Blog About Your Blog compiled a list of giveaways just for you from around the net. You may even want to check out his latest banner offer. I took him up on it for $8 this month and love my banner.

Like books? Check out BK Giveaway and sign up for a chance to win one of 5 books.

Delphine has two great contests for you to win some homemade soap. One is for a Sunless tanning soap. Sounds neat doesn't it? Now you don't have to tan outside and chance skin cancer. Or there is always my favorite, Caffeine Jolt soap.

The last two giveaways I'm listing for tonight are over at Spoiled Pretty to win some Profound Beauty hair supplies. I'd love to try this on my mane.

Carpe Libris is giving away a book called, "Meat and Spirit Plan by Selah.

Remember if you have a giveaway drop me an email at homemom3@gmail.com and I'll be happy to post it. I'm also happy to have them on my site as well if you don't want to host them.

Labels: book giveaway, giveaway, January giveaways, soap giveaway

Just letting everyone know that we have a house. Hey, there had to be good news soon right? We find out this weekend about the damages on the car and if they will write it off as a lose and trash it or what. As for the kids, we'll go tomorrow to sign them up and they get to go to the school I've been reading about for the last two months. Woo hoo!

Oh that house, it is a four bedroom, 2 living room, dining room, kitchen, balcony, and two bathrooms. I like it, rooms are a bit small but everyone gets one and it is walking distance from the school. Which we currently need with only one vehicle.

Labels: house

Lance Cpl Lauterbach (Maria Frances) turned up missing only days before she was due to testify in court against someone. She's a female marine and she is pregnant, if you've seen her call and let her family know where she is. She is from Camp Lejeune, NC and I saw on the news this morning taht she was missing. No, I didn't know her but I'd like everyone's help in finding her. Have you seen her?

Labels: 2007, Maria Frances Lauterbach, missing person, north carolina, pregnant woman.

You tell me this girl don't like Ribs. :) Have a great Wednesday!!



For more Wordless Wednesday participants please visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Labels: wordless wednesday

And he's off, flying high in the sky. Okay, not really. It's the "Let's Go Airplane" from Jakks and I've been keeping quiet about this one and I have no clue why as we just love it. Little A likes to drop it from his playpen, take it to Ihop or even scoot it along his playpen. Now I'm not sure if this is true but according to SoccerBoy and BabyGirl this plane if you scoot it back and let it go it also lifts off. I think Barney's imagination got the best of those two as I've tried many times and he just runs down the carpet. Okay, not runs down but drives.

This is not a noisy toy and it doesn't even take batteries, which means it is every parents dream come true. If planes aren't your thing or your childs there is the fire truck and I'm sure if you wait a bit Jakks will create a police car or an ice cream truck for Barney. The best part, he slides right into a diaper bag so he can go with you anywhere.

It's been a long road trip, but we are just about settled and this toy has been a great thing for our drive and everywhere in between. Hopefully soon we'll have a house where he'll be able to crawl on the floor with the little toy and chase after it instead of making his brother or sisters play fetch. Oh, who are we kidding we all know babies love that game. Okay, I must go pick up the Barney Airplane again.

Labels: barney airplane, Barney lets go airplane, Barney review

To start this week off we only have four different giveaways as we were house hunting today and went out to see "The Golden Compass." More on both of these later. Here are the giveaways and if you have a giveaway let me know.

The Hostess Blog is have a Write On contest, where you can win a ton of neat writing supplies. Hey, if you are a blogger or a writer this is something we all enjoy.

Palm Addict wants to give you a ipod touch. All you need to do is drop an email stating how you'd use it.

Kailani is having a giveaway over at her site, enter to win your very own nursing cover This is something that could've came in handy today at the movies.

Hope ya'll enjoyed.

http://casualkeystrokes.com/casual-giveaway-super-deluxe-sticker-gift-pack-from-smellstickers/
one (1) Smell Sticker collector Album
one (1) diary with lock
one (1) scented stationery set
four (4) packs of Smell Stickers

Labels: giveaways

Many bloggers are writing and selling blogs and others are wondering how much their blogs are worth. Here is a fun way to find out, keep in mind it is only for fun.

Since this is a New Year, I plan on doing things up a bit differently. First up is my weekly to-do list.

To-Do List:
- Find a house
- Get a car
- make a plan for my blogs (lots of them)
- Write up three reviews

Oh and don't think I forgot starting tomorrow my twice a week giveaway list will be back. So, dn't forget to come by and check out the giveaways from around the net. I'm sure you'll find something for everyone in the family in it. Giveaways will be every Tuesday and Thursday as usual.

As far as my to do list goes, it has changed a bit. The house we looked at yesterday and are waiting to hear back from the landlord to see if we get it. Cross your fingers for us, it's a four bedroom, 2 living room, 2 car garage. The car we already needed to find a truck for hubby to get to work, now we are looking at having to get two just in case. As of right now we are waiting for the insurance company to get back with us on damage, they have assigned someone to it so should be soon.

Labels: to do list

Yes, this is an OnStar Review as I want everyone to know how I feelt towards them. Okay, I want to thank the OnStar people, I always wondered about them and if those little buttons inside the car really work. Let me tell ya readers, they do. When my husband got into that accident they were at the scene within minutes. (He never even paged them for help.) Apparently they tried paging him seconds after it all happened but he had jumped out of the car to help the teens and make sure they were fine. When he got back he still had no clue they were calling until he heard them. They'd already sent everyone on their way, police, ambulance, etc.

So to those of you out there wondering if OnStar is worth it, I think it is. From now on we will always choose a car that has this feature. I like knowing someone else is watching out for us even if we never hear them. Wow, it is such a great feeling to know that had no one had a phone help was still on the way.

I give OnStar a thumbs up and I think every car should have one in it.


(more reviews later on)

Labels: OnStar

First let me start off by saying the kids and I are fine, we were not in the vehicle at the time of the accident. However, hubby is very sore (and too stubborn and worried to talk about it). He had just left the hotel and got about a block, he was on his way to realtors to find us a home. A car (teen drivers) ran the red light and smashed right into our van, front end is gone. The car had been driving too fast, thankfully hubby wasn't even going the speed limit. But we can no longer drive it. Dealing wth the aftermath now, I'll keep everyone updated.

Still in a hotel and will be trying to call around to find a place. Wish us luck and keep us in your thoughts.

Labels: car accident

Mountains, hills and more mountains, it's a sight I never imagined when I'd hear the words "New Mexico." Today we are traveling through it, the ground is blanketed in a soft white snow, not thick but it's the perfect view. There are clumps of brown grass between the patches of snow, surrounding them are the beautiful green trees the climb up the mountain.

As far as my picture of New Mexico, I had always pictured a desert and lots and lots of flat land. Instead, it has layers, layers of hills, mountains and desert but it isn't as dry or hot as I had thought. The sky is clear with a few clouds, more towards my left there are still storm clouds racing to catch up to us, however the sun is shining and I'll probably get a burn on my arm. How's that for a view?

(San Miguel County Line)

Go here for an image: Image

Labels: New Mexico, view

I am currently in between three worlds. To my right is a bunch of blue sky mixed with a coulple of blue and gray, the sliver of a moon still visible. However, to my left side it is dark and the threat of a storm looms nearby. The view in front of me is in front of me is breathtaking, colors of red, orange, white, purple and blue hover above the plains in front of me. The sun, not quite out and I can see there is nothing for miles except the open land. It's beautiful out here, untouched by the human hands, with only a sprinkle of cars on the highway.

I just thought I would tell you about the view. What's beside you?

(Apache County, the pic is not mine)

Labels: apache county, Arizona, view

Wow, we went and stopped into our hometown this past week and boy were we shocked. First, it's been 4 years since we drove through there but about 10 years since we were really there. Things sure have changed, houses that had been there for years are now empty with for sale signs on them. Bushes are full of litter, it was a very frightening sight. Not because of the trash or anything but to see a town that we grew up in grow old, yes now I must say times have changed and things have changed. We did see several homes we could've probably bought but this isn't a place where you'll find work quickly. A big bypass has been built so many stores, food places, etc are going out of business. Our guess is in 5-10 more years it'll look even more like a ghost town.

But we did enjoy ourselves, visiting old haunts and family. The kids of course had a blast, while there was no snow there was plenty of presents. Oh I forgot to tell ya I got 10-15 porcelain dolls, but I think I'll write a post on that next. It's been a long trip and honestly I can't wait for it to be over and we can all settle down. My little buddy (Little A) has grown tired of the carseat and any time you walk him near the car he begins to cry. I feel for him as it must be very boring strapped inside a seat where you can't even sit up straight. He also hates the dark so night travel is becoming something we just don't do.

Things I've learned:
Travel early in the morning, this way you beat most traffic. By early I mean before 4 a.m.
Pack light- I don't care how many days you are going for.
Check weather- get online and check the weather forecast, this will help you in knowing where storms are heading and where you should stop for the night.
hotels- Never stop at a Hampton Inn because once you do you'll never want any other hotel. I LOVE this place, currently in one now.

Labels: hometown

Glitter Happy New Year Graphics


May all my readers have great success this year. I do hope to continue to learn more about each and every one of you. Happy New Year! How many of you stayed up to watch the ball drop?

Labels: 2008, happy new year