Website Wednesday

It seems as though last week's website of picnik.com was a big hit. It is a fun site and I am glad that so many of you have been able to enjoy it. This week's pick is a 180 degree departure, as we move from the silly to the serious. The story that accompanies this site will truly bring tears to your eyes.






I discovered etsy.com while I was on maternity leave with Eliza. It is a site that is dedicated to buying and selling items that are handmade. The selection is quite amazing and prices range anywhere from $5 to $500. I had been considering using this site as a Website Wednesday site sometime in the future but when I read about The Cora Project I knew the time was now.



Cora Page was a beautiful 10 month baby girl when she was diagnosed with stage 4 leukemia. Sadly she passed away only 3 weeks after her diagnosis. Her parents suggested that in lieu of flowers people could contribute to a fund that would eventually be used to build a playground in her honor. Many vendors at etsy have decided to help this cause by contributing a portion of their profits to the Cora playground.



This story has reminded me once again how blessed and lucky I am to have a happy healthy child. Eliza is my heart and I can not even begin to comprehend the imense amount of pain her parents must be feeling. I hope that you will take some time to visit this site and perhaps open your heart and wallets to a very worthy cause.

A Shopping Rule

People say that you should never grocery shop when you are hungry because you are more likely to impulse buy. I think perhaps I need my own shopping rule . . . never shop when I am annoyed and trying to prove a point. . . .as I am more apt to buy items that may cause my child embarrassment in her teenage years.

Yesterday we had some paperwork to drop off with our mortgage broker and three different women referred to Eliza as he. Granted she was wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans BUT the shirt had ruffles and the jeans had butterflies and flowers on them. The clothing may have been blue but it was very feminine.

After that, we headed off to my favorite children's resale store where once again she was called a boy. I was returning a pair of pants that was to short for her and since I was given store credit, I decided to spend it on a new bow. We purchased the bow and headed off to meet dad for dinner. I know, I know, the bow is rather large, but at least no one at the restaurant thought that she was a boy!



She was modeling her new bow for the camera this morning before we headed off to day care.

Not long after I took this picture, she ripped her bow off her head. Think she is trying to tell me something?

Website Wednesday

This week's website is all about fun and I think you will really enjoy it. Picnik.com is a photo editing website that is really a lot of fun. There are so many neat options to choose from. I am not very "tech savvy" and I have found this to be a very user friendly site. I haven't had time to explore all of the tools and options yet, but I am currently attempting to make a photo collage for the blog. I will let you know how it turns out. Be sure to check out some of my picnik handi -work at the bottom of this post.

From the Website:
Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. Tweak to your heart’s content, then get creative with oodles of effects, fonts, shapes, and frames. It's fast, easy, FREE and fun.

* Fix your photos in just one click
* Use advanced controls to fine-tune your results
* Crop, resize, and rotate in real-time
* Tons of special effects, from artsy to fun
* Astoundingly fast, right in your browser
* Awesome fonts and top-quality type tools
* Works on Mac, Windows, and Linux
* No download required, nothing to install

Sleepy Girl

Last night we fed Eliza her dinner first and then we fixed our plates. When we sat down at the table this is what we saw.


I guess day care (and a full belly) can really make you tired!

P.S. I forgot to put a bib on her last night and she spilled prune juice all over her cute outfit. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of her sippy cup yet . . . she is quite the dribbler. I sure hope prune juice doesn't stain!

Eliza Photo Shoot . . . Take 2

I was bound and determined to get a good picture of Eliza to include in her Valentine's Day cards. Photo shoot #2 began much like photo shoot #1. I was feeling frustrated.

She just did not want to have her picture taken, but with a little patience on my part . . . . . .

I got the money shot! A perfect picture!

Photo Shoot

The other day I attempted to have a Valentine photo session with Eliza, but as you can see, things didn't go as planned. I was never able to get a picture of her looking at the camera and smiling. I thought that including some of her babies in the picture might help, but I finally decided to just give up and try again later.

Bubbles and Blocks

A few weeks back, Eliza and I attended a Gymboree class, and even though she enjoyed the class, her favorite thing, by far, was the bubbles at the end. Since Gymboree is a little too expensive for our budget and bubbles are cheap, we decided that bubbles at home are just as good as bubbles at Gymboree.

Eliza's cousin, Jacob was super sweet and willing to play bubbles with her. She had a great time with the bubbles. . . even though she seemed to be more interested in eating the bubbles.

She was quite fascinated to watch the bubbles pop once they hit the blanket.

Once she was done with the bubbles, it was time to go inside and eat her blocks. I think I see a pattern here!

But Mom. . . .I am not ready to go to bed yet

Website Wednesday

I bet you thought I forgot. . . .

I didn't forget. . . .

I have had a pretty busy day and this is the first chance I have had to post.

This week's website is slickdeals.net.

A teacher I work with mentioned that she had used this site on several occasions and found some amazing deals. The purpose of the site is to give you a daily list of sales, rebates and free offers that go above and beyond a regular sale.

From the company's website:
Founded in 1999, Slickdeals.net is a free, user-driven deal sharing site with a mission to provide consumers an avenue to collaborate and share information in order to make the best shopping decisions. Slickdeals achieves this by providing its users a forum for communication and various shopping tools. Slickdeals.net prides itself on being user and community focused, never allowing paid placement for front page deal listings.

If you like to bargain shop and walk a little bit taller after finding amazing deals, this site is for you. Happy Shopping

Movin' On Up

We have devoted the past few weekends to house hunting and it looks as though our efforts have paid off. On Sunday we made an offer on a house and on Monday afternoon our offer was accepted! We are super excited and a bit nauseous. We will close on March 23rd - so it looks as though my entire Spring Break will be nothing but packing, but it will all be worth it once we are moved in and kickin' back in the pool!

**PS - There are pics on line if anyone is interested in seeing them; just let me know and I will send you the link. For safety reasons I didn't think it was a good idea to broadcast our new address to the world. **