Cute, No?

Isabella is terrified of bugs.

Big bugs.

Little bugs.

Flying bugs.

Crawling bugs.

Loud, buzzing bugs.

Silent bugs.

With just one exception.

Her 'shoo fly' shirt.

No, it doesn't have a fly on it.

Instead it has:

Cute, no?

And the cutest part?

She asks me every.single.day.

To wear the shoo fly shirt.

Happy {2} Months, Love

Oh, sweet girl....

I love how you:

chew on your hands...

talk to me...

never cry unless you are hungry...

sleep pretty much all through the nite...

love your swing...

dance with me...

listen to me...

snuggle with me anytime I want...

watch late nite tv with me when it's time for your bottle before I go to bed...

eat like a champ...

look adorable in anything you wear...

Happy {2} months, Baby Love.

Happy {2} months.

your stats:

weight: 10 lbs 15 oz {told you that you love to eat!}

length: 22 inches

Because Randoms Make Me Happy...

~Isabella had her appt this morning with her ped. The ped said she looked and acted great {as Bellie was jumping around the office saying "jumpy! jumpy! jumpy!"}. However...due to her having a seizure she has an appt with a Neurologist on Monday morning @ 9:30. Praying that she is okay and that the seizure was a one time thing.

~I can't wait for Bellie's Dora party! She may also be sporting a tutu...an embroidered shirt...and a Dora cap....can you guess what part of the outfit she picked out?

~I have been reading blogs, but I've gotten so far behind! If I don't comment, I promise I'll start soon! We have appointments galore this week with Bellie's ped visit today, Maddie's 2 month tomorrow, my eye appt on Thursday followed by Bellie's 2 year on Thursday afternoon. Add to that planning this birthday party? It's a little crazy!

~We're thinking of taking Bellie to a movie on Friday for her birthday before our company arrives. After our last movie trip...I'm still debating it...hehe!

~Olive Garden opened up today! Katrina took out the only one we had in our area....and they finally put another one up! It's in the same shopping center as my love, Target, will be opening!

~Speaking of Target...it opens next Tuesday! The girls and I are already planning our day. I see a Starbucks for me and popcorn for Bellie. I'm so excited it'll be open in time for Christmas shopping! I've waited forever for this day...haha!

~I have so many fall shows in my DVR begging to be watched. I did manage to watch The Good Wife--loved it! I wasn't sure about it from the previews, but I really liked it. A lot.

~Hope everyone has a wonderful week filled with happy days, happy loved ones and as many blessings as we've been blessed with lately. I'm still thankful for your prayers. I heart every single one of you....more than you'll ever possibly know.

Thank You. And You. And You....

I want to do an update on my Isabella.

But before I do...thank you.

And you.

And you.

Your kind words.

Personal stories.

Tears.

Prayers.

Thank you's to God.

Comforted me.

On a day such as Saturday.

I'm still in shock.

I cried hard. Last nite, the tears flowed.

Harder than I've ever cried before.

Thinking the unimaginable. What if.

My heart aches even thinking those thoughts.

I've never imagined my life without my girls.

I've never been more scared in my life.

I still have a tremendous amount of guilt.

I've hugged her and kissed her non-stop.

For those who know me?

I do that a lot already. So to imagine more?

Wow.

I didn't tell you all how a week before some scary things had also happened.

God spared us then, too.

How many close calls will we have?

I'm scared. Paranoid.

I'm sorry this is so long.

I need to get this stuff out. Off my chest.

As for Isabella?

My little wild one?

You'd never be able to tell anything had happened.

Happy.

Singing.

Dancing.

Hugging.

Kissing.

Bump free.

No telling me today 'head hurt'.

Cupcake eating (yes, I made her 2 dozen cupcakes. To share with mommy and daddy of course.).

Orange eating.

Popsicle loving.

Same Bella.

Different Mommy.

Different Daddy.

We saw our gift taken away for a moment.

And that moment has forever changed us.

Our family.

Our lives.

Love and hugs to all of you.

Hug your loved ones, your little ones a little tighter, okay?

And pass on a hug from Isabella.

As a thank you.

A Day No Parent Wants to Have. Ever.

I had to call 911 this morning. For my sweet, sweet Isabella.

It's not a call I ever wanted to make. And for one of my girls. Especially not for one of my daughters.

She fell off the bathroom counter this morning. Where she knows it's a no-no, yet I accidentally left the door open to the bathroom. I am the cause for this. Me. It kills me just realizing that.

When she fell she fell backwards. Her head hit our tile floor. I've always hated tile. It's hard. Unforgiving. Dangerous when wet, dangerous when you fall down. And to fall and hit your head? I get sick replaying this in my head.

She was laying there. On the floor. In shock. I ran over to her. Trying to get her to talk to me. I scoop her up in my arms.

"Bella!! Bella, talk to Mommy. Bella!!!! Come on, Bella, please look at Mommy!!" I was frantic.

She closed her eyes.

Started having a seizure.

I was screaming for Leo. Screaming for my baby to please, please wake up.

Leo grabs her.

Checks to see if she's breathing.

She is not.

My baby. My baby that I brought into this world. My baby that I had giggled with, talked to and snuggled with just a mere few hours before WAS NOT BREATHING.

Leo placed her on our bed. Gave her a rescue breath.

I'm dizzy, running for my phone.

Calling 911.

Scared.

Hating myself.

Shaking.

Praying.

Asking God please, please don't take my girl.

Her Dora party is next weekend. She'll only be {2}.

Please, she has her whole life ahead. Please.

Take me if you need someone. Do not take my girl. My #1.

I'm not done living life with my girl yet.

She coughs.

Leo's breath worked.

Ambulance arrives.

She's scared, crying.

One of her feet is curled, turned a funny way. Not normal.

Ambulance ride.

Long.

Scary.

Asking my friends pray.

Had called my mom.

Pray.

Please. Lift your prayers up to God. Our God.

Please.

She starts acting calmer.

Scared. But more like my girl.

CT scans.

Body checks.

Scan results are back.

Everything is okay.

Okay. My baby is okay.

Breathing.

Concussion.

But she is alive.

Hug your babies tight tonite.

And when you think that nothing could happen to you?

Your family?

Remember this post. Please.

Life is a gift.

Don't assume things will be okay forever.

Because I did.

I never thought this could.

Would.

Ever.

Happen.

I Goin' to "Gurk", Mommy...

Tonite Isabella informed she was goin' to gurk (aka work).

She packed up her (pretend) fruit in her basket.

Said "peese, peese" (that's what she says when she wants to give you a kiss). I obliged and gave her a kiss.

Said "hug, hug" and then hugged each of my legs.

Turned around and announced, "I goin' to gurk! Bye, Mommy, bye!".

And walked away with her basket, her fruit and her cuteness.

As she disappeared into her room I thought to myself...

They grow up fast. So, so fast.

And in a moment? I reminded myself to treasure all of what being a Mommy entails...

The good.

And the bad.


***this post may be a little on the sappy side...probably because my little girl will be {2}. Exactly a week from today. Wow.

Harry Connick, Jr {Your Songs CD Review}

Harry Connick, Jr. Just saying his name makes me think romantic dinners, candlelight, and happiness. As long as I can remember I've been a fan of him, his music and his charm! When One2One Network asked if I would like to review his newest music collection, Your Songs, I jumped at the chance!

I popped the cd into the laptop and right away I was in love. With classics such as Just the Way You Are and Can't Help Falling in Love With You, I knew this would be a cd to listen to when the days of being stressed out start to wear me thin.

Here are the songs on his new album which was released on September 22nd:

Album Tracklisting (Originally performed by):

All The Way (Frank Sinatra)

Just The Way You Are (Billy Joel)

Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley)

And I Love Her (The Beatles)

(They Long To Be) Close To You (The Carpenters)

Besame Mucho

The Way You Look Tonight

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)

Your Song (Elton John)

Some Enchanted Evening

And I Love You So (Don McLean)

Who Can I Turn To? (Tony Bennett)

Smile (Charlie Chaplin)

Mona Lisa (Nat King Cole)

*****

Harry’s Upcoming TV Appearances:

9/25 – Oprah “Live Friday”

9/28 – Today Show

9/29 – The View

9/30 – Imus in the Morning

9/30 – Letterman

10/1 – Today Show

Week of 10/5 – Rachael Ray

The Story of a Slimy Carrot

Isabella loves sharing. And by sharing I mean she'll share anything...as long as it's not her fruit snacks.

This past Tuesday she wanted some baby carrots. No biggy, she just needed a snack to hold her over until Leo got home and we started dinner.

We're sitting there and she's eating her carrots. Walks away for awhile and comes back.

"Here, Mommy!"

She holds out a baby carrot. Which looks slimy to me. (Makes me gag just writing that...)

I open my hand and take it--and thank her for sharing her yummy carrots with me.

She walks away. I set the carrot down.

Awhile later we're laughing and talking...you know, just hanging out.

When the laughter stops. The talking comes to a halt.

I follow her gaze....and what does it fall upon?

The slimy carrot!! Crap, she saw it. Uneaten...

She picks it up, looks it over and asks me...

"Mommy?"

Her tone is very disappointed that I didn't eat the carrot.

I hold open my hand and thank her again...except this time she's just staring at me with those big brown eyes:

And I eat it. All gone. Nearly gagging as I do.

Funny thing about this is as I'm cleaning up her snack?

I find a chewed up and spit out carrot. The other ones were thrown all over the floor.

How funny is that! She didn't find them tasty either...only I didn't guilt trip her into eating one.

Nature Valley Granola Giveaway!

When I was contacted by My Blog Spark to try the new Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters I was SO excited! I'm a huge fan of Nature Valley's granola bars..they're crunchy and so yummy.

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are made with 100% natural ingredients. They're bite sized and have nuts, whole grain oats, with a touch of honey. They have the perfect sweet/salty combination that I love! They're also bite sized--perfect for bagging them up in snack bags for the perfect on-the-go snack.

Isabella, Leo and I tried all {4} combinations: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut. I loved all of them! My favorite one has to be the Nut Lovers--the perfect combo of sweet granola and salted nuts.

My Blog Spark has offered {1} of my lucky readers the same "Snack Pack" prize that we received! This includes all {4} varieties of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters, binoculars, a sling backpack, flashlight and stainless steel water bottle. Perfect for those autumn hikes in the fall!

Want to know how to win? It's easy!

Leave me a comment with what Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters combo sounds the yummiest to you. If you don't have a blog or haven't made your profile visible leave your email address so you can be contacted if you are the winner.

There are also extra entries possible:

1) Follow/subscribe to my blog-1 extra entry for each that you do

2) Follow me on Twitter-1 extra entry

3) Tweet about this giveaway and leave me your tweet link. This can be done up to two times per day! Leave me an extra comment for each tweet link-1 extra entry per tweet--up to two tweets per day! (leave a seperate comment for each tweet)

4) Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post-5 extra entries (leave a seperate comment for each of the 5 entries)


This giveaway closes on October 1st at noon CST. Open to US residents only.

Wendy's GC Winner!

Congrats to mom2boys who was the winner of the $20 Wendy's gc!

She has been e-mailed and has 48 hours to respond before a new winner is drawn.

Thanks to all who entered and I'll be having another giveaway up soon (hopefully tonite!)!



Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:16
Timestamp: 2009-09-23 20:56:47 UTC

Good Grief That's Awesome!

Isabella is such a character. For reals. Girlfriend's vocabulary has been growing...and growing...and growing. I know where she picked up a few of these words/phrases, but some of them leave me scratching my head thinking where did she hear that?!

The other day I was eating lunch with her. I had a Lean Cuisine and she had her cheese pizza and oranges. She wanted a bite of rice and I pushed the meal closer to her. She got a bite and a piece of rice flew off of her fork. She looks at me and said, 'Good grief!'

Haha! I love it! Everytime she says it I die laughing! And she knows exactly when to say it. Crazy girl.

Her other newest and favorite word is 'awesome!'. And to her everything is awesome! Shows, books, snacks...it's all awesome to her! She learned that one from the Fresh Beat Band show on Nickelodeon--Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba are (for now) dropped from her favorite show list. Kind of relieved...I needed a break!

And her last silly behavior? She does this fake laugh about everything--and sometimes slaps her knees when laughing.

It. is. hilarious! And the fake laughter is just so funny it makes me crack up.

I love her so much...I can't believe she's almost {2} already. One thing's for sure....

She loves making Leo and me laugh!

A Match Made in Hair Heaven...

I finally went and got my hair done!

It. was. wonderful.

I got my lowlights.

A few highlights.

And a much needed cut.

Some layers here.

Some layers there.

I've had such a hard time finding a salon down here.

And I think that this time?

I found a match!

So much so that I've already made my next appointment for November...

Here's a pic of me after my appointment:

Me with my precious Madelyn...totally oblivious to the documentation of a Momma happy with her hair...hehe!

I Won Some GREAT Things...Yay!

I have won some giveaways lately that I can only describe as...

awesomeness.

Seriously, I've been super lucky lately.

* I won this adorable onesie, headband and socks set that were made by Dolce Vita Mia. Her baby items are drool worthy...I love everything she does!

I won them from Laura who is an amazing photographer. Seriously...her pictures will make you want to book a session with her right away!

I wish I lived closer to her! Go check out both of their sites--I promise you'll adore them and their creative work!

* I also won this Melissa & Doug cookie baking set from Jen at The Mom Reviews.

Jen is awesome--she has {3} wonderful blogs and is SO funny! I love her posts--she can always manage to make me laugh and smile.

And her giveaways are...wow...they're great! And she always has so many.

I know you'll love her, too, if you don't already!

* From The Fashionable Housewife I won...

a $25 Kohl's giftcard!!

She has fun giveaways ALL the time--shoes, giftcards--you name it. Every Monday!

Plus she writes some great posts on fashion.

Trends to look out for, what's in right now and she loves to ask our opinions on what's hot and what's not so hot.

* From The Nice One I won the CUTEST hopscotch rug for Isabella's room!

The rug is from CSN and it is super cute!

Bright colors, perfect size...

It matches her room perfectly. We love it!

* And last I won an Elmo dvd from a LIVE giveaway that Linda from My Trendy Tykes was having!

I LOVE live giveaways--they're a lot of fun and this one was during the girls' naptime so I could actually participate!

I'm thinking that this movie will be perfect for Isabella's stocking this year. She's going to love it!

*****

That's what I've won the past couple of weeks and they have all arrived here at my house.

Thank you SO much, ladies!

I love every single item I've won and they all arrived SO fast!

Best Banana Bread Ever {A Recipe}

I remember promising my lovely readers the best banana bread ever recipe.

And I want all of you to enjoy it just as much as I do!

Here ya go--and don't blame me if you find yourself eating an entire loaf....

******

Best Banana Bread. Ever.

Mix together:

1/2 c oil
1 c sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed bananas

Mix together and add to ingredients above:

1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 c flour
salt

1 c nuts (optional)

Grease and flour loaf pan(s)

You can use {2} loaf pans with this recipe, however, I only use {1}

Bake for:

30 min at 250
30 min at 350

And a note from my Mom:

If you divide the recipe into two loaves, this cook time may be right, but if you do one bigger loaf it usually needs to cook longer. I think I cook a little longer at the lower temp, and then just keep testing it after 30+ minutes at 350.

******

So there you have it! This recipe was passed on from my Grandma to my Mom and now to me.

It's that good!

Leo has been begging for me to make this for days...so I think I'll be nice and make him some this weekend.

Enjoy!

The Cut.

Someone got her first haircut today...

She behaved like an angel (seriously. I'm going to start having strangers in my home so she'll behave. What do they do that I don't? *sigh*)

Anyway.

Right away they gave her a Dum-Dum.

She took it cautiously...

And then they started cutting.

And she started eating.

They didn't take off a lot.

But they evened it out...

Trimmed up her bangs...

and the end result?

Too cute for words.

In Need of a Fall Intervention...

Seriously. It's like everywhere I go "FALL" is yelling at me:

"Chelle, buy me!"

"Chelle--you don't need me, but toss me in your cart!"

"Chelle--I know you're trying to lose weight, but eat me!" says the candy corn, caramels for caramel apples, pumpkin spiced lattes....

"Chelle--buymebuymebuyme!"

You don't believe me?

Exhibit A:

Ran to the store tonite...(thank GOD Target isn't open yet! Lord help Leo's wallet me when it does!). You know, Wal-Mart...it's pretty much all we have around here.

Anyway.

I went to get a few necessities.

Two phone calls from Leo wondering where I was, and a cartload of stuff--which I know I didn't go to buy--later...I was home.

With Leo shaking his head at all of the bags.

And Bella and I happy as can be.

All of this fall madness is like a sickness...

Tell me--are you in need of a fall intervention, too?

Or am I the only one with no seasonal self control...

Baby Einstein World Animal Adventure Blog Tour...

Let me start off by thanking Mom Central for giving Isabella and me the opportunity to receive and watch the dvd---it's already a huge hit in our house!



The World Animal Adenture dvd is the newest dvd in the Baby Einstein series. When it first arrived the cover had a cartoon of a monkey on the front. I assumed that this would be a cartoon which I didn't know if Isabella would truly enjoy.



After popping it in the dvd player we watched Mode 1. Right away they had real animals from around the entire world--it wasn't just another kids' cartoon! I was so excited and Isabella's attention was focused on the show right away.



The dvd goes through all of the continents and climates of the world and what animals can be found where. They show one at a time and say the names of the aimals as well as show the word on the screen as it's said--a huge plus for me.



Isabella had fun naming the animals she knew and when she didn't recognize one I would say the name and she would repeat it back to me.



The Baby Einstein World Animal dvd also had little puppet shows in between segments. Isabella LOVED this part and was laughing so hard! It was so cute! She would laugh and look at me and tell me about it--with a huge smile plastered on her face.



We LOVED this movie! It's perfect to watch as a calm down before naptime. That is when I played this for Isabella and brought out her favorite blanket and pillow to watch it with. That was a huge hit--a new, fun animal movie and a picnic-like area to watch the show.



My honest opinion? If your little one LOVES animals or if you need a gift idea for a little one who loves animals I definitely recommend this great dvd. It was a huge hit in our home! Take a look around the Baby Einstein website and see what all Baby Einstein has to offer. Their products truly are wonderful.



One last note--Baby Einstein can also be found on Twitter and a new You Tube channel. Enjoy!



“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Baby Einstein and received a World Animal Adventure DVD to facilitate my candid review.”

Wendy's Giftcard Giveaway!

Thanks to Mom Central I get to giveaway a $20 giftcard to Wendy's for writing this post.

Pretty sweet deal, huh?

The rules for this giveaway are simple. Super easy in fact!

The Rules:

*Leave me a comment on this post with something you loved about high school. This MUST be done or none of your other comments will count!

*Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Leave me a link to your tweet when you're done.

*Follow my blog

*Subscribe to my blog

*Blog about this giveaway (worth 5 extra entries!)

*Leave a comment for each that you do. If you do all of the above you would leave me 9 seperate comments.

*This giveaway will run until September 23rd at NOON CST.

"In order for this giveaway to occur I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Wendy’s and received a gift certificate to giveaway and to thank me for taking the time to participate."

*This is for US residents only

The Moment My Heart Melted...

Wendy's High School Heisman Program Blog Tour

We all can see that being accepted to colleges and universities is getting more and more difficult. Wendy's has in turn come up with an excellent way to recognize the students that have been able to juggle and balance so much stand out from their peers. Pretty sweet, right?

This award celebrates high school seniors who excel in academics, athletics, and community involvement. It's known that colleges want to see well-rounded students who demonstrate dedication and commitment, making this program especially relevant and accessible. I always think of Elle from Legally Blonde--when she starts working so hard to get into law school--because that's how competitive it is out there to get into your school of choice now!

If you are or know of a high school senior who has at least a 3.0 GPA, is involved in a school sponsored sports group, and is involved in their community they can apply online. I also want to note that their school counselor, coach or a teacher can nominate a student as well.

~As a reward, the first 41,100 applicants will receive a free Wendy's gift card in amounts ranging from $5 to $50.

~One male and one female from each high school will win the award and continue on in competition for state and national awards.

~Twelve national finalists will participate in Heisman Weekend festivities during an all-expenses-paid trip Dec. 11-13 to New York City. ESPN2 will feature all 12 national finalists during the Wendy's High School Heisman Awards Ceremony, which airs Dec. 13. The Wendy's High School Heisman website will display the names of all applicants and individual school winners on October 22, 2009.

I think this is an excellent opportunity for the stand out students to be recognized and I wish I knew a senior to tell them about this program! So all of my readers out there, if you know of someone that is deserving have them enter today--and come back to let me know! I would love to see that my blog helped someone out.

"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Wendy’s and received a gift certificate to giveaway and to thank me for taking the time to participate."

Friend Makin Monday...

For a few weeks now I've seen her and her participate in Amber's Friend Makin Monday.

I've decided that THIS is the Monday that I'm going to join in!

This weeks question is...

What are some of your favorite fall shows?

Wow....we all know my love of tv!

It's my one time that I can have to myself when everyone is asleep.

Here, in no specific order, is my lineup that I can't wait to watch:

Super Cute Fall Giveaway!

Amber from ae filkins--who is also the host of Friend Makin' Monday--is hosting a fabulous giveaway!

Not only is it all things fall...

But she is also a TARGET lover!

Here are here goodies she wants to give a lucky reader:

So head over to her blog and enter! It end on September 15th @ 7pm EST!

A Post About a Paci and a Bra...

On Saturday Leo and I decided to head over to Hobby Lobby to get a few supplies for Isabella's birthday cupcake toppers.

As any parent knows, trying to get yourselves ready and getting the little ones ready, snacks packed, and sippy cups filled up is quite the task.

Leo was packing up the bag and the girls.

As he loaded Madelyn in her carseat he asked me if I had seen her paci anywhere.

Hm. It had been in the recliner with her when I was rocking her to sleep.

But according to Leo it wasn't over there.

Not under the chair.

Not around the chair.

Not stuffed in the chair.

He found a different one and life went on.

Fast forward to 2 am Sunday morning.

I had finished making the cupcake toppers and thank you tags for Isabella's party.

As I was getting ready to finally crawl into bed I felt something.

In my bra.

Reached down...

It's the missing paci!

I was then mortified for a couple of reasons....

I had been walking around with that in my bra all afternoon. Shopping and all.

And the second reason?

How did I not feel a paci stuffed in there?!

She Ate How Many?!

Today this cutie and I baked some cookies:

They were the Halloween Pillsbury cookies (the one with the ghost...ooooooo!) that you pop right in the oven.

And we all know how good those are!

I went into the kitchen to have "just one more"...

Except?

They.were.gone.

I didn't eat them.

Leo didn't eat them.

That leaves:

Yes. This little girl ate somewhere over 15 cookies.

When I asked her if she got the plate of cookies and ate them?

She answered very matter of factly...and quite proudly....

"Yes, Mommy, yes!"

I think someone is going to be having a tummy ache later...

ps--I straightened her hair today...I LOVE it!

A List of Happiness

~Glamour and Real Simple magazines. Something about reading a new issue when I have a few free moments...it's basically sanity after an insane day.

~Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks--or even pumpkin spice creamer for my morning coffee. Yum!

~My mom's and my grandma's banana bread recipe. Delish! I think I'm going to post it on here--it's sooo good. For reals.

~Yankee candles--especially the seasonal ones! Oh--I also have a coupon code for Yankee (I think it's buy 2 get 1 free (large jars). If you're interested email me and I'll send you the code!

~Fall flowers...hay bales...leaves changing color...leaves burning...crisp nites and mornings where I can leave my windows open.

~A hot cup (or two, or three) of coffee first thing in the morning. If nothing else goes right the rest of the day, I least I got to have some coffee to start my day off!

~Getting my hair done! I cannot wait to get it done...ahhhh!

~Sleeping in--Leo is awesome at letting me sleep in on the weekends. Is he amazing or what?!

~Having a great margarita at a great Mexican restaurant. Yum!

~Having a glass of wine at the end of the nite...or maybe two glasses...

So....

What things make YOU happy and just make you smile? Anything that I need to try out?

Electrolux and Kelly Ripa's Text-a-Thon for a Cause!

Today marks the kick off date that Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are offering a fun and unique “Text-a-Thon for a Cause”. The text-a-thon will support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF). I think that this is such a fabulous way of spreading a message and raising money for such a great cause.

Anyone can donate $5 to OCRF by texting the word “KELLY” to 85944 from their cell phones (please remember that standard text messaging rates will and do apply) You can also log onto www.kelly-confidential.com to donate as well.

Each day that you log on to the site you are entered for the chance to win a luxury frontload washer and dryer from Electrolux in the color, Turquoise Sky, which happens to be the color of ovarian cancer awareness.

You also have the chance of winning this washer and dryer set by logging onto Mom Central! I know that I would LOVE to have this washer/dryer! Isn't it nice?!

Visitors to Kelly Confidential can also help spread awareness by sending a virtual t-shirt to a friend or family member. And for every virtual t-shirt sent Electrolux will donate $1 to OCRF!! That's awesome news. If you can't donate the $5 you can just send virtual t-shirts to five friends and that's five dollars that you've helped donate to this great and important cause.

Kelly Ripa has also designed a limited addition t-shirt in which you can purchase and 100% of the proceeds will go to OCRF. Again, that's awesome! There's just so many ways that you can help raise money and awareness to OCRF.

"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Electrolux and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate."

Randoms....

~I feel like I have nothing of substance to blog about hence the randoms...

~I still haven't done anything to prepare for Isabella's birthday party! Yikes! I am going to Hobby Lobby on Saturday to load up on countless fall decorations buy things to make her invitations, scalloped punch for cupcake toppers, and whatever else I feel like I need. I'm beginning to be a little stressed about this...

~I went to bed at midnite last nite! That's a miracle. Lately I've had this huge insomnia thing going on...it's been a little out of control. Hoping tonite is an even earlier bedtime *crosses fingers*

~I've lost 3 more pounds! I like to credit my running and eating a lot less and a lot healthier. It's been nice to see some pounds disappear off of the scale. I was getting extremely frustrated not seeing any for almost a week.

~I have FINALLY made a hair appointment for myself (for the 19th!)!!Highlights, lowlights and a cut. I am going to keep it long but get some layers added. So excited! I'm thinking of making it a "me" day. Get my hair done, go to Barnes and Noble, get a coffee and read some magazines. I am in some need of alone time...so I'm thinking that this will be the perfect day.

Cuteness Times Two...

HUGE Giveaway!

Sandy over at Tales From a Shopaholic Mommy is kicking her Birthday Bash off with a bang!

She is giving away one $25 gift certificate for 7 days to Bei Bambini!

Go and enter to be a winner...and good luck to you!

Adorable Halloween Hairbow Giveaway...

How would you love to win this set of adorable Halloween hairbows?

Lil Cutie Hair Bows is hosting the giveaway!

Click on the link above to enter...and good luck!

Bulls Eye Baby....

Oh my goodness.

Oh my GOODNESS.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I can hardly contain my excitement.

After years of waiting.

Yes, years....

This:

will be opening.

On or before October 11th.

It's part of an enormous shopping center being buit very, very close to us.

I. can. hardly. wait!

I'll have my favoritest store right here within minutes!

The popcorn, home decor, bedding, cute shoes, adorable selection of baby clothes...

I can feel their merchandise in my hands now as I type this!

Leo--you better hide your wallet once October 11th arrives....

{24} Minus {1} Equals {23} Amazing Months...

Remember to stop and appreciate the little things....

No matter how small they may seem...

Because {1} day?

They won't be so little or small anymore...

Happy {23} months, sweetheart.