What's that? It's Friday again? Yay!

All I will say is, it's been a week at work.

One of those weeks where I want to bang my head on my desk over & over again.

Luckily, I have walked out the door and left all that work stress sitting right on my desk and NOT taking it home with me. (applause, please)

Happenings at home:

♥ Abbie has been in panties all week, even at night - not one accident. NOT ONE!

(let's hope I didn't just jinx myself, haha!)

♥ Jaelyn has responded well to the chalkboard I hung up. She gets a star or heart when she listens, doesn't complain about dinner, picks up toys, etc. 

Visuals seems to work well with her.

♥ Hubby showed me the plans for the daycare center. It's so neat to see it all drawn up professionally! I can't wait!

♥ It's hot.

♥ We have a graduation party tomorrow. I think we are going to roast.

♥ I have a day off next week... BEACH DAY!

♥ Had my eyes checked last night. There was no change. Whew.

♥ I actually have a jean skirt on today. Not sure why this is relevant but I felt the need to share because I rarely, if ever wear skirts.

Some fun stuff:

Did you see my awesome giveaway?

Come on people, enter!

It's not hard and its such a cute prize.. you know you wanna!!

Here is a link to get you there quicker:

TOTALLY AWESOME GIVEAWAY

I have more giveaways & reviews coming up soon.

It helps fuel my addiction to Etsy.

STAY TUNED!

Lastly, check out some of these awesome blog hops and tell them you entered the totally awesome giveaway at Don't Blink and send them over here to enter, too!

haha - or just stop by & say hi, that works!

Happy Friday!!

  

○○ Tuscanycreative {!!Giveaway!!} ○○

I'd like to introduce all of you to a new shop I recently discoverd on Etsy.com.

Katie Bordignon the  is the Owner of Tuscanycreative.

Here is a little blurb about her from her profile on etsy:

I spent the first part of my career teaching third graders for about 10 years. Once I had my second child I decided to leave teaching so I could raise my daughter and son. With lots of creative energy to spare I started making fun and cute things for my six year old daughter Tuscany, my 2 year old son Agostino and my nieces in NYC. That's when I knew I was really onto something special and decided to open my own store. Now I get to share all my creations with you! I have been in business for about a year and a half and have sent my goodies to children in 40 states as well as 2 countries outside the Unites States. I also sell my creations in boutiques in New York City, Massachusetts and in the suburbs of Chicago.

Katie has some BEAUTIFUL things in her shop that I just adore!

Everything from hair accessories to toys to school supplies to bibs.

If you haven't stopped to take a quick look at her shop, do it now!

Here are some of my favorite things she offers:


{Momma Owl and her Babies - stuffed toy}

{Whale Stuffed Toy}

{Personalized Crayon Holder}

{Baby Chick Ponytail Holders}

{Pretty Pink Flower Headband}

{Fairy Princess Bib}

Are they not the cutest ever??

And here's the best part...

Katie has graciously agreed to do a GIVEAWAY for my lovely readers!

I'm jealous of all of you who get to enter!

One lucky winner will receive a set of these very cute owl ponytail holders.

Perfect for that back to school look, don't ya think?

I know this giveaway is geared toward little girls but come on.. I know you have a special niece or neighborhood friend or someone special that would just love these! Don't miss out on giving them a very special gift, too. I bet it would put a smile on their face! :)

............ Here is how to enter ............

Mandatory entry:

Leave me a comment & tell me who these cute ponytail holders are for.

*please leave me your contact information so I can tell you if you've won!*

Additional entries:

(1 entry for each - please leave a seperate comment for each)

Add Tuscanycreative to your 'favorites' on Etsy.

Visit Tuscanycreative and tell me something you love!

"Like" Tuscanycreative on Facebook.

"Follow" Tuscanycreative on Twitter.
Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter! (leave me a link)
Feel free to use this: {GIVEAWAY ALERT!} Win an adorable set of Owl ponytail holders from @Tuscanycreative over at Don't Blink (insert link).
"Follow" me on Twitter.

(3 entries for each - please leave a seperate comment for each)

Blog about this giveaway on YOUR blog. (leave me a link).

~This giveaway is only open to U.S. Residents.

~Giveaway will close on 7/31/2011 at 12:01 am.

~If you have questions about this giveaway please feel free to e-mai me at:

tammy.schaper@gmail.com

Good luck everyone!!

Check out these giveaways!!

Have you ever entered a giveaway? No? What are you waiting for?

Check out these awesome giveaways on some of my favorite blogs.

It's not hard to enter and hey.. you could win a fabulous prize!

Current Giveaways:

A beautiful pillow from Olive Handmade.

A set of 8 cards from Blushing Pearl.

 a $25 dollar shop credit from Sunshine and Carousels.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





Current Giveaway: A Candy Land Patchwork Skirt from Lavender Bird Creations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   

Current Giveaway:A beautiful pair of antique brass earrings from Sweet & Simple. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

Current Giveaway:
WRAP, LAWN, and the SNACK BALL {Giveaway} from BOON.

Hurry these giveaways don't last long and you don't want to miss out!!!

We Want to know Wednesdays

 Super cute meme hosted by Mamarazzi and Queso! Be sure to stop by their blogs & join in the fun...  you know you wanna!    

{1} What would you do with an extra $1000 a month?

I'd get a housekeeper. Seriously, come do stuff for me while I slave away at work, please! I will gladly pay you!!!

 

{2} What category of blogger do you think you best fall under?

A Mommy blogger that brags about her kids, takes too many pictures & feels the need to share them all while avoiding what I should be doing while blogging! Yep!

 

{3} What is your go to solution when you are having a bad hair day?

Take a few bobby pins and pin that crap back out of my face, call it a day.

 

{4} If you were a Crayon, what color would you be?

Pink - listen, I have to girls... that is the color I will end up being anyways!

 

{5} They say love is in the little things. What is a little thing someone does to show you love?

My darling husband cooks dinner nearly every single night. That counts as a little thing doesn't it? If not, then he makes sure I have ice packs in my lunch bag so my lunch isn't warm when it comes time to eat it. ♥ That is TRUE LOVE!

 

WW: Summerfun!

It's hot here. Like, seriously hot.

You walk outside and immediately feel the heat slap you right in the face.

It's not pleasant. At all!

I believe we are suppose to hit the 100s today.

No, that is not heat index. That is actual heat!

I would kiss the person who invented air conditioning if I ever met them!

I have not been inspired with my camera lately. Fail!

But, I do manage to snap some fun things with my phone.

I am looking into an iPhone as my current contract expires on 8/1.

I love seeing pictures people take with their iPhones and so I want one.

Anyways.. on Saturday we were at my Brother's house pretty much all day

floating around in his pool, hanging out, playing, and lots of other stuff.

The girls enjoyed a nice cool popsicle with the boys.

It was 'yummy' I was told.

Their Uncle Bubby also took them for a ride on the golf cart.

They literally giggled the entired time.

I enjoyed a little 'treat' myself poolside.

It was also 'yummy'.. ha.

      

PINT -- Changes



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Friday Stuff!

Hello Friday, welcome back.. oh how I've missed you!!

It seems like our Summers have been so crazy around here that Fridays come & go without me even blinking an eye. Every weekend it's been a party of some sort be it a graduation, birthdays, celebrating special occasions with friends and so forth. It's just a busy time of year!

I think this may be the first weekend since May? April? that there is actually nothing on the calendar. Shocking! So, I may make the trip down to the beach tomorrow with the girls. Alone. Maybe. I'm still thinking about it. It's not that difficult really, they love it.. they play.. they go in the water (with me holding them back because they think they are dolphins!) and it's just a nice day. I love it! They love it! Usually, I have someone coming along with me though but... everyone seems to be working or has plans and I just really wanna go! So, we'll see... am I that brave? I already have a few other days planned off work to make trips to the beach this Summer which I am super excited about! Before you ask, Chris is not a fan of the beach so he doesn't really go and I'd rather not 'make' him go because it would just ruin my happy place. ha! Plus, he has to do some work around the fire hall tomorrow to get ready for their big barbecue coming up.

Other than that, things are going ok around here. Jaelyn has been testing the waters a little bit lately. Not sure if it's a growth spurt or what {she has seem to grow a few inches in the past couple months}. She's a VERY picky eater, VERY. So meals with her are always somewhat of a circus. She immediately sticks her nose up, crosses her arms and pinches her lips together refusing to even try what is in front of her and I promise, we are not giving her worms or anything, lol! Most times I ask her to TRY a bite of what is on her plate and if she doesn't like it, then fine but even that becomes a hassle and I feel like I'm making deals all through dinner, which probably isn't right but eh. Any advice? She also has been giving the babysitter a hard time here & there throughout the day - not picking up toys when asked, not listening... all very normal for an almost 4 year old I'm sure but, it can be tiring. Hopefully it's just the 'I'm bored it's Summer and I need something else to do' type of thing. She starts Pre-K in September. I'm curious to see how she does!

Abbie is potty trained, finally. *Does a giant happy dance*. She rarely has accidents and is dry every morning. I thought she would be going to Kindergarten in Pull-Ups so I'm very happy! But sad, too? That means she's growing up way too fast!! She is the opposite of her sister when it comes to eating. She is more than willing to try anything you put in front of her. She may not like it, which is fine but she will try it. She LOVES vegetables of any type, spicy food and rarely ask for anything sweet. Crazy! lol! She has her moments of meltdowns... I mean, she is 2! lol... but she is doing well.

The daycare business is well under way. The loan was approved, insurance has been bought, architect was  hired and things should be coming together quickly... so excited! Abbie will be going to work with Daddy once it is completed and Jaelyn will also join them at the daycare as Pre-K is only a 1/2 day. I haven't decided yet if I will be working there. I don't want to put a strain on our marriage and I know working together can be difficult. Plus, I have health insurance for now and I like my job... so it's a decision for me to think about!

Ok, I think that's all of the updates.. whew.. sorry to ramble! I sometimes forget this blog isn't just about pictures and challenges and blog hops... it's also for me to talk about what is going on with us and keep a journal for me to look back on and that's why I love it! :)

Speaking of blog hops... check out some of these fun friday blogs!