Addicted to bloggy giveaways

Have you all been participating in this fall's Bloggy Giveaways Carnival? I've noticed it before but never seriously entered to win. Until last night that is!

As I was killing time online (waiting for things to upload or checking audio lectures for my online job responsibilities) I began entering the giveaways listed on Money Saving Mom.

And today I found the motherload of giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival! Over 1,000 bloggers out there in the blogosphere have posted links to their blogs where they are giving something away. Free stuff? I'm so there!

Of course I certainly don't have hours to spend online entering my name and comments at all these blogs. So I'll have to be selective in my entering. But the prospect of winning free goodies is so alluring! As I work this afternoon I have a Bloggy Giveaways tab open at all times so I can keep peeking at what's up for grabs.

Besides the huge thrill of getting free stuff I would LOVE to win so I can score some unique Christmas gifts. Did I mention this stuff is FREE? Free!!! My heart dances to the sound of that lovely word!

That said, let me encourage you to enter and waste some time with me. :) Let me know if you're participating and if you win something!

I'm a softie

So, we were all set to have Chloe be a doctor for Halloween. As you can see from the picture at left, she went as an angel instead. She so sweetly asked to be an angel on Wednesday that my heart melted. I mean, how likely is it that she's going to want to be an angel (in any respect of the word) in coming years?

We seized our angel opportunity and I whipped up a quick costume using an old bed sheet on Friday. The wings and halo came from a local discount store and combined with the gold ribbon belt we spent a total of $5 on the costume. SHE LOOKED SO PRECIOUS! We got countless comments on her angelic get-up.

Clive looked equally cute in his homemade pumpkin costume. There's a lot of history in his pumpkin outfit. It was my first halloween costume too! He was a darling drooling pumpkin.

I know I'm biased, but I think homemade costumes are so much cuter looking than store-bought ones. What do you think?

And now we're dealing with mountains of luscious candy. I'm strictly adhering to the one-piece-per-day rule for Chloe. Me, I'm lucky if I make it through the day only eating 3 or 4! Hopefully I can make some cookies out of the chocolatey goodies so it stops screaming my name . . . What do you do with your leftover candy?

Am I the only one?

Matt is headed out to St. Louis this weekend to present at a conference (sidenote: I am SO PROUD of all the scholarly work Matt is doing in the midst of writing his dissertation AND teaching four classes at Kent State).

He'll be gone Saturday and Sunday. The big bummer is he'll miss trick-or-treating in our neighborhood on Saturday night. The bonus is I'll finally get to watch the much-hyped Disney blockbuster High School Musical.

Which leads me to my question for you . . . am I the only one out there that hasn't seen this flick yet? I have some gal pals from Bible study who RAVE about how good HSM is. They know most of the songs and even some dance moves. What's your take on the HSM craze?

What does a doctor carry?

This year we're dressing Chloe up as a doctor for trick-or-treating. And that's mainly because we have all sorts of doctor stuff already and time is running out!

So that brings me to my question for you all . . . What does a doctor carry that Chloe can use to gather her treats? My first thought is a little black doctor bag but where does one find such a thing? Any ideas?!?

What are your munchkins dressing up as this year?

(Clive is going as a pumpkin. He'll be wearing the same costume that I wore when I was his age! Don't worry, I'll be sure to take LOTS of pictures.)

Smiles for your Friday

Here's a reason to smile today! Isn't his smile contagious? I took Clive out for a quick grocery outing tonight and almost every person we walked past stopped to smile and coo at him.

I don't have a smiley picture of Chloe to share but I have a few anecdotes that should deliver grins. :)

Yesterday morning I was hurriedly getting clothes out to dress Chloe for the day. I chose her adorable denim overalls with embroidered cherries. This was Chloe's response . . . .

"Mommy, I am not happy right now."

Apparently she doesn't like wearing overalls. In fact she told me this morning that she'd rather wear only a shirt and undies. Hmm.

:: :: :: :: ::

While out for lunch with a friend of mine and her kids, Chloe held Bryan's hand as they walked across the parking lot. Here's a snippet of the conversation I overheard . . .

Bryan: "When I hurt myself, my sister laughs at me."
Chloe: "When I hurt myself I pray. I pray to GOD." (said emphatically)

:: :: :: :: ::

Last night Chloe colored while I prepared dinner and we both waited anxiously for Matt to return home from school. Chloe asked where daddy was and then said sincerely . . .

"Mommy, I want my daddy back."

Awww! It's deeply touching to see the sweet relationship Chloe and Matt have.

Hug and cherish the little ones in your life today!

Laundry basket cuties

Wow, I have really been a delinquent blogger as of late! What with working lots of hours at my online job and getting ready to leave home for the weekend (I'll be attending the truewoman08 conference in Chicago), I've not spared much time for blogging.

I snapped the picture at left of Clive a few days back and it reminded me of a similar pose I shot of Chloe when she was a wee babe.

I think it's pretty obvious by comparing these two photos that besides coloring, my two kids look very un-alike. It always makes me chuckle inside when strangers see their similar hair color and automatically coo and comment at their resemblance to each other. What?!? Chloe's face shape is exactly like my square-jawed hubby's. Clive's face is longer and less cheeky. We'll have to see if Clive resembles me more as he grows older.

Who do your kids resemble most?

My Clivey-poo

My little Clive just reached the 9 month mark!

Here are some cute (albeit long) videos of his latest antics. I think he's going for a world record in being the youngest baby ever to walk. In my mommy book it's just not natural for a 9 month old baby to be walking yet. And this mommy is NOT ready.

Enjoy you some baby cuteness!