A favorite...

Sam talked to Grace in my belly everyday and he loved to rub it and kiss "Baby Gwace". In fact, my water broke in the grocery store five minutes after he whispered, "Come out soon sister!"

As you can see, he was beaming as he held her for the first time. She was one hour old.

This picture makes my heart melt. I look at it, and I just see love. Love being given and received. Love that is completely new, but feels so very old. Love that has changed my life forever.

With all of the pictures that I take, it was hard to choose just one favorite as my entry in the 5 Minutes for Mom, Mother's Day photo contest. Take a look through yours and go enter! The prize is amazing!

True Jeans Giveaway

Those of you who know me in real life, know that I have a gift for finding a great deal. This "gift", has brought many lovely things into my life. A new, $900 Pottery Barn area rug for $200, A three month old, $3,000 Pottery Barn sectional for $800, my $1,500 Nicole Miller wedding gown for $30. If I do say so myself, I'm good.

I'm bad too. As a result of my love for a bargain, I have a fair amount of not so great fitting clothes that I bought simply because they were such a great deal. I'm working on it though, and I've gotten better. Over the last two years, I've adopted the Oprahism of "Would I want it if it were full price?". Usually, the answer is no.

That being said, I probably own 10 pairs of jeans, all purchased on sale, before having children or at some point shortly after. I don't like how any of them look and so, most days, I reach for my Yoga pants. I thought that looking good in jeans was another casualty of mommyhood until I tried on a pair of my friend Christina's 7 for All Mankind jeans. It was right before I got pregnant with Grace. I was back to my pre-baby weight, but not my pre-baby bod and those jeans looked amazing on me. My butt, was back where it belonged. The waist band was in the right place, eliminating my "muffin top". I vowed to get a pair. I began the hunt. I tried on 100 pairs of designer jeans. I fell in love over and over but I couldn't pull the trigger. $150 plus for jeans? Crazy. I told myself one pair of $200 jeans that are worn every day is worth it and better than 10 pairs of $20 jeans. I still couldn't do it.

Then I was pregnant again and my quest ended. I still want a pair though. I've been telling myself that as soon as I lose the last 5 pounds, it's off to Nordstrom I go....who am I kidding though? I'll never spend $200 on jeans.

Imagine my delight when I learned that 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a $200 gift certificate for True Jeans! Excited? Just a little. I could spend that gift certificate in a heart beat. I wouldn't even wait to lose those last 5 pounds.

Little Fashionista...

The booties that we won during Bloggy Giveaways and poncho that I bought to match came this week. They are absolutley adorable, these pictures do not do them justice! The fleece is soft and very plush and the sage green trim just puts the entire outfit over the top.

Grace wears 18 month clothes, but I ordered it in a 2T so that we can use it next winter. It's a touch big and she gets a little frustrated because her hands are buried underneath. Mama doesn't care though! It's plenty warm for the trip to and from the car and the sleeveless design means no more struggling with car seat straps. You should get one, you should all get one!

Can you see the matching fringe on the boots? The booties are a steal at $15. They have suede bottoms and stay on every bit as well as Robeez booties. I wouldn't use them for outside play, but now that Grace is walking, we don't wear our Robeez outside either.

Thank you, thank you E2Designs!

My Bloggy Makeover...

You may remember that back in November I won a blog makeover from Amy at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31 during the Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway. It took me forever to get Amy all of the information that she needed, but as you can see, it's done!

Amy was great to work with. Check out her other blog Split Desicionz. She's got lots of blogging tips and free templates for those of us who are technically challenged and can't do anything ourselves!

Loot

Bloggy Giveaways is officially over and I won some stuff!

First, from Tsh at Better Things Ahead I won my choice of a photo card design from her Etsy store, Toblerone. I wish that I had known about her when Grace was born. Cute birth announcements can be so expensive! Those of us who don't have great Photoshop skills or hundreds of dollars to spend, are stuck with generic templates. Tsh has beautiful, boutique quality designs that she will personalize for you. She then sends you the jpg so that you can print them wherever you want! She has cards for all occasions at a very reasonable price. Plus, she's super nice. As I currently don't have a need for a photo card at the moment, she is letting me hold my gift certificate for as long as I want....time for another baby?

Second, I won the most adorable little booties from Lauren at E2Designs. Lauren makes the cutest booties and ponchos. At the moment, I'm trying to decide between the brocade and fleece booties. Once I make up my mind, I plan to order a matching poncho. Not only are they cute, but they are a great alternative to big winter jackets that make getting in and out of car seats such a pain. Do you think Sam would look silly in one?

The winner is.....

Number 41, Sileena at Nolanite News! Her four daughters will be adorable in their new tutu. Can four girls share one tutu?

Free Tutu!

This giveaway is now closed.
Once again, Shannon is hosting a Bloggy Giveaways Carnival. Be sure to go over and check it out. Be warned....Last fall, I spent countless hours checking out blogs and entering giveaways while my children watched PBS and ate cereal out of the box....It's addictive...I've been looking forward to this for weeks!

I will be giving away another custom made tutu. These are super cute (if I do say so myself). Each is made of at least 75 yards of super soft tulle. I have several colors to choose from (pinks, purples, orange, greens, blues and browns) and can make it to fit a baby or a big girl.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment by Sunday, February 3.

Good luck!

Note: I WILL send this to anyone, anywhere...cause I'm nice like that! However, nice as I am, I do not have super powers....please, please, please make sure that you leave a way for me to contact you! If your profile is private or does not have contact information and you win, I will have to pick someone else.

How stinkin' cute is this?

Believe it or not, it's hard to shop for a one year old girl! She's still too young for all the girlie toys and she's actually pretty happy playing with a truck or say, an old newspaper. But can't you just picture her tooling around in this? I found it on Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles. It's not cheap so I'm hoping I win it here!

My Bloggy Giveaway Blues are OVER!!!

Two minutes after posting my last post I received an email that said I had won a blog makeover!!!!! I jumped out of my chair and started dancing around the dining room and then ran to the living room to inform Brad...who was happy for me, but not nearly as excited.

This is something that I have really, really wanted to do. However, there hasn't been a ton of extra money at Casa Twinkle lately and I just haven't been able to justify doing it. Sooo....Amy from In Pursuit of Proverbs 31....will be giving my blog, "The Works" which has a retail value of $75! I can't wait to work with Amy. She does great work and she's a Christian. Hopefully the two of us will be able to come up with something that represents my blog title and verse as well as the fact that my blog is about me and my family and well, let's face it, we don't always shine!

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Bloggy Giveaway Blues

I was a bad mom this week. I spent HOURS entering giveaways from the Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway...hours. My kids took care of themselves and each other....I said things like, "No you can't go outside and play, go watch more TV.", "Yes, you can eat chicken nuggets with ketchup in the living room." and after Halloween...."Sure, have more candy!" all to keep my kids busy so that I could hunt for free treasures!

The giveaways ended Friday...I have anxiously checked my e mail several times a day, fully expecting to find that I had won lots of cool stuff. Unfortunately, there have been no such emails...I was starting to feel sorry for myself....and then it happened....! I won something, I won something!

Kristen at Mommy Needs a Cocktail will be sending me this shirt from her web site Baby Brewing! How perfect is that for me? It's perfect, absolutely perfect! Thank you Kristen! I no longer feels disappointed and unsatisfied...my time in front of the computer was well spent!

And the winner is....

Number 62....Bethany! I wish that I had saved the result from the random number generator as proof that this was not fixed! 178 people entered this contest and all but two of those were strangers...God is my witness, my dear friend, college roommate and wedding photagrapher Bethany won! I guess sweet Adelee was meant to have a tutu!

If you contacted me about having a tutu made for your little girl and don't hear from me, please try again. I'd love to make one for you. I was so overwhelmed by the positive response that I kind of lost track....I'm used to getting one or two comments a day....not fifty!

Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway!

If you have found your way to my blog because you googled "custom made tutu" please feel free to contact me (my email is in my profile). I'd love to make your little girl a tutu. I can make them in any size and just about any color or colors. I have photos of others I have made and wam happy to send them to you if you'd like to see other examples. Cost is $25 plus actual shipping costs. I can take Paypal.

There's a really fun Bloggy Giveaway extravaganza going on this week! Hundreds of bloggers are giving all kinds of things, all you have to do is leave them a comment! I've spent the last half hour entering some great giveaways and started feeling a little guilty that I wasn't participating on the giving something away side. Sooooooo...After much deliberation, I have decided to make one lucky little girl an adorable tutu!

They really are adorable. Each one is made out of over 75 yards of high quality, super soft tulle. I have several colors that you can chose from and I will make it to fit your special little girl....perfect for a baby or a big girl!

All you have to do to win is leave a comment on this post by midnight on Friday, November 2. A winner will be selected randomly on Saturday, November 3. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to those living in the US and Canada. Sorry, if I have to package it to ship internationally, it will never get sent!

Update: Several people have asked about buying one of these...To date, I have only made them for friends, but if you are interested in purchasing one, let me know. Price would depend on what you want...I can do them in one color or more....I can embellish with flowers, ribbon and crystals for some extra princess sparkle....

Thanks everyone. I am overwhelmed by the positive feedback!