*~Picture Perfect~*

                      As I've mentioned before my little boy has a birthday coming up and I absolutely LOVE to take pictures of their celebrations, but then when I get them developed they tend to just sit in the envelope until I decide to take them out to reminisce. I know lots of people take those memories and put them into scrapbooks. Now you can make your own pages or you can buy kits or pre-designed pages online. I've seen many women who make great pages but no one I have seen does it better than this woman. Her scrapbook pages are absolutely breath taking and beautiful, she truly has a talent. My husbands cousin Amanda has recently started her own work at home business, Memories Made Wright.

                      Her and I are collaborating to do a fun and creative giveaway for you ladies. Tell us your favorite memory from your child's birthday or "birth" day (for you newer mommies). Amanda and I will read through them and pick our favorite. The person we pick will win a pre-designed, personalized 12*12 birthday page, valued at $15. The page will fit a 12*12 scrapbook or shadow frame. Above this post are some examples of what she does and creates. More can be viewed on her Facebook fan page, located here or on her website. Don't forget to stop by her Facebook page and tell her thank you for sponsoring this awesome giveaway. Now come the rules......

1. You have to be a fan of Memories Made Wright and This Mama's Life
2. Make sure to thank our awesome sponsor.
3. Entries will be accepted up to August 5th at midnight MST and winners will be announced Monday,    August 8th.

That's it, not too bad right? Ok well I look forward to reading your stories, I'm sure it will be hard to pick just one. =0)

I would like to brag for a moment......

How many of you often times feel so stressed out with everyday life that you forget to just take a step back and look at what is going good in life? I know I often do. The little things that go wrong often times cast a shadow on those things that truly make life good. Well today I just want to take a moment to give a shout out to the people that make my life so wonderful. I have a wonderful husband, that works so unbelievably hard everyday to make sure that the kids and I are taken care of. My husband does agriculture work and he works LOOOOONG days, but hardly complains. My kids are awesome! My boys are so helpful with housework and the baby and the baby is such a good baby. She never really cries or whines and is such a joy to be around. My boys love to make my husband and I laugh and they are so incredibly smart. I have a great house to live in and wonderful parents and in-laws that are always there if we need them to be. We also have lots of other help and support to keep us going. I feel so lucky and blessed to have the family I was given and the life I am living. Ok I'm done gushing, just had to get it out. I think we need to take each day as it comes and always keep in mind those who are there for us. Who do you want to give a shout-out to?

I'm melting, I'm melting!!!!

So as I've mentioned in previous posts, we just moved to a new town, and our new house does NOT have an air conditioner! I swear there are days when I'd rather sit in the tub filled with ice than even move. My kids are cranky and so am I. I have seriously been lacking on my blogging due to the crazy amount of heat our computer puts off. I don't even watch tv because it makes it hotter. My husband has promised that he will buy us an ac this weekend before I lose my mind. Ok thank you for letting me vent.

Hello my name is.......

MOM. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that sometimes I feel that Lauren has been sucked up into a wormhole never to return and she was replaced by "mom". My family and I recently moved to a new town, much smaller than the one that we used to live in. We really don't know much of anyone, that being said we don't get much time to ourselves or with other adults. Sometimes I look at my husband and don't even feel like I know him. As I said before, I know I am not alone in this. Hundreds of women and couples feel this way every day. So my question to you is, how do you find "me" time? and also how do you keep the spark in your relationship?

The Winners of the 100 Fan Celebration Are.......

I'm happy to announce the winners of the 100 Fan Celebration.

For the Zippy Doo Custom slot the winner is comment #4: Polly (marytheclean@gmail.com)

Green Mommy Diapers for the Flip diaper and insert, comment #11: Andrea Skoog (andreaskoog at yahoo)

Peek-A-Bootique for the White Ruffle Diaper Cover, comment #3: Jen (jen.a.kaylor@gmail.com). 

I only had one entry for the beautiful bows from Sally Stitches, and that winner would be: Ragan (raganashleyb@yahoo.com)

Since no one entered to win the Crown My Baby 50% off a purchase, I will choose a random winner later this evening. Congratulations to all the ladies who played. Please email me at themcfamily5@yahoo.com with your info so I can forward it to our sponsors. Thank you again and Congrats!

Because Every Child Deserves a Voice.

                             

 I'm sure we have all been keeping up to date on the Casey Anthony case, hoping she gets what she deserves. I, personally, feel that the justice system has failed, we have an innocent little girl who will never get to live her life to the fullest and a "mother" who just didn't seem to care.  When I heard they said she was innocent, my heart sank. To imagine the horrible way that little Caylee must have felt, wondering why or HOW her "Mommy" could do this to her. In light of all of this, I would like to tell you about a Non-Profit that is dear to my heart. I volunteered for a little bit, but not nearly as long as I wish I could have, with CASA. Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASA, is a non-profit agency that provides a voices for abused or neglected children. They provide everyday people with the skills and knowledge they need to be a voice for these children. As a CASA volunteer you spend time with the child, probably more time than the attorney or social worker can. You also are able to talk to the child's family, doctors, teachers and anyone else that plays a role in the child's life and you report back to the court. They are absolutely wonderful and even if you have no experience with the court system, they provide you with the training and resources you need to be an advocate for a child in need. If you are interested in learning more or in volunteering, you can do so here.


                                I know this is a short post, and I really wish I could type more, as this is such an important topic to me. But my three babies just woke up and are wanting breakfast. I hope that you take the time to even just visit the website and maybe some of you will volunteer. I really wish I could get back into, but unfortunately there is not a chapter near my town. Thank you for taking the time to read this.