i love you this much

i haven't talked to you for a while. i haven't visited you for probably a longer while, and there's been absolutely no reason to visit me.

you probably think i don't like you anymore... wrong.

or maybe i'm possibly mad at you... absolutely not.

in fact, i love y'all so much. (you can't believe how happy i was when i signed into my blogger account and i hadn't lost any followers. granted, it's 35 of you. but seeing that little number made me so happy!)

now where was i... oh yeah. i love y'all so much—and here's my proof:

this morning my mother-in-law came and picked up samantha, so it's just me and ryan today. and ryan naps. as a matter of fact, he's in bed sleeping right now. and me? i don't have a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g that absolutely needs to get done right now. and i'm tired—i didn't sleep well last night. so i could reeeeaaaallly go for a nap right now. but no, here i am, finally on the other side of the computer screen, saying hi.

hi.

and after i hit the little orange "publish" button? i'm gonna get a post ready for tomorrow. and hopefully upload a funny embarassing video of my husband for friday. yes, it's gonna be blog overload over here.

so while i could be lost in dreamland, or catching up on some missed tv shows, or cleaning the house playing on the computer, i'll be blogging. just for you! see you tomorrow!

how do you like to spend a lazy carefree afternoon?

i was in a coma for a month

that, or april was never here. i remember march 31st—i had just enjoyed an awesome 4 day visit with my sister and her family. i went to bed that night and awoke on may 1st. i had somehow managed to skip a whole month of my life. (now before y'all freak out, i really wasn't in a coma! my health has not been compromised in any way for the making of this blog post!)

april never came for me this year. well, at least not for my blog.

because if there had an april this year, i imagine it would've looked something like this: 

my sister would come for a visit over easter, and we'd stay up till the wee hours of the morning watching episodes of the office.

my nephew would come home for a visit. 

i'd get to see my totally cute auntie alice in wonderland (you made it on the blog, al!)

i would've gone to minnesota for a week to see my parents, sisters, nieces and nephew, and grandma and grandpa.

my husband's car would get broken into.

i'd let the kids pick rocks at lake superior.

i'd labor over doing my taxes at the last minute, then decide to procrastinate on them and play farmville.... 

my nieces would make their acting debut.

my garden would get planted.

samantha would crack her head open right before bedtime and we'd spend the next hour and a half holding a cold washcloth to her head and google "when does my child need stiches."

we'd have a garage sale.

i would have waited in line forever with the kids to meet spiderman.

but none of that happened. you know, because april was awol. not to worry though. i've reported it to the department of Months & Years that Spontaneously Escape, Leave, and Fade into thin air (MYSELF!) and this fiasco should not occur again.... i hope.

so. how was everyone else's month?!

wordless wednesday week

after my week of not blogging last week, i was all prepared to blog it up this week! i had something prepared for about every day this week. yesterday i put off blogging all day and was going to wait to post until after the kids went to bed.

then our neighbor knocked on our door right before the kids went to bed and gave us some heartbreaking news: her husband had died the night before.

and then i became wordless.

the wife was on the phone most of the time, so i didn't get to talk to her last night. i just sat with her teenaged daughter while she cried on my shoulder for about 10 minutes. her 6 year old son doesn't really grasp what happened, as well as her 2 year old daughter.

i will spare most of the details and names here on my blog, but he was shot on monday evening (not at home) and died later at the hospital. his death was the result of sick, sinful, depraved men. and his life came to a value of less than $100.

this may be a wordless week for me. my blog will not be high on my list of priorities. top of the list: loving on my husband, hugging my kids, and doing anything and everything to be a blessing and show God's love to a suffering family.

not me! monday

welcome to not me! monday. this blog carnival was created by mckmama. you can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

i have NOT neglected my blog for a week. so in addition to catching up on reading blogs, i also have to catch up on posting.

remember how i do NOT need new clothes? well it was NOT me who went shopping at jcpenney outlet and got a few new articles of clothing, one item being a pair of khakis. i am NOT so cheap frugal that i was on the fence about spending $12.99 on a pair of pants. so when i finally gave in and decided to buy them, i was NOT super excited that they rang up for $2.69!!! (and i was NOT ecstatic that i was able to fit into the pair that was 2 sizes smaller than i used to wear!)

i did NOT have a bad backache one night from 1-4:30 am. so i did NOT lie on the bathroom floor because it was the only thing that somewhat helped. yes, the bathroom floor that had NOT gone uncleaned for 2 weeks... and just to top things off i did NOT grab the used bath towel and proceed to use it as a blanket.

it has NOT gotten incredibly HOT here, so i did NOT finally get samantha's pool out this summer. and one sweltering afternoon, my sister and i did NOT decide to put on our suits and hop in samantha's kiddie pool with her, despite the redneckish feeling we had while sitting in it! it was NOT incredibly relaxing and refreshing. and in the 12 inches of water? well, we did NOT get totally and completely drenched!

yesterday as the heat index approached 101 degrees outside, i was NOT sickened when samantha said to me, "mom, i'm cold." and then she most certainly did NOT curl up in a heavy blanket...

i am NOT anticipating having ben home tonight. he has NOT spent the last 2+ weeks working super hard and super late (last night he did NOT work until 2am...). so tonight will NOT be my first time of real cooking in over a month!

happy monday everyone!

time's about up

if you missed my giveaway or forgot to enter, speak comment now or forever hold your peace! tomorrow night i will pick a winner!

click here and scroll all the way down to the bottom. click on 'post a comment' and enter to win!!

My blog was hacked by a dumb blonde

today i'd like to introduce you all to ace, my second guest blogger of the week. go check her out at If You Think Round Is Funny. because i guarantee it, if you think round is funny, you'll think she's hillarious!

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I've been saying for years that I really think I was meant to be a blonde. I tried last summer. See? I quite liked it and felt it suited my personality much better but Superman doesn't really get into blondes, so I finally gave up. But I have the blonde story of all blonde stories for you.


I was messing around on here while Superman was on his way home from work a while back. I had noticed on my site meter that I had one visitor that had stopped by several times one day, staying for a few hours at a time. There were multiple page views and it looked like they had been trying to view my drafted and scheduled posts. I freaked out thinking someone was trying to hack my blog. I had Superman look at it when he got home, he's smart like that. After looking around, he thought the same thing. He sat with the computer for at least an hour checking things out. We proceeded to change my passwords to something even I'll never remember.


Towards the end of the hour, Superman had me go to my blog on the other computer. Suddenly the problems were evident.


The IP address, the display size, the version of Firefox, the operating system...


I was the hacker.


You see, site meter spazzed on me and quit counting. I couldn't get it fixed and had to completely start it all over again. I swear to you that I blocked views from my own IP address. If I wouldn't have I'd have over a million visitors by now because of how obsessed I am with refreshing to see if anyone came by.


My thousands of refreshes that day never once changed my visitor number, leaving me completely surprised when Superman discovered that I was hacking myself and that site meter was no longer blocking my own IP.

It's fixed now. I feel like a complete moron.





**No offense to blondes was meant in the writing of this post. I totally wish I could go blonde without going orange**

a giveaway to suit your purseonality

welcome to my 200th post!! as promised, today i'm having a giveaway. i've been thinking about this for a while, and after many comments on a new accessory, it was not not hard to decide on a prize... read on!

it started with this...

...beautiful, reversible, bright colored, made-with-love-by-my-sister purse.

seriously, don't you love it? i can't remember exactly why she made it, but it was quite a while ago. she didn't stop there though. she even made me a crabby purse. which cracks me up every time i see it. it's such a great cure for the crabbies!

and this year for my birthday my sister made me two fabulous purses that i absolutely LOVE.

mmmmmmmmmmm......... aren't they yummy?!

and i can't let this one go unnoticed: she made this one for samantha. isn't it adorable?!

i can't tell you how many people have commented on my purse: at the store, at church, at garage sales, and so on. with a bit of a demand for these amazingly cute purses, my sister has just lauched a store on etsy. so, if you haven't guessed it yet.... up for grabs today is a handmade purse from her store! yes, that's right, in no time you could be sporting one of these delightful handbags (based on availability, of course!). so go check it out and let me know which purse YOU would like to win. and if you see a purse you can't resist, well, you better get it before it's gone!

(if you're the winner and have a certain color preference that you don't see or would rather make, let me know. you just won't get the purse as quickly!)

and here's how you enter to win:
go to heather's etsy shop and leave me a comment with your favorite purse--1 entry
tweet or facebook about this giveaway--2 entries
follow my blog--3 entries

make sure to leave me a comment for each entry you've fulfilled!

don't know how to leave a comment? scroll down to the bottom of this post where it says posted by ben and erin at 10:00 AM 2 Comments. click on comments. then leave me your comment! and you don't have to have blog to comment. where it says choose and identity, click the circle by Name/Url. just type in your name and then click publish your comment. easy as pie, huh?! just make sure that you leave me an email address or a way to contact you in case you win!

i will be back next week to let you know who the winner is! good luck!

http://www.heathermariedesigns.etsy.com/

procrastination is my middle name

we're leaving in the morning. as early as possible. we're going camping for a week and i haven't packed a single thing.

this evening we'll be gone to my sis-in-law's for dinner, so i won't have time to pack then. right now i'm watching cartoons with ryan (and blogging) while we eat lunch. and here's the best part: it's after 1pm and i'm still in my jammies!!

it's a good thing i work best under pressure, because erin is my name; procrastination is my game!

how do YOU get ready for a trip? are you a procrastinator or a planner?

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on the business side of things, my blog will not be left unattended while i'm away. i have some guest posts lined up, so be sure to read those! and with this post being #198, we're very close to my 200th post giveaway. watch for it!

random

i finally have an appointment to get my hair cut next monday. i couldn't be more excited! and after weighing all your ideas and suggestions (thank you!) i have decided how i want to have it cut. and while i can tell you that i won't get a mohawk or a mullet, i'm going to keep my soon-to-be-new hairstyle a secret until it's cut!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

i'm getting close to my 200th post. so to celebrate i'm gonna have a giveaway. and the prize? well, it's super cute. and it's something i use EVERY day. oh i can't wait!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

my sister brought to my attention that i forgot to mention that my dad was a mail carrier for 30 plus years. which makes this post all the funnier.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

we got samantha a digital camera for her birthday. within 24 hours she had already taken 100+ pictures. a girl after my own heart! just look at how cute she is taking a picture of her new puppy!

she also told me that she deleted the pictures of me but kept the ones that she took of ryan so that she can blog about him!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

did you think i'd forget thankful thursday? well i got a migraine tonight. no, i'm NOT thankful for that. but i am thankful that samantha is old enough to watch ryan. because she played with him for a bit while i layed down, and then i got them dinner and set them in front of the tv while i slept for about TWO hours!

what's that you say? mother of the year?! that's what i thought...!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

and with that, goodnight. i am actually gonna go to bed before midnight!

tuesday tip

hire a maid, especially if your kitchen looks like this.

and also so that you have more time to do art with your kids.


okay, so this really isn't a tuesday tip post, but i couldn't come up with a clever, witty, artistic title for this post.

anyway, i wanted to pass along some info to you all about a blog carnival coming up on friday in which you can display your creative, artistic side. and your kids'. and your spouse's. and your dog's. oh, wait, i don't think there's a category for pets!

my blog friend sara, along with two other bloggers, is hosting we heart art this week. seriously, go check it out. there's even prizes!

looking forward to seeing everyone's entries. happy arting!

not me! monday

welcome to not me! monday! this blog carnival was created by mckmama. you can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


but as for me...

i have NOT been neglecting my blog (and everyone else's) for the last 2 weeks because it has NOT taken me that long to get back into my routine after coming back from minnesota.

ryan's fingers did NOT almost get chopped off this week. he was NOT standing at the screen door and the movable glass (which was UP to let in some air) did NOT break free of the prongy pieces that were holding it up and it did NOT come crashing down on his hand like a guillotine. i did NOT run to him all the while envisioning driving a screaming baby to the ER with his fingertips in a baggie on ice... thankfully he was okay! the glass has NOT been down ever since!

while the kids were taking a bath one night, samantha did NOT start screaming for me and when i ran into the bathroom she was NOT perched on the side of the tub because ryan had NOT pooped in the tub! and two days later he did NOT have a repeat performance!

my mom did NOT write me an email in not me! format. i am NOT convinced that she really wants a blog of her own so that she can do her own not me! monday posts! :-)

the other day when ryan was eating shredded wheat, i did NOT sit idly by and watch him eat all the frosting off of the pieces and then try to put the now un-frosted pieces back in the box. after all, i'm not the one who eats them.... only daddy!

i did NOT miss ben's 1st homerun of the softball season because i was NOT busy talking to my friend. nope, i'm definitely the kind of wife that keeps score of the game so that he can look at his stats afterwards!....softball is definitely NOT social hour for me!

i was NOT surprised with mother's day presents yesterday morning. samantha did NOT make me this beautiful necklace and ben did NOT get me two new CDs. i did NOT have a wonderful mother's day yesterday!

i did NOT post a picture of my horribly messy kitchen in all its glory last night. the state of my living room is NOT the same. and i am NOT going to procrastinate on cleaning them today because going out for chicken tacos is NOT more important!

what have you NOT done this week?

not me! monday

yay! mckmama's back for not me! monday... go visit her blog to see the most recent pictures of her fab four, to read about what everyone else has NOT been doing, or to join in on the fun with your own not me! monday post!



but first...

i have NOT given myself a big bloggy vacation (did y'all miss me?!). i was NOT at my parents' house (and away from my husband) for 2 weeks. and when i finally came home last monday, i did NOT bring my parents home with me for 5 days. (actually, they brought me...) so i do NOT have a lot of catching up to do!

anyway, on our trip home from minnesota last monday, at one of our stops, i did NOT have a most interesting conversation: while washing my hands in the restroom, a lady that had just used the hand dryer did NOT say to me “wow, there’s powder in the dryer!!!” so when I went to dry my hands she pointed to a little sticker on the dryer. so i told her, “oh, no, it says 'feel the power,' not powDer.” she apparently didn’t hear me because she did NOT keep rubbing and feeling her hands saying that they felt different and she was NOT trying to figure out how in the world they put powder into the hand dryer. and when i finished drying my hands she did NOT say to me “feel your hands—don’t they feel different?” i did NOT quickly say "no" and exit the bathroom…!

before leaving my parent's house, i did NOT hide a leather candle for my sister to find. (it is a tacky little candle thingy that travels between me and my sister... click here to read about it!) i did NOT hide it inside the little gas tank door on her car. and i did NOT duct tape it in there just to be sure it wouldn't fall out. so when heather went to get gas the other day i did NOT freak her out because i did NOT fail to think of the fact that having something duct taped to your gas tank might be a little suspicious and could possibly look like a bomb... (sorry heath!)

this week samantha did NOT ask me "mom, do we live in an apartment or a downsizing?” i did NOT have to contain my laughter when I replied, “no, we don’t live in an apartment or a downsizing honey, we live in a townhouse. (seriously, where did DOWNSIZING come from?!)

i most certainly have NOT been drugging ryan up at night ever since he did NOT stay up until 2:45 the other night. nope, it's not me who has been pumping him full of tylenol and orajel every night. and it has NOT been working!

today our nephew is NOT leaving to join the US Navy. so on saturday night we did NOT have to tell him goodbye (yes, in the taco bell parking lot). i did NOT think it wouldn’t be too hard to tell him goodbye. and as i was hugging him goodbye and went to let go, he did NOT keep hanging on. i did NOT lose it. and i did NOT cry like a baby in the car after we left.

and yesterday when i was looking at the pictures on my camera, i was NOT taken by surprise to see a picture (that ben had apparently taken) of me crying and hugging him. i did NOT almost lose it again. Cameron — I love you, I’ll miss you, and I am so very proud of you!



well, since i have NOT done any housecleaning of any sort in three weeks i'm NOT off to do mounds of laundry, dishes, vacuum, dust, mop, clean the bathrooms, etc. oh, who am i kidding, i'm NOT going to go read some not me blogs!

what have you NOT done this week?!

orange for stellan

as you all know, i'm away from home right now visiting my parents. and you should also know about stellan by now, who is at this moment having surgery. so when i read yesterday that people were wearing orange for stellan today, i was bummed. my orange shirt is at home. i have absolutely NOTHING orange to wear.

so i decided to dress my blog in orange, hence the change. go visit mckmama's blog to get the latest update, and click here to see everyone who is wearing orange for stellan today. and pray pray pray!

Spring Fling – What I can not live without…

so remember how i told you that sara was having a spring fling blog swap kinda thing? well it's here!! and today on my blog i'm hosting cass from the rowan four. so here's her post with her favorite girly product:

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Hi Everyone! I am a guest blogger participating in Domestically Challenged’s Blogspot Spring Fling Event You can check out her blog here…

So back to the title of this post. What I can not live without…

…body mist. It is so very wonderful AND it has so many personalities’ uses too!

I have a story! So let’s flash back to the sixth grade – that would have been 19XX, ahhhh you didn’t think I has actually going to tell you did you??? There was a girl, we will call her Karen for this exercise, that always smelled ‘flowery’ and all the boys LOVED Karen! I have to admit she smelled good…for competition that is. Now I was a bit of a tomboy so smell had never really mattered to me until THAT year. So began my many years of searching for a smell that worked for me…I tried soap, shampoo, hairspray, perfume, lotion, you name it- I tried it! This one was too heavy, that one to musky, THIS one you could smell from across the room…oh the frustration. It wasn’t until the late 90’s that I discovered body mist. It was perfect, it was light, and I loved it.

So I have a love for things that smell good, but are light.

Now back to the many personalities’ uses of body spray. I use it for lots of things, not just my body. Let’s see- I spray my clothes to freshen them up, any room in the house OR furniture for that matter that needs a lift, great for hot days in the sun for a quick spritz to cool you off, and finally- ummm it’s great for those shoes that I refuse to wear sock with…My mom is shaking her head right now…

Now I have tried all brands, but my favorite right now is the New DOVE mists. Good news is they are inexpensive at a whopping $3.89 at target. I dare you to try them- what do you have to lose??? It’s not like shelling out a crisp Benjamin for a perfume you may end-up disliking after 2-3 weeks. Soooo-go for it!

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thanks, cass! it was a pleasure to blog host you! and don't forget to visit sara at domestically challenged to see everyone else's favorite girly item.

so what's your fav? what can you not live without?!

just so you're not TOTALLY confused!

someone else will be posting on my blog tomorrow (saturday). well, i will really be doing the posting, but it's gonna be someone else who wrote it.

you see, sara, over at domestically challenged, is having a spring fling blog swap kinda thing. how it's gonna happen is that everyone who is participating is going to email her a post. then she's gonna email it to another participant to post on their blog. all the blogs involved will be linked on her blog, then we get to go "find" our own posts. kind of like a big scavenger hunt for your blog post.

confused? yeah. i was too. but i think it will be fun!

click here to read the complete details (she explains it way better!), and feel free to join in on the fun. because like she said, the more the merrier!