Mommin' It Up!

April 22, 2008April 22, 2008

Go Green with Kroger and Win a $25 Gift Card!

I will be the first to admit that I am not the greenest person in the world. I do recycle aluminium cans and re-use grocery bags but that’s about it. However, I’ve recently been feeling the need to change that a bit, thanks to some greener bloggers like Karen and Amy. Especially since I now have more grocery and drug store bags that I can possibly re-use, thanks to couponing! So, if you’re like me, and need to lean a little toward the green side, Kroger has some great incentive for you! Right now at Kroger.com, you can design your own re-usable Kroger bag, and when you do, you’ll get a coupon for a FREE standard re-usable Kroger bag loaded onto your Kroger Plus shopper’s card!! SO COOL! If that isn’t cool enough, you can submit your design to be voted on by other Kroger.com users for a chance to win $500 and see your bag in stores! And if that isn’t cool enough, any Mommin’ It Up readers who email me their design to jenny at momminitup dot com will be entered to win a $25 Kroger gift card from Kroger and Mommin’ It Up! BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! You have TWO chances to win! Kroger has been kind enough to give us TWO $25 gift cards to give away. Anyone who emails me their design is automatically entered. Then, I will pick my 5 favorite designs and the readers will vote on them. You have until Friday April 25th to submit your design. Voting will commence Saturday April 26th and end at 8 a.m. Monday April 28th!! We will announce both the random winner and the voter’s choice winners on Monday. And yes, the same person can win both if the random number generator picks the same winner that the voters did.

Now, to get your creative juices flowing, here’s my Kroger bag design:

Isn’t that cute? It was really easy to do and you can even upload your own photos to use! So get thee to Kroger.com and get creating! I want to see my inbox flooded with entries! There are free groceries at stake people! Oh, yeah, and also the environment. 🙂

Oh, and in case you happen to want me to win the $500 from Kroger, you can click here to vote for MY bag design!

April 22, 2008April 22, 2008

Happy Birthday Kate!

Em is a little under the weather (mastitis- ouch!!) so I am taking the liberty to post for her in celebration of Kate’s fourth birthday. (Em, when you are feeling up to it, feel free to butt in to this post or make your own!)

The anticipation of Kate’s birth was very exciting for me because a) I had NO IDEA whether she was a boy or a girl (thanks Em!), and b) I had just had Joshua and was so excited for Emily to experience the wonder of being a mom. I cried when Emily’s sister Anna called to tell me Kathryn Elizabeth had been born. Then I got Joshua ready to go as fast as I could, picked up Anna, and drove to the hospital. I was so flustered I turned the wrong way off the highway and had to turn around! I couldn’t wait to see that baby!

She was a real sight to see. She had so much black hair. It was just beautiful! And he had the longest fingers I have ever seen on a baby. And she was absolutely perfect.

All my newborn pics of Kate are stored on a CD somewhere, so I wanted to share this one with you. It was taken at Em’s & my Grandma’s 80th birthday party, a couple weeks before Kate turned 1. Kate was and is still a very gregarious kid, and by this time she had already been walking for two months, while my Joshua at 14 months was still too chicken to try it! I remember her running around everywhere at this party, trying to keep up with the big kids. She was so cute.

Kate, I’ve always loved the way you’ve grabbed life by the horns, ever since you were born. I love the way you tell it like it is, the way you make everything exciting, the way you sing, the way you dance, and your penchant for all things princess. I love that you are such a good friend to your cousin Joshua, such a joy to your parents, your Papa, and your two great-Grandmas.

You are a pretty cool kid, and I’m really glad you are part of my family!

April 21, 2008

Sophie’s Revenge

Well, of course, while I was on my trip, the kids were good as gold for Bobby. Which is really, really unfair. I do not know how he did it, but when I got home the house was really clean from top to bottom, much cleaner than I have ever been able to get it by myself while taking care of the kids. So, while I am very thankful for the cleanliness, I can’t help but feel a smidge inadequate – how come he can do it when I can’t? Oh, well…

My plane got in about 11:45 p.m. I was sooo glad to see Bobby waiting for me there! I was very excited to see the kids, too, but they were at home in bed, being watched over by our trusty babysitter, Tosh. My boobs were rather full when we got home from the airport around 12:30 a.m. (despite the fact that I DID pump in the bathroom at the San Diego airport. Let me tell you, you have not lived until you’ve pumped your breasts while sitting on the toilet in an airport restroom. Blecch.) so I got Sophie out of bed and nursed her to get some relief. She never even woke up. But it was so great to hold her little warm baby body in my arms! Then, I got in bed and Bobby had let Joshua sleep in our bed so that I would be there with him when he woke up in the morning. So it was nice to cuddle my little guy and not have to wait til the morning to see him.

Saturday both kids were really happy to see me when they got up. Sophie rubbed her face all over my chest and then giggled with glee when I laid her down to nurse. It was soo cute! I was afraid she’d be mad at me for leaving. (Kind of like when you go on vacation without a pet and when you come home they are way pissed and start pooping on the floor!) I told Bobby that I was afraid when I got home she’d make me pay for going on a trip, make me decide if it had really been worth it. But she was sweet as can be, not mad at me at all. I thought I was off the hook, until…she wanted to nurse again. And again. And again. And pretty much ALL DAY. This was her revenge: to attach herself to my boob so that I can never leave again! “Just don’t let her,” says Bobby. Hmm, well, we all know that’s easier said than done. To top it off, she’s getting some kind of cold – I returned to the “Land of Snot and Eye Boogies” – and I feel bad for trying to stave her off when she’s obviously under the weather. So. She’s wearing me out. I am about to have to go out and buy a tube of Lansinoh, which I have not used since she was like two weeks old! Oh, Sophie. You ~~complete~~ deplete me.

But truly, I am so glad to be home with my family! But was it worth it? Worth leaving them for two days and flying across the country and jet lag and airport-bathroom-pumping and all that? Heck yes it was!! I had an amazing time. Please, please come on over to Reviewin’ It Up and read how very, very, very worth it my trip was!! I have so much to tell you!