Blog Award

I received this sweet "Blog Award" from Char! Once we receive the award, we are supposed to pass the award along to 6 other blogs that inspire. I couldn't just pick 6, so I have 7 listed. Thank you for being an "inspiration" to me!


I am passing mine to:

Suzanne - "Card Garden" - http://cardgarden.blogspot.com/
Heidi - "Love Embossing" - http://loveembossing.blogspot.com/
Lisa - "Lisa's Stampin! Weblog" - http://rubberstampinzone.wordpress.com/
Traci - "Stitch, Stamp & Stir" - http://stitchstampandstir.blogspot.com/
Carolyn - "My Blog by Cammie" - http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/
Rae - "Simply Rae" - http://www.simplyrae.blogspot.com/
Christine - "Chocolate & Steel" - http://chocolateandsteel.blogspot.com/

Love,

Lindsay

Congrats, Char!

We have a winner for the 12x12 layout contest! Congratulations, Char! Her Halloween layout received the most number of votes. She will receive the box of goodies in the mail.

It was close with the following votes:

2 - 1 vote

4 - 5 votes

6 - 1 vote

7 - 1 vote

8 - 3 votes

9 - 4 votes

10 - 4 votes

There were 3 other votes, but they did not count as they were posted before/after the contest time. I did also receive a couple email votes but they did not post to the blog, as well as a couple Anonymous posts that had no name and they did not send me an email to verify. I made sure everything was fair! :)

I will be sending out Char's box of goodies in the mail this week, as well as everyone else's goodie bags. I appreciate all that has participated. I can't wait to put these gorgeous layouts in Zoie's book. I truly value each and every one of you as a friend. Thank you!

Have a great week!

-Lindsay

It's Contest Time!

Below are the entries for my Annual 12x12 Scrapbook Layout Contest. Each entry is labeled with the artist, title, and entry number. Voting will be open from Thursday, April 23rd at midnight, and will run through Sunday, April 26th at midnight. Each person may vote for ONE layout throughout the time period. Multiple votes will be void. Please post a comment with your favorite layout. If you vote "Anonymously", you must put your name on the comment and send me an email to ucophotogirl@hotmail.com to verify your vote.

*** Please Note: If you post a comment Anonymously, you must include your name. That way when I go to verify from the email, I will know which post is yours. Also, you MUST post a comment with your vote. You can not just send me an email. That way everyone will be able to see the votes and it will be fair. Thank you! ***

The winner of the contest will win a big box of goodies!

If for some reason there is a tie, I will post those layouts and I will open voting for those two layouts alone for two days. The winning layout from those days will receive the box of goodies.

All participants will receive a goodie bag for joining.

CONTESTANTS

Heidi D. - A Day at the Park - Entry #1

Linda H. - Slip N' Slide - Entry #2

Renee S. - Zoie 3-years - Entry #3

Char C. - Halloween - Entry #4

Gina H. - Christmas Day - Entry #5

Gina H. - Dear Santa - Entry #6

Suzanne S. - Our New Home - Entry #7

Gina H. - Cinderella - Entry #8

Nikki K. - Peep Peep Thomas the Tank Engine - Entry #9

Nikki K. - A Day Out With Thomas - Entry #10

I will announce the winner on Monday morning. Thank you again to all the participants, and thank you for those who take the time to vote.

Good Luck!

Love,
Lindsay

Easter Egg Hunts... Part Deux

The weather was nice on Saturday so I decided to take Zoie to a couple more Easter Egg hunts. The City of Yukon was having their hunt at 11:00 a.m. at the Kilpatrick Park. We got up and around and went to my mom's house to pick her up. By the time we got there, we couldn't find a parking spot anywhere, and it was already 10:50 am! I found a spot at the back of the lot, and we had to almost run to get there in time. I picked Zoie up and we "speed walked" all the way to the back of the park where the 2-3 year olds were. Zoie was kind of in a "mood" since she hasn't been feeling good, so I didn't even know if she would do it or not. They sounded the siren on the fire truck and we were off. I helped by pointing out eggs for her to grab. There were quite a few people at this one, so she had to really hustle. She got quite a few eggs though. She almost filled her basket!

We then went to a church by our house for their egg hunt. The sign said 12-4 pm. We got there at like 11:45 am and waited until noon to register. They then gave us coupons for free hot dogs, snow cones, cotton candy and pop corn. They also had a moon bounce for the kids that Zoie loved! I love this picture of her.

They then had the Easter Bunny arrive in a huge truck that had lifts on it. He threw out candy and toys to the kiddos (Zoie was at the back and we didn't get up front to get any because she was too little). He then walked around and visited with the kids. Zoie played peek-a-boo with him and then wanted to give him a hug. It was super cute.

They finally had the hunts around 1 p.m. Zoie was getting tired by this point as it was nap time, but luckily there were probably only a half a dozen kids in her age group. When they told them to go, Zoie ran and started filling her basket. She filled it so full, I had to dump the eggs in my purse twice! She came away with a TON of eggs.

After the egg hunt they had door prizes. We were going to leave after they called Zoie's group. They called the 0-12 mos. and then the 12-24 months. Zoie's group was next. They called out the first ticket... it was her number! She won! The prize was a case with some Sesame Street coloring books, paints and crayons. She loved it. We were kind of bummed because the next prize in her group was the grand prize... a Barbie Hot Wheels Trike! It was ok that she didn't win though, because at least she won something.

By that time we decided to leave. It was almost 1:45 pm and Zoie hadn't had a nap yet. She was tired and needing some medicine, so we went home and layed down for a bit. It was a good day. :)

I hope everyone else had a great Easter weekend as well. Easter day we just took it easy. We went to church and then went to my grandparent's house for lunch. Josh went with us. It was a really relaxing and fun day. Unfortunately it rained so Zoie couldn't hunt eggs out back, but I think she's had enough egg hunting for awhile! lol

Love,
Lindsay

Potty Training Success!

So potty training hasn't gone exactly perfect, but she's getting there. We have good days, and we have bad days. Some days she does so great and I think, "She's really getting this!" And other days she won't go at all except in her pants and I wonder why I even try.

At school her teacher would send home notes saying, "So Proud of her!" and "Doing Great!" I even found this little note tucked inside her diaper bag:

I am so proud of her. She's promoted to full-time pull-ups and the thick "big girl panties." Yah for Zoie!

The other day, I even found this note in her diaper bag:

Way to Go BABY GIRL!! Granted, she hasn't done it since, and she actually did it twice that day. She's getting there. She knows when she has to go #2 because she has started hiding. I have caught her behind the shower curtain, in the closet, under the kitchen table... so she knows. At least that is a good sign.

She's doing great though and I just had to brag about my baby girl. She's growing up! :(

-Lindsay

Easter Egg HuntS...

I decided I wanted to take Z to at least one Easter Egg Hunt this year, to see how she would do. Last year's hunt didn't turn out too well. She was only 18 months and it was freezing cold. We arrived early and they were late getting started, so combining those factors with the patience of a 1-year-old, wasn't good. She wanted to get the one and only bottle of bubbles that they threw out there. Luckily it was right in front of us, but when the horn sounded, a little kid ran and grabbed them, leaving Zoie upset and in tears, while she proceeded to lay on the ground and cry and refused to hunt for any more. I was able to grab a couple, but it just wasn't an experience pleasurable enough to remember.

However, with her being a year older and more understanding, I explained the situation to her. She had a good grasp on what was to be expected. She knew that there would be other kids there, and if someone took something she wanted she would just have to find something else. I told her we would have to share with our friends and to not get upset. She said she wouldn't and she would "run fast and get bunches of eggs".

We arrived early as the computer said 10:15 am and when we got there it was scheduled for 10:45. We were able to walk around and take pictures with the Easter Bunny, register for door prizes and get a couple free eggs from local churches who were advertising.

When it was getting close to time, we went over to the area where the 1-2 year olds were to be. The other age groups had already gone, so her group was the last one left. They had a large area roped off next to the community center. There was a very large turnout, and lots of children impatiently waiting for the horn to sound. Zoie wanted to go early, but I told her no, we had to wait. She accepted it. We scoped out the goods and looked to see what she would want. And of course, in front of us was the one and only bottle of bubbles. Joy. I was getting a flash-back of last year, and was dreading the outcome if she didn't get it. I told her not to get upset if someone took them, and she seemed to understand.

Finally, the horn sounded and we were off. Zoie did get the bubbles, so I was relieved. She also got two big packages of Peeps and a small shovel. I decided to be smart and took her to the very back of the roped off area, so she was able to get some without other kids around. We moved over to the flower bed, and she collected some there. I was so proud of her because there was another little girl getting eggs and Zoie shared hers with the girl. Within two minutes the yard was cleared, and it was over. Zoie was pleased with her loot. Unfortunately, all of the candy she got was bubble gum and Now or Laters, all candy she couldn't eat. But she was content with her bubbles. And so was I.

After her age group's hunt, there was an "All Ages" hunt too. It was a large hunt, and open to everyone. There was a sign saying "Ages 3 and Up", but I figured we would let Zoie try since she did so well at her Group's hunt. We waited for a couple minutes, and they sounded the horn. There were a lot of older kids that ran. I didn't think I could go and help her, so I stayed back. However, I should have. When the kids ran, Zoie got scared and turned around and cried. I felt so bad. I shouldn't have sent her out there. There were some eggs close to where we were, but after the "big kids" got them, there weren't any left. She didn't get a single egg. This is what I saw:

My poor baby. I felt horrible. There were a couple of ladies who threw a few eggs in front of her so she would get some, but she didn't even want to pick them up. Her poor little feelings were hurt. So I thanked them and got the eggs for Zoie. I carried her to the car. Once we got there, she was just fine. She wanted her "Momma" and so I sat next to her and let Dad drive. We opened her eggs and looked at all of her goodies. She was happy. I guess I shouldn't push my baby growing up so fast.

At 2:00 pm there was another Egg Hunt at a local church by my parent's house. I invited Josh and his son Skylar. They had a small 'service' where the kids sang songs, they had a skit and watched a movie on getting saved. Most of the kids had no clue what they were talking about, but I know the church had good intentions. I don't think anyone knew we were going to a sermon, so most of the kids ran around the sanctuary. Finally after about 20-30 minutes, they broke the kids up into groups: toddler - Pre-K, Pre-K to 2nd grade, and then 2nd and Up. Zoie's age group had a ton of kids, so by the time it was all said and done, she only got 9 eggs. But she had fun and so did Skylar, so that is what counts.

Overall, it was a great day. We may try some more next weekend. :)

Love,
Lindsay