Visit the Shaks

Mark my words, someday I am going to be very, very rich. And when I do, I'm going to do some weird stuff with my money, because that's what rich people do. Here's the top 5 weird things I'm going to do when I get rich:

1. Wear a crown everywhere I go. Insist that everyone call me Princess Ivy. Get one for HelloKitty to wear too, if she wants one. She'll insist on being called Princess HelloKitty, I'm sure.

2. Get a pedicure every single day. Because really, pedicures are filled with awesome and win, and I'll need to relax to be able to deal with all my money.

3. Hire a chauffeur to be on call 24 hours a day for my brother. My brother's a bad driver, so having someone to drive him around all the time makes sense. But I'll only hire a chauffeur named Mr. Fabulous. It'll be in the contract.

4. Carry a laptop everywhere with me. One that matches my shoes.

5. Have a house just for my cats. Because they need lots of space, you know, and how cool would it be to have a (legal) cathouse? And a full time staff member to feed and care for them.

Tell me, what weird stuff will you do when you get rich?

I don't know about you, but I am definitely not a homebody. Sure, there are times when I want nothing more than to cuddle up with my family on the couch and watch some good old Fox and The Hound. But most of the time, I am looking for ways to escape the piles of dirty dishes, mounds of laundry and buckets full of dirty diapers.

Here are my top five things to do when you just need to get out of the house.

1. Head to the park! It's free and kids can entertain themselves while you get a breather. If you can stand to spend an extra five minutes at your house, take that time to grab a magazine, book or small craft to occupy yourself and a few outdoor toys (ball and bat, Frisbee, magnifying glass) to help the kiddos stay busy.

2. You gotta love a Play Place! If the weather isn't the best for outdoor play or if you're craving a little more confined space for wild ones, hit up the local burger joint or nearest mall and let the kids jump in the ball pit or climb through the tunnels in their play areas. I always feel guilty if I don't buy something so I'll usually grab a small coke and enjoy the free refills.  I'll pay $1.19 any day if it means we can get out of the house for an hour or two!

3. Take Dad lunch! Surprise your husband (or grandma or friend) at their workplace with a picnic lunch. Daddy will enjoy getting to visit with the little ones in the middle of the day and the kids will enjoy seeing where he works.

4. Take a hike! Grab the stroller or wagon and hit the road. You can go all out by hiking a trail at a nearby park or you can just go for a spin around the block. Either way, the fresh air is sure to get you out of your funk.

5. Have fun in the car! Hit the car wash and let the kids have a blast watching the suds and brushes splash on their windows. And if that's not a long enough time out of the house for you, pull into a parking lot and let the kids help you spruce up the car. Bring along some plastic bags to gather up trash, Windex and paper towels to clean up finger print covered windows and a lint brush to clean up the upholstery. The kids will love being involved and you'll get a cleaner car in the process.

So, what do you do with the kids when you get cabin fever?

My son just finished his last year of little league baseball and is now a freshman in High School. I put this slide show together, over at Flektor, for him to let him know that I think he is simply the best. Better than all the rest!

These slide shows are so easy to make, even an ordinary mom like me can do it. It is totally free and all you have to do is just download your pictures and have fun with it. Show your kid that you think they're the best and make a video or slideshow using Flektor. Send it to us here at Loveshakbaby and we may use it in a post! Or check out their blog and find cool fleks to use on your own blog.

Halloween is slowly but surely sneaking up on us and, come to think of it, it is actually right around the bend. And personally, I am madly in love with the holiday.

I have the best memories of homemade costumes, bags full of candy, festivals and parades. And even though I am out of the whole "dressing up" age group, and have been for quite awhile, I enjoy getting the kiddos all decked out just as much. And don't even get me started on the front yard and porch decorating. Let's just say that a few craft stores can pretty much count on me to get them through the months of September and October.

As much as I love Halloween, I've never really thought about organizing all that goes into it. In steps SAHMmy. If you haven't heard of her yet, you will soon. She just started blogging in the past few months but has consistently offered up great tips for fellow SAHMs out there on all topics of the home.

Her latest post is about putting together a binder to organize your Halloween experience. Genius, I tell you! Genius! What a great idea! Be sure to stop by and check out her binder tips and all of her other great tips. SAHMmy Says will definitely make your short list of blogs to be checked daily.

First, thanks for the comments yesterday on my "Call For Mommy/Daddy Bloggers" post. Keep the comments coming- send your friends! I'd like to have at least as many mommy/daddy blogs as I do Nashville blogs. Yes, I do have time to read all these, sort of, anyway.

At any rate, one of the new bloggers to my reading list, Tanyetta, has a post today that hits on my very biggest parenting pet peeve: Dads who "babysit" their own kids.

I could go on about how much I hate this all day. Dads, when your wife is somewhere else, you're NOT babysitting. You're hanging out with your kids. Are we babysitting while you're at work or hunting or fishing or whatever manly pursuits you're off doing? No. We're parenting. Or, heck, just living our lives. Why is it so special when you do it?

And the women that enable this behavior irk me just as badly. The women in Tanyetta's post are perfect examples of this. When I used to hang out on AOL message boards, there were many mothers who would incinerate any woman who dared admit she spent a moment away from little Bratleigh. I tried to live by their Alpha-Mom code and ended up nearly crazy from it.

Once I started spending time away from my kids, I was a better mom. And my husband was a better dad because he was able to trust his own parenting instinct and just be a dad without me breathing down his neck telling him he wasn't doing it right. Sure, he didn't do things "right"- that is to say, my way. He did things his way, which is just as acceptable.

So, mommies, don't feel bad for getting in some "me" time. It's important to spend time with your kids, but it's also important to take care of yourself. Enjoy it, don't feel guilty. Dad and the kids will be fine.

I write this to you while I'm cracking up!  I just read a post that I could totally relate to about children and temper tantrums. The blog post at Rocks In My Dryer called Works For Me: Just Add Water got me going this morning. Read for yourself.......

"When Adam was three, he was prone to very loud, very long, very intense temper tantrums.  It was a constant battle.  One summer day, when he was throwing a royal fit in the living room, I'd simply had enough.  I picked the boy up, hauled him into the backyard, turned on the hose, and...yep...I sprayed him down.

Needless to say, the tantrum stopped.  And remarkably, that was a turning point in his ability to keep his temper under control."

Do you see why I was cracked up? I know it seems maybe a little harsh but we as mommies can relate. Let's face it, when I was growing up soap was used to clean a smart mouth.(never had it done to me) Let's keep in mind that it is only water, probably very cold water. I am curious to see what you all think about this solution, so leave me a comment and let me know. The best news is that it actually worked! Make sure you read the entire post at Rocks In My Dryer to see how to avoid the tantrums all together.

As I was looking over some news articles today, I came across an article that took science in schools to a whole new level.  A student, Kyleray Katherman, from North Bend, Oregon did a test on both fountain water and toilet water at his school to see which was cleaner.  Why you might ask?  In an attempt to allow bottled water back into his school, which had been banned.

I was a little appalled by the results.  The toilet water was cleaner with fewer bacteria growing then the fountain water.  Eeww!  Out children our in schools approximately 180 days out of the calendar year and this is the water they are drinking.

Now the article I read, Oregon Student Finds School's Toilet Water Cleaner Than Fountain's, from Foxnews.com, does continue to explain that one contributing factor to cleaner toilet bowl water is that it is cleaned daily where the fountain spigots may not be.

Now, I don’t bring this article to you to gross you out, but mainly just an FYI.  As a parent it is my responsibility to make sure that my child is cared for, both at home and at school.  I plan to take this article to my children’s schools, not to request bottled water, but to ensure healthier water fountains are offered to my children.

I love when I come across a blog about heroic things that ordinary people do. There is so much in the news about celebrities and it can get boring reading the same stories about them on different days.  I especially love when I find stories about children that are remarkable. I was reading a blog post on Parent Dish called Nine-Year Old Saves The Day and I have to tell you it will give you goose bumps.......

"Shyra Torres plans to be a hero when she grows up -- she's going to be a teacher. Already, however, the nine-year-old is a hero of another sort. She awoke early Saturday morning to the sound of a crackling fire in her New Jersey home, but not the warm comforting kind you find in a fireplace -- instead, this was the life-taking, home-destroying type that eats people and houses.

She woke her sister Natasha and together they got everyone -- thirty-four people in all, living in three row houses -- up and out of the house. She woke her mother who, at first, didn't believe her. "She thought I was joking, but I wasn't," said Shyra Torres. "I ran and said 'Tasha, Tasha, wake up' and we all got out of the house."

What amazed me about this story is that a nine-year old took such control of a horrible situation. She went into survival mode and saved so many people. Isn't it refreshing to read about good news? I think so!

One of the hardest things about being a blogger is that you sometimes feel like you are writing into the void. You spend some time on a post, and nada. No comments, no links, nothing.

I know how it is, kids. That's why I'm all about the linky love. That's why I'd like you guys to drop me a comment with a link to your blog so I can add you to my feed reader. I realized today that my feed reader has 240 "Nashville" blogs in the feed reader, and only about 30 in the "Mommy/Daddy Blogs" folder. This must be remedied.

So, drop me a comment in the ol' comment section so I know you're out there. Everyone that comments gets added to my feed reader, so here's your chance to get one more reader and probably some link love, too!

[photo credit: AllPosters.com]

Yes, kids can be quite the little chatterboxes. I'm sure we have all, at one point or another, had an  endless conversation with our little ones about the latest Dora episode/all the cool bugs at the park/how they think Grandma and Grandpa are sooooo old. And in these conversations, we may find ourselves tuning our kids out and repeating lines like, "Oh, really?" "Uh-huh" and "Mm-Hmm" over and over and over.

I was at the grocery store this evening when a mother who really seemed like she could care less about being a mother, ripped a can out of her toddlers hands to put on the conveyor belt. Her sweet little blonde-headed boy kept repeating, "I wanna put it up there. Can I? Can I?" He was speaking in the sweetest tone but his mama responded by saying, "Give me that! You're being such a brat." My heart broke for that little boy.

He just wanted to do something fun. Or maybe he thought he'd be helping his mommy. Either way, the woman was not paying the slightest bit of attention to what her son was saying. Seeing this made me make a quick mental note to be more attentive to what my children are saying when they speak to me. Instead of just assuming it couldn't be very important, especially when we may be in a rush or focusing on something else, I think we need to take the extra second and make sure we really hear them.

Not a whole ton of links today, but they're all good, I promise!

One of the things that worries me about homeschooling HelloKitty is the cost. Fortunately Frugal Upstate has a guest post up about homeschooling the frugal way. This is awesome for anyone that is considering homeschooling but is afraid of the cost.

One of the reasons I can't quit crying today is because of the truth of CityMama's post. I, too, have spent way too little time with the kids this summer, and way too much time working. Note to self: spend more time with the kids and less time working. The internet will not fall apart if I'm not there.

I love thrift stores and consignment sales to keep my kids dressed as fabulously as possible at the lowest possible cost. So does Lindsay over at The Blender. Here's a fun tale of her encounter with a fellow consignment shopper.

This is the best hash brown casserole I've ever tasted, and it's not even made of hash browns. Thanks, Laura, for the recipe!

Need some cleaning shortcuts to free up some time to spend with the kids? Here's a great thread on CasaSugar that has lots of good tips and ideas!

Have a great week, love shak-ers!

[Photo Credit: Cat Macros on LJ]

In the interest of fair disclosure, my dog Tiny didn't actually come from the shelter. He was one step away from it, though, I got him from a lady that was giving him away on Freecycle. But all my really great dogs were either shelter dogs or shelter-bound.

The cool thing about getting a dog from the shelter is that you can get a dog that has already been trained and is old enough to not be all uppity-puppy. Tiny was about 3 years old when I got him. He was perfectly house trained and was quite adapted to a leash. He's never been hyper since I've had him. He's seriously the best dog I have ever had, and I will never get a puppy again.

Of course, with an older dog, you have parts of your dog that you will never know or understand. Like the picture up there. Tiny cannot stand to have his picture taken and always looks like that when you approach him with camera in hand. Could he have been the dog of paparazzi that used Tiny as practice? Could he have been terribly traumatized by Princess Di's death so much that he still gets upset when he sees a camera? Some things I guess we will never know.

One thing I do know is I feel good about keeping a dog from being homeless. Consider adopting an older dog when you get a pet for your child.

We are smack dab in the middle of a home renovation project that has turned our house into some kind of chaotic circus. We have ripped out the carpeting in the living room, dining room, and hallway. Hubby is on his way to pick up a sander and some stain as we speak and we hope to have it all finished by tomorrow morning.

However, up until this point we've only been able to work on it in bits and pieces, here and there. So for the better part of a week our dining room table has been in the middle of the living room, and its chairs have been in hubby's office in the basement. This makes eating meals kind of hard.

Our wonderful 4-year-old came up with a great solution. Picnics! No fancy baskets or trips to the park included here. To us, anytime we eat on the ground, be it while on a hike, during a day at the pool, or while our dining room set is strewn about the house, that is a picnic!

We've been enjoying our crazy house instead of letting it make us frustrated or stressed.  So I offer you this suggestion: The next time things get a little crazy try to make it into an adventure. Car in the shop? Whip out the bikes and pretend you wanted to ride anyway! Baby's schedule far from scheduled? Sit back and enjoy those late night infomercials! Hubby called away for an unexpected business trip? Use the time he is away to prepare a surprise for his return. Maybe a "Welcome Back" banner, or you could redecorate a room to be his office or bake up a bunch of his favorite pies and cookies.

How do you take lemons and make lemonade?

In a press release released today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there are new regulations in the works for both labeling of sunscreen, from the standard SPF number, to a Four-Star rating system, as well as SPF recommendations.

The Four-Star system will rank sunscreen from one-star, lowest protection, to a four-star, the highest protection against UVA light.  This will quickly give consumers a notification of a high-protection sunscreen.

New labeling will add this star ranking next to the current SPF number provided on sunscreen labels.  The SPF number indicates protection against UVB light.  Together, this information will allow for smart consumer choices when purchasing a safe sunscreen for family or self use.

The FDA has also made recommendations that the current maximum SPF 30+ be increased to SPF 50+.

Sun Safety:  Save Your Skin

There's talk all over the internet about the fact that 180,000 homes were foreclosed on last month- a giant jump from last year's foreclosure rate. Some people are of the opinion that it's the homeowner's fault because they should have been smart enough to get a good loan at a good rate, other people have a lot of sympathy for these people who are now homeless.

Naturally, I'm in the sympathy camp, seeing as I'm a big, pansy liberal and also have been quite poor my entire adult life. Strollerderby's Jessica Ashley is considering buying a home and is a bit nervous:

The what-if game is just that, game. But the reality of paying a mortgage while dealing with the stress and changes that your family goes through over the course of your life together is very serious business. Perhaps my husband and I are dreaming and planning at the right time, when foreclosures and mortgage messes are at the top of the news many nights a week. We're thoroughly scared and trying very hard to save enough and find the right place at the right time, all with an understanding that everything can change in an instant.

The fact that "everything can change in an instant" is the scariest part, to be sure. And even if nothing changes, it may still be a struggle. Newscoma sums up my feelings perfectly:

If a person was making, lets say 25,000 a year (that’s roughly $350 a week after taxes) five years ago, even with a six percent pay increase in today’s income, necessary goods are more expensive.  The last gallon of milk that I picked up was $4.29 (this worries the hell out of me because of an employee at the paper who goes through gallons a week with a 15 month old child.) Gas, although less than it was a year ago, is  still much higher. Food is going to skyrocket this year (heard this at several restaurants and a a grocery store this week.) Basic things just cost more. Insurance is more expensive. Medical expenses are more expensive. [...] I’m saying that 179,000+ American families lost their homes last year for whatever reason. And we should feel some compassion while creating a dialogue of why this happened without judgement. I’m not saying that some folks didn’t lose their homes for other reasons, but that’s a big number. I’m saying its not so cut and dry.

The cost of everything has gone up and people are now struggling to make a paycheck that once comfortably paid all their bills and had some left over, just stretch to pay their bills. Never mind extras. If you haven't been following my series on the drought in the Southeast over at Shakyard, you might want to head on over there and take a looksie. The long and the short of it is that food prices are going up, especially corn, wheat and beef.

What can we do about all this? Not much as private citizens, but we should act like the ants instead of the grasshopper and start putting away as much as we can- food, money, etc. Money hoarding is not good in times of economic downturn such as these, however, we need to take care of ourselves and our families and make sure the rainy day fund is there. You never know when you might need it.

Awhile back, I came across this adorable blog about two moms who were putting together an on line store full of great children's clothing. They held contests and gave updates on the impending opening of their on line store and they also kept anxious with anticipation. You see, I'm a sucker for a good mom-run kids clothing store, especially one with unique designs that not every kid in my son's school will be wearing.

Well, they just recently got the store, Apples'n'Oranges, up and running and I am in heaven! They have the cutest clothes. I'll admit, they are a wee bit on the pricey side (as far is this thrifty mama is concerned, anyway) but they are so unique and adorable that an extra few bucks is totally worth it!

They really make me wish I had a girl to wear this beautiful dress. If I do get a female offspring next time around, she'll probably be in dresses every day, at least until she is old enough to complain about it anyway....

“I hate homework,” my youngest exclaimed as she had to write her spelling words twice for homework.  “Sorry, but everyone has to do homework some time and your time is now,” I replied, with a smile to ease her troubles.

Yep, it didn’t work.  She began to get frustrated, she started to hurry, and her work got sloppy.  What was she in such a rush for?  Playtime.  My kids know the rules, no outside fun until homework is done.  Not like she had that much work.

She continued to hurry, so I told her to slow down, take her time, so her work was legible, which of course she had no clue what I meant, I rephrased, “Slow down so your teacher can read your work.”

My baby, my big first grader, turned to me with those beautiful, big brown puppy dog eyes, “But mom, it’s gonna snow soon and we won’t be able to play anymore.”  OK, where in the world would she have gotten that idea?

“My teacher said winter is around the corner, so I need to play now before it gets to the corner.”  She was off, finished spelling, she left her paper for me to review and with a stunned look on my face, I realized that my first grader just got me.

It is funny, realizations that we go through as parents.  I laugh at little remarks like this, as my children’s funnies as I call them, keep me young and entertained.  Parents smile daily!

It's the dog days of summer and hardly anyone is escaping the heat. Going to the grocery store can be a nightmare for kids in the car- the AC doesn't reach the backseat as fast, seatbelts are miserably hot, and forget it if you're a baby in a rear facing carseat. It's ridiculously hot. Not that I've been riding around in a rear facing carseat or anything.

So, what's a mama to do? You can always go out and start the car to cool it down before getting in, but if that is not an option, here are some things to try.

1. Get the Cold Seat (pictured). It's a car seat cover that uses ice packs (freeze it in your freezer beforehand) to cool the seat down. Bonus: it covers the buckles as well, so little hands won't get burnt.

2. Bring along the cold drinks. If your kid is still too small for a regular bottled water, fill up a sippy cup with water and lots of ice. It is important to stay hydrated in this kind of heat- make sure you don't forget to keep yourself hydrated as well.

3. Make sure your car has sun shades. My kids tee hee at my friend Ginger's sun shades in her car, but it's always much cooler inside her car than mine is without the sun shades.

4. Bring along a wet washcloth. My kids love to suck on them, but a wet washcloth on the back of the neck goes a long way to cool a person down.

5. Stop for paletas or ice cream. One of the best things about the heat is beating it by eating a tasty popsicle!

What are your beat-the-heat tips and tricks for when you have to drive somewhere?

You know what your kids just positively need? They need some Russian nesting dolls. But not just any Russian nesting dolls, no. They need geeky Russian nesting dolls, like the ones pictured here.

The matryoshkus Russian nesting dolls have a beautifully simple design, and geekery galore, with the bit, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte figures. Made from genuine Russian linden tree wood, they'll also satisfy your desire to give your kids wooden toys galore. They're a cool 950 rubles, which translates into about $33.78 in US dollars.

Combine that with these awesome geeky shower curtains and you'll have the geekiest chic-iest kid on the block!   

I've run across quite a few mommy blog posts lately that have pretty much left me with my jaw on the floor in utter shock and awe.

Let's start with Mama at Mamas Thoughts and Questions. She did the unbelievable and purged her kids toys down to one Sterilite container and one basket. I am completely envious of her magical purging powers! She also has tons of great posts up about keeping kids busy and happy through out the day. Be sure to stop by. You will learn something new, I guarantee it!

Next up, we have Stacey at Look, Mom, Look! who has quite a few great posts up about different ways to go green, including how to make your own baby bath products and diaper wipes.

And you may not have heard of her yet, but let me tell you, SAHMmy is an up and comer who will soon be a household name! She brings a whole new prospective to the job that is being a Stay At Home Mom. I was really inspired by her post comparing running your home to working at a restaurant. And she also has tons of great ideas in her Get Off Your Butt challenge.Her tips easily translate to the working mom , too. Make sure you check her out!

These mamas are an inspiration to me and I am sure you will find at least one inspiring idea at each of their blogs, too!

As children return to school, chaos will again reign at home, much like when summer started.  Getting children back into the routine of waking up, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, and getting dressed, all before the bus decides to show up 15 minutes early, can be hectic, and yet there is still one child that will somehow always forget to brush the bed head.

Eventually, all will settle back down within the household once the routine becomes the norm.  But, if you have children like mine, where routine doesn’t quite seem to be routine, then giving them loving hints helps out and keeps them in motion to get everything done.

A few simple loving hints would be to post checklists of what your children should stay focused on so morning and evenings can flow easily.  This will allow your children to feel independent and as a parent, you won’t have to remind them as much.

Your lists can be as simple or as detailed as you choose, including such things as brushing teeth, brushing hair, picking up dirty clothes from the day, preparing things for the next day such as laying out clothes, backpacks, and preparing lunches.

Now, your checklist or chart can be any neat idea that you and your kids come up with, but thanks to Chart Jungle here is a basic format of how your list can look.  Use this example or use it for the basis of your own neat idea.  Here is another example.

Another site that offers printable customized charts is DLTK Cards.  You can choose a theme, colors, your own columns and days.  You can even include your children in on their favorite chart.

Location, location, location!  In order for children to see and use the lists, pick central locations through out your home to place your lists.  Now, if you have one central family location that children will flock to and check, by all means that is the place.  My kiddos however must have their loving tips by them at all times.

Easy locations will be in the bathroom, a front hall, or in your kitchen or family room.  These strategic locations are sure to keep reminders on the mind of your children.  The two main locations in my home are the bathroom and front hall.

I know the first and last place my children use daily are the bathroom.  Here they are sure to remember to clean up, brush up, and prepare for the next day.  The front hall is my last chance to reach out to them to not only have a great day, but to not forget the backpack, lunch, or money for the day.

My kids thought the list idea was a pain at first, but now they have their independence from mom always reminding them.  This is their way to be in charge of themselves.

I couldn't get online Friday because my cable company broke the internets in my area. Then, Saturday I went to BarCamp Nashville and I spent all day Sunday recovering. Seriously, people, drinking three beers (and a whole lotta water) over the course of a day shouldn't cause a massive hangover, but maybe I'm getting old. Or maybe I was just dehydrated due to the heat.

BarCamp, despite the somewhat misleading name and my earlier mention of beer, isn't all about drinking, it's a tech un-conference. I actually presented at the smaller venue, Cafe Coco. Here's a picture of your girl Ivy telling people how it is.

Now, I know you're thinking, "Where are the links, Ivy? I don't care about what you did this weekend." Maybe you don't, but mommy bloggers are an important part of the blogosphere and one that is often overlooked. I hear a lot of "I don't read mommy bloggers" from my fellow blog buddies. Well, they should. We hit on so many of the important political and social issues, that even if you're not a parent, you should be reading mommy bloggers. Look for a "Top 10 Reasons You Should Be Reading Mommy Bloggers (Even If You're Not A Parent)" post later this week.

With that in mind, here is what I've been reading and loving lately:

Via White Trash Mom, an article on moms who have to send their kids to school and daycare sick, or face losing their jobs. I could write a whole post on this myself. When I was a po' college student, I had a very sickly kid. I couldn't afford to take more than X days off school, so I sent my kid to daycare sick, thereby making everyone else sick. It was a vicious cycle. I ended up with lower grades one semester when my son was especially sick, and the semester my son had to have surgery, I lost the entire semester. Perhaps things are easier now with online classes, but I expect there are still problems with this.

The "Standard School Attire" problem in Metro Nashville Public Schools. What's next, requiring solid colored underwear? Wait, they already do- look at the sections about tights and undershirts. Ridiculous.

Blonde Mom has a link roundup worth linking to in its entirety. See more about the SSA issue, and also see about a fellow blogger in need.

Via Like Merchant Ships, here's an awesome post about why the best homemakers don't necessarily keep the most spotless houses. I write about cleaning all the time over at Home-Ec 101, and I can tell you, I don't even have the cleanest house ever. In fact, Martha would DIE if she saw my house right now. Some things are more important than having a spotless house, like snuggling with your babies and blowing bubbles.

Lindsay's kid and my kid have very similar thoughts on the words to the "ABC" song. SpiderMan sings it "A B C D E F G, H I J K Elmo no no P". No matter how much you try to convince him that it's actually "L M N O P", he insists that it's "Elmo no no P". Poor Elmo and his inability to pee. (See what you're missing by not reading mommy bloggers?)

Here's someone I didn't meet at BarCamp Nashville, although he was there. I added him to my feed reader, I needed more daddy bloggers in there!

In case you didn't read it somewhere else already, Zutano is having a fab summer sale! Go check them out, there's lots of awesomeness to buy there.

Finally, White Trash Mom on the "Mom Uniform". I'm somewhere between PJs and t-shirt and jeans as I type this. (T-shirt and PJ bottoms today)

Have a great week, Shak-ers!

Oh, I bet you can hardly stand it! Are you dying to know if you won? Well, I have the results right here and I am happy to announce the winners of our random drawing.

Drum Roll Please...........

Our first winner is a mom who's daughter is just entering Kindergarten and loves the idea of buying those brand new school supplies. She's a blogger herself, promoting all kinds of bloggers' contests and giveaways just like this one. She hails from the tropical land of Hawaii.......let's give a round of applause to Kailani from An Island Review!!!!!

Our next winner is a mom who's daughter would love some Gymboree clothes. She is also a blogger and has a wonderful mommy blog called Daily Thoughts. She is a scrapbooking mom with two daughters. She thinks our giveaway is super fun and hopes to win. Well, I've got good news for you, Ginny, you are the winner of our 2nd $250 gift card to Gymboree.  Congratulations!!

I want to extend a sincere thank you to all of you who left a comment and posted about our contest on your blogs. Loveshakbaby readers Rock!