Romance Wednesday: Love Letters

In today's society love letters are almost extinct in most relationships.  Long gone are the days of waking up to find a little love note laying on your pillow.  Well, in my household I am fighting to keep this ancient art alive.  As you can tell, I am very good with expressing myself through the written word.

My husband did not grow in the most loving environment as a child.  And being in foster care he never really got to witness what a great marriage could be like.  That portrait of how a man should love a woman wasn't painted for him.  Hell, he barely felt the love that parents and relatives should have for a child.

Thus, he tends to need to be reassured that he is loved and that I am still in love with him.  And what better way to do so than through a love letter.  Our relationship has weathered many storms but through them all I never fell out of love with my husband.  He is one of a kind.

And strive everyday to let him know it.  There's nothing I enjoy more than sitting down with nice stationery and pouring my heart out to him.  In that moment I feel so uninhibited.  And the rush of emotions I get from watching read why letters is indescribable.

I try to surprise him. I might leave them in his lunch bag, on the driver seat of the car, the bed, etc.  I've even mailed him love letters. I hope that we can pass this art on to our children. 

Our boys and girls need to know the proper techniques to express their love.  So many of them feel they have to turn to sex and you don't.  A love letter is just as intimate.  It gets right to the point.

   When was the last time you wrote your spouse a love letter?

Hanging With Grandma

Sorry that I have been missing in action.  I am down at my mom's and the kids are enjoying hanging out with Grandma.  She had been complaining about how she hadn't seen them in so long. Plus, she needed my help with something. 

Anyway, we're here and loving being around family. JJ is quite the celebrity. LOL. Everybody is so taken with him.  They can't believe how big he has gotten since they saw him last.

We have been having some challenges though.  It seems that my little man has developed colic.  I googled it and found out that a change in environment can trigger it.  And this is certainly a change in environment for him.  There's more noise, action, etc.

I have been trying gripe water.  It did well that first night but not so much the next.  So, we have been having some major crying sessions.  One of my aunts suggested that I blow smoke down his shirt over his belly.  I am not the least bit keen on that solution. 

I have seen it done before though.  My mom and her sisters were raised using a lot of Native American remedies instead of medicine because their grandmother was Indian and that's how she raised their mom.  When I posted this suggestion of Facebook and Twitter, I got a lot of people calling my aunts crazy.  However, the use of smoke whether from burning herbs or tobacco was and is still a huge part of Native American traditions.

I am not exactly comfortable with those traditions but I don't knock them because they worked.  I simply realize that I will have to pick and choose which traditions to use with my family. I want to expose Moo and JJ to as much of our family culture as possible.  Hopefully, you all will have some suggestions on what worked to help with colic if your baby ever experienced it.

Being at my mom's means that I am away from my hubby.  I miss him and can't wait to get home.  This is the hard part about living in a different state than your family.  Anyways, I am going to announce the winners of the Country Bob giveaway tomorrow.  I wanted to try to do it in a vlog but my mom doesn't have a webcam and I left my  laptop.

Hope that you all are enjoying your summer still and had a wonderful weekend. 

TGIF Blog Hop

Welcome to Thank Goodness Its Friday! Our linky will open every Thursday night so you can join us for Thank Goodness Its Friday, also known as TGIF. Let’s make some new blogging friends and celebrate the end of a wonderful week!

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Would you like to be featured as our Guest Host for theTGIF blog hop? Just fill out this form by clicking here. We are promoting growing blogs with less than 500 followers.

To join us in the Thank Goodness Its Friday Blog Hop, follow these 3 easy steps!

#1 Follow your three hosts via GFC and leave them a comment on their blog to let them know you are following from the TGIF blog hop (if you already follow via GFC, follow on facebook, twitter, or networked blogs)

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#2 Follow our guest hosts, Amanda, from Mommy's Opinions, Monica at A Mother's Touch, and Elizabeth from YUMMommy.

#3 Add your blog to the linky

#4 Follow the 2 blogs directly above yours and leave a comment letting them know you are following from TGIF Blog Hop.

Then, please stop by as many blogs as you can.

We’d love it if you would place the button to the Blog Hop somewhere on your page, whether it’s on your sidebar, a “Blog Hops” page, or a separate post. Please help us support this blog hop!

Have fun and remember to stop by again next week!

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to this week's edition of Thankful Thursday.  I can't express how important it is for me take a day out of my week and just express my graditude and humblness for all that God has done and is doing in my life.  In last couple of days, several people from my hometown have been passed away.  Sad to say that almost all of them were killed in some kind of car wreck.  Just hearing about so many people that I know die so young makes me even more grateful.

So, this week I am especially thankful for still having my life, health and strength.  I am thankful to have my family and that they are all in good health as well.  I am thankful to be back home and enjoying their company.  They are all excited to see how big JJ has grown.  They can't believe that he's already doubled his weight and looks so different than when they saw him a few weeks ago.  I am sure he will be somewhat spoiled by the time we go back home Sunday.

Speaking of JJ, I am thankful that he is five weeks and healthy.  As any parent knows, anything can happen to your kids.  This first year is especially dangerous for them.  There are so many germs and illnesses that can cause them be very sick.  Thankfully, JJ hasn't caught anything and everybody has been cautious of making sure that their hands and stuff are clean before interacting with him.  It means a lot when your family is proactive about helping your baby stay healthy as well.  I have known some people to get offended when asked to santize their hands before handling a baby.

I am thankful that Moo is still very in love with her little brother.  She's not threatened by his presence at all.  I was very worried that she'd resent him for stealing her spotlight.  However, she still gets her spotlight from Grandma and everyone else.  In fact, she likes to show her little brother off by asking everybody if they've seen him.  It's really cute.  I hope that she continues to feel loved and appreciated by us.

As many of you know, I have been working as a freelance writer full-time for a while a now.  Let me just say that this is not a career for the faint of heart.  It has taken me a year and some change to finally start getting an almost steady stream of offers and opportunities coming in.  I'm not even close to being rich or making enough money for my family to live off of month to month, but I am making money that is going towards rebuilding our emergency/down payment fund.  I am thankful that if need be I can contribute to gas for our car, money towards groceries and other expenses.

I've always been very independent.  The transition from a working outside the home to being a stay at home mom was quite the adjustment for me.  However, it was well worth it.  And I am thankful that I have had this time to start this blog, interact with you all and pursue my dreams again.  I am glad and thankful to announce again that I got my first article published by Yahoo! (Check it out here.)

It's blessing.  The door is now open for me to write more pieces for them and get paid.  As long as my articles keep getting views I will continue to make money off of them for months and years to come.  I am very thankful for this opportunity to reach millions and to share what I have learned. One of my biggest dreams has always been to be in a position where I am able to inspire, help, motivate, etc.  And freelance writing with Yahoo is giving me that chance.

So, I hope that  you all will continue to support me over there.  If you haven't read my article on ways that my family and I save money, I encourage you to head on over and do so.  While you're there please feel free to retweet, share on Facebook and click the Helpful button.  The more exposure I get, the more people I can reach and touch.

Last but not least, I am thankful that YUMMommy is growing.  I'm getting more readers and supporters.  I've had people approach me on Twitter to ask if they can guest post about parenting and to ask me to guest post and netework with them also.  It's just so humbling to feel the love and support you all have for me and my writing.  Please don't think for a minute that I take it for granted because I don't.  So, continue to comment and visit.

I will be doing more giveaways to show my appreciation because it goes both ways.  I do think you all should be rewarded every now and then for commenting and reading my stuff.  I promis I'm not going to turn this into one of those review and giveway only blogs.  I have too much to say and share to ever do that.

What are you thankful for this week?  Has anything happened in your life to remind you how fortunate you are?

Romance Wednesday

Well as you can see Wedding Day Romance Wednesday has been renamed Romance Wednesday.  We took a vote on it last week over at The Yeyo Diaries.  Anyways, as some of you know my husband and I eloped Carrie Bradshaw and Big style almost a year ago.  We'd been through a really bad break up that lasted a year.  And before that we'd gotten so caught up in trying to plan the perfect wedding that seemed to be taking us years to decide on.

However, I haven't given up my dream of walking down the aisle and wearing a wedding dress.  I still have a subscription to Bride's magazine and I still pull out my wedding planning notebook every so often.  I didn't think my husband noticed but yesterday he mentioned that he saw me looking at them.  He asked if I wanted to have the whole traditional large wedding. Traditional and large? No.

Instead, we're going to have a small and intimate vow renewal ceremony.  And I've found the perfect song to walk down the aisle to.  Check it out below and let me know what you think.

Tell Us Something Good: Happy 5 Weeks

I haven't done one of these in a while.  But let's just get right back into.  This week I am glad to announce that JJ turned 5 weeks old!!!  Yes, my little man is no longer a newborn.  He is well on his way through infanthood and I am beyond excited to see how changes.

So, he's doubled his weight.  I have my lovely boobs to thank for that.  They've done great at producing some really yummy milk for him.  I was a little bit afraid that after having nursed Moo for almost two years, that I would have trouble building my supply back up.  Not so though.

He's gotten used to his bassinet.  Although, he picks and chooses the nights he wants to sleep in it.  Regardless, he some how always ends up in bed snuggled next to me at some point.  And I kind of love it because I get to wake up looking into his beautiful brown eyes.  Plus, I have my own personal alarm clock.

He prefers to sleep slightly on his side instead of flat on his back.  We've tried several times laying him down on his back and somehow he always ends up on his side.  It's a little bit scary because I wonder if he's strong enough to just keep rolling over on to his face.  Thankfully, his chubby little body won't allow him to do that.

JJ has a bad habit of pulling his own hair.  He even does it in his sleep.  So, I've started to put socks on his hands.  I tried mitts but they were snug enough around the wrist to stay on.  Thankfully, the socks don't seem to bother him.

In fact, he's not a fussy baby at all unless he's hungry, tired or has gas.  He's pretty low maintenance which is more than I can say for Moo.

Another good piece of news is that I got my first freelance piece published on Yahoo!  It was very exciting.  I applied thinking I was going to write one piece and actually got approached to write something totally different.  I was nervous because I was sure it was going to come back with lots of edits but to my surprise it got published in less than a few days.

So, now I'm working on some more freelance opts that are in my assignment box from Yahoo. Be sure to comment, retweet, share on Facebook this article.  I'm proud of it and look forward to growing as a write.

What good news do you have to share? Link up here.

Guest Post: Stop, parent time!

I am, what you may call, a quiet hermit. I like my own company and I'm pretty comfortable just being in the house working. I don't like straying from a routine, and moreso, I hate surprises.

Surprise no. 1:

The Prodigy, as I've aptly nicknamed her, is the kind of firstborn child that hasn't been schooled the meaning of  sshhh". She's overly energetic and unapologetically loud. She deems personal space a laughable concept (no,  really!). Her character and my own may be on either side of the spectrum but now, strangely enough, my "hermit-ism" of the past feels very much humdrum.

And just when I thought I was getting the hang of running after The Prodigy and making sure she doesn't burn, cut or maime herself, here comes The Progeny, the quiet one that likes to sleep alot.

Surprise no. 2:

(Side note: Why the names, you ask? I figured a grandiose name blesses a child; so rather than wait and see  whether greatness will eventually find them, I propose bringing greatness to them, you feel me?)

Time fellas! That's all it takes.  Bless @jerimasala for being so patient with me as I warmed up to being indeed "child-safe".  It took time to get over the noise. It took time to get used to erratic sleeping patterns. It took time from work to just sit outside and play with kokoto and sticks.  But, it is a choice I made.  The line between responsibility and active fatherhood is a vast one. Providing diapers is not the same as digging holes in the sand for 2 hours with your child.  No father should miss bathing his child or miss the first time his child is able to peel a banana on their own (it took The Prodigy a minute).  With one child, you can atleast leave them with their mother for a time while you, you know, go off to do manly things.

I work from home as a freelance designer/writer, and in between writer's block and/or creative meltdowns, I help with the basic nannying duties most of you men would otherwise pay someone to do for you.  More than just being around my kids, I want to see them grow; to mold them and guide them towards whatever path their lives have set for them.

So maybe it's as simple as this: Rather than give a child what I may think they want, I'll give them my time.

In the blogging circle, I go by the name Chef Fatuma but people also

know me by my slave name Mark Muchura :-) A freelance designer/writer and part time ninja by circumstantial trade, I regard my business more to do with raising 2 daughters.

Battle of the Migraine

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

It was the summer of my second grade year when my battle with migraines started.  At first my mom didn't know what was going on with me.  I was having these headaches that were so bad I would often cry from the pain.  Being as young as I was, I was a little scared that something really bad was going to happen to me.  My got worried too.

At first, she thought that maybe the medicine in my glasses had weakened and that I was having the headaches because i was straining to see.  Well, the medicine was a little weak in one eye.  However, a few weeks after getting new glasses and the headaches were still coming.  Finally, we went to see our family doctor and I was diagnosed with chronic migraines.  Great these things would stick with me for life.

Here I am today at age 25 and still having migraines that would bring even the strongest person to their knees.  However, thanks to Extra Strength Pain Reliever from Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products I am managing a lot better. As a child there weren't many products that I could take.  As an adult, I go to Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products for medicines that I know will work and won't break my wallet.

In addition, to being a great bang for my buck, I use Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products because they are recommended by Walgreens pharmacists, most contain the same active ingredients as national brands (think Advil, Tylenol, etc.) and they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  It can't get much better than this when shopping for medication.  

The next time you find yourself battling it out with a monster migraine, I encourage you to head to your local Walgreens and pick up some of their Extra Strength Pain Reliever.    You can check out these giveaways from select bloggers for a chance to win a Walgreens Gift Card and use  it towards that purchase.  Also, read about their Walgreens Way to Well Fund™ and how Walgreens is working to bring preventive wellness services to local communities. 

Summer Savings

Well, we're in the thick of summer. The weather is hot.  Dust has been blown off the grills.  Now, all that's left for many of us is to update our summer attire.  Thankfully, being the frugal fashionista that I am, I was able to track down these lovely deals from Sean John, RocaWear and Dereon.  Enjoy and happy shopping!

Take $25 off all orders over $100 at Sean John! Offer Ends 6.23.

Take $50 off all orders over $200 at Sean John! Offer Ends 6.23.

Thankful Thursday

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I know this post is coming a bit late in the evening, but I was busy working on some projects earlier.  But as the saying goes, better late than never.  So, this week I am thankful that JJ officially turned one month old today!!!  I can't believe that much time has already flown by.  And he's changed so much in this last month.  

I am thankful that he is starting to sleep better during the night.  We still have some nights where he wants to party until almost 3 AM.  However, I can see that he's at least trying to sleep longer hours.  That means he's finally getting used to being outside the womb.

I am also thankful for the writing opportunities that I have come my way in the last few days.  Best believe that I am taking advantage of them all.  My faith has been renewed and I know that God is the one allowing these doors to open up for me.  I am very thankful that He is enabling me to live out my dream of being a writer.

What has happened in your life that you are thankful for this week?

Wedding Day Romance Wednesday

So, my lovely blogger friend, Amber, over that The Yeyo Diaries came up with the idea of doing a Wedding Day Romance Wednesday post every week. The purpose of these posts are to " celebrate the reasons that made us fall in love in the first place…all the time – not just on our anniversary!" 

Nobody knows better than I do the importance of celebrating the reasons you fell in love with your spouse than I  do.  In fact, at one point my husband and I almost didn't make it to becoming husband and wife because I did forget.  As a child, I lived in a house with a very affectionate mother and a not so affectionate father.  Yes, I saw my parents kiss before and on rare occasions I would witness my dad flirting with my mom. However, those points were short lived and often interrupted by outbursts from dad over his unhappiness with the situation life had dealt him-a wife and a five kids.

And eventually, he just left.  As a result I ended up being this super guarded young woman who was afraid to really let anyone in.  I was dying on the inside for affection but had no clue how to go about getting it the right way.  Thus, this made for many rocky moments in my relationship with my husband.  In fact, our relationship got so rocky because of my inability to allow myself to show or accept affection that we ended up going our separate ways before Moo's first birthday.

Things got really ugly before they got better.  February 2010, I lost one of the most important people in my life-my aunt.  She was for all sense and purposes my second mom.  She was the one person I could always be myself with and not be afraid of being judged.  Sitting at my mom's computer typing up her biography to go into in her obituary for the funeral, I got a text my husband (my then ex).

He was checking in to see how I was holding up.  The previous summer he had seen how I melted down at the hospital that awful night she coded blue and we weren't sure the doctors could revive her.  It was him who called out from work to stay with me and my entire family in the waiting room almost until midnight.  It was him who curled up with me that night when we got back home and tried to reassure me that everything would be ok.

And almost everyday afterwards, he would come home and ask if there was any improvement in her condition.  This man was wonderful and I had let one simple argument and my inability to let my guard down ruin our then four year relationship.  We'd survived larger fights and obstacles before.  So, how could something so stupid and small cause us to part ways for a whole year and do and say some truly awful things about each other?

It was in that moment of texting him that I realized why I fell in love with him.  He reminded me of my aunt.  From the beginning of our relationship, I had felt such a comfort whenever I was with him.  The reason why was because like my aunt he accepted me for who I was and didn't judge me.  He always made sure to let me know that he loved me for me and that my beauty was just an added bonus.

And somehow I knew he was telling the truth.  Having grown up in foster care and being raised by his late great uncle and great grandmother, you would think he would be the one with the affection issues. That's how I knew he must really see something special in me because all his life women has disappointed him and screwed him over yet here he was taking a chance on forever with me.

Long story short, that night before my aunt's funeral I realized that I was about to pass up on someone great.  And I knew I couldn't live with myself if I did.  My aunt had taught me about forgiveness and that when it came to love we had decide whether it was or wasn't worth doing.  Well, our love was worth moving past everything that had happened and letting the past be the past.

I'm happy to say that we have been together coming up on 7 years and are approaching our first anniversary as husband and wife.  Neither of us regrets the choice to get back together and make the ultimate commitment.  If anything the reminder of what attracted me to him has made us so much stronger this time around.  I'm sure that we will have more obstacles and battles to face but I know that we will emerge from the victoriously.

Mealtime with Country Bob's

When it comes to family, nothing brings you together like good food does.  In my house, family mealtime is serious business.  My husband and I share the cooking duty and are always trying to outdo each other with our cooking skills. I've learned that the best way to impress him and keep meals interesting is by trying new products.  So, when I heard a raving review from one of my blogger friends about Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, I just had to try it.

I'm a firm believer that you can never go wrong with a good sauce.  Having a great sauce gives you the ability to turn plain old fried chicken into something extraordinary and delicious.  So, I contacted the company because I hadn't seen their product in my local grocery store.  Thankfully, they were nice enough to send me two bottles to try out.  I was beyond excited when my husband came back home Saturday with a huge brown box. 

I just knew it had to be my All Purpose Sauce from Country Bob's.  And I was anxious to try it out.  It just so happened that we were planning on having my specially seasoned fried chicken tenders.  The perfect opportunity to test out this sauce I had heard such great reviews about.  I cracked open the box and set about making dinner.

Folks, when I say this sauce is good, it's very good!!  Being the sauce loving southern belle that I am, I don't play when it comes to my food.  And this sauce was absolutely on point in terms of taste.  It has the slight tanginess and texture of a steak sauce mixed with the mesquite flavor and smokiness of your finest southern barbecue sauce.  I was in sauce heaven.

Even  my husband who usually only eats ranch had to admit that this was some great sauce.  The uniqueness of the flavors was something that neither of us had ever tasted before.  I'm proud to say that this sauce will be a regular staple in our pantry from here on out.  Since, Saturday I have tried Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce with french fries and it's way better than plain old ketchup. 

BUY IT: You can purchase Country Bob's products here.

WIN IT: The wonderful people at Country Bob's would like for you to try out their All Purpose Sauce for yourself.  They have generously offered to give two YUMMommy readers their own bottle!!

(You MUST be a follower of YUMMommy via Google Friend Connect and US Resident to enter this giveaway.  Please include your email address with each entry comment.)

This giveaway ends June 21, 2011 at 11:59 PM!

HOW TO ENTER: Visit Country Bob's and check out their Recipe section.  Leave comment telling me which recipe you would like to try.

EXTRA ENTRIES:  

~Like YUMMommy on Facebook here

~Like Country Bob's on Facebook here

~Follow YUMMommy on Twitter here

~Follow Country Bob's on Twitter here

~Tweet about this giveaway once a day (leave link to tweet in comments)

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this review.  I contacted the company and requested a sample of their product and offered to perform a review.  All opinions expressed in this post are strictly and solely my own!!

Alcohol Vs. Marijuana

Source:onlinecourtreportingschools.org

Back in Business

Guess what? I'm back in business yall!!!  Yes, the FedEx man has come and gone. I am now happily clicking away on my new Dell Inspiron Mini laptop.  Boy is this thing mini too.  I love it.  I can now take it everywhere because it will fit nice and snug in the diaper bag or my purse.

So, glad to have my virtual office back.  I've been somewhat lost without. Now I can get back to editing pictures, making the posts I really want and sending out some important pitches. 

I would like to thank everyone who hung in here during this time of technical difficulty.  Thank you for all the comments and continuing to stop by and check out the blog.  Thankfully, the Blogger app isn't that bad.  It actually got the job done. I just hated not being able to position my photos where I wanted them within my post.

Plus, I couldn't watermark them because we know sometimes people get sticky fingers on the internet.  They will not only jack your posts but your pictures as well.  In fact, I'm thinking about watermarking my pictures before I upload them Facebook.  I have had some family members jack pics from my photo albums and then act like they took it. And Facebook has made it easy for people to jack your pics with that all download option they have put in the albums.

You would think they would have come up with a way to make it harder.  Anyways, I'm looking forward to getting back to my regular posting schedule and delivering you all some awesome stuff.  I have a lot of things that I wrote down and can't wait get typed up.  Hope everyone is having a blessed weekend thus far!!

Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday and yes I am still blogging through my phone. Which brings me to the first thing I am thankful for- the Blogger app.  I can't do all the things I can do from a computer but at least I can post something. And something is better than nothing.

I am thankful to report that JJ is 3 weeks and still healthy.  His baby & heat rash been clearing up.  We're still working on sleeping in the bassinet at night. He's getting more used it but still prefers to sleep right next to me.

I am thankful that my loving husband was able to spend three weeks home with me to help with the adjustment.  Lord knows it would have been a rude awakening otherwise.  He pretty much did the cooking everyday, cleaned, changed diapers and handled the night duty. I am so blessed to have married this man.

And after weeks of asking around on Twitter for how to get some freelance writing work lined up and where to look for legitimate opportunities, I ended up actually getting some great advice from a mom in one of my groups on Linkedin.  I posted a question on our discussion board and wasn't sure if I would even get an answer.  After all I didn't get any replies from Twitter except for the spam bots. Anyways, I am taking her advice and seeing where it leads me.

I am also thankful that I ran across a post on another blog about faith. I know it had to be God's way of telling me that I need to trust Him more. I am sure this means that some doors are about to be opened. I have been worried and praying about somethings. Now I am stronger in my belief that He is about to answer my prayers.

What has happened in your life that you are thankful for?   

Wordless Wednesday: Beach

Wish I was back at the beach.

I'll Be Back

Still laptopless and it sucks because I have been oozing with creativity.  Needless to say there are a ton of posts that I am dying to write and share with you all.  However, working from my smart phone isn't exactly the ideal situation. Thankfully, my new laptop is on the way.

The hubby ordered it for me.  Just love him to pieces.  Can't wait for it to get here and I can get back to my regular posts. And thank you to everyone who is still hanging in here and coming by the blog.  I appreciate it!   

By the way, JJ is 3 weeks! Hard to believe that he's almost a month old. Time is soaring by like the speed of light.  I am trying to learn to enjoy each moment since I can't slow down time.

Oh and my sister's graduation was a blast!

Thankful Thursday

Well, my laptop has crashed yet again. However, I am not letting that stop me from doing my Thankful Thursday post. I still have a lot to be thankful for. So, let's get right into it.

Today, JJ had a weight check with the pediatrician to make sure he was still gaining weight and doing relatively fine.  I am happy and thankful to report that he has almost packed on another full pound!  I am also thankful that his infant rash is going away. I am sure it was a combination of the baby wash and just his delicate skin getting used to being outside the womb.

Earlier this week we started having issues with JJ sleeping in his bassinet at night. Last week, I figured out that the mat wasn't soft enough. So, laid an extra blanket in there and presto! He loved it. Anyways, I am thankful to report that we had a breakthrough last night and he slept in his bassinet until almost 4 AM.

I am also thankful to announce that I am part of Bloggers for Joplin. So, if you need to advertise your blog or business I am offering 125 x 125 ad space for $15 for a one month placement in my sidebar. All monies will go to the Red Cross. Be sure to check out my previous post for more info or check out the Bloggers for Joplin page on Facebook.

Lastly, I am thankful that my baby sister will be graduating this weekend! I am proud of her because we have had some family members who have already dropped out of school this year. Glad that she has a good head on her shoulders and wants a better future.

So, what are you thankful for this week?