Cute Giveaway for Little Girls!

Piggy Paint Review/Giveaway: Breast Cancer Awareness Edition

Stay-at-home-mom Melanie Hurley created Piggy Paint for two fashion forward daughters.

“One day while we were painting nails over a foam plate, my daughter dropped a glob of her solvent-based polish onto the plate. Shortly after, the paint began to bubble and “ate” through the plate. I looked in dismay at the hole in the plate and decided to test all of her other “kid” polishes o

n the foam. Within minutes, ALL of the solvent-based polishes began to bubble and eventually left big holes in the plate. From that day on, I decided that any flammable substance that could eat through foam was unacceptable for my children’s fingernails, which would inevitably end up in their mouths.“

Why is Piggy Paint the best choice for your little girl?

• Non-toxic
• Odorless
• Water-based formula
• Hypoallergenic
• Fun, vibrant colors
• Dries to a hard, durable finish

  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

  Piggy Paint is no stranger to the effects of breast cancer. and dedicates not only the month of October, but every month to raising money for the cause. A portion of the proceeds from the Piggy Paint “Fight Breast Cancer” pack is donated to Susan G. Komen fund. During the month of October, they take it a step further by donating a bottle of polish and remover to a woman currently undergoing breast cancer treatment. Click here to purchase your kit now!

  

Want to win this adorable Breast Cancer Awareness set? Visit Country Girl, City Life to enter!

Another Giveaway!

Beibi Shoe Review & Giveaway

"Wee Squeak Children’s Shoes are footwear that's fun to wear! Comfortable and stylish, these little shoes are great for any season. With a variety of styles and colors to choose from, these children's shoes are a great gift idea as well as a way to help children learn to walk properly without even realizing they're being taught. Traditional Mary Jane’s, along with a wide variety of boys sanals, children’s tennis shoes and girls sandals in several different colors and styles, Wee Squeak Shoes has a very diverse selection. Wee Squeak shoes are designed for children and parents alike. Our shoes actually make a fun squeak sound as the child walks. A cushion in the heal squeezes air through a tiny nozzle making the squeak sound. For those occasions when the shoe needs to be silent, the squeaker can be removed very simply by an adult."

Well, WeeSqueak has done it again! Beibi shoes are created for "eager little feet". These shoes are unique to the brand as they do NOT squeak! They have all the style and comfort of your traditional Wee Squeak shoes and are available in sizes 0-24 months.


I won the Wee Squeak shoes during the last giveaway and they are ADORABLE! Be sure to visit Country Girl, City Life and enter for your chance to win!!!

Wordless Wednesday

A long Update!

So it's been a long while my friends. I wish that I could say it's because my husband came home from deployment (which he did!!!), but alas, it's because I'm lazy!

I've decided to share the last few weeks of my life with you in pictures. So, here we go!

At the end of June I said goodbye to my crazy class of 3rd graders. My coworker, Sarah, and I threw the class an awesome Luau party to say our goodbyes. We were impressed with our decorating skills (there was more than you can see in the pictures!).
And, ss much as they bothered me towards the end, I will truly miss those kids next year!

My class plus the special ed teachers!

My in-laws came down for Father's Day weekend so I decided to make and decorate a cake.


I was feeling a bit like Betty Crocker and decided a week later to make my first pie! We have a blackberry bush in our backyard so the hubby collected berries for me. He was really excited for a pie.Concert 1 of the summer was Kenny Chesney. Can we say total hottie? Yum. I went with my friend and coworker Sarah at the end of June. We had a good time.


Dan and I finally made it to Busch Gardens! We've been wanting to go for years, but have never made it up there!

Concert 2 of the summer was Toby Keith. What a fun time! Sarah and I met up with our Assistant Principal and a few coworkers to enjoy the concert.


Dan and I also met up with his brother and sister-in-law in Norfolk for the Harbor Fest. It was a lot of fun! The boats were awesome!
I can't have an entry without sharing pictures of my Elizabeth :) I can't wait to go home in August to see her and our new niece Diana!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Lizzie loves her grandpa!

Card

I made this card for my friends 3 year Anniversary!

My Attempt

Tomorrow is "Goodie Day" at school (because teachers loooooove goodies!), so I thought I'd take on a goodie that I've been dieing to make. If you don't read Bakerella's blog you REALLY should! Anyway, I got the idea to try making her Cupcake Pops without the pop.
Here are what hers look like:

Really cute and awesome right? I thought so.
After 4 hours of working in the kitchen, here is what I came up with:


Not NEARLY as cute and awesome, but they'll do.
I wish I would have bought the M&Ms for the top. That would have helped. I'm not sure how Bakerella gets hers so perfect. I seriously spent 4 hours working on these and THAT'S what I came up with. Horrible right? I shouldn't even try!! Hey, at least it gave me something to do tonight :)

Another Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Enough said.

Wee Squeak Shoe Giveaway (HERE)

Wee Squeak Shoe Giveaway (HERE)

Wee Squeak shoes was recently in contact with mean bout giving away a pair of their super cute shoes… and who am I to resist giving things away?! The following is a little bit about the company and their adorable shoes….

“Wee Squeak Children’s Shoes are footwear that's fun to wear! Comfortable and stylish, these little shoes are great for any season. With a variety of styles and colors to choose from, these children's shoes are a great gift idea as well as a way to help children learn to walk properly without even realizing they're being taught. Traditional Mary Jane’s, along with a wide variety of boys sandals, children’s tennis shoes and girls sandals in several different colors and styles, Wee Squeak Shoes has a very diverse selection. We even have accessories to go with our “Wee Snap” shoes…clip on flowers to dress up the shoes, as well as Crystal Crown accessories in white or pink. These decorative additions to our Wee Snap line will put a sparkle in any girl’s eye when she sees them gracing her toes!

Wee Squeak shoes are designed for children and parents alike. Our shoes actually make a fun squeak sound as the child walks. A cushion in the heal squeezes air through a tiny nozzle making the squeak sound. For those occasions when the shoe needs to be silent, the squeaker can be removed very simply by an adult. Shoe sizes range from 3-12. We have a wide variety of shoes for boys and girls, and we have expanded our collection for Spring and Summer 2009. Please also visit our website for a detailed listing at www.weesqueak.com.”

Winner will receive shoe shown above in a size 5

Don't have a little girl in a size 5? Enter anyway... these make great gifts!

Head on over to Country Girl, City Life's blog and enter to win!

update!

This is what I've been up to lately:

She is absolutely AMAZING. She loves her Aunt Caiti and her Aunt Caiti adores her!

Welcome Elizabeth Rae!!!

My brother's baby was born this morning at 11:06am!!
Welcome to the world Elizabeth Rae! I love you SO much and we haven't even met yet!!!

Win a FREE paperbag scrapbook!

Want to win a FREE paperbag scrapbook handmade by my awesomely talented sister-in-law??? Just go here to check out how you can win!

http://andbabymakesfourperrine.blogspot.com/2009/03/paper-bag-scrapbook-giveaway.html

I am a Mommy!

To 2 baby chicks! Welcome to the world Peanut and Bob!!!!

The 3rd grade classes at my school decided to incubate chicken eggs this year to teach the students about life cycles. I have to admit, I was scared out of my mind. That's a lot of responsibility! What's going to happen?? Aren't they disgusting when they hatch? What if they die??? What if none of the eggs hatch??

Well, being the awesome teacher that I am, I decided I wanted to take on the challenge for my class. Each room got 12 eggs from the 4-H club to incubate. Our job was to roll the eggs 3 times a day and keep the incubator at 99-100 degrees for 21 days. Easy right? It is when you have 22 kids screaming at you to roll the eggs at 8:30, 11:30, and 2:30 each day!

*Warning: Some of these pictures are gross. LOL*

Here they are about to hatch on the 21st day!

Here comes Peanut!!!Hello world!!!!


Slimy, gooey, and sort of freaky looking.
My cuties!


He looks mean, but they're sooo cute in person!

Bob #1 actually ended up dying about 15 minutes after he hatched :( It freaked me out and I almost cried. He ended up having a hernia and it killed him. Shhhh the kids don't know. I told them that Mrs. McClaskey was taking care of him until he felt better. Luckily, that night another egg hatched. That morning I told the kids, "Bob felt so much better and wanted to come back to our class!!!!" Thanks Bob 2 for standing in :)

Great Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfGqOx2iDQ

Snow???

So last week we had some snow! Can you believe it? Snow in Virgina Beach??? Weird. What's incredibly ironic is that a few weeks before we had a "snow day" from school where there was NO snow. We were supposed to get a bad storm that never came; so we got a day off for nothing. Well, we were punished for that by the city and were made to work on Presidents Day. *gasp!* Well, we wake up on Presidents Day to this:

No joke. Snow on our snow day makeup. Did we get called off? Nope. The city wanted to prove a point I suppose. There were a lot of angry school goers that day.... the ONLY schools around to be in session.

Anyway, a few days ago we got a liiiiittle more:

and guess what?? We got a 2 hour delay. Does that make ANY sense at all?
I didn't think so.

Happy Birthday Beth!!!

I hope you have a fantastic day!!!!!
Love you!!!!!

Here We GO!

124 days to go! That's it. 124 days until we're out of the Navy and free to live happily and enjoy our marriage together. Today is Dan's 2,000th day in the Navy. Wow. When I think of 124 days compared to 2000, it's nothing. When I think of it as a little over 4 months on the other hand....


Here we are the night I dropped him off at the ship. One last picture for me to stare at.

I'm doing much better than I had thought I would. I had a few hours this afternoon of, "poor me, what am I going to do?" time, but quickly realized, that is not the attitude I want to have for the next 4 months.

This morning my sister-in-law and I went to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and watched the ship deploy. I wasn't sure if this was a good idea or not, but figured I'd kick myself in the butt years from now if I didn't. It was very cold outside, but beautiful. The bay is amazing and watching the ship go by gave me a sense of pride. My husband was on that ship; giving another 4 months of his life to defend and protect our country. Those men and women said goodbye to all they loved. What a sacrifice.

I of course, being the scrapbooker that I am, took many pictures. Here are a few of the good ones.

Here they come!!!

Closer!!

CVN 69 Deployment 2009

Please forgive me. I've been sick for days and it was cold and windy!!!Valli with the ship.See you in 4-5 months!!

Blah

He's gone.

I'm still sick.

I've been in bed for 2 days.

The 4-5 month countdown begins.

I will write more when I'm better.

Thanks for all your support.

It's been a long long time....

I have been a terrible blogger and I apologize.

My husband is deploying on Friday.

I promise to update my blog more once he's gone.

I'll need a place to talk.

This sucks.

Navy Life

Name:
Caiti

Age:
23


Sex:
:: female

Name of spouse:
:: Dan

Age of spouse:
:: 24

What Branch of the Military is your spouse in?
:: US Navy

Have you ever been in the military or are you currently in the military?
:: military wife is as close as i'll ever get


Has your spouse ever been deployed, if so, when and where to?
:: He made an 8 month deployment right before our wedding (Oct 2006-May2007) to the Gulf Area. He will be making his 2nd deployment here in February.... hopefully our last!!!


If your spouse was deployed, how badly did you miss them?
:: It's indescribable. It hurts.


If your spouse was deployed, how long were they gone for?
:: 8 months for the first and about 4-5 for this next one.


If your spouse was deployed, did they get R&R, and if so, what did you do for it?
:: Nope

Where are you and your spouse currently stationed?
:: Norfolk, VA, but we're living in Virginia Beach

Do you like the benefits you recieve as a military dependent?
:: Of course, who wouldn't like the incredible pay and free health care??? The commissary is amazing as well. It's going to suck getting out for those reasons!!!



Do you appreciate what your spouse's job entails?
:: Yes

Do you support your spouse as member of the United States military?
:: 100%

Do you like military life?
:: I can't say that I do. I just wasn't cut out to be a military wife. I need my husband home with me. It's too incredibly hard to say goodbye so many times and for such long periods. I love that it gave us the excuse to move away from our families for the start of our marriage. It's really made our relationship strong and has made us appreciate each other.



Do you and your spouse have children, and if so, how many?
:: no kids.... yet

Do you think your spouse looks good in uniform?
:: My hubby looks good in anything, but ESPECIALLY his uniform!!

Do you think military life is more advanced then civilian life, why or why not?
:: I'm not really sure about "advanced" but you get to experience things you wouldn't otherwise and you really learn to appreciate your spouse and you learn real quick that most things aren't worth fighting over because you don't get to see each other as much as it is and you need to value that time together. That's one thing a lot of civilian couples take for granted. (I copied this answer from another navy wife because it's exactly what I was thinking!!!)



Do you think your spouse's job in the militay is respectable amongst other people in the military?
:: I think they are all very respectable. We need all military jobs in order to succeed and defend our country. I do believe that my hubby's job sounds real important though :)




Do you ever use your spouse's place in the military to your advantage?
:: Absolutely not.


Do you ever use your spouse's rank to your advantage?
:: Never. I'm not that kind of a person.


What do you think about other military spouse's?:
:: ummm I try to stay away from them. :)



What do you think about women who get out of the military after becoming pregnant?
:: I wouldn't want to leave my child for 8 months.....


What do you think about people claiming to be gay to get out of the military?
:: It's really stupid when they lie just to get out. It's cheating the system and I don't like people who think that's ok.


Do you think it is right to be forced out of the military for being gay?
:: Not at all. I don't see why it makes a difference.


Did you know that it is military law that you can only have sex with your spouse and only in the missionary position but isn't an enforced law?
:: haha I actually didn't until my husband told me a few weeks ago that it was a law in the military.


What do you think about that law?
:: There are ALOT of people breaking that law.


What do you think civilian people don't know about the military or military life?
:: Just how hard it is. People try to understand and they're very sympathetic and we REALLY appreciate that, but you don't understand until you've lived it.


What would you want civilians to know about the military or military life?
:: I just wish they could live in our shoes even if it was just for a month. It'd really make them appreciate their significant others, not to mention the military in general.

There are some people out there that still do not support our troops or have any respect for them. These amazing people who serve have made the ultimate sacrifice of giving up seeing their family members and loved ones, not to mention just every day joys for months at a time. They deserve our upmost respect. (again, I agree with the previous poster!)


When you see movies about the military, do you notice when things aren't right?
:: Sometimes, but my hubby ALWAYS points out things that are wrong!



When your spouse sees movies about the military, do they notice when things aren't right?
:: See above!


Are you and your spouse currently, or have you ever been stationed to overseas Europe?
:: Nope


If you are or ever have been stationed overseas, do you know what AFN is?
:: Sure don't


Where did your spouse go to Basic Training?
:: Crap, I knew this.... we weren't dating when he went so....

Where did your spouse go to A School?
:: Pensacola, FL



Do you think being a military spouse allows you to travel easily?
:: No, I haven't experienced any traveling.


If you and your spouse are stationed away from home, do you miss it?
:: Every day. I miss my family and friends. I miss the familiarity of home. I hate missing all of the big things that happen throughout the year.


Where are you and your spouse origionally from?
:: Canton, Ohio

Did either you or your spouse grow up as a military child?
:: No. Dan's dad was in the Army, but before Dan was born.



Do you think being a military spouse is a job, why or why not?
:: Not for me. I have my own full time job. I do believe that the military wives who's spouses are in for "life" have a job. They pretty much take care of the family and house while the man is away.

B is for Baby

No, I'm not having a baby. Yet. Someday, but for now I just made a baby card because all of my friends and family are having babies! I got this awesome "B is for Baby" stamp set from Hanna Stamps and just had to start playing :) I'm excited about how the card turned out. Enjoy!

New card

It's been awhile. I apologize for the lack of posting, but now that Dan is gone I've buried myself in my work. I come home exhausted and grade papers, lesson plan, make games for school, watch a bit of tv, and then sleep. I wake up at 6:20am and do it all again.

Life is so much better when my husband is around. I'm doing okay this underway, but I'm so bored and lonely. I'm not really happy. I'm not sad or anything, but I'm just not myself. I can't wait for this all to be over.

Anyway, my principal's son passed away over the weekend and the services are tomorrow. I'm going to the open house after school so I made a card for the family. I bought this new set of stamps from Hanna stamps and was excited to use them. It's my first Hanna stamps card :) It's pretty simple, but I like the way it came out. I've got a ton of new stamps that I hope to play with this weekend :)

Dan the Tool Man Porter

When you let your husband spend $800 or so on tools, you get this:

Introducing my new ribbon rack!!!!! I've been asking Dan for MONTHS to build me some sort of ribbon organizer for my scrapbook room. My ribbon was in boxes everywhere and I had no idea what I owned and what I didn't. This is what he came up with and I am MORE than pleased with it!! Now all that's left is buying more ribbon to fill it up :)

My awesome hubby also built this for my mom :

My mom's due to have her first grandchild in April so she was really pleased to receive this rocking chair for Christmas. I told Dan I wanted one for our house :)

I'd also like to show off the great gingerbread house we made on Christmas Day. Dan did most of the structure and I had fun with the decorating. I will have to admit that Dan made the sweet flag :)Lastly, I'll post a few pictures of the gifts I made for the teachers at school. I was pleased with the way they turned out.

That's it folks. I hope you enjoyed my update :)