Winner!

The winner of the Follower Giveaway for a Lavender Eye Pillow from Ace Quilting is: #14

Carrie said...
i'm following
April 20, 2009 1:19 PM

Be sure to stop by and congratulate her! Thank you to my followers who entered, but I guess I need to rethink the item to giveaway... I have over 100 followers and only 23 enteries. Hmmm....

Don't forget to enter the SKOY Cloth Giveaway ending TODAY at 11:59pm

Wordless Wednesday

My joy

For more Wordless Wednesdays click here.

A Mother's Love

In the far left corner is my sleeping husband. It's more than fair, it was 1 in the morning. My son sleeping in the "middle" peacefully unaware that he is a Baby Bed Hog and my other baby, Tort formerly sandwiched up to my side. I unwedged myself not for the sole purpose of capturing this cozy gathering, but more importantly the need to use the bathroom. However, before I got back wedged myself back into bed I thought I would capture my snuggling companions. Co-Bedding is often met with skepticism, people worrying about sleeping in a bed with a baby and rolling over on them. Not possible in this bed. The way to avoid rolling is to be physically incapable of moving. I cannot in that space lay on my back, I can contort myself briefly -in what can only be considered an impressive feat- flip from my left to right side. I love sleeping with the whole family, I just wish everone would spread out juuuust a tad.

Oh and in case you were wondering... we have a king bed.

Blog Swap Goodies!

Kati hosted a Favorite Things Swap!

I had a wonderful swapping partner! Monique from Single-Wide Cottage was my swapping partner! I had such a great time picking out things for her. I hope she likes them! :) When her package arrived I was sooo excited, but my camera battery was dead!! I had to wait for the charge so that I could unwrap it via photos! Man that was a long wait... it's always those times that the baby is totally content to just hang out by himself, no diaper change required, no nursing necessary... but when I want to do something right away. ;-) Well you know the drill.

So battery charged and Ace and I dug in!



Instantly I see some tasty wafer bits, yum! And cookie cutters I LOVE cookie cutters and I have NONE for Halloween! It is her favorite holiday!

Ace was particularly interested in the card. Pretty sure that will be one of the only times in the next decade that the card wins the attention over the present!

She brought me back Salt Water Taffy from Santa Cruz! Yummy! And M&Ms MY favorite!







This was such a great box of goodies! There was a fuchsia candle holder and the green basket (her favorite colors) a little thing of seeds in a tiny pot for flowers. A moleskin and pen, something she is never without! An Agatha Christie novel, she loves to read and has been on an AC kick and that was one of her favorites! Neat, can't wait to read her again - I haven't since high school! Lip gloss, tea! Finally a vanilla candle that she made herself! Very crafty lady!!
So thank you to Monique! Can't wait to see whatever one else's packages included! I've been enjoying mine for a few days now. :)

Mr. Blue Eyes!

Eight Months Old

Ace is eight months old today. He's getting bigger and most notably TALLER! every day (or so it seems.) He now almost hits his head under our dining room table and just last week that wasn't possible.

Firsts for Ace's 8th month: His first time out on the deck in the warm sun. His first Easter, his new big-boy car seat, his first trip to see the falls (and that all happened in one day!) Swim Lessons. His first visit to see the Cherry Blossoms.

Developmentally, Ace is just honing the skills he learned in his 7th month of life. He's standing everywhere still and gaining a far greater appreciation for gravity. He isn't falling nearly as much and is discovering safer ways to descend to the ground rather than a full on face plant. He is more and more starting to let go of furniture he is holding and standing for a second or two before grabbing back on or descending to the floor. I'm sure by the 9 month post he will be walking all over the place though!

On the teeth front, Ace this past week started to work on his second tooth. Much to the dismay of mommy that second tooth is on the top. So while we are excited he is on his way with the solid food muchers, mommy is less excited to be having to deal with a now painful vice grip that nature and Ace has decided to bless us with. It isn't all the way though yet and this tooth he's having a harder time than the first. His nose is a faucet and the fever is often. Making two nights ago a nearly non-existent night of sleep for the whole family. Needless to say, we will be glad when this one makes it in and will (hopefully) welcome a break before the next one makes it's appearance.

Growth wise, we can only guess. Ace doesn't have to see the pediatrician until his 9th month and in that visit he won't need any shots! It's his freebie month. I'm sure he is excited about that. :) So as far as how tall he is or how much he weighs it's all guess work at this point. I'd say he's close to 29" tall (yes he's vertical now, so I no longer consider measurements in length) and between 18-20lbs. Just this last week he has also seemed to be chunking up. Perhaps it's all the exercises he's been getting... yes it's muscle not fat ;-).

Yes, during Ace's 8th month of life, him and I joined Mommy & Me swim classes... and so far he is loving it. There is the first swim lesson here and the second one with a video, here. He loves the water. He enjoys bath time and he also really enjoys being in the pool, which is heated to roughly 90' so mommy also enjoys it. He has about 7 other babies in the class with him ranging from 4 months to 9 months old and it is a nice time for him to interact with the other kids.

Ace enjoyed hunting for eggs this Easter, the video can be seen here. We had a great time enjoying all the festivities of the Easter day with him and showing him the falls in the evening. It was a lot of fun.

In other areas, we regressed a bit. He did so well with solid food when we first introduced him to it, then he got sick, and then he wanted nothing to do with it. So after trying it other people's ways for so long "keep trying" "start back with rice cereal again" "just feed it to him" I decided to go with my gut instinct and stop feeding him the solids all together. Whaaa? Yes, I stopped, almost three weeks ago. I decided that I didn't want him to hate it when he was no longer showing ANY interest in it. So I decided to start from scratch. Wait about a month and then re-introduce the whole subject. So we're starting today. We're starting with breast milk with a side of rice cereal aka reallly reallly milked-down cereal and we'll go from there and hope he enjoys it again like he did way back when.

Ace is a smart boy and during the day enjoys spending time learning eating flash cards, and also learning sizes. Pretty sure his consistency is sheer luck but he's doing really well with "big" and "little" objects and handing me the one that I ask for. We have also cycled some of the "baby" toys out to more learning based toys. Our little man is growing up. I'm sure there are many other things that I've missed to put in this post, but on a daily existence Ace is healthy, happy, and thriving. He still loves the kitties and has the battle wounds to show for it. EVERYWHERE!!! And is starting to really work on his expressions more and more (when he feels like it.)

Bebe au Lait - Mother's Day Promotion

This year for Mother's Day, Bebe au Lait is offering two free burp cloths with purchase of a nursing cover, bib, hooded towel, or gift set. On top of that, Bebe au Lait offering free domestic ground shipping on every order!

The promotion starts today and ends on May 11th.

Who is Bebe au Lait:

Ever heard of the ever famous Hooter Hider? Bebe au Lait is responsible for bringing them to you. But they don't just make Hooter Hiders. As the promotion states they also make hooded towels which are available in two sizes (baby and toddler size) and 11 patterns; and also bibs that are reversible. Their fabrics are so exciting and different. Their prices are competitive and did I metion with this promotion there is FREE shipping?! With the rate the postal service is going that's a deal all by itself!

So please stop by Bebe au Lait and check out their products.

Java Jaunt

Welcome to the second Java Jaunt! If you are new to this, please click here to the original Jaunt to find out a bit more of what it is about!

The idea is to visit one person's blog and spend some time with them. So grab a cup of java and sit down with a blog of your choosing and spend some quality time reading all about their lives. Hop around the blog! Go back in time with them to their original posts! And if you choose to write about the person you enjoyed coffee with that morning, come back here and link up your post, so that other Java Jaunters can get to know who you enjoyed your morning coffee with!

Last week I went and spent my time with a SITS featured blogger and I had an excellent time there with her! I learned all sorts of neat and interesting facts. Today, I've chosen to enjoy my cup of java with Stacey of Willowjak Boys she is a recent follower of mine, and as I stopped by her page realized she is also a Java Jaunt with Jo participant and has proudly displayed my button on her blog. Thank you!!! I spent my midnight coffee (decaf!) with her and learned all sorts of things!

Stacey met her husband in the 7th grade! She scans her son's art work (at least once) but that's a BRILLIANT plan! Save it digitally!!! She is the momma of 3 boys, her youngest (twins) have autism and she is a warrior for autism and her family... it is really inspiring! I learned there might be possible links between Lyme disease and autism, or at least they are doing research on it! They are a Wiggles Family. She's a very strong woman and I'm glad I spent my Java Jaunt getting to know her a bit more. Stop by her blog and you won't be sorry!

So who did you visit? Grab the button on my side bar and post about your Java Jaunt and link back here!

Like a Nemo to Water

Yes, that's our son. He's doing so well with swimming! We went on Sunday for open swim and again for our class yesterday. Yesterday in class he learned how to blow bubbles in the water and mommy learned how to blow on his nose, because when you do he takes a deep breath (it's actually a pretty neat trick, go try it.) It is how you prepare a baby to "dip" (isn't that word so much more pc that "dunk") into the water. Yes, that's right next week I have to intentionally dip my baby underwater!!! Panic Panic Panic I have this fear that I'll do that and he will forever be scarred and never want to continue swim lessons, we have like 12 more weeks! He's been swimming exactly 3 times and so far LOVES it. I want him to continue to love it. I'm sure most of my feelings are over reactions. I'm sure that he'll be fine, he might not like it - but he'll be fine. I just don't want to turn him into the boy that refuses to take a bath because mommy tried to drowned him once.

That's all.

Pray for Stellan

*UPDATE* Stellan is out of surgery, read the latest post here on how things went and what it means from here on out!

I have had this button on my side bar now for over a month. This little boy is now six months old and has spent the last month of his life in the NICU dealing with heart condition known as SVT. Today, he is in Boston having surgery to hopefully regulate that SVT that he's been dealing with this last month. For a baby this is a very risky surgery. Stellan has touched the lives of so many around the world and Jennifer his mother is being able to spread the word of Jesus throughout this experience, it has been a blessing amid the storm. Please pray for healing. Pray for a healthy recovery. But most importantly pray for God's will.

Please stop by My Charming Kids and leave a note of support. Today, thousands of people are wearing orange today in honor of Stellan. Like Ace, it's Stellan (and Jennifer's) favorite color. Take a moment to check our Stellan's name gallery, it's amazing the the places Stellan has "been".

WINNER!

The winner of the Little Luvee Blanket is: # 76!

Whimsical Creations said...
Love the Pink Retro Dot Baby Blanket.

(stopping by from SITS)

=) melanie

http://melaniescrafts.blogspot.com/

Be sure to stop by and congratulate her! Thank you for all of you who participated in this giveaway. Please check my left side bar for two more giveaways happening right now!

SKOY Cloth Review and Giveaway - 2 Winners

I am always on the hunt for something new and exciting! As a SAHM my routine starts to feel a little bland every now and again and I need something to spice it up; and when I came across SKOY Cloths on another blogger's page, that did it for me! I was back in the spice of things! The concept was exciting, the innovation was awesome, and the price was too fabulous not to love! What?! What?! What ARE you talking about, Jo?! Well, keep reading silly - you'll see!

In my house I am obsessed with using paper towels. I use way too many of them, I know and while I'm not as green as some, I do know that I should be better in some areas. So the SKOY Cloths caught my eye first and foremost because they are advertised to cut back on paper towel use, ONE SKOY cloth saves 15 rolls of paper towels! The first thing out of my husband's mouth was: um so it's a rag, not a paper towel. Au contraire my beloved! These cloths are made from natural materials and is 100% biodegradable, while microfiber cloths are made from synthetic materials. So see, not a rag at all, because I don't like to use rags. The fibers no matter what kind I use get everywhere, they stick to things... I often throw them away as IF they were paper towel... I'm not a fan. So to have a Skoy cloth that is durable, yet is also biodegradable - sign me up for that test drive! First, let's talk about the company and the makers behind it.


About SKOY Cloth:
Michelle and Karen are two SAHM's that when their children went off to grade school had some time on their hands and thus their business was born. I LOVE how they got their name, since I have some Swed in me, I love that the name of their company is Swedish! And I really appreciate that they are so fastidious in making sure the factory they use is well aware of the standards Michelle and Karen wish to uphold. Please read more about their company here.

About the Product:
Each SKOY cloth is approximately 7”x7” and are sold in packs of 4. You can elect to purchase them in color (orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, white) or all white. Each SKOY has a flower print and if you elect to buy the white SKOY cloths the flower is in color. They also have a 4 pack with inspirational text. A pack of 4 SKOY cloths is $5.99. As I mentioned one SKOY cloth replaces 15 rolls of paper towels. Now 12 rolls of paper towels is $15 (at least this last bundle I just bought was and that was them on sale. sheesh!) and 4 SKOY cloths cost $5.99. Quick breakdown for you: average cost of a roll of paper towel: $1.25. 15 rolls=$18.75. If one SKOY cloth equals that of 15 rolls of paper towels and you buy 4 for $5.99 there are a savings of $69.01 on the cost of paper towels! Now think of that in terms of waste: 4 SKOY cloths or 60 rolls of paper towels. It's staggering.


The Review:
Talk is cheap, it's the in action stuff that matters. How does well does it absorb liquid? I dumped 3/4th of a cup of water onto the counter top and taking a completely dry SKOY cloth was able to absorb all but the dampness, which air dried away pretty quickly. How does it dry? After using the SKOY cloth I let it dry over night and it dries up and retakes it's original shape and feel. How does it work for reuse? It works great. It's extremely durable I can ring it out, wet it and reuse it over and over again. How does it hold up in the wash? Extremely well! I didn't choose to dry my, I just set it out to air dry. How does it feel in your hand? I don't know if any of you would actually ask that question, but I thought it when I first saw the product so I figured I'd answer. Prior to adding any liquid to it, it feels almost like thin cardboard, after adding water to it - it's really thick. I was surprised at how dense it remained. How did I use it? It worked great to scrub the counter tops and I tried it on the mirror! Yes another flaw to paper towels and rags... bits remain on the mirrors. With the SKOY cloth, all was well with the world! :) Downsides? Size matters! Whaaat? Keep your mind out of the gutter ladies and gents! All I mean is that part of the reason I do love my paper towels so much is the coverage I get with one. They are large! That's the one thing with the SKOY cloths, they aren't large. Now while often I don't need as big of a towel and while the SKOY cloth can be reused over and over again, sometimes, I'd just like a little bit more cloth for my cleaning amusement. So it would be great if they offered "regular" and "extra-large" sizes. Final thoughts? I love this product. Not only does it help cut down on waste in our landfills, it really is a great and effective product! Also think of how much space it takes to store 15 rolls of paper towels? A SKOY cloth can be put in a drawer, heck several SKOY cloths can be put in a drawer! So if you are too eager to wait for the giveaway to end, stop over at SKOY and order your SKOY cloths today!

Want some? Go to SKOY and order a pack in a variety of colors, you can also subscribe to receive a shipment every 3 months!

Win it! SKOY has generously donated two 4 packs of the color SKOY cloths to two A-Priori Mommy readers!

How to Enter:
Visit SKOY and tell me something about the company, the product, the name of the company, etc.. that I have NOT mentioned in this review. This must be done first before any other entries will count.

Additional Entries: (Up to 12 chances to win!)
1. Blog about the giveaway with a link to The A-Priori Mommy and leave the URL to your post in the comment. (3 entries)
2. Follow me on blogger. (1 entry)
3. Follow me AcesMomma on Twitter AND Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry)
4. Add my button to your sidebar. (1 entry)
5. Purchase anything from SKOY between now and the end of the giveaway and post 5 comments with the transaction number. (5 entries)

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (i.e., if you blog about this giveaway, leave three separate comments stating that you did. Your comments are your actual entries.)

This giveaway will end April 30th at 11:59 PM PST. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be announced May 1st. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize before a new winner is chosen. US entries only, please.

Not My Tarp, Not My Problem!

Yes, by popular demand, I am here to tell you what the phrase "Not my tarp, not my problem!" means. Last week over at La Dolce Vita, I was asked to say what phrase I would wear on a t-shirt. My answer was "Not my tarp, not my problem!" and then I explained nothing! :) I'm mean, I know!! I say this with the warning of: be careful what you ask for!

Back in the summer of 1999, I was home from college. Home from freedom... that wasn't going to work. So I sought out a summer job that would take me away from home. My best friend Becky, she's been shown here before, was working at a camp for the second summer and said that if I should join her. We had grown up in scouts together - in fact we became friends at a camp (after knowing each other for an entire school year and hating each other.) And so I thought GREAT! I loved working with younger girls and it would be an adventure.....

Oh my word, did that phrase come back to bite us all in the arse! You see - the way this camp was laid out staff wise is as follows (roughly from my memory): 1 camp director, 1 assistant director, 1 cook, 1 assistant cook, 2 nurses, 1 life guard: KP, 1 activities director: Ivy, 4 unit leaders, 2 foreign exchange counselors and about a dozen other counselors (that was me and Becky.) Now why on earth did I just give you a list of all the staffing positions? Well to make the following list easier to understand the chaos.

The summer began with staff orientation, we all meet and become acquainted with one another. Our two exchange counselors both happen to be from Russia, they didn't know each other before, but it seems GREAT that they have a common companion. We all sleep outside under overhangs, but basically outside. We sleep on beds inside our sleeping bags and tarps cover our beds during the day (and night... it gets dewy,) orientation ends and that's basically the beginning of everything.

My brain is fussy as to the when and where of each specific nut falling from the tree, but the general order is as follows: The camp director quits, the assistant director isn't old enough to be in charge, so nurse #1 takes over as camp director and continues her nursing duties, I leave for a week for a prearranged nannying job and while I am gone 2 unit leaders quit, they then take the oldest counselors and put them in the unit leader jobs (one of those was Becky), in the middle of the night Becky is hauled out of bed and is helping nurse #1, Ivy and KP chase nurse #2 out of camp. In theory he had a knife... it was all chaotic and unexplainable. Nurse #1 is now the only nurse AND camp director. Assistant camp director quits after having some scandal with another counselor... (yes all girls camp.) We're in the mountains, there are bears. Bears climb into windows of the Pill Box (Nurses Station) we chase them out of camp. Many small children are falling down throughout camp causing multiple trips down the mountain for legal reasons to verify and confirm they are in fact fine. Toward the end of the sessions, this includes a trip to the ER for myself who busted a tendon in her hand when assisting taking out the trash. Someone had to cut my meat the rest of camp. After Nurse #2 ran off, then the Russians started to wander off. No one wanted them in their unit - they were negative staff (or just two more children in your charge.) One night they left camp for good. Those in charge pulled their work visas and they were never heard from again. Basically they defected. Delightful. Now we're two more counselors down. We end up running out of so many counselors to girls ratio that myself and another counselor Melody had to sit in a bathroom that is shared between two of the units and played Indian head poker for 2 hours, in order to be "legal" HA!!! while the unit leaders had a meeting. Then our cook (a batty ol' woman) carved a frozen ham with the wood saw and then fell in the kitchen tried to set up a workman's comp claim. She was asked to leave. Assistant cook, couldn't cook. She left because it was too much pressure. No cook for a camp that has 120 girls and a dwindling staff. I became the head cook and all the counselors chipped in where they could. Our staff was decimated, the camp was "sold out", there was a mud slide that had to be dealt with, and us counselors were allotted 2 hours a day of "free time" typically used to go to the staff house to shower or sleep indoors. Every 10 days we were give a 24. 24 hours to leave the hell hole happy summer camp and shave our legs and have a real meal.

Now in the staff house we had a board, it was a very cathartic board. It is where we wrote our feelings quotes that were said when we were going mad having fun. Things like "Tastes like dirt and I like it!" or "What if a pine cone falls on my daughter's head?" as was asked by an idiot concerned parent at Parent Orientation. And after a summer of chaos and madness certain things have stuck in many of minds. Including "Not my tarp, not my problem!" it was said very literally to one of our fellow counselors, or perhaps even to a small camper. Regarding something to do with their bed. It wasn't my bed. It was theirs and therefore any issue was their own. And thus a phrase that has entered into my regular vocabulary for the last ten years. "Not my tarp, not my problem!" You've got issues, not my problem! Because after and amid the crazy summer we were having there wasn't a whole lot of room for trivial issues of tarps.

Now all this sounds insane, maddening or plain confusing.... it was! But you know, all the campers were always safe and it was one of the best summers of my life and I came back the next year, as the chef... well after the other cook had quit. :)

Cherry Blossoms

What a beautiful weekend we have been having! There's so much wonderful spring blooming all over! I can't wait for the warm weather to really stick around. Today we went to see the cherry blossoms! I love this part of the year. Loving Husband and I go regularly ever since moving to the Northwest. With the exception of last year when it snowed this weekend last year (nonsense I say!) But this year we were able to take Ace! Oh what a joy it was! Ace enjoyed crawling all around the grass and eating all sorts of nature and what a great backdrop to photograph! Enjoy this collage of some of our adventures,my favorite picture is the one of him eat the leaves! Happy Sunday.

Follower Giveaway!

Remember way back, long ago when I said this... well I'm finally going to make good on it! I got distracted with daily life, I was busy blogging, I was busy with my family, I forgot. Yes there's no real excuse I just plumb forgot about my promise to my followers! And since I just remembered I wanted to waste no time in getting my Follower Giveaway posted. First of all I love followers, I like knowing that there are people that like to read my posts. I in turn want to take care of them, like you do your IRL friends, because just because we're in the bloggy world doesn't mean we can't be kind.

Now for my Follower Giveaway, all you have to do is be a follower and comment! I'd love for you to also comment on other posts in addition to the one that I'm giving you free stuff on, but it's not a demand. I mean the whole point is to be nice to those that choose to read my blog. So if you're merely a follower for the free loot, well I can help you out with some, with a side of guilt. :) You can join THIS Follower Giveaway even if you are just now becoming a follower. You don't have to be an existing follower. Follow me! I'm pretty funny and I have some other giveaways in with wings that are awesome and you won't want to miss.

How to Enter:
1. Be a follower (new and existing count!)
2. Leave a comment on this post and if you're nice on another post too.

That's all folks! Nothing fancy.

Now what am I offering my followers?! Well, since I just remembered JUST now, I don't have anything purchased or store bought - but I do have an lavender eye pillow from my Etsy store* Ace Quilting And just to make it more exciting, I will let you choose your color scheme! (i.e. blues, purples, bright, pastels, etc.) The Lavender Eye Pillow is filled with dried french lavender and flax seed.

This giveaway will end April 29th at 11:59 PM PST. Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be announced April 30th. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize before a new winner is chosen.
US entries only, please.

* The A-Priori Mommy is not above shameless plugs and bribery. If you succumb to these plugs and briberies The A-Priori Mommy is not hereby liable for any of your actions or affects resulting from your actions.

Java Jaunt

I really have been thinking about blogging and comments for a while now. First of all I love comments! I do, I REALLY do! And SITS is a wonderful community to be a part of. I absolutely love what Tiffany and Heather have created over there! I appreciate their seemingly endless commitment to featuring blogs that are serious about supporting women and commenting on their blogs. I love it! I participate! I highly recommend being a part of the GREAT community that SITS has created. I get in the habit of visiting the Featured Blogger of the day and only really visiting the latest post and perhaps one or two of the posts highlighted on SITS. I try to visit one other post that isn't in that highlighted section as well. Sometimes I'm there for a few minutes, and to admit it sometimes under a minute! Yikes!

So today I came up with an idea after seeing Just a Girl's latest post, she invites us to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee. I have seen this before, but today it struck a cord and an idea in my little brain. Today, I am going to kick off Java Jaunt! What, huh? Whatdya mean? Well, every Thursday (since the idea struck me on Thursday) I am going to visit one blog and spend an entire cup of coffee's worth of time on their blog. Today, I'm going to start with Just a Girl I don't know if I'll always spend my Java Jaunt time at SITS Featured Blogger's site, but today I am.


I made my coffee, got to my computer, and then started commenting on Just a Girl's blog! I learned some great things! I learned that her world stops for LOST. Her best friend is her first cousin who goes down to Peru and brings back great warm things at Christmas time :) She is awesome She has GREAT floors but doesn't know what they are. Darn!Her house is gorgeous and her dog is HUGE! Stop by and get to know her!!

If you are interested in joining me on this new venture, please grab the button below and place it on your sidebar. Chose a blog that you'd like to spend a cup of coffee with and go and do it. Hop around, go back to the beginning of the blog, hunt through holiday blogs, and most of all COMMENT! Because whether you're a SITSa or not, we all like to feel like someone is listening reading. If you feel like i (but not required) blog about your Java Jaunt, put the button on the entry and write about where you visited. Encourage other ladies to go and visit this particular corner of the bloggy world you visited.

The "Rules"1. Grab a cup of coffee (tea, water, whatever)
2. Find a blog you don't normally read regularly. The Secrets in the Sauce has great selections daily if you need ideas.
3. Hop around and read while you sip your coffee. My general thought for this Java Jaunt is to spend 15-20 minutes on one blog, just as if you were out to coffee with them! To go beyond the latest blog entry, to go beyond the highlighted entries, to really spend some time* with this person and their blog.
4. COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT!!!

* This is in no way reflecting an opinion of others and it in no way implies that anyone has a lack-luster commitment to SITS, Featured Bloggers on SITS, or any commenter or blog. Truly it is all the desire of The A-Priori Mommy to commit herself to more time on one blog. It doesn't mean that if the A-Priori Mommy leaves a comment on your blog and doesn't spend 15-20 minutes on your blog that she isn't genuinely interested in your blog, and The A-Priori Mommy always reads a post before commenting on it. If you already spend 15-20 minutes on one blog, WONDERFUL! The A-Priori Mommy is aiming to be more like you! If you don't have that time, no judgement there either. Just thought it would be a fun way to share the adventures jaunting around one blog on a Thursday afternoon!

8 Wonders of Me

Lori over at Livin' In a Fishbowl tagged me and when tagged I try my best to comply. Not because I'm necessarily a rule follower nor do I feel intimidated by Lori, well maybe in the theatrical department. She's quite the dramatist compared to me. Now that's not because she's manic or something, she really was a theater major! I swear. So now that we've cleared up the fact that I did NOT just refer to my IRL(whom I never see) friend as a crazy... what's that? I only cleared up that she's not dramatic in a manic sense... well crazy is to be determined... but really isn't it for everyone? :)

Ok ok I'll post already!

8 Things I am Looking Forward to
Heaven
Being debt free
Ace growing up and not putting me in the crappy nursing home
My ear unplugging, it's been WEEKS!
Swim lessons with Ace
My November trip to Disneyland with my mom, Ace and Loving Husband
My niece or nephew being born in September!
My World domination peace

8 Things I Did Yesterday
Mailed in our final tax paperwork with every other procrastinator in the country
Broke out the sewing machine and created new products for my Etsy shop
Commented on about 50 Wordless Wednesdays
Did flash cards with Ace
Started to read the Bible in One Year Bible
Almost had a mental breakdown after 90 minutes of nonstop crying (the baby... mine didn't last quite that long)
Paid for lunch for the person behind me in the drive thru
Woke up at 6am... YUCK!

8 Things I Wish I Could do
Grow money, I'd be very popular
Never require sleep, I'd be more agreeable and pleasant
Fly... I mean who wouldn't want to fly?
Be debt free
Sing for money... not like in the subway, but like on a real stage.
Knit or crochet something other than a pot holder. I just can't!
Travel the world on a whim with no worries
Punch Jason Mesnik in the nose.

8 Shows I Enjoy
Lost
Law and Order: SVU
Friends (on dvd)
Biggest Loser
Samantha Who
ER
The Bachelor Dancing With the Stars
CSI: NY

Wordless Wednesday

Rough Morning

For more Wordless Wednesdays click here and here.

Swimming lessons & the park

When I was a baby my mom and I did swimming lessons around the age of 6 months. I was a super tiny baby in fact I wore size 6 month clothes through the age of 18 months. We attended the local Y for these "Mommy & Me" classes. Apparently the pool wasn't heated very well and since I was a skinny-mini I did not have an enjoyable time. The times have changed folks!

Since the time I found out that I was pregnant I knew that I wanted to at least try "Mommy & Me" Swim with my son. If he hated it, well then fine - we'd at least know and not try again for a few years. I thought it would be a good time for mommy and son to bond. So I went on the hunt, I did try to find something through the local Y - but no dice, not one Mommy & Me any type of class. I found that strange, ah well - I continued to look and I finally happened across a company that specializes in swimming for infants in the Northwest and so I signed us right up! The sessions are 30 minutes once a week from now until late June for $165. Not too shabby I say and we get 2 free swims with that fee. The pool we attend is heated no lower than 89' but usually ranges between 91'-93'and both mom AND dad can attend if available for no extra charge. Sounds perfect for us! So I signed Ace and I up for the 4-9 month swim class.

Today was our first class, we were in a class with 7 other babies and mommies and all of them did really well. Ace was the splasher of the class. Maybe next week mommy won't wear her contacts - or perhaps goggles will come in handy. We arrived at the pool and I changed Ace into his swim diaper. This program requires cloth (non-disposable) swim diapers and so I put him in his stylish blue one... and he proceed to pee all over us. Because while the diaper is GREAT at containing poop... not so absorbent on the pee end of things. So before we even got in the pool, we were wet. Siiigh.

So sitting waiting to get in the pool with my little squirmy worm in my arms, soaked in his ...blessing, we listened to the instructor teach us about "Sit, Listen & Wait" teaching the babes how to wait to get in the water and not just dive head first in. They are still a tad young to understand this concept, but start the repetition early and it will be beneficial later. After we all got in the water we acclimated by chewing on a floaty toy. The one Ace chose: an orange fish. :) No shock there. We walked around a bit and then sang a hello song and introduced all the babies to each other. Then we all were in a circle and having the babies push a ball around and then kick it around. The class goes by fast since it's only 30 minutes, but the only thing Ace wasn't terribly thrilled with was the floating part. Being on his back with his ears in the water. He was ok once they were both under but he was so squirmy they didn't want to stay there very long. Overall the first class went great! No screams or severe agitation with the events.

We somehow manged to get dressed and dry after a quick mommy and me shower and then headed to the park. We had to play for a bit so that we were legally parked. ;-) So since I was unable to take photos while swimming. Don't you fret - we'll get some during free swim in the near future! I took a few of Ace on the swing. He was semi-tired but also very contemplative of what was going on around him. There was a kid swinging in the other swing that both fascinated and annoyed him and thus the look we have here on his face!

Eden Fantasys Lingerie Review

**EDIT! The Promotional code has been fixed**

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming ladies and gents to bring you something for Mommy, so if you are under 18 please visit a different post or two of mine. This is a good G rated post, as is this one. However the following post is for the eyes of Mommy and Daddy only!

+++++++++++++++++++++

The blogosphere is all a-buzz with rave reviews about Eden Fantasys and their variety of products. Over at All in A Mom's Life she has reviewed one of Eden Fantasys books, hop on over to Country Girl, City Life and see a more intimate review of one of Eden Fantasys sex toys and here at The A-Priori Mommy I am reviewing an item out of their lingerie catalogue... but we will get to that in a moment! First let me tell you about the company.

About Eden Fantasys:
I have to say that this company is well received in my book. Often going to websites for adult toys leads you to unseemly advertisements that is nothing short of porn. Eden Fantasys is is very well designed and everything on the site is tastefully laid out. It isn't dark and creepy. The representative that I dealt with is extremely professional and the shipping was super quick.

Eden Fantasys is above the mark when it comes to providing their clientele with information, especially those weary of purchasing adult toys, lingerie, or party favors and gags (they carry them all!) It's true they aren't just about sex toys! They have an exhaustive FAQ section for almost any question you can ask and their Guarantees are amazing!

• All US orders get $5.95 flat standard shipping on either UPS Ground or USPS Priority regardless order's size; and if your order is $59+ shipping is free!
• Eden Fantasys ships in plain brown boxes. And they charge under WM so nobody will know whose charge is on your banking statement.
• Eden Fantasys also will provide you with a return shipping label for Free!

Lingerie Review:
First and foremost I will say that the lingerie offered by Eden Fantasys is amazingly well priced! That is the first thing that caught my eye! For example this number a lace baby doll with g-string for $10.99! $10.99!? Wow! And to no surprise they are all sold out at the moment! No kidding with such a great deal hard to keep that baby on the shelf! So if you're looking for some quality time in the bouduair with your husband during these economic tough times, keep an eye out for the restock!

I am here to tell you about this piece of lingerie!

This Corset style babydoll is made of satin and mesh and is a set that comes with the babydoll and g-string. This is a new item for Eden Fantasys and for a corset is priced very well. Something like this at VS would run upwards of $100+ but at Eden Fantasys this set is $48.99. The website describes this babydoll:

Show your assets in this playful set. A corseted middle emphasizes your waist while the ruffled sheer top playfully reveals your bust. The flirty ruffled skirt completes this cute babydoll set.

I would have to agree! It's a little bit of everything! Peasant, meets vampire, meets dom... ahem. So much to my husband's dismay, luke warm interest, elation we decided to test run review this product.

First the product is very soft! The fine mesh that is used for the bodice and the skirt are great. The corset laces up nicely and the ribbon used to lace it up glides easily to adjust for your middle. Meaning that it only takes one person to get into it! Nothing like ruining the surprise when you have to have your husband come in to get you IN the thing in the first place. No issue though with this corset! Getting into it is easy and getting out of it even easier!

There are only two things that could be considered remotely negative about this lingerie, and neither would prevent me from purchasing. The hook & eye pieces that hold the corset together pop open a little too easily. Some might consider this a positive feature when considering lingerie, but I would prefer it to hold just a tad better. The only other negative is that it is a handwash only item (as most lingerie is.)

Overall, the lingerie was a nice addition to the evening and I highly recommend* Eden Fantasys for your lingerie shopping needs!

Now a Guest Snippet from an independent thoroughly and enthusiastically biased third party:

Reflecting that the A-Priori Mommy has practiced law and taught a variety of communication courses at the collegiate level, I thought that framing this review in those terms would be best. First, let's begin with a definition of communication: "Communication is the process of conveying information from a sender to a receiver with the use of a medium in which the communicated information is understood the same way by both sender and receiver." If it hasn't already, the relevance of this definition will soon become abundantly clear. :)

As with any thing worn in this genre, 99.9% of it's value is in the message it sends, and the remaining 0.1% is spread out among its functional design, freedom of movement, and aesthetic appeal. In this 0.1%, the piece from Eden Fantasys serves its purpose extremely well. In my experience, res ipsa loquitur - The thing speaks for itself. And though I am not directly involved in the production of this blog, I am always thrilled to be an "amicus curiae". ;^D

Eden Fantasys has generously provided a 15% discount for the readers of this blog off any item in their shop! Enter KISS09 to receive your 15% off the item of your choosing when you check out.

* The A-Priori Mommy and Eden Fantasys are not responsible for any injury or issue (aka children) that are created by said product. By this statement both The A-Priori Mommy and Eden Fantasys are here by released of any and all liabilities resulting from the proper or improper use of the above stated product.

Our Easter

Ace was still a little sleepy during the morning festivities! But he still seemed to enjoy hunting for eggs and pilfering his basket.

The falls were beautiful and as we were driving home we saw a great rainbow!

Yummy Easter dinner! Noodles and some water from a GIANT spoon!

Wonderful example in the sky of God's masterpiece. Ace is tuckered out with his bunny.

What a wonderful Easter we all had! Filled with Egg Hunting, Easter Baskets, Church, Sunday Driving, a trip to a waterfall, a nice Italian dinner, and a movie at home. Yes, our Easter was quite full of some very standard and unique events. All of them were wonderful. Ace hunting Easter eggs was so much fun, the video is of him crawling around hunting them. He also enjoyed his Easter basket, filled with no candy goodies... wonder how long we can avoid candy in an Easter basket before kids at school rat us out that THAT is what it's all about! After the Easter basket fun we all got dressed in our Easter best (well Ace's Easter best, us we just found something spring-y) and headed to church. In the afternoon we replaced Ace's car seat, he no longer fits in his baby-car seat! Trust me I'll be mourning the loss next time he's asleep in his car seat and I have to get him out without simply taking the whole contraption in. We decided on a whim to go drive in the evening up to see the falls. Loving Husband and I have spent many anniversaries there at the The Lodge, and the last time we were there I was 8+ months pregnant, so it was great to take Ace there again and show him all the water.

It's My Day!

La Dolce Vita! If you haven't been to her corner of the blogosphere it is a place you must visit! She is a delight and she is beyond creative. Today I am her Featured Reader (yay!) and it also enters me into Kristen's contest for something out of her shop Kristen's Custom Creations. All of her stuff is super cute and such great concepts. I really like the Night Owl but the one that I think that I will get is this one pictured below! It is a very simple but fitting statement and I love the cross accent that is accompanying it. Now how do I win? Well very similar to most giveaways by the comments left on my Featured Reader post on La Dolce Vita! Yes, that means I'm begging asking you to go over to her blog and leave a comment on my Featured Reader post. Every comment left is an entry for me to win! Be sure to stop by some of Kristen's other posts, she has a great blog and it is a daily visit on my blog-hop!!

Happy Easter

The cross is empty, the tomb is empty!

He is Risen!

If you do not have a church service to attend please click here and watch a service stream live from Mars Hill Church at 8am, 9:45am, 11:30am, 5pm, and 7:15pm PST

Baby Signing

Before Ace was born I had these grandiose ideas that we would teach him sign language. I have know the alphabet for many years, in fact used it in high school to communicate across a room at church, school, wherever... it was the poor-man's texting in the 90s. I had some rudimentary knowledge of basic signs for mother, father, water, hungry, more, etc.. and for a while I was even attempting to learn it with a friend that is well versed in it.

My mother actually takes classes in her spare time and uses sign language with her kids at school (she works with the special need kids) She purchased a Baby Sign kit when I was in my early stages of pregnancy. I learned one new word at that time: milk. It's a simple sign just think of the motion your hand would make squeezing a cow utter and then repeat the open and closing of that hand and there you have the sign for milk. We began from the day Ace was born, my husband and I, to show him that sign every most of the time when Ace would want to eat.

My husband also has been relatively faithful in showing him the sign for diaper when we change him. I however have failed to recall this sign during the changing process as I am often more concerned with avoiding a shower or a second though of "I'm not done" with his business type extravaganza! So diaper isn't working out so well...

But I have to say how exciting it was the first day we saw Ace make the sign for milk! He was just around seven months old. It was right before we went to California for Grandma's funeral. He had started to get fussy and then made the sign. At first I didn't notice him doing it until I made the sign for milk and he looked at me like - duh woman that's what I've been motioning for this whole time. He already does the indignant look very well. (I know future trouble, right?) But I was so excited!

The milk sign though is not exclusive to milk, but more of an "I want" so it is when he wants milk, when he wants up, when he wants water, when he wants attention. :) So for now at least we know when he wants something and he doesn't have to immediately cry for it and if a baby sign works for that - absolutely! I'd teach it all over again! We are now expanding into "all done" "water" and "eat" and we'll see how quickly he picks those up.

But I am certainly a proud momma bear that my son can sign milk! Enjoy the picture that has nothing to do with the post, he's just too adorable!

Good Friday

“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. 19 Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Matthew 20:18-19 (NLT)

I won!

(forever ago!) Please excuse my tardiness in thanking Katie for my prize! Katie over at Bless This Nest hosted a giveaway for the SITS Spring Fling (see I said I was tardy!) Katie hosted a giveaway of a JPATPURSES Little Zip Pouch, and I won! It's great! It arrived and I was super excited! It's my first giveaway WIN! Yay!!! So thank you, thank you, thank you, Katie!! Everyone please stop by her blog and check it out.


Also while I am thanking people and accepting things, before I become dismally late on acceptance and thanking I want to thank Juls over at Every Day Is a Crazee Scott's Day for the following awards! I greatly appreciate them all and want to say she is so deserving of all of them because I love her blog! She makes me laugh on a regular basis! Please stop by her corner of the world and check them out!







Now to give these awards away! Since Juls doesn't follow rules very well, there were none passed onto me in giving them away (whew!) and so I am free to do as I wish! Woohoo! I think I'll give each to one person in hopes to showcase their blog to my readers and shed light on their blog.

To Lori at Livin' in a Fishbowl I give the Mom of the Year Award! Her struggle with infertility and now with the contested adoption makes my heart ache and triumph for her in her strength all at the same time. She has gone through and IS going through so much with Matthew's adoption being contested, she's just an amazing woman. She loves her children without question and will do ANYTHING for them. Please stop by her blog and congratulate her and pray with her, you can grab her button Praying for Matthew's Future (which you see on my right side bar) from her page as well.

To Thuy, Kacey, and Francesca at Three Bay B Chicks I give Kreative Blog Award! They are always coming up (along with Hot Chocolate Caramel Mocha who I also bestow this award to) with GREAT new ideas for the bloggy world. TBBC and HCCM hosted Where's Wenda and now there's a new exciting feature in the blogosphere which is Chick Chat! It just makes everything abuzz with excitement and I think it's so innovative and great. They are very deserving. Go and check out what Chick Chat is all about!

To Dee at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House I give I Heart Your Blog. I do heart her blog! Not only does she have amazing giveaways, but I love her posts too and the pictures of her son are adorable! She has a little girl on the way and I'm excited for her. Stop by and check out some of her amazing giveaways too! She also has Mr. Linky set up to showcase a TON of giveaways around the blogosphere and a Mr. Linky for Entrecards!

Now please stop by their blogs to congratulate them, or merely to check out their great pages!