Great News!!!

Hey everyone, I have some amazing news. I've been playing this close to my chest for a long time now and figure that I can finally tell everyone.

I'm 20 weeks pregnant!!!!

I'm having a little boy!!!!

So, we are all of course very excited. This time around, I'm not worrying so much about how I'll be as a parent. Now I'm worried about how my daughter will handle a new baby brother. So far, she kisses and hugs my belly. Saying "Hugs and kisses for baby brother." So that's good. But at other times, I'm wondering if her new affectionate nature, is a response. The Hubs said he was very affectionate as a child so it could be a personality thing.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the unprompted "I love you, Mommy." and "Mommy pretty." comments. My heart just melts when I hear it. I'm just hoping that it's here to stay and not something temporary. Well, granted it probably won't happen when she's 13. But hopefully it will stay for a while.

I had a wonderful Mother's day. I got flowers from my mom. And a "World's Best Mom" coffee mug with a brand new Keurig coffee maker from my Daughter and Husband. Though the coffee maker is apparently for both Mom and Dad's day. No biggie for me. Cuts down on the shopping I have to do in June. ;)

So what are you all up to? Any big news for you?

Lately...

• I've been reading: The Trouble with Magic, A Charmed Death & Mermaids in the Basement.

• Enjoying all the "Happy Mommy's" from my amazing, little daughter.

• Visiting family.

• I'm happy that despite the rain, the temps seem to be going higher and higher.

• Trying not to get sucked into yet another tv show (True Blood) by my Hubs.

• Listening to The Ragbirds.

• Playing Angry Birds on my Nook.

What have you all been up to?

Early Birthday Gift

So, my birthday isn't until the end of the month. But the Hubs and the Wee One went, out Sunday afternoon and bought me my birthday present. Now, I wasn't expecting it. In fact, I didn't realize they had left the house last Sunday until the Hubs mentioned they went to Costco. (Granted, I was out of the house from 10:15 - 3pm.)

Anyway, the Hubs mentioned that he bought the Wee One a book. She told me it was a Tinkerbell book. Or rather, "Daddy. Book. Bell Bell." Which means the same thing in 28 month old speak. Turns out they left it in the car. I told the Hubs I'd go get it. No worries, right?

Well, the Hubs left my present on the front passenger seat. I played it off. But he asked me point blank at dinner that night if I'd seen it.

"Yes. But I'll be surprised." (For the Munchkin's sake. Since we don't get birthday presents for each other anymore. The Daughter does. She pays the other parent in Smiles, Hugs and Kisses. LOL)

So later that night. Hubs gives my present to our daughter. She comes running out to me, saying "Happy Mommy Birth. Happy Mommy Birth." And is so excited.

I of course play along. And she snuggles up next to me on the couch and eagerly watches me open it.

What is it?

Why my Nook Color that I wanted. I had to go plug it in. So I took it into the kitchen and when I came out without it, my Daughter starts crying. I soothe her and try to explain that it has to be charged in order to work. After some time, she calmed down.

Needless to say, the whole thing was very cute. And I've been addicted to my Nook ever since. I'm still not sure how all the bells and whistles work. But, I'm having fun, nonetheless. And I bought this cover.I wanted one that had a few pockets, had a closure and was only a bi-fold. I was a little sad to see that they only had black. No flashy colors to choose from. But alas, I took function over style. Maybe sometime in the future they'll come out with Style and Substance.

So, anyone with a Nook want to explain the LendMe feature?

Books and Friends

I just finished reading The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. And while it was a good book, I don't think it was her best. It got me to thinking though about friendship and what true friendship really looks like.

The book focuses on a small town in North Carolina. The main character Paxton is the President of the Women's Society Club and she's always striving to be perfect. The other main female character is Willa. She's from a family that was wealthy in the beginning, but lost their fortune when the logging trade dried up.

Anyway, they both went to high school together, but weren't friends. One night while driving home late, Willa sees Paxton in trouble and comes to her rescue. After that, Paxton can't figure out why Willa hasn't spilled the beans to everyone in town. She thinks Willa must be planning to use this information against her at a later date. Willa is very confused by this, since it's not how she operates.

But to be fair that's the only kind of friendship Paxton has ever experienced. At the end, Paxton comes to understand what true friendship is, and she sums it all up in this quote " One way or the other, Paxton knew that those who decided to stick with her would be her true friends. The others would just be scenery."

I've dealt with a weakening or loss of friendship over the past year. And it's been weighing on my mind. I sat down a while ago and really thought about who I could lean on if I needed to. And it turns out that I don't really have many.

I'm talking about:

• calling at all hours of the night/day


• being there for them when they need me


• being able to talk about whatever and knowing they won't spill the beans to anyone


• them being there for me


• helping each other out


• listening to problems and automatically knowing to offer advice or agreement


• being willing to drive to see me, just as much as I drive to them

I also include the usual talking about whatever and joking of course. But just to have one woman that you can always go to, to talk about whatever, whenever, is amazing.

I have that.

I do.

It just surprised me that it wasn't originally who I though it was. And I'm so thankful that I have both of them in my life.

Jeanie & Mom - you are both all sorts of AWESOME!

Kindle vs. Nook Color

Okay readers, I need your help. Do you have a Kindle or a Nook Color? I know all the differences between them, and I'm honestly leaning more towards the Nook Color. But I want to know what you think.

This:

Or this:

Winner of my Ostara Candy Giveaway

Okay, so there were three commenters on my last post. So, I put in your three names and drew the winner.

Dun, dun, duuuuunnnnn.....

Lilac Silverfox of My Wiccan Ways!!!!

Congratulations sweetie!!!

BTW, Lilac is participating in the Welcoming the God blog party and her guest post is today!!!! She's got a great entry about Quetzalcoatl. So check her out. She's a new blogger, but she's doing amazing!!!

Ostara Celebration and Giveaway

Happy Ostara to all of you visiting from Confessions of a Country Witch's blog party.

I thought I'd share something fun with all of you.

Just keep in mind that you will want a very SMALL chocolate rabbit. We celebrated yesterday and it was a ton of fun. A bit of a sugary, sweet overload, but fun.

The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Chocolate Rabbit

1. For this ritual, you'll need the following:

•A bag of jellybeans
•Marshmallow Peeps -- chicks, bunnies, etc.
•A chocolate rabbit for each particpant
•A glass of milk for each participant

Arrange your ritual supplies on your altar so they look pretty. Kids can do this -- typically the chocolate rabbits end up in the center, surrounded by an army of Peeps and several rings of jellybeans. A quick note -- you might want to perform this ritual well in advance of mealtime, or all the kids will be too full of candy to eat a real dinner.

2. First, give everyone present a handful of jellybeans. Point out the different colors in the jellybeans, and what they can represent. As you call out each one, eat the jellybeans in that color. Feel free to be a bit goofy. Say something like:

Behold, little jelly eggs, small symbols of the season,
How we adore you!
Green is for the grass that springs from the land! (eat all the green jellybeans)
Yellow is for the sun shining above our heads! (eat all your yellow jellybeans)
Red is for the tulips that grow in our garden! (eat your red jellybeans)
Pink is for Aunt Martha's new Easter hat! (eat your pink jellybeans)
Purple is for the crocuses that sprout along our driveway! (eat the purple ones)

3. Continue this until all the colors are gone -- if you really want to have some fun, make the kids take turns naming off the colors and what they mean to them. When they're all gone, call out:

Hail! Hail! to the mighty jelly bean of Spring!

4. Next, hand out the marshmallow Peeps. As you do, say:

Behold the Peep! The Peep is life, brought back in the spring!
Little Peep chickens, we honor you! (bite the Peep chicks)
Little Peep bunnies, we honor you! (bite the Peep bunnies)…

Continue this until the Peeps are all gone -- it's probably a good idea to limit each kid to just two or three Peeps at the most. When the Peeps have all vanished, call out:

Hail! Hail! to the mighty Peeps of Spring!

5. Finally, distribute the chocolate rabbits. Say:

Behold the great chocolate rabbit!
As he hops through the land, he spreads joy and happiness!
O, how we adore the chocolate rabbit and his great big chocolate ears! (eat the rabbit's ears)
Praise the chocolate rabbit, and his delicious chocolate tail! (eat the rabbit's tail)
Honor this chocolate rabbit, and his chocolate hoppity legs! (eat the rabbit's legs)
He is a wonderful rabbit, and he is special indeed! (eat the rest of the rabbit)

When the rabbits are all gone, say:

Hail! Hail! to the mighty chocolate rabbit of Spring!

6. Give everyone a glass of milk, and raise your drinks in a toast to these three symbols of the season.

To the jelly beans!
To the Peeps!
To the chocolate rabbit!
We drink in your honor!

Drink your milk, and sit back to enjoy the sensation of being stuffed with ritual candy.

What You Need:
•Jelly beans
•Peeps
•Chocolate rabbits
•Milk

And look, you can win everything you need for this ritual. So all you'd need is the milk.


To enter the giveaway you need to be a follower of this blog.

That's it. Just comment below. And make sure that you have an accessible email address.

The drawing will be held Monday, March 21st.