So this morning I realized that my email had been down for some time… Not sure exactly how long, maybe a day? Not much more than that. I wondered why it had seemed so quiet here… Drat, this technology. Well it’s back up now, so if you tried to send me something in the past couple days and never heard back from me, then please resend your email. Sorry ’bout that.
And on to something fun…
I found a new coffee. Picking up some groceries at SuperTarget, I found this on the shelf:
(And please excuse my crappy product photography, and the warped, twisty bag. It’s half-full, and just would *not* stand up straight…)
The sticker on the top reads: “French Roast: This one’s dark, rich and sassy – with a jolt of smoke and spice.” Right up my alley. And upon tasting the coffee, I would have to agree. Actually sounds like an apt description of my daughter, right down to the spice. I’m a bit of a coffee snob, with a nice strong French Roast at the top of my list. This one rated excellent.
AND, it’s local. All their coffee is roasted and packaged right here in Minneapolis. How awesome is that. I’m all about supporting local businesses. CityKid Java puts 100% of their profits into programs that help at-risk kids in the Twin Cities.
AND, they support sustainable practices, and always pay more than fair trade prices for their beans. Here’s more info on their True Trade principles.
Just to let you know, I’m not at all affiliated with CityKid Java, just want to pass on an awesome local product I found.
Thanks, and happy Friday.
There is truly nothing better than spring days and mud pies.
Unless of course you add in a princess tiara. And pajamas. And black patent leather shoes.
That’s my girl…
So for the past four nights, Elliott has been waking up in the middle of the night. Now, for a 17 month old toddler, that shouldn’t be any great surprise. But it’s the timing that is spectacular. And strangely disturbing. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I am a night owl. I’m almost never in bed before midnight, and rarely asleep before 1am. Which is not exactly ideal when I have to get up and get the kids out the door for school. But late night is my primary *me* time, as many parents can relate to. It’s hard to give it up for something so monotonous as sleeping.
Maybe you’re wondering about this psychic thing. You got pulled in from the exciting subject line, and I haven’t delivered yet. Well hang in there, it’s coming. So I’ve established that I’m not an early-to-bed type person. But I go to bed at pretty irregular times, albeit most of them are after midnight. And like many people suffering from mild insomnia, I tend to lie in bed at night for some length of time, listening to the snores of my husband, the occasional sleep-talking of my oldest son, and the creaks and various noises of our 1923 house. So just as I start to fall asleep, start feeling my mind drift off, for the past four days, Elliott has woken up. And of course he doesn’t just wake up and blow me a kiss from his crib, he wakes up crying. And wanting water. And maybe a cuddle, and his blanket. Now all of these things I am so willing to oblige him on during normal waking hours – more than happy to offer him a cuddle and a sippy cup. But at 2:14 am, when I am finally starting to drift off, and have to get up in 5 hours? Not so much. And how is he able to consistently wake up *only* at my first doze – at different times every night? He’s done this at other stages during his life as well, not just the past four days. This is a remarkable talent, which he is doing his best to perfect. I’m so not down with it.
Anybody else have experiences like this? Any other paranormal babies out there?
Here’s the little man…
Two winners, actually!
I was going to ask my husband to pick a random number to choose the winner of the Creative Kidstuff gift certificate, but I think he fell asleep upstairs in the midst of getting Elliott a drink of water. I haven’t seen him since he went up with the sippy cup a couple hours ago. He was supposed to bring down my socks and sweatshirt, so I’m sitting downstairs shivering, hoping that my profusely chattering teeth will generate some heat. It’s not working.
So back to the random number – since method number one disappeared, I had to use my fallback – the highly scientific random number generator over at random.org – which selected comment #8.
Congratulations Dylan! Hope you find something fun at Creative Kidstuff!
And…
The photo with the most votes was #5 in the kids gallery:
You’ll get to pick out a free 8×10 photo! Maybe since you live in sunny California I’ll have to hand deliver it!!! :)
And because I can’t get enough of these nice big images, here are some of the other honorable mentions…
And you won’t even have to change your links! If you’re reading this in a RSS reader, hop on over to my blog to see my new layout – nice big photos (although all the past posts will still have the smaller photos) and super clean layout. I’ve also been updating the photos on my portfolio website.
And because it’s a dreary day out here in chilly Minnesota (is spring *ever* going to come???), I want to brighten it up by having a giveaway!
Leave a comment here on this post and tell me which is your favorite photo on my site, (image numbers are below the images) and get a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to Creative Kidstuff, one of my very favorite toy stores here in the Twin Cities. They also have a website, so if you’re from out of town, you can use the gift certificate on their site! Be sure to tell me which gallery your favorite image is in (tiny ones or bigger ones).
The contest will end Wednesday night at 10pm (March 11) and I’ll randomly select and announce a winner shortly thereafter.
BONUS: The family whose image gets the most votes will win an 8×10 print from gwendolyn waite photography. You can select a photo from a past session or get a certificate for a free 8×10 from a future session. So get all your friends and family to vote on your photos, and maybe you’ll win a free 8×10!!!
Happy Monday!
-gwen
And because I’ve got summer on my mind…
