I'm Baaaack

Oh I've missed blogging so much! I've written so many posts and had so many blog ideas but unfortunately they are all locked away in my head... written while I change a diaper, cook up dinner, drive to the store... it seems that actually sitting down and staying awake long enough to get thoughts out onto the blog is becoming increasingly harder these days.

That's probably because, well, I'm pregnant! If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram then of course you already know that! More to come very soon on how I found out and how Parker shared the exciting news with Honey first and then with our families!

Another reason for my inability to sit and write is that I have a crawler on my hands now! Yes, in other exciting news Parker has learned and become quite efficient at crawling all over the place. It has made our days so much more fun! More to come on this wonderful development in our sweet boy's life.

In the meantime I have give-aways to share, and coupon codes to give out, and of course the usual what-we've-been-up-to as well. Between seven house guests over the course of three visits, a couple of quick family get-aways, parties, snow, and holidays, it's been a busy past few months...

So grab a cup of coffee, tea, wine, and stay tuned for more Suddenly Snowden because suddenly I'm back!

Custom Painted Wood Monogram Frame :: GIVEAWAY

It's time for a GIVEAWAY! And who said you could get something for nothing?! Well, my dad said that but he didn't know about this fabulous giveaway! And with two chances to enter, what are you waiting for?!

Three of my greatest loves are custom designs, pictures in frames, and monograms. When I laid eyes on this beauty that ties each of these together, my heart absolutely soared!

I fell head over heels when I discovered these amazing custom wood frames from Raised in Cotton Interiors, each one personalized for a completely unique look! I first bonded with the owner and creator, Jes, over our common background of babies born early and our love for the deep south. When I discovered she also had this incredible shop producing such gorgeous masterpieces, I just could not wait to own at least one of these beautiful frames!

Well I am so excited to share that Jes is going to give one lucky Suddenly Snowden reader a customized frame of their very own! The winner gets to pick the colors, pattern, and monogram for their unique 5x7 tabletop frame! Single letters are also available which reminds me that a certain little boy needs one for his room...

The styles and possibilites are absolutely endless! And Jes is just fabulous at helping you come up with a frame that perfectly suits your style and personality. She can also work with you on any color scheme to compliment your home. I was amazed looking at the pictures available in her Etsy Shop and FaceBook Page.

I had such a good time working with Jes. She makes the process so easy and loves helping you create something totally one-of-a-kind to display in your home. Seriously, if she could work with me then she can work with anyone!

You have TWO chances to enter this fabulous give away! My sweet bloggy friend Stephanie is tag-teaming this giveaway with me! You can enter TODAY on her blog over at Wife Mommy Me AND you can enter here on my blog starting this Thursday 8/29!!

Just can't wait to get started on your frame? Starting TODAY Jes is offering Suddenly Snowden readers 20% off their orders through her Etsy shop! So if you are dying to get your hands on one of these babies, head on over to Etsy and get started! Just used the coupon code Snowden to be sure and get your discount! This offer is good through September 17th!

Notice Anything?

The mint polka dots, the watermelon letters, the "sweetheart" font... I am swooning over this new blog design!

Clearly I did not do this. No, despite my background in IT I do not have any skills whatsoever in the area of web design.

I worked with a very talented designer who worked very closely with me to take my crazy ideas and tie them together in this neat, pretty little package!

I hope you find this new layout welcoming and easy to navigate. I am so excited to be posting in this new pretty space.

It just feels like home doesn't it?

Today Was Not Wedneday

Today? Yeah about that. It wasn't Wednesday. 

It was Tuesday. 

Why is this important? Because I posted my So What Wednesday post today. That's right. On Tuesday. Because today? Was actually Tuesday.

Oh yes, that gave me a good laugh.

Today our former nanny, Nanny M, come to play with Baby Parker so that I could go get a pedicure run some errands. After I got out of the salon, feeling great about my day so far, one of my most devoted followers (hi Julie!) texted me to tell me it was Wednesday. 

Well, duh, I mean, I know that. So why was she texting me this?

Oh, because she had been to the blog. And she had noticed that I posted... So What Wednesday? Today? On Tuesday? Oops! Then, I laughed until I almost cried. But not only because I posted a post on the wrong day. No, I laughed until I almost cried because we caught up on some other stuff and that's usually something I do when Julie and I text... 

Anyway, back to today. Which was Tuesday.

Well, I've been very good lately about posting and keeping up with my blog (yay for making and meeting a personal goal!) and one of my keys to success is writing several posts when I can and scheduling them in Blogger. 

Well that works well for me except for when I accidentally schedule Tuesday's post for Wednesday and Wednesday's post for Tuesday. Now under normal circumstances, not even my most devoted followers would not notice this. Most of my posts are not exactly day-specific, right?

But So What Wednesday? That is a post for Wednesday's. That's pretty obvious. 

So yes I did that. I posted a post devoted to saying So What Wednesday. On Tuesday. So What? Ah well, we all got a good laugh. And surely no one so more than me. Oh my life...

And I must also say thank you to Stephanie and my mom for also letting me know this morning (moments after Julie did) that today was Tuesday. Thank you for having my back!

Happy Tuesday! By the way, tomorrow? Is Wednesday?

We Have a Winner

Yes! We have a winner for the Thirty One Product Giveaway! 

KAITLIN, YOU ARE THE WINNER!!

Thank you so much for all who entered the giveaway and welcome to all new followers!

Thank you also to loyal followers who put up with my hijacking my very own blog to promote the Virtual Thirty One Party I hosted in December. It was a very successful party and I had so much fun with it!

 I am looking forward to the new year and getting back to regular blogging.

Thank you again, CONGRATS KAITLIN, and Happy New Year!

Keeping Up with the Bloggers

I love this blog.

I love that I can keep a record of our life.

I love that I will be able to look back at this blog and see what we did; what I thought about; what we looked like.

I love that my children will be able to reference this blog and see what our life was like. See how much we loved them.

I love having my little corner of the internet to write what I please.

*I love this blog!*

I only have one wish for this blog - I wish for *time* to keep up with this blog! I have a list of post titles for days, posts I want to write to document our life and share my thoughts. But the list of titles has remained just that - a list of *titles*. No content. No blog posts.

How do other moms do it? Seriously?! How do they keep up with their blogs so seemingly effortlessly? I have had some success with writing out *several* posts at a time as I know other bloggy-mama's do. But I am seeing a sad trend here that I need a better system to keep up with the blog.

I am sorry that I didn't post at all last week. I am sorry that this week isn't looking too good either.

So bloggy-mama's, share your secrets with me. How do you do it? When do you blog? How do you keep your posts coming in?

See also, when my husband asked me what a I want for Christmas, I answered... *time*. Wrap that up in a big package for me please Santa. True story.

Eleven Questions

A bloggy friend of mine, Sarah, tagged me in her blog The Not Quite Military Wife (I know, so cute right?!) and asked me to answer 11 Questions. Honestly I was working on this post the week I went into labor with Parker! So this is a veeery looong overdue response! Sorry Sarah!! Thank you for tagging me, I had fun answering these!

What have you learned from blogging? The biggest thing I learned that I totally did not expect was making bloggy-friends! Seriously, before my blog I didn’t know that bloggers made *friends* with other bloggers. Blogging has become such a great way to connect with other ladies from all over the place who have things in common with me! I started my blog to stay connected to my family and friends but making *new* friends was a welcomed surprise!

What is your number one tip or trick for new bloggers? My first tip would be not to try to do everything at once.  Your blog does not need to have all the *bells and whistles* right away. Also, comment! Visit other blogs and comment on what they have to say. All bloggers love comments so spread the love!

What is your favorite place you have ever visited? Africa. There is something inexplicably amazing about it. Before I went I had heard of people who go there again and again and I *never* understood why. Until I went. I highly recommend it to anyone! Honey and I are taking our children there… someday!

Where can we find you on a Sunday at 10 am? With Honey at our church! I absolutely *love* our church! We “church-shopped” after we got married and the place we found is so perfect for us! I have met more people who also go to our church while not at church. Girls from my gym, other military wives, families in our neighborhood; I never go to church without seeing several friends and it just feels like home. Honey and I love going there!

What is your go-to comfort food? Depending on the occasion, chocolate or pasta. Definitely! It's rare now-a-days that I have either!

If you could go back to any time period in history, what would it be? When the west was *wild*! To be a cow girl in those days on a big ranch with lots of pretty horses...

What are your life goals for the next 3 years? Well life has changed drastically for me in just the last year so clearly that means that my plans have changed as well! My goals are to be the *best* wife and mommy I can be, to be a *supportive* Army wife regardless of decisions made beyond my control, and hopefully give Baby Parker a *baby* sister or brother. Not anytime soon on that last one but hey, the question said 3 years!

What was the best thing to ever happen to you? Wow. That is a *long* list. That answer to this one continues to change as my life becomes sweeter and sweeter. The current answer is becoming Parker’s mommy! Hands down!

On a daily basis, what is your inspiration to get through the day? Well I can’t say my days are difficult to move through. However I *love* dinner with my family every evening! I also love the precious moments we have together as a family afterward and then giving Parker his bath (so fun!). Honey often reads him a story while I sit and listen in or pick up his room. So I my inspiration would have to be our evening family time!

What is your favorite pair of shoes and why? Well that depends on the season! So I am currently in love my Cole Haan equestrian flat boots and my Naught Monkey slouch boots. Whew, that was *hard* to narrow down! Next question!!

If you were given 60 (responsibility free) minutes, what would you do? I would love to take a car ride with my Honey. We live in such a beautiful part of the country and we *love* to take spontaneous car rides to explore the area around our home! It's so fun to stumble across new places!

Well there are my answers to Sarah's Eleven Questions! Thanks again for tagging me Sarah!