I'm All Puckered Up... {giveaway extended}

The dreaded words of a 2 and a half year old who has chocolate covered cookie in the backseat on a long car trip.
'Hey baby noni look at me I'm all puckered up.'
'I'm a princess.'
This is her face.

Awesome. We love her.
And it helped get us to our final destination with some form of happiness and peace- I'll do whatever it takes....

And in more exciting news- the giveaway has been extended!!
Jenny wanted to add a few more goods to the pile- so we have extended the giveaway until Saturday June 5th! So get your comments in!!!
Jenny has added these darling hats! I love them!
If only it was legit to enter my own giveaway....

Hands Full of Giveaways!!!

Ok- it is finally time for 2 major firsts on the blog of the Snelldogs. Number 1- A guest blogger- Jenny from {Hands Full of Happiness} and number 2- A GIVEAWAY!!! Jenny has been kind enough to give away some of her amazing hand made treasures! So without further adieu meet the amazing, talented, funny and beautiful Jenny of {hands full of happiness}.


First of all, let me say how excited I am to be featured here on Snelldogs. I love Cheryl and her blog and am excited to be able to give some of my stuff to you in this giveaway!

Things I love (in no particular order):

Snelldogs!
Horses
Cloth diapers
Jared (my darling hubby)
Michigan
Crafting of all sorts
Family
Birth
Church
Breastfeeding
BOYS!!!

Okay, so it isn't a very extensive list, but it covers the basics. Please note that I. LOVE.BOYS! I couldn't have been more pleased when Silas was born and we found out that we had had another boy! I love dressing boys like little men, I love playing "bad guys," I love that every anything longer than six inches becomes a sword, a gun or a stinger. If I have many children, I would happily have a whole team full of boys. I love boys!

That being said, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I would love girls too. And, when I'm pregnant, I like to be prepared, so much of my creative nesting energy goes into creating sweet little girl stuff. There just seems to be so much to make for girls. In an hour I can whip up a darling little crocheted hat, and with a few more hours I can knit one.

Well, I figure there is no end to my yarn stash, and I am going to nest again during my next pregnancy, so I'm happy to pass on the product of my energy to others. I'll take any excuse I can to buy more yarn!

So now for the giveaway that you have all been waiting for!
Jenny has given the winner the choice of any of the following beauties!

Myers got a little tired of modeling girls hats.... but he looks so darn cute...
I love the baby legs and the green toque- I want to keep them for myself....
Truthfully I love them all.... Jenny you are so talented...
Oh and there will be one surprise one that I will post later...


Here is how to enter:
1) Leave a comment AND become a follower of my blog.
If you are already a follower then just leave a comment and let me know!
Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!!!
2) To get another entry become a follower of Jenny's blog and leave a comment letting me know!

This giveaway ends on Saturday June 5th at 5 pm so get your comments and following in as soon as you can!! The winner will be randomly chosen that night!!!

Imagine With Me...

I would like you all to take a moment out of your day to imagine with me.
Imagine a wonderfully beautiful day outside, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, you can go out without a jacket on but its not so hot that you have to wear a hat or a neck bandanna (more on the neck bandannas to come) so we decide to go outside to play.
I got Rubes all ready and protected from the sun and I strapped Noni on my back.
This is when I realize that I forgot to put a hat on him.
I was too lazy to take him out and put him back in the carrier so I got my trusty sidekick Ruby to do the honors. That was a slight fiasco- she could use a little practice in the hat-putting-on department. We did the best we could with what we had.
When we were finally ready we headed out the back door.
Luckily Jayne was out there- so when Noni's hat fell of 10 seconds into our play time she was able to replace it- no problem. She's got some mad hat-putting-on skills.
Then we all played for a while.
Ruby picked up random pieces of wood and rocks yelling 'its a clue!' every time she found one.
(Keep in mind our park is made of wood chips- so this was a fairly regular occurrence.)
Then one of our neighbors came out - yes the spider loving one from this post- and we all played well together. Despite our differing of opinions.
Then Ruby and Ainsley got distracted from their clue finding and bike riding and they discovered an ant walking on the sidewalk carrying a piece of food. So naturally we all- Jayne, me, and our neighbor- went over to take a look. Ants are pretty amazing creatures. We were all forming a circle around the ant- discussing it with the kids.
This is when I had the overwhelming urge just to step on it.
so I did.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
NOT.
But Ruby did.
.
.
.
.
.
NOT.
Wouldn't that have been super shocking though?
It made me laugh later when I thought about what would have happened if I had done that.
Or if Ruby (my sidekick) had done that.
I did have the overwhelming urge to step on that poor ant. But then I reminded myself that I am no evil bug killing monster. Despite what my neighbor may think.
I had to walk away... it wouldn't have been fair to the ant.
But I can imagine the look of utter shock and horror on my neighbors face. It would have been priceless. What would he have said or done?
Imagine with me will ya?
And have a good laugh while you are at it.

Just a taste,

We went and we conquered and we are safely home from florida- we have been for a while...
So here is a small taste of the pure joy that is a climate that is warm all the time and two kids that could just melt your heart...

(and minnie mouse of course- notice her by Rublets foot)

More photos to come- I just have to get them from Jayne.
So Jayne if you are out there- hear my cry- because I never seem to remember when I actually see you!!

Random Ramblings

Its time for my favorite segment of the Snelldog blog.
Random Ramblings - a time when I just get to write about all the things I have noticed in my life lately that by themselves wouldn't make a very interesting blog post...
1- The grass was getting cut the other day and there were only 2 things I could think of- number one- SHHHH My kids are sleeping!
number two-I hope lots of spiders are being killed unnecessarily during this lawn mowing.
2- The other day I saw a guy walking down the street listening to- get this-
A WALKMAN. Love it!
3- A pinecone fell out of a tree and hit me. Is this a common occurrence? I just can't get past it.
4- That pesky balloon is still following me around- no I haven't gotten around to popping it yet. Justin named it- balloonie- and drew 2 faces on it. Now Ruby loves it even more and calls it balloonie. Let this be a lesson to all of us- never name something that you want to get rid of.... it just encourages too much emotional attachment. Hence why this balloonie is still following me around.
5- Survivor is awesome. Yes I watch it- and i like it- its fun.
6- I'm going to Mackinac Island!!!
7- The conversation Ruby and I just had:
Me- 'you are a genius Ruby'
Ruby-'What is a genius'
Me-'someone who is smart'
Ruby-'No, You are a genius'
Me-'No you are a genius'
Ruby-'No you're a genius'
Me-'No you're a genius'
(I am not sure how long the conversation went on for but eventually I just decided to take her word for it. I guess I am a genius.)

It's a McFlurry kind of day...

At 9 O'clock p.m. amidst the rain, wind and thunder Justin and I did what had to be done.
We headed out for a McFlurry.
What constitutes a McFlurry day in the life of the Snelldogs you ask?
Well... it all began when a rather large, very heavy pine cone fell on my shoulder during our rather long, very windy, incredibly tiring walk this morning. My shoulder is still feeling the pain- and my ego is a little bruised- as I was surrounded by people that I didn't know at the time and I may or may not have let out a slight scream from pain/surprise.
It then just got better from there, when...
-we saw a dead squirrel on the walking path
- we had a pee accident at the park
- I got a sunburn
- Justin had to work until 9pm
- which meant that I had to do all the shopping for activity days and actually run activity days with 2 children (I did receive help when I was there- thank you!!)
- however activity days was still an absolute gong show
- and I got a blister on the top of my toe

But it was nothing that a little Oreo McFlurry and a pink mermaid couldn't fix....
I feel much better now.

Noni slept through it- nothing phases that kid...

The Balloon That Just Wouldn't

Leave us alone.
Remember this post where we picked up a handful of balloons?
If I had known that these balloons would last FOREVER and one day I would have one as a stalker- I would have left them behind.
As I am writing this post I can see the reflection of that pesky balloon behind me.
I am telling you it will not leave me alone.
Its favorite hang out spot is right in front of my chair.
In fact it is there right now.
I am just waiting for the opportune time to P-O-P it.
Meaning after Ruby goes to bed tonight.
I am tired of feeling a tickling on my foot or face while I am trying to sleep, or see it 'peeping' around a corner while we are hanging out in the living room, or 'feeling' it following me around while I am cooking.
I am telling you- this thing is creepy.
Here is a Noni telling the balloon whats what.
He's always looking out for me....

P.E.T.S.

Imagine this situation if you will
A big, black, poisonous, hairy, child- eating spider with white dots and a stinger on its back, sitting near the hand railing on the play ground.
All the children from our wards play group on the playground- each of them unknowingly placing their hands near said spider.
Me the child rescuer removes shoe from foot and subsequently tries to save said children from said spider. Unfortunately I was wearing my pumas and the curves on these pumas are not conducive to spider killing.
The only man on the playground cries- 'Would you like me to get it for you?'
A sigh of relief from me as he comes to my rescue...
Then surprise as he grabs the spider (jumping a little because he was just as 'scared' as us)
murmurs something about a possible stinger and how the spider was nesting- then runs across the playground to some trees and sets the spider free....
Apparently he was coming to the spiders rescue- not mine.
Then he comes back to teach me a lesson.
'I don't like to kill things unnecessarily' he says
Thanks for the lesson...
If I had known you were a member of PETS (People for the ethical treatment of spiders) I probably would have been a little more discreet with my shoe removing- spider squishing action.
Next time I see a spider I don't want near me I'll come knocking at your door so you can save it.
I didn't tell him that there were 3 of those exact same spiders that I found in my house. Sadly for PETS man I squished them.
But I'm not a spider squishing bug killing monster- I swear.
I don't go around killing insects- or arachnids in the wild just for kicks.
I don't kill things unnecessarily.
That was necessary.
My neighbors are awesome!!!
(They really are)