July wrap up......Free Desktop Wallpaper, new blog & Winners!

I can't believe July is over! And as always, I would like to Thank You to all my readers, friends and family who have made TidyMom so much fun!!

So let's start off with announcing a few winners!!!

There were 3 winners from last week's awesome Sew Saucy Stitches Print Giveaway

Using Ramdom.org to choose the winners......


Congrats to #40 Jennifer, #48 ruthhill74 and #16 Anna Galvas

This would be the perfect time to remind everyone who is on blogger to PLEASE add your email to your profile!!! By doing that when you leave a comment on my blog (or anyone’s blog) I/they can reply to you. Did you ever notice how when some people comment on your blog you can reply to them, and to others you end up replying to No-Reply-Blogger address? I LOVE to reply to your comments, and so often I cant! It also makes it so much easier to contact you when you win a giveaway!! It's VERY easy to do......Darcy wrote a great little post on it......so I'm just going to send you over there......So EVERYONE RIGHT NOW.......head over to Darcy's and take a look at these steps and make sure you're Blogger/Google account is set up this way! PLEASE I BEG YOU!!.....Thank you kindly! :-)

Speaking of Giveaways........you have entered my HUGE Giveaway for a FREE Silhouette Craft Cutter haven't you?

{Click the picture if you haven't it!}

A Big *gushy* thanks to the top referrers to TidyMom in July....

1. Bake at 350
2. University of Cookie
3. How Does She
4. Hoosier Homemade
5. The Coupon Goddess
6. i am mommy
7. Living Locurto
8. 320 Sycamore
9. Centsational Girl
10. Reluctant Entertainer

And to all of the great people who help support TidyMom.net



I do have a few ad spots open for August......just send me an email if you're interested in working together!! tidymom{at}charter{dot}net


I'm still keeping up with my 365 project, though I'll have to admit....summer time has made it VERY difficult to keep up! I get my pictures taken, but some times I don't get my pictures loaded until a week later.

I've started a separate blog for my photography. It's mainly a place for my 365 pictures and other pictures I take! I love linking up to photography challenges and parties.....I thought it would be easier to do on another blog. I have not finished "fixing her all up" but I DID WIN a budget makeover from Adori Graphics on Amanda's Beautiful Blog Designs!! So I thought it was the perfect opportunity to start working on that site. Louise put together a fantastic blog header for me with some of my pictures and installed it for me.

If you'd like to take a peek.......TidyMomPhotography, as you can see I am WAY behind with uploading my 365 pictures..... the site was designed to "match"my new TidyMom.net makeover, so the photography siet is a sneak peek that new look!....don't you love the fresh new colors?....*remember, it's not finished yet, I have more elements to add

I will still post my monthly mosaics here, but if you wish to see more, you can follow me over on TidyMomPhotography



I'll wrap up this SUPER long post with a link to Julie of LeeLou Blogs super cute desktop wallpapers for August!!

Click the picture below to get your FREE August 2010 desktop theme like I did!!

Be sure to leave Julie a comment thanking her for her generosity!!


So that wraps up July!!.......School starts here on August 16! YIKES!! When does school start for you?

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Chicago Trip!

My girls and I returned from our trip to Chicago for Sunshine's 14th birthday a little over a week ago. We had way too much fun. We had been looking forward to this trip for quite a while and I can't believe that it has already come and gone.



We took the train.

It was our first time on an Amtrak train and we actually enjoyed the 5.5 hour ride from St. Louis.



The train station in St. Louis was VERY tiny, but Union Station in Chicago was huge and beautiful!! One thing that surprised me.....nothing, no luggage, no person NOTHING was scanned thru any kind of security.

There was a snack car on board, where you could get drinks, snacks even a sandwich or pizza. The snack car has tables, so occasionally we would sit in there and play cards.

Each seat on the train had a power outlet, that was nice for plugging in a computer, DVD player, or even charging your phone.

Like airline travel, purchasing your train tickets in advance is cheaper, and train tickets are much cheaper than airfare. An adult ticket round trip from St. Louis to Chicago was only $56!

We shopped the Magnificent Mile



Enjoyed GREAT food!!




Our favorites were Ed Debevics, Carson's Ribs and Bubba Gumps. Fantastic food and service at all of them!

Carson's Ribs is where we ate for Sunshine's birthday dinner, and she said it was her favorite part of the whole trip!!! The girls both had ribs and I had chicken.....all of it was incredible!

Shedd Aquarium did not disappoint!



Lot's of photo ops



We went up in the Sears/Willis Tower and Sky Deck, we took a Fireworks/Architectural cruise and we went to Navy Pier and took the water taxi over to Shedd Aquarium.
We LOVED Chicago



And I think the girls had a fabulous time!!



I can't believe it is over.

If you want to see all of the pictures I took (most have not been edited) but they're all in a flickr album here



Back to reality and house work!.........because

BRIDGET is coming to visit on Thursday!!!

pop over and read this NEW article about Bridget here!


Photo by David Hopper

Baking by Blog in Bridget's Kitchen (by Kim Morgan)

SOOOO......How about you?
Have you taken a vacation this summer?
Any fun visitors?
What has been the best part of your summer?

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Winners, June round up and blog news

First, I have a few winners to announce........

Button of Hope Giveaway

Congrats to :

16. Kayla said...

"I made a tweet! Also, Cancer has hit home twice in my immediate family which is why I now am a nurse!"

Send me an email Kay with your information and I will pass it on to Cindy so she can get you a pair of earrings, a set of hair pins and a necklace, of your choice

Flirty Apron Giveaway

Congrats goes out to:

74. Tracy said...

"I love the Sweet Sunshine one...so cute!!"

Tracy, I've already sent your information to Flirty Aprons.

***********

A Big *gushy* thanks to the top referrers to TidyMom in June....

Bake at 350

Reluctant Entertainer

University of Cookie

Hoosier Homemade

How Does She

We Are That Family

Food Gawker

Tastespotting

320 Sycamore

i heart faces

***********

Have you seen the Broadway show Wicked?
Hollywood, my mom and I saw it here in St. Louis in 2007. We LOVED it!! Sunshine has been anxiously waiting for it to come back so she could go.

Her 6 month count down (she literally told me how many more days for nearly 6 months lol) finally ended last Sunday night, when we went to the Fabulous Fox Theater, which is a treat it's self.

I love this picture I shot of the two of them outside the theater before the show.



If you have not seen the show, I HIGHLY recommend it!!


REMINDER
This discount ends tonight at midnight EST

Want to know more about Clickin Mom's read my post here


*HURRY------Now thru midnight EST on Friday July 2, 2010 you can
use the discount code FRIEND at checkout, you will get 10% off any subscription,
or coupon code LOVECM for 20% off a lifetime subscription.

and last but not least........

I'm still keeping up with my 365 project!!

Remember, you can start your own 365 project at any time! It's a GREAT way to learn your camera and improve your photography!!
I PROMISE, if you sign up at Clickin Mom's and try a 365 project, by this time next year you will be AMAZED at the improvement in your photography!

My June 2010



**NOTE**

Recently I mentioned I was working on a blog makeover......well, I'm actually taking the plunge and moving to WordPress!! {squeal}. My site will still be TidyMom.net, but if you follow my blog in Google Friends Connect, you may have to resubscribe.

So hang tight........hopefully August will bring great things! A new blog home and look, as well as my 2 year blogiversary! We may have to "party it up" a bit!.....

I'm working on lining up some great giveaways for August, so if you have a site and want to participate in all the excitement, just shoot me an email tidymom{at}charter{dot}net and we can talk about getting you on the list!!
~Please put "Aug giveaway" in the subject line. ~


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I Heart Faces - Celebrating Teens

Now that summer is here....i heart faces is celebrating teenagers and showcasing their talents by having several weeks devoted to them!

This week, anyone can enter and 
you must have a teen in the photo.

The week of July 5th ONLY teens (age 13-19) can enter a photo into the challenge!
That will be fun, as Sunshine is pretty good with her point and shoot camera! I can't wait to see what she comes up with for that week!!  If you know a young person interested in photography, be sure to tell them about the photo challenge on July 5th for ages 13-19 only. You can visit this page to learn about the details.

Last week while out shopping I took this picture of Sunshine, and then tried my hand at some new actions from Amy McMaster and AMP Actions.

I've learned so much about editing in the Everyday Elements Workshops!
Sign up for PSE workshops here 
 






Be sure to check out all of the amazing entries this week!

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I Heart Faces - All About Babies

They are celebrating itty-bitty babies this week at i heart faces!!

Lucky for me, I had the chance recently to take pictures of my 8 day old great niece!

It's my 11th time becoming a Great Aunt.....but my first time with a newborn shoot!

I'll share a few more pictures another day.......

This is one of my favorite shots from the day!

Congrats Erin and Ryan!!

♥

Welcome baby Clara!

Join in all the baby fun over at i heart faces this week!

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I Heart Faces - "Play"

This week over at I Heart Faces, the theme is "play".

I just so happen to have the perfect photo!

I had the pleasure of watching this little dude one day recently, when his mom was in a bind. His mom is one of Hollywood's best friends...........they have been BFF's since grade school. It's hard to believe that one of her friends has a three year old!!

I thought.......what on EARTH am I going to do with a three year old BOY! (I only have girls) LOL

Well, I pulled out the camera, and went outside......apparently little boys LOVE to play outside.....little girls.... not so much! lol

He was happy with the big ball we had, so he played, while I shot.
This was one of my favorite shots of the day!

Pop over to I Heart Faces for lot's of PLAY time this week!!

This post was sponsored by:


want to see your ad here? contact me

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Goodbye May....Hello June! {freebies, workshops & more}

Well, can you believe May is over and we are into June?!

I'm still keeping up with my 365 project!

I thought I'd share my May 2010 mosaic.

(You can click the picture for the links to each picture if you'd like to see more details.)

My 365 project is really helping my photography skills, but now I'm REALLY excited about what I'm learning in Amanda's PhotoShop Elements online workshops!!

Up until a few days ago, I have been doing all of my editing with Picnik.com. While Picnik is a GREAT place to edit (it's FREE, but I pay for premium and it's WELL worth it!) - but for portraits and other more important pictures......PhotoShop is the place to edit.

I've had PSE for several years, and had only used it a handful of times, because I didn't know how to really use it........

Amanda is fantastic at editing with PSE and I told you all about her workshops here.
I have since taken two of her workshops and I am SOOOOO excited about what I have learned! I have spent most of the last week working on newborn pictures I shot last week.(hopefully I can share them with you soon)

Amanda's has a new site for everything you need to use PhotoShop Elements

I just can't say enough about everything she is doing! Her workshops are fantastic, and when you sign up for one she also gives you video tutorials of most everything she goes over in the workshop, as well as handouts to print.......each workshop includes a little surprise freebie at the end as well!!

She has also set up a Facebook Fan page where you can ask/discuss questions, techniques, show off what you've learned and more!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I've mentioned before, I LOVE to have the current months calendar right on my computer desktop.

Two fabulous bloggers have each made a June desktop wallpaper for you to download for FREE!

Click the picture to the one you would like to download

Julie of Leelou Blogs captures June 2010 in these great colors!

Sail into summer with Whitney Caroline's June desktop wallpaper!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last but certainly not least I'd like to thank the top referring sites to TidyMom for the month of May. You ladies ROCK! I don't know what I'd do with out each one of you!

1.Bake at 350
2. How Does She
3. A Soft Place to Land
4. Hoosier Homemade
5. University of Cookie
6. 320 Sycamore
7. Living Locurto
8. i am mommy
9. Blue Cricket Desings
10. Tatetots and Jello
11. Just Something I Made


***Don't forget I'm Lovin' It Friday goes up tomorrow evening

......there will be a giveaway this week!
{squeel!}


This post was sponsored by:


want to see your ad here? contact me


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I'm Lovin' It! - 1st School Dance

Welcome to the Party!!
*********************

Last weekend was Sunshine's 8th grade dance. Her first school dance!
As a mom, this is a bitter sweet moment we go through, allowing our babies to venture out to real life events, and allow them to feel more grown up for a night.

We shopped until we found just the right dress and shoes, her sister did her hair, and she had her nails painted the perfect color! All in preparation for the big night.

They all went as a big group of friends!



Best Friend Beauties!
I can't get over how grown up they look!


(Sunshine is on the left)

The girls all showed up first to take pictures....the boys arrived shortly after.
I got this shot of the girls as the boys showed up!
Don't you just love the looks on the girls faces as they see the boys all dressed up!♥

Of course, just because I’m the mother of a 14-year-old (which, by definition, makes me an embarrassment), I don’t intend to stop following her around with my camera! lol

As I watched my (not so) little girl and her friends dance, share and laugh with excitement thru out the evening,

I realized that the eight years since she had been a kindergartner went by SO quickly and deposited her on the other side of childhood.......the side that leans much too much towards adulthood.



As I watched her first dance with a boy!
{sniff sniff........where's my tissue?}



The night was a huge success!
Fun was had by all!

I can't stand it!

It seems like just yesterday we took this picture!

So this week..........I'm loving my baby girl and watching her grow up{all too fast}!

You can see all of the pictures I took that night by clicking here.

This post sponsored by:

want to see your ad here? contact me

****************************

I'm Lovin' It is a party I host at the end of each week to celebrate things that makes us happy....things we are loving! Please share anything from a new(or old) product, to a recipe, a picture you took, a project, or even your children or family.....really anything that you would like to share that you are loving right now!!

Now it’s your turn, let us know what you’re lovin' this week! If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link below. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the MckLinky form below (need help with finding the permalink? click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
   
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to this post so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is loving today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the banner to your posts or blog if you'd like.
   
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
   
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!
   

The party will stay open until May 23, 2010 11pm CST.

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in I'm Lovin' It Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.

<a href="http://www.tidymom.net"><img border="0" src="http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k190/tidymom/my%20blog%20stuff/layout%20stuff/Imlovinit_button.png" /></a>





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