March 2011

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

by oh amanda on March 31, 2011

in ultimate blog party

Ultimate Blog Party 2011

It’s Ultimate Blog Party time! This is my FIFTH Ultimate Blog Party party! At the very first blog party I was a newbie blogger (in a sea of newbie bloggers). My second party I embraced the random, the third I was the new mom of 2. And last year? Well, I gotta say, I love that post & wish I could just re-post it this year (only it has  LOST reference in it…anyone else still missing Sawyer?)

And here’s the thing, after 5 years of Ultimate Blog Parties (and a few years of Blog Hops) not to mention an About Me or two, it’s hard for me to think of a good creative way to introduce you to my little piece of the internet pie. So, I decided to well, get to the heart of the matter. I want you to love me. I want you to connect with me online. So, here we go, my last few social media updates & places to find me. (Believe me, you’re gonna like this…)

Last Facebook Update:

{aahhh, my TV habits for all to see…}

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Last Twitpic:

{Yeah. That would be ME inside Cinderella’s Castle during the Social Media Moms Conference. More to come on that…}

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Last Twitter Update:

oohamanda

{No commentary needed.}

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And the last post I stumbled:

purplesahm

{Look at that! I reviewed this post & it got over 5k hits! Tell me you don’t want me to stumble you!!}

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The last thing I tumbled:

ohamanda

{This is a great post by my friend Katie. And it’s perfect for a big Meaningful Easter linky on my Impress Your Kids blog Monday! Don’t miss it!}

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And my last pin:

Do you pinterest yet? I am totally copying this Art Party for my daughter one day. I love me a good birthday party.

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So, do we have anything in common? Did you find a social media platform for us to connect on? Just click the pictures above and they’ll lead you to…well, me! And don’t forget you can always subscribe to my feed or get updates in your inbox. Or you know, just leave a comment. I’m easy. :)

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

As part of today’s party, I want to introduce you to some of my favorite bloggy frirends! There are 10 of us who each have a word photo included in their post. These words make up a sentence. We will each link you up to the girl who has the next word in the sentence—but keep in mind that I might not have the first word in the sentence! Here’s my part:

ultimate blog party 2011

{yes, I wrote that. “doodling” was my major in college.}

Once you have the sentence, e-mail it to sisterchickies@gmail.com with “UBP11″ in the subject line. Each person with the correct sentence will be in a drawing to win a $100 Target gift card! The winner will be announced on all of our blogs on April 11 and the winner will be e-mailed. The winner has 48 hours to respond or we’ll pick someone else.

Now, go visit CHRISTINE from iDREAMofCLEAN for your next clue!

{ 51 comments }

Motherhood Is Hard

by oh amanda on March 30, 2011

in motherhood

Sometimes I just get in a motherhood funk. The blues. The blahs. The I-can’t-do-anything-right kinda feeling.

All day long I can feel words swirling through my head, “Their behavior is your fault! Why can’t you get the house clean?! You have ruined them! What are you doing? Why can’t you get him under control?”

Am I the only one?

I had no idea how hard parenting was going to be. I thought as I grew with my kids’ physical needs, I’d grow into parenting. I thought I’d get a few good parenting successes under my belt and then those same ideas would work again. I figured I’d be able to build on my successes and kind of get a one up on my kids.

{Read my full post at Motherhood Your Way…}

{ 10 comments }

Me, By Numbers: Top Ten {Tuesday}

by oh amanda on March 28, 2011

in me,top ten tuesday

top ten list

I’ve been doing Top Ten {Tuesday} for over 2 years now! That’s like 100 Top Ten lists! Are you bored yet? I’m not! Really, the Top Ten lists you guys  link up are amazing! I can’t always get to all 50+ of you to comment or tweet or stumble but know that I am ecstatic that each of you link up. And I hope you enjoy it, too–hope it gives you some traffic, some friends and an easy post for the week!

As I was trying to think of something fun to do for my list today I decided to tell you about me by numbers…ready?

The Top Ten Numerical Things About Myself

{wow. are you so excited?!}

1. ONE

1980

me and my brother

I have ONE brother. And when I was little my mom would always say, “This is the only brother you’ll ever have. You need to treat him right.” And sure enough, even my husband doesn’t have sisters, so I don’t even have a brother-in-law! My little bro is indeed my only brother!

2. TWO

I went to TWO elementary schools. When I was in 3rd grade they redistricted our county and it made me go to another school. What’s weird is when I got into middle school, they redistricted again (re-redistricted-ed?) and a bunch of the kids I had left in my first school were sent to my middle school. It was strange to see kids I had been friends with in 3rd grade walk in my class as 8th graders—most of them I was never friends with again.

3. THREE

Speaking of elementary school, when I was in 3rd grade, I had the MEANEST teacher ever. Her husband was the principal and he would bring her ice cream during class. There is just nothing worse than watching your teacher eat ice cream in front of you.

4. FOUR

My husband is the oldest of FOUR. All girls.

My dad is the oldest of FOUR. All girls.

I don’t know. That just seems weird. And even weirder? My sister-in-law is about to have her FOURth child—a girl. To go with her boy-girl-girl trio she already has. That’s weird, right?

5. FIVE

I may have told you about my FIVE best friends–the sisterchicks? Yeah, maybe I mentioned them once or twice. I met Staci and Mandi when I was 4. Mandy about that same time. Kristen in 3rd grade and Becky in 6th. Even through all the different paths we’ve taken, we’re still the best of friends. Just knowing they are there for me is a comfort and strength.

6. SIX

I have SIX toes on my left foot.

Just kidding.

7. SEVEN

Picnik collage

OK. This one is a stretch but I’ve been wanting to show you this picture. Remember, I told you about us moving to a new church campus? Well, this is a picture of my husband and me leading worship for over 100 4 year olds on our last Sunday. Aren’t we cute?

You know, Les and I were in full-time ministry the first SEVEN years of our marriage. We traveled to camps and churches as special guests for kids’ events and programs. We helped plant a church in Orlando and were then children’s pastors of another church in Birmingham. This picture is SO exactly representative of those ministry years.

I know we’ll continue to do the same kind of stuff at this new campus, but it was still another good-bye to add to our ministry list.

8. EIGHT

I can only remember EIGHT of my childhood birthday parties: one at Stone Mountain, one at mini-golf where my friend gave me my one and only Barbie, my 4 year old spend-the-night-party (my parents were insane), my 16th birthday, the one at the Skating Rink where we tied balloons to our belt loops and ponytails, the one at White Water where I got my first puppet, the one with the Miss Piggy invitations and the one at the ice cream shop where I had my hair curled.

9. NINE

I’m reading NINE  books right now. That can’t be smart. Or does it just show I’m super smart? Ahem.

Wanna know what they are?

10. TEN

The 10th most popular post of ALL TIME on my blog is: Presents Without Bows Are Just Wrong {A Giftwrap Bow Tutorial}. And you know what’s funny about that? It was the first tutorial I ever wrote and I actually googled “how to write a tutorial” and came across this fabulous post at Bella Dia, How to Write a Tutorial (Also, How To Make a Daisy Chain). Isn’t that funny that I can remember that? And how cool is the internet that I could just search and find that exact same post again?!

Now wasn’t that random?

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OK, let’s see your genius! Just put it in a Top Ten list! LINK to me in your post. Then PASTE your url below. Now for the fun–start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants–can you just visit 3 of them? Leave a comment on 2? Tweet 1? Use the hashtag #toptentues when you tweet your own? RT one or two you see in your stream? Stumble a really good one? Or just click on all of ‘em without reading so everyone can say, “WOW! I got a lot of hits today!” Just kidding. You can do whatever you want! :)

{ 27 comments }

Disney Social Media Moms {Day 2}

March 28, 2011 disney

{in case you missed Day 1, you better catch up first!} I woke up bright and early in my cozy bed at the Grand Floridian. After trying on about 4 outfits (I never know what to pack when I’m going somewhere with different weather) I headed out to Citrico’s for breakfast. I love walking around [...]

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Disney Social Media Moms {Day 1}

March 23, 2011 disney

I think it’s time for a good old fashioned trip report. Sometimes I get so excited about the bajillion things I want to tell you about a trip and then I try to put it in bite-sized pieces and then more often than not I end up not telling you half of the stuff I [...]

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Disney Social Media Moms Celebration: Top Ten {Tuesday}

March 22, 2011 disney

We got home from the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration last night. We picked up the kids from my parents house first–the kids, of course, saw us in the driveway and ran inside crying. I kid you not. After about an hour they warmed up and we finally went home. Of course, my internet wasn’t [...]

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Fun Stuff To Do At Disney Without Spending A Ton of Extra Money

March 17, 2011 disney

Remember Tuesday? Like 2 days ago? Remember how I never did a Top Ten list? Yeah, well. I finally got around to finishing it. And the reason it took so long is because I AM AT DISNEY WORLD TODAY! Actually, I’m at the Omni Resort by ChampionsGate and it is SWANKY! We got the deal [...]

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