So, thanks to Sitemeter, I can see that our beloved GG, my grandmother-in-law, has been on my site about 10 times in the last 24 hours waiting for more photos of the baby boy to be posted.

I believe I promised to post some more a couple of days ago....

So, here you go:


Being held by my friend's little boy.


Finally asleep


I just love his chunky chunks

And that's really all I have from the trip. I was so busy, I didn't even have time to take pictures.

Oh Where, Oh Where has Erica Gone?

It has been awhile since I last posted, huh? I am so sorry. Life has been busy. Between my three kiddos, a short trip back home, and my wonderful full time job, I haven't had time to even think about blog posts.

Well, I take that back, I did post today, it was just over at 5 Minutes for Mom. And you should check it out, because it is a review post, which means GIVEAWAY. So go enter and win!

I do have some pictures to share from my short trip back home to Arizona, where we moved from.

And if you must know, I went to try out for American Idol. Yes, it's true. And, really, I am good enough to be a contestant, I am. I am not one of those mediocre or horrid singers, I promise.

This was the last year I could audition and it has been a dream of mine since season 1.

Yes, I know I am a mommy of three, and the show could have, well, you know... And, yes, I know that I have an amazing job that I wouldn't want to put in jeopardy. And, yes, I know that it would have potentially brought into my life even more stress.

And although most of me kept all that in mind when realizing that really, American Idol does NOT fit into my life right now, there was still a small piece of me that wanted to make it.

I did not, however want to make it past 11th or 12th. I did NOT want to win and I did Not want to tour. I wanted exposure, so that I could record a Christian album someday. Because, that is a BIG dream of mine.

So, thanks to a free plane ticket and free room and board at my parents' house, I left for home with a good friend of mine, and my baby boy.

My hubby stayed home with the other two kiddos. And poor him, I left with the good one. :-)

So here are some pictures from my trip:



Here I am, waiting at the arena, in my snazzy new outfit. My friend took me on a shopping spree and she paid!!! YES, she bought ME clothes. She rocks, doesn't she?!?!And I won't tell you who my lovely friend is, because you CAN'T have her!!!


Our pretty bracelets. Purple means you sing and green means you are a supporter. We had to get them the day before auditions. And we couldn't get them wet. So, it was fun showering with a trash bag on my hand.


The arena was pretty packed, see.


And another fun shot.


We played Scrabble to pass the time. I think that I lost. We didn't technically finish the game though.


Finally our section's turn to go audition. And just so you lovely fooled by reality television folks know, these auditions were NOT in front of Randy, Simon and Paula. These were the round 1 auditions. There were 12 tables and behind each table, there were 2 judges. We were sent in groups of 4 to a table, where we each took turns singing for about 30 seconds.
They either said, yes, so we'd move on...or No!!
If they said yes, we'd come back in a couple of months to sing for the famous judges.

We waited about 5 hours before it was our turn to sing. And my judges looked horribly tired. I didn't get a good vibe from them. I sang perfectly though. I was very proud of how I did. But, I didn't make it past round 1. And, I am TOTALLY OKAY with that.

I had a lot of fun. It was a great experience. And as Tiffany says, "I have a story to tell my grandkids someday."


Audition day was exhausting.

Oh and the baby boy, he was wonderful on the trip. We had to do a lot of driving to visit friends and family in different cities. And, did I mention that we were in Arizona?!?!?! It was HOT. And the baby boy never got fussy. He just took it all in with a smile on his face.

Tomorrow, I will post some pics of the baby boy!!

He was perfect on the plane too. And when I got home to my hubby and older kiddos, I realized that home, was where I belonged. Because, although I have always dreamt of stardom, my dream of being a mom, had always been bigger. And I have been blessed with a wonderful gift in my 3 children.....the best dream come true!!!!

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

There are going to be some really fun videos on 5 Minutes for Mom over the next few weeks....
You don't want to miss them....
Here's a little sneak peek.....



5 Minutes for Mom - BlogHer08 Trailer from 5 Minutes for Mom on Vimeo.

In My Daughter's Eyes

So, I thought I'd serenade all of you....

It may take a little bit to load once you click on it...

For the Record

Assassinator - a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed; "his assassins were hunted down like animals"; "assassinators of kings and emperors"

Thank you Free Dictionary

You may need to go down a couple of posts if you are wondering what on Earth I am talking about.

Too Handsome For Words

My talented best friend took this incredible shot of my mister. And he is just so handsome in it. This one is definitely getting framed.
(You can click on it to make it larger)

Mush, It's Just Mush

When you walk out your front door to check the mail and realize that instead of grabbing a set of keys off of the counter, you grabbed a set of measuring spoons, it becomes quite obvious that your brain has become nothing but mush.

And I blame it all on my three young children.

And I think it's been getting worse lately.

The other night while holding the baby boy, I placed the edge of his pacifier in between my teeth. It was the best way I could think of to assure myself that I would know where it was once he needed it.

Thirty minutes later he began to cry and the cries became louder. He was so very tired and needed to soothe himself with his pacifier. And as the cries swelled, I frantically began searching for the pacifier that I knew had to be pretty close by.

I stood up to check where I had been sitting. I started reaching in between the seat cushions. I checked the floor all around us. And my poor little guy was getting so angry with me.

As soon as I opened my mouth to ask the hubby if he had any idea where the baby's pacifier was, I realized what that piece of plastic was that I had had clenched between my teeth.

See, Mush!!! My brain is mush!!!

And don't get me started on how I told the hubby all about the new Blockbuster Online movie we recently got in the mail which centers around an assasinator. Boy did he chuckle for quite awhile, before gently reminding me that the correct word is assassin. I happen to like my word better, thank you very much.

And the thing is, I don't remember having this many Jessica Simpson moments before I had children. So, yes, I blame it on them.

Just Wondering if You have Been There, Done That

I am writing about this because I am curious to hear if any of you have gone through something similar with your child.
My Miss has had serious constipation issues for over a year now. We've tried everything from stool softeners to laxatives, although, I must admit, I didn't do it faithfully. It has been quite difficult to get my miss to consume a food or beverage laced with laxatives. She usually picks up on it right away.
I took her to a specialist yesterday and he wants to have us continue the laxative method. But this time we have to do it every day for 4-6 weeks. They gave me tips on how to disguise it better, but I don't know how well it will work.
Right now we are in the cleaning her out phase. This is our first time with this step, and I am not sure how well it will work. I disguised the cherry flavored phospho-soda in a cherry sprite, but she picked up on the funny taste and only drank half.

She is a stubborn girl, I tell you. She's just like her mommy.

The doctor is pretty certain that she is going through a phase. But I can't understand why she'd purposefully force herself to hold it in to such an extent. The doctor noticed that her tummy is distended and filled with many "rocks". He couldn't believe that she doesn't ever complain about her tummy bothering her.

Well, she has consumed half of her liquid laxative, so now I am just waiting for it to kick in. Poor Punkin.

Spray Ground

Today, Tiff and I took our kiddos to a nearby Spray Ground.
And it was really pretty cool, see.........

So why is it that the kids spent most of their time playing in the puddle??

Look At Me

Busy Bees

Well, over at 5 Minutes for Mom, we've been busy bees. Have you been there today?
If you haven't, go check it out. We have finally revealed the exciting project that the gals have been busy working on.

And I know I didn't post any other birthday pics. It's because there weren't any. But I'll take pics of the mister with his new toys soon, I promise.

Let me just get through this busy work day first, okay?

Those Two are as Sweet as Fondue

I am not an easy person to surprise. In fact I tell people to just forget about trying to throw me a surprise party or anything like that, because I will figure it out.

Well, tonight, two of my closest friends succeeded in surprising me and even my hubby was in on it. And that almost got him into trouble. See, I waited until almost 4:00 to take a shower. When you have 3 kids, you have to wait for the perfect moment to shower. You know, like when the kids are engrossed in a movie and not trying to kill each other.
I also waited until 4:30 to start some laundry, and I seriously didn't have anything to wear, except for some very thin, partially see through night gown.
But I figured, what the heck, I am not going anywhere, it will do.

And I ignored my dripping wet, very knotted hair while I cooked dinner and tried to pick up some messes.

I chowed down on my dinner and even had seconds.

And my hubby, who knew friends would be coming to my door soon to take me out, didn't say a word.

Thank goodness I had him put the clothes in the dryer for me, or else, I would have had to go out on the town either exposed in my thin nightgown or unable to breathe in my jeans that will never fit me again, because, really, that was about all I had that was clean.

So, an unexpected knock was at the door. I put a little pillow in front of me and told my hubby that I COULD NOT answer the door dressed as I was. I almost didn't want him to answer it, figuring it was a solicitor. But my hubby insisted, and in walked my two dear friends.

With a gift in hand, they told me to get ready because they were taking me out to The Melting Pot for chocolate fondue in celebration of my new job.

So, again, thank goodness I had some clean clothes in my dryer.
I quickly brushed my hair, grabbed my purse and walked out the door.

It was such a wonderful evening. We chatted the night away, probably way too loudly.
We got to sit and relax, which as mommies, we don't get to do often, and it was GREAT!
And the fondue was heavenly.

And I think we got drunk off of the chocolate.....see what I mean??


We also decided that we need to do this Melting Pot night more often, maybe monthly. And I think it's a PERFECT idea.

This was also my first time ever eating at The Melting Pot, after wanting to for nine years now.
I have been blessed with such amazing friends....and the hubby, he did a great job keeping it all a secret.




Now, go and read Sara's Post about the evening, because it's hilarious!!

Birthday Fun (Post 1)

Stayed tuned tomorrow for another birthday post.

The mister has turned 2.
Here are some pictures from our little celebration at a nearby play center.

My Little Paleontologist

Several years ago I became an Usborne book consultant. Unfortunately, I never had an opportunity to do any home shows. But I do have two boxes, hidden in my closet, full of some really great books in case I ever do a show.
Today I decided to break into that "in case I have a home show" stash, and break out something special for the miss. It's the one item that I have been tempted to open up several times now.
And the miss sure was excited as I unwrapped the dinosaur excavation kid kit.
Inside there was a small book about dinosaurs, which she made me read as quickly as possible so that we could get to the good stuff: the large rock which she would chisel away at, to find Tyrannosaurus Rex bones.
She looked so adorable wearing her safety glasses, breaking away the rock, and brushing the dirt off of the small bones that were appearing.
And it kept her busy for about an hour.
Of course, mommy and daddy found it fun as well. We kept taking her chisel away so that we could find some bones too.

I just wish my camera had done a better job of documenting the experience. I think I need to invest in a better camera.
It was fun though, but it did make quite the mess.
You have to admit though, she can pull off the safety glasses look, huh?

End '08 Great

So, I am going to attempt to take part in the End '08 Great Challenge. This month it is all about clutter. And boy, do I have plenty of that in my home. I will spare myself the embarrassment of before pictures, even though they would most likely make you feel better about your house.

But here's what's on my list this month:

1) cleaning out and organizing my closet

2) cleaning out and organizing the upstairs hall closet

3) cleaning out a couple of kitchen cabinets

4) de-cluttering the entertainment center

So, we'll see how it goes.

Why don't you join the challenge as well?!?!