Musical Monday-For the wee ones

So, *a* has officially started first grade.  She's running a bit behind, as we were exploring our options as far as schooling went, and I finally decided the best thing to do would be to just GET her in a school!

A few weeks ago, I measured her...and she shot up 5 inches over summer vacation.  Yes, you read that correctly.  FIVE.  She's still a tad on the short side (which I have no clue why, as I'm 5'9", and her dad is 6'2")  but there's no doubt about it, my baby is growing up.  That leads to this week's theme.  As a person who emotes music, I have many, Many, MANY songs that remind me of my little girl, but none more so than this one-




What's great is we can sub *a*'s name for "Anna" easily. :D  I've sung this to her since she was a baby. It's impossible to sing without nose snuggles, btw.

This week's theme-What song reminds you of your kiddo's (past, present, or future)?

Win It Wednesday-Mrs. Crafty Pants

When one of my (two) BBF's decided to start her own Etsy shop, I instantly begged her to let me do a giveaway for her.  I've always loved her style, and her products are awesome!  Luckily, it didn't take much convincing, so we have a wonderful prize for you!  First, I'll let her tell you a bit about herself-

I'm Kassandra, the author of Coffee and their Kisses and the owner of Mrs. Crafty Pants Designs. I'm 25 years young and full of life. I"m a homemaker by choice to my husband of 4 years and our little sour patch kid Nick. I'm just a good ol' southern girl, living in the heart of Texas. I've always loved art of all kinds. When I was younger I loved to write poems and draw. So at the beginning of this year I decided to start my blog Coffee and their Kisses. I post all of my do it yourself craft tutorials, daily life, and other ramblings. My newest crafting adventure is sewing with a sewing machine. I'm pretty good at hand sewing, but that machine can be tricky sometimes. When I get the time I love to read, garden, cook, and write. 

In June I decided to open my shop, Mrs. Crafty Pants Designs. I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do with it, but I knew that I wanted to sell some of my crafts. So around the beginning of this month, I needed a headband. I had a rosette fabric flower left over from another project, and decided it would look great as a headband. Then I started finding different ways to make other fabric flowers, and I fell in love. I started making bobby pins, barrettes/brooches, and headbands all with fabric flowers. Sometime in July I figured out how to make my own chalkboard stickers all from scratch. So they are also in my shop, and there will be some other chalkboard products. Ms. K has tried my chalkboard stickers, so you can ask her about those. I found something that I love, crafts, and took a leap of faith opening my shop. While, I haven't sold anything yet since I haven't been open long, I'm so excited to be doing this. Believing in myself is so thrilling. I hope y'all will stop by and take a look! Thanks K!

Kassandra sent me three of her awesome 3" circle chalkboard labels, and I love them!  I haven't actually attached them to anything yet, 'cause *a* and I can't make up our minds!  We've talked about using them in the kitchen, to label jars of goodies...or for our crafty space, to mark our supply buckets.  *a* thinks they should go in her room to help keep her toy bins straight.  We've had a lot of fun simply writing on them already.  Whatever we decide, we'll be sure to show for you!  

Now, onto the giveaway-

Kass is offering her Multi Colored Due Frangipani Fabric headband, named after the flowers of the same name.  The buttons are from her grandmother's stash, which I think is so sweet!  Prize includes shipping to US and Canada.  

Also, BKla readers can receive 10% off their order by using the code "BIGKLITTLEA"  Be sure to check out her shop and see what other goodies she has!  

Giveaway is open through Tuesday.  Powered by Rafflecopter.  Good luck!

Prefense Winner!

Congrats to Sherry!  She's responded and her prize will be shipped soon.  Check back at 8 AM for another awesome giveaway!

TracFone-helping keep kids connected for less

This post brought to you by TracFone. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

This summer brought about some exciting changes in *a*'s world.  We had two new families move to our neighborhood, and they have daughters!  The four girls have been inseparable the past few months-always at one or the other's house, playing in the yard, and begging for sleepovers.  We had a scare a few weeks ago, as one of the girls, Raven, was injured while playing, but the other three handled it well.  Kate stayed with her while *a* and Amy headed for me.  Raven turned out to be fine after some bandages and a tetanus shot, but it got me to thinking.  A few days later, Amy and Kate's dad started having them take his cell phone when they left the yard.  A great idea, sure...but we only have one phone!

 

Now, let's be clear.  Six is way too young to have her own cell phone, no matter how much she begs.  "But it has APPS, Mom!"  There was no way I was going to add another line simply for the times she's playing elsewhere.  What to do? 

 

Then it hit me!  TracFone!  There's no contract, no activation or cancellation fees, and no credit check!  They have great nationwide coverage and awesome reception, and have brand name phones from leading manufacturers like Motorola, Samsung, LG, and Nokia.  You can find anything from a simple "candy bar" phone (which is what we'll be getting.) to a Bluetooth®-enabled "Smart" phone (which *a* is NOT getting.)

 

The best part?  I can pay as I go.  The cards are available at thousands of retail shops across the country, and 1-year service plans give me double minutes for the life of my phone AND 800 minutes, for only $119.00.  I can also purchase the "double minutes for the life of my phone" for  $19.99 separately, and some phones even include it!  Now, if I wanted to go with a monthly plan, I can go as little as 50 minutes for $9.99 or 200 minutes for under $30. Should *a* accidentally call, say, Canada...TracFone is the only wireless service where we can call internationally for the same price as any other call. That's right, you can call over 60 international locations for no extra price.  With their International Neighbors program, you can give people in Mexico or Canada a local number that will reach you in the US!

 

Now, we'll probably stick with a simple phone-just calling and texting for under $10, but Tracfone also has awesome phones packed with features like camera/video recorder, web access, app capabilities, mp3 player, and full QWERTY keyboard, for $29.99! 

 

For more information on the features and phones Tracfone offers, check out the video below-

 

 

Who knew there were so many features?

 

Still on the fence about TracFone?  Don't take my word for it...

real TracFone customers

real TracFone customers

Tweet Me Tuesday

Tweet Me Tuesday is a weekly Twitter hop hosted by Big K, little a , The Old Block House, and Coffee and Their Kisses.  Linky will open every Tuesday at 8:00 AM CST, and close Friday night.

A few tiny rules-

•   Make sure you're following the hosts on Twitter.
•   Post our button somewhere on your blog, please!  Could be in sidebar, special post, or page. 
•   Please follow back those following you!  That's kinda the point, right? :)

<a border="0" href="http://www.bigklittlea.com/search/label/TweetMeTuesday" target="_blank"><img src=http://i.imgur.com/l9NFn.png></a>

Free money!

Well, for SOMEONE.  But maybe you.

Or me.

Or we could split it, that'd be cool too.

Ok, enough rambling.  It's finally here!  Squeee!

That's right!  It's Giveaway Gala time, with ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS up for grabs...er...total.  You should totally check it out, and enter!  Rafflecopter makes it easy as pie, and you'll find lots of other awesome blogs!

Those of you that stumbled here from the Gala, welcome!  I'd say something witty, but I've been WordPressing all night, and my brain has spolded.

Inspire Sundays