Blog Party 2014: Welcome to the Circus!

Hi!  I'm so glad you've dropped in!  I've been writing here at this 'ole blog for over 8 years now.  It started off as Welcome to Married life and has kind of devolved into the circus!  That's what having 4 kids in 5 years will do to you I guess!

I've also partied with 5 Minutes for Mom for 7 of those 8 years, only missing one as we'd just come back from an epic trip to Saudi Arabia.  It's pretty cool to look back and see the way our family has changed in those yearly snapshot party posts.

So what's it like around here?  Well, March is birthday month so we've just come down from the high of multiple parties.  It's also spring break this week so I'm actually off touring St. Louis with my parents right now - a special trip for my dad where I get to play tour guide.  Unfortunately the weather is NOT cooperating, but we're having fun anyway.  I'm so thankful to my husband for just stepping up and manning the circus all week by.him.self!  He knows it's crazy town!

Other than that we do a lot of family stuff, take pictures, review some books, and almost every Friday I write with Lisa Jo for 5 Minute Friday.  I really love this time to reflect on things bigger than the 4 walls of my home sometimes.

Thanks for stopping by to visit, I love to make new friends.  You can also connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.  Maybe one of these days I'll get a smartphone so I can actually make use of my Instagram account too.

Please make sure you leave your link in the comments since Blogger doesn't always take me to your blog (I know, I should switch, in all my free time ya'know!).

Happy hopping!

Welcome to my Blog!

My friend Heidi took this picture of me the other day and I think it sums me up just about perfectly... I'm always the one behind the camera!  If you want the rest of the nitty gritty you can read my About Me page.

I've been doing this blogging thing for over 7 years now and just cracked 1000 posts.  I guess you might call me an old-timer!

We are just wrapping up Birthday Season as my four children just turned 6, 3, and 1 respectively... oh, actually I have two one year olds, we got a bonus!

Even though my blog is called Welcome to Married Life, since I'm a stay at home mom, most of it is centered around my children with the odd product review/giveaway thrown in.  And books, I'm a certified bookworm!

My number one hobby though is photography and while most of my photos are of my children eventually I'd like to make it more than a hobby.  You know, in all my free time!

So happy to meet you and if you'd like to stay in the loop please hop on over and like my page on facebook or join me on twitter.

Please leave a comment so I can visit your online home.

Happy Blog Partying!

Blog Party Time: 2012!

I'm Krista.  Welcome to Married Life, welcome to my blog! Things are a little haphazard and chaotic around here lately... because this is what I've been doing a lot of!

There are actually 2 of them, but I can only hold one and the camera at a time!  My baby girls are 4 weeks old and I'm getting used to going from 2 kids to 4!  My boys are 2 and 5, but so far I haven't had to take care of all 4 of them at the same time for too long!

This blog has kind of been taken over by all things baby and kid related (especially as all of them have birthdays in March now!), but I do write about other things too.  I'm heavily into photography, although only as an amateur so far.  Someday I might have my own photography business... when I have a little spare time!

I'm a science nerd and strongly believe that all the chemicals we come in contact with on a daily basis have an effect on us.  To that extent I try to use all natural non-toxic home, body, and personal care products.  I sometimes write about those products.

I like to travel and meet new people.  And if you'll stay in touch, you'll always hear back from me... eventually!  I've had a penpal from Australia since I was 7 years old... she's coming to visit me in June for the second time!

And now... since it's past midnight I hope my babies are ready to sleep since I am... although the one I'm holding is still wide awake!  So if you get a comment on your blog at midnight or later you'll know why!  Leave a comment here and I'll come visit!

Happy Blog Hopping!

I'm a Boy Mom

I'm a boy mom and I write about my two boys a lot here.  Chronicling their lives and the crazy things we do as a family.  Sometimes I love it, other times they drive me crazy!  But there is never a dull moment.  Ever.

Feeding?

I love that these boys really love each other.  They want to be together often (and drive each other crazy at times) and I'm so glad that they have each other.

(not taken near our house)

If you're new here, Cory is 4 and Noah is 1.  We live out in the country in a very small community.  We walk around the corner to the post office every day and chat with the post lady. 

I take way too many pictures to ever hope to edit them all properly.  I love photography and the scrapbooking that goes with it.

My husband, Brian, and I are teachers although I'm only teaching my boys at home right now.  Cory is just beginning to sound out words and we'll be starting informal preschool here in the fall.

The new big step in my life is that I've been asked to lead the Mom's Bible Study that meets at our church.  I'm excited and scared at the same time.  I'm a Type-A person and a planner to the core so the organizational side of things will be more work, but easy.  It's the spiritual side of it that makes me wonder...

I have all the academic credits (Bible school, Christian college, etc), but to be honest I'm not very good at talking about it.  Something about the personal application part that makes me clam up tight.  So if you have a minute would you pray that this year helps me grow, but isn't too stressful in that area?

I'm glad to meet new friends and I hope you'll stick around!  I'll be hopping around soon!

PS. I know I was supposed to include my boys favorite books, but I'm not sure that's possible... we have so many it would take a post all on it's own!

Welcome to Married Life's Party!

I'm fashionably late for this party, but that's the story of my life! 

Hi, I'm Krista and I write this blog.  What's it about?  Well, a lot about my 2 boys (3 if you count my husband, and many times he's as rowdy as they are!), my photography habit, and my growing passion for all things crunchy green in this world!

I participated in this party last year (where you can read more about me) as well as in 2008, which is just an older version of last year!  In 2009 we were globe-hopping to visit Saudi Arabia and I just didn't get around to the party!

After over 5 years of blogging there's not a whole lot new to tell you if you're a regular reader!  Although my husband did something totally random tonight...

See all those pictures in the header (and pretty much anywhere else)?  Yeah, he's had that beard the entire time we've been married.  I've seen pictures of him without it, but I personally really really like the beard.  But he's been persuaded by his high school students to shave it all off.  And I think he just wanted to remember what he looked like without it...

I don't think he was too happy with my reaction.  I am very change-averse and like I said, I really like the beard!  So, it won't be this way for long, but at least there's a picture for posterity!

Alright, that's probably enough random for one post!  But before I go, if you don't mind, I'd love your vote in the Mom Central Grant program on Facebook.  You do have to accept the Contests app, but you don't have to do anything other than vote!  Thanks!

I hope you'll come back and visit after this big party is over.  And please leave me a comment so I can specifically visit those who have visited me!

Adios!

Welcome to my Party!

Hello, my name is Krista, welcome to my blog!

Regular readers, if you don't know what's going on, this is a blog party! Click on the button below to get all the details!

I'm married to Brian and the Mommy to two little boys: Cory, who just turned 3, and Noah, who is 3 weeks old.

I've been blogging now for just over 4 years and love that I can go back and read through things that I've forgotten. Especially for my boys!

In my "spare" time I like to take pictures and scrapbook. I love to read, although I'm kind of on a fiction burnout at the moment so if you've read a good non-fiction book lately leave it in the comments!

We just bought our first house and many hours this spring have been and will be spent doing fix-its (also curtains!) and planting our first garden! I'm super excited to have enough room now to actually buy things in bulk and/or can and have room for storage! Here's to a better grocery budget! And no, I don't play the coupon game because most of the stuff you can get for free or cheap is already processed food. I'm definitely trying to go "green" in what we eat, use, and put in and on our bodies.

So, nice to meet you! I hope you'll stick around and at the very least, leave me a comment so I can visit you!

Blog Party Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaways last week! They are now closed and I have drawn the winners!

Day 1 - magnet set from Daisy May Designs goes to Lisa (nussli)

Day 2 - custom jewelry design from HeatherBoyd goes to Erinls

Day 3 - sewing pattern from that*darn*kat goes to Danielle (yellyjohnson)

Day 4 - burp cloth set from the Polka Dot Papoose goes to Terra Jones

Day 5 - earrings from RuthKealoha goes to Karen and Co.


Ladies, you have 3 days to get back to me. I sent you all an email so please check your spam/junk folders!

Blog Party Guidelines

This is a sticky post for Blog Party week! Scroll down for new posts and giveaways!

Welcome to my new/old site! I hope you'll stay and look around... help me figure out if everything is working right... and enter the great giveaways we've got for this week!

Oh, and don't forget to subscribe to my feed! It's right over there -->

(those of you who have me linked on your site, would you be so kind as to update the link? Thanks! - oh, and the button code is updated, too! code on the left sidebar! although the old code will still get you here!)

To enter all giveaways: You must either leave me a valid email address in your comment or have it on your profile so I can contact you. You want to know if you win, right?

• You may enter each contest by posting a comment about the item.
• You may enter a second time by posting my button on your blog. Please leave a second comment with the link to where it is posted.
• All Wii votes will be counted - you don't need to leave another comment for that.
• There may be other ways to enter so stay tuned!

All giveaways will end on December 8th at midnight Pacific time. The 9th is my birthday so I thought I'd have some fun picking winners then!
Winners will be contacted by email and have 3 days to get back to me. Good luck and happy contesting!

Blog Party Day 5: RuthKealoha

Welcome to Day 5 of my blog party! Please be sure to update your feed reader (and if you haven't already, now's a great time to subscribe!) to my new URL: www.welcometomarriedlife.com


Today I'd like to introduce to you the gorgeous jewelry made by Ruth. I met Ruth at a holiday bazaar a couple of weeks ago so I got to see this fun stuff in person! She's a mom like me and is just getting started making jewelry. In fact, I'm going to her house tonight for a Christmas party and to see if I can find the perfect gift for a friend!

Of course you'd like to see what kind of jewelry she makes...


I really like dangly earrings if they are just so... and these are totally my style! A set of pearls or some funky oriental beads!

Then there are the awesome necklaces...

You have to click on this one to really see it. It's a heart shaped stone wrapped with wire. Many colors available.

I also like necklaces that look like they are floating like the one on the left. The one on the right caught my attention because of the dove. She says there are earrings available to match! I have a thing for doves... some of you might know why!

Ruth has graciously offered up a set of earrings for my giveaway. You can choose any set you like! And she's just recently updated her shop so there are tons to choose from! Please go visit, find the pair you'd like or your favorite item and come back here and tell me! That's it!


To enter: You must either leave me a valid email address in your comment or have it on your profile so I can contact you. You want to know if you win, right?

• You may enter each contest by posting a comment about the item.
• You may enter a second time by posting my button on your blog. Please leave a second comment with the link to where it is posted.
• All Wii votes will be counted - you don't need to leave another comment for that.
• There may be other ways to enter so stay tuned!

All giveaways will end on December 8th at midnight Pacific time. The 9th is my birthday so I thought I'd have some fun picking winners then!
Winners will be contacted by email and have 3 days to get back to me. Good luck and happy contesting!

Blog Party Day 4: Polka Dot Papoose

Welcome to Day 4 of my blog party! Please be sure to update your feed reader (and if you haven't already, now's a great time to subscribe!) to my new URL: www.welcometomarriedlife.com


Today I'd like to introduce to you the beautiful designs of Tara. She makes modern baby slings and burp cloths in the most gorgeous fabric combinations I have ever seen!

Like this one... I think it's my favorite!



Or this set of burp clothes. Don't you love the bright colors!



You can shop Tara's Etsy store or her website. She has a page of "instructions" that will help you if you've never used a sling before. You can also buy her designs at a number of other sites.

Here are a couple of slightly more muted designs that I also like. But I'm really a fan of the bold, shhh, don't tell, okay?





Tara has graciously offered one of her burp cloth sets to you. I know there are many of you out there either pregnant, with a new baby, or have a million friends with babies so this will come in handy! I'd enter myself if I could... ;)

So please visit her Etsy shop and come back with the name of your favorite fabric pattern combo!


To enter: You must either leave me a valid email address in your comment or have it on your profile so I can contact you. You want to know if you win, right?

• You may enter each contest by posting a comment about the item.
• You may enter a second time by posting my button on your blog. Please leave a second comment with the link to where it is posted.
• All Wii votes will be counted - you don't need to leave another comment for that.
• There may be other ways to enter so stay tuned!

All giveaways will end on December 8th at midnight Pacific time. The 9th is my birthday so I thought I'd have some fun picking winners then!
Winners will be contacted by email and have 3 days to get back to me. Good luck and happy contesting!

Blog Party Day 3: that*darn*kat

Welcome to Day 3 of my blog party! Please be sure to update your feed reader (and if you haven't already, now's a great time to subscribe!) to my new URL: www.welcometomarriedlife.com


Today I'm featuring my "in real life" friend, Katie, of that*darn*kat!

Katie is a former teacher (like me!) turned stay at home mom to three adorable kids. She is a seamstress extraordinaire as you'll soon see from her wares!

She makes a lot of her children's clothes plus purses, wallets, and probably anything else you could think of! So without further ado...

See that cute wallet on the left? I have one just like it only mine is in various black and white patterned fabric. It's perfect for a black and white purse that I have and everyone thinks it's so cool that it was custom made for me!

Of course I'd love to have a custom made purse like the one on the right... but until the one I'm using falls apart I think I'll have to wait!

For our giveaway Katie is offering one of her patterns. Don't be scared, they are great photo tutorials! You'll have your choice of two sizes of girls dresses, a pattern for underwear (how cool is that???), or the pattern for the bag shown above in black and white.

Please go visit her shop, come back and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite item is!


To enter: You must either leave me a valid email address in your comment or have it on your profile so I can contact you. You want to know if you win, right?

• You may enter each contest by posting a comment about the item.
• You may enter a second time by posting my button on your blog. Please leave a second comment with the link to where it is posted.
• All Wii votes will be counted - you don't need to leave another comment for that.
• There may be other ways to enter so stay tuned!

All giveaways will end on December 8th at midnight Pacific time. The 9th is my birthday so I thought I'd have some fun picking winners then!
Winners will be contacted by email and have 3 days to get back to me. Good luck and happy contesting!

Blog Party Day 2: HeatherBoyd

Welcome to Day 2 of my blog party! Please be sure to update your feed reader (and if you haven't already, now's a great time to subscribe!) to my new URL: www.welcometomarriedlife.com

Today I'm pleased to introduce you to the fabulous Etsy artisan named Heather Boyd. She's an art teacher from Montreal whose wares run the gamut from wire jewelry to children's craft projects to clothing and textile items. She also does custom designs so if you have something in particular you would like... let her know!

I personally adore these cat earrings...


That's how I found her shop, I was searching cats and art!

Here are some other examples of items she makes...





Heather has generously donated a custom creation just for you! A pair of earrings, brooch, necklace or bookmark based on your idea, design, or logo! So go take a look at her shop and her website (there are lots more ideas there) and then tell me what you'd like for her to create!


To enter: You must either leave me a valid email address in your comment or have it on your profile so I can contact you. You want to know if you win, right?

• You may enter each contest by posting a comment about the item.
• You may enter a second time by posting my button on your blog. Please leave a second comment with the link to where it is posted.
• All Wii votes will be counted - you don't need to leave another comment for that.
• There may be other ways to enter so stay tuned!

All giveaways will end on December 8th at midnight Pacific time. The 9th is my birthday so I thought I'd have some fun picking winners then!
Winners will be contacted by email and have 3 days to get back to me. Good luck and happy contesting!

Blog Party Day 1: Daisy May Designs

Welcome to Day 1 of my blog party! Please be sure to update your feed reader (and if you haven't already, now's a great time to subscribe!) to my new URL: www.welcometomarriedlife.com

Now I'd like to introduce you to Kristy!

Kristy is the owner of Daisy Mae Designs and boy does she have some fun stuff! It's very affordable, too!

Kristy lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and is a "consultant by day, crafter by night (and weekend)!" Her shop is named for her sweet, lazy beagle, Daisy Mae.

Here are some examples of the things she creates. Lots of magnets and funky pendants!





Hmmm, can you tell I like black and white? Don't worry, she has tons of beautiful colored items, too!

In honor of my blog relaunch party she has generously offered one of her magnet sets to you, my lovely readers! In return she would like a little market research...

Please go visit her Etsy shop and leave me a comment with your favorite item... or two! There are cool magnets as well as beautiful necklaces and some note cards.


To enter: You must either leave me a valid email address in your comment or have it on your profile so I can contact you. You want to know if you win, right?

• You may enter each contest by posting a comment about the item.
• You may enter a second time by posting my button on your blog. Please leave a second comment with the link to where it is posted.
• All Wii votes will be counted - you don't need to leave another comment for that.
  
• There may be other ways to enter so stay tuned!

All giveaways will end on December 8th at midnight Pacific time. The 9th is my birthday so I thought I'd have some fun picking winners then!

Blog Party News

*** Sticky post for the rest of November - scroll down for current posts! ***

I've got some fantastic news! I have giveaways from Etsy artisans lined up for all of you during the first week of December! Want to know how to win?

• Go HERE and find my name. Vote for me to win a Wii (Brian really really wants one! ;)
• Come back and leave a comment on THIS post. You will automatically get an entry in every giveaway by doing this! This is a "pre-entry" so comments on this post will be closed on November 30th!

• Come by every day of the party and leave a comment about the specific prize!
• Put this button up on your blog somewhere.

<center> <a href="http://www.welcometomarriedlife.com/2008/11/blog-party-news.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee3/teacherkrista/Blog-Party-Button.jpg" alt="Blog Party" border="0" /></a></center>

Much thanks to Kailani for helping me put the code on my blog! Feed readers please click through to get the code!

Let me know if you need help and good luck!!!

Par-tay Update

Hey, can you believe it's almost the end of November??? Thanksgiving is 2 days away and my blog party kicks off in one week!



Just a little update here. I've got some really fun prizes - all from Etsy - lined up so come back each day to enter! Take the code from my sidebar for the button and put it on your blog so you don't forget!

And since it's getting close to Christmas there are a TON of giveaways going on all over the blogosphere. Check my left side bar under "Current Events" for links to lots of other giveaways!

Blog Party!

Due to the fact that I have been out of town since Wednesday and I'm just not quite together enough to have a post done ahead of time...

It's time for the Ultimate Blog Party!





So, if you are new to my blog, here's the intro:
I'm a stay-at-home mom, housekeeper, wanna-be chef, and crafter extraordinaire (at least according to my husband!).

I run a Discovery Toys business and that's where I was this weekend, at the Spring Kick-Off! There are tons of new toys and great old ones so check them out if you have a minute. (and email me if you want to order anything)

I live in the Great Northwest and it is finally spring here! My irises are popping up and my roses are showing little buds. It was warm enough for me to go outside in my bare feet this morning and get all the dead blooms off. I know, I'm not a gardener so please excuse the lateness of that activity!

This blog is where I write about my life, mostly that having to do with my son, Cory! He'll be a year old at the end of this month and this is update central for my in-laws and friends who live far away.

I hope you come back often, but for now, go visit all the other party bloggers!