and the winner is...

...my cute sister-in-law, Lani!

For those of you who did not win, you may purchase these delightful gloves for $12.00 from Williams-Sonoma. Unfortunately, they are only available for in-store purchase. They will not make your hands sweaty (the most common complaint amongst rubber glove users) and, I believe, are worth every cent.

Enjoy, Lani!

Stay tuned for more favorite giveaways...

one of my favorites...

Inspired by your blogs, I am going to share with you a few of my favorite things (but not all at once; I am going to make you sweat with anticipation).

I have mentioned once or twice before that I despise getting my hands dirty. Growing up, I thought I hated doing the dishes because of this. Once my favorite oldest sister introduced me to these, my life changed forever.

No, really, it did. This is how:

• I discovered I love to do dishes.
• I can kill bugs (even small spiders).
• I can clean anything (even toilets we are forced to share with gross boys).
• My hands remain super soft at all times (Brian will vouch for this, even though I kind of just implied that he is gross).
• No job is too dirty for me (as long as it doesn't smell bad, but that's another story).

All of this is made possible because of my handy gloves. These are not your ordinary rubber cleaning gloves (though those will suffice while traveling). No, these are soft on the inside and boast of thick rubber on the outside. They are GREAT.

I want to share these miraculous life-changers* with YOU. Leave a comment on this post by Friday, June 26, 2009 midnight Eastern time and I will enter your name in a drawing to win a pair. I know, so fun, right?

*They might not really change your life (unless you are as bothered by dirty hands as I am).

never too young to accessorize...

Since the subtitle to our blog is

and a few other things that make us smile...

...this has been making me smile totally crack up [like bust-a-gut-laughter (I know, I know - I need to get out more)] all week long. When she wakes up in the morning, she finds the rings and they stay on most of the day. The smallest two rings don't fit around her hands (those cute, pudgy hands) and she nearly throws a fit each time she can't get them on. How can I stand it, right?

homebodies...

Zoey has been doing a lot of hanging out at home:

gabbering to her audience below at grandma's house

watching all the kids play outside

telling mommy what all the kids outside are doing

those pesky stairs

already loves the bling