i'm baaaack! (kind of)

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Thanks to all of you who sent words of support our way. We were blessed with a little girl, Adah, last week. She had an unexpected stay in the NICU which was disconcerting, but at least short-lived. All is well now and we are on the road to creating some normalcy in the house- at least trying to!

The drawing for the three Hicks Paper Goods contests will take place tomorrow at noon, so get in your entries while you can!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this lovely poster from Anna Bond. I ordered one for Adah's nursery and couldn't be happier. Even the packaging was lovely!

oh, birthday presents...

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'Tis the season of summer birthdays...and the same question for me always comes up: what do I buy a ____ year-old ____ (boy, girl)? And how much do I spend? The answer to this question varies wildly (obviously depending on age, gender), and the money question always leaves me stumped. For me, I think the standard birthday gift varies between $15-30, depending on who it is going to, the age, etcetera.

A friend recently relayed that her 2-year old had received a $50 gift certificate for her birthday from a non-family friend. She didn't seem at all phased. I think my internal jaw dropped, however - is that really what people are spending on presents these days? Even for a good friend's child, that seems excessive, no? What do you spend on presents? Any money-type of question is a personal one, I know, but I certainly hate to be the chintzy one! Do tell.

helpful websites for meal sign-ups

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In the South (and probably elsewhere), when someone is sick, has lost someone, had a baby or any other number of 'occasions', a long line of friends show up with food at the front door. Often times the 'afflicted' person can be deluged with tons of food at the same time, or worse, go for long periods of time without having anyone bring anything. 

A friend recently passed along two websites that I thought were genius...both of them with the same basic idea. They were created to help facilitate meal sign-ups. It takes the burden off of one person having to organize meals, which is often what happens in these situations.

Casseroles and lasagnas tend to be a favorite- what do you like to make to take to friends? Or do you just pick something up from a store? Pictured above is a casserole from Real Simple's 'Easy Casserole Recipes'...lots of them look yummy.

meal sign-up websites (both are free services!):