I had planned entirely on posting before, but ya know, life really seems to get the better of us sometimes, doesn’t it?  Between unpacking, the little snow we had (I work for a company where no matter how much snow, it tends to be a big deal), and then Thanksgiving(and Black Friday – hehe), the week following the Great Wolf Lodge Eco-Friendly Mom Blogger Summit (that was a mouthful), really came and went before I could blink.

While I could go on and rave over this bloggy conference forever, I have compiled my thoughts and narrowed down the experience into several different sections, so as not to completely overwhelm you with everything at once.  How sweet am I, don’t ya think? lol.  Then I figured I could dedicate a post all in its own to the photos.  Oh, there were photos.  And memories.  And then some more photos.  Hundreds of them, in fact.  In my case, over 650…. Yes, I know.  Not that you expected anything less from me, though, right? 

So, first of all I must give a huge thank you to Kristin from OurOrdinaryLife, who really put this whole shindig together!  She did a spectacular job and really, I admire her for being so passionate about being eco-friendly!  You are super amazing, my friend!

Also, a big thank you to Great Wolf Lodge for dealing with our shenanigans and for allowing us to run amok in your resort for the weekend.  Honestly, I haven’t had so much fun in a long time!  The Great Wolf Lodge is truly beautiful!!!!  Touring the facilities and seeing how you are making an impact to preserve our environment was fantastic!  What an experience – we will definitely be returning in the future for a more extended stay.

Nature’s Path – You are such a caring and fantastic company doing great things for the environment and the people in this world!  Thank you so much to Maria in particular, for coming to speak and for all the great things you taught us and let us take home!!  I can’t express how much you taught me over the weekend.  Well, I can, and I will, just not in this post.

A thank you shout out to Stephanie and her husband, Brian, for having an extra memory card for me to use.  Hehe.  In my turmoil to get out of the house Friday evening, I didn’t realize that my sweet, adorable children went through the camera bag, removing my case of memory cards.

Every one else who came to experience this weekend with me – it was truly great to meet you all!  A lot of you I know through our blogs and Twitter, so meeting in person was absolutely great!  Plus, I made a few new friends along the way, which is truly never a bad thing, and really a blessing.  You were all so sweet and your families so cute!  I hope that this is a kick-start to some long-lasting friendships.

Here is a list of the sponsors from our Great Wolf Lodge Eco-Friendly Mom Blogger Summit.  Each had their own role to make this event flawless, perfection, and as wonderful as it was.  Thank you to each and every one of them for not only that, but for doing what they are able to do to be eco-friendly/organic:

Great Wolf Lodge
Nature’s Path
Organic Valley
Oregon Zoo
Bridgeport Brewery
Naked Wines
Simply Organic
AuraCalia
Seventh Generation
Oregon Rain
Dave’s Killer Bread
Fairy Tales – Haircare For Children
Truly Organic Baking
Crayola
Dropps
Seeds of Change

Please be on the lookout for some other great posts in relation to this fun-filled weekend.  I really have more to share than I deem appropriate for one post, so we shall leave it here for now.

Holy macaroni, people!!!! It’s been like halfway to forever since I’ve blogged, right?  So it feels!

Well, I have been here and there and really not anywhere outside of my own bubble in this world.  Summer just kind of took me and the fam and whooshed us away into a land of fun!  :)  Oh yes, we have had lots of fun.  I guess I had a summer vacation away from the blogging world.

I suppose losing the computer and access to my blog for a while doesn’t completely constitute as fun, but I have really enjoyed just being able to enjoy my kids and friends and…. life!

Oh and my mom dropped a bombshell………….

Another sister.  She is 20.  But that is a post all in it’s own.

I promise to fill you all in on my fantastic summer with tons of pictures soon!

You can always find me on Twitter if you need me:  www.twitter.com/theJAKAmommy — if you follow me, make sure you @ me, so I know you are a real person!

Omg people, someone nominated ME for a blog award!!!  Awww, I totally love my J over at BB&A blog!!!  And apparently, she totally thinks I’m awesome!  I’m literally blushing.

I’m suuuuuuuuuuuuuper late even acknowledging this award, and for that, I apologize profusely!!!

Anyways, the rules are as follows::

“The ‘rules’ of The Hardcore Award are going to be…
Link and list 5 (or less) people who you think are awesome, amazing and rockin’ and then share a few things that you think make YOU awesome!  I think that people are so used to being humble and don’t want to seem narcissistic but Mami thinks EVERYONE should think they are awesome and amazing and rockin’.  Maybe your an amazing baker or you have a great butt…whatever it is…tell the world and feel good about it!  Yeah!  Oh and you need to let them know someway (a comment is prob easiest) that you have awarded them.”

 

 

 

• I make super adorable babies!
• Photography comes naturally to me
• I hear I make nummy nummy food (when I do cook)
• My writing skills are totally legit!

Okay, yeah enough about Me!  Now it’s time to nominate some folk.

1. Mely @ MelySpeaks – I love her. 
2. singlemama_CC @ NotYourAverageSinglaMama - She rocks at being a single mom and a person!
3. Alison @ Blessed With 3 – One of my newest friends who does amazing things to help others!  She is amazing!

So there you have it, my friends.  Now, it was really hard to not list everyone’s blog that I follow and read.  Because, quite frankly, I love all of my blogging buddies!  Know that I love you even if you aren’t one of the three.

Just for fun:: If I didn’t list you, leave me a comment telling me what you think is so awesome about yourself!! 

Wow.  Hello!!  Welcome to my itsy bitsy teeny tiny bit of the web’o’sphere.  Please, don’t mind my scatter brain, I swear it’s normal.  I’m a tad flustered as this is my first ever large blog party.  Well, that’s what it is anyways, right?

Also, don’t mind the mess that is currently my blog.  The layout is not ideal, but we are working through it. 

My name is Alex.  Short for Alexandra, but after 18 years of my mom insisting that my name is Alexandra, and not Alex, I had to rebel. 

Mommy of 4 year old Konnor, always and forever my baby, and 10 month old Ariana, the baby girl I have always dreamed of having.  My children are hands down my life and the reason for my being.  To most of you, it will come as no surprise for me to tell you I would give the world for my babies.  They are my rocks, whether they know it or not. 

Working full time as a customer service representative at the local electric company is my day job.  A repetitive job that is not nearly as rewarding and fulfilling as I would like a job to be, it pays the bills.  That’s all I have to say about that.

Writing has always come natural to me.  I can change my style from serious to funny, laid back to professional, and anything in between without much thought at all.  

Blogging/writing since I was in middle school, I have owned 3 diaries, one online diary, 4 blogs, and one online journal.  The random short stories and no less than one dozen unfinished plays and auto-biographies sit buried in all of the above places listed.  At the moment I am in the process of compiling all my thoughts and life snip-its into one big book.  A story of my own life, which I refuse to call an auto-biography (I just despise the term).

If I’m not playing mommy, working, or writing, I am most definitely taking pictures.  Photography is a passion that falls dead even with my passion for writing.  On a bad day I take no less than 20 photographs of anything and everything that inspires me.  Some say I have a knack for the hobby and should go pro, but a hobby (to me) is more fulfilling than a job.

Living with my kiddos and my boyfriend, Justin, in our apartment in Oregon couldn’t be more amazing.  Well, a house would be more amazing, but that’s a different story.  The Pacific Northwest is known for its beauty, but you can never really understand that beauty unless you live here.  Who wouldn’t want to live an hour from the mountain and two hours from the ocean?

Well, I think you are probably tired of listening to me, so go and find some other fabulous bloggers who are participating in the 2010 Ultimate Blog Party.

Want more of me?  Or, I suppose, in a sense, it’s less of me.  I live my life 140 characters at a time on Twitter.  You can follow me @theJAKAmommy but I’m warning you now, I am not all peaches & cream.  My life is not perfect, nor am I.  I can be rude, harsh, and my filtration is not always top notch.

By the way, I’m not entering to win any prizes.  :)  But good luck to all those that are!  Happy blogging!