Thursday, December 10, 2009

School is DONEZO!!!




Well, until Jan 11. :) My classes went well. I was worried about my grades, especially for two classes, but I have already gotten one of my grades back for one of those two classes, and I got a B. I am so relieved. Now I am just waiting on one other one, and even if I pull a C, I won't be too upset. My English class was probably my hardest, and I worked really hard in it. I had this same professor for a class last semester and really liked her, so I decided to take her again. Turns out I didn't even have to take this class, but I'm glad I did, especially since I got an A in it. :) It will help me in my major, so I'm not regretting taking it at all. I'm just waiting for two more grades, I hope my GPA stays up. Right now I'm at a 3.6 which I think is pretty impressive given the fact that I have a two year old and my husband is gone!

I had a wonderful mommy daughter day. We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond because I had gotten a 20% your entire purchase coupon in the mail, and I wanted to use it since it was a good deal. I have wanting to get a new cookware set since the one I have is coming apart. I mean, the pieces are holding up, but the non-stick is coming off the pan, and I don't think that's too healthy. My dad had sent me a generous gift for Christmas, so I decided to use part of it on new cookware. I did some research online and found that the Calphalon line was pretty nice, but a little spendy. But I figure if I want something that will last, I better be prepared to spend. So picked out the 10 piece, since it came with a good sized stock pot. Brooke and I go up to pay and they tell me that the set comes with a Gift With Purchase. Heck yeah! So I'm figuring it will be something small, boy was I wrong. It was a $160 dutch oven. I don't even know what a dutch oven is!!! But I am thrilled non the less! I am super excited to use my new set, and I figure this is an investment for Eric as well, since I cook him food. :)

I'm planning on opening a new store. Yes, my THIRD Etsy store. But I made a mistake with my first two, I named them so that they were very exclusive to other products. And I have so many new ideas. So this one will be called KBJDesign. That way, I can list anything I want to without feeling like I'm not staying true to my shop name. I will be carrying fabric covered button magnets, fabric covered button pushpins, fabric covered button earrings and swarovski earrings like the ones I posted pictures of below! I am super excited since I have four weeks until the new semester starts.



Other than that, I don't really have much else to say. My shops have been doing fairly well, but that's due to the upcoming holidays. :) The mail person must think I'm crazy and a shopaholic. I get about 3 packages a day in the mail...haha!





Sunday, December 6, 2009

One more week ...

I have been busy!!! School is coming to an end so I've been super busy studying for finals. I have been scrambling. And the past month or so, both of my shops, Bows for Baby and Pacify Me are doing really well!!! My Pacify Me store has really picked up, I'm super happy!! It's always nerve racking to open a new store up, you never know if it's going to take off or not.

Once school ends next week, I will a lot more time to devote to filling my stores with items! I have to pay for daycare so I might as well use the time and work. :) I'm actually super excited to start building inventory. I have a lot of ideas!!!

Below are some of the things I've been working on. I have been working on the flower clips and they seem to have a lot of interest. I also have headbands now as well. My Bows for Baby Bundle seems to be popular!!! I have also made some earrings, but am still deciding on if I want to list them. What do you think?






Tuesday, December 1, 2009

And the Winner Is...

Ashley Culbertson!!! Congrats!!! You have won the giveaway! Please check your email, I have sent you instructions on how to claim your prizes!!!

Blogger lil miss' mama said...

I like the Retro Flower Pacifier Clip!
email in profile.


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Pacify Me GIVEAWAY!!!

I am having my first GIVEAWAY for my Pacify Me store on Etsy!

Pacify Me carries the most fashionable pacifier clips! There is a wide variety of prints to choose from, definitely something for everyone! My pacifier clips are high quality, durable, fashion forward and can be used as more than just a pacifier clip! I also offer MAM (button) adapters as optional add-ons. You can also purchase a separate suspender clip to turn the clip into a bib clip! These clips are sure to grab attention in all the right ways.

So what am I giving away?
I am giving away THREE pacifier clips from my store, YOUR CHOICE! You read it right, the winner gets to choose any THREE clips from my store! And there's a bonus, you can choose an additional add-on for free! I will include either 1 MAM adapter OR 1 suspender clip.


So how do you enter?
Mandatory Entry

1. Head to my store www.pacifyme.etsy.com, and tell me which pacifier clip is your favorite!

Additional Entry (You must leave separate comments for each entry)

2. Become a FAN of Bows For Baby on Facebook. (My main store is Bows For Baby, but I have also incorporated Pacify Me into updates and pictures)
3. Follow my blog!
4. Blog about this giveaway! Make sure to leave the link of your blog post in your comment.
6. Tweet about this giveaway! Remember to leave me a link to your Tweet!
7. 10 entries if you buy something from either Pacify Me OR Bows For Baby!

**PLEASE LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR COMMENT ENTRY SO I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOUR NAME IS CHOSEN!**

Contest will end November 30, 2009

Below are just some EXAMPLES of the type of clips and prints I have! There are many more in my shop!







Wednesday, November 4, 2009

I'm having issues...


I've been wanting an SLR camera for a while. But now I've really started to look at and compare them. I take a lot of pictures. Between taking pictures for my stores, my daughter, get togethers and random scenery, my point and shoot is constantly going. I love taking pictures and then seeing them upload onto my laptop. I love getting great pictures of my daughter because she will carry them with her for the rest of her life. I know I either want a Nikon or Canon. The Nikon D3000 is a great camera, but so is the Canon Rebel XSI. DECISIONS! I've already talked to Eric about it, and he said I could get it as my Christmas present under one stipulation. I have to camping with him. Not my kind of camping (a 5 star hotel), but his kind of camping (out in the wilderness with no running water, toilets or electricity). So I've been hesitating on getting one. Now don't get me wrong, I love my husband. But he's crazy. He knew that I was not a camping kind of woman before we got married. And he was fine with that. So now, he's BLACKMAILING me. Turd. And I really, REALLY want one of these cameras. I mean, covet with all of my being. (I'm a sinner, I've already come to terms with this.) The no electricity, running water and no toilet doesn't deter me as much as the MOSQUITOES. Yes, you read it correctly. I am scared breathless of mosquitoes. Want to know why? Because I'm allergic to them. I can see you scoffing right now and saying, "She is so full of B.S. No one is allergic to mosquitoes!" But I tell you, I am. When most people get bit, they get some small swellage and it itches of a couple of days. Not me. When I get but, it swells to the size of a quarter, at minimum, and then itches for two weeks straight. I swear I am not being a drama queen. I am also allergic to bees, deer flies, horse flies, and anything that bites and leaves venom. I have been diagnosed. Eric had to take me to the ER the first summer we were here because I had a huge swellage on my thigh with the circumference of a football that was raised, hot, and itched like a BIATCH. The ER doctor took a look at it and gasped. Yes, gasped. Then he drew a circle around it and said that if it got any bigger, to come back IMMEDIATELY. So, I tell you, I am allergic to all things that bite. So is spending the night in the wild wilderness getting eaten alive worth a fabulous new camera? The jury is still out on this one. What I may do is tell Eric we will go look at the beautiful wilderness, but I am not camping. We can stay in a hotel and go day exploring. Or I may just pout and he will be a puddle at my feet. :)

But I think that I am going to get my dream camera. But which one? Nikon or Canon? Leave your thoughts. I have had the majority of my friends say Canon and I am almost in agreement with them. I have a Canon ELPH and love it. But Nikon seems to make a pretty decent SLR as well. So, HELP!



Tuesday, October 27, 2009

We've been busy!

I know I have been lacking on updating my blog for the past few months, but I have good reasons! I swear! First off, I've super busy with school. Lots and lots of homework. LOTS. And then I've had my craft shows on top of that. I have one down, one to go! Then add in finding a new daycare provider and potty training my two year old. YIKES.

The potty training started a week ago when I started my new daycare. First off, I love my new daycare place! A wonderful lady with an in-home daycare on Elmendorf AFB is watching my little angel. I actually found her onCraigslist and immediately thought that she would be a good fit for our family. She is licensed through the base so that was pro number 1. Then I went to meet her and instantly fell in love with her curriculum and set-up. She keeps her numbers low so she can devote more personal attention to each of the children. Right now she has Brooke, one other part timer and her own. Brooke started potty training the day she started there and it has been a journey! The FCC onElmendorf says that any child over the age of 2 1/2 has to be in underwear. I was little apprehensive because I had planned on working with Brooke when this semester ended. I wanted to wait till then because then I would be able to focus 100% on her and potty training and not have to worry about anything else, like school. But, the world doesn't always work that way so here we are. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised on how well Brooke is doing. It has been a week now and she is down to one or two accidents per day. And it's getting better everyday! When she's here at home with me she usually doesn't have any, and that's just because I can devote my attention on her potty training. When she's at daycare she waits until the last minute, and sometimes it's too late. This morning she only had one accident, and that was while she was pulling down her pants. I took her to the grocery store yesterday and she didn't soil her pull-up at all. Can I tell you how wonderful it is not to change poopy diapers anymore? I love it! But now we have all these pull-ups to use. And I think I'll use them when I take her out in public. She knows that she shouldn't pee in her pants and she has been doing very well not doing that when we go out in public, even if she has a pull-up on. We went to a Halloween party this past weekend and I had put a pull-up on her. The whole time we were there I would take her to potty, but nothing. But she stayed dry. And then when we got home three hours later she went on the potty! Amazing. I've been using some suggestions from fellow friends/moms. Some of them are working very well! My friend Megan told me that when she potty trained her daughter she bought her some underpants with different characters on them, and then told her to keep those characters dry or they would be sad. I tried that with Brooke and she told me that they would be "gwumpy" if they got wet. Well, apparently she had an accident at daycare and fell to pieces because she made the monkeys "gwumpy." I thought it was cute. And then there are my additions to this process. I'm very nervous about Brooke having accidents on the carpet in our house because they black light our carpets when we move out. If there are stains, we pay for the carpets, and that is not something I want to do. My friend Jenn laughed at me when I went out and bought puppy pads to keep the cloth/absorbent surfaces in my house safe. But come on! How genius is that! Set one under the child if they sit on the couch, and my personal favorite, in the car seat! Car seats don't come with several different covers and who wants to wash them every time there's an accident?! Anyways, I thought I was being smart, but I got laughed at. Oh well. You win some you lose some. So in conclusion, the potty training experience is going well, but my husband totally owes me when he gets home. :)

Brooke is thoroughly enjoying her new daycare. She loves Miss Dee and has already made a new friend. She loves the structure and I do too! She comes home daily telling me what she has learned and what she did at school that day. Brooke thrives off a schedule and I can see that this is going to be very good for her. Miss Dee has lesson plans for each week and themes that she works from. I feel confident leaving Brooke in her care everyday and Brooke adjusted perfectly! The first day there she all but pushed me out the door! There are so many learning tools and I love how learning is integrated into their day.
--------------------

I've opened up a new Etsy store. I have a new found passion for making pacifier clips and now I've opened up an Etsy shop that carries only pacifier clips. They are too cute for words and I am thoroughly enjoying buying different printed ribbon. Here are some examples of what I have made so far, but never fear! I have just ordered more printed ribbon!






Make sure you check out my shop and heart it to keep up with all of the new prints I am getting in! These are perfect shower gifts, stocking stuffers, "whatever" gifts, etc. I have also priced them low enough so you can splurge and get more than one! But don't let the affordable price fool you, they are very well made and durable! They can also be turned into toy clips or bib clips! Make sure to pass the word on!


Monday, October 19, 2009

New ETSY Shop!

Just wanted to announce that...

I've opened up a new ETSY shop!

Pacify Me

This shop will carry pacifier clips. I love making them and I think they are so much cuter than the ones you can find at the store. They are made out of high quality grosgrain in a variety of different prints. They measure approximately 9-10 inches long, have a suspender clip at one end and a snap closure at the other. I also offer the MAM (button) adapters so you can use it with the button nuks!

I just ordered a whole bunch of adorable 7/8 ribbon in different prints. I only have a few listings right now, but I will be listing more over the next few days. Check back often for new prints and offers! If you have an Etsy store, make sure to heart me!!!

Thanks so much!!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

A Post!

Well, I'm back. Kind of. I have another craft show in three and a half weeks and I need to restock.

I had a craft show last weekend. It went well enough. The morning was the worst morning I have had in a long time. Our babysitter was over an hour late. When I called her the night before, I let her know that it was PERTINENT that she be there at the specified time since Jenn and I had to get to our booth to set up. The next morning, no show. Didn't answer the phone either. So Jenn and I loaded up our kids and brought them to the fair while we set up our booth. An hour later the sitter calls. She says her alarm didn't go off. When Jenn and I had finished, I drove the girls back to my house and dropped them off. I went back, and no sooner did I set down at my booth did a lady knock down one of my displays resulting in spilled coffee over the rest of my inventory. RUINED. All of my beanies, ruined. In lieu of all the drama, I made out okay. I now know what to restock for my next show, so I have to get busy.

One of the items that sold really well were pacifier clips. I have finally got the art down and I think they turn out really cute. :) I ordered MAM (button) adapters. Those things are expensive! But, they are super cute, don't you think?






I had a busy week in school last week. I had three tests and a paper that was due. I did well on two of my tests (haven't gotten the third one back yet). I don't know how I did on my paper, we get that back tomorrow. Coming up I have two papers to write and a research paper to start. I also have some custom orders to get done, and I got another order off Art Fire this morning and need to make the second half of the order. I think I'll do that this afternoon while my daughter is at daycare.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

MIA for a little longer...

Sorry I have been so MIA, but I've had three test and a paper due this week AND a craft show coming up, two in fact. So I have been busy with my daughter, school, and feverishly creating inventory. When all of the hubbub dies down, I will post. I promise!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Brooke Needs Your Help!!!

Hey guys! I've entered Brooke into the Gap Casting Call and she needs your vote! Please, PLEASE vote for her and please pass the word on! You can vote for her once a day, so make sure to go back everyday to vote!!!

Thank you so much!

Click here to vote


Friday, September 18, 2009

2 Year Olds Have No Tact

I was walking in Target with Brooke and as we walk past the lingerie section, my daughter points at the bras and yells at the top of her lungs, "BOOBIES!" Everyone in the store turned at looked at me while my daughter continued to chant, "Boobies! Boobies! Boobies!"

Friday, September 11, 2009

Can I get a STRESSED OUT?!

Sheesh. I am STRESSED. I mean, not the "Oh crap I'm a little stressed", this is the "I have a math test on Monday, a five page paper due on Tuesday, an article to read before Tuesday, I have a two year old who is testing mommy's patience and two craft shows to make enough inventory for in the next three weeks" stressed. I think I'm going gray. Can Asians get gray hair? I don't even know.

I knew this semester was going to be a pain in the butt. I knew it as I was signing up for my classes. Did I listen to the inner voice that was screaming, "What the HELL do you think you're doing?!" Nope. Apparently I turned my selective hearing on and responded, "It won't be too bad." Wrong. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

On the bright side? Eric will be home in (hopefully) FIVE months. :)

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Toddler Speak

I'm sitting here listening to my 2 year old...and it's so entertaining to listen to her talk. She's in her playroom playing with her kitchen and I hear her drop something. Next thing I hear? "Oh gosh. Oh man...." Apparently she's been listening to mommy's words when mommy makes a booboo. Ha. And the "oh man". You can thank Dora.

And something else that I feel I need to share. There's nothing creepier than a two year old chasing after you telling you that she's "gonna getchyou!" I feel like I'm in a toddler horror movie. It's not the words that creep me out, it's the way she says it and the tone of voice. Yikes.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Words you can't take back

Eric and I when we eloped. Yes, I thought I was super cool with my sunglasses on. I was a naive 22 year old. Leave me alone. (But look at how young Eric looks!)


Our vow before God, family and friends. Forever.


I'm sitting here watching MTV's True Life. I'm on my second one tonight and both have the same theme. Marriage. If you know me, you know that I'm a very over analytical person and that I look at things from all sides of the spectrum. These shows are making my brain hurt.

The first one was called "I'm Eloping." Well, if you know Eric and I, then you know that we got married after three and a half months of dating. Yes, three and a half months. Not three and a half years, MONTHS. We got engaged two and a half months. And we've been married for over four years now. Many thought we were crazy, our parents thought I had gotten pregnant, and our friends thought we were rushing into things way too fast. We didn't. Eric had just enlisted in the Army for active duty and he moved to Louisiana a month after we started dating. Before he left we threw the idea of marriage around, but we didn't really talk about until he had moved down there and we were missing each other like crazy. He even tried to break up with me once. If you know me, then you know that I didn't allow it. It was influenced by two of his buddies that had very disfunctional relationships and thought that women were the spawn of the devil. They convinced Eric that I was back in Minnesota running around and sleeping with every guy I met. HA. I was proposed to in a Days Inn in Leesville, Louisiana. Romantic. The sad thing was, I was scared of telling my dad that we had gotten engaged. Do you know what his response was? "I'm happy for you, but you know that the key to a lasting relationship is a long engagement." Crap. I was flying down to Louisiana in four weeks to elope. Crap. Crap. Crap. I felt like such a horrible daughter. It took me a week to work up the nerve to tell him. And he took it surprisingly well. He was sad that he wasn't there for the actual day, but he got to walk me down the aisle a year later when Eric and I had our Blessed Ceremony. It wasn't the wedding of my dreams, but I got to marry an amazing guy who gave me the most precious gift I could have asked for, our daughter. Sure we have our ups and downs, but I have to say that I think we have a very stable relationship. We squabble, but we never do it in front of Brooke and we always try our hardest to work it out. Brooke doesn't need to hear mommy and daddy fighting, it's not good for her psyche and I don't think that she needs to be surrounded my negative energy.

So that brings me to the second True Life, "I'm Getting Divorced." I feel like the "D" word gets flung around way too much. Couples fling it around in the heat of the moment, but to me, those words are very serious. I told Eric when we got married that if he every told me he wanted a divorce, there was no taking it back. To me, we made vows. We made vows before God. We made vows to our family. We made vows to each other. Those vows are very serious promises. And the word "divorce" is a very serious word. To me at least. I know some of you may be thinking that I may seem a little ridiculous, but I have seen so many couple fling that word around like it has no meaning. One minute they're happy, the next one of them says they want a divorce, then they make up, then the other gets mad and says that THEY want a divorce. Nuh-uh. The word is being used way to casually for my taste.

Even though Eric and I got married so quick, we just knew. We each knew that the other was the right one. We knew that the other was going to be there for the rest of our lives. We knew that we would fight, but we knew that we would love. We knew that we'd raise a family and support each other no matter what each other did. We knew that our love was forever and there was not going back.

So what's the point in this post? It's this. Marriage is a promise to one another. People need to start being more aware of the words they throw at one another. They need to stop taking the "D" word so casually. Especially if you have children. What do you think your children are going through? Do you not think that they are being affected by all this? One of their parents is constantly in and out of their lives. They feel the negative energy radiating from both of their parents. It affects them more than you realize. So please, when you're feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath and count to ten. Think about what you're going to say before you say something that may change the course of your life forever.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

My child saved me $50 today

We need a chest deep freezer. The side x side fridge/freezer has practically no freezer so I need to get a deep freeze because I buy my meat in bulk. Anyways, I found one at Sears but I didn't feel like driving out Sears to get it, plus it was $75 to get it delivered. So I called Best Buy and they said they would match the price and delivery was only $30. So out Brooke and I went! I found the person who was working in appliances and it turned out that the model Sears had and the one Best Buy had were not the same brand. So the girl calls her manager. And the manager said to price match it anyways. His words, "Don't make her drive out to Sears." Score. But it gets better. While I'm talking to the sales girl, Brooke is turning on the charm with the manager and he was impressed that Brooke knew how to "pound it" (fist bump). So then I though, "Well if he thinks THAT is cute..." and I held up my fingers and asked Brooke what they were. "Phalanges." The manager was so impressed he told the sales associate to take off another $25 (making it a $50 savings) because Brooke was so cute.

See, they earn their keep. :)

Friday, August 28, 2009

Morning Adorableness...

When I went to retrieve Brooke from her bed this morning:

Brooke: "Hi Mommy!"
Me: "Hi baby!"
B: "I sweep good. I wost my piddow and wuvey."
M: (Picking them off the floor) "Here you go baby."
B: "Thanks mommy."
(Brooke then starts staring me down while counting and naming parts of my body)
B: "Two gwasses, two eyes, one mouth, one nose, two cheek, neck, head, arm..."
(I hold up my fingers and waggle them)
M: "What are these?"
B: "PHALANGES!!!!"

(Oh, and I totally taught her the fist bump :) Ha!)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Two days down...

A whole semester to go. I am reprimanding myself now that the semester has begun. Why oh why did I enroll in such boring mundane classes? History, Logic, Math, and Writing in the Natural Sciences. I am going to be one busy girl this semester. I will be writing, reading, writing, writing, reading and writing some more. Oh, with a few algebraic expressions thrown in there. I may have to sign up for some super Saturdays or Friday respite hours in order to study adequately. Hopefully I can sign up for more interesting classes next semester. On a positive note, my Intro to Logic teacher is entertaining. He is retired Army and wears his Army Strong pin very proudly. He has an odd obsession with youtube.com but keeps my attention which is a good thing. My history teacher is a little over enthusiastic about history, so I hope I catch his bug. He said he's not going to be lecturing from the book much, so this means not only do I need to know what's in the book, but I need to know his lectures as well. Gulp. My Monday math class was pretty interesting. I somehow chose a seat near a very gassy and smelly classmate. Every few minutes I would get a wiff of something completely rotten and foul. I think I'm going to try and get to class a few minutes earlier so I can find a seat on the opposite side of the room. I don't know if I can take a chance for another class period. The upside about Monday and Wednesday classes is that I have an hour and forty-five minutes between my two classes to get homework done. The downside is that my first class is at 8 A.M. which means I need to be up by 6:30 and out the door by 7:45. Do you know how hard that is with a two year old? I usually just grab Brooke out of bed, throw her in some clothes and toss her in the car still half asleep. Poor kid has gotten used to sleeping into 9:30. She gave me a look the other morning that read, "Really Mom? Really?" Poor Brooke.

I hope I have enough time to get enough stuff done for the upcoming craft shows. I know I talk about these shows a lot, but I did very well at the one last year so I'm really forward to seeing what will happen this year.

Alright, I should go. And study. Boo.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Sunny Morning

Brooke and I had a wonderful morning. We woke up around 8:30 or so and had a delicious breakfast of over medium eggs and sausage. Then Brooke got to watch one of her shows while I got ready for the day. After that we went to the park but were there for a very short time since she decided to poop her pants. Oh Brooke. So we walked home, I changed her then she rode around the neighborhood on her super spiffy bike. She's getting a lot better at steering her bike where she wants it to go. Sometimes she has issues and has to redirect her bike the hard way, but for the most part she's getting down steering in the direction she wants to go.

A while back I was contacted by a fellow Etsian who stumbled upon my blog. She told me that she makes baby, toddler, and childrens boutique clothing. She commented on my daughter and thought she would be a cute model for one of her outfits. I thought this was a wonderful idea. Before our move, I got her cute little outfit in the mail. Since we finally got our internet hooked up, I was able to take pictures of Brooke in the outfit and it turned out super adorable. Renee owns CandyStickLane on Etsy and carries a whole bunch of adorable outfits for little girls and boys. The outfit that Renee sent me was the Layer Cake Skirt and Matching Tee. Be sure to check out her super adorable shop!

Here is Brooke modeling the outfit with a hair bow I made to match.






It is super sunny out today, so the sun was in her eyes, hence the super squinty asian eyes. :) But even squinty, she's super adorable! Thanks again Renee!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Yikes!

Sorry for not updating lately. The past 4 weeks have been busy and then the past two weeks I have been without internet.

Basically, my husband came home from R & R, then the last three days he was home we got a call from housing here on Fort Rich telling us they had a brand new house for us if we wanted to move on post. Did we hesitate? Nope. We moved our whole entire house, sans a moving van, in THREE DAYS. Not kidding you. My good friend Jenn was nice enough to lend us her Suburban and that's what we used to move the majority of our house. Eric and I packed one night, then the next day we started moving boxes. When we ran out of boxes that were prepacked, Eric took up packing the rest of the house while I was at the new house unpacking boxes as they came in. It was an experience I never want to experience again. But, I am all moved in and there are only a couple boxes left that need to be unpacked.

The funny thing about this house is that we got GREEN carpet. Yes, green. Not a pretty sagey green, like a forest green. And what color is our couch? Red. Yup, it's Christmas in here 24/7. HA.

I have to get ready for a craft show. I have two in the upcoming months, and they're 2 weeks apart. So I have to build enough inventory to carry me through two shows. So that means I have to craft along with starting my fall semester and taking care of my 2 year old daughter. I wish I could multiply. Like in the movie Multiplicity? Or I wish I was like Cinderella, all my forest friends that come out of the woodwork to get work done! Ha.

Alright, it's late, and all I wanted to do was to let everyone know that I am still alive!!! I will be sure to update more later. :)

Thanks to my new followers! I promise you will be highly entertained by this blog. :)

Monday, August 3, 2009

We're moving!!! Very last minute, but we got a brand new house on post!!!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Busy bee!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm nearing the end of my summer session so I've been super busy studying and getting all my of homework done. On top of that, I'm getting ready for my husband to come home for R & R. It just seems like I have so much to do, with so little time. My in-laws are coming as well, so I REALLY have a lot to do. Anyone have any worker mice they can lend me?

I've been trying to write this doggone paper for my English class and it's boring me to tears. It's a 6-8 page research paper and I am completely uninspired. I wish I could just snap my fingers and it would be written for me.

I don't know how much I'll be updating within the next couple of weeks. I want to spend as much time with Eric and the family as possible, so I'll make sure to do one huge update once he leaves. ::tears::

Thanks for your understanding!

Friday, July 10, 2009

Photo Op!

A swollen eye doesn't make me any less adorable!

I still cheese with the best of them!

I like playing games with mom when I get out of the bath!

I'm a monkey mom, I can do this!


Just watch, you'll see.


See, I told you! Have a little faith. :)What do you mean what am I doing?


Just, "hanging" out!

Apparently wearing the one shoe makes the shapes a lot easier...


Wednesday, July 8, 2009

It is HOT TAMALES!!!

Anchorage has been reaching record highs the past few days, and to tell you the truth, I'm over it. I don't think it would so bad if we had air conditioning in the housing, but seeing as we do not, I'm ready for cooler weather. Apparently the weather here is being talked about in the lower 48. The meteorologists are baffled as to why we're getting such warm weather. Phew. I lived in humid Louisiana for three years and was super excited when I moved here, because I knew that hot summers were in the past! Or not. My friend Jenn came back yesterday from Ohio and was happy to be coming back to cooler weather. Or not. It's supposed to start cooling down here in the next week or so, keep your fingers crossed!

School is...well, school. I like my English class because we never stay for the full time. The other day we were there for fifteen minutes, we're supposed to be in class for a full two hours. My math class on the other hand runs for the full two hours. I am overloaded with algebraic formulas by the time I leave, I leave with a headache. There's only a couple more weeks of class left, and then it's some good ol' down time. No school, no homework, just chillaxin time. :)

The parents-in-laws are coming up here on the 25th. They'll be here for about days, so that means I need to clean. I hate cleaning on my own. Eric usually does it, so I'm really dreading this. I mean, the house isn't too bad, I just need to declutter and organize my craft room (where they'll be sleeping), clean the bathrooms, Brooke's room and tidy up the living room. HEADACHE FORMING.

My kid is starting to chunk out a bit. I hope it's because she's about to hit a growth sport and not because she's eating too much. I know I don't overfeed her. Speaking of my child, she is fearless! And it shows. Literally. She has bruises and owwies up and down her legs because she's either constantly running into things, climbing up things or just plain being destructive. She tripped over her own feet in the Toys R' Us parking lot (thanks mom for those genes) and now has a huge scrap on her knee. It's a good thing I'm over prepared and had a first aid kit in my diaper bag. :) She also got a bug bite on her right eyelid, so her right eye is partially swollen shut (thanks again mom for the genes that make me extra sensitive to bug bites).

Alright. I should get going. I have a long night of DVR ahead of me!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Happy Fourth!

Not a whole lot to update on. This is a long weekend for Brooke and I. Classes were canceled for the holiday weekend, so we have Wednesday through Sunday off to spend together! I am already pulling my hair out. Brooke has started a new phase. Her stubborn/no phase. Let me share with you how pleasant it is. Brooke has been saying no and knowing what the meaning is for quite some time now. But up until recently, it was used sparingly. Up until recently. I would say in the past week or so, this child has gotten so bull-headed stubborn I am ready to pack her in a fedex box and overnight her to her grandparents. (Don't worry, I'd give her enough water and snacks to tide her over for the trip.)(And for those who don't have a sense of humor or understand sarcasm, I'm kidding.) Her latest thing is not wanting to eat. Now, if you know my kid, you know that she loves food. She loves ALL food. I can't even bribe her with a cheeto now days. I ask her if she wants to eat, and the response back is a sassy little "No!" with attitude. At first I would just pick her up and strap her down, while fighting the brutal strength of a two year old. And two year olds are feisty! She would sit there for the next ten minutes screaming her lungs out while I completely ignored her. After a while she opened her eyes long enough to see me eating and realize, "Oh, okay. Maybe I will eat." Today I tried a new approach. I told her that her meal was ready, got the same sassy response back and left it at that. I took both of our meals to the table, set hers down in her spot, sat down in my spot and started to eat. A couple minutes later guess who saunters up to her seat saying, "My eat! Mommy, my eat." Yup, my divalicious two year old. I think I'll start using this method from now on. If her food gets told, her fault. Hopefully this will last as long as the hair pulling did, about a month. Brooke tends to go through phases really fast so I hope this is one of them.




These are some pictures of little miss divapants. It's very rare these days to get a genuine smile, but she was in a hammy mood that day, so I got some pretty cute shots. It's hard to stay mad at a face like this.

I'm starting to gear up for craft shows. There are two big ones coming up that I'm sure I'll do well at. The first one is the Elmendorf Arctic Bazaar. It's held on Elmendorf Air Force Base and it always draws a large crowd. I think I'm going to change my products up a but this year. Last year I mainly had bows and a few beanies. This year I'm going to focus on the smaller pinwheel bows, simple clips, bug bows, small korkers, hand crochet beanies, hand crochet hats, hand crochet booties and pacifier clips. With the crochet items, I should bring in more money, because they cost more. But they won't bee too expensive where people will be put off on buying them. Beanies are so popular right now, so I think they'll be ok. I plan on having some of the nylon headbands as well, I think they look cuter than the stretch lace or the mass produced crochet headbands. The second one is the Fort Richardson Craft Bazaar. That one is held in November, so I have about a month to replenish my stock. People say that the Elmendorf show draws more of a crowd. I thought I did pretty well at the Richardson one last year, so to have two huge shows consecutive months will be great.

Eric comes home soon for R & R. I'm so excited. His parents are coming up for a few days to see him, so it will be nice to have a babysitter here so we can go out a couple of times and spend some one on one time together. I miss him so much. I'm worried about him right now. The soldier that was captured is in the same area where Eric is based out of, so I have this feeling that Eric's platoon was called up to help find this guy. So please keep him and his brothers in your thoughts. They need all the positive thoughts right now.

I'm heading to bed. I don't know what we're doing for the fourth tomorrow, so we'll see what the day brings! Night!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Want to see another side of me?

Check out my new blog where sarcasm and snarkey thoughts are divulged. :)

www.aimlessrealizations.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I'm dreaming about algebraic expressions

I am so inundated with math that I'm dreaming about numbers and solving algebraic expressions. Someone save me! I have only been in this class for three days, but it comes to a total of six hours. Wow. I have math class tomorrow, but no English.

I have no idea what Brooke and I are going to do for 4th of July. It doesn't get dark until after midnight, so fireworks are out of the question. It's not like she'll know it's a holiday, but oh well. Maybe we can do something fun next year when she's more aware and daddy's home.

I snapped these pictures of her the other day. I think they turned out super cute. When Brooke gets out of the tub, sometimes I braid her hair. I love to unbraid it the next morning because it's all wavy, totally 80's style. :)

The, "Mommy, I'm not listening to you" face.

Showing me her shapes that she put in her doll's pillowcase by dumping them all over the floor so mommy can step on them later.


She may look innocent...but mommy's not fooled.


This is the result of me saying, "Brooke! Smile!" Do you think she could look any more Korean?


And this is the exaggerated smile...She can't even see.

I ordered some embellishments to make into clippies, and I think they turned out super cute. Now I just wish someone would buy them! Otherwise, I'm stuck with a gagillion of them.



I took the picture above to show how CUTE they look in. :)

I'm off to do some more number crunching. Yay. My life is so exciting.