She Amazes Me

I think it was just yesterday she was my amazing little first baby, right? It was yesterday wasn't it? Lest I forget all we have been through up to her 4th year... It has been a LOT.

Lately, she is maturing so much. Lately she is a little less silly, a little more focused, a lot more remorseful when she behaves badly.

She is helpful, she is sweet, she WANTS to be good, she's learning to be honest.

And tonight. Tonight she showed compassion of the highest form. Her little friend from preschool had a minor operation. We stopped by to give her a balloon today and her mom invited us in for a while. A nice little visit. I think it really affected Ella. To see her little friend with a bandage on her foot, not ready to put the pressure on it yet to walk.

Tonight she prayed for her little friend, without me prompting her to. I don't recall her ever praying for healing for someone else. It was obviously out of compassion. And then we had some great talks, about the bandage, about how they make it so it doesn't hurt when you have surgery, the different types of anesthetic, about kids who can get really sick and sometimes lose their hair, and how they are very brave and if you see them you should remember how brave they are, and that you should love everyone no matter what they look like and somehow we came around to saying NO really loudly if strangers try to touch or hurt us. To the last discussion she said "Mo-om, EVERYONE knows THAT!" Well, good, then I hope she's got that one committed to memory!

Anyway, what an amazing little girl God has put in our lives. A precious soul to take good care of.

Remind me to read this post the next time she has a full on tantrum...

Check out These CUTE Tags!

While sifting through all of the giveaways at Shannon's Bloggy Giveaway Carnival, I came across one giveaway that I thought was so cute. Then I found out that the blogger has a store where she sells all kinds of this item! What is it you ask? These really cute Ribbonlicious Bag Tags.

I am ready to get two for Ella. One for her school backpack and one for her dance bag! Check out the shop Li Tian Designs, and check out her blog My Glamorous Life.

I love finding little gems like these and hope you enjoy them too!

Hanging Hearts Valentine Swap (back to important stuff)

On Saturday I received a very fun package from my Hanging Hearts Valentine Swap partner Paula. Look at this sweet, gorgeous felted wool pillow hanging heart. I just love it. I really love the color combos and the beautiful hand stitching.



She also sent a couple of packets of pink, yes PINK (as in the color) hot chocolate and a cute fat quarter.



Here is the lovingly made hanging heart that I sent to her.

POW Mailbox Down Again! (Now with Pics)

For the second time, someone has plowed over our mailbox. The first time we assume it was probably a snowplow. This time we suspected it was a drunk driver as the speed limit sign just after our mailbox was plowed all the way down and clear track marks are in the snow and mud.

This morning I found a accident report in our front door behind the storm door. So at least we were right that it was a car accident and not a snowplow.

I have called the officer as instructed on the report, but he wasn't in. I hope at least this time we get a little compensation to replace our mailbox...

Edited to add pics:

The whole shebang:


The mailbox tragedy:


The speed limit sign in the distance (it's laying down):

Bloggy Giveaway

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED NOW. I didn't set a deadline, so I will allow any comments up until this point. Will be drawing a name soon! Stay tuned.

It's that time again! Shannon is once again sponsoring her bloggy giveaway carnival!

And here is what I'm giving away. Sorry, no tote this time. But I do have 2 of my Little Booklets, as seen in my Etsy shop.

Here are the two that are up for my drawing. One person will receive both!





Just leave a comment on my blog and make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you should win.

Good luck to all, I hope YOU win!

Time to Hibernate

At Miles' playgroup today, everyone was yawning. I KNOW I'm tired. I have other reasons to be tired, but I really think this weather isn't helping. Not just the cold, but some of these very gray and dreary days... not so good for my soul.

It is time to put the kids down for nap/rest. I am ready to nap too. But first...

Received some nice mail this week... My order for the classroom Valentine tag cards for Ella, a formal Thank-you from my holiday swap partner, an invite to a baby shower and something else that escapes me. One of the biggest bummers for me after December is the lack of fun and exciting mail, so all of these little pieces mean a ton to me!

Now that we have a better idea of colors for the 1st floor, the wheels are turning in my decorating brain (look closely, it's there just a little small). I found some botanical prints from Ballard Designs in black and white that I think would look sharp on a reddish wall, on either side of our dining room breakfront. I finally came to terms with the fact that our current mass produced art print looks out of place and unbalanced on one side of the breakfront. I think it will make a move to the hall to take over for the minuscule Kohls store print that vaguely looks like a replicate of a Thomas Kinkade.

I really like the Damask borders.




I also think it will be nice to have a similar pair to create some order and symmetry in the room. Any opinions?

Updates

I was kindof going back through old entries here an realized I may have left some matters hanging...

- We received Miles' beautiful chest of drawers. It is gorgeous and I want to hug it every time I go in his room.
- Ella is finished with her antibiotic she had for a UTI. I took her in today for another urine test to make sure the infection is gone.
- My UTI seems to be gone, but I still have several days left of antibiotic (which means an increase of forgetfulness to add to my pregnancy/didn't sleep much for a few years while my two babies were infants/still can't sleep soundly or much -induced forgetfulness, which is coupled with my "really I used to be a research scientist, but I only use a fraction of my brain now compared to then" loss in neuron connections).
- I don't think I mentioned it, but I had a color specialist come in this week to help with paint colors. She chose the same general colors I was going for, but I'm hoping the exact shades she's narrowed it down to is worth her fee. She's worked with several of my friends who have had excellent results, so I think I should try to trust her. I just have to keep thinking she's saving us a bundle in trying out a dozen different shades before getting the right one. I think I learned a wee bit from her. I HOPE HOPE HOPE we get the family room painted soon. :-)
- I LOVE the Spanish classes my kids go to. Well I just go to Miles' class, Ella goes to hers alone. I love learning a language through immersion (be it 1:30 a week). I learned French in school. 7 years to be exact and I can't speak it worth a darn. I could read and write it, but it seems so much more to speak it. Maybe someday I will be able to speak it. I remember my Junior year in HS the teacher believed in immersion and ONLY spoke French in class. I didn't understand most of what she was saying and I couldn't ask questions for fear I'd say it all wrong. I had taken French since 7th grade! I opted out of French Senior year, but took a couple of years of it in college and it was easy (they make you start from French 1, no matter how much you've had in the past). Funny how my focus has gone from MATH and SCIENCE and TECHNICAL WRITING while I was working to art, music and languages. Can one go to such extremes in one lifetime?
- I try to spend time with Ella on a girls devotional book we bought her and she loves it. In the past I've taught her reading, writing, math, science, but this is about God and morals. She loves the together time and can't wait to do it with me. :-)
- I am worried about Miles' speech development again. He is over 2 1/2 and I'd say a stranger can maybe understand about 60% of what he says, if that. I want to move forward to have him re-evaluated and go forward with any therapy needed.
- Potty training hasn't progressed a whole lot. The best news is that one night Miles said he had to go potty (when he typically says that to put off going to bed) and he marched to the bathroom, sat down and peed. Not much since then.
- I've not said anything about this here, but I have become involved in a ministry. I felt a calling to it and I'd love to share the story, but some of it is someone else's (in my life) personal information. To keep this as vague as possible I'm working with a organization that helps teen moms get on their feet and provide for themselves and their child. One book that got me here is "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom. From that book I learned to open my eyes to see God's plan for my life. Then the plan was pretty clear pretty fast. And He put everything in my path. I am now reading, along with other mentors the book "Becoming a Woman of Influence: Making a Lasting Impact on Others" by Carol Kent. I have seen myself as a mentor at work, even as a baton and dance teacher. I've told many a pre-teenager not to get overly concerned with boys in HS, but to focus on school and other fun activities. Because they'd benefit from that their whole lives, but boys most likely will not be there. I really think many of them listened to me. I have tried to build self-esteem in them. But this situation leaves me a bit nervous. I'm trying to leave it up to God and so far He seems to have it under control.
- The dance class I teach is going GREAT. The girls are fantastic and picking up their recital routine well. It doesn't hurt that they love the music and the steps. I just love them all!
- Our swing dance class is also going well. A great group of people. We are getting nervous about running out of new moves to teach them.
- Haven't felt much like sewing lately which means I'm still tired from being sick. Hope to start up on Ella's boutique outfit soon.

BLESSINGS TO ALL (especially if you read all of that)!

LOVE this BLOG/LADY

I have now found 3 blogs I love from Today's Creative Blog. Today I present the 3rd blog. It is mainly a decorating blog and the writer is so funny and sassy and great to read. She also has some amazing ideas and her own Etsy shop where she sells her cute decorative tassels.

"Nester" can be found at Nesting Place.

She hasn't been blogging long, so it's pretty easy to get all caught up.

Enjoy!

FRAMED!

My print, that is...



Finally my first (first purchased) print from AshleyG is framed. I think I saved my favorite for last because I wanted to wait for a custom framing sale so I could go "all out." As usual, the result is always shocking to me and not what I expected. I'm not sure why, I picked everything out. I think it has to sit and grow on me. I also think it won't work in this room. I'm hoping it will look more at home in our powder room once we've painted the walls brown.

Here's another print of hers I had framed earlier. Well, they just did the mattes and I used a pre-made frame. And by the way, that one finally grew on me.



I have another of hers, but don't think I've taken a photo of that. I really "cheated" on that one. It fit into an 8x10 opening so I used a ready made frame with a 8x10 matte opening. It is in my son's room and not in such a good location. It also has a dark matte and his walls are too close in color to the matte and frame. Bummer. Here is a pic of that print from her store...

Swap

I am participating in this swap! I love the button, so I decided to put it in a post, even though it is currently on my side bar.


As I mentioned before, my hanging heart is complete. It is now wrapped, in an envelope and ready for postage. I plan to send it out tomorrow. I hope Paula likes it!!! She contributes to 3 blogs, so the link is to her profile.

Valentine's Day Outfit Size 18-24 mo

Looking for a cute Valentine's outfit for your little girl?



This one is available through me on Ebay.

Recovering

The last several days have been doozies. I am recovering (I hope) from a couple of infections.

I did complete a project recently, but it is for a Valentine's swap and don't want to post pics until my partner receives it.

So I will leave you with a recent purchase from my good friend Crystal at Little Bit Funky.



Crystal was great enough to put this custom order together for me. They are tag cards for Ella's preschool Valentine's Day card exchange. I will attach a lollipop or other goody to each card. Do you need some too? Or just one card for your sweetie? Take a visit to her shop!

Cute Little Outfit

I bought two patterns from Aimee of SewSensible. She sells them on Ebay and you can find out where to find them through her blog. Here is my result using the dress top and boutique pants patterns. This cute little set is for Madeline of the previous post. It is a size 9 months so she will hopefully fit into it when the weather is warm!


In progress


Done! (minus the elastic which I will have her mom measure her for later)


Close-up of darling ruffle.

New Baby!

No, she's not mine. She's Madeline, new daughter of our friends Dan and Jen. But I like this photo because I love infants and miss that stage with my own kids. And as much as I'd like another, I don't see that happening. I have already planned to sew Madeline clothes... Even though she only cried when I held her. :-)

Organized

At least more so than before. Inspired by a post from fellow blogger Junie Moon, I decided to post a couple of pics of my recent organization contraption purchases.

First we have what is actually supposed to be a scrapbooking organizer. The 12 x 12 drawers with lids are meant to store paper. This actually works well for the kids' crafts and workbooks. By having so many drawers we can really separate items into specialties. Plus having the locking hinged lids makes it less tempting for the kids to just reach in and pull things out willy nilly. Now they have to pull the whole drawer out to open the lid. Keeps things much neater.



Next is the cool craft organizer I've been drooling over but was a bit pricey. Well it went on a good sale in early January (it is sold out now) and I jumped on the opportunity. Isn't it pretty!? It will give me more storage, but isn't it pretty?!

My Big News!

Robin Lynne was so kind to choose my Etsy shop to feature in her blog "Etsy of the Week." Click on the button below which is a link to the blog. Needless to say, I was so excited to get her note asking if she could feature me. She has been a pleasure to work with putting this article together.

You can also visit Robin Lynne's Etsy shop where she sells cute jewelry and hair accessories.

Still here

Wish I had something interesting to post. I have been having quite a week with a very sick Ella and trying to work on potty training with Miles. Good happenings are:

• The local park district (where I teach) found a dance class Ella can join midway through to be in the recital! (A girl dropped out and they had an extra costume - hope it's big enough!)
  
• I received my Pottery Barn hanging craft organizer and hung it by myself. (I've been eying it for a while and it was on sale).
• I received my shoes and bags from the Coldwater Creek 70% sale.
• Jason and I will be teaching swing dancing at the park district after a couple of sessions that we did not have enough students for the class to run.
• Lots of other random good stuff for our family and for friends.
• And stay posted, I may have some exciting news regarding something great for me and my store this weekend!
  

Hope you are having a good week and hopefully I' ll have fun pictures soon. Please keep Ella in your prayers, it has been rough.

The Room Swap

Earlier I posted about how we decided to swap the furniture in the living room and dining room. Well the switch is almost complete. We still need to hire an electrician to put a light socket in the new dining room and move the chandelier over. We also need to find an overhead light for the new "parlor." Another minor task we want to do is switch a clock and a plate rack. We have some other changes in mind, but they had nothing to do with the swap.

To give an idea of how the rooms looked before, here are a few photos...

Dining Room:

Living Room:

And here are the "after" photos...

*New* Dining Room:

*New* Parlor:

We just love the change. Space-wise it just make so much more sense. It looks better and we already use both rooms more often. I am very excited that during holiday meals with extended family people won't feel like they are in a can of sardines in our dining room.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of our Room Swap!

New Addition to Blog

I recently noticed that an element that I enjoy on other blogs is a list of the topics of various posts made by the blogger. If you saw something in the past and want to find it again or want to look up all posts on a particular subject, it is so easy just to look on the list and click on the topic to see all that was written on that topic.

Some posts, like this will not have a label because I don't see it of that much interest to go back to. Other ramblings and rantings will probably not be labeled either unless they also contain something else of interest.

It took a while to go back and label all the posts, but I did it. There may be some mistakes, so bear with me and let me know if you find any.

You will find my "Topics" list in the right hand column and hope it comes in handy for you. I'm sure it will come in handy for me!

My First Self Designed Handbag! A Pink Evening Bag...

OK, I know this doesn't look like rocket science, but I did design this myself. I finished it in half a day last week. I think I'll list it in my Etsy store.

Great Blog Find Alert

If you haven't seen hers already, you have to visit Lisa Tutman-Oglesby at Celebrate CREATIVITY in all its forms. She is so amazingly talented in sewing, paper crafts and many other crafts as well. She has a real attention to detail and the treat is that she shares all the details with you. Such a joy to read and a bit intimidating, yet very inspirational. If you haven't already, take a look at her blog.

Mom, look at her latest quilt!

Cute Project/Present

I saw this crayon holder at Skip to my Lou and just HAD to make it. A friend who's little girl is turning 3 this weekend will be the recipient. I will have to get a few coloring books to go along with it.

The actual tutorial is here. She has plenty of other great projects to try as well.

Diaper Bag Gift

Here it is...







The new mommy friend has received it in the mail and, coincidentally, we will be seeing the family this weekend. I really had no idea when we'd see them, so I sent it through the mail just in case...

Almost forgot, want to give credit where credit is due!! This patter is from Craft Apple.