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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Flashback

I was going through old picasa albums and stumbled upon some really great gems.  Don't you love it when that happens?  They've been on the blog at some point before, but it's been a long, long time.  They deserve more than that.  Why?  Because they are some of my very favorites, that's why.

Like these sweet little girls...


We were at the zoo.  I love how they couldn't leave the stroller without their sippy cups and dolls.  Too, too cute!  And do you see they're necklaces?  Those were part of their princess dress up clothes that they wore all.the.time.


And this would be their first dance class with Aunt Kellee when they were 3 years old.  I love that you can see Casey's red nails.  Don't they look do stoic? 


I really just need to blow this one up and frame it, I love it so!  It makes me laugh!  Doesn't Chandler's hair look like Nick Nolte's mugshot?

And then there's this one of me and Dea in high school.  I love this picture for many reasons...
1.  My hair.  Is that vain?  Yes, absolutely.  But I cut it a few weeks after this picture and it has never been that long again.
2.  I love that you can make out some of the posters on my wall.  So fun!  My parents were awesome about letting me cover the walls (and the ceiling) with what made me happy...

{on a side note...OMG...this picture was taken - gasp! - 17 years ago!  how?  how has this happened??}

But this, this is the crown jewel of old pictures.  Seriously.  It is so hard for me to think of Chris as having hair, but he did.  And a lot of it.  So, without further ado...



Saturday, April 28, 2012

Racing Queen

Chandler ran her third 5K this morning - the Twilight 5K in downtown Athens where there were 700 other runners registered.  I was super grateful that another parent was able to run with Chan and her two friends.  If I had to run, well, I would still be running.  I am not kidding. 

But not my kid.  She is a Racing Queen!  Here she is with her sweet friends stretching before the big race...


After stretching, they did a little posing... {such cute girls!}


And then they did some running...  Here's Chan closing in on the finish line...


After the three girls finished - Chan came in 4th place!  WooHoo! - we hung out chatting it up for a little while before heading back to our cars...


When we stumbled upon this statue of the famous Athenian, Ben Epps, the girls had to get a picture with him...



And then we headed home. 

All in all, a very good morning spent with my Racing Queen.

And now I have to do grocery shopping and wash some clothes.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Pizza, Berenstain Bears, Ice Cream and Guilt

Yes, you read that title correctly.  Do those four things have anything to do with each other?  No.  No, they don't.  But whatever.  Sometimes that's just how it goes, right?

This is a homemade pizza.  And I have to say, it might just be my new favorite pizza.  This is what's on top of the whole wheat crust...
pesto
fresh mozarella
Italian cheeses
green peppers
onion
black olives
mushrooms

Trust me, it was absolutely outstanding.  I'll invite you over for dinner next time if you're interested.  ;)
 

I was straightening the shelves in my media center this week (gearing up for inventory...super excited about that!) and stumbled across this little gem of a book.  It was my favorite as a child (Mom, are you having flashbacks???).  I think this may have been the book that pushed me into reading by myself because I couldn't get enough of it and while my mom did read to me all.the.time, there's only so much Berenstain that I grown up can take. And they are LONG books, have you ever noticed that??  But this one was my favorite for mainly these two reasons...

1.  I loved the Berenstain Bears beyond belief.  LOVED.


2.  I longed for the organization of this closet.  I dreamed about this closet. And no, I am not kidding.  And yes, I would still like it today.


This ice cream has become a favorite dessert of mine...butter pecan ice cream with a splash of hazelnut kahlua on top.  It's actually better with heath bar frozen yogurt, but butter pecan is what we have in the freezer right now.  You should give it a try.  I promise you'll thank me.


And now for the guilt part of the post.  If you know me at all, you know that I struggle with guilt.  I think it is one of my biggest hurdles in life.  A lot of my other emotions seem to stem from guilt, (but just so we're clear, I don't feel guilty about the pizza and the ice cream) and so when I read this post (HERE), I literally nodded my head and said AMEN.  Everything that Lisa says about it is true - guilt doesn't play fair.  I plan on remembering that in the future.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

What I Wore:::Vintage Necklace!

Linking up with Lindsey!

So, last weekend I made a new necklace for the shop - a vintage rainbow necklace - from a collection of vintage beads that I had.  I made one for myself and one for the shop...because I loved it that much!  Here's two different looks with it...

1.  Running errands over the weekend...

gray tank {converse at target}
gray v-neck t {old navy}
cuffed jeans {gap outlet}
sneakers {simple}

 

2.  Wear to Work...


white smocked t {loft}
green cardi {banana republic outlet}
khaki pants {gap outlet}
chambray ballet flats {old navy}

 
vintage rainbow necklace! 

Monday, April 23, 2012

Kisses From Katie

After seeing this post last week, I bought the book, Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis and read it over the weekend.

Completely amazing and inspiring.  But then I pause and think, it inspires me to do what?  Because I just haven't figured that out yet.  Perhaps I should start by going back to church.  But I just don't know if I am ready to do that.

Part of my fear comes from the fact that I spoke so much about wanting to change jobs, but then our whole life changed for our whole family and in the beginning everyone kept saying, God's hand was in this.

See, we prayed for jobs in Athens because that is where we want to be - we do our shopping there, we go to church there, we have so many friends there, we love the pace of Athens (even game days), we feel at home there.  But then somehow we both managed to get jobs there over the summer, which meant neither of us had really wrapped our brains around leaving our old jobs - there were no formal good-byes to our old co-workers - and things just didn't look the way I thought they would.

And I feel like I spiraled out of control into this...just...blah.

Everyone was so excited for Chris and I to get these jobs.  But so much has changed for our family that it was been hard.  And I don't know that I could answer truthfully when questioned about it.  I don't know that I can be anything but sad there and I just don't want that.

But people said God's hand was in this.  So either it was and I am missing something HUGE, or it wasn't and me, with my good ole free will, did yet another stellar job in decision making.

And so I feel like I have let these people down.

But that's just not the point of this post.  The point is that I read this book and am completely in awe of this girl and what she has done with her life...just by following and listening to what God's plan for her is.

I also wonder how her parents feel.  How they felt when she told them she was going to live her life in Uganda.  I wonder how I would handle something like that with the girls.  What if they felt called to be missionaries?  How could I argue with that, especially when we have raised them in a church?

Anywho, here's a little more of Katie.  So, seriously, amazing.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Vintage! {new in the shop!}

I've slowly been amassing vintage beads over the past few years with no real clear idea of what I wanted to do with them.  I knew I wanted a chunky and colorful look and decided to just dive right in this weekend!  There's more on the way too!  Yay!  {and now is when I miss the collage feature on picnik!}




Saturday, April 21, 2012

On the way home

On the way home we had this conversation...

Chandler:  Mama, who becomes President if the President is killed?

Me:  The Vice President becomes President.  Which is why you rarely see the President and Vice President together at functions once they take office.  It would be really bad if they were both killed.  It would be like a double whammy.

Chandler:  Yeah it would be!  It would be like getting two pairs of boots for $13.


**And then I'm not sure how I stayed on the road because I was hysterical with laughter.**

Me:  Chan, that doesn't even make sense.  I have no idea what just happened in our conversation.

Chandler:  (also hysterically laughing) I know!  It doesn't make any sense!  It would really be like getting two pairs of boots for 50 cents.

Me:  Whatttttt?????  Chan!  What in the world are you talking about?  You know that a "double whammy" is a bad thing, right?  Like, it's double bad.  It would be double bad for the President and the Vice President to be killed.

Chandler:  But if you're the killer the "double whammy" is a good thing...like getting two pairs of boots for 50 cents.

***What, what????***

Casey:  Wait a second...isn't "Whammy" a musical group?

Friday, April 20, 2012

What We've Been Missing


 The side of our refrigerator is slowly beginning to fill up with "Save the Date" cards.  You know, those cards that are sent before the actual wedding invitations arrive?  Well, we've gotten a few of them recently and I am beside myself with joy over it.  I LOVE WEDDINGS.  Have I told you that before?  LOVE.THEM.  I grin just thinking about them.

I really hope there is a dance floor at these weddings.  And I really hope they don't mind if I monopolize said dance floor.

Chris says, "Maybe this is what we've been missing in our life lately.  Weddings."

You see, it's been over a year since I've been to one.  And prior to that...well, er, I just don't know.

We've gotten older and our friends have gotten older and the weddings have slowed down.

These precious "Save the Date" cards?  Yeah, um, they're from former students of mine.

Which really does two things...

1.  Makes me feel really old that now they have graduated from college and are inviting me (ME!), their former middle school teacher, to their weddings....
and
2.  Makes my heart sing because they are inviting me (ME!), their former middle school teacher, to their weddings.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

I Quit

Last August, I quit going to church.

I didn't mean to, it just happened.

We had started driving into Athens everyday for work and I needed a break from the drive.  I needed some quiet time.  I needed time for myself.

That, and Chris was teaching a Sunday School class which meant that he and the children would be leaving the house even earlier...meaning I would have to leave even earlier to ride with them and then not having anything to do for an hour before service...or, we would have to take two cars.  I didn't want to do that because one thing that I liked about going to church was that it gave Chris and I time to talk on the ride in.

So, I didn't go for a few weeks.  And then a few weeks became a few more weeks.

I went to the Homecoming service.  Chris and the kids went early.  I was bringing the fumi salad that Chris had made the night before to have at the Homecoming Fellowship meal.  I cried almost the whole drive in to town.  I realized just how loooooooong the drive was from my house to church and that my school was even further than that...and I was making the girls make that ride with me every.single.day.  I was waking my children up before six a.m. to make this long, long drive.  And it killed me.  So I cried on my way to church.

I got there just before 11am and the parking lot was full of cars but there was not a soul in sight.  No one milling around on the front steps or sidewalk like there usually is before the service.  No one.

I took the enormous bowl of salad down to the kitchen to refrigerate it before lunch.  Only the doors were locked.

I marched back upstairs through the education building and there was no one.  Empty.

And then I got to the sanctuary.  It was a packed house.  The choir was in full swing.  And everyone with a key to the fellowship hall kitchen was in that room.  I was stuck with the salad. 

I went back downstairs to double check the door.  Still locked.  I ran into a friend.  She told me that for Homecoming the service started fifteen minutes early.  Chris had forgotten to tell me that, and I had failed to remember it from previous years.

Now, this friend was not someone that I knew very well, but apparently well enough for me to have a melt down in front of.  So that's what I did.

And then we left our salads in a room downstairs and headed back up.  She sat with her family and well, since Chris was in the choir loft and my children were scattered about with their friends, I sat by myself and chewed the inside of my cheek to keep from sobbing in the middle of everything.

Immediately after the service I left.  I avoided making eye contact with anyone and was able to make it out without having to say anything to anyone.

So that was that.  A failed attempt.

I did not go back again until Christmas Eve.  Quinn couldn't handle himself and Chris spent the service in the nursery with him...which is what I did the previous year.  Why we keep doing this to ourselves is beyond me.  It would really have just been better for one of us to stay home with him.  But we're (apparently) gluttons and we tried again and it was a miserable experience.

So that was that.  Another failed attempt.

And now I can't get over it.  I can't make myself get past it.  I just can't.  I tried a few weeks ago and I had such a feeling of dread and anxiety that I couldn't go in for the service.  Seriously.  I got dressed for church.  I drove into town for church.  I dropped my family off for Sunday School and then I couldn't go in.

I consider myself a Christian.  I talk to Him everyday in the quiet of my car on my way to work, in the moments before putting my feet on the floor in the morning and in the moments before I drift off to sleep every night.  I try to behave like a Christian, in a loving, forgiving, kind, nonjudgmental way.

But I've quit going to church.  And that doesn't feel very Christian-y.


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

New and well, NEW!

So, if you don't already know, Picnik is closing {big sigh} tomorrow.  Do you know about Picnik?  It was a photo editing site and as a blogger it was (in my opinion) one of the easiest ways to create picture collages.  Like, super, super easy.

So when they announced that they were closing, I cried a little.  (Ok, not really...but sorta.)  I tried a few other photo editing sites and they just didn't measure up.  BUT, tonight I messed around with picmonkey and I must say, I am impressed with it.  Right now they don't have a collage tool, but it says that it is on the way.  If you haven't tried it...perhaps you should.

So, that's new for me.  Picmonkey.  Kind of a silly name.

And here are some things that are new for you...to be posted later tonight...(photo editing in picmonkey)




And here are some goodies that will be posted later this week... {love, love, love}



Monday, April 16, 2012

Spring 2012 Playlist

I make a new playlist with every season.  Except winter.  Because I just don't like winter.  But the other seasons have a playlist.  Last Spring was filled with Avett Brothers, Adele, Mumford and Sons....

Here's this year's...

All I Want Is You (Tristan Prettyman)
Gray or Blue (Jaymay) it's a cover in the playlist below,  a nice cover, but I'm kind of smitten with the jaymay version
Home (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes) my absolute favorite right now, in case you were wondering
The World at Large  (Modest Mouse)
2 Atoms in a Molecule (Noah & the Whale)
Middle Distance Runner (Sea Wolf) which I love, but it makes me sad
Somebody That I Used to Know (Goyte)


ang4332's Playlist 1 by ang4332 on Grooveshark

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Hodge Podge

Seriously.  I didn't mean to miss so many days.  I kept thinking about things that I wanted to write about on the blog and then I would just, well, forget.  It happens sometimes.

We spent the whole weekend in the yard.  No joke.  Quinn was possibly the dirtiest he has ever been yesterday.  We weeded and planted and mulched and put up edging.  Chris cut the grass (and the weeds...neighbors...you're welcome).  And finally, it is starting to look like a nice yard.  You know, now that we've lived here for a little over four years.

While I was taking jewelry pics this weekend (just wait until you see what I have in store for you!), I also snapped a few of what the girls made for Chris for his birthday.  They're such crafty girls...


This framed picture is from Casey. She colored in the frame and found the picture (I think it is of her.  I was terrible about writing names on the back.  I do know that this was when they were 4 months old.  And weighed 8lbs.)  You know, she is, the "alsome one"...


And this is a little something that Chandler whipped up for him.  She crocheted the whole thing and then with the chains she stitched them into place to spell out his name.


Clever, those two.  Definitely clever.  And crafty.  And also sarcastic these days.  Casey keeps giving me two thumbs up...

Me:  Case, pour your brother some milk.*
two thumbs up
Me:  Casey, go put away your laundry.
two thumbs up

It got so bad the other night I told her that if she gave me the thumbs up again I was going to break the thumbs off and stick em where the sun don't shine.

She stopped...for the evening...and then was right back at it the next day.  Sheesh.  Clearly not afraid of me.  :)

*milk = almond milk.  Quinn has a horrible vomiting habit.  Mainly after drinking milk or having ice cream.  So, we made the big switch this weekend to almond milk and Italian ice.  We've definitely noticed a difference, so I think we'll stick with it for awhile.

Last night at dinner we were playing a word guessing game... Which word starts with "b" and ends with "d"?  BREAD.  Which word starts with "p" and ends with "l-e"?  PURPLE.  Casey's contribution to the game...

Which word starts with F and ends with CK?

And then Chris and I had heart attacks right there at the table.

The answer?

firetruck

You thought it was going to be something else too, huh?  :)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

What They Wore - Easter Edition



 Linking up with Lindsey!




Quinn was crazy in love with his tie.  Like, really, really in love with it.  I'm pretty sure that if Sunday was any indication, he would wear one everyday.  Suit up, like Barney on HIMYM.  :)  He really couldn't stop touching it while I was taking pictures.  Too, too cute!


casey:
floral tank top dress {target}
ruffle sandals {women's at target}
cardi {target}
headband {target}

quinn:
white oxford {old navy}
gray cargo shorts {gap outlet}
yellow polkadot tie {the pleated poppy}
black converse {target}

chandler:
floral tank top dress {target}
ruffle sandals {women's at target}
cardi {target}
hair clip {target}

Monday, April 9, 2012

And then my life changed.

When I was 22 years old, I met a man that changed my life.

I was in the middle of a divorce.  (Trust me, that's a whole other story of being young and getting married and divorced while in college.  Another day, another day.)  I was working at an apartment leasing office and my coworkers teased me about the cute guy that would politely wave to me while getting his mail.

I somehow worked up the nerve to talk to him.  He was so cute and Southern and so completely different from my ex-husband.  He was actually different from anyone I had ever dated.

And I fell for him.  Hard, I fell for him. 

I imagined a life with him.  A little house in the country.  Children and dogs and cats...

We moved in together.  We had both been hurt in other relationships.  It was a big step to take.  And perhaps we should have been a little more guarded, a little more cautious, a little bit slower.  But we weren't.

We had two cats and a dog and a cute little townhouse that we lived in.  I graduated from college and started my first job in the real world.

And then I found out that I was pregnant.

And when I went to the doctor, thinking I was six, maybe seven weeks along, I was told that I was twelve weeks...and having twins.

I was in shock, but overjoyed.  I had no idea how we would ever make ends meet.  Or how at 23 (because I was now 23, on the cusp of 24) I could ever be a mother to not one but two children.  I had changed only a handful of diapers in my life and it was (obviously) such a horrifying experience that I blocked it from my mind.

My hormones played cruel jokes with me throughout my pregnancy.  One minute I was fine, the next minute I was full of anger and sobbing.  It was enough to make anyone think that I was a lunatic.

Our relationship had never been completely stable.  I think because of our prior experiences we didn't know how to truly trust someone else.  The pregnancy just compounded everything and by the time I was put on bed rest at  26 weeks, the cracks in our foundation were winning.

I had an emergency c-section at 33 weeks.

The girls stayed in the NICU for 23 days.

And after months of fighting, I moved home to my parents.

I knew that I couldn't take care of these precious premature babies the way that I needed to if I was also having to work on our relationship.

If I had to fight for something it had to be the girls, not him.

So I left.

He awkwardly came to visit at my parents' house.  It never went very well.

One time he gave me $50 and told me to buy myself something nice.

Only I didn't know why he thought I would be able to do that.  I had left our relationship with a $200 check that my dad gave me and the promise of WIC vouchers from the wellfare agency.  I was teaching full time, but my monthly check had been prorated to subtract the bed rest and maternity leave.  I brought home $600 a month...for seven months...just enough to pay my student loan and car payment.

I was 24 years old, living at home, with two babies, working full time and still having to ask my parents for gas money.

It was humbling.  And probably the lowest point for me.  Ever.

When the girls were two months old, he decided that we weren't the family that he wanted.  He said those words to me.  He said lots of other words to me too, among them being that the next time I heard from him would be through a lawyer.

Only that call never came.

I never heard from him again.

Years later, Chris and I met, fell in love, got married and he adopted the girls.  They know this.  We took them with us to the courthouse.  They met the judge and we all took pictures together.  We celebrated our family of four.

I found out at one point that the man who changed my life had become a police officer in a nearby town.

And then driving to my new job this fall, I saw him.  In his squad car, at the light next to me.  We stared at each other.  He raised his hand.  I raised mine.  The light turned green and the moment was over.

My heart ached.  I wanted to pull over and retch on the side of the road.

But I had a job to get to.  A job that didn't quite feel like home.  A job where I couldn't lock myself in the bathroom and cry.  People might hear me and I didn't know them well enough for tears.

So I joked about it.

But I was shook up and it hurt.

And then the scene repeated itself.  Over and over and over.  Literally.  Some weeks I saw him two or three mornings on my way to work.  I saw him when I went through the Chick-fil-a drive thru and coming into the coffee shop as he was leaving.

It felt like he was everywhere and the world was closing in on me.

And then one morning we were in the coffee shop at the same time.  He ignored me.  I seethed.  So I made myself very visible.  Like, right next to him, visible, and began a conversation.

His first question to me was to ask if I was following him.

Following him.

Ten years later, he wanted to know if I was following him.

I laughed and explained that I worked at the school right around the corner.  He kept seeing me on my normal route to work.

He welcomed me back to town.

He looked at the floor for almost the entire conversation.

He never asked about the girls.

And I haven't seen him since.

My Mom.


This is my mom.  
(The girls look ridiculously similar to her, don't they?  It is amazing to me.)  
She had a birthday this weekend.
(I'm not going to tell you how old she is because that would just be rude).  
Casey kept saying, "She still just seems 54 to me."  
Well, to me my mom still seems early thirties.  Which is just silly because I am in my early thirties.  Do you do that though?  In my mind, my mom always looks the way she did when I was a child. 

But I digress.
What I am trying to say is that I hope my mom had a happy birthday.  
We loved being with you to celebrate!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

15 Hours Ago.

Fifteen hours ago I didn't have things to fill the Easter baskets with.  Chandler didn't have an Easter dress.  And I was pretty much feeling like a failure as a mother.

I've been having a hard time planning ahead these days.  Last week was book fair and that was all that I could think about.  Just getting through that.

This week my mom came over on Wednesday and spent the night.  She took Q home with her Thursday morning, the girls and I went leotard shopping after school (that's a story for another day) and then we met Chris for dinner out.  I went to the grocery store and then came home and made a pioneer woman brownie recipe for my mom's birthday.  Friday, we left after work to drive out to mom's to spend the night, birthday lunch on Saturday and then we headed home. 

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks that I was really and truly out of time to pull something together for Easter.  I couldn't let this be the year that mama fell apart and Easter wasn't like all of the other years.

But Easter already wasn't like all of the other years.  I always planned outfits for everyone that coordinated.  It was one of the few days of the year that I got to tell everyone exactly what I expected them to wear...and they listened...without arguing (an amazing thing, I tell you).

So I had planned for a yellow and gray combo.  I ordered dresses for the girls.  When they arrived, Chandler's didn't fit.  And the next size up was sold out.  I couldn't find a replacement yellow and gray outfit to save my life.  Especially not 10 days before Easter.

And so, last night, at 7:30, I was out shopping for basket goodies and Easter clothes.  Not one of my finer mothering moments.

But I think it all worked out in the end.


Saturday, April 7, 2012

Anxiety.

I'm pretty sure that I have anxiety issues.  And depression issues.  And some craziness issues.

Maybe the last one is in my head, but the other two definitely aren't. 

Even writing this, typing out the letters, and then the thought of clicking on the orange publish button makes my heart race.  And there is vomit in the back of my throat. 

Too much information?  Probably so.  But that's ok.  We're friends right?

And friends should be honest with each other, so here it goes.

I struggle with this blog.  Everyday, I struggle with it. 

When I started (almost 4 years ago), it acted like a journal - what we were up to, what the kids were doing, cute and funny little stories, snippets, of our life that I wanted to remember.  That I wanted to share.  

I talked about being overwhelmed.  Q was a baby.  Chris and I were both working full time and we were both in grad school.  I was just writing.  Letting it out.

And then little by little more people began reading it and I became more and more self conscious.  I was a blogger that didn't want to blog about anything important to me...for fear that someone would laugh, someone would be bored, someone would think I was a whiny crybaby, someone wouldn't like my life, wouldn't like me.

Most days, I have a hard time liking me.  I have a hard time dealing with choices I've made - my job, my house, my spending habits, my eating habits....

I am shy.  Ten years ago I wouldn't have thought this to be possible.  But here I am, in my mid-thirties and it is true.  I have a horribly hard time meeting new people, making new friends.  I force myself to smile and make polite conversation.  So, throw me into a new job and the first 4 months of the school year were like living a nightmare everyday.  

But I'm at the point where I don't know what to blog about.  I feel like if I just blog about superficial things I am pretending to be someone that I am not. 

There are so many things that I would like to write about but feel that I can't - either because of my job, or because I worry too much about what other people think, or because I would struggle to find the words to accurately put my feelings into writing.

But, here's the thing...I think there are some people out there that might feel the way I do.  I know that I have felt like these bloggers...Erin and Elizabeth  (I looked for the specific post and CANNOT find it, ugh!)...in fact, their posts have made me feel not so alone in my thoughts. 

And the other thing is this...one day, I won't be here anymore (unless someone finds the secret to immortality before that happens) and there is this space, this little piece of the internets, that is mine, where my children will be able to find me, and I want for the me that is in the space to be the me that is in their hearts.  The me that they know.  Not someone who only posts about jewelry or what I wore or handmade shops, but the real me.

And so to help me find the real me, I am turning off the comments.  They really kind of freak me out.  And stress me out.  A lot of times I write and there aren't any comments (it's ok, I rarely comment on the blogs that I read) but then it bothers me that there aren't any comments.  And then I beat myself up about letting something so stupid bother me.  And then I beat myself up some more for being mean to myself in the first place.  (Is that the craziness?  It could be.)

I am also going to write about things that I want to write about and I am going to try (very, very hard) to not imagine how people reading it are feeling. 

I am also going to try to get back in the swing of making time to post more often.  I challenged myself in 2010 to blog everyday, and for the most part, I did.  And during that time not once did I schedule a post ahead of time.  Nowadays?  I feel like that's all I ever do.  Like I am treating this blog more and more as a business, as something I have to do, instead of something I want to do.

And I want to get back to the wanting.  I miss it.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Shop News!

There is new stuff on the way!  {this week...I promise}  But, I wanted to let you know that I've made a few changes to shipping...  It was time.  For a few reasons...

1.  postage has increased
2.  delivery confirmation - which is on all of my packages - has increased
3.  I order mailers and boxes - shipping supplies -  in bulk on line and their rates have increased

I have given a lot of thought to this over the past few weeks and this is where I am at...

$5 Flat Rate Shipping.  So if you buy 2 or 3 items, there is not an additional shipping fee.

If you spend over $50, use the coupon code FREESHIP when you check out and, well, your items will ship for free!  I do love free shipping! 

I really feel like this makes much more business sense AND is a better solution than raising prices to absorb some of these cost increases.  :)

Monday, April 2, 2012

Weekend Recap

First, let me apologize for the lack of pictures.  There are two reasons...

1.  I hardly took any.
2.  The very few that I have taken lately are on my phone and I am too lazy to put them on the computer right now.

So, there's that.

The weekend was a whirlwind.  I finished up book fair at my school on Friday.  And I am pretty much toast after book fair week.  Quinn was also toast by the end of the week.

He is back to his usual non-sleeping shananigans these days.  It breaks my heart.  He has also had 3 accidents in the past two weeks (we were accident free for well over a year), and is getting awful mouthy.  Cantankerous.  For example...

This afternoon, he and the girls were playing in the backyard while I worked in the craft room.  (I could see them at all times through the window.) First he dumped his cup of water all over himself.  Then he ran pell mell while spraying the sunscreen out of the bottle behind him.  Kind of like trying to mace whoever came near him.  

So I had to regulate.

When I brought him inside I squatted in front of him so we were eye to eye and told him why that was wrong.

1.  If it got in someone's eyes it could really, really hurt them.
2.  It was wasteful.

And that we just don't run and spray sunscreen.  It's not nice.  I finished with, "Do you understand?"

He looked me straight in the eye and as serious as a heart attack said, 

"And I really want to go back outside.  Do you understand me?"

Big sigh.  I kid you not.

He is also going through a grunting/growling phase and we are finding ourselves continuously saying, "Use your words, Quinn.  Use your words."

But back to the weekend.  On Saturday morning we headed over to Chris's parents' house for an Easter Egg Hunt/Birthday Lunch for Chris.  {a good time was had by all!}

Then there was grocery shopping and laundry before 3 little girls arrived at our house for a sleepover party.  That's right.  5 ten year old girls and the boy.

Only one child was damaged (she fell while running in the foyer and bit her lip - ouch!).  They made their own pizzas for dinner and for dessert they had cookies n cream pie and I had a glass of wine.

Sunday everyone loaded up for church and then we began a tour of Athens for the drop offs.  

I began a new craft Sunday afternoon.  I am hoping to finish it SOON so that I can show it to you.

Today was a day of catching up - jewelry, more laundry, picking up Ike from his hotel stay, post office run, bank, birthday shopping for my mom (that's this week!)....

Mom is actually come here on Wednesday, spending the night and taking Q home with her on Thursday.  We're heading out there on Friday, coming home on Saturday and then having an Easter celebration on Sunday.  Whew!