Sales!

I posted some hair clips in my Etsy store for my July summer clearance and they've been selling! Whoo hoo! Sometimes its hard with Etsy. I'll get a flood of customers and then things will be still for weeks. Frustrating at times. But this week its selling :)

Hair Clip Satisfaction

So a while ago I started making hair clips to sell in my Etsy store. They were a pretty good seller, and I actually ended up making a lot more of them as gifts for friends than for sale. I bought a bunch of clips wholesale and since you can't just buy a piece of ribbon, you have to buy the whole spool of the ribbon I had way to many spools of ribbon in my stash.

While being on vacation I decided to go ahead and make the hair clips and post to the store. With new laws possibly coming down the pipes about handmade items for sale, I decided to go ahead and see if I can sell them. So for the month of July all the hair clips are on clearance for $.99 a pair. I'm hoping they sell and I can clear out some inventory. We'll see. I posted 4 sets this morning and sold 3 already, so that was a blessing and definitely helps to keep my spirits up.

If you have little girls, nieces, or need gift ideas, check out the store.

www.TheWoobieShop.etsy.com

Projects

One of the nicest things about this vacation has been having others to help watch Mason during the day so I can work on some of my new projects. Here's how I've come along.

Project 1- Network for my Etsy store: I made the mistake of listing my items and bailing. I sat around and waited for sales thinking it would just magically happen, I'd sell everything and make money. HA! Not the way it works. So I've been online networking, blogging, commenting and researching. SUCCESS! I have a giveaway on a blog next week for a crayon caddy which will hopefully help people come through the store and create more publicity. Check it out on www.organicmama.blogspot.com

Project 2- Making hand stamped metal jewelry. So I saw a necklace online that I wanted to get for a friend of mine having her second baby. Then I thought about the 4 other friends having babies this summer and my husband told me that rather then buy all the necklaces I should buy the materials and supplies and make them. So after screwing some up, I have finally made some that I'm happy with. It's an easy process, but dangerous in the sense that if you screw it up, you're screwed. Unlike sewing, where you can use the seam ripper and start over, once you screw up the metal disc, there not much you can do to save it. But I've rather enjoyed it :)

Project 3-Learning how to make new things. While I have loved making crayon caddies, Woobie blankets and paci clips, I want something new. Not necessarily to use for sale, but more for just the sake of knowing how to make things. So I found www.makeitandloveit.blogspot.com which is great site for learning how to make homemade things. I definitely want to make some of the felt hair clips for my nieces. :)

Project 4- Exercise- well if you read my earlier post on this you're up to date. I've been doing the 30 day Shred by Jillian Michaels and have loved it. Feeling great!

Just for me!

School's out, I've got two months at home with my little one and finally the opportunity to do several things I have wanted to do for myself. It seems that sometimes my life has revolved around Mason and Tim so much that I forget about myself. So this summer I have taken on the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred challenge. I don't have to lose the 20 pounds they claim you'll shred in the workout process, but I just want to feel good about my body. Don't get me wrong, after Mason was born i quickly lost all 36 glorious pregnancy pounds (sense the sarcasm?) before returning to work, but the time to hit the gym every day was hardly there anymore. So while I've been home I've been doing my 20 minute workout just about every day.

To begin with I struggled through the first workout and then took off two days because I was too scared to do it again. I mean seriously how hard was a workout video supposed to be! I got my butt kicked. But after a couple days I did it again, and then again. I took off a couple days while on vacation, but even here, in the midst of homemade food three times a day, I've found the incentive and time to workout each day and have even moved up in my workout sessions to the next levels. And man, it feels great! I'm not losing weight, but that was never my goal. I'm feeling strength return in my muscles, endurance through the strength training, and I'm feeling fit inside. I love it. Besides, I've been taking more care of what I eat because I don't want to work out more and I want the working out I do to mean more because my body is growing stronger.

It's so important to take time to care for yourself as a mom. I've always known this, but it always seems easier to take care of others than myself. Now I'm focusing on taking better care of myself so I can better care for my boys, and be around longer to take care of them.

So if you read this, and you aren't working out, eating well, or just resting enough, then do it. If I can do it, you can too.

Vacation Memories with Mason

This past week its been just me and Mason at my parents house. While we miss Tim terribly, it has been kinda nice to share this time and make memories for the two of us. Well I suppose just me since Mason won't remember any of this.

* At Nana's house can a full course dinner meal be two cups of chocolate pudding.

* At Nana's house Mason is allowed to sleep in bed with Mommy all night rather than in the crib.

* At Nana's house Mason is able to get so dirty he needs to take 3 baths in one day.

* At Nana's house he can convince Nana to go fully clothed into the freezing fountains outside.

* At Nana's house Mason can watch tv to go to sleep and have his back scratched all night.

* At Nana's house he can go swimming as many times as he wants in a day, even in the rain.

But the thing I'll remember more than anything about this week, is having Mason wake me up in the morning with his little hands patting my face and then giggling when I open my eyes to him. You really think you understand love when you get married and give your life to another adult, but when you wake up and see the little one you created with your spouse out of that love, then you really understand what love is.

Almost vacation

Well it's a vacation without technically being a vacation, but being here at Mom's house sure is nice. Granted there aren't big attractions and too many things to do, but being in her kitchen watching t.v. and chatting about everything and nothing sure is nice. It's nice to have someone to pass the baby off to in the morning and go back to sleep. It's nice to sit and do nothing or something just because you can. It's nice to just rest.

Searching

It's late, I'm tired, yet I can't sleep.

I've learned tossing and turning in bed only makes me more restless, so I usually get up for a while and then am able to fall asleep. Tonight my Bible found it's way in front of me again.

As I search through the pages, not entire sure of what I'm searching for anyway, I come across this.....


Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Prov. 19:21 (NIV)

It's not highlighted or marked, or anything, it was just there. How true is that verse in my life. My plans have very rarely matched up with God's purpose, or so it seems in the past few years. I thought my plans were in line with His purpose, but it doesn't seem to be the way things have worked out. So after anger, silence, hurt, confusion and so many other feelings, I am just here. Open, willing, waiting and learning.

Learning is the hard part. It requires me to accept I'm not perfect and have to change in order to be better, not better, more like Christ. My plans have been many, but no matter what it's the Lord's purpose, not my plans, that prevail. So the interruptions in my life I have to take as God telling me His purpose has to prevail.

So the question is, am I to know the purpose? Am I to know it now, or somewhere down the road? I have to believe as His child he would have me to have understanding, but that doesn't always mean it comes right away. Ought I to keep questioning and petitioning, or just be patient and see what happens?

No matter what, knowing its His purpose that will prevail gives me a sense of comfort. Even if it doesn't match up the plans I have in my heart or in my flesh, it means He's still in control of my life. So I'll sit here and be content in the today and let tomorrow come with what it may.

Day one at home :)

Today was my first official day of summer as a stay at home mama. It was quite a day.

Started out with Mason waking up way earlier than normal, about an hour grrr!
Then breakfast while I cleaned the house. Followed by a bath in my big tub while I jumped in the shower to get clean and still be able to see him. (MISTAKE 1)

About 3 minutes before I was about to get out I hear. "Uh oh" Never a good sound from a one year old. I peeked out of the shower door and saw a lot of poop floating in the tub and Mason saying "dir" which is equivalent to dirty. Here we go.

I grab him out of the tub and stick him in the shower with me to clean and disinfect him off. Get us out of the shower, dry him off, scramble to his room to dress him all the while dreading what awaits me. Search out cleaning gloves and bleach. Lots and lots of bleach.

Head back to the tub and begin bleaching everything while Mason stands nearby repeating "dirty" over and over as I try to PATIENTLY and LOVINGLY explain that poop belongs in the toilet not the tub. Bleach everything and throw some things away, just for precautionary measures. Finally get ready to take care of me and the mess I've become :)

Lunch while Mason watches the neighbor mow the grass, and my second mistake of the day, going to clean off the plates while he ate his chocolate pudding. Had to patiently and lovingly explain that chocolate paint is not war paint and clean him up.

Run to Toys R Us to meet up with Daddy and get a new shopping cart for Mason to tote around his belongings. Run to Target for errands, and then home for a nap. Mason decides his 2 minutes snooze is enough and spends 30 minutes tossing in his crib before sleep comes. In the meantime I try to assemble his cart. I get all the pieces but the wheels. Seriously, putting toys together should not be this difficult. Call it quits and take a nap.

Nap time ends to ringing cell phone :( Baby wakes, laundry, dishes, dinner and dessert to make. Get it all done, Daddy arrives on time. Dinner and a trip to the mall to play in the playground before bedtime.

Baby sleeps, I do a workout dvd and realize how bad of shape I'm in and suffer for a half hour, grrr. Shower, work on my store, blog and bed. Just to wake up and see what tomorrow holds. Today could have been a challenge, but I loved every second of it. Because I spent the entire day with my little man and savored every minute of it. Well minus the poop. :)

Being Home

I'm home. Finally after the close of another school year I get to just be home with Mason. I love this time so much because it's time for just the two of us to play, discover, explore, and so much more. I love this time because there isn't the stress of getting things prepared for the week ahead and preparing for work, etc. If things don't get done today it's okay because we have tomorrow together to do it. I think because I know that I only have a short time of being a stay at home mom I enjoy every minute of it more than if I stayed home all the time. So tomorrow we're going to play, clean, cook and cuddle during nap time, just because Mommy's home and we can.

Regina's wedding

We went up to Brandon last night for Mike and Regina's wedding. It's been forever since I've seen them, but it was a wonderful celebration. Regina and I met because we were thrown into working together and it was a wonderful year of survival, excitement, growth and friendship. It's amazing how God can put people in your life for a short little while, but they make such a lasting impression in your life. Being up there and seeing old friends and co-workers made for a hard return home. On top of a great night out, Mason had a great night at home with Uncle Josh.