A Little Bit of This And A Little Bit of That

This is a totally random post because I am feeling a little random today. I was looking at my bedside table the other night and the pile of books and magazines that rest there and thought I would share a photo. It's really out of control. I love to read. I never read more than one novel at a time, but do like to have other materials to read depending on my mood. I would love to see what's on your bedside table. Leave it in the comments or take a photo and share it on your blog. Let me know so that I can come take a peek.

Ok, on to other news. My Daisy owl was on the front page of Etsy or at least that is what I was told. I was not fortunate enough to see it for myself. I looked through the Treasuries to see if I could find it, but I didn't see it there either. I wish that I had been able to see how she looked, but it is still pretty cool.

The last bit of news I have to share is pretty exciting too. Are you ready for this? Miller is potty trained. Yep, he has been wearing underwear for the last several weeks with very few accidents. I am not really sure how it all happened. We had been talking about it for months. We started giving him a M&M every time he went. Then I made a chart with stickers and he filled it up in no time. So I let him pick out a toy. Then we bribed him some more to poop in the toilet and I guess it worked. Something must have clicked. I still can't believe it. I truly thought he would never get it, but luckily I was wrong. I haven't wanted to mention it in fear that I would totally jinx it and he would regress. I am pretty confident now that there will be no more diapers for us ever again!!! Yippee. I am so proud of you little guy.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Is it Spring yet?

This week's theme for Theme Thursday is Summertime Memories. I had all intentions of sifting through some photos from last summer. I am sure there are a couple I meant to post, but never got around to actually doing it. However, I am just too lazy. Plus I felt compelled to share some more of the many photos I took this weekend with my new lens.

We still have several months before it is actually summer time, but here are a few shots that might warm you up a bit.

I get so excited every time I walk through the yard and spot something else sprouting up or even blooming. I just love Spring.

Visit Stacy's for some more warming thoughts.

Wordless Wednesday- Change of Scenery

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Daisy & May

Last week I was obsessed with bunnies and chicks. I know it is only February, but I thought if I started now I might be able to get some cute critters in the shop before Easter. Well, after many failed attempts I decided to scrap it and go with what I know. So I created two more owls.

These two will be in my shop some time today. As soon as I get a few minutes to list them.

We have been fighting colds and yuckiness at my house so this was about all I could muster. Keep a look out for some bunnies and chicks though. I haven't given up yet.

Shimmering Hope

A ray of hope, a light

shining oh, so bright.

A gleam upon the stream

floating like a dream.

I hope years from now when I look at these photos, I remember how the sun beamed down on this small stream. I hope I remember that no matter how hard I tried, I could not capture the simplicity and beauty of that moment.

I hope I remember how smart, confident, and independent Harper was at the age of 4.

I hope I remember how content Miller was to throw sticks and leaves into the stream and watch them float away.

I hope these photos will help freeze these memories in time.

I didn't choose a best shot this week. I just couldn't decide between the first and second one.

Click here for more Best Shot Monday.

Love

This weeks theme for Theme Thursday is Love. There are so many things I love. So this one was easy for me.

I love my husband, my kids, and my family more than anything else in this world.
I love creating things.
I love reading a good book.
I love taking a hike through the woods.
I love feeling the sun on my face.
I love finding a photo that you forgot all about hidden deep on your SD card.

I love that I can make that photo look old.

I love that I get super excited about a new lens coming in the mail. (Thanks Maggie for your help with this one.)

I love that this lens gives me a whole new perspective.

I love all the nice, encouraging comments I receive every day from all of you.

I simply love life.

To find more love, visit Stacy's for Theme Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday- Daisy

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Meet My New Friends

Once again I did not make too much to go in the shop this week. I finally took photos of the pendant and earrings and listed them.

I also made one more set of love bird lavender sachets, but these are completely hand sewn.

I have been spending the majority of my free time working on these little guys.

This is Sunshine.

This is Flowers.

Last, but not least this is Patches the penguin.

Patches is made from scraps that needed to used for something. They all have lentils in the bottom to add weight so they sit up really well.

These guys are not going up in the shop. They are going on a little journey. Hopefully, I will be able to tell you more about that soon.

Best Valentine's Day Eve Ever

My husband was off work on Friday and I worked half a day so we decided to celebrate Valentine's day a day early. We decided (actually I guess I decided) a month ago that we would exchange love letters for Valentine's day. So I had no expectations for the day. I thought we would grab some lunch, do a little shopping, and just hang out.

I called him right before I was ready to leave to see if he wanted to go out for lunch. He was very blah and decided that we should save money at eat lunch at home. I was a bit bummed, but could understand the rationale. So I headed home. When I walked in the door, I could immediately tell that the house had been cleaned. Wow, that's a nice surprise.

We ate lunch and ran a couple of errands. As we were heading home, my husband turned the wrong way. Hmmmm. He said we were going to check something out. Ok, so he has something planned. We pulled up to a spa. Yep. That's right. He had booked a couple's massage. I was totally surprised and luckily had shaved my legs that morning.

Earlier he had dropped off roses and a card to the spa so they were waiting for me when we went into the room. He later told me that he put the arrangement together. The vase was one from home. He had collected some plants from the yard and then he bought the roses. How sweet. It gets better. If that is even possible. I open the card and it says "P.S. We have a babysitter tonight." There was also a two page love letter in there too. Man, I felt completely spoiled.

His parents came over to watch the kids. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant and drank some margaritas. It was the most perfect Valentine's day.

I am choosing the photo above as my best shot. Visit Tracey's for more Best Shot Monday.

Project Valentine's Day Cards Completed

We are 99% done with Valentine's Day cards. Harper needs to put some finishing touches on the cards to her teachers. Then we are officially done, which is good since the party is tomorrow.

I decided to go a different route with the Valentine's for Harper's class. I saw these sweet felt fortune cookies on Martha Stewart's website. Since I have tons of felt, I thought it would be perfect to use up some of my stash. I did a test run using pipe cleaners instead of floral wire and they came together really easily. Harper was excited about them too. I cut out all the circles and pipe cleaner pieces. The kids helped glue the pipe cleaners down the middle. Then I wrote little messages on scrap paper and Harper signed each one. I was very impressed. She signed her name 24 times in one sitting. I kept telling her she could take a break, but she was determined. We stuffed all the fortune cookies with the messages and folded them up.

I wanted to do pink and red, but did not have enough. So I played it safe and used all the same color.

I wanted to do something very simple for Miller's cards. I knew that his attention span would allow us 15 minutes at the most. So I printed off pictures of dinosaurs and wording that says, "You are dino-mite". I cut them out and had him glue the pieces of paper to card stock. Harper helped by glueing the wording on. We had a small assembly line going.

The cards in the back are for his teachers. I cut out scrap paper and he just glued it to the cardstock.

I am actually proud of myself because I did not break down and buy anything. Everything we used we had on hand.

Today's theme for Theme Thursday is special. Eventhough it is a bit of a stretch, homemade Valentine's qualify as being special in my book.

See more special treats over at The Land of K.A.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Wordless Wednesday- Another Day At The Park

It's Never Too Early To Think About Spring

We had another fabulous weekend with temperatures in the 60's and 70's. We spent the day Sunday enjoying the weather and getting some yard work done. I really should say my husband got some yard work done because I did not contribute a great deal. I mostly chased the kids around and documented the day by taking many, many photos, which you all know is a very important task. I am determined to expand my garden this year so my husband was so very sweet and started clearing out one of the flower beds.

The previous owners were avid gardeners and retired so they spent all their time in the yard. Unfortunately, we have not been able to spend as much time tending to the yard as we would like so there are places that are way overgrown. During the summer it gets way out of control. We did manage to transfer some of the plants to other places in the yard. Like this one. I have no idea what it is, but it looks like it would be pretty.

We still have lots of work to do, but at least we got an early start on it. I don't have a shop update today. I spent the week restocking and refueling. I have several works in progress, but nothing finished to show.

Best Shot Monday- Kisses

Harper stealing a kiss from her cousin. So sweet.

There's always more Best Shot Monday over at Tracey's.

A Break from the Cold

The theme for Theme Thursday is cold. Since I am really lame and/or lazy, here is my contribution. See it's pretty cold today. That counts right?

Sunday was a short lived break from the cold weather we have been having. I took so many pictures while we were at the zoo. I thought I would share a couple of my favorites. Looking at them warms me up a little bit.

Jump on over to Stacy's for more Theme Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday- My Nephew Turns 1

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