A Few New Pics

A Mover's Birthday

To celebrate the boys turning 2 I wanted to have a Sesame Street birthday. However, the only and I mean only thing the boys were interested in were the Imagination Movers on Disney. I'm not sure why but Disney doesn't make A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G for Imagination Movers. My cousin even went to the Disney store to see if they carried any merchandise and nada. I didn't want to go overboard or stress myself to the max trying to do too much so I came up with a few ideas and ran with them. I made a few gears out of poster board and made a few tissue paper wreaths using the Blue, Red and Yellow color scheme from the show. My two favorites were their movers tshirts and their cake. I purchased iron ons for blue shirts I got and made them their own personalized tshirts and my friend, college roommate and my Designs By Muah partner Jean made their cake.

The weather was great for the day. We had a lot of fun spending time with everyone and the boys partied till they crashed. Ethan didn't want to get out of the bouncy house once he discovered how fun it was. Lucas didn't care for it one bit. Funny how different they are. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day. (of course I couldn't get a really good one of them together)

MIA

Wow, it has been a long time since I've even visited my blog, much less written. There has been so much going on with birthdays and transitions that the first thing to be cut out for saving time was the blog. There are many things to update and I do intend to do that by the weekend. There was a 2nd birthday, my 29th, cribs are gone and big boy beds are here, climbing up bookcases has occurred, etc. With every thing going on I'm trying to figure out how to best discipline and teach them what they need to know. Oy, this parenting this is challenging!!!

Potty Training, I Think So

We tried potty chairs and Ethan seemed partially interested, but lost it rather quickly. So we decided to buy an over the toilet potty seat. Well, apparently that did the trick for Lucas because he has been peeing on it for the last 5 days. Not every time he needs to pee pee but at least twice a day, sometimes more. He's doing it; we're not pushing it. It does appear, though, that Ethan isn't going to jump on the bandwagon just yet because he'll watch Bubby go, but he doesn't want to go. He'll want to eventually. Wasn't sure how potty training twins was going to go so we'll see what happens. For now, I'm just a super proud mommy!!

A Few Hawaii Pics

There is A LOT going on around our house, especially preparing for their birthday party. Here are a few pics from our trip. I do intend to actually tell you about it, eventually!

So beautiful!!!

Home from Hawaii

We got home this week from a wonderful Hawaiian vacation. We are just about readjusted to the time change. I have lots of beautiful pictures to share, soon.

Let Me Tell You About My Night With GUY!!!

Guy Fieri from the Food Network, that is!!! Every Derby my husband works celebrity security and the past few years he's had Guy Fieri. The first year he was in town, I was invited to hang out with them. In all the years of him doing it, no one ever invited me. I could've peed myself I was so excited. HOWEVER, I was stuck in the hospital 7 months pregnant on bedrest and was not allowed to go. Total heartbreak!! Last year, I was invited out again. You've got to be kidding me. I was called an hour before I was supposed to show up somewhere, was in my lounge clothes with no babysitter. Didn't happen. Super super super disappointed. I learn from my mistakes! This year, I had a babysitter lined up before I got the invite because I was not missing this chance again!!!

(I had already met Guy once before when his traveling road show came through town. We got to go backstage and hang out with him during his pre-show downtime.)

Oaks came, Jean & I went. Had fun, even though my nasal and chest congestion had me feeling not so great. I looked great though :) Derby came, got a text message from James with details, got myself all gussied up, went to get Jean and we headed downtown. Guy was cooking dinner in a social club's kitchen while his wife, a few of his crew, and some Patriot football players hung out in the VIP room waiting for guests to arrive. I met Guy's wife, Lori. She was real down to earth and had kind of a bad ass style. Then again, being married to Guy Fieri, you kind of need to. We met Glenn, one of his crew, who invited us to come down to his house(which is really Guy's guest house) and stay so we could visit Guy & California. You don't have to ask me twice, dude!!! Then Glenn took us to the kitchen where Guy was cooking. Got a hug from Guy & Kleetus, his sous chef. Again, both I had met before. Then we went back to the VIP room to drink on Guy's bar tab and watch the celeb's trinkle in. Here's the kicker though, this was their time to get away from crazy fans and just relax. That meant no pictures. I will have these memories forever, though and they are awesome!!! Let me tell you who had me star struck.....Christopher Maloni from Law & Order:SVU, Joey Fatone, Wynonna, Travis Tritt, Eddie Montgomery, Peppa from Salt N Peppa, the Dos Equus "Stay Thirsty My Friends" guy from the commercials, Taylor Dane, one of the guys from Boyz 2 Men, Bode Miller, and some other actors whose faces I recognized but couldn't tell you their names. It was awesome!!! Thanks Guy for a great night!!! Guy also invited us out to visit and I do not intend to let that invitation go to waste!!

Mother's Day was yesterday and for the 2nd year in a row I was sick. I loved being able to have my boys, but the day was just yucky all the way around. Better luck next year!

The Best Two Minutes in Sports

This week really is the best time of the year to be from Louisville, KY. That's right, y'all, it's Derby Week!!! The city shuts down Friday and Saturday (they even close school Friday!) for Oaks and Derby. There's no stronger feeling of community here than during Derby Festival. Born and raised here allows me to view the Derby differently than those outside of the area, but my dad working at Churchill Downs and us getting a backside of the track front row seat for so many years adds to my excitement. Football stays on the tv during football season and James tries to sneak more basketball in than I'd care to see, but for me, it truly is the best two minutes in sports!!!

It also holds a special meaning for me because James proposed at Churchill Downs and we also were married there.

Boo-Boo's and Easter

No, they're not related but I want to talk about both. Over the last week or two, whenever a boo-boo occurs, the boys have been coming up to me so I can kiss the boo-boo. It seems to stop the tears which is great, but it's so stinkin cute! Just one of those moments that melt your heart!!

Easter was nice. We had both sides of the family over for lunch. The boys really love when the whole family comes over. They get tons of attention and they tend to show off for everyone. They didn't take a nap, but were still cute and full of energy!

Lucas had to take a seat after the excitement of hunting for eggs.

Ethan wanting to share his egg!

Our attempt at a family pic.

A boy without a nap!

Such a sweet boy!

***Let me just tell you, I'm incredibly intrigued by all the royal wedding business! I love watching just about anything wedding related, but add the interesting factor of it being a royal wedding and it's just super cool to me. I think Kate is absolutely a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e and can't wait to see what she looks like. As I'm watching stuff filmed in the palace, I really think I should've been invited just because I want to see inside :)

******Let me also note that I'm ready for all the tornadic storms to get up outta here! We slept right through a tornado warning last night! Opps!

ABC's

I'm not sure if it was a fluke or what, but Lucas kept hitting the ABC song on the ABC fridge magnet and he sang along EFG then he restarted it and before it started he said ABCD all on his own. Holy cow!!!

Another Blog

I know I know, I'm not good at keeping up this blog like I want to, but I've started another one :)
It's about home decor and DIY projects that I intend to do for my own home. I am filled with millions of ideas and I wanted a way to document them and keep track of progress. Stop by and see me often!!

http://thriftydreamer.blogspot.com/

"ME!!!"

While playing in their room after their bath, I was bouncing Lucas on my legs. He was giggling up a storm. Ethan runs over, sits on my legs between Lucas and I, then says "ME! ME! ME!" Uh, when did he learn this?? I am astonished on a daily basis with what they say. Lucas say am-burger and bagetti. It's so adorable. I love spending my days watching them grow and learn.

After their bath tonight, Lucas pee pee'd in the potty for the first time. YAY!!

I Love You!

My sweet little Lucas has been saying this all week! Neither of the boys have even attempted to repeat that back to me despite my efforts. However, for whatever reason, this week Lucas did repeat it and it made my heart just melt. He now gives hugs and says "I love you" and I couldn't be happier. Ethan will tell you no if you ask him to say it. That's ok b/c I know he does :)

Blog Crush

I've started the initial planning stages for Birthday Blowout 2.0! In the process of looking for great homemade decoration ideas on both etsy and in blogland, I've come across some great things. I found the inspiration for the party and I'm super psyched about it. I wish you all lived nearby to come b/c if it turns out half as cool as it is in my head, it will be sa-weet!! While looking for awesome DIY ideas, I asked my fab friend Angie to direct me to some of the cool blogs she follows. She's always up for a cool DIY project so I knew she'd have some good blogs to check out.
This is where my blog crush comes in. She sent me the link to the very fabulous blog of Kristin at http://www.mysweetheartmoments.com/. She is has an eye for decorating, re-purposing, and just general craftiness. I have been super inspired by her blog and instead of just talking about all the things I'd like to do to my house, I've actually started pursuing things to make those ideas come to life. I love my house. However, my house is boring. Boring in the sense that there just isn't a lot of color or that "homey" feel to it. The main culprit is the lack of window treatments. When we bought the house we had blinds installed with a piece of decorative trim and b/c of that, James felt no curtains were needed. Um, no. I'm slowly working on getting curtains and valances up in all of the rooms. I spend the majority of my time in our living room so I want it to have a more comfy feel to it. I don't think that's a lot to ask nor will it take a lot of money to achieve. I need to add a few splashes of fun color here and there in a way that will be stylish and toddler friendly!! I've done some analyzing and come to the conclusion that I have a shabby chic style interest that I'd really like to implement. I checked out our local peddler's mall yesterday and got a few cute treasures for my mantle and tomorrow will be perusing yet another peddlers mall to see what I can find. I'm going to take it slow because I really do try to take on too much at once and then get burnt out. That's how my house has never been completely decorated, even after living here 2.5 years.

I also came across this blog today, http://betterafter.blogspot.com/ which has made me giddy too. I love to see what other people come up with and try to build my own visions from that. I'm getting uber excited that yard sale season is getting ready to start up. I just know there are some awesome things out there in other people's homes that would be great for me!!

We Are Paci FREE!!!!

Yeah Baby!!! I've been wanting to do it for a while, but with hesitation from my husband I kept putting off taking away their paci's. I decided last Thursday that I was going to cut off the tips Friday night and we were going to spend the weekend trying to get used to no paci's. After about 20 minutes of crying at bedtime Friday, they quieted down and went to sleep. Not bad at all. I expected much worse. Saturday at naptime was a different story. My dad and stepmom came over to play with the boys while James and I worked on some spring cleaning. After their arrival and about an hour of the boys fussing, we just got them up. They played hard with Papaw & Mamaw and went right to sleep later that afternoon. Bedtime came, laid them down and they went right to sleep. Yesterday they napped in the car on the way home from the zoo so naptime wasn't an issue. Last night when we laid them down, again, no fussing at all!!! This makes me very happy!! The only downfall right now is that Lucas isn't able to really soothe himself when he wakes up early so he cries out. Ethan has a doggy that he takes with him everywhere so he cuddles with that when needed. All in all, it went a million times better than I expected :)

Manners

I try very hard to make sure I prompt the boys to say Please and Thank you. I also try to make sure they hear me say both. Please caught on pretty quickly because they were signing it before they could say it so they got used to combining please with whatever they were asking for. They say please with most things without being reminded. Thank you has taken some hard work, especially with Lucas. Last night, Ethan asked for something and when I gave it to him, he said his version of Thank You without me saying a word. I was such a proud mommy at that moment! Very proud of him and reassured that what I'm doing is working.

Loving the Outside lately

Just so stinkin cute!!

What's in a name?

Ethan and Lucas were picked out long before their arrival. I wanted Lucas and Nathan but because of a stupid tv show (I really don't mean stupid b/c I love One Tree Hill(even with Lucas and Peyton gone) and it had nothing to do with picking out those names) James refused to let me use them. I've always loved the name Nathan and Lucas has been on my name list a long time too. James liked Lucas better than Nathan so he suggested Ethan to compromise. Looking at them now, of course they are a Lucas and Ethan.

It was a given that James would be Daddy & I would be Mommy. Bailey is sometimes doggy and sometimes Bay-eeeee. The grandparents kind of picked out their names. My dad didn't care so I went with Papaw b/c that's what we grew up calling our grandpa's. My stepmom then became Mamaw b/c it goes with Papaw. My mom wanted Granny. My MIL wanted Grandma Mrs. Brown (don't ask me why because I have no idea) so they took on Grandma & Grandpa. Now that the boys are talking, somewhat, they call people what they want. Papaw is sometimes Pa-aw and sometimes just Pa. Mamaw is usually ma-aw. Granny is Ganny. Grandma is Ganma and Grandpa is just Pa. Aunt Kelly is Ke-ey, Aunt Jennifer is Je and Uncle Griffin is Uh-cle.

They are picking up so many words and phrases it's pretty ridiculous and fun! Lucas can sing right along with the Imagination Movers "Jump Up" song and he usually does the motions too. Lucas is a big repeater and of course Monkey See Monkey Do is a given in this house. It's such an interesting age!

P.S. Easter is such a blessed holiday but geez, I hate seeing all the Easter candy out there. Makes it hard for a girl to eat what's good for her!!

Something New

Here's something new I've been doing!

20 Months Old!

The only thing that comes to mind when I say 20 months is that in four short months they will be 2. TWO!!! It blows my mind that we are that close. In fact, I should probably start thinking about their birthday party right about now knowing how long it takes anything to get completed in this house.

They are doing so many things. I'm such a proud momma these days.

Ethan:
*He loves to put on his clothes. He'll take them off to put them back on or will try to put other clothes on top of what he's wearing. Granted, he usually puts his shirts on his legs, but he can definitely do his own pants and socks.

*He doesn't go ANYWHERE without his dog. He is attached to that thing. It's mostly cute. He gets so excited when he's been looking for it and finds it again.

*He has pee-pee'd on the potty once.

Lucas:
*He loves to play with the real vacuum and run his fake vacuum. LOVES IT!!

*He loves to climb on top of the half wall we have that separates our living room from our kitchen. Drives me crazy b/c I'm afraid he's going to fall. He says "sit down" the whole time he's trying to climb up though. (I have a pic I'll post later)

*He can count 1, 2.

*He has a little guitar that he likes to dance around and sing with. He gets really into it which of course makes us laugh so hard b/c it's so cute!

Both:
*They respond "OK" to questions. It's so darn cute!

*They love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

*Their manners get better everyday. They're starting to say Please without me needing to prompt them.

*They tell me when they've gone poo-poo and sometimes pee-pee.

*They can both tell me what's the color blue, but they don't say other colors.

*They have become picky eaters, which I hate. It seems like over the last two weeks their eating has dropped off. Makes meal times difficult.

*They've also dropped to three meals a day with a light snack instead of four. They were eating breakfast, big snack that was considered a meal with as much as they ate, lunch and dinner. Now they barely eat breakfast, have a light snack, usually do pretty good with lunch and dinner.

*They tell me when they're hungry. I no longer follow a timed schedule with food. I ask them if they're ready for snack or ready for lunch. They eat when they're ready.

*They tell me when they're ready for night night (nap). I know this will change, but I'll ask are you ready for night night and sometimes they say no, but if I ask again they'll shake their heads yes and head up stairs with me.

*Their vocabulary just grows every day. I sit in amazement listening to some of the stuff they say.

*We go to storytime at the library on Wednesdays and they seems to really enjoy themselves.

*They share with each other!

They get in to everything but I'm having so much fun watching them at this age!

Twin Love

As a daughter of a twin, I've seen first hand the bond between twins. I always expected that kind of relationship between E&L from the beginning because of watching my dad & uncle. Unfortunately, the boys didn't really seem interested in each other at all and that made me sad. I was worried that they would be too different to really behave how you would expect twins to behave towards each other. Recently, though, that has changed. They call each other bubby-they started this, James and I never used the word bubby. Ethan doesn't want to do anything if bubby doesn't join him. He will yell for bubby until Lucas is in site. It's so cute. They give each other hugs and kisses out of nowhere and it just melts my heart. They interact with each other and share with each other now. It's the sweet thing to watch them share with each other. They still fight some, but most of the time they don't want the other to be left out. I hope they only get closer as they get older, but I'm loving watching them at this age!

Hands in their Hair???

Do your kids do this? Is there a way to make them stop?? The moment E&L's hands get all nastied up with food they immediately stick them in their hair. It's always Monkey See Monkey Do in my house so if one does it the other does it too. Even if I'm on the defense and cleaning them up during meals, they still manage to get food in their hair. James suggested shower caps. Great idea aside from the fact they'd pull them right off. Shower cap with chin straps? Now we're talking. Might be time to take a trip to the dollar store to get a few and see what I can create to keep them on. I will win this battle. Oh yes I will. One way or another!!!

Let's Talk This Out!

disclaimer: if you know me in real life, i mean really know me, am related to me or call yourself one of my bff's/closest friends, please in no way try to talk to me about this. i will not have that conversation with you. thanks!

let's talk this out. i need to get this out of my head. it's moments like this i wish my family & friends didn't read this blog. heck, does anyone? i'm going to tell you how it is. exactly how it is. i'm not going to hold back so beware.

babies. pregnancy. biological clock.

it seems as if everyone around me is pregnant or trying. this is both in real life and blog world. i think it's awesome. i love seeing pregnant bellies and i love babies. so much so that both of those things are on my mind a lot lately. i mean like all.the.time lately. over the last few months it's been a daily conversation i have with myself. right now my heart and my head are in battle. a very wise friend told me she believes we become mothers in our hearts first. she is so right. my heart wants another one. like right now!! my head tries to talk my heart out of it. my head has very valid arguments, but my heart is stubborn and doesn't want to listen. that old saying, the heart wants what the heart wants. that seriously applies here. no, i'm not just getting caught up in everything. i'm not wanting babies because other people are having babies. i'm not wanting to be pregnant because other people are pregnant. i'm feeling how i felt when james & I were ttc originally. i love my boys. i wouldn't trade them for anything ever. don't get me wrong. i have more love for them than they'll ever understand. however, i feel something inside telling me it's time for another one. it's screaming at me. i don't feel the jealousy I felt when i see pregnant woman like i did when we were first ttc because I do have my sweet boys. i do however ache to have it again. people joke around (i hope) with me about being done since we have twins, but i've always been offended by the assumption. just because i got two for one doesn't mean i should automatically be done. i've always wanted two kids. i was one of two. james is one of two. but that meant two pregnancies. even while pregnant with twins, i knew i'd want to be pregnant again and have another one. i at least want to try to for a little girl. yes i know there are no guarantees. i have always wanted a little girl and i need to try for that little girl. i won't love another little boy any less, but i really want my sweet little girl. i want to see what another child that james and i make would look like. do you watch the duggars? i think it's a bit crazy that they have so many kids. but on the flip side, i think it's awesome to see how different that many kids look coming from the same two parents. i love being able to look at e&I and see james in them or see myself. i want to do that with another. i want the whole experience again.

i think another thing that keeps popping in my head is that if we had just one the first time, we'd definitely be ttc again. there are two girls that i was pregnant with that are both pregnant now, one on purpose, the other not, but they are. i keep thinking about how i should be pregnant with them. it's not a feeling like i'm missing out on what other people have. maybe it's my biological clock. my clock doesn't understand i have 2 almost 20 month old boys at home. it just understands i'm at a child bearing age and that there's been enough time since my last one to have another one. i get it. believe me, i hear you. my head however just doesn't agree. or maybe it's my husband's voice in my head trying to convince me that i don't agree.

here's what my head says.... nope. you are not ready for another one. your body isn't ready for another one. you still have issues from your gallbladder. issues that require ibuprofin from time to time due to pain. you're too chicken to have it removed so you don't need to add a baby to the mix and have some real issues result from it. you had high blood pressure that lasted for 9 months after the boys were born. what if you have that again and it causes pre-eclampsia? just because you think it was a lasting effect of trebutaline(shot to stop preterm labor) doesn't mean that's the case. the trebutaline caused some random heart beat skips. what if you go into preterm labor again and aren't able to take the meds because of the previous side effects? here's a biggie. what if it isn't just a single baby? what if you get pregnant with twins again?? really think about that. just because you want one doesn't mean you would get just one. but don't be a pessimist either. don't just assume there will be two just because you only want one more. you just don't know. james might let you get away with having one more because you want one more so badly but what if you have two more. will he resent you? will you be able to afford more kids regardless of how many you have? you'd definitely have to get a minivan or third row SUV. could you afford that? think about all the expenses. think about time. the boys are getting to the age where the grandparents are keeping them more. add a third to the mix and that will change. your time alone with your husband would be even more limited. people will watch two, but not three kids. let's think about the most obvious. how are you going to handle two toddlers and a baby??? you're not superwoman. you have some seriously stressful days now. think about the kind of days you'd have with 3 kids. what about the boys. don't you think it's a bit selfish to have another one? they already don't get as much one on one time as they need because there are two. adding another to that will limit their time even more. limit your time with them even more. you already have two healthy babies. why try for another? you have two and many people can't have one. isn't that selfish? you already expect so much out of the grandparents. maybe you should ask them if they're willing to help care for another. this doesn't just affect you.

you see. i'm not naive. i talk these things out with myself at least once a day. but despite all of these very valid questions, it doesn't make me want one any less. it doesn't change how i feel. that leaves me in such a limbo. if feel like if you wait for the "right" time, you'll wait forever. i don't feel like i'm trying to be in control of the situation because there is no real situation. it's just feelings. so there's no letting go of the situation. are you asking if i've talked to james about this yet? a tiny bit, but not really. it makes me cry when i try to talk about it. when/if he reads this, who knows what he'll actually think. this is one of those things i try to deal with on my own so i don't add any more to his plate. i know he deals with a lot already. not fair i know. not how i should handle it, but it is what it is. i know what he'll say. we can't afford it right now and he's not sure if he wants another one. those answers just break my heart a little more. i'd rather just deal with these feelings on my own. at least then i don't have to feel sad towards him.

so there you have it. if you've made it to the end, God bless you. this was a lot to take in. i just needed to get it off my chest. sometimes being in my head is too much so i'm getting it out of my head. ah, makes me think of my favorite dance from this past season's so you think you can dance. twitch & alex's get outta my mind. fantastic!! thanks for listening to my ramblings.

First Craft Show

So yesterday Jean & I had our first craft show, sort of. My sister had a Thirty-One party at her house so we set up an area with all of our stuff. We had pillowcase dresses, tons of hairbows and headbands, crocheted hats and jewelry. We had no idea what to expect but we did pretty well. We have 3 real craft fairs booked for March & April so we're hoping it will be really successful.

I have to ask for input though. If you were going to a craft fair in March or April, what kinds of things would you be looking for as a woman and a mom?? We want to make sure we cover all of our bases but don't spend too much time on things that aren't going to be the most appealing. Here's another quandary. I have two toddler BOYS. I hate that aside from hats that they won't wear once it's warm, that I can't think of anything crafty to do for them. Any suggestions??

NO!

Let's talk about that word. With two toddlers, you can imagine our use of No is frequent. No No! is said way too often in our house. At first we were trying to teach the boys, then we were trying to keep them safe, now they're using it to tell us when they don't want/want to do something. It's a progression I'm not thrilled with. First of all, it means my little babies are grown up enough to know what they want and to be able to express it to me by using their words. Secondly, they're telling me no. Nuff said. My little boys have attitudes that I'm sure they inherited from their daddy :) Their temper tantrums have progressed to a whole new level. And now they are, well, I don't even know what to call it really. They will go up and turn the tv off. This is a known No No! Well, they (Lucas especially) will go up to the tv, look at us and smile, turn off the tv and then smack their own hand and say "No No, Bad"! They obviously know not to do it, yet they do it any way. AH!!! That's so frustrating. And to top it off, Lucas will hold up his arms b/c he knows he's going to time out. I don't really know how to handle this. No is not a word that I'm fond of right now!

Words

It astonishes me the words that come out of their little mouths. They love to repeat anything they hear and it seems like they just love learning new words. They got a book of animals for Christmas but to see the animal and the word you have to hold up the flap. They LOVE this book. It has been a great learning tool as well because they are saying words of animals I sure didn't expect. Last night we were getting ready for bed and out of no where, Lucas says Penguin. It was clear as day too. Of course today when I ask him to say it he says "No". Unfortunately this is a common word around our house now and it's more frequently use by E&L than James & I. Another word is Ok. If I ask Ethan to do something or tell him something I'm going to do his usual response is "ok" which sounds more like Ah-K. It's so cute though. It makes being at home with them during the day that much more entertaining!!

Snow 2011

We got probably about 5.5 inches of snow last week so we were able to pull out the boys' snow suits they got for Christmas and go play outside. Here's a few pictures of that fun. And yes, you see Lucas being pulled on a pool float because we do not have a sled :) They did have fun eating the snow though!

**Oh and check out the link on the side to the Designs by Muah page on fb that shows our handmade goodies!!

Toddler Time

Today my MIL & I took the boys to Toddler Time at our local library. I didn't realize they had this until just before Christmas, but Christmastime was too hectic to go. It went so well. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad we went. I was super happy it went well. Ethan is a little bit more shy socially than Lucas (gets that from me). If he's being shy or nervous, he'll usually cling to me or another relative. He seemed shy when we first got there and sat in Grandma's lap quietly. That was fine because we were seated in a circle for the half hour that it lasted. Lucas sat quietly/still for about 5 minutes then he was ready to get up and do his own thing. Luckily, we switched activities fairly quickly so his attention would be recaptured with each change. By the end of it, they were both smiling and enjoying themselves.

We got a song sheet when we got there and we got there right at starting time. It seems we just can't get anywhere early, although I should be really glad we were able to make it on time :)
We would sing a song, Ms. Shannon would then read a book, we'd sing a song, she'd read a book. Then we sang a song while looking at a pop up book. The real fun started when she busted out the parachute! It was like being in elementary gym again. The kids loved running underneath of it. And when I say kids, I mean everyone else's kids who ran under it. Mine seemed to just like watching the other kids. Lucas was pointing out the Elmo shirt when the parachute would fly up. The boys were most excited and intrigued by the bubbles. Ms. Shannon had a big bubble wand and walked around singing along with a song playing in the background blowing bubbles. The expressions on their faces and the pure excitement shining from their faces was priceless. Made my day! We finished off toddler time singing a song about a nap. Overall, it was a great time. In the children's section of the library there is a train set that was super cool. After storytime we, along with other kids from the class, spent some time mingling while playing with the train. I got to talk with a mom of a 15 month old girl. It was nice meeting another mom my age in my area. I'm hoping to gain a few mommy resources/acquaintances/friends from this. The one mommy I was talking to said they go every Wednesday so it would be nice to go regularly to get to know some of the other moms. I am really glad we went!

Let's Get Crafty!!!

Ever since rooming with an art major in college, I've been interested in all things crafty. She showed me how to crochet. She tried to teach me how to sew. She got me interested in painting. I just love being creative and LOVE the feeling of accomplishment in finishing a project. Not everything turns out well, but I love to try. A few years ago I start making my own jewelry. I mostly give it away as gifts or make it for someone who asks me, but I did have a party once where I did really well. I never bothered with Etsy because I didn't really know how to promote it and didn't want to be tied down to it if I didn't have the time to make anything to go on it. Fast forward to now. I spent from before Halloween until the night before Christmas crocheting different items to give as Christmas presents and also made some jewelry as gifts too. I really feel like me when I'm making them. It's something I do for me. Jeannie. The person. Not the wife. Not the mother. I can call it my own. I appreciate that so much.

That being said, my college roommate and I opened an Etsy store. Right now, everything on it is hers but I'm slowly taking pictures of my stuff to add to it. We're even having a show the first weekend in February. We'll have jewelry, my hats, hairbows and other accessories for little girls, and hopefully we'll have a few pillowcase dresses too. If you're local, contact me for the address. It would be great to have some support. Plus it's an ice cream social so come get some free ice cream. Here are a few pics of two of my hats. I pulled the initial patterns from crochet-mania-hats.blogspot.com and tweaked them to make them my own. I'm proud of them. I love this feeling. I'll get the Etsy link on the blog soon so you can check out the rest of the stuff.