A Day in the life of a Mommy to 3

I held my neighbor/friend's newborn baby boy today and nearly cried....m

2006-09-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

I passed the "newborn test" a few months ago with another friends baby, but this little baby boy melted my heart, reminding me of my baby boys and made me tell Jason to forget about the big V we had planned very soon. He absolutely wants no more, not even to adopt from China like I would like. I ask myself when will enough be enough? Do I really want another child or do I just have a soft spot for babies? Ack it is such a tough thing to say I am done. I know I am not ready to get pg right this second, but maybe later? The big kids need a lot of attention too and right now Brody is my sweet cuddle bug and that is enough for now. But maybe just for now......

28 is great

2006-04-23T22:06:00.000-05:00

Today was my 28th birthday and I had such a wonderful day! I worked a short shift at my new job and my manager bought me lunch. I thought that was so nice. After work Jason took me to a Japanese restaurant where we sat at the cooking table. Our neighbors celebrated with us and gave me a beautiful set of candle holders that will look awesome in our new house when it is finished. Then we headed to Coldstone for some yummy ice-cream!!! The sweetest thing was my gift from Jason. I showed him this necklace several weeks ago and he kept it on his list of gift ideas. I am just in love with it!

2 for 1 special on babies!

2006-04-01T15:56:00.000-06:00

I never thought my two friends who were due over 2 months apart would deliver their babies 7 days apart but one went 8 days over and the other had twins earlier than expected. All are doing well. Here are the two cutie pie twins!

Color me happy!

2006-04-01T15:45:00.000-06:00

I made a mini swatchboard using pictures and samples of things that will be going in our new home. It helps me stay focused on the look I want when picking out new samples and will be a great thing to hang on to and say remember when we built this house? The round glass chandelier will be going over the dining set and the orange glass light will be hung in 3 over the granite bar. The chunky stone tile will be an accent in the master bathroom's tiled shower. The aqua recycled glass will be an accent in my whirlpool tub bathroom and the aqua glass lights will be in both that bathroom and my office next to it. The ceiling fan pictured will be in the master bedroom and our new bedding is shown. The blue paint and planets are for the boys room. It should be a fun room. Piper's room will be similar to what she has now since we just finished it and she loved the pink. Our siding will be sage with coordinating stone accents and sage shakeback shingles. The casings and cabinets will all be maple as well as the fireplace mantel.

Another small angel joins God in Heaven

2006-03-29T08:15:00.000-06:00

This little girl truly touched so many lives including my family's. We are deeply saddened that she is gone, but her pain is no more and she can look down on us from above. http://www2.caringbridge.org/mi/ashleigh/

She's HERE! Emma was born on March 20th

2006-03-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

Brody and I went to visit and he liked her so much they napped together. :)
And then I got to hold her too! She is such a doll!

Great music video if your feeling sorry for yourself

2006-03-13T19:27:00.000-06:00

http://www.worldonfire.ca/

Happy thoughts!

2006-03-01T21:12:00.000-06:00

Today the price on the house we are building was signed and accepted so we will have the house of our dreams by July 28th!

Brody is only getting up once a night and I only have to rub his back to get him sleeping again!

Piper is potty trained at last!

Cale is getting really good at typing long emails!

Spring is on the way!

I have 3 beautiful healthy children that I love so much!

My husband loves me enough to move again even though we said we wouldn't! LOL

I get to create jewelry for others and help people at the same time!

I am at my lower weight goal after meeting my first one! (much to my surprise)

I am going on a cruise next month! Whoo hoo!

I DO fit in here Mama!

2006-02-14T12:52:00.000-06:00

Lady in waiting

2006-02-14T12:32:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from my very sweet friend Janelle's baby shower. One is Piper and I with Janelle. Piper enjoyed the shower but got tired quickly. Congratulations Janelle and Darin! I can't wait to meet Emma!

Freaking Deer!

2006-02-05T21:03:00.000-06:00

I am a semi vegetarian which means I do not eat red meat. I have been like this since age 15, BUT I am not a slushy vegetarian who thinks every bunny should run free. I am a big supporter of deer hunting because they are over-run in Iowa. Tonight after leaving Jason's parents house we encountered not one herd of deer in the road but two. I was following Jason (who was driving the car) in the van with all 3 kids sounds alseep. The second set of deer made him and an oncoming car swerve at the same time and I swear I about choked on my own heart! Luckily all passed by safely including the stupid deer. I think they are beautiful animals and I definitely am not interested in eating one, but I know plenty of guys who love to hunt them and many Iowans are fans of deer sausage. I think it is too bad they still put a small limit on the amount one hunter can bag since these furry Bambis can be seen even in the city of Cedar Rapids roaming at night. One of my biggest fears is that I will hit one, especially with the kids in the car. So far knock on wood I have not hit one yet.

"Memories in a snack"

2006-01-29T15:13:00.000-06:00

My kids love eating Goldfish crackers. These days the handy snack comes in many flavors, colors and even different sizes. When I was a kid there were just the original and now when I eat them it brings back a special memory for me. My Grandma was the one who bought them for me when we would "go to the trailer" to go fishing. That statement sounds kind of odd now but "the trailer" was their vacation home situated conveniently close to Lake Rafben where they would take their boat to fish. We would also bring inner tubes to pull behind the boat and swim on the beach. When I would get bored from fishing (everyone who knows me knows I am more of a girly girl, not a fisherman although my record was catching 14 one morning) and hungry out on the boat Grandma always had a bag of little golden fish crackers and I loved them, just as my kids do now.

Adventures in decorating and WHOA that is too bright!

2006-01-26T20:01:00.000-06:00

Ok the winter blahs must be getting me and after having so much fun with Piper's room I decided to paint where the big people roam. Our living room is already a calming sage green that we love and I wanted to add in some ocean blues to the green. I picked a color that exactly matched my peacock fiestaware and the result we tried SO hard to like, really we did. It was way too bright. Even now looking at the 2" sample I love this color but on the wall in semi gloss it was overpowering the soft sage. Exhausted but determined I went back to Sherwin Williams for a new color we picked out together. It really is handy having your own colordeck at home. They sell them for $10 in the store but I got mine free about a year ago. How I will never tell and no I did not steal it, just did not give it back to a painter who ripped us off, oh I just told ack! LOL Anyway enjoy the pics of the bright bright blue and then the new a little bright but much more agreeable "Freshwater" color. I would love to have the job of naming paint! Now...what qoute could I stencil on the blue? he he he

Would you let a 3 year old help paint her room?

2006-01-16T12:05:00.000-06:00

I would! We had fun and her new cotton candy pink room is SO pretty! She loves pink and I am so happy we made her room even more special. She is our princess after all. :)

Etsy Bitsy Store!

2006-01-10T09:08:00.000-06:00

I have a new online store at Etsy.com. This site is very similar to eBay except it is ONLY for handmade items and each person gets their own store for FREE and listings are only .10 each for 6 months! I think it is a great place, now I can only hope people actually will shop there since it seems to be fairly new. I have only put a few things in my store but as time allows I will be adding to it.

http://peaceofmind.etsy.com

Happy Family on Christmas Eve!

2005-12-28T19:44:00.000-06:00

Pimp my Nutcracker!

2005-12-22T17:54:00.000-06:00

http://pimpmynutcracker.com/

Snowed in and not lovin it so much

2005-12-15T10:26:00.000-06:00

Oh well we can pick out a new style now!

Snowed in and lovin it!

2005-12-14T11:44:00.000-06:00

Ham for the Holidays...

2005-12-12T09:37:00.000-06:00

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus and his birthday. At this time our family is giving our birthday gift in the form of turkeys and hams to the food pantry. Last year we were able to donate about 7 of each and this year I think we will come out at about 8 of each. Even if your not a religious person, take some time to think of others while your buying those techie gadgets, cd's and clothes for your family for Christmas. Even just a small sacrifice of $10 could make a difference in someone else's Holiday and you most likely won't even miss it.

Sweet Symphony Sleep

2005-12-12T08:43:00.000-06:00

This weekend my mom and I took my oldest child Cale to the Holiday Symphony. I always enjoyed it when I was young and I wanted to share that with him. About the 3rd song he fell fast asleep on Grandma's lap. :) It probably did not help that we took him shopping beforehand for shoes and he was tired. I am sure it was a very peaceful sleep.
Here is a picture of us before we left for the concert.

A real interview this time!

2005-12-08T11:57:00.000-06:00

The Gazette called and said my awesome friend Anne from "Oh Baby" (a sweet little boutique) referred me to her for her article. The interview was about Stay at home moms who start their own business! I told her about the handmade bracelets I make and how I got started. The article should be out in the Cedar Rapids Gazette on the 13th so if your a local look for it!

My day with my mom!

2005-12-04T19:17:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Jason agreed to watch all 3 kids while my mother and I went to the Amana Colonies for their Christmas shopping festival. It is an old fashioned colony with German heritage. I had so much fun! We shopped in the wonderful little stores filled with gorgeous home decor and knick knacks (even though I had sworn them off since my kids never leave my stuff alone LOL). I ended up falling in LOVE with the figures by the artist Jim Shore who my mom already had a reindeer from. She wanted to finish her set of 3 so I agreed to buy her the other two for Christmas if she bought me the angel I had been admiring in a couple stores. His figures are all over Amana due to his large use of German motif flowers in his carvings. We of course could not wait until Christmas and my angel is looking over my kitchen :) Here are some pictures.....
We ate a huge lunch at the Ronneburg restaurant with lots of fried bad for you food, but it was so good. We tasted wine samples at the winery and bought some wine and seasoning for our Christmas dinner that will be at my house. I am excited about that too. We walked through gorgeous blizzarding snow that was perfect for the scenery, but no so good for driving in. I even had my picture taken with some fun characters while holding my hot cider sample. There was fun everywhere and we did not even get to everything they had so next year we are going back. There just wasn't enough time to see the Christmas tree walk or go to the cookie tasting walk, although we got our fair share of treats. I really enjoyed the day and am glad my mom asked me to go. Next week we are taking Cale to the Christmas symphony and I hope he enjoys that time with his mama and grandma Kat.

Wishes do come true..

2005-11-30T13:52:00.000-06:00

Right about now little Ashleigh should be living out her wish come true at Disney Land thanks to the Make A Wish foundation. I truly hope she has a wonderful time. She is such a precious little girl and deserves all the joy in the world!

I got flushed down a toilet....

2005-10-17T08:52:00.000-05:00

and it was AWESOME!!!!!!!! We went to the Great Wolf Lodge this weekend for a family fun time. Jason and I each rode this water ride separately with strangers so one of us could watch the kids. This was the highlight of the weekend for me, sooooooo fun!!!!! It gives you that tummy flip in your stomach and was just flippin sweet!

Brody is such a fish! I took him in the 1 ft. tall baby pool and he ended up crawling around in it much to a nervous mommy since the water was right at his face. He also loved the little slide they had. I went to pick him up one time and he pushed me away since he was having so much fun!

Piper went on the lazy river with me and even went down a water slide on my lap! I was so proud and she loved it until the splash at the end. Later when she stopped crying she said she loved it. LOL

Cale was not into the water too much after being so excited to go, but he did have a blast in the water spraying play area you can crawl through. Once he warmed up he had fun too. I am not sure how to get him to be adventurous, but it is just not his personality. As long as he enjoyed the trip I don't mind.

Jason and I definitely need a trip alone, but this family trip was fun for everyone.

The trip home was not too fun since Brody ended up with his first ear infection in both ears, but we stopped at an urgent care and got him some meds to make him feel better soon. Winter must be coming since everyone seems to be getting sick. The best we can do is wash wash wash our hands. My kids don't live in a bubble so at least they will have immune systems of iron!

Ehhh

2005-10-06T22:46:00.000-05:00

Cale made me smile afterall...

2005-10-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

They went to the pumpkin patch in Kindergarten today and he said "I tried to milk a cow but nothing came out and it was squishy" LOL I found out later it was not a real cow but still worth laughing about.

sleep=happiness?

2005-10-03T13:02:00.000-05:00

I have not slept a whole night's sleep for about a year now. I am grumpy most of the time and am easily annoyed. I don't feel like I am being the mom I want to be to my kids because the energy is not there. I can't remember that last time I was truly excited about anything. I think maybe it was for Brody's baptism, but I am not sure. I think I was excited about the cruise I am going on in 6 months, but then it left and was replaced with worry about leaving on my own. Maybe by then Brody will be sleeping all night and I can find the energy to be happy about it. I know others have much more to worry about than I do, some don't even have homes right now and some might lose their precious children to illness. I want to enjoy this time while my children are young because we can never get it back, but right now I just feel like crying.

Sad news...

2005-09-23T18:56:00.000-05:00

This week a friend of mine learned that her niece who had fought a terrible battle against a rare childhood cancer has relasped and there is no treatment this time. I can't even express how much this little girl's journey has opened my eyes to what cancer patients go through. I honestly had no idea how much they indure. I look at my children and feel a mix of emotions including pain and sorrow for what her mother has been through and fear that something could take away my little ones as well. My husband is equally devastated as he has read her updates for the past year as well. I am praying for her and her family. If you would like to read about this amazing little girl who has affected so many you can visit her website Ashleighs website

Tired...

2005-09-18T16:37:00.000-05:00

That is me ....very tired thus the lack of posting. I thought maybe when Jason graduated this magic thing would happen and we would all be less stressed but it turns out having 3 kids, paying bills, trying to become a famous artist and all is stressful. I am very broke right now because filling the gallery case took about 25 pieces of jewelry and this month I have a show which needs to fill a 4 ft. table. I am so glad I declined the 8 ft! I know this will all pay off in the end and I did get a nice mother's bracelet order this weekend, but my books are currently in the red and that stresses me out. The fact that I have tons and tons of finished jewelry ready and waiting to sell only mildly reassures me that I am ok because I always worry it won't sell. I keep telling myself Christmas season will be a maddening flash of orders leaving me begging for more time and I truly hope it will be.

I am also hoping for more sleep as my 10 month old does not seem to think it is important. He does have a bit of a cold but even before that came on he was getting up twice a night, sometimes more. His naps during the day are short and I am trying to get him on a better schedule.

Piper started pre school/ daycare last week and although the mornings have been unpredictable with crying mixed with excitement, she seems to have fun while there. This new journey is for both her social environment and my sanity. She goes 3 days a week and it gives me a bit more time to get things done at home and I get some one on one time with Brody. I have found he can only take so much errand running so I am going to slow down now that I have had some time to get those things done that have been on my list for some time.

Cale is loving kindergarten and I am so happy for him. I love picking him up after school and it is only a block away so we take the stroller. I am not sure what we will do this winter, but I am sure some days will require the warmth of the van. He tells me about his day on our walk home and I get to hear about all the fun things that kindergarteners do. It has reminded me what I loved about grade school and emphasizes the great things in life like friends, art music and learning.

I am enjoying my kids on an individual basis right now but when they are all together it is honestly so nerve racking. Cale and Piper love to fight and it can really escalate. It is wearing us out!!!! They are all unique in their own little way and sometimes those ways collide. Brody is now very mobile so he adds to the craziness.

Master this......

2005-08-30T10:33:00.000-05:00

One day, just one more day and Jason will have finished his masters! I know he is excited but DANG I am so excited for him to be done! For the last couple years he has stayed up most night until 1 or 2 in the morning typing away on his laptop. The amount of papers required for a masters degree astounds me and I know I could never type anything longer than 3 or 4 let alone 14 page papers in multiples. Yuck! I am thankful he was able to do this online at Upper Iowa as opposed to actually attending Iowa where he got his engineering degree. Although I have rarely had the nicety of going to bed next to my husband, he has at least been home to spend time with his kids. I think Iowa needs to get in gear and get with the times on this issue. And while they are at it they should start an Interiors program. he he

Yes one more day and he is DONE! We will be having a party!!!!!!!! whoop whoop

BAD spider BAD! If I find you your squashed!

2005-08-28T22:02:00.000-05:00

Tonight we spent 3 hours or so in the E.R. because of a spider:( Cale came home from visiting Grandma Schoon with a very scratched bug bite with a band aid on it. After a few hours I noticed his ankle where the bite was had swollen to twice the size of the other one and was very red. We kept an eye on it and gave him Clariton to see if that helped. We have been to the E.R. many times with sick kids and it's not so fun so we were trying to avoid it. After a while longer he developed a fever so we put in a call to the doctor on call. She said he should go to the E.R. Both of us wanted to be with him so we packed all 3 kids in the van and off we went. You really only see the doctor for about 5 seconds after waiting literally for hours, but after looking at the swollen ankle and noting the temp he prescribed anti-biotics. He said it was most likely a spider bite despite Cale's insistence that it was a mosquito. Cale will probably be missing school tomorrow which makes me sad since he loves it and has only had one week. I am praying the meds kick in quickly so he can be himself again. He's such a sad little guy when he is sick.

They like me, they really like me! :)

2005-08-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I took about 7 of my jewelry pieces to a gallery in downtown Iowa City to see if they would be interested in showing my work. The lady was really nice which helped keep me from throwing up I was so nervous! She said some of my things were very original and that my work was really nice. As long as I can fill a case and keep the inventory up I will do well. I gave them those pieces and need to get her about 13-15 more by next Wed. so they can have it ready for an opening they are doing on Friday. I am SO SO excited about this. I am still nervous as well but the hardest part is over and now I get to do the fun part which is make more jewelry. They will feature my jewelry for 90 days and then they can extend it if they wish or out I go to make room for another artist. The timing for these 3 months is wonderful because Christmas shopping will soon be upon us! To see many of the pieces I took in you can visit my gallery!

Tag

2005-08-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

Here are my 5 songs from Martha's tag:

1. Rihanna - Pon de Replay

2. Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.

3. Evil Nine - Crooked

4. Missy Elliot - Lose Control

5. Ciara - Oh

I should start my own credit card...

2005-08-04T17:33:00.000-05:00

The rich get richer, that is for certain. Not only do credit card companies get to make tons of money on interest because people cannot afford to pay off their bill, they also get to make tons of money from the merchants who want to accept credit cards. I sell baskets in addition to my jewelry business. I only have the occasional show and had not signed up to accept credit cards yet, but the need presented itself on a potentially really good show. I called to find out what I needed to do and even with the special pricing for consultants I have to pay $25 just to get started, then if I want to process them online its another $20 or so. (If I sign up I will be using the cheaper phone processing!) There is also a percentage averaging 2.5% or so per transaction and an additional .10 for online orders AND on top of all this there is also a monthy fee with a one year contract. OUCH Um, I only make 25% to begin with, so by the time I have a show providing my time and snacks and pay for business supplies and samples I am pretty much in the hole. I am very lucky Paypal has worked out well for my jewelry business. They only charge a straight percentage off of the transaction! I have heard ebay sellers complain about the fees and honestly they don't know how good they have it! ALL HAIL PAYPAL!

If you're the death of me darlin', I wanna die.....

2005-07-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

lil Miranda Lambert in the title, saw her last week opening for Rascal Flatts and they both were awesome! The title is fitting for this entry....
Brody is going to be the kid that gives me grey hairs. First with cutting his foot, and he never sits still. I have a household to clean and run and other kids that need my attention especially while potty training and now I am SO afraid to let him out of my sight! Makes me wish I could stick him in the pack n play whenever I need to do something else, BUT today he was sitting right next to me playing with a board book. Seems pretty safe to me, until i notice he is choking. I already knew he was one of those kids that puts everything in his mouth but I figured board books are designed for babies and tough. Well he sogged up one of the corners well enough that he had a nice sized chunk of the book in his mouth and was gagging on it. I fish the piece out of his mouth and all is well, but geesh if he wasn't taking his nap right now I don't think I could be typing this because every time I turn around he is getting into some trouble.

On the other hand he is the sweetest most loving little boy and it just melts my heart every time he smiles. I wouldn't trade being his mommy for the world and so far no grey hairs yet. ;)

I can see clearly now the rain is gone....

2005-07-27T13:50:00.000-05:00

Ok last few days have felt like bad luck was following my whole family! My sister came down with some virus that made her pass out and when her husband tried to open the door to get to her, he jammed her thumb under the door. My mom recently had knee surgery and while pushing my grandpa in a wheel chair (shortly after her therapy for it) her knee gave out and someone had to come put HER in a wheel chair. The same day I woke up to ants all over my kitchen, the cat knocked one of my pills off the counter and Brody tried to eat it, and then later that day Brody cut his foot on our bed frame. I felt like the crappiest mom in the world, but took him to the doctor and they bandaged him up with steri strips. Thank goodness he did not need stitches and now we block off our bed when he is playing. Jason and the older kids were feeling sick and we are all just worn out. Today has been a good day and I think the cloud is lifting. I told my friend I need to get my butt back to church! I get the hint already. LOL

I have a new blog!

2005-07-24T09:28:00.000-05:00

I created a jewelry gallery blog to add to my website. I was enjoying the new easy way to post pictures on my blog and have been wanting a new gallery for my one of a kind items. I think the combination works well and I can add to it myself (without the help of my super cool husband)! You can view it by visiting www.peaceofmindjewelry.com and then click on one of a kind gallery under about the artist. I have removed the comments section because I would prefer it to be a sleek and simple gallery, rather than a dialog blog. (Sorry Mom! but I did read all the comments you left me beforehand!) I will still periodically post new jewelry on this blog when I add new things to my website, so you will still be able to comment here if you wish. Thanks for everyone's support and please check it out!

Summer Y necklace...

2005-07-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

I think I will need to make another one, one to sell and one to keep!

My "healthy" McDonald's lunch....

2005-07-11T16:51:00.000-05:00

Hhhhmmmm never thought you'd hear that? I have been getting the Caesar salad with GRILLED chicken as opposed to crispy even though the crispy tastes much better in order to eat a little healthier. Now they have the fruit and walnut salad as well which makes a nice side to my other one (it is snacky sized). I was feeling so proud of myself as I poured on my dressing when I noticed the fat content on it...18 grams of FAT! Holy cow, leave it to the heart attack palace to make something healthy not so much. I suppose you could leave it off but YUCK. SO then I grab my little packet of candied walnuts to put on my fruit salad and take a glance at those nutrition facts. 12 grams of FAT in that! Would regular nuts as opposed to candied have less fat? I personally love nuts of all kinds. (yes you may laugh.) Well none of this is going to stop me from eating their salads WITH dressing and the fruit with the yummy nuts, but maybe I won't feel quite as proud of myself. I guess it still has to be healthier than eating 2 big macs and fries, right? If your interested here is a list of nutrition facts for the Happy Meal Vendor.

My first "for the cruise" purchase!

2005-07-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

Swimsuits were half off so I grabbed this cutie. Still need a sarong for it though!

I'm a loser baby....

2005-07-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

Played poker....went out first. Dang. I promise to do better next time, and Jason got FIRST! So at least we kept the money home. LOL Here is me and my side kick for poker although he is becoming a bit more difficult for the games. At least once I went out early I could put him to bed!

Hill tribe butterfly necklace....

2005-07-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

or is it a moth? You tell me!

Can't believe I am saying this but....

2005-07-07T09:07:00.000-05:00

They are putting in the fence in our yard and I am so happy!!!!!! We neve wanted one, but the neighbors put one in across half of our backard and it always looked half finished. Now it will be all the way around AND will keep out little buggie boos in the yard! I will add a picture when it is all done!

I am going on a cruise!!!!!!!!

2005-07-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

I am so excited (and a little nervous) because I am going on a Royal Caribbean cruise with some other awesome moms the weekend of my birthday (April 23rd)! The last time I went a trip like this was for our honeymoon so I am SO thrilled I get to see the gorgeous blues and greens of the ocean again. I loved snorkeling and hope to see the fish and coral again! I also would like to go parasailing but am not sure if I will have the guts yet. LOL I will have to watch the swimsuit clearance this summer because I need a newer swimsuit. I also need some cute dresses, some tank tops....hhmmmmm some new sunglasses....oooh this will be so much fun! I am going to miss my sweet babies so much but they will have their dad and grandparents to help them have a fun weekend. Jason is such an awesome husband for letting me go without even a hesitation. I have about 10 months to save up and it will also be my birthday present:) eeeeeeeeeeeee I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

What perked up my day today....

2005-06-29T21:46:00.000-05:00

I have had a slow month with my business so I decided to call Dulcinea to see if anything had sold. It had been over a month since I picked up a consigning check for my jewelry and since we are putting in a fence around our yard I needed to raise some funds. It turned out 2 necklaces had sold which is awesome. While I was there she told me to check out the display window because one of my "Y" pearl drop necklaces was displayed on a mannequin with a beautiful floral gown. I went outside and took a peek. It was so pretty together, and I just think it is really neat to have one of my designs in a store window in downtown Iowa City. That was the highlight of my day!

I feel a new obsession coming on.....

2005-06-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I took a 4 hours class on card making with rubber stamps. I am fond of scrapbooking when there is time and creativity available so I thought it would be right up my alley. I loved it! I got a break from all 3 kids for only the second time since Brody was born (the first time being on our anniversary so we could go see Star Wars) and I relaxed and was quite happy stamping pretty pictures, painting and gluing these nifty little cards together. The bonus of this workshop is they have the paper squares and cards already cut so we got to just do the fun part! The lady who put this on is a consultant for Stampin Up and I met her at a consigning show where I was selling my jewelry. Her cards were so beautiful I thought she had ordered them from some company to sell and when I found out she made them I quickly snatched up a few. I gave one to a great customer of my jewelry that moved away and she called to tell me how much she loved it and the sentiment. I think these types of handmade cards would go really well with my jewelry on my website so I may be adding sets of 6 cards for 12.99 or so. I just need to get some supplies! Don't worry hon, I am NOT going to become a consultant for Stampin Up because I already know they have minimum orders and their products are not cheap! I would rather just be a customer and freelance card maker. LOL Here is a picture of the styles we made at the class. They were predesigned for us and I made 4 of each style. I can't wait to design some of my own cards :)

Welcome to the Jungle....

2005-06-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

Ok so it was actually the zoo that inspired this bracelet but they are wild animals! We took the kids to the Blank Park Zoo and we had a great day filled with animals of all sorts. It was exhausting with 3 kids in tow but I think overall we had fun and I wanted to create a bracelet to remember our day and show Cale and Piper some of the animals we saw. This is what I came up with!

If you would like to see out photos from our trip you can see them here!

Grrrr Martha tagged me to list my favorite 6 songs...

2005-06-23T08:21:00.000-05:00

and I am so tired but here goes...lol

Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls

Faithfully by Steve Perry (Journey)

Maybe I'm Amazed by Wings

Disapear by Hoobastank

Breathe by Ana Nalick

Look what you've done by Jet

Now I am going to tag some of the fine employess of the Intermec world starting with Jason.

I wish I could sew...

2005-06-15T12:01:00.000-05:00

I have so many neat ideas for clothes and baby items like slings and personalized things, if only I could sew. I have no desire to actually sew, only to design the things. I enjoy beading but actually sewing is not fun for me. Here is a cute website that carries baby slings to match every outfit you have! I wish I could afford one but I will stick with my blue moon and stars sling for now. It has made it through 3 kids and soon Brody will be too big to carry around anyway.
Cool baby slings!

I would really like to have some kind of store someday and I have decided I don't want a bead store, but maybe it would be fun to own a posh baby store like the one I consign in. Coralville and Cedar Rapids already have them so the market may be too saturated. Maybe I should just go for a kick butt web store? Someday when my kids are older and we have more money I just know I will have something in addition to my jewelry business. I think about it too much to not have one.

God recycles

2005-06-14T13:03:00.000-05:00

It is raining today so I am being contemplative. I was thinking about what a perfect system God has made. The rain falls, drains, collects into larger bodies of water while giving the living things refreshment and then it gets sucked back up into the air to be redistributed. Living things live their lives, reproduce, and then die and turn into dust. It almost gives reincarnation a good argument. Everything physical recycles in a delicate balance, why not our souls? Just a thought. Maybe our soul energy rejoins a collective energy that drives the Earth and all of its forces? I consider myself a Christian, but am open to hearing other thoughts on the spiritual ways of life.

Open house!

2005-06-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my awesome friend Janelle who I have known since 7th grade had an open house at her home to showcase my jewelry and I also brought along my Longaberger to sell. It went really well I thought. We had about 4 groups of people and one lady was really really into Longaberger and no longer had a consultant. She placed a great order for some baskets and is going to have a book show for me in July so she can get some of the dishes. We sold a couple jewelry pieces and I think any exposure of my work is good exposure. Together we raised about $30 to donate to Breast Cancer Research and she is taking the catalog to work so there may be more orders. Those Longaberger people will be surprised and happy to see me put in an order, it's been a while! LOL

Tonight we are having a fireworks party! They put off fireworks less than a block from our house for Fun Days in town and we have a front row seat in our backyard. I am hoping to have a fun time with the family and friends who will be joining us!

I dream of strawberries

2005-06-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

and they are delicious!
"Strawberry Fields" by Shannon Schoon

What did you do today Honey?

2005-06-02T13:32:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I am frustrated because I work really hard being a Stay at home mom but it seems like I get nothing accomplished. I recently started mowing our lawn. I love it because it gives me a break from the noise, I can listen to music, its great exercise, AND it is something I can visually accomplish. Not only can I tell I got something done, but so can Jason and even the neighbors!
Today I gave a toddler a bath, a baby a bath, fed all 3 kids lunch, helped with art projects, cleaned the cat box even though its Jason's chore, and did two loads of laundry.....all before noon! I guess it makes me feel better to write it down because will anyone notice that I did these things? Probably not. Jason will know because he'll read this, but otherwise I think he might assume I eat bon bons all day. Hey that sounds kind of good!
If I could just get someone to watch the kids I would love to tackle staining the deck for him. He said that would be a nice Father's day gift.

Here's a little joke for you....

Want to know what we stay-at-home moms do all day?

We smoke pot, drink beer and watch soap operas all day.

Then, at 4pm we wave our magic wand, and all the chores are done.

Before I was a mom...

2005-05-26T13:52:00.000-05:00

Before I was a mom I thought it was hard to get up at 7AM for classes, now my kids get up at 6:45 everyday and wake me up. You get used to it eventually right?

Before I was a mom, my friend had a baby boy and told me how she loved him instantly and that it was the most powerful love you'll ever feel. I thought sure she loves her kid, but now I know what it feels like to have your heart outside of your body and to feel as if you are one with another little being.

Before I was a mom I hated getting sick, but now it tears me up to see my children ill or hurting. Now if I get sick we have to call in reinforcements to care for the family and that is only if I am really really sick.

Before I was a mom I used to judge parents who I saw with their kids that may have been throwing a tantrum or screaming. I used to assume they must be bad parents. Well now I am sometimes the one with the screaming toddler pulling against my hand because they don't want to go where we need to or won't stay out of the street.

Before I was a mom other parents would tell me how hard it was, so often that I tried of hearing about it. It was not going to change the fact that I wanted a baby. When my son was about 1 year I told an expecting mom how hard it was and then immediately apologized!

(I may add more to this entry as I think of things) Before I was a mom I would have had lots of time to think of things to type, but you know... :)

Time to praise my husband again...

2005-05-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

One time Cale got to stop in to Jason's work and he raved about those few minutes he spent at Daddy's work. Today Jason took Cale to work with him for a half day. He is taking the afternoon off specifically so that Cale can go to work with him and have a work day. Cale has not stopped talking about this all week and this morning he was up bright and early, ready to go to work. I think its awesome that Jason is willing to do this for his little guy. I just had to say that.

In touch with his emotions

2005-05-22T20:24:00.000-05:00

I always knew Cale took after me as far as his emotions and reactions go. His highs are high and his lows can be very low. He has recently shown emotional responses to books such as Beauty and the Beast and got "cry stuff" in his eye when the Beast was sick. This morning he was crying and very sad. Not just pouting sad but actually really sad as if someone had died. He did not want to tell us why, nothing was hurting, so we left him for a while. He was still very upset on the couch about 15 minutes later so I asked him a few questions and got it narrowed down to something sad on TV about a baby. Well Nick Jr. was on and I have been forced to tears twice now by the March of Dimes support ads they play during commercials. There is one where a little girl speaks about her baby brother not being able to come home from the hospital and it is truly heart wrenching. If that is the one he saw, I think it would have upset him. I am happy that my son has found his empathy and understands and cares about others. At the same time I worry about him. I cannot watch the news without finding something that upsets me. I find it hard to understand how some have become numb to the hatred and sad happenings that exist. I will try my best to help him use his sensitivity to help others and hopefully not over run his life.

Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the water spout....

2005-05-16T21:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get frustrated trying to teach my 2 year old stuff. Basic things like the alphabet and counting Cale could be taught in one sitting. Now I know that Cale is simply made for learning, but is not really into active playing. He has grown so much through pre school as far as climbing and playing goes, but is still hesitant to try new outdoor activities. Piper on the other hand loves kicking a ball, climbing, running etc., but sitting down to learn is not something she will easily do.

I was under the impression that she was not listening to me the other day while out to lunch with Jason. She was getting very antsy and wanted down before we were ready to leave, so I tried to teach her a new song. I showed her the hand actions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and sang it to her. She loves music so I thought it would go over well, but she wanted nothing to do with me or my little song. Another one of my attempts at being a good mom failed...or so I thought. The very next day she came up to me, put her fingers together and started to sing "Itsy bitsy spidee went up the mommy"! She WAS listening and remembered some of the words and her version was just down right adorable. I was very surprised and now she loves to sing it with me.

Piper's learning style may be very different from Cale's, but she is definitely paying attention and soon enough she will get the counting and letters too. I must try to not get frustrated and stop teaching her because every little bit will help get her ready for pre school, and she is totally ready for the social aspects of school. I can't believe how fast my little ones are growing up.

One more reason to love my baby...

2005-05-13T10:13:00.000-05:00

I took this picture myself this morning while nursing. I thought about not posting it but come on, they show more skin on TV no doubt. ;) This is one of the few quiet times in my day and I cherish every moment of cuddling I have with my babies.

I just want to say to my sweet Brody that I love you so much. Your smile lights up a room and you love me unconditionally. When I am feeling low you are there to remind me that I am truly blessed with 3 incredible children.

To my Princess Piper, you are a wild and happy spirit that reminds me what it once was to be a little girl. You love all things beautiful and at the same time can run and climb with the boys. That should come in handy with 2 brothers on either side.

To my big guy Cale, you are so incredibly smart. At only 4 years old you can write many words and are doing so well with your reading. I am so excited for you to go to kindergarten and continue your learning and playing. I know you will just love school and all the fun things that go with that.

I try to remember how lucky I am to have them as my own (especially when they may be screaming at each other) and I hope that you will all read this someday and know that I love you all so much.

Do they make a pill for that?

2005-05-10T13:13:00.000-05:00

This week Piper has been a grump. She does not want to take her naps or go to bed, she cries easily, throws fits, draws on everything even though she knows better....you get the picture. I made her a doctor's appt. Because she is prone to ear infections and this is what she is like during one. I knew fully well it could simply be that she is acting her age of 2. Well her ears looked great sooooo do they make a pill for being an incredibly naughty 2 year old? :) just kidding, well sort of.

What now?

2005-05-09T11:14:00.000-05:00

My mommy boards are not working today! Waahhhh Where are my friends? At least I have my blog. LOL

This morning I took Piper and Brody to the community center for their indoor playground. We have never gone and it was too overwhelming to try this winter with a newborn. The lady looked at my like I was crazy and said most people want to play outside now but we can set it up for you. Well isn't that nice of you! For one thing the day was looking like rain to me and another...Piper is going through a stage where I think she now realizes she can get hurt. She used to be fearless climbing ladders and going down slides, but now she has suddenly become a bit cautious. So I thought the little tykes indoor stuff would be great and it was. She had a blast and played for a good hour. Brody decided he was tired and wanted to go nigh night so we packed up and headed back home. I am glad we went and this winter if we go I am sure she will have someone to play with her!

Now what should I do....put laundry away? yuck Work on bracelets? Nope, have too many beads coming in the mail and not enough here darn it. I do have a customer coming at 2 today to pick up some pieces I made for her daughter's prom. Ah heck I am bored so I will post a picture!

Mother's Day with 3! And a gift worth bloggin about...

2005-05-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

This Mother's Day is my first as a mother of three. I did not ask for anything this year because it was so close to my birthday and I am still enamored with my birthday gift (Pea Pod necklace with 3 pearls for each child).

So this morning I woke up to a treasure hunt. I was given a list of clues to where I would find letters around the house. I found 5 letters and a CD. In the CD were instructions to type in the letters I had found into a URL to see my gift. Here is the address which led to a engraved family tree that holds family photos.

Ironically I had looked at this and loved it but never showed it to Jason. Sometimes it is like our minds are connected I swear. Because of the personalization it was not here yet so he made the treasure hunt for a neat way to tell me what I would be receiving. There was also a fortune reading "Love is the most valuable thing in life" He also had me put in the CD he made for me and it started with Maybe I'm Amazed...Which immediately made me cry. The CD was filled with songs that I love right now! I was not expecting anything and Jason made this day really special for me. I love you Honey!

Here's the CD he made for me:
Wings - Maybe I'm Amazed
So Yesterday - Hilary Duff
Candy Shop - 50 Cent & Olivia
Deliverance - Bubba Sparxxx
Rich Girl - Gwen Stefani & Eve
How About You - Staind
Disappear - Hoobastank
Look What You've Done - Jet
No One Said It Would Be Easy (Live in Nashville) - Sheryl Crow
Fall to Pieces - Velvet Revolver
Breathe (2AM) - Anna Nalick
Low - Kelly Clarkson
Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson
Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson
Milkshake - Kelis
With You - Jessica Simpson
Pure Shores - All Saints

On a cleaner note....

2005-05-06T08:42:00.000-05:00

I had a great day yesterday! My mom came over and we went to Iowa City. The weather was nice so we were able to park the car and walk downtown. Iowa City is a great college town with lots of interesting people and art stores, boutiques and different places to eat. Our first stop was Dulcinea to pick up a check. They had called to tell me some items sold, but I did not know how many. She added it up and they had sold 4 items! I am so happy that things are moving in their store and I am making my way into the community with my jewelry. Another exciting thing was she told me they were part of a fashion show for Mother's Day at Coral Ridge Mall and one of my bracelets was going to be featured in the show! Isn't that awesome?

We left the boutique and were all hungry so we searched out a place to eat. We decided on a place that had pasta bowls. They were so yummy, but I cannot remember the name of the place! Then we were off to Dawn's Beads down on the corner. We had limited time since the kids were getting very tired but I picked out some gorgeous foiled lampwork beads and my mom got some more beads for a necklace she wanted me to make. We headed back home and I put together her necklace and earrings. They turned out really nice! It is funny when I make something from items another person picks out. It is usually something I never would have done on my own and the result can be really neat. It is a combination of the person's idea and my knowledge of what would look best with those materials.

What can I say, shopping, lunch and making earrings and a necklace with my kids and mom? It was really fun! I hope you had a nice day too Mom.

With a poop poop here and a poop poop there...

2005-05-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

Having a toddler is messy. They eat messy they play messy, and their bodily functions are messy too. If your not already a parent you may want to skip this post, but if you have a bundle of messy joy you know where I am coming from! Earlier this week as Jason and I were going to bed (early for a change) Piper started crying. Jason went in to check on her and then I heard a commotion that had to be bad. She was throwing up and not just a little. I come in and try to help but immediately had to control my gag because it was so bad. I try to help by "saving" her stuffed animals and throw a bear over the side of her bed. Way to go. I just successfully spread the mess since he had already gotten in the way. In my defense this happened so fast we did not even have the light on yet. So instead of going to bed early the night is filled with scrubbing carpet (my fault) washing bedding and animals, and holding a very sick little girl. Luckily for us it turned out to be just a stomach ache gone bad because the next morning she was fine. I was very worried about the other 2 getting sick too, but we were spared.

So little Piper has decided this week that she does not like having a wet diaper on. That is great if she would get her messes on the potty, but so far we are only catching it in time 1/4 of the time. I hate potty training. I would pay someone else to do it for me if such a service existed.

Last night I had a rough night with my almost 6 month old. I slept in the chair for at least 2 hours with him. I woke up in the nursing position with a sleeping baby which made me laugh. Jason put an hour in the chair with him as well. I think it must be a growth spurt since he is not sick. I was trying to catch up on the missed sleep this morning but instead was greeted with Cale telling me Piper took off her diaper and pooped. Yippee. Cale was a great helper walking through the house and telling me where she left her "presents" which amounted to our bedroom carpet, the kid's bathroom (maybe she was trying to get to the potty?) and a dirty diaper discarded in her room. I cleaned up all that and then she tells me she still needs to go so we managed to get one bit in the toilet. Did I mention I hate potty training? Its really hard!

Well if you don't have kids and you still read this far against my advice please remember that having kids is the most wonderful thing and no one ever told me it was easy before I got into this. Despite their craziness and mess, they fill me with joy. Really.

Hey where'd it go?

2005-05-03T10:36:00.000-05:00

If your a regular to my blog you may remember the bracelet I teased my sweetie about wanting for my birthday. Although I am absolutely in LOVE with my pea pod necklace (Thank you honey!) he did mention to me that he went through 50 web pages on the Tiffany website trying to locate and perhaps buy the bracelet of my longing. It was no where to be found. Figuring my genius husband must surely be inept at navigating a jewelry website (just kidding, he did design my own jewelry website afterall) I go looking for said bracelet. I try using the search function for Heart strings, I try looking for Heartstrings, it is not coming up. So then I try what he did and start looking at every silver bracelet they have on there and that is a LOT! Although I was able to find the necklace, the bracelet has simply vanished. I wonder now if they had an overwhelming demand for it and ran out? Or was there a flaw and they pulled it? I even considered calling Tiffany's to find out because my curiosity is killing me. A few weeks ago we saw one on ebay but Tiffany jewelry fakes are over run on ebay and I am a snob in this matter. I want the real thing. SO here is that picture again. If you happen to see this bangle floating around let me know!

Plastic Stuffed Mushrooms?

2005-05-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

It can only happen to me. I once at a Blimpie Sub and found a 2 inch piece of plastic shard in my sandwich. I once found a black curly hair in a chicken sandwich from the Kernal (and I to this day do not like eating there). So I had Jason pick up some seafood stuffed mushrooms from Fareway for our Poker party. I get them often, they are very yummy after broiling in the oven for 10 minutes. SO I offer some to our guests and have one taker and I take a bite of my own. Delicious. Then I take another bite...wait something crunchy. Hmmmm is it leftover shell from the seafood? Do I want to take it out of my mouth in front of my guests or swallow it? Um then I decide its too large and take it out. Yep its a nicely sharpened piece of clear plastic. Oh the horror. It always happens to me. I joke about it and stupidly try another mushroom thinking it's only my curse, but then I find another nice piece of plastic. ARG! Now I am pissed enough to call the store and tell them to take the mushrooms off of their counter because they are obviously all filled with shards. They tell me since the plastic is clear they have no idea where it came from. The boxes they come in are black. I don't fricking care! I really don't think they took them off of the shelf, but asked me to bring in the pieces (which I still have to do) and they offered me a refund if we brought in my receipt. Whoop dee doo. I swear I am very picky about my food and will be careful for a while now, but once I relax again it will happen. I will no doubt find some odd thing in my food that does not belong. Maybe someone is trying to kill me? Hey honey how much is that insurance? uh not that much on me actually since he is the breadwinner in the family.

My Birthday Adventure!!!!!!!

2005-04-26T09:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend was my birthday on April 23rd! I turned 27 (scary!) My adorable niece also had her very 1st birthday on April 22nd so the party was on Saturday in Missouri. Since we were leaving bright and early on Saturday, Jason gave me my present on Friday evening. I gave him lots of ideas so I could be suprised but I absolutely love what he picked from my list. When all 3 of my kids were 2 months I had a picture taken of them in a pea in a pod costume so I have my 3 peas hanging on our wall downstairs. To remind me of our little peas he gave me a necklace with a silver pea pod holding 3 pearl peas. It's so pretty and the perfect gift for me. Here is a picture of my baby peas.

The next morning we got the kids rounded up into the car and drove 5 hours South. Brody magically slept the first 3 hours or so but then was wailing the last hour. He has two teeth coming in and had been in the car for a while. I made myself carsick trying to entertain him in the back seat. bleh. So we got to my Brother in law's parents farm for Brooke's 1st birthday party. The kids had fun running around and there was lots of yummy food and balloons. My sister surprised me with a birthday cake of my own and I thought that was very sweet. One of her friends commented that they messed up Brooke's cake and put Shannon on it. LOL Brooke had her own! They even cheered when I blew out the candles. (I am such a big girl now :) Brooke ate a ton of her 1st cake and was so cute. By the time she was done opening presents she was ready to crash for a nap. We sat around talking and I really enjoyed the company. There were a few sad moments since this was the first celebration since they lost Molly. There were signs of her everywhere in the house. A string of angels with get well wishes hung on the banister, her parents wore buttons with her picture and her husband had a shirt on that said Heros never die. I believe she was looking down on her niece that day and we all wished she could have been there too.

The day wound down and we decided to head to the hotel before our kids had a meltdown. Once we got there they had renewed energy at the thought of the pool! My mom came to watch Brody while we took Cale and Piper swimming. It was cold at first but once they got used to the water they both did great! Cale swam by himself all the way across the long pool with his float vest on. I was very proud of him. Afterwards we were starving so we ordered some pizza and watched TV in the room.

The next day we headed downtown to check out the cute little shops and art stores. There was also an Earth day festival so we checked out the hippies and bought some hand made fleece boas for the kids since it was very windy. I was determined to find some pottery to buy and there were several nice pieces but none that I really wanted to take home. I did buy a sexy top that I don't think I even have the guts to wear outside the house and a sequined ribbon to put in my hair or wear as a belt. I love sparkly things! We had lunch and then went back to the hotel for some more swimming. Brooke and Heather swam this time and I was so amazed at this tiny baby's courage. They had taken swim classes and Brooke will sit on the side and jump right into Heather's arms! She is so funny and I loved seeing her this weekend.

That night we all went out to a nice restaurant called the Pasta Factory. It was so good. I had fettichini Alfredo with grilled chicken and for appetizer we had a portabello mushroom that was really different and tasty! Brooke was not too interested in sitting for dinner but her naps were all messed up too. As long as we were putting more food in her mouth she was fine! lol She is like a food o matic and can eat and eat and eat. Heather wondered how we can take all 3 out to eat so often but for some weird reason our kids are very good when we are out. Its when we get home that they rebel and fight!

Mom came back to the hotel as we tucked the kids in for bed. She watched them for a bit so Jason and I could sit in the whirlpool. It was so relaxing and nice to have some time together (Thanks Mom!) For a while we had the whole pool area to ourselves and we tried out the sauna. All I will say is it sure was HOT in the sauna;) Poor Brody was crying when we returned, but he just wanted his mommy back. I calmed him down and we all went to bed.

Monday morning we packed up and headed home after a nice breakfast. We had one rough spot in the trip with a crying Brody but once he was out he slept the rest of the way. I had a great time and a memorable birthday. I only wish I could see Brooke more often. Here are the pictures!!!!!!
http://shannon.iowa-computer.com/gallery/MOBirthdays

I'm not ready to be famous just yet....

2005-04-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

Ok I don't really think I will ever have a link on my webpage saying here is my jewelry on singer Faith Hill like a certain Whirly Girl's jewelry site does www.whirlygirls.com (that I get loads of inspiration from and their prices are quite high) but I would like my business to grow. This week has been incredibly busy for me and although I am keeping up I find myself a bit crabby having to do my other responsibilities as well such as laundry and cleaning. I can't afford maid service so I still have to do those things even though I would rather bead all day along with taking time for my kids. I have been staying up after bedtime with Jason to work on things while he does his homework and I don't know how he does it every night. By 11:00 I am feeling drunk with sleep.

I was very excited to hear that 2 of my bracelets at Dulcinea sold the first week I had my jewelry there! I have a substantial investment in beads sitting in their store but it is paying off quickly. They asked me to stop by this weekend with anything more I might have (panic!) I also need to have things to show at "Oh Baby" boutique in two weeks because she is featuring women owned businesses in her store. I have several orders sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for charms to come in the mail. Sometimes I wish I had my own bead store so everything I needed to create would be right there and I would not always be waiting on the mail. I am swamped and I love it but at the same time I wonder how I would do if I really was featured in some magazine. My mom said that is how businesses who find sudden success start out, being overwhelmed and trying to keep up....But do they also have 3 kids under 5 at home and a house to clean at the same time? ;) I look at this like I am laying the ground work to be really successful by the time most or all of my kids are in school. Then I can be famous and maybe even decorate the stars with my jewelry. I can dream right?

Harmless not Helpful

2005-04-07T12:44:00.000-05:00

I used to be a "7th Heaven" addict shortly before it became boring to me and I became a "Charmed" addict. Once Charmed is over I may just chuck the TV out the window since all I can find on is reality shows which I believe are deteriorating the moral fiber of the US. But that is a whole other blog. LOL Today I was reminded of a quote I heard on 7th Heaven to be "harmless not helpful" because in my attempt to ask for prayers for a friend I in turn caused a whole argument. Now this is on message boards of women so you can just about imagine how many times we have arguments. We are truthful, loving, supportive and often unintentionally mean and hurtful. That is how most women are if you get past their smiling exterior. I tried to do too much and asked for prayers in a situation that maybe was not my place to ask for them. I am going to back off and hope that others will leave it be for now...until the next argument. Wait for it, it will come. We are women after all.

Holding my breath....

2005-04-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

I have spent the last year or so trying to pump up my jewelry business anyway I can. I have taken out ads, I have sat in the mall all day at a show receiving more compliments than orders, I have tried ebay, and now I am trying to get into boutiques and such. I figure if I do everything I can and then look at what worked and what did not then I can have a stellar year next year. I recently took my jewelry to Dulcinea (a clothing boutique of high standards) in Iowa City and they loved my work and cleaned me out of my WOW factor pieces. The only problem there is the consignment process. They could take all they wanted because they don't have to pay me until the item sells. I have signed up for a children's clothing show in Cedar Rapids in about 1 month. I have realized I now have not much to show or put on my table so I need to get going on that. This all ends in me spending a pretty penny on beads and supplies. I am lucky enough to have a husband who supports my endeavor and has seen it profit in the past. Christmas time has been very good to me for the past two years and I am hoping to see the same this fall. So I continue to hold my breath wishing to succeed. I have been able to do many charities through my bracelets and that keeps me going and makes it worthwhile. Just for fun and those curious, here are two of the pieces now residing at Dulcinea. The necklace was purchased by Lael who works in the store everyday. It never even made it on the counter. LOL Hopefully their customer's have the same reaction!

Who is that in the mirror?

2005-03-31T21:08:00.000-06:00

I realized something tonight while holding my 4 month old in front of the bathroom mirror tonight. As he saw his big blues eyes and adorable chubbiness he laughed and squealed in that sweet way he does. He is filled with joy at his own happy reflection. We are born innocent and un judging. Our self esteem is perfect when we arrive on this earth, but it can be quickly shattered by others. I remember being about 5 and putting on a headband as my crown and telling my friend that I was a beautiful princess. Her reply I can still hear was "No your not". From then on into grade school and middle school (the worst years of my life I think) it all goes downhill from there as far as a young girl's self esteem goes. Yes we are bombarded by images of Barbie and beautiful girls in magazines, but what tore me down the hardest was my peers telling me I was not pretty enough or thin enough. On into my high school years I got over it. I was a cheerleader and choir singer both of which made me feel great about myself, I also had a boyfriend who loved the way I looked and he is now my husband. After having three gorgeous kids my body has changed a bit from when I was 15, but he still thinks I'm pretty hot, just ask him. :) I am trying to lose some of the post baby fat and I am growing my hair long the way he likes, but none of it whether I succeed or not will matter because he will still love me. Now that's definitely good for my self esteem. I hope I can instill into my children that they are beautiful the way they are and not to make others think less of themselves either. I particularity hope my daughter keeps her current confidence. She loves to dance and if she can find her reflection she will laugh as she watches herself twirl. My oldest son will often ask me if he looks cute when he gets dressed in the morning and I always make sure to tell him he does look cute, or cool even if he's wearing red sweatpants with his blue "C" sweater (a favorite combo of his). And my lil Brody guy is surely a plump baby but I will cherish his rolls for as long as he has them since his toddler years will more than likely slim him down. Feel good about yourself, eat decently with a few splurges here and there, and don't let others make you feel bad about yourself for one second.

Need for Greed....

2005-03-30T11:25:00.000-06:00

I have been pondering my constant need for new things. Most people have this desire for new furniture, new house, new jewelry, new clothes. What makes it so we are never satisfied with what we have. A friend of ours is addicted to downloading new music. What was wrong with listening to the 10 songs you downloaded yesterday Ryan? :) Even my children exhibit this behavior. After a few days of playing with a new toy, they soon tire of it and something new from the store looks even better. The book "The Purpose Driven Life" hints to the fact that this world can never be totally satisfying to us because it is not our true home, that our real place is in Heaven with God and we will never be fulfilled until we are "home". Although I think there is some merit there and that without God in our lives something will seem missing like a hole in out hearts, I also think God gave us this desire to be bigger and better. Without this drive the world would probably just stop and life would cease to exist. If I suddenly decided everything was perfect and dandy I would probably plop myself on my couch for a few years and just think all is well, I can stop now. Although this drive often develops into a need for material possessions I believe God gave it to us so that we would continue to go out every day and work to make this world go round and try to make it thrive, be better. This is his creation and we are here to take care of it, but to do that he gave us a need to gain, a need to work or create. Often as I finish a piece of jewelry I admire it and then move on to the next piece of art stirring in my head. Once my son has mastered something like learning the alphabet, he moves on to putting those letters into words. The learning process and our need for more more more seem connected here too. It all leads into us trying to be the best person we can, do the best work we can, and also have the best stuff we can. We just need to remember to thank the one who made this all possible and when we do succeed share all we can with those whose drive did not take them where they expected. Oh and honey since I know you'll be reading here is what I want for my birthday! ;)

And the beat goes on...la dee da dee dee

2005-03-28T09:40:00.000-06:00

Yesturday we hosted Easter at our home for the first time ever. I had a lot of fun and nothing got destroyed by the large number of people so I call that a success! I think it would be sad to give up on the big family gatherings. That is one of the things I really liked about Jason's family so I stepped up and said let's have it here! One family did branch off and had their own so there were not quite as many as there used to be but we did get to add my mom and her group to the mix. The kids had a blast on their egg hunt and the food was so yummy. Jason helped a ton with the clean up and no one over stayed their welcome (not that I would mind) so we still had time for a walk and a movie at home. All in all a great day and I think we'll do it again next year.

Silence is golden....or deafening

2005-03-23T08:20:00.000-06:00

On Monday my princess Piper went to my moms for the day since I hurt my back carrying my lug of a baby boy who weighs about 19 lbs.. Cale went to pre school so it was just me and Brody. He had some shots at the doc and the tylenol tends to knock him out for a good nap, so it was incredibly quiet at our house. At first it was relaxing and I was able to clean quicker and actually sit down for a moment. By the end of the day I was really missing my little girl. Daddy and Cale came home and we went to the store. Jason commented on how much easier it was to grocery shop without a toddler but at this point I wished we had the energetic one running around saying gulp gulp (drink) and spunbob (Sponge Bob). I realized that when all my kids are finally in school during the day that I will miss them terribly. Sure my house will be a little cleaner, and I will at last have the time to do things for myself, but there will be times when the house is just too quiet. I hate to think of when they will not only leave for school, but leave for good only to visit me once in a while. Luckily that is pretty far off right now. Next time my kids are driving me crazy I will try to remember that silence isn't all its cracked up to be.

Wear your yellow $1 bracelet with pride I say!

2005-03-15T21:27:00.000-06:00

I don't even remember what I was searching for when I found these comments (probably something to do with my charity bracelet auctions) but I came across an editorial by a guy who called poeple ignorant and clueless for wearing the popular yellow Live Strong bracelets. His comments were on the lines that if your doing it to show others that your charitable or be trendy that it was wrong and that it was not charitable to part with a dollar. I think this guy is missing the big picture. I also hate the fact that he stated many times his Christianity, using quotes from the Bible and at the same time was being cendescending. The two don't go hand in hand on my opinion. The fact of the matter is these bracelets on an individual case may not be much. $1 might buy you a bottle of pop these days, but on a bigger scale they raised a huge amount of money(over 6 million! hello!) to help young poeple dealing with cancer. Now that is making a difference. Heck my husband did not even buy his, a friend bought a bunch of them and gave them to anyone who would take a bike ride with him or did any favor. He wears it to show support for the cause, not to say hey I am cool or I donated a buck. Jason has been to a funeral for a co-worker who died from Cancer. He had seen first hand the devastation it can cause. Yes the yellow bracelets became a trend, but if caring about something is becoming a trend well then I am all for it! This world is full of bad crap and I think some are too willing to attack an atteampt at making this world a better place. I read somewhere on a message board that the "trend" for these bracelets is over and this person wished people would stop wearing them. Well if that is true then I hope a new trend takes its place that is equally effective in helping a good cause. In the mean time I hope people continue to wear their bracelets in support.

Now about those darn car magnets! LOL Ok Jason would never let us put one on and that is fine, but I think if they are raising money for good causes too that is great BUT what makes me annoyed is to see car magnet ribbons with Go Hawks or GreenBay Packers. Um hello??? Last time I checked sports was not a hurting charity that deserved a ribbon sentiment. I feel that the ribbon should be reserved for real charities and remembrance of loved ones lost. I wear a sterling silver ribbon charm to honor Molly and I think using the symbol for sports teams (even ones I like Go Hawkeyes!) is just wrong. Now I hope I am not being condescending myself, but I just don't see why a special symbol such as the ribbon ended up being used for sports except for the simple fact that they will sell. I will gladly pick up an Iowa t-shirt or even a hawk shaped sticker or magnet for the van if Jason would let me, but let's save the ribbon for real causes. "I've spoken my peace....and counted to three." ;)

"He's a friend of mine...met him just last night and it's alright yeahhhhh

2005-03-14T09:24:00.000-06:00

Little bit of Big and Rich for ya'll in the title. That song makes me cry every time, especially the part about the girl in a wheel chair. When Molly was in the hospital it made me downright ball. Anyway.... Jason said jokingly he's going to re name my blog the Churchy Girl Blog. LOL Well when your reading a book such as The Purpose Driven Life your on a journey and it's hard to think of much else. Yesturday I had an idea. I had the opportunity to have lunch with someone I had never ever met in physical person....yet we sat down and talked like old friends. I was comfortable with her, not nervous at all. I knew things about her and she knew things of me. How is it that we know so much without having ever met? The power of message boards. For over two years now I have gotten to know this very sweet woman and learn about her and her family. We had a wonderful time! This got me thinking. Some may think about the day they actually come face to face with God or even Jesus and be scared to death. They have never physically seen either and it may seem daunting, but just like my friend who I had never met...if you have a daily encounter with God through prayer and all you do then it will be like meeting a very dear friend for lunch and feeling comfortable. Isn't that a great image? For those unfamiliar with Big and Rich (they are country after all and I know plenty who don't like country) here are the lyrics. This song just really touches my soul and in turn make the tears fall.

Met a man on the street last night said his name was Jesus
Met a man on the street last night
Thought he was crazy till I watched him heal the blind man
I watched him heal the blind man now I see yeah
I'll live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Then I will walk yes I will walk with patience through that open door
I have no fear angels follow me where ever I may go
I'll live this live until this life won't let me live here anymore

Met a girl in a chair with wheels but no one else would see here
Met a girl in a chair with wheels
Every one was so afraid to even look down on her
And she just spread her little wings and flew away
I'll live this life until this live won't let me live here anymore
And I will walk yes I will walk with patience though that open door
I have no fear angels follow me where ever I may go
I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Live here anymore

Met a kid on a bridge last night contemplating freedom
Met a kid on a bridge last night
And he said I'm tired of this maddening life and I'm ready to go meet Jesus
I said he's a friend of mine met him just last night it's all right yeah
It's all right yeah
I'll live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Then I will walk yes I will walk with patience through that open door
I have no fears angels follow me where ever I may go
I'll live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Live here anymore
Met a man on the street last night said his name was Jesus
Met a man on the street last night

I just needed to read the next chapter!

2005-03-11T08:58:00.000-06:00

Life is like that you know. If you had only seen the next chapter you might not have worried about the last one so much. The old saying...if I had only known yesterday what I know now.... I just finished chapter 7 in the Purpose Driven Life and I am going to quote what has me breathing a sigh of relief!
"We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. Each of us was uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills and abilities. The way your wired is not an accident. God didn't give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as other were given abilities for your benefit. The bible says, "God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.....Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory."

Well Thank God! I am just jumping for joy reading that!

Why I am here....

2005-03-10T09:14:00.000-06:00

Would it be over confident to think I know why I am here? I think so. But I do know some of the things that give me great joy, the things I have a passion for and these are clues to the purpose of my life. One of these things is obviously my children. I think most parents would say so. I also think that not only do they bring my and my husband joy, but helping complete the circle of life. I want to teach them to be good people, to care about others and the Earth and to have a relationsip with God. If we are caretakers of God's world then I want to pass that on to them and make sure they inderstand the gifts we have here.
Another thing that really drives me is making jewelry. I have a bit of conflict here reading The Purpose Driven Life when it tells us life is not about material things. I know this in my head but I seriously love jewelry, like an addict. I feel that if I can use my talents to help others then maybe my obsession can be a good thing. On my website www.peaceofmindjewelry.com I have several charity bracelets that when purchased I donate part of the sale to many good causes. I am also doing some ebay auctions for friends of mine walking for things such as Breast Cancer and the March of Dimes. This is where I start to think in circles. Am I absolutely in love with jewelry because I am shallow? Or focus too much on material things? Am I too distracted by "something shiny"? LOL Or did God give me these resources because he knew I would use them not only for enjoyment or another source of income, but to help raise funds for important causes. I know that when I raised money for the Officer Down fund I was flooded with emotion when I would recieve gracious emails for phone calls thanking me. I could not be there in person for my sister and Molly's family so I felt a powerful need to DO something concrete in support. I get these ideas often as I am winding down for bed and the house is abnormally quiet. I believe my muse, my inspiration is really just God whispering in my ear.....This is how you can help. This all started about 2 years ago when I had just opened my business officially and at the same time had started attending church. Our Pastor Alecia spoke to us about listening to God for what direction he wants us to take. To ask him what talents or gifts does he have for us and how can we use them to contribute to our church and community. I prayed on this and that is when my first charity bracelet was created. A salvation bracelet telling the story of Jesus and a donation made to our church for each one sold. The funds created may be small compared to someone with a regualr income who tithes, but they are from the heart of a stay at home mom. I sometimes wonder if people close to me get "sick" of my jewelry. I often give them as gifts or talk about ways I am trying to expand my business, but this gives me something besides being a stay at home mom. I love my kids and am thankful I can care for them, but one day they will go off to school and I will be here....at home... making jewelry to sell!

The Purposes of which we exist....

2005-03-06T07:31:00.000-06:00

I have started reading "The Purpose Driven Life" because it was recommended by several of my Christian friends. Jason and I are reading it together so I have someone to talk to about it. For those unfamiliar with it, the book is broken up into 40 very small (like 3 easy pages) chapters and you read one a night for 40 days. I think I expected this book to be life changing for me and since I am only on day 2 who knows what is in store BUT I did not expect to find things that I downright disagree with and I have in the second chapter. Its starts off by saying you are not an accident! Well I love that idea especially since most of my life I have told people I WAS an accident in my mother's life. My mother does not regret me (I think lol) and I do believe God planned to have me in her life. The next part of the chapter then says God has our lives planned from the moment of birth down the last detail of death. I do not agree. I believe God gives us the gift of free will to make choices in our life. He set us on the path but the roads we take are our choices. If God has planned every detail then I would not be able to let go of the anger I had towards God when my boyfriend died when I was 15. I would not be able to understand why he would "plan" and write in a book that some idiot would shoot Molly, only to shoot himself later and die. It has no purpose. Her death may have brought an entire community together, but what purpose did his own death do for anyone? I cannot accept that and Jason agrees. We have the free will to choose good or evil and the choices we make and whether or not we want to be forgiven determine our fate in Heaven. On another note I will never again say Brody was a happy accident. We had planned on trying for a third in a few months after he was conceived so he was really just a bit earlier than expected. In my heart I wanted him before he was conceived so I will now say he was a secret wish fulfilled. He has brought un-countable joy into my life and the lives of this family. Today he will be baptized in Love.

Can you really put a filling in a two year old?

2005-03-03T21:14:00.000-06:00

Yes, yes you can! My poor little girl had a cavity so today she got her filling put in. She luckily did not have one bad enough to need novacaine so she did not really have any pain. She layed on my lap and screamed the entire time, but we got through it. I was pretty calm holding her down until I looked in her eyes filled with tears. She was so scared really. I just about started to cry but then we were almost done and I gave her lots of hugs. Funny thing is a sticker was all it took to bring a smile afterwards! I thought it would be funny if you could bribe adults the same way. Sorry about not getting your raise.....Here's a princess sticker! :)

Little things we take for granted

2005-03-01T11:02:00.000-06:00

One thing people who know me well know is I like eating out. No scratch that... I LOVE eating out. For the last 4 days or so now I have had a cold that leaves me stuffed up and unable to taste anything. I can down cough syrup and except for the little burn going down it might as well be milk or water. I think I could eat a very hot hot pepper and not taste a thing. Taste is one of those little things we just expect and now that it is gone I want it back! As soon as I can breathe again and taste food I am going out to eat! LOL Another thing I wanted to say was there are big things we take for granted too. Like being able to walk. At one point we thought Molly might live her life as a quadriplegic, unable to move from the neck down. The fact that I could pick up my children with my arms or even feel a hug from my husband and walk suddenly became very appreciated by me. Although someday our spirits will leave our bodies and they will no longer be necessary, while we are here on earth we should thank God for our senses and our ability to work and create. I often think about my site and hands as something I am thankful for because I love making jewelry and decorating. I also have a colorblind friend. He takes it with a grain of salt (especially when assigning poker chip values by color lol), but my passion for color would make it very hard for me to deal with being colorblind. There are so many things I have to be thankful for including the ability to have children. I am very blessed and you can just count this blog entry as my thankful list for the day. I'd love to hear what your thankful for.

Sharing spirituality with your loved ones....

2005-02-28T09:15:00.000-06:00

I am very spiritual. I pray on a daily basis in my head and when feeling bold sometimes aloud. I really enjoy our church and I thought Jason did too. When we first went 2 years ago it seemed different, new and contemporary. The pastor is female and a wife and mother so her stories really relate to my life. I found it easy to use her stories of life combined with scripture to apply the lesson learned in my life. Now that we have been going for a while it no longer seems new to my husband and he tired of the scriptures and songs. If it was up to him he would come in, sit down and hear the 20 minute lesson and leave. Part of the thing that draws me in is the music and the way they explain the scriptures. On my own I may not get much out of the bible, but when it is expalined or compaired to current times I "get" it. I want to have a spiritual relationship in joint with my husband. I know a couple who reads aloud to each other and does a devotional every night. I suggested that and although we are not going to read aloud we may both read the book and talk about it. I used the word discuss and that sent him running since he is getting his masters and that is a frequent word in his homework! opps. LOL Well its a start. I know my husband is a good man and we both agreed that he is in touch with God in his own way. Once when a co-worker was going through cancer my husband shaved his own head in support. He looked goofy as heck too. LOL But he did that because he cares. He is also one of the best fathers I have seen and absolutely a great husband. He supports me in everything I do and just the fact that he is willing to try to connect with me spiritually is wonderful.

Yea Its Friday!!!!!!!!

2005-02-25T08:48:00.000-06:00

Most people love Fridays because it means their work week is done, but for me it means my husband gets to be home for 2 days. My job seems never ending! I really enjoy spending time with him and he misses the kids a lot when at work. I do get a nice break tomorrow since I am getting a pedicure and having lunch with Janelle. She gave me a spa gift card for Christmas which is the perfect gift for a tired mommy. I won't be completely without child since lil Brody man will be coming too but he's such a good baby. I really hope Janelle gets pg soon so she can be a mommy too. I am praying it happens for her since they have been trying and she'd be such a good mother. My kids love her. Ug I cought the kid's cold so that is making me miserable but I think by Saturday I will be feeling ok. I am really excited to go to the Poker party too. We have a lot of laughs and the snacky food is yummy too. There will be at least 14 players this time so I doubt I will be in the green but if I play my cards right ya never know...... "You've got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em...." Ah gotta love Kenny. Can you tell I get a lil loopy when I have a head cold?

Random happenings today

2005-02-23T18:26:00.000-06:00

Not very exciting but here goes. We took Piper and Brody to the doctor again today and as supspected by me she has another ear infection. One more in the near future and she gets a refferal for tubes. Brody's ears were fine thank goodness. Then we stopped and Mc Donald's for lunch and although Jason ordered a big mac when he got home he found a fish sandwhich. LOL! I was very good and got a grilled chicken salad instead of the crispy which is much tastier. An hour or 2 later I was starving again. I had a bagel. Since Jason was home helping with the sick kids I stopped at the bead store and also picked up Piper's antibiotics......Are you sleeping yet? WAKE UP! Come home, we got Piper a bath since technically we were supposed to have church directory pictures at 5:00. Midbath the church daycare calls and says Cale is not feeling good and needs to come home. Jason went to get him and he told them no pictures for this family. I really only wanted them done so older ladies in my church would stop asking me if I was new and this was my first time. We have been attending since I was pg with Piper (2 years) and I went every Sunday up until Brody was born. Now it's more difficult with 3 but I try to go when we are all healthy. Cale and Jason got home and he went straight to bed. I decided to get my walk in. I was wearing jeans and Jason said your not going to run are you? (Apparantly running in jeans looks stupid he informs me) I assure him tonight is a walking night but I did double my distance and can really feel it in my legs and stomach! If I keep this up it will become part of our every day routine and I will be in shape in no time! SO that was my day pretty much. Tomorrow I have all 3 kids by myself so I hope the day goes fast. I am expecting about $250 in beads in the mail so that is exciting. Projects! Yippee!

Having 3 kids is a piece of cake.....except....

2005-02-22T21:52:00.000-06:00

When one or two or maybe all three are sick! I think I need some Mommy clones to come help me. Piper is feeling the worst still and has her whining down pretty well. I feel so bad for her but all I can do is try to force some liquid tylenol in her and hold her...but wait then Brody starts to cry....and then Cale needs some water.... aaahhhhhh! I swear until 3 days or so ago I had things under control but now with the big bad croup making all the kids miserable I am losing it. I was literally ready to pull my hair out yesturday by the time Jason got home so I went running instead to both start my new excersise routine (so I can be a hot mama) and it is a great stress reliever. Tonight I walked instead but mostly because the ice has reformed (we are in Iowa ya know and winter just wont go away) so I did not want to fall and break my big butt! I did do pretty well at getting my heart going just the same. I hope to keep this up. Anyway back to the kids...we are taking Piper to the doctor again to see if her ears are bothering her with all the sinus junk she has from the croup. If she is anything like her mom, she'll get tubes in her ears and her tonsils out by the time she is 5! And like me as a child she will give the nurses a very hard time. LOL

Hey Look! Its Jenna Jameson!

2005-02-21T09:49:00.000-06:00

Brody was very cranky before bed which usually means he is worn out and will sleep all night. He did and I woke up to porno sized milk boobs which although Jason may think are fun to look at, he better not touch! ouchy :)Despite my littlest monkey sleeping all night, my middle baby still sick was up crying with pain. She had a fever which we treated with Tylenol, but she wimpered on and off through the night. She had come into our room again and curled up in the recliner we have in our bedroom for rocking them. Jason found her and made her a blanket bed with her pillow. I ended up on the floor with her to comfort her now and then.Cale felt pretty good this morning and just left for Pre school (which although his pre school is awesome I am pretty sure that is the stem of all this sickness in our house).Brody has a barky cough but no fever and is his usualy smiley guy self this morning. I am hoping it stays that way and all my kiddos get better soon.I would especially like them better by this weekend for purely selfish reasons. I have a spa day planned with my sweet friend Janelle and Brody will be tagging along so he can eat and to make it easier on Daddy. Then that evening the big kids are going to Grandma's so we can attend a Poker tournament. Its all in good fun but there is a $10 buy in. Still cheaper than going to the movies and buying popcorn and there is more socialization there for this stay at home mommy. I did win the big pot one time which was loads of fun since its usually about 2 girls against a bunch of guys. Its nice they don't follow the old stereotype of guy's poker night and let us girlies play!

My man the superhero!

2005-02-19T08:12:00.000-06:00

I just have to write about how great Jason is. Last night he brought our little girl downstairs and asked me if she was ok. She was not breathing right and was wheezing. We asked her if she wanted some water and she barely got out an "Uh huh". I was immediately scared and started to cry. With all the stress that has happened this month I was scared something was wrong with my baby girl. I said you've got to take her in! He did not argue, he did not question. What he did was get his coat on and carry his daughter out to the van. I got the keys for him and Piper's carebears for her. I was upset I could not go but Cale was sleeping and Brody did not need to be exposed to hospital germs. Not only did he take her to the emergency but later he told me he drove about 70 to get there! That reminds me of when we had been sent home from labor and delivery only to need to get back there in a hurry when I was pregnant with Piper. I told him then he did not have to drive so fast but later was grateful he did when she was born shortly after arriving.

I am very lucky to have someone who loves me so much and would do anything for me and our 3 children.

By the way Piper has croupe and will be ok after a few days of yucky coughing. I am just hoping the baby does not get sick too since these things can be hard on little babies.

What a great day!

2005-02-18T15:44:00.000-06:00

I went to a little baby boutique called "OH Baby" and the owner was so nice! She loved my jewelry and said that this was the perfect place for it. She bought several baby bracelets and a few adult bracelets from the ones I had made and I am going to make some samples of mother's bracelets that she can take orders from! I have been wanting to branch out locally so much and now its finally looking like a possibility. She also had some great business tips as an expeienced business owner. We talked for a long time while Brody slept in his carrier and I really feel good about having my jewelry in her shop. I have been so discouraged lately, this was just what I needed to motivate me again and be proud of my craft.

Peddling my wares.....

2005-02-18T07:52:00.000-06:00

Today I am going to a baby boutique to talk to the owner about consigning some of my jewelry. This is a desperate atteampt on my part to get my jewelry out there mostly because shops like these tend to take 50%. That means I either make nothing and just get my cost back or we jack up the prices. I am hoping we can make a better arrangement so we can maintain my reasonable price and still give us both a fair share of the profit. Sometimes being in business for yourself sucks.
I just keep trying and trying and I am not giving up, but I do get down about it once in a while. It seems you go to those in home parties and people just throw their money at them. I worked very hard for 3 months making my own jewelry, making my own catalog, making everything I needed for my business and what I mostly got was compliments. Everyone told me how gorgeous the things were, but only 2 poeple in the 12 hours I was set up decided to buy. Its very frustrating. One good thing I do have going is my website. My husband did a fatastic job making it with my help and it has been truly successful. Now I would like to continue that success with a local following but it will be a long road.

"How do you know Molly?"

2005-02-17T09:21:00.000-06:00

That is a question I have been getting a lot lately! I created a bracelet in Molly's honor shortly after she was injured so that I could contribute to the Officer Down Fund that was created. The response was amazing and having recieved my 35th order this morning I will have donated $350 to the fund. That is one check I will gladly write. So many poeple have been touched by this story, many did not even know Molly, but were quick to support such a brave person in their community. I am proud to say that I did know her since for the last 7 years she was part of my sister's family.

This last month has been so sad for me and my family...

2005-02-16T19:04:00.000-06:00

My sister had a wonderful sister in law. They both lived a state away and I was so glad she had someone close by who could do family things with her since we are so far apart and only see each other around holidays and our kids birthdays. Her name was Molly Bowden. She was a police officer and was shot while on duty. For weeks she was in the hospital fighting for her life and it was a rollercoaster of hope and downfalls. Her injurys were too much to bear and she died last week. Molly was always full of energy and light and although she barely knew me she was kind and welcoming to me and my family. Her funeral was yesturday and I was not able to make it down, but the whole town of Columbia made it special for her. A horse drawn carriage and a special call made to her police car signaling her out of service are only a few of the rituals done to honor her.
I was looking for pictures of the event online and was suprised and shaken to find a picture of her open casket with another officer (who was shot by the same man) saying goodbye. I could not visit her in the hospital so this was the first time I had seen her like this. It brought a finality to this whole month and although I still cry for her and her family I know she is with God. Molly was very spiritual and caring. I pray that her husband can find peace from this violent crime and that my brother in law remembers his sister with love.

I caved and decided to start my own blog

2005-02-16T18:45:00.000-06:00

My husband has one, my online friends have their own....what can I say I can't resist a trend! Life as a wife, mother to 3, business owner, friend, daughter and sister is full of emotions so I figure this will be a great place to get them written out and share.