A new attitude

Ok, so in college I used to thing that I'd LOVE to be a stay-at-home-mom. I thought there would be nothing better in the world. Then, I got put on bed rest 20 weeks into my pregnancy. Although the high blood pressure went down, my doctor never released me from bed rest. I spent about 5 months at home with nothing to do. This experience left me feeling like I would go insane if I was stuck in the house and not going to work everyday. I just didn't think I could handle not having somewhere to go and something to do each day. Well, lately I've been feeling really overwhelmed, like I just can't get anything done around the house. I just don't have time to do anything that I WANT to do. I feel like work is getting in the way of my life, ya know, especially since starting this whole etsy store. So, Josh and I are starting to talk about saving up some money over the next year or two and perhaps me quitting my job and staying home to take care of babies and the house.
Today I'm at home with Lily because she has a pretty nasty cold (going to the Dr. tomorrow) and I must say, I am being a very productive little home-maker. I have made a considerable dent in cleaning the "office" and turning it into an actual workspace for Josh and I. This room was so bad that we should have called "Clean Sweep" to come tackle it. I've done some laundry and I've even got supper cooking (Josh usually does the cooking). I'm loving my taste of being a stay-at-home mom!


So this isn't a completely picture-less post, i'm throwing in some pics from my 10 year High School Reunion last Saturday. The first is of Eli (Holly and Joel's boy) riding a girl bike (he he). The second is of Sara (Jamie and Joe's young'un) sitting next to Lily and sharing their lunch. It was so sweet, Sara kept handing Lily chips. What a sweet girl. They're gonna be bestest friends!

Eli just loved this bike!

Notice that Lily is dumping over Jamie's plate. Sorry Jamie!

Lillou Handmade

Well, I finally got my Etsy store up and running! I'm so excited about it. I only have a few items for sale right now, but I have so many more dress and bags already made. I just have to decide which ones to sell. I'm also keeping some back because I'm going to get a booth at a consignment event this month. Please spread the word and hit up my shop! You can find a link and a gallery from my shop over to the right side of the blog.

The Bees Knees

Ok, so I was supposed to meet a friend today to pick up some fabric for a bag she wants me to make. We couldn't meet up, so she just dropped it off in the building where we work. Well, she called me afterward to tell me that there was a large swarm of bees in the driveway that followed her up to the building. When we got there (using another driveway) they weren't swarming anymore, but we could see a lot of presumably dead bees on the ground with a few flying just above them. When we looked up, we saw this huge group of them in the tree. I don't know where these little darlings came from, since the daycare was just open and full of people yesterday. I mean, people park directly under this low hanging branch.

We contacted our boss and hopefully this little issue will be taken care of before Monday, but could you imagine if it wasn't! I would feel really sorry for the ladies that open up the daycare at 6:00 in the morning. They probably wouldn't even see them coming!

Much Improved

Before

Well, I decided to use this highchair for Lily's party cuz it will look cuter in all the "messy baby birthday cake" photos. It was mine when I was a baby. But it's kinda plain and uncomfortable and of course not cute enough for Lily Bug. This is one of the projects I was able to complete while Josh and I had a day all too ourselves. Lily stayed with her MawMaw and PawPaw so that Daddy and I could clean the house and get ready for her party next Saturday. I wish the red fabric was a deeper red....it's a little too orangey for me, but it's the best thing I could find at Wal-Mart (I was in a rush). Hopefully this doesn't get completely ruined when cake a icing get smushed into it.


After

Project Pinata

Ok, so ever since I decided that Lily's first birthday party would have a ladybug theme, I've been debating over whether or not I would get a pinata. I wanted one, but I could find a cute one and I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for one. I kept thinking "maybe I'll just make one". But I really didn't want to get into the whole papier mache thing (we ended up doing papier mache all week with the kids at work anyway, but that's a whole other story). Finally, I spotted a "soccer ball" pinata at Target. I use the words "soccer ball" very loosely because it wasn't even a good soccer ball. Someone at work thought it was a eyeball. Anyway, I ripped all the white and black tissue paper off and got to work on it. Unfortunately, like so many of my projects I don't realize it's going to turn out cute, so I don't take a before picture. The first picture is after I ripped all the black and white off.

Then I covered it with red and black tissue paper to give me a background and to help me see what parts I wanted to be which color.

Finally, I cut strips of each color and fringed them. I layered them around the pinata, starting from the bottom. I really wasn't as difficult or time consuming as I thought it would be. I think it turned out super cute and it doesn't look too homemade at all. I'm really pleased with it. It's gonna be a shame to see her get smashed up.....especially since I gave her a name (big mistake). Can you guess her name? Maybe if someone guesses right, they'll get a prize! (hint: her name begins with the letter B)

My Baby Sister

I was thinking about my little sister last night and I just wanted to take a minute to express how proud I am of her. She is a very strong and courageous woman. She is determined and won't let anything stand in her way. She has been through a lot in the past few years (not as much as some, but still more than I could handle). She married a Marine who was later deployed to Iraq (twice) and moved away from her family and friends to start a family. While this might not seem like such a hardship to some, I know I couldn't do it. She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful people I know and is always there when anyone needs her. She'd do anything for anyone. She is an awesome mom to a beautiful little boy. Gabby also recently lost about 40 pounds and looks amazing! (way to go, Slick!) I just want her to know that although she is going through a tough time right now, God has a plan for her and things will get better. We never know what's in store for us, but it is always for the best. Here's a little quote I heard once that helps me feel better...."it's always ok in the end and if it's not ok, it's not the end." We love you, Gabby and things are gonna be fine!

Been Busy

I've been so busy doing things to blog about that I haven't been able to blog about them. The main thing that has been keeping me busy was preparing for Josh's 30th Birthday Party. With that out of the way I can start focusing on Lily's 1st Birthday Party at the end of next month. Here's a pic that my sister in law took of us at the party. We had a great time at the party and I'm so glad everyone came to share such a special day with us!