So you're saying there's a chance...

I just got on the Smockingbird site, and there's only one other entry for their September contest! That means right now I have a 50% chance of winning the coveted $10 gift certificate! Go check out the competition here.

P.S. Just to clarify, you can't vote...the powers that be at the Smockingbird are the judges!! :)

I need your opinions!!

I got this outfit for the Bean at a consignment sale. It had a monogram on it, so I covered it up w/ an applique. (Side note: Appliques are a clever solution if you don't like ripping out monograms, and I don't!) Here's the dilemma: even though the pants and shirt are the same size, the shirt is very long and almost could be a dress. I guess it's supposed to be that way; it's the Chabre brand, which is a pretty good brand, I think. Anyway, should I shorten the top or not? I tucked it up in the last picture just to give you an idea of what it would look like shortened.

Do you mind if I vent? :)

I have noticed lately how the prices of things keep going up and places are taking away "perks" that used to be free. For instance, the other day at McDonald's there was a sign that said there would be an extra charge for condiments. Really?!?! They are going to charge me for ketchup? It's bad enough that they make me ask for it and don't just put some in the bag. And did you know that airlines charge for your checked baggage now? What!?! Yes, it's true. We are flying to visit R's family soon, and it's $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. That's per passenger, of course. And don't get me started on the price of jeans. I had $100 gift certificate to Belk, and so I went shopping for a few things to get me through this Fall, jeans being the primary item, of course. Umm, I can't even buy ONE pair of jeans for $100! The designer jeans that are all the rage (did I just sound like my grandma?) are at least $100 each. Ralph Lauren was one of the cheapest brands I could find, and they were $70 or so. Good grief! I have no plans to buy jeans to "get me through" that cost that much! I have what I call the "$30 threshold"...if it's more than $30, I have to think long and hard about whether I should get it. And here's the worst one: the other day we were out of milk so I went to a gas station to get more. I got two gallons of milk and paid $12.06. FOR TWO GALLONS OF MILK!!! Anywho, I'm done w/ my rant. If y'all know any good deals on jeans, milk, or free condiments, let me know. :)

My #1 fan

I think that the Bean may like music and singing just as much as her Mama. She has always loved to listen to music since she was born. Now that she's a little older, she is starting to learn a few simple songs and "sing" along with them. By "sing" I mean she gets about ever 4th or 5th word right. Since she "knows" so many songs, she randomly will pick a word in it for the title. For instance, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" is just "'star," and "The B-I-B-L-E" is Bible, etc. When we were potty training, we were looking for things to pass the time sitting in the living room all day long, so I made the mistake of letting her watch Barney. I say mistake b/c she immediately took a liking to Barney, and started asking to watch him all the time. So I DVR'd two of his shows. Well, to get through potty training week, let's just say we watched them a lot. She knows EVERY song on them and has made up her little one-word titles for them. So she wants Mommy to sing them to her, oh, about 1,000 times a day!! Literally, she's constantly (and I do not use that word lightly) saying, "Mommy sing Special." "Mommy sing I Dwove You." "Mommy sing Twistin." "Mommy sing Essa." (Her word for Fiesta.) And the list goes on. Thank goodness she doesn't ask me to do the choreography. Wouldn't y'all like to see that? Scary. But you may see me walking around Wal-Mart or somewhere singing Barney tunes. Oh, the things we do for our kids!

He's 4 months old!

Happy 4-month birthday, Baby G! I can't believe that much time has passed already. He is a cutie. He smiles all the time, and is laughing out loud a lot too! (I'll do some pretty silly things to make him laugh.) He has discovered his tongue, and likes to stick it out at us. He continues to be a great sleeper, sleeping about 12-13 hours a night now, and 2-3 naps a day (depending on if he takes a really long nap or not). He's not rolling over yet, but he's kicking his little legs a lot and lifting them up in the air, which I think is step 1 to rolling over. He's a really content little guy most of the time. At his 4 month check-up today, he weight 15 lbs, 5 oz (75%) and was 26 1/2" long (95%). And we all adore him!

P.S. I know y'all may be bored w/ the stats/basic info, but I put it on here to have a record of it so I won't forget. :) And let's be honest, 4-month olds don't do many exciting things. Not much to write about except how cute they are!

New adorable sites

I ran across a few adorable applique/monogram/custom children's clothing sites recently and thought y'all might enjoy them. There are some really cute ideas on there! Makes me want to get busy sewing!

Monogram & Applique Designs Blog

The Cherry Tree 123 Blog

Smocked outfit for the Bean

I made this outfit for the Bean b/f Baby G was born, and I just put it on the Smockingbird website...maybe I'll win a $10 gift certificate! I would put the link, but they haven't put the new outfits for September on there yet. I'm convinced that you have to put something smocked on there to win this gift certificate, so maybe this will do the trick. If you can't tell what the smocking is, it's little pink crabs. (P.S. Not the best pic of the Bean...I couldn't get her to look at me and smile. We were about to sit down to lunch, and she was more interested in her ham-n-cheese. Incidentally, she WAS having a ham and cheese, but she calls every sandwich, even hamburgers, a ham-n-cheese.) I think it turned out super cute, but unfortunately the "washable" fabric marker bleached out the fabric on a couple of sections. Anyhow, here it is. Hopefully it'll win me something!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

The Bean and I had a funny conversation this morning...as a side note, I can carry on real conversations w/ her now, which is fun. Anyway, she just started real Sunday School this past week, and she brought home a coloring page w/ Adam and Eve on it, so I assumed that is what their lesson was on. So here's how our conversation went:

Me: Hey Bean, did you learn about Adam and Eve in Sunday School yesterday?

Bean: Nyes (She says her Yes w/ a nasal sound.)

Me: Did the teacher tell you that God created Adam and Eve?

Bean: Nyes

Me: You know Adam and Eve did a no-no and disobeyed God. He told them not to take the fruit from the Tree, and they took it and ate it anyway. They disobeyed God. That's called sin.

Bean: Spank

I guess she thought Adam and Eve deserved a spank! :) Seconds later she was talking about the Mine-o-saur in a book she has, so our little conversation was short lived. Funny stuff.

Potty Training Update

Some of you have asked how potty training has been going since my last post on it, and it is going great! The Bean has only had a few accidents since then. She's really only had one accident w/ me, and the other couple have been at church/Mother's Day Out. I think she gets very distracted by all the fun she is having, and the teachers/workers don't ask her about going to the potty as often as I do. But the good news is, she is getting better at telling me when she needs to go potty instead of just responding when I ask. And she is not afraid to use public toilets, or of loud flushing toilets, or of going poopy, etc. Also, about her b'day party, we brought her potty and put it in the car, and she went once while we were there. I don't think she went in her pull-up, b/c it was pretty dry when we got home. So it went pretty well! So all in all, I think she is doing pretty well for barely being two! Go Bean!

The Bean's birthday party

Blowing out the candle

The Bean and Grayson...I didn't realize the Bean was practically eating her cake off the ground until she was almost done!

She got a lot of great gifts, and has loved playing w/ them this week.

Not a good idea to take a family picture AFTER we've been sweating outside for two hours and everybody's had a lot of sugar and is ready for a nap. :)

The Bean and her BFF, Ian.

Costco did the cake...I thought they did a pretty good job, and it tasted great.

My mom and nephew, Evan.

Here are a few pics from the Bean's b'day party. Besides being pretty hot outside, I'd say everyone had a good time. The "theme", if there really was one, was ice cream. The invitations had an ice cream cone on them, as did her thank you notes, and we had ice cream w/ lots of toppings. Before you ask, no, I didn't make her outfit. I bought the fabric months ago and didn't have time to make it b/f Baby G was born, and I certainly haven't had time since he's been born. My friend Deanna made it. If anybody needs a custom outfit, she does a great job, and that's coming from a fellow "seamstress." She also does appliques and monograms, and she's cheaper than anyplace in town that I've been to. Anyway, enjoy the pics!