One Year Ago...

Wow! My my, how time flies. One year ago today my little chunker was only THREE months old! I am sad yet happy when he reaches each milestone. Happy to see him grow and sad to not see a baby anymore.

It's Autumn!

It is finally fall, and I wish mother nature would catch up! It is almost October here yet the temperature still gets close to 90 everyday! I absolutely can not wait until the nights are chilly and we have to wear coats and hats when we go outside. I already have lots of adorable winter clothes for my little boy to wear. We will probably have to get some of them out for our Chicago trip next month! I read the average highs there will be in the 60s.

Today I received my batch of makeup that I ordered from elf. They had a special going on, plus their prices are incredibly low anyhow. Basically, I got a steal!

I got some face blotters, two nail polishes, concealer, tinted moisturizer, and mascara. Looking forward to using it!

According to my calendar, today was the first day of fall. Other calendars said yesterday was...but I went by mine so today I decorated! That is the true mark of the beginning of the holiday season for me--when I bring in the totes of decorations! To keep my house from looking cluttered, I always remove the year-round stuff and put those in the totes while the holiday stuff is out. I have fall hand towels, oven mitts, table runners, doilies, knick-knacks...it looks very festive! One thing I did not have yet was a nice fall wreath. So a few weeks ago at Hobby Lobby I picked up several things on my own to put one together. It was quite simple and altogether probably cost less than $10.

The only bad thing was my door would not shut ith the wreath hanger on it! So now I have to get one of those removable plastic hanger things to stick on the door b/c it is metal and I can't nail into it. But it sure looks pretty up there!

Brad is walking all over these days. Hard to think that just 5 short months ago was when he started CRAWLING. Time flies! It's so cute to watch him waddle around like a little zombie baby. He thinks he's such a big boy.

One of my old coworkers saw a particular "mohawk" knitted hat at the fair and asked me if I would be able to duplicate the style in the school colors of her 5yo boy for wrestling. So I looked up some pictures and it wasn't too hard to visualize how to do it. I told her I was up for the job! I finished it last night and had Brad be my model...

I also listed it on my craft site for taking orders. I already have two more, with a possible third for my hubby's best friend! I may have to make Brad one....

To end with, now that I have my own washer and dryer again I decided to make my own laundry detergent and fabric softener! I did a lot of research for the best recipes because there are many different varieties out there. I decided to do a dry detergent. It is only 3 ingredients--soap, borax, and washing soda. Of course I couldn't find washing soda anywhere so I ordered it from Ace Hardware to pick up at the store. It came in yesterday so I went and picked it up today and made my soap! I haven't done a load yet, but will before I go to bed. I will report back next blog how well it worked!

The Seneca

We finally booked it! Thankfully the first hotel we called offered a crib in the room so we signed up with The Seneca Hotel. I am pretty pumped about our big city trip!

From the website:

Accommodations

Located along a picturesque tree-lined street, the Seneca Hotel & Suites consists of mostly oversized suites including bedroom, living room, dining room, and separate fully-equipped kitchen with microwave, range, refrigerator and dishwasher. High ceilings with crown moldings and cherry wood Queen Anne furnishings provide layers of classic charm and warmth.

All rooms and suites are appointed with:

• Wireless in-room high speed internet with complimentary access
• DIRECTV satellite television with full channel line-up & free HBO
• In-room safe (accommodates most laptops)
• In-room coffeemakers with complimentary coffee
• Individual climate controls
• Iron and ironing board
• Roomy closets with wooden hangers
• Blackout draperies
• Wake up service
• Phone service with voice mail
• In-room dining
• Natura Green bathroom amenities
• Upscale terry towels
• Hair dryers
• 5 fixture bathrooms with Jacuzzi bathtubs (subject to availability)
• Controlled access security
• Electronic locks and keycards
• Fire protection sprinklers and hard-wired smoke and heat detectors

And look how CLOSE we are to the water!!!!!!!

I have already printed out maps for how to walk to all of the sights that we want to see. Everything is less than a mile away! The really neat part is--this is the city where my mom met my dad close to 30 years ago! When my mom was attending Moody Bible Institute, her friend had a roommate who had a roommate that was my dad's best friend. And the rest is history....so I looked up where the MBI is in relation to our hotel--it's only 0.6 miles down the street! Of course I am going to go there and take some pics. Also we are planning on eating at some of the same restaurants that my mom frequented when she was a college student for 3 years there.

One predicament was figuring out how to get from the airport to downtown--it's about 20 miles each way. A shuttle was adding up to be a lot, not to mention how much a taxi would be! So I think we are going to brave it and get the whole experience of a "big city" by taking the subway! Wish us luck!

Here are some pics of daddy playing with Brad through the week...

That's it for now! I have another busy week ahead of me as always. I got another order for a hat/scarf set, and I have a 4 hour class at work on Wednesday. Fun stuff!

Homemade Gifts and a Boat Ride

My friend Meredith's boy Scott just turned 2 last week. We were unable to attend the party due to my work schedule, but I wanted to come up with a neat idea for a handmade gift idea that a 2yo would like. I thought of a bean bag toss game! I know how Brad loves to put things in and out of boxes so I figured a bit older toddler would like to learn to throw things into a box!

I took a simple paper mache box and painted it black and red, then put his name on the top with scrapbooking stickers...

Then I took coordinating fabric and made eight little square bean bags (the back side is black/white zebra print). I know how babies love bright colors!

Then I took it just a step further and hand-embroidered numbers on each of the bags to help him learn to count as he grows. Brad loved it so much I had to pull it out of his hands just to wrap it! Now I'll have to make him one for Christmas...

This evening I had plans to go with my mom and my friend Sara out onto Meredith's boat with her and her husband. Meredith and Sara had just gotten off of work from their office jobs so they were both in "office" attire. Mother and I were a bit more casual and we all piled onto the boat and buzzed around the lake until dark.

We got to see a pretty sunset in the distance and enjoy the quiet waters. We even saw a deer in a cove drinking water from the bank! My picture was too blurry to make it out though.

I am glad to be back home, and hubby doesn't have to go to class tomorrow so we get to sleep in together (as late as Brad allows of course)! That hardly ever happens nowadays. And then I go back to work for the weekend. Yay me :)

Crafty Plans

I've been busy busy as usual on my days off thru the week. I use every opportunity I have to get something done around here! Whether it is sweeping, washing, tidying up, or crafting--there is much to be done! It's amazing how working only one less day a week has freed up what seems like more time to tackle everyday chores. Of course it definitely helps having my days off in a row because then I can make a plan everyday of what to get done without worrying about when I go back to work.

Finding the time and skill to do everything that is required to maintain a clean and organized household (especially a two-story with a one-year old!) is hard to do for a lot of people!! But that is one thing I {humbly} pride myself on--I don't sit around and watch TV all day or lay in bed until noon every chance I get. I have to prioritize what needs to get done, and after all that then I can have my "ME" time. It's funny as you get older, you slowly realize WHY your parents made you do chores and all that yucky stuff growing up....

Well as of yesterday, I am officially signed up for THREE craft shows!! Yikes! I have only done one before, and it was a very small one. I just had a hodge-podge of things thrown together--everything small and nothing pricey. So this time I am focusing on only a few things that are unique and desirable. One of them is--cloth baby shoes!!

I have about 6 pairs ready now, but of course I need to make a bunch more before the first show in a few weeks!

And on the side of course I still have my craft store where my friends occasionally request a custom order. My most recent one was a set of 4 bibs/burp cloths embroidered with a name for a friend in pink and purple. I found the cutest prints in flannel and I think they all turned out nicely!

^I even found PERFECT coordinating ribbon to go with it.

And here they are all tied up nicely to be delivered! My orders are caught up now (I try to have no more than a week turn-around time) so I can get back to stocking up my supply for the shows this holiday season! Can't wait!

*200th Post!* County Fair Fun

We finally got to go to our county fair! We have lived here FOUR years and never went. It is only 3 days long, and we never heard about it until it was too late. So this year I planned months ago on my calendar to go. We ran into a few snaffoos, but in the end it was worth it. The fair was only Thursday--Saturday and since I have to work Friday and Saturday nights, we wanted to go Friday during the afternoon before it got too hot. So hubby took a day off of school and we packed up the car with our little boy and headed out there. Found a parking spot, got our bag of goodies and headed over to the rides....which were not moving....and nobody was walking around them. There were a lot of people by the buildings so we went over there to find out when the rides would start. Nobody knew.

We ended up going home and I looked it up on the internet--the rides didn't even open until SEVEN PM that evening!!! After I had to be at work! I got very upset and frustrated because if we had known that, we could've gone on Thursday evening. So with only one day of the fair left, I checked the schedule for Saturday. It said that the rides opened at 10am. All I could do is come home after work Saturday morning, take a short nap, then get up and go to the fair before it got up to the forecasted high of 90. And that's what I did!

Of course when the time came to get up, I didn't want to have any part of it...but I eventually put my face and clothes on and we headed out there around 10:30am. Once again, the rides weren't moving and barely any people were there!! We did however see carnies checking the rides and writing stuff down, so I figured they were getting ready to get started. We just kind of walked around and looked at everything, and figured out how many tickets we would need. We went into the buildings and let Brad see the animals they had in there for a small petting zoo:

Another funny thing is the forecast for that day was sunny with a high of 90. But when we pulled up and parked, this was what the sky looked like:

It was VERY overcast with a nice cool breeze at about 75 degrees!! Just perfect.

Even though the website had said TEN am, the ticket booth and rides didn't open until ELEVEN am. So we bought our tickets and got in line for our first carnival ride!! I took Brad on the carousel and he ended up being free to ride each ride so we had extra tickets in the end. He liked the carousel and even held onto the pole! It was cute to watch. My whole life I have been waiting to take my very own child to the fair and watch their innocent face as they see all new and exciting things to do!

After that, the only other ride we wanted to ride was the Ferris Wheel....which still wasn't on. Not even a carnie checking it yet. So we milled around some more....

(Brad was upset I wouldn't let him hold the camera)

...and decided to all share a funnel cake!! It was fresh from the oil and delicious. Brad liked it too :)

FINALLY someone came and opened up the Ferris Wheel! We were first in line and first on. I was a bit nervous because the ride looked so old...but hey that's part of the fun!

Brad got to sit on the seat with us, and we all were buckled in. He looked so adorable with his little legs sticking out and his hair blowing in the wind!!

He wasn't scared at all, and was trying to look over the edge.

To use up some of our extra tickets, Nick took his turn on the carousel with the boy, and he was the only one on there!! The carnie running it let me take some pictures when they came around.

After that I had to grab a corndog (that Nick and I shared) and we headed home just in time for the sun to come out! I put baby down for his nap, uploaded my pics, then went back to bed!! I did get in a few hours before going back to work last night.

We had a wonderful time, and the county fair turned out to be everything we wanted. We haven't been to our state fair in years because it has just become way to expensive, crowded, dirty, dangerous....no thank you!! You have to pay to park, pay to get in, then try not to get robbed while you are there. Now we are hooked on the county fairs!!!!

My Funny Model

I am happy to say that the fall crocheting has begun! I recently got an order for two toddler hats with ears from a lady in the UK on my craft blog. But she wanted a chin strap that buttoned, which I had not done before. So after some trial and error I got it done and used my little one to try them on. He looked so adorable in it!!! I caught some cute faces while I was snapping pics of the hat...

Tonight I just finished up another hat for a lady here in Norman. I really need to get to work on my supply for the upcoming craft shows! They are not too far away.

Speaking of fall, I am more than ready for it to be here! I can feel it in the air and I know pretty soon the leaves will start falling and the nights will be chilly. I bought all of the stuff at Hobby Lobby to make an adorable grapevine wreath for my front door. I am looking forward to decorating and I plan to decorate on the first day of Autumn in a couple of weeks!

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Here is a video of Brad taking some steps a few days ago. He is getting better everyday--just working on his balance now!