How to Encourage Family Unity

 I grew up as one of five siblings.  We fought, but we always stuck together.  We even formed a "gang" that did anonymous good deeds for people.  We were individuals, but still a unified family.  I know that homeschooling contributed quite a bit to that sense of family as we spent most of our time with each other, but we each did have our own set of friends as well.

I see a lot of families where the kids (especially as they get a little older) all do their own thing.  There is sibling rivalry and a sense of competition between them.  I don't want this for my family or my children.

So how am I going to encourage a sense of unity between my children even though they won't be homeschooled?

First of all, I do not encourage a competitive spirit among my children.  There are friendly races occasionally, but we make sure we do not focus on winning, but rather on having fun as a family.

Secondly, I encourage each child to help the other one out and strive to make them proud of their individual roles in our family.  Princess, as the big sister, is honored that she is able to help care for her younger brother.  Little Man, although still very young, is encouraged to turn to his sister when he needs help while being shown at the same time that he can also take care of her (this goes along with teaching him to be a gentleman who respects women).

Thirdly, housekeeping and other tasks are to be done together when possible.  Because the kids are still so young, it's usually a necessity that we all work together, but I do plan to continue this as they grow older and more capable.  For instance, when I empty the dishwasher, Princess and Little Man work together to carry the dishes over to the counter on the other side of the kitchen so I can put the dishes away in the cupboard.  There is no competition to see who can do the most, in fact, Princess takes great pride in the fact that she can help her little brother pick out the lightest dishes to carry.

 How do you encourage a sense of unity in your family?


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33 Weeks

How Far along: 33 weeks

Baby's Size:  Baby weighs a little over 3 pounds and is about 17 inches long from head to toe.

Sleep: Between waking up to use the bathroom once a night and baby waking me up with his nighttime gymnastics routine, I'm not sleeping very well anymore.  I've been needing more naps too just so I can function.  Really makes it hard to get anything productive done!

Best Moments This Week: Taking the kids to the county fair.  And satisfying my craving for deep fried oreos :)

Miss Anything?: Being able to move and bend easily. Not having to stop at a bathroom everywhere we go.  Having energy.   

Movement?: Yes!  Baby likes to lounge on the left side of my stomach and it causes a lot of soreness on that side.

Food Cravings:  Omelets.

Things That Make Me Queasy: Just normal stuff right now.

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: Having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, mostly when I'm active or bend over too far. 

Symptoms: Heartburn (although nowhere near as severe as I had with Little Man which leads me to believe I'm having another baldy, lol), hip pain, fatigue, etc. 

Mood Most Of The Time: Stressed, annoyed, calm, happy...it really varies from minute to minute!

Looking Forward To: At this point, most women would be saying that they're looking forward to having the baby, but frankly, the baby takes up less room and is easier to take care of before he's born so I'm perfectly content to be pregnant (no matter how miserable!) right now!
Sorry, no picture this week!  I'll be sure to include one next week.


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Versatile Blogger Award

I was catching up on my blog reading the other day when I realized that my blog was in the list of blogs nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award at Blessings and Beyond!  Awesome!  Thanks so much to Shellie for nominating me!  I've been following Shellie's blog for close to a year now and always enjoy reading her newest posts (Check out her recipe for 7-up cake...it looks so yummy!).

Since I've been nominated, I'm supposed to tell you 7 random facts about myself.  Seeing how I just did a "100 Random Things About Me" post, this might be a little tricky, but here goes!

1. I've loved matreshka/Russian nesting dolls since I was a kid.  I have two that I purchased and two that I painted myself from a DIY kit from Hearthsong back when I was a teenager.  The first one turned out...interesting, the second one turned out good enough that I display it with the two purchased dolls.

2. I play a guitar, fiddle, flute, piano, and mandolin.  None proficiently, each just enough to keep myself entertained and have a little fun.

3. I'm an introvert.  There is nothing better to me than being at home.  I could never have lived with roommates because I tend to start panicking when there are other people in my space.  I did live with my sister for a while before we each got married, but she's an introvert too so there weren't any parties or very many guests at all. 

4. I've always thought it would be neat to learn karate. 

5. *Warning-shameless promotion*  I'm super excited to be releasing my first clothing collection in my boutique next month!  I had so much fun designing the outfits for it! 

6. Hubby got me a Wii fit shortly after we found out we were expecting again (no, it wasn't a hint, I asked him for it :)  I used it a few times, but now I'm afraid to get on it again because I'm pretty sure it's going to make fun of me for gaining so much weight so quickly and make my avatar huge.  I am looking forward to using it after the baby is born though!

7. I could eat pizza five times a week and not get tired of it.

There's my seven random facts!  Now I get to nominate some of my favorite blogs!

Ostrom's Odyssey

Crappy Pictures

Not Super...Just Mom

Serving Joyfully

So Not Organized

My Thrifty Friend

Growing Up Geeky

A Cup of Tea and a Blog

In This Wonderful Life

Bits and Pieces From My Life

Another Day Stronger

Indietutes

Make It and Love It

Under the Big Oak Tree

The Shafer Family

For those of you nominated, here are the rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post. 

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating include a link to their site.

7. Let the bloggers know they have been nominated.

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Need Some Advice...

When Princess was born, we got the original Diaper Genie diaper pail.  And it worked okay.  I wasn't thrilled with having to stand there and twist the top for three clicks everytime, but it got the job done.  Fast forward four and a half years, and the thing has got. to. go.  To put it bluntly, it stinks.  Both literally and figuratively.  It no longer twists the plastic sack neatly, doesn't cut it off very well when it's time to empty the pail, and, despite my constant bleaching and lysoling, it smells so bad that I cringe everytime I open it.

So....I'm in the market for a new diaper pail and I need your help to pick one out.

Here are some of the options I'm looking at:











What diaper pail do you use and do you love it or hate it?

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Two Years Old

He just turned two in May.  He's taken the Terrible Twos to a level I never knew existed.  (To all other mothers of Terrible Twos, I owe you an apology for accusing you of exaggerating when Princess was two)

 He is sweet and loving and adores his John Deere blankets.  He takes such good care of the baby doll he borrowed from Princess that it melts my heart.  He loves to give hugs and kisses.  He'll wave and say hi to anyone we meet (unless he's in one of those "two year old" moods).

He's not a morning person.  He wakes up ready for a nap and proves it by whining and throwing fits all morning.  He recently has come under the impression that he no longer needs naps.  He's sadly mistaken.  He'll ask me for something and, when I give it to him, he'll throw a fit for the next 1/2 hour.

 He could live outside and loves to ride his Bigwheel at break-neck speeds up and down our porch.  He begs to take rides in the van, and once in the van, begs to go up and down hills.  Luckily for him, we live in a very hilly town.  His favorite part of shopping is riding in a cart.  He adores tractors, but is afraid to go near them if they're turned on. ("Owie ears, Mama!)  

He sings all day long and loves to identify the different instruments when we're listening to a cd.  His favorite movies are Barney (Barney sings a lot) and bluegrass concert dvds.  He has a sense of humor and loves to play tricks.  He's a typical little brother who picks on his big sister just to annoy her and make her scream.

Source: granvillehouse.blogspot.com via Hannah on Pinterest

Little man is two and a mess of contradictions, but I couldn't ask for a sweeter little boy.

Pin It To Win It Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Pin It to Win It contest this past week!  It was a lot of fun to see what you liked the best from my Etsy shop.

The prizes were as follows:
1st prize (winner gets the product in the winning pin for free!) for the pin with the most repins.
2nd prize ($15 gift certificate) with the second highest number of repins.
3rd prize ($10 gift certificate) with the third highest number of repins.

Only two of the pins were repinned and it was a tie for the number of repins so......I decided to change up the prizes a bit :)

The two pins that tied for first place both get the product in the pins for free!

Here they are!

Source: etsy.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Sharalyn on Pinterest

If one of these pins is yours, email me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com with your address and what size you'd like (the owl dress is one-of-a-kind and only comes in one size) to claim your prize!

The third place winner was chosen at random from the rest of the entries.   Abbey C., you can email me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com to claim your $10 gift certificate! 

Congratulations to all three winners!

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Boutique Challenge Auctions

A while ago, I stumbled on a page on Facebook called Boutique Challenge Auctions that holds several auctions a month.  The auctions are themed (i.e. Disney, Around the World, Owls, etc.) and feature items from a group of boutiques.

 
 As a consumer and a boutique owner, I thought it looked like a lot of fun!  I bid on two outfits in the Owl themed auction that was going on at the time I found the page and won both!  From that point, I was hooked.  I put in an application for my boutique to join the page as one of the designers and bid in a few more auctions while I waited for my application to be reviewed.  In April, I got an email from the page's administrator approving my application and inviting me to join as a designer.  Yay!  Since then, I've participated in several auctions and had a ton of fun designing new things for them.  I also appreciate the camaraderie and support the designers have for each other.

Here are some of the items I've had in recent auctions:

My first auction: the Independence Day Auction!

Fairy Tale Rainbow Dress

Rose Garden Dress with Removable Ruffle Apron

Retro Cassette Tapes Jumper

Groovy Tie Dye Pants and Shirt Set

Aviary Stripwork Dress

As a consumer, the auctions are a great plan since items often go for less than retail price, plus it's a great way to try out new boutiques that have a trusted reputation.

You can find Boutique Challenge Auctions on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Blogger.  The auctions are held on the Facebook page so keep your eyes open for the next one!    

And guess what?!?  I'm guest posting over at the Boutique Challenge Auctions blog!  Go check it out :)


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The Dress Project-Summer Challenge

One of my favorite bloggers, Kristin from Bits and Pieces From My Life, got this adorable dress as a hand-me-down from a cousin for her daughter and decided to alter it to fit each season.  It just so happens that Princess also received the same dress as a hand-me-down from a friend, so naturally I "stole" Kristin's idea for sprucing it up once the original flower on the front lost its flair.  The versatility of this dress makes it worth keeping in Princess's wardrobe.  She's worn it as a sundress, over a shirt, and now wears it as a tunic length shirt over leggings or pants or over her petticoat dress.   

The dress "Before"

 The first step was to cut the threads holding the hot pink flower onto the dress. 

The original flower.  It looked cute at first, but was pretty droopy by the time I took it off. 

 Next, I marked out a buttonhole right where the flower had been attached.  If your sewing machine has a buttonhole maker and you don't know how to use it, now is the perfect time to learn as the embellishments will cover any mistakes.     

Done!  The whole project took me less than 15 minutes from start to finish.  Now I can clip any of Princess's hair accessories right in the buttonhole and have a new look everytime she wears the dress.  

Hairbow from Dots and Lollipops

 

Hairbow from ~Hanna's Hair Bowtique~

This post is linked up with "The Dress Project: Summer Challenge" at Bits and Pieces From My Life







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Blogger 411

 

From Mrs. to Mama is hosting a Blogger link up. Click the badge above to see who else linked up! :) 
 

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?
I started blogging in June, 2009 when Princess was about 18 months old because I wanted to write down all those little things that I knew I wouldn't remember later on.  I also started blogging because I really missed writing!  When I was a kid up until I graduated high school, I wrote a monthly "newspaper" that I passed out to my friends and family.  Then I decided I was too old for such "childish" things and sadly wrote my last issue.  Blogging has been a great way to get back to writing and I don't have to worry about it being childish because all the "cool" kids are doing it, lol. 

2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?
I did one year of PSEO studies at the local community college during my senior year of high school and then took online classes at the same college in 2007 for medical transcription.  I never got my certification though because during that school year, I had Princess and my life plans all completely changed.

3. Where have you traveled?
When I was 16, my mom and I joined my friend on her college German class's trip to Germany and several surrounding European countries.  We (my mom, my friend, her mom, and I) separated from the rest of the class at the end of the trip and went to England for a few days.  I went back to England about a year later to attend my friend's mom's wedding.

4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
A house!!  Our family of 4 (soon-to-be 5) plus my boutique business do NOT fit in our little 2 bedroom (5 room total, including the bathroom) house.  

5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?
Inconsiderate or rude people.
Whining or screaming children.
People who don't appreciate how much work people in the service industry put in to take care of them.  I worked in the B&B business for 10 years and actual appreciation and thanks were few and far between.

6. What is your favorite movie?
It's a toss-up between "The Emperor's New Groove" and "Princess Bride".  Yes, I'm a dork.  

7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?
I'll take a chai latte (iced or hot) anytime!

8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?
Reading without interruptions.  Spending 2 minutes in the bathroom without anyone following me in there is a luxury I enjoy occasionally as well.

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?
It's a toss-up between Target and Hobby Lobby.  

10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.
When Princess was about 18 months old, we went for a walk without the stroller to run errands.  I ended up carrying her most of the way.  At one point, I realized that I was getting a lot of funny looks from people driving by and looked down to see that Princess had grabbed the front of my shirt while I was carrying her and pulled it down as far as it could go.  Which showed much more than I ever cared to show off to half the town.

11. What day would you love to relive again?
The day I gave birth to my son.  Giving birth the first time was a nightmare since I was induced, but I went into labor naturally the second time and it was such a great experience.  I never thought it was possible to actually enjoy such a physically painful thing, but I honestly would love to do it again.  I'm hoping I don't have to be induced this time around either.    

12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?
Ummm...I have no idea.  Maybe Katherine Heigl?

13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?
I worked at a B&B from the ages of 14-21.  During that time, I also worked as a personal care attendant for a teenaged girl with cerebral palsy and a substitute at the school daycare.  When I was 21, I quit my job at the B&B to go work at a different B&B with more hours and worked there until just a few years ago.  I've also been working as a substitute librarian at 2 local libraries since I was in my teens.  

14. Show us a picture from high school or college.

16 years old in Germany

15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?
I've always wanted to go to Italy.  The history there is amazing and it's such a beautiful country!

16. Show us the most current picture of you or you, or your family, or anything of meaning to you. 

Easter, 2010.  I was very pregnant with Little Man.  Getting Hubby to pose for a family picture is like pulling teeth.  See how comfortable and relaxed he looks?

17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?
Let's see...I'll have three kids, still be sewing up a storm, will have invested in an embroidery machine for the boutique, and will absolutely be living somewhere else with more space!


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Pin It To Win It!

There are two things I love.  Okay, actually I love a lot more things than that, but for the purpose of this post, we'll focus on these two things.

I love free stuff/great discounts and Pinterest.  (Does that count as three things?)  So just for fun, I'm going to combine those two (three?) into a contest for you!

Here's how it works: First, follow me on Pinterest.  If you're not on Pinterest yet, you can email me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com for an invite.  Next, pin something you like from my Etsy shop.  You can pin up to three things a day during the duration of the contest.  The Rafflecopter widget (below) makes it super easy to enter each day!  It will ask you to leave a link to your pin, if you're not sure how to do that, just click on your pin so it comes up like this, then copy and paste the url (which will look like this: http://pinterest.com/pin/110690103312167751/) in the box on the Rafflecopter widget.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

The contest will end on July 25th.  There will be three prizes:
1st prize (winner gets the product in the winning pin for free!) for the pin with the most repins.
2nd prize ($15 gift certificate) with the second highest number of repins.
3rd prize ($10 gift certificate) with the third highest number of repins.

Have fun!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
          

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Clearing the Air

I'm thinking I need to have these answers to the MANY questions and comments I've been getting printed on a t-shirt, but for now, I'll just have to direct everyone here.

The answers to all your questions about my pregnancy:

1. Yes, I know I'm huge.

2. No, I'm not having twins. 

3. Yes, as a matter of fact, it is miserable to be this pregnant while it's this hot.

4. Yes, our house is too small for a family of 5, and I'm already seriously stressed out about that.  But, thank you for pointing it out again.

5. I'm due in mid-September.  Put your eyes back in your head and refer to answers #1 and #2.

6. I'm due in mid-September.  No, I will not give you a specific date because my babies tend to come late (by 1-2 weeks), and I hate having everyone expect that my actual due date is an expiration date.  And then, having everyone ask me every. single. day after that due date if I'm still pregnant and aren't I going to have that baby anytime soon? (For the answer to that question, please visit http://www.haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com)

7. No, I'm not ready for the baby.  At all.  I probably won't be ready until after he gets here.

8. No, we don't have a name picked out.  If we do get one picked out before the baby comes, we still probably won't tell you what it is.

9. It's a boy.  Probably.  To be honest, the ultrasound technician wasn't 100% sure.  

10. This is my third baby.  If that's a look of sympathy or pity you're giving me, don't bother. 


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Friday Freebie Winner

As chosen by Rafflecopter, the winner of last week's Friday Freebie is.........
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Shelly T!

Shelly, you can email me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com to claim your hat!

Thanks to everyone who entered and keep watching for the next Friday Freebie!

30 Weeks

How Far along: 30 weeks

No, the picture is not that blurry...apparently I really need to clean the bathroom mirror!

Baby's Size:  Baby weighs almost 3 pounds and is about 15 1/2 inches long from head to toe.

Sleep:  Sleeping better this week, but still waking up throughout the night.

Best Moments This Week: Finding out that my parents have a dresser we can use for the baby!  Also, when Princess was able to feel the baby move-she was so thrilled!

Miss Anything?: Being able to move and bend easily.   

Movement?: Yes!  When he stretches out and kicks, it hurts.  

Food Cravings:  Omelets and mini donuts. 

Things That Make Me Queasy: Just normal stuff right now.

Gender: Boy!

Labor Signs: Having some Braxton-Hicks contractions, mostly when I'm active or bend over too far. 

Symptoms: Heartburn (although nowhere near as severe as I had with Little Man which leads me to believe I'm having another baldy, lol), hip pain, fatigue, etc. 

Mood Most Of The Time: Stressed!  Hitting the third trimester really made me realize how unprepared we are for a baby, plus I'm really sick of being so cramped in our house.

Looking Forward To: Finishing my organizing to-do list.  I started it back in April and only have a few things left to do.


Don't forget that you can still enter to win this week's Friday Freebie until Monday, July 9th!




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What's in My Purse?

I emptied out my purse tonight.  Here's what I found:

1. 2 bills (don't worry, they're from this week)
2. A baby announcement from when my sister had her third baby...last September (It's a girl!)
3. An invitation to a Norwex party this month.
4. Little Man's Thomas the Train sunglasses.
5. A small notepad.
6. My wallet (if that hadn't been in there, I'd be worried!).  Yes, I have Eeyore on my wallet.  I thought it made sense since Eeyore is always sad and alone and my wallet is always sad and empty.
7. My debit card (why isn't this in my wallet?!?)
8. 6 crayons from the doctor's office.
9. 2 pens (and yet I can never find any when I'm looking for them)
10. The garage door opener.
11. My inhaler.
12. A baby comb...my baby is 2 years old.
13. 2 of those cheese stick spreader thingamajigers from 2 packets of cheese and crackers that the nurse gave my kids at a particularly long day at the doctor's.
14. Nail clippers...because I play fiddle and I always have to cut my nails before I play.
15. An old book of used checks (and yet no checkbook?)
16. The cap from a water bottle.
17. 2 tubes of Burt's Bees lip balm.  Love that stuff!
18. My day planner/journal/can't live without it book.
19. 1 bobby pin.
20. 2 hair elastics for me.
21. 2 hair elastics for Princess.
22. My business card holder (matches my purse cover!).
23. A question mark toy from an ABC set.  The question is....where is the rest of the set?
24. A penny.
25. An empty, squished paper cup from the sample at the grocery store today, courtesy of Princess.
26. Pepto Bismal tablets (probably past their expiration date since I can't remember the last time they were used)
27. Various hard candies (I'm aspiring to be like my Grandma)
28. A travel wipes case decorated with farm themed stickers. 

And that's it.    

As for the purse itself, it's a 31 Gifts purse, but with a custom made cover from Etsy on it.   

So...what's in your purse?

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Friday Freebie

Today's Friday Freebie is from Annalie's Baby Boutique!  These knit hats are lightweight and stretchy and perfect for just about any type of weather.  The winner of this freebie will get to choose one of the following hat designs and any size from 0-3 months-adult.  Scroll to the bottom of this post to find out how to enter.

Black damask hat

Minky Dot hat-choose from hot pink, light pink, light blue, or brown

Blue and brown owls hat

Zebra ruffles hat

a Rafflecopter giveaway

July Sale

It's time to clear out some inventory at Annalie's Baby Boutique to make room for new products!   To do so, I'm having a huge sale starting Monday, July 9th and ending on Saturday, July 14th!

All the items in the sale will be deeply discounted. Some of the products included will be dresses, skirts, tutu sets, boys clothing and more!

I created an event on Facebook to remind people about the sale (if you're like me you'll plan to check it out and then forget until it's over.  What a bummer!)   


 
Here's the fun part:

For every 25 guests who RSVP on the Facebook event that they are attending, there will be a freebie given away! For example, if 25 people RSVP that they are attending, there will be 1 freebie, if 50 guests RSVP that they are attending, there will be 2 freebies, and so on! Invite your friends, I'd love to give a ton of stuff away to my awesome customers!


 Here is a sneak peek at just a few of the things that will be in the sale!

Lace Kissed Angel Wings Tutu Set

Ruffled Party Dress

Wild West Ruffle Skirt

Eiffel Tower Double Layer Circle Skirt

"Don't Get Your Tutu in a Tangle" Tutu Set

 There will be many more things included clothing for boys in the sale!  You don't want to miss this!


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