New Stuff and a Resolution

I've resolved that I WILL post once a week from now on. I get so busy, I forget about the joys of blogging and the next thing you know, it's been over a month since I last graced this blog with my presence.

What's going on right now....

I got the CUTEST leg warmers in the mail the other day. Added them all to my store and I'm stalking my wholesaler because there's rumors she will be adding soccer leg warmers and lace leggings to her website soon.

I made both of my kids Easter outfits plus outfits for Little Man's sock monkey themed 1st birthday party which is coming up a lot faster than I expected. For Easter, Princess got a triple ruffle dress, matching ruffle socks, and a flower clip that says "Happy Easter" in the center.  Little Man got a bowtie and vest that coordinate with Princess's dress. I'm crazy about the matchy-matchy look for my kiddos. For Little Man's party, I designed patterns for a new dress style complete with pockets and an elasticized back for ease of fit and a pair of overalls, also with pockets and a "1" on the front. They both turned out really cute. I'd love to show you pics of all these new outfits I've made. However, we recently attended a niece's birthday party and left the camera there. I'd run over and pick it up from my sister-in-law, but she and her family live 6 hours away from us so it'll have to wait until we see them next. I see your tears of disappointment, but don't worry. They're planning to visit within the next 2 weeks so I promise pictures at that time.

Like I said, Little Man's 1st birthday party is sock monkey themed. I ordered a sock monkey cake topper from TwoSugarBabies on Etsy for his cake, a sock monkey hat from Nanna's Threads (I also bought him this adorable bear hat about 6 months ago), and a sock monkey lovey from Baby Bug Boutique.
Other than that, I haven't had any thoughts as to decorations. I'm thinking red and brown plates, cups, napkins, etc. and placing Princess's sock monkey strategically for a decoration. Any other ideas? If I have time (and enough supplies) I might make a felt pendant banner and applique a letter of Little Man's name on each pendant using my sock monkey fabric I have leftover from his overalls.

Unsolicited Advice: When planning a themed event (or any event, or just because), check out Etsy.com for handmade creations to fit whatever theme you are going for. Also, there are a TON of people who have "shops" on Facebook and are willing to create a custom item for you. To get started on finding these shops, check out Made in the USA-A Boutique Collection.

Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall

This has not been a good day. I got ready for work, woke the kids up and we headed out the door to my babysitting job. A little after 9, I was starting to clean up some toys in the living room when I heard a series of thuds and realized that Little Man was no longer in the living room with us. I heard him start to scream, and I ran to the door that opened to the basement stairs, praying that he hadn't fallen all the way down. I found Little Man on the landing, and was relieved to see that he had only fallen down three stairs. I scooped him up just as he squirmed his way to the edge of the landing and was about to fall down the rest of the stairs. Picking him up, I gave him a once over to check for injuries and, lo and behold, there was blood on his forehead dripping down his cheek. Still calm, I took him over to the sink and started to dab away the blood from what I assumed was a pretty decent scrape or scratch.

I'd only dabbed away a little blood when I saw, to my horror, a deep 1 inch long gaping gash on his little forehead. At that point, I pretty much lost it. Scrapes, cuts, bruises....I can handle those. Gaping head wounds...not so much. Crying and completely freaking out, I called 911 first. I was shaking so much, it took me three tries to unlock my phone keypad before I could dial (which strangely enough, is a recurring nightmare of mine....I have to dial 911, but have problems working the phone) Once I had a 911 operator on the phone, I had another problem. I was holding Little Man who was screaming and I didn't know the address of the house I was at. I finally found the address on some mail on the counter, but neither the operator nor I could hear each other over Little Man's screams. I finally managed to yell the address loud enough for him to hear and hung up. I laid Little Man on the floor and went to get a phone book so I could call the lady I babysit for to tell her what had happened. After she got me to calm down enough to actually speak English, she called her father-in-law so he could come over and take over babysitting for me. My phone was going dead, but I threatened it severely and managed to make two more calls. One to my parent's house, thoroughly scaring my younger sister and dad since I was too hysterical to make much sense, and one more call to Hubby at work. He arrived just as we were walking out to the ambulance. He dropped Princess off with his mom before following us up to the ER. Because Little Man had a head wound, I had to keep him still and awake during the 30 minute ride to the ER. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a baby who is past due for their morning nap awake while being held by mommy during an ambulance ride while not moving him around? He cried some on the way up there, but only because he was irritated that we wouldn't let him fall asleep.

While waiting for the doctor to examine Little Man and stitch him up, Little Man was his normal self. He was smiling, playing, and walking (with Mommy's help) all over the exam room...only difference was that he had a gaping bloody gash on his head. Kind of killed the cute baby look. When, after 20 minutes of a numbing solution, the doctor came in to stitch up Little Man's gash, I excused myself to the waiting room. Hubby got the honor of holding our screaming son down on the table while the doctor and nurses fixed him up. I will deal with illnesses, scrapes, bruises, and breathing issues (e.g. Princess), but when it comes to that, I'm out. I would've been crying harder than Little Man and no help at all. As it was, I was a mess sitting out in the waiting room. When they were done giving him 8 stitches to close the gash, a nurse came to get me and I ran back to see my sweating, sniffling baby boy. Apparently, 10 month olds can hold a grudge because he wanted nothing to do with his daddy and wouldn't even look at him for a while.

My cute little Frankenstein

Anyways, that's my day. The whole ordeal was much harder on me than it was on Little Man, who was a little trooper the entire time. Don't forget, this is the kid who doesn't even flinch when he gets shots and is constantly whacking his skull on something. He's just a tough little boy.


Thanks so much for visiting Supermommy!...Or Not.  Please take a moment to "like" me on facebook" and follow me on Twitter! 

I've Been Busy, How About You?

Yes, I know I've been slacking on the "blog front" lately. Here's a look at what I've been doing with my time....

I've been getting quite a few orders for my boutique so I've been working on making and shipping those out. I also have decided to change my boutique up a little bit. I eliminated several products such as burp cloths, washcloths, and carseat strap covers. I created a clearance album on my Facebook page that can be found here with all the products I will no longer be carrying. Check it out as things are going fast! I want to take my boutique in a slightly different direction by specializing in boutique style clothing for babies and children. I feel as if there are SO many boutiques out there that sell tutus and hair accessories and, although I plan to continue carrying those items because they are my top sellers, I want my boutique to my unique and different from every other boutique out there.

That leads me to another thing I've been working on. I'm making my kids Easter outfits this year.  Princess will wear a ruffled dress and Little Man will wear a coordinating bowtie and vest. As Princess is gone this weekend visiting cousins with her grandma, I plan to devote my time to sewing. I drafted a pattern for her dress yesterday and am really excited to start cutting out the fabric (which is super cute, by the way!).  Little Man stayed home, but he's the easiest baby ever and naps twice a day so I think I can handle this. :) Now if I could just get Hubby to go away for the weekend too.....

I was interviewed by our local newspaper a while back and the article ran a few weeks ago. Click here to read the article.

Oh yes, one more thing. Because apparently working part-time babysitting and almost full-time with my boutique isn't quite enough for me, I signed up to be an independent sales rep for Discovery Toys. I grew up playing with Discovery Toys and they were always my favorite toys to play with. They're great quality, educational, and creative. So I figured, why not start selling them? You can either order online at my website, www.discoverytoyslink.com/hannahwingert or you can book a party to earn free products for yourself. For people who are not from this area or would rather not have a home party, I will be offering catalog parties as well (I send you a bunch of catalogs and hostess info. You pass the catalogs out to your friends and send me their orders).

Little Man is officially a creepy crawlie! He learned how to crawl on his 9 month birthday and hasn't stopped moving since.  Princess was thrilled with the latest development for about 8 minutes before she realized that it meant she could no longer keep him away from her toys. About 2 weeks after learning how to crawl, Princess learned how to pull himself up on furniture which meant another level of babyproofing. I still have the exersaucer out for those times when I really need to work on the floor and he won't stop tackling me, but he complains the whole time he's in it because he's figured out why I put him in there.

Unsolicited Advice: When babyproofing for a crawling or walking baby, get down to their level to see everything they see.

Winners of the 850 and 1000 Fan Contest!

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest at Annalie's Baby Boutique! I used random.org to select two winners of the 31 who entered and the winners are.........

Leanne Mclenaghan
and
Jeremy Keim

Congratulations! You have each won a $15 gift certificate to Annalie's Baby Boutique. If you would each contact me at annaliesbabyboutique@yahoo.com, I will send you a code that can be used on my website (www.annaliesbabyboutique.com) or you can use them on Facebook by giving me the code when you place your order.

Tuesday Blog Hop

Trying out my first Tuesday Blog Hop....

Annalie's Baby Boutique 850 and 1000 Fan Giveaway!

I promised my fans we'd do a giveaway when we got to 850 fans. This past week, we've reached 850 fans and then kept going to over 1000!! Because we've surpassed two milestones, I will be giving away two $15 gift certificates to my store to two lucky fans! All you have to do to enter is click on this link and tag yourself in the picture that comes up. On Tuesday, February 15th, I will use random.org to select two winners from the tagged people in the picture. I know there is a limit on how many people can be tagged in one photo so, I will check back periodically and will upload another picture if the first one is full.
Thank you and good luck to all my wonderful fans!!


*Giveaways and promotions are only open to individuals over the age of 18
*Facebook states that we need a 3rd party to run giveaways and promotions, this blog is our 3rd party.
*Giveaways and contests are in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to Annalie's Baby Boutique and not to Facebook.

Super-Easy Cookies

I know I'm posting twice in one day, but I wanted to share this recipe with you. These are super easy to make, soft and chewy, and there are a ton of variations you could do with these.

First get all your ingredients together...it's going to take a long time and you'll probably have to make a trip to the store because there are SO many ingredients in these. Ready for the list? Okay, here goes. Boxed cake mix, tub of whipped cream, and one egg. That's it. Think you're up for the challenge?


Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all three ingredients together. I made mine with lemon cake mix today, but I've used strawberry, chocolate, and yellow cake mix. Go crazy and use whatever type of cake mix you happen to have on hand. You can also make these with yellow cake mix and add some flavoring such as peppermint or root beer. After they're cooled off, you can also drizzle some melted chocolate on top for some extra flair.
Drop by the teaspoonful into a small bowl of powdered sugar and gently roll to coat. I use a spring loaded ice cream scoop to make it easier to make uniform balls. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies show cracking on top.


Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

Facebook Giveaways and You Know You're a Mom If....

Facebook recently unveiled some new rules that state that you can't have giveaways or contests on Facebook anymore. I don't want to bore you with all the legal jargon, but basically, I can post information about a giveaway I'm having, I just can't ask anyone to sign up for it on Facebook or post the winner on Facebook until I've emailed them first to notify them. From now on, I will be doing my Annalie's Baby Boutique giveaways or comment games in one of two ways.

1. Use a third-party for entries. For example, I can post a picture of an item I'm giving away on my Facebook page. Then to enter, you just click on a link I have posted with the picture and enter your name and email address there. I can then generate a number using random.org and count down to that entry as the winner.

2. I can post details about the giveaway here on my blog and people can use that information to enter it on Facebook without having it posted as a giveaway. For example, if I have a tagging contest (you tag yourself in a picture I post for the giveaway and then I pick a winner from the people who are tagged in the picture), I would post the information here along with a link to the correct picture. You would then follow the link to Facebook, tag yourself, and that would be it!

Okay, boring info blurb is out of the way...how about some fun stuff? Here goes!

You know you're a mom if....
1. You see a child about to hurl and, instead of jumping 8 feet away from said child to avoid being puked on, you automatically stick your hands out in front of the child's mouth to catch the vomit. And you don't even flinch.

2. You hear a little voice yelling from the bathroom, "Mommy, come see my poop!" and rather than yell back, "Gross!! Why in the world would I want to see you poop?!?", you race to the bathroom to admire and congratulate your child on their big accomplishment in the potty chair.

3. You don't even bother to put away the mist vaporizer, vicks, puke bucket, or tylenol between colds/flus because you'll just be getting them out again in a week.

4. You don't bother to put away anything in your house anymore because the kids will take everything out 3.8 seconds after you've cleaned.

5. You are getting used to barriers in your life...the babygates in every doorway, safety locks on all the cupboards and drawers, toys strewn across the floor, the exersaucer or infant swing in the middle of your living room, the children who seem to be right where you were going to step, etc.

6. Insults from an adult are maddening, insults from a 2 year old are adorable...does "Mommy, your tummy is squishy like a pillow!" ring any bells?

7. People can tell what age your kid/kids are just by looking at you.
Infant: Spit-up on shoulder, baby food in hair, orajel in your purse, constantly swaying gently even when you're not actually holding the baby. If this is your first child, you'll probably have a "deer-in-the-headlights" look for at least the first several months.
Toddler: Chewed-up graham crackers on your sleeve, shifty eyes due to watching a perpetually moving child, 4 books and 7 articles on potty training in your purse, a tendency to overuse the word "no"
Preschooler: An extra set of clothes for the inevitable potty accidents stashed in your car, your purse, at the grocery store..., Dora the Explorer stickers all over your back, the only writing utensil in your purse is a broken orange crayon.
Grade School: You are proud of your newfound skills in building popsicle stick forts, you actually look somewhat well-rested because your child is now sleeping through the night, but hasn't started staying out all night yet.
Teenager: You apologize to your parents for being so rebellious as a teen because you know what they felt like now, you walk into the grocery store and kiss the floor because your new-driver-teen begged you to let them drive you there, the food you buy at the grocery store is consumed less than a day after putting it in your cupboard.

8. You go through several changes of clothes a day due to someone leaking through their diaper, throwing up on you, or having a potty accident...and the worst part is that some of those potty accidents aren't the potty training 2 year old but the mother who gave birth twice and whose bladder just isn't what it used to be.

Happy Birthday from Elmo

My baby girl is 3 years old now! We had a fun party for her with family and a few friends. She looked especially cute in her tutu set and her pillowcase dress I made her. Of course, with all the excitement, there was one accident on her part, about 15 minutes after she put on her tutu set. She was pretty upset about it, but we just put her back in her pillowcase dress which she's been wearing before and went on with the party. I was kind of hoping to hold of on Barbie dolls as long as possible because to be honest, I really hate stumbling over naked Barbies. My 3 year streak is done.  Princess received not one, not two, but SEVEN barbies for her birthday. She was ecstatic, I was wondering if it would be acceptable for me to hot glue their clothes on.













We entered a reading contest at the public library a while back and won hands down. Not that we're that good or read that much, but we were the only people who entered. Sad, huh? Anyways, we won a ticket to go see Sesame Street Live in a city about 2 1/2 hours from where we live. Never one to turn down something free even though it meant buying tickets for the adults and spending gas and food money to get up there and back, we decided to go for it. We left Little man with my sister and my mom, my nephew, Will, Hubby, Princess, and I all went. The kids had a blast. Their eyes about popped out of their heads when Elmo came out. Naturally, I had to make them clothes for the occasion. Will got a Cookie Monster shirt, and Princess got a Elmo shirt, sparkly hearts tutu skirt, and Elmo hair clippies. BTW, not to put a plug in for myself, but they can all be purchased at annaliesbabyboutique.com Hehe.
We almost didn't go though because it was so. freaking. cold. that morning. We had to leave pretty early to get there by 10:30 am which is when the show started. When we got up at 6:30, it was -19 with a windchill of -33. Chilly! We decided, however, that it was worth risking frostbite and possibly freezing to death if we broke down in the middle of nowhere (not really an issue because we traveled on a main highway with lots of traffic the whole way there and had three cell phones between the five of us, but for the sake of dramatics...) Hubby's driving skills in the big city leave something to be desired, something called SAFETY. I think I almost wet my pants several times on the way there. We're little country folk who apparently are under the impression that Minnesota nice extends to big city driving ("Ummm, honey. That truck is NOT moving over for you. Perhaps you should not merge right n.....*Screams*") But we made it and I was incredibly thankful that Hubby came because if I had been driving, we would've come home with massive dents in the van and possibly some hospital bills.

Unsolicited Advice:
When your kids have to eat breakfast or snacks in the car, have them help you make cereal necklaces to wear. That way you don't have to worry about cereal all over your car.

Jeremiah 29:11

I was going to write a happy-go-lucky, humorous post today. And then I poured my heart out to my best friend in an email and realized that I just can't do happy right now. I can't do depressing either though because that would mean I'd probably talk about some things I'm just not ready to tell the general public. What I can say is that, I would appreciate prayer. And while you're at it, I wouldn't turn down a housekeeper, cook, personal trainer, or a million dollars either. I'm just sayin'.

I've tallied up my receipts for supplies for my boutique for, dare I say it...tax purposes. In doing so, I've come to the conclusion that I need to make more sales. So, if you wouldn't mind, while you're sending that housekeeper over to my place, how about checking out my boutique and suggesting it to your friends (or enemies, I'm not picky)? It can be found at www.facebook.com/annaliesbabyboutique and will soon be found at www.annaliesbabyboutique.com when I can find the time and know-how to finish designing my website.

Unsolicited Advice:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Not so much advice as hope.