Tuesday Topics-7 Things About Your Job

Today's Tuesday Topic is 7 things about my job.  The question for me is what job?  Let me run down the list for you...

Job #1: Mommy to my 3 littles.

Job #2: Owner of Annalie's Baby Boutique where I sew kids' clothing.

Job #3: Owner of Little Owl Patterns where I design and write pdf sewing patterns for kids' clothes.

Job #4: Freelance writer for a local newspaper.

Job #5: Babysitter for a preschool teacher/friend during the school year.

Job #6: Substitute librarian assistant at the local library.

So yeah...one more job and I could count my jobs as my whole Tuesday Topics post.  Instead, I'll write one thing about each of my jobs and then a bonus fact to get me to seven.

1. (Job: Mommy) This is the hardest, most rewarding job ever.  Even when I'm miserable because the baby has refused to nap all day, the 3 year old is throwing his 19th screaming tantrum since getting up 7 hours ago, and the 5 year old has had an attitude that rivals the moodiest 15 year old, I'm still happy.

2. (Job: Annalie's Baby Boutique) I started the boutique in August 2010.  It's been the greatest outlet for my creative side and although it can be stressful sometimes, I have no regrets and no plans to ever shut it down.  If all goes as planned, I'll still be hanging out at my sewing machine when I'm 95!

3. (Job: Little Owl Patterns) I just started this one in January 2013 because I've been writing most of my own patterns for the clothing I sew for Annalie's Baby Boutique and decided to take the leap into turning them into pdf's and selling them.  It's WAAAAAAAY more work to write a pattern than I ever imagined, but I love it.

4. (Job: Freelance Writer) Writing for a newspaper has been my dream since I was in elementary school.  When I was a kid, I wrote and distributed my own newspaper up until I was 18 and thought I was too old for it.  I missed the writing outlet which is essentially why I started blogging.  I was ecstatic when I got a job writing for the local newspaper in April of this year!

5. (Job: Babysitter) I was working at a job I hated because I couldn't be with my kids, but needed to find something else before I could quit.  Someone I'd only met a few times called me out of the blue to ask if I'd be interested in babysitting her kids while she worked.  3 years later, I'm still babysitting for her and we're now good friends.  My babysitting job was literally an answer to prayer.

6. (Job: Substitute assistant librarian)  When I was a kid, I put cards in the front of our books and tried to convince my siblings to check them out when they wanted to read something.  So working at the actual library is a completely awesome job and I love it!

7. Because of all of my jobs, I'm insanely busy most of the time.  However, every single one of those jobs is my dream job.  Who else can say that they have 6 jobs and love every single one of them because they fulfill a dream?


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Star-8 Months

Age: 8 months

Weight and height: Not sure since she doesn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but I think she weighs around 17 pounds.


Wearing: Size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes.  The 3-6 month clothes is getting too small for her so as soon as I get around to picking up the box of 6-9 month clothes from my sister's house, I'll move her into that size and give the 3-6 month stuff back to my sister to use for her little girl who will be moving up to that size soon. 

Likes:  Rolling all over the floor!  She LOVES playing with other kids now too. 

Dislikes: I hate to say this, but she's really not crazy about Little Man.  He loves her so much and shows it by getting in her personal space and squeezing her hands and arms too hard. 

Eating habits:  Star eats about 6 ounces of formula and 4 ounces of baby food in the morning when she gets up.  Around 10:30, she takes another bottle followed by another 4 ounces of baby food.  1:30 is another bottle and then she has one more bottle and 4 ounces of baby food at 5:30. 

Sleeping habits:She sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am and wakes up to cry for a few minutes pretty much every night at 11 pm.  She will usually go back to sleep without any help from me.  Now that's she rolling over onto her stomach, she likes to sleep on her tummy which is super cute.  Naps are good/bad.  Good because she'll usually fall right to sleep as soon as I lay her down.  Bad because she won't stay asleep for longer than an hour.  She sleeps from 8:30-9:30 in the morning and is supposed to sleep from 10-1 in the afternoon and then 4-5 pm.  However, her 2 hour nap is usually just a 1 hour nap which throws off the rest of the day. 
 
Milestones/Accomplishments: She finally learned how to roll over from her back to her stomach and now she's unstoppable!  She goes backwards while on her stomach, but hasn't figured out how to go forwards yet which is a huge disappointment to her when there's a toy just out of her reach.  She squirms, rolls, kicks, and spins enough that she's able to move all over the living room.  She just hasn't figured out how to move purposefully yet :)

Miscellaneous: One of her top teeth is ready to pop through the gum anytime now!  I stopped swaddling her this past month.  I'd tried stopping that earlier, but she wasn't ready.  Instead of wrapping her in her blanket to sleep, now I put it next to her and she grabs it to hold while she sleeps.   

Comparison pictures from 7 months to 8 months:

7 months

8 months

Little Cutie!

 I took this picture of Star wearing a bonnet before church one Sunday:

Star

I kept thinking it reminded me of another picture so I (figuratively) dug through my Facebook albums and came up with this picture of Princess taken when she was around the same age Star is now.  The funny thing is that if you look closely, you'll see that Princess is wearing the diaper cover that matches the dress that Star is wearing in the picture above.  

Princess

What do you think?  Can you tell they're sisters?  


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Random Monday-June 10, 2013

First, a weight loss update...I didn't drink any pop (or soda, depending on what part of the country you're from, lol) this week and I ran out of the chai latte mix on Tuesday so that's been pretty easy to stay away from, haha.  I exercised on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday, we spent the day walking all over the zoo and Ikea so I'm counting that as exercise.  Friday and Saturday were kind of slough days because the kids and I were off of our schedules from being at the zoo all day on Thursday.  I'll only be weighing myself and measuring my waist for the first Random Monday post of each month so no numbers this week!

Okay, on to more fun stuff!  Did I mention that we spent Thursday at the zoo?  It was an awesome day, and the first thing I can cross off of our Summer Bucket List!  Hubby had to work so I went with my older sister and her four kids, my parents, and my little sister.  It rained almost all the way to the zoo and we were pretty worried that we were going to get rained out again like last year when we attempted a trip to the zoo.  Right before we got there, the rain stopped and, although it was cloudy all day, it didn't rain again the whole time we were there!

We started out the day with a picnic in the park and then walked over to the zoo.  The kids LOVED seeing the different animals.  The giraffes were definitely the favorite animal of the day though.           

Little Man watching one of the giraffes eat grass

Of course, it's obligatory to take your kids' pictures sitting on Toby the Tortoise when you go visit the zoo, so we piled on as many kids as could fit and snapped some pictures.  The three youngest kids (Star and my sister's 20 and 2 month olds) didn't quite fit on the tortoise with the older four.

From left to right: Little Man, my 3 year old nephew, Princess, my 5 year old nephew

I tried to get a picture of just my three kiddos, but Star needed a little help staying on the tortoise as evidenced by my dad's phantom arm and my little sister "hiding" beside Toby.

The other kids hopped off as soon as the pictures were done to go look at the flamingos, but Star was a captive audience for my camera.  

Star was fascinated by the tortoise's head

 

"This is fun!"

Princess---awesome Veggie Tales skirt by BumbleMonkey

Little Man holding his light-up giraffe he picked out at the gift shop

Star was a happy and perfect baby all day long!

 

On the walk back to the vans, Star passed out in the stroller.  Going to the zoo is hard work!

After the zoo, we headed to Ikea to meet my grandparents, my brother, and my cousin for supper.  I bought 10 Ikea chocolate bars while I was there and they may or may not be almost gone already.  I'm not telling.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Little Man piped up from the back of the van:
"It's a boo (blue) store! I wike a boo (blue) store.  Mommy, we can go dere?"
He was so thrilled when I said yes.  The kid loves music, chocolate, and Ikea.  Yup, he's definitely mine!

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Little Man's SECOND 3rd Birthday Party

Little Man's second 3rd birthday party was almost a month ago and I'm just getting around to writing about it.  That's me...late as always!

Because Little Man, my sister's son, and my brother's daughter were all born within just a few weeks of each other, we've found that it's more convenient for relatives if we celebrate all three of the cousins' birthdays at the same time.  The theme this year was "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" from the Eric Carle book.  Being the awesome mom/aunt that I am, I made Brown Bear themed outfits for the birthday kids to wear for the party.    

Little Man, my niece, my nephew--this was the only good picture I got of my nephew.  Poor little guy was having a bad day and wanted nothing to do with most of the birthday celebrations.

Little Man, my niece, my nephew--the expression on his face exemplifies his attitude towards the whole party.

 

My niece's dad and my little brother.  I asked him to smile for the picture and this is what I got.  In all fairness, I did warn him that it would go on my blog.

My grandpa playing with Star

The way the light from the window hits her hair in this picture make me laugh!

LOVE this picture!  This is my grandma holding Star.  In the background is my mom holding my sister's newest baby and my other grandma.

Hahahahaha!!  Star's expression is hilarious!

Little Man enjoyed his birthday cake!

My niece was a little neater than Little Man and opted to use a fork instead of her hands.

Now that's how you eat cake!  This is my cousin's cute little guy.

My favorite musicians-Little Man with the mandolin and my dad with his beloved banjo

Here are some better picture of the birthday kiddos' outfits.  I'm currently working on a pattern for the dress which will be for sale in my Etsy pattern shop later this month.

The shirt with the blue dot background was my nephew's and the one with the yellow chevron background was Little Man's.

My niece's dress--I used the accent fabrics from the dress for the boys' shirts so they all coordinated. 

 
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Tuesday Topics-8 Goals For the Month

I know I'm a little late (like always...) to the party, but I thought this Tuesday Topics blog series looked like fun and would encourage me to write about things I wouldn't normally think of.

Since I'm late, I missed the first two Tuesday Topics in the list.  This week's Tuesday Topic is "Eight Goals for This Month."

1. Stick to my weight loss goals.

2. Write 2 more patterns for Little Owl Patterns and get them sent out for testing.

3. Finish at least a couple of those poor lonely blog posts that have been sitting in draft form for too long.

4. Print off the preschool pack for the kiddos to do this summer and do at least 2 other things from our Summer Bucket list.

5. Stick with the Flylady cleaning routine to keep my house under control and get out of C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)

6. Purge at least 5 areas on this list.

7. Make myself a skirt and another shirt.

8. Earn another five $5 Amazon gift cards on Swagbucks.  It would be really helpful to have an iPad for my business so I'm saving up my Amazon gift cards to buy one.

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Basic Bib Pattern-New Release

Introducing the Basic Bib Pattern! 

Except it's not really a basic bib pattern.  It's a bib pattern with 4 (count 'em, FOUR) different options to choose from, plus it can be reversible.

 

 
It has directions for a velcro closure, but you could also switch it up and use snaps if you wanted.  The pattern pieces include a one piece design and a pieced design (as shown in the first picture) to make it extra fun. 

It can be made in infant or toddler sizes and provides plenty of coverage for your messy little one.

The PDF pattern can be purchased here.


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Random Monday-June 3, 2013

A first for me last week...I got pulled over.  I was taking my little sister home at 10 pm after she'd helped me catch up on laundry.  We live at the top of a very long steep hill and as I neared the bottom, I saw a police car starting up the hill towards me.  I hit the brakes and checked my speed...10 miles over the speed limit.  Oh, shoot.  Then I saw the cop pull over to the side of the road and start turning around as he flipped his lights on.  Oh, shoot! Oh, shoot!!!  My little sister started laughing at me as I was freaking out.  I pulled over and was informed that not only was I going over the speed limit, but I also had a headlight out.  The policeman checked my record, saw that it was clean and gave me a verbal warning.   

I took Little Man to the doctor last week to recheck his heart murmur.  It was concluded that we'll continue to keep an eye on it, but that he should outgrow it in the next few years.  He also was referred to a pediatric orthopedic specialist for his feet because he's very pigeon toed.  Because his appointment was in a city 45 minutes away from where we live, I left the girls with my sister-in-law for the day so I could get some shopping done after Little Man's appointment.  My mom came along, which Little Man was pretty happy about.  I was excited to spend the day with my little guy since we don't get to do that often.  However, by the time we were done with his appointment, it was obvious that he wasn't feeling well.  We went to eat after finishing at the doctor's and a few minutes into the meal, he announced that he was tired and wanted to sleep so my mom helped him lay down on her lap and he fell asleep within seconds.  Being the good mom that I am, I decided to get some of my shopping done anyways while my mom stayed out in the van with Little Man.  He rallied mid-afternoon and they came in to find me in Target.  After checking out, I took him to the bathroom.  Like many 3 year olds, he belted a song out at the top of his lungs while in the bathroom.  His song of choice?  A Sunday School song that goes like this: "Running over, running over. My cup is full and running over."  Perfect bathroom song, right?

On that same note, my kids were singing the hymn "Victory in Jesus" together the other day.  It was unbelievably cute until they got to the line that goes, "He plunged me to victory."  Princess and Little Man interpreted it as "He punched me and kicked me."  Oh. my. word.  Kids, it is not a violent song!!           

I've been trying to lose the baby weight for a while now, but because I'm not accountable to anyone, but myself, it just isn't working.  Which is why I'm sharing my steps to losing the baby weight here, on my blog.  I'll be doing updates on the Random Monday posts.  My plan is to make small changes to my life that will add up and help me lose the weight.

Change #1: Make 1/2 cup of a chai latte instead of a whole one.  This will still satisfy my craving for a chai latte in the morning while cutting down on the calories.

Change #2: Limit myself to 1 can of pop a week.

Change #3: Drink more water!!  I'm not usually a big fan of water, but I am going to make an effort to choose water over something else when I'm thirsty.

Change #4: Exercise 4-5 days a week, using the exercise plan from Back On Pointe.  I'll also be adding some exercises that target the abs (my main issue)

Change #5: Eat just a little bit less of everything.  That means that when I dish my supper up, I'll take a little bit less than I normally would.  If I eat something that's preportioned, I won't finish it (yes, Mom, I know that's wasteful, but I would rather have food go to waste than to my waist!)  I also will be using smaller plates which helps portion control.

My stats as of June 3rd:
Weight: 158 pounds
Waist: 39"

My goal weight: 135 pounds


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Kathleen Circle Skirt-New Release

Introducing the Kathleen Circle Skirt Pattern!    

Little girls can't resist twirling when they're wearing this skirt.  Put a pettiskirt underneath it for extra fullness.

 The skirt can be made with your choice of 4 panels or 6 panels.

Because of the panels, it can easily be embroidered or appliqued.

Several different options for hemming the skirt are included in the tutorial section of the pattern.  

The skirt is a quick and easy sew and the difficulty rating is Confident Beginner.   

The tutorial includes 10 pages of detailed instructions complete with pictures and the pattern pieces are nested for easy printing.

The Kathleen Circle Skirt Pattern can be purchased here.

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