Too, Too Cute!

Craft Room Makeover

As my business grows, so do my supplies. And it was time for a mini makeover in my craft/sewing/painting/laundry room. The first addition was a awesome (and very sturdy) 6 foot table to replace my rickety 3' x 3' table that was ready to fold and fall at any second.

Next, the Hubs put up some shelves to hold my growing fabric collection and other supplies. It's too bad we can't paint but I think it looks great! Much more organized then it was before.

Here's the Before...

Funny shot. Something is conveniently placed on the ironing board so it appears to be right in the Hubs's butt crack! LOL!

And the after.

I have a lot of storage underneath the table and below another shelf to help with additional supplies, inventory and fabric scrapes. Thanks to the Hubs (as always) for helping me. Actually, for buying me the table and putting up the shelves and for basically making all this happen. LOL!

Vroom! Vroom!

My favorite Christmas gift this year was definitely my new rims and tires. Thanks to the Hubs for a really, really great Christmas. We agreed not to get each other anything this year but neither one of us followed the rules. He was sneaky and totally outdid me.

Thank you Babe! 143!

Christmas Day

We had a fantastic Christmas at home this year and the kids really enjoyed it. There aren't a lot of photo's of "D" because most of them include me and I was a mess on Christmas morning so I thought I'd spare you. 2 video's at the bottom.

Our Christmas Tree on Christmas morning.

Bean checkin' out the goods, and Max too!

Bean's diggin' her new Tinkerbell sofa/sleeping bag.

A little overwhelmed.

Bean's new Ball Pit

"This is cool mommy!" Ok, she didn't say that, but she was thinking it.

Ho!Ho!Ho!

Merry Christmas!

Bean's BIG puppy gift from her Auntie Christine.

They both love it!

A very Merry Christmas for all.

VIDEO'S

Bean and D opening up Christmas gifts.

Bean opening Elmo Live!

Santa Came Early This Year

Santa was in the form of my Hubs (143) and his ''elf'' was a Fedex man. I was given strict instructions to not look at the box when the "elf" dropped it off. So we had a gift bag ready and the ''elf'' so kindly dropped it in for me without me seeing. Then D transfered the gift to another room.

We told Santa it had arrived and he said I could go ahead and open it. But, I was patient enough to wait until he was around and then I dug in! Really, I did wait! Unbelievable for those of you who know me personally and have been acquainted with my lack of patience. And this comes after about 2 weeks of begging for hints and clues as to what it could be.

Here it is, my brand new Dell Inspirion Mini Laptop

Mine is white but without all the design stuff on it.

It's so thin, so light and perfect for working on my site in the living room while watching over the munchkins. Exactly what I wanted.

Thanks Babe!

A Message from Santa?

Last night, the whole family was having a major ice cream craving. I hopped in my car and zoomed over to the local gas station for one of those delicious Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bars for myself, some Vanilla ice cream (or a Drumstick) for the hubs and a Push Pop for D and Bean.

To my great disappointment, they were closed. Note to self: Gas Station closes at 5pm on Sunday. When I got home I considered fishing through the Halloween bag for any treats that may cure my needs. No such luck. Then I remembered the sugar cookies in the fridge for Santa. They didn't stand a chance.

We popped the first batch in and within 15 minutes we had mini Christmas sugar cookies. Yum!


It took D no time to get to work decorating. But a strange thing happened when I took the second batch out. They went in as Christmas tree's, stockings, and little snowmen but they came out like this...



Could it be? Really? A message from Santa? D thinks so, and we do too. "Cool! I bet no one has ever gotten a message from Santa like this." He said. I told him that Santa must be watching over him since it's getting closer to Christmas. :-) All the more reason to behave while you're not in school. Hopefully.

Gingerbread House

This is our first Christmas at home. Yippee!!! So we decided to start a few Christmas traditions and make lasting memories for us and the children. First on the list, making (or in this case decorating) a gingerbread house.

Nice huh?! It looks a 100 times better then it taste. D didn't even like it and Bean wouldn't go near it. This is a tradition that will probably end here. Unless I can find a good recipe for gingerbread, rather then buying the premade box with the icing made of crushed gravel.

We bought the Christmas tree one too. :-( We'll let Bean have her way with that one and we'll just add it to the table as a Christmas decoration.

Other traditions:

- We always open 1 present on Christmas Eve.
- Attend Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
- Everyone helps with baking cookies for Santa. Oh, how I love that jolly fellow!
- Cut down our own Christmas tree. However, the fake one's are so much easier.

That's all I got! We made a few decorations this year but other then that, I'm all out of idea's. What traditions do you look forward to each year?

Unbelievable!

More Snow. In the DESERT!

Today is day 2 of snow. Yesterday we were snow free and we weren't expected to have anymore snow until maybe tomorrow. It has been snowing here since 7:45am pst and it is now 4:45pm pst. Holy Moly! 9 hours straight of snow!

Desert Oasis

After Monday's snowfall...

after today's snowfall. The weight of the snow had our blow-up snowmen and tree's bowing to the snow God's, so we let them rest.

One cold Papa!

Can you see our lights? They're peeking through the snow.

I'm surprised this whimpy tree is still standing, but it photographs well.

Our very own snow wolf.

He loves the snow...

and his chew toy.

Snow in the Desert!

Right in front of our house. How ironic huh!? Desert View plus Snow!

The view from over our back fence.

Our backyard (or lack there of).

Our community covered in snow.

My "desert" plants crying out for help.

And more "desert" plants.

D as happy as he can be! He said his Christmas wish came true. Isn't that sweet?

Or maybe he's just thankful I pulled him out of school?

Fun in the snow!

D's snowman

What NOT to do when you have snow on your window's. How was I supposed to know? I was born and raised in Houston, driving with snow never happened there. I thought it would just slide right off as the window went down. Instead, it held it's shape and when I figured out what a stupid decision I made and tried to push it out, it came tumbling in. Anyway, it was a lesson learned and I think I got snow in some not-so-good area's of my car. :-/

Morning 'Coffee' and News

How do you wear your BabyLegs?

With shoes?

Just socks?

With a psychotic dog who runs around like a maniac when the camera comes out?

Or are you just so stinkin' cute that you could wear them on your pinky toe and no one would care?

Or you can do this...

• Diaper Changing a Breeze
• Promotes independence while potty training (a stage I'm approaching)
• Keep legs warm; great with carriers and strollers
• Protects soft knees from harsh surfaces
• Lightweight sun protection
• Fun and Funky fashion accessory
• Comfortable alternative to tights
• Arm Warmers for all
• Instant look of an undershirt
• Wear under a hospital gown to keep your legs & arms warm
• Wear over bandages to keep child from removing
• Provides compression for ice or heating pack

Want a pair? Or 2? Or 3? Check out our styles at The Pitter Patter Boutique!

P.S. Yes, we have lights up IN our house. I started doing it when D was younger and he loved it when we would turn the lights on at night. He's 7 and still loves it, maybe not as much but Bean surely enjoys it.

Just a Mom

Anything to amuse the little one. Or does she look scared? LOL! Maybe Mommy's face at 7am is a bit too much to handle.

Frustration, Disappointment & Sadness

There's a new bill that was signed into law on August 14, 2008 by our wonderful President, George Bush. Can you see the eye roll? It's called the Consumer Product Commission Improvement Act and it takes effect on February 10, 2009, now being dubbed National Bankruptcy Day.

It'll require all products intended for children 12 years and under and made by all manufacturers, big and small, to be tested for lead. Every single component must be tested individually. Thread, buttons, fabric, snaps, zippers, every single piece of the puzzle.

I want to emphasize that, as you all know, I am a parent as well and I care very much about the safety of my children and all children who use my products. I welcome measures to further insure the safety of our children against the threat of lead, however such measures are only effective if they target the real risks.

It's killing me to think that everything I've worked so hard for is going to come to an end so abruptly. And unfortunately, it's happening to all the small businesses that sell baby/children's items. And it's happening to you too! They're projecting a 50% cost increase to consumers on products from companies that were able to survive the testing fee's. This includes ALL items intended for children. Cribs, slings, high chairs, cradles, apparel, shoes, and so much more.

This is a recent discovery for me and I still have a lot of reading to do to see exactly where I lie come February 10, 2009. As of right now, all my thoughts are bad and I don't see The Pitter Patter Boutique surviving this law. To read more about this law or to sign a petition, please view the links below.

More information:

Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/e...SIA/index.html
About the bill: http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/legislation.html
Read more about what's being dubbed National Bankruptcy Day here: http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

There is Hope

I've often wondered to myself, "Self, what will it take to tear my darling husband away from his beloved Meet The Press?" The answer has escaped me for 3+ years but I've finally found it.

The children. And one of his favorite books, How The Grinch Stole Christmas! It was even an episode with our President Elect, Barack Obama.

Cute Photo's

This hat was actually for "D". It's from The "O" Show store at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. "Bean" didn't let her brother have it and she got mad at us when we tried to take it off. We ran a few errands in this hat and received many looks. All smiles though.

"Bean" wearing her hat, brother's school shirt and brother's slippers, while carrying around my water bottle.

She cannot be stopped. So stinkin' cute!