Talking

R said a new word yesterday....SHOES!!!! Too cool.
We went out to Pier Park Sunday and I bought 5 pairs of shoes for little one (all on clearance). Last night, I was showing them to my husband and had them all out on the floor. R walked by, bent down and pointed and said "shoes". I am beyond excited. Her words are coming ever so slowly in my opinion. Thanks to hubby she also made a really good attempt at saying "butthole". MEN!!

Christmas Chaos

We had a wonderful Christmas. My parents, hubbie's parents and hubbie's 2 older daughters were all at my house for Christmas. It was great just knowing little one had both sets of grandparents and her sisters with her on Christmas morning. Christmas morning we opened our gifts after R opened a few of hers and we watched her play with her new stuff. R loved her kitchen (from us) and ATV (from her sissies)- the rest of the stuff wasn't really important after she saw these gifts :) However, now she has discovered her baby dolls and enjoys giving them a bottle and patting them. After that, we had breakfast together as a family-note to self: bake the hashbrown casserole the night before-and cleaned up together. The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent watching little one play and cooking.
We had Christmas Dinner around 6:30 and it was a simple, delicious meal. Usually, I spend at least 2 days frantically cooking for the big meal and end up spending no time with family and am exhausted by meal time. NOT this year. I cooked a few things, his Mom brought a few dishes, and hubby smoked a turkey I precooked in the oven. So much easier and less stressful. I have decided-mo more elaborate meals that take forever to prepare. Christmas is about family and togetherness and faith and hope and Christ-not about food and china and crystal.
On a side note- I did finish MOST of my handmade Christmas gifts. Yeah!! I was sewing at 10 pm on Christmas Eve but that's okay.

More gifts completed

I am finally getting a few things done. I made linen spray with nothing but vodka, distilled water, and fragrance oils. I bottled them in brushed aluminum bottles I got from Brambleberry (along with the oils). I am going to use a MARTHA template for the label :) I did make sure to use bath safe products so it can also be used as a body spray. I also made candles that are HEAVY on the fragrance. I love, love, love scented candles. So far I have only made espresso scented but plan to make a run to the store today for containers so I can make at leat one more kind. Hopefully, the recipients will like them too. Hope everyone is having a good Holiday season.

Too busy

I am so behind on the stuff I am making for gifts!!!!!!! I have no time for crafts between, work, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of baby. I was hoping she would be in bed by 9:00 pm and then I could work on gifts until 11:00 pm a few nights a week. That has NOT been happening. If little one is asleep by 10:00 pm, I am lucky. On a side note- R was on TV :) We went to Calypso's to watch the Alabama vs. Florida game on Saturday. She looked especially adorable in her Bama cheerleading outfit. Channel 7/WJHG was filming and got her on camera. TOO SWEET.

Crawler covers/Leg warmers

I was in a hurry this morning and realized it was colder than I thought outside. Little one was already dressed and I really didn't have time to change her clothes. I had a few pairs of knee socks hanging aroung that I was intending on turning into leg warmers. Well, I cheated. I simply cut the feet off of a pair with pinking shears and put them on Reagan. They look super cute and I can always hem them later. Not sure where I saw this idea but just thought I would share. I know there is a tutorial somwhere out there.

Work

Sometimes I wonder why in the heck I changed professions. Let's see...less money, most don't get better, many don't want to get better, lies-lies-lies, feeling threatened by my clients, listening to the same complaints day after day, court appearances, subpoenas, attorneys, being looked at as the enemy, I'm sure I can come up with more but I will stop.
Enough ranting-I am so glad I made the switch but sometimes the stress of working with people with addictions and mental health problems is slightly overwhelming. I am happier doing this than anything else I have ever done (except maybe being a college student and bar hopping my time away :)). Just thought I would vent.

Thanksgiving and after

My Thanksgiving was spent nursing the family back to normal. As I discussed before, my little one was still recovering from her tummy bug. Well, my little Typhoid Mary passed her sickness along-my MIL and FIL both got sick. The hubby had chills, aches and pains but no GI issues. I did go shopping on Thanksgiving Day- for Gatorade, soup and disinfectants. I think I washed most every piece of bedding and towels/washcloths in my home. I also used disinfectant wipes or spray on just about every hard surface that someone might remotely come in contact with. All of baby's toys that could be washed were and the rest were wiped or sprayed. I am pretty sure my house is the most germ free it has ever been. So far I haven't gotten the full bug-only a few symptoms. I am certainly thankful for that and that no one's symptoms were bad enough to warrant a trip to the ER.

Sick

My little one had her first stomach bug :( It was awful!! For those of you who don't like TMI about bodily functions-STOP READING HERE. She started throwing up around 11:15 Monday night and did so every 15 to 30 minutes until about 4:30 am. We tried Emetrol but she threw that up too. Toward the end, it was just bile and dry heaves. I felt so sorry for her. It was heartbreaking for her to be gagging and reaching for me-saying ma ma ma while the hubby was holding her. I felt so helpless. Yesterday, it only happened twice and so far none today. She still has an awful case of diarrhea (which thankfully started after the vomiting) and a fever, which started midday yesterday. I gave her Tylenol- which she promptly threw up- so I ended up having to use tylenol suppositories. I didn't even know these things were OTC. As far as the remaining GI issues- it is gross. How does something so foul come from such a little person? We have had to scoop her up a couple of times already and go straight to the tub. I thought maybe a different brand diaoer might help so I bought some pampers and tried them. Nope-still leaky. Now I am using a diaper and bloomers under her pants to prevent ruining the carpet or furniture :/.

-Start back reading-

Thankfully, my in-laws showed up yesterday afternoon. They weren't supposed to here until today but decided to come a day early. Most people dread the in-laws coming for the holidays. For me-it isn't so bad. Now, my father in law can be a challenge! He and the hubby are SO much alike they have difficulty being around each other for very long. They both are the type that don't think they are right- they KNOW they are right and there way is not just the best way but the ONLY way that makes sense. MEN!! Why am I thankful they are here a day early? My MIL already had stuff cooked that we used for dinner last night-extra arms to hold baby- and they are home with the baby today so I can work and not take additional time off. Oh, and she has already cooked dressing, sweet potato casserole and has bought a ham for tomorrow. I am thankful for the help.

Happy Thanksgiving and remember to Give Thanks

Interrupted Sleep

Last night, R again woke up at 3:30 am crying. This has been an almost nightly occurence for the past 2 + weeks. She isn't quite awake, but not fully asleep either when this occurs. As usual, we attempt to soothe her with no success. One of us almost always ends up making her a bottle and POOF she's better. So, you are thinking-just go ahead and give her the bottle and be done with it. Well, that would work except sometimes she just pushes the bottle away and keeps crying. Sometimes it's a low whine, sometimes it's a cry, and sometimes it is a wail!!
This has happened off an on now for a few months, but as I said before-it is frequent now. I have tried feeding her grits at night to fill her up-this has worked a few times or it may have just been a fluke.
Hopefully, little one is just growing through a growth spurt and her hungry nerve will settle down soon. Until then, Caffeine is my friend.

Reindeer Ornaments

Today I will finish our Reindeer ornaments. The idea is pretty simple...
1) Trace your little one's hands with fingers separated
2) Trace one foot, preferably still in sock feet
3) Use these images to cut out pieces from construction paper, card stock or foam. We are using foam.
4) Glue 2 hands (antlers) on each side of the foot (head) near the top
5) Glue or draw on eyes- I am using wiggly eyes-they have the sticky kind too!
6) Glue or draw on a nose- I am using little red pom-poms
7) Tape or glue a ribbon to the back for handing

Walla..A Christmas Ornament Keepsake

I have already traced little one's hands and feet- I just have to finish cutting the shapes out. Tracing her foot was easy, her hands, Not So Much. R is constantly on the move. She wanted to crinkle up the paper and play with the pen, not have mommy hold her hand still :) I will post pictures of the finished products.

ETSY

I'm so in love with ETSY.com. Besides having tons of handmade items, they have alchemy (now called custom). Alchemy is a place where you request bids on something you want made. People bid how much they will charge to make your custom item. You can request very specific items or a request something for a gift and see who replies. So far I have gotten great presents for Mother's and Father's Day, a supercute Halloween outfit, too cute artwork for the baby's room and more. Check it out!!

Supplies

Have you ever ordered from brambleberry? I love, love, love this website. They have all kinds of soapmaking, bath product, candle making supplies. They also sell packaging materials and have links to great tutorials. One problem though, I always order too much. I just ordered bottles and fragrance oils for the linen sprays I am making and candle scents for the candles. I'm sure there are cheaper places to buy these items but brambleberry's products are high quality and the customer service is very helpful. Give them a try!!

www.brambleberry.com

Stepping stones

Today I made stepping stones for Christmas gifts. I used broken pottery, dollar store gems, plain cement, and for molds I used old pie pans. I had plans of making at least a few with little one's hand prints- no such luck. Every time I attempted to get a hand print, she grabbed a fistful of concrete..maybe next time. These turned out okay but definitely not masterpieces. Planning your designs would be best :)

These were relatively simple- 1)mix concrete according to directions, mixture is correct when it resembles cornbread batter 2) pour into molds- can use pie pans, pizza boxes, purchased molds, planter bottoms, etc (if using for a hanging-put hanger in mold before pouring) 3) wait a few minutes until the concrete starts to set a little (you don't want the stuff you add to sink) 4) add decorative items and push in until flush if using for stepping stones (safer for bare feet and no falling) 5) leave to dry 6) after at least 24 hours, pop out of mold 7)enjoy

Stuff I plan on making

So, I have all these plans of a handmade Christmas (as far as the gifts). I'm not sure all these will get done by Christmas but I am going to try. Having a 14 month old running around makes it difficult to accomplish even the simplest tasks. So far I plan to make: room/linen spray for female family members, stepping stones for both sets of parents and maybe my brother and his girlfriend, ceramic beer stein for the hubby, candles for coworkers, some kind of Christmas ornaments for nieces and stepdaughters, ceramic birdfeeders for both Dads, adding metal to picture frames and including homemade magnets for all family members, reduced sugar cookie assortment for my Dad, microwaveable heat packs for all, thinking about trying to etch a beer mug for my brother, and ????. I will post my progress as Christmas approaches.

introduction

I've never been good at talking about myself but here it goes anyway. My name is Stacia and I live on the Florida Coast. I am originally from Alabama but have lived here for 8+ years. I am currently mommy to an active, adorable, and amusing soon to be 15 month old; wife to my husband RL; counselor for a not for profit agency; and occasional crafter. This blog will follow my continued journey into motherhood, my little one's antics, the joys and tribulations of working in the counseling field, crafts I find time to do, my attempts at learning to sew, and whatever else I decide to rant about.