I la-la-love nap time!

A few days ago, we had our first coordinated nap time.  I was so excited about this that I took pictures and did a happy dance throughout the house...  There are no pictures of the happy dance; it would scare you, my beloved family & friends.  So you'll have to settle with Eli & Kate. :)

Kate conked out in my room on my bed and Eli said he wanted to nap where she was.  By some miracle, both of them slept in the same time and place for a solid two hours.  There might have been a very quiet, very musically bad rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus" performed in our house...

Kate and Eli had a nice chat while the mama got things ready for our day. 

Lingering thought of the day:  I love our public library!  They have really fun story times for kids.  Outings that are fun and free cannot be beat! 

Yay! We got to go back to church!

This Sunday we went back to church for our first time post-delivery.  It was so nice to get back! 

Saturday night I bathed the children, laid out clothes, and did all the advance prep-work that was possible.  As I was doing these things, Eli and I were chatting about going to church the next day.  He was so excited that we were going...only he didn't get that we were going Sunday rather than Saturday night.  Tears were shed at bedtime because he wanted to go to church NOW.

Sunday morning we all got up and ready to go.  Of course a photo shoot was a must as it was baby Kate's first trip to church!  Here's one of my favorites:

Kate's in her cutesy giraffe dress from MawMaw Darlene and hair gear from Aunt Abby.  Eli got to wear his cowboy boots.  The child loves his boots. 

The hubby & I enjoyed big church--Kate went with us but slept through it.  Eli very much enjoyed the "lion" class.  They learned about Zaccheus; he's currently Eli's favorite Bible character.  We sing about him in the tub and car, at the table during mealtimes, and whenever he requests it--which is often.

Daddy Scott requested Pizza Hut for lunch.  We've been wanting to try the sauceless pizza dipping stick thingies.  There were two of these, and they were GOOD!

Eli requested chocolate milk, but they had none.  Neither did they have white milk, juice, fruit punch, or anything "kid friendly."  So Eli got to have his favorite drink:  sweet tea.  This made him exceptionally happy.

I looked down and cracked up when I saw this:

How funny is he?  While he cut up and chowed down, Kate slept through it all.

Our first trip back to church was wildly successful & enjoyable.  Yay!

Lingering thought of the day:  Today I had an angioma (sp?) removed from my cheek.  I'm just vain enough for it to drive me absolutely and utterly crazy.  I thought I was too bothered by it until my dermatologist took three pictures of it.  At that point, I realized it really was a monstrosity (& I'm not 100% vain).  Both of my babies came with me and were in the stroller for two and a half hours.  Neither of them fussed, asked to get out, or gave anyone any grief at all.  They are fabulous--both of them. 

Southern Lights at Kentucky Horse Park

My next few posts will be some "catch up" posts from this fall/winter.  Once more, I've been slacking.  Anyway, I thought I'd start with our Christmas light adventure...which is more recent than the others. 

A few days after Christmas, we decided to load into the family truckster with another family and go look at Christmas lights at the Kentucky Horse Park.  We drove through the lights; it was a pretty good display.  However, the really neat part of this was the indoor/outdoor self-tour type deal. 

On the way in, we found several snow flakes like these and had to have a picture of Eli & his bff.  Aren't they adorable? 

When we got in, there was a snowman who walked around and took pictures with people.  He terrified Eli--so we avoided him--cute as he was.  Eli then found this nutcracker and wanted his picture taken with him. 

There are two ways to get Eli to take a picture in Santa's seat.  #1:  Let him scream, kick, and throw a hullaballoo.  #2:  Wait until after Christmas and let Santa disappear. 

We took the easy route.

They had a really fun petting zoo with a zebra, cattle, goats, a wallaby or two, llamas...

and a couple of camels.  They also had camel rides available.  But we skipped out on them to do something far more cool...

A pony ride!!!  Eli LOVED this.  He referred to this monsterous beast as his "race horse" and said he "went really fast."  If only we had more than three square feet in our backyard, this big boy might need a pony.

Then we found the train exhibit.  This was the highlight of Eli's evening (other than his race horse, of course).

He was so excited about it that the little conductor man let Eli have his stool for a bit.  This gave him a great view of the whole train table, and he got to be really close up.  Yay!

We moved on through the exhibit, and he found a display down low.  This one was huge AND it had Thomas! He stayed here for a long time--watching, watching, and watching some more.

In the entry/exit way, we took a family picture by the gigantic Christmas tree.  I do believe this will be the last one before Kate's arrival!

This was a great way to tell the Christmas season goodbye for this year! 

Lingering thought of the day:  I received a Kindle for Christmas (and love it).  However, it bit the dust on Friday.  Saturday I called Kindle Customer Service (after trying all of the fix it tips online).  After two five minute phone calls, the issue was resolved.  My new Kindle will arrive on Tuesday.  How impressive is that customer service?  There are about a million reasons why I love Amazon...correction:  that is now a million one.

Kate's Room--Part I

Before I get into the details of the nursery, let me give you a little background information on the color scheme we chose.  Initially, Eli & Kate were going to share a room.  With Eli having a Cardinal's room, Kate was going to have to match (in an "oh so feminine" kind of way, of course).  With this plan in mind, I went ahead and bought the fabric for a bumper pad in red and blue flowers, started sewing little felt birds, and such.  Then we decided to get rid of the guest room and move Eli into the "bigger, cooler room."  However, I already had the fabric for the  bumper pad, little birds, and such, so I really wanted to use it anyway.  Here's what we've done with the top half of her room:

I made a valance for her window out of the remnants of fabric and bias tape from the bumper pad.  It can, therefore, be considered free.  Yay!

We then found this little chandelier thingy at IKEA.  It was a little under $20.00.  Could I have made one much like it?  Probably.  But, I couldn't have beat their cost, and it would've take a significant amount of time.  Anyway, the colors are perfect, and it looks like it was made for this room.  It was a must have.  My Scott installed it for me and got rid of the ceiling fan that lived there before.

These little gems were found at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.  That made the set $6.00. 

I'm rather proud of this shelf, because I made it!  It's just a board (spray painted white), pvc pipe (donated & cut by my dad :)  I love that man!), and little saw-tooth hanger upper thingies.  I put a few of the little birds I made in the holes of the pipe on leaf nests.  Then on top, I have gerbera daisy/butterfly arrangements in Hobby Lobby pots (all parts 50% off).  I added the navy ribbon.  In the middle one, there's a bug "tree."  It will be covered in little bug hairbows.  I'm just not to that point yet.

This is the top part of Kate's room.  At some point, I'll blog again about the bottom half of the room--bedding, wall stickers, flower lamp, etc. 

Totally unrelated to Kate's room, Eli helped me make some Christmas cookies.  He wears chocolate well, doesn't he?  This is one of my favorite pictures, as of late, so I had to share it!

Lingering thought of the day:  Today was exactly what I needed.  I spent the day with a good friend, had a happy boy wake up from his nap, made bunches of bows, hung decor (and made the shelf), tidied house, and got to spend some time with the hubs tonight.  Life is good!

Little Loopies

Although the curly q (korker) bows are fun and addictive to assemble, these are probably my favorite to design.  There are so many possible variations and embellishments that can be mixed, matched, and added.  Here are a few of my current favorites:

Bright pink  & black polka dot with sparkly center

Red & green snowflakes with red, shiny buttons

Blue & white with sparkly center

Black & white polka dot with black button

Blue & white polka dot with white button

Red & green Christmas lights with red buttons (I have it in green too!)



Light blue with white & silver snowflakes with a sparkly snowflake center



Blue & white with button & sparkly layered center

Sweet pea--light green & pink with pink buttons

  Bright pink w/ tiny white dots and white buttons

Lingering thought of the day:  Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us!  In the morning, Eli has a playdate at a place full of "choo choo trains."  Then in the afternoon, I have an appointment with a boutique owner about selling my bows through her shop.  Yay for fun and productive days!

Curly Qs

My most recent bow making addiction is making curly q bows.  Yes, I know they're called korker bows, but for some reason that name really just rubs me the wrong way...and I have major trouble using it.  So, I will refer to them as curly qs.  Anyway, I've been making these lately and have posted pictures of those remaining after the craft fair.

I wanted to start making bows to prepare for having a little girl.  However, after buying all the ribbon that exists within three stores (ok, so that's a slight exaggeration), I've decided to start selling the extras.  These five bows are in my etsy.com shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativelyFrugal.  I'll be adding my little loopies and mini clippies before long.   

Teal & white polka dot

Living in Lexington, I felt a UK bow was a necessity.

Merry Christmas! bow

Bright pink & black polka dot

Happy Birthday! bow--This one is my favorite.  I was so excited when I found the cupcake patterned ribbon!

I've been collecting the little crocheted headbands and caps each time I go to Hobby Lobby ($.99 and $2.99 each).  I can't wait to put these on our little lady's cute little head! 

Lingering thought of the day:  We're having chicken & dumplings for supper tonight, and I cannot wait.  It's so cold and windy out that today's just crying out for yummy comfort food.

My very first craft fair!

This past Saturday, I went to my very first craft fair as a vendor.  Sure I've shopped several craft fairs in my time, but I've never been on this side of the table.  So I decided to give it a go.  I did learn a few things:

#1:  Ask lots of questions before getting involved.  Ask the right questions...
#2:  When the host (church) advertises only to their own congregation, a SLOW day should be expected.
#3:  Try and befriend the vendors at tables next to you and remain peppy even if one of them is the crabbiest Mary Kay lady you've ever encountered. 
#4:  Get advice from some of these other more experienced vendors for future craft fairs.
#5:  Presentation really does matter.

Here are the pictures of my table:

I put my bug bows on a "tree."  These consisted of butterflies, ladybugs, and bumblebees.

My table was covered with a quilt that we received as a wedding present--then covered in bows.  I put large, easy-to-read pricing signs on the table.  I hate not knowing how much something is...



I added a shelf to my table to add some dimension and covered the top of it in tulle. 



I attached several of my bows to business cards.  The little teensy bows were put in little bags.  And the korkers (aka curly q's) were left free to breathe.

Though this particular craft fair was nothing to write home about, I could see my doing a different one at some point.  I do like this type of thing.

Lingering thought of the day:  I thought we were going to have to send our garbage disposal on to garbage disposal Heaven this week, but then yesterday I fixed it all by myself!  We're back in business ladies and gentlemen.  My kitchen has lost the icky smell; I was able to clean out the fridge, AND now I don't have to stress about the lingering leftovers on each plate and serving dish.  Life is good, my friends.