My first Giveaway!!!

So, there is apparently a big fabric flower trend/craze and though I usually don't go in for that sort of thing (totally not fashion focused in any way as you can see by most pics of me;),  I really do like the frayed rolled fabric rosettes.  They are just really pretty and I can make them with all kinds of textures and patterns and add-ons...I think that's really what appeals to me.  Here's what I've got so far:

Anyway, since I've gone all crazy making a bunch of them and I still want to make more, I really think now is a good time to give one away.  I was trying to think of something a little different for the rules of entry because there's really no purpose for this giveaway, except that I just wanna.  So, let's go with leave me a comment telling me why you want this bow-pin and who you want it for AND don't forget to include your email address!  I don't know if I'm gonna try using random.com or just putting the names in a container and having one of my kiddos fish one out.  We'll see...  Today is the start date and I will leave this giveaway open for a whole week.  The winner will be announced here next Friday, June 3rd after 12 noon.  (Give me some grace in getting that post on here, cuz I will have many interruptions as usual. ;)

Here is what is up for grabs:

I should name this like all the other cool kids are doing....um...how about earthy bubble gum?  Nah, sounds like abc gum dropped in the dirt.  What about...All-Natural Cotton Candy?....Yep, I think its a keeper!

Happy 7th Birthday, Braden!!!

Wow!  Braden is 7 today.  7.  7!  That's craziness!  I can't believe how big he is and how smart he is and how amazing God has made him!  He's truly a fantastic kiddo and we are just so honored to be his parents.  God is so good.

Braden, you are such a blessing and you amaze us all the time.  You are fun to be with and you are creative beyond measure.  We are so proud of the big brother that you are and are excited to see where God takes you on the path He has set before you.  We are grateful we were chosen to guide you on your journey.  We are blessed that you were given to this family and that you were created for a specific purpose.  We love you and happy birthday!

Poo Party add on

I forgot to include that while Ailey was in the bathtub, I was trying to pick stuff up and she had control of the shower head.  So, as I came back into the bathroom to get her out, I realized I was standing in a pool of water.  I got the towels on the floor before the water made it all the way across the floor, but let's just say that I won't be needing to mop the floor like I was gonna.....

Poo Party

Last night I was getting ready to head to bed...it was around 11:30 pm.  As I walked into the hallway, I ran into a wall of smell.  Shoowee!  I had heard Ailey moving around and then she fussed for a few minutes earlier, but she had settled down and gone to sleep.  I grabbed the flashlight to see if I could sneak in to just change her and then I saw the carnage in the bed...and on the bed, and on the frame and on the rug and on the night light.  The majority of it, however, was all over Ailey.  She had it all over her fingers, under her nails, smeared on her face and shirt and legs.  Not only that, but it was crusted in spots. You get the picture.  *Deep Sigh*  I have this running theory that anytime I am able to get to bed at a semi-decent hour, something can and will happen.  Kind of along the same lines as Newton's Laws.  Yeah.  So, I prayed for strength to handle the situation with a good attitude and off I went to wake Sam up.  Poor Sam!  I didn't want to have to do that, but there was no way I was going to be able to do it all myself in a timely manner and without breaking down in a tearful, sloppy mess.  I got Ailey into the shower while Sam dealt with the bedroom.  It took us about the same amount of time to finish both.  I had to wash Ailey 3 times to get the smell to finally go away! Yuck!  Then, I took the vinegar and baking soda and went back over the areas in her room to make sure all remnants of the poo party had been vanquished!  Again, YUCK!  Did I mention that it was yucky?! ;p

After all was said and done, I'm super grateful that I stayed in a good mood, thank You, God, that Brea stayed asleep throughout that whole process, that Sam was a willing partner in the clean up of the criminal act, that Ailey and I had a most interesting discussion about how yucky poo is and that Ailey slept in this morning. :)

Just our girls

Nina and Padrino came up and got the boys on Saturday after the baby shower.  It was also the first meeting between Padrino and his brand new goddaughter.   It was love at first sight, of course. :)  We had a lovely afternoon visit with them and then they were off to spend a couple of days with the boys.  The kids LOVE their godparents!  They were so excited about going and Zekey kept asking if it was time to go.  Well, the next day we had church in the morning and a few hours to chill before more fellowshipping time with our church family in the evening. That was really fun.  Sam and I couldn't get over how QUIET it was in the house.  Super duper quiet!  Weird.  Anyway, it was nice to have just the girls for a time.  Ailey is quite a different girlie without her brothers present. ;p  She sure did miss them, though.  The house stayed somewhat clean and that was amazing!  I also got stuff done in record time today.  I realized it was because I got next to no interruptions.  Again...weird.  Anyway, they came back mid-afternoon today and all is back to normal.  They weren't ready to come back and we are planning a longer visit later in the summer...

Brea's 6-week weigh-in

We had our 6-week check-in with our mid-wives today and all is well.  Brea is now 9 lbs 14 oz.  I think she takes her mealtimes seriously!:)

Baby Sprinkle Sip 'n' See

We had a baby sprinkle sip 'n' see for the newest addition of our life group.  Her name is Mikayla and she was born on the 10th.  We had it at our house and had such a good time.  One of my friends and fellow life grouper, Christyn, came over yesterday to help me decorate.  She hung out with us the whole day.  It was lovely.  She just totally relaxed and went with the "flow" of our day.  Anyway, when we got it all set up, we were very satisfied with how it turned out.

This was the drink area.  We had punch and coffee.

I showed a pic of the garland a few posts back and that's it zig-zagged across the ceiling.

When I took these, I didn't realize the curtain had come undone on the right side... oops!  This was the main table.  There's that bunting/pennant banner I made a while back.  See the little balls under the mirror?  They are feather balls and I like how they turned out, too.

Lucy (I'll introduce her in the pics following these) made that diaper cake in the center.  Isn't that stinkin' cute?!  Lucy's daughter and I put the fruit bouquet together.  Sam and I had a fun time putting the skewers into the head of cabbage the night before.  Sam did get a little maimed, sadly, but kept on keepin' on.  I had my meat tenderizer in use as a hammer for the skewers....yeah. ;)

I forgot to take the plastic wrap off of the s'mores pops before I took pics, too..another oops!  Those things were stinkin' yummy!  I just dipped marshmallows in melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and then rolled them in gram cracker crumbs before the chocolate hardened.  Underneath them is a breakfast casserole.  Its super easy, too.  You just let some frozen biscuits thaw out and then line a baking pan by squishing them down and into each other, then pour some whisked egg, milk, salt and pepper combo (like you would do for scrambled eggs) over the biscuits, then crumble cooked bacon over that and top it off with shredded cheese.  Pretty yummy!

I made labels and everything...they were a last minute thought at mid-night.:)

I was excited to be able to use all my decorative junk, plates, platters and whatnot after such a long time!

This is my version of a corsage for the new mommy. I've really gotten into rolled fabric flowers lately and I made this one for her.

This is the beautiful mommy, Allyson.  This is her second baby.

That's Lucy on the left and her daughter Laury on the right.  Amber has little miss Mikayla, the star of the show, there in the middle.

We have Laury on the left, Christyn, my partner in decorating crime, in the middle and Eun (prounounced un), on the right.

Alex is on the left, Cami on the right and that's the back of Zekey in the front.

This is Cami's little tyke, Liam.

Ailey was giving kisses.

This is Joziah, the big brother.

He's all about cars right now.

Mikayla wasn't so impressed with the party...

She just wanted to let us know about it. :)

Ailey and Rico were hiding under the table cloth and having a giggling good time.

Now we have the loot, which is really the whole point of this shindig...j/k, we all love to get together...any excuse will do!

Lucy put this beautiful basket together, too, with the help of her handy-dandy daughter Laury.  She's SO talented!

Scary pic of me...

These are the booties I made for her, but I totally forgot to take a pic of them.  They turned out really cute!  I think they are the cutest ones, yet.

Lots of goodies in the basket! 

This was the cute pop up card that Christyn got for her and we all signed.

Amber made this fun onsie and diaper wreath!  Great job!!

Rico came to inspect.

Mikayla and Cami

Miss Laury

Less scary pic of me

Eun

The guys were hiding outside, but came in to eat and see the presents.  Sam wanted to give some asymmetry to this shot. :)

That's the proud papa, Jeff to the left there.  Shawn is puttering around in the background and is married to Christyn

Jason is Lucy's husband there on the right.

Cuteness!

These were made by Tamara, who couldn't be there, but dropped them off for us anyway. Yummy!

This is the mobile I made.  It evolved as I went along and this is what I ended up with.  The bedding for the baby's room is paisley and the theme is angels, so you get the idea.

These are our home group ladies.

I guess we'll include the guys, too... watch the progression of the shots

I think Jason was dancing a little jig there in the back row. ;p

This is an amazing group of people and we are so grateful God has put us all together in his family and this place for this time.  Love them!!!!