a clean house.

I'm kind of a clean freak. Not in the sense that I dust weekly or scrub the toilet everyday. But I just don't like clutter and things out of place. Which can be good and bad. I try really hard to keep our house decent looking most of the time. But sometimes I get stressed out about it and let it get to me and oh wow, I'm about to have a break-down because of a messy house. Then when I look back at the situation, I think-- dumb. Houses get messy. Every house gets messy, don't try to prove me wrong on this. And honestly, I think if your house is always clean and tidy, then too much time is spent cleaning and not enough time living in the moment.

So, I randomly thought I should go around and take a picture of my house right this second. (Yikes.) Without rearranging things or stuffing it all in a corner for a picture, I mean I have never done that, ahem.

Because, folks, I'm keeping it real.

(I really need to organize my sewing area. Poor Andrew, this is what he looks at every time he comes into our bedroom. And usually leaves with a piece of thread hanging from his foot.)

An always clean house is for the birds.

And by the way, I've been around. Check me out here (and read all about my looooove story with Andrew, and say hello to Morgan, she is pretty cool), and then I just found out someone featured me on their blog here. (Which totally makes me feel special. Thanks, Stacey, for the feature!) And lastly, I added a new skirt design here.

update: The new design (deer) skirt already sold! Thanks, Jessi, for the purchase! Now you will have to excuse me, I'm off to mail THREE packages today.

life goes on.

A conversation between me and my husband yesterday:

Andrew: Are you blogging somewhere else?
Me: No, why?
Andrew:  Because it's been three days since you last posted.
Me: Ha. I know. I've been busy with life.

Now how cute is it that my husband reads my blog? And not only that, he tells me he checks it all the time throughout the day. You know, to see his girls. So I figured I better get a post in, for his sake, at least.

It has been busy over here. [Aren't we all feeling busy all the time?] Yesterday I went to the dentist and had three cavities filled. [Don't judge, I haven't been to the dentist in like three years. Shame on me. I know.] Now you probably could care less about that, but, folks, I was in a lot of pain for the whole day. You should have heard me trying to read books to Audrey before nap. I was still numb at that point, that's all I'm sayin'. Then today we made our way to Naomi's four month check-up. She weighs in at nearly 15 lbs (75 percentile) and tops the height chart at 26.75 inches (97 percentile). Everything is looking great with her, which I'm so thankful for, I don't ever want to take a good check-up for granted. Also, I've been sewing a lot while the babies sleep. I haven't posted any new skirts  in the shop per se, but I have been working on some custom orders. And can I just say, thank you, to those who have sent me encouraging words and even made a purchase to support this little dream of mine. This weekend I am hosting a baby shower for a friend and then on Monday I'm throwing a toddler Valentine Party, so I have been using my time coming up with ideas for both. Then you mix in the daily grind of dishes, laundry, and pretending to be Prince Eric, and my days just fly by. [Audrey always turns me into the prince with her wand. And she gets to be Ariel. I don't think that is really fair, do you?]

But there is always time to snap a picture.

(Both of their facial expressions crack me up.)

Quick, let's do a flash back to just three months ago, when Naomi was one month old...



I promise you, Naomi isn't taking any steroids, just good ol' mama's milk.

4 months.

There is no denying it. My little Naomi is growin' like crazy. Today marks four months. And each day she gets squishier and cuter.

Ah, love.

My Dear Naomi Fae,

Here it is, another month has passed. And I'm going to say it, you are still a good baby. (Thank you so very much for this.) You are very smiley and we have even got some good laughs out of you. You like to talk, which could be trouble because your sister is a big talker (and singer). Speaking of your sister. You adore her and get so tickled when she talks to you. I think this is one thing I'm looking forward to most- watching your relationship blossom with her. I hope that you are best of friends. So, you have become a drooler. And your sleeping through the night has passed. (Yes, very sad.) But, on the brightside, you still go right back to sleep after you nurse. I'm not sure how big you are, but I think you are on the bigger side of things. You are about to grow out of your 3-6 months clothes because you are so dag'on long. Which makes me wonder- will you play volleyball or basketball when you are older? Okay, let's not go there, I like you little and squishy right now. Oh, Naomi, I'm so thankful you are apart of our family. We love you.

Now look how much you have grown each month!

(The numbers on her shirt are just stickers.

My friend got them for me off of Etsy. They are totally cool.)

winner winner {chicken dinner.}

[I couldn't resist.]

Hot-diggity-dog we have a winner to the skirt giveaway I posted about on Monday. And let me tell you, all your sweet comments really did make my week. I had folks telling me they shared it with their friends on facebook and twitter. Multiple times. Now that's true love. Thank you, thank you! I'm really excited about the doors that could open up from this skirt thing. I already have something in mind that I want to do with it, something really good. But more on that later. On to the winner.

Using Random.org I put in the numbers 1 to 40 and it came up with comment #23 as the winner! So congrats to Shanea! She said "I absolutely love the Whale of a Tale skirt!! I will definitely spread the word. Thanks for sharing about your mom...I feel like I get know her more and more."

Again, thank you for participating and encouraging me. And don't forget, if you see a skirt you like, but not in the size you need, I am more than happy to do custom orders.

And now, I leave you with this cutie-patootie.

(Even her tush and thighs are to die for.)

Happy weekend, folks. We are going to be crazy, crazy parents tomorrow taking Audrey to see the Dora and Diego exhibit at the Children's Museum on opening day. [I know. DUMB.] But it is going to be worth it to see her face when she sees the characters there. [Along with the other zillion number of kids that will be there as well.] Do you have any weekend plans?

i walked outside for the first time in four days.

Yesterday I spent a lot of time my time stealing things. Yup, I'm a thief. I would get on Facebook and see my friends post things they are doing with their kids and then I would proceed to do them. My friend, Jade, talked about making homemade pancakes. So what did we do? Make homemade (blueberry) pancakes. Then she talked about a tea party. And what? Yes, we had a tea party. Then my friend Mindy talked about making clean mud. And you guessed it- we made clean mud.

I'm always for sharing ideas, that's one of the many, many reasons I love blogging and just social networking in general.

So, now you may steal the clean mud recipe from me. (Which is really not my recipe at all.)

Another easy, fun, sensory activity for the kiddos. I used one bar of ivory soap, had my little sister grate it, then took about 1/3 roll of toilet paper and had Audrey tear it up. Then mixed the soap and toilet paper with hot water, a little bit at a time till it was a consistency I liked. I think I had a lot more fun playing in it then Audrey, but she did want her pigs to you know, roll in the mud.

So fresh and so clean clean

Also? We left the house for the first time today, since basically Sunday. (Besides driving around on Monday to pick up my sister.) Fresh air is amazing. It also feels good to not be wearing pajamas. What? I've been wearing pajamas for four days straight? Never. Ahem. Audrey sported her skirt that I made. I haven't posted the deer applique one yet on my shop, but do plan to.

And those of you that look really closely at pictures (like I do) will notice my super dirty floor. And a crayon randomly on the floor. Folks, this is the norm in my neck of the woods. Mmmmkay. Now come on over and have some tea, would ya.

v-day decor.

I have never been one to decorate for Valentine's Day. I'm not really sure why, I just haven't. In fact, I always tell my husband not to get me chocolate or flowers on V-Day, because the prices sky rocket and I think it's dumb to spend the money. Before you go thinking I'm all cynical, I'm really not. I like the holiday, I do. I just prefer to be more low-key about it, I suppose.

This year, however, I have decided to embrace the upcoming love holiday. It's going to help me get through these crazy snow days. It's only twelve days away, you know. Yesterday Audrey and I made some decorations for the house. She sat on my lap and helped me sew, which was basically one of the cutest moments eva. We made some heart garland, inspired by this post. The garland is super cute and easy. I just cut out some hearts from paper I had in stock (I don't even have a heart puncher), then literally just sewed the pieces together.

Then I came up with the idea of making heart sticks (that's what I call them). I lined up three pieces of the same cardstock paper and cut out hearts. Then used a hot glue gun to glue the pieces together and put a skewer stick in the middle. Why a skewer stick? Because that's what I had in the house. We are iced in, and I'm trying to get creative with my decorations by using what I have.

And why not line up some Scrabble pieces that say I love you.

There you have it, my Valentine's Day mantel shelf.

Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

Also, if you are in the mood, I created my first treasury on Etsy. It's all about love, red, and hearts. Take a peek.

welcome february with randomness.

We're snowed iced in today. I knew it was coming. I even tried to be on the ball and go grocery shopping Sunday evening. But it never fails, I still had to stop by the store yesterday evening. Audrey must have overheard me talking about going to the store, because she said "mama, you going to the mad house?"

Audrey has been obsessed with being a 'beautiful princess' lately. Like the second she wakes up she has to put on a dress-up outfit, her crown, find her wand, and get out some high heel shoes. I don't even know how she comes up with this stuff. The only "princess" movies she has seen are The Little Mermaid and most recently Tangled in the movie theater. She will also ask me to hold her hands and dance with her. Of course, I don't pass up an opportunity to dance.

We made homemade fingerpaint today and went at it. Don't be like, whoa your awesome, because, folks, it's super easy to do. Take 2 cups of flour and 4 cups of cold water. Heat on low until it thickens. Add a little bit of salt. Let cool. Separate into containers and add food coloring.

And bam. You have fingerpaints.

Did you enter my giveaway yesterday? I keep reading the comments because they make me smile and inspire me to make more. Friends, family, stalkers, all may enter. Also, I have been adding new skirts to the shop. So take a peek! And thank you to those who have already entered and spread the word via facebook and twitter.

I don't feel like making dinner tonight. (Tell me you have those days too.) But it has to be done, I suppose. I am kind of wondering if there are any fairies that bring dinner to your doorstep on icy days.

I had sunflower seeds, natural cheetohs, grapes, and blueberries for lunch. Apparently, it wasn't enough, because I'm still hungry.

Here's a picture of Audrey at lunch. It's nearly impossible to get a picture of her sitting still anymore or without any princess gear on. But restrain her to a chair and give her food, then snap.

February is here. Naomi is going to be four months in a couple of days. So bring it. I'm ready for the month I usually dislike the most.