And then…

And then there was the time the Dillard’s sales lady laughed at my bra size.

Yes. Yes she did.

Huge boost to the self esteem.

Let me back up.

Since my bra supply was depleted I went in search of a few more.

I was strolling through the intimate apparel section in Dillard’s picking up pieces that I wanted to try on when a little old Asian sales woman came up to me.

“Do you need help?”

“Yes, I was looking for a bra that you can turn into a racerback.”

Blank face.

“I need a bra that can change from regular straps to racerback in the back.”

Blank face.

This time motioning with my hands, “I need a bra that can be both regular straps and have a criss cross in the back.”

“Ahhh, follow me……What size you need?

“22W.”

calvin-klein-perfectly-fit-racerback-bra-f2564-nude_1Since I have not posed for Mr. Hefner or suffer from severe back problems, I obviously don’t have a 22W bra size but let’s just use it so my pride doesn’t any suffer more.

Practically shrieking so the whole department can hear her, “22W! Hahahahahahaha. Those bras don’t come in that size. You have to go up to 22Y. Hahahahahahahahahaha.”

22W she heard. Racerback, not so much.

Ha ha ha said no one but the little old Asian lady who, might I add, is even more streamlined than me.

I ended up not buying anything. You know, bad feelings and all.

Probably going to go out again and test the waters at a different store.

This time I’m going to go in with a sign on my chest, “Back off people, I’ve kept 3 children alive with these breasts. They may be smaller than when those kids got to them but they are still standing up nice. Oh wait, did I step on your huge sagging breast. Pardon me. Did I say that loud? Hahahahahahaha.”

A New Niece or Nephew Soon…

My sister called to tell me today that her water broke.

A little while later we heard from her that the contractions were 20 minutes apart.

I told my kids who were excited that a new cousin was on the way.

And since my sister and her husband haven’t decided on a name just yet, I asked the kids what their suggestions were.

Alex (age 10) : Calvin Johnson – that’s the name of a Detroit Lions player – I’m pretty sure he was thinking of his uncle when he suggested this.

Andrew (age 7): John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt – maybe a tad on the long side

Caroline (age 3): Mr. Underpants – said with tons and tons of laughter

So, the waiting is on.

 Can’t wait to find out all about little Calvin Jingleheimer Underpants!

My New Favorite Baby Gift

My new favorite baby gift to give is the One Line a Day Memory Book.

The concept is so simple and in the same lines with journaling & scrapbooking but IT’s DOABLE for everyone.

The idea behind the book is that you have 6 lines for each day of the year. The brillant part of the book is that it lists 5 years on one page. So you get to see what your little one or yourself was doing on January 1st for 5 years. Just think of all the changes you will see this way.

I bought each of my children their own book two months ago and both my husband and I have been faithful to make sure there is something written for each day.

Sometimes we write how their school day went, which friend they talked a lot about, games that they played at home, what they ate or refused for dinner, favorite books, funny stories they told us – really anything is open for an entry.

Here are a few of the examples I have for each of my kiddos:

Alex (10 yrs) – You played “French Resistance Army” with Andrew and Caroline. You each had on a toque and gloves. You all built a trench (made of toy boxes, chairs, and play kitchen furniture) coming out from the tent – loving the Tour de France right now.

Andrew (7 yrs) – Ran errands with Dad & Alex – went to Alex H’s for birthday party and sleepover- at lunch, you said, “Look at me, I can eat like a yak.” And you did.

Caroline (3 yrs) – We play Candy Land almost every day. No matter where you are on the board you always say, “I’m almost winning and you’re almost losing.”

I have enjoyed writing in this book so much that I bought one for my sister for a baby shower present.

To jazz up the gift a little, I decorated a little bag for the book to go in.

I used a blue bag that a pair of sheets had come in and some pink fabric.

I cut the side of the bag since I need to be able to put the bag on my sewing machine.

Cut out a letter “C” (initial of her last name) out of the pink fabric.

I sewed the “C” onto the bag and added a little decorative trim.

Hopefully my sister will enjoy this book as much as I have – Although I have a feeling she might be recording sleep durations and blow outs in the beginning 🙂

Old Wives’ Tale Gender Prediction Test on Etsy!

Do you remember the gender prediction test from my sister’s shower?

Well, I’ve finally listed it up on etsy so it’s available for everyone.

If you are hosting a gender neutral shower this is the perfect party game to play.

This test includes 14 Old Wives’ Tale questions with their boy/girl responses,

sample photos of the finished product,

and the gender circles,

 

This test is guaranteed to provide laughter and a good time at your next shower!

It’s listed for the bargain price of $1.95 right now.

The price listed will be the price for only 72 hours – Monday morning the price will be higher

So go ahead and pick up your Old Wives’ Tale Gender Prediction Test!

(This test is to be considered as a fun baby shower game – The results are not 100% accurate.)

*Next week the Baby Measurement Guessing Cards will be on sale*

Food Flags

For my sister’s baby shower we decided on the colors of hot pink and turquoise. Our theme of the event was “What will the baby be?” or “?” since Amanda is choosing to wait to find out if she’s having a boy or a girl.

One of the items I made for the shower were food flags.

I didn’t actually get any pictures of them at the shower but I dressed up our breakfast to show you what they looked like.

I started with a piece of card stock which I printed various lines onto it.

Click here in order to download this form.

Next I cut the paper into strips of the same size.

I then took a paper strip and a tooth pick and glued them together by placing some hot glue onto the paper and folding the strip together.

Finally. I used my scissors to cut the strip into a triangular shape.

And voila – stripped food flags!

In addition to the striped flags, I also made solid colored flags using some of the material I used in other baby shower projects.

I’ve never used food flags before but definitely will in the future since I think they added just an extra detail to the food table.

(For my 1st post about this baby shower click here.)


Crafty Confessions

Chef In Training Tuesday To Do Party

I’m Back

I’ve been missing from here for the last several days since I was furiously preparing for my sister Amanda’s baby shower.

I was in charge of decorations so I’ll be sure to share that with you soon.

I left on Thursday night and flew back on the 7:20 am flight on Sunday. Early flights always seem like a good idea until the night before.

So I’m tired and plan on settling into bed early but I wanted to leave you with a few shots from the weekend.

and what did my baby prediction test say the little one will be?

though most people still believe it’s a little boy 🙂

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday 🙂

Adorable Baby Items on Etsy

I have a new nephew who was born this week.

While cruising etsy yesterday I found many adorable gift ideas for the little guy.

Have a look…

Adri’s Adorables – $6

Pepper Pony – $20

Angie Baby Gifts – $18.50

Announce it in Style – $15

Love MK Boutique – $56

Lisa Corinne Handmade -$38

Apple Blossom Print – $23

Busy Beez and Chickadeez- $15

Smc Classic Designs – $7.95

Southern Sassy Pants – $39.50

Mateo & Tobias – $15

Aren’t there some amazingly talented artists out there!

Any one of these items would make a wonderful gift.

Welcome to the world Connor Thomas!

Baby Name Fun

Brandon? Christian ? Bubba?

What are your favorite baby boy names?

I find it fascinating to learn what a baby’s name is and the reason behind the name. If I could figure out how to make a living by giving out baby names I would do it.  So today I’m giving it my best shot in order to help out my sister-in-law Deanna.

She is pregnant and frustrated since she hasn’t decided on a boys name yet. Apparently a girls name has been chosen so we don’t have to help her out there.

Please know that this is not really a rush situation. Deanna still has six more months to choose a name but she’s a planner and would like this situation taken care of. I try hard to her relate to her predicament but cannot.

When my husband and I went to choose our children’s names it was a battle. One person would suggest a name which caused the other person to practically writhe on the floor in utter disgust. Lists, note cards, and rounds of name eliminations occurred on a regular basis. After all of that you would think we would have ended up with a kid named Sebastian Malachi Jett Wilson but this is what we ended up with:

Alex Mason (Husband wanted Alex, I wanted Mason) – decided 6 hours before c-section

Andrew Connor (I wanted Andrew, he wanted Connor) – decision as epidural was being inserted

Caroline Grace (Agreed rather early on for us) – decided on name 9 hours before c-section

But let’s focus now on Deanna’s dilemma and look at some recent data.

United States Top Ten Baby Names for 2010:
1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Michael
4. Jayden
5. William
6. Alexander
7. Noah
8. Daniel
9. Aiden
10. Anthony

But alas…there is one crucial detail I have yet to mention. This baby will be Canadian like his parents and brother so we don’t want to give him any confusing or unpronounceable American names. Canadians are much different than Americans so we need to think of something exotic, something that sounds like a lumberjack, something that goes well with “______ go put your snow boots on!”

  I kid…a bit. The snow though is for real.

Canada’s Top Ten Baby Names for 2010
1.  Liam
2. Ethan
3. Jacob
4. Logan
5. Owen
6. Noah
7. Alexander
8. Nathan
9. Benjamin
10. Lucas

The name does need to go with their older son’s name...Corey James.

I’m loving Cooper, Reid, Evan, Max, Davis, Joel, Logan, Marshall, Cohen, Ross, William, Luke, and Colin.

So let’s see what you can come up with for this little baby. Give it your best shot.

What are your baby boy name suggestions?

143 Acts

I am closing in on what was my due date.

This pregnancy started with surprise, which led to excitement, which led to fear, which ended in grief. So now only sad memories are associated with this pregnancy and I would like to change that. Even though I cannot change the ending I can twist the ending into one associated with positive memories.

According to my doctor I was 20 weeks 3 days pregnant when I had my miscarriage. This equals 143 days.

I have decided I would like to complete 143 random acts of kindness which will correlate with the number of days I was pregnant.

I am calling it 143 Acts.

143 Acts

Some of what I have struggled with is – That’s it. He’s gone. The end. No one will remember him. Why did this happen? What did I do wrong? What’s the reason our family went through all of this?

Everyday, heartbreaking events “just happen.” There is no rhyme or reason, they just happen. They are not punishments, they are not tests, they just happen.

I may never know why we went through this but I know I can change my thoughts about it. Hopefully, each of his 143 days will mean something by 143 people getting a smile or a good feeling in their heart.

I will be keeping a list of the 143 acts. If you decide to carry out a random act of kindness, let me know and I will include you on the list. Periodically I will give you updates on my progress.

I have written up some ideas for random acts of kindness.

Hopefully this will help bring me some closure to the past 9 months while at the same time bringing a smile to others.

I Can Handle It

Since I haven’t cut or colored my hair in the last 3 months I decided to remedy the situation. I was beginning to look like a homeless hag so no one complained when I made the appointment and took a few hours for myself.

While browsing through the latest issue of Glamour, another client came in pushing a baby stroller. From all the “ooohing and ahhing” in the salon I gathered there was a newborn in that deluxe baby limo.

Alright one baby. I can handle that.

My colorist came in and began talking as if I was paying her by the word. This blonde crazy must have just consumed 64oz of caffeine before seeing me. Despite just meeting her, she instantly starts in with, “We’ve been trying to have a baby. I’m already in my 30’s. My brother has 3 kids. Our in-laws have been asking about grand kids.”

This  continues for probably 5 minutes despite the fact I haven’t uttered one word yet besides hello. “I’m sure it’s obvious because I’m so enormous but I’m pregnant!!!” Giggly shrieky laughter continues for about 30 seconds. That is so exciting, congratulations I say.

Alright two babies. I can handle that.

I sit and listen while I hear about the stroller purchase, the crib purchase, the clothing purchases, the room color, coordinating accessories in the room, and the baby’s name.

Another colorist comes in and starts working on the mom of the newborn. They begin catching up and all of a sudden there’s a “No, you are not!” “Yes, I am.” “No, you are not!”

Turns out the colorist is 42 and has a 12 week old. This was apparently a 2nd honeymoon baby which was not planned. After the birth she got her tubes clamped.

Alright three babies. I can handle that. End of story.

Normally, but not in my world.

Turns out the mom of the 12 week old is also 6 weeks pregnant. Yes, the same one whose tubes were clamped.

You know the minuscule percentage that’s always associated with procedures and how they can go wrong? Well, she’s spokesman for that group.

My first thought was, “Wow, that’s amazing.”

My second thought was, “Wow, you actually had sex 6 weeks after your delivery.”

Alright four babies. I can handle it but if you don’t hurry the f*** up with my hair I will freak out on all of you.

Sitting in the chair with a head full of foil, I begin pondering what the odds are of me being in this room at this time. It’s probably the same as getting pregnant while having your tubes clamped. I was half expecting octomom to walk in for highlights at any moment.

My colorist focuses back to me and says, “Do you have kids?” “Yes, 3. She starts asking me tons of questions about being a new mom. I happily answer and give her some helpful hints I have learned along the way.

Not once did I think to mention my recent miscarriage. OK, I did but I knew I would not say anything. There’s no need to rain on her parade. She’s so excited to be pregnant and become a new mom. It would be cruel to share anything with her that would cause her to worry during her last 14 weeks.

Towards the end of our conversation the question I had been anticipating while also dreading came. I calmly and simply answered her.

“So, do you think you will have more kids?”

“Maybe.”

The next time I need a haircut I may just hand Caroline a pair of scissors and say go to it.

After this experience, I know I can handle that.