Belation: A Continuance

I know, I know, it's Christmas time but I'm sticking with my unintentional late posts until time allows me to be a tad more current with these things. I wanted to share some pictures from Thanksgiving which also happened to fall on my birthday this year! Perfect timing as there is so much to be thankful for this year!


What's not to love about Thanksgiving? Yummy food. Family...speaking of, my sister did her usual "Hostess with the Mostest" thing and concocted lots of festive edibles! Those acorns on the end: donut holes with their tops dipped in chocolate, then rolled in toffee pieces and a pretzel stick for the stem....so good!

Speaking of acorns, some sweet little ones made their first appearance in my shop....and speaking of my shop, I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by to shop the update...means so much right now, so a big THANK YOU!

I'm about to lay on the couch and try to watch Funny People without falling asleep. Wait....no reflection on the movie (I haven't seen it yet)! I'm just so sleepy right now. First some more pictures from our Thanksgiving!

Jaida wished for a unicorn and Zoe just said "I love mommy". It must be true because little Jaidy didn't win this wishbone tug-of-war. :) Good thing because she would have been really disappointed to know that Unicorns don't really exist.

Oh...and my cake. My mom brought it over and the girls sang me happy birthday and gave me cards they made (I almost cried). This birthday was way less detrimental than turning 30 last year. I feel like I wasted my 20's wallowing in mental hell. I know this decade is going to be awesome! Still, it was a strange birthday; bittersweet. Hard to explain. Although, the cake took away the "bitter" pretty fast! I love Carvel ice cream cakes!

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving and if I don't post before Christmas, Merry Christmas! xoxo

Belated Holidays, Birthdays, and Updates

Edit: This was supposed to have been sent last night but two little girls wanted to snuggle and I fell asleep. Oops!

I have this terrible annoying habit when it comes to estimating time and following through with announced updates, which, believe me, annoys myself as much as I'm 99% sure it annoys all of you. Camera issues were one thing, but along with that came mental shut-down days where all I wanted to do was be with my kids....when I should have been searching for my battery charger. I know...totally unprofessional. Please forgive my lack of business savviness and I'm so hoping no one waited around on me to start the listings and if any of those aforementioned people are reading this right now, I'm so, so very sorry :( I feel awful. Tomorrow, no excuses, no mental shut-downs, there will be listings, I promise! Really, I swear!

Another bad habit of mine...updating my blog. Allow me to reminisce...My big-little sister (a year older but she can shop the kids department for clothes) choreographed an awesome double-birthday with a Halloween theme for our kids on Oct. 31! Each of us has a child with a September birthday but we couldn't have birthday parties for different reasons so my perfectionistic, anal-retentive sis pulled the ever present Martha Stewart from within her (see above pic) and the result was what Zoe called, "the best birthday ever" (awww). Wait, isn't every occasion involving presents a "best day ever" for kids? No, but Zoe and Jaida still talk about it and I caught Zoe running up and hugging my sister for no reason other than it being her way of showing her appreciation for an awesome birthday party!

Hilarious outdoor games

Indoor games (that also included a frantic game of hot potato...well, hot pumpkin).

The birthday boy and girl!

They all danced the Monster Mash (Jaida did The Robot).

We ate cupcakes and all the kids went home with kid-swag bags full of fun toys and candy. Everyone got a prize no matter who won a game. My sister thought of everything....I still don't want to ask her how much she and her husband spent on this party. All the gifts came from my sis and my parents because mommy is a little financially strained at the moment. I thank God for these people in my life because we would honestly be homeless without them!

*nervous laughter*

That night my girls trick-or-treated for an hour dressed as themselves.

My princesses :)

Down came the rain

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! It's been a very difficult few months for my family. Some of you may already know I'm going through an (eek) divorce. I do not advocate divorce at all...quite the opposite, but sometimes you try to fix, deal, forgive...and a year goes by and then a few months more. One day there comes a point that you just know in your heart things will never be as they were. I knew from watching my own parents' marriage that staying in an unhappy marriage "for the kids" is one of the worst things you could do for your kids! My decision was a looong time coming and I didn't give up without a fight, but in the end I had to do what was best for all of us.

 

Some of you may also know that I have suffered for nine years with Panic Disorder/Agoraphobia and after many years (and many meds) I finally found a medication/psychiatrist combo that made me feel 80% better....but I still panicked at the steering wheel. I still couldn't be alone. My eyes still scanned the room for the phone/exits. Anxiety makes you feel dependant on people closest to you and sometimes the one closest to you isn't exactly someone you feel you can depend on...if that makes any sense. I felt very unhappy in my marriage but I was also terrified of being "out there" in the world; I have known for a long time that it was my own fears that kept me in the miserable position I was in. In the past, huge life changes happened to me, not because of me andhere I was, forcing this huge change! 

 

We have been doing a lot of this lately :)

And I'm not going to lie, it was scary but I pushed through those fears. I had a five year old that needed to be enrolled in k-5 in two weeks so I literally forced myself to do things I hadn't done in years. It was a crash course in exposure therapy but it was exactly what I needed to get over a huge peak with this panic disorder....so that's a good thing!
 

"Silly Sock" Day at school

All that matters to me are those two, my precious girls. Thank God for my parents who have helped us financially. My dad, who has lent his new car for me to drive since this mess began and who has kept the tank full; who has paid for repairs that needed to be made to the townhouse and let me do our laundry at his house. My mom, who has looked after my health (I was down to 99 lbs) and would take me and the girls out to eat, get me vitamins, help with the kids and remind me to pray. I'm especially thankful for my sister who has helped toughen me up and who has had my back throughout all the hell I've endured in my marriage. I don't know what would have happened had I not had (and still have) her pushing me. Zoe wouldn't have had school clothes or school pictures, presents for her birthday if it were not for them. So this is my public thank-you to them and to all of you who have prayed and sent kind thoughts to us during this time. We love you so much!

I'll end this this post on a happy note.I'd like to introduce my new niece, Alaisha Nadine, born on Zoe's birthday, September 23rd....complete with that new baby smell!

* Shop News: I'm so sorry it has taken so long to get back to Etsy and I apologize to anyone who has been waiting, any convos I have neglected to reply to or get back to...I'm so sorry :( I hope this post helps everyone understand. I have an update up my sleeve....I'll definitely let you know when!

Deutschland, here we come!!

Some of you may already know my husband hails from Germany. I visited once with Ben (sans kids) back in 2006 and it was amazing...although I'm not a fan of air travel. We won an all-expense paid trip...no, kidding, I'm not that lucky. Actually, Ben's father bought us all tickets to come and visit.

He met Zoe once during her first Easter (she was just a baby) and has yet to meet Jaida. I would rather him fly to the States but he also wants his mom to meet her great-grand kids as well as the rest of his family. I can't complain. We desperately need a vacation and not only is the destination awesome but it's free which is perfect because, well, we're broke! Ft. Meyers, Florida straight through to Düsseldorf, Germany...still freaking out about the long plane ride.

My last shipping day in the shop will be June 25th so be on the lookout for new stuff as I scramble to make a little extra spending cash for our trip! I love Germany...it is a breathtaking country and we were this close (holds tip of thumb and pointer finger 2cm apart) to moving there.

This time we're going when the weather will be nice and warm....last time I brought sandals like an idiot and had to go shopping for clothes that I never wore again...well, some of them. Here are some pics of our last trip there:

All of our poses are the same...we need to be more creative this time. See that castle? It was so amazing and what a workout to make it down there (they drove us back though, whew)! We got another workout sprinting up the (500?) dizzying, spiraling steps to the top of the Cathedral ( Kölner Dom )...I could stare at that architectural work of art for hours studying the beautiful details of it. Speaking of spiraling, look how that tree grew in spiral-formation (Ben's pretending to twist it).

The cute baby in striped stockings is Emma, Ben's niece and the cute baby in blue is Anskar (love his name), his cousin Nicole's baby boy. Can't wait to see how they've grown and meet the new kids! Oh, and yes, nothing special about Walmart but that one sold beer in an outside tent...so funny! We also got to take a quick 24 hour visit to Paris. When the bus dropped us off for an hour to do whatever we wanted I was actually afraid for my life.....long story. Anyway, that's it! So excited!! Just need a tranquilizer for the plane ride there and back and I'll be set!

One Lovely Blog Award

I would like to thank Fran of http://www.auntifranni.blogspot.com/ for nominating me for this award! I really don't blog as often as I'd like to so it's very sweet of her to think of me! Oh, and check her shop out here or here!

I'd also like to thank Sarah of Diaries of An Obsessive Compulsive

for her sweet feature on my shop! Check out her adorable Etsy shop, EssHaych here!

Thank you both! :)

Yay! Front Page!

I know, the front page changes every 10 minutes it seems but I still get excited to know I've even been there especially when it's a hand-picked front page. I know it's silly but I get super happy when I imagine an Etsy employee thinking anything that I make is worthy of the Front Page.....yay!

In family news: Zoe lost her second tooth...and she didn't get overemotional this time when it came out, just excited! I stole her box after she fell asleep, but before I could put it back under her pillow, she woke up and drunkenly waddled into my room half-asleep. When she realized she had forgotten her box and ran for her room I had a mini-panic in my head and quickly ran after her explaining to my distraught five year old (poor thing couldn't find her box), " The toothfairy probably woke you up"....."ya, she can't take the toothfairy box to Pixie Hollow, it's not allowed so she probably got scared off! Go back to sleep and she'll come back". And she did....went back to sleep, and I, the toothfairy put a dollar and some coins in her box and slid it under her pillow. She woke up early the next morning and squealed with delight and happiness! Oh, then the patting-tears-from the eyes thing she does was back. :)

Monochromatikinder and her Mom

Just listed this little duo in the shop. I've been wanting to remake my original Monochromatikinder Doll series for a long time...I just haven't found the time. But last night I couldn't sleep...and so these were born.

I started the Monochromatikinder Dolls awhile back one day when I was trying to explain to my daughter what the word Monochromatic meant. These dolls have slightly different shades of blue and brown with a contrast of black and white.

Art is healthy, I want to teach kids while they're young and support them as they grow...into the next little da Vincis!
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Oh, and I'm so excited that heart-o-matic is back and better than ever thanks to Julian (the originator) and Karena (of Magic Jelly)! Together they made an awesome site I will be on most likely every day. Etsy wrote a great article on it on their blog...read all about it (click) ! Yay, CraftCult!!

"Mommy, my heart's beeping fast"!

That's what she said, my little Zoe, after losing her first tooth last night! She did the overemotional patting her teary-eyes thing she does when she's excited or happy (so sensitive, she is!) and now she's anxiously awaiting the wriggly tooth next to the hole to fall out. We celebrated by drinking a glass of "coffee" now that she's reached a new milestone. It's actually Teeccino but they think it's coffee and it tastes great....except now I'm addicted to French Vanilla Coffee Mate and Stevia. You brew it like regular coffee, and it's made by the Republic of Tea peaple . Hazelnut and Almond Amaretto are my favorite flavors...oh, and if they'll give you a free sample here, and even better you get to pick the flavor!

I personalized her little tooth fairy box (I know, it's sloppy but I was rushing!) and this morning she was so excited to get a gift from the tooth fairy....a Velcro dartboard, fun for all! I can't believe in a few months she starts school. Uh-oh, now my heart's "beeping" fast! Thank God my little sister is pregnant so I can remind myself how much work they are! I miss my "babies" but I'm so proud of my girls, even though they are becoming more and more independent....they'll always be my babies.

Okay, I'm going to go cry now!

Kidding!

Maybe.

A New Baker!

I'm so sorry about my few and far between postings. Our lives are very stressful right now. To make a long story short we are trying to cover two mortgages and well, I will NEVER landlord again....I'm a big softie when I shouldn't be and a big meanie when I shouldn't be. I can never get that right!

We're going to be moving soon back to Panama City, FL (when I was younger my friends and I referred to this city as a black hole and here I am being sucked right back)....but the bright side is my daughter, Zoe, starts school this year and although the four of us (and 3 pets) will be cramped into a 900 square foot townhouse that I loathe, she will be attending one of the best elementary schools in the city...and that's so important to me! Plus, my poor husband, Ben, won't have to travel 1.5 hours to work every day...he'll be home more and that makes me really happy. :)

We spent the weekend with some very welcome guests (Ben's family) and they brought a wet saw and skills to tile our master bathroom! It looks awesome! We're hoping to have the cabinets finished this week so we can call a realtor in and get this house sold! Ben's mom made it look WAY to easy...I swear, this woman knows how to do everything!
Oh, I restocked some little Granny smith zakka apple boxes! I hope to have a Spool Doll update soon and I promise: next time I won't be waiting so long to update my blog! I have so much to say.....just no pause button for my hectic life! :)

Update Tomorrow!

It's going to be smaller than I'd hoped for but there are a ton of things going on in our lives currently that include evicting tenants, moving to another state, registering our firstborn in school, and a collection of small annoyances that = out to huge time-eaters! Can't wait to get settled!

I have a little surprise if you are one of my sweet blog-readers. There will be six spool dolls in the update (which is at 5pm Central) and if you see one that you absolutely love I'm allowing one "reserved" doll per person! Feel free to call dibs through comment or convo, I'm fair so I promise first commeth first getteth!

Here they are, the spool dolls for tomorrow! Rikuyo (with the pink hair) is the first doll sporting the low-side buns, and the Lucky Kokeshi is also the first to have a new hairstyle! There is one more spool doll for the update, Hitomi ....but with pigtails. There will also be a Toothfairy box restock as promised as well as Twine Bakers including a new baker girl! Hope to see you at the update!

* Thanks so much to my super-sweet blog readers for putting your claim on your favorite doll before todays update! They are all promised to happy homes! *

I Heart Moo

My sticker books from Moo got here and I love them so! They arrived a couple weeks after my moo cards and now I can't find my moo cards to share with you. I'm so unorganized, but I love the cards just as much . I've been trying to organize my chaotic office so when I find them, I shall show and tell. :)

Happy Earth Day!

In honor of the occasion I present some eco-faves! That adorable bear up there was in my etsy favorites! He was made out of new and upcycled fabrics, washed with phosphate free detergent. He is also stuffed with 100% polyester stuffing made from recycled plastics. He's gone now (I know, it's so sad) but his creator, Stitchface churns outs lots and lots of adorable eco-friendly plush creatures in her etsy shop. Right now there is the cutest toothy beaver waiting for some lucky person (eco-conscious or not) to adopt him!

Another awesome Etsy shop: Vintage Renaissance ! I love how they repurposed this vintage suitcase into the coolest pet bed! It just wouldn't be the same without those bright, chartreuse, clawfoot legs, I love it! Our shih-tzu, Libby Lu loves to be up high and anytime life gets super-busy and I slack on my laundry duties, I'm sure to find her sleeping in the basket at the very top of the pile. Everything they do is one of a kind so you have to check often to snag one of their awesome creations!

It's no secret I love wooden toys, but not only is this little shoe a mere $6 and teaches your kid the art of tying le-shoe, but it is made of non-toxic eco-friendly rubberwood colored with vegetable dyes! This shop is entirely eco-friendly and has so much great stuff...oh, and free shipping on any order over $50, which would not be hard at all to spend here. *sigh* if only my credit cards weren't in my freezer. :) Modernkidstuff.com


Yet another one of my favorite etsy shops, Yava Glass! Awesome upcycled glasses. I always think of this Etsy shop when I see a really cool bottle...they will turn any screen-printed glass bottles into your own personal drinkware. I will definitely be on the lookout on our next trip to Germany!

Tornadoes and Customs

Well, today was off to an interesting start with a 6:30 am Tornado siren wake-up call. Thankfully, (and this is probably the only time I will ever be happy about this), both of my little girls snuck into our bed last night so we just had to scramble to collect our three animals and into the bathtub we went. A gust of wind blew the back door open and in poured about a gallon of rain-water....I was so glad Ben was home because I would have lost it without him...he's so calm. The storm passed pretty quickly and there were no tornadoes riding down our street (so thank-you God)!

This is Mom and dad of the custom family I've been working on...not clothed or varnished yet but they are near completion, yay! Here are their three beautiful kids!

Paloma, Vincent, and Navae (aren't those great names?) Two of the kids also have some custom beauty marks they will be receiving today and I will be shopping for clothes for them all tomorrow...today is stormy and horrible! I'm also working on the family's Great Dane and fluffy cat...the Dane was an experiment but so far he's turning out really awesome....I think this is why I try to avoid customs; I spend way too much time and the customer has to wait forever and I hate that for them. I always see something to improve and am constantly touching up...it's a problem. Luckily, the girl I'm working with is really sweet and has been so very patient but I'm determined to unite the spool family with the real family this week!

* Oh! Shop update May 2nd! :D

Update of an update

I can't thank everyone enough for coming and shopping away at my update, especially a certain New Zealander named Virginia and a group of new friends living in Virginia....weird, isn't it? Oh, and I can't leave out a new friend hailing from my husband's homeland Germany, Suse! A lot of new people as well...you all know who you are! Thank-you sooo much!

A new Kinder Box! I'm obsessed right now with exposed wood-grain, I love it. She hasn't been varnished yet and when she is, the grain of the wood will really pop!

Good ol' Baker Giuseppe is back and he'll be listed as well as a a new twine-keeper, Baker Molly! Rei with a top bun is also about to be listed in the shop! I apologize for being so slow with listing, I'm still trying to get the hang of things and I didn't spend any time with my girls yesterday so I was feeling "mommy-guilt" so I played most of the day with them. I watched my five year old Zoe, make a new friend...it was really cute. They both had scooters and scooted around the cul-de-sac together as if they'd been friends forever while Jaida chased the two of them around...why can't friend-making be that easy when you get older? Oh, to be 5 again. :)

Speaking of those two, I promised I'd watch a movie with them so I had better post and go! :D I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!

Shop update tomorrow!

Without further ado here is a sneak peak before the update! :D

New Kokeshi Spool Dolls including our first blonde boy, Easter Special Editions, beautiful open-eyed girls, and a kissing Yuki Doll!

What is a baby without baby fat? Into this world they were born clad only in their birthday suits and look at them now! All fattened up with bakers twine!

My new Baby Bakers! They are tiny as you can see next to the sweet "Littlest Pet" but they are each wearing six yards of beautiful baker's twine! Plus their spool bodies fit right on your spool rack so they are functional and adorable! Oh, and in case you were wondering, our original Twine-keeper, Baker Giuseppe will be back as well. :)

New fairy-tale inspired Kinder Dolls! Also in tomorrows update: Kinder trinket boxes...my favorite product right now! I'll be updating as soon as time allows tomorrow but I know for sure it will be in the afternoon. (I like to make big breakfasts on Saturdays). ;)

*Sigh* An Edit

Some of you may be here to see the sneak preview of the new stuff for what was supposed to be tomorrows update but, alas, a thunderstorm with great timing has us stuck in Florida and there's really no other way to say this; I'm afraid to drive in the rain. It's only an hour and a half to Dothan, Alabama where we live, but I can't stand a second of driving in rain especially when there's thunder and lightning added to that rain, and two of the most important little people in my life strapped to the back seat. I'm so sorry.

But...tomorrow evening I'll be posting the sneak peak of brand new things, and since the kids can't go outside, it gives me an extra day to work on more goodies! The update will be Saturday evening, seriously I promise!! :)

Gearing Up!

The update is this Friday and I will be restocking these little ladies...

...as well as adding a new DIY Spool Doll to the DIY section (the top-side bun Kokeshi style) like this Yuki doll:

I'll be upping the quantities of the DIY dolls as I've been getting a lot of requests for me to do so....wish granted. :) I've also been very diligently working on my first custom Spool Family for a gorgeous couple and their three gorgeous children! I'll have some new (painted) Spool Dolls this Friday as well including some Easter Editions!

Check back Thursday...I have some new things to show you before the update! :)

A modest intro

Hi, I'm Alex and I, as per usual have been over thinking.

I know this is just another blog in a sea of a trillion but I've rough drafted more than several "First Posts" as if my very life and credibility depended on it and in the end...it's just another blog in a sea of a trillion. And so like many "firsts" in life I'm just going to get it over with. :)

This is my family.

My husband, Ben, who brings home the bacon and our two beautiful offspring/partners in crime/comedy duo, Zoe, 5, and Jaida, 4, who keep me laughing and who ground me to what is really important in this world.

Everything I do is for these three humans. The loves of my life.

This month marks my one year anniversary as a seller on Etsy and even though my time is always constrained, I figured I could at the very least use blogging as a way to let my sweet customers get a sneak preview of products before shop updates! Also, I really wanted to have a place to go and just talk about non-work-related stuff, vent about things, talk about my kids, post about current favorite Etsy offerings, movies, books, so here it is...my official outlet.