Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Winners!

I had a lot of fun making these personalized ZadyMinis for the winners of my little giveaway. Thank you very much for entering and letting me have a chance to play with my new machine. And to all the lucky kiddos who get these - I hope you love them!

I'm still offering FREE personalization on any Zadyball order through the end of November!





Thursday, November 19, 2009

My new toy

I have recently purchased a new toy for myself. This is something that I've wanted to have for a VERY long time. I am feeling very blessed to be able to have this!

This is my brand new embroidery machine! This will make it possible for me to do things with my Zadyballs that I never would have been able to do without it! I've spent the last week or so figuring it all out and having lots of fun doing it!



One of the first projects that I did with it was for one of the shops that carry Zadyballs. They are having a special Christmas tree and asked each of the vendors to supply ornaments in their "style". So, here's what I did. The pictures aren't great, and I'm still learning the ins and outs of the machine, but I think they turned out pretty well.






Now, I'm converting most of my Zadyball designs over to the embroidery machine so that I can make them faster and better! I'm also offering free personalization on any Zadyball (except for clearance).

I would like to start getting some pictures of personalized Zadyballs so that I can have them to display. So, to get started, I'm going to give a FREE, personalized ZadyMini to a few winners. To enter, please post a comment here stating who you would like to give a ZadyMini too, and I will randomly select winners at 10PM on Saturday. (This would make a fantastic Christmas gift!)

Friday, November 13, 2009

Veterans Day

We had a surprisingly fun Veterans Day this year. Unfortunately, my husband, the veteran in our household had to work, but Zander had the day off school, so I wanted to do something fun with the kids. I found out that there was a big celebration going on at Veteran's park in Tolleson - just a few miles from us. We decided to check it out.
I was really glad that we went. The kids love playing at that park, and they had so many fun activities for the day. There was a little patriotic ceremony which included the national anthem, a saxaphone solo, a few speeches (Zander told me they were boring), an F-15 flyover, a 21 gun salute, and Taps.
Here is the color gaurd:


Then, they had free lunch (hamburgers and hot dogs, water and chips), a couple of bounce houses, a fire truck, kid's crafts, relay races, and music. It was really well organized, not very crowded, and lots of fun!






Halloween 2009

I know that I've really fallen behind, so I'm trying to catch up, at least a little bit.

Here are the highlights of Halloween 2009.

I really like having a family theme for Halloween costumes. I think it makes it a little more fun when we all "go" together. This year, we were characters from The Wizard of Oz.

We actually got to go to FOUR different Halloween parties, so our costumes got quite a bit of use.

The whole family



The cowardly lion

Glinda the Good Witch - she LOVED this costume!

Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West - (for the first party we went to, I painted my face green, but the baby was TERRIFIED of me, so I ended up washing it off)

The scarecrow

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Zadyball News

So, in case you haven't noticed, I haven't done very many new things with Zadyball this year. It really isn't because I haven't wanted to... it's just with three kids, a husband, and just LIFE demanding my attention, I haven't really taken the time to work at it as hard as I want to. And I feel a little bad about that, but I know that I need to have my priorities straight.
Anyway, I am actually very grateful for any reason I have to be creative and come with new idea. I've had that opportunity this week.
On Etsy (which is, as you know, my favorite website), there is a tradition known as the Etsy Baby Shower. (Not the same thing as the one sponsored by the EtsyBaby team, but that's a whole different story). I really think that this is a great thing. It is open to anyone who wants to participate, and gives new moms things that they probably wouldn't have gotten anyway, and gives sellers an opportunity to give. I've really enjoyed giving gifts to expectant mom's through this program for the last two years, and I got to BE one of the mom's when I was expecting my baby.
Back to the point... It is that time again... I signed up to donate two gifts and I told the mom's that I would be happy to make them a custom Zadyball. I was really excited that they took me up on the offer, because it gave me the chance to be creative!
One of the moms told me that she had purchased this set of prints from falldowntree for her son's room, and had decorated with shades of blue and teal.

So, I decided to use the prints as inspiration for a Zadyball. (I find I work much better and creating new ideas if I have something to use as inspiration. Maybe I'm not really all that creative after all.)


Here's the finished product.


For the brown, I used some soft, fuzzy fabric that I used to make my son's Halloween costume (he'll be the cowardly lion). I decided that the lion had to have a tail, so I added one.

I really think it turned out cute, and I'm proud of it! I hope both mommy and baby love it! :D

(I'll be making another one to add to my Etsy shop soon - contact me if you want more info)

Monday, October 5, 2009

I've been a naughty blogger lately. It's not that I don't have anything going on. In fact, I have the opposite problem. I feel like I am ALWAYS doing something and always think about blogging, but somehow never get around to it.

So.... here's a run-down of what we've been doing the last few weeks.

Ady got a hair cut. I was sick and tired of looking at her chewing on her hair. And always trying to get food and who knows what else out of it. So, I got it cut. I think it turned out pretty cute - not super short, but short enough.

Zander refuses to get his hair cut. He's decided that long hair is cool and so he wants to grow it out. He has developed a fondness for hair gel and is always asking me to "spike" it for him. Crazy, crazy kids.





We joined a martial art's academy. I'll blame that one on my husband who is every salesperson's dream. We went to a "free" self-defense lesson for the kids. It was really good, and they had a lot of fun with it. Of course there was a "deal" involved. If we signed up that day, we would get free uniforms for the whole family, and a big discount for the first month. So... how could we pass that up? (I did grumble a little bit...)
The kids really have been loving it. I do think it's very good for them, but I don't see how we can keep it up after the month is over.
The parents are invited to join in the kid's classes. Brandon has gone with them to most of the lessons. I went to one....

They also have a kick-boxing class. I've gone to three sessions. It is a WORK OUT! An hour long of non-stop. I should be in REALLY good shape by the end of the month. (If I survive!)

We temporarily had an additional member of our family. Brandon found this kitten outside our front door when he was leaving to go to a meeting. He had me take her in and feed her. Of course the kids fell in love instantly, but, we just didn't see how we could take on the responsibility of another pet right now. Maybe when the kids are a little older and can actually care for it instead of torturing it. (There was a LOT of that going on!)
We talked to a few people and after she had spent three days with us, we found a new home for her.


The kids of course were very heartbroken. But, they'll get over it. (It really is amazing how much your perspective on these kinds of things changes when you're "old" like me. I brought home more than one stray kitten when I was a kid, and was SO upset when my parents wouldn't let me keep them.)

Today was an exciting day for Zander. He got an award at school for "Straight A's with 3 100's". Yippee!



AND, he LOST his first tooth! It's been really loose for a while now, and today he asked his dad if he could help him get it out. So, Brandon wrapped some floss around it and... pulled! It's exciting, but just a little sad too. Just more proof that my little boy is growing up!





Now you are up to date on the going ons of our family. (If you actually made it through the post that is!)

Monday, September 21, 2009

YakAboutIt

Zadyball was featured on YakAboutIt.com today. It's a fun new website all about inventions. It features two inventions everyday and visitors get to come and vote for their favorite. I'm up against something called the "Egg Cracker"? Zadyball is SO much better than that, right?

SO please come show your Zadyball support and vote for me!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Adventures in Motherhood

Here's some of the adventures we've been having lately...

Went to the Children's Museum of Phoenix - this house was a completely different color the last time we were there. The kids really like that place!



Built a tree house - well, my husband did. The kids have been pretty much living up there whenever possible.


Planted a garden - I've been meaning to take pictures of it...
We do have some extra plants that we ran out of room for. If anyone (in Phoenix) would like some tomato or pepper plants, call me asap!

Did some modeling (these gorgeous sweaters are from GrannysKnits)





Found out what happens when crayons get left in a pocket - and that pocket goes in the dryer...
Surprisingly, WD-40 does the trick to get the crayon off the clothes.
I managed to clean out the dryer using LOTS of Comet. And some old rags.




Been trying to keep up with a crawling baby - she's the first one I've had to actually CRAWL. (The other two invented their own way of getting around)


And basically drowning in piles of dirty dishes, laundry and occasionally, homework!
But (almost) enjoying every minute of it!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

My Super Kid

I'm a little late posting this, but it definitely is worth mentioning.

We got a letter from Zander's school last week to let us know that he would be receiving an award at the Monday Morning assembly. It told us that he didn't know about it, but it would be great if we were able to be there to support him.
So, I volunteered to drive carpool that morning, even though it wasn't my turn.
I guess it was pretty exciting! Zander was the second name called among about 30 kids who received awards that day. His award was for "Outstanding Behavior" which makes me feel pretty good as a mom. Glad to know he's not a trouble maker! (Not sure his little sister will be receiving that award when she's in kindergarten....)






He was pretty excited about the whole thing. Especially about the coupon for FREE donuts from Dunkin' Donuts. (I think we might go get those for him today)



Also, on Tuesday, he got his FIRST progress report sent home. Straight A's! I was a little worried on Curriculum night a couple weeks ago. His teacher said that it's pretty common to see C's and D's on the first progress report in kindergarten because the kids are still figuring out what's expected of them. SO glad I he did get that! I think he may have inherited his mother's competitive spirit - must be the best at everything! (I think I've outgrown it........maybe........)

Anyway, I've VERY proud of my little boy! Way to go!