The Etsy Baby Shower

A couple times a year, there is a "baby shower" on Etsy for all the expecting moms. Sellers offer to donate gifts, and the moms are lucky enough to get them! I've participated as a giver the last few times, and this time, I got to be one of the moms!

Here's the forum thread about it, and an article that was on Etsy's blog - the Storque.

I've already received two of my gifts. They are SO wonderful that I thought I would share them here!

First, I received these adorable little aprons from Lizzypops. They are like bibs, but BETTER because they cover the baby up more! And they are just oh so cute! I can't wait to use them!


Next, I got one of these beautiful changing mats from Made By Kate. It is really big, and really soft! It will making changing diapers *almost* enjoyable!


Look here to see all the items that were donated (including mine).

And please check out Lizzypops and Made By Kate, they are awesomely, wonderful people with fantastic shops!

Another Pregnancy Update

I am starting to worry about what this baby will be like once she makes her entrance into the world. It seems like she is moving ALL THE TIME! I don't think either of my other kids moved this much when I was pregnant with them. It is starting to get difficult to get any rest!

Here's my belly at 25 weeks pregnant:


I had an umm... unusual compliment yesterday. I went to the chiropractor (anyone who is in Phoenix - Dr. Neilson is AWESOME!). After my adjustment, he took me into another room to have heat and electrodes put on my neck (very nice!) I thought it was clear that I am pregnant - the doctor said something about it being okay for my to lay on my belly for another month or so, and another woman in the room said something about it too... Plus, I think I look pregnant.
Anyway, there were a couple of teenage girls there with their mother, and they were leaving as I came in. While the nurse/helper was getting me set up, she said "So, are you in high school too?"
I had to laugh out loud! I told her it has been several years since I've been in high school, but thank you very much for the compliment.
After I thought about it though, I had to wonder what she thought when I came in... if she thought I was in high school.... and pregnant? hm....
I guess I'll just take the compliment and be happy. But still... very odd!

Home Again

After about 3200 total miles, we finally made it home yesterday! We were SO tired of being in the car!
We had a really good time, and I'm very glad we went. But, I don't think we will be making that trip again for quite some time.

Here are some fun pictures from the trip:

Kids at the funeral - all the cousins were having a really good time playing together! I wanted to get a picture of them all sitting together, but they wouldn't slow down long enough! This was the best I could get.

My sister's son, Tate; Zander; my brother's daughter, Dawsey; Ady; my cousin's daughter, Sophie


Boys: my sister's son, Tate; my cousin, Matt; Zander; my sister's son, Canton

Here I am with my sister. People kept calling me her and vice versa. I don't think we look that much alike, but whatever. I guess if you haven't seen us in like 6 years, you might get us confused.



Right after the funeral, we left and drove to Oregon to visit Brandon's grandparents. I am glad that we were able to go and spend time with them. I also was able to go through the stacks of genealogy information that they have. SO awesome!! I learned A LOT about the family that I didn't know before!


After we spent a day with them, we went BACK to Preston and spent a couple days with my family. My brother's kids came over to Grandma and Grampa's house on Monday and the kids played ALL day long! Here they are after a fun day together.


The only girl cousins in the family - Ady and Dawsey

An unplanned trip

In case anyone has been wondering where I've been for the last few days...

Wednesday night, I recieved a phone call from my dad. He was calling to let me know that my sweet grandmother had passed away. She was 98 years old, and had been on hospice for a few weeks, so it was not unexpected, but still a little sad.
They decided to have the funeral on Friday, so we got packed and left first thing Thursday morning to drive the 14 hours to Preston, Idaho. It was a LONG day, but we survived. The funeral was very nice, and I'm very glad we came.

Since we had already come that far, we decided to continue on to Hermiston, OR to visit with Brandon's grandfather. (8 more hours in the car) He had a '48 Indian motorcycle that he wanted Brandon to have, we just needed to pick it up. (I'm sure that means something to someone - I guess that is a really cool bike?) Anyway, we spent a day there and enjoyed visiting with them.
Then we came BACK to Preston so that we could spend a little more time with my family, and be out of the car for a day or two, before we head back home.
I had NO time whatsoever to look at a computer until Sunday night.

The kids are now having lots of fun playing with their cousins. I'm glad that we were able to make the trip, even though it wasn't exactly planned for.

It's been a whole year!

I can't believe it! It has been an entire year as of TODAY since I started selling Zadyball online.
To celebrate - I'm having a little sale in my Etsy Shop.
15% off the entire order (before shipping)! Just include "B-day" in notes to seller.

Here's just a few of the people that have made this year so great!

And here's a few of the wonderful comments I've received over the past year:

"This is a great ball! I love the pattern & the irresistible little knots!"

"ADORABLE! I gave one as a gift, and it was a hit! The baby's first toy she actually "played" with!"

"What a precious stuffed toy, perfect for the baby in your life. It is uber-soft, and incredibly well constructed. Well worth it."

"OMgosh my kids love this ball, they've already spent hours playing with it fresh out of the box."

"This is PERFECT for baby's first toy! It's perfectly soft for little baby hands and easy to grip and teethe on."

"My daughter LOVES her new Zadyball! She has not put it down since we opened the package. She is even asleep with it right now."

"I LOVE THIS!!! We got it yesterday and my son hasn't put it down! He loves playing with it!"

"So CUTE! My son grabbed on to the Zadyball, got this huge smile on his face, and hasn't let go since. He loves it! "

" I LOVE my zadyball! What a wonderful and creative invention. Every baby should have a Zadyball."

"I got this today while my son was crying, and he grabbed it and rubbed it on his face and smiled. Yay!! Thank you, it is cute and he likes it. "

"This is the best toy EVER and my baby LOVES it! SO many fun textures and sounds, and she just loves sucking and holding the little string things."

"I just love this toy! My daughter has fun chewing throwing and generally playing with her new Zadyball!"

"I'm really excited about this little zadyball. My 2 month old is to small to grasp it on his own just yet, but LOVES to just stare at it as I slowly spin it above him. When he does get the whole grasping thing down, I imagine this will be in his hands all the time. And I love the size- fits perfectly into a small diaper bag to take along where ever we need to go."

"The monster Zadyball you created for my three year old son has quickly become my new little guys best friend.... and it's too cute to watch Mason play with his baby brother with it. It's the perfect toy for them to play with together, and they have so much fun with it."


Thank you for making this year fantastic!

My crazy life

Life has been crazy lately! I feel like I have SO much to do, and NO time to get it done!

The latest potty training fun--
We've slacked off a little bit with the whole potty training thing. I think that if I worked with her for a few days straight, without doing ANYTHING else, she might get it. But, right now I just don't have the time or energy to do it.
Today, when I put her down for her nap, she obviously didn't go to sleep right away. About half an hour later, she started screaming "MOMMY! I WENT POTTY!!" Not sure what to expect, I went in there, thinking I'd just need to change a messy diaper. But, I found her standing in her bed, completely naked (why??), holding her diaper (no poop, thankfully), with pee ALL over the bed! SO much fun!
I didn't want to use the bribe with candy method to potty train, but I might have to start doing that, for sanity's sake!

Besides that mess, I've been trying to get things situated with my business for the next few months. I have a couple of craft shows scheduled, and I want to have my inventory ready for that, as well as Christmas. So, I made a list of Zadyballs to make. It turned into quite a list!
Can you guess what this is?

If you said a very large, colorful bird's nest, you would be WRONG!
This is what uncut strings for about 100 Zadyballs look like. Am I crazy, or what??

In addition to trying to get all those done, I still need to get Halloween costumes made, work on scrapbooking (my goal is to be caught up before the baby comes. I hope I can do it!), get my webpage up and running... and the list goes on and on!

My wish list

I've started thinking about what I'd like to get for the new baby. There's lots of things that I DON'T need because we already have TONS of girl stuff (clothes mostly). But, since I didn't know about Etsy when my first two kids came along, there are some things I've seen there that I REALLY want to have!

So, I thought I'd start a little wish list. I obviously won't be able to get everything, and I am by no means suggesting that anyone buy these for me. But, I have a lot of fun looking!

Here's just a few on my list:

Butterfly Mobile from BuggaLove. I've always thought it would be nice to have a mobile, but never gotten one! These are so fun and pretty, and she is willing to take custom orders! I want a pink one!!


Super soft blanket from LittleSnuggleBunny. Every girl should have a super soft and silky blanket! This one is SO beautiful!


Nursing Cover from CheyLoCreations. This is something else that I've always wanted! My babies have always gotten to the point that they just love to pull the blanket off when I'm trying to be discrete. This would REALLY help!


Speaking of nursing - reusable nursing pads from BooBonnets. I've always used disposable ones, but I'd really like to try something like this! Only problem is that I really tend to leak, so I'd need to get several! I love the fact that these are just simple white. Lots of other handmade ones I've seen use funky fabrics, which may be good for some, but I like to be as discrete as possible!


Okay - that's just the start of my very extensive list. I'm sure I'll be back with some more soon!