The price I had to pay... for velcro anyway.

With Summer approaching, the brown shoes with stylin velcro closures that BigBoy adores so much are going to become useless. He already wants to wear them on the rare day it is warm enough for shorts (like today), so I thought it was time to break down and buy some new kicks.

Since he can't tie laces yet, he loves his precious velcro.
No help needed from Mom = a happy BigBoy (most of the time).

These were the only velcro option we found at Target. I paid $14.99 for Toy Story shoes.
Fourteen ninety-nine for when-I-have-kids-I-will-never-let-them-wear-those-tacky shoes.


"Actually," I thought, "they're not that bad."

But wait. There's more...

They have lights!


The picture doesn't do it justice but imagine super-obnoxious seizure-inducing red flashes with the slightest move of the foot.

Lighted shoes -- they're the scourge of the children's apparel world.

And I'm helping it spread.

My Kryptonite

This morning we officially resumed attending church services.
Because BabyCakes no longer demands without sympathy requests a morning nap at home, the 10:00 time slot isn't so nightmarish anymore.

I stupidly stupidly dressed the kids and myself waaaaaaay to early (To be honest I was a little excited about how good I felt in my new clothes, too.) and they got crazy in the anticipation of leaving the house. Rookie mistake.


So I did what any self-respecting-overly-photographic-proud-of-the-$3-toddler-dress-she-found-mom would do.

I drug them out on the porch for some "pretty" pictures.

Ha.


I've talked about my photographic inadequacies in this area before.


"Pretty" pictures, I did not get.
Traditional photo ops are my kryptonite, it seems.



On second thought, I never claimed to be Supermom.

Little People, Big World

Well it's been a big, fun week. Everything seems to be big and fun when children are this age.
Well, BIG anyway. Big fun, big work, big hugs, big messes...
even big cheeks. :)


They are still little, though.



And that's no small thing.

My First Pick

The next week is going to be busy for me around here. My etsy shop continues to grow and after yesterday (story to come), I'm getting more and more confident about it!



The upcoming week is going to involve a lot of preparing items for photos, photo shoots, researching, and listing my items. This is all leading up to a giveaway I'm sponsoring on Fussy Monkey Business soon. (More on that later.)
I don't want to put it off too long because I want to ride this momentum that's been created.
And that means a busy week ahead, so I apologize if my upcoming blogs are brief.

Yesterday I had the privilege to "pick" the garage of a local couple that is selling their house and moving into an RV for a retirement of travel. Mr. John is a retired scientist and woodworker, Mrs. Joyce was laughing at my "finds" the whole time.


I had to make a run to a grocery store for more bribery cereal (the kids were in the car with the windows down during the pick -- I was in the garage nearby) and more money, but it was worth it.



You can't see it now, but in that trunk is the future of my shop. :)

The Day the Music-- Err-- Phone Died

That's right, friends and family. My phone had a little breakdown today. I guess it took one too many toddler bashes after all.
I thought I'd let you know because I know I have missed at least a couple phone calls/texts today. Hopefully I'll get this taken care of tomorrow. In the meantime, email or gchat is the best way to reach me.
You know, because I'm just that important.
:) Ouch, my mouth hurts just to virtually smile.

WW Wednesday

Today the WW stands for Wisdom Wemoval instead of Weight Watchers.
(Sorry, Bugs here made me do it.)



"Do these wheels make my butt look big?"

Anyway, my wisdom teeth surgery (I promise this is the last time I will mention it.) definitely affected my weight-loss this week. A semi-starvation diet will do that.
So yeah, I had a nice loss.
It was satisfying to clear the last of what I had gained a couple weeks ago.

Lesson learned this week: I'm again reminded of how blessed I am to have more than enough food to survive on, enjoy, and even indulge in. One week of eating small amounts of healthy (mostly) food is still so much more than millions and millions of adults and CHILDREN can count on. Having any choices at all about what I eat is a luxury.

Goal for this week: Adjust to the smaller portions I need to sustain/lose weight at my size. I'm not a thin woman but I'm a good amount smaller than I used to be.
A measurable goal? Intentionally serve myself less than what I think is a normal size for me, see how hungry I am after eating, and proceed as necessary.

Oh Happy Day!

Oh Happy Daaay! (Come on, sing with me now!)
Oh Happy Daa-aay!!

Is it bad that this song reminds me more of "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" than church?
Either way, I'm feelin it.
Know why? Lots of reasons, but most importantly, I actually ATE today!
No mashed potatoes that I promise taste no better when it is all you can eat, no smoothies, no oatmeal.
Real live people food.
Finally the pain is subsiding. I swear my recovery from childbirth was more pleasant than this weekend's wisdom teeth removal surgery. Blech.

Moving on...
Today we had the oh so fabulous Butler ladies over.



After that I priced some of my etsy items for shipping to Australia.


It killed me to miss a whole weekend of yard sales but I still have a lot to list anyway.



Last week I mailed a camera and binoculars to Singapore.



Crazy that I can't seem to keep a decent inventory, but who's complainin? I came home to take some more pics of items to list this week.



The little dude on the front of this vintage tool set cracks me up.



While I was out I realized how GOR-GEOUS this day is.

Beautiful.

Seriously, big props to The Man Upstairs for weather like this.

Check the flowers around Neighbor James & Noah's mailbox.


I love how the purple spills over the curb. Every year they get fuller.



And last but not least, my sister is in labor with her second child today. Ha, I just realized this baby will be born on 4-4 like how BigBoy was born on 6-6. :)
Lots of stuff to be excited about!

Oh happy day!