it's open and a giveaway

want one of these? 

go visit my shop

then come back and tell me what you think or what's your favorite item. 

your comment will put your name in the drawing for a new felt hydrangea hair clip.

the giveaway will end thursday (feb. 4th)

dallas friends... i'm not sure how to not charge some orders for shipping. so, if you want to order something without paying for shipping, email me your order and you can pick it up instead. email is on the right sidebar. hope to figure this one out soon.

the shop

so i have toyed around with idea for some time and am ready to take the leap... i am opening a little shop. i want to have a place where i can sell things as i find time to sew. so go take a peek.

(click on the picture in the sidebar)

i'm still working on it and need to add a few more details. i plan on "opening" by the end of the weekend.

i haven't had a REAL shower since saturday

and by "real" shower i mean the one you take sans kid, the one you shave your legs in, the one you use the good shampoo in, the one that you actually wash your whole body in (not just the restaurant you have been toting around on your chest), the one that takes long enough to actually steam up the bathroom. i had one of those glorious showers today...wednesday.

it has been quite the week. we started potty training on monday. potty training a two year old with a two month old on your hip (or boob) is kinda difficult. we have had many accidents and many half-accidents. but i am pleased to say after a heart to heart during lunch, she has been accident free.

we started the process by "training" her teddy bear (really it's wilson's but at this point, he doesn't know he has toys). the nice thing about training teddy bear was "giving" him his treats.

we had a birthday tea party for teddy bear.

i read the book potty training 1-2-3. my friend christy suggested it and after reading it, so would i. it really helped me prepare and have a good game plan. 

sara and i went on a special trip to the store so she could pick out her potty training snacks and treats. i talked her into the oreos and sour cream and onion pringles. :) she also got to pick out her very own chap stick. it was a good day in that girl's life.

she picked "memo" (Nemo) fruit snacks for her big "i went in the potty" treat.

anyway, we have been "stuck" at home... enjoying the growing up process.

translated: i haven't needed to shower.

here's a freebie... enjoy this cute face!

two months = band-aids

my sweet boy was initiated into the world of immunization this morning.

i can't believe how quickly these two months have flown by... which has caused this sad but sweet feeling in my heart... you know, the one that makes you want to cry anytime you look at your child in the eyes and the one that causes the waterworks to start the second they get giddy and want to snuggle in bed.

(side story (just made that phrase up :)... does it work?): sara said the CUTEST thing when i got in bed with her tonight... after ryan put her to bed, we heard her in the monitor singing, so i gave into the temptation to cuddle and i went in. i asked her what she was singing and she replied in a sweet quiet voice "i sing not, my hands singing"... love that girl... i asked what her hands were singing and she said "away in a manger" and preceded to sing the song for me... using her hands! cute, huh?!)

anyway, back to the whole i have a 2 month old, where did the time go, rant.
just look for yourselves and be amazed at how quickly he is growing.

he has started that sweet smiley, cooing, can't get enough of it, stage.
my sweet boy.
as i was mentally writing this post (i tend to mentally write more then actually write these days) i was reminded of a post i wrote over a year ago about sara's band-aids. it was fun to scroll down and read through past posts. but i realized my blog has been neglected lately and it went from a "sewing/crafty, look what i am making/selling" blog to a "hey, look at my kids" blog REAL fast. i am glad it's a mix of both because, let's face it, this mama isn't filling out any baby books.
so i love the idea of documenting sweet moments with my kids but, i do want to make more time to sew and sell stuff. so yeah, all that to say, i want to do all things well. and mothering two kids is more important and taking more time than i thought. but the new year inspires me to schedule and organize which will hopefully mean more consistent sewing/blogging time.

oh yeah, merry christmas.

Merry Christmas Eve!

handmade Christmas gifts

i finished the gifts i made for wilson and sara just in time! i thought i would finish them up sooner but forgot how the definition of being "productive" has changed. instead of seeing how many things i can finish sewing in a morning, i'm counting how many diapers i can change between feedings! i'm being productive in other ways! but it feels good to be forced to sit and rest for 15-20 minutes every 3ish hours.

so for wilson, i made a color book. it was my first time to sew a cloth book and i really enjoyed it. i think i would have added more details if i had the time...next time.
(inspiration came from here and another blog i cant find now! sorry!)

for sara i made this...

i used this tutorial.

it was such a fun project.
it would have taken less time if i had read the whole tutorial first. it took some thinking and tweaking but it worked out. and i LOVE the finished project!

and look who is moving in...


a miniature version of our family.


i also painted these girls for some sweet friends of ours.

can't wait to give sara her gifts!
and i'm sure she'll be more then willing to help wilson open his.

christmas?

i love this picture. can you see where she is putting that light? up her nose!
what did i do? like any good mother, i grabbed my camera! :)
what a crazy girl!
i can't believe Christmas is in two weeks. i have been working on a couple handmade gifts for sara and wilson. hopefully i will finish them up this weekend and share with you.
enjoy the weekend!

new baby smell...

i can't get enough of it. it's been 3 weeks of snuggling, nursing, being late everywhere, staying at home more, changing outfits multiple times a day, kissing a sweet boy's neck, juggling two kid's needs and remembering to rest.

this little boy has been perfect. he snuggles quite well. and have i mentioned he smells like a dream!? he is so mild mannered... i think i've heard him cry a total of 10 minutes. and he seems to like his sister saying "hi" repeatedly in his ear multiple times a day. he's a trooper!

i feel so favored and blessed to have such a beautiful family.

wilson's entry into the world was quick but a bit rough. i started contracting around 2:30 monday morning. but, i didn't want it to be false labor again so i tried to ignore them... i even took a tylenol. crazy, huh?! after a couple hours they were getting stronger and quicker. so, i woke ryan up and we started the whole "call everyone and get in the car" routine. we were at the hospital by 5:30 and i was ready to push by 7. my doctor came in the room at 7 and 4 pushes and 14 minutes later, wilson made his debut. but the poor guy had the cord wrapped around his neck twice, lots of bruising on his face from being pushed on my pelvis and a broken collar bone. apparently, broken collar bones during labor are pretty common. and there isn't much you can do for them. he had his arm in his onesie (like a sling) for many days, but now it is healed and he moves his arm freely. we are grateful that he is healthy and doing well!

my sweet mom came to help us for a week. i was on top of the world... LONG hot showers, clean clothes and dishes, happy toddler, flowers planted in my garden (yes, my mom... super woman... brought some pansies to plant with sara!), several quick outings with my husband and good conversations. it was hard to watch her leave and can't wait to see her again.

ok, back to nursing.

wilson isaiah

look who's here!

Wilson Isaiah Quiroz
November 10, 2009
7:14 am
9lbs 3oz
21 1/4"

"due date" date

my sweet sister in law offered to watch sara this morning. so, ryan and i jumped on the opportunity to go hang out ... aka walk briskly... downtown.

we found this great barbecue place, dr. bells. maybe this doctor can help me along with the labor process...

this was all mine.

but, i left room for this beauty.

when we drove up to our home, sara was out playing... she looked so old to me today. sad.


i french braided her hair for the first time and surprisingly, she didn't pull it out. it's so fun having a girl.


so, today is my due date. 40 weeks. this kid has been cooking for quite awhile, huh? 40 weeks seems like an eternity until the end and then it seems like it went by so quickly.
if you asked me earlier this week i would have told you that i would be holding my little kicker by today. i have been contracting ever since tuesday. they got pretty consistent and hard so we went into the hospital, only to find out that i was still 4cm dilated and making no progress. they died down and we went home. it was so defeating. so as a result, my days have been filled with walking and trying any other old wive's tale in hopes that this baby will come before he's 9 pounds.
i've been enjoying the past few days, though. they have been gorgeous and filled with lots of sara and ryan time. so, i guess it was nice to have a false alarm...
now our bags are packed.

married?

a conversation we had the other night while cuddling in bed...

sara: "mommy, you get married?"

me: "yes, i married daddy"

sara: quietly thinking..."i marry j."

hands

i love these hands. they are changing so quickly. it's bittersweet.

i remember when she didn't know what to do with them and how they were such a source of frustration.

now, they are being mastered and helping her actually do the things she thinks of... they are helping show us who she is and what is going on in that brain of hers.

it reminds me of motherhood... something that you fumble around with at the beginning... you see other great women/mothers and want to be like them... but you can't quite do it as well. you have to practice and master the skills... learn how your "fingers" work together and how to handle all that is required. but then it begins to click and you forget those first days or months of struggle and you begin to thrive....

i'm afraid i'll be re-visiting those days again soon. days filled with learning how to balance it all and being in survival mode. having two children seems so daunting somedays, but i'm hopeful and excited about the time when i look back and realize how far i've come, how much i've learned, and how much i can do with my "hands".

i'm so thankful for this man.

things sewn for the room

so here they are, room pictures... well, kinda... as i am uploading these pictures of sara and baby boy's new room, i realized i didn't take any good full room pictures. so maybe, (if you're lucky and i don't go into labor before i get around to it) i'll post better room pictures later. but for now, you can enjoy some pictures of the things i made.
and as an added note i'm not sure why my pictures are looking really grainy... so forgive the picture quality. any ideas?

this is over sara's bed. she is really into tea parties these days, so a tea pot and cup were perfect for her. since they have been hung, they have been taken off and "used" several times.
the print is from Sarah Jane. love her stuff... so cute and simple

this next picture is what is hanging over the crib. forgive the lack of artwork in the frame. this picture is ordered and on its way. and in the other frame there are ultrasound pictures (hung upside down) waiting to be replaced with new baby pictures.

and here is the little kicker's bedding. i fell in live with this brown polka dot. it is such a perfect color of brown... not too dark but not khaki
i took off the brown sheet and replaced it with a green one... it was too dark.
if you look close enough you can see the curtains... the same green that is on the bed skirt.

and this is sara's quilt top. it is somewhere in north carolina being quilted as i type (i hope). i didn't have the guts or the machine to quilt a twin size quilt... i decided to leave that to the professionals... but hey, i made the top and the back so i can say i half-way made it... right?
can't wait to see it finished!

so there you have it... some things i've been making for my kids. wow, i can add an "s" to kid. weird.