Great Teacher's Gift

What a great idea for a Christmas thank you. You get the sticker and ribbon. Free Shipping! You can purchase this at our biz blog. Go to TwiceAsNiceLettering
This special is now over. Thanks for all your orders!

Too much SWEETNESS not to share!

Crew turned 11 months!!

This little boy is the love of our lives. He will do anything to make us laugh and is happy most of the time. I can't believe he will be a year in just a month.

He always sits with his right leg crossed over the left. HA! He's a busy boy, crawling all over and pulling himself up and is always babbling.  Greek yogurt is his favorite and as soon as you show it to him, he starts shaking and squealing. I told my daughter she needs to record it and put it on youtube. Too Funny!

 

Being Featured on Very Jane

          We are being featured on Very Jane today!                              

 The estimated amount of cookies left out for Santa on Christmas Eve is 84 million! Your children will love leaving milk and cookies for Santa this year with these ready to apply vinyl decals. (includes milk vinyl)

Are your kids counting down the days until Christmas? The kids will love counting the days with the "Days Until Christmas" vinyl. Use erasable marker only.

Having an only child

Kelly from Kelly's Korner is featuring only children today. When we got married we wanted to start a family right away. I thought 3 children would be great and my husband wanted a baseball team! What I thought was going to take us 9 months took us 8 1/2 years and one miscarriage. I must admit there were  A LOT of tears along the way. On 12/04/95 we were blessed with a wonderful little boy we named Logan. It might not of been an easy road towards parenthood but I tell everyone Logan has been the EASIEST child to raise. He is such a blessing. I never planned on having an only child but I am so happy God's plan was for me to be Logan's mom. He is very close to Fran's (my twin) 3 children and I know that he will always have them in his life.

Logan is now a Sophomore and is planning on becoming a doctor.  He wants 4 kids of his own so I will have lots of little ones to love! (I am in no hurry) I have read a lot of blogs with couples having problems with having a family of their own and my heart goes out to them. I was one of them and I just want to say don't give up. All your tears and heartache will all be forgotten when you hold your new baby in your arms whether you give birth to that child or adopt. For me being a mom has been the greatest gift I have ever received. Thank you Lord for letting me be Logan's mom.

We are being featured on groopdealz again!

Just in time for Thanksgiving. What a great hostess gift this would make or just keep it for yourself.

Hubby got me a little something...

I forgot to tell ya, my hubby surprised me with a new car this summer. I had no idea I was getting it. Fran and I went shopping one day and when I dropped her off at her house my hubby and son pulled up behind us and my hubby handed me the keys. He said it took weeks to get the right color with all the extras he wanted but everyone kept the secret. I was really surprised. We've had a lot of fun with it. Just wish we had warm weather all year around. It does have the hard top. We needed a new vehicle since my son is getting his license soon and will be getting our jeep.

This is my son Logan and his girlfriend Danielle. They went to Homecoming this past weekend.

Fran and I are leaving in a couple days for Las Vegas again. My bosses take us every year. This time we are going to see Elton John! We have a lot of things planned and it should be a very fun time.

Don't forget groopdealz

        Today is the LAST day.        


        We are being featured on groopdealz.
Don't forget to say "thank you for all that you do". Grandparent's Day is Sept. 11th.

Sneak Peek Groopdealz!

We are going to be featured on groopdealz tomorrow. This is a little Sneak Peek! Don't forget Grandparent's Day is September 11th! This is a great "thank you for all you do".

I found it in a magazine...

Have you ever seen something in a magazine that you just loved, only to be disappointed with the price or because you had no idea of where to purchase it? I was flipping through my REDBOOK magazine and fell in love with this jacket. It was $72.00 but there are so many ways you can wear it that I figured I could justify the price.

I was surprised to find it is from Sears. It's part of their new UK Fashion Connection line. I don't know about you but the only thing I think about purchasing from Sears is appliances. I found it on line and on sale for $42.99! It comes in black and tan. I wanted the tan but the sizes went from 2 and skipped to 8. I figured the 2 would be too small because I want to layer it and the 8 would be way too big. I have never purchased anything from the UK Fashion Connection line so I did not know if the sizing ran a little on the small/big side. I ended up calling around and found it at a mall about 45 minutes from us.

While somethings aren't as nice as they look in a magazine, I wasn't disappointed with the jacket. It's well made. Fern and I each got one. We have a lot of the same clothes because we like the same things but we don't wear them at the same time. We have come close a few times. I don't know how many time one of us has said "I was going to wear that today but changed my mind." I did end up getting the size 2. Have you ever found something in a magazine you just had to have?

Nothing short of a miracle

Our journey with my MIL began Labor Day 2010. We found out she had diverticulitis and a temporary drain had to be inserted. Next she went for a colonoscopy and she had a cancerous tumor at the bottom of her colon. She needed to have a colostomy bag. She then had radiation and took chemo pills for 6 weeks. Last month she had another colonoscopy and all looked great.  When my husband took her back to her surgeon he said while everything looked great he wanted her to keep the colostomy bag because reversing it requires more than one surgery and she could have complication because of the damage radiation can do to tissue. We were okay with that (my husband takes care of this for her, bless his heart!). 

After the colonoscopy she complained of back pain just like when she had the diverticulitis. We now wonder if the colonoscopy to the unattached colon/rectal area may have start of all of this because about two weeks ago I woke up and saw 3 messages flashing on my answering machine, scary. It was my MIL asking me to come over (she lives next door). She said she hurt all over and I called 911. In the emergency room they found she had a hernia around the colostomy opening. The next day when her doctor called my husband and said she needed surgery right away because her stats were dropping and they couldn't wait. He also told him the anesthetic alone might kill her. Because everything has been such a blur he doesn't remember if he mentioned septic shock at the time or not but that is what she had. He said she must have had an abscess in her body that ruptured and she was full of infection and puss! The hernia was fine and causing no problems. 

She came out of surgery on a vent and had tubes coming out everywhere. They removed the vent the next day but later her heart rate went up to about 200 beats a minute ( they shocked her once to slow it down) and her breathing was labored so they put it back in. Three days later they tried dialing it down and she started to crash. The doctor said they would try it again the next day but to gather the family.  Later that day they slowly dialed it down and when they took it out the next day, she was fine, and even eating a little jello that night! Saturday she got out of ICU and yesterday she went to the nursing home for rehab to get her back on her feet. In a matter of days we went from possibly planning a funeral to rehab. 

It's been unbelievable. We found out septic shock is not uncommon and there were 2 other people in ICU that had it. It's very serious and the survival rate isn't very high, especially for a 90 year old. We told the doctors and nurses she is a young 90 year old but even we were amazed at her recovery. I mentioned the word miraculous to the nurse and she said that is what this is. I don't think anyone expected her to survive. We are very thankful!

How long will it last?

I have had multiple area rugs in my living room. While I like to change things up (just ask my family, it's a long standing joke) that isn't why I have purchased so many.

The reason is because we have a dog. Not a big dog, he's small. A cairn terrier to be exact. Remember Toto from The Wizard of Oz? I'm sure he is a distant relative. He's a pretty good dog and doesn't get sick often but when he does he chooses the rug. Dog vomit stains and I can't get it out. The last new rug I got lasted 2 days before he christened it. I have spent a small fortune on area rugs and I think this is the cheapest. $200.00 from Home Goods.

This is the first time I have ever put the couch against the wall. It's a very open floor plan and the 2 other walls have either windows or a fireplace so the furniture usually floats in the middle. This way it looks larger but the 8x10 rug almost looks too small for the room. I'm going to keep it this way for awhile and see if it grows on me. Does anyone have any ideas for getting pet stain out of area rugs? I hope this rug last longer than a year...

 

There's a play coming to town.

Walt Willey from All My Children is from our small Illinois town. For the last 3 summers he has put on a play at our local high school to raise money for a charity. This year it will be for Friendship Village for the disabled. Fern and I were busy and missed the previous plays but we are going this time.

Each year he brings other actors with him and this year it is Kale Browne who played Sam Rappaport on One Life To Live and Taylor Miller who played Nina Courtland for a very long time on All My Children. Taylor now lives in Chicago. The other guy in the picture lives here and is a good friend of Walt's and has been in all of the plays.

There was a meet and greet when we got our tickets and were able to meet them all. They were very nice and very talkative! I was surprised and they did most of the talking and asking questions. I wasn't thinking we were going to do much chit chatting so I wasn't prepared to ask many questions. I hope one of these summers Walt Willey brings Susan Lucci to town! Add caption

The Help

Fran just finished reading this book and I am half way through. It is one of those books you want to go on and on. Love it. Very well written. If you haven't had a chance to read it you really should. It is a very easy read. Can't wait until the movie is released. We already have plans of a girl's night. FUN!

We Are Having A Special!

We are having a giveaway at Bless Our Nest today! We are also having a special on our "new" kitchen labels. What a fun way to get organized. Be sure to stop by Shannon's and see what all the fuss is about!

Some More New Creations!!

These would look darling in any nursery!

These were a lot of fun designing. More to come.

New Vinyl Decals

I have been working hard to get out some new decals. I am going monogram and personalized CRAZY!!

I am just loving these new vinyl decals and I have more to show you next time! FUN

Wordless Wednesday...JUSTICE?????

Guilty or Not Guilty?

Have you been following the Casey Anthony trial? If so, don't you think it's one of the oddest cases? First of all do you know anyone who's daughter had a baby and the parents have no idea of who the father is and don't press the daughter to find out? They just let it go and move on. Casey was suppose to be working and yet no one figures out that she doesn't really have a job. Odd don't you think? Everyone that has a job earns a pay check (other than stay at home moms!) and yet no one ever questioned her when she didn't have any money? She insisted that she had a nanny that Caylee spent quite a bit of time with. Did anyone ask how she was paying for this nanny? 


While this is a very odd and dysfunctional family, I'm not sure I'm buying the idea that Casey was sexually abused by her father. Possible yes, but it could just be another lie. Do I think Caylee drowned in the pool and George dumped her body? Absolutely not. A grandfather wouldn't do that and he certainly wouldn't duck tape her mouth and use a sticker. You see Casey tearing up when the sexual abuse was mentioned. It could be that it's true or very possibly because she realizes she is throwing her own dad under the bus to save herself.


Even if it were true that Caylee drowned in the pool, how many mothers are partying and having a good time after something like this happens? When the story first came out, I thought Casey accidentally killed Caylee by overdosing her because she wanted to party and she needed her to sleep. Now I think she did it on purpose. If it would have been an accident and unexpected she would have been a lot more emotional about it and devastated. She planned it and when the deed was done she was relieved and unburdened to do as she wanted. 


The relationship between Casey and her parents is odd. They almost seem to be afraid of her. They don't want to make her mad or upset her so she has always done pretty much what she's wanted although I think her and Cindy have had their share of arguments in the past. I've never met anyone that lies as much as Casey, have you? Lying over and over again to the police, her family and friends. Strangers have shed more tears for her little girl than she has. I don't believe her lack of emotion is due to childhood sexual abuse. I believe in Casey's world it's all about her and she feels her actions were justified. Partly because her little girl began to feel like a burden and partly to stick it to her mother who loved Caylee so much. 


I find Casey fascinating because I can't figure someone like her out. I don't know how anyone can think another person is disposable, especially your own child. Like most of you, my children are my world, the greatest gift I have ever been blessed with and if I could make their lives perfect for them I would. How does a mother not love their own child? 


I would love to hear your take on this...gotta get back to the trial!

Wordless Wednesday

We are going to be on GROOPDEALZ again tomorrow!!

We are being featured again on Groopdealz.com tomorrow!! We are so ExCIteD!! If you have never visited this site it is a must. They have a deal of the day and you can save up to 50%.  They sell jewelry, hair bows, teeth whitening and lots of other great stuff.  Go check it out.

Wordless Wednesday