All in the numbers

12 months has each year…

One of the things I’ve been working on with Calvin lately is the concept of time - more specifically, the concept of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Calvin is a very visual learner, so to help him out a bit, I made my own version of a “perpetual calendar”:

Each sheet is mounted on a separate clipboard and hung on the kitchen wall. The month and days of the week sheets have a paperclip at the edge for him to slide into place every morning. This daily ritual definitely has helped and prompted excitement for his birthday (”Is it March yet?! Because when it’s March, it’s almost April Mommy!”) Here are the PDF links in case you want to try it out:

The 12 Months of the Year
The 7 Days of the Week
Number the Days

February 14

For Valentine’s day every year, instead of handing out cards to each classmate, Calvin’s teacher has every student make just one Valentine for the whole class (thank you Miss Coventry! You just made my life 17 times easier!) Anyway, the point is to spend time with your child making a Valentine of some sort (a huge card, a drawing, a big piece of candy, whatever… we were told to be creative…) and then have him bring it to class for a mini show-and-tell. So with my scrap fabric piling up, I decided to have him make his very own heart-pillow-Valentine:

After drawing each classmate, I had him sketch a heart-shape around all his little friends. I sewed along his heart and had him stuff the final product (I was tempted to sew “off-line” so as to make the heart a bit more symmetrical but managed to resist the urge…)

100 pieces

About two years ago, I came across these clear Magna-Tiles in our local Lakeshore store. I immediately wanted to get them. But at $50 for 32 pieces… eh, the oh-so-pretty translucent tiles weren’t so pretty anymore. A few months back, I received their current catalog and after seeing the tiles again, I just had to get them. So Jeremy and I looked on eBay and found a 100 piece set for roughly $99. Still pretty steep, but in my opinion, worth every penny. The kids can play with it for hours, and sometimes, even I have trouble sharing pieces with them I rarely buy toys for the kids these days because we’re constantly being flooded with them from friends and family… but this toy… let’s just say it’s fun for the whole family!

(Please excuse Calvin’s very uncoordinated outfit… and focus on the tower he built and promptly bulldozed down after I took the picture…)

Better late than never…

I know, it’s been almost three months since my last post. We’ve been busy catching up on sleep, trying out new restaurants, taking turns getting over the nasty stomach bug and flu, disinfecting and sanitizing our house, finishing our basement, and buying a piano. I’ll try to spread out three months worth of relatively significant happenings throughout the week, so bear with me

Before I begin, I must direct your attention to the new blog header, proudly created by our budding little Picasso, Charissa, using some craft sticky foam. From left to right, we have Jeremy, me, Calvin, Charissa, and Stephen.

This is Calvin and Charissa making their very first snow angels:

Winter in Rochester has been very mild. How ironic given that Baltimore was slammed with snow this year… after we leave! Ha! Don’t you guys miss us?! (j/k :))

Calvin and Charissa haven’t changed too much:

But baby Stephen has! Soon-to-be five months, our little baby boy has started smiling and laughing, rolling over, and enjoying his Bumbo and exersaucer:

Speaking of babies, we recently acquired a new baby…

It is a rebuilt Steinway model B (7 feet) from 1906, an extremely generous and thoughtful house-warming present from Jeremy’s parents. We went down to NYC during Valentine’s weekend and found this baby with the help of Amy, Hamlin, and one of Amy’s Juilliard friends. And for those of you who are into music, this piano was residing in Leon Fleisher’s first apartment! Leon Fleisher! Apparently, this piano was sitting in the exact same spot as Fleisher’s piano. Needless to say, Amy and I lounged in the apartment for a good hour and a half in awe (sort of. I was actually sick as a dog that weekend with a 102.5 fever and a double ear infection… My parents tried to convince me to stay at their place since we dropped off the kiddies there for the trip… but I mean, we drove six hours just to leave the kids with my parents so we can go piano shopping… and it was Valentine’s weekend… which means Jeremy was planning a surprise “food outing” that I know I’d kick myself if I missed it… I was popping Tylenol pills every 4 hours - most likely overdosing since my pee smelled just like Tylenol… Anyway…) I remember when I first started piano, I couldn’t wait to finish practicing. Now that I have my very own instrument, I can’t wait to start practicing! And boy do I need to practice. If any of my Peabody teachers heard me now, they’d say they never knew me

And to conclude my post for today, a little bit of brotherly love!

Some things money can’t buy…

It’s been a while! A lot has happened. But first things first…

I decided to close my Etsy shop. I was very happy that the shop was successful, but not thrilled about how it was overtaking my life. Seriously, I don’t know how other Etsy crafters do it. I felt like a slave to my own customers It wasn’t an easy decision. The Bible is so right about the pitfalls of pride and money (duh!) There’s nothing like people giving you fluffy feedback and buying your stuff to boost your ego and seeing your net profits shoot up to feed that little monster called greed. But I also (almost) equally hate the feelings of stress and guilt. I still remember that moment - I was trying to attach a flower to a dress with Charissa sitting at my feet playing with Calvin’s dinosaurs and baby Stephen laying quietly awake, looking so darn cute. I literally threw up my hands and said to myself, “This Etsy stuff is so not worth my time. I’m going to go play with my kids and cook us some dinner!” (I hadn’t been cooking dinner because I was either too busy sewing or too busy, well, sewing…) I believe that my role as wife and mother comes first before any money-making hobby of mine. And I figured if God has chosen to show me something I can do, He will also show me how to use it for His glory, someday, that won’t involve compromising my responsibilities So I’ve canceled close to $500 in orders, but it’s been worth it Sometimes, it pays to lose money. Here’s to my short-lived venture:

Girlfriends

We were so blessed to have the Liao’s visit us during Thanksgiving. The kids had a blast, and now that they are older, their interactions have also gotten more interesting:

“So glad to see you again my friend!”

“We can dance and play and get along fine…”

“…as long as you don’t take my lambie!”

Adding to the Family

As of last Saturday, I am no longer the only married “child” in my family! Which means, my dreams of becoming an aunt and getting some cousins for C,C, and S are well underway! Seriously, no pressure guys, but you know, it’s easier when you’re youngerrrrrr…

I made Charissa’s flower girl dress and Melinda’s junior bridesmaid dress. I don’t actually have pictures from the weekend wedding extravaganza because I’ve been bad about taking them (but in my defense, I’m completely outnumbered. I don’t have enough limbs for diaper bag, car seat with baby inside, free hand to wipe a dirty mouth, another free hand to drag a screaming child to timeout…)

I also took the time to cut Calvin’s hair. I love you Calvin (talking to future Calvin who may read this), but you seriously look like a dork when your hair gets long And since he would be walking down the aisle with Charissa… Anyway, here are the before and after pictures:

All this for a beautiful and special couple:

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…

Or in Charissa’s case, a spoonful of birthday cake! We all caught a funky bug after the wedding (even poor baby Stephen!) The grandparents threw an early birthday party for Charissa. We were all in our PJ’s. And if you were to only look at the pictures, you’d think it was Calvin’s birthday

For everything else…

…there’s my Amex I just had to do a quickie feature of my first ever Etsy purchase from norajane:

She even included a whole bunch of stamps for C&C! Very generous For those who know me well, I have a weakness for “collecting” (a.k.a. “hoarding”) certain things (pretty socks, pretty duvets, pretty pillows, pretty fabric, good movies, books, to name more than a few.) I think I may have to add her stamps to that list soon…

Hearts! Hearts! Hearts!

Get Thyself to Target

… and grab their awesome silicone bakeware in their “dollar” spot for $2.50 each! I used them to bake some cookie crayon favors (as Charissa likes to call them) for her upcoming birthday party:

I love the snowflake mold:

The snowman mold is actually quite cute. But I would advise making them a uniform color so you don’t get a burn victim like mine on the left (maybe I’ll give it to one of the little boys at the party… they would probably appreciate it more than the girls…):

… and lastly, the tree mold:

Growing up with Charissa…

has grown so much since it opened back in September. It’s been roughly 2.5 months, and since then, we’ve been featured in the online magazine VivaLaModa (page 44):

spotlighted on Etsy’s blog:

and blogged about on several websites. And thanks to being spotlighted for my “Going Platinum” dress, I am now completely swamped with orders. My shop hearts jumped from 194 to 460 within 24 hours. It is all very exciting… but also very tiring. I’ve made and sold 125 items to date. I need a vacation… to not only get ready for my spring collection and very first craft fair in March, but also to organize myself so that this little venture doesn’t overtake my life and consume my every waking moment God first, family second, friends third, and then sewing

And by the way…

Thanks to everyone who sent lovely gifts for baby Stephen and hasn’t received a thank you card yet! I am working on them! Your thoughtfulness has not gone unopened, unused, or unappreciated

Happy Fall Festival!

Or rather, happy extra one hour!… not that it matters to me because I’m up every two hours! Anyway, here’s Calvin and Charissa “posing” together before heading out to the fall festival at Church:

The fall festival is Calvin and Charissa’s first carnival. And they had a blast! While Charissa was content with the ducky pond and cookie, Calvin was busy collecting tickets:

Feel the Love

Calvin and Charissa just adore their little baby brother. Here are some pictures to share (sorry, not a lot of writing here. I am running on very little sleep so my thoughts are not very coherent… that, and I haven’t had time to do anything else worth posting about…)

And finally, a look at all three of our kiddos at one-month of age. Can you tell who is who?

The Little Things

Our current “little thing”:

Labor and Delivery Story
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

I had just pulled out my sewing machine at 8:45 p.m. when I got my first “real” contraction. Since D-Day was still a week away, I didn’t think much of it. But two contractions later (at 9 p.m.), I was putting away my Etsy stuff, writing and leaving notes for whoever was going to house-sit for the night, messaging Jeremy to hurry home from night school, and trying to remember what exactly goes into “the hospital bag”. We managed to find and check into the hospital a little after 10 p.m. After telling the resident doctor to “hurry it up, because my babies come fast” (He asked me for my “story”… I don’t really know what he meant… story of how the baby came about???…), I was rushed into the delivery room where I gave birth to Stephen about 5 minutes later at 10:33 (the resident was like “Whoa, you weren’t kidding when you said your babies come fast!”) Anyway, giving birth with no epidural is seriously painful (Jeremy has the scabs to prove it!) I must say that God is plenty gracious and merciful for giving me short labors!

The Little Things

I was able to put together a couple baby blankets for Stephen before Tuesday. I absolutely love this print and ended up buying the rest of the bolt. Anyway, bundling him up in it made me happy

And check out his rad hat. The nurse on duty brought me three hats to choose from: your typical white and blue, and then this awesome green!

Here are some pictures of Calvin and Charissa with their new baby brother!

It’s so cute, they are constantly telling me that “I looove baby Stephen! He’s cuuute!” I’ve even caught them stroking his head and whispering “It’s okay…” when he’s crying in his crib. Awww! As Jeremy said, having three really makes the family feel complete

Speaking of little things, I got some adorable hair accessories from lollieliciousdesigns the other day. Not only does Charissa love picking out a different one to prance around throughout the day, I also love them because they stay in her hair, which is crucial when you have an active one! Aren’t they pretty?!

Another Family Tree

For those who read my blog regularly, you’ll remember the family tree the kids and I put together one morning with the randomly glued-on macaroni pieces:

As much fun that project was… and cute, with crooked pictures and all, I decided it was time for it to go and be forever only digitally “remembered”. (Plus after hosting playgroup last week, the picture was almost pasta-free, if you get what I mean )

So I’ve been eyeing this particular family tree for the past three or four years now. But the $100 price tag completely derails any temptation to purchase it, even as a gift (I mean, all it is is two frames and some paper…). With all my scrap fabric lying around, I decided to attempt my own version of the poshed-up family tree, but for much less:

For a more “organic” look, I zigzagged the edges of the leaves and flowers. But you can easily have done the project with felt and no sewing… or with colored paper… or even white paper colored in with markers or crayons… but I had fabric scraps…

I spent $8 on two framed cork boards. Why cork? Because I plan on pinning on some fun fabric flowers or little bugs for the kids to “discover”… when I get around to it

You can download my tree template here.

Quickie Updates

Ahhh, better late than never right? I’ve been “busy resting” to hopefully keep myself from going into labor before October 14! As of Tuesday, I’m now at 2 cm. Woohoo! 20% there

Dress-Up is for Boys Too!

Calvin’s been really into dress-up lately. Not the princess-and-tutus kind (thank goodness!), but the Spiderman/ODST kind (truly, he is Jeremy’s son!) He’s pretty creative with his “outfits”, using his school backpack and various toys as his gear pack and silenced SMG:

Fabulous Finds

I love Target. The other day, I spied this tea-light holder in the dollar section, which will work great as intended (holiday table centerpiece?), or as a nicer alternative to the egg-carton paint station:

I’m also thinking of using it as a bead sorter when Charissa gets old enough to make some girly jewelry!

“OMG Mom… what were you thinking?!”

That’s what I imagine my kids will say to me in about 12 years as they flip through our photo album:

Matching outfits… I just couldn’t resist… I finally got around to making Charissa her own little fall tunic, had some extra scrap fabric laying around, and sewed a pair of matching shorts for Calvin and baby (not pictured). My children are going to hate me for this… Anyway…

A Simple Crafty Indulgence

I really stink at knitting. I get so impatient with seeing a final product that the longest scarf I’ve ever made was only about 12 inches. But I did give it a shot and even bought pretty yarn to motivate myself which now sits neglected in a big basket inside my closet. So when I came across this idea, I immediately pulled out my stash and made a few:

And here is a little appreciation doll I made for one of my Etsy store customers posing with the flowers:

Speaking of appreciation, one of my customers sent me a picture of her daughter wearing the dress she bought from my store:

An Attempt

I’m attempting my first-ever online catalog for Growing Up with Charissa. I’m curious to see how it sells. Oh, and if you’re interested, here’s an article on the boutique shop in Ohio that is selling the “My Little Pumpkin Tunic” and “Thankful Hearts Holiday Dress”.

Giveaway!

I’m doing a giveaway on this blog. Make sure you go there and take a look! This wonderful lady is doing a different etsy shop giveaway each week! She is also the owner and creator of lollieliciousdesigns. Her stuff is tres cute!

Coming to a store near you…

Well, not really… unless you live in Columbus, Ohio! I’m working with a local boutique there to sell some of my items (one of which is the very popular “My Little Pumpkin” tunic I blogged about the other day) in her store. So excited!

For My Little Boy

I’ve been so busy with Calvin starting school and my Etsy shop that I’ve neglected to update my blog on a more regular basis. I have a “blog queue” folder… and it has a lot of stuff in it. Anyway, remember that piece of fabric that Calvin picked out himself a while ago? I finally got around to making some pants out of it for him (and it was so easy! Should have made pants a looong time ago…)

The plan is to make a pair for Jeremy and the new baby… so all the boys in the family can rock this awesome print together!

My Etsy store has been doing pretty well. I’ve managed to pay off my sewing machine and nearly all the fabric, tools, and supplies I purchased from the beginning of my sewing adventure. Currently, the “My Little Pumpkin Tunic” has been the biggest seller. Jeremy calls it my cash cow. I’ve made 6 of these so far. I’m sort of sick of making them… not that I don’t enjoy it… but it’s a lot of time spent staring at plaid…

I have so many other ideas I want to try out, but I’m running out of time! I had my first internal a few days ago and the baby’s head is down. He’s also dropped, and I’m 1 cm dilated… I think it’s time to map out the best route to the hospital, get a hospital tour (I’ve really been procrastinating), get those baby diapers, pack my hospital bag, and make an information sheet for whoever needs to initially cover for us when I go into labor. I really hope I don’t end up delivering in the car or something crazy like that!