Car Seat giveaway!

Would you like to win a great safe carseat? This car seat is great for extended rear facing, and will last longer as your child grows! Just go here, and enter for your own chance to win!

Car Seat giveaway!

Hi, my name is Amanda, and I am becoming a hoarder!

Okay, so I've been told that hoarding is the act of keeping things you don't need or won't use. So maybe I'm just taking up too much space in my too small house. I guess I can handle that!
I've recently discovered all the great things on Amazon. Including Amazon Mom. Between the price reductions and coupons, I can't keep these huge packages from showing up on my doorstep!

This was my third delivery this week ::insert embarrassed face:: And that huge bundle of diapers only cost me $1.92. For that price, it's hard to not hoard buy them, right? They WILL be used eventually, and diapers cost a fortune, so I'm saving us money! However, I'm running out of space. Mason has one of the biggest closets in the house, but I'm still running out of room!

I'd like to be able to say that I only stash diapers (and wipes too, I'm guilty of that), but my sewing stash would beg to differ. I have a whole 4 drawer storage container overflowing with fabrics just waiting to be cut and made into something pretty. I guess I'll have to show you my journey towards the craft fairs this year. That should be interesting!

For Dear Maddie

 

Maddie's Story 

I ran across this story today, and I sat here and sobbed. It's the one thing a parent never wants to go through, and this poor couple is going through it FAR too soon. Please pray for them. They need comfort and peace above all else. Today, at their request, Breleigh wore a big pink bow in her hair. And after explaining it was for Maddie, who turned into an angel, she asked "Maddie is in heaven?" and I told her yes. 

You'll be an amazing angel to your parents, Maddie.

Wordless Wednesday

This is what happens when she refuses to take a nap all day!

It's all about the children!

Having two young children, I find myself saying "how" a lot. How will I pay for those diapers? How will I make sure I save enough for college? How will I make sure they're safe? All things we worry about as parents, right? What if I had to worry about where to get clean water to drink, or how to keep them from bad neighbors, or even how I was going to feed them, just once for the whole day? As Americans, some of us don't realize how easy life is for us. Worrying about whether to go through the drivethru, or whether to pick something up at the store for dinner.

As someone who promotes World Vision on a daily basis, I wanted to give a little insight into what sponsoring a child means to these families. For anyone not familiar with World Vision, they are a nonprofit organization who "sponsors" children, supporting the child, his family, and his community. I could go on and on about great their organization is, but if you go to worldvision.org you can read it for yourself. 85% of all monies given to World Vision last year went directly into programs that helped that child and his surrounding community. 

We're given the task where I work (a Christian bookstore) of getting these children sponsored. Last night we finally had another little girl sponsored. It weighs heavily on our hearts when these children sit and don't get sponsored, so I thought this would be a great way to get the word out about this amazing program. On top of all that, you get to interact with your sponsored child. You can send letters, they will send you letters, and you are kept up to date on all of the things happening in your child's life. Proof of your giving, changing this child's life forever. Awesomely, if you sponsor through our store, you get a $20 gift certificate to spend however you choose in the store. I'm also hoping, that if someone who sees this through my blog wants to sponsor a child, I will also be adding in any item that you want from my shop. Be it a wallet, dress, blanket, anything you would like. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. Take some time and go through their website and check out any questions you may have. I'm hoping that my 15 minutes of typing this out will help us get another child sponsored. Get a gift certificate, hand crafted item from my shop, and most importantly - change a child's life. As someone who has supported a child, and being around a lot of families who sponsor children, no one has ever regretted the decision to do so!

Wordless Wednesday!

Do they look alike? ;)

Phew, still alive!

I'd like to say our life is organized chaos, but some might think otherwise! Life with an almost three year old and a two month old is no less than constant craziness fun! Let's see if I can recap without forgetting something important.

Mason had his two month appointment on Thursday. We found out that he went from the 25th percentile in weight to 3rd percentile, and he only weighs 9 pounds 2 ounces. So we were given the option of supplementing with formula, or breastfeed him more. I usually feed him as long as he wants, so it seemed like formula was the only option. But I've decided I'm going to buckle down and make this breastfeeding stuff work, regardless of what I need to do.

Last night was the Superbowl. I LOVE the Superbowl. I love football already, but add awesome commercials, and you've got one of the most awesome entertainment days of the year! And as most of you know, we are a VERY serious Packers household. I had to convince Luke that we didn't have the money for him to fly to Arlington for the Superbowl. So he settled for a Superbowl party instead. We ended up with about 15-20 people, and some of them had to sit on the floor because we had no room! But we had so many yummy treats, and I got a lot of compliments. So I'll take it! We were all decked out in our festive colors, so there was no question as to who we were rooting for!

Before the masses.

The aftermath!

Isn't he adorable? Although the company I took his onesie to to have his name put on, put his name on the front. I was disappointed, but it's still cute!

She was a hit in her dress :) I'm glad I took the time to make it!

Sew organized!

::deep breath:: It's done! It only took me forever a little while, but my sewing and craft stuff has finally been organized in the garage. We jokingly refer to it as "my side" of the garage. Because it takes up the whole side.
For those of you who follow my blog but don't know me, I sew. That's been my "thing" for the last year and a half or so. I've collected far too many yards of fabric and thread that I doubt I'd ever be able to use it all. The ONLY downside to adding our little bundle of joy to our family is the fact that our house no longer has enough room! So when Mason came along, the sewing room was turned into a nursery. There was nowhere else to put all my stuff, so it moved to the garage. The more I thought about it, the better I liked the idea, because when the weather is nice, I can block off the garage, and Breleigh can do craft projects without me having a panic attack over the mess. You can now marvel over our newly reorganized mess craft space!

This is what it looked like for the last couple months.

This is what it looks like now!

In all its glory.

 Sewing maching and way more fabric than anyone needs.

Scrapbooking supplies and paper. 

My candles and holders. Talk about a mess! I have way more candles and things to put them in thank should be allowed!

So now I can get back to sewing. And first on my list is a camera strap for my friend Erin of Erin Danielle photography. She takes amazing photos, and it's the least I can do for taking gorgeous pictures of my little man :)

We survived!

Although very small, we've had quite a few accomplishments this week! I know, it's only Tuesday, but so far so good!
I managed both kids "by myself" on outings. We went to Luke's softball game last night, and my best friend and I took the kids to dinner tonight. They were great! I have to admit, with my two and half year old's strong will, you can NEVER tell how an outing is going to go. But I was pleasantly surprised. Not without a little help from the Fisher Price IXL. If you have younger children, you must get one!


I've also made it one month with exclusively breastfeeding Mason. No supplementing with formula. I was unable to do that with Breleigh (her choice, not mine), so the fact that things are going well now makes me really happy! I won't say it's been easy, because it's one of the most difficult things I've ever done. But the result is worth any reservations I've had about it. Hopefully he starts to gain weight a little more!
I went back to work yesterday. It seemed as though I never left, and the only thing I forgot was my password for the computer.


As for the rest of the week, I intend on finishing up my garage! Every craft and sewing item I have is sitting there in major disarray, and I'm hoping to have it all organized so the kids and I can enjoy the garage and front yard this spring and summer. They can play, and I can get some much needed sewing done! Since none of these accomplishments can be accompanied by a picture, here are my little beauties :)