Days of Pretend and Reality

Emily is all about taking care of her babies. Within the past few days she has been so focused on caring, feeding, changing, and playing with her baby dolls. Its so adorable. Last night she had to put her doll and Winnie the Pooh in Abby's highchair and feed them spaghetti...it was messy but too cute to stop her!

And Abby is just growing right before my eyes! She is walking with some assistance of her toys and feeding herself. I have to admit her feeding herself breakfast is great. She sits at the counter with her Cheerios and Bananas as I sip my cup of coffee and prepare Emily's breakfast. It's nice to feel so productive in the morning.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!
-Amy

Life Lately

Wow...I swear our days are just flying by. But in a very good way. The girls are becoming better friends and playmates every day. It's fun to witness...but also means I can't let my eyes wander off of them even for a minute.

We spent the day in the city of the weekend to visit with the girl's cousin. It was so much fun. The girls are all about 17 months apart and I am so excited for them to all grow up together.

Our family schedules have been turned upside down a few times in the past week. Mostly due to Hub's work schedule...it's funny how that impacts even the girls. So my time to Blog and that has been very limited non-existent. I've been spending my "extra" time on my Etsy shop
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/MChildrensBoutique)

I have a handful of orders, a few custom ones pending and my Marketing has been created. Here it is:

The girls have been gracious models, and we spend the afternoon yesterday at the park snapping photos. Here are some of my favorite:

Some more "Shop News". I will be working on/creating a Blog just for the shop. I want to keep this one just for family updates and such and not overload it with my Etsy stuff. And soon I will have the Blog updated and the Marketing designer I used will be editing it to match the logo. I'm really excited to see how far all of this will take us. It's a lot of work but I am enjoying it more than I ever knew I would. It''s fun, inspiring, challenging and rewarding. Plus I get to have fun excuses to make stuff for my adorable girls!

The new "Shop" blog is: mchildrensboutique.blogspot.com

Back to the family. The girls are still recouping from our trip to visit their cousin. They were going nonstop and didnt really nap, which for these 2 NEVER happens...they LOVE their sleep. So the past couple of days they have been napping like crazy. As I write this Emily went down for her nap already...about 2 hours early. I hate to say it but I think she is a little under the weather (UGH....I hope its a quick bug!!).

Well, I'm off...little Abby is movin' and a shakin' right now!!

-Amy (yes, I know...I am using real names and not initials)

I'm still here

I know that I've been terrible with my posts these past couple of weeks. But I've been keeping busy. Our schedules have been flip/flopped a few times so I haven't really had much time to sit down by the computer to write. But just like we always do, we are adjusting.

To start off, the business is really getting going. I'm busy fulfilling orders and answering emails. And (drum roll) the first part of the Marketing is complete!

Here it is:

I love it and the day after receiving it I placed it on the shop and currently working on the printing of the business cards.

The girls are doing great! A is walking across all of our furniture...and into everything. It's pretty much impossible to get anything done. The bummer is that we had to lower her crib mattress which has lead to almost no napping for her! She insists on standing and is afraid to get down or "fall" down so instead she hangs on and cries. I really hope its just a phase!

E has been so sweet this week (she was a handful last week). I've been a little "under the weather" and she loves to take care of me. It's so sweet that I almost enjoy not feeling 100%!

My plans are to take the girls out and get some more photos of them in some of my new items that I have been working on. So I should have some super cute pictures to post in the next few days!!

-A

My First Custom Order is Done!

It's DONE!! Yes...that custom order that I talked about a couple of weeks ago is finally done. What was the hold up?! Well the specially chosen fabric had a flaw in it...and I could work around it so I had to have the shop send me a replacement piece. So the fabric arrived last night and I spent the evening completing the order.

The only bummer is...I LOVE it. I love the colors and patterns so much that I'm jealous that some other little cutie will be wearing it instead of my own. But I'm coming to terms with it all. :) Even the Hubs said that our little A needs to have one!

My photos need much improvement but I'm trying.

The above was off my phone...not sure why is so blurred.

Below is the cutest diaper cover ever!! I adore how it turned out. I can just imagine how cute this set will be for the family pictures.

Other news about my Etsy site...my Marketing is still under construction. I realized that I didn't really know what I wanted. So the designer is being amazing and we really hashed it all out and I should have something to share next week!

Well I'm off to work on my next custom order.

-A

Posting from my phone...

I know I've neglected this blog this past week but to be fair i did warn y'all. Things are great we are enjoy our days...and baby cakes finally had her first tooth poke thru. Poor girl has had the worse time with it. here are some pictures I've been taking with my new phone....baby cakes got her mout on my old one and drooled much that it won't turn on.

The Bond Continues to Grow...

Everyday our girls are interacting more and more...and more. I am so amazed the way they play together, and I really do mean play. They race cars together, yes our almost 9 months old is figuring out how to wind up the cars and race them down the hall! 

Then I find them on the floor together chatting...they already seem to have their own language and they go back and forth. Last week I woke up to find them talking to each other from their cribs!

Sometimes A just wants what her big sister has...this can be a toy or her ice cream. Other times E just wants to take care of her little sister. She insists on keeping her safe, especially as A "walks" around the furniture.

I'm so glad that they love each other already. My biggest concern now is that E may "over protect" her. I have to keep a very close eye on her to make sure that she isn't trying to pick her up...or drag her...or feed her food that she isn't ready for yet. But I'll take it, these two light up when they see each other...when A wakes up from naps her big sister comes running and screaming. She always wants to get into the crib with her and give her huge bear hugs. How amazing are these two beauties?!

Welcome September

I can't believe it's September. Man, this year is just flying by...well the past few years have done that. It literally feels like I was just announcing that I was pregnant with our first daughter...how can it be that one is now 2 and our second is almost 9 months old?!

Back on topic. If you've been following my blog (or know me personally) than you know I like to be organized and love to have lists. And while I'm happy to be breaking from Corporate America I do have respect for some of the things I learned during my time. One thing I always did was print off my yearly PMO's, then break them down by month, then post them in my office and cross items off as I completed them. I'm very much a visual person. So I'm going to try and do my own "mommy" version of this each month. I will include Mommy Items, Etsy/Shop items and anything else I deem important.

And this month I am going to share my list with you. I'm not sure if I will always do this but thought by making it public it may also hold me more accountable.

Here's my September To-Do List:

Mommy: (It's first because let's face it, its the most important)

1. Plan play dates with friends
2. Visit the big park, pack a picnic, take pictures of the girls
3. Visit the zoo, another picnic...and feed the giraffe
4. Ride the trolley (E calls it the train) and go to the dinosaur museum 
5. Take 9 month pictures of A

Wife: (Close 2nd to being a Mommy)

1. Plan a date afternoon (lunch together...dinners just seem to hard, maybe we can sneak away during nap time...obviously with a babysitter at home with the girls)
2. Work on Hubs Christmas gift...its a very time consuming gift, sorry can't share don't want him to know what it is

Home:

1. Follow JustMommies cleaning schedule (I know it's a little OCD but it's detailed and I love it)
2. Finish the Masterbed Room...hang items and find a duvet cover
3. Organize girl's room (closets)
4. Canning those awesome veggies coming in from the garden!!!

Shop (Etsy):

1. Update with new Marekting (whoo hoo)
2. Meet with Emily for guidance and some support
3. Have total 25 items listed
4. Ship out first custom order
5. Print business cards
6. Make outfits for girls, take pictures, post to Etsy

Me:

1. Paint my toes nails...aiming to do this once a month.
2. Email friend/old coworkers that I haven't spoken with in months
3. Watch a movie that I want to (no Disney, Pixar, etc)
4. Clean out my closet

I'm excited for September. I have a big list ahead of me and I may or may not get thru it all. My biggest priority is my girls and hubs. So as long as they are healthy, happy and know I love them I will consider it a very productive month!!!

-A