We Reached 100 Sales on Etsy!!

Yesterday Anthony and I got our 100th sale! Woot! Our sales have slowed down a lot this month, I am not really sure why that is but we are not all that disappointed as we happen to be super busy with the court and custody stuff going on right now anyways. 

I am so thrilled that we reached 100 sales though it feels like a huge victory and to have reached it this soon, blows my mind. Our shop has only been open for 4 months! I just LOVE making crayons and coming up new ideas! 

I really want to launch my Halloween line that I have been working on, but I can not at this time because it is too rainy, and I take all my pics outside :[ Serious bummer. It has been raining EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for about 3 weeks now here in Florida. There are few days where it does not rain but even on those days it has been very cloudy and the pictures that I have taken, have come out much too dark. So for now, we are sitting on it and hopping the rain will go away and the sun will come out, but there may be no Halloween line this year.

Now about our 100th sale! 

 It was for a 24 pack of these marbled star crayons. 

We will be writing them a special note and giving them a free gift. 

In the note to the seller it stated that these are going to be given out to students in the customers daughter's classroom as fun gifts.

I really hope they all enjoy them!

I Choose to be ME!

I have been doing a lot of looking at what is out there in the way of clothes and fashion since I am planning on re-doing my whole wardrobe over the next year. I have come to the conclusion that I have an odd style. One that most people would call "kidish". I am attracted to bright colors and matching things. Essentially I like to dress like a 12 year old.

Why you may ask? I haven't the slightest clue. It is just what I like. My favorite stores to buy clothes and accessories from are Aeropostale, Claire's, Justice, and Hot Topic. I do not want to look like a child I just want to look like me.

I go though the clothes that is intended for people my age, and I find them very distasteful. I just HATE it all! There are those times when I find something I do like but that does not happen very often.

I do understand that if I wear clothes intended for people that are between the ages of 12 and 16 it will make me look younger and less responsible and I won't be taken as serious as I should be. People will not see me as the grown adult that I am. This is not something that I want and I have considered wearing clothes that I do not like just so people can give me the respect that I deserve, and stop treating me like "some kid". But ultimately I decided I want to be ME. I don't care if that means people think I am a kid, I downright refuse to act or dress like someone that I am not.

I am 21. I know I am still young but I do feel like with the amount I take on everyday and the fact that I work a full time job, have 2 kids, pay bills, and support 3 people, I do deserve a little more respect than to be called a kid or even a teen. I am an adult. I am me. And I just so happen to like the same style clothing that kids and teens wear.

I have decided that I will buy what I like. I will wear what I like, and anyone who has an issue with it.... well that's their issue not mine. Life is just too short. I feel that it is about the way you act not the way you look, I act like an adult therefor I am an adult. Just because I look like I'm 16 does NOT mean I am 16. (This is the age most people guess that I am).

I choose to be ME and no one else and I am going to wear what I like because I like it!

Selling the Old to Buy the New

I have decided it is time to buy new clothes for myself. I have been holding off on this for a long long time. Partly because I gained 10 lbs with my pregnancy and was hoping to lose it before I bought new clothes and partly because I am really bad about not buying stuff for myself - it makes me feel guilty like I should have used the money for Bear or Anthony. But they have everything they need and I don't think I am going to lose this last 10 lbs anytime soon. So here goes!

I do not have lots of money to spend, so to justify it and to make myself feel a little better, I am selling a bunch of stuff on eBay then I plan to use that money to buy new stuff :]

Right now I have 26 items listed and I plan to list more next week. I don't want to sell too many things at once because that will be a lot to handle when it comes time to ship them all out. I currently have listed a bunch of my old clothes that is too small and in great condition. Next week I am going to be listing random things I do not need like some baby things as well as jewelry and maybe some electronics too.

I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to save up at least $200 toward a new wardrobe. I know that is not a lot when you are buying clothes, but I am a serious bargain hunter! and I plan to start with a little and add to it every month. Once I buy new stuff to wear I then want to sell what I have in my closet that still fits (the stuff that I didn't list on eBay because I still need clothes to wear in the meantime), because I am tired of wearing the same things all the time, some of my clothes are literally still hanging around from when I was in high school! 8 years ago!!! After I sell what's in my closet I then want to add to what I bought. Seems like a great plan! I really hope it works! I currently only have one pair of work pants that I have to wear to work 4 times a week and then I have 4 pairs of jeans but I can only wear jeans on Friday. I have about 10 tops and I have been wearing the same 10 for over 2 years now. So I am PRETTY tired of them! lol And my jacket... well lets just say I have been wearing the same one for four years now and it has 3 giant fraying holes in it, but I still wear it because I could not bring myself to buy a new one.

Anyways, here's to hoping I can re-do my whole wardrobe, not dent my wallet, and not feel bad about it either! I will do a follow up post about the stuff I sell on eBay and the new clothes I buy :]

Have a great Monday!

Baby's First Foods Part 1

Bear has really started to LOVE food! At first he had a few problems with spitting it out and then he had issues with not knowing when to open his mouth but now he's a pro! He sees us eating and knows we have food and will scream and cry unless we give him some too, of coarse he can't eat what we have so we give him some of his food. Here are the very first foods we tried with him in order:

Rice Cereal mixed with apple sauce. This is one of the only "face making" foods I tried so far! This boy does not seem to make faces when he eats! He just loves it all and eats it all :] Despite the face, he does like this and loves to eat it. He does not like rice cereal with water though I think it is too bland for him.

Vanilla Yogurt. I was eating this and he started screaming cuz he wanted some, he LOVED it! and he screamed every time I didn't give him more.

Carrots. The first veggie he tried. Loved it as well. Ate it all up with zero complaints.

Bananas! He loved those too!

Squash. All smiles! 

Oatmeal Cereal. This is the first thing that we tried that he just does not like. I tried it mixed with applesauce and he kinda ate it but was not really interested at all and kept crying after every other bite. We have tried this two times now, I may try it again a few more times to see if he has changed his mind, I read on Gerber's site it could take up to 10 tries to get a baby to accept a new food. 

Friday's Letters

Link up!

Dear Bear, I am having so much fun with you these days! Trying new foods, playing with toys, and just watching you grow. You truly are the light of my life, you keep me going everyday. I do it all for you. Dear Anthony, I feel that our relationship is growing everyday. I love spending time with you, even if we only get about 45 minutes together a day. I really cherish those moments. I really wish you would flip you sleep cycle so we could hang out on the weekend more, rather than you sleeping all day :[ Dear Etsy, you are working me to death! But you are so worth it! Keep it coming! Dear dude who decided to make a Dunkin' Donuts in the city I live in, I want to thank you and scream at you at the same time! I am officially addicted to that place and I love it but my wallet and diet are suffering lol! Dear Florida, I know it is PLEASE stop raining! I need to take pictures of new products to list on Etsy! And you better not bring on any erratic cold weather anytime soon! Dear Seth, I am very scared to start visitation with you. But at the same time I am very exited. I can not wait to see what an amazing little boy you have grown into.

My Daily Routine

A day in my shoes (This is broad, but close to how my day goes typically):

5:30 AM - 1st alarm goes off... I ignore it

6:00 AM - 2nd alarm goes off... I hit snooze 30 times

7:15 AM - Get out of bed and start getting ready for work

7:35 AM - 1st attempt to wake up Anthony

7:45 AM - By now I am 90% ready for work, 2nd attempt to wake up Anthony

7:50 AM - 3rd attempt to wake up Anthony (he usually gets up on the third try)

7:55 AM - Anthony drives me to work, Bear in tow

8:07 AM - Arrive at work (LATE, like always)

2:00 PM - Either go home to work on Etsy orders for my hour lunch break or take an hour to run errands (or skip my lunch break all together and just work through it at work)

3:00 PM - Arrive back at work

5:00 PM - Go home from work

5:10 PM - Arrive at home and get overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I need to do

5:20 PM - Feed Bear dinner

5:40 PM - Clean the kitchen

6:00 PM - Cook dinner

7:00 PM - Sit down to eat dinner and watch a show, either put Bear in his high chair with a snack he can feed himself or put him to bed if he is too fussy

7:45 PM - Put Bear to bed if he is still up, then clean up from dinner

8:15 PM - Get online and check Etsy for new messages or activity and maybe hop on Facebook for a few minutes

8:30 PM - Get a shower

9:00 PM - Start working on Etsy orders

10:00 PM - Drink coffee

1:30 AM - Pass out on the couch

3:30 AM - Get woken by Anthony telling me he's going to bed and move from the couch to the bed

5:30 AM- Lather, rinse, repeat!

Bear Update! (22-35 Weeks Old!)

22-35 Weeks! 6-8 Months old!

So here is the big update on Bear from the time that I was away from my blog.

This little guy has grown so much! He is now about 18 lbs. Wears a size 3 diaper, and size 3-6 months clothes. He also fits in some size 6-9 months clothes. He still is wearing a size 1 shoe. 

Developmentally he has developed A LOT! He is now saying Mama, Baba, Dada, and Nana. He does not yet know what they mean but he is saying them all the time. He is now attached me Anthony and I and recognizes that we are his mom and dad. He prefers us over anyone else. He gets the concept of when something is hiding, it is not gone, and he looks around for it. He loves toys especially ones that make noise and light up. And the boy also loves him some cartoons! I mean seriously I have never seen a baby that was so interested in cartoons before. He cries for us to turn on the TV when it is off. 

Physically he has developed a lot as well! At around 7 months he became very mobile he scoots everywhere! All the time! He even follows me around the house it is just the cutest thing! He started to sit unaided at 7.5 months and then pulled to his knees a few days later! Not but a few days after that he started to pull to a stand. He is wobbley still with his pulling to a stand and he is falling a lot but he is getting better and better! He still has not figured out how to walk in his walker.

He found his feet and grabs them all the time now.

His personality has really started to show now too! He is happy a lot and smiles at everything! He does get clingy sometimes but for the most part he loves everyone and smiles with everyone. He is just the sweetest thing!

He now is grabbing everything all the time. He does not give up easily like he used to, now if he wants something and we take it he will scream for us to give it back. He always wants what mommy and daddy has.

I think he is starting to look more and more like his daddy everyday. Some people agree and others say he looks just like me. Who knows? lol

He is eating 6 oz of formula every 2-4 hours and we are feeding him 2 jars of baby food a day. When Anthony and I have dinner we are putting him in his highchair and giving him a snack of finger-foods that he can feed himself. At this time we have only given him Gerber Biter Biscuits but we are going to try some other finger foods later this week (I am super exited!). We do this because every time he sees us eating he screams for our food, even if he just ate. The boy loves him some food!

He is now sleeping though the night and no longer uses a swaddle! He knows how to put his binky in his mouth now so if he does wake up in the night he can put it back in himself, unless he lost it, then we have to come look for it lol.

Health is all good! He does have a rash all over his knees that he has for almost 2-3 months now. He had it last time at the doctors visit and she said it was a common rash. I do plan to ask her about it again when we go there for his next round of shots at 9 months. But all in all, my sweet boy is doing great!