My Day and April Rose

Well, I changed my layout again. I feel like my brain has been hiking up Mt. Everest the last few days. But, I'm pretty happy with my blog right now so I think I can take a break.

I also changed my shirt prices on the website today. I had them at $8 at first, then raised it to $10, but I've decided $10 is just a bit too much to charge for them, since they aren't screen printed. They are now $8 for onesies and toddlers and $10 for youth sizes.

I'd like to mention the whole April Rose situation here, since I've been reading so much about it the last few days, and since I had kept up with her blog and prayed for that baby. This woman, Beccah, obviously has some problems. She either did this for money, or did this for attention, but either way, to use people's emotions and steal from them requires there to be something wrong with your brain. My guess is she is a sociopath, similar to Casey Anthony. Sociopaths have no regard to human feelings, because they have no feelings themselves. Any emotion they show is simply them mocking what they see, and trying to imitate others to appear normal. This allows them to do things, such as make up a dying baby and play with people's emotions, or kill their own child, with little to no remorse. I truly hope this woman gets some help, although I'm guessing she won't and will come up with another scam in the future. I am not dissapointed that April Rose does not exist, however, because that is one less suffering baby and family. Our thoughts and prayers were not for nothing... I'm sure they got forwarded on to another baby and family that needs them.

This morning I awoke to no coffee. I talked myself into getting the kids ready and going to Target for some Starbucks and shopping. Target is definitely my bank account's worst enemy! After that I came home to meet the cable guy so he could hook up our new DVR. We ate dinner (pork chops, stir-fry, and brown rice), and the girls went to bed around 7:30. They had a long, no-nap day so I was definitely ready for them to go to sleep. They were really grouchy and uncooperative all day today, I'm really hoping they both wake up on the right side of the bed tomorrow!

I hope you are all having a great week. Sorry I've been a bad, boring blogger lately, I promise I will start posting real posts every day.

Goodnight!

Dirt and Lace Shirts

Check out my new Dirt and Lace Shirts website. I'm not really done with it, but it works for now. I would love to hear your your thoughts, suggestions, and opinions!

Dirt and Lace Shirts

Things that start with P.

I'm sitting at my desk, checking e-mail and looking through clip art, and Summer and Camryn walk in with potatoes.

"Why do you have potatoes?" I ask.

"We're making a pile," Summer answers.

Okay... a potato pile... better check this out, I thought. I go in the kitchen, and there it is, a potato pile.


Better than scattered throughout the house, I suppose. I think a pantry will be our next purchase.

A little while later, I'm finishing up the (super super cute!) shirts I made for Summer and Camryn to wear to my brother's graduation party later today.

(Can't claim these designs, I made them using clip-art I purchased.)

Summer was playing with her kitchen next to me, and Camryn was in the living room. She runs in, naked. I laughed, but then, I remembered in horror that I had smelled poop a few minutes earlier. I got up, ran into the living room, and witnessed the grossest thing I have ever seen. Harley had eaten her poop out of her diaper. I hollered and yelled and ran around in circles because what else do you do when you catch your dog eating your kid's poop?

Flash forward 5 minutes: I had cleaned up Camryn and I was about to put them both in the bathtub.

"Dammit," Camryn said with a smile.

"What did you say?" I asked, thinking she must have said something else.

"Dammit!"

Oops... I'll admit I may have shouted that a few times after witnessing the fecal consumption.

"Camryn, that is a bad word. You shouldn't say that."

"Yea, that's Daddy's word!" Summer shouted.

Needless to say, it's been an interesting day so far. I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Sleepy Kids and Atomic Bananas

I guess as long as they take a nap, it doesn't matter whether they make it to their beds or not!

I had an order to finish yesterday for a friend's co-worker who has two boys. She wanted their names in a font that looks like a tattoo. I think they turned out so cute!


Today I did a few things around the house that we have either put off or haven't gotten to yet. I got the rest of the baseboards in the dining room and living room painted. They look so much better! I also painted over some areas in the half bath that we had touched up. I stained the mantle for the second time to try and darken it up a bit. Then, 8 hours later, which was around 10pm, I painted on the clear coat. I tell ya what... this stuff smells like atomic bananas. It's really giving me a headache. Joe got the basement stair railing up, and got the wood putty put on the molding in the half bath. He also brought home two new toilets he got from work, and an old, big work desk for me to use for my shirt stuff.

Brief rant: There is only so long you can go with an unfinished kitchen and an unfinished bathroom before you start to go a little crazy. Ahhhhh.

Yes, yes, I know... millions of people in the world don't even have running water...

Anyway, time for bed. I'll post pictures tomorrow!

Why, hello there!

I didn't realize how long it has been since I've blogged until I looked at the date of my last post last night. Things have been absolutely crazy around here, with moving and still remodeling, family functions, warm weather to enjoy, and the success of Dirt and Lace Shirts which has taken me by surprise and kept me pretty busy. But I am here now, determined to not let another 6 days go by before I post again!

Saturday, we worked outside almost all day. The exterior of this house, from the siding covered in green whatever the heck it is, to the gravel and underground roots where the landscaping will go, to the weed covered yard, the horrendous shed in the backyard, and porch with remnants of porch carpet and glue..... it's going to be a long process to get everything the way we want it. I mowed the grass and Joe weed-eated. We sprayed Weed-Be-Gone on the front yard. We used our power nozzle on the hose to spray the siding and get it as clean as it can be. We shoveled up rock and dug up roots. It's looking better already. Hopefully very soon we can get some things planted and fix up the porch.

We found a lovely surprise on the side of the house.

Yes, that is a huge Black Widow. It was dead already, but one black widow means more black widows. I think we may have to spray around the house. Ugh.

Yesterday was a really great day. We went to church to see my cousin Richard get confirmed. It was a great service. He did a great job! Summer and Camryn stayed in the nursery for the first time. They didn't mind at all when we left and seemed to have a great time! I hope that is a sign that preschool with be successful. After that we all went to my aunt Susan and uncle Paul's house for a party to celebrate the confirmation and also Rich's 8th grade graduation. We spent most of the day there, eating and having a great time outside. Susan had asked that all of the guests bring a quote, poem, song lyric, written advice, etc. that they wanted to share with Richard. She is going to put them all into a scrapbook for him. I put together a page of quotes for him, I'll share it here, because everyone can use some inspiration every once in awhile:

Richard,

HeRe aRe some quotes that Inspire me. Maybe they will mean something to you as well.

“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” - William James

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” - Scott Adams

“God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest.” - J.G. Holland

“The aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly - that is what each of us is here for.” - Oscar Wilde

“Everyone ought to worship God according to his own inclinations, and not to be constrained by force.” - Flavius Josephus

“Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values.” - Ayn Rand

“It's very dangerous to wave to someone you don't know because, what if they don't have a hand? They'll think you're cocky.” - Mitch Hedberg

Love, Steph

Today I plan on sorting through some boxes and cleaning the house a bit. I might paint some of the trim around the back door because it looks horrible. The girls are being very quiet, so I'd better go check on them. Have a great Monday!

And the winner is...

I just got done figuring up giveaway entries and am about to make a list.

Typing names, assigning numbers...


Going to random.org to generate a random winner.

Entering info...

And the winner is...


BirdsMama!

Congratulations! Your li'l Bird is going to look precious in her shirt. E-mail me at DirtandLace@gmail.com to discuss designs, sizes, etc.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

If you are just so disappointed that you didn't win a shirt for your little one, you can always head over to Dirt and Lace Shirts to place an order :-)

Activity Overload

What a week!

I'll start with Thursday. As soon as Joe got off work, he and his dad loaded up their trucks and they and Joe's friend Kenny moved most of our stuff to the house. We stayed up till 5am, putting things away and getting everything organized.

living room/dining room

Summer and Camryn were really excited to sleep in their new room for the first time, although we hadn't put the bedroom doors back up after painting yet so I had a little trouble keeping them in their room.


Camryn finally passed out in the hallway.


Friday was mostly spent putting more things away and moving more stuff over here. We worked till 6, and then went to Joe's sister Jessica's HS graduation. It was a really nice ceremony, and we got to see Joe's sister Nicole and Xavier, who we hadn't seen for awhile. He has gotten so big!!

(You will notice in all the pictures from here on, Camryn has a cut on her nose. This is from Summer hitting her in the face with the bottom of an aerosol can. )

Nicole and Camryn

Joe's dad and Jessica

All three grandkids!

On Saturday, we got more stuff moved, and the girls played outside with the hose. It wasn't a planned activity, so I ended up stripping them down so they didn't have a 10 lb diaper/pull-up on. They loved it!

Today, we traveled a couple hours away to my Nanaw and Papaw's (dad's parents) house at the lake for a Memorial Day family get-together. It was nice to get away and relax after all the running around and moving we have been doing. Seeing family + good food = good day.

My cousin Olivia and Camryn.

If you can't find my kids, check the snack table.

After a long day, Camryn fell asleep as soon as she layed down tonight.

When I went in to take that picture, Summer asked me to take one of her. Looks like she already had a case of bed hair!


A little while ago, Joe and Kenny finally brought our sectional over here. I just went in and looked at it in the living room. It takes up the entire room, so it looks like we'll be getting a new couch for sure.

***Just a reminder... if you want a chance to win a free Dirt and Lace t-shirt for your kid, or yourself, or to give as a gift, go to this post and leave a comment. The giveaway will last till tomorrow around noon, so you have till then to comment. Don't forget, mentioning the giveaway and linking to the shirt blog will get you an extra entry, and placing an order will get you two!***

You know you want a free shirt.

Dirt and Lace Shirts giveaway!

To kick-off our new business, Dirt and Lace Shirts, my business partner, Amanda, and I are hosting a giveaway. We will be giving one lucky reader any shirt of their choice.

All you have to do is comment on this post. You will receive one entry for your comment. For an extra entry, you can post about the giveaway, with a link to the Dirt and Lace Shirts blog, on your own blog. Make sure if you do that you comment here so I know. Also, anyone who places an order between now and when the contest ends will receive two extra entries.

The contest will go from right now until Monday the 25th. The winner will be announced Monday and the shirt would be shipped within a few days.

Good luck!!

Here I Go Again!

Well... I got three shirt orders today, so here's my new venture:

Dirt and Lace Shirts.

Why not, right?

It's still under construction but I am taking orders if anybody wants one!

A few of you asked for a how-to. I found out how to make the shirts by visiting this link posted by Jenn. Check it out!