The Wonderful World of Boys!

I am always amazed and a bit taken aback when people comment on my sons and what I call their "boyness". Being the 3 boy mom that I am, I have become accustomed to constant noise, battles, messes, strife, and fighting. I think the "boyness" increases exponentially with each new boy added to the mix; so, at 3, we've achieved a fairly high level of boyness. Delicate, fragile things don't last long around here. Every piece of furniture in our home has been put through a rigorous system of tests to insure durability and to be approved for multi-use purposes such as fort building, mountain climbing, and weapons shielding. Every single time I sweep (several times a day) or vacuum, I find Legos, BB's, and Nerf darts. Pictures on the walls are apparently ideal for target practice, when they're not using each other. Quiet times of movie watching or book reading can erupt into a sudden Kung Fu battle or break dancing war. We know the ER docs by name as well as when we can handle the wound without them.
I am often caught in the cross-fire, constantly called upon to referee, and occasionally wounded by them or their weapons. Life as a boy mom is challenging, but beyond that (or in part because of it) it is immensly rewarding. Yes, they fight fiercly but they love fiercely too. They are tremendously protective of their baby brother and even more so of me. They are loyal and brave and kind. The same hands that roughly demolish my attempts at decor also tenderly administer hugs and back rubs when mom is done for. When I am injured, I instantly have three slightly sticky pairs of hands trying to hug the ouchy away.
I know that life will not be easy for them, our society is unfair to men expecting them to behave like women and then decrying them for not being "man" enough. It's socially ok for girls to bag on boys but boys are punished for reciprocating. My duty and joy is to champion my sons, raise them with a fear and love of their Savior, teach them manners, fiercly protect them, educate them, and raise them to be socially responsible MEN.
I know the day is coming when I will be asked to vacate my place as #1 female in their hearts, and pray daily for the women that will take my place. Yes, life as a boymom is heartbreakingly challenging but the rewards are absolutely worth it!
Now, I'm off to play Legos!

Really good Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Ok, so it's not even officially winter yet, but it's rainy and COLD (for So Cal) and very Christmassy! Time to start putting on that winter fat layer that will take all of spring to work off. To that end - here is a great recipe revision that I discovered browsing on the internet! It's a HUGE hit with my kidlets and super simple, but produces amazing cookies.
Are you ready? You take the recipe off the back of the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip bag and make 3 simple changes to it!
First, melt the butter, put it in the mixing bowl, add the sugars to it, and blend for a few minutes to melt the sugars. Then, add the rest of the wet ingredients to this-but wait...you triple the amount of vanilla! Sounds like a lot of vanilla-trust me it's yummy! Continue on with the rest of the standard recipe. When you have finished mixing everything, put the dough in the fridge for about 10 minutes to chill the butter back up, spoon out in 2 TB size plops about 2 " apart and bake according to the package directions. I take them out slightly undercooked and let them sink down into chewy goodnessness! Get out the milk and enjoy!!

Wow-what a day!

Ok, so my only sister has been pregnant with her first child (a girl they were naming Ivy) for the past 41 1/2 weeks. We've all been so excited, she has everything ready, and it's all pink! Being the 3 boymom that I am, I was REALLY excited at the prospect of being able to buy some frilly stuff and had already stocked her shelves with quite a few wares.
She opted for a natural home birth and yesterday started an herbal induction due to an excrutiating rash (pregnancy induced) that she had. All last night we listened for the phone in our sleep yet, ironically, I did not hear it at 5 am when she called to say her water had broken and to ask my advice. So all day my family and I have raced to the phone when it rings and been generally expectant and excited to meet Ivy Malia!
At long last, my brother-in-law calls; Ivy is here!! But...Ivy has a penis! Yep, they have a fully stocked girls room for a boy! ;) I say just shut the door and move to the next room!
God sure does have a sense of humor!

We have a winner!!!

Congratulations to dawnyoung, the winner of the Dribble Bib! Thank you for your participation and comments about Autumn, I loved reading them! Dawnyoung, please contact me with details of where to send your bib!
Thanks again everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The last day for our FREE Dribble Bib contest!

This is the last day to enter, and right now, the odds are lookin' pretty good for the folks who've entered! Contest will end at 9pm PST tonight at which time I will randomly draw a name from those who've commented on the previous post and they will win the bib!! Woohoo!!!
Good luck and thanks for playing!!

CONTEST!!!! Dribble bib giveaway!!!!

Well, I have had a slow couple of weeks with sales so I've been reading and trying to

implement all manner of advice and tips. I've been twittering and posting, blogging and lynking, stumbling and forum posting-most of the time having very little idea what I'm doing. Heck, it took me 5 months on Facebook to figure out the Find Friends feature (it's so much more fun now). I've found some great articles on Etsy and a lot of not so great articles on the web. In fact, I've been spending so much time on promotion that I haven't been doing any sewing, so now I'm faced with a mountain of sewing to be done in order to be ready for that influx of sales that is promised to finally hit me from all my promoting. ;)

This leads me to MY BIG IDEA; I've noticed a lot of people have contests and giveaways and that looks fun, so I am going to have a contest.

Here's how it will work- simply post a comment to this blog answering the question: "What is your favorite Autumn activity?".

The contest will run from 11/3/08-11/24/08 at which point I will randomly select a winner. What will you win you ask?!! The winner will receive this fabulous Child of Privilege Dribble Bib!! Oooohhh, aaaaahhhh!

Bib is Aqua dots on a cocoa background, backed with aqua cotton fabric, and topped with a coordinating vintage button. This pattern is suitable for a boy or girl! Measures approx. 8" X 11".

Good luck and here we go!!

I love Fall!!

Fall has always been my absolute, most favorite time of the year! There's starting to be a coolish snap to the air (interrupted by bouts of 98 degree weather). The 15 leaves on our tiny trees have turned to a yellowish orange and look like they will drop off during the next massive wind. My kids and I have had our annual negotiations over price, type, price, and price of their Halloween costumes. I have put myself in a difficult negotiating position by creating some (in all modesty) fairly amazing costumes in the past with the unfortunate result that my kids now think that I can make anything. So, when I say that a costume is too expensive-they ask me why I can't just make it. And then I wonder, why can't I make their costumes, I do make a living (albeit a modest one) out of sewing and creating things out of fabric. The sad truth is that I am too busy and I would rather pay $27.99 + shipping (each) to have someone else do the work. The result of all this costume musing...I have been feeling more and more like our whole society is getting so busy that we're missing out on the things that matter most: relationships. We tag friends on Facebook and feel like we've had a conversation with an old friend. We send a quick e-mail saying that we need to get together but we're ALWAYS too busy to actually do it. We want everything yesterday because we just do not have time to wait. I am guilty of this but I don't think that it's the way God intended us to live; we are meant to be in relationships and spend time with other people. My kids need me to have time to just hang out with them! So... I am committing myself (with God's help) to doing just that and I encourage you to step off that crazy train with me and let's do lunch.

Busy Weekend

Well this weekend was a very busy one! My brother-in-law and his first wife got married...for the second time...24 years after the first wedding. It rained on the outside wedding, but it was a gentle, pretty rain and we were under canopies that only occasionally dumped ice-cold water down our backs. My hubby was the official photographer and did a great job for his first time, might make a good 6th job for him. ;) This weekend was full of family events and made me realize anew how blessed my kids are to have the experience of both sets of grandparents within 40 minutes and tons of Aunties, Uncles, and cousins so close. I did not have that growing up and I'm so glad they do!
And now it's Monday, back to work!

October 1-7th 100% Donation Item

100% of the profit from these cute shoes will go to World Vision's Disaster Relief Fund!! Fit is a generous 6-12 months.

You can find them in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6008233

First time!

Well, it seems like everybody and their grandmother has a blog these days so I'm jumping off the cliff too!
As I've been trying to find more ways to promote my business, and bring in more web traffic, and do this, and that; I've been struck with how futile it all really is in light of eternity. So, to that end I felt led to make my business (and life) start to count for more than just (barely) increasing my wallet. I decided that I would pick a different charity each month and give them 20% of my total profits for that month plus 100% of a single item each week. I settled on World Vision for my first month, October, because we already have a sponsored child and I really admire all that they do. I then picked their Disaster Relief Fund because there seems to be so much need there right now. I'm really excited to see what God does this month and feel honored to be able to do my tiny part to love people for Him.
This week's (Oct 1-7) 100% Donation item is an Oh so Preppy pair of plaid crossover baby shoes that I designed because baby boys deserve cute things too!