Firsts

So this happened...



Yes, those are the ever so famous First Day of School pictures. We take them every year, but this year was different.

In years past, the First Day picture was the two of them together right before we walked to the school. This year is different because they need to be at school at different times. Why? Because this year GG is a big ole middle school kid.

How that happened? I have no idea!

But she looks happy. And she was. She was nervous about being late for class or not being able to open her locker, but she was ready. Last night my attempt to let me walk her up our hill to meet her friends at the top were met with a brush of the hand. I guess being a middle schooler she was too old for her mom to walk her anywhere. Sheesh!

Thirty seconds before leaving, she changed her mind. In other words i walked her up our hill in my yoga pants, hair unbrushed and coffee cup in hand. I was a hot mess but if it made GG feel a little less nervous, I was willing to make the sacrifice.

Little Dude has been ready for weeks. He has said more times than we can count that he was ready to see his friends again and learn new stuff. Being a little nervous as well, he asked me to walk him into school. I haven't received any phone calls from the school so I assume all went well.

Now if only I could get used to having the house to myself for a few hours. I love it, but, good gravy, is it oddly quiet!


Until next time...








New items are being added! I would love it if you gave my shop a visit!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CuppaStitches

Toys and Noise

Too many and too loud. That pretty much describes all the kids stuff in this house of ours. I'm not one to buy my kids a toy every time we go to the store, but in this case I had no choice.

About a month ago I came across myjobchart.com. It's a free site where parents can set up chores for their kids. Kids earn point for each job they do and they can redeem those points for rewards. The website loves to tell you that each point is worth one penny and when enough points are earned, they can be redeemed for toys from Amazon. I know points won't magically get my kids toys. Only a credit card does that. We're trying to watch what we spend, but we let each of the kids pick a few inexpensive retail rewards.

One truck that the Dude picked out happened to be the same one his Pap brought back for him from the beach. Because of that, we let the Dude choose another toy. He picked a dump truck. The first thing I noticed about this dump truck were the buttons. Like many of his other construction vehicles, I knew those little red buttons made noise. Loud noise! I've learned to tune those sounds out so I let him mark that truck as a reward.

On a recent trip to Target I let the kids browse through the toy section. We always browse, but I rarely purchase them something. Don't you know that same truck was at Target. And it was $10 cheaper than the Amazon price. I said I would buy it for him and deduct points from his account when we got home.

Stupidest thing I have ever done!!!

Not only did pushing the buttons on this truck make it beep and vroom, but bumping into it caused it to make noise! We were quite the sight as I precariously carried this truck through the store having it make noise the entire time even though no one was touching the actual truck. Just the box. The noise coming from this thing were so obnoxious that even the Dude asked me to take the batteries out after I opened it!

Once home, it was quite a production trying to get the thing out of the box. Most toys seem to be be secured pretty well in their precious boxes and it was a noisy process trying to cut the truck out! When I finally got the truck out, I did something I never expected to do after opening a noisy toy.

I danced.

A lot.

On the bottom of this truck was a teeny black switch. Do you know what this switch does?

IT SHUTS THE VOLUME OFF!!!!!!!!!

Best

Toy

Ever




Until next time...







New items are being added! I would love it if you gave my shop a visit!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CuppaStitches



A Cup, a Hook, Some Yarn, and a Business

Busy, busy, busy. That's how my summer has been. Trying to keep the kids entertained with day trips while attempting to maintain a somewhat clean house and publishing Macaroni Kid South Hills.

No different than last summer, except for one not so little thing. My Etsy shop!



I've been crocheting for a few years now and quite frankly, I can only make so many things for the family and our house. Gifts for holidays and birthdays are great, but what about the rest of the year?

I've had an Etsy account for a while. I even had a shop name and a few items in it at one point. And I let ig fall tot he wayside. A few months ago, with the encouragement of friends, I decided to give it another go.

Don't get me wrong, I still have lots of crochet stuff in the house. But since I can now call it "inventory", I don't see it as taking up unnecessary space.

Is there a them to my shop? Of course! Crochet! :-)

I have never been one to stick with making just one thing. I've always considered myself a bit ADD when it comes to crafts. Right now I have items for babies, kids, adults and even for the house. Lately I have started making Fall and Christmas items. I hate to rush those seasons, but I do love crocheting things for that time of year.

I would love for you to check out my shop. If there is something you are looking for and I don't have, don't be afraid to contact me on Etsy or shoot me an email (eumbel@gmail.com). I'm always on the look out for new things to make!

Until next time...