Still no computer...or pictures.

I've missed my blog! I'm sorry to say that there is, once again, no pictures. Ho hum.

My Husband's computer is currently still my connection to the wide world of webs (is that right?) and sometimes not even then. This is two fold. One: his computer is not exactly reliable. Two: our internet is not exactly reliable.

Then of course there's the daily grind whirlwind of Hurricane Emily and Tornado Elijah.

And Earthtastic! Speaking of Earthtastic! My Mom is my biggest fan. Not gonna lie; I love it! She put in an order of two hundred lip balms last week and needed them by tonight. I've pretty much been going a million miles an hour making sure the order would be completed in time. It was my biggest order yet and I feel pumped for more orders!

I've had the privilege of attending two local farmer's markets in my area and am anxious to go again. Everyone is excited and curious about my lip balms and lotions, which in turn gets me excited because I'm getting my face out there and answering questions about myself and my business. The thought has crossed my mind a number of times to expand my product base to include candles, soaps, and body scrubs. It's all in the works and I'm doing what I can given both my hands are quite closely full of cheerful, noisy children.

Elijah has started reading! He's made his way through the first four of the Bob Books. He started doing while he was in school, lost interest for a short while, but then decided to plow right through them! He can also read (with minimal help) Dr. Seuss's (erm, I mean Theo. LeSieg's) The Eye Book. I'm the proudest Mommy, ever.

I also have learned that Elijah is shockingly good at T-ball. Our neighbors have a daughter named N, who just turned three, and is Elijah's BFF bestie. Anyway, N has a T-ball stand and naturally Elijah wanted to have a go. While Elijah is left handed, he apparently bats right handed. He slammed that ball and it shot across the back yard. N's Mom commented that he must like playing T-ball and I, after having picked my jaw off the ground, told her that was Elijah's first time hitting a ball with a bat. It was then N's Mom's turn to pick her jaw off the ground. We have to wait for him to be five before we can put him in T-ball, but after trying out a trial class for soccer -which he also loved and was fabulous at- he will be starting those classes soon.

Emily has officially entered the jibber-jabber stage. She will talk your ear off; I can hardly ever get a word in! The girl knows what she's saying, as our roommate J put it earlier today, if you don't respond to her, she'll repeat back what she said and most of it will sound the same as it did the first time. She's just so smart, too. While she isn't enunciating, I don't have too difficult of a time figuring out what she's talking about. Em likes to share when she's thrown something away, needs a diaper change, wants something to eat or drink-complete with excited gestures and rapid jibbering. It has been such a delight experiencing her personality emerge. I didn't have any baby dolls lying around because Elijah wasn't ever into it and I didn't want to push it on Emily in case she wasn't either. Well, there are baby dolls everywhere at N's house and Emily is just taken with them. She carries them around, gives them hugs, walks them in strollers... It's just so different from Elijah! I love to watch them play, grow, and change, while fighting back tears of it all happening so fast.

This feeling, however, rapidly disintegrates and morphs into an ugly, hair frazzling fury, leaving me pulling the skin off of my own face out of frustration when I take them into public.

But that's for next time ;)

Unpacking!

Oy, while the move has officially been completed, we are still unpacking! It's been a "one step forward, two steps back" sort of ordeal, what with Emily's "hellion on wheels" mentality. You can see her path of destruction. The door to the DVD rack open, movies in a heap on the floor. A few feet from that, papers torn out of a box that I was attempting to sort through near my desk. Then, just another couple of feet, an empty container laying next to a pile of puffs. This is with in minutes. It's incredible. The phone rings, making lunch, helping Elijah in the bathroom...she chooses her moments carefully.

Psh. Ma's crazy. I'm innocent!

So, the house came with washer and dryer hookups...and while we didn't actually own a washer or dryer, a generous relative had an older set in her garage and let us come pick them up from her-free of charge! Husband didn't really scope them out because, well, they were free so what difference did it make? Let's just say he could have saved himself some backache if he had inspected! The washer was (to put it delicately) ancient and held a load that wouldn't have supported a set of bed sheets. Plus, during the test run, the pipes leaked.

It wasn't the most exciting news that we were in the market for a washing machine; they're sorta expensive. Craigslist didn't have anything that seemed worth it...so Husband and J went shopping while I hung at home with the kids. They came home with a screamin' deal. Who knew that most places don't actually cary most washers in stock and that you have to have them delivered? We certainly didn't! Luckily, they had a washer big enough for what we required, in stock at the warehouse (thankfully close by), and because it was the last one in stock and they weren't planning on getting more in---we received a discount on top of it already being on sale! Now, needless to say, the kids have a new plaything. (Note: The triangular piece of cardboard to the right was deemed a "saw" by Elijah, and a moving box full of toys was successfully dismantled.)

I attended my second craft fair over the weekend. This one was far less "hoppin'" than the last one, I can only assume that's because the first one was a Holiday Fair. And while I didn't sell nearly as much as before, it was almost more exciting because someone recognized me from the Holiday Fair! Also, I was able to visit with a different woman who wanted to sell my lip balms at her cafe across the street from a local ferry, but had accidentally deleted my voicemail when I contacted her so she couldn't return my call. I was sure I had given her my card; regardless, she took down my contact information and I should be hearing from her soon! I'm selling my products at a local consignment shop that's in the complete opposite direction, so I'm super excited to be expanding like this!

A few days ago, I felt like taking a trip to the store. Past experience has taught me that taking the kids out in public is no longer a pleasant affair. Change of scenery seemed crucial, so I took a chance, and planned to leave after Emily's nap. It was a success! I took my sweet time, a whopping hour and a half, browsing through this place of shopping. Elijah, who typically enjoys walking around with me, agreed to stay in the cart because Emily was sitting in there, too. They were so well behaved. No shrieking, throwing binkies, tears, pulling hair, or attitude. Elijah had asked if they "had toys" in this store, and after I told him there were toys, he was anxious to go look at them. I let him know once I finished my shopping, we would go look. So they patiently waited for me to finish collecting the small odds and ends that we needed around the house before browsing through the toys. All by themselves, here is what they picked.

Em's "ba-ba" (baby)

Fire Watch!!!

I am extremely conscious of what sorts of influences are introduced to my kids (movies, toys, clothing, furniture, etc....) but it still amazes me what a "girl" Emily is and what a "boy" Elijah is. Oh, and Elijah totally loves his new watch. He's always telling me that the little hand is on ____ and the big hand is on _____. When I suggested putting a clock on his wall with all of the numbers to better understand telling the time, he told me, "No, Mama. I can tell you the time with my watch." Well okay then :}

Ok, seriously.

I will be better about updating! Perhaps it'll be easier to commit if I can compile all things remotely related to being a mother in this blog. So, from here on out, this is no longer child-specific reading, folks! We're talking all things parenting, crafting, at-home business, and children.

Moving on.

No more do I have to stress about functioning in a 200 sq ft apartment above my mom's garage. For those not up to speed, this is was my living situation during the time of my husband's deployment. However, he's now home and it's no longer necessary. Enter: new living space!!! *confetti*

We just signed the lease, like, less than 48 hours ago, and are slowly moving our stuff into it. I went to the local consignment store to drop off a few items of clothing and some toys and stumbled upon some toddler beds! Hey! I needed two toddler beds! With the store credit I had accumulated from consigning at this place, we scored two toddler beds for a pretty descent price. Space was a mild concern, but! - this worked out just perfectly.

Sneak peek of their room. And Husband.

No, the beds won't actually stay like that. And of course Elijah will have a mattress! But, you get the idea.

It has almost been a year since I started up my own business and really I've learned a lot of things! First and foremost, don't buy an Hp printer! Honestly! I bought that thing less than a year ago and already the ink-something-or-other had a system fail. "Pump Stall", it tells me. Hp couldn't even find that error message in their data base. Just my luck, right? I was only able to find out what exactly went wrong with the thing after trouble shooting on the phone with someone for roughly 45 minutes (after hanging up on the previous person I spoke with. The first guy sounded like he should have been on a surf board somewhere, had no idea what he was talking about, wasn't listening to a word I was saying, and just tried to sell me a new printer on the phone). The printer sits on top of the fridge, where it won't get baby-handled or toddler-stomped and still it breaks. I'm not excited about replacing this thing, but labels have to be printed!

Elijah is entering the name calling phase. Everything and everyone is a "baby butt". I get a kick out of gentle jesting, but we need some boundaries, here. Name calling, talking back, screaming in protest...it all came around a little over a month ago.

Something else he has been doing is expressing disappointment in the ever-so irritating sound of "AWwwwwwWWE!" You know, the loud to instant soft, gradual crescendo. Undoubtedly brought home from school. Not the worst thing, for sure, but still...

I have Emily asleep on my chest as I work out this blog and just now noticed she had a slipper on her head. How did I miss that? It was pressed against my cheek, even. Em is 13 months old and is a walking tornado. Everything gets opened, emptied, thrown, and pushed. She climbs. She stands on tiptoe to reach in drawers. Why put the blocks away? She turns the block box upside down as soon as they've been put away.

Don't be fooled by her delicate innocence.

Aside from being a complete momma's girl, Emily throws a fit when she can't have her way. We're talking serious tantrums. Collapsing to the floor, face first; pick herself up, throw her hands up and flop back down; using her feet to push herself along while her face is on the floor. If I take something from her or try to pick her up to remove her from a place she can't be, she goes limp noodle or arches her back and throws herself back hard enough that she's slipped through my hands once before. I'm afraid I'm going to hurt her but I really gotta hold on tight and lay her on a soft area so she can get the crazy fit out of her system.

More updates soon and hopefully some pictures of the new place as well!