Monday, February 10, 2014

About Nothing

I don't have much to really say, but I'm going to say something anyway. Maybe it'll get the writing juices flowing.

I'm just sitting around thinking about all the crafting activities I want to do. I'm eagerly pinning on pinterest. It's so much fun to see all the readily accessible crafts just waiting for me. I wonder if I'll ever get to any of them. I have so many things I want to do, and there isn't usually an opportunity to do them.

But then that can't really be true, because I've learned to do lots of things lately and I've done them, so who am I kidding... There's time! I just have to get crafting and stop procrastinating.

I've been thinking lately about our Anniversary coming up. I hope we get the weekend to ourselves. I don't just want Friday night alone. I can't believe Tim didn't put in a request for Friday, too. We could have had Friday, Saturday, and a little bit of Sunday. Hm. It's okay, I guess.

Our anniversary is Valentine's Day. This is our 3rd one. It seems like we've been married 1082348723 years though.
Folino Photography


 Happy Valentine's Day (almost!) Don't you just want to kiss those little lips!!!! And pick her up and hold her and hug her?

Thursday, January 16, 2014

New Yearly Goals

The New Year bring new goals! While I may not make resolutions so to speak, I do embark on some "goals" (not sure there is a difference, but...people just don't like the word "resolution").

Even though it's taken me this long to write about it on my blog I have been keeping my goals.

Here's my short list:

Goals for 2014:

No soft drinks

Organize Toys more often (and then teach the younger ones to do it)

Read my Bible in front of my kids.

Pay attention to the words in songs I am singing (esp. at church)

Write More Letters

Drink More Water

Send Out Birthday Cards

*100 Miles Workout* (facebook thing)

Buy a House, or rent an apartment

Build Better Friendships

We've been working on some here and there and not doing obvious ones (like no soft drinks).



Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Christmas 2013


Christmas was good to us this year. We have spent a lot of time up here in Ohio to be with Tim's family. For obvious reasons. It was the best decision we could have made. :)

I think for the first time since we have been married, we felt like as much effort as we put in others, we were given back (not just material things... the more important stuff).  We were well prepared for Christmas; we did most of our shopping earlier in the year. Although, I do have to get one more thing (oops) and then send my sister's presents to her in Kentucky.

Folino Photography

It is hard to swallow the fact that we probably won't be able to have the relationship with some family that we would like to, we just don't have the same goals and personalities to have a deep relationship (but we definitely have an amiable one).

We had to put our foot down about Madeline getting swept under the rug. We got a lot of "she's so young, we won't include her in this or that". That was hard, but it's behind us now.


Christmas morning was nice and calm. We gave the grandparent's our gift before we went to the family Christmas and they really enjoyed it. Practical and sentimental gifts.

Hopefully this year we can start making more traditions.



I did a lot of crafting. I wanted to do some more for friends and family but I just didn't have the stamina with all the kids underfoot. Maddi and Addi orders came before crafting. The good news: now I will have those things done well before next Christmas.



One of our goals was to spend some time bonding with our kids, making relationships deeper, learning to open up and trust more. It worked with some friends, failed with others.


We got to travel down to Kentucky two days after Christmas and were surprised with a big family dinner and gift exchange! It was lovely. There's nothing better than having your whole family bombard you with hugs and kisses and punches!

So, here it is, a late Merry Christmas. 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Things You May Not Have Known

LeAnna tagged me at 10, so here I go.

1. I debated ignoring this. Then I thought that maybe I should write it on my blog to direct traffic there then decided against it. I'll probably copy and paste this and write more! 

2. Earlier this year, I finished reading my first chapter book since 2010. During my senior year at college, I dedicated myself to reading all of the assignments and burned out. I read a few books, then burned out again. I just finished Percy Jackson two nights ago and I'm addicted again. Hopefully it will last!

3. I've made a lot of bad decisions in my past and I have a lot of regrets because of them. I think it's a delayed sense of remorse because for a while I didn't care and then I thought I wouldn't be where I am now. But I think I could have learned to be me without doing some of the things I did.

4. I hate being interrupted. I'll stop talking when it happens and smile and nod the rest of the conversation. Tim says that's part of having a conversation, but I disagree unless it's an exuberant girly fast-paced thing. Actually, I get interrupted almost every time I talk.

5. I bleed blue! UK ALL THE WAY. But I don't care about watching games or if we lose. I just gloat when we win.

6. I don't like passive-aggressive facebook posts, texts, emails, or comments (although I've been guilty before). I do understand it's hard to vent outright when you're friends on FB, or when they are in person and you're not ready for the confrontation. I have made a goal to not do it, and have been pretty successful lately!

7. I'm conceited. When I was a teenager, I had a long conversation with my oldest sister and accepted some facts about myself(in particular; my appearance). I know what I've got and what I don't have and it won't affect me. Ain't nobody got time for insecurity.

8. I've slowly turned from being more democratic and having more liberal opinions to being more republican and having more conservative opinions in the past 4 years. I still struggle with a lot of things, because I want to believe in mainstream acceptance  but I can't argue with God's word. Sometimes I feel ashamed because of it, so I feign disinterest in political conversations and ignore talks or posts or whatnot (even though I read them and get upset or confused or whatever). Then I go to Granddad or Uncle Don or other trusted people and casually ask like I just wanted to know, lol.

9. I don't like living in Ohio. I AM grateful for the relationships I've made here, the church family I have and the family I married into. Most of all, I'm grateful to live with Tim's Grandparent's and see the fine example they live. You can't hide anything when you live with people and I know I've changed so much just seeing how honest and good two people can be. It's such a good living arrangement. To me, it's a flat ugly grey land full of cornfields. Last summer I finally saw beauty here, driving to and from Friends Nursing Home. I couldn't ignore the sun shining brilliantly.

10. I have mommy issues. I can't understand how a mother could put her children through the things my birth mother put us through. I am so grateful for my mom now. She helps me emotionally when I need her, tells me to get over myself when I'm being stubborn. She talks praise about me and brags on me. I just love her.


11. I love taking my kids to the library but I always end up sweating and getting aggravated and rush Sehara to leave. But I don't feel bad, it takes her 5 minutes to pick out a million books. I love to sign Carson and Madeline up for Mommy and Me time there. I've forgotten to do it lately.


12. I love getting family pictures taken. I love photos of myself, my husband, and my children. I love photos of my family and friend. I plan on having full walls! But not in my living room.I need clean lines and walls to not be anxious. Our latest photos have been through Folino Photography. She's amazing!

13. I'm an introvert. I find social gatherings exhausting and cringe at the thought of going and hanging out. Surprising, because I'm great at being around people, I can always strike up a conversation and get people to talk back. I have excellent icebreaker skills too.

14. I have to sleep for a long time after social gatherings. (Church not included) Or be by myself, take a shower, read, put the kids to bed or SOMETHING so I can have a few minutes. I tell Tim that he can't talk to me for an hour.

15. I miss being me. I decided yesterday that I'll just have to create a new me. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

16. I cloth diaper. I breastfeed, and Tim and I co sleep. I love doing all of them. Some days, I despise doing all of them. Then I think about the alternative and I mentally smack myself.

17. I'm selfish. I don't like sharing. I warned Tim before he married me. He married me anyway. Most days, I'm not too bad, then others he looks at me like he's surprised!

18. I honestly love corrective feedback about things. EXCEPT, about my parenting WHEN it's happening. Like in the middle of a tantrum or unhappy screaming kids. I'll sass you if you try to then. But after (and I really mean waaay after) I'm all ears. That doesn't mean I'll do it, or that I'll agree, but I will listen. Unless it's stupid advice. I accept feedback about me, but you have to give me a few days to think about stuff.

19. I married the most wonderful guy in my whole world. I see those articles being posted everywhere about "Boring men" and "Marriage isn't for me" and all those and think; "I've got me one of those men".

20. I'm more negative than positive, but it's an emotional goal I've been working on.

21. I give up something for a whole year, starting New Year's until the next. This year I gave up adding salt to my food (except for when it HAS to be baked into something or goes into a potluck dish). I won't be adding salt to my food anymore. There's no point. I like the taste of my food as is now.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

How To Make Your Cricut Cutting Mat Sticky Again

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CRICUT BOARD STICKY AGAIN

During my darkest moments in some serious frustration with borrowing my church's cricut machine and trying to figure out how on Earth to use it, realizing the main problem was the board not being sticky enough, I realized, wait, there HAS to be a cheap solution for this...

I wanted to throw the thing. The paper kept slipping and the blade was cutting through all my precious tags for MaddiandAddiBowtique.etsy.com but you know, you can't break what ain't yours, and you shouldn't ruin your things either...

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CRICUT BOARD STICKY AGAIN
A basic swagbuck search popped up a lot of different options (Gotta earn those free Starbucks gift cards through swagbucks, link below). One I like best was using Spray Adhesive.




It's so simple, you don't even need pitcures. I even have safe Amazon links for you to click and buy. I'm that good.

Take your board (whatever brand you use, I hear there are a few), cover the frame: the non sticky part around the sticky part. It's important. The rollers go over this part and you don't want the rollers getting sticky stuff on them. I used scotch tape and regretted it, but it's all I had. You can use painting tape, or even cover it with paper.

Spray the adhesive spray around the board. Not too much in one spot (and remember, when it wears off you can always reapply more). If you spray too much in one spot, your paper will really stick. Learn from my experience. ;)  I sprayed the board I use right there on the floor. It isn't messy if you're careful. Easy Peasy.

LET IT DRY completely. It's not sticky until it dries.

Remove your tape and enjoy!






Swagbucks link: swagbucks.com/refer/JenniBrenni
It's a simple, easy way to do some basic polls and surveys to earn free gift cards to your favorite places!

***I'm part of the Amazon Associate Program. If you click on the safe amazon link and buy that item, I get a small percentage, and isn't that nice?!***

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Busy Making Bows

I feel like more often than not, I'm posting about how I neglect my blog.

I've been busy! I have been trying to get my etsy shop up and running and it's a lot of work.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MaddiandAddiBowtique

The Proof is in the Puddin', go ahead and take a look at it.

I realize a few things about myself are as true now as they were years ago: I'm not a photographer. I'm just not. I try and try to get great pictures of my products and I am lacking the eye for it. I've come to terms with it, but it has to be done. It gets frustrating.

I can get caught up in bow making and ignore the noises around me. It's usually a good thing because I work into the night, but if I need to have something done during the day, it can get bad. Kids need supervision. I'm glad Carson is starting to be able to play by himself.

I miss working. I really do. I feel like I need to contribute more financially and I do, I want to, but thinking about leaving my kids is tough.

So, hopefully this bow stuff will kick off!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Carson's Lego Birthday

Here I am posting a little late about Carson's Birthday.
It was pretty good. Super stressful, but worth it in the end.

Plates on the wall: Party City, taped together
Streamers: Party City
Cupcakes: Me
Lego Heads on Cupcakes: Melted Wilton yellow chocolate on mini pretzel sticks
Bunting: Walmart or you can convo MaddiandAddiBowtique.etsy.com and have me make you a fabric one that you can hang on your kid's wall after!

 
Part of the goody bags included these handmade lego notepads that Jeanine basically made for me. I also had the party hats as part because they are a lot to do, and are really special. Big Candy bars were also involved. I didn't have enough time to get legos and bag those up, too. BOO to that.
Kayt decorated the sugar cutout cookies. I ate them all.
 
Keep in mind that I am NOT a photographer and I have is a phone camera.



Birthday boy!

   
He's already 2!






Thursday, September 26, 2013

Munchkin Straws[Amazon Link] !



Who doesn't need these? Perfect for cleaning sippy cup, tumbler cups, and every other little reusable straw you have.
I can't believe I just discovered them.

P.S., I'm part of the amazon associate program. If you click on the link and buy this product, I get paid! :)
Via: Amazon

Friday, September 13, 2013

How To Make Lego Invitations

My little boy is turning 2 on September 18! I'm pretty excited and boy does time fly. 
We are having a lego party for him because let's face it: *I* love legos. We were thinking about Thomas the Tank but we really just don't like the message the show sends to kids.

I used the cricut to make these. I bought the primary color card-stock paper at Walmart.
 Since he is 2, we are making the little "2" brick for invitations. 
I  don't have the shapes cartridge (actually everything is borrowed, cricut and a ton of cartridges), so I used the "Jasmine" cartridge for the rectangle, and I set it to 6". I was able to get 3 rectangles per sheet, if the sheet and machine cooperated together...
I flipped the paper and put in the "Accent Essentials" cartridge and pushed shift and one of the extravagant little circles, making it a plain old circle. I set those to 2 1/2" and got 8 out of the leftover paper. THEN, I was like "oh, these look like big legos" and was able to use the hole-y side for decorations! 
I hot-glued those circles down on the same color rectangle to give it a raised effect, and BOOM, a lego invitation. 
I still have to print off the details, but I'm just going to glue that to the back.
I looked for simple "lego" stickers, but was unable to find them. If I had, I was going to stick them to the tops of the circles to make them look legitimate.

jennibrenni.blogspot.com
jennibrenni.blogspot.com
jennibrenni.blogspot.com
AND there you have it! EASY DIY lego invitations!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

That Post About My Kids...

Here's that blog post where I decide to talk about my kids. It's also where I inadvertently leave out extremely important information about them and regret it later.

Sehara; My Girl; Sugar: She's a self-starter. She gets things done, almost obsessively. She relies heavily on a set schedule, minute by minute. She organizes her clothes in outfits, and folds them as so, or hangs them up as so. She'd put them all in ziploc bags but that's expensive and not very green. She likes to watch t.v. and loves curling up in a blanket during movies.
She's a reader. She can read for days and days, until her body tells her to get up and move... When she reads, she no longer wants a schedule and reluctantly does anything. She needs food, all the time. She has to know that she has food available.
She loves her siblings, deeply, and tries to whisk them away to her room, lay them (Madeline, because Carson is too active) next to her on her bed and read to them or silently. They always fall asleep.
She's a social butterfly, but has a hard time understanding that her friend's have other friends. She loves to spend the night with people. LOVES IT. She feels at home most at my parent's house. It's her house.
She's smart, but has to work on empathy. 
She's an eavesdropper and then will play coy and ask you a question pertaining to what you just talked about to confirm a plan.
She has a freckled nose and hazel eyes. Gorgeous. 
She has "long hair and don't care". Literally, I have to make her take care of that dang hair and I just want to chop it all off and throw it away. And stomp on the trash can with said hair inside and throw it out the window, then go get it and do it all over again. I require her to wear bows and she ditches those immediately.
Her feet stink. No matter how many times she washes them. I don't allow her to touch me with them, and I DON'T have a problem with feet. She inherited my hands and feet and I always feel bad for her because of that.
She's a teacher's pet. I love that.
She can make friends with anybody, any age.
People often ask me if she has ADHD, to which I reply "no". After extensively going to counseling (me) for parenting help, and reading certified ADHD material, no, she's not. Her behavioral issues that could be symptoms of ADHD are, in fact, direct results of inconsistent parenting from me. I did the best I could, though.
She goes to sleep when she's tired and is usually an early riser.
Sehara


Carson; Poochie: My sweet love. My boy. My boy that has to have a routine, as well. He has to have everything in it's place, at all times. He must do the same thing at the same time in order to function and not have a meltdown.
He goes to bed at 8 and wakes up between 7-8:30. 
He's strong, always has been. He gets things, understands people, situations, and sees past stuff to what's really going on. He rarely can be tricked or "fooled".
He always has to have a drink.
He's anxious and has to get used to new things, then he's great at it.
He's so smart. I can't wait to see what he's going to be like later on.
He's directionally adept. You can tell him to "go get that ball over there under that pillow in the corner" and he'll do it. You can point somewhere and say look at that____ and he will, he'll see it. You can explain to him a path to take to get somewhere and draw it with your fingers in the air and he'll go that way. He's amazing.
He has the biggest brown eyes with the longest eyelashes that will melt your heart, he reminds me of Lisa Frank puppy art. He is Tim's mini-me.
He's so loud! He has always been loud, but he keeps getting louder and louder.
He loves to sing. He learns well through singing and can be caught singing whatever comes to mind throughout the day. His favorite songs are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me".
He properly uses "Yes" and "No" words, until this past week anyways....
Carson


Madeline; Sugar Dumpling; Bunny: She's a sweet girl. She has to be motivated to do something. She's needy and will whine until her needs are met (she literally would go on and on). She'd rather sit in the middle of the floor and cry until someone picks her up than crawl over.
She can crawl, kind of.
She has to be touched by people who come in the room. When Daddy gets home from work, he HAS to go over to her and pick her up or she'll kick her legs and cry and stare at him until he physically acknowledges her. One hug and she's fine.
She has blue eyes and long lashes.  She also has my feet. Poor thing. She likes to talk and is serious about her conversations. She's always loved to make noises to people and expects noise back.
She's also serious about her food. She has to be fed, a lot. Surprisingly, she's still a little thing.
Her feet don't grow fast. She can still fit in some newborn shoes.
She's very social, but isn't quick to smile. You have to work for that. She happily wears her headband without a fuss.
She's super sensitive when it comes to people bumping into her or moving her around. If she's happy she doesn't like to be bothered. We had to adjust to having a baby who loved to be cuddled but hated being rocked.  Or jiggled.
This sugar goes to bed late and wakes up late. She'd sleep most of the day away if she could. But she's a light sleeper with a loud brother..
Madeline