Busiest... October... EVER!

I have been running a race and losing for a few weeks now.  My house looks awful - Daily 7?  I think not.  I am only stopping to post, because I think it's my therapy!  Here's what I've been up to since my last post...

October 5th was our 8th wedding anniversary.  We didn't get to celebrate that night because I had to work.  I've been doing 2 home visits a night on every night that Jerry doesn't have to be at a football or soccer game.  We DID get to celebrate that weekend by going out to dinner (Olive Garden - took advantage of the fact that we could go out for "messy" food since the kids were with Ooma and Oompa), then to Barnes and Noble to just browse for books (when was the last time we had time to do THAT?), and lastly for dessert at a little place called Amore, where we played Battleship (my victory), and Sorry (my loss). 

I worked hard and put my finishing touches on my Baby Sing and Sign lesson, and taught my first class that same weekend.  I think it was a success, and I can't wait to teach the second class next month to see if any of the families have any great baby signing stories to share!

Last weekend I had a 3 day garage sale which I have been preparing for for months.  I'm so glad that's over and done with.  I got rid of some stuff I don't need anymore, and made some money during the process - always a good thing!  The kids even earned some money by giving some of their toys to the sale, so they got to pick out new toys.  Good lesson for them, and again - more junk out of our house! 

Along with the garage sale on Saturday, the kids and I were in a little fashion show at the "Great Mall" for Shop Baby Kisses - my favorite little boutique for all that is girly.  The girls both wore tutus and little popcorn shirts.  Adorable!  Luke wore some stylin' baseball-themed BabyLegs, and I wore him in an Ergo carrier.  Super fun!

Now, in the midst of all that is Halloween, I am trying to start my business, Bellaney Babycakes.  It's time-consuming, but lots of fun!  I finally got my website together, and now I need to work on my portfolio to take to the two expos I have coming up in two weeks.  Then I need to make a diaper cake or two to show, as well.  Busy mama here! 

Add in a La La's concert, preschool and preschool parties, work meetings, playgroups for work, playdates for fun, 2 doctors appointments, Halloween pictures, Trick or treating, a Halloween parade, and conferences (both for Jerry and for the girls), and you get a PACKED month!

I can't believe that Halloween is only a week away, and I have not put out ANY decorations.  This is so un-like me.  I LOVE Halloween.  I'm just not motivated to put out decor in a house that needs to be cleaned so badly.  Hmm... maybe I should stop writing and get on that.  But first... I'm in need of an ice cream break!

Bellaney Babycakes!

I'm so excited!  I've been working toward this for a while, but I think I'm ready to take this "public".  I've made a few diaper cakes for my friends and sisters-in-law, and now I'm going to try my hand at making this a bit of a business! 

I will post more specifics later, but for right now, I want to post a pic of the diaper cake that I'm MOST excited about.  Up until now, all of my diaper cakes have been made from disposable diapers.  As many of you know, I'm a cloth-diapering mama, so I wanted to make an option for other mama's that put their babies in cloth. 

Here's what I came up with:



This cake is made from 6 Bum Genius 4.0 one size diapers.





As with my disposable diaper cakes, my cloth diaper cakes use only the best ingredients!! 
Bum Genius is a top-of-the-line premium diaper!



The cloth diaper cakes cost more than the disposable ones, however, if you buy a cloth diaper cake, you are providing that lucky mom with a HUGE savings in starting their stash!  She will appreciate it, I promise you!

Keep in mind when looking at these pics, this cake was made with used diapers (my son's), and I will, of course, be using new ones with the cakes that I make to sell.  This was just my practice run.  :)

This is just a 6 diaper cake, however you can really help the new mom by doubling that to 12 and I will make a 2-tier cake. Customers can pick the colors shown here, or the new, fabulous prints shown there.

Expect new pics to come, and I may just start a new blog specifically for this purpose.  Stay tuned!

Fall

Ahhh... my favorite time of the year:

FALL

crisp morning air... changing leaves... wearing jeans... high school and college football games (yes, I said it)... the smell of burning leaves... Halloween... sweatshirts... leaf piles... our anniversary... Thanksgiving... bonfires... pumpkin pie... Christmas shopping... apple picking... snuggling on the couch... new fall line-up on TV... migrating geese... migrating butterflies... chili... jack-o-lanterns... costumes... Daylight Savings... fire in the fire place... crock pot cooking... morning fog...  pumpkins... decorating... burning candles... opening the windows... going for walks... holiday parties...

The list goes on...

What do you like about fall?

The Invisible Woman: Part 2

Thank you to my SIL, Nicki for reminding me of this video.  It's an uplifting message about invisibility.

8 Friends

I love this article from Prevention Magazine online.

8 Friends Every Woman Should Have

1. 
   
   A Childhood Friend
2. 
   
   A New Friend
3. 
   
   A Workout Friend
4. 
   
   A Spiritual Friend
5. 
   
   A Younger Friend
6. 
   
   Your Partner's Friends
7. 
   
   Your Mom
8. 
   
   Yourself

I agree with this list MOSTLY, although I don't think that #5 necessarily has to be YOUNGER - maybe just at a different point in their life.  Also, I'm going to add one:

9. Your Spouse! 

I don't think you can have a successful marriage if your spouse is not one of your very best friends.  Now, maybe this friend wasn't included because not "every woman" is married, however, if they included #6, I think #9 deserves a spot as well. 

I'm glad to say that I have every one of these friends (some of whom are more than one to me), although maybe my workout friends need to step it up a bit! 

*Okay, well I need to add another friend to the list (thanks Chala!)

10: The Specialist Friend

These are the friends that are experts in something that you want to know more about.  You can go to them anytime with questions, and they are more than happy to help you out, or lend a helpful ear when you are working on it for yourself.  Yay for the specialists!

 

The Invisible Woman

Do you ever feel invisible?

i do

There are times, when I swear that the world must just not see me.  Those are the days when:

• 
  
  I get cut off in traffic.
• 
  
  I give a friendly wave or smile to a stranger, and they ignore me.
• 
  
  I say "Excuse me" to get by someone in a crowded place, and they just stand there.
• 
  
  I stand at a store's counter to ask for some help or check out, but no one comes.
• 
  
  Someone butts in front of me in line.
• 
  
  I drop something while my hands are full, and no one helps me or even offers to help pick it up.
• 
  
  I have finished my meal, my kids are restless, and I'm STILL waiting on my check from the waitress.
• 
  
  I have my hands full with a bag, a baby, holding onto a toddler, and trying to keep my preschooler in tow, and a man with nothing in his hands walks right through the door that I was really hoping he would help me with. (Surely he didn't see me, right? No one is that much of a jerk, right?)

The funny thing is, these all seem to happen on the same day.  So, I wonder, are there certain days when I'm actually invisible?

Time in a Bottle?

TIME

There is just not enough.  Not enough time to cherish every moment.  Not enough time to get everything done that you want to.  Not enough time to get everything done that you HAVE to. 

This is what I want for Christmas this year.... TIME.