Peace, Love, & Part-Time Jobs

I keep saying I'm going to do better about keeping you updated since it's summer and I'm off "work". But I seem to be just as busy! I am one of those people that cannot just relax- I have to be busy and I have to feel productive.

Last week I worked on finishing my move to my new classroom- which seems like it will never end. I also had a couple of big orders to work on that had to be finished by the weekend. I posted several new pictures on Facebook, but here is one of the platters from one order...



And here is my newest product to offer- Party Banners!!!!






I had SOOOOO much fun making this. It was an outdoor "splash" party and they used mostly primary colors to decorate with. I can't wait to make some more, so if you are having a party soon- keep me in mind! I make the "Happy Birthday" for $30. They are $35 if you want to include the child's name. They can be made to coordinate with ANY party theme. I can do matching cupcake toppers, party favor tags, etc... to match also.

Michael and I went down to Destin Friday afternoon for a beach photoshoot with this sweet family....






It was a little tricky because they had all the pretty sand dunes roped off.



And I will pretend that we didn't see these tar balls in the sand....




Makes me sick to even think about it.

We ate at the Crab Trap- which is my FAVORITE. We ate right on the beach. When it got dark, the moon was reflecting off the water and I thought it looked pretty neat. So I took a picture!



I got the dates for my Shrimp and Grits trunk show.



I will have the trunk from August 26- September 3. I am looking for a couple more people to host shows during that week. In addition to the Andalusia area, I would love to have someone from the Opp area or another surrounding area so that we can "branch out" a little. Hostesses get 15% of their sales in free clothes. I provide invitations and everything. The fall line is on their website at www.shrimpandgritskids.com. They have some REALLY cute things and I think their prices are great. Most of their smocked bishops are less than $50. They also have some great items for boys! If you want to host a show- let me know so I can mark the date off for you!

I have definitely been making time for this sweet little girl too!







I just love spending the days with her. It's so fun to be able to eat breakfast and lunch with her and to be the one that lays her down for a nap. I love to take her with me when we run errands and I love singing and dancing to singing Elmo in the afternoons. I only wish it could be like this EVERY day of the year!


NOTE- JUNE 29: Thank you Aunt Nay for pointing out my typo from last night. We ate at the CraB Trap, not the Crap Trap, like I previously stated!!!! I'm sure everyone who read that got a laugh. That's what I get for doing this at night when I am sleepy!!! Ha!!!!

Crazy About Crocs

My daughter has a new favorite. She loves her crocs that her Aunt Laura bought her. She wants to wear them all the time. She will go and pull them out and want me to help her put them on.



I'm having to find outfits that they will match so that she can keep them on.




She just loves them!

I've been so busy that I haven't talked a lot about the things she is doing. So I'm going to try to share a few things tonight. I stopped doing the monthly posts at 12 months, because it seemed like a good cut off. But now I'm wishing I had kept going.

Last Wednesday, Annistyn went for her 15-month check-up. She has FINALLY reached 20 pounds! She was 20 lb. 5 ounces- she's not even gained a pound since her 12 month check up. Dr. E says she is perfect though. She still wears a size 3 diaper and wears mostly 9-12 month clothes, even though I have several 6 month size outfits from last summer that still fit. She is tall and lean, so she needs the length of 12 month even though the shoulder area is big on her.



Her eyes are green and her hair is brown and curly. There are curls coming up everywhere!!! If you straiten it out, it's shoulder length, but the longer it gets the curlier it gets!



She is head strong and boy is she sassy!!!!



She is talking a lot. We don't always understand exactly what she is saying, but usually by the 2nd or 3rd try she will get it right. She talks a lot in short sentences, saying things like, "There it is!" and "Let me see it!" She does a good job saying any word that we ask her to say. She likes to make her own decisions and if you ask her a question, she will answer yes or no. And if she says no, she means it. Everything that she likes is, "Ooohhh!!" She loves to kiss. She chased me down today to give me another kiss before I left. She loves to hug and "give love". She still enjoys books, babies, Mickey Mouse, "Do-ra", and Elmo.



She sings ALL the time and can fill in letters in the Alphabet Song. She fills in words to familiar songs. She does the motions to our church songs and loves the Christian Light song. She can "hide it under a bushel" and say "No!" and she does the other verses as well. She is a born dancer. I have no doubts that you will see her on stage in a few years dancing her heart out. She dances like no 15 month old I have ever seen. She has WAY more rhythym than I do and can move her body like her Aunt Shelley. She rolls her arms and shakes her booty. It is embarassing sometimes because if we are eating out and there is music, she has to dance. People stop us to ask us about her dancing and comment on it. I'm telling you- the girl can move! She knows the Hokey Pokey, Shout, Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes, and tons more. She likes to go up on her toes and do her ballet spin. She loves to jump. If you ask her what she wants to eat, she says, "Cheese". Grilled Cheese or Cheese Pizza... that's about all she will eat. We are about 75% potty trained and getting better every day. She is loving the summer and sleeping from 8:00 at night until at least 8:30 or 9 every morning. Some mornings I have had to wake her up around 10:30. She is a lazy little girl.

I know that kind of stuff is probably boring to everybody else (except maybe my Nana!) but I constantly use this to look back and see what she was doing at each month.

In other news, Father's Day went well.

Grandads got this card...



That was the front, the inside was this...



Michael got this card...

Front:



Inside Top...



Inside bottom...



I printed this in a mounted 8 x 10...



And he got a few other things as well.

My dad loved his Harley pictures and this panel I fixed him in a 10 x 20.



I have been busy moving my classroom, which is almost done! I have also been incredibly busy
doing invitations, gifts, and vinyl lettering...





I do a lot of "last minute" gifts- which is funny to me. About 11:00 every night, I get about 2-3 messages wanting a gift for the next day. It never fails! I love it though! I love to do anything that involves arts and crafts! And just so you know, I can almost always have a gift ready for you by the next day if you need it!

I am excited about a photo shoot this Friday here and one in Destin Friday afternoon. I have several beach sessions coming up in the next few weeks so I hope that our beaches stay pretty- not just for that reason, of course. It makes me sick to think about anything happening to our beaches. It's a part of our lives down here- not just a place we visit every now and then. I've been to Mexico, the Bahamas, and NO beaches are prettier than what we have. I want Annistyn to grow up going to the beach like I did.

Well, I'm going to finish a few things before bed. Hope everyone is enjoying their week. I know that I am LOVING my time at home!!!!

A Daddy's Day Tribute

Annistyn wanted to take a few minutes to thank some important men in her life. She has been blessed with not only a great Daddy, but a Grandaddy, a Papa, a Grandaddy Norris, a Pawpaw, a G-Daddy, and a Papa (pronounced Poppy). We couldn't forget Uncle Chad, as well, and lots of Great Uncles! So even though Father's Day gets kind of expensive... she is such a lucky little girl to have so many special men in her life.

Tuesday afternoon, we went to visit Grandaddy and his Harley to take a few pictures.







Slightly different from my "Harley" photoshoot with her last year.....






She loves her Grandaddy and enjoys their time together. He definitely treats her like the queen that she thinks she is. He did the same for me, so I would expect no differently! :)

Last Father's Day, she had a tribute to her Daddy that was a slideshow set to pictures. I really liked the way it turned out and I wanted to do that again this year.

I played with several different songs, but when it all came down to it- the song from last year just fit perfectly.

Even though the song lyrics have not changed, the little girl in the pictures have.

This was her last June...



And here she is now...



So without saying anything else, here is our Father's Day 2010 tribute to Annistyn's wonderful Daddy....



Daddy,
Thank you for taking time every afternoon to play with me and for getting out of bed in the mornings, so I can have your spot. You know you are my favorite member of our family...
Lots of Puppy Kisses,
Finley Dog



Daddy, I am sorry I screamed all the way to Disney World. I had so much fun when we got there. You will always be the first Price Charming in my life.
I love you,
Annistyn






Michael,
I always knew that you would be a good Daddy. I was wrong... you are an AWESOME Daddy. Annistyn loves you so much, you can tell by the way she runs to you and grabs your leg when you walk through the door in the afternoons. I love the fact that you take the time to read to her- even though it's the same story over and over again. I promise, if we ever have another cat, it will NEVER be given a cupcake. I love the way you stayed outside for 30 minutes the other night trying to catch fireflies in a jar so she could see them. I love the way you chased down the lady that made your Christmas stocking when you were little, even though she lives 2 states away now, and had her make the same stocking for Annistyn because you want her to have that special memory too. I know I don't tell you enough, but I thank God every day for blessing me with a wonderful husband and for blessing Annistyn with an awesome Daddy.

I love you,
Shae

Lions & Tigers & Big Bird- Oh my!!!!

Day 2 of our trip was spent at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I have to say that throughout the years, it has remained one of my favorite places to go and visit. It has the best roller coasters of anywhere around. It has never been crowded when we have been there. There are a lot more shady areas and when you get tired of the rides, you can stroll through the animals. because is a full zoo also. This year they had added a new part- Sesame Street Safari of Fun.

The rest of the family joined us on Day 2. Annistyn didn't need a stroller- her grandaddy was there. He was her taxi the whole day.





And don't worry, when he is around, she is the queen. We had not been there 10 minutes when he bought this $15 fan so that she wouldn't sweat. (We had a small fan that we had gotten. I know he didn't think it was big enough.)



We started out by walking through the monkey "reserve". Since she was wearing her monkey outfit, I thought it would be great to take her picture by the monkey statues.

This is what she did instead of saying cheese...




I never did get her to even look at me. She was too fascinated with that monkey and his nose.

She liked the real monkeys too. I know these are not just "monkeys" but I am no expert at distinguishing orangutans from gorillas or whatever. To me, they are all monkeys.

One of them had a birthday, so some of the park workers were throwing a "birthday party". They were tossing Popsicles made of orange slices and some other treats to all the monkeys. We had not been able to see them, but of course, they ran to the glass when the treats started flying down. I was so excited that they did that because Annistyn's eyes about popped out of her head when those monkeys were standing right in front of her. She loved it. It was amazing to watch too.






She made monkey noises the rest of the day and has had a new fascination with them since then.

Annistyn enjoyed Disney World, but the Safari of Fun was ADORABLE.



As soon as we got over there, 2 characters were out for us to meet and take pictures. Of course, she had a fit to go see them. I put her down and she ran over to them just like Mickey and Minnie.




There were tons of kid rides with only 2 or 3 ahead of us in each line.





She even rode this one by herself because I was too tall to get on it. This little girl's mom said she would ride again with her so she wouldn't be alone in the car.



When these characters came out a little later, we went over to meet them. Annistyn loved them too.



We paid $25 to get pictures with Big Bird and Elmo. You had to pay if you wanted to do those. Big Bird was literally about 8 1/2 foot tall. I will try to scan those pictures in later.

Annistyn's hair was curling like crazy in the humidity outside!



There was a nice water play area, several more rides, and a big tree house in the Safari part also. I would recommend it to anyone who is going to be in that area.

While Annistyn napped, Mommy and Daddy got to play! She stayed with her Granmommy (who she calls MeMe sometimes now) and Grandaddy in a cool restaurant and we took our fast passes and rode roller coasters!!!

Now is a good time to add that Annistyn has already been to Busch Gardens and she has been on all the coasters. When we got home from out trip two summers ago, I found out a few weeks later that I was about 4 1/2 weeks pregnant when I was riding all those things. Ha!

We visited more animals and stopped to take some more pictures.



Can you tell how rotten she is in this picture??



She has started putting her hands up like that for pictures.

I like this picture. It takes you a minute before you realize what she looking at. Can you see the giraffe in the background?



Her other favorite spot was the hippo area. Since hippos stay in the water a lot (which is odd to me) you can view them underwater.
This hippo came right up to me for a picture.



Annistyn really liked the fish.
Here she is telling us all about them!



She thought they were so fun!



I like this picture....



I think she really enjoyed Busch Gardens and I hope it is somewhere we can continue to visit as she grows up.





For all you adults that love a good roller coaster- there are 2 that are our favorites. The Montu is a great coaster and it is one of the longest ones I have ever been on. Most of them are really short. This is one of the world's longest. It's a good one!

The other is the SheiKra! We rode it twice in a row with our passes. This one is not for wimps! First, you go 200 ft. up, then you dangle in the air looking down for 4 seconds. Then, you drop at a perfect 90 degree angle. We rode it on our last trip (yes, when I was pregnant and didn't know it!) and it was no less intense this time. I have been on TONS of coasters- I LOVE them. This is the most intense. Something about that feeling of falling 200 ft. and the 90 degree angle... Wow! It's awesome!!!

Well, I'm off to bed. We bought 30 lbs. of fresh shrimp in Pensacola today, so I am pooped from that trip!!!!