On being crafty

Ive never considered myself crafty. I'm surprised I passed home ec. I don't sew, didn't cook (working on this one), and sure as heck never made hair bows before. It took me a year to finally get a little crafty and decide to stop buying bows for Juliana and give making them myself a real shot. Really, the prices for one bow at a boutique are incredibly rid-donk-ulous. Ive paid upwards of $10 for a large bow and Juliana takes it and throws it out of her hair when I'm not looking and it gets lost forever. I was faced with a situation recently of either cutting Juliana's bangs or finding a better way to keep her hair out of her eyes. Being a tad opposed to bangs myself as I'm a little scarred from having the most unattractive bangs growing up (Thanks Mom!), I decided that Id either have to go buy her more bows or make them myself. So, I took a little trip to hobby lobby a couple of days ago and bought an assortment of ribbon and alligator clips (and they were having a 50% off sale on all ribbon... score!). Last night I decided to put what I bought to good use, watched two YouTube videos (so of course I'm an expert now and everything) and gave it a go. I stayed up until 3am and by the time I went to bed, I had made 30 bows. I'm excited to say the least. Some of them turned out a little rough, but I made about 3 that look pretty darn cute. 3 out of 30.. not bad right? Actually... I have no idea what I'm doing.

So here's the finished product. Don't laugh at any of them... its a work in progress!

Needless to say, any tips one has to offer on bow making... or anything cute and crafty (Id like to make Juliana a tutu next. Or maybe headbands), I would certainly appreciate it.

I love having a little girl to dress up.

Rambling on...

Gosh, it seems I never just blog for the sake of blogging anymore. Which I miss. I really miss laying in bed at night and recounting my day. There is just so much that you forget when you dont write it down. Especially me. I do believe I have the absolute worst memory. Maybe not. But it soo feels like it sometimes. I cant remember half the time what I ate for dinner the night before or the name of the people in my classes in school. Anyway...

So a year after I had Juliana (A year and 2 months EXACTLY... ya know, to be exact and all) I am still at home. I have LOVED spending this past year with my children. Ive said it so many times, but I missed out on so much of Noah's first year. And they change so very much in those first twelve months.. Everyday they do something new and I missed quite a lot of that. Working as I nurse, I would leave for work around 6:15 or 6:30 at the latest, before Noah got up for the day. Every day before I left for work I'd tiptoe in Noah's room and make sure he was covered up and rub his head for a minute before leaving. I didnt get off work until 7:30 pm and that had to be one heck of an awesome day because I think I only left twice at 7:30. Most times I left around 8:00 or 8:30 and many nights I had to stay much, much later. Noah was already in bed by then and once again, I would have to tiptoe in, make sure he was covered up, rub his little head, and that was it. Noah of course was his dad's little boy which is great. But I remember one night I came home a little early from work and Noah was still awake. He looked at me and cried. He cried! Not because he wanted me to pick him up but because I was a stranger to him. I was working 5 days a week, atleast 13 hour days and slept a good piece of the day that I was off. I didnt want that to ever happen again. I want to raise my children, I dont want daycare to raise them. I want to potty train my child. Not the teacher at daycare. I want to be there for all their firsts. I dont want to hear it from someone else...

That being said, I know that in order for my family to move forward, the time has come (badum dee dum...) for me to go back to work (though Ive said it before, the time has REALLY come). Ive applied for jobs, spruced up my resume and I'm waiting on a callback. Please pray. My nerves are, at times, on the verge of being shot. The idea of dropping my kids off at daycare and listening to them cry (especially Juliana... Noah warms up quickly) kills me. Though I dread it, I am also excited about this new chapter in my life. I cant wait to stop struggling AS MUCH as we do now. I owe that to my family. I owe it to them to find a job where they can have health insurance (as opposed to right now). I have applied for jobs outside of the hospital setting. While I LOVED (Loved, loved, LOVED, L O V E D!) my friends and coworkers at Trident (Did I mention LOVE) I dont feel like I can go back to being a floor nurse. The daily codes, the MRSA, crash carts, IV pumps, chest tubes, ventilators... nothing I miss. Ive applied at a few rehabilitation centers in the area for third shift (would prefer 1st but there were no openings).

Im ready to get the ball rolling on buying a house and helping to provide for a "better" life for my family. Though, I dont want to forget all my lessons in thriftyness that Ive learned in the past year (and 2 months). Before taking this past year off (and definitely before I started buying my own groceries) Id throw whatever in the shopping cart. Id go for the name brands, the flashy packages. I wouldnt take the time to compare prices and I definitely would not look in the newspaper for deals so that I could price match at Walmart. Anytime I go to the store, I now think on a budget. I dont want to forget that. I dont want to stop asking myself "Do we REALLY need this?"

So ready for new changes, but so not ready to let my children go... *sigh*

To end, I just wanted to post a few recent pictures from a recent mini vacation we went on during labor day weekend to visit the kids grandparents (and my Ma and Pa-in law) at a camground they were staying at. It was great seeing them and I know it was a good change of scenery for all of us. Juliana was quite the little fuss bucket and erupted a shiny new toofy the day after we left.

You know, one of the first things Id like to spend money on after I go back to work is a real vacation for my husband and myself. Thinking now... we've never been on a real vacation together. Things to consider!!