Blessedly Stressed Saturdays With Jenny

Christmas is nearing and the holiday shopping is in full swing.  Lauren and I hit up Kohl's this morning.  I went is simply looking for a coat for my husband.  I left with a lot of items, but not a coat for my husband, one for my oldest daughter, which doesn’t even need one.  I am a BIG online shopper.  I love getting the boxes in the mail – it is like a mini Christmas for me.  I actually apologized to our mailman today for all my boxes.  I drop a lot of boxes off to the post office for ETSY, the mail lady there said I should have my own delivery truck 

I have to say Christmas is my all-time favorite.  I love seeing my children excited from one to fifteen.  I struggle to fall asleep still on Christmas eve.  I am so filled with adrenal, I am usually up first    I love seeing their faces on Christmas morning and watching them open their presents.  It is the one major time I spoil them, other than that I “try” to be frugal throughout the year, but Christmas the rules go out the window. 

 In our surrounding family we all have the understanding the we don’t “buy: gifts, rather spend time together eating, talking, laughing, and visiting.  My husband and I don’t exchange gifts either.  And I make my father-in law’s present and our great friend “Grammie Kath’s” gift too. So, we just buy for our children and I love it that way.  Abby is almost 15!  She no longer is a believer, but the best big sister ever.  She is now in charge of the elves.  This is her second year and I couldn’t be more thrilled that she has taken on the job!

I would have never anticipated that my ETSY shop would have been as crazy as it has been.  I am truly blessed. Click here to visit The Rita Pita Boutique... 

Thank you Jenny for joining us here today! We love what you are creating and sharing with us. Thank you readers for joining us here today we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Blessedly Stressed Saturday

The cold and flu season is officially here in WNY.  Our entire house is sniffling and coughing.  There are drippy noses everywhere I look and crying babies with rosy cheeks.  The bright side is, they are just colds, and soon will pass.  More good news is the snuggles are much snugglier and longer when the babies are not feeling well.  Pink eye may or may not be on the horizon, as it appears as if they have “pushed the cold” into their eye… AKA wiping buggies all over their face during the night.  The doctors will give them a once over tomorrow.

Generally, at this point in the holiday season I have the majority of our Christmas gifts bought, some stashed, some wrapped.  Well, I have a whole lot of nothing going on in that department.  I have been so busy with making doll bathrooms for Christmas gifts it is crazy.  I just purchased over $200.00 worth of doll tubs yesterday.  I am beyond busy, well beyond what I ever would have anticipated as a “holiday rush”.  I am SO glad I got all my non-profit pieces wrapped up before this or I would need to make some type of clone to keep all these shenanigans afloat.   I have everything from a beach theme bathroom set to unicorns.  I will post pictures of the beach theme – keep in mind I haven’t started the tub yet – but that needs some seashell stenciling and needs to be painted.  I just ran out of hours, that’s all.  My favorite part is the decorating – love to see an idea of someone’s come to life. 

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  So hard to believe.  We celebrate at my Father in Laws, I’m just responsible for making macaroni and cheese.  I can handle that for sure.  As long as I have my sister-in law brings her dressing. 

I need to get my shopping on for sure!  Amazon here I come.  I am more of the online price comparison shopper.  But – I also enjoy making and repurposing items for gifts.  Get your craft on!  Be kind! And have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Thank you Jenny! Check out what Jenny has been working on in her Rita Pita Boutique Facebook Page by clicking here 

Thank you for joining us here today we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Blessedly Stressed Saturday with Jenny...

Halloween has come and gone.  More sugar has entered my house, I have consumed a lot, and I have already located all the candy stashes.  We were creative this year.  I said instead of buying five costumes for all the kids, I will make them.  Needless to say, I was finishing them up on Halloween.  Nathan decided last Halloween that he wanted to be a vending machine.  That is how we do it at our house, I don’t know about you, but we were not even walking the streets yet for candy and the kids were already deciding what they wanted to be next year.  Side note, Kate want to be Bob Ross.  Bob Ross you say??? Drawing a blank???  The painter, Bob Ross  If you don’t know look him up, he basically provides you with meditation.  

  Anyway, as I was saying, Nathan a vending machine, Natalie the Lorax, Kate a unicorn, Lauren a truffala tuff, and Abigail a gumball machine.  Now its over, my husband is taking down the decorations (in the dark) and we are off to Thanksgiving festivities.  He is a firm believer in not skipping over Thanksgiving.  We must celebrate it first and acknowledge before jumping right to Christmas.  I like jumping to Christmas though.  I was Christmas shopping today, a little, but I was.

Tomorrow we are off to sectionals for Abigail’s performance in Cross Country.  I am super excited to watch her race.  She has done outstanding and tomorrow should be know different.  She has devoted a lot of her time and energy into herself and her team.  I am so glad that she has made it to sectionals and made All-Stars.

When the big kids are at school I feel like I am constantly chasing babies and picking up messes.  I hear from SO many people that they worry about the mess when the kids lay down, but I don’t want to clean then, that is my time to work.  Much of my time as of lately has been devoted to my ETSY shop, with holiday orders and my non-profit.  When I get those babies to bed after lunch there is no messing around – I get right to work.  After lunch, I take Lauren upstairs, rock her, kiss her toes, sing her a song, and tuck her in.  Then Natty and I rock in her room, read three books, sing a few songs or nursery rhymes.  I love challenging myself with the second verses most people do not know.  Then Natty ALWAYS invites me to lay down with her.  I must take my glasses off first  Her crib gets me 85% of the time. I fall asleep and she get plays.  Sometimes I will wake up to her poking my eye, standing on my head, or today she was pretending to wash my foot. 

I love being here, with my kids and working to impact the little corner of my world.  I am lucky.  Having a big family, with one regular income isn’t always neat, easy, or fun, but we always make it work, we always work together and the love in our house is enormous. Keep safe, keep creating, and keep making happy memories. 

Thank you Jenny! Find out more about what Jenny is up to in her Etsy shop The Rita Pita Boutique by clicking here.

Thank you for joining us here we would love to hear from you so please leave us a comment here or email us at karenmowen@gmail.com 

Blessedly Stressed Saturday with Jenny...

I gave up on sewing a few days ago when I broke three needles in a row and the machine keep on jamming

.  I decided to go out and visit the chickens instead of work.  Remember we live in the village, chickens are sort of against the village code.  There is that pesky rule about having "farm animals".  However, these guys are our pets.  And I, personally, find the neighboring dogs louder that my six chickens and there is that one rooster.  He does crow a lot but It is beyond hysterical.  Did I mention they also just free range just in our backyard? 

Anyway, Abby did end up losing her phone for a good part of the week because of her biology grade.  On a brighter note she place top 3 in her division for XC and made it into the All-Stars.  I am beyond proud of her achievements as a freshman.  Lauren is not walking yet, she has taken literally a step.  I love my Friday mornings with Lauren.  Again, we were able to run around to a bunch of places, Joannes being my favorite.  If you haven't seen it you must go.  They are carrying a new fun cactus print - it is beyond adorable.  I am going to use it for a bed set for the ETSY shop.  I stocked up on the fabric today.  I am also beginning to make blankets for welcome gifts for Project Stork Inc., the non-profit I have started.  I held my first board meeting this past week, which was a huge piece in finalizing all the legal paperwork.  Let me tell you the IRS makes it very difficult to help people. LOL

This week I have been very busy constructing the kids Halloween costumes.  I finished the Lorax for Natty and I am just starting the vending machine costume for Nathan.  Ambitious for just days away.  I hope to make some progress over the weekend.  However, Saturday is pumpkin carving and Sunday is we are going to a play based on the book Bunnicula.  The kids are excited.  Lauren will stay with Grandpa and they will probably just both nap. 

We have had the yucky colds cycle through our crafting home this past week.  Tis the season.  We are having rather inconsistent temperatures in WNY for this time of year.  Oh my first Target Christmas gifts arrived today.  I did it, I bought the new Spin Master Luvabella Doll.  She was too adorable to pass up.  You honestly can not find them ANYWHERE.  If you want one, RUN, find one FAST!  Natty also loves Rapunzel so I grabbed a play dough Rapunzel toy.  We love our dolls and play dough.

Something amazing has started to happen in the mid mornings.  The little girls are PLAYING, like real play, with their baby dolls.  The older girls were never really big "toy players" , more imagination.  They certainly had loads of toys, but they were never interested in them.  So this is exciting stuff for sure!  I also got them the Step 2 baby nursery playset.  Can you tell someone is excited they like baby dolls!  Friends stay safe, try something new, and help someone out today. 

Thank you Jenny! To see what Jenny is up to do check her  Rita Pita Boutique and Etsy shop!

Thank you for joining us here today we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com