Ready, Set, Grand Opening!

Well I am finally launching my little shop. There will be more things to come, but I finally feel like I have enough of this organized to start advertising. I would greatly appreciate it if you would like to spread the word. Please feel free to pass this info on.

Below I have listed all my incentives for my grand opening. I hope you enjoy looking through my little designs and thanks in advance for your encouragement and support. We shall see where this goes.

Grand Opening Incentives:
- Free gift with purchase for the first 25 customers (12 round return address stickers— expires June 31st).
- $5.00 off a purchase of $25.00 or more
- $10.00 off a purchase of $40.00 or more
(both offers expire June 15th)
- Sign up to win a set of Noah’s Ark Prints. Please contact me through etsy with your name and I will announce the winner at www.theenglishpea.etsy.com on June 15th!

xoxo

Romantic Encounter

I wish I had a picture of this and I certainly wish I had been there to witness it. Charlotte had a romantic encounter on our trip to Birmingham. In the neighborhood where my in-laws live there is a little family that lives a few blocks over. For those of you from Atmore, you know of the Dettling family - some of our good family friends. Aaron and Tally Dettling live at Ross Bridge and have two little boys - one Charlotte's age and the other only a few weeks older than Douglass Charles.

Tally and I also have some similiarities - she is the oldest of six children, has one brother, is quite the crafty person, etc. Anyway... when we go to Birmingham now we try to meet up with the Dettlings' at the playground. We haven't been able to make this happen for various reasons. This time, we tried to meet up again, but the rain and Tally getting sick kept it from happening.

While Doug and I were on our date Saturday night, Grandpa and Charlotte decided to go to the Sweet Shop to get ice cream. On the way they had to pass the playground. According to sources Charlotte rounded the corner to where the playground was and this little boy came dashing over to her, arms spread wide, hugged her and kissed her on the mouth. The little boy was James Dettling. So while I am not thrilled about her kissing random boys she meets, she and James apparently hit it off pretty well on the playground that evening. Funny that despite our efforts for the kids to play. They found each other anyway and became fast friends.

Color?

Sorry for my absence over the last week. We went out of town last weekend on one of our annual trips. The Regions Classic is a Senior PGA tournament that is held in Birmingham every year and it just happens to be at the resort where my in-laws live. Doug took Friday off and we left Thursday afternoon and stayed through the weekend. The kids did great, had tons of fun and while we didn't get to watch much golf (it rained all weekend), Doug and I did get a date night which was wonderful (thanks to Doug's parents for keeping the kids).

The kids keep growing and changing and coloring has all the sudden become a favorite activity of Miss Charlotte's. Several days this week she has come up to me, pointed to the colors on the counter, and said "Coyor, Coyor!." So... we have been coloring this week (as well as eating the tips off the markers - Ahhh! When do they quit putting things in their mouths?).

We are off to Atmore this next week with my mother. It will be nice to go home and stay a little while. I just pray the kiddos do okay away from home for longer than a weekend. :)

Mother, Oh Mother

Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

A card arrived this weekend from my mother and this poem was in it. Boy, does my mom understand this poem seeing as she had six children (and did I mention I have the best mother in the world. I truly do). It makes me smile and reminds me that all the work of tending a household will still be there tomorrow but my babies "don't keep."

Mother's Day turned out to be more of a weekend and seemed more special than last. That is probably because I have two children now instead of the one. Doug also did a great job of making me feel special. Friday night we went out to one of my favorite places and I ordered anything I wanted down to my favorite drink. The kids behaved beautifully and we were actually proud of Charlotte for doing so well. Saturday we headed down to Ft. Benning to watch my brother-in-law compete in the Best Ranger Competition and the kids did great then too. Sunday we skipped church. Doug got up with the kids and let me sleep in and he made pancakes. We had a leisurely day and for once both kids took a nap at the same time and slept for the time they were supposed to sleep. This gave me a whole hour and a half to myself which I decided to spend with Doug and smocking.

Lastly, Doug conjured up a great gift. He gave me a scrapbook of my blog. Not only does this mean a lot to me but I know he went through many pains to get it done. When he decided to give this to me he didn't realize he would have to do all the editing himself. Needless to say it took him about a week to complete.

So, now after three days of "celebration," I go back to rocking my children and tending my home and relishing every minute of time I have with my little family.

Is Forever Enough?

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up


Mother's Day is about honoring mothers. Simply, to me, being honored is nice and while I will take all the massages, long bubble baths with my favorite glass of wine, etc, I am honored to be a mother. Charlotte and Douglass Charles I know you will never understand how much I love you until you have your own children but Mommy loves you more than you can ever know. You will always be my babies. My life is better and more complete because of the two of you. Thanks for letting me be your mommy. I am blessed and honored to have you as my own. You will always be loved cause I'm never giving you up.
Love,
Mommy

Twirl, Twirl, Twirl

One of Charlotte's favorite things to do is twirl. All we have to do is say "Twirl, twirl, twirl" in a singsongy voice and she usually goes right to it. You can tell she thinks she looks pretty - probably because I have told her this over and over again.

The above dress is called her twirley dress. Her Nannah brought it to her as a present when Douglass Charles was born. We put it on one afternoon and immediately I could tell she thought she looked sweet. The skirt is a little poofy and it is long. She immediately went into her "twirl, twirl, twirl" for her nannah. It really was precious. So ever since, this dress has donned the name "the twirley dress." Thanks Nannah for the dress and for helping Charlotte to feel like the princess we all know she is. :)

Sneak Peak

Zoo Pack


Whale - I plan to offer single images or you can get the 'Under the Sea' pack with three images.


A flat notecard that can be purchased seperately or added to a birth announcement set as thank you notes.

I have been working diligently to have my designs completed and ready to sell before I head back to work the first of June. I am so excited about them and can't wait to show them off. Those of you that received a birth announcement saw a little of what I am working on (if you haven't gotten yours yet, they are on their way). It has been fun to come up with images and think of ways to use them. I am still tweaking things and some of these images have already been "improved."

I was pleased when I showed them to Doug - I did need a man's opinion on the boy images just in case I made them too feminine. He thought that I had pulled clipart from the internet somewhere. Nope, these are mine. I created them myself (of course that could be a little bad. Some clip are looks horrible). He assured me that he liked them.

So, look for a promotion when I launch my shop hopefully at the end of the month. My goal is to make these affordable for the average person - like myself - who doesn't have a fortune to spend on gifts. Something personalized is always nice and special and if I can make it affordable I feel the average person may be more inclined to buy. We shall see. I welcome any feedback on what you see here. I think you can see where I am going with this. I hope you find them as fun as I do.

My Little Man

He looks like a little golfer in this outfit.


Just chillin in his favorite spot - his bouncy seat.


He looked so cute in this bubble that I monogrammed for him.


Sleeping in his carseat after church - really he naps the best in the car.


He looks a little worried here, but I wanted to try to get a closeup.

The pictures I posted here all came from the last week or so. Douglass Charles has changed so much in the last 9 weeks and it is amazing to see how big he is getting. We checked back on some of Charlotte's records and basically he is the size she was at three months.

Doug mentioned last evening that he could tell I was getting much more attached to him. I asked him why. He said, "You talk about him all the time." I must say that my love for my son seems to grow every day. The same progression happened with Charlotte and by the time she was three months old I thought if I loved her any more I would just burst. I wondered if I would feel the same with my second child and of course I do.

Douglass Charles is doing a little better with sleeping in his crib. We are still enduring our bootcamp but he seems to be able to be a little more content on his own. He still enjoys cuddling with me whenever he can. :) He is cooing and talking more and Charlotte loves it when he tries to talk. She just giggles at him.

One of the cutest things he does that I love is when he is ready to eat and I am getting him ready to take his bottle, he takes his little fists, places them close to his mouth and smacks hims lips with the cutest little face. Once the bottle gets near his mouth he latches for it like a man crazed with his mouth and them claspes it with his fists. He doesn't let those hands leave that bottle until he is about half-way through and sure that I won't take it from him.

On the night sleeping we are so blessed (and probably one of the reasons I feel better - it is amazing what can happen when you get more rest). Last night I awoke several times thinking he should be wanting to eat. He went to sleep at 9:00 and didn't wake until 6:00 a.m. I was shocked and thrilled all at the same time. When this begins to happen one really starts to believe that one day things might get back to normal. The napping, though, needs much work - seeing as an hour nap is a long one for him. I can't complain much, though. I would much rather napping be the problem than him not sleeping at night.

Again, we appreciate all your support and prayers. We thank the Lord for our two little blessings!