Birthday Bash Winner

Pictured left to right: Suzie - www.splitsecondatl.com, me - www.theenglishpea.com, Allison Hendrix (our winner), Leigh Ann and Kathy - www.thefancybee.com (not pictured is Katie with www.kdcakes.com)

Congratulations to our Birthday Bash Winner! Allison Hendrix walked away with $300 worth of prizes Monday night at The Fancy Bee's 1 year anniversary celebration. Allison has a little girl who will be turning 2 in January. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. She received a $25 gift certificate from The Fancy Bee, a $100 gift certificate to Split Second Photogrpahy, a $100 gift certificate to KD Cakes, and a $75 gift certificate from yours truly. :)

Thanks to all the shops that participated!

Baptismal Blessings

My little niece, Flannery, was baptized this Sunday. Lauren, my sister, and her husband Matt live in Dallas and we obviously were unable to make it. My mother sent these pictures this morning and I had to share them.

I so wish I could have been there to share in this joyous occasion. I never realized how special infant baptism was to me until our little Charlotte was baptized. Regardless of your views on how baptism should be done, if you are a Christian, it is a sweet and very important reminder of the love and grace God bestowed upon us in giving us His Son and our acceptance (or future acceptance) of him.

Flannery wore the gown that all of us girls wore. Charlotte wore the same dress when she was baptized. Flannery also wore the bonnet that I smocked and made for her, which was so special to me.

While I was unable to be there in person, my thoughts and prayers were with them in spirit. Many blessings to Lauren and Matt and to sweet Flannery on her special day. Now we pray and hope that she will one day accept our Lord and receive our faith!

8 Months

Douglass Charles turned 8 months old yesterday. It is hard for me to believe that this year is going by so fast with him. Our little guy has started to pull up on things. Currently, he can only pull up to his knees, but we have found him a few times trying to stand. It is amazing to me that he is already doing this - very different from his sister.

He still is not crawling. It is like he can't get the coordination down. He gets on all fours and can move his arms but can't figure out how to sync up his legs with one movement. This highly frustrates him and when he winds up on his stomach he yells until someone will come and set him on his bum. There is part of me that is dreading the mobility that is soon to happen and a part of me that is ready to see him take off. I hate for him to get so frustrated.

Life has been a blurr lately with planning Charlotte's birthday, sewing projects, filling orders, and a recent layoff at work (which affected me the most because we have one out on maternity leave and the other marketing director works at coorporate 2-3 days a week). I would rather be busy than twiddling my thumbs, so, really no true complaints here.

Looking forward to halloween and hoping the kids will cooperate. It will be fun. Don't forget to utilize your friends and family discount at www.theenglishpea.com. Saturday is the last day to use it. Happy Monday, everyone!

My Little Pumpkin Patch

I cannot get Charlotte to smile. Just getting her to stand there like that was quite a challenge. She was too interested in seeing what the pictures looked like.


I was tickling Charlotte here. This is my little girl - full of life and when she laughs, she laughs hard.


My sweet boy. Do you think he will kill me when he is older and sees himself in this outfit?


The kiddos again - this will remind my mother of a picture she took of my sister and me when we were little. We were basically doing the exact same thing.


And playing commenced... check out Douglass Charles' face. He is having a blast!

I dressed the kids up this morning when I couldn't put errands off any longer. I shot these after we were back and the kiddos still needed lunch. The ones you see are the best I got. I knew better than to try to get them to take decent pictures when they were hungry and tired...

Aren't these outfits adorable. A friend back home has a business where she makes and appliques/monograms children's clothing. Her little venture is called Katie's Creative Creations and you can find her on www.facebook.com/katiescreativecreations. These are so great because they are also reversible (and Charlotte has a pair of paints that go with the top, but they will be for next year). On the other side of the pumpkin the kids have Christmas appliques. Charlotte has ornaments and knowing that Doug would not appreciate the ornaments on his son, Douglass Charles' has a car with a Christmas tree on top. They are too cute and I am so excited that I get to have these matching outfits through Thanksgiving AND Christmas. So... check out Katie's things and enjoy looking at the pictures - which are a small glimpse into the craziness that is called "my life."

American Girl

Today it happened. Charlotte received her first American Girl catalog. I have known for quite some time that I wanted Charlotte to have an American Girl and also knew it was something we would be getting when she was a little older. Obviously, they are marketing to a whole new age group. I was a bit surprised as I looked - or tried to look over Charlotte - to view the catalog. They have SO much now, babies, twins, the traditional dolls, other characters, dogs, and all the accessories. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through it myself - but didn't enjoy the prices.

As for Charlotte, she LOVED the catalog and tried desperately to take the dolls out of the catalog. She would use her fingers and try to scratch the doll at the top like it was a sticker - thinking she could have it this way. So... American Girl dolls are most likely - or should I say definitely - in our future.

I look forward to finding out which is Charlotte's favorite. Thank God I can sew. I will not be buying those crazy clothes for more than I pay for an outfit for Charlotte.

Which is your favorite? I have always had an affinity to Molly. I think it is the dark hair, dark eyes, pigtails, and I love those glasses...

Sibling Interaction

After my quite negative post last week and my discount announcement I realized that I needed some personal more uplifting posts on here. The camera has been empty with no recent pictures lately so I set out to get some this morning of my kiddos at play.

I also wanted to take this time to jot a few things down about each of them, for my rememberance and for my family's enjoyment. So here it goes...

These two have begun interacting more and more. The photo above pretty much sums it up. Charlotte doing what she pleases and Douglass Charles suffering through it. They play well together, but Charlotte tends to think that everything is hers and tends to yell her brother when she decides that something is "MINE" (that is what she says). I normally have to go over and coax her into giving the toy back or letting brother play with it a bit longer.

Douglass Charles is not completely innocent. Charlotte is less than a month away from being two. This being said, there have been many discpline opportunities in our household - and while I am blessed with a pretty compliant child - we certainly have our days and moments. Douglass Charles finds it quite funny when his older sister is disciplined. As she is crying hysterically, he finds this hysterically funny and laughs and laughs at her. What do you do? He doesn't understand.

Douglass Charles is also sitting up very well and is about to take off crawling. He will pull up on both hands and knees and shake his body back and forth. After a while he will begin to fuss because he can't figure out a way to make everything move together so he can get to what he wants. Usually this is when I go in and set him back on his seat again. Unfortunately Charlotte sometimes beats me to the punch and I find her sitting on top of her brother.

The other thing Charlotte loves to do - other than sit on top of Douglass Charles - is just go over and push him over. I feel so badly for him and Charlotte gets chastised for this behavior, but I honestly think she likes the power of seeing him fall backwards. He gets her back, though, with a nice jerk of her hair whenever she comes over to give him a big hug.

Lastly, (and I know there are things I am forgetting) they have started yelling wars. They will both yell at the top of their lungs and see who can be louder. If you are wondering how loud - it is pretty loud. This is mostly done during meal times as they are both in their booseter chairs at the table. They both find this to be too funny and wind up errupting in giggles.

I must say, having a second child - and one so close to the first - has been very challenging. It is also very rewarding and amazing to see how much those two already love one another and love playing together. I look forward to many more sibling interactions in the weeks, months, and years to come. :)

Friends and Family of The English Pea

In an effort to encourage sales before the holidays get too busy, I am offering an incentive for you to go ahead and get your holiday cards and/or gifts printed and shipped with my Friends and Family Discount. Receive 15% off anything in my shop. This does not include custom orders or existing orders (or orders that are already discounted). When purchasing just write "friends and family" in the "message to seller" at checkout. Pay the tab and I will send you a refund for the difference. You have until October 31st to get those orders in so happy shopping and enjoy the savings for being a friend or family member of The English Pea!

{shop here: www.theenglishpea.com}

xoxo

Determined...

After two pieces of apple pie last night, a good night's rest, a good cup of coffee this morning, and asking the Lord and my children for their forgiveness... I am determined to have a better day today. So far so good... The good thing about bad days is that there is always the next day where one can pick up, change their attitude and choose to have a better day. Hope you find yourself having a good Thursday!

I Need A Chill Pill

Or a glass of wine, or better yet, a day off. Today I have been counting the hours until naptime. I am just praying that both children sleep and that I can just lay down. I am exhausted and my patience thin. It honestly is one of those days where I wish I had a family member close by to just come for an hour and watch the kids so I don't totally lose it (those of you that have family close I want you to go ahead right this second and say a prayer of thanks to God for your family that helps you from time to time - you are truly blessed).

I hate days like this and it is days like this that I understand why some mothers struggle with being a mother. I no longer cast judgment on those mothers who turn to other substances to help them "get through it." Believe me, I don't think it is right, but I understand the feelings that bring them to a point where they don't think they can cope. This is a tough job - and ladies who do not have kids yet - they aren't lying. Being a mother is the toughest thing I have ever done.

Have the kids been exceptionally bad? No. It is just rainy, we are stir crazy, and I am sick of watching Calliou. I am tired and that pretty much boils down to the "bad day" and my needing a chill pill.

So after making a post about savoring the little things and being present, I get my first lesson in today where I find it hard to muster the energy to want to be present. Forgive my candidness, but I know I am not the only mommy that feels this way. Honestly, I am thinking of the single mommies right now. At least I do have help in just a few hours when my hubby comes home. Those of you that do this day in and day out on your own... my hats off to you! I truly don't know how you do it!

Savoring the Little Things

My chalk artist - coloring is an obsession of hers right now.


My mover and shaker - this kid is just about to take off. The Johnny Jump Up just lets him feel like he is as big as his sister.


On the move to color some more. :)

Let me just say that this week has kicked my butt. The Daily Candy article has been wonderful for my little business and I have spent most of my evenings and naptimes printing/cutting/and packaging away. I still had other things on my plate - like my job for Chick-fil-A (which has been busy with one co-worker out on maternity leave and the other abroad for two weeks). Keeping this to a 10 hour minimum has been a challenge. So with all this, my lesson this week - or my conviction rather - is to savor the little things.

Sometimes as a mother I feel like I am swirling around doing all this stuff - laundry, groceries, cleaning, feeding, work for Chick-fil-A and myself, and so much more - that I don't even feel like I am "here." I have just realized so much this week the importance of being present in my children's lives. So, this week I decided to take a few more moments coloring with Charlotte, feeding Douglass Charles his bottle in the morning in his room with no distractions, wrestling on the floor a little longer, playing babies and tickling for one more minute and when I do it to be there. Not thinking about that huge, long list of everything that must be done. We all know that the list continues to grow and is never done and as a poem my mother loves to quote (A Song for a Fifth Child)"Babies don't keep." I only have today, tomorrow is not promised and I truly want to be present and savor the little things!

Goodwill Hunting

Hunting was exactly what I was doing last Saturday night as I went digging through the clothes racks at the new Goodwill store up in Hiram. Douglass Charles is growing leaps and bounds and totally skipped 9 month clothing. With the cool snap I was in great need of some clothes for him fast.

Now, I will tell you that I have never shopped at a Goodwill and for those of you turning up your nose go right ahead. The experience was pleasant and as you can see the clothes were decent. Yes, I had to dig to find these things but with my little one growing so quickly I wasn't about to pay too much for clothes. So... we got these things (plus a few others that aren't pictured) for $20 bucks. Yep! twenty dollars. And most of these things were from Gap and Children's Place. Who knew. So thanks to Goodwill and my hunting skills for a quick and cheap way to clothe my youngest son. :)

Is It Time?

Is it time for what you might ask? Well, I need your opinion - my valued reader. This blog is for me but is also for you. Some of you are my dear friends and some of you I have never met before. So... I have been pondering should I start another blog. I know, I have thought this myself, can I really manage two. My dilemna, this blog is so personal and was originally intended for close family and friends. I did blog about my artistic creations and my little business ventures - and still will from time to time. But I am wondering "Is it time" to have a blog dedicated purely to The English Pea? I feel at a crossroads and need your advice so feel free to very honestly comment away. :)

Daily Candy

I am so excited about this feature today and very honored. This is probably the biggest piece of press I have had thus far. It is fun to see others get excited about my little creations. Check it out at http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/atlanta/article/75664/The-English-Pea-Childrens-Stationery

I am looking forward to the holiday season and everything it may hold. I guess we will have to wait and see. Look for a Friends and Family discount coming October 15th and don't forget to enter our Birthday Bash Giveaway by going to www.theenglishpea.com. The odds are really great right now! :) xoxo

{pigtails}

LOVE it, enough said. :)

Turrr!

"Mommy, turrr!"

Kind of scary if you ask me





If you remember my post about turtles flying a few weeks back this post is an add on to that one. While working in the yard last week Doug came across our flying turtle. Yes, the same little guy we had seen only a few weeks before was back and appeared to be living in the back woods. Unfortunately, we have not seen him since and wonder if all of our excitement maybe made him determined to find a new home. Nonetheless, there has been much discussion about "turrrs" in our home as Charlotte constantly talks about them.

It is so fun to see the wonder and amazement on your child's face as they learn about all the wonderful things this world has to offer. It really has to be one of the most rewarding things as a parent - watching your child learn and seeing them relish and enjoy the moment. Thanks Turrr for visiting and for your lessons in nature.

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

Can I just way that my son is growing up way too quickly. It seems like overnight he has turned into this big baby and now he is sitting up riding on his sister's "bike." Doug and I had fun wheeling him around and watching him giggle and wave his arms in delight as he got his first ride on wheels. I pray he prefers horses and not motorcycles. :)

{sleeping beauty}

Doug took this photo last week after he tried to get Charlotte up from her nap. I thought it too sweet not to post. This child doesn't stop very often so it was nice to catch a glimpse of her during her sleep. She seems so grown to me now - especially with the baby here - and it is times like these that I realize that she still - in some ways - is still a baby. Regardless, she is my little angel and looks so sweet while dreaming. :)

Big Time Bath

You can see my reasoning for delaying this particular post. I had to do a little "editing" before I published these to the web. :) Since Douglass Charles is now sitting up I recently decided to put him in the tub with Charlotte. Let me just say these two have a blast and when I am done with them, I am usually pretty wet.

They squeal and splash and Charlotte has so much fun she will quit eating her dinner in order to be sure to take a bath with her brother. It is so fun to finally start to see them really interact - like the yelling wars they began just this week. Too funny!