Check Out My Etsy Store

Well, I did it. Last night, I posted six sets of items to my Etsy store (exactly one week after I made a goal of posting items before the end of July). I have more stuff currently in the works and will hopefully be adding more items in the next week or so (unfortunately, we are moving, so packing will take up a good deal of my time I'm sure).

I got my new business cards yesterday from Vista Print and they are too too cute! I think I'm going to make some homemade "happy new baby" cards that I can also sell in my Etsy store (for an additional couple bucks) when people buy a burp cloth or burp cloth & bib set. I'm really excited to get this venture going and am hoping that it does well!

www.whitneyellen77.etsy.com

Burp Cloths Galore

So, I started cutting fabric and sewing today while my darling daughter was taking her nap and am working again now that she's asleep for the night. After much trial and error, I'm finally creating a good enough product to sell, in my opinion, and I'm very excited! I promised myself that I would have at least five separate items for sale in my Etsy store by the end of July, and I think I will be able to have this goal accomplished by the end of June.

I have finished three of the best burp cloths I have ever sewn today and can't wait to post them in my Etsy store - but I am going to wait until I have more of them done so I can have more than one listing in my store. I am also working on smaller baby bibs (than the ones I had originally sewn and posted pics of) in the matching fabrics - I want to create little gift sets (2 burp cloths, 1 burp cloth & matching bib, 2 bibs, etc, etc, etc) that will be perfect for baby shower gifts or just new moms in general in fabrics that aren't typically "baby" fabrics.

So, tomorrow during my "Alone" time, I plan on returning to the fabric store to get a Snaps Plier, as I'm really tired of sewing on snaps to the bibs and want to just be able to pop them on with this handy gadget. I also am running to Old Navy to get some $2 ribbed tank tops (seriously, one of my favorite products that they carry)!!!

2009 Goals

So back in January I believe, I posted a list of goals that I want to achieve in 2009...here's the list:

Keep up my daily blog
Devote some time each week (or possibly day) to my crafts
Start up my own business so that I can make money doing something I love!!!
Buy our first home
Spend more alone time with my husband
Get pregnant (this can only happen once the above two goals have been accomplished)!!
Take a cake decorating class
Go back to school for a medical billing or coding certificate
Get more organized
Exercise more, make healthier meals
Be the best person (mom, wife, friend, fellow human being) I can possibly be in all arenas of my life!!!

Looking over this list, I haven't really accomplished much YET! I've highlighted in yellow the things that I have completed. I have definitely kept up with sewing/crafting, and generally work on it at least one day a week, if not more.

I am a lot more organized than I was at the beginning of the year, I was actually able to get Addie on a normal routine everyday and have pretty much kept up with it! Yay me!

And we are in the process of buying our first home - we close July 2nd and man, is it coming up soon! I can't wait! I already find myself making a large laundry list of all the things I'll want to buy for said new home.

So, here's an updated goals list:

• Write in my blog at least twice a week (I'm finding that trying to write daily is just not happening)
• Not to run my family into debt buying new home purchases (this will take tremendous willpower on both mine and my husbands part)!!
• Read more (I'd like to make a goal of reading at least one book a week)
• Get more time alone (my husband and I are currently taking turns every Saturday for a few hours with the baby, to ensure that each of us is getting time alone to do the things we want to)
• Open up my Etsy store with at least 5 items for sale by the end of July (I just bought a handful of fabrics in which to start up an inventory, now I just need to sit down and sew!!!)
• Start a Garden
• Take a cake decorating class
• Exercise more, eat healthier (this still stands and is even more important now that I'm not breastfeeding as much and thus burning less calories every day).
• Get pregnant (probably sometime after the new year, as I feel that I've finally adjusted to being a stay-at-home mom and I want a little more time to just enjoy being Addie's mom)
• Get a puppy (after we're settled, maybe around Christmastime)
• Go on a family vacation to California

I think that about sums it up right now, I'll keep you posted on my progress!

1001 Books to Read

So my friend Robyn over at Craftivist posted a list of 1001 books to read. I'm not sure from where the list originated, but it has definitely inspired me to want to get back to reading. As I looked over the list, I only found about 50 titles that I had previously read (some for pure pleasure and others for school assignments - for those that don't know me, I majored in English in college). Shocking!


Reading has dropped off the radar for me since I've had my baby (except of course, for parenting articles) and looking over this list reminded me just how much I love reading and that I do miss it. So, my goal is to start reading the books on this list and see many I can actually get through. As long as my daughter is sleeping, I know I will have the privacy (and quiet), and I know that I spend several hours every night watching tv, so I must have the time!


I do find that for me watching tv is usually a backdrop to doing something else, and being a busy mom, I feel the need to always be multi-tasking. Now that it's summer and most of the tv shows are reruns or just stupid, I think it's a great time to do some relaxing with a book in hand. I'll keep you posted on how well it goes.

Road-Tripping with the Heeters

We got back from our whirlwind of a roadtrip Friday evening and I'm still trying to recover I think. Here's the recap: My sister and her hubby and my nephew Tug (who is 3 months older than Addie) flew in Tuesday night from Cali, so we all met at my parent's house for dinner and of course, drinks. Wednesday morning, The Heeters, along with my hungover younger brother Jon (who for all intensive purposes was tricked into going to visit his Grandma while under the influence), came and picked up me and Addie and off we went. Our first stop, Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis, only a little over 400 miles away where my Grandma and Aunt (and most of my dad's relations) live.

Thankfully, they had rented a Kia Sorrento that was large enough to not only accommodate four adults, and two carseats, but also all of the luggage, toys, snacks, and accessories that travelling with toddlers entails. The first day went well, due largely in part to the portable DVD player and Muppet Show DVD's that put the kids in a hypnotic state for much of the ride. We got to Grandma's around 7:15 pm, had a late dinner, and then stayed up playing 5 card draw and shit on your neighbor with nickles after the kids fell asleep.

We left Minneapolis the following morning around 11:00 am and headed down south to Davenport, Iowa (again, over 400 miles away) to visit Tony's Grandma and Uncle. We made good time though (or maybe stopped less) and were there before dinnertime. We got a suite (so my poor brother didn't have to share a bed again with me & Addie), went swimming, and ordered a feast of pizza/pasta/salad/chicken and of course beers and just chilled in the hotel room. Liquor is key to keeping your sanity when travelling with two tired displaced toddlers!

The following morning we went to the Niabi zoo in Rock Island, IL, which was a really great small zoo and the kids had a blast! After the zoo, we went to a beautiful park in Davenport, that reminded me of a mini-Central Park - unfortunately, the kids didn't understand that they couldn't just run into the pond and go for a swim...Addie finally crapped out in my lap and got in a nice little thirty minute nap before we headed off to Famous Dave's with all of Tony's family for a delicious dinner!!! Afterwards, it was time to drive back to Chi-town, and honestly, I thought the shortest drive (probably like 2 and a half hours tops) would have been the easiest...but after no long naps that day and probably being tired of sitting the car, the kids were cracking (Addie in particular). About 40 minutes from home, she started to carry on and worked herself up so much that her face was puffy from all the crying and she was choking on all of her saliva - we had to pull over and try and calm her down. She was fine sitting with me but she wanted absolutely nothing more to do with her car seat...we ended up moving Tug's car seat up a row, and I sat in the way back with Addie to attempt to make her more comfortable, but she didn't stop crying or fall asleep until about fifteen minutes from my parent's house.

It was a great time though overall, it was nice for my Grandma and Aunt to finally meet both of the babies, and I loved spending all of the extra time with my sister and her family. I've always loved roadtrips! It was nice to be off of work for three days too! hehe

Yesterday, after visiting one last time with my sister and her family, Elliott & I had an open house to attend. My friend's from college just bought their first home, so we spent a couple hours there last night eating, drinking, and chasing after Addie (to make sure she wasn't breaking any of their valuables)!!! Needless to say, I was extremely tired today and not really motivated to do much - I watched a Marathon of Crap Reality TV on MTV all afternoon and finally mustered up some energy to sew a new outfit for Addie when she & Elliott took a nap!

Here are some pics from our roadtrip!