And Then There Were Three!

Stop beating down my blogverbial doors! I'll give you the synopsis on our third and last child now!

Miriam was born end of March last year. I can't believe she is nine months old already. She has been our joy, truly the best-natured, happiest baby I've known, which I'm sure will come back and bite me on the arse when she is a teenager, hehehe.

Gulp.

Really, though, when you know this is your last baby, it sure is nice for that baby to be fun and a joy to be around. Miri is just so happy with life. Well, unless she is tired, hungry, or teething - but who isn't cranky in those situations?

She crawls like a fiend, pulls herself up on anything she possibly can, and has recently discovered the joys of walking, using her baby stroller we got her for Christmas. The look of impish joy on her face as she haltingly pushes that wee stroller around is priceless beyond words!

But it is obvious from that twinkle in her eye, she means trouble - and so we better be on our toes!

No Etsy Seller of the Week this Week

Why, you ask?

Well, I forgot. Ha!

Our baby has been waking up in the middle of the night the last few nights and it takes about 2 hours to get her back to sleep again. I am pretty wiped out and as a result, my brain is foggy.

I'll be more ahead of the game next week, I hope!

So, instead, I'll share a story about my family life - lucky you!


I usually manage to luck out during the week and have at least one grandma available to watch at least one of the kiddos. But not Wednesday last week. My mom was working or busy all week and my mother-in-law had watched the boys the day before so I could get some orders made and mailed.

So, I hauled all of us into town to both the post office (where I had to stand in line because I had international packages to mail) and the shop where I sell, to restock. First of all, hauling three little ones under age five ANYWHERE is not pleasant and takes about 1/2 your day just to get them all ready and loaded in the van. Then, my 4-month old is apt to cry when we are still 15 minutes from anywhere. Which then makes the almost-five year old start yelling and crying. And that sets off the three-year-old, who doesn't cry when the baby does, but will start yelling when his older brother does.

So usually by the time I've got them all dressed, fed, in the car, and then listened to all three of them lose their minds for the last 15 minutes - you can see that I am not really in the mood to haul them all out of the car and actually be seen in public. Which is why I never go anywhere.

I keep telling myself that in a couple years or so, this won't be nearly as much of an issue. Then I think "what if it is?" and get a mental image of driving around with a crying 12-, 15-, and 17-year old in the car; which makes me laugh and I can somehow make it through that moment without selling any of them.

So, we get to the co-op where I sell. I madly put out the measly few things I've managed to make above and beyond orders that week and pay my rent. Meanwhile, I've got the baby strapped to my chest, and my head is on constant swivel to make sure my boys aren't destroying anything (the 3-year-old managed to "redistribute" about fifty business cards from other tables the last time I took him with me.) But we get in and out without any damage and not even any screaming! I am thrilled.

On to the post office! If you've stuck with me this long - well, I am impressed! :) Thankfully the line isn't very long. My younger son immediately starts walking laps around the island divider thing that separates the line from the counter. Then my oldest decides to follow him, which quickly erupts into a game of chase. I put a stop to that immediately and praise God they listened to me and kept it to a walk after that.

The highlight of the trip was when my three-year-old stopped in front of the waste bin, pointed to the "W" in "Waste" and said, "W!"

I don't even know if my almost-five-year old could point out a W! I have tried working with him, but he is way more interested in drawing trains. He knows the alphabet, and the letters in his name and that is about all he cares to know right now. I figure he still has a year of pre-school and kindergarten to learn these things, so no pressure!

After the post office, I had to sit in the van in the parking lot and nurse the baby. No way was she going to make it the 20-plus minute drive home and no way was I going to listen to the kids screaming that whole way!

Well, there was a little slice of my life. I made it back home in one piece, and so did the kids. Although if you had told me 10 years ago that going to the post office and dropping in on a shop would take me three hours from the moment I put on my shoes to the moment I took them off back home again, I would have laughed you out the door!

Might I just add one thing? I love my kids to bits! As much as they can drive me crazy, being crazy is the best thing that has ever happened to me! :)

Etsy Seller of the Week - LadybugsDesigns!

This week's featured Etsy seller is LadybugsDesigns. Check out her shop for fun baby items, and more! Plus, if you put "Rain" in the notes to seller, or contact her before ordering, she will give you 10% off your order this week!

How did you find Etsy?
A former coworker suggested it instead of Ebay.

What do you love about Etsy?
Since it isn't an auction, I don't have to constantly check to see if someone won. And you can always find someone to answer your questions and give you advice.

What is your favorite dinner?
Macaroni and cheese casserole. It makes me feel good when I'm down.

What would you like us to know about your craft/shop?
My emphasis is on great baby things, many of them embroidered, but I also have bookcovers and cool ties, and I'm always thinking of new things to try. They might never happen, but I am thinking about them. I also carry some lovely jewelry made by one of my sisters.

If you could take an all-expenses paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
If it was just one place, I'd like to go to England and tour London and Bath and some of the great houses, and stop by Edinburgh too. If I could go more places, I'd take a month and visit the museums in Washington, D.C. and tour some of the Revolution and Civil War houses and battlefields.

What do you love about what you make/sell?
I think my favorite items are my bookcovers. I take a book wherever I go, and they make it so easy to keep track of your reading material (and avoid any comments on my choices). My second favorite would be my toddler aprons, which keep little ones clean from neck to knees.

What is your favorite way to relax or unwind?
I love to read, watch movies/tv series from Netflix, play computer games, and hang out in the Etsy forums.

What do you like to shop for on Etsy, even if it is just browsing, not buying?
I like to look for soap and hair products --- one of these days I'm actually going to buy some! :o)

What's your favorite part of Etsy?
All the friends I've made in the forums. Most of us have never met or even talked to each other, but we're there for each other in good times and bad.

She's Almost HERE!

I can't believe I am coming up on the last three weeks of this pregnancy! Yay!

Wait - no! I'm not ready!

Ok, I can't wait to meet her, but I am not ready to be a mom of three. I don't know that I ever will be though, and at this point it is inevitable, so I guess I'll just jump in feet first into deep water and acclimate as fast as I can!

After all, lots of other moms have done it - some with kids even closer in age than mine, and some with more than three kids altogether. So if they can do it, so can I!

I think most of my panic is knowing I only have limited time to finish certain things before the insanity begins. Like filing our taxes! Gulp. I really should get on that, huh?

But all that stress and worry and panic fades when I actually think about snuggling up a newborn under my chin again. Aaaaaah, there is nothing else like it on earth and it is such an amazing experience that in the moment, I would easily agree to have 15 children. Newborn baby smell must interfere with rational thought processes. Someone should scientifically prove that, because I am pretty sure it is true. I mean, I fully acknowledge, after having two children, how much work adding a third is going to be, yet all I have to do is think about having her in my arms and I forget. I forget all about temper tantrums, throwing food on the floor, dirty diapers, runny noses, back sassing, shoving siblings, and running late for everything by at least 15 minutes.

Yup, all I have to do is close my eyes and remember the first time I held my firstborn in my arms, and all of a sudden I am bawling with sentimentality and spouting about how amazingly wonderful children are! And you know what? Despite all the not-so-fun part of raising children, each child is still oh-so amazingly wonderful. Thank God for each and every one of them.

Lavender Dreams

I am dancing in the streets! Our little unborn babe is a GIRL!!!

After two boys, I am SO EXCITED to do some baby girlie shopping! :) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys. But shopping for girls is just more fun, lol.

So far I have bought her one pair of maryjane booties on Etsy and a couple of outfits at the local consignment store. I am *trying* to be good and not buy more until I have all my Christmas shopping done first. I figure I should probably buy the gifts I need for those already born FIRST, tee hee.

That being said, I need lots of money so I can shop till I drop!

So I am offering BOGO 1/2 OFF on ALL JEWELRY in my Etsy shop!!!
Buy a piece of jewelry and get 50% off another piece of equal or less value! Wheeeee!!

RightAsRainCreations