Winner!!!!!!

The winner of the $10 gift certificate to my new shop is::

Lucky #7

Congratulations to Sara!

Sara said..............

Awesome shop! I love Etsy!

Thanks to all who stopped by and gave words of encouragement on my new venture. I just made my 3rd sale today. Very excited for this new venture. Stop by often. I'm listing new items weekly. Hope to see you all again very soon.

New Vintage Shop & A Giveaway!!!!!!!!

Have you heard the news?

I've opened up a new etsy store!!!

I love to shop & I love finding vintage treasures. Now you can find fun & funky retro items in my new shop. I'll be listing new items weekly.

To celebrate I'm giving away a $10 gift certificate to my new shop!!!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Feel free to favorite my shop if you'd like. If you'd like to mention this giveaway on your blog/tweet/facebook that would be super amazing too. I will post a winner Tuesday morning. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful & safe weekend!

A Hint of Fall

6:45 a.m.

I woke up early this morning and hustled to get all the recycling & garbage cans out. Dean has the garage taped off with plastic. He's in the middle of repainting those great bookshelves I got at a yard sale for $16. Only they aren't real wood so the project is already costing over $150 in paint. Could have bought brand new shelves by now. Chalk it up to experience. They will still look great when finished & look perfect in Sloan's room. I have been working hard around the house hanging up artwork & organizing the last of the unpacked boxes. Dean has been working out in the garden and front yard. The fun of owning an older home is there are always projects to work on. A never ending list of things to do. Things are coming along & I finally feel like this house is becoming a home. We are making memories here. The imprint of family life etches out on a daily basis. I still drive by our old house and a knot wells up in my throat, but I feel like this is where we should be. This is home. 

The girls were so excited when they saw the hot air balloon this morning. It's crazy to think we are almost to that time of year where sweaters are needed on a daily basis & sandals & shorts are packed up until next year. Didn't summer just start? 

 There is something magical about this time of year in Nevada. The cool evenings & chilly mornings. Windows left open to let in the wonderful breeze. Seriously, there are some of the yummiest smells in the air when evening hits here. I wish I could bottle it. It's intoxicating. 

Come back tomorrow for some exciting news. 

Hope to see you all soon!!!

Helpfulness

Sloan & Omri

This weekend flew by! This year, as I have mentioned several times, is doing the same. Even Sloan mentioned the other night how fast the year is flying by. I haven't been able to do a whole lot since I got my cast on. I have been keeping up with the house one handedly, lol, but it takes me twice as long to do everything. It's very hard for me to cut or open things, so cooking is a real challenge. I'm so grateful for friends from church whom have provided meals. It has made life bearable. As for my little girls, well they have each been helpful in their own special ways.

Almost caught that smile...

Zoe has given me her doggy pillow to prop my arm up on when I sleep. Aris comes up several times a day a gives my cast kisses. Sloan is my biggest help. She has been dressing the baby, helping to dress the little ones, getting cuppies ready at bedtime, putting kids in car seats, & the list goes on. The most random tasks are very tough to do at the moment. I'm hoping in the next few weeks as my hand heals things will not hurt quite as much. I hate that it is hard for me to hold my baby right now. 

My little helper

Sloan has stepped up to the plate. Tonight she asked if I needed her to stay home from school to help out around the house tomorrow. I told her no, but let her know how much we'd miss her while she was gone. We really do. Yes I'll be glad when I can be a real mom again & not rely on my 10 year old to pick up the slack. But for now I'm so very grateful for this sweet little girl and all she does. 

A Little Help From My Friends (& Family)

Aris & her Brother

This is pretty much what I see on a daily basis. Omri the little prince by no fault of his own. Yes the girls dote on him all day long. They even fight over whom gets to hold him. He's content melting his little body into anyone that's willing to lend a shoulder. Aris shares all her toys with him. It's not uncommon for me to find dolls or other treasures tucked under his arms while he's swinging in his swing. Just so you understand, Aris won't share with anyone. So Omro should feel quite special.

Sloan has been so helpful today! Everything is a little harder to do. It's really hard for me to do anything that requires gripping or pinching motions. I'm learning to grip things with my knees & between the crook of my arm. It's amazing how resourceful you can become when the use of an arm is taken away. It's even more amazing all the things I take for granted on a daily basis. Take pulling up my pants for instance, or zipping said pants. How about changing a diaper. Holding my baby is the toughest one for me. I can really only hold him with my right arm. It bums me out & makes nursing extra hard when he nurses on my left side. Thank goodness for Boppy pillows!

I forgot to tell you how this all happened. It's pretty silly. I tripped......walking into the............wait for it...............kitchen! Tada! How cheesy is that? So Dean & I have decided to change our last name from The Swansons to The Klutzes. Seems fitting since we are managing to break something every couple weeks. I have had a lot of help though. My Aunt & cousins have been amazing. I also had several people offer to cook dinner & gladly accepted. I am so very grateful for all of it.

I just got the banners for my new vintage shop today. I can't wait to work on things this weekend. I CAN type with one hand. It just takes me a little longer to do so. I won't be able to work on paper art for a bit (takes finger gripping to do that). So I'm hoping to get the vintage shop up & running. Also hoping to reopen my other shop & stock it with some fun artwork. I can hold a pencil & a paintbrush so maybe I can add a few paintings? We shall see :) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for all the well wishes!