26 August 2010

Oh, Hazel.

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There is someone in Michigan

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who loves you

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very much.

24 August 2010

Well, it's been a lovely couple of days visiting Ryan's parents in Michigan.

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We've squeezed out as much summer as we can,

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played with cousins we only see every once in a while,

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met new cousins for the first time,

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protected popsicles from melting prematurely,

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snuck tastes to the little sister we adore,

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and promised to come back again soon.

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Thanks, Granddad & Groovy, for loving us! We love you!

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23 August 2010

Hello, friends!

We're visiting Ryan's parents for a few days before we head back South to that muggy Tennessee weather. (Can you believe it's 11am here and still to chilly to take a dip in the pool!?)

Oliver and Hazel are enjoying all kinds of attention from their Granddad and Groovy. You know, there's no faster way to a parent's heart than through loving their babies! :)

Also, Hazel is becoming more mobile by the hour. I know babies are supposed to start crawling at around 8 months, but I'm not sure this 5-month-old can wait much longer. She's already been scooting around for a week or two, but in the past few days she's been up on her hands and knees, belly off the ground, just rocking back and forth with that determined look in her eye.

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An old soul, I tell ya.

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Alright, we're headed out back for a dip in the pool. The one great thing about swimming pools in Michigan is that they're heated! Even if it the air is still 75, the water is 90!

I'll leave you with a few photos I snapped from our time at Rolling Ridge Ranch in Millersburg, Ohio on Saturday. We actually rode in a horse drawn wagon with buckets of feed that all the animals (including zebras!) came right up to eat out of! As you can imagine, it was a hit for the kids and adults alike. :)

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Happy Monday!!

21 August 2010

And the winner of the lovely Snugars pink headband is...


Congrats, Rachel! E-mail me to collect your prize!

And now, the Myers family resumes their lovely vacation!
We're celebrating my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary with the whole family of nearly fifty kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. Thankful for such a rich heritage!!

16 August 2010

A big thanks to these fantastic Etsy shoppes for making lovely things!

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little town boutique

dotty monkey

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And now, for some winners!!

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The winner of Lee Marie's Wise One Onesie is...

lee marie

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The winner of Gracious May's Sweet Jasmine Maryjanes is...
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The winner of their very own Dotty Monkey is...
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The winner of the Three Yellow Starfish Garden Maze Baby Bloomers is...
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Congrats, friends!

Please contact me if you're a winner so we can send you your prize!

This was fun!!! What do you say we do it again around Christmastime with a focus on great Christmas gift ideas?? Thoughts?

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Finally, the lovely gals at Dotty Monkey asked me to
communicate a bit of business with y'all.

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The Glasgow School of Art has requested permission to begin selling the lovely Dotty Monkeys in their gift shop. This is fantastic news for their the folks at Dotty Monkey! Congrats!

Why am I telling you? Many of you mentioned that you were planning to keep this shop in mind for Christmas gift lists and shopping. Because they are contracting with the GSA, they will be required to raise their prices to $56/monkey (from the current $42/monkey) in their Etsy shoppe so that they are not unfair competition for what they will be sold for at the GSA.

The lovely girls at Dotty Monkey want to be sure you get to purchase any monkey's you're interested in at the original, pre-increase price of $42.

So. If you want to buy a Dotty Monkey any time between now and December 1st, just mention that you found their monkeys on my blog in the notes to seller and they will make the adjustments in paypal before or after you make your payment.

Any questions, just convo them or email me.

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What they make that makes me love them: Hats for little ones. And headbands. Cotton hats and headbands that make you mark them as favorites in your Etsy profile one after another because each one is even better than the last. Those kind of hats and headbands.

What I love best: Apart from loving every single girls hat and headband they make (particularly because of the comfort factor for malleable little heads), I have to say that I am actually a huge sucker for their boys hats. Sometimes boys get the raw deal with cute stuff - even on Etsy. I have to tell you that I've had the grey Ski Slopes hat and the Brilliantly Blue striped hat marked as favorites for a good year now.

In fact, I had the privilege of creating a gift registry for my sister while she was in Ethiopia for the boys, and these two hats were among the first items on the list.

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Who looks cute as a button in her Snugars hat? Well, I think that's pretty plain to see.

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Who wishes this pink Snugars headband was theirs? You do! (Am I right??)

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Wanna know how to make that happen? Visit Snugars shop (I know, I'm getting y'all into trouble sending you to all these fantastic Etsy shoppes for so many days in a row! At least you won't be hurting for Christmas gift ideas this year!!). Take a look at all of their lovelies and come back to tell me what Snugars item you have marked as a favorite in your Etsy profile. One entry per person. Comments close on Friday, August 20th.

12 August 2010

**update**
So, I went to the doctor this morning.

Pneumonia.

Mid-August pneumonia. Naturally.

All blogging will be on hold until my lungs get a chance to recover.

Because blogging takes healthy lungs, you know.

Really, I just need to rest.

I do still have 2 or 3 really great shops that I want to share. I also have winners all picked (via random.org, thankyouverymuch)for the previous giveaways. (the fun part is, I haven't notified them yet. It could be you and you just don't know it! hehe!!)

Seriously, I have to stop blogging while under the influence of a fever. It's not cool.

Until I get feeling better (doc says 48 hours or so)...


**original post follows**

The Myers family is officially down for the count.

We're sick.

Real bad.

Like last night my temp was up to 104.8 for a good hour before I could get it to go down to a more reasonable 101 or so for the rest of the night.

That bad.

(Some of you wondered if it was mastitis - no, I don't believe so, but a legitimate guess. I honestly think it may be some kind of special virus imported especially for our family directly from Ethiopia. Fun. But, frankly, COMPLETELY WORTH IT! I wouldn't exchange a single snuggle with my sweet nephews!)

Oliver and Hazel love to share. So this week, they're sharing conjunctivitis (I don't know what's grosser to say: conjunctivitis or pink eye??) and an ear infection each.

In the middle of stinkin' August.

Ry's sick too. But, being the least sick of all of us, he's stuck with the job of sucking it up, changing diapers and dolling out medications.

And that includes meds for Scout. It's a family event.

Let's just say that things are not pretty here.

Which brings me to the reason I'm writing this blog post.

An impressive number of you caught my little bloggy error on Tuesday (I had yet another delicious Etsy shop scheduled to share with you, but it wasn't quite finished and published anyway... oops!) and I want to reassure you that that scrumptious post with the fabulous baby gear IS coming back. And so is the giveaway!!

The truth is, Hazel was actually gifted a couple of items from the shop and she looks so completely adorable in them that I can't bear to publish the post without photos.

Enter: pink eye.

Yeah, sweet Hazey has been under the weather too and she's asked me to wait to photograph her until her little baby eyes feel better.

No worries though, things are looking up - no outrageous fevers since this morning (just the regular type) and everyone's eyes are looking much better.

Don't judge us.

I plan to publish the complete post tomorrow after I photograph my favorite little girl in my favorite little hat.

It's worth waiting for.

But, since I'm cool like that, I'll tell you that you can visit the shop a day early here if you like.

Aren't I friendly? Also, feverish?

Okay, I have to rest now. Oh Hazel, please give Mommy a good stretch of sleep tonight...

10 August 2010

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*gush*

Anyone that knows me or our family can take one look at this shop and know that it is right up my alley!

What I love: it's got that sort of J.Crew style, but remains age appropriate. Friendly ruffles and hearts, but in good colors, fabrics and cuts.

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Very favorite item: man, it's a tough call... once Hazel is big enough, I'd definitely put her in that sea glass ruffle tank with just about any bottoms - jeans, shorts, a colorful skirt - but for her age, I love the ruffled zip up hoodie best!

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The mustache t-shirt makes me think of when Oliver did this. Remember?
Also, I'm planning for Sir Oliver the Wise to don the green sword shirt for his first day of preschool this fall. Rock star.

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And if I didn't love them enough already: b.children's wear starts with good, quality products. This is really important to me. They aren't printing or sewing on Hanes t-shirts here (no offense, Hanes, love ya!). They use brands like American Apparel and Alternative Apparel - both run a little higher price wise, but are well worth the quality and fit. The fact that they start with good stuff and still manage to keep the prices they do (tanks start at $15) makes them a shop to watch for sure.

I am planning to host a giveaway from b. children's wear this fall!
In the meantime, you can check out their shop here!

08 August 2010

We interrupt your regularly scheduled barrage of delightful Etsy Shoppes
to bring you: Augustine.
(pronounced Ah-GUS-tin, for those of you that have asked)

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This sweet boy sat on his Auntie's lap all through the church service this morning. (I know! How did I get to be so lucky!?) He snuggled, played with my necklace, and spent a long time laying back and looking up at the tall ceilings and high stained glass windows. (He also wanted to put his fingers in my mouth a lot.)

This was quite likely his first worship service.
His first time to hear voices singing in chorus.
His first time to hear the Lord's prayer and the Apostle's Creed.

What a privilege to share these moments with these brothers and their family.

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Gus is quiet and handsome.

He's not as outgoing as Moses, but he watches his brother to learn how to get what he wants/needs.

He takes a long time to warm up to folks, but that just makes us feel that much more special when he allows us to hold him or sneak a cuddle.

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As I held Augustine this morning singing "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving to get to be a part of his life. What a blessing he is to us, our sweet nephew.

Thanks be to God!
The Gospel is true!

07 August 2010

**comments closed**
winners to be announced in due time!

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What's the story? Y'all know I love color. I also love general girliness. And with Three Yellow Starfish, we have the perfect combination of the two. LOTS of ruffles, bright and frilly, plus all their stuff looks so nice and put together.

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My pick: I know the dresses are really fantastic, but I have to say, I'm a sucker for the bloomers. Because really, there's just such a small window of time in a gal's life that adding bulk to one's bottom is the right, nay, flattering choice.

No ruffles or bloomers for me, thanks. But for Hazel? Bring it on!
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Giveaway: Three Yellow Starfish is giving away a pair of Garden Maze Baby Bloomers (pictured above) to one of y'all! So, visit their shop, browse around, pick a fave and leave a comment. Comments close Tuesday evening.

Here's to all the little gals in our lives that can
still get away with fluffy bottoms!