Andrew’s Birthday

Today is Andrew’s Birthday Party day.  His birthday is Monday, but we are celebrating a few days early.  He will be 8 this year!!! I really can’t believe it.  He is just growing up way too fast.  This year he has requested a football themed party.  His cake is a sheet cake with green icing and football field lines in white. We found some other football decorations so he will be so excited.  In honor of Andrew’s birthday, I thought I would share some pictures of my sweet boy.  He is so excited about his birthday this year!

 

Andrew and his best buddy, Don

 

 

Happy Birthday Andrew!!!  We love you! 

You are such a smart, kind, and loving young man.

A New Project

Since it's the day after Thanksgiving and everyone is all worn out from eating, shopping and watching the big game, thought I'd share a new project with you.
This is a car seat cover I'm making for Kelly at Joyful Adorations, who is expecting a precious little girl next month. She was given a perfectly good car seat to use, but we've girlied it up a little bit for Lily Grace!
The pattern is really for a larger car seat, but I think it's going to fit just fine. It has 8 bound buttonholes for the straps to pass through. She will need more buttonholes when she moves up to a larger seat, but we'll worry about that later.
Kelly, I hope you like it so far. Now to work on that cover. Hmmmm
More pics later. Maybe.

Wordless Wednesday – Thanksgiving Crafts

Jacob has had a lot of fun with Turkey crafting this year.

 

Hand and footprint turkey – The body is made from two feet cutouts and the feathers are his hands.

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

 

~Charissa

Tuesday-Yea!!!!

It's Tuesday! Aren't you excited?! Tuesday is my only day of the week that I have to myself. Now, I know that sounds very selfish, but I really don't have much time for...well, just to do what I want to do. Between working part time, babysitting, sewing and just being a wife mom and Mimi I stay pretty busy.
I know that life is not about what I want to do, but isn't it nice to just have a day now and then when you can put everything else aside and do the things that you've been wanting to do? Let me know if it ever comes, ok?
So, on this Tuesday I'm going to sew. Sewing is something I really enjoy. (Yesterday I had to buy a new machine. My old one died. Just gave up. That's pretty traumatic for me, but I found one and today will be finding out if it's a keeper. Thankfully I have two months in home to decide. Isn't that wonderful? Especially if you're not good with decisions, but I'm rambling again.) I'm working on curtains, a car seat cover for a sweet friend, alterations, a diaper bag, monogramming bags for Cubbies, two Buggy Buddies and some more Christmas shirts to put in the shop. It's a blessing to have this much work to do, and a family who needs me to be there for them.
One day I won't be able to do all this. And I will miss it.
Enjoy your Tuesday, just because you can!
God Bless you as you serve Him and your family and friends.

Not Me Monday – Because I Would Never Do THAT!

 

Last Thursday, I attended Myra and Kelly's couponing class to learn more about how to use coupons to save money at the grocery store.  The class was wonderful and I learned some great tips.  Prior to attending the class my coupons were in a small expandable coupon holder.  I have been couponing for years and have quite the coupon collection.  My coupon holder was so jammed full that it would not close. 

 

In the class, Myra shared her coupon box and I thought it was a great idea.  So I decided to move all my coupons to a pretty little box with pretty little tabs.  All was well and good.  Coupons were moved, labels created (Thanks Andrew!), and coupons were sorted (Thanks Jacob!).  After moving all my coupons, I realized that the coupons I needed for this week’s fabulous deals at Publix were in an envelope because I went ahead and pulled them out.

 

Weren’t those coupons in the coupon box you might ask?  No!!!  Panic set in.  Did I accidently leave the coupons in a store?  at school?  in the car?  Did I throw them away?  Throwing them away definitely DID NOT cross my mind because I have NEVER thrown away anything important (i.e. W2 from the Marine Corps or a Netflix movie).  So I most definitely DID NOT dig through the garbage in search of my coupons.  I would NEVER be completely discouraged when I did not find said coupons in the trash after touching all of it – YUCK! 

 

 

And there is no way, I positively DID NOT find my coupons sitting in the enevelope on the counter where I left them the night before.  I would NEVER do that!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

 

 

Beanie Models

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted on Etsy by Marsha Barton Photography about trading some of our baby accessories for professional pictures of children wearing them.  After looking at her portfolio and reading her blog, I jumped at the opportunity that God placed before me.  I crocheted a lavender beanie with a brown flower and a chocolate brown, bright blue, and pistachio green beanie to send to her.  A couple of days after she received the beanies, I received the cutest pictures.  The pictures I got back were amazing! 

Marsha Barton Photography is located in Mobile, AL, but she is from North Alabama and visits frequently.  She specializes in outdoor photography.  Feel free to learn more about Marsha Barton Photography on her blog or Photography Shop.  In the future, I am planning to trade more of my creations with her.  If you are selling baby items and would love to trade for professional pictures or are interested in a photo session with your own children, please contact Marsha.  I would highly recommend it. 

   

Thank you again Marsha!  You did a fantastic job!

~Charissa

Things I love Thursday - Photo Calendars

This is my first time participating in Things I Love Thursday, but I wanted to share how much I love the photo calendars I ordered for Christmas gifts. Kodak was giving away $15 credits to the Kodak gallery shop. I was able to order a photo calendar for $10 with shipping.

This is a great gift for grandparents and great grandparents. Everyone needs a calendar and why not have some pretty faces to look at throughout the year.

For more Things I Love Thursday, visit The Diaper Diaries.

What happens at Grandma Dee Dee’s house….

We all LOVE going to Grandma Dee Dee’s house.  She always makes each one of us feel so special.  Here’s what going to Grandma Dee Dee’s house looks like.

 

We play outside.

We go to the school next door.

 

 

We play at the park.

 

The we go back to Grandma Dee Dee’s house.  It is always so much fun!

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

~Charissa

Baby Booties are Coming…

Babies are so much fun to make items for.  Everything is so much cuter when it is baby sized.  This week I found a pattern for the CUTEST pair of baby booties I have ever seen.  I shared it with one of my customers and she loved it.  It was so exciting to have someone to make these sweet booties for.   They will be coming to the shop sometime this week. 

 

I have also been working on hat orders.  The sweet baby girl hats with big flowers are my best sellers. 

 

 

All orders arrive to our customers ready to gift. 

 

Thanks for looking.  Check our Etsy Shop - MiMi's Babies for a one of a kind gift for all your special babies!

Week In Review – 30 days of giving

 

The giving challenge posted by KingdomFirst Mom certainly has been fun.  I have been looking for more ways to give to others and more that I can do for those around me.  This week I have given back by:

• Allowing another customer in front of me in line.  He had one item and I had several.  Found out afterward that he was an employee who had been standing on his feet all day and recovering from back surgery.  He was ready to go home and I don’t blame him!
  
• Gave an extra pair of socks with a crochet edge to a customer.  Just because.
  
• Made a hat to give to a girl at church.  She loves girly things.  Prettiest Princess Pink with a 3 layer crochet flower.  It is listed in the shop here.
  
• Shared coupon information with fellow shoppers.
  
• Gave the cashier at Target a copy of the Glade mail in rebate.
  
• Packed up some food from my pantry to give at the canned food drive at school.  We are so blessed to have more than we need and most of it was free or nearly free with coupons.  Thanks coupon bloggers!

The 30 day giving challenge has been such a blessing to me this month.  I can’t wait to see what opportunities to give God allows in my path this week. 

Have you given this week?

~Charissa

Thanksgiving Traditions

The TwitterMoms group is hosting a $50 Target giftcard giveaway for sharing your favorite family Thanksgiving traditions. You can find more information about it here.

1. We always spend time with Grandma Dee Dee on Thanksgiving. We have done so since I was a kid. I can remember what a big deal it was when she came over every Thanksgiving.

2. We watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

3. We eat stuffing from inside the turkey! Now that I am grown, I have heard that this could be really bad for you, but we do it anyway!

So what are your family traditions?

Febreeze Giveaway

Pop over to Myra's blog at www.happyhousewifelivinglife.com and enter her giveaway. You have several ways to enter, so Get at it! There's a WalMart gift card involved!
Tell her you came from our blog!

~MiMi

Wordless Wednesday - Fall

It's fall, it's beautiful outside and there is work to be done! Take a look at my boys working...or not!

What’s Your Favorite Homemade Gift? McLinky Blog Hop

The holidays are coming soon than I like to admit to. Although I have finished the majority of my Christmas shopping (thanks to my sweet MIL finding some GREAT deals!), I still have some presents to buy and some to make. This year I have been especially thoughtful of how much money I am spending on gifts for family members and friends.

In teaching my children that it is more blessed to give than to receive (a hard lesson that I should teach myself more often as well), I am planning to have them help in making some homemade gifts this year. I haven’t really set any ideas in stone, but in year’s past the kids have made picture frames, handprints on candles (works well with craft paint and solid color candles), tied fabric wreaths, and food goodies. This year I am planning to make dishcloth sets for my kid’s teachers and hopefully gift them with a handmade food treat.

Handmade gifts mean so much more than something just purchased at the store. Anyone can go to {insert store name here} and purchase {insert gift here}, but to make a gift requires thoughtful consideration and sometimes a leap of faith! Don’t get me wrong, sometimes store bought gifts or gifts purchased from handmade retailers (such as MiMi’s Babies) are the perfect gift, but there is something special about a handmade gift.

So what will you be making this holiday season?

~Charissa

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30 days of Giving – Week 1 Wrap Up

Kingdom First Mom has challenged us to give back for the next 30 days.  This is the first of our weekly wrapups to share some of the ways we gave back during the week and the blessings that have come from that.

This week we gave by:

 

• Sharing couponing information with fellow shoppers
• Sharing coupons with fellow shoppers
• Leaving coupons in the store
• Sold two hats and only charged for one – just because.
• Gave my children some extra snuggle time even though it was a long day.
• Gave some of the clothes my children did not need with a single day
• Sent a Christmas card to a little boy dying of cancer

 

Next week, I hope that we are given more opportunities to give and share the gifts that we have been given.

 

What have you given today?