Back to School already!!

WEBSITE is back up and ready for orders everyone!! Thank you for being so patient.  I recently moved and had a realllllly fun time moving all of my inventory and whatnot into the new place. :)  But it's all set up and ready for you. 

And guess what... It's that time of year again!  BACK TO SCHOOL time! Yikes!  I for one, am so excited/nervous to send my 2 year old daughter to her first little preschool (a fancy name for a nice day care with a good curriculum).  It's only 3 days a week but I am still thrilled to see what she learns and how she does socially with the other kids.  And not to mention a little break time for mommy to take care of her baby brother!  Thankfully I know her personality is far different from mine as a child, because she cries when we LEAVE the facility rather than when we enter! :) She's a little more of a social butterfly than I ever was apparently.  Whether your little one is starting school for the first time, or maybe entering their last year of college (AH!)... OR if you are a student/ teacher approaching your upcoming school year I'd like to leave this prayer for you! I hope the year is blessed with many new opportunities, knowledge, and love.  God bless!  *Ally

Heavenly Father, your knowledge is infinite and You have given human beings
a wonderful capacity to learn on every level: practical, social, cultural,
intellectual, and so on. Bless all institutions of learning and all teachers
as well as students. Grant to them all as well as to me a dedication to true
knowledge, a true love of learning, and a capacity to continue to learn
through life, until they arrive at the knowledge of You, and your Son,
Jesus, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Need a break from the kids??

I have been driving by this place by our local grocery store for quite some time and finally decided to stop in and see what it was all about.  From the outside it looked like just a fun play place for kids, maybe a day care of some kind.  It turned out to be the most amazing, GENIUS idea I wish I had thought of myself!  HOURLY CHILD CARE.  Hourly child care!  Such a simple idea, but I've never ever seen or heard of one before.  It's really easy too.  There's a one-time registration fee and then an hourly wage (which turned out to be way cheaper than 99% of babysitters).  They serve lunch there, change diapers, the whole nine yards.  It was the perfect solution for me:  a mom who doesn't have a nanny or even a steady babysitter (other than my parents) and most of the time just needs someone to watch my daughter last minute for only a few hours.  And normally on week days when most people are unavailable.  This place is PERFECT for me.  Now the only test was seeing if my 2 year old daughter approved.  She LOVED IT!  I only left her there for 3 hours while I had an appointment, and when I came to pick her up she was in a group of about 5 little girls all dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies."  Hilarious.  She literally cried because she didn't want to leave.  If you can find one of these in your area - you must give it a try!  If you're in the Katy area I went to Itty Bitty City off of Westheimer Road.  Get that much needed break without all the hassle of scheduling a sitter!  Thanks Itty Bitty City!  Have a blessed day! *Ally

The Littlest Birds Sing The Prettiest Songs..

My husband and I are expecting our 2nd child in Sept so my 2 year old daughter, Reese gets the exciting opportunity of a new room down the hall!  I'm still working on the colors but want to incorporate some shabby chic bird ideas I found online.  I just had to share!  This first pic is a lighting fixture in actress Kerry Washington's house.  Best part of all- the lamp was only $9.99 (IKEA) and the designer just removed the paper outside to expose just wires and attached chicken coop wire (Home depot, etc) and small birds (Hobby Lobby).  Very easy and adorable!  I am so excited to make this for Reese's room over her bed! I also saw this precious wall someone did in their nursery.  Sewing this fabric birds out of your own fabric makes it unique and colorful.  Then all you need is a big branch from outside!  I literally found one in my mom's yard that was perfect! :) Anyone else have cute bird or color ideas let me know! We ended up using some birds for an impromptu photo shoot later! Perfect prop.  Maybe I'll frame this to go in her room too?! God bless you today!

EASTER TREAT/STORY to share!*

So when I researched some fun Easter treats online I was bombarded with cute ideas!  So many I would never have even thought to create.  Easter is one of my favorite holidays just because of what it represents. Although the Easter Bunny and making Easter baskets is fun, it is truly an amazing holiday to commemorate how Christ died and rose again.  I just absolutely love these little treats I found that share that story of Jesus in the tomb.  You can create this - and for people like me who don't cook- it is NO-BAKE and super easy!  Share the story of Jesus' resurrection with your kids and make these adorable Empty Tomb Treats:).

Empty Tomb Treat Ingredients:
-Graham Crackers
-Peanut Butter (or icing if you have an allergy)
-Mini Oreo Cookies
-Shredded Coconut
-Green God Coloring

Copy/paste this into your toolbar to follow the easy instructions from this website:
http://catholicicing.com/2011/04/meaningful-easter-activity-for-kids-empty-tomb-snack/

Now that I have a daughter and some young cousins that come over for Easter, I like to pull out an old tradition my parents did with us on Easter.  We pulled out the "Resurrection Eggs"!  Twelve colorful eggs, meaningful objects inside, and a devotional booklet to bring the story of the death and resurrection of Christ to life!  It's a great way to tell children "Jesus is alive!" Kids just love opening up the little eggs to hear what happens next!  And if you don't want to buy this kit - you can even use your eggs or an old egg carton and fill the spots/verses in yourself!