Hmmm, forgot I even had this!

A friend reminded me of blogs tonight and I remembered this one. I will apologize for not doing any updates since last May. It's not that we have that lame of a life. We are actually super busy most weeks. I will try to update you as quickly as possible.

Ryan started pre-K through elementary this year with a great teacher. She is trying to get him on track for Kindergarten next year. We are happy with his progress so far. I am not going to lie, it has been a challenge the past couple of years. BUT I think we are making a turn for the better now. We do want to get him started in some type of sport this Spring to blow off his seemingly boundless energy.

Erin is growing up soooo fast. I know from experience with Ryan that life goes in fast forward once you have kids. And it is no different with Erin. She is extremely bright and the life of the party. She loves to dance and actually has quite a bit of rhythm for a 2 year old. I think we will need to foster than with dance classes in the future. Her verbal skills are exploding. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Allen and I are still doing the same things. Still a mom...still an engineer.
My bow business is getting bigger so it is challenging doing everything I want to do. I have lots of ideas and less time to try them out. I am working on a couture line for babies so that is exciting. All in all, I am happy that I can stay home with the kids and have a creative outlet as well.

Anyway, I will try to do more updates. I am a bad blogger.

Alright, time to update...

I am a bad, BAD blogger! Truth is, I don't have much time to do it these days. And any worthwhile pictures of my growing family ends up in Facebook. It takes too much time to upload them somewhere then put them here. So words is all you will get today!
Let's see, I think the last time I blogged it was about Christmas. So I will break us each down and give you the scoop!

Ryan:
Ryan is going through major growth spurts. His language is incredible now, as is his vocabulary. He will end his days at First Years next week and be a 5 days a week student at an elementary school in the Fall. This Summer we are hoping to do some VBS's and swim lessons with him. I need to keep him working because he has boundless amounts of energy. He makes me tired just by watching him! He is doing the typical brother things. He does like to play with Erin but he also says, "She's touching me. NO, Erin!" I see jealousy come out some days. And his favorite person is Daddy. And he likes his back scratched a lot. His favorite character these days is Spiderman. More importantly, it is Venom. Somehow Ryan thinks he can make him a nice boy. haha So gone are the drawings on his wall of the UP house with balloons, GeoTrax, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Hot Wheels. It has been replaced by the webbed friend and villain.

Erin:
First off, she's crazy. When we went through Ryan's first 4 years, we thought, "Wow, he is giving us a run for our money." Erin is making us run for our lives. Not only is she super active like him, she does all the bad things he never did. She eats EVERYTHING and I mean that. She eats trash, dirt, whatever she can get her little hands on. I call her part billy goat. She also sticks her hands in light sockets, dives off beds and couches and plays in the toilet. I can't take my eyes off of her. I am fairly certain our insurance company will grow to dislike her. I am just waiting for the putting stuff in the nose thing to start. She is talking already, shaking her head No. Running. Doing lots of crazy dances. She is such a joy to watch grow up, minus the billy goat part. That part is just gross.

Allen:
Hmmm, what to say here. He's working a lot. Playing softball. He is still part of the finance team at church. As soon as he comes home, Erin runs and screams into his arms. Ryan runs and hides from him, just so he can find him. He's such a great dad. And he is in charge of my personal marketing. More on that with me. We are finally doing a Bible Study together. So, we are excited about that.

Me:
In January, I was let go of one of my part time jobs, which was a blessing. I constantly felt like I was letting everyone down, whether it was my family, my home or my jobs. SO, I wanted to cry because of the loss of income but just couldn't. A load had been lifted off of my shoulders. I kicked it in high gear with Candyland Bowtique. We are (me via the net and Allen in person)marketing like crazy in the surrounding areas. I am still in 2 stores in the Central Florida area, which seem to do well. And I just picked up my 3rd store in NYC. So exciting! It's a children's boutique, so I am in the market I need to be in. Now if only a celebrity would pick one of my bows up, I'd be happy! We have hopes for the company. Allen wants it to grow so he can be Mr. Mom/retire, I tell him he is dreaming. Baby steps. The awesome thing is that I have met some wonderful ladies through all of this. Some that are going through the same things as me, growing businesses. Allen has been tremendously helpful through the marketing and late nights. I am still trying to learn how to balance all of this out but I am getting there, I think!
I also got to spend the weekend in March with some of the best girls I know up in North Carolina. We spent a lot of time laughing, crying and playing. And we all went zip-lining in the forest. It was awesome. I love them so much and cannot imagine my life without them!

And what's on tap for our family this Summer? Playing for sure. And working. We are going to my family reunion this summer up in Kentucky. We hope to stop on the way up and visit some new places and see some old faces (not physically old, well some may be but...well you know).

If you have gotten this far, without my pictures, I applaud you. I will try to update more often!

Update in Pictures

Here is the update in picture form...

It was a very busy bowmaking time. We did 3 craft festivals. Became a part of 2 stores. Working on more. I like being in the stores and finding new ones.
Erin helps me organize ribbon

And tries out new products for me


Ryan is growing up too fast. He wants to be the boss. That is challenging. We could swear he will end up in the movie industry with his loves for movies. He acts out whole movie sequences. He quotes lines. He dresses the part. It's crazy.
When it comes to Erin, he constantly says, "Erin is doing _____!" "She's touching me!" There isn't much play there yet. BUT I think there will be because they are both fast-paced. She watches him run and wants to join him.






Since I blogged last, Erin has already mastered crawling.

Pulling herself up on stuff.


We have had to lower her crib because of this

Mostly, she is a ball of smilesand has a great personality. Goes with the flow. So nice for the second child.




I will post an update from Christmas next.

An update

Have you missed me? I know it has been forever and a day since I have updated this site. I have been very busy watching my kids grow, as well as my business. Life has been busy, probably too busy. I will finish my update this week.

My Monthly Post

Haha, seriously, I know I stink. It just shows you how busy I am these days. One would think that Ryan being back in school would free some time for me. That was a big shock for me. It seems the going back and forth to school cuts into my time. BUT he is loving school this year. We have seen so much progress in the last couple months. Our choice to repeat the 3's was a very good one so far. Yes, he is the oldest (and tallest) in his class but not by much. He loves his teacher(same one from last year). The stuff coming out of his mouth these days is hilarious. I am not sure where he gets this stuff but it is hard to get mad or punish a child when you want to laugh. I have a feeling we have a budding comedian. That will probably bite us in the butt later on in school, I am sure. And Halloween, what to say...he loves it. He has been celebrating Halloween for a month already, if not longer. It is crazy.
Then, there is Miss Erin. She is seriously cute and seriously learning just how to get her way already. She isn't crawling yet but wants to be desperately if only to vacuum up whatever morsel she finds on the ground with her mouth. I am not ready for her to crawl at all, so she needs to stay put. She is also been sick for almost the whole month of September, I think. So weird. We cannot knock this crud out. Believe me, we are trying. She has 2 teeth now and is working on more. The doctor is wondering if this is what alot of this cold stuff is: teeth. We shall see.
And me, well I am busy. Really busy. Being a mom of 2 with lots of jobs is insane. Some weeks I want to cry, some I thik I can handle it. Most of the time I feel scatter-brained and hear Allen in my head saying, "Use the spreadsheet I gave you, Honey!" I know he is right. But that is too easy for me. I have to make it hard. (snort) I have also been toying with the idea of going private here because realistically, if you don't know me or my family, then this is probably boring to you. And if you don't like me, then why would you even read it? Right? We shall see. My bow site will remain open to the public because it is my business. Any truly exciting news going on with that, will only go to friends on FB,email or if you speak with me, then through that. So don't worry, you will most likely be in the loop if I go private here. OH, and I have lost somewhere between 27-30 lbs. That's good stuff, too. haha

Without further adieu, pics!

Ryan's First Day of School










Random Erin-ness




Teething bites


A rare still moment


Brother and Sister play time


Getting her doll from a product swap with Kaylyn




And one of Ryan's outfits from last week. It was really hot outside that day.

New Product at Candyland Bowtique!

Just in case I haven't told my blog readers yet, I have a new product over there! Check it out here!

Absent

So sorry, readers. I have been so incredibly busy (yes, blessed but busy!) with my new shop that some things are taking a backseat like this blog and the dishes. haha
Seriously, life has been good crazy and I thank everyone who has inquired, ordered and received my bows. I have had fun making them! But our family has been busy, too. We had Lea and her family visit, which had us over in Kissimmee more. My brother and his family visited, so we were over by Disney some.
Anyway, here are the pics from the last 3 weeks...

My first rainbow spotting with Ryan (a double one, actually)


Erin looking SUPER cute one Sunday morn!


Ryan helping me tear down wallpaper in the bathroom (we are redoing it)


Visiting Lea before she left for Sicily again


(love that pic, Lea!)

Erin trying to use sippy cups and doing well.


Visiting with Skip, Teresa, and Brittany
Ok, this is funny because I TRIED to get a picture WITHOUT Teresa blinking. It was not possible AT ALL. It was hilarious! SO, no, she wasn't drunk or sleeping

Daddy and Erin

Brittany and Erin

What Ryan did when the camera came out

My family with Erin

The cousins

A hair-raising experience!


And Erin sky-diving