an interesting read...

I caught this Moment between Jonah and Tessa today- he's reading to her from my Betty Crocker cookbook and she's listening very intently. My pics are blurry as I forgot to change my ISO but this Moment may never happen again! This lasted a good 15 minutes:





This shirt that Jonah is wearing, it's his FAVORITE shirt! It's flannel and it's getting too small in the sleeves, but if I tell him to go put a shirt on, chances are he will come back wearing this one even if he has pj's or basketball shorts on.



Here's a picture of Tessa with her new bangs:





sickness update...the boys were diagnosed with either walking pnemonia or RSV and prescribed some meds, they should be ready to go back to school on Friday (YIPPEEE!)

will trade jewels for tickets...

Ryan and I want to take the kids on a trip before the baby is born and Disney World would be everyone's dream... so I think we're going at the end of February! We took the boys last year and we ALL had a BLAST!

We have airfare and accomodations taken care of, does anyone know how to get discounted Disney tickets or does anyone have any to sell? ANY help is appreciated!!!

I am so excited and can't wait to see their faces when we tell them, last time they didn't know where we were going until we were on the airplane!

This time we will be there on Jonah's birthday :)


This is some much needed excitement after a week of sickness- it started with me last week- fever, body aches, sneezing... then over the weekend the boys caught it and have been home from school all week. We're headed to the doctor today for their coughs. Tessa is starting to show signs of it now...

Spring Cleaning Launch on eBay...

Our latest launch... to use up things we already had in our stash and CLEAN out our studios!

To find these and more from me click HERE! I will be adding more over the next few days! Everything starts LOW!!! I've gotta clean out my stash.

To find ALL of the Jaynes "Spring Cleaning" listings click HERE!

Tessa-isms...

Anything that has happened in the past, whether it was an hour ago, a few days ago, or months ago, will be referred to as "last year".

girl's night out...

Last night some of the girls had a birthday party for Angie, no men allowed! We had yummy food (of course there was chocolate fondue to pour over all of this):


and then we...




...carved SHOES out of IVORY SOAP with PLASTIC KNIVES. That's totally normal, right?


Mine is the boot, 3rd from the left :)

We played some games, talked, laughed, had some much needed girl time. We HAVE to do this MORE!!!

his & her randomness...

One day when Ryan wasn't looking I grabbed his cell phone and changed my name in his cell phone to "Hot Momma", so that whenever my cell calls his cell "Hot Momma" would flash on the screen.

The first time I called him he answered very puzzled "Hello???" I laughed and laughed!

A few days later I started getting calls from "Sexy Man".

bunny chick...

My sister in law Jennifer made this for Tessa for Easter, isn't it adorable?

It has a little chick wearing bunny ears!!!


And it has an EGG POCKET!

The bunny in the pocket was Tessa's idea...

Want to get your own??? Click HERE to see the eBay listing and BID!!!

It's such a blessing to have incredibly talented family members!!!

.99 sample sale...

Cleaning out my studio!!!

These and many more sample pieces are all starting at .99!!! Click HERE to find them!

FREE shipping to my blog friends!!!

sleepy head...

look who snuck into my bed tonight...

another giveaway...

I meant to mention this yesterday (Beki please forgive me!)

Pampering Beki is also having an awesome giveaway for some pretty jewels, seems she's been feeling as cheery as I was last week! Click HERE to go enter.

But do it QUICK! It ends TOMORROW! Tell her I sent ya :)

and the winner is...

Comment #52...Mrs. Shelton!!!!

Congrats! Please email me so we can get started on your piece!

thevintagepearl@gmail.com

Thanks to all of you that left comments, you certainly make a blue girl feel better! I may have to have another giveaway soon...

update & officially off duty...

A big THANK YOU to all of you that left a comment about Tessa's haircut!!! The sweet comments and stories were fun to read. I decided to just try to even it out myself, and thankfully, with some gel and lots of hairspray, I can still sweep them sideways, although short, because neither Ryan or I like the way she looks with bangs.

So here's a pic of how she looks this morning:


Not too bad, but will be happy when they are grown out!

Ryan took my first "belly pic" today, I'm a little over 4 months. I'd like to do one each month to watch the baby grow.


Today my parents are coming up to babysit all night so Ryan and I can get away for the night!!! I will be officially OFF Mommy duty for a whole night! We're going to eat out, catch a movie, grab some coffee, maybe shop a bit, and then SLEEP IN at a hotel! Woo-Hoo!!!


I will pick a winner tomorrow with the random number generator, scroll down a couple of posts if you haven't entered yet to win some free jewels...

Tessa's haircut... *SIGH*

Tessa decided she needed a haircut.

Thankfully all she really wanted shorter was her bangs. They were very long and we would sweep them behind here ears or hold back with a clippie. But they still got in her face and she was always brushing them back.

So she cut them. Unevenly. Not too bad for a 3 year old, though.

She had found some kid scissors that had been left out from the morning's craft time, and while I *thought* she and Jonah were watching "Ice Age" she had gone into my bathroom to snip.

Then she came out and found me in the kitchen and announced "Look Mommy! I got a haircut!" She was beaming with pride. My heart sank as I tried to figure out which hairs had been cut. Just the bangs, thank goodness. But she looks...different:




Now I'm trying to decide if I should:

just try and even them out myself (and possibly BUTCHER it- I could totally see me going shorter and shorter trying to "even them out" until I realize she no longer has any bangs at all...

buy her a bunch of hats...

or pay a professional to handle it...

I hope they grow out quickly!

let's give away some jewels...

I'm in the mood for a giveaway...I've been a bit grumpy lately so maybe this will cheer me up! *crossing my fingers*

What to give away...hmmm...I can't decide. I think I'll just let you pick something out, how about that???

All you have to do to win is leave a comment and say WHAT you'd like to win! (Go check out my Etsy store or my eBay about Me page for some ideas.)


I'll randomly choose a number from the random number generator on SATURDAY NIGHT, so get your comment in QUICK!!! If you have more than one favorite then leave more than one comment for extra chances to win!

This should be fun!

some cute smiles...

My children have been so great about indulging me on my quest to learn my camera.

Not to mention a few bribes have been thrown their way...

had to share an oops!

So after I made this bird necklace my sister in law Jennifer calls and says I should make an owl.

I think what a cute idea! So today I tried and... FAILED! Big time. LOL! I tried adding the pointy owl ears at the top because otherwise it would just look like another bird... but they look like HORNS!!!

And it doesn't really look much like a bird...

It kind of looks like a cat to me with whiskers.

So here's my failed-miserably-attempt-to-make-an-owl-but-turned-into-a-devilish...thing:



LOLOLOL!!!! I plan to try again, I'll post it if it looks any better :)

finally another basketball game...

Due to the ice storm and Christmas vacation, Caleb hasn't had a basketball game since this one. I tried out the camera trying to get some sports shots. Unfortunately none of my action shots came out very good (so much to learn!) but here are a few of my faves...

Daddy the coach...


Daddy giving Caleb some "extra coaching"...


Caleb sharing his "strategerie" with his buddy...


Oh, and Caleb's team played the same team that had crushed them before, but this time it was close to a tie :D (Yes, I keep track of these things, I'm just a wee bit competitive...)

lil birdie *tweet*

New on eBay...click HERE.

Jonah's prayer...

This was 4 year old Jonah's prayer for me this morning:

Dear God,
Please bless my Mommy, help her make jewelry real good.

Thanks.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.

confession...

somedays I envy the cats and I wish I could do this all day long like they do...

another resell...

I love this pic of Tessa, it just feels HAPPY!

...find this pretty Days Numbr'd resell here!

sleepy girl...

She fell asleep watching a movie...

double tagged...

I've been tagged by 2 different people...I'm gonna cheat a bit, hope that's ok!

First I was tagged by Chic Girl to tell 7 random things about myself. Rather than bore you with 7 new facts, you can find ones I posted in a previous tag here! (he he, told ya I was cheating!)

I was also tagged by Wendy for a game of 4's...you can find my fun facts in fours here.

Thanks for tagging me :)

primping...

I caught my oldest son Caleb, who's almost 7, getting ready for church...

it took him about 15 minutes...

he used 2 brushes, a little bit of Daddy's gel, and a WHOLE LOT of hairspray...

almost done...

the finished look...



it's hard to see, but it looks like a T mohawk, exactly what he was trying to do. He was very pleased and got lots of "compliments" at church!!!

works for ca$h...

I took some pics of Tessa in some of her custom resells we have accumulated over the year, either purchases or trades.

She told me she "wasn't in the move (mood) for pictures."




Marshmallows were not enough.


This time she wanted...


MONEY.



...to find this beautiful outfit from daysnumbrd click HERE.

just call me Gracie...

Last night we went to church. I went to pick up Tessa from her nursery classroom and I told the teacher at the door (whom I didn't recognize) that I was here for Tessa. She looked a bit confused but called out "Tessa?" My daughter jumps up and runs to the door.

"Oh", says the teacher at the door to the other teacher, "they must also call her Tessa at home."

"What...?" I say something like this, not sure what she means.

"She told us her name was Gracie" says the teacher. Tessa just grins at me knowing she's caught.

Tessa's middle name is Grace and we often call her "Tessa Gracie", and Ryan has mentioned recently he'd like to go with just "Gracie". I guess she liked this idea and is now telling her teachers that's her name.

So I go looking for her coloring paper but can't find one that says "Tessa."

The teacher calls out "Her paper says Gracie. Look for Gracie!" So it's even on paper now. She thinks her name should be Gracie.

I prefer "Tessa" personally.

resells and something new...

Today I've listed some resells in 2t-3t that Tessa has outgrown, you can find them HERE. I have many more to list so check back if you like that size!

I listed my first jewelry piece of 2008, click here to find it!

Thanks for looking!

a tooth story

Ryan took the boys to their dentist appointment yesturday and then calls me with totally shocking news- Caleb has 2 (gulp) cavities!

WHAT????

We are avid brushers and all of our kids like to brush their teeth. We have a set for each kid upstairs and downstairs, for morning and night. They each have a regular toothbrush and their own electric spin brush. How could this be? The nurse calls me today to talk about it and schedule the fillings and I tell her how shocked I am and assure her we make sure our kids brush their teeth.

"But do they floss?" she asks me.

Uh, not really. Every once in a while Ryan or I get a wild hair and floss their teeth, but not regularly or anything.

"That's why," the nurse tells me. "His cavities are between his teeth where only floss would get to."

HUH???

I had no clue that 6 year olds needed to regularly floss- does everyone else floss their kids teeth regularly? Am I the only bad Mom that doesn't do this? I NEVER flossed as a kid and I have never had a cavity.

So I scheduled his fillings for Monday, please pray that it goes smoothly. At least they are baby teeth and will fall out, we get a second chance to cavity free smiles.

Something to smile about:

When Ryan and the boys were leaving the Dentist's office Ryan says to Caleb "Did you hear what you have?" meaning the cavities.

Caleb looks real serious and says "I know, I know. I have CALORIES."

what we did on Christmas vacation... (besides the obvious)

Ryan and I saw "I am Legend"- I clutched Ryan's arm the entire movie, it's scary intense but good.

Went to several Christmas parties and hosted one at our house. We played The Newlywed Game, Dirty Santa, Catch Phrase and Pictionary, boys vs. girls, The girls won (of course).

Baked cookies for Santa and cupcakes for Jesus, we lit candles and sang "Happy Birthday Jesus" since that's what Christmas is really all about.


Went to a doctor's appointment, Tessa got to hear the baby's heartbeat, my doctor was grumpy!

Bought my first pair of maternity jeans, they're big on me but MUCH more comfy!!!

Went to Nebraska, saw lots of Ryan's family, ate great food, played in the snow


and sled down Bunker Hill.

Caleb wiping out:


Came home Sunday night from Nebraska, I even got a footrub on the way home while Ryan
drove (he's multitasking, lol)


and caught a pretty Nebraska sunset:


Celebrated New Year's with friends playing Farkle, any other Farklers out there? It has taken the place of card games in our house.


Went to buy paint for Tessa's room, came home with too many paint samples to choose from. Anyone have a good pink they can recommend?



Today we are just getting ready to get back to normal life.

Tomorrow the boys go back to school and Ryan returns to work.

*sigh* I'm having a hard time with vacation being over. Maybe that means it was a good one :)