hello... I've been tagged...

Hope she made you smile :)


Grafffikki Kids, Hair Candy Bows and Lula Bee Boutique have tripple tagged me for 7 random things about me, so here we go:

1. I grew up playing soccer and it ended up paying for my college education! I still play indoor soccer on a women's team (whenever I'm not pregnant, that is!)

2. I didn't like the color pink until I had Tessa, now it's one of my favorites (after turquoise).

3. I don't wear jewelry very often (besides my wedding rings), even though I make and sell it. Ryan gives me a hard time for this...

4. I desperately wish I could sew clothes for Tessa to wear. I WILL learn someday, maybe when I get some free time :)

5. I have naturally curly hair that I straighten everyday. I also have had gray hairs since I was 21, and I have to dye my hair... I'm not sure of my "real" hair color anymore, I know it's some sort of brown.

6. I absolutely can NOT stand wet grass. It feels so gross squishing in my toes, yuck!

7. When my hubbie is out of town (like now) I can't sleep. I always stay up super late and I get soooo tired.



Now everyone reading this--- tag! you're it :)

a birthday morning and the winners...

This morning I woke up to all 3 of my guys bringing me breakfast in bed- 4 pieces of toast, eggs and juice, aren't they all so sweet? Ryan tells me in sort of a "eat at your own risk tone" that the boys "made it all by themselves" with a little help around the stove and that they used "alot of butter", lol!

They each gave me some Bath and Body Works goodies, Ryan let them each pick out their own, and they picked well- Tessa picked out Sweet Pea lotion, Caleb picked out body washes in Cherry Blosson and Cucumber Melon, and Jonah- he picked out "Sensual Amber" Body Cream! LOLOLOL!


Now on to the WINNERS!!!

The grand prize winner (according to the Random Number Generator) is:

the scotts, who said: Wow how great is this! I love love this! I blogged about it on my blog and also put a picture in my sidebar :) Thanks for the great opportunity to win!

love the earrings also so cute!


...and the runner up that wins the earrings is:

Love, who said so cute...the aprons and the earrings! =)

Congrats to both of you, please email me with your addresses asap!

Thanks to all that enetered and especially to those that blogged about Flirty Aprons and helped spread the word!

a fish set and a ring...

Jennifer, aka bella*tessa on eBay, and my sister in law, just listed this adorable Goldfish set here!



Tessa got to model it, this was pre haircut and I love her long bangs... *sniff*...they're slowly growing back.



And something new from me on Etsy, cotton candy pink jade ring:

birthday fun...

I was just 21 and Ryan and I had been married for only 5 months when we were shocked to find out we were pregnant... Ryan was immediately excited but I cried a bit. I think mostly from not knowing what to expect and being a little scared, I felt too young to take care of a little baby! But I soon joined in the excitement--- we were both thrilled to find out he was going to be a boy and decided to name him "Caleb Ryan".



He was born March 29th, 2001 at 10:36 am and was a whopping 9lbs. 10 oz.!!!

The nurses all called him "bruiser"...



We had his first sleepover for his party, he invited 5 friends over for pizza, an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (his favorite ice cream!) and lots of playing--lots of legos, hide and go seek (Ryan hid so well he got "stuck" in a closet and I had to help him get out!) and I think I even heard "freeze tag" at one point.

Then they wound down with sleeping bags and a movie...



He is definately a momma's boy and I couldn't imagine life without him... :) We are blessed with an amazing little boy!

I can't believe he's 7!!!

............................................................................


Friday night Ryan took me out to Shogun for dinner for my birthday (since he'll be gone on business ON my actual birthday- BOOOOOO!), and surprised me with 3 other couples who joined us. Shogun is a Japanese steakhouse where they cook your food all fancy right in front of you, so fun and yummy! Jennifer is taking the pic and Kristen is hiding behind Ryan :)



After dinner we went back to one couple's home for cake and ice cream and games. We laughed and laughed... "Underwear hole! It's round, right?"

Thanks for a great night Ryan!

I'm a winner...

Remember the blog party from 5 Minutes for Mom? And remember all of the great prizes they gave away? Well I won. My number one choice prize!!! Woo-Hoo!

I won a baby sling from ModMum...their slings are amazing!
I adore all of the fabrics they have for you to choose from and they are reversible!

I had actually been shopping for a sling for a friend of mine, but's it's a hard thing to pick out for others, especially when they don't know the sex of the baby (like my friend Robin). I was so excited when I won, I called Robin and said go pick out any fabric you like, and so she picked "Emma".

MY fave is Carmen. (In a size medium in case you are shopping-- I mean wondering...!) But really, it's a tough choice, they are all beautiful!


The sling arrived super quick and was packaged beautifully! It's even prettier in person, I hope Robin loves it :)

After seeing hers now I want one too!!!

So thanks to ModMum for the beautiful sling, and thanks to Sarah for the chance! She has reviews and giveaways on her blog, go check it out!

another GIVEAWAY!!!

Flirty Aprons is having a giveaway for readers of this blog only!!! Isn't that fun? They have the CUTEST aprons on their website, I think my favorite is SUNSHINE!

So here's what you can win:


Yep, their adorable BLUE CHOCOLATE apron! Isn't it CUTE?



They're a new up and coming business trying to get the word out. They asked if I'd have a giveaway for them and I thought their aprons were adorable so I said ABSOLUTELY!

All you have to do is leave a comment here and you'll be entered! If you put a link to them on your blog sidebar and then comment here that you linked them then you get 3 EXTRA ENTRIES!!! ***Please be sure to leave an email addy or a link so we can get ahold of you when you win!***

The runner up will win a pair of sterling silver wire wrapped earrings from me, I have a few colors to choose from (green, aqua, pink, champagne, amethyst, black, red, etc.) but they'll be something like this:



So hurry quick and leave a comment here before Monday March 31st (that's my birthday!), I will let the random number generator pick 2 numbers Monday!!!

ginger blossom...

My friend Jona of the Etsy Shoppe Fabritopia (if you like fabric you should check it out!) was sweet enought to send me some of her Ginger Blossom scraps! Thank you Jona!

They arrived just in time for the eBay Ginger Blossom launch that starts today. Ginger Blossom was designed by a fellow eBay designer Sandi Henderson, isn't that exciting?! Congrats Sandi!

So after Jona's scraps arrived yesterday I whipped up (are you ready for this?) a SOLDERED charm bracelet! Can you believe it? I haven't soldered in... well just about forever! I actually had to go buy solder, it has been so long.



I decided to make a fabric charm bracelet for all of the Ginger Blossom lovers out there- there seem to be alot of you out there!

And I started it at .99!!!

There are different prints on the back. To find the listing click here.

I have MORE Ginger Blossom goodies in the works. Stay tuned...!

Easter weekend highlights...

We had a busy weekend, but fun :)


Easter morning the Easter Lilly my Mother in Law gave me (thank you Trudy!) bloomed, isn't it pretty? I am amazed at how it just knew it was Easter and time to bloom that morning!

We of course did an egg hunt...


And the kids were so helpful to help me clean up the mess while I was blending a chocolate cake...





We had a pot "faith" dinner with several families (we also call them "angel eggs, not deviled eggs!")

Jessica brought this beautiful (and yummy!) cake:


And while most of us put our names on our cups so we wouldn't mix them up, here's what Jessica put on hers... (I'm amused very easily sometimes)

good friday golf...

Ryan got off work at 2:00 today so we headed to the driving range... Grandpa D should love these pics:



Not a bad swing, huh? Caleb is really liking golf :)



Gotta love her stance!



Daddy tries to help...





Much better... lol!



I tried out a camera tip from a blog I read today but unfortunately it didn't work well for me, and all of Jonah's pics were way dark (sorry Jonah!)

We`spent the rest of the day at the park, out to eat and then watched "Horton hears a Hoo."

Hope you all had a fabulous Good Friday!!!

don't teach a 3 year old the word "funky"...

...because chances are, it won't sound right when they say it!!!

Tessa LOVES her pair of mosaic jeans she has from Megan of Brassy Apple, formerly known as Creative Outlet Designs.

This morning after I told her to go get dressed she comes to me and says she can't find her "favorite jeans" anywhere, and I asked, "You mean your funky jeans?" After it came out of my mouth I cringed inside, immediately realizing my mistake.

She tilted her head to one side and says "my funky jeans?"

Only there was no "n" in her funky.

"I mean," I say quickly, "your cool jeans?"

"Oh. Yeah. My cool jeans. I can't find'em."



I'm hoping she has forgotten :)

an unsuspecting swipe...

After dinner last night Ryan and the kids decided to watch a movie, so I snuck off to take a bubble bath. The bigger my belly gets the more bubble baths I take, it helps take the pressure off my back and belly :) Ryan's Grandma and Aunt had just visited from Nebraska and brought down some new magazines for me.

I was ready to soak and read.


So I'm lost in thought reading an article and I hear something like "tssst tst-tst", which sounded a bit like Swiper the Fox, (or Swiper the BOX, as Tessa calls him). I look up and she's "sneaking" into the bathroom. I unknowingly put the magazine down on the side of the tub while I talk to her. She gets this twinkle in her eye as she quickly grabs the magazine, chunks it as hard as she can into my bedroom and exclaims "You'll never find it now! Ha ha ha!"

And then she runs away.

I never saw it coming.

something new...

on eBay, click HERE:



on Etsy, click HERE:

happy birthday old man...

I will always be able to say that because Ryan is 4 years older than I am :)

His Mom, Grandma and Aunt made their famous homemade chocolate cake and we celebrated with their family...



Jennifer came (of course, since she's his sister!) with her family (the cousins have SO MUCH fun together!) and she took a belly shot :) ALL belly on this one, lol!



Tomorrow we're heading to the Bass Pro Shop to spend his gift cards!!! Hope you had a fabulous birthday babe!


One birthday down, 2 to go--- Caleb's is March 29th and mine is March 31st--- it's a busy month for us!

drumroll please...

The winner of the Blog Party giveaway and their choice of either Mom's necklace is...

Vanessa, who said:

I love the necklaces! Would love to win either. My kids would be happy to see their names around my neck(ya know how kids love attention - especially my two hams)

Congrats Vanessa!!! Please email me at thevintagepearl@gmail.com and let me know which necklace you'd like and what names and birthstones you need!

The 3 runner ups are:

1. Meg, who said:

I love reading your blog and your jewlery designs are always amazing! Meg


2. Amy Woods, who said:

I'm a blog stalker! I love your jewelry and check out your stuff quite often. I'm a mom of three and leaving next week to adopt a baby girl from China! So...here's my comment!

and


3. mousitch, who said:

My daughter would luv this!


Congrats to all 3 of you, your prizes will arrive as a surprise in the mail! Email me :)


Thanks to EVERYONE that entered!

If you didn't win be sure and check back, I love having giveaways often!!!

and the WINNER is...

...going to be posted first thing tomorrow morning :)

I am SO SHOCKED at the number of comments!!! You guys are all too sweet :)

I think with over 300 comments I may have to have a few runner up prizes, don'tcha think?

So hurry and comment before tomorrow morning, scroll down a couple of posts for your chance to win!

Don't forget to say hi to Moonpie Designs!



And have lots and lots of FUN!!!

tgif...

This week has been Spring Break.

As a pregnant Mom of 3 kids under 7, this week has been tiresome! We have had soccer practice or scrimmages everyday but wednesday, went to OKC to visit grandparents on Wednesday, and thankfully beautiful weather has allowed trips to the park and trampoline jumping. I've tried keeping them busy with painting, legos, computer games, reading books, and yes I've let them play Gamecube and watch movies probably more than they should :P

There has also been a fair share of squabbles and lots of "he won't share!", "Tessa thinks she's the boss of me!", and "the boys won't let me play with them!" The two phrases that I detest the most are "I'm bored" and "I'm hungry", I have heard these more than any parent should have to.

Then there's the bathroom call from Tessa, "Mommy, can you come wipe my bootie?"

And my house...I won't even go there. It's a mess, I'l leave at that. I don't see the point in cleaning when they just go right behind me and mess it all up again :P

Today we went birthday shopping for Ryan and the kids were pretty good so we stopped at Krispy Kreme to treat ourselves to a doughnut. I was feeling kinda blah, so I decided I would get 2 doughnuts (because, you know, that makes everything all better, lol). When the kids saw my extra Jonah says "Hey no fair! Why do you get TWO?" I simply replied "One is for the baby." "Oh," he replies and I could tell the wheels were churning in his little head as he thought about that. "OK." I was off the hook :)

Just 3 more days until school is back in :)

time to party!!!! and a giveaway...

***This is a *sticky* post and will stay up top til March 14th, please scroll down to see new posts!***



This blog party from 5 Minutes for Mom looked like too much fun to pass up! Click the pink banner to go to the party!

For those that are new, I'm Erin, a sahm to 3 with a baby girl due in June. I make handcrafted jewels in my spare time (ha!). I sell some on eBay but mostly on Etsy. I'm also a new wanna-be photographer :) This blog is a bunch of randomness all about my family, pictures and jewels! I love to blog, it has been a great way for family and friends to keep up with us PLUS I have met lots of new friends!


Giveaway time...

In the sprirt of celebrating I am giving away YOUR CHOICE of either of my 2 BEST SELLERS!!!

A Mom's Eternity Name Necklace, to be customized with your kids names:



OR a Mom's Name Charm Necklace with birthstones:



To see more pics go check out my Etsy shoppe!

All you have to do is leave a comment so I know you visited- this is for old AND new blog friends! Feel free to comment as any times as you'd like :)

The winner will be drawn randomly at the end of the blog party, March 14th. Thanks for visiting!!

I would love to win...

1. a Baby Sling from ModMum, I REALLY want one of these for my baby girl due in June!!!

2. $50 to Paperlicious, I could use this for birth announcements in June!!!

3. free blog design from Sweet 'n Simple Design , this would be fantastic! I may even move over to Typepad if I win this one- I just can't figure it out on my own!

I also love... 6, 7, 34, 50, 57, 59, 60, 64 (Caleb & Jonah would love this one!), 76, 85, 97, 103 (for Tessa!), 117 ( I heart Target), 119, & 140.

moonpie designs...

Not too long ago I met Stephanie of Moonpie Designs and fell in love with her aprons. I emailed her about making some custom ones for my kids and they arrived this week!






In each if the kids pockets was a recipe for something they can make, they were thrilled!



She was so sweet and included a surprsie for the baby, a bib in gorgeous Amy Butler fabric and a matching burp rag!!! Thank you Stephanie!





Be sure and check out her Etsy shop and tell her I sent you!!!