one delightful

one delightful button gift guide // black friday sale!

2014-11-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

so much for goals apparently...two children has required a lot of juggling. if i wake up early to do work, they wake up early. if i stay up late to do work, they can't fall asleep that night.

it's thanksgiving eve, i'm working like a banshee getting ready for black friday and i had a brainstorm. i finally got both children to nap at the same time. well one is napping, one is having "quiet time" in his room, but regardless its a unicorn kind of moment for me.

for black friday i am doing a MAJOR sale. my stuff is always free shipping in the US, but friday everything is buy one, get one free (equal or less value). at check out, there is a section for notes and just note what you would like for free.

also, 19% of profits are still going to young life africa response fund.

if you are looking for some ideas on how to spend that money....i have some!

for the hipster

scrabble bookmark

buffalo check earrings

antler headband

for your kids teachers

theo fair trade candy bar

hairties

bookmark

for the stylish friend

mint keychain

gold web earrings

hairties

these are just a few of the fun combo i came up with...there are obviously endless possibilities ;)

hope you have a happy thanksgiving holiday!

katie

new keychains + a coupon

2014-10-07T15:25:00.003-04:00

finally...some new keychains up in the shop! and just for fun i've discounted keychains 15% off. use code // FALL {sale runs until next tuesday}

mini keychains // approximately 3 inches long. this is the size i currently use and i actually just slip it on my finger when i am running out of hands.

and full size wristlets // about 5.5 inches in length when folded + fits an average sized wrist

the full size have my new logo on the inside...woot!

also! not advertised, but I am started to monogram individual letters so email me [onedelightfulbutton [AT] gmail.com if you have a monogram request for an additional $2. and if you want a mini design on a wristlet or vice versa...email me and i am happy to customize one for you.

happy tuesday!

October Goals

2014-10-03T08:32:00.002-04:00

philip and jude at saranac...aka the most beautiful place on earth

but first...september in review

Exercise 3-4 times a week...mostly achieved i would say. yay!

Meal plan for the week...yes

Weekly date night with Philip...yes...some weeks it meant eating in and ordering out to save money on a babysitter

Continue reading through my Bible in a year plan...ooh this is the roughest one, i'm sorry to say. it's been really hard to find time to read and be still. this will stay on my list for next month.

Take at least one photo a week of Jude + Carter...mostly yes, but when i was changing carter last night, I thought i really need to keep taking photos. She's growing so fast!

Sell or giveaway clothes I have not worn in over 2 years...yes, we had a crumby yard sale. we live on an unmarked street, but i have sold some things at my favorite local consignment shop and am consigning some online here. I think that link will earn me points if you sign up...fyi.

New fall products online....mostly up, but not all.

on to October!

Get my children to sleep through the night. Sleep is very important to me. I've had a lingering cold for over a week and I think it's caused by sleep deprivation or at least made worse. Carter is almost there - sleeping 9pm-5:30am and then going back to sleep for a little longer. Jude has had some troubles while sort of dropping his afternoon nap and then waking at I don't know...4AM!! My dream is to have them both sleep until 6am. Really 7am would be awesome, but let's start with 6 ;)

Find time to read the bible and pray.

Continue to blog 1-2x a week. This was an unspoken goal last month that I decided to speak out loud.

Be productive with my work time, but be present with my family time. I have had a ton more energy to put in my business again. Pregnancy is really hard for me. Once it was over, I finally have enjoyed my business and blog again, but I don't want to miss out on little moments with my family and friends in the midst of pursuing my business.

linking up with hayley at the tiny twig. i've enjoyed writing monthly goals to help keep me focused...if you are writing monthly goals feel free to link up with hayley or share in the comment section!

introducing carter belle...

2014-09-30T05:30:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, right? As I mentioned in my last post, life has been much crazier with two little people in it. Carter was born in July and we had a friend Michael Curtis take photos of her. I do not always get around to sending a Christmas card every year, but I want to make a birth announcement a priority (no judgement if you did not do a birth announcement...I know postpartum life is crazy...). With lots of our friends and family being far-flung, I really wanted to send a card to stay connected and to announce our sweet Carter.

We decided to go with this sweet announcement...

I decided to go for the lined envelopes because it makes the mail feel extra special. And just because I am a little obsessive when it comes to crafts...I decided to embellish the envelopes with washi tape that matched the color scheme of announcements.

I have loved washi tape for several years now...I used to think it was called happy tape actually because I bought it from a site called 'happy tape', but know most people are familiar with washi tape and you can even buy it at target or staples. I ordered online, but it was pretty easy to find a few tapes that matched our color scheme.

I decided to vary the way I embellished the envelopes for my own entertainment. Some I embellished on the front of the envelope.

Some I embellished on the backs. I guess you'd call that a back, right? I created the triangle or flags simply by cutting the washi tape, but I think the triangles are my favorite...

Of course, there's always just the easy torn washi tape, which looks fun and saves a lot of time!

Do you have any fun ways to embellish envelopes with washi tape?

Carter Belle, consider yourself officially announced. ;)

fall is here, people.

2014-09-22T03:30:00.000-04:00

photo credit / michael curtis

life lately has been crazy. the fall is always crazy for philip's schedule, but adding another baby to mix has made it feel a little crazier. still good, but a little nutso. my patience starts to run thin with judah especially at the end of the day as we have never been able to get him to sleep well. my to do list often feels like i can't possibly get through it all and i generally don't. i am spending way more time on laundry than i ever have and coffee is one of my most faithful bffs.

i'm so not ready to part with summer. having a baby in the middle of the summer sort of changed how the summer felt. we also weren't here for the first time in seven years. i was looking forward to the break, but it's also like our little adventure we go on every summer and i hope we'll get to continue.

i've been sampling fall beers. i'm not much of a beer person, but so far i like this one.

jude took a liking to baking this summer. mainly he likes the results, but this has been my favorite recipe we have made this fall. we first tried the full fat version because it got such good reviews, but will try the healthier one soon.

i'm really liking this swaddle that i borrowed from a friend. it make sense to have room for the babies' arms to come up since both of my children used to fight the traditional swaddle.

i'm so glad to finally have some energy back to put into my little shop. during the pregnancy i thought one delightful button might be toast because of my lack of desire and energy, but its still kicking. enjoying making this new fun item lately..

we will eventually switch to cloth diapers, but right now i am loving these diapers. i love what they are made of and i can't handle the cute patterns. the price actually does seem reasonable too and the customer service is excellent.

also, did you read this? i still love starbucks, but am hoping they will start to have organic milk and clean up their ingredients. i'm hooked on this lady's blog.

that's all for now folks. happy monday!

random monday thoughts

2014-09-15T05:30:00.000-04:00

I have been noticing how I sometimes will blog something in my mind or have a thought I want to get out, but the transition from mind to computer to hitting publish is incredibly far. I had an unspoken goal in my mind to at least blog once a week. I love reading blogs and getting a little glimpse into other people's lives, but is it just me or does it feel like instagram is somewhat replacing blogs? It could never truly replace blogs in the way that Instagram can only share so much information, but I am wondering if in our society now (and maybe especially for moms of little kids?) that its easier to take a picture and share a thought on instagram rather than having to get it all the way to a formulated thought in a blog post.

I am clearly not an expert in either venue of social media, but I was already noticing this in myself and one of my favorite bloggers, Ashley Ann, mentioned that someone called her an "instagrammer" and not a "blogger." I do love instagram and how you can cover up your pasty skin and make everything look beautiful, but I also love blogs and love hearing what other people are thinking a doing. So let's keep blogging, kapeesh? With that said here goes nothing...

Life with two kids has been challenging, but fun for the most part. My to-do list and laundry often feel never ending, but then sometimes when I get a free second, I can't remember what I need to do. Some days parenting makes me feel bi-polar because I will go from a state of love and euphoria to all of a sudden incredibly frustrated with life and my children. (I do not think I am actually bipolar.......right??)

Carter is a dream. I cannot believe how easy and sweet she is. Jude is speaking and able to articulate himself so much more. It makes life with him generally a lot more fun as he can communicate his funny thoughts. He also has moments of stubbornness that make me want to pull my hair out. One of my favorite Jude-ism right now is "What's called this?" instead of "What's this called?". He says this potentially 1,000 times in a day. He also can be really sweet to her and I caught him entertaining her the other day.

Their "shared nursery" which I will eventually share in photos on here is really just Judah's room and it happens to have a crib in it. The most Carter does in the room is occasionally have her diaper changed or lays in the crib while I am doing something with Jude. And lately, her crib as become a boat or is it a plane? We got a video monitor for Carter, but it's really been nice to check up on Judah during "quiet time."

Photos of the nursery probably will not realistically happen until I can find a spare moment where mr. crazy has not dumped all his toys in his sisters bed, but you know, maybe those are the real nursery photos anyways instead of the perfectly organized bookshelves.

These thoughts have been really random, but I guess that's how my mind is working lately. It probably has always worked this way, but I'll just pretend like it is the exhaustion of a newborn and a toddler.

september goals

2014-09-02T20:24:00.000-04:00

As much as I have tried to avoid it, summer is coming to a close. I know Labor Day sort of closes out summer, but I am pretty sure summer technically ends a ways in September. So don't push pumpkins on me yet, people! (even if there is a 6-pack of pumkinhead beer in our fridge already!!) After having a baby and the start of a new season, I feel excited for some change so here are a few goals for September...

Exercise 3-4 times a week. The baby weight has not just fallen off like last time while I ate whatever my heart desired. I have started running...slowly...everything hurts, but for the first time in a long time I have the desire to work out.
Meal plan for the week. Meal planning for the month was a little to difficult for me...I may try it again, but for now weekly meal planning of healthy meals would be a small victory.
Weekly date night with Philip...as the fall picks up and now the craziness of having two kids is in full effect, our nights are generally packed so this feels a little more important.
Continue reading through my Bible in a year plan....reading has all together become a lot more difficult.
Take at least one photo a week of Jude + Carter. This shouldn't be too difficult, but I want to remember to preserve these memories of them little and cute and sometimes I forget to take pictures even though its so easy with the iPhone.
Sell or giveaway clothes I have not worn in over 2 years. One thing I did read was Hayley Morgan's ebook, The No Brainer Wardrobe. I am feeling inspired to finally simplify my closet and hopefully invest in some clothes that I feel good about.
New fall products online....soon!

xo! here goes nothing!

august sale!

2014-08-13T13:41:00.003-04:00

Let's be honest... the seasons are NOT starting to turn yet. I do love some pumpkin themed items, but my summer has flown by with a newborn on my lap so I am going to hold strong, enjoy August and refrain from mentioning any of my favorite pumpkin treats. However, I am doing some prep for the next season and have some new items I am excited to share with you all.

take 25% off my entire shop (includes free shipping too!) // use the code AUGUST for the next week.

lately // 002

2014-08-09T14:51:00.001-04:00

so this is real life...

Making: lots of breastmilk. did i start there? oh yes, i did.
Cooking: the occasional meal. lots of family and friends have helped and taken the load of me.
Drinking: coffee, huzzah!
Reading: blogs....hard to read with a newborn. my hands are always full. looking forward to reading again.
Wanting: time with philip and as a family. we have loved having visitors, but we haven't been just the four of us yet and i can't wait.
Looking: at carter. all the time. i love her.
Playing: trucks....fire trucks...boy stuff...
Wasting: time on Facebook? couldn't really think of anything for this, but i do hate facebook
Wishing: to freeze time every once in awhile...is she already a month old??
Enjoying: summer
Waiting: for jude's nap to end
Liking: coffee...this is a theme - i just have missed it so much
Wondering: why my phone battery is sucking lately.
Loving: when jude asks to hold carter
Hoping: to find a little bit of time to work on business projects
Needing: a nap or the ability to drink coffee in the afternoon and still sleep at night.
Smelling: the occasional b.o. - natural homemade deodorant only works so well.
Wearing: a mix of maternity and normal clothes...gosh i miss normal clothes
Noticing: how my belly has shrunk, but is still very present
Knowing: this is a short season in our lives, having two littles and i should soak it up.
Thinking: wow, i cannot think that well. i am sleepy.
Feeling: hazy. sleep deprivation makes it hard to think.
Bookmarking: new craft ideas.
Opening: lots of gifts for carter - thank you all that have sent things!
Giggling: at the kardsashians. favorite guilty pleasure.
Feeling: happy. that is one emotion jude expresses - and i love that he says "i feel happy" so i do too...

happy saturday!

Carter's Birth Story - Part II

2014-07-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

Continued from Part I...

So we went in, but we didn't bring our bags into the hospital. We didn't want to be overly excited if this was not the real thing. Apparently a lot of babies decided July 8th would be a good time to be born too because we showed up to a full labor and delivery. No rooms. Like Mary and Joseph we had no place to go. Okay, overstatement, they were cleaning our room and the waiting room was packed out with grandparents. No way was I sitting in that tiny crowded room having contractions every few minutes. We walked back and forth the down the hallway until we had a room about an hour or so later. We met our awesome nurse, Kristine. She looked a little like Arizona on grey's. She liked helping people labor naturally. Yes, yes. Everything was coming together. I was so happy to finally sit down and be in a room. The midwife checked me and I was 4cm and said we should stay.

We settled in and tried the different options to help labor. I cannot say enough good things about Beverly Hospital and our nurses and midwives. Anything from my birth plan that was considered crazy in Virginia was basically standard procedure in Beverly. Wait to cut the pulsing cord, yes. mineral oil to minimize tearing, yes. Tub with jets, yes. I had to be monitored the entire time because of the csection, but could still move around with ease.

It started to get blurry as the night got later. Contractions seemed to be increasing and we expected to have the baby sometime that night, but as the night wore on, I wasn't so sure. I started to get really tired early in the morning and anxious when I knew my team of people would be leaving at 7am. We hardly slept at all and as I got tired and slept some in between contractions, labor seemed to have slowed. The midwife broke my water, but nothing seemed to help. We walked and walked, but nothing was working. Kristine and our midwife left at 7am and when the new nurse and midwife came in, I was a hot mess. The sun was up, but we wouldn't open the blinds because we didn't want to face the new day. Lots of babies had been born overnight, but we were still in the throws of it, only 5cm dilated. I hadn't thought about it until now, but I labored all night just to dilate another cm.

Our new midwife suggested we start pitocin. You can use pitocin to augment labor that has already started in a vbac. I did not want to do pitocin. I cried and we debated over it. I knew it would be hard for me to continue to labor naturally with the pitocin and I was already at the end of myself. We finally, tearfully started the pitocin. I was mess. I couldn't seem to breath through the contractions anymore, I just laid on the bed and cried. An hour-ish in I asked for an epidural. In retrospect, I wish I had asked Philip to walk one more lap with or tried the tub again, but I just needed some rest at that point and made a quick decision. They gave me the epidural and then I cried because I wondered if that would be the last time I would feel a contraction and realized I would now passively sit on the bed. I also had fear that I was creating a recipe for a c-section by doing the epidural. What if labor stopped or stalled or her heart rate dropped? But we slept....and slept and rested until noon.

I eventually decided I wanted to sit up a little to have gravity help even if it meant I would mess up the epidural's distribution. I don't remember much in this time frame. Everything moved slowly. They slowly increased the pitocin, we had some light-hearted conversation with our new nurse, who was growing on me despite the fact that she was not as supportive or knowledgable about natural births. We had listened to our playlist so many times that james taylor would be ringing in my ears for days and I asked Philip to shut it off. Around 3:30pm, I started to feel pressure on my bowels, which could be a sign that it was time to push. The nurse thought it was probably just the epidural wearing off because I had sat up too much. She checked me though because my midwife was busy delivering another baby (seriously how many babies would be born before my own?).

To my surprise, I was 10cm and the baby's head was very low. I couldn't believe this was actually going to work. She decided to see if I was a "good pusher" before she called the midwife and I tried to push. She could not believe how ready the baby was to come out and quickly alerted the midwife. I still had the epidural in my system and was feeling good. I couldn't believe how easy this last stretch was. After about 30 minutes of pushing, Carter arrived and they promptly put her on my chest. She was still covered in vernix and was a mere 7 lbs 14 oz. They allowed her to lay on my chest for several minutes and Philip cut the umbilical cord shortly after. The whole process was incredible. They cleaned her off and weighed her in the room and she never had to leave my side.

We are so grateful she is finally here...through a long winter and pregnancy filled with morning sickness throughout, she was worth the wait.

Carter Belle's Birth Story - Part I

2014-07-27T14:11:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to share Carter's story of how she came into the world. I love reading birth stories and always wanted one to share. Jude was a scheduled c-section because our (very c-section friendly) obgyn in Virginia predicted he was 11lbs at 41 weeks. We basically got scared into a c-section. I do not regret it now because he is here and happy and healthy, but it was certainly not one of my favorite processes. I knew I wanted to try for a VBAC with this pregnancy because I believe they are possible and can be safe and is the healthiest way for me and the baby to be delivered (in most cases).

carter's due date - july 1

For prenatal care, I picked the Birth Center affiliated with our local hospital. It is an practice with just mid-wives not in the hospital, but has the luxury of being on the campus of the hospital if anything came up. I would have deliver at the hospital regardless because of being a VBAC, which really was fine with me. Because I was a VBAC, I would not be able to be induced because of increased risks. I felt so optimistic that maybe she would come early until around 40 weeks and then I realized how stubborn my body is and there wasn't anything I could do to make her arrive any sooner.

At 40 weeks, Philip and I started to feel anxious to meet Carter especially because at 38 weeks, the ultrasound tech suggested she was already 7 lbs and 15 oz. (We had a 38 week ultrasound, maybe it was 37 week? can't remember, but because of being a VBAC). We thought we were having another very big baby. I drank red raspberry leaf tea and took evening primrose oil like it was my job. At 40 weeks the midwife also suggested black cohosh. That stuff is nasty, but I drank as much as she suggested.

At 41.5 weeks they would schedule a c-section because they could not induce labor for a VBAC. I went in to the midwife the day before I would be 41 weeks and was about 50% effaced and not quite dilated a cm. I know they say your body can dilate quickly, etc, but my body just did not seem to want to let this baby out. Our only option to encourage labor was the foley catheter. God bless that terrible contraption. It's basically a fluid filled balloon that helps mechanically dilate you. It stays in for 24 hours and it will fall out if you get to 3cm. Sounds fun, right? I was even excited for them to do this, I was desperate woman.

Fortunately they were able to put the foley catheter in on Monday (40 weeks and 6 days pregnant). If I was not dilated at all, they would not have been able to do it. So we headed home with this ridiculous balloon. I started to feel a lot of cramping off and on. In intervals - maybe 10 minutes apart. I called the midwife, but she said, if it didn't demand my attention, don't track the time yet. So we went about our day. My mom had just arrived to help. At night the "cramping" or what I now know are contractions increased in pain and closeness. It was enough at that I had trouble sleeping and probably logged about 3-4 hours of sleep that night.

The next day we headed in to do another ultrasound because it was standard at 41 weeks. My amniotic fluid had been a little low since 38 weeks and I had to drink like a sailor (water that is) to keep it up. We barely passed the biophysical exam because of the low fluid, but we cleared it and as usual Carter was doing great as far as moving, practicing breathing, etc. Fortunately, they did not do weight estimate. If they had, I might have been afraid of her being huge like her brother.

After the ultrasound, we headed into the midwife. The balloon had not fallen out so I was discouraged that I was probably not dilated 3cm yet and wondered if it did any good. When they checked me, we founded out I was 2 cm dilated...yay some progress! And then she stretched me to 3cm and did a membrane sweep. So again that hurt pretty bad and I was feeling a little like wonder woman with all the pain I had been through so far.

The midwife the week before had in passing mentioned castor oil if my body was starting to head into labor. The midwife that day agreed that that might be the thing to push my body into labor. Of course, Philip was all about trying this and I was not so sure if I wanted diarerra. My contractions had already started to increase on the ride home, but we did not want to have a csection so I agreed to try the castor oil.

I took an average sized dose suggested to encourage labor when we got home (and ate chipotle...because I was hungry). Contractions continued to pick up and I did not want to do the second dose if labor was really kicking in. I waited to drink the second dose. My mom's good friend brought by a delicious meal from whole foods, but nothing looked good to me. The contractions were more painful. I could still talk through them and tried to eat a small meal for dinner. Philip and I came upstairs afterward and soon after, I threw up the entire meal. Contractions were sometimes 3 minutes apart and sometimes 7 minutes apart, but we decided to call the midwife. She suggested we come in to check how far we were and that we could go home if not. We kissed Jude goodbye and excitedly (and painfully) drove to the hospital. This all happened to quickly. I didn't expect to labor at home that short, but dang, those contractions hurt a lot more than I imagined.

to be continued...

carter belle

2014-07-22T14:01:00.002-04:00

our sweet Carter Belle is finally here!

born july 9 at 4:38pm

7lbs 14oz

birth story to come...i'm excited that we actually have a birth story to share rather than just a scheduled csection. she has been a delight + we are in love!

i am also loving not being pregnant, having energy again + drinking coffee + wine.

katie

39 weeks

2014-06-23T13:03:00.000-04:00

Here's me and my sweet buddy boy in the Boston Public Gardens on the 11th. I turned 30 (eek) - not something I was looking forward to, but life is pretty much the same as a 29 year old, 30 just sounds old...

I will 39 weeks pregnant tomorrow so I figured I'd do another quick update. The picture is actually 37 weeks though.

How Far Along: almost 39 weeks - holy cow!!

Size of baby: a watermelon, but more specifically at 38 weeks our ultrasound suggested she is around 7lbs 14oz - I grow really big babies...I just don't get get it

Maternity Clothes: I have about 3 or four outfits I am rotating through....it's sort of annoying, but only for a little bit longer. The weather has been pretty consistently nice (70s-low 80s) so I am mostly in the two maternity dresses I own or a maxi skirt because they are most comfortable.

Gender: girl! got some confirmation of this at our ultrasound which was nice because I have wondered if they could have made a mistake

Movement: yes - she is facing left. our midwife would like her to face right because she is less likely to turn sunny side up, but I can generally tell what limb might be poking me based on the way she is facing.

Sleep: I am still exhausted enough to sleep pretty well, but my hips and knees are hurting more at night.

Cravings: Fried Calamari...hmm....salty things still...

Symptoms: tired, low energy, sore hips starting to swell a little bit, have to go to the bathroom all the time...feeling like I can't stand being pregnant any longer

Best Moment this week: I think just the fact the we are finally at the end and get to meet our baby girl soon is pretty exciting.

36 weeks

2014-06-06T08:57:00.002-04:00

(if you want to feel good about your pregnant self, i do not suggest having your photo taking with a high school girl on her way to prom...ahh the life of a young life leader)

How Far Along: 36.5 weeks

Size of baby: #2 is the size of a honeydew melon ... again... depending on the website you look at. i guess melons are different sizes.

Maternity Clothes: um yes. I think I am going to buy myself a new birthday outfit (next Wednesday I'll be 30 - eek) so that I can feel a little better about the way I am dressed. I have been running out of options. The most appealing thing to put on is still leggings and a big tshirt.

Gender: girl! we almost have a name, but will wait to announce.

Movement: yes - lots and then not as much at certain times

Sleep: I am still tired and love sleeping - especially in the morning, but I am having a harder time falling back asleep if I wake up at night.

Cravings: This one is tricky. I still don't like sweets because of the weird aftertaste they have been giving me, but I am not feeling the same way I felt about hamburgers before and fried food seems to upset my heartburn. I still love most salty things though. And pizza - lately I have wanted pizza.

Symptoms: heartburn...hungry...queasy at times...some trouble sleeping...braxton hicks contractions...some strange pigmentation on my stomach...having to use the bathroom frequently...emotional...tired especially in the afternoon...the fun never ends ;)

Best Moment this week: I think I could feel the baby practice breathing the other day. It was a little strange initially because I wasn't sure what was happening, but I'm pretty sure that's what it was. Also - Philip is feeling like the baby could come any time and its kind of fun to see him prepare for the baby (even though it really could still be over a month to go...)

Still to do: I hope to do some nursery pictures before she arrives. We are waiting on a dresser from Land of Nod from my parents that was on backorder so then we'll hang the remainder of pictures, but here is a little taste of what we are working on for a shared nursery. We also need to pack our bag...and a few other things...

tmlp (to my last post)

2014-05-26T20:25:00.000-04:00

Because I am hip and work with high school kids I know on twitter tmlt means "to my last tweet" or I am pretty sure that's what it means. So I modified tmlp - to my last post...

I found this on Facebook and found it hilarious and true. I am an INFP on Myers-Briggs Personality test or I was the last time I checked. If you know your personality type, perhaps you'll find it funny and true too...

Prayers for Myers Briggs Types
ISTJ: Lord help me to relax about insignificant details beginning tomorrow at 11:41.23 am e.s.t.
ISTP: God help me to consider people's feelings, even if most of them ARE hypersensitive.
ESTP: God help me to take responsibility for my own actions, even though they're usually NOT my fault.
ESTJ: God, help me to not try to RUN everything. But, if You need some help, just ask.
ISFJ: Lord, help me to be more laid back and help me to do it EXACTLY right.
ISFP: Lord, help me to stand up for my rights (if you don't mind my asking).
ESFP: God help me to take things more seriously, especially parties and dancing.
ESFJ: God give me patience, and I mean right NOW.
INFJ: Lord help me not be a perfectionist. (did I spell that correctly?)
INFP: God, help me to finish everything I sta
ENFP: God,help me to keep my mind on one th-Look a bird-ing at a time.
ENFJ: God help me to do only what I can and trust you for the rest. Do you mind putting that in writing?
INTJ: Lord keep me open to others' ideas, WRONG though they may be.
INTP: Lord help me be less independent, but let me do it my way.
ENTP: Lord help me follow established procedures today. On second thought, I'll settle for a few minutes.
ENTJ: Lord, help me slow downandnotrushthroughwatIdo.
Amen.

(source)

But the part that I was suggesting was revenant to the last post is my prayer is...

INFP: God, help me to finish everything I sta

And I have totally dropped the business advice thing (oh and the blog thing...), but who knows...maybe I will drop in every once in awhile...I get some things done.

Ok - Happy new week to you and happy 35 weeks to little baby in my belly!

one delightful business: podcasts

2014-05-19T16:35:00.000-04:00

Remember when I ambitiously started this series and then got too tired and pregnant to blog at all...I can't say I am going to keep it up weekly at this point, but I wanted to share some of my favorite business podcasts. I love podcasts because they give me something to enjoy while on a walk (or run some day). Sometimes I'll listen to them while doing mindless business work or folding laundry.

The Art of Simple // Tsh Oxenrider // This has been my favorite podcast for awhile and I am currently enjoying her new book. Tsh has well-known bloggers like the Nester and small business owners like Gussy or Lisa Leonard. I enjoy all the archives too if you start from the beginning. Encouragement for simple living, and motherhood, but I find some good business info in there too because she brings in people that I generally know an admire.

Elise Gets Crafty // Elise Blaha Cripe // I have only listened too a few of these (and its a new podcast), but so far, very tangible tips for business owners.

Inspiration for Motherhood // Kat Lee // I have only listened to one of these, but enjoyed it.

How They Blog Podcast // Kat Lee

There's a start for you to get your feet wet with some fun podcasts...do you have any you would add to the list? It took me awhile to find any good ones besides Tsh's and sermons online so I would love any feedback.

33 weeks and counting...

2014-05-17T09:28:00.000-04:00

picture taken at almost 33 weeks hello belly button...there is no hiding you, is there?

How Far Along: 33.5 weeks (my switch over day is Tuesday, which is nice because I look forward to the weekend, but then I look forward to being more week closer once the week starts again!)

Size of baby: #2 is the size of a honeydew melon

Maternity Clothes: or Philips tshirts. Missing my normal jeans and clothes! Anything not maternity feels a little funny to wear.

Gender: girl!

Movement: yes - I know she is head down, but its hard to tell what's what when she's moving around. More movement at night than during the day. If I get up to go to the bathroom, I will usually feel her move when I lay back down before falling asleep again.

Sleep: Let's see...getting up 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom some nights, my hips are starting to hurt again (they hurt very early on in both pregnancies) and Jude is not sleeping well

Cravings: Hamburgers....fried pickles...limeade...lots of food...hungry...all...the...time....

Symptoms: tired, low energy, starting to swell a little bit, but I can also thank the cold New England spring for the lack of swelling. On days when its been 70, my feet balloon up, but otherwise, I don't feel too swollen. Trouble bending over...making cleaning up a most difficult feat.

Best Moment this week: Mother's day was great! We went to my favorite flea market...my favorite brunch place in Gloucester (Sugar Magnolia's)...it was 80 degrees and I put my feet up and read outside during nap time.

lately.

2014-05-16T12:33:00.001-04:00

i always enjoy these posts from other people so here we go. also, that's my toddler and his choice spot for nap time today...

Making: last minute orders for a few more Young Life camps
Cooking: when i have to...so tired...
Drinking: red raspberry leaf tea
Reading: Notes from A Blue Bike by Tsh
Wanting: rest + energy...
Looking: for signs of spring (and am seeing some!)
Playing: legos (or as Jude calls them - yoyokings - not sure how he landed on that name)
Wasting: time playing 2048 #evilgame
Wishing: for energy to finish getting baby stuff ready
Enjoying: seeing green leaves from my bedroom rather than bare branches
Waiting: for Philip's last busy stretch of work to wrap up for the semester
Liking: hamburgers, fried calamari...fresh strawberries...
Wondering: when baby girl will arrive
Loving: baby girl clothes that people have gifted us with
Hoping: to figure out how to get my toddler to sleep
Needing: a nap. did i mention i'm tired?
Smelling: currently nothing - pregnancy congestion...
Wearing: all maternity clothes or my husband's tshirts
Noticing: how big my belly has gotten
Knowing: we are near the end of this pregnancy!
Thinking: about how to organize their shared nursery
Feeling: sleepy + uncomfortable
Bookmarking: info on essential oils
Opening: old boxes of jude's clothes to sort
Giggling: when Jude says "oh toodles!" (mickey mouse club house quote)
Feeling: proud that i found the best mexican restaurant my husband has had since VA...that's a big deal to us...

happy weekend!

30 week update

2014-04-26T16:07:00.000-04:00

I guess I missed a few updates considering the last time I posted was for the 20 week update. We are alive. I am finding New England spring to be almost as cruel as the winter. We had one beautiful 70 degree day followed by a dip back into the 40s and now we have settled back into the 50s again. I suppose I should be grateful for that and that we can go outside if we want even if its not under the sunny circumstances I had hoped.

Here I am at 30.5 weeks pregnant. In April. In a Fleece which will most likely be my wardrobe until the weather decides I can wear the rest of my maternity clothes. You can somewhat see the bump hiding under there.

maternity clothes? yes - almost always. i don't know how many of my judah pregnancy clothes i will be wearing considering it was hottt. i still can wear regular leggings and maxi skirts are my best friends.

symptoms? on the downside, i have had a stubborn sinus infection for about 2.5 weeks. on the upside, i couldn't smell an ounce so nothing was really bothering me as far as smells. still need a big breakfast to not feel sick in the morning. heartburn. big appetite, but starting to feel full really quickly. uncomfortable bending over, etc.

sleep? pretty sleepy, some sleep disturbance, but mostly from my two year old that seems to be having a night terror type thing and gets upset when he realizes the lights are not on in his room at 2am.

movement? some crazy movements, but i like them. the midwife said she thinks she is head down.

cravings? pickles still, fried calamari....salty things

gender? baby girl!

belly button? i have belly button issues. it is like a third nipple. you can even see it come to a point through the sweatshirt.

almost 31 weeks! maybe i'll get another bump update before july...

old man winter - i am done.

2014-03-18T12:35:00.000-04:00

I think everyone is probably feeling about the same way...but I am so. over. this. winter. I feel like I have not taken off my smartwools since December. I obsessively check the forecast - especially the ten day to see, when is this puppy going to turn around? (that's not an expression...) But with 20's still in our forecast, there is no sign of change.

getting up for campaigners on friday mornings when it's 6 degrees is potentially one of the hardest part of this stinkin winter

I feel like we are barely getting by. God is definitely caring me through this tough season, as a seasonally depressed, still having morning sickness, pregnant woman with a toddler that had his second round of the evil stomach bug this week. Some of my "spring" milestones have come and gone and some things are better, like the time of daylight - praise God for the spring forward! Its light until 6:30 and I needed the sunshine, but I dreamed that in March, we could at least get out of walks some days and those days seem to be about once a week for a brief hour in the afternoon.

Somethings that have helped me get through this crappy-never ending winter...

We joined the Y. I feel like the Y might be a motherhood loophole. Free babysitting while you work out and shower...yes please. It has also been a lifesaver as far as getting a chance to workout. Doing a few pilates moves was not helping me keep excess baby weight off, but this as at least slowed unnecessary weight gain.
Ann Voskamp. She is in snowy Canada and always has something that encourages me to share. Her weekend links always make me cry, but in a good way. But I liked this post on the "Snowmaggedon" & the comparison to God's grace...

Graceageddon. It won’t stop coming, covering your mistakes, covering you in love. There’s got to be more than 5 feet out there in the orchard? - Ann Voskamp

The hope that things will change & the baby is still doing well (25 weeks today!)
Judah is sleeping better. Not great. Still sometimes up a little before 6, but hasn't been pulling anything to crazy and hasn't been getting out of his crib.
Philip has built us a ton of stuff for the house...his latest project that I posted on instagram...a headboard.

so that's a little bit of me. Haven't felt like posted because I haven't wanted to just be a negative nancy ...but I am hanging in there trying to enjoy the gracemaggedon even when things feel like they aren't going my way.

new products!

2014-02-24T12:53:00.002-05:00

I have finally had the time (and energy) to get some new products I have been working on online. I recently changed over my shop to free shipping for U.S. purchases (no coupon code needed).

I am particularly excited about these cute little keychains. I carry them in three other patterns that you can find on my website.

new hair ties + headbands...

(Hair tie sets now include 5 hair ties! yahoo!)

ok - that's all for now...

happy monday!

New Stairs

2014-02-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

When we bought our house, I knew I wanted to change the half-drywall railing into a real bannister, but unfortunately that meant having look at this unfinished project for almost a year. The old nasty carpet from the previous owners remained and no bannister.

Once Philip had time to do this project, we found an old beat up newel post that he was able to make sturdier, but still had old character to it. We got it from an architectural salvage shop in NH for $99. I feel like that's robbery, but we had looked for a long time and that was cheap compared to most.

I can't really tell you what Philip did. He could if you want to know, but here is our new old newel post and beautiful stair treads and bannister...

Still a lot to do, but check one thing off the list!

20 weeks

2014-02-17T13:06:00.000-05:00

we are finally about half-way through this pregnancy! holler.

Here I am in the lovely target dressing room...

maternity clothes? just for pants mostly, but tops are needing to be long or maternity or my belly will hang out. i'll avoiding buying too many maternity clothes, but need the weather to warm up because i only have warm weather maternity clothes.

symptoms? dry heaving, gagging frequently if anything grosses me out (milk, coffee, eggs to name a few), tired (low energy in general), hungry...moody? i think i can attribute that to pregnancy...

sleep? still so sleepy. conk out around 9:30 and wake around 6:30

movement? flutters and spins and kicks occasionally, but my anterior placenta makes it harder to feel movement

cravings? hmm still have more aversions. i did crave chocolate chip cookies last night, but we did not have supplies to make them.

gender? baby girl!

belly button? um, can you see it in that picture? i have belly button issues. it hurts if i get full.

pretty much just itching to get through the winter. new england living is no joke. there is icy cold snow on the ground, which will probably remain until the weather gets a little warmer than freezing. hoping march is kind to us!

pediatric neutropenia

2014-02-11T10:57:00.001-05:00

I have been thinking about sharing this for awhile. I thought I should share what's been going on with Jude's health because there might be others out there who could relate, but I just had not gotten to writing it down yet.

Last May, Jude had a low-grade fever for a week with no other symptoms. We were checking his temperature daily, but he seemed fine besides the fever. He had seen the ENT for his ears, but he wasn't a shoo in for tubes so we did not do them. He did have a lot of ear infections so I assumed maybe this was the same. We went into the doctors a few times that week from what I remember, but they just weren't sure what it was that was causing the fever. After a week with the fever, our pediatrician recommended having his blood checked to see if that gave us more of an idea of what might be going on.

So the blood drawing started. Let me tell you, blood drawing with a less than two year old is not a fun procedure, especially with sometimes impatient nurses and tiny veins that tend to be missed requiring multiple tries. The first blood draw indicated his neutrophils were low. Neutrophils are the part of the white blood cell that fights infection and my understanding is that can fluctuate when you are sick and your body is using the neutrophils to fight the infection.

Test again a few a days later...still low. All of the specific blood drawings are a little bit blurry to me because we did it so many times. After two or three drawings, many tears, our doctor expressed her concerns about his neutrophils and recommended we see a hematologist at the Boston's Children's Hospital. Low neutrophils can be a sign of leukemia so naturally, I assumed the worst and cried and worried all week. The Children's Hospital is wonderful and world-renown and we are lucky to be so nearby.

We had Jude's blood drawn again there and met with a hematologist. He quickly dispelled any concerns I had with leukemia knowing that would be on my radar. His suspicion was that it was a condition that children randomly have and spontaneously outgrow called "pediatric neutropenia." Many kids have it and just do not realize it.

So this was and has been our treatment of it for the last 6 plus months:

Good hand washing (by Jude and people around him) - harder than you think. It surprises me how many people will feed my child without asking.
If he has a temperature above 101, we typically have to have his blood drawn and neutrophils checked.
If he has low neutrophils, he has to have an antibiotic shot coverage, which is a terrible painful two day series of shots in his legs to compensate for his low neutrophils possibly not being able to fight off an infection. We have only had to do this once.
Check in with the hematologist in Boston every three months to check his neutrophil count. I imagine it will have to be up for a few visits for our doctor to believe he has outgrown the disorder.

We are really grateful that hand washing, a little caution and a trip into Boston every few months is our treatment. I just thought I'd share in case anyone has had similar experiences. We are so grateful that our doctor does not yet suspect that he has Cyclic Neutropenia, which would affect Jude throughout his life, but are still praying that he grows out of it soon.

He really has acted like himself through this whole ordeal and has given us confidence that it is a temporary condition that we will hopefully see the end to soon.

Sorry for such a wordy post - but maybe you learned something new today ;)

one delightful business: packaginggggggg

2014-02-06T12:32:00.001-05:00

on this series: I have thought for a little while that it might be fun for me to share some things I have learned from owning my own small business. There is certainly a lot I do not know, but I have been running one delightful button for over four years now (hard to believe!). And I feel like there are a lot of tips and tricks and lessons I have learned along the way.

This is one of my hills to die on for small craft businesses. If I am going to buy some thing from someone that makes items themselves, I still I want it to look like I bought it from someone else and did not just make it myself. If I wanted to make something for a friend, I would make something. And sometimes the packaging itself sells the product more than the product itself.

My first cards were scrapbook paper cut in small squares and then with hand-stamped letters spelling my website. They weren't terrible, but my main beef is it took too much time. I was stamping each letter myself. I used dollar store jewelry boxes and printed clear labels with my business name on it. It worked, but I knew it was a temporary solution.

Next I started to order kraft jewelry boxes, embellished them with washi tape and then put a clear label on again.

I was still not super satisfied by that, even though I do love wash tape and a reason to buy it. I now do a simple kraft box with my logo hand-stamped. My logo is stamped on a shipping tag. I have stuck with that same simple look for a few years now because I like the shipping tag and I like the extra touch of all the hand-stamping.

I have done all the logo design myself. I used to have photoshop, but now use pixelmator, which is a knock-off version that works fine for me. However, I took a class in high school where I learned photoshop - otherwise, I don't know if I'd invest in it. It is not the most intuitive thing. Picmonkey is a great site if you are not super familiar with graphic design and is free!

Include promotional materials such as business cards...My new business card...

You could do a handwritten note...

Embellish the package cute stickers...

Tie it up with baker's twine or fabric...

Washi tape...anywhere...everywhere...

Just a few ideas...so many ideas on pinterest that I am sure you have pinned. My point is going the extra mile with packaging will make your item more memorable and giftable.