We made it!

This was a draft that I guess I never finished....I'm posting it anyway =)

Yesterday was such a long day but we finally made it to Washington last night. We got to the airport right on time for our flight but apparently they boarded the plane early (when does that EVER happen??) so we were the last ones on with two kids, two carry-ons, and a huge car seat strapped to my back. We flew SouthWest so the seats weren't assigned and everyone was in either a window or aisle seat with all middle seats open. I felt like the kid on the school bus that nobody wanted to sit next to as we walked down the aisle. We needed two sets of two seats together so my mom could sit with Jocelyn and I could sit with Alysa but no body would give up thier seat to sit in the middle of two other strangers so we just stood there holding up the flight. Finally one of the flight attendants announced that she would give free drinks to anyone who would give up a seat so finally someone jumped up and let us sit down. I think we ended up sitting next to someone famous although I don't know who he was. He had an english accent and I overheard one of the flight attendants ask him when his next show was. Of corse I didn't have the guts to ask. I thought he looked familiar but

Big day today

Today is going to be such an exciting day for the girls! As soon as they wake up, we're going to go see Santa at one of the Christmas events on base. I just realized they will be taking pictures with Santa and I haven't made their Christmas dresses yet! I don't think they even have anything Christmas-y to wear. oops. I wasn't sure if I was going to feel social enough to go but I told Jocelyn she could meet Santa and she got extremely excited so now we have to go. I love that Jocelyn is finally at the age where she is starting to grasp the idea of the holidays. I can see the excitement in her and it reminds me of how it felt to be a kid this time of year.
My mom is flying in today so the girls are very excited about that too. She'll be here for a few days to help me around the house before we fly home on Wednesday! I'm excited but nervous that I haven't finished my orders yet. I've had absolutely no time to sew the past few days with all of the phone calls and running around I've had to do. I finally got a hold of JAG yesterday so my window situation is in the hands of an attorney now - yay! I don't know what's going to happen but at least I have legal counsel.

Not a good day

I apologize in advance for this post. Today was horrible. Girls got their flu shots after waiting at the Dr office for a couple hours. Get home, check the mail, get a letter from a lawyer. Girls crying because they are cranky from their shots. Give them Medicine. Call Pat about the letter, no answer. Call mom about the letter, she can't talk. Call Al, no answer. Kids crying. Give them orange juice. Call Al again, talk to him about my window situation - for those of you who don't know, it's a long story but basically, we are being scammed by a nasty window company that is now threatening to sue us (ALL AMERICAN SIDING AND WINDOW, INC) - he confirms I should definitely fight. Call FRG lady, she gives me a number for JAG. JAG doesn't answer, no voicemail either. Ok, I thought the short sentences would keep this post from running on and on but that doesn't seem to be working. I've been on the phone or computer for at least 5 hours now trying to find any info I can about this company, my rights, and any phone numbers for legal counseling on base (hopefully FREE counseling). I'm exhausted but know I won't be able to sleep with so much on my mind. I have an order that is supposed to be finished tomorrow but I had absolutely no time to work on it today and probably won't tomorrow so now I have to notify my customer and let them know I'm falling even farther behind. I hate stress.
Yesterday was such a good day. The girls were in daycare for 5 whole hours so they had fun and I got so much work done that we got to spend some good, quality, happy time together before they went to bed.
I better get off this computer - all of this negativity is depressing. Hopefully I'll have nothing but good things to write tomorrow =)

Should be working

Even though I told myself to stop taking orders a week ago, I gave in and accepted one more which means now I will have even less time to work on Christmas pressents. I have 3 orders to complete in less than a week. It's do-able but I'll be stressed....nothing new I guess.
Good news is my mom will be here soon to take the girls and I back home for the holidays! I'm so happy to be able to go home for Christmas - thanks mom =)
It's about half-way through Alysa's nap so I need to get off this computer and get some work done before she wakes up! Hopefully I'll have more to write tomorrow.

Introduction

Ok, here we go.



I have two beautiful little girls. Jocelyn is 3 and a half and Alysa is almost 2. Jocelyn is my sweety and Alysa is just crazy. They keep me busy to say the least. My husband is in the army, currently on his seccond deployment to Iraq...ugh.



I guess I'll move onto myself. I have been a stay-at-home mom since Jocelyn was born. A few months after Alysa's arrival, I began sewing again. I realized that I had an obsession with everything baby-related. I absolutely loved being a mom and it consumed me. I wanted to buy them the hottest new gadgets, fashions and trends. I started to notice a lot of online shops selling beautiful handmade diaper bags, bibs, burp cloths, blankets. I loved them but just didn't have it in my budget to purchase something that I knew I could probly make myself so I dusted off the old sewing machine and gave it a shot. I bought a diaper bag pattern and went to work. It turned out pretty well, much better than I expected. Then I tried to make some blankets, which to my surprise weren't as easy as they looked. THEN, I saw handmade car seat covers! I said, I HAVE to have that! Poor little Alysa was constantly being mistaken for a baby boy no matter how much pink she was wearing. At this time, there were no pink car seats. Your only option was gender nuetral, blues and greens. Ugly plaids or jungle animals. I thought if she was in a PINK car seat with butterflies and flowers then there was no way anyone could mistake her for a boy. My first attempt was a disaster but also a learning experience. I tried again with better results but still not all that great.

I thought I'd test it out on the car seat anyway and off we went to visit a friend who had just given birth to her seccond baby. Walking through the hospital, I think I was stopped 2 or 3 times from moms and nurses asking where I got my car seat. One of the nurses suggested that I should start selling them and she would post flyers for me at the hospital. There was no way I would feel comfortable selling anything until I could improve the quality so I worked on a few more and eventually started offering them on eBay. They were a hit! I sold every cover I made. I was making a new cover every week, people were requesting custom orders, my past customers were referring me to thier friends, my eBay feedback was 100% possitive. I decided to take it to the next level and pick a business name and start a website. My little hobby has turned into a full time job. It is stressful and A LOT of work trying to balance being a good mom, wife and run a business but I know this is what I am meant to do.