Toddler Tuesday: Keeping them busy when you're busy

Toddlers love to help us. They like feeling like big kids. Although, Audrey is only 18 months, she still has chores she does but to her, they're just games. She helps me load and unload the dishwasher. We fold laundry together. She loves doing laundry (makes one of us). I hand her dirty clothes and she throws them in the washing machine and then helps me swap them to the dryer. Audrey also knows how to pick up her toys and put them away, when she wants to. It's nice having her want to help right now. There are times though, that I really don't want her help with things and have to distract her.

We got a big shipping box in and I had so much to do. I just needed it done and didn't want her in the way so I grabbed the box and stripped off her clothes and tossed her in. Popped the lids off of some markers, gave them to her and let her make some art. She had a blast. Little fit even when it was time to get out. That box was gorgeous. She colored it and made me it her own art. The best part was how proud she was of it all. She kept showing it to me and smiling.

I am trying to avoid using the tv as a distraction/baby sitter but yea, it's convenient at moments. It does get hard to deal because she is so used to doing everything with me. Once in a while I have to take her to my parent's house for 2 or 3 hours so I can get some stuff done. Don't beat yourself up because you can't sit down right this second with them. Yes, chores can wait but when you have no clean dishes or undies, it can't. Try and find ways to get your little ones to help. Remember Mary Poppins, one of my favorite movies, she made it a game. I've tried snapping plenty of times,  still doesn't work.

You can do it!

*Alyssa*

Selling yourself... Yea, I'm my own PIMP

Read this whole post before you freak out and think I am Dolly running the best little whore house in Texas. Great movie, look it up.

Being a business owner means that you have to sell your self! You are your product. I don't mean that in a "Hey, check out the goods *flashes privates*" way. I mean it as in, your heart and soul. Your passion. Your life! No matter what the business type is, if you are truly proud then it will reflect. I have been around so many great business men and women in my life and learned a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is a political war in itself at times. I don't say this to detour you from doing it but to prepare you.

One of the best pieces of advice I have been given is always be ready to give a business bio at any time. When someone asks me what I do for a living I explain that my main job is being a sahm but on the side I blog and run Fab Flares by Audrey's Mom which is my custom crafts business. It's neat how people are excitedly surprised by all of that. Yea, I'm busy. I love it though. It shows in all I do. Always have some business cards on your person. I keep a stack in my bag because I want that next sale.

Something that has really helped me is having photos of my products on my phone. I can show them my stuff and then they can look at it more detailed online. Reel them in! Even if i don't have a back order at the moment, I always act like I do. Not only will it make you more appealing to a potential customer but it will help your confidence. Extreme confidence will shine through.

Make sure you are proud and always show it. Now go strut your stuff and make some sales.

*Alyssa*

Toddler Tuesday: Long Car Rides Are BORING!

If you read yesterday's post then you know we had a long weekend. Drove 4 hours to Seattle for my grandfather's funeral, spent the night and drove home Sunday afternoon. So much packed into such little time. Honestly, I was so excited to get home to my own bed.

There are so many posts and articles on how to travel with a toddler. Let me break it down for you parents, it's not that glamorous! While Audrey is mostly a well behaved child, it still was not entirely fun. She did have some fits and I did argue with her. Honestly, I don't think it would have been as easy to have drove if my parent's didn't have their new car with the tv in it. Thank God for the DVD player. Oh and the snacks. Lots and lots of snacks. The worst part for me was being car sick the entire time.

As we get older, we're used to sitting for long periods of time. Not a tiny toddler. We stopped as much as possible and walked around. She would fuss and squirm trying to get out of her car seat. I was trying very hard to keep her comfortable. We had lots of toys, her baby doll, books and a mini karaoke machine. We made silly faces at each other and sang.

I have not been on a plane with her yet and am not looking forward to it when it does happen. Although, I will do everything again to make her comfortable and enjoy it.

What are your tips for traveling with small children? 

*Alyssa*

Oh My Monday!: Counting my blessings

Welcome back everyone to the most hated day of the week. Poor Monday, you get treated terribly. I guess I don't have a right to hate you, you've never done anything to me and being home everyday, I don't get the same resentment as others.

I guess it's time to come back to reality. It was an odd weekend for me. Went to a funeral across state for my biological grandfather. I didn't have a relationship with him so I didn't know how to feel about it all. Saturday night, I called Jake, to talk to him. He reminded me of something important. I can't be mad over it. At the memorial,  his friends told stories about him. They talked about all of the things he did for them. I should be happy about this not mad. Being mad is selfish.

After I went to bed that night, I lied in my hotel room  cuddling Audrey. I was thinking about everything I have. It may not seem like a lot to others but it's a lot to me. I have a man who loves me unconditionally, a beautiful and healthy little girl, and a silly dog who is always excited to see me. My parents have always been supportive of me and given me so much more than I deserved. I have some of the funnest Aunts and Uncles and cousins who I still hang out with like best friends to this day. Grandparents who love to still spoil me and fed me ice cream for breakfast more times than not. Those are true blessings.

Hell, I am extremely spoiled. Jake bought me a house and has worked his ass off the past 7 years with it to update it for us. I know I complain about it but I just get annoyed with the updates it needs still and the neighbors. If you were to see it for the first time,  you'd know instantly that it's a home.

We always want more. We've become greedy. It's OK to want more but make sure it's something that will make you wealthy in your soul not your pocket book. Just like the fact that I want a bigger SUV but don't need one. And that's ok. I also want another child but don't know if I will have anymore and I am so happy to have Audrey. My health issues aren't her fault and I will always love her. She is more than enough for our family.

So buck up and stop having a pity party for what you don't have. Stop trying to keep up with the Jones'. You can't take it when you go and you don't want to raise greedy and selfish children.

Count your blessings. Right them down so you are always reminded. And says your prayers and brush your teeth because God and germs are everywhere.

*Alyssa*

Fan Friday: Girl on the Move

Wow, it's already Friday. Today I am so excited to introduce you to Julie. She's awesome and I love her because she loves me. Well and she loves cupcakes and is an amazing writer. Oh, and she loves my chalkboard wine glasses I made her. So I'm going to turn it over to you, Julie.


I am a Girl on the Move who loves adventures and am always on the move, so whether that is exploring Southern California, tasting a new cupcake, running or traveling, I want to share those adventures with you!  I hope to inspire you to try new things and when you do try something new, I'd love to hear about it!

 I wanted to take a quick break and answer the most common questions I am asked about cupcakes!  And if you have any additional questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them!

How do you eat all of those cupcakes and not weigh 300 pounds?
Hands down, this is the question I am asked the most often and I actually think the answer is pretty simple.  I average close to 1 cupcake a week but that’s really my only indulgence.  Outside of that one cupcake I eat a pretty clean diet and I love running so I think that’s why I don’t weigh 300 pounds.
Do you have a favorite cupcake shop?
I’d have to really stop and think about this one!  I think I’ve been to about 75 cupcake shops across the country so it’s difficult to pick a favorite.  But…
Sweet and Saucy is where everything started so they’ll always hold a special place in my heart.  I also love the concept behind Church of Cupcakes in Denver so they’re pretty high on my list.  And Brown Betty Dessert Boutique in Philadelphia is just downright delicious!
And if you want to check out the other cupcake shops I’ve been visited, head over to the GOTM Travel Guide and search for a cupcake shop near you!
What is the cupcake trifecta?
In my opinion there are three things that make a cupcake perfect…
-The cake part is moist
-The frosting isn’t too sweet
-There is a balanced ratio of cake to frosting…too much or too little frosting just doesn’t do it for me!

Clockwise from top: Salty Caramel, Sweet Dream, The Big Cheese, Charlie Brown

How do you find new cupcake shops to try?
Lots of ways!  I get lots of referrals from people, I’ll come across cupcake shops that others mention in their social media posts and sometimes if I am traveling I will simply google “cupcake shops in fill in the name of the city where I am traveling”
Will you come try our cupcakes?
I’d absolutely love to come and try your cupcakes!  If your cupcake shop fits in with my upcoming travel plans I would be happy to come and check it out!  You can get my contact information on my Contact page so we can get in touch!
Do you ever have cupcakes that you don’t like?
Rarely.  But I’ll be honest, it happens.  There has only been one cupcake shop I regret blogging about because the cupcakes weren’t really that good and I struggled with what to say.  But I was committed, so I wrote the post anyways.  And there have two or three times when I’ve had a cupcake and not blogged about it because I didn’t like it.  But hey, 3 out of 75 isn’t bad!
What is your favorite flavor of cupcake?
I am a sucker for anything with salted caramel.  And I also just love a traditional vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting.  Oh, and cream cheese frosting…that’ll get me every time!
So I’d love to hear from you…where should I visit next?  And what other cupcake questions do you have?

Trial and Error of New Products: Painting Faux Pumpkins

As a business owner, I follow a lot of other business pages. Not only is a great way to network but you also can see what's selling and for how much. I enjoy seeing other people's failures, not because I'm cruel but because it shows they have a real passion for what they are doing. They are willing to keep working until they get it just right. I don't like to fail but I know it's going to happen. So I've made sure that when I have a new idea for something, I should practice it.

With the season turning into Autumn, I thought it would be a great idea to get some items in that theme for the shop. So I bought Audrey and I some "testers" to play with. We have these small faux pumpkins from Dollar Tree that are "carvable". I'm not vey good at carving a real pumpkin so I was very hesitant with some Styrofoam pumpkin. So obviously my next thought was to decorate them. I've been seeing such fun things online about decorating pumpkins with paints, glue, and my favorite, GLITTER!

 

I tested out a jack-o-lantern style pumpkin. I'm going to have my nephew try it out.

As you can see, it's not as tall as a soda can. Perfect for small hands. You can't see it in the photo but I made marks on the pumpkin as my outline.

 

Then I painted in the areas I outlined with black paint. I used my acrylic enamel this time but if you are doing it with a child, then you will want to use Tempera. It's a non-toxic paint that washes off of everything, including clothes. I didn't like how light the stem was so I went over it with a darker brown paint.

 

I think it turned out pretty cute and I have a feeling my nephew is going to love it.

 

I can't wait to make more and show them to you.

 

*Alyssa*

Toddler Tuesday: Handling Life's Boo Boo's

Me: "Audrey, come here, you need to get clean panties on!"
Audrey: Running around her table and giggling... Slams face into corner of chair and starts screaming.
Meemaw: Grabs screaming child and tries to console her and sees a cut eye, bleeding.
Me: Stomach sinks to butt and trying to not cry or scream because I feel so bad for my baby.

Well, that happened Saturday morning. She did cut next to her eye pretty good and it did open up. I didn't take her to the emergency room because they would have done exactly what I would have done only they would have sedated her. Got some dermaglue and steri-strips. Work amazingly. I have a feeling that this will not be the last time she needs them either. My poor child is so clumsy. She can't just turn around, no she has to swing way out. She runs like she's driving a giant pickup truck. Guess she is a redneck. For as long as I can remember, I have been extremely clumsy. I can't even count the exact number of times I have ran into something and knocked myself out. Is that a bad thing? I am an accident prone person and it looks like Audrey inherited that from mama. Since she was born, I have done really well to not gasp or freak out when something happens. Well at least not in front of her. Every one gasps though when they see a kid about to get hurt. My mom and dad would make me get back up and do it again if I got hurt. Well, not run into pillars again but you know what I mean. I make Audrey get up, brush it off and move on. Not so much this time. All I kept saying was, "She needs stitches, that's really bad. I can't believe this happened to my poor baby." Once I was home with Jake, he and I talked and she took a nap and calmed down. After that I realized, this kid is fine. She is so dang tough.

I got a funny text about it from my friend, she said, "There will be plenty of Urgent Care visits to come with her." Oh I don't doubt that. She's going to be doing karate like dada or swinging around a tree branch and knock the wind out of herself like mom. Every time she gets hurt, I will worry. Whether she is scraping her knee on the sidewalk or getting rejected by some loser boy, I will be hurt with her and worry. I will hold her hand and show her how to be strong each time.

Audrey was really strong for mama last week. Found out my grandfather passed away. I never had a relationship with the man, other than he sent me some pretty wonderful gifts on occasion and he was the man who conceived my father. Yet, I ended up breaking down about an hour after getting the news. I sat down in Jake's lap and cried. Audrey came in and saw her mama was upset, so she began rubbing my leg and giving me kisses. She kept saying, "Awe mama." I hated that my tiny toddler felt like she needed to be the tough one for her mama. It helped me though.

As children, we know how to handle life's boo boo's but somehow we forget that along the way. It's really amazing how our children can teach us these lessons again. Just watch your child on the playground and next time they fall, wait a second, see what they do. Do they get up and keep going ? They most likely will if it's not serious and you stay calm. Like my mom said after Audrey was hurt, she was taking her cues from me and I needed to be strong for her.

I'm going to keep enjoying taking care of her while I can, because like all of our parent's know, it goes by too fast and they know longer need us to kiss their boo boo's.

 

 

*Alyssa*