These posts don't write themselves.

These posts don't write themselves.

Ain't that the truth!

Some of my bloggy friends have shared recently that they have been faced with writer's block. I know how that feels all to well.

There are days where God help anyone that gets between me and my keyboard. I have an idea in my head and it really is like a bee in a bonnet. I just HAVE to get it out.

Then there are days when I click "New Post" and sit and stare and stare and stare.

I've heard of better other bloggers having a blogging calendar where they actually plan their posts.

• Day One - On this day I will write about my toes.  
• Day Two - On this day I will write about my husband's toes.
• Day Three - On this day I will post a picture of my baby's toes.

I haven't been able to do that.  But these bloggers can consistently come up with read-worthy posts.  I don't like those bloggers.
No, that's not true.  I like them just fine.  I'm just jealous.

I had started carrying a notebook with me and jotting down ideas for posts when they came to me.  I think the notebook cursed me because now I open it and just sit and stare and stare and stare.

Then I start to panic.  Aren't I interesting?  Don't I have any original thoughts? 

Are those other bloggers' lives really that much more post-inspiring than mine?  Probably.  Or maybe they are just better at fumbling their way through writer's block.

There has to be a way to stave off writer's block.  Maybe there's a pill for it?  I'm sure there is but it's probably illegal.

There have to be ways to overcome it.  Do you have a tried and true way to break through the block?  If so, please share it in the comments area.

After all, these posts aren't going to write themselves.

Lingerie shower invites...oh, how I wished for a Cricut.

Sorry all my blogging buddies for not being around much last week. It was a very busy week for us and I had some extra jobs I took on that took up my idle time.  I worked on some shower invitations which I will share with you all here and began more tutus for Bean and some of her cousins.  I didn't get as much done on those as I would have liked but I guess that's what this week is for, huh?

A few weeks ago I shared a gift I made for a cousin's wedding shower.  Now this cousin is being thrown a lingerie shower and I was asked to make some cute invitations for it.  I hope that everyone likes them because they are not likely to be reproduced any time soon.   My hands are still sore from all the cutting I did.

I scoured the internet for a cute corset digital image to use as a template but had a hard time finding anything that would work.  I finally found a picture and printed it out to use as my cutting guide. Now, this is the old-school way to do this, you know.  Really dedicated and fortunate cardsters have die-cut machines like a Silhouette or a Cricut to do this manual labor for them.  I am not that fortunate yet.   It is on my wish list for Santa though.  So far, "Santa" hasn't laughed in my face when I shared this want with him so maybe there's a chance.

Corset template.

After I printed out the party information on the pretty card stock I picked out, I traced the shape of the corset around the printed area.  I traced the image on the back of the card stock after holding it up to the light and trying to center it.  This was a little tricky and some of the cards are a little off-center but...it was the best I could do.  Then I started cutting...and cutting...and cutting.  Once the fronts were all traced and cut out, I took each one and went back and traced them onto the cardstock I picked out for the back of the invite.  The cutting continued.  Ugh.  My hands became one with my scissors. I had to pry my fingers off when the whole lot was done.

All the details printed on the pretty card stock.

Tracing out the corset on the back of the printed card stock for the front of the invitation.

Cutting out the front.

Isn't it pretty?

Using the front to trace out the back for a better fit.

Once the fronts and backs were all done, I matched them up and trimmed off any excess here and there. Then I took the backs of each invite and added a scalloped trim I punched out using a Martha Stewart punch I won awhile back. This was a little tricky and I had to piece these parts together since the bottom of the corset was curved. I could have used some ribbon but decided to go with the punched paper instead to give it a lacey look around the bottom.

Lace around the bottom.

 

Then I glued the front and back together and went around the whole thing again trimming off any excess.

Almost done.

Once everything was all put together, I added a little pearl and ribbon embellishment to finish it off.

Corset lingerie shower invitation.

 I think they turned out nice.  I truly hope the hostess and the bride like them and that it turns out to be a great party. 

I'm going to link this post up with a few crafty blog parties this week.

Can you see me now?

If you remember this picture from last week...

you can see that Bean was long overdue for a haircut.  When your kid has to hold her head back to look at things, it's bad.

So on Saturday I took Bean to see "Mel-la-lee" for a haircut.  Bean climbed up in the chair and sat there so nice.  She did almost everything Mellalee told her to.  She never cried or tried to get out of the chair.  And Mellalee behaved pretty well, too.  Ha!

Now Bean no longer has to hold her head back to give me one of her famous "Yeah, Sure, Right Mom" looks.

Thank you, Mellalee!!!

Wordless Wednesday - First Evening After Preschool

Since I forgot to take pictures the morning of the first day of preschool, here are some pictures of the first evening after preschool. Love the messy hair!

Men. You can't kill 'em.

Sometimes on this blog I share really cute pictures of a really cute kid. Sometimes I share really great tips or ideas of other really great bloggers. Sometimes I write some really inspiring prose on here, too.

Today is not one of those days.

Oh no.

Today is "How much can I get for my husband?", or maybe "How many fire ants will fit in one man's boxer briefs?". Either or.

My husband loves me SOOOO much. How much do you think he loves me???

Let me tell you.

He loves me so much that he sets his alarm clock to go off at 5 a.m. BUT, and here's the kicker...he doesn't get out of bed until 6 a.m.

In fact, he doesn't even hear the alarm going off. Guess who does hear it?

Yes, you are correct if you guessed me.

He is a heavy sleeper. I am not.

I sleep next to the alarm clock. He does not.

I think he does this to me every day just so that I can have one additional hour saying his name over and over. That's real "romantical", isn't it?

No. It is not.

I will be informing his mother tonight that she needs to step up her praying for him. He's gonna need it.

Bean is grownin' on up!

Bean sure is growing right up. She's doing it way too fast for my liking, too.

Today was her first day of preschool. I was running so behind I forgot to take a picture or twelve. She's gonna have to let me make up for it this evening. She probably won't be a willing party.

We are still working on our potty training or potty learning as some like to call it. Personally, I like to call it Bean's World Tour of Toilets.

When we are out in public she always says "I gotta go potty". Usually she says this as loud as her little lungs will let her, too. Ah, those knowing grins of anyone in ear shot. But once we are in the potty, it's a fifty-fifty shot of there being any real "production". Most times these little trips just make me realize how much I have to go "potty" myself. Then begins the best game Bean knows how to play..."Let's see how fast Mommy can go potty while I try to open the stall door". She thinks this is hilarious. And she does it all with a huge grin on her face.

That's fine. Grin away, Bean. I will remember this one day...

Pinkie's Picks - August 13, 2010

Check out some easy ways to reduce recipe costs from $5 Dinners.com.

If you are looking to spruce up your Blogger blog, check out ShabbyBlogs.com.  They have tons of freebies to make your blog beautiful.  I absolutely love their Old School background.

I am dreaming of a pearl strand lamp like this one featured on Be Different...Act Normal.  I am now on the lookout for a basket like that...and the pearls...oh, and the light.  Well, you know what I mean.

Green Mama shares her recipes for homemade cleaning products.

From WhatToExpect.com, tips on handling stubborn toddlers that do not involve any closets or duct tape!  Who knew?

I would have loved to had one of these zippy wet pouches to put Bean's wet swimsuit in this summer.  Check out the tutorial at The Polka Dot Chair.

Mommy's Kitchen Iron Skillet Pizza is definitely on the menu plan for next week.  There is some cooking from scratch involved so I'll probably have to have the fire department on standby but I'm gonna chance it.

Life goes on.

In the past week we've had birthdays, deaths, an anticipated birth any day now, and
we just keep trudging along.

It is at times like these that we realize that it is a pretty special thing to wake up every day. For those of us that are lucky enough, we get hugs and kisses every day. There have been times in my life where I didn't know when or if I would ever get another single hug at all.

I don't always remember or appreciate it though. I get caught up in the day-to-day drudge just like everyone else.

So for today I am going to just sit and contemplate everything that I need to be grateful for, everything that brings me joy, love and happiness. And I'll also try to be grateful for the things that have tried my will and my patience. Because without those things, I'd completely miss the good things.

Birthdays Galore!

Bean would like to take a moment and wish Happy Birthday to two very special people in her life.

Happy Birthday Nanny Red!

AND

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!!

To Nanny Red, Bean would like to grant you a day of sound sleep, tons of time spent with all your babies, good food, and lots of hugs and kisses!

To Daddy, Bean would like to grant you a day of fishing, fishing, fishing, football, chicken fingers and fishing.  And tons and tons of hugs and kisses from his baby girl. 

Wordless Wednesday - Scooter

Bean's new tutu.

I decided to try my hand at making Bean a tutu. For this one, I used green, pink and blue pastels mixed with some white tulle. I doubled each color so that the tutu would be fuller. I tied it all onto some light blue satin ribbon. I only had 1 yard of ribbon and next time I will use some that's a little longer.

This is my first attempt at a tutu and I think it turned out really cute. Bean loves twirling around in it. She keeps asking me if this is her "halloween". I don't know where that came from unless she is remembering that she wore a ladybug tutu for her costume last year.

Note the corn in the picture. Bean didn't have the patience to wait for me to take these pictures before she snarfed into some corn on the cob that Giggles made her.

So here's Bean, the corn and the tutu. I only made two of those three.

I need to finish up the ribbon waistband by fixing the edges of the ribbon so they won't fray.  I used 1 yard of ribbon to make the waistband and it fits but doesn't give enough to tie it up in a pretty bow.

Now that I have made my first one, I want to make more!  So if you are expecting a gift from me in the future, don't be surprised to find a tutu in your gift box.  And I don't care if you're 5 or 50, male or female.  You're getting a tutu! 

Bean' s Top Ten.

Bean, like most toddlers, loves music.  She loves to sing and dance around.  You don't always understand what she's singing but you know she's belting it out in her own way.  I thought I'd share Bean's groovy tunes with you.

Bean's Top Ten Favorite Songs (07-28-2010)

10.  Rock-a-bye Baby - Not sure if that's the correct name but it's the song with the baby in a tree.  Why would you put a baby in a tree?

9.  Frere Jacques  - Only Bean sings the English version.  She's got "Brother John, Brother John" down really well.  The rest of the lines - gobbledey-gook.

8.  Boom Boom Pow  - What?  Not a nursery rhyme song?  Come on, y'all.  Everybody knows Fergie likes teaching us all how to spell.  G-L-A-M....yeah, I knew how to spell long before Fergie came on the scene.  But kiddies think she's awesome.  And it's got a great beat. 

7.  Itsy Bitsy Spider  - I wonder if that ole spider will ever get tired of climbing that rain spout?

6.  Hey Soul Sister by Train  - She sways her head side to side when this comes on.  And God help you if you ever try and change the radio station when any of these songs are playing.  Chaos ensues.  "I want to hear my muzsick!"

5.  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - Of course any girl likes singing about "diamonds up so high", right?

4.  Poker Face. - Thanks, Giggles.  Giggles is a grandma that loves to shake her groove thing.  She thinks it's the funniest thing to see a being so small sing "p-p-p-oker face".  And Bean does it quite well.

3.  Telephone - Again, thanks, Giggles.  I'm sure Child Services is just adding this to their file.  Bean likes singing "telephone" over and over while she's talking into her play telephone.  I just pray that she never starts singing "sippin' on bub".  That will be a parenting high point, I think.

2.  A B C.  She can sing this quite well.  "Lello, n, and p".

And the top of the chart winner goes to...it's a tie.

1.  Halo by Beyonce and Baby by Justin Bieber.  These two switch by the day.  For a long time, all Bean wanted to listen to was Halo.  Just this morning though, on the way to summer camp, Bean requested Baby.  I don't mind playing Baby.  It's an infectious tune.  You can bop along to it.

Bean does more than bopping.  She can sing the whole song.  She especially likes to sing "I'll buy you any ting.  I'll buy you any ting".  She doesn't get there's a ring involved, just tings. I have no idea how she knows all the words to this song.  Maybe I should consult Giggles on this one.