A Secret Swap!

Ohhh, I have been such a bad little blogger lately. Sorry for that. So lets get down to business! I was recently involved in a secret swap with Karren of Square Jane. (I'm very retarded when it comes to creating links, so until I figure it out, see her here: http://squarejane.etsy.com/ ). The rules were very simple: make a plush for each other, and send it. We weren't allowed to discuss what we were making. Hence the secret in secret swap. Makes sense, right?

Well, Karren has a thing for sock monkeys. And I have a thing for zombies. And I think we're both pretty disturbed. In a good way of course. Disturbed in a good way. So anyway, I made her a zombie bunny who was holding the head (and eating the brains of) a sock monkey. He came out looking pretty evil. Here he is:

And here's Karren's reaction to him:

Though she did name him Cupcake! Doesn't he look like a Cupcake?

I'm glad she likes him!!!

But now for the good stuff: what I got from HER!!

I was so excited to get my package (which I got last Friday)! I tore into it with anticipation, drooling and nearly wetting myself (I'm only half kidding!). What could it be, what could it be?!

Rawr! A fancy leopard print monster!!!! Look at his manly chest hair! He's soft and cuddly, but only on the outside. He's vicious by nature. He'll help me in my quest for world domination! But not only did I get this cool monster, I got a monster wallet too!!!!

Here's Hernando posing with the wallet. Yes, I named him Hernando.

And my reaction:

Need I say more?

Fun at the Park!

Today's weather was much more agreeable here in Colorado. And when it's nice out, I wanna BE out. And so does Ayden! He absolutely LOVES going to the park. So we grabbed Zan and walked to the park in our neighborhood.

Ayden had tons of fun on the swings, the slide, running, throwing snow, rocks, sticks, whatever he could get his hands on! He also enjoys covering Zan with dirt and sticks.

Here's some pics of him! On the swing, the slide, jumping whilst throwing sticks . . .

And of course, playing with Zan!

Etsy Sale!

Hello there! So, I'm a very proud member of the Etsy Owls Team. And this weekend, Friday through Monday, several of the teams' shops are having sales!!! Woo hoo! Sale! Anywhere from 10% - 50% off! This is big news, people! See, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and graduation are coming up. Not to mention birthdays, weddings, I-feel-like-splurging-on-myself day . . . why not get something on sale? Save some money. AND you get to purchase a high quality, hand-made item. ON SALE!
There's a huge array of stuff on sale. Windchimes, hand-knitted/crocheted items, paintings, drawings, jewlery, stuffed animals, clothes . . . you name it, it's on sale!
Follow the link below and support handmade!

http://etsyoffthewall.blogspot.com/2009/04/owls-on-sale.html

Cheers!

Anyone with kids can appreciate this!

I got this on myspace from a friend, and it is just so perfect! If you have a toddler, you will know this feeling! Priceless!

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall.by: Shannon Popkin

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we are in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked.

There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway through our shopping trip nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:''Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?''

At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued: ''Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh...Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy.You are gonna get some candy!''

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him I said, ''Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!''

''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies....Oh! Mommy!'' He started to gag at this point. ''Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up.Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!''As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall.. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.

''Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!'' He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door.''Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at? Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?''

More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation.''Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'' He started pounding on the door.''Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!''I saw that my wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy? But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.

Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids , Michigan ,where she no longer uses public restrooms.Isn't it great to be a parent!!!

I can totally see Ayden doing something like this!

Ha! My first blog!

Yep! First blog. So, hi. How are ya? I'm doing fab. Don't really know what to write . . . so anyway, I have an Etsy store. I created it because I'm addicted to sewing and needed to, well, NOT stockpile all the plushies I was making! My store is called Icky Dog Creations. Named after my icky dog Zan!

There she is to the right. We call her icky because she smells like doritos. And she had extra toes as a puppy - the whole polydactyl thing going on. Except her extra toes had 2 claws each. Icky. She's a good dog though. A sheltie/boston terrier mix. And I wuvs her!

I'm married and have the most adorable 2 year old son named Ayden (above Zan there). I'm an RN, working in the Birth Center at St. Francis Medical Center in Colorado Springs. I work both post-partum and in the nursery (where I help deliver babies!). LOVE my job!

So, there's a tiny glimpse at me. I'll be adding tons more, but for a first post . . . well, there ya go! Now go poke a badger and have a great day!

Cheers!