October is Birthday Month!

Happy, happy birthday today to my mamma, Sally! Here she is back in August serving with Dad as my hometown's King and Queen of the Colony Days. Of course my niece Emma decided that made her a princess so she wore her gown and kept talking about how nice it was that they had a parade for her, ha ha! :) [The girls didn't actually ride with them in the parade, don't freak out about no car seats, they're just posing!]


I hope you have a great day, Mom! Sorry that your birthday is on a Monday especially since that means mine is, too! Your present is, of course, sitting on my work table. :P I'll get it in the mail asap! :)

Last Thursday was my sister Tauni's birthday! She is now celebrating her last year as a twenty-something. Actually, I have no idea if she's celebrating it or not, I don't think she gives a rip, but this is her last year as a twenty-something in any case! :)


She did not, in fact, have a happy birthday, and that is a bummer. She had to work, which is enough of a bummer if you ask me because she's a nurse in a NICU unit. I would cry every other day I think! And then you see that little large-eyed blond person on the left? The one who is looking so sweet and innocent and cuddly? She is three; need I say more? She is a tiny little wild three-year-old stubborn button-pusher, that one. Adorable, oh my goodness, yes, and I love her! But when I visited I decided that Emma needs at least three adults around at all times; she is the child they mean when they say, "It takes a village to raise a child." :) And that other cute one, eating her pacifier ribbon? My beautiful God-daughter Lily? She is now mobile. If you put her down somewhere she will very quickly not be there anymore. Which is, you know, a lot more difficult. The other adult member of this family, my lovely brother-in-law Erik, was away for the weekend serving as both best man and officiant at his best friend's wedding.

Tauni saw a piece of jewelry she really liked on etsy so I decided to try to replicate it for her birthday! And I did!

And she absolutely loves it! So imagine her great disappointment when she arrived home from a very unsuccessful shopping trip involving a tantrum (from Emma, not from Tauni, although could you blame her? I wouldn't!) and looked in the mirror and realized that, ummmm, the necklace was bare. The entire thing--circle and both name tags--was gone! I use these jump rings on almost all of my jewelry but I do not have an eight month old pulling on my necklace while a three year-old for whom I am responsible throws a temper-tantrum in the middle of the grocery store. So I have ordered the little blank tags again and will make another one, this time with super-strength jump rings. Thanks to Tauni and necklace-pulling Lily for the field research! :) From now on I'm switching to a smaller gauge (which means thicker wire) hopefully toddler-yank-proof jump rings! :) Sorry for the tears, Taun, I'll make you another one! [Thanks to Kellie for making and sending me extra rings!! I knew they'd come in handy! :)]

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I am finally getting my studio organized to semi-resemble the vision in my head. It is a lot of work and a big pain because it is a big shuffle game--move stuff over here so it's out of the way and then do that and then move this stuff back and organize it over here and then move this other stuff out of the way.... But it's happening, finally. It's coming together, slowly slowly. :) Jason stopped by Ikea on the way home to pick up the last few things for the guest room so Daniele and Mary will be comfortable. I'm so excited to see Dani!

Okay, lots to do before I leave for Philly on Wednesday morning! Have a great week! :) Happy Birthdays Mom and Tauni!