Hey There!

So, I thought I had hung my blogging hat, and wasn't going to do it anymore, but I had a change of heart. 

I have missed you guys!

We have been so busy since I last posted, which was all the way back in May, I believe. 

So much has happened since then.

We started the homeschooling journey in July, and what a journey it has been so far. The kids and I have learned a lot....whether it be school related, or about one another. 

Most days are great and we move right along, and then there are other days....yeeaahh...those other days are something else.

There are days when my children couldn't be any sweeter. They get their work done, they are kind to one another, they offer to do their chores without being asked, and I think to myself, this was the best decision EVER!

Then there are the "other" days when demon possession has riddled our home, and I am hunting the internet on how to perform an exorcism (not really, but I have come close a few times). Those days I really have to step back, breathe, and say a little prayer and remind myself that my precious babies are in there somewhere, and they are fighting a battle themselves.

They are learning what it means to take control of their emotions. Some days they are great at it, and other days, not so much.

But the same goes for me as well....some days I feel like I am very mature and wise in how I handle situations, and then there are times when I look back and think, "wow, you really screwed that one up. Better start setting money aside for therapy."

Thankfully the good days far outweigh the bad days.

  There are a ba-jillion homeschooling blogs out there right now, and I am going to be the ba-jillion + one homeschooling blog. I'll still talk decorating and crafts, but I am going to throw in a little school too.

I'll have links to websites I am using as well as the curriculum that we are going through.

I have a Homeschooling Pinterest Board and a Homeschool Crafts Pinterest Board that I pin to frequently...sometimes hourly.

If you are interested in those types of things, make sure to follow those boards.

Like I said earlier, we started school in mid-July. I wanted to get a head start on school because we were surprising the kids with a trip to Disney. 

I can't believe how much the kids have changed since summer...especially E.

 We had the most amazing time at Disney. By far the best family vacation we have been on. The kids were big enough to ride everything, and were real troopers, riding everything at least once. A few of the rides scared them, i.e. the Hollywood Tower of Terror, duh! 

Their most favorite ride was Splash Mountain. I lost count how many times they rode that one.

We went at a perfect time too. NO ONE was there! Don't believe me? Look at the picture below...no one else is in the picture but us.

Amazing!

 We planned the Disney trip to celebrate the Hubs 40th birthday and E's 8th birthday, so we didn't do any special parties. E did have a few friends over to play on his actual birthday, but it wasn't anything but cupcakes and hot dogs, and lots of running around shooting Nerf guns.

 We also survived another soccer season. S.R.'s team didn't win very many games, but it definitely served it's purpose for P.E.

E's team was awesome, and they kicked booty every single game, except for one. He had a great time, and got plenty of exercise.

 Basketball season has started now, so there hasn't been any break between seasons. But that's ok because they need the exercise.

I have tried to be aware of all important holidays and work them in the curriculum when I can. Here is one of the crafts they did along with a story book we read.

This particular craft came from a website I use often called Teachers Pay Teachers. It is an excellent resource for printables and for inspiration. There are a lot of free printables on there as well. 

Here is one of the kids' first art projects. They had a lot of fun with these, using straws to blow the hair on. S.R. decided that crazy hair wasn't pretty, so she smoothed hers out:-)

S.R. joined the American Heritage Girls.

 It's similar to Girl Scouts, but more service/Christian based.

She loves it and I love that she loves it. She got to march in the Veterans Day parade in November. 

 She also got to be the flower girl in this sweet bride's wedding.

 She had an amazing time.

On a side note, I finally took the time to set up my Etsy Shop. 

If you look on the right side bar, it will take you directly to my shop page. I will be adding to it as often as I can. 

It's definitely my way to decompress and do something for me.

We are having so much fun spending time together. I am getting to witness these two precious faces hit every new milestone. There has been lots of laughter, a few tears, but our family has become so much closer as a result of homeschooling. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in the future. 

Tweet

This is it...

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Well, it's about to be even longer.

This is my goodbye to blogging. I have loved sharing all the fun things I have created over the past few years, but now it's time to hang my blogging hat.

I want to focus on this...

Focus on more snuggles from this sweet girl..

 and more hugs from this big boy who's not really into snuggles anymore:o(

 The hubs and I love to work on projects together, and we'll continue to do so, but I just won't be blogging about it. 

It takes a lot of time to edit pictures and write posts.

Time that should be spent with these nuts:o)

We're about to embark on a new journey. 

Homeschooling.

I am so excited about it, and a little nervous, but I feel like God is leading me down this path, and you just don't say no to the big Man upstairs:o)

These gifts were from God and I want to make the most of the time I have with them. Some day they will be off on their own, and I don't want to have any regrets.

Thank you for following along these past few years. Your kind words have always been appreciated. I'll still be sharing what we have been up to on Facebook and Instagram, so feel free to check in once and a while.

Hugs to all.

Tweet

Easter Happenings

Hey Y'all! I have fallen off of the blog postin' train once again. To tell you the truth, I haven't really been all that motivated when it comes to crafting, and D.I.Y.'ing...GASP!! 

I know, right?

The horror!

Well, I have been working on our "school room" a.k.a. our bonus room. It's been a work in progress for 4 years now:o) Anywhoodles, it's FINALLY organized, so now I can pick a paint color, paint, build, paint, pull my hair out because of all the painting, decorate, and get hair implants to replace the ones that I will most likely be pulling out:o)

I have been up to a few other things as well. If you follow along on Facebook or Instagram, then you already know that I got a new sewing machine.

IT'S.DA.BOMB.

Just sayin'.

It is an embroidery sewing machine, but it does soooooo much more than my last one could ever dream of doing. Speaking of my last machine, it found a new home last Friday. The lady who purchased it from me was beyond excited to get it....if I weren't so jazzed about the new machine, I might have felt a little more sad to see it go.

So with this new machine comes lots of fun! I have been able to monogram and applique to my hearts desire. I have made some gifts for my kiddos and for a few others as well.

I made some fun shirts for the Giant Easter basket. 

Why, yes, my Easter basket is finished. BAM!!

Am I always on top of things like this..Nay, I say!

 The Giant Easter basket was used for our Easters as kids. My mother gave it to me to use with my kids, and I think it even came with the "original" plastic-y grass....it's probably laden with some nasty form of BPA;o)

Anyway, here's a closer look of the shirt for E. We're BAMA fans in this household, and if you don't know what RTR means, not to worry. "Roll Tide Roll" is what that stands for. What does "Roll Tide Roll" mean? 

I have no idea. 

I am a BAMA fan by proxy. The hubs cheers for BAMA, so that means I do to. No sense in borrowing trouble;o)

For some reason the thread looks orange in this picture, but I promise it is a deep crimson red...roll tide.;o)

I didn't get a good close up of the Anna shirt for S.R., but if you visit my Facebook page, you can see one there. 

I appliqued a dress for S.R. today. I'm thinking this will be her Easter dress. Last year's dress was much fancier, but I don't have fancy in me this year.

And it's not like she'll remember that 2014 was the year that mommy decided to get all kinds of lazy and not make a fancy dress.

This one will do just fine!

I may make E a bow tie to go with his new $2 yard sale suit he got last weekend. Yes...I said 2 bucks for a really awesome little boy's suit. It fits like a dream and he looks adorable in it!!

************

 So with great machine comes great responsibility. 

I am officially selling monogrammed and appliqued items, and to kick things off, I am hosting a sale. You can head over to my Facebook page to see what items I have to offer for applique. If there is something you'd like but don't see, message me, and I will see what I can come up with!

Tweet

New Shop on the Blog

I am excited to announce that I have finally put together a new shop here on the blog. If you look up at the menu bar, you will see "Fussy Monkey Business Shop."

If you click on that tab, it will take you to the page where all of the items I have for sale are.

In order to purchase these items, you will need to have a PayPal account.

It's easy to sign up, and very secure.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Thanks!

Tweet

S.R. is 6, so Let's CELEBRATE with a Giveaway!

This sweet girl is 6 years old today!

Isn't she a cutie?

She was up before anyone else because she was so excited it was her birthday. I had to search for her this morning, and when I called her name, her response was, "6." 

Precious:o)

Where's the party? Details of how many hours I have put into making the day perfect? We aren't doing one. Gasp!

I know:o) 

She is having some friends over after school, and they will play the afternoon away.

We are taking her to the American Girl Store for her to pick out her very first official American Girl doll. She is beyond ecstatic.

It should be fun!

In other news, I have started a new business venture.

 I am making headbands. 

My sister in law started making them for her co-workers and suggested I start making them.

I.am.hooked.

They are adorable, and I wear mine all the time. 

S.R. even loves wearing them!

I have been at my sewing machine whipping them up and I realized how much I had missed sewing...it's been a while. Life has gotten in the way, and now that things are slowing down a bit, I can relax to the hum of my machine.

If things take off like I want them to, I will create a separate website for ordering, but for now, I'm sticking to Facebook as my avenue for orders.

I also have a new model. S.R. and I got tired of posing for pictures, so I needed another volunteer.

Her name is Miss Kitty Tabitha.

She's not fond of having her photo taken, but she was willing to help a friend out.

Notice the solemness of her demeanor. I might be solemn as well if I didn't have nostrils...

hopefully all of you still have your nostrils...I don't want to cause offense!

I wanted to show you all angles of the headband, and Miss Kitty Tabitha has been gracious enough to model the angles.

This is the back. I have found that with this particular design, the headband doesn't slide up the head as much as one single elastic band.

The headbands are one-size-fits-most. If you have a tiny head, or if your little one is younger than 4 or 5, I will have an option for bitty heads. Buyers will have to specify when ordering which size they will need. 

So to celebrate S.R.'s birthday and the kick off of my new business venture, I am hosting a Facebook giveaway. 

All you have to do is like the Fussy Monkey Business page for one entry and share the giveaway on Facebook for a second entry.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday!

So get to likin' and sharin'!

Tweet

Personalizing a "Home Party"

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a Matilda Jane party. It is my absolute favorite line of clothing. I originally started buying it for S.R. Almost everything is made of soft knits in this line, and S.R. loves to be cute but most importantly, comfortable. 

I only recently started buying pieces for myself. If I could live in these clothes day and night, I would. 

The new spring line is called "A Wonderful Parade." 

You all know that I need very little excuse to decorate for an occasion and this one was definitely right up my alley. Super girly, and so much fun.

It's not mandatory to pull out all the stops for a home party, but I think that the guests and the person selling the merchandise really appreciate it. It never hurts to put a little effort into a party like this to make it more personal.

Super cute right?
So how do you come up with a personalized, super awesomely cute home party??
Pay attention to what the theme happens to be. What do they use as far advertising their products? What kind of flowers do they use in the background? What kind of food do they have on display? What is the color scheme on the brochure that will be handed out?
Those small details can make a huge impact when decorating for your party.

Here is a list of the items that I purchased for this party..the rest of what you see was already apart of the arsenal of party supplies;o)

Cookies-Telah's Cozy Cookies

Popcorn Boxes-Hobby Lobby

Tray for Popcorn Boxes- Marshall's

Napkins and Pink Straws-Hobby Lobby

Lemon Drops & Cotton Candy- Dollar Tree

Flowers & Balloons-Publix

Jar Lids-Etsy

I hope this inspires you to think outside of the box when you host your next home party!

Tweet

Our Valentine's Dinner-Princess and the Frog Family Night

Did you have a fantastic Valentine's Day? We had THE BEST! 

I wanted to do something special for the family, so I started looking for inspiration. I found it here of all places. I just recently started following this blog because we are planning a surprise Disney Vacation later in the year...shhh! Don't tell the kids;o)

Anyway, I thought the Princess and the Frog movie night would be the perfect family night.

 I had a good bit of the decorations, but did have to hit Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby for a  few items.

 I wanted the meal to be formal, but not "sit-at-the-dining-table" formal. 

So we ate at the coffee table. It's kid/frog sized:o)

I purchased green fleece from Wal-Mart and made lily pads for our seats, and the purple fabric for the table cover came from Hobby Lobby.

 The cute little frog princes came from Hobby Lobby as well and were in the spring section. The yellow flowers in the background were a Dollar Tree purchase as well as the green glass beads.

 Dinner was delicious. I knew that the hubs would have a fit over it. He loves Cajun food. Can I just say that those grits were the very best grits I have ever eaten!! And yes, those are homemade "man-catchin' beignets" in the back.

I wanted both of the kids to dress up, but the boy refused...for obvious boy reasons... I was able to get the princess of the group to dress up though:o)

I am sad that I didn't get a picture of their Valentine's gift baskets because they were really cute, but here are a couple of shots of them pulling stuff out. They both got the same things. I wanted to keep everything frog themed. I got them stuffed frogs from Hobby Lobby, a $5 gift card from Sweet Frog, the cute little F.R.O.G. wooden stand came from Hobby Lobby as well, and the little pink frog that S.R. is frowning over came in a Princess and the Frog party pack. She didn't know quite what to do with it..hence the frown. They also got some chocolate.

Before the movie, we snapped a few pictures of ourselves. This one was one of my favorites. 

Out of all the family nights we have had, this one has to be the best thus far. The bar has totally been raised now;o)

Tweet