Robinettes with the Crowds

Went to Robinette's yesterday. It was wall-to-wall people. Never seen it that crowded! The line for donuts was really long, so we got some kettle corn and cider for a snack. The girls both loved it- especially Nora. Nora likes popcorn better than donuts!

Here's Carolyn looking beautiful in the posh posy headband I made for her- she was so excited about it, and it made me feel so good. :)

And Nora in the new felt flowers I had a ball making yesterday. As a side note, it was SO nice to just do something in my "lab" for the simple love of it. I didn't work on anybody's order or try to get anything ready for a craft show- I simply got to create, and I LOVED it. Reminds me why I'm doing this. Filling orders and doing craft shows are great... but the reason I'm doing it is not to make money with it (though a little extra here and there IS nice...)- I'm doing it because I just love to make things, and starting a business has been a very stimulating mental challenge!

Nora really did love the kettle corn (keh-coh! keh-coh!)

I like this picture because it shows a little bit of the relationship these sisters have. Nora simply idolizes her sister (though she is beginning to hold her own in the inevitable squabbles). She follows her around and always wants to know where she is. Yesterday when she couldn't find Carolyn she was putting her hands by her mouth and shouting "Caaaay-en!"

We took a few pictures by the big pumpkins.

They're kinda silly and not really framing material... but I like them- they are "where we are" right now. :)

And this one is a picture where all the elements of light and composition are all wrong, but everything else is just right. Sisters, holding hands, loving each other, and being so happy (at least for this moment) that they share that bond that only siblings can.

Sunday Dresses

Sometimes, I just feel really lucky to be able to DRESS GIRLS! So much fun! Especially on Sundays. :)

Even though I don't really get to dress this one anymore, she has great taste, and she warmed me right to the cockles of my heart when I gave her this flower this morning and she tackled me in such a huge hug and didn't want to let go because she was so excited I'd made it for her. :)

Wiped Out

You know I'm really off when I've missed my "pic of the day" blog for days in a row... because I haven't even taken any pictures! In fact, the camera batteries are dead and have been for some time... and I haven't recharged them. I've been working very hard on my inventory for the craft show today... I was much better organized this time and felt a lot more confident and made about twice as much money, so that was nice... but I feel confirmed again in my feelings that I am not craft show material! I do not like the pressure of getting ready for them, and this is now the second one I have done that has been S-L-O-W. I had some periods of activity today and definitely did come out in the black financially, but a lot of the day I just sat there. Can you say B-O-R-I-N-G?! There are so many variables when it comes to live shows like this- the weather, the football game on TV, the advertising done by the people running the show, etc... that there's no way to tell whether a show will be "good" or not until you are there. This one had a reputation for being one of the best in town- but it's under new coordination this year and so I don't think it was adequately advertised. People seemed to trickle in and out, but there was never a point when it was crowded with people like the crafters who'd been there before said it has been in the past. So in a way I was disappointed. But in another way, I feel good about it because I've learned some important things. I made another list of things to try next time (I still have two more I'm committed to), and hopefully the next two will at least be busier! But overall, I think I've found my niche and my passion just working online, and although there are ups and downs with that, I think for the most part, I'm trending toward "up." I've been receiving fairly regular orders from people all over the country, and I like to think I'm helping them make the world a more beautiful place. :)

PASSED!

Despite what Nora looks like in this picture, we are all so proud of Brad! Today we got the much-awaited results of Brad's oral boards a few weeks ago. He passed with FLYING COLORS!! Even better than he had to do. He really did awesome. :) And we are all so proud!!

I spent a significant amount of time I really didn't have to waste today searching through my basement for a certain picture I know exists of a time yea 30 some years ago when two small boys held a similar sign congratulating THEIR daddy on passing his boards! I tried to recreate the scene, but couldn't find the picture for the life of me... they should have invented digital cameras in the 1970s. It's totally impossible to keep up with anything!

Anyway, we couldn't be prouder. This is the last big hurdle in the very long series of periodic board exams we've been in for the past almost 10 years. In March Brad will be at the annual convention where he'll be recognized as Brad Irving, DO, FACOOG (a lot of very important, very expensive letters following his name) and we will all shine again with pride. I'm hoping to tag along and bask in the reflected glory. :)

Chicken Dance

I may never catch up with putting pictures on my blog... so I uploaded them all to Facebook and I'll try to stay on top of it better. Tonight I have a video to post. Nora had us all in stitches with her chicken dance tonight and I captured it on video. Might have something to do with being the second child... but while Nora has at least as many still pictures as her sister, there aren't nearly as many videos of her! We have fun watching some of the old videos we took of Carolyn and I thought that Nora should be better represented. So here's tonight's chicken dance. :) This girl loves to dance.

I've been working hard in my secret lab today, preparing for my show on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to having it done and just being able to concentrate on my online business. I love, love, love filling online orders... but craft shows are just so time consuming to prepare for! I hope that things go well on Saturday and I feel like all the work has been worth it!! But for the rest of the week anyway, it's late nights, early mornings, and busy nap times that never last long enough. I really want to do well and have a very nice booth, but it's a lot of work!!

Absorbed

It's another crunch week... I have a bigger craft show on Saturday and I'm working hard on it every spare minute I have. So my posts might not be the greatest because I've got so many bows and flowers and ribbons on the brain... Maybe tomorrow I'll resurface for awhile and make a decent blog... but maybe not... the Secret Lab has a strong center of gravity...

Marathon

We went to see Laura and my dad run the Chicago Marathon this weekend. The girls' favorite part was the hotel pool. :)

We definitely need to join the Y. They liked the water so much!

Every kid needs a picture of her mischief like this one. Little stinker knows she's being naughty.

The runners on Spaghetti night- when everyone "carbo loads"- even those who don't need to. :)

Runners: Bry started the race with them, but always intended to just jog and not marathon this year. He's been a teensy bit busy- like, being a new dad and all. :)

Chasers. We did a lot of chasing! The kids were little troopers.

There was a very tasty mint coffee drink that we all enjoyed sampling at the Caribou Coffee. Nora spilled her share all over herself and then had a tantrum about it before deciding to enjoy it.

The worst part of the whole day was crossing this street in the midst of the runners so we could be on the correct side of the road to see Dad and Laura. If you look closely you'll see my mom in pink in the middle of the street. There are no pictures of my sister and I trying to push our strollers through without knocking anyone down. It was totally rude, and we knew it... but we only did it once.

The girls (and Elliot) took a break for a snack after the Crossing.

Elliot was totally adorable the entire time, of course. And his mom and dad are very happy new parents- especially since he has already started to sleep through the night! Lucky...

After getting up at around 4am, the girls held on for a very long time- but they finally crashed.

And we made it home all in one piece. The end. Already looking forward to next year's Chase- fun family tradition!