Here They Are...

Please let me start by saying...
I am so NOT a photographer.
I have already bribed Alisha to take some REAL pics for me.

Without further ado...

This is the back of each bloom. I designed each bloom so that you could use whatever kind of clip or barrette that you prefer or you can slide it onto a headband. This way you can part the hair on either side and not have any of the clip showing or you can change out the color of your headband according to the outfit that you are wearing. I really love the versatility.

Last Time...I Promise

Okay.
I have narrowed it down to 2 names.
Please vote for your favorite.
Thanks for hanging in there!!

Posies and Puddles
or
Meadows and Mudpies

more to think on

so sad to report that 'Petals and Puddles' is already taken.
should have looked into that before suggesting it.
Boo.

any thoughts on
Sunflowers and Superheroes
or
Meadows and Mayhem
or
Blossoms and Bruises
or
Sugar, Spice and Superheroes
or
Cuteness and Cooties

???????

Stay With Me Now

Okay.
{sigh}
I have thought and thought about a name for my little budding business.
I am still not in love with anything.
I think I will call the flowers themselves 'Hairblooms'.
BUT...
I do eventually want to get into making other things
like superhero capes and appliqued goodness.
So, I think I need to go a different direction for the name.

I was thinking about something that plays off of the whole opposites of boys and girls.
I have only been able to come up with a couple ofpossibilities so far.

DON'T LAUGH!
(unless it is with me, not AT me!)

What about...
Petals and Puddles
or
Lil' Damsels and Dragons
?

Anyone got any other suggestions?
Like before, if I choose a name that you suggest you will get a hairbloom of your choice
or a superhero cap.
LET THE CREATIVE JUICES FLOW ONCE MORE!
Please?

P.S. I hope to have pics posted very soon of all the hairblooms. I have had an extremely sick baby for the past week. I am behind in just about everything so as soon as I can get back on track, I will share the yummy bloominess!

Whatcha Think?

I have ubber good news.

On Tuesday, Misty and I went to a boutique/consignment shop at which her boss had gotten some crazy adorable bows for the 2 girls that Misty nannies.
I, of course, had Eden dressed in a smashing outfit topped off with a felt flower I had made to adorn her gorgeous hair.
It turned out that the chick who owns the shop is a former patient of mine from Dr. Callahan's office.
What a small world.
She remembered me and we got to chatting.
I was trying different bows in Eden's hair and the owner noticed her felt flower.
She said she LOVED it and said that she had a lady that had brought her some to sell but that she wasn't really in love with them. She felt they were too big and didn't have enough detail.
She said again, that she really loved mine.
With my heart beating like crazy, I said quickly, before I could loose my nerve,
"I'd be happy to bring you some samples of what I make if you'd be interested."
She gushed and said, "Yes, please!"
Can you believe it?!
I am so stinkin excited!
I've been tossing around the idea of opening an Etsy shop but I really don't want to fool with the shipping and custom orders.
So then I thought that maybe I could sell local but I didn't really know how to get started.
How awesome that this just kinda landed in my lap!

I have come up with 12 different designs.
I have a personilized bloom and then 11 others, each named after a special gal in my life.
Kaytlin
Savannah
Megan
Carden
Emmerson
Georgia
Taylor
Ava
Kenadie
Eden
and Bella.

I hope to be ready to post pics of each bloom soon but I need your help with something.
I NEED A NAME!
My sisters, mom, and I have come up with a few options but I just can't decide.
I kind of want something that plays off of Eden's name.
So, I will put it out there to you guys.
I am gonna let you know the names I have so far and you let me know which one you like best.
Also, if you have any suggestions, PLEASE feel free to send a shout out.
If I happen to choose a name you suggest you will get a bloom of your choice!

Here are some suggestions:

Flowers of Eden
Bloomin' Bows
Blossoms of Eden
Hairblooms (instead of hair bows)
Eden's Blooms

Any of these strike your fancy?

Here are some words to get your creative juices flowin if you think you can come up with something fabulous.

bloom
blossom
petal
Eden
wildflower
meadow
mane
tresses
locks
bouquet

Anyone?...Anyone?

Grandpa Phil

On Saturday Chris and I had the opportunity to go to the temple and start the work for his father who was taken from us last year.
We have been looking forward to this so much.

I don't know if it is like this for everyone, but every time we try to go to the temple Satan pulls out all the stops.
Friday night Eden started running a temperature.
Low grade, but enough that you could tell she really didn't feel good.
Then she started coughing this horrible, dry bark of a cough.
My heart just broke, for her and for Chris because I figured I wouldn't be able to go with him the next day.
Chris gave her a priesthood blessing and she was told that her body would fight the infection.
Eden slept with us that night so, needless to say, I didn't get ANY sleep.
But, her fever broke about an hour after a dose of Tylenol and never came back.
So, at 6:00 on Saturday morning I woke Chris up and we got ready to go.
Eden was acting fine but still had the cough.

We dropped the kids off at the farm for a day of adventure.
I had brought a thermometer and some Tylenol just in case and told Dawn of the drama of the night before.
Then, off we headed down the interstate.
We had made an appointment to piggy back off a youth group to do Phil's baptism and confirmation.
At exit 275 (3 exits away from the temple exit) traffic came to a stand still.
Urg.
I called the temple and told them we might be late.
Luckily, they said that they would fit us in whenever we got there.
We settled in for a long wait.
An HOUR long wait.
I ended up falling asleep but when traffic finally started moving again Chris said the crash site looked pretty bad.
When we got to the temple everyone working there was absolutely fabulous (as always!).
We came in right as one session of baptisms was ending so they tacked Chris on at the end.
I wasn't able to do baptisms but was able to watch Chris while he preformed those saving ordinances for his dad.
I said a prayer that Phil would be receptive of the things being done for him and that he would know how much we love and miss him.
Both Chris and I had feelings of peace and joy once the ordinances were done.
Phil had one of the strongest testimonies of the Savior I have ever witnessed.
I knew that once he was taught the truth that he would be overjoyed and anxious to receive the blessings the temple can provide.
Chris has already done the work for his grandfather and an uncle.
I just imagined the hugs and back-slapping going on in heaven as father and brother congratulated Phil on the work completed for him that day.

Chris and I had a great ride home.
We talked and joked and laughed the whole way.
It was really great to get to spend some one on one time together,
without the kiddos, without the worldly stresses,
and just BE TOGETHER.
I hadn't realized how much I had been missing that.

We hope to get back ASAP to finish Phil's work so that he can continue to progress.
I am so thankful to have a temple so close and look forward to utilizing it's blessings more often now that Eden can be left for longer periods of time.

Check Out the Goodness!

My ever fabulous SIL, Alisha, lent her talents to us this weekend
and took some family photos.
Check out a preview here.

P.S. Only pay attention to the two painfully adorable kiddos and the handsome devil, not the chubby blob that is me. Sigh.

To Snuggle or Throttle

I had a rough day with Noah today.
Grocery shopping is such a dreaded chore with that kid along.
He can't/won't sit still for anything.
No amount of bribery, threats, or punishments seem to make it through his oh, so adorable head.

After two hours of struggling with him at the store, I had had it.
When we got home I put him in his room and SHUT THE DOOR!
I unloaded all the groceries and then put them away.
I shop for a months worth so it took a while.
After I was all done I went into Noah's room to rake him over the coals about his behavior at the grocery store.
I opened his door...and he was nowhere to be found.
What tha?
His door has the child proof handle thingy so he couldn't have gotten out, could he?
I looked all over his room to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
Then I started looking through the other rooms.
Still no Noah.
At this point I started having flash backs to too many Law and Order episodes and am determined that someone has crawled in through his window and stolen my precious baby.
I ran into his room and snatched the blanket back from his window.
And there he was,
perched on the window sill, spitting on his window.

Typical Noah all the way.

123's Of Me

For several months I have been working on a counting book for Noah.
I wanted to make one that was very personal to him, made up of all the things he is in to right now.
It has taken me quite a bit longer than I expected, what with all we moms have to do.
Several weeks ago I finally finished it and I am just now getting around to posting about it.
It is made entirely out of felt with a few buttons for embellishment and it is completely hand sewn.
I L-O-V-E all of the adorable little details you can achieve with hand sewing, even if it does take forever sometimes.
There are a few things I would do differently if I ever make one again but, all in all, I am in love with the finished product.

I Think I Need A Mani/Pedi. What Do You Think?

My work-horse of a mother has graciously been lending me her endless energy and wisdom in helping me get my jungle of an overgrown yard under control.
We have spent many a morning out there fighting back 'the beast'.
I purposely did not take before pictures because, well, it was really scary.
If you drive by my house, the serious mountain of black trash bags and tree limbs will attest to how bad it was.
We are not completely done yet so the after pictures will have to wait, but I did want to document proof of the hard work going on around here.

For those of you thinking, 'Why the heck is she doing heavy duty yard work without any shoes on?', this is the nastiness that found it's way into my shoes. Noah's feet bare grass because he was our errand boy. He loves to have a task. Gotta love it.

I am bad about forgetting to get my gloves and then being too lazy to go back into the house to get them. Pathetic, I know. And this is what I have to show for my patheticness.

So not pretty. They are not feeling too pretty at the moment either.

It will all be worth it when I can let Noah loose in the backyard without worrying that something will emerge from the jungle and take him prisoner.

August In A (large) Nutshell

Once again, I find myself in need of catching up.
I need to be so much better at this.
Urg!

We've had a good August here at Hozians, Inc.
We got an amazing FREE swing set through the Realtor that has helped us with both of our moves.
Can you believe this thing?
And for absolutely FREE?!

Noah is in heaven!
Thanks to all the fellas of the fam for helping us to move this beast.

August 18th was my late father-in-law's birthday.
We had planned to get together with Chris's mom and brother and his family,
but, unfortunately, Chris got hit with a vicious stomach virus so
we were unable to get together on Phil's actual b-day.
My mom had come to get Noah so he would be one less thing for me to worry about while I was taking care of Chris and Eden.
I called her and asked her to have Noah make a birthday card for Grandpa and this is what she came up with.

Isn't that the sweetest?
Chris was really touched by the little poem.
Thanks Mom!

What did you do with your little ones during the week that it rained like nonstop?
We crafted.
Noah is absolutely obsessed with Diego.
Besides Diego, his favorite character is Click the camera.
So, I indulged the madness.

We took Click to Garden Club and she was a huge success amongst the cousins as well.
I believe I saw her around the neck of just about every kid there at some point or another.

We also made a Circus train...

we played with buttons...

and magnets...

and we painted...a lot!

Mommy did some crafting too. Remember those baby food jar lids?

The lids, along with a Pringles can, got turned into a color matching game for Noah.
My mother-in-law bought the kiddos these aprons.

Cute, right?
But, I knew I could make them cuter. How right was I?!

Any Ideas?

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do with about 28 empty baby food jars without lids?
I'll be posting soon to show you why these jars are missing their lids.
Stay tuned.

Noah?! Where is your ARK!!

I have stolen this post from my sister, Dawn's, blog. She was able to capture and express the craziness, and the humor, of the moment perfectly!

Today was our Garden Club at my house. It was hot and then rainy so all us gals brought sewing projects to work on. We love visiting and the kids play so well together, it is the highlight of my week.

Then Debbie, clever mommy that she is, noticed that she had not seen Taylor in a while... so she went on the hunt.

The hunt ended in my master bedroom, standing in front of the master bathroom doors, with water coming out under those doors onto the hardwood floors, EEEEEEK!!

Debbie urgently called us all into the bathroom for 'backup'.

Can I please add a disclaimer on Taylor and Noah's behalf? Anytime the nieces and nephews come to Aunt Dawn's home, they always ask to go swimming in the bathtub. The tub bubbles, it can fit MANY cousins, and the best part is the handheld shower.

Seems Taylor and Noah felt they would go have some good, clean, fun with the handheld shower hose.
There was water everywhere! I did not know that the shower fixture could get enough pressure to shoot water to the ceiling, good to know.

Noah and Taylor were very thorough and made sure everything got a good cleaning. No vessel was left unflooded.

From the looks of things, Noah was the head shower controller. At least we think so since he had at least a tad bit of dry spots left to him....

Where as Taylor, was soaking wet! When we all barged up into the bath... there was not an itty bitty ounce of guilt on either of their faces.

Aunt Dawn wanted to give them creativity points... their moms?... not so much.

I think Noah and Taylor were sadden by our haste in mopping up all the glorious puddles.

Am I a terrible Aunt that I laughed and laughed and laughed, then grabbed my camera. Am I mean for thinking this precious, wet, gal is adorable when she cries?

The water was nothing a few dozen blankets and towels couldn't handle. The wet bandits even helped with the clean-up. Now my window sills, windows, walls, baseboard, and every nook and cranny is clean. Absolutely sparkling.

I've got several loads of laundry ahead of me, but it was worth the excitement. Hopefully Noah and Taylor's mommies will forgive Aunt Dawn finding this all so hilarious. In the future, I promise to give a little more instruction to all the nieces and nephews of when and when NOT to play with Aunt Dawn's swimming pool bathtub sprayer. Slight oversight on my part, oops!

And little Miss Eden seemed quite entertained by the commotion. She is mobile now but picked up on the clear vibe that she should just stay put, and dry.

As for the other kids in the house...

the fabulous Murphy gals were here and thought the whole thing quite scandalous!

Bella was happy the whole time viewing the craziness from her mom's arms.

Kena was none the wiser.

Lil' Nate seemed a tad bummed at the fact that Taylor and Noah did not include him in the merry making! Poor Nate, there is sure to be plenty of future fun amongst the cousins... no worries!