McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts: February 2012

Monday, February 27, 2012

Tuesday's Giveaway Linkup {2/28}

Sorry I didn't post this last week! I've been a busy bee - knitting, crocheting, and learning all I can about running a business from my living room for the past couple of weeks! I need to thank Classified: Mom and Tots and Me for being so understanding. I'll be opening up my shop on Etsy on Wednesday, so come check it out!

And now, without further ado...

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Crafting With Little Ones {Re-Post}

This is one of my all-time favorite posts and it was written well before I had many readers. I'd like to share it with you again because I think that the message is important if you want to foster a love of creativity in your children from a young age: It's not the outcome that matters; the process is most important.

AWOL?

I'm sorry that I haven't been writing ~~much~~ at all lately. I finally have my shop up on Etsy, now I'm working hard to get some items made, photographed, and descriptions written. I should be up and running by next Wednesday. That's may goal, anyway. February 29th, Leap Day, is our anniversary. I figured I'd like to make that my shop's Grand Opening day, too.

Are You Ready For St. Patrick's Day? {Review}

Around here, if you aren't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, you'll be seeing the business end of my shillelagh. Yeah, I have one and it comes out once a year, seeking out those who forget to dress properly. Now, my husband is one of those people who will try to get away with that lame, "I have a little speck of green on my underwear!" excuse-users. He gets a bonk on the head every year (will he ever learn?!)

This year, and in the future, he won't have to come up with any excuses to avoid a rap on the noggin. I received a t-shirt from KissMyShamrock.com to review and it turned out to be the perfect shirt for him:

(NOT my husband! LOL)

While we don't do the drinking thing on St. Patrick's Day (well, I do like a little Bailey's in my coffee or a nice Irish coffee with Jameson's and some whipped cream when it's available!), hubby is a stumbler. He stumbles over toys, rugs, even his own feet! So, not only does he have a nice green shirt from KissMyShamrock.com's selection of funny Irish t-shirts, he also has a pretty descriptive one, too!

So, don't get caught without your green on March 17th! Check out KissMyShamrock.com to find the perfect shirt for you. In addition to t-shirts, all of their designs come on your choice of style (hoodie, long-sleeve tee, tanks, and many more!) and you can choose from 16 shirt colors!

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will find interesting.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Best Boyfriend... EVER!

See this kid?

He's been deemed "The Best Boyfriend EVER!" You see, things are looking up for my oldest. Being a year younger than his classmates wasn't really a problem until he hit middle school. He struggled with the whole "girl" thing. By the time he hit high school, last fall, he had pretty much given up on thinking any girls would be interested in him simply because he was a little younger than them. But, he managed to learn something that many adults fail to realize: Age really doesn't matter - it's more about who you are. And, though I'm his mom, I'm not just bragging when I tell you that he's an amazing person. Empathetic, polite, level-headed, and thoughtful are the first words that pop into my head when I try to describe him.

I was so happy for him when he home home with the announcement: "I have a girlfriend!" He's been walking on air since. It's amazing what a huge boost this has been to his self-esteem. Additionally, his attitude around here has gone from typical apathetic teenager to mature and helpful young man. I'm so proud of him!

He attended his first high school dance last Saturday. The dance was set to begin at 7pm. So, naturally, he started getting ready at noon! Every 15 minutes, he was in the bathroom combing his hair, brushing his teeth, putting on MORE cologne, etc. (We had a talk about how to put that stuff on. He seemed to be under the impression that, if he couldn't smell it, no one could.) He tried on a bunch of nice shirts, picked one out, then asked me to show him how to iron it. Yeah - he didn't just ask me to do it, he wanted me to teach him! With all of his pacing and looking at the clock all day, I think I was more nervous for him than he was by the time 7 o'clock rolled around. But, it all went off without a hitch. He came home smiling from ear-to-ear and went directly to the computer...

You see, I don't know if it's common all over the place, but kids around here don't talk on the phone or even text each other. They use Facebook to instant message and leave each other little status updates, write on walls, etc. The minute he's in for the night, he's asking to use the computer. He'll spend hours "socializing" with his friends online. WAY different than when I was his age. Back then, I had two choices: talk on the phone, or "hang out." Talking on the phone was pretty difficult. Call-waiting wasn't all that common, so my phone calls were limited to five minutes. You can't get much "you hang up first... no YOU hang up first!" with that kind of time limit. So, we usually congregated somewhere. The mall was the place to be in the wintertime, but not much fun when you had no money. You could go to a friend's house and stare at MTV for a few hours (remember when they actually played music videos all of the time???) Or, we just stood outside on a corner in our little suburban community - but it had to be where no one's parents could see us through a window (as if we were doing anything beside saying, "So, what do you want to do? I don't care... whatever YOU want to do.") Anyway, kids nowadays don't actually hang out with each other unless it's a special event. And they don't even talk to each other. They type to each other, each from the comfort of their own homes. I can't help but wonder what this generation will be like in their 20's - will they have drinking parties via Skype?! But, I'm getting way off the subject of why my kid is the best boyfriend ever...

He really wanted to get his girlfriend a nice gift for St. Valentine's Day. We just don't have any money to give him and it's hard to find a job when you're his age. So, ever the thinker, he came up with a plan and spent a lot of time collecting empty cans to turn in for deposit (they're worth $0.10 each in Michigan!) He managed to save up enough to buy his girlfriend this:

Yeah, a huge heart-shaped box of truffles. When my husband saw it, he teased my son by saying, "Thanks for raising the bar! Now I have to do something extra special for your mom!" That little comment just made my kid beam. He knew he did a great job.

He came home today and went directly into his room. All I could think was that either something happened to that candy between the time he left home this morning and when he had planned on giving it to his girlfriend. No, he was just taking a nap. Seems he had been up all night last night, nervous for today. But, it all went well. She absolutely loved the candy in the fancy box. He asked me if he could tell her how he paid for it and I advised him to only mention it if asked. She asked, did the teenage girl "Awwww!", and gave him a huge hug, declaring, "You're the BEST boyfriend EVER!"

Now, he's not just the best according to one girl. Nope. Word got around school, you know. By the end of the day, he was considered the best boyfriend by the majority of the freshman girls in his school. I'm wondering if the other classes will hear about this on Facebook tonight? He might be the best boyfriend (EVER!) in the entire school by tomorrow morning.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Tuesday's Giveaway Linkup {2/14}

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would like to follow the three hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Thank you for linking up with Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

Here We Go... Again!

I am so sorry that I've been AWOL for so long. Things have been pretty bad around here, but I'm working hard to set things straight. Please don't take the following as a bunch of whining. I'm trying to figure out the best way to lay it out for you so you can understand without sounding as if it's the end of the world. It's not.But I want to be honest about this stuff, too. Just know that, while these things weigh on me every day, I won't let the bad dominate the good. Sometimes just acting cheerful can help bring up your spirits to where you're no longer acting.

Congrats to the Mouth Man Hoodie WINNER!!!

I'd like to thank every one of you for entering my Mouth Man giveaway. I just love Little Guy's hoodie and so does everyone who sees him wearing it. My oldest has the same version and Little Guy thinks it is so cool to be able to have a shirt "... just like Brubber's!" I know that the lucky winner is going to be just as happy with their hoodie!

If His Head Wasn't Attached... {Oliver's Labels}

My oldest's high school allows students to carry water bottles (with water only!)to class. This keeps students hydrated, especially in the dry winter months, and keeps down student requests for hall passes to get drinks from the water fountains. My son seems to always be thirsty, so having his water bottle in class is very important to him. Unfortunately, he loses everything. It doesn't matter if it's something as insignificant as a pencil or the memory stick containing all of his homework files - he'll lose it. And, often, lost items are never seen again. I think his stuff all ends up in the same place that lost socks and mittens go. So, it has been no surprise to learn that he's lost yet another water bottle. This year, his total is already up to 12 - that's more that one bottle every 2 weeks since school has started!

I had been casually looking around online for some name labels for his bottles that he'd not be embarrassed to use. Because, let's face it, many of the more affordable labels have icons that are meant for the 3 to 9-year-old crowd. The more sophisticated labels available are usually just to darn expensive for our budget. I was so happy to have the opportunity to try out Oliver's Labels.

London Primrose Design

Oliver's Labels has a wide array of label designs and styles. Designs range from trains and butterflies children, to roses and carnations for adults, to allergy labels - they have it all. They even offer labels with your own QR Code included, if you have a business or Web page that you'd like to direct others to check out. Their styles consist the typical name labels in a variety of sizes to stick onto cups and pencils, photo labels, iron-on labels for clothing, show labels, and even wristbands. Oliver's Labels even offers easy packages of labels that include everything you need for going to camp, clothing, and preschool!

I chose the Crossbones design for my sample pack of labels for review and had my oldest's last name added. I received a variety of styles - Original Labels, Shoe Labels, Mini Labels, and Stick-eez™ Clothing Labels. I immediately put the original labels on his remaining water bottles. The mini labels were attached to his favorite mechanical pencil (he loves drawing with it!), and I put the show labels into his new track shoes. I love that they are all waterproof and don't fade! So far, they're all still in place and, no matter how hard I scrub those water bottles, how far he runs in those shoes, and how much he uses that pencil, those labels look as if I just put them on the items today. The clothing stickers are just wonderful, too. I was afraid that stickers would end up falling off in the washer, but they're steadfast! For a kid who loses stuff like my oldest, these are invaluable for getting his jackets returned and keeping his trunks and towels for swimming in his possession.

The biggest test was making sure he wouldn't be embarrassed to use the items that had these new labels attached. Because, really, what's the point of having the labels if he won't take the bottles to school? He loved them! In fact, he even had a few of his friends and even a couple of teachers ask where I got them.

It has been three weeks and he has left his water bottle on the school bus and in the lunch room. He even left one of his favorite hoodies on the city bus. So far, though, his forgetfulness hasn't resulted in yet another loss. Every time, the items have been returned. (I'm glad we live in a small enough town that the hoodie found its way back because someone knew who the name on the label belonged to!) I am considering getting a "Found-It" subscription for all of the things that my family loses (unfortunately, it's not just my oldest who has this problem!). Guess what - Oliver's Labels has an option to include the Found-It code on your labels. So, if I do end up subscribing, I'll be sure to check out Oliver's.

So, if you're in need of some good labels that look cool and can withstand the wear and tear that kids tend to put them through, go check out Oliver's Labels first. In addition to their Web site, you can also find them on their Blog and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Tuesday's Giveaway Linky {1/7}

Sorry this is so late today - My "technical" problems have been resolved, so I'm back on track!

Don't forget to check out my Mouth Man Hoodie Shirt Giveaway! Winner gets to choose from any of Mouth Man's designs, and they make both children's and adult sizes.
Easy Rafflecopter entries!
Ends 2/9 at 11:59pm ET, Open to US residents.

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Aimee @ Classified: Mom & Karen @ Tots and Me & Alicia @ McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts!

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Please Stand By...

Image By Phoenix2k

You may or may not have noticed that I've been AWOL for the past few days. Well... We have no power at home right now. I feel like a complete idiot about the entire thing. My husband brought the mail in a couple of days before the first of the year and, as usual, he read me the due dates ans amounts of the bills and I wrote them on my calendar. Turns out her read "January 3rd" as "February 3rd" for our FINAL NOTICE on the electric bill. So, much to our surprise, everything went BLACK a little over a week ago. I'm secretly glad I was able to brew a big pot of coffee first! LOL We ought to be re-connected by Monday, but it's hard telling - the electric company is pretty fast when it comes to shutting you down, but they seem to take their time when it comes to turning things back on...

At first, I freaked out. We have no heat, no lights, no TV, no computer... and no oven. Though it's gas, there is an electric sensor that decides the pilot is lit before it'll kick out the gas. I can't seem to figure out how to bypass it and I'm not sure I want to mess with this safety feature. Our stove top does work, I just need a match to get it going - so that's something to be grateful for. Also, our neighbors (who we barely know) offered to let us drop an extension cord down to their place to plug in a lamp and electric heater during the night. I can't tell you what a blessing that is!

Last Thursday, I finally cleared out the fridge and freezer. We had been buying bags of ice to keep things cold, but the stuff in our freezer thawed and it was time to really start thinking about what to do with all of the meat and frozen soups I had put away. We ate a few things but, without an oven or use of the crock pot, it's kind of hard to cook some of the roasts I had. So, I split up the meats and passed them out to a few neighbors. At least someone would be able to eat the stuff - always better than letting it all go to waste! The fridge was really the motivating factor for my cleaning, though. When you open the door and the entire house stinks like rotten ???, it's time to face facts. Most of the stuff was salvageable, though. Things like pickles, jams, condiments, butter, and cheese were fine - as long as they were cool, they would be edible. I'm glad that I buy my eggs fresh (our health food store carries them direct from the farmer) - those things could be left on the counter for a month before I'd worry! The nasty smell was coming from the leftover beef stew we had in there. I'll spare you the details. Well, at least my fridge is sparkling clean now!!

The Good Part
All-in-all, though, it's actually been nice to COMPLETELY unplug and spend real time with my family. I really thought that the kids would go nuts in the evenings with no TV, but they're more than happy to just hang out reading, creating, or playing. My oldest, especially, has been a great kid to have around. He seeks out Little Guy for playtime and has been very helpful in the chores around the house. And many of Little Guy's negative behaviors are being resolved, too. I guess that when I'm too busy on the computer and he's staring at the TV, we tend to let stuff go until it grows uncontrollable. I'm not saying that all's well on that front, but I don't ever expect him to be 100% on board with everything. I'd hate to have a kid who blindly follows every direction I give him.

Exciting News, Too!

I was going through all of our stuff, deciding what to give to charity (they're sending the monthly truck for donation pick-ups next weekend), when I came across a twin-size blanket that I had started knitting for my oldest when I was pregnant with Little Guy. It had gotten stuffed into a closet soon after I gave birth and has "lived" there until last Friday. So, I'm busily knitting away! I've also checked a few books about knitting out from the library. You see, I've only known how to knit, purl, cast on, and whatever they call getting the flat thing (scarf, washcloth, blanket, etc.) that I've made off of the needles. One book I found really explained how to do the fancier stuff very well!

I've made a few real "things" over the past week and am contemplating opening an Etsy shop. I finally have that inspiration I've been searching for and I'm very excited. I hit my thrift store and bought all kinds of knitted hats, scarves, and sweaters that were marked very low due to stains or holes. Little Guy helped me unravel everything and roll them into balls of yarn. So, I plan to upcycle these unusable knitted goods into things that people can really use. I only need to find people willing to donate knitting needles, yarn, pattern books, etc. I think that, in a month or so, I'll have a good stockpile of items made and will have had time enough to learn about running an Etsy business that I'll be ready to open up shop. If anyone has any ideas for shop names or has some old knitting supplies taking up space in a closet that they'd love to get rid of, PLEASE leave a comment or get in touch with me via my Contact Me Form!!!

A Little More...
I also have plenty of reading to do. I received two books that look really great in the mail today for review. And the publisher has offered to allow me to give away a copy of each to YOU! I'm hoping to get the first book read, reviewed, and posted this week. The next should follow soon. Oh, and make sure to stop by and enter my Mouth man Hoodie Shirt giveaway. It's open to US residents and will end on 2/9. And, if you don't want to enter, at least stop by to check out the really cool picture I managed to take of Little Guy. I just love it when red-eye works to my advantage!

TTFN... Hopefully, I'll be back online and fully functional on Monday. I have a LOT of catching up to do. I've missed the last two Saturdays of review and giveaway posts, so I'm going to have to schedule them to post throughout this coming week and the next. Once I'm caught up, I'll be ready to get back to my regular schedule, again.