been away too long...

Well, along with almost everyone else on the internet, I have become addicted to Pinterest!  Hayes and I have been very busy this past month coming up with all sorts of activities to do and crafts to make.  I feel like I have neglected this little blog of mine, but we have been having fun!

We have also been quite involved with the "farm" and tending to all of the new vegetable plants and fruit trees, spending most of our time outside.  (We just dug up 4-100yard rows of potatoes and I am now in the process of getting them put up or moved out to another home.)

Also, I have been getting ready for an upcoming vendor show and have been VERY busy trying to get my inventory up to where it needs to be.  My niece is wanting to start both cheer and softball camps this summer and will be selling her special homemade all natural horse and dog treats to make enough money to attend both.  I truly hope she does well and cannot wait to help her with this little business of hers.

Hayes is growing so fast and is still such a talker.  He is very curious and  wants to observe everything and everyone that is new to him.  He has a few new things that he started recently that are just adorable.
1.  if I say ouch or anything like that he immediately rushes over and with the most concerned look will say, "K Mommy?"  yes Hayes, Mommy is ok.
2.  He wants everyone, dogs included to come here or come one.  "Brie, 'm'on.  Mommy, 'm'ere."  Too cute!  It is adorable when he calls each dog one-by-one to help me get them in or outside, but even more so when he goes and gets in the bed with Daddy and then calls me in there to come lay with them. 
3.  Every week we have family night at my Mom's and Emily and Jamen have the best time with Hayes.  I am so proud of those two for wanting to be such a huge part of his life, even with the huge age gap between them all.  They love chasing each other around and now Hayes will run around and grab you saying, "get you" and then run laughing.  hehehe
I love watching this little man of mine grow in every way. His little facial expressions and personality shining through and even his little temper I love.  I am definitely taking advantage of being home with him and enjoying this time with him, knowing one day he will be taller than me and will be out on his own.  *tear*

I had to get a new phone after I my old one stopped working completely, and have FINALLY figured out how to get the pictures and videos onto my computer.  I have been waiting to figure it out so that I can get them on my blog posts.  Keep an eye out...

Fabric and Frills

I have made quite a few tutus.  Not really sure why since I have a little boy, but if I see something that I think I can make I do it.  I have always been the "I can do that" kind of girl.  I truly believe that my Grandmother instilled this in my brain.  Back to the tutus.  I have made a few different types of tutus and wanted to show off the two I have pictures of.  I will post pictures of them all once I actually take the pictures. 

                                                                First Tulle Tutu I made

                                                                   FSU Fabric Tutu!
                                        So cute on, need my little model to show how it looks on.

                                                                        Pink & Blue

                                                                     Georgia Bulldogs

                                                                      Pink & Green

                                                                      Florida Gators

                                                               Florida State Seminoles

                                                             Beautiful Fabric Tutu for RJ

Wine Time

I have always been into decorating wine glasses. It must be my Italian heritage trying to shine.  hehe  I have a set of glasses that I decorated, and this past Christmas I decorated a few for gifts.  They turned out so great and were the best gifts (home made always are the best).  So, I had an idea for decorating a set for a gift this year, and with my addiction to Pinterest, I went wine glass CRAZY! 
So far, this is what I have done:

                                                                   silver handle glasses

                                                                chalkboard wine glasses

Something Sweet

It is very close to Valentine's Day and after finding some great ideas on Pinterest, I decided to go with my fave.  After getting everything to make this great gift for the hubster, one of my besties sent me a message that she had done the same thing for her husband.  Imagine that!  Great minds think alike, or find the same ideas on Pinterest... However, I decided to add to it to make it my own and this is how it turned out.  Not too bad!  Especially when I had everything to make it already!

Game-Day Earrings

My Step-Dad gave me the greatest pair of earrings for Christmas.  After really looking at them, and getting great comments, I decided I would try to make them myself.  I am definitely the "I can make that" kind of girl.   My inspiration started with a gift and took off from there.  So far, these are the different types of "Game-Day" earrings I have come up with.  (University of Florida, Florida State and Georgia)

                                                            Inspired by my Sister-In-Law

                                                            Inspired by my Christmas Gift

                                                                  Inspired by a ring

                                                              

                                                                   Inspired by a Pin

A mess of winter fruit

Over the past 10 years, little by little I have learned the art of canning.  I have put up all sorts of yummy goodness: green beans, pickled okra, peaches, pears, marmalades, kudzu jelly, mixed berry jam, cranberry sauce, salsa, tomato sauce, etc...and the list continues.
It is time again for kumquats and our tree was loaded again this year.  It is my husbands "duty" to pick the tree and then from there it is up to me to put them up.  I usually just make kumquat jelly (which is absolutely delish) but this year I decided to go a different route.  I took the time to make cinnamon kumquats and candied kumquats after finding some good recipes. I am very pleased at both of the recipes that I decided to use and cannot wait to open a jar after letting the flavors enhance after a few weeks.

                                                                  Candied Kumquats

I have recently learned that the mandarine oranges that I have been buying for my 16month old are treated with chemicals to peel away the pith.  WHAT!  I am so disappointed, but at least I found this out during the prime of satsuma season.  A very close family friend has the most beautiful trees and they are loaded this year.  I picked about 3 feed buckets full and went to work.  Well, I really wish I did have little mini helpers that could come out like elves (my husband must truly believe they exist) and help me with peeling and removing the pith from all of these satsumas.  WOW this has taken F O R E V E R! I am proud to say that I have put up 22 quarts of satsumas for my beautiful son to eat throughout the year, and I no longer have to worry about all of the added chemicals. 

This is by far my favorite part of canning, looking at all of my hard work and knowing that we have as close to fresh food as possible available throughout the year.  Between canning and my food saver, we will continue to have freshly preserved fruits, vegetable and meats year round.  Glad to see that canning is becoming a new hobby for the younger generation.  The way our country is right now, it has become very beneficial.

Frilly fun

A good friend of mine got me interested in making tutus and I recently got my hands on the perfect little model to help show off how the two different styles fit on toddlers.  I was only able to keep her interest with 3 of the 6 tutus, but hey, that is pretty good for an 18month old.  These are the ones that I was able to capture before she was done with her modeling job. 

                                                       purple & white fluffy tutu with ribbon

Georgia Bulldog (red & black) tutu

Blue & Green "Tinkerbell" TuTu

Feathers and Beads

After checking out some great pins, i decided to try making feather earrings.  My Mom and Step-Dad have feathers everywhere, so I used a few to see what I could come up with. I think they turned out pretty good and now I think I need more feathers!

                                                                Peacock Feather Earrings

                                                              Wood Duck Feather Earrings

                                                               Pheasant Feather Earrings

                                                                Turkey Feather Earrings

                                                                                                     
                                                         Beads and Metal Feather Earrings

                                       

trying to find the time for it all

I have recently come to the conclusion that my house will never be "clean" anymore.  I have a toddler.  And unless he is asleep, there will be toys scattered, sippy cups on the coffee table, pacifiers on the couch, remote controls under the couch, and shoes everywhere!  There will also be dishes in the sink and laundry to be done at any given time - 2 boys in the house.  I have been fighting this for a while now and I now GIVE UP! 
Now that I am constantly chasing this little boy around everywhere inside and out, I am more concerned with trying to find the time to get any cleaning finished or projects started. 
Right now I am trying to find time to get some canning done as well as some art projects I have been trying to start for quite a while now.  I will post all of these projects with pictures as soon as I am finished. Not sure how much I can accomplish from my list during nap time...

My little crazy life

I have been meaning to start a blog for sometime now, and have FINALLY gotten around to it.  It has been on my "to-do" list with all of the other things I have been wanting to do.
My beautiful son is now 16months old (I was hoping to have my blog started before he was born) and my world is constantly changing each and every day.  I love being a stay at home mom and enjoy every aspect of it.  Even though I have never been so tired in my life (I have begun staying up late and waking up extra early to get some extra "me" time in), I wouldn't change it for the world.  Every day that goes by, I learn so much from my little man.  Being a Mommy is the most beautiful thing and the amount of love I have for him amazes me.  It is so extremely powerful! 
Hayes is growing so fast!  People have been asking me if he is 2 for the past couple of months now.  I am wondering if he will be tall, and am sure he will at least be taller than me.  He is definitely a talker and gets so excited when he says something and I understand.  It makes life so much easier when they can tell you what it is they want.  Of course, his favorite word is horsy.  He LOVES them!  Right now he is going through a Mommy phase and I love it!  He has recently went from calling me "mama" to "Mommy" and it is the most precious thing in the world.  He could say it all day and I will eat it up.  I am sure one day this will not be the case, but for right now, keep it coming!  When he says "Daddy," he sounds like a little British kid.  It is the funniest thing and I have no idea why he says it that way.  Zane and I giggle every day about the way he says it.  For some reason, that is the only thing he says that way....hmmm...