The Big 0-5

I can't believe my baby is turning 5. I know soon I'll be adding a 1, or 2, or 3 in front of that and saying the same thing...but still..my baby...growing up! Here's a little journey of my baby boy :)

Happy Birthday E!! I love you, even when you drive me batty and test my limits!
~~mommy

Love for Layla Grace

I have seen this going around handmade forums and will help however I can. My friend Candace says it best, so I'll just link to her blog :)

Cotton Candie Fabric

You can follow Layla's story on her mom's blog. Prayers go out to the family of this sweet little girl and her family.

Go hug your kids.

~~Amy

My Faves: Red

Some lovely things in RED...
I could go on and on with these, I could make one a day practically! Hmmmm...

Blast Off!

Shameless self promotion alert....

I just think this is perty darn nifty and I'm proud of it :)

Mini Rocket Ship--Mama Rocket available also!
Listed on both Etsy and Artfire, and customizations available!

Semi Wordless Wednesday

In honor of my sister coming home from Seattle to New Orleans to hopefully soon meet two new granddaughters.

From RainwolfStudios













And from savoiefairephoto












And for our soon to be here baby girls, Sophie and Kenzy....more cute babies ! :)
From AllThingsBelle












From Swifferkins


















Can't wait til my sister is back home and the baby girls are HERE! :)

~~Amy

**All images are copyright of the artisan. Please respect their quality work and PURCHASE the items from THEIR shops if you are drawn to them!

Mama's Little Monkeys has....

SOCK MONKEYS! :) Okay so they aren't listed yet, but here is one of the first generation monkeys!
Sophie, the baby monkey for my lovely niece Miranda who is pregnant with the real Sophie, coming this fall! :)

More coming soon!

Why Being a Mom Kicks Arse....

In honor of mother's day, I'm reposting this! I hope every mommy out there has a fantastic day!

Here are some reasons why being a mom kicks arse...

1. It builds intelligence. Clearly, it takes an upper level intelligence to sort a pile of 56 baby socks, all in similar color schemes.

2. It fosters creativity. See, a childless person would not necessarily have the creativity to know that peas and carrots are not just peas and carrots. They are, in fact, ogre booger balls and orange alien space ships.

3. It is a nifty way to have fun. There is no other time in your life when it is acceptable to do these things: Go to Chuck E. Cheese, play Barbies, color, watch Lady and the Tramp (and cry), rock out to The Imagination Movers, or swing at the park. Okay, well you could do these things as a childless person, but with children, the chances of you being ostracized by society is far less.

4. It is endlessly changing, thus building your ability to roll with the punches. Plans with your spouse? NOPE, someones puking. Need a hair cut? NOPE, dance recital. But, somehow, everything gets done and you learn how to make things happen in a pinch! (Shhh, no one needs to know your hair is out of a bottle.

5. It is a wonderful excuse! Invited to a party you REALLY don't want to attend? Not a problem. Blame it on the kids!! Saying someone is sick, has baseball practice, has leprosy, is allergic to shag carpeting is almost always foolproof....just keep track of your 'fibs.'

6. You suddenly learn how valuable the little things are and learn the real value of money. 50.00 toy from Grandma. Ignored. 35.00 onesie from Auntie Kim? Puked on. .25c bag of Cheerios in your diaper bag while stuck in traffic? PRICELESS.

7. You learn how really STUPID and PETTY the things that worried you when you had no children are. Suddenly, what your next purse purchase will be, who is sleeping with who, and what new vodka is on the market is not really important anymore. Upon entering parenthood, a whole slew of 'grown up' worries hits you--health insurance, life insurance, safest car, vaccines, good pediatricians, college costs, how much a bottle of vodka is, etc.

Okay, so the vodka remains important no matter what stage of life you are in.

8. You have instant companionship--for awhile! Now this is not to say you should turn your back on your spouse or your friends upon becoming a mother. And remember, children do not need you to be their friends, they need you to be their parent. HOWEVER, how incredibly awesome is it to be having one of THOSE days, and be given a big smooch by the human being YOU brought forth into this world? And if you play your cards right...get past the scary teen years, and do your job...you WILL have a friend in your child---when THEY are an adult and can appreciate what you went through for them!

9. You get to dress them up. Okay, so it's petty but come on...dressing up babies is SOOO much more fun than dressing up animals. And please...stop dressing up animals. I beg of you.

10. And finally... no matter how your day goes, how you may have screwed up, what you said wrong....at the end of the day, you get to tuck in and kiss the most beautiful creature(s) in the world and know that YOU are their mommy and that is that--no matter HOW you came to be their mommy..you are and that is yours alone!

I think the perks far outweigh the sleeplessness, belly bloop and expense, don't you?





Amy...proud mommy


All Text Copyright Amy Dutsch 2009
Feel free to share...but give me the credit I deserve!

Learn more about me..Tonite!!

You know you've always wanted to know how my twisted little mind works right? Well, tune in tonight at 9 pm Eastern for Artisan Spotlight on Blockhead Radio. Ruthie from Roseworks Jewelry will be interviewing MOI!

I promise to be SOMEWHAT interesting and if I"m not, well....come with a drink and you won't care!! :)

So tune in, check it out and leave me some love!. You neeeeeeeeeeeever know what goodies I may give out either! :)

~~Amy

Survived first live show, now back to work!

Man, life after craft show is hard! Trying to reorganize, inventory, photograph, clean, etc etc! :)

Thanks to those who tuned in last night, you can tune in again every Wednesday night at 9 pm eastern to hear me and my awesome friend Rockerchic on "Mom's Cafe" We'll carry on with our mommyness, awesomeness, and artisan info! :)

So don't miss it! :)

www.blockheadradiolive.com

20% off at Mama's Little Monkeys!! Clearance Sale!!

Come on down and enjoy 20% off nearly everything at Mama's Little Monkeys! (Items marked, Made with Love by Katrina are excluded.)

I am making room for new items!! New items have been listed!! Handmade soap coming soon, including grab bags, oops' and mystery soaps!

AND for my blog readers....a secret giveaway!!! Send me a convo to my Etsy Shop and mention "secret giveaway"!! I'll take all the convo's and use a random number generator to choose one for a secret giveaway!! It could be soap, could be crayons, could be a sewn item, could be a gift certificate!!! You'll have to convo me to find out!!!

So come on down and check us out! You never know what you might find!!

***Don't forget to check out the feature on jonathanandandrea.blogspot.com all about my little corner of the handmade world!! Thank you so much Andrea!!!***

~~amy

My Faves: Cafemom Etsy Moms Team

Hope you enjoy this edition of MY FAVES!! This time up, Cafemom Etsy Moms!! Don't know about CEM? Well get to know them a little here, and if you or someone you know is a mom/grandma who sells on Etsy, be sure to join Cafemom Etsy moms!! We're having a member drive to reach 300 members by 3/29/09!!

This is only the tiniest tip of the cafemom team iceberg!! More editions coming soon!
Be sure to check out the awesome Cafemom Team Videon on my blog HERE! More versions coming soon!

Something Doesn't Seem Right Here....

Ummm, Mom, is this right?

Ready for another giveaway!??? Get in here and WIN!

Here is our latest giveaway!!

$25.00 gift certificate from Blue Wings AND a free soap from Purities!!

This is a fantastic giveaway! Winning is EASY PEASEY!

Just visit EITHER shop, and come back here, leave a comment on THIS blog post with the URL of the item you like and why! You have one week to complete this task, should you choose to accept it... (and why wouldn't you?)

REMEMBER to leave a contact email for you in your comment so I can find you to let you know you've won!!!

When the week is over, I'll use my super scientific number generator (my husband) and pick a winner! No, no matter how much chocolate you bribe me with, I let him pick the random number! :)

So get on over to her shops and pick your fave!
Blog about this giveaway and get an extra entry! (Must provide blog POST URL in your comment!)

Blog about the Blockhead Radio Tutu Challenge found HERE, and get an extra entry! (Must provide blog POST URL in your comment.)

Here's a sampling of the great goodies you could win!





Happy Browsing!!!

Find her Blog at bluewingsshop.blogspot.com