You are a Badass

Our greatest fear is our greatest waste of time, face your fears with the truth, that they are all in your mind, and they will lose their power over you. –Jen Sincero, #youareabadass Writing down my fears was one of the hardest things I’ve done lately. There are the easy ones like snakes, the dentist, and most recently the fear that I am going to get mugged walking to my car. The hard ones were failing, disappointing my family, and not being able to financially support them. The theory behind this practice is that if you write down your fears you can create a plan to conquer them. You can redefine failure so it doesn’t stain your willingness to try something new. By eliminating your fears you are opening your life up to new opportunities and not letting them have power over you. You’re literally kicking down the doors that were closed before simply because you were afraid and to me that sounds awesome and scary at the same time. What are the fears that you have overcome? I’d love to hear your story, your motivations, your success and if anyone has figured out how to block every mention of snakes in their social feed. K-Thanks. #yoursuccess #concouryourfears #ocercome #overcomefear #challenges

Hallmark Christmas Mug

Things that last aren’t built overnight. – Rachel Hollis –

As a working Mom guilt occasionally makes its way into my mind. Sometimes extra snuggles are skipped because I know how much work I have to do for the night and every now and then I will start working before it’s even bedtime. I often ask myself if it’s worth it, if I’m skipping time with my kids I’ll never get back and evaluating how intentional I am being with my time. Whenever this happens I tell myself that I am running a successful business and there are busy seasons in my business but there are also seasons that I fully emerge myself in family time. My kids are seeing the work that I’m doing. I don’t ever say it’s stressful, I don’t ever say it’s too much, and I’m always excited every time my phone chimes because I made another sale. How you address your work reflects on your kids and you are setting an example for them to follow as working adults. Let your kids see the joy you have in your work and have them be a part of it. Your kids will see how strong and amazing you are and it will help build the foundation for them in their own adult lives.

Hallmark Christmas Mug available on Etsy

IT'S ALMOST WEDDING DAY!

Getting ready for the wedding tomorrow! One of my girlfriends will officially be #offthemarket Get your own mug by clicking the SHOP link at the top of the page! 

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#Throwbackthursday

TBT When I first started designing mugs I thought it would just be a hobby I do on the weekends. Now I’m the crazy lady in the basement pressing mugs for people all over the world.

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The Best Gifts

Sometimes the best gifts are ones you use right away in the morning. Get your papa bear mug by clicking on the SHOP link at the top of the page. 

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Baby James

We can give you drugs and do this for a few hours or I can break your water and we can have a baby. 

 This one sentence is how baby James came into this world at 5:53 a.m.

 Laboring at home from 7:40 pm until 2:00 am was a breeze. My contractions were slow and heavy and I could walk through them. Tripping over the three animals that did every lap around the house with me was frustrating but part of me was happy I knew we were in this together. At 2:00 my contractions quickly went from seven minutes to five and by 2:40 they were barely three minutes apart. I realized we needed to get to the hospital so I got my husband out of bed and sent him into a- I'm going to act calm but I'm completely freaking out - panic as I called the birthing center to let them know we were headed in. 

 It's funny how things work out. I wanted to go into labor naturally, I didn't want to be induced but I was 6 days past my due date and swollen beyond all belief. My doctor had me scheduled to be induced the same day in just a few short hours so naturally the gal who answered the phone asked me if I was just coming in early for my appointment. 

 I wanted to say, why yes, I thought coming in at 3 a.m. instead of our scheduled 7:30 appointment time would be appropriate. But instead I let her know my contractions were less than five minutes apart and getting stronger. Then after making Chris take another chalkboard photo of me we were off to the hospital. 

 Arriving at 4 cm dilated I progressed to 6 within an hour and a little after 5 am I was 8 cm dilated and ready to be done. Contractions were hard and strong and the intensity was lasting longer than I thought my body could take. I distinctly remember standing in the bathroom saying, "Drugs. I want the drugs."

 Than came the one thing that was promising enough for me to say lets do it and then immediately regret it afterwards. 

 My doctor came in and said, "We can give you drugs and do this for a few hours or I can break your water and we can have a baby." Guess what I chose. 

 After 15 minutes of monitoring in a bed they would not let me get out of and a few curse words later I was headed into the shower ready for any form of relief from the pain. Well, 30 seconds into my shower my little baby was ready to come out. 

 Looking back I honestly believe "not pushing" takes more will power than pushing itself. Your body is finally ready to finish what it started but 60 people need to come in your room and convert a simple bed into a birthing table before you start so every second you can't push is harder than the last. 

 When I was finally told to crawl back up on the table I hated with all of my being I gave two solid pushes. I wanted to be done, I wanted a long john donut, and I wanted my beautiful baby to be born. My doctor quietly said one more and I think we will have a baby and that's all I needed, one more solid push and I heard, "It's a boy!" and I knew the perfect little miracle that was born would change my life forever. 

 Somewhere in this mix my husband had to sit down. I remember glancing over looking for him and he was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands. Later he said he didn't want to be a liability and after being told I had second degree tearing I thought he made a wise choice. 

 James Mark was born at 5:53 a.m. He was 20 inches long and had the most beautiful blue eyes you've ever seen. As my husband held my hand and we looked at the miracle that just happened an overwhelming amount of love poured over me. I was reminded that there is no greater love than Gods and I thanked Him for once again taking care of my family.

Bounce, Bounce, Baby

Well I did it, I reached the end. I feel I managed to keep my hormones under check excluding the last week when I’ve cried basically every night and somehow managed to keep my swelling down until my final months of pregnancy. The only problem now is that this baby doesn’t want to come out. My due date is tomorrow and I’m out of breath walking down a hallway because the baby has their feet shoved up in my ribs. On top of that people keep asking me if I had that baby yet.

DOES IT LOOK LIKE I HAD THE BABY YET? I honestly don’t understand that question and after the 11th time last week I shut the door to my office.

I can’t do it people. I can’t do it.

So far I’ve taken laps up and down the stairs because Mother Nature in Wisconsin does not allow for very many outdoor walks and I’m on my third pineapple with two more upside down at home that I’m waiting to get ripe. I’ve got an exercise ball at home that I’ve almost fallen off of a few times from my hours of bouncing on it and today I’m getting myself some Raspberry Leaf Tea.

I wish there was a better way to know when the baby is going to be born. Like having women have a turkey thermometer and once it pops up you know it’s time. Logical? No. But I feel I am no closer to having this baby tomorrow than I was a month ago. My husband is anxious, our parents think every time we call it’s to tell them we are on our way to the hospital and the only thing anyone ever asks me is how I’m feeling.

I have a 10 pound, giant headed baby growing inside of me and I pee every 20 minutes, that’s how I’m feeling.

I am kind of excited that I will have two March babies. Every year is a new challenge planning a birthday party because you can’t exactly have it in the back yard in March but I love my spring babies. I just need to figure out how to get this little baby out.

The Sugar Dish

We are calling it the purge of 2017. My sister and I have taken it upon ourselves to throwaway, donate, and minimize the stuff in our lives. Boxes of toys, clothes, household items, and random things that we’ve collected through the years have been piling up and it’s time to get rid of them.

As I stubbornly get rid of things that I might use someday I realized that there are some things worth keeping. One of which, is my Grandpa’s sugar dish. Chipped, faded, and containing no true value, this sugar dish reminds me of summers spent in my grandpa’s home watching Judge Judy and Inspector Gadget, making blanket forts with the dining room chairs and pretending that each step on the stairs was a different room in Barbie’s dream house.

When my Grandpa passed away my Mom had offered many things to me to keep in remembrance of him but they were all just things my Grandpa had owned. I didn’t want one of his Gene Autry calendars or one of the many mini replicas of his horse Champ, to me these were just things my Grandpa had owned. It may seem odd, but one thing I wish I would have kept was one of his notebooks filled with numbers.

My Grandpa played the $1 lottery every day. My Mom even told me he played it when she was growing up and my Grandma would stay up and watch the news to tell him what the winning numbers were the next morning. Even though he only occasionally won his money back, I remember him filling notebooks with different number combinations until he finally chose what bubbles I got to fill in on his ticket. Garbage to most, but those notebooks full of numbers hold a special memory for me.

As my family continues to grow I am thankful that my children get to experience the love from their Grandparents. My husband did not have the chance to know any of his grandparents and until I met him I had taken these memories for granted. I don’t remember any toys they bought me or if we ever went to a fancy restaurant, instead I remember the moments of joy we had together and this is what I want for my children.  

Someday I’m sure my kids will throw away the chipped sugar dish but for now we bring it to my parents’ house for every holiday and for a small moment in time it’s like he’s there with us, telling us that he has to hurry and get going a few short minutes after sitting down.

It begins where it ends.

If you go on any social media site you will see how horrible 2016 was for most people. Some of the meme’s are hysterical while others remind you of the challenges the world faced this past year. However, looking back I don’t consider 2016 to be a year to sweep under the rug, I consider it to be a year of growth.

Like others, I have also experienced things this last year that have made me wonder if it could get any worse. We experienced loss in both my immediate and extended family and my marriage was challenged in ways that helped us grow stronger in our relationship with each other as well as our relationship with God. Career decisions, parenting choices, and health concerns all were issues that I faced that made me question what I was doing but looking back I know that it has also helped me grow into a stronger, more focused woman.

With that being said, it’s easy to forget how much happiness filled the year. Like successes in my small business, the growth I’ve seen in our son, fulfilling my childhood dream of swimming with a dolphin (her name was Dot), my husband’s college graduation, and most of all, my ever growing baby bump that will soon excite and terrify me as a new member of our family will be brought into this world. Recognizing the joy in your life help you refocus and know that the joy you have is because you were joyful during those times.

Being a negative person is exhausting. Being around negative people and still being happy can can be equally exhausting but there is a tiny piece inside of me that knows I’m driving someone crazy just for being happy that makes it all worth it.

Take a moment. Find your joy. Welcome another year to grow.

New Year, New Designs.

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For This Child I Have Prayed

On Monday I get to hear my baby’s heartbeat for the first time.

I may be 16 weeks along and have an ever growing baby bump but I haven’t been able to hear his or her little heartbeat yet. Our first appointment was when I was 11 weeks along. The doctor asked us a series of questions ranging from medical history to how much I exercise to how big my husband and I were when we were born. It was in this moment I realized I might have to give birth to a nine pound baby but when you start dating someone one of your 30 questions typically does not include how big you were when you were born.

The big moment of anticipation had finally arrived as the doctor tried to find the little heartbeat beating inside of me. The doctor found mine right away, she joked that she did that to make sure I was alive but as the minutes passed a second heartbeat was nowhere to be found. She grabbed a second instrument and tried again. As I watched the doctor desperately try to find a glimmer of a sound my husband was turning white in the corner and my worst fears were coming alive before me.

We were given two options, come back in two weeks and the doctor would try again or have an ultrasound done. As any mother knows, waiting two weeks was simply not an option so we waited in the referral office as the gal tried to schedule us an ultrasound without uttering the phrase “possible miscarriage” over the phone even though we could hear the person on the other end continuously ask why she needed to schedule one so quickly. 

As the hours passed our hearts were filled with worry and prayers. You never realize how much you love someone you've never met until you realize that you may never get to meet them. The ultrasound tech poured goop on my stomach and within seconds she turned the screen to show us our baby and its little heartbeat filling in the lines across the screen.  

First Ultrasound

First Ultrasound

A gasp of relief followed by an overwhelming amount of emotions poured out of me so quickly I scared the ultrasound tech and she ran out of the room. We got to meet our baby, confirm that there is only one in there, and know that everything is okay. 

Last weekend we painted the nursery and put the crib together. My sister casually talks about my baby shower and Chris is looking at Minnesota Vikings baby onesies online that I joke would be perfect for when the baby has a blowout.  

We are planning, we are happy, and we are blessed with this beautiful gift God has given us. 

>For this child I prayed, and the Lord answered my prayer. 1 Samuel 1:27<