Got My Baby Fix Today!

So I had the AWESOME pleasure this morning of spending some time with the newest member of the Buettner family - Aiden.

Thought I'd share a quick shot of this handsome little man!

I saw this costume yesterday at Target and just HAD to have it!  You guys might recall when I made cupcakes for his Mommy's baby shower a little while ago...  You can see that post here.

He is just the sweetest little thing...  He was sleeping almost the whole time...  Awake for a little and when I say awake - I mean AWAKE.  He is SUPER alert for being only 8 days old!  I was chomping at the bit to see him after he was born last Tuesday - and his little smiles were all worth it!

Elizabeth and Adam - What a sweet little bundle you have there!  Thank you for letting me come spend some time with you guys today!

Slacking...

Ladies and gentlemen...  I apologize...

I have been slacking QUITE a bit on blogging... 

I've been shoveling snow, working on new pieces and getting ready for craft shows coming up and trying to get my girls ready for Halloween!

Insert SUPER cute picture of my girls HERE:

That's right guys!

A Zombie Cowgirl (because "Mommy I don't think a cowgirl is what I want to be because it's not scary...  So I think I'm gonna be a ZOMBIE Cowgirl")...

And Rapunzel...  From Tangled...  And YES - that IS a frying pan.  If you don't know what it's about - then you havne't seen the movie...  If that happens to be the case - see it...  It's SUPER cute :-)

We had a great night...  

Though it was cold - did you notice I mentioned earlier in the post that I was  

SHOVELING SNOW?!  

IN OCTOBER!  

We got 6 inches at our house...  SoIt was crazy...  The weekend before it was an awesome sunny day and we went to Kings Dominion for their Fearfest...  Then BAM!  Snow comes the weekend after.....  And it just so happens to be the weekend before we have to traipse around in peoples' yards LOL :-)

Short and sweet this evening...

I'm swamped with getting everything together for the shows and my hubbs has a race this weekend!

GO TEAM AWESOME!

Workin' on a Saturday Night...

It's Saturday night.  8:37pm.  I'm at work.

As much as I would love to be relaxing at home with my beautiful family on a Saturday night, I must say...

I.

Am.

Blessed.

I have a job with a company that I truly love.

So many people don't have jobs right now or are struggling.  This is not to say that my family doesn't have its ups and downs financially or that we're what some would call "well off".

But we are definitely blessed in many ways.

And for that - I'm thankful.

Hugs,

Fight. Cure. Win.

This past weekend my wonderful friend April and I took part in the Cherry Blossom Foundation's Breast Cancer 5K.

We came up with a team name (well, actually my husband did) - "Leave It To Cleavage".  I made shirts for us, we had matching socks, matching bows - and we looked great!  Don't you think?!  Those are my beautiful girls with us :-)

Here are the awesome shirts made for us - by yours truly!

 

While we were thinking this was going to be a "Komen" race but on a much smaller scale, it was actually more of a "fun run".  However, April and I decided we were going to time ourselves anyway and do it right!

Here we are before the run started!

And a quick shot with our supporters!

We started out great - and then there was hill #1 right around the corner from the start line.  Now - side note for those of you who don't know - I have asthma.  But my bestie Jamie (you can read her blog here) told me that running would help with it and just make me feel better.  She's OBVIOUSLY a runner :-) 

April and I started the "Couch to 5K" program a little while ago and it has definitely helped.  However, this day was particularly challenging for some reason.  I used my inhaler more than I had hoped I would have to. 

But nonetheless, WE FINISHED!  And even better than that - faster than we (or our other halves) thought!  Funny tidbit for you...  We thought and our sweet hubbs thought that since it was our first race and because it was on trails we would be about 40-45 minutes.  However, we finished the race with a final time of... Wait for it....  29:05!!!!!  And because we thought it was going to take longer - our hubbs actually missed our finish!  They were so upset but had taken my gorgeous girls to get a snack :-)  Best of intentions right?

So, here we are "finishing" the race...  We decided to run the last little bit again because the girls were upset when they found out we had already finished...

There were so many people there both men and women, who were affected by this disease.  Some were survivors, some in the midst of treatment, some family members of people who had been diagnosed and lost their fight and some that were family members of those fighting it every day.

I was there for me.  I was there for my Mom.  My daughters.  My friends.  Women everywhere.

Here is an email that I received from my dear friend Annette's sister, Elizabeth. 

We were honored to have her name on our shirts as a survivor.

"Kristie –

I am Anet’s sister, Elizabeth Kelly.

I’m sitting here thanking God for all of the people who are praying for me, and praying that they somehow know how much they mean to me.  I am honored by your tribute to me on your shirts – wow.

God bless you all – and if you don’t mind I’d just like to bug you for a moment:  DO NOT skip your mammograms and self exams!  And, please pass this on to all of those that you love.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you!

Elizabeth"

I can't say enough how much I can encourage my friends and family to do the self checks, see your doctors and by all means - know you have a support system should anything EVER happen.

  

My sweet girls and husband here with me after our finish...

April,

I'm so proud of us and can't wait to continue running together!  It was SO much fun and I'm so glad to have such a great motivation partner!  Love you!

Linking Up To Tip Me Tuesday!

Linking Up to Tip Junkie's "Tip Me Tuesday" here.



So I decided that I wasn't really completely happy with my original table runner that I made...

I was inspired by THIS and wanted to make another one!

So off I went!

Here's the supplies that you'll need

• Burlap
• White muslin material
• Natural muslin material
• Black ribbon
• Fall (or any other season if you prefer) decor - flowers, leaves, etc
• Alligator clips

 I cut the natural colored muslin fabric in about 6 inch strips and the white muslin in about 4 inch strips.  Runners can be made as thin or as wide as you'd like them to be depending on your table size.  I usually make mine about 10-12 inches from each edge of the table on either side.  After cutting it was time to SEW!

I have my Memaw's sewing machine on loan because the presser foot on my great grandma's is moving when I try to sew and I need to get it fixed...



You'll want to pin the pieces of material to make the ruffles on either end of the runner. 

Stitch the edge of the muslin material and then pin the ribbon on the opposite edge of the muslin material and stitch on.

Attach the natural colored muslin material to the burlap and then do the same with the white muslin on top of the natural colored material.

 

Then VOILA!  You have a sweet little runner...

 I attached some plain ribbon to the alligator clips just to hide the silver clip.  Then made a small bouquet of leaves and berries, attached them to the clips and added them to the runner to give it  a "Fall touch". 

I can definitely say that I think it will look adorable in the Spring as well with some bright daisies or other flowers maybe?

What do you think!?  I'm always open to feedback!

Hugs!

Rosette Wreath Tutorial

 A couple weeks ago, I saw a wreath on one of the blogs I follow called Flamingo Toes.  She has the super cutest ideas on her site!  And have I mentioned "Think Pink Sundays" before?!  Oh wait - yes I have :-)

The wreath is called an "Ombre Rosette Wreath" and with the little rosettes on it and the light to dark coloring - I fell in love and HAD to have one.

You can see the link to their version here on Flamingo Toes.

Here is my version because I tweaked it a little bit.

Supplies:

• Grapevine Wreath
• Fabrics in graduated colors - I chose muslin material in white, a light natural color and burlap.  You can use any combination of colors though.
• Hot Glue

Start by getting your strips of fabric ready.  They should be about 1 1/2″ wide and the length of the material.  I would definitely recommend cutting the burlap outside or somewhere that you can vacuum - it can get messy!

First, tie a knot close to one of the ends of a fabric strip.  Fold the small piece of material under and attach it to the bottom of the knot with a small bit of hot glue.

Then you'll need to hold the knot in one hand and twist/wind the fabric with your other hand.  Make a small line around the edge of the knot and wrap the twisted strip around the knot.

Wrap the fabric until you have about 1/2"-3/4" left and tack it to the bottom of the rosette with a bit of hot glue.

And voila!  You have your first rosette!

I made 8 rosettes each out of the white and natural colored muslin material, but only 6 rosettes out of the burlap material because it's thicker and they came out much bigger.

Start placing the rosettes on the wreath in the top right corner.  Put them together as you like, making sure they touch and possibly overlap just a little.

Now for the finishing touch!  The bow!  Here is another part of the wreath which you can make "your own" and tweak it how you'd like.

I personally LOVE bows.

Take one piece of both the white and natural colored muslin (or alternate colors if you chose different ones for your own wreath).  Simply tie them together and make a bow!  If you cannot make the bow to your liking by just using the material, you can always tie around a pencil and then remove the pencil once you've tied your bow!

Then attach the bow to the wreath!  It's that simple!

You did it!  Your very own handmade rosette wreath!

If you have any questions, by all means feel free to email me at 3littlebugsboutique@comcast.net.  I'm more than happy to help any way I can!

Also - PLEASE leave comments or links to your own wreath creations!

Also - linking up to 30 Handmade Days Pity Party and to Flamingo Toes "Think Pink" Sundays!!!

Hugs!

Saving Second Base

It's October, which for me personally means PINK month!  Breast cancer awareness is something VERY close to my heart and I'm active for the cause.  Particularly in October though.  I have a couple pink bracelets that I wear all the time, but in October - I have something PINK on everyday!

 First and foremost I want to give you all some facts about breast cancer.

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

• About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2010. Less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.

• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.

• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers in women (about 28%) are breast cancer.

• In 2010, there were more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.  (I'M THE PROUD DAUGHTER OF ONE!)

• A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer.

• About 39,840 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and INCREASED AWARENESS.

How many of you actually do your regular checks on a regular basis?   How many of you know how to?  Don't know how to?  If you don't know how to then by all means PLEASE - click HERE for directions (It's about halfway down the page).

Now a little bit of background for you.....

In 2003, my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

I didn't know what to do - but cry.  I cried and cried.  I didn't understand why it had to happen to my Mom.  Why my Mom was going to have to go through any surgeries or chemotherapy.  Why she would have to go through anything to lose her hair.  Or risk being tired at all from it - which would definitely happen.

She had her surgeries and luckily the only thing necessary was a lumpectomy.  Thank the Lord for that.  She had one round of radiation therapy after that, unfortunately right around Christmas, and it made her SO tired. 
 
Thankfully it was caught early and after her surgeries and radiation therapy - it was gone.  She has been in remission for 7 years now.  *One thankful daughter* :-)

Recently I have started running, exercising, eating better etc. as an effort to get in better shape, health and overall just a better feeling!  My friend April and I will be taking part in a race this weekend and the proceeds go towards the Breast Cancer Foundation.  We have a list of 7 beautiful ladies that we are running for this weekend.  Some have been taken too early but others are still here because of early detection and successful treatments! 

In Hope Of A Cure,

We Honor:

Gail Altman

Elizabeth Kelly

Betty Rosner

Jane Smith

And Remember:
Bessie Kearnes

Celia Kilbourne

Karen Tilquish

Blogs I Love...

My BESTIE Jamie has a wonderful blog over at One Step at a Time...  I'm so inspired by her running and just her entire outlook on life.  Not only do I love this girl - her little man LJ is amazing and you can read alot about him on her blog too <3


There's Flamingo Toes -- SOOO many ideas on this blog and I LOVE their Think Pink Sundays!


Of course there's Little Miss Momma as well!  I love her clothes, house, ideas - and basically EVERYTHING about her blog!  She also has a pretty AWESOME Etsy shop!


For EVERYTHING couponing - I go to Must Love Coupons.  My girlfriend from high school, Brandi, runs this site.  She is how I got started into my semi-extreme couponing that I do.  It's a great feeling to know that I'm getting a great deal on SO many things that I used to spend full price on!  Alot of the things that I get are even FREE or a MONEYMAKER!  Check her out!


Hugs!

Those are just a few...  I'll be back and link up to a few other blogs that I love in the near future.  For now - ENJOY!!!

Upgrading the runner - (Just a little over a week later...)

So I decided that I wasn't really completely happy with my original table runner that I made... 

I was inspired by THIS and wanted to make another one!

So off I went!

Here's the supplies that you'll need

• Burlap
• White muslin material
• Natural muslin material
• Black ribbon
• Fall (or any other season if you prefer) decor - flowers, leaves, etc
• Alligator clips

 I cut the natural colored muslin fabric in about 6 inch strips and the white muslin in about 4 inch strips.  Runners can be made as thin or as wide as you'd like them to be depending on your table size.  I usually make mine about 10-12 inches from each edge of the table on either side.  After cutting it was time to SEW!

I have my Memaw's sewing machine on loan because the presser foot on my great grandma's is moving when I try to sew and I need to get it fixed...



You'll want to pin the pieces of material to make the ruffles on either end of the runner. 

Stitch the edge of the muslin material and then pin the ribbon on the opposite edge of the muslin material and stitch on.

Attach the natural colored muslin material to the burlap and then do the same with the white muslin on top of the natural colored material.

 

Then VOILA!  You have a sweet little runner...

 I attached some plain ribbon to the alligator clips just to hide the silver clip.  Then made a small bouquet of leaves and berries, attached them to the clips and added them to the runner to give it  a "Fall touch". 

I can definitely say that I think it will look adorable in the Spring as well with some bright daisies or other flowers maybe?

What do you think!?  I'm always open to feedback!

Hugs!

Sickness...

Monday = Sniffles ALL day which I equated to just allergies.

Tuesday = Sore chest and a cough...  NOT just allergies...

I did have some crafting time tonight which I'm VERY excited about but unfortunately am about to pass out...

So onto a cup of hot tea before bed and then snuggling up to my Handsome :-)

Happy Tuesday!!!

Runner-ing Into Fall

Hello followers!!!

The temperatures around here have been getting cooler and it's wonderful!  I cut my air conditioner off over a week ago and it's fabulous! 

So I've been picking out a few ideas to revamp my house for Fall!  Last week I made a pumpkin centerpiece for my kitchen table :-)  I've hung my beautiful Fall wreath on my front door and we're looking for pumpkin patches and apple orchards to visit with the kids!  YAY for Fall!

I have been looking for a country/modern style table runner for my kitchen table and have found a few but just couldn't find one that I liked enough to pay the price that was being asked for it.  So - as I've said before - if I can make it and not have to buy it - I'M IN!  Everything I have seen is at least $25 for a table runner and there is always something I'd change about it.  (Now, that's not to say that what I made is perfect but it's a little closer to what I was looking for and I'm overall happy with it.)

I went to JoAnn Fabrics yesterday because they're having their "Coupon Commotion" sales this week and I had a coupon for every single thing I bought there!

Here's what I used:

: Burlap - A piece about 10-12 inches longer than your table.

: 2 pieces of muslin material

: Leaves (or whatever you'd like to decorate your runner with)

: Hot glue gun

 

I frayed the edges by pulling a couple strands of burlap out on each side.  Then put the pieces of muslin on each end and laid out the leaves!  It really didn't take long at all!

Finished product?  Right here!  But pardon the tablecloth that definitely needs to be ironed!

What do you think?!

Next up on the blog - an adorable twist on a placemat!

Hugs!

--

Turning Into Fall

Lately, I've been looking around at some designs and options for decorating my house for Fall. 

Normally I'd just do a few things, but I've decided that I will definitely now be the person who changes things for EVERY season.  Why?  I like change.  Also - it gives me a chance to continually be creative :-)  Plus, Mike's family is coming into town this weekend and I always like the house to be in prime condition!

Sunday, Michael's was having an extra 15% off sale and I went and picked up a few things.  I got a SUPER cute pumpkin basket and decided on the hydrangeas because I really liked their color (I'm thinking I'll be able to find a good Spring basket too and possibly be able to reuse them?).  I didn't want just flowers in the basket so when I found the berries - they were perfect!  A few pieces of reed stems and voila!

Next post - a runner for the table too!!!

Ella June the next Mia Hamm?!

That's my littlest princess - Ella June...

For the past 2 years, Kate has been playing soccer (future superstar - SERIOUSLY).  Ella has been patiently watching from the sidelines and playing with Kate at home while she practices.  She would occasionally ask when she could play soccer and say "I can't wait until I'm 5, so I can play soccer like Katey!"  Well much to our surprise, the soccer association started a new group this season called "Kiddie Kickers".  As soon as we found out about it, we signed her up!

So her first game was Saturday and she did great! 

Truth be told it's more of an instructional session for about 40 minutes and then the last 20 they split up, put their vests on and play games.  I have to say, I really hope that this last Saturday was such a mess because they were short one coach and it was the first session.  Seriously - we pay to much money for things like this to have my daughter running around doing nothing for the last 20 minutes...  Her "coach" even asked one of the parents to step in and do his job so he could go talk to another coach!  UGH!  In the end though, Ella had fun - which is all that matters.  We did have a little bit of an issue and had to explain to her that she wouldn't have the ball all the time and other people had to have a chance to kick it too LOL... 

She definitely knows how to listen to her coaches though and has a great interest in wanting to play.  Truth be told, she's gonna be the one that throws her weight around too.  She'll be the rough and tough one I think lol...

And maybe she won't grow up to be a superstar - or maybe she will, but either way I'll always be her #1 fan :-)

"It will be said of us that we kept the faith, that we took a painful blow and emerged stronger." -- Barack Obama

September 12th Reflections...


Do you remember where you were?  Home?  Work?  School?  What you were doing?  The feelings you had?  Worry?  Hurt?  Anger?

I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing and what I felt immediately...  I was 19 years old, my son was 1 at the time.  I was working in the drive-thru as a teller at F & M Bank in Berryville,VA.  He stayed at my grandma's (Memaw) house while I was at work.  A gentleman came in the bank and he was older, had on glasses and a khaki colored jacket.  He came in and asked if we had the radio on or if we had heard what happened.  At that point in time there was only one plane involved.  By the time we got the radio on, it was about 2 minutes before the second plane crashed.  Then word of the third and the fourth came in.  The first thing I did was call my Mom and make sure she was okay.  I remember watching so many minutes go by and only being able to hear what was going on - not see it - because there were no televisions in the bank at that time.  A few people came in and out, but most I'm guessing were just staying wherever they were.  Each person that came in was offering thoughts and updates and all I could do was watch the clock.

When it was my lunch time, I went immediately to Memaw's house, rushed in the door and scooped up Trenton right out of the highchair.  I remember him having orange all over his face from his lunch.  And where I would normally be quite careful about getting it on me or my clothes, I couldn't have cared less that day.  I hadn't said a word until then, when Memaw asked why I was so upset.  It didn't even occur to me that she hadn't turned on the news.  She didn't watch the news while he was up because it was too violent.  I immediately turned it on and updated her on everything - all while holding Trenton.  I couldn't put him down.  She got caught up on the stories as much as she could, we prayed for everyone, and then I had to go back to work.  I didn't want to leave him.  And if I could have taken him with me I would have.

I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been there...  To have been in either tower...  In any wing on the Pentagon...  Or to have been part of the "Let's Roll" conversation that made history as one of the most heroic acts ever... 

What I do know, is that I am a proud American.  I love my country.  I am so thankful to be so blessed in my life, both then and now.

I watched almost all of the 10 year anniversary coverage, just as I have watched the anniversary coverage every year up until now...  And just as I'll do in the future...  I get goosebumps every single time the explosions happen, the towers collapse...  Every time the bells ring during the anniversary ceremonies... 

I will never forget.

"You so totally rock, Squirt! So gimme some fin..."

Whew!  What a Saturday!

Hubby was working all day so the girls and I took off for a couple adventures!

First it was off to the Mom 2 Mom Consignment Fall sale!  We found a few good deals but the prices at the Fall sale were nowhere near as low as the Summer prices!  I was a little let down by it simply because people had much higher prices on the clothes there!  Either way - the girls ended up getting a couple cute pieces each :-)  AND I also decided that I'm going to work on bulking up my "in stock" pieces and have a goal of being a vendor at the Spring Sale!  **WOOT WOOT!**

After the M2M sale it was time to come home and finish the cupcakes for Elizabeth's baby shower!  I had found a cupcake recipe and emailed it to Elizabeth a few weeks ago and after seeing how excited she got about it I couldn't wait to make them!  I chose a "Lemon Supreme" cake with raspberry preserve filling.  Can you say DIVINE?!

I was a little nervous actually because I had only worked with fondant once before on Ella's first birthday cake (which was 3 years ago!).  But with the help of my good friend April, we cut out and pieced together fondant TURTLES!  We cut them out Wednesday night and then pieced them together on Friday night so that all I would have to do on Saturday was put them on the cupcakes.  So I got home after the sale, drizzled some (amazing might I add) cream cheese frosting on them!  Then it was on to adding the turtles and the sweet little "A"s that I made as well!

The whole time we were putting the turtles together and even when I was putting them on, all I could think of were the turtles in "Finding Nemo", hence the title to this post...  I'm a sap for any Disney movie really, but this is easily one of my faves!

After getting all the cupcakes ready - it was on to the shower!  I was so excited to get there and put my little works of art on display!  I made sure to keep an eye out for when anyone came up to them to check them out.  A couple people even took pictures of them because they liked them so much! :-)  That literally made my day!  More important than anything, Elizabeth was tickled pink!  Or well, blue and green I guess!  And let me tell you what - Little Mr. Aiden is LOVED already!  Everyone had a wonderful time, enjoyed (multiple) cupcakes and showered Elizabeth the way every mother-to-be should be!

Here's a couple snapshots of the little dudes!

Hugs!

-- Kristie