The Original Skippy Sak.....made by me.

So, those of you who read this that don't have Facebook, have not heard about my new project.

First of all, I have a very entrepreneurial bone in my body somewhere. It is what has caused me to be so creative through out my life. Now that I am older and have more resources I can act more upon creating my ideas and not just thinking about them. In the past I have made Hairbows, Diaper Cakes, Gift Baskets, and many other things, that if I had just stuck to it, might have made me a millionaire by now! But my mind seems to be very sporatic and I am still looking for my nitch. My current project leans more to pet lovers and the booming pet product market. After you read this and see the pics, you might want to get one for the furry friend in your life. That is my hope....oh, and I want to let you in on my life as well!

Skippy Sak is a soft, warm, and snuggly blanket especially made for small to medium breed dogs, older dogs, and even cats. Essentially, this is a blanket, made by hand, for small/older dogs that need extra warmth. The blanket can be made of 2 or 4 layers of fleece fabric, and is assembled 100% by hand in my home, in the form of a "sack" so that the dog can burrow and sleep inside of it to stay warm. They are also completely reversible, so that if you chose the 4 layer design, you are getting two Saks for one price. I just made one for our 7 year old Doxy named Skippy...so I decided to name this project after him. Not only is it great for the winter to keep little dogs warm and toasty, but it also serves as a nice soft spot to lay on top of when the weather gets warmer. You can even put a small cushion inside of the Skippy Sak and your pet will have a soft, warm bed. If you, or anyone you know might be interested in purchasing a Skippy Sak, let me know. I can send you price info and can pretty much make whatever design or color you want; even team colors and available team logo print. Finished size is approx. 18 by 26 inches and all Skippy Saks are completely machine washable.

I have been keeping busy. If you like what you see, or you know somone that might, let me know. You can email me at: theabuzeides@hotmail.com if you want one! I will send you a complete pricing sheet so that you can view the options. As a side note, these would make great Christmas gifts for that little fuzzy friend in your life!

I Got the Potty Training Blues........

The title says it all!

I am exhausted after today. I went to 3 places this afternoon while Jude was napping, trying to find and anatomically correct doll that could drink and pee, hoping that it might help. Well after 3 hours of searching, I finally found a "boy" doll with no boy parts, mind you, but I was tired of dragging Summyr from store to store in the heat, so I bought it. I also had to get some party supplies for the "Potty Party". I decided to go with the Dr. Phil approach. He suggests getting the doll, showing the child the doll drinking and peeing on the potty, and then having a celebration for the doll for peeing in the potty and not in his underwear. Well it all sounds great, but I had no idea how much work and energy went into having such a shin-dig.

When I showed Jude the doll, he was kinda leery at first, but after a few minutes, he and "Baby Jude" became fast friends. Jude fed him his first drink of water from his bottle, which by the way came out of the doll a lot faster than I was expecting it to!!!! So we "rushed" the doll to the potty and a little water came out. Jude was excited that he had peed in the potty, so I suggested that we throw "Baby Jude" a party for using the potty. He was like, "Huh?", but once I pulled out the streamers and the balloons and party horn-blower things, he got even more pumped. I put up the streamers in the little nook where we eat and added some balloons....nothing fancy....and then we pulled out the horns and started to blow and shout, "Hooray! Baby Jude pee peed in the potty! Hooray!!!". We danced around the room singing a song about using the potty and Jude was convinced to go to his room and get a pair of underwear for himself.

Okay, here is where the exhaustion started to set in. After rushing the doll back and forth to the potty 4-5 times, Jude finally decided that he could now determine when the doll needed to go potty. Now, keep in mind that all the while this party/potty training session is going on, I am trying to cook dinner and watch Summyr. And dont forget, every time that baby goes potty, we have to celebrate by dancing, blowing horns, and singing!!!! Did I forget to mention that the party horns sent the dogs into hiatus....they were running around barking and howling throughout the house!!! Can you picture this in your minds???

So now Jude says that his baby needs to "poop". Ha! I am prepared for this. I bought a bag of Tootsie-Rolls while at Target.....we have really been struggling with this area of the training. So, as stealthy as I am, I told Jude to put the baby on the potty so he could poop, and while his head was turned, I slipped a tootsie-roll into the potty. Let me tell you, Jude was impressed by this doll! Not only could he pee in the potty, but he could even poop in it also!!! Of course, now we have to celebrate again....and of course, now baby has to go poop AND pee every time he sits on the potty!!

Well by 6:30, I had had enough potty training for the afternoon, and so had Jude. He was still in the original underwear, no accidents, until I sat down to write this!!! He said he doll needed to go to bed, so we put him in fresh underwear and put him in Jude's bed. The advice says that once the child loses interest in the "game" with the doll, its best to back off and try again later. Trust me, I am happy that the doll was tired....cuz I am too.

Oh Boy! What Was I Thinking!!!!

So about a month ago, I decided to help Stephan out by watching some kids. Well, stupid me, I thought I could handle watching my kids, plus 3 MORE!!!! And all under 3! Wow, I dont think that I have ever been so stressed out in all of my life. We need the money to make ends meet for the time being, but I dont know if it is worth it. We are waiting to find out if Stephan will be getting a new job next week; one that will be paying more. So hopefully my pain is short lived. Oh by the way, Jude will be starting school next week!!! Its only Mother's Day Out, but it is a really big deal for us! We are so proud and excited!!!! Here are some recent pics!!

UN-Hired Help?

So, I guess I never realized that moving into this house would be so much work. Dont get me wrong, we love this house, but keeping it clean is REALLY HARD!

I have been contemplating the idea of hiring someone to help me. Whether it be a "Mother's Helper" or a lady to come in and clean once a month; the thought has crossed my mind many times in the last few weeks. The idea sounds great....but the reality of it is slim to none! If I had lots of money I would do it....but I dont.

So, I have searched high and low for someone to help me. I prefer "unhired" help. Someone who I dont have to pay with currency....well not with actual dollars and cents.

I think I might have found someone...

Doesnt he look thrilled?

Famous Words of a Three Year Old....

Today, I think I have finally come to the realization that Jude is EXTREMELY smart and funny. He can charm just about anyone with his smile and wit. He can count to 20 and knows all of his ABC's, shapes, colors, animals, etc...... He is interested in space. He loves to talk about Earth and the fact that we live there, and that Saturn has rings. He loves NASCAR and is always talking about cars racing and crashing....LOL!

Anyways, Jude said some things today that were so funny, I felt compelled to write them down.

I have been watching 3 other kids at our house since last week. All the kids were sitting down at the table eating lunch and I mentioned casually to my Sister-In-Law, Rani, that the kids should "crash"...of course I was speaking about nap time. Well Jude over heard what I said and screamed out, "No! We don't have any cars!!!" Of course I couldn't help but laugh at that!

Then, it was time to lay down. We have been watching Baby Einstein before nap as sort of a "wind down" tool. At the end of the show, a baby comes on the screen and is playing with a toy. Jude shouts out, "Look at that baby....it doesn't have any hair! Just a little bit of hair like Grandpa Eddee!!!!" Daddy if you are reading this, you should be so thrilled that Jude thinks so highly of you!

I cant wait to post more of the hilarious things that Jude says, but Rani just told me that Summyr took 2 steps on her own, and I missed it!

Okay, So I am going to Attempt to Blog.

So here we go. I am terrible at this stuff, but I have friends and family members out there that want to know what is going on in our lives. Fair warning: I might not update this on a regular basis!


So right now, as I type, Jude is in his room fake coughing and telling me he doesnt "feel better". He is supposed to be taking a nap so that I can have some "Mommy" time. This is a normal occurance in our house. I spend most of my Mommy time trying to keep him quiet enough to not wake up Summyr who is really needing to take a couple of good naps a day. Oh and of course, he always chooses to do this on the days that Stephan has to go to school at night. So.....that means Daddy is not home all day until around 10:00 pm. Can you imagine how that might make me a little bit frayed around the edges?

I started to drink this juice....called Mona*Vie. It was helping me sleep so much better and I had more energy throughout the day. But.....we ran out of juice and we cant really afford to spend $45 on another one right now. We would like to become independant reps. and sell the juice, so we are working on that. Oh, by the way, it is an Acai Berry blend - the best of the best!

So there have been a couple of things that have started to break in this house since we moved in. Thank goodness it is just a rental! The landlord has been coming out to fix stuff....like the garage door that came off of the track, and the front porch light that hasnt worked since we moved in, and not to mention the leak we had coming from the washing machine drainage area.....all that water ended up in the garage because the spiket was leaking during washes. Fun!

The kids are getting big. Jude just had his 3rd birhtday at the end of May. We actually had a real party this year at Chuck E. Cheese. He got to invite his little friends from Bible class and his cousin Zach. He had a blast! Then Summyr turned one on July 7th! She is getting to be such a big girl. She got to have a cake....and only she had it because by the time I turned around to get a knife to cut it, she had destroyed it! Well at least she got to eat some!

More Later......when I can find some time!