So many updates, so little time!

It's been a while since I last blogged and I have much to report!  So, I'm going to break up this post into different categories so you all can see what we've been up to!  I promise to write more this month!


Juliet update: Oh my goodness...my daughter is so stinkin' cute!  Juliet is now almost 17 months old (she will be so on Thursday), and I can't believe it!  She is talking!  Full, fledged talking!  She says "bless you" after we sneeze.  She also says words like; two, three, cow, doggy, duck, Costco, store, phone, cute, etc...  Too many to recount.  What's really fun is that she also has started making the sounds that the animals make.  She knows what a doggy, cow and lamb say.  Also, my mom gave her a little rocking chair.  She'll climb up in it and say, "rocky, rocky, rocky..." only it sounds like she's saying, "nonie, nonie, nonie..."

So much cuteness...so little time!  And now for some gratuitous baby bragging in photo form! 

Wearing a dress Grandma made her...she looked like a little farm-girl!  

Wildtree update: Things have been busier as of late.  I've had four parties in September.  Last month, my team sales were over $1000, so I earned a little more than I expected.  I'd say I've made about $300 in commissions since July, which isn't bad considering four parties is the most I've had in one month.  I'm so thankful for every little bit.  We have a separate checking account for my Wildtree business, so all my funds go there.  It's been fun to see that account grow, little by little.  Pray with me for October.  Thus far, I've only got three parties on the books, and I love to have six!  

Saving for our daughter has also made me so much more aware of my spending habits in general.  I've done a total overhaul of our budget, adding categories like, "kids education" and "new daughter needs".  I've also studied where I often go over budget and started pulling out cash to keep in envelopes for those categories.  Now when the money is gone, it's gone.  Every time I make a purchase (or am about to), I ask myself, "Do I really need this?"  It's been very good for us; God is teaching us to be better stewards of what He's blessed us with.  

Sewing update:  Whew!  I've been sewing up a storm!  So, after I finished sewing my roman shades, I put the ribbing in a couple of weeks ago.  Here are some photos.  

You use fabric glue to attach the battons, thus the books.  The weight helps the battons lay correctly.

Finished with this one! 

The finished product! 

Right after that, we bought the wood to mount the shades.  However, I'm very sad to say that I've done absolutely nothing beyond that!  All that's left is to sew the rings on the back, run the cord through the rings and mount it.  I've been procrastinating.  The ribbing was so tedious to install, and I know that the rings will be just as tedious.  I've been delaying the inevitable.  I WILL have them up by Christmas though...we have company coming! 

Also, after seeing my apron in my last post, a friend of mine mailed me some fabric and asked me to make her an apron too.  I just finished that up last night.  

Yes, those are owls!  While I had my sewing machine out last night, I also made some cute diaper cloths for a baby shower I went to this afternoon.  My friend from MOPS is having a boy in December.  I think they turned out quite nicely! 

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I finished my panel curtains for our huge living room window.  They turned out looking very nice.  I also managed to churn out some curtains for the window over our kitchen sink.  

Landscaping update: As it's been entirely too hot to do much of anything this summer, we've been putting off dealing with landscaping of our new home.  However, a few weekends ago, we removed all the dead plants and decorative rocks from the patch beneath our front window.  This past week, I got the gardening itch and went up to Lowe's to see what they had.  I bought nine rose bushes.  They are a very hearty variety that do well with little water and hot Texas weather.  Here is the finished product.  

Those bushes can be four feet high and four feet wide, so they should definitely fill in a bit.  We are still planning to lay down some wood chips to help keep the moisture in, but since today's high was 105, I think we will wait until it cools down a bit!  

September has been a very busy month.  Besides all the sewing and Wildtree tastings, and gardening, MOPS started up again, as did my Bible study.  This semester, we are doing Beth Moore's Revelation study.  So far, so good.  It has a shockingly small amount of weekly homework.  Honestly, I don't know how I got so busy when I don't even have a full time job anymore!  Now, if only I could find time to clean our bathroom!