Fin

Tomorrow morning at 10:39am, my husband's plane will land and we will be there patiently awaiting to see him walk out of the arrivals gate and back into our lives.  He has been out of Iraq for a week today and it has been magical.  Although, he is still stationed in California there have been phone calls, text messages and video chat that actually works.  I am ecstatic.

Also, sometime in December he will be transferring out here to Virginia and we will all actually live under the same roof for the first time in about 18 months.  I am ready.  That is an understatement.  I have been ready for about a year.

Also, My store opens TUESDAY!  I am also SO excited about that too.  All of my hard work is paying off and I have tons of listings.  I think I will keep an on going stock right now and if I get popular, I will do a weekly/bi-weekly stocking to get people excited!

I have a few last minute touch up household things to get done before the big day...plus I have to sleep....maybe!

    

The beginning of the end

So, as we are approaching the end of this seemingly endless deployment, Time cannot pass fast enough.  All I know is that we are in the beginning stages of the end.  My kids want their dad back. I want my husband back.  I want a firm day, hour and minute I will get to be in the same time zone as my husband.  But, alas, none of that will ever be known until it happens.  Sigh.

15 days until my hyena cart store opens!!!!!  I am slowly but surly getting things made   So far I have 12 or so listings.  These boys of mine are becoming very needy during the day so I can't normally work until after 7pm or so and I have been staying up rather late to get anything done. I am tired right now.

I am having some reservations about how things are going to sell. We will see though.  I have put my heart and soul into this and I would hate to fail.  But, I was approached by a cloth diapering blogger about being featured in a December event that would create traffic to my facebook page as well as her doing a giveaway/review of my diapers.  I am awfully excited by this opportunity and am quite excited about it.  I hope it pans out and helps me start out strong.  I can't afford to fail....I won't fail!

Oh and my baby is 5 months old (yesterday).  He has two.2.dos teeth.  Where has the time gone?  My husband is not going to know who these kids are when he comes home.  When he left we had 2 (ages 2 and 8 months).  Now we have 3(ages 4, 22 months and 5 months).  I am so ready.  Can you tell?

I have sewing to do.  Peace.love.whatever comes next

Its October

Its OCTOBER!!!!

Still in double digits as far as I know...could be shorter, could be longer.  It looks like we will be staying in Virginia for a few more years, YAY!  Things are coming together!

I got everything I needed to do as far as the federal government and the IRS.  I also accomplished everything I needed to for the state.  Now, all I have left is to apply for a business license, doing business as, and using my house as my business papers with the county.

My hyena cart shop is being worked on and is looking beautiful!  I am oh so excited.  I ordered insert fabric as well as PUL to make pockets from.  I need this stuff to get here asap so I don't have to be running around at the end of the month trying to get everything done to open November 1st.

Tonight I wrote my policies, care instructions and my about us pages on my store site as well as facebook.

I have also been thinking up some possible giveaways and stuff to promote my business.  Sales are the way to go now a days.  I love them just as much as the next guy/girl.

Keep a look out...there is some great stuff coming your way!

Whirlwind aka the last 10 days

Ok so in the last 10 days, I have decided pocket diapers are for me when I found the greatest pattern ever. Then, I decided I needed to make a few to get the hang of things.  Then, I made a perfect one and decided to submit the pictures to become a licensed seamstress and make to sell.  Then, she told me I was approved and I couldn't be happier.


I am now a licensed Nykibaby One Size Diaper seamtress.

I have established My Hyena Cart store and a Facebook page.

Now, I am working on policies and all the technical stuff now that I have the basics down.  I only plan on doing this part time because lets face it, I have 3 small children, 1 husband who I love and have missed very much this past year, 1 crazy puppy and myself to take care of.  I also have dreams of finishing my degree and becoming an elementary school teacher eventually.  But even then, I can do this on the side if I choose to.

Oh.mi.gosh. I am soo excited.  I think my husband may be also! maybe. It's hard to tell over IM's.

Alright, got lots to do.  Wish me luck.

Name Continued....

So after much deliberation and consideration and whole bunch more -ations, I have 100% decided on a name!!!

Henceforth, I shall be called "Little Hoo's Cloth"

Thank goodness that's over!

Also, I started a facebook "like" page and an etsy store.

Next I need to get my etsy store all beautiful and stuff sewn to sell in it.

Finally, I can add all that stuff to my facebook page and get this party started.

I need a name

So, now that I have established a good pattern and my stuff is waterproof I need to get this ball a rollin'.  I need a name, SO BAD!  But, I have NO idea what to name this biz-ness.

I loved Lucky diaper Co. but I am second guessing it now.  I don't want people to be like "you will be lucky if they work".  I need something cute but efficient according to the husband.  Why is this sooooo hard?

  

Celebration Pizza

So, I decided to celebrate today with a little homemade pizza!  I <3 bbq chicken pizza soooo much. So, I made some!

I took out my trusty bread maker to make the dough because lets face it. I hate making bread dough.  It is a pain and they made bread makers for a reason.  I have never used this recipe before and man oh man, I will never use another.  I got it off allrecipes.com and the only thing I changed was using half whole wheat flour and half regular flour.

Ingredients

• 1 cup flat beer
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Directions

1. Put beer, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and yeast in a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting, and press Start.
2. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Roll or press dough to cover a prepared pizza pan. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Spread sauce and toppings on top of dough. Bake until crust is lightly brown and crispy on the outside, about 24 minutes.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bread-machine-pizza-dough/detail.aspx

Now, I let the all mighty and powerful bread maker do its bit and then I got my toppings together.  I baked some bacon, I shredded some mozzarella cheese, chopped up some onion and chicken lunch meat and when it was time to get out the bbq sauce I realized....I had none. :( So, I made some :)

Again, went to trusty allrecipes.com and found this wonderful, I will never ever buy bbq sauce again, bbq sauce recipe.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/nanas-barbeque-sauce/detail.aspx

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 pinch celery salt
• 1 pinch mustard powder

When my dough was done, ummm, dough-ing, I rolled it out onto my pan and slathered it with olive oil, baked on 400 for about 8 minutes.

Now, I just topped it with tons of cheese and then everything else.



And, baked for another 15 minutes or so until it was all tasty looking.



O.my.goodness!  It was wonderful.  Enjoy, I sure did!

One year later

So, as of today, my husband has been deployed a year. 365 days. 12 months. Way.Too.Long.

I am so very proud of him.  I am also so proud of myself.  I didn't think when we began this journey that I was capable of loving someone so far away.

I don't really know where in the world he is.  I never know exactly what he is doing.  All I know is that his days are our nights and our nights are his days (for the most part).  I know we both look up into the sky at night time and stare at the same moon because frankly it is as close to together as we can be right now.

I miss him terribly.  I am sad that he has missed so much.  Jayson's 1st birthday, my whole 3rd pregnancy, moving across the country, all of the holidays, Jayson's first word, his 1st steps, our 4th wedding anniversary, Zakary's birth, his 1st smile, 1st time rolling, Hayden's 3rd and 4th birthdays, his 1st day of preschool....and I could go on and on.

But, I do know that he will be home soon.  I also know that we will one day live under the same roof and look at that same moon in the same place, not worlds away from each other.  There is light coming through this perpetual tunnel we have been trapped in for a year now and I am so thankful to finally be able to see it.

I posted on facebook this morning about it being a year and all that jazz.  Some people told me how I was amazing and inspiring.  I appreciate the comments and all but maybe I am just humble because I don't feel amazing.  I don't feel inspiring.  I feel like I am a wife, standing beside my husband while he does his job.  Just as he was asked to his, I am doing mine.  I am not doing anything other than helping to get my family through this.  I am just doing what a military wife does.  I am trying to continue on with how things were when he left.  Just as I will be doing the exact same things when he returns.  I guess in all this it is my job to create a constant and I just hope I am doing a good enough job of that.

I just want to say very quickly that the man that I dropped off one year ago today, is my hero, my love, my everything.  I cannot, even from a world away, imagine my days without his love.  And, I thank him for being right beside me in everything even from so far away.

Almost a year

So in 4 whole days, my husband will be gone for a whole year. One Year, Three Hundred Sixty Five Days. 365. You get it.  And I, have survived.

I have done it.  I just need to get us through these last few months and all will be well.  Well, until the next deployment.  And we are coming upon sea duty.  Oh and orders, can't forget those.  Sometime in the next few weeks the Navy will be telling us where we will be living for the next 3-4 years.

There are a lot of changes coming for my little medium sized family.  There a lot of things to look forward too coming sooner rather than later.  I feel as if the last year was a majorly long, painfully boring rest period for the craziness that is about to unfold.  Only time will tell what happens next, well that and the Navy.  One thing I know for sure is that I will be getting my husband back from the Army pretty soon and I couldn't be happier!

What I've been working on

So it's been a few days, maybe weeks, but who's counting.  I've been sewing like never before.  Have gotten so good, even I think some of these diapers were store bought and mass produced in China. That may sound a little full of myself, maybe it is, but I think so far I am doing just awesome.

I do a diaper sometimes 2 at night. I have come across a few awesome patterns and a few that well, SUCK. It makes me crazy sad when they suck because fabric isn't cheap, especially not the kinds I use, bamboo velour and hemp fleece mostly.

I am about to receive a product called zorb from a co-op I recently participated in. I am super excited about it.  Hopefully it will be here later this week because I am almost out of hemp.

Anywho, you didn't come here to read, you came here to see my beauties!

This is a pul cover.  I like the pattern but need to tweak it a bit.  Another thing I learned with this one (my first cover) is that NO dark thread on white fold over elastic.  Oh and I learned that I love fold over elastic minus the turns


Love this print but used crappy Joann fleece on the inside and it pilled badly when washed *sigh*


Another pul cover...LOVE this print!


A different fitted pattern but I am in love minus the fact that it is a 2 size system.  One for 6-18lbs and the next from 15-35? lbs.


Another GREAT aspect is the fold over rise.  I love this part of Goodmama's and am glad I found something similar but I would love for it to have longer wings like the other fitted pattern I use.



And the snaps on the outside.



And the inside. I love the shape of the soaker pad.  Like LOVE!



And my newest beauty!  This is the absolute B-E-S-T diaper I have ever sewn.


I think I will be submitting the orange one to very baby to become a certified seamstress.  I am kinda excited about that!

I have tons more fabric sitting around to create new beauties.  With the weather here lately, its the only thing to do.

Forgot the Ooga's

This is a different pattern.  I like it for covers, not fitteds though. Oh and my colored snaps arrived...can you tell

Perfect, yeah maybe

Tonights pacman creation has been the best yet.  Totally straight snaps, great top stitching...I am so pleased with how this came out.

Oh and by the way, I recently bought some cute one sized pockets from some chick recommended to me...I will never ever do that again.  Her attention to detail was HORRIBLE. These have PUL on the inside of 2 layers of wonderfully soft minky.  Well, they leak.  I investigated.  The PUL in the wings was all jumbled and stopped halfway into the wing. No no no!  There was more but I don't want to sound like a snob.  It was clear they were rushed and that makes me sad.

Anyway, hurricane Irene is coming tomorrow. We might be without power for a few.  I hope it's not too bad.

Wordless Wednesday

Alright, maybe a few words. These are the gnomes. They are possessed. They, single handedly, broke 3 needles. Yes, I said three, tres or whatever language you need/want to use. They are snapless on the wings because I am currently waiting for my red snaps to arrive in the mail.

I am so super proud of the elastic in this one. It is damn near perfect. But like all the others have a flaw...crooked snaps on the front panel....sigh. One day each and every one will.be.perfect. Until then... Steer clear of the Gnomes!

Another full day of sewing

I was busy sewing today, like really busy! But, I loved every second of it.

Today I played around with snap placement and when they should applied. In the end I like them all visible because they just snap better that way.

Then I played around with the elastic. I tried tacking it in before hand. Nope, didn't work. Then sewing it totally in before turning and top stitching. Nope, too much of a hassle getting things pinned together to sew the different layers together.

So in the end I think the casing method is the easiest, but I need to get it to look more professional.

Tomorrow is another day, and I have so much more fabric to play around with while I get everything just right.

Oh and I washed the first three...and they didn't fall apart!

Here are pictures of 2 and 3 and also 1 on Zakary...until tomorrow!

Number 2 - Sushi (notice Missing snaps on the wings, I decided to apply them onto their prospective layer for this one, I don't like it so they will all be visible as in #1 and #3)

Zakary modeling #1 Snapped down for a lower rise

# 3 - Cars, Planes, Trains and Boats (This one has the elastic sewn into the fabric instead of the casing method. I kind of like it but I have some Lastin on its way and think it may work better with that than the normal elastic.)

Oh and I learned about the 3 step zig zag today while I did the elastic on #3. Great thing to know about since it make sewing stretchy stuff like elastic easier.

By the way, I really want to name my fabrics but that can wait!

My first diaper

So, I just finished number one...man was it easy.  I need to figure out these snaps better and also the elastic.  I am however very happy with how it came out.

Got my fabric

So like I said on day 1, I am working towards starting my very own WAHM diaper company.  I am going to perfect my design before selling to anyone.  I am doing this so I know they work and trust their quality, plus I need to figure out the elastic a little better.

Today, I got my fabrics and snaps to start!!!

I ordered everything either off ebay or etsy and very reasonable prices and am so excited to get these babies on Zakary's bottom.

I may just start tonight!

Double digits baby!

So I got the best news I have gotten in a while this morning from across the world.

WE ARE IN DOUBLE DIGITS!!!!

We are in the tens of days not the hundreds!

I don't think you want to see a page full of exclamation marks, but that's how I feel!

The Army is actually sending my husband back to the Navy. You get the picture

I feel like I have 700 million things to do right now. Like its actually coming to a close, and I never thought I would see this day. I have homecoming to think about...outfits, hair, who gets to hug him first, all that jazz. Then I have a house to get ready to move out of because soon after he returns, it is time move on to our next duty station (note to detailers: I WANT HAWAII 70-80 degrees year round baby!) .

We should find out within the next month were we are headed but the main point is that we are moving on TOGETHER. We have survived (not yet but almost).

I also have to get these boys back into a routine of not always depending on me for everything. I know most of this isn't on me but adding the male back to the family is going to be tough. I have solely made all of the day to day decisions MYSELF. I dictated where we went, what we ate and so on. Now I will have other input. I can now have someone else's input. I am so freaking excited! I can sleep in and so can he. I will have give and take, not just all give. I don't have to be the only one to listen. There will be four ears to hear all of Hayden's ramblings. There will be four hands to gets kids dressed or bathed. Oh my gosh, there will be four hands instead of just my two.

This is long overdue and although we volunteered for this separation, it was a separation my family had to survive and we are almost there. There is light. Not sure how bright just yet, but oh my gosh light at last!

My babies

Just wanted to take a quick second and show of my little loves. Aren't they cute?

Hayden

Jayson

Zakary

What little boys are made of

What are little boys made of? Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

That's what little boys are made of

So, you guessed it, I am a mom of boys. Three in fact and also a husband and that makes four. I am out numbered four to one. But boy, do I love them!

My husband is a sailor, who is currently deployed and has been for quite some time. I love him more than I ever thought I could love someone. We met Nov 11, 2005 and haven't been apart since. We have been separated more than we have lived together but I love this journey we are on together.

Hayden is one of the smartest kids I know. He is my doer. He can build anything out of nothing. He will be 4 in about a month.

Jayson is very funny and is my thinker. He will ponder and think about everything for hours before ever making a move. He will be 2 in January.

That leaves Zakary. He was born in May, which makes him almost 4 months old. His personality is just starting to emerge. I think he is going to be the sweet, sensitive one. We will see though.

I can't wait for my husband to be home so he can enjoy our sons as much as I do while he is away. We miss him terribly, and can't wait to be one whole family again.

In the meantime, I cook amazing food (according to the husband), quilt, sew anything and everything and will be venturing into a possible WAHM business soon. I am also and avid babywearer. You would be to if you have 3 under 4 and only had 2 hands! I am very into cloth diapering, breastfeeding and allowing my children to be independent to explore the world and find their own way.

Only time will tell what will happen tomorrow. I hope you join me for the ride.