June 2010

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A Day of Rest…Kind of

06.28.10 in My Crazy Life | No comments

I have declared today to be a day of rest. We have been going nonstop for the past few weeks, and last night I crashed. Literally. I fell into bed at 9:30 p.m. If you know me at all, you know that an early bedtime is incredibly unusual for me. I tend to stay up very late. I always have. But last night, my body told me that it needed to get horizontal. So I listened.

Thankfully, my sweet child slept all the way through the night and only woke up when I went to get her at 9 this morning. We ate breakfast together and played for a bit, but when naptime rolled around, I got her settled and crawled back into bed myself.

For two more hours.

I feel much better now.

Now it’s naptime {again}, and I’ve managed to clean the bathroom and take out the trash. It may sound kind of crazy, but it was a relaxing activity. I’ve been so busy with Senojal Designs lately that I’ve let housework slide. Finally tackling the ring around the bathtub gave me a sense of accomplishment. Thank goodness that I finally eradicated it. Now I can actually soak in the tub without worrying that I’ll catch some kind of communicable disease.

I don’t have much more on the agenda today. When Micah wakes up, we’ll play for a while, and I’ll cook supper, and we’ll have some family time before it’s time for bed again.

It hasn’t been a very exciting day, but it’s been a good day. Everyone needs a day of rest sometimes. How do you relax??

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Parenting Tip No. 1: Shut Out the Sun

06.18.10 in Mommyhood, My Crazy Life | No comments

I’m not a parenting expert by any means, but I am a parent, and I absolutely must share this tip. Over the past several weeks, Micah has begun waking up earlier and earlier. She used to sleep until 8:30 or even 9 every. single. morning. Without fail.

Sigh.

I didn’t know how good life was.

Then she began waking up at 8 a.m.

Then 7:45 a.m.

Then 7:30 a.m.

Then 7:15 a.m.

Then 7 a.m.

Until finally, Monday morning, she woke up at 6 a.m. As I stumbled sleepily {I’ve never pretended to be a morning person} to her room, I marveled at how bright it was in the house.

Then it dawned on me. Literally.

Micah was waking up with the sun. As the days have gotten longer and longer, Micah’s sleeping hours have gotten shorter and shorter.

Later on in the day, I rummaged through our linen closet and came out with a dark brown sheet. I hung it over her curtain rod and crossed my fingers.

The next morning, she slept until 8:30 a.m. And the next, 9 a.m.!

Victory!

So, for what it’s worth, here’s my parenting tip of the day: If your baby is waking up with the sun, shut the sun out of his room. It’s that simple. Life is much better now that we’re back on our old sleeping schedule. Pulling out that sheet was the best idea I’ve had in a while!

Until next time, grace and peace.

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You’ve Got the Wrong Number, Ma’am

06.16.10 in My Crazy Life | No comments

So, last night I was rocking Micah before putting her down to bed when my phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Who’s this?” demanded the voice on the other end of the line.

How rude! I thought. And because I was so offended, I answered with another question:

“Who are you trying to reach?”

The mystery voice answered, “I’m trying to reach someone who knocked on the door and told an 85-year-old woman that Jamie had taken $25 and come to find out you took the money and did something illegal with it…”

Or something like that, anyway. I was too shocked to remember the details of the tirade.

I tried to interrupt to tell the lady she had the wrong person.

It took a few tries to get through.

“Ma’am! You have the wrong number.”

“No, I don’t believe I do.”

“Yes, ma’am, you do. I’m not the person you want to talk to.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Do you know the person’s name that you’re trying to reach?”

Nothing but crickets.

“Ma’am?”

“Well…..yeah.”

“Well, what is it? Because my name is Leslie.”

“What?”

“My name is Leslie. Who do you want to talk to?”

Indecipherable mumbling. Then a click.

I think I’m going to run a reverse phone number search and see what I find. Thank you, caller ID. My question is this: Was that for real? Or was that a prank call? What do you think?

Until next time, grace and peace.

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Snippets :: Silver and Gold Edition

06.15.10 in My Crazy Life | No comments

Life has been so busy lately. I’m not complaining, but the busy-ness has kept me off of here and running around like a chicken with my head cut off instead. In lieu of writing a lengthy post to bring you up to speed, I thought a few snippets from the past couple of weeks would be appropriate.

In baby news, Micah has become decidedly more adventurous in her eating choices. Last Thursday, she ate about a quarter of an avocado for lunch. Let me just say that I never imagined my child would voluntarily eat something so green and squishy, but she did, and I was shocked.

When I was in Girl Scouts, we sang a song about friendship. It went like this: “Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.” Now, I’m not sure which group of friends is silver and which is gold, but I’ll take both. This past week, I got to spend some time with some of my best high school friends. On Monday, Micah and I took a roadtrip to Memphis for lunch with my high school bestie, and we traveled to Nashville over the weekend for the wedding of another high school friend. It was so nice to spend time with people that I haven’t seen in ages, and I enjoyed myself immensely. Since none of us {that I know of} are planning on attending our 10-year high school reunion {oh my goodness, are we that old??}, I’m glad that we were able to spend some time catching up and visiting with one another.

It. Is. HOT. Oh my goodness. The aforementioned wedding was outside. On the evening of a day that had been pushing 100 degrees. I took pity on Dennis and let him remove his tie, unbutton his collar and roll up his sleeves. Yesterday, Micah and I walked outside for a few minutes to rock on the front porch, but before I even sat down, I decided that it was time to go back inside. It’s only June, people. I know that I live in Mississippi, but seriously. It’s not supposed to be 100 degrees until July.

Speaking of the porch, we’ve taken to taking Micah out to swing in the evenings just before bed. She loves the Little Tikes baby swing we bought for her. She giggled and giggled when we put her in there for the first time. Baby laughter is such an addictive sound. There’s no sweeter sound in the entire world. See {and hear} for yourself:

Just a Swingin’ from Leslie Ann Jones on Vimeo.

I think that’s about it for now. I’ve only got a bit more time before Micah wakes up from her nap, and there’s work to be done between now and then. I’ve got cards to print, e-mails to send, and orders to package.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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A Buzzworthy Mention: Senojal Designs Blog Love

06.04.10 in Senojal Designs | No comments

Good morning! When I logged in to check my e-mail this morning, I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me. My Little Ladybug suite of invitations, notecards, and party circles on Senojal Designs has been featured on Invitation Buzz today.

Thanks for the mention, Heather! If you’re planning a ladybug party for your little lady, just buzz on over to Senojal Designs and check out the Little Ladybug suite!

Until next time, grace and peace.

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She’s on the Move!

06.03.10 in Mommyhood, My Crazy Life | 1 comment

Oh my goodness, I’m the parent of a child who is mobile. Last week my eight-month-old little girl rolled to her intended destination. This week she crawls. It’s a major milestone.

I immediately realized how un-babyproofed our home is.

Is there a way to teach babies this tiny not to touch things like electrical outlets? Do they learn that curtains aren’t a good thing to pull up on?

Admittedly, the following video will not be exciting to some of you, but if you’re interested in seeing our little girl start to go, all you have to do is click play:

Micah on the Move from Leslie Ann Jones on Vimeo.

God, help us. Our child can go wherever she wants. It’s the end of an era. Now I have to wonder what would happen if she eats the leaves of our houseplants or munches on a dead bug she’s found {not that there’s any of those in our house, or anything}.

I have a feeling that she won’t be crawling long. Even though she just started crawling a few days ago, most of the time she only crawls to something she can pull up on. It won’t be long until she’s walking.

God, help us.

Until next time, grace and peace.

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New from Senojal Designs :: DIY Printables

06.01.10 in Senojal Designs | No comments

One of the most common questions I get from customers regards the color of the envelopes they will receive with their order. Most of my invitations and notecards are printed on heavy linen cardstock, and they come with matching white linen envelopes. For me, the luxurious texture of linen won out over colored envelopes, however cute they may be.

That said, I’ve noticed a new trend that’s a wonderful way to dress up white envelopes, and I’m excited to announce a new section to Senojal Designs :: DIY Printable files. I’ve sold a number of printable designs to customers, and I’ve finally started to list them in the etsy shop, beginning with address label envelope wraps.

Have you seen these? They’re super cute and simple to use. Each label measures 7 x 2 inches and wraps snugly around a standard A2 size envelope (4.375 x 5.75 inches). You don’t even have to have any special material to print these little gems. Just print them on plain white printer paper, cut out, and adhere to your envelopes with a glue stick. Wanna know what’s even better? You can print the file as many times as you want. It’s yours to use just one time, or 100 times. It’s up to you! You cannot, of course, accept credit for the design, sell the file or distribute it to others, but other than that, your options are pretty much endless.

Could these be any cuter? Over the next several days, I’ll be launching all kinds of DIY Printable files :: from envelope wraps to party circles to banners and favor tags. All of these items will, of course, complement my line of invitations, and they’re the perfect way to coordinate all aspects of your special events.

Stay tuned for new designs rolling out soon!

Until next time, grace and peace.

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