Otto's Comedy Hour

 As you might know my family and I are away on vacation this week. We're hanging out in Chicago and in Milwaukee. Enjoying some much needed family time and getting to visit with friends!

Since I'm gone, I asked a few of my bloggy friends if they'd like to guest post.

Otto's Comedy Hour

How much do I love Alyson and EisleyRae? I can't even tell you! Alyson is one of my favorite favorite friends on Twitter (we are both mad cougars for Chuck Bass, guzzle cheap wine, crack each other UP, and dream all day and night about sugary baked goods). All. Awesome. And EisleyRae kids clothes make me go into fits of cuteness overload and undoubtedly give me girl-baby-fever even though Alyson always reminds me she does adorable boys clothes too. Fine, gender-neutral-baby fever! Anyways, I am so excited to do a guest post on the EisleyRae blog today! Love you, Alyson!

This post originally ran on my site a couple of months ago. I've been cranky about, well, everything lately except for my little boy Otto. He makes me smile, laugh, glow. So I thought I'd share this post because it kind of perfectly captures how much my little guy can lift my spirits! Don't you feel that way too (not about Otto, about your own lil ones)? Ok, here goes...

A couple days ago I had to take Otto with me to the doctor's office. We were in the little exam room. He was sitting in the corner chair and I was up on the bed/table thingy and we were waiting for the doctor to come in and out of nowhere Otto says, "knock knock." I was so taken aback - no one in my house tells knock knock jokes. Where did this come from? Anyways, Otto proceeded to tell a very sensible knock knock joke (of his own creation) that like LIT UP my heart (and the lame day I was having). I think Rob and I were so enthusiastic about his knock knock success that he felt obligated to come up with some new material. He's since developed a whole knock knock routine with 3 jokes. And so, without further ado... Otto's Comedy Hour -->

That was the original from the doctor's office. Then at dinner that night he came up with... 

And following the success of the first two...

Haha. Maybe this is one of those moments where you have to be the parent but I am dying a thousand deaths of laughter from these jokes even though they are absolutely not funny in any way. He literally just tells you a clue and then who is at the door. I love it!

Ahahahah. Thanks for partaking in Otto's comedy hour with me!

-Lindsey

A Scentsy Giveaway!

As you might know my family and I are away on vacation this week. We're hanging out in Chicago and in Milwaukee. Enjoying some much needed family time and getting to visit with friends!

Since I'm gone, I asked a few of my bloggy friends if they'd like to guest post.
We're starting my week away with a giveaway! Who doesn't love something for free??

My name is Jennifer McEver and i am a stay at home mom to 2 great kids, Mj is 4 and Reagan is 3.

I have been married to my husband Mitchell since June 2007,

and i have been trying to figure out ways to help contribute to the family.

I am very excited to be selling scentsy. What a great product. I was introduced to scentsy by a friend of mine, and i love the idea of having a great smelling house without having to burn candles around my kids and my pets! Im very excited about this new journey and would love to help you with your scentsy needs. Please don't hesitate to call or send me and email if you have any questions about Scentsy or if you are interested in purchasing Scentsy products, hosting a show, or becoming a member of the Scentsy team yourself!

There are 3 ways to be entered to win.

Each comment enters you in, so make sure to do all three!

1) Leave a comment of your favorite Scentsy scent.

2) Pick out your favorite Scentsy Plug-In.

3) Become a follower of my Scentsy facebook page.

The winner will be radomly drawn on April 11th and posted here.

So you'll need to check back then to see if you've won! Good Luck!

Also, if your interested in special offers, order your scentsy products through my Scentsy Website. You can order through the April 2011 party link. This is the only way your order will qualify for the specials. The specials are:

1. If you spend $50 or more you'll get a free Fragrance Foam of your choice.

2. If you spend more than $150 you'll get a mid sized warmer for your choice for 1/2 off.

3. If you purchase the Piece by Piece Full-Size Scentsy Charitable Cause Warmer, designed to represent the mission of Autism Speaks 100% of all proceeds from this sale will be donated to Autism Awarness. I will also send you a free scent bar of your choice.

Perfect for Easter are the Scentsy Buddies!

If you purchase one of those before April 15th I'll send you a free Scent Pak!

- Jennifer

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-McEver-Scentsy/103051289778520

Vacation!

Back in December my awesome husband, Matt graduated from college with his BS in Business (Accounting & Finance) and this coming weekend is finally the big graduation ceremony! The kids and I are SO so proud of Matt. So, we're all packed and ready to go! We're leaving tomorrow for Chicago and we can't wait. Poor Matt, he's not traveled very much and has only flown ONCE. Crazy right? We're spending 4 days with my sweet friend Lena and her family just outside of Chicago. Sunday we'll head to Milwaukee! We are trying VERY hard to move to Milwaukee, so we can't wait to spend some time there. We'll also get to see my dear friend Karri and her family! Lots of fun to be had. 

Also a reminder that I'm taking custom orders for Lily Pants still! (And, anything else that you want/need!) I've been getting lots of orders for them and am really loving making them! They're so cute! Hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Just because I'll be on vacation doesn't mean this little blog will be empty! 

I have lots of guest posts lined up and I think you'll enjoy them. 

Announcing the Winner!!!

Thank you so much to everyone for entering the giveaway!

The winner of the $20 credit to Eisley Rae is....

#37 Stephanie!! 

Congrats Stephanie! Please email me at EisleyRae at gmail dot com!

Introducing.. Lily Pants!!

I've been doing lots of sewing lately and am so excited about the new Lily Pants! I actually made a pair of these quite a few months ago for my daughter, but it was cool outside and not really the right season for anyone to be wearing shorts/capris. So, now that it's warming up (or should be, right?) I'll be making lots of these adorable little Lily Pants!!

Lily Pants are available in 3 different styles. Like you see in the pictures there's the knee length Lily Pants... early next week I hope to have pictures of above the knee (more like shorts) and capri length. The price will always be the same, no matter what length or size (0-7).  These are so fun and adorable! There's already a listing up in my shop for a custom pair (any size 0-7). 

My friend/photographer Tammie has been sick, a lot. Plus, she's got triplets.. so every time we've tried for a photo shoot we've had to cancel. SO.. that meant that I had to be brave and use my new Nikon D40 (which I'm LOVING, even though I have NO idea how to use it) and take some photos of the Spring Lines myself! 

Even braver? Is that I'm going to share them here.. with you! So, here are a few of the new designs for spring. Any dress or tank top can be made in any combination of ANY of the fabric shown as "in stock" in the Fabric section of the blog! 

 So.. there they all are! This week I'm also trying to finish up a couple of adorable little boys shirts.

 Hope you're all having a fantastic week!! 

World Water Day

Can you imagine not having fresh, running water? I can't either. It's hard to even imagine not having a dishwasher, let alone a sink (or 3) that has both hot and cold running water. Or, a shower that also has hot & cold running water. A washing machine, a hose, etc! 

People live without running water all over the world. But, today, we're talking about India. The Adventure Project asked bloggers to post about World Water Day today, and here's why...

One third of all handpumps that have been installed in developing countries over the past 20 years, are broken. Because of this 4,000 children die EVERY DAY because they do not have clean water to drink. Hard to digest, right? I cannot even imagine not having clean water to give my kids every day. So sad to think of all that we take for granted, on a daily basis, when there are people living  without clean, running water! 

The Adventure Projects idea is not to build more wells, but rather to train and employ handpump mechanics. These mechanics will earn an income, in turn getting their own families out of poverty AND saving lives by bringing clean water back to so so many people!

There are over 100 bloggers blogging today about World Water Day. The goal is to raise $10,000 to provide clean water to 3,600 people people! So, if you can and want to click on this link and donate today! There is also a button in the top right of my blog that will take you directly to the donation site.

A big thanks to Robyn at Grace, Peace & an Ample Bit of Crazy for letting me know about The Adventure Project. And, to April at Funky *Vintage*Lovely, Bridget at Tales of Me and the Husband, Crystal at Domestic, But Not Martha; And Lindsey at Tidbits Parenting for joining me in blogging about World Water Day!! Every little bit counts!

Gift Certificate Giveaway!

I'm so thankful for all of my sweet customers. So, I'm going to do a giveaway.

Usually I give something in particular away, but this time is going to be different.

This time around the prize is going to be a...

$20 Gift Certificate to my Etsy Shop!

Here's how to enter:

*MANDATORY ENTRY*: Go to my Etsy shop and comment here telling me your favorite item!

Other entries:

1. Follow the Eisley Rae Clothing blog through Google Friend Connect.

2. "Like" Eisley Rae Clothing on Facebook and leave us a comment saying hi!

3. Follow Eisley Rae on Twitter.

4. "Heart" the Eisley Rae Etsy shop.

5. Post on your blog, facebook or Twitter about this giveaway.

(1 entry for each. Make sure to put the links in your comments here.)

That's a possible total of 6 entries per person! I'll use random.org to pick a winner on Saturday, March 26th at (or around) 9pm PST. Good luck and thanks for entering!

Wine Wednesday!

So, I realize that a "Wine-Wednesday" post might seem strange for this blog.. but if you read my last blog entry then you know that I'm trying to combine my 2 blogs into one, this one. So, here we are!

Two of my lovely Twitter-Bloggy friends, Alana at Life on the Mom List and Lindsey at Ottos Mom Blogs have been doing "Wine-Wednesday" for the past few weeks. Alana started it and I've loved following along. The only rules are that it has to be under $12 and you have to drink it and write about it! 

Trader Joe's is usually my "got to" place for wine, especially when I want something inexpensive. So, when I went grocery shopping this Sunday I went looking for wine. The pretty blue on this bottle caught my eye and then I read "Chardonnay Pinot Grigio". I'm a HUGE Pinot Grigio fan and I sometimes like Chardonnay, so I was intrigued. Add in the fact that it is imported from Italy AND it was only $3.99 and SOLD! 

Villa Cerrina - Chardonnay Pinot Grigio

For $3.99 this wine isn't too bad. I'd definitely buy it again if I needed something and didn't want to spend a lot. It's very subtle and light. Not terribly sweet. Apples were the first thing I could taste upon taking a sip. When I first started drinking it though, I was eating frozen yogurt (tart flavor) with blueberries & blackberries in it and the aftertaste was horrible. I drank some water and put my frozen yogurt away until I was done with the wine. After that it was fine. A wine pro, I'm not.. but I definitely know what I like and what I don't like. 

After all of that, I'd rate this wine a 3 out of 5 corks (per Alana's scale)! 

Check out Alana and Lindsey's posts! And, thanks Alana & Lindsey for letting me be as cool as you! ;)

If you've gotten this far, feel free to use the code winwednesday in my Etsy shop for 10% off, 

through Friday at midnight! Thanks!

Happy Friday (night) to everyone! 

First, I want to thank those of you who bought skirts in the skirt sale. 

I LOVE making skirts, they're fun and each one is a little bit different than the next.

 I'm hoping to get most (if not all) of them done and shipped out this weekend. 

We'll see how much sewing time I'm actually able to get in though.

My reason for this post though is because I'm going to start posting primarily here instead of here and on It's the Little Things (our family blog). I'll still post over there, for our family updates and stuff. 

But, most of my postings.. anything Eisley Rae related, crafty, etc will be posted here.

 All giveaways will be done here instead as well. I got WAY too overwhelmed and couldn't even get myself to post this week on either blog really (except for the ABC's). So, I hope you'll follow me here too!

The next few weeks are going to be exciting for me! I'll be featured on Calleigh's Clips & Crocheted Creations and also on Marriage Confessions. There might even be a giveaway, so be sure to check back for my feature dates! I'm so thankful to both Calleigh and Katie for featuring me. And, if you don't follow their blogs yet, you definitely should! I have a photo shoot with Tammie from Tammie Halcomb Photography next Thursday and can't wait to share all of the new spring items with you!

Thanks for reading if you've gotten this far. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!!

Also.. use the code Blog10 to receive 10% off any purchase in the shop from 3/11-3/18/11!!

ABC's....

of me! Tonight I was reading through blogs (like I always do when I have some time in the evening) and a couple of bloggy ladies, Tammy at PuNk rAwK pUrL and Kristi at Schnitzel & Boo, that I follow had done ABC posts about themselves. What a great way to get to know each other, right? So, here are the ABC's of me, Alyson.

A: Architecture. Something I've ALWAYS been interested in, yet I bet that even my best friend in the whole world (Amanda), my sister, mom, dad and anyone else that knows me well, doesn't even know that. It's not something I talk much about, but there are days I really wish I'd gone to school for this!

B: Brookelyn. My sweet and sassy seven (and a half, because that is VERY important to her) year old. The best "oops" ever and the smartest, bravest, loveliest little girl in the world. I love her with more than my whole heart!

C: Cohen. Two years old and the sunshine in my days. Snuggles, hugs, kisses and love. Cohen is the sweetest little boy ever. We tried and tried for him and wanted him so badly. Lucky us to have been given such a perfect little gift.

D: Dreams. I have THE craziest dreams. Seriously, all the time. It's crazy and of course, it was only worse when I was pregnant! I love that we get to dream though. They're like our own little movies in our minds that we can share or keep to ourselves forever.

E: Eisley Rae. I am CONSTANTLY being asked where I came up with the name "Eisley Rae" for my Etsy shop. Eisley Rae is simply a name that I would have loved to use for a little girl, but we're done having kids.. so when I opened up shop on Etsy, I got to name my new "baby".

F: Firenze. Or Florence to most Americans. My favorite city in the whole world. Of course, I haven't traveled the whole world... but, it's my favorite city so far. I spent almost a full month in Florence 10 years ago and have been dying to go back ever since. Gorgeous and filled with history, beautiful things, delicious food and lovely people.

G: Gross. Peas. Don't like 'em and I won't eat 'em!

H: Hairstylist. Yup.. for 8 or so years. I loved it at first and got bored. Luckily, I got fired and became a SAHM. And yes, I said luckily.. because it made both Matt & I realize how much we were spending on daycare.. basically most of what I was making.

I: Island. I want to go to an island, just with Matt or with some girlfriends. Either is fine, but no kids. I want to relax, have some fruity drinks (or beer) and soak up the sun.

J: Jeans. I live in them, period.

K: Kites. I love little pictures of kites, kites on shirts, etc and can't wait to see more this spring!

L: Lancaster. California, not Pennsylvania. I've never been to the one in Penn, but I can only imagine that it's nicer than this one. I'm NOT happy to be a resident of Lancaster. We're trying VERY hard (have been for years) to move out of this town.

M: March 15, 2003. The day I married my wonderful hubs, Matt. Hard to believe it's almost been 8 years.

N: Nikon D40. My new love! He arrived yesterday and is perfect and beautiful and making my pictures look kinda like I know what I'm doing. I can't wait to learn to shoot in manual.

O: Organized. Yes, very. There might always be a pile of crap on our large (too large) kitchen counter, but if you open a cupboard or a closet in my house I can promise it's organized. I can NOT wait to move and buy a house so that I can do what I want with each and every room and it'll all be crazy organized.

P: Pictures. I love pictures. Looking at them, taking them, not so much being in them. But, I think that it's so very important to have lots and lots of pictures of the things that I love.

Q: Quote. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

R: Rough year. This 7th year of marriage has been by far, the roughest one for Matt and I. We've for sure had good times and bad, separated, Matt moved out, Matt moved back in, lots of evenings spent with our therapist.. and now things are better than they've been for years. I'm so thankful that we both agreed to try again and to go to therapy to save something great.

S: Sister. She's awesome! Caryn turned 30 this year and is a wonderful military wife, mommy to 2, nurse, sister and daughter. We don't get to spend nearly as much time together as I'd like, but I'm thankful for the time we DO get.. like this past weekend!

T: Tulips. My favorite flowers by far! Yellow and pink are my choices for color, remember that for when you send me some! ;)

U: Ugly. The scars on my left middle finger from cutting hair. YUCK. I hate them and have seriously considered having some sort of lazer surgery to make it pretty again. Maybe one day.

V: Vacation. Something I need much more of! I love love love to travel. I haven't gotten to do too much of it since being married and having kids, but there's always time for that! We're going to Chicago and Milwaukee at the end of this month and I can't wait!

W: Wisconsin. Our soon to be home state, whenever Matt finds a job. We can't wait to live so close to Lake Michigan and to have 4 seasons! Bring.On.The.Snow! Know anyone there who's hiring? haha!

X: X-rays. Lots of dental, a few when I broke my clavicle (when I was like 4), when I sprang my wrist in 6th grade, and lots and lots of ultrasounds if you want to count those.

Y: Yummy food. Mexican, sushi, fruit. Those are my three favorites for sure.

Z: Zzzzz. I love to sleep and don't get to nearly as much as I'd love to. Speaking of which, it's time to sleep! Goodnight and if you've made it this far. Thanks.

I'd love to know your ABC's! If you do this, link it to here!