Noah is in Detox

If this little boy comes to you begging for milk at all hours of the day and night, do not give in! He may be accompanied by a fuzzy, brown bear but do not be alarmed he is harmless.

We realize that if we ever want to sleep through the night we need to nip this poor boys habit in the bud. Let's just say it's not going well. Does anyone know where I can find a lactose patch?!

Been a while...

Well things have certainly been a whirlwind since my last post. Roughly 8 weeks ago I was just praying that someone, anyone would want my first little puppy dog cart cover. Now after passing the 25 cover mark I am just amazed and inspired to keep going! I am still trying to figure out how to manage my time better but isn't that always a work in progress?

I am going to catch up on my posting and share some of the things that have been going on other than Goose Hill Designs!

And away we go!

Well although the first cart cover I made came out quite well, it felt like a disaster. I spent way too much making it, took forever to sew it, and had to list it twice just to get it to sell. At that point I felt like a failure. Then I took pictures of a few other fabrics, started doing my research on materials, opened Goose Hill Designs on ebay and the orders have been coming steady ever since. Holy Moly be careful what you wish for, isn't that what they always say? I have so many other ideas and can't wait until I can do some product development ;o), but for right now I am just enjoying using my time to be so creative. I am drowning in homework and housework but hey you never can have it all right?

I finished my first Cart Cover!

Here it is, my first sewing project, done! It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be but I think I did very well for my first one. I definitely learned a few things in the process which will help me be a little more efficient the next time around. So I officially listed this one , with little dogs and bones on it, on ebay and off we go!

A hint of spring in the air!

We wanted to take advantage of the only sunny day this week so we packed the wagon into the jeep and headed over to the bike path. It was actually a lot colder there than it was at our house so we were all a bit under dressed but it was beautiful anyway. Don't ask what I was wearing, I blame Mike for letting me leave the house, which took us 5 minutes longer while we argued over him wearing that jacket everywhere...

A Boy & His Tools

Here is Noah giving his fire truck a tune-up. He loves playing with tools so if he sees the coveted screwdriver come out he will follow you anywhere!

Happy Valentine's Day!

No more letter mat!

I am so excited that we finally got a carpet for the living room! For months I had been wrestling with those interlocking foam letter blocks trying to keep the floor protected from Noah and I could not be happier to get rid of them! We went to Home Depot and got a berber remnant which just about fills our semi-octagonal room. We also got the thick wall-to-wall padding to go underneath which makes it a little extra cushy. Noah, our perpetually naked child, seems to love it as well. ;o)

Go Giants!

We went over to David's house for his annual Superbowl party. We, of course, were decked out in Giants gear. Fortunately Noah was able to squeak by with one more use out of his jersey before the end of the season. He is such a big boy, he even sat at the big table with the Dad and Uncle Mikey, although a pb&j stood in for the 5-alarm chili. Sherry found that hilarious hat/game that made David about 8 feet tall. I left early to put Noah to bed but Mike was positively giddy when he got home after the game!

Happy Birthday Mikey!

Mikey's birthday is tomorrow so my Mom, David and I went over to put up a few decorations in his apartment while he was at work. Noah and Ayla were busy catching any Reeses' Eggs that fell on the floor, although I think Noah snagged a couple off the counter too ;o)

Enjoying the "spring" weather!

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take Noah over tot he bike path. He was loving running all over the grass in his little boots. He kept trying to make a mad dash for the water though which wasn't quite so fun. Once he learns to float he'll be spending all his free time in the water!

Noah's 1st (Real) Haircut!

Ok so save the hate mail because I don't want to hear it! :op I have given Noah several haircuts over the last year or so but it was getting harder and harder to fake my abilities. So I finally decided to take the plunge and get him a real haircut. I didn't really walk in there wanting everything chopped off but that is sort of how it worked out and we're ok with it. Part of me was just sick of that being the only thing people talk about and I just didn't want this big issue about it. Plus it's out of his eyes and much less static prone and he looks like such a big boy!

Winter Wonderland

This morning we awoke to several inches of perfectly fallen snow. This is the tree outside our front window. The past few years I have captured a number of pictures of Mike outside shoveling, and each time I get a new one I have to laugh because I know he's grumbling "I hate snow" under his breath. To be fair our landlords are quite diligent about clearing the way, this particular day Mike had to clean off the car and shoveled himself a path to it. So I snapped my one and only shoveling picture of the year when I had the chance! :oD

Noah's new Booster Seat

Here is the third, and hopefully last, of Noah's car seats. For the last month or so he has been driving us crazy by completely unbuckling the 5 point harness on his Convertible Car Seat. We had also been in the market for a new seat because after passing 40 pounds by his 2nd birthday he had unfortunately outgrown the old one. We decided to try the booster instead of getting a higher capacity toddler seat. We thought (and hoped and prayed) that with the seat belt buckle off to the side he wouldn't bother it. We were right....for the first 20 minutes he was in it. So we are back to square one on that front. The other thing is that technically they say kids should be 3 before being in a booster. I don't really understand the age requirement because they must also make the height and weight as well. Noah is 41 pounds and 38" tall (last measured 8 weeks ago!) so he fills out the seat nicely as you can see. It is such a hard thing trying to find the best way to keep them safe. What seat is best and what style is best, and what kind of tape is strongest to keep my son from getting out of his seat?!

He looks thrilled, huh?

Go Giants!

Mike invited Dad and my brothers over to watch the Giants/Patriots game. Even though the Giants lost it was a great bonding experience fueled by assorted beers, meats and cheeses! ;o)

Pizza Party at Uncle Al's & Aunt Nancy's!

Uncle Al and Aunt Nancy were kind enough to host a Friday night pizza party for the Massaro clan with various significant others and our offspring. Sherry and I were a little worried about the kids being up past their bedtimes but they were in rare form. It was a nice way to end a hectic few weeks, thank you Uncle Al & Aunt Nancy!!

Mikey & Mike

Grandpa & Ayla
Ayla
Ayla & (Mike trying to hold up) Noah

Merry Christmas!

This year Mike and I hosted my parents and brothers. It was nice to have everyone together eaiting and having a good time. Noah and Ayla (my niece) are getting a little bigger now so they are fun to interact with. I ended up taking a bunch of pictures, many of them on the silly side but fun none the less. I thought it would be nice to get a few pictures of me and my brothers together, something we haven't done in several years...they were less than cooperative and the silliness ensued...

Mike & I finishing dinner.
David & Ben gave eachother the SAME card!
Noah & Ayla setting up his new craft station.
Next year we're going to need a kids' table!

Christmas Cont'd...

Me & my brothers...

Again....
Mom & I
My Peppermint Ice Cream Cake , so yummy!

Christmas Suit?

This one is SO coming out every year until he's 30. For no apparent reason Noah decided, in december, that he does not want to wear clothes inside. He does not, however, have an issue with his boots.

I'm not tired

I asked Noah if he was ready to (please oh please!) take a nap and he furiously said "No, I no wanna", aprox. 10 minutes later here he sits....