My blog is moving!!!!

I am moving over to Word Press! Come have a look and be sure to follow me on there!

http://idaandmae.wordpress.com/

Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale!!!!!!

Even though its not technically Friday yet, why not start your shopping early??  Starting tonight and going through Monday you can save 40% off my entire Etsy shop!!! Just use code CYBERSALE2012 at checkout.  Happy shopping!! And thank you for your business!

The Strawberry Patch 2012 Fall barn sale

I went to The Strawberry Patch Fall barn sale yesterday with my friend and her daughter. It was a very hot day, but we enjoyed looking at all the goodies and getting inspired with new ideas.  I was not able to take very many photos since the baby was done with it by the time I was ready to get my camera out.  But here are the ones I took.  I will share a link to the blogs who will be posting their photos soon.

One of Christy's funky chairs!

 The very talented Jenny Helm had her vintage camper set up.  It was super cute inside and out!  I loved it!

 Gotta love the vintage avocado green stove!!

Jenny had the inside painted and decorated so cute!

 A little sampling of Kim's beautiful creations!

Destination: Quality time with my Mom. Funded by Ida & Mae

I know I have been lacking in my blogging lately.  I would like to blog more, but it takes more thought, time, and effort than email and FB.  So it gets neglected a bit.  You may remember this post where I first shared about my mom being diagnosed with Non Hodgkins B-cell Lymphoma back in May.  She got the diagnosis while they were here visiting us, it was on Elise's birthday actually. So when they left to go back home two days later, that was the hardest goodbye I've ever had with my parents. 

 Here is my mom right after she had her head shaved, when her hair started falling out. She knew how much I liked her hat so she sent me one last week. :)

Its been a tough 3 months for me emotionally to be 600 miles away from them while my mom goes through her chemo treatments. Things have been going well, her body is handling chemo well, and the tumor has shrunk considerably.  So things look very promising.  She has a minimum of two chemo treatments left.  Then another PET scan to see how much more the tumor has shrunk.  After her last PET scan, they discovered a mass in her pelvic area.  So she went in for an ultrasound to find out what that is.  She has a benign cyst on her ovary, and then another kind of cyst inside her uterus.  They want her to go see a Gynecologist about that one in order to determine if it is benign or some type of cancer.  So we wait yet again to find out the results of more tests on another "mass" in her body.  If it is something that needs to be removed, they won't do any type of surgery until she is through with her cancer treatments.

Phew! Such a whirlwind of unanswered questions and waiting.  So all I have been able to do from here is pray.  And I know that is more than enough as we serve a Sovereign God who holds us and this whole world in His hands.  More than anything I've just wanted to be there to give my mom a hug and walk with her through this, physically, not just as a listening ear over the phone.

My wonderful husband (of 12 years tomorrow!) told me that it would be good for me to go see her. He knows how hard this has been for me to go through from such a distance.  We just didn't know when to try and plan a trip up there or how to work it all out.  So I am planning for a 2 week trip up to Michigan in October, just me and the kids.  I don't want to stay at my parents house since my mom's immune system is basically non-existent right now.  Some sweet friends of mine are letting the kids and I stay in their garage apartment, and I am very grateful. 

However, with a long trip like this; driving over 600 miles up there, plus groceries and gas for 2 weeks, then another 600 plus miles back home, its going to cost a bit more than usual.  So for the next 5 weeks, all the sales I make from Ida & Mae will help fund my trip back home to see my mom.  Ida & Mae already contributes to our family's budget, and I am thankful that I can help out in that way.  So in that same manner, I am working to contribute towards the expenses of this trip so that I can have some quality time with my mom as she walks down this road ahead of her.  If you are starting your Christmas shopping early, perhaps you may want to consider some Ida & Mae jewelry for your gift giving.  I would be forever grateful.

My mom with my brother and his twin girls just a couple days after her third chemo treatment.

If you would like to stay updated on my mom's journey, I started a Caring Bridge page for her that I try to keep updated.  You can sign in and follow it HERE.

Centennial Park in August

There is a really neat park in Nashville called Centennial Park.  It has a life sized replica of the Parthenon, and its a great place to get some really cool photos.  All of these were taken with my husband's iPhone, I and edited them on Pic Monkey.

Winner of the rosette ring giveaway!!

The winner of the drawing is Karen F!! Send me an email Karen so I can get your ring out to you! Congrats!! idaandmae@gmail.com

Fabric rosette ring giveaway!!

***This giveaway is now closed***

In honor of my mom's birthday today, I am giving away your choice of one of these fabric rosette rings!  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me which one you would pick!

I will draw a winner next Tuesday.
Share this giveaway with your friends!

Chest and decor in the girls bedroom

Finally sharing a couple pics of the chest I painted for the girls room.  I put up a vintage shelf too. The only thing this room needs now is to be painted!  Its the only room in our house that has not been painted yet. Hopefully this year we can get it done!

On the shelves are a vintage Raggedy Ann doll I had as a girl, a kitty from The Cottage Mama, an alabaster heart from a friend, a vintage tin baby cup, and vintage flower salt and pepper shakers that belonged to my grandma Ida.

The sweet owl my friend made for Callie, and a cute little lovey my mom got for Callie too. I bought the lamp at The Strawberry Patch barn sale a couple years ago.

A baker's dozen, plus one.

Thirteen rosette rings. One of these will last a lot longer than the real thing!  Something to consider for the lady in your life. :)

Bulk quantity orders

I have a custom order to make a bulk quantity of these for someone. I will discount when items are ordered in bulk. What can I custom make for you? :)

The latest projects and such

Here is how my desk turned out.  It was painted black and I painted red over it and distressed it. Then finished it off with a dark glaze that I wiped off.  I'm really happy with it!

While my parents were visiting, my dad and husband tiled the top area of the shower stall in the master bathroom.  The water has been causing paint and drywall to come off, so we figured tile was the way to go.  I just need to post an "after" picture yet. :)  Maybe after we get a new shower curtain I will do that.

My mom brought me a vintage print that belonged to my grandma Evelyn Mae.  I am going to paint the frame a different color, perhaps the teal blue that I painted the kitchen desk?

I finally set up the Jenny Lind crib in the girls room.  Callie still sleeps with me at night, but she is doing well in her crib for naps during the day.  And I just love the spindles!!  It looks so vintage, almost like an antique crib would look.  The cute crib bedding came from Target three years ago when Elise was born.  I still love it!

A bittersweet visit

My parents were just here visiting with us a couple weeks ago.  They came while my husband was out of town for work, and stayed long enough to spend time with him when he got back home as well.  We were able to celebrate Elise's birthday with them (and Ronnie's too).  Those were the sweet parts of the visit.  The bitter part was learning that my mom has Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  We found out on Elise's birthday.  The doctor wanted to meet with them in person, but when he found out they were out of state, he told them over the phone.  Talk about a huge blow to the stomach.  The reality of it all did not really sink in for me, until the morning they left to go back home to Michigan.  I hugged my mom and started crying, and I didn't want to let go of her.  It is going to be very hard for me emotionally to go through this living 600 miles away from them.  But I know God has a plan in all of this, and I will lean on Him through this journey.  I would appreciate your prayers for my mom too, its a whole new way of life for my parents right now.  Lots of changes and adjustments and things she will need to be cautious of in order to keep herself healthy and well during her treatments.  She starts chemo this week.  Here are some photos from our visit together a couple weeks ago.

Elise turns 3 and Ronnie is turning 5!

My big girl turned 3 last week.  My parents were down for a visit, so they were able to celebrate it with us, which was a very special treat!  And since they won't be here for Ronnie's birthday next month, they gave him his gifts too.

The sand and water table and sand toys were a combined birthday gift for both of them from Papa and Nana.

Girlie Legos!  Ronnie is really into Legos, so we thought Elise needed her own. :)

I love the Melissa & Doug products!  This is the wooden pizza kit.

Papa and Nana got her the wooden cupcake kit.

And some nice clothes.  She loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse since we visited Disney World last year.

Snacks and a couple of wooden Thomas trains from Papa and Nana.

The birthday cupcakes are made with almond flour from a recipe that my friend adapted from a recipe she had.  It turned out great!  I will use the same recipe for Ronnie's birthday party in June.

Callie photos

Just some photos of Callie and our family in the last 6 weeks. :)