shameless, i know

WE MADE OUR FIRST SALE!!!
on etsy. to a "real" customer... not family-based.
i know how silly that may sound, but it's a huge deal to me. a really big deal. especially because we've been busy and have only been able to post five items (now down to 4!).

anyway. hooray. and, because we just got in the sweetest organic toddler tees i've ever felt/seen/touched/loved-on, i'm self-promoting, yet again.

with photos posted here, so you don't even have to navigate through the etsy site.
some of our offerings: (all $15)







just in time...
erica (an inkpony, too) just sent out this email and i think it describes our business venture really well.

here 'tis:

Hello to all of you,

Inkpony is here! For those of you not familiar with Inkpony let me catch you up to speed...

Inkpony began as a little seed...a spark really...a seemingly far away idea...and has finally grown into fruition as a little company. It is piloted by 3 women (myself, julianna, and anne) seperated by 1000 miles. We have managed to bridge the gap between ourselves using internet, snail mail, and a little creativity, and bring you our unique product. Our goal is to be as friendly to the earth as possible so that you can feel good about what you're buying and so that we as a company can feel good about our environmental footprint.

Right now we are screenprinting 100% cotton onesies and toddler t-shirts. The fabric is organically dyed, and our screen printing inks are non-toxic and lead free. Every 'piece' is unique...we have not made any 2 the same. We make our own screens using scrap material, recycled picture frames, and remnant cloth, and we produce all of our own designs. We will soon be adding screenprinted(on recycled paper) cards/invitations, rag quilts and bags, plush dolls and maternity wear.

Our official website (www.inkpony.com) is under construction so please refer to our etsy site for the time being at www.inkpony.etsy.com and you can view and purchase from there. We love custom orders so please let us know if you have a specific request.

Up to this point we have been mostly word of mouth...we have just begun with this site and are in the midst of production of new images so be patient with us as we post our items. Remember...every item is completely original when it comes to clothing color, design, and design color. You will see some similar pieces, but no 2 are exactly the same. We hope you will check in with us for purchases for 'little ones' and check back w/ us as the holiday season approaches for our new website and new items.

Much love to all of you,

Erica

... and, much love to all of you, too. ju.

booty giraffe

halloween rocks. my favorite holiday, though---admittedly---i've slacked in the past couple of years. lame costumes. no candy. little celebration. oh well.
having a child is the best excuse/reason to get back into it. this year we spent the day on main street. every year they shut down main and everyone comes out in costume---kids everywhere---dogs everywhere--costumed adults, everywhere. all of the shops pass out candy. good times. this year alasdair was a giraffe. a big-bootied + bellied giraffe at that. so cute.
as for ben and i, we weren't so cute. necessarily.
in fact, i'm not so sure what we were. but, at least we gave the dressing up bit a shot. shabby as it was.








in pregnancy days: this pregnancy remains surreal.
i thought it was setting in. it was setting in--during the days of nausea and discomfort. but the constant reminder leaves me now that i'm feeling near great again. (still tired, though that's part of me, anyway.) so eager to see this babe and alasdair interact. so eager to see this babe at all. to know if it's a boy or girl---THREE weeks!!!

cousins + animals

as posted, ben, alasdair and i recently spent about 5 days in boise. good days. really good days. no rush. lots of dawson's. excellent food. and the stellar company of family.
as imagined, stella is getting soooo big. she's caught up with alasdair in weight and quickly gaining in height, too. i wish we get could them together daily. check out their photos:


this one merits comment: titled, "high school dance"
stella is a mover. a hip-circler, booty dropper. and aside her stands my sweetness. arms directed down, moving stiffly side to side. i thought i'd taken video of it, but somehow: no. bummer.



and, a recent video. he was actually testing my skills to see how quickly i could come up with animals... i failed.

breaking news...

that we've been holding back for a good two months (as not to spoil the seeing + telling people 'in person' bit):
i'm pregnant!!!
there you have it. about 13 weeks along, and sososo psyched i can hardly stand myself.
all very exciting, indeed.
steph + dave, i've been most eager to share the news with you two, even though our babes will be a bit further apart this time.

yay. pregnant.
alasdair already touches my protruding belly (yes, even looking pregnant at 13 weeks) and says "bah-bee."
they'll be 22 months apart. just right. that's how things seem to happen lately, just right.

alright, five days

busted. i committed to the 'three-day-posting-gig' a little prematurely. so, here's my bit at five days. better than 30.
it's snowing today. lovely and beautiful. news of us: we're all sick. whip. crazy how quickly sickness tears through a family of three. alasdair on day one, papa nearing the end of day one and mama on day two. fortunately, i think we're all winding down. seeing alasdair sick makes me so sad, as any mother and/or father knows. it's terrible. and the night-time fever. the heat glow around their poor little body.
he sleeps now. sweet thing.
and, of course, along with fever comes the dazey state. alasdair, so kooky. he mumbles, which isn't uncommon, but moreso. he wanders and smiles and calls out for koia and red, the cat. he woke this morning to the sound of my stomach digesting. it must have sounded like a meow, cause immediately he sat up and said, "red. killy--kitly---killy." tongue protruding. so cute.
we got a new truck!!!! a new work truck, i should say. ben's been driving around an old-school duely for the past year. terribly sketchy. so much money has gone into that truck... for what? anyway, it was past due time for the caketaker, ben, to get a new ride. they made one stop and ended up with a 2008 chevy silverado extended cab long-bed. white. amazing deal: from $33,000 to $23,0000.
think they were hurting? geeze.
it's so nice to have a truck we can all ride in.

... off to boise next week. wednesday or thursday. i can hardly wait.

snow, on the ground

not much, granted, but it is certainly white outside. and lovely. i can't believe those 7 months of snowmobiling blumbers and bliss are once again knocking on our door. always seems to arrive just in time. the cold creeps in just as the heat starts to wear on me. nicely done, weather, seasons... nicely done.

well, i've been busy. hence, no writing---a bad blogger am i. apologies. i swear, it's the thought of writing it all down in one sitting that keeps me away (I SAY THIS EVERYTIME). so, from here on out i'll write something, even a sentence, at least every three days. there. done. hold me to it, please.

our updates: many, but i'll list the few. first, a shameless plug: check out that new wolf-man square that reads "etsy" to your right there. yeah. if you click on that, you'll end up at a fabulous site of all things handmade from people across the world. fair prices (usually) and really unique stuff. a friend and i are trying our hands at it. once on the site, look at the scroll-bar up top, click on "usernames" and then enter: inkpony---that's us. though currently we have only three items listed, and all onesies, we're eager to add new stuff. we're attempting to keep all clothing organic, and all other products (rag-quilt blankets, plush dolls/hammers/tools, cards, etc.) eco-conscious (remnant and or recycled material when possible). we'll add stuff soon and frequently.
check it out.

now, for alasdair. the love that we love. i swear he's coming up on six here soon. ha.
no, it's just crazy how much these little people learn during their second year. words, everyday a new word, or so it seems. gestures. identifying and categorizing. learning how to crawl into small spaces. humor.
ah.... and it must be said, learning how to deal with his impatience. HOLY. i think he got that from me. for instance: he's on his john deere (little pushy toy), cruising around, through the kitchen, next to the couch and then i hear screaming. then the slamming of something somewhat large. i look: it's the john deere, as he's attempting for forcefully push it through a space that is far too narrow.
he'll force it though. and scream.

wow. he gets pissed. immediately. so, we're working on the phrase "help, please." it has definitely helped. that way, when he's really upset that something won't budge (a cord he wants may be wrapped around the chair and caught on a toy-----yes, i just admitted that i let him play with cords), he'll shout, i'll appear and he calms and says "elp."
much nicer.

growing, growing up--all except for the nursing, we've back-tracked. he's once again up to eating 6 times a night. WHIP. molars, baby. they're killing me.

here's the boy now: smiley + sneaky.



ben and i are great. the season (girl scouts) is finally over. we thought we'd be celebrating those words about a month and a half ago, but weekend guests and events kept slugging in. it's over now. i can say with confidence. so, i have ben at home once again. he's going to take on building/creating/designing our website, for practice during the winter season.

off to boise here in a few weeks, and i can hardly wait. truly. i feel like i've been away from home, home and family for a year.
maybe because i miss my mom so much. wow. she's been away for 1/3 of her mission. 6 months. already, i should say. we just need to get out there. charlotte, north carolina: we'll see you soon.

enjoy your day(s).

playing catch-up

wow. it's been a while. whiles of words and developments well beyond my expectations. alasdair's language + vocabulary is blowing up, as they say. and i'm discounting the fact that most of his words are only understood by ben and i---they are words, still. for example, this morning when he woke up he played, got of the bed and pointed to the bedside table... "wah-ta." so i offered him a sip. he nodded his head and smiled. a 'no, thank you' in his way. there are lots of words that he repeats consistently: bird, dog, book, water, koia (our new dog), danger, thank you. his newest: bear. it's amazing to watch him communicate---and especially amazing to communicate with him, with words. utterances. body language.
all of this new communication is coming at a much needed time, too. we are weaning. he is weaning. i am weaning. not sure how you say it, we, i suppose. i think he's ready, and i'm definitely ready. so, about five days ago i began a process of offering more solids, in place of nursing times. whereas i used to nurse first, then offer food, it's now going the other way---and he's great. he only really begs for 'mee-mee' when he's tired, though i'm doing my best to offer different sleep associations. it worked great for nap about 20 minutes ago! also, we're night-weaning, which has been a much smoother transition that i anticipated. it's crazy to think that we tried the same night-weaning method when he was 11 months, and it was unbearable. now, at 14 (nearly) months, things are so different. i'm happy that we paid close attention to his cues and waited until now.
hmmmm... so much has happened around here. ben has screened in half of the front porch. it looks amazing, and we can now utilize that space like it's another room. he sealed every bit of it, keeping the bugs out. it gets a nice breeze. rugs are down, alasdair's toys are out there. it's lovely. we eat meals outside now.
we've also painted two out of the four white rooms. the bathroom, mustard yellow, and alasdair's room, olive green. onto our room next: burnt orange, then the hallway: yet to be decided.
........
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