Where does the time go?

Sheesh...

I know.

Yes, I KNOW!!

It's been a LONG time since I've posted. Really, my life has been so predictable and the same, that I just haven't really had anything to post about. I still don't, but have been told once again, that I need to post something new already, for those of you that DO actually STILL check here for something new.

Life is just busy. BUSY. BUSY. Not so much interesting, really. Just busy. The kids are back in school, ALL THREE OF THEM!!!! It is strange not having one of my babies in the house with me, and I do occasionally miss them. LOL! Xander hates doing homework, so it is just a battle two times a week, with much crying and screaming, and Xander does some whining somewhere in there, too. He just hates it, and I dread the two days a week that he brings it home because it's hard getting him to do the work. I mean come on, he's in kindergarten. WE didn't have homework when WE were in kindergarten. I think it's a little bit ridiculous.

Anyhow, I have been trying to get more listings into my shops, and have added quite a few new ones lately, and taken out some of the old, ugly ones.

My Grandparents came for a visit, which was lovely, and enjoyed very much by all of us.

That's about it folks! I will leave you with some new pictures of Mateo and Xander.

Hugs to all,
Suz

What's the haps, Cap'n?

I just don't blog anymore, I don't know why exactly. Too busy, too boring, too lazy? Maybe a little of all of the above?

So what's been going on here? Jason ended up getting hired by the company that he has been doing contract work for, and that is a HUGE blessing and relief! He really likes working there, the bosses are cool. My only wish is that it was a closer drive for him, it's an hour each way, but those type of jobs aren't ever around here.

My Dad is in the process of and at the beginning of his journey in his move to Nigeria. He arrived in China today for the hiring process and some other business matters he has to complete with the company before he makes the move to Nigeria. He'll get to come home after China, before he goes to Nigeria. Mateo was REALLY bummed when I sat him down to tell him that Grandpa was moving really far away and that I wasn't sure when we would be seeing him again. He said to me, "NO, Grampa can't go, I'm his little buddy. Why can't he just move in here with us?" It broke my heart, he's so sweet, he loves my Dad so much. Dad loves all of his Grandsons, but there is that extra special connection between those two. Mateo loves to talk about any similarities that he shares with my Dad.

The summer has already gone by so fast, it hasn't really seemed like summer yet to me, we've only had a few days where it was REALLY hot! I keep waiting for the hot hot weather to kick in. We're hoping to take the boys camping soon, that will be a first for them (and maybe LAST if they don't behave, LOL!)

I've been babysitting little Vince, our friends Erik and Michelle's baby. He is SO SWEET! The boys love, love, love him and his tiny little toes and fingers. They love to look at them when he's here.

So, that's about it I guess. Enjoy your week!

A shout out to...

...our niece Julia, whom I just found out reads my blog all the time! Just wanted to say, "Hi Julia!!!" Thanks for reading my blog, sorry I haven't had anything interesting for you to read lately. Love and hugs to you sweetie.

Love,
Tia Suz and the boys (including Tio Jason!)

Life... It's not always rainbows and butterflies...

I haven't blogged lately, sorry! Most of you that read my blog know that Jason was laid off from his job. I've just been really stressed out since finding out. It's not a good time in Michigan to have a job related to the auto manufacturing field, that's for sure. So many people are unemployed here right now, it's sad, hard, and stressful. Not only are the auto line workers out of jobs, but pretty much anyone with a job even remotely related to the auto field are struggling to keep their heads above water. Jason's job was designing parts/tools/robotics on the auto assembly lines.

Not only is the auto field affected, but since Michigan is comprised largely of auto workers and auto related workers, and such a large portion of them are out of work, and they're the ones supporting the businesses in Michigan, even the non-auto related businesses are now struggling, because the people (auto workers/auto-related workers) that used to buy/support them are no longer able to, due to lack of work and finances. Bottom line: IT SUCKS.

There aren't many jobs out there now, so good luck trying to find a job that is going to pay enough to support your family.

Luckily, it looks like Jason has gotten some contract work that he'll be doing, so we'll have some kind of income coming in. No insurance for the kids though. I'm hoping that the kids are able to get insurance through the state until Jason finds a job providing insurance. The "affordable" Cobra insurance that we were offered runs over $900 a month for the family. Isn't it nice that they make it so affordable for the unemployed?!?!

Anyways, that's the haps here in the Renaud household. Not much exciting, just trying to stay afloat, to keep getting by, to keep a positive attitude around the kids, and trying muster up some business for our sign/sticker business, praying that Jason finds a job soon, and not have a complete meltdown.

Sale! Sale! Sale!

We're having a sale on our decals! Buy one, get one decal {same color} of equal or lesser value 50% off! Visit one of our shops for more details!

Wei-Wei's Babies @ Etsy
On Display Graphics @ 1000 Markets

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I'm getting ready to go outside and finish planting all my yummy, gorgeous flowers! I can't wait to see them grow and start blooming! Some of them are already, but some of them won't until later on in the summer and fall.

In other news, my little Etsy shop is starting to pick up, the last couple of weeks I have been consistently getting orders and I am super excited about that! As Martha would say, "That's a good thing!" :) Goodness knows, in these times of economic instablility, every little bit of income is a blessing!

**I just want to take a moment to say hi to my Dad, and send out a HUGE "thank you" to him!
I love you so much, you have always believed in us and our little business and our ability to do it, without you we wouldn't have been able to start it. You've sent a lot of business our way, and you have always encouraged us. Thank you for your support and love! We all miss you!**

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yup, it's official...

I'm a nervous wreck!

We found out yesterday that we are going to be vendors at this big, huge motorcycle rally NEXT weekend! Yesterday. We found out YESTERDAY.

So, I'm losing my mind, trying to figure out everything we need to get ready. We've never done anything like this before, and I was hoping that when we did get a chance to do this, we'd have a little more time to get it together, you know? I have at least 3 sample books I need to design and print out, sample boards, I have to figure out what stock needs to be purchased, etc. I have to also come up with decal designs to sell. Make a banner, make sample decals and set up our display boards. The list goes on.

Did I mention I'm a nervous wreck?

Happy 6th Birthday, Mateo!!

Every day you're a blessing, every day you bring a smile to my face. You're more like me than you are your Dad, and you're a typical middle child. We love you more every day, and thank God for blessing us with your sweet soul and bright, beautiful smile.

Happy, happy 6th Birthday little boy, my Mateo!

Why? Really? Random stuff that just might offend you...

**Just a forewarning... Most of you that know me personally know that I can tend to be just a *teensy* bit on the cranky side sometimes, which then causes me to start ranting and raving about whatever has at the point in time irritated or offended me.

This is one of those times.**


<----Product most likely to make me throw up. Just thought you'd like to know that. I think this might possibly be the most disgusting idea EVER! (In case you didn't know, feet reallllly gross me out.)

Also, another invention I don't like, and will NEVER be caught dead in. If you own a pair, I'm sorry if I offend you with my dislike of these, but feel better in knowing that I probably use/own/do something that offends you equally as much. Okay, back to the matter at hand. The invention that I think should be banned-----Half tennis shoes.

YOU KNOW THE ONES.

Those shoes that are backless tennis shoes? Why, really? They are like mullets for your feet, winter in the front, summer in the back. I just think they are ugly, all of them. I have seen many styles of them, and they are all equally horrendous in my eyes. I just don't get them.

Okay, I feel better now, I had to get those two things off my chest.

Wait, one more.

Why did the woman in front of me yesterday decide that it was the perfect time to apply her mascara while driving down Dix, causing her to swerve all over the road, and causing me to grind my teeth down to stumps because I couldn't get around her?

Okay, now I'm done. Whew.

Kids should come equipped with volume control and mute buttons.

(Blogging from my phone while the kids were getting on my nerves.)

Blame it on the...

Am I the only one who is having a hard time taking Jamie Foxx seriously as a singer?!?

I mean really, does anyone even remember In Living Color anymore? I still just think of Ugly Wanda whenever I see him...

I'm still waiting for somebody to tell me it's all a joke. Please?

Add us!

I've been working on trying to promote our vinyl wall decal business online. Trying to figure out more ways to promote and get our name out there. We are now on Twitter and have a page on Facebook for our shops, please add us and share the links with your friends as well! Every little bit helps, and you never know who might want to order a decal! We appreciate the time you take to help us spread the word! Also, check out our new vinyl shop blog! I'll be trying to update that often as well. All the links are over on the right, in the side bar!

Again, if you share the link with someone, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I'll be working on more designs, so keep your eyes out for new decals on our shops!

~Suzanna

Ooh, EXCITING! LOOK!

We have a new blog for our vinyl shops! It's over there------>
on the right, with my links. Check it out!

Free to good home...

One high maintenance, spoiled little cat. No, just kidding. Really though, the girl is getting on my nerves.

Why, you ask?

Ummm, because the little she-devil has figured out how to open the fridge.
I KID YOU NOT.
The little snot has figured out how to open the fridge, and doesn't have the decency to learn how to close it. I have come home to an empty house; woken up in the middle of the night, and found the fridge WIDE open. It's not the kids, it's not me, it's not Jason. I've seen her in action, I have seen how she does it. That explains why she's gotten so fat lately. Just kidding. She doesn't eat anything in there, that I have been able to tell, but she does like to sniff around in there.

She's something else!

Okay, I have gotten my shop set up over at 1000 Markets. I really love this site, although it doesn't yet have the flow of people that Etsy has. Once it starts getting the same traffic as Etsy, I think it's really going to be something great. I love the way the shops are set up over there. Here is the link to my new shop there,
Wei-Wei's Babies. I haven't gotten all of my items listed yet, but there's quite a few of them on there. You can leave comments there, which is pretty cool.

Just sharing a stupid little tip...

It works for me...
Chewing gum while cutting up an onion. Make sure you chomp away the whole time you're cutting up the onion, I stopped chewing the gum for a minute and my eyes started burning. Walked away and let my eyes clear up and came back to chopping the onion, and made sure to keep chewing, and the onion didn't bother my eyes. Just a silly little thing I thought I would share.