Adorable Art and Contest!

I'm so fortunate to have such creative talent in my family. I have a mother in law that has filled my home with beautiful pottery even before I was married. I now have a sister who has discovered her love and talent for painting!

Cathy started her career in Mississippi as a kindergarten teacher at a small private school in Meridian where her husband Adam, a Navy pilot, was stationed and training. After their orders came in for them to relocate to Washington state on short notice, Cathy was left wondering what she would be doing with all her free time until a teaching job became available again. This is when she started putting her painting hobby to real use and recently opened her etsy store! What you'll see in her artwork is her love of children. Even though she is not currently teaching, I see her little kindergarteners in alot of her work. The colors, the whimisical style, the laidback friendliness of each piece.

Whimsical Birds on Stripes

Mia has been the lucky recipient of many of these pieces. But she's not the only one! Cathy has generously created pieces for Adam's nieces, our families as they get married and even extended extended family. And now she's ready to share her artwork with the rest of the world!

As creative as Cathy is, she is also ultrabusy! She's filled her etsy store with adorable paintings, but still hasn't come up with a name to fit her and her store. So she's running a contest to get a little help with this "minor" detail. The person that comes up with that winning name will win something for themselves. An 8x10 custom painting of their child's (or family's) name. All you have to do is either comment on this post with a name suggestion (and your contact info if I don't already have it) or send Cathy Tran Kouloumoundras a message on Facebook with your ideas. Cathy will select the winner at the end of this month 11/30/2010 ... so hurry! There is no limit to how many suggestions you can give her!!!

Gorgeous Cherry Blossoms

And there's more... for those of us less creative types, Cathy is offering a Grand Opening 10% discount on all her artwork for the next 2 weeks (ending 11/14/2010). With a 3-4 week delivery time, your orders will be ready for Christmas shipping! Check your list and see if any teachers need a classroom sign? Any kids need a room sign? Any newborns need a birth announcement? Any newly weds need a new family painting? Oh and I love her idea of the "No Solicitation" signs that are so much prettier than the industrial ones you'll find at your local hardware store.

To receive your 10% discount at her etsy store:

1. First add an item(s) from her shop to your cart and start the checkout process
2. Enter the code GRANDOPENING into the 'notes to seller' and the email address where the revised invoice should be sent
3. Complete the order, but do NOT go to Paypal to pay
4. You will receive a revised invoice from Cathy and a link to complete payment, via email reflecting the discount

It's hard to find cute BOY stuff, but honestly, this is one of my favorites of hers!

Link to : Cathy's Etsy Store

Happy shopping!!!

Winner and B-day Wishes

We have a winner for our 2-Initial Hair Ribbon Organizer: Melissa Jordan from http://dearbabyblog.com/. Congratulations Melissa! Drop me an email and I can start the custom organizer for you!

Back to the reason for the drawing... Happy 7 month old birthday to baby Mia. I suppose I should say big girl Mia. Yesterday was a tearful morning as I woke up at 5:30 am and realized that it was my last planned day to nurse Mia. Ever. Even as I write this, tears are welling up.

When I first started this journey, nursing was not always so enjoyable. In fact, it was down right painful at first. Even though the lactation consultant and nurses all told me I was doing it correctly. But I was determined to experience that bond that I'd read about. Come to find out, it wasn't me, it was my dear hungry child! She was such a good eater that the first milk (colostrum) just wasn't enough for her. When my milk finally came in, she could switch from her crazed sucking to simply drinking. But then, she was eating soooo frequently I felt like the drive thru window at Dairy Queens. Eat, sleep. Eat, sleep. Where was this "bond" from nursing that people spoke of???

It wasn't until probably about 6 weeks that she really started recognizing my face as well as my voice. And those first smiles. Oh. My. Gosh. Total utter meltdown. Ever since then, I never cared what time she woke up in the morning. I wanted to be the first face she saw. Just so that I could get that first smile of the day. And then we'd sit down and have our Mommy-Daughter time. She'd eat, I'd talk. We'd have a good old time. For 7 months this has been going on. I'm so sad that she will never remember those times. But for me, it has forever changed my life.

Happy birthday my sweet girl.