Extreme Fatigue

HOLY MOLY, I AM SO RIDICULOUSLY TIRED!!  It's insane.  Walking from my car to my front door completely wipes me out.  No, really...I feel like I need a 2 hour nap after going anywhere these days.  It's both mind-blowing and frustrating, and the most disturbing part for me is that I have ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL over the situation.  Going to bed earlier doesn't fix it.  Resting for an entire day doesn't fix it.  Long baths, elevated legs, cool temperatures in the house...nope, nope, and nope.  Nothing fixes this, and the logical part of my brain understands that this is my life from now until the twins are born.  However, the impatient, irrational, annoying part of my brain just wants to feel NORMAL again.  Not amazing.  Not even great.  Just NORMAL.  I want to be able to do the dishes without having to stop a minute and a half into the task for fear of contractions starting up.  I want to be a fun mom that takes my boys to the library or the pool or even for a walk around the block.  Heck, at this point I'd even settle for being able to lay down flat on my back without wondering if the pressure is going to make me black out!  But, it is what it is, and I know that it will all be worth it in the end.

Ok, now that my little pity party is over, can I just say that I have the MOST WONDERFUL MOM in the world?  And, yeah...Bryan (my step-dad) is a keeper, too.  I'd be completely lost without them.  Seriously.  My mom has come in and taken over and been the "fun mom" that I can't be this summer.  As I type, she is at the pool with my two little monkeys giving them the love and attention and FUN that I can't.  Ilaiasi asked me yesterday, "Mom...do you think I could do SOMETHING tomorrow?  Because, like, I'm pretty much a COUCH POTATO.  Did you notice that?"  AAHHH...knife to the heart.  He's exactly right.  I'm turning my kid into a couch potato.  So, THANK YOU MOM AND BRYAN for stepping up and giving my kids the summer they deserve.  I love and appreciate you guys so much!

The upside of this sedentary life is that I have all the time in the world to sit and come up with ideas for my Etsy shop.  I've thought of some pretty interesting jewelry ideas, if I do say so myself, but I haven't tried them all out yet, so we'll see if they actually look like I envision them once they've been made.  I did make a bracelet this morning in the wee hours before dawn when I couldn't go back to sleep after Finau left for work at 3:00 a.m.:

What do you think?  I kind of like it, and figured I need to remind myself of all the LOVE I have in my life...especially when I start thinking I should pout about all of the things I can't do right now.  At the end of the day, I'm pretty lucky.  Maybe my next bracelet will say "Lucky."

I also added a few new items to the shop today.  I've been in a bracelet mood, I guess, because 2 of the 3 additions are bracelets.  Again, my Etsy Shop can be found at www.etsy.com/shop/thepinkpersimmon:

This is a SUNNY SWIRL bracelet with funky square glass beads.  It's fun and bright and makes me happy.

Here's another bracelet.  The stones are wrapped with silver colored wire and put together with swirly wire accents.

And, finally, this is a little pendant necklace made of copper wire wrapped around a riolite faceted stone on two brown cords.  The wire has been hand-hammered and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Oh! Before I sign off, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU one more time to all those who participated in the Giveaway this past week.  It was a lot of fun for me, and I think the next one will be even better!

AND THE WINNER IS....

CONGRATULATIONS KELLI!!  You are the winner of the FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY and have won your chosen prize -- the turquoise chip dangle earrings!  Thank you so much to all who participated.  Now that I've kind of gotten the hang of it, I'm excited to do this again soon, so be sure to check back often.  As a thank you to all who entered, I am making a special coupon that you can use for 15% off your entire order if you purchase anything in the next 10 days.  Email me at kalaniat@aol.com for the coupon code.  Thanks again, all, and have a fantastic Friday night!

THE FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY CLOSES AT NOON (CST)!!

It's 9:50 here in Spring, Texas, which means there are just two hours left to enter The Pink Persimmon's FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!! Entries must be received by noon Central Standard Time, so act now if you want to win! Winner will be announced before 6:00 p.m. today. Good luck to all who entered!!

LAST DAY TO ENTER THE PINK PERSIMMON'S FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!

Hello all,
This is just a reminder that The Pink Persimmon's First Ever Giveaway ends tomorrow, so if you still want to enter, now is the time! Go to the Giveaway Details post and follow the directions found there to enter. Good luck to all who have entered!

Highs and Lows...

This has been an interesting weekend, filled with many gigantic highs and a few semi-big lows.  One of my friends recently shared a quote that seemed to fit my situation exactly:

A woman commented that her life seemed like a rollercoaster ride -- wonderfully high one minute, only to plummet to a desperate low the next.  She expressed her desire to have her life "even out" into a more flat pattern, and her friend, a nurse, told her, "Life is like a heartbeat.  The highs and lows are what keep you alive.  The real time to worry is when you flatline."

I sure hope this is true, because it seems like my highs and lows are inevitably paired.  So, maybe I really just need to focus on being grateful that I'm alive and not flatlining!

Highs this weekend included:

• My wonderful, amazing, super duper fun baby shower for the twins!  We had a great turnout, and it was so nice to just relax and enjoy the company of my friends and family.  The highlight of the day for me was a rousing dance routine to Justin Bieber's "Baby" by my two sweet nieces, Evie June and Ellie Lou, with a cameo by my little monkey Ilaiasi!
• A surprise visit from The Great E-I-E-I-O and my marvelous Mom to help me clean out and organize my craft room (you'll probably remember from former posts that I refer to this room as "The Abyss."  It's not QUITE done, but you can now see the majority of the floor, most of the craft supplies are in the appropriate bins, heavy and bulky items have been moved to the closet shelves, and I don't feel claustrophobic just walking into the room anymore!)  In particular, I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Great E-I-E-I-O scream with wild abandon and attempt to make a somewhat quick getaway when a gigantic tree roach (who no doubt escaped from the heat of the garage to the coolness of our home during one of our laundry excursions, as our washer and dryer are in the garage!) charged her as if leading the cavalry to battle.  Trust me, it was HILARIOUS!
• Ovaka is no longer running a fever.  This is a GREAT blessing!  I felt so sorry for my poor little runt.  He had an upper respiratory infection and viral tonsillitis, and was super pathetic and droopy for almost a week.  He is back to his giggly, curious, obstinate self, much to his mother's relief!

And a brief mention of the lows:

• Missing church on Sunday...various reasons, none of them good.
• Finau working insane hours...it happens every summer, and I know it's coming before it actually happens, but it always stinks -- more so when you have a sick fat baby and a recommendation from your doctor not to lift anything heavy.
• Less-than-stellar participation for the first giveaway.  I contemplated whether to add this or not, but, as I stated in my "about me" information on the side panel of my blog, I am documenting both the ups and downs of this little venture, and I think it would be remiss of me to sugar coat it.  So, yeah, I'm a little disappointed by the lack of interest.  I don't really know what I expected, but I'll be honest and say that three participants is not really what I envisioned.  However, there are still 4 and a half days left in the giveaway, so I suppose it's possible that we'll have a big surge of entries.  If not, better chances for the three who did enter, huh?  See...there's always an up side! 

Anywhooo...enough with the lows already!  Let's get back in the smiley mood, shall we?  I'll leave you with my favorite joke.  I think I found it on the wrapper of a Laffy Taffy many, many moons ago:

Q: What's brown and sticky?

(These earrings are available in my Etsy Shop, and are just a little
distraction in case you want to take a guess at the joke's answer before seeing it!)

A: A STICK!

Hehehe...I don't know why, but that one cracks me up every time.  Ok...I think that's about it for today.  Hope everybody has a terrific Tuesday!  If you haven't entered the Giveaway yet...it's not too late (Make sure to comment on the Giveaway thread, not this one)!!  ;)

THE PINK PERSIMMON'S FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!

Ok, people, the day has come! It's time for our first ever GIVEAWAY! The prize is any one item currently available in my Etsy shop, and the contest will run from today, Friday, July 15th, through next Friday, July 22nd.
Entry rules are as follows:
1. To enter, visit my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/thepinkpersimmon and choose the item that you would like me to send you if you win. Note the item's name, as you will need it for step 2.
2. Come back to my blog and leave a comment on THIS post telling me which item you chose and why (doesn't have to be a long explanation -- a sentence or two will suffice.)
3. You can enter one time each day using these steps.
BONUS ENTRIES:
You can also earn bonus entries by doing the following:
1. Subscribe to my blog for TWO bonus entries! (If you've already subscribed, your entries are automatic...just be sure to go to my Etsy shop and pick out an item in case you win!)
2. Link this post to your facebook for THREE bonus entries! Be sure to leave me a comment letting me know you did this so that I can be sure to give you your entries. (To link to your facebook, just click on the facebook icon at the end of this post.)
3. Refer a friend for FIVE bonus entries! If you refer a friend who participates in the Giveaway, have him/her let me know in the comment that they were referred by you and I will give you FIVE additional entries.
GOOD LUCK, and THANK YOU in advance for helping to make the FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY a success!!!

Exciting Times in Labor & Delivery and GIVEAWAY UPDATE!!

So, the past few days have been, well...eventful. Ovaka woke up with a fever on Tuesday. Took him to the doctor, and the tiny runt has an upper respiratory infection. He was truly a pathetic sight to behold all day Tuesday: droopy, lethargic, whiny, and the only thing that seemed to make him feel better was having me hold him. So, hold him I did. Possibly a mistake, since around 8:00 Tuesday night I started having contractions. Lovely. By 9:15 or so, it became disconcerting enough that I had my mom run me to the hospital "just in case." Luckily, it looks like I had just overdone it a little by lugging around my fatso piggy all day long, so after a few hours of monitoring I was sent home, once again on modified bedrest. Maybe my priorities are a bit out of whack (let's chalk it up to these crazy pregnancy hormones) but aside from the obvious distress of worrying about having the twins early, the second biggest concern of mine was, "oh my gosh...I'm gonna be SUPER MAD if I miss my baby shower this weekend!" Hahaha...yeah, good thing I have my priorities in order. It wasn't until I got home and relaxed that I started thinking about all of the other things I should be worrying about. Namely, what the heck would I do about my two sweet boys if I get put on strict bedrest or hospital bedrest? Who would care for them? Who's gonna hold my little sicky while he's recuperating? Also, how am I going to get everything ready for the twins arrival if my bedrest continues or becomes more restrictive? Sheesh...I'm so glad my attendance at the baby shower wasn't jeopardized because CLEARLY I have nothing more pressing to worry about, huh? Anyway...I'm doing much better, have a doctor's appointment AND ultrasound today, and things are looking up!
So, with all of the excitement of the past few days, I haven't been able to get on the computer to remind everyone about tomorrow's FIRST EVER PINK PERSIMMON GIVEAWAY! I've decided to do something a little different: rather than giving away a specific piece of jewelry, I'm going to let the winner choose any one item currently listed in my Etsy shop! I figure, hey, it's the FIRST EVER PINK PERSIMMON GIVEAWAY -- might as well go big and give the winner exactly what he/she wants, right? And, yes, I said HE or SHE: Guys, this is a great opportunity for you to surprise your special someone, get a head start on your Christmas shopping, or indulge your feminine side if that's how you roll (no judgement here!), so if there are any manly men reading this blog, be sure to enter to win tomorrow! I'll have all of the details up early tomorrow morning, so be sure to check back in the morning and help me make this first fun giveaway a success!

Boundless Blessings

Today I am feeling incredibly, immeasurably grateful and unfathomably optimistic.  I have the most wonderful friends and the most amazing family, and lately I have been blessed in ways that I couldn't have ever imagined.

This weekend, I met up with one of my dear old friends that I played sports with in ELEMENTARY and MIDDLE school.  Yes, we've known each other a LONG time!  She is the mother of adoreable 5 year old twin boys, and graciously gave me her boys' double stroller, infant carseats, and a double jogging stroller.  I'm sure she has no idea what a HUGE blessing this is for my little family, even though I tried to convey my gratitude.  We've been so, so, SO blessed this past year, but very few of these blessings have been financial ones, as we've doubled our family and cut our income in half.  These strollers and carseats are some "big ticket" items that would have required us to really save up right until the girls come, and I am just so incredibly appreciative of her generosity.  I definitely feel like the Lord has had a hand in every experience we've had lately, and in an unexpected twist of fate, this childhood friend of mine is a very accomplished jewelry maker who has been doing this for far longer than I, and who is interested in getting together with me to "talk shop" so to speak.  I am SUPER excited about this, as she is my first real-life friend who shares this interest with me.  We even talked about possibly going to some jewelry making classes together soon.  How fun is that?  So, good things happening in both my personal and professional life that came from just an hour-long visit with an old friend I hadn't seen in years.  Blessings, blessings, blessings!

This weekend my Mom and The Great E-I-E-I-O are also throwing me a baby shower for the twins, and I am beyond excited about it.  I think it will be so much fun to get together with a bunch of people that I love and who love me and my kids to celebrate the upcoming birth of the twins.  Amusingly, the theme of this little shindig is "She's about to POP!" and it is a completely accurate assessment of my current state.  Just for your personal amusement, I've decided to include a picture of my gigantic, uncomfortable, nearly-popping self.  Seriously...TEN MORE WEEKS??  Holy moly, this is going to get interesting! 

Feel free to laugh............you better believe I'd be laughing if it was you!  :)

And, one final note: this Friday will be The Pink Persimmon's FIRST EVER GIVEAWAY!  You will need to be able to add a comment to my blog to receive an entry, so if you are interested in participating, please try to add a comment some time before Friday to be sure you are able to.  I *think* I fixed all of the comment glitches, but if you're still having trouble, I'd like to know about it so that I can keep working on the problem.  Remember, even if you don't have a blog, you can add a comment using the "anonymous" option.  If you try and you're not able to add a comment, please either leave me a facebook message or email me at kalaniat@aol.com.  Yep...I think that's about it for today.  Hope everyone's day is fantastic!

P.S. I'm thinking about making a set similar to the items below for the giveaway.  Thoughts???

www.etsy.com/shop/thepinkpersimmon

Yay!  I made myself some business cards on VistaPrint tonight.  I don't know what it is about business cards, but they always make me happy, happy, HAPPY!  I really like the way they turned out...hopefully I'll still like them when they are actually received.  And how do you like my logo?  Not too bad for making it myself, right?  What do you think???

Ten Weeks!

Before I begin, here are a few previews of what's to come this week in my Etsy shop:

 Finally, I've started using my sterling silver wire!  These earrings are made with sterling silver, and although you can't really tell from the picture, the riolite stones are cut with really pretty facets on both sides that make them really shine in the light.

 This is my new favorite bracelet to make.  It's made from interlocking swirls with semi precious purple fire agate stones.  I'm calling this line the SUNNY SWIRL line.  Obviously, it's named after the Great E-I-E-I-O.

Here's another variation of the SUNNY SWIRL bracelet.  This one is made with aged bronze-colored wire and circular shell beads.  Have I mentioned that I like this particular bracelet?


Well, if I hadn't mentioned it before, this last piece should definitely tip you off...I really like this bracelet.  Here's the SUNNY SWIRL again.  This time it features small Czech glass beads on the aged bronze-colored wire.  All of these pieces will be up on the Etsy site either tonight or tomorrow, so be looking for them!

www.etsy.com/shop/thepinkpersimmon




Now...you're probably wondering what the title of my post has to do with anything, right?  Well, it has to do with my two little twins that are soon to arrive.  I went to the doctor on Friday, and was told that at 26 and 1/2 weeks, I am already measuring "full term" for a normal (singleton) pregnancy. Ah. This would definitely explain why I'm so VERY SUPER comfortable right now. And, yes, although I realize that it is sometimes hard to decipher "tone" in the written word, you can definitely assume that my voice is absolutely DRIPPING with sarcasm. I am completely miserable and insanely, ridiculously hot ALL THE TIME! It's awesome.  Anyway, my doctor ALSO told me that he will be "pleased if I make it for another 10 weeks."  What tha...TEN WEEKS?  So, that moves my due date up once again from September 27th to September 9th!  Holy moly!  Don't get me wrong...so long as these two are healthy, I'm all for them coming sooner rather than later.  However, as I started seriously contemplating the HUGE life changes having twins will bring, ten weeks just doesn't really seem all that far away.  And then I started thinking about my fun little Etsy shop and my blog and my newly discovered love of all things WhoopDWhoop, and mild panic began to set in.  I mean, how am I going to keep up with all of my fun stuff with three kids under one year old who need to be fed...changed...loved...fed again...changed again...yeah, you see where I'm going with this.  There is so much I want to get done before the girls get here, and I realized that I have some pretty ambitious aspirations.  Sheesh...I've got some SERIOUS work to do in the next 9 1/2 weeks or so, so I've got to get after it!!

So...my ambitious plans include:

1. Making and posting 100 items for my Etsy store.  I figure since I already have 20 up, and probably 10 more that I've made and photographed but haven't put up in my store yet, that's about 7 pieces a week.  I know I can make these with no problem; however, my wonderful Aunt Sue has been taking pictures for me free of charge, and I know it's super time consuming, so I may have to figure out how to photograph them myself since I don't want her entire summer break to be taken up with helping me with all my projects!
2. I want to blog more frequently.  Surprisingly, I am enjoying the whole blogging process almost as much as my Etsy experience!  Who knew how theraputic it was putting your random thoughts down and reading them?  I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to do this nearly as often once the twins arrive, so I want to blog as much as I can while I'm still able.
3. I also want to try one of these fun giveaways I keep seeing so much of.  I'm thinking maybe next week.  I've looked into all of the "how to's" and "what to avoid's" and whatnot, and I feel pretty good about trying it.  But, once again, here I am -- stuck in Group 3, worried about all of the things that "might" go wrong and letting it paralyze me into doing nothing.  Hey, at least now I recognize it when I start doing this, right?  I think that's progress.  Ok, you're right.  I am definitely still rationalizing.  That's it...I'm making a committment.  You heard it here first: The Pink Persimmon will be having our first giveaway next week!  There.  Are you happy now??

So, there are three of my goals for the next 10 weeks.  HOLY MOLY, MY NUMBER OF CHILDREN IS GOING TO DOUBLE IN TEN WEEKS!!  Whew, glad I got that freakout out of the way...

Ok...one more thing.  I just have to share this picture of my two sweet little monkey sons.  Here they are watching t.v. together and just enjoying eachother's company.  I am so lucky to have these amazing little boys in my life!!