JANUARY
Little Miss Kielle turned 3! Her birthday comes right on the heels of Christmas so I need to make sure that I plan for her birthday each year prior to December 1st. I was very overwhelmed this year with her birthday so I threw together a small gathering. Just like her momma Kielle loves crafts, so we had a small crafts party!
We started off by painting canvases with the first letter of each friend's name. I used painter's tape on the canvas and the kiddos painted freely. At the end of the party the tape was removed to reveal a white letter. These were the "goodie bag" treat for the kiddos.
Each of the canvases were "signed" on the back with Kielle's hand print and a note that said "Thanks for coming to my party."
Next we moved on to creating a winter scene mural. I had scooped up some DIY foam snowmen kits from Michaels for $.49 each during the after Christmas sale and they were perfect for our snowbank picture. In addition to the snowmen, there was a bowl full of cotton balls that the kids could glue onto the mural as clouds.
Lastly, I cut about 20 snowflakes from the card stock from the family Christmas cards that we had gotten.What's the motto!?! reduce, reuse, recycle... The Mosleys are all for it!
Here's our finished product!
I almost forgot, you know Kielle had to get her special birthday balloon :-)
All in all it was a great way to bring in year #3 :-)
FEBRUARY
Though we loved our cozy 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse, we were BURSTING at the seams. Sooooo... *cue The Jeffersons music* The Mosleys are moving on up! hahahahah We got a new house. YAY!
It was totally random. One day the hubby came home and said we need a new house - as if I didn't know this, but sometimes you just let the man stumble upon the obvious. hahahaha
Now as background info - I have been saying that we were looking for houses for at least the last two years. Yet, low and behold, we were still in the townhouse - Cozy, but cramped. hahahaha. During my two year search, I researched schools and based on the Greatschools.org info and the Cobb County test scores, I narrowed down which elementary schools I wanted the kiddos to attend - Nickajack, Teasley, or King Springs. I had given myself an internal deadline of summer 2015 because I thought, "We need to be settled in a new house before Khyri starts 1st grade." I really wanted to be settled before Kidergarten, but 1st grade was the ultimate drop dead date. So imagine my surprise when the hubs comes home all ready to rock and roll with a new house.
When I tell you I JUMPED on finding a house ASAP. I didn't want the tides to change. If he wants a new house, then dangit Imma find one - FAST! The first thing I needed to do was narrow down what school I really wanted to focus on getting into, three choices made my search too wide. I decided on King Springs and moved forward. I started on zillow.com on Saturday and found three houses I considered "ok". We didn't have a realtor, but there are realtors listed on zillow so I just contacted them to see the homes. The first house I saw was nice, but the master bedroom was on the first floor. I didn't really like that. I liked the realtor a lot though and she offered to show me more properties. The problem, though, was that she also had a 4 years old son and was looking for a home in the King Springs area. Can you say conflict of interest. So I just contacted another home on my list and went with that listing agent.
The second home I saw, I gotta admit, did not grab me from the photos. But, it was in the right school district and it was a good price. I scheduled a viewing and instantly fell in love. I mean instantly! In addition to the school district, I wanted an home built pre 2000 and I also did not want the double height entryway that a lot of the newer homes have, the munchkins are loud and a double height space would only amplify that. This house had everything I wanted - more importantly everything I needed. The backyard is HUGE and fenced in. And knowing that my kiddos love going outside, this is the biggest perk. I called the hubby and told him he had to come see this house; it was Tuesday. He liked the house too and we put in an offer that Thursday. We had a response on Friday that our offer had been accepted. YUP! that fast. We found a house in one week - literally.
The house has 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. It doesn't have granite countertops or hardwood floors, which are the standards for new homes now, but its perfect for us. These kids can't keep granite clean. These kids are gonna mess up the carpet. These kids are gonna scratch the cabinet doors and stuff. And I'm ok with that - they're kids. I figure we can do a major overhaul when everyone is over 8 years old. ahahhahaha
And now... here are the pics :-)
The beginning of the year also was when there was a big uptick in my businesses - Konstrux Design, marketing services (websites, brochures, programs, and souvenir journals) and DaisyBloom : a paper boutique (sorority stationery). I guess it took 2 good years for word of mouth to actually work, but I garnered 6 projects all due by June of 2014. I am very excited to be expanding my client base and using my creative skills!
Journals:
DaisyBloom Cards: www.etsy.com/shop/cardsbydaisybloom
These cards are seriously an extension of my passion for my sorority. I love the camaraderie and support that I have received from my beloved sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. I have been a member of this wonderful organization for *gasp* 15 years! I pledged in the Fall of 1998 at Epsilon Chapter in Boston, Massachusetts and now I belong to Tau Epsilon Omega chapter in East Point, Georgia. I love community service. I love being around influential successful black women. I love my sorority.
I decided to start a line of greeting cards that promote sisterhood. My Sorors are spread out across the globe and my line of cards reminds each Soror of their commitment to the organization and also strengthens the special bond that we all have as Sorors - no matter how far apart we are.
I'm super excited that I am making money being creative. I'm expanding on my passion and I feel really good about it! I've been trying to grow these businesses so that I can have a flexible work schedule. One thing that I plan to work on this year is strengthening my business/mentee relationship with one of my besties who has multiple businesses *shout out to Nia!*. Now that it looks like the graphic design/marketing business can be a viable career for me I need to make sure I structure the businesses correctly for sustainability and growth. I've been doing a few vending events, but I really need to step up my online marketing. I guess I will finally be joining the facebook, instagram, and twitter force :-) So keep an eye out for me soon!
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