Baby Shower Giveaway #1

Baby Shower Extravaganza Begins!!!!

If you have no idea what I am talking about check yesterday's blog post HERE.

Now for the goods....

My most favorite size and shaped burp cloths! These are hand made by myself. I have never been a fan of the typical baby stuff....animals on everything, cuddly cartoon animals on everything, and Winnie the Pooh. These are flannel on both sides and a little thinner making them perfect for those babies that don't puke a ton. This was my most favorite style of burp cloth last time.

 Monster trucks on one side and a vibrant green on the other!?!? Hello, all boy here! No teddy bears and puppy dogs on these!  You'll get 4 burp cloths for your little man or to share with someone else.

Here's how to enter!

1 entry for telling me your favorite type of burp cloth

1 entry for following this blog

1 entry for following my fan page

want a few extra entries?

1 entry for posting this giveaway on your facebook;  please either tag Inner Hooker or leave a link back here

1 entry for posting this giveaway on your blog; please leave a link to your blog post

That's a total of 5 chances to win!

Don't forget to leave a separate comment for each entry!

Contest closes at 11:59pm (central) on October 2nd (Saturday) 2 winners will be announced on October 3rd!

edited:  only 1 winner will be chosen.  I am so sorry this line slipped through!  Originally I had the boy and girl cloths in the same giveaway.  I am really sorry!

 

I just may be doing something similar in a day or two for those little princesses out there...hint, hint!

Tomorrow is the kick off!

I am seriously so excited to start this! It's like a party for me but for you....and me ;) Over the next 6-8 weeks I'll be giving away items mostly geared towards newborns, babies, new (or new again) moms, photographers, and such. Think of it as an online baby shower!

What sparked this plan??? My 3rd baby is due November 19 making my 2 littlest only 17 months apart. Not really needing a baby shower I did want to motivate myself to make a few things for this little. Easier said than done especially with a 15 month old, busy almost 12 year old, husband, business and oh yeah...we aren't finding out the sex. Never fear I did whip up a few things and not only that...I whipped up an extra of everything for you! I also have a few amazing sponsors that will be offering their custom made goods! There will also be a few store bought items that I can't live without and you shouldn't either!

In case you non breeders were feeling left out...You don't have to be pregnant to enter or win!! Perhaps you have upcoming baby showers?? Maybe holiday gifts? Friends babies or grandkids even??  I am sure you will find a use for the prize and maybe even a little shopping with our sponsors!

Check back tomorrow morning for the first giveaway! 

I am gone again...ok not really just hanging out at From An Igloo today!

I know I just hosted one but I am over at From An Igloo today with another chance to win a few patterns! Sorry for the back to back contests, the holidays are approaching and bloggers schedules are getting full so I am taking what I can get!

Christine is super nice and I sort of have a funny experience with her...well more so with her blog. I have followed her blog for quite some time and fell in love with these little knit pants she shows you how to make yourself. Well, I never got around to making them…shocking I know! Either way, one morning I sit down to read my favorite blogs, coffee in hand and I almost die when I open her blog to see her talking about ME!!!! She just so happened to purchase my teddy bear beanie pattern, made it and then shared on her blog! I never would have known had I not already followed her! Now isn’t that cool!?!?

Welcome, welcome, welcome to everyone stopping by from, From An Igloo…that’s a mouthful!

I have been a bit of a slacker around here, but I hope you’ll peak around and stay with me for a bit! I have some great things coming up in the next few weeks!

To all my old faithfuls, if you aren’t on my Hooker facebook page I thought I’d let you know that I released the ribbed pumpkin beanie! I don’t have great pictures yet, but didn’t want to hold out on you any longer! Get yours now!  You can get it on Etsy, ArtFire or Ravelry!  

Just in time for the fall weather and of course Halloween!

Alright….head over to From An Igloo for your chance to win!

Winners Announced...didn't win? It's ok there is a little deal for ya'!

I promised on my facebook that if we hit 500 entries in the Craftaholics Anonymous Giveaway that I would give a free pattern to 3 more winners!  Contest closes tonight at 11:59p and winners will be announced tomorrow.

You will need to head over to the Inner Hooker facebook page to enter!  The winners have been posted on CA so head over and see if it was you!  If it wasn't you aren't completely out of luck... As a thank you I'll do a buy 1 get 1 free on patterns today!!! (3.99 and under, 1 per person please and today ONLY until 11:59p) don't purchase both patterns, just leave your second choice in the notes to seller!

Thank you to Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous for hosting us and thank you to all of you that participated!  Without you Inner Hooker wouldn't exist!  All my love!

I'm at Craftaholics Anonymous today!!!

Hi and welcome to The Oxford Family.

If you are hopping over from Craftaholics Anonymous WELCOME!!! I am so excited to be hosting a giveaway especially on a blog I love so much! Linda is probably the nicest lady in blog world! I hope you'll stick around here for awhile, I have a lot of fun stuff coming in the next few weeks!

If you are already a follower....SURPRISE...I am over at Craftaholics Anonymous today! Head over and check out how you can win 3 free patterns! I have quite a few new women's patterns as well as photography props, and of course children's hats!

Just a little taste of what we have in store

Animal hats paired up with cozy warm clothes and/or a tutu make a great Halloween costume!

Check out Sawyer the skunk last year; black sweats, black turtleneck and a white feather boa glued or pinned to the back and tada!  A comfy, cozy and totally affordable costume.  Sorry for the crappy iPic, you get the idea :)  If only my great photographer Ciara lived with me....ahhh that'd be great!

Head over to CA for your chance to win! Good Luck!

Don't want to wait??? Go to Inner Hooker and pick up a new pattern now! Also, don't forget to join us on Facebook where there is always something going on!

Ummm....hello??? What are you still doing here??

Not Me

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Ahhh the joy of always having Not Me's to supply....

I did not go to Ikea on Saturday...with a 15 month old...bad plan. He did not scream at least half the time we were there. We were there for over 2 hours. I did not want to crawl in the cart and cry with him.

My house is not a total scum hole. I have not been saying I will clean my bathroom tomorrow....for months. Yes, I know that is gross! It's just the one bathroom that doesn't seem to get cleaned. Maybe I should do it first?

I do not STILL have green nail polish on my thumb...it is not a joke at this point.

I needed $200 to reach my shiny new laptop goal....until Pointe shoes and Ikea. Now I need $999.99 plus tax. Oohh so pretty! 

You will be mine!  Before November, you will be mine!  Anyone want to buy my kidney??

I totally organized my vacation pictures I talked about last week....Not :(

Now, what didn't you do all week?

30 weeks

30 weeks!!

Seriously...3/4 of the way done....ALREADY!

I am definitely feeling pregnant more often than not lately. I still don't feel really uncomfortable like I did with Sawyer. Not sure if that is still to come or if I will escape some of it this time! Hoping to escape it of course ;) I am starting to get very frustrated/overwhelmed with the CONSTANT heartburn I have, I am more tired and my hips/pelvis/lower back area are really uncomfy but other than that not much to complain about!

Here's what Baby O is up to:

Big news for baby's brain this week: It's starting to wrinkle and fold and looks like something that grew in the back of your fridge. This is due to the rapid growth of your little genius's brain cells. Other highlights this week:

Fingernails and toenails are finally finished—causing his or her parents great fear and anguish the first time they try to cut those little daggers (it gets easier, we promise)! Plus, the bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production now. Trust us, this is a good thing.

Baby is starting to shed his lanugo—the downy hair that was covering his skin. Now that he's chubbier and better able to regulate his body temp, he doesn't need to sport a fur coat 24/7.

"I spy an umbilical cord and the inside of my mom's uterus!" When your baby is awake, his eyes are now wide open and he's whittling away the hours looking around, checking out his rather dark, limited environs.

Your baby hasn't gained much weight or height this week, as most of his energy's been channeled to the brain. He weighs about 3 pounds and is approximately 15.5 inches long.

Things I Like Thursday

I am chaos.  My house and usually anything going on in it, is sort of well...chaotic.  I forget about appointments until last minute along with most other things I have going on.  Since starting Inner Hooker, ok well in the last few weeks I have at least organized my business side of life...strictly out of neccessity!  I know my home would run much smoother and stay much cleaner if everything had it's place and if I stayed on top of it better.  I have unfortunately passed this procrastinating lifestyle onto my daughter.  She never gives me school papers and is terrible about telling me "we have to have XXXX tomorrow for school"  at 10pm the night before. 

I  have always wanted a central area. A place where everyone's stuff goes so school papers actually get to me, so bills never get tossed on a table or counter and lost forever, a place to distribute chores! Oh wait, my child doesn't really do chores! I really should have instilled this earlier. These poor little babies are getting a momma that has already ruined one child and learned many lessons of what not to do! D'Lea Designs shares her family's Command Central and tells you how to make one for yourself!

As much as I love D'Lea's I do realize it is probably more organized than myself or my family ever will be. Kara shares her simple mail/key/purse drop area. I love this! So simple and so cute! I am terrible about leaving my keys on the front table, kitchen table, in the diaper bag, on the counter, etc...I never put them in the same place. I think the fact that I come in 2 different doors has a little bit of the blame but mostly it's just me. I need to start putting stuff in it's place! Now, just to make one of these! Head over to Kara's Korner to see how!

and since we are sort of on house type stuff....how about a Halloween wreath? I really don't care for Halloween...or decorating for holidays months in advance but if you are a procrastinator like me busy you may want to make this in the next few weeks so you are ready for October! Or you can be like Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous and put it up in August ;)

Head over to CA for the tutorial.

Yep...these are the things I like...today anyways ;)

Wanna Make it Wednesday

Ahhh...so many Wanna Make It's!  I actually pushed a few off for next week so you don't get bored and bail out halfway through this post!

I am in love. I seriously have been thinking of these hats since I saw them last week! I Am Momma Hear Me Roar posted a tutorial for the boys! Yes, blog world is dominated my girl projects so when I see a cute boy thing I get really excited! I want a boy that will wear them! Oh and a stack of shirts to use to make them. I thought for sure about making them for my nephew but Sawyer's shirts would be too small. Hmmm....Goodwill maybe?

Anyways, go make a few of these and tell me all about it so I can be jealous and have a pity party ;)

Another ADORABLE pattern from Cheri of I Am Momma but it's over at Moda Bake Shop.  I have already told my mother that if baby O is a girl she will be making these for her!  I can sew basic stuff but this....this might be above my skills!

So cute right?!?!  The huge ric rac, the knotted straps...the ruffled leggings.  Love, love, LOVE it!  Head over to Moda for the tute!

Next up a tasty little treat for you. Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes. Best Part (to me anyways): everything came from a box! Ahhh hells yes! I attempted 2 from scratch recipes last winter and both sucked! Give me box brownies any day! Mmmm....Ghirardelli Double Fudge..... ok back to lemon, oh how I love lemon. I want these. I need these. Please make them for me :) You can get the how to for these little lovelies at Life With Liane.

and last but not least....Dana over at Made shares another great tutorial/pattern. The Perfect Diaper Cover. These are too cute and great for photographers to make a slew of!

A whole lot of sewing link ups today!  Maybe I sign I need to bake some muffins and sit at the machine this weekend??

Now, what do you want to make?

Not Me

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I still do not have 3 fingernails painted that I confessed to last week. A normal person would have gotten up after writing that post and taken the nail color off! Especially when it is hot pink, lavender and neon green!

I did not forget to feed my little man dinner last night. Well, not really forget but didn't realize how late it was. He did nap until 5:30 which totally threw me off!

I have not stayed up until at least 1am every night for the last week. My husband is not feeling neglected these days. Sorry love, I'll be back really soon....I promise!

I am not still behind on blogging my personal stuff, including but not limited to our vacation where I got a ton of cute pictures and videos!

I did not record my sweet son falling asleep while eating. Nope, not me. A nice mom would have immediately cleaned him up and put him to bed...not ran for the camera to record the moment.

PS While waiting 12 years for that video to upload to YouTube I did manage to organize a memory cards worth of pictures!  Maybe I'll get vacation posted before next Monday!  Yeah probably Not Me :)

Back to School Contest Winners

Back To School Contest is OVER!

We had over 20 pictures, lots of new fans and even more votes!

Thr First Prize winner is....

Austin with 53 votes

First Prize: the brand new shiny Craft Hope book and 3 patterns of your choice

Second Place Winner is....

Elisabeth and her flashback photo (one of my faves by the way) with 32 votes
Second Prize:  3 patterns of your choice

Third Place Winner is....

KISS fan Annsleigh with 28 votes

Third Prize:  2 patterns of your choice

and because I can I picked my most favorite (which was honestly really hard) but "First Day Jitters" just steals it for me!  That look of uncertainty is what I am pretty sure most kids feel!  Love it!  First Day Jitters email me which pattern you'd like most and it's yours!


Thank you to everyone that participated!! 
Please email me at innerhooker@yahoo.com to coordinate your prizes!

29 weeks

I had a quick and easy doctor appointment on Tuesday.  I gained 5 pounds last month!  YES FIVE IN ONE MONTH!  That brings my total to 9 so overall not too shabby.  I am really hoping to stay close to 20 total.  Baby O's heartrate was 140 and depending on who you ask about the old wive's tales no one seems to agree on the same answer ;)  However....the medical assistant Jen almost slipped and told me!!!  Here's our convo:

Jen:  So this is really the last one?

Me:  Yeah, husband says no more!

Jen:  Really?

Me:  yep.  I guess 3 is enough!  He was good stopping after the last one.

HERE IT COMES...ARE YOU READY???

Jen:  You think he'd want to try for a....

or

Jen:  You think he'd want to try for another...

I can't remember if she said "a" or "another"!!!!  Either word really leads me to believe 2 different things!  Try for "a" girl or try for "another" most likely means boy to me but could really mean either.  Needless to say I can't remember because I started to panic and she started to scream and freak out that she almost slipped! 

I am so excited to still not know but it kills me when someone else (JEN!) does know!  I could never be those people were one of the parents knows and the other doesn't!  I would be tortured and HAVE to find out!

Here's what baby O is up to

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day. By 29 weeks pregnant, your baby has now entered the third trimester. It won't be long before you get to meet your little boy or girl! From 29 weeks and beyond, you will experience rapid weight gain. Your baby's muscles and lungs will continue to develop and mature in the weeks ahead. Your baby's brain is also developing and maturing, with billions of neurons forming daily. Your baby requires more nutrition than ever from 29 weeks pregnant and beyond, so it is important that you do everything possible to eat well and get plenty of sleep during this important developmental period!

Your uterus is now about 3 to 4inches above your belly button. Your weight gain may be as high as 25 to 26 pounds by pregnancy week 29. You will definitely look and feel pregnant for the remainder of your pregnancy!

Your baby's very active now. Your healthcare provider may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let your provider know if you ever notice that your baby is becoming less active. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition.