Ruffle Scarf Giveaway!

I have found a supplier for many hand-made items and trinkets. The items range from small ornaments and primitives to scarves. I am considering placing a large order due to the available pricing. I will be able to offer the products at the best available prices and special orders can be made.

I have attached a new page simply titled "Shop" at the top of the screen. Please visit the "Shop" to check out the ruffle scarf or you can click here. These scarves are very popular and fashionable. They are great accessories for upscale attire or casual apparel.

Do you currently own a ruffle scarf? How many compliments have you received on your scarf? Would you like to increase your variety?

I am accepting pre-orders for $7.99 plus $2.49 for shipping.

If you would like to reserve your scarf or scarves at the introductory price of $7.99, please subscribe to our blog on the right and email us at hoppyshow@gmail.com. Let me know how many and which color you would like. I will run the pre-order special price until February 14th.

On February 14th I will randomly choose a subscriber to receive a free scarf. Don't miss out on our first giveaway! There may be more to come!

Your feedback is appreciated.

Always On My Back!

My in-laws enlisted me to assist them with some flooring. My mother-in-law is a pretty good cook so I agreed to help. She lured me to their house today with some roast and mashed potatoes. I did not have to do the majority of the work, but I was tasked with the tedious geometric cutting. It was a job that required patience and since my father-in-law barely has enough patience to open a pop can I was the best candidate for this part of the project.

I enjoy my side job as a handy man, but everywhere I go the new employee follows. I used to be self-employed, but I needed some help. My new assistant is a hard worker, but he gets side tracked sometimes. Every time he hears an airplane he looks to the sky and points. I have to remind him to focus on the work. He can operate most of the tools however, he can be dangerous with his short attention span. 

Most of the time my helper just hangs out and watches what I am doing. I prefer to do most of the work myself. I just need someone to bring the tools to me. I get uncomfortable when someone is standing there looking over my shoulder, but I can tolerate this guy. I know that he is eager to learn.

I was in the zone today cutting tile in a tight spot around a toilet. I had to measure several angles and make a lot of cuts. Everything was going great when my helper climbed on my back to get a better view. 

Does he think that he is the boss now? He is always on my back trying to make me work faster and harder. He always yells "Help, Daddy!" How is sitting on my back while I am cutting tile helping?

Charlie is pretty good with the snow shovel and he did a good job helping set the tile. If this is how he learns then I guess that I will deal with it. 

Thank you for your hard work Buddy. I hope that your observation helps you learn the skills that my dad taught me.

Somersault Fail!

Charlie tries to do a somersault, but ends up on his face. He performs a nice bridge which will come in handy for wrestling.

http://youtu.be/x1L4y8B-vJs

The Ghost Inside My Child!

There is not really a ghost inside my child, even though he does stare down the hallway and talks to someone that is not seen by Jamie or I, but he thinks that he is a ghost. Charlie has to be the funniest and most clumsy ghost that I have ever seen.

Fragrance Free!

In an effort to make our house smell like fresh linen blowing in the breeze on a vanilla coconut beach covered in pumpkin and spice with a hint of Alaskan waves my wife has strategically placed candles and plug-ins throughout our house. The candles have been ban due to the fire hazard however, plug-ins have still been permitted. Until now.

I face-timed Jamie this evening so that I could tell Charlie good night. I could tell by the look on Jamie's face that something had gone wrong. She was frantically wiping down the dresser and wall where a plug-in had been sitting. In her frustrated voice she said "I just spilled a bottle of plug-in oil." My first thought was "Awesome!"

She continued to tell me how strong the fragrance was and how it made her nauseas. She also described how it made her feel like she had indigestion. I am glad that she finally understood how I felt from a minor whiff of the scent. I did feel bad she had to feel that way while being pregnant.

I continued to talk to Charlie to distract him while Jamie continued cleaning up the mess. Scented oil is not very easy to clean. You can remove the oil, but pressed wood soaks up liquid faster than a sponge. I offered some suggestions for eliminating the scent, but Jamie had other plans. She was just going to quarantine the room for the night.

She sent me a picture of her and Charlie camped out in the living room. 

I am sure that Charlie thought it was fun to have a little bed in the living room, Jamie, not so much. I know that the couch is quite a comfy place to sleep, but Prego might not feel the same way. 

I came home to find Charlie sawing logs on his "Big Boy Bed" mattress in the living room and Jamie in a cocoon on the couch. I could smell the scent of a mixed citrus orchard as soon as I opened the door. I could only imagine how bad the scent was going to be in our room. Jamie had tried her best to absorb the oil with some white powdery substance and left a window open for ventilation.

I entered our room and the scent was not as bad as I thought it would be. Luckily it was not cinnamon. I would have suffered asphyxiation immediately. I changed my clothes and hung in our room for a while to test the air quality. After a few minutes of trying to enjoy the comfort of our bed alone I was over taken by the fragrance. I am going to find a comfortable place in the living room.

If she wants our house to smell like fresh linen, Jamie needs to sniff the laundry. Fresh citrus, slice some fruit. Vanilla coconut, eat a Mounds. No more artificial scents. We are a fragrance free house!

No Crying in Hobby Lobby!

About two weeks ago Jamie, Charlie and I went to Hobby Lobby to look for a coat rack to hang in the hallway. With the weather changing every fifteen minutes we have a lot of coats at the ready. We found several different items that we liked however, in typical Hobby Lobby fashion, everything cost an arm, leg or first born child. Everything in the store was marked as 50% off except for the items that we wanted. 

As we searched through aisles for treasures Jamie came across a canvas painting that would be perfect for Ella's room. Of course it cost a leg, two fingers and a toe. 

Jamie wanted to buy the picture no matter what the price was. I had to deny the purchase due to the ridiculous price that was tagged on the painting. We left the store empty handed, but I know that picture stayed in Jamie's mind.

Everyday I hear about what we are going to do to Ella's room and how we are going to paint. When a pregnant woman says "we" to her husband it actually means "you". Mixed in to these plans is the picture at Hobby Lobby and how perfect it is for the room. I liked the picture too, but it was more than I could allow myself to spend on such a painting.

Jamie made her best effort to keep reminding me of the picture.

Today I received a text that said "It's 50% off." The text caught me off guard because it lacked vital details and came out of the blue. Shortly after the text came a picture. The picture was the one posted above. Two seconds later my phone rang. My wife has so much patience.

I answered the phone and the baby talk pleading began. (Pouty lip voice) "It's 50% off. Can I get it?" I agreed to the purchase and Jamie said "Really?" "Uh, yeah." I could hear a sniff and tell that Jamie was crying. She acted like I just gave her a million dollars. I asked why she was crying. She said "I thought that you would say no." 

For the record, I never tell my wife no to anything unless it is completely ridiculous or expensive like I mentioned above. If I do say no it is usually just a stall tactic. 

I could not help, but laugh. I could see Jamie in Hobby Lobby crying in the middle of the aisle while staring at a painting of a pink tree. It might be funnier in my mind because I was there. Charlie probably even looked at her like "What is your deal woman? There is no crying allowed in Hobby Lobby."

She blamed it on the extra hormones of carrying a female child. I am glad that she is happy, but is there really a need to cry about it? Maybe I just don't understand.

The funniest part is that I received a text later in the day that Jamie started crying about the picture again when she was talking to her mom. What is it going to be like when Ella is born and she is rocking her in the nursery looking at the picture? There will probably be tears and snot dripping in Ella's face. (Sobbing voice) "Your daddy bought that, (sniff), picture for you, (sniff), before...you...were...boorrnn."

My wife is an emotional one. God love her. Thank goodness she is not high maintenance. 

Testing Daddy!

Charlie has been quite defiant lately. I have written it off to the "terrible twos" however, he does not seem to act up unless I am around. I am obviously the "fun one", but that is no reason for my son to think that everything is a game. It is like he wants to get into trouble. Do I have a juvenile delinquent son?

I have tried sitting Charlie in the corner, standing him in the corner, keeping calm and explaining why he can not do something, raising my voice to get the point across and patting him on the butt. He just thinks that it is a game and laughs at me. His favorite thing to do is sneak over to the television stand and sit on the glass shelf. I have told him not to do that atleast 764 times this week. He thinks that it is hilarious. He loves seeing me get mad. What am I supposed to do?

Why is he acting like this? It is not like the child is lacking attention from me. We play, draw, wrestle, drive trains, trucks and just act silly. Can he sense that Ella will be here soon and wants every second of my attention that he can get? Is he tired of being indoors all winter and is looking something exciting to do? I need some help with this one.

Charlie is good all day for Jamie. He does not act up when we are around grandparents. It is only when I am home. Parents out there, have you or are you currently dealing with a defiant two year old? Please lend me your advice. 

Don't let the face fool you. 

Charlie's First Haircut!

Charlie's hair has been growing out of control for a while. We have been hesitant to chop off his curls, but something had to be done. It looked like he had a really bad comb over.

It has been very cold in our area for the past several days, sub zero cold, but we bundled up and braved the elements. We took Charlie to a place called Kiddie Kastle. They specialize in child hair care. They have seats that are cars and horses. They have movies and toys to occupy the children. Most importantly, they have lollipops to pacify your child while he or she is in the barbers chair.

We walked into the building and noticed that the temperature was not much warmer than it was outside. Everyone in the building was wearing their coats including the lady cutting hair. She was very apologetic about it being so cold. They were having issues with the HVAC unit. Charlie did not seem to mind as he was enamored by new toys.

There were several people in line ahead of us so we sat and waited patiently. Charlie played and ran around with no complaints, but his cheeks were blushing and his hands were cold. It was just our luck.

Charlie heard the hair clippers turn on and immediately ran over to see what was going. We asked if he could watch the boy get his haircut so that he would know what to expect. The mother and stylist agreed to let Charlie observe and the haircut began. The little boy felt the clippers touch his neck and started screaming, shaking and cowering away from the stylist. The mother of the little boy felt so bad as Charlie's eyes were as wide as the moon. Watching that little boy was probably not the best idea.

Charlie was very concerned about the little boy and did not know what to do. He just ran to me to pick him up. I held Charlie and we continued to watch the horrific scene of a child getting his hair cut. Charlie was excited about getting his hair cut until he saw this. How in the world was I going to convince him to sit in Sweeney Todd's chair now?

I felt bad watching the mother of the boy trying to console him. She told him to count to 10 and when he reached 10 he would be finished. I have never heard a 2 year old count to 10 so fast. As clear as day and as fast as an auctioneer that little boy rambled off every number. Unfortunately, he was not done. I said "You might have to learn a few more numbers before you use that trick again."

She laughed and told the boy to say his ABCs, asked him old he was, what his favorite book was and many other questions to distract him. He was not having it. A few short seconds later the boy was finished.

It was now Charlie's turn. I sat him in the chair and the stylist tried to put the cape on him. He wanted nothing to do with it. He just watched a terrifying scene. I gave Charlie a lollipop and he stoop up in the car and clung to my arm. We told the lady to go ahead and start. She cut off the first few curls and put them in a bag for us. Charlie kept one hand on his lollipop stick and one arm around me. He did not move a muscle. He was statuesque through the entire haircut. She only used scissors so Charlie was not as scared.

The stylist started combing Charlie's hair and he began to relax a little. It was weird to watch the transformation from a baby with curls to a boy with a proper hair style. Snip by snip the soft baby hair began to fall to the floor. I was surprised at how well he did with the whole process. Thank God he did not freak out. I am very pleased with Charlie's new look and I am sure that he is too. No more hair touching his ears and neck.

Happy Flipping New Year!

2013 was a fun and exciting year, but I was very excited for what 2014 had in store. Ella will be here in April, the Bengals are going to win the Super Bowl and good things are happening at work. I have a great feeling about this year.

I have been a bit under the weather for the past few days. The stomach bug has been going around, the air is cold and dry and the Cincinnati air is not the cleanest in the world. I have awaken every morning to a scratchy throat and my head feels like a water balloon.

On the morning of New Year's Eve I felt like death. We had plans to ring in the new year with some friends and I considered just staying home. I knew that the girls had already purchased snacks for our get together so I manned up and went to the party. I use the word "party" loosely. When you are 31 and have children "party" usually means sitting around watching the kids play.

The kids played forever, non-stop and we all ate some great food. Sausage balls, cream cheese and hot sauce, chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and many other treats. The boys finally calmed down around 11:30pm. We were all exhausted, but I encouraged everyone to stay up until midnight. 

The ball dropped and my eyelids were not far behind. We stayed at our friend's house so I was not sleeping very soundly. Through the night I heard Charlie coughing. It was loud and clear since his face was snuggled into the side of my head. All of a sudden the coughing turned to the sound of a waterfall. The room was pitch black so I reached over and my hand landed right into a pile of fruit snacks and milk. Awesome!

The fruit snacks were just the first layer. They were followed by Dino nuggets, crackers, more milk and cookies. I think that I saw a full un-chewed Dino nugget head on my pillow. What a great start to the new year. 

Jamie was yelling "Turn on the light! Turn on the light!" She must think that I am a magician because she expects me to do everything instantly. I was in an unfamiliar room in complete darkness at 2:30 in the morning. Hold your horses woman! I stumbled around the room looking for the nearest light. The scene that was revealed looked like the St. Valentine's Day massacre.

We stripped the bed and Charlie and began cleaning everything up. Jamie, who I remind you, is five months pregnant, was gagging at the smell. I was praying that she did not toss her cookies too. I think that I would have stroked out if I had to do a double duty on cleanup.

We decontaminated the area and our child then packed up and made our way home. We all finally fell asleep around 6am. Needless to say, the new year was not starting out very happy. New Years Day began with lazy lounging on the couch until about 2pm. We finally had to get up and get ready to go to my birthday dinner.

I went upstairs to brush my teeth and there was a shaving razor in the sink. I set it on the vanity out of my way. I brushed my teeth and went to the bedroom to get dressed. I saw a spot on the bed that looked like paint. I touched the spot and it was wet. I immediately knew it was blood. I looked at Charlie and his little hands were covered in blood. He never made a sound, an ouch or acted like anything was wrong.

At some point while brushing my teeth he snagged the razor and cut the tip of his finger. Luckily it was just a little nick that was bleeding a lot. It looked a lot worse than it really was. 

Maybe 2014 is not going to be as great as I hoped. Happy flipping new year to the Hoppys.