How Being a Parent Changes Your Life

When a baby is born into a family, everything changes. However, as you have Baby 2, then Baby 3, the way in which you deal with the child also changes considerably.

Your Clothing

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed.
2nd baby: You wear your ordinary clothes for as long as you are able.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes are your ordinary clothes.

Baby's Clothing

1st baby: You wash the clothes before organizing them into color-coordinated folded piles neatly laid out in the baby's specially bought chest of drawers.
2nd baby: You make sure that the clothes are clean and throw only the ones with the dirtiest marks on them in the wash.
3rd baby: You are heard to say that boys can wear pink, no problem.

Babysitters

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter you call home 4 times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

Quality Time

1st baby: You spend a great deal of time every day just gazing lovingly at your baby.
2nd baby: You spend some of everyday keeping an eye open to ensure that your eldest child isn't squeezing, poking, or hurting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend some of each day hiding from the children.

In a nutshell, the first baby is made of glass; the rest are made of rubber!

(From a joke site.)

Lady Hawke Originals Jewelry Giveaway [CLOSED]

I recently did a review of Lady Hawke Originals jewelry. In response to the "Frowns" section (since edited), Beth sent me four more Scrabble-tile pendants, a necklace chain, and a calendar. She was determined to win me over 100 percent! And she did.

Two of the new pendants, for my little sister-in-law and little sister

Smiles from the original review:
*The jewelry is beautiful and classy.
*There is endless variety! If you can think of it, Beth probably has it. And if she doesn't, she will make it for you. Either way, anything you buy is one-of-a-kind.
*She carefully packages her items before shipping them.
*Although I have worked with many amazing sellers on Etsy, Beth tops them all in customer care. She is extremely caring, genuine, friendly, dedicated, and generous. I feel that she is sincerely interested in my blog and in helping me out.

Frowns Turned to Smiles
*I had commented that the image quality was low. I think her printer had an off day or messed up settings because the image quality was vastly improved on the new pendants.
*I also noted that her pendants do not come with chains. However, she sells them for only $1, making the combined price still cheaper than other sellers' Scrabble-tile pendants and chains. As noted in the original review, Beth has a great deal right now: for every 3 pendants you buy, you get a free chain. Also, the pendant loop is large enough for any chain you already own.

New Smiles
*Beth informed me that she always includes a free gift with her orders, thus the pen and notepad the first time and the calendar the second time. You definitely get more than your money's worth ordering from her!
*Beth responds promptly to any questions or comments you have.

I will be giving away the mommy ribbon bookmark to one winner. A second winner will get to choose two Scrabble-tile pendants! You can also get 15 percent off anything in her store through July with the coupon code BLOGSPECIAL15.

Prize #1

Prize #2 options

More options for prize #2

Mandatory 1st Entry: Heart the shop Lady Hawke Originals on Etsy. Leave your user name.

3 entries: Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect.

1 entry: Like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle on Facebook.

1 entry: Post this giveaway on Facebook.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry. All entries must be submitted by 11:59 MST on Friday, July 1. The winner will be announced Saturday, July 2. Please leave your email in one of your comments so I can contact you if you win. Good luck!

Lady Hawke Originals Jewelry Review

I came across the Etsy jewelry shop Lady Hawke Originals when searching for a very specific item. After browsing, I was not surprised I had been led to this shop: there is every theme imaginable represented in the Scrabble-tile jewelry! And I mean everything. Lady Hawke Originals also includes bookmarks, lanyards, and non-Scrabble-tile jewelry. The seller, Beth, designs and makes all the jewelry and only uses glass, freshwater pearls, and semi-precious stone beads.

Beth sent me a generous amount of products to review: two Scrabble-tile necklace pendants and a bookmark. She also threw in a cute pen and notepad and a lovely card.

Isn't that sweet?

Smiles
*The jewelry is beautiful and classy.
*There is endless variety! If you can think of it, Beth probably has it. And if she doesn't, she will make it for you. Either way, anything you buy is one-of-a-kind.
*She carefully packages her items before shipping them.
*Although I have worked with many amazing sellers on Etsy, Beth tops them all in customer care. She is extremely caring, genuine, friendly, dedicated, and generous. I feel that she is sincerely interested in my blog and in helping me out.

Frowns
*Necklace chains for the Scrabble-tile pendants are not included. However, this makes her prices cheaper than competitors'. Also, you can purchase chains from her. Right now, she has a great deal: for every 3 pendants you buy, you get a free chain. Also, the pendant loop is large enough for any chain you already own.

Beth is offering a 15%-off coupon code for all my readers: BLOGSPECIAL15. It is good until the end of July.