Where Do I Start?

I have to say first that despite loving you all, I really wish I were still gone...still enjoying my time with Mr. Yarnworks. He was home for 15 full days and it was fabulous!

So I guess I should start at the beginning. I knew he was headed home, but had no idea when. I finally got a call around 1pm on Monday that he was in Atlanta and would be flying into Sioux Falls at 7pm. Woohoo!

BUT....ugh...BUT....then I got a call at 5:30 that he'd missed his flight in Chicago and wouldn't be home until 11pm. *sigh* So then I had to scramble to figure out what to do with the kids. Initially I thought I'd just bring them with me, but Baby Sister didn't nap and was already cranky by 6pm. Thankfully, when talking to my friend G*, she volunteered to come sit with the kids after I put them to bed. Thanks G*!

Of course, Big Sister didn't really go to bed. But Daddy didn't mind one bit...


He gave her a hat.

Does anyone else see the Dora has the mumps? Gotta love Iraqi knockoffs. lol

Baby Sister was sound asleep when he got home, but the next morning he went into her room when she cried. I was a bit worried about her reaction to him since she was still pretty young when he left (18 months) and has always been mostly a Mama's Girl, but she didn't skip a beat. She was THRILLED to have her daddy home. The ENTIRE time he was home, all I heard was, "NO! I want Daddy!" The second I'd park the car, she'd scream that, wanting HIM to help her out of her carseat instead of me. Every bedtime. Every diaper change....okay, she didn't really. That's just what I told him...but everything else is true. ;)

So then I was a neglectful wife and mother and put the camera away and we just enjoyed our time together as a family. Mr. Yarnworks and I did a lot of shopping for our new house. We picked out some family room furniture (still not delivered), got the girls a play kitchen, just all kinds of stuff. Between shopping and eating out almost daily, we had a very expensive visit. lol But it was tons of fun.

I did manage to bring the camera on a trip we took to the Great Plains Zoo here in Sioux Falls.

The duck pond is the first thing you see when you go into the zoo. And, of course, the girls wanted to feed the ducks....

The monkey house....

Outside the monkey house, we saw a mama and her baby. At first, she was on the other side of the pen, almost trying to hide her baby. But I think she saw Mr. Yarnworks holding Baby Sister and I swear it was like she was trying to relate, because all of a sudden she makes her way to our side of the pen and holds out her baby for us to see.

Baby Sister just loves penguins after seeing Happy Feet. This picture reminds me a bit of a sad moment in the movie:

(quote from WikiQuote)
Mumble: Excuse me. What is this place?
Penguin: (in a HAL 9000-like voice) You're in Heaven, Dave - Penguin Heaven.
Mumble: Is it anywhere near Emperor Land?
Penguin: It's wherever you want it to be. Try the water, Dave. It's really real.

The petting zoo is always a winner.

They even have pony rides now. That was new. Pricey, but this was definitely a day to spoil the girls...only 2 days before Mr. Yarnworks had to return to Iraq.

Baby Yarnworks seems very proud of herself, trying to milk the fake cow. (The udders were full of water, but it was nearly impossible to milk. Then again, I feel the same way about milking real cows!)

I found a friend in the petting zoo. Who couldn't love that face???

And more spoiling...

Overall, the thing that stuck me the most from his visit home was his unwavering support of JL Yarnworks. It was unreal how many ideas he had, how many ways he felt he could support me, and how much time, money, and energy he was encouraging me to put into it.

In talking, I kept talking about these potential exciting things coming up in September. I kept talking in terms of "if this" or "if that" and then one day shortly before he left, it dawned on me. Why is my business hinging on these ifs? Why would I let my success hinge on something totally out of my control? That's completely unacceptable. So my whole thought process changed in an instant. September is going to be my month regardless of outside influence. Those things might help, but I'm going to spend the next 6 weeks doing some mad production, adding product lines, slowly building the JL Yarnworks website (you can look, but it's scary right now), preparing displays for the fiber fair in September, etc. Then, by September 1, I will be doing a full marketing blitz. It's do or die time. My ultimate goal is that when Mr. Yarnworks comes home (October maybe?), that JL Yarnworks is a full-time job for me. I really don't want to do anything else. This is my passion.

I've been slowly adding new products to my Etsy store. This one will be added today or tomorrow.

I will be adding items to my new website as well over the next couple weeks. Just as an FYI, anyone who purchases items off JLYarnworks.com will receive 20% off their entire purchase as incentive to help me test the site. For the record, I will combine shipping between JLYarnworks.com and my Etsy store. Before you pay, send me a little note and I will send you a new invoice.

In other news, is anyone excited about the new knitting in the upcoming Harry Potter movie? I wish we could see all of Hermione's hat! If anyone finds a better picture, please let me know!

Time to get back to work. It's been very busy at Chez Yarnworks since Mr. Yarnworks left! Stay tuned. I promise you won't be disappointed!