Swinger Sunday - "The Songs Never Sung"

This week for Swinger Sunday - meet Alisha from The Rockstar Mom Way. 

When my husband and I found out we were pregnant, the first thing he did was write our new baby a song.  It just seemed right.  Natural.  Now, almost 10 years and 3 more children later, we have 4 distinct baby songs, all of which we never sing. 

When I first heard Mark sing Johnathan “His” song, while still safe in my belly, I imagined us singing it to him everynight.  But we never did. Instead, Mark wrote a lullaby called “Smile for Me”, which we sang both of our boys (they were born 20 months apart) to sleep.  The same went for each and every song Mark wrote our children while in utero.

The songs weren’t even recorded.  We talk about recording them all the time, but instead, they sit, unrecorded, just lyrics on whatever was around when Mark became inspired. Johnathan’s song was written on the back of a Blockbuster receipt.   Ryan’s was sent to me in an email.  Aleya’s was on a scrap of notebook paper; my Medical Terminology notes on the back.  Lyrik’s song is still stuck on Mark’s I-Mac. 

We sing every day. Sometimes that’s all we do. Sing.  And yet, the kids have never heard the songs that their father wrote them before they even entered the world.   We never even thought to sing them.  I think that it was just a given that we give the songs to them for only them to hear.  When the time is right, we’ll give them their songs.  They can then decide what they want to do with them.  But for now, they feel safe. The songs never sung.

Thanks so much for your post! Zaq has recorded a song for Izzaq. Its pretty awesome, and i love listening to it :) We also made a slideshow of photos on DVD and used it as the background music. Makes it even more special. Thanks again for sharing this little story with us! What about you guys? Anything special you have written for your kids? (p.s. - the photo below is nakey butt izzaq with his guitar at about 2 years old... :)

Try not to cry... Layla Grace...

In the past few days on Facebook I have seen the posts of Layla Grace just flying through the streams... If you dont know about Ms. Layla... here is a quick wrap up... but you should most definitely check out her website for the most info...

Layla Grace:



"Layla has a massive cancerous tumor (Stage 4 Neuroblastoma) in her abdomen. It extends from above her left kidney, around her side, over her belly and wraps around her aorta. In addition, the cancer is in her bone marrow.
Our sweet Layla went from normal happy and healthy to lethargic, in pain, and skin and bones in a matter of a week and a half."


Im all about donating any time I can... so I rushed to the site, found that magical paypal button... and sent some money to help. If you can do the same, PLEASE do... even $1 makes a difference. Anything sent goes towards her mountains of medical bills. Now, this is a sad story in itself... but what really got me was a blog her mom wrote... it hit home SO hard... here is a snapshot... click here to read the rest from her website. Oh, and try not to cry...

"Sleep, Valentines Day and Regrets
February16
Towards the end of a pregnancy, a mother will wake up to go to the bathroom every few hours. I think this is the body’s way of preparing you for a newborn and the sleepless nights that come along with it. Layla now spends most of her days sleeping. 30-45 minutes after she wakes up, she is ready to lay down and sleep again. Is this God’s way of preparing me for all the quiet time that is coming soon? The house is quiet. I am able to go through the motions of laundry, dishes, cooking and picking up without interruptions. But I WANT interruptions. I WANT Layla to be under my feet asking for cookies. I WANT to hear her playing with her toys. I WANT to take 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because she keeps trying to help. For every time I uttered the words “I just can’t get anything done with these kids under my feet all day” I am eternally regretful. The days that I looked forward to naptime so I could get a grocery list made, or finally fold all the piles of laundry…I regret those days too. If I could do it all again, I’d enjoy EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT I had with her. I would never wish for her to sit still or take a nap or go to bed early. I would never look forward to the days when she could sit through an entire episode of Dora silently. I would treasure every second with her."

This post really got to me... with all the stress of the store... stress of packing... stress of moving... cooking, cleaning, paying bills, and the million other things that have taken a toll on the last month... zaq and i have been a little on edge. Yes, I count the minutes to nap time when i can get some work done uninterrupted... and bed time comes and its such a relief, an hour to lay with my husband, wind down, and talk about our day... and I can't even tell you how horrible that makes me feel. Of course I love my kids... and of course i would die if anything ever happened to them. And all the "free time", lack of stress & money in the world couldn't be traded for either one of them... but yes, sometimes its a hand full.  And like she said... "I am eternally regretful" for all the days I have wished for a little peace & quiet...  

Favorites Friday - Vintage

Ya know, more and more I have fallen in love with all things vintage... toys, shoes, clothes, decor, you name it... So this week when my girl @RockytheZombie suggested I do a vintage theme, it was right on... so here we go! *im super excited*
(click the photo to zoom & see more details)

#1:VonlenskaVintage - Vintage Black & Leather Knee High Boots (drooling over these... they look SO slouch, comfy & broken in... and i like the rocker edge to them, with the straps & studs....)
#2: TheVintageRecycler - Vintage Black Licorice Button Mixture (i LOVE vintage buttons... they have so much character and make a handmade item even mroe OOAK)
#3: Debbychoi79 - Vintage Black Leather Coach Purse (Coach has some crazy prints out there, but at the end of the day, they have so many timeless pieces and this is definitely one of them. What a simple, classic, black bag)
#4: AnimalHeadVintage - Vintage 50's Black Cotton Day Dress (So cute... loving this simple dress with the peekaboo stiching... could be changed so easily with different colored slips like the model did in red.)
#5: TheGreenGumDrop - 80's Black Corset Mini Dress (LOVE! Love love love... the front is SO simple, the huge pop in the black with the awesome corset and fat grommets & lacing. LOVE)
#6: SalonMystique - 80's Body Con Suede Strapless Dress (super sleek, super sexy...)
#7: jwhite2 - Vintage Folding Kodak Tourister Camera (rad... @stoopidgerl should start a vintage camera collection...)
#8:VintageInMyBasement - Black Retro Glasses (im totally gunna buy these... ALL of my wine glasses have been broken & i think these would be a great simple, classic replacement :)
#9: GinaMichaelVintage -  Vintage Betsey Johnson Hammer Pants (can't touch this, lol)

Bad business? haha

There are a million diyers out there who i adore... put out great product... and are all around great people. But there are few that I really admire... Kyle @ Barley & Birch is one of those people... she runs such an amazing business that is changing the world one eco-baby at time... and she is damn good at it. Now, there are probably a million ways that Kyle is a better business person than I am... but this is the biggest reason that I have seen so far... emails... She always gives me crap about how OCD she is about her email, and how my inbox is a complete cluster, lol cuz it is... so I am letting down my guard and showing you just how bad it is...
Kyles pretty inbox... clean, organized... functional...

 

(click to zoom to see the real deal...)

And now mine... 

  

(click to zoom & see the chaos)

thousands of emails... even more archived... and hundreds just sitting waiting to be filtered... ugh... how I am able to answer all of the important ones is beyond me... Kyle... HELP!

Thursdays Tunes: Motion City Soundtrack

*drool* I dunno if any of you know this, but i LOVE me some Motion City Soundtrack... Ill never forget the first time that zaq took me to meet them... we went back on their bus and i was totally geeking out. So much so that I just sat in silence... lol and I looked down, and like a TOTAL dork... realized that I had brought my Motion City purse... lame, lol now, this was years ago, and they have come SO far... Theyre more popular than ever and just keep putting out amazing records... and I like to think Im a little less geeky when we get to hang out. Though, matt still makes me melt... lol *blush* oh oh oh! And I will be making Josh & Jill some AMAZING crib bedding for their lil future bun... yay! anyways... this weeks Thursdays Tunes goes out to my lovers... Motion City Soundtrack... if you don't have their new record, GO GET IT!! I just bought it for Zaq (aka myself) for Valentines Day.. And if you dont have any of the others... go get those too :) Follow em on twitter & Fan em on FaceBook... Now - onto my loves... many this week :) Too much love...

The zaq & tg song... My Favorite Accident....
""So we were an accident... You’ll always be my favorite one""

below... our "favorite accident" tattoos...

One of my top 10 Fav. songs of all time...

Loving this acoustic version of "Disappear"


But of course the regular version is super rad too... but I cant find a video to embed *pouts* So thats a little sampling of my love for MCS... many more amazing songs... and many many more to come im sure... thanks for being awesome guys :)

Wordless Wednesday: Newness!

Sneak Peek at some newness soon to be listed! Working on a little colab w/ The Laundry Monster... we both have alot of copy cat shops... and out of no where all my burp rag sales were going to copy cats... not cool... so I thought, how can i make mine stand above the rest like the did before? Like this... BUT the hand dyed burp rags has kinda been taken over my Laundry Monster... and I didnt wanna step on any toes... SO we worked out a little system... we gunna do a linky trade... and in hers it will say, if your looking to some w/ an edge... check out rockerbyebaby... and mine will say something like... if your looking for a more traditional print, check out laundry monster... THAT way, were passing sales to each other and not all the other random shops out there... see guys... make friends... everyone always asks how I got the store to be so big so fast... this is key... make friends with everyone and network network network!!! Anyways, whatcha think!? you can peek at prints when theyre listed :)

Free Giveaway: Mixtape Love toddler tee by HeatherJeany

*love*sigh*melts*sigh*wipes drool*

There are so many amazing things to say about Heather Jeany... that I honestly dont even know where to begin. Ariel over at the Off Beat Mama had a little shout out to this shop while back, and no doubt - she picked the right shop. Now - im not gunna tell you what i saw (right now) cuz Im gunna save the best for last... but lets just say it was love at first sight.

A lil from Heather: "Hi- my name is Heather Toupin, I live in a little house where I like to make little things. I collect forgotten odds and ends; bits of wire+ribbon, other people's shopping lists, broken baby dolls, old lace, ripped up photographs. Everything you see is hand printed, one by one, by me and my trusty Print Gocco. I use a lot of silly vintage clip art as well as my own artwork." And I gotta say... her detail shows. Check it out... In no particular order... my favorites...

The mix tapes love card... she sent me one of these... the quality is amazing... like no other handmade card I have ever seen... Im saving it to stash away in hubby's lunch box :) I leave him little love notes... so i will definitely be back for more of these... and at only $3 each?? Thats a steal...

Valentine Print... I think i NEED this... i dunno where in my house... maybe the bedroom... lots of black & red & damask... i think it'd fit... but all i know is I have been drooling since I saw it. And again... just $10 for a handscreened 8.5x11 piece of art? AMAZING!

Faux Bois Tree Stump coasters... I dunno why i love these so much. I mean, Im kinda crunchy... but not like... "decorate the house in trees like a hippie" crunchy... but I would totally rock these... and last but most definitely not least (cuz i lied, these are my favorite) her mix tape t's... 

for the mama's...

da daddies...

and.................. the babies :)

*melt* the adorable baby definitely helps sell the shirt too... :) Speaking of adorable babies in the rad mix tape shirt... it seems I have a few of those too... thanks Heather for letting us try it out! Its our new favorite t :)

And because Heather is so insanely rad, cool, awesome, hip, fly - whatever you wanna call her, because all are true, she has allowed us to give one away to you!! One lucky winner will get their choice of baby mix tape onesie (with hearts 3 Month, 6 Month, 9 Month and 12 Month) or toddler t-shirt (2t, 4t, or 6t)! How stoked are you!? So you know the drill! HERE WE GO!

#1:  Mandatory entry:  Tell us one item that you just LOVE from the Heather Jeany etsy store.

Extra entries?? But of course :)
EACH ENTRY MUST BE LEFT IN A SEPARATE COMMENT TO COUNT!!!!!

#2) Follow us publicly here on (blogger) - Leave a separate comment for being a (old or new) follower on our blog.
#3) Follow/Tweet us (Twitter) - Leave a separate comment for being a follower and TWEETING about this giveaway on Twitter... If your already a twitter follower of ours, TWEET about it for an extra entry anyways :) Can tweet once daily for extra entries!

Tweet This: "Free Giveaway: Hand screened (#etsy) baby or toddler mix tape t-shirt by @heatherjeany via the @RockerByeBaby blog! http://bit.ly/9I57iD"

#4) Random entry: In my fav John Cusack movie... hes always making mix tapes... name your top 3 songs you MUST HAVE on your mix tape.

#5) Fan RockerByeBaby on Facebook...

#6)"Heart" the Heather Jeany etsy page, and "favorite/heart" two items...

#7) "Heart" the RockerByeBaby etsy page, and "favorite/heart" two items...

#8) Follow Heather Jeany on twitter!

#9) Become a "fan" of HeatherJeany on Facebook!

#10) BIG BONUS: Make a purchase from Heather Jeany... any $ amount, just a purchase... come back here and leave FIVE comments with the link to the transaction.... thats 5 extra entries per item you purchase... 

Swinger Sunday - "The Mommy Thing"

Welcome Brooke - from Brooke Van Gory to the stage... i love Brookie... and im sure you all do/will too.. 


Most days, I wake up in the morning, and want to shove the blankets over my face, and go back to sleep. But I drag my butt out of bed, and get to doing what I do. Which is be a mommy. Now here is the kicker. I have some friends that are mommies, and they have kids no older then 3, and they cannot for the life of themselves understand why I have such a tough time on a day to day basis.

Well, here goes the gist of it. With a baby, you get 12 hours of sleep out of them after they start sleeping through the night. OK, I have that, Gory is almost 1, so that is doable. And I work from home, so that would allow for me to have time after 8pm to work, and I could work during nap time, and life would be dandy! But Evan, on the other hand, well, now that is a whole other different story. I wake up at 6am to get Gory out of bed, then wake up Evan to get him ready for school, I feel Gory a bottle, while making sure all Evan's homework is in his backpack, drive him to school, and come back real quick to feed Gory breakfast. At 2pm, I load Gory BACK into the car (nap be damned at this point) to pick Evan UP from school. Get home to start his homework (did I forget to mention that Evan is special needs, and ADD, and it sometimes takes up to 2 hours a night for homework!??!) make dinner, and then try to clean up a bit. And now that Evan is almost 10, his bedtime is 9:00. So that is hard, It is hard finding time to balance a school aged tween with an infant. It is hard for Evan to understand that Gory sometimes needs things, and I need to help him, and put Evan on the back burner for a minute. It is harder then I ever imagined. But you know what?
I have the best 2 sons I anyone could ever wish for. Evan is the most caring brother to Gory, and having him be older, makes him respect Gory even more, and he is patient to a fault. Gory loves Evan, and calls for him each morning to come see him in his room. The bone between them is magical, and on the days when I feel like I am about to lose it, it is the love of these two brothers that makes me realize that I am doing this mommy thing right.

Keep Rockin' mama... we talk daily... we rant daily... sometimes we laugh, sometimes yell... sometimes wanna cry... but your right... were working our asses off and doing this mommy thing right... 

Favorites Friday - Tea Stain Tattoo

I love the AH tattoo fabric... love love love... and there are some dresses that i have been DROOLING over... *see below* and a handful of my other fabric items in this fabric... lil shout out to my own store this week with a couple things im proud of :)

*click photo to zoom*
#1: ErosDIY - Tattoos&Lace Dress
#2: RockerByeBaby - Custom Punk rock print & Bamboo velour blanket
#3: The vintage Doctor - Tattoo Flash Corset Halter Dress
#4: MyGreatGifts - Tattoo Retro Apron
#5: DismantledFasions - Tatto Flash Catie Mae Dress
#6: ZombieDolls -  Tan Tattoo, Full skirt dress
#7: AllTheNumbers - Tea Stain Long Sleeve Peasant Dress
#8: SommerDesigns - Tattoo Zipper Pouch
#9: RockerByeBaby - Boys Tattoo Hoodie
**If any of you wonderful featured sellers would like to host a review & giveaway here at the blog leave a comment or send me an email to rockerbyebaby@gmail.com We would LOVE to try your products!!!***

Winners of the Baby Boo Felt Giveaway!

And the winners are *drumroll*

Nifty Nappy said... 83

I purchased this #2

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=25419578

AND

Owen's Mom said... 36
I love the sushi rolls! Just adorable.

andrea.kruse at gmail dot com

New Hoodie(s)!! Yay! This time... stuff for daddy too!

Daddy & Me... coordinating hoodies for daddy&tot...
JCole requested this hoodie... i love it... so had to make a matching kids one... I appliqued on this rad fabric, that i LOVE... in the typical RockerByeBaby fashion... raw edges so they distress when you wash it... tons of rounds of wiggly stitches for the rockin' look & feel... and of course... the best part of all... i lined the hood with red minky... cuz it wouldn't be RockerbyeBaby without the best minky :) Whatcha think?! Itll be listed in the store within the week i hope!

Thursdays Tunes: I got a Feelin'

Dont deny it... you've all heard this song... and love 'em or hate 'em... the black eyed peas wrote a damn catchy song... I got a Feelin'... Now... im not a lover of the song... or a hater... BUT this video, if you havn't seen it yet... is a total must... Im not gunna tell you about it, jsut watch. They did a live performance on Michigan Ave in Chicago for Oprah... and what a performance it was... PLEASE watch... the video gives me goosebumps every time... cuz well, im a dork, and i dork out over cool stuff, lol

Wordless Wednesday: Rocky Dawn Baby

Rocky = Rocky the Zombie shirts
Dawn = Beki Dawn Photography
Baby = RockerByeBaby babies... (my kidz)
We make a good trio :)
Also, notice the sling below... we teamed up with Dittany Baby for that one :)