Shop Update

I started making things to sale about five years ago now and I still love it! 

Seeing the smiles when people buy my goodies for a gift or hearing about how someone reacted when they got one of my packages is the best!

My little brand is growing and that makes my heart so happy.  

As a family we've all had a hand in building this business, so that makes it even more awesome.

I spent a lot of time last week making new items and then a bazillion hours getting photos and listings up on the shop website.  It's so cool to see everything looking so cute online.

Here's a peek at a few of the things available!  

Cuteness overload to follow...

I can't even begin to explain how amazing it is to see everything coming together so well!  

Five years is a long time, but so much has been learned and so many improvements have been made!  

It really is the best!

Back to Reality

The Monday coming back from winter break is hard on me and it's super hard for the kiddos in my classroom.  Routines have been off for three weeks, bedtimes wonky, and little people generally getting to do whatever they want whenever they want.  So today will be all about grace for myself and for them.

This is not my first rodeo, so I set up a regular, normal, nothing is unusual day for them (and for me).  We'll go over the classroom rules about a million times.  We'll talk and write and share about all that we did over break.  Then tomorrow we'll be back in our routines and ready to conquer the last half of second grade together!

I know the rest of the school year is going to fly by.

  

 Ready to be awesome together!

Time to get to it!

Happy Monday ;)

Work Hard, Play Hard

 

This week has been all about restocking the online inventory of the shop.  The holiday season was crazy, so the cupboards were a little bare.  Don't get me wrong it is a seriously good thing!  My winter break is three glorious weeks...Hallelujah...so every minute after the holidays I need to do my best to be productive.

 This week I rocked it and busted it and my wrists and back are wow sore.  It's all good because now I have lots of baby gear to add to the shop!  I play a game with myself to get through it.  Music on and rocking while the sewing machine whirls.  After I get a certain amount of items done I take a Netflix break.  Most of my shows are 40ish minutes, so I chill and snack and regroup for the next round of work!

 I really believe setting some sort of daily goal is super important to a maker like me.  I need to have a plan to keep me going when I just want to stop and take a nap!  Biggest motivator (besides going back too work) was the fact that we have company coming Sunday!  I knew I had to be done so I could get our disaster home straightened up for the weekend.  Having and end goal is the best way I know to keep myself pushing through! (Seriously, it is exactly how I pushed through college with little ones at home!)

 In the end I wound up with so much cuteness and great products for my customers. That's my favorite part...seeing other people enjoying all the goodies I work so hard to get out there!  Smiles make the achy back and wrists totally worth it!

Now to get the house out of refugee mode and back into cute and fun mode!

Until next time,

Amy Lynne

Hello...Let Me Introduce Myself

I always like to know a bit about the people 

behind the blogs I read so I thought maybe you all like the same. 

I'm Amy, unless you're my mom or my auntie or I'm signing something, then I'm Amy Lynne. 

•  I am the oldest in the family.  Typical type A overachiever, people pleasing girl.

• I love lists.  Crossing things off makes me super happy.

•  I have three amazing boys and a husband that thinks it is his job to make me laugh.  Oh, how I appreciate that every day!  My boys are giants and they love to eat good foods.  Leftovers are a thing of the past around here!  

• We homeschool all three boys now.  Best decision ever!

• When I was first in college I was pre-med.  Add a baby coming to the mix and I had to make some big decisions.  I had boy #2 in the last semester of college.  That was interesting!  Boy #3 was about 6 months old when I started working on my credential and Master's degree.  Thank goodness for online courses.  That seriously was the only way I could have finished and been a mama at the same time.  I chose teaching to give me more time with my boys!

• I have been teaching for 10 years.  Most days it is awesome, but the hard days are hard!

• My boys call me OCD Mom.  I like things the way I like them and that's just how it is. :)

• Amy's Monkeys was started when my hubby lost his job and running around shopping was no longer a good hobby.  I had sewn things for years, but making things to sell was a bit scary.  Now I have an online shop and a space at a great local consignment store.  It's a good release for me after being in the classroom all day! 

• I chopped off my hair 2 summers ago.  It went from my backside up to my chin.  Dramatic much?!?  Now I am letting it grow back. I miss my pony tails and messy buns! Thankfully, my hair grows like a weed.

• I love the color blue in any shade.  My home is starting to reflect that more and more!

• Anything else you'd like to know?!?

One Little Word

I've had one little word to define my hopes and dreams
for a fresh start for a few years now.

Balance

Grace

Thrive

This year is no different, so many possibilities are awaiting all of us in 2015.

After not knowing what I wanted my word to be it just hit me out of the blue.

There is a huge potential for lots of amazing changes for my crew in 2015. 

 My job right now has to be to keep focused on the things I can control
without letting the what ifs sneak in and sidetrack me! 

Continuing to raise amazing boys, making our home work better for us, 

and loving my hubby are all things I can set my focus on this new year.

I want to focus on growing my little shop,

 helping The Looking Glass become more known in the community, 

and working smarter not harder in my classroom.

If I set up smart goals and work the plans I come up with I know 2015 will rock.

Do you have a word for 2015?
 Please share...I love hearing about how other people choose their words!

Until next time,
Amy Lynne

Christmas 2014

 What a difference a year makes!  Last year Christmas time was a little rough on a couple of  fronts, nevertheless, it was still fun and my babies were happy.  This year was a whole different story!  Better planning and less stress made for a Christmas full of smiles and surprised boys!

 

Now, the boys have a long tradition of filling out a wish list.  They are very thorough to include websites and item numbers.  They are not too crazy with their requests, so it is always fun to see their faces light up as they open their packages.

This year I was so busy with my classroom and events for Amy's Monkeys and making products that all the Christmas decorating fell to the men of the house.  This translates into a tree with no ornaments, but approximately 1 million twinkle lights controlled by a micro-controller attached to the computer.  Of course that's exactly what every systems engineer dreams of at Christmas time!

My husband was giddy with this tree.  He had always wanted a Christmas tree just full of lights.  It's so silly and simple that it just fits!

This Christmas was not about a ton of gifts or decorations or any of the other things that make people crazy this time of year.  It was all about our little family enjoying each other, getting some fun new things to build, eating way too well, and just being content.  

To me we nailed what the season is supposed to be about!

Until next time,

Amy Lynne

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas day 

filled with love and laughter!

Until next time,

Amy Lynne