Dear Blog...

Dear Blog,

First I think it would be proper to introduce myself. My name is Crystal and I created you quite a while back. For the last 4 months or so I have been extremely rude to you not checking in, not updating, not...anything! For that I want to say I am sorry and I PROMISE that I will be better from now on. So much has happened over the last 4 months that I really think I am better off to "build a bridge" as they say, get over it and move on but I think it would be prudent not to highlight a couple of things that have happened over the last 4 months.

The biggest one I suppose would be Mia's 2nd birthday. I still can't believe she is now a 2 year old. She is blossoming into an absolutely beautiful young lady. I couldn't have asked for a better little girl. She is smart, articulate, funny, energetic, extroverted and above all she has spunk!! She truly is incredible and I LOVE every day that I get to be her mum. Here are a couple of pics of the young lady she is blossoming into...

The other thing I would like to highlight is how well my "at home business" is doing! Creations by Crystal has really taken off. I am loving being able to create wonderful products for people and I love it even more that people are buying them and are loving them. I have participated in numerous charity auctions and giveaways to help spread the word about my business and it really has brought me some wonderful fans. I can only hope that Creations by Crystal continues to blossom and grow and people keep enjoying my products! If you want to check out all my delicious goodies click on Creations by Crystal.

I have been sick with a cold/flu the last week and last night Mia seems to have caught what I had so I hope it doesn't take her as long as it took me to recover!!

I think I will leave it at that for now. Like I said, "build a bridge". And I PROMISE I will be back again this week to update things!!

Love Crystal

Creations by Crystal

Oh my goodness have I ever been SLACK with blogging. I feel terrible! I keep meaning to do it and then I forget and then I remember but then forget again!!! AHHHHH!! The vicious cycle continues!! Anyhow, I will move on from my slackness and FINALLY post something!!

Sadly David's holidays came to an end a few weeks ago so it is back to just us girls during the day. I shouldn't complain though. David has great holidays every year due to the fact that he is a teacher so we get to have him home quite a bit compared to most families. So to commemorate the return of just us girls Mia and I have had a great time hanging out, playing, going to Lollipops Play Centre, going swimming and all in all having a blast!!

I have been crocheting up a storm in the evenings right now. My friend Carley asked me to crochet one of the hats I previewed in my last post (the grey and green one) for her daughter Leila, which of course I was happy to do!! Then I had a couple of other requests for things so what did I decide to do?? Well I decided to start my own business!!! I am just so excited!!! You can check out my Facebook business page at

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Creations-by-Crystal/183280205038564 Come and check out my page and order something!!

And here is my business header...
I am doing all kinds of fun stuff. Lots of crochet hats, baby booties and other various things. Since I just started I am adding all kinds of things all the time. I have had about 6 or 7 orders so far so it is just so exciting for me. Being a SAHM is really difficult sometimes financially so any extra income is so appreciated!! Here are a few pics of some of the new things I have been working on...








Mia is doing great. She seems to change and grow all the time. Her vocabulary is incredible and we are having so much fun together. Here are a few pics of my gorgeous girl. I can't believe in less than 2 months she will turn 2!!!









Well time to go and do some more crochet!!!!

Flooding...and a Bit of Crochet!

Water, water everywhere!! I can't believe what is going on here in Queensland at the moment. Terrible floods all over the place. Loss of life, loss of possessions. It is so horrible and saddening. With more deaths to come it really is a tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected. We have only had a bit of flooding in our backyard but we should be okay here.

On a lighter note, I have finally mastered the art of crochet. Thanks to a few lessons from David's mum I think I have finally worked it out!! I have made 2 hats now. The first one was a bit rough but overall it turned out okay...



The 2nd one I absolutely love! I am so pleased with how it turned out...



Not much else to report here. Mia threw up a few nights ago but seems to be fine otherwise and David had the flu last night but he is on the mend today. Fingers crossed it isn't my turn next!!

365 Project

So my new year's resolution to blog more hasn't really happened yet!! So today is the start of a new year of blogging for me! No more slacking off. It's not like I need to write a novel each time I blog - I just want this to be a record of what our life is like day to day!!

So, with that being said, I have decided to participate in the 365 project this year. For those of you that don't know it is about taking a photo every day of the year. If you want to check it and follow my year in photos check out http://365project.org/crystalhooper/365 and you will see what I have done so far.

Mia is doing really well. Over the last week or 2 her language has just exploded!! I can't believe how many words and phrases she is using now - some of which I don't even remember "teaching" her!! She is just an absolute joy to be around. It is her 21 month birthday today. I can't believe in 3 short months I will have a 2 year old running around. How the time flies!! Here is Mia just waking up - I love taking these photos because she is always so happy when she wakes up!!








I have finally worked out how to crochet (with a few lessons from my MIL). I have started to make my first hat and it is going really well!! I have done more than what is shown in this pic but you get the idea!!


I also finished my mum's sweater that I was knitting before Christmas. I am so pleased with how it has turned out!!


Well time to go and get some more crocheting done!!

Merry Christmas

I can't believe it. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!! How fast has 2010 gone by?!?! I have been SO slack with posting on my blog over the last couple of months. I was on a roll there for a while and have really been terrible lately. Well that is going to change. I am going to get back into it. Blogging is such a good record of what has been going on - something I can look back on in the future. With that said, things in our house have been fairly quiet over the last little while. Here is what we have been up to...

We decorated our tree...








We had a pre-Christmas family get-together...


Mia painted another masterpiece that will soon be displayed in her toy room...





We have had a blast going swimming at the local waterpark (when it hasn't been raining)...





Mia has been enjoying her new swing set that Santa brought for her (I know, it is a few days early but she doesn't understand Christmas and we couldn't very well hide it from her!!)...










Mia and daddy have shared some quality time...




We got 2 more photos back from Mia's photo shoot a couple of months ago...



and finally, Kailin came around for a playdate!!





I have been keeping busy doing lots of knitting. I am even knitting my very first teddy bear right now. Stay tuned for pics of the finished product! I have also finally finished Mia's 7 month scrapbooking photos. Here are a couple of my latest pages...






Now onto the 8 month ones!!! AHHHHH!!!!

All in all it has been a busy yet relaxing month of December. I hope that all of you have a lovely Christmas. I won't be posting again until after Christmas!! Take care and stay safe! xxx