Sounds like something fun you might find over at the Mominatrix *teehee*.. but no… We took a (very short) trip yesterday to a pretty nifty bike shop in Downtown Sacramento called Mike’s Bikes.

Daddy sold his mountain bike on Craigslist yesterday, and was ready to use that money to get a new bike. Funny thing.. He HAD to have that bike when we were in Japan… A full suspension Giant something-or-other. Nice bike… just too expensive, and too much bounce.. LOL.. With the gas prices just going out of control, a lot of guys at his work are starting to ride their bikes to work.. and Daddy wanted to join in.. but the bike he had just wouldn’t have been good to ride to work.. I made him a deal.. Sell his bike, and we can get him a new one, up to $200 more than what he gets back… Sure enough… as soon as he got home, he was on the internet researching new bikes. He ended up finding a few to compare. 

After the girls woke up from nap, we jumped in the van and went down there. It was easy to find, and they actually had a parking lot… which was awesome since it’s always hard to find parking downtown… We walked in there, and were just in awe of how large the shop was! It looks small from the outside! They had racks and racks of bikes… As we walked in, Daddy was super excited to check out the bikes he had found online. The girls, of course, wanted to look for their (Disney) “Princess” bikes… I had to explain to them that they didn’t have princess bikes here, and we’d have to look around for them somewhere else. Of course, they did find the kid’s bikes with training wheels.. We let them get on the bikes, mainly because we were curious to see if they could figure out how to pedal or not.. Of course, they couldn’t.. They tried, we showed them, they got frustrated and gave up… Oh, but they always went back and tried again.. Stubborn Determined little turkeys! I just let them keep at it… It kept them quiet occupied, and let Daddy look in peace.. 

He ended up taking one bike for a test run, and came back ready to buy it… Of course he came to us and asked if it was ok to add a couple of things… pedals and a computer (geek)… How could I say no??? It was 10 minutes till closing, and they even offered to install the new pedals & computer! I was surprised! As we went up to the front to pay for it, Monkey Do RAN back to the kiddie bikes and grabbed the two bikes that they had been playing on.. She was dragging them back to the counter! I walked back to her, and asked her what she was doing… “Mommy, You HAVE to take these!” My heart melted… As much as I would’ve loved to buy them for her and Monkey See, I wasn’t about to spend $140 on a Specialized bike that they were going to outgrow in no time… I thought fast and asked her… “Which would you rather have? These bikes? or your Princess bikes?” She told me that she wanted the princess bikes, and insisted we look for them.. I again had to explain that they didn’t have them there, she cried.. I felt so bad!!!

I finally got her up, and told Daddy we’d wait for him in the car.. I figured that if I could keep them calm with a movie, they’d be ok.. Daddy rode out of there at about 630pm.. A half hour after closing… He was so excited… and I was excited for him… Luckily everything fit in the back of the van, and home we went.. He has gone out into the garage several times to just look at his bike.. Now I just know that he’s going to drag me out on my bike too… We have the bike trailer thingies for the girls to ride in, and helmets for them and everything… I can’t wait.. Yes I can… LOL.. 
 

So I was cruising around on our local Craigslist, as I do frequently. I love checking out the kids’ section, or the free and wanted sections. Well, occasionally I’ll check out the Arts & Crafts section looking for a good deal on yarn, beads or fabric… Well, I came across this ad the other day and just had to share it with you.

Click on image for a larger view.

Daddy and I thought this was such a cute idea that we had to order a picture. We actually “commissioned” Delaney to draw another picture of two fairies for our girls. We thought that Monkey See and Monkey Do would really like to have a picture drawn just for them by a local artist framed and hung up in their play room.

I’ve spoken with Ms Delaney’s mom, and she told me that Delaney was so excited to actually make a sale with her art. I’m so glad she posted her ad! Now, in 20 years, when Delaney is a famous artist, we can truly say we have one of a kind, Delaney Originals, from her early years… Literally!

If anyone is interested in helping foster this girl’s creativity, and make her dreams come true, by all means, email her at the email address in her ad, or leave me a comment! I’ll be more than happy to pass on her info!!!

I was hired by someone on Craigslist to make their window treatments for their new home… I was so excited to be given to opportunity to show off my custom sewing talent!

She showed me some photos of what she was looking for, and gave me the fabric she had already purchased.

Here’s an example of what I was able to make for her!

Faux Roman Shade

Sliding Door Drapes:

Well, What do you think?