Little Fur Family

Project 366 - Days 11-21

2012-01-22T01:13:00.000-07:00

Yup, true to form, I dropped the ball. I wish I was better at this blogging stuff. I have daydreams of becoming some amazingly profound blogger full of good advice and this beautiful life. Alas, I spend my days with gooey kiddos, dealing with the woes of red taped insurance companies (that could be a whole blog on its own), and always seem to get behind. But I have been taking photos.

Day 11 - I made the jump back to sewing fitted cloth diapers. I get bored easily, and love to change up my projects. I've been working with a hybrid fitted for a while and one night decided it'd be fun to whip up 20 or so. Haha!

Day 12 - Small Fry only is in preschool 3 days/week while the Monkey is in kindergarten every day. So on Tuesday and Thursday, it's just the two young boys at home. Small Fry got this Cookie Monster Play Doh set for Christmas, and like with most of their haul, I put it away for later. But he's been asking for it nearly every day. So today he got to play with it. He LOVED making veggies and letters and feeding them to Cookie. Funny enough, Small Fry, my eater, is pretty much a vegetarian. So he really enjoyed making all the veggies to feed to cookie.

Day 13 - I'm on a few Facebook boards of online "friends" and one of my boards has recently taken a liking to these little creatures. They're Mutant Caterpillars and apparently very hard to come by. One really late night, I'd passed out, woken up at like 4 am to read Facebook, Twitter and my email (the life of a tech junkie), and saw that the shop owner had stocked some of these in the middle of the night. Without thinking, I bought one. His name is Espressolott and he likes coffee. And he's adorable. The boys love him, but he's living in my studio, as both of us are fueled by coffee.

Day 14 - I have a DK Visual Dictionary that my fact-loving Monkey (a boy after his mom's heart) loves to read. Each page has detailed pictures and descriptions of many things, including everything about the body. Both of the older boys enjoyed the two-page spread on how the baby grows, and I loved hearing the Monkey describe each stage. "First, the baby starts out looking like a tiny dinosaur..." I'm very matter-of-fact with the boys, and I'm a scientist (well, that's what I studied to be), so I love sharing this stuff with them. In this picture, they're looking at a cross-section of the brain, talking about the pituitary gland and how that's the part that doesn't work in Split Pea. They know so much.

Day 15 - Split Pea was ready for a story and some nursing in his rocker with "Goodnight Moon". I can't believe he's 16 1/2 months old.

Day 16 - More trouble from Split Pea who decided he didn't want to go to bed after his usual routine, but rather wander around, and jump up and down in his sock monkey chair.

Day 17 - Hubby calls me "Laura-ganized". My brain is a mess, my house is full of stuff and probably looks messy to others. But I know where every little everything is. And on certain things, it must be meticulously organized. Like with my snaps. All organized by numerically and alphabetically by the color card.

Day 18 - We got this air hockey table from my sister who didn't have room for it anymore. We sold our dining room table on Craigslist and put the air hockey table in its place. The boys don't play on it everyday, but recently, they have. And Split Pea LOVES to join in. We just have to keep reminding him about putting his fingers over the goal. YEOWCH!

Day 19 - I was in my studio and apparently Split Pea wanted something in the toy box that he couldn't otherwise reach. So in he went.

Day 20 - Or apparently the theme of standing in things is becoming a habit. (Watching Sprout while I was working).

Day 21 - I was taking product photos and Small Fry woke from a nap. Once he had a snack, he was ready to strike a pose. This kid is going to be FOUR in just over a week. We're best buddies and even though we struggled a lot when he was tiny, we're quickly becoming very close. He's amazingly intelligent, and willing to try anything. Really, anything. Which can be scary. Or super cool. That's how we discovered he likes oysters. :)

Project 366 - Day 10

2012-01-11T01:54:00.000-07:00

I guess sort of continuing on the topic of Split Pea's condition is today's photo. It's funny, because really we don't think about it all that much. He gets an oral med in the morning and his routine at night, but unless he's sick (fever or vomiting), I don't think about it. I carry a bag of emergency injectables (steroids and glucagon) at all times, but nothing out of the ordinary.

We have to keep his growth hormone and steroids refrigerated, and happen to have a mini-fridge in our bedroom. Slowly all of his meds have migrated to our room (from his changing table), and so I finally got some boxes to organize everything. The bottom bin is rarely-used cough medicines, motrin and ibuprofen. I recently got caught with NO meds in the house when Small Fry got sick, so I stocked up at Target (where I got carded and realized I was buying a lot of medication!).

And the top bin is the stuff I use every day. Sharps container, alcohol pads, blood sugar testing stuff (need to pick up more needles and test strips!), extra needles for the growth hormone and syringes.

I definitely love being more organized!

Project 366 - Day 9

2012-01-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

Mondays are always a bit challenging. I liked Garfield's stance on Monday. This Monday had a few extra layers of difficult, as I spent a good deal of the day driving (to and from schools) and Split Pea decided to nap a lot less than usual. Added to that, hubby was on his last day of work for the week, had pulled a double shift on Sunday and was working Monday night. So it was all mom, all day.

And my least favorite issue, dealing with our insurance and Split Pea's growth hormone. GH is a very expensive, tightly regulated medication. It comes from specialty pharmacies, and has to go through many approval processes before you can actually get it. We spent nearly 5 months in the beginning of Split Pea's life getting it sorted out. And for the most part, the past year was pretty easy. But as of 1/1/2012, our insurance changed pharmacy administrators. The new administrator, however, decided they didn't have an account for us (even though I'd had Split Pea's endocrinologist fax the prescription AND the former pharmacy forward ALL their information). So I had to spend hours (literally) on the phone with dozens of people telling them we needed the GH, like NOW.

Contrary to common belief, GH is for more than just growing. And for Split Pea, he takes it mostly to keep his blood sugar in the normal range (the oral steroids help that too). And of course, for growing, bone strength, muscle tone, mood, mental sharpness, etc. So, him not having it is not a good thing. He has not missed a dose since he started it over 15 months ago.

And as of Monday night, I was just hanging in the air as to whether or not we'd get our next vials of GH in time. I hate that stress and it makes me a bad mom because I get really short with the kids.

Long story at its end, the boys were all freshly bathed and I was tucking the older ones into their beds (they share a room), and singing songs as I do every night. Split Pea nurses while I sing and then loves to cuddle with Small Fry. I figured this photo was the best part of my very challenging Monday.

I feel like in the not-too-distant future that the Monkey will move into his own room and Small Fry and Split Pea will share a room. They're growing really close these days and I LOVE to see how Small Fry is as a big brother.

Project 366 - Day 8

2012-01-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

As always, I'm behind. I'm taking pictures, but sometimes I just don't get to blog about them. I am loving this project though.

My sister and her son came down to watch the Broncos playoff game, but first I had to quell the kids' incessant requests for snacks. They are eating MACHINES these days. So, I made a plate of veggies and some mini bagels with a tiny bit of cream cheese.

In 10 short minutes, the plate looked like this:

And in another 30, it was completely gone. Split Pea is now saying "bagel", "bumber" (cucumber), and "pepo" (pepper). Or when he's really hungry, he likes to scream those new words at me.

Never a dull moment in the house of ravenous boys.

Project 366 - Day 7

2012-01-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

A freshly bathed Small Fry, with nicely combed hair. This was after an excruciatingly not-fun time removing a large piece of gum from his hair. He's a food stealer, and gum is one of his favorites. But he loves to play with the gum too. This was the first time it's ended up in his hair, which I must say, was not a fun mom-experience at all.

Project 366 - Day 6

2012-01-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

So I'm a day late, but yesterday...I had to grocery shop and the kids had to eat dinner. We met up with my sister and her son at Whole Foods for some yummy dinner (the kids had mac & cheese, sushi and veggies) followed by a little grocery shopping. They love the "Kids Club" when we leave. They answer a question and get a treat, usually an apple, clementine or fruit leather. Can't beat that.

Project 366 - Day 5

2012-01-05T22:21:00.001-07:00

Our nightly routine for Split Pea.

- Heel stick to check his blood sugar (you can see it was 80, which is great for him when he's just about due for his next steroid dose).
- The upper right is the machine that administers his growth hormone. He gets this subcutaneous shot every night. I mix a vial of it approximately every 2 weeks, and that case holds the delivery system and needles. It must be refrigerated.
- The syringe on the top of the photo is his steroids (oral hydrocortisone) that he takes 2x/day. And then of course, the diaper :)

Except for the diaper, this will be his nightly routine for the rest of his life.

Project 366 - Day 4

2012-01-04T21:07:00.001-07:00

Usually when I put Split Pea to bed, it's just the two of us reading "Goodnight Moon". Tonight, Small Fry joined us too. (And he even stayed and cuddled with me while I nursed Split Pea to sleep).

Project 366 - Day 3

2012-01-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

This is what the kids LOVE for a snack. Hard-boiled eggs (a hot commodity in this house), small orange tomatoes (Small Fry is the only one who likes tomatoes), peppers and cucumbers.

Project 366 - Day 2

2012-01-04T21:04:00.002-07:00

The Monkey loves Legos. More specifically, he loves Lego Minifigures. He spent an afternoon constructing an army.

366 Project - Day 1

2012-01-04T21:02:00.001-07:00

I was testing out a new diaper. I love having a live-in product tester. And I love it more when he naps.

366 Project

2012-01-04T20:58:00.001-07:00

So it is January 4th. I'm okay with starting late. I'm late to everything. But I take photos all the time, and thought it might be fun to have them on my blog. One for each day in 2012. I'm hoping to document a fantastic year full of good news.

Excuse me while I post a few days' worth of photos now :)

The winner is...

2011-12-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Random.org, the winner of the sock monkey longies ornament is comment #6!

Thank you so much for participating in the giveaway! I hope to have a few more going soon, so keep your eyes out!

I'm crafty (and you can win)!

2011-12-06T15:38:00.003-07:00

Thanks to Pinterest and various Facebook boards, I'm never at a loss for a craft that I want to do or do with the kids. We took a cold, snowy day this weekend to make a few things.

I figure it's a rite of passage to make a snowman with cotton balls. I think the kids may have done this in preschool, but I had a package of cotton balls, and thought it would occupy some time. As expected, Small Fry ended up with glue on the table and on his hands...which meant cotton ball stuck to his fingers too.

Monkey and Small Fry were super proud of their creations. It had been long enough that Small Fry needed to run around, and Split Pea (who was snacking during the snowman making) went with him to play.

I thought we'd try to cut out some coffee filter snowflakes next. I actually ironed the filters so they were nice and flat, folded them up and cut away. Small Fry is not so much into the cutting precisely thing, but Monkey was willing to try. It wasn't so easy, but he was proud of himself. (We are constantly working on making it okay to not be perfect your first time out of the gate. He struggles with trying new things if he can't do them right the first time. I've apologized to him for bestowing that trait upon him).

Monkey was done after one snowflake, but I got a little carried away. I could have made dozens.

It was time for dinner and a tv show, so I pulled out some knitting. Thanks to a friend posting her adorable creations and a super cute pattern from Ravelry, I made this:

And I'm knitting more (a hint to future giveaways...). They're longies ornaments. 5" long and full of adorableness. In the spirit of the season, I'm giving the sock monkey longies ornament away.

So leave a comment telling me how you are crafty for your chance to win. Don't forget to leave your email in the comment so I can contact you if you win! I'll pick a winner (via random.org) on Thursday, December 8th at 10 pm MST.

Earn an additional entry for following me on Twitter! (Just leave a separate comment with your twitter user name).

The Family Closet

2011-11-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

We have a big master closet. 7'x10'. And we don't have many clothes. After living in our house for 6 years, I never liked the closet. It was a catch-all, and I ended up living out of the laundry basket. Laundry. That was another problem. We have the laundry on the 3rd floor, right near the bedrooms. It's amazing, but when I was doing laundry for 5 people, plus linens and cloth towels/rags/napkins, it never got properly sorted or put away.

I was having to put stuff away in the Monkey/Small Fry's room, Split Pea's room, our room, and the linens (linen closet and kitchen). It just never got done. And I hated the huge piles everywhere.

One day in October I was bit by the "purge" bug. You know, the one that causes you to get so sick of an annoying mess that you just decide to throw everything away? I ended up cleaning our hated-master closet and moving boxes that had sat untouched for 5 years.

Then I had a lightbulb moment. Our closet was big enough to house EVERYONE'S clothes. One place to put ALL the clothes? Could it be done? Thank goodness for a new IKEA that had recently opened just 20 minutes from my house. I brainstormed some ideas, headed to IKEA and built a "child-size" version of their closet spaces.

Over the course of about a week, I bought and built some furniture, rearranged the closet, moved the boys' clothes out of their closets, did LOTS of laundry and tested out some new set-ups.

View from the door, closet in progress.

We already had built in racks about 5' high that went around two of the walls. Along one 10' wall, I set up two drawer systems and placed a wire-rack with a hanging-clothes bar. Small Fry has a section to hang his clothes, and a set of 4-drawers. The Monkey has the same set up. Split Pea has a section on the taller rack (because he's just too little to pick out his clothes), and a set of plastic drawers that hold his pj's, pants and socks.

Mounted one rack to the wall on the left

I used existing wire shelving unit for my lounge clothes, pj's, socks. I built a wooden set of drawers I had randomly purchased from IKEA one day, and used that for Hubby's t-shirts, pj pants and boxers. I bought square open boxes for the boys and hubby to hold socks and underwear.


About 95% finished. Just need to add my clothes and finish cleaning up.

After just over a month, the closet is working better than I'd imagined. I still feel motivated to fold and put away laundry all at once. It's easy since I only have to go one place, fill up a basket with the linens for the boys to fold before dinner, and we're done.

The current state of the closet. Looking to the right from the doorway. (My clothes on the upper right, Split Pea's on the upper left)

The boys *really* love picking out their own clothes and they are very respectful of the space. They put their dirty clothes in the basket, and know where each of their items is located. I love being able to ask them to get dressed, "and don't forget socks and a hoodie" and they do it. The independence has been great.

Looking to the left from the doorway. Small Fry's clothes on the bottom left.

Hubby's wooden drawers and hanging clothes (behind the door is a shoe rack and mirror)

Since they also bathe in our large master garden tub, it's easy for them to get pj's on in the closet and entertain Split Pea while he goes through his nightly routine of meds and shots.


Split Pea's folded clothes, and shoes just to the right of the doorway.

From a useless catch-all mess that I dreaded dealing with, to a completely functional family closet that solved problems of laundry getting put away, kids wearing the wrong size underwear and clothes in just a week. I am happy we made the change...it is making life a little more sane with three kiddos 5 and under.

Poor Blog :(

2011-11-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

Poor neglected blog. I am full of good intentions, but short on time. Can't believe it's been 10 months since the last blog post. Oh well, trying again for a good start. A few things I want to share, but feel badly for overwhelming everyone's feed on Facebook. So we're restarting again.

No More Guilt

2011-02-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest flaws. I feel guilty about everything. It's time consuming for me and I'm quite sure annoying for others. But I obsess over what others think of me and when I can't live up to (real or imagined) expectations of those I have deemed morally and socially superior, I feel guilty.

About 2 weeks ago (or just last week, I honestly can't remember), I thought giving Split Pea some solids might help fill him up, make him less cranky and maybe, just maybe, help him sleep through the night. Night one was just some oatmeal cereal, then I added some pears. He's now had apples, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash and avocado. And I didn't make one single bit of it (well, I cut up the avocado).

I struggle not to feel guilty or less-worthy because I didn't make his food. I made nearly all of the Monkey's food. I made most of Small Fry's food. And who knows if I'll make any of Split Pea's food. I joke that I barely have time to pee in any given day, let alone make a bunch of baby food. I am picky about what I buy for them, but I'm working hard to be okay that I purchased Split Pea's first foods instead of steaming, mashing, pureeing them. Or even waiting until 6 months, then letting him figure it out and not spoon-feeding him.

No one is making me feel badly, but the circles I spend time in focus on waiting until 6 months, baby-led weaning, etc. About 3:30 am the other night, I suddenly realized that it was okay to do it MY way. I'm a good mom and I've done this before. I can make my own decision on when and how to feed my son.

So the guilt is gone (for the feeding issue...we're working on other things too). I'm not letting the food stocked on the third shelf of the pantry make me feel like a bad mom. I stocked up on some fantastic baby food at Whole Foods, Split Pea ate the butternut squash from Sprout Baby Food last night and it was super good. Everyone had a little taste and loved it.

And guess what? We're on night three of sleeping through the night (well, Split Pea is. I'm still staying up way too late), and as a result, I've been able to pump and start building a freezer stash of milk so I can actually go out and away from the kiddos for a little while (i.e. ski for the day on our upcoming ski trip).

Phew. I feel better getting that out there. Now I'm off to feed the family dinner...including something from a pouch or jar for little Split Pea :)

Closing out January.

2011-01-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe January is almost over. This is a long, probably boring post, that I wanted to write so that I would know what happened this month. I forget where my car keys are on an hourly basis, there's no way I'd remember what my kids were doing in one month!

This month has been busy. Things are changing a lot around here, and although I'm not quite sure what direction we're all headed in, I'm starting to see more of the picture and feeling a little more together. Some days though, I still feel like I'm completely lost in unmapped territory.

I started selling cloth diapers in my Etsy shop this month. I love the diapers, and those that have bought them seem to like them too. I'm starting to stress about it though...I need to just love what I do and not do it for other reasons, and sometimes that's hard. I'm hoping to keep selling them, but I'll see how they do for the next few months.

On Monday, Small Fry turns three years old. He's definitely the troublemaker of the bunch. He knows it too. But he has the biggest heart, and when he stops for a second (and it's only a second), he'll give you the biggest kiss or hug and tell you that he loves you. Then he's off again, like a hummingbird stopping to sip nectar, Small Fry never stops flapping his wings.

We took the Light Rail downtown on MLK day to see hubby at his restaurant. I was a little nervous to travel the entire length of the Light Rail with just me and the three kids, but they did surprisingly well. (Small Fry was VERY excited, and even sat the whole time). I wore Split Pea in the Ergo, and even nursed him on the way there. The Monkey played with my camera (which was nerve wracking), and took this picture of me wearing Split Pea:

Split Pea is growing well (finally). He outgrew the weight of our kitchen scale, so I know he's more than 11 lbs, just not sure how much more. At his 4 month check-up (on January 7th), he weighed 10 lbs. 13 oz. Tiny, but at least he'd grown. And both the endocrinologist and pediatrician were very pleased with his progress. We've upped his growth hormone dose, and kept his hydrocortisone dose the same. We'll recheck his levels in March, right before we see the endocrinologist again. For now, his thyroid is high (in a good range, not too high!), and he may even be producing a little of his own testosterone.

He loves being on his tummy, can roll from tummy to back, but not the other way. He has started grabbing toys, and loves to chew on his hands. Not a big fan of the binky, but uses it to fall asleep. Spends lots of time in the jumparoo watching the craziness around him. We started him on solids (sort of) a few days ago, and it was successful in that he ate it. I'm in no big hurry though, so he's had some oatmeal and a little bit of pears and a little bit of sweet potatoes.

The one thing Split Pea is NOT good at is sleeping. He's slept in 3-hour spurts (at the most) every night since he was born. He likes to eat, and wakes up ravenous. We had slowly started to move him out of our room, or at least just out of our bed, hoping to improve his sleeping habits. He slept okay in the bassinet in our room, but still did better with complete silence. So a few days ago, I started having him nap in the crib. He did well with that, and so I started having him sleep in his own crib. The first night was a bust, he woke up every three hours, then wouldn't go back to sleep. But last night, something happened and he slept from 9pm to 5:30 am!!! He even stayed asleep when I slipped in (way late) to give him his midnight meds.

We'll see how tonight goes. I'm hoping for more of the same, but I say it's a fluke until it happens three times in a row.

As for the Monkey, he's started to grow quite an attitude. He is so smart, kind, loving and thoughtful, but boy oh boy, he has one big sense of entitlement. Part of it I feel incredibly guilty for, as I have a horrible shopping habit, and I'm afraid my excitement over new stuff has really rubbed off on him. But I'm working hard to change it in both of us and learn to appreciate what we have so I can teach that value to him.

We found out last week that he's been accepted into our district magnet school for kindergarten next year. This is what we had absolutely hoped for and all of us are really excited. I know it means I'm going to have to be really involved in school, and that scares me a lot. I get really intimidated being around other parents who aren't my friends, but classmates of the boys. I just feel small and not worthy, and afraid I'll embarrass myself around people I don't know. But that's my own issue (a big one I've carried around for years), and going to a school where parent involvement is a big deal will definitely challenge my social phobias, hopefully resulting in a positive change.

That's about it here in our house. I tried to get a picture of the boys wearing their new superhero shirts (Small Fry picked them out for everyone...the Monkey's is also a Batman shirt), but this was as good as it got. Three kids under 5 are hard to photograph. Now I get why you pay a professional.

Felt Projects

2011-01-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Happy 2011! I'm ready for this year. It will be the first year since 2005 that I won't be pregnant or having a baby, and I plan to make the most of it. December's goal of interacting more one-on-one with the kids was mostly successful. I'll write more about it soon, but in the meantime, I had to share some of the felt projects I made recently.

I LOVE felt toys. Last Christmas, I made a slew of play food for the boys, which they loved. And I had fun making it. I think there are some great patterns on Etsy, and I've bought nearly every one of my patterns from BuggaBugs and Gulf Coast Cottage.

The older boys are really into taking care of Split Pea (they want to watch me give his growth hormone shot and test his blood sugar every night), so when I saw this pattern I knew I had to make it. A doctor's kit!

It was really easy to make, great instructions and everything went together really fast. And the boys knew just what to do with it when they opened it on Christmas morning:

While I don't have a girl (yet), I still drool over all the cute things intended for girls. I saw this dollhouse on BuggaBugs' Etsy site a while back, and while my boys have liked playing with dolls in the past, right now everything is about comic book heroes, Star Wars, Batman, and so on. Soo, I decided to make the dollhouse for my niece's 3rd birthday. It would make a cute gift and satisfy my desire to make it.

BuggaBugs has GREAT patterns. There are color pictures for nearly every step, lots of detailed instructions and full size pattern pieces. I think I have at least 10 patterns from her shop. The dollhouse was lots of work, but I think it seemed like more because I crammed it into only a week (on top of making things for my own Etsy shop!). But it turned out really great, and I can't wait for my niece to open it for her birthday (this weekend).

Here's how the dollhouse turned out:

It was nice to make some stuff as gifts for a change. I've satisfied my need to do hand sewing and make felt stuff and today dove back into working on diapers. I'm excited to get them all finished and photographed this week so I can finally get them up for sale.

I've sat for too long, the older two are downstairs plotting mischievous activities, Split Pea needs a diaper change, and the dinner hour is fast approaching. I'm almost off the mommy clock and can soon head back to my studio!

A Lesson

2010-12-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

I've learned that it's not necessarily the best idea to make a pledge to do something with any consistency when it's the busiest month of the year for your business, your husband is working a new job with strange hours, and you have an unpredictable newborn.

Alas, I'm working hard on doing an activity each day and will post a 2-week wrap-up next. :)

Getting Involved - The Plan

2010-12-06T21:42:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been feeling the (mostly self-imposed) judgement that I'm not doing enough as a mom to "raise" my children. Yes, I feed and dress them (or give them clothes so they can dress themselves). I change diapers and give snuggles. I drive them to and from pre-school, read them stories and listen to an endless stream of conversation.

But where I've felt that I'm lacking is doing stuff with them. Especially since Split Pea's arrival, I've become completely unmotivated about interacting with them on an "extra-curricular" level. And I feel horrible about it. So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I chose to do something to fix it.

One night after Thanksgiving, I came up with a plan that every day for the month of December, I'd do an activity with the boys. Sometimes it could be with family, sometimes both hubby and myself, but something. Something to reflect on at the end of each day and something that could remind me that I am a good mom to my boys. Plus, I figure that it will help save my sanity since the older boys have winter break for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of the month.

In addition to the daily activities, I wanted to also commit us to an activity outside at least once a week. Interestingly, the temps have been unseasonably warm around here, but I really do hope that building snowmen and making snow angels is one of our activities this month.

My hope is that at the end of the month, I feel a renewed sense of self-worth as a mom, and have kids that are inspired by the flurry of activities. And hopefully I also feel motivated to continue the activities into the New Year (2011?!? Wow. SO not ready for that).

I'm not that interesting.

2010-11-23T00:19:00.000-07:00

I want to be a good blogger. I want to document my life and the interesting things that occur every day. Each night I realize that I feel very run-of-the-mill and ordinary. I wonder who would want to read about my daily life? But there are a few things that I know in a few years I would at least like to look back on and think about, so I figure I'm going to try my hardest to keep writing.

Tomorrow, bright and early, we're headed to a magnet school in the district to learn about their philosophies and how their enrollment process works. I'm not really sure, but from everything I've read, I think it would be a good fit for the Monkey as he starts kindergarten next year. To be completely honest, the realization that hubby and I are responsible for setting the stage for our sons' educational futures and successes in life is absolutely overwhelming and scary. I wish we had lots of money and could invest in a perfect private school (I'm still hoping they'll be able to go to private school around age 12). I think public school for the elementary years is good, but I just don't know. I can't believe I have to think about this already and feel like the decisions I make now are going to set off a cascade of results leading through all the years of education.

And that I'm going to have to analyze it and decide if what I do for the Monkey is the best for Small Fry and then the best for Split Pea. I love having children, but I feel like I know less and less as they grow older. They're starting to get out of my realm of control, starting to be influenced by friends, educated by teachers that are not immediate family or friends, and it scares me. Not that I feel like I know what I'm doing or would have the first idea how to instruct a 5-year-old in the ways of the world, but just the fact that I guess, that he's GROWING UP is really frightening.

So tomorrow, hubby and I will drop the older boys next door, take Split Pea with us, and go to a new school to learn about their mission and educational style. And I'm going to have to figure out if it "fits" for the way I believe my son should be educated. It's pretty cool that these choices are available for us, but at the same time, scary. I don't feel old enough to be making these kinds of decisions, these are the decisions adults and parents make. Oh crap. I am an adult and a parent. I have no idea how that happened.

That's where my head is at tonight. Now I'm off to do some more work as always and think about sleeping for a few hours.

Split Pea's Babysitter

2010-11-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

I often get asked how the Monkey and Small Fry like their new brother.

Small Fry LOVES his brother, but he's not as into taking care of him. He's 2 1/2 (almost 3!), and a little rough with him. He loves giving kisses and keeping his binky in, and "bouncing" the bouncer for him too.

The Monkey on the other hand, is a natural. He wants to hold Split Pea, feed him (I've got quite a story to offer about that incident), rock him, sing to him, carry him, etc. We have to set boundaries for safety reasons (as in "PLEASE do NOT take your brother off the bed and bring him to me!), but they get in plenty of cuddle time.

Yesterday, Monkey thought it would be fun to sing some songs to his little brother. It's a silly video, complete with some 4-year-old humor. Enjoy!

(Oh and I apologize for the fact that the Monkey was being more like a chipmunk and storing some fruit snacks in his cheeks the whole video!)

Guess Who?

2010-11-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Thought it would be fun to see what each of the boys looked like when they were between 6 and 8 weeks old. WOW. How time flies. Looking at the pictures though, I clearly can recall each moment in time.

I'm still amazed I'm a mom of three...and three BOYS at that.

Our routine

2010-11-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

Life with Split Pea is really quite similar to life with a normal newborn, we just have a few extra steps added in our day (and special things to look out for when he's sick or stressed).

This was a recent night after bath. I was giving Split Pea a oral dose of hydrocortisone, an injection of growth hormone, and testing his blood sugar level.

He takes hydrocortisone (1.2 ml) by mouth every 8 hours. (It tastes a little like cough syrup, but he doesn't mind.). We have it mixed at a compounding pharmacy at the hospital every 30 days. It is only good for 30 days at a time, and must be refrigerated. He will need this (or an oral pill like prednisone) for the rest of his life.

At night, he also gets an injection of growth hormone (currently .18 mg/day). We were trained by a special nurse on how to use this computerized delivery device, how to insert the needles into the device, how to mix the hormone, etc. The vials of hormone come in a powdered form with a system to mix the vial into a liquid. Once mixed, the hormone is only good for 21 days and must be refrigerated at all times or it will break down.

The injection is really quite easy and he rarely cries when getting it (we rotate clockwise from each upper thigh to each butt cheek). When he gets older, he can even do it himself. He will need this every day until he's done growing, and perhaps occasionally as an adult.

Approximately twice a day, before he eats, I test his blood sugar. The steroids he takes, in conjunction with the growth hormone help regulate his blood sugar, and when it's low, that can signal a problem. (That's why I carry a glucagon injection, just like a diabetic). This is a heel stick and a little test strip that is read by a computerized meter. The endocrinologist can download the meter information at each visit and get an overview of his sugar levels. Very high tech.

So it's overwhelming sometimes, but in only 2 1/2 short months, it feels pretty 'normal' to us. I'm just thankful everyday that all of this medication exists, and that Split Pea is going to be able to live a healthy and productive life thanks to the amazing marvels of science and medicine.

The Arrival of Split Pea

2010-11-14T15:33:00.000-07:00


September 2, 2010

I'm not going to write a long birth story because, well, I don't want to. The labor and delivery was uneventful. It was similar to my others, but longer. I was induced about 8 am, but Split Pea didn't arrive until about 4 pm (I have the exact time somewhere, but things are a little disorganized these days).

We held him for quite a while after birth and finally the nurses got their hands on him so they could take him to the well-baby nursery and check him out. I hadn't seen him for over 2 hours and asked my sister to see if she could find out what was going on. The next thing I knew, my pediatrician entered the room and delivered the life-changing news.

Her news was a laundry list of things that were wrong and ranged from his extremely low blood sugar (19!) to his weak femoral pulse (which she chose to tell me could indicate a problem with his aortic arch and may require heart surgery). (For the record, none of the laundry list was as dramatic as she'd made it sound. I'm still angry about how it was all presented to me.) Needless to say, once she left, I lost it. Hubby had left the hospital to play in his weekly poker game (when he left we all assumed everything was fine), and it was just me, my sister, and my nephew. I freaked out (I think silently, but was clearly bawling).

My sister was amazing. She called hubby and told him to get back to the hospital and asked my mom to come back too. About midnight, they wheeled me into the NICU so I could see Split Pea for the first time since after he was born. He was under an oxygen hood, had heart leads, a temperature monitor and a dextrose drip. I could only touch him. I hated being in my post-partum room that night, all alone.

The next morning, I went to the NICU again and this time he was on a nasal cannula, off the oxygen hood, but still on the dextrose drip. I got to nurse him (or try), and then feed him a little bottle. It was wonderful holding him, and I held him for as long as they would let me. The NICU even allowed the boys to come visit, and they were immediately smitten with their new brother.


Small Fry giving his new brother a tiny kiss

Split Pea had ultrasounds, chromosomal tests, blood tests and most importantly, an MRI of his brain over the next day. The results showed that his pituitary gland never completely grew together and therefore wasn't functioning properly. The official diagnosis is "Panhypopituitarism", aka "Pan Pit". The pituitary gland is the "master gland" in a body that sends out signals to all the other glands. Everything downstream is functioning well, it's just the master gland that is not working.

Once we got the diagnosis and met our new best friend, the endocrinologist, we started meds to stabilize him. (Side note: The endocrinologist took a few days to talk to us, and when she first met us the first two things she said were, "He's going to be fine", and that she took a few days because she wanted to have ALL the information before talking to us. THAT was when I knew she would be an amazing doctor for us). He was able to leave the NICU after 6 days. Although I wouldn't wish the NICU on my worst enemy, the nurses and doctors were absolutely AMAZING. I cried a whole lot there, and they were always willing to offer up a hug, an encouraging word, or just make me laugh.

We left the hospital after filling more prescriptions than I'd ever filled for both the other boys combined. When we left, Split Pea (aptly named because the pituitary gland is pea-sized in adults, and his is "split"), he was taking hydrocortisone three times a day. I was also testing his blood sugar with a glucose meter before each feeding. We were given dozens of things, including an emergency injection of glucagon in case of hypoglycemia, and an injection of Solu-Cortef, in case he couldn't ingest his dose of hydrocortisone.

In the weeks following his discharge, we visited a doctor or lab every single day. We had visits with the regular pediatrician, the urologist (he received testosterone injections), the endocrinologist, and visited both a regular lab and a pediatric hematology lab for blood tests.

I had a whole different plan of how things were going to go with our Split Pea, but I think he just wanted to make sure that we never forgot about him!

Hey! I have a blog!

2010-11-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

I think about my blog all the time, but that's about as far as it goes. All intentions toward actually writing seem to get pushed to the bottom of the ever-expanding to-do list. Then lately I started thinking that there is SO much going on, especially now, that I want to remember it all in say, just a year from now. I feel like the past few months have gone in the blink of an eye, yet were packed full with some of the most life-changing events ever.

So to catch up...I posted last in February, after posting some "Monkey-isms" (a feature I've decided to continue), and after the announcement of our newest addition.

Winter and Spring were fun. We took our annual Steamboat ski trip and decided that week that we'd move Small Fry out of his crib. When we got home, my parents offered us a bunk bed that was in their guest room. In 24 hours, we painted the Monkey's old room so we could move in the bunk bed. Just a week or so after getting back from vacation, the boys were sleeping together in the same room. Small Fry's old room would remain the nursery.

The Monkey also started in a soccer program with the local rec center. It was okay. Not great. He didn't care that much, and we had no coach. It was very disorganized, which I guess is to be expected with 4-year-olds, but I just didn't feel like we really got our money worth. Plus we had to drive almost 25 minutes to get to the fields, and we had a lot of snowed out games. Needless to say, we aren't going into organized sports again for a while.

As Spring gave way to Summer, we continued preparing for baby, but enjoying our time as a family. I started getting excited for Small Fry to start pre-school at the same place as Monkey. They would be doing a summer-camp program and attending 3 days a week for 3 1/2 hours each day. Small Fry was ready. He wants to be exactly like his big brother, and I often (really) am asked if they are twins. People are shocked when I respond that in fact, they're 23 months apart.


A quick picture as we headed out for the first day of summer pre-school

I had nothing to worry about. Small Fry loved preschool and it was incredibly nice to have a few mornings each week to do my own thing. The time always seemed to pass too quickly though. Also in June, hubby decided to leave his job and pursue a new opportunity. I was excited, because the insurance change would kick in when I was 35 weeks pregnant, just in time to deliver at the hospital of my choice and use the doctors I'd previously used with Monkey and Small Fry.

The rest of the summer was busy with keeping cool (pregnant in a house with no air-conditioning is not so fun), swimming at the club pool, visiting the zoo and enjoying the outdoors as much as possible.

As August wound down, we knew our newest addition was just over the horizon. The boys were anxious to meet their new brother, even shouting at my belly, "COME OUT NOW BABY!". Due to high blood pressure and being just a few days away from my due date, I chose to have an induction.

Our Split Pea was born on September 2nd, and his arrival would affect our family in ways we never expected...

Monkey-isms

2010-02-17T19:12:00.002-07:00

I am in awe of the brain my little Monkey has. The things he says, the way he plays with his toys, the way he interacts with friends and family, it all amazes me.

Today was particularly hilarious for his "Monkey-isms". I was already impressed when he showed me his painted American flag with presidential silhouettes, and he could readily identify George Washington and Abe Lincoln. SO cute.

In the car, I told him that he was the best little boy I knew. His response?

"I'm not a boy anymore, I'm a MAN."

As we drove closer to home, he saw the usual cows out for their daily pasture time.

"Hi cows!! Enjoy your grass! Eat lots and make good milk!"

And finally tonight as I was reading stories and singing songs to him and Small Fry. I sang "Hush Little Baby", a favorite of mine. At the end of the song, the Monkey told me...

"Mommy, you don't need to buy us all that stuff"

"Why?" I asked

"Because we're already the best little boys in the town. And if you buy us the glass (the looking glass), we won't break it!"

I think that I fall more in love with my boys as each day passes.

Shhh...I have a secret!

2010-01-30T21:46:00.002-07:00

Well, it's not so much a secret anymore, but our family of four is going to soon be expanding to a family of five!

We're not very far along yet, only 9 weeks, but after seeing a baby with a heartbeat and all, I breathed the biggest sigh of relief imaginable (I've had two miscarriages, one in March '07 and one in June '09).

Our latest addition is due to arrive in early September, which is super exciting since Small Fry and the Monkey have January and February birthdays...no more joint birthday parties!

I don't have anything else exciting to share right now, but I'll be sure to keep updating as the appointments progress.

I must say, telling the Monkey was lots of fun, because now that he's almost 4, he has MANY more questions about the baby growing in mommy's belly then he did when he was two (when his brother was born). He did ask if the baby was going to grow into my lungs (he is fascinated by the human body, science nerd like his mama).

Happy weekend all!

Banana Cream Pie

2010-01-17T21:08:00.004-07:00

Everyone has their favorite pie. My dad's is cherry. My husband's is pumpkin. My pie is banana cream pie. But in my almost 30 years of life, I have never made one.

I have a strange love affair with the Williams' Sonoma "Baking" cookbook. I've had it for maybe eight years or so, and it has the best challah recipe EVER. It has lots of other tasty recipes too, and I've often desired to make each and every one a la "Julie and Julia", but I fear I'd gain 100 pounds. There is a recipe for Banana Cream Pie in the cookbook, and this weekend, while doing some major weekly meal planning, I decided to take the plunge and make the pie. I even got a half-dozen perfectly ripe bananas at the store for only $0.75!

This pie uses pastry cream, which I've never made, and any time you're cooking milk, and adding eggs to that hot milk, there's always a chance of disaster. But I make lots of things that use that technique, so I figured I could do it.

The recipe starts with the pastry cream...whole milk and the insides of a vanilla bean. The Monkey was my sous chef and told me the vanilla bean smelled like a raisin (it did kind of).

After the milk had heated, we added egg yolks, cornstarch and some salt, cooked it until it thickened (this was amazing, I was afraid it would never thicken and then, voila! All of the sudden it was like custard!).

The cream was pressed through a fine mesh sieve, covered with plastic wrap and cooled.

I layered the pastry cream on to the baked pie crust, then bananas that were tossed with orange juice, then more pastry cream. I covered that and let it chill all afternoon.

Then it was time to make the whipped cream. My boys have seen this lots, I never buy pre-made whipped cream because it's just SO much better made fresh.

I covered the pie with the whipped cream, and neither of the kids could WAIT for dessert.

We finished our homemade pizza (so tasty), and the kids couldn't stop asking for pie. Clearly Small Fry and the Monkey LOVED it. And as for me and hubby....we've each had two pieces. I'm sure the pie won't last through tomorrow!

Joining a CSA

2010-01-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've talked to so many people about the great experience we had with our CSA this past season, and thought it would be worth it to write it all down in a blog post so everyone could learn in detail what we did and how we liked it.

As some background, we've been using Door-to-Door Organics for a little over 18 months. I heard about them through word-of-mouth, and they deliver various size boxes of produce (fruit, veggies, or a mix) to your doorstep once a week. It has been really a fun experience, and made having fresh produce even easier than going to the grocery store (especially because we don't really have specialty organic store around here, soon though!).

In April of 2009, I started to hear the "buzz" about joining a CSA. A CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture". It is a way to support a local farm and enjoy fresh, local and often organic produce for the season that the farm is producing. You buy a "share" of produce (all CSA's are different in what they offer), and in return you get a variety of the current bounty from the farm on a (usually) weekly basis.

We got a booklet in the mail, I honestly can't remember who wrote it, but it had a HUGE list of CSA's, farmer's markets, local meat producers, everything agricultural in Colorado. I poured over that booklet for weeks, researching on the internet, talking to friends, talking with my husband, just seeing what would be a good fit for us. My sister had mentioned joining a CSA also, so I looked further into it, knowing that we'd likely be able to split a "share".

After lots of research, I decided to buy a share at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, CO. Okay, so Wellington is pretty far north of us, but it is still local, and a LOT more local than buying produce from out of the USA or even from California. If you buy at Whole Foods, you may even have bought Grant Family Farms produce, as they sell to many of the Whole Foods in the state, and even to a lot of the local restaurants (they have a restaurant list on their site).

We purchased a "Family Share" for the entire 26 week season. This share is the largest they offer, and includes only vegetables. The variety of veggies would vary depending on what was ripe when they packed your boxes each week. We also added a "Single Fruit Share" which was 22 weeks of local fruit. Some of the fruit comes from Grant Farms, but most is obtained from other small, local farms around the state (like Ela Family Farms...we used to buy their applesauce at Whole Foods!). I called when buying the share and was able to split the payment of the shares into three payments over the course of the season. They're really nice about helping you out. All of their fruit and vegetables are certified organic.

There are many other share sizes, from small to single shares, even working shares, where you can work on the farm as a way to pay for part of your share. They very clearly detail the options on their website.

There are dozens of "pick-up" locations, so we were able to choose one that is only about 5 minutes from our house (just a few blocks past the local grocery store!). We were able to pick up our veggies and fruit each Wednesday from 3-6pm. (Other locations had different pick-up days, but all the times would work for those who work full-time!).

Each Monday afternoon, I'd receive a wonderful email in my inbox. There was a great note about what was going on at the farm that week, and a description of what to expect in the boxes that week (of course, it could vary depending on what was ready to be harvested). The boxes are picked the day before you pick them up, so really you can't get any fresher. Also in the email would be facts about maybe some strange veggie that we'd be receiving that week (kohlrabi anyone?), and recipes. Often there would be two recipes that utilized the veggies we were expecting. And they'd even include interesting articles that related to earth-minded people.

I printed out each email and kept it in a binder so by the end of the 26-week season I had almost a cookbook full of recipes along with descriptions of veggies, how to ripen various fruits, and how best to store all of my produce.

Every Wednesday, around 5 pm, I'd drive over to my pick-up location. I'd bring four or so reusable bags with me. The family share bin was HUGE. I'd sign the check-in binder, and open my bin of produce. We had so many different kinds of veggies, I don't know if I could list them all. A month after we started the veggie share, we started getting fruit, so I'd pick up our single fruit share during this time too. I'd put everything into my reusable bags and leave the bin there, to come back to a full one next week.

One of the early pick-ups in mid-June. (See the strawberries? They were the best I'd ever eaten)

Sometimes, the amount of veggies, the amount of green stuff, the amount of apples was unbelievably overwhelming. But my husband said it perfectly when I told him I had 56 apples to do something with, and he said, "I welcome the challenge". It was a challenge. I spent more time in the kitchen than I could remember spending in recent years (and I cook dinner 5 nights a week).

When I was cooking a meal, I'd have to add on usually an extra 40-60 minutes for prepping veggies, something I wasn't used to, but became much easier with practice. I experimented with vegetables I'd never eaten or even heard of in my life. We made kale chips, brownies with beets (they were good), mashed kohlrabi, and more. Thankfully, my children are adventurous eaters, so they would always try what we had planned.

The HUGE summer squash that was larger than my first born son at birth.

In the first half of the season, it was a LOT of greens. Large bunches of romaine and red leaf lettuce every week, plus kale and chard. In the middle of the season, we were overwhelmed with corn. Thankfully we like corn, but we were getting about a dozen ears a week (and organic corn can have worms, which scared the bejezus out of me the first time!). It was good, just a LOT. Sometimes (I hate to say it, but it's true), we didn't eat everything. Even splitting it with my sister for the first half of the season, it was a lot. But it was always wonderful, and if there was something we really didn't care for (like cilantro), we knew others who would use it and we were happy to share the bounty.

One thing to note that this was a very bountiful year for Grant Farms. They told us that not all years are as plentiful as this, and some CSA's were hit by horrible hail and had to suspend delivery for a time because they didn't have enough to fill boxes. This is the risk with a CSA. If nature doesn't cooperate, you may see a slim picking of produce.

I think the only problem we had the whole season was with the tomatoes. If I recall correctly, they picked them too ripe and they didn't do well while waiting to be packed. They were all very mushy and no longer good when we got them. But that was only one week.

The fruit. OH MY GOODNESS the fruit. Unfortunately, apricots and nectarines didn't make it to the share this year due to an early freeze (the risk of joining a CSA), but we ate the most unbelievably delicious cherries, peaches, pears, plums, apples, melons, watermelons and more. I baked a lot of it, but often we'd eat it all up before I had a chance to bake anything.

A pick-up from late September.

Even as the snow came in, we still had delicious produce to pick up. Our pantry was bare, no processed foods came into our house all season. Instead we bought local meat (sorry, we love beef), and made dinner every night with our CSA bounty. It was healthy, tasty, organic and a culinary challenge. Some things didn't always turn out for the best, but 99% of the time, we had a fantastic meal, with rave reviews from all family members.

We also got many "perks" throughout the season. We would get a half-dozen eggs to try their wonderful egg share (they were SO good), or a small pint of raspberries or strawberries tucked in the box. A HUGE summer squash (along with a good recipe for using it). When they were promoting their fall festival, we received a bottle of local beer, along with free-tickets to the festival. During the fall, we got pie pumpkins, many decorative gourds, and a taste of the most wonderful bread they'll be offering as a share next season. As winter approached, we received a bottle of wine and a beautiful hand-tied pine bough wreath, made with pine boughs from the farm. (Oh, and I even got a credit for referring someone to the CSA!)

One of the last pick-ups in late November - still a HUGE bounty!

I visited the grocery store maybe once a month (if that - I started to notice because I never earned enough to get my $0.10 discount on gas, haha!). I'd get some pasta or meat, and maybe a few grains. But I was so inspired by the need to put more prep time into the meal, that I started baking our own bread too. We get our milk delivered, so I didn't need to rush to the grocery for that.

Sadly, the season turned cold, and the crops were done. Grant Farms does offer a monthly, winter share, but we chose to forgo the winter crops and wait until the summer. We miss it dearly though. They were right when they said we'd have "culture shock" having to shop in a supermarket produce section again. I missed just knowing that I was eating local, organic, fresh produce, instead of having to pour over labels and find out what I was eating, where it was from, and has it been sprayed or treated with something? It was really hard for both my husband and I to buy produce at a supermarket again.

We can not wait until the season starts again in June 2010. In addition to veggies and fruit, Grant Farms offers SO many other options. They have an egg share, which we are definitely going to purchase next year. In addition, they are now offering, bread, baguette and pastry shares. All are made with local, organic ingredients (even local wheat from Grant Farms) and baked the morning the share is delivered to the pick-up location.

They also have meat: duck, chicken, turkeys, lamb and goat all available for purchase. All are raised right on the farm without antibiotics. (Not all is certified organic yet, but they give details about that on their site). You can even get your Thanksgiving turkey from them!

So that's it. We're beyond pleased with the amount and quality of produce we received as well as the amazing communication from the farm. I felt such a part of an important local business, and am so happy with everything it did to raise my ecological awareness. We're counting the days until the share starts up again, and wondering exactly which bread and pastry shares we're going to get this year!

Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Dreidels

2009-12-17T21:07:00.004-07:00

A co-worker found these in a Martha Stewart magazine for me and of course the Monkey (a marshmallow lover) couldn't WAIT until I made them. I decided to make a big batch for his Hanukkah party at school this week.

They are basically a Hershey's Kiss stuck on a marshmallow, with a pretzel handle, all dipped in chocolate.

The boys loved helping me count out the Hershey's Kisses and they were actually quite proficient at unwrapping them too (except when they discovered if they licked the kiss, I'd make them eat it instead of putting it on the marshmallow, everything went downhill).

I used some melted chocolate to stick the Kisses to the marshmallows:

After those were cooled, I used a knife to cut a slit in the top of the marshmallow and inserted a thin pretzel stick:
I melted chocolate (I cheated and used the candy melts, which are so much easier to work with than real chocolate), and dipped the dreidels in:

I left those in the fridge for about 20 minutes (or longer, I think one kid had a temper tantrum, and another needed a snack), and then melted white chocolate candy melts. I put the melted white chocolate in a zip-loc bag and cut off the tip to pipe on the Hebrew letters.

In retrospect, I should have let the candy melts cool a little so the chocolate wasn't so runny (or used real white chocolate which may have been a little thicker), because my letters were far from perfect. But when you're feeding them to 3 and 4 year-olds, not-quite-perfect is just fine.

The kids (and my husband) devoured them and I've already been asked to make another batch even though Hanukkah is over on Friday night. I'm thinking I need to work on a Christmas-y version.

Too much HGTV

2009-09-13T02:25:00.002-06:00

I must have watched too much HGTV tonight. I watched (well, listened) to a few hours of design shows while working in my studio tonight. And now at almost 2:30 in the morning, I'm planning a complete move of the studio.

We have a vacant bedroom upstairs, adjacent to a large loft that is technically the office, but really a JUNK haven (I hate it). I decided tonight to figure out if I could move my studio to the extra bedroom, and organize the loft to an actual office and shipping center.

All of that movement would require that we clean and completely organize our basement (1100 square feet of disorganization), which is beyond overwhelming. But that needs to be done, so maybe all this is a good thing.

The funny part is that I have absolutely NO idea when I'd have the TIME for any of this. Or money to add the stuff in the studio that I want, like additional shelving, paint, etc.

Maybe I need to submit this to an HGTV show and they'll come and make it over for me. Yah, it's late, I need to go to bed.

Boulder

2009-09-10T21:14:00.004-06:00

I'm SO bad about blogging, but I've been thinking often about it, and how I really want to keep it up, so I've made a goal to blog at LEAST once a week until the end of the year. I need to remember all the things in my life that aren't related to my work. Should keep it interesting.

Hubby and I both graduated from University of Colorado, and absolutely LOVED living in Boulder. When you're not a college student though, the housing prices are outrageous. We'd love to live there again, but need to make A LOT more money in order to do that!

So, we decided on a beautiful late summer day, it was an ideal time to venture up there with the kiddos in tow.

We just spent a few hours there, and played on Pearl Street (in the fountains). Small Fry was reluctant at first, but hubby showed him how fun it was, and he soon warmed up to the idea and played with the Monkey for quite a while.

Of course for us, no trip to Boulder is complete without a trip to Hapa Sushi (even though they have two other locations MUCH closer to us, but this one holds so, so many memories). We ate our standard fare, and the boys got peanut butter & jelly sushi (with a strawberry topped whip-cream pile in the center). Small Fry was loving learning to use his chopsticks. He then finished off a few California rolls and Philly rolls. The kid really DOES eat anything.

(I tried to take better photos but of course didn't have my good flash, so the photos aren't so great).

After lunch we met up with our neighbors, who one of their dogs and her two puppies with them. We all walked around and stopped off at my favorite candy store (I got a Flake, one of the only places I can get them in the US), and the boys each got a "Bubble Gum" flavored candy stick. I must have been in one good mood to let them have that!

Small Fry loved his, and even managed to enjoy it with the puppy sitting on his lap.

About 15 minutes into our 1 hour+ drive home, both boys were completely fast asleep. Pretty sure that means they had a good time too.

Small Fry the Chatterbox

2009-08-08T11:17:00.003-06:00

Between me and the Monkey, it's hard to get a word in edgewise in this house. The Monkey actually was a late-talker (you wouldn't know it now!), and we took him to speech therapy at 22-months. They said he was mildly delayed, but it wasn't anything that warranted any worry or further therapy. Something happened around 25 months though, and it was like he grew 10 years overnight. Now, he has the MOST amazing vocabulary and regularly surprises hubby and me with the unbelievable words that come out of his mouth. And the things he knows. It's just amazing.

But this post is about Small Fry. Small Fry knows his stuff. He knows what he wants and how to get it. He knows a good deal of signs, that he's been using since about 10 or 11 months old. Although his favorite word is "THAT!" to request just about anything or everything, he is coming up with new words every day. He's definitely ahead of where the Monkey was at this point. (Not that I'm comparing, but it's the only reference point I have).

And I must add that I'm a super proud mom that both of my boys are voracious readers? I love their love of books, their desire to be read to, their desire to look at every page in a book again, and again. I often find the Monkey fast asleep in bed surrounded by a pile of books. And now the Monkey wants to know what everything says, what each individual word says. Although he reads from right to left, but we'll work on that. At least he knows all his letters and numbers and can speak some Spanish.

But back to Small Fry.

I thought it would be neat to make a list of what words he says now. The list changes, but today I just heard "DADDY! HOME!" and was loving the two-word phrase...a milestone of the speech world. I'm enjoying the changes and growth I'm seeing in him, as I think getting older suits him. He was a cranky baby, I think because he knew the wonderful things that await him with each passing day and each milestone.

So...Small Fry's list of words (at 18-months old, and mind you, these are said in Small Fry speak, so not necessarily as clear as each syllable, but his mom and dad know what he's saying)...
- Mama
- Dada
- Brother
- Kitty
- Doggie
- Hot Dog
- Hot
- Cheese
- Elmo
- Apple
- Peach
- Plum
- Grape
- Blueberry
- Hammer
- Handy Manny
- Done
- Down
- Up
- Cookie
- Home
- Eye
- Poop (an essential to every kiddo's vocabulary)
- Hi
- Bye
- Bubbe (what we call my mother-in-law)
- Off
- On
- Help
- Happy Birthday
- E-I-E-I-O (he tries REALLY hard to sing this when the Monkey is singing)

(He also LOVES to "RAWR" like a dinosaur or monster on every occasion, and he's happy to SCREAM to let you know he's not happy.)

That's a pretty good indication of what we do on a daily basis...EAT. Small Fry sure does love to eat. Cheese and fruit, lol!

Silence.

2009-07-18T19:19:00.002-06:00

Yup, just as seems to be the norm, I have neglected my blog. Life just seems so busy, and with Facebook, Twitter, and three message boards, I feel like I complain enough about my life.

Ah, but tonight, I was editing photos for my Etsy shop after I helped hubby put the boys to bed. I was sitting on our couch downstairs, listening to the white noise of the fan and totally falling asleep (if you know me, 7:30 is no where near a bed time for me...think more like 3 am).

I LOVE the silence that occurs right as the boys fall asleep for the night. It's like a wave of calm peacefulness, stillness, and order comes over the house. It's as if the house, too, is settling in for the night. Getting a rest from the chaos, screaming, crying, throwing, noise of the day.

I used to not understand why my sister (who had a son in 2001, five years before my first was born), why she didn't watch much tv. I get it now. The silence that falls on this house each night sometime between 7:30 and 9:30 is much better than any noise I could imagine.

Of course, don't get me wrong. I love the kids with all of my heart. But like all humans, I need a break from them too. I relish in the silence for a few hours before catching a few episodes of whatever I've recorded on my Tivo, working in my studio until the wee hours (the norm is starting to become closer to 3 am these days).

And I love when I'm done in the studio and can creep up the stairs and quietly visit each of my boys to give them a good night kiss and watch for a few moments as they are still, peaceful, dreaming, and quiet. I soak in that peacefulness because I know all too well that all too soon, as the sun creeps over the eastern horizon, the noise returns, the house awakens, and the silence is gone for another day.

I'm off to edit more photos. And while I'm at it, I think I'll eat a snack. Because I really love to eat when I don't have to worry that someone will be clawing at my heals, crying and whining for whatever I am eating!

Win a Diaper Bag and lots of MamaMade goodies!

2009-07-18T02:53:00.000-06:00

As the summer is starting to wind down (in my mind at least, as the Monkey has only 2 weeks of summer pre-school left), I've decided now is a great time for a giveaway!

You can win a beautiful MamaMade diaper bag, full of wonderful MamaMade goodies (over a $150 value!!), just by making a purchase of $20 or more from my Etsy shop between July 18th and July 31st.

Even if you're not in need of a diaper bag, this bag would make a great tote, or a fantastic gift for any mom-to-be!

The winning package will include:

- MamaMade Diaper Bag: 4 external pockets (2 are perfect for bottles), 5 internal pockets. Long handles allow you to wear the bag over your shoulder. 100% cotton fabrics, completely machine washable! Very durable. Bag measures 14" wide x 14" tall x 6" deep - great for cloth diapers too!

- Rubber Ducky Minkee Baby Blanket: This adorable blanket has a super soft, yellow Minkee on one side and a 100% cotton "Just Ducky" flannel on the other side. Measures 30 x 36", a perfect size for baby. Machine washable, great as a crib blanket (my Small Fry curls up with one like this every night!)

- Flannel Burp Cloth Set: This set of adorable pale blue flannel burp cloths is perfect for cleaning up any mess. They are double sided flannel, top stitched for durability. Each burp cloth measures approximately (9" x 17")

- Custom Sock Monkey Shirt or Onesie: You pick - girl monkey or regular sock monkey, and pick the shirt size (newborn-18 months onesie, or t-shirt - I'll discuss the best size/style with the winner).

- MamaMade Reusable Sandwich Bags: You'll get 2 Sandwich size bags and 1 snack size bag in prints that coordinate with the diaper bag (photo below is a sample, the winning bags will be different prints).

Read on for all of the details:

How to Enter:
- Make a purchase of $20 or more (before tax and shipping) from my Etsy shop any time between July 18th at 12:01 am MST to July 31st at 11:59 MST. For every $20 (before tax and shipping) you spend, you get ONE entry to win the diaper bag and goodies!

(One entry for every $20 spent (before tax and shipping) means that if you buy $40 of items from my shop, you get TWO entries, and so on!)

Drawing:
- I will draw a random name from all qualified entrants by using Random.org's random number generator. Name will be announced on my blog on August 1st, 2009, and winner will be notified via email (make sure your email is correct with your Etsy account!)

Other stuff:
- I'm sorry, but purchases made outside of the contest dates do not apply.
- $20 must be purchased in the same transaction.
- Any unpaid orders will not be eligible for the drawing, so please make sure to submit your PayPal payment upon check out.

Thank you and good luck!!

Head on over to my Etsy shop to fill up your shopping cart!

I love mail day!

2009-05-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

I knew I had good mail coming today! Check out what I got from Fat Quarter Shop today:

Most of it will become sandwich and snack bags, but it will become other stuff too. I had a great idea from a loyal customer when she asked me to make some water-proof water bottle holders for her Sigg bottle. The bottles are great, but I know condensation can make everything else get wet, and a waterproof holder would be ideal!

From the left: Bot Town (the first four pieces, I have more coordinates), and then a great new zoo print in two colorways.

From the left: A fun and funky print from Moda, some great dots, three colorways of a fantastic tree print, and my favorite - blueberries and strawberries, on light green and cream

A few cowboy prints, I can't wait to work with these!

Things Happen for a Reason...

2009-05-23T23:13:00.000-06:00

PHEW! May was one of the busiest months of my whole life. Thanks to a completely unexpected shout-out in an "Etsy Finds" email/blog post on Earth Day, I was beyond swamped with orders. Earth Day was definitely a lot more like Christmas this year, and totally busy, but wonderful. Things are starting to get back to normal, and I have started to even take a night off every now and then (I generally sew in my studio from 8 pm - 2 am every night).

Funny thing...the DAY before Earth Day, I got this strange urge to move things around in my studio. I have this beautiful, and LARGE Sylvia cutting table, and I knew I could reconfigure it so that I could open out the table the whole way (It has two drop sides, and I only had one side up).

What I thought (ha!) would be a quick project, turned into 8 hours of complete reorganization and a fantastic and completely productive new set-up. Little did I know that 24 hours later, I would be on my way to making over 600 new sandwich bags, and finally have the perfect set up for such a mass-production? Kind of cool how things worked out that way.

Thought I'd post some before and after pics. The before pictures were taken in January 2009, so just less than 4 months before I decided to do a switch-a-roo. Oh yah, and I added new lighting - it's like a whole new world!

View from the entrance - BEFORE:

View from the Entrance - AFTER:

Fabric Storage/Cutting area: BEFORE

Fabric storage area/Ironing area: AFTER

View of Ironing Area: BEFORE

View of Cutting Area: AFTER

New shelving to hold the rapidly multiplying fabric stash:

View from the sewing machine: (My space is optimized, and there is a much better flow/path through the area)

And a few last photos...that moving around was good, because I need LOTS of floor space when I'm packing orders:

I restocked!

2009-04-23T11:45:00.000-06:00

A quick note, my shop is restocked on snack and sandwich bags. I don't know when I'll be able to restock again, so get your order in before they all disappear!

http://mamamade.etsy.com

And the Winner is...

2009-04-23T01:34:00.000-06:00

The winner of MamaMade's Earth Day give away is...

From Random.org's Random Number Generator...

Comment #22 - Amber!

Congrats Amber! I'll be leaving a comment on your blog, but please email me at MamaMade@LNSDesigns.net with your mailing address so I can send you your bags!

Thank you to EVERYONE who left a comment for me during this giveaway! I am so excited to see the variety of ways that everyone is trying to live a simpler, greener life. Thanks to a great Etsy article that showed my sandwich bags, I sold out the shop a few times today. I'll be listing lots of pre-order bags tonight, so if you didn't win this bag, consider checking out some new listings.

Thank you again!

Earth Day Giveaway - Win a Reusable Sandwich Bag!

2009-04-20T20:46:00.000-06:00

***This contest is now closed, but I still have bags available in my shop!***
Over the past year or so I've seem to become hyper aware of what I'm throwing away. Every time I take out the garbage (or make hubby do it), I think what is in there that I could have saved, reused, or gone another route to avoid throwing it away in the first place.

One big change we made is to completely eliminate paper towels from our house. That was a change, but our dish towels love the use they're getting! We switched over to more eco-friendly cleaning products and detergents (like Crunchy Clean Detergent) and even stopped using dryer sheets (thanks to Fuzzy Wuzzy Dryer Balls!)

I also started to realize I was using LOTS of plastic zip-top baggies. With a 3-year-old in pre-school and a 1-year-old with a big appetite, I am packing lunch and toting snacks on a daily basis. I'd reuse the plastic bags filled with cheerios as much as I could, but I figured there was a better way. So I checked out my studio and realized that the seemingly simple combination of a cute cotton print, a waterproof lining and some velcro would make the perfect reusable sandwich bag!

After a few trial and error bags (those that I could barely get open, lol!), I made the perfect bag, in two sizes too! The bags are completely reusable, waterproof (so put in a handful of grapes, carrots, celery or even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich), AND they're machine washable.

When the bag gets too dirty, just toss it in the washer (and dryer if you need it right away)!

As Earth Day approaches, I know we all start to become more aware of ways to preserve our majestic planet, and I want to hear your ideas! I'd love to know what you currently do or would like to do to be more Earth friendly! Leave a comment with your ideas and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a sandwich bag set (like the bag pictured above!). One lucky winner will get a Sandwich size (6.5" x 6.5") AND a snack size (6.5" x 4") in my new favorite batik print - Recycle.

------------------------------
How to Enter:
1) Leave a comment on this post between now and April 22nd at 11:59 pm MST. Tell me the ways you have become more Earth friendly, or things you'd like to change. One comment per day/per person please! If you leave an anonymous comment, be sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you're the winner!

2) Blog about this contest to win another entry - just leave a comment with the blog link.

3) Mention this giveaway on a message board to win yet another entry! Just let me know which message board in your comment.

-------------------------------
I will randomly select one comment as the winner for the giveaway and post the winner on my blog on April 23rd. Good luck!! :)

Monkey has a Girlfriend!

2009-04-17T19:24:00.000-06:00

After several requests for a girly version of my classic Sock Monkey tee, I designed this sweet little lady.
Of course, her bow can be any color, and she even has sparkly genuine Swarovski crystal "earrings".

20" of Snow - Day One

2009-04-17T16:20:00.004-06:00

This was the snow at about 10 am on Friday, April 16th. Many more inches to come.

That was the final total (pictures of that coming soon). 20". In April. I am a very happy woman. I love snow, and knowing that it will be close to 80 degrees in just a few days, I savored every moment of my snow days.

Hubby worked Friday (the first day of the snow), and took my SUV to work, so the kids and I were stuck at home. We stayed busy...

The kids played with every toy they had, napped, ate lunch (and some dinner), and I baked. I made challah and chocolate chip cookies...drool.

Since I always use a warm oven top as a place to rise my bread, I figured I'd actually use the oven while the bread was rising, hence the cookies.

My all-time favorite book on baking, with a fantastic recipe for challah. Williams Sonoma, "Baking"

For those that don't know, challah is a traditional Jewish bread, with a wonderful sweet flavor. It can be topped with poppy or sesame seeds, and is almost always braided (at the Jewish New Year, it comes in a round loaf to symbolize the circular nature of the New Year). The ingredients are basic: yeast, sugar, water, eggs, flour and butter:
I bake bread by hand. I refuse to ever own a bread machine. I love the process (as is a common thread in my life). (I will admit I LOVE my stand mixer though, and it has wonderful bread kneading abilities).

I always proof my yeast. Let me tell you, I never skip this step. I've learned that the hard way.

Yeast

Water at 100 degrees F

A little sugar sprinkled on the yeast, add the warm water and it looks like this.

Wait 5 minutes

The yeast should look like this: (if it doesn't, start over with new yeast)

Measure and add ingredients - and a good time to tell you how much I LOVE my kitchen scale. Measuring flour on a scale is really the only way to do it. It's a million times easier than counting out 5 cups of flour. (I also use the scale for brown sugar, sugar, butter, and more).

Once the bread was ready for rising #1...

It was time to make the cookies:

Pretty sure chocolate chips are the BEST part of the cookie:

Tempting not to eat the dough

While the batches of cookies were baking, I took a quick peak at the bread - almost half way there!

Three dozen cookies made, time to finish up the bread:

The bread is put on a floured surface (see my pastry scraper? Another favorite/essential tool). I cut it into four pieces and roll each piece into a long strand. I then place all the strands together into a...

...braid!

It rises for another hour (or less), and then gets an egg wash. A quick trip to the oven, and...

And of course a sink full of dishes...but those would have to wait until Saturday.

A New Lunch Bag - Opinions Please!

2009-04-10T02:46:00.000-06:00

For a long while I've been thinking about making reusable lunch bags, and lately have started to get some requests for them. I want to make something fairly simple, but practical, and of course, cute!

So, I've come up with this bag:

It is approximately 7" wide x 11" high x 4" deep, a perfect lunch size.

The tabs you see will have snaps (poly resin snaps), and the snaps will have two points to snap.

First, they will snap here:

And then if you want to fold the top down further, they will snap here:
The bag outside is 100% cotton with a ribbon embellishment, and the inside is lined with a PUL, waterproof laminated knit.

The entire bag is machine washable, lightweight, and oh yah, also comes with a cloth napkin! I'm expecting retail price to be about $18. I also plan to offer a set with matching snack and/or sandwich bags too.

What I'm looking for is opinions! I want to know what you like, what you don't like, what you think the bag needs, what it doesn't need, etc. I want to make a great lunch bag, and that requires hearing from more than the voices in my head (lol!).

So let me hear what you have to say!

Passover

2009-04-09T18:14:00.006-06:00

Passover started last night. We had a wonderful seder dinner with hubby's parents. Complete with brisket, latkes, matzoh ball soup, haroset and matzoh, and more...I was stuffed when dinner was over.

(The Monkey trying out some matzoh ball soup - he loved it, and actually did a great job eating it with a spoon!)

Generally the diet for the week is simple (especially pre-kids, when we didn't have to worry about feeding others). It was mostly this:
But that gets boring really quickly, and once the seder leftovers are gone and you're on your 5th day of peanut butter and honey sandwiches or cream cheese and matzoh, you're looking in the cupboards for something that you can eat that won't riddle you with guilt for breaking the Passover rules. Especially when it comes to curing our sweet tooth.

I was inspired last year, and made the most wonderful (and easy) dessert...Matzoh Buttercrunch. Very simply, it is matzoh, brown sugar and butter topped with chocolate. Hubby and his dad devoured it last year, so I made a double batch and kept some and sent my father-in-law home with a batch as well.

(It is an old Cooking Light recipe!)
I decided to try something new this year as well and made brownies! I picked up some tasty looking cake meal, and with the help of a lot of eggs, a lot of sugar, and a lot of oil, the brownies were quick, easy, and kosher for Passover!

(The Monkey was smelling them and reported they smelled, "Delicious!")

They looked really good, and actually tasted really good too! I gave some to Small Fry, and he LOVED them. When I wouldn't give him anymore, he threw a classic-1-year-old temper tantrum, complete with high-pitched screaming!

Shhh...it's a secret!

2009-04-03T16:28:00.000-06:00

Well, it's not really a secret, but I've been making some new items to have at the Hopscotch Hustle on Sunday and I couldn't wait to post a preview. Anything that doesn't sell at the show on Sunday will be listed on Etsy, and I may remake a few of them as well, so let me know if you're interested!

I made a new black and white and red baby quilt (it will have a coordinating tummy time pillow) with a luxurious Minky (super soft velour) backing. There is a nice batting in the middle (a Hobbs 80/20 cotton/poly blend batting - durable and still soft). It's large too, 42" square, so something that will be great as baby gets older.

I've also made lots of new ribbon play balls. My favorite is this eco-friendly play ball, using bamboo fabrics and even a super-soft bamboo/organic-cotton velour.

Even this adorable baby boy version has a little touch of tie-dye green Minky.

And of course, I can't forget the girls:

Sock monkeys, always a classic:

Last Day to Order!

2009-03-30T10:39:00.000-06:00

Just a quick little reminder - today is the LAST day to get in your order for the "Some Bunny Loves Me" Sock Monkey onesies or shirts. My Small Fry has been wearing his for a while now, it washes up wonderfully and is still picture perfect for Easter Sunday.

(Click on the photo for more details!)

Hopscotch Hustle

2009-03-28T10:33:00.000-06:00

I'm participating in a fantastic event next week and have been super busy making lots of cool new items to have at the event. So, if you're in the area, please attend and make sure to check out my booth as well as the many other exciting vendors that will be there!

The Hopscotch Hustle is an event that benefits "Wee-Cycle" a local organization that "distributes new and gently used baby gear through our network of community-based organizations that serve families with infants and toddlers int he Denver metro area who are coping with poverty, homelessness and domestic violence".

Click on the photo above to visit the "Wee Cycle" site and learn more about this fantastic organization - and make a donation or purchase tickets to the event!

New Snack Bags - New Sizes!

2009-03-28T10:21:00.000-06:00

I've been so busy lately, it seems that my blog has been sadly neglected. I can't complain though, I just can't keep up with all the orders!

I have, however, managed to make a bunch of new bags, in new prints and even a new size. I've had the 'sandwich' size (6.5" x 6.5") available for a while, and now I have a little bit smaller, 'snack' size (4" x 6.5"). This is a great size for a little treat.

Combine a sandwich bag and a few snack bags, and you've got the ideal, eco-friendly way to transport your lunch!

Prints will sell fast, and I won't be relisting until next week (see the next post), so be sure to get them while they're here!

Green Laundry

2009-02-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

My Crunchy Clean Detergent and Fuzzy Wuzzy Dryer Balls

Upon entering my laundry room, it looks fairly typical (the cloth diaper pail on the wall isn't as common), but when you check out the shelf of my laundry essentials, it may look a little different than most.

I have to admit, before I started cloth diapering the boys, I really didn't know too much about how to turn my laundry room green. Once I learned about why cloth diapers needed a environmentally-friendly detergent, I started to learn about the environmentally-unfriendly ingredients that were in the detergents I was using (brand-name stuff, cleaned my clothes and smelled good).

Then I learned about why dryer sheets weren't great for me, my clothes, or those of my kids. We live in a dry climate (not the desert, but close enough), and so I thought I was destined to use fabric sheets forever (since I long ago swore off fabric softener).

After learning why the stuff I was using wasn't good, I found some even MORE amazing eco-friendly alternatives. And now I'm hooked. I'll never go back to petrochemical based items again. And as I told a friend recently, I'm actually loving laundry day (regular laundry and diaper laundry!).

So, what do I use?

For detergent, I occasionally use Allen's Naturally. Allen's is a fantastic, bio-degradable, dye and perfume free detergent that is eco-friendly. It is fantastic for diapers and clothes, but if you're like most people, it's nice to have a scent. Nice smelling things are always a little cozier. You can add some vinegar to the rinse cycle scented with an essential oil, but I'm lucky to get the detergent in. More steps take time!

Enter Crunchy Clean. Really, it is eco-friendly detergent heaven. It is available in a regular and diaper friendly version (although the diaper version works well on clothes too) and dozens of wonderful scents. The scents range from fruity to spicy to fresh and clean. There is a scent to please everyone. And it comes in unscented too. As a work-at-home mom, I love that this is actually a homemade product, and I'm a huge fan of supporting small business.

(See the glass jar (I had a jar that fit the 136-load order perfectly!) and reusable containers with powdered detergent? I can't pick one scent, so I have a scent (Linen Breeze) for clothes, and two scents (Baby Bee Clean and Vanilla Insanity) for diapers).

If I need to get out the stinkies, some Bac Out (by BioKleen) or a little vinegar in a Downy Ball (for the rinse cycle) are ideal. And I found a plant based, eco-friendly (and kind to your skin) fabric softener for those times when I wash the sheets - Ecover.

On to drying. Ideally, it'd be great to line dry everything. But I admit, I don't. So the dryer is used. Once I eliminated dryer sheets, I learned about dryer balls. I found some at a big chain store, the plastic, "As Seen on TV" balls. They were priced right, but really didn't work that great. I still had static, and I hated using the plastic things!

I recently discovered Fuzzy Wuzzy Dryer Balls, another handmade product. And I'm in love. These 100% merino wool balls are not only beautiful, but they're natural and work SO much better than those plastic ones I used for months. They even nearly eliminated the static that I was afraid would happen if I didn't use dryer sheets in this semi-arid desert!

My laundry now is not only clean, but smells good, is fluffy dry and everything I'm using is better for my family and the environment.

Mission: Reorganization

2009-02-19T23:30:00.005-07:00

The bug bites me every few months to reorganize. We do a daily cleaning of the house, mostly the lived-in areas, but it still gets crazy. After the party last weekend, and the boys' amazing haul of cool birthday presents, I decided it was time to move less-frequently-played-with toys to the basement. (Note I say "less frequently played with because hubby fought me saying that, "they still play with this", "they use this", "he needs things to do!". I'm a pack-rat, so purging, even moving it out of sight is a big deal for me. I told him he couldn't fight me on it, and we needed to move toys out so they could enjoy a little change).

I think a good sign of needing to reorganize is when I caught Small Fry standing in his brother's bin of Cars toys.

It helped that my awesome neighbor pointed out that there was a Cars playroom set on clearance at Toys R Us this week for only $40! It is a 20-piece-set and nicely constructed. I didn't know how I'd use all of the pieces, but it was worth it for the table and stools, toy box and storage bins alone!

I started to assemble it this morning, and the Monkey was so excited about his new table, so while I was still cleaning, he decided to color (I like how he's currently ambidextrous - a crayon in each hand!).

The big goal aside from getting rid of toys was to get rid of the baby gate. I hate it, but it was nice to keep the kids away from the entertainment center. But there was a 3'x2' space where I could easily toss toys to keep them away from the boys, but it got messy, annoying, and the giant bookshelf that housed their toys was inaccessible to them. So I wanted to make it all kid friendly.

The baby gate.

I moved a lot of books to Small Fry's room, he's really getting into books, which is so cool, because if you know the Monkey, he's OBSESSED with reading and it's nice to have it rub off on his brother. I got rid of junk, garbage, non-used things, and consolidated art supplies, coloring books, organized toys into appropriate bins, etc. The bookshelf is ready to use, and the gate has gone away! (I roped the entertainment center doors and drawers shut though, that will be nice).

I also reorganized the rest of the family room, moving around toys and making room for the table and chairs. I also filled the new toy chest with all of the Monkey's Thomas the Tank Engine trains. They are getting a little out of hand, so the organization was nice. He has all the trains in his Thomas-shaped suitcase (a Christmas present from Grandma!), and then all the track, buildings, accessories in the toy box).

Another thing I wanted to do was to sort out the play kitchen food. This is a great toy, and it's in the "living room", the boys will wander in there and we're not always right there to watch them. A few weeks ago, Small Fry got a fake scoop of ice cream stuck in his mouth. It was too big to choke on, but just the right size to get stuck in his mouth, behind his 4 1/2 little teeth. He was bright red and panicking when I found him and I freaked. Thankfully we got it out, but I put away all the food until I could sort it better. So today I bagged up all the choking hazard/small pieces and put them in a baby-proof bin. The bigger stuff was put in a bin, and I stocked the play kitchen shelves. They've already tested it out.

And last, but NOT least, I got new silverware organization! I forgot to take a before picture, but it was a typical, white-plastic silverware organizer that I hated. It was way too small to hold our silverware, the Monkey's "in-between" silverware and Small Fry's spoons. So I splurged and got some cool stuff.

Apparently though, I still need to organize the drawer next to the silverware - the miscellaneous cooking utensil drawer.

It was a great day, I'm exhausted, didn't even spend too long in the studio tonight. I'm going to catch up on Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice and crochet, woohoo!

Some Bunny Loves You!

2009-02-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

Sock Monkey has made his debut as an....Easter Bunny!

This is another one of my favorites, his soft bunny ears are the best (and even Small Fry was cuddling with the shirt when I showed it to him this morning). The ears are a super-soft white microfleece and the pink parts are a pink minkee.

I've got a variety of sizes in long and short-sleeved onesies, and a limited supply of long-sleeved shirts.

Available in my shop now!

Rockets Everywhere!

2009-02-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

I am so in love with these new prints from FreeSpirit fabrics, and just had to make something from them. I finally got a breather from other things, and needed a night in my studio to create. So I made these two adorable onesie/pants sets (they are also available in custom sizes). Enjoy!

To Do: Buy Loads of Fabric

2009-02-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

Done. I'm done shopping (for a while). I went on a spree the past two weeks replenishing my stash and getting some new items for new projects I have in mind.

I posted about all the diaper/reusable snack bag supplies I got over the weekend. Before that, I received a wonderful package of fabric from another Etsy seller, Lucky Kaeru Fabrics, SO easy and quick to work with and she had everything in stock that I needed. I forgot to take a picture of when it came in though - but here's a pic of my refolded, reorganized "stash on the side" (it's fabric that doesn't fit into any shelving unit and is used primarily for items I will sell). The fabrics in the middle stack, top half are my Lucky Kaeru fabrics. (And some other new items from my store!)

Yesterday, I received another wonderful package of fabric from Fat Quarter Shop. I've ordered from them a few times now and am always 100% pleased with the customer service and quality I get. I am SO excited to replenish my sock monkey fabric stash and add a few new pieces (I got a sample pack of Amy Butler's Midwest Modern 2 line and some larger pieces).

Sock Monkey Diaper!

2009-02-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a sock monkey color diaper. Some of that brown PUL I got in the mail on Saturday, and the red fleece went to making this diaper. Small Fry loves it (and I think it's pretty cute too!)

Small Fry and his Banana

2009-02-11T15:19:00.003-07:00

Bananas are Small Fry's favorite food. I decided to give him one this week with the peel still on. He got one bite, but then got distracted by the peel and tried to taste that too.

Amy Butler Reusable Snack/Sandwich Bags!

2009-02-10T11:07:00.000-07:00

I dove into my favorite collection, Amy Butler's Midwest Modern, to make the latest snack bags. (Some sold before I even got this blog post up - but I have more if you're interested!) If you'd like to see a particular design or want a custom set of snack bags, please send me a note over on Etsy!

How times have changed

2009-02-08T12:03:00.002-07:00

My parents would always remark on things I did as a kid that would never have happened when they were kids. As a child on the cusp of the "Net-Generation", early computers made their way into our house when I was in elementary school. I remember our first "laptop", an IBM with a tiny (11" x 5" LCD) screen, a keyboard and it weighed at least 25 lbs.

When I was in middle school, I got a sound card for a Christmas gift, that I got to install in our desktop computer. It was very exciting, and I also got a CD-ROM drive that I also had to install in the computer (and I remember the rails not being the right size, so I taped Popsicle sticks to the sides of the drive so it rested in the bay properly).

Internet appeared in our house when I was 15, I quickly learned my way around, remember the days when internet wasn't unlimited? I had forgotten about that. I even set up my mom and dad with email addresses, they didn't have a computer, so I don't know why, but my dad still has the same address today.

When I was 16, I got a cell phone. It was $20/month and I had 60 minutes of talk time. I felt SO cool with that phone. I mean, a car AND a phone?

These days, my almost-3-year-old monkey knows to tell me to click on something on the computer, he knows how to use a mouse. He will never know life without email, blogs, cell phones, blackberries, iPods, and more. (He's even called grandma all on his own from my Blackberry). It is amazing to think of the mass amount of technological changes in the past 30 years.

Which brings me to the Monkey's most adorable statement this morning while playing with his pretend phone, "Mommy, I'm sending you a text message." I never would have said that when I was his age. :)

I love Colorado

2009-02-08T00:44:00.003-07:00

You never know what to expect weather-wise in Colorado. Being a weather forecaster here is a thankless and often criticized job. At 10pm, we may be expecting 10" of snow, but the cold front decides to take a new path over the mountains and suddenly it's a balmy 60 degree day. Or the complete opposite may happen too.

The familiar phrase heard here is, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute". And it is true. I do love my winters though. We are a higher elevation than the actual heart of Denver, and by virtue of our location, get some nice snowy days. This winter, however, has been unseasonably warm. I can't believe it's February, and we've hit record highs in the 70s!

The Monkey has been riding his trike (that we borrowed from Grandma and Grandpa who scored it in an awesome garage sale find), and is recently fond of the camera again (we went through a shy period of NO smiling in front of the camera).

I took some pics of him the other day riding outside with the neighbors, in the nice sunny weather (hubby was wearing shorts). He loves to smile and wave at the camera, silly kid! And for comparison's sake...I've posted some pics of what the Monkey was doing outside on this exact same date last year.

February 5, 2009

February 5, 2008

Fluffy Mail

2009-02-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

In the cloth diapering world, "fluffy mail" is the joyous event of getting a new cloth diaper in the mail. It is always fun, as I know (from first hand experience) that a great deal of the attraction in modern cloth diapering is all of the options and the endless amounts of cuteness.

I am so happy Fed-Ex delivers on Saturday (I have fabric coming via UPS, but not until Tuesday, boo). My doorbell rang about noon today and a wonderful box of "fluffy mail" arrived.

This time, it was not a finished cloth diaper, but instead a whole new stash of stuff to diapers! I have been using the white PUL (laminated knit - typically seen in cloth diapers), to line the inside of my reusable snack bags, and of course, I couldn't just order boring, white PUL, so I added a few (okay, many) other items to the order.

I got PUL in dark brown, light brown, black and melon, microfleece in red and white, organic hemp fleece (yeah!), and lots of velcro (for the reusable snack bags), and various kinds of elastic (including some fold-over elastic for diaper covers, another woohoo! - I'm planning on making diaper covers with matching t-shirts.)

Fluffy mail on a Saturday, couldn't be better!

Small Fry Turns ONE!

2009-02-01T00:04:00.003-07:00

We'll be having the actual party for him in a few weeks (we're combining the celebration with the Monkey's birthday, which is in 3 weeks). We did do a little celebrating, however, today.

The morning started out with a yummy pancake, egg, and bacon breakfast. Small Fry enjoyed it, but was much more excited to walk around (his new favorite activity!)

A perfect shirt (a hand-me-down from the Monkey) - It says, "Birthday Boy"

The brothers playing together, nicely. (This is a RARE moment).

Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner, and Grandma gave Small Fry his very first pickle.

He REALLY wanted to grab that candle flame.

After we helped blow out the flame, he was fascinated by the smoke.

Ready to dig in.

The Monkey wasn't left out - I made a cupcake for him! (And if you ask him, he'll tell you it was HIS birthday today)

Mmmm, carrot cake. Thanks, grandma!

Happy as can be (notice the fistful of cake).

Licking frosting off one hand and clenching a fistful of cake in the other. Perfect.

Win a Valentine Sock Monkey Shirt!

2009-01-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

My first giveaway on another blog! This adorable blog from a customer of mine is having a giveaway - win one of my Valentine Sock Monkey Shirts for your little one!

Visit Jackson and Jacob to check it out!

My studio...the growing stash.

2009-01-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

About eight months ago, I thought it would be fun to post a "tour" through my sewing studio. I often look back on that post and realize that my fabric buying has increased exponentially in the past year.

I have ideas swimming through my head on a daily basis, and I'll spot a fabric that fits with one of the ideas and, well, there goes $20. I rarely buy just one piece, often coordinates, and often at least a yard. It gives me options, especially if I don't know exactly what the project will be with the particular fabric.

I thought it was time for a "re-tour" of the studio...to see what's changed. My hubby thinks the fabric multiplies like rabbits.

From the entrance:

Walk around the white cutting table, turn to the right and...

Look a little to the left to see the back of my sewing machine (swoon, I love my machine):

And, turn around 180 degrees to see the ironing area, with drawers packed full of my other hobbies:

And newly added...head out the door of my studio, and just in the hallway is my new shipping area! My dad made the table many years ago, and I love it. I'm so excited to have a dedicated area for shipping. I'm sure I'll add more shelving and such as I determine my needs, but for now, this is perfect.

Cupcake Snack Bags!

2009-01-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

Computer problems today, took forever to get everything uploaded and posted, but I'm so excited about this cupcake set! Each bag is listed individually, so you can buy one, two, or all five!

Enjoy!
:)

Going Green with Sandwich Bags

2009-01-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

We've really started to make a lot of eco-friendly changes in our house...and a few weeks ago I was noticing the abundance of Ziploc bags that I was using. Every time I leave the house with my two young boys, I bring snacks. The 3-year-old gets an apple or some cookies or goldfish. The 1-year-old gets cheerios, graham crackers, maybe some soybeans. We always have something to snack on, and it was always in a plastic baggie.

I realized how wasteful I was being and knew there were better options out there. So I made some reusable baggies. Cute prints, lined with waterproof PUL (polyurethane laminated knit - used in cloth diaper making), and with a hook and loop closure (Velcro).

If they get dirty, they just drop in the washing machine (and can be put in the dryer too). Since they're lined with a waterproof material, it's easy to tote around healthy snacks like carrots, apples, soybeans, and more.

My studio has been buzzing with sandwich bag creation - so I thought I'd post a few photos!

(You can see these and more bags in my Etsy shop)

Photos.

2009-01-15T01:29:00.002-07:00

I got a new camera in 2007. It is nice, really, really nice. It takes fantastic, high quality photos. And those photos take FOREVER to upload. Like hours. So I got behind in uploading photos. Then Small Fry was born, and I got even more behind.

In what seems like no time at all, it's 13 months after I got my new camera, and I realize I haven't had any photos ordered from the beautiful pictures I took. So I made a mission a few weeks ago to get 'er done.

I ordered photos last week - 2031 photos to be exact. Shipped in two boxes weighing a total of 16 lbs. Now I need MANY photo albums. But at least I can fill empty frames and actually have pictures of Small Fry hung around the house.

Some of my favorite photos:

I made the Small Fry a sweater. But he's cuter than the sweater.

The Monkey LOVES the snow. He could sit in the snow all day long and eat it (but he does know not to eat the yellow snow - he'll tell you that).

I know, I know.

2009-01-15T01:18:00.002-07:00

I'm neglectful of my poor blog...I know :) I have all the good intentions but I guess that doesn't get you too far when you run out of time.

Lately my days have consisted of being awoken by one of the two little monsters, spending some time waking up while the Monkey watches Thomas the Train or Bob the Builder, and Small Fry plays in what hubby calls "the holder" (it's an exersaucer - keeps him entertained and contained - very helpful contraption).

After I finally muster enough energy to move, the boys get a fresh diaper, clothes for the day and then breakfast for the boys quickly comes next. Some days the boys are lucky enough to get some cereal and cartoons (or even eggs), but mostly it's breakfast on the go. The Monkey loves his Z-Bars (he'll tell you that they're organic), and Small Fry is a fan of waffles, really anything that he can feed himself, but waffles are mostly clean, easy to make, and travel well in the car.

It's often off to pre-school for the Monkey, he loves it, is learning the most amazing things, it blows my mind when he can lead the prayers when we light the candles for Shabbat. He's so cool, and I love dropping him off and picking him up every time from school, full of stories about his day.

When the Monkey is in school, Small Fry and I head to work. He's getting more adventurous and we've decided that our "gated community" must once again be erected (it's gates that keep him in two offices that are essentially baby-proofed. Today I found him under the lunch table like a puppy searching for scraps. I feed him, I swear.

After work and school, it's 35 minutes to home again. Over the next few hours both boys nap, although rarely at the same time. Hubby comes home to take over and I often head to the studio to sew. Of course then comes dinner, play time with the boys, cleaning, bath, bed, and more studio time.

And suddenly I find myself at 2 am again, saying I'd go to bed early, but just not getting everything done. Knowing I will awake no later than 8 am the next day, I finish the essentials and head to bed, thinking of all the things that were once again neglected.

So tonight, I decided the blog needed some TLC, some updates, some photos! Enjoy some updates :)

A photo book

2009-01-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

My only niece (I have two nephews), is turning one on Wednesday and I wanted to make her something special. I know how much babies (including mine) love to look at pictures, but all too often, whatever they are holding ends up in their mouth, gets some Cheerios "goo" on it, gets dropped on a dirty floor, etc.

So, I wanted to make her a photo book that you could not only switch out the photos (because likes and interests change quickly in a baby's world), but something that could be tossed in the wash when it met the "too messy" threshold.

From all those requirements, this adorable photo book was born. It is approximately 8" square, and has 10 vinyl pockets each sized to hold a 4"x6" photo. The front and back cover feature some dots with coordinating fabric from the inside pages. Photos can easily be inserted and removed, and the entire thing (minus the photos of course) is machine washable.

Enjoy!

Crocheting in November...

2008-11-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

As I stated in an earlier post, crocheting is my new hobby when I need a break from sewing. It started with the shoes from a pattern I got from Etsy (http://sylver.etsy.com), and snowballed.

So, here's what I made starting with the first things, to the most recent creation, a dreidel, available in my Etsy shop (http://mamamade.etsy.com)

The cat:

The hippo:

Then I started to get brave and make something a little "out there" - a sock monkey cupcake:

The cutest little mug of cocoa ever:

And finally, the dreidel - something I wanted to make for Small Fry, since he'd likely eat a real dreidel:

When I'm not sewing...

2008-11-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have what I call "craft ADD", that is, I can't focus on one craft medium for too long. My mind starts to wander, and I ponder the possibilities of other things I want to be making. That is why I've got supplies for scrapbooking, cardmaking, photography, painting, soap making, beading, punch needle, embroidery, knitting, and more. It's fun, and I'm never bored (thanks, Mom, for teaching me that!)

A few weeks ago, I was browsing Etsy and came upon the cutest shoes, that turned out to be a pattern for crocheting shoes. I happened to have a "Learn how to Crochet" book, but hadn't tried it because they patterns in the instruction book were from the mid-70's and just didn't pique my interest. But this pattern, marked as "easy" was something I knew I could tackle. I quickly bought the pattern, anxiously awaited for its arrival via email and learned how to crochet. I did some research on the internet, found videos that showed me how to do stitches and after some trial and error, I made a pair of shoes. For some reason, I still haven't taken a picture of them.

These are the shoes I saw that made me have to learn to crochet! Check them (and lots of other cute designs out at http://sylver.etsy.com)

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. Hubby and I took the kids to the bookstore (our oldest, the Monkey, is a book FANATIC), and I took out youngest (Small Fry) to browse the craft books. What I happened to find led to a list of "things I want for Christmas", but some were too good to pass up. I found some cool books on "amigurumi", a Japanese word for "knitted/crocheted stuffed toy". I'd read a little about it on Etsy, because it is a big craze, but since I previously didn't know how to crochet, I really hadn't paid that much attention.

This was one of the books I found - she sells the finished products on Etsy too!

Another of the books I found - I love it! (See how the cute photos make you want to check out the book?)

Well, being a true marketer's dream, the beautiful photos on the front of the two books, pointing right at me, were just what I needed to spend $40 and a subsequent trip to the yarn store to stock up on dozens of colors.

And now when I'm not busy sewing dozens of sock monkey shirts (that's coming in another post), I'm crocheting. I love it because I can make projects quickly and easily, and can crochet when my boys are awake. Small Fry can't come in the studio, since he just likes to eat the glue and get into other trouble. And the Monkey thinks that every time he's in my studio, he gets to watch "Curious George".

So, I'm going to sign off this post, and get my photos ready so you can see what I've made!

I'm here.

2008-11-21T01:13:00.002-07:00

Every night, about 1:30 am, I sit down to write a blog post. Then I get distracted. It's been a long couple of months, the Monkey and Small Fry are growing by leaps and bounds and I have loads of pictures to share.

But to anyone out there that reads this - hi. I'm here, just busy, and will post soon. I promise.

I went missing!

2008-11-21T01:06:00.000-07:00

I think my real life got the better of me the past few months! I've been busy with family obligations, two increasingly demanding kiddos and by the time I think about the blog, the day is gone. I said the other day to a co-worker, that I make myself shut down the computer, stop knitting/crocheting, etc., by 2am...sometimes I'll watch a show (like Grey's Anatomy) that I've recorded, but it is time for my brain to wind down.

I get up with the boys about 7:30 every morning, so I guess it's good I'm still young...I can continue to burn my candle at both ends.

Anyway, I'm working on a photo essay of "the creation of my monkeys", which will be up soon, but in the meantime, I just had to post a few photos of "Santa Sock Monkey" that I've recently listed in my shop. He looks SO cute, all dressed up as Santa, and I'm hoping that others like him as much as I do.

Overheard today...

2008-09-26T12:38:00.002-06:00

The Monkey is talking more and more and more and more these days. He's amazing, and he's started to ask questions about everything. "What's that mommy?" "What's happening?" "What's he doing?" Etc.

He also loves playing with his Thomas trains, and is totally in love with Thomas. This morning, I overheard (as he was pushing his trains on the kitchen table), "Choo choo said Thomas as he puffed away. The next day..." He was narrating his story. Too cute.

Things I love.

2008-09-24T23:19:00.002-06:00

There are a lot of message boards I'm on, and I always seem to be trying something new or excited about some new item. As someone wrote on one of these boards today, "I'm a shiny and new junkie".

I'm also on the computer a lot, and I've found a few things that make my computer life SO much easier. Thought I'd do a procrastinating sort of post to mention these things (I've got about 1300 photos to edit and upload).

1) Firefox. Hands down, one of my favorite browsers around. I can't stand Internet Explorer (IE), and downloaded Firefox about a year ago. I won't change. Tabbed navigation panes (instead of a bunch of open windows), as well as easy to install features and lots less tendency to virus or crash. Download it for free at http://mozilla.com I promise you won't regret it.

2) Google Reader. I'm a blog junkie. I love reading about others' lives, seeing what's new and featured in Etsy, seeing the latest custom order requests on Etsy, etc. And Google Reader lets you easily combine everything into one neat and easy to read window. Basically you go to http://google.com/reader and it's like email divided into folders. Your blogs are the folders and those with new posts (like a new email) are bold. Click on each "folder" and you get to read the new posts. You can easily click directly to the blog or page you're reading too. I have at least 20 blogs/pages subscribed on there right now and it lets me get all my reading done in one day.

3) TwitterFox. A plug-in for Firefox that easily allows you to update Twitter. I'm gonna thank my lady cupcake_ninja for this one ;)

4) Picasa. Google's picture application. Download this and easily import, simple edits and organize all your pictures. Gives me easy access to the literally 5000+ pictures on my computer.

Okay, today that's it. I need to get pics from June uploaded. Then it's just July, August and September (and Father's Day and the DNC) - thanks to Picasa, everything is nicely organized ;)

Making Diapers!

2008-09-16T11:38:00.000-06:00

I've been so busy with stuff for my shop lately, but trying to take a brain break to do some other projects. Sooo, I decided to make some cloth diapers for the boys. A while back I made some AIOs (All-in-ones). I liked them, but they take so long to dry and I decided they just wouldn't be practical for us.

I adapted a bunch of patterns, used diapers I had on hand and made up my own pocket diaper! I love, love, love how they're turning out. I found some colored fleece, so the inside isn't boring white anymore, and I've been able to create some cute combos with the fleece, PUL, and threads. I may venture into using snaps soon, but for now, they're all velcro closures.

I can't wait to make more when I get back from vacation. I've even got some ideas on some new versions of a sock monkey diaper cover.

The first pocket diaper I made (there are flaws, trust me ;))
It's a sage green color with a butter colored fleece lining.

The pocket opening.

The inside of the diaper. I even stitched around the leg elastic to create gussets.

Summer Diaper - A teal-ish, sky blue outer with a green grass fleece inside:

A peek inside:

A view of the green fleece
(green is by far my favorite color - I even made Small Fry a pair of fleece pants out of this color)

And my favorite - a teal-ish sky blue outer with a chocolate brown fleece inside:

A peek inside:
A full-view of the outside:

Close-up of contrasting stitching:

And I couldn't leave out my little model (this size also fits my 2 1/2 year old!)

Yearbook Photos

2008-09-10T02:01:00.002-06:00

This is a FUNNY site I was referred to today. Check out http://yearbookyourself.com

I put together a photo compilation of me and hubby if we were a couple way back when:

1950:

1952:

1960:

1968:

1990:

Dude, we are a seriously hot couple ;)

Teething Cookie Aftermath

2008-09-09T01:39:00.003-06:00

Who me? I'm not messy! That's not cookie above my eyebrow, I swear!

We're in trouble now!

2008-09-09T01:31:00.002-06:00

As if it wasn't stressful enough that Small Fry started crawling at a mere five months old, lately he's been pulling up to a stand. Today, he pulled up on the couch to a full-on stand up straight kind of stand. The kid isn't even 7 1/2 months old! I don't remember the Monkey doing that until he was at least 9 or 10 months.

I've got plans to go out tomorrow and get some more baby gates. Today, Small Fry flipped over the cats' water dish for the 3rd time in three days. Maybe I should pick up a sedative while I'm out too - I'm going to need something to keep me from going crazy!!

What happens when you leave the boys alone...

2008-09-04T13:40:00.003-06:00

When you leave a 2 1/2 year old and a 7 month old alone to play (while I was photographing things for my Etsy site), this is what happens.

The Monkey was very proud of how he'd dressed up Small Fry.

We were on television!

2008-08-31T10:12:00.002-06:00

Well, since we got to attend the DNC (see post below), we were actually repeating history from a century ago. My great-grandfather was a reporter for a small newspaper in Kansas (actually, he owned it), and he traveled about 400 miles by train with my great-grandmother and then 1-year-old grandfather to attend the DNC that was held in Denver in 1908.

My dad wrote a short article about this, and sent it off to some newspaper reporters he knew. My mom took the story and sent it to some television reporters. I was contacted on Tuesday morning before the convention by a local reporter for Channel 7 News (local ABC affiliate). The reporter asked if he could come to our house Tuesday afternoon and interview hubby and me. Miraculously BOTH boys napped at the same time, so that we could do the interview, and then the Monkey woke up right at the end of the interview, so he's on the piece eating snacks (with his bed head ;))

It was super cool, and the piece has aired twice on Channel 7 and once on PBS. Cool!

**To view the story, you need to go to 1:50 in the piece (I couldn't edit out the commercials before the piece)**

2008 Democratic National Convention

2008-08-31T02:11:00.006-06:00

Wow. When I found out the DNC was coming to Denver in 2008, I knew I'd figure out SOME way to go. Wasn't looking promising until about a month ago when the DNCC announced that they were moving Obama's acceptance speech to Invesco Field so that more people could attend. I signed up to get tickets within a few minutes of that announcement.

Alas, hubby and I were waitlisted for tickets. But 2 weeks ago, I got an email letting me know that in fact we DID get tickets! We were very excited and our parents offered to watch the Monkey and Small Fry so that we could spend the day going.

On Thursday, we packed up overnight bags for the boys, and dropped them off with their respective babysitters. (I forgot Small Fry's milk at home, so I need to publicly thank my dad for driving 30 minutes each way to get his food!!).

We knew we weren't going to drive to the stadium, since the parking would have been insane, and we thought taking the Light Rail (our local public train system) would be the best option. We hopped on the train at the very start of the line, and waited for our historic journey to begin. About 3 stops from the stadium, we started hearing whispering...apparently the stadium stop was too busy, so they closed it!

Yup - we got to the stop before the stadium and were told if we weren't handicapped, we had to get off. So, we did, along with about 200 or so other people and we started walking. There were two "lines", and we guessed wrong. Apparently if we'd stayed in the line that looked SO long to us (it was actually tiny compared to what we ended up in), we'd have only been about 45 minutes from getting into the stadium. Instead, the wait was over 4 hours.

I included a little map of where we had to walk from (I circled the station we should have gotten off if it hadn't been closed - only about a 5 minute walk to the stadium). Instead we walked up on to a major street (thankfully it was closed already by the secret service), we walked down a few more streets, behind a bar, in an alley, into a HUGE parking lot filled with people. The line spiraled from the center outwards in another long line waiting to get through security into the stadium. (Click on the picture below to see a larger image).

We followed hundreds of people into CHAOS, disorganization and complete craziness. Eventually the line got worked out, but I took some photos of what was the "line" in the parking lot.
So, we got into line and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. We arrived at the light rail station at 3pm. We were inside security and into the stadium at 7pm. Yes, we waited for FOUR hours. It was not fun, but people were in surprisingly good moods, everyone knowing they were fortunate just to be able to attend, and so many of us thought if we at least got in in time to hear Obama speak, we would be great. It just about worked out that way.

The parking lot where the "end" of the line was - took us quite a while to find the end in the sea of people!!

Finally, a distinct set of lines started to develop!

We got a truck full of free water once we'd waited in line for about 2 hours.

Once we finally got in, we headed up to our seats in the nosebleed section. We missed a lot of speakers, like Al Gore, but we were honestly super happy just to be in the stadium. It was an a amazing set up, with all the delegates on the field level, along with dozens of news stations and their tents and set ups.

Our view of the center stage.

The media tents. MSNBC (my favorite), is on the far right.

We heard some personal stories about people who were affected by the Bush administration, and republicans who were going to vote for Obama. We also heard Dwight Eisenhower's daughter speak, which was neat.

There was some time to check out the stadium, and I thought the security stuff was SO cool. There were snipers on the top of the stadium all the way around, and a helicopter patrolling the skies (actually I believe there were two). Also, they closed the highway near the stadium from 5:30 pm to just after 9 pm. We could see the highway from the stadium, and it was blocked off with dozens of snowplows and police cars - amazing!

There were snipers all around the top of the stadium, even in the scaffolding where the lights were!

In the distance, you can see orange snowplows blocking the highway. Also, you can see snipers standing on the stadium next to the bucking Bronco.

Then, Joe Biden came out to speak, which was so cool to hear. And then, after a short video, Obama came out. It was an amazing and inspirational speech and my hands hurt from clapping so much.

Obama speaking.

Watching him on the bigscreen.

After the fireworks went off.Barack and Michellle Obama and Jill and Joe Biden.

Barack Obama and his family.

After the speech, we decided to head out right away to avoid the crowds (hah!), and just as we were standing up in our seats, the fireworks started to go off and they were RIGHT over our head! It was all so neat to see though, and even though it was 90 minutes getting out of the stadium back on to the train, hubby and I agreed we'd do it all over again.

What a week!

2008-08-30T11:30:00.003-06:00

I'll be making some more posts about these events, but in the past seven days, the following has occurred in our family:

Saturday - moved out our queen sized bed (like a headboard, footboard, etc.) to our guestroom, loaded up and drove down a new four-poster bed and mattress from my parents' house, put together the bed, etc.

Sunday - pretty lazy day until we left the grocery store and saw a tornado touching down about 7 miles north of our house!

Monday - The Monkey's pre-school orientation

Tuesday - Channel 7 news came to our house to film a video clip about our upcoming DNC attendance.

Wednesday - The Monkey's first day of pre-school (for the fall).

Thursday - Got a speeding ticket (my first ever). Waited in line for 4 hours to get into Invesco field to hear Barack Obama speak. Then waited 90 minutes to get out and get on the train to go home.

Friday - Spent the day being exhausted, made lots of little errors in everything, was running late all day. Found out the contacts I have specially made for my eyes (read: takes 4-6 weeks to make), we're mis-ordered so it wasn't my fault I can't see out my left eye. Guess I'll have a headache until they get the new ones.

I'm tired.

And the winner is....

2008-08-17T11:22:00.000-06:00

...Sheralyn!!

I know she just got in to cloth diapering and has two adorable kiddos - so I'm sure this bag will come in handy.

Congrats Sheralyn!

And to all those that entered but didn't win - be sure to add this blog to your reader or keep an eye on it...I plan on doing lots more of these contests!

Win a Free Wet Bag!

2008-08-02T01:54:00.000-06:00

I've been MIA for a while...life is just B-U-S-Y these days! But I'm thick in the excitement of my new found obsession - cloth diapering! And to celebrate a new addition of cloth-diapering related items to my Etsy shop, I'm giving away a wet bag!

This bag measures 8" x 9.5", and has a zippered closure. Fits one or two diapers perfectly! (See below for more details.)

How to Enter Contest (and rules):
Leave a comment on this post anytime from now until August 16th at midnight (MST). I'll pick one winner at random and post the winner's name on my blog on August 17th (so be sure to check the blog!). Only one entry per person please!

What is a "Wet Bag"?
For those who don't know, a wet bag is a stylish, yet water-proof bag that is ideal for carrying those "used" cloth diapers. Though it can also be used for swimsuits, other soiled baby clothes or just about anything you can think of.

My bags are made with the following specifications:

- Inner lining made with color-coordinating PUL (waterproof laminated knit), keeps wet items contained).

- Inner and outer layers are sewn separately to prevent wicking of moisture onto the outside of the bag. Each seam is straight stitched and zigzaged to ensure durability.

- Zippered closure keeps items secure and keeps the smell contained! Both layers are topstitched to the zipper to keep everything in its place.

- Convenient carrying handle makes it easy to hang the bag on a stroller, on a doorknob, or around your wrist.

This bag can be washed and dried with all of your other diaper laundry. All items are pre-washed to minimize shrinkage.

Funny Small Fry

2008-08-02T00:37:00.003-06:00

Well, for stats purposes, we got his 6 month check today and he weighs 15 lb., 8 oz. (15th percentile). I can't remember his height right now - I think 26", but he's in the 50th percentile for height. Average and skinny - just like daddy.

Small Fry isn't so average though - he likes to do two things in an odd way:

Suck his fingers:

Suck his binky:

Happy 1/2 Birthday Small Fry!

2008-07-31T16:11:00.004-06:00

Just 6 short months ago, it was a cold, sunny day, and I was waiting eagerly by the phone to get the call that they had room for me at the hospital. Turns out at about 4:30 pm, they called and asked if we still wanted to come in. Um, YES! So, we headed in and got the induction started about 7:30pm. Our little Small Fry was born at 10:50 pm on January 31st, weighing 6 lb., 6 oz. Turns out we were part of a record number of births in one day at the hospital.

And six months later, here we are. It's been an extremely busy and full half-year, not only with our immediate family, but with our extended family as well. I'm just so happy to be surrounded by so much love, support, caring and kindness, and I feel beyond blessed to have such a wonderful life.

As far as Small Fry goes, he's absolutely AMAZING. He is still a little cranky, but he's the only one who can't run, jump, and eat regular food - I'd be pissed too.

He is sitting up, eating every toy (and non-toy) he can find, eating oatmeal cereal and some baby food and even crawling. Yes, that's right, he's crawling - he's mobile. It's a whole new world when your second child becomes mobile. The first time around, there definitely wasn't as much for the Monkey to get in to, because there was no toddler to constantly be making a mess. I've found Small Fry gnawing on old sippy cups, train tracks, trains, toy cars, books, and the occasional baby approved teething toy. I definitely get it how second and subsequent kids are totally different than your first.

I don't have any weight or height stats today, he goes for his appointment tomorrow, so I'll update with those later. We're thick in the joy of cloth diapering, and for as crazy as my sister thinks I am, it really is so cool, and I wish I'd started when the Monkey was little. But, we're doing it now, and I'm enjoying time in the studio making all things diaper related (that is, when it's not 100 degrees in there!)

The brothers :)

"Look at that cute tongue!!"

"Check me out - I'm going to crawl!"

"Yup, I'm crawling. And I'm HAPPY about it too!"

"It's 100 degrees, so I'm relaxing pool-side in the shade."

Cloth Diapering - Day 1

2008-07-19T21:40:00.004-06:00

So, the diapers got here Friday night and I got them in the wash as soon as I could. It's so different than "back in the day", so many cool materials and colors to work with, no wet storage, no diaper service, and a lot easier (at least I'm assuming).

I got them all washed, and hung the covers to dry. (They're actually "pocket" diapers, and you stuff the insert into the pocket of the diaper). I washed and dried the inserts a few times to increase the absorbency.

Got everything stuffed back together and went to sleep anxiously awaiting the morning when the boys would wake up and I'd need to change their diaper and get to put on a cloth diaper!

We changed the boys and headed out to my father-in-law's (grandpop's) house to swim at his neighborhood pool. When we got to his house, Small Fry had a wet diaper, but the Monkey's was still dry. It was totally a funny thing, but hubby and I were kind of excited that we'd had our first dirty cloth diaper.

After the pool we had another dirty diaper, not pretty, but the cloth diaper did the job. A few more dirties during the day, and I thought I'd wash them up. I actually enjoy doing laundry, so it was fun. I'm so glad that I was properly armed with all the information (I'm the girl that reads manuals to make sure I'm doing everything right).

I stuffed two inserts into each of the boys' diapers tonight so they won't (hopefully) leak during the night. They looked so cute all freshly sunned, bathed, and ready to go to bed.

Cloth Diapering - I'm doing it!

2008-07-19T21:28:00.003-06:00

I think a little bit of me always wanted to do cloth diapers, but with the options nowadays, I was completely overwhelmed with everything and just ended up doing disposables. The bug to do it was always in the back of my mind though, I figured one day I'd still check it out.

I don't know what sparked it, I think a combination of discussions on a few of the "mom's" message boards that I participate in and the constant sticker shock every time we go to Costco to buy diapers (it's a $100 trip every six weeks for 2 giant boxes of diapers and wipes).

So, with my 29-month old who is not at all interested in potty training, and my 6-month old, I decided to take the plunge. A friend who is a cloth diaper guru spent a Friday morning teaching me everything I'd need to know. Everything from all types of diapers available, what materials they're made of, how to wash the diapers, what brands are good, what you carry them in, where you store the dirty ones, etc. It was as overwhelming as I imagined, but I left her house armed with loads of info and a PLAN, actual knowledge of what I wanted to get.

I bought 24 diapers, Fuzzi Bunz, the coziest things you can imagine. I waited the whole week for them to get here, in the meantime, making cloth wipes and talking to hubby about how it was all going to work. Thankfully, he's totally on board with it all, so it was an easy transition.

My diapers arrived on Friday night, and like a kid at Christmas (seriously), I opened the box and checked out all of the diapers - tried them on the boys and finally got them in the wash.

I'm here!

2008-07-14T23:16:00.000-06:00

Wow, it's been a while. I've been SWAMPED these past few weeks. Daily life (kids, school, "real" job, family, etc), and my Etsy shop are keeping me so busy.

I'm busy working on a lot of new projects that I'll be debuting in the next few weeks, and one of the things I'm most excited about will be my journey into the world of cloth diapers! I don't know yet if I'll be making diapers, but please be sure to keep an eye on my shop for all cloth diaper accessories - wet bags, wipes and more.

I've even finally found a source for wonderful, soft, organic blanket material - so I'll be going green and sustainable with some baby items in my shop.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you'd like to be notified when this great stuff is listed in my shop - or better yet - let me know what YOU want, what you'd like to see in the shop!

It's hot!

2008-07-07T00:39:00.003-06:00

No air conditioning in our house leads to some interesting days. I absolutely hate hot weather, I'm uncomfortable when the outside temperature is anything above 75 degrees, so you can imagine my attitude when it's 83 degrees inside our house!

On Saturday, it was ridiculously hot, and we were all so uncomfortable. So, the boys were in their diapers, Monkey was enjoying a banana popsicle ("manana pople" according to him), and I was trying to do some work in my studio.

Small Fry was cranky, I think because he was so hot. So, I had the bright idea to put him down on the linoleum floor in front of the fan. He was as happy as a clam and totally content to lay there and roll around for quite a long time!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-06T23:56:00.004-06:00

We used to celebrate the 4th by going to a rapids soccer game and watching the fireworks after the game. But these days, it's SO much fun to light off fireworks in the street like we did when we were kids.

On the morning of the 4th, we went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival with my mom and dad. My mom has gone every year for as long as I can remember, and I've honestly never been. This year, our friend had a food booth (this COOL new item called "Frfroneys", a fruit fritter with organic honey - amazingly yummy and delicious), so we decided to make a day of it and take the boys. We met my parents early in the morning to try and see a lot of the Festival before it got too hot.

They had a creativity area for the kids, and the Monkey loved painting with the glue and sticking down sequins and beads (and then he painted glue all over the kids' project next to him, OOPS!). It was hot though, and there wasn't too much shade, so we ended up leaving around noon.

At home, it was hot and the boys got naps while hubby and I got ready to have my parents and his dad down for dinner. My dad brought down the banjo and Small Fry was mesmerized. He loved the sound, but upon closer inspection, he really wanted to taste it!

After a yummy (yet crazy, thanks to two kiddos) dinner, we headed outside to enjoy the fireworks. Our neighbors joined us and we sat outside for a few hours lighting stuff on fire!

The Monkey got to hold his first sparkler, he was so good and just sat as still as a statue watching the flame. He stayed up late and got to see all the stuff go "boom! boom!" Thankfully, Small Fry slept through the loud noises. We ALL slept in on Saturday, exhausted from our long Independence Day.

Small Fry is 5 months old!

2008-07-02T00:01:00.003-06:00

Well, we've made it...5 months. I'm exhausted, hubby is exhausted and we can't imagine life any other way. Despite the exhaustion, tears, frustration and challenges of being a parent of a newborn and toddler (and feeling like you're learning it all for the first time because your second is so different), we are so incredibly in love with our little guy.

Small Fry is changing every day. We finally pinpointed the source of some of his crankiness - reflux. I hate the diagnosis (I'm just not a fan of medication), but the Zantac he takes is helping. I'm only giving it to him before bed though, since he's laying down for so long. Hopefully he'll be completely off it in the next few weeks.

He can roll over now, not with great ease, but he can do it - both from tummy to back and back to tummy. He's trying SO hard to sit up unassisted and play with his brother, who he is so in awe of. He loves playing under his numerous play gyms and in his exersaucer, although his absolute favorite source of entertainment is a 20 oz. empty plastic soda bottle (thanks to mommy, he's got plenty of those).

Drool is abundant, and spit up is decreasing, always nice for mom and dad (I can keep the same shirt on ALL day!). Sleeping is still a challenge, but I'm not a good sleeper either, so we keep each other company late at night. He's sleeping in longer stretches, and mean mommy lets him cry sometimes too - but he's learning to soothe himself and that's going to be hugely key in the future. Plus, in about 10 minutes of whimpering and crying, he's found that he can go back to sleep. Being able to roll over I think is helping him sleep better too (we stopped swaddling him at just about 16 weeks).

I don't know weight/height stats - we don't own a scale and he doesn't go to the doctor until 6 months, but he's growing out of clothes at lightning speed. I was planning on using most of the Monkey's old clothes for him, but at this rate, he'll be one size bigger than the Monkey was come the fall - and that means a shopping spree (hubby will not be pleased).

Well, that's about it for now (not short, but I've never been one to skimp on the details for potential excitement and more to the story always lies in the details). Enjoy some pics and thanks for reading!

I can roll over AND suck my thumb at the same time!

The brothers.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep!

2008-06-29T09:48:00.000-06:00

When I was in Steamboat for our annual ski vacation in February, I happened on a knitting shop that was closing (they're in Ski Time Square which is closing due to development). They had great deals on everything so I picked up a little hard-backed book with instructions for knitting various baby quilts.

So, I knitted this for Small Fry. I'm not a great knitter by any means, but with a pattern, I can hold my own. I just love how this turned out...maybe next winter (when I can stand dealing with thick yarns again), I'll knit him another one!

The Family Table

2008-06-29T09:38:00.003-06:00

One of my major "have-tos" as a mom is eating together at the dinner table. Every night, at 6:30 pm, we have dinner. Sometimes hubby is working, and sometimes we're out with family, but if we're home, we sit at the table and eat together. We've been doing this with the Monkey since the beginning.

Small Fry has sat with us too, but hasn't "eaten" at the table with us just yet...until this week. He's been eating some rice cereal (mixed with either pears or apples), and it's difficult to feed him in the bouncer. So, hubby brought up the high chair from the basement the other day, and now we've got our first table for four!

Our first family dinner with the four of us! (Oh yah, and Small Fry is crying because I got up from the table to take a picture!)

Corn yesterday and today

2008-06-29T09:34:00.002-06:00

Just thought it was cute to compare some pics of the Monkey eating corn on the cob in August 2007 and then just a few weeks ago. (He's so cute, honestly, I just love looking at pictures of him!)

Then:

Now:

A Monkey and his Horse

2008-06-25T01:30:00.004-06:00

We had a great day today! I've got a friend who has a horse (doesn't that sound like the beginning of a joke?), and she offered to give the Monkey a ride. My "someday" dream is to own many horses, so of course hubby and I jumped at the offer.

We had to drive about 90 minutes, just about 15 minutes north of Boulder to get there and it was totally worth it. At first, the Monkey didn't want to ride without hubby, so they went around the ring together a few times, and then we asked if he wanted to ride by himself. "Uh huh, YES" was the emphatic answer.

So, hubby hopped off the horse and there was our tiny little Monkey a top the horse (his name was Smokie). He LOVED it! I even caught some photos where I swear he looked like a little jockey in training.

We then got to feed Smokie some apples. Everyone got in on the fun, and even Small Fry woke up from his nap to pet Smokie.

After the horse ride, we went into downtown Boulder and found our former favorite park (from our college days). We had a fantastic picnic and then took a little scenic tour through town and campus - it was fun to see everything again and think back to when we lived in Boulder - pre-marriage, pre-kids. It all seems so long ago yet it was only five years ago!

Finished!

2008-06-18T21:24:00.000-06:00

Those deflated play balls I posted about the other day? They're finally done! Woo! (It's A LOT of stuffing).

Fruit & Veggies ribbon Play Ball
Sushi ribbon Play Ball

Now, I can move on to finishing up some binky bags, quilts, and of course starting to do something with that *oh so fun to look at* stack of sock monkey fabric!

Drool! I just like looking at this stack - it was hard to focus on the projects I needed to actually finish before playing with this selection of fabric!

Lots of Play Balls!

2008-06-16T15:02:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite (but most tedious to make) items is the ribbon play ball. I tend to do them in batches, especially since none of the ball is a "quick-to-do" thing. It's all hand tracing, cutting, piecing the sides one at a time and then stuffing.

So, I've now got seven balls to stuff...thought they looked funny all deflated in my studio yesterday. Check for them soon - they'll be up by Tuesday! Fruit & Veggie and Sushi themes available!

Father's Day

2008-06-15T23:19:00.007-06:00

I had in mind to get hubby something cool for Father's Day, but the man is incredibly humble and hardly ever gets ANYTHING for himself (he is consequently super difficult to shop for). So, I was going to get him a lawn trimmer/edger, but who really wants that as a gift? Plus, it's not like he's super excited when I spend money.

So, instead of buying something because it was a way to recognize the holiday, I decided to have the Monkey participate in making him something...actually hubby's favorite something...yellow cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting. (This was the BEST gift because everything we did today was 100% handmade and 100% from stuff I had on hand, i.e. no money was spent!)

The idea of the Monkey helping me bake was simple enough (he helps me prepare dinner every night and LOVES to help me use the stand mixer and bake bread, etc.), but I thought it would be even more fun to document his journey into a little scrapbook for hubby...something that would last beyond the yuminiess of the cupcakes, and make more special.

Since we decided to do cupcakes this morning (while hubby was at work), I had the Monkey baking up a storm, while I was photographing, and then processed the photos (I have a really great digital photo printer from a fantastic mother-in-law who always knows just what I need!), and then scrapbooked the photos. (And of course, fed Small Fry and attempted to get the Monkey down for a nap).

I didn't take photos of the scrapbook itself just yet (just a little 8x8 book I had in my stash), but below are the photos and captions I put in the book.
------------------
The Monkey wanted to bake cupcakes for daddy as a "Happy Birthday Father's Day" surprise...This is his journey.

Mommy let him put the cupcake liners in the pan.

She poured in the mix and melted butter and the monkey got to add three eggs (but NO shells!)

"Me do it!"

Mommy said, "Smile!"

He really wanted to taste the batter at this point, and was starting to lose interest in actually baking the cupcakes!

The cupcakes were ready for the oven...

...the timer was set.

Waiting is hard when you are 2 years old.

While waiting for the cupcakes to bake, he got to eat the batter.

He told mommy on numerous occasions that the batter was, "YUM".

Maybe this is why he didn't take a nap on Father's Day!

This is his "YUM" face.

The timer beeped, the cupcakes were done!

But wait! The aren't quite ready yet!

Small Fry, meanwhile, napped during the cupcake making process.

But he did wake up in time to help frost the cupcakes!

Frosting and sprinkles required a lot of mommy help, so we just got a photo of the finished product.

Giving the cupcake a stare down.

Say "Cheese!"

Finally, he got to taste his wonderful creation. He thought they were fantastic.

Happy Father's Day!