Simply Jamie

First project of 2012 and a mushy aside

2012-01-02T16:07:00.000-06:00

I sewed for the first time using vinyl! It was a little tricky, but the old tape on the presser foot trick worked well (don't forget the back like I did). I followed the tutorial from Make It and Love It. It is really for Lego storage, but his cars were handy.

I intended to have it ready for Christmas, but I spent my time sewing stockings for all of the adults in my family. The bag is a little roomier than I had imagined, so if you are considering making one, don't go too big! This one is made from a 9 inch circle (aka my stand mixer bowl). D took to it right away, so maybe he will be excited to clean? Not too likely.

My mushy aside.

I was sitting at my desk absorbed in some task or another, and I hear D pitter patter in. I turned around and saw that he had decided to occupy a corner of my room. Guess he just wanted to be near me. <3

Mario Kart is way fun for kids and their moms too!

OK, OK I have a New Year's Resolution

2012-01-01T10:37:00.000-06:00

I wasn't going to do any resolutions this year, but then I came across Perogies & Gyoza's awesome New Years Resolution Challenge.

I like challenges.

Her challenge is to read to her children everyday. As a librarian, I read to other people's children every day, but Daddy normally does bedtime and stories around here. I cannot think of something more rewarding that encouraging a child to enjoy literature. In my mind, it opens a world of opportunity because reading is at the center of all learning. So I snagged her button and joined the challenge! I hope you do too.

Isn't she lovely?

2011-12-30T09:25:00.000-06:00

Isn't she wonderful?

(hint: the answer is YES)

Meet Priscilla, my new serger. She is a Brother 5234PRW. She was kind of a shock this Christmas. I had asked for a serger, but an entry-level one. My MIL shocked me with this one. Here she is with her little fabric catcher on. Though the manual tells me that "trim trap" is the right terminology.

And here she is with her fancy outfit (aka wide table assembly) on.

It is love. At first I was afraid. She's quite fancy. But I watched the video twice (and some change) and threaded her correctly the first time. Daniel is also in love and is constantly asking if he can watch me sew. He even sat through the video with me and helped me out.

I have serged the ends of a ridiculous number of scraps and I have finally undertaken a project. I'll let you know how it turns out.

The tough questions

2011-12-26T18:35:00.000-06:00

Daniel's self portrait with a dash of Christmas mess

I guess 4 is when the tough questions hit? No one warned me about this. He seems to always ask me stuff when I can't bolt or distract him. 6 days before Christmas D and I were driving to the mall to peek at Santa (no lap sitting for this kid). As you can imagine traffic was horrendous and he pulls out the, "How are babies made?" bomb. I smoothed it over with my usual answer of "babies grow inside of mommies." Normally this works. This time? Not so much.

D: Yeah, Mom, but how do babies get in there?
Me: Er, daddies help put them in there.
D: (silence)
Me: (sigh of relief)
D: How do daddies do that?
Me: (fuck) Um, well mommies have eggs, kind of like a chicken, but really small and they keep them inside. And daddies have this stuff called sperm. They give it to the mommies and that makes a baby.
D: (looooooong silence) So I have sperm?
Me: Yes. One day you can be a daddy if you want.
D: Mommy, do you want a baby? I can share some of my sperm.
Me: (doing my best not to giggle) Oh thanks, baby, but I am married to Daddy, so he shares his sperm with me. When you find someone you love and you decide you want a baby, you can share it then, OK?
D: OK. Can we look at Legos at the mall?

And it was over. I survived. And now I need to warn the babysitter.

Just today we were driving home from the store and he asks me, "Is Daddy going to die?" He asks about death a lot. I think it's because we talk about his sister and he knows that she died. I admit, this is such a hard road for me to travel with him. Trey and I are atheists (though the term Secular Humanist is really what we prefer), and I have no comforting afterlife to tell him about because I don't believe in one. Telling him about life after death is akin to lying to him. I don't do that. As cheesy as it sounds, we tell him that when we die, our bodies go into the ground and we get to help plants grow. Plants help people and animals and then we cue Elton John...."The ciiiiiiircle of liiiiiife..."

So back to my story. D asked me if Daddy was going to die. I was totally squirming and caught between wanting to be totally honest and wanting to protect him. I chose honesty. I told him one day, probably in a really long time, Daddy would die.

And then he started crying.

And I felt like an asshole.

He was fairly inconsolable for a few minutes. By this time we had gotten home, so I pulled him into my lap and hugged him for a while. I tried to explain that Daddy would be around for a long time. He would be all grown up and have children of his own. He said that it wasn't fair and that it made him sad and he didn't like that Daddy would die. I agreed that it doesn't seem fair and it made me sad and I didn't like it either. He asked who would protect him. I explained that he would be old enough to protect himself. He would probably be even bigger than Daddy.

It sucks but that's all I had. I let him sit in my lap and feel sad, because it is sad. And though he isn't me, I'd rather deal with a shitty truth and come to terms with it than to be lied to. I've been on both ends of that and I would choose the truth every time.

He never questioned my mortality, so he either understands that it transfers to all living things, or I am still immortal in his 4-year-old eyes. I am good with that for now.

The year of the Lego

2011-12-26T10:10:00.000-06:00

That's what I am calling this Birthday/Christmas. Trey and I decided Daniel was old enough to know the joy of Legos.

We both loved them growing up. Birthday was filled with Legos and then Christmas was filled with Legos.

I am not sure who is enjoying them the most. I think it may be a three-way tie.

Santa was kind enough to put all of them together when he stopped by on Christmas.

(Pardon the Play Doh that is all over the table. That was a big hit as well.)

I have some fun projects in the works that will help me organize all of these little plastic blocks of fun.

Just a story that I have to tell

2011-12-19T17:12:00.000-06:00

I don't even know how to begin. I'm trying not to drag it out, but I think a certain amount of back story is needed.

We've had long standing issues with our neighbors. They are truly thoughtless people. They very frequently throw loud parties, they don't watch after their dogs or care when they are barking, they drive really fast down the street, and are just generally not someone you would want to live next door to. I won't even get into how they treat their children, but I'm sure you can imagine. We have called the police and their landlords on more occasions that I can recall. No one listened. Their landlord made excuse after excuse. She just didn't want to deal with it.

We spoke with them about their dog several times. They got her as a small puppy and pretty much left her in the backyard. She had no training, no socialization, all she knew was her little yard. To make matters worse she was really high energy. It was a bad situation. She grew very territorial and broke the fence between our yard and theirs and attempted to bite my husband. She broke our fence several more times before they installed an electric fence. Still, I didn't trust it and she made it impossible to enjoy our yard. She was a large dog (a boxer mix) and frequently tried to jump over our fence. When she wasn't doing that, she barked constantly. We stopped going in our backyard. It just made me too nervous.

We had been playing outside that morning in the front yard. We could hear her barking, but it wasn't quite as bad out there. Trey and I washed my car while Daniel was playing in the dirt by our front door. I ran inside to make us lunch and I remember hearing a growl, a bark, and then a scream. I was slow to act. I remember thinking that maybe one of our dogs got out. But why would they growl? I started walking towards the front door and Trey ran in with Daniel in his arms. That's when I saw the blood all over his face. Trey quickly explained that the dog next door got out and bit Daniel. I looked down and he was crying and had blood all over his face. I grabbed Daniel out of his arms and screamed something to the effect of, "Kill that fucking dog and call the police." It was like my nightmare was unfolding in front of me.

I sat in our entry and rocked Daniel and told him everything was ok, but I was shaking with rage. Trey told me the ambulance was on the way. That's when I made a really dumb mistake. I went back outside with Daniel in my arms. My only thought was to get him to the ambulance as soon as possible. I wasn't out there long when she came back. She came up to me snarling and growling and lunged towards my legs. I had one of those moments of perfect adrenaline-fueled clarity. I knew I couldn't turn around, or she could knock me down. I knew if I kicked her she could bite me and bring me down. I had read in my dog training book to not lean over dogs because it can intimidate them. That's what I decided to do. I couldn't run, so I chose to fight. So I leaned forward as far as I was able to, clutched Daniel as close to me as possible and screamed. Loudly. It surprised her and she backed off a little. When she came in again, I did the same thing. Over and over we did this. She tried to circle me, but I wouldn't let her. I faced her and screamed my head off while attempting to be as intimidating as possible. I have no idea if this was the right thing to do, but it worked. After what felt like an eternity, a car drove by and saw what was going on. He laid on the horn and jumped out to help, grabbing jumper cables and swinging wildly to get her away from us. He opened his door and motioned for me to get in. Trey had come out too. He had been getting his shoes on and had no idea we were outside. Several neighbors came out after hearing my screams with shovels and one with a pitchfork.

I don't remember too much after that. Just the police arriving and the EMTs looking over Daniel. They were all great. Someone came and told me they finally tracked her down while she was attempting to attack a boy walking his dog. Another neighbor trapped her in their garage.

That all happened last March. It still haunts me a little. Even writing this I got a surge of adrenaline. I'm not sure I have ever been so scared. It just could have gone so very wrong. The dog was since put down. I feel bad about that. I know it wasn't her fault what she turned out to be. Our city monitors dogs that they bring in and they determined that she could not be rehabilitated. Daniel's scar is inside his mouth. Her bottom tooth cut him on the right side of his mouth from his molar up through his lip. It could have been much worse. It also could have been prevented.

The day after it happened we went on what I call, The Great Dog Tour. First thing after we all woke up, we brought our dogs in to gauge his reaction. I lost it for the first time when he asked if our dog Dalton could come with us to protect us. Then we went to my best friends house to expose him to her two large dogs (lab and golden retriever), then to my parents' house to visit with their two Jack Russell Terriers. We talked a lot about good dogs and bad dogs. I really wanted to prevent a lifelong fear of dogs. He hasn't shown an ounce of fear, even when we met a Boxer that looked nearly identical to the one that bit him. We've talked about it when he wants to, but not brought it up, allowing him to deal with it as he wants to. Thankfully he doesn't remember it very well and asks me questions sometimes.

Dalton - Daniel's protector. Don't divulge that he is actually a giant coward.

Afterwards, our neighbors didn't change. They texted an apology the next day. I'm not kidding. I'm not sure if they are amoral, really stupid, or just apathetic. The parties continued, the loudness continued, just the barking stopped.

I don't want to end it there. There is supposed to be some moral, some nice ending, but there isn't. They are still assholes. Thankfully, they are assholes that moved out a month ago. It has been nice and so very quiet, but I know that they are in another place making someone else miserable and teaching their children that this is how adults behave. It makes me so sad.

This and that

2011-12-13T12:13:00.000-06:00

I finally have some time to blog! Unfortunately, it is because I am home with D who has hand, foot, and mouth disease. Nasty stuff. He's very much on the mend, but seriously...a virus that gives you painful sores on the inside of your throat AND makes you vomit? Cruel. Everyone at his little home daycare broke out with it nearly simultaneously.

I've been spending non-grad school hours sewing, which is a major stress reliever for me. Check out some of my new projects.

I sold the second one yesterday and have a custom order for another based on the first one. I got the patterns from Little Lizard King. I own 5 of her patterns and I love them all.

Daniel turned 4 on the 28th. I'm having issues with 4. It sounds so old. I think it is so hard because there are four-year-olds at my school in the pre-k program. He won't start school until 2013 (you know, if the world hasn't ended), but it still seems old.

His grandparents got him karate lessons for his birthday. He looks so cute in his uniform and is loving the lessons. I'm less than in love with the place that we chose, but we are locked in for the next 5 months. We will be switching in the summer. He's been having lessons (3 times a week for 30 minutes) for less than a month and already 3 classes have been canceled. They also told him not to wash his karate belt because that's where all his karate knowledge and wisdom is stored. Please don't tell my impressionable child your silly magic stories. Any knowledge that he has gained is stored in his brain, not the belt that he chews on during the ride home from lessons.

(Hypocrite alert: Yes, we do Santa which is a silly magic story. Our hope is to foster some critical thinking. Dale McGowan has an excellent post on his blog about it.)

Family Christmas Tradition

2011-11-27T14:27:00.000-06:00

We don't have a ton, but my favorite has to be our ornaments. Since the year Trey and I were married, picking out our annual ornament has been a big deal. Trey and I switch off each year (I get evens, he gets odds and we each get veto rights). Here's a little picture walk back through time.

2002: Our first Christmas as a married couple, awwwww.

2003: Trey chose the always romantic Shrek. I am not sure if I am the smelly ogre or the jackass.

2004: I chose Santa and Rudolph. They are currently on my desk waiting for some Gorilla Glue. Poor dears.

2005: And the winner is.... This Thing! Trey has collected Hot Wheels since his childhood. This one is very fitting.

2006: I chose two dog ornaments for our two dogs.

2007: Trey picks The Nightmare Before Christmas (we are fans).

2008: OK, I can't blame Trey here. This one was all me. If you don't know what this is, I am not telling. Just know that it is nerdy, and you should probably be rolling your eyes.

2009: Mr. Plow, that's his name. That name again is Mr. Plow.

2010: I chose this lovey-dovey little number from Target.

2011: Trey once again went the Tim Burton route. He's a predictable man.

When our daughter was born in 2006, we carried on the tradition even though she wasn't with us. Picking out her ornament is one of the most bittersweet moments during our holiday season.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010 (Hope is her middle name)

2011

And of course the tradition is continued on with Daniel.

2007

2008

2009

2010: This is the first ornament he picked out by himself. It wasn't my first choice, but he wanted it!

2011

As an aside, we took some family pictures at Thanksgiving. He is Daniel holding Keiran's picture.

Elf on the Shelf

2011-11-12T07:01:00.000-06:00

I've been excited about starting this tradition for Daniel since, oh.... about August. It isn't that I was excited to have something to "keep him in line" or something to hold over his head, I debated for a long time on whether we were even going to do the Santa thing so that's not really my style. I was excited to bring this little bit of magic and whimsy to his life.

We got the elf on Thursday and Daniel immediately decided that it was a she. I was really delighted to once again have another female in the house. And after discussing such fabulous names like "plate" "computer" and "sewing machine" (why, yes, these were things that were all in his line of sight, how did you guess?) he threw out the name Isabella. I grabbed onto it like the last TV on Black Friday and ran with it.

We talked about the elf and how she comes to visit boys and girls. I really wasn't prepared for how darn EXCITED he was going to be. There were even some tears when I told him that she flies to the North Pole at night (I don't want her to leave!). I quickly explained that she comes back, but he didn't really believe me until he saw her the next morning. Daniel is a kid that needs to know everything about everything so I have been answering questions non-stop about our elf.
A random sampling:
Can she see me at Sarah's house?
Can I go with her to the North Pole?
Why can't she talk? also: Why did Santa say she can't talk?
Can she hear me?
What does she want for Christmas?
Why can't I see her magic?

And so on, and so on, and so on.

It's cute.....really.

Being the epic slacker that I am, I forgot to take a picture the first morning as she dangled from the pot rack (I smell a recreation). I did remember this morning though!

I'm not sure if she is more of a Black Ops or a Red Dead Redemption fan

Holiday time again!

2011-11-06T09:17:00.000-06:00

It's the best time of the year!

It starts with one of my favorite holidays...Halloween, then goes into Thanksgiving, D's birthday, Trey's birthday, and then Christmas! It also means that it is craft show season. I love this time of year, but I hardly have any time to work on anything else. So no blogging, no crafts, no time for much of anything except sewing things to sell and grad school. Next year perhaps.

I did want to update on our Pinterest Project. I have completed 3 projects since the start of Zaira's and my project. Here are my next five:

I want to make the white one. Gorgeous, huh?

I think I squealed a little when I saw this one. I have been shopping for the perfect hoodie!

I'm going to start tackling this one today.

This one may be a stocking stuffer.

I found this one months ago. I need to get on it!

More kitchen progress

2011-10-02T11:25:00.000-05:00

Pantry? Gone
Soffit? Annihilated
Drywall? Patched
Shelves? Uh....not quite there yet.
Cabinets? Almost ready to prime. We are waiting for the weather to chill out so we can actually leave the doors open. Because of where the cabinets are going to be, we are going to be using an oil-based primer. These don't have a low or no VOC option yet, so open doors are paramount.

Now for crappy cell phone pics!!

Before

This one is obviously from long ago. The bar is gone, we have an additional cabinet on the left, but it is the best straight-on shot I could find. Trey started demolishing before I could really get in there and snap some pics.

During

Trey may have mumbled "over-engineered" 6 or 7 times. Seriously, I think we could have parked a car up there.

The now. We need to sand, texture and paint. Then we start on the shelves.

5 minute cape!

2011-08-28T14:12:00.000-05:00

This project is part of the (what I just named) Pinterest Project that Zaira and I are doing. My pin can be found here. This is my 2nd project that I have finished (with that darn gallery wall being like 3/4 of the way done, I can't seem to get it right).

Anyway, this project was a snap. I just cut up an old (apparently magical) t-shirt.

Looks thrilled, right?

Then a new super hero was born.

So worth it!

Check out the blog that is linked in the pin. She made a cuff too! Super cute.

Decluttering Progress Part 2

2011-08-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

Let me start out with a list!

Kitchen:
~~Small appliances~~
Dishes
Knick knacks
Towels
Cleaning supplies

Living room:
~~DVDs~~
Electronics
Cords

Bedroom:
~~Hanging clothes~~
Dresser clothes
Shoes
Closet
~~Book shelf~~

D's Room:
~~Toys~~
~~Clothes~~
Books

Sewing room:
fabrics
closet

Master bath:
Cleaning supplies
Toiletries
Towels (we still have the towels we got when we married over 9 years ago!)

Dining Room:
China cabinet

I still have a long way to go! I think I will tackle the master bath today. Most of the clutter in there is mine anyway. For someone who wears make-up like twice a year, I really have a lot of it.

School is back in session

2011-08-22T18:49:00.001-05:00

Could you tell? I went back to work on July 29th and the kids started today. It was great. New school, new kids, new everything! I was just a lot to take in for my introverted self. Everyone has been super sweet and I really like my principals. They are organized and have been so welcoming. I am debating on whether or not to start a library blog. I really want to, but I don't know if I have the time!

I slacked a bit on Zaira's and my Pinterest board. I did complete the feet print butterfly. It is cuter in person, I swear.

Daniel has long, skinny feet and the feet in the picture are small and chubby. We still like it. It's on our mostly finished gallery wall. I just can't get that wall perfect. I think the spacing is too wide. I need to make the gaps narrower.

Quick catch up:

I am back at work. I am officially a librarian now. I am at a brand new school with brand new people.

My horrible semester ended. I had a professor give me a B. Are you kidding me? I did the math. I made an A. She has until tomorrow to make it right and then I go to the dean. I have everything (including all of our correspondence and all my grades) printed and ready to go.

I still think my neighbors are horrible people. :) That's about it!

Things should get a little pinteresting

2011-07-27T15:22:00.001-05:00

About a week ago Zaira and I were talking (in email) about a Pinterest challenge. We would challenge ourselves to make one thing off of our Pinterest boards a week and blog about the progress. Then I saw some really big blogs roll out a similar concept yesterday. We snoozed and we loozed.

But not really.

Zaira created a joint board for us to post 5 things that we want to get done. Sewing, food, wood-work..doesn't matter. We just wanted to create! Then we can post about them when we finish them.

So go and check out what we are planning to accomplish and feel free to join us!

Also, I am thisclose to finishing my gallery wall. I ran out of nails. Seriously. Who does that?

The declutter fairy visited

2011-07-23T18:15:00.000-05:00

Trey had an epiphany or something. Look how this bad boy grew over night!

Getting rid of these actually made enough room to fit all of our DVDs on our DVD racks. Trey and D took them to Half Price Books and were offered less than $5...for everything! Trey decided to take them elsewhere and got $18 for the Xbox games and a few of the DVDs. Yay local store! Unfortunately, we still have most of them in the house. We need to think of a plan to get them out of here for good.

Thrift Shopping

2011-07-22T17:48:00.000-05:00

I was having a grumpy day yesterday, so I talked Trey into a Goodwill trip. We had a ton of stuff to drop off anyway, so it just made sense to pop on in and take a peek.

Trey and I rearranged our living room in the morning, so I had a ton of ideas flying around in my head. We moved the TV off of the wall (yay), so I was left with a big, sad, empty wall. And I love it. And it will be filled up in no time. I am planning on a lovely gallery wall, so the main thing I was looking for in GW were picture frames.

Boy did they have some frames. And other stuff too. We got out of there just shy of $20. It was a total score.

Here's the loot:

tray for my coffee table, wine rack, frames, and a 1971 sewing book <3,
all less than $20!

I cleaned up the frames and Trey took them out back and spray painted them white. I initially wanted black, but my couch is dark brown and I thought it would look funky.

Here are some of them (temporarily) displayed on my mantle. I have quite the affinity for word art that Pinterest has been feeding lately. I need to remake the one with Daniel's birth info. It needs more white space between the mat and the words.

The pins that inspired these are here, here and here.

I also have the printable for the last one available to download here if you would like to print it! It will fit in an 8x10 frame. I printed mine on cardstock and trimmed the edges.

Decluttering Progress

2011-07-21T06:00:00.007-05:00

Yesterday I mentioned getting rid of some movies.

It felt awesome to get rid of those, so I started on my small kitchen appliances. I have two cabinets just busting with crap.

Zack is a real help

Lovely organization!

I managed to get rid of appliances that we have had since we got married. Yup, these things are 9 years old. I got rid of a blender, large food processor (motors going out on both), a mini food processor, an electric can opener (waste of space!), and a stand mixer (rehoming to my sister).

All of my other appliances breathed a sigh of relief that they now have more wiggle room. What was I hanging onto this stuff for anyway??

Here is my progress so far:

Wordless Wednesday: Breaking in those counters

2011-07-20T15:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is beer. No, I don't know why there are two.

Decluttering Challenge

2011-07-20T10:14:00.001-05:00

Over on Pinterest, my friend Zaira and I got into a little healthy competition. I repinned a de-cluttering list of hers and we started a conversation...which quickly turned into a challenge!

Can you tell Zaira is just a wee bit competitive? (Love ya, Z!)

I was totally enthusiastic and got started right away. Trey doesn't like when I do this. It shakes his cluttered and happy world.

We recently did a toy purge, so I got to mark that off first thing.

Trey had the hardest time parting with the DVDs. He's a bit of a pack rat, so we mostly got rid of my DVDs. I picked out 20 and 19 are getting donated, two of those to my nieces.

Next I am going to tackle the bathrooms. I love tossing stuff!

ps, I think Pinterest is still invite only. Email me at jamie at simplyjamie.net if you want an invite.

pps, I am messing with my layout. I hope to be happy with it soon, so bear with me.

From the peanut gallery

2011-07-17T22:11:00.000-05:00

D, sitting on the floor talking to one of our dogs, Dalton.

You are my friend. You like to run, and play, and sleep. You like to lick your penis. I have a penis too. We are both boys.

(5 seconds later)

Mom, does Dalton have a forehead?

***************
D, talking with my mom.

D: We had a leak in the hot water heater yesterday.
Grandma: Oh, no what happened?
D: There was a big leak and the house got water in it and I had to swim around.
G: OH?
D: Yeah, but it's ok, The garbage man came and fixed it.

***************

D popped a hole in his rubber ball and it deflated. We ripped it apart and wore the halves like hats for a while. He grew tired with that and decided they were something else.

D: Mom these are meat now.
Me: Daniel, we don't eat meat, plus those are rubber.
D: Yeah it's meat.....from a rubber duck.

Why yes Jamie, you do have counter tops!

2011-07-15T16:05:00.001-05:00

Did you get the whole Virgina/Santa Claus thing I did right there?

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I totally have counters for the first time in TWO YEARS. OK, I'll stop yelling now. Please come back. Let me take you on a little journey.

Some ambitious home owners removed their counter tops in June of 09. The counter tops were original to their 1986 bungalow (ha ha, just kidding, my mom and I always giggle when they talk about bungalows on the home shows, because like, everything is a bungalow, or craftsman-style, or faux-something-or-other). Ahem, so anyway they were tired of the off-white 1986 laminate with a built-in glass cutting board (that was impossible to clean, gross). So they ripped them out in a feat of triumph and put some plywood down. They got a gorgeous granite composite sink, a lovely new faucet, and planned on putting down beautiful black granite tile. But, problem after problem arose and two years later, they still had plywood. And it was gross. And someone stained it with fabric dye. It was unbearable and one day the wife put her foot down and said, "NO more!" And the husband said, "Let's go!" Off they went to the home improvement store that the pre-schooler calls "The Orange Store" and magic happened. 6-8 weeks later their counters were installed and it was good.

Now some pics for making it through my story.

D and the counters. Feel free to judge, I do!

with the plywood gone
so long, sucker!

right after they left

shiiiiiiny

It has taken us a really long time, but we have done so much with this tiny galley kitchen. I just downloaded Paint.net today, so I think I will attempt a before/after layout.

Ok, so let me explain our tri-colored cabinets really quickly. They were wood...and I hated them. So we painted some of them white and I did a total crap job. So then we began sanding again so we can paint again. That's why there is stained wood, white wood, and untreated wood all in one kitchen. We may actually be trendsetters and not even know it. But I doubt it.

The pantry gets a short reprieve

2011-07-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

Looks like the pantry may have to wait...but I am totally OK with that. Shortly after I posted a farewell to my pantry, the counter top installation people called. I will have counter tops on Thursday. I haven't had any for two years.

Yes, you read that right...

TWO FRICKIN YEARS!

Picture me standing in my office jumping up and down. We are even their first stop. 9am, people. It'll be like Christmas morning. If I am feeling particularly brave, I may even take pics of the "counter tops" that I currently have. It just occurred to me that Daniel doesn't even remember a time when plywood wasn't our counter top. (I've managed to say counter top 5 times now, I'm done.)

So operation remove the pantry has been pushed back a week. I really was looking forward to destroying it with a sledgehammer.

Oh, what the heck...........................COUNTER TOPS!

Dear pantry

2011-07-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

Your days are numbered!
Love,
Jamie

Me and my big ideas

2011-07-02T14:02:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to paint our front door. It was simple really. We had some high-gloss paint sitting in our garage paint stash, and I had the urge for some DIY. Our living room can get a little dark. We have 4 windows, but there is a large tree that blocks out a lot of light (such problems, right?). The back of our front door is this reddish brown. Doesn't sound too bad, but it doesn't go with anything else. And the worst part? It darkens up the space. We already have dark brown couches, we needed some light in this room!

Why yes, Mom...that is ugly

I chose a sponge roller because the door has a little bit of texture, but not much. I don't know if this was the right choice, but it seemed to work really well and the paint went on fine. The paint was a little thick though, even for high gloss.

That's when the fun stopped.

I had wiped down the front door before painting to get off any dust and spiderwebs. As I was painting some of the nooks and crannies, the old paint started flaking off. Awesome. There wasn't a hint of flaking beforehand, so I have no idea what that was all about. Then the paint was drying faster than I could paint and it was peeling off when I would go back over an area to fix a drip or something. It was a mess. Also, the pretty new door was making the trim look like crap, so I started painting that too. At this point I may have threatened to throw my brush and roller across the room. My husband may have stepped in while I went to cry into some ice cream. It is a little fuzzy.

If doors had horror movies, this one would
be equivalent to the Human Centipede

But, it all turned out OK. Depending on what it looks like tomorrow, we may do a light sanding and give her one more go. It really brightens the room.

shoddy camera work, but you get the idea

Sunday fun in pictures

2011-06-26T11:37:00.002-05:00

My sister is going to be homeschooling her two girls next year (ages 4 and 6) and we have been talking a lot about learning activities. We even took little assessments on our kiddos to find out their learning styles. Daniel was no surprise as a tactile learner. I think 3-year-olds are all tactile learners. His close second was also no surprise as it is my own strength, he is visual. When he knew all his colors by 20 months, I easily figured he was a visual learner.

Today I combined his strengths in a little sensory bin. We combined things I already had in the house: black-eyed peas, pinto beans, measuring cups, old buttons, and pom poms.

the magnifying glass slays me

Sid the Science kid?

"Wook, it's a heart for Balentine's Day!"

dog photo bomb!

Guilt, for a really stupid reason

2011-06-25T11:41:00.000-05:00

via Sean MacEntee on Flickr

I have a Catholic friend that likes to tease me. She tells me I am a Catholic at heart for all the guilt I harbor. It is true. I have guilt over the dumbest things.

Right now I am struggling with getting rid of Daniel's toys. He is fine with the clean out, that's not where the guilt lies. The problem is that people thought of him, walked around a store with him in mind, picked out something they thought he would like, and then spent their hard-earned money to present him with something that they thought would make him happy. Ugh, can you SEE where I am coming from? This is where my brain goes when I try and decide which toy to pass along, or donate, or (the worst of all) sell.

Right, so beside the fact that I just let my freak flag fly, and you are all finding a kind way to tell me to seek counseling, I am going to try and conquer this. The strangest part is that I don't really get attached to things. My wedding ring could go missing tomorrow and I would feel sad, but I would get over it quickly. Objects are truly just objects. It is the intent behind the objects that drive the crazy in me.

As I have mentioned about a million times, our house is small. The clutter is taking over his room and greatly affecting my mental health...and we all just read how fragile that is.

So wish me luck as I try and separate the emotions from the objects as it will surely be much much harder on me that it is on D.

Smoothie Pops a delicious breakfast treat

2011-06-20T09:24:00.000-05:00

We have record breaking highs here in Austin this Spring-that-is-pretending-to-be-Summer. It is HOT, like so hot we are breaking records left and right. I'm talking 15 days in June over 100 degrees. Here is our five-day forecast from Weather City:

I'll eat my hat if it actually drops to 75 on Thursday

We have been finding creative ways to stay cool and D and I developed this yummy little breakfast (or anytime) treat. We used 1 cup of Stonyfield vanilla yogurt, a handful of blueberries, a handful of cut strawberries, and some juice for consistency. We used raspberry lemonade because it is what we had on hand. I was worried the acidity would mess with the yogurt, but it seemed to work out.

We mixed the yogurt and juice in a bowl and poured it into our popsicle molds (a garage sale purchase about 5 years ago). We filled them about 1/2 way and then added the fruit. Then we poured a bit more on top. I'd leave about a 1/2 inch at the top for expansion and room for the stick. After they froze, I removed them from the molds and wrapped them up so he could grab them all by himself. He feels like he is getting ice cream and I know he's getting some good stuff. It is a win for everyone.

What do I do with this boy?

2011-06-15T08:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was that mom. The one in the store that gets so frustrated with her child that she isn't quite rational. In my defense, Daniel is pissed off at me. I think he feels like I abandoned him while I was gone. Also, I walked away when all I wanted to do was shake him. I put myself in a nice little time out in the car. It was best for everyone. Trey finished up the shopping (it was even Hobby Lobby! Can you believe I left???) and I chilled out and talked myself down.

After we were both better, I talked with him. I told him that I was sorry I left. I did not want to go, but I had to. I said that I knew it was hard when I was gone, and missing someone is really tough, but I was not leaving again any time soon.

It didn't seem to help him much. He has so much anger. He has been defiant, ignores me, and is just generally combative. This isn't how he is normally. We are really close. And while I don't resent at all that he runs to his dad instead of me, I do wonder how long it is going to last. I am pretty sure that he even rolled his eyes at me this morning. Awesome.

The hardest part for me, is trying not to get upset about it. He isn't trying to hurt me, he is just angry and probably confused. I will admit that I have shed a few tears when I am alone. I know it's my job to help him through this, and to let him know that I am here for him.

Kitchen progress

2011-06-10T06:20:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness. My kitchen is actually moving along! I know it's hard to believe that, especially with me still stuck in Denton, but Trey has been painting the kitchen. D accidentally spilled the beans during out first Skyping session. I was thrilled! Trey is a good painter and that is one less thing that I have to take care of. I even talked Trey in to sending me some pictures.

I chose this wall color because I was inspired by the kitchen color from HOUSEography. They have white cabinets and black counter tops and I loved how the wall color went with it. I tend towards the dramatic, so this is a really calm color for me. Trey says it brings a new brightness to the house, and he was surprised by how light everything felt even with no lights on.

As much as I adore the man, he sent me some odd pictures. I got 4 pictures of the painting he did behind the fridge. I don't quite understand why, but I'll share of few of the less strange ones.

I think it looks a little too yellow here. These walls were white,
well they were a horrible faux finish from the previous owners.

This one shows the former color. I will miss you Cherry Cobbler, but my
house is moving in other directions now. And yes, that is a curved wall.
It's a total PITA.

The helper. One of the many behind the fridge shots.Pardon
the mess, I don't normally clean back there.

So there is a little sneak peek. I can't wait to see it (and my painters) on Monday night.

Sitting here in Denton, Texas

2011-06-08T15:49:00.000-05:00

I've been a graduate student at the University of North Texas for two semesters now, but I didn't step foot on campus until Saturday. It's a pretty little campus and I am staying in a really nice dorm with a friend of mine. When I was an undergrad student my dorm room was tiny, with a community bathroom, stairs, and a window unit. This bad boy has a thermostat, elevator, and a bathroom. It's heaven I tell ya. I do feel a little old though. When did college kids get so young?

Image from Photobucket

Anyway, I am here in Denton for 9 days as part of my graduate course work. It is all online minus these 9 days (9 days!!!). I have only ever been away from D for one night and it has been hard on us both. We Skype every night, but being the 3 year old that he is, I mostly just see a light brown blur that barks strange requests at me.
Mama, where is your door?
Mama, can you show me the bathroom?
Mama can I see the dumpster?
Mama can you see me? (as he hides under the desk)

And then of course the gut-wrenching phrase that he utters at least once a night, "Mama, I want you here." Ugh. It's a killer.

I think it is good for us though. D and I are really close and I think it is fabulous that he and his father get to spend some dudes-only time together. He is also spending time with my parents and Trey's mom. I sent my dad a text to thank him for all the pictures that he sent me on Sunday while D was with him. He texted me back, "Thanks for the grandson." Seriously people, instant tears. It's amazing how many awesome people that are in my life that can help me at the drop of a hat. We even have two people waiting in the wings to take over care if it is needed. It is overwhelming how lucky I am. All this support lets me focus on why I am here in Denton in the first place and makes this separation a little easier.

Quick product recommendation

2011-06-02T16:49:00.000-05:00

The day it arrived in the mail

We bought this balance bike in April 2010. Daniel was almost too small for it, but he loved it. His love has steadily increased over the year. It is consistently his favorite toy. He rides it through the house all day long. The circular groove around my living room can attest to that. In fact, I recently rearranged my entire living room with his bike obsession in mind. There is a clear path where he can't destroy too much with his "motorcycle."

He has ridden around the house and backyard and even on the sidewalk in front of our house. Today we took it out and around the neighborhood. He has been begging me to go around the block and I gave in. I am not normally so strict, but we live on the main road in a busy subdivision. People don't like to do the actual speed limit and I needed to make sure he would follow my directions and not veer into the road. He did awesome. I gave him landmarks (go up to the yellow car, the fire hydrant, the stop sign) and he would race away and stop where I asked him to. Sometimes I even made his destination too far for his liking and he would stop early, wait for me to catch up and then go ahead. I was really worried for nothing (that is normally the case).

As far as the bike goes, it is awesome. It is made of durable and gorgeous birch and has real rubber tires. If you check YouTube you can find countless videos of kids riding. Here is the manufacturer's page with a video. D is hard on his toys and I admit it has been left in the rain a time or two and it is still gorgeous and nearly perfect. The seat is adjustable and D is only at the second hole at 3.5 years. I have a feeling it will be around until he is ready to move onto pedals (or maybe longer). It is an item that will easily become an heirloom.

Throwing in the towel

2011-05-31T21:10:00.001-05:00

On my counter tops anyway.

Trey and I intended to put granite tile down. It was going to be so much cheaper. And cute. And we could totally DIY it because I did an awesome job in the bathroom.

Oh yeah, this is my future!!!

Two years later and the plywood was starting to make me CRAZY. We were totally in over our heads and we never had the time to get it done right. I mean you can't even clean plywood. Most of the time I just vacuumed junk off of it.

Tonight we ordered Silestone countertops and I could not be more excited. I promise to show pics when it is done. I may even show before pics. You can see various craft projects stained into the plywood. It's horrible.

A lucky mom

2011-04-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

He was supposed to be sleeping!

I am super-forgetful. Most of the time I am thinking about what needs to be done next, or tomorrow, or next week. This means that things get left behind: coffee cups, my lunch, library books, etc. It's a flaw. I've tried to change, but I've finally just accepted that it is who I am. My phone helps a bit with its calendar reminding-syncing-awesomeness. But only marginally.

There is a point here.

Daniel has taken it upon himself to remind me of things. He has noticed my major flaw and is trying to help me. This makes me want to cry. Not because he's probably realized that mommy isn't perfect, but because of the compassion that he shows. "Mommy, do you have your coffee? Do you have your lunch and your phone?" It's just so amazing and quite beyond what I expected from his not quite 3.5 years.

Grad school is killing me

2011-04-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

It really is. I am in a 2-year mad dash to get my degree. But I am also working full time and working part time twice a week. And also the whole family thing. Three classes was a bad idea and I will not be repeating this mistake. Ever.Again. I've been so stressed that weird things have been going on with my body.

There are so many times when I have wanted to blog, sew, sleep, form a coherent thought and it hasn't happened. I'm also supposed to guest blog for a friend and I have started that post a million times only to get distracted. I promise that I have started it Amy! I have also posted on Epic Parenting. I can't wait until I have more time to do that as well. There is a really awesome group of women that are posting there. I know it will take off.

I hope to very soon post updates on my resolutions for the year. Some are going really well, and some are....not so good.

One last thing. As most of you know, I am in grad school for my masters in Library and Information Science. I received word a few weeks ago that I was chosen to open the newest school library in my district. It was awesome news that came on a very sad day, a day that found a lot of teachers and paraprofessionals out of work because of state budget shortfalls. Without getting too political, I find it terribly sad that it is education that is always the first to get the chop when times are hard. Our kids deserve more.

Easy Peasy Burp Cloths

2011-01-15T10:45:00.000-06:00

There are about 50 bajillion tutorials for these. I mashed up some of them and figured out what worked for me.

1. Buy cloth "diapers." That's in quotes because they could never ever be used as an actual diaper.
2. Wash and dry diapers on hot at least once.
3. Wash and dry your fabric according to the manufacturer's directions. Or just do a speed wash and hope for the best. That's the Jamie method.
4. Measure the length and width of the inside where all the layers are.
5. Add two inches to both measurements and cut out your cute fabric.
6. Press about an inch on each side and pin to center.
7. Do tight zig zag stitch all the way around.
8. The end.

We finally have a plan

2011-01-10T19:24:00.000-06:00

Trey and I were feeling totally overwhelmed with house projects. Our house is just over 1000 sqft, but some how when we are in the middle of a bazillion different projects it feels more like 10,000 sqft. Every single room in my house, except for the master bath, has some project that is in progress. It's hard to even know where to begin. So out came my purple laptop and we got down to business. It was kind of a process, but it was totally fun.

First, we went room by room and made a list of every single project we could think of. These were projects that we talked about, were in the middle of, or needed to do. This was a long list. I fit it all on one page by shrinking down the font and making it two columns.

Then, I printed a list for each of us and we went room by room labeling our top three most important projects per room.

We then compared lists and starred anything that overlapped. We overlapped a lot. That was a relief.

We took our lists one more time, but this time prioritized by room. This is where a bit of compromise was involved. While I thought the kitchen needed to be done first, Trey was more of a dining room guy. We went back and forth and came up with a solid order.

I hung it on the fridge. (with glee)

crappy cell phone pic alert

We were so motivated we immediately began work on a shelf that I designed for the kitchen. I needed something to hold the cookbooks as well as the baskets we keep our towels in. We don't use paper towels, so I needed unfettered access. I hope this will work out. Once it is primed and painted I promise to share.

PS, I didn't know there was such a thing as the small house movement. I need to read more about this! While my house isn't quite that small, I bet there are so many cool ideas out there!

First project of 2011

2011-01-04T21:23:00.001-06:00

I am back at work. What an awesome break I had. I was really sad to go back, but Daniel was totally excited to see "his" Sarah again.

The first thing when I do when I get home from work is check my Bloglines. I am always sad if there are fewer than 20 or so things for me to read. Today I had 24. Yes!

I saw this scarf from Make It and Love It and KNEW I was going to make it right then and there. And I did. And it's awesome.

I only had one yard of knit material and it worked really well. I just cut it into 7" strips and sewed four of them together. It's not the exact dimensions that she posted, but it worked.

Here it is after I pinned it all in place. I thought it was going to be a total pain, but didn't take as long as I thought.

Why yes, I did get a new desk. Thanks for noticing. :)

Finished product. I'm pretty much in love with it.

A declutter with a side of purge

2011-01-02T18:57:00.000-06:00

Today I rocked. I mean it. I got rid of the two bags of clothes, a futon, a desk and I organized the crap out of my craft room. It's so sparkly I am pretty sure you can see it from space. Don't believe me, eh? I totally have proof. Just don't judge me too harshly. The before was right after we took the futon out.

OK,

Here goes...

BEFORE

Yikes, right? This is a severe case of TMC (too much crap). Don't worry, it's about to get better.

AFTER

So much better, right? Whew. I wish I had taken a picture inside the closet, because it's so pretty in there too!

The sewing table.

The cutting, pinning, painting table. This was a temporary solution about a year ago that never went away! I'd kill for one of those "make your own tables" from Ikea. I really want a glass top.

The opposite wall. Now it all has a place. Scrapbooking stuff in the rainbow drawers, sewing and crochet books on top of that. My tools, photos and yarn on the bottom shelf. Paint, tie dye and paper on the second shelf and some scissors, tape, staplers, etc on the top.

The very top shelf is for inspiration. I have some family pictures and hope to add some more!

The one thing I didn't get done was the removal of this light. It was SO cute when this room was Daniel's nursery. Now it just makes me mix up blue and black. So not cool.

We moved a lot of furniture out and around this house today. It feels so good! I also just peeked at purgeatory and it is brimming over with stuff!

A Gift of Time

2011-01-02T17:30:00.000-06:00

Right after the loss of our daughter I participated in a survey about bereavement and the choice to continue on with a pregnancy that had a poor diagnosis. The information was to be used in a book that discussed continuing on with these pregnancies. I gave the authors the link to the journal I kept during Keiran's pregnancy and we emailed back and forth a few times. Honestly, that time in my life is really hazy, so much time is missing and I just kind of put it out of my mind.

A few months ago, I decided to check an old email address and found some emails from the authors. They were group emails to Gift of Time families. I found the book was a go, they had a publisher and even a tentative release date. A flood of emotions hit me. Mostly excitement. What an awesome resource for moms like me to have. I assume we made the cut because I was on the email list, and I cannot wait to read the book.

Today my sister told me it is available for the Kindle, so I went to Amazon to take a peek. Then I saw the release date: January 26, 2011. My little girl's 5th birthday.

In case you are interested.

Not quite sure if I like it

2010-12-31T19:38:00.000-06:00

I was poking around some crafty blogs. It's kind of my obsession. You should see my Bloglines page. It's nuts. Anyway, I was looking around and decided I wanted just one more craft to finish off the year. An embellished t-shirt was what I decided on. I found one that I liked on Mad Mim that was just so cute! But I didn't have material that was the same color as the shirt I chose.

I wear this shirt a lot in the summer. It is light and thin and is a good length for my looong torso. I frequently wear it with my white skirt, so I thought this white and black knit material would look good.

BUT

I'm just not too sure. Can I get some opinions? It's a little more feminine than I am used to.

New Year Resolutions

2010-12-31T07:37:00.000-06:00

photo by ahisgett on Flickr

I don't normally make resolutions, but I really want to this year. It's a new beginning for me in a few ways, and I feel compelled to make some positive changes. So, I resolve:

1. To continue to de-clutter my house and pare down my belongings. It feels so good to clear out and donate and NOT bring more stuff into this house. We're sitting at just over 1000sqft and it gets cluttered SUPER fast.

2. To keep my house cleaner. I think the first one will help with this. I've done Fly Lady and it was way too overwhelming. I'm going to come up with my own plan. Trey is on board too.

3. To blog more. I am not going to set a specific goal, just more than last year. It makes me happy and I need to make sure I take the time to do something for me.

4. To make my 40 before 40 list. I am going to start it today. Or maybe 35 before 35? 40 is 11 years off for me and feels too far!

5. To sell a lot of my teaching stuff. Having taught kinder and first grade for a while, I gathered a lot of stuff. It has completely taken over my garage. You know, that place where my car should be? Anyway, I need to sort through all of it, throw some of it out, keep some of it for Daniel and then sell the majority of it. That cash could come in handy for grad school, buying fabric, paying bills, etc.

Well that's it. 5 resolutions that are totally attainable, but will take some hard work. :)

Simplifying and Purging: Inspired by Amy

2010-12-29T09:31:00.001-06:00

I was reading over at Journey Mum and Amy was blogging about getting rid of some clothes. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but she was purging and that is one of my favorite things to do!

My closet is a mess (not your regular mess, I am talking the clutter fairy barfed in there after a really long night of drinking on top of having the stomach flu kind of mess), so no pics but I will show you my piles! Like Amy, I used a four pile system: stuff to keep, stuff I want to keep but don't know why, stuff I am donating and stuff to throw away because it's just that awful.

Check out Mt. St. Donate. Aren't you proud of me?

Ok, so that's not everything that I kept, I didn't bother to take things out of the closet just to put them back in again. That keep pile is strictly what I am keeping from my dresser. I even threw out a ton of underwear. I have spared you those small details in picture.

It feels GOOD to get rid of this stuff and it feels even better to have more room in my closet, but the best part is knowing that these clothes may help someone that needs them way more than my closet does!

10 Things Beginning Sewers Should Know

2010-12-28T06:39:00.005-06:00

I've been a sewer (I don't prefer seamstress) for about 10 years. It's only within the past two that I've taken it up with gusto. Here are some things I've learned that may help beginners:

1. Wash the material. It's a pain, it requires planning ahead, but seriously, just do it.

2. Have an iron at the ready. I have a second iron that just lives in the sewing room.

3. Start small. No shame in making pillows for a while until you get the hang of it.

4. Read the manual for your machine. It does all kinds of cool things that you'd never know.

5. Know the vocab: bias, selvage, grainline. These are important words.

6. Find a friend/mother/grandmother to help you. Or maybe an online community.

7. Have a fabric marker at the ready. Dead useful.

8. Pins! Use them, love them, and have extra on hand.

9. Know that sewing zippers and elastic are a bit more complicated, but totally doable. Dive in!

10. YouTube is a great resource. Many amazing seamstresses have put up videos that are really helpful. I keep my computer in my sewing room in case I need help. :)

Anything else?

Post-Christmas Catch Up!

2010-12-27T07:11:00.006-06:00

Christmas is all cleaned up. Well, mostly. Everything is back in boxes and awaiting their trip to the attic. We had a fabulous time. Daniel was spoiled rotten and now our small house is busting at the seams (even more than usual). A few days before Christmas I cleaned out his toys when he wasn't around. I separated them into four piles: keep, donate, take to Grandma's house, and put away for future use. We took quite a haul to grandma's house to share with his two cousins. I put more expensive and timeless toys away for potential future siblings. We haven't yet taken the

give away pile to Goodwill, but I hope to this week. The keep pile was sorted and a permanent home was found. I even geeked out a bit and put picture labels on the bins so he knows what goes where-a trick I learned from teaching kindergarten. He really liked the labels and helping me put them on, and he has been more successful with putting his things away.

I was spoiled a bit too and now have to re-home my old stand mixer. It was replaced with a lovely black one by Oster. I haven't tried it out, but I am really excited to. I also got some sewing books that I can't wait to dive into! I should be plenty busy this next week until I have to go back to school.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-11-27T10:49:00.004-06:00

Fall is my favorite, but I love the winter too. Even as raging heathens (read: secular humanists) we celebrate Christmas in our own way. After all, Christians first borrowed this holiday from the Roman pagans (it was called Saturnalia) and made it into Jesus' birthday. I'm just borrowing it too. We use it to celebrate family, love and bring a close to the year. As Daniel grows I can't wait to make our own traditions and make the celebration our own. We have a few traditions already. Our tree is a mismatched ornament cluster and each one holds special significance. Trey and I have one from every year we have been married. Daniel has one for each year since his birth and we have one for every year Keiran should have been with us.

We are doing the Santa Claus thing, though I was really on the fence for a long time. Lying isn't something that I wanted to model to my child, but Dale McGowan made a really good argument for Santa Claus in his book Parenting Beyond Belief.

Daniel will be three tomorrow and for the first time he actually is starting to get it all. I put up the village while he was sleeping and when he woke up he was fascinated. It's the first time we have put it up since he was born. He was less than a month old for his first Christmas and villages weren't a priority. His second Christmas he was 13 months old and rather ~~rotten~~ tenacious. Ditto with last Christmas. This year he even put the ornaments on the tree. Well, really he put them on one branch and when he wasn't looking I spread them all around the tree. Still, I am excited to enter into the magical season with a child old and young enough to enjoy the magic with.

"Purge"atory

2010-11-11T10:24:00.005-06:00

This was my brain-child yesterday. I was cleaning the house and for the 1,894,745th time I was completely disgusted by all the excess. Our house, being just over 1,000 sqft, just can't handle it and we are busting at the seams.

I found this little milk crate (the flash really helped to highlight the dust) and started throwing things in it that I want to get rid of, but need to check with the husband first. When he got home and I showed it to him his reaction was way better than I thought. Not only was he supportive, but he was down right enthusiastic! He immediately brought out 6 other items that filled it to the top.

Our plan is to throw things in there as we see fit and review them on Sunday and figure the best way to get rid of them: Craigslist, ebay, Goodwill, my school, or friends. We may even make some cash from our crap, though I tend to lean towards giving it away. I have been given many amazing things in my life and paying it forward in some small way helps to alleviate that deficit. :)

Turns out I can't make people shut up with my mind

2010-11-06T19:15:00.005-05:00

People like to talk about tragedies. I get it. Maybe it makes them feel better to share it with someone. Ease the burden. Get feedback. All that business. I do the exact same thing.

I was at a function today. There were three perfectly nice women who somehow got on the topic of stillbirth. Ugh. My fucking favorite. Just when I think I am perfectly well adjusted I figure out I'm not. It just wouldn't stop and I wanted to scream at them to shut up, that they didn't know what they were doing to me, but they were just women having a conversation. They said nothing offensive or vulgar, just that they couldn't imagine what that was like. They mentioned someone taking photos of the baby and I have no idea what the reaction was because I was so busy staring at my phone and wishing for them to talk about anything else in the entire world. AN-E-THING. But they just kept going on and on about how they poor woman's nursery was painted pink and how do you even cope with something like that. And I just couldn't breathe or focus. On and on they went for what seemed like hours but was just minutes. Then a phone rang, the conversation broke and I got to exhale.

It sucked and I don't know why it hurt so much, but it did. I can't predict the times when her loss hits me hard, but it did today. Thankfully my best friend was right there, sensed my mood, and stood close. It was a comfort.

So of course it got me thinking and in trying to focus on the positive I found this again. It made me cry in a super good way. What an amazing number:

Maybe that money made a difference in the life of a child. And maybe that means that there is mother out there who is blissfully unaware how it feels to lose their child. That would be the best I could hope for.

Explaining my reproductive choices to strangers

2010-09-26T07:07:00.003-05:00

Daniel is getting older. He's apparently so old that it is now time for people to stop asking me when we are going to have another, and to start asking him whether he wants another. You know, because he has a choice in the matter. Plus, he always says no. Joke's on you nosy strangers!

Of course, I do want another. I've wanted another since Daniel was about 18 months old and finally started sleeping through the night. Well, not really sleeping through the night, but that's when he started diving head first from his crib and we were forced to move him to a twin bed and he could just get up in the middle of the night and come sleep with me instead of me having to slug Trey to make him take care of it. But, it's not happening right now for various reasons, none of which the lady at the check-out stand needs to know. I just smile and say, "One day!"

I still see glimpses of my baby in this tall, autonomous, demanding nearly three-year-old. Mostly when he's sick. Then he's a mama's boy. (But if we are being honest here, I see glimpses of what Trey was like as a baby when he's sick too. His poor mom.) Also, when I have to go to the bathroom. That brings out the baby as well. Nothing helps to get things moving like a good loud bang or two on the door followed by wailing. Cleaning out his ears can do it too. This child produces enough wax to keep Burt in business. The ear-cleaning ritual always takes me back to his infancy in the screaming, crying omg-not-the-rectal-thermometer kind of way. Ahhh, memories.

No babies here for a while, though I wish it were different. And as much as I like planning things out in advance, this one is going to have to slide. I'm OK with that.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Finally finished...mark it off the list!

A brand new journey

2010-08-13T18:24:00.003-05:00

No matter how frightening (and I am scared, have no doubt), I am so excited to finally be on the path to becoming a librarian. It's a mix of technology and books, what could be more me? I'll also be teaching an after school sewing club (how else could I afford to go to grad school?). I am fortunate to be able to teach what I love and get paid, now it's times 2!

But, like with all things that I haven't experienced, I am totally ~~freaking the fu~~ nervous. I have received so little contact from my grad school (minus the "hey you owe us $1700, like, yesterday"), so I have no idea what to expect. It's all online and I have heard that makes it so much tougher. Plus, we really don't have the money for me to be doing this right now. But, I am doing it anyway. Because dreams don't make sense sometimes.

So now I get to balance being a teacher, wife, mommy, club leader and grad student. I am woman, hear me roar! Or hyperventilate, so long as you hear me doing something you know I'm still alive. And that's good.

Following through!

2010-07-27T18:48:00.002-05:00

My follow through sucks sometimes, but I am trying. We got D's room almost done on Sunday.

View from the door. The large white spot is a hole Trey is fixing.

His bookshelf....to be stained black. My dad and I built this together when I was in college.

Walking in. I want more cute signs like this one! Trey also put in the new door. They were flat doors before.

Left to do:
molding around the door and on the floor
painting a yellow line on the border
finishing the drywall patch
make curtains
new closet doors

Also completed:
painting the bathroom ceiling
finishing the floor tile (YAY!)

Getting this house in order

2010-07-21T11:34:00.003-05:00

Since we bought our house nearly 5 years ago, it has been non-stop chaos. We ripped out carpet, sinks, light fixtures, etc. We replaced everything that needed replacing: furnace, microwave, dishwasher (though the off white with faux wood accents were charming). But we never actually finish anything we start.

And it's starting to make me crazy.

My counter tops are not all the way down.

My front bathroom is a mess.

Daniel's room still hasn't been painted.

And the walls are starting to close in. I need some closure, people. For once I want to look at a room and think, "Wow, looks great! "

Plus, my eyes are always bigger than my wallet. I need to dream a little smaller and not worry about what is going on in my bedroom when my dining room table that we built with our own two hands STILL needs it's second coat of stain. Oh yeah, I also switched the stain to black so I'm going to need to sand it down again.

So from now until school begins, I am dedicating myself to finishing projects. Trey's is on board, so it should go more smoothly because some of the power tools still confuse the crap out of me. Daniel is getting dropped off and Grandma and Papa's house early Sunday for a day of swimming and spoiling so Trey and I can dig in.

Pictures galore, coming soon.

PS - Replaced the bread maker from hell with one I found at Goodwill for $14. Total win.
PPS - Check out my guest post on my sister's foodie blog, Mama Cooks

Is that a machine gun? Oh no, it's just my bread maker

2010-06-29T12:48:00.002-05:00

And not even really my bread maker. I sorta lifted it from my parents. But they don't miss it. They used it like 4 times, so I think I gave it a good home.

Until it attacked me.

I was innocently trying to get the tortilla container out of the top cabinet when the bread pan fell on me. It wacked me on the head and shoulder. When I went to make these delicious rolls today, it sounded like someone put a hit out on me. Thankfully, I realized what was going on before I hit the deck.

D decided to compound my fun by breaking a giant (new) glass bowl (with form fitting lid) that was filled completely to the top with watermelon. The weird part: he doesn't even really like watermelon. As I was washing his bloody foot he patted my back and said, "It's OK, Mama." Glad he thinks so.

So, I am going to take this all as a sign that I should not touch any dishes or appliances today.

Wait, Kindles don't count as appliances, right?

Thrift Store Finds

2010-06-16T16:31:00.003-05:00

I love shopping at Goodwill. I especially love shopping at kids resale shops. Here are a few finds from this weekend:

(pardon the mess)

At GW we got the Visions sauce pan, the salad dressing bottle, the Reverware SS sauce pan and the kids headphones. We actually already paid full price for the headphones at Target, but decided a back up pair wasn't a bad idea!

We got the practically new Vans and the Bummi's wet bag at Pumpkin Patch, a kids resale shop.

I'd tell you how much I spent, but my husband that never throws anything away ever, threw them away!

And summer begins

2010-06-02T08:13:00.002-05:00

Well, summer for me. School is out.

It's now my time to play the role of a stay at home mom for a few months. Honestly, I simultaneously look forward to and fear this time of the year. I always worry I won't like spending time with my kid. Or worse yet, he's not going to like hanging out with me. What could be worse than being rejected by a two year old? While we've had five days together and he still likes me, I'm pretty sure he likes the TV more. He wakes up and asks for "George" (the Curios one).

So wish us luck this summer. Our big plan today is to put the composter together. He likes dirt, the outdoors and gross things, so I think it will be a total win.

Some Daniel quickies

2010-04-19T19:54:00.004-05:00

Walking through the store Daniel grabs himself and yells, "Penis! Daddy penis. Penis hurts. Daddy, mooch it, mooch my penis." Trey melted into the floor.

~~~

D calls my name.
Me: What baby?
D: No Mama, no baby.
Me: Daniel, you're right you are not a baby, but you are MY baby.
D: No, Mama. MY Daniel.
sigh

~~~

3am
D: Mama?
Me: D, it is time to sleep.
D: Sammich
Me: Daniel, no sandwich now. It's time to sleep.
D: Yeyow cheese?
Me: No, honey. Sleep time.
D: Strawberries?
Me: SLEEP

Play time!

2010-01-03T22:04:00.004-06:00

D has been needing a ton of attention lately, so after dinner we busted out the play dough. He surprised me by naming a heart and a star, so I tried circle too. He seemed to get it. It's amazing what a little tactile learning will do. :)

Daniel wanted green play dough, so we made some after we were done. Here is our favorite recipe:

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/4 salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp oil
food coloring

Combine, stir over medium heat until it forms into a ball. Cool and place in airtight container.

Next we made some crayons. Well, really I did. D was fighting with his daddy and not wanting to sleep. His contributions came much earlier in the form of munching all his crayons. I decided to melt them down and to make crayons that didn't look like they had been through a blender.

This one is EASY. Preheat oven to 250. I used mini silicon muffin pans and didn't bother to line them. It took about 20 mins to melt them. Viola, we have shiny new crayons perfect for toddler hands.

How we spent our NYE

2010-01-01T11:52:00.004-06:00

Don't be jealous!

(Oh and don't judge the room too hastily, we are in the middle of painting and putting up new base)

We got D the Cars Geo Trax set for Christmas and apparently missed one of the track packs. It didn't go together right and Christmas was ruined (ok, not really, but I was pissed at myself). We found the missing track pack at Target yesterday and had a grand time playing.

We stuck his Geo Trax airport in there too. Why not?

Poor Sally got lodged in Flo's Cafe. She seems ok with it though.

Like always, he wasn't really up for pictures. One day maybe...

Where'd he go?

2009-12-31T19:46:00.003-06:00

My sweet son. He's missing. In his stead there is this whiny, screaming jerk-face that destroys everything in his path.

He popped up a few days ago. Monday in fact. Monday was bad. Tuesday completely sucked. Wednesday was so awful I was pretty sure I was going to throw him in a box and ship him off far far away. Today his father was home and got to see it too (he though I was being dramatic). And tonight I am on my second drink. And I totally forgot it was New Years Eve...because the kid has me that stressed.

There's no glimmer of hope either. All moms tell me (purveyors of doom that we are) that three is even worse. It leaves me wondering a) how it could get worse than being screamed at, having food thrown at you and being punched; b) why on earth people continue to procreate. Mostly b though. Seriously.

I love the kid with every cell in my body (especially when he isn't scratching my eyes out), but how do people intentionally get pregnant at this stage of toddler-hood? It seems masochistic.

OK, so maybe* I am being a little dramatic, but things are different. He's very frequently unpleasant to be around and he is putting me on edge. Maybe I will develop some kind of toddler amnesia in a year and forget the constant struggle to get my kid to not act like a cave-tot. Until then, one day at a time is our speed.

*most likely

New Blog Pledge

2009-12-30T07:57:00.006-06:00

I read a lot of blogs. A lot. Most of them are written by parents and talk about parenting. While this make me feel a wee bit pathetic, I am willing to admit that my parenting is where I need the most help. D likes to throw curve ball after curve ball at me. Unfortunately, most of these blogs paint beautiful pictures of parenting, immaculate homes and adorable kiddos who smile for the camera.
I love reading these blogs though. I really do. I love peeks into other people's lives. They make me feel hopelessly inadequate, but I read every day often jealous that they have so much to talk about. I haven't written here for nearly two months and the small amount I have just written has taken me close to an hour (Daniel demanded crackers, then wouldn't eat them. Then he wanted juice, but it wasn't in the right cup. So I pretty much had to shove it in his mouth and force him to drink. Then he tantrumed because he wanted "Choo Choos!" and "Monkey" was on).

He's a constant challenge and a joy, but I feel kind of alone sometimes in my parenting journey. Like I have already messed this kid up because I don't lead a perfect life. He's hilarious and stubborn, so very curious and infuriating. I have in my head that I shouldn't have any negative thoughts at all about him. You rarely read about a mom who felt like choking her kid that day. And if she did, there's no way she'd write about it.

So here is my pledge. I am going to be real. I'll be real with my love and real with my frustrations. I am going to shamelessly brag about my triumphs and make fun of my defeats. Oh and dear reader (or two) could you please spam me with your favorite mommy blogs?

Here's my first attempt at being real. No make up. First thing in the morning. NIIIIIICE big bags under the ol' eyes. Enjoy. :)

Halloween

2009-11-08T19:39:00.004-06:00

Tie Dye How To

2009-10-19T20:10:00.006-05:00

I'm sure there are many ways to do this...here is the way that I know and what I do.
Oh, and be smarter than me and WEAR GLOVES. That soda ash can burn like an SOB.

My layout for fun.

I mix up my dye. I like to use a procion dye that doesn't require heat and actually reacts with the fabric. Walmart (yes, yes, I know) sells a reasonable kit with nice dyes. That's actually what made these shirts.

But I use Dharma for the most part. Moving along...
First you soak what you are dying in a solution of washing soda (soda ash) and water. I go about 10 minutes.

Then I take a fork to the center of where you want the swirl and twirl it like the biggest piece of spaghetti ever.

If you are doing a rainbow with 6 colors, then section it like this.

Dye 3 sections yellow

Overlap one section on the yellow with the blue

And the same with the red

Until you get this big messy mess and then flip and repeat.

Wrap it up in plastic wrap or a Ziploc

Let sit overnight (or at least 8 hours) in a cool, dark place. Rinse until water comes clean. Wash ALONE or with other dyed items and look awesome.

PS, you aren't high. I was using pics from two different things: a sheet and a shirt. Some pics just illustrated my point better. :)

Leave me alone

2009-09-16T20:38:00.005-05:00

I just stumbled upon a blog of a woman that I kind of used to know. I saw her comment on a different blog and I got to wondering what she was up to. I was poking around and saw we had totally different political views. *shrug* Totally different religious views. *shrug* I went to a section entitled "Rantings of a Bad Mom." It was a tongue in cheek tribute to, uh, well....herself.

She openly mocked mothers that read parenting books, followed OB and pediatrician advice, ate carefully, gave up caffeine, whose kids had a bedtime, had medical interventions during labor, joined a playgroup, bought a Baby Einstein video, didn't co-sleep, choose not to give their kids sugar, pureed their baby's food, etc, etc. She pretty much held in contempt any woman who made a decision that she hadn't made with her kids. These mothers were called "uneducated bandwagon mentality people on internet message boards." She's charming, no?

Normally I could brush all this off, but it really got me tonight. How dare she? How dare she judge women that attempt to do their best? Women that pour over books (like me) to look for answers, theories and thoughts *gasp* outside of ourselves? This learning is somehow ridiculous. Women that turn to other mothers for support in the form of a playgroup are weak? Women that choose to eat healthy while pregnant are foolish? I'm just amazed.

There are many ways that you can discuss your beliefs and passions without ridiculing millions of hard working mothers. She somehow missed each and everyone of them. As did her brown-nosing minions in her comment section.

Maybe this bothered me so much because I have felt this harsh, undeserved judgment. I felt it when I chose to give my tiny son avocado at 4.5 months in a desperate attempt to get him to gain weight. I felt this judgment when I chose to leave my son just as perfect as he was born and not circumcise him. I feel this judgment now when my very exuberant and energy-packed almost two-year-old can't quite make it through dinner at a restaurant.

Alfie Kohn mentioned in Unconditional Parenting (awesome book for any of you idiots looking to better yourself or expand your thinking) that our society isn't friendly to kids, the whole "kids should be seen and not heard" mentality is really pervasive in our culture. I totally agree, but I think our culture is even harsher on moms.

Little dude is a vegetarian and I have been told that I am depriving him. (This is particularly confusing for people that first comment on how healthy/vigorous/or tall he is before finding out. Then they have no where to find fault because he's obviously thriving). I chose to not use bottles and sippies with BPA and I was told that I was being overprotective. I buy organic when I can and I am told that I am wasting my money. Starting at about 6 months people were asking when I was going to wean, you should have seen the looks I got when I said, "when we are done." We skipped the rice cereal and were told that we were doing things wrong. Oh, and the pacifier. Don't get me started on that pacifier. He is not 40, people. He is ONE.

Most of the time I feel like I walk around with a massive target on me that reads: "Hey, ask me about my parenting."

But I swear, I checked and there isn't one. I asked Trey too, and he can't see one either.

I just wish we had a culture where mothers and children were lifted up instead of being torn down continually (I feel like this as an educator too, but that's quite another story). Where I could look to my fellow mother and feel support and kinship and maybe even love. Love for this shared journey we are on and empathy for the difficult task we have all chosen to undertake.

I'm trying! I swear.

2009-09-14T21:45:00.004-05:00

Been in a non-writing mood. Not too terribly much to talk about. Work.Home.Repeat.

I think Twitter might be sucking the ~~life~~ writing out of me.

I updated my graphics for the bazillionth time. Something is missing here though. I'll figure it out.

I've started about 5-6 blogs that I saved or scrapped due to the fact that I was either just bitching or it would make no sense to anyone but me. :) Such is my head.

Trying to get back in the groove soon. Hope it's quite soon. I miss writing.

A new recipe, but not the food kind

2009-09-11T19:53:00.002-05:00

I ran out of Simple Green. It was a sad day in The Little Blue House. I got creative and came up with a new all purpose, disinfecting cleaner. I tested it on my toilet and it was a total win!

24 ounces water
1T castille soap (we use Dr. Bronner's)
10 drops lavendar essential oil (could also use tea tree or lemon, both have disinfecting properties)

Put it in a bottle, shake it up, clean.

Back to school with this and that

2009-08-10T10:31:00.005-05:00

It's time to go back to work. I am totally depressed. Not only to I have to leave my kiddo, I lose any sort of free time (naps!) that I luxuriated in during the summer. *sigh* I'll get out of my funk soon and learn to enjoy working again, but this is a crappy time for me every year. Oh, and my 28th birthday is startlingly close. Extra awesome. 28 sounds grown up. Real grown up. Even with a mortgage, a job, bills and a nearly 2-year-old (gasp!), I don't feel grown up.

Ok, pity party over

Time for Daniel stories!

We were looking for his pacifier this morning (*hackles up* back away sanctimommies, he's not even two) and we couldn't find one any where. I asked him where his paci was and he shrugs. Then he starts calling, "Paci, paci, paci," while looking around. I decided to join in the fun and call for his paci too while searching. "Paaaaaci, where are you?" So D mimicks me, "Paci, whe awee ou?" as he peeks under the couch.

I could squish the kid, seriously.

We didn't find the paci (ya know, cause we only own like 30) and I contemplated running to Target to get some more. Then I remember that we keep a spare in daddy's Ergo. I found not one, but two! Miracle! He giggled as I gave it to him. Ah, sweet paci. Breaking their bond is going to be a bitch.
*************************************

We were getting ready to go to Sarah's (his super, amazing, fabulous, worth-twice-her-weight-in-gold sitter) house and I plopped him in the back seat. We always do this. I put him on the seat and he climbs into his car seat aka The Special Danny Seat. Well, he decided he was ready to ride like a big boy. You know a REAL big boy. He plopped himself down behind the passenger seat and reaches for the shoulder belt. Er, not quite yet, son. Maybe when you hit 65lbs or so we'll talk.
************************************

Ridiculously delicious oatmeal cookies

2009-08-04T12:58:00.008-05:00

I originally took this recipe from All Recipes. It's an awesome free site that you should all run out and join. It's cool, I'll wait.

.....

This recipe sounded good, but I have been dying to use some organic vanilla agave that I picked up at the farmer's market. It also had a ton of sugar in it. I like to eat what I make, not take a bite, get crazy and pass out.

Here's the original recipe with my changes noted. I also added chocolate chips because, well, they were just sitting there:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened (I used Earth Balance)
1 cup white sugar 2/3 cup agave
1 cup 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs (or egg replacer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I skipped this simply because I had vanilla agave)
2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar agave and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour as long as you can stand it.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Feed to hungry kid
Watch cookies closely

The post in which I make you all feel like better moms

2009-07-30T17:55:00.006-05:00

I have been dealing with waaaaaaaaaay too much poop in my life recently. Trey has decided to stuff Daniel's diapers so full at night that they don't quite close around the legs. This is a horrid combo for a teething child. Really, really horrid. I won't get into gory details (my ass was chewed last time I did), I'll just tell you it was bad and some of Daniel's food last week was ingested twice.

Some of my mommy adventures:

I saw a sippy full of rancid milk in the coffee table today. I left it there. Guess who got thirsty and tried to drink from it as I wrote this?
I threw said rancid sippy to Trey after I yelled "NO" and ripped it from his tiny hands and I accidentally hit D on the head. *sigh*
I find him standing on the kitchen table frequently.
More recently, I've also found him on the kitchen counter.
When we are in public and he has his pacifier (teething is brutal) and I take it away, I often say loudly, "No honey, you can't have that! People are judging mommy."
D now says TV with alarming clarity. He asks for specific movies.
The first thing D asks for every morning isn't snuggles, milk or even food. It's Cars. Like as in this shiny, red, brain cell destroying bastard:

Where the hell did I go wrong?

Wordless Wednesday: Friday Edition :)

2009-07-24T10:59:00.002-05:00

Best seat in the house

Post bath snuggles

...and craziness

Love <3

I've been sucking. I know.

2009-07-20T11:50:00.003-05:00

I write so many blogs in my head and they never get here. So here are the highlights of my life over the past month or so:

My best friend got married!
Daniel has gotten reeeeeeaaaaally tall. Someone asked if he was three. Uh, 19 months?
He still loves all things food.
I am on Summer Break, though it is quickly slipping away.
I am addicted to a dorky online game involving battles, castles and other such gobbledygook.
I am trying to find a place to get my nose pierced. My mom hates it, but she loves me anyway.

sigh

2009-06-13T07:44:00.003-05:00

It's been so busy I have been neglecting you, dear blog.

And I just neglected you yet again. D came up to me holding three books so we had to read. We always argue about that dang cow. He calls it a dog, I say cow, dog, cow, dog, cow, dog, cow, at least we can agree that it says "moo."

What was I typing about? Ah, yes. Being busy. My best friend's wedding is in less than a month, her shower is next weekend, my house is still in pieces, the AC decided to go out, Daniel is a bit demanding being 18 months old and all, I have workshops, I am even giving one (!) on podcasting, so you can imagine that my blog might just fall to the wayside a bit.

I should be able to add some pictures shortly because my camera charger was finally located. We can thank Daniel for that one. :)

Feeling a blog remodel coming on...

2009-06-11T08:04:00.002-05:00

I do this about once a year (or more). It'll take me a while....I'm thinking of something simple.

I apologize for not updating in a while. I've been busy since school let out. Will update soon!

My kid's a dork (like me!)

2009-06-01T18:37:00.002-05:00

That weird language thing

2009-06-01T09:44:00.003-05:00

Everyone said that it would happen at around 18 months. A light switch would flip and his language would explode. And so it has.

He has learned more words in the past three weeks than in his first 17 months of life. I can see him putting things together. It is amazing. I feel so privileged to be able to witness and contribute.

He concentrates so hard when trying to get a new word down and I can tell he has so much more to say than he can actually find the words for. Since this new language explosion he has help with his tantrums immensely and I am seeing even more of his goofy personality emerge.

Being a mom is the coolest job ever.

Summer Vacation: Day 1

2009-05-30T08:56:00.001-05:00

D is running around the house beating everything in sight (dog included) with a giant rubber mallet of Trey's.

That was on the agenda for next week. What are you going to do now? I guess I'll have to move up sawing and welding a few days.

Another FTT "Suck It"

2009-05-29T12:25:00.001-05:00

Dear Failure to Thrive,

I think of you often. I think of how you made my son weigh 9lbs at 4 months old. I think of the sleepless nights and the hundreds of tears. I think of how skeletal and unhealthy he looked and how completely scared I was.

So hear me now FTT: Daniel is 18 months old, pushing 30 pounds and wearing a size 2T.

So suck it.

Love,
Jamie

Kitchen Renovations...Part 2

2009-05-17T17:40:00.002-05:00

Before you watch this just please know that I am a GIANT dork and apparently like the sound of my own voice.

The Hungry Little Danny-Pillar

2009-05-17T16:44:00.001-05:00

My son just ate a soy chiken patty, 4 oz of yogurt, 8 oz rice milk, two string cheese, a mandarin orange, 1/2 pint of blackberries and he was STILL HUNGRY!

So we have him a banana and I think he's finally full!

Kitchen Renovations...Part 1ish

2009-05-17T13:32:00.001-05:00

Trying to climb out of the hole of self-pity

2009-05-13T09:20:00.002-05:00

It's been a hell of a week. I am trying not to be a big baby. It's hard. So much has happened though. In addition to losing my uncle, my house has flooded, I've been fighting with the stupid doctors over Daniel's health insurance coverage and Time Warner slaughtered my Oak in my backyard. They will be paying for that, even if they don't quite know it yet. Oh yes they will. How do you even break an Oak tree in half? And then to not even tell us and run away. Class act.

But I digress...

It could be worse. That's been my mantra.

But with Daniel's surgery on Friday and every little thing going wrong, I am a little freaked out. It's unnerving. I am not superstitious in the slightest. I kick over the salt shaker as I walk under ladders with my open umbrella on Friday the 13th. I was the kid that freaked out her friends by saying Bloody Mary in the mirror 5 times only to sleep soundly all night. I don't like this odd feeling.

So just some thoughts for the little dude this Friday please. I would appreciate it a lot.

So sad

2009-05-11T13:24:00.004-05:00

Here's my sister's blog. I don't have it in me right now.

Lowell Thomas Costello

Mama Bear

2009-05-05T20:36:00.005-05:00

I've felt the rumbles of my inner Mama Bear. When the nurse gave Daniel his first shot, when I was told my son cried too much, when I get unwanted advice from strangers. I've heard her growl. But she tried to break loose recently and it was all I could do to not punch someone in the face.

I took Daniel to play at a local public park and they had turned on the water section. Water squirts out randomly and kids squeal while trying to catch the stream. It's like a giant, wet game of Whack a Mole. You can imagine that Daniel was thrilled.

He was a sight. I had tears in my eyes watching his delight and surprise each time the water shot up.

Then as Daniel does, he started branching out to make his new game more exciting. He started visiting with the other moms and dads all around. Most were so sweet. They talked with him and tolerated his wet little body invading their space. He even showed curiosity towards an infant in a stroller and the mom was so sweet and showed Daniel the little sleeping baby.

Then he walked over to her. Her body language was all wrong and I didn't have time to intervene. He walked over to her smiling and she quickly grabbed the belongings closest to her and clutched them to her body. He wasn't reaching for anything. He wasn't trying to steal her things. I redirected him quickly and apologized to her. He went back to splashing in the water. He kept coming back to her though. He seemed to sense that she wasn't accepting of him and he wanted to gain that acceptance. It was killing me. As he was playing he found a "treasure." He is always finding things and bringing them to me and his daddy. We ooh and ahh over the presents and he beams at us. He took this treasure over to her. He toddled over with his arm extended and a grin on his face. She shook her head no at him. He kept coming. She kept shaking her head. He reached her and gave her his treasure. She threw it on the ground.

That's when Mama Bear growled.

It was weird the intense feelings that I had in that moment. Who could be so careless with a little boy? For this slight insensitivity to the little innocent boy that is my whole heart, I would have loved to knock her down. I would have loved to yell at her. I wanted to take something important to her and throw it on the ground.

But I didn't.

Daniel went on virtually unfazed and she left (with her two kids that weren't even playing in the water, I mean what the hell? Go some where else!). And I was left to deal with the sadness that had suddenly overtaken me. I can't protect him forever. There will be people out there that will hurt him over virtually nothing. And there is nothing that I can do to stop them.

Now I get why people home school.

I know that I can only teach him how to deal with these types of things, but that isn't enough for me right now. I feel so helpless as his mom and I know that this is only the first of many, many times I will feel this way.

Our Entry in the Healthy Child Healthy World Contest.

2009-04-18T09:46:00.002-05:00

Cross you fingers for us. There were some awesome entries, so we aren't expecting much.

Babylegs Giveaway Winner!

2009-04-04T11:37:00.004-05:00

And the winner is...

Please email me your address! jamie(at)simplyjamie(dot)net

(I used The Hat software to randomly pick a winner)

My polite little guy

2009-04-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

You can hear him say thank you at the end if you listen.

YUM!

2009-04-02T20:05:00.004-05:00

I have been baking up a storm lately. I made some amazing cupcakes yesterday (no pics, they are GONE) with this frosting.

Today I made some kolaches, but I veganized them. They are delicious. I filled mine with potatoes and Trey's with potatoes and cheese. I had some dough left over so I had an idea to make some blackberry danishes. I used the left over frosting from yesterday to top them off and they are AMAZING. They would be prettier, but my cake decorating stuff got left at my parents' house.

Johari Window

2009-04-01T17:47:00.001-05:00

Contribute if you'd like, or make your own!

Arena

(known to self and others)

brave, caring, observant

Blind Spot

(known only to others)

accepting, clever, dependable, friendly, helpful, intelligent, introverted, kind, mature, modest, sympathetic, trustworthy, wise

Façade

(known only to self)

able, reflective, sensible

Unknown

(known to nobody)

adaptable, bold, calm, cheerful, complex, confident, dignified, energetic, extroverted, giving, happy, idealistic, independent, ingenious, knowledgeable, logical, loving, nervous, organised, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, relaxed, religious, responsive, searching, self-assertive, self-conscious, sentimental, shy, silly, spontaneous, tense, warm, witty

All Percentages

able (0%) accepting (25%) adaptable (0%) bold (0%) brave (25%) calm (0%) caring (50%) cheerful (0%) clever (25%) complex (0%) confident (0%) dependable (50%) dignified (0%) energetic (0%) extroverted (0%) friendly (25%) giving (0%) happy (0%) helpful (25%) idealistic (0%) independent (0%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (50%) introverted (25%) kind (50%) knowledgeable (0%) logical (0%) loving (0%) mature (25%) modest (25%) nervous (0%) observant (25%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (0%) sympathetic (50%) tense (0%) trustworthy (25%) warm (0%) wise (25%) witty (0%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 1.4.2009, using data from 4 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view simplyjamie's full data.

Also, I haven't forgotten about the Babylegs, I'll draw names this weekend. Good Luck!

The R Word

2009-03-31T19:15:00.002-05:00

Thank you, Karly, for bringing this to my attention. :)

On raising a boy

2009-03-30T14:27:00.003-05:00

Daniel is the first boy in my side of the family for a long time. I only have a sister. My sister has two girls.

Then, along came Daniel.

I was in utter disbelief when the ultrasound confirmed that he was a boy. I knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was a she. Trey gloated for about a month. As soon as the shock wore off, I prepared myself to be the mommy of a little boy.

With an air of superiority found only in those that have absolutely no clue, I knew that my son would be raised without gender stereotypes. I wanted him to have access to dolls, kitchens, puzzles, play food... I wasn't going to push typical "boy" toys on my son. I wanted him to do what he wished, which I was sure would defy all norms.

Karma's a bitch. She really is. As I was smugly rejecting society's gender role, my boy-child was forming in my womb. A ticking little time bomb full of boy-ness that would knock me down a notch or two.

I offered Daniel dolls from a young age. He had no interest. The only time he has ever even interacted with his Cabbage Patch doll was to throw her across the room when I pretended to nurse her. Don't mess with the boobs.

When I gave him a doll stroller to push around he summarily flipped it over to play with the wheels.

The play kitchen was a bit more fun for him, though he did spend 20 minutes opening and closing the cabinets and pulling play food out to throw to the floor.

Every toy he owns has been thrown into walls, flipped over to be investigated or dunked in the dog bowl. He eats mud, digs holes in dirt and wrestles with his father while giggling hysterically.

I gave birth to the stereotypical boy.

At first I felt like I failed somehow. That he had no chance to develop who he was before he was forced into a role. Then I realized if I fought who he was I was really going to fail. That's when I backed off and let him take the lead.

I try and encourage all of the amazing explorations that he does. I can see his wheels turning as he digs in the dirt or tries to figure out how things work. It's amazing. This doesn't mean that I am going to back off the dolls or strollers or ocassional tutu. It just means that I am going to stand back and let him become who he is destined to become and be happy that I get to be a small part of that.

Arianna, on her 4th birthday

2009-03-22T20:09:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

Life with Daniel

2009-03-19T08:57:00.003-05:00

He has taken to climbing the coffee table. It freaks me out a little, but I deal.

He was throwing a royal tantrum while I was changing his diaper and I didn't have the fight in me, so I let him run around naked. He loves yarding on his penis (though it seems to greatly pain Trey), so I let him have some free time with his future BFF.

He runs around for a while, flashes the neighborhood by standing in front of the door, climbs on and off the couch six or seven times, then finally gets on his coffee table. Then, he pees. I hear the telling sound of liquid hitting wood and run over just in time to see his face. There he is, looking down at his penis with his eyes saying, "WHAT THE HELL?"

Commonly Heard Phrases

2009-03-16T15:38:00.005-05:00

"Daniel, watch where you are walking, you are going to fall off the table."

"Daniel, if you walk with the blanket on your head, you are going to run into something."

"Honey, please don't throw things in the toilet."

"D, don't ride the dog."

"Please don't brush the dog's teeth."

"Can I have that laptop charger/fork/dog toy/cell phone back, please?"

"Don't step in the dog water, hon."

"Hey baby, let's not try and stick thing in the outlets, k?"

"Daniel, where'd you put my purse?"

My First (but not last) Giveaway!

2009-03-13T19:27:00.003-05:00

Woo hoo!

I have a brand new, still in the package pair of Babylegs to give away. Really, I am just passing them on. I won them myself and I totally love them, but I already own them. I thought I'd be a total blog whore and give them away here.

It's easy to enter.
1. Post a comment here telling me who they'd be for by midnight CST on March 31st .
2. Leave some way for me to contact you!

Please only one entry per person.

In case you are curious, the pattern is called Harvest

A family day in pictures

2009-03-05T19:49:00.006-06:00

I was upset this morning about the whole situation with my uncle, so I left work early to go home and spend time with my guys. Trey has Thursdays off so we all decided to go out for some family time.

Enjoy

D learned to climb on the chair. He loves that it rocks back and forth.

Sliding with Trey...who will now be referred to as "Helicopter Dad" because he hovers around the poor kid constantly.

Daniel the Invincible, with his side kick Helicopter Dad!

oopsy!

Right before he ate it at the bottom of the slide. I was supposed to catch. Mommy Fail!

So after I made him eat dirt, we went for ice cream.
D had Mexican Vanilla with strawberries (my fave from my dairy eating days)

~~Trey~~ HD had some Oreo monstrosity

And I had (the totally vegan)pineapple ice

Danny and I played a bit more before we went home.

It was so nice to get out and have no responsibilities. It was just what we all needed.

There's nothing quite so fine

2009-03-05T16:20:00.002-06:00

As diapers on a line...

It's our first really nice day and Trey put up the line for me. It's a small way to make me happy.

(For my CD girls... L to R SB OS with aplix, SB OS with snaps, Mandie's Menagerie fitted in OBV, BG2.0 OS, BG2.0 OS, Better Bums ML pocket, Med Thirsties AIO, Large SB AIO and a butt load of inserts)

What is wrong with this country

2009-03-05T07:23:00.004-06:00

Yeah, I'm going there.

I'm not going all the way there. Just health care and simply a personal anecdote that will hopefully make you stop and think. Because this could just as easily be you or someone that you love.

A little background:
My 51-year-old uncle has rheumatoid arthritis. He was diagnosed 10 years or so ago. He worked after his diagnosis until he couldn't anymore. He has filed for disability and social security and was denied for various bullshit reasons (that is a whole other rant). He has appealed and it is in the works.

This uncle was diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago. They told us that he had two weeks to live if he didn't receive treatment. It was bleak. He had no way to pay for treatment. Then the clouds parted, the light shone through and the hospital said "charity case."

Then the first round of chemo started, it sucked, but his body responded well.

Yesterday he was supposed to go back into the hospital for round two. He had an appointment with his doctor before going back into the hospital. Let me rephrase...he was supposed to have an appointment, what he got was an ambush.

He never saw the doctor. He instead met with the office manager who demanded money before they would continue treatment. My uncle is disabled, with no job and leukemia. You can imagine how much money he has.

Right now my uncle is supposed to be in the hospital fighting for his life. Instead, he is at home wondering when he is going to die.

You want to know how much his life is worth to this "doctor?" $8000. Yup, I counted the zeros, that's the right amount. If you live in the Reno/Tahoe/Carson area. Please steer clear of Jorge Perez, M.D. Your life isn't worth much to him.

If this was an isolated incident it wouldn't be so horrendous. But it's not. And it sucks. And it is so wrong in so many ways I don't have the ability to articulate right now.

Something is seriously wrong with healthcare. If we don't get mad and change things no one else will.

Suck it, FTT!

2009-02-28T08:01:00.006-06:00

Remember when Danny was about 4 months old, less than 10 pounds and was diagnosed as "failure to thrive?" I am proud to report that those days are long gone.

My 15 month-old child is 26 lbs and wearing 18-24 month clothes. His foot is a 5.5 and his appetite is amazing. :)

He:
walks
runs
climbs
balances
waves
points
and has recently taken to standing on his head

He consistently says:
Mama
Dada
Papa
doggy
light
wow
uh oh
no
more
what's that?
hello
book
ball
shit
(and maybe more that i am forgetting!)

So take all that FTT!

Did you think this out at all?

2009-02-21T08:32:00.002-06:00

A whole can of refried beans. That's what Trey sent as part of Daniel's lunch yesterday.

Like, seriously? A whole can?

My conversation went something like this:
Me: So you sent an entire can of refried beans with Daniel today.
Trey: (guilty look) Yeah...
Me: The whole thing, huh? He ate almost all of it. (showing him the remains)
Trey: (wide eyes) Holy shit.
Me: Yeah, you do realize we are in for it now, don't you?
Trey: Oh man, I didn't think that he'd eat all that.
Me: (banging head against wall) Have you met him?

So, right on cue, Daniel awoke at midnight with a tummy ache. Poor thing had horrid gas pains. As penance, Trey took him to the recliner to snuggle him until it passed (literally).

I think beans are off the menu for a while.

My favorite all purpose cleaner

2009-02-10T10:15:00.002-06:00

Here is a cleaner that I use daily. It replaced 409 in my household. Trey was a hard sell at first, but I won in the end.

14 oz water
2 oz Simple Green
10 drops tea tree essential oil

Mix in 16 oz spray bottle and use.

That's it!

Tea tree oil is naturally anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. Simple Green just kicks butt without killing you. If it isn't strong enough for you, add some more SG, but I bet it'll work just fine.