It's SEW easy ... Ha!

After a whole month...yes, a whole month...I am finally finished sewing Iris' bedroom curtains!  You didn't know I was even sewing any for her room, did you?  I painted her room last summer to transition the room from being the baby nursery to the little sister room and the color combination changed from bold green walls with white stripes and orange polka dots to a light turquoise with lavender stripes and various coordinating accents.  Well, let me tell you, the painting was the easiest because the coordinating accents have proven to be incredibly difficult!  One awesome thing we did was convert a dresser to a bookshelf for her and we painted it the same lavender that's on the walls so that really helps the turquoise pop and balances the blue of the room with the lavender stripes.  I found the idea on Pinterest (surprise, right) and Book did all the hard work to convert it.  It definitely was not as easy a project as a lot of pinners make it look.  Dang, I just looked for pics and can't find any.  I know Book has a bunch so I'll write another post about that project later. 

Anyhoo, back to the curtains.  I was searching, searching, searching for the "perfect" fabric for her and just kept finding the wrong things.  I was really frustrated because finding B3's curtain fabric was so easy!  It took me a long time to finally admit that I was quite possibly searching for a "perfect" that did not really exist for 2 reasons: 1) it had to have a lavender background and lavender is not a "hot" color right now and 2) Iris is very back & forth & up & down & all around regarding things she likes at any given time.  Oy.  Once I accepted I was not going to find "perfect" fabric, my search was made easier and I pretty quickly decided on one of my "fall-back" fabrics that I had identified as a potential winner over the summer.  Here it is:

Now, I just have to tell you that I've sewed several sets of curtains at this point.  I've sewn the dining room valances and I also B3s curtains for his room.  Curtains are easy.  Just a series of straight lines and ironing and such.  Easy.  Unless you mess up like I did.  I was incredibly frustrated with myself for making this project difficult.  First, I measured incorrectly.  Yes, you read that right.  I broke the cardinal rule of cutting - I only measured once!  Luckily, my mistake wasn't so terrible that it couldn't be accommodated with some design changes because I cut the panels only slightly too short (and not as wide as I initially intended but they still turned out all right). Second, I was working only during Iris' naps and a bit here and there after dinner and the little snatches of time versus just spending 1 or 2 blocks of time on the project caused me to make mistakes due to rushing or being tired or whatever the case was.  I ripped out a lot of stitches which I'm embarrassed to admit.  The design initially had me making 4 simple rectangular panels but since I cut the length too short, I ended up adding a 3 inch ruffle to the bottoms.  This mistake turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the ruffle actually makes the curtains super cute and definitely feminine.  Although, since I'm confessing here, I hate sewing ruffles!  They're easy in theory but take a lot of time and patience to execute and my machine hates them!  I'm serious.  My sewing machine does not like any bulky fabric bits!  Grrr. 

A few things to note: the stripes don't have anything in them yet because I have not yet decided what to put in them - thinking about bunnies and butterflies but not totally committed yet, you can see a corner of the dresser Book turned into a bookshelf, the coat rack in the corner is currently Iris' closet because we have some funky closets in this house (1940!) that we are still puzzling over how to reconfigure to accommodate the kids.  In short, the room is taking shape but very slowly.

Ok, so the big reveal!

BEFORE (with funky lighting, hmm)

AFTER

AFTER (other window in room - no before pic)

Neglect and Life

I'm feeling a bit guilty that I really wanted to be committed to this blog for 2014 and here it is the end of March and I have barely posted at all.  I don't know why I am so bad at posting regularly because I certainly write many posts in my head.  I get frustrated with myself and my inability to make good habits and keep them.  One good habit I need to make is regular/scheduled check-ins on an actual computer-type device versus just my phone.  Writing long emails, blog posts and/or working on various documents is not as efficient or easy on a phone versus an actual pc or tablet.  When I worked outside the home I needed to be on a pc as a part of my job and, therefore, I was better at keeping up with pc-related activities.  Now, though, being a SAHM, I am not required to be on a pc and the result of that lack of requirement equals neglect on my part. So, what have we been doing lately? Here are a few pics to update you:

Sibling Love ... oh, and Valentine's too!

Early morning on a bitterly cold day - beautiful

Snow + warmth = Perfect for outside fun!

A vision of my future with a teenage daughter...

Last day of hockey season!

Going on a walk with baby in B3's "baby carrier"

Cuddle time (with help from a video player lol)

Iris LOVING Eric Litwin (author of Pete the Cat) in concert at our library

B3 also enjoyed the Eric Litwin concert!  Thanks Mr. Litwin; we think you rock!

B3 posing as a soldier with his hair "done" like a clan chief from Pixar's Brave. I can't remember the character's name but B3 insisted I make his hair look like this! ... Call me a progressive parent.

A new (to us) car!

Life in our neck of the woods got a bit hectic and a few things had to be neglected for a couple of weeks.  I apologize for the dead air!  We were a 1 car family for almost 3 weeks - as we debated between fixing up Book's car or getting a new car and then our car was in the auto body shop for almost a week so our schedules were all funky and everyone was scrambling to make it work.  Sadly, our city is not as family-friendly in the public transport department and so being a 1 car family was more of a hardship than I imagine it might be in other cities.  Regardless, the car is fixed!  Woohoo!  I have my Volkswagen back!  I did drive Book's new car for a week...yep, we decided it was more cost effective to buy a new (used) car than to sink money into fixing up his 2000 Civic.  He is now the proud owner of a Mazda5. Let's face it people, they're both family cars and one of the bonuses of the Mazda5 is the optional 3rd row seating which will allow us to join in a carpool for school next year and let us take friends or extra family members out and about with us.  Truthfully, the Mazda5 was always our 2nd choice to the VW when we were initially looking for a new car just before Iris was born.  What did I learn about myself while driving the Mazda5?  I learned:
- I find it nearly impossible to live without my Sirius radio!  I'm completely addicted and converted to satellite radio! Especially because classical music is always my first choice and due to a weak tower, our local classical music station is not reliable throughout the city/area; with my Sirius radio I always have classical.
- The radio, in general, seems to be a very important component of my driving/riding experience.  The Mazda5's stereo set up is not as high quality as the VW and I missed the sound quality and various options of the stereo in the VW while I was driving the Mazda5
- I do not really like driving a tall car.  I feel very strange being up so high.
- The sliding doors of the Mazda5 totally rock!  Those doors make getting the kids in and out so easy and, honestly, it's not that hard in a "regular" car but something about those sliding doors somehow makes the in/out even easier!  Ditto for the individual captain seats the kids sit in in the Mazda5.  Easy-peasy!
Oh, and for an update regarding the accident: the insurance company let us know that they are feeling confident the ruling will be in our favor regarding fault due to our witness and based on the other driver's documented accident history.  We may even get our deductible back!  That would be so great! 
So, I leave you with a pic of Book and his new car (and the salesman who also happens to be our church friend) and a pic of Iris in cute pigtails for the first time!

Ups & Downs

UP - Iris is potty trained!  She is very proud of herself and her new big girl panties.  Way to go, Iris!

DOWN - We were going to fix up Book's car to make it drivable/safe for me and the kids to ride around in while our car is in the shop but it turns out Book's car is going to cost a lot of money to fix up.  :-(  Only after he began to get cost estimates from the mechanics did he realize that the brake line is now completely shot which may mean the fuel line is too.  Ugh.  (SIGH) Now we are discussing the whole cost/benefit analysis of sinking the money into his 2000 Honda Civic with almost 200,000 miles on it or investing in a decent used car.  It's always something, isn't it?

UP - B3 has his 1st hockey game on Saturday morning!  He has no idea.  LOL  I mean, he knows he has a game but he hasn't quite grasped the whole win/lose concept (surprising considering how smart he is in so many other areas!) so it's not as though he's entering this game experience with a competitive drive.  Regardless, it is going to be a bunch of 4-6 year olds who have just learned to skate playing against a similar group.  I am sure it will be hilarious!

DOWN - The weather!  Look, people, I love (really love!) winter but we haven't been able to spend as much time outside due to the incredibly low temperatures and everyone is ready to be free of these 4 walls!  That said, we did get a ton of snow last night/today and the kids & I did get out and play and it felt so good!  Although, in fairness, I did a lot more shoveling than playing but they still had a great time and I was just happy to be outside.

UP: We took Iris ice skating for the first time on Friday.  She and B3 were almost exactly the same age for each of their first times on the ice!  Anyhoo, she had a blast and was pretty good for her first time.  Book even let go of her a few times and she didn't fall right away.  lol  There was no one at the rink with us (ok, only a few others) so we were able to get out the skating helper things (no idea what they are really called) and she liked being able to scoot around with it.  I'll leave you with some adorable pics of Iris & B3 skating!

Awww!

Mama!  Take a picture of my "hockey stop".

Rockin' it!

Can you tell she's having fun?

Miss Independent

Fun times on the ice!

I know, not an ice skating pic but he's having so much fun playing in the snow.

If you're still reading, I just want to quickly share a few B3isms ... 1) he says badana instead of banana - I know I should correct him but it's so cute and I haven't brought myself to yet, 2) he says am-ant when he is asking me things like "am-ant I a good skater, Mama" - of course, he should say "am I" but, again, it's so darn cute that I haven't been able to make a big deal out of it yet.  I know there was one other one I wanted to share but I can't think of it right now so that's that.

Snow Ice Cream

We continue to be held tight in the grip of the Polar Vortex (hahaha) and have been suffering from a severe case of cabin fever as a result of the frigid weather. Today they reported a high of 12*F but said it never felt above -28*F.  Eep!  The kids have been cooped up inside for the majority of January due to either below freezing weather or rain/mud.  We're all going a bit batty and everyone's nerves are frayed.  Usually, the kids play well with one another but the past couple days have seen them fighting and being very cranky with each other.  Yet, when I separate them so they can play by themselves for a short time, they both throw fits as if I'm asking them to cut off their arm!  I guess I can't win.  But, WAIT!  I did have a major win today - thanks to Pinterest!  Last night I searched for winter-themed activities for preschoolers and came up with several great ideas but only had all the materials necessary for one of the ideas.  So, we made Snow Ice Cream.  It was super easy and surprisingly tasty!  B3 & Iris had a blast and talked about it to me, to our friends, to daddy, to lamby, to puppy, etc., all day.  They also asked for multiple helpings of their snow fun treat.

Snow Ice Cream Recipe: 4 cups fresh/clean snow (we needed more than 4, maybe 8?), 1 cup milk (we used almond milk), 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla ... Per some blog-type research we also froze our milk for about half an hour before pouring it into our snow so the snow would not melt too quickly

Happy mixing & making a sticky snow mess!

Sneaking a taste...mmm...yummy

Shoveling it in.  Not too fast little girl, you'll get an ice cream headache

Yea! We love Snow Ice Cream!

Car Accident

I was involved in a car accident yesterday.  Iris and I have no injuries (Thank the Lord!) and the driver of the other car appeared to be unhurt but his passenger did go to the hospital with the paramedics.  I was fully stopped at a red light (in fact, I had arrived at the red light just as it had turned from yellow so I was there for the full cycle) and when it turned green I pulled out to make a left-hand turn to go and collect B3 from preschool.  The other driver chose to not stop at the red light he had and so hit us going fairly fast.  I am completely guessing how fast he was going but the road he was driving on is 35mph and I would wager he was going at least 30.  He did swerve away from us at the very last moment and I believe his last second swerve is why we escaped the accident without injury because it allowed the front corner of the car to bear the full force of the impact.  When he got out of the car he immediately began to wave his arms about and was yelling at me for running a red light.  In the moment, I was upset and his yelling caused me to doubt myself which, in turn, caused me to apologize to him!  In retrospect, I am really mad at myself for letting him cause me to doubt my actions.  I am not saying I am a perfect driver or that I have never in my life run a red light.  I am saying, though, that I could not have "run a red light" that I had been stopped at for a full cycle and I also would not have run a red light with my child (or children) in the car.  Again, thank the Lord that Iris was unhurt!  In any case, the car who was at the light behind me stepped up and insisted I take his information so he could speak with the police because he saw the other driver crash into us and he knows I did not run a red light because I was actually sitting at the green without moving long enough that he was a second away from beeping his horn to get me to move.  When the police arrived, we called that kind, honest witness and he came from his house to speak directly with the officer to tell him what he saw.  Thank the Lord for good people!  Right now, we do not know if the police determined fault.  If the police claim fault is undetermined I think we will both be cited for a moving traffic violation.  I am praying the other driver is rightfully declared at fault but as the police officer told us - right now, it's going to come down to a fight between the insurance companies and we have to hope it comes down in our favor.  (SIGH)  Here is what our car looks like right now:

** Update 1/28/14** It turns out I do have a small injury - my shoulder muscles are "strained" from when the seat belt locked me into place when our cars collided and I did have to go to the doctor and am currently on a prescription anti-inflammatory.  (side note: the literature that came with the prescription is kind-of scary with all the side effects and don't do this & that ... I hope I am not on it for very long!).  Also, the driver of the other car has a history of car accidents and has been investigated, but never prosecuted, for insurance fraud relating to several of this car accidents.  Of course, I am not a born cynic like Book and I kept trying to give the driver a break.  But, now, Book is proven right again - he's a better judge of who not to trust in this world than I am.  So, that's where we stand.  It really is going to be a battle of the insurances and we're waiting for the adjuster to let us know what needs to be done to our car so we can get it fixed.

Husband + Plumbing = New Decorating Opportunity (maybe)

Thanks to our house being 74 years old, Book has had the pleasure (and pain!) of learning how to be a handyman around the house.  Of course, that includes developing some plumbing skills with the help of a useful book on house repairs, a great friend who has mad skills with all things around the house, and youtube videos (lol).  On Monday, Book had the day off work for MLK Jr. day and we vacated the premises so he could work on repairing a leaky pipe that was causing our basement bathroom ceiling to disintegrate.  He fixed the leak in record time (yea!) but not the ceiling because he didn't fix the pipe that fast.  The result?  Now, when we use the basement facilities, we look up and see a hole in the ceiling and newly fixed pipe.  Additionally, the unfinished ceiling has inspired me to consider new looks for the bathroom (looks within a small budget, of course) and now I'm trying to convince Book to entertain the idea of a galvanized steel ceiling and a fun new color on the walls and maybe even a couple funky accents to round it all out.  Right now, I am definitely having difficulty persuading Book to seriously consider the galvanized steel and, I think, unless the new paint color is free (or close to free-haha) that I am going to be out of luck and it's not likely my vision will become reality. I can keep hoping, though.  Here are a couple of pictures of his handy work:

If we did install a galvanized steel ceiling, I think we would have to change out the traditional-style window trim.  Maybe strips of sheet metal?  I don't know I haven't thought that all the way through yet and would need to research cost.  With that hole in the ceiling, now is a perfect time to consider how we might want to change the space and since the previous owners built this bathroom, it could be the perfect time to really make the space ours versus theirs. 

I wish I new how to make the awesome design boards Emily at Jones Design Company or Nicole at Making it Lovely create for their projects...

Last Week

B3 & Iris performing in a rock concert - they're singing "Party Every Day" by KISS.   We taught it to them for NYE and now it seems to be a favorite in the rotation.  They also love to sing "I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett.  hahaha

Iris is potty training!  Check out the awesome sticker chart in the background. Our very talented and very dear friend obliged my request and created it for Iris.  Thanks, Lisa!

One day last week I was trapped on the couch with B3 as he took a slightly unexpected nap. I had a blissful hour snuggled up with my little man and reading a lovely chick lit novel that was both clever and entertaining.

B3 was invited to a friend's birthday party (his first without me or Daddy!) and he drew this card for his friend.

He wrote "Happy Birthday Nora! Love" with is left hand and then he wrote "Bohdan" with his right.  His teacher tells us he does this all the time on all of his school papers.  She said not to worry about it and to actually encourage it.

B3 is definitely an emerging reader; he loves to "read" books by himself now and has begun to actually read various sight words and misc. vocabulary.  He is largely unaware that he can read but it's exciting to watch him learn!

Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday I chose to cook soup for our supper and I chose a recipe called "Peasant Soup" by Rachael Ray. I like a lot of Rachel's recipes because they don't take too long to prepare and she largely uses ingredients I have handy but the food tastes like I slaved over it.  Her Peasant Soup recipe was true to it's name - definitely a poor man's soup packed full of low-cost veggies like cabbage and carrots and onions - (Note: I did not have leek on-hand so that was omitted this time and I also wanted it to be vegan so I skipped the ham and used veggie broth instead of chicken broth but I added frozen yellow beans from our garden harvest and increased the onion and black pepper plus added about 1/8 cup of dry red wine) and after I began to make it, I realized her recommendation of a crusty bread to accompany the soup was absolutely not a recommendation but a requirement.
Thus, I chose to conquer my fear of bread baking because the only bread we had in the house was soft(ish) sandwich bread from the grocery (don't judge us, we didn't have time to make all our various shopping stops this week!).  I chose a recipe I had saved on my Pinterest cooking board for a "quick" yeast French Baguette style bread and set to work.  Mid-way through making the dough I ran out of white flour (the flour listed in the recipe) and had to finish up with whole-wheat flour which I suspect impacted the end result.  Also, the recipe proclaimed to be quick and it was but I suspect the quickness combined with the flour combo caused the bread to be a little off.  The end result was definitely a tasty French Baguette style bread with a crusty outer shell but the combination of the whole-wheat flour and reduced proof time possibly caused it to be significantly denser than a true French Baguette style loaf.  Regardless, we ate it and enjoyed it.  And, truthfully, this small foray into bread baking me has given me just enough confidence to try another bread recipe in the very near future.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, the soup turned out great even with the omissions and changes I made to make it vegan and when it was cooking while the bread was baking my house smelled amazing.

Before & After

Welcome 2014

We woke up today and saw lots and lots of snow.

B3 requested to go to the zoo. The drive was treacherous and we were the only visitors there for the first 1/2 hour.

We ran around and up and down and finally had to sit to take a short rest.

We saw this guy.  A capybara.

And while Iris napped B3 and I spent the afternoon working on a new puzzle.

Welcome 2014!

Sharing a PIN from a FRIEND

Unemployed

I am no longer employed.  I resigned from my part-time job.  A lot of heartache, gut-wrenching soul searching, prayer, and seeking others advice finally resulted in me choosing to take time out of the traditional professional work place and focus on my babies.  The week after I submitted my resignation, I was fairly depressed and wholly doubtful I made the correct decision.  Now, 2 weeks after my resignation, I am mostly at peace with my choice and have noticed a definite calming of my soul and uplift of my spirit.  Each day Little Man and Urban Cowbaby do something so amazing or so entertaining or so endearing that I marvel at my good fortune to be at home with them.  Yes, at least once I day I ask myself how I gave up a "perfect" situation - I was only working 22.5 hours a week, right - but then I remember that everyone has a different vision of perfect and we all manage our lives and individual situations in our own ways.  I was not contributing at work in the manner I wanted to, nor was I contributing at home to the capacity I wanted and, therefore, I was barely holding on to each world and barely doing enough to keep each world in some kind of order.  My new shift of priorities and focus has allowed me to release a tremendous amount of anxiety I was constantly feeling and has allowed me to feel really accomplished at the end of each day.

Of course, one thing I have noticed about myself each summer I have had off from work is that I sorely lack discipline and time management.  That said, I have a goal to be better (like, be more mindful of keeping up with the on-line life) and I know the fall will force me to manage our time better because we will be juggling pre-school with music class with eurythmics class, play dates, etc.  Soon to come?  Pictures of the kids and more frequent posts.

Oh, and I should mention...I'm not going to truly be out of the professional realm because I have been referred by a colleague to a independent consulting opportunity and am currently in the process of on-boarding with that organization.

And you say he's just a friend...

I was reading a social media advice column today and one of the columnists made this statement:
"And the fact is Facebook has destroyed the meaning of the word 'friend.' 'Friend' used to mean ... I'll   take a bullet for you, I'll take care of your kid or, you know, things with meaning — and now it just means 'connected to'."
This statement really struck me.  I am one of those old-fashioned people who still thinks of "friend" in the traditional sense - as in, I like a person, enjoy conversing with them, care about their lives and events within their lives.  So, my FB friend list is actually fairly small and there are even a few people on there that I need to "purge" because they once had the potential to be my friend but due to whatever reasons are no longer someone I want to put energy & effort into.  In contrast, Urban Cowboy's FB friend list has a gazillion people on it and we are always having a conversation about why he has so many FB friends and if he even actually physically knows these people.  I guess he's more modern than me. 
The reason I think this new definition of friend really unsettles me, though, is because we (society) have not yet come up with a word to replace "friend" to more properly define the difference between actual friend vs. FB connection (or name any other social media device).  How long, I wonder, will it take for us to come up with a new vocabulary to teach our children that a virtual connection to an individual does not translate to a person you have a relationship with that you can share your joys/sorrows with or someone that can come to you and seek your help or advice or someone who, darnit, you just enjoy hanging out with (gasp!) in-person?  I want Little Man and Urban Cowbaby to know that there is a difference and that the difference is very important when when they are conducting themselves on-line & in-person and as they navigate the world on ever changing terms. 

Seriously? Grad School...

Ok, so this was in my work inbox today:

In response to an email message I received from my adviser, XXX, I am requesting assistance from Career Services.
I am nearing the end of my senior year and would like assistance with making application to graduate school.

At first I thought this person was an international student but looked up their information and they are not. I am concerned that this person wants to go to graduate school when they cannot a) spell advisor correctly and cannot form grammatically correct sentences.  I can only imagine what other errors I will encounter if this individual has to continue to communicate with me through writing and I cannot fathom how this person is even successfully earning a bachelor's degree with such poor writing skills.  This is an example of how society appears to reward mediocrity.

Chronos & Kairos

Out Of a New Habit sent me a link to a specific blog post for a blog called Momastery.  You should read the whole post but here are my favorite paragraphs:

  There are two different types of time. Chronos time is what we live in. It’s regular time, it’s one minute at a time, it’s staring down the clock till bedtime time, it’s ten excruciating minutes in the Target line time, it’s four screaming minutes in time out time, it’s two hours till daddy gets home time. Chronos is the hard, slow passing time we parents often live in.
  Then there’s Kairos time. Kairos is God’s time. It’s time outside of time. It’s metaphysical time. Kairos is those magical moments in which time stands still. I have a few of those moments each day, and I cherish them.
  Like when I actually stop what I’m doing and really look at Tish. I notice how perfectly smooth and brownish her skin is. I notice the perfect curves of her teeny elf mouth and her asianish brown eyes, and I breathe in her soft Tishy smell. In these moments, I see that her mouth is moving but I can’t hear her because all I can think is – This is the first time I’ve really seen Tish all day, and my God – she is so beautiful. Kairos.
  Like when I’m stuck in chronos time in the grocery line and I’m haggard and annoyed and angry at the slow check-out clerk. And then I look at my cart and I’m transported out of chronos. And suddenly I notice the piles of healthy food I’ll feed my children to grow their bodies and minds and I remember that most of the world’s mamas would kill for this opportunity. This chance to stand in a grocery line with enough money to pay. And I just stare at my cart. At the abundance. The bounty. Thank you, God. Kairos.

This couldn't have come at a better time (and Out Of a New Habit knows this) because I've been struggling with a lot of personal and professional doubts and Little Man has been testing me every day with a new set of behaviors that we, as a family, are not very pleased to be on the receiving end of.  But, mostly, Out Of a New Habit knows how I need to be reminded that it's ok to be less than perfect and it's ok to doubt but that I need to trust in God's life plan for me and my family and need to be strong enough to live it. 

Clutter, Compost, & Kids

Small Notebook, one of my favorite blogs, is frequently posting about how to manage and clear clutter from our homes and, ultimately, from our lives.  Recently she posted about "tupperware" clutter and about pantry  clutter.  If you're interested in simplifying, I recommend the read.  I am constantly struggling with clutter but, recently, have finally accepted it is ok to have fewer storage containers, especially plastic, and welcome the extra space in my cabinets.  On the other hand, when it comes to my pantry ... well, let's just say that I have a bit of a "squirell" complex.  I seem to derive true satisfaction from a full pantry and sometimes even get nervous when I use the last (or almost last) item from the pantry.  Example?  Beans.  If there is only 1 can of black beans in the pantry, I will likely choose to cook something without beans so that my supply is not wholly depleted.  That's crazy, right.  I mean, even admitting it to you I know it's crazy.  Luckily, Urban Cowboy has been helping me to get over this "squirell" complex but I don't find it easy and I'm definitely a work in progress.

Did you know it's National Compost Week?  Do you compost?  No?  We do and it's pretty easy and yields good results.  It truly helps keep our landfill waste down and we have begun to use our compost in our garden to supplement the soil and help our plants grow more happily.  If you can and have in an interest, I encourage you to try composting.

Urban Cowbaby showed us her newest trick this weekend.  If you say to her (or Little Man, or anyone else) "wash your hands" or "clean your hands" she actually does the sign for it!  It's hilarious!  And, as far as we know, this is something she just picked up in every day life because no one deliberately taught her to sign "wash your hands".  She's so amazing!  Little Man continues to amaze, too!  He has recently begun to have alphabet conversations with us in which he wants us to ask him what letter "fish" (for example) begins with and then he replies "dog" or something else equally silly.  The reason this is amazing, though, is not because he actually thinks fish begins with the letter d but because he knows, as he's saying dog, that d is wrong (and if pressed he'll confess it's f) and he believes he is telling us a very silly joke.  So, isn't that amazing?  My almost 3 year old is already telling me jokes!

Crunchy Clean & A Happy Green Life

Recently, I found a great sale on an all-natural, grey water safe, laundry detergent called A Happy Green Life.  Typically, I use Crunchy Clean but Green Baby Bargains was selling A Happy Green Life for dirt cheap and shipping was completely reasonable so I decided to give it a go.  That said, I really like it.  It works as well as Crunchy Clean does which is the part I like because, frankly, Crunchy Clean is the best damn laundry detergent I've ever used.  So, both Crunchy Clean & A Happy Green Life do a fantastic job cleaning our clothes without leaving any chemical residue and without irritating our sensitive skin.  With Little Man, I was pretty viligant about removing food stains, dirt stains, etc. from his clothes but with Urban Cowbaby I haven't had as much time or energy to devote to stain removal.  Good thing Crunchy Clean and A Happy Green Life take care of all but the worst stains for me!  What the detergent doesn't get out, the sun does!  So, all in all, I would happily recommend either detergent for use in any home. ** I should mention, however, that I have not used A Happy Green Life for diapers.  I continue to loyally use only Crunchy Clean for our diapers for 2 reasons: 1) it works and works well, and 2) using the same detergent exclusively could potentially increase the resell value of the diapers.**

I'd like to share a few more thoughts on both detergents:
- Crunchy Clean is expensive BUT it's a great product, buying it supports a working from home mama, and just recently they announced a new $5 flat rate shipping fee which signficantly helps with cost management.  Oh, and you get a ton of loads out of each purchase!  I mean, A TON!  We buy laundry detergent approximately once every 4-5 months and that's with doing 2 loads of diapers a week & lots of clothes/towels/etc. loads.
- A Happy Green Life also supports 2 working from home mamas and BOTH detergents were created to provide an alternative to chemical laden, corporate, mass produced detergents and follows in Crunchy Clean's path in terms of tons of loads per purchase.
- Upon beginning use of an all-natural laundry detergent I have noticed our colors stay bright longer, our clothes need replaced less, and I use less detergent per load than I would with a conventional detergent.

If you haven't tried these products or any type of all-natural detergent, I heartily recommend that you do so!  You will be pleased with the results and the quality of the product!

PS This post was NOT sponsored by either Crunchy Clean or A Happy Green Life

Pet Peeve!

                                                                                                       

I hate the way the fashion industry/marketers/society expects me to dress my sweet baby girl.  They want me to dress her like a grown up.  They want me to put her in skin-tight leggings and spaghetti straps and even in little bikinis!  They want me to invite the world to view her body as a showpiece, as something to be looked at and admired.  They want me to put her in clothing that forces people to objectify her as a specimen for examination to be judged and sorted into some societal category of acceptance. I hate the way they do not do this to baby boy clothing.  Baby boy clothing, cut with generous backsides and legs and cut with room for undershirts and socks. 

I  hate the way the expect me to just be ok with this, as a mother and a fellow woman. I hate the way society is seemingly "forcing" me to encourage my daughter to subscribe to their objectification of her body by simply assuming I will dress her in the manner they dictate. I also hate the way that I sometimes succumb and put my daughter in outfits similar to those I described in my above rant and how it always makes me feel so hypocritical when I do this.  Isn't there time enough when my daughter gets older to be shaped to care about how she looks to other people in certain outfits?  Shouldn't that be something that comes with early adolescence and not now, not when she is not even 1 year old?

 

Urban Cowbaby Update

Urban Cowbaby will be 10  months old on April 20.  Yes, I said 10 months!  It's nearly impossible to believe so much time has gone by from when she joined us in the outside world.  Already, even though she's still so little, I'm beginning to get a bit nostalgic for her tiny baby days and wishing I had done more to make better memories of it.  (SIGH)  So, you wonder what she's up to at 10 months?  Here it is, folks, an update of Urban Cowbaby's current talents;

- around 9 months she started saying Hi & waving hello!  It's adorable and it's especially adorable when you leave the room for only a second because when you come back into the room she lights up and says HI! & waves.  Her Hi is actually very soft and kind-of drawn-out - like, Hi-iii (but with a breathy quality to it)

- she stands for short periods of time without supporting herself with her hands

- she signs "all done" and "more"

- she loves, loves, loves to play "Pat-A-Cake"

- she enjoys dunking her face into the bath water over and over

- we play a little game where she pats both her hands on the floor in front of her, we do it back, and we "volley" the floor pats for minutes at a time

- her face simply explodes with light when her brother plays with her

- she takes naps by herself in her crib, twice a day

- she prefers finger food to puree food and prefers non-green food to other colors

- she blows raspberries on us; any time she has access to bare skin, she blows a raspberry on you!  LOL
She still has a lot less hair than her brother did at this stage in life but she makes up for it with the adorable little pudge rolls she has that he never did.  Her hair is a very light brown with a very red-cast to it.  Her eyes are a very deep, smokey blue and are simply stunning.  I keep trying to get a good picture to capture the color but seem to miss the mark every time.  She has 8 teeth.  She has a dimple on her right cheek that shows up far more frequently than Little Man's dimple did/does.  I was in love with her the day she arrived but with each passing day, month, phase of growth I fall more and more in love with her.