children

Christmas Week! An Easy Wreath

Posted by Nat on Dec 12, 2011 | 1 comment

I hereby declare this Christmas Week and Crafting Crazy.  Woo hoo!  I am not going to post anything revolutionary.  My crafts and thoughts will be simple.  I like to keep it simple during the holidays because it’s hard to get everything done in terms of gifts, cards, and more- why throw in a totally-involved project to add to the stress?

So project #1:  an easy wreath.  This really happened by accident.  I was shopping with my 3 kids at Michael’s.  Anna, my 4-year-old, said, “Mommy!  Sparkle balls!”  Done.  We found a fake wreath just the right size for our door for $6.  Two little packets of various styrofoam balls of silver, white and red, and we were set to go.

It was super easy and Anna loves it.  Anna would hand me a ball, and I just used my hot-glue gun to stick them in place.  I’m also very proud to say that I did NOT burn myself this time.  I almost did, but I didn’t.

I do plan on making some of those fancy yarn wreaths after the new year- you know, the ones that are flying all over Pinterest.  But for now, our sparkle balls will do just fine. 🙂

The Messiest Moments…

Posted by Nat on Nov 10, 2011 | Comments Off on The Messiest Moments…

…are the ones that make you laugh hardest after they happen. Am I right, or am I right?

Having a baby brings messes.  There’s just no way around it.  There are many evenings that I marvel at our play room after it’s been cleaned up, and 10 minutes after the kids are awake the following morning, all of our cleaning up is for naught- it’s a mess again.  But that just means they are playing and happy.  And the laundry…oh, the laundry.  There are few moments when I can say “I’m caught up on the laundry.”  As a family of five AND a newborn in the mix, there’s always something to wash.

But all the best stories, it seems, revolve around poop.  Poop puts a whole new spin on every aspect of a story because, well… there’s poop involved.  And it always shows up when you least expect it.

Case in point:  Meet Emily.  I’ve taken to calling her Em. 

 (above photo by my friend, Jenna)

She’s our #3 baby.  The one who completes our family. 

She is delicious.  She smiles, giggles and coos right now more than I remember our other two doing- or perhaps I’m just soaking it up more because I know once she stops I won’t have that in my life in the same way ever again {insert tears here}.

(newborn photo by LifeArt Photography)

She is, essentially a perfect baby.  The first few weeks were rough, but that was more just us getting used to a new baby again, recovering from labor, etc.  She’s so easy.  I can leave her on the floor in her little play bed for long stretches of time.  She grabs her toes, rolls over and is generally cute unless she’s tired or hungry.

(photo by my Dad, with his iPhone)

There’s just one problem.  Emily poops.  Well, every baby poops, so I should preface that with another statement:  Emily doesn’t poop very often, but when she does, it’s explosive.  It’s everywhere.  And it’s always at a really inconvenient time.   Always.

Case in point #1:

My parents were visiting from out of town.  Emily was just about three months old.  We dropped our two older kids, Jack and Anna, off at preschool and headed out to have breakfast at one of our favorite local places, the Hash House A-Go-Go.  Amazing food.  Great location.  Amazing food.  Did I mention the amazing food?  My husband went in late to work so he could come because we’ve only tried going with kids once and it just wasn’t as fun, so he wanted in on the deliciousness.

We got to Hash House and ordered our food.  Emily slept happily in her car seat and slept through the entire meal- it was awesome.  As we were finishing I looked over at her car seat, which was sideways in the booth, so I couldn’t see in.  I saw her little feet kicking, so I leaned over and popped her pacifier back in her mouth.  Seconds later I saw it fly out of her mouth and her feet gyrating and I realized, “Oh dear.  It’s the move.”  That move they do when they are uncomfortable.

I stood up and went over to look at her more closely and then I saw it.  Emily was wiggling and squirming because she was swimming in a sea of her own poop.  It was everywhere.  And if you’re thinking, “Oh, it couldn’t have been that bad,” let me tell you:  I could have ladled the stuff out of the seat.  Ladle.   I looked at my mom and we headed to the bathroom.  We were in there for about 15 minutes.  I had to throw her clothes away, and there was definitely poop in her hair.  Definitely.  Later, when we got home, I had to completely disassemble her car seat so I could sanitize it with wipes and wash all fabric contents.  There was even poop in the car seat base which means…. it LEAKED THROUGH THE SEAT.  It was, in a word, disgusting.  I know, I know- infant breast milk poop is not that bad, but it’s still POOP.

Case in point #2:

We went to the library just a few days ago.  As I put Emily in my Ergo carrier (love the Ergo!) and got ready to buckle her in, I could smell it.  She hadn’t pooped for 3 days.  I knew it was coming.  But at the library?  Really?!   I undid the Ergo, but it was too late.  Stain on the Ergo.  Emily looked at me with those blue eyes as if to say, “I feel sooooo much better.”  Lovely.  I had to change her on the floor of our Odyssey, and I used about half a pack of baby wipes.  I’m sure there is poop on the floor of our van somewhere.  There has to be.  But the real kicker of this particular story?  I forgot about the stain on the Ergo.   So the next day, as I’m in a public place getting ready to strap her in, I see it- that mustardy-yellowy-brownish color.  “What’s that?” I asked myself.  “Oh, right.  It’s a poop stain.”  Lovely.  “Hey everyone, check out my nice Ergo, complete with… poop stain.”

I love you, Emily.  I love you with every ounce of my being.  You are wonderful.  I do not, however, love your poop.

Love,

Mommy

I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls. To learn more about the messy moment program, check out www.BleachItAway.com.  Sharing your story on the Clorox fan page gets you entered for the chance to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can grab a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.

Anna’s Coat

Posted by Nat on Oct 31, 2011 | 3 comments

*sidebar:  Alternate post titles that were considered:

Respect the Coat

Go Big or Don’t Sew

I Fully Admit I Have No Idea What I’m Doing (my former tag line)

What Was I Thinking? (already taken- see here and here)

Coats are Magic

Irons Are Hot and Dangerous

*end sidebar, other than to say that this post will be LONG.  It’s therapy people- almost like giving birth.  Feel free to just scroll and look at pictures, but I will type out my thoughts, too, though it may be a bit wonky….  Here goes…

A while ago I introduced you to Anna’s Bear, and how I was incorporating him into part of her Halloween costume.  I finally finished!  Here are some photos of Anna in her coat:

The coat by itself:

(some of these photos make the corduroy look really wrinkly, but it’s been pressed, I promise!)

And here are some specific photos in the book that led to my choice of fabric, pattern selection, etc.

Lastly, I couldn’t resist a side-by-side comparison- isn’t she a cutie?

And the backstory:  Anna decided that she wanted to be the little girl from Corduroy, which surprised me given her affinity for ballerinas, princesses and other typical 4-year-old-girl stuff.  One night, as we were reading Corduroy, I mentioned, “Hey, that would be a fun costume for Halloween! We could use Bear as Corduroy, and I could make him some green overalls just like in the book.”  I didn’t think it would stick, but it did.  I asked her randomly for several weeks if she wanted to be a princess, like Rapunzel or Snow White?  Nope.  The Girl from Corduroy (her name is Lisa, but she doesn’t seem to remember that).  Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates?  Nope.  The Girl from Corduroy.   A butterfly?  Nope.  The Girl from Corduroy.  All righty then.

I was on a mission.  After sewing the overalls for Bear I started looking for pink coats (this was also an issue- she said it was pink, I thought it looked more red, but we all know that if I made her a red coat when she wanted pink….).  At the time of my search there were no dark pink anything online- lots of powder pink.  So I searched the books at Joann’s and found it.  Burda #9596 (this link is to a Flickr stream- I cannot find a link to it for purchase online!).  I figured that I could sew it for her in a bit larger size and then we’d have more than just a costume- we’d have a coat for a while, too.  Here is where things got hilarious.

Have I ever sewn a pattern before?  No.

Have I ever sewn an article of clothing for a human to wear before?  No.  (Unless you count some horrendous shirt I sewed in my sewing class that I think I took when I was 8 or 9.)

Have I taken any kind of sewing lessons as an adult?  No.

Hmm.  Well, that makes it perfectly logical to think that I could just whip up a coat, right?  Heh.

I actually bought the pattern and the fabric and other necessities when I bought the stuff for Bear’s overalls, but then we got busy.  My parents were here, my wonderful friend from college was here, and it was a great excuse to mentally prepare.

Some skills that I learned in this process:

• I learned what facings are.  I can’t really tell you what they are in a text book way, but if you take a coat and look just inside it, you’ll probably see the same fabric that’s on the outside of the coat run around the edges and the collar.  Then the lining of the coat will be sewn to it.  Those are facings.
• I learned how to sew pockets into things.
• I learned why, when you buy certain garments, the pockets are sewn shut (actually, they are basted shut).
• I learned why it’s so important to press open seam allowances.
• I learned how to not burn myself when pressing open seam allowances.
• I learned about interfacing.
• I learned how to read a pattern, though there are still parts I don’t quite get.
• I learned that I should probably take a sewing class or two, but am not sure when that will happen.

There are several imperfections on the coat.  One of them is that I somehow missed the part where I was supposed to sew the top and bottom facings together.  I looked back over the instructions and it was not clear at all.  So I made little patches to go over the exposed hems that were a result of my newbie status and called it a day.

The pocket openings are two different sizes, but Anna has yet to notice- she’s just happy to have pockets.  This particular pattern was definitely assuming that one knew what one was doing (ha) so I had to look up a lot of things online.  There was also a lot of lingo that made no sense, so I had to literally stare at the pattern diagram, stare at the coat.  Stare at the pattern diagram, stare at the coat.  And then after about 20 minutes of that something in my brain would click and all of a sudden it would make sense.  I also couldn’t figure out how to sew the lining to the inside of the cuffs at the end of the sleeves, but no one will see that unless I show it to them, and I may have a friend who can help with that.

Overall I am uber-happy with how it turned out.  If I could go back, I would buy a more sturdy, higher-quality corduroy for the coat.  But lesson learned- hopefully it will hold up…

So there you have it- Anna’s coat.  And someday, Emily’s coat, I hope.  I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank my mother.  Some day I will post pictures of the plethora of dance costumes she made for my sister and I.  They were almost always made of satin, lined, and lots of tulle was involved as well.  Props to you, Mom- after one coat, much respect!

Happy Halloween everyone!

I’m linking up to Mady by You Mondays on Skip to My Lou

Toys Every Boy Should Have

Posted by Nat on Oct 25, 2011 | 3 comments

I grew up with all girls.  I have two older sisters, and four cousins- all girls.  My only male relatives growing up were my dad, my two grandpas, and my two uncles. Lots of double-x chromosomes running around.  Therefore I am clueless as to what to get my little boy as he grows up.  I know, I know- it’ll come to me, but still- I’m a list person.

Some disclaimers:

• I am NOT getting paid for this list.  I’m doing it for fun.  Like I said, I like lists.
• I am NOT saying that you *should* have any of these toys, or that if you don’t you are totally lame.  These are just ideas.  To each his or her own.   If you don’t want your boy to have guns as toys, totally fine.  I’m still figuring that one out.
• I also think it’s possible and totally fine for boys and girls to cross the gender-line in terms of toys, and vice versa.  We let Jack put on Anna’s costumes.  He can have a pink cup to drink his milk if he wants.   Anna can play with trucks and stuff.  So please don’t take this as a “manly-man toy list and if you disagree you must be a pansy” post.

So I went to my Facebook friends and family and asked them:  “What are the toys every boy should have?”  Jackpot! I got so many great answers, and I wrote them all down (some of them were hilarious).  Thanks, FB friends!  Then I broke their responses into categories.  I’ve listed them below and provided links where necessary.   I hope this is helpful to you, dear friends.  And please– if I left anything out, leave a comment and add to the fun- make the list even better!

The Basics

Miscellaneous things included:

• duct tape
• crayons & paper
• cardboard boxes
• balls
• sticks
• dinosaurs
• wooden blocks
• flashlights
• handheld video games
• keys
• art kits
• sewing kits (fine motor skill development)
• baby doll & stroller (especially if new siblings are on the horizon)
• t-ball set
• golf set
• magnifying glass
• tool bench & tools
• old bikes to take apart and put back together

Things that go:

• cars
• trucks
• trains/wooden train set
• matchbox cars
• fire trucks
• police cars
• ramps & tracks for all things that go

Weapons:

• bows ‘n’ arrows
• fire (this made me laugh!)
• guns
• “any weapon” (direct quote- ha!)

Brand Specific Toys

(These are in no particular order. Some of these I had not heard of, and you’ll be able to tell because I’ll talk about them in case you haven’t either.)

Automoblox

These look uber-cool.  They are also not uber-cheap, so they will have to be gifts for our kids- but MAN they are cool!  Apparently you can mix and match different parts, so if you have 2 or 3, you really have endless possibilities.  There’s also a Parts Department so you can order extra wheels, etc.  Cool!

Legos

Duh.  Legos rock.

Tinker Toys

Anna plays with these already- we need to either sneak them into Jack’s room or just get him his own set.  I’m curious to see if Jack gets any of my husband’s amazing technical brain- Anna has made some pretty amazing things with Tinker Toys.

Imaginext

Fisher Price brands these as the toys to get when your kid is “Pre-Cool”- you don’t want them shooting stuff yet, but they want to feel like they have a really cool toy.  They seem to be just that, but we also don’t have any.  Would love to hear what people think of these!

Hot Wheels

 Of course we’re talking about the cars, but I also have to mention… When I was at BlogHer I got to see a preview of the Hot Wheels Wall Tracks  and they are awesome.  I sort of want Jack to get some so I can play with them…

Anything Star Wars

(I could post a bazillion links for anything Star Wars but then this post would go on forever…)

Transformers

I’m not sure how I feel about these.  I remember them from my childhood and the commercials gave me the heebie-jeebies.  They kind of freak me out.  Thoughts?

Bruder Toys

(Someone actually said “Bruder trucks” in my FB post, but after looking at the website- anything here screams “boy!!!”) These are also not cheap, so for us they will have to come as gifts.  They are extremely authentic looking, and have great reviews on Amazon.

Geo Trax

Made by Fisher-Price, this is sort of a new train track collection, but they have incorporated lots of characters from movies, like Toy Story and Cars. These look pretty cool.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has these, as I’ve been debating about whether it’s really worth it to get a train set like this.

Lincoln Logs

So, there you have it.  Did I miss something?  Is your son’s favorite toy left off of this list- please leave a comment and add it to improve the list!  Or if you have any experience with any of these toys, please post a comment!

Jack’s Wagons

Posted by Nat on Aug 22, 2011 | 1 comment

Jack’s room is coming along at a very slow pace.  Perhaps it’s because he’s a boy and I know he doesn’t really care or notice that his curtains need to be hemmed, or that his closet has no doors of any kind.

I did, however, want something on the walls because the paint color is not very exciting.  I like it because he won’t “outgrow” the color, but it’s nothing that makes you say, “Wow!” when you walk in the room.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again- if you haven’t discovered Cathe Holden and her blog, Just Something I Made, please get yourself over there and start reading and downloading awesome freebies.  Eons ago Cathe posted some wagons.  As I read the post and saw the wagon graphics I thought, “Finally!  Something for Jack’s room!”  This is what I came up with:

I tried to match the colors to his bedding, but it was super tricky and again, I knew Jack wouldn’t look at me at the age of 5 and say, “Mommy, these blues don’t match exactly.”  He’s a sensitive boy and I think he’ll be able to see that would crush me entirely.

I printed the wagons out after editing them in Photoshop.  Then I spray painted them with clear acrylic and cut them out.  I chose the background papers.  Then it was just paint the 12×12 canvas with acrylic paint, and Mod Podge those suckers up (is Mod Podge a verb yet?  I think it should be.)

Here’s a close up of one:

 Here are a few shots of his room:

I’ll admit that this project was a bit rushed- I think I was trying to finish in time for a gathering at our house, but not quite sure- it’s all a blur.  I’ve gotten so many compliments, though- people really like them.

Thank you, Cathe, for your wonderful downloads- I love them!

Also, a side note is that I added Jack’s name to the wall above his bed with cardboard letters.  I’m actually not too pleased with them, but am showing anyway.   I think I may get some wooden ones and see if that turns out better.  Jack loves them, and knows that they spell his name.  I’m waiting for the day that he yanks one off the wall.  They are painted with acrylic paint and Mod Podged- nothing fancy:

I am linking up to Craft-0-maniac’s Monday Link Party,

The DIY Showoff,

Skip To My Lou.

Someday Crafts,

Crystal & Co.

What is your “awesome”?

Posted by Nat on Aug 18, 2011 | 2 comments

(Note:  I’ve come to realize that I really like to write, I have a lot in my noggin, and this is a great place to let it all out.  Those of you who have been around a while may have noticed that I changed my tag from “I fully admit I have no idea what I’m doing” to “Life is crazy. Craft it well.”  I’m shifting the focus of my blog to include many things, not just crafting in a literal sense.  I’m trying to craft a wonderful life for myself and my family.  I hope you’ll enjoy reading in weeks and months to come about how we do just that.  Thanks!)

 “I’m not a teacher anymore.” 

This phrase has gone through my head numerous times since May 13th, when I walked out of my classroom and headed to a farewell happy hour.  I was pregnant with Emily and done.  D-O-N-E done.  My doctor wrote the note, and it was as easy as pie to head out the door.  But I wasn’t just leaving for maternity leave.  Weeks prior I turned in a letter of resignation to my administrative office.  I will not be returning next week the way so many colleagues-who-are-now-just-friends will be.  I am now, “Just a mom.”  And that, my friends, is awesome.  For me.  Would it be awesome for you?

My husband and I worked hard to get to the point where we were ready to jump off of the two-income cliff, down to the one-income plateau.   It’s a huge leap for us.  We tried during the 2008-2009 school year to make a go of living on one income.  I took a leave of absence and got to be at home with the kids, but financially we weren’t quite there.  My heart has been at home since the birth of my daughter, Anna, in 2007, so returning to work after a year of doing what fills my heart was hard.  Two years later and we are making the change we’ve both wanted for our family.

It was interesting, though, once we were sure we could and would make the commitment, to hear people’s reactions to the fact that I was leaving my profession behind.

They ranged from disbelief….

“No!  You’re quitting?!”

“Shut up!  For reals?”

“Can you afford it in this economy?”

…to dismay…

“But you’re such a good teacher…”

“When will you come back?”

…to happiness…

“I’m so happy for you!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Finally!”

There were many more that tore at my heart strings in both good and bad ways- many I’ve since forgotten, but in the moment were at times hard to hear.  Having so many different reactions to my choice to leave was so interesting.  No one’s reaction truly bothered me, they just made me think.  A lot.

It seems like there is a continual debate about what the “right” choice is for women.  One trend is to have a full-fledged career, work long hours, and show our kids that women can have careers just as big and bold as men.  Another seems to be a “back to basics” trend of having the mom give up that second income and stay home- essentially, what I am doing.   Whether they realized it or not, many people displayed their opinions of what the “right” choice is through their reaction to my departure from my teaching career.  It was fascinating.

What is the right choice?   I think the reason that everyone argues about it so much is that there is no one “right answer” and the only thing that’s tried and true about this issue, regardless of you choice, is this:  parenting is hard work.  If you’re doing it right, then you are exhausted at the end of the day, whether you are a “FTWM,” “SAHM” or “WAHM” (or any other acronym that applies to you).  I admire women who are passionate about their careers, love going to work, and manage to still be there for their children.  I equally admire women who give up their careers to be there for every minute of their kids’ lives, whether they are infants, toddlers, or school-aged kids.  We all make the choices that work for us and our families, and some of us don’t even have a choice in the matter.  I hope that we can eventually reach a place where we aren’t judged by whether we stay home, work, or a combination of the two.  I’d rather be judged by the kind of children I’m raising, working a paid job or not.

What do you think?  Is this debate ever going to go away?  Are we ever going to just appreciate our different life choices or will there always be comparison and judgement?  I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts.