Baby Battles!

August 14th--  Happily nom-ing away on toys, he switches ever so subtly to Momma's finger, which produces a small shriek of pain from the victim.  Such a noise is vastly amusing and requires a couple gurgles of glee before attempting a repeat performance!  Momma bravely allows a finger into his mouth again in a discovery attempt.  The boy has a sharp object poking from the center of some swollen gums.  FINALLY!  The wave of relief rolling off of Momma was immediate.  We had confirmed our hopeful explanation of the near constant IBS (Irritable Baby Syndrome) and the few really nasty butts in the past couple days.

We had been treating him to numerous cold chewies and some well placed fever meds here and there previously but hadn't felt the tooth before that.  Sadly, the battle was not over.

Wyatt, already not to be outdone by a sister who has a full set of teeth to tauntingly utilize at every meal, decided to go for a twofer with his 'toofers'.  He has two sharp little front (bottom) teeth partially revealed.  The little tyrant gums won't let them go easily though.  They are still a frequent cause of turmoil for the little man who chews on EVERYTHING.  He is also convinced that after all this work, he is ready for any and every type of food that we consume.  I'd be willing to expand his menu....if he didn't still choke on the Gerber puffs.  Silly boy.

I still can't get a picture that displays any of the white lines that are eventually going to be two cute little daggers...er, teeth.  Mr. Wyatt believes that if no item is going to make its way into his mouth, then his tongue needs to act as bait for any other moment of his waking hours.

Meal Planning 101...201...ummmm

It just isn't easy flipping through the recipe book every week trying to figure out what we should eat and when.  Using my marker board on the fridge was a great first step to getting us out of the last minute 'what do we have in the pantry' crunch.  What I really disliked about my otherwise enjoyable process of planning out meals that didn't feel like they were too repeated, was the constant erasing and reworking for about 40 minutes when I'd find a different meal to plug in.  This doesn't include when plans during the week change and a meal needs to be rescheduled or cancelled completely.

So in walks Pinterest and a random pin that caught my eye with its post-it abundance....

Here is a sample week in the planning.  Can you see how this might make that revamping worthwhile already?  Too many beef meals in the week?  Pull and replace!  Have too many things on your schedule one day to cook something longer than 20 minutes?  Pull and swap until you've got everything looking just how you want it!  The laminated sheets make it simple and the post-its stay reusable this way also!  If you still prefer markers, they'll erase off of this easier than my cheap marker board on the fridge after the couple years I've had it.

Rather than the categories on the side, I chose to change it from Lunch/Dinner to Meal Ideas, along with Breakfast, Salads/Appetizers, Drinks, Desserts, and Snacks pages.  On the Meal Ideas pages (4 of them) I changed the interior categories to various categories that suited my family.  I am sure this will change over time as this is a new system to me still and I'll refine it as I go.

I've printed and laminated the calendar pages as well and will include it into my own binder Command Center.  I'll figure out what else needs to go into it as I go along but I am already LOVING this system so much more than where I was previously!  Thank you Ursula at Home Made by Carmona!

Exploring Locally: Children's Museum

So....I absolutely hate driving to new places myself.  I don't trust 'big city' drivers and when I don't know where I'm going I get exponentially more nervous.  Pairing those two things with two kids who may or may not cry, yell, or demand something at any given moment in a car...well, you can see my hesitation to go to downtown St. Paul.

So my husband had a half day and picked us up to meet up with some family at the Children's Museum downtown.  We hadn't been there yet (the hours and a normal work schedule don't mix perfectly) and I was intrigued by posts that I've seen from other friends over the last year.

Ant Hill Running!

There was a ton to explore so we will definitely be going back (a few times more with Papa driving so I can get all my routes figured out better)!  They had a large ant hill (above), a beaver's dam (below), and some visiting exhibits like Dora and Diego or the exercise one which was pathetically empty when we got there.  Of course this last was good news for us because the kids and the adults got to have a blast without worrying about running over, or being ran over by, other kids!

Beaver Alyssa sliding out of her dam

There are some really fun exhibits that we could easily spend the whole day playing with!  This may become a frequent new indoor location for us if I can get my nerves beaten down to drive there myself.

Turtle Alyssa!

Dora's Rocket

Astronaut Wyatt

Astronaut Pilot Alyssa

Eventually I got into the exploring and forgot to take any more pictures!  If you take a trip to the Cities, you can check out the Children's Museum with your kids!  Here is a link to their website for more info on their exhibits, fees, etc.

**No location, business, or individual has asked me to write these Exploring Locally posts.  I've taken all trips upon myself and at my own discretion.  I am merely sharing with you some fun ways that we pass our time and tour our own local area!**

Exploring Locally: Butterfly Garden

Sometimes you just need to look around and see what there is to do near you.  Get out and explore your local entertainments!  We had some fun when the zoo opened their butterfly garden and we finally got a chance to get there to visit it.

**No location, business, or individual has asked me to write these Exploring Locally posts.  I've taken all trips upon myself and at my own discretion.  I am merely sharing with you some fun ways that we pass our time and tour our own local area!**

The Wedding Card

I am so excited about the wedding card that I made to go with those coasters!  I just had to share it...sadly the pictures don't show all the fun of this card.

I used the main color that the couple has selected for their wedding (and their home decor items) plus some textured specialty papers.

The paper beneath the card is their invite which I compared with some of their registry items to get as close as I could to the color I wanted.

The striped paper is very slightly textured.  The black paper is a fabric paper straight off of a Michael's specialty paper rack (I used it for the graduation cap in these cards).

I added the buttons and used my scoring envelope folding tool to add the texture to the 'vest' (teal part) myself.

Lastly I added the stamp from the coasters to the inside of the card just for an extra punch of detail.  This card is 5 1/2" x 8", folded.  

I really hope that y'all like the image of a suit as the background for a card!  It could be used so many ways.  Obviously I added a cutout image of a wedding dress for this particular occasion!

So what do you think?  Does it look suit-like?  What would you use this card for (with what different accessories)?

Custom Stone Coasters DIY

Custom Stone Coasters

As most new crafters, I find the vast majority of ideas pouring from the Pinterest screen that is almost always open on my computer.

I've had this particular project hanging out just waiting for someone to send me a wedding invite.  This weekend was my first wedding of this year so I finally got to break out this gift idea!

Photo is my first attempt and I like them!
I got the instructions HERE.

I hope that it lasts as well as the original crafter makes it sound.  I adore the idea of custom coasters for a wedding gift.  I've got the supplies, I'll be making a set for ourselves soon enough but I've got some card crafting to finish up first!

(The link to the instructions doesn't lead to a single post but a long line of crafts on that blog.  Just scroll a ways down until you see either that can of wax or tiles that look similar to mine.)

One final tip:  The people at the home improvement store told me that the wax is meant only for wood so it may not work.  I'll let you know but the original crafter hasn't come back to say that it hasn't worked anyways.  I'll likely try a stone tile sealer down the road and I'll come back to update when I do.

Have you made these?  How did the process go for you?  Do you have a lifespan of well-used coasters yet?  Give us your best tips!

Sports Cards

For the athletic people in your life, you should at least know some basic terminology and of course the shapes of basic equipment for the standard sports.  I've got golfing and football crazed family members so these were the two I have started with and are very simple to whip together with the right textures.

Yes, the football is a little kittywhompus but I needed a flat edge to be able to prop it up (it is rounded off much better now).  My grass on the golfball was not especially great but I didn't want it to look like it was in the rough so I had to settle for a basic zigzag scissor cut and my attempts at making a few alterations weren't amazing as you can see.  However, I am pretty pleased with the paint (glass paint pen since it was what I had) on the football, and the inside of the golfball card turned out awesome IMO!

Yes, I put the age on the flag rather than a realistic hole number.  My dad will get a kick out of it because I told him to golf one hole for every year this weekend to celebrate in the message.

The same texture I used for the golfball will work inverted as a soccer ball with some paint or cut out black pieces too.  The football texture could easily be worked onto orange paper for a basketball.  So have some fun with the sports themes!  I've seen some really neat ideas online with sports themed cards and will probably be working a football goal idea into my brother-in-law's graduation card in a few years (especially if he is recruited like he hopes to be)!

The Epic of Monday...

Some days are just too fantastic to be believed...those of us with toddlers can believe just about anything though.  Which is probably why this epic will resonate with your own experiences.

We haven't been able to take the gate down at night for our toddler.  She is too independent and headstrong to come into my room and get me in the morning.  It used to be that she would just go get into anything that she normally is not supposed to so we had to put the gate back up.  In our new house there is a flight of stairs that leads to a basement family room.  She isn't used to stairs from the old house.  I was a nervous Momma, glad to keep the gate up a little longer.  Now that she tries to potty train some mornings, I can't have the gate up if she is going to be independent like she wants to be with her potty training experience.  So......

8:15AM

*calling from a distance*  "Momma!!  Me went out in the RAIN!!"

Momma jumps from her bed and runs to the living room to see Alyssa taking off rain boots and coat in the dining room looking extremely proud of her adventure and being able to let herself back in without help.

"Me no get any wet, Momma."  Grinning and pleased at how well behaved she was to get all her gear on and play out in the wet morning with her chalk on the backyard steps.

She doesn't even remember that she is NOT allowed to go outside without someone.  She probably has forgotten that just last night she was asked to not color on the steps and to keep it to the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps instead.  She hasn't even realized that it isn't raining but just wet from the rain overnight.  She is so proud of herself and I'm horrified at what could have happened.  Wyatt slept in, she didn't wake me....she went out back instead of the front, thankfully!  She was able to get back in without help, thankfully!  She put on rain gear so that her sockless feet wouldn't get too chilled....

I tell her sternly in the split second that I've had to register all of what could have happened that she DOES NOT GO OUTSIDE WITHOUT ME!  I watched her proud stance melt a little.  She looked a little confused about why I wasn't so excited about her doing such a great job with remembering her rain gear and coming in dry and 'all myself'.  The next moment is where I realize that stern time is over. She knows.  She forgets.  She is three and did some really smart things while she was being forgetful.

"I'm glad you didn't get wet, Alyssa.  Can you pick up your boots and coat?  Next time you want to go outside you have to remember to come get me first.  I'm glad you were able to open the door all by yourself to come back in!"

I don't have any idea how long she was out there.  It scares me...there will be some new toddler-proofing today though I'm not sure what yet.

----A few minutes later, I'm mixing a bottle for the little guy who is just waking up to the voices.----


**WARNING: Potty Stories are rarely pleasant...and not for the weak stomachs.**



"Me have to go POTTY!"
"Okay, go in there."
*sounds of diaper being taken off and climbing onto the toilet*
*sounds of running out of the bathroom*
"Me already pooped!"

......ALYSSA!  Ughhhh, ew.

Has it sunk in yet?  Diaper came off but she already pooped?  Yup.  My bathroom has already met with toddler grossness and thankfully survived the event.  So, after cleaning up the tub side, the floor where it landed, and the toilet where she dragged her little gross butt across...

8:28AM

Monday has officially begun.