Mrs. Potts' Thoughts

Dunkin Donuts gift card giveaway winner!

2012-02-10T14:23:00.000-05:00

The results are in... out of 30 valid entries, the random number oracle gave us:

And the 18th comment was:

Congratulations, Jessica!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Life Lately

2012-02-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

January was a smooth, happy month. As age 3 slowly approaches, I feel like Bear has turned some corner. His behavior and attitude towards other children has improved, and his destructive tendencies have diminished. Of course, he has relapses every once in a while, but overall he's doing really well. He's learning self control (so hard for a two year old!) and obedience. He's also growing like crazy! He's getting long and lean, losing all of that sweet baby pudge.

Making "valemtimes"

At the beach last Friday

Investigating a lady bug at the park

Bear is so sweet to his little brother, and he's learning to pronounce Adric's name correctly (I think I might miss "Eegock"). He loves to share his toys, snacks, and blankets. If only Bear would treat all children as well as he treats his brother! I think they're going to be good friends. Adric loves to climb all over Bear and they love to make each other giggle.

We did had some sleep problems with both of them in January but I think we've ironed out most of the kinks. Bear became a little Houdini with his crib tent and it eventually was made up more of zip ties and safety pins than actual material. When Bear gets up at night or in the early morning, he doesn't come wake us up - he just wanders around the house getting into things he shouldn't. So it was a safety issue as well as a sleep deprivation issue. Well, we discovered that his "big boy bed" (the twin bed) fits perfectly in the hallway that connects his room to the bathroom. So we stuck it in there and James built a door that we slide closed every night, and there is no possible way for Bear to get out. Now we know he's safe, and he sleeps better too. He actually sleeps so much better and is HAPPIER when he is contained. He tosses and turns like crazy, and he fell off the bed several times at the hotel in December, so he loves having walls on all four sides. He takes all of his blankets and creates a cocoon-nest-thingy and kicks a wall with his twitchy foot. He has the funniest sleep habits.

Adric was waking up five times a night until James bought a white noise machine. I couldn't believe how well it works! He still wakes up once a night usually, and I'm not sure how to eliminate that, but it's a lot better than five times. We would just let him cry and learn how to soothe himself but that's really hard at 3am when you live in a small apartment and the crying keeps everyone awake. It's easier for me to just feed him for five minutes so we can all go back to sleep.

Adric is growing so fast, crawling everywhere and even starting to pull himself up on things! He is such a happy little boy with a smile for everyone. His hair is getting lighter but his eyes are still dark. He also has his first two teeth! Both are on the bottom.

We have a pretty set routine every day... Breakfast, baths, get dressed, leave the house to run errands or do something fun, come home for lunch, naps for the boys while I clean the house. After nap time we leave the house again to run errands or do something fun. Then come home for dinner, play with toys and watch a few cartoons, read books, and then bedtime! We're all happier when we leave the house twice a day and that afternoon nap is the best!

I feel like I always write about the kids, but not too often about my husband. James is so busy this semester, but knowing it's the very last semester gives us hope. He's pretty much the best husband ever. Sometimes I have experiences that remind me how blessed I am to be married to such an awesome guy, and lately those experiences have been daily. He works so hard to be a good provider and he does so many little sweet things for me and the kids. On top of work AND school AND a busy church calling, he still finds time to play with the kids, take me on fun dates and even cook dinner sometimes! I don't know how he does it, but he balances everything beautifully, and he never shows it when he is tired or stressed. He also is so patient with me and all my imperfections. I aspire to be a worthy companion. I forgot to mention in my Christmas post that we went to the temple while we were in Atlanta, and I feel so blessed that I have a husband who takes me on dates to the temple. That is just the coolest. I love that we still talk about everything, and we can just hang out together doing anything or nothing. A lot of people say they're married to their best friend, but I truly am.

All right, enough mushy stuff.

As for me, I'm still going to the gym and I'm also doing some home improvement crafty-type projects. James got me a power sander (I'd been wanting one FOREVER) so I have this refurbishing bug and I want to refinish pretty much everything in the house. Maybe I'll post pictures here. I feel like I have reached a new point where I can do projects just for my own personal satisfaction, whereas six months ago I would have wanted validation for doing those types of things. But I'll still try to post pictures just for fun. :) I read this quote today: “We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” - Marjorie Hinckley

I love that! Such a wise lady she was!

I'm also working on trying to develop my patience. In December I realized that was something that I really needed to work on, so now I am making a conscious effort to be a more patient person, especially with my children. Another great quote I read recently said, "They may not always remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel." That is SO TRUE!! I am trying to help my children always feel loved and guided in a positive way.

Tomorrow morning I'm substitute teaching for early morning seminary (Crazy! Why did I agree to that?!) so I probably should wrap this up and get to bed. Good night, y'all!

Eating Healthy On the Go (GIVEAWAY!)

2012-02-06T15:58:00.000-05:00

In this family, we really like Dunkin Donuts, especially because one is located so close to our house. One of our favorite outings is walking or biking down the street for donuts and orange juice Coolattas. James took this little video last October during one such trip:

You must think it's a joke that I am writing about Dunkin Donuts, when in my last post I mentioned that I am trying to eat healthy. But Dunkin Donuts has some new options on their menu for those of us who are eating consciously. These healthier options, called the DDSmart menu, are perfect when you're out of the house, in a hurry, and looking for something that will fill your stomach (and not your arteries).

Every once in a while, I'll pick up some donuts on Saturday - they make the perfect breakfast when we're rushing to get ready for church on Sunday mornings. This past Saturday, instead of eating donuts, I tried one of their egg white flatbread sandwiches and it hit the spot. They also have various types of wraps that are 200 calories or less. Just look for this logo on the menu board:

This week I'm giving away a $5 Dunkin Donuts gift card to one lucky reader! There are a few ways you can enter to win:
- Everyone gets one free entry. Just leave a comment telling me about your favorite thing from Dunkin Donuts! Be sure that your comment links back to a way of contacting you, or include an email address in the comment itself. Anonymous entries will be omitted.
- Facebook fans of Mrs. Potts' Thoughts get an extra entry (leave an extra comment)
- Tweet a link to this post (leave an extra comment with a link to the tweet)

- Blog about this giveaway (leave an extra comment with a link to the post)

- Follow Mrs. Potts' Thoughts using the Google Friend Connect button to the right (leave an extra comment)

On Friday, February 10th, the giveaway will close at 9am EST. I will pick the winner using a random number generator and announce it on Friday morning. Good luck!

(Disclosure: Dunkin' Donuts invited me to review their DDSmart menu. They gave me a gift card to facilitate my review and another to give away to a reader. All opinions are my own.)

Grilled Chicken with Spicy Coconut Sauce

2012-02-01T18:02:00.000-05:00

This recipe is one of my husband's favorite things that I make, so when my friend named the theme of our monthly cooking group "Husband's Choice," I knew I had to take this. A few of my friends have been asking for the recipe, so here it is:

Spicy Coconut Sauce
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (not low-fat, because that's no fun)
1/2 tsp salt
2 jalapeno chiles
Juice from 1 lime

In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and reduced to half the original amount, about 20 minutes.
Place the jalapenos on a hot grill and cover. Cook, turning occasionally, until they are black all over, about 15 minutes.
Peel the jalapenos by scraping the skins off with the dull side of a knife. Remove seeds for less heat, if desired. Transfer to a blender. Add reduced coconut milk, lime juice, and salt. Blend on high speed until smooth.
Serve with grilled chicken, white rice, and lime wedges.

My husband is an expert at grilling chicken on our little George Foreman grill (we call it "The George") - he knows just how to grill meat so it stays tender, juicy and flavorful. My grilling skills pale in comparison! I think this sauce would also taste great with shrimp or tilapia but we've never tried it.

On a semi-related note, recently I've been going to the gym regularly and watching what I eat. I love the soreness after using muscles that haven't been pushed in a long time. If we're still in Florida come December, I really want to do this 5k.

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2011

2012-01-17T15:45:00.005-05:00

Now that it's January 17th, I'm finally taking the time to document our holidays. Have you ever gotten so behind on something that you just keep ignoring it? Yeah, that's me and blogging lately.

On Thanksgiving Day, we had a great little family feast, just the four of us. The turkeys were pricey so we had a rotisserie chicken instead. I highly recommend the lemon pepper rotisserie chickens from Publix. Delish. We also had cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes loaded with sour cream, chives and bacon bits, these tasty biscuits, cranberry sauce, and a Costco pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. We also treated ourselves to our favorite beverages: Izzes and Cheerwine. I asked Bear, "Can you say 'Thanksgiving'?" and he replied, "Yum yum!" It was sooooo satisfying. The rest of the day we just watched movies, played games, and relaxed. It was much needed.

On Friday we drove over to the west coast of Florida and spent the weekend in Fort Myers. It was our first time visiting that side of the state and I loved it. It was much more quiet and relaxed than our area. We spent all of Friday afternoon on Sanibel Island. To get to the island you drive over a large causeway with beautiful views. It was such a quaint little island with neat shops and restaurants and a great beach COVERED in seashells. We collected tons of seashells, even some giant conch shells. After the trip I used them to make some ornaments for our Christmas tree. That day at the beach was without a doubt one of my top ten favorite days of 2011. It was peaceful and relaxing, and we had so much fun with our little family. The weeks leading up to that trip had been very stressful so it felt amazing to kick back and relax. That night we went to dinner at Red Robin - nothing fancy, but it's one of our favorite restaurants and there aren't any around here so it was a treat. We stayed the night at the Hilton in Fort Myers. The beds were super comfortable and it was a great change of scenery. The kids slept pretty well.

(This picture of my three boys is one of my new all-time favorite pictures!)

On Saturday we visited the Henry Ford and Thomas Edison estates. Ford and Edison were good friends and they built their winter homes next door to each other in Fort Myers. It was fascinating to tour the museum of all of their inventions and learn more about the thought process that lead to many of the modern inventions and technology that we use today. The gardens were also gorgeous, right on the riverfront and we took a leisurely stroll to check out all of the tropical flowers, fruit trees, and giant ficus and banyan trees. The homes were full of all of the original furniture and they had just put out the Christmas decorations. I absolutely loved the character and old-fashioned comfort in those homes, especially the big wraparound porches and porch swings. The temperature was perfect and there was a gentle breeze. I could certainly see why someone would want a winter home there. James was especially interested in all of the old Ford cars.

After we finished there, we headed back home. James and I read to each other in the car and Bear watched Curious George on our phones. It was the perfect Thanksgiving weekend, and it helped me survive the next few weeks.

The first few weeks of December were some of the most stressful that I have experienced in quite a while. I was constantly on edge and I was definitely not as patient with Bear as I should have been. James was gone all of the time studying for finals and only came home to sleep. Bear was on an especially destructive streak and I totally lost my cool. Being a temporary single mom of an energetic 2.5 year old and an infant was a huge challenge. I have a newfound respect for single mothers. Finals time for the first two years was not so bad but Bear was not as wild then, and there was only one child to look after.

It was rough. For those three weeks, my patience was tested in new ways and I felt pushed to my very limit. Looking back on it, I can think of hundreds of more challenging trials, but at the time, I felt constantly on the brink of going totally insane. One especially difficult evening, I took both kids to Target and Bear was whiny the whole time, and when it was time to go he had an all-out tantrum. On the way home I turned around and yelled, "STOP CRYING!" Of course, that didn't help anything. I think having it get dark so early didn't help matters. I felt trapped indoors every evening when going out for a pre-bedtime bike ride would have worked wonders. I survived the whole thing by doing lots of Christmas decorating, going to a few fun Christmas parties, taking the kids to look at Christmas lights, and all with the help of some good friends.

When James finally finished his last test, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was overjoyed to have him back from the evil clutches of law school finals. We kicked back and did absolutely nothing for a few days. Having an extra set of hands to help with the kids makes all the difference in the world. And I love having my husband/best friend around just to hang out together. We slept in, ordered pizza, played at the park, and watched unhealthy amounts of television. After a few days of recovery, we shaped up, cleaned the entire apartment, and packed our bags.

Our Christmas trip to Georgia was the best one yet. I drove most of the way there and Bear watched movies in the back seat while the other two boys slept. The drive went quickly and smoothly. We stayed in a four star hotel just a few minutes away from my in-laws' house. Both kids slept well every night. The room was luxurious and comfortable. We had a lot of fun with James' family this year. I was nervous about how Bear would treat his cousin Logan, since Bear can be rough, but they got along swimmingly. There were also two dogs for Bear to play with so he was in heaven. On the 23rd we had our little family Christmas morning with just the four of us in our hotel room. I brought all of the presents from my parents and we opened them then. My parents both did a thorough job of spoiling the boys. It was so fun to see Bear's ecstatic facial expressions as he unwrapped each present. James and I agreed that as parents it is now more exciting for us to see our kids happy than it is to do things for ourselves.

We spent Christmas Eve with the Potts side of the family and I got to meet James' great-uncle for the first time, who was visiting from London. (James' grandma is British.) That was a bit of a long day because the boys were both out of sorts but we survived it. Christmas Day was with the Banks side of the family, as usual. All of James' grandparents are getting pretty elderly so it will be interesting to see how all of the traditions change in the coming years. But we had a great time visiting with everyone.

In the days following Christmas we got to see many of our close friends that we knew in Utah who either now live in Georgia or were visiting their own families there. So many fun reunions! We spent a whole afternoon with our friends Mark and Stephanie (we were all friends before any of us were married, and James' was one of Mark's groomsmen and I was one of Stephanie's bridesmaids, and their two kids are the same ages as our kids). We went to an awesome place for the kids called Catch Air. They had all kinds of bounce houses, giant slides, jungle gyms, ball pits, and that sort of thing. We turned Bear loose and let him wear himself out for a nice long nap afterwards.

We also spent a day in downtown Atlanta with James' lifelong friend Taylor and his wife (newlyweds! precious!) we went to the World of Coca Cola where you can learn all about the history of Coke products and taste test hundreds of different sodas that they sell all over the world. I thought most of the European flavors were pretty awful, but some of the Asian ones were quite tasty. There was a green apple flavor that I really liked. But of course Coca Cola classic is the best!
(Which reminds me, have you seen this yet? It's hilarious and totally reminds me of James on prescription pain killers. "I just want a normal diet coke." haha)
We then visited the Georgia aquarium. It was very cool, but it was also PACKED and Bear was long overdue for a nap so we were all feeling pretty irritable by the time we left. We still got to see some interesting fish though. Bear loved touching the stingrays and we went through the shark tunnel. Bear loves Finding Nemo so he was especially excited about the tropical fish exhibit.
We went to The Varsity for lunch, an old-fashioned drive-in restaurant that has been open since the 1920's. James taught me how to order an "F.O." (frozen orange, it's like a creamsicle slushie!) and I learned that coleslaw on hot dogs is a good combo.

During our trip we also visited several other friends including Michael, and Tommy and Laura in Gainesville. It was wonderful to see everyone. It was a perfect, relaxing trip. The best part for me was having James around after barely seeing him for a few weeks. The drive home felt longer (it always does) but I was happy to get home. I noticed the contrast between winter in Georgia and winter in Florida this year... and I LOVE Florida. I love the year-round warmth. I love the green trees and sunshine. There's no place like home!

James has started his very last semester of school and it's going to be a doozy but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our Christmas vacation worked wonders for my stress level. I feel decompressed and ready to face this busy semester. James will graduate in May, take the bar exam this summer, and with any luck by this fall we'll have entered the REAL WORLD. Wish us luck!

¡Christmas Traditions!

2011-11-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

During the boys' nap time yesterday afternoon, I created a truly superb Christmas music playlist, if I do say so myself. I know Thanksgiving hasn't even passed yet (and I promise I won't forget to write about it on ye olde blog), but I just couldn't help myself. Christmas music puts me in the best mood. Even when everything else is complete chaos, Nat King Cole's dulcet tones have a completely calming effect.

With Christmas on my mind, I'm starting to think about our family Christmas cards. Here's what our card looked like last year:

Time for new family pictures! Bear has grown a ton and poor Adric isn't even in them! It feels like these pictures were taken just yesterday, but I wasn't even pregnant then. So much changes in a year. We've got plans to do some new family pictures soon. (I'm so excited for the boys to wear their new outfits!)

As soon as I get the pictures, I'm going to rush to the Shutterfly website and whip up some cards to send out. We used Shutterfly last year and I was so happy with how the cards turned out.

What I especially love about Shutterfly is the contemporary feel of their designs. Generally I think there is more attention to detail with Shutterfly's card designs than what you find at the big box stores. They even get some of my favorite bloggers to do designs for them! I do love the one hour waits at local stores, but their designs are usually more simple. Shutterfly is conscientious of current trends.

This has been such a wonderful year for our family, full of countless blessings. Shutterfly has great cards where you can share some of the highlights of the year:

They also have personalized address labels and thank you cards! When Bear gets older I want to have him write thank you notes after Christmas to practice both his writing and his sense of gratitude. :)

I could spend hours playing around with all of the different card designs. So many to choose from! Are you sending out cards this year?

(Disclosure: I wrote this post as a participant in Shutterfly's 2011 Holiday Promotion. I received a set of photo cards in exchange for reviewing their holiday collection. All opinions are my own.)

Oh Boy

2011-11-14T16:52:00.007-05:00

This week, in an email to a friend I wrote "I can certainly relate about not having retained writing skills, etc. Since the person I talk to the most is two years old, I feel like my brain has turned to mush. Even my blog is sometimes a blithering chronicle of the lives of my children more than anything truly thought provoking. It is an interesting paradox to love being domestic but still want to stretch my mind and experience new things."

Regardless of all that, it's been a long time since I've done an update on the kiddos and I'm sure I'll want to remember this stuff someday. So here goes...

Adric is the sunshine of my life. He's such a good baby. He sleeps great now and we've settled into a comfortable routine. He still sleeps quite a bit during the day which makes it much easier for me to get things done. He usually falls asleep for the night around 11:30 or midnight which is perfect for me, and he usually wakes up once or twice a night to eat. There have been several nights, though, where I'll go out into the living room to feed him and accidentally fall asleep on the couch. My muscles are always a little achy the next morning. He is pretty dependent on nursing to fall asleep, and I know we'll have to train him out of that soon but I don't mind it so much. He loves to cuddle until he is asleep - once he's out, he wants his space! We often end up like this:

He's a great eater. I am so relieved that I have been able to exclusively breastfeed him for nearly four months. (You might remember how many problems I had the first time around.) I have grown to love feeding him. It's such a sweet bonding time for us - in fact, he often gets distracted from eating by having staring contests with me and he'll stop eating to smile up at me. I just melt. I've also become a lot more confident about feeding him in public so that I don't have to hide out at home or in the car or in a gross public restroom all the time. I've finally gotten the hang of doing it inconspicuously (a huge thanks to my friend Molly for the cute nursing cover!) and at this point nobody even realizes what's going on, or if they do, they aren't presumptuous enough to say anything. Most of the time, if I have a choice, I'll feed Adric somewhere private, but there have been a handful of occasions where we've been out to eat or at the park or a play date and there wasn't a convenient place. I'm pleased that he has a steady diet of the most healthy thing available, and imagine how much money we've saved on formula!

Adric rolls all over the place. He never stays in one spot! He's eager to start crawling around, too. He pushes his feet into the ground and ends up in the downward dog position. He doesn't have the strength or coordination in his arms yet, though. He loves to suck on his fingers. At his most recent doctor's appointment, he had more than doubled his birth weight. I love his little chubby cheeks. The doctor told me that on a scale of 1 to 10 he is a 35. He's a keeper for sure.

Now on to Bear. Phew. This kid wears me out. I love love love him, but he certainly has his difficult moments. Bear goes through phases where he behaves really well (I treasure them!) and other phases where he's a bit of a stinker. For the past two weeks it's been the latter. Overall, he is a happy, bright little kid, but the word the professionals use is "spirited." He constantly wants to explore everything, which usually means making a mess or breaking something. When we go to story time at the library, he does NOT want to sit in a circle with the other kids. He is more active and more impulsive than other kids his age. It's not that he's angry or spoiled or that he is a bad kid. I'm not worried about any extraordinary special needs or medical issues. I just haven't figured out how to handle his spirit yet. I love him so much and I want to raise him to be successful. His biting problem began a whole year ago and we still haven't kicked the habit for good. He's gone for months at a time without any biting, but it always comes back to haunt us. He started up again on Halloween, and after church yesterday the nursery leader pulled me aside and suggested that either me or James to be there with him until his behavior improves. She was incredibly tactful about it, but I was still pretty torn up. It's beyond frustrating to do my very best to teach him patience and gentleness but have it all be seemingly futile.

We do have moments where I think we're making progress. He has gotten better at sharing. At the beach last Friday, he took his bag of chips and, unprovoked, handed them out to each kid. He also brings blankets from his room and covers Adric up and tries to give Adric his pacifier. Sometimes he wants to lay down next to Adric and make eye contact with him and they laugh together. Bear has also been extremely well behaved on Sunday mornings. Since James has early meetings every Sunday, I have to get the kids ready for church on my own, and I also sit alone with them during sacrament meeting while James is up front being all preside-y. Bear has been pretty great during those hours each Sunday - I guess he just saves it all up for nursery!

I still completely love being his mom. Let me reassure you, I'm not a total wreck and Bear is not a little hellion child. Life is still pretty grand for the majority of the time. For all of the frustrating moments, there are an equal number of tender ones. I especially love watching him say prayers at bedtime: "Hefaver... Thank you for this day... Love Daddy, Mommy and Eegock (how he says Adric)... name Jees Christ.... AMEN!!" He usually loves bedtime. We read lots of books, brush teeth, and say prayers. As I tuck him in, he always says, "Love you mommy! Night-night!"

We tried potty training him a few months back, and while it wasn't a total failure, we decided to postpone it for a little while. Bear was GREAT at going potty as long as we were at home and he didn't have friends over - in fact, during those times, he didn't have a single accident. But being out in public or having friends to play with proved to be too distracting for him at this point. I absolutely want to avoid forcing it on him before he is ready. I've seen parents do that and the results made me sad.

I'm reading a few parenting books right now that are really resonating with me. One is called Taming the Spirited Child by Michael Popkin. The other is Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. These books have been a huge source of relief and quality advice. They have reassured me that I'm not a bad mother and I don't have a bad kid. I am very hopeful that we will be able to resolve Bear's behavioral issues and help him use his spirit in a positive way. I think his personality will help him become very successful someday. And as James reminds me, Bear is only two years old. We'll get it figured out.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-08T14:34:00.001-05:00

Despite the rain, we had a great Halloween this year. It reminded me of all the rainy Halloweens I experienced as a kid growing up in Seattle. I started my celebrating last Wednesday. I meet up with some of my girlfriends once a month for a cooking night. We take turns hosting, and whoever hosts picks a theme. Then everyone makes and brings something centered around that theme. This month the theme was "spooky food"... my friend who hosted the evening had amazing Halloween decorations! There were so many cute and creative dishes. I made these "it's alive" chocolate muffins.

I bought dolls from the dollar store and chopped off their arms... I hope I didn't totally warp my son by demonstrating that for him but he was ripping their legs off anyway. And all this while we were watching Toy Story! The muffins were very rich and required a tall glass of milk. I loved how they turned out. Very spooky indeed.

On Friday James and I went to an adults-only pirate-themed murder mystery dinner party. It was the first time I'd ever left Adric with a babysitter. It was nice to have a break from the kids for an evening. The pirate theme was really fun. James' costume made me laugh. I got him to wear some of my black knee-high stockings. They looked awesome with his leg hair!

On Saturday my husband had to go buy all of the food for our church's Halloween party that evening. We decided to make it a fun family trip and we FINALLY got a Costco membership! I am super excited about it. I love Costco. We got one of their big, delicious pumpkin pies... and don't tell anyone, but between me, James, and Bear, we polished it off by the next evening. On the way home we stopped and picked up some pumpkins and carved them that afternoon. Here's our scary jack-o-lantern.

Bear loved scooping out the seeds and guts, but his favorite part was lighting the candle to put inside. He is my little pyromaniac.

That evening we headed to the church for the annual trunk-or-treat. It initially began outside but after just a few minutes we moved into the gym because it started pouring. Normally I love doing family themes for our costumes but this year I wasn't feeling it... I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old and boring. James went as Muscles Glasses, one of the guys on the Epic Meal Time youtube videos. (If you haven't seen Epic Meal Time, it is pretty funny, but in an incredibly obnoxious way reminiscent of Jersey Shore.) He even made a bunch of bacon and handed out bacon strips along with our candy. What a goofball. I love that man.

Bear and Adric reused some costumes we had from two years ago. Bear was Yoda and Adric was my little chunky monkey. I didn't wear a costume but I at least wore a black shirt with an orange scarf and orange sandals. I wanted to get some cute pictures so I spent a lot of time doing my hair before we left... you can totally tell, right? I just love the rain.

After we got home that evening, I roasted the seeds from our pumpkins. It was the first time I'd ever done it and I think it's going to be a new tradition because they were delicious! I used this recipe.

On Monday, I took Bear and Adric to a Halloween party for the kids at our friend's house. There was tons of festive food and games. Bear was not interested in the pin-the-nose on the jack-o-lantern, but he could not get enough of the bat pinata! He could hardly wait for the other kids to take their turn and wanted to be right there in the action... he almost got whacked a few times. He was also enthralled with the dry ice. That might be my new go-to boredom buster. He loved decorating cupcakes. His idea of decorating a cupcake consists of putting frosting and sprinkles on the cupcake, licking it all off, and then starting over.

All in all it was a great Halloween. Now we're getting excited for Thanksgiving... I'll have to do another post soon showing you all of the crafts and decorations we have been working on. Happy November!

Great Clothes for Little Boys

2011-10-25T23:47:00.000-04:00

I've often heard other moms say that little girls' clothes are cuter than little boys' clothes. Now that I have not just one, but two little boys of my own, I disagree! I have been pleasantly surprised with the wide array of styles out there for boys these days, and how easily accessible these styles are. Last week we went to check out the new holiday collection at The Children's Place. We found some adorable, affordable outfits! Here are a few of my favorites:

I love the combination of the plaid shirt, Christmas tie, and black vest. And I'm so excited about the newsboy cap! I got matching caps for my boys to wear in our family Christmas pictures. In the past I avoided dressing my boys with unnecessary accessories like hats because I thought they would get lost for sure, but Bear LOVES wearing hats. One day I decided to let him wear his hat while we ran errands and he kept it on the whole time! Cute hats our our new favorite thing.

If we lived in a climate that had real seasons like WINTER, I'd be all over that mohawk hat. So fun!

Great preppy little outfit. The plaid layered with the fleece crew hoodie is super.

Pairing a blazer with straight-legged jeans is unconventional and so very dapper.

(Okay, writing this is starting to make me feel like Tim Gunn... Make it work, people!)

I love argyle. So classic.

I've been a longtime fan of The Children's Place. Their clothes are affordable and well-made. They hold up great, even with my rowdy, roughhousing boys. Considering the upcoming months, it's a great time to start hunting for some holiday outfits!

(Disclosure: The Children's Place invited me to a blogger shopping event where I received a gift card. I was not required to write this post. All opinions are my own.)

A Good Read

2011-10-25T13:08:00.000-04:00

My husband recommended Alas, Babylon to me years ago and this weekend I decided to read it. It's been a while since I've read something I enjoyed this much - I couldn't put it down until I finished it! I stayed up until after 2am because I had to know what would happen next. If you need motivation to work on your food storage and emergency preparedness, this will help! I love reading a good book, and I hate finishing them. I feel a little empty inside when there are no pages left!

Projects inspired by Pinterest

2011-10-19T22:25:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned a while back, I have found tons of great ideas on Pinterest. I have to say, I feel just a tad smug that I started using Pinterest WAY back when it was a brand new website, and every day more and more of my friends are discovering how awesome it is. It's like when one of your favorite local bands becomes famous and you can brag that you listened to them before they made it big.

Anyway. I'll try to be humble. :)

Here are just a few small projects that I've done:

I did a photo wall with this 16x20 printable, found on Pinterest, using a free coupon code I got from Wal-Mart.

At a church activity, we made these family trees that look similar to this one that has been all over Pinterest:

I also got the idea to make a jewelry hanger similar to these that I saw on Pinterest:

I made mine using my bulletin board:

I keep forgetting to take a good picture of it during daylight, but it basically looks the same as above, with the white ribbon horizontal instead of diagonal, with earrings, bracelets, and necklaces hanging all over it. I also moved it to next to a shelf in our bedroom where I store my makeup and I hung a mirror next to it so it's my little vanity area. When I was little, my grandma had a vanity in her bathroom with a cute little chair where she would do her makeup and put on her jewelry. I wanted to have one just like that!

I have a whole board on Pinterest of project ideas. The next ones on my to-do list are:

Scrabble art (We LOVE Scrabble! Somehow we ended up with two Scrabbles - I think we bought an extra one when we moved here and ours was in storage for a few months - so I have a lot of extra scrabble tiles.)

Map art (My dad just gave me a Florida map so I just need to collect a few others for this project.)

Family handprints (I just can't get over how cute and sweet and small my boys' hands are. I want to remember that forever.)

I could really go on forever about how many great ideas I've found (and USED!) on Pinterest. You can check out my boards here. I have discovered:

- tons of great new recipes that my family loves

- ideas for keeping Bear entertained on rainy days

- cute ideas for the upcoming holidays

- ideas to make our family home evenings and scripture study more fun and educational

- things that give me a laugh when I need one

There is just a ton of inspiration. It's amazing! :)

Why I have been a blogging slacker lately:

2011-10-17T23:34:00.000-04:00

Can you blame me??

Past vs. Present

2011-09-14T22:53:00.000-04:00

When I was in high school I read two things that have influenced the way I choose to preserve memories and remember the past. The first was a vignette from Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite books. In this vignette, there is an elderly woman who for years has saved all kinds of little mementos and treasures from her life. Her house is chock full of photographs, memorabilia, etc. One day she invites two young children to come look at her collection. They refuse to believe that she is the young girl in all of the pictures because she isn't young - she's old. They have only ever known her as the nice old lady and can't believe that she used to be somebody different. At first she is a little hurt by this, but then she realizes that they are right - she isn't that young girl anymore. She is somebody different. So she cleans out her house and starts appreciating the present instead of dwelling on the past.

Right around the same time that I read that, I also read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Screwtape, a senior-ranking demon and assistant to the devil, instructs his nephew on methods to tempt a human and lead him to damnation. In one letter, he says "The humans live in time but our Enemy destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity. Of the present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous to the experience which our Enemy has of reality as a whole; in it alone freedom and
actuality are offered them. He would therefore have them continually concerned either with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present—either meditating on their eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure."

Ever since reading those two things, they've sort-of become my excuse for not taking more pictures or journaling more diligently. I really would rather just enjoy the moment. James and I both grew up with parents who took a lot of pictures, and we're both grateful for it now, but I think it kind-of pushed us to the other extreme. When we go on vacation, rather than stopping to pose for a picture every five minutes, we just enjoy the day. We usually come home with a handful of good pictures, but not hundreds.

I have a love-hate relationship with the whole situation. On the one hand, I don't like whipping out my camera all the time or writing long journal entries to remember all the details... it just feels so tedious (I see blogging as more of a stress-relieving hobby and a way to keep in touch with people.) But on the other hand, I would like to document things a little better than I have been. And of course we are supposed to be avid record-keepers, right? "How be it that ye have not written this thing" - okay, I need to do better.

I saw this idea on pinterest... (Speaking of which, I have gotten SO MANY good ideas on pinterest that I have actually used. Still need to write a post about all of them.)

I've been doing this for two weeks now. I think it will be pretty easy to keep up, and rewarding in the future. Just one sentence a day. Totally doable.

What methods do you use to document your life? Do you enjoy it or does it feel like a chore?

Mom Stories

2011-08-30T15:59:00.002-04:00

My life as a mother has been polar lately. I have those great moments when my kids are both well behaved and as cute as can be, and then we have the not-so-great moments when I'm ready to pull my hair out.

Bear has been learning so many new words. He completely melts my heart with the cuteness when he says new four-syllable words with his sweet little voice. "Bye bye daddy's shoes! Bye bye bike! Bye bye house!" as we walk out the door. For the most part, he's been a great kid. He is really loveable, especially when he comes to me with his blanket and says, "Lap?" wanting to sit on my lap and cuddle. And he loves to dance! He always points to the stereo and says, "Dance?" His favorite band is The Ting Tings, haha. He also wants to go swimming every day. Whenever his daddy comes home he asks to go to the "Pool? Hot tub? Peeeeeease?" Oh, that reminds me, he says "please" and "thank you" (pronounced chee-choo) most of the time now!

But some days he is REALLY whiny about EVERYTHING. And I haven't figured out how to teach him to listen and obey. When I tell him 'no,' it's like he doesn't even hear me. I have to physically remove him from whatever he is not supposed to be messing with. That is probably the most frustrating. I actually thought about having his hearing checked! I am also trying to figure out the most effective form of discipline. Time out doesn't really seem to phase him - he just sits there patiently until I tell him he can move, and then he goes back to what he was doing before. He doesn't see it as punishment. Spanking makes him cry but does not change his behavior. Experienced moms, feel free to share what has worked for you. We'd gone several months with no biting but just this morning he regressed and bit another kid HARD. Auuuggghhh!! (After the fact I saw some bite marks on his legs so I'm not sure who bit who first but still, he knows that he is not supposed to bite!!)

Adric is as sweet as can be. I just can't even describe how much I love him. It actually makes me look forward to having more kids in the future because if I can love two kids this much, how much could I love three and four?

Our only problems with Adric are his tummy problems and his sleep schedule. He gets really gassy sometimes and it makes him pretty grumpy. I haven't yet figured out WHY he gets gassy but we're trying lots of different things. He also wants to be WIDE AWAKE usually until 2:30am or so and that is just not working for us grown-ups. I don't think he's old enough yet for ferberization but he has GOT to start going to sleep earlier somehow. I'm a night owl, but not that much. At least once he settles down for the night he stays asleep until 8 or 9am.

James is back in school, still working, and he has a new responsibility at church which takes up another chunk of time. He is gone from morning until 9pm or later at least three days a week. But when he is here, he is so helpful. I am so lucky to have such an incredible husband. We just celebrated our FOURTH anniversary and we are still the best of friends. I love that we can still just hang out and chat about anything and everything. He surprised me for our anniversary by getting a babysitter and whisking me away for dinner and a movie. We went to see The Help because we both loved the book. The movie was great and it was so nice to go on a real date!

I have been proud of myself for getting out of the house every day with both kids. If we don't get out, I start to get nutty and impatient. So it is a challenge and requires a little more planning, but it has been worth it! So far the kids have been pretty good during our outings. No major meltdowns yet. Knock on wood. I have also been proud of myself for staying somewhat on top of the housework. Of course there are days when nothing gets done, but I think it hasn't changed that much since before Adric was born.

Hmm, this post was mostly just boring mom stuff... but I have had more interesting things on my mind that I will have to write about when I get a chance. I also have been doing some fun projects around the house and will try to post pictures.

Poshsicle Upscale Women's Consignment

2011-08-26T14:54:00.002-04:00

Those of you who liked my post last week about the Lolliposh Children's Consignment Sale will be excited to hear about Poshsicle, Lolliposh's new sister sale!

At Poshsicle, you'll be able to buy and/or sell women's formal wear and designer label clothing and accessories. Juliana Ruiz, the founder of Lolliposh, says, "After several children’s consignment events, I had a lot of women asking me whether we would be offering items for them. I also realized that women tend to have a lot of clothing that they have only worn a handful of times, and that being able to consign these items would help them recoup some of their money, while allowing them to clear the clutter in their closets."

I'm super excited about this. I'm guessing that I'll score some great finds and fantastic deals. Since I had a baby recently, my wardrobe is in serious need of some attention. None of my clothes fit quite right anymore, so I'm going to sell what doesn't fit and buy some replacements!

The inaugural event kicks off with a private pre-sale on September 29 just for volunteers, consignors, and pre-sale passholders. Doors will open to the public on September 30 from 9:30am-8pm and October 1 9am-4pm. For more information, see the Poshsicle website, become a fan on facebook, and follow them on twitter!

(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. No exaggeration!)

Lolliposh - a post especially for my local readers

2011-08-18T13:06:00.000-04:00

A year or two ago, someone mentioned the word "Lolliposh" on Twitter. I didn't know what Lolliposh was, but I did some investigating and made one of my best discoveries since moving to South Florida.

The Lolliposh Seasonal Consignment Sale is an incredible sale that happens a few times a year, where parents can buy and sell high-quality children's items. Imagine a gymnasium full of clothing, toys, shoes, furniture, accessories, baby equipment and more, on sale for a fraction of what they cost to buy new. I've attended this sale twice, and both times I have found some great items at incredible prices. I have been so impressed by the organization and the quality. Everything sold goes through a screening process so it's all in new or very gently used condition.

The concept makes sense in so many ways. Everyone wins! Shoppers find things they need at great prices. Consignors free up space in their home and make money while they're at it. Consignors set their own prices and can earn up to 75% of what they sell.

Here are some details for the Fall event:
September 15th: Pre-sale open to volunteers, consignors, and new/expectant moms
September 16th: Public sale
September 17th: Public sale, many items sold at 50% off!
Location: The Levin Gymnasium at the Soref Jewish Community Center
6501 W. Sunrise Blvd. Plantation, FL 33313

Find more details on their website, become a fan on facebook, and follow them on twitter!

And here's the event postcard, which doubles as free admission!

(Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. No exaggeration!)

Sleep Schedules

2011-08-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

This cartoon accurately describes my husband and I:

(source)

Everyone who knows us knows that we're night owls and not morning people. In our pre-children life, we went to Denny's and IHOP around 2am weekly. Our night owl party animal attitudes are probably much worse because we're both like this and when you have someone to party with, you'll party longer.

This, combined with waking up multiple times a night to feed Adric, has really worn us out. We were exhausted, so this week we set a goal to go to bed every night by 10:30pm. The whole "early to bed, early to rise" thing. Unfortunately the baby did not set the same goal. Every night he gets fussy and finally settles down for the night around 1am. Oh, what I wouldn't give for one night of uninterrupted sleep...

The most memorable moments of the past month

2011-08-15T21:02:00.000-04:00

Miraculously, both boys are asleep at the moment so I'm going to try to get these memories written out while I have two free hands. I'm guessing this peace and quiet won't last long so forgive me if this post isn't written in witty complete sentences.

The Day of the Birth
- Subway for lunch and Harry Potter with James
- A pit stop at Wal-Mart. James helped diabetic Jamaican ladies read labels.
- A LONG wait at the hospital.
- Inept administrative staff but great nurses from Kentucky, Jamaica, and England.
- Talking to the Jamaican nurse about motorcycles and her 7-week-old son.
- Induction/epidural. The whole labor itself went just fine and lasted 7 hours total but the epidural was not entirely effective and I felt A LOT more than I wanted to feel. A lot more than I felt with Bear's delivery.
- I was SO UNCOMFORTABLE. The blood pressure thing on my arm was really sticky and annoying. I really wanted to get up and walk around but couldn't. I was also increasingly tired as it got later and later. It all put me in a really foul mood.
- Watched the Friday Night Lights series finale (*tear)
- Friends from church were in the ER with their son. James went to visit him.
- Felt like I had to go to the bathroom REALLY REALLY REALLY bad. Called the nurse to check on me and the baby was ready to come out. 12:45am
- Pushed four times. On the last push I was so tired and uncomfortable and grumpy that I yelled, "COME OUT!!!!" and he did!
- Blood spattered all over James' face when he cut the cord. Hello, fatherhood.
The rest of the night was kind-of a blur.

The Hospital Stay
- I took my chances on a shared room instead of paying $200 for a private room. My roommate was a younger girl. She kept her tv on 24/7 and watched incredibly annoying things like Kardashians marathons. Puke.
- Her relatives were colorful, literally. Full gold grillz (let you see my what?!), tattoo spangled, and mouths worse than sailors. I felt like covering my baby's innocent ears. The one exception was her sweet grandmother who came to visit on Sunday afternoon, straight from church I'm guessing, because she was wearing one of those big hats with flowers that ladies in the South wear to church. She admonished her granddaughter, "Now, if you gonna have another baby, make sure you get married first because Jesus don't like it when people fornicate." No. No he doesn't. Laughed silently to myself.
- The hospital had good ice (proper texture for chewing). The food was actually pretty good.
- The nurses were busy and inattentive. I was mostly alone because James was home taking care of Bear. I was itching to go home and got them to release me early.
- We came home from the hospital during a typical Florida summer storm. BUCKETS of rain and LOUD thunder.

Real Life with Two Kids
- Relieved that the breastfeeding has gone so smoothly this time. I feel like I know what I'm doing. This baby is getting chubby cheeks and little rolls on his thighs.
- We were so blessed by many kind friends who brought dinners and offered to babysit. I have so many great friends here. Thank you, everyone. Our prayers have been answered in so many different ways.
- Bear was jealous at first but has gotten much better. The hardest part was when James had to go back to work and I wasn't quite recovered enough to leave the house yet. By the end of the day, Bear would be bouncing off the walls.
- James has been taking Bear swimming. My little daredevil son SWIMS. On his own! It's so strange to watch because he's pretty young and because I hated putting my face in the water when I was little but he LOVES it.
- I've started taking both boys out in public and it has actually gone pretty smoothly. I'm getting the hang of things.
- Bear talks and talks now. Not usually in sentences but he knows enough words to always communicate his point.
- FUNNIEST moment: I was bugging James about something he'd forgotten to do and he said, "But I..." and I replied, "No buts, James!" Bear looked up from his toy and yelled at the top of his lungs, "BUTTS!!!"

I love all of my boys.

Also, a few changes to the blog:
- No more nicknames - it was getting old. Atticus = James, The Bear = Bear (really!), and our new little guy is Adric.
- Added the Pinterest button to the sidebar - go follow me if you use Pinterest. Which you SHOULD.
- Added that "Followers" widget - so if you use that feature, go ahead and follow me!

Newborn babies are much better than Harry Potter

2011-07-21T16:30:00.000-04:00

He arrived on July 16th at 12:44am. He is mellow and beautiful and perfect.

I want to write several posts about the delivery, the hospital stay, how his older brother is adjusting, how the breastfeeding is going this time, etc, but I'm just too preoccupied soaking up every moment with this sweet little guy.

Nesting

2011-07-14T14:34:00.000-04:00

With my first pregnancy, I didn't really feel the urge to nest. I think it was partially because I had a busy full-time job and I came home pretty tired every day. It was also probably because I knew I'd have a lot of family around to help. That was one time in my life when I was grateful to be the black sheep of my family (meaning, I'm the only one who is a messy, cluttered person - both of my parents are super clean, organized people). It was great to have people around who'd notice a mess and jump to clean it. I was so thankful for that.

This time, I've been feeling the nesting bug much more strongly. Since I'm home full time, I stare at the messes and think, I DON'T want to deal with this after coming home from the hospital. My master bathroom and our bedroom are currently much more clean and organized than they have been in quite a while. I still have laundry to catch up on, and our kitchen and living room never stay clean for more than ten minutes (the bane of my housewife existence), but I'm feeling relatively prepared.

I also keep thinking of all of these fun home decor projects that I want to do after I have recovered. And I've been watching lots of HGTV. Our lease ends at the end of August, and we decided to renew it for one more year. We really wanted to move, but when we looked at all of the expenses of moving (not to mention the headaches, especially with a newborn) it just wasn't worth it. I don't love this place, but it is sufficient for our needs. Anyway, since we're going to be here for one more year, I have a renewed desire to settle in and make it home.

But really, how obnoxious is it that this urge hits at a time when I am constantly tired and uncomfortable? I can't bend over as well, and I definitely can't get up off the floor without a lot of grunting. Yeah, it's really attractive.

Tomorrow

2011-07-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

The doc told me yesterday that it's time for me to get induced. So tomorrow afternoon we're heading to the hospital to finally have this baby! Hooray!

Right before we go to the hospital, though, Atticus is taking me to the movie theater to see HARRY POTTER. Oh my goodness, I am so excited. I know it's terrible that I feel about as excited for this movie as I do for childbirth. I think my excitement about having a baby has waned because I have been waiting... and waiting.... it's been a little anticlimactic. It feels like this kid is going to come out with a full-grown beard and a bachelor's degree - that's how long he's been in there!

But anyway, Harry Potter. I have been a huge fan for twelve years. Half my life. Holy cow. I was twelve years old when I read the first book. It was the summer that I had surgery and I was stuck in bed recovering for a month. My dad gave me the book - maybe one of the best gifts I've ever received. I waited anxiously for the other books to come out. I saw every midnight showing of every movie. On one summer vacation, I even took the hotel shuttle to the airport to buy the sixth book from the airport bookstore. And now it's the end of an era. This movie had better rock my socks off. The last half of the seventh book is just AMAZING. I've reread some of my favorite parts over the past few days, and I'm pretty sure I could write a dissertation about death and love and sacrifice and all of the other profound themes. Not to mention some darn good action scenes. JK Rowling tied it all up masterfully.

Yup. Tomorrow's going to be a good day.

Pregnancy Update

2011-07-12T09:59:00.000-04:00

Still no sign of the baby's arrival. It now appears that they gave me the wrong due date. Some of you may remember that I originally thought I was due at the end of July. Well, at my 20 week ultrasound, the (incredibly rude, rushed, and callous) ultrasound technician told us that my baby was definitely too big to be due at the end of July - he said I would be due in June sometime. I knew that June was too early but I thought maybe I had done some calculations wrong so I talked to my doctor and we decided that I was probably due at the beginning of July. He gave me July 2nd as the due date. Now it seems that the end of July was more accurate. This is incredibly frustrating for us because all of our plans have had to be realigned. My doctor may induce me this Thursday or Friday, but he also might make me wait longer. I'm not sure. I will find out tomorrow morning. My doctor has sent me to the hospital for three biophysical profiles and two non-stress tests. Everything looks hunky-dory so he has thus far kept me waiting. My doctor is pretty conservative and won't induce me without a good reason. Sometimes I feel like screaming, "JUST GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!" but I'm glad that I have a doctor who avoids unnecessary risks. He has also called me himself a couple of times to check on me, and during my last non-stress test he stopped in to check on me since he was already at the hospital for another delivery. He's definitely a quirky guy, but I like him.

And here's a bizarre story - about halfway through my pregnancy, I tried to switch to a doctor that would deliver at the newer, nicer hospital. It ended up being such a headache that I gave up and stayed with my current doctor. Well, I just found out at another pregnant friend's baby shower last week that the doctor I was trying to switch to suddenly passed away a few weeks ago! I'm glad I'm not trying to deal with that at the end of my pregnancy. It must have been a blessing in disguise.

We spent a great week with Atticus' family. It was nice to have them here and have it be more of a fun family vacation than a week at the hospital / in recovery. But I do feel bad that they made the special trip to be here and missed the baby completely. Obviously they are understanding. But we made some great memories - we had a fun Independence Day at the beach! The weather was perfect, we had great snacks, and The Bear fell asleep in Atticus' arms for a few hours after he wore himself out in the waves.

My hospital bag has been sitting in the back seat of the car for a few weeks. It's holding all of my favorite pajamas. I'm so tempted to go get them and put them on, but I know just as soon as I do that, I'll go into labor and wish I'd kept them clean for the hospital stay. :/

Anyway, my new goal is to hold this baby in until I get to see Harry Potter on Friday. Cross your fingers for me!

Some More Thoughts on Childbirth

2011-07-01T07:34:00.000-04:00

This blog has been seriously neglected for a month. So has my twitter account. So for the three of you who were waiting on the edge of your seat for me to write something, I apologize. The month of June was busy and challenging. And sometimes real life becomes more important than what's happening on the internet. And I think that's okay. It's good to unplug sometimes. I think I'm going to skip trying to write all of the posts that I thought up over the past month. Let's just start with today.

My due date is tomorrow, and this morning I have what will hopefully be my last doctor's appointment. As I said on facebook the other day, I am ready to evict this baby from my belly. I'd like him to come out now, please. I'm not so sure that he's quite ready, but I certainly am. My body has been doing all of the normal pre-labor stuff and Atticus has been really patient with all of my whining.

Since this is my second baby, I can't help comparing this experience to the first. We went a few weeks ago and took a tour of the hospital where this little guy will be born. (Hopefully. Those of you who know me well are aware of my fear of having the baby in the car.) This hospital is definitely not as awesome and amazing as the hospital where The Bear was born. I'm really glad we took the tour so I have had time to mentally prepare myself for the idea that I might have to share a room and the idea that Atticus might not be allowed to stay overnights with me. It's okay, though. I'm really glad that for my first delivery, The Bear was born in such a well-appointed hospital. This time I'm okay with something more basic. (However, if I do happen to have another baby while we're living in this area, I'll pick a doctor that delivers at the really nice hospital a little farther away.)

My doctor is very Russian and very Jewish. I like his accent and his little mix-ups with English. He says the most off-the-wall things that make me laugh. And he ALWAYS (every time, without fail) comments on the pasty-whiteness of my belly. Last week he told me that looking at my belly blinds him like looking at the snow. Nice.

By the time I get around to writing again, I'll probably be the mother of two. There's no way I'm grown up enough for this!

On Repeat

2011-06-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

So you know how every little kid has that one movie that they love to watch over... and over... and over again? For me it was The Little Mermaid, and for my brother it was The Little Rascals. The Bear found his. I think we're going on 50 times with this one:

He's so, so happy in the morning when he gets to watch it after breakfast and a diaper change:

I don't want to let my kids watch tv all the time, but it is nice to have him occupied while I catch up on housework.

The Best Kind of 2nd Birthday Party

2011-05-31T18:25:00.002-04:00

I am a big believer in simple birthday parties for little kids until they're old enough to request something specific and actually remember it after the fact. In a few years I'll be more excited about planning and hosting fancy Martha Stewart-esque parties but this was perfect for birthday #2. All you really need is...

Cupcakes,

Watermelon,

swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, sunshine, water... and...

You will have a lot of happy children!

(Amazing photography - except for the first two pictures from my phone - by Lynette Brady)

Childbirth Round Two: The Natural Route or Not

2011-05-26T22:36:00.000-04:00

With my due date only five weeks away, I'm starting to think more and more about the birth itself.

When I was looking for an OB with my first pregnancy, I was referred to a wonderful certified nurse midwife that worked in a practice with several OB/GYNs. After a few people found out that I was seeing a midwife, they wrongly assumed that I was planning on an all-natural home birth. (Then, surprise surprise, she ended up going out of town at the end of my pregnancy so I saw one of her OB coworkers for my last few appointments and he was the one who attended my delivery.) I never considered the idea of a home birth, and ended up having the opposite of a natural childbirth: I was induced, I had an epidural, and guess what? I loved the whole experience.

Natural births (and home births) have made a huge comeback in the past several years and I have to say that I really admire the women who choose to go that route. There's something pretty awe-inspiring about natural childbirth. How awesome that these women are so in tune with their own bodies and learn so much about the process of bringing a life into the world. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about Lauren's, Jessica's, and Jenny's experiences. And I've done all the research, I've read all the books, I've watched all the documentaries and heard all of the arguments in favor of natural childbirth.

But for some reason I can't force myself to want that experience. I'm just not interested. It's not so much that I'm afraid of it - I'm just completely disinterested. I think it's partially because my first delivery was such a wonderful experience. There were no complications whatsoever, and it was the greatest I'd felt in nine long months. I'm a tad nervous because I know that in some ways this birth isn't going to be exactly the same, and I'd love for it to be the same. It was such a great day and it met my expectations in every way. So I want to stick with what has worked for me in the past.

Like Mother, Like Son?

2011-05-09T22:24:00.001-04:00

Me, circa 1989

The Bear, 2011

Complete coincidence!

Criminal law and my change of heart

2011-04-29T11:23:00.000-04:00

This morning Atticus is taking his first final of the semester. In less than two weeks, he'll be completely done with his second year of law school. Only one year left - and Atticus assures me that the third year is the easiest. The saying is, the first year they scare you to death, the second year they work you to death, and the third year they bore you to death. Hopefully he comes out of it all alive. :) He's doing really well, and working so hard. I'm very proud of him.

When we first started this whole law school process, Atticus thought he wanted to practice immigration law. But the more he learns about it, the more jaded he becomes with that particular specialty. It's really sad. Our lawmakers need to effect some real change regarding immigration and immigration laws. Now he's pretty open in terms of what he wants to specialize in after he graduates. I think wherever he gets the best job opportunity is where he'll go. I've always said that there are three types of law I don't want him practicing: family law (dealing with horrible family drama for a living? yuck), personal injury law (he'll become an ambulance chaser over my dead body), and criminal law (I didn't want him consorting with criminals for the rest of his life).

This semester he has been working for a small boutique law firm that specializes in white collar criminal defense - their clients have been accused of fraud and things like that. Listening to him describe his work is pretty interesting, and I must say, in the past few months I've really had a paradigm shift towards criminal defense.

When I started this blog, I decided to use nicknames for my family members. I'm not really sure if it makes one bit of difference keeping us safe from the internet creepers, but I like the nicknames. :) Part of the reason I chose "Atticus" for my husband is that To Kill a Mockingbird is one of our favorite books. With my husband going to law school, it seemed like an appropriate nickname. For those of you who have read TKAM, you know that Atticus was a perfect example of morality, decency, and kindness. And he was a lawyer who defended someone that had been accused of a terrible crime.

Part of living in a country where we have a justice system is believing that those accused of crime have a right to an attorney. To quote our Supreme Court, "the person [in custody] must be clearly informed that he or she has the right to consult with an attorney and to have that attorney present during questioning, and that, if he or she is indigent, an attorney will be provided at no cost to represent her or him." When I stop and really think about it, I'm very thankful for that right. Heaven forbid that me or anyone in my family should ever be wrongly accused. A lot of negative stereotypes exist about lawyers (and of course, all stereotypes exist for a reason) but I'm very grateful for lawyers.

I was talking to a friend the other day - she's an attorney-turned-stay-at-home-mom. She made the good point that our system is supposed to find the accused innocent until proven guilty, but that it is often the other way around. Over Easter weekend, I thought about Jesus Christ and how he treated those who had been accused of terrible crimes (such as the woman caught in adultery). If I am a true follower of Christ, I value mercy. This doesn't mean that I want criminals roaming freely in our midst, but it does mean that I want to be more compassionate and forgiving towards them. Atticus still says that there are some types of crime that he would never touch - he says he'd never do DUI defense, or some of the really raunchy, scary stuff. I'm glad for that.

I don't know that Atticus will ever practice criminal defense, but I don't think I am as averse to it as I once was.

My Bear

2011-04-29T00:11:00.007-04:00

This cute picture was taken by our talented friend Jon (the same friend who did our awesome family pictures) at the recent Easter egg hunt!

Some fun facts about my almost-two-year-old Bear:
- He is very left-handed. It never occurred to me that I might have left-handed kids. Should be interesting.
- He loves swimming! We've spent several three-hour stretches at the pool in the past few weeks. Working on some very prodigious tan lines.
- We have been teaching him to say prayers. At random moments throughout the day he will stop and fold his arms and say, "amen!"
- He will almost never speak on command. We cannot ask him to say something and expect him to repeat it right then. He is very much on his own schedule.
- He is interacting with other kids a lot more, and playing nicely much better. Biting is a rarity. He plays best with other little boys who have strong personalities. He sometimes takes advantage of kids who are more mild. We're working at it.
- He goes bonkers if we don't leave the house during the day. We HAVE to go out, every day. Not sure how that will work with a newborn.
- He gets a huge grin on his face whenever we watch Sesame Street, but it's the only thing he'll watch. He's definitely my son - that was my favorite show when I was a kid, too.
- He loves loves loves dogs.
- He likes to help unlock the door whenever we come home.
- He is crazy about flashlights.
- He and his daddy are best buds.
- He loves to listen to music with those little earbud headphones.
- He always makes soup when he eats. He takes all of his food, puts it in his drink, and then drinks it all. It's really, really nasty but he loves it. Sometimes he puts his hand over the cup and makes loud blender noises.
- He carries around the vacuum attachments and makes loud vacuum noises.
- He's my little buddy. We have so much fun running errands together. My favorite is when we go out for lunch. He sits next to me and shares whatever I'm having. He loves things that you can dip into sauce - fries, chicken nuggets, etc.

His vocabulary:
- Light (his most favorite word - he loves pointing out all the lights, everywhere we go. And he's a total chatterbox if we drive anywhere after dark - all the lights!)
- Hot (also means "sharp")
- Mom
- Daddy
- Elmo (which he says in a very demanding voice whenever he wants to watch Sesame Street)
- Tiago (the name of one of his friends)
- Please (still working on thank-you)
- Snacks (pronounced "nacks")
- Juice
- Banana
- Coke
- Ice cream
- All gone
- Uh-oh
- Shoes
- Socks
- Hat
- Eye
- Ear
- No!
- Yes
- Bye-bye
- Hi!
- Baby
- Bath
- Nice
- Don't bite!
- Don't touch
- Doggie
- Duck
- Meow
- Bug
- Choo-choo
- More
- Bike
- Two, Three (he does not know them as numbers, he just says them right before he jumps off of something, and he always skips 'one')
- Ouch
- Bear
- Amen
- Diaper
- Yucky

He's growing up way too fast!! I love him so much.

Fun Stuff

2011-04-14T20:46:00.001-04:00

Good things happening in our lives right now:

- The crib tent WORKS! Best investment EVER! I'm not sleep deprived anymore! Sleep = happy mommy
- Our tax return will be more than double what I thought it would be. Hurrah!
- Lots and lots of fun play dates: trips to the park, the pool, the splash pad (an awesome, free mini sprinkler park for little kids), the beach, an Easter egg hunt, etc, etc.
- Last Saturday I went to a really awesome craft show. I couldn't stay very long so I didn't buy anything crafty but I DID get a pretty awesome milk shake that some very hippie-looking people made for me. It had soy milk in it, so The Bear didn't want any of it, which meant that I got the whole thing to myself (which happens rarely as a mother, I'm discovering)
- I went to a huge semi-annual baby consignment sale... twice. :) I went to their special expectant moms pre-sale and I went back again on half-off day. I got some really cute clothes for The Bear and his forthcoming little brother.
- At a church function a month or two ago, we randomly ran into one of Atticus' friends that he knew when he was a missionary in Peru. We had him, his wife, and his two-year-old son over for dinner on Sunday night. They are very Peruvian, have only been in the states for a short time, and don't speak much English, so I had to speak Spanish for the first time in quite a while. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I've retained!
- Atticus and I went on a crazy house cleaning spree together and we got the whole thing pretty clean! (Just don't look inside our fridge, which desperately needs to be cleaned out. GROSS.)
- We don't have a Costco membership, but our friend does and she invited us to go with her over the weekend. We have been feasting on Costco food all week!
- Our next-door neighbors are moving, which I am sad about, because they are very nice and very normal, but they are giving us some nice furniture that they don't want to move.
- I made a tres leches cake last night and it is delicious.
- We got some great hand-me-down clothing from a friend of mine. I love hand-me-downs!
- If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably noticed that "Help Us Adopt" button in the left sidebar that I have there for my friend Lanette. This week they adopted a baby girl! I am so excited for them!
- After a long, long search I finally found a decent maternity dress so that I don't have to go to church starkers. I'm not totally in love with it, but it is comfortable and it is the length I was looking for.

Not-so-good things happening in our lives right now:
- Pregnancy-induced sciatica. Anyone have any genius cures?
- The Bear has had more good days than bad days lately, which has been awesome!! But yesterday he was determined to cause as much mayhem as possible, and he did a pretty good job. Whew.

More good than bad!

Sleep Deprivation

2011-04-06T18:24:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a while back that The Bear had learned to climb out of his crib. Well, at that point, it was only an occasional thing, but in the past ten days he's become a climbing expert. Seriously. He has this insane upper body strength and good coordination that is a perfect storm of climbing skill. So he DOES NOT stay in his crib. Naps have been rare, happening only when he's tired enough to pass out on the couch late in the afternoon. Bedtime has been hours later than normal. Sometimes he'll fall asleep if we turn on Sesame Street, sometimes if it's late enough he climbs into our bed and goes to sleep on his own, and once at 11:30pm we were desperate enough to strap him into his car seat and drive around the neighborhood until he fell asleep. But the point is, he WILL NOT stay in his crib unless he is already asleep. And even then, after we move him into his crib, he wakes up every night at exactly 2am and runs into our room, sleeping with us for the rest of the night. We are ready to have our bed back!

Bear, up until now, has been a pretty good sleeper. When he was a newborn, we coslept until he was three months old, then he slept in a cradle in our room until he was seven months old, and then we moved him into his own room and did the whole sleep training thing. For over a year, he has been going to sleep on his own with relative ease and sleeping through the night. But now because he simply has the option to get out whenever he wants, he just won't stay!

This is not a parenting problem that I am ready for yet. I NEED my sleep... and so does Atticus... and so does Bear! The general grumpiness level has been a bit higher at our house lately. I honestly don't even think I felt this sleep deprived when Bear was a newborn because at least then he slept during the day. And with another little one coming in just a few months, we wanted to nip this problem in the bud.

Today one of these arrived on our doorstep:

Yep, we got a crib tent.

The Bear is going to be SO MAD tonight. Heh. Victory.

When I first heard of these, I regarded them with the same type of disdain that I have for kid leashes. I thought, why would you imprison your kid like that?! But my tune quickly changed as I got less and less sleep. Not only will this keep him safer, it will mean more sleep (and thus more sanity) for everyone involved.

Hopefully.

I'll keep you posted.

A Recipe Recommendation

2011-04-05T09:34:00.000-04:00

I've been a bit of a blogging slacker for the past few weeks. I've been wanting to write about a few different political/societal issues, and I even have several half-written posts. But those kinds of posts require a lot more thought and commitment. I think about politics and current events a lot and I discuss them with Atticus daily, but I never blog about them and very rarely talk to my friends about them. Let's face it, it's a lot easier to talk about those sorts of things within the walls of my own home than it is to put those thoughts on the internet where all kinds of ugly trolls lurk.

So I'm going to keep writing about the stuff that's easy to write about. For now.

And with that, here's my new favorite recipe:

Slow Cooker Coconut Chicken Curry

Atticus and I looooooove Indian food. And after a year and a half of living here, we still haven't found a great Indian restaurant. (If any of you local readers know of one, please let us know!!) Lately I've had a hankering for some good Indian food so when I saw this recipe I knew I wanted to try it right away. It also gave me a good excuse to break out my crock pot, which I got last year but still hadn't used at all. On Sunday morning before General Conference started, I whipped this up and let it cook all day long. It was so easy, and it was SO GOOD. The chicken was perfectly tender and the blend of flavors was great. A few thoughts about the recipe:

- I had to go to Whole Foods to find garam masala because they didn't have it at my regular grocery store, but it was worth the trip because it's an amazing blend of spices.

- I didn't use the chili peppers, but next time I will because it was REALLY mild, even for me.

- I think cashews and golden raisins would be a great addition (probably best to add during the last hour of cooking).

Follow-up to yesterday's post

2011-03-15T20:41:00.000-04:00

After publishing yesterday's post about motherhood, I got a few messages from some very sweet friends checking to make sure I'm okay. To clarify, I'm fine and dandy! Everyone has good days and bad days, and yesterday's post was simply meant to share something that has helped me through a couple of rougher days. But really, life is great. I can't even count all of my blessings.

And I really do love being a mom. This evening, The Bear and I watched part of Finding Nemo together. This is so corny, but that movie always makes me a little misty-eyed. (Okay, I'll admit it, pretty much all of the Pixar movies do.) Everything that Marlin did for his son Nemo - you'd better believe that I would do all of that and much, much more for my kids. And for every moment of frustration in motherhood, there is another moment of peaceful happiness and joy.

Being a parent is sometimes a challenge, but it's exponentially rewarding.

Motherhood: Remind me again why I signed up for this

2011-03-14T12:13:00.002-04:00

Being a mom is hard. I have friends and family members that I feel were natural-born mothers - they are so talented and inspired. They're domestic. I am just not a natural homemaker. I do know that I have strengths that will be valuable to my work as a mother, but I think those will come in handy down the road when my kids are older. These young years are tough.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (which I have found to be the best and most definitive personality test), I'm an ENFP. "Because ENFPs live in the world of exciting possibilities, the details of everyday life are seen as trivial drudgery. They place no importance on detailed, maintenance-type tasks, and will frequently remain oblivious to these types of concerns. When they do have to perform these tasks, they do not enjoy themselves." (Also, if you're interested, you can take the test here although I should say that I haven't always found the results to be 100% accurate. Sometimes you have to tweak it a little. You can read more about the different personality types here.) Anyway, the details of everyday life are definitely trivial drudgery for me. I HATE CLEANING. I LOATHE IT. This is not just a general distaste for cleaning which obviously many people have. This is something much deeper. I have told Atticus on many occasions that I will definitely choose to hire a housekeeper someday when our financial situation is more comfortable. It will absolutely make my life significantly happier.

In these past few weeks, there have been a few tearful days at our house, thanks to the pregnancy hormones, no doubt. My patience wears thin faster than usual, and The Bear sure knows how to wear me out. He, of course, is not a bad kid, but as the lady at the library said the other day, he's an explorer. He loves to get into everything. He likes to figure out how things work. And he leaves gigantic messes in his wake. He has to be monitored at all times. As Mad-Eye Moody would say, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

These days have occasionally left me wondering, "Why am I doing this?" There have been times when I have forgotten the purpose in me bearing and raising children. I LOVE my son and also the little one that will join our family later this year, but boy, they give me a run for my money.

If any of you have ever felt the same way, I thought I would share something that has kept me on track and reminded me of why this is so important. Naturally, it's an address from a Mormon leader since my faith has a lot to do with the decisions I have made in life. But even if you're not LDS, I think if you're a mom looking for comfort, these words can help you too.

It's a conference address that was given more than ten years ago, but it's just as helpful to me thirteen years later. I love Jeffrey R. Holland's words. The whole thing is really, really good, but I especially loved these paragraphs:

"In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife—or both—may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband’s breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs—Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island.

"Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones.... Mothers, we acknowledge and esteem your faith in every footstep. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever....

"In light of that kind of expression, it is clear that some of those Rhode Island–sized shadows come not just from diapers and carpooling but from at least a few sleepless nights spent searching the soul, seeking earnestly for the capacity to raise these children to be what God wants them to be. Moved by that kind of devotion and determination, may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient. If you and your husband will strive to love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.

"Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: 'Ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.^' Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And 'press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.^' You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, 'Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.^' And it will make your children whole as well."

Ultimately, this little guy is the best. Messes and all, I wouldn't give up a single moment that I get to spend with him.

Mormons on The Biggest Loser

2011-02-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not a huge consumer of reality tv - Project Runway is the one reality tv show that I can really get into - but I've been mildly interested in this season of The Biggest Loser, mainly because six of the contestants are Mormon. Yep, the yellow team, the gray team, and the pink team. All Mormons like me. This says something interesting about our culture - both good and bad, I think. Bad because a lot of us are eating too many funeral potatoes and green jello. Good because it shows that we know when we need to change and are willing to do the work to make it happen.

I frequently hear that Utah is the state with the most people on antidepressants. I've never seen a solid source to back up that statistic, so I'm not sure if it's actually true, but if it is, a friend of mine made the point that, "Mormons are maybe more likely to get help for depression because we expect to be happy in this life, to find joy, and when we don’t, we are given to soul-searching and looking for answers." I see this in a similar light. There are probably a high number of us on The Biggest Loser because maybe we are more likely to get help when we know we have a problem.

This is also interesting to me because it says a whole lot about how we view the Word of Wisdom. For those of you who aren't Mormon, here's some quick background: We believe that our bodies are precious gifts from God, and we believe that He has given us guidance about how best to take care of them. He revealed a law of health, called the Word of Wisdom, to Joseph Smith in 1833. It prohibits the drinking of alcohol, coffee and tea, and the use of tobacco. It also implies that we not use illegal drugs or abuse prescription drugs. Most of us have that down pat. Surprisingly, it's really easy for most of us to turn down that stuff, and it's one of the things we're known for.

It's the "Do's" that we seem to have a much harder time with: The Word of Wisdom encourages us to eat plenty of the fruits and vegetables that are in season, plenty of grains, and a moderate amount of meat. It reminds us to eat these things "with prudence and thanksgiving." We are also taught to generally lead healthy lives by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and avoiding extreme diets.

I wrote this post several months ago, and it's interesting to look back at that and see what has changed for us since last May. While I normally enjoy cooking, now that I'm preggers, I have pretty much no desire to be in the kitchen at all. Fast and easy are my two biggest priorities. This means we're eating a lot of cold cereal, sandwiches, quesadillas, and things like that. We could definitely be doing a lot better. I should remember that fast and easy can still be healthy. I should shoot for more fresh fruit and green ruffage-type things.

Michael Pollan is currently one of my favorite people in the media. I've read a few of his books and watched both of his documentaries. He has it so right. "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much." He explains each of those phrases in great detail in his work, especially emphasizing the difference between "real" food and "fake" (processed) food. He inspires me to eat better, even though I have TONS of room for improvement.

A friend of mine set a goal that she would only eat five servings of meat in the year 2009. It was really interesting to read about her experiences with that goal. A few really good posts here and here. I really identify with that second post that I linked to, because while we rarely eat red meat (I can't even remember the last time I bought red meat) we don't have incredibly healthy diets either. I really need to start eating more plants, especially those that are in season - I wouldn't even know where to start with this because I don't know what's in season when. I just go to the produce section and buy it.

Anyway, that's a really long, disjointed post but it all has a common theme: let's have better diets! Who's with me?! If you have thoughts or ideas about this topic, I'd love to hear them in the comments. :)

Thinking about maternity clothing...

2011-02-19T21:29:00.001-05:00

I'm about 16 weeks along and I don't have much of a baby bump yet, but my pants are slowly and surely becoming a bit more snug. This has maternity clothing on my mind and what I'm going to do about it this time around. Last time I was pregnant, my sweet cousin loaned me a large garbage bag stuffed full of really cute maternity clothing, so I didn't have to buy much for myself. All I own are 3 shirts and 2 pairs of jeans. I do have a couple more loose-fitting shirts that I can wear for most of the pregnancy, and of course, there is always Atticus' t-shirt collection to raid. But I'm definitely going to have to buy some more of my own clothing this time. I think I will need:
- At least 2 pairs of shorts for the HOT Florida summer
- 3 skirts or dresses
- A swimming suit
- A few more shirts

I'm not interested in spending a lot of money on clothing that I'm not going to be wearing forever, and I don't love the choices offered at most of the popular maternity clothing stores (plus I've had consistently irritating experiences with the pushy salespeople at those stores). So I think I'm going to be hunting thrift stores and consignment shops for some more unique options. I love all the outfits that Melissa has been posting on her fashion blog, and will try to take some inspiration from her (but no way can I pull off the jeggings). I think it would be pretty awesome to sew my own maternity clothing, but I just don't have the patience or the confidence for it. I will have to buy a nice, new swimsuit so I'm saving up for that. Sooo not looking forward to trying those on. Blech.

What are your favorite sources for maternity clothing?

Left To Tell

2011-02-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

I really love my book club. I love the books that we select, I love that we all actually read the book (usually), and I love that we have such great intellectual discussions! Sometimes I feel like my brain is not nearly as sharp as it was four years ago when I was in the middle of college. I think it has something to do with the fact that the person I spend the most time with has a vocabulary of about ten or fifteen words. Our book club helps a little bit to give me something more meaningful to think about than what my son could have possibly eaten to create such an odorous diaper.

This month we read Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. It was really incredible. For those of you familiar with The Hiding Place, I'd liken it in many ways to that wonderful book.

After discussing this book for an hour today, I don't quite feel like rehashing it all here, but I will say this:

- It's such a tragedy that history repeats itself in the worst ways so often.
- After reading this book, I feel inspired to form a more direct relationship with God.
- People are not bad. They are good, but evil can infect their souls in the most disturbing ways. (This could open up a whole discussion about the natural man.)
- What can/should we do to help people in distant countries afflicted with unspeakable horrors? (I've got another blog post brewing about a documentary I watched this weekend.)

Retro Indie Market

2011-02-15T16:45:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday I was a vendor in my first ever craft fair, selling my vintage knick-knacks. It was a blast and I learned a lot. In the history of my Etsy shop, I've gotten a handful of recruitment emails from event organizers inviting me to be a vendor at their show, but this was the first time I decided to participate. I love Etsy because it's a really low-risk investment: only 20 cents per listing (and then a small percentage once you make a sale) and I was wary of putting a lot of money into being a vendor at one of these shows, knowing full well that it could end up being a total loss. This was the first show that I'd been invited to where I felt like it would be a worthwhile investment: the price of a booth was low enough, and I felt like they were marketing to the same demographic that I try to aim my Etsy shop towards. I probably pestered them with all of my questions about past events they had done and how they were advertising the event, but I decided to give it a shot.

I didn't put a whole lot of preparation into it: the morning of the event, I just loaded up my car with all of my inventory and a few cutesy Valentine's Day decorations. I got there a few hours early so I had enough time to set up and run to the store for a few last minute supplies. My booth turned out pretty cute, and even though I was a first-timer, I felt like I fit in with all of the other vendors. It was like arriving to the first day of school and discovering that you DID wear the right thing! :)

The event itself was GREAT fun! It was SUPER crowded with shoppers for most of the day. I got rid of some inventory that had been sitting stagnant for a long time. My hottest sellers were the old vinyl records I had. I think I sold at least 100 of them (Don't worry, Dad - they weren't any of yours). One of my favorite things about the day were all of the people I got to talk to. The customers were really fun, and my booth neighbors were really friendly.

There were over 70 vendors total, and the building was packed with all kinds of fun stuff! There was a mixture of craft vendors and vintage vendors, so it was my dream playground. I was dying to do some shopping, but that would have defeated the purpose of me being there. :) The food was great, too. They had popsicles, fancy cupcakes, and a crepe-making station where I stopped for lunch. YUM. There were professional swing dancers dancing up on the stage throughout the day, and awesome 40's jazz/swing music playing all day long. I was in heaven!

More pictures of the event here and here.

Babies, consumerism, and what I'm going to do differently this time

2011-02-10T11:33:00.005-05:00

With baby #2 coming in about five months, I've started thinking about what I need to do to prepare. The nice thing about the second baby is that we already have most of the things we need. If we have a girl, I'll get to start thinking about girl clothes (fun!) but if it's another boy, then we're mostly set. There are just a few things that I want to have this time around that I didn't have the first time:
1. A soft, comfortable rocking chair - I already got one of these for free on craigslist, and boy, am I glad that I did! This was one thing that I didn't have when The Bear was born that I really wished I had. We use our rocker every day for reading stories at bedtime, and I think we'll move it into the living room when the baby is born.
2. A Moby wrap - we bought a carrier similar to the Baby Bjorn for The Bear, and Atticus loves it, but it really makes my shoulder muscles ache. Moby wraps seem much more versatile and comfortable to use. Several of my friends really like theirs, though I have heard that it makes their back ache. I guess I'd rather have an achy back than achy shoulders - my shoulder muscles get really tense really quickly.
3. A high-quality nursing cover and nursing clothes for me - for the whole breastfeeding thing.
4. A new diaper bag - my mom gave us a basic diaper bag for The Bear, and we have worn that thing out. This time I want to invest in a nice one. I want it to be stylish, roomy, sturdy, and easy to clean.
5. Better bumper pads for the crib - The bumper pads I bought for The Bear were super soft minky, but they were really flimsy and essentially pointless. I want to get some nice, thick, sturdy ones this time.

So that's my mental checklist of things I want to find in the next five months.
On the flip side, there is also a list of things we had for The Bear that I found to be unnecessary:

1. Boppy pillow - many moms swear by their boppy pillow but I just didn't use mine that much. A regular pillow worked just fine for me.
2. Sleep sacks and nightgowns like these - this was another thing that other moms raved about at my baby shower that we ended up not liking. I guess some babies do really well with them, but The Bear liked to be swaddled up nice and snug. These were too roomy and he ended up getting fussy because his legs would get loose.
3. Baby bathtub - we borrowed a baby bathtub from my cousin for The Bear, and he HATED bath time! I think most newborns really hate getting bathed at first. It's just not cozy. What ended up working the best for us was for me or Atticus to bathe with him and hold him against our chests while we washed him. He loved the skin-to-skin time and liked being able to look up into our faces.
4. Changing table - total waste of space. You get used to changing diapers wherever there is a clean, flat surface. Lay down a blanket and go to it.

In general, I think most of America goes way overboard with baby paraphernalia. I mean, just look at this list of "must-haves" - having had one baby, I can guarantee that you don't actually need half of that stuff. Here's an interesting blog post at the other end of the spectrum - while I think it's extreme, it's a reality check. I think consumerism is definitely a problem and I've been pleasantly surprised at how little we've really had to buy for The Bear.

My Very Own Lost Boy

2011-02-02T19:01:00.001-05:00

I've run out of safe places to put things.

We've child-proofed the kitchen, down to nailing some of the lower drawers shut so The Bear can't use them as steps to climb onto the counter, but that hasn't stopped him. He's very creative.

I keep him out of the bathroom as much as possible, but there have been a few times he's managed to sneak in there. He always goes straight for the medicine cabinet, and the razor inside it. Twice he has shaved off chunks of his own hair. (I don't even know how he knows to do this, but he's made the razor-hair connection, just from watching Atticus shave I guess, and thankfully he hasn't cut himself.) After I decided to find a better hiding place for the razors, his favorite thing in the medicine cabinet became my perfume. He smells nice these days.

He can even climb on top of the dryer. For a while I had no idea how he was doing it, but I caught him at it the other day: he squeezes between the wall and the side of the dryer, sticks his butt against the wall, puts his feet against the dryer, and shimmies up the side. I keep all of our cleaning products on a shelf above the dryer, so he's probably going to ingest something hazardous one of these days. Maybe it's time to switch to homemade chemical-free cleaners.

And now, he can climb out of his crib. This morning, I heard him yelling from his room, but I was only half-awake so I didn't respond right away. Then the yelling got louder... and closer... and the next thing I knew, he was on our bed asking for breakfast.

So, the big question: do we switch him to a big boy bed? I'm really not excited about that idea, because I think getting him to stay there would be a huge challenge. But I don't really want to keep him in his crib if he's just going to climb out anyway. I worry about him falling and breaking his arm. And we have a drop-side crib - we bought it right before that big brouhaha about the dangers of drop-side cribs. I don't even think you can find them in stores anymore, can you? So, of course, that makes me worry too. I'm just another worry-wart mom.

As I wrote this, The Bear climbed onto the kitchen counter and put a few of my spice jars into the toaster oven, growling really loudly the whole time. (I don't even know where he learned to growl.) Sometimes I feel as though instead of having given birth to this boy, I found a wild child out in the woods and I am just trying to tame him. Some days are better than others. I am pretty sure that my son would be really successful as a Lost Boy in Neverland. Or in the toddler version of Lord of the Flies. Gosh.

Breastfeeding: the major motherhood issue

2011-01-28T14:25:00.001-05:00

I've read tons of blog posts about breastfeeding. It seems that everyone has a slightly different opinion on it, and it's this BIG DEAL to everyone who talks about it. After reading so many different posts about it, I decided to share my own experiences with breastfeeding. The more I've read about it, the more informed and decisive I feel, so maybe my experiences will help someone else in their own situation.

Obviously we know that breast milk is more beneficial to a baby's health than formula. Anyone who says otherwise (and I have heard people say otherwise) is ill-informed. No matter how talented scientists get, they just can't make a magical powder that does all of the same things and provides all of the same nutrients that a human body does. Aren't our bodies amazing?! So, breastfeeding is clearly the way to go, whenever possible.

But I think some people take that "whenever possible" to an extreme. There seems to be this cultural stigma that if you give your kid formula, you are a bad mother. I HATE that! It's just not true. I know plenty of great mothers that chose to formula-feed. And I have watched many other mothers put themselves through hell because they are convinced that breastfeeding is the only option. Yes, absolutely, mothers should do everything they can to breastfeed - get education, get help, work with a lactation consultant, whatever. But when it becomes a torturous nightmare, using formula is not the end of the world.

Both my brother and I were adopted at birth, so we were exclusively formula fed. I grew up around people who often spoke ill of public breastfeeding, so I always thought that breastfeeding was weird, and I really didn't give it much thought at all until I was pregnant with The Bear.

When I was pregnant, I did my research and learned of the major advantages of breastfeeding, so naturally that became my goal. I still felt a little weird about it - to me, breasts had only ever been sexual, which I later realized is a major flaw of our culture. The idea of breastfeeding in public, let alone at home, terrified me. I knew it was important, though, so when The Bear was born I dutifully did my best to figure out the whole process. It was a challenge. There were several days when I felt as though I were doing it all wrong:

He hasn't pooped as many times as the book says he is supposed to poop! He must not be eating enough!
He's been sleeping for 4 hours! Should I wake him up and feed him or let him sleep?
I don't think I'm holding him right.
Why does he just go to sleep every time he starts eating?
Which side should I use? Which side did I use last time?
WHY DOES THIS HURT SO BAD?

And of course, whenever I attempted to breastfeed in public, there were the voices in my head telling me that everyone around me was staring and judging. I knew that it was ridiculous for me to feel anxiety about the simple and wonderful act of feeding my baby, but I just couldn't quite get over it. No matter how modest I was about it, I felt awkward breastfeeding in front of other people. I would often go hide in a bathroom or even in our car.

Usually I could solve this stress by reading articles and forum posts on kellymom and La Leche League. And thankfully my sister-in-law had a nice breast pump to loan me, which helped a lot. But when The Bear was two months old, my immune system decided to take a vacation. I think this is partially due to the fact that I had stopped taking prenatal vitamins all together - I had no idea that I should keep taking vitamins even after the baby was born. In retrospect, that seems so naive of me, but I just didn't know any better. Anyway, I was seriously ill for four or five weeks. First I had a terrible case of the flu - not just a cold, but the actual flu. Then as soon as I was better from that, I caught a serious case of strep throat. Then as soon as that was all better, I had a bad infection that affected my whole digestive system. It. Was. Miserable. I'm normally a pretty healthy person, but that was a really bad time.

And then we moved 2,500 miles across the country.

Throughout all of this, I did my best to continue breastfeeding, but there were days when it just didn't work. In the words of a lovely blogger friend of mine, "I made the agonizing decision to start giving him formula. At first I felt like I was poisoning my child, but it helped him so much, and helped our relationship so much to let go of the torture that breastfeeding had become and just relax and feed my baby."

I continued to breastfeed as much as possible until The Bear was 10 months old, and then we gave it up for good. I wasn't nearly as successful as I wanted to be, but my stress level was much better when I learned to let it go and relax. I still felt some anxiety when other moms saw me bottle-feeding, worrying that they were judging me for not breastfeeding, but eventually I learned to stop caring about what other people thought, one way or the other. I became confident in the fact that I am a good mom who cares about what's best for my baby, and as long as he's healthy, safe, and happy, other peoples' opinions don't really matter.

With baby #2 coming this summer, I'm hopeful that I'll be much more successful with breastfeeding this time around. I'm resolved to stop worrying about breastfeeding in public, and I'm budgeting for some quality nursing clothes. And I'm going to keep taking vitamins postpartum, so hopefully I'll stay healthy this time. Breastfeeding IS important to me. I'm not going to give up easily. But if it doesn't work, it's not going to be the end of the world.

I'm Alive!

2011-01-25T08:58:00.000-05:00

In case it wasn't already obvious, I've taken a long break from blogging. For a few reasons:
- Pregnancy nausea. I'm pregnant with baby #2! We're so excited for a baby brother or sister. The morning sickness has been killer, though. I haven't wanted to do much of anything for the past few months. I've just started to feel much better over the past few days. Yesterday I celebrated by eating several pieces of KFC and about 20 oreos. So I think in one day I managed to regain the 10 pounds I lost during the first trimester.
- I got to a point where I was only blogging for other people and not for myself. That got old really fast. The time in my life when I loved blogging the most was in 2006/2007, when my blog was my journal and only like 3 people read it. There's something cathartic about writing just to write and not caring about how other readers are enjoying it.

I'm not 100% sure where I'm going to take this blog, but it might become more of a "writing" blog. Who knows? :)

Christmas Music

2010-12-12T21:00:00.000-05:00

We sang this hymn in church today... We sing it often throughout the year, but today it struck me differently. I love thinking about the birth of the Savior and remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth.
Once he suffered grief and pain;
Now he comes on earth to reign.
Now he comes on earth to reign.

"It is not the gifts, the trees, the decorations, or the food that makes this season full of wonder. It is when we remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that the Christmas season becomes truly special." - President Thomas S. Monson

Thankful

2010-11-24T23:56:00.000-05:00

I've been inspired by all of my friends who have been faithfully and daily posting things that they're thankful for this month. I have so many things to be thankful for - too many to count! But here's what's at the very top of my list:

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends.

Black Friday Deals!

2010-11-23T21:14:00.001-05:00

I've had such a fun time running my Etsy shop since I started it in March. The treasure hunting has been a blast. I've "met" some really fun people who have been loyal customers of mine. I've shipped packages to Russia, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and more. And it's always exciting to get an email notifying me of a sale!

Recently I've been letting the shop sit idle because I've grown busy with other things. But after the holidays, in January, I have big plans to focus more attention on my shop and list tons of new items!

In the meantime, I'd like to offer you, my loyal readers, a Black Friday coupon code that will give you 50% off of ANYTHING in my shop! The code will be active for 24 hours (from midnight to midnight, EST) this Friday. All you have to do to get the 50% discount is enter the code when you check out and the discount will be automatically applied to your purchase. The discount does not include the cost of shipping.

The code is: BLOGREADERBLACKFRI

Here are a few fun items currently available in the shop:

Additionally, one of my sponsors will be having some great specials available as well! Wendy, our independent Scentsy consultant, is offering some one-day-only deals on her products. I love my Scentsy warmer and guarantee that her products will make GREAT Christmas presents! Contact Wendy for more details about her specials:
E-mail: jaberwax@aol.com
Phone: (678) 975-1311
Website: http://snifftastic.scentsy.us

New Favorite iPhone App

2010-11-22T17:09:00.000-05:00

I love discovering awesome new apps for my iPhone. The Ringtone Designer app is a great one because you can use any song on the iPod part of your phone and create a ringtone with it. Better yet, it's free!

This has been a really fun app to play around with. You can pick a song, pick any part of that song, and make the ringtone 6-30 seconds. Right now, I'm using Lisztomania by Phoenix. And I also use my iPhone as my alarm clock, so when I need to wake up early, Amber by 311 does it for me.

If you could make any song in the whole wide world your ringtone, what would you pick?

A Disadvantage of Living in Florida

2010-11-22T13:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a text message conversation that I just had with Atticus:

Me: You know the chocolate milk you gave me last night? I just went in our room to get the glass off the nightstand to put it in the dishwasher and there is a huge dead cockroach in it. My skin is crawling and you need to comfort me.
Atticus: It must be the one that crawled on me last night.
Me: WHAT?? Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you kill it? We have to move.
Atticus: Don't you remember when I freaked out in the middle of the night and you woke up and growled at me? I didn't see it. It was dark and I was half-asleep.
Me: I don't remember that at all. GROSS!!! I can't deal with that glass. I can't go near it. You will have to finish the dishes when you come home. Have you seen any others?
Atticus: I will clean up and call maintenance to come do pest control today.
Me: HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OTHERS?
Atticus: I haven't seen any.

I am going to leave this post sans-picture to save you from the experience that I just had. Thankfully, we live on the third floor so it's only the second one we've seen in a over a year, but I do. not. do. bugs.

Today I'm a little jealous of all of my friends in Washington who are all talking about the snow on facebook. No bugs in the snow.

Ladies who Lunch

2010-11-19T17:38:00.000-05:00

Today I had a lovely lunch date with a few of my friends. We started out at The Cheese Course, a European-style cheese shop specializing in artisanal cheeses from dairy farms all over the world. Oh my goodness, the gouda was mouth-watering.

We finished off the afternoon with dessert at Yogurtland. I love their business model. Read more about the company here. I was so impressed with the wide array of yogurt flavors and toppings. My favorite part was that it was all self-serve and they charge 30 cents per ounce. I got a nice-sized serving of different flavors and toppings for only $2.60! And it was absolutely delicious. I think it might be my new favorite place.

If you're one of my local readers, I highly recommend The Cheese Course! Yogurtland has several different locations across the country, so check to see if there's one near you.

Tonight Atticus and I are off to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm assigning you weekend homework: do something fun, and report back on Monday!

Chocolate

2010-11-18T09:05:00.000-05:00

I made this for dessert last night, and I tell ya, it is transgression in a pan. Gooey, rich, chocolately, absolutely amazing transgression. Straight up.

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly (and how you can get some for free!)

2010-11-15T11:11:00.000-05:00

This year we finally had some great family pictures taken, so sending out Christmas cards is definitely on my to-do list for this holiday season. I've been checking out some of the different websites where you can design your own photo cards, and one of my top favorite websites is Shutterfly. It's very user-friendly and they have so many cute designs to pick from! I've used Shutterfly before to get regular photo prints and I've been very impressed with the quality and service. In addition to prints and photo cards, they also offer completely customizable calendars:

They would make perfect Christmas gifts!

Here are just a few of the Christmas card designs that I'm thinking about using this year:

My in-laws always send out their Christmas cards after Christmas (because Christmas is when we're all together to take family pictures) so they're actually Happy New Year cards instead! Shutterfly has those too. Clever!

If you want to get started, upload your photos here!

Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

A few of my favorite things...

2010-11-12T15:39:00.000-05:00

(This feels like a familiar situation to me, you know, since I live with a little Bear.)

Today I shared some of my favorites on one of my favorite blogs, My Favorite Things. (That's a lot of 'favorite,' isn't it?) Click on the button below to see my list, and have a great weekend!

Vintage Baby Clothing, Cute Beyond Belief!

2010-11-11T17:38:00.000-05:00

Today I'm curious to know what your favorite sources for children's clothing are. I'm a huge cheapskate when it comes to The Bear's clothing. Aside from the living on a budget thing, he grows out of clothing so fast that it just doesn't make sense to spend any large amount of money on it. To be totally honest, I've never spent more than $5 on an item of clothing for him (except for $6 and $8 on shoes). We have a few good thrift stores and a wonderful baby consignment store just minutes away, and I've also found tons of great deals on eBay. I've found several brand name high-quality items in nearly new condition for $1 or $2. And we are very thankful for the hand-me-downs whenever they come along! Sometimes I imagine how fun it would be to buy him all kinds of super-cute expensive clothing, but for the time being I'll just take advantage of the fact that he doesn't care one bit about how stylish his outfits are. And when we're debt-free someday, I'll have all the more appreciation for being able to shop at all my favorite baby clothing stores.

But over the weekend, I started looking at vintage baby clothing on Etsy and I think I might be in danger of breaking my $5 per item limit. Just look at this cute stuff:

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Okay, so tell me: Where do you buy your kids' clothing? Leave a comment!

Heart of Haiti: Perfect Christmas Gifts for a Great Cause

2010-11-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

When I attended the Blogalicious Conference a while back, I got to meet with the reps of a fantastic new enterprise called Heart of Haiti. They have partnered with Macy's to sell unique handmade goods created by artisans in Haiti.

(Market scene canvas print, $275)

These beautiful works of art reflect a unique history and the Haitians' unwavering drive to rebuild their lives in the face of tremendous adversity.

(Orange ceremonial bowl, $10)

Proceeds from Heart of Haiti purchases help provide better nutrition, improved education and healthcare for the artisans and their families. Artisans receive 22% of the retail price for each item in the collection.

(Recycled steel jewelry hanger, $35)

As I talked with the reps of this company, I was so touched by the great work they are doing to substantially improve the lives of those in need. They have given these artisans the ability to support their families with dignity and purpose. They had some of the items available to look at, and I was floored by the absolute beauty and rich culture evident in these works of art. They're extremely well-made. My favorites were the items made out of recycled oil drums - they're incredibly intricate and chic. I know they'd make wonderful Christmas gifts for anyone on your list this holiday season. Please consider making a purchase from this collection and helping the hard-working, deserving citizens of Haiti. Read more and watch an informational video here.

(Braided Life picture frame, $25)

(Botanica tray, $25)

Homemaking

2010-11-09T13:12:00.000-05:00

Featured

2010-11-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

The classic blue pencil skirt currently in my shop was featured in this cute treasury:

Thanks, Stephanie!

My Favorite Shoes for Babies & Children

2010-11-08T16:00:00.002-05:00

I recently came across a link to this interesting and informative article about the best shoes for children on my friend's blog. I was surprised to learn that it is much healthier for children to go barefoot! Boy, that made me feel better about my mothering skills. I often go out in public with a barefoot Bear, and I worry that other parents will judge me for not putting shoes on my son. But he pulls them off most of the time anyway, and he's much happier barefoot. Weather conditions here hardly ever require shoes, and The Bear walks with a much more natural gait when he's not wearing shoes.

That said, he DOES own and wear shoes. We're not complete rednecks. :) Months ago, I stumbled across a wonderful pair of shoes at a local baby consignment store and they have been great! Moms have run after me in the mall to stop me and ask me where I found these great shoes. They're Pedipeds. The Pediped slogan is "the next best thing to bare feet" - I wasn't even aware of this back when I bought the shoes, but we have loved these shoes. They've been VERY durable and I'm sure they're comfortable. They offer a large variety of styles and though they're a little pricey, I'm sure you can find good deals on eBay. I strongly recommend them!

Something on my mind today...

2010-11-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

"One of the greatest blessings available to all is personal prayer. By this means everyone can “report in” to an understanding Father who loves all His children. God knows the feelings in every human heart. He can soften sorrow and lead when there seems to be no light. Prayer can give guidance and confidence. It reminds us that no one need be alone in this world. If all else fails, remember: God and one other person can be a family." - Marvin J. Ashton

And a scripture to go with that quote:

Isaiah 56: 4-5
For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

(I've decided to get rid of all my own arbitrary, self-imposed rules for what I will and will not blog about. I'm happy about this decision. I think I'll be blogging a lot more often this way. I'll try to keep it relevant and fun and interesting! Thanks for sticking with me!)

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

2010-10-27T16:48:00.000-04:00

I should blog more often about the things I don't like about my apartment. Remember how I mentioned a while ago that I was tempted to be the Dr. Kevorkian of appliances and break our dilapidated dishwasher? Well, I resisted the temptation, but a few weeks ago, it finally broke by itself without any assistance from me.

Today, we finally got it replaced. (Don't even get me started on the turnaround time of the maintenance crew around here...) And lo, there was singing from the heavens.

The Bear is going to be sooooo annoyed when he wakes up from his nap and discovers that he doesn't know how to open the dishwasher anymore. Bwahahaha.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

2010-10-22T12:03:00.000-04:00

Wow, this week flew by so fast. Last Friday we had a few incredibly awesome women link up their blog posts - I am so impressed by the community service they're doing. One helped her husband's grandmother with little things like walking up stairs and doing dishes - I love how she showed that it doesn't have to be a huge project to make a difference - it's the way you approach your life and your attitude towards others. Awesome. Another participant gave a $100 Office Max gift card to a teacher in her son's school - how cool is that? I know it will make a huge difference in that classroom. And my third blog hop entry was from a girl volunteering with an organization called Reach Out and Read. Once a week, she spends 90 minutes in the waiting room at a local pediatrician's office reading to kids. How wonderful is that?

Reading these blog posts gives me hope in the goodness of others. I love that there are so many people out there working to make our world a better place.

I'm hoping for more entries in this week's blog hop, so if you feel so inclined, I would love to hear about the ways you are uplifting the people around you! Or you are also welcome to share the kind acts of service that others have done for you.

As for me, this week I visited a few friends and shared a short, sweet message about how God shares his love with us. I also gave them gift cards for McDonald's smoothies - have you tried those yet? They're really good! I got to try them out at the conference I went to recently, and they're yummy. I'm glad to see fast food restaurants working to offer healthier options.

And I also want to share an act of service that someone did for me this week. Atticus and I have some good friends that have been so kind and generous to us since we moved here a year ago. They made us feel very welcome and loved, even though we're far away from our old friends and family. They've had us over for dinner and game night several times. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. Well, this week I wanted to go to book club because we were going to be discussing a really awesome book, but it is just too much of a hassle to take The Bear with me, so I didn't think I would be able to go. But our friend volunteered to watch The Bear for a few hours while I went to book club with his wife. It was so kind of him to take a couple of hours out of his day to come play with my son so I could enjoy an afternoon with the girls. I really appreciated that.

Okay, so if you want to link up your posts, you can do it right here:

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

2010-10-15T09:38:00.002-04:00

Does it count as service when it's FUN? I hope so, because both of the things that I'm going to share with you today were really, really enjoyable.

I try to do at least one little act of service everyday - but some of them are not so glamorous - for example, I think most of what a mom does counts as service, but none of you want to hear about me cleaning poop out of the carpet. :) So I'm just going to share a couple of the fun things I got to do this week that hopefully made the world a better place.

On Sunday, I went with two of my friends to visit three new moms. We delivered dinner and gifts. In the past month, three of my friends all had baby boys! Baby boys are so much fun. So I got to take a peek at these little guys:

From left to right:

Lincoln (photo taken by my talented photographer friend Heidi)

Benson (photo taken by my other talented photographer friend, Lynette, the same one who did our incredible family pictures)

Bradley (I love how Bradley is the only one awake, sizing up the other two!)

Oh boy, these moms are tired. If I could give them the gift of sleep, I would! I promised to come watch these little guys anytime so the moms can crash. Having a newborn is tough stuff! But they're so precious.

Then on Tuesday, I volunteered at Atticus' law school as the plaintiff in a mock deposition.

I wanted to take pictures, but Atticus probably would have felt the same way an angsty teenager feels when their mom insists on first-day-of-school pictures. I opted to not embarrass him in front of his professor or classmates, so you get to look at this picture of Michael Scott and Jan Levinson. Imagine that I am Jan, and that instead of talking about risque office romances, we're talking about stolen palm trees.

I had to memorize lots and lots of facts - I actually made flash cards for myself so I wouldn't forget anything - and then I was interrogated for about 45 minutes. I don't have a ton of acting experience, not since all the musicals I did in elementary school, so this was definitely a new adventure. I had a blast taking on the role of Isabella Rodriguez. It actually got me thinking that I might want to go to law school someday. (Crazy, I know.) And most of all, I hope that this helped Atticus and his classmates get some good experience that will make them better attorneys down the road, and I hope that they'll use those abilities to help others.

Okay, so what did you do this week to make the world a better place? Write your own blog post and link up with us! This linky tool will be available until next Friday, so feel free to come back any time and add your post! And don't forget to visit other blogs and check out the posts they're sharing.

Have a great weekend!

Butterfingers Giveaway Winner

2010-10-13T10:56:00.005-04:00

This morning I consulted the oracle that is random.org and I am excited to announce the winner of the Butterfinger Snackerz giveaway!

**drumroll**

The winner is:

Our sixteenth comment was:

Congratulations Micah!

Blogging About Your Passion

2010-10-11T15:07:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Blogalicious Social Media Conference in Miami Beach. Thankfully, I live locally so I didn't have to travel far to get there. I volunteered at the registration desk just like I did for BlogHer and I had a great time getting to know so many classy ladies. The food was great, the entertainment was great, the swag was great. Great great great. I got to participate in a special screening of the new documentary Waiting For Superman (a MUST SEE). And I went to several fabulous, enlightening sessions led by some really fantastic bloggers. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the session by Ana White, a (gorgeous) furniture designer and carpenter who traveled all the way from Alaska for the conference. I went to her session because I'd heard that she blogs about interior design, but instead of talking about interior design, she talked about blogging about your passion, whatever that may be. Wow, she was so inspiring. As I listened to her speak, I thought about what my own passions are. Obviously I'm interested in interior design - Atticus will tell you how just how much HGTV I watch. But I'm also passionate about making the world a better place. I'm interested in serving others and serving my community. I don't say this in an I'm-such-a-good-person way; I say this because we all should bear one another’s burdens, comfort those who need comfort, mourn with those who mourn, feed the hungry, visit the sick, succor the weak, and lift up the hands which hang down.

When I flew home from BlogHer, I thought about all of the women I'd met who blog about really meaningful issues. I wondered what I could do to make my own blog more thoughtful and purposeful. The idea occurred to me to blog about little acts of service instead of home decor, but I brushed that idea aside. Completely changing the direction of my blog was not something I wanted to think about. But this idea has been nagging at me for months now, and this weekend I finally realized that I can blog about BOTH. After all, we all need both the light-hearted and the serious stuff in our lives.

So here's what I'm going to do: I'll keep blogging about the home decor stuff (though admittedly I've been slacking off recently) AND every Friday, I am going to write a post about the little (or sometimes big) acts of service that I have done throughout the week.

And here's the fun part: these service posts, which I'm going to call my "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?" posts, are going to be weekly Linky blog parties! For those of you who have never participated in a Linky blog party, here is how it works: If you are interested in participating, you can write your own blog post about the things you have done that week to make the world a better place. Then on Fridays, you can come here and leave a link to your post in the little Linky box. This will generate a list of everyone's posts and you can click around and visit other blogs and see what good deeds they have done that week. We can all support and encourage each other to do good!

I'll experiment with this for a few weeks and see how it works. There is also a new button in my sidebar that you can grab for your own blog if you are planning to participate. If you have any questions about how this works, leave a comment!

A Spooktacular Giveaway! Celebrate Halloween with Butterfinger Snackerz

2010-10-07T21:06:00.002-04:00

Today I'm delighted to announce a fun and festive giveaway! Back in August, I met up with the Butterfinger reps at BlogHer... What can I say? I'm naturally drawn to chocolate! I got to try their new product, Butterfinger Snackerz. Oh my goodness. They are little bites of heaven. Crispy, chocolate, bite-size treats with a smooth Butterfinger-flavored center topped with a peanut butter drizzle. **sigh**

This week, my peeps at Nestle want to offer one lucky Mrs. Potts' Thoughts reader 4 bags of Butterfinger Snackerz (16 packets per bag). You'll be all set to go when your trick-or-treaters arrive on the 31st! Or you can keep them for yourself. I won't tell. **wink**

By now you probably know the drill, but just in case, here's how to enter the giveaway:

   - Everyone gets one free entry. Just leave a comment! Be sure that your comment links back to a way of contacting you, or include an email address in the comment itself. Anonymous entries will be omitted.

For extra entries:
   - Tweet a link to this giveaway (leave an extra comment with a link to the tweet)
   - Become a fan of Mrs. Potts' Thoughts on facebook (leave an extra comment)
   - Blog about this giveaway (leave an extra comment with a link to the post)
   - Link to this post in a facebook status (leave an extra comment with a link to your status)
   - Subscribe to Mrs. Potts' Thoughts (leave an extra comment)

On Tuesday, October 12th, the giveaway will close at midnight EST. I will pick the winner using a random number generator and announce it on the 13th. Good luck!

Family Photo Shoot

2010-09-27T17:44:00.000-04:00

We had our very talented friends Jon and Lynette take some family pictures for us! They did such a great job. I am sure we will look back on these pictures in years to come and fondly reminisce over our days as a graduate student family just starting out in life.

Etsy Accessories

2010-09-27T17:13:00.000-04:00

My friend Wendy recently asked for some pointers on making a shop banner for her Etsy store. I volunteered to make one for her and as a thank-you, she mailed me a couple of her darling flower clips! They are very versatile - you can wear them in your hair, clipped to your shirt, or even on your handbag!

If you would like me to design a banner for your Etsy shop, I'd love to arrange a similar swap with you! Just send an email my way.

Quick Fixes

2010-09-24T18:21:00.000-04:00

Plastic grocery bags were taking over our kitchen. As The Bear grows, he shows me all the spots in our house that aren't childproofed. One such spot:

I had been stashing grocery bags in this cabinet up until today. The Bear's favorite activity was pulling all of them out all over the kitchen floor, at least a few times a day. It was getting incredibly annoying. and probably not the safest thing for him to be playing with (though he's never come close to sticking his head inside a bag).

And I know some of you readers are wondering why I haven't switched to the eco-friendly reusable bags. Well, I'm not willing to pay for the reusable ones, and I reuse these plastic bags in a bazillion different ways, pretty much daily, so I see that as being just as green.

You're probably also wondering why I don't just install those childproof cabinet latches. I actually do have a box of those and I probably should install them. One of these days. Atticus is much better with a drill than I am, so I'll add it to his honey-do list.

Anyway, I googled this tutorial for sewing a grocery bag holder (though it doesn't look like the blog is still being updated). I still had lots of extra fabric from my pillow project, since I'm always paranoid that I won't buy enough or that I'll mess up and need more, even though this never happens. Basically I always buy twice as much as I need, which is kind-of annoying after the fact, though I guess it's better than not having enough. We'll probably end up with this fabric all over our house in different forms.

This was really easy to make. I whipped it up in a jiffy, stuffed it with grocery bags, and hung it on a hook inside our big cabinet. I like this grocery sack holder - you stuff all the bags in the top and then pull them out one at a time through the elastic hole at the bottom.

I also finally shelled out the cash for a quality garbage can. I hate spending money on garbage cans - it's such an unexciting way to spend your money and they're more expensive than I think they should be. We bought a bunch of these when we first moved here, but they weren't cutting it for the kitchen trash anymore.

A few easy fixes that make our kitchen feel substantially more organized!

Baby Shower

2010-09-08T23:58:00.000-04:00

I co-hosted a baby shower tonight, and completely forgot to take pictures. But here are some links to the ideas we used. It was a fun night!

I made these tissue paper pom-poms. They are super, super easy and really cute! I made blue and green ones for the soon-to-be-born baby boys.

We made these little cupcake bites - very darling and delicious!

I used this punch recipe - yum.

And we made alphabet books like this one.

Dressing Up the Kitchen

2010-09-02T14:51:00.000-04:00

Everything about our kitchen is pretty outdated - the appliances, the cabinets, the flooring, the countertops... Unfortunately, it's all in good working condition so I don't think our landlord will be replacing anything anytime soon. I've contemplated breaking the dishwasher on purpose so we can get a new, shiny, less noisy one - but my conscience always gets the best of me.

I can't complain too much, though. I've lived with worse... much, much worse. You should have seen the kitchen we had after we first got married. It was in an attic, so it had low vaulted ceilings and I couldn't stand up straight in half of the room. There was no dishwasher, next to no counter space, and the most ghetto-fabulous plywood cabinets. And the walls were painted with this weird high-gloss nacho-vomit color - not appetizing. But the price was right so I put up with it for a year.

Our second apartment had a better kitchen. Everything was pretty new, with lots of cabinet space. But still no dishwasher. And it was in a separate room from the rest of the apartment, with no windows. It was an improvement from the first place, but it felt like a cave so I hardly ever cooked.

Our current apartment has a nice open floor plan. There's plenty of counter space, plenty of cabinet space, and a dishwasher! So despite being outdated, it's by far the best kitchen we've ever had.

Here's a shot of our stove:

Next to the stovetop I've got my cookbooks - my collection of Everyday Food magazines (which I use all the time), a church cookbook, and my own recipe binders. They get a lot more use in this apartment than they ever did in our first two. I think Atticus is grateful.

Above, I've got my spice jars and a couple of super-cute potholders that my Awesome Aunt Jewel made for me.

Aren't they the cutest?

What little things have you added to your kitchen to dress it up?

Our Counter Height Dining Table: Pros and Cons

2010-08-17T12:50:00.000-04:00

I've always loved the look of counter height kitchen tables so I was really happy when I found one on craigslist for a great price when we moved here a year ago. (WOW - it has been a whole year!) Over the course of the past year, I've discovered that while these taller dining room sets may be more aesthetically pleasing, they are not as practical as traditional sets. (I went through the same experience with square dishes, but that's another story for another day.)

When I'm sitting at this table, I feel like I'm perched on a ledge. I can't exactly sit back and relax. The center of gravity isn't as stable so we never just lounge about here. We do eat meals here a few times a week but most of the time we eat on the couch which equals more tv time and less meaningful conversation. Also, The Bear has figured out how to climb onto the table surface, and I'm not too keen on the idea of him falling off something this high up. We've been keeping the chairs up against the walls which just looks silly. Even with the chairs up against the walls, The Bear has managed to bridge the gap a few times and still gets onto the table. Not to mention the times that he's pulled them over and they've landed on top of him. Yeah, not very safe.

Also, I am SO tired of cleaning crumbs out of the grooves on the table's surface.

So, the set is now for sale on craigslist and we're hoping to replace it with something that offers more seating (six chairs would be nice), and a normal kitchen table height. I like this one:

If I had $1500 laying around, I'd order it today. But alas. I will continue to patiently sift through the craigslist ads for something similar within our price range. Wish me luck!

One More BlogHer Recap

2010-08-11T15:04:00.000-04:00

Those of you who read many blogs know that after any blogging conference, every attendee writes a post about their experiences. It's almost mandatory. So, to fulfill my homework assignment, here's what I learned at BlogHer:

1. Shake Shack is goooood. There are a bajillion amazing restaurants in New York. Between the amazing street vendor food, New York-style pizza, and the Shake Shack, it's a wonder that I didn't gain 50 lbs. on the trip. But there was also A LOT of walking, so it evened out. And guess what? Shake Shack just opened a location in Miami so we are most definitely going this weekend. Atticus NEEDS to try those vanilla milkshakes.

2. I am a small fish in a huge pond. There were 2500 women at this conference. Wow! We are such an amazing, powerful community and the world would be seriously mistaken to not take us seriously. I met so many incredible women there.

3. Women are blogging about serious stuff. Prior to this conference, I was only vaguely aware that blogs by and for women, other than lifestyle and design blogs, even existed. But there are women out there blogging about things like politics, infertility, raising children with disabilities, cultural identity, and improving their communities. Needless to say, it made the focus of my blog seem just slightly frivolous (to me at least). But after giving it a lot of thought, I do think there is value in the things I write about.

4. You do have to spend a lot of time and money to have any large amount of success in the blogging world. Grace from Design*Sponge told us that she spent $6,000 on a graphic designer to redesign her blog. Whoa. The most successful bloggers treat it like a full-time job. For me personally, being a great mom is far more important than being a popular blogger. So I probably won't become super-famous or rich anytime soon, but I'm totally okay with that because I have different priorities.

5. Most bloggers are really awesome and down-to-earth, and honestly, a few of them are just a tad pretentious (but don't worry - if you're reading this, I'm not talking about you). I had an awesome time forming new friendships with several small-time bloggers like me. To name just a few, I met a few food bloggers, Mo and Tara, an amazing and talented photographer Jen, a fellow mom Sheryl, and Katie who graduated from BYU like me. I should mention that Jen and my friend Katrina took most of these pictures since I sadly lost my camera on the trip! We had fun party hopping, swag-grabbing, and just getting to know each other. The blogosphere provides a great way to build new friendships and communities, and I loved participating in that.

6. New York is amazing. It was my first time ever in NYC and it is definitely everything it's cracked up to be. What a gorgeous, vibrant place full of so many cultures and backgrounds. I could have easily stayed much longer and still not have seen everything I wanted to. It was wonderful to have some old friends as my travel buddies and spend a few days (and late nights) catching up with them.

Times Square was dazzling. Central Park was beautiful. Seeing The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway rocked my socks off. But in the end, I was ready to come home to my boys. There's no place like home!

Nightstand Before and After

2010-08-04T11:40:00.000-04:00

I rescued this little end table from our dumpster a few months ago and finally finished repainting it. I think I'm going to use it in The Bear's room next to the rocking chair. Here's the before:

Let me tell ya, it was in bad shape. Water damage and all kinds of dings and scratches. I wanted to try my hand at redoing a piece of furniture so it became my guinea pig project. After LOTS of sanding I sprayed it all down with a few coats of cheap white spray paint:

And here's the finished product:

The paint was still drying while I took these pictures, so never mind the uneven glossy parts. As soon as I get home from BlogHer I am going to throw on a quick coat of polyurethane. I do live with rowdy boys after all, and this table has become The Bear's favorite thing to climb (although he did master the kitchen counter yesterday, **sigh**). But I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as I have this little table all set up, styled and cutesy in The Bear's room.

And looking at these pictures, I've decided my next spot of focus is going to be our balcony. Time to clean up that year's worth of rain residue. Ick. And some patio furniture, perhaps?

Guest Blogging

2010-07-31T16:52:00.000-04:00

I'm incredibly honored to be guest blogging today for Beth on her blog, The Stories of A to Z. Click on the button below to check out the post:

How to Sew Pillow Shams

2010-07-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

I finally finished up those pillow shams for our bed, and I think they turned out really cute. I love love love the fabric and they're a perfect little pop of color for the plain brown bed. This brings the grand total of pillows on our bed to four, which seems reasonable to me. Oh, and I've actually been making the bed more than half the time since we got the bedframe. It takes only a few minutes and it makes the whole room look much cleaner. I guess the key to getting me to make the bed was having a pretty bed frame! Anyway, about the pillow shams: you can't beat the price: $2.99 a yard from Ikea! It took roughly a yard of fabric per pillow. Not too shabby.

I started out using this tutorial, and while it was very helpful, I decided to do things a little differently. Here's what I did, complete with diagrams!

And voila!

Sprucing

2010-07-29T18:34:00.000-04:00

A couple of new additions to The Bear's room, thanks to the generosity of a friend and a stranger:

This lovable triceratops came to us from a kind friend of mine whose children had outgrown it. The dinosaur (I don't know why, but I just think of it as a girl dinosaur) is three feet tall, soft, and very interactive. Her head moves, her eyes open and close, her mouth chews, and she even wags her tail. She makes friendly roars, chewing noises, and snoring sounds. She has a handle behind her head so little kids can ride on her back (which bounces up and down). This is such a cool toy. The Bear was very wary of her at first, but they quickly became good friends. Thanks, Heather!!!

I found this glider and ottoman on the free (!!) section of craigslist and snatched it up before anyone else could beat me to it. The cushions need to be recovered and there are a few other minor flaws but it was FREE and it's very comfortable. I am sure we will enjoy many bedtime stories in this chair.

There is a fun post coming tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Party in the Front, Business in the Back

2010-07-27T17:32:00.000-04:00

Someday we'll live in a house with an office but for now our bedroom does double duty. Here is Mrs. Potts Headquarters:

We were in a big hurry to furnish the place when we first moved in, so we bought this cheap desk and file cabinet set from Wal-Mart. I'm eager to replace them with something better, but they get the job done. Above the desk is my bulletin board that keeps important things (like my BlogHer conference pass!) handy. I also framed our college diplomas - they're fitting for an office setting, right? I didn't want to hang them anywhere too conspicuous but we worked hard for those little pieces of paper, darn it, so I'm putting them up! I want to paint the frames - they are really shoddy frames that Atticus has had since before we'd even met, but they were the right size, and I like the matching set. I'm trying to decide between green and yellow paint - I already have both, and either one would go with the fabric I put on the cork board. Maybe one of each. But at the moment all of my painting projects are on hold due to the mysterious disappearance of my paint brush (The Bear is the #1 suspect).

I got my desk chair for $10 on craigslist. I love it, though it needs refinishing. I would like to add a seat cushion in a fun fabric and I am considering painting it white. Atticus says I'm not allowed to turn it into a 'girl chair' but what does he know, anyway?
The closet behind the chair is my personal clothing closet and also inventory storage.

To the right of my closet is a big plastic storage box full of all my Etsy inventory. It's a little like playing dress-up every time I open the box. Past that is a basket full of all of my unfinished sewing projects. There are two more storage boxes just like the blue one inside my closet. One is filled with packing/shipping supplies and the other contains inventory that I will eventually get around to listing on eBay.

A Room Fit for a Bear

2010-07-21T21:02:00.000-04:00

Many of you probably remember my original post about The Bear's room but I thought I'd show you how it has evolved as he's grown and since we've made the bedroom switch. It's a simpler room now - I got rid of many elements that we didn't use and/or were ugly and/or were not toddler safe. So it's pretty basic now but I've got some ideas to spruce it up... eventually.

Here's corner #1 with the dresser that I showed you last week. It still looks pretty much the same, though now my dress form and a trash can live to the right of the dresser in that corner behind the door.

The crib side of the room. Still have my dad's baby blanket hanging on the wall - I love the vintage embroidery. Got rid of the crib bumper pads - they were kinda flimsy and The Bear kept stomping on them until they were smushed down between the mattress and the crib rails. For the next baby I'll definitely be investing in some thick, sturdy bumper pads. Have you been hearing all the recent hullabaloo about the dangers of drop-side cribs? It's making me a little nervous, but not nervous enough to rush out and buy a new crib.

To the left of the crib is the little bookshelf with our collection of children's books that is slowly but surely growing. I would like to hang something above this shelf, not quite sure what.

Here's Rhino the hamster. We're hamster-sitting her for the summer while her owners are traipsing all over the country. She's awfully cute. Luckily The Bear isn't tall, strong, or coordinated enough to get the lid off of her cage. He's not quite gentle enough to handle her yet. Once she goes back home, I want to put a comfy rocking chair in this corner for bedtime stories.

Across the room is The Bear's toy box and his igloo fort. Atticus begged me for a month to let The Bear have this tent, and eventually I gave in. Atticus was right - it is The Bear's favorite thing in the whole room. He loves to play and roll around in it. I guess Atticus knows boy toys better than I do.

And we've still got the fun rug on the floor. It makes the room just colorful enough for the time being.

Still to do:
- Get or make curtains for the window (already have a curtain rod)
- Find a few more things to hang on the wall
- Get a sturdy floor lamp that The Bear can't knock over and a rocking chair

As soon as I've got all that done I'm sure I will have thought of more projects.

Summer Sale!

2010-07-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

I have just opened a summer sale section in my Etsy shop where many items are now 40% off! Take a look!

Chore Buster

2010-07-20T18:32:00.003-04:00

I've been chipping away at the little end table project and will be able to show you the finished product very soon. It's a challenge to get anything done when you have a one-year-old who spreads butter on himself and hides your car keys behind the dryer (true stories). In the meantime, I'm going to share one of my favorite websites with you. I give you: Chore Buster. This is how it works:

Enter in people and chores
Specify how hard / undesirable each chore is, and how often it should be done
ChoreBuster automatically generates a fair schedule of chores
Schedule emailed to you daily or weekly - no need to log in

And best of all, it is free! We have used this website off and on for the past few years, but I'm always a happier camper when we use it. It's easier to keep track of what needs to get done and whose responsibility it is. It even allows you to assign specific chores to specific people so that if there is one you particularly hate, you can give it to your husband every time (though I would never do that... **wink wink**). It also has the ability to assign a certain percentage of the workload to the various people on your list and, if you have kids, to track the monetary compensation for doing various tasks. I've assigned myself 75% of the workload since I'm home during the day, and Atticus gets the other 25%. Nifty, eh? Every Sunday, the new chart for the week shows up in my email inbox, I print it out, hang it on the fridge, and we're ready to go. Here's what our chart looks like this week:

	Atticus	Mrs. Potts
Monday	Clean kitchen counters, Take out kitchen trash	Clean bathroom, Clean Bear's Room, Clean up living room clutter, Do dishes
Tuesday	Clean up living room clutter	Clean kitchen counters, Do dishes, Do one load of laundry, Take out bathroom trash, Take out kitchen trash
Wednesday	Clean kitchen counters, Clean up living room clutter, Take out kitchen trash	Clean Bear's Bathroom, Clean bedroom, Clean hallway clutter/vacuum hallway, Do dishes, Empty trash in Bear's bedroom and Bear's bathroom, Sort mail/pay bills
Thursday	Clean kitchen counters, Do dishes	Clean Kitchen Floor, Clean up living room clutter, Do one load of laundry, Take out kitchen trash
Friday	Do dishes, Vacuum living room/clean carpet stains	Clean kitchen counters, Clean up living room clutter, Take out bathroom trash, Take out kitchen trash
Saturday	Empty trash in Bear's bedroom and Bear's bathroom, Take out kitchen trash	Clean entry way, Clean kitchen counters, Clean up living room clutter, Do dishes, Do one load of laundry, Sort mail/pay bills
Sunday	Do dishes	Clean kitchen counters, Clean up living room clutter, Take out kitchen trash

Indecisive

2010-07-13T22:25:00.001-04:00

This matching set of nightstands actually came with the bed frame I bought. I was absolutely positive that I was going to resell them for the same price that I paid for everything, essentially breaking even and getting the bed frame for free. But I haven't been able to bring myself to list them yet. I don't know if I want to keep them or not.

Things I like about them:
- They are high-quality pieces of furniture, nice heavy-duty solid wood.
- The Bear cannot climb onto them (yet).
- They have drawers for storing stuff (we seriously need more junk drawer catch-alls).
- They match the bed frame.

Things I don't like:
- Not a fan of matching sets in general - it's a boring cop-out way to make a room match. It's so much more fun when you have mismatched pieces that all coordinate well.
- They are not really my style. I'm only 23 and this looks more like your mom's taste. I like more modern pieces with youthful flair. (Brass drawer pulls - blech)
- If I keep them I miss out on the money.

Thoughts?

Mr. Monkey says hello. I bought this lamp for Atticus when we got married. He has a thing with monkeys, having owned a few as pets when he lived in South America. I love this lamp. It is so kitschy.

Slow and Steady

2010-07-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

One more coat ought to do it. Then I'll start on the green part for those detailed parts on the top. I bought a small $3 sample can of paint for the job, it's Behr Grape Leaves. The way that link shows up on my monitor makes the color look less vibrant than it actually is, but it is so pretty it makes my heart flutter a little.

As it turns out, the Ikea fabric most definitely did not go with the green/red/white quilt. And actually, I missed my boring brown comforter. For some reason I've always been a little picky about bedding - this comforter, though it doesn't look sooper hawt, is the perfect thickness. And the material is soft and cool - perfect for this Florida humidity. I actually noticed a significant difference in the quality of my sleep switching between the two bedspreads. So it's the boring brown comforter, which looks good, I think, with the Ikea fabric. Pillow shams forthcoming. And maybe someday in the future, a chic duvet cover for the ugly brown thing.

I'm crazy about this print though.

I've also been working, oh so very slowly, on organizing The Bear's room since we made the bedroom switch. Here's what once was his changing table, which we didn't ever really use anymore, since he's a wiggly Bear. Ugh, I cringe at the front where the veneer separated from the particle board. We tried to glue it back on but not being familiar with Gorilla Glue, I learned a fun lesson:

That stuff foams like crazy so you really have to clamp it down hard while it dries. Otherwise you'll end up with a tacky-looking mess. But oh well - the dresser was from the scratch n' dent section of Ikea (methinks we shop at Ikea too much) and eventually we'd like to replace it with something more high quality.

After watching Toy Story 3, I pay more attention to Bear's toys. Hello, giraffe friends. Eventually I am going to find a classier way to store the internet box and wireless router but for now they're keeping the giraffes and monkey company.

Progress

2010-07-06T22:43:00.003-04:00

Finished sanding down my little dumpster find today and got the first coat of paint on it. I'm using white spray paint that cost a whopping 99 cents. I realize I may be getting what I pay for with the paint quality but I'm not willing to invest much in this little project. If it turns out horrible no big loss.

Also got this fabric from Ikea for $1.99 (!!) a yard for that pillow project. I'm wondering if this print will clash horribly with our red/white patterned bed spread. I'll play around with it and see - sometimes mixing patterns works out, other times not so much. It might just turn into some simple throw pillows for the living room or some chair cushions which would be much appreciated.

Books

2010-07-02T13:18:00.001-04:00

I'm trying to decide how I feel about the books we own. I have always dreamed of having a big library a la Beauty and the Beast:

I love books. I love to read. The library was the most magical place to me when I was a little kid. Yes - I am a huge nerd. But now I am trying to decide how much I want to keep these books that are taking up space and collecting dust. There are certain books that I'll never get rid of, but many I could live without. Lots of them have moved around with me for years but I've still never gotten around to reading them. I got rid of half of my books when we moved across the country and I haven't really missed them.

Our local library is within walking distance and they have everything. So I don't really need to own all these books - I can always just go check them out from the library.

Atticus' textbooks are slowly taking over the house. We are also slowly building quite the collection of children's books for The Bear.

What are your thoughts on owning books? Do you own only your very favorites, or do you have a large collection? They do take up a lot of space, but there's nothing I love more than a bunch of books.

The New Bed: A bedroom before-and-after

2010-07-01T13:16:00.001-04:00

+Atticus has been off camping with the boy scouts this week, leaving me home with The Bear. While he was gone my project was improving the bedroom. Here's the before:

I had had it UP TO HERE with having the mattress on the floor and, well, just about everything in this picture: the bed that's never made, the cheap egg crate foam mattress pad that makes our bed bearable, the boring brown comforter, the ugly computer printer, Atticus' textbooks all over the floor.... one thing at a time, Mrs. Potts. So I scoured craigslist and found a beautiful four-poster bed frame in excellent condition for only $40 (yes, you heard me right - $40). Here's the after:

I decided to swap bedrooms with The Bear (again) because this frame looks better in the room with the high ceilings. I also pulled a quilt out of storage to use as the bedspread instead of the boring brown comforter. And yes, I made the bed. What a difference!

I would like to sew some new pillow cases like these for the pillows. I'm not big on throw pillows, but I like the idea of making your regular pillows more attractive.

I also want to sand down and repaint this table that I rescued from the dumpster. It's in pretty bad shape, but it has good bones, and I think it would look great in white and green. We have more than a few LACK tables from Ikea around the house, but they're not tall enough to go with this bed frame. The only bad thing about this table is that The Bear constantly climbs up to the top and gets stuck. Lately he's been trying to use it to climb onto the bed.

Tons more ideas to implement... all in good time.

I'm Back, Baby!

2010-07-01T12:59:00.000-04:00

Hi, friends! Long time no see. Wow, has it really been almost three weeks since my last post? The time flew by. During the break, I took a relaxing trip to Daytona Beach, spent time with family, saw Toy Story 3, and even got to see one of my favorite bands live (again). I also had time to reevaluate the direction of this blog. Instead of blogging about things that you're all perfectly capable of finding on other blogs, I am going to make this more of a home design blog and focus especially on my own home. Get ready for lots of pictures of my apartment. Creating a comfortable, well-designed home has always been the thing I'm really interested in, and showing you what I'm working on will provide you with fresh, authentic content that hasn't already been written about somewhere else. I am a little nervous about showing off my dirty laundry (literally) but it's all in the interest of full disclosure so you know I'm a real person that doesn't live life in a catalog. I'm also going to do this whole project on a literally non-existent budget since Atticus is in school and I've made the choice to be a stay-at-home-mom. I've recently read a few great things that sparked this change of focus, and you can read them too - here and here. I don't think I'll be blogging daily anymore, but you can expect something unique regularly. So don't go away! :)

Gone Fishing

2010-06-12T12:26:00.002-04:00

In case you hadn't already figured it out, I've decided to take a little break from the blogging world. I just needed a little vacation, and it feels great! I'll probably return in a week or two, but in the meantime I'm going to enjoy unplugging and spending time with mi familia. We've got some fun short vacations planned for the next few weeks - I can't wait!

(image via this lovely pinboard)

Decluttering

2010-06-08T21:44:00.003-04:00

A good thorough closet-cleaning was long overdue, and instead of just driving this all to the nearest thrift store as usual, I've decided to try my hand at eBay and see if I can earn even a little profit off this stuff. It's all in great condition. There are more than a dozen items already listed, and I still have a couple big garbage bags to go through. Take a gander and maybe even bid on an item!

Friday Favorites

2010-06-04T22:45:00.002-04:00

~ An easy pattern for a DIY skirt
~ Add comfortable, colorful extra seating to your room with this pattern for a cute pouf
~ Five time-saving tips for searching craigslist, ebay, etsy, etc.
~ These would be cute for a baby "shower"
~ A website that might help you manage your time

Father's Day Cards

2010-06-03T21:49:00.004-04:00

The current featured seller on Etsy, Able and Game, has some awesome Father's Day cards in their inventory:

Chili's Southwestern Egg Rolls

2010-06-02T22:06:00.003-04:00

Tonight I forced myself off the couch. Sometimes you just have to pretend you're feeling better so you actually start to feel better, you know what I mean? I've had three days of laying around, and I think The Bear is getting really stir crazy. So tomorrow we are definitely going out and about! But anyway, back to tonight.... I ended up at Chili's with a group of friends, and as usual, I ordered the Southwestern Egg Rolls. Oh my goodness, they are sooo goooood! A while back, Heather posted a recipe for making your own at home, and I keep thinking that I need to try it.... so I hereby officially add it to next week's menu!

Navy Yellows

2010-06-01T20:51:00.004-04:00

If I were taking a preteen to a wedding this summer, I would definitely get her this dress:
I've caught a nasty cold, so it's a short and sweet post for today. But since it is the first of the month, there's a new playlist over on my sidebar for you to enjoy. Happy June! Hopefully I'll be up and running at full speed tomorrow!

Memorial Monday

2010-05-31T19:24:00.004-04:00

A few totally unrelated things to share with you today...
In the past four days, I have started and finished both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Okay, these books are AMAZING. As soon as I finished the first one I went on a mad hunt for a copy of the second - our local library was closed all weekend but luckily one of my friends loaned me her copy. I can't wait until the third one comes out in August! And if any of you have read them and want to start up a discussion in the comments, feel free to do so. Those of you wishing to avoid spoilers might want to avoid the comments of this particular post.

Secondly, how cute is this birdcage chandelier?! I would love to put this in a playroom for the kiddies someday.

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you are all able to find a patriotic way to celebrate with your friends and family.

Denise Huxtable

2010-05-27T22:03:00.003-04:00

I always loved The Cosby Show when I was little - and every once in a while I still watch reruns. I loved what a happy, crazy, loud, intelligent, stylish, fun family the Huxtables were. And Denise was always my favorite. She always had such amazing style that really influenced my own taste. Thanks to her, I've always had a thing for the 80's. There is something so delightfully tacky about it, I just love it. Recently there was a post on The Storque (the Etsy blog) with a collection of vintage clothing (available to buy!) reminiscent of Denise Huxtable's style. Check it out, yo.

Okay, just check out her haircut in this clip from the show... man, I wish I could pull that off!!

What's in a Name Wednesday: Playing Grown Up

2010-05-26T22:03:00.003-04:00

Okay, so I have really been slacking off on the What's in a Name Wednesday thing... but I fully intend to get back to it. So to make up for lost time I am doing a second post today about a new favorite blog of mine, Playing Grown Up. It was love at first sight for me, especially when I saw this cute cupcake tray Brooke's used for a few various parties:

And now I'm going to let Brooke tell you a little about her lovely, chic bloggy blog:

"My blog is called "Playing Grown Up." I started writing it when I was undergoing a major quarter-life crisis. I was teaching at a super-stressful inner-city school (just imagine one 5'4" little girl busting up fights of angry middle-schoolers who towered over her pretty much on the hour) and really wanted to come home, focus on all the positive, lovely, happy little things, and then record them on one cheer-myself-up blog. I was very discouraged with the whole "post-grad-becoming-an-adult-grown-up" thing, and I wanted to see if there were any more people out there like that who may want to be cheered up as well.

"I decided one day to bump the whole "trying to be the grown-up people say you should be" thing and to incorporate more carefree whimsy into my life. I decided that the happiest I could be as an adult would be if I actually was a bill-paying, job-working, occasional pants suit-wearing adult, but one who devoted much of her time to pulling that inner child back out on a daily basis. I would go through my day and "play" like I was a grown up (after all, practicality is, well, practical), all whilst being a big ole' fun kid inside. I pull that kid out by always striving to explore, create, seek out fun, and let go of those stuffy grown-up inhibitions. So, the name "Playing Grown Up" comes out of that decision. And boy has it been a fun one!

"A while after I started my blog, I found that creativity was one of the best ways to let go and connect with my inner kid. Still in keeping with my "practicality meets whimsicality" ideal, I started creating functional, useful home items with fun, kiddish flair in my very own etsy shop of the same name! "Playing Grown Up" is not just a name; it's what I do every day!!"

Wow, I love Brooke's philosophy. I hope we can all stay young at heart through this sometimes mundane life of adulthood. Brilliant.

**What's in a Name Wednesday is a regular feature about Mrs. Potts' favorite blogs and the meaning behind their names. Email if you would like to be featured.**

Let me see ya grill! (Let ya see my what!?)

2010-05-26T21:42:00.004-04:00

Last night Atticus made tin foil dinners over a charcoal grill with his Boy Scout troop. As if last weekend wasn't enough, now my mouth is really watering for some good old fashioned charcoal BBQ. Maybe one of these days we'll have to upgrade from our well-used George Foreman - perhaps to one of these pretty little numbers:

Timeless Vixen Vintage

2010-05-25T20:09:00.001-04:00

I never tire of browsing through all the beautiful dresses in this amazing Etsy shop...

Party Under the Stars

2010-05-24T19:20:00.003-04:00

We went to a fun BBQ/swimming party on Saturday night, and it got me thinking about how much I love outdoor summer parties. They're the best kind. Especially just after the sun goes down, when the temperature and light are just right. Liz recently posted a great collection of images from such parties, and now I'm really looking forward to all the summer soirees that await me...

(image source)

Friday I'm In Love

2010-05-21T22:19:00.000-04:00

- These socks are sooper fabulous
- I'm pretty much in love with Samantha Pynn's work
- Definitely want to use this awesome fabric collection for my next project
- I'll take these shoes, please - one pair in each color