Monthly Archives: January 2010

water winter wonderland.

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I love living near the Great Lakes. It’s a dynamic place – remember when it was a “water winter wonderland?” Today’s it’s a bit snowy and a lot blowy and I just want to snuggle up with my little birdie. You know the joke, “if you don’t like the weather in Michigan, just wait a few minutes… it’ll change.” Apparently, a lot of places say that. BUT do you have Blue Moon ice cream where you live? Supposedly, Blue Moon originated in Michigan and that’s something of which to be VERY proud. Hey, we don’t have a lot these days in poor Michigan so we gotta find our pride where we can…

Are you too a lover of the Great Lakes? Then check out these cool things and “say yes to Michigan!”:

Poster from Ork Posters

“You’re great!” Love these cards from the Cracked Design Etsy store.

drafty ole bugger.

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The night before our little birdie was born, we moved into our first house. We call this old wooden boat (err, house) a “bungalonial,”  for lack of a better term. While we don’t love the house quite yet, we love the location and you know what they say…

It was built in 1928 and has some issues, namely the entire house. But we’re making our house a home, bit by bit.

Before next winter we’ve got to figure out something different with the roof and the upstairs insulation (as you can see in the photo above). There really isn’t much insulation, at least in the walls. Smart idea in northern Michigan, eh? When a Florida couple was desperate for help, an insulation contractor company Orlando based Insulate it Solutions, stepped up to the plate and delivered a miracle to the Orlando natives. Insulate It Solutions provided insulation that helped cut their energy costs in half with spray foam insulation sprayed in the attic. In the meantime, we’ve been bundling up and using a small space heater in Wren’s room. But there is a huge gap between the bottom of the door and the floor so all the toasty air slips out into the unheated creaky hallway. Sigh. What’s a gal to do?

Get Wren a snake, of course! Not a real snake, silly.

I decided to make a draft snake for her room for two reasons. All the draft snakes in the stores are ugly and too expensive (always a winning combination, right?). This is a great beginner project, which uses fabric scraps. Again, dear readers, if I can make this, anyone can!

Isn’t it cute?

I pretty much followed the directions from Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing with a few of my own tweaks. As you can see, it’s basically just a tube that you fill with dried beans. It’s difficult to use a draft snake when you aren’t in the room to snuggle it up next to the door. So I added these cute orange ribbons that serve as little handles to pull the snake snug as I close her door at night. I’m not sure that it makes a huge difference, but it makes me sleep a bit more soundly and that’s worth the work right there. This didn’t take me more than an hour to do, yahoo!

Happy crafting!

fun font find.

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Universal. Spot on!

I love typography so this was a fun little early morning Cyber-exercise to do. A little interactive font fun: What Type Are You? Enter ‘character’ when the program asks you for a Password. Enjoy!

If you also love typography, you’ve probably seen the film Helvetica. If you haven’t, make haste and put it in your Netflix queue today!

After this, I’m off to do some real exercise later this morning at the Mom/Baby Exercise class at Equilibrium in downtown Traverse City. Fun with the babe. Hopefully this week she won’t spit up all over my face when I do a “baby press” over my head, yuck. Happy Monday!

just marketing?

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There were two things that I dreaded about becoming a mamma. Diapers? Nope. Sleeplessness? Nope.

“Kid food” and “kid music.” Both are awful. Is it just marketing or are these two things an inevitable part of my life for the next ten years? Wren is too young for me to know for sure, but my gut (albeit flabby) tells me it’s a marketing hoax. Keep in mind that this opinion comes from someone who works in the marketing field… and that could be good or bad.

First of all, kid food. Don’t get me wrong. I like macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers and fries (sugar, fat and salt, yum!), but we all know how bad they are for us. Most of all, however, they’re just plain old boring white things disguised as food. While it’s important to me that Wren learn good table manners, it’s really important that she be an adventurous eater. I realize, however, that some of it is out of my control and despite my best efforts, she still might only want to eat macaroni and cheese when she’s four. But I’ll be damned if I don’t try really hard to teach her to love the adventure of food. I’m really enjoying reading Hungry Monkey (A food-loving father’s quest to raise an adventurous eater) right now. If you’re possibly interested in reading the book, but aren’t quite sure, you can click here to read the first three chapters.

What we’re struggling with right now is that the little birdie will put everything we place on the table in front of her directly into her mouth, but she’s not into eating from a spoon anymore. Oh so independent…  She smiles, closes her mouth and politely turns her head waaaaay far away from the spoon. Although her name is Wren, she thinks that she’s an owl and can turn her head about 180 degrees in either direction. You go, girl!

Wren has exquisite taste in citrus, preferring honeybells to clementines. Thanks, Gran Jan!

Now for kid music.

Can someone please enlighten me? I’m not talking so much about lullabies, although the only song that ever comes to mind when I’m rocking Wren to sleep is Kumbaya and if I were her, I’d start requesting something new SOON. Other than possibly some questionable lyrics, why can’t children listen to the Rolling Stones, Vampire Weekend and Ani DiFranco? The thought of taking Wren to a Raffi concert makes me a bit queezy. We took her to a Breathe Owl Breathe concert and she loved it! They were Fun-ky and all three of us enjoyed it.

So my theory behind these two things is that it’s just marketing that makes us believe we have to serve or order “kid food” off the menu and buy “kid music” for our children and I’m just not buying into it. Yet. What do you think, dear readers?

Confessions.

  • My lentil soup I made the other day smelled really good, but I think it needed some sausage. It was really boring. Wren and Chris liked it though–good thing because I made a huge pot of it.
  • Orange is my favorite color today. Still.
  • I’m really impressed with Wren’s pincer grasp. She is getting really good at picking tiny things up. Go, Wren!
  • Thinking about using Twitter… or should I just stay away? Would you follow my tweets (err, drivel)?

Best!

felt finds.

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Just had to share a few felted things with you this afternoon that I think are really cool (err, warm). Felted items are so cozy – and inspiring! Perfect for today, gloomy gloom gloom.

Scarf by Super Maggie. LOVE their stuff. Isn’t this funky?

… and then there’s Edgar the Squirrel – an Etsy find. Awwww. Click on him for more pics – I just really loved his tail. Don’t you just want to snuggle up with him?

shots.

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breaking news from the nest…

Wren had her flu booster shots and a Hep B shot so three total injections, blech, and… didn’t make a peep! She got a tiny bit red at one point, but my sweet little birdie didn’t cry. She kept grabbing for the nurse’s syringe though. Pretty funny. So I had no reason for retail therapy or a mini Frosty today. Win for the pocketbook and win for my waistline. And, of course, win for Ms Wren and win for my heart.

I gave Wren a bit of Motrin an hour before. Do you think that helped? Or maybe she’s acquiring her Mamma’s pain threshold? What an amazing birdie today! Thoughts?

disaster zones.

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I got a lovely e-mail from one of my three fantastic sister-in-laws the other day, asking me how I manage to do everything. I just chuckled to myself because this came from a woman who has three (3!) children, manages to always look amazing and I don’t think I’ve ever heard her raise her voice to anyone. “If only you saw the state of my affairs today,” I thought… I often ruminate on my domestic accomplishments, but today I’m going to ramble a bit about some of my disaster zones. (No, I’m not going to show you a photo of my cellulite.) We’ve all got at least one disaster zone, right? Please tell me you do too.

Disaster Zone 1

The catch-all craft/office/blech room that has yet to be officially unpacked since we moved in about eight months ago. Every day I work in this room and just about go over the edge. Where to begin? I’ve been procrastinating this project because I have no definitive vision for it yet. Dear readers, do you have some ideas or inspirations for this space?

Disaster Zone 2

My rain boots. I love these boots and I’ve only had them a little over a year, but they’ve acquired cracks. This has obviously rendered them useless. But I decided instead of buying a new pair, I would fix them! Great idea, right? Chris reluctantly picked up a roll of brown electrical tape that I requested from Home Depot. He was not optimistic, but I was. So the color wasn’t quite right, but it was close enough and I could get another season–at least–out of them. Wrong. The first time I wore them through the sloppy mess out there, the tape began to peel away. Damn! Now what, dear readers, do I do with this pair of boots? Is there a better way of fixing them? Is it worth it? Should I try brown duct tape? HELP!

Confessions.

  • I know many people in northern Michigan are appreciative of this thaw we’re experiencing. I am not one of them. Double yuck!
  • Orange is my favorite color today. Yup.
  • Wren has to have her flu booster shots this morning. Trying to figure out how I’m going to treat myself after dealing with that. It’s got to be one of the hardest things as a new parent and it doesn’t get easier, does it? I think she fares better than I do. Maybe I’ll get a mini Frosty. That always does the trick. At least for a little while.
  • I might need to invest in a pair of ear plugs because Wren is practicing a new very high-pitched squeal. OUCH!

Best!

setting the table.

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I’m no Emily Post, but I love to set the table. It was always my job as a kid and I still like to do it. I don’t like to fuss a lot with centerpieces or candles, but I appreciate a nicely set table. In our nest we always use cloth napkins, real plates and utensils at all meals because it makes enjoying a meal together as a family like more of an event; plus it just feels good. And I think food tastes better this way too. The fact that it’s also eco-friendly is a bonus!

One thing I hope for our family is that everyone will learn the basics of setting the table. So I was thrilled when I came across this fun idea – a printable placement that teaches kids where stuff goes!

Click here to visit Parents.com to download the printable placement. Your whole family can even decorate their own and get them laminated to use throughout the year. What a fun winter project. Enjoy!

new year=new babies=new projects

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DIY Tag Blankies!

Two friends just had babies in the last month – a girl and a boy. How fun! Bliss. Happiness. And a bit of sleeplessness…

As you might know, I’m really not into pastel colors for babies (although Wren looks really pretty in pink) so I decided to make some funky tag blankies for the brand spankin’ new babes using lots of bright colors and patterns. And babies love tags, right? Give a baby a beautiful, earth-friendly, educational, ergonomic, expensive toy and they immediately grab for the tag and start chewing. Sigh. Might as well indulge their infantile interests…

One can easily walk into a store (or click over to Amazon) and buy one of these for about $20, but they are so much fun to make and of course, lots more meaningful. Plus the ones in the stores are always light green, light blue, light yellow or light pink. blech. And remember, lovely readers, I have been actively sewing now for about six weeks so this is a BEGINNER project that doesn’t require a lot of skill or super special materials, yahoo!

Simple Instructions

You’ll need about a 1/2 yard of fabric and sixteen pieces of ribbon in different lengths and colors. This is the fun part – be creative with your fabric and ribbons!

1. Measure and mark two 13-16″ square pieces (depending on how big you want your finished blankie) directly onto the wrong sides of the fabric and then cut these pieces out.

2. Place the two fabric pieces right sides together and fold the ribbon pieces in half. Pick a side, any side. Sandwich the ribbons between the two fabric pieces with the folded (finished) edge inside the fabric and yucky edges aligned with the yucky edges of the fabric. Space them out evenly (or not – be creative) and pin the various ribbons through both sides of fabric as you make your way around the square. Repeat on other sides. Leave a bit more of an opening (about 3-4 inches) on one side.

3. Time to stitch! Machine-stitch (or by hand if you’re into that kind of thing…) around the entire square, which then secures the ribbons in place as you go. Continue to leave that same 3-4 inches open.

4. Turn the blankie right side out – getting close here! Press about a 1/2 inch seam allowance on the top and bottom of the opening and press then press the whole blankie. Looking good now.

5. Machine stitch a 1/4 inch or so seam around the entire edge of the blankie (why not use a fun color thread here?) and make sure to close that opening. Voila!

Adapted from Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing for Baby.

Confessions.

  • The real indicator of when it’s time to put the holiday decorations away is when you can’t find peppermint stick ice cream in the grocery store anymore.
  • Orange is my favorite color today. Yep, still is.
  • I have a weakness for frozen Cokes.
  • Spelling is really important to me, but I am too proud (stubborn?) to use spell-check. If I spell something incorrectly, please alert me ASAP!

Best!