Wine, squids and free cupcakes :)

I hate night-time pictures, they always come out weird...

Eventful Friday night in progress though- 

Wine from my new German friends, it's super tasty and made right down the road.

The aftermath of the cupcakes baking in my oven right this moment.

And J's costume is coming along, of course the night before it needs to be finished!

More to follow on that later....

For now, WIN FREE CUPCAKES!
In honor of my new endeavor, Jr.'s Cupcake Barn, I'm giving away 12 fall-themed cupcakes this weekend!
Leave a comment here or go "like" me on facebook, then leave another comment letting me know you did so. Make sure you also leave your email, as they are usually private!
Sorry this is only good for people in the Spangdahlem/Bitburg area, but I'll randomly pick a comment tomorrow night (after 8) and bring you your cupcakes Sunday :) Good luck!

(The finished product! You'll get 6 of each, carrot and choco zucchini.)

One Year Old!

Yesterday was Johnny's first birthday! 

We had birthday waffles (a semi-new tradition in the house) and his was topped with a dab of Nutella. 

Not sure how "just a dab" can get spread so far.

We had green vanilla cupcakes with chocolate-coconut-buttercream icing. The 'fun' mom in me wanted the green color, the 'hippie' mom screamed no. Fun won out but this morning he woke up with a pretty bad mysterious rash so hippie mom is saying 'I told you so!' They were pretty cool.

How does a baby go from looking like a baby to a toddler in the span of 24 hours anyway?

We went and picked up Indian food to go and hung out with the friendlies, including J's buddy Anton :)

So cute!!

And, adorable thing of the week- if I tell him to "Say cheese!" I get this:

'
So, the rundown:
He's 21 lbs, but I don't know how tall. He's got seven teeth, he says mama, dada, da-ee (doggie), nom nom, hey. He knows the signs for sit, all done, milk and don't touch. We are not learning signs as quickly as I'd hoped, but only because I always forget to use them. He dances! He hugs everyone and loves other little kids. He climbs! His favorite toys are an orange juice container and some blocks that he puts in-and-out-in-and-out, a yellow car and his xylophone. His favorite foods are PB crackers and bananas, although he'll eat anything. We don't give him baby food at all, he eats what we eat everyday, whether it be soup, sandwiches, lentils, beans, pasta, veggies. He's a great eater :)
He nurses no more than three times a day, sometimes only two, unless he's not feeling well of course. He sleeps 12 hours straight every single night, and naps range from two long naps to one twenty minute nap a day, there's really no telling.
He throws fits just like a good little toddler when we tell him no, haha... But he is funny and loving and an amazing, smart, curious child.

This kids is so great and we are so, so lucky!

(another great photo by Jessica Ceason!)

Newly-revised TO DO!

I'm adding things that I've done and then crossing them out, even if they weren't on the list to begin with!

purse for mom

purses for mary 

purse for trade

two giant over-night bags (one for me, one for my sister)

bed spread for me

baby quilt for gift

growth chart for gift

car organizer, one for gift and one for me

car blanket and pillow for the Rabbit

Picnic dress for me

winter hats for Johnny

fall coat for Johnny's birthday- (fail! but he has a LOT of sweaters and coats, so I think it can wait until Spring)

two crocheted baby blankets for gifts

mushroom pillow for gift

play kitchen set

pillows for the couch

sorting acorns

family of wooden spoon puppets for J's b-day

squid costume & stroller cover

take in and hem pants

felt soap

play dough

Family...

....is the most important part of life.

The best breakfast and a growing bebe.

 Tricia may or may not have eaten this for breakfast this weekend:

 Oh, how I miss eating like a pregnant woman!

Just a peek at why I can't do dishes while J's awake... yes, he is in the dishwasher...

He gets bigger and grows up more everyday.

Tonight, after I got him dressed for bed, he climbed off the futon and crawled into his bed, teddy bear blanket in tow. I covered him with the blanket and left, and just like that my little baby was gone. He didn't want to be read to or rocked or sang to, he only wanted to go to bed. :::Sigh::: At this point I know I should be nothing but thankful that we have such an independent little boy, but really?? So soon? I was going to be the co-sleeping, breast feeding, baby wearing momma for as long as we could drag it out. Now, he doesn't sleep if anyone else is in bed with him (except for naps with dad), he eats everything in sight (tonight it was black bean and salsa soup with hot sauce!) and therefor is nursing less often, and he will only tolerate being in a sling for, well, however long he feels like it- which can be 10 minutes to two hours. If he decides he's not up to it my hair and skin suffer under the wrath of his flailing arms and hands.  

But dang, look how sweet he looks!

At least one of my babies still needs me, hehe...

This guy! It is an on-going battle to find a meeting point for dog and baby. They love each other but some days Luckie is just not having it any more and Johnny is just done with Luckie. It gets easier as he gets older and I imaging it still will. But how do you teach a dog not to eat the baby's food when the baby thinks it's funny to feed him?! Haha...  Meh, it's all part of the fun I suppose :) Everyone keeps asking when we're having another but in all seriousness, I have my hands full already! Speaking of, we got a really nice fireplace gate at the hardware store last weekend, so no more head injuries (on the hearth anyway!).

Night everyone. <3

The making of a Socktosquid, part 1.

Halloween is fast approaching, and in an effort to break the mad cycle of a mom sitting up late into the night sewing a costume the night before the 'Big Day' (Halloween was very important in our house, and ALWAYS handmade) I am getting a head start on Johnny's! 

We are going Trick-or-Treating with some friends on base and they have a few kids who are going to be pirates. Nice and easy for me, especially with the sweet dreads I'm sporting lately! But Johnny? Can't say I've ever seen a baby pirate. I do, however, think that every serious pirate should have a pet squid.

So there it is, a squid, randomly made from discarded socks. Kind of a play on the socktopus. 

So, to start, you need socks. Lots of them. I raided Chris's socks that he never ever throws away. I dumped them into the bathtub and covered them with warm water.

Using a washing machine dye kit I mixed in the salt fixative and orange liquid dye.

After awhile I let it drain and squeezed out as much liquid as I could.

Then I mixed red dye in a bucket of warm water and salt fixative.... and shivered a little at the Carrie-esque site.

... then had a ton of fun splashing the dye into the socks to give them a variegated color scheme.

In the morning I squeezed them out again and ran them through the wash.

They then had to be cut up so that I had consistent flat pieces to sew together. I tossed the heals and toes because I'm really not sure what I could use them for (and many had huge holes anyway!).

So I will continue this when it starts coming together a little more. I think it will be adorable and hilarious!

A friendly suggestion: Maybe think twice before using the forty year old bathtub in your rented house to dye anything blood-red.  :-/

As Promised!

I'm always so thrilled to make a new friend! Yesterday was no exception! So happy!!

Here is a link to Jessica's blog about our shoot (here) and her website with more pictures (here).

Hope you all love them as much as I do!!

Jessica, thank you for capturing our family and home just as it is, but somehow adding *sparkle*. You truly have a gift!
And, Beth, thank you for pointing us in her direction. We miss you!!

Cupcakes, crayons and CUTS!

Baby J finally made contact with our death-trap hearth. The night before family picture day, I might add! 

A new friend (previous friend of a friend) Jessica drove two hours to take our photos! I will of course link to them once she posts them :) In honor of her visit I made a new recipe for chocolate zucchini cupcakes, with mounds of chocolate buttercream frosting on top.

Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

And on the list of birthday presents for J are a handful of chunky crayons, perfect for little fingers!
Auntie peeled a huge bag of donated crayons and we broke them up and popped them into a mini muffin tray sprayed with oil and then into the oven.

How pretty are they?!

We tried to get him to color with them while picture taking this morning, but he wasn't having it. Ah well, maybe he will be more like his daddy than his mummy :)



I'll leave you with this:

Hope you're having a great Saturday!

A touchy subject.

SO, I guess there's no way to make things different if you don't talk about it....
I hate the fact that most boys in America are circumcised at birth. I think it's a very sad, old, outdated, barbaric tradition that causes pain where no pain is due. I think it's no different from female genital mutilation, which Americans scoff at.
If you ever plan on having children, even if you already do, if you may have more... Learn about it, question it. The more you read the more you'll hate it. And it's not all hype, it's truth. It's sad and it makes me sick to my stomach each time I come across an article about it. But ignoring the facts and just going on with "tradition" is the wrong path to take.

Your son is perfect. He was born perfect and came out just the way he should. Why mess with that?

I don't mean this to offend anyone I know with sons, I only mean to bring up a subject to those who have sons in their futures, to make people think and learn and have compassion for their babies.

Here is a a good place to start, and Peaceful Parenting is a good blog with lots of information.
Quoted from her blog:

"The reality is that today more baby boys die from circumcision surgery each year in the United States than from choking, from auto accidents, from suffocation, from SIDS, and from the (newly recalled) sleep positioners. Do not allow your child to suffer or be taken from you for senseless cosmetic amputation surgery upon his perfectly formed penis."

Seriously, I can't stress enough.... Please, take an active role in your sons' lives and QUESTION the norm. Don't make excuses, just do the right thing by your boys.

I encourage comments on this for the sake of education...

Pirate treasure and so forth.

My bestie's five year old calls dumpster diving Pirating. It's hilarious. 

A friend informed me that the childcare center on base threw a TON of stuff into a dumpster the other day. It's been awhile since I've dug through the trash, so I made the trip out there and jumped on in while Johnny napped in the car- right next to me, with the windows down! I clarify because I know how the base is about that and I'm thankful no one called Security Forces on me, because I really scored big in the trash!  

I've been wanting a small chair For J since he can't seem to stay in his highchair. He should have had a chair ages ago, but I'm cheap and haven't found the perfect one, but now here it is! 

Also picked up a vinyl covered block to use as a table.

...And a sweet tambourine to add to the music instrument collection!

I know everyone knows clearly how I feel about plastic toys, but this guy was rescued from the landfill so it's balanced out :) He'll do well outside.

And it took J. like 3.5 seconds to climb up and rock out!

Here he is eating breakfast like a BIG boy :) He didn't even throw his plate! We are using the sign for "sit" and it works out pretty well. I'm happy because I can turn my back without having a heart attack about him climbing out of his chair every 5 seconds.

I can't believe they were throwing stuff like this away. There was a perfectly good double stroller in there too, amongst other toys and odds 'n' ends. NOT trash by any means. It's really sad how wasteful our culture can be.

~~~~~~

So, as he turns one I thought I wouldn't be the sentimental one, but each day I want to hang onto him a little harder and play with him a little longer and just watch and watch and watch.
Probably it has something to do with going back to work, but I imagine it's just a part of him growing up.
I want to remember every. little. moment.

Chris is on swing shift now so I get to put him to bed most nights. I hold him and he rests his head on my shoulder and we sway a little and he falls asleep so easily. I lay him in his bed and tuck him in and shut the door, and I always immediately want to go back in there and hold him and just listen to him sleep. But then in the morning I really love opening the door and seeing him get all excited, it's the perfect start to any day. The perfect start and the perfect ending, and I'm so, so lucky.

Shadows and cupcakes.

Cupcakes for no reason are the best cupcakes...

Vegan Cookies and Cream cupcakes especially :)

~~~~~~

Okay, so my son is giving me (and Dad and Auntie) a run for my money. He climbs the stairs, he climbs the baby gates. He turns the knobs on the stove, nearly burning the house down (the knobs have now been removed, after a frightening incident involving a cookbook). He puts everything in his mouth, and if it doesn't wind up in his mouth he feeds it to the dog. He eats, all. the. time. If I don't feed him fast enough he pulls all the cereal out of the cabinet an eats that. He's trying to talk and is pretty forceful in all his actions -as evidenced by numerous bruises on his legs and a bloody nose for Mom tonight, caused by a curious finger and finger nail inserted into my left nostril. 

He's nearly a year old and amazing- we couldn't ask for a more perfect match for our family! 

~~~~~~

I've been motivated lately to get things done, try a few new things. 

Here's a blanket for a friend's son complete with mushroom pillow!

A family of wooded spoon puppets for J's birthday.

Felted soap! Everyone's doing it! This was fun and I'll be making more really soon, with friends and children involved hopefully :)

A quilt for the bedroom, made with a panel of Indian Batik.

~~~~~~

We've been trying hard to enjoy what sunshine is left of this year. 

In the winter here the sun s setting by 4 p.m. and doesn't rise completely until almost 10 a.m. I'm not looking forward to it. What do you do with a rambunctious toddler indoors for a whole winter??

Ohhh, it's way past bedtime... night friends!

Cow's milk vs. soy milk.

I've heard so much hoopla lately about soy making little boys into little sissy-boys because of the levels of phytoestrogens involved.
Let me tell you something: cow's milk comes from a mammal. A female, generally pregnant, mammal. Do you have any idea how many estrogens are involved in THAT process? Growth hormones that are actually absorb by our own mammal bodies can have a devastating effect on both boys and girls.
I started learning about all this when I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I also learned that yes, synthetic estrogens (made as your body breaks down pesticides) can also wreak havoc on your body. These come from pesticides, which are used on apples, oranges, strawberries, potatoes, rice, corn, trees, grass, pansies and SOY BEANS to name a few. Don't you imagine that pesticides would be more of a concern than phytoestrogens?
So why all the hype over just soy as a food? The protein is unmatched, especially when compared to how other  sources of protein are raised. Organic soy beans are a great dietary choice...

Here, on the joys of soy: Are Phytoestrogens Harmful?

And on the dangers of cow milk: MOO.

Too much of anything is bad for you. You can die from over-consuming water. Too much soy is probably not good. But neither would too much beef, pork, milk or apple seeds be good for you.

The older my son gets and the more I read, the more I decide this world is just crazy.

First!

~First day of Autumn! 

This is my favorite time of year- the blue skies, fresh, clean air, rustling leaves. It's also very sentimental as it reminds me of New England, Chris and I were married in fall and our son was born in fall. We also tend to move in the fall, so it feels like a new beginning every year as the breeze blows through.

(this is my Fall image, since I haven't gotten around to taking any leaf pictures yet- but the flowers are still in full bloom!).

Meagan P., these are from the seeds you saved for me. I planted a few and they TOOK OVER!

~First (unexpected) day at my new JOB.
There is an alteration shop on base and they have been looking for a seamstress. I took the plunge. I hate alterations, but it'll be some of the best sewing experience I've acquired as of yet. And I get to play with all sorts of cool machines. Did you know there is such thing as a hemming machine?? I sewed on like 20 pairs of stripes, but it'll progress to the real thing as I get faster.

I went crazy last night going back and forth between leaving Johnny or continuing to stay home. It came down to money and the opportunity to work in a professional sewing atmosphere. It's only a couple days a week but that really is perfect because I really can't leave that kid for very long without feeling overly guilty. He is just going to be hanging out with his dad and auntie tho, so no big deal :) It will definitely be good for Chris!

~First night of Johnny in his toddler bed!
He went into his crib for real at 6-7 months. He's hated it since day one and cries every single time we put him in it. He sleeps great in it, but has the run of his room and now the upstairs almost completely so I've never put him in it to play or anything, so if he's awake he's crying to get out. Now he climbs (carefully) on and off the couch so we went ahead and put the little rails on the side of the crib to make it a bed. Tonight I bathed him, got him dressed, tickled him and laid him in the bed- and left the room. He fussed for about 15 seconds then just started talking and now, only a few minutes later, I can hear him snoring! No pacing, rocking, cooing, singing. He was very content to lie down and go to sleep in his new big-boy bed. He's just like his mom and hates feeling caged in!

Now for the big news (and this would of course happen the first day I leave the house for hours with the worry that I'll miss something awesome fresh in my mind):

~First STEPS! 
11 months and five days, Johnny started walking on his own. Soooo cute! I missed the very first go-round but got to see him do it all evening, which was great. Chris got him going this afternoon, he said it was a tiny little shuffle, but by the time I was here it was a bona-fide walk. *tear* I know some people who get very choked up as their kiddos hit milestones and grow up. I think I'm the opposite, I'm so flippin' excited to see him grow and learn!!

 A few other cute baby things:
If you say "Doh!" J will hit his forehead/face with his open hand and giggle.
He kisses me often with a wide open mouth, tongue out, on my chin/cheek/mouth/eye... Which usually ends with me trying to keep him from biting me.
He throws the ball to Luckie and claps when he brings it back.
He makes 'car' noises (which consists of a various array of raspberry/slobber noises) as he slides the computer mouse across the floor. Adorable. He does the same thing with a mouth full of food he doesn't appear to like. Not so adorable.
He likes to put things down my shirt for safekeeping. Today it was his ball, yesterday it was his sippy-cup.

Anyway, don't want to overload you with cute! I'll save some for his first birthday post :)



P.s. Guess who is coming around again? Our midwife! (No, I'm not pregnant- my sister is! And she is having Elisabeth deliver her little one in April). It occurred to me that we never got a photo of J with her after he was born- so here it is, 11 months later :)

We love her!! It was so good to see her and I'm really looking forward to her monthly visits! *warm fuzzies*