(sorta) Wordless Wednesday - Birthday and Beyond

BIRTHDAY








Thank you again, Keara, for this shot!








BEYOND
Sunny days . . . sweepin' the clouds away . . .

Seven Rooms, Seven Days - The Girls' Rooms

I'm not sure where to begin. I can only preface this all by saying I hope that even after reading and seeing all of this, you'll still want to be my friend.

Today, I tackled the girls' rooms. Let me sorta explain how our rooms are set up around here. We have three bedrooms - a master bedroom, a very large second bedroom, and a tiny third bedroom. As of right now, we call the second bedroom "Dacey's room" because her toys and furniture and Big Girl Bed are in that room. Big Girl Dacey, however, does not sleep in that room. She is actually still Crib Dweller Dacey. The tiny room is what we call "the nursery" because it has the crib and all of Aliza Joy's clothes in it. But that is not where Aliza Joy sleeps. She sleeps in various locations for naps (the crib, the sling, the swing, the Moses basket . . .) and at night, she starts out in a bassinet by our bed, but lands in bed with mom and dad around 2 am when she wakes up to nurse.

Are we all clear on the sleeping arrangements?

Okay, so . . . Dacey's room needs a makeover in the worst possible way. Her Big Girl Bed used to be our guest bed, and we haven't changed the bedding yet to be more Big-Girl-Friendly. We also have way, way, way too many toys and way, way, way too little cute storage. We want to get new bedroom furniture for that room - at the minimum, a new dresser and bookshelves and some sort of toy storage thingie - but just have not been able to find what we are looking for. As I've mentioned before, we're renting, so painting the walls is out of the question, but I sure would like to do some cute wall art. Anyway, the room needs a makeover.

And the nursery needs a makeover, too. We have cute new bedding and wall art for when D finally graduates out of the crib (and when will that be? Your guess is as good as mine.) but I want to wait until AJ moves into that room permanently to fix it up for her.

Now we've come to the part where I am hoping you can still be my friend. Dacey's room was by far the worst in the house. It sorta started around Christmas when I started slipping on getting her room picked up each night at bedtime. Then after Christmas there were, of course, more toys to add to the piles and I started getting really overwhelmed. And as we all know, the overwhelm can lead to the underperform. It just got worse and worse and worse. It finally got to the point where I was having to remind her Dad to be careful not to step om anything pointy and perhaps lethal as he carried her to her bed after her bath each night.

As I snapped the "before" pictures today, I was so sad and mad at myself for letting her room get this way. I feel deeply ashamed. I half-expected Oprah's film crew to show up to film a segment for one of her "You won't be able to believe that people live! like! this!" shows. I really felt like one of the people on those shows.

I don't know how this happened. I knew it was bad, I just didn't realize how bad it was until I saw it on film . . .

So, anyway, here we go. Brace yourself. (and there's a lot of pictures, too, girls. Forgive me!)

The nursery wasn't too awful. Mostly just clothes that had gotten lost on their way home and toys that had spilled out of D's room:

So two trashbags, one bag of toys to Freecycle, and many hours later, here it is. Still needs a visit from a design team, but at least it's organized!

I don't know why, but the child feels compelled to be at least half-naked at all times.

The dolls, they must be naked, too. That one in the carrier is only dressed because I snuck some clothes on her while I cleaned.

The Dora big wheel really belongs in the garage, it just keeps migrating inside . . .

When Dacey saw the end result, she said, "Wow! Cool room!" and promptly started messing things up playing again.

The nursery looks a might bit better, too.





So, that's that. Tonight as we were reading stories before bed, D kept getting annoyed with me because I would stop reading every little bit to enjoy the view. I couldn't help myself. I feel so. much. better.

Seven Rooms, Seven Days - The Kitchen

Wow! Day o' distractions, friends. My goodness.

Today started with a wonderful visit at my friend Kim's house where D got to try on her first ever princess dress. Magic! I was kicking myself for leaving the camera at home.

But then I had to bust booty when I got home to meet my deadline for today. And again, it was an afternoon just full of distractions and diversions - phone calls, fussy baby, hubby home for the day . . . it was very hard to stay on task.

Can I just tell you I am sincerely overwhelmed and surprised by the response to my Seven Rooms mission? I was thinking this would be total Yawnsville for everyone (and heck, by the end of this, most of you might very well be zonked out), but ya'll have been so gracious and supportive with your feedback. Thank you for that! It was actually very motivating to me today as I undertook the most lived-in, trafficked through, perpetually cluttery room in the house - my kitchen.


So yes, if you were to pop by the house on any given day in the past two or three weeks months, a glance in the kitchen would reveal an assortment of water bottles, dirty dishes, open boxes of cookies, and who knows what else . . .

The kitchen also hosts one of the hottest of Hot Spots. As usual, it was completely ablaze today. Let's see, I spy with my tired eye some cold lozenges and nasal spray that have been there since the week before Christmas (because where else would one store cold remedies?). There's the sinus rinse (fun), Dacey's "bunny scout brownies" over there at the left, and - can I be honest? - a whole bunch of The Coach's stuff.

So in between making and returning phone calls and bouncing cranky AJ and chit-chatting with the hubby, I managed to get this much done . . .

TA-DAAAAAAAAAH!

And here it is, almost nine in the evening, and it still looks almost as good as in the picture. Oh, there's some stuff yet to be done. I have a junk drawer that is scary with a capital S. But that's what zone work is for, right?

Everybody knows a turkey . . .

Or, in our case, a ham . . .



. . . helping to make our season bright.

Good to be back!

SortaCrunchy Q&A #14 - Tips and Tricks (sorta)

It's just gorgeous here today. Really, really gorgeous. Days like today make me wanna belt out a few verses of "God Blessed Texas" (If you wanna see heaven brother here's your chance). Added bonus - Miss D has been especially delightful the past few days. Just a real dream of a child (where are you, O Wood, that I may knock upon you?), and that has made life particularly sweet in my SortaCrunchy home.

And that puts me in a good place to answer today's SortaCrunchy question from Birdie of BirdBrain. Birdie is a fun and funky (in a good way, girl!) new mama to one sweet little September '07 man - Otto. Stop over and say hey if you have time!

Birdie asks, "What are your favorite tricks and tools of the Mama trade? What objects/tricks/ideas/attitudes get you through the day with two little ones?"

Honestly, I don't have a lot of tips. Or tricks. Well, some tricks. Like telling D that Cliff Kid Chocolate Brownie Organic Z Bars are "Bunny Scout Brownies." Those brownies are my back-up plan when she refuses to eat a meal, and she is ever so delighted to devour a Bunny Scout Brownie - Max and Ruby style.

So yeah, I have tricks like that.

But my only real tip is one that was given to me by Martha Sears, the mama of the Attachment Parenting super duo who co-authored The Baby Book with her husband, Dr. William Sears.

(Sidenote - I know I talk about the Sears an awful lot. I am not on their payroll. I just love them. I truly, truly do. Their books and website helped bring me from a dark, disappointed, and unhappy place in my mothering to a joyful, uplifted, and inspired turnaround. That's all.)

So anyway.

Martha Sears writes in The Baby Book that in parenting her own high-needs child, she had to learn to get behind her eyes. That phrase, that instruction, that advice has been the single most helpful parenting tip I have ever come across.

When D was a baby and was crying, fussy, out-of-sorts, whatever, I would take a deep breath, close my eyes for a second or two, then open them and look right into my daughter's eyes. Then I would imagine her looking out at me and ask myself, "If I were looking out of those eyes, what would I need to see to feel better?" I sure wouldn't want to see an angry, frustrated, exhausted mama. So no matter how angry, frustrated, or exhausted I was, I forced myself to be the mama she needed me to be at that moment. More often than not, all she needed was some peace, compassion, and understanding . . . maybe in the form of a bouncy walk around the room, perhaps an extra long hug with quiet whispers of affirmation in her ear. It usually wasn't much, but it almost always worked to just get behind her eyes and really think about what is was she was needing.

I gotta tell ya'll this. Life is proving to be quite unfair to my angelic AJ. Her two bottom teeth are threatening to erupt any day now. Yes! At not quite three months! Bless her heart. So this laid-back and content angel of a baby has been uncharacteristically needy and fussy for a few days. I find myself going back to Martha's advice and still find it works like a charm. Heck, it even works when D is going into meltdown mode and she's almost three.

I wonder if it'll work for pre-teen hormonal angst? We'll see.

Anyway, friend Birdie, that is the best I can offer in terms of tips and tricks. I hope it helps you as much as it helped is helping me.

SortaCrunchy Q&A #12 - It's a Family Tradition

Here's a little insight into the part of the country in which I grew up: Whenever someone mentions the words family tradition, some force that is beyond my control plugs in the honkey-tonk jukebox in my mind, pops in a quarter, and sends up Hank William Junior's "Family Tradition" . . . (Don't ask me Hank/why do you drink?/(Hank) why do you roll smoke?/Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?)

(Sing it with me, Melissa E! I know you know the words!)

So yes, I'll be humming along to that morally pure and uplifting anthem while answering this question from my Sweet Friend Mary Ann of Mountainer Mommy: What family tradition from when you were a child do you hope to continue with your family?

Well, it just so happens that really the only traditions my family has have to do with the holidays. How timely! My family always, always, always put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving weekend. Our family tree evolved through the years. When we were younger, it was decked out in handmade and hand-painted ornaments and brightly colored tree lights. If I close my eyes, I can still see it standing in all its glory - blue and red and yellow and orange lights twinkling amidst gold tinsel and silver "Baby's First Christmas" bells. As we got older, my mom reclaimed the tree and chose a lovely maroon and gold angels theme. The colored lights were replaced with the more refined white ones, and the "Baby's First" ornaments were tucked away in keepsake boxes. No matter what went up on the tree, Thanksgiving weekend was always the designated time to do the decorating.

Tonight we are putting up our tree. It's the first tree we have put up in seven years! Up until this past summer, we had two cats in our family. The temptation proved to be too great for the naughty kittens, and I finally got tired of having to redecorate the tree every morning. But the cats have found other homes now, and Miss D is enamored with Christmas trees this year, so putting up a tree will be a long-awaited event for us. My dear, wonderful, Sweet Friend Keara gave us a tree they weren't using and I am so excited for the fun that awaits us! We'll keep it simple for now . . . I have to save room for all the D and AJ originals that are sure to fill the boughs in years to come.

Wordless Wednesday - Just Because

Have a handmade holiday

Last night was a pretty big night in our little casa. For the first time ever, Miss D (who is nearing three) tinkled in the potty! Oh, there was much dancing and celebration over that, let me tell you.

And so, fully aware that I am surely jinxing myself, I have been having such fun shopping for training pants. Only a real cloth diaper nerd would ever say something like that, but how could a mama not have a little fun while browsing training pants in the form of Bright Bots, Divine Trainers, and Ditto Daddy briefs?


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you clicked on those last two links, you might have noticed they took you to storefronts found at Hyena Cart. Not familiar with Hyena Cart? Let me introduce you.


Hyena Cart is "A collection of earth-friendly shops" that started as a place where work-at-home-moms who were sewing diapers and knitting wool covers could sell their wares. I don't when it was created, but I do know it has gone through exponential growth in just the past year.

This summer and fall has brought a disturbing round of toy recalls, and perhaps this year you are hoping to be more plastic-free and earth-friendly in your holiday purchases. Here are some of the things you might stumble across while window shopping at HC:

For the kids
* wooden cars and trucks
* hand-sewn organic plush toys
* felted wool food from Wool Food Market
and all kinds of other fun stuff from the toys, books, and craft kits stores

For the ladies
* all-natural bath salts
* Goddess Wraps
* silk ring sling

For the menfolk
* all-natural muscle joint cream
* old-fashioned sandalwood soap
* maybe even some military ducks! (how cute are they?!?!)

That should be enough to whet your appetites . . . Happy shopping!

Wordless Wednesday - My Winged Girls

No need to deceive this one!

Evidently, there has come to be some heated discussions in the past few weeks regarding the idea of hiding veggies in the kiddos' food (a la Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef). I, for one, stand on the side of the fence with the big billboard that says whatever works. Jen and I are still waiting on our backordered copies of Deceptively Delicious to come in, but I have a sneaking suspicion the deceitfulness won't be all that necessary when it comes to D and her veggies.

Yesterday afternoon, we were working on some "art" projects when I felt the need to raid the kitchen for some afternoon snackage. I pulled out a shiny new box of puffed Club crackers as my snack du jour. Look at the box:

Notice how it says MULTI-GRAIN? That means it's good for you, right? Never mind the back of the box . . .

. . . and all that about the delicious butter-y-ness of it all. (They are quite enjoyably crispy, by the way.)

So I am trying to get D to join me in the perfectly puffed snacks, but she keeps asking for corn.

You want corn?

Yesh!

Like corn on the cob?

YESH! (with much emphatic head nodding)

So while I crunched on fat grams and calories of the buttery multi-grain variety, D took the high road with a satisfying whole food snack. I feel confident that the denizens of this household who will benefit the most from the Deceptively Delicious eats and treats will be The Coach and myself.

And just so no one feels left out, here is a gratuitous AJ shot from today, just shy of eight weeks:

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkin Bread, Anyone?