Serious-wasn't it just September? Now we are looking at the ending of November with Thanksgiving being tomorrow. I always swear that I will get better at this stuff, but honestly, who am I kidding? As much as I love to blog, I never seem to have the consistent time to do it. Anywho, here's an update of our lives for September and most of November. Unfortunately, no pictures because the hubster had to move the iPhoto library over to the iMac desktop which is currently dismantled as we have company coming on Friday.
September
The first part of September was going really well, and I really need to learn to keep my mouth closed sometimes and not ask when the ball is going to drop. Yeah, the ball dropped big time. The hard drive with everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) I have ever done for my teaching career suddenly died. I literally told Brett on the phone Monday before I left that it was making funny noises before I left school, and by the time I got home, it no longer functioned.
After about a month and half of trying to get it fixed (one on the side job and two professional clean rooms), we got the official word that is was completely unrecoverable at the end of October. Of course, I was livid, and all heck broke out needless to say multiple times. Lots of you did/didn't do crap that was probably a waste of time. I still contend that if we had sent it off right away that the data would have been recoverable, but that is neither here or there. Thus the move that I thought was going to be less stress and work went into overdrive, and it hasn't really slowed down.
Starting from square one is never really fun for teachers, but I am starting to fix that it is going to end up being a good thing, especially when that much work is lost. I luckily have some of the stuff printed out thank goodness, but there will be a lot more creating than I expected. However, it has actually been more of an inspiration since I have to be creative and search things out. The other big plus is that I have my best buddies like edhelper, pinterest and teachers pay teachers to ease some of the pain. Not really sure how I survived without them. I am hoping to make blog (hahaha-I know this ironic since I can't seem to keep this one up) to track the things I am doing. I at least finally started a class blog for my kiddos.
October
October is usually my favorite month. Fall finally comes to Texas, and our wedding anniversary and my favorite holiday are both in October. However, this October was literally unbearable. Hubster and I spent a lot of time arguing over the dang drive, and I got the official news during October. It seemed like the first of many dings I kept getting. I was on a roller coaster of emotions.
We had some trouble planning our anniversary this year (probably will for a long time) due to the added significance of the date, my mother's death. It is really hard to be in a mood to want to celebrate when someone you wish were here to celebrate isn't. My biggest wish was to spend time as a family, and I definitely believe my mom wouldn't want us to not celebrate our anniversary. This was one was actually a big one since it was number 5; this is the first major marriage milestone.
My baby sister, E, called us earlier in the month to ask if we would come to her volleyball game on our actual anniversary. She plays for a university near where my parents lived, and they were playing at home and wanted to dedicate the game to Mom. Since she never asks us to do stuff, we knew it was important to be there for support. We made our normal dinner trip to Ihop a breakfast trip, and then the three of us headed to our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We had so much fun this year because Little Man is up, moving, and interested in everything! He was so full laughter at getting to run up and down the rows of pumpkins being chased by Daddy, and he was so amusing since he felt the need to try and pick up every pumpkin twice his size. After a short stop at home, we grabbed my grandma to head to Waxahachie. We made a pit stop at my paternal grandmother's. We hadn't seen her since right after Little Man was born. It was a nice short visit, but I did have to tell her that my mother had past away. It was a little easier than having to explain to some random friend of my mother who didn't have any idea that she had past. I wasn't thrilled to tell her this information because I know it is going to get back to my real father, and it chaps me to have him know any of my personal information. Part of the reason I haven't sent new pictures to her is because I have no desire for him to have any knowledge of Little Man. The volleyball game went really well; E's team played amazing and basically handed the other team their butts. E played at top form, which was nice since sometimes she gets nervous and plays badly when we are there. It was nice to see all the girls in shirts for my mom, and E has really been blessed with an awesome coach who looks out for her. It was his idea to play the game for my mom. We went to dinner with E and some other family, and it was nice to get a chance to chat with people. The only thing missing was that my other sister, K, had to be at work.
The next day Hubster's mother came and got Little Man, and we headed to a staycation in Dallas. Things started out fairly well. We had gotten a room at the Fairmount Hotel, and they ended upgrading us to a king and sending up chocolate covered strawberries and champagne when they found out it was our anniversary. We also got a chance to finally share the bottle of the same port we toasted with at our reception (Messina Hof's Ivory Ports of Call). I had found it the summer before our third anniversary, but between cutting my finger open, getting pregnant, and mom dying, we hadn't had a chance to even open it. We then hit up the Dallas Museum of Art. Then we found out that the night art display we wanted to see and why we picked downtown Dallas happened the night before. A little disappointed, we headed to dinner at Lark in the Park which over looks Klyde Warren. Well, I should say did because there is now a new restaurant actually in the park that blocks the view of it. While the food was fairly good, there was a very limited selection, and it kind of paled in comparison to place we had been in the past. After dinner, we walked around a bit so I could play with my camera a bit, and then we stopped by the new restaurant that didn't seem to have a name for dessert. It wasn't bad, but again, nothing to really write home about. We finally went back to the room and got some sleep. Sleeping in was nice, and the Fairmount had an excellent breakfast buffet even if it was a bit on the expensive side. There Oatmeal Brulee completely makes up for it, and I would highly suggest it if you like oatmeal. We had a little bit of time before we had to be back home so we visited the Sixth Floor Museum (the JFK assignation museum). I had been once before when I was in high school, and Brett hadn't ever been. It was a nice end to the staycation in Dallas.
Life went on fast forward, and it was suddenly the weekend before Halloween. We hadn't really had time to put up decorations, and I hadn't even picked up a pumpkin since we decided to go the cheaper route. I hadn't even had a chance to fix up the costume I planned to put together to go with Little Man's Minion costume. We did manage to go to Boo at the Zoo at the Ft. Worth Zoo the Sunday before, and Little Man was so excited. He really loved looking at all the animals; the bears were especially popular. I got a chance to carve my pumpkin on Sunday, but it molded before we could put it out. We hardly got any trick-or-treaters, so the whole thing was kind of a bust. Needless to say, I welcomed the dawn of November.
November
Work has been busy between the To Kill a Mockingbird projects and International Week. I have had so much grading, and I can't ever seem to get it all cleared away. I also had a good evaluation at school as well; I am thankful for that since things got a bit messed up with some changes. Finally having Thanksgiving break has been wonderful thing.
This month should have been renamed the sick month. Since the end of October, we have been to the doctor several times and one ER trip with Little Man. We have had ear infections in each ear, a stomach bug that caused vomiting and diarrhea, and breathing issues. Hubster got what Little Man had, and he also passed it to my grandmother, uncle, and two great aunts. I had a touch of the diarrhea but otherwise was unscathed. Both of our allergies have been a hindrance due to the lovely flux in Texas weather. It has been nice that the cold finally came in since it will be killing a lot of this stuff. I feel horrible that Little Man has apparently gotten my gene for allergies and asthma.
We have spent most of break cleaning house, and we finally got things reorganized in our bedroom and some of the middle bedroom office/craft room. I also got most of Little Man's summer clothes sorted out and finished packing away the last of the infant stuff. As much as we hate to part with Little Man, it was nice that he was able to go daycare the last three days. We will have the next couple of days. We did manage to squeeze in a small date to the movie. Tomorrow, we will spend the first part of Thanksgiving with Hubster's mom, brother, grandfather, and my grandmother in Denton, and then we will head over to Grapevine to spend the evening with some of my cousins. Plans for Friday are bit in the air. I am still deciding on braving some of the Black Friday stuff- I refuse to shop on Thanksgiving. Great for those who want to, but I do think it is pushing it a bit to have things starting on Thanksgiving. Then again, I also don't think the movies should be open on Christmas either. Hubster is planning to get some yard work done, and then we have friends coming over for a post Turkey potluck. Saturday I will most likely go into work to grade some of the projects I have been avoiding, and I think we will try to do some Christmas stuff on Sunday as Brett has to work some the following weekend.
While everything seems to be in transition always for our little family, this coming Monday will usher in a big transition for Little Man. Today was his last full day in the infant room (cue the crying from momma), which is his last baby thing left. As of Monday, he will begin the transition process of going to the toddler room a whole month early; he should actually be going until the end of December/ beginning of January since he won't be 18 months until then. However, the Miss Ds think he is definitely ready for it. He will actually be doing Montessori lessons once he moves up, and he will be full time in the toddler room a week from Monday. While it is an exciting time, it is so hard to believe that he is already such a big little man, and it is so hard to let his babyhood drift off without shedding a tear or two-okay maybe more like 9 or 10. One would never believe that such a little calm thing would grow into such a ball of energy and independence. Thankfully, his new teacher seems like a sweetheart, and I feel somewhat comfortable leaving him in her hands. Now if we could just decide on whether to do it all over again or not. While a bit of pain to go through, I think we are getting to a point where it might not be too bad to have to take it all back down again, but then again a certain person changes his mind all the time.
Next up...
Yah for Christmas time and birthday celebrations! I will hopefully have pictures next time of the gifts I give to Little Man's infant teachers-if I can ever decide what to do and get them done-along with his new teacher's gift (I am hoping to do a school supply cake for her). There is also Christmas planning, presents, and events to post about as well. My next big project is looking like it might actually be a DIY kitchen for Little Man since he loves the ones at daycare so much. Not sure if I can pull it off in time for Christmas. There is also the start to birthday planning! So nightie-night blog land, and I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving tomorrow for those in the US. For the rest of the world, I hope you have a wonderful plan old Thursday.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Uh.. where does the time go?
Hard to believe that my last blog was about a month ago! Yikes where has all this time gone. After we got back from our first family trip, everything seemed to go on hyperspeed and hasn't slown down at all, but thankfully, it is all for good reasons.
Family Trip
We took our first trip as a family toward the end of July. It was just a four day road trip to San Antonio to visit with family. We headed down in the early afternoon on Thursday. Grayson did awesome most of the trip down, and he was surprisingly awake most of trip and not whining about being in his seat. We made a pit stop to visit with Brett's uncle and had a delicious lunch at the restaurant he works at called the Magnolia. We made it to my great aunt's house in the early evening. It was great to see Gray play with toys that I had once played with as a child.
Right before the trip, Gray had start walking. We had tubes put into his ears at the beginning of July, and the change was automatic. Once he figured out how to balance himself (he had been bending back a bit to gain balance), he was off. He had tons of fun moving around my great aunts. Her house is a big circle, so he could make the rounds and always find something new.
This is actually an annual trip for my grandma and I; last year was the first year we didn't go. Brett was joining us for the first time. The whole point of the trip other than visiting with family is to make a day trip to Fredericksburg to pick peaches at Marburger Orchard. Picking peaches is an interesting experience, and I can't say enough wonderful things about the family that runs this farmer and their business. If you are in the area at the right part of the year, you should definitely check it out. Make sure to check their website for updates though. Unfortunately, the funky Texas weather hadn't been too kind to the Texas peach crop, and while they had peaches for sale, we weren't able to pick peaches at all. We did get to pick green beans and purchase some wonderful produce. We then headed into Fredericksburg to grab lunch at a dinner that we always eat-can't find the name for some reason. Then we hung out at the Wildflower Farm before heading back to San Antonio.
Before we heading back to Dallas, Brett and I got a chance to hang with Gray's godmother who lives in Round Rock/Austin. We meet half way in downtown San Marcos. The original restaurant stop serving lunch by the time we arrives, but we managed to find a place on the backside of the square. Then we headed to the outlet mall in San Marcos. It is so big now that I wouldn't suggest going. The one in Round Rock has many of the same stores, and it a lot more manageable.
As easy as the trip down was, the trip back home was horrible. We hit terrible traffic on the way back due to accidents and constructions. If you plan to be heading down, make sure to build this into your time on the way back. A drive that normally takes about 3 hours or so too more like 8 due to all the traffic. Luckily, my parents' house is on the way home, and we were able to stop to feed Gray and take a break. We finally got home about 10 that night. This would have been fine if we had had more time to rest from our vacation, but....
New Job
....I had to start my new job! I had been trying most of the spring and early summer to find a new teaching job. I wasn't happy with the school I was in, and it was a toxic environment that was leading to issues at home. I hadn't had much luck. I had had only three interviews. The first I pretty much got an offer, but I was hesitant to take it since it was a several thousand dollar paycut and a charter. I did get an interview with what I thought was my dream high school. The interview went well, and I felt really good about it. Then I didn't hear anything. I kept reaching out and crossing my fingers, and then I decided to extend my reach to include middle schools as well. I got an interview with a middle school that I had been interested in before. Once again, I had a great interview, but nothing came of it. I pretty much gave up hope that I was going to be stuck again this year.
Then I got word from one of the top charter companies in the area about a school I had wanted to work for back before I went to work for the ISD was working for. I passed the phone interview and the simulator fairly easily, and I got an interview with the actual school. I almost thought I was sunk because my email confirmation for the interview time and date never went through. I had a so-so feeling about interview so I didn't really expect to hear back in a positive way. Thus, I was a bit on the surprised side to get a call from the middle school director. I had interview for a world history position, and I hadn't interviewed with this person. However, I made enough of an impression on the upper school director that she told him I would be perfect for the 8th grade ELAR position. After some thought, we decided for me to go with it, and I accepted the offer not realizing that I would be going back into training right away.
On the Monday following the trip, we had to take care of my old classroom and getting me all squared away with my old district. Then I started the two weeks professional development, and then school start on the 6th! Needlessly, I have been on fast speed ever since, but it has been totally worth it! I had gotten to a point that I dreaded going to work, but this change has really revitalized my love of teaching. I realized that part of my being burned out had to do with lack of inspiration and challenges. I have been pushed more this year, and it is definitely making me a better teacher. I am hoping now it will be a little bit more manageable.
Life with a Toddler
Everyone tells you that life is different with a toddler and that the twos are stressful, but nobody bothers to tell you that it happens this soon! Gray as a baby and as a toddler are night and day. His personality is really starting to take hold, and he is becoming an amazing, independent little fellow. It is great for him and super entertaining, but it does make things a bit of struggle for us. We have had a few struggles with food (a whole other post)! He also got three more teeth all at once with the fourth coming in right away. So, now my toothless wonder has 8 whole teeth, and we are looking at some molars coming in now. Since the tubes, he has been slowly increasing in verbal ability, and he chatters now stop. He is a maniac when it comes to walking, and I am sure he will be running in no time. He has also picked up a habit of climbing on everything. His favorite spot now is to climb onto his block table and sit while playing with the blocks. He is definitely total boy and a handful. I went to orientation at his school last week for his move to the toddler room :( I wanted to shed a few tears. Seems like only yesterday, we were just starting to drop him off. We are hoping to start dance or gymnastics soon because he so love to move around. He is definitely all boy. I could go on and on, but I will need material for another blog.
I am crossing my fingers that I can get back into the groove of things and put more down here. It makes me a bit sad that I haven't had a chance to cover more of his new era of life. At least have the next two post ideas lined up-weaning/feeding and first college visit and football game. Here's hoping to a more regular schedule to tune into. Until next time, enjoy a few pictures from our trip-uh... just kidding about the pictures since the Blogger is being a bit of a pain. Next blog will be pictures only I guess :/
Monday, July 8, 2013
Lessons From a First Birthday Party Planner
With first birthdays, there comes first birthday parties. A fan of party planning, I had been looking to first birthday party planning. About December, I started poking through pinterest for party ideas. I am a total pinaholic, and there are far too many ideas out there to pick from. I think half my boards are now party related boards. I think I really spent far too much time with pinterest and too little time actually working through party ideas. We also had the advantage of going to a couple of parties prior to his birthday. I have lots of insight to impart now that I am 2 weeks post birthday party. First here are some pictures of the end result.
Here's what I learned
1. Budget-The hubby and I aren't great financial people, even though we try hard sometimes to be, and I would say this is the number one place when planning. I am not sure how I didn't realize this based on our wedding planning days. Sadly, I discovered a little too late that budget should be talked about much prior to event. We started talking birthday a couple months prior to the event with batting some ideas around, but we didn't discuss the money points involved. Budget is definitely going to dictate what you can and cannot do because the one thing parties are forsure is expensive! We didn't have a set amount before I started researching or shopping, and my original plan for a place was way out of price limit when I checked into it. The lesson I pulled away was that you really need to start discussing budget about 5-6 months prior to the actual event. Next year after Christmas is all done, I am going to encourage us to sit down and decided how much extra we can sock away per month and how that averages out. This way I will know when I start researching what realistically I can look at. The other option is to do some research on places prior to creating a budget and then create a budget around a particular item (nifty favors, cool entertainment, off the wall place, awesome decorations, etc) that you feel will make the party. It might be easier to plan a budget with a goal in mind, but some people including myself could have problems making sacrifices based on one element.
2. Decide what is important to make the party a success-Everyone has different kicks, and this applies to party planning as well. This will help give you focus. For example, we decided that we wanted a comfortable, familiar feeling for Gray. This lead us to have the party at home rather than spending money on a bigger place. It saved us money that I got to spend more on decorating and his actual gift, but it limited how many people we could invite. So figure out what you want more than anything and prioritize around those desires. Remember though that there are limits based on time and budget though.
3. Pick a place and activites that fits your child's age, guest list, and budget-There are a lot of options for kids parties now. I found some pretty awesome party ideas while planning at a variety of price points, and I also found such cute activities and themes on pinterest. When it came down to it, many of the things we thought about would have been a bit of a waste. Our guest list ended up being a mix of ages with the kids ranging from as young as two weeks to teens, and Gray really is just getting to the point where he is interacting more. It just didn't make sense for us to have a party filled with activities that wouldn't be enjoyed and a huge waste of time and money. A home party ended up being great because the youngest kiddos ended up being entertainment for the older ones, and being in a smaller, kid friendly space allowed the adults to relax a little be and have a chance to talk and mingle as well. Also remember your guest's needs when planning and make accommodations as needed. We went to another first birthday party the following weekend that was a rec center pool area. This party had equal parts kids and adults, and they rented the whole indoor facility for a couple of hours. This was perfect for their event. If you live in the NRH area, then I would definitely suggest their rec center-excellent facility. For example, I should have made sure to have two separate places for changing diapers and feeding schedules. If I had thought more about my next topic, we might not have had the mishaps we did.
4. Plan your before time based on what needs to get done-This is definitely something I didn't pay much attention to. Once you find a place, you have to think about what it is going to take to make it party ready. This might dictate what you can and can't do. If you decide to have your party at home, make sure that you budget in time for cleaning. If you are getting crafty, you should also factor that into the time as well. Part of why we had the party at home was so I could connect with my inner Martha Stewart a bit, and unfortunately, that doesn't work as well when you suck at house cleaning. Since it was possible that I might not return to my current school and needed to consolidate even if I did, I brought a lot of my school stuff home at the end of the year. So, I wasn't just wrangling with our normal messiness. I needed to completely clean out our middle room and reconfigure it to adjust to our needs. That really too me a full week out the two weeks I ended up having after we got out of school. I really should have anticipated this and started prepping that room at the beginning of May, but procrastination got the better of me. I was also doing the craft projects at the same time, and we ended up working on things up until the start of the party, which is total no bueno. It would have been nice to have had a chance to relax some beforehand. Hindsight 20/20.
5. Know your limits-The only person can really tell what you can and can't do is you. I have recently seen the term pinterest guilt pop up, and several articles have talked about people (especially working moms) having problems dealing with feel less for not being able to get those perfect pinterest parties and activites pulled off. Pinterest is great for encouraging creativity and finding ideas that you might not have tried beforehand, but I can't lie and say it wasn't a bit of a bane of my existence for party planning. I see all kinds of ideas, and I want to do everything. Lucky for me, I have a great partner who reminds me regularly that I do have limits. As much as it sucks to admits flaws in ourselves, take a realistic look at those pins and make sure you are up to it in time, sanity, and money; otherwise you are setting yourself up for failure. Think about what you are good at, and pick a few favorites. Better to do a few things good rather than a ton halfway.
6. It is okay to be semi-homemade-I don't know what craziness I had cooking in my brain when I thought I had when I was coming up with party ideas. I had the fantasy dreams that I could cook-up amazing homemade party you see in the party planning websites in just two weeks. I kept saying I would start things once school slowed down or was out. Needless to say, I was a bit more than upset when my husband did some dream dashing by pushing for me to pick a party theme with pre-made stuff. I really wanted something original, but original takes lots of time and making from scratch. Picking something that was already made ended up being a great thing for me, even if we had a similar party to someone else. It does give you a jumping off basis for your projects as well. As you can see, a mix of the two can yield lots of cuteness.
7. Be ready to deal with hiccups and sacrifices-Whoever came up with the advice learn to let things go was brilliant. I learned this when we planned the wedding, and I had to relearn it with the party. Any big event is going to have its issues; you have to learn to just roll with the punches. I am horrible at taking on too much to chew. When you are hitting a deadline, then you need let go of things go and concentrate on what is absolutely important. If those things take less time, then you can go back and add some finishing touches. We ended up giving up somethings I really wanted last minute, but the party wasn't any worse for wear it. If something happens, then just work with it instead of getting upset.
Well, I think that pretty much sums it up. Time to go onward into a new adventure. Hope my hindsight is helpful for someone's foresight.
1. Budget-The hubby and I aren't great financial people, even though we try hard sometimes to be, and I would say this is the number one place when planning. I am not sure how I didn't realize this based on our wedding planning days. Sadly, I discovered a little too late that budget should be talked about much prior to event. We started talking birthday a couple months prior to the event with batting some ideas around, but we didn't discuss the money points involved. Budget is definitely going to dictate what you can and cannot do because the one thing parties are forsure is expensive! We didn't have a set amount before I started researching or shopping, and my original plan for a place was way out of price limit when I checked into it. The lesson I pulled away was that you really need to start discussing budget about 5-6 months prior to the actual event. Next year after Christmas is all done, I am going to encourage us to sit down and decided how much extra we can sock away per month and how that averages out. This way I will know when I start researching what realistically I can look at. The other option is to do some research on places prior to creating a budget and then create a budget around a particular item (nifty favors, cool entertainment, off the wall place, awesome decorations, etc) that you feel will make the party. It might be easier to plan a budget with a goal in mind, but some people including myself could have problems making sacrifices based on one element.
2. Decide what is important to make the party a success-Everyone has different kicks, and this applies to party planning as well. This will help give you focus. For example, we decided that we wanted a comfortable, familiar feeling for Gray. This lead us to have the party at home rather than spending money on a bigger place. It saved us money that I got to spend more on decorating and his actual gift, but it limited how many people we could invite. So figure out what you want more than anything and prioritize around those desires. Remember though that there are limits based on time and budget though.
3. Pick a place and activites that fits your child's age, guest list, and budget-There are a lot of options for kids parties now. I found some pretty awesome party ideas while planning at a variety of price points, and I also found such cute activities and themes on pinterest. When it came down to it, many of the things we thought about would have been a bit of a waste. Our guest list ended up being a mix of ages with the kids ranging from as young as two weeks to teens, and Gray really is just getting to the point where he is interacting more. It just didn't make sense for us to have a party filled with activities that wouldn't be enjoyed and a huge waste of time and money. A home party ended up being great because the youngest kiddos ended up being entertainment for the older ones, and being in a smaller, kid friendly space allowed the adults to relax a little be and have a chance to talk and mingle as well. Also remember your guest's needs when planning and make accommodations as needed. We went to another first birthday party the following weekend that was a rec center pool area. This party had equal parts kids and adults, and they rented the whole indoor facility for a couple of hours. This was perfect for their event. If you live in the NRH area, then I would definitely suggest their rec center-excellent facility. For example, I should have made sure to have two separate places for changing diapers and feeding schedules. If I had thought more about my next topic, we might not have had the mishaps we did.
4. Plan your before time based on what needs to get done-This is definitely something I didn't pay much attention to. Once you find a place, you have to think about what it is going to take to make it party ready. This might dictate what you can and can't do. If you decide to have your party at home, make sure that you budget in time for cleaning. If you are getting crafty, you should also factor that into the time as well. Part of why we had the party at home was so I could connect with my inner Martha Stewart a bit, and unfortunately, that doesn't work as well when you suck at house cleaning. Since it was possible that I might not return to my current school and needed to consolidate even if I did, I brought a lot of my school stuff home at the end of the year. So, I wasn't just wrangling with our normal messiness. I needed to completely clean out our middle room and reconfigure it to adjust to our needs. That really too me a full week out the two weeks I ended up having after we got out of school. I really should have anticipated this and started prepping that room at the beginning of May, but procrastination got the better of me. I was also doing the craft projects at the same time, and we ended up working on things up until the start of the party, which is total no bueno. It would have been nice to have had a chance to relax some beforehand. Hindsight 20/20.
5. Know your limits-The only person can really tell what you can and can't do is you. I have recently seen the term pinterest guilt pop up, and several articles have talked about people (especially working moms) having problems dealing with feel less for not being able to get those perfect pinterest parties and activites pulled off. Pinterest is great for encouraging creativity and finding ideas that you might not have tried beforehand, but I can't lie and say it wasn't a bit of a bane of my existence for party planning. I see all kinds of ideas, and I want to do everything. Lucky for me, I have a great partner who reminds me regularly that I do have limits. As much as it sucks to admits flaws in ourselves, take a realistic look at those pins and make sure you are up to it in time, sanity, and money; otherwise you are setting yourself up for failure. Think about what you are good at, and pick a few favorites. Better to do a few things good rather than a ton halfway.
6. It is okay to be semi-homemade-I don't know what craziness I had cooking in my brain when I thought I had when I was coming up with party ideas. I had the fantasy dreams that I could cook-up amazing homemade party you see in the party planning websites in just two weeks. I kept saying I would start things once school slowed down or was out. Needless to say, I was a bit more than upset when my husband did some dream dashing by pushing for me to pick a party theme with pre-made stuff. I really wanted something original, but original takes lots of time and making from scratch. Picking something that was already made ended up being a great thing for me, even if we had a similar party to someone else. It does give you a jumping off basis for your projects as well. As you can see, a mix of the two can yield lots of cuteness.
7. Be ready to deal with hiccups and sacrifices-Whoever came up with the advice learn to let things go was brilliant. I learned this when we planned the wedding, and I had to relearn it with the party. Any big event is going to have its issues; you have to learn to just roll with the punches. I am horrible at taking on too much to chew. When you are hitting a deadline, then you need let go of things go and concentrate on what is absolutely important. If those things take less time, then you can go back and add some finishing touches. We ended up giving up somethings I really wanted last minute, but the party wasn't any worse for wear it. If something happens, then just work with it instead of getting upset.
Well, I think that pretty much sums it up. Time to go onward into a new adventure. Hope my hindsight is helpful for someone's foresight.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
On the eve of toddlerhood
Dear Grayson,
Today is a very special day. It not only starts week 52 since you came to us, but it also marks your last day of babyhood. Tomorrow, I will no longer hold baby when I snuggle with you for you will be transformed into your new toddler self. A year ago today, your daddy and I went to sleep anticipating your arrival in two weeks and having no idea that our next big journey was just around the corner. I wanted to take a minute to write a letter down about today so you could have it look back on.
Today was spent celebrating with family and friends who love you so. Everything seemed to go by in a blur. You must have been so excited about the days invites that you decided to start the day off at 3:30 this morning, and you completely threw your schedule off. Daddy and I tried hard to get you back on schedule, but you would have none of it. You were far too excited to take a nap, and you were finally settling in when people began to show-up. How could you go to sleep when you were the center of attention? You were having so much fun playing with friends to even slow down to eat lunch. After Grammy tried unsuccessfully to get you to eat, you took a small rest on her shoulder much to Mommy's dismay that you would miss your first cake and presents. While Grammy was headed to put you down, you suddenly woke up as Mommy came to see you. It was if you got some extra magic energy. We tried to get to eat cake in front of everyone, but I think all the eyes on you made you a bit shy. You seemed to really like the icing on the cake more than the cake, and I was really surprised that you didn't break into the cake faster. It was most likely because you were tired; it will be interesting to see what you do during your photo shoot this coming Saturday. Afterward, you really woke up when I put you in the bath to hose off all the chocolate icing. We tried to help you open presents, but all you really cared about was ripping off the paper. You did get excited when you saw the Disney train that Maga got you. Once almost everyone was gone, you snuggled into your godmother, and you were out after a little snack. When you woke up, you got a chance to play with your new toys. After dinner we took your new wagon out for an inaugural trip to the park. You got a chance to swing for real this time, and we went down several slides. You were so unimpressed about the slides. Then it was a quick bath, and off to dreamland you went. I cuddled you up and kissed so much before I let Daddy take you to bed, knowing that these were the last baby kisses I would give. Tomorrow, they will become toddler kisses.
Daddy and I couldn't be prouder of you. It is hard to believe that we have survived this first year together already. You can say mama and bye. You love to clap, cruising, butt scooting, and making music. We love your four little teeth that have just suddenly come up in the last 4 months. We look forward to hear your gibberish, sing, and giggles. Nothing lights up more than that little mischievous smile and glint in your eye. We love to sing your favorite sons: itsy bitty spider, if you are happy, and baby bumble bee. We can't wait to see what happens next. We just hope you will some day realize how much we love you so much. The only thing we wish differently for today would be that your Naw Naw was here to see how grown up you are already. Tonight, we will raise a glass of champagne to you to celebrate this first year and the one to come. Thank you for being such an amazing kiddo. We are truly blessed to be your parents.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Teacher Appreciation Week-Hand Terra Cot Pot
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Our present from the state of Texas was state testing for the week. Just found out that I don't have to test tomorrow so I am excited about that! I got Starbucks on Monday for my fellow G-hall crew and other testing teachers, and then I made cheesecake sopillas, one of my specialty dishes, for Wednesday lunch. I had planned to make something for tomorrow, but I just ran out of time.
It is also Gray's first teacher appreciation week! Being a teacher, I felt like had to come up with something great. Some people might think it is a bit much to get his daycare teachers something, but they are truly amazing. I would never make it through the day if I didn't know he was in great hands. I searched through pinterest to find a perfect idea. I found the below pin that I feel in love with.
My materials:
Terracotta pot-I got mine from Walmart for about $1.50 each.
2 Spray paint-You could probably do any color, but I went with white because I wanted a blank slate to use any color rather than ones that would show up or compliment other colors. I also made sure to get a spray paint that already had a primer. I am sure it may have limit the number of coats I had to do. I originally only purchased 1 can, but I had to go back to get a second one because I decided to do the insides white as well.
Acrylic paint-I pick up a packet with variety of colors to pick from. My original idea was to do each pot with a different color handprint that matched the paint pens, but that idea didn't pan out.
Sponge Brushes-it is a lot easier to spread paint on a hand rather than rub it into the paint. One again a lesson I have learned from other projects.
Paint Pens-Once again, this is whatever colors you like.
Estimated time: It took me a couple of hours over 3 days. It would have probably taken me only 2 days if I had had the hindsight to buy more than I thought I might need because I had to spray paint the insides on a different day than the outside.
Day one (outside coat):
Directions: First thing I had to do was spray paint the outside of the pots. I lined them up on cardboard upside down like the picture below. I had to do two coats to get a good cover.
Before painting
Time: To do the spray paint, it was about 15 minutes each time. I waited about 2 hours between each coat.
After the first coat
Day 2 (handprint):
Directions: The two best tips I can give for the handprints with tiny ones is to wait until sleep and enlist a second set of hands. An old child can easily do this because they know better than to clutch their hands. Gray is 10 months, and even asleep, he has a habit of clenching the minute paint hits it. Sleep just makes it easier to get him to relax it, and having someone else hold onto them helps with getting a clear print. Once Gray was asleep, I used the sponge brush to apply the paint over his hand while the hubby held him. As I mentioned before, I originally planned to do the each pot's print in a different color, but my husband made me realize that this would be a clean-up nightmare after doing the first one. An older child could definitely do different colors since they could use both hands as well as clean their own.
Time: It really depends on how many pots are being done as well as the child's age and number of colors used. It was a couple of minutes per had with the spreading of the paint, holding it down, and possible retouching, and four took us about 10-12 minutes total including clean-up. Adding numbers of pots and colors will add more time. I left the pots dry overnight.
It is also Gray's first teacher appreciation week! Being a teacher, I felt like had to come up with something great. Some people might think it is a bit much to get his daycare teachers something, but they are truly amazing. I would never make it through the day if I didn't know he was in great hands. I searched through pinterest to find a perfect idea. I found the below pin that I feel in love with.
After looking at the directions, I knew I didn't have time to do four of these in a couple of days. I checked out a few more ideas, but everything seemed a bit out of my league and time span. I went to bed, and the idea suddenly hit me. Here is what I came up with:
2 Spray paint-You could probably do any color, but I went with white because I wanted a blank slate to use any color rather than ones that would show up or compliment other colors. I also made sure to get a spray paint that already had a primer. I am sure it may have limit the number of coats I had to do. I originally only purchased 1 can, but I had to go back to get a second one because I decided to do the insides white as well.
Acrylic paint-I pick up a packet with variety of colors to pick from. My original idea was to do each pot with a different color handprint that matched the paint pens, but that idea didn't pan out.
Sponge Brushes-it is a lot easier to spread paint on a hand rather than rub it into the paint. One again a lesson I have learned from other projects.
Paint Pens-Once again, this is whatever colors you like.
Estimated time: It took me a couple of hours over 3 days. It would have probably taken me only 2 days if I had had the hindsight to buy more than I thought I might need because I had to spray paint the insides on a different day than the outside.
Day one (outside coat):
Directions: First thing I had to do was spray paint the outside of the pots. I lined them up on cardboard upside down like the picture below. I had to do two coats to get a good cover.
Before painting
Time: To do the spray paint, it was about 15 minutes each time. I waited about 2 hours between each coat.
Day 2 (handprint):
Directions: The two best tips I can give for the handprints with tiny ones is to wait until sleep and enlist a second set of hands. An old child can easily do this because they know better than to clutch their hands. Gray is 10 months, and even asleep, he has a habit of clenching the minute paint hits it. Sleep just makes it easier to get him to relax it, and having someone else hold onto them helps with getting a clear print. Once Gray was asleep, I used the sponge brush to apply the paint over his hand while the hubby held him. As I mentioned before, I originally planned to do the each pot's print in a different color, but my husband made me realize that this would be a clean-up nightmare after doing the first one. An older child could definitely do different colors since they could use both hands as well as clean their own.
Time: It really depends on how many pots are being done as well as the child's age and number of colors used. It was a couple of minutes per had with the spreading of the paint, holding it down, and possible retouching, and four took us about 10-12 minutes total including clean-up. Adding numbers of pots and colors will add more time. I left the pots dry overnight.
Day 3 (inside and writing):
Directions: I split this into two different steps. Step one (inside of the pot) can actually be done on the same day you do the outside of the pot.
Step 1: Since I had already done the handprints on the outside, I wanted to make sure to protect it. I wrapped plastic bags around them. They weren't too tight, but I did make sure that it covered over handprint. Then I painted the inside. I left them to dry for about two hours before I started the writing.
Step 2: After the insides were mostly dry, I used a paint pen to write a message on the pots. I first wrote the teacher's names over the hand, and then on the back, I wrote thanks for having a hand in my growth. I used a different color for each pot.
Time: 10-15 minutes for the inside paint. Another 10 for the writing.
I also included a plant with the pot. I would suggest something that is an evergreen or perennial that way it last year to year to remind the teacher of your child. I picked different colored lilies I got at Walmart for less than $3 a piece. Since I crunched for time, I simply slipped the plants in the counter I bought them in. If I had had an extra day, I would have taken the time and planted them into the pots. Total price came out to about 7-10 per pot. Not sure what I am going to do next time to top it. I will have to do something different next year as we will be at the same school with different teachers. I am sure pinterest will come in handy again next year!
Directions: I split this into two different steps. Step one (inside of the pot) can actually be done on the same day you do the outside of the pot.
Step 1: Since I had already done the handprints on the outside, I wanted to make sure to protect it. I wrapped plastic bags around them. They weren't too tight, but I did make sure that it covered over handprint. Then I painted the inside. I left them to dry for about two hours before I started the writing.
Time: 10-15 minutes for the inside paint. Another 10 for the writing.
I also included a plant with the pot. I would suggest something that is an evergreen or perennial that way it last year to year to remind the teacher of your child. I picked different colored lilies I got at Walmart for less than $3 a piece. Since I crunched for time, I simply slipped the plants in the counter I bought them in. If I had had an extra day, I would have taken the time and planted them into the pots. Total price came out to about 7-10 per pot. Not sure what I am going to do next time to top it. I will have to do something different next year as we will be at the same school with different teachers. I am sure pinterest will come in handy again next year!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
I am a loser, weight loser that is-Part 1
I guess now would be a good time to share my weight lose story. I realized the other day that I had lost essential the size of a small human, and I figured it was time to celebrate. I am okay with revealing how much I have lost, but I am not quite ready to open up about my exact weight just yet.
Perhaps I should back up a bit and talk about my weight gain story first. Weight has always been a ban for me. I was a small child, but by the time I was five, I had definitely made up for it. Most of my adolescents was spent fending off bullies about my weight. When I was in middle school, I seemed to thin out a bit, and I was a decent size until my senior year of high school when I started getting some more womanly curves. I wasn't by any means skinny, but I wasn't huge either. I maintained this until about the time I was almost 23. About that time, I believe my condition of PCOS really kicked in, and the hormones helped me put weight on. My eating habits and lack of exercise didn't help much either. In about 6 years, I put about 20 pounds. I then put on another 20 due to a knee injury, which ironically caused by my weight gain (go figure!). When we started trying for a baby, we had to take fertility medication at first to try to get me ovulating. I did three rounds of clomid first. Overall, I have a lot of weight gain from the clomid, but I probably had a few pounds stay around after the water weight disappeared. What really killed my weight was the fertility shots. I put on 20 pounds during each procedure, and only 10 would come off and stay off.
After doing some reading, I switched obgyns and mentioned to the doctor my difficulty trying to lose weight. She prescribed an appetite suppressant. Along with being made a head varsity coach, I managed to lose 25 pounds within in about 2 months of using the pills. I was super excited, and I was looking forward to more weight lose. Then we got the huge surprise of being pregnant. I gained about 10 pounds in the first trimester, and then I was almost finished with the second trimester before I started gaining more. The one time in my life where gaining weight is okay, and I couldn't push myself to gain more. I only gained a total of 29 pounds to for the whole pregnancy. I lost 15 of that within the first month, and I got down to all but 2 or 3 pounds above my pre-pregrancy weight. Then the holidays hit, and I add four more pounds back on.
The first week of Janruary I made the decision to finally try Weight Watchers. The first month was horrible. I was a huge grumpy Gus because I was hungry all the time, and I wasn't able to eat all the sweets or wine like I like. After couple of weeks, it started paying off. I hit my first weight goal (7 pounds) in 2 weeks, and I had lost 10 pounds by the end of the first month. I hit my second goal toward the end of March. At this point, I have lost 23 pounds on Weight Watchers. Together with what I lost in baby weight, I have lost a total of almost 49 pounds. April hasn't been a great month because I have gotten of the plan some, and I gained 2 pounds back. I am planning on getting back onto it, but it has been had with all the stress causing me to eat a bit more. The good news is I am back to the same size I was when we got married, and the smallest I have been in 4 1/2 years.
As of right now, I really want to lose about 12 more pounds before we start trying for baby number 2-if we go that route. I would love to lose more, but I am not pushing it. That would put me in a position of having a bit of flexibility with weight if I have to do fertility treatments again. It also means that I won't gain up to my biggest gain if my first pregnancy is an indicator of my weight gain in the second once. I am also hoping to enjoy being smaller for a while so I am not in too big of rush to get pregnant. It has been so nice to be able to fit into clothes I haven't worn in a while. I am hoping this the first of a series about weight lose for me.
Perhaps I should back up a bit and talk about my weight gain story first. Weight has always been a ban for me. I was a small child, but by the time I was five, I had definitely made up for it. Most of my adolescents was spent fending off bullies about my weight. When I was in middle school, I seemed to thin out a bit, and I was a decent size until my senior year of high school when I started getting some more womanly curves. I wasn't by any means skinny, but I wasn't huge either. I maintained this until about the time I was almost 23. About that time, I believe my condition of PCOS really kicked in, and the hormones helped me put weight on. My eating habits and lack of exercise didn't help much either. In about 6 years, I put about 20 pounds. I then put on another 20 due to a knee injury, which ironically caused by my weight gain (go figure!). When we started trying for a baby, we had to take fertility medication at first to try to get me ovulating. I did three rounds of clomid first. Overall, I have a lot of weight gain from the clomid, but I probably had a few pounds stay around after the water weight disappeared. What really killed my weight was the fertility shots. I put on 20 pounds during each procedure, and only 10 would come off and stay off.
After doing some reading, I switched obgyns and mentioned to the doctor my difficulty trying to lose weight. She prescribed an appetite suppressant. Along with being made a head varsity coach, I managed to lose 25 pounds within in about 2 months of using the pills. I was super excited, and I was looking forward to more weight lose. Then we got the huge surprise of being pregnant. I gained about 10 pounds in the first trimester, and then I was almost finished with the second trimester before I started gaining more. The one time in my life where gaining weight is okay, and I couldn't push myself to gain more. I only gained a total of 29 pounds to for the whole pregnancy. I lost 15 of that within the first month, and I got down to all but 2 or 3 pounds above my pre-pregrancy weight. Then the holidays hit, and I add four more pounds back on.
The first week of Janruary I made the decision to finally try Weight Watchers. The first month was horrible. I was a huge grumpy Gus because I was hungry all the time, and I wasn't able to eat all the sweets or wine like I like. After couple of weeks, it started paying off. I hit my first weight goal (7 pounds) in 2 weeks, and I had lost 10 pounds by the end of the first month. I hit my second goal toward the end of March. At this point, I have lost 23 pounds on Weight Watchers. Together with what I lost in baby weight, I have lost a total of almost 49 pounds. April hasn't been a great month because I have gotten of the plan some, and I gained 2 pounds back. I am planning on getting back onto it, but it has been had with all the stress causing me to eat a bit more. The good news is I am back to the same size I was when we got married, and the smallest I have been in 4 1/2 years.
As of right now, I really want to lose about 12 more pounds before we start trying for baby number 2-if we go that route. I would love to lose more, but I am not pushing it. That would put me in a position of having a bit of flexibility with weight if I have to do fertility treatments again. It also means that I won't gain up to my biggest gain if my first pregnancy is an indicator of my weight gain in the second once. I am also hoping to enjoy being smaller for a while so I am not in too big of rush to get pregnant. It has been so nice to be able to fit into clothes I haven't worn in a while. I am hoping this the first of a series about weight lose for me.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Tales of Diapering Cake Baking
I just released it has been almost another month since I have had a
chance to write in the blog. I swear this year if flying by, and I
don't know where it is going. Last time I blogged I just finished up
catching things up to date, and I mentioned that I had made my first two
diaper cakes but couldn't post pictures yet since I hadn't given them
to their respective mommies. So this blog is dedicated to the art of
baking a diaper cake.
My inspiration for doing a diaper cake actually came from one given to me by my best friend. It was an adorable gift, but more importantly, it was one of the most useful I got at my shower. Two of friends at my work were pregnant-one a first baby and another with a second. When I offered to help with the shower, I was trying to think of a decorative things I could give that would also be a useful gift for a first time mom. Light bulb went on, and I decided that the diaper cake would be a perfect gift. I thought that, if it were successful, then it would be a great gift as well for a second baby since diapers are always necessary.
I am a pinaholic, and pinterest is a wealth of diaper cake knowledge. There is a thousand different ways to make them apparently. I ended up using this blog to make mine http://www.susiestampalot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-diaper-cake.html. I did a few things differently, but this was one of the better sites with step by step instructions. Here is the process I went with pictures.
1. You have to buy diapers. Most sites suggested newborns or size 1, and most said they used one size for the whole cake. Both cakes I did used two different sizes. Most babies grow out of newborn stuff really quickly, even faster for bigger babies. So I did two layers of a small size, and the bottom was a bigger size. I tried size 2, but newborns and size 1 work because they are really small and can be rolled very tightly. I used a bag of each size for 1 cake. I got Pamper Swaddlers both times because they were white and personal fondness for the brand. I am assuming any diaper should work the same. I would find out the mommy-to-be's pick for diapers and use that. Just know some diapers like the Pamper Cruisers have images printed on them.
2. You will also need two kinds of rubber bands, really small ones and normal office size. I preferred the clear small ones because they were harder to see later. These can be found in the hair aisle of the story. The ones I got were made by Goodies. I preferred white for the bigger ones since once again they blend in.
3. Other items needed are two bottles of powder, ribbon, double stick tape, pins, base, and decorative items. I did two different sizes of powder (15 oz and travel side) for my second cake. I also used a bulb syringe instead of a travel size powder. I found a big bulk stack of card stock mats from Hobby Lobby. You have to combine several together, but it was a super cheap buy. You will also need several receiving blankets. You will also need to get an item for the topper.
4. The hardest thing about the diaper cake is rolling the diapers, and that is mainly because it is takes time. I found that if you rolled from the top opening of the diaper made it easier to get a tighter roll. I would make sure to grab something it keep all the diapers corralled.
side view
9. Once all the layers are done, it is time for the fun part-decorating. You can use blankets on all three layers, but I only did the top and bottom layer. Use you have a really long blanket, you will most likely need two receiving blankets. I found it was easier to take the layers apart again, and roll the layers on their sides. I used pins to hold the blankets in place, and then I wrapped a ribbon around the center. Of course, the ribbon and blankets will depend on gender of the baby and/or the theme of the shower. The first one I did was a boy with a duckie themed shower, so the cake had blue blankets with duckie touches.
Bottom cake with pinned blanket number 1.
All three layers with blankets and ribbons. The little mustache ribbon was my favorite.
10. You can really give the cake like before, but what fun is that? The first cake I made was for a first time mom so I put some cute things she would need like bibs, shampoo, pacifiers, and cute little shoes. I also made washcloth lollipops. I had to roll the washcloths vertically like a snake. I rolled on like a pinwheel, and then I attached the other with a pin and wrapped it around the first. I used a rubber band to fasten the ends. I stuck a baby spoon in the band and wrapped the whole thing with a plastic party bag.
Snake roll
Attaching the two
I used a duckie for the cake topper since it fit the theme. Below are the pictures of the final outcome.
The
second one I made was gender neutral because the baby was a
surprise-she had a little girl. I used sleeping gowns to make the hearts
on the sides. I did this by doing a snake roll, and then I rolled the
top and bottom in to form the sides. I also used bibs as rosettes by
snake rolling it flat and then wrapping them in an overlapping pinwheel.
Either way, the cakes turned out adorable, and both recipient was thrilled with them.
The next attempt will be here very soon. Super excited about that one.
Anywho, laundry is calling so it is time to wrap this thing up.
My inspiration for doing a diaper cake actually came from one given to me by my best friend. It was an adorable gift, but more importantly, it was one of the most useful I got at my shower. Two of friends at my work were pregnant-one a first baby and another with a second. When I offered to help with the shower, I was trying to think of a decorative things I could give that would also be a useful gift for a first time mom. Light bulb went on, and I decided that the diaper cake would be a perfect gift. I thought that, if it were successful, then it would be a great gift as well for a second baby since diapers are always necessary.
I am a pinaholic, and pinterest is a wealth of diaper cake knowledge. There is a thousand different ways to make them apparently. I ended up using this blog to make mine http://www.susiestampalot.com/2008/05/how-to-make-diaper-cake.html. I did a few things differently, but this was one of the better sites with step by step instructions. Here is the process I went with pictures.
1. You have to buy diapers. Most sites suggested newborns or size 1, and most said they used one size for the whole cake. Both cakes I did used two different sizes. Most babies grow out of newborn stuff really quickly, even faster for bigger babies. So I did two layers of a small size, and the bottom was a bigger size. I tried size 2, but newborns and size 1 work because they are really small and can be rolled very tightly. I used a bag of each size for 1 cake. I got Pamper Swaddlers both times because they were white and personal fondness for the brand. I am assuming any diaper should work the same. I would find out the mommy-to-be's pick for diapers and use that. Just know some diapers like the Pamper Cruisers have images printed on them.
2. You will also need two kinds of rubber bands, really small ones and normal office size. I preferred the clear small ones because they were harder to see later. These can be found in the hair aisle of the story. The ones I got were made by Goodies. I preferred white for the bigger ones since once again they blend in.
3. Other items needed are two bottles of powder, ribbon, double stick tape, pins, base, and decorative items. I did two different sizes of powder (15 oz and travel side) for my second cake. I also used a bulb syringe instead of a travel size powder. I found a big bulk stack of card stock mats from Hobby Lobby. You have to combine several together, but it was a super cheap buy. You will also need several receiving blankets. You will also need to get an item for the topper.
4. The hardest thing about the diaper cake is rolling the diapers, and that is mainly because it is takes time. I found that if you rolled from the top opening of the diaper made it easier to get a tighter roll. I would make sure to grab something it keep all the diapers corralled.
5.
After I rolled all the diapers, I put together several card stock
pieces together to make a base for the cake. You can also use a regular
cake base. Cover the card stock with one of the blankets.
6.
Place the larger bottle of powder in the middle of the base with
double-stick tape. Wrap one of the larger rubber bands loosely around
the bottle, and then slip rolled diapers in the rubber band. I used all
of larger size of the diapers for the bottom cake. Below is what mine
looked like after I finished with the bottom layer. Make it is as tight
is possible.
top view
7.
Rinse and repeat for the second layer accept with the top of the bottle
of powder. Below is the pictures of the finished second layer with the
bulb syringe.
8.
If you are using the bulb syringe, take a loose diaper around the tip
and then rubber band it. Wrap the bigger rubber around the middle diaper
and build the last layer round it.
9. Once all the layers are done, it is time for the fun part-decorating. You can use blankets on all three layers, but I only did the top and bottom layer. Use you have a really long blanket, you will most likely need two receiving blankets. I found it was easier to take the layers apart again, and roll the layers on their sides. I used pins to hold the blankets in place, and then I wrapped a ribbon around the center. Of course, the ribbon and blankets will depend on gender of the baby and/or the theme of the shower. The first one I did was a boy with a duckie themed shower, so the cake had blue blankets with duckie touches.
Middle layer with ribbon
10. You can really give the cake like before, but what fun is that? The first cake I made was for a first time mom so I put some cute things she would need like bibs, shampoo, pacifiers, and cute little shoes. I also made washcloth lollipops. I had to roll the washcloths vertically like a snake. I rolled on like a pinwheel, and then I attached the other with a pin and wrapped it around the first. I used a rubber band to fasten the ends. I stuck a baby spoon in the band and wrapped the whole thing with a plastic party bag.
Pinwheel roll
I used a duckie for the cake topper since it fit the theme. Below are the pictures of the final outcome.
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Friday, March 29, 2013
And now introducing 2013
Yah! I am finally in 2013 for my updates. I guess I should get to it.
January-New Year and changes
The first week of January I noticed I had put on a few pounds. Prior to getting pregnant, I dropped 25 pounds, and I luckily only gained 29 total during the pregnancy. I lost 15 pounds within a week or so of giving birth, and all but 2 or 3 pounds came off in the subsequent months. Over Christmas time, I managed to put on 3 or 4 pounds, and my body wasn't rebounding too well. Brett had had some success with Weight Watchers before we got married so I decided to try it. The first two weeks was hard because I was starving all the time, but by the end of January, I had lost 11.8 pounds. Once you get going on the program, it is much easier. At the beginning of January, we began introducing Gray to new solid foods beyond rice cereal. We had discussed early on about making Gray's baby food. Three reasons:
March-More sickness, babies, and spring is finally here
March has zoomed by as well. I can't believe that my little man is 3/4 of they way through his first year! Spring break was earlier than usual this year due to state testing. I had quite a few things planned for the break, but all was in vain. Gray has been a bit fussy over the weekend, but we went ahead and took him to day care for the first day. I got some of the cleaning I wanted to get done. I tried some new cleaning strategies I pinned on pinterest. It actually somewhat worked; there is still some gunk I need to take care of but haven't had the time as of yet. Gray's stuffiness and cough had us concerned enough that I got him an appointment to see what was up. It ended up being a good thing. Poor kiddo had an ear infection and tested positive for RSV. Since it was in the beginning stages, they didn't prescribe breathing treatments, and the nurse told me to keep an eye on his breathing. We also had to keep him home from daycare since RSV is contagious. Everything seemed okay with Gray most of the day minus him being a bit fussy and needing to be held most of the day, but it didn't last. Gray work up at 12 coughing really bad, and his breathe was definitely troubled. After a call to the doctor, we headed to the hospitable for our first ER trip. I am sure the doctors thought we were crazy to bring him since Gray was wide awake, good tempered, and curious, and then they did an chest X-ray and found a small bit of pneumonia. Thank goodness, Gray was a trooper the whole time, and we eventually got him to pass out again. So Gray and I spent the week together after all, and we had to change our plans to celebrate Brett's birthday. We ended up going to the car show and then Fogo de Chao for dinner. March also brought back an old friend. I had my first true period since I got pregnant. I had had a day of bleeding in September, but I hadn't had anything close to a normal period. One of the interesting things (awesome things in my eyes) about breastfeeding is can delay menstruation. Let's just say that the first real one after not having one in over a year sucked big ones. So spring break wasn't exactly fun with that and a sick baby. Gray had several milestones for the month. He finally stopped hating his tummy so much, and he started scooting at the beginning of the month. He also began rolling onto his stomach while sleeping. It caused us to have a few nights with less sleep because Gray gets freaked out and starts screaming each time it happens. He finally intentionally rolled over onto his stomach last weekend. He has started pulling up to stand. We lowered his crib down for the last time over spring break as well. He is also starting to cruising a bit when we out him up to furniture. It won't be long before he is up and moving around! He has also had to retire his title as the toothless wonder. His first tooth poked through at the beginning of the month, and the second one followed not too long afterward. His 9 month appointment went well. He weighed in at 17 pounds 10.5 ounces and 26 inches. This put him into the 25th percentile for weight and 5th percentile for height. While some might worry about the small percentile, he has made consistent growth since birth. Of course, these charts are based more closely on formula feed babies. For a breastfeed baby, he is off the chart. His head is huge though. He is in the 50th percentile for his head circumference! Guess he has lots of brains. His cognitive skills were very high, and he seems to be on a good social track. He is a little behind motor skills wise, but apparently, this is normal in smaller babies. The nurse practitioner explained that smaller babies' muscles are slightly less developed. After she mentioned this, I did notice that is true of his bottom half. His hemoglobin test came back fine as well, and he didn't cry a bit about it. This weekend we will celebrating his first Easter. I purchased a cute basket with a free baby friendly things. One last Saturday tutoring session tomorrow thank goodness. Time to wrap it up. Next up will be my blog about diaper cakes.
January-New Year and changes
The first week of January I noticed I had put on a few pounds. Prior to getting pregnant, I dropped 25 pounds, and I luckily only gained 29 total during the pregnancy. I lost 15 pounds within a week or so of giving birth, and all but 2 or 3 pounds came off in the subsequent months. Over Christmas time, I managed to put on 3 or 4 pounds, and my body wasn't rebounding too well. Brett had had some success with Weight Watchers before we got married so I decided to try it. The first two weeks was hard because I was starving all the time, but by the end of January, I had lost 11.8 pounds. Once you get going on the program, it is much easier. At the beginning of January, we began introducing Gray to new solid foods beyond rice cereal. We had discussed early on about making Gray's baby food. Three reasons:
- Cost-making our own would save us a bunch just like breastfeeding has helped.
- Many of the baby foods on the market include a lot of added preservatives that we want to try and limit.
- Food allergies-since I have food allergies, Gray has a 50% chance of getting some.
February-Uh.. where did go?
February is another mother that went buy in a blur. Work had been very difficult and toxic environment. Add to that is the stress of the approach to state testing. Everything going on often makes me want to choice a new career path. I want to teach high school; not relive it. February meant taking on extra time at work for tutoring. Since we were so busy during the month, we had to postpone Brett's birthday dinner to March. We also called off our plans for a Valentine's Day staycation. Beyond the not wanting to spend the money, I wasn't quite ready to have him stay away from me. We did get a chance to catch a play at Pocket Sandwich and dinner. The night was a bit of nightmare like most of our Valentine's, but it ended up turning out to be a good night. We also made a trip to celebrate Z's birthday. It was a lovely visit. Unfortunately, it was the last chance we got to see her. While we had thought my sister was doing better, apparently she wasn't. I doubt that she honestly had ever intended to become a mother at all, and she probably mostly kept the baby for my mother. I had hoped she would wait a little be longer after mom's death. Once again, we were blindsided by the situation and completely unprepared. There was a lot of discussion about what to do, and in the end, my sister opted for a open adoption. We had wanted to take Z, but we could work our finances right quick enough to take on Z. I know we both feel guilty, but it is possibly the best thing for her. I am not sure that either of us were ready for the changes and decisions it would have brought to our lives. If she had come to us, we would have had to makes sacrifices for not only us but for Gray as well. On the better side of things, Gray got to attend his first two birthday parties for his classmates. It was an interesting experience and gave me some ideas for his first birthday. I also got a chance to play around some with my new camera.
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| Hanging out with Poppop and Zoie |
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| My shirt says it all |
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| With Maga |
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| What's up |
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| First Valentine's Day |
March has zoomed by as well. I can't believe that my little man is 3/4 of they way through his first year! Spring break was earlier than usual this year due to state testing. I had quite a few things planned for the break, but all was in vain. Gray has been a bit fussy over the weekend, but we went ahead and took him to day care for the first day. I got some of the cleaning I wanted to get done. I tried some new cleaning strategies I pinned on pinterest. It actually somewhat worked; there is still some gunk I need to take care of but haven't had the time as of yet. Gray's stuffiness and cough had us concerned enough that I got him an appointment to see what was up. It ended up being a good thing. Poor kiddo had an ear infection and tested positive for RSV. Since it was in the beginning stages, they didn't prescribe breathing treatments, and the nurse told me to keep an eye on his breathing. We also had to keep him home from daycare since RSV is contagious. Everything seemed okay with Gray most of the day minus him being a bit fussy and needing to be held most of the day, but it didn't last. Gray work up at 12 coughing really bad, and his breathe was definitely troubled. After a call to the doctor, we headed to the hospitable for our first ER trip. I am sure the doctors thought we were crazy to bring him since Gray was wide awake, good tempered, and curious, and then they did an chest X-ray and found a small bit of pneumonia. Thank goodness, Gray was a trooper the whole time, and we eventually got him to pass out again. So Gray and I spent the week together after all, and we had to change our plans to celebrate Brett's birthday. We ended up going to the car show and then Fogo de Chao for dinner. March also brought back an old friend. I had my first true period since I got pregnant. I had had a day of bleeding in September, but I hadn't had anything close to a normal period. One of the interesting things (awesome things in my eyes) about breastfeeding is can delay menstruation. Let's just say that the first real one after not having one in over a year sucked big ones. So spring break wasn't exactly fun with that and a sick baby. Gray had several milestones for the month. He finally stopped hating his tummy so much, and he started scooting at the beginning of the month. He also began rolling onto his stomach while sleeping. It caused us to have a few nights with less sleep because Gray gets freaked out and starts screaming each time it happens. He finally intentionally rolled over onto his stomach last weekend. He has started pulling up to stand. We lowered his crib down for the last time over spring break as well. He is also starting to cruising a bit when we out him up to furniture. It won't be long before he is up and moving around! He has also had to retire his title as the toothless wonder. His first tooth poked through at the beginning of the month, and the second one followed not too long afterward. His 9 month appointment went well. He weighed in at 17 pounds 10.5 ounces and 26 inches. This put him into the 25th percentile for weight and 5th percentile for height. While some might worry about the small percentile, he has made consistent growth since birth. Of course, these charts are based more closely on formula feed babies. For a breastfeed baby, he is off the chart. His head is huge though. He is in the 50th percentile for his head circumference! Guess he has lots of brains. His cognitive skills were very high, and he seems to be on a good social track. He is a little behind motor skills wise, but apparently, this is normal in smaller babies. The nurse practitioner explained that smaller babies' muscles are slightly less developed. After she mentioned this, I did notice that is true of his bottom half. His hemoglobin test came back fine as well, and he didn't cry a bit about it. This weekend we will celebrating his first Easter. I purchased a cute basket with a free baby friendly things. One last Saturday tutoring session tomorrow thank goodness. Time to wrap it up. Next up will be my blog about diaper cakes.
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| Cleaning up mommies face after drooling on it |
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| Giving mommie some sloppy kisses |
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| If you look closely, you will see my teeth |
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| Cruising |
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| Mo and Gray finally getting to know each other |
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