Library Note: Fidgety Fish

Another great book for a toddler. This book is from our own collection. My mother-in-law bought it for Boo when he was only one and he's loved it ever since. Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway is a cute story about a rambunctious little fish. The illustrations are bright and interesting. The story is told with wonderful action words. I have loved reading this book with my son sitting in my lap. When Tiddler {the "fidgety" fish from the story} wriggles and squiggles in the book, we wriggle and squiggle. When the big fish's tummy mumbles and moans, I tickle Boo's tummy. When Tiddler darts and flips, we sway from side to side. And when Tiddler finally falls fast asleep, we make snoring sounds as we finish the last page of the book.

Ruth Galloway has written several other similar stories that we plan to look for on our next trip to the library. Check out Fidgety Fish sometime. You'll be hooked.

Nester's Lampapalooza

The Nester is having a Lampapalooza and I thought I'd link up and share a couple of lamps I remade. I wish I had before pictures - I always forget to take those. I got this lamp several years ago at Hobby Lobby for my college apartment. It had an off-white organza shade with beaded flowers on it. Ultra girly.

When we moved into our new home we were in desperate need for lamps. Our house was built in the 70s when crazy looking lamps and plug-in light fixtures were all the rage. Our kitchen and bathrooms were the only rooms with overhead lighting. It was like living in a cave for the first several weeks.

I loved the base of this lamp and didn't want to get rid of it so on a whim one day I decided to replace the shade. I took off the original fabric and used it as a pattern to make the new one. Using leftover fabric from this window treatment in the office I made a new cover for the frame.

I found some brown trim in my scrap fabric box and had just enough to hot glue around the bottom of the shade. I think it turned out pretty well and even though it's a bit matchy-matchy with the window treatment, I still think it looks good on the filing cabinet behind our desk in the office.


Here's another remake. My mother-in-law gave us some old brass lamps she didn't want anymore. I spray painted this one. I found a shade on clearance at Target that originally had red gingham ribbon. I replaced the ribbon with brown organza and gave the made over lamp a new home on my sofa table.

Check out other lamp ideas at Nester's Lampapalooza.

Christmas in May

I was at Hobby Lobby today and couldn't believe my eyes. They were already setting up aisles of Christmas decorations. WHAT?! I swear they do that earlier each year.

But it's not so crazy to start thinking about Christmas so many months in advance. In fact, a week ago my husband I did that very thing. We sat down and wrote out plans for Advent.

Let me back up a bit... Last year when our oldest was just two we started a Jesse Tree. We wanted a tangible way to focus on Christ with our toddler during the Christmas season. I'd never actually heard of a Jesse Tree until last year when I was researching devotions to use during Advent. I came across some free online devotionals to use with a Jesse Tree. A Jesse Tree is a tree {in our case an artificial Christmas tree} used to hang biblical symbols on during Advent. The name comes from a verse in Isaiah.

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah 11:1

Last year I wasn't prepared enough in advance and we ended up just reading the devotionals we found online and drawing pictures of the symbols on note cards. Each night our toddler would hang up the little note card on our tree. He LOVED it and looked forward to our family Advent devotionals each night. I promised myself that by next Christmas we'd have our own set of handmade ornaments to use instead of those dinky little note cards with my pathetic drawings on them.

Our make-shift Jesse Tree last year.

So, last week we outlined the 25 days of Advent and assigned a topic and symbol to each one. There's a great book called The Advent Jesse Tree that has devotions for both children and adults.

It's wonderful but we found that some of the topics such as prophecies weren't concrete enough for a little one. We came up with our own list, adding in biblical events that include people and topics that are easily understood and remembered by children.

My friend Kate and I have been pow-wowing together about this too as they're going to do the same thing with their toddler this year. It's been great to share ideas as we work on our special family traditions. We were talking about it today and I thought I'd share our Jesse Tree list here so anyone that would consider doing something similar can think about it now while there's still time to plan it out.

I've already gathered a couple of ornaments but am planning to make most of them by hand. I will share them here as I complete them. For now, here is a very rough list of our Jesse Tree topics.

Here are some additional resources for creating your own Jesse Tree:

CRI/Voice. Institute

RCA.org

Spring Lunch

I've made this lunch twice already for guests this Spring and thought I'd share it.

My mother-in-law was in town this week and we had some of her friends from college over to visit for lunch.

Here's the menu.

Mediterranean Baby Greens with Feta and Fresh Blackberries

served with Homemade Blackberry Vinaigrette

Pear Slices

Grilled Citrus Chicken

Ham, Cheddar and Green Onion Quiche

Banana and Pineapple Cake

with Cream Cheese Frosting and Pecans

The chicken and berry salad is adapted from a recipe I found in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. It's delicious and the marinade for the chicken is out of this world.

Chicken Marinade

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a bowl stir together the orange, lime and lemon juices, oil, basil, salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Pour juice mixture over the chicken and seal the bag. Refrigerate several hours or overnight, turning the bag occasionally.

When ready to cook, drain chicken and discard marinade. Grill over medium for 12 to 15 minutes or until done, turning once.

Blackberry Salad Dressing

1 cup fresh blackberries

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard

1/4 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

In a blender, combine the berries, vinegar, sugar, mustard, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover and blend until smooth. With blender running, slowly add oils in until well combined. Transfer to a serving container. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

The Salad

1 8-oz. pkg. Mediterranean mixed salad greens

2 medium pears, cored and thinly sliced

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries

Serve above salad with grilled chicken and blackberry dressing.

This recipe serves four but I stretched it out for six since we were having quiche too.

The banana and pineapple cake was a hit for dessert. I made a big batch of cream cheese frosting so I'd have enough for all of the layers and to cover the outside of the cake.

At first I thought maybe it was a bit much. But no complaints from any of our guests. Who doesn't love cream cheese frosting?!

Converting to Cloth

Here I am on my second punkin and I've just now discovered the ease of cloth diapers. Why did I so quickly dismiss them with my first? Maybe because becoming a mom was enough of a transition and disposable diapers were brainless and easy. Those are good reasons. But with my darling second I went for it. Partly because several friends were making the switch and partly because I had been infant potty training him (more on that later), I gave it a second look.

And to my surprise, cloth diapers aren't what they used to be. I had always remembered pictures of my mother standing in front of clotheslines full of thick, white masts of fabric flapping in the wind. Nope. Now they come with all kinds of bells and whistles. They snap. They Velcro. They come in all kinds of bold colors and cute prints. They're adorable and surprisingly very functional. I dare say they hold up to leaks better than the disposables. And they're soft, oh so soft.

I started cloth diapers when my second was about 4 months old. I'll give you a run-down of what I did and what I've learned.

I researched just a tad but mostly relied on the experience of others I knew. Several friends steered me toward their favorite brands and styles and I also sought advice from the owner of an online cloth diaper store {ModernMommyGear.com}.

Fuzzi Bunz and bumGenius pocket diapers stood out as the best. To begin, I bought 10 diapers - a couple Fuzzi Bunz size Medium, a bumGenius all-in-one size Medium, and the rest were bumGenius one-size. The total cost in diapers was around $150 after two $10 off coupons from Diapers.com. That's about the equivalent cost of four months of disposable diapers. Not an outrageous initial investment.

As for the different diapers I bought, I found that all of them work very well. Both brands are reasonable - around $18 per diaper and each comes with the cloth insert. (Some brands, like Happy Heiny are around the same cost but require you to buy the insert separately.) bumGenius comes with a full-size insert and an extra "doubler" insert.

Fuzzi Bunz Review

Fuzzi Bunz uses snaps and tends to leak occasionally. I bought size Medium in the Fuzzi Bunz since my baby was just at the lower end of the weight range (15 lbs.) and would surely be potty trained by the time he hit the maximum weight of 30+ lbs. for that size. The Fuzzi Bunz aren't as bulky as the bumGenius. Although, I've found that using any type of cloth diaper means that your baby's pants fit more snug than using a disposable.

bumGenius Review

I bought one all-in-one bumGenius in a size Medium and while I liked the diaper, I found that it absorbs more odor than the pocket diapers with the removeable inserts. Plus, you can only use the diaper for as long as the baby remains within the size guidelines.

The one-size bumGenius pocket diapers are by far my favorite. They come with the full-size insert AND a smaller "doubler" insert that works well in addition to the full-size for overnight. The Velcro makes diaper changes easier and faster than the snaps and I have never had a leaky diaper using these. In fact, one morning we woke the kids up early to leave town and put them straight into the car in their PJs. I wasn't able to stop and change diapers until nearly 9:30 am. I had put my baby to bed at 7:00 the night before so he had been in the same diaper for over 12 hours. And to my surprise, though the diaper was really heavy, it hadn't leaked at all! A disposable would have been a leaky mess by that point. So two thumbs up for the bumGenius one-size. Besides being a great diaper, it's the most economical choice because it can be used from infancy through toddlerhood.

Diaper Care

Once I decided which diapers to buy, I researched how to care for them. Charlie's Soap is a natural detergent that is highly recommended for cloth diapers. Because of the technology of the fabric used in modern cloth diapering, it's important to wash them in natural soap that doesn't contain any fillers or fragrances. These can build up in the diapers which diminishes their absorbency and life. Charlie's Soap costs around $12 per bag. Each bag will last 80 loads so the cost is minimal - $0.15 per load. I've been using cloth diapers for 4 months now and am only halfway through my first bag of soap.

After I change each diaper, I simply rinse it out in the sink, squeeze the excess water out and put it in a wet bag like this Swaddlebees one.

For poopy diapers, I use Biokleen Bac-Out. It is a non-toxic stain and odor remover that is safe for cloth diapers. I just rinse out the diaper, spray it with Bac-Out and rub it in.

I only have 10 diapers so I wash anywhere from every other day to every third day. At first I thought I'd want to get more diapers to stretch out the washing, but I've realized I wouldn't want the diapers to sit for much longer between washes.

I wash the diapers in my front-loading machine on normal wash with hot water. I set it to a water only pre-wash and an extra rinse at the end. I dry them on medium-high heat in the dryer. Hanging them on a clothesline outside to dry is also recommended to keep them bright and odor-free.

I haven't had much trouble with odor. Only recently did I notice a residual smell in them after washing. I soaked them in a tub filled with water and a cup of baking soda. That took care of it!

So, there you have it. My cloth diapering conversion. They're not nearly as much trouble as I first assumed and I'm so glad I switched!

Sewing Tutorial: Toy Storage Bag

My oldest isn't even three yet but already he's amassing collections of all sorts of little toys. You know, little cars, little wind-up-thinga-majiggies. Collections. In an effort to organize his growing assortment of mini-cars, I made a storage bag for them this week.

It took less than an hour and works well to contain the clutter and keep like things together. It's also easy for him to open and close on his own when he's picking up his toys. Here's a step-by-step.

I picked out some car-themed fabric and used a bag we already had {it came with another toy} as a template.
The finished bag measures 10" x 14". Calculating a 1/2" seam on both sides and allowing for an extra 3 1/2" on each top side {to fold over for the bag top}, cut an 11" x 35" rectangle from your fabric.

Fold the fabric in half, lengthwise with right sides facing each other. Then, sew 1/2" seams up both sides of the fabric. I also stitched the edges for added durability - may not be necessary in a house void of testosterone. Imagine the bliss....
Next, hem the top by folding the edges over twice, to hide the raw edge, and sew in place. Mine was about a 1/8" hem.

Fold the top of the bag down until about 3" of the right-side fabric is showing.

Line up the side seam stitches and stitch the top fold in place by sewing along the existing seam.

Lay the bag flat and draw a rectangle in the center of the top fold for a handle. You may want to pin the fabric around the top to hold it in place while you cut out the handles.

I found a pack of blue bias tape I got on clearance at Walmart for 25 cents and used a bit of it to sew around the raw edges of the handles.

See the pink bobbin thread? Yup. I was too lazy to change it. And I doubt my toddler cares.

Cut some Velcro to the approximate length of the handle. Sew below each handle on the inside of the bag.

Turn the bag right-side out.

Done.

Hello, little fleet.

Welcome home.

Just look at that smile!

Weekend Warriors

Since moving into our first home two years ago, we have done some major home improvements. Thankfully, we have had the help of both of our builder-by-trade dads for supplies and free labor. But we've tackled our fair share of projects solo, just our little family. I say "family" because even Boo, our 2 1/2 year old, helps out. Over the last two years he's learned the names and purpose of dozens of tools, has grown accustomed to the sounds of roaring compressors, tile saws, and nail guns, and has become a handy extra hand when a tool is out of reach.

Here he is helping out with the basement remodel a couple of months ago.

As a resident physician, my husband rarely has a full weekend off. Much less a full weekend off with no family plans. So this weekend we seized the opportunity to do as many projects as possible.

We started off before the sun went down on Friday. That afternoon we found a posting for free landscaping river rock on Craig's List. My husband and Boo took my 4-Runner and headed over there with shovels in hand. They loaded up the rock and made it home before dinner. After the kids were tucked up in bed for the night, we unloaded the rock into our backyard to fill in a spot that was in desperate need of something other than the 35 year old wood chips that were housing a colony of ants near our back water faucet. I laughed with my husband as we shoveled rocks out of the back window of my SUV in the darkness. I'm sure it was a curious sight seeing the two of us working in the moonlight on our neighborhood street. I told him I felt like a grave-robber or something, wielding my shovel around so stealthily so we wouldn't make too much noise.
Saturday the kids woke us up before 6:00 {love it when that happens}. We were glad we'd already gotten one weekend project under our belt the night before.

Saturday was spent painting stripes in the boys' playrooom nook, installing shelves and cleaning out my basement craftroom, re-organizing the garage, vacuuming out my dirty 4-Runner, did lawn work, and made a family run to Walmart {not my favorite place in the world for sure}.

Here's a sneak peek at my craft "room". I'll post more pictures once it's complete.

Today, besides church and family time, we've spread out the landscaping rock, finished installing a gutter on our side yard roof, and made the frame for my raised vegetable garden.

Whew! I think we'll need the week to recover.

I thrive on productivity but when you're working on that many things at once something's got to give. And this weekend what gave was my house. That, and hygiene. Yesterday afternoon it looked like a tornado had blown through. At 6:00 last night I stood amongst the mess, holding my stark naked fresh-from-the-bath baby on my hip, feeding him spoonfuls of leftover sweet potato puree that had been sitting out since lunch. Shudder. I'm pretty sure my hair had some dried remnants of banana nut waffle batter in it from the morning and I smelled like the onions I had just cut up for our very wholesome dinner of Texas chili with Fritos and cheese. Lovely.

Next Time Take These

As a stay-at-home mom there are plenty of times when I'm called on to bring "oh, just a little something". Whether to a playdate, neighborhood get-together, or bible study, seems like I'm always trying to think of something quick and easy to throw together as a potluck snack or sweet.
These chocolate cookies are my stand-bys. Sure, I'd love to impress my friends and neighbors with a from scratch fruit tart or a decadent cheesecake. But let's be real. Getting out the door without forgetting extra diapers takes priority these days so a quick, yummy recipe that doesn't require another trip to the grocery store is worth its weight in gold...or sugar. I'll have to save those gorgeous tarts and scrumptious cheesecakes for later, like another life.

These cookies are made with only 4 ingredients, all of which I usually have on hand: chocolate cake mix (I snatch several of these when they're on sale), eggs, oil and sugar. Here's the recipe for these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from Betty Crocker.

You'll need:

1 package Betty Crocker SuperMoist chocolate cake mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
Granulated sugar

Mix cake mix, oil and eggs in large bowl with spoon until dough forms. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar.

Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

My only modification is to use Betty's Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix instead of just plain-ole chocolate. Enjoy! But beware, sometimes only half of these cookies make it out the door and to the playdate. They're addicting.

Thumbin' It

Since moving into our first home two years ago, I've realized that when it comes to gardening I have one black thumb and one green thumb. I don't get it. Half of the stuff I plant does great and the other half dies. I'm learning as I go and so far it seems the less I fuss over my plants, the better they do.


The summer we moved in my dad gave us a gorgeous Bing Cherry tree to plant in honor of my grandmother. {She used to live nearby and had an incredible cherry tree in her front yard. She was also a very accomplished gardener.} Well, our memorial tree was dead within a few months. Sorry, Grandma. Dad stubbornly replaced it the next summer and we're now enjoying a cherry tree full of beautiful spring blossoms. I still don't know what killed the first one, but I vowed to pay less attention to the second and what do you know? My neglect worked!

This weekend for Mother's Day, we're planting a veggie garden in our backyard. I'm anxious/nervous to see how it does. Hopefully the green thumb will prevail!

What are some of your gardening plans and successes? This is all still relatively new to me so I love hearing what others are doing.

Mighty Good Vegemite

Well, maybe the jury's still out on that statement. I mean, Vegemite is an acquired taste. If you've ever been to the Land Down Under, you've no doubt run across the delectable black paste. I happen to absolutely love it. It's a bitter, tangy spread made from yeast extracted during the beer making process. Doesn't it just sound delicious?!

My mom is a born and raised Kiwi. Maybe I inherited my taste buds from her. No breakfast in New Zealand is complete without a jar of Vegemite. New Zealand actually has its own version of the stuff, called Marmite. It's slightly sweeter. Everyone there has an opinion about which is better - Vegemite or Marmite. Honestly, I like them both.

But Vegemite was always in our house growing up. Any friend brave enough was offered a sample. Unfortunately, I made no converts. That is, until my hubby-to-be came along. It was love at first taste.

So, why tell you all this needless information about Vegemite? To share a recipe with you, of course. I mean, you never know when a jar of Vegemite will grace your kitchen counter begging to be used. And if such a thing occurs, you'll need a couple of ideas for how to use it. Here's one, my favorite way to eat it - on Vegemite and Cheese Toasties. Mom made these all the time growing up and now they're one of my lunchtime go-to's.

First, spread some softened butter and Vegemite on slices of bread.

Pile on some grated extra sharp cheddar cheese. Add diced ham slices.

Pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Mmmm...gooey Vegemite and cheese goodness.

That's what I call lunch.