a pity party…

sniffling. sneezing. coughing. aching. stuffy head. and now it’s coming out her eyes!

the little miss was showing signs of sick over the weekend and woke up down right pitiful this morning. of course being monday and flu season, the pediatrician was booked solid. so we found ourselves waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting to see a doctor at the o’ so lovely walk-in clinic.

ugh, I hate those places. I mean, I’m certainly glad they exist for non-emergency situations when you can’t get into your regular doctor. but they are not a place you want to hang out, especially with an infant. hacking over here, puke bucket over there…get me outta here.

luckily it was pretty nice outside and I had the stroller, so we walked around, she took a nap, then we watched some baby einstein clips on youtube and walked around some more. THREE hours later, doc declared she has a sinus infection, but her lungs sounded all clear, so we were outta there.

poor little pun’kin. she has three prescriptions that hopefully will start working their magic immediately, so she will actually be able to open her eyes in the morning!

the cw project: ready, sit, go

“sharing mealtimes has a positive impact on family relationships, social skills, language development and healthy eating”

I knew I wanted to get her a new high chair that attached directly to our kitchen table, so we’d have a more cohesive dining experience. that is, WHEN we can actually coordinate everyone’s sleeping, feeding, school and work schedules to dine together. anyway, this chicco 360 is easy to install and clean, and even useful when we aren’t eating. but, I quickly learned to keep plenty of wet wipes and bibs on hand, because this method (baby-led weaning) can be rather messy.

in just a few weeks, she went from just moving food around her tray to actually getting it into her mouth. hasn’t quite mastered the swallow, but she has a good grasp and tastes everything. thus far, she’s tried oranges, bananas, green beans, asparagus (loved!), pancakes, nutri-grain bars (messy!), cucumbers, broccoli (no thanks!), strawberries, turkey sticks, cheese, teething biscuit (mistake!), waffles, pears, tomatoes, apples and cheerios.  

the only problem we had was [several weeks ago] when I gave her a teething cookie. because one of us is ALWAYS right next to her through this experimental phase (I’m usually photographing – shocking, I know), we were right there to assist when she got a big piece in her mouth and didn’t know what to do. unfortunately, she gagged herself to vomit. we were alarmed at first and naturally questioned the method, but no harm, no foul and I think we all learned at little from the experience.

“babies never just play, they are always learning”

monkey boy…

can’t get enough photo editing this week, so i decided to enter the weekly photo challenge at The Paper Mama. the theme is birthday and this is one of my favs from drew’s 1st with all of his loot.

it’s overwhelming to think he’ll be two and half next month.

i love you too monkey boy!

 

five for friday: get in the action…

despite having dabbled with photoshop since my high school yearbook days (rampage, woohoo!!), my photo editing skills have been completely haphazard. my “tricks” included desaturate for b&w, adjust black levels for terrible indoor lighting and increase exposure for vibrancy.

black and white has always been my favorite photo style. we probably have ONE color photograph in our home…everything else is b&w. i just love that retro feel. and lately i’ve been looking around for a tutorial on vintage color effects, similar to those always used in anthropologie’s marketing.

so when i came across these FREE FREE (can’t believe they’re FREE!) photoshop actions by the amazing Pioneer Women, i was beyond thrilled and had to share five action/effect combinations applied to photos of my two favorite subjects.

obviously i love them all, but i think the look of seventies effect is my absolute favorite.

which is your favorite?

the shoutout…

It’s after 2am.

Overtime.

And so the shoutout begins.

Sweet CJ and I have been playing this game every night for several weeks.

Initially there is no crying. It’s more like she’s just raising her voice. She has four top teeth coming in, all within the next few weeks. So who knows if she’s waking from discomfort or if she’s actually hungry?

And I’m down with the fuss it out method, up to a point. Unfortunately, her monitor needs better volume control. It’s all or nothing. At which point, I don’t know which is worse -- snoring next door or shouting in the other room.

Round 1: I let her chat it up for at least 15 minutes, but she’s only getting louder and definitely not going back to sleep. She’s more than delighted, as I open the door shaking her bottle. After sucking down 4oz, she’s satisfied and ready to go back to sleep on my shoulder. Of course, she wakes as I lay her back in the crib and starts to fuss. I exit the room in hopes that she’ll fall right back to sleep.

Round 2: Another painful 15 minutes or so, lots of shouting mixed with a few tears and clearly neither one of us is going back to sleep. Her volume is now at the “I’m going to wake up my brother or the neighbors” level, so I head back to her room. On my shoulder, in the rocker, she’s back to sleep in just 5 minutes.

[Maybe it’s my shoulder to mattress technique? It never fails that she’ll be completely asleep and as soon as I put her down, she’s wide awake.]

Confident that she’s still asleep, I gently lay her back down. This time she awakes and starts kicking AND shouting. I exit the room to let her fuss some more.

Round 3: Ten more minutes of mixed shouting, tears and screaming. I walk in to find her up on all fours, rocking back and forth, attempting to reach her pacifier. That’s a first and after three attempts, she actually got it! YEAH!

But, she’s angry at the world. And even angrier at me, because I’m not picking her up this time and just go for the back rub.

Not so much.

I walk out (she’s crying), grab a bottle in the kitchen (still crying), make her a few more ounces (still crying) and open her door. SILENCE.

Apparently, she’d had enough and called it a night.

Game over.

Callie 1, Mommy 0

 

Certainly open to any suggestions. In the meantime, this sleep deprived mommy will be looking for an insulated penalty box for myself until this season is over.

lyrique du jour…

Standing together in an angry world.

five for friday: j’dore

while i've never been to paris, my intrigue is circa 1992 via french class at apollo junior high. and this cold and overcast weather we’ve had recently is how I envision paris only sprinkled with romantic sidewalk cafes, historic museums and architecture, and couture fashion boutiques. thus, I was inspired to assemble my tres chic wish list.

 

simply adorable baby onesies.

vintage passport cover.

collection of photos from the streets of.

beautiful and poetic rug.

a love story and cookbook all in one. 

 

au revior!

the CW project: preface

you can lead a child to food, but you cannot make them eat.

we live this with DB every single day. his repertoire is slowly (very slowly) expanding, but for the most part he's a fruit and carb dude. on most days, that's the easy part. the frustration is when he loves bread, peanut butter crackers, PB cookies and PB granola bars, but won't eat a PB sandwich. explain that one!

in traditional fashion, we introduced him to cereals around 5 months and quickly moved into the pureed fruits and veggies. he ate ANY and ALL of the stage 1, 2 and 3 baby foods. this resistance came when we transitioned to "real" food. and because i don't want our dining experience (or his) to be associated with tension or tears, we’ve adapted and try to provide a variety of healthy options that he will eat (nitrate free, organics, whole grains, etc) and frequently offer up new options….that he frequently rejects.

flash forward to CJ's 4 month well check in mid-November when her pediatrician suggested we go ahead and introduce pureed foods. he even said it wasn't necessary to start with cereals, actually suggesting sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes for her 1st thanksgiving.

call it fate or a mommy miracle, but two days later baby-led weaning was in my amazon book suggestions. after reading several of the reviews and more details on baby-led.com, i jumped head first onto the band wagon. the premise is simple, widely adapted in europe and based on a paper written by gill rapley. baby led weaning means not giving purees, and instead introducing finger foods from the start. naturally, children teach themselves how to sit up, crawl and walk at their own pace. and around 6 months they are developmentally capable to teach themselves how to eat.

hence, the callie wean (CW) project was born.

stay tuned for chapter 1: supplies.

lyrique du jour…

I want to vanish inside your kiss.

 

five for friday: provoking reads…

explaining the unexplainable.  i worry. i worry a lot. i worry a lot about a lot of things that i shouldn’t. flying will never be a pleasant experience for me. and after the horrific event in tucson and the insane media coverage, i struggle to put the tragedy in its place. What to Tell Children About Tucson by lisa belkin in the new york times offers perspective for even this worrisome adult. while they are acknowledged with a very heavy heart as terrible and tragic, these are in fact very rare events and shouldn’t influence or control our daily routines. “Constant fear creates fearful children. Parents need to focus on what really does happen and not what could happen but probably won’t.”

east versus west: a la parenting style. the wall street journal article from amy chua, Why Chinese Mothers are Superior has been ALL over the media this week. Encouraging, positive and nurturing are terms I’d use to describe our parenting style thus far -- granted mine are only 2 years and 6 months. However, I certainly hope we can develop a balance as parents which demands excellence and supports passions to ensure we are “preparing them for the future, letting them see what they're capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.”

switching gears to the most famous ears. without any experience, i’ve convinced myself that we are not the cruising type. rigid schedules, formal buffet dinners and maybe a little something to do with that worry trait all make the idea pretty unappealing. but keeping an open mind, The Disney Dream cruise could be the one for us. we heart all things disney. josh and i went to disney world at least 3x before having children, and watched mickey mouse clubhouse long before drew even cared about cartoons. a truly unique beach vacation with something for everyone will still require some imagineering, but consider it a possibility.

this bull doesn’t get the horns. i loved my astronomy class in college.  despised the teacher. and i’ve always been fascinated with the study of astrology. but now astronomer parke kunkle is claiming there is a 13th zodiac sign, which means our astrological signs may not be what we once thought. according to this new realignment, i’m no longer a taurus (stubborn, loyal, homely, practical, conservative, dependable). now i am an aries (enthusiastic, optimistic, expressive, courageous, fearless, spontaneous). uhm, i think not. i’m absolutely 100% stubborn…i mean 100% taurus!

U-G-L-Y, but i’ve got an alibi. while it seems logical that appearance and sleep would be correlated, a recent sleep study in sweden proves some truth in the science of beauty sleep. “when people are sleep-deprived, they not only look tired to the people around them, but also appear less healthy, and, yes, less attractive.” so it appears this worrying mother of two under three will need a lot more concealer in an attempt to cover the effects of our recent sleepless nights (more like weeks) due to teething, congestion, nightmares and random alarm malfunctions.

and just because i don’t like to post without also sharing at least one of the beautiful faces that make me smile, worry, laugh and tear each and every day…my precious drew bear who almost never lets me photograph him anymore, actually posed and smiled!

  

 

lyrique du jour…

If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.

page six…

 

happy half birthday callie jane! 

diamonds are a girl’s best friend...OUCH!
reading auntie erin's fashion magazine...BA-NANAS!
trying so hard to sit up unassisted...TIMBER!
my two bottom teeth are still coming in....RELIEF!
my big brother is...HILARIOUS!
lady marmalade worked that mandarin...SWEET!

show me the beach…

i’ve been bit by the new year planning bug, and any beach in northwest florida with sugar white sand and emerald green water will be my destination of choice!

how about early july? the 4th of july is actually during the week this year…fireworks and festivities in the sand? works for me!

and we’d also be there for callie jane’s 1st birthday? what girl in this family wouldn’t LOVE to spend their birthday at the beach!

Okay.

If anybody else wants to come with me, this vacation will be the vacation of something real, and FUN, and inspiring…

…who’s coming with me?

five for friday: 2011 resolutions…

Blog. For the most part, I’ve been photo-blogging our adventures with the kiddos, which I love and will definitely continue. But I think I may have found a much-needed, new hobby?! I want to develop the content, focusing a bit more on family and parenting -- with a twist. Haven’t decided if that’s a twist of fate or possibly lemon, but I’ll get there.

Money. Two kiddos, two houses, two pharmacies and four bank accounts, yet we have NEVER kept a checkbook register. I’m hoping to get better organized with the finances, since DEBT FREE is in the five year plan. I’ve been looking at some Apps (I can use on my new iPad!) that will hopefully do all the work.

Art. At home we read religiously with the kiddos and dance around to all sorts of music, but we don’t do much in the way of traditional arts and crafts. I got a few new books for Christmas (Toddler’s Busy Book, Playful Parenting and I Love Dirt) to inspire me to get more creative at home. I see a weekly project and a new wall display for our art in my future!

Philanthropy. After the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti last January, I wanted to do something to help...something for the children. So we signed up and made a small donation to UNICEF every month in 2010. This year, I’d like to bring our efforts a little closer to home. The Hendrick Home for Children in Abilene has been providing long-term, quality care for children for 70+ years. Not sure if our contribution will be donations, volunteering or both, but I’m excited and honored to give to our community.

Vacation. Last year our sweet Callie Jane made her grand entrance smack dab in the middle of summer, so we didn’t plan a family trip, nor an adults only own getaway. I’m hoping we can make it back to Destin this year for the family vaca, and who knows where the ‘rents will go?! I’m vying for someplace WARM and all-inclusive, since we went to Jackson Hole two years ago.

Cheers to a healthy, hearty and hopeful 2011!

makeover monday…

this new look is quite busy for a simple gal, but it was definitely time for something fresh.

and just for giggles, here are all the headers of yesterday.