tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25278054859998384992024-03-14T10:39:17.854-07:00Momma MollyMollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.comBlogger124125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-69546214045907323272011-05-25T05:24:00.000-07:002011-05-25T06:09:57.128-07:00Will's Birth Story<div align="justify"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">I decided to finally post William's full birth story. It's very, very long, but I didn't want to forget any of the details! I wrote this a week after he was born....</span></em><br /></div><br /><div align="justify">After being 8 days past my due date with Madeline, I was expecting another “late” baby when we found out we were expecting baby #2. I calculated my due date to be February 16th , but an early ultrasound put me at February 20th, so I was more than happy to have 2/20 be my “official” due date with my OB.<br /><br />Both my due dates rolled by without any sign of baby. I had just stopped working the week before, so I really wasn't too anxious. I enjoyed lots of quality time with Maddie and worked on finishing up some baby sewing projects. At my 2/22 OB visit, I went for a stress test and baby looked great. My OB and I decided to wait another week before we started talking about an induction. I was 2 cm, 80% effaced and she felt like I was very favorable and I'd be seeing her sometime that week at the hospital. At a week “overdue”, I was pretty ready to meet this baby, so I really hoped she was right.<br /><br />The next day (Wednesday) I came down with a terrible head cold and hacking cough. Madeline woke up with a fever and suddenly I found myself hoping that baby would stay put! Miraculously, Maddie's fever only lasted a day and my cough was almost gone after two days.<br /><br />By Saturday I was feeling much better and very much hoping that the baby would come over the weekend since I was now 11 days past my due date. I did lots of walking and ended up with about 5 hours of really good, timeable contractions that pittered out. Very disappointing.<br /><br />When I woke up on Monday without my baby, it finally started to get to me. With each day that passed I wasn't feeling any closer to labor or showing any signs of going into labor on my own.<br /><br />Wednesday, March 2nd, I had my 42 week check-up and we scheduled an induction for Friday. At what would be 16 days past my due date, I felt comfortable with this plan. We even discussed ways to keep the induction more “natural”. She stripped my membranes in hopes that might get things rolling. With a deadline now in place, I stopped at the drug store and picked up a bottle of castor oil – still undecided if I would try it or not.<br /><br />Immediately after having my membranes swept, I started having regular, strong contractions that latest throughout the day. Even though they were between 10-30 minutes apart, it felt very encouraging that at least my body was doing something on it's own. That evening the contractions picked up to around 7 minutes apart. I stayed up until almost 1am timing them before deciding that it was silly to not get some sleep. I was able to sleep pretty well, but I woke up to a strong contraction around 5am that got me excited, so I got up and pittered around the house. They were pretty consistently 10 minutes apart. Justin had to leave for work around 6, and I told him to just go on – I'd call him if I thought things were picking up – he works a little over 30 minutes from home.<br /><br />At 9am, they were still about 10 minutes apart and didn't seem to be increasing in intensity. I went online to look up some recipes for castor oil inductions. Most people recommended 2-4 oz, so I decided to just try 1 oz to see if would help kick things in since I was already having contractions. I masked it in some chocolate ice cream and sucked it down. I'm still unsure if the castor oil actually helped or not, because almost immediately my contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart. I'm sure it didn't hurt, but considering that it was supposed to take 4 hours to kick in, I kind of think things would have picked up anyway. Guess I'll never know for sure.<br /><br />I called Justin around 10:30 and told him to plan to leave work around noon, but to call me first – just to make sure things were still moving along. I was still not convinced this was “it”, and the contractions were still totally manageable on my own. I called my mother in law to let her know that I may be calling her to pick up Maddie before too long. I gave Maddie a bath and got her dressed for the day and scurried around the house finishing up packing our hospital bags (at 2 weeks+ overdue, you'd think I would've had that done!). I put on a movie for Madeline and decided to take a bath. When I got in the tub, I had two massive contractions that were difficult to focus through and I decided that I'd really like to have some help getting through these. I sent Justin a text and told him to leave ASAP. That was around 11:45.<br /><br />I got out of the tub very quickly, I just couldn't find a comfortable position. I spent the next 15 minutes trying to get dressed – I was feeling disoriented and the contractions were probably 1-2 minutes apart. I finally managed to find some clothes and get dressed and then called my mother in law to come get Maddie and called Justin again to make sure he had left – he was just getting in his truck.<br /><br />Around this point the contractions were becoming unbearable. I started feeling like I'd really like it to slow down so I could get a break, which was totally absurd because I'd been praying and hoping for labor like this for 2 weeks. It dawned on me that maybe I was further along than I thought. I called Justin again to make sure he was hurrying and told him we were leaving as soon as he got home. My mother in law arrived to get Maddie. I was helping her on the potty and a contraction hit and I just walked out of the bathroom and pointed to Maddie while I went to go pound on a wall. These suckers HURT. On the next contraction, I draped myself over the kitchen bar and just moaned – which kind of freaked my mother in law out. So then she started calling Justin. He finally walked in the door around 12:45, took one look at me and said “So, I guess I don't have time for a shower?”. My mother in law left with Maddie and Justin ran (literally) to get changed and washed up. (He worked in a feed mill, so he comes home pretty dirty.) I called my sister at 12:55 to tell her we were leaving and I was pretty sure it was happening fast. Justin was taking too long, so I starting hauling our bags to the car. I had my first “pushy” contraction while standing by the car yelling for him to hurry. He ran to the door in his boxers asking me where his khaki pants with the brown belt were. I think I said something like “we're going to have this baby in the car!” and apparently he found some pants, because we were in the car and on our way within the next minute. I sat in the front seat and just held on to the handle over the door and lifted myself off the seat with each contraction. Justin tried to call my OB, but got the answering service since it was lunch time. It was about a 12 minute drive to the hospital and it was pure agony. Justin was still in denial that I was actually that close to delivery and we had a disagreement about whether or not he had enough time to park. I won and he parked in a no parking zone and ran around to help me out of the car. I had a huge contraction just as he opened the door and I really started bearing down with this one and groaning. I felt a big gush and was pretty sure my waters probably just broke. People must have saw us coming, because someone was holding the door and the elevator as we walked up to the building. Someone offered me a wheelchair, but I just waved them off and power walked to the elevator. We made it from the car to L & D in between contractions. Normally, you have to call in and have one of the nurses buzz you in, but someone was just walking out as we got off the elevator and I just kept right on walking through those doors. I stopped at the desk and said “I'm pushing” and started walking down the hallway looking for a bed. We had about 5 nurses running after us asking us questions and trying to figure out who I was and who my dr was. They ushered me right into a room and one of the nurses helped me change into a gown in the bathroom. I immediately sat on the toilet and saw that the gush I felt was not water – it was lots and lots of bright red blood. They got me in the bed and that's when I started to lose it. On one side I had one nurse putting in my IV and on the other I had a nurse putting the monitors on. Then there was another nurse trying to complete my check-in and asking me questions and still another nurse checking my dilation. I was 9 cm with a bulging bag of water. I was still losing a good amount of blood, I could feel little gushes every time I had a contraction. When Justin finally got back beside me, I was able to get some control and deal with the contractions. My OB walked in the door – she had been making rounds at lunchtime, and I was so happy she was there! She had a calming effect on the whole room and the nurses finally stopped telling me not to push. She broke my water and pushed back a little lip and I was complete and ready to push in earnest. My OB was concerned about the blood, but the baby looked great on the monitor, so we knew we had some time. Justin says I was very vocal and bossy during the pushing phase, but I just remember thinking that I was going to do what felt good to me and I didn't really care what they wanted me to do. I refused to put my feet in stirrups and (apparently) yelled at one of the nurses for asking me 6 times to “scoot my butt down”. They started trying to coach me in pushing, but I just ignored them and pushed as hard and as long as I felt like it, and much to the nurses displeasure, I flipped on my side and pushed while they held my legs. I remember hearing one of them say “okay....or just do whatever you want.” And I thought “exactly”. After pushing through two contractions, my OB announced that I was going to have to give it all I had, she wasn't happy with how much I was bleeding and the baby needed to come out now. The pushing phase was extremely painful – I don't remember the pain being quite so intense and overwhelming when I was delivering Maddie. On the next contraction, I pushed long and hard and delivered the baby's head. One more little push and I felt him slide out. The dr. held him up and said “Okay dad, what do we have here?” and I'll never forget the look on Justin's face as he said “It's a boy!”. He had been adamant throughout my pregnancy that he didn't care either way and he'd be just as happy with another girl – but the look on his face when he saw his son for the first time? Sheer joy. I reached out for him and held our son on my chest while Justin cut the cord. Our sweet William whimpered a little before letting out a huge bellow. After a few minutes, they took him to the warmer while I delivered the placenta, which had in fact started to detach before delivery. We had all the nurses taking bets on his weight and they all agreed he was close to 10 lbs. I thought they were crazy, there was no way he was that big. I was shocked when they announced he was 9 lbs, 12 oz! I had a 2nd degree tear (same as with Maddie) that had to be repaired and they started pitocin to try to control the bleeding. In numbers, I was 15 days late, had about 24 hours of steady easy contractions, 3 hours of active labor and 10 minutes of pushing. About 15-20 minutes elapsed between walking through the hospital doors and delivering our baby boy.<br /><br />Overall, I'm very happy with how my labor and delivery went. I do think that because it was so short, it was much more intense. I really can't say whether the pushing was more painful because he was 2 lbs bigger than Maddie or just because of he came out in such a hurry. Maybe a little of both?<br /><br />Now a little about my sweet William. What a total doll baby. He is 10 weeks old now and such a joy. All you have to do is smile at him and he'll give you a big gummy grin. He's such a happy boy! He's very active and strong, already rolling over both ways and loves to be facing outward to see the world around him. He's started interacting with his big sister and it makes Mommy's heart melt. He takes nice long naps during the day and even though he's still waking up a couple times a night to snack, he always goes right back to sleep. He loves to eat and already weighs 16 lbs at 10 weeks old. Considering that Madeline was not quite 18 lbs at her 1st birthday, this little chunker is quite a novelty to me!<br /></div><br /><div align="justify">And now...some squishy pictures!<br /><br />Brand new!<br /><br /><a href="http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/?action=view&current=DSC03414.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/DSC03414.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/?action=view&current=DSC03462.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/DSC03462.jpg" /></a><br /><br />One week old...<br /><br /><a href="http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/?action=view&current=William6of17.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/William6of17.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/?action=view&current=William10of17.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Photobucket" src="http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/mollyr02/William10of17.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a> </div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-50688701078146968182010-10-21T14:03:00.000-07:002010-10-21T19:14:34.765-07:00Is it really October?<div align="justify">How can it possibly be October already? I feel like we just broke out the tanktops and sundresses and I just packed them away again.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />I have no clue where to even start after not blogging for so long (seriously, I'm apologizing in every post, I NEED to get on the ball!), but I'll just share a few pictures from our summer.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Me and my girl. She amazes me every day.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaO8CceBWmCvBS94DQh92CK2QauiMZY0-ztEkEwQ3dDiLQuuNxt3qNyzhbJEq0ELVd6svhFT3bivcXtP8oSk0t5V5n5NtlhA1efBgDcQG2kR25rDA8mCadOT0PzsJrDr4Gs9htuVF6_Q/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530612485516705394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaO8CceBWmCvBS94DQh92CK2QauiMZY0-ztEkEwQ3dDiLQuuNxt3qNyzhbJEq0ELVd6svhFT3bivcXtP8oSk0t5V5n5NtlhA1efBgDcQG2kR25rDA8mCadOT0PzsJrDr4Gs9htuVF6_Q/s400/untitled.bmp" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530609287922838130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88IeQT4Nb93gem3iyP8YRsp92ZrOxNZOYuec7B8juJ8Gc_VJLLzRmLnt7j5eEStWAmLbOF4rYGDbZGAgAH9CdlRverU1NhFBUx5n6zPZ-bMYmgh4rJB_uV2BPuZsHpEuHWwNrxIUasts/s400/Vacation-41.jpg" />We went on vacation...if you can call it that. We spent 4 loooong days and nights in a tent on the beach. We won't be doing that again any time soon, but hey - we made some memories, right?<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530609297564184754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdqaF9C9JvNCOqfwA4rhUE1FvJQiHTHRNr41qMFNL1SG0p3Tf4XUNY7WCjKxiiB-ukcV4G-FOsmV4nTqspgPTiH1z5oC1vgwIfzgZAHEb69bueQ2Pp81wpvDY1-PfowwS7QhxaF1wSow/s400/Vacation-59.jpg" />We salvaged our "vacation" by taking a couple trips to the boardwalk so Madeline could ride the "Car-o-saul".<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530609284058299906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1YrKc_xeW6UttIo96DhZYuAFrwuSuG_ori5g6AJnymQkh2oAa2rXxv5kbr8wPa2LBWCsjLdfwv7Md0PWWCRCBgq5Y3oNotqqUHw9GSRtTFosKRTMVgQWXlVxY1sUCwXgIPABtCs9m1_s/s400/Vacation-23.jpg" /><br /><p>We spent lots of time <s>just lounging on the beach</s> chasing Madeline around the beach. Did I say anything about making memories? Yeah, that.</p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530609281488680674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyjEUtLvFX73MzHvNBWd_owHXuhIssV7XQgw269jnRC18sqKFFYo96duN1sHXup4icd9yq39gwqWvVbcpYfFwL3FYiUziOUKhxKaHOYRxFxTq3plPtOxUy7AhxlJr6jEv0OLeJYyPYgE/s400/Vacation-9.jpg" /></p><p>One of the highlights of my year was being allowed the priviledge to act as doula/photographer for my cousin at the birth of her baby girl. She had a wonderful - short! - natural birth of a 9 lb. 13 oz. baby girl.<br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvCjhczOF9uWuPI5L1cYvxUb5cnUHLWUf2ZUZ-Nt0Hg26aE_CyhUbmHDGqsWqhh4YUStVLL1qwK4zihvBhWMnBTBflAsSbbJc2Ckn6_11aaCkQTDUTfeRi2sK4AsMHrW5khfJC3JEh0M/s1600/232323232%7Ffp633_;_nu=3355_865_8_8_WSNRCG=3552_;4;42337nu0mrj%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530611352986316946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXvCjhczOF9uWuPI5L1cYvxUb5cnUHLWUf2ZUZ-Nt0Hg26aE_CyhUbmHDGqsWqhh4YUStVLL1qwK4zihvBhWMnBTBflAsSbbJc2Ckn6_11aaCkQTDUTfeRi2sK4AsMHrW5khfJC3JEh0M/s400/232323232%7Ffp633_;_nu=3355_865_8_8_WSNRCG=3552_;4;42337nu0mrj%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a> These next photos? What, I forgot to mention I'm 5 months pregnant? Must have slipped my mind. Like everything else these days. ;)<br /><br />Our sweet little munchkin is growing and thriving and due to make his or her arrival somewhere around Madeline's 3rd birthday at the end of February. Maddie is beyond excited about the new arrival and is convinced it's a baby sister...I guess we'll see! </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JCSbywZowrjqs2fJS5FxPO5FOER5SlmBylwvw5G-7msRgODIvYDhvyrzipWm69tXLAhpbu9xSDEYsHuaoDZhsEgP5EFSEcSmDJjvRIPZyw5BlAyf3bYaIuFUApkb95wCEaBaUOMOxAM/s1600/baby2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530611356468073410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JCSbywZowrjqs2fJS5FxPO5FOER5SlmBylwvw5G-7msRgODIvYDhvyrzipWm69tXLAhpbu9xSDEYsHuaoDZhsEgP5EFSEcSmDJjvRIPZyw5BlAyf3bYaIuFUApkb95wCEaBaUOMOxAM/s400/baby2.jpg" /></a><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530611348748613970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk4bFNQJKW0wrc76S4-C-gtsp2y_TltY7ASpI6b2vuMERR8qkFNNur1SouBmX2MkfZaIlv0j2latD9kS6BHH9ZgCxqt2YOh1DaBZNSxt4cIbq_CjcZOgNlg3cS8gGYv_z1_V90qYgOYs/s400/baby1.jpg" /></div><div>I'm not even going to promise to update more regularly - but I'll be around when I can! I'm in full on crafting for Christmas mode, so if you want to keep up with my crafty side, you can find me <a href="http://meandmadeline.blogspot.com/">over there</a>.</div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-50564137417687600192010-07-22T19:26:00.000-07:002010-07-22T19:46:17.119-07:00The anatomy of a breakdown*<em><span style="font-size:85%;">*alternatively titled "What happens when Peanut doesn't get her way"</span> </em><br /><br />It all starts out rather innocently. The tremor of the lip, the warning in the eyes...<br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496923155235507218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_sw-u5DC0ykN8M4CpRBh-H5fcv9a8QyzDCN145OZorThEg_2z55DUGvijO-ommAsH6hMjtn5hntjQ-5DiZTGPabqI-GQ9-BbmG-QahnIT_BVy6HZKLPY8zRth28q3tT6STAuj8E3aXk/s400/Silas's+bday+(20+of+102).jpg" />But then suddenly, with no further warning and no time to run and hide, the waterworks begin.</p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496923163838646754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDWU7LxK9uaLDJjG2BbMoSQAcLGdBiz8c5u_QDgTpioO5vkehxp1K2VRoD-F8aAU72dxbmzIwC-JRwBvWQw0S7GM8Z5fRgeQu775ADk0ndRlm-OFgZ_O5ajGVWppZr-Whg_tEB-qJxjM/s400/Silas's+bday+(21+of+102).jpg" />And what began as a whimper is now a wail.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQ5lKonQOAmkawxiFuOY6UT886lLiL_TQuiuuA5Nr8ZJtYA4qdKGKnVxHB0pVYTr-700ddq-guTTdTkUkBlHw6ok3hb4KyfCvhXdVKWUqB1E7FWviYN6yCm6L0OpfQypOUZjBvBXUE-Q/s1600/Silas's+bday+(23+of+102).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496923181631865234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQ5lKonQOAmkawxiFuOY6UT886lLiL_TQuiuuA5Nr8ZJtYA4qdKGKnVxHB0pVYTr-700ddq-guTTdTkUkBlHw6ok3hb4KyfCvhXdVKWUqB1E7FWviYN6yCm6L0OpfQypOUZjBvBXUE-Q/s400/Silas's+bday+(23+of+102).jpg" /></a></p>Regardless of what words are coming out her mouth, when my little girl looks like this...<br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HuminqnsJb8fgM9s5Bb4bi2SxDp4iNfsPbbnKq5yzvNYH9Xt3OE0GyK9RCnJIUaM9oBRN_UHfW8_xwO7Z3gwN-D0XB6Vd1r0OqgCJDaatwNPQLFuspM2leb22gp1c0jRlw4cJR2xQdg/s1600/Silas's+bday+(22+of+102).jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496923174626253202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HuminqnsJb8fgM9s5Bb4bi2SxDp4iNfsPbbnKq5yzvNYH9Xt3OE0GyK9RCnJIUaM9oBRN_UHfW8_xwO7Z3gwN-D0XB6Vd1r0OqgCJDaatwNPQLFuspM2leb22gp1c0jRlw4cJR2xQdg/s400/Silas's+bday+(22+of+102).jpg" /></a>I only hear one thing: "Mommy, please give me a NAP!"<br /><br />My sister took these photos at a birthday party this weekend. In between snorts of laughter, she showed me these pictures after the crisis had past and I think she told me it had something to do with no one helping her onto the trampoline. Yeah, she needed a nap. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em><br /><br />I know, I've been a bad, bad blogger lately! I have so many posts I want to do, some awesome book reviews to complete and only about a gazillion pictures to post. So consider this little post my peace offering until I figure out a way to fit blogging back into my schedule!</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size:130%;"></span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-31586821428613851132010-04-05T08:13:00.000-07:002010-04-05T08:35:04.907-07:00Plow Days<div align="justify">For the past four years, Justin's grandfather has headed up "Plow Days", an event where folks bring in thier teams of horses and plow a big field the old fashioned way - with horses and old farm equipment. It's intended to bring awareness to how things were done back in the good 'ole days and to be sure that this next generation doesn't lose appreciation for the way that things used to be done...with a lot of sweat and unbelievable hard work.<br /><br />This year we decided to dress up. Yes, I spent the whole day in a bonnet.<br /><br />Now, if you promise not to laugh, I'll show you some pictures of me all dressed up in my pioneer outfit plowing a field with Justin. Promise? I don't believe you, but I'll show you anyway.<br /><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrnX2HkIArjuTxPStDEpozHucE1290DFh6NnMY-ieVkilziNfVYxD4Fb5OdcGqd6IClU6ipq_SuSpgjLEtFOrydFldskPs8GlVOgLpbSQ1JWJQG6SgbWnatjerJnY9zZTmdsbRVXNOak/s1600/1.DSC01717+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456673503471474514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcrnX2HkIArjuTxPStDEpozHucE1290DFh6NnMY-ieVkilziNfVYxD4Fb5OdcGqd6IClU6ipq_SuSpgjLEtFOrydFldskPs8GlVOgLpbSQ1JWJQG6SgbWnatjerJnY9zZTmdsbRVXNOak/s400/1.DSC01717+copy.jpg" /></a>Can I just tell you how hard this is? After one pass I was huffing and puffing...and I wasn't even holding the horses. </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVN3qu5xpKLnbQCTp4Sl80VgkyhdRRKHcvtoubIhYrsCXj5q5eLq2R7El4dDfm8ZQS1uRcUoJ-B6syOYgQtQ7-EneTq7BWy9ndws8mj1dj6vQfkF-UjnMI4ah5Nt0RGIveBpFUutAkajU/s1600/1.DSC01724.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456673498731165346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVN3qu5xpKLnbQCTp4Sl80VgkyhdRRKHcvtoubIhYrsCXj5q5eLq2R7El4dDfm8ZQS1uRcUoJ-B6syOYgQtQ7-EneTq7BWy9ndws8mj1dj6vQfkF-UjnMI4ah5Nt0RGIveBpFUutAkajU/s400/1.DSC01724.jpg" /></a> Here's Maddie and her cousin in the little outfits I made them.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJs-J38R8vsWffCW-PYL2Oezh8-Dxcr7exlMF1vvcs3thYQKz301hOEzmXUdqkK6PtD17dgIMmcEDSrw5TD3fK_65FCsHv8ONv9MRIb4U72LHf8bVNZ2_wUp2L5S_7MsEEx5QeJZcz7rM/s1600/1.DSC01680.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456673487100637298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJs-J38R8vsWffCW-PYL2Oezh8-Dxcr7exlMF1vvcs3thYQKz301hOEzmXUdqkK6PtD17dgIMmcEDSrw5TD3fK_65FCsHv8ONv9MRIb4U72LHf8bVNZ2_wUp2L5S_7MsEEx5QeJZcz7rM/s400/1.DSC01680.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryLqkxKzpgl9Bx-F5EDjkwLUdHHfJzYV9cy9N5E49Ar6G_wTXLG0TaaqJL4fexszkslrPwjIk_QK-74S53klX9cAC1ujREVl-jfTMeMGzAVg25YGTm6qJbH7kjMX_XHzh1sS5XDvEjbY/s1600/1.DSC01726.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456673482571846274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryLqkxKzpgl9Bx-F5EDjkwLUdHHfJzYV9cy9N5E49Ar6G_wTXLG0TaaqJL4fexszkslrPwjIk_QK-74S53klX9cAC1ujREVl-jfTMeMGzAVg25YGTm6qJbH7kjMX_XHzh1sS5XDvEjbY/s400/1.DSC01726.jpg" /></a> This might be my favorite picture from the day. Justin plowed pretty much the whole day and just when we were getting ready to leave, she ran over and climbed up on the plow beside him while he was taking a break.<br /><div> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuLUKrLSpacA5aYoRcjacr6fMPUJ9gUajOhI5nvceR9oDfXfsyMBX_5tqfpaPOEEUGJdYhWWueIQPuP60L1urBOG_1pVqkfYjjlSE72c_wOjTYEyLt7Ww7vhuZ3iW_eczucuBoPnXVEU/s1600/1.DSC01782.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456673479486279586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkuLUKrLSpacA5aYoRcjacr6fMPUJ9gUajOhI5nvceR9oDfXfsyMBX_5tqfpaPOEEUGJdYhWWueIQPuP60L1urBOG_1pVqkfYjjlSE72c_wOjTYEyLt7Ww7vhuZ3iW_eczucuBoPnXVEU/s400/1.DSC01782.jpg" /></a>It really was a great day...bonnet and all.<br /></div><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a></div></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-60784538966622536112010-03-12T05:49:00.001-08:002010-03-24T15:55:11.906-07:00Formula Fed America<div align="justify">Just saw the trailer for the new documentary "Formula Fed America" and wanted to share.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1pW93kKZYMM&">Formula Fed America trailer</a><br /><br />In a lot of ways, it's not new information. We know that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">breastmilk</span> is better for babies, we know the dangers of formula. But the statement from the first mom you see in the trailer, really struck a chord with me. She states that the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">argument</span> "I was'nt breastfed and I turned out fine" is not valid. America is not fine.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">I just had a conversation with my mom about this - she's the biggest breastfeeding advocate that I know - and she absolutely agreed. Mom wasn't ever breastfed and I always contended that she was fine. She's so healthy. My mom disagrees. I completely forgot about her terrible food allergies. She's struggled her whole life with food related problems. How could I have forgotten?<br /><br />Sure, she's <em>fine</em>. But she doesn't have perfect health. Would a year of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">breastmilk</span> have changed that? Maybe, maybe not. Since breastfeeding decreases the chance your child will have food allergies, I think the probability is pretty good that it would have at the very least lessened the severity of her allergies.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">Another interesting fact that I didn't know is found on the Formula Fed America website. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em><br />"While commercial infant formulas are commonly perceived to be the medically recommended second choice infant food after breastfeeding, the World Health Organization (WHO) states: "The second choice is the mother's own milk expressed and given to the infant in some way. The third choice is the milk of another human mother. The fourth and last choice is artificial baby milk."</em></div><div align="justify"><br />As I've said before, this is not my way of making people who were not breastfed feel bad or mom's who didn't (or couldn't) breastfeed feel guilty.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />But if we don't change the way that we view breastfeeding in this country, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">nothing is</span> going to change.<br /><br />The WHO <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">recommends</span> breastfeeding for a minimum of <em>2 years</em> and yet in this country, less than 20% of the woman who DO breastfeed are still exclusively breastfeeding after <em>6 months</em>. Factoring in the women who don't breastfeed at all, we're talking about less than 10% of our population is being breastfed past 6 months. This is just <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">appalling</span>. We have a responsibility to educate ourselves as a nation and change the "norm". We need to refuse to be a part of a the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">majority and</span> <em>change</em> the status <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">quo</span>.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em><br /><br />"If a multinational company developed a product that was a nutritionally balanced and delicious food, a wonder drug that both prevented and treated disease, cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities controlled by the consumers' needs, the very announcement of their find would send their shares rocketing to the top of the stock market. The scientists who developed the product would win prizes and the wealth and influence of everyone involved would increase dramatically. Women have been producing such a miraculous substance, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">breastmilk</span>, since the beginning of human existence..." -Gabrielle Palmer</em></div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-69374213693901811152010-03-08T04:39:00.001-08:002010-03-08T06:09:57.367-08:00Snow!<div align="justify">It's feels totally wrong to be posting this today. The snow is almost gone and it's supposed to hit 60 degrees today! But not quite a month ago, we were hit with back-to-back snowstorms bigger than this area has seen in over 20 years. Yeah. <a href="http://www.momma-molly.com/2009/12/snow-baby.html">Remember</a> when I thought an inch of snow was blog-worthy? We saw about two feet of snow at our house, but some of our neighbors and friends measured close to 3 feet!<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">Honestly, even though I did my fair share of complaining, it was <em>fun</em> to be snowed in.<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />And it was beautiful.</div><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446250352879529874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQ8kPAdBZ1aR5TSrr7u7KzvfkrisB9qxXsY60gspqCAhtslo64WM0tpbnb-vVrTANfL7ibVI91QHBo-HnztKhizve6lBH815PE03Sep4BVAykiuq_5_dMtY8bSB-K5y1JPmNP1mz4-gI/s400/DSC00003.jpg" /><br /><br />You know you live in the country...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHn4_Tqe_eClNm2bRWX8z4Je4SDWMgjO5EXKSLkCUaLH-8q6N4aTLaHttPkKNofapXxNaoh5BsA-UWBBuT4AyOCHYhi-JZmZkLKzvmCIrHeOiiOiFymrxamPPhR0fODvi72CSqLKJfZ4/s1600-h/DSC09955.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446250360428500578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHn4_Tqe_eClNm2bRWX8z4Je4SDWMgjO5EXKSLkCUaLH-8q6N4aTLaHttPkKNofapXxNaoh5BsA-UWBBuT4AyOCHYhi-JZmZkLKzvmCIrHeOiiOiFymrxamPPhR0fODvi72CSqLKJfZ4/s400/DSC09955.jpg" /></a> ...when you have to plow your own road.<br /><br />Snow angel!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMiDWk7ioYswz298_SR0QtbmDUEKUsp2fyJ22L4S6GkuZjs4sdkfVnalZoFSuyMeglT17ypO-sJF194DZHIINzcAZWEpdDGBZusnyP4NoLqUGgXJGS8xSfhCt-ex3F4AmCeWMcJZjvF4/s1600-h/DSC09918+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446248803157710418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMiDWk7ioYswz298_SR0QtbmDUEKUsp2fyJ22L4S6GkuZjs4sdkfVnalZoFSuyMeglT17ypO-sJF194DZHIINzcAZWEpdDGBZusnyP4NoLqUGgXJGS8xSfhCt-ex3F4AmCeWMcJZjvF4/s400/DSC09918+copy.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2NFpwbjFeuIIMbkytkcakbqWLBt4DJQ7rQHncour8ptpFPD8YGOfzjOdvDdzcoD2RD3jbAlaVuNyTEWx9LC-BJibOgVbFJP7a2NAI126MtFHCe8BJZ3zkIxIfmM_TFeglJOBP7vk-Rk/s1600-h/DSC09916+copy.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446248792518554722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm2NFpwbjFeuIIMbkytkcakbqWLBt4DJQ7rQHncour8ptpFPD8YGOfzjOdvDdzcoD2RD3jbAlaVuNyTEWx9LC-BJibOgVbFJP7a2NAI126MtFHCe8BJZ3zkIxIfmM_TFeglJOBP7vk-Rk/s400/DSC09916+copy.jpg" /></a>Our driveway will never be the same. You should see the ruts the melting snow left. Errr, that our tires left in the melting, muddy snow. Not pretty.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutqL0n_MdoaqhTwc-K606CI_Vuc5wfwzTjELL_8S4bGH_fNXUk5m5CYArbt7rPKMe-Mqeu0i6UZQeP2kWl0JnqANMG2YImHLKuZ-xkF1-nCj6DDuybqG4w4_EBHpAlMXoQGZ7aAOVTvU/s1600-h/DSC09912.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446248785045408466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutqL0n_MdoaqhTwc-K606CI_Vuc5wfwzTjELL_8S4bGH_fNXUk5m5CYArbt7rPKMe-Mqeu0i6UZQeP2kWl0JnqANMG2YImHLKuZ-xkF1-nCj6DDuybqG4w4_EBHpAlMXoQGZ7aAOVTvU/s400/DSC09912.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div>This pictures was taken about 30 seconds after we came outside. This was the one and only smile we got out of her. Turns out snow isn't so much fun when you can't walk in it. My girl HATED it.<br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFzZZOH2IAuN6cFfQT9A3SQHLi2wmvU8fslur94EhAC5dpnizby_AvLfUNnhVax61wd7U-eukho7s1elC8nt-QwnEMU4pBjHK1qmow-_yL0hAlr6rTJrWqNsrUPYu1KuZJIGx2Sl_y6g/s1600-h/DSC09879.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446248784451209250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzFzZZOH2IAuN6cFfQT9A3SQHLi2wmvU8fslur94EhAC5dpnizby_AvLfUNnhVax61wd7U-eukho7s1elC8nt-QwnEMU4pBjHK1qmow-_yL0hAlr6rTJrWqNsrUPYu1KuZJIGx2Sl_y6g/s400/DSC09879.jpg" /></a></div></div><div></div><div>You can't tell in this picture, but she's screaming in this picture and waiting for Daddy to come rescue her. </div><div></div><div><br />Oh, and this is our road!<br /><br /></div><div></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446262372361501746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDxEz62hyphenhyphenLqjghu1KurJ58nRfX_0lXpto7otvT3WDLGBW9sGyJY0AGe6Ip26_IobDgEFGxlKi7KWKyQInTcGfQqhMaBuzZeHNBLlZGl6lQW9lurUu6DGuc2NAt482Wf4QVlInKyuWajI/s400/DSC09951.jpg" /><br /><br /><div>Now that spring is in the air, I hope it <em>stays</em>! I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and all the fun it brings!<br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a></div></div></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-14143291600805771752010-03-05T14:40:00.000-08:002010-03-06T05:18:52.427-08:00You can find me over there<div align="justify">I started this blog a little over a year ago to share my <s>rantings</s> thoughts on parenting, natural living, healthy eating and natural childbirth. It's sort of become a cross between that and personal posts - with some other randoms topics thrown in there. I want to keep this blog specifically for my personal photos and ramblings about topics that I want to write about. So.... I've started posting about the adventures <s>on my kitchen table</s> in my craft room over <a href="http://meandmadeline.blogspot.com/">here</a>. I have some sewing/crafty tutorials I want to do and I feel like they "fit" better over <a href="http://meandmadeline.blogspot.com/">there</a>. So if you're not following me over there and your into that sort of thing, now would be a good time. Seriously, follow me. You know you want to.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br /><br />In the meantime, I'm working on the "snow" post I promised. Loads and loads of pictures, prepare yourself!</div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-49844423471327389002010-02-21T19:33:00.001-08:002010-02-22T05:51:29.516-08:00Peanut's two!I spent a low-key day at home on Friday with the birthday girl and she "helped" me get ready for her birthday party the next day.<br /><div><div><div><div align="justify"><br />Friday night we spent 3 hours assembling her birthday present, a play kitchen. </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440916852679334066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwj_t2NH6JodKWiT6IZh4x5MdIgZ2uTaPM0_QiKvRjdgEhMV5zZp7k-_YaazwAeQVvsXmuzwp9NBWNewTU14Qi8f_axMJo81ohnWsqmDzPerC_Cr2di3qvGmOSXD-viySGxhXzsc8lsM/s400/DSC00018.jpg" />Saturday morning she gave us a huge smile to reward us for our labor. If I ever had a doubt about her birthday present, they are all gone now. This kid looooves this kitchen. The microwave is her favorite. She even makes her own sound effects, "Beep, beep, beep, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr, ding! ding!".<br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440911071640499138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0U6VH_lIEQzW79-zu8M50orB6dDI5UBePBAF3bIrQThSq4OT1m3mewa3DwUelInzAHeCh7RuFPJyviz6COuxAXi9Qt3lkqPCgZCjeWDLJHbpNrD_wW4LF0LJAlZ7Cicm-eO-iY1iL0_8/s400/1.DSC00026.jpg" />After a nice long afternoon nap, guests began to arrive for her birthday tea party! It was just a family party, but it was still quite a crowd.</div><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 295px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 422px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441052209517115090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUR7BFeHIRAphQ4zXZI6d6glg9OHiz2XOzLXBjKva00OL3EEHOCqkP4xG8_fA-lxlnXpDonEfOYenggPyYyC1kwGYDXHoz3wm1W3H3Da4QdZuHrmA14Jd_o5LnZERvdpKeIFqsLdy8yw/s400/DSC00108.jpg" /> She was the happiest birthday girl! She clapped and bounced when we sang to her and even though it took a few tries, blew out the candles on her birthday cake.<br /></div><div><div><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441063939670393874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0C9j6CkfDmK5nv6POYtxnFvYSsh2HXZ5EJHx6H6DzzakU65EXB6JfanHriOvqv94BFJU4Rh-FZ4WzCO3FzFdMyR4hCb3gx9a5blHHn9kIUuDXf86q2y-hsW2WPHWqnM6csXnx_zcSZng/s400/1.DSC00076.jpg" /><br /><div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440910571103597874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdf3HOca2o4aH-BOsU2P7S-JVOYSCRxinL38__TOu8WYJEMz9pWT8QSgzSLsXJPgXbWVraxq8oPqRaT2KPh99mahKczQq0Y2_wxBrTes81qJ4Z4ih4G6OAZjuN0ZccqmD4djuO3o3dP0/s400/1.DSC00078.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440911057222586546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlR7-mX-a-DyL9Vmd_6QsBm85huzPft-Ur0MnAWVOM3noR0GiEBzuorZiR9FnoW_mahr0VdkCYPAdUzH9jV3sNTNX4iFxdXK05mA22_ygb7QcQ8plfRgHYKeG6B_EG9ahaM9wRZZxEiho/s400/1.DSC00079.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441049049005254290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj40Fq9h9NAY22UuAECPK6DxNth8ZrSIjkOgKne6LFq3_ZiRQYH3SraFioWEK5MdcAXfiI-KCfMGotErrPaqENxNoWDQqYTi-2GrwTLm5PdpT-6-b-0joPRt4e65-NpJc95oPhHkAh2HbA/s400/DSC00050.jpg" /></div><div>The best part of the party for me was seeing her enjoy herself so thouroghly. I kept my camera by my side and caught this moment somewhere between cake and presents.<br /></div><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441052220224150434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOimLNdtzW8yaLP6jv53mkzF_8fPGg5YKvrC8IkuoCOx7sBMzzUMpr-BAyTQVM-3R1rGGtiCKgZEo1OPgjrG9giUI11BL96UBJ09lNNPULoCom2WvUX0NXt2YtaRCPDNcmtCtiMxTJtQ/s400/DSC00114.jpg" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTeBHBTo63P0HjLGTqz372sVObrUnrZElUFXDdtbWq-jQkb9kpr1J-WXg3OWaN2N7VKU6klz_jm1RuDjG8AP_F27cdzdLwdvnyrajWv9qdwCWHtVRoZLCpsSLhB9Dwny30RrGZqfKSYE/s1600-h/DSC00115.1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440910568908442498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTeBHBTo63P0HjLGTqz372sVObrUnrZElUFXDdtbWq-jQkb9kpr1J-WXg3OWaN2N7VKU6klz_jm1RuDjG8AP_F27cdzdLwdvnyrajWv9qdwCWHtVRoZLCpsSLhB9Dwny30RrGZqfKSYE/s400/DSC00115.1.jpg" /></a>Another candid moment with her cousin.<br /><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMSFBwRPp7J8Dy2hizlKPUrzzWcefAexhR-CLvKePszna4b9zFRYH5RlDPzZqA5gvDypy6_FVzOGBephb9FjAvg_FCzl3tiaCKmbbpnNGjv83NFKze96cABJBBYkGha-M3jP8modfV5Y/s1600-h/DSC00120.1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440910563244081122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMSFBwRPp7J8Dy2hizlKPUrzzWcefAexhR-CLvKePszna4b9zFRYH5RlDPzZqA5gvDypy6_FVzOGBephb9FjAvg_FCzl3tiaCKmbbpnNGjv83NFKze96cABJBBYkGha-M3jP8modfV5Y/s400/DSC00120.1.jpg" /></a> This is maybe my favorite picture of the day. After all her guests were gone, we got her ready for bed and then let her play for a little while. She found a hat that she had received as a gift, stuck it on her head, collected her backpack and started "cooking" with her watering can.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zPZFXq5oX4N2LUscFnKAAj3hqUmCEYofgYQv7BZiGa36V23R-Q9OU_OkN6iplt-0_L2eQx6DOJRzePRj_fSxKPgO7hnqGVv6mQDYojIk7Su3qBiXh_dPG6iZ_yxfn5ndsX67e3bBMj8/s1600-h/1.DSC00186.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440909831833285842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zPZFXq5oX4N2LUscFnKAAj3hqUmCEYofgYQv7BZiGa36V23R-Q9OU_OkN6iplt-0_L2eQx6DOJRzePRj_fSxKPgO7hnqGVv6mQDYojIk7Su3qBiXh_dPG6iZ_yxfn5ndsX67e3bBMj8/s400/1.DSC00186.jpg" /></a></div><div>She makes me laugh without even trying and charms us with her huge personality. </div><div></div><div></div><br /><div>I love her.<br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440906609630566114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsa6FuIjF0KABWj9Tl_zN-TlIWBLRO4Dvk9z3H9bpM2ycZoRAf-gCXOeK8URfeNdaqyS3Gms4QHVzW-65FwcPuz9nmopZCsbRuwGO7cBO-NXkF1q4ZLkFZVShjz8tTrjxyZ7a8RSYxSA/s400/DSC00188.1.jpg" /> </div><div>So. Much.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-6023287021070739012010-02-18T18:22:00.000-08:002010-02-18T19:39:42.961-08:00Dearest daughter,<div align="justify">Almost three years ago, our lives changed forever when we found out that you were on the way. I still remember the range of emotions I felt in those moments after I spotted that faint little pink line on my home pregnancy test. I was filled with elation, terror, anticipation and joy all in the same split second. Your daddy and I were so, so happy to be expecting you! </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Your pregnancy seemed to drag on forever as I counted the days to my due date and prayed for you and your arrival. I remember I first time I felt you kick me and how special it made me feel. A special connection to you, my child, my baby, that only I could experience.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">I wanted you to pick your birthday. But you were due on <em>my</em> birthday and I wanted so badly to share it with you! But you had other plans. Eight long days after my birthday, you let me know that it was time. It's only been two years, but I don't think I'll ever forget the moment I first laid eyes on you. Screaming and pink and all mine. Ours. You were so beautiful. Your daddy and I couldn't take our eyes off you, our beautiful, perfect baby girl. Moments after you were born we bowed our heads and thanked God for your life and for giving you to us.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">When you were tiny and new, whenever I would think about how full my heart was and how very much I loved you, I couldn't hold back tears. </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">And it only got better. That first year of watching you grow was nothing short of amazing. You became the center of our world and we wouldn't have had it any other way. You learned to give hugs and kisses and say our names and we fell in love with you all over again.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Tomorrow you turn two. Two! Oh my darling, I don't know how that happened. Sometimes it makes me sad that you have to grow up. I want you to stay little so I can always rock you to sleep and make you feel better with one little kiss. But then I remember that I wished the same thing last year - when you turned one. And I can't imagine missing out on this wonderful year of you turning two. </div><div align="justify"><br />Tonight I laid you in your bed and kissed you little head and wished you sweet dreams. And then I heard your little sleepy voice whisper "hold me, mommy" and I remembered that it was your last night as a one year old. So I rocked you. I rocked you and sang you your favorite songs. I rocked you until you fell asleep. And then I rocked you some more. My sweet little one year old. Tomorrow you'll be my sweet little two year old. And even though at this moment I'm not sure how, I'm sure that I'm going to love you more tomorrow than I loved you today. </div><div align="justify"><br />Happy birthday, baby.</div><div align="justify"><br />Love forever and always,</div><div align="justify"><br />Mommy</div><div align="justify"> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439792726815921186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFz_tXI6LvPLpTt8-HaSdVQ818gVWGMCwqsNUMUYjsdUNCaz4r0iF2YtfOX4YNg5LKyXAr41ApE4jYMJkW6KJKHp-tfQ70cCnNyVjSlOf9CUGtba1kj885aRmzALRkMc8To3UogjVRLg/s400/DSC09603.crop.jpg" /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-15777475181666325052010-02-15T21:15:00.000-08:002010-02-24T13:56:44.804-08:00My favorite soup recipe<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPQJrYEewGVnLwKkmyuZ4Z324bDJj1AwjbdI3Fyzq_HJpvQ-5YEEqKAVRs3QWJA6YE7bqMUt-B4uohSR-_Ysr4W2ZzCWl0VYdsBzukLYeXnU3Y5z2mpEtMy8lDtt57Un5Oo_G9tUI1Ss/s1600-h/DSC09965.jpg"></a>There is nothing quite like a good soup on a cold winter day. This is one of my favorite recipes ever, and definitely my favorite soup recipe. It's easy peasy, healthy and you probably have everything you need to make it right now. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br />Here's the thing with this soup - I've never made it the same way twice. I just use whatever veggies I happen to have on hand. My favorites are zucchini, green beans and carrots, but whatever I happen to have in the fridge or freezer is usually what gets thrown in. It's a great way to use up the last of the summer veggies lingering in the back of your freezer!<br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438821698473240098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRLeCqz2ak3p0fyQxwVXzUOm2yzPM_hjxp8JodT-wTDNg5DKrHLZJzwutmyfrLLNQNG3X1BybmMv27MvCSawBhU1JKO9ViFiLLzPitNd8iXY2pemald3kdzkJ-t_ZPe0J5KtAmOiTMx4/s400/DSC09959.jpg" /><br />I always make mine in the crockpot - it takes about 5 minutes to toss everything in!<br /><br /><strong><em>Veggie Meatball Soup </em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>25 frozen meatballs (1/2 ounce each)</em><br /><em>1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes</em><br /><em>3 cups broth (I just use 3 cubes of beef bullion and 3 cups of hot water)</em><br /><em>1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed</em><br /><em>3 cups of veggies </em><br /><em>here is where you can get creative! Some suggestions of veggies I've used in this soup: Green beans, cabbage, peas, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers...</em><br /><em>1 cup water</em><br /><em>2 tsp italian seasoning</em><br /><em>1 tsp garlic salt</em><br /><em>1/2 tsp pepper</em><br /><em>1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni</em><br /><em>fresh parsley</em><br /><br />In your slow cooker, throw in everything but the last two ingredients. Mix it up, and cook on low for about 5 hours or until everything is nice and tender.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438821702563133042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2Q26Su_x0sUz9fo_xGkFWF5hwolluBRX3SJQ1pdlAWlv5ahCWvT1oPXLCp64TEGVytHDDm7P4Urhyo1MFumOsdkKg4XDNirl-vcCjZLtugsM0J8ra-WehCDDQeJy8ua_S_91uKi7PKM/s400/DSC09960.jpg" /><br />Stir in your elbow macaroni and parsley (just use a good handful), I've skipped parsley if I didn't have it, it's not crucial but it does give it a nice flavor...<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438821707792837362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6MmMB63MVFVKJfJ0-BolrWYIV2pxGEZwpSg_0KtPkSM_dBwUUw5oJge7Sd1AO1oSEX_HsaEUVNbWyyGiC7hyphenhyphenkheRDXxYkqbhZQ4h30zlaud_fPHjuWwBO7UGMWxBd22QKYZ2cTO12ZlY/s400/DSC09989.jpg" /><br />And cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Yum!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2kDb1ct0MhiVfJPcOkjmxM7aLUqRHvCRA4kWb5D8WGrvtAaOwh2SHmHC5VZexzZreV65xcamFUj-RzNr1lekrOXGlHqYUwOMkp0qLw2yebOYPqUdJXrQK8DD_2bLwhPIh82LbZwPwzQ/s1600-h/DSC09990.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438821714731063634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2kDb1ct0MhiVfJPcOkjmxM7aLUqRHvCRA4kWb5D8WGrvtAaOwh2SHmHC5VZexzZreV65xcamFUj-RzNr1lekrOXGlHqYUwOMkp0qLw2yebOYPqUdJXrQK8DD_2bLwhPIh82LbZwPwzQ/s400/DSC09990.jpg" /></a><br />Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqR-FSvOR0Ky0dW7b76ZDp-agaCkMyT_hjegv4a25J1viPJNjcoZUf-TcRifzUUn4xlA6Twokjzno-Ut_dXcXrCZ_ZjF6iNpWNdbPhHfyjjl5OcPKx9lE6KJgIYruSGfYhx77Rf-zeiA/s1600-h/DSC09993.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438821712132623618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqR-FSvOR0Ky0dW7b76ZDp-agaCkMyT_hjegv4a25J1viPJNjcoZUf-TcRifzUUn4xlA6Twokjzno-Ut_dXcXrCZ_ZjF6iNpWNdbPhHfyjjl5OcPKx9lE6KJgIYruSGfYhx77Rf-zeiA/s400/DSC09993.jpg" /></a><br />As you can see, it's super thick, almost like a stew, so it stands alone as a meal! You'll love it, I promise!<br /><div><div><div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a></div></div></div></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-43003580720877545822010-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:002010-02-10T20:51:51.253-08:00Snippets from Peanut's room<div style="text-align: justify;">When Peanut was born, we were living in a much smaller home and so she never had a nursery. We tucked a cradle alongside our bed and she probably slept in it a grand total of 2 times during the year she was in our room. When we moved into our new house last March, I was so excited to be able to decorate her new room. On a limited budget, we were able to create a room that we love! I'll admit that some of the items were a splurge, but mostly everything in her room is either handmade, re-made or was picked up from a discount store. It took us awhile to get there, but I'm so happy with how it turned out!<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Wanna take a tour? I got a little snap-happy with my new camera lens...<br /></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0gelZ_zMelRZDYncHGNI1wHvr-TOkHXBAKsb96JHtcE5yN1lqRwGTuLsJgMhaQ_RQYj4dOmuPgVe5bJEg7D9HY47mg2pu4y3UP8Pbrjm_zBt2eyPgvi-bgPhImhOPCXpNt7WD62F2MU/s1600-h/DSC08670.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 268px; display: block; height: 400px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427415228631179858" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0gelZ_zMelRZDYncHGNI1wHvr-TOkHXBAKsb96JHtcE5yN1lqRwGTuLsJgMhaQ_RQYj4dOmuPgVe5bJEg7D9HY47mg2pu4y3UP8Pbrjm_zBt2eyPgvi-bgPhImhOPCXpNt7WD62F2MU/s400/DSC08670.jpg" border="0" /></a>This corner is my favorite part of her room. It's a perfect reading spot! The bookshelf is a $15 thrift store find with just a couple coats of paint. I crocheted the rag rug using <a href="http://vintagechica.typepad.com/the_life_and_times_of_thi/2006/10/rag_rug_tutoria.html">this tutorial</a>. I'd like to add a few more rounds eventually to make it bigger, but for now, it works!<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HbkjaXKU03aQSAktEcY_E3Suu7dvDdW3UES3mzOQ2DymjB9ZFQmERN_grbB3HjJX3VBEg96GCbRGvNalE98uc7Q3cP1GP9q8GZfmmNBnOb2QX_sinLQkUJrxjxjd7mVkgzsgDxkkobE/s1600-h/DSC08686.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427420395229248178" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5HbkjaXKU03aQSAktEcY_E3Suu7dvDdW3UES3mzOQ2DymjB9ZFQmERN_grbB3HjJX3VBEg96GCbRGvNalE98uc7Q3cP1GP9q8GZfmmNBnOb2QX_sinLQkUJrxjxjd7mVkgzsgDxkkobE/s400/DSC08686.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyC9OJrGGFH-WtJi0aJeqKcr54SPYJdTfjV0wdlNBzjscfTdLKBdoWCKuVHqd3xwOlCWoTiZqsryld56lFnRpctt1fAaJuUXTI2g_r_9jKf0gnrj66AkneUA_4jNstS5LtR4ar5Dicz-s/s1600-h/m2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436342513961898594" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyC9OJrGGFH-WtJi0aJeqKcr54SPYJdTfjV0wdlNBzjscfTdLKBdoWCKuVHqd3xwOlCWoTiZqsryld56lFnRpctt1fAaJuUXTI2g_r_9jKf0gnrj66AkneUA_4jNstS5LtR4ar5Dicz-s/s400/m2.jpg" border="0" /></a>I can't take credit for the cherry blossom tree! My talented sister Kelly painted it for her. I'm hoping it's something that she and the room will be able to grow with.<br /><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_E5esIhlXTk39XweH8i5GholdFQLqrpIoxUgekx14xfQU5g9MG4WwwvNavqBXR2SPyuLMjnNwtcYIu4Uh0f5Vgw8QM1oCThckS76fK3efpywFE8YkgWqFSObhputjWErqFQ7x8dSAE8/s1600-h/DSC08944.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427420401745741330" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_E5esIhlXTk39XweH8i5GholdFQLqrpIoxUgekx14xfQU5g9MG4WwwvNavqBXR2SPyuLMjnNwtcYIu4Uh0f5Vgw8QM1oCThckS76fK3efpywFE8YkgWqFSObhputjWErqFQ7x8dSAE8/s400/DSC08944.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWHu_gECQbrpp2yF8YZc8rFNo-9npJExeC5a9Dkvm7xVMGcSli4UQTf0YOCdW9KVH0Fw3ntj6ACe6f0IMzqUPJ-t-rmItCsRgSpFC3P8b6w-U6fiFmdf-5gDNfo7Prj5sCO9kp7Vzvtw/s1600-h/M.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 323px; display: block; height: 412px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436342504971509410" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMWHu_gECQbrpp2yF8YZc8rFNo-9npJExeC5a9Dkvm7xVMGcSli4UQTf0YOCdW9KVH0Fw3ntj6ACe6f0IMzqUPJ-t-rmItCsRgSpFC3P8b6w-U6fiFmdf-5gDNfo7Prj5sCO9kp7Vzvtw/s400/M.jpg" border="0" /></a>I ordered her crib set long before we moved into the new house from a sweet lady from Ebay who custom made the set with some material that I fell in love with. I also can not take credit for the curtains - those were courtesy of my mother-in-law, who is a very talented seamstress.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-odeHfwqCQ-t7VQldoJJ11ceZRisBjG1ajKSukqzccCVjWvffA0p6ohatlKvD_pCFWqHaIaXoeosBTUMWlpa97uJaQa-N4r5dyJvQOWTXQR285qDQswKsiaqviVPq3TR35etVOj2u7k/s1600-h/DSC08937.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-odeHfwqCQ-t7VQldoJJ11ceZRisBjG1ajKSukqzccCVjWvffA0p6ohatlKvD_pCFWqHaIaXoeosBTUMWlpa97uJaQa-N4r5dyJvQOWTXQR285qDQswKsiaqviVPq3TR35etVOj2u7k/s400/DSC08937.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436608443328655778" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-TxwLIMVF2_LkceblYdZvPqvDN0YlbFyfM9sfltDMnjmmusOxyrZKAbskwvVkZmaNaRxiWCm-jdu2A5KS6QYrLIxFcYNdeNaQsTshmf4rczZUp-E7EEMolChffZQldxofiz1xEIroQ0/s1600-h/m1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436342514118020546" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5-TxwLIMVF2_LkceblYdZvPqvDN0YlbFyfM9sfltDMnjmmusOxyrZKAbskwvVkZmaNaRxiWCm-jdu2A5KS6QYrLIxFcYNdeNaQsTshmf4rczZUp-E7EEMolChffZQldxofiz1xEIroQ0/s400/m1.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmQMUFPTooFgIM-U47SxuuD3WWNKeQP8TVh-Orht30PACax4kHT7_C8_W7Wclzu0YEaV05u2a8-t76kLUhVmn5e5BV7_9omF1CYOOsCQ4kzWm21q9HOXAuU80yed8ymNvbHvHUDMRT3U/s1600-h/DSC08667.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427420393286377682" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmQMUFPTooFgIM-U47SxuuD3WWNKeQP8TVh-Orht30PACax4kHT7_C8_W7Wclzu0YEaV05u2a8-t76kLUhVmn5e5BV7_9omF1CYOOsCQ4kzWm21q9HOXAuU80yed8ymNvbHvHUDMRT3U/s400/DSC08667.jpg" border="0" /></a>Using some old frames I had around the house and a can of white spray paint, her little photo wall came together. I need to update it already, she grows too fast, and I take too many pictures!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCVfB9VbC0T2yLrwYJ1wQoOwD17BnQEe51D5rSi1c19eTKpt4jjuAlQD-eZPidVE2EA4Nxzec0N02bTiuXZ_QydNSLVW-qs_nkZ1hZaz_QBcS3uzBIyDfCQsIv70f_g3Djoo96GDfzYY/s1600-h/DSC08666.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 268px; display: block; height: 400px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427415226608517746" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCVfB9VbC0T2yLrwYJ1wQoOwD17BnQEe51D5rSi1c19eTKpt4jjuAlQD-eZPidVE2EA4Nxzec0N02bTiuXZ_QydNSLVW-qs_nkZ1hZaz_QBcS3uzBIyDfCQsIv70f_g3Djoo96GDfzYY/s400/DSC08666.jpg" border="0" /></a>I picked up a dozen or so fat quarters from the fabric shop and glued them into some embroidery hoops. I can't take credit for the idea, I've seen it in dozens of places around the web!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmDxTrmJQr6IIZFwUmZxcug8jaPPVY1xSNUu4q2ovDaL01zAGPEmxLly4fO8UYHV22EKaJMFvVNsbF7N_7Pagdh4a5M4bTVMne8_22LMD8pNAYsLM2BvJ2dKzvv5UZsYqM36Rll8pT74/s1600-h/DSC08685.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 268px; display: block; height: 400px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427420387704299170" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmDxTrmJQr6IIZFwUmZxcug8jaPPVY1xSNUu4q2ovDaL01zAGPEmxLly4fO8UYHV22EKaJMFvVNsbF7N_7Pagdh4a5M4bTVMne8_22LMD8pNAYsLM2BvJ2dKzvv5UZsYqM36Rll8pT74/s400/DSC08685.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWGy0CNfwX2RyV2bRh-VQf4G_6JSOKF69-m2l0zH-oMaYIW4hY0e6F_1ZPM2XJomuD7ae-K_aJvwnjF3RywVx8fpBULqEnL_9WzUpVParZILDZ8Z8EZOQdMkIz-Ig7r6zEpKNsGcEvd4/s1600-h/DSC08940.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdWGy0CNfwX2RyV2bRh-VQf4G_6JSOKF69-m2l0zH-oMaYIW4hY0e6F_1ZPM2XJomuD7ae-K_aJvwnjF3RywVx8fpBULqEnL_9WzUpVParZILDZ8Z8EZOQdMkIz-Ig7r6zEpKNsGcEvd4/s400/DSC08940.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436608435377514610" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Mar0H95Fiu50ccS60MxI_gupnSly9WRwfFZh_JbC7AZzmXQ8453HZiKMSIqq5LxGTrpNeYNfcFLTCWVqfjxEB525tRaSf0QVVS0CdHC4rOEpmvgW2Co9Jicpk6Pg8bKZwQstZHU-Hoo/s1600-h/DSC08941.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Mar0H95Fiu50ccS60MxI_gupnSly9WRwfFZh_JbC7AZzmXQ8453HZiKMSIqq5LxGTrpNeYNfcFLTCWVqfjxEB525tRaSf0QVVS0CdHC4rOEpmvgW2Co9Jicpk6Pg8bKZwQstZHU-Hoo/s400/DSC08941.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436608449328388098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03ft0dSYvVLxNLqImtWIF7UXa10E1P-qvr3LL1s4Bv83PDrVcwf987VaJBT9-NhIBQD8JAVYGl1NTEDyFbjrbnQBrloXwaYbdM-xljBQ-AME6juHEft6BegIMCqBpQhn9IgMxjcmLTi8/s1600-h/DSC08672.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427415232908525202" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03ft0dSYvVLxNLqImtWIF7UXa10E1P-qvr3LL1s4Bv83PDrVcwf987VaJBT9-NhIBQD8JAVYGl1NTEDyFbjrbnQBrloXwaYbdM-xljBQ-AME6juHEft6BegIMCqBpQhn9IgMxjcmLTi8/s400/DSC08672.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngH2F95mdyZeY8kjT5Ztf_hTUWcPoqlNZ6HmFbUuorAPFBVsY8pQG5X3WKf2HTaFLhWTWx8WiYI0wCSCCl1W_ft6i6i9ed6Y00jdHs7Z7k8Dv6QJFW6M3LUAmQqjEZfhia_2H2opukZ4/s1600-h/DSC08663.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px; display: block; height: 268px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427415221707012306" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngH2F95mdyZeY8kjT5Ztf_hTUWcPoqlNZ6HmFbUuorAPFBVsY8pQG5X3WKf2HTaFLhWTWx8WiYI0wCSCCl1W_ft6i6i9ed6Y00jdHs7Z7k8Dv6QJFW6M3LUAmQqjEZfhia_2H2opukZ4/s400/DSC08663.jpg" border="0" /></a>Her name banner is one of the simplest projects I did for her room. Just a little fabric, glue, felt and ribbon and there you go!<br /><br />If you want to see some truly inspired nurseries and children's rooms, visit <a href="http://spearmintbaby.com/">Spearmint Baby</a>. Even though Peanut's room is basically finished, I still visit this site just to ooooh and ahhhh over all the pretty things!<br /><br />Now that she is just a couple weeks away from her 2nd birthday, we're starting to think about the transition from crib to toddler bed. Ideally, I'd like to wait until she old enough that we can just move her into a twin bed. I've decided my next big sewing project will be a quilt for her big girl bed! I've picked out <a href="http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/08/scruffily-quilt.html">the pattern</a>, now I just need to find the perfect fabric. I've got my eye on <a href="http://www.fatquartershop.com/store/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=80021023400800&Store_id=499&page_id=23&Item_ID=35466&Parent_Ids=">this line,</a> but I'm not sure it's perfect fit for her room. Obviously, I'm trying to coordinate with her tree mural. If you're a fabric freak like me, I'd love some suggestions!<br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="border: 0pt none ; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a></div></div></div></div>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-9330675229017650162010-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:002010-02-09T11:57:22.417-08:00Still here!<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQqD0XJp_TE0Cs26JEzpitMOUNrYSahnd-7sDyOA03Z44KYchbe5GVY6anVe5mgJypJh-TxS1P19wiJvtz0gw3964mNykTP4SJoAHNX9pGzJwimLkZCejQLOmplnEpyNI0HUkeivUalI/s1600-h/Maddie.4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436330495192943714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQqD0XJp_TE0Cs26JEzpitMOUNrYSahnd-7sDyOA03Z44KYchbe5GVY6anVe5mgJypJh-TxS1P19wiJvtz0gw3964mNykTP4SJoAHNX9pGzJwimLkZCejQLOmplnEpyNI0HUkeivUalI/s400/Maddie.4.jpg" /></a>I'm still here!<br /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /></div><div align="justify">While our house blanketed in nearly 2 feet of snow, I'm enjoying quiet days at home with my almost 2 year old (I can't believe it!) filling my days with crafty projects and lots of crocheting. The <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38648036">new newsgirl caps are in the shop</a> and I just finished a special birthday outfit for Peanut (pictures to come, I promise!). I'm working on a photography venture with my talented sister and that's also been demanding a lot of my time. But enough excuses! <br /></div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br />I have a few posts planned for next week to show you (in pictures!) what we've been up to. Including, but not limited too: Peanut's finished bedroom, lots and LOTS of snow and other crafty projects!</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"><br />In the meantime, I'll just leave you with one of my new favorite pictures of my Peanut girl. She is the light of my life.<br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; BORDER-TOP: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT: 0px" src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-56469163752507687032010-01-06T06:10:00.000-08:002010-01-06T08:41:42.416-08:00Parenting with Love and Logic: A review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s2wf8gSkv6TtwcFDD2lDgIMP-K3XNRD69RNI253EKM9r-CRTsg7YaiglNMINopTFoOJZt65gO3R-Bmsfb4gmnBM4d216BFgaHNCfV0oImlZUF7zz09MnPVIyIFLsMdok3zMIT8ynCmc/s1600-h/46287081.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9s2wf8gSkv6TtwcFDD2lDgIMP-K3XNRD69RNI253EKM9r-CRTsg7YaiglNMINopTFoOJZt65gO3R-Bmsfb4gmnBM4d216BFgaHNCfV0oImlZUF7zz09MnPVIyIFLsMdok3zMIT8ynCmc/s400/46287081.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423666700714124786" border="0" /></a>Awhile back, when I was having some problems with my little Peanut throwing some major fits, a mommy friend (hi, <a href="http://sweetsmallstuff.blogspot.com/">Mindy</a>!) recommended <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Love-Logic-Updated-Expanded/dp/1576839540/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262789717&sr=8-1">this</a> book to me.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Parenting with Love and Logic</span> is written with the assumption that we all want to raise responsible, caring children who will be well equipped to make smart choices when they enter the world as an adult. The secret? Letting them make choices (good and bad!) as a child so that they learn first hand the consequences that their choices have on their life. It's naive of us to assume that if we never allow a child to arrive at a decision on their own, that they will be capable of making smart choices as an adult.<br /><br />I can't recommend it enough. Regardless of your parenting style, or the age of your children, you can find something in this book to help your hone your parenting skills.<br /><br />It would be impossible for me to summarize or share all that this book has taught me (You need to go buy it or borrow it - pronto!), so instead I'll just share a one specific thing that I've been able to implement with terrific results.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Enforceable statements.</span> This section of the book was a big "lightbulb" moment for me. In short, don't make statements to your children that you can not enforce. For example, "Stop crying right now!", "Stop screaming!", "Stop whining!" <span style="font-style: italic;">News flash!</span> Short of duct taping your child's mouth shut, you are not capable of making your child stop this type of unacceptable behavior. And unenforceable statement like that does absolutely nothing to help the situation and in many cases, just escalates it. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRx8olWPh11sGnq1IjpEFxj5WICHLfIRQQq7HnHdhRuMWkh98ZsBITCm2GJ6UtAQE-XipNdUrzBZYjQFoimb8a3ZledHgb0R_eTbG9-qkPE5bIKUCOGAkTwOeP4I4RfgXw_kjw3I852I/s1600-h/DSC08347.small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 373px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRx8olWPh11sGnq1IjpEFxj5WICHLfIRQQq7HnHdhRuMWkh98ZsBITCm2GJ6UtAQE-XipNdUrzBZYjQFoimb8a3ZledHgb0R_eTbG9-qkPE5bIKUCOGAkTwOeP4I4RfgXw_kjw3I852I/s400/DSC08347.small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423666932354970066" border="0" /></a> An alternative would be to say, "If you are going to continue to whine, you need to go in the other room. If you want to stay here with Mommy, you'll need to put on your happy face." The ball is in the child's court. Even a not-quite two year old like Peanut can understand that the choice is hers. Stay here and be happy, or go there and cry. I tried this method (very skeptically!) on Peanut a couple months ago and to my utter amazement, she walked herself (still whining) to her room and stood in the doorway crying. I popped my head around the corner a couple times to remind her that I'd love to have her come back in the kitchen with me when she was ready to be happy. A couple minutes later she rejoined me with her happy face on. No struggle, no empty threats, no rising blood pressure. Ahhhh. Sweet victory. The book goes into much greater detail on how to implement this type of system, but for me, it worked on the first try.<br /><br />The authors of this book also have a <a href="http://www.loveandlogic.com/">website</a> with tons of parenting resources. They even have a section for educators!<br /><br />What is <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> favorite parenting book?<br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-31918161957116609432009-12-29T20:11:00.000-08:002009-12-30T04:54:09.046-08:00Snow Baby!<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouJRWqMajUj60npW-gUuWCWGqYcP0erSzUe9UXyBLoFEUWQDOIsfb8O6-tKe05RCL8wrtlt_B11dGOce1NkYDBaQFFIueOQ2ImFrNOMfHZdNRSy-qpkzv0g-2gaL9N1MSZYaN2_Etj1g/s1600-h/snow.8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouJRWqMajUj60npW-gUuWCWGqYcP0erSzUe9UXyBLoFEUWQDOIsfb8O6-tKe05RCL8wrtlt_B11dGOce1NkYDBaQFFIueOQ2ImFrNOMfHZdNRSy-qpkzv0g-2gaL9N1MSZYaN2_Etj1g/s400/snow.8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421010185886948866" border="0" /></a>I was born and raised in New York state, where feet of snow and freezing temperatures where just the "norm" during the winter months. When I was 13, our family moved 5 hours south and we were lucky to get a few inches a year.<br /><br />Even though I wouldn't consider our current geographical location as "southern", we are (just) south of the mason dixon line, so I guess I should be surprised that two inches of snow we got a couple weeks ago was treated like a full blown blizzard.<br /><br />This snow fall was particularly beautiful. For just a few brief hours, it clung to the bare tree branches and transformed our backyard into a winter wonderland.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The trees were screaming "photograph me!", so I bundled Peanut up and we headed outside. I did manage to get some good pictures, but apparently I have turned into a Southern girl - after 3 minutes I was ready to just admire the snowfall from the <span style="font-style: italic;">inside</span> of the window.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BTRF6Q7HNTMGRLXtbJUMJ1GR6i9UJ-8ovKhYTnQWoSOwZ9aNiMOCnAWejV8-5XQ79FEotbrH6yUE4BblzuxCzSdQbbm0PD3Gj_7V-ljEOu-6B0JPavQrw914DWEJ1wvBNc1CV-AdkDs/s1600-h/snow.5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BTRF6Q7HNTMGRLXtbJUMJ1GR6i9UJ-8ovKhYTnQWoSOwZ9aNiMOCnAWejV8-5XQ79FEotbrH6yUE4BblzuxCzSdQbbm0PD3Gj_7V-ljEOu-6B0JPavQrw914DWEJ1wvBNc1CV-AdkDs/s400/snow.5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879275946434098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMVsiYsfeUwreYOowGMBxTB5wkh2i1z8Np2nZ4QjDJnbfHVlw6MZcveM6fEsaokq3DUe2ycy19CQar8LOk8nGRbugBMtSKSTYxkBA4nCqO4W8Vu5p5zwqjNKxgAakIMCxIR3r9m8i_40/s1600-h/snow.7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJMVsiYsfeUwreYOowGMBxTB5wkh2i1z8Np2nZ4QjDJnbfHVlw6MZcveM6fEsaokq3DUe2ycy19CQar8LOk8nGRbugBMtSKSTYxkBA4nCqO4W8Vu5p5zwqjNKxgAakIMCxIR3r9m8i_40/s400/snow.7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420880731939711970" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFm0e-8eMILdiOAhaLlQwIMbqIKIiKLiAsxlktTpCeZd4Erje3EH5GQEXeo99eUY7rrZgohYJym5ySTLS-gtqiKcw-webjHPwXdOYjPzODhdRGzGbB91zCdN2zJo0K-7uwits9hyphenhyphenpCMP4/s1600-h/snow.6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFm0e-8eMILdiOAhaLlQwIMbqIKIiKLiAsxlktTpCeZd4Erje3EH5GQEXeo99eUY7rrZgohYJym5ySTLS-gtqiKcw-webjHPwXdOYjPzODhdRGzGbB91zCdN2zJo0K-7uwits9hyphenhyphenpCMP4/s400/snow.6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420880724601981010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapS625xIkNY_1vaCgzgpKpnBHZ0IHO_6sfAJy7BM-S-5mz0d2cA_vTLu468Lfit-JsW7CzlYGA6jwNOHqUkINJ20gnAgJYqrLGa6FDY_wleijtnLks5idSlecNWFmBw2k-1g8aOTIzUM/s1600-h/snow.9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapS625xIkNY_1vaCgzgpKpnBHZ0IHO_6sfAJy7BM-S-5mz0d2cA_vTLu468Lfit-JsW7CzlYGA6jwNOHqUkINJ20gnAgJYqrLGa6FDY_wleijtnLks5idSlecNWFmBw2k-1g8aOTIzUM/s400/snow.9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420880733356242802" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF59wS7Icdm8tFGhTgR6zE3NzB6Y7YJWG72wdSjy450vzbiYuYN2cXhgLX37ElHansJDuqx8zmsHH5Jg-DRVk8OTmaNYDsJQwQlcNDL9_p6DwsCr0bWV70keVOgyNzE4Le56SLjRaxWs/s1600-h/snow.4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnF59wS7Icdm8tFGhTgR6zE3NzB6Y7YJWG72wdSjy450vzbiYuYN2cXhgLX37ElHansJDuqx8zmsHH5Jg-DRVk8OTmaNYDsJQwQlcNDL9_p6DwsCr0bWV70keVOgyNzE4Le56SLjRaxWs/s400/snow.4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879271578928098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGietw_8_ja91kWolak8_zFDk0fjIsFFRrtkfdjnAqVJOyGBMwWlsf2xaN_dH6U6v-s4fFbje2hnTyxSeJswBpXqJQFLUqPNwEVxaPlX1ACMnhvRV6eEkKLgkHPsSggbk2Nkg0vTmoH0/s1600-h/snow.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGietw_8_ja91kWolak8_zFDk0fjIsFFRrtkfdjnAqVJOyGBMwWlsf2xaN_dH6U6v-s4fFbje2hnTyxSeJswBpXqJQFLUqPNwEVxaPlX1ACMnhvRV6eEkKLgkHPsSggbk2Nkg0vTmoH0/s400/snow.3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879269898486914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXphKPIwqp4VBZH1qAuOHpaWiOM8y7gjNp6QyzGU_sm-T6sunWIuxKeg0J0fj_NMANwt9mhtM4tNrw5iocMiDuPRrcklGShQg5Hyb_4phlqNlpjucqPIL3t-Jik36yH0yMLYxjcNF-Dl4/s1600-h/Snow.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXphKPIwqp4VBZH1qAuOHpaWiOM8y7gjNp6QyzGU_sm-T6sunWIuxKeg0J0fj_NMANwt9mhtM4tNrw5iocMiDuPRrcklGShQg5Hyb_4phlqNlpjucqPIL3t-Jik36yH0yMLYxjcNF-Dl4/s400/Snow.2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879260975876466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWRd2akSeDAmhVCuZOVUmkTXbNW7pSLB5aNOW-9-hr1mKMpC-j0Sf5FX2twUiUJ_smEot_btCfSxrBPcjOvoKlNVOv9qTCOjpVHCPYSZNF0MM9jycimXUNaX72spLIGP7-ZLIdfAVBM0/s1600-h/Snow.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilWRd2akSeDAmhVCuZOVUmkTXbNW7pSLB5aNOW-9-hr1mKMpC-j0Sf5FX2twUiUJ_smEot_btCfSxrBPcjOvoKlNVOv9qTCOjpVHCPYSZNF0MM9jycimXUNaX72spLIGP7-ZLIdfAVBM0/s400/Snow.1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420879257616234418" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-83432020385089577422009-12-28T05:58:00.000-08:002009-12-28T12:42:48.725-08:00Disappearing act<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l7EHSRiZzReCB2rgMUq2I9PPBGDwLKptw7XQBLJ81v8uhmototB2k8sB0wIMBGbLJvxU9_bxGmHavrhEMeDMRYyLnOxFQBKil7_d9toFNJxnBX-ibqkZxijt2_HfAwHqWw0IXdjZCOA/s1600-h/1DSC08440.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6l7EHSRiZzReCB2rgMUq2I9PPBGDwLKptw7XQBLJ81v8uhmototB2k8sB0wIMBGbLJvxU9_bxGmHavrhEMeDMRYyLnOxFQBKil7_d9toFNJxnBX-ibqkZxijt2_HfAwHqWw0IXdjZCOA/s400/1DSC08440.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420388392293722882" border="0" /></a>I know, I know! It's ridiculous, really. I've been neglecting my poor little blog during the crazy holiday season. Awhile back, I blogged about my plans for a <a href="http://www.momma-molly.com/2009/10/homemade-christmas.html">homemade Christmas</a>. As it turns out, you need to start working on your homemade Christmas in <span style="font-style: italic;">January</span> if you want to be finished in time for Christmas.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Needless to say, I'm offering that up as my excuse for where I've been for the last month.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.meandmadeline.com/">My little shop</a> ended up with quite a few Christmas orders (hooray!), so I wasn't able to make half of what I was planning, but here are a few things that did make it under the tree in time for Christmas:<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXiBQtITlT2WHJXaMfhPBWG-CFx6Jlg6UTzuheZxmm-q_Kl3dRWV2LsRkOWYH68V7fS6JjshRBngdpj9zTTgN1v95BlmbN7LPPOuJFPw2ITm8S_HHVNLQP9B5SRuusL2Nn0EqYI45bXk/s1600-h/DSC08458.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 353px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDXiBQtITlT2WHJXaMfhPBWG-CFx6Jlg6UTzuheZxmm-q_Kl3dRWV2LsRkOWYH68V7fS6JjshRBngdpj9zTTgN1v95BlmbN7LPPOuJFPw2ITm8S_HHVNLQP9B5SRuusL2Nn0EqYI45bXk/s400/DSC08458.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420387411775120354" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMVyp_49MH3rL8if3-Co3g5MLDJBnW1tVWSIysxGSiDiJP8Dk-UnnqCAQ1LiDoSyYejmTv-qDHk95SnCsxGb2u8WVuRoJXuks1ZQS3OEbqaQkV-Sgr0dTaF7WPP2-cE_r0YPhNncPvrE/s1600-h/DSC08460.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMVyp_49MH3rL8if3-Co3g5MLDJBnW1tVWSIysxGSiDiJP8Dk-UnnqCAQ1LiDoSyYejmTv-qDHk95SnCsxGb2u8WVuRoJXuks1ZQS3OEbqaQkV-Sgr0dTaF7WPP2-cE_r0YPhNncPvrE/s400/DSC08460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420387414012450674" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AFtDOPVcD5mHy5AiOHrZWPFWN2-kxr5djfsNJmsNokzyK1DCs_mbih8DJcsKZSKlo3v-Pq3PZGqUTjSDrkasMUzRMgHqGvJDJ7DiwFY-knVTZHgtGk3zPNixxyLRteTz9fG_PzFOJi0/s1600-h/DSC08463.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 458px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9AFtDOPVcD5mHy5AiOHrZWPFWN2-kxr5djfsNJmsNokzyK1DCs_mbih8DJcsKZSKlo3v-Pq3PZGqUTjSDrkasMUzRMgHqGvJDJ7DiwFY-knVTZHgtGk3zPNixxyLRteTz9fG_PzFOJi0/s400/DSC08463.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420387420709596178" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0q7hJ58-0NmimLas-bqy3deOShyXhM3nZIlIIfKRh98OBauIY5txzc52hdo-ILdxf9lgT2RAXKISi-WxkKTrimCV1v3o1qLxRh_UIpaYw71gLkUt-HX-PCOCU4A89e8JxJTC-Ov5Cw0/s1600-h/DSC08447.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0q7hJ58-0NmimLas-bqy3deOShyXhM3nZIlIIfKRh98OBauIY5txzc52hdo-ILdxf9lgT2RAXKISi-WxkKTrimCV1v3o1qLxRh_UIpaYw71gLkUt-HX-PCOCU4A89e8JxJTC-Ov5Cw0/s400/DSC08447.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420387411795499954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYQAH650UlcQ3To96AgAkiuuwcTM_4sQUvY4yDoKYvbr4k3ncCYJuqXfmaihnLJYGkTTtY6cTgzcotskZ0rdYlt0HyVFXdm5SCAoRP3Byy605G9J1hhJnOR618JuZ5GfccRiAA0XbrYA/s1600-h/DSC08454.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 349px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYQAH650UlcQ3To96AgAkiuuwcTM_4sQUvY4yDoKYvbr4k3ncCYJuqXfmaihnLJYGkTTtY6cTgzcotskZ0rdYlt0HyVFXdm5SCAoRP3Byy605G9J1hhJnOR618JuZ5GfccRiAA0XbrYA/s400/DSC08454.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420384073256740962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_NfWfqG3z7GRZv-sK6Zc1GU0xy4-jZYPh3646VruajEGBOUkDu6BQW9-eBysCJ2I0wgP-j98ibvPNHnWd0CYMeGLUY4zpUBUZJDJfLpl7eJDmfBYqImiB4bcXHva9V2n5NC1pJrdCEw/s1600-h/DSC08449.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_NfWfqG3z7GRZv-sK6Zc1GU0xy4-jZYPh3646VruajEGBOUkDu6BQW9-eBysCJ2I0wgP-j98ibvPNHnWd0CYMeGLUY4zpUBUZJDJfLpl7eJDmfBYqImiB4bcXHva9V2n5NC1pJrdCEw/s400/DSC08449.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420384068287458914" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeG6lN5JcURLCfaAUAg6PLKW7wd5KCRsFs7k-7_9WBbBMq0LLdpKYqXfyCb9eqwQGPYc0g2-7gUPUjlrcPq9iCzPIiHnotutWz-uj79rhzLDkRz6ALt9M0RtBUNOApTMmlx0s1NeuxSA0/s1600-h/DSC08465.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeG6lN5JcURLCfaAUAg6PLKW7wd5KCRsFs7k-7_9WBbBMq0LLdpKYqXfyCb9eqwQGPYc0g2-7gUPUjlrcPq9iCzPIiHnotutWz-uj79rhzLDkRz6ALt9M0RtBUNOApTMmlx0s1NeuxSA0/s400/DSC08465.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420384064958879794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9S9DBZ8ShWSzwqN6Uv4IIDfCt8CqoRJLU-7zUJjv6YMl0XOV2KmyMz49mPAAqfRDLH9tI_2tF93VNVtghoz3gI9eip718g1B9NtRu34Fa8L-QzUSL31NlCy_jhCkskWR38m2Ct4Uy9A/s1600-h/DSC08455.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh9S9DBZ8ShWSzwqN6Uv4IIDfCt8CqoRJLU-7zUJjv6YMl0XOV2KmyMz49mPAAqfRDLH9tI_2tF93VNVtghoz3gI9eip718g1B9NtRu34Fa8L-QzUSL31NlCy_jhCkskWR38m2Ct4Uy9A/s400/DSC08455.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420384057149441794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SKr1LrOVj_Q-BCbUIGrmKR8fnYd8oVxF3Y_QNG9FHkaGyldVIFWXxeG75gm8soebS_aouyxk6AGXtcietciET9wdESRoHfGF3JQRLUhmY8QEVLFRGFZSLcOxg00vJRqooDrniPyMsyI/s1600-h/DSC08461.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SKr1LrOVj_Q-BCbUIGrmKR8fnYd8oVxF3Y_QNG9FHkaGyldVIFWXxeG75gm8soebS_aouyxk6AGXtcietciET9wdESRoHfGF3JQRLUhmY8QEVLFRGFZSLcOxg00vJRqooDrniPyMsyI/s400/DSC08461.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420384059730763346" border="0" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to crocheting into the wee hours for much of December, we've been spending lots of quality time with our family and making many memories!<br /><br />Now that the deadline of the 25th is behind me, you'll be seeing much more of my ramblings on here! I have oodles of pictures and lots of things I want to share!<br /><br />Hope you and yours had a beautiful Christmas filled with wonderful memories and happy times.<br /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-38592591629943658092009-11-23T13:09:00.000-08:002009-11-24T20:38:37.631-08:00I have been blessed<div style="text-align: justify;">I love Thanksgiving.<br /><br />Not just for the wonderful fellowship with family and the delicious food - but also for how it reminds me to be thankful in everything.<br /><br />As often as we all hear the phrase "We have so much to be thankful for!", it's amazing how quickly we can lose sight of that and let little hiccups and detours in life get us down. It's easy to let one bad day turn us around. We allow ourselves to throw a pity party over all the things that have gone wrong...when <span style="font-style: italic;">so much</span> is going right.<br /><br />When I hear about those who are truly in need - those who have been burdened with life-altering tragedy in their life - It makes me feel like a spoiled child for whining and complaining about my own piddly little problems. <br /><br />I've been blessed beyond measure.<br /><br />Take a moment and read the lyrics to this song - and remember to thank God for all his blessings this Thanksgiving!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I Have Been Blessed</span><br /><br />by Michael Compton<br />When He moves among us—all that He does,<br />All of His mercy—all of His love,<br />If the pen of a writer, could write everyday—<br />Even this world could never contain—How I’ve been blessed.<br /><br />Warmth in a winter—Flowers in spring.<br />Laughter of summer, the changing of leaves,<br />Food on my table, and a good place to sleep<br />Clothes on my back and shoes on my feet<br />I have been blessed.<br /><br />Arms that will raise—a voice that can talk,<br />Hands that can touch, legs that can walk,<br />Ears that can listen—eyes that can see<br />I’ve got to praise Him as long as I breathe<br />I have been blessed<br /><br />A mother and father—nurtured and raised<br />Sisters and brothers—memories made<br />Our pastor to lead us—this altar to pray<br />Stripes that heal—the blood that still saves<br />I have been blessed.<br /><br />We live in a country—the greatest on earth<br />Where the flag stands for freedom and what it is worth<br />She stands in a harbor—Miss Liberty calls<br />All have given some, but some gave it all<br />So we could blessed.<br /><br />He’s my shoulder to lean on—when I am down<br />The Rock where He leads me when I’m overwhelmed<br />The place where He hides me under His wings—He’s not just a song<br />He’s the reason I sing—I have been blessed.<br /><br />I have been blessed, God’s so good to me<br />Precious are His thoughts of you and me<br />No way I can count them, There’s not enough time<br />So I’ll just thank Him for being so kind<br />God has been good, so good<br />I have been blessed.<br /></div><br /></div><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-48891883836587183622009-11-08T20:06:00.000-08:002009-11-10T17:55:30.820-08:00Toddler food<div style="text-align: justify;">When Peanut was an infant, I used to think that it would be "so easy" to feed her once she could eat "real" food and I could finally put away my blender and stop pureeing fruits and veggies.<br /><br />Boy, was I <span style="font-style: italic;">wrong</span>.<br /><br />Feeding a toddler is very tricky. Some days they <span style="font-style: italic;">love</span> a certain food and other days they act like it's poison. Some days they ravenously eat everything you offer and other days they <s>throw all their food on the floor</s> push their food around their tray and won't eat a solitary pea. The only thing that Peanut will always eat and never turn down is<span style="font-style: italic;"> junk food</span>. Of course. So to keep her eating right, I have to plan ahead and try to keep plenty of options on hand. The key for us is variety. I try to offer her several small portions of different foods at each meal in the hope that she'll eat at least one of them. I'm not talking about a three course menu, I'm just talking basic foods. For example, tonight she had a spinach salad, a chicken tender and a cheese stick. She actually ate all <span style="font-style: italic;">three</span> of those things and for her - that's a huge meal. My little 19 pound 20 month old is <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> a big eater.<br /><br />Anyway, it occurred to me that their might be other moms of toddlers that could give me some fresh ideas. I'll kick us off by sharing some of the things that Peanut will <span style="font-style: italic;">usually</span> eat for me.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PB and J.</span> Yup, the old stand-by. I make Peanut's with organic peanut butter and a all fruit jelly.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-veCmbhm5xovrletoqwstBor0PUzaPZkrCfMKtQLbVYWY3ogagYSD7K2kid59i5J8f0v_cLDIVtva3x7wRpAR7tYrx1LFXrZJxzJhpFyoYZFAxvy79F5x26Mhhhg2sM0yOXYsw0zNSB4/s1600-h/DSC06428.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-veCmbhm5xovrletoqwstBor0PUzaPZkrCfMKtQLbVYWY3ogagYSD7K2kid59i5J8f0v_cLDIVtva3x7wRpAR7tYrx1LFXrZJxzJhpFyoYZFAxvy79F5x26Mhhhg2sM0yOXYsw0zNSB4/s400/DSC06428.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401951519415985122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElCDV9B_777T1Tpx_MqAWth42GV9XUA3OdWLNDLGwSTpsbV-uT_ADgGk26-gaHTiAHv9L848-iJdoJCoTi6cOieCN88trjY1r9oJzbxEXRE9eIlaYqlwVFHg8-w-UDh9grL8lNG2u1R8/s1600-h/DSC06430.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElCDV9B_777T1Tpx_MqAWth42GV9XUA3OdWLNDLGwSTpsbV-uT_ADgGk26-gaHTiAHv9L848-iJdoJCoTi6cOieCN88trjY1r9oJzbxEXRE9eIlaYqlwVFHg8-w-UDh9grL8lNG2u1R8/s400/DSC06430.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401951519399673762" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Guacamole.</span> Yeah, not a conventional toddler food - especially with all the onions and garlic I put in mine, but she will literally eat this with <s>her hands </s>a spoon. Avocados are super high in nutrients, so I have no problem with that.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Oatmeal.</span> This is one of the only foods that she never tires of. She has it for breakfast at least 5 out of 7 days a week. Sometimes I jazz it up with cinnamon, honey and raisins. She'll eat it any way I fix it.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEHPmeicI6744UIBMMAm-gO8WUk87TVpNVbUcUshVHEU-SqQe5RQbtlvSb2ccBXrqGz3qwqLO0dAXZmE-r6x4byB-3Db5Lp1Ss2XmW8x-rzU7AigQ3ilGSag4fkr2-ORBE5WD72ihTW0/s1600-h/DSC06559.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEHPmeicI6744UIBMMAm-gO8WUk87TVpNVbUcUshVHEU-SqQe5RQbtlvSb2ccBXrqGz3qwqLO0dAXZmE-r6x4byB-3Db5Lp1Ss2XmW8x-rzU7AigQ3ilGSag4fkr2-ORBE5WD72ihTW0/s400/DSC06559.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401957902277147362" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Carrots and Hummus.</span> Okay, this is more of a snack, but she still loves it. Hummus is another staple that I almost always have on hand.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Salad.</span> Believe it or not, she really loves salad. Sometimes she just picks out the cucumbers and carrots, but most of the time she'll at least take a stab at the lettuce. If we're eating it, I always offer it to her<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Rice and Green Beans. </span>I always keep brown minute rice in my cupboard. It's cooks up in less than 10 minutes and works well with fresh green beans. Peanut likes flavor, so I add olive oil and garlic to the green beans and honey to the rice. Yes, honey! I used to do that when I was a kid, and whadayaknow, she likes it too! Just a little drizzle gives it some pizazz.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqbIRFLsLtXawE_AI_5xJsuubRZ-AgEt5mpAurXouPkkJ9FTTZ5GMdouXN7CItt56-JcJd-F9hsycd07m3DtjDD2nF27GA76mkCJnnVMeJf713p5deHvwasREcXlez2KkajC4U4b2K_mg/s1600-h/DSC06552.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqbIRFLsLtXawE_AI_5xJsuubRZ-AgEt5mpAurXouPkkJ9FTTZ5GMdouXN7CItt56-JcJd-F9hsycd07m3DtjDD2nF27GA76mkCJnnVMeJf713p5deHvwasREcXlez2KkajC4U4b2K_mg/s400/DSC06552.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401951522747318530" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ7OuqOdyI14u9LxXnTxcKx9tRF8_gr8XXG1DDN-fhbP1XoYcSnAKUnC5dyqLf-H0jDYOlCzblmZ6NNh4vYSGJoYVIz-5yAYNWvVgh-jxmkT9YcFEVFyKCCO_kNTJl0Rr8FyzJ02by0c/s1600-h/DSC06553.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJ7OuqOdyI14u9LxXnTxcKx9tRF8_gr8XXG1DDN-fhbP1XoYcSnAKUnC5dyqLf-H0jDYOlCzblmZ6NNh4vYSGJoYVIz-5yAYNWvVgh-jxmkT9YcFEVFyKCCO_kNTJl0Rr8FyzJ02by0c/s400/DSC06553.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401951528009389106" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGo530SXnHrEyMjvo7wqr_qMqzxJQ__ZJORO4DBPvz7tVVF5fed_1Fwkdh9R1YPAA6f2iTZZinbXLNxFuouqfoiFZbl4SqziloYwwBMb5gzGJ1ZzshTzscLKSg0YzL9i9rx7gKbS3AEs/s1600-h/DSC06554.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGo530SXnHrEyMjvo7wqr_qMqzxJQ__ZJORO4DBPvz7tVVF5fed_1Fwkdh9R1YPAA6f2iTZZinbXLNxFuouqfoiFZbl4SqziloYwwBMb5gzGJ1ZzshTzscLKSg0YzL9i9rx7gKbS3AEs/s400/DSC06554.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401951527469061890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pasta.</span> Not exactly the healthiest of dinners, but she always gobbles up pasta like it is going out of style. Ziti, spaghetti, macaroni...she loves it all. I buy the <a href="http://ronzonihealthyharvest.newworldpasta.com/pasta_story.cfm">Healthy Harvest</a> variety, which is at least slightly better than white pasta!<br /><br />I've learned to offer her foods that I think she definitely won't like (guacamole, for example) and she has surprised me on a number of occasions. Secondly, I've learned not to sweat it when she goes on a food strike and eats nothing but a handful of cheerios all day. She'll eat when she's hungry - shoveling food down her throat when she's not interested is just going to make both of us cranky and upset.<br /><br />What are your toddlers favorite foods? What are some of your mommy tricks for getting good foods into your picky eaters? Please share!<br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-8980440493678672462009-11-08T19:41:00.000-08:002009-11-10T17:55:49.519-08:00Pretty<div style="text-align: justify;">I love my camera so much. I seriously don't know what I did before it came into my life. My little sister, Rosie...whoops, sorry...<span style="font-style: italic;">Rose</span>, is in school for photography and her amazing photos made me see my need for a SLR camera. I finally got my hands on one this past May, via a crazy craigslist steal, and I've been snapping pictures like a crazy woman every since.<br /></div><br />A couple days ago, I convinced Rose to jump in front of the camera and let me take pictures of <span style="font-style: italic;">her </span>for a change.<br /><br />She's so pretty. And I'm feeling compelled to share a few of my favorites with you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqASvEZ46FwymxUQr5uE1hHQ-Hbqw9EejcKNsUCia35K15s8buSh-rc8IIIOpce6XK6XdSnRqbOg5HsxjkKuIi_8c5T2gG4_gQYLX9CwGNLjIENg0GlVEHoWGhktZWilWNyt9jM2Xg96o/s1600-h/1DSC07729.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqASvEZ46FwymxUQr5uE1hHQ-Hbqw9EejcKNsUCia35K15s8buSh-rc8IIIOpce6XK6XdSnRqbOg5HsxjkKuIi_8c5T2gG4_gQYLX9CwGNLjIENg0GlVEHoWGhktZWilWNyt9jM2Xg96o/s400/1DSC07729.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401947445951886178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYzAOkjgIkJbcEkiVfbzIMoFLg1HZWjJKqiyHxi9dhNV5HWupx-RM1PoVWQtfwFEEvHIGTlqDC1-bqpirknfJjVk9rQSYc1RlYOSkpRLsBwgs83XVhegfo6QciBcKFg2zp0lgWBaKtRY/s1600-h/1DSC07614.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDYzAOkjgIkJbcEkiVfbzIMoFLg1HZWjJKqiyHxi9dhNV5HWupx-RM1PoVWQtfwFEEvHIGTlqDC1-bqpirknfJjVk9rQSYc1RlYOSkpRLsBwgs83XVhegfo6QciBcKFg2zp0lgWBaKtRY/s400/1DSC07614.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401945522179006386" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gVraTpXho6ov-h3Wc5ndEb3zIclf0z9evxTdtkiWHoaQTGF9jVSoYJNW_bqpMNUE_v_MRUI5N5YAJRGzl5qVHcpTTh6PAKqqsjQc-OjngQycow0OScZWCna8fmp4QSqHOD2BD3OV9k0/s1600-h/1DSC07732.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gVraTpXho6ov-h3Wc5ndEb3zIclf0z9evxTdtkiWHoaQTGF9jVSoYJNW_bqpMNUE_v_MRUI5N5YAJRGzl5qVHcpTTh6PAKqqsjQc-OjngQycow0OScZWCna8fmp4QSqHOD2BD3OV9k0/s400/1DSC07732.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401945534265642050" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyz3e3wxlI7qqXNUahUHiPHJ71aQaIJrzHXQZv4QdeW1C0apc9Bv2tKz1dUn4_9Qe5y5P71GR9T-UBaH3Y2qoKS4a_Fd6tQ7kfrjCSKET74PDPij5ArRiKowFPU8tlW82IVmWp9FE666o/s1600-h/1DSC07672.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyz3e3wxlI7qqXNUahUHiPHJ71aQaIJrzHXQZv4QdeW1C0apc9Bv2tKz1dUn4_9Qe5y5P71GR9T-UBaH3Y2qoKS4a_Fd6tQ7kfrjCSKET74PDPij5ArRiKowFPU8tlW82IVmWp9FE666o/s400/1DSC07672.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401945535426777202" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDwCBhHoEAsCsXwfkFKO2r7Od53FnK6icRD7RRor_jB0bFq4aWwEXg-BxvOxqukBz5uMXlKky4X99aa3Kyy5llDz78Iq7lFHN-iXOUG58h2M1D0QgvaYCbVSY6SQbxhkG9O1i1YBnEgM/s1600-h/1DSC07641+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRDwCBhHoEAsCsXwfkFKO2r7Od53FnK6icRD7RRor_jB0bFq4aWwEXg-BxvOxqukBz5uMXlKky4X99aa3Kyy5llDz78Iq7lFHN-iXOUG58h2M1D0QgvaYCbVSY6SQbxhkG9O1i1YBnEgM/s400/1DSC07641+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401945529971186882" border="0" /></a>Tomorrow: I shall try to publish a post with<span style="font-style: italic;">out</span> any photos.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What?</span> Did I just say that?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-56965552775495963092009-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:002009-10-31T18:50:14.281-07:00Raggedy AnnLast year, my sweet Peanut was a skunk for Halloween. See?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcD0CyYSvrI6Ucm4k226xPjOYUgaJpTsV6n9-ZW-Ad5Q-ZmOjvwjOEbIBXNKjnH9ARmCgm1HRnoM_b0lYMMOEAWrHLwrB_4RyhzdXplJGpcUAj4KxUKRyh25Dywoop8FG21w5m43md3E/s1600-h/n500936021_1457638_4236.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcD0CyYSvrI6Ucm4k226xPjOYUgaJpTsV6n9-ZW-Ad5Q-ZmOjvwjOEbIBXNKjnH9ARmCgm1HRnoM_b0lYMMOEAWrHLwrB_4RyhzdXplJGpcUAj4KxUKRyh25Dywoop8FG21w5m43md3E/s400/n500936021_1457638_4236.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398945153206494482" border="0" /></a><br />This year I chose an little Raggedy Ann costume that I found online. I loved the costume when I found it and I loved it even more when I put it on her. <span style="font-style: italic;">She</span> loved it too. Especially the face paint. Okay, it was actually just black eyeliner and red lipstick, but in any event, she loved it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaht4UIXmV093JF11l1hAooMlzc429a01GIz0iw6SpkDxF-q__Ofr0qHLFA1Uh9EPMBcVuWx0yXZGx6-y0We_yBqG6rPjTGJg3bWWH457wwauk14nCGaF3zxqmplBnIe0pgEIsS8_NbI/s1600-h/1DSC07527.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaht4UIXmV093JF11l1hAooMlzc429a01GIz0iw6SpkDxF-q__Ofr0qHLFA1Uh9EPMBcVuWx0yXZGx6-y0We_yBqG6rPjTGJg3bWWH457wwauk14nCGaF3zxqmplBnIe0pgEIsS8_NbI/s400/1DSC07527.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398943939932040098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77OWbtc9jDbTtfhEHQDTO2kclZKLi4jPk1Mbx24MvsNgkXlZcsQFeBOssqJRT8iRqXlGXLoXDMPhowgrt04s1gVf-YhYN7dfgCdrDRex-lpxrXGMpr1N08Iz7-FCZOp-NDcm6uGk-T9E/s1600-h/1DSC07537.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi77OWbtc9jDbTtfhEHQDTO2kclZKLi4jPk1Mbx24MvsNgkXlZcsQFeBOssqJRT8iRqXlGXLoXDMPhowgrt04s1gVf-YhYN7dfgCdrDRex-lpxrXGMpr1N08Iz7-FCZOp-NDcm6uGk-T9E/s400/1DSC07537.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398943948906466482" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dl64Oj3KunSe8oefxscs3LuUbgCXZH_OdQIsHBa48NUBUmCeyXuEC7_2LkuNM6j92sLhENtb7TgVlVwe2kRMnd7hvZvTQ1irgiq9MZGaDND5GeTYOwI-yFb42CXk1CM47skIzlraKbE/s1600-h/1DSC07528.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dl64Oj3KunSe8oefxscs3LuUbgCXZH_OdQIsHBa48NUBUmCeyXuEC7_2LkuNM6j92sLhENtb7TgVlVwe2kRMnd7hvZvTQ1irgiq9MZGaDND5GeTYOwI-yFb42CXk1CM47skIzlraKbE/s400/1DSC07528.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398943941399832706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRqmMNEe6T493Q3Uvb1rUF-7kXL2QTi__VtJ8PI0tJOw1iqcMRvPx-Qjs0LeCV46XW-U-azdn6PFBTYLY69yxOAPOfL15dk8CipDXn37o7NeqdhzOR4vp2hDTmHUinkG3rEGgpQ36_ZA/s1600-h/1DSC07534.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRqmMNEe6T493Q3Uvb1rUF-7kXL2QTi__VtJ8PI0tJOw1iqcMRvPx-Qjs0LeCV46XW-U-azdn6PFBTYLY69yxOAPOfL15dk8CipDXn37o7NeqdhzOR4vp2hDTmHUinkG3rEGgpQ36_ZA/s400/1DSC07534.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398943942822829618" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9F_WPsXKhssoiOoLl8ffgNfcC04FT9JMzqytv1f_tkMC6Qya5t5kv1JuJDYecF4cK4w5P8iq8a557Fy2LJQHRao54ptbN_Biz7Lu9KdghDEAr7tu4x2VMsD7X5fbQyWme0kwtaAifAwQ/s1600-h/1DSC07557.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9F_WPsXKhssoiOoLl8ffgNfcC04FT9JMzqytv1f_tkMC6Qya5t5kv1JuJDYecF4cK4w5P8iq8a557Fy2LJQHRao54ptbN_Biz7Lu9KdghDEAr7tu4x2VMsD7X5fbQyWme0kwtaAifAwQ/s400/1DSC07557.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398943950781224066" border="0" /></a>Okay, I'm admitting that this post was totally an excuse to share these pictures because I secretly (or not so secretly) think that she is the cutest Raggedy Ann that I've ever seen. Which isn't saying much because I've never even seen another real, live Raggedy Ann, but <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span>. I know she's mine, but she's just cute, right?<br /><br />I'm done now.<br /><br />Carry on.<br /><br /><s><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a></s>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-57766165495224559862009-10-28T09:45:00.001-07:002009-11-10T17:56:25.722-08:00A Homemade ChristmasIs homemade one word or two? I'm too lazy to go look it up.<br /><br />Anyway, as you can guess from the title of my post, I'm working on a slew of homemade presents for Christmas this year. My "favorites" are overflowing with links to great tutorials for fabulous DIY stuff. Here are a few of my favorite things:<br /><br /><a href="http://pretty-ditty.blogspot.com/2009/10/beaded-fabric-flower-necklace-tutorial.html">A beaded fabric flower necklace</a><br />How gorgeous is that?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-CkZfymMQxgvvDwVCdc8-d34cKAboFmS-noKRVUd7gBxVaRcTEsvUUo9RWj1KhxX7d8UMjAZ6FHgXts4KRHwinHYRyIuIw_pNJE0HxrhccjCcX3pBiMZ7Jk-SXjtYi5a7LztP5CYERQ/s1600-h/Christmas.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX-CkZfymMQxgvvDwVCdc8-d34cKAboFmS-noKRVUd7gBxVaRcTEsvUUo9RWj1KhxX7d8UMjAZ6FHgXts4KRHwinHYRyIuIw_pNJE0HxrhccjCcX3pBiMZ7Jk-SXjtYi5a7LztP5CYERQ/s400/Christmas.1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397705089485348658" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/photos/reusable_snack_bag_tutori/img_9196.html">Fabric snack bags</a><br />These would be adorable in a little set with coordinating fabrics!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCkCOHsr1qUUfULh36UA3YdPyAk74Vc-B9aCibT6XNXLU0c0dMvXRvL7U_XBm0voqvURdfDFltYFjV3lRShFqjgKUtVbfqNx5IA1TELYWCkzzAHPiqk87BVIV-toM4FwuEaABNOSwGbM/s1600-h/Christmas.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnCkCOHsr1qUUfULh36UA3YdPyAk74Vc-B9aCibT6XNXLU0c0dMvXRvL7U_XBm0voqvURdfDFltYFjV3lRShFqjgKUtVbfqNx5IA1TELYWCkzzAHPiqk87BVIV-toM4FwuEaABNOSwGbM/s400/Christmas.2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397705094132016322" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60066.html?r=1">Flower purse</a><br />I'm thinking of a few little ones on my Christmas list who would love this little bag!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcro4UVlhgo1wGF53IsVYlgR_TnzapOJZ45B_rYAa7MO2WBLLJA1UheBGpJLsBO-_9wkHGRNGidKLhpdXQf4ncpDAjE_l1BloO2-xYUBzkA2OqMnNIM9wMhqZG5TMASHYXLjF3P4PPXM/s1600-h/Christmas.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcro4UVlhgo1wGF53IsVYlgR_TnzapOJZ45B_rYAa7MO2WBLLJA1UheBGpJLsBO-_9wkHGRNGidKLhpdXQf4ncpDAjE_l1BloO2-xYUBzkA2OqMnNIM9wMhqZG5TMASHYXLjF3P4PPXM/s400/Christmas.3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397705097290887986" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=584">Patchwork kitchen mat</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxvj44Jrd6F0favvhNMPDejJNNkDcpI_yEBA5kfD5kb7PWhfS6ljP7xNP6obZdjdszFuQ5T5vsCmiPh09eTFj829mYobO24BJViJ1FTcSFe51MGXVtrw1lY9klBnR-uQ-Xxx49rdlF8U/s1600-h/Christmas.4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDxvj44Jrd6F0favvhNMPDejJNNkDcpI_yEBA5kfD5kb7PWhfS6ljP7xNP6obZdjdszFuQ5T5vsCmiPh09eTFj829mYobO24BJViJ1FTcSFe51MGXVtrw1lY9klBnR-uQ-Xxx49rdlF8U/s400/Christmas.4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397705102743599090" border="0" /></a><br />Camera strap cover<br /><br />There are quite a few tutorials for making these, they are so easy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ek2qPbzKfUYAAdDxRe2ujOK7FJQLDVlzb7TL4I4Kem436kiq3HqVfAnv7QMZKp5kNWDlBpgPsv-bXkjVjHZrooOtajkuqbFAX0R66I7ES1Q3Izl13R08tCKCAosbKIo1Mt5-OfLpK5k/s1600-h/Christmas.5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ek2qPbzKfUYAAdDxRe2ujOK7FJQLDVlzb7TL4I4Kem436kiq3HqVfAnv7QMZKp5kNWDlBpgPsv-bXkjVjHZrooOtajkuqbFAX0R66I7ES1Q3Izl13R08tCKCAosbKIo1Mt5-OfLpK5k/s400/Christmas.5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397705103382873922" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://madebypetchy.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-fabric-flower-brooch.html">Fabric Flower Brooch</a><br />This is screaming "Gramma!" to me!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmDKg7ezk9rFKsE_dtYks4aazPSAuWfr033_1Qr3FEhJU0GS53D0bbhrngje6zoe-tA4oyL1ict79PRw1h6o3lyEl0IEgws8j9Y7tkatN_mOvvrhyiDRwmtGlf0SYzqz5mFNpGy2ax6c/s1600-h/Christmas.6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbmDKg7ezk9rFKsE_dtYks4aazPSAuWfr033_1Qr3FEhJU0GS53D0bbhrngje6zoe-tA4oyL1ict79PRw1h6o3lyEl0IEgws8j9Y7tkatN_mOvvrhyiDRwmtGlf0SYzqz5mFNpGy2ax6c/s400/Christmas.6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397706735029632722" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Gigi/my-blue-jeans-shawl-7"><br />My blue jeans shawl</a><br />This one is already in progress. I'm not sure who it's for yet...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVa1RUHdPzvbHJjR2qrkMj6ral_lAfzR41bKZMuDWGxEGMgGIZQg8Va2sFcXILKOxjAhK86pt6HptO67VrnFCizNTBrHEwjNtNT-JLGwaR6oP9nvm6bu7W63iVLxWGaIs1MX1sCu1cYs/s1600-h/Christmas.7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 327px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVa1RUHdPzvbHJjR2qrkMj6ral_lAfzR41bKZMuDWGxEGMgGIZQg8Va2sFcXILKOxjAhK86pt6HptO67VrnFCizNTBrHEwjNtNT-JLGwaR6oP9nvm6bu7W63iVLxWGaIs1MX1sCu1cYs/s400/Christmas.7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397706740940829810" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90231AD.html?noImages=">Crochet Giraffe</a><br />How cute is that? I'm thinking about a little collection of crocheted animals for Peanut's stocking.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yLKzI6f9He8JB49IGEtpYtGPnNPttlHTNqIiP-Q27eeMjy66DlaDtWVPnGNYfFqNQOKOqYYV4sx4uF74aaiXprkVK_cvG5EuxpetNMdaVi2AFW-5ViHg06Hh8CuQBJuw8xANOHNvnMI/s1600-h/Christmas.8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 399px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yLKzI6f9He8JB49IGEtpYtGPnNPttlHTNqIiP-Q27eeMjy66DlaDtWVPnGNYfFqNQOKOqYYV4sx4uF74aaiXprkVK_cvG5EuxpetNMdaVi2AFW-5ViHg06Hh8CuQBJuw8xANOHNvnMI/s400/Christmas.8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397706744524706434" border="0" /></a><br />And of course, lots of people on my list are getting gifts straight out of my Etsy shop. I just perfected a new mitten pattern and they make such cute sets! This set went out in the mail yesterday:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY3dERWDjVTOwiZuUtg85w7e87Rk2Wf1jPeOcQulrONQbKIFJKPYiWfJm4JWKBmxJNP3uDYAD476RYijE1F5pHvQZIGW77yY2a0XtFhAJmCQkYThfkcYeuoLI0lpK5uHHitfWARB5nyA/s1600-h/Brown.Mittens+hat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 382px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqY3dERWDjVTOwiZuUtg85w7e87Rk2Wf1jPeOcQulrONQbKIFJKPYiWfJm4JWKBmxJNP3uDYAD476RYijE1F5pHvQZIGW77yY2a0XtFhAJmCQkYThfkcYeuoLI0lpK5uHHitfWARB5nyA/s400/Brown.Mittens+hat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397714285095407522" border="0" /></a><br />I'd love to hear your ideas for a DIY Christmas! I have over 30 people on my list, so I'd love some new suggestions and patterns! Please share!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-13420026431210887282009-10-17T06:40:00.000-07:002009-11-10T17:56:45.713-08:00Tornado Warning!<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My little Peanut is a tornado.<br /><br />She completely destroys every room she walks into. Her bedroom is in a continual state of disarray. She makes a habit of dumping the living room toy basket first thing in the morning. She recently discovered Mommy's dresser and enjoys emptying entire drawers and hanging tank tops, underwear and bras around her neck and then discarding them in random places. <span style="font-style: italic;">Which explains how my underwear ended up on my welcome mat.</span><br /><br />And she's so quick! I leave her unsupervised for just a minute and I can count on a disaster area.<br /><br />Case in point: The other night while I was making dinner, she went on a rampage. Once dinner was on the table, about 20 minutes later, I stood back and assessed the damage.<br /><br />It is unbelievable to me that a two and a half foot tall little person can completely destroy a room in no time at all. Take a look:<br /></div><br />BEFORE:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OQz5jPzeQVpLvwwzPWES8VKNo491u5BrlS0H6ItClplExW7WPYqx_d0cz8rZ-eaKZEIkprp27fwiclqVz_Ic38FEpQIBs-DgiAijcIkmfoRgdDzPwkz4rja669KR8-pDOKM0jGW0PfM/s1600-h/DSC07108.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OQz5jPzeQVpLvwwzPWES8VKNo491u5BrlS0H6ItClplExW7WPYqx_d0cz8rZ-eaKZEIkprp27fwiclqVz_Ic38FEpQIBs-DgiAijcIkmfoRgdDzPwkz4rja669KR8-pDOKM0jGW0PfM/s400/DSC07108.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393566237280297394" border="0" /></a><br />AFTER:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvCXzZvDVGEFmTnohicPrIt7kAGYPr_zmlwnreeHn2-XiCzvLKOHe2k3ORsQ8veijeAa7b2O5w7bRWDRI69CNHqNLJb7voSkypwkXr_bYsFZnobD_9dy82UotRAFjoEQfpTOhAWoKgCA/s1600-h/DSC07107.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuvCXzZvDVGEFmTnohicPrIt7kAGYPr_zmlwnreeHn2-XiCzvLKOHe2k3ORsQ8veijeAa7b2O5w7bRWDRI69CNHqNLJb7voSkypwkXr_bYsFZnobD_9dy82UotRAFjoEQfpTOhAWoKgCA/s400/DSC07107.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393566226793714770" border="0" /></a>Okay, so I actually took the "before" picture after I cleaned up the mess she made. But I swear, it looked just like that before she got a hold of it.<br /><br />Let's take one more look:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRp4Aq6GQ4HJbvNSs5WAFCovZGWHxxQ9CdEvRntO2BcbG31vWw9vL8oQqRiQkRZ8c2Xrd3yM3CrMTg0fEtJehNlNKTshl6gGPZxgoiN7CFWQusF86zEwhjg1skVgfw7dbnhJ5NJvdFJ4/s1600-h/Tornado+Warning.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 493px; height: 162px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGRp4Aq6GQ4HJbvNSs5WAFCovZGWHxxQ9CdEvRntO2BcbG31vWw9vL8oQqRiQkRZ8c2Xrd3yM3CrMTg0fEtJehNlNKTshl6gGPZxgoiN7CFWQusF86zEwhjg1skVgfw7dbnhJ5NJvdFJ4/s400/Tornado+Warning.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393564781829083474" border="0" /></a><br />And my husband wonders why I can't keep the house clean.<br /><br />So my house is continually under a tornado warning. If you ever come by my house and my whole house looks like the "after" picture, you'll know why.<br /><br />You've been warned.<br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-62703875042244108472009-10-12T21:50:00.001-07:002009-10-12T21:50:41.479-07:00Me and Madeline - WINNERS!Congrats to #16 and #39! You both won a $20 credit to my <a href="http://meandmadeline.etsy.com/">Etsy shop</a>!<br /><br />I wish I could have picked all of you! I'm still offering FREE shipping now through the end of the month!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And...</span><br /><br />If you mention <span style="font-style: italic;">"Momma Molly"</span> in the comments when you make a purchase, I'll refund an additional 15% of your purchase price. This offer is good for this week ONLY (10/12-10/17).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-74701569106058715382009-10-07T04:55:00.000-07:002009-11-10T17:56:59.043-08:00The H1N1 Vaccine: What you need to know<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">"It’s time to wake up from our advertisement-induced collective slumber and begin to review the folklore of conventional vaccine recommendations with a more critical eye."</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> - Dr. Mercola</span><br /><br />When it comes to vaccinations, I don't believe there is an easy answer. I have come to my own personal conclusions about what I will do for my family, but I am not so pig-headed (pun intended!) that I can't see the flip side of the argument for vaccination.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">However</span>, I stand pretty strongly against the H1N1 vaccine.<br /><br />Instead of droning on and on about why I have come to this conclusion, I'm just going to point you in the direction of several articles and videos that I found extremely helpful in making my decision. Below each link, I'll give you a few of my thoughts on each article.<br /><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/06/Why-You-Should-NOT-Vaccinate-Your-Children-Against-the-Flu-This-Season.aspx">Article #1</a></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"> </span><br />This article includes opinions from three doctors - all strongly against the H1N1 vaccine. The video includes the opinion of a credible infectious disease doctor who claims he will not vaccinate his children. Be sure to scroll below the text to read what Dr. Mercola has to say about the swine flu. All the information is great, but I was most disturbed by this statement:<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">"I also learned at the conference from Dr. Vickie Diebold who is the consumer representative on the federal vaccine panel, that the CDC has budgeted over 12 million dollars to BLAST kids this fall on TV with characters such as Elmo from Sesame Street to propagandize them to be afraid of the swine flu and make sure that they get their vaccine. This is over 50% of the total amount ($21 million) they have budgeted to determine if the vaccine is even safe." - Dr. Mercola</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"></span><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">What? HALF of the budgeted funds are going towards TV propaganda<span style="font-style: italic;"> instead </span>of <span style="font-style: italic;">testing </span>the vaccine?</span><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"> Frightening.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/2009/09/four-swine-flu-vaccines-approved-by-fda.asp">Article #2</a></span><br /><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">A big part of making an informed decision is reviewing information from both sides of the argument. Article #2 is Dr. Sears's</span><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">take on the vaccine. He does recommend both the seasonal and the H1N1 vaccines, but only if you feel comfortable with them. He takes time to explain the spacing between the shots (the H1N1 vaccine requires two doses, one month apart)</span><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"></span><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">However, he is very clear that he does not think that pregnant women should receive the swine flue vaccine or ANY flu vaccination. There has been NO testing to see how the vaccinations affect the unborn child and that is not a risk that should be taken.</span><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"></span><br /><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" > "T</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >he bottom line is that the swine flu is about the same level of seriousness as the regular flu." </span><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">- Dr. Sears</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><br /></span><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/04/Squalene-The-Swine-Flu-Vaccines-Dirty-Little-Secret-Exposed.aspx"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">Article #3</span></span></a><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><br /><br /></span><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">Another great article by Dr. Mercola</span><span id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments">. This article pertains to all vaccines, not just the one for H1N1. This section makes so much sense to me:</span><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><blockquote style="font-style: italic;"><p style="text-align: justify;">"Less than 100 children in the U.S. die each year from seasonal flu viruses.<a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/04/Squalene-The-Swine-Flu-Vaccines-Dirty-Little-Secret-Exposed.aspx#_edn4" name="_ednref4">[iv]</a> If we use Australia’s math, a very rough estimate would be another 100 children could potentially die of swine flu in the United States in the coming year.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">If children are the first target group in the U.S. per Sebelius, that means we’re about to inject around <span style="font-weight: bold;">75 million children </span>with a fast tracked vaccine containing novel adjuvants, including dangerous squalene, to prevent perhaps 100 deaths.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;">I’m not overlooking the tragedy of the loss of even one child to an illness like the H1N1 flu virus. But there can be no argument that unnecessary mass injection of millions of children with a vaccine containing an adjuvant known to cause a host of debilitating autoimmune diseases is a reckless, dangerous plan."</p> </blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">For me, it's all about weighing the benefits versus the risks. What's the risk of NOT getting the vaccine? Death. People do die from the swine flu! What's the risk of TAKING the vaccine? Death or long-term illness or neurological problems. I believe the risk from the vaccine is greater than the risk from actually contracting the virus.<br /><br />I'm not just leaving everything to chance. I know that H1N1 is potentially deadly, just like the seasonal flu. So I'm taking steps to protect my family. This winter, more than ever, we'll be eating healthy, getting plenty of rest and I'll continue to breastfed Madeline.<br /><br />I'd love to hear from you. What have you decided to do about the H1N1 vaccine? What helped you make your decision?<br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;" id="ctl00_ctl00_ctl00_bcr_bcr_bcr_lblDrComments"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-19679744685150428862009-10-05T12:40:00.000-07:002009-11-10T17:57:11.959-08:00I love fall!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6EDNNmS0Vre3h0wCSoAYdvXEM0wqmjw3eV6WgFdqzKDeJnyM2lftFl9PmxNBmVPNNtFmhC19HLdbtJyW3OZit4n6jKyuvCc_k6RPigisu-3jx6_6LWLagb6CoPwPEW9q8kLCyJphKds/s1600-h/aDSC06758.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6EDNNmS0Vre3h0wCSoAYdvXEM0wqmjw3eV6WgFdqzKDeJnyM2lftFl9PmxNBmVPNNtFmhC19HLdbtJyW3OZit4n6jKyuvCc_k6RPigisu-3jx6_6LWLagb6CoPwPEW9q8kLCyJphKds/s400/aDSC06758.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389205681093519186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkff5xd22w4xPLBmKwP3yWaAiYkjdcotPUOKtxfsP6US092ELh3sIa3D7hzWMiYE5Ft0pHhc1_GBbBVqEExz6rudZO0eQ-gH1NF8sd4Ewm5J1-24r-ClLLUqSGksmaY-zxYYNFoS1p4g/s1600-h/aDSC06746.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOkff5xd22w4xPLBmKwP3yWaAiYkjdcotPUOKtxfsP6US092ELh3sIa3D7hzWMiYE5Ft0pHhc1_GBbBVqEExz6rudZO0eQ-gH1NF8sd4Ewm5J1-24r-ClLLUqSGksmaY-zxYYNFoS1p4g/s400/aDSC06746.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389205675898206626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAghuu5yTzOdJsXm4Xx6obhu-6hRidU4rZnG80hiwDWD-mEYwDOxMxlp-Z3ss96IiHxGvJln8fNuTm3_-S_BSVfuRc8hHzJPdVDUjG5PZPi8ueweBLNX1m3HhKl-IUHJ3gSMMDzikUutc/s1600-h/aDSC06682.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAghuu5yTzOdJsXm4Xx6obhu-6hRidU4rZnG80hiwDWD-mEYwDOxMxlp-Z3ss96IiHxGvJln8fNuTm3_-S_BSVfuRc8hHzJPdVDUjG5PZPi8ueweBLNX1m3HhKl-IUHJ3gSMMDzikUutc/s400/aDSC06682.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389205666458346610" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527805485999838499.post-52894655251202447112009-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:002009-10-12T06:57:03.138-07:00Me and Madeline - My Etsy shop and a giveaway<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4Ga6NLWbvm3ohBB_7sfelO9yvbf5Zvsmn5e-aKunmszQumf5uadDQydGzwb0CczBtvCEEBCF3KF1XLsrqYoSU0cXfCcj9DAxiZMcNZGZegZtH3dztRkuxDXCvVOQ6U32NsnS1MaxtfY/s1600-h/DSC06883.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 341px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH4Ga6NLWbvm3ohBB_7sfelO9yvbf5Zvsmn5e-aKunmszQumf5uadDQydGzwb0CczBtvCEEBCF3KF1XLsrqYoSU0cXfCcj9DAxiZMcNZGZegZtH3dztRkuxDXCvVOQ6U32NsnS1MaxtfY/s400/DSC06883.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387098512921620178" border="0" /></a>It's been a long time in the works, so I'm very excited to officially announcing the Grand Opening of my Etsy shop, <a href="http://meandmadeline.etsy.com/">Me and Madeline</a>.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >(And yes, I think I just gave away Peanut's name!)</span><br /><br />An idea hatched several months ago that I mulled over for some time and then just decided to make it happen. My shop is a work in progress. But if you head over there right now, you'll find lots of warm fall hats, some girly headbands and even a few items for little boys and men.<br /><br />I've spent many hours developing unique patterns for each of my items and I'm so happy with the result. In fact, I'm loving my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31682201">flower beanie hats</a> so much, it's actually getting me excited about cold weather! I think you'll agree that my sweet Madeline and my patient sisters and niece do a great job <a href="http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31779321">modeling my creations</a>!<br /><br />Starting today through the entire month of October, I'll be offering FREE shipping on all orders! Check the <a href="http://meandmadeline.etsy.com/">shop announcements</a> on the front page for more details. I'm also excited to offer special packaging on all my orders. They arrive on your doorstep ready for gift-giving! <a href="http://meandmadeline.blogspot.com/2009/09/grand-opening-special-free-shipping.html">Click here </a>for more photos.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a0V5ggvNUbXoJQvK4Mv5hawGR_qWnwklNa17KF-wrkOiHXmJ-2WvAk971ZD6kgKqy5Q58bgsAFRchm5ea76TTx_l9HEQ6_l_xozLia-UsNXFAkQuDhQc-_qOzM4Ku7PbKIrw1V3pNZc/s1600-h/Brown.hat.toddler2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7a0V5ggvNUbXoJQvK4Mv5hawGR_qWnwklNa17KF-wrkOiHXmJ-2WvAk971ZD6kgKqy5Q58bgsAFRchm5ea76TTx_l9HEQ6_l_xozLia-UsNXFAkQuDhQc-_qOzM4Ku7PbKIrw1V3pNZc/s400/Brown.hat.toddler2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387079089957587778" border="0" /></a>I've also started a <a href="http://meandmadeline.blogspot.com/">new blog</a> specifically for my Etsy shop, but it will also be where I release my inner crafty side. I'll be sharing fun tutorials for projects that I've worked on and also keep you updated when I release a new item to the shop or run a special. I hope you'll check it out. <span style="font-style: italic;">This blog</span> will still be here, of course!<br /><br />In celebration of this new venture, <span style="font-style: italic;">of course</span> I'm hosting a giveaway! I would love to custom make something for you or your little one! Just head over to the <a href="http://meandmadeline.etsy.com/">new shop</a> and leave me a comment letting me know what item you'd love to have.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TWO </span>of my readers will receive a $20 credit in the shop.<br /><br />For extra entries, please feel free to leave an additional comment for each of the following that you chose to do:<br /><br />1. Follow the <a href="http://meandmadeline.blogspot.com/">"Me and Madeline" blog</a>.<br />2. Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/meandmadeline">"Me and Madeline" on Twitter</a>.<br />3. Tweet this giveaway (can be done once daily).<br /><br />I'll <a href="http://www.random.org/">randomly</a> select two winners on October 11th and announce the winner on Monday, October 12th.<br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/127/6C36131633BBF6F671EF1C6FB6FF1299.png" style="border: 0pt none ! important; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" /></a>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10847420234669658242noreply@blogger.com77