Giveaway!

Hey guys!  There is an Applesauce Crafts giveaway over on my pal Becky's blog Preparing for Peanut.  A three pack of bibs AND a stuffed owl could be yours!  Check it out here!

Busy Week, No Pictures.

I realize if I don't have pictures I tend not to post.  We have been doing lots this week!  Ingrid loves her school still, although I am a little tired of having to do the drive every day.  Just one year, then we can go to the neighborhood school and walk every day.  I cannot wait!

Otis is teething.  Again?  Still?  He has two bottom teeth and it looks like he's getting two more bottom teeth.  And the snot.  Oh my god, the snot.  Will it ever end, or is it just going to hang on all fall and winter?  Good thing we use cloth wipes as tissues, otherwise we'd probably be going through a forest worth of trees for kleenex.

I participated in a blog hop baby shower for Lishyloo this week!  Today was actually my day, over on my Applesauce Crafts blog.  It was great to contribute to such a fun thing with such talented women.  I felt a little out of my league, their blogs are so fancy, mine are just basic!  Check out day one here, and you'll find the schedule for the week with links to the other blogs.  Cute stuff!!

I have been trying to get tons of work done for Art Vs. Craft.  I just have no idea how much stock to bring to a craft show, how big it really is, and I feel like it's better to just way overshoot and then sell whatever's left over in the etsy shop.  But between the school run, nap schedules, crabby babies, and I don't know, sleep--it's hard to get anything done.  I got four blankets done yesterday and today, which is awesome.  I just wish I could get a babysitter one or two days to just get shit done. 

Brendan and I are leaving next week for DC!!  I am so excited to fly again, it's been like two years.  And I am way excited to be without kids for a few days.  And nights.  To be with my husband, no football on tv, no computer games being played, no distractions from actually spending time together.  Bliss. 

We went to the zoo today and I got some really cute pictures on my phone.  I can't figure out how to get them anywhere but my phone, so once I figure that out...what is the point of having a camera on your phone if you can't do anything with the pictures??  Sheesh!

Cute Pictures, and a Giveaway!

Damn, she's good.

Also thought I'd mention that there's an Applesauce Crafts giveaway going on over at Modern Kiddo!  You can win a bib, burp cloth set, and bunny just in time for Easter!  You have until next Friday I think, so go make your comments and get your chance to win some cute stuff!

Thrifting, Snuggling, and Decision Making

Yesterday we treked up to an out of the way thrift store.  I used to go there all the time, but it's been forever.  Man, that place is kinda ratty!  But those are the best ones to get good stuff at because they're not trying to be anything special.  They just throw all the junk out there and make you sort through it.  We found some good stuff, including these little overalls.  Just in case we forget what Otis is, they'll remind us.

And just to show he's not always crying:

He is just the snuggliest sleeper!  I love it, he gets all cozy in his blanket (much like Ingrid used to do) and just sleeps and sleeps.  God I am so glad he sleeps.  Ingrid still doesn't.  Blah.

Also brought home from the thrift store, a new puzzle for Ingrid and I to do together.  We just finished a 1000 piece puzzle--our first to do together!  She helped find the edge pieces, and then I'd ask her to find the sky or grass or building pieces and she'd dig through the box and find them.  It's been fun because it keeps her entertained and it's relaxing for me.  The new one is from 1967 and round! 

And on decision making...we are having a really hard time with it!  I took Maryanne's idea of using cards that she could use to order her breakfast.  I used clip art and printed these out:

The idea was that she could grab a picture and hand it to me when she was ready for a drink.  However, this morning she handed me all the cards and said let's play this game!!  It's a work in progress.

Halloweens of Yore

Another post inspired by my favorite ladies over at Modern Kiddo!  They had this great post on vintage Halloweens and it made me dig through our boxes to find the photo albums with kid pictures of Brendan and I.  Luckily I found the one I was looking for:

The year was 1979 (gulp.  I AM vintage!)  That would be me in the middle as Raggedy Ann, my sister on the right as Cinderella, and my brothers behind me as a football player and Frankenstein.  The other kids are our neighbors.  Love that Holly Hobby costume!!

Brendan's were equally fun.  1980 was a plastic number of the Hulk.  No mask, though, wonder where that went off to?

1984 was Darth Vader.  What is that around his neck, does anyone know?  I wasn't a Star Wars fanatic, but I didn't think he had a turntable on his chest...

Someday Ingrid's going to look back and say really, mom?  A ladybug?  What were you thinking?

Pay It Forward :)

Our blogger friends Heather and Pippi sent us this sweet little house and dollies yesterday.  Ingrid has had a lot of fun with it, although she swears it's a hat and can't understand why it won't fit on her head...I think this house is so cute!!  I would totally live in it.

This is part of a fun activity of paying it forward.  Heather got a package from a nice lady in New Zealand, I got one from her, and now I want to give one to you!  If you're interested in playing along, leave me a comment.  I'll get five crafty little packages sent out, and you can choose your own five blogger friends to pay it forward! 

I am Such a Copycat!

Another day, and another activity I snagged from Fiona.  I love that Ingrid likes to color, but those damn crayons get EVERYWHERE!!  I'm constantly picking them up, piece by piece since I step on them and break them all the time.  So, when I saw Fiona's post on melting broken bits together to make big crazy crayons, I knew we'd eventually try it.  Today was that day!

First we peeled the crayons, which is harder than it sounds.  My hand cramped up quite a bit, but we managed to get them all peeled. 

Then of course Ingrid dumped all the wrappers and rolled in them.  They stuck to the drool on her chin...

Then we broke the crayons into pieces small enough for the muffin tins.  We lined the tins, put the colors in, and put them in the oven. 

I did 225 degrees for about 15 minutes.  We took them out just before Ingrid's nap and by the time she woke up they were cooled and ready to use.

Ingrid thought they were pretty cool!  They are huge and make cool multi-colored squiggles.  And an added bonus for me:  there are only eight of them to find!  For now, I'm sure they will break and then I'll be right back to square one...But for now, eight huge crayons are much easier to keep track of than 24 little ones.

Thank You, Switzerland!

Fiona over at Living in the Land of Chocolate and her two girls sent us this adorable cow.  It is the cutest thing, both Ingrid and I oohed and aahhed over it when we opened the envelope!  I love the little wooden udder, and of course the bell around the neck, which Fiona says is very truly Swiss.  Ingrid has played with this little "moo cow" nonstop and even had to hold onto it during dinner.  Funny kid.

Thank you so much Fiona, Sofie, and Emily!  We also really enjoyed the homemade thank you cards with sparkly stickers :) 

And on another thankful note, it's Thanksgiving today and we are off for a six hour drive to see friends and family in Milwaukee.  Yay! 

Wow, We Won!

Our blogger friends Heather and Penelope won this cute dress by Kookie:

There was a giveaway on Kookie's Facebook page for a dress just like it, and guess who won?! We get this dress for Ingrid:

Cute, huh? What a great note in my inbox "You are the winner." Sweet.

Anyone Want to Win an Ergo?

Samantha over at MamaNotes is hosting a giveaway for an Ergo carrier! That is amazing. Those things are expensive and I've heard they are the best carrier ever. Ingrid is getting a bit big so her days of carrying are numbered, but think of all the people I could pass this down to when she's done with it!

http://www.mamanotes.com/

Check it out.

Long Overdue!

A long time ago I got an award. I was supposed to tag up to 15 other blogs to pass it on to. At the time I hadn't gotten to know a lot of other blogs so I never did. Now, however, I would like to pass this Lovely Blog Award to the following Lovely Ladies:

Motherhood Moments: Lyndsey inspires me to EC, cloth diaper, and most of all--TRAVEL with my youngster!!

Living in the Land of Chocolate: Fiona always posts the best pictures of her adorable little girls, makes me jealous of living in a German speaking country, and inspires me to let Ingrid get messy and have fun.

Carried Family: Sarah has three gorgeous girls, something I'm not sure I could deal with :) Yet she manages it all with posts that bring a smile to my face. I love how honest she is in dealing with the ups and downs of daily mama life!

Our Unschooled Family: I found this blog awhile ago and it introduced me to so many things I'd never thought of, and also introduced me to so many blogs I never would've found. Gina inspires me to follow my daughter's lead, live a simple life, go on walks every day, and bake bread! Seriously, I was always scared to bake bread outside of a bread machine, but she is always making bread and it turned out to be rather fun kneading and flouring and letting it rise.

Thrifty Craft Mama: MaryAnne is always good with the crafty things. I am inspired to make clothes, teach my kid with m&ms and paint chips, and have fun every day without spending a ton of money.

Thank you, ladies, for making my days brighter when you have new posts and new pictures and give me things to think about!!

Thanks, Sunnymama!

sunnymama from sunnydaytodaymama gave me a lovely blog award. How sweet! She has a wonderful blog about her sunnyboy. I love to go see what great pictures she has posted there :)

The thing I love most about this whole blog deal is that I get a glimpse into everyday life in other places and everyone is connected through the internet. It makes the world a much smaller place! With the click of a button I get to see what someone is doing in Wales, England, Canada or Australia. It's great.