Baby Jesus and Mr. O.

 

This is Baby Jesus.   He is my son's lovey.  None of my kids have ever had a 'blankie' or a specific lovey that they couldn't sleep without.  Until now.  Until Baby Jesus.  Our Mr. O. has always loved babies, and when his big sister took all of hers back, he was left with NONE.  That is until he found Baby Jesus.  Baby Jesus is just about two inches tall and came in the arms of his mother, Mary:

 

She was a gift from the kids' Fairy God parents.  Mary is safely tucked away in Miss Mae's room, but Mr. O. has taken Baby Jesus and will. not. let. go.  He can't sleep without him.  He sets a place for him at our table.  He buckles him into his stroller and pushes him around.  He calls him, "Baby Jesus."  He feeds him with a doll bottle that is two times his size.  Did I mention Baby Jesus is 2" tall?!  

It is very, very, sweet but DOES solicit quite a few giggles from all of us. "Don't throw Baby Jesus!"  and "Uh-oh, we lost Baby Jesus again!"  And every night before drifting off to sleep, O. says, "I love you Baby Jesus."

We all adore Baby Jesus but I was afraid he would lose him for good and would be devastated.  I also thought he needed a baby that would fill his arms - one he could really snuggle with all night.  We found this amazing woman on etsy.  She also writes a lovely blog that I would like to escape into for even just one day.  To be able to make the things she makes!!!  Find her at Driaa.  She was a dream to work with and makes personal dolls, too.  She'll make them perfect for your little person down to the embroidered shoes and hand knitted sweaters!  Look at Queen Elizabeth!!

(Mr. O. was asleep when he arrived in the mail and I ripped him out of bed to open the package.  He was a little groggy and grumpy...):

 

This is how our  new baby arrived, complete with a sweet sewn heart on a ribbon:

 

and he came with his own personal blanket!!

 The new baby is yet to be named, but he is clearly part of our family now.  Baby Jesus is still #1 in Mr. O.'s heart, but that is kind of how it should be!

Genius, If They Work!

These Tonytail wraps replace the little band of hair that you are supposed to pull out from your pony tail and wrap around your elastic.  I did that...  once.  I'm sure it would make my daily ponytail look ever so much more chic.  One of these days CHIC is what I am going to aim for again.  Now the highest I reach for is getting everyone dressed, brushed, fed and out the door on time.  Coats are an added bonus, as are library books, etc.  Drying my hair or wrapping the little piece of hair around the elastic?  They don't even make the list.

However, if this worked, it would be SO worth it!  Yeah, I want one.

Towel Tags Are HERE!

Finally, the Towel Tags are up on the site.
Make sure you all know whose towels are whose, and tag your towels! Don't worry about whether or not your monogrammed towels are clean. Don't wash the family's towels every day. Tag whichever towel you grab and know it is yours for a few showers. Save the planet. Save YOUR energy!

Make you bathroom pretty with blooming flowers. Or spaceships. Or dinosaurs.

Did I mention you won't have to do as much laundry?!

Pretty Enough To Get Me Back To Yoga.

I was just explaining to someone about how I had JUST had a baby and had to answer, "well... he is 15 months old, actually" when asked. It has been 15 months since I worked out regularly. Yes, I worked out every single day of my pregnancy and then QUIT. Maybe if I had this gorgeous wrap to snuggle in after a workout I'd do it again? Seriously. Gorgeous.

Love These Cards!

My kids got these as an early Christmas present from my parents. My parents found the cards at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, but I couldn't find them on their website. If you can visit the store, buy them there, otherwise they are here at the MoMA store. Or if you can VISIT the MoMA store, oh my gosh go, there! Each matching pair of cards has one complete image of the original painting and one close up shot of it. My kids love them and are learning all of these great works of art! We have our own names for a lot of them at this point - for instance The Seed of Areoi is "Naked Lady On A Rock", and The Jungle is "Moon Head Guy". But don't think for a minute that I'm not planning to teach them about each and every painting, the artist and the year they were painted as they grow up!! Think about the images from books you read as a child - these images will be part of their childhood. (Yes, my arm hurts from patting myself on the back...) We've been playing Old Master (Old Maid) and go fish all week and loving it. Usually, Girl with Ball is our Old Maid because, really, it's only fair.

If you check out the paintings above, seriously get lost on MoMA's website. YUM.

Attic Journals for Christmas!

I just gave my kids' teachers their Christmas presents. I know some of them celebrate Christmas, I'm pretty sure some of them don't. But we do, so we get to give them presents. I adore Attic Journals. I adore Michelle and Miguel who make them. They are the most lovely vintage books, that would have otherwise been lost, turned into journals - the PERFECT gift for teachers - and everyone else. I found children's encyclopedias turned into journals and wrote personal notes in each one. Miss Mae dictated notes in a couple of them and drew pictures in all of them. I hope they inspire these awesome teacher people to take time for themselves and write their thoughts, or even give them a place to keep their to do lists. I wish I had taken a photo of my teetering stack, but the photo above is one I stole from Attic Journal's website.
I got each of my nieces and nephew one as well. A vintage vampire and werewolf for my Twihards (with photos of Jacob and Edward inside (sigh)) baseball for the little Mr., and palm trees for my California dreaming girl. They are the perfect gifts to encourage little ones, tweens and teens to write, too! Get some for everyone you know!

Pure Gorgeous at Anprice01

Are you KIDDING?? How can something this gorgeous exist!?! Oh that I had somewhere to wear it!

Fatboys

I want two of these SO bad for our basement rec room. I saw them first at Airplay Cafe here in Portland, and it was love at first site. They are HUGE. They are soft but incredibly durable. They can be a chair, a lounge, a fort. Oh, and they come in Marimekko prints. The outdoor styles are on sale at The Mini Social right now - sign up!

Princesses

As I was reading to my kids tonight, I asked them what they wanted for Christmas. I've been thinking of things I can make or find that are made. We are making a gigantic effort to finally cut down on the amount of presents that are given to our kids. When our first baby was born, we had all of the lovely ideals about only having organic, natural toys, and not giving in to the mad commercial crush of noisy plastic toys. As the years went on, we seem to have lost our resolve, because our house is completely cluttered with blinking plastic!! We've spent most of the weekend going through all of this clutter and getting rid of everything we can. How do all of those teeny tiny toys and pieces of toys multiply so fast? We were literally dumping plastic bins full of worthless junk into garbage sacks (some bound for goodwill). We are making a place for everything so the kids can be successful keeping their areas neat. We are absolutely NOT buying anything from Mattel, which is MOST commercial toys, because of their complete lack of integrity and care for the safety of our kids. I'm going to make as much as I can, and we are going to buy handmade.

In answer to my Christmas question, Mr. H. starting listing, at a frequency so high I think he woke up the neighborhood dogs, every single Lego set under the sun. He also made up prices for each one even though he has no idea how much any of them cost or which ones cost more than others. YES I'm holding on to these days as long as I can. And thank GOD Mattel doesn't own LEGO!!

Miss Mae answered, "princesses." I started to think of lovely princessy capes and crowns, and she started describing SNOW WHITE. Puffy sleeves and all. I knew this day would come - she has never been interested in Disney princesses - but I hoped it wouldn't. And it is here. She went on and on and on about all of the Barbies (Mattel) and Disney princesses (MATTEL!!) So I'm scouring Etsy for a better version of princesses. A kinder, gentler version. Here are a few I've found and want for her:

This lovely pink hand felted crown by curlylulu!

Ooooo! and this great print by artelf!

This sweet Sparkly Crown Pink I Spy Bag by Cozy Things:

Twilight....

I'm terribly embarrassed to admit that I'm fan of the series. (And even more embarrassed to admit that "fan" might be an understatement.) Just when I think I'm all grown up and jaded and tough, something like a tween vampire romance pops up and knocks me back into my sad, sappy reality. Really?? Highschoolers dating? I mean, a highschooler and a century old vampire..? Yes. I can't even figure out why I love it. I was completely ready to hate it. "I'm not 13," I said. "I read GOOD books," I said. I couldn't put it down when I turned that first page - and then I read all four books in the span of a couple of weeks. The movie is TERRIBLE. And I love it, too.
I read the Anne Rice Vampire chronicles when I was in college, (aHEM) years ago, and was a real vampire fan. I listened to Type O Negative and thought myself deep and dark. Anne Rice novels are transportive. I feel like I've lived in Louisiana because I remember the SMELLS of the scenes she wrote about. Her writing is incredibly descriptive. It makes sense to like her books.
What IS IT about Twilight? I honestly don't know.
Sephora has a new lipstain called DuWop Twilight Venom, and I want it.

Lego Guggenheim

Lego. Guggenheim.
genius.
Perfect for Mr. H. Although he is NOT allowed to go into architecture....

Genius Father's Day Gift

This is the best idea I've seen in SO long! www.memolio.com makes a fan book of your uploaded images - SO easy to drop in your purse or wallet and have photos of the fam with you where ever you go. They are advertised as "water resistant and impossible to tear"! The interface is brilliant, and no application to download to your computer. It is as simple as dragging and dropping your photos into position. The books are only $20, and they even ship for FREE. Perfect for fathers day. I'm going to get started....

Word To My Peeps...

My father-in-law loves Peeps. Every year, my mother-in-law buys a couple of packages, opens them, and puts them away until Easter. Easter morning, they are crunchy - sort of like a Lucky Charms marshmallow - just the way he likes them!

I received this book from my dear friend Susy for my birthday - I LOVE IT! It is SO well done - who knew Peeps could be used in so many ingenious ways?? She uses the funny little marshmallow candies beautifully, and really, the recipes are great - Peeps or no Peeps! We'll be pulling this book out every year for our Easter celebrations.

Incredible Looking Breast Pump

Can pumping really be this simple and cute??

When I pumped for 4 long months. Four LONG MONTHS. Let's call them INCREDIBLY long months, I used a giant pump that was in the shape of a cute black backpack. It was the simple and cute version for its day, but a dinosaur in comparison. Lugging that thing around was a gigantic pain. Not to mention the feelings of hatred I had for it. This sweet little pump is actually almost darling - I mean, even though it is a pump.

I KNOW pumps allow moms to return to work. I know my son wouldn't have been fed breast milk for five months of his life without one. I get it. But having the intimate relationship I did with my pump, I feel the right to proclaim my disgust. I couldn't be away from an outlet or car cigarette lighter for more than 4 hours at a time, I spent almost as much time with that pump as I did with my son, and don't get me started on what it feels like to BE PUMPED - physically and emotionally. WHOOOSH, whoosh. WHOOOSH, whoosh. WHOOOSH, whoosh. I swear sometimes I could hear words in that incessant sound.

Enough ranting. Check out this sweet little pump. Let me know if it really works. And imagine yourself being set free to pump, pump, pump!!

Run You Mother!

ISN'T THIS INSPIRING!?!
I got the http://www.seemommyrun.com/ newsletter this morning and I HONESTLY wish i could go out for a run! I used to run before I got pregnant, continued as long as I could DURING the pregnancy, and then slowed down to walking. I got right back on the treadmill after Baby O. joined us, but the last month or so I have been so busy and tired, that getting up an extra hour earlier has been too much. I'm going to print out this hat and some ladies running, post them on my bulletin board, and get inspired!!

They are having a 50% off sale on some of their featured products, too, so RUN U MOTHER!!

Hunger Monster Cure

What a fantastic idea! I don't know how many times I'd run out the door thinking I couldn't eat another bite, and then as soon as I drove out of the driveway, I'd be STARVING. In nine months of being pregnant, I never did get the whole "eating small meals all day long" thing down. The idea of having these in my purse and just grabbing a container of milk whenever that hunger monter hits is SO GREAT!

Boppy Cover is here!

I received my darling boppy cover in the mail a few days ago, and the sweet woman who made it included a really great looking bib and Congratulations card! Thank you so much! I love the boppy cover! I thought as I was putting it on that there was NO way that giant pillow would fit into that tiny cover, but it fits perfectly. And no more silly bright red boppy with giant alphabet letters all over it. I can nurse in STYLE. Be sure to check out her etsy store - if only she lived in the Northwest we would ask her to carry her lovely things on Cat in an Apron!

Terribly Smart

How cool is this?? It is the new Bin-Go from Skip Hop. I have bins all over my house, but most of them are ugly and not easy to drag around. Now we can throw all the toys that are scattered all over the house in here and stow it away as soon as someone calls and says they are on their way over. or, leave it out - it is that lovely.
Nice form. Nice Function. NICE.
There is a smaller version, too, called table top organizer