The Violet Bee

USB Pet Rock

2011-07-28T22:28:00.000-04:00

This made me smile...as does much of ThinkGeek's stuff.

My poor blog. I'll try not to neglect it so much.

Today only: Butterfly Habitat deal!

2011-04-22T02:59:00.000-04:00

If you read my Very Hungry Caterpillar post and wished you had the opportunity to order the butterfly habitat for cheap, hurry on over to Kids.Woot and order one, two, or better yet, three! You can order up to three per account and the shipping/handling is $5 no matter how many you order. The kits are just $6.99 from Woot until they sell out or the day ends, whichever comes first.

There is a $5 s/h fee for the caterpillars when you order them, but you'd have that whether you ordered this kit for $6.99 from Woot or $19.99 elsewhere. If you check out Insect Lore's site, you'll see that it's less expensive to order extra full kits from Woot than order additional sets of butterfly larvae.

I did contact Insect Lore to ask if the habitat was appropriate for preying mantises, and they said it was. We might order a mantis egg sack and watch an army of little green predators emerge!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2011-04-03T15:14:00.002-04:00

I recently picked up a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Kohls as part of their Kohls Cares for Kids $5 book program. Would you believe I had never read this to my children? They are loving it and so am I. There are lessons about nature and healthy eating and it's a great opportunity to have the children count along with me and identify colors.

I can't wait to see their faces when we watch our own caterpillars become butterflies. We recently received an Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden and need to wait for Ohio to finally warm up to order our caterpillars! I'm looking forward to reusing the butterfly habitat for other insects that we temporarily study before releasing back into the wild.

I ordered my Butterfly Garden through kids.woot, but linked to the same product (for more money) on Amazon since Woot is a deal a day site...one that I dearly love and have ordered ~~far too~~ many things from. I check it regularly for goodies :)

Must...get...crafty!

2011-03-28T14:08:00.000-04:00

Various plagues have beset our home and it seems like someone has been sick, to some degree, for almost two months. It's made our schedule extra hectic and meant we had to miss out on some fun with other kids. The only upside to the sickness is that I'm finally updating this blog again, as I snuggle in bed with a sleeping boy who has a horrible cough. I'd rather update my blog and catch up on my blog reading than risk waking him up to get some other things done. I'm debating trying to get up and grab a crochet hook or knitting needles and yarn.

It's still cold in Ohio so maybe I should finish off some of the partially-made hats I've crocheted. Many are variations on the Inner Hooker owl hat pictured at left. It took several attempts to follow the directions well enough to not make the hats come out huge, and they are still pretty roomy. The one at left was a gift, made in Ohio State colors, and after my second attempt was too large I decided it'd just be a baby gift he could wear next winter.

My crochet stash includes several completed and partially-completed hat bases, eyes that need sewn on, and a few beaks. I've found that the eyes and beak are tedious at times but perfect for the rare times when I sit down to watch TV and don't have something else to work on. I usually do much better with repeating rows of double crochet. Not quite as relaxing as knitting a fairly basic hat pattern, but close.

There are many sewing projects waiting for me to sit down at my machine, including some simple character pillows for my children. Gator is getting this Buzz Lightyear and Violet has a similar Cinderella waiting for her. I picked them up at Joann Fabrics when they were half price and really thought I'd have them done before Valentine's Day. Then her birthday. Now it's almost April. The few times when I think I would have time to sit and sew or craft, there are so many more pressing things to work on. Cleaning the house for Violet's birthday party. Compiling receipts and expenses for our taxes. Cleaning the house again because it doesn't take long to get it trashed. Organizing. Decluttering. And so on. The goal is to have a play space adjacent to the room where my sewing machine and photo editing/designing desktop mac are, so I can work while the kids play. I think it's time to put other things on the backburner so that playspace is completed and I can work or play while the kids play.

I keep discovering crafty blogs with tutorials for cool projects like this roll-up car caddy. What a wonderful way to tame clutter and package things up for a trip out. I have some ideas to use this for other favorite toys that are small. It will be a perfect use for some of the fabric I kept from worn out clothing that seemed to have good potential for future sewing projects. How wonderful it would be to combine the goals of recycling, creating, and organizing!

FOUR!

2011-03-14T15:49:00.000-04:00

It's been a little over four years since I embarked on this journey of motherhood. Sure, the journey started during that uncomfortable, complicated pregnancy, but the baby in my belly went to concerts, work, etc. with me when baby on the outside required much more consideration.

Last year was the first year we did more than a family party for a child, and we took advantage of a room that could be reserved for free. My house didn't have to get cleaned and didn't have the craziness descend upon it. This year, I decided we would have a smaller party at home. Violet loves helping people bake and decorating cookies and cupcakes is a real treat. So we planned a cupcake-decorating birthday party.

This was the first time I baked a cake, and while it wasn't as fancy and polished as store-bought cakes, the recipient was happy with it and it tasted good too! I can't believe how inexpensive it was to bake my own cake instead of buying one, and it wasn't that hard. Putting it together and decorating it was like a fun craft project.

the only picture that shows the layers

The cake featured one layer of chocolate and one layer of strawberry cake, baked from a mix. Ariel figurines purchased on clearance at Target months ago (because someone's been requesting an Ariel cake this year since her birthday last year) made the cake go with the requested theme without requiring great expense or artistry. Wilton does make an Ariel Cake Pan but the plastic figurines worked well and provided the birthday girl with playthings for later. I would have preferred to write more on the top, but I figured a simple "4" was better than novice writing.

yummy

For cupcake decorating, I had a variety of sprinkles, icing, chocolate chips, nuts, and three kinds of frosting. I decorated some of the leftovers (at left) before packing them up for later. I'm looking forward to playing with the Wilton Make a Face Animal Icing Decorations some more later. We also had Wilton Hello Kitty Icing Decorations and Wilton Toy Story Icing Decorations, ordered from Amazon, and we have a lot of fun decorations to use in future cupcake and cookie decorating projects! I think we'll be doing a lot more "edible crafts" with the children.

My son, the cat, part 2

2011-03-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

Many times, I've found a cat playing inside a paper bag. I don't recall finding a child in one until very recently...but here is further proof that simple, inexpensive or free toys can provide little ones with much enjoyment.

The gang's all here and ready for bed

2011-02-03T01:32:00.000-05:00

Lion, Moon, Elmo, and Bunny

Gator is at an age where he's becoming quite attached to his little friends, particularly at nighttime. I remember Violet having her bed covered in stuffed animals and dolls, so either it's a phase or my kids just love their "friends" a lot.

Bunny has been a longtime lovey, or as close to one as my kids get. We were at Target when Gator was little and these were on a clearance endcap. He was really drawn to the pink one. The non-pink one(s) were not very vibrant and pretty blah and this was more of a peachy pink, and besides, there's nothing wrong with my son having a pink bunny. So the pink bamboo velour bunny became his. He would stroke its fur and ears while he was nursing, and this was good. I was determined he'd find comfort from some object that wasn't attached to me, so I'd pull the potential lovey into some of our nursing sessions. It was an idea I got from The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Gentle Ways to Stop Bedtime Battles and Improve Your Child's Sleep in their Nighttime Nursling chapter when I was trying to get Violet to sleep without me. Bunny never grew to grand levels of comfort and security, but there are many times when my little guy is settling down and asks for Bunny.

Elmo seems to draw in young children and mine were no exception. Violet grew bored with him right around the time Gator was falling deeper under his spell, so our Elmo toys transitioned from one child's room to the other. My son seems to view "Melmo" as a true friend.

Lion is a recent addition to the bedtime gang. I picked him up at a card shop that was going out of business when I was pregnant with Gator. It matched his nursery decor. Recently his soft velvety fur has been appreciated at snuggle time.

Woody is not in the picture above, but is very much a part of the family in my children's eyes, as is Violet's Jessie doll. My children are obsessed with Toy Story. Violet has always gravitated toward the cowboy (Woody) and didn't think much of Buzz, but Gator's admiration for him seems to be growing daily. Now everything remotely robotic is called "Buzz" in a soft, sweetly admiring voice. (I know he's a space ranger, but if my kid wants to think he's a robot, so be it...)

And lastly is our Kinderglo Rechargeable Night Light. Violet has a T. Rex (chosen by her because his teeth would scare away monsters) and we love the different light modes, that it's rechargeable, and how easy it is for her to put it on the charger and light it up. Gator doesn't have access to a plugged-in charger yet, but we chose the moon model for him because the shape creates a nice carrying/holding handle. He holds it in his hand to "read" his books after lights out. His latest favorite is the Russell the Sheep book that his sister loved so much. His previous go-to was an animal sounds book...perfect for a child his age to "read" out loud.

If you're considering a Kinderglo night light, note that the moon is quite a bit larger than the dinosaur. T. Rex gets lost in the sheets much more easily. They've added more shapes since we bought our first one, so you have a lot more to choose from. Maybe my daughter would have still chosen the one with the scary teeth to protect her, or maybe she would have gone with something cuter. They all serve the same purpose. We've been very happy with the choice of night light, even though the price initially made me balk. It's no more expensive than comparable lights by other brands and seems to be the most kid-friendly, and the cost is worth it when my children sleep better!

Falling Up

2011-02-01T12:41:00.001-05:00

Hi there!

These crazy kiddos of mine, and life in general, have been keeping me busy and I've really fallen off the blogging wagon. I enjoy sharing my thoughts, memories, and deals and reviews I think others might be interested in.

Goals for this year include a lot more focus on creative pursuits, and I'm hoping to share some of them with you! I may reconnect with my inner geek some more and do some techie reviews, especially if there seems to be some interest. Geeky technology put in layman's terms? That's one of my specialities in my outside-the-home work. I love feedback and comments and it helps me to keep blogging if I think someone besides me is reading it. So let me know what you think about topics, what you'd like to see more of, etc. More pics of the kids? More deals? More reviews? Let me know!

So...see that little guy in the picture? He's almost 21 months old, full of energy, and increasingly conversational. He's a skinny little dude because he burns off calories almost as fast as he consumes them. Big sis is almost four years old and is obsessed with planning for her birthday. I hope it is worth all the buildup...and that she doesn't start obsessing about Christmas again as soon as her birthday passes.

P.S. Does "Falling Up" ring a bell for anyone? Especially my fellow Bobcats? You can listen to "Superhero" and a few other tracks from the Cactus Pears here. Time for me to turn on some Snack for Slacks on my iPod...

Magazine Love

2011-02-01T12:16:00.000-05:00

There's a great magazine promo going on at Amazon.com. Spend just $20 in their magazine store this month, and you'll get a $10 credit to use on anything sold by Amazon. This might be the perfect time to treat myself to a subscription to my beloved Games magazine. The puzzles, crosswords, etc. are top notch and include varying difficulty levels. Paint by Numbers is a favorite puzzle of mine, and I tend to buy it at the store every time I see the magazine with new ones. At $4.95 a copy, that adds up. And yes, I already own the book (see link below).

I did a lot of GAMES puzzles, including Paint by Numbers, when I was on bedrest, then hospital bedrest, before my first baby was born. I did the crosswords in early labor with both of my children. They provided just the right amount of distraction.

My other favorite magazine at the moment is ReadyMade. There are so many creative ideas in it, and it's just my style in so many ways.

I've been enjoying Disney FamilyFun at the doctor's office and will probably subscribe to it at some point. We have Disney Movie Rewards points that can be used for it through that site, though.

I have some Amazon gift cards I earned with SwagBucks, and that makes deals like this that much sweeter!

Giving thanks and saving money

2010-11-25T15:37:00.001-05:00

Today, I'm very thankful for all the retailers that are offering great sales on their websites, so I can rack up the savings without leaving my house! Waiting in line in freezing rain? Not for me! Here's a roundup of some of the deals I appreciate most!

I'm also grateful for my family, including my two wonderful (at the moment) kiddos. I'm especially enjoying Gator's recent surge in communication ability at 18 months and my heart still swells with love watching him and his sister interact. I've been slacking on sharing photos lately, so I'll intersperse a few from fall so it's not all deal links!

Amazon MP3 Download Credit - $3 My husband has been using Amazon's mp3 store a lot lately. He says the prices are often better than iTunes, and he can still listen to the music on his ipod, smartphone, etc. Amazon also has a lot of Black Friday deals. Today you can get five albums for $1.99 each. We're getting the Interpol album.

Many other retailers have specials on their websites, and I suggest checking your favorites to see what kind of specials you can find. Old Navy is one of those retailers. But before you go straight to their website...are you using Swagbucks?

I've been using Swagbucks.com for a few months and have earned $20 in Amazon reward certificates so far. You can use the points toward other things, but as you may have noticed, I shop on Amazon, so it's the closest thing to getting a cash reward for me. I use swagbucks when I'd be doing searches anyhow, and I randomly get points for searches. You trade those points in for rewards. I was racking up the points when I was being more intentional about doing my searches through the site. They have a toolbar as well, but I'm a creature of habit with my Google toolbar...

Old Navy has been running some great promos lately and I needed to pick up some more wardrobe basics. I'm so glad I checked Swagbucks before I did. They are offering a chunk of swagbucks (reward points) if you make a $50 Old Navy order through their link. So I made my order, got my savings, plus cashed my swagbucks in for a $5 Amazon reward card.

Do you cloth diaper? Nicki's Diapers is offering 10% off of everything except Bum Genius. Nicki's offers free shipping on most diapering items, so it's a nice opportunity to get a discount on items that rarely are. I'm thinking about getting some cloth trainers for Violet. When she gets to the point when her Pull-Up is dry most nights, I'd much rather have something reusable and washable on her.

There is much more I'd like to share, but motherhood calls! I hope to add to this post or add more as I find more links that I think will be of special interest to my readers.

Full disclosure: A lot of the links on my blog are affiliate links. That means you supplement my income in a small way when you purchase those items or others after clicking on my link, or sign up for a site I've referred you to. Thank you for your clicks...every little bit helps!

Hooking

2010-11-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't been spending very much time knitting and crocheting due to using my rare free time for other things and being less inspired to do it in warmer weather. We're enjoying some wonderful unseasonably warm weather right now, but it will be cold and time for hats and scarves soon!

I learned to crochet when I was young, and I've relearned a few times over the years. It always comes back to me, but I need some guidance. For the longest time, i didn't know what dc and sc and whatnot meant and so couldn't take advantage of the patterns that are out there. Thanks to Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker I have a fun reference that teaches and reteaches what I need and helps with all those pattern abbreviations.

I participate in my local Stitch N Bitch group when time allows, which isn't often these days. It's a wonderful group of creative, talented women who inspire me to do so much more with yarn. Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch books are a great source of information, inspiration, and patterns. I have a knitting one as well as the crochet one.

I started a hat for Gator maybe a month ago and it's still sitting on my needles, a few inches into the project. I was so excited to find some yarn I loved and got to work on a pattern of my own design that I hope will live up to my expectations. I just need to sit down and finish it! Knitting children's hats is relatively fast and relaxing for me.

Next up will be tackling crochet again. I have some adorable hat patterns from The Inner Hooker that I'm looking forward to making. First up is the owl hat. Gator has such a big head that he and Violet should be able to wear the same size. I'm planning on making my first one gender-neutral and hopefully one of them will be able to wear it. Especially since I'm not sure what my crochet gauge is like and I'm not planning on swatching. It's wonderful when hats can stretch and there are two little heads in the house to put hats on.

Amazon Mom = Amazing Savings!

2010-09-09T19:44:00.000-04:00

I was pricing Pull-Ups on Amazon today and saw a blurb about Amazon Mom. I had to check it out, and I'm glad I did!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Here's&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Here's how it works. Amazon already offers a 15% discount when you Subscribe and Save on items you use regularly. I've used this both on a repeating basis and with no intention of continuing the subscription. You can cancel or change your delivery frequency at any time.

With Amazon Mom, you get an additional 15% off on many baby items, including diapers, for a total of 30% savings. AND it's delivered free right to your door, with free two-day shipping! I love coupons, but I was able to order some Pull-Ups and Pampers Baby Dry Diapers for less than I would have paid at the store with coupons and shopping sales. And did I mention they will just show up at my door, and I don't have to listen to whiney kids in a shopping cart or chase a toddler all over the baby department?

As an added bonus, Amazon Mom gives you three months of a free Amazon Prime membership and lets you earn additional months with your baby purchases. I've used a free trial of Prime and like it, but I could never justify the annual subscription fee. Prime gives you free two-day shipping on anything shipped by Amazon, whether it's sold by Amazon themselves or a seller using Amazon fulfillment. Next-day shipping is available for just $3.99. No more waiting until I have $25.00 worth of little items to get so I receive free super-saver shipping, and it arrives oh so much faster.

(Isn't that little bear hat on the baby in the Amazon banner cute? I hope to crochet one for Gator this winter. One of many to-do projects!)

Preschool Premiere

2010-08-25T22:12:00.000-04:00

Today, my big little girl started school. It's just preschool, but she's attending a program at the public school, and that makes it feel so much more like real school.

She was having second thoughts about it until she met her teacher and saw her classroom yesterday. Then she was so excited and couldn't wait to go back. I hoped she'd wake up easily because she was excited to go, but she's just like me in the mornings. NOT a morning person and she'll go back to sleep if at all possible.

I could tell she was a little unsure about things at times, but for the most part she was excited about this new experience. When it was finally time for her class to walk from the lobby to their classroom, she practically bolted through the door. Her teacher had to take her hand to hold her back. Some of the other kids were crying or reluctant to leave their parents. Mine couldn't wait. It made me a little sad that I was more emotional about this than she was, but I was also proud. I raised her to be an independent, capable young woman and she proved it today.

I'm proud that my sometimes tempermental little girl impressed the preschool screeners enough that she was selected to be a typical peer role model for the integrated preschool program. I'm excited for all the lessons she'll learn there, whether they are typical preschool experiences or the result of attending school with children with special needs.

I hope she's still excited to go after the novelty wears off. I need all the help I can get with her in the mornings!

Favorite sounds

2010-07-24T15:18:00.000-04:00

Before I had children, my favorite sound to hear was a cat purring. It was such a peaceful and relaxing sound, and I still love hearing it.

After my daughter was born, the sound of my child laughing with delight became my favorite sound. I still love that sound oh so much, especially when it's a sweet little baby giggle.

There's another sound that I treasure and will miss when my baby is weaned. It's the peaceful, contented sound of my baby breathing restful breaths while taking soft rhythmic swallows. The attitude and sounds of pure contentment in my child helps me relax even after the most frustrating of days. Nursing gives us both an opportunity to step back from the world and relax and reconnect...at least when the baby is sleepy.

World Breastfeeding Week is coming up soon. This may be my last chance to celebrate it with a nursling and I'm a jumble of emotions when I think about the day my baby weans. And yes, he's my baby. At the same age, my daughter was a little girl, a toddler, etc. But her even more active little brother is probably my last baby and will remain my baby in my mind for some time.

Walking Tall

2010-06-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

Summer 2008

Summer 2010

Shoe deal!

2010-06-23T11:23:00.000-04:00

If you don't mind paying this way, this is a great opportunity to get shoes for cheap! Shoebuy gives free shipping, free returns, and they have more than just shoes. Offer expires July 4.

Gator's first shoes: We're in love.

2010-06-08T12:20:00.000-04:00

When we went to get Gator new shoes, I fell in love with Stride Rite's current prewalker line. The Calf, Cygnet, Eaglet, and other shoes have a super-flexible rubberized sole that allows the foot to move naturally while offering more protection than a leather sole. It felt like a natural step between the Robeez Gator had been wearing and a more traditional shoe.

We opted for the Stride Rite Calf sandal since it's warm and muggy at this time of year. The sandals look fine with socks for cooler days, but he usually wear them sockless and enjoys the super-soft leather against his feet. He likes them so much that he'll randomly bring them to us to put on his feet. (I try to be barefoot around the house most of the time, but the kids seem to have other ideas...)

Gator loves the extra traction these shoes give him. They make it easier to climb up slides and scale other things not meant for climbing. Have I mentioned this boy is a climber? He's a better climber than his sister, and she frequently struggles as she tries to imitate him.

I believe it's very important for children to have properly fitting shoes, especially for their first pair or two. The local Stride Rite was out of Gator's size in all colors and styles of these prewalkers, so I ordered online. I frequently order shoes for Violet, Superdork, and myself online. There are so many sites that give free shipping and free returns and other discounts, and I like being able to try things on in the comfort of my home. As opposed to watching my kids demolish a store's product display in under a minute.

I do get a kickback if you purchase something from these sites with these links, but they are sites I use and recommend even if I didn't get anything out of it. But of course, if you are going to purchase from them, I'm so grateful if you help a mama out...

Most of our purchases come from Shoebuy, but we shop Endless and other sites too.

Click here to save 10% off your purchase!

Sproing!

2010-06-02T18:02:00.000-04:00

Check out those curls!

Incredible!

2010-06-01T22:25:00.000-04:00

Superdork has been trying to convince me he should get a new phone. We both have Blackberry Storms, and while it's not the coolest, newest thing out there, it does what I need it to do and I'm content not spending more money on one. He wants an HTC Incredible, and I am intrigued by Android phones but not enough to want to pay for one. Isn't extending your contract enough? Well I just discovered that it is one place...the Incredible is just a penny on Amazon's new wireless site! Maybe my husband will get a new toy sooner than later. Maybe.

Look Who's Talking

2010-05-24T18:13:00.000-04:00

Gator has recently learned to say "baby" quite well and loves to point them out everywhere he can find them. He's also mastered "bye-bye" which comes out more like "buy-bye" and likes to wave when he says it. But when he waves, he closes his hand toward himself instead of the person he's waving at. It's still a wave, and it's still cute.

Just now, I gave him a few puffs to snack on, and he looked like he wanted more. I asked if he wanted more, and his affirmative noise came out "yeah". I poured out a few, and he said something that I think was intended to be "thank you".

We're pretty impressed by this guy...

I'm never gonna stop the rain by complaining

2010-05-24T14:53:00.002-04:00

We've been busy lately. I've been working part-time, Superdork has been working his usual crazy hours, Violet's being a typical terror/sweet/terror of a three-year-old, and Gator gets into EVERYTHING. I know I've said this before, but he keeps finding new ways to climb over things or squeeze into tight spots and explore things he should just leave alone. Like the trash can.

It's been raining a lot, giving Violet plenty of puddles to jump in. She was thrilled to finally get rain boots, and thanks to our rainy weather, got to wear them almost every day for two weeks. We'd picked out frog rain boots at Target, but they kept not having her size in stock. I had them in my cart for her when I checked out some clearance stuff. There were pretty flower rain boots 75% off near the garden section! Score! Mama loves a deal!

An abundance of "green" coupons

2010-05-05T15:26:00.000-04:00

It looks like these update every month! I was able to find many of the products at Giant Eagle, where they doubled the coupons under $1.00 for even more savings!
Earthfare Coupons

There are a lot of other couponing websites and blogs out there, including The Couponing Kellys and Proverbs 31 Chic and the many great resources that they link to!

Check out coupons.com (there's an ad at lower right) for printable coupons. You have the best selection at the beginning of the month!

Best Dressed or Worst Dressed List?

2010-05-03T23:32:00.001-04:00

A fun slice of life moment yesterday. She does crazy stuff; he toddles around adoringly. Sometimes she's thrilled with the interaction and other times she's annoyed. He quickly grew bored and she started "mothering" a baby doll while in her fancy outfit.

He's one!

2010-05-03T14:40:00.000-04:00

Birthday boy Gator. A whole year of growing hair, and that brush is still pretty much just a prop.

A year ago today...life was about to change, again.

2010-05-02T23:53:00.000-04:00

A year ago, I was sporting a rather large abdomen and full of questions about what my baby would be like. I was at the stage of pregnancy when you're uncomfortable enough that labor is starting to not sound so bad, but I could have procrastinated that part a little longer, I think. But someone had another idea...

What, your kid doesn't like to play hide and seek under your belly??

Yes, that freakish bump in the middle was my deformed belly button.

I'd been having contractions for weeks, and they were getting increasingly strong and frequent. If I was on my feet too long, I'd suddenly double over with pains shooting down my thighs. My midwives said those were probably contractions. And the baby was so very low, it felt like he'd drop out if I just squatted long enough. There was one night, a Wednesday I think, when my contractions were regular enough for an hour that I thought we might be having a baby the next day. Then they eased up, which was great, because I wasn't quite ready for him.

Thursday I had a checkup with one of my midwives. My blood pressure was high and she ordered PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension) labs. At 37.5 weeks, PIH or preeclampsia wouldn't be nice to have, but at least we could safely deliver the baby at that point. With my first pregnancy, I had PIH for a few weeks before being diagnosed with preeclampsia at 35.5 weeks and was hospitalized for close observation until they decided it was time to induce labor.

Friday I got my haircut and met with my doula. I'd initially thought I could do without since I'd done this before and had great midwives, but an excrutiating kidney stone gave me a reminder of what labor could be like and I rushed to get a doula lined up. Saturday we got a few things done for the baby's room...I think the crib went up. I was going to get my bag packed, but that got pushed off to Sunday. I was trying to enjoy the day with my daughter while she was my only child, and I wasn't feeling that well. I was crampy and starting to think a baby soon might not be so bad after all, because I wasn't sure how many days of that I could take. My stomach started bothering me as the day went on. I knew that could be a sign of impending labor, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I was prepared to go overdue to avoid another induction, as long as everyone was healthy.

I snuggled with my daughter at bedtime, and she went to bed in her room but joined us at some point during the night. I didn't feel great, but what woman who is 38 weeks pregnant does? I have acid reflux when not pregnant, and at that point I needed a complex mountain of pillows plus prescription medicine to make sleep somewhat possible. When Violet joined us, I was in a queen-sized bed with hubster on one side and her on the other. (He sometimes complained about Gator kicking him when he was trying to sleep. Try being right at the source. And having your bladder and other organs targeted. And you're complaining about some cute bumps?)

While I was scrunched in bed between my husband and my daughter, I awoke with an unusual sensation. Something was going on. My exact thought was, "Uh...I think my water broke."

Our Sunday was about to get a lot more eventful!

Earth Day Deals!

2010-04-22T13:26:00.002-04:00

Several blogs and retailers are offering specials to celebrate Earth Day today!

BABYLEGS: I just ordered some Babylegs for my little ones and for future gifting needs. There are currently three styles on sale for just $2 per pair! AND $1 from each purchase goes to The Nature Conservancy. I was able to order multiples of two $2 styles and splurged on a pair of their new cool, sun protecting legs for summer. (I hate slathering on chemical sunscreens ALL the time, but my pale kids need sun protection even if we'll be outside for a short time, so we're going to give these a try.) I got free shipping on my order, too! I'm not sure if there was a minimum purchase to get that, but I was pretty happy with that shipping price. You also can save 20% on regularly-priced organic products with coupon code "Organic". (Edited to add: My order shipped an hour and a half after it was confirmed! I'm super-impressed!)

LEAKY B@@B: The Leaky Boob is doing a special giveaway today! They usually do giveaways on Tuesdays, and have funny posts that breastfeeding (and breastfeeding-friendly) readers will appreciate. If you enter their contest, I'd appreciate it if you mentioned Anne @ The Violet Bee sent you...because then I get extra entries too!

AMAZON: Amazon always has a "Go Green" shop. Go Green with Amazon.com. They are promoting Earth Day today and the Planet Earth DVD collection is one of today's specials. I LOVE watching that.

I'm sure I'll find more to add, but as it is, I've had to stop and start several times, and I want to get these posted!

They're wearing cute planet-lover shirts, but you can't really see them here...

Computering

2010-04-19T13:29:00.000-04:00

We've been busy lately. Here's a random pic to tide you over until I sit down to do some more blogging. I have many photos, thoughts, and deals I want to share!

Walk like a man...

2010-03-27T15:20:00.001-04:00

My sweet baby Gator is now walking at least as much as he crawls. He's so proud of himself and fearless in his efforts and I can't help but share his excitement.

A fringe benefit of this acheivement is that he is still a slow, wobbly walker, which is a stark contrast to the turbo crawl he's perfected. I don't have to rush quite as fast to get him away from, say, the cat food dish or his sister's potty chair, unless he drops to a crawl. He'll often notice I'm coming after him and gleefully sprint on all fours.

I know he'll be running on two legs before I know it. I'm trying to enjoy this short-lived wobbly walker phase while it lasts. With my second child, I understand so much better just how fleeting some off these baby stages are. My snuggly mama's boy will be running off on his own adventures soon enough.

Overworked and underpaid

2010-03-26T11:16:00.000-04:00

Motherhood is a wonderful thing, but I often feel like my contributions are undervalued. Especially by my co-parent. Monetary income is not the only thing that keeps this household afloat, and replacing my nearly 24-7 availability and round-the-clock child care services would cost more than the hubster makes.

I parent all day, and yes I sometimes get to blog or go on Facebook, but I might be interrupted repeatedly. At the moment, I'm supervising siblings at play and ready to jump in any second if my referee commands aren't respected. My internet time usually happens when I'm nursing a baby or have someone asleep on/next to me and I don't want to risk waking them.

Superdork the dad-man gets spoiled when the babes are young and I'm their sole food source. When they start eating solids, he seems to forget that either one of us is equally capable of feeding them. And he has a major advantage when he does parent. Spending time with Daddy is a special thing and behavior is better when the kids, especially the toddler, are with someone they don't spend most of their waking hours with.

There are some days when I desperately want to do something as simple as use the bathroom without having repeated interruptions. I can tell I'm desperately in need of a break when I do things like go to a doctor's appointment and love having the time to myself.

So, how do I go about negotiating some vacation days from this motherhood job? I'll settle for a real meal break or some personal time on a regular basis.

She's growing up so fast...

2010-03-19T16:06:00.000-04:00

Little Miss Violet has a lot of crazy toddler moments and frequently imitates her baby brother, but whether I like it or not, she is growing up. I'm happy about that, for the most part, but I suspect I'll be sending her off to kindergarten in a virtual blink of an eye.

She's wearing panties most of the time now. She's still horribly intimidated by public potties, unless they are low child-size ones, but she has pretty good holding capacity. We're very proud of her, and she's very proud of herself, for her potty capabilities. It wasn't that long ago that we were wondering if she'd ever decide to use the potty instead of a diaper. It's a relief that she is potty training, because it's a prerequisite for preschool in the fall.

And preschool...oh, I was going to do a post on it, but I have such a jumble of emotions about sending my little girl off to school that I might save that for later. We are weighing two preschool options at the moment. One is supposed to be a very good program that is hard to get into, but it seems like it might be a lot of preschool for a three year old. I think she'd enjoy it and my hesitations to send her four days a week are probably more about me than her. If she goes when she's three, she's guaranteed a spot when she's four, and we'd love for her to be in this program when she's four.

We've been weighing pros and cons of both programs, and a lot of the differences between then have advantages and disadvantages to them. I don't have a gut feeling about which would be better for her, maybe because my gut is confused by my brain. We weighed several options for traditional two-day preschool programs and I felt very good about the one we chose. But then my little girl was accepted as a typical peer role model at the public school's integrated preschool. The screening period is very short and I was pleasantly surprised that she impressed them while she was there, because she was in quite a mood before we left home that day. She loves new experiences and interacting with other children, which is why ten hours of preschool a week rather than four might be harder on me than on her.

Not this time.

2010-03-14T23:59:00.000-04:00

"Daddy, did you have a baby?"

You've got to love toddler logic. The last time Violet had a parent in the hospital overnight, she had a new baby brother. She kept wondering if Daddy was going to bring a baby home.

She's been very sweet and concerned about her daddy and is so glad he was home to read a story tonight. She has become such a daddy's girl.

The silly girl last week.

What a crazy weekend

2010-03-14T17:28:00.001-04:00

Gator's walking in short spurts and is so proud of himself. His eighth tooth just cut through and is still bothering him. He's been lunging at me and biting as I tried to start this blog. A change of venue was required so I could continue without bite marks all over.

My husband, who almost never gets sick, was up pretty much all night Friday night (and kept me up too). He felt awful. When he was going on 12 hours of misery, we got him some medical help. It was a good thing we did, because he had appendicitis. He went from feeling perfectly fine one day to recovering from surgery less than 24 hours later. The workaholic is off work for a week and on other restrictions. We'll see how this goes...

Milestones

2010-03-09T23:54:00.000-05:00

My little diva is three years old now. She dressed up on her birthday as we prepped for her party the next day.

We registered her for preschool next year and something about that seems so grown up. She'll be headed off to kindergarten before I know it. And while I look forward to the break from parenting while they are being educated and enriched elsewhere, and she drives me nuts on an almost daily basis, I have a feeling it won't be long before I'm looking back on these days wistfully.

Gator is spending more and more time on his feet. I saw him take a real step for the first time on Violet's birthday. He's repeated the feat several times since then and is practicing standing for longer and longer times. I think he's challenging himself to see how long he can stay balanced.

Today he took three steps! My little boy will be walking before I know it. It seems like he's growing up so fast.

Recent knitting (and Gator the frogger)

2010-03-06T23:29:00.000-05:00

This is my primary project at the moment. I was intrigued by a neckwrap pattern in brioche rib and decided to learn it. I was lost after reading a few ways of writing the pattern out, but after watching a video on youtube several times, I got a satisfactory result. I'd love to try this pattern with the right yarn. Which would be something a lot bulkier than what I have, and a color variation that works well with the stitch.

I love having a project that is easy to pick up and put back down after a row or two if needed, or even put down mid-row when needed, without horribly messing up the project. I've messed up the stitch in several places when loops slipped off my needle, etc. and I haven't figured out how to get them back on correctly. With the exception of one spot where I got really mixed up, the mistakes are small and show it's handmade. If I wanted something flawless and uniform, I could buy something made by a machine. At least that's what I tell myself when it's too late to easily fix a mistake.

My sweet little boy LOVES to play with my yarn. And socks, his sister's leggings, and other things he can hold with both hands and raise above his head, behind his head, and wave all around. One of the wonderful things about using circular needles when you're not knitting i the round is all that extra cable to scrunch your project down on in case a little frogger gets ahold of it. Gator was having so much fun with this colorful yarn that I grabbed my camera instead of stopping him when he grabbed my yarn yet again. After a lot of detangling, my yarn is neatly wrapped into a much less tempting ball, and I have some very cute pictures of my little guy. One happens to show the work in progress, so I can show it to you here.

Gator did get his hands on an embossed heart square I knitted on Valentine's Day and hadn't tied off yet. I don't care how you're supposed to do it...I have to put knots in when I finish a project with the little undoers that live here. It's a good thing I wasn't all that excited by that project when I was done, because he ripped out enough of it that it was a lost cause.

Violet hasn't really frogged a project yet, but she likes to pretend she's a frog. She jumps around and says "RIBBIT! RIBBIT!" and yes, I'm using caps to yell, because she does.

Anyhow, one of the reasons I started this blog post...I just found patterns for alligator scarves and I will have to knit one for my Gator to wear when he is older. He doesn't have much of a neck now, so I have a year or two. Maybe I'll purchase the pattern and work on it over the summer. Or next year. Or sometime when I have time to tackle something complicated. Thanks to Ravelry, I have some ideas for which yarns to use and not use and a few pattern modifications I might want to make.

Gator in a gator scarf. I think it will be so cute! He has just enough gator stuff for it to be fun without getting old.

Gotta love that imagination...

2010-03-01T10:59:00.001-05:00

Violet was using the potty, and she likes a little privacy for that. I checked on her and was overwhelmed by the stench. She informed me she'd done a "big dinosaur poop".

Later, as we washed her hands, she sang a song that went something like "I made a dinosaur poop," repeated several times.

She also loves to look at the poop in her BABYBJÖRN Potty Chair - Blue and announce what she thinks it looks like. Today she decided it was a fish.

When she's not stretching my patience to the point of snapping, this kid can be a lot of fun.

We've been busy.

2010-02-02T00:41:00.000-05:00

Violet up and decided to start using the potty around mid-January went from almost never using it to almost always using it within days. I figured that would be how she'd do it, because that's how she is with skills, but still, it felt like she was never going to start using the potty regularly. It's very exciting, but it's a pain at the same time. She has some really interesting timing and will insist she doesn't have to go, then have to go RIGHT NOW when I'm in the middle of something.

Toddler ink (potty rewards)

Gator gets into EVERYTHING. He is a fast crawler and turning into more of an extreme crawler every day, climbing over, into, onto, and through things. He can stand up in the middle of the room and others have seen him try to take a step, but for the most part he's happy with his current locomotion. And with the exception of a recent bout with croup that had him pretty miserable, he's a fairly happy, social guy.

He thinks it's great fun to crawl through the cat gate in the extra-tall baby gate. He'll go back and forth through it for some time...or he'll make a beeline for the trash can or cat food.

We've been busy with some major decluttering/organizing/fixing up the house, and a variety of other personal goals. So much has happened in the children's lives in the past month, and I'm a bit disappointed with myself for not blogging about it more. Because you know mama uses this as a cheat when she forgets to write things in the baby book...and it's fun to look back on the past. I'm hoping to squeeze in a lot more blog posts soon!

He doesn't want to eat what babies should eat...

2010-01-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

Mmm, ribbon!

My baby boy is an interesting guy. He's at that age where EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. As his horizons widen, he's actually EATING more of the things he chews on. Sometimes I feel like a forensic scientist when I change his diaper. What on earth did Gator eat?!

So far, he loves to chew (and swallow) all sorts of paper products. Kleenex is a favorite, but paper towels and any sort of paper or cardboard are popular choices as well. If only he'd eat real food with the gusto that he gives tissues.

Like his sister, he will happily sample dry cat food. Unlike his sister, but like the obese kitty that used to live with us, he doesn't discriminate against predigested cat food. That's right. I nearly threw up yesterday as I was trying to get the cat puke off his face and out of his mouth.

And then I wonder why I am being so selective about what people foods I give him? Maybe I should say to heck with allergies, this kid will eat any sort of weird thing he can get in his mouth.

The list of foods he has eaten is an atypical mixture of things we've deliberately given him and things his sister left laying around. I think we may go straight to table foods and skip more purees, since he's far more interested in bigger people food.

He's eight months old today. I'm another year old. His milestone feels a bit more exciting to me at the moment.

Christmas Eve Standup

2009-12-30T20:27:00.000-05:00

It's going to be a Little People Christmas

2009-12-19T21:21:00.002-05:00

Too bad Target was sold out of the nativity set by the time it went on sale for half price...

I've been a savvy shopper and managed to get my kids several Fisher-Price Little People items for an average of half the retail price. These are some of my daughter's favorite toys and have been for years, and my son enjoys them too.

My latest scores included the following, both about $6 on Amazon instead of the retail price of $17.99. The SUV was a Lightning Deal in toys and is now a little more but still far below retail. And the tractor set has been deeply discounted for days!

Just finished Finger Lickin' Fiften

2009-12-19T21:08:00.002-05:00

I recently finished the most recent Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich. I always enjoy the books in this series, but this one didn't provide as much satisfaction as previous ones. I may just be too picky about books these days since I have so little time to read. Finger Lickin' Fifteen was an enjoyable read, but didn't leave me sad that I have to wait to read the next Plum novel.

The next time we have a car trip or I otherwise think I'll have more time to read, I plan on picking up Plum Spooky (A Between-the-Numbers Novel)from the library.

The fifteenth novel may not have excited me as much as previous ones, but if you haven't discovered these books yet, I highly recommend them. They are fun, irreverent mysteries featuring a bumbling Jersey girl who finds herself working as a bounty hunter. She bounces back and forth between the two main men in her life, Morelli and Ranger, and has an entertaining supporting cast of characters.

Amazon toy deals!

2009-12-13T15:42:00.004-05:00

Amazon has been running some great buys on toys. Last year I got so many last-minute deals, online and off, that I held a few things back for birthday.

Keep checking their Lightning Deals page. You can preview the items that will be further discounted later in the day. Today seems to have some extra-good deals, and they are selling out especially fast.

That page highlights several other Amazon specials. Of special interest to me was the deep discounts on several items with Frustration-Free Packaging. I'm a huge fan of this packaging for gifts for my own children because the number of wire ties and tape used on some toy packages is pretty ridiculous. It can be quite a project to open them, and there are more dangerous little things to keep away from the baby, and there is a lot more packaging waste. The box isn't as shiny and pretty and made for nice display in a store, so it might not go over as well in some gift situations, but I will choose this packaging over the regular packaging every chance I get when buying for myself.

P.S. If you read my recent post about Sophie the Giraffe, she was one of yesterday's lightning deals and I gave in to temptation. I'll review her after she's been well chomped by Gator!

Muh muh

2009-12-13T01:06:00.004-05:00

"Muh muh." That's, me, apparently. Or it means, "I want to nurse!"

I've recently realized that when Gator is following me around persistently, he says mmmmmm mmmmmm or muh muh. When he's that fixated on me, he usually wants to nurse. Luckily for him, Mama and nursing come in one warm package.

One of the interesting things about breastfeeding is you can't ever tell for sure how much your baby wanted to see you because he was hungry and how much was because he needed a mommy fix. It's such a special relationship that gives bonding and nourishment. Not that bottle-feeding mommies don't bond, but the bonding when you're feeding with a bottle is different from the bond while nursing. At least that's what my hormones tell me when my baby is suckling away, getting so much nourishment and comfort from such a simple act. I've had to feed my other baby expressed milk as a newborn who couldn't nurse, and the hormonal response from pumping and bottlefeeding is just not the same as the pure and simple act of breastfeeding.

Gator is so much more of a mama's boy than I remember his sister being. I'm sure part of that is because others can fulfill her needs as well as I can, but only I could feed him for a while, so we were pretty inseparable.

Violet's first word was "da" and everything was some variation or inflection of "da" or "da da". It really makes me smile that Gator seems to be choosing mommy as his first word to tackle.

Gender Confused Super Why

2009-12-10T21:18:00.005-05:00

At left, Princess Presto. At right, Super Why. So she says.

My daughter has dubbed one of her Little People figures "Super Why". She named the girl with glasses Super Why before she'd even seen the PBS Kids show, but saw a promo after one of her other PBS shows. Apparently, the glasses look enough like a superhero mask to her.

Later, the African-American figure was dubbed "Princess Presto". Even though the only resemblance I can see is their skin tone.

The figures do have a bit of gender ambiguity, and I appreciate her imagination, but she seems very confused about which ones are boys and girls. Very confused indeed. But we're playing along and help her find Princess Presto and Super Why when she needs to locate her "friends".

In case you want your own Super Why and Princess Presto, I found out their real names are Maggie and Michael, and you can find them here: Fisher Price Little People Michael, Dog & Maggie Figure Set

Sophie's on sale

2009-12-07T17:58:00.003-05:00

I think I'm still too cheap to spring for Sophie the Giraffe for my baby, but I'm reading all sorts of wonderful things about it in my forums. If you're shopping for Sophie, I noticed that she's currently $5 off on Amazon, and it's eligible for free super-saver shipping when you spend $25. I always find something to up my order, even if it's just stocking up on cat scratcher refills or toiletries.

Tantrum

2009-12-06T23:32:00.001-05:00

It's amazing how quickly a tired toddler can erupt into screams and tears.

Christmas Morning Preview

2009-12-03T18:07:00.004-05:00

My order from The Children's Place arrived this afternoon and the kiddos tried on their fleece PJs. Violet's is a two-piece and Gator's is a one-piece sleeper that seems to fit narrower than the 12-month ones he has from Carter's. His torso is long enough that a 9 month size would fit him so very briefly, but if the sleeper is too wide, he pulls his short legs up in it. I'm only putting the kids in coordinating jammies, but if you want to put the whole family in this winter design, they have sizes infant through adult.

TCP had a sale that included free shipping on Thanksgiving, and I had an extra coupon, so I ordered a few things from the website.

Gator looks absolutely adorable in the preppy little clothes I got for him. I've always loved the way my babies look in a polo onesie. He got a few of those, some corduroy pants, a striped button-up shirt, and an adorable little vest. It has green, charcoal, black, and ivory stripes and will look oh-so-cute for Christmas and other days. Now I just have to pick up something special for his sister to wear for Christmas...but I usually wait til the last minute and pick up something cute on clearance for her.

Free bear from Amazon & Christmas shopping

2009-12-02T13:54:00.004-05:00

See this cutie? Don't let that listed price scare you. He's FREE when you purchase $75 worth of qualifying toys on Amazon. I was shopping and saw he was an optional extra for some of the things I was looking at. Things like that toy next to him below...

Someone asked if I thought Violet would like the Color Me a Song. I'm not sure about it. Do any of my readers have experience with this? I'm worried that it might be a bit too basic for her current coloring skills...and that it might be incredibly annoying. We already hear the scratch scratch scratch of the stylus for her magnadoodles all day. (OK, it's the generic knock-off that makes more of a scratchy sound than the name brand ones.)

I think the GloDoodle will be more her speed...but would she like the Color Me a Song too?

Two Toofers

2009-11-30T22:49:00.002-05:00

Bad Santa Photos

2009-11-30T16:29:00.002-05:00

Check out the Bad Santa photos on Ellen's site.

I wish my friend Ashley had a blog or someplace else I could share the gem she got this weekend.

I'm a big fan of this Santa photo that stars the subjects of one of my favorite blogs.

By the way, if you're in need of a really powerful photo sharing site, I'm a big fan of smugmug.com. If you've ever thought of trying them out, they have a free trial, and you can get $5 off your subscription with the code OBy4LHf0S0dqQ.

Cyber Monday

2009-11-30T15:27:00.002-05:00

Amazon is having great Cyber Monday deals...keep checking the gold box and other specials, because they keep changing! The deals aren't just for Black Friday...

A LOT of sites I shop regularly or receive promotional emails from are having specials today. It's worth the time to check out sites you shop to see if they have any specials! It's also a good idea to subscribe to emails from sites you might want to purchase from. I get a lot of promo codes and sale notifications in my email. I have an account I use primarily for that purpose, so I'm not constantly getting promo emails in my more important accounts.

Sick of Sick

2009-11-26T11:20:00.005-05:00

November has been a rough month for our family. It seems like someone has been at least slightly sick the entire month. I'm finally getting a little energy back after being stricken with mastitis. The last time I had it, Gator was six weeks old and was content to lay in bed with me a lot. Not this time. Violet got to watch a lot more TV than usual and I still didn't rest as much as I should have. At one point I had both kids climbing all over me in bed because I just didn't have the energy to stay vertical any longer.

It's so hard being a mom when you're sick. It was actually easier when we were all sick with a cold, because they didn't have as much energy either and were happy to lay in bed and cuddle with me. When I was exhausted from mastitis and knew the best treatment was rest, Violet was bouncing off walls and Gator wasn't much better.

He's a very busy boy these days and isn't content to crawl around the living room. Instead he's taking off down the hallway or following me into the kitchen like a puppy dog. He can pull up on Violet's Play Tableand swipe her snacks or crayons off of it. That used to be where we told her to put things so he wouldn't put them in his mouth. He cruises along the table with ease now. He's just started to swipe things off the couch, too, which was my spot to put things out of his reach. Time for another phase of babyproofing and decluttering. I'd include a picture of his cute face, but apparently I've been so busy and tired lately, I've barely used my camera in the last few weeks. If you know me, you know that means it's been rough.

Not Funny

2009-11-26T11:16:00.002-05:00

This morning, Gator was nuzzling around as if he wanted to nurse. When given the opportunity, he bit me. Hard. I yelped in surprise and pain. He laughed out loud. And was cut off from nursies for a while. I guess he was just looking for something to chew on. My sensitive body parts don't make good chew toys.

Crazy Crawler

2009-11-20T20:58:00.004-05:00

Gator has reached the stage where he's no longer content to amble around the living room and he's started taking off down the hall. I move things around to hopefully distract or block him, but he's a boy on a mission.

He's also cruising back and forth a bit while holding on to low surfaces. He's too short to cruise along the couch like most babies do. That's what happens when you start being so mobile so crazy early.

I enjoyed it when he was happy crawling back and forth across the room. It was nice while it lasted. He's crawling faster and faster. How is he growing up so fast??

The "baby" tag I'm putting on this post seems less and less appropriate.

Morning Mayhem

2009-11-15T20:04:00.002-05:00

Kitty Cat Love

2009-11-15T19:53:00.004-05:00

We have a very happy kitty tonight. We went to a wonderful local cat boutique and found him a Kickeroo that I knew he would love. We used to have cat body pillows, infused with catnip, and he loved those very much. The pillows are fun to wrap his front legs around and kick at with his hind legs, and then when he's worn out from playing, he lays his head on the pillow.

Now we know that Kong makes a product similar to the homemade ones my kitty used to enjoy. And...they are available online for a price that is very reasonable for the joy they instill in my cat.

My boy is enjoying his tiger pattern toy, which was the only option we saw. I see that Kong has three prints, and the price on Amazon varies slightly, if you're not partial to a particular one.

Cloudy Swirls Hat

2009-11-13T13:29:00.003-05:00

Mom would you put down the camera and pick me up?

I used Angel Hair yarn in a light blue with shades of blue, beige, and ivory. I wanted to play with diagonal stripes in the round. Overall, I like how it turned out, and I'd like to modify the design and used things I learned on this to make some other hats. I didn't trim my ends yet, as you might have noticed, and my photography skills are far better than this, but better to take a fast photo than add it to my list of projects that I haven't photographed.

Do you think the spirals are better for just more girl-centric hats? I'm not sure about this on my boy.

Boo! (better late than never)

2009-11-13T12:45:00.004-05:00

Nearly 70 degrees the night before Halloween. Violet was excited to be a skeleton with Gator. Gotta love deeply discounted last-minute Halloween gear purchases and reusing things we already owned. I spent less than $10 on two outfits for him and a tiara for her.

Trick-or-treating in the mei tai. I zipped the bottom of my hoodie around him and had flashbacks to being largely pregnant.

There's a princess outfit under there. She wanted to wear a pretty yellow dress, and lucky us, she could still squeeze into the yellow dress she wore the past two Easters. Temps were in the 40s on Halloween night.

My cutie-pie was ready to play after a great nap in the carrier. His orange sweatpants and jack-o-lantern hoodie were super-comfy.

Six months going on two years

2009-11-10T23:44:00.005-05:00

Gator is busy with some of the usual six-month old things, like cutting his first tooth this morning. (Finally!) He's also getting a little bit of hair after spending most of his life as a virtual baldie.

It doesn't seem to have occurred to him that he's supposed to be a baby and not doing all the things his big sister does. He's crawling all over the place, pulling himself up on things, and going through walking motions when he gets the chance. Wow. He continually amazes us.

At his six-month checkup this week, he was 26.5" and 16 lb. 1 oz. Much of his height is torso. He needs 9 month or 12 month sizes in sleepers and onesies but 6 month pants fit great and 3 month pants aren't that short. Dressing him was much easier when he was in short sleeves.

He spends a lot of time crawling back and forth across the rug, playing with things here and there and everywhere. He'll chew on anything he can get his hands on. Things like the cat's tail, shoes left laying around, and a shoe that's trying to stop him from licking the cat. That's what I get for pausing to take a picture of his cat attack.

Happy 40th Birthday, Sesame Street!

2009-11-10T22:31:00.005-05:00

My daughter's FAVORITE show is officially over the hill, but it is as fresh and educational as ever. Elmo, Rosita, Zoe, and Abby have all been added since I grew too old to watch it.

Elmo gets a little old sometimes, and his silly songs, along with other songs from the show, pop into my head far too often. But as far as kids' shows go, it's one of my favorites. It's not nearly as annoying as many shows are, there are no commercials to get my child excited about the season's hot toys, and it's full of educational content. My daughter has learned a lot from the show, and it's inspired great educational conversations for all of us.

Elmo and Rosita were on the Jimmy Fallon show, along with a book that looks pretty cool. I have a feeling this will be under our Christmas tree...for the young Sesame Street fanatic, and for her parents who also have fond memories of Cookie Monster, The Count, Big Bird, Grover, and the rest of the gang. We just might spring for the DVD with five hours of classic moments from the show, too.

The book is almost half off retail as I type this...

It's what all the modern super heros wear

2009-11-08T21:53:00.002-05:00

The creativity of my 2.5 year old continually surprises me. She is enacting all sorts of interesting scenarios with herself, her dolls, stuffed animals, and lately, imaginary objects and beings.

Joey Man continues to be a beloved toy in our house. Yesterday's outfit really made me grin. Check out his superhero mask (I think she thinks it's sunglasses?), "police station" shirt, pirate skirt-ish wrap that is upside down, and the fetching blue superhero boots. He was ready to defend and protect the city, because that's what all police officers wear, right?

Get up, stand up

2009-11-07T12:58:00.003-05:00

Gator is spending a lot of time on his knees, with just light support. He can stand with lessening support, as well.

And he pushes/pulls himself to standing on all sorts of objects. Yesterday he did a sideways walk while leaning against something. Wow.

Have I mentioned he just turned six months old this week?

He's drooling like crazy and has a tooth just under the gum, ready to break through any day now. Sometimes we just throw on whatever random onesie around the house, and plan on changing it in an hour rather than putting a bib on that he will just rip off. So he was wearing a little bit odder outfit than usual for a day hanging out at home.

Babies, Briefly

2009-11-03T23:03:00.005-05:00

Exactly six months ago, I was marveling at how tiny my little boy was, and how quiet his cries and little sounds were compared to those of a two year old. I was thrilled that he took to nursing right away, proud and enjoying the hormone rush from a natural childbirth, and of course sore and tired.

At six months old, my little overachiever is crawling all over the place, sitting up by himself for long periods of time, and pulling himself to a semi-standing position when he has something to lean on that is shorter than he is.

He's talking in his own little way, making strings of varied sounds. He likes to sputter and blow bubbles and spent much of yesterday spitting on me, thrilled with his new talent. Thank goodness he's somewhat bored by spitting already and has moved on to other discoveries.

Big sis can sing a variety of songs, including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and the alphabet song. She also does Where is Thumbkin and a few others she learned at story group at the library. She doesn't know the songs perfectly, but knows some of them better than I do...

She had her most intelligent phone conversation to date with me today. She was telling me about her trip to the zoo with her grandpa. There was one animal that I couldn't figure out, but it sounded kind of like walrus. Turns out she was calling the jaguar a "jagwalrus". Grandpa was saying it kind of like jag-wyer and she apparently thought he was saying jag-walrus.

It seems like my babies are turning into children so fast. They are learning new things every day. My heart swells with pride at their achievements, but at the same time, it makes me sad to see the baby days being left in their wakes.

Crayon Fun

2009-10-29T15:39:00.002-04:00

I think this is going on my Christmas shopping list. One reason is because I think it will be fun for me to play with too. Never underestimate the importance of your children having toys that don't drive you bonkers to hear or play along with.

The Crayola Crayon Maker appeals to my thrifty side because we have so many little pieces of crayon that are too short for a toddler to use but wasteful to throw away. I love Crayola Mini Twistables Crayons because they don't get instantly broken in half, but my clever child has still figured out how to extract the crayon portion and break them when she's in a mood.

I like the Crayon Maker for artistic reasons as well. I love the color effects created by Crayola True to Life Crayons and the Crayon Maker will allow us to make our own color blends.

Violet has a few years to go before she meets the minimum age guideline for this toy. But I'm plenty old enough and think this could be a fun project for us to do over and over.

Or we could DIY it and melt them down into chunky crayons ourselves. I think they are far more likely to be used with the familiar crayon shape, though, and apparently you can watch the melting magic with the Crayon Maker.

Creativity is a good thing.

2009-10-29T14:39:00.003-04:00

My daughter built a hippopotamus out of blocks today.

You don't see it?

Neither do I. Even as she pointed out features. She may be pointing to an eye.

I may not recognize the various things she builds, but I'm thrilled that she has the imagination and creativity to do this.

By the way, those blocks are puzzle cubes my brother brought back from Germany for her. Each side is part of a different picture. At this age, she enjoys them more as blocks.

Room with a View

2009-10-29T13:09:00.003-04:00

"They're working on my road."

Further play-by-play ensued as the trucks and workers did interesting things outside. Meanwhile, the baby who sleeps through all sorts of toddler screams and mayhem was very disturbed by the rumbling truck noises outside. But he finally fell asleep, and Violet enjoyed some one-on-one time with Mommy and loved having her picture taken while she played in creative ways.

Changing Views

2009-10-27T19:05:00.003-04:00

I need to get used to seeing Gator sitting up every chance he gets. The way he's going, he'll be standing up and looking at me soon. He managed to pull himself up on something earlier today. His mama is not ready for this. Not that it will slow him down.

Slow down, you move too fast

2009-10-27T10:42:00.004-04:00

Gator is almost six months old and seems so much older every day. That picture on the left was taken a week and a half ago, and I see him looking like a baby less and less.

He doesn't spend much time laying down to play now. If he's not crawling, he's sitting up and enjoying the higher vantage point as he plays.

I still do double takes sometimes when I see him sitting up. In the wee hours of the morning, this sleep-deprived mama had a "who is that?" moment when I found a child sitting in the crib and calling for me.

This stage and new discoveries and abilities is a fun one, but it makes me sort of sad to see our baby days slipping away so quickly.

I'm finding myself feeling sentimental about little things, like the fact that I need to buy some size 4 diapers for nighttime. Size 4! Violet was in 3s for a lot longer than this. I was reading an older blog post and realized he's only been in the 3s for two months! It's not my imagination...this kid is flying through babyhood.

2009-10-21T12:54:00.004-04:00

Why didn't I check Amazon before the local craft chain stores? It's much cheaper to get a nice assortment of knitting needles on there.

I'd love to get some 12" circulars for knitting little hats...maybe I can get my mom to split a set with me. The bamboo needles really are nicer than metal ones, but I'm hesitant to get too many sets.

So far, I'm finding knitting hats to be very relaxing. Something about the circular needles makes it even more so. I never have to change the needle from one hand to another...just knit knit knit. Earlier this week, the kids were driving me NUTS. So I set them each up with activities and sat and knit while I kept an eye on them and chilled out a little. It was good for all of us.

What a difference a year and a half makes...

2009-10-21T12:25:00.006-04:00

April 2008

October 2009

She looks a lot different, but she's still in love with that dog.

When it comes to anatomy, she's nuts.

2009-10-21T11:42:00.003-04:00

For many months, Violet's pronunciation of "peanuts" has sounded a lot like a part of the male anatomy. It's always nice to hear what sounds like "I want penis!" from your toddler.

Last night, she and Gator were in the tub and she finally looked at his crotch and asked "What's that?" I told her it was his penis, and she said, "Penis? I put penis in my nose!"

Huh?

Remember my post about the pumpkin seed up her nose? I guess she tried putting some nuts up there too. And I guess she can't discern the difference between "peanuts" and "penis". Some very funny talk ensued.

Then she went to her usual contrary mood and insisted that she had a penis and her brother had a vagina. It does fit with her insistence that she is a boy and he is a girl...

Discovering Food

2009-10-20T01:08:00.003-04:00

His: Today, Gator had his first meal that included something other than breastmilk. He seemed to enjoy the mushed up bits of banana that I put on my finger.

He's been showing more and more signs of readiness, and as much as I don't want my little baby to grow up so fast and I prefer less-complicated mealtimes, in the past week or so it's become obvious that he's really ready, and I didn't want to hold him back too long.

I have a feeling his sister will let him sample things long before I'd like him to. We've spent almost six months telling her that he just drinks milk, and now he's trying something else.

Hers: Earlier in the day, Violet was enjoying a bowl of trail mix at her little table in the living room. She told me she had something in her nose and came over for me to help. Usually this means a booger is bothering her. I didn't see anything, but she insisted there was something in her nose. After a few tries, she finally blew hard enough to expel a PUMPKIN SEED in the tissue.

From what she tells me, apparently she put it up there on purpose. I guess it's not enough that she sticks her fingers up her nose all the time. The stuck seed seemed to shake her up a little, so hopefully she'll stop subjecting her nostrils to intruders.

Violet Wanderer

2009-10-18T18:27:00.005-04:00

Violet's a big fan of the hat I just knitted for her. It's my second hat, and I'm still a beginning knitter, but I'm enjoying it so far. I need to perfect how and when to start reducing at the top. I'm not sure that the pom pom is the best way to top off the hat, but it needed something.

I think I'll call this general design The Wanderer. It was a free-form design with sections of different stitches as the mood struck me. I really enjoyed working with some different stitches without having to pay a lot of attention to how many times I knitted or purled or what I was supposed to be doing on a certain row. Keeping to a pattern with little ones around isn't always easy, but I get bored just knitting the whole time.

I have some other ideas for things I want to try, and I need to work on perfecting my sizing for my little girl, and get some double-pointed needles or shorter round needles if I want to make much for the baby without driving myself nuts constantly moving the stitches around on my 16" round needles.

Interesting expression, eh?

Baby Sitter

2009-10-18T14:28:00.005-04:00

Gator has progressed from a tripod sit to sitting without his arms as support, for brief periods. I happened to have my camera handy when I saw him doing it for the first time yesterday morning.

At 5.5 months old, he's getting more and more efficient with his version of crawling. He can do a traditional crawl for a few steps, then goes to his modified version that works so well for him.

No teeth yet, but they have got to be close. He chomps on anything he can get his hands on. Including his toes. I really need to get a photo of that, because it's pretty funny, and he'll probably stop as soon as a tooth pops through. He crawled over and chomped on my toe yesterday, and that did not feel good. The kid has some strong jaws!

Violet's jealous furies have increased now that he is touching more and more of her stuff. We're attempting to use this as an incentive to keep her toys picked up, with mixed results. We're also working on SHARING. It's fine when she doesn't want him to play with something he shouldn't have. Not fine when she lays claim to infant toys.

Books, Booties, and Boogies

2009-10-04T06:30:00.004-04:00

This morning, Gator had a very happy reunion with his toes during a diaper change. There have been many such joyous events since fall scared summer away and footed sleepers became a necessity. Seeing his smiles come so easily brings me great joy.

He had a not-so-happy reunion with the hospital nasal syringe, a.k.a. the Yucker Sucker. Poor little guy was snuffly all night and we had a night like we had when he was brand new and needed to nurse constantly and needed a lot of extra soothing to rest. It's amazing how quickly your body adjusts to getting just a little more sleep, making it that much harder to backtrack.

We had a fun day yesterday that included some great time with friends. Violet wasn't as interested in the little boy her age as she was in his baby brother. That baby is about six weeks older than her baby brother and just a little more interactive in a way she likes. For instance, he can sit up! She loved that.

We enjoyed seeing the Usborne Books and have a few in mind for Christmas and birthday gifts for Ms. Violet. I'm considering doing a home party and/or e-show, so if you're interested in seeing more or thinking of buying any for your kids (or mine), let me know. I really enjoyed seeing the books in person and they were a nice combination of quality and affordability.

One thing that really caught my eye was the Box of Bugs puzzle set (unless someone's tastes change more to fairies before I order it.) Violet loves things that come in neat little storage boxes with handles, plus the puzzles are just perfect for her age. We were also impressed to see a new baby book that depicted our postpartum life much more closely than many books do. Mama didn't suddenly look thin after having a baby, and she was breastfeeding. Yay, Usborne!

Green Crafts!

2009-10-01T13:10:00.003-04:00

I've always loved the upcycled creations my friend Devona makes and sells on etsy (that's just her latest store). She and another creative lady have an amazing blog, Clever Nesting, that is full of great tips, ideas, and tutorials..

Two great things I just learned about from them that I can't wait to try out...

Use pretty kerchiefs or scraps of fabric as reusable gift wrap, and learn pretty ways to wrap and tie them here. I love using reusable gift packaging, and this is such a simple solution and can give temporary use to those wonderful pieces of fabric that haven't found their purpose yet.

And I can't wait to try crocheting tiny flowers to use on hair bows and other craft projects for my little darling. And because I have LOTS of embroidery floss from back in the day when knotted friendship bracelets were all the rage, I don't even need to buy yarn! Just a small crochet hook, unless I manage to find the one I know I once owned...but the need to corral stray craft supplies is another post altogether...

Eep!

2009-10-01T09:16:00.003-04:00

Violet picked up Gator. She was doing surprisingly well with it, even though he weighs just 10 pounds or so less than her. She kept lifting him higher and higher. Right before I flew over there to intervene, she finally listened to me and put him down.

She lifted her arms from under his and dropped him on the laminate floor!

Fortunately, he was more scared than hurt, but OMG!

And now I know it can be more dangerous to have her suddenly stop something she's doing that she shouldn't be than to let it continue a moment longer until I'm there to assist.

Melissa & Doug Deals!

2009-09-30T11:34:00.003-04:00

Some of you know how much we love Melissa & Doug toys. A friend just alerted me that Amazon.com currently has their play kitchen at a significant discount! It's usually $250, but right now it's almost $100 off, and you get free shipping! There's no telling how long Amazon will keep it at this low price, so if you are thinking of getting one of these for Christmas and can swing the purchase now, I'd go for it!

If you're going to buy these or other items on Amazon, it helps me if you start shopping from one of my links!
This play kitchen doesn't come with accessories, but you can add your own play food and accessories from M&D or whomever you like. The pots and pans are pretty cute, but I'm really a fan of the sandwich-making set. Maybe this year Santa will get that for Violet...she's played with it at a store and loves it!

Ooh, Amazon seems to have almost everything M&D on sale right now! Including these magnetic dress-up dolls that I hadn't seen before. Violet LOVES the one she has, and this includes two girls to mix and match. I wonder if I could use these as a potty-training bribe. One more piece of clothing for each time she uses the potty? Or would it be yet another failed bribe that got her interest but didn't produce results...

Two dolls in one set! And our beloved "Joey Man"
P.S. Not a M&D fan or just looking for something else? I love the look of this red play kitchen, and it's currently $25 less than the M&D, and seems to come with accessories. Please read the description and reviews more carefully than I just did before making your final decision ;) KidKraft Red Vintage Kitchen

Oh, the Places You'll Go

2009-09-28T10:39:00.005-04:00

We've been busy the last few weeks. One of the the reasons is Gator being on the move! He isn't doing the traditional hands and knees coordinated crawl, but he is increasingly efficient with his modified inchworm crawl. He spends more and more time on his hands and knees...or hands and toetips!...and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he is zooming around.

Gator is chomping everything he can get his hands on. Newspapers, mail, my shoes, and sometimes even the cat's tail have all been gnawed on. His favorite teething surface is my knuckles. I try very hard to keep inappropriate teething surfaces away from the baby, but it's very hard when I'm the only one in the house making that effort...and one of the people in the house is two years old. And sometimes I just forget and leave my shoes out. I never dreamed I'd have to worry about this before he was five months old.

Violet is still obsessed with lining things up and arranging them in various ways. In this picture, she's arranged her "friends" to watch her sippy cup. Those Little People figures and other toys enact all sorts of scenarios, day after day. They go to sleep, get put in time out, play with things, etc.

Sibling rivalry is better some days than others. Sometimes big sis is thrilled with her little brother...whom she calls "Big Sister" these days...and other times she flips out because he dares to touch one of "her" toys. Even if it's a baby toy that was never hers. One day she threw half the contents of her room on her bed to keep him away. And that's a lot of stuff.

Recent gems from my little girl...

2009-09-11T17:47:00.005-04:00

"What's wrong, little guy? Hey little guy! Hey little buddy..."

"What's the matter?" (to her little brother)

"He looks cute! That's a nice outfit."

"No no no no no no no no no no no no..."

"No way."

"Yaa" (Yeah)

"That's cute! That's cute!" (as she goes through clothing on a rack at the store)

"I want to watch set treet (Sesame Street). I want to I want to I want to!!!"

"I don't want to watch the animals and I don't like the animals." (whine as I watch something other than Sesame Street)

"YOU do it." (when she wants to be a baby)

"I do it allll by myself!" (when she wants to be a big girl)

"One, two, three, four, five, sex, seven..." (I know it's just her pronunciation, but it still makes me laugh a little to hear her saying that word all the time in such an innocent way...)

My big little guy's 4 month stats

2009-09-04T20:49:00.003-04:00

15 pounds exactly

25.75 inches

Impressed the doc with his strength and locomotion abilities.

Why are both of my kids so fascinated by my wallet??

Crackberry

2009-09-04T20:40:00.003-04:00

The hubster was quickly hooked on his Blackberry Storm. And today, my 30-month old quickly figured out how to browse photos...a skill that took her father slightly longer to perfect.

To my little boy at almost four months old...

2009-08-31T13:18:00.007-04:00

Gator, you're growing up so very fast. You're almost four months old. You've been able to roll over from your belly to your back for about a month, and from your back to your belly for a couple of weeks.

Being able to roll over at will opened up a whole new world to you. We put you down for anything and you immediately work on getting into a position you like. It's great when we want you to sleep, not so great when we want you on your back for a diaper change.

Finding new sleeping positions that you think are oh so comfortable, and being able to shift your way around to play with cribside toys means you've been been sleeping through the night sometimes. I am THRILLED with this development of the past week. You don't necessarily sleep that whole time, but I'm very happy that you wake up, play with your aquarium toy or shift positions, stuff your thumb in your mouth, and soothe yourself back to sleep. (Could you give your sister a few tips on this self-soothing back to sleep thing??)

You've been pushing yourself up on your elbows and knees with your belly off the ground. You can do an inchworm crawl around and do a remarkable job of rolling, flipping, and inching your way toward your target. Your hand-eye coordination has improved a lot in the past week or two and you're delighted to capture toys and even bring them to your mouth to chew. The world is full of new things to discover when you can twist and roll into all sorts of positions with different views and things to reach for.

Your newest skill is attempting to pull your back up off the ground, like you're about to do a sit-up. You are so very strong. Which is good, because your sister sometimes wants to treat you like an interactive baby doll, and she only weighs ten pounds or so more than you do and her embraces worry your mother.

It just doesn't seem possible that this big boy was in my belly four months ago. Or that my boy who keeps filling his infant car seat more and more was dwarfed by it when we brought him home from the hospital.

How did he get so big so fast??

A light in the darkness of insanity...

2009-08-26T08:54:00.004-04:00

Every now and then, Violet says something incredibly sweet. I changed a stinky diaper and got her dressed for the day when out of nowhere, she announced, "Mommy, you need hugs. And kisses!" and proceeded to give me what she thought I needed.

Usually, two and a half is a really frustrating age for both of us. But this extra verbal ability leads to some really nice exchanges sometimes.

She tells me about her days, and it's always interesting to learn what sticks out most in the filter of her young mind. Events like her grandparents getting a new vacuum cleaner (red!) can be incredibly exciting.

She's just recently started to tell me that she loves me, and this morning was the first spontaneous "you need a hug." I appreciated it so much.

Sometimes she's very caring and motherly. She gets concerned when I'm tired or upset...sometimes. Other times, she's completely oblivious. She also wants to comfort her baby brother, but she's not so great at holding him and soothing him yet. Like in the photo here, from when he was five weeks old. She still likes to touch his eyes and tries to manually open and close the lids, like she can with some baby dolls. He's not a fan of that. He does love to watch her play and try to entertain him in other ways.

I'm looking forward to many more sweet moments as they grow up. And my babies are growing up so very fast...

Let's make these moments last...

2009-08-23T12:43:00.006-04:00

Time has been flying by recently. Summer will be over before we know it, and I feel like we've barely gotten to enjoy it. And more importantly, my baby boy, the little one that should be my last baby, is growing up soooo fast!

About two weeks ago, Gator figured out how to roll from his back to his belly. His new mastery of rolling around opened up a whole new world of sleeping positions to him. He's now sleeping MUCH BETTER on his own, thank goodness, thanks to finding a comfy position and his thumb.

The new sleeping position means he's peeing out the front of his diapers, which were getting smaller and smaller, as you can see from this very recent photo. It's time to buy some size 3s! We might start doing cloth at night, since I can customize the aborbancy of those.

My little boy continues to amaze us with his movement abilities. Last night I found him in his crib with his belly off the mattress, up on his elbows and knees. This morning he was doing an inchworm crawl in there.

He's also getting better and better about grabbing things. Grandpa's chest hair and Daddy's arm hair aren't fans of this. But he's really enjoying playing with toys that rattle and crinkle and seems to grab them purposefully rather than as a happy accident.

Slow down, you move too fast. We've got to make this moment last. Feelin' groovy...

Jump Jump

2009-08-17T12:34:00.002-04:00

Violet just finished an exuberant dance. It consisted of a whole lot of jumping and some spinning. She gets so excited when the theme songs for PBS Kids' shows come on. This dance was to "It's a big big world..."

We've been busy lately and the kids have been doing a lot of fun things. Look for a flurry of blog posts soon as I try to capture thoughts and memories before I forget.

Why Super Why?

2009-08-08T00:06:00.005-04:00

Do you know why my daughter has decided this Little People figure is "Super Why"??? It's not one of her usual PBS shows, but she's apparently seen it or at least a teaser for it a few times. A quick look at their website didn't enlighten me.

Talk Talk

2009-08-05T13:46:00.002-04:00

If there was a language consisting of coos, breathy sounds, gurgles, and sputters, Gator would be quite the talker! He tries really hard to get into the conversation these days.

Like his sister, he's let out a breathy "hi" sound after hearing it from an adult. It's pretty amazing to see!

And just because you were dying to know, the loose, flabby skin on my belly hung over the trackpad of the laptop on my lap and tried to edit this post. If I wasn't so tired from being sick, that'd light a fire under me to get out and exercise.

The "B"s vs. The Bees

2009-08-03T22:26:00.003-04:00

Hubby was trimming bushes when he started jumping around and yelling all sorts of "colorful" words...much more than his usual potty mouth. He'd irritated some bees. One stung his ankle and he avoided another one that landed on the other leg. He got extra venom since we didn't immediately realize that there was a big stinger embedded in his ankle.

Violet was intrigued and didn't see to understand that it HURT Daddy. When he went back to finish clearing brush, she got a lot closer than I wanted her to. I was relieved when she headed further away from the bush...until she started running toward me screaming and swatting at her neck. Which had something dark on it. A bee. A live bee that was attached by the stinger to the delicate skin on her throat just under her jaw.

I panicked. I was holding Gator, closer to the danger zone than I wanted to be if I was going to set him on the grass, and I needed two hands. Violet was flailing around and grabbing at her throat and moving her head so she was crushing the bee more. I know from childhood experience that a bee in that kind of situation will keep stinging or even biting as it keeps feeling threatened.

Hubby got our daughter to lay down in the grass, tilted her chin back, and quickly removed the bee as I sort of freaked out at seeing my little girl screaming in pain that had made my usually stoic husband yelp and cuss in pain.

We got my little girl inside and her dad held her head so I could remove the stinger from her neck. She had a few stings, including two distinctive sting marks, one with a stinger still in it. Hubby was concerned with her first exposure being a multiple exposure and being on her neck, where localized swelling could compound any allergic reaction that could affect the airway.

She had Tylenol and is not happy but seems to be shrugging it off a lot better than her dad is. And we have a very funny-looking half-trimmed bush.

In other news, Gator is three months old today. Reflections on that coming soon.

Two years old...

2009-08-03T12:47:00.003-04:00

...is the answer you receive from my daughter when you ask her what her name is.

There's a lot of pronoun confusion going on too. Overall, she is much more talkative and we're enjoying being able to communicate with her fairly well.

The best baby food there is...

2009-08-02T10:46:00.004-04:00

Gator dining al fresco at 19 days old

Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week with us!

Violet had many eating issues as a newborn, breast or bottle, and Gator was a natural but we've still had obstacles. Nursing a baby isn't always easy, but I've found sticking with it to be so worth it in so many ways!

These two sites are great resources for breastfeeding questions and issues:

La Leche League

KellyMom

Nose As Abstract Art

2009-07-27T00:46:00.003-04:00

This is what happens when your toddler thinks you hold the camera lens toward your face. These were taken with my little point and shoot camera. There are dozens of variations on this shot on her vtech camera.

Painted Piggies

2009-07-25T11:30:00.003-04:00

I painted our toenails during Violet's long sit on the potty last week. It was a good incentive to keep her content, and she thinks it's pretty neat that our toes match.

These are the flip-flops handed down by a neighbor. I'm not a fan of them for young kids, but she's thrilled to wear them around the house, where she also wears my flip-flops any chance she gets. The girl is all about footwear. After months of being great about putting matching shoes on the correct feet, now she deliberately chooses different shoes for each foot. It makes getting ready to leave the house even more interesting.

As for the potty learning...she is so close but seems to be scared or confused about actually going on the potty. She did a few little trickles the night we painted toes, and I think she may have stopped herself when she felt it happening. She gets really frustrated by being on the cusp of figuring anything out, and this is no exception. She's frustrated by going in her diaper and frustrated by trying to go on the potty. Fun times.

Turn Turn Turn

2009-07-25T10:38:00.005-04:00

Gator really surprised me yesterday morning. I put him down on a fun quilt (thanks, Barb!) for some tummy time. His sister loves to look at all the animals and talk about them. Gator, well, he had other things on his mind. He quickly shifted so he could watch the Tour of France (the jerseys with interesting colors intrigue him).

He rolled from his belly to his back! I thought maybe it was a fluke where he happened to move in the right way at the right time, but he did it again for my mom that afternoon.

Someone tell this kid he doesn't need to be in quite such a big hurry to grow up! We can't believe his gross motor skills. Violet was pretty early with these things as well, but he has her beat so far by rolling over at 2 months, 3 weeks. She learned back to belly first, I think around 3.5 months. I'm not sure way most babies learn to roll first.

By the way, he's wearing a onesie decorated by my cousin at his sister's baby shower. We have a fun variety of hand-decorated onesies. They make great nightwear for warm summer nights and I think of the people who made them as I dress my babies in them.

A very sad day

2009-07-23T13:19:00.005-04:00

Happier days

I feel like I've failed as a cat owner because I couldn't make my girl happy in our home. She had multiple issues, including a tendency to get stress-related UTIs when babies were around. Which she told us about by peeing in the wrong places. She grew more tolerant of Violet as she got older, but my kitty still didn't like being around her. And the sound of a baby crying visibly irks her. Since Gator's arrival, my kitty did a big backslide and has not been a happy girl.

When Violet was little, kitty started having bladder issues. It turned out she had a bladder full of stones, possibly from repeated UTIs that weren't bad enough for her to tell us about. Hubby wanted to put her to sleep rather than treat her, but I couldn't bear to do that to an otherwise fairly healthy cat with many years ahead of her. It didn't help that I too have stone issues. And trouble dealing with the stresses of children. Putting her to sleep would have sent my post-partum depression into a deeper state, and we ended up paying for her surgery. It took her longer than we'd thought to completely recover from a deep-seated infection and she continued to get some UTIs and be unhappy about having a child around. She was a big girl and kept slowly gaining weight despite having her on a diet on special food. Because of her bulk, she couldn't jump over a baby gate. The logistics of having a small child and having a cat who needs access to her basement litterbox meant she was on one side the gate and we were usually on the other, and she was understandably lonely.

I had false hope when she was accepting Violet more. Then Gator was born and things weren't good again. There was an irksome toddler AND a baby with a cry that really annoyed her. My husband has been less than supportive and kept saying to just put her to sleep. When she got her first UTI after the baby was born, I knew it wasn't good. We treated it and I tried to make time to spend with her without a child with me (and I don't have a lot of time like that). Then she let me know there was a problem again, and we knew we couldn't keep doing this. And it looked like there might be a stone in her urine. Sometimes it's hard to tell when you're cleaning up a kitchen floor that needs swept.

My husband and I had agreed when we did the surgery before that if there were any more problems with stones, we couldn't do the surgery again. Finding out if there were indeed stones, or treating another UTI, kept adding to the cost of her care and funds are very tight at the moment. I wanted to give her every chance I could, but we couldn't keep doing this. And she was so stressed with our current living situation. I would have loved to find a home where there were no small children and someone could work with her special care needs. Life with small children often stresses me out, too, and I wish she could be as happy as she was when it was just two adults and two cats.

The sad reality is that there are so many sweet and caring animals out there who needs homes, and not enough homes for them. Shelters have to make very difficult decisions. Our adoption contract with the SPCA said we'd return our cat to them if we couldn't keep her, and she needed a home where she'd be happier. But the chances of her being adoptable were so slim, especially with her stress reacts to car rides, new situations, etc. I could have returned her to the SPCA and told myself they found her a happy home and let them make the difficult decisions. And put her through a ton of stress in her final days, with lots of car rides, strange people, strange places, and a living situation that is even more stressful than life with small children.

Instead, she got a special treat of canned food that would be awful for her diet, and lots of extra chin scratching and affection every chance I could give it to her. She cried on the way to the vet today, as did I. She hated be there, as usual. I stayed with her as the medication made her drop her agitated stance, relax, and go to sleep. And leave this world.

Rest in peace, my dear, sweet girl. I'm so sorry we couldn't make it work out better for you.

Grins & Giggles

2009-07-21T22:42:00.008-04:00

I LOVE that he's smiling and giggling so much these days! At 2.5 months old, he's becoming a bit more than an eating, peeing/pooping, spitting up machine.

His big sister seems to enjoy his reactions and he likes to watch the crazy things she does to try to make him smile. She seems to be accepting him more and even enjoys having him around sometimes. We still have issues when she's tired or otherwise feeling needy and wants undivided attention.

Some days are really challenging with the two of them. But these big grins really help.

Edited to add: The photos at the top aren't showing up like I'd thought they would. Frustration with the template got me looking, and now that I see how many cool templates are out there... expect a makeover soon! I've spent more time than intended on my blog tonight and need to stop looking at templates and do other things.

Snapshots of our day

2009-07-19T12:25:00.004-04:00

"My boo-boo is going really really fast!!"

She's "flying" on the Sit n Spin, and so is the scraped knee that she is so proud of. That boo-boo seems to have a life of its own!

Meanwhile, Gator chills in the swing where he goes if I want to be not holding him and have him still be content for more than a few minutes. And Tour of France coverage is on TV.

Blame it on the cat.

2009-07-17T23:50:00.005-04:00

Not guilty.

Violet likes to announce one someone farts (or has gas, depending on which word appeals to her at the moment). There are people in her life who do this more than others, and she often pipes up that so-and-so farts too when she hears her baby brother making noise with his rear end.

So, hypothetically, Violet was sitting in the bathroom with company from someone we'll call "Mommy" when Mommy uncharacteristically let one rip. At the exact moment the cat came to visit. Said cat has been known to have some stinky farts, but they're the silent but deadly kind. Nonetheless, my little girl immediately announced "[CatName] farted. He had gas." And so on. It's never a brief remark about something as exciting as gas or poop. (It's super exciting when Gator poops. Which, lucky Violet, is something he does a whole lot, because he's a newborn!)

This is why I'm so desperate for adult conversation sometimes. I just have to remember that not everyone discusses peepee and poopy all the time. Thank goodness some of my friends are moms who won't look at me funny if a poop comment slips out.

"I love you so so very much."

2009-07-17T21:48:00.004-04:00

Said my sweet (for the moment) little girl as we left a voicemail for Daddy. Then she kissed the phone, which had a picture of him on the screen, a few times. And then my cell phone got a hug.

It was really sweet. Our days are full of many more moments like the one pictured below:

Things I never thought I'd say until I became a mother

2009-07-11T17:20:00.005-04:00

I don't want your booger.

I don't want your boogers in my hair!

I get to eat chocolate because I pooped on the potty.

Daddy doesn't want you to tell everyone he went poopy.

Don't touch your poop! Keep your hands out of your diaper!

Thank you for saying please, but I don't think the cat is going to do what you want.

Two months old

2009-07-08T22:32:00.002-04:00

Smiling at his mobile today.

Gator is most definitely a growing boy. At his two month checkup yesterday, he weighed 12 lb., 12 oz. and was 24 inches long. Even the largest of his 0-3 month onesies have to be really stretched to snap, and the smaller ones are long outgrown. He was wearing mostly 3-6 month clothing for much of June.

We're seeing more and more smiles and coos and even the occassional giggle. He likes having his feet tickled and will coo conversationally if he's in a good mood. The safari animal mobile that his sister adored recently started fascinating him as well. He enjoys that, the aquarium soother, and a soft mirror with a rattle and other things attached when he is hanging out in his crib. It keeps him happy for a little while so I can focus on other things for 10 or even 15 minutes.