Random Friday #4

Welcome, Fatherhood Friday visitors! (Yes, I'm aware I'm not a dad...but the members of dad-blogs are very welcoming to the womenfolk, too).




Sorry about yesterday's text getting smaller and smaller. I have no idea what happened there - and I couldn't fix it, no matter how hard I tried.

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What in the world would require the "rinse only" cycle in the dishwasher? Couldn't you just hand wash/rinse it? I'm thoroughly confused (and, obviously, have never used this option). Has anyone out there used this?

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I use two spoons at mealtimes with Peanut. One for me to feed her; the other for her to play with (so she won't snatch the food one out of my hand...as she so frequently does). Recently, I had to upgrade to three spoons because she steals BOTH spoons - one for each hand. I'm all about being a kid and exploring and having fun, but when you use your spoons like this...



...and prevent me from getting food into your mouth, then we've got issues.

Consequently, I go through NINE spoons a day. Ugh. My hands are chapped from all of the spoon-washing I have to do each day.

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We have dance parties in our household. The who, what, when, where and why doesn't matter - if someone calls out "dance party!" you drop everything and dance. Typically, this has been during dinner prep time (when ShankRabbit is home). I can't explain how proud I am to see Peanut sitting on the floor laughing and bouncing to the beat of the music. *tear*

In honor of this, I will be posting a "dance party song of the day." I think I'm going to do this on Mondays and Wednesdays - because, let's face it, Mondays and Wednesdays tend to drag along (at least for me). If you have a song that you'd like to recommend for our dance parties, please post a comment or drop me an email. I love discovering new music.

Buuut...since I'm thinking about it, I start one off for the weekend -

Artist/Band: Motion City Soundtrack
Song Title: The Future Freaks Me Out
Kid-friendly?: There is one f-bomb in there, but I typically sing "Ah, flip it!" really loud over that part.

Sisters, sisters...

Thank you, title writing skills. Not only do you royally suck, but you've gotten the "White Christmas" song stuck in my head.


As you know, I did a giveaway last week and announced the winner on Saturday - Beckiwithani (and C. Beth won as well because she referred her). And for those that don't know, they are twin sisters.

I gave them several options of fabrics to choose from - many colors of flannel, fleece, cotton, etc. They emailed me (separately) what choice they made. Here it is, verbatim -

Beckiwithani: "I love the purple stars fabric, and I think it would look nice with white accents. (Was I correct that one of those whites is a softer fabric? Hard to tell from the pic. But if so, that's the one I'd like as an accent. If not, plain muslin or whatever is fine.)

C. Beth: "Okay, I really like the [purple] star fabric. Would either of the white fabrics (in the All Fabrics pic) look good for ears and belly?"

I had to re-read these emails several times (and double-check that they did not cc: each other). Did they really choose the same fabric - even down to the accents?

Yep.

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Peanut used to wake up at 8-8:30am. Now, it is between 7:15-7:30am.

Ugh.

I really need to start going to bed sooner. Or I need to drink more coffee in the morning. I have a feeling the latter will win by a landslide.


Speaking of wake-up times...here's a question for the parents/caregivers. When it comes to daylight savings time, do you adjust your child's bedtime accordingly? Do they wake up at the adjusted time?

Peanut was too young to notice a difference this past fall. But now that "spring ahead" is coming up, I'm concerned my I-have-serious-issues-with-change daughter may just blow a gasket.

Joshua Radin

For a long time, I never had one specific favorite artist or band. If someone asked the question, I would answer, "well, depends on my mood."
Come to think of it, 99% of the people I know would probably answer the same way. Huh. Is there anyone out there that has ONE favorite artist/band?

A few years ago, I found myself looking for an artist/band that had a "folky" feel...but not too folky. And I believe I can credit my dear friends A&B for helping me with this quest. Their first dance song at their wedding was "Paperweight" - Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk (I love that song!). I was intrigued by this Joshua guy...wondering what his other stuff sounded like.

Well, I really liked it. I saw him in concert a short time later, when he was on tour with Schuyler Fisk...and that's when it happened. I discovered my new favorite artist. If someone were to ask me today, who's your favorite artist or band, I can confidently say, "Well, depends on my mood...but I can never go wrong with Joshua Radin."

So, if you haven't heard his music yet, go check him out. You can go to his website or his myspace page to get a sampling of his music.

And, if you really, really like him...click on the link to the left. His song "I'd Rather Be With You" is up for VH1's top 20.

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So, why did I share all this with you?

1. He's amazing. Mm hmm.

B. My brother-in-law just asked if I'd like to go to a Joshua Radin concert on Monday night. WaitletmethinkaboutitYES PLEASE!


That is all.

Peanut Scissorhands, the Demon Child

How to make sure you are diligent about clipping your daughters fingernails -

get sliced across the cheek with one of her talons.

Ow.

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As I posted before, we attended a wedding reception on Saturday. We had a lot of fun, but this threw off Peanut's routine. She went to bed WAY late, got up an hour earlier and spent Sunday being "clingy demon child." Think Jack-Jack from "The Incredibles"...minus the cute baby part. Of course, with all the change going on, her nap/eating schedule went to crap...thus causing another late bedtime and a 4am wake-up call.

By Monday morning, this was the conversation ShankRabbit and I had once we heard her babbling in the monitor:

Me: *grumble, grumble* I SO don't want to get up.
SR: Heh. Yeah, I don't think she's very high up on your list right now...
Me: No. She's just below coffee.


I love her. Really I do.

The new hair

We have successfully located our battery charger. Therefore, I can show you the promised "new hair" photos.

We attended a friend's wedding on Saturday. My brother-in-law and his wife were watching Peanut for us while we partied like rock stars (or at least made an attempt):



A lot of fun was had. A lot a lot.

And I can tell you one thing for certain (as pointed out today by a friend who also attended): we are not 21 anymore.

The photo choices

As you can see, I changed out the photo of me from the left-hand side of the blog. I thought the previous photo looked a little too 'drugged' for my taste (I swear I wasn't). Thinking my darling husband must have some kind of photo for me to use, I looked through our photo folders...

Let me just show you the kind of stuff I'm working with -


Reeeal attractive there, Isabella. Stuffing your face...how hot.


Serious girl is serious.


Really? Food again?!...you know if you keep it up, people are going to think all you do is eat.


Yep. You're a heifer.


Sleeping with your mouth open. How, uh...attractive. I think. Why don't you show them your drooly pillow too?


A little too excited. Yes, it's a football game...caaaalm down, girl.


Let me see if I understand. You fashioned a top...out of your pant legs?
I have no words.

A Winner!

And there we have it, folks...a random number has been chosen. After making sure everyone was assigned a proper number (had to exclude any posts that didn't count...like ShankRabbit's and mine), I consulted random.org for a number...and it was...

8

Congratulations, beckiwithani!

And since she was referred by C. Beth, she wins as well!

So ladies, please email me at jenniferisabella [at] gmail [dot] com to discuss fabrics and such.

To everyone else, thank you for your comments. It's always nice to feel the love every once in a while (even if it was solicited by free things).

Random Friday #3

I'm not really sure if this is the 3rd Random Friday or not...so, I'm declaring it to be so. Here we go -

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This is a picture the homemade teething biscuits I made for Peanut, all set for the freezer. They were easy to make and taste exactly like sugar cookies. Really! I have no problem admitting I ate one...or two...

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Have you ever been in such a rush to get out of the house that you forgot to brush your teeth? Ok, maybe a few of you can agree.

And since you ran out of gum the day before, you grab a peppermint candy cane to munch on as you run out the door?
I didn't think so.

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Peanut was playing with her fridge letters last night and pulled a few off. These were the only letters she removed:



Now, is she from Boston and trying to tell me she wants to party or does she need a bathroom break?
Maybe it's a different word entirely. I've never been good at anagrams.

No creative title comes to mind

Sorry about the crappy post today. Three reasons why -

1. I didn't do my usual evening write up the night before. Peanut was trying to negotiate her actual bedtime (read: took A LONG time for her to finally crash for this night).

2. I took Peanut to the eye doctor today to participate in the InfantSEE program (free eye exam for children under a year old). She wasn't too happy about getting a light in her eyes and eye drops, but she did pretty well. And I - er, she - even got crayons out of the visit, too.

3. I wanted my giveaway to be the first post on this blog for a little while longer. And if you missed it, go here.

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Did I mention I got my hair cut and colored on Tuesday?

I went to a new stylist. There's nothing wrong with Sarah, the girl I always go to...it's just that a gift certificate to a different salon = new stylist for the day.

I get a little nervous going to someone new. I have very curly hair that can be quite temperamental - there is a history of bad haircuts to back me up on this one. Like this one (though this was for a hair show...it's supposed to be wild and crazy):


Me, circa 2001
Three shades of red and itty-bitty "fringe" on my forehead. Not too bad, really. However, once I got home and showered, the semi-permanent red color on top bled, leaving behind a ketchup and mustard hue. So hot.


But, after all was said and done...I'm happy with it. And no, it does not look anything like this photo. Thank God.

I'll post a picture eventually. I still haven't found my camera battery charger. Do you know where it is? Your guess is as good as mine right now.

More to come

I really do have a more substantial post in the works, but it's 3:30pm, Peanut went down for a nap about 20 minutes ago and I have 1,397,569 things to do before she wakes up. I have no idea how long this nap will last...it's like a ticking time bomb, without the huge explosion (who knows, her diaper may prove otherwise).

So, in the meantime, check out my previous post about the giveaway. Leave a comment and you could win!

Elephants on parade...and a giveaway!

So, here they are. Handmade stuffed animals!
(forgive the picture quality - our camera battery is dead and I can't find the charger)




the one on the left is actually light purple, not blue

These turned out pretty darn cute, I think. I had to do embroidered eyes (instead of buttons) as these are gifts for newborns. Don't want to give a choking hazard as a gift, now do I?


And because I had so much fun making these, I want to make you one, too. So I'm diving into my first giveaway:


1. Leave a comment on this post to enter.

B. Encourage other people you know to post a comment as well (but don't let them forget to say that you referred them). If your referral wins, you win, too!

III. I will pick a winner on Saturday, February 20th.

Once a winner is chosen (oh, US and Canada mailing addresses only, please), I will contact you to discuss fabrics and colors.

Any questions? Let me know.

Doesn't taste like chicken

We keep our house at a comfortable 66 degrees during the winter. Needless to say, there isn't much "nakie time" for Peanut...only before, during, and after bath time. It didn't occur to me that this was such a big deal until today.

I was in the process of getting clothes for her to wear. She was mad at her pajamas for some reason (who knows...she was tearing at her snap closure on the changing table) so I let her hang out in her crib in just a diaper for the time being. After about a minute or so I look over and see one of the funniest sights to date -

She was licking her shoulder. Like an ice cream cone.

This was the first time she was naked for an extended period of time (well, not really...there were a few times as a very small infant, but she was not aware of it). During bath time, if she's not clinging to rubber ducky for security, she's staring at the water, practically motionless, waiting to get out. What kid doesn't like bath time? Obviously ours.

I did take some video of this event on my cell phone, but I have no idea how to get it from my cell phone to this blog post (I know I could just email it to myself, but it's not the right format).

So, as a consolation prize, I will post the pictures of the baby gift I made...tomorrow.

Food and projects (not food projects)

I am incapable of making a box of macaroni and cheese and not eating it all in one sitting. I feel overfull after I'm done, but I do it every time. You'd think I'd learn. Someday I'll tell you all about how I can't wait for things to cool down before I eat them.
Though my food behaviors would tell you otherwise, I am a human...not a puppy.

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I completed another project over the weekend. I'm really proud of myself because I started it on Saturday and was done this morning...with TWO of the same thing. I know, I know...who is this and what have I done with Isabella?!

I was under a deadline. Our landlord (also one of ShankRabbit's coworkers) and his wife are having twin girls. She is due this week! I only found out about it on Wednesday, so I can honestly say I didn't procrastinate on this one.

I have a couple more items to add to the gift, so I won't post pictures until the gift is ready to go out the door...but it will be by tomorrow at the latest.

OK, I'm off to lie in a mac 'n cheese-induced food coma on the floor with my child. Have a great Monday!

The Christmas quilt

So, I made my first quilt EVER as a Christmas present for my brother-in-law. The three brothers and three sister-in-laws exchanged names. The rules to the gift: 1) had to be handmade and 2) $25 limit on all materials.

I didn't have as much time as I would have liked and I also didn't have the appropriate tools (like a rotary cutter and board), so I had to make do. I think it turned out somewhat OK considering...




A modified version of the "rail fence" quilt. Since I didn't have a rotary cutter, my pieces came out in slightly different sizes, so I had to improvise...



As you can see in this close-up - the ends wouldn't have lined up, so I had to put a strip of fabric in between each row.

I didn't take a picture of it, but I tied off the quilt in the back. However, since I didn't have a large needle (I'm really good at having what I need, aren't I?), I had to do it with thick embroidery floss instead of the ribbon I bought for this purpose.

I think next time I make a quilt I'll be sure to have the appropriate tools.

Random Friday

It's time for another random Friday installment -

Mystery bruises
You know...you find a bruise and say, "huh...I wonder how I got that one."
One foolproof way to figure out where a mystery bruise came from - hit it on the same thing that you did in the first place. My example? The windowsill in our bedroom. Ow.

Food is for eating
Peanut loves to blow raspberries...while she's eating. In fact, she will do this as soon as she gets a mouthful of food. It's even better when the spoon hasn't left her lips yet - giving her ample ammo for a 1 foot radius of sprayed food. When I am the one feeding her, it's annoying, but as a spectator, it's so darn cute.

Ready...OK!

We've never been "headband" people. I'm not talking about us adults wearing them...I'm pretty confident ShankRabbit could rock a Walter Payton-esque sweatband like nobody's business. I'm referring to baby head accessories.

Peanut wore hats when she was first born, mainly to keep her head warm. Other than that, nothing else adorned her head. Until recently...

Over the last couple months she's had quite the growth of hair on the top of her head (sadly, the back of her head still needs some time to catch up). While it's still not enough to put up in a cute ponytail or pigtails, it's still fun to mess with...like the obligatory mohawk in the bath tub.

Grandma got her a set of hair bows for Christmas. She'll probably be off to her first day of school before she really needs these, but in the meantime, let's have some fun:




You can just hear her saying, "2, 4, 6, 8...who do we appreciate?! MOMMY, MOMMY! YAAAAY MOMMY!"

Ok...it's just me. I can have dreams, can't I?


*Side note: Yes, that is a plastic mixing bowl in her Pack 'N Play. I promise she has other toys. Oh, and about that Silent Night book...I know it's February - she's just far too attached to it for me to take it away. It may have the eerie stylings of a horror movie soundtrack, but she loves it.

3 pounds of fun

Warm day + melting snow + 3 pounds of tree roots clogging a drainage system =



Yes, that is water on our basement floor. On the plus side, we've gone through our basement flooding before (torrential downpours of June 08 - major flooding, disappearance of Lake Delton)...so nothing of real importance was sitting on the floor. And I caught the water early enough it didn't have a chance to spread throughout the entire basement. Still...it sucks cleaning that stuff up.

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When you've given your child all toys possible to keep her occupied while you make dinner, you improvise.

I present you with the purse....of WONDER:



(oooh, aaaah)

Provides at least a half hour of entertainment - crinkling the paper, taking it out of the pockets and putting it back in, petting the leather of the purse, trying to open the zipper...

Who would of thought those Valpak coupons I don't use could be so beneficial in other ways?

Giveaway

There is a giveaway on C. Beth's blog right now. A really pretty bird necklace.

Please stop over there, tell her I sent you, and leave a comment.

You could be a winner!

So, go here.

Or click on the link to the left.

Either way...go leave a comment!

Please and thank you.

Musical happy dance

Have you ever heard a song and the only thing you could think is...

.whoa.

There are no other words to describe the feeling you just had listening to it.

That just happened to me. And believe it or not, it was a song that is not finished. Before I share with you what song that is, I want to know if you have ever experienced this same thing -

Tell me, faithful readers, what song made/makes you go "whoa?"

We thought we had more time

There is something we haven't done in our household yet.

Babyproofing.

I know, I know...what's taking us so long? It's not that we don't want to or anything - we just haven't gotten around to it. As of last night, it's now become a major priority. Why now, you ask? Peanut just figured out how to open a cabinet door. Dang it.

We can't just pick up a mega-box of the cheapo cabinet locks. Since we're renters of this house, not owners, we don't have the authority to screw a bunch of holes into the cabinet doors. Therefore, we have to get the adhesive-backed magnetic locks. Considerably more expensive.

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As I was feeding Peanut her dinner last night, I was trying to find more finger food options. She's mastered Veggie Booty and cheese pieces. I wanted to find her something a little more challenging, but yummy (and gluten-free). Enter Rice Krispies.

She loves them. Though, when she's done eating them, they become a fun way to decorate the floor.

Home phone hatred

I never had any ill feelings toward our home phone until today. I was in the process of getting Peanut down for a nap. We were lounging in her rocker, both half asleep, listening to the radio. All of the sudden:

RING RING RING! RING RING RING!

We both jumped. I cursed the phone for not only scaring the beejebus out of me, but setting my nap progress back by 20 minutes. This leads to me being temporarily upset at the person who called...like they should know what I'm doing at that time.

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Peanut has been waking up from her naps very sad. I am now required to cuddle her for at least 15 minutes after she wakes up or else she flies into a crying fit. But I can't complain - a) there will come a day she won't want to cuddle anymore and b) she takes pretty good naps, which allows me to get a lot done.