Jul
Storybook Playhouse Project at Bridgeport
Went and checked out this Fundraiser for Doernbecher at Bridgeport where they are displaying awesome playhouses which you can buy raffle tickets to win. I thought it would be more of an event, but some of the houses were pretty neat. These two were my favorite:
Jun
Nine Months In / Nine Months Out
I realize this blog is getting updated less and less. The most amazing thing about babies? They just grow faster and faster. Kahlan grew in my belly for a good nine plus months, from peanut to baby… Now? At nine months old Kahlan is a whirlwind of activity.
Having mastered the crawl around six months, we are seemingly days from her first steps. She is cruising with regularity and standing on her own holding a toy in each hand. In fact a few days ago I caught her with Daddy’s iPhone, free standing and holding it in one hand while madly working the touchscreen with the other pointer finger.
Our days are spent exploring her world, visiting the library twice a week, daily reading sessions and a myriad of enriching activities while still managing to squeeze in time to do dishes (most days). I am regulated to hobbies I can do while she naps in my arms since it’s the only time she slows down. Hence, I’ve been reading more and am working on a side project that has left less blog time lately.
Here are a few newer pictures of Kahlan for those who have been asking:
May
Learning to Walk at Seven Months!
So just as suddenly as she decided to crawl at six months, Kahlan has decided she’s ready to rock her kicks and get verticle. In the span of a very excited week she has mastered the up-on-knees crawl, pulling herself up to stand on anything she can grasp and is cruzing down the sides of furniture as well as testing short free standing sessions.
We talked about getting her one of those rolling walking toys but after further investigation decided against them for a few reasons. 1)They are too light for her to pull herself up with, she justs takes them down with her whopping 20lb girth and 2)They roll TOO easy. So much so, that had she managed the standing manuever she likely would end in a face planting finale. So, the hubby came up with an idea that now seems so obviously perfect I feel like a stooge not thinking of it sooner myself.
He tossed a full laundry basket down and away she went. It’s the perfect hight, has round edges for chewing and is smooth enough on the bottom to scoot when pushed but not take off. Best of all, when the munchkin does take a wobbly nose dive (which is already getting less often) it’s into a harmless pile of clean clothes.
Bonus: “Oh I just CAN’T put the clothes away honey, what would she use to walk with?”
Brilliant…
Tags: laundry basket, walking
Apr
Birdbath 1 : Whippet 0
I’ve had racing hounds since my teen years, yet it never ceases to amaze me how they manage to biff it. Like any well honed athelete, accidents happen. Unfortunatly, when your running 45mph, a run in with a concrete birdbath can easily be a life or death encounter. Luckily, he managed to miss the juggular by a whole inch. Two weeks of antibiotics and warm compresses should clear this up…. This time.
Tags: whippets
Apr
I Can’t Be (or blog) Everywhere at Once
I know, the Kahlan updates have gotten sparse. I’m knee deep in baby and projects so here is a fresh batch of photos to tide you over. A more verbose post to come:
Mar
Time Suck Management – Babies are Busy Creatures
When we discussed my foregoing the traditional 9-5 in favor of becoming a work at home mom to be with our daughter, honestly, I thought there would be a bit more “work” in that equation. I had the realistic expectation that this first year would be more about baby, not counting on any income I would be able to generate, and that as she “got easier” with age I’d be able to put more energy into my work. So far, all my secret expectations to be super productive and instantly grow this amazing business overnight, have been squashed under the very real truth that babies are major time sucks. At this point I’m lucky to get bathroom breaks.
It’s astounding how the minutes turn into hours and our day melts away under a barrage of household tasks, errands and baby needs. I wake up with a list of work goals (without which I’d be even less productive) and by the time Daddy comes home and we start dinner I too often find that list to be mostly untouched.
Time management has always been my strength and now, as a SAHM I’ve never needed those skills more. Here are my top tips to help fellow moms be productive, be with baby and stay sane while staying home.
1. Set Realistic Goals – REALLY
I set goals for myself that are very reasonable. Year one is primarily for baby care and enrichment. I want to build my Internet presence, grow my stock of wares, get into a few retail stores and throw my first in home jewelry show. I unfortunately also have a huge insane list of secret goals like “instantly make as much doing freelance as I did at my day job.” The key to goal setting is to stay motivated and to do that you need to stay realistic. Have a few pipe dream goals, but be sure to stay objective and not fall into the trap of getting down on yourself if they aren’t materializing. Be honest about how much time you will be able to devote to your goals and what is possible to accomplish in that time frame. Avoid getting hung up on the unrealistic. Put even simple tasks on your list so you can feel accomplished as the little check marks add up. Remember, any progress is still progress!
2. To Do List – 1. Make List
The “To Do” list is a simple and vital part of my day. Instead of trying to keep a ton of “need to get dones” in my head and remembering them only after I could have done them I immediately add anything I think of to do to my lists. I use a very simple iPhone app called DoBot ToDos which has the ability to have multiple lists saved and to also assign priorities. This way I have work, personal, baby and miscellaneous lists separate so I can tackle what fits in my day. I also use sub-lists for my various creative outlets, graphics, glass and writing, to track ideas and then as I write an article or finish a project I can check them off and never lose a great creative spark even if I can’t get to it right away. This is a great way to always have something queued up for the times I can’t bring my creative juices up to full speed.
3. Prioritize Priorities
It’s too easy to burn up your spare minutes filling them with bonus tasks you see need doing and “will only take a minute.” I like to keep my to-dos sorted by importance so when a nap or other baby-free moment presents itself I don’t waste those precious times on things that I can do packing her around. When sorting priorities I use a three step rating system: When does it NEED to be done, How many arms do I need, How much time will it take? I tackle the “must be done today” items first depending on how many arms I have free. By this I mean, if a task requires both arms it’s higher priority because it requires baby nap or playtime, which is limited, to accomplish. Any “one arm” tasks can wait until the baby is back to “pick me up” phase. If a task will take a significant amount of time I start it first thing so I can have extra day left to come back to it after interuptions.
4. Formulate a Battle Strategy
Ok, more of a “if this, then that” plan. While I’m tied down nursing or doing any baby activities that don’t require my full attention I start working out my “next move” so to speak so that once we are ready to move to the next activity I waste no time on wondering what I should do. This is also where having multiple lists comes in handy because I can tackle the list best suited to her mood. If she wakes up happy, I can jump on the “two arms” list while she contentedly plays on the floor, but if not I have my back up list of “one arm” tasks in arms reach.
5. Make Time to NOT Manage
All these tips help me get things done, whithout which I’d lose my mind, but it’s equaly important to have time to NOT get things done. To just be with baby and not worry about your lists or the time left in the day. If your like me, this is just as hard to accomplish as the rest of your busy day. If so, add it to your list or schedule an “Event Horizon” a time of day when once reached there’s no going back, your done with the busy work. Kick back and play with baby, relishing in every check mark you did make, and let tomorrow be a new step forward.
Tags: babie, plans, time management
Mar
Twilight Saga: New Moon Wolf Kibble Recipe
New Moon Wolf Kibble - A snack worthy of the Pack!
When the DVD of Twilight released I threw a screening party for my fellow fans and friends who hadn’t made it to the theater or wanted another taste. With the release of the sequel, Twilight Saga: New Moon, I wanted to keep the tradition alive but had a difficult time finding ideas for party food.
There are plenty of Twilight and Vampire snacks out there like these great “bitten” cupcakes my pal Jaimie brought. They are easy to make too! You just bake up some white or yellow cake cupcakes, cut out a cone shape and spoon in cherry pie filling, then top and decorate with a toothpick and left over filling.
However, I wanted a Team Jacob snack since New Moon is really more about introducing the wolf pack than vampire lore. I Googled and found a disappointing array of generic ideas like serving TrailMix or paw-print cakes. One idea was not bad, making cookies in the shape of dog biscuits. I didn’t have a dog-bone cookie cutter handy so I decided to whip up a batch of Dog Food instead. I dubbed the treat Wolf Kibble and served it in inexpensive plastic dog food dishes much to the surprise and laughs of my guests. Here’s the recipe:
New Moon Wolf Kibble
1 12oz Box Golden Grahams Cereal
2c Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1c Creamy Peanutt Butter
1 Stick Butter or Margarine
2-4c Powdered Sugar
Large Ziplock Bag
In a microwave safe bowl melt the chips, PB, and butter. I nuked it for 2 minutes on high and that seemed about right. In another large bowl pour in the cereal then pour chocolate mixture over it and stir until evenly covered. Pour into large Zilpock bag, add the powdered sugar and shake vigerously until the cereal mixture is evenly coated and resembles dog food. I recomend doing half the batch at a time so there is plenty of room in the bag to get your shake on. Chill for at least an hour then serve in dog food dishes.
And just for a fun beverage I made these American Red Cross blood donation sleeves to disguise my juice offerings. I suggest Ocean Spray Cranberry, Cran-Apple and Cran-Cherry for blood effect without food coloring or HFCS. You’ll notice the Donation Station number is another tongue-in-cheek Twilight reference. Here is a copy of the graphic if you’d like to use it for your own party:
