I've been wanting a water table for Hannah, but buying one was just out the question. Even buying the materials to make one wasn't an option after we just spent money on materials to build her the Learning Tower. So I set out to make one for....free. Here are step by step instructions.
Step 1: Relocate your husband's "garden" to the railing of the deck. Clean out old storage tub.
Step 2: Dump everything out of a crate in the back of a closet. (no picture for this step-as you can imagine, it was far too messy)
Step 3: Tape the heck out of em.
Step 4: Flip it over and fill it with water.
Step 5: Get wet
and have fun!
I could rename this blog "How to do stuff without spending a penny". I'm getting pretty darn good at it.
We have our winners! Colleen met her goal (exceeded it actually!) and gets to share her CD with hundreds of backers. I get to share her music with three lovely ladies who won the giveaway!
Email me (morelikemary at gmail...) to let me know which of the three CDs you want!
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Iced coffee....hint of vanilla extract......thick cream from the top of a can of coconut milk.....Tupelo honey....mmmm
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We have a wonderful Farmer's Market a few miles from us that sets up every Saturday morning. Everything is so fresh and so much cheaper than the grocery store. The problem is that I rarely need vegetables on Saturdays. It seems I always need them midweek and can't seem to adjust my planning to make it work. I end up buying expensive stuff from the store because I need right.this.minute. I just so happened to be driving by the market's location yesterday afternoon and what would know? It's open on Tuesdays and Thursdays too! So I bought the red pepper I needed to make the most delicious salsa you've ever had AND gave into the impulse buy of two pounds of blueberries. Win.
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Butter. I ate it. For over a week now.
And Hannah has no apparent tummy troubles or rash!
Oh my how I hope this means she is getting over her intolerance! I'm trying to take it slow-but really I just want to eat it with a spoon. In all it's grass-fed, naturally creamy goodness. I melted some and poured it over my popcorn. Goodness-I had forgotten how good popcorn really was. I can never go back to dry. Never I tell you!
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All of my quick takes are about food. Food consumes a very large portion of my mental and physical energy. Completely exhausting and unbelievably satisfying.
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Hannah has turned into a climber. She can scale her learning tower, the computer chair, the kitchen chairs, and the couch in two seconds flat. Which wouldn't be much of a problem if the learning town didn't lead to the counter and the kitchen chair didn't lead to the table....
So long being able to leave the room to pee. It was nice knowing ya.
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I saw this on Pinterest last night. Toy rotation boxes. The basic idea is you separate your toys into plastic tubs that are stored out of sight and out of reach. Each day you take down a tub and play with just those toys for the day. At night-you just throw the toys back into the tub and store it with the others.
I think this might solve a lot of toy issues. Too many toys to focus on the ones she really likes. The house never really looking clean because there are toys in every single corner. Boredom from seeing the same toys day after day. It would also be an easier way for her to learn how to clean up-throwing things in a tub is a lot easier than putting them on a shelf.
I think I'm going to give it a try. But will probably use plastic bags at first so I don't have to spend the money on the tubs. Does anyone else have some sort of similar system?
We didn't start dinner until after 8:30 tonight. So we decided to eat fried zucchini and bacon. That's it. And it was soooo good.
I submit that there is no food more delicious than home-cured bacon from a pastured pig. None. Go on-just try to disagree. I dare you.
Little girl is getting about 10 teeth at once right now. Poor baby. Poor mama.
Colleen met her kickstarter goal!!!!!!! So all of you who have purchased her album will definitely get it! My giveaway ends this Friday (Thursday at midnight to be exact) so there is still time to pre-buy the album and enter the giveaway to win even more music.
One of my dear friends from college is now a priest! He was ordained Saturday and, although we couldn't make it, I am so very happy for him. A brilliant mind. A compassionate heart. A ridiculous sense of humor. He is such a blessing to our Church.
We have a bunch of cucumbers. I don't know what to do with them. Anyone have any fun suggestions?
This was a great article by Jen in the Register today. I've been thinking a lot about blogging and facebook lately. I'm going to keep an eye on the comments and get some other opinions. Mostly I've been thinking about the privacy issue and Hannah's rights to her own "online profile". Is it really ok to post all of this stuff online without her "permission"? I always picture her reading this when she gets older and getting excited about this glimpse into her childhood. But maybe not. Maybe I shouldn't assume. Did you read the article? What do you think?
And I've discovered the facebook fix. It was eating up my time. Why do I even log on? It's 99% stupid crap from people you don't care about and 1% useful information on people you do actually care about. I spent about a half hour the night "unsubscribing" from just about everyone. Close, real life friends, family, and some bloggers-that's all that made the cut. Now when I log on-the newsfeed is incredibly boring. And it doesn't change that quickly. So the temptation to check facebook is GONE! I still have my account to contact people when I need to. I can still check on friends who might have had a baby or gotten married or something big like that. But no more day-to-day updates from people who-let's be honest-wouldn't even be a blip in my memory had it not been for them adding me on facebook 4 years ago. I'm pretty happy with this solution. Thoughts?
I'm going to make bacon for breakfast tomorrow. I'm already drooling.
I know I'm late to the outrage over the Time magazine cover party, but I want to throw in my two cents. The two best responses to the horrible cover photo were from Haley and Kate. As Kate said-the only thing "attached" in this picture is the boy's mouth to his mom's breast. And that's simply not what "attachment parenting" is all about. Ted and I have used many tenants of attachment parenting in our own parenting methods because they work for us. Not because I'm "mom enough" or any other reason. And Haley compared the cover to an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary nursing the toddler Jesus. Yeah-I think I'll strive to do it Mary's way....
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And while we're on the subject, I'm so tired of getting asked, "So how long are you planning to breastfeed?" I have no plan. These types of things are not planned. We just take it a day at a time. I'm sure there will come a day in the distant or not-so-distant future that Hannah and I no longer want to nurse. That day is not today. It probably won't be tomorrow, but again-no planning. For now, I'm increasingly grateful of the benefits that come with nursing a toddler:
instant calming when she's escalating into a tantrum
magic boo-boo band-aid that stops tears in their tracks
quick little rest when she doesn't need a real nap but can't keep going without one
snuggles
giggles
five minutes to sit down
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Hannah and I spent the morning at the local museum/zoo with two wonderful mamas and their kiddos. Perfect weather, perfect company. And then I came home and scrubbed the shower for the first time in a month...or two. Great Friday morning!
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Is Hannah the only one who can't get enough of this video? Only a few days left of Colleen's campaign-she's sooo close! My giveaway will end on May 25-so there's still time to enter!
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And I'll end with more pictures of my favorite girl.
Laughing. It's what we do.
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The sprinkler in fun.....
but I'd really rather just run aimlessly in this open field.
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We bought a peach tree! This is our first peach. She loved it so much that she kept the pit in her hand for the rest of the meal and picked up bits of hamburger and ate them with peach juice.
Thanks to all of you who have entered my giveaway so far! There are still 13 days left in Colleen's kickstarter campaign, so it isn't too late to enter!
As of now, she has $11,815 pledged. If she doesn't make it to $25,000 on May 25 she gets NOTHING!
Won't you go and give her something. Anything. Even a dollar! And for only $10 you'll get her CD. So it's not even a donation, it's a purchase! You get an awesome CD. She gets the money to record the CD. Everyone wins.
For a little taste of what her new CD will be like, check out this song. Her description of it is so beautiful. Dying to self as she lives out her vocation as a wife and mother.
And now, I'm going to threaten you.
If you don't donate to Colleen's CD, then you can never complain about there being "nothing good on the radio" and you can never say, "Christian music just doesn't sound as good as what's on the radio." Ever. Because here it is-radio quality music from a Christian heart.
So go watch Hannah dance and make her smooch face. Donate to her project if you are able. Share it on facebook. And enter my giveaway! There will be three winners! And you don't have to spend any money. So why wouldn't you???
I had a very sudden realization tonight while I was praying the rosary with a group of women at a friend's home. We all mentioned our petitions before praying and everyone had such heavy, heavy intentions. Parents with cancer, siblings in car accidents, women considering abortion, and conversion of fallen away family members.
During the rosary I could only think of one thing: Hannah.
Her sweet face was the only image I could keep in my mind. Those other things went on the back-burner while I prayed for my girl. And I felt guilty. Hannah was home with her daddy. Safe. Sleeping. Well fed. She didn't "need" my prayers as much as the other people who had been mentioned.
But then it hit me: There is no one in the world who can pray for Hannah like I can. No one.
I know Ted prays for her. And I know her grandparents and godparents and aunts pray for her. Her godfather (a priest) even offers an occasional Mass for her. So the girl is not lacking in advocates before the Lord.
But none of them can pray for her like I can. And none of them will experience the same amount of failure if they don't pray for her enough. My sole responsibility in life-get her (and Ted) to heaven. Pray her to heaven. Pray for her without ceasing.
We all have callings and charisms to pray for certain intentions and causes that are dear to our heart. But no one is closer to my heart than that little girl. No one needs my prayers more than she does.
I no longer feel guilty for praying "just" for Hannah. I feel guilty for not praying for her enough!
Ted and I have decided to try to set up some sort of routine to our evenings to make sure we're spending quality time together. It seems our to-do list are so very long that we end up just working all night until we're exhausted and fall into bed. Not to mention this is the fourth week in a row he's been working 10-12 hour days. It doesn't leave a wholelotta time to just hang.
So we're going to try to do an "every other night" approach. Every other night we can work as much as we want and do all the stuff that needs to get done. Then on the off nights-no work. We can watch a movie, read, relax, make fun desserts, whatever we want. But no work.
So far so good! Does anyone else have some sort of schedule/routine to make sure quality husband time actually happens
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I'm compiling a dairy bucket list. No-Hannah has not weaned and no-she can't tolerate dairy yet. I'm just torturing myself. It's been over a year now so my list is pretty extensive. Here it is so far:
-giant glass of so-cold-it's-almost-frozen whole milk. hopefully raw. in a chilled glass. with oreos.
-butterfinger blast from Sonic
-oreo blast from Sonic
-cheese fries from Steak-n-Shake (cheese on the side) (and yes I know it's probably not even cheese)
-chicken queso burrito from Qdoba (the chicken has dairy in the seasoning and the queso is, well queso)
-mozzarella sticks from Sonic
-my homemade yogurt with honey
-a meal at a nice Italian restaurant with all the cream sauce I can handle
-pizza!!!!!!!
-butter on my pancakes
-butter on my homemade bread
-butter on anything really
-our favorite homemade bean burittos with cream cheese
-another glass of raw milk
I'll probably have to space that out over several weeks. I think I'd be sick if I ate that much fast food at once. What would you add to my dairy dreams?
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I've finally joined the rest of the world and watched the first season of Downton Abbey. Soooo good. I wish we spoke like that. I've always been enamored with historical fiction, especially the early 1900's. Of course, I always picture myself as a part of the rich class, never as a servant. Might not be so fun then. I talk to Hannah with a British accent now-it makes me feel fancy.
I love the costumes, the set, the characters, the dialogue, the many plots, and the way that bad is portrayed as bad and morals upheld as good. So refreshing.
I signed up for a Netflix and got a free month trial. I just have to cancel before the month is out and I pay nothing! But now, for the most important question of these quick takes: how do I watch Season 2 for free????
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I also read the first book of the Hunger Games. It was good. But I was disappointed. {Spoiler Alert} I really thought Katnis was going to take the moral high ground and refuse to kill anyone just because the government told her to. I guess I was expecting too much out of a secular novel. I know so many people who just loved it-but I couldn't get past some of the crassness of it all. Especially the end when Cato died. And it seemed to justify bad behavior as long as the end results was good. I'm not a fan of that. I don't hav a lot of desire to see the movie either-I just don't know that I want to watch death like that. Those of you who loved it-what do you make of all this? Anyone else agree with me that it's a bit of a let-down?
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Watch this. You will cry.
Did you cry?
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Summer olympics will always remind me of our honeymoon. Michael Phelps was in the middle of his big run for 8 gold medals the entire week we were at the lake. We watched him win another one every evening while we ate ice cream. Good times.
-7- Have you entered my giveaway yet?? Why not? All you have to do is the watch the video and comment! Go enter!
Tonight, while rocking Hannah to sleep, she stopped nursing, stood up on my lap, gave me a big kiss with a loud "muaah!", then sat down and went back to nursing.
She is the greatest blessing I could ever imagine.
Several of the commenters said something along the lines of, "You really need to write that down and remember it!"
And I agreed-I didn't ever want to forget that sweet, sweet moment. So I decided to write it down, but didn't really have anywhere to write it. I'm horrible at keeping journals. Her First Year Calendar has passed its date. I know myself enough to know thatI wouldn't keep up with any kind of cute scrapbook notebook of cute memories.
So I decided to write it down on here. And I plan to write other things that I don't ever want to forget. Simple things about this moment. Because I've learned in the last 14 months, that this moment changes in a moment.
Today, May 2, 2012, Hannah and I went to Mass. She was excellent except for her usual singing and jabbering and demanding that I take her over to see Mary AT ONCE in the middle of Mass. At the end of Mass Father said, "If anyone happens to know the song that Hannah is singing feel free to join in!" To which a few old ladies responded, "nah nah nah nah." :)
After Mass we played on the playground outside of the church. She climbed up the stairs to the big kid slide all by herself (yes, I was right behind her) and was so excited to go down the tunnel with me. I got her on my lap and noticed there was a lizard sitting in the tunnel! I tried to turn around and take Hannah back down the stairs but she wouldn't have it. Who could blame her? She was so proud and just wanted to slide with me. I turned toward the slide and couldn't see the lizard anymore-which could only mean he was hiding around the bend. I banged my feet hoping he would run away and told myself I would slide slowly so we wouldn't run into him.
Slowly. Not so much. I couldn't catch myself and we raced down the slide. The lizard fell in our laps halfway down and I started screaming and flailing to try to get him off. Then we reached the bottom and my butt landed in the giant wet spot at the bottom of the slide. I was still screaming from the lizard. Then laughing from the water.
Hannah ran into the open field next to the slide and I was worried I had scared her. She turned around to look back at me, pointed at the slide, and then broke out in the biggest belly laugh you've ever heard come from someone so tiny. She threw her head back and just chuckled and chuckled.
Oh if only I could have gotten a picture of that laugh. It would have been the kind of picture that would have been displayed until the day I died. I would have never been able to take it down. But I knew I couldn't snap a picture fast enough-so I just watched her and enjoyed her and thought, "I have the best life in the world."
Update: Read the link provided by Elizabeth S. in the comment box about the dangers of toddlers sliding with adults. Who knew??
