May 2012
18 posts
'Bunder, Mama! Bunder! I hear the drums!'
I had one of those moments this morning that I’ll never forget.
Gray woke up just as a big thunderstorm was rolling in, a cool breeze and soft rain starting as his sleepy voice woke up murmuring ‘mama..mama..maaaamaaaa..’
I walked down the hall and pulled his warm sleepy little body out of bed, along with his beloved frisbee and ‘baybeedoll’. He usually crawls into...
Man it's nice to have such smart friends.
A friend of ours, mother extraordainaire to two awesome little ones, just launched a new website and adventure for herself.
Minibury.
If you live in or near Middlebury VT or are visiting, check out this awesome site. Its’s got all the happenings for local families of what’s happening around town, a calendar of events, a guide for summer camps, great playgrounds and places to play and...
1 tag
Presents, presents, and more presents.
Though all party guests promised to not bring a present and we begged family to keep G’s presents to a minimum (the child literally does not need a thing), somehow he woke up on his birthday morning with a LOT of presents.
With efficiency on our mind, we decided to sit down and just open all of them. Thank you, to everyone who made Gray’s birthday so special.
But I think we made a...
Healthy, ish, birthday cupcakes.
I made these cupcakes for G & J’s birthday party, substituting canola oil for olive oil and adding some flax seeds.
They were all gone, so they couldn’t have been too bad!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup applesauce 1/2 cup local honey 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 egg 4 tablespoon...
1 tag
A two year old party...it's really not as...
I once worked with a woman who invited 200 people and created a faux Paris in her backyard, complete with a mini Eiffel tower, a caricature artist, a mime, a band, and mini french bistro tables and chairs for her daughter’s second birthday party.
Wow.
While I wildly respect her creativity and gumption, I’ll never be that mom.
Gray and Jackson share a birthday, and every year my goal...
TWO?
I’d like to pause for a moment to look back two years and one month ago.
I was pregnant, overdue but still comfortable, thinking about Bundle. I ended up going almost three weeks past my due-date, and the bigger my belly, the more I looked forward to my maternity leave and summer with this little babe…picnics at the lake, long walks, napping under a big umbrella, reading in the...
Sometimes you just have to unplug.
Sorry to be out of touch…sometimes, to soak up everything that’s happening, you have to put your computer away and just be present.
So that’s what I did.
With all the craziness leading up to Gray and Jackson’s birthday(s), family in town, party planning and trying to take a moment to be here, I unplugged.
Usually I write to process what’s happening in my world, in...
Dream dream dream.
I just got to see a friend’s dream come true…something he’d wanted his whole life.
And it was good.
It’s pretty amazing to think that what Gray dreams about becoming right now could lead his path in life. How amazing to truly follow your heart, stick it out, and get there.
For Gray I guess that would mean being a firefighter and/or cheese-taster.
Either way, I...
2 tags
Two years ago today...
…my world flew upside down in the most heart-pounding, magnificent, powerful minute of my life.
That moment when he arrived, our wonderful nurse put him on my chest, and we met Bundle for the first time.
There is so much to say, remember, write down and share, but after your baby turns two (and your husband turns 32), you fall into bed exhausted.
So for now, with visions of Gray through...
April 2012
30 posts
Two years ago...
As Gray’s 2nd, and Jackson’s 32nd birthdays approach, I’m a bit misty-eyed thinking back two years. I was due on April 19th, so it never even occurred to us that Bundle would arrive anywhere close to Jackson’s birthday (May 6th).
Ironically I just found this email (below) that I had sent to friends, still pregnant, planning a surprise birthday party for Jackson two days...
Homemade crackers.
I’ve tried making crackers in the past, knowing how much crap even the most natural crackers can be made with.
But I hadn’t found a good recipe.
However, this is looking good.
Made with cheese, so I know Gray will love them!
1 tag
Awesome play dough.
We’re not sure why, but Gray has been having a really hard time at drop-off some mornings at school.
He loves school, has great days with lots of friends and his teachers are amazing, so who knows what has brought on this sudden clinging when we try to leave.
One thing made that goodbye a lot easier the other day…a fresh batch of play dough.
We started playing with it to help G...
WatchOctober, 2009…I was pregnant, but not through my first trimester so we hadn’t told anyone yet. Therefore I got all all kinds of crap from friends and brothers about my lame jump…but it was all for Bundle!
You should see me jump when I’m not pregnant!!
Toxic sand? Yikes.
Thinking about a sandbox for your little peanut? Than read this.
I can’t wait to make/buy a sandbox for our little man one day. His favorite thing, tractors, do his second favorite thing, dig. So a sandbox is a must, at some point.
I’ve liked reading Young House Love’s journey into the homemade sandbox world, but was as surprised as they were when they learned more about what...
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Signs you're a mother of a toddler.
Your purse has, at all times, a mini waterbottle, a snack, a book, a tractor and kleenex.
Dream present? One paid year of a housecleaner.
Your glass of water is often kidnapped by your toddler and left with bits of food floating in it. Usually you notice before you have a sip.
It takes about six months to read a book.
Most showers are taken quickly, luke-warmly, and with a little man who...
1 tag
Maternity clothes...you mean those actually fit...
Last night I pulled out all of my maternity clothes to lend to a friend.
It was so funny going through them all, and remembering the pure joy that came with my first purchase of real maternity clothes and a loan from a friend of hers…it was like suddenly I fit into clothes again, instead of trying to cram my pregnant body into clothes that were increasingly too short, small and tight.
I...
Why getting grimy as a child can make for a...
Great article.
Though I’ve always heard rumblings of this (essentially don’t let your kids be too clean), I found this fascinating:
We’ve known for a while that people who grow up on farms are less likely to have ailments related to the immune system than people who grow up in cities. Those include asthma, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.
Exposure...
Dear Gray
I love that you pronounce pillow, ‘pee-yo’
I love that you start all phone conversations with ‘doing?’
I secretly love that once you figured put how to open your Easter eggs, you hid and tried to eat as many treats as possible before getting caught
I love that you like to pick out your pajamas every night
I love that your favorite breakfast is waffle and a fried egg
...
WatchTo cap off my birthday, Jackson took me to a concert with these guys last night. I’ve always loved this song and video, and as luck would have it they were playing in Burlington on my birthday!
At a small gallery, there were only 70 people there and it was incredible.
33 is off to a good start.
33 and growing.
Birthdays are a funny thing. I’ve always loved them, but this year I couldn’t care less about mine, as I’m more looking forward to Gray turning TWO in a month. (How is that possible?)
But nonetheless, 33 years ago I was born in Aspen, two weeks late and nearly in a breezeway when my poor mom accidentally got locked in between two sets of electric doors.
33…it sounds so...
1 tag
Eggs.
While we’re not particularly religious, I do love a good easter egg hunt.
So we’re having a big easter egg hunt at our friend’s house, which means packing those plastic eggs full of treats and dyeing eggs.
I was ready to be those little colored tablets to dye our eggs with, until I stumbled upon this post. Dying eggs naturally with gorgeous colors at the end using turmeric...
10 items for a well-stocked kids' craft cupboard.
My dad sent me this article and I’m posting it here so that when I lose the actual article, I can go back and figure out what I still need to make Gray the craftiest little man possible!
Age-appropriate scissors
Paper
White craft glue or glue sticks
Felt and craft foam
Markers and crayons
Paints and brushes
Popsicle sticks or pipe cleaners
Yarn
Masking tape
Embellishments...
1 tag
If you can't say something nice...
…don’t say anything at all.
I can’t tell you how many times my dad told me this throughout my life, and he truly lives by this mantra. The man does not say a bad word about anyone, which isn’t to say that he doesn’t have opinions about people, but he keeps anything negative to himself. It’s something I admire most about him.
I like to think that I’m a...
Hello dinner.
Many thanks to my mom for sending me this easy, delicious dinner recipe. The best part? Gray could not get enough of it (minus the beets). If you’re not a big tofu fan, this could easily be made with chicken.
The Glory Bowl Ingredients:
4 cups brown rice 1 cup beets, grated 1 cup carrots, grated 1 cup almonds, toasted 2 cups spinach leaves 1 package firm tofu cut into 1/2-inch cubes...
A start of something new.
Friday was my last day at my job.
It was a bittersweet goodbye, as I have loved my time there and so many of the people I’ve gotten to work with, learn from, and laugh with.
But an incredible opportunity, a dream job if you will, arose and it was too good to pass up.
For the last umpteen years my mornings have looked like this: wake up early to work, shower, try to look nice, pack my...
Oh dear.
Days before Christmas, 2005.
My boyfriend, Jackson, invited me over to his house to watch a movie. When I walked in the door, there were twinkling Christmas lights everywhere, Christmas music playing, and a cardboard box in the middle of the floor.
I walked over and found this tiny, fat, furry little bean curled up and sound asleep. A Christmas puppy!
I’m pretty sure I decided there and...
March 2012
45 posts
1 tag
Sleep out.
Last night I participated in an event to raise awareness of youth homelessness, where 45 people slept outside, on the ground, on a cold March night.
The night was miserable, cold wet conditions, a blustery wind and loud downtown traffic that made it impossible for everyone to sleep.
The point of the event was to put people in the shoes of a homeless youth. But something happened before the event...