tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30961712042144301962024-02-21T02:36:11.987-05:00J, Mx2, A, and ZCrafts, parties, gardening, and other random interesting things.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-88211625221435113702013-10-07T12:56:00.001-04:002013-10-07T13:52:24.697-04:00(Not) Easy, (Not) Cheap, & (Not) Fun!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G67fdpMOFXy1O6_iesESoIyjP6wieS4jUOroLswtG5uXKhWwG9cB8gZMpPnkwwx4LzqViabWc2uSsocIPOkOks3913MJz-ym46g-ptUqOjWuH_lYv0G14VTZ94NtKv5VS0CNSPzDBvD0/s640/blogger-image-1523070923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G67fdpMOFXy1O6_iesESoIyjP6wieS4jUOroLswtG5uXKhWwG9cB8gZMpPnkwwx4LzqViabWc2uSsocIPOkOks3913MJz-ym46g-ptUqOjWuH_lYv0G14VTZ94NtKv5VS0CNSPzDBvD0/s640/blogger-image-1523070923.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9c-fPmQkX6b45871UzJCyg3uLJepxX2WIclpET4ma6Ynw-9CalY9LwNvsWZwiuUkDf0bNE9ZMIXOXHuYIbhC_cL2ZAn3KfYtZrfQsulLtq6U8ksc1yAhjOZapBLkizrywyqjMOOa8OZiS/s640/blogger-image-1972449523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9c-fPmQkX6b45871UzJCyg3uLJepxX2WIclpET4ma6Ynw-9CalY9LwNvsWZwiuUkDf0bNE9ZMIXOXHuYIbhC_cL2ZAn3KfYtZrfQsulLtq6U8ksc1yAhjOZapBLkizrywyqjMOOa8OZiS/s640/blogger-image-1972449523.jpg"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A friend of mine was getting rid of her playhouse. A while ago I had pinned a how-to on painting a worn, faded plastic playhouse. I quickly skimmed over the post and figured it would take an afternoon to redo this free one from my friend. Awesome! We went and picked it up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Now, to be fair, I wasn't completely misled on what I was about to get into. The OP was quite clear that she only painted the outside. She used 3 colors plus a plastic primer on the door. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I took that and ended up with 5 colors, doing the inside and outside, AND painting the trim and windows white. The OP recommended Valspar Color Radiance (VCR) because it seemed to work fine without a plastic primer.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkppXjuXS2ZhD-QOQhcf83DN5uGLsnMY056zdDZFBIltnzMhUKUgaYo89yAJdK2QnGRC_DhUH2vF-Wz-KSEyGXDTvbAE4YEm2egMbCdomCB7ysUWk1fmKi7sUxzFvJIaXqzNGY6LXoC8K/s640/blogger-image--1428909301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkppXjuXS2ZhD-QOQhcf83DN5uGLsnMY056zdDZFBIltnzMhUKUgaYo89yAJdK2QnGRC_DhUH2vF-Wz-KSEyGXDTvbAE4YEm2egMbCdomCB7ysUWk1fmKi7sUxzFvJIaXqzNGY6LXoC8K/s640/blogger-image--1428909301.jpg"></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I wanted to use this as my color inspiration. The VCR came in colors pretty close to these except I liked the brown and green better from the Valspar The Perfect Finish (VPF) line. They were out of VCR white, so I bought VPF. I grabbed a can of plastic primer just in case.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The colors and how much I used:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">VCR Flat Silver Fox (4 cans) - Siding</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">VPF Satin Everglade Glen (1 can) - Upper Walls</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">VPF Satin Tropical Foliage (1can) - Shutters</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">VPF Satin/Flat White (5 cans) Trim, Wainscoting, & Ceiling</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">VCR Flat Caramel Honey (1 can) - Door</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The paint cost about $5 per VCR and $4 for VPF, so roughly $53. Add in drop cloths and a roll of painters tape and you're done.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOTjhNb-LuVGHrZPH0t007CXkmrQdD72ePIPVDhnpVJCt3etnTSnK9gOCiH2Wnu2N5p1DsqNvbCDsXuLiWKPArIwz-DleshdklpnJXhUmh3QASZ-06tLxeBzmJUVQFvKpDHSUSitylpKa/s640/blogger-image-44772086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOTjhNb-LuVGHrZPH0t007CXkmrQdD72ePIPVDhnpVJCt3etnTSnK9gOCiH2Wnu2N5p1DsqNvbCDsXuLiWKPArIwz-DleshdklpnJXhUmh3QASZ-06tLxeBzmJUVQFvKpDHSUSitylpKa/s640/blogger-image-44772086.jpg"></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I bought a three pack of plastic drop cloths and set things up in the driveway. I took the roof and one wall off so I had easy access to the inside.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You can't tell from the above picture, but I started with the brown on the roof first. It went on like a dream. One coat and bam! Done! Next I tackled the blue/grey on the outside walls. Yikes! It looked like there were pinholes all over the place!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q9IyxJu7ZdqRLykGF8Z1D9vuc5mq6TnpxsVIzEP2ijxAsbhHc3EAHdGbnCTBji0nyfCFALHq8SSb_Fkudc_NJTRoavEgzLPgp7z8Luhkl3nX9nrB2-FV-QTHdewNws9KAFCpU7fzdIa8/s640/blogger-image--41283277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q9IyxJu7ZdqRLykGF8Z1D9vuc5mq6TnpxsVIzEP2ijxAsbhHc3EAHdGbnCTBji0nyfCFALHq8SSb_Fkudc_NJTRoavEgzLPgp7z8Luhkl3nX9nrB2-FV-QTHdewNws9KAFCpU7fzdIa8/s640/blogger-image--41283277.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">You can also see them in the brown of the roof but the darker color camouflages them a lot better. White makes them show up the worst. I tried both a plastic primer base coat and adding a second coat of color. Neither really seemed to make a difference. These are holes in the plastic via the type and way it's made. It just so happens they are big enough for spray paint to only coat around them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Just as an aside, I had a new can of Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch in Summer Squash from another project that go scrapped. Some people SWEAR by the stuff for plastic so I gave it a shot on the door. Words cannot describe how terrible it was. It ran all over the place, bubbled up in corners, and was supper hard to control the coverage. I liked VPF the best of the three. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVIpde8NAcEBYsq2BbG4lTnqvSw4pzjfT4oIBd9_hIQ-g25LoQaJ1yO8iWkR1jbYuUqEJ9c6TWST2QmSTMRhSU2QvoFgR9TB6hSeg5hvXbe2zHxoqg2dqBt3A_gUFBb82I-9P6exfaQax/s640/blogger-image--1595023056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOVIpde8NAcEBYsq2BbG4lTnqvSw4pzjfT4oIBd9_hIQ-g25LoQaJ1yO8iWkR1jbYuUqEJ9c6TWST2QmSTMRhSU2QvoFgR9TB6hSeg5hvXbe2zHxoqg2dqBt3A_gUFBb82I-9P6exfaQax/s640/blogger-image--1595023056.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is how I taped off the white trim to paint the walls green. The white had what seems to be zero ability to cover over any color, so I had to do it first then tape over everything.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TfrU7uPWLRpzRtTRNqS6iXzsRSaO7C82IwM7xJC3TVRFvDigLQK7GsSAULMXwRPiFl-BIYACCZ28YuizwbGuHAud5ZgynbVhKzrmrkBmZanINckBocsN1dIVz-95ODLWs3zRLvrW_CrJ/s640/blogger-image-1575760495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TfrU7uPWLRpzRtTRNqS6iXzsRSaO7C82IwM7xJC3TVRFvDigLQK7GsSAULMXwRPiFl-BIYACCZ28YuizwbGuHAud5ZgynbVhKzrmrkBmZanINckBocsN1dIVz-95ODLWs3zRLvrW_CrJ/s640/blogger-image-1575760495.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Unfortunately the white came off in places with the tape. I looked closer and I could easily scrape off any paint color anywhere with a light brush of my fingernail. So much for lasting through much of anything, let alone 3 boys. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So I got the bright idea to cover over it with clear acrylic. I had a can that's probably 3yrs old (never used) that I dug out of storage, Ultra Clear by Valspar.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I sprayed it on all of the surfaces I thought would get heavy traffic - window sills, door, and door way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Imagine going from pretty f'ing terrible to I want to go jump in front of traffic. The paint started bubbling up everywhere.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBCVt2aglCKZlG581S1Il0wryl07FyW54hD4DoQQOprkDYA9w7yjvf6TcfUSAd7TZKWgOKFSuZUTGx_dYOtsgAC39e-e_KFF9VGNv8q42D7sa5IFIRXLhBvGy80KGNJh9RF9QykILtai_/s640/blogger-image-1357489025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNBCVt2aglCKZlG581S1Il0wryl07FyW54hD4DoQQOprkDYA9w7yjvf6TcfUSAd7TZKWgOKFSuZUTGx_dYOtsgAC39e-e_KFF9VGNv8q42D7sa5IFIRXLhBvGy80KGNJh9RF9QykILtai_/s640/blogger-image-1357489025.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I touched one bubble and the paint stuck to my finger and peeled off. I let it fully dry and then added a second coat. That seemed to seal it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So from far away, in the dark, with one eye closed, it doesn't look too bad. What was supposed to be an afternoon or two turned into every free minute over 5 days. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rXz6yYwVkYPRGgaMzoohpnLaiICulwgyxGsz4pNhaeStQzrEjiM5njISWiCwY1kcJVN6Nm0lPOt0v1yjGEWHc66ogvM71cLvxvFNN6zEkTGRKtDoq7UlfPAh3nklcEUnOcm1cgUHc90H/s640/blogger-image-890277656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7rXz6yYwVkYPRGgaMzoohpnLaiICulwgyxGsz4pNhaeStQzrEjiM5njISWiCwY1kcJVN6Nm0lPOt0v1yjGEWHc66ogvM71cLvxvFNN6zEkTGRKtDoq7UlfPAh3nklcEUnOcm1cgUHc90H/s640/blogger-image-890277656.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I also ended up with paint on anything that touched the drop cloths. Yay for overspray.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">If I had it to do over, I wouldn't. It took up so much time and the end product was pretty mediocre at best. We are putting it in the basement, so I'm going to cover the bottom in heavy duty tape so there's no chance of the paint rubbing off on the carpet.</div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-4392250141542196222013-08-05T00:03:00.000-04:002013-08-05T00:03:27.268-04:00Mario Bros InvitesMy sister-in-law was researching Mario Bros. invites for her son's upcoming birthday party and came across these by <a href="http://itsthelife.typepad.com/" target="_blank">It's the Life</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://itsthelife.typepad.com/my_weblog/super-mario-birthday-party-invitations.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTmt9YKtc_WV-s18hLexUbLpddVQ3LQ9sfyP5mhDCSn5J5TIMNjL9eAP0KYU8FPBM7WyZY5NNt5v_i7rujYP6RbS54s1RvWCW_WO7h1_gxfM3X64e4H_v_7tsKENx2OPjVnAij-5OvE8C3/s320/Originals.png" width="111" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://itsthelife.typepad.com/my_weblog/super-mario-birthday-party-invitations.html" target="_blank">(Link Here)</a></div>
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The author gives a GREAT tutorial to construct these using a Cricut cutting machine, plus some other punches and cutting implements.<br />
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I've adapted her designs to the Silhouette. Not only does it convert a "cut, modify, and assemble" project into a "cut and assemble" one, it lends itself to mass production. In my case, I needed 6 of each for a total of 24. Plus, in the Silhouette you can make these any size you'd like. The original tutorial was for a 5" square invite. To fit into the 5x5 envelopes my sister-in-law purchased, I needed a slightly smaller 4.75"x4.75". If you need them bigger or smaller, it's super easy to customize and cut.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgz0mcvqnun8HElSH_crnuxg6fJhHpE6KafgQJZKI13lrjxRjs3euGSVFUaoSAuwwuwR2O77QO6X8u7q_qthGUPgfc64p_-RLBPXeAFlMotREsX37NZjGo4A-xkAtW6GxC_CpTl5O3fgr7/s1600/Mario_Bros_Invites_Birthday_Silhouette_Luigi_Princess_Toad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgz0mcvqnun8HElSH_crnuxg6fJhHpE6KafgQJZKI13lrjxRjs3euGSVFUaoSAuwwuwR2O77QO6X8u7q_qthGUPgfc64p_-RLBPXeAFlMotREsX37NZjGo4A-xkAtW6GxC_CpTl5O3fgr7/s320/Mario_Bros_Invites_Birthday_Silhouette_Luigi_Princess_Toad.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
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These are examples of my assembled invites. The camera had some exposure issues with poor Toad, but his blue dots were really close in color to the originals, and not as light as they appear.<br />
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Ok, so first things first... In all of my files, I'm using plain cardstock, the kind you buy in the office paper section of Walmart or an office supply store, NOT fancy textured craft paper from the scrapbooking aisle. If you're using something besides plain cardstock, be sure to check your paper type and corresponding blade settings.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA15Inyz7QJjBGOPr5qhQRu0opK6wsqjzdeueMjQux7J8c5atME6Jj9J-94QRf0s0eUYxGxuvts6r0xig0GoImEyrp0MvpxkSflGJTBC7r8sZwPxY4FjJ9z4qCAPH-aZK8NDWaAhWXzOkK/s1600/Master_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA15Inyz7QJjBGOPr5qhQRu0opK6wsqjzdeueMjQux7J8c5atME6Jj9J-94QRf0s0eUYxGxuvts6r0xig0GoImEyrp0MvpxkSflGJTBC7r8sZwPxY4FjJ9z4qCAPH-aZK8NDWaAhWXzOkK/s320/Master_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Download the Master File <a href="http://www.jmx2aandz.com/Files/Master_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.studio" target="_blank">HERE</a>)</div>
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I created a master file of all four characters. It contains all of the pieces to make one of each type at the original 5"x5" size. Each invite has all of the pieces grouped together, so you if you need to resize it, all of the pieces will remain proportional. Ungroup (probably a few times, I over-group things!) them when you are done to access the individual pieces.<br />
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If you are making more than one character, it makes sense to group all of the pieces together by color to use your paper efficiently. Below are the individual files that do this. <strong><span style="color: red;">IMPORTANT</span></strong> - If you want an invitation size other than 4.75"x4.75", you will need to resize the master file, then populate these individual files with your new piece sizes.<br />
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My original goal was to make 6 of each, so whenever possible, you'll see that many parts jammed onto a page. I also tried to describe how many and what color you'd need per invite. So for the example immediately below, the paper should be black, and Mario and Luigi get one mustache each. Toad needs two eyes. So if you're making 6 like me, you'll need 6 of each kind of mustache and 12 Toad eyes. (It gets more complicated later, so I'll explain then, too!)<br />
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<strong><a href="https://www.jmx2aandz.com/Files/Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.zip" target="_blank">HERE</a> is the zip file for all of the cut files you see below!</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAC7tln6sRBTfW7G4Utm0lp-cMM1eD0G5uzTBDEOY83TQLh9CzYwoza8i92C0ONkR3Noa3BnAF4Om_USlq6R7pk0uyGrMSy1b_e-Pe5L61OSDzLCPWPjWiC1HuN2F2lzJILgWjFnhK7lN/s1600/Mustaches_ToadEyes_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSAC7tln6sRBTfW7G4Utm0lp-cMM1eD0G5uzTBDEOY83TQLh9CzYwoza8i92C0ONkR3Noa3BnAF4Om_USlq6R7pk0uyGrMSy1b_e-Pe5L61OSDzLCPWPjWiC1HuN2F2lzJILgWjFnhK7lN/s320/Mustaches_ToadEyes_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.png" width="229" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5BPreL31m8lCpK8gbg2o0jDs_5zVTShAfdQkgOxvownVIZJWaNSdwER3NVc9zKwygxqnE_BraJgBzkUYv79nwH9sNVOLg8LoxAHgAyg9olynInSIMVbGT_zkNq248vHuohx6X4Yh3yaB/s1600/Faces_Noses_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5BPreL31m8lCpK8gbg2o0jDs_5zVTShAfdQkgOxvownVIZJWaNSdwER3NVc9zKwygxqnE_BraJgBzkUYv79nwH9sNVOLg8LoxAHgAyg9olynInSIMVbGT_zkNq248vHuohx6X4Yh3yaB/s320/Faces_Noses_Mario_Luigi_Peach_Toad_Invites.png" width="236" /></a></div>
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This last one is a bit tricky. Basically every character shares some of these shapes. I tried color coding them out to the left to make things clearer. You'll want to cut Mario's hat and shirt, plus Peach's lips out of red. Luigi just needs the hat and shirt in green, so you can move Peach's lips off the page before cutting those out. The very bottom of Peach's dress is the exact same as the hats, so ungroup as needed and move everything else off the page before cutting. Toad's hat is just Mario's shirt on the top and Mario's hat on the bottom, but in white. Nix the lips and cut those.<br />
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I hope this makes doing these invites easier! And thanks again to <a href="http://itsthelife.typepad.com/" target="_blank">It's the Life</a> for creating the invites and making such a great tutorial so everyone else can, too!Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-85494558810017721802013-07-20T22:00:00.003-04:002013-07-20T22:00:52.959-04:00Organizing Photos of TwinsMy project this weekend, and possibly for the rest of my natural life, is to get my well over 15,000 pictures of my kids organized. Step one was getting them all in one place, which happened over the course of a week a few months ago. Next was importing them into <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html?kw=p&sdid=ESDNI&skwcid=AL!3085!3!25577029102!b!!g!!lightroom&ef_id=UZrZPAAAAYuAsSPV:20130720030257:s" target="_blank">Lightroom 5.</a> It's been a few hours and that's still going on. I've decided to start the daunting and near impossible task of tagging the pictures that have loaded so far. An hour and a half in, I'm on 614. Um, yeah...<br />
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It's not like I didn't start out with a system I thought would work. I fired up iPhoto on my MacBook back in the day (like 2008), saw the tagging options, and went with it. Little did I realize that a little laptop was in no way going to be able to contain the sheer amount of photos I was going to take in the next 4 years. "Bogged down system" doesn't even begin to describe my situation in early 2012.<br />
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So now the network drive is holding the colossus, with digital and physical backups scattered across various platforms. I looked through some of the <a href="http://tv.adobe.com/show/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-5/" target="_blank">Lightroom 5 video tutorials</a> and decided to give it a free 30 day try. Within the software, you are presented with a number of ways to rate, flag, tag, and color code your pictures. What I am primarily interested in was the tagging.<br />
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In the case of identical twins, I may be the only person on the planet that can tell them apart in pictures. It helps that I took them, certainly, but it's also a matter of staring at their faces every single day. Sometimes you can cheat and use visual clues (different shoes, certain clothes, etc.), and honestly, sometimes I even have to just guess. The bottom line is, though, if I get hit by a turnip truck tomorrow, I'd like family to be able to know who is who later on.<br />
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Facebook has the best tagging, with a giant square smack dab over their faces. Anyone can come along and figure that out. All of the other software I've used keeps the tags as essentially text slapped in some data file somewhere. This presents a problem for me. Tagging a picture with both "Alex" and "Zach" tells me they are in there somewhere, but not which is which. So, the best I could come up with is a 4 tag system that looks like this:<br />
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LZach, Alex<br />
LAlex, Zach<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCUpk4B6r9ZwNJcDzuWzSb3dEQIcBkSnoIMF9IawIZKMFqr7bUzpGeZoo-XsMmmDULaFpc72h6LZaBzl34NGZJQW4pEDy7WW7_umnQTQoki6-hxjyggFinVvAzw1S1cO2MCVFE-DKhFX1/s1600/425+copyr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCUpk4B6r9ZwNJcDzuWzSb3dEQIcBkSnoIMF9IawIZKMFqr7bUzpGeZoo-XsMmmDULaFpc72h6LZaBzl34NGZJQW4pEDy7WW7_umnQTQoki6-hxjyggFinVvAzw1S1cO2MCVFE-DKhFX1/s320/425+copyr.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lollipopzphotography.com/" target="_blank">(c) Lollipopz Photography</a></td></tr>
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The "L" at the beginning stands for "Left", telling me who is on the left side as I am looking at the picture. So the tags for the above picture would be "LZach" and "Alex", since Zach is wearing the striped shirt. My rule of thumb is whoever has a body part closest to the left side of the picture wins the "L". It can get tricky when they are wrestling on the bed, but I'm ok with a small margin of error. Plus I never just take one photo of anything. Check the 10 before and after it and I'm sure you can figure it out.</div>
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I choose to put the "L" first so if I'm typing in the tags, two keystrokes will get me the auto fill for what I want. If you put it at the end, you're going to have to do more work.</div>
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This also gives me the potential benefit of being able to find pictures of just one or the other, assuming Lightroom will let me exclude tags. So if I want ones of just Zach by himself, I'd search for pictures with "Zach" but without "LAlex". We will see if this is possible.</div>
Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-86060228062257427472013-07-15T15:37:00.001-04:002013-07-15T18:53:49.899-04:00Top 10 (+1) Things for RV'ing with Kids<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzv2mzOuVVn26Fhxv11Z1o1D5mF1vZ2GX131-Odr27oHBqUEeUz6ZQYqXApNR25nJO7dFypKYPBY2LeO3M0WI1Qk4w66ry7LiFHqANHU45yM7G8rQJb6VRvxddEMnOW1pyCCn5CJbug20/s640/blogger-image--105329602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzv2mzOuVVn26Fhxv11Z1o1D5mF1vZ2GX131-Odr27oHBqUEeUz6ZQYqXApNR25nJO7dFypKYPBY2LeO3M0WI1Qk4w66ry7LiFHqANHU45yM7G8rQJb6VRvxddEMnOW1pyCCn5CJbug20/s640/blogger-image--105329602.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div>We just got back from a 10 day, 1.2k mile RV trip with two 4yr olds and a 1yr old. We drove that 25ft beast through the mountains, tried out a couple of campgrounds, and used it as our primary residence while visiting my parents. During the trip it became obvious what was important, and what we should have left at home.<div><br></div><div><b>Top 11 Things That Were Useful</b></div><div>(Referencing the picture at the top)</div><div><br></div><div>1. <b>Headphones for the Kids</b> - On the way up to Ohio, it was amazing how loud the RV was. When I saw them putting the iWhatevers on max volume and holding the speakers to their ears, I knew we had a problem. I ordered these (http://amzn.com/B009396UGM) from Amazon for the trip back and they were awesome! I looked for ones with noise reducers to decrease the chance of hearing damage.</div><div><br></div><div>2. <b>Disposable Gloves</b> - If you plan on using anything that would drain into the holding tanks, these are a good idea. You might not have an easy way to wash your hands and dealing with the sewer drain hose is the first and last thing you'll be doing at a campsite. </div><div><br></div><div>3. <b>Quiet Candy</b> - Safe-T-Pops were a big hit and even the 1yr old could handle one himself. When the mongrel horde started chanting "Out! Out!" these appeased them for quite a while. They also helped pop ears in the mountains. Candy necklaces and bubble gum crayons worked, too, for the older ones. Anything that takes a long time to eat fits the bill. </div><div><br></div><div>4. <b>Travel Crib </b>- I don't think a full size pack 'n play would fit on the floor space of a 25ft RV. Plus this thing was way easier to put up and take down everyday. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsCt42cqcdFzHzoxRV96rmxqYIEOjXkDgrkPJw3zJ58E8AessuqxnB2EoUg3-5qYB1Y6c0EtLAR-oUmzTw2iVjPCm1NJ0Z69fmuiSJTzEHbN2VnjKS7j6x_rJjlrz1XcktSZLaW3T7mr2/s640/blogger-image-404771801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsCt42cqcdFzHzoxRV96rmxqYIEOjXkDgrkPJw3zJ58E8AessuqxnB2EoUg3-5qYB1Y6c0EtLAR-oUmzTw2iVjPCm1NJ0Z69fmuiSJTzEHbN2VnjKS7j6x_rJjlrz1XcktSZLaW3T7mr2/s640/blogger-image-404771801.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>We used it on the floor so the table area was available to hold car seats (if we were driving that day) or to quickly transition into breakfast. </div><div><br></div><div>5. <b>Bottled Water</b> - I'm not really taking about the individual ones, but the gallon sizes. While the rental RV comes with a potable water holding tank and a hose hookup, there's no real way to be sure they are sanitary. The giant "DO NOT DRINK THE WATER" sign by the sink was also persuasive. We brought 3 gal with us and used those to fill the coffee maker and our water bottles. The gallon bottles were refilled with clean tap water at my parent's house a few times, too.</div><div><br></div><div>6. <b>Hand Vacuum</b> - Honestly, in order of importance, this should be number one. I had no idea how dirty the floor of the RV would get just cruising down the road while the kids ate snacks. I was totally grossed out by day two and borrowed my Dad's hand held vacuum about 30sec after we pulled into their driveway. A stick version would work ok, as would a broom, but a hand held one can also easily clean out crumb filled car seats. </div><div><br></div><div>7. <b>Garbage Bags with Tie Loops</b> - We used the kitchen size and stuck part of the loop over the vertically positioned arm rest of the front seat. This kept the bag both upright and within easy reach to throw things away while buckled in. </div><div><br></div><div>8. <b>Bed Rails</b> - We decided to put Alex and Zach in the bed above the driver's cab. It was the largest bed and if Mason woke up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to descend Mt. Everest to get to him. It's like a solid 5ft drop to the floor, so we used a bed rail tucked under the mattress. It gave the boys just enough room to shimmy up the side to get in/out by themselves. </div><div><br></div><div>9. <b>Waterproof Shoes </b>- Even if you aren't going to the beach, these will come in handy. The weather is right outside the door of the RV, and you don't want to wear soggy tennis shoes for a week. </div><div><br></div><div>10. <b>King Size Sheet</b> - I asked multiple people multiple times for the bed sizes. (You could rent a linen package for $100. Uh, no thanks.) Everyone told me "They're all queen." The bed over the cab is definitely not a queen. A king size or even a CA king might be your best bet.</div><div><br></div><div>11. <b>Coffee Maker</b> - Obviously, if you don't drink coffee, please don't bring one. There isn't a magic use for it or anything! It was just another cost savings for us. If the generator was already running to power the air while we drove, we had power for the k-cup machine*. So rather than trying to find a place to get Jim a decent cup, we made our own.</div><div><br></div><div>*The picture shows a regular coffee maker. I wouldn't recommend brewing a pot while in transit!</div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-61294672767845042952013-07-15T14:27:00.001-04:002013-07-15T15:37:25.838-04:00Nom Nom NomSomething, probably squirrels of the tree or ground variety, have been enjoying the garden immensely. They were kind enough to leave a couple of leaves on the green beans, but stripped the lettuces clean.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9c4-KzY4tIwUcolfaat2ZPi2wHqGG0CozcOeCRSqmkjBySjP3mayJLRxW6ddKOZhkVui6uxRYuAWnBcd_QnjFaB2G4NuKyEZk_pVu7eB-CYNmLm9X1xAzsXIb0EtQqJRuDIXv5jo1eBP4/s640/blogger-image-1899312042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9c4-KzY4tIwUcolfaat2ZPi2wHqGG0CozcOeCRSqmkjBySjP3mayJLRxW6ddKOZhkVui6uxRYuAWnBcd_QnjFaB2G4NuKyEZk_pVu7eB-CYNmLm9X1xAzsXIb0EtQqJRuDIXv5jo1eBP4/s640/blogger-image-1899312042.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The corn gave up trying to get taller and sprouted the beginnings of an ear. A couple of zucchini started to grow but bugs were more than happy to chomp them into mush. There are a lot more flowers, so we'll see who wins the race. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4Ab4FSlTpnQuqlJALJ_tNJa7hhWu3YPAB4nIab9RVhp-KMPs8QPBti61kcjX3FRHLctvcjmzgZCW-b76vNC4rQxAwMMW5f_4GA4t2Z5U4-SM2rFCfjIKudZY9qose1iqR_Vs0Yjrm4XO/s640/blogger-image--2036164461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4Ab4FSlTpnQuqlJALJ_tNJa7hhWu3YPAB4nIab9RVhp-KMPs8QPBti61kcjX3FRHLctvcjmzgZCW-b76vNC4rQxAwMMW5f_4GA4t2Z5U4-SM2rFCfjIKudZY9qose1iqR_Vs0Yjrm4XO/s640/blogger-image--2036164461.jpg"></a></div></div><br></div><div>The most surprising we're the tomatoes. One plant has taken off and I had to coax it through a cage for support. Naturally I accidentally snapped off a flowering branch, one of only two so far. I apologized but I'm pretty sure it's still offended.</div><div><br></div><div>I pulled all of the dead peas down. Being the beginning of July, maybe there's something else I can plant there. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLlizt48u7UJW_H6yuU73dYOh7yAoN8VEFcba3Lvb2DpSVCmRavoxeQUqzL29DOkzL9SvSzEqO-nrEvZN898e4Qz-Kqu6sZMw6UuVVRaujWLuCEFyhc-fJU-v6-Y_OhMPe1kPiESFaeov/s640/blogger-image-445066560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihLlizt48u7UJW_H6yuU73dYOh7yAoN8VEFcba3Lvb2DpSVCmRavoxeQUqzL29DOkzL9SvSzEqO-nrEvZN898e4Qz-Kqu6sZMw6UuVVRaujWLuCEFyhc-fJU-v6-Y_OhMPe1kPiESFaeov/s640/blogger-image-445066560.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The carrots and basil seem to be the happiest right now, although the pumpkin and kale aren't too bad. The kale would be great if bugs would stop eating it. Something with teeth has been tasting the mint, too. </div><div><br></div><div>What hasn't done well at all was the cilantro (my fault), cauliflower, spinach, and broccoli. Perhaps I'm doing something inadvertently to anger the cabbage family? Who knows. </div><div><br></div><div>The veggies have been fun but I might do two boxes of flowers instead of one next time. And buy fully grown tomatoes in their own pots. </div><div><br></div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-58379212049090510512013-07-02T00:53:00.002-04:002013-07-02T01:19:46.460-04:00Hitting the Road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindpgbQR5X4oyZ6ZeHEkRT56wFi3LPIN22tvKfOGZhILYI4MZFvP5FjWQQSh5mlItlDWWd9mHKN7gthAqoQGYMuzgNGFmyTsPUArbUaaEz592Oem1MK1ArJ4sZlDNwKMZbHg54iK5j2yTj/s1321/RV1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEindpgbQR5X4oyZ6ZeHEkRT56wFi3LPIN22tvKfOGZhILYI4MZFvP5FjWQQSh5mlItlDWWd9mHKN7gthAqoQGYMuzgNGFmyTsPUArbUaaEz592Oem1MK1ArJ4sZlDNwKMZbHg54iK5j2yTj/s320/RV1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In a couple of days we will be loading up all of our junk into a rented RV and heading to my parent's house about 550 miles away. I'd always said I wanted to rent one and head west, where it was more about the journey than the destination. So when we started weighing our options when visiting my family, it fit the bill the best. They don't really have room for us at their house, we are super early at getting up and going to bed, and the nearest hotel is 45min away. To top it off, they already had an RV pad and hookups from hosting my grandfather's a number of times.<br />
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You'd think I'd be leaping around, tossing flowers, and singing with happiness at the thought of scratching an item off my bucket list. I. am. not. I'm scared and have been combatting my anxiety with overplanning activities for the trip. <a href="http://pinterest.com/valyre/hitting-the-road/" target="_blank">Pinterest became my enabler</a> and I didn't look back. If you're looking for things that will be completely overkill for a 9-10hr trip, you've come to the right place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFguzXNlcZbL6KrM7PnbYwLmihqT6J2zXQ1WqybT7qZAx6eOytYkgC9J60CqYMTllTYSJ0BCIAYY65YIOi13Qgh5k6OZlkvWID9So51luc9fQGHB_a6dba2Z2f80-evRjt33wjrKhBe2h/s1600/diy_kids_busy_bag_roadtrip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMFguzXNlcZbL6KrM7PnbYwLmihqT6J2zXQ1WqybT7qZAx6eOytYkgC9J60CqYMTllTYSJ0BCIAYY65YIOi13Qgh5k6OZlkvWID9So51luc9fQGHB_a6dba2Z2f80-evRjt33wjrKhBe2h/s320/diy_kids_busy_bag_roadtrip.png" width="253" /></a></div>
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I made both 4yr old boys a bag of goodies to keep with them during the trip:<br />
<ol>
<li>Pizza baking sheet and three containers from Dollar Tree. I glued magnets to the bottom of the containers so they wouldn't slide. The store was out of the regular cookie sheets, so this was the best I could do. Turns out they fit perfectly on their laps between the arms of their car seat. I experimented with hot gluing foam on the bottoms, but I was too lazy and didn't like the look.</li>
<li>Reusable grocery bag I had left over from the Doc McStuffins party.</li>
<li>Random toys from the dollar store. I wrapped some, including funny socks, a pocket fan, toy helicopter, and a ball on a lanyard.</li>
<li>My homemade "I Spy" jar of rice and little items. The container and rice are from the dollar store. You can see my laminated answer key thing below. The reusable fruit ice cubes and the plastic heart are dollar store buys. The rest are foam stickers from Walmart.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNZqtxKymDcP80ZGN1LiGawJKGntOq3z_AHtza9qraSenfYBdLo-uE9_wyBPpzQt6udWqdIhBMn7Zx3imL_43j7UQulFnJK8wKcQFP5x5vXDP4O4Hr_syZlP3bNHsVMzDX48QL1SpZUzt/s937/diy_kids_busy_bag_roadtrip_i_spy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNZqtxKymDcP80ZGN1LiGawJKGntOq3z_AHtza9qraSenfYBdLo-uE9_wyBPpzQt6udWqdIhBMn7Zx3imL_43j7UQulFnJK8wKcQFP5x5vXDP4O4Hr_syZlP3bNHsVMzDX48QL1SpZUzt/s320/diy_kids_busy_bag_roadtrip_i_spy.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>Ignore this. I covered it in #3 and am too tired to go back and change the picture.</li>
<li>A Super Fantastic Binder that belongs to Alex, obviously!</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-C7FMagDJPQL4OGLF6bdBTkB4b034lHQKBjZEkm3sB4UyIHWKweOedxsnCUgRjkLZoMByWXDUwJo6zPLKvu3RgqmAxTYUlFTqxVjNdbMg0KQbw6HIcXIVG70uX61fHQhf39JiVHg3vBd/s1600/diy_kids_busy_bag_roadtrip_binder.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-C7FMagDJPQL4OGLF6bdBTkB4b034lHQKBjZEkm3sB4UyIHWKweOedxsnCUgRjkLZoMByWXDUwJo6zPLKvu3RgqmAxTYUlFTqxVjNdbMg0KQbw6HIcXIVG70uX61fHQhf39JiVHg3vBd/s320/diy_kids_busy_bag_roadtrip_binder.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I managed to jam a ton of stuff into a 1.5in binder, as you can see above.<br />
<ol>
<li>One of <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/27514247696426889" target="_blank">those baggies with hair gel and food coloring in it</a>, that you draw on with a q-tip. I put it in a 3 ring binder zipper pouch for safe keeping.</li>
<li>A bunch of sheets ripped out from the Kumon books at Costco. I went with mazes and cutting.</li>
<li>A clear 3 ring binder pencil case full of foam and regular stickers, purchased at Walmart and Dollar Tree.</li>
<li>A clear 3 ring binder pencil case full of pipe cleaners, kid scissors, feather pen, washable crayons, and ring stamps. Everything was from the dollar store.</li>
<li>Construction paper, pages ripped out of a truck coloring book, and a<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/27514247696427073/" target="_blank"> letter recognition sheet</a> that you stamp with bingo markers.</li>
<li>A composition notebook, 3 ring pouch to put it in, and a blank white paper pad.</li>
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You don't honestly think I stopped there, do you? I wasn't kidding when I said overboard. Here are the supplemental materials I'll have with me, to hand out as needed.<br />
<ol>
<li>I wasted a whole number to point out a reusable grocery bag, which is identical to the last one I showed you.</li>
<li>Laminated memory game cards (4). You cover the pictures with tokens and try to find the matching ones. I literally googled "cute clipart" and picked what I liked for a total of 10 images.</li>
<li>A gallon bag with giant foam dice (bookmarked kids dice games), paper fish with paper clips (to make a fishing game on the fly with the ball on the lanyard and a sticky backed magnet), and two small rainbow colored paper pads.</li>
<li>A giant box of crayons and colored pencils, sticky-backed foam sheets, and a zipper pouch of cheap bracelets and necklaces.</li>
<li>Large laminated cutouts of Zach and Alex (to draw on with dry erase markers), "I Spy" answer keys, and a zippered pouch with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Carle-Coloring-Artist-Painted-Horse/dp/B0085092QU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1372740192&sr=8-3&keywords=blue+horse+game" target="_blank">The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse</a> game.</li>
<li>The rest of the Kumon books, a Disney Jr coloring book, baggy of dry erase, window, bingo, and foam markers, dollar store clay, painter's tape, a stamp kit, two decks of cards, wedding bubbles, and a pouch with a foam puzzle.</li>
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Not pictured because I still need to make them are the wooden tokens for the memory cards. I want to put magnets on the back so they stick to the pizza trays, but ran out of materials. I also didn't show you all of the board books and toys I have for the baby. I got him a couple of nice new ones, since he'll eat dollar store stuff. There are also a ton of crackers, cookies, mini candy bars, and lollipops.<br />
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Two good places to find kids songs for the road are <a href="http://bussongs.com/" target="_blank">bussongs.com</a> and <a href="http://kididdles.com/" target="_blank">kididdles.com</a>. Yeah, just putting that out there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7C-njgdhWv3HAuWEDutGGP2LFIMmphP7V6OOhzqlatCuno5NC9OcoFaBGYo1yMiksANSU7ugr3Ejv9taMCMSIxCfpol1iFhIfMyq8a4bVNwOzRn0xMXGkHFmlmDZY3l-c1vlsPdZROaV/s1600/RVClipArt2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf7C-njgdhWv3HAuWEDutGGP2LFIMmphP7V6OOhzqlatCuno5NC9OcoFaBGYo1yMiksANSU7ugr3Ejv9taMCMSIxCfpol1iFhIfMyq8a4bVNwOzRn0xMXGkHFmlmDZY3l-c1vlsPdZROaV/s320/RVClipArt2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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On top of all of that, I'm going to have the boys color in some RV clipart I made. I'll run a clothesline in the RV with the hours marked off on it. Their RV's will ride from our house to grandma and pap's house via the line, to give a visual of how far we've gone and how much we need to go. You can find more info about it<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/27514247696440070/" target="_blank"> here</a>.</div>
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Before you think I'm all about the enriching activities, an iPhone, iPad, iPad mini, travel DVD players, AND the WiiU will be making the trip with us. If things get bad, I'm willing to go full on video zombie if that's what it takes. <br />
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Fear is a strong motivator.</div>
Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-84072626817866822642013-07-01T19:23:00.001-04:002013-07-15T14:27:15.769-04:00Not On Purpose PlantsAt best I'd say I have a brown thumb. If you are a picky plant, we probably can't be friends. If you would survive in an abandoned lot, then maybe we will get along.<div><br></div><div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiM6SQzoE_xT_pgdwTXmCA57QW4YSvgZCPQf3YULzvr_0oP5FyHq9THJSMbxhXmPMVj3fCs0pshpTb7VYNBKUdO_ox6a8XtZijQs0irBs-4SocKwwuTkjQSBnWF4a4ZSn01DMY7EE13of_/s640/blogger-image-746669104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiM6SQzoE_xT_pgdwTXmCA57QW4YSvgZCPQf3YULzvr_0oP5FyHq9THJSMbxhXmPMVj3fCs0pshpTb7VYNBKUdO_ox6a8XtZijQs0irBs-4SocKwwuTkjQSBnWF4a4ZSn01DMY7EE13of_/s640/blogger-image-746669104.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Case in point is this weed I didn't get around to pulling. It was little a few days ago, just like the rest, but has since taken off. Now that it's big, I'm pretty sure it's a watermelon. Crazy, huh?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We had a bunch of them growing in the wooded area of our backyard last year when we moved in. I didn't notice them for two weeks and they ended up producing 4 melons for eating and a bunch that rotted in place.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This year we had all of that area graded and sodded, so I figured the watermelon were done for. Apparently I was wrong, although I'm not sure right next to the house is the best place for the little guy. </div><br></div></div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-78254536181925523822013-06-21T22:32:00.001-04:002013-06-21T22:32:39.693-04:00Alex and Zach's 4th Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Doc McZach is in! The boys' favorite show is Doc McStuffins, so it was a natural choice for their 4th birthday theme. I'll be honest - I was pretty excited myself, but for different reasons. After doing a farm theme (aka the last time I EVER make cakes from scratch), a lame version of Max and Ruby, and two parties with diggers and dump trucks, I was ready to ride the Disney merchandizing train all the way into the party station.</div>
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I waltzed into the nearest Wal-Mart, wallet in hand, ready to buy a party. I saw Mickey, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and a ton of princess stuff. Guess what? No Doc. Target and a random sampling of craft stores didn't turn up anything, either. Are you kidding me??? Amazon tried with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doc-Mcstuffins-Inflatables-Variety-Pack/dp/B00CJS706I/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1371861960&sr=8-7&keywords=mcstuffins+party" target="_blank">some latex balloons</a>, but ugh...</div>
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To top things off, my kids had discovered Pinterest. Not a big deal, you say? They spent HOURS looking through kids' birthday cakes - the ultra fancy ones, mind you. Plus every person they met, from the guy bagging our groceries, to the random person innocently pushing their kid on a swing at the park, heard all about how they were turning 4 on June 4th and they were having a Doc McStuffins party. Expectations? They had them.</div>
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So with the cake booked two months in advance, because I dumbly decided to have kids during the peak of wedding season, I began preparations for a Doc McStuffins party. I hit up Pinterest and you can check out my board<a href="http://pinterest.com/valyre/doc-mcstuffins-4th-birthday-party/" target="_blank"> here</a> if you like. I decided that blue, pink, and purple were the colors. Lambie is their favorite character. I have a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-Cameo-Starter-Bundle-Cutter/dp/B007R83VKE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371864799&sr=8-1&keywords=silhouette+cameo" target="_blank">Silhouette Cameo</a>, ink jet printer, glue gun, and random smattering of craft supplies at my disposal. Click on the pictures for a MUCH bigger version if things are tough to make out.</div>
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I'm going to start with the party décor and see how far I get. In the picture at the top, you can see our "The Doc is In" sign. You can download it <a href="http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior/crafts/decorations/doc-mcstuffins-door-sign-2001765?cmp=NLC-CDE%7Cdms%7CDocMcStuffinsLaunch%7CDoorSign%7CButton%7CDoc%7C041112%7CSustain%7C%7CsynergytvM%7C" target="_blank">here from Disney</a>. The link also includes instructions to make it, which I apparently didn't follow at all.</div>
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Instead I combined 8 large craft sticks, some hot glue, and the signs (In//Out) printed out on card stock. I drilled holes in two sticks and threaded some Dollar Tree clothesline through. A couple of knots and a 3M hook later and we had a sign on the front door. What I didn't think about at the time was how much fun the boys would have with the sign. It hangs on their bedroom door now, and I must hear "The Doc is Out!" one hundred times a day. Well worth the 30min and scrap supplies I put into it.</div>
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The white shirt was $4 at WalMart and I had the ink jet heat transfer material left over from another project. I imported the Lambie art from <a href="http://wondersofdisney.yolasite.com/mcstuffins.php" target="_blank">WondersofDisney.com</a> and built the rest in the Silhouette software. You can download my Silhouette file <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/T-Shirts.studio" target="_blank">here</a>, and the font you'll probably need to go with it <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/ahronbd.ttf" target="_blank">here</a>. If your kids aren't named Alex and Zach and they aren't turning four, you'll probably need to ungroup the items and tweak the text (purple/pink and the white offset). You can mirror image it so you don't go insane trying to get things to look right, but don't forget to flip it back around before printing!</div>
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<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor2.JPG" width="217" /></a></div>
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Party City had the overpriced tissue paper pompoms, curly streamers and purple streamers, but I needed to pick my battles. The Dollar Tree and Walmart took my money and handed me the table cloths and blue/pink streamer material. You'll need to check the baby sections for the pink and blue, though. I ordered two packs of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/RoomMates-RMK2280SCS-McStuffins-Stick-Decals/dp/B00BK89Z4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371864973&sr=8-1&keywords=doc+mcstuffins+wall+decals" target="_blank">Doc McStuffins removable wall decals</a> from Amazon. They were on the small side for our giant, bare walls, but we made due. (Once the party was over, some of them moved to the boys' bathroom to decorate in there.) The table was for guests to write their name on their badges and pick up their doctor kits. I'll cover those more once I get there.</div>
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<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor3.JPG" width="216" /></a></div>
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The balloons are from the Dollar Tree and are still inflated and floating around 3 weeks later. They were out of the pink stars so I called an audible and bought pink "Happy Birthday" ones instead.</div>
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<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor1.JPG" width="286" /></a></div>
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I saw <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/27514247695776290" target="_blank">a pin for some awesome centerpieces</a> but couldn't figure out how to order them from the website. Instead I grabbed Doc art from <a href="http://wondersofdisney.yolasite.com/mcstuffins.php" target="_blank">WondersofDisney.com</a> again and made my own. The only downside is I couldn't find art of anyone except the 5 main characters. That company got it somewhere, but I couldn't figure it out.</div>
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<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What you'll need:</div>
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~30 sheets of cardstock</div>
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5 Large craft sticks</div>
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3 Floral foam blocks in the 5in range</div>
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Hacksaw, knife, or something that cuts foam blocks</div>
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Hot glue and gun</div>
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Silhouette and printer</div>
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Art from <a href="http://wondersofdisney.yolasite.com/mcstuffins.php" target="_blank">WondersofDisney.com</a></div>
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My Silhouette file <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/CenterSquare.studio" target="_blank">here</a> ( and font <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/ahronbd.ttf" target="_blank">here</a> if you need it)</div>
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Tissue paper, purple in my case</div>
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1. I cut the foam blocks in half with a hacksaw. It was crazy messy, so I went all horror movie on them outside.</div>
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2. Slap a Doc character into your Silhouette program and add a significant offset. Print and cut it.</div>
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3. Do a mirror image of the whole thing, delete the original, and print/cut it.</div>
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4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each character.</div>
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5. Open my CenterSquare.studio file and modify the text and offset as needed. Print and cut.</div>
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6. Hot glue the squares directly to the foam. Let the edges stick out as needed. Kids do not care if things line up. Honest!</div>
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7. Hot glue both sides of each character to a craft stick and jam the whole thing into the craft foam.</div>
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8. Fluff up little pieces of the tissue paper and put them inside of the faux boxes you made.</div>
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<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Decor4.JPG" width="179" /></a></div>
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Our basement is terrible for pictures, but I think you can get the idea of our clinic. I took our existing <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40147180/" target="_blank">IKEA kid's table</a> and covered it with a chunk of egg carton foam ($10 at Walmart). Over top of everything I put some fleece in a lovely lime green I had laying around. If I wasn't cheap, or could not face yet another trip to the store, it would have been better being blue or purple. This made our exam table. Scattered across the surface are the pieces of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Doctor-Role-Costume/dp/B002F9NH7W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1371867361&sr=8-4&keywords=doctors+kit" target="_blank">Melissa & Doug doctor's kits</a>, and items from the medical bags we handed out.</div>
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In the background is my poor recreation of the growth chart Doc has in her clinic, plus our family scale. You can find the Silhouette flower <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Flower.studio" target="_blank">here</a>, although I'll be the first to admit that it was too small. The stem and leaf are green construction paper.</div>
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<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Favors2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Doc_McStuffins_Party_Favors2.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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I figured the kids would spend 10 seconds giving their toy a checkup then move on to something more fun, but that wasn't the case. One of my friends (seen patching up a doll) helped the kids and they spent quite a bit of time working on their diagnoses. You can see one of my kids in the white shirt attempting to weigh his toy on the scale.</div>
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Next time I'll go over what's in that mysterious purple doctor's bag, our invites, plus how we did the food (without grossing out anyone!).</div>
Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-73597618330202199002013-06-18T16:44:00.001-04:002013-06-18T16:45:54.300-04:00Squished SquashJim needs a bumper sticker on his lawn mower that reads "I don't brake for vines." One bed of squash (pumpkin, zucchini, and summer yellow) has taken off and is making double-time across the mulch toward the grass.<div><br></div><div>To save it from a rather abrupt end to its journey, I tossed together a tri-pod trellis.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQC0tXymzpexy_GALWA2smXJG8NzjYvftq4l89PhNHWz2Bt27v14sGxSrQiI0Ljw8Hg8i_Mzol_-W0iBJIl4eZVZlcuAP7meko-RGDGarPI_EthKH1qyewJw8WKlehGOqijDPUJ8fkOo7/s640/blogger-image--2024650612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQC0tXymzpexy_GALWA2smXJG8NzjYvftq4l89PhNHWz2Bt27v14sGxSrQiI0Ljw8Hg8i_Mzol_-W0iBJIl4eZVZlcuAP7meko-RGDGarPI_EthKH1qyewJw8WKlehGOqijDPUJ8fkOo7/s640/blogger-image--2024650612.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>You can find a list of materials here:</div><div><span style="color: rgb(144, 144, 144); font-family: HelveticaNeue-Light; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">http://organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/simple-squash-trellis</span></div><div><br></div><div>I pretty much flipped through the instructions to get the basic idea and winged it. I didn't pull out a tape measure, but I assure you it's straight. The ground? Not so much.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL0qM1PKE7QvmwcBapJuBbABAcZPUyOSE8pg_AbTnEd-BTKbIPMxNkQu1w4Sxk2wr_rRVoJUqsC9C4Hw_DbvmNHQyFmPmVaEwb-zHyLQl2Ss3nda2iNgFSZcaJURRFutO11uChHrCL0Ey/s640/blogger-image--1092177360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaL0qM1PKE7QvmwcBapJuBbABAcZPUyOSE8pg_AbTnEd-BTKbIPMxNkQu1w4Sxk2wr_rRVoJUqsC9C4Hw_DbvmNHQyFmPmVaEwb-zHyLQl2Ss3nda2iNgFSZcaJURRFutO11uChHrCL0Ey/s640/blogger-image--1092177360.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>You'll need a 1/4" drill bit to make holes for the bolt. I only used 4 of the 2"x2"x8' since I attached the legs directly to my beds with 3" wood screws. I didn't have any twine, either, so I used another couple of 3" screws to hold things together at the top. I had the cheapest wood possible, so the whole thing cost around $20.</div><div><br></div><div>Concerned my squash might be too inexperienced to figure out a trellis with such wide spacing, I stretched a nylon garden net over one side and secured it with 1 1/2" wood screws.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObA_nG6FJ4D0IzMrOz0XBKg0Ej5o-0tLxuY28P7qEWVt7XDj0EYxwYffCtkFIPcGAdsLlIw3J9F2vX-yo4JsmyWx8buDGlpKl2AhK3BPpz7qO3KG6bROfQBcaiPPc4cwzCuneKtIyGk_g/s640/blogger-image-1061773266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObA_nG6FJ4D0IzMrOz0XBKg0Ej5o-0tLxuY28P7qEWVt7XDj0EYxwYffCtkFIPcGAdsLlIw3J9F2vX-yo4JsmyWx8buDGlpKl2AhK3BPpz7qO3KG6bROfQBcaiPPc4cwzCuneKtIyGk_g/s640/blogger-image-1061773266.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div><div>I carefully (because I forgot to wear gloves) encouraged the squash to attempt the climb. We will see if I end up with a leafy tunnel or it gives up and heads for the grass again. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-7VmWLtZKbwlRuxgv58TdlIbiwLJGE2JKlWCbWEUJBwbD8WlYp6Nyv6BUty8vXmszL_IVJSB9OGUZ-iSzVwxsji-WB6_VhXUtiMNOIfW6bRp7dBjqwSlBJg3U_HndVoo2_5SWgPnmEAI/s640/blogger-image--1179291448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-7VmWLtZKbwlRuxgv58TdlIbiwLJGE2JKlWCbWEUJBwbD8WlYp6Nyv6BUty8vXmszL_IVJSB9OGUZ-iSzVwxsji-WB6_VhXUtiMNOIfW6bRp7dBjqwSlBJg3U_HndVoo2_5SWgPnmEAI/s640/blogger-image--1179291448.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>I checked on the green beans. There are a few started but something is eating them before they get big. It's hard to appreciate in the picture, but the purple beans have this awesome green fuzz that makes them appear almost iridescent. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIR4uKB_sJJoyFPtVoSbRp0Doj4vmGTANAX4KuIJNSBcTMB4lKpzA4cM7sElm9DfzhTJK0daBYkJ4P0yL2_m3uA1QOtFa2teUqF4g0in0FejotM4kuJ31I7vTiI9VUEKKkZOLNC4PSuZDS/s640/blogger-image--55488047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIR4uKB_sJJoyFPtVoSbRp0Doj4vmGTANAX4KuIJNSBcTMB4lKpzA4cM7sElm9DfzhTJK0daBYkJ4P0yL2_m3uA1QOtFa2teUqF4g0in0FejotM4kuJ31I7vTiI9VUEKKkZOLNC4PSuZDS/s640/blogger-image--55488047.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The carrots are still too little to pick but are quite fluffy on top. The kids love running their hands through them. </div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-20096123841173647072013-06-07T15:55:00.001-04:002013-06-07T15:55:09.505-04:00The Garden<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFUx5KMQ2S65ERmsdPXhBzdzwN1jSDADXwMxgaFcTLCzn1F4E-QnsteIwbFzay8T9-lfz2YktezxfkorMDHU4ABsi0SWWDq9M-dJTSiTtxxRVLwcKvkA5X5NfotFroXJ7sj5mA3UrMFVH/s640/blogger-image-2109570910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFUx5KMQ2S65ERmsdPXhBzdzwN1jSDADXwMxgaFcTLCzn1F4E-QnsteIwbFzay8T9-lfz2YktezxfkorMDHU4ABsi0SWWDq9M-dJTSiTtxxRVLwcKvkA5X5NfotFroXJ7sj5mA3UrMFVH/s640/blogger-image-2109570910.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div>After about five days of rain, I finally checked on the garden. I had been worried that the peas would have been scorched by the sun before making a single sphere, but temps have stayed low with storms constantly blowing over.<div><br></div><div>So Alex helped me with a second harvest of snow peas. Some made it into the bucket and many got "lost" on the way. I got a couple of "I wuff peas, mom!" As he talked over a full mouth. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPirLW9zP3smcWUbxbi2vKHUuhc-Bo19l89NHgefQYIBcfXDaK9iu7zJl3TfPHr_Foq4KZPTzYd5Xsa561NpRxz_v2djQt8WGv37_mNd3mVQh6MXyt3Vd7R-UEgLmczWx3OrTRvX9s4j3g/s640/blogger-image-525689729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPirLW9zP3smcWUbxbi2vKHUuhc-Bo19l89NHgefQYIBcfXDaK9iu7zJl3TfPHr_Foq4KZPTzYd5Xsa561NpRxz_v2djQt8WGv37_mNd3mVQh6MXyt3Vd7R-UEgLmczWx3OrTRvX9s4j3g/s640/blogger-image-525689729.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The spring garden box is doing pretty well. You can just see the tiny orange carrots starting out, and the accidental onion has taken his chance at growing to heart. I'm not sure if the broccoli will make it before it gets too hot, but that's ok.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitotm1Ay7-_EaZBVBjbd65vZwhn58ZY5a92alVJ8xKRgI6Etqb8dQup3uh41-hUyEF9VhaoVU3xszlzFgBuMsNNjtiGjRE0gDXSkjo4DzAUGqxnWA2MU87p0vGc81fDQ3K0SRvYx7mQGNz/s640/blogger-image-1211334755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitotm1Ay7-_EaZBVBjbd65vZwhn58ZY5a92alVJ8xKRgI6Etqb8dQup3uh41-hUyEF9VhaoVU3xszlzFgBuMsNNjtiGjRE0gDXSkjo4DzAUGqxnWA2MU87p0vGc81fDQ3K0SRvYx7mQGNz/s640/blogger-image-1211334755.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>I've never grown an onion, and didn't plan to, so we are just learning as we go. </div><div><br></div><div>One thing that's obvious is proper drainage in this monsoon is key. With drought conditions the past +6 years, I wasn't prepared. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkDfHEGctye9mYhTDotygT1Cv0is59vLbMQz6yLWhF3BmG4MuFW-atzs5buqaIHZUzqXfyNZ1zjSShGgxu6Cg3E39nvUjJVw_P4wM8jo5NgF2gzyk7IhyphenhyphencGalFG2yFjep-RyoeUQOk7Hz/s640/blogger-image--659374055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkDfHEGctye9mYhTDotygT1Cv0is59vLbMQz6yLWhF3BmG4MuFW-atzs5buqaIHZUzqXfyNZ1zjSShGgxu6Cg3E39nvUjJVw_P4wM8jo5NgF2gzyk7IhyphenhyphencGalFG2yFjep-RyoeUQOk7Hz/s640/blogger-image--659374055.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>The bed on the front left has a bottom layer of grass clippings as a weed deterrent. The one on the front right has cardboard, because I thought I'd need to hold into as much water as possible. Both boxes have the same squash, zucchini, and kale but with a drastic difference in results!</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhM4CqKaezRoWO_EeLat_OLy47vYwDB_PihVPtj_VvrUCGiD4jcCwwf36NADeOBgSf1QcDlpljMR89cdvJpumodJxll7Kfh355NDQdD1-PAHXGj_DLsNvAgUQ0PW71wGSJt3VNHwgIboh/s640/blogger-image--2007339869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhM4CqKaezRoWO_EeLat_OLy47vYwDB_PihVPtj_VvrUCGiD4jcCwwf36NADeOBgSf1QcDlpljMR89cdvJpumodJxll7Kfh355NDQdD1-PAHXGj_DLsNvAgUQ0PW71wGSJt3VNHwgIboh/s640/blogger-image--2007339869.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUk2Lmiywyt9toDNax55-Lyc3rkNi6TeJ9kz0ZyjN6OaNeWuoYvHMHdUAaw2BZLgAmp-uWj23dmTI5UWNS3Qhr0GvjJfEz4ZPg_-efXG-jfHbD-Sth7B0YCdfAQrV24zNnjwBfV0itfaC/s640/blogger-image-1089946736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUk2Lmiywyt9toDNax55-Lyc3rkNi6TeJ9kz0ZyjN6OaNeWuoYvHMHdUAaw2BZLgAmp-uWj23dmTI5UWNS3Qhr0GvjJfEz4ZPg_-efXG-jfHbD-Sth7B0YCdfAQrV24zNnjwBfV0itfaC/s640/blogger-image-1089946736.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>I picked a decent amount of kale already but discovered caterpillars working their way through the leaves. It appears the are gone, and there should be enough left for the plants to recover. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfm9EgJmHTLJaOG59z4WpY_2jGAsHyyVHcbM-ma-HS4VOMHnjsO5A7yUzXVdaclndJoNcUYTZJNIiagF8lSBRrkTR_ZAGvd2o_SdGDXAQl1aR_Mia5oId5dnq4Ns9njxhHdEi2S6VZPIb/s640/blogger-image-910703956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfm9EgJmHTLJaOG59z4WpY_2jGAsHyyVHcbM-ma-HS4VOMHnjsO5A7yUzXVdaclndJoNcUYTZJNIiagF8lSBRrkTR_ZAGvd2o_SdGDXAQl1aR_Mia5oId5dnq4Ns9njxhHdEi2S6VZPIb/s640/blogger-image-910703956.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Here are a few other pictures from around our small patch of veggies. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO99O4YmwAzqFAx5QgZ6JiawpEFq29wIzWTubrCsguppCOWdvW6p1PzQ0LEeWr9AG7p0yZeNeILNoOVem8YHPEOwk2cTCAqv8GkSaNxFJyjGxFCFYv7T1zcxfYqTT-LI2ULPNaARpEAeRM/s640/blogger-image-1215904010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO99O4YmwAzqFAx5QgZ6JiawpEFq29wIzWTubrCsguppCOWdvW6p1PzQ0LEeWr9AG7p0yZeNeILNoOVem8YHPEOwk2cTCAqv8GkSaNxFJyjGxFCFYv7T1zcxfYqTT-LI2ULPNaARpEAeRM/s640/blogger-image-1215904010.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Bush bean flowers. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr05_Um1Ma_-3WU3d94YTiOA7ADcE5rUuFI9pKcVba_5lUpU9q2GN-qby-kJ4DSEz4-feqi2rBrRcNRnvckei-7C-pCR4bUB2agyabOg1NSVmGyDd5s9c4zIE85QZvArQE4H1QKFmX4aJN/s640/blogger-image-878795853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr05_Um1Ma_-3WU3d94YTiOA7ADcE5rUuFI9pKcVba_5lUpU9q2GN-qby-kJ4DSEz4-feqi2rBrRcNRnvckei-7C-pCR4bUB2agyabOg1NSVmGyDd5s9c4zIE85QZvArQE4H1QKFmX4aJN/s640/blogger-image-878795853.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Corn learning to swim. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjge1RuKbdmkx7-HkkwUu3pNgO2xLeQk6hG_ajZXbGol38L622IKxHBqg59dNc2Nf-21Os9NE-wfPc5z1TFAlL_xbq-f2SZzhyphenhyphenIthNYVG5aZGRH4VdQIFC44sUa7ld6rhEj31y58vcq6Aaa/s640/blogger-image-1864759442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjge1RuKbdmkx7-HkkwUu3pNgO2xLeQk6hG_ajZXbGol38L622IKxHBqg59dNc2Nf-21Os9NE-wfPc5z1TFAlL_xbq-f2SZzhyphenhyphenIthNYVG5aZGRH4VdQIFC44sUa7ld6rhEj31y58vcq6Aaa/s640/blogger-image-1864759442.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Spicy tasting broccoli protectors. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXs1UOmYupzHZ2_vGX7wnhRybF36DVdqJxpCT0KgRmfKREEQabpljltFFrmQhd-F_fC6W6zb7QN7en-IkJzd7YmaQvrJPYbW1nTC48GbqzY35I1pNIwT3p9-RNFtvZmtD8MZDDAbJu_AG/s640/blogger-image--2072215980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXs1UOmYupzHZ2_vGX7wnhRybF36DVdqJxpCT0KgRmfKREEQabpljltFFrmQhd-F_fC6W6zb7QN7en-IkJzd7YmaQvrJPYbW1nTC48GbqzY35I1pNIwT3p9-RNFtvZmtD8MZDDAbJu_AG/s640/blogger-image--2072215980.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Bony looking peas. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HFW1nr_84uFvcWquhnHw1BQie3CFWx4y5q60AVDxzZEobMoACBaWsHPusIuGyo2yioZfsLtmgQfUK_PLxp5-MoEoc4obettrgpFLyihtv8z9YxtNSiBTXDhumkKwd_fiLugox9B-NshY/s640/blogger-image-233469914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HFW1nr_84uFvcWquhnHw1BQie3CFWx4y5q60AVDxzZEobMoACBaWsHPusIuGyo2yioZfsLtmgQfUK_PLxp5-MoEoc4obettrgpFLyihtv8z9YxtNSiBTXDhumkKwd_fiLugox9B-NshY/s640/blogger-image-233469914.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Our spring garden with the peas tied into submission. Poor broccoli were in an eternal shadow. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI98AhvrXyG7e8zZywmizGmzzjK3jNtjLSWuto8M4CROshC1qCblccfSdLnFTBB_Myg8uaNFRoxqKOP0zW435KydeQTue_khIy90o8wmof0Cy-nxjuO4i1U9t3YsZ8bzDlXgHTRhsZ75oF/s640/blogger-image--1330282452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI98AhvrXyG7e8zZywmizGmzzjK3jNtjLSWuto8M4CROshC1qCblccfSdLnFTBB_Myg8uaNFRoxqKOP0zW435KydeQTue_khIy90o8wmof0Cy-nxjuO4i1U9t3YsZ8bzDlXgHTRhsZ75oF/s640/blogger-image--1330282452.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>Blackberries making a start in the corner of the yard. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAP7t4wwNMBoH-22V95x6tpNU6FyUOkWVvKy4guocpJhWM64SR__M1SaT6-kjZM1fknhhLzFD9vYlSMWhqTndfrx0puIehNMYA5CJ1l-3jNc00p1qYTA6xcvNX0yZpkgbfPw5ziBQYxUp/s640/blogger-image--2131023083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAP7t4wwNMBoH-22V95x6tpNU6FyUOkWVvKy4guocpJhWM64SR__M1SaT6-kjZM1fknhhLzFD9vYlSMWhqTndfrx0puIehNMYA5CJ1l-3jNc00p1qYTA6xcvNX0yZpkgbfPw5ziBQYxUp/s640/blogger-image--2131023083.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div>One transplanted Azalea bush has stopped holding a grudge and is trying to bloom a second time. </div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-22136477945214579702013-06-07T09:15:00.001-04:002013-06-07T09:25:07.922-04:00Toy Storage<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37kQfQpsHvgmn6Fl1b1axTyV0dA-5zj3f5OzwuqTKzTeAPnXLeQUMyTNoU8Bz_dgyXK88n14qnfWyfAkcih1zny_ISKQ-X8mJSjl8X3xBqXDeQ9PFHK9tC_-wOb8U2GedPbFf22oxjdwy/s640/blogger-image-696779856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37kQfQpsHvgmn6Fl1b1axTyV0dA-5zj3f5OzwuqTKzTeAPnXLeQUMyTNoU8Bz_dgyXK88n14qnfWyfAkcih1zny_ISKQ-X8mJSjl8X3xBqXDeQ9PFHK9tC_-wOb8U2GedPbFf22oxjdwy/s640/blogger-image-696779856.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We have a large basement and three kids. Naturally, the toys migrated to the carpet of least resistance. A couple of trips to IKEA, and you have shelves and bins as far as the eye could see.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Things stayed that way for about 8 months. I loved the bins because everything had a place and looked put away. But what I've realized is my kids would not pull out a single bin to play with what was inside. Loads of toys sat untouched while the few that couldn't be binned were played with to boredom. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So this week the bins went into storage, along with about 30% of their toys. I really, really wanted to say 50% here but it just didn't happen. Mason still needs some of his own age-appropriate toys. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWuyhvNu0J4FjJ_4Biop0ZiX3MRMXD5PKaOybrYAs6YYOjJeT5liKFeFF1CKdXacl8xfZPkEEVdXpofY0sixiBsy8U6FygKf37s9ZSqENEurStt0RktQJVOZBM1lzi6FVdCJ2LzF-R_Xo/s640/blogger-image--83485190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWuyhvNu0J4FjJ_4Biop0ZiX3MRMXD5PKaOybrYAs6YYOjJeT5liKFeFF1CKdXacl8xfZPkEEVdXpofY0sixiBsy8U6FygKf37s9ZSqENEurStt0RktQJVOZBM1lzi6FVdCJ2LzF-R_Xo/s640/blogger-image--83485190.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The shelving units stayed, as did any toys that fit reasonably on the shelves. For little toys I had two options.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUdN1ARRae8viBzM5AQ8Ru4S4SoFt7gXw-nfrXTB76q3_yqwOYzj0OIY9cplIAkIrsgBuI3pm5SBT-xW4mSg9awrnA3LPwfs3PaxYekdN46PPPsIHmM7HxtVXxu4_SMkbK3ghQ6wHOJYW/s640/blogger-image--578909219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUdN1ARRae8viBzM5AQ8Ru4S4SoFt7gXw-nfrXTB76q3_yqwOYzj0OIY9cplIAkIrsgBuI3pm5SBT-xW4mSg9awrnA3LPwfs3PaxYekdN46PPPsIHmM7HxtVXxu4_SMkbK3ghQ6wHOJYW/s640/blogger-image--578909219.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Walmart has little milk crate baskets for $1.50 each, so little things that made sense to go on a shelf went in those. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2bfr6yTcnKkfNKwhBzTLEuFtRHpCmHbfxbXmqysopfCe92yrGEbaIYdQ5JKuPPo9YXDwHOa2S_6xKI0p-WicdpwSMI3yxSoiHP3fgJzsA3bwADZazCDCZhPeE-VRG6tHLBVE-omLBrkO/s640/blogger-image--1352850332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2bfr6yTcnKkfNKwhBzTLEuFtRHpCmHbfxbXmqysopfCe92yrGEbaIYdQ5JKuPPo9YXDwHOa2S_6xKI0p-WicdpwSMI3yxSoiHP3fgJzsA3bwADZazCDCZhPeE-VRG6tHLBVE-omLBrkO/s640/blogger-image--1352850332.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I also went the Pinterest-says-I-can-store-anything-in-shoe-organizer route. This made sense for items too big for a shelf that also had little pieces. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This is a standard over-the-door shoe rack from Walmart. I cut it into thirds, giving me two rows of four pockets per section. Over the rough edge I put carpet tape for strength, and pretty duct tape for style. (ha!) Scissors clipped some slits and I wove Dollar Tree clothesline through the tops. 3M hooks keep it on the wall. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Suddenly they want to go in the basement and they spend a lot more time playing with each toy before moving on. Toys that had been buried beneath junk (think fast food meal toys) are really fun again!</div></div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-81740810715136503012013-06-03T01:05:00.000-04:002013-06-03T01:05:06.505-04:00Big Book of Boo Boos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8emu6nsd8_2zuDxu-B1KlaURi-2GiXUORxfJb4t8iUMq3Hioxe2cxZXWin8hrXhQTpiz_P-qEND-pTsBGTfgUald5YjnHRhEjtlweieomQSO3KEtzI5H7oWhpTMFMYozHQ0zQF98oMz3t/s1600/WD_E0B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8emu6nsd8_2zuDxu-B1KlaURi-2GiXUORxfJb4t8iUMq3Hioxe2cxZXWin8hrXhQTpiz_P-qEND-pTsBGTfgUald5YjnHRhEjtlweieomQSO3KEtzI5H7oWhpTMFMYozHQ0zQF98oMz3t/s320/WD_E0B2.JPG" width="277" /></a></div>
Doc McStuffins has only been out a little over a year, but all three of my kids love the show. So it came as no surprise when Alex and Zach picked it for their birthday party theme this year. As a mom of three boys and an aunt to all nephews, I saw this as my rare chance to use both pink and glitter for the kids without raising any eyebrows.<br />
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The main goody bag item for the party was going to be the Big Book of Boo Boos, where Doc writes down all of her diagnoses. In the show, it's a five-ringed book with a purple cover sporting a pink glitter heart on the front. Inside are wide-ruled lined pages and she draws her findings with a crayon.<br />
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While I'm all about little details and sticking with the original source, ringed notebooks aren't easy for little kids to navigate, especially ones with large rings that let the pages flop around. I came up with a rough idea using cereal boxes and notebook paper, but it was going to be a lot of work and I wasn't sure I'd like the results. Maybe if I had three to make, it would be alright, but never one to make things easy on myself, I was facing the manufacture of 17.<br />
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So, I decided to have The Dollar Tree do the hard work and ordered<a href="http://www.dollartree.com/Composition-Notebooks-100-Pages/p312157/index.pro?method=search" target="_blank"> a case of regular size composition notebooks</a>. They also carry them in the store, but clicking the mouse was all the energy I had one day. I teamed these with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Vinyl-Cutters-Pazzles-QuicKutz/dp/B006U0UOQO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370220553&sr=8-3&keywords=purple+vinyl" target="_blank">Amazon's 12in by 40ft of purple vinyl</a>, two pages of 12in by 12in chunky pink glitter scrapbooking paper from the local hobby store, and glossy laminating sheets.<br />
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If you look at it from a per book basis, each one probably cost less than $2.50. The notebooks were $1 each, it took about $1.10 worth of vinyl, $0.09 for the shipping label, $0.08 of the glitter paper, and about $0.15 for the laminating sheet. I didn't include printer ink or a plain piece of printer paper, and of course, if you needed to buy scissors, a cutting mat, or glue, that would make it more.<br />
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Essentially you cover the book in vinyl, line the inside of the notebook covers if you like, and attach the glitter heart to the front. You'll see in the materials picture that I'm using a Silhouette cutting mat mainly because it was the only thing I could find. Between the sticky surface of that and the vinyl, it was a bit irritating to work with. Also, if you use a rotary cutter, it'll go right through it, which I found out the hard way, but it still works in the machine at least.<br />
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<strong>Covering the Books</strong><br />
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I initially tried just slapping the notebook on the vinyl and cutting around it with the Exacto knife. I didn't like how much concentration it took me to get a good edge. I also briefly toyed with the idea of taking measurements and having my Silhouette machine cut out the covers for me. Maybe the high end composition notebooks (do those exist?) have even edges, but the ones I had were pretty variable. One size wasn't even going to fit most, and I'd still have to trim them by hand.<br />
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If all of your crafting is squashed into the few hours between when your kids go to bed and when you do, then you probably understand my desire for simple. I needed to be able to hack at it with some pointy objects and end up with something decent. Also, don't worry about any little bubbles between the vinyl and the notebook cover. I tried to press them out and it just made the vinyl wrinkle, plus after sitting overnight, they disappeared on their own.<br />
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You will need:<br />
<ul>
<li>Composition notebook</li>
<li>Scissors*</li>
<li>Exacto Knife*</li>
<li>Vinyl, 12in wide, purple in my case</li>
<li>Cutting Mat (mine is 12x24) or Expendable Surface</li>
<li>Rotary Cutter* (Optional)</li>
</ul>
*You can use any or only one of these. I used all three just for speed. Go with what you have.<br />
<br />
1. Roll out the vinyl sticky side up across the cutting mat<br />
2. Peel the paper off the back, exposing the stickiness<br />
3. Place the back notebook on the vinyl, about 2in in from the edge with roughly equal amounts of vinyl sticking out above and below.<br />
4. Open the book to the back cover, holding the front cover and pages so they don't touch the vinyl.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-zgarZYI299iLYlmlb-1kwmrJ22bDqak0KGlutOlZWrILFSVHuMNDAF3hyphenhyphenrKtoDeylG-56wKmlkP7XZljTbj0MFfhKrU8Y6aJuIUNUFddSZcLWlMkBjs01Xotzj9d9hkpER1pjXVC4eZ/s1600/WD_32C7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-zgarZYI299iLYlmlb-1kwmrJ22bDqak0KGlutOlZWrILFSVHuMNDAF3hyphenhyphenrKtoDeylG-56wKmlkP7XZljTbj0MFfhKrU8Y6aJuIUNUFddSZcLWlMkBjs01Xotzj9d9hkpER1pjXVC4eZ/s320/WD_32C7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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5. With your free hand, use the Exacto knife or the rotary cutter to trim off the corners. It doesn't matter how close or far from the notebook you get as long as you have enough to fold over later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1znGLZH3oBkHCH9dc34xItcX-Lsw19UW8fQcLyXGGwIYrg2o_8r-I3gLKhUlUltEw3hPB6UXu_dV2b1UNkrX2aOyZToAhQ5HPz5cbv1FUpT3m9Qx4kycZJENUnNBKMlOANbu6Q4tJwHD/s1600/cuttingcorner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1znGLZH3oBkHCH9dc34xItcX-Lsw19UW8fQcLyXGGwIYrg2o_8r-I3gLKhUlUltEw3hPB6UXu_dV2b1UNkrX2aOyZToAhQ5HPz5cbv1FUpT3m9Qx4kycZJENUnNBKMlOANbu6Q4tJwHD/s320/cuttingcorner.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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6. Cut some lines radiating out from both corners with the Exacto knife or scissors. You can do 4 like I have or 40. It just depends on how much of a smooth looking curve you want. I started right next to the edge of the notebook and went out. The <strong>most important part</strong> of this is to have one straight line coming off the top and the side (marked in red). Without those, the whole thing turns out weird.<br />
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7. Fold the pieces over onto the notebook.<br />
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8. Cut a straight line out from the top and bottom of the cover. Make sure it's in from the binding enough that it's easy to fold the vinyl over the cover.<br />
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9. Fold the three sides in over the cover.<br />
10. Close the notebook and slowly turn the book over onto the vinyl so it's now sticking to the front cover.<br />
11. Trim the vinyl along the long edge of the front cover and repeat steps 5 through 9.<br />
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12. Close the notebook and use scissors to trim the top and bottom vinyl tabs. Cut as close to the notebook as you can.<br />
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<strong>Lining the Inside Covers</strong><br />
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The next part is optional or you could do an easier variation of it. This is just what I did for ours.<br />
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I didn't like the random composition text being visible, like the schedule grid or the conversion table, or the really not straight edges I had folded over, so I wanted to cover all of it.<br />
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You could totally do this with some card stock cut to size and hot glue/tape/spray glue. I was too lazy for all of that and went with full page labels, which are essentially printable stickers. <br />
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The additional plain paper is to make sure the text underneath doesn't show through the sticker part. Without it, you can still see faint markings unfortunately.<br />
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I used the Time for a Check Up and I Feel Better song lyrics since they were the most pertinent to the Big Book of Boo Boos. The main graphic is from <a href="http://wondersofdisney.yolasite.com/mcstuffins.php" target="_blank">TheWondersofDisney.com</a>. The bandaids are from <a href="http://family.go.com/printables/article-1044236-doc-mcstuffins-doctor-kit-t/" target="_blank">Family.go.com</a> by Disney. The rest of the graphics were Google searches for <a href="http://picsbox.biz/key/clipart%20ear" target="_blank">ears</a>, <a href="http://sweetclipart.com/womens-blue-eyes-472" target="_blank">eyes</a>, hearts, and <a href="http://www.imageenvision.com/cliparts/mood" target="_blank">giggling</a>.<br />
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You will need:<br />
<ul>
<li>Full sheet white shipping labels (Avery was the brand I used)</li>
<li>Regular printer paper</li>
<li>Printer</li>
<li>My<a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Inside1.studio" target="_blank"> template for the Silhouette</a> or a <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/FrontCover1.png" target="_blank">version to cut out by hand</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
1. Print out your template of choice using your highest photo quality setting. If you are cutting it out by hand, the picture is twice as big as a normal page, so you might need to resize it. The grey line is supposed to be 7in by 9in.<br />
2. Rerun it through your Silhouette machine (Speed 3, Thickness 14, Blade 3) or cut it by hand along the grey line.<br />
3. Cut down a sheet of printer paper so it covers the inside cover text. This can be a really rough hack job as long as the final product is less than 7in by 9in and it covers the text.<br />
4. Place the paper over the inside cover text, peel off the back of the sticker, and place the sticker over the paper, as centered on the cover as you can make it.<br />
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You can do a plain, unprinted version of this for the back cover, or just leave it crappy looking like I did. The 4yr olds at the party weren't going to care.<br />
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<strong>Glittery Heart</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w6vvPsElCGAGW-KTE3HGIIuaZdW6piZR0uSAxkCJ0az-UfSzCgUdrR9BWcko0T6_C_s83UAglU2jM1ZXLDP-LyAv38_JcV3r_GI8_EdfpBqsONU4YseXW6XlNLpGZ4pLZBAKwBJOd5ns/s1600/WD_E0B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w6vvPsElCGAGW-KTE3HGIIuaZdW6piZR0uSAxkCJ0az-UfSzCgUdrR9BWcko0T6_C_s83UAglU2jM1ZXLDP-LyAv38_JcV3r_GI8_EdfpBqsONU4YseXW6XlNLpGZ4pLZBAKwBJOd5ns/s320/WD_E0B2.JPG" width="277" /></a><br />
I feel like I should give a warning about this part of the process. The craft store had normal glitter paper and this really chunky, large pieces of glitter-type paper. I chose the second because it looked the most like the show.<br />
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The glitter gets <strong>everywhere</strong> and is a mess. I even blew canned air through my Silhouette at one point because it was sticking to everything. Also, even on the highest settings for thickness and material and using the Double cut setting, my Silhouette wouldn't cut all the way through. It did give me a good template to cut it out by hand, though.<br />
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After the mess I had on my hands, I decided laminating the whole thing would save other families from the cleanup I had. This step is optional if you don't like the look or don't have the equipment, though.<br />
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For the glue, I went with the E-6000 because I didn't have the time or energy to try out others and see if they would work. I'm pretty sure hot glue would hold the heart on temporarily but not long term since it's plastic on plastic. The only other thing I had was a glue stick. hehe<br />
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You will need:<br />
<ul>
<li>Glitter paper, 12in by 12in (12 hearts fit per page)</li>
<li>My <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Hearts.studio" target="_blank">Silhouette template</a> or <a href="http://jmx2aandz.com/Files/Hearts2.png" target="_blank">one to cut it out by hand</a></li>
<li>Exacto knife or scissors</li>
<li>Laminator and laminating sheets</li>
<li>E-6000 Glue</li>
</ul>
1a. For a Silhouette: Run the paper through your machine. Use speed 3, thickness 33, and blade 10. When it's done, finish them by hand.<br />
1b. By hand: Print out two copies of the template. Trim one so all 12 hearts fit on the glitter sheet. The hearts should be 2.5in by 3in. Tape it to the backside of the glitter paper and cut out the hearts.<br />
2. Optional - Laminate the hearts. Cut them out beyond the bubble that forms around it. If you cut within the bubble, the heart won't actually be sealed and the glitter will get out. I just eyeballed it, as you can see.<br />
3. Add glue to the heart and stick it to the notebook. Let it set overnight.<br />
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These seemed to be a big hit at the party, teamed up with a basic 8 pack of crayons.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLcs5-sivD3qcoQvpDDf-NhuAKPOODKxraviU35aNWPB27gsxJ86NQWI4uxstCLeHr4cYw30TGiYXB8ARi_tm8Z623l4R0S4dwpNZDN_OYmCalar5IW0pRCFsjtWr6sBjGhz_TzNrBGs-/s1600/DSCN5492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLcs5-sivD3qcoQvpDDf-NhuAKPOODKxraviU35aNWPB27gsxJ86NQWI4uxstCLeHr4cYw30TGiYXB8ARi_tm8Z623l4R0S4dwpNZDN_OYmCalar5IW0pRCFsjtWr6sBjGhz_TzNrBGs-/s320/DSCN5492.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disgnosis? Mommy has an ear infection :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The next post will cover all of the other things I made for the party, including center pieces, check up sheets, and a little clinic.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-78228585767884735032013-04-15T00:21:00.001-04:002013-04-15T00:23:52.029-04:00InfluenceMy extended family never seemed particularly tight-knit. We would have the occasional reunion, wedding, or, more often, funeral that would bring people I considered strangers together. It didn't help that I was usually one of the youngest at these events. I was more interested in scoring a free funeral parlor keychain that getting to know all of the older people around me. <br />
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Someone in that extended family started a FB page to post old pictures. I managed to get invited by my 2nd or 3rd cousin (honestly I'm not sure which). They have pictures of my grandfather when he was younger, posing with his 8 siblings or his parents.<br />
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He passed away when I was 11 yrs old, the week before Valentine's Day. He had a heart attack in the kitchen and was gone. It was one of the few times I've seen my dad cry. <br />
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Even though over 20 yrs have passed since I last saw him, I still have the occasional dream about him. If I think about it, I can conjure up all of these random details about him, everything from from the shaving cake and brush he used, to buying Kit-Kat bars from KMart. He made me learn to read, ate dinner while watching The People's Court, drank Sanka, and took afternoon naps.<br />
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Then for every detail, there's another layer of memories. I'd watch him shave and he'd stick some cream on my chin. We'd share the tiny guest bathroom, him shaving and me brushing my teeth over the toilet (I was too short to reach the sink).<br />
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He would fall asleep in his recliner while I sat in his lap, reading out loud the Dick and Jane books he pulled out of the dumpster at the school he cleaned. I'd try to stop reading and sneak away, but he'd always catch me.<br />
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It's weird, thinking back to how young I was compared to him. It wasn't until years after he passed away, did I realize the affect he had on me. As an adult, it makes me wonder if I had any influence on his. I'll never know how much of me hanging out with him was my grandma needing a break, or him actually wanting me around. <br />
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I don't mean this in a bad way at all, and I wouldn't feel slighted if it were the former. Most of the time I spent with him I was little, about 3-4yrs. You see things differently when you are that young. And now that my kids are the same age, I have a better understanding of how the adult side operates.<br />
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Seeing the pictures of him makes me miss him, but in a good way.<br />
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My grandfather, 4th from the left, with all of his siblings except one brother, in 1983. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrCtJ1DbY_JGG0YcAvb9zi6BhlkK8wwDROXXUOE2-1KEe8cJy0BxFkwjJ1bT4il-P_ZxXroxJ97wMbmXggkMTG3O4X4hDapz5EG5B7hoPTvUvu4CrVmAFgKd9YB0fRro82MEpcyzxmG2n/s640/blogger-image--903254400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrCtJ1DbY_JGG0YcAvb9zi6BhlkK8wwDROXXUOE2-1KEe8cJy0BxFkwjJ1bT4il-P_ZxXroxJ97wMbmXggkMTG3O4X4hDapz5EG5B7hoPTvUvu4CrVmAFgKd9YB0fRro82MEpcyzxmG2n/s640/blogger-image--903254400.jpg" /></a></div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-12238720295018085152013-03-22T22:56:00.001-04:002013-03-22T23:19:18.426-04:00Mason's 1st BirthdayEver since moving into this house, I've been feeling crafty. I don't know if it's because I now have room for all of my stuff, or the endless miles of blank walls are inspiring, or what. One of my latest endeavors was Mason's 1st Birthday Party.<br />
<br />
I bounced around a lot of themes but nothing would really stick. He's ONE. Sure, he has an opinion on what food he wants next, but what theme? Uh, no. I briefly considered going the self-indulgent route and doing what would be fun for me, but that sounded pretty much like Alex and Zach's 1st birthday. Add a layer of guilt because I never did get around to making Mason a Halloween costume, and, well, it needed to be decent party for Mason.<br />
<br />
Combing through Pinterest I came across <a href="http://laybabylay.com/vivis-first-birthday-party/" target="_blank">this party</a> where the theme was what their daughter liked. Their daughter was their theme. I loved it and thus began Mason's Mason-y Birthday.<br />
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Before the party began, we ran into some snags. We all caught RSV days before the big bash, so we pushed it back a week. Then we found mold in our basement. That's a key area for the kids (all 17!) to play during a get together, but we decided the upstairs alone would work. People can suffer for 2hrs, right?<br />
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All of the photos below were taken by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lollipopz-Photography/169441537332" target="_blank">Lollipopz Photography</a>.<br />
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The invite and the whole party had a subway art-esque look to it. Mason hates getting dressed, so all the kids wore their pajamas for the party. The food was what Mason (with only two teeth) could eat, including all of his favorites except spaghetti.<br />
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Our entry way and dinning room had balloons with captioned pictures of Mason attached to them. Many of them were firsts like "Mason's first time eating Mexican" or "Mason's first time reading a Magazine." All of them were cute. I also did gallery style decorating. Color posters with his likes and dislikes alternated with black and whites of Mason.<br />
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I had about 150 pictures printed for the party. Roughly 40 were attached to balloons. Another 35 or so went into making a giant 1 to hang on the basement door.<br />
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Another 16 went into a game I thought was hilarious, but no one noticed/played/liked.<br />
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The rest were scattered on the tables for people to admire. With the exception of the Mason game and the "1" all of the pictures went home with friends and family so they could set up their own shrines.<br />
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Since there wasn't enough mention of Mason on every available surface, I put together a home movie collage of him on the TV in the living room. Yes, we went from 6 hours old and still in the hospital, to 11 months old and walking around in about 15min. <br />
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The main attraction was the cereal bar. Since I never over-do anything, we had a selection of 9 different cereals. I ran out of bowls or it would have been 10.<br />
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Walmart sells these cool straws that flavor the milk as you suck it through. They couldn't be passed up.<br />
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The cereal bar doubled as the party favor. Everyone got a straw bowl, reclosable container for their cereal mix, wooden spoon, and straws to take home. I got reports back of cereal for dessert that night.<br />
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Not pictured, and honestly not very interesting, was the rest of the food: pizza, juice boxes, crackers, fruit salad, yogurt tubes, and gallons upon gallons of milk.<br />
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I'm pretty much an expert at making my kids cry when it comes to cake time. This party was no exception. We have a strong aversion to icing in our family.<br />
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Since everyone (about 40 people in all) were stuck upstairs, we tried to give the kids things to do. Alex and Zach's room already had beds with slide, so I called that good. Mason's room was converted into a ball pit extravaganza complete with a flamingo. This couldn't have been possible without two friends that made it happen.<br />
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Our front spare room had paper and crayons to draw. Baby strollers and giant trucks were zooming around everywhere. Fifteen kids under the age of 6 ran around like maniacs. I pumped them full of sugar and sent them home. It was a good day.</div>
Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-71538109729762310152013-03-22T16:14:00.001-04:002013-03-22T23:18:52.370-04:00Square Foot GardeningLast year in NY I had tons of gardening plans. I had prices to rent a tiller, a sunny spot picked out, and a plant list made. Many peas died on our back deck (Oops! They don't like warm weather!). Then we moved back to SC. Everything became too dynamic in my life to even try. <br />
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This year I'm going with square foot gardening. It had all if the things I was looking for: small/condensed, easy to setup, simple planting layout, and supposedly good yield. The idea of breaking everything down by grid is right up my alley.<br />
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So at this point I've got my frame done, bed filled, and the grid setup. It took two days of shopping and two days of work. I just need to get the seeds planted. I was hoping that would be today but 20 pounds of toddler sleeping on me is saying otherwise.<br />
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Our plan of attack is three squares each of Bibb lettuce, peas, carrots, and spinach. There will also be two squares of broccoli and potatoes. Later once the cooler weather plants are done, they'll be replaced with stuff like squash and corn. <br />
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I'm hoping the watermelon from last year will volunteer on their own. I left the areas they were in mostly undisturbed.<br />
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When I removed the old bed frame it was teeming with termites. Those are not attractive bugs. Naturally, I panicked and sent Jim a dramatic email. Apparently termites are everywhere and unless you want to use some nasty stuff, you just have to accept that they have a job to do. <br />
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Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-24896970197482882932013-03-22T15:53:00.001-04:002013-03-22T15:53:32.769-04:00Back but DifferentI'm going to start posting again, but I'm going with more of a "This is what I'm working on." than "This is every detail the boys have done this week." For continuity, we have three boys now. He is Mason and a year old.<br />
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So this is the line in the sand. :)Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-30926154939550145932010-12-30T12:53:00.000-05:002010-12-30T12:53:59.050-05:00Christmas Part 1First a correction - the boys did not actually get the same tooth in at the same time. It was all lies (and a faulty memory). Alex got his bottom left canine, but Zach popped his bottom right. They have since both gotten in their other bottom one in, so no one's the wiser. Let's just keep this slip-up between us.<br />
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</div><div>Diaper issues were resolved in time for me to take the boys to the pool before we left for the holiday's. You could tell they were really confused when instead of asking for just their shoes, I took all of their clothes, too. Then they had to wear a blue swim diaper. Once they saw the water and got comfortable playing in it, they had a good time. We brought some bath toys and a beach ball, plus the pool has a ring sprinkler.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The thing I like most about the pool is that it's zero depth entry. There's no steps, but a ramp so the boys and I had the option of how deep we wanted to go. Most of the time we played in only a couple of inches of water, with forays out to knee-deep (for them) to play in the ring sprinkler. No one in the room could resist their cuteness and everyone stopped by to say hello to them. They don't get much attention when we go out in Olean, so I think they enjoyed it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We left Olean around 8pm Friday night, stayed overnight at my parents, and drove the rest the next day. We've done a few trips with the boys, but nothing like 12hrs during the day. Jim and I decided on the fly that a DVD player would probably make things go smoother. We stopped at Wal-Mart about 45min from my parents and picked up a dual-monitor model. You can't just pull out the big guns at the beginning of the trip, so we packed it away for a later moment of desperation.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I once read a story about a family that followed their GPS onto a snow covered, mountainous dirt road in the hopes of reducing their trip by 20min. They got stuck in a snow bank for 24hrs until they were rescued. At the time I thought "How stupid!" but now I understand. Instead of going the way I've been traveling from Ohio to South Carolina for about 10yrs, I decided to follow the GPS. Never. Again. We ended up on a winding 2 lane road driving west to go south east. We did this for 3hrs.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The only other thing to note from the trip down was our multiple stops to find a power adapter that was long enough to reach the DVD player. When I asked if they had a Best Buy nearby the reply was "We don't have no fancy stuff like that 'round here." Luckily a second Wal-Mart and a dude with AA batteries stuck through both earlobes had my back.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I had worried that being back in SC, in our old house, would somehow psychologically scar the boys. They just went with it and acted like it was every other place we've moved in the past month. And really, I have to agree with them. It doesn't feel like home here anymore. A full PODS worth of stuff is missing, we're delegated to using the guest bath because the master shower is impossible to keep clean, and all of our baby gates are gone. It's like living in someone else's house, except I know where everything is (or isn't, as the case may be).</div><div><br />
</div><div>We put up our Christmas tree here, and got some new shatter-resistant ornaments. Two ball-obsessed boys are not compatible with the glass ones we used to use. I overheard Jim telling the boys "This is the season where we travel from house to house putting up trees!" For all they know, he's telling the truth! Sunday we let the boys open their kitty cars, mostly to stop the "Busses! Busses!" whining since we left all things yellow and wheeled in NY.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We've had a full calendar of events, which has been a welcome change. On Monday we met up with J and Ana for a playdate at the Pavilion's Bounce House. The boys had a ton of fun and it was really good to see our friends again. They got the boys a play tent with a tunnel, so we set that up as soon as we got home. They also got touch and feel first words cards and love them. J made me an awesome photo book of the boys and Ana playing together over the last year.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Tuesday was the boys' 18mo check-up. I don't have the stats in front of me (they're packed in the van) so I'll have to report the details later. One surprise was Alex weighing about a half-pound more the Zach. I guess all of that mouth stuffing is working to his advantage. Both boys are maintaining their weight percentiles close to normal but have gone up on height. They both grew about 2in in the last three months.We had the doctor check their iron levels, just to be sure they're still doing fine on diet alone. The hemo numbers came back in the 10-11 range, so they're right where they need to be.</div><div><br />
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</div>Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-26055325849195558822010-12-13T01:17:00.001-05:002010-12-13T01:18:36.253-05:00Teeth, Talking, and FeetThe boys have FINALLY popped a tooth through, after about 4 months of me saying "They're teething." It also happens to be the first tooth they've gotten in at the same time, their bottom left canine. The downside is I think we're just beginning. The first 8 teeth they have came in within two months. I see that sort of thing happening again, but with some molar action. Their gums are really red and swollen. Zach has woken up two nights in a row needing Motrin to help with the pain. I'll be glad when we're done getting teeth in.<br />
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It's amazing how much the boys understand, even if their current vocabulary is limited. They can follow directions well, especially if it involves bringing me their shoe or taking something to Jim. I find myself just requesting things from them like I would any adult, and being surprised when I get what I want in return. They use "yes" and "no" properly most of the time, with only the occasional "no" before they realize they really meant yes. It's like they expect to say no, and then change their minds once they see what's being offered.<br />
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We discovered that even though they call every vehicle "bus" they know the difference between cars, trucks, and actual buses. They also know what a word represents, even if it doesn't look like the same thing. They have a book with a cartoon tree. They know "tree" also means the Christmas tree and will point back and forth between them.<br />
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They currently can say no, yes, ball (anything round), bus, bye bye, bye bye to you, thank you, shoe, sausage, uh oh, wow, and nose. They can identify and make the sounds for a horse (neigh), sheep (baa), pig (snorting sound), dog (bow wow), and chicken (bawk bawk). They also love to mimic, especially crows, emergency sirens, dogs wining, cats meowing, and even Jim snoring. We'll be in the van going to the grocery store and the boys will take turns laughing at each other's sounds.<br />
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I inadvertently taught them that "wow" means you're impressed or it's something you like. Anytime they see a car or truck they yell "WOW!" It can be quite a sight walking them through a parking lot to a store. Every car, no matter how old or beat-up gets their verbal seal of approval. They want to touch them, too, but I try to keep them reigned in. We'd never make it to Wal-Mart if we had to pet each dirty, salt-covered car between us and the doors.<br />
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We had our first stomach bug last weekend and Zach got the worst of it. He threw up and both of the boys had bad diaper rashes. Alex still isn't out of the woods and we've been trying hard to get his hind end fixed up. I had whatever it was for about 24hrs and pretty much slept all day.<br />
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This round of diaper rash certainly isn't my first, but every time we have this problem, I try to figure out what I'm doing wrong, or what I can do to solve it faster. This time I think the stomach bug started things off but some apple juice and tomato sauce made recovery that much harder for Alex. We went to Jim's company's Christmas party Wednesday night. The boys had a great time but the food was pizza with juice to drink. I wasn't thinking about the acidity, just that they didn't go hungry. Alex sucked down a lot more juice and pizza than Zach.<br />
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I've also been reducing their dairy, since that can prolong digestive issues. I don't think they have a dairy allergy or sensitivity, since the diaper issues would never stop. I switched them to soy milk for now, and have cut out most cheese and yogurt. I got them probiotic powder (that was fun to find here...) and am trying to be sure they get their vitamins. Zach is pretty much back to normal but Alex still has an open sore. It doesn't seem to hurt him and he doesn't cry during diaper changes, though.<br />
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It has been snowing most days here, with the temperatures in the mid-20's. I think we had about 10in-12in total accumulated until it got warm today and melted. I got the boys and myself snow boots since tennis shoes were leaving us with wet feet. The boys were scared of the boots initially, and both threw themselves on the ground crying when I put them on their feet. Eventually Alex accepted them but 6hrs later, Zach was still protesting and yelling "Shoe!" Sigh.<br />
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Every year the bed and breakfast owners put on a Mr. and Mrs. Claus night. There's both characters, plus horse drawn sleigh rides, hot chocolate, and cookies. We took the boys over and they had a good time, although neither Santa or his wife were well received. You could see the steam rising off the horses, and the sleigh ride was surprisingly smooth and quiet. It's a weird sensation to be gliding across a field in the middle of the night. Every word out of the boys' mouths was "neigh" and we took them to see the horses after our ride.<br />
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Our former pasta haters have become noodle lovers. They ate so much spaghetti last night and I've been making them all different kinds of pasta. Zach even seems to like mac 'n cheese now, which is a big surprise. Their favorite food is bread, though, and they ask for it anytime they're hungry. They're also not shy about going to the fridge and asking for milk. It's really nice not trying to figure out what they want. They get their point across nicely most of the time.<br />
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Alex is still scared of the Christmas tree and won't retrieve any toy that ends up under it. Zach, on the other hand, wants to see how many things he can stick in the tree. Today he attempted to put one of his push toys in it. I've come in to find a dirty sock on a branch. They want the tree and the garland on the stairs to be lit whenever they're downstairs. They'll ask for one of us to turn it on if they're not.<br />
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The big thing we're working through right now is keeping their feet off the kitchen table, and teaching them not to lean their chairs back by kicking off with their feet. I wasn't having much success using only positive reinforcement (saying "Thank You!" whenever they removed their feet). They started putting their feet up because they wanted the praise when they stopped. I had to add in food removal to get the point across. I either won't give them a bite, or I remove the food they have in their hands until they comply. Of course Alex has figured out I won't take the food out of his mouth, so he stuffs everything in there and puts his feet up to relax while chewing. For whatever reason, they never put their feet on the table outside the house, so it could be a lot worse.<br />
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All in all, the boys are doing pretty well up here. We haven't really developed a rotation of things to do yet, or have any friends, but the grocery store and Wal-Mart keep us busy. Once the diaper situation is fixed, we're going to head to the pool at the YMCA. They also have a big room full of things for them to climb on. Ideally long term, I'll be able to leave them with the daycare people for a little bit in the morning and go workout. None of us quite their yet, though.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-51358697200472322552010-11-27T02:21:00.000-05:002010-11-27T02:21:08.473-05:00Olean, Town of Wind and RainI think I'm done with the robotic count up of years, months, and weeks. It's getting a bit silly at this point.<br />
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Life in the Carriage House<br />
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As I type this, the wind outside is howling, blowing leaves across the yard and bending trees to its will. Rain pelts down, making it impossible to let the boys run around out there. Instead, Zach is sitting on the floor and pointing out every "bus" in his book. Alex is working on removing the dirty laundry from the basket, but selectively. He doesn't want just any pair of old socks.<br />
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The day started out with the boys getting up at 5am. Like up-for-the-day kind of up. Ugh. Jim heard us banging around in the living room and came out to investigate. I took that as a sign I could go back to bed for 30min. muhahaha<br />
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The boys are still adjusting to being in Olean. After the long van trip, they want nothing to do with their care seats, which makes grocery shopping a bit difficult. It rained the last time we were here and it's doing the same now. Goodbye SC sunshine. They love playing outside here, especially since there's an abandoned truck parked out back they can pat.<br />
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Even though we're staying in a bed and breakfast, it's very much a farm-type scene. There's a giant red barn right outside our windows, and a huge corn field out back. All of the neighbors up and down Four Mile Road have their own barns and corn fields, too.<br />
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The boys also love the couch. It must be shorter than ours since they're able to climb up onto it with ease. This is unfortunate for us since there's no way to gate it off. They've already fallen off it, Alex off the arm onto his head and Zach off the side onto his rear end.<br />
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Life in the Cottage<br />
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We moved into the three bedroom house across the street and will be here for the remainder of our temporary housing. It feels really great to be in a place that has separate rooms for the kitchen and living room. It's actually quite spacious, especially with the second floor. It's not without its quirks, though. There's about 3 light switches for lights in the entire place. The rest are on pull cords. The bath tub is raised up in a low ceiling room, so the shower head is about an inch taller than me. There's no sneaking around upstairs with all of the creaking. An unheated sunroom has become the boys' favorite space, especially since the rain is never ending. They can watch cars go by, drive their buses, and throw their bouncy balls.<br />
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The worst thing is the fleas. It only takes one to find me and rebuild their civilization, and plenty more than that are hard at work. I had 37 bites at last count, but it's higher than that now. I'm so delicious, the fleas were jumping out of the house after me. I killed 6 that had leapt out onto the front porch while I was standing there. The boys each have 3 bites, one of which is on Alex's cheek. I don't think Jim has a single one. In a way I'm glad I'm protecting the boys. On the other hand, I'm very uncomfortable (each bite swells and itches) and "flea paranoia" has set in, where I constantly think I have fleas on me (which I probably do).<br />
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So after trying a spray that's not supposed to be harmful to kids that didn't work, we've decided to use the cats as flea bait. My parents got them on Advantage flea drops and we're bringing them back with us as a way to kill all of the fleas without having to coat the place in pesticides. I'm trying to resist the urge to toss them in the house and then check into a motel for a couple of days. I hate fleas that much. I'm also not looking forward to having the cats in such a small space with us, but I know the boys will love having them.<br />
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Other Stuff<br />
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Thanksgiving was good. We got here Tuesday night so I was around a little to help with Turkey Day prep. We brought all of the boys' toys with us, so it "Looks like a toy store exploded in here" as my dad put it. The boys ate a little turkey and a LOT of bread. Alex had a few bites of broccoli with cheese. Both apple and pumpkin pies got the boys' "MMMMM" seal of approval. Stuffing was spit out and handed back.<br />
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My mom wanted the boys to try eating off of little plates. Alex was the first to get his taken away for banging it on the table. Zach thought a plate was like a cup, and would tilt the entire thing until the food slid down into his mouth (or more often, his shirt or into the floor). Watching them at the table, I think I should be giving them utensils so they can practice scooping and stabbing. Maybe we'll start with forks. They already take the fork out of my hand and feed themselves.<br />
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Alex got another case of bad diaper rash. He had a dirty diaper in the middle of the night and we didn't realize it until morning. I should have known something out of the ordinary was wrong because he kept waking up and crying. I just thought it was his teeth. His bottom canines are on the verge of popping through. Instead I sent in another nomination for Worst Mother of the Year. Sigh. It's getting better now, though, and he doesn't cry when I change his diaper. On the bright side, he tells us when his diaper is dirty, so I have two boys with this skill now.<br />
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Originally when this whole "Let's move to Olean!" thing came about, I was concerned how the boys would take it. Luckily they're still young enough that they accept their current reality without comment (unless you count their loathing of riding in the van). We were in Greenville, then we were in the Carriage House, then the Cottage, and now my parent's house. It's been a busy two weeks and I've tired of living out of suitcases. I haven't had time to unpack us at the Cottage yet.<br />
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Also in housing news, we go in on Monday to sign the papers on <a href="http://www.2findyourhome.com/search/property/detail.cfm?search_mlnum=B354589&search_property_type=RES#">a house in Allegany</a>. We saw it on Monday and went back Tuesday for a second viewing. It was a weird situation where we met the entire family that lives there and knew they were running out of time to sell. They want to move 3 miles away so the mom and triplet daughters can have a horse farm, but have to sell their house first. It's been on the market for almost a year. Now there's another family that is interested in the horse farm and are scheduled to go back for a second viewing on Sunday.<br />
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On thing you'll notice if you click on the link to the house is there's zero pictures of the upstairs or basement. This is because they need work, especially the bathrooms. They still have the original 1970's pink and green sinks and toilets and they are ugly. The basement just needs some carpet and paint. The family that lives there completely renovated the 1st floor but didn't have time to get to the others.<br />
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We talked them down quite a bit on the price. They modified our offer by wanting the hot tub and playset to go with them. Jim joked that we should have countered that they had to take the above ground pool with them, too. I'm not sure what we're going to do with that thing. I won't keep it unless it can be 100% kid proofed, and I'm not convinced that can happen. I also don't want to have to take care of it.<br />
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One thing that was a bit of a surprise is that the house doesn't have air conditioning. It doesn't even have ducts that you could tie one into. It operates off of hot water baseboard heat. Neither of us have lived in a house like this, so it should be interesting. Near as we can tell, most people buy window air conditioners for their bedrooms and only run them a couple of days a year.<br />
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With the layout of the house, it's possible the boys will have a play area on every level (unless Jim decides the basement is his "man cave"). The dining room, kitchen, and den are all in a row which makes it nice to keep an eye on the boys. The house is bigger than the 2,200 sqft listed. For whatever reason, the houses in this area don't count finished basements in the total.<br />
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We're planning on coming back to Greenville the week before Christmas and staying in our house. In fact, we still have the boys' 18mo check-up scheduled with the pediatrician there. hehe I'm not sure what going back there will do to Alex and Zach. I guess they need something to tell the therapist later.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-3588042024131756902010-11-17T12:10:00.000-05:002010-11-17T12:10:18.898-05:00Year 1, Month 4, Week 2I made this post back on October 24th. I'm not sure why I didn't publish it then. Perhaps I felt like I'd have more to add to it.<br />
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Ok, I'm such a bad mom, I don't even know where to begin. Somehow I totally missed writing about the boys for a month. A. Month. It's certainly not because nothing has been going on. It's really quite the opposite.<br />
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Both boys love clapping now. I know I mentioned Zach clapping before, but that was for like a two day stint. This is perma-clapping. One boy will start and the other will join in until the giggling gets to be too much. They'll also give me five, not so much via a verbal command but just because I have my hand out. Alex likes to slap my hand but Zach prefers to be stationary while I hit his. I can see "Hot Hands" being a fun game for them in the future.<br />
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"Shoosh shoosh shoosh!" is shouted in excitement when I mention "shoes" or bring them out. They don't know if I mean we're going somewhere or just playing in the backyard but they're ready to go! "Shoosh" can also mean "sock" or "shirt" but then it's asked as more of a question while holding said object.<br />
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The boys do "Bye bye" complete with a single (Zach) or double (Alex) hand wave. Zach prefers his to be an even "Bye bye!" while Alex goes for the sassy "Buh bye!" They also think it's awesome that sheep say the same thing, even though I've tried to explain the nuances of "Baa" versus "Bye". And if sheep say it, horses must, too. Both boys now announce when they're leaving one parent to go visit the other in the next room. They also have an uncanny ability to detect the end of a phone conversation and will start yelling "BYE BYE!!" Speakerphone with Jim is good times!<br />
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Today in the van, Zach was experimenting with different syllable combinations. He took the standard "bye" and converted it into "bath" for a bit. Then he went with "bass", and tried dropping the "b" for a bit. It was all Jim and I could do to not laugh during his 10-15min of "bass ass". That's all I'd need to encourage and have to explain at the grocery store. hehe<br />
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Zach understands the concept that I need something and that he can get it for me. Mainly I use this when I'm trying to put shoes on Alex and one is out of reach. If I ask for it, point to it, then hold out my hand like I want it, Zach will happily go and fetch it for me. It's an amazing feeling that I can communicate an abstract idea and he understands!<br />
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Most of my days are filled with answering an endless stream of "This?" They love to point at everything and want to know its name. They know and can point out hair, ears, nose, and mouth - on themselves, their brother, or anyone else that ventures nearby. They are curious about eyes, fingers, hands, arms, and bellies. I identify car wheels about 10k times a day, too. They've discovered that they can put their fingers in their ears (or ours) and it makes things sound funny.<br />
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Dancing is another new found skill. Any music, or just someone singing will cause them to bust a move. There's the baby bounce, where they just bend their knees and stick their tush out. At Wayne and Nina's they watched a Mickey's Clubhouse and learned to do a sort of tween side-to-side sway. Alex likes to mix it up with his version of the Twist, and they both shake their heads as a grand finale.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-42569988135927277032010-09-07T00:29:00.001-04:002010-09-07T02:08:57.806-04:00Year 1, Month 3Well, as busy as we were in the last post, we were the opposite the following week. Runny noses turned into full blown sinus infections with lung congestion and fevers. The boys were back on antibiotics, this time a high dose for 14 days. Ugh! Sometimes I'm not sure what's worse, having an infection or having diaper rash due to antibiotics.<br />
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I tried to be really proactive about the diaper rash potential. I coated their bottoms in Lotrimin and Desitin. And when both boys STILL ended up with patches of rash, I switched them to 7th Generation diapers. We did baking soda baths every other night and gave the boys lots of naked time in the evenings. I pumped them both full of banana every morning, too. Alex spent about 12hrs with a rash on his bottom. Zach had a little rash but it was gone by the next diaper change. I consider that a success considering the last time we spent days dealing with it.<br />
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The last week as been rough on Alex. The first incident he tripped while walking on the hardwood floor. He was carrying his kitty car at the time and landed face first on it. The car is rounded but still managed to catch his lip and rip his frenulum (the skin that connects the upper lip to the gums). At first I didn't even realize he was bleeding. I was already comforting Zach when Alex fell, so I just scooped him up into my lap, too. The fall was totally normal looking.<br />
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But Alex wouldn't stop crying. I looked at him and noticed what appeared to be bruises on the side of his face. Then I realized it was blood. His mouth was full of it, and there was red down the front of his shirt and on my shoulder. I tried dabbing it with a wet paper towel but ended up rinsing his mouth out over the sink so I could see what was bleeding.<br />
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Once I saw it was a torn frenulum, I grabbed my phone, called the pediatrician, and told them we would be there in about 5min. I called Jim on the way to tell him what happened. Luckily I had showered and put on real clothes that morning but the boys were still in their PJ's and shoeless. I didn't bother with any strollers but grabbed them both and carried them in.<br />
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Alex was fine and the bleeding had stopped. His lip was swollen but none of his teeth were loose. Since he was already on antibiotics, there wasn't much to be done. The doctor assured me that he would be totally fine in a couple of days and to just avoid salty foods until then. Within an hour Alex was happily chomping his lunch, happy that Jim had come home to check on him.<br />
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A few days later I accidentally shut Alex's finger in the pantry door. Luckily there's a small gap between the door and the door jam but it still squished his index finger and he cried. Then today he was walking with a sippy cup and tripped, cutting his lip. There was blood all over the place again, to the point I thought he had reopened his other wound. I rinsed his mouth the best I could. We gave him some Motrin for the pain and I soothed him until he fell asleep in my arms. (It was nap time.)<br />
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Hours later his lip is still swollen but he wouldn't eat a popsicle or let me put an ice pack on it. He ate dinner just fine, though, and doesn't act any different. I'm not sure what to do. They're both tripping a lot these days, more so than when they first learned to walk. The issue is they just don't look down, so they trip on everything from the carpet to toys. They also need to learn to drop what they're carrying and put their arms out. I'm hoping these things will come with time.<br />
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There's been a lot of good stuff, too! Zach is fascinated with other people's noses. He'll walk up to me, pat mine, and laugh. He calls it "Gnome" or "Gnomey". hehe Zach has also discovered that by bending over and looking through his legs, he can make himself upside down. Alex saw what he was doing and started doing it, too.<br />
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We installed a gate at the top of our stairs and baby proofed most of rooms we use on a daily basis. Having the stairs open and available to be fallen down was really freaking me out. I was using closed doors to corral the boys but as soon as I'd open one, they'd try to shoot out and make for the stairs.<br />
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Now I can let them loose and they love running back and forth across the bridge. They avoid their nursery like the plague since they associate it with "Ni Ni", though. After their baths we let them run around up there and air dry. They roll on the carpet in their nakedness, enjoying how it feels.<br />
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They also have started fake falling. Alex did it first, doing an exaggerated slap on the floor then sliding down onto his belly with an "Oh!". Zach loved the idea, so now I have two boys flopping down everywhere (as if the amount of real falling wasn't enough!).<br />
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I've given their buses back and so far they've been able to share. I think they realize that there's two of just about everything, so if one gets stolen the victim will look around for a replacement. They've also started trading toys. One boy will get bored and offer his toy to his brother. About 9 times out of 10 the brother will take the toy and offer the first boy his in return. Unfortunately that 1/10th of the time usually results in slapping, scratching, and me yelling "NO BITE!! NO BITE!!"<br />
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We cancelled our cleaning service this week. Other bills have pretty much drained the extra money we had for it. Jim and I spit up the chores and have been working on them. This has given me the opportunity to try cleaning without potentially harmful chemicals. Today I cleaned the bathrooms with vinegar and one of those magic erasers. I was surprised at how well of a job it did, although I did use Windex on the mirrors. We have been using a steam mop on the floors, too.<br />
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The boys have their 15 month check-up this week! I'm interested to know how much they've grown. I also wonder what the doctor will say about their big bellies. hehe<br />
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I got ambitious and tagged 2 months of photos, then uploaded the good ones to <a href="http://alexandernzachary.shutterfly.com/">the boys' website</a> (pw: <i>jma&z</i>). Enjoy!Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-5415225268624837902010-08-23T00:24:00.000-04:002010-08-23T00:24:23.418-04:00Year 1, Month 2, Week 2The boys and I had a really busy week. On Monday we went to Costco with J and Ana to get the boys some chicken patties. We were looking for something to do while the cleaners were here and that was the best we could come up with. Afterwards we ate lunch with J, N (her husband), and Ana at McAlister's. It's funny how I'll order an adult and kids meal but the boys will eat half of mine (in this case a baked potato) and I'll eat part of theirs (hating mac 'n cheese is their loss!).<br />
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Jim and I have found the ultimate solution to eating out with the boys. Honestly I don't know why it didn't occur to us sooner. Buffets. There's no wait to get the boys food, so I'm not stuffing them full of cracker just waiting on their meal to arrive. They eat for free since they're under two. This might not sound important but Alex and Zach combined eat about the same amount as an adult. We've had to order each of them a kid's meal a few times now, and at $5 a pop, it adds up. No left overs! Again, this might not be obvious but our boys really, really don't like eating the same things in a row. Very rarely I can cover something in cheese and fake them out. So leftovers sit, then I have to throw them out.<br />
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Tuesday we went over to H and B's house. H is 28 weeks along with fraternal boys and B is her 17mo old son. She's on 100% bedrest and stuck in a gap where help from friends ran out but her mom isn't due to arrive for a couple of weeks. Her husband works during the day but does what he can. We took a turn helping and watching B. I made them a broccoli casserole and peach/raspberry cobbler, since meals can be rough.<br />
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The day was much more exhausting than I expected. I guess I thought one more boy would be a little harder, but still reasonable. What I didn't know was their playroom was too small for all of us to comfortably fit. They also have two really big dogs that our boys were petrified of. I'm talking literally unable to move and bursting into tears every time the dogs came into view.<br />
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We made due, though. The kitchen chairs were too small for the boys' booster seats. So, I fed all three boys in the living room, with Alex and Zach's chairs up on the couch, and B's high chair pulled along side. I had to get them off the floor or the dogs would have jacked their food and given them permanent emotional scars.<br />
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I was also freaked out that I was supposed to feed B hotdogs for lunch. There's few things that our boys have never had and this is one of them. The choking hazard issue is just too much for me to chance it. I watched B like a hawk and cut each doggy disk into tiny pieces, determined he wasn't going to croak on my watch. Luckily he survived.<br />
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The house wasn't super baby proofed (but props for gates on the stairs!) so just keeping an eye on 3 boys was a challenge. I didn't really appreciate it before, but our house's kitchen/living room/playroom/bathroom are all in a line, giving me a distinct advantage when it comes to monitoring little kids. This house was more L shaped, so if I was dealing with a boy at one end, I was blind to the other. The idea us of having another kid seemed a whole lot less appealing by the end of the day.<br />
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Wednesday we went to another H's house, but this one has two 10mo boys, L and L. I'm so used to our boys and their identicalness, it's fun to be around obvious fraternals. L1 is blond haired, blue eyed, and a flirt. L2 is brown haired, brown eyed, and more reserved. L2 is also visibly bigger than L1. M and her two 11mo identical girls, A and B, were there, too. So it was 3 adults and 6 little kids.<br />
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Initially I was worried that our boys (being the only walkers) would maul the others but that wasn't the case. Everyone was standing and cruising, and the only incident was between Zach and Alex. It was over a toy and Alex ended up with two bite marks on his elbow. Sigh.<br />
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I don't know how to say this without sounding like a snob. Sometimes I get so caught up in doing what I think is best for the boys, I sort of loose track of what's normal. Mostly this centers around food. We do the whole grains, no corn syrup, little sugar, low sodium, selectively organic dance at the grocery store every week. I've been known to carry boxes from the "normal aisle" to the "natural aisle" to compare labels.<br />
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At H's house she provided sandwich materials for lunch - white bread, prepackaged meat, individually wrapped sliced cheese. There was also salad (the three of us can't chew it) and crackers. Her kids ate some jarred baby food. For some reason I felt incredibly liberated. She just bought normal stuff and they ate it, and we were, too. She didn't look like she felt guilty because the whole wheat bread she researched didn't still contain some evaporated cane juice. There was no agony over whether her boys' love of salty foods should be enabled with pretzel sticks or abated with low sodium crackers. She just grabbed what everyone else does and her kids were perfectly healthy. The occasional chicken nugget probably won't stunt my boys.<br />
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Friday we went to J and Ana's, but a little late. I put the boys down for their normal morning nap at 9am. They slept about 30min and woke up in crazy cranky moods at 10am. Ugh. I figured we'd all lay down on our bed until their attitudes adjusted more towards happy. We all fell asleep for another 2hrs. Sigh. We were supposed to eat lunch at J and Ana's. It was noon and the boys were starving. Somehow I managed to feed them, change diapers, and get us all out the door in 30min. (Ok, so I cheated and made them eat Cheerios in the car on the way.) To make things worse, I when I call J to tell her we're really late, I find out she tried to get a hold of me and was imagining us all dead along the road somewhere.<br />
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We ended up having a good afternoon anyways, and stayed until after 5pm, making us late for dinner. I guess I was just having one of those days.<br />
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As if this post wasn't long enough... hehe Zach has figured out how to stand up from the floor, ending about a week of frustration that Alex could do it but he couldn't. Zach now happily pops up from anywhere. Alex has discovered that heavy breathing through his mouth is fun. It's like a mini Darth Vader walking around. Zach makes car noises for anything he's driving around, be it a car, train, or a pop bottle. Both boys have figured out how to hum into a kazoo. Anything long and skinny gets hum tested, just to be sure it's not a kazoo. If it turns out to be one, much laughing follows.<br />
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Throwing things has become a big issue around here. So far no one's gotten hurt, but it's only a matter of time. We ditched the inflatable tubs. I just fill up the garden tub and toss in the boys. They can stand or do whatever, unless it's playing with the blinds or trying to climb out. Alex immediately went to work trying to evict all of the bath toys. Zach practiced falling on his rear end, causing massive splashes. Jim and I were soaked.<br />
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Jim and I decided to not only open a can of worms, but invite them for tea - we've been showing the boys how to climb the stairs. Zach can go from bottom to top under his own power. Alex likes to pretend he's stuck so we'll help him. At Granny J's today they learned how to go down her one step into the living room. Hopefully this will replace their previous method (falling off face first). Stairs are not something I can do solo with them. Too much gravity and not enough arms to catch them.<br />
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We've also been doing a fast walk while holding their arms. It looks like their taking these giant steps very quickly towards the nursery. Other things I wish we hadn't started include tossing them in the air, letting them play in the fridge, and showing them where I hid their school buses.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-38219771966856467652010-08-11T21:42:00.000-04:002010-08-11T21:42:29.528-04:00Year 1, Month 2, Week 1Ok, I have no idea where the last 3 weeks went. Everything is a blur.<br />
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Both boys are officially toddlers and prefer to walk everywhere now. They've walked into the grocery store a few times and get mad when I put them in the race car cart. I'd let them keep walking but they move like tiny old men and have to stop to look at everything. I didn't even think we'd make it into the store at all last trip because a car alarm went off and Zach couldn't look away. If I let them clomp around in their new shoes, it would take about 12hrs to get our shopping done. hehe<br />
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Of course this means the wagon has lost a lot of luster. They'll happily push it around but don't really want to be strapped in it at all. We got them real walking shoes so we could practice balance more often and I wouldn't have to carry them as much. At the Stride Rite store I bet you could hear the screams 15 stores away. It sounded more like a foot amputation than a foot measuring. They also hated wearing them the first day and refused to walk at all.<br />
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Now when I pull out the socks and shoes, they grab them and either hand them to me or try to put them on their feet by themselves. They get really excited because they know it means we're going somewhere and walking is involved. The initial resistance, followed by an especially funny high-step gait, is gone. Shoes are happy times!<br />
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Their new-found walking skills have also brought around an unexpected surprise. They can now navigate and steer the push toys by themselves. No more lassos or tethers. They just grab a bus or whatever and take off. Sadly, it hasn't stopped the fighting over the same toy, though. I guess that would be asking too much.<br />
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I've been feeling guilty lately about the stuff they've been eating. There's been meals of just chicken nuggets and fries, or pizza. About the only meal I feel good about is breakfast. Cheerios with fruit, peanut butter on whole wheat, or eggs with turkey sausage are reasonable (and the only time I can get Zach to eat fruit). I need to come up with some better lunch and dinner options. It doesn't help that they won't eat the same thing twice in a row, like lunch leftovers for supper.<br />
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I tried making my own refried beans today, all 8 cups. I've never been good at judging portion sizes. They turned out alright and the boys happily ate them. I've been reading about BPA's in canned food, so I figured I could try this and freeze the extras. Plus, you can't beat $1.50 for 1lb of dried pintos!<br />
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We've developed a good routine for naps and bedtime, maybe too good. Alex has discovered crib jumping and Zach thinks it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. One morning they were laughing and giggling for over an hour before going to sleep. I'll also hear them pressing the paws on their dogs. I'll think they're asleep until I hear barking followed by laughing. I'm not complaining (who doesn't want 2hrs to get things done?) but it can be tricky getting naps in if we have to be somewhere in the late morning.<br />
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The boys now associate sleep sacks with going to bed. They'll take off as soon as I pull them out. I have to chase them down and combat the heavy complaining. Once they're wrapped up, they'll just lay on the floor, play peek-a-boo, and laugh at each other.<br />
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Alex and Zach give really, really good hugs. They'll walk over, grab you around the neck, and hold on. They'll also use their hands to tilt your face to theirs for a kiss from you. It's crazy sweet.<br />
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I got braces a few weeks ago and quickly learned they weren't boy compatible. I've had numerous busted lips and the last one has taken over a week to heal (until Zach reopened it this morning). The dentist didn't have much by the way of options beyond just covering my lower brackets with wax. Early on the boys would try to get me to open my mouth so they could see the braces. Zach especially wanted to touch them and try to pull them off. Now they don't even notice them I don't think.<br />
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Jim's dad passed away since I made my last post. He had prostate cancer and will be missed. The boys didn't get much time with him and never did make it on a tractor ride unfortunately.<br />
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We also took a mini vacation last week. Jim's mom rented a house in the Smoky Mountains and invited us and all of the boys' cousins (and their families). There were 7 adults and 6 little boys running around. Alex and Zach had an absolute blast. They stayed up late just about every night playing with their cousins. It was also good for them to spend time with their grandma, aunts, and uncle. It really helped them be less afraid of strangers. They haven't cried at people since we got back.<br />
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We took them to the aquarium and they loved the stand alone tanks but not the walk-thru shark part. I just don't think it was as brightly lit for some reason. Zach bonked his head trying to look behind one of the jelly fish. They ate their morning snack with the sting rays. We let them walk everywhere and didn't even take the wagon out of the van.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-70413817344774384182010-07-12T21:18:00.000-04:002010-07-12T21:18:18.704-04:00Year 1, Month 1, Week 2I added some pictures of the boys from last month on their <a href="http://alexandernzachary.shutterfly.com/">website</a> (pw: jma&z). We've reached the end of our professional portraits, so expect the quality to go down.<br />
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Well, all it took was for me to say they weren't concentrating on walking to make them refocus their efforts. Zach will take a few steps from any piece of furniture and either lunge at me, or plop down to finish his journey via scooting. Alex will happily take some steps into my waiting arms but isn't a fan of walking off into an abyss.<br />
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Zach has achieved a seemingly random milestone: he can clap. This was "supposed" to happen months ago, but both boys would rather clap your hands than their own. I'm not sure why Zach decided now is the time to clap, but he'll do it a few times then put his hands on his head (kind of like he's clapping it, too). It's really cute to watch.<br />
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The boys aren't ashamed to steal food from the cats if I'm not getting their meal ready in a timely manner. It's gotten to the point where the cats are only safe if we feed them while the boys are locked down in highchairs.<br />
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I've been pretty tired the last few days. Zach has been getting up multiple times during the night. Last night he cried for an hour before I went in for a third time and just brought him back to bed with me. I kept hoping he'd go back to sleep, but neither rocking nor back rubbing helped. I think he's starting to have upsetting dreams since I can hear him yell right before he starts crying.<br />
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After breakfast I read to them, then lay on the floor while they go around the playroom exploring. After about 10min, I'll see one peek at me over the train table, then start to head my way. Alex will come over and put his head on mine, cheek to cheek. He also likes to play with my hair and drive cars on me. Zach would rather lay his head on my chest and wants me to hold him. Today he was sliding up and down my legs on his belly.<br />
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The boys really, really want to walk while supported. We used to have them push their school buses around the living room but that's turned into too much of a screamfest. Zach will scream and try to hit Alex if he gets anywhere near his bus. Alex will scream and try to bite Zach if he gets hostile. So the situation just snowballs. I've been taking the boys for short walks, one at a time, but that just means one boy is happy while the other is jealous.<br />
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Tonight Jim and I each took a boy by the hands and let him walk around. We played a big game of chase and the boys were laughing so hard they were out of breath by the end. It's going to be so entertaining once they can chase each other on their own.<br />
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The boys had their hematologist check-up this week. Their iron levels and hemoglobin are right on target. They do not have Thalassemia Trait, since their red blood cells were no longer small. The technician had a lot of trouble trying to draw blood from Zach again. This time it was impossible. I managed to keep Alex happy in the other room but the screaming was terribly hard on my heart. Jim was visibly sweating from the stress by the time it was over. They ended up getting what they needed from finger pricks, which makes me a little mad. If that works, why even draw blood??<br />
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Both boys are experts at sitting up on their own. They can go from laying on their backs to sitting, even with a sleepsack on. We lowered their crib mattresses so they won't climb out, but not before I found some little teeth marks on Zach's railing. The downside to this is that once they're sitting up and crying, it's almost impossible for them to go back to sleep on their own. Like I mentioned earlier, I gave Zach and hour before tossing in the towel. I tried laying him down and rubbing his back, but he just popped right back up when I stopped. I think it's just going to take some time (and less nightmares).Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3096171204214430196.post-20220432542645564522010-07-07T00:15:00.000-04:002010-07-07T00:15:22.970-04:00Year 1, Month 1, Week 1Ok, so maybe the post titles are getting a little silly, but I haven't been able to figure out a better way. hehe<br />
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If you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have said I thought the boys would be walking by now. Everything I've read pretty much says that once a baby starts on the path towards walking, it becomes their sole focus until they achieve it.<br />
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That doesn't seem to be the case with Alex and Zach. This week they're continuing to work on other skills. I've been working with both boys on how to go from their belly to a sitting position. If they had learned to crawl, this would be second nature, but since they're scooters they bypassed this step. Every time they end up on their bellies, I help them pull their knees up under neath, then rock back onto their behinds. Today Alex started doing it all on his own. Zach will take a bit longer because he tends not to be on his belly as much.<br />
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Alex is obsessed with being upside down. He'll fall over backwards on purpose, hitting his head on the floor, because he thinks it'll make him see the world in this new way. I'll carry him around with his legs sticking in the air and he just loves it. He's also started trying to mimic us. He can say "hat", "hot", and "ouch". What amazes me is how well he pronounces the "t" and "ch". Maybe I'm biased, but it sounds perfect to me.<br />
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The fight for naps in their cribs continues. The boys have worked up to sleeping about 1hr per nap most days. Yesterday Zach wouldn't sleep at all unless I held him. Today it was Alex, but he was happy just babbling away in his crib for the most part. It amazes me every day how different the boys are. Zach will instantly cry when put down for a nap. If I'm lucky, the cries will slowly slow down until he passes out. If I'm unlucky, his cries will escalate into hoarse screaming. Alex, on the other hand, will look around, wiggle until he's sideways, then put his feet up on the wall. He'll grunt a little until he either falls asleep or doesn't.<br />
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I've really been enjoying this age. I can just sit on the floor and before I know it, two little boys are driving their cars over me, playing with my hair, and peeking around my shoulder to give me a smile. We read books, snuggle, and chase each other around.<br />
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Their eating has really picked up. They split a large bowl of Cheerios with a whole cut up banana, plus half a PB&J for breakfast. They shared 7 pieces of cheese pizza when some of Jim's family came over to swim. They'll finish most of a kid's meal at restaurants. And, on top of that, they're drinking well over a gallon of milk a week. I don't know where it's all going but they're not starving. My arm gets tired of feeding them long before they get full. Luckily they're good at popping cheddar crackers in their mouths.Valyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03185869462445071042noreply@blogger.com0