The Hazard of Baby Wearing

Here's my big secret of parenting...the one that my husband asks whenever I leave him home alone with the baby and a chore list; the desperate "how do you get anything done when he wants to be held all the time?" question. Usually asked by a frazzled hubby when I get home from working the evening shift and Daddy has had him and dinner and laundry to do for the last four hours.

I baby wear. Not because "it's better for the child" or "it promotes bonding" or any of those reasons used by traditional crunchy attachment parenting proponents to promote their way of life. I baby wear because it's easier (and I'm lazy). Sometimes, wearing him is the only thing that keeps Chris from screaming his head off when he's overtired or overstimulated. And since by that point I'm usually tired and overstimulated myself, anything  prevents the scream-fest will be done...even strapping a twenty pound baby to my back and hiking around the neighborhood at 1am with the dog. We're regulars with the paper delivery guys, now.They even wait for me to cross the street before throwing the paper after the one night they threw it near us Chris started screaming again from the noise of the paper hitting the sidewalk! LOL I take the dog along for protection, cause you know a twelve pound poodle can scare off anything, right?  Maybe if she yaps loudly enough? Or she could always lick them to death, right? (or not, since she's scared of everything)

Check it out, hood down! 

But since I baby wear mostly in a back carry now that the twenty pound mark has been passed, I've discovered a nasty side effect that none of the fancy baby-wearing websites talk about. With the hood up on my Ergo carrier (IE: baby is finally asleep, don't you dare wake him up!), my brown Ergo looks an awful lot like a standard backpack. And anyone who's ever moved through a crowd knows, people bump into and shove bags out of their way. We all do it and it's not really a big deal; just part of moving through a crowd.You'd think the robot strap covers would be a giveaway that it's not a backpack, but here in the Bay Area apparently not so much! So people bump my Ergo like a backpack when the hood up...which means they're shoving my baby thinking it's a backpack. We've gotten a few hard enough hits that I wanted to turn around and kick them, see if they like it! We're given a lot of space and consideration when the hood down as Chris is too cute to nudge (or maybe people are just more respectful of someone's baby than someone's sack of books/papers/gobbledegook). So I decided that my Ergo needed to look less like a backpack and more like a baby carrier even when the hood is up. Heck, especially when the hood is up! That's when he's asleep--precious, precious time! But I couldn't figure out how to do it until I was driving down the street last week  and found myself staring at the silly little 'baby on board' sign in the car ahead of me's back window. You know, the yellow plastic triangle with black lettering? I've never found these particularly attractive or useful, but they're well known and the yellow triangle is an international caution symbol---problem solved!  So I sped off home and applied my very own caution sign to the underside of my Ergo's hood. Please note, you want it on the underside so that when you flip it up to cover the (hopefully) sleeping baby's head, it's visible. I even remembered to use brown thread in the bobbin and black thread in the upper, to match my Ergo and mimic the caution sign respectively, which I've never managed before. Go me! Here it is, beautifully modeled by our dining chairs, the Baby-on-board labeled Ergo!  Hopefully it will make crowd goers think twice about nudging this pack out of their way in our crowded daily commutes.

Hood up-caution sign exposed!

Stay tuned for the how-liz-made-it, coming next naptime!

April 12, 2011, cont.

Minutes after I sent the text message to my husband, he called back. Between heaves, I could hear his google eyed excitement at the prospect of being a dad. He'd been waiting so long to hear those words he wasn't quite sure he could trust the dollar store pregnancy test and asked me to run down to the Kaiser lab to confirm the pregnancy.  My sister was off work that day and dropped me off for the test...a quick pee in a cup and I was sent home to wait for the phone call confirmation. The nice lab check in guy offered to rush my test so I didn't have to wait on pins and needles all night and half of tomorrow, even though it was 4pm by then.  The three hour wait would be bad enough!  I don't even remember getting the call as it came in between waves of more dry heaving, but I do remember them saying it was positive and to make an OB/GYN appointment as soon as possible. 

And OH did my husband pull a fast one on my sister telling her. She lives in the unit upstairs from us, so he called her all concerned, voice shaking, that we'd gotten the test results back and she needed to come downstairs right away. It was serious.  I didn't know he'd done that so when I popped my head around the corner from the hallway and said, "Hi aunt!" her face melted into the softest expression I've ever seen on her face as she asked, "You're pregnant? Really?"  Then she hit him.  My mom was thrilled, my dad was content (which is thrilled for him) and my sister was already planning how to help me finish drywalling the nursery we'd been using as an office for the past year. Aside from the non-stop vomiting, life was very good!

April 12, 2011- The Discovery

I woke up feeling kinda rotten today. Nose dripping, stomach upset and absolutely exhausted. But I went on into work anyway, mostly because I hadn't woken up early enough to call out!  Ninety minutes into my shift, the nausea started to get really bad. IE: swallowing it down, bad. I was working alone in a section of the store and had two customers involved in major planning sessions so I couldn't just walk off until someone came to relieve me. When another coworker did appear, I wasted no time excusing myself and bolting for the bathroom.

I didn't make it. I projectile vomited on the stairs. Thankfully the back, employee only stairs.  Worst of all, I couldn't even stop to clean it up because the next wave was coming. At least I'd skipped breakfast that morning. :-/  Once I hit the bathroom, I kept heaving until I was emptier than I ever thought I could be and my stomach had settled enough I didn't think I'd embarrass myself again. A quick wash up and mouthwash and I headed back to the sales floor to wait for the afternoon shift to arrive so I could go home early.

Fifteen minutes later, my coworker said, "You look really white again Liz. You better go. We'll manage."  As I bolted off the floor to face another heaving session in the employee bathroom, I did call the floor manager of the day and announce I was going home.  I made it home only to vomit before I could even get into my jammies. After another three hours of this, I sat there thinking, "I have never had a stomach bug this bad before; what gives?"  And the penny dropped...we'd been trying to get pregnant for years. Actually, we had started saving for fertility treatments several months before. So I pulled out a pregnancy test, held my breath and sat there STUNNED when that little pink line showed up. The test line showed up faster than the control did! I was pregnant!!! I was so excited, I puked. Then I sent a photo of the test to my worried hubby at work: "I think I found the source of the vomiting. That's a positive pregnancy test."

That famous double line. 

2011---the year I lost.

I've been gone a looong time now! I have a ton of new posts coming your way, the first of which will explain where I've been for the last eighteen months. It'll be a series detailing the year I lost due to a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidium, an under diagnosed illness many women are told is 'all in their heads.'  It isn't. If you're a sufferer or a survivor, I encourage you to stop in weekly as I blog through my experiences battling the disease. Overall, 2011 was full of changes in our house, both good and bad all at once.  Thankfully, the good stuck around and the bad left with 2011. :)

Empty out that junk drawer!

And use those miscellaneous keys we all have lying around to create this cute shadowbox from Brittany over at Lovestiched. Isn't this a cute way to keep track of all those moves and houses? Hmm, I'm thinking a  twist up of using a map for a mat and pinning the keys to the location of the house would be such  a cute collectible! A perfect trifecta of cute, personalized and cheap decor!

I see London, I see France

This Pumpkin-butt needs some underpants!

This seriously made me laugh for about an hour. Thanks to Fringe Girl for the giggles!

I may wear these all October!

Brown Paper Packages is one of my new favorite blogs! So many cute projects, I can get lost for hours trolling for ideas. And then there's the name...sing with me now badly and at the top of my lungs : "brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things!"

But THESE made me drool. I'm a sucker for candy necklaces. And  I love those pumpkin mallows that come out every Halloween. The combination? Scuze me while I wipe my chin! Wouldn't they be uber-cute with candy corns in between instead of ribbon? My only problem now is figuring out how not to eat them as soon as I put them on!

Gorgeous!

Doesn't this make you want to go jump into a pile of fall leaves?

Go check out Donna Lynn's other beauties at Blushing Rose Antiques.

Oh yum.

You know how amazing homemade bread is, right? If not, you're missing out.
And you know how good homemade pizza is if you've tried the easy dough from my last post, right?

Over at The Ivory Hut they have invented a marvelously wonderful hybrid called Crazy Pizza Bread. You must go and make it. Now. Do not pass GO. But if you find $200 lying around, I could use some!

PS- if on the off chance you have any leftovers, it really does freeze beautifully!

Holy Custom Cookery!

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When I saw Tanya's spice drawer makeover at Sew Many Dreams I immediately thought of these stamped lid spice jars  featured over at Apartment Therapy years ago. Wouldn't those two make the coolest combination ever?  And hardware stamps aren't that expensive-but WOW what a custom look they'd give this already awesome spice drawer!! I love it when a little money and a little time equals major payout, don't you?

Cool hidden storage DIY

Can you find the storage here?

Hint: some of these books are not like the others. Which of these books just doesn't belong?

Now that I've dated myself completely with the old school Seasame Street reference, check out these cool repurposed boxes turned storage books! You can find the whole how to at Design Sponge.

Don't you just want a shelf full of these? I know I do...now to find enough boxes to remake!

Great small space option for kids with lots of energy!

How great would these be for kids in small spaces or cooped up during bad weather? I found them over on Etsy at Cool Spaces for Kids.  They'd be easy to make freezer paper style with an old sheet and some fabric spray paint, don't you think? And easy-peasy storage...Just fold it up! Get crazy and make a pocket to store the bean bag! Or, turn it over and make a toss game on the reverse! Two games in one easy storage item.  Have lots of wall space to fill? Add two curtain rings and it's wall art, too!  Cute!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Forty-two years ago, after dating for six months, my parents married in a San Francisco courtroom on Friday, September the 13th. Yes, really. I'm not making this up!  You can imagine we didn't put much faith in old superstitions at our house growing up.  Mom has always said she had to say yes if she ever wanted to see her belongings again...they were already on a truck being moved to Alabama where my Dad had been transferred. He proposed so Bechtel would move her stuff, too! Thanks for showing me that marriage means getting up every morning and deciding to make it work. You've always shown me that marriage is like anything else in life...hard work, well rewarded.

Happy Anniversary! I love you both.

Champagne Cage Chairs

Over at Design Sponge, I stumbled across this cool post on how to turn the wire cage that holds the corks in champagne bottles into a cute little chair with just a snip and a few twists. How incredibly cute would these be with a seating direction card slipped into them for a wedding or another big affair?  I almost wish I'd seen these before my wedding, though my straw labels were awfully cute too! I think these would be easier for guests to see, though. And since they're chairs, self-explanatory. :)

See? Just slide the card behind the little loop and off they go! Bonus, they're free! Double bonus, they're an excuse to drink champagne! (As if I ever need one!)  Check out the instructions here at Design Sponge.

Now if only I had enough space to grow pumpkins next year...

Yep, you're seeing that right. That pumkpin grew the word "Welcome" on it's skin!  You know how sometimes when you buy pumpkins, they have those thick brown scaly calloused areas?  Over at Not Just a Housewife, the cleverest lady on earth realized that we can manipulate those scars to form whatever pumpkin art we want! By scratching the desired design onto the pumpkin's skin just as it turns orange, it scars over and makes cool words! It can make pictures, too, of course. Whatever you want to scratch in! Thanks to her I just might finally win the yearly 'coolest pumpkin contest' with my sister-in-law next year! 

How neat would it be if every family on your block had one with "the Whoever's" on their porch for the autumn season?  Now if only I had enough space for a garden to grow them all!  Oh, well. I have a year. I'm sure I can con beg someone to loan me some a ton of garden space. I don't think I could stop with just one of these!

Homemade fruit rollups

Okay, I grew up begging for fruit roll-ups and very rarely getting them because they were so full of sugar. As an adult, I indulged until I discovered they're mostly full of corn syrup...something I can't tolerate. Literally, it makes me ill!  So I've been exploring the idea of making my own from excess fruit laying around. Having found these homemade polka-dot ones over at Fix Me A Snack means I might just be borrowing a dehydrator in the near future!  I wonder how low my oven temp goes....?

In the meantime, enjoy the eye candy!

Thank heavens it's September!

Unlike most of the world, September is a breath of calm in my world. After two months of crazy sales at my job, things return to their normal level of insanity every September! Which means I can go back to my kitchen, my sewing machine and all those other great blog ideas I've missed in the last two months. Sigh It's good to be back!

Homemade Pizza dough!

First, I've been a very bad blogger. It's the crazy-busy time of year at work as schools are starting up again. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

In the meantime, here's that recipe I've promised people for pizza dough. I tried a half-dozen online recipes before settling this tweaked version. It's kinda a conglomeration of all the ones I tried...but without the difficult, time consuming parts. With this recipe, I can have homemade pizza on the table in about the time it takes for delivery...but at a cost of $4.06 rather than the $20+ delivery runs around here.

Ingredient Cost breakdown:
Yeast: $0.02 (bought a giant freeze dried package at Costco for $5.47)
Olive oil:  $0.17 (and I use organic, so it's pricey)
Salt: $0.02
Flour:  $0.24
Sugar: $0.03

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp active yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees, or shower temperature)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp garlic or Italian herb mix (basil, oregeno, etc)

How to:

• So the basic process is easy. Turn the tap on hot and let it warm up to the highest temp you get. (maybe fill the sink for dishes while you're at it?) 
• Grab a big bowl and add 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast to the bottom.
• Pour 1 cup of that really hot water over the yeast and sugar, stir and set it aside for 5-10 minutes, until it's foamy all across the top of the water. (At this point, I load the dishwasher with all that hot water in the sink)
• When the yeast has risen, add in 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt, and 2 1/2 cups flour. I also add either 1tsp garlic or 1 tsp Italian seasoning- sometimes both! 
• Mix these together with a wooden spoon until it forms a big sticky ball, then let it rise until doubled in size...between ten minutes and an hour depending on the room temperature. To speed it up in winter, I set the bowl in the aformentioned sink of warm water. (this cleverly gets you out of dish duty, too!)
• Once dough has risen, drop it into a puddle of flour on the counter and stretch it out into whatever shape you need it to be. We don't have a pizza tray, so it's rectanglar pizza for us!
• Grease the pizza baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. THIS keeps the pizza dough from sticking!
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Spoon on your canned spagetti pizza sauce and spread into a light layer on the dough.
• Sprinkle a layer of mozarella cheese and add toppings. (We like pepperoni, olive and peppers)
• Bake at

EEEP, a FOURTH chance!

Amy over at The Idea Room is giving away a Silhoutte cutter! And I want one sooooooooooo badly I can taste it! Those big glass jars of flour and sugar don't stand a chance if I win this one...

Anyway, I'm gonna go enter whilst I wipe the drool off my chin. Fingers, toes, arms, legs and any other part I can manage crossed that I might be the lucky winner this time!!!

LOVE THIS DRESS...

WOW!

I wish I had found this inspiration about 3 years ago before I got married. I inherited lots of handmade lace doilies from my Grandma Hoochie (no, she wasn't a stripper. Somehow, that's the way her name Ruth was pronounced in Brazil in the 70's. Or so I'm told!). Wouldn't that have been wonderful to walk down the aisle in my Grandma's handmade lace? Especially since she's not here with us anymore. But absolutely gorgeous...and handmade by the bride in less than 3 weeks! Complete wonderwoman! Wish I could direct you to the site, but it was a daily feature on a bridal site...if anyone knows where to link to this amazing dress, do tell!