Gift Ideas for the Littles

It is against my nature to say this before Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) but Christmas is right around the corner!  One of my favorite blogs and bloggers, Irene at Bloesem Kids asked me for a round up. Come check out my picks here. xo

Stare, Dream, Daze - Mobile Love

My friend Kim is about to have a baby. Her first. Pretty exciting stuff right? I mean, once you get past the morning sickness, puffiness, shock and all of that. It's exciting. There is nothing like having a little baby grown inside your belly. The movement. The anticipation. Love it - especially when it's someone else!

The other day Kim sent me a pic of a mobile she liked and it got me to thinking and shopping. Boy, there are some really cute mobiles out there.

geometric

birds

hot air balloons

a favorite of Kim's

forest friends

While we're on the topic. I have a couple of questions.

1 - do babies really only see black and white?

2 - why do we make mobiles that look pretty to us? I mean, have you ever laid under one? Unless they're pointing down, it's a pretty dull show for the littles. Just sayin. xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Phthalates = Warning!

Sniiiiifffff... ahhhh, that new car smell. The smell of a new shower curtain as I hang it in the bathroom. You may not share the liking of these smells and if so, that's a good thing. There are few times when I will use this blog as a soap box, but this one hits way too close to home. Phthalates - Do you know what they are? Do you know the damage they can do? After watching an episode of 60 Minutes the other night, I am now fearful of something I never even knew existed just days ago. Phthalates are chemicals found in soft plastics like shower curtains, shampoos, carpeting and cosmetics. And, they are challenging me to take a drastic look at what is in my home and around my kids. Why am I so concerned? Because my youngest has one of the male birth defects that has been linked with high levels of Phthalates in the body. This infuriates me and pushes me to action. I am fully aware that my son's condition may not be a direct result, but my question is, "why take a chance?"

I am going through my house to rid my family of these toxins a little at a time. Here's how:

Toys and foods will no longer be stored in plastic baggies (I rarely use these, but now it's a no brainer). I will be making zipper pouches of all sizes and fabrics to store toys and food. Lotta Jansdotter has a great velcro pouch tutorial in her book and drawstring versions for sale on her site. Skip to My Lou has an easy tutorial for lined zipper pouches. And, Made by Joel even created a few for his kids.

for the boys

for the girlies

for mommy

My morning shower rituals will change drastically. I am going to attempt to make my own shampoo using this recipe. Shampoo and liquid soaps will be contained in glass bottles. My old plastic shower cap (yes, I use a shower cap) is being retired for my old standby of a simple handkerchief. And my scrubby? It's being replaced with - gasp! - a washcloth! How novel. Luckily my shower doors are glass - no curtain needed. I will be removing the one in the boys' bathroom. They only take baths in there anyway.

the old way

handkerchief

glass oil bottles turned shampoo bottles

ikea has these lovelies for $2.99

amy butler washcloths

Makeup - ugghh. This one is tough. I don't use a lot of it but when I do, I love it. I use bare minerals for my face (I have adult acne - no fun) and mascara most of the time. But what struck me the most in the makeup category is the lipstick mentioned in 60 Minute's piece. Lipstick? I lick that stuff off my lips and kiss my kiddos. I don't want to eat phthalates. Yuck. That's where Aveda comes in. They use natural ingredients and have a "green ingredient policy." Wow. Sold.

Leftovers will no longer be heated up in plastic containers and I will begin to make a transition to a mix of glass, paper and metal storage containers. Big change here, but I think it's worth it. Wouldn't you agree? I know all of this will be a culture shock, but convenience and ease no longer matter when your children's health is at risk. I still worry about things like my youngest son's pacifier and his crib mattress. I don't even know if those items are made in anything "natural" or eco-friendly. But I definitely want to find out and do all that I can do to rid our home of these chemicals. xo

Happy Birthday Honey!

Oh how I love thee... let me count the ways!

1. You're FUNNY!

2. You're always there for me - in good times and bad.

3. You're an amazing husband.

4. You're the best Dad ever!

5. You love the Lord and your family in the most honorable of ways.

6. You gave me these guys!

7. You're wicked talented. Seriously.

8. You make me look good, even when I don't.

9. You're almost as old as me! Ha!

I love you babe. Here's to another 7x77 years of love, laughter, forgiveness and grace. Hey - why is it that I look older and you look the same age? No fair!!!! xo

It's All About the Babies...

Lately I have been trying to hand make all the gifts I give at showers, sip-n-sees and birthdays. In preparation, I do a lot of internet browsing for ideas and inspiration. Oh my gosh, there is a TON of cute stuff out there.  It almost makes me want to have a baby again just to get some of this amazing stuff! But this girl is done having babies. Don't get me wrong, I love me some baby snuggles and I can't get enough of my boys, but our family feels complete. So, unless the Lord has other plans for us, I'm just fine and dandy getting snuggles and coos from all my friends' babies.

Here's a look at some sweet treasures for babies that inspire:

Anything and everything by Children Inspire Design

This rainbow stacker at Grasshopper

This green digger and little people bag by Elsie Marley

Prints by Nan Lawson

A mobile by Gifts Define

Scripture memory cards by Render Ink

Mustache onsies by Red Velvet Art (because I love a good mustache)

Great stuff isn't it? Do you have a favorite or staple gift you give at showers? I'd love to know what it is!

Mommy Goodies

The unsung hero in the mix of all this baby madness are the beautiful Mommies. A friend of mine just had a baby and in addition to us creating a care calendar for friends to sign up and bring the family meals, we dropped off a little goodie basket for her - just the essentials: girlie movies, her favorite candy, nose plugs (for stinky diapers) and chai tea packets (a sleepless night essential!) I fully believe in pampering new Mommies when you can and providing as much laughter as possible, because those first six weeks can be tough!  xo

Baby Love Part 2

I love Lotta Jansdotter.  She makes the most amazing fabrics ever; so simple and clean, yet inspiring.  Then she has to go and add to her extensive talents: products, print making and sewing books with super easy designs and patterns that really do fit into your every day life.  She's Scandinavian.  Secretly, I have a huge crush on all things Scandinavian. From a design standpoint, they just do everything so darn well! Is it in their blood? My friend Cricket jokes that try as I may, I will never be a Swede.

You may be asking yourself, "what does any of this have to do with Baby Love?" Well, I'm glad you asked.  Lotta Jansdotter has an amazing sewing book that I've mentioned here before called Simple Sewing for Baby. It contains all of these amazing, fun and practical things to make for your little ones. And since we just had a sip-n-see for one of my dear girlfriends, she got the blocks from yesterday and a sweet giraffe rattle from Lotta's Baby book.

The pattern and sewing were quite easy.  Really. But, I ran into a couple of problems along the way. One, my giraffe wasn't nearly as smooth as the ones shown in the book. I'm sure that is purely sewer error. Two, the hand sewn nose didn't turn out all that great for me. Three, I wanted it to actually rattle so a put a bell in the nose/head and although you can hear it...it's VERY faint. Perhaps it is suppose to have a soothing effect on the baby? And yet, with all of these troubles, it only took a short time to make and turned out pretty cute.

I took the above images before the nose was sewn on and I added the rick-rack like ribbon at the back for more texture. Despite my hiccups, I think LR will love this rattle. If not, she can always use it to beat the boys off of her! Wink-wink. xo

Baby Love

A few weeks ago Rachel at Smile and Wave did a tutorial on soft baby blocks. They were so precious I knew I wanted to make them the moment I saw them! Unfortunately my babies are a bit too old for the blocks. Lucky for me, one of my friends just had her third baby - girl #2. Recipient for these adorable blocks found! Hooray!

I must admit, I was a bit leery at first. The blocks looked way too easy to make at first glance. But you know what? The tutorial was great and it was just as easy as she made it out to be.  Wahoo! I think the absolute hardest part was hand sewing the blocks closed upon stuffing them.

I think I'm going to make more of these as gifts for all my friends having babies! And believe me, with all my pregnant friends I'll be sewing a lot. Maybe I'll make a smaller version for my youngest to throw in the house instead of balls! Great tutorial. Great gift. Lots of love! xo

Brrrrr...

It has been so cold in Dallas lately that I couldn't stop myself from doing a weekend quickie DIY. This cute little hat from Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing for Baby was so easy and took about 30 minutes total. That's with both my boys up and running around like crazy people while I was cutting and sewing.

I think the final piece turned out quite nice; although I would have liked to use two different fabrics like what I show above. Unfortunately the darker brown fabric wasn't stretchy and Liam has a seriously big noggin (lots of brain power I think.) I suggest measuring your little one's head before cutting your fabric, as I had to make mine a little wider than suggested in the book.

Now, before you go thinkin' that all my DIY projects are going to be sewing or kiddo projects, let me give you a little teaser for this week's DIY that will start tomorrow... SIT tight and stay tuned! See you tomorrow. xo