Careful, Bumble-Bucket

I was zipping up Thor's jacket today when he said to me, "Careful, Bumble-Bucket!"

Out of all the things he could potentially glean from a Thomas the Train DVD, and this is the phrase he remembers?

Not only is Thomas the Train a really cheesy series with sub-par graphics and lackluster storylines (sorry, Thomas lovers-- if such a thing exists over the age of 4 years old, and in that case you will not be reading this blog) but now I have a 3 year old calling me a "Bumble-Bucket".

I felt a little bit better when he called Maycee a "Bumble-Bucket" this morning. I guess it's a relief that I'm not the only one.

We are anxiously awaiting spring, at which point I can happily retire our DVD collection as we move the party outside. This winter has been far too long (and all my mommy friends say, Amen!)

Carry On

Babies require special modes of transportation. I've never been much of a baby-wearing person, mostly because I've never had a great carrier.

Well, let me correct myself. Last year, I purchased an amazing Beco carrier. Alas, I spent too much money on it and decided to sell it before I really got to use it much to use the money on other things we needed more at the time.

A few weeks ago, there was a killer sale at Zulily on Boba Carriers, 60% off (plus I had a coupon.) I decided to go for it, knowing a baby carrier was nearly mandatory for our upcoming vacation.

Things I love:

•  Hands free. Can I say more?
• Green. I love the color green.
• Front-carry and back carry- very important that the carrier can be used to carry toddlers, especially for hiking and outdoorsy things!
• Easy to put on and off. Easier than the Beco. Very, very awesome feature. Its usually just me against the world, so I like this. A lot.

Back carry!

 

Front carry.

Happy baby. Score!

 

Another mode of transportation: you guessed it, the humble stroller. Now, my stroller is a bit flashy with it's neon green-ness. It was greatly humbled over the last few years after being tossed repeatedly into the back of my pickup and accidentally rolled down steep hills (no children were actually in the stroller at time of being rolled, just in case you were wondering.) It was tattered, weathered, stained, and had flat tires.

The stroller in it's glory days; 2009.

After being pressure-washed and serviced, the stroller was looking almost like new. Except for one thing: the cushioned handlebars. They were tattered and torn. So, what's a girl to do?

Enter: cute fabric and a bit of sewing!

Chevron black/white zig-zag fabric, meet retro Japanese elephant fabric.

February Doin's

February! What a month it has been. I'm going to do my best to document the month in a few words and pictures, as they all seem to fly right on by. With so many little moments to cherish, I find myself hoping that I don't forget these precious time of my life.

Snowshowin'

Maycee may be the world's youngest and cutest snowshoer. Grandma couldn't resist buying her snowshoes this season, and these pictures say it all.



First few steps




Grandma and her toddler snowshoing companions



Ellie (Norwegian Fjord) checks out M's snowshoes

Perhaps the cutest picture, ever. Period.

Ahh. Grandmas are great.



Well... hello, curious horse.



Farm Trippin'

We started off our month with a trip to the place where we get all of our quality fresh milk, eggs, (and hopefully some chickens in the future!).

I don't mind taking the 1.5 hour drive every few months to do a group pickup for the food. It is a great educational experience for the kids. I love that they can meet the actual cow that all of their milk comes from. They can see the chickens running around in the pasture or hoophouse. We can talk with the people who are raising our food.  It is a good feeling!

Maycee loved to play in the hay.

 

An interesting goat- look at those horns!



Thor got right down to work at the farm.



Thor has a big smile for "Sandy" the cow.

Name Callin'

In other February news, Thor still often refers to himself as "Johnny." Wheras Maycee used to be "Bill", she is now "Boz." In fact, one of her few sentences is a bold and clear, yet caveman-ish statement: "Me Boz." Sigh. Thanks, Thor...

And up has popped another unusual name: NeshKai. Where he gets this name, I do not know. He doesn't watch any television unsupervised, and certainly nothing that contains the name NeshKai or any close variant. Perhaps he been studying Biblical genealogy and stumbled upon it? It is quite the mystery.

He often says that NeshKai is his friend. I, personally, have always found little kids' "imaginary friends" sort of... well, creepy. However, I have been trying to accept the fact that I may have a creative, imaginative kid on my hands- and I might as well probe his mind about this "NeshKai" guy. 

What I have found out is that NeshKai is a "she" (surprising, isn't it?), she is 2 years old, and wets the bed. She sleeps in Thor's bed, sometimes screams at night, arrives knocking at the garage door during the day, and wants to go to Grandma's house. When Leif asked what color of hair she had, Thor quickly responded, "She doesn't have any hair!"

Oh, Baby!

More peas & spinach, please!

Delicious! (The food and the baby, of course.)

Homemade baby food produces the most vibrant colors! Sqash, Apples, Peas, & Avocados...

Backpack Sewin'

I bought a pattern on etsy for a toddler backpack. I felt compelled to do so after my futile search for a toddler backpack that wasn't lacking in quality, apperance, or size. I bought some fabric on fabricworm.com for M's backpack. About 2 or 3 hours after I put the kids to bed, I had this:

Straps adjust with aplix hook & loop. Genius.

Love the pocket.

Perfect.

Wearing the backpack just makes her feel smarter. Awesome.

 The next day, I made T a Cars movie backpack. It was what he really wanted. He kept asking, "Mommy, are you going to make me a backpack? Can I watch?"

When I handed it to him, he excitedly squealed, "Oh, Mommy! You did a good job!"



A Better Swiffer and a Quick Tee

Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management (the act of overseeing the organizational, financial, day-to-day operations of a house or estate, and the managing of other domestic concerns). This domestic consumption work creates goods and services within a household, such as meals, childcare, household repairs, or the manufacture of clothes and gifts.


Ahhh, homemaking. I have really grown to enjoy "creating goods and services within a household." Well, nothing says "homemaking" like cleaning and sewing, my two blurbs of thoughts for this weekend.

Ever see those Swiffer Wet Jets? Yeah, I've never been tempted to spring for one. I prefer to scrub on my hands and knees for long periods of time, with oftentimes poor results. Enter Target coupon for $5 off the glorified mop after such a scrubbing session. It was a moment of weakness. With an excuse to dash off to the store, I made my mad dash.

The cost of the disposable mop pads made me blush- so I left with just the mop kit and the idea of utilizing my sewing skills for a reusable mop pad.

Without further ado, the result:


The Swiffer WetJet, my mop head, and the Swiffer mop head



Velcro loop attaches to the hook on the mop.

Assembled & ready to go.

I used some leftover flannel scraps and a microfiber diaper stuffing, along with a couple strips of Velcro loop.

Next step: tackling those bottles of prefilled, toxic-smelling cleaning solutions. I read on another blog that you can use your own cleaning solution and reuse the bottle. Perfection!

And this afternoon, I finished a basic tunic tee made from the softest material, organic bamboo jersey. I call this my 30-Minute Tee, for obvious reasons. It is fast. I use a serger-- it really speeds up the process!



My 30-Minute Tee



Happy Weekend!

Three Babies. One Diaper.

It started as an experiment in fastening a flat diaper around the backside of baby. Baby cannot remove the snappi or get poked: clever, right? Perhaps.

I'm not going to lie. I took pictures of baby Thor in just about every diaper I owned. That sickness didn't improve much with the birth of Maycee 13 months later. I'm not sure what inspired me to "recreate" the following pictures, but here goes a tradition that will have me hanging on to that silly green diaper and fake grassy prop for decades to come.


Thor: 8 months old

Maycee: 8 months old

Dax: 5 months old

I know, I know... I cheated. I couldn't restrain myself until Dax reached the traditional age of 8 months to snap the pictures. But can you blame me? The kid is huge.

What can I say? I panicked. :)

L'eggo my Organic Blueberry Cornmeal Pancake

Ok, this title only works if you are familiar with the "L'eggo my Eggo" commercials on TV. Interestingly enough, the United States is just coming out of an Eggo waffle shortage: inspectors found listeria in a sample of Eggo waffles in one of Kellogg's main plants in Atlanta. Mmmm, delicious.

That plant was shut down; you can read more about that here if you are interested, but now you know part of the reason why I like to make my own food for my kids, right? (The other part... it just tastes better!)

Without further adieu, today's breakfast: Blueberry Cornmeal (and did I mention cinnamon?) Pancakes

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes

1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
   (hint: sour milk by using 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk, stir, let sit for 5 minutes)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Real maple syrup to top!

I believe that better ingredients make better food. Please bear with me (or skip over this part if it doesn't interest you!) while I give a few tips that I have learned this year and implemented into my life. I've never been happier with the way my family eats.

• I use whole wheat flours when I can, and usually at least substitute a part of my recipes with a whole grain variety of flour. This works great, even for cookies and breads. Really!
• I buy local! My eggs, beef, and milk come from local farms less than 2 hours away. Happy, uncrowded,  animals in a natural setting with natural food sources make more nutritious food- it's just a fact.
• Sure, raw milk may not be for everybody- but we can drink ours with confidence. It comes from a family we can trust with a Jersey cow named Sandy... she just got test results back on samples of her milk. (Excellent!) So thankful for the opportunity for real, nutritious, unmessed-with milk.
• Same goes with eggs-- remember back in November when all those eggs were pulled from your grocer's shelves due to salmonella? Find local free-ranged chickens raised in less crowded conditions; the quality of their eggs are better. The yolks are much richer in taste and darker in color, the whites are thicker, less runny, and shells are harder than store bought eggs.
• Try to get less-processed versions of your food. Look at your labels. I am on the lookout for food additives, preservatives, food colorings, and unpronounceable ingredients. Buying higher quality or organic foods does not have to be hard on your budget-- think of what you can cut out. Do you really need that box of oreos, mac & cheese, and snack crackers? For me, a co-op that comes to town monthly is key.
• Baby steps! No need to get frazzled, slowly implement healthy changes into your life. That's what I did, and I'm loving it.

Now, back to those pancakes. They are so simple to make, and totally delicious!

And the best part: make a double batch and double your efforts. Freeze the leftovers and pop them in the toaster when the kids beg for them tomorrow.

All the convenience of an Eggo; without the preservative TBHQ.

...and that warm feeling of making something homemade.

What's New

What's new in the New Year?

• New Tooth

Dax, who just turned 5 months old,  is now sporting a nice little white spot on his lower gum... a sure sign that a tooth will be here in all of it's glory before too long.

Ok, so it doesn't photograph very well yet... but it is there, I promise!

You cannot see the tooth in this picture... but... this expression just cracks me up.

• New Cooking Adventures

We have been making lots of homemade pastas, sauces, you name it-- we (as in myself) have been attempting (and loving!) it. Here is some homemade tomato sauce. It is fresh, organic, tasty... and affordable!

• New Names

Thor has apparently decided that the name that we gave Maycee at birth is not appropriate, and has been calling her "Bill." She likes it. He did refer to himself as "Johnny" at one point, but has given that up.

• New Tastes

"I don't like carrots." says the 3 year old boy. Who then promptly scarfs down several pieces of carrot slices before eating half of the carrot stalk in the photograph. So the picture summarizes two new trends this year: Shirt tucked into undies (a popular fashion trend in our circles) and a new found-fondness for the carrot.

•  New Baby Food

New recipe for the baby: Carrot-Apple-Butternut Squash-Pear Delight.  How do I come up with these amazing combinations? Hint: See that carrot pictured above that was only half-eaten? I like to utilize pieces of uneaten fruits and veggies in my baby food (as long as it hasn't been sitting out for a few days and sprouted mold). Yes, it's totally appropriate to do so. Trust me on this.

•  New Snowshoes

 And did I mention... it is cold? If there is a day where temperatures exceed 15 degrees above zero, you can bet that we bundle up and go out to play. We are waiting for a nice day to go snowshoeing-- Thor got a pair for Christmas!

Notice how the dog always manages to sneak in the background of our pictures.