Schulte bugs - ladybug, spider, and butterfly.
This picture just makes me really happy so I had to share:)
I miss this blog and do intend to come back ... someday ...
Happy Halloween Friends!!
Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts
31 October 2012
Halloween 2012
Schulte bugs - ladybug, spider, and butterfly.
This picture just makes me really happy so I had to share:)
I miss this blog and do intend to come back ... someday ...
Happy Halloween Friends!!
26 November 2011
monday ramblings
Only 6 days till my due date. Single digits. How the heck did this happen?!?
Weird to still be pregnant. Especially considering I have been planning on having this baby ANY DAY for the last ... oh 5 weeks or so. Trying to keep the fridge stocked with essentials, the house picked up, toilets clean, etc. We went to the grocery store this morning to stock up ONE LAST TIME before little Luke arrives. Surely I won't need to go to the store again ... surely ...
Some super special pregnancy symptoms have picked up the last couple weeks, namely my funky blurred vision issue and crazy cramps/pains in my inner thigh/groin. Neither are really bad or unmanageable, just kind of annoying to be out with your two small children and have your eye go crazy so you barely see and definitely can't drive. Usually lasts about 20 minutes or so; happening about every other day. I had this with the girls too, but not nearly this much (maybe 3-4 times total). The cramping sharp pain must just be him hitting some nerves, but man it catches me off guard sometimes! I go back to the doctor on Thursday.
Hump day nuggets kind of fell off in November. There was an actual reason other than my laziness :) Corinne decided about 3 weeks ago that getting up between 5 and 5:30 is a good idea. Nothing like chocolate milk and Curious George before the sun comes up ... groan. So, I have been trying to go to bed around 9 since I've been getting up at 5 and this pregnant girl needs her sleep (especially when you factor in nighttime potty breaks, hip pain rotations, etc, etc). With the girls going to bed at 8, I just haven't had time to blog - or spend any "fun" time on the computer - lately. Every night I feel like I have to get the dishes done and the house picked up and ready for my water to break at midnight ...
So between trying to be ready for this baby at any moment and getting up at 5am nearly every day, November has been kind of exhausting. Guess the outlook for December isn't much different, huh??
HA!
So here's some November (pre-Thanksgiving) highlights!
We have only a couple days until she's two. Geez. How did that happen? That means I was in the hospital (for a week) this time just 2 years ago. Now I have a super silly, independent, but ever so sweet girl living with me.
She helped put her outfit together.
She's gone from working simple peg puzzles (where one piece fits in a cut out) just a few months ago to a stinkin' expert. Girl will sit and work 50 piece puzzles with you! Her niche is more 15-24 piece, but still. She's amazing :) Working perfection - one of her favorite "games." We don't turn the timer on ... yet. Maybe next month ;)
I can't resist her coming up to my leg all decked out in mismatched (and often inside out) dress up clothes and asking "Mommy, dance with me?" She's into Curious George all of a sudden. She likes to do everything by herself. She loves to help me cook. And thankfully she's feeling much better after a visit to the doctor last week (another sinus infection).
And then there's this one.
Helping babysit baby Samuel. She loves to hold him :)
We've hit a bit of an ornery streak lately. She's testing limits. Just making sure us parent people will actually follow through and that we are actually in charge. We are talking a lot about listening to each other, loving each other, and I am asking the question my mom asked my sisters' and I when we were growing up (well, technically she still asks it!).
How does that make you feel?
Thanks for that, Mom. I now ask that question 10+ times a day. I am turning into you - dark circles and all :)
In the midst of the ornery outbursts, she's her regular sweet self. Thinking about others before herself and loving just to play pretend with her sister. She's got so much joy and energy for the holidays and special events (like Beetles bday) it's contagious. Her holiday spirit is definitely going to be carrying us all through this next tiring month. I mean, the girl is pumped for SNOW and WINTER and SANTA and COOKIES and EVERYTHING. I love it!
She went to her first movie in the theater this past weekend. Aunt Dan and Uncle David took her to see the Muppet Movie.
She's been pretending to be Aunt Dan - complete with a purse full of pretend snacks for a pretend movie in the living room - ever since :)
The girls got their first girl cousin this month! Yay for cousins! Little Lucy (Lucea Mae) was born November 16th.
We are anxious to squeeze her!
We put up our Christmas decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving. Just another something I wanted to check off my list cause this baby was coming any day ...
Daddy lovingly and sweetly explained that we should try to hang the ornaments on all different parts of the Christmas tree and that we shouldn't hang ones that look like each other right next to each other.
Needless to say, we had some ornament re-hanging to do after bedtime :)
I snapped these one Saturday afternoon in early November. I think they were playing outside listening to the TU football game.
Charlie was not very helpful during the photo shoot, trying to give Daddy a kiss and then pawing at his face.
And Corinne felt that playing with the end of the pinwheel was a good idea.
I tried. Group shot FAIL!
We've been doing a lot of this lately.
The girls play their instruments while Dominic plays his guitar. They love it.
Oh, and I have the best and easiest craft idea EVER to share. Pretty sure I saw it over at Artful Parent first a while ago, but randomly tried it a couple weeks ago and it has been a huge success with both girls. Behold, clear contact paper taped to window for sticking stuff on.
We've done tissue paper, glitter, sequins, and leaves so far. Both girls have really enjoyed it. Way more than I thought they would. I would have done it months ago if I'd known!!
Well, going to aim to get a Thanksgiving post up ... you guessed it ... before baby Luke arrives!
Happy Monday everyone!
Weird to still be pregnant. Especially considering I have been planning on having this baby ANY DAY for the last ... oh 5 weeks or so. Trying to keep the fridge stocked with essentials, the house picked up, toilets clean, etc. We went to the grocery store this morning to stock up ONE LAST TIME before little Luke arrives. Surely I won't need to go to the store again ... surely ...
Some super special pregnancy symptoms have picked up the last couple weeks, namely my funky blurred vision issue and crazy cramps/pains in my inner thigh/groin. Neither are really bad or unmanageable, just kind of annoying to be out with your two small children and have your eye go crazy so you barely see and definitely can't drive. Usually lasts about 20 minutes or so; happening about every other day. I had this with the girls too, but not nearly this much (maybe 3-4 times total). The cramping sharp pain must just be him hitting some nerves, but man it catches me off guard sometimes! I go back to the doctor on Thursday.
Hump day nuggets kind of fell off in November. There was an actual reason other than my laziness :) Corinne decided about 3 weeks ago that getting up between 5 and 5:30 is a good idea. Nothing like chocolate milk and Curious George before the sun comes up ... groan. So, I have been trying to go to bed around 9 since I've been getting up at 5 and this pregnant girl needs her sleep (especially when you factor in nighttime potty breaks, hip pain rotations, etc, etc). With the girls going to bed at 8, I just haven't had time to blog - or spend any "fun" time on the computer - lately. Every night I feel like I have to get the dishes done and the house picked up and ready for my water to break at midnight ...
So between trying to be ready for this baby at any moment and getting up at 5am nearly every day, November has been kind of exhausting. Guess the outlook for December isn't much different, huh??
HA!
So here's some November (pre-Thanksgiving) highlights!
We have only a couple days until she's two. Geez. How did that happen? That means I was in the hospital (for a week) this time just 2 years ago. Now I have a super silly, independent, but ever so sweet girl living with me.
She helped put her outfit together.
She's gone from working simple peg puzzles (where one piece fits in a cut out) just a few months ago to a stinkin' expert. Girl will sit and work 50 piece puzzles with you! Her niche is more 15-24 piece, but still. She's amazing :) Working perfection - one of her favorite "games." We don't turn the timer on ... yet. Maybe next month ;)
I can't resist her coming up to my leg all decked out in mismatched (and often inside out) dress up clothes and asking "Mommy, dance with me?" She's into Curious George all of a sudden. She likes to do everything by herself. She loves to help me cook. And thankfully she's feeling much better after a visit to the doctor last week (another sinus infection).
And then there's this one.
Helping babysit baby Samuel. She loves to hold him :)
We've hit a bit of an ornery streak lately. She's testing limits. Just making sure us parent people will actually follow through and that we are actually in charge. We are talking a lot about listening to each other, loving each other, and I am asking the question my mom asked my sisters' and I when we were growing up (well, technically she still asks it!).
How does that make you feel?
Thanks for that, Mom. I now ask that question 10+ times a day. I am turning into you - dark circles and all :)
In the midst of the ornery outbursts, she's her regular sweet self. Thinking about others before herself and loving just to play pretend with her sister. She's got so much joy and energy for the holidays and special events (like Beetles bday) it's contagious. Her holiday spirit is definitely going to be carrying us all through this next tiring month. I mean, the girl is pumped for SNOW and WINTER and SANTA and COOKIES and EVERYTHING. I love it!
She went to her first movie in the theater this past weekend. Aunt Dan and Uncle David took her to see the Muppet Movie.
She's been pretending to be Aunt Dan - complete with a purse full of pretend snacks for a pretend movie in the living room - ever since :)
The girls got their first girl cousin this month! Yay for cousins! Little Lucy (Lucea Mae) was born November 16th.
We are anxious to squeeze her!
We put up our Christmas decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving. Just another something I wanted to check off my list cause this baby was coming any day ...
Daddy lovingly and sweetly explained that we should try to hang the ornaments on all different parts of the Christmas tree and that we shouldn't hang ones that look like each other right next to each other.
Needless to say, we had some ornament re-hanging to do after bedtime :)
I snapped these one Saturday afternoon in early November. I think they were playing outside listening to the TU football game.
Charlie was not very helpful during the photo shoot, trying to give Daddy a kiss and then pawing at his face.
And Corinne felt that playing with the end of the pinwheel was a good idea.
I tried. Group shot FAIL!
We've been doing a lot of this lately.
The girls play their instruments while Dominic plays his guitar. They love it.
Oh, and I have the best and easiest craft idea EVER to share. Pretty sure I saw it over at Artful Parent first a while ago, but randomly tried it a couple weeks ago and it has been a huge success with both girls. Behold, clear contact paper taped to window for sticking stuff on.
We've done tissue paper, glitter, sequins, and leaves so far. Both girls have really enjoyed it. Way more than I thought they would. I would have done it months ago if I'd known!!
Well, going to aim to get a Thanksgiving post up ... you guessed it ... before baby Luke arrives!
Happy Monday everyone!
03 November 2011
hump day nuggets: dinosaurs
hump day nuggets: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week
Our car dvd player broke a few months ago. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to survive without it, but it's turned out to be a really great thing (at least for around town driving). We talk, the girls look out the window and point stuff out, they make up silly games and laugh at each other. All in all, it's been a good thing.
We discuss our regular landmarks every time we drive by - the pet store where we get Charlie's dog food, the park, Daddy's work, Sam's, the grocery store, etc. I am continually surprised at how much they notice and how aware they are of where things are around town!
In the car yesterday, we had the following conversation as we drove by a preschool (with a playground) near our house.
C: There's a school park!
J: Mommy, some day I will go to school.
M: Yes, you will.
J: Beetles, someday I will go to school. Mommy, will Beetles go to school?
M: Yes, she will. Someday.
J: Yeah! Someday you will go to school Beetles! We will go to school together. And I will hold you for a little bit so you won't be sad.
C: ok :)
Oh, the love between those two. It's strong, sweet, and just continues to grow. Love it.
Here's our 2 dinosaur girls on Halloween.
We had a little joint birthday celebration for Aunt Deb and and Aunt Dan whose birthdays are right around Halloween.
We participated in the neighborhood parade and did a little trick or treating before heading home. The girls really enjoyed seeing other people dressed up in costumes. Corinne woke up the next day talking about a little girl who was dressed as a banana. Kind of funny cause that's what she was last year :)
Here's a video of Corinne shaking her tail. She had us all cracking up!
The pictures I got on Halloween weren't great (lots of blurry ones cause I was trying not to use my flash) so I took the girls over to a field near our house the next day to try to get a few good pictures. They weren't the most willing participants so I have a lot of pics that look like this.
Oh well. I tried! My favorites were the ones I snapped on the way back to the car. They were motivated by the candy that waited for them once they got buckled into their car seats :)
I made their costumes. Once I found the tutorials for the hoodie and tail online, I just had to make them! Linking to the two very talented women who took the time to share tutorials.
I didn't plan this, but this picture does a good job of showing the front and back views of the costumes.
I am most excited about the fact that even now that Halloween is over, the girls can still wear their sweatpants and jackets for the rest of the winter just for fun!
More pics at Flickr.
Not much to say tonight. My pillow is calling my name ...
Note: Nugget format inspired by the very inspiring Nici over at Dig this Chick.
Our car dvd player broke a few months ago. At first I wasn't sure how I was going to survive without it, but it's turned out to be a really great thing (at least for around town driving). We talk, the girls look out the window and point stuff out, they make up silly games and laugh at each other. All in all, it's been a good thing.
We discuss our regular landmarks every time we drive by - the pet store where we get Charlie's dog food, the park, Daddy's work, Sam's, the grocery store, etc. I am continually surprised at how much they notice and how aware they are of where things are around town!
In the car yesterday, we had the following conversation as we drove by a preschool (with a playground) near our house.
C: There's a school park!
J: Mommy, some day I will go to school.
M: Yes, you will.
J: Beetles, someday I will go to school. Mommy, will Beetles go to school?
M: Yes, she will. Someday.
J: Yeah! Someday you will go to school Beetles! We will go to school together. And I will hold you for a little bit so you won't be sad.
C: ok :)
Oh, the love between those two. It's strong, sweet, and just continues to grow. Love it.
Here's our 2 dinosaur girls on Halloween.
We had a little joint birthday celebration for Aunt Deb and and Aunt Dan whose birthdays are right around Halloween.
We participated in the neighborhood parade and did a little trick or treating before heading home. The girls really enjoyed seeing other people dressed up in costumes. Corinne woke up the next day talking about a little girl who was dressed as a banana. Kind of funny cause that's what she was last year :)
Here's a video of Corinne shaking her tail. She had us all cracking up!
The pictures I got on Halloween weren't great (lots of blurry ones cause I was trying not to use my flash) so I took the girls over to a field near our house the next day to try to get a few good pictures. They weren't the most willing participants so I have a lot of pics that look like this.
Oh well. I tried! My favorites were the ones I snapped on the way back to the car. They were motivated by the candy that waited for them once they got buckled into their car seats :)
I made their costumes. Once I found the tutorials for the hoodie and tail online, I just had to make them! Linking to the two very talented women who took the time to share tutorials.
I didn't plan this, but this picture does a good job of showing the front and back views of the costumes.
I am most excited about the fact that even now that Halloween is over, the girls can still wear their sweatpants and jackets for the rest of the winter just for fun!
More pics at Flickr.
Not much to say tonight. My pillow is calling my name ...
Note: Nugget format inspired by the very inspiring Nici over at Dig this Chick.
26 October 2011
hump day nuggets: pumpkin
hump day nuggets: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week
So every photo I took over the past week was pumpkin related. Most had a pumpkin in the picture. Except for this one. Me at 34 weeks.
And it's of me with our soon to be little punkin' so I guess I could throw it into the pumpkin category as well!
Tons of pumpkin pictures from the past week at Flickr, but here are the highlights.
On our trip to the pumpkin patch this past Saturday, Corinne was in a picture taking mood while Juliet was not. So I got a ton of pictures of Corinne. She'd pose, say cheese, and then ask to see the picture. Over and over again. Such a ham!
I also learned that the only thing I needed to do to get my girls to climb on the pumpkins was bring a friend! We met Zoey and her family at the pumpkin patch and because Zoey thought it was awesome to climb all over the pumpkins (she's 4 and totally knows what is awesome), Juliet did too.
We got a pumpkin to carve into a "Jack-o-lan-tren" as Juliet calls them. It's funny, I didn't notice Corrine's concern/disgust for the pumpkin guts as I took the pictures, but you can totally see that she was not so sure about the project!
Even though you can't really see it, I love Juliet's face here. It's so her.
Inspired by these adorable painted pumpkins, I decided that I'd let the girls paint our pumpkin. Corinne hasn't had a ton of exposure to painting (since it's usually something we do while she naps) and she LOVES it. Oh, and we don't find it necessary to wear clothes outside until it's below 80 degrees ... just in case you were wondering ;)
On the first day we painted with orange and white paint.
And on day two we added some blue paint.
This girl is looking so old I can hardly stand it.
Cheesing for me again.
She's definitely the easier subject of the two.
And some randomness to top off a hump day post that's actually on time!
Third trimester woes have increased a bit. Sleep is kind of a joke for me these days and babies sure can make life uncomfortable for a mama ... but we just keep plugging along. I think my favorite thing about pregnancy is the potential. The unknown anticipation of EVERYTHING - from gender, to birth date, to looks, to likes, dislikes, etc, etc ... I find myself wondering and daydreaming about just about everything! There's just something crazy special about carrying around a big belly of potential :)
And one more random tidbit before I head to bed.
Dominic and the girls usually play outside till dark these days while I stay in doing the dishes and picking up around the house. Every night they have the same conversation. Juliet will point out that it is dusk outside. Then Corinne will try her best to repeat the word, but it currently comes out "ducks". Juliet tries to correct, informs everyone listening that "Beetles says 'ducks' instead of 'dusk'. That's silly." Tonight Beetles threw in a "It's ducks. Quack! Quack!" Silly girls :)
Note: Nugget format inspired by the very inspiring Nici over at Dig this Chick.
So every photo I took over the past week was pumpkin related. Most had a pumpkin in the picture. Except for this one. Me at 34 weeks.
And it's of me with our soon to be little punkin' so I guess I could throw it into the pumpkin category as well!
Tons of pumpkin pictures from the past week at Flickr, but here are the highlights.
On our trip to the pumpkin patch this past Saturday, Corinne was in a picture taking mood while Juliet was not. So I got a ton of pictures of Corinne. She'd pose, say cheese, and then ask to see the picture. Over and over again. Such a ham!
I also learned that the only thing I needed to do to get my girls to climb on the pumpkins was bring a friend! We met Zoey and her family at the pumpkin patch and because Zoey thought it was awesome to climb all over the pumpkins (she's 4 and totally knows what is awesome), Juliet did too.
We got a pumpkin to carve into a "Jack-o-lan-tren" as Juliet calls them. It's funny, I didn't notice Corrine's concern/disgust for the pumpkin guts as I took the pictures, but you can totally see that she was not so sure about the project!
Even though you can't really see it, I love Juliet's face here. It's so her.
Inspired by these adorable painted pumpkins, I decided that I'd let the girls paint our pumpkin. Corinne hasn't had a ton of exposure to painting (since it's usually something we do while she naps) and she LOVES it. Oh, and we don't find it necessary to wear clothes outside until it's below 80 degrees ... just in case you were wondering ;)
On the first day we painted with orange and white paint.
And on day two we added some blue paint.
This girl is looking so old I can hardly stand it.
Cheesing for me again.
She's definitely the easier subject of the two.
And some randomness to top off a hump day post that's actually on time!
Third trimester woes have increased a bit. Sleep is kind of a joke for me these days and babies sure can make life uncomfortable for a mama ... but we just keep plugging along. I think my favorite thing about pregnancy is the potential. The unknown anticipation of EVERYTHING - from gender, to birth date, to looks, to likes, dislikes, etc, etc ... I find myself wondering and daydreaming about just about everything! There's just something crazy special about carrying around a big belly of potential :)
And one more random tidbit before I head to bed.
Dominic and the girls usually play outside till dark these days while I stay in doing the dishes and picking up around the house. Every night they have the same conversation. Juliet will point out that it is dusk outside. Then Corinne will try her best to repeat the word, but it currently comes out "ducks". Juliet tries to correct, informs everyone listening that "Beetles says 'ducks' instead of 'dusk'. That's silly." Tonight Beetles threw in a "It's ducks. Quack! Quack!" Silly girls :)
Note: Nugget format inspired by the very inspiring Nici over at Dig this Chick.
22 October 2011
hump day nuggets: intentional
hump day nuggets: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week
I bought a planner a couple months ago. I was feeling motivated to get organized. Get my menus planned and grocery lists all in one place. Make it to library story time with the girls. Get thank you notes written on time. And it worked for a month or so. My planner pages were full. Then I drifted slowly back to my old routine ... it would be Wednesday at noon and I'd realize we missed story time that morning. Grocery trips with forgotten items. And the list goes on ...
So living with purpose - intentionally - has been on my mind this past week. I realize that there won't be dinner to eat at 5:15 unless I am intentional about making it. I have to be purposeful about sitting on the floor in the playroom and making myself available to play or a day can go by and the girls and I simply co-exist around the house, each doing our own things. I have to be intentional about listening to what my almost 2 year old has to say (which happens to be a lot these days). I don't want the weeks to just float by. I want to be present enough to engage and enjoy them, making memories along the way.
I guess it's always the case with things really - from marriage to friendships and workout routines. We have to commit and purposeful about them ... I just think everything is requiring extra brain power these days :)
Nuggets.
We went back to the country pumpkin patch with my family. By this point in October, the girls think their last name is Carmichael and that the pumpkin patch is their very own farm. They tromp around like they own the place and are simply feeding the animals as part of their morning farm chores :)
I've had a bit of cloth diaper drama this past week. Leaking issues for no apparent reason. I've "stripped" them twice now and bought some detergent I am hoping won't result in detergent build up, not that I am really certain that is what the problem was in the first place. Beet has a bit of diaper rash right now so I haven't put her back in them so I am not sure the problem is even solved yet. As I stood over the washing machine scrubbing the diapers inside and out yesterday (for the second time), thinking about all the internet reading and YouTube videos I've read/watched over the past week, I acknowledged that I am perhaps crazy :) I was super frustrated on Wednesday and wanted to get rid of everything, but I just can't. I really don't want to give up.
My two cents on laundering your cloth diapers after my hours of research - there's a lot more to it than one might think and a lot of different things can cause problems. Detergent (this is the big one), soft/hard water, top/front loading washing machine, etc, etc. I completely agree with this quote, taken from Krista at Pinstripes and Polkadots.
"If you are just starting your cloth diapering journey, I can not emphasize enough how advantageous it is to choose a really good detergent. Remove as many obstacles as you can at the beginning to ensure your success. If you want to experiment with your favorite detergent down the road, do so, but only after you are successfully cloth diapering so you know what normal is."
She has the most comprehensive and helpful site I have found out there on laundering. She has a great listing of detergents (both regular and cloth diaper ones) and lists whether or not they are safe for use on cloth diapers.
For now, we are switching to Planet Ultra Powdered Laundry Detergent for our diapers and I will continue to use my homemade concoction for our regular laundry. It seems to be working really well on our clothes!!
I had my 33 week appointment on Tuesday of this week. Everything looks good. Baby Luke measuring 45th percentile, which was in the doctor's words "perfect." I am now more pregnant than I ever was with Corinne (delivered her at 33wks 5 days) so that is kind of crazy to think about! So thankful to still be pregnant. Crazy how quickly my due date is approaching. I will be 37 weeks (when I delivered Juliet) in only 3 weeks. Yikes! We have made great progress as far as getting things ready around here and I would say we are probably the most prepared we have ever been. For decorating the nursery, I had to laugh at my list - 12 office clipboards, 1 yard oilcloth, 3 different RIT dye colors, and a wall mount trouser rack. Kind of random and I don't have everything together yet, but I will share pictures as soon as I do!
We had a baby shower at Dominic's work on Wednesday night. Fun to get more blue things! I am trying my hardest to "think manly" as I decorate and buy stuff for this boy ... I have been living in a total girl world the last 3 years ... really my whole life!!
Halloween costumes are finished. It was quite a project (I made them), but I think they turned out well. They were definitely a joint effort with Juliet. She is in charge of Halloween costuming around here. Aunt Dan was over and asked Juliet what she should be for Halloween. Juliet started asking her questions like "what animals do you like?" and "what color do you like?" to help her figure it out :)
On Wednesday, Corinne decided she is into puzzles. We have worked at least 15 puzzles every day since. As much as I try to get Juliet to work her own puzzle so that Corinne can figure things out by herself, she insists on coaching. She says things like "flip it over Beetles" and "try a different one." She's helping and she knows it :)
Some little tidbits of fun from our day to day routine. The girls play princess a lot. When our prince gets home from work in the evening, the girls meet him in the garage and Juliet re-introduces him to everyone - Cinderella (Juliet), Sleeping Beauty (Beet), Snow White (Charlie), and Belle (me). The girls always want to dance with prince charming - the location of the "ball" varies. The other silly game the girls and Daddy made up is the shark (Daddy) eats the crab (Juliet), clam (Beet), and stinky fish (Charlie) game. Basically Dominic just chases them around the house and pretends to eat them when he catches them. Sometimes Corinne will spontaneously run to the other room and start yelling "Eat some clam! Eat some clam!" This is her game invitation ... that doesn't stop until the shark comes. She's a sassy little clam that one!
Not many videos and pictures the past couple weeks. Been in a bit of a camera slump as it's hard to bend down at their level to take their picture these days! Here's a viedo of the girls playing dentist.
Note: Nugget format inspired by the very inspiring Nici over at Dig this Chick.
I bought a planner a couple months ago. I was feeling motivated to get organized. Get my menus planned and grocery lists all in one place. Make it to library story time with the girls. Get thank you notes written on time. And it worked for a month or so. My planner pages were full. Then I drifted slowly back to my old routine ... it would be Wednesday at noon and I'd realize we missed story time that morning. Grocery trips with forgotten items. And the list goes on ...
So living with purpose - intentionally - has been on my mind this past week. I realize that there won't be dinner to eat at 5:15 unless I am intentional about making it. I have to be purposeful about sitting on the floor in the playroom and making myself available to play or a day can go by and the girls and I simply co-exist around the house, each doing our own things. I have to be intentional about listening to what my almost 2 year old has to say (which happens to be a lot these days). I don't want the weeks to just float by. I want to be present enough to engage and enjoy them, making memories along the way.
I guess it's always the case with things really - from marriage to friendships and workout routines. We have to commit and purposeful about them ... I just think everything is requiring extra brain power these days :)
Nuggets.
We went back to the country pumpkin patch with my family. By this point in October, the girls think their last name is Carmichael and that the pumpkin patch is their very own farm. They tromp around like they own the place and are simply feeding the animals as part of their morning farm chores :)
I've had a bit of cloth diaper drama this past week. Leaking issues for no apparent reason. I've "stripped" them twice now and bought some detergent I am hoping won't result in detergent build up, not that I am really certain that is what the problem was in the first place. Beet has a bit of diaper rash right now so I haven't put her back in them so I am not sure the problem is even solved yet. As I stood over the washing machine scrubbing the diapers inside and out yesterday (for the second time), thinking about all the internet reading and YouTube videos I've read/watched over the past week, I acknowledged that I am perhaps crazy :) I was super frustrated on Wednesday and wanted to get rid of everything, but I just can't. I really don't want to give up.
My two cents on laundering your cloth diapers after my hours of research - there's a lot more to it than one might think and a lot of different things can cause problems. Detergent (this is the big one), soft/hard water, top/front loading washing machine, etc, etc. I completely agree with this quote, taken from Krista at Pinstripes and Polkadots.
"If you are just starting your cloth diapering journey, I can not emphasize enough how advantageous it is to choose a really good detergent. Remove as many obstacles as you can at the beginning to ensure your success. If you want to experiment with your favorite detergent down the road, do so, but only after you are successfully cloth diapering so you know what normal is."
She has the most comprehensive and helpful site I have found out there on laundering. She has a great listing of detergents (both regular and cloth diaper ones) and lists whether or not they are safe for use on cloth diapers.
For now, we are switching to Planet Ultra Powdered Laundry Detergent for our diapers and I will continue to use my homemade concoction for our regular laundry. It seems to be working really well on our clothes!!
I had my 33 week appointment on Tuesday of this week. Everything looks good. Baby Luke measuring 45th percentile, which was in the doctor's words "perfect." I am now more pregnant than I ever was with Corinne (delivered her at 33wks 5 days) so that is kind of crazy to think about! So thankful to still be pregnant. Crazy how quickly my due date is approaching. I will be 37 weeks (when I delivered Juliet) in only 3 weeks. Yikes! We have made great progress as far as getting things ready around here and I would say we are probably the most prepared we have ever been. For decorating the nursery, I had to laugh at my list - 12 office clipboards, 1 yard oilcloth, 3 different RIT dye colors, and a wall mount trouser rack. Kind of random and I don't have everything together yet, but I will share pictures as soon as I do!
We had a baby shower at Dominic's work on Wednesday night. Fun to get more blue things! I am trying my hardest to "think manly" as I decorate and buy stuff for this boy ... I have been living in a total girl world the last 3 years ... really my whole life!!
Halloween costumes are finished. It was quite a project (I made them), but I think they turned out well. They were definitely a joint effort with Juliet. She is in charge of Halloween costuming around here. Aunt Dan was over and asked Juliet what she should be for Halloween. Juliet started asking her questions like "what animals do you like?" and "what color do you like?" to help her figure it out :)
On Wednesday, Corinne decided she is into puzzles. We have worked at least 15 puzzles every day since. As much as I try to get Juliet to work her own puzzle so that Corinne can figure things out by herself, she insists on coaching. She says things like "flip it over Beetles" and "try a different one." She's helping and she knows it :)
Some little tidbits of fun from our day to day routine. The girls play princess a lot. When our prince gets home from work in the evening, the girls meet him in the garage and Juliet re-introduces him to everyone - Cinderella (Juliet), Sleeping Beauty (Beet), Snow White (Charlie), and Belle (me). The girls always want to dance with prince charming - the location of the "ball" varies. The other silly game the girls and Daddy made up is the shark (Daddy) eats the crab (Juliet), clam (Beet), and stinky fish (Charlie) game. Basically Dominic just chases them around the house and pretends to eat them when he catches them. Sometimes Corinne will spontaneously run to the other room and start yelling "Eat some clam! Eat some clam!" This is her game invitation ... that doesn't stop until the shark comes. She's a sassy little clam that one!
Not many videos and pictures the past couple weeks. Been in a bit of a camera slump as it's hard to bend down at their level to take their picture these days! Here's a viedo of the girls playing dentist.
Note: Nugget format inspired by the very inspiring Nici over at Dig this Chick.
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