this is where i come up with something witty

I've Moved!

2011-01-07T08:56:00.001-05:00

Hello! If you're still here reading this post that means you MIGHT have missed the memo ;) I have moved my blog to www.ThisIsWhereIComeUpWithSomethingWitty.com where you will find ALL of this awesome content there too! Be sure to change your RSS feeds and bookmarks! AND, if you have a blog with a blogroll that this blog is featured on would you kindly change the address to point to my new site? Please and thank you! :)

I Am Moving!

2010-12-03T11:19:00.001-05:00

Dear Lovely LOYAL Readers!

I realize some of you have been with me for FOUR years (on the dot) but it is time to move on to a more powerful space. I want you all to know, all of the current content is already over in my new blog, it's just in a MUCH more organized format.

I encourage all of you to change my blog address in your readers and bookmarks to www.ThisIsWhereIComeUpWithSomethingWitty.com (or the shorter version: www.cararolinson.com which will be pointing in the right direction by later today) and if we have connected via Google Friend Connect please connect to the new site too.

There will be lots of new content coming your way soon! In the meantime, have a look around! Thank you for being a loyal reader! I can't wait to connect with you on my new site!

Winner Announcement - 77kids Gift Card

2010-12-03T09:59:00.000-05:00

The winner for the 77kids gift card giveaway is Elizabeth! Congratulations! I will be emailing you shortly with details!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Winner Announcement - Marie Callender's

2010-12-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

The winner announcement for the Marie Callender's coupon give away is @shopgurl Eve! Congratulations! I will be emailing you shortly with details!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

Housekeeping Reminders: I've got another giveaway you have until Midnight December 2nd to enter! You could win a $50 gift card to 77kids!

What I like to do with Thanksgiving leftovers - Curried Turkey Soup

2010-11-26T10:41:00.000-05:00

I shared this recipe a few years a go but it is one of my favorite recipes to use up some of those Thanksgiving leftovers.

Curried Turkey Soup (I doubled the amounts below so that there was a large amount)
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup minced onion
4 - 8 tablespoons flour (depending on the amount of mashed potatoes used)
5-6 cups of stock, warmed
optional ingredients: mashed potatoes (used to thicken), broccoli, asparagus tips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large cup of diced turkey (I usually add more, you really can't have too much in the soup in my opinion)
4 tablespoons minced parsley

In a large stock pot, melt butter and stir in curry, cook for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook for about 10 until soft but not browned. Stir in flour, cook for 2 minutes and remove pot from heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes. Vigorously whisk in hot stock, return to hot stove and simmer for one minute continuing to whisk. If using mashed potatoes, add those in now 1 tablespoon at a time until desired thickness. stir in cream while simmering slowly, season. Stir in turkey and other optional veggies, bring to a simmer again, sprinkle with parsley to serve.

Do you have any special recipes that call for Thanksgiving leftovers? Care to share them in the comments?

77kids Holiday Sneak Peek & Charity Launch - Giveaway

2010-11-20T18:22:00.003-05:00

Today we attended the grand opening and holiday sneak peek & charity launch at the brand new location of 77kids in Ross Park Mall! 77kids is part of the American Eagle family and they have clothing for children from size 0-3 months to children's size 14. The designs are fresh and fun! Everything is constructed well, reinforced, and the pants have adjustable waists (score!).

Our main purpose for attending was to be introduced to the store and learn about the launch of their holiday charity efforts. Watch this video for an overview of how you can donate from in the store:

In addition to donating in the store you can also help to raise money for local children's hospitals by making your very own snowflake once a day between today - December 14th! 77kids is asking for 100,000 snowflakes to be made so that they can donate an additional $25,000 to local children's hospitals, this particular store is donating to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The BEST part is that for every snowflake you make you are entered to win gift cards (they are giving away one $77 gift card DAILY!!!) and one lucky person will win a winter block party for them and 77 of their closest friends! Sounds like a blast! Making a snowflake takes about 2 minutes and the kids can have fun with this too!

77kids has graciously offered a $50 gift card for me to give to one of my lucky readers! Will it be you? Submit your entries until 11:59 pm December 2nd! I will contact the winner the following day and you'll have 48 hours to reply, if you do not reply I will have to move on to the next person on the list.

Here's how to enter:

Required for Entry -
* Make a snowflake here and "like" 77kids on Facebook or Follow @77kids on Twitter. Leave a comment here telling me you created your snowflake and either "liked" or followed. INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

Bonus Entries - You'll get ONE EXTRA ENTRY for each of these below, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each of them noting what you did AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME!

*Tweet this:

"@CaraRolinson is Giving Away a $50 gift card to @77kids! http://goo.gl/twdIs #77kids "

Leave a comment here letting me know you Tweeted INCLUDE A LINK TO YOUR TWEET and EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME.

* Share your snowflake on Facebook. Leave a comment here letting me know you shared INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME.

* Follow Me with Google Friend Connect, leave a comment here letting me know you followed me INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME. (if you already have connected via GFC then just leave a comment stating this is the case)

* Follow Me on Twitter, leave a comment here letting me know you followed me INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME. (if you already have connected via Twitter then just leave a comment stating this is the case)

****I was compensated for this post. However, my thoughts and feelings on 77kids, their stores and their charity launch mentioned above are my own and are 100% honest to how I feel about them.****

Traveling... again... Marie Callender's to the rescue! (review and a giveaway!)

2010-11-18T13:39:00.005-05:00

****** CONTEST CLOSED AS OF 12/1/2010 ********

Well, Chris is at it again! He's out of town for 11 days and I'm home alone with the kids daydreaming of traveling to Prague with my family one day. The good part, we're on the upswing with only 4 days left! whoo! When Chris travels I look for easy meal options. I keep things simple as best as I can and I usually order out once (or twice). I also use some frozen foods to help us save time too! That's why when I was asked to do this review of the new Marie Callender's meals I JUMPED at the opportunity because the timing could NOT have been any better!

Marie Callender's just launched a new product called Marie Callender's new Baked Meals! They are family sized meals that appeal to the whole family. I had the opportunity to pick a few meals to try and I would like to report back there was NO disappointment what-so-ever! I picked Creamy Chicken Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Scalloped Potatoes & Ham in a Creamy Swiss Cheese Sauce and Southwestern Style Chipotle Chicken Bake. I liked all three, the Southwestern Chipotle Chicken Bake was my favorite though. There are three others that I am interested in trying too especially the Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Lasagna (doesn't that sound YUM?)

All of them can be baked in a conventional oven or microwave. I used the microwave heating option for all three and was impressed with the outcome. You know when you bake something cheesy and creamy and the edges and peeks get a nice golden color? Well, they achieved this in a microwave dish! How? I have NO clue!

I used these meals as the main portion of our meals, I added salad and a fresh vegetable as sides to complete each meal. They fed the three of us perfectly (with some left over too!) and the boys actually asked for seconds! THAT never happens!

Other than the really flavorful ingredients, another HUGE selling point is the price! These retail for a little less than $6.00! That means you can feed a family of four EASILY for $10 or less using Marie Callender's Baked Meals! I think that's GREAT!

In addition to asking me to review their new baked meals they have given me some AWESOME coupons to giveaway to my readers! The winner will receive the following: (2) coupons, each good for (1) FREE Marie Callender's Bakes AND a few other coupon goodies too! **** This giveaway runs until November 30th at 11:59 pm. Winner will be announced December 1st!

How you can enter:
Required for Entry -
* Leave one comment below sharing what Marie Callender's Baked Meal you would like to try (You can flip through the options here) INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

Bonus Entries - You'll get ONE EXTRA ENTRY for each of these below, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each of them noting what you did AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME!

*Tweet this:
"@CaraRolinson is Giving Away Marie Callender's Baked Meals Coupons! Come join the fun: http://goo.gl/n9FSI "
Leave a comment here letting me know you Tweeted INCLUDE A LINK TO YOUR TWEET & EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME.

* Follow Me with Google Friend Connect, leave a comment here letting me know you followed me INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME. (if you already have connected via GFC then just leave a comment stating this is the case)

* Follow Me on Twitter, leave a comment here letting me know you followed me INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR TWITTER NAME. (if you already have connected via Twitter then just leave a comment stating this is the case)

****I was compensated to write this review. However, my thoughts and feelings on the products mentioned above are my own and are 100% honest to how I feel about the product.****

Jour 280 - Audio assignment

2010-11-15T22:46:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, I am currently taking classes. This is for an assignment. Don't judge, it's the first time I've mixed something together using real audio mixing tools and not multiple tape decks and the record button on a boom box.... to quote a fell "burgh blogger" please just bloop bloop bloop to the next post ;)

Total Mom Makeover - W1D2

2010-11-13T11:09:00.001-05:00

11-12-2010
My vision:

1. I am an energetic mom, I feed my family healthy home cooked meals and fresh foods daily. I'm happy and smile and rarely yell at my kids. My house is clean and tidy inside and out. I am relaxed and not controlling of my kids and husband. My clothing is need and tidy and I look fashionable and put together. If my clothes fit well, I feel good!

2. my visual perspective.

Total Mom Makeover - W1D1

2010-11-11T09:38:00.001-05:00

1. My Should's:

I should do 1-2 loads of laundry a day - including folding.
I should take junk mail directly to the trash instead of setting in the table, end of the counter, in the roll-top or with the bills.
I should clean up lunch as soon as we're finished eating.
I should wipe down the table after every meal.
I should sweep the dining room floor at least once a day, preferable after dinner.
I should make the beds.
I should plan meals a few days in advance.
I should get up earlier than the kids.
I should drink more water.
I should workout today.
I should vacuum the stairs and 2nd floor waaay more often than I do.
I should be a little more patient with my kids and cut down on the yelling.

2. Writing it in stone:

I have decided to create a better household by correcting my deficiencies. I will do so by decreasing my procrastinations, getting up earlier, preparing my families daily needs in advance and not so last minute. I will create more time for me and my running, knitting/crafting. I will have a cleaner home and more time for quality relaxing with my family.

Total Mom Makeover - Intro

2010-11-10T14:56:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back I mentioned my lunch with Libby's and motivational mama Hannah Keeley. Within that post I mentioned I received a copy of Hannah's book Total Mom Makeover. AND I had promised that I was going to start the program and share my progress with my readers. Well the day has come, I'm kicking off this program today!

*** Before you read on, please consider a small donation to the right over there --------> in the Libby's Feeding America box! I don't usually ask for such things but really, $5 can provide a whole stack of food to hungry families and children in need - yep 5 bucks! The amount of a latte and a muffin from your favorite coffee shop! Skip the excess for one day and share the wealth with folks in need. Thank you! /end promo plug

Back to my post here and please note, yes, I received this book for free but my choice to share this endeavor with you is unprovoked by Hannah. I see a worth while adventure and I am merely sharing like I usually do.

(OK really back to business here) The cover of the book states it is "The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life" I want to first point out that I'm in no way unhappy with where I am in my life! I love my family and taking care of my children, I love my social life and for the first time EVER I love my job (the one outside of being a stay at home mother). However, those of you who are close to me know that there are some aspects in my life that I need to work on. Keeping house, ranks up there at the top! Taking care of myself and my needs, both physically and mentally are also in the negative space here. Most of these negative spots come from we will say an very strong urge to procrastinate. I'm quite organized, I can set up a file system and keep that going and I keep my work very organized, it's the stuff that I can stash away in my home, like laundry and dust and papers from my kids school that get stashed into the roll-top desk and my inability to plan a meal before 5pm on a daily basis these are the things that keep rearing their ugly heads and making my day-to-day home making an utter disaster most of the time.

As I mentioned, Hanna's book is a Six-week plan, she suggests to step 1, get a journal (this here blog is going to serve as my journal), step 2, set aside a specific time each day to read that day's section in the book and at the end of each day I will have a few exercises to complete in my journal. They will be quick lists to make and/or thoughts to help reflect on, these will be my short posts that I'll share with you here. As I progress, I may or may not to share EVERY single day with you. I'm pretty open about myself and my life so It won't be a matter of the content being to private but instead it may not be worthy of a post. I may also combine days into one post to keep things less cluttered around here. I also want to add, I'm crazy busy here these days.... I hardly have time to sit and tune out over a cup of coffee and blog reading... so if my journal posts are full of typos and messed up grammar, please don't hold it against me, they are journal entries and well dammit they aren't going to be perfect! Because I just don't have the time to be perfect....

If you are interested in trying this plan too, Hannah's book is available via Amazon over there in the right column of my blog. Again, this is NOT a paid post and all future posts about my advances in the plan will remain that way as well. I'm sharing link love with Hannah and her book merely because she is a good person, an inspirational mama and friend!

An Introduction and Review: Arctic Ease

2010-11-10T14:08:00.001-05:00

Whew busy times are upon me! Two weeks ago, I was contacted by my colleagues at Chemistry again (They are the folks to introduced me to Steaz & Beano's!). They were looking for social media outreach help with their client Arctic Ease and I said sure! I am currently managing their Facebook and Twitter outreach.

A brief introduction to Arctic Ease, they offer wraps and pads for cryotherapy (cold therapy). From their website, "The specially treated wraps and pads absorb heat energy from the body to cool the covered area. The absorbed heat is then lost to evaporation, which allows for the sustained cooling effect of Arctic Ease." They can be used in place of ice packs, frozen peas and (HEY MAMA'S) Boo Boo Bunnies! For a full description of the product feel free to check out their site, it is FULL of useful information about the product!

Arctic Ease wraps can be cut to size and wrapped around the problem area including legs, knees, ankles, wrists AND can be used to treat those toddler head bumps! They are non-toxic, reusable and made in the U.S.A.!

In my running experiences, I haven't had much of a need for icing afterwards (or so I thought). I don't run long distances, I usually average 2 miles per run. However, I HAVE noticed if I ran in the morning by the evening my knees were achy and my legs were restless... annoyingly so. So this past weekend I put my own Arctic Ease wraps to the test. I wrapped ONE knee, the one that usually feels the most achy and restless. I wrapped it within an hour of finishing my run, then packed up the kids and the hubs and went for a hike. I wore the wrap for 3-4 hours and was amazed at how cold my knee and surrounding leg felt. When we got home, I took it off, put it back on the little roll it came on and placed it back into the resealable bag with a tablespoon and a half of water to rehydrate it for next time.

Afternoon passed, evening passed and by night I had none of my usual achy and restless knee (on the side I wrapped). The knee I did not wrap DID have it's usual bit of achy/restlessness. Yes, I performed a scientific experiment and this knee was my control.

Wearing the wrap didn't inhibit me in the least bit, I hiked, I played with my kids and was comfortable the whole time. The ability to be mobile AND treat my knees at the same time is priceless for a mother of two very active kids.

Overall, I give this product a THUMBS up! I was impressed by it's ease of use! No need for clips as it sticks to itself as you wrap thus no need for clips or pins.

We are currently looking for active and runner bloggers for to write product reviews, if this is something you might be interested in, please leave a comment or email me and we can discuss it further. Arctic Ease is also giving away registrations for the 2011 Chicago Marathon, you can enter by checking out their Facebook page and following the Chicago 2011 tab.

A Look Into Barefoot Running

2010-11-03T19:22:00.000-04:00

As you all know, I'm fairly new to the running arena. What I'm not new to is knowledge of proper footwear for specific jobs and sports. A wise woman once said (paraphrased) 'You should always use the proper tool for the proper job' (this wise woman is Martha Stewart in reference to her fine work in the kitchen). I realize her advice may be a bit simple and obvious but that same advice should be used across all parts of our lives. If you need to dig a hole to plant a tree would you use a snow shovel? If you needed to paint a wall would you use a hair brush? If you wanted to take ballet classes would you purchase steel toed work boots? No, no and no!

As I mentioned above, I'm not new to the knowledge of proper footwear for specific jobs and sports. A little about my background... My father, Ted Colaizzi, is a Certified Pedorthist (C. Ped.). What does Certified Pedorthist mean? Let's first define Pedorthic - (ped-or'-thiks) -the design, manufacture, modification and fit of footwear, orthotics and devices to alleviate foot problems caused by disease, overuse, or injury. A C. Ped. has fulfilled and maintains specific educational requirements to be certified by the Board for Certification in Pedorthics (BCP). Without getting all preachy, and just to illustrate how involved my family is within the Pedorthics and just to further illustrate why I know what I know and why I have decided to write about this today...

My parents (along with my late grandfather) have owned and operated their business servicing the foot and ankle community for over 75 years. As a child growing up in a household where my parents owned their own business, an evening never passed without a conversation between my parents about what happened at the store today. I got to know the regulars and quite a few technical terms just because of the conversation. Because of that conversation I believe that I have a much deeper understanding of how the food and ankle function and I even understand the logic behind how to treat minor issues. With this knowledge I also learned that the proper shoe for the job was not just a preference but a necessity. Running is one of those necessities.

Back in May after I spent a few months watching a few friends train for the Pittsburgh Marathon (half and relay) as you know I bit the bullet and decided to give Couch to 5K a shot. BUT while most people might have just laced up their old sneaks and get out on the road, I threw up the caution sign and called my dad. I asked if running shoes and their internal support could break down after years of getting dusty in a closet. His answer was YES. I then told him my plan and a little about the program and he solidified my urge to wait until I had the proper shoes and told me to come in so that I could be fitted for a new pair.

As most of you know, when I get a crazy hair up my arse to do something 9 times out of 10 I want to run out and do it NOW, right this minute! I had to wait a week and a half before I got my new shoes... My dad didn't have my wide width in stock (understandable really) so I had to wait for the order to arrive. I was so geeked when my shoes came in that I drove over there THAT day to pick them up so that I could start C25K that afternoon.

A few weeks into C25K I started to see other bloggers mention a book called "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. These blogs and the book mention barefoot running. I was intrigued to say the least but not because I wanted to try it. This coming from the girl who can barely walk around the cement pool deck for fear that I MIGHT step on a pebble or that the cement might be too hot. I wanted to read more because I felt there may be some folks out there who might think these ideas sound like good ones (which in a way they kinda do good) but if executed poorly they could result in serious injury.

So I started to read. I will admit I didn't read the entire book (I haven't read for pleasure in years due to lack of time why start now....) but I read large portions (there is a LOT of story telling and I skipped over some). In short the book's author decided to follow a hidden tribe of runners who are known to be superathletes. Barefoot running is their game as is harsh dessert conditions and distances like you would never believe. The book and the stories were admittedly interesting and enjoyable but the barefoot running suggestions is downright scary.

It is suggested that as we evolved as humans we all ran barefoot. And yes that is a fact. They suggest that this new barefoot movement is a throwback to how we are supposed to run and that the addition of running shoes actually harms our body's inherent ability to run correctly. Step back and think about that for a second. It makes sense right?   I will admit, it kinda does. However with a second look, it's easy to realize that it really doesn't make much sense at all. Consider this, as we evolved there were desserts, grassy fields, beaches and dirt paths. No roads, no paved trails, no tracks. Impact on those surfaces even if they were harder like dessert, does not compare with the hardness of a brick street or asphalt trail or paved road. Foot/heel and ankle impact on these man made surfaces play a HUGE role in the current injuries that will occur from barefoot running.

Barefoot running is something that if you are interested in trying will take a LOT of conditioning and commonsensical thought about how and where you plan to train. Instead of going completely barefoot consider wearing a pair of Vibram's, take training slow slow slow. As runners I'm pretty certain we are all pretty in tune with our bodies and can feel it immediately when something goes wrong. If you start to feel pain, stop. See a doctor and put your running shoes back on.

I've talked to my father about this topic quite a bit and we both are in the agreement that it's not a smart idea. Injury is inevitable and the risk is not worth it. Heck the risk of injury is high as a runner to start with, why would you want to put more risk into it?

Yes this is a family blog - but sometimes we get to be adults

2010-11-03T14:59:00.002-04:00

This post is not going to fall within the normal topics that you usually find here. But that doesn't mean it's not a family friendly topic. Most of my readers are moms and most of them are married. The topic below is something that in my opinion is perfectly normal for a married couple to engage in.

We all like to have a little fun in the bedroom right? In fact if I were to take a guess I would guess that since most of us have children we have had fun at least as many times as we have children right? I also know that as a parent time for such activities are sometimes pushed to the bottom of the list. Reasons may include a sick kid or a busy work schedule, maybe things are a little stale or just being too tired at the end of the day for some personal one on one time with your husband or wife right? Sometimes all it takes to awaken things in the bedroom is something new to play with together or some fun sexy clothing or really anything else your little heart desires to help spice things up in the bedroom.

I wanted to share a site that I first came across last winter, Eden Fantasys. Their site is clean and well organized with LOTS of options. I'm certain that there is something for everyone on this site. They carry items in all price ranges and provide written and video reviews of most every item on the site. That is something that I find to be quite helpful. There is also a cool points program you can sign up for, you can get points for just looking around their site. You can also set up a wish list that you can share with your husband or wife - involving them in the choice can be a fun way to spice things up right?

I was contacted to do this post by Eden Fantasys (and was provided compensation in the form of a free item from their site) and I decided to do a post for them based on that fact that I HAVE actually used their site in the past (a few times) and I trust their company. The customer service has been top notch and the quality of the items has also been exactly as they portray on their site. If you're looking to get back into the bedroom with your partner in crime or to spice up the exciting relationship you already have give Eden Fantasys a look before you make your next adult toy or sexy lingerie purchase ;)

Winner Announcement: Rokenbok

2010-10-14T10:55:00.000-04:00

Annnnd the lucky winner of the Rokenbok toy set is Annie and Greg! Congratulations! You've been emailed and you have 48 hours to reply or I'll have to pull the next winner!

Remember! Even if you didn't win, Rokenbok has graciously extended this special offer to you! Free gifts are always great right?

Thank you for all the awesome entries!

Winner Announcement: Libby's Gift Pack

2010-10-11T09:14:00.000-04:00

Help me to congratulate Christina Almond! She won the Libby's Gift Pack giveaway!

Christina - I've emailed you! If you don't reply within 48 hours I'll have to move on to the next person.

Big Thanks to everyone to entered!

Toy Review & Giveaway: Rokenbok

2010-10-05T14:30:00.004-04:00

I was contacted by the Rokenbok toy company and they offered to send a Deluxe ROK Block s set to play with (with my boys of course) and review. We get to keep the free set and frankly we already have plans to add more Rokenbok sets to our toy collection.

Once we received it, I wanted to wait for a day where we had a large chunk of playtime so that we could introduce this new toy and have ample time to play with them. Well, let's just say I'm glad we prepared accordingly. My husband and our two boys played with the Rokenbox toys for over an hour that first day and again that evening after dinner! Since then it's been something the kids bring out nearly every day!

The set comes with enough pieces to make some VERY large vehicles, airplanes, helicopters and tractor trailers to name a few! Directions to make these items come with the set and are very easy to follow. The blocks link together in a similar fashion to Legos except instead of only being able to build up, you can build out too! Rokenbok's can connect to all 6 sides of each block. They are sturdy, stay together (even while being flown around the room by my 2 1/2 year old). Both my boys ages 4 & 2 1/2 can create with this toy. They can easily snap the pieces together and take them apart without much and sometime no assistance.

Here is Andy and my husband Chris, they have built a space shuttle and launcher!

One downfall for us was the little parts. The age range for this toy starts at 3 years old and with my Andy coming in just shy of that 3 year old mark, I'm certain that is why I find the small parts a bit annoying. My 4 year old is perfectly able to keep the small parts in order. The small parts ARE quite important as they offer support for large longer sections of blocks and create the ability to have swiveling moving parts like a helicopter blade or a swiveling trailer bed. Those abilities far outweigh the fact that the pieces are small and need to be kept with the set. If this is a toy you think your child would be interested in I do suggest waiting until they are a solid 3 years old. With that being said, we have already put bugs in our family members ears for more of these toys for holiday gifts. Both of my little boys (and my big boy A.K.A. husband) really enjoy building with these toys. I enjoy it too!

Rokenbok offers toys for children much older than the toddler set too, some even come with remote control abilities. They all work with the same beginner set that I have reviewed here. So as your children get older and more able you can add to the set adding lots of fun and interest for years to come. There are four age levels with the top level for children 9 and older. I see Rokenbok toys as investment toys that their quality will stand up to time and they will be played with for quite a while.

Check out this video to see Rokenbok in action:

To see more videos featuring Rokenbok visit their YouTube site!

Rokenbok has graciously offered to give one of my readers their very own set! If you happen to be an unlucky reader they have also extended this special offer to you! Free gifts are always great right?

How you can enter:

Required for Entry -
* Leave one comment below sharing who you would like to give this set to, INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

Bonus Entries (you'll get ONE EXTRA ENTRY for each of these below, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each of them noting what you did AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!) -
* "Like" ROKENBOK on Facebook, leave a comment here letting me know you "liked" them INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

* Follow ROKENBOK on Twitter, leave a comment here letting me know you followed them INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

* Follow Me with Google Friend Connect, leave a comment here letting me know you followed me INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. (if you already have connected via GFC then just leave a comment stating this is the case)

* Follow Me on Twitter, leave a comment here letting me know you followed me INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. (if you already have connected via Twitter then just leave a comment stating this is the case)

This giveaway will run until Wednesday, October 13th at 11:59 PM ET. The winner will be announced Thursday, Oct 14th!

**All thoughts and opinions on the product mentioned above are my own. I genuinely like this product and that is why I've decided to share it with you.**

Some photo updates

2010-10-05T11:31:00.000-04:00

It's been WAY too long since I've shared some kiddo stats and photos so here ya go!

Max, is into his 2nd month of 4 year old preschool and he's LOVING it! His class size is bigger than last year and he seems to enjoy the 3 days a week schedule!

Andy, is also into his 2nd month of 2 year old preschool and seems to also be loving his one morning a week away from us. He sings like crazy when he comes home each week and he is excited each Wednesday morning when i announce that it's a school day for him.

Both boys are getting super tall! Max is growing like a weed and Andy is now able to wear most size 3T pants and shirts!

Here are a few recent photos of the boys! Check out a huge bounty of pumpkins! We grew all of them (two of them are missing since they became ripe way early and had a few bites taken out of them and were since tossed.... )

Giveaway: Libby's Gift Pack

2010-09-28T10:42:00.003-04:00

Remember a few posts ago I wrote about the wonderful afternoon I spent with some fellow local mama bloggers? We put together 30 meal kits for families in need located in the local Pittsburgh area and enjoyed a lunch together talking about how we all do our best to have family dinners and quality time together around our dinner tables. We will be continuing our conversation TODAY (September 28th, 2010) at 1 PM ET via a text based chat. You can join us here before noon if you're not able to make it at that time, leave a question or suggestion and then feel free to follow up with our conversation later in the day! OR feel free to join us LIVE at 1 PM! Hope to see some new faces there!

Well, now it's time for me to give back to YOU! It's giveaway time!

I will be giving away a Libby's tote bag with Libby's product, a state-of-the-art can opener and a copy of Hanna Keeley's book "Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transforming Your Home, Health, Family, and Life".

How you can enter:

Required for Entry -
* Leave one comment below sharing your tips about how you and your family are "getting back to the table", INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

Bonus Entries (you'll get ONE EXTRA ENTRY for each of these below, just be sure to leave a separate comment for each of them noting what you did AND INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!) -
*Create your own virtual can drive HERE. Once you've created it, live a comment here with a link to your can drive INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

* "Like" Libby's on Facebook, leave a comment here letting me know you "liked" them INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

* Follow Libby's on Twitter, leave a comment here letting me know you followed themINCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

This giveaway will run until Friday, October 8th at 11:59 PM ET. The winner will be announced Monday, Oct 11th!

Attending Type-A-Mom Conference

2010-09-24T09:02:00.000-04:00

Well, by now, I've packed my bags and I'm about to head south for my 2nd professional conference, Type-A-Mom! My head is in a totally different place this time around. My 1st conference was Blissdom last Febuary and my experience there was good but I learned a lot about how to approach an event like this. Since last winter, I've made some new friends in the blogging community so much so that I've gained a roommate from Pittsburgh and her and 2 other local moms who blog will be travel buddies for this one. The four of us are lucky to be traveling south to Asheville NC together in a brand spankin' new 2011 Chevy Traverse. (Thank you Chevy for sponsoring our ride!)

To follow the Type-A-Mom Conference live tweets you can watch here for live up to the second updates about what people are seeing, hearing and doing at Type-A-Mom. This part of the post is for a class assignment and I would love your feedback. Let me know what you think of this feature. Seeing live streaming Twitter conversations is just a teeny tiny little part of what this feature can actually do.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=582116495a" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Twitter coverage of Type-A-Mom Con&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Lunch with Hannah Keeley and More on Feeding America with Libby's!

2010-09-22T12:33:00.001-04:00

Photo credit TheMotherhood.com

Last week I had the honor of lunching with some awesome Pittsburgh bloggers. We were there to meet with author Hannah Keeley and to work with Libby's to create meal kits for families in need. Libby's provided us with lunch and LOTS of cans for our meal kits which will be distributed to new homeowners of homes provided by Habitat of Humanity Pittsburgh. Us bloggers provided items to help each new family start a kitchen and to encourage them to bring their families back to the table. Items included conversation cards, oven mits, recipes, kitchen utensils and a lot more! Putting the kits together was a great part of the lunch and I'm happy to know that my work and time will be help someone in need.

You too can help a family in need by supporting my virtual can drive right over there ----> Even a donation of $5 will provide a meal to 35 families! Every little bit helps. If you're wishing to get involved too feel free to set up an account and host your own can drive on your own blog!

In addition to lunch and meal kit building we were treated to a discussion with Hanna Keeley. Wow, impressive woman, mom of SEVEN, wife and writer! We talked about how she encourages her family to enjoy their time at the dinner table. She talked about time saving tricks to get a wholesome meal on the table too and I'm pretty sure that inspired all of us to try some dump recipes so that we're prepared and able to make wholesome meals even on those busy days! (which is almost every day isn't it?)

As a thank you gift Hannah gave us copies of her book "Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life"
I've started to read this book and let me tell you I'm excited about it! I have decided that upon my return home from the Type-A-Mom conference that I'm attending this week/weekend that I'm starting this makeover. My family and I all deserve a home that is organized and a mom who is less stressed out. I'll be blogging some of my daily journal entries (this is part of the makeover process). I haven't decided if I'm going to do that here or if I'll start a separate blog... I'll be sure to let my readers know.

*****I was compensated for this event but my feelings and thoughts are all my own.*****

I'm Feeding America! Wanna help?

2010-09-14T10:07:00.000-04:00

Busy weeks ahead! Chris will be traveling for work this Friday through Thursday and then I leave that Thursday for a conference! The kids will get lots of grandparent time and thankfully the grandparents are ok with that!

To kick off these busy two weeks I have a fun event to attend this Thursday. I was contacted by TheMotherhood.com and Libby's to participate in a meal kit creation and virtual can drive for families in need. We will be creating meal kits this Thursday afternoon with Hannah Keeley. Hanna is a mom of seven (SEVEN!) children, hosts a television show and is an author. She's quite the organizational guru with a HUGE emphasis on family! I'm looking forward to meeting her during our lunch and learning from her.

You could get your chance to meet her as well, Thursday, September 16th at the Market District by Giant Eagle (5550 Centre Ave)! She will be presenting from 5-7pm and it's open to the public. Additionally, I'm hosting my own virtual can drive with Libby's which you can access over there to the right of the page. A donation of $5 will feed 35 families in need! Please help me to meet my goal!

Stay tuned for an update about our lunch and meeting Hannah and a fun giveaway from Libby's too!

Lots going on

2010-09-13T14:27:00.001-04:00

And just like that it's September! Mid September at that! the semester has started for all FOUR of us again! Chris is back to work for the year, I'm taking more classes, Max is in the 4 yr old preschool program at his school and that means one thing right? He had a birthday! He's a full tried and true four year old inside and out. He is growing so much and changing every day it's amazing! His conversational skills are great now too. He has an opinion about anything and has become a very inquisitive little boy. Max started a question the other day like this, "Mom, I have a question and I'm very curious to know the answer." He went on to ask me, "What is thunder and lightning and how and why does it happen?" Yes, that was a 3 part question that required quite a lot of explaining... I love it!

As I mentioned above, the semester has started for all FOUR of us. Yep that's right my baby, Andy, is in school too this year. About a week and a half prior to Max heading back to school I decided to start researching a class that I could take to Andy once a week or so during the time that Max was in school. This proved to be downright impossible to find. However, in my searches I was directed to a school in Kennedy Township Called The Early Learning Institute (T.E.L.I.) (they have several locations in the Pittsburgh area for the local readers). This facility started out as a school for children with special needs but as their program grew it became a favorite place for families to send their young children who do not have special needs. T.E.L.I. now only has a few children with special needs and the majority are children without.

We took a tour, and signed him up. Andy is now part of their 2 yr old preschool program and LOVES it! He jumped right in on the first day with no issues with me leaving AT ALL! Such a big boy! the atmosphere is very laid back, they have a somewhat structured schedule, including circle time with stories and singing, play time, craft time and snack time. They mostly learn how to interact with others outside of the family dynamic, letters, numbers and the usual little guy stuff. One day a week and he's happy as a little lark because he gets to go to school too! I in turn am happy as a mama lark because I get ONE morning a week that I can do my own thing by myself! I can run, I can work, I can grab a coffee, I can go grocery shopping, I can do nothing (probably won't ever happen). It's a win - win for all of us!

One thing I'm already feeling I need some help with is finding healthy snacks for Max to take. I currently have organic animal crackers from Costco, those dried apples/pears, bananas, strawberries from Costco, Cheese sticks, fresh fruit, apple sauce... But I am worried these items will get old quickly... What healthy snack options do you use for your kids?

Vacation 2010

2010-08-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

The grass is burnt, the flowers are loosing the battle with the summer heat too, we have spent nearly the last 4 months outside and we have just returned from vacation. What does it all mean? Summer 2010 is nearing it's end...

This summer we trekked north again to our family vacation spot on Cayuga Lake, one of the finger lakes in upstate New York. Not much changes there, the people come and go, every year the family number seemingly gets lower and that is in a word, tragic. It is however a known reality. Regardless, our time on the lake and IN the lake is always relaxing and fun!

This year we were lucky enough to work with Chevy and they provided us with a free ride there. Chevy loaned us a 2010 Traverse LTZ. This SUV was fully loaded with XM Radio, OnStar Directions and Connections (navigation), a ceiling mounted DVD entertainment system complete with two wireless headsets for the back seats(!)*cue angels singing*, and a TON more! Wow, what a ride this was, the DVD system alone made the trip so peaceful and enjoyable with our two toddlers that I've decided a portable dvd player is a must have before vacation 2011.

While at the lake we did the usual eat, swim, play and swim, eat, swim, nap, snack, swim, eat, swim/play routine nearly every day! It was glorious! I got to run on the lake road (awesome view the entire time and wow cooler temps really help... this muggy hot crap we've had for the last 6 weeks NEEDS to move on... my running is suffering)... The kids had fun, Chris and I had fun, the Grandparents had fun and so did the aunt and uncle even though they are lucky to still be able to pass said crazy toddler back to said responsible parent when things get a little out of control. Everyone lost a bit of their hearing due to said crazy toddlers but in the end I think everyone enjoyed the company of each other. The kids became much more comfortable in the water, although proper swim lessons are in order next Spring!

One afternoon the grandparents suggested that we take a few hours and hit up some winerys alone! Yippee! The kids were napping and Chris had done a little googling and found an interesting place to check out called Three Brothers Wineries & Estates. It featured three wineries and a brewery! Jackpot! We called the OnStar navigation operator, gave her the street address and she beamed the directions to the car! We listened to some hilarious comedy on the XM radio and the navigation system broke in when it was time to change course. It was GREAT! I had never used OnStar navigation before and I was quite impressed. It's easy to use and 100% hands free. That's a big plus!

The wineries were a HUGE hit! Three Brothers features three wineries as I mentioned already, there is the top of the hill, high end winery, there is the middle of the road, having some fun in the back seat winery which featured sweeter wines that would easily get ya tipsy if you split a bottle with your husband and there is Bagg Dare.... fashioned after a backwater town on the bayou complete with pirates(?), hoochies, rusted out trucks and misspelled words (lol). This was some hooch! but good hooch at that! I usually like a fairly dry red wine and these were not even close, but who doesn't like sweet cold alcoholic beverages on a hot summer day? We enjoyed it and had some fun trying new wines and talking with the folks that work there. We even bought a few bottles to bring home. Let's just say that stuff is pretty dangerous!

We also stopped at Americana Winery on the way back to the house and it offered very good dry wines that we also enjoyed. We had a good time talking to a guy there too - he reminded us several times that "this is America you can do anything you like!" Love it!

One morning we took the kids blueberry picking - it was super fun, here's a little video you can watch from that adventure:

Picking Blueberries from StartPoint Media on Vimeo.

By Friday it was time to pack up the car, take one last swim in the lake, have some lunch and hop in the Traverse for our trip back home. On our way out of town we stopped at Lively Run Goat Dairy where we took a tour and tasted some cheese! They had some kids who were 13 weeks old - SOOO cute! We brought home some YUMMY French Style Chevre goat cheese too!

Our drive home was a little less enjoyable due to toddlers and their potty habits and the monkey see monkey do mentality of a JUST potty trained 2 1/2 yr old... let's just say a 7 hour drive with 7 stops... NOT the best combo.

Fall is just a few weeks away, soon Max will be back in preschool (3 days a week this year), I'll be back in school for the semester and we'll have a normal schedule again. I think we all are in need of a little structure after our summer of fun!

This post is a bit of a hybrid post, a round up of our family vacation and a review for Chevy. They gave us the Traverse for the week with a full tank of gas and in return they have received some tweets mentioning Chevy and Traverse while we were on vacation. The opinions here are all my own.

Running - Couch to 5K

2010-07-21T15:19:00.000-04:00

Completed! A few weeks ago I wrote about how I started the Couch to 5K program, at that time I was in week 4 of training and nervous about a 20 minute long run ahead of me in week 5. Well, I completed week 5 moved on to weeks 6, 7 and 8 and today completed day 3 of week 9. That means I finished the program and I've been running for 30 minutes straight for my last 3 runs!

Now before I mislead anyone, I want to point something out. If you follow along with the workouts you'll see there is a running time and distance that should directly correspond with each other. I have continuously fell short in the distance portion of this program. Week 9's 30 minute runs should result in 3 miles of running (that's nearly a 5K) and my time should be a 10 minute mile. I'm short by a FULL mile! And that means I'm running a 15 minute mile which isn't really something to write home about. After I started to realize that I wasn't quite making it in the distance category I decided I kinda didn't care. Because, well I was running for 25 then 27, and now 30 minutes straight with no walking breaks and THAT is a feat that I never thought I could do! I started to read forums and ask around among my other friends who were also doing C25K and they too were having the same distance problem. Knowing that others are also struggling to get the distance makes me feel a little better. I don't mean that in a negative way either, I just mean that I'm not alone in this and that most of us who have never run before are having the same issues. Motivation enough to keep me going!

I've decided to keep running. A 30 minute run is a GREAT place to be. I feel good after I run, I'm noticing changes with my body (as are others ;) ) and with regards to my schedule and how much time I have to run, this seems to work for now. I do have plans for the future... I plan to run a 5k this fall. Prior to that I will continue to run 3 times a week for 30 minutes. I will be working on my form in hopes to increase my distance and I will be adding some hill training into the mix a bit too.

As for long term running goals. We'll see where it takes me. For right now, I'm content with the current time it takes me to run. I'm willing to put a little more into it but not much. I don't see 10K's in my future but that could change. I guess the lesson learned here is never say never or in my case, I can't...

Camping: Toddler Style

2010-07-08T22:54:00.003-04:00

We loaded up the minivan (seriously, when did this happen to me?!) last week with our camping gear. In addition to our camping gear of yesteryear we had only a few EXTRA items than usual: a 2nd air mattress, 2 small chairs, extra pairs of tiny undies, TWO children under 4 years of age and a LOT less beer than usual. That's right we took the boys on their first overnight camping trip.

We wanted to keep it simple, keep it close to home and have some fun. We headed about a half hour away to Raccoon State Park. We chose this location because if the trip took a turn for the worse and we had to pack up and come home in a rush we wouldn't have far to drive. I am pretty certain we both knew we had nothing to worry about though. I knew both boys would be fine....

We got to our site, we chose to be close to the potty which I have to point out were very clean and tidy. I had no problem taking my toddlers in there and we all know how touchy feely toddlers can be. There was also plenty of hand soap and the sinks were clean too! No smells what-so-ever either! All BIG pluses! The site we chose was somewhat private too. We had neighbors to one side and others up around the road loop. We can only HOPE that Andy didn't keep those folks up too late (until 11:30 pm) with his random squeals and yelling and our persistent shushing.

We set up camp, built a camp fire, cooked some dinner, enjoyed some marshmallows, enjoyed the fire, and greeted some visitors. Visitors of the 4 legged, rings around the eyes kind. Yes, Raccoon State Park is properly named RACCOON State Park. Just around twilight, these little buggers came out of their dens and started to scavenge for food. Our site was as tidy as it could have been considering we were toting two toddlers... I'm pretty sure one furry "friend" got a noodle from some pasta salad and a half a bite of hot dog. Other than that, we didn't have much else to offer them other than the smell of food. They didn't hesitate to check out the site though. Frankly it was a little (read: a LOT) unnerving for me. I've got two little guys that aren't much bigger than a well fed raccoon so I was more worried about them vs. the kids than I was worried that one of the rascals might take my marshmallows.... the kids thought they were HILARIOUS though and are still talking about the silly raccoons.

Needless to say, we got the boys in the tent and tucked in, kept the raccoons at bay while enjoying some beers and once our little guys were FINALLY asleep (2 hours of shushing later), we too hit the air mattress. AS SOON as we were in the tent and it was zipped up we could hear a few raccoons enter the site looking for scraps.

It was a good time, a little stressful though, keeping a very active 2 1/2 year old OUT of a fire ring is NOT an easy task. In fact it's quite exhausting. Both boys enjoyed the campfire, enjoyed watching daddy cook dinner over said fire and they managed to kept surprisingly clean. In fact, I put the same clothes they came in back on them in the morning while we waited for breakfast to cook. Daddy makes a kick ~~ass~~ (toddler edit) YUMMY camp breakfast (too bad mommy forgot the cast iron skillet though or it would have been better....). Regardless, it was fun, the kids had fun and we learned how to camp with toddlers.

What will I do differently for next time? Bring some toys! What was I thinking?! I didn't bring anything ANYTHING for them to play with! I gave them tasks like collecting twigs for the fire and looking for bugs but that only kept them busy for a little while. I'll be sure to remember their magnifying glasses and bug cups next time and maybe a few trucks, a ball, a bucket and some sort of toddler game. I DID have a toddler card game but it was too advanced for Andy therefore it was frustrating for Max to learn and understand while his little brother was kicking me and him while I played three hands of this game myself while they watched me move cards around... I think I was still expecting to arrive on site, set up camp and sit in my camp chair with a few beers and enjoy the great outdoors... not sure why I was thinking I could relax WITH my toddlers! ha!

I hope to have another camping experience this summer and instead of just doing a quick overnight I would love to spend two nights and hike and swim a bit during the day. I think doing something with them to wear them out would help with the falling asleep part in the evening. I also would like to go somewhere with LESS raccoons much to the dismay of my kids.

Have you taken your toddlers camping? What kinds of toys or activities do you take with you? What do you like to cook while camping?

Fireworks, Thunder and Lightning Bugs

2010-06-17T23:38:00.000-04:00

Both of my boys have a fear of fireworks, I attribute that to my idiotic neighborhood that believes from Memorial Day to Labor Day (and other special occasions like at 12:00 am on Jan. 1st and after big Monday night football wins, to celebrate Halloween and maybe after a hockey playoff game or 25!) is actually known as the best time of the year to shoot off fireworks, bottle rockets and any other type of pyrotechnic noise maker at 9pm or so on any random night of the week because well, that's the BEST time to wake up all the just fallen asleep toddlers within a 3 block radius forever scaring the bejesus out of them and in turn giving them a irrational fear of loud booming sounds for ever and ever amen. (holy run-on)

Last night, I put the boys to bed, it was a little later than usual for them. I was cleaning up around the house and outside when for no explainable reason, I heard some shouting and BOOOM! It was loud enough to make the hair on my arms stand up, my leg hair grow and my heart skip a beat. Less than 2 minutes later, same thing, shouting and BOOOM! Almost like that loud noise you sometimes hear at parades, I don't know if it's trucks backfiring or pyrotechnics but it's loud and it's ground shaking and to a unsuspecting child it's quite alarming. I came inside both times to listen for the kids and no one spoke up or made a sound so I let them go.

Well, first question out of Max's mouth this morning was, "Mama! What was that big loud noise last night?" We talked about it, I told him I wasn't sure (because I wasn't and I didn't want to tell him it was fireworks because that would further solidify his fear of them - forever dashing my dreams of watching them with my kids on the fourth of July).... I asked if it scared him, he said no but that he covered his ears in preparation for the next one. He's a smart one! Then he said he fell asleep. Then Andy chimed in with the questions, he was mostly just repeating what Max had asked but I'm certain he heard them too. We all talked about it a bit longer then the topic was dropped and we moved on to Cheerios or something breakfast related.

Fast forward to our conversation this afternoon, I was telling them about how it's June and that means it's lightning bug season, I mentioned that we might stay up late one night to see them since I'm fairly certain that my kids have never seen lightning bugs. They are always in bed before these bugs come out and on the rare occasion my boys would have been up during past lightning bug seasons they would have been very young and would not have really understood what they were seeing. So then Max starts to tell me that he is afraid of lightning bugs because they are noisy (Andy is agreeing) and that maybe the loud noise we heard last night was lightning bugs. (get it? lighting is noisy so lightning BUGS must be too right?) So adorable.... So then Andy chimes in with how if the lightning bugs are out and it's loud and we're scared then we need "umbwewas" and we would need to hurry so we don't get wet and that it might be loud and that we really need to remember our "umbwewas" if we're going to stay up late to see these lightning bugs. And YES, he mentioned the "umbwewas" twice! LOL

I of course assured them that lightning bugs were NOT noisy and that they were only called lightning bugs because they light up when it's dark. I'm fairly certain they have NO clue how to comprehend that... but I sure am excited to share lightning bugs with them one evening this week!

Just the three of us, some hot dogs and a little giving back.

2010-06-09T16:42:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the first of quite a few weeks and weekends through the end of July that Chris will be out of town and I'll be home with the boys. With a packed schedule of traveling and workshops for him that will leave me with LOTS of time to plan play dates, zoo visits and park visits for just the three of us. And I'll tell you what, I'm ok with that.

This weekend (a three day-er) was beautiful. I had planned some fun activities outside of the house for us. They included a visit to Grandma and Papa's for dinner one night and the Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic with Hebrew National the next day. Saturday, despite the wet forecast, I packed up the kids and some snacks and headed to Highland Park where we met up with the Hebrew National Crew and a few of my local blogger friends from TheMotherhood.com for an afternoon of picnic food and a little community service too.

We got there is it was POURING. I parked, pulled up the radar map on my phone and we waited it out a few minutes. When the rain let up a little we went to our picnic. I had told the kids we would have hot dogs and they were READY to eat! We enjoyed our hot dogs and a few apples and multiple bananas! Then it was time to get to work. The service project was to remove some invasive plants from the park. Much to my surprise, my kids WANTED to weed! We found our plant and went to town! We filled two garbage bags with Garlic Mustard (invasive) and another with trash! Upon our return to the picnic area our friend Amy and her family were arriving. So we visited with them while they ate and then we headed to the playground on the other side of the park together!

The kids had fun, I had fun, we didn't let the weather hold us hostage at home and that felt great! The kids seem to have turned a corner too. More and more they are able to stick nearby and entertain themselves a bit while I have a conversation or two and that is quite liberating! They are also interested in more "big" kid activities like weeding! They wanted to follow the trail and help with trash too and that was a lot of fun! I'm looking forward to taking them to a few new parks solo this summer, a task that was quite daunting prior to this Spring because they weren't interested in sticking together at all. Consistently, one would always run one way and the other would run the opposite...and that is WAY to stressful for one parent to manage.

I've got some fun and exciting things planned for the next few weeks of my solo parenting gig! I'm sure I'll blog about some of them too! We're headed to a Splash park within the next two weeks and I'm looking forward to it!

A New Hobby or Lifestyle - Running

2010-05-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

I have joined the bandwagon or herd or pack shall we say, I've started running. I know I know! I am not sure how many times I have said it in the past, "I can't run!" "My body just wasn't made to run." or "Running? you have got to be crazy to run!" yeah... I said that. I also said, "I will NEVER drive a mini-van! EVAH!" yeah, you can see where that got me (proud new owner of a Mazda5 A.K.A. mini-van)....

For the past few months, I've been watching friends update their facebook pages about their running endeavors. I would read their comments and their blogs about running and think, 'wow, ya know, she has four kids and still manages to find the time to run' or 'her schedule is much like ours CRAY ZEE and she finds the time too and hot damn she's looking great in those jeans'. Pile those on top of a few others who modestly were running and mentioning it here or there and then add that to the running hype up that happens in the months and weeks prior to a local marathon or race. On a very regular schedule I had one or two friends posting updates about their marathon training or race running. That was enough for me to catch the bug and I started the couch to 5k running program a few days before the Pittsburgh Marathon.

I just completed week 4, which means I'm a little behind on the schedule. I had some major knee pain during weeks 2-3 that slowed me down, I gave myself a few extra days in between my runs to recuperate and it seemed to do the trick. I woke up one morning with NO pain and I was ready to run again.

C25K is a 9 week program that starts the runner out by running in short 60 second spurts between brisk walking. Each week the running portions increase in time. So far at the end of week 4, the longest time that I've run has been for 5 minutes straight. Next week that jumps to 8 minutes and then to 10 minutes and then to one 20 minute run all in the same week - it's going to be challenging but I am confident that I can do it! In fact, I'm actually a little excited about the challenge. Who the heck? I don't think I've EVER EVER been excited about a physical challenge! HA! Something has changed folks... something.has.changed.

CD Review: One eskimO

2010-05-20T15:41:00.001-04:00

For my loyal readers and for those of you who may have just landed here for the first time today, I wanted to introduce you to a new feature of my blog. The REVIEW feature. From time to time, I'll be blogging about music, products and services. All of the opinions you read here will be my own. I will merely be reviewing said items with my own thoughts and feelings about them. I will always tell you upfront that what you're reading is a review and I will always include information regarding my compensation in order to comply with FCC regulations for bloggers.

I was selected to review a self titled CD from One eskimO and let me tell you, this CD has now been officially placed into my own HEAVY ROTATION category for my own music listening pleasure! One eskimO is a band of four guys from the UK (I have a thing for music from the UK).... their sound is quite mellow which I really like! I think it's the perfect soundtrack for warm weather chillin' on the deck with a drink, preferably beer or wine and being in the company of someone you kinda dig ;) Currently they have a hit song called Kandi and you can see the video here:

I don't want to compare One eskimO to any other band but I will name a few that come to mind when listening to their album... the use of saxophones and horns makes me think of Dave Matthews Band, the same goes for their melodic and happy vocals. Another band that comes to mind is Oasis although, I'll be honest, I'm not sure why, maybe it's the mellow factor here? They really do remind me of music I listened to quite a bit in college but I still have a place for them in my mp3 player these days too (Jamiroquai also comes to mind here too). Aside from who they remind me of they really do have a sound that is all their own. It's modern and fresh without too much of one thing or too little of another. This CD can be rated G from what I can tell and that means it is safe for the under 18 crowd. My toddlers have heard parts of the CD in the car and around the house and they too seem to enjoy it, they are slightly picky with their musical tastes and prefer to listen to Humpty Dumpty or Dave Matthews... I'm trying to help them branch out a bit. LOL!

One eskimO has just launched their Spring/Summer tour, check out their site www.oneeskimo.com to see if they are visiting a city near you. You can also get a free download of their song "Astronauts" via Twitter. They can be found on Facebook too!

I received a full copy of One eskimO's self titled CD in order to listen to their music and write this review.

See PA in a Chevy

2010-05-18T16:59:00.003-04:00

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early so that we could get the kids packed up and ready to spend the day with their grandparents again. Yipee! Why? Because Chris and I had a date with some local women bloggers and four BRAND spankin' new Chevy's and party of their See PA in a Chevrolet blogger initiative.

We left the kids with my parents and headed to Watson Chevrolet in Murraysville where we met up with two wonderful representatives with Chevy and our host Anne Fleming. Anne founded Women-Drivers.com in 2008 her site helps to connect women and families with certified Women-Drivers Friendly™ car dealerships. If you have had a good or even bad experience at a dealer as a women please head to her site and review the dealer. We recently upgraded my vehicle and our experience was very positive, I will be submitting a review of the dealer used this week, it is on my long list of things to do.

First things first, we were introduced to the cars. Our fleet for the day consisted of four Chevrolet vehicles, the Traverse, Equinox, Malibu and a Camaro which Chris lovingly dubbed "the bitchin' Camaro". There were six bloggers including me and our guests. We all were able to drive all of the cars since our trip was purposely broken up a bit by stopping for a break, then lunch at Seven Springs then we continued on to tour Fallingwater.

Each of the cars were fun to drive and ride in, roomy, functional, comfortable and fun to drive. Here are a few photos from the day.

Eric, the professional car trainer, WOW! He was really PASSIONATE about the cars!

Chris driving the bitchin' Camaro!

From left to right: Me, Emily, Courtney @courtsilvagni and @ChevyPA, Kirsten @TechDivaKirsten, Kim @Craftymamaof4, Mary @Marybabysteps, Beth @beth_a_caldwell, Anne @womendrivers, Linda @webbizgirl and Carolyn our GM rep. Not pictured because he was behind at least eight different cameras was Chris @StartPointMedia.

Chris and I both really enjoyed getting to know the cars and our time at Fallingwater. BIG Thanks to Chevy as they provided transportation for the road trip, meals and free tickets to Fallingwater.

Photography credit: All photos from this post were provided courtesy of StartPoint Media, Inc.

Giveaway: MUD Glove - Mud Puddles

2010-05-13T12:47:00.002-04:00

This giveaway has ended! The winner is Sharon! Entry number 5! I've emailed you Sharon, you have 48 hours to reply! Thank you to everyone for entering! Enjoy the weekend!

************************** GIVEAWAY CLOSED ***************************
Hi Everyone! I have a treat for you today! I have a GIVEAWAY!

This winter, while in Nashville, I had the opportunity to be introduced to the Mud Glove company. I received a free pair of their Mud Puddles for my kids to use and let me tell you, they are a BIG hit! Max, especially loves using them since he's not one to like getting his hands dirty... I can relate.... We use them in the yard helping daddy with the gardening and while digging in the sandbox.

Here is Max moving some rocks and bricks around the yard:

My surprise for you today is that I have another brand new pair to give away to one lucky reader!!! Aren't you excited?

Here are the EXACT gloves you can win (yes they are pink):

Here's what you can do to win, FIRST just leave a comment saying simply, "Playing in the MUD is fun!". In addition to that you can also do any of the following for extra entries.Please leave a separate comment telling me you've done any or all of the following and PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Follow me on Twitter @cararolinson and leave a comment below.
Follow me with Google Friend Connect and leave a comment below (if you already follow me just let me know in the comments for your entry).
Tweet about this giveaway (one tweet daily only), leave a link to your Tweet in a comment below. RT: @cararolinson Giveaway: MUD Glove - Mud Puddles http://bit.ly/mudglovegiveaway

This giveaway ends Thursday May 20th at midnight EST and the winner will be announced the next day.

How to Make a Toddler Belt

2010-04-30T14:45:00.001-04:00

This project was really seriously the easiest craft project that I've done in quite some time. It's almost not even blog worthy.... But to step back for a minute, I figured why not share it. It might inspire someone else to make their kid a belt. OR maybe even make one for yourself (which btw is on my list of things to do).

How to make a Toddler Belt. I purchased 1 yard of belt material from Joann's. This particular print features turtles! They had a few other prints, cute fish and something pink and of course the nostalgic rainbow flavor that it seems we all had as kids in the late 70's/early 80's!

So with two little guys in the house, I decided 1 yard of belting and 1 pack of D rings (they come 4 in a pack) would be sufficient. To make the belts I cut the yard in half, rolled one end and stitched it down. placed the D rings on the other end, folded the end under and machine stitched it down. Seriously folks, each belt was made in under 2 minutes.

Both kids like them. I will admit they are a little difficult for the boys to use and we had one bathroom accident occur because of the belt. They do in fact hold up their pants so I'm happy about that! And they love the little swimming turtles - you can see in this photo one of them is doing the back stroke - which just cracks me up!

As for future use of this project. "I" happen to need a belt too. I however do not need rainbows and turtles in my wardrobe so I'm planning on purchasing some plain cotton webbing and enough ribbon to stitch onto side one and up the tail end (inside) by about 6-8 inches. So that when the belt is on the inside part of the tail that folds over and is now exposed has some fancy ribbon on it too. Look for photos of that project in a few weeks.

Do you have a diy project to share? Share it at A Soft Place to Land to win!

How to Make a Rain Barrel

2010-04-06T15:49:00.000-04:00

Making your own rain barrel is super easy! I'm going to share with you how to make one. You'll need a few items from the hardware store including a spigot and some plumbers putty/glue or tape, a gutter downspout diverter, a barrel, a drill with an inch width bit, two people, and an hour or so.

We have found the best place to find barrels is on craigslist.com. Do a local search for "rain barrel" or "water barrel" You'll find a few suppliers in the Jeanette area with pretty fair prices. We bought both of ours for $12 each, they met us in Greentree for the exchange. If you're local to Pittsburgh, you could try calling Delallo's on rt 30.

You'll also need one of these:

http://www.gardeners.com/Downspout-Diverter/33-991,default,pd.html - this is the downspout converter. It attaches right here where the downspout curves to the right, that bendy downspout part comes off and is replaced with the diverter:

The bottom of the diverter sits in the bottom portion of the downspout, it connects to the top part of the downspout and a hose connects the whole thing to the center of the barrel lid, it feeds water right into the small hole in the top, once the barrel is full and the water starts to back up into the downspout, it automatically bypasses the barrel and drains down through the downspout like usual. There are a few different kinds of diverters, we prefer the one I linked to above.

As for the spigot installation, you'll need a basic spigot that looks like this:

(the water is draining out of this one because I had just moved it to take its photo)

Drill a hole that is just about the width of the spigot, I think ours was an inch, and I'm fairly certain this is an industry standard size, you'll have to make sure though as you'll want the spigot to screw into the plastic barrel and be quite snug. Once you drill the whole and screw in the spigot, you'll have to get INTO the barrel, to snug it up and to put plumbers putty/glue or tape around there to seal it. That's where the TWO people come into play, one of you will have to hold the barrel in place, while the other wiggles into the barrel. I would also suggest, that if you're the barrel holder, laughing at your partner while they struggle to get into an olive barrel and NOT roll away is not appropriate until after they are OUT of the barrel! I speak from experience!

This is what our barrels look like:

I hope this all makes sense! It's quite an easy project and it's very fulfilling. Nothing like watering your garden with free water right? Please feel free to ask me any questions about the process! I'm happy to help.

Favorite Foto Friday #5 - Silly

2010-04-03T00:30:00.000-04:00

I'm late, it was favorite foto friday and I missed it.... busy busy week and lots going on on Friday... here's my submission. That's max in the photo with my husband, Chris @startpointmedia, Max was about 2 weeks old... oh my gosh....

Don't forget to visit Annie's Blog and add your own Favorite Foto Friday link to the MckLinky.

Public Speaking Gig(s): Stepping Outside of My Comfort Zone (and LOVING IT)

2010-04-01T10:13:00.000-04:00

Last night I did something for the first time, I was asked to speak to the Pittsburgh chapter of American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) about social media. Strengthening Your Brand by Continuing the Conversation, was the topic of our conversation.

Let's say I was a little nervous, I don't do a lot of public speaking and it has always been something that I wasn't fully comfortable doing. I prepped and prepped for this talk and frankly felt pretty prepared (which admittedly was a new feeling for me LOL) I even had a few slides prepared with links to all of our favorite social media sites to help illustrate my talk. The group size was between 15-20 folks and included a good mix of newer vs seasoned members. This directly correlated with their previous social media knowledge.

I discussed how to integrate Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter and blogs into current routines and explained the strength of the social media conversation explaining how it will eventually lead to the goal of increasing sales, a topic that is very familiar to all small business owners.

The group was welcoming and engaging, they all asked great questions which helped tremendously. I also agreed to be recorded during my talk, two hour-long tapes later, I've now got raw footage and audio of my presentation which may or may not make it to my blog eventually. (Who and I kidding! It probably will - I just need to decide if it will be the full video or just the audio... maybe both....) I am also certain that my audio/video will be shared via ASMP and their social media outlets.

My comfort zone has now been expanded! I had such an enjoyable time talking to a group of folks who were eager to learn about something that I know quite a bit about. It was a very new feeling and one that I enjoyed! Can't wait to do this again.

Favorite Foto Friday #4 - Spring

2010-03-26T11:19:00.000-04:00

Today's Favorite Foto Friday entry is from last Easter. Max with his olive helmets. I used to wear olives on my fingers as a kid and I too used to pretend they were football players!

(photo credit @startpointmedia)

Don't forget to add your link to the MckLinky on Annie's page too.

Sewing Space Accessories

2010-03-24T16:56:00.000-04:00

I have been coveting a few things for my sewing space for a while. Each time I take a trip to Joann's I say to myself or to Chris, or to whoever is in ear shot... 'Someday, I will have one of those for MY lovely spools of thread to be displayed upon. Someday....'

Well, that someday has arrived! Please welcome my new thread stand:

I know most of us have a strange affinity to office organizational items and office supplies (right? we all get a little giddy when we get to organize our paper clips and pencils... right? Oh just me? ok, never mind...) well this crosses the streams of Office organizational item for CRAFTY stuffs! As my 3 year old would say, "How COOL! Mama! How COOL!!!" My overall assessment of the stand is, well, I need more thread. LOL But really, isn't it pretty?

Also, if you look at the photo, you'll see another organizational item, that would be a brand new button case! Yes, I HAVE a button case!

You have no idea how much fun I had organizing my thread and my buttons by color of course! A friend joked if they were sorted by "Alpha" or by "Rainbow". The thread is by rainbow, the buttons aren't. I think I'll have more button organizing to do after the Salvation Army Fabric Sale in April! Can't WAIT to check out the notions table this year!

Spring Craft Projects

2010-03-22T10:29:00.001-04:00

With the new Spring season arriving this past weekend, I wanted to share a few craft projects that I've done in for Spring in the past!

Knit Easter Chicks were a big hit last year, they are very easy to knit up too! Even though Easter is less than two weeks way, you still have time to knit some of these adorable finger puppets up!

If you're more into sewing (like I have been recently....) take a look at another set of finger puppets! This link just came across my desk this morning and they are just too cute not to share. Again, courtesy of the PurlBee.com.

Thinking about sewing a cute summery shirt for yourself? Check out Smashing by Anna Marie Horner and found in her book Seams to Me. Here is my post about her pattern for Smashing. I'm going to attempt this shirt again soon.

Are you looking for a new bag to carry for the Spring? Or do you need a gift for a mother in your life? Check out the free pattern for Buttercup bag by Made by Rae. Here is my post about the Buttercup bag that I made for my sister in law's birthday.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Favorite Foto Friday #3 - Green

2010-03-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

This is our ONLY pear we grew last year. It was growing so nicely and I was being so patient by not picking it prematurely. I envisioned eating it as a late afternoon treat with my kids and my husband where I would quarter it and we would all get to taste our ONE little pear.... Yeah, that dream was dashed when I found it MUNCHED by a DAMNED DEER!

Come join the fun over on Annie's Blog and dont' forget to add your link to the MckLinky :)

Favorite Foto #2 - Sunshine

2010-03-11T22:47:00.000-05:00

It's week two of Favorite Foto Friday and the assignment this week is Sunshine.

I wanted to use a more recent photo for this week, but after going through my flickr from the last few months I found that there are very few photos that involve sun or even the outdoors. So this morning, I took the little guy for a walk while Max was in preschool. He was happy to get outside (it was in the 60's already by 9:45 today!) And I was happy to catch some sunshine photos.

This is me, walking down the sidewalk after Andy, he practically RAN 2/3's of the way around the block. It was a very clear bright day today and the temps actually reached 67 this afternoon. We no longer have any snow in our front yard, the neighbors do for some reason though... and we also have a bunch left in our back yard since it's quite shady back there...

If you decide to join in on Favorite Foto Friday, don't forget to add your blog to the MckLinky over at Becoming Family. Next weeks assignment is GREEN in honor of St. Patrick's day.

Favorite Foto Friday #1 - You

2010-03-05T07:00:00.005-05:00

My friend Annie has decided to resurrect Favorite Foto Friday, a blog she used to read used to have this feature and she loved to see all the photos and loved finding new blogs to read that way. She's decided to start this idea so far, it's just the two of us but we hope more folks will join in soon.

This is week #1 and the assignment is You. Choose a photo that you feel really shows who you are. It can be anything! Be sure to include a little explanation too. Annie has set up a little MckLinky so don't forget to add your post to the list!

My Favorite Foto Friday #1 - You:

This was taken in late November 2009, the four of us went to an old school park complete with metal slides, HUGE earth mover sized tires that had been partially buried in the land for I'm sure more than 30 years and one of those spinney merry go round things that you have to run next to to get it really going then you all hop on and enjoy the ride. Remember those? Anyways, while there I took a ride on the swings. I love the swings and I have loved them for as long as I can remember. I love the feeling of flying, the breeze even on a chilly fall day and the ability to glide with my eyes closed and facing the sun. So this is me, flying carefree on the swings!

The Introduction of a Multi-Hat Wearing Mama

2010-03-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

How would you answer the following?

I was asked to do so last week and let me tell you, it wasn't easy. I opted for Self Employed and Other, where I continued to type the following: "Small biz owner, social media coordinator and stay at home mom." The reality is that I could have selected WAY more than one out of each category....

Last week, I was reading this blog post over at BeckyandHollee.com, it is about job titles and descriptions. Then I came across this blog post at PittsburghCreative.com/blog, it too is about the art of introduction. (By the way, both posts are great and deserve a read.) The topic really struck me (I even commented on Becky and Hollee's blog complete with a typo - GO ME!). Then I realized that I really STRUGGLE with this quite often. I mean, look at my description on my about me page here, it's a list. I'm a family member and wear many hats under that one umbrella. I'm a mom, and we all know how many hats that encompasses, chef/nurse/maid/teacher just to name a few. I also have hobbies that I enjoy and those are a whole new set of hats I wear (and make lol). In addition to all the above, I also run our small businesses (insert a whole slew of new hats under this umbrella) AND I take care of a client and their social networking needs.

See why I struggle? I can't easily say, "Oh, well, I'm a stay-at-home-mom, or I'm an accountant, or I'm a teacher, or I work at Any Favorite Business from 9am to 5pm then I go home to my family and spend quality time with them while we cook dinner and play games and put them to bed to later relax with my husband in front of the TV." (Yes, I realize that is pretty idealistic but a girl can have dreams right?). Do I wish for this idealistic image? Some days, yes. Do I like wearing my many hats, most days that answer is a resounding YES (this past Friday for example, not so much).

Usually, no classification is needed. I do my jobs, I wear my not-so-fancy and sometimes fancy hats and I'm happy with that. But on those rare occasions when I meet someone new or have to introduce myself to a group of people for the first time, what do I say? Do I start with a warning, "Hey look, this isn't a quick one-liner, pull up a chair, a drink and I'll tell you all about it?" Chances are, no. The reality is in that particular setting, I probably can exclude some of my jobs titles. But it's the on-the-spot thinking that causes me strife. How do I tell someone what I do in a quick, informative and memorable way?

In those situations, my inner dialog usually sounds like this, "Will it strike a chord with this professional woman if I mention that I stay at home AND do all these other wonderful things?" Or, "Should I exclude the social media stuff with this older person?" Or, "Will the mom on the playground think I am nuts because I won't shut up if I tell her all about my many hats?" {insert awkward thinking pause}.

I guess the nuts and bolts of this particular post is that I need to find a title and introduction. I need my own perfectly honed response to, "Nice to meet you and what do you do?" I've been asked to speak to a few professional groups about social media and networking. Before those speaking engagements, I need to find an answer to this question. I would LOVE to hear your suggestions or examples. So I'm asking: Do you wear a lot of hats? How do YOU introduce yourself?

Salvation Army 22nd Annual Fabric Sale

2010-02-16T12:44:00.002-05:00

Here is my updated post regarding the 2011 Fabric Sale!

I am pleased to announced the details for the 22nd Annual Salvation Army Greater Pittsburgh Women's Auxiliary Fabric Sale! As usual, they will have fabric, yarn, notions and books. As in years past, they will provide each attendee with a large bag for your new found stash! Join me on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 9am - 2pm in the Home Economics Building in South Park.

In preparation for the sale they are of course taking donations for the sale. They accept those at their Greentree facility Monday - Friday from 10am - 3pm. There are also individual auxiliary members in all areas of the region who are more than happy to receive your donations. Contact the Salvation Army by calling 412.466.1500 they are more than happy to direct you to one of those lovely ladies. I learned that if you donate fabric to a Salvation Army Thrift Stores in the area, those donations are not set aside for the Annual Fabric Sale but instead they are sold in that particular store.

Are you interested in volunteering for the Fabric Sale? Volunteers from the women's auxiliary meet every Wednesday from 9am - 1:30pm at their facility in Greentree (Map to the volunteer center: it is directly across the street from the Salvation Army emergency vehicle depot). The volunteers are there to sort, fold and price all donated items. Volunteers are of course welcome to join!

In case you wish to read more, here is my post about the 21st Annual Fabric Sale.

See you at the Fabric Fair!

Winner Announcement!

2010-02-12T09:11:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to announce that Random.org produced the number 3!

That means Michelle D. You won! I've emailed you :) Congratulations!

My BlissDom Conference Experience

2010-02-11T16:34:00.001-05:00

Thursday, February 4th, I traveled to Nashville Tennessee to attend BlissDom Conference. BlissDom is a conference for women bloggers who find "bliss" in blogging. It featured workshops and panels to help hone our blogging skills in the form of writing, back end SEO technologies, integrating social media, how to find your niche, and to of course NETWORK with 499 other women (including two men I think) who have at least one similarity, they love to blog. BlissDom creators Alli Worthington and Barbara Jones created a laid back and welcoming atmosphere. The event was flawless with lots of personalization and surprises. In this round-up, I'll include my personal thoughts and reactions to the conference and I'll provide a short list of the top items I learned.

I'll admit, I'm a bit of a introvert. Coincidentally, I love meeting new people and chatting but I do think I was a little overwhelmed with the size of the room and the amount of people who filled it. I have shared the following thought with a few BlissDom friends and my family so I'll share it with you too: It was amazing to me how hard it was to find ONE person in a room of five-hundred. Even with technology like twitter, texting and even having the ability to access these things with my phone, it was nearly impossible to meet up with a few folks that I had planned to meet.

I mentioned that I attended this conference alone right? So yes, I traveled alone, checked in alone and attended the sessions, meals and social events alone. Now, you're probably wondering well, where were the other 499 other woman she mentioned above? They were there too, they were sitting in chairs across the room and next to me and I talked and networked with those around me as best as I could but I still felt alone. During the workshops and sessions, none of this mattered, since I was intently listening and learning and drinking in the Blissdom vibe. But after the sessions, we all seemed to go our separate ways. On top of that, even if I wanted to stay and chat, I had to run off to deliver thank you gifts for my client, tracking down these folks was a full time job and it ended up taking MOST of my free time to complete that task. Just a note, I'm not knocking that client, I'm just stating that my duties for them took over a lot of the time when I probably could have been networking more.

One area where I was not alone was in my hotel room, I did have the chance to meet a colleague and share a room with her and I'm glad she suggested it. She is QUITE a busy woman and wow is she knowledgeable about blogs and networking. If you have a few minutes, check out Kim's blog, Hormone-Colored Days, and while you're at it check out her newest initiative, www.MomImpact.com. She's a wealth of knowledge and a good person. Ironically enough, Kim's Blissdom review post was about this same "alone" topic above. So at the very least, I know I'm not alone in this feeling and that helps.

Aside from the alone parts, the conference was a HUGE BOX OF GOODIES in the form of knowledge and inspiration. Wow! Note that it's Thursday and I've been home for 4 days and this is the FIRST time I've put my feelings and thoughts about this three day conference onto paper or into 0's and 1's. It has taken me that long to absorb and then finally share my thoughts.

Highlights:

Wisdom Workshops. I attended a workshop called SEO & Counting What Counts, the panel included Kelby Carr @typeamom Angela England @AngEngland. After this workshop, I wanted to go straight to my room, lock the door and optimize my blog. SOOO many great tips and ideas! Look for some new features in the next few weeks as I start using some of these tools. For a review of the session from one of the panelists herself, Angela England, head to her blog: www.angengland.com.

The following day was the official start of the conference, the opening speaker was jaw dropping and awesome. Kevin Carroll was well, really 'effin good. Go visit his blog read his about me page and if you're so inclined find a copy of his book. If any of my readers hold jobs that requier you find speakers for graduations or conferences or anything really, consider this guy. He's absolutely amazing! One of THE most moving speakers I've heard.

The conference went on to offer information about the FCC and how to understand their involvement with bloggers and how to keep your own blog safe within their guidelines (very helpful information, if anyone is interested in hearing more about this, contact me directly, it's simply too much to share in this post, if you do reviews or give products away this is a topic you need to learn about if you haven't already). The sessions went on into two tracks, business track and writing track. I feel that my writing is "ok" at best so I wanted to focus more on the business aspect of things. The sessions were open and laid-back. The panels consisted of 4-6 bloggers who were all very knowledgable within each topic. Within the Business track, topics included: Personal Branding, Leveraging Social Media to Build Your Business, Evolving Into a Professional Blogger, Niche Blogging and a few others. All of these topics were very informative. The best part was within each session the panel had a short list of topics that they wanted to cover but then they quickly opened up the floor to Q&A with the audience. The questions from the other attendees were REALLY good! Everyone was interesting and most everyone shared some personal and really insightful thoughts with the group.

Each day the sessions ended around 5 pm and that only meant one thing, it was time to party. There were official cocktail parties one included a four song set by Harry Connick Jr. JUST FOR US! I'm not a HUGE fan but I enjoy his music, so that was a good time. Along with some great food. Afterwards, there were a few non-official parties sponsored by outside companies, they were very interactive, one was a potato cook-off or sorts, similar to the cookoff shows we have all watched on the food network. The contestants were all Blissdom attendees who are part of a regular cooking group called The Tastemaker Challenge, check the link for a full description of this fun event. http://momsdinnerhelper.potatogoodness.com/?p=3199 There were others events similar to this one too many to hit all of them. Especially, after I had just spent the day being more social than usual. I called it quits and went back to the hotel room to catch up with Chris and friends back home were were being buried under a HUGE and HEAVY blanket of snow and Facebooking about it.

The following day was much more of the same. Again a LOT of interesting topics and panels then a closing keynote speech from the internet famous @MckMama http://www.mycharmingkids.net/. (I know there are many women out there with opinions of her, some negative, some positive) Regardless of those opinions, she recounted the efforts of the thousands and thousands of people from across the globe that reached out to her and her family as she dealt with her sick son, Stellan. Her point, the power of the internet and the power of those who create the content out there. Most of the women in that conference room at the very least knew of her. A few learned about her for the first time that day. It was hard to NOT be moved by her story and the love that complete strangers gave to her.

I have plans to attend another blogger conference within the next year, this one was a great 1st experience and really it can only get better from here right? I would love to go with a friend, if any of my IRL friends are interested in going, let's talk!

A Short List of Things I Learned and Want to Share:

To increase readership and to cross network with other similar bloggers, ask bloggers that you enjoy reading to guest post on your blog. Eventually, they will return the favor and it will be worth it to you, your readers and your guest blogger.
Optimize your blog, research some simple SEO tricks and start using them. Google Analytics is a GREAT place to start.
Make good use of your keywords, categories, tags (these terms all mean the same thing by the way). Google Webmasters Tools is an AWESOME site.
Social network your blog. Link to your Twitter account, link to your Facebook Fan Page and do it from all three sites and others you prefer to use too.
Comment on blogs and you will receive comments, more views and gain readers on your own blog. It takes time, but it will come back to you en mass as the internet is VERY karma driven.

A long time coming: Giveaway from ChristieCreations

2010-02-01T01:03:00.004-05:00

This contest has ended as of MIDNIGHT! A winner has been chosen and will be announced in the morning!!!! -

EDITED FEB 8th: I'm extending this contest due to the weather and power outages across the area. I know a LOT of folks didn't have web access this weekend and some who continue to not have access. I'm going to extend this until Thursday night at midnight to give more time for entries. I will announce a winner on Friday!

Ok, so it's Sunday night, just after midnight, I just finished answering some study guide questions for class and I've been preparing for my trip to BlissDom in Nashville for a few days by creating lists... I've only completed a few items on said lists... as it stands now, the rest of those items will be completed Tuesday and Wednesday before I leave bright and early Thursday morning! Tomorrow, I have to get my drivers license photo taken (sorta behind the gun on that one... it expired in Dec... and I KINDA need a valid license to fly right? LOL) Then I've got two classes including a test... Don't worry, everything is under control... :)

So before I leave for my big trip, I thought I would do something fun! A few months back I mentioned that I had a few giveaways in store, the first one was a lot of fun so now I'm ready for the 2nd one!

This one features ChristieCreations: Making Gifts That Bloom! Christie is so creative, she takes baby items from our favorite stores and creates amazing artwork for new mamas to enjoy! The presentation is what Christie is all about! She creates blooming baskets of baby essentials like bibs, burp cloths, onsies, washcloths and the list goes on. Now, my words really don't do what she does justice.... Take a few minutes and check out her Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/christiecreations Don't forget to come right back.... I'll wait!

Great gifts huh? Well, do you have a friend or a family member (OR YOU?!) who is having a baby? Here's your chance to win her one of Christies NEWEST items! Announcing the arrival of Baby Cupcakes! Now, who DOESN'T love cupcakes right? Christie just added these to her line and I'm so happy to feature them here!

One winner will receive the following:

Gender Neutral Baby Layette Cupcakes 15 items
1 Carter's Bodysuit
1 Carter's Cap
2 Pairs of Carter's Pants
11 baby washcloths

retail value: $ 34.00

*****************************************************

How to ENTER:
Visit Christie's shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/christiecreations and leave a comment here about one of her items OR tell me who you would like to give this gift to (it can be for yourself!). DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU WHEN YOU WIN!

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Follow me on Twitter @cararolinson and leave a comment below.
Follow Christie on Twitter @bloomingbouquet and/or Facebook http://bit.ly/c2NLsL and leave a comment below (one for each).
Follow me with Google Friend Connect and leave a comment below.
Tweet about this giveaway, leave a link to your Tweet in a comment below. RT: @cararolinson Giveaway! ChristieCreations Baby Cupcakes Layette http://bit.ly/ChristieCreations

Entries must be received by Midnight EST THURSDAY, Feb 11th. The winner will be announced FRIDAY, Feb 12th. Winner will be chosen via random.org. Good Luck everyone!

A New Job for an Old Wool Sweater

2010-01-26T16:25:00.000-05:00

Sometime during the early to mid 1990's my brother purchased a kelly green wool sweater for me for my birthday. It was from the Gap, and was a basic crew neck sweater. I wore it a LOT... and LOVED the color. Soon it became quite sloppy and just not very stylish due to it's large size. It followed me all the way through college, to my apartments, our first home and now here. Along the way, it made friends with a few moths and they loved it so much that they did a little munching damage... mostly just a few little holes large enough to squeeze my pinky finger through it if I felt the need... I saved it knowing that someday I would find a use for it again.

Enter: Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials by Betz White.

This book is fantastically inspirational, the photos are bright and vibrant and really help to kick-start your creative juices. I've made a few other items from this book, the Easy, Breezy Skirt was my first project.

My most recent crafting project involved the above mentioned kelly green sweater and was also my first attempt at machine felting. HOW FUN! I cut up the sweater as per the instructions in the book, and tossed it into my washer. Two cycles later, and a spin in the dry and I had the softest wool felt to work with. I followed the instructions completely and even used the optional extra sole and the gripping material for the bottoms. I did stitch the extra sole directly with the outer sole for stability and I used left over micro suede from a head board that I made a few years ago for the grippers. The micro suede doesn't act like real suede or leather would but it does cut down on the slippage.

I'm quite happy with how these turned out. They were easy to sew together, are very warm, and they breathe with my feet. I also love that they are made from a favorite old sweater. Tricky parts were maneuvering three layers of felt under the presser foot. But we managed and I think they look pretty alright! I also opted to do the "finishing touches" blanket stitch detail on the outside seams. I felt that without this, they looked unfinished. I used a little bit of left over yarn from these. More photos of my new slipper friends can be found here.

* I received no compensation for mentioning the author or the book.

New Look for a new year!

2010-01-04T09:49:00.002-05:00

Happy "20-10" Readers! I've rolled out a new look for my blog over the weekend, I hope you all like it! It's a work in progress so I'm sure you'll see little changes here and there, but the over all look is going to stay the same for a while. Is there anything that you think is missing? Any static content that you would like to see? What about the right column is everything in an easily accessible location?

I would love your feedback good and bad :)

You will be happy to know that one of my new years resolutions is to blog more, even if they are somewhat short and sweet, look for more content on a more regular basis.

Happy New Year friends!

Contest Opportunity - BlissDom 2010

2009-12-28T13:43:00.003-05:00

Wow, lots of blog posts this week huh? I guess that's what happens when we are both home from work and school for longer than a weekend. Lots of the FUN stuff is done and not put off for another day just to be pushed further and further down the list....

Anyways, today I'm blogging about a very cool opportunity. Since starting my new adventure with Steaz as their social media coordinator, I've learned about many new opportunities in the social networking world. It's been and continues to be quite a learning experience and a fun one at that!

One opportunity that came across my desk was the BlissDom 2010 Conference in Nashville TN February 4-6. A little excerpt from their site to explain what BlissDom is:

"Blissdom is the premiere conference for women who find and express their bliss by publishing online. Blissdom ‘10, our third conference, is a welcoming oasis in the ever-changing blogging world. Speakers and panels featuring the best blogging, public relations and social media pros will be gathering to mentor new and old friends alike."

As it turns out, my client, Steaz, is sending me! They are also willing to send YOU too!

We have launched a contest to send one lucky blogger to BlissDom, if you are interested in entering for your chance to win you will need to blog about what you value as a blogger, after you've blogged, make sure to complete the entry form which you can find by following this link to our notes on our Facebook Fan Page, complete contest details are there too. The contest ends January 7th and we will announce the winner on the 8th. Once you have entered, let me know via the Steaz Facebook Fan Page or by sending us a Tweet! Make sure you include a link to your blog post!

New Space

2009-12-26T21:16:00.004-05:00

One of ~~our~~ err Chris's big projects to accomplish over Christmas break was to rearrange the 3rd floor office space. It's been over three years since we've last organized it, probably closer to four actually. Since that last organization, a LOT has changed with our companies and our family. Read: our needs have changed. He spent two days cleaning and moving and reorganizing this space.

It was quite cramped with too much furniture and our desks were facing each other in the middle of the room. There wasn't much room to spread out and work or play. It was very unfriendly to the kids too with lots of accessible cords and plugs.

This floor is quite functional, it's where our photo editing happens and is also used for equipment storage. I also have my craft area up there.

To help us gain more usable space, we moved things to the outer walls and ditched a huge couch. We now have the creative side and the storage side. This leaves the majority of the room open. There is enough room to have two little boys run in two separate circles at the same time and not have them collide. I've seen it with my own two eyes! Another permanent fixture is the kids' easel with crayons. Also, a small square ikea end table which doubles as a perfect kid-sized table.

Tonight we decided to move 'after dinner family time' to the 3rd floor. Each kid brought up a few toys. They played, we all played, Chris had some photos processing while he built a tent, the kids played together, he blogged, I chatted with a friend, I played. And just like that, it was kiddo bedtime! It was beautiful.

We are happy to have a new space to play and live in.

Here's a view of my new ginormous working/crafting area. In this photo, I am sewing the capes I last blogged about.

Super Heros

2009-12-23T00:49:00.003-05:00

Hello and Merry Christmas Everyone! The semester is complete! I've passed my classes and I am satisfied with the outcome! I've baked all that I can manage to bake this year, including a new cookie called Orange Slice Cookies that include little cut up pieces of orange slice candies. They are different, tasty, but quite sweet... even for a cookie. I also made my usual Reese' Peanut butter cup mini cups, Peanut Butter Cranberry Cereal Bars and two loaves of Orange Cranberry Bread that were specifically for Max's pre-school teachers. I also bought the ingredients for my Macaroon recipe with the mini chocolate chips... but I have run out of baking motivation.... I'll be baking off some of these in the near future though because upon announcing to Chris that we would not be having any for Christmas, I got quite the showing of the pouty bottom lip... and something was muttered about them being HIS favorite cookies... blah blah blah.... Guess I'll need to rectify that in a few weeks.

If I can manage to get to bed soon... (I had plans to hit the sack 2 hours ago in hopes of not seeing the clocks change to the next day AGAIN...) we will have two nights until our visit from the jolly old elf himself. I'm feeling pretty relaxed about that after axing a few things from the MUST DO list (sorry Max, no hand knit stocking this year :( But you and your brother will both have them for next year.) All that is left on my to do list is wrap gifts and I also have an early morning trip planned to Market District for some yummy anti pasta makings for Christmas Eve. Chris and I will share wrapping duties Wednesday night together with some wine. There isn't anything to assemble so it should be pretty easy.

Today, I finally found the time to sew up some adorable gifts for my little guys... I'm ashamed to admit, I've never sewn anything for them *gasp* I really do feel terrible about this... Needless to say, come Friday morning they will be the proud new owners of two ADORABLE little super hero capes! I'm very happy with how they turned out. I did a google search for cape sewing pattern and this was one of the first few links to pop up: http://pukingpastilles.com/?p=57

After looking through her post and directions I quickly realized that her pattern was basically just an enlarged baby bib. Using her measurements I drew my own cape patterns out and went to work. I cut the pieces out during nap. Drew out the letters and cut those, and began attaching the letters to the circles and the circles to the outer cape layer. I got one cape sewn together and ready to be top stitched before it was time to put all projects on hold until after bedtime again. After the boys went to bed, I think I spent another hour finishing the two capes. I want to say the total time spent on TWO capes was 3 hours. It was VERY easy and I'm more than pleased with how they came out.

Again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year! (oh and happy birthday to me lol).

Experimenting with Color: Kool-Aid Edition

2009-11-18T09:36:00.006-05:00

A few months ago, I was in my local St. Vincent DePaul. While there, I checked the craft section for some sewing notions but instead of finding zippers and buttons I scored a HUGE lot of undyed 100% wool, each skein was $.79 and there were seven skeins ! HUGE yarn score! I knew right away that I would attempt to hand dye some wool and Kool-Aid would be my dye of choice.

I next had to figure out what I was going to do with this yarn, I knew I would dye it but what knitting pattern would I use? I finally decided to knit Christmas stockings for my family. I found this pattern (http://home.howstuffworks.com/free-knitting-patterns-for-beginners11.htm#). Here's the Ravelry.com link too.

Next I needed to start thinking about color since the yarn was undyed. I did a quick google search for "how to dye yarn" and this was the first link I came to (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html). I'm a big fan of bright colors and I'm not going for a traditional stocking look. I want something a bit different. So I decided to use regular everyday colors instead of the usual green and red.

Based on the chart provided in the Knitty.com directions, I chose a few colors (flavors) and headed to the store in search of Kool-Aid. I came away with packets to make orange, pink, teal and red.

Tuesday night was then deemed Kool-Aid party night. A few of my knitting friends came over to see the process and to keep me company.

Before the dying started, the yarn needed to be soaked, I gave it a bath in a big bowl with a few drops of laundry detergent and let it sit for a good twenty to thirty minutes. This process rinsed the fibers and got rid of a LOT of dirt and oils.

I then rinsed the yarn with room temperature tap water and I gently squeezed the excess water from the yarn. It was now time to dye! I started with orange since Max requested that his stocking be his favorite color. Preparing the dye is quite easy, basically 1 packet of Kool-Aid to each ounce of wool. My skeins were three oz skeins. I emptied the contents of three packets into a Pyrex dish, added some water to dissolve the Kool-Aid, placed my yarn into the dish and added a bit more water to cover the yarn. Following the directions, I microwaved my yarn in the dye for two minutes, let the yarn rest, swished it around a bit and cooked it for 2 more minutes and let it cool. I let all the yarn hang out in their Pyrex dishes until the end. As you can see in the photos below, the dye is QUITE bright prior to submerging the yarn. The dye is then absorbed by the fibers leaving a semi-clear water behind.

The dye is then absorbed by the fibers leaving a semi-clear water behind.

I then rinsed and gently squeezed the excess water out again and hung them to dry in the basement.

I'm happy with how each of the colors turned out. The red is QUITE bright! It took two extra cooking sessions to secure the dye in the yarn and the water never quite cleared like the others. Overall, it was a really fun project although slightly messy... I've come away with some awesome colors of yarn and two bright red hands.

More photos of the process can be found here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cararolinson/).

New Things

2009-10-27T14:21:00.003-04:00

Life has really stepped in the way of blogging lately! I'm sorry for the the lack of quality updates in over a month and beyond. I'm going to do my best to NOT let this happen again. I am going to blame a few things, one, the fall weather, during my free time with the kids, we've been outside a LOT and two, I haven't created much. I've been knitting away at a pair of socks, I've got one down and just started the 2nd a few days ago. sock number one fits like a perfectly snug dream! I think i've found my "go to" pattern for socks (rav link - it's also in my projects list) that fit my weird little feet. I can't wait to wear them as a team! LOL I have created some halloween costumes but I have no photos of those yet, so we'll save that as a topic for another post in the next few days.

So, since there is little crafting and really NO interesting cooking going on in this house, I am going to share some news about ME!

I realize that it's October and the end of it at that! I also realize that a good bit of my readers already know this but it's part of the big picture so that's where I'm starting. At the end of August I went back to school. I'm enrolled in three classes, two evening and one online. I hope to finish by Spring 2011. I'm majoring in Digital Media Journalism at Point Park University. So far, I love the classes and the time out of the house alone is really rejuvinating. It's amazing how much one misses the outside "grown-up" world when they are staying home with toddlers. The schedule change was a welcomed one by everyone in the family, Chris gets more time with the boys, the boys get a break from me and I get to talk to adults about things that don't include topics like sippy cups, snacks and dinosaurs... Win.Win.Win.

A few weeks ago during a playdate my friend asked me what my plans were after I complete my degree. Was I planning to work outside of the house? Was I planning something else? My answer at the time was, that I have loose plans to use my new digital media skills to create some sort of online presence in the craft world, writing a book is part of that loose plan as well. Since then, my direction has taken a slight turn. That is still something that I would like to do eventually. But I am now seeing a brighter and straighter path. Since that playdate I have found myself with a new job and this job brings lots of promise for others like it. Before I found this job, I had loose ideas about what I wanted to do. Those ideas struggled with me not wanting to be out of the house much if at all for work and they also struggled with my desire to be my own boss. Frankly, me getting a job out of the house would mean, that Chris and the kids would get to have all the fun in the summers while I sat in an office. NOT appealing to any of us. (i realize the double standard here, yes chris works the other 8 months out of the year in an office but those 8 months are the cold/wet/snowy/dark so it all sorta works out right?)

Then, all of a sudden, a new opportunity fell out of the sky, landed breifly on a local message board that I frequent, Pittsburghmom.com, and safely landed into my lap. The forum manager/director, and friend, later told me that she often receives emails from local companies looking to fill jobs with her forum readers and participants. Some are good some are not. This one, was exceptional. Basically this company was looking for a local stay at home mom to manage some social media directives a few hours a week for a client of theirs. Said, client, Steaz.com (I want to add, I've tried MOST of their products in the past week, I haven't met one that I didn't enjoy! They are organic, vegan, support fair trade and the company is VERY VERY eco friendly. It's awesome to be able to do work for a company that I can stand behind.) Anyways, I figured, I know how to use facebook and twitter AND I manage our pages for our own companies so I surely understand how this would fit into an advertising package. I also have public relations experience from my past life so, I jumped, I didn't leave my chair until I had an email prepared to send out inquiering about this new endevor. I heard back in a few hours via email, and we had quickly set up a time to talk on the phone the following day. That phone call went VERY well! Last week, I met with them locally and Wednesday, I am flying out to Philly with to meet the company founders and the rest of the team at their company headquarters. Just like that, I'm a social media consultant! and frankly, it all happened so fast, that it makes me giggle when I think about it.

In short, I'll be managing the facebook page and group for Steaz and using Twitter as well. We also have plans to do outreach to mombloggers for giveaways and some other fun things too! We'll be doing giveaways, and coupons and online events. (I'm sure that there will be a LITTLE bit of cross-over here with some product mentions, but don't worry, my main topics will not be about products, and they will continue to be about knitting, sewing and my family.)

If you're interested in following me as Steaz on Twitter, we're @steaz. They are currently figuring out their facebook presence, they have both a page and a group. After our meeting tomorrow, I should have a better idea about which one we'll be using regularly.

Also, Chris and I have added some new services to our offerings, you can read about those here.

Very Exciting Times are ahead!

And the winner is....

2009-09-14T08:48:00.003-04:00

Number provided by:

"True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:14 Result: 5 Powered by RANDOM.ORG"

The winner is.....

"Anonymous said...

So cute!! You friend is very crafty!! Love it.

e h po pe@ live .com

September 10, 2009 8:32 AM"

Congratulations to you! I've sent an email to you and you'll have 48 hours to reply, if you fail to do so in that time frame I will contact the next person.

Again, a BIG thank you goes out to Jo from Two By Two Crafty Creations!

Come back soon, I'm planning a few more giveaways in the next few weeks! Stay tuned!

Giveaway!

2009-09-09T15:33:00.007-04:00

******* THIS CONTEST HAS BEEN CLOSED, A WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MONDAY! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED! **********

I've been tossing this idea around for a while... I have a few friends who make fun crafty items and I want to highlight their work here. The best way to do that is to have a giveaway!

The first in this series is my friend Jo. She makes adorable toddler adornments with ribbons and buttons! Lots of fun colors, lots of fun options! Her Etsy.com shop, Two By Two Crafty Creations, can be found here so make sure you check that out too! Very fun stuff!

This is the item that we're giving away!

It comes on a slip on clip but it can be also be placed on a headband, which will be included.

To enter this giveaway, you need to leave a comment, please include your email in your comment. You don't have to say anything special in your comment, just leave one to enter. You can enter TWICE if you also repost this, either on your own blog or on facebook or twitter, wherever! Just leave a 2nd comment telling me you did so and provide a link if you can. The contest will close at MIDNIGHT this FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009. I will announce the WINNER Monday morning! Good LUCK!

ETA - if you've left a comment without an email please contact me with your email address!

SMALL PRINT: I'll be using this site to choose the winner, if I contact you as the winner, you'll have 48 hours to reply. If you fail to do so I'll move onto the next person on the list.

The Last 35 days in Photos

2009-08-24T00:37:00.011-04:00

Yes, I've been MIA... I'm chalking it up to having too much fun thus no time to blog... or at least not much time to organize my thoughts into post format.... I apologize! Frankly, with all the fun we've been having, there is OF COURSE an abundant amount of photos to go along with it. 111 (after edits) to be exact... So the thought of organizing our summer fun into posts was a bit daunting since i had to deal with flickr and my photos first...

So here we are, the last 35 days in photos. (Some of the photo credits go to Chris, it should be fairly obvious which ones... I'm in them! lol)

July 21st - Chris and I each took a kid and had some one on one time with them. Chris took Max on a short road trip to the Breezewood Exit on the PA Turnpike so that they could explore an abandoned portion of the turnpike there. It's been closed off to motor vehicles for quite a long time but bicycles are welcomed! Photos can be found here. That day, I took Andy to the zoo! It was so much fun to spend time with him and just him. He never gets to have 100% of me! It was a treat for both of us.

August 1st - Chris took Max fishing with a friend of ours, however Max had developed a nasty rash the day before... (not our finest parenting moment) so I'm not certain that he really enjoyed himself, he looks absolutely miserable in the photos....

That night Max's rash got quite nasty so we decided to take a trip to the ER. He enjoyed it! LOL

Max spent some time making funny faces while we waited.

We spent the next few days relaxing and staying out of the sun so that Max's spots would could heal. We did play outside a bit in the evenings since it was the cooler part of the day, that included some chalk drawings in front of the house.

August 4th - ANOTHER trip to the zoo.... this time it was member appreciation night so the four of us got to go! We ran into Annie and her family in the parking lot and again in the aquarium so we stopped for a family photo. And I took this AWESOME photo of the underneath of a starfish.

August 7th - We finally filled the new sand box, did a little yard work and cooled off in the kiddie pool!

August 12th - it had been raining for a few days so after dinner and before bedtime one evening we took the kids for a walk down to the train tracks in town where we spent 45 minutes for the next train to come... here we are practicing to cover our ears :)

August 14th - We took a trip out to Idlewild with my parents. We walked through storybook forest, played in the ball pit (two times in a row), took a train ride, road the big ferris wheel and various other vehicles for the toddlers, some of us napped, some of us cried, and some of us swam. All other photos from this day can be viewed here.

August 15th - I sewed an adorable little pillowcase dress for an adorable little 1 year old. (separate blog post about that in the near future).

August 16th - We attended a 1st birthday party for the above mentioned adorable little Charlotte! Five Stars to her parents for having the most entertaining and fun toddler party EVER! There were about 6 toddlers in attendance and it happened to be one of the HOTEST days of the summer. They had a LARGE tent and tables for the adults to sit under and for the kids, there was a sprinkler, a blow up pool and a slip and slide. We arrived, put the kids swim suits on and let them loose. It was a blast to watch them all have so much fun! Even the folks that were there without children mentioned how fun it was to watch the kids have so much fun! (the entire set can be found here)

August 16 - 19 - We had Chris's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Larry visiting the area from Denver. We did some fun things and had time to visit. We went on a Just Ducky Tour as a big group followed by lunch in Station Square. Tuesday everyone came to our house for dinner and dessert and Wednesday we all went to OH for dinner again. Their visit was a blast! Photos are here.

August 20th - Max had preschool orientation. Chris and I both took him and he had a blast playing with some of the toys in the classroom. We recieved a list of items that he'll need before school and instruction on what he'll be learning and doing while he's there. We're all really excited about this! Here he is in his classroom :)

Later that morning we went to the zoo again with a friend of mine. it was HOT and the kids were pretty tired from their busy week prior... so we cut it a bit short but still had fun. We FINALLY got to see the polar bears swimming! HOW FUN! i didn't manage any photos of this but it was really amazing!

Modified Zucchini Lasagna

2009-07-16T13:58:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago Chris and I decided that we were going to try to cut our meat consumption down a bit and at the same time decrease our carbs again and increase grains and vegetables. So, on a quest to find some new recipes that fit this new goal, I put a request out on a local message board that I frequent for some veggie heavy recipes. This was one suggestion and luckily I had just picked up some large zucchinis from the local farmers market and I had all the required ingredients on hand too, so I gave it a shot. (including the cottage cheese in place of the Italian standard ricotta - I know..... I later received a phone call threatening excommunication from the family because of this... more on this later.) I also had decided since we were going for a non-meat meal, that I would omit the ground beef.

After looking at a few similar recipes using zucchini in a lasagna-like casserole, I decided to start prepping my meal but along the way a FEW wires were crossed. The outcome was fantastic though and that's why I'm sharing my modifications. AND, It's your lucky day because I'll be doing it "P-Dub" style!

Cara's Modified Zucchini Lasagna

First and foremost, the cast of characters:

Garlic from our garden(three cloves chopped), one medium yellow onion(chopped), 2-3 ripe tomatoes (rough chop), olive oil, 2 - 3 large zucchini (sliced into 1/4 disks, 2 - 6oz cans of tomato paste, garlic powder (a few dashes), dried Thyme (1/2 teaspoon), dried oregano (1 teaspoon), dried basil(1 teaspoon) *** (fresh would be a nice complement to the dish too). OOH and what's that in the back there, yes, those are oven ready lasagna noodles (you'll need 6)! Something the original recipe lacked. See, this is where my wires got crossed and I somehow thought that there were supposed to be noodles in this recipe, I mean it was lasagna right? And, what's lasagna without noodles..... what I failed to notice was that the ZUCCHINI was to be sliced into large, wide, noodle-like planks and should have been used in place of noodles... OOPS!)

*** Another modification, I doubled the herb measurements from what the original recipe called for because in a few of the comments under the recipe others stated that it was a bit light on the seasonings... doubling seemed reasonable. I have no complaints about the amounts I used.

Moving along.....

I chopped my zucchini and sauteed that with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Saute until mostly cooked through.

Once the zucchini has cooked down a bit, toss in the onions, garlic and herbs/seasonings.

Allow the onions to become a little translucent and then toss in the tomatoes and tomato paste, bring to a boil and let simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. It will look like this when it's done. YUM!

While the above is simmering, you'll need to pull these friends out of the fridge:

You'll need 1 1/2 cups Cottage Cheese, 2 cups shredded mozzarella and 2 eggs which are conveniently missing from the photo... (see?! I told you it was true P-Dub style...)

In a small bowl beat eggs, add cottage cheese and 1/2 the mozzarella.

NOTE: About the Cottage Cheese... The original recipe called for this ingredient in place of ricotta. I had recently read a few other recipes that discussed substituting cottage cheese for ricotta too so I was curious... I also happened to have that on hand and didn't have ricotta... so in an effort to NOT have to run to the store for ONE item, I gave it a shot. I'll admit, it felt wrong during prep, it sorta looked the part but it just wasn't quite right looking either... I pushed through, assembled the lasagna, baked it, ate it and LIKED it this way too. *gasp* My first taste, I missed the creamy texture of ricotta. My second taste, I looked beyond it and savored the yummy that was in my mouth and put the lack of ricotta out of mind... Will I do it again? Mmm, Maybe... if i don't have ricotta on hand. However, if I've planned correctly, I hope to try this with ricotta the next time. I would think it would only add to the flavor. My mom can now rest easy knowing that I'm not a cottage cheese convert I'm sure....

Ok, moving onto assembly.

Spray a 9x11 baking dish with cooking spray, spread a little less than 1/2 of the zucchini mixture into the bottom. Next, layer 1/2 of the egg/cheese mixture, then three lasagna noodles. Spoon most but not all of the zucchini mixture (you'll want to leave a little bit for the top), then the rest of the egg/cheese mixture, three more noodles, the rest of the zucchini mixture and top with mozzarella. Cover, bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees, uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is lightly golden. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

Finally, enjoy with your family!

What I've Been Working On

2009-07-14T10:55:00.005-04:00

I've been sewing!

I had a request from a family member for a large bag to use for her frequent trips to the beach. She lives in Florida and often has a need for a beach bag. I did a LOT of fabric searching, I tried to share options with her while shopping but nothing really truly inspired me.... I wanted it to be a thick canvas type fabric with a lot of body and I was looking for a bold print. I finally found this and used a yellow duck cloth that matches the yellow flowers for the inside lining. I used the pattern for the Everything Tote from the book Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.

I loved creating this bag, the size is great, and the structure is fantastic too. The pocket has two compartments, one is perfect for a cell phone, the other is larger for a few small incidentals.

The main compartments is HUGE.... i put two large beach towels in this one to photograph it and still had a TON of room.

I loved this bag so much that i had planned on making another exactly like it for me. But, the fabric was sold out by the time i got back for more. I DID purchase another print for me and hope to sew another one soon. I did make a small modification. The bag is intended to be sewn in a lighter fabric, one with a bit more give. The gathers are supposed to be created in the same way ruffles are created but the fabric was way too stiff for this. I decided to do two small pleats instead on each side instead and I think I prefer this look over the ruffle/gathers.

In addition to the bag, I also made two skirts last week. I used two different patterns.

1st - Angry Chicken's 5 minute skirt, pattern found here.
2nd - Easy Breezy Skirt, found in the book Sewing Green by Betz White.

This is the "5 minute" skirt, it took way longer than 5 minutes... in fact I had to put it down for a day because i was so annoyed with it. Once I learned where my errors were, it all worked out and I will be tweaking this pattern for more skirts. Problem One, the waist was HUGE... I had to decrease it by about 8 inches... (I'm not sure that's really a problem really LOL). Problem two, was the trapezoid shape that resulted in pointy sides that hung down further than the front and back hem... remedied by adding a curve to the hem in the front and back... it creates an optical illusion... Both issues taught me a lot about skirt construction. Thus, I'm not in the least bit upset because I learned something AND the skirt is wearable in the end. Another thing I learned is that finding FOE (fold over elastic) is not something that you can do at Joann's... i improvised and used a 3/4 in thick piece of black elastic, it "worked" but is not ideal. I plan on purchasing some online before i make my next skirt with this pattern.

This is skirt number two and is commonly known as "the pillowcase" skirt. However there is NO WAY my ass would fit into a pillowcase... so I followed the directions in her book for using other fabric. In short, this skirt is a long straight tube and the width is based on the widest part of your hips. It's got an elastic waist and a nice substantial hem. This fabric was purchased in Ithaca NY, while on vacation, it was $4.73 and was a remnant in the discount rack. Add in the elastic for the waist and rick rack for the hem detail and I made this skirt for less than $10! Same goes for the skirt above, however I think that was was even less, MAYBE $6 bucks!

Vacation 2.0

2009-07-13T10:35:00.002-04:00

This post is WAY overdue.... in fact really any post from me is way overdue... what can I say, we've been playing a LOT and enjoying the summer. That leaves me with little time to properly blog...

The last week in June, we packed up the kids and the car again and drove north this time to the finger lakes region of NY. Cayuga Lake to be specific. We've been traveling there since before the dawn of time (or at least that's what it seems like). We planned to spend a week with my family. We had some nice weather early in the week, then things got quite soggy... we did manage to get in a decent amount of swimming and water fun during the mornings and early afternoons... then almost every day after dinner things turned gray and either rained or threatened to.

We did have a LOT of fun though, here are some photos to prove it:

In this photo, you are seeing silly towel hats and fart noise instruction.

In this photo, this is what you would call a Toddler Burrito with a side of Silly Sunglasses.

Lots of family fun.

And even a photo shoot with a "supermodel" for a centerfold. Courtesy of my brother, Jesse.

More photos can be found here.

just like that

2009-07-10T10:04:00.004-04:00

And just like that, I think Andy might be done with his morning nap.... for the past month or so it's been something that depending on our schedule, I would put him down or we would continue to play or go on a playdate or hit the beach or whatever.... today, I asked him, "Andy, are you ready for a nap?" he said, "no." and ran away. he's happily playing and not really showing any signs of needing to sleep.... I'm sure there will still be the random occasion when he will need to rest in the morning... but I'm pretty sure those will end up being rare and exstinct very soon too.

I have about 3 planned blogs in my head... lake vacation wrap up, gardening (jumping on the bandwagon here), and a new recipe. hopefully, my photos will be rescued from never never land soon so that those posts can be written...

Beach Vacation and Language

2009-06-17T08:17:00.004-04:00

We spent last week at the beach. This is the 3rd year in a row that we traveled there, it was the 2nd year that we spent the week with Chris's family. We travel to Lewes Beach DE and it's about a 7 hour drive including lunch stops and such. Chris's Aunt and Uncle from Denver travel there as well and they usually bring 2 grandchildren. This year they brought Elias and Andrew with them, both boys were 12 years old. My kids learned a LOT from the boys :) Max's language and sentence structure exploded while there. He's speaking in nearly full sentences and it's just hilarious. Andy also has had an explosion of sorts, his words currently consist of the following:
cup - which means cup and also water in terms of water in the bathtub and water in the ocean
help
up
off (he tells us to turn lights and ceiling fans off - however off also apparently means ON)
cat
puppy
hello
buh bye
bike
book
ball
uh huh
boo boo
sheep

He also understands everything! Including his brother. Max has started to instruct Andy during play, Andy sometimes listens. And this results in a lot of 10 minute play sessions where they are playing with the SAME toy (the fisher price farm for example). No one gets mad, screams or cries. i call that progress! Max is also really learning to share. This is a great change as well :)

Here are a few photos from vacation:

Max enjoying a banana ice cream cone - while eating this, he bit a whole in the cone and started to 'hoot', I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Looking for an owl." Since the topic of ice cream flavors seems to be a popular one these days, banana might be a good one to try, this was outstanding!

This was taken the evening we got there, after dinner we headed to the beach in our regular clothes... I should have known better... I tried to keep the kids from getting completely soaked but slightly damp turned into wet pants, and wet pants turned into damp shirt and damp shirt turned into completely soaked. I threw in the towel at wet pants... LOL they had fun and so did we and frankly i'm pretty sure that is all that matters.

More photos can be seen here.

In crafty news, I knit a few more washrag's the circular ones from MDK, I just love those. And, I started a project requested by my cousin. She requested a beach bag. I had a hard time finding fabric that I loved... and that I knew SHE would love. Until Monday.... It's a large floral print. I've started sewing the Everything Tote from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Examples can be found here. Photos to follow soon.

Smashing Smock: New Owner

2009-06-01T00:22:00.004-04:00

Smashing Smock found a few loving owner today:

Enjoy it Carrie!

Follow this link for my review of the Smashing Smock Patter n.

Smashing Smock: Following Directions

2009-05-29T13:23:00.005-04:00

I have ventured into the world of sewing women's apparel. My first pattern to follow is from Anna Maria Horner's book titled Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing. I followed the pattern almost to the T. I did add an extra inch of width to all pieces and i later found that i need to add way more than one lonely inch... her book has lots of "how to's" regarding apparel adjustments. So making the proper adjustments to make one to fit ME will not be difficult.

Materials used:
One queen sized top sheet purchased for $.48 at the thrift store.
Coordinating thread I had in my crafty corner.
1 Matching vintage button from this excursion.

Aside from the size issues.... I am very happy with the end result. Plus, I worked out the kinks on this trial run so that with version 2.0 I should have zero hiccups. (there were a few and an experienced seamstress would be able to point them out in a flash. But to the general public, the shirt is a smash!

More photos from this project can be found here.

almost a month

2009-05-18T16:11:00.004-04:00

It has almost been a month since I posted last... sorry for the neglect!

We've been really busy in the past few weeks, Chris has been finishing up his semester, that's usually a pretty busy week or so, and we've started some home improvement projects too, so we've been outside and running here or there and that leaves me with little time to blog or even create things to blog about. I haven't been knitting much of anything.... except for these:

This was the first one i knit knowing that i would use it as a drawstring pouch for a pretty bar of soap. This along with a CD was my gift to my mother on Mother's day. This pattern comes from MDK, I've knit a few already and love to use them as kitchen washcloths. They are a great size and are also entertaining to knit.

In other crafting news, I've purchased three new sewing books.... they are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping for some inspiration to fall out of those. I also purchased some fabric for new couch pillows. My current ones completely split at the seams..... not a good look... the pillow form is still in perfect shape though so i'll be sewing new covers. I also have plans to make this for myself OR something similar. I have a goal of sewing a skirt and at least three shirts/blouses for me to wear THIS summer. I need to get sewing!

andy updates

2009-04-22T09:54:00.002-04:00

i am fairly certain that by the time Maxwell was 14 months old that i had update after update on his new tricks and what he was doing on a rather weekly or biweekly basis... poor Andy, truly a second child....

So, to keep things fair, here's an OVERDUE Andrew update:
He's talking! He mostly says Mama quite repetitively and Dada too, but not as much as Mama ;), but on top of that in the past few weeks he's been making all sorts of animal noises which include but are not limited to, Moo, Baa, cockadoodledoo, woof, and on the rare occasion meow. He's also been saying CAT for quite some time. Also, shoes and socks. And, the affirmative Ahha after any and every question we ask him. Our conversations usually sound like this, me: Do you want a drink? him: Ahha! me: Are you poopy? him: Ahha! me: Do you want to sleep on the porch in the rain? him: Ahha!

REAL TIME UPDATE: he's currently standing on his desk. He climbs EVERYTHING these days, so much so that i've had to start using the gate at the bottom of the steps again. he'll climb onto chairs and stand, he'll climb onto the couch and stand. He even climbed onto one of our new deck chairs, stood, then proceeded to try to climb up the back of the chair. yeah... good one....

He's started to be able to feed himself lately too, he uses a fork and his hand but it's a start. As a result, he's an absolute MESS after each meal... i can't wait for this skill to be honed a bit...

Tantrums are in full swing, initially they consisted of him throwing himself on the floor, arching his back and screaming for about 15 minutes... nothing helped him. These have now morphed into him standing, arching his back and doing what sounds like a fake cry, it's very repetitive sounding and i believe he has decided that standing is better because he doesn't bang his head on the floor and hurt himself if he's standing... he's a smart one!

He's also becoming VERY sneaky! He will take something of Max's and sorta wave it around in front of Max, then he runs away giggling!!! I don't know where he learned this trick but it's HILARIOUS to watch! He's constantly in motion, he barrels through anyone and anything to get what he wants and he doesn't care if he's steping on a cat, your face, his brother or off a set of stairs....

I can't wait to see what's in store for him this Spring and Summer - should be fun and VERY active!

new bag

2009-04-19T23:57:00.005-04:00

This is my new bag, the outer fabric is something i purchased at the Salvation Army's 21st Annual Fabric Fair, the buttons are too. It's lined with traditional linen and i used cotton flannel as a stabilizer. The pattern: MY VERY OWN! yay! it's simple, it was easy and i plan on making more. I also plan on figuring out what sort of stabilizer and interfacing i prefer. While the flannel creates body, it's not as stiff as i would prefer. I'm thinking about trying flannel and sew-in heavy duty interfacing. I also am going to stay away from linen as often as i can manage to do so. It's NOT fun to cut. I swore quite a bit while cutting out the lining and the strap parts...

Details to note: there is an inside pocket large enough to hold a cell phone, business card holder, pack of gum, pen, mp3 player and lip gloss. There is also a magnetic closure so that everything stays put if it's upended. More photos found here.

Oh and one more thing, this one is for ME! Yay for selfish crafting!

helpful link about blog photography

2009-04-09T09:11:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to share this blog with my readers. there are some really helpful tips and reminders for how to take good photos for your blog. i know i don't usually share links here but this one i found to be appropriate. don't worry, this won't be the norm.

now, if my camera would be in normal working order, i would now leave you with a photo of some of the beautiful red tulips that have bloomed in my yard... but for now you'll just have to imagine... quite ironic since this is a post about photography huh....

The Salvation Army’s 21st Annual Fabric Fair

2009-04-04T22:51:00.011-04:00

i went here today with some friends. we all fared well. i am full of inspiration. so much so that after we put the kids to bed this evening, i organized my fabric stash. it is now in neat stacks on a small set of shelves in my crafty corner of the 3rd floor office. it's neatly folded and organized by fiber, print and yardage.

the SAAFF was really interesting. i found buttons, zippers, yards of fabric, patterns and a sewing magazine ooooh and a LOT of inspiration, all for $30.34!!!

here are a few of my finds:

photos of everything i brought home can be found here.

Hand Knit Easter Chicks

2009-03-27T15:40:00.004-04:00

These are adorable!!!! So fun to make and pretty easy too! I had all the yarn used on hand, it's a great way to use up some scraps too! Who says that they have to be NORMAL colors :) ha!

Anyways, I found this pattern The Purl Bee. It was easy to follow and she has lots of good "how to" photos to help you along the way. There are also two other patterns for a bunny and a lamb.

So far, I have one complete. But I have TWO little boys so I will be knitting the wings and applying the eyes, beak and fuzzy head feathers on chick number two tonight after bedtime. They will be gifted tomorrow :)

buttercup bag

2009-03-26T14:30:00.003-04:00

we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday over the weekend. i had decided a few weeks ago that i was going to sew a bag for her. i had intended on making another one of these. i had purchased khaki linen to use as the main color. i had a black fabric with little circles and tiny flowers to use for the pleats and lining. i started to cut the fabric one night, i made a mistake due to tiredness and put it aside for another day. the next day i came across this blog. she had recently posted this free pattern for the buttercup bag. and i was hooked. her pattern was simple to follow, i cut the fabric and sewed it together throughout the day and into the evening, during nap and after bedtime. then i completed the strap the following afternoon. total construction time took maybe 3 hours, maybe....

this is the outcome:

button detail - vintage button purchased at Collection Antiques in Trumansburg, NY - it's black mother of pearl and i have 5 more for other projects

finished bag

i added a few structural items, i added cotton flannel to the inside as a stabelizer and did the same with the strap. i didn't want a completely slouchy bag, i like my bags to have a bit of structure, this helped perfectly. i also completed ironed pleats, next time, i'll only iron the tops so that the pleat bottoms pop out a little more.

i baked

2009-03-06T00:05:00.004-05:00

we lost a family member this week, my great aunt Lillian passed away this week, she had been sick for a little while and she was VERY old. so we new her fate was not too far off.... just it's still sad.

i have a lot of memories of her from when i was little. she lived next door to my grandparents (maternal) in upstate new york in a house that my mother spent part of her life growing up in as well. at one point, they all lived together until my grandfather built their home on the property next to Aunt Lillian's. when we would visit my grandparents, i would always look forward to walking over to their house because it just seemed like the reception there was just a little bit more fun... not that my own grandparents weren't a great pair, but Aunt Lillian was just really special. she used to crochet slippers for EVERYONE. i had a pair that were two-toned light and bright violet. i loved them! i remember my mother wearing a pair too. i also remember sitting at her kitchen table while she wrapped christmas gifts complete with curling ribbon and bows. i used to dispense the tape. i remember sitting at her table at the lake too, playing cards and having a ball. she was a hoot and always made ya laugh :)

i remember a lot of things about her, she LOVED looking at old photos and remembering the good old days, her stories of how she worked at the restaurant and how times had changed. when you went to her home, she had to wait on you, she had to make coffee or a sandwich or warm up a piece of pizza or toast some toast. anything... she had she would offer it to her guests even when all we wanted to do was spend time with her and not have her wait on us.

aunt lillian passed away this week, my parents are leaving in the morning to spend time with family and attend services on Monday. i have decided to stay home with the kids, i'm sad about it. i really would like to be there for her and her family. so it goes.....

so, in my absense i'll be sending some baked goods. i made two of these this evening. and i documented with photos. i used chris's (fairly new) cannon g9. my camera has pretty much crapped out... so until we can purchase chris a new g10, i will be "borrowing" the g9. it will become mine on a permanent basis very soon.... i can't wait because if i do say so myself, these photos KICK it! (more crafty photos to follow after the weekend....)

more photos from this session can be found here.

sew it's still winter

2009-02-19T14:43:00.003-05:00

it's still winter, it snowed overnight and the weather peeps are predicting a few more snow showers and cold temps through the weekend.... i'm not excited. i'm over winter. i LOVE winter, but i'm over it for this year season. i'll be happy to see the first flakes fall again by next december.... but for now, i would love to see some crocuses and daffodils and the tulips we planted in the fall fill the spaces where the brown, dried out, rotting leaves currently live.... so to fill my time i've been sewing again! this has been a bit of a seasonal thing for the past few years. i'm not going to let that happen again, i'm planning to make a few changes in my life in hopes to creating a bit of a small business by using my sewing machine. so, i hit the ground running with a few projects.

i had a baby shower to attend a few weekends ago, i dusted off the sewing machine and fired her up to make this little set:

the patterns are from Bend the Rules Sewing, by Amy Karol. I've sewn a few of these Scalloped baby blankets before. this one is the same as those, i used brown and white polka dot cotton on one side and a light blue, star embossed very, very soft chenille on the other. no flannel as interfacing inside like the pattern calls for. i used the same fabrics for the bib and burp cloth. i just LOVE this blankie pattern, it's really simple yet looks pretty cool with the scalloped edges. the bib whipped up in about 15 minutes! seriously! and i had made two burp cloths but managed to screw the 2nd one up pretty badly due to a brain malfunction that i can't believe i did... i'll discuss that later...

after i completed this project i was on sewing machine fire! so i collected up some of my fabric stash and made this:

it's pleated beauty again from Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol.

the detail stitching on the front panel was a bit finicky and puckered quite a bit, i'm attributing that to the fact that the black fabric i was using was not 100% cotton and had a tendency to stretch while i was free styling it! oh well, lesson learned....

i'm moderately happy with this bag. i LOVE the size, love the accessibility to the inside and it was FUN to sew. however the straps are too thin, i prefer a heftier strap and they weren't reinforced into the bag very well, i've had a bit of pulling and i'm sure i will have to mend this one soon. it's also a bit on the floppy side, the next time i make this bag (ps there WILL be a next time and it will be very soon) i plan on using a stiff interfacing so that the sides have a bit more structure. i like to be able to put my bag on the floor and have it stand up on it's own.

as you can see, i also made a few zippered pouches that coordinate with the pleat fabric. this was my first exercise in sewing on a zipper! whoooo what fun!!! it was tiny bit daunting the first time, but since then, it's opened up a whole new world of bags for me! these zippered pouches contain 4 diapers and a half pack of kirkland brand wipes in the large pouch and a few of my small incidentals like chapped stick and other lip gloss tubes, tissues, and deodorant(!!) in the small pouch. due to the floppiness of the bag these items wouldn't stay put in the small interior pocket so they needed their own home....

as for my brain malfunction... man, looking back, i really can't believe i did this... i sewed the baby blankie, the bib, the burp cloths and the entire bag!!! with the needle inserted into the machine backwards... the top thread kept breaking and pulling and i had to rip out so much stitching, it was horrendous. lots of bad words were yelled and i even swatted at my machine once or twice, i was sooo frustrated. i finally was looking through the machine manual for something completely unrelated when i noticed a HUGE warning about how the flat side of the needle should be towards the back! i could have spit i was so ticked at myself... it caused me to spend about twice the normal amount of time on all said projects due to ripping and resewing numerous times... once i fixed the problem my machine sewed through many layers like it was sewing through butter.... i was THIS close to calling Singer for help....

birthday boy

2009-02-10T13:32:00.005-05:00

andy turned 1 over the weekend! we just can't believe it! this year FLEW by! we celebrated with a party with some of our regular play date friends (who also wear the "knitting friends" hat on occasion too) and our family on sunday. it was a fun time and i think everyone had a good time too!

after everyone went home and the boys took a nap, we took them to the park to enjoy some of the sorta warm weather. although by that hour the temps had fallen a bit more than i had realized and about 10 minutes into running around and climbing up the slides, their hands were bright pink.... it was still fun to run around and breathe some fresh air.

coming up soon: knitting and sewing updates and maybe a few other crafty items too!

socks socks socks - kids kids kids

2009-01-29T14:42:00.007-05:00

i have knit my first pair of socks!

TA DAA!

i whipped these out fairly quickly, i realize that they are ankle socks but for being my first pair, i'm happy that i knit them up in 15 days. that's fast for me... i used knit picks essentials in grass. as you can see, it fuzzed up a bit after washing. i'm ok with that though, they ARE socks and will be inside my shoes.... so i think it will be ok.

i'm already on to pair number two.

so far, i like this yarn, patons kroy sock stripe. it's a bit scratchy but i hope that it will soften with some washing..... i hope. i love the coloway on the ball but knit into the lace pattern of the leg, it's a bit much... the color changes seem very abrupt. however, i really like how it looks in straight stockenette around the ankle and underside of the foot.

the boys.... wow. lots of new things to talk about. max has been talking a lot and has started to make up stories too. he tells me things like "elmo outside!" then shortly after "elmo on school bus!" then he giggles out of control. he also has decided that he really really wants to ride on a school bus. we've been talking about preschool here for a little while since we'll be enrolling him into a program for 3 yr olds that will start in the fall. so when we read books that have a school setting or talk about teachers, he then starts into this convo about how he wants to ride a school bus and he wants andy to go too and me and daddy too of course. it's cute as heck!

one strange language thing with max is that there are words that he used to know, some were his first words actually, he will NOT say those words now. he knows them but it's almost like he's embarrased and unsure of himself and he just won't say them. it's odd.

andy on the other hand is saying things too, he says dada (to everyone except max), he ON OCCASION will say mama, star, sock, bottle and kitty. they are all very rough around the edges but i know what he's saying. he's also eating all sorts of things and basically eats what we eat for meals. he's a good little eater too! he usually ends up eating more than max these days seeing that max is either in a slow growth period or something and will seriously eat 2 maybe 3 bites of a meal and call it quits. he then never asks for a snack either. i'm hoping this turns around soon because it makes me worry that he's not getting enough... andy will also play these little silly games with us, he gives us things then takes them back over and over and over and over again. it's really pretty cute. he also hides around and under and behind everything. then he pops out and acts like HE'S surprised! talk about funny!

knitting overview

2009-01-06T14:40:00.006-05:00

lots of projects to sum up here....

birthday scarflet for mom, gifted on dec 6th:

i used this pattern and the buttons are from joanns. they are a little sparkly and fit my mom's tastes perfectly. i loved this piece and really wanted to keep it for myself. it was my first lace project that i blocked. wowee is that fun! and i'm happy to say there are NO mistakes in this project at all.

christmas scarf for heather, given dec 25th:

i used a lace patter from The Knitters Bible, it was called crest of the wave. very easy pattern to follow and i think it worked out well for a scarf. this was blocked project number two and woweeeeeeee was IT fun to block. the little wave crests/points looked great and the pattern really opened up. i did make one mistake but didn't even realize it until i had already bound off and woven in the ends... it was only a few days until christmas and there was no way that i could have fixed it without ripping back the entire piece and starting new.... so it goes.

knitted christmas balls, given dec 25th to each little family within our immediate family: my parents, chris's parents, my brother and his wife and chris's sister.

i knit four different ornaments using this pattern. they were super easy and fast to knit up and i think made nice little gifts. i wanted to knit a few for our tree but i ran out of time. one of my 2009 goals is to knit four felted stockings for our family for next christmas, i think i'll knit some of these to match.

billy's knit NYE hat, gifted dec 31st around 11:35 pm.

i used this pattern. i intended for the hat to be a solid color, the bottom orange/red color. however, i ran out of yarn. i do this TOO often.... i really need to start looking at yardage... luckily, when i purchased this yarn, i also purchased an identical skein in blue. thus the two colored hat was born. in reality, i think it was meant to be. the two colors really looked great together and i think the finished hat ended up looking better with the two colors than it would have if it was all one color. a happy mistake, i suppose.

next up, i'll be trying socks again, for me. i'll be using knitpicks Essential in grass. i'm awaiting its arrival.... not so patiently. i am planning on using the yarnharlot's sock recipe. i had attempted this a while back with no luck... i am blaming my lack of luck on the fact that i was using the wrong yarn for the job.... hopefully this will change, i really want to have some good luck with socks....

i have picked my "ugly" (thanks amanda *wink*) {ETA: don't think poorly of amanda for saying this. it really truly is an ugly blanket and to clarify, i'm pretty sure she said that the photos and colors looked ugly in my original photo... frankly that photo is worse that what it looks like in person... don't hate me for calling you out} log cabin blanket up again and have been mindlessly knitting that again. it currently just takes up way too much space in my yarn drawers so i'm doing this in an effort to make room and organize... i'm really bored with this project and i plan to only knit it between projects and until it's big enough to cover me or a kid while curled up on the couch. i don't have far to go but the garter monotony is killing what few brain cells i have....

over the holidays i received some knitting gifts. they were all items that i specifically asked for, so no surprises really. one item was a set of knit picks options. i'm totally perplexed as to how to store them though. i'm scared to take them off of their little paper thing with the elastic that they came in. i have a needle sizer hickey doo, so i'm sure that if they would come free of piece of paper, that i wouldn't be lost in a sea of unknown needles but it gives me a heart attack to think about the mess they would be if they weren't strapped all snugly into little homes with the elastic they came with..... any suggestions are WELCOME!

tagged: favorite ornament(s)

2008-12-29T14:54:00.002-05:00

so about 3 weeks ago, michelle wrote this post. we were just putting our tree up at the time and i was trying to take photos when my camera bit the dust.

i ended up using chris's camera but he's in charge of downloading and uploading the images on that camera. so they sat. and sat. and then we feasted and then they sat some more until i really started to complain about it in the past few days. i have at least 3 different posts that i'm preparing to write but they are all heavily dependant on photos. so they were on hold until i got my damn photos. so finally, he did took care of them for me and here we are.

as per the assignment on the spice rack, i wanted to share my a few of my favorites (sorry i can't just share one, i have too many favorites to share only one). and i'm also sorry that these aren't more timely, i really wanted to get this one up before the 25th....

there are MORE actually than the few i'll talk about here, but these are at the top. i'll go in order of their age.

the "pregnant clown" one of my mom's good friends bought this for her when she was pregnant with me. over 32 years ago. (i just had my birthday and i'm just getting used to the fact that i'm THIRTY-TWO jeesh.... anyways). this clown has a big belly, and yarn hair and is really pretty silly looking but the meaning behind it is special and that makes it a favorite.

next up, ribbon angel. she's handmade, with a wooden ball head and a clothes pin as her body, her dress is ribbons and her wings are felt with gold string details and her halo is gold metalic pipe cleaner. her head is droopy. someone gave this ornament to my mom a long time ago, and she gave it to me to put on my little tree that i used to put up in my bedroom as a child. i've had it on my tree since i was a little girl and i've always loved it. it just makes me think of christmas and its modest, simple meaning. she's fragile, so i keep her out of reach from the kids.

third, frosted glass ball, decorated by a dear college friend, leo. leo is one of our best friends. chris was in his wedding last year, we just adore his wife, anne and their little girl, charolotte. leo made this ornament for chris and i while we were all in college. we put a tree up in our house, i lived with chris and two other guys and the five of us all would hang out a LOT. so while home for christmas with his family and his sisters he decorated this ornament for us. it was a craft project that his sisters were doing. he doesn't usually take up these sorts of passtimes on his own :) the ornament has two christmas trees, a snowman and the words: To: Chris, Cara, Blazic, Chi and Pauly (our golden retreiver's name) From: Leo '98' all drawn with metalic paint. i will always put this ornament on my tree, it brings back such fun memories of good times and friends that i just don't want to forget about. the five of us all keep in touch and see each other often.

last but not least, the christmas flip flops. purchased in maui in october 2003 on our honeymoon. fabulous trip, fabulous food, fabulous weather, fabulous sights, a loving companion, a wedding full of love and people who surrounded us with their love as we started such an awesome journey together. these remind me of the good times we've had and the even greater times to come. in the past 5 years together of our "married lives together" we've both changed and grown into such different people but we are always a couple and have gone through these changes together. i wouldn't be the person i am today without chris and i'm pretty sure he would say the same about me. we have two beautiful boys together and i wake up each day excited about playing with them and watching chris play with them. seeing us all grow and learn together is one of the most amazing things to ever witness.

i hope you all had a wonderful christmas with your families and wish you good will in 2009.

a little less bah humbug than last time and some MILESTONES

2008-12-14T23:06:00.004-05:00

ok, so some time has passed since my last post. i think we are both a little more into the holiday spirit now and we're able to deal with some of the stress that comes along with this time of the year. i'm done shopping. i do have to pick up a book that i ordered from a small local book store. but that's easy. i still have to wrap it all and bake. OOH, and finish knitting. i'm close. really close. and the pattern is way easy so it's going very smoothly, i just need some extra time to really bang it out.

i finished decorating the house today, the tree is up, and the lights are hung outside. it looks quite festive :) and the kids are really enjoying it. max especially.

on the home front.... let's see, max is learning to sing some christmas tunes! (talk about cute!) andy is also learning some sounds and they are sorta words too. right now he knows three "words" bottle, mama and dada. he still mixes up mama and dada but he's got "ba" down pat! AND!!!! he's walking and it's amazing! he's been cruising for quite some time now and in the past couple of weeks he's been taking one or two steps between chris and i during our "walking practice sessions". but this weekend he really took off! he's now taking a few steps between household objects and even from things into the middle of the room. he gets so excited about it too! it's adorable! he tries to follow max but can't keep up. and he definetly knows that crawling is his most efficient way to get from point A to point B. but he's becoming more and more brave by the minute and that is so much fun to watch. today was his big day and i know that by the end of the week he'll be in full walk mode :) the thought of this makes my cry!

OK, eyes are dry and i can see the computer screen again :)

i'm really looking forward to the next two weeks, i've got a bunch of playdates planned and i can't wait to spend time with my family and watch my kids enjoy the splendor of the holidays. i also have plans with some old friends and i'll get to meet my friend valerie's little girl who is 2 days older than andy. they'll be coming into town the 26th and will be having lunch at our house that day. then friends from ohio will be coming to spend the night on new year's eve. again, i'll be entertaining! i can't wait! i AM on the lookout for some recipe suggestions. anyone have any suggestions? i'm looking for things that are on the simple side. and i'll also take suggestions for sides and apps too ;)

the true meaning.....

2008-11-25T16:53:00.003-05:00

so i'm about to get a little deep here... hope you all don't mind....

today we packed up the kids and took them to the mall in their coordinated shirts to see santa. we got there around 1pm, and santa had just left to take a much needed lunch break..... so... we were forced to walk around the mall. we could have done the easy thing and taken the kids to the play area but it was packed with too many kids and germs and strollers for chris to handle so we went to the bookstore and walked around the mall instead. the book store was empty we killed some time there.... then walked around the malll. we were solicited to a minimum of 3 times. for dumb stuff.... flying helocopters, heated sacks of something.... curling irons, cell phones, the list goes on, you all know what i'm talking about right? you've all been there....

the solicitation and flashing lights, the sounds and smells of the mall are enough to push anyone completely off the edge... i mean, chris and i aren't big spenders, we live pretty modest lives. we drive used cars, i buy most all of our clothing on sale, in fact i usually by most of our household items on sale or at a discount store. the thought of spending money on gifts just because it's what we are supposed to do is just NOT sitting well. we encounter this delema each year..... and each year we end up being quite crabby about the whole process. which is really not how christmas is supposed to feel. right?

i mean, it's just jammed down our throats that we have to spend spend spend on gifts and tips and what-nots when i would so much rather take that money and spend it on my kids or pay some bills or put it into savings.

so once the kids were home and down for their naps, chris and i were enjoying a cup of coffee and discussing the gross and repulsive nature of the mall and the season when we came up with an idea.

a little background first: both of our families are quite small, we each have one sibling and only my brother is married. our kids are the only grandchildren. this year and last year we had decided to pull names for christmas. we each buy for that one person, we have a set limit. last year we just pulled names and went on our merry way. this year on one side we put our names on a slip of paper and listed a few suggestions for whoever pulled our name. on chris's side it had already been discussed that my mil wasn't planning on sticking to the rules of only buying for the person who's name she pulled. she didn't like the concept and is only playing along in theory... even though we told her that we would all prefer that she spend the money on the kids and that we don't need anything. her choice i suppose. however, chris and i are still not comfortable with this process. we both feel like the suggestions we recieved were rediculous and unnessesary. (read: underware and water gobblets.) then, during our conversation, i mentioned how i love to give gifts and i enjoy seeing people open the gifts that i give because i very rarely purchase a gift just to fullfill the void of a gift but i rather give something that i know that person would like. (read: knitted or handmade gifts.) so we have come up with an idea... however i'm not sure how to proceed.

since we've already pulled names in both families i'm not sure how to really bring the subject back up. i HAVE to do it on thursday or else the window will close. but our suggestion is going to be that we each need to scrap any ideas that involve going to the mall or stores. and instead we all need to get creative. i know that i won't have a problem doing this, but i'm nervous for a few family members.... i would like to urge anyone who has already shopped to return gifts and to instead think about the person they are to get something for, think about what they would like and make something. bake something, write something, arange to watch the kids for a night while chris and i have some time alone. ya know? somethings are priceless right?

however i feel like if i suggest this, a few family members are going to think we've either lost it or that we are being cheap. i don't want them to think that..... i just want to bring back the true meaning of the holiday.....

am i wrong to suggest how others purchase their gifts? am i wrong for requesting that people return their store bought items? should chris and i just proceed in this direction ourselves and not worry about how the rest of the family fullfills christmas wishes?

i hate to feel this way during the holidays. i love spending time with our families and it's become such a wonder filled time of the year since having children (max is totally into santa this year btw). i just want it to be stressless and painless and not revolve around shopping and the mall and the horrific and ugly commercially driven monster that it has become.

curried turkey soup

2008-11-19T13:22:00.004-05:00

i've had a few requests for this recipe in the past few weeks, so i thought i would share it here.

i look forward to making this soup with thanksgiving leftovers more than i look forward to the actual thanksgiving meal....

curried turkey soup

4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup minced onion (i keep mine more chopped, i like a lumpier soup i suppose)
4-8 tablespoons flour (this depends on the amount of mashed potatoes used)
5-6 cups turkey or chicken stock, hot
optional ingredients: mashed potatoes, broccoli, asparagus tips, rice.
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 generous cup diced turkey (i usually double this)
4 tablespoons minced parsley

in a large stock pot, melt butter stir in curry powder and cook for 1 minute.
add in the onion and cook for about 10 minutes until very translucent.
meanwhile, heat stock in a separate pan or in the microwave.
stir in flour (NOTE: i would start with 4 tbls first depending on if you're using mashed potatoes), cook for 2 minutes then remove pan from heat and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
vigorously whisk in hot stock and return to stove, simmer for one minute continuing to whisk.
if using mashed potatoes, add them 1 tablespoon at a time until desired thickness.
stir in cream by spoonfuls, simmering slowly.

season with pepper to taste

stir in turkey and other optional veggies and again bring to a simmer.
sprinkle with parsley and serve.

enjoy!

halloween and a few other things

2008-11-07T13:29:00.002-05:00

this is us on halloween! taking photos of more than one family member has become a bit difficult. no one looks at the photographer at the same time! ever... max has decided that he's not keen on having his photo taken regardless of who else is in the photo. so we have to sneak them in while he's not paying attention. it's really bizaare... he used to smile perfectly for the camera, now he hides his face and runs in the other direction. anyways....

halloween was a great time! max really enjoyed it! he especially enjoyed handing out our treats to all the other little kids :) it was super cute! andy did pretty well too!

i've started a new knitting project. i've bought two different kinds of yarn to knit this scarf, plans are in the works for two scarves for two ladies. so far, i'm enjoying the pattern. i also bought yarn for max's winter hat. i suppose i should cast on for that since he's probably going to need a hat before christmas.

this week has been a long week, a stressful week, but i'm glad it's almost over. tonight i'm headed out for drinks with a friend. and tomorrow, my mom is coming to watch the boys while i go shopping for ME! she's decided that she's apparently sick of seeing me in the same old duds... so she gave me a bit of cash to use on ME! and only me! i can't wait! chris will be shooting a wedding while i shop :) then on sunday, weather permitting, we're going to take the boys on a hike then head to my parent's for dinner. should be a fun weekend!

OOH! and i found a babysitter! fun times are ahead with this find! she's super smart, has lots of experience, and the kids really got along with her. she lives a block away too! i had her come over for a little intro with the kids then towards the end of her time with us, i ran a quick errand to the grocery store and left the kids with her. it was perfect! and i can't wait to hire her again!

AND, here's something fun, she crochet's but wants to learn how to knit! she asked if i would teach her! how fun!

five years and counting

2008-10-27T09:12:00.003-04:00

i'm prefacing this with an apology. my posts have been very very light on the photos lately... my camera is on its last leg and frankly i'm just not excited about using it.... while out of town i used one of chris's new cameras but he doesn't have the images off of it yet so i don't have anything to share.... however even that camera was giving us fits too.... so hopefully some of my photos came out and i'll be able to share them very very soon.

next up: your regularly scheduled blog.....

we're back! our weekend without the kids was spectacular! i missed them heaps but really enjoyed the much needed couple time. we hiked, we relaxed, we ate, we talked (and were not interrupted 27 times during one sentence). it was glorious!

here's a link to where we stayed, it's got the hokiest name ever.... it's called the love nest but we prefer to call it the awesome nest! the awesome nest has a hot tub, a queen sized bed, pool table, fire place, deck, full kitchen and positioned on a very private lot and only sleeps two. it was perfect. it was tastefully decorated and not cheesy in the least bit (as the name might suggest). the owners were very helpful and stayed out of our hair and only helped when needed. we think they lived on the property too but it was a large chunk of land so we never saw or heard from them.

we left thursday around 1 pm and headed to the hocking hills area located just south of columbus, near to athens (ohio u.) and south of lancaster. the drive took us nearly 4 hours, due to a little traffic near lancaster it was about 4:30 and was rush hour i suppose... once we got there, we checked in with the owners and asked about a quick pizza place. we placed our order then had to drive about 15 minutes to pick it up (no delivery to the awesome nest). we also grocery shopped at a nearby local grocery store. we picked up some steaks and veggies for dinner on saturday, some breakfast foods and some munchies.

we got back to the awesome nest, ate our pizza and decided to relax in the hot tub. something we had both been looking forward to for a while. ahhhhhh, it was so enjoyable!

the next day we got up, had some breakfast, took a quick dip in the hot tub and headed out for our day of hiking and exploring. first we headed to cantwell cliffs state park, it was very pretty, the fall color was sorta dull since a lot of their trees had turned then they had a few hard frosts and the color fell but there was still some green left... within the time that we were there, the green leaves turned and were gorgeous by saturday afternoon. after this small hike we headed to the town of logan ohio, it's a small historic town, lots of antiques and a few places to eat. we ate at the spotted owl, we had some good wraps, pretty tasty.

after lunch we headed to rockbridge nature preserve. it was a short hike in until we saw a natural rock bridge that we could actually walk on. quite amazing and not something that you typically see in this part of the country verses oh lets say utah... granted it wasn't as spectacular as natural bridges utah but it was still pretty amazing for southeast ohio.

the weather started to get cloudy and we knew that it was supposed to start raining. so we headed on to our next destination, cedar falls state park. the falls were dry, i guess they had a very dry summer.... the area was very pretty though. it started to drizzle a bit while we were there. on our way to our next stop, it started to full out rain. our next stop, ash cave state park. we put on our coats, had a snack under the back hatch of our jeep and started to walk the path to the cave. wow! what a sight! a huge cave, rock overhang that made a perfect rain shelter. we were only one of a few other families there. the cave was huge though and really could have provided shelter for more than 150 people. the view out of the cave was beautiful too, the color was just perfect, and it was raining. it was really great!we hiked up to the top of the cave, it was very pretty up there too.

we then left the area, so that we could head back to our awesome nest, to get cleaned up for dinner. we had reservations at the grouse nest for 6:30. the grouse nest is a very nice restaurant tucked into the country side and part of hocking hills resort about a 45 minute drive from our cabin but very close to the last attraction that we had just seen.... so we drove a bit much that day and back tracked but it was worth it. we both had venison meatloaf with a sweet potato and veggie of the day which happened to be mushrooms that were picked on the resort property. man was it gooood!!!! it's not every day that you see venison meatloaf on a menu. we headed back in the rain for a soak in the hot tub.....

the next day we had set aside for just relaxing. we had planned on not leaving the cabin and it's property. however the day was gorgeous, it had cleared and it was a bright and sunny day. we decided to head out to see a few other sights that we wanted to catch before we left the area. we had a late breakfast, then headed to old man's cave state park.... however, before we got there we passed rockhouse state park, so we stopped. i'm so glad that we did! this was my favorite sight of the weekend. it's a cave that has a few small slot entrances to a totally secluded "house". it looks out into a ravine. and it absolutely amazing! the hike takes you from the top rim down a path down some steps that have been carved out of the existing rock in the hill side. there are steps all around this area that we believe were carved and created during the great depression by a group called the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.). apparently during the depression, in an effort to keep people employed the government employed people to do manual labor at the parks, thus creating some amazing rock architecture. the C.C.C. still exists today but in a bit of a different structure. they still maintain the parks but they use wood instead of rock. a bit less back breaking i suppose. regardless the rock structures are just amazing! i plan on doing a bit more research on the c.c.c. and the service they provided to the area.

after rockhouse we headed to old man's cave. again a huge system of rock carved steps and tunnels. truly amazing and beautiful.

after old man's cave we headed back to the cabin, we relaxed for a bit in the hot tub then cooked our steaks, asparagus and salad. then relaxed a bit more in the hot tub and watched the stars.

sunday morning we knew it would be clear, so we set the alarm for 7 am, (before the sunrise), made some coffee, and enjoyed it in the crisp morning air in the.... hot tub. a bit of a reoccurring theme here huh? it was so enjoyable!

after the sun came up, we had breakfast, cleaned up and headed home. our drive home took only 3 hours. we then stopped at my parents to pick up the kids, we missed them terribly! they missed us too but apparently were very good little boys. they slept well and ate well too. and no one had any problems :)

i feel so much more relaxed and refreshed since taking our little break. i love my kids dearly but i think we ALL needed a little vacation from each other. however seeing the families there with kids were were about 7 yrs old and up seemed to be having so much fun exploring with their kids. i can't wait for that! i hate to feel like i'm wishing life away but really, that's going to be a fun time!

gha! an overdue update.

2008-10-15T14:17:00.004-04:00

i've been soooo out of the loop for the past two weeks. i had a bit of a meltdown with my laptop, it's been in the shop for a week and a half.... plus i was just super duper busy prior to that happening thus, no update for.... oh my god, almost a month.... so sorry!

well, gosh, since sept 17th, i really can't even remember what all we've been up to.... that's horrible. well, with a quick glance back at my calendar for the past few weeks i see that a whole lot of nothing interesting has been happening but a whole lot of working has been taking up a lot of our time. and really that's not going to stop for the next two weeks.

chris has a photographer/friend coming to stay with us this saturday through thursday, he's going to be doing some presentations and will have an photo exhibit while here. this all means that we'll have a house guest, first one since my good friend valerie stayed with us when i had my baby shower (while pregnant with max)! so i need to get some things done around the house before he gets here saturday, we still aren't sure of his arrival time.... he then will be staying with us until the following thursday, which coincidentally is the same day that chris and i leave for our little 3 day vacation without the boys!

we're headed to hocking hills ohio to stay in a little cabin in the woods. we'll be relaxing, hiking, eating, relaxing hot tub style, relaxing, sleeping, eating... and basically just getting some much needed couple time. we can't wait and have been counting down the days since the beginning of october. (full review to follow)

as for knitting, FLS is in a bag in the corner... i have a small mistake that i need to fix on the 1st arm, it's not hard, but i need brain power to fix it, and that's something i'm laking these days. i really want to take it to ohio with me, finished... i need to get going on this. i also bought an extra ball of yarn for her, the arms would have been a bit too short without it.

i also attended a workshop provided by Yarns Unlimited, Jared Flood was the presenter. it was really fun and very inspiring. it was also great fun to get together with two good friends and have some good greek food for lunch too! i plan on using the techniques that he discussed on a sweater for chris. although i will probably not be starting that until after the holiday season. maybe a bit before if he's lucky.

for the past few weeks, little things will happen with the kids and i'll think, 'ooh i have to blog about that' or 'this'. i never kept a running list (must start listing these thoughts) and now i can't remember most of them.

one of them is that max has started to sing, he's always sorta singsonged a bit but he has recently started to sing the theme song to bob the builder, it's super cute. he also sings his abc's, but it sounds more like "bee dee dee" lol, it's funny. he's very interested in letters and numbers and writing too. he has a small doodle pro and his drawings recently went from be swirly curly circles to little symbol-like/letter-like scribbles. he knows that letters make words and is really into the tv show Super Why! on pbs. in fact it's actually slowly taking over his love for curious george, george is his old stand by and good buddy and he still asks to watch that show but there is so much more to learn in super why so i've been suggesting that in place of george and he is happy to watch.

andy, well, let's see, teeth 5 & 6 have emerged. number 6 is actually still emerging but i think that it's broken the skin but i just can't quite feel it. i expect to be able to tomorrow or friday. he's been a biting fool. shoulders, knee caps, fingers, legs, noses, cheeks, really anything that he can! it's pretty funny. he's also cruising.

the weather has been perfect, fall is upon us! i just love all the color outside and the kids love to watch the leaves fall to the ground. max exclaims, "uhno!" and andy watches in wonder. this is an amazing time!

hmmmm, not sure what to put here

2008-09-17T14:01:00.003-04:00

how's about a list?

1. i'm obsessed with facebook these days. in the past two weeks i have found (or they have found me) two roommates from slippery rock. one i had totally lost contact with. the other reads this blog regularly (hi carrie!) and has a hard time replying to emails (*wink*) so it's great to be able to see what's up in her life with her and her FOUR kiddo's! it's no wonder she doesn't have time to email! glad we're back in touch!

2. i cleaned out my knitting stash. it wasn't totally overwhelming or anything but nothing was organized and i had patterns just strewn all through my knitting basket in the living room, lost in the half dozen totes that i use to transport my knitting. needles were out of their cases and just not organized at all. i put everything into ziplocks and now it somehow takes up half the space as it did before. yay! i also logged all of my needles on ravelry and printed out the little needle chart to put into my purse so that i don't buy duplicate needles AGAIN....

3. i've stalled out on feb lady sweater. i think my lack of organization was contributing to that... i need to sit down with her again. i'm making a date with her tonight! i hope i stick to it! it's nearing sweater weather and really i could have used her these past few mornings.... i need to get knitting.

4. max had a cold last week.... i had thought it was allergies but now that andy is a cranky pants with a boggerific runny nose, i'm now convinced i was wrong. sorry if we made anyone sick at playdates... it's apparently a very slow moving cold since it's been a week and a half since max started to show symptoms. and andy is just today showing signs of this cold. poor kid starts to cry before his little butt even touches the carpet when i go to set him down... ugh... i have yet to get it and same with chris.... which totally sucks because even if i would have caught it prior to andy then i could at least be giving him some antibodies through nursing and his go at it might be a little bit better but... what can ya do?

5. coffee. i'm obsessed! i don't know why i never realized this before but coffee can make a totally shitty day (read: cranky kids makes a cranky mama) turn into sunshine and puppydogs! i'm serious! i've found that most days by mid afternoon, i'm totally done with being a mom. my kids make me crazy and i have considered running away (ok, we all know i won't follow through so don't report me). but if i have some coffee, i'm a completely different person! i have energy to deal with whining and crying and multple shitty diapers within an hour! it's great! it doesn't seem to mess with andy and his sleeping either so that's a great thing! i've been on this iced hazelnut latte kick! i have hazelnut coffee, i brew an entire pot, use some of it that day then save the rest in the fridge for the rest of the week. i pour it over a lot of ice, mix in a bit of milk and hazelnut syrup and i swear it tastes just like i've stopped at my local coffee shop and spent $4 for the same thing! but really i've spent about $.30! woooo!!!

ok, i'm off to clean up the kitchen aka disaster area and do a little bit of photo work.

makin' baby food

2008-09-06T13:41:00.004-04:00

ok, so the title of this post is cracking me up and really could be taken a FEW different ways....
1. makin' baby food - bow chicka bow wow... i guess this would be maybe strawberries, whipped cream and champagne maybe some dark chocolate syrup, cherries... ok, you catch my drift right?
2. makin' baby food - not a pretty picture here but making food out of babies... you know the kind of babies that you could just eat up because of their cuteness right? err....
3. makin' baby food - just what it says. making baby food. food for babies!

this post will be about option number three :)

i've ventured into the rhealm of making baby food, heehee.... i didn't make pureed foods for max, i just bought jarred and felt the convenience was priceless. one it was easy to crack open a jar, feed the kid and even make an outing out of going to the grocery store on a weekly basis for more jarred foods (we could only fit one weeks of jarred foods in our cupboard). well, these days running to the store every week with two babies for jarred baby food isn't so convenient. so i've opted to just keep a small stash of jars on hand for out of the house feedings but make my own and freeze it from fresh veggies from our garden, farmers markets and the grocery store.

wowee is it fun! i documented my last batch "P Dub style" for your viewing pleasure. this batch is carrots, i've done sweet potatoes, zuchinni and sumer squash too. but carrots are soooo pretty and i just really wanted to catch their beauty and share it with you. so enjoy!

i purchased these carrots (with their pretty green tops on i might add) from the ambridge farmers market. they were a $1 a bunch and for whatever reason i only got one bunch.... while chopping i tasted a raw piece, i stopped dead in my tracks, turned to andy and told him, "andy, you are ONE lucky baby, these are the best damn carrots mommy has ever tasted!" i plan on heading back to the farmers market next week to try to score some more of these.... they were just fantastic! and really were how carrots are supposed to taste! no further text is needed, this is how it's done folks!

once into the ice cube trays, i wrap in saranwrap and freeze then i pop them out of the tray and into a ziplock. this will be about 5 meals... sadly. i really should have picked up more than one bunch. also for a ratio tip, i learned that one large sweet potato makes up one tray as well. next time i'll be doing two at a time...

also, i have found the greatest invention of our time, the mesh feeder! ha! with max i saw these things in the stores and immediate thought, yuck, what a mess this would be, who would use one of those? well, this time around, i thought what the heck and threw caution to the wind and bought one so that andy can enjoy some farmers market cantaloupe on his own. he LOVES it! i do too! it's more than a way for him to "eat" or suck on something but it's a fun toy! i filled this with a nice juicy piece of fruit for him, put him in his high chair in the kitchen and made his baby food and he was happy as a little clam the entire time! impressive! look how cute he is:

happy (belated) birthday little man

2008-09-06T13:04:00.003-04:00

i'm soooo behind!!!! i can't believe that a week and a half have already passed since my little man turned TWO! yay max! you're TWO! he can say two, in fact he knows one, two and three and can hold up that many fingers when asked! (but only when he feels like it). he's also learning his letters and knows a handful, mostly m, a & x but also knows d (for daddy of course).

he's growing like crazy too, he's into larger sneakers and has almost grown out of his summer sandals. thank god because they are quite stinky these days....

we had a small party for him, it was just family. his big gift from us was a really cool train set. the kind with the wooden tracks and the little magnetic cars. he loves to play with it and was super excited when he opened it. he loves choo choo's :)

i also ordered a YUMMY cake from my neighbor who bakes cakes as a side business. she brought us cupcakes when andy was born and man oh man were they outstanding!!!! so i ordered the same chocolate batter and buttercream icing for max's cake and was NOT disappointed. i had her put curious george on it for max since he LOVES his "georgie".

max got some fun new toys to play with, one new itemis play-doh. we had a few tubs already but when we tried to play with it about 6 months ago, max was still wanting to just eat it. so i put it away... well, we got the new stuff out the other day and this is what we did:

so much fun! i haven't played with play-doh in forEVER! max enjoyed it too, i got some cookie cutters out and we made stars and snowmen and kitty cats and moon's and all sorts of fun things, then i built an actual snow man and then pink worm. max likes to watch me work the play-doh, he's not quite into doing it all himself yet.... but that's soon to come i'm sure! his favorite thing to do is to get it out of the tub and then put it back in. over and over and over again...

overall it was a nice day, i took it easy food wise, i ordered a sandwich ring and made two salads, an Asian coleslaw salad from annie's cookbook and a fruit salad with all sorts of fresh summer fruits in it. everything was tasty and super easy! which is how i like everything these days :)

mama's back!

2008-08-19T20:54:00.003-04:00

i'm back! whooo! i'm back! not that i'm back to blogging, nope, i'm back to bike riding!

i haven't been on my bike for ehh, i'm going to say at least 2 years and 9 months... and well, i got pregnant for max in december so i'm going out on a limb here and say that it was at least 3 years ago since i was on my bike. well, i've finally brought water to that drought.

over the weekend chris got my bike back into working condition. put air in the tires, checked the gears cleaned it up a bit and shortly after, i took my first spin around the block, twice. after that trek back up the hill i had rubber band legs... seriously they weren't working correctly. i stretched, i felt fine and didn't even feel the slightest twinge the following day. which is when i started to scour craigslist.com for a kid trailer to pull behind the bike. i found one. it was a bit more than i wanted to spend but hell, i really wanted to get back out there on my bike in a regular fashion. last night chris made the quick drive to clinton, pa to pick it up. it's in perfect condition. a few spots that need a needle and thread on the netting but nothing i can't fix easily.

then tonight i whipped up a quick dinner and then we packed up the kids and the bikes and the new bike trailer and drove about 4 minutes to the head of the montour trail which sits just at the edge of our town. first we hooked the trailer to chris's bike. he towed it for the first half of the ride. then we swapped and i took it back. it's EASY! the kids LOVE it! max got to see a ton of doggies who we walking on the trail with their owners. we rode two miles, swapped the trailer and rode two miles back, it took about 40 minutes. and the complete outing took exactly an hour. it was soooo refreshing! it was invigorating! i was riding my bike with my kids :) max stayed awake the whole time. andy fell asleep at some point on the way back. he seemed to enjoy it though :) max babbled the entire way and kept saying "bye" to everyone that we passed.

i can't wait to do this again. now i just have to figure out how i can do it by myself.... our bike rack is on the roof of our car. and well i'm slightly vertically challenged... i wonder if i can fit it into the back of the car... we'll have to try it out...

anyways, i'm just so happy to be able to do fun active stuff again with my husband and family. for so long it was chris who was going out and doing all the fun outdoors stuff. i did some hiking while pregnant with max and we did a bit last spring/summer (2007) with him in the back back but i spent most of last summer pregnant again and frankly had no energy to do much outside of what i had to do... now it's back, i feel normal again and i LOVE it! yay!

sorry about not having any photos... i somehow managed to forget my camera on this trip. i'm sure there will be more just like it so look for some on my flickr in the near future.

my week in review - a bit of a hodgepodge

2008-08-05T21:09:00.004-04:00

eta: as michelle kindly pointed out in the comments, yes in addition to everything below andy managed to sit up yesterday completely on his own, he went from being on his back to his side to supporting himself with one arm but sorta still on his side to sitting! it was really funny to watch :) i had never seen him do that before and was quite thrilled to witness it! and so was michelle!

this past week, (definition of "past week" last wednesday july 30 - today august 5th) has been a long 7 days.... chris was (and is still) out of the country for work and is returning tomorrow, aug 6th. i was home alone with the kids. the beginning of the week was the roughest. max was not very cooperating and andy was giving me fits. i was nervous and cranky about having to put two kids to bed at the same time without any help, not happy about having to deal with mealtimes alone and jealous that i had to be a single parent while chris was out traveling the world, without me.

i had a TON of help from MY family, however we're 7 days in and still no phone calls what-so-ever from the ils.... not even to see if i've heard from chris... so strange...

anyways, my brother and his wife came over one night with pasta and homemade sauce! that rocked! my parents had us over a few times. i managed to cook a few times too, very proud of that, and ordered pizza only once! i also tried to plan as many things to do outside of the house as possible. we went to target twice... we went on a playdate with blogless lauren and her little guy leo, we went to the zoo with our cousin elizabeth and her twin boys, and today we had an impromptu play date with michelle and amelia which was very nice! max showed a very sensitive and gentlemanly side to him that i've never seen in my life! it was so darling! he was sharing everything he owned, held her hand and gave everyone kisses before they left :)

i have also managed to keep the house in relatively neat order. i have some cleaning to do upstairs tomorrow but i've kept up with the housework more this week than i normally do when chris is out of town for short trips. about mid-way through the week i got the hang of everything. meals were fairly smooth and bedtime was a breeze. i love, i mean LOVE, dvr. really i'm not sure how i would have done it without this new gadget. bedtimes consisted of cleaning up the toys while andy rolled around on the floor and cried and max sorta helped me. then i got him some milk and a snack and put him in his folding nemo chair and put on a curious george episode. i took andy upstairs got him ready for bed, fed him and put him down (awake i might add!!!) and then went back down to watch the rest of george with max and maybe even another episode if it was still early. then off to bed with him too. it was beautiful!

after the kids were both in bed, i then watched a few movies on ondemand this week. a quick review:
1. The Ex with Zach Braff and Amanda Peet. cute movie, a few funny scenes and a few new parent jokes. i enjoyed the baby/parenting dialog the most. wasn't a waste of time.
2. Moving McAlister with Mila Kunis from that 70's show and a guy that i've never seen or heard of before and that guy from napoleon dynamite. eh, so so but sorta cute. i watched the whole thing, enjoyed parts of it but it wasn't the most entertaining movie. cute story line though and the ending was nice. wasn't a complete waste of time but sorta almost was...
3. Definitely, Maybe with Ryan Reynalds and that girl from wedding crashers who was the younger sister who was maddly in love with vince vaugh and a few other female actresses. anyways. this was by far the best of the bunch! very entertaining love story that is creatively told to his young daughter. there are some sad parts about divorce but they are overshadowed by the happy parts. definitely NOT a waste of time and i'm glad i watched it even though the title alone annoyed me and i didn't think i would like it one bit.

knitting, i've done nothing.

sewing, i finished everlasting and started a few others...
i sewed a handle onto my everlasting bag, i'm quite happy with how it turned out:

another photo here.

i started my grocery bag beautification project, inspired by this blog, i pinned this fabric onto one side of this bag from giant eagle MONTHS ago... so long ago that i've never been able to use this bag at the store for actual grocery toting... i have only covered one side. the other side also has a logo on it so it's getting pinned and sewn up tonight. i have at least one other bag to pin and sew as well. i thought we bought three of these things but apparently we either lost one or only bought two... i'm not certain.... anyways, here's the outcome, i'm pleased with this as well.

the fabric i used on this one is one of two vintage napkins that were my parents. my mom gave them to me and i wanted to find a good use for the fabric as i have no use for two fabric napkins.... i absolutely LOVE this fabric and wish i had a big piece of it because i could totally wear a skirt with this print.

i'm really looking forward to heading to the airport tomorrow night. i miss chris a TON and i know he misses us. i've been talking up his return to max so he's getting excited too. overall, this week hasn't been too horrible. i've managed to at least shower a few times, we had some fun outside of the house and now we're looking forward to chris's return home :) and i'm looking forward to a visit to the salon all by myself on thursday! ha!

this is going to be a long one

2008-07-28T12:16:00.002-04:00

ok, cleaning house a bit, a few lists:

andy stats:
he's sitting unassisted for a minute or so at a time.
he's up on all fours doing that thing where they sway back and forth and he sometimes does a little crawling in the backwards direction.
he's eating a load of cereal.
he had fresh zucchini from my cousin's garden while on vacation and fresh picked blueberries and some banana.
he will go down for a nap or to sleep at night without being asleep, i can put him in his crib and if he's sleepy enough he'll fall asleep in about 10 minutes. if he's not, he lets you know by screaming, i go get him we play for another 20-30 minutes then try again and he usually goes down the 2nd time.
he has become baptized to the religion of the lake goers.

max stats:
he is feeding himself really well with utensils. he has mastered the spoon for cereal and ice cream and other spoon friendly foods.
he is potty training himself.

yes, i said potty training himself. he's been peeing on the potty for quite some time. not at any really regular intervals during the day but before and after naps and bedtime and any other time we change a diaper (he doesn't always go when we put him on there but he understands that if he goes, he gets to flush! big fun!) so while on vacation we were eating a late dinner and he was giving us a hell of a time basically he didn't want to eat. we didn't fight it. we let him get down from his chair, he went to the other room to be private then quickly came back to let chris know that he had pooed.

it was just a little bit so chris put him on the potty to finish. he went some more and exclaimed that he was "all done!"
the next day the same thing happened except all of the poo ended up in the potty.
this was a few days ago, we haven't changed a poopy diaper since.
fastforward to today, we had lunch he started to play, i was cleaning up and he runs in and says, "mama, this!" and grabbed his crotch. so we went to the potty, his diaper was wet but not warm so i know he hadn't peed lately in it. i put him on the pot and leave the room (he won't do anything in there if you're in there with him). at this point i hear him trying to go. wouldn't you know it, i then had to go too.... so i leave him there and run to the basement. i go. (i know tmi) then run back upstairs to find him still going... so i stand outside the door and listen. then i hear a plop and he starts to whine so i go back in to find that he went a TON! i gave him a big kiss, cleaned him up and let him flush the toilet! big excitement! we aren't close to getting rid of diapers all together because he still pees there quite often. i'm fairly certain that i could train him if i took the time but i need chris to be here on a somewhat normal schedule and frankly that's not going to be the case until the end of august. so maybe we'll attempt it the week of his birthday.

vacation wrap up:
ahhhh the lake! we had some crappy weather, especially early in the week. it would be sorta clear in the mornings but by 10 or so it would cloud up and rain off and on for the rest of the day only to clear around 7 pm or so... then mid week there was one day it rained all day. then thursday and friday it was pretty nice and then saturday it was sunny until about 1 then got cloudy again just in time for us to pack up and leave. regardless of the weather we still had fun. and got a good amount of swimming and lake lounging done too.

andy make his lake debut!
here he is with papa! both look pretty happy to be there!

max played with his bucket and rocks! this is my favorite photo of the entire week!

i relaxed in a chair in the water....

we had a great time not doing a whole lot. my mom and i did manage to go shopping in a small town one afternoon, i found some great antique buttons. three pearly white ones that are square and are angular and 9 dark blue ones that are pearly. i also got some super cool antique post cards from around 1906 for chris. one is of the intersection of 4th and wood downtown (right where he works) and the other is a view of 1st ave taken from station square. both are pretty neat.

another day my mom and i also went to pick blue berries! we got there kinda late and they were going to close in about 20 minutes. but between the two of us we each filled a 1 gallon ziplock bag! we had enough blue berries for the week and we both got to take home about half a bag each! we're still eating fresh blueberries! for those two large bags, we paid $8! can't beat that! i can't wait to do that again next year!

i also made a lot of progress on my FLS. not quite done with the body yet. i did have to fix a mistake (thanks amanda for that technique! i did it all by myself! yay!) i am starting to worry that i need to buy two more balls of yarn...

as for traveling with this kids. this trip was a little easier. we left the house about 5 on our way up. we stopped around 7 for breakfast then again about 2 hours later so that could feed andy again and so that max could run around a bit.
then about 30 minutes after that the kids were both having fits... so i crawled into the back seat and proceeded to read to them... all the while i felt like i could have yacked....

as for the ride home.... we were supposed to leave early sunday morning. chris has a job scheduled for about 3 pm that day so we had to hustle. we then decided late afternoon on saturday that we would just scrap that and instead pack up the car and the kids that evening and leave around 8 pm (aka bedtime). so i cleaned, chris packed the car, max helped us both ;) then we left! my parents stayed until the morning then traveled early. we got home about 2 am... we were very groggy. the kids slept through the whole thing. it was awesome! we didn't have to even stop to pee, we only made a quick stop at a T & A for a caffeinated drink for chris. then we kept going just like the old days b.c. (before children).

the lake

2008-07-19T22:06:00.003-04:00

i'm swimming..... so is andy, max and chris.

be back in a week!

review: idlewild and soakzone

2008-07-17T13:22:00.003-04:00

wow! really wow! is really what sums it all up!

yesterday we took max and andy along with chris's parents and his sister to idlewild and soakzone for a day of fun! and fun we had!

max was the perfect age. any younger and he wouldn't have really enjoyed it much. andy, obviously didn't do anything but ride in the stroller but that's ok. both kids, since they were under 2 were free.

first we walked through storybook forest, very cute, pretty dated looking and not too exciting. they did have some live animals that max liked. but that was the extent of it. they were having christmas in july though so that was sorta funny, santa was there and they had everything decorated for christmas. although most of the decorations were sort of lame and tacky...

here is max in storybook forest, this was a large pumpkin and i believe it was part of the peter peter pumpkin eater story:

next we had lunch, again, wow! lunch was awesome! best amusement part food i think i've ever had! everyone but me had bbq chicken, i tasted max's and it was really good! yummy sides too! i had a taco wrap and it was really good too! nothing was greasy, nothing was fatty, it was all pretty healthy.

after lunch we went to the part of the part that is called jumpin jungle. there was a huge pit of balls, max was in love! and a large rope wall thing that chris and max climbed up, some fun slides too!

here's max in the balls:after the jumpin jungle we went to racoon lagoon. it's the amusement park portion of the park for little kids. what a blast! max rode a ton of rides, but what seemed like not even half of them. then we took a ride on the trolley from mr roger's land of makebelieve. how cute! we sang a song, we had a party and saw all the characters from the show :) max was beat but he enjoyed it.

after that we headed over to soakzone to cool off. we got pretty wet, there are a lot of fun things for everyone to do. one cool part was this large thing that looked like a pirate ship with lots of decks and steps and stuff. on top there was a gigantic bucket that was constantly filling with water but when it got to it's tipping point it would dump a TON of water on top of the whole thing. however while this large bucket was filling it was constantly "raining" on this structure. there were hoses and spouts all over the place. it was a blast even for us big kids!

we then got ourselves dry and put the kids in the stroller and started to walk to the car. max was out before we even left the pool area. totally tuckered out!

we left the house a little after 8 am, and we didn't get back until 8 pm. max did great without a nap. i'm amazed! but expecting today's nap to be sorta long.... the entire park was fantastic. no annoying patrons. everyone was there to have fun and that's what we did. the funny part was how chris and i both weren't expecting a whole lot. the last time each of us were there we were about 13 years old. and we both remembered it sucking a whole lot. i'm thinking that was because when you're 13 pretty much everything sucks. but frankly, this place isn't for the older children, it's for the young ones. everything was geared towards them and that's what made it super special!

i can't wait to go back soon! and max said, "all done!"
to see more photos of our fun day click here.

awesome thrift store finds

2008-07-14T15:54:00.002-04:00

chris did his usually errands around town this morning, and while there he found a few items that he wanted me to check out. there were two jogging strollers both listed for $20 both had their flaws.... and not worth the effort to purchase and resell. so if any readers are looking for some heavily used singer joggers there are two at the st vincent depaul in coraopolis today....

while there, i did find a few other items that were totally worth the drive down there.

here's one:
we have one of these already but we have two kiddos... so i was in search of another. $2.99! score! and doesn't andy look sooooo damn cute in there!? he's such a good little model! i had to hose it off and take a few clorox wipes to it and some goo gone but it's good as new now :)

here's purchase number 2:
again a few clorox wipes later and it's in perfect condition.... and it even makes firetruck sounds!

and for the crafty readers:
there's bias tape, seam bindings, rick rack and some other seaming covers. all in some fun retro colors! 3 for $.49! now i need to dust off my machine again soon!

i spent less than $8 there and got a whole lot of fun!