Peter Rabbit & other news

We've been into anything Beatrix Potter lately.  Acacia just loves audio books and spent her daily quiet time listening to them until she poured water into the CD player.  The Beatrix Potter collection was her newest favorite.  We don't own any of the series but we've borrowed The Tale of Peter Rabbit from the library.

This is how much of an auditory learner she is:
1.  She corrected me when I was reading to her.  In the audiobook version, the reader has a beautiful, strong English accent.  She reads, "Mr. McGregor went back to work."  Are you reading it with an accent?

When I read it, minus the cool accent, Acacia said, "No... Mr. McGregor went back to WALK."

2.  She figured out by listening to a Veggietales music CD that the voice of Bob the Tomato is done by the same person as Mr. Lunt, the Mexican squash.

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On a totally unrelated topic, I have exciting news!  We have officially decided that we will all be going on the trip to Peru this June.  I cannot wait to get back and catch up with old friends and introduce our ragamuffins.   In order to earn a little extra money for airfare, I have decided to set up my Etsy shop and see if I can sell a few handmade items.

The kid's global fashion line is called BRAJAkids.  For now BRAJAkids has only two styles.  pint-sized gaucho / samurai/ culotte pants and a select few gaucho pillowcase rompers.  I have been working hard to organize my fabric stash and make sure I have everything I need to crank out many many pants while Brandon's parents are visiting.  (Thanks Mimi and Pops.... you didn't know what you were getting in to, I guess!) 

You will see the Etsy button below our family pictures on the left side of the page.  That's the link to my shop.  I'll let you know when we are up and running!

make a simple advent calendar this year!

By simple I mean ridiculously easy, very cheap, and at least mostly natural materials.  Oh, and I have one hour to do it while my three year old helps.  Can I get an Amen?

You'll need:
1.  Small muslin bags.  You can order them online here.  Tip- order more than 25 because your toddler will want to help and you'll probably mess up at least one.
2.  1 inch number stencils and spouncers.  Unless you have awesome handwriting like Kaite, in which case you can just use a paint brush.
3.  Acrylic paint.  Before going out for the perfect Christmas Red, check your stash.  I used brown and silver because I love the way they look together and I had them on hand.  Warning- this does not wash out of clothes but it does wash off the face and hands.
4.  Some kind of string or twine or ribbon.  I always keep a roll of twine handy so that's what I used.
5.  Small suction cup hooks to hang the whole strand on a glass surface.  If you don't have enough glass, try those command removable sticky hooks.  No need to put a hole in the wall just for a Christmas decoration.

The process:
Just lay out your bags and get to stenciling.  I use cleaned out baby food plastic containers for the paint but you can use anything.

Once they are dry, string one side of the drawstring through and hang on any flat surface.

Done!  Now some candy canes and some scripture verses or any trinkets you want go inside and you have a gift-a-day advent calendar. 

Now go get your baby because naptime is over and your preschooler has paint on her hands and face and needs to use the potty.

Acacia made flowers from coffee filters white I painted.  After the paint is dry, poke a hole in the middle and stick a pipe cleaner in.  Instant centerpiece:

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Here are some resources for more information on advent calendars, background and ideas.

Diggin' my new handwriting font?

I found this great site the other day: kevinandamanda.com

She can take your handwriting and make it into a font, for FREE!  Hasn't anyone told her that nothing is free these days?

My handwriting is too sloppy to use, so I just found someone else's that I like!  I downloaded a few for random use, but she gives a tutorial if you want to change the standard fonts that come on your blog template.  As for the header, we don't have Photoshop anymore so I made it in Keynote.  I guess it worked pretty well; but it's not perfect.

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All this was a very welcome diversion to dealing with Acacia's 104 degree (underarm!) fever today!!!  She's having a reaction to the vaccinations she got on Tuesday, poor thing.  Downside- she's sick.  Upside- she's very snuggly and cuddly and she took an excellent nap today, which almost never happens anymore.

see... cloth diapering really does pay!

Done deal!

Sold all my cloth diapers on ebay last week (Newborn Kissaluvs, Bummis wraps, one wool pull up, Under the Nile fitteds; in case you were curious), and made some pretty good money. Sunday night Braj and I, along with the little ones, headed over to the Apple store and took the plunge.

Me to salseman Joe: Two iPhones, please.
Joe: You know the apps are incredible... (trailed off)
Me: Do they have any that babysit?
Joe: No.
Me: What about laundry or dishes?
Joe: No.
Me: Change diapers?
Joe: No.

Oh well, maybe in a few years.

First things for my new iphone?
1. Make it Shannon-proof. Kids will get a hold of it. I will drop it. It will get tossed around in my gargantuan diaper bag. I don't care if it is the sleekest thing around, I just want to not be afraid to use it. So I got an Otterbox Defender online. You can find them for around $28.

2. Cool apps. I'm not ready to buy any because I'm still getting the hang of this thing. But here's the apps I have so far. PLEASE fill me in on any other great ones you know of or ones your kids like. Especially helpful are the ones to help me manage the home/food stuff.
- shazam
- pandora
- white noise lite
- mini piano
- doodle buddy
- crock pot recipes
- planets (acacia loves spinning the earth with her little fingers)
- mark on call (interior design)
- calvary radio
- urban spoon

you always new I was a dirty hippie...

I don't know if any of you saw the link on Simple Mom yesterday, but her title, "How to Clean Your Hair Without Shampoo" caught my attention.

The truth is, I only shampoo my hair about once a week and condition it every other week... so shampoo free isn't exactly a huge change for me. I just knew that my hair does better on the days I don't wash it; but I felt like I had to wash occasionally just to not be gross. Now I know there is an alternative!

You just mix about a tablespoon of baking soda in a squirt bottle filled with water. That's it. Your new shampoo! That should last you close to a week if you wash daily.

Want a conditioner... another squirt bottle. This one has a tablespoon of vinegar and fill the rest with water. I added some lavender oil so I don't come out smelling like a pickle. Okay, I added lavender, bergamont, cedarwood, & balsam peru (one of my favorite combinations!)

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If you are thinking, "Shannon, I knew you we're 'natural' but GROSS!" That's okay. Let me tell you my philospohy behind all things natural/green/organic/earthy.

If it is cheap, hassle-free, easy to maintain, and doesn't complicate my life, I'll try it.
If it smells good, that's a bonus.

*I recycle because it means less trash I have to take out.
* I don't use hair/skin products because the good ones are expensive, and the cheap ones smell funny, and nothing really works anyway.
* I don't shop organic because it's so much more expensive; and dairy cows are no longer treated with growth hormones or antibiotics, and I rinse all my produce in Veggie Wash anyway.
* I do lots of baking with the fresh ground flour, but we buy sandwich bread at the grocery because it's cheap and it's easier for sammies.
* I use the Ergo because it helps me get things done even when Jackson is fussy, and it's easier on my back that holding him on one hip; not because I like carrying around a 20 lb. baby.
* I wear skirts because they are cooler in this heat.
* I breastfeed because it's less hassle than dealing with bottles, and it's free.
* I have natural births (HAD, I mean) because I dig the challenge, and it's cheaper and I love my midwife.
* I have containers of various seed pods, rocks, feathers and things because they make me happy and some even have great stories.
* I keep my locks long and wild because I look silly with short hair and I don't know what other choices I have. Besides I like it long and wild, even if it is frizzy sometimes. And maybe this baking soda/ vinegar will work!

You can call me a dirty hippie if you want, or a granola, a crunchy mama, a moonbeam, whatever. But you have to try the baking soda/vinegar rinse first.

bringing home the bacon

Sometimes stay-at-home moms want to help contribute to the family income. Especially if there is something specific to contribute to... um, like an iphone or something. Just a random example.

Okay, it's not random. Braj and I both need new phones, ours are both barely still working and over 2 years old (which is ancient in cell phone world). BUT, we're still on our Dave Ramsey budget and there's no extra for cell phones right now.

So, am I going back to teaching? Or a part time barista? Holding a day care in my home? Stuffing direct mail marketing pieces? Nope... I'm selling all my cloth diapers on ebay. They've all already been bid on, so we'll see how much bacon I can bring home by next Friday!

So long cloth diapering, and good riddance. I'll take my Kirkland's signature diapers from Costco, thanks!

Acacia, about 8 months old. Posing with her first package of diposables.

snippets

Things have been wild here; here's a quick look:

1. We're moving!
We found a darling rental house that is an extra 600 square feet + a huge backyard + $300 less per month + we're not sharing it with anyone (a first in many years). Done deal. Bonus... the yard has a mango tree, plumeria tree, key lime tree, lemon tree, and shares an avocado tree with the neighbors. We move on Saturday. Packing is underway.

2. Jackson is crawling!
This house comes at the PERFECT time since we have a very active crawler. We can let him loose on the wood floors and in the huge grassy yard without too much concern.

Two nights ago we were putting the kids to sleep; I set Jackson in his crib and Braj was reading to Acacia. I turned around for a minute and Jackson pulled himself up to standing in the crib (which was still at the baby height). Braj set his book down and said, "I'll get my tools." He lowered it right away, thanks babe!

3. Another summer trip!
We got to spend a few days in Orlando with my little bro and their awesome family along with my parents and grandparents. It was a doozy of a few days, even without Disney, but it was fun. All this travel is finally beginning to loosen me up with the kids. They have been very good travellers and I am so proud of how flexible they are.

4. WWDD? What Would Dave Do?
Still drinking the Dave Ramsey juice. Just finished paying off our student loan; it only took about 3 months. Gonna tackle the credit card next. We watched the documentary Maxed Out last night. There's one quick snip with some language, but I would recommend it if you want to get a glimpse into the credit card companies and collection agencies. Stay away from those guys!



That's it...
I don't know how much blogging I'll be doing this week, but I'll try to at least get some before/after pics up.