Target

I love Target.  The Tillster and I got a lot of Christmas shopping done there.

Now, on to the piles of gifts to wrap.

I love babies in hats.

Pomegranate

On Wednesday the Kiz came grocery shopping with me. My mom gave her some money to spend if she found anything she couldn't live without.

The thing she was so excited to buy?

A Pomegranate.

"My whole life I've dreamed of a pomegranate for my very own."

Yesterday she ate it and was so thrilled with her fruit salad that she made my dad send me a picture of it.

Snow!

That means one thing:

Reindeer T-Shirt.

(I have to work today and tomorrow. That means sparse posting.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Christmas Shopping?

Ever since I was in High School and actually bought my own Christmas gifts, my goal has been to have them all purchased by Thanksgiving.  I LOVE shopping, but I don't like shopping during really busy times.  Because of my job at J. Crew, I have pretty high standards when it comes to customer service and waiting in line.  I know it's weird, but I can't stand waiting in line.  (Hobby Lobby in Jenison is the worst offender.  I always have to wait there.)

I have my family done.  (Okay, I still have to pick-up Philip's, but it will be a quick stop.)  I hope to get the rest of it done soon.  (But NOT this weekend.  I go out, but only to work.  I'd stay home it if were up to me.  It's not worth the money to fight someone for the last toy at 5am in Target.)

How's your Christmas shopping coming?  Do you plan ahead like me?  Or are you finishing it up on Christmas Eve?

(p.s. My house smells like pies and cupcakes today.  I love it.)
(Apparently I also love parentheses.)

Thanksgiving Baking.

Tomorrow the Tillster and I have a lot of baking to do.  I volunteered to bring a dessert to Thanksgiving.  I wanted to make these cupcakes.  I then found out that I was the only one bring a dessert, and cupcakes just don't cut it on Thanksgiving.  So, tomorrow I'll also be making a pumpkin pie and a cherry pie.

I'm really excited about the cupcakes though.

I other news, I made Tillie a teeny tiny clippie today.

 

I needed a brown clip to match her Thanksgiving dress.  (A striped sweater dress that I found at a garage sale for $2.)  It's not a perfect match to the dress, but it will look adorable anyway!   So far, the clip cost far more than the dress.  I didn't have a glue gun.  Isn't that crazy!  I now have a cheap one and some other ribbon supplies for more clips.

 

My sister's style.

The Kiz is generally pretty fashionable for an (almost) 8 year old.  Some of that has to do with the fact that I shop for her a lot.  But, she's got such great coloring that bold things look great on her.  Along with everything else.

She recently outgrew a pair of calf hair leopard print ballet flats.  I was so jealous of these shoes.  (I did buy them for her, out of season from J. Crew for $12.)  It was weird, because I don't wear animal prints.  The beauty of leopard print shoes is that they don't match anything, so you can wear them with everything.  I didn't realize this until I saw Kizie wearing them everyday.

The Kiz looking fashionable in Michigan City, October 2008

I finally found a pair for me this spring at Macy's for $40. (Link) I love them.  I wear them all the time.  

Last year when I was pregnant I needed a shoe with ridiculous support.  They tend to be expensive, so I had one pair and I literally wore them every day that winter.  When spring came, I bought a pair of sandals and wore them everyday.  I'm really enjoying slipping into a different pair of ballet flats every day .

What are your favorite pair of shoes?

New Moon

Yes, I saw the movie today.  Yes, I loved it.  Last winter I was making fun of people who were obsessed with the books.  Tim and I enjoyed saying, "Edward Cullen is the perfect man. *swoon*" in response to any number of things.

Then in May, we decided to rent the movie because there was nothing else at the video store and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  We spent the first half making fun of the acting.  (You have to admit, it's not the best.)  Then, I got caught up in the story.  The rest is history.

My conclusion from this movie?  Edward Cullen may be the perfect man, but Jacob Black is more attractive.

Erm, that's creepy.  He's 17...

I think I need some more sleep.

Polkas & Dots

My friend Jessica posted some pictures of her and her friends at ArtPrize earlier this year.  There were a few pictures taken in front of a wall that was covered in polka dots.  I immediately asked her where the wall was, jealous of her cute pictures.

My mom mentioned yesterday that she wanted to take some pictures of Kizie to make into wallets for Christmas cards.  When I saw the sun this morning, I knew where I wanted to take her.  It's by Little Bohemia, off of Division on Weston.  We took Tillie and her cute owl hat along too. (Yes, the hat is the cutest thing ever.  It's from tinytangerines on etsy.  Just so The Kiz isn't left out, her shirt is from GapKids.)

For new readers from IComLeavWe, Kizie is my sister and Tillie is my daughter.

 

 

 

These girls?  They're my favorites.

IComLeavWe

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Snuggly Baby.

Tillie loves her new Dream Blanket.  It's perfect for playing on the floor.

 

Suzy Q.

I had great plans today.  Plans to go out for lunch because I felt sorry for myself.  Tillie was not a happy sleeper last night. 
Normal bedtime = 7:30p

Last night's bedtime = 1:20a.

Around ten I was called to see if I could watch my cousin's daughter Cadence.  I said yes because going out for lunch was not a good reason to say no.   After I said yes, I glanced around my disaster of a house.  Hmm... Cadence is 2, she can walk and grab anything she sees.  My house was so not prepared for that.

I did a whirlwind cleaning of my house.  It really needed it.  Tillie's morning nap was 2 hours long.  She really needed it.  My house smelled weird because of a bacon microwave burning incident, so I decided to whip up some brownies to make the house smell better.  Tillie watched my vacuuming while chewing on her new maple teether.

My house is clean, Cadence is sweet to Tillie and I feel much better.  It's amazing what a clean house and some brownies can do.

(I  might see about eating dinner out.  I still think I deserve it. ;) )

Lots of Laundry

A few people have asked me to post my cloth diapering system.  I feel a little silly posting it, because basically I e-mailed Rebecca to see what she did and I do pretty much the same.

My supplies:
22 Bumgenuis 3.0 diapers.
2 Planet Wise pail liners.
2 Medium Wet Bags
1 Small Wet Bag
Planet Laundry Detergent
California Baby Diaper Area Spray
30 homemade flannel wipes
20 homemade jersey wipes
6 circo washclothes
Little Spray Bottle
12 fleece rectangles

Here you can see my set up.  I keep the diapers on the second shelf of the changing table.  The clothes in the current size she wears is kept in the bins of the changing table.  I use a disposable wipes container to keep my flannel wipes in on top of the changing table.  The second shelf holds another container with the jersey wipes and the cheap washclothes(Literally jersey knit material cut into squares.  It doesn't fray, so no sewing is needed.  They're thin, and sometimes needed for clean-up, or for when I've used all the flannel wipes.)  Some people just use all cheap washclothes.  I wanted to make wipes because I'm not a very good sewer, but I can do squares!  The fleece rectangles are a liner of sorts.  I just place it in the diaper when I put it on her.  Most of the poo goes on to the fleece, so I don't really get stains on the diapers.  Now that she's on solid foods I just drop the poo in the toilet.  When she was just taking formula everything would just wash out in the machine.  I only have 12 fleece rectangles because I'm too lazy to cut the rest of the fleece up.  (Yes, I realize it would take all of 2 minutes.)

The wipes before I used them, they're a little stained now.

The spray bottle holds a mixture of distilled water and the California Baby diaper area spray.  The trash can is the kind that you push down on the top and it will pop open.  I can open it with my knee or elbow.  It's line with the pail liner.  I have two of them so when I do a load of diaper laundry it goes right in there with them.

There are two detergent charts online that helped me chose what detergent to use.

http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm
I decided on Planet because I can buy it locally at D&W.  I've also ordered Planet powder from Drugstore.com, but I think I like the liquid better.  CottonBabies.com offers free shipping on the detergent they sell.  All of it is recommended for cloth diapers. I've been tempted to buy some Nellie's because the tin is so cute.


I wash the diapers twice with 1/4 the amount of detergent the bottle calls for.  The first wash is cold, the second is hot.  I do an extra cold rinse after that.  I line dry my diapers because I don't want to worry about fabric softener build-up  from what could be lingering in the dryer.  Plus, it uses less energy.  In the summer I would dry them outside and it only took one day.  If I washed them mid-morning they would be dry after dinner.  Now, I wash them and it takes about 24-36 hours to dry.

Bumgenuis 3.0 are a one-size pocket diaper.  The come with two inserts, one regular and the infant/doubler. I use just the regular insert during the day. I have 5 white diapers and I stuff those with a regular insert and the doubler for bed.  She stays in that for 12 hours at night and doesn't leak at all.  Should she start leaking at night, I could add another doubler, or look into other types of inserts.  I've heard that bamboo is very absorbent.  The inserts I have are microfiber.  Right now I have them snapped down to the smallest size.  They should fit her until around 35 lbs.  I had to wait until 4 months to start using them because she was so small and had skinny legs.  A lot of people use prefolds and covers for newborns and small infants.  I may do that with future children, but I didn't want to deal with cloth at camp with my first baby.

The smaller wetbags I keep in my diaper bag for used diapers when we're out.  I do use disposable wipes for that, but she can wear cloth diapers for longer.  I rarely have to change her unless it's a long day our.  Trips to the mall or Target are just fine.

I think that's about all.  We really like them.  I haven't had a blowout  since we started using them.  I did have one leak, at my cousin's wedding.  But, that was because I forgot to change her diaper and she wore it for abour 6 hours.  Oops.  She hasn't worn a disposable since we started using them.  They were an investement, but I got a few as gifts, Rebecca found a bunch on sale for me and I bought some others in bulk.

Let me know if you have any questions or if it seems like I left something out!

My Punk Rock Princess

We taught her how to comb her own hair.  It saves a lot of time in the mornings.

I have a new phone.

I've had my old one for nearly 2 years.  I really liked it.

It really had seen better days though.

It drove Kizie crazy that I still used it even though the metal part by the screen was sticking up.  "Doesn't it hurt your ear to talk?" (I think that happened in June.) Also, the 3, 6, 9, and # keys didn't light up anymore. (I think that happened in September.)  It was a sign of worse things to come.  My new phone is pretty and brown.  It's the Nokia 3711.

There is one feature I will really miss on my old phone.  There was a button on the top that you pushed and the phone will pop open.  I have to relearn how to open my new phone.  Right now, it takes two hands. 

Yes.  I am lame.

Squee!

Yesterday night, after a long evening at Urgent Care*, I came home to and e-mail from Baby GoodBuys.  I entered a giveaway a week or so ago for a Halo Sleep Sack.  I won!  That kind of think never happens to me.  Matthew is the one who wins things in our family.  Maybe Tillie is lucky like him.  Here's the gorgeous sleepsack that Tillie will be napping in soon.

*As it turns out, Tim has a kidney stone.  He has pain meds now and feels a lot better.

The End of Fall

Tim's finishing what we hope to be the last of the leaves this year.  I couldn't resist trying to get a picture of her in the leaves.  The sun was a little to bright for her, but she's still cute.

 

These are 6-12 overalls.  She outgrew the cute 3-6 ones my mom bought at a garage sale.  I'll miss them.

Friends and Family

faA few years ago Gap Inc. rebranded their Friends and Family sale to "Give & Get".  Unfortunately, the name didn't catch on.  Everyone I know still calls it Friends and Family.

My point?  Friends and Family Give & Get starts today!  Go here to print your 30% coupon for Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime and Athleta.) 
My mom is coming over in a few minutes and we're heading over to Rivertown.  I couldn't help but do some pre-shopping online this morning.  I have a GapSilver card, so I get free shipping and I can return to the store.  I always over buy, then decide what I want to keep.  My favorite item that's on its way?
This Old Navy Reindeer Romper.  I have a thing for reindeer sweaters.  They make me think of Seth Cohen.

What I really want for Tillie is a sweater romper from Gap's Christmas 2008 line. (Boy, Girl)  I debated about buying, but we didn't know if Tillie(LuLu then) was a boy or a girl.  I almost bought the girl one, but Tim and I decided that Gap always has cute sweater rompers at Christmas.  This year?  They're all gorgeous neutral colors.  I like my Christmas with a side of crazy, thank you very much!

So, if anyone has the Gap 2008 Christmas romper in a 6-12, hit me up.  I'll buy it, but not for the ridiculous $25 it's listed for on eBay.

(Oh, and I checked Gap Outlet.  They don't have a version either.)

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all of those who have served for our country.  Tillie wanted to say thank you too.

I think she really wanted me to make a video of her.  She kept waving the Marine flag all around.

A Thousand Words

I should have taken this picture and posted it with yesterday's post.  I'm pretty sure Tillie is teething.  That combined with some vaccines makes for a little cranky Tillie.

Shots

Oh, did this little girl scream when she got her shots today.  She got the normal 6 month shots and the first seasonal flu shot.  They don't have many H1N1 vaccines right now, so they're only doing them as clinics.  Maybe when we go in December for her second seasonal flu vaccine they'll have more in.

She's 16lbs 8oz, which is 50% for her age.  My tall girl is 27" and in the 90th percentile!  She must have my legs.  Because I know you're all dying to know, her head circumference is 17" and 75%.

Here's a cute picture from our walk yesterday.  This hat is a hand-me-down from Auntie Kiz.  And, she's wearing a Calvin hoodie.  We start them out young.

Baby Bird

Tillie loves solid food.  The moment you open the jar of food, she opens her mouth.

I've been giving her a sippy of water to play with when she's in the highchair.  She totally understand the idea.  She just can't get it high enough.

6 months

 

Toys

Every morning after Tillie's first bottle we snuggle for a little bit.  I then stand her up to help her burp.  It's always during this time that she looks down, almost longingly at her toys and the excersaucer.  She likes to play.  (And chew on them.)

Once and a while, she looks back up at me as if to say, "Why am I down here again?"  

She already likes it outside,

so we know she'll wear this shirt with pride.  How perfect will this be for her to wear around Camp next summer?

It was only $2.64 in the little boys department at Target.  I gave it to Tillie when we got home.  She started chewing on it.  I think that means she approves.

Polka Dot Feathers

I got a cute new headband at work yesterday.  I bought it to wear to a wedding this weekend, but I might just leave it on today too.

I could never be a MySpace Queen; I lack bathroom picture taking skills.

Isn't my expression awesome.  It makes me think of a mannequin with a vacant look.

I just might order this number from j.crew.com.  It's perfect for Christmas parties.

(No, I don't intend to write every post this month about clothing.  I just worked the last two days, so clothing is on my mind.)

(My sweater is from Forever 21.  I bought it yesterday.)

Jeans

Remember how a week after Tillie was born I posted on facebook that I was wearing my regular jeans?  Yeah, well, I haven't worn them since.  No, I've not been wearing maternity sizes, I bought new jeans in a different size.  I've found that I don't like Gap and Old Navy jeans lately.  They just don't fit me right.  And, I don't want to drop any money on designer denim because hopefully this size is just temporary.

I found new jeans I like, at American Eagle of all places.  They have great customer service on their online site.  Free shipping and free returns.  I had a coupon for 20% off too.  The best part?  Their jeans are cheap!  Regular price is $29.50-$49.50.

I ordered one of every style and had a fashion show for my mom and Tillie.  Two different styles were winners for me. The Artist Jean. The Skinny Jean.

No Teeth

It doesn't even look like we're anywhere close.  That doesn't mean, however, that Tillie doesn't like to chew on anything she can get her hands on.  Sophie's a popular choice.

As is this raspberry.

National Blog Posting Month

30 Posts (okay, 29 because I missed yesterday) in 30 days.

I think I'm going to try it.