A Celebration!

A couple of months ago we celebrated a special event!

Here are some pictures :)

The above is the hair clip that TheLittleBear wore.

It's a shiny crown that clips in your hair.

We made a watermelon cake.

The first layer was peaches...

Then strawberries...

Ta Da! Watermelon cake. 

It was sooooo delicious. 

We set up this cute general store.

Do you need some fruit from 

Mr. Owl and Son's Family Grocer?

p.s. I painted the Rory picture ;)

Who Do You Root For In Movies?

I was watching a Netflix movie the other day called Tallulah. 

The bare bones description is a girl steals a kid from a mother in NYC.

I'm not sure if I was supposed to be rooting for kidnapper, or the mother...

but I was rooting for the kidnapper!

Even in the end when the mother comes to her senses and truly misses her kid,

I was rooting for the kidnapper to be able to legally keep the kid. 

It makes me think about the How I Met Your Mother Episode, 

where Barney explains why he roots for the bad guys in every movie. 

Here are the quotes if you need to jog your memory :)

A Running Joke

A few years ago TheDapperGentleman and I were joking around about us opening a store for organizational products because I love organizing so much. Nothing brings me more joy than someone asking me over to their house to help them organize something. I love it!!!!!!

I love love love starting a new job and being able to organize everything. File folders... label makers... file folder tabs... binders... creating folders, sub folders, and labelling data files... mmMMmm sounds like heaven...

So, back to the running joke.

I said that the store should be called Organization Organization. The first organization being the act of organizing and the second organization referencing a company/or group of people. Then TheDapperGentleman said, "Ba-Zinga! Organization squared!" But I countered saying that it wouldn't make sense because if organization was a number value it would be one and one squared is only one. So the essence of that would just be one organization... (you may insert math dork joke here ;))

Then I joked that when we answered the phone we would have to answer it, "Organization squared, if organization equals to a value greater than one. How can we help with your organizational needs today?"

Now this joke comes up any time we even think of organizing anything, and I laugh every time :)

You Gots-ta Research

(photo credit)

My brother and I were talking about learning how to ski this winter.

My cousins who already know how to do winter sports responded with, "you just have to go up and do it."

We said, "nope, that's not how we learn... We need to google techniques, acquire some research and testimony books, then devour all the information, wait a couple of weeks and find more books... then devour those... then maybe do even more googling and youtube watching... then take a person to person hands on class, then finally try it on our own." You have to be prepared... ;)

My brother and I are the biggest academic nerds ever. We must research everything! I've been researching weaving techniques for a year now, and haven't even felt ready enough to buy materials...

This stringent research technique has also applied to sailing. Currently I have 15 sailing books, 46 websites book marked, 6 sailing magazines, and 4 survival books.

I threw in the survival books because I don't want to be stuck on a dessert island and not know how to survive. You have to be prepared for all scenarios! No one wants to be Gilligan, or a character on Lost. 

In my first sailing class I was the keener who read the entire book before the class started. I had to pretend I was dumb and not answer all the questions he was asking just to tone down my keenerness...

I was starting to look like a nerd, and not in a cute way, but in an I Know Everything about Everything ha ha ha... Kind of way.

Sailing People are super laid back. My hyper overachieving ways don't jive well with the ways of the sea. I know the sea and I can work it out. :)

An Amazing Sailing Documentary

(photo credit)

Have you ever watched a documentary that made you feel compelled to do something? A couple of years ago I watched Maidentrip. It's about Laura Dekker sailing around the world by herself as a teenager. 

After this documentary I started sailing lesson and it has been amazing! There is no peace like the peace you feel on a sail boat. There are no motors, only the peaceful sounds of the waves splashing against your boat. 

I often think about the feeling of sailing when I'm having a stressful moment. Remembering the rocking of the boat and the peacefulness of it all brings a calm over me. 

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend taking private lessons. This way you get to spend your entire time learning and enjoying the quiet of the ocean :)

Avoiding a Diaper Rash

TheLittleBear had a diaper rash I couldn't get rid of when she was a newborn.

The only thing that worked was washing her bum in the sink with soap
every time she pooped and then applying breast milk to her bum.

I would have a small container for bum breast milk in the fridge and use that 

throughout the day. Breast milk is seriously magic! 

Did you know there is a difference between refined and unrefined coconut oils?

I didn't know this until I happened upon this info while watching a cooking video.

Refined coconut oil doesn't have a smell or taste, but unrefined does.

I started off buying the Spectrum Refined coconut oil. But because it was 

pricier, the next time around I bought the cheep stuff (unrefined).

Boy oh boy was the a mistake. It smelled like coconuts, but not in a good way :)

This stuff is amazing for moisturizing babies and preventing diaper rash. 

It also doesn't have a taste when you use it to cook so it's great to use 

when cooking food for your little ones!

Let's Talk About Poop Baby

Starting solids had reek havoc on little babies.

Or when they are very tiny and haven't learned 

the amazing skill of passing gas easily  :)

This video on how to give your baby an I Love You massage

helped me out a lot!!!!

When TheLittleBear was a newborn I used this to help her 

with tummy issues.

Now that she is older it's great to help her get things 

going when her stools are a little tougher to get out.

Hope this helps you in your baby poop journey ;)

How I Made A Pouch For My Tula For Under $10

I discovered something about myself since having TheLittleBear.

I love love love to baby wear. I love baby carriers because they keep your baby close

but help you to be hands free.

In the beginning I had the Beco Gemini Baby Carrier. I loved that I didn't have to have 

a baby insert. As TLB grew I knew I wanted something with more support for her legs.

I research and researched and loved the Tula. 

However, no baby carrier is perfect.

I loved the Tula, but I longed for a pouch like the Ergo.

I loved the idea that you could throw a couple of things in the pouch and 

not have to carrier a purse. 

The Tula does has a pocket at the waistband, 

but it's small and only holds my wallet...

So I made my own pouch for the Tula Carrier.

I was at Old Navy and saw the perfect bag. It was only $5, so the price was right 

for my experiment.

You will need:

1. A Clutch that folds over. Mine had a magnetic part that kept it folded. 

The magnetic part is super helpful to keep the carrier attached to the Tula in the middle.

2. A hammer, snaps that match the Tula snaps, a zipper, needle and thread, 

and a snap tool. I got my snaps from here. 

3. A stitch remover and pen.

4. And finally pins. 

 

The first step is you want to attach you Tula snaps to the clutch. 

Measure out the distance of the snaps on your Tula, and mark it on the clutch with your pen.

Then follow the directions from your snap provider and attach the snaps.

The next step is to remove some of the stitching on the side of your clutch. 

Most clutches have zippers on the top, but because it folds down you won't be able to

reach it when you have it on your carrier. 

And it wouldn't be ideal to remove the new pouch every time you needed something.

Once one of the side stitches have been removed pin and sew in your new zipper. 

Then you are going to want to either remove or sew together the zipper at the top.

I did this because I didn't want TLB to have her back against a rough zipper. 

If your clutch doesn't have this problem then you can skip it :)

And...

Ta Daaaa!

Finished :)

It looks exactly the same so if you want to use it as a regular clutch you can.

Here's how it looks on the Tula.

I didn't think of this at the time, but the top fabric 

provides a nice soft place for TLB's neck.

I hope this helps you in your baby wearing adventures :)

Organizing My Diaper Drawer

I'm always fascinated with how people organize their house. 

I love to organize and see everything in it's neat little place.

So, I thought I'd share how my diaper drawer is organized. 

In the upper row I have 3 rows of diapers, a tupperware of doggie poop bags, and wipes.

We use Huggies because they are the most affordable brand that 

did cause TheLittleBear to break out in a rash.

We EC (elimination communication) with TLB, so I didn't need to invest in a diaper pail.

Most of the time TLB uses her potty to do her business, but on the off chance that I didn't 

pay enough attention and she went in her diaper, I have doggie bags that I never use for Rory

to put her stinky diaper in. 

I also use Huggies wipes because that's just what we've always used. 

They were on sale once at Costco and I never changed what we started with. 

Sales... They get you every time ;)

In the next row I have all my baby liquids.

Baby Aveeno, Hand Sanitizer, Coconut Oil for bottoms, D-Drops, 

Bio Gaia (now it comes in non refrigeration required),

Penatin, Coconut Oil for non bottom areas, and Vaseline. 

We use Baby Aveeno Eczema Care because TLB his prone to Eczema on her face.

It works wonders!

I also have hand sanitizer that I use to spray on things that get peed on... 

I separate my Coconut Oil into small containers for bottoms and

large container for non bottom areas. 

Just so there is no contamination.

D-Drops because the midwives harped on and on about it.

Bio Gaia because it helps build gut bacteria to fight gas.

It comes in no refrigeration required now, yay!

Having a baby open their mouth and stay still long enough to 

drop 5 drops in their mouth is tough. So we put it on a little spoon

and TLB loves it! She gets to play with the spoon after which is like a double treat 

for us because it keeps her occupied while we apply her oils :)

I keep the non bottom Coconut Oil and Penatin in these mason jars.

They fit perfectly in the drawer.

Also, the original Penatin container that it comes it would get cream everywhere.

This keeps it contained better.

The desk is from ikea.

It's the MICKE desk.

Living in a small space and keep to a budget I repurposed this desk.

We had a piece of bed topper foam we didn't need anymore so I cut it to size and viola. 

Change table:)

The fabric patter is from Birch Fabrics.

Fabricana has a huge selection of wonderful fabrics.

If you measure what you need and get only the perfect amount of fabric,

there is minimal cutting and sewing to make a cover for the foam. 

I also put a garbage bag over the foam and under the cover to make it water proof :)

My No Cry Onion Trick

I hate hate hate chopping onions. 

I've found that I'm super sensitive to onion mist 

and end up in tears with the first slice.

However....