Momma Recommends {Sodapop}

I had entered a giveaway on a lovely blog called Freckled Nest. The indie blogging community has so many great giveaways that are so easy to enter. I've won a few really great things. A bracelet from Elephantine, and a print from Sycamore Street Press. This one was a little more labor intensive, but I was having a nauseous day so I was just laying down anyway. Lo and behold...I won!

The giveaway had lots of goodies from different artists. I've gotten a couple of them and they are really cute. Today this came in the mail.



I love it. I haven't been wearing a lot of jewelry lately because one year old's love to pull on it and Henry is surprisingly strong. But this necklace looks really sturdy and he is learning to be more gentle. I'm wearing it right now, and I love it. If you go to Dayle's blog, you can see all the cute things she makes. Her etsy shop is closed for now but you can sign up to receive an email when it reopens. Did I mention I love my necklace? Yeah? Ok.

I.M.

Firetrucks and Tears

Our local Police and Fire Department had an event today for kids. The games were all for older kids but we took Henry to see the fire engine thinking he would love it.

He. Did. Not.




"Yes and am scared, and that is what is scaring me."



Going home.



I.M.

Post Bath Fluff

Plastic...It's What's For Dinner

Look closely.


We do feed our child actual food.

At The Park

We fed the geese. Well, I fed the geese. Henry was only interested in eating the stale bread. He cried because he didn't understand why the geese could have some and he couldn't.

How Often?

Seriously? How often does your bathroom get cleaned?

I need some help on this subject. Nothing grosses me out more than a bathroom. Blah. I'll clean anything but the bathroom. However, Henry loves the bathroom! We always keep the door shut when he is awake because of the obvious...the toilet, for safety and sanitary reasons. But if that door happens to be open by chance he bolts to the bathroom and we race him there. The door gets shut right before he reaches it, and then he cries.

Anyway! I decided that he is eventually going to touch it so I need to make sure everything in the bathroom is clean. Which means cleaning it more often. Urgh.

So while he was doing this today...



...I cleaned the bathroom.

Here is where I need help.

How often? Who does yours? How do you do it? The last question may seem silly. But being the germaphobe that I am, I clean the toilet last because I don't want the sponge to touch other things after it's been all up in the toilet. Then I feel like throwing away the sponge. Seriously. Gross.

Then there is the floor and the tub. Do you swifer? Hands and knees? Bucket? Clean the tub/shower while you are actually taking a shower?

I'm always glad when it is clean, but I feel like it is never clean enough. Like I've just pushed all the germs around. So please..help!

I.M.

Momma's Kitchen {Bruschetta}

The oh-so-lovely Pioneer Woman has inspired me to post some cooking "adventures" going on in our house. I wouldn't call myself much of a cook, but my oven was on for three hours yesterday so I figured it would be a good day to start! Although, I don't really have much to show for those three hours, but what I do was really yummy.

While emailing with my foodie friend Erin, we were talking about the difficulty of being an adult. She said she's says a prayer, and eats a cookie. I then made cookies so that I could do just that.



I used this recipe which is a chocolate chip cookie that calls for vanilla instant pudding! They were so good. Henry liked his few nibbles too, cried when it was over, then promptly spit it all up. Guess it was too sweet for his lil'tummy. Guess that will teach us to have dessert first!

I also hauled out my bread machine that Brian's grandmother passed down to me and made some French Bread. It is easier than it sounds, and I have been loving this bread machine. I turned it into Bruschetta with tomatoes and basil from our garden.



My version is super easy. I just slice the toasted loaf into ~1/4" slices. Chop basil and dice tomatoes. Toss them with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. I should have added minced garlic but completely forgot. Add those to the bread slices. Top it off with a small slice of Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese.

And the finished product



I.M.

Open House

We are having an Open House for the shop on August 21st from 9am-3pm. If you are local, hope you can make it! If you want to RSVP you can go to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dignityregained or click HERE to go directly to the event.

Kinda think I need...

I'm at 16+ weeks in pregnancy #2. I'm at the stage where I am starting to show, but I still feel like I just look like I've put on a couple of pounds. This shirt would clarify what is going on with my midsection to strangers. Such a happy lil babe in there!

From this shop: Crowsmack.etsy.com

I.M.

There are no pictures

There are no pictures of this past weekend at the Chicago Market. I did pack the camera at the last minute just to take some pictures over the weekend. But I'm pretty sure I would have gone bonkers if I had tried to take a picture at any point.

Our weekend started out with a late departure, heavy traffic, ironing clothes and eating dinner basically in the dark next to a sleeping baby. (We had intended to leave at a reasonable hour, check in, go out to eat, put Henry down and maybe watch a movie.)

Our night continued with Henry deciding that a hotel room is meant for partying and at 2am that is precisely what he should do. Except we wanted to sleep. I try to get him back to sleep, get frustrated, Brian would take over and coax him back to sleep. This happened a few times and by 6:30 we were exhausted.

I had a 8am breakfast seminar that I wanted to go to. It was being given by the Executive Director of The Fair Trade Federation. I had intended to walk because Merchandise Mart was less than a mile away. But it was raining. I decided to brave the rain in the name of saving money and started out with my phone navigation. Except it sent me in the wrong direction then told me to turn around. After walking around a block my shoes were soaked through and it was starting to rain harder. I went into a bank building and tried getting money from an ATM for cab fare. After three attempts I found that it was not going to accept my card. So I walked back across the street to our hotel and sunk down next to Brian totally defeated, wet and tired. But to my rescue Brian dashed across the street to another ATM, got some money, and we waited in line for a cab at our hotel.

I ended up sharing a cab with a woman who paid for it. (Score!) I made it to the seminar 20 minutes late, but they decided to start 20 minutes late because of the rain.

I walked Beckman's and the Fair Trade booths within it the whole morning and had a great time meeting our vendors and finding some new ones. I definitely want to go back next year (with an umbrella, and leaving Henry with a babysitter).

Brian ended up having to stay inside the hotel with Henry because of the rain so they didn't get to see much of Chicago, except the roads. But I'm so happy to have their support and am very excited for the future of the shop!

I.M.

My Happy Place Today

Today was one of those days. I don't have many bad days (thankfully), but today was one of the few. The nice thing about having a one year old is that it is kind of impossible to have a completely awful day...even if they were the cause of it. (Which was not the case today at all.) His smiles and silliness bring me right back to the center.



Henry's smiles helped. A morning walk with a friend who bought me a Pumpkin Apple muffin helped. Thanks Carli! And a friend bringing over Frappacinos, a listening ear and playmates for Henry in the afternoon was icing on the cake. Thank you Denise!


I.M

Insomnia is the New Sleep

Pregnancy for Tammy
A Poem (sort of)

Rest is the new production

Chips are the new apple

Nausea is the new normal

Elastic is the new waistband

Insomnia is the new sleep
Frizz is the new smooth

Water is the new coffee

Walking is the new running

Excitement is the new mundane

Heatbeat dopplers are the new stethoscope

Four is the new three.

[below, when I was pregnant with Henry]

How is Henry?

We get this question a lot. We of course don't mind answering at all. What parent doesn't love gushing about their child?

So how is Henry?

Henry is hilarious. I'm not even sure I completely remember what our days were like before him. He loves to smile, laugh, clap, pinch his own nose and say "gaaah" in a nasal voice, and pinch out noses so that we will "honk".

He has taken a couple steps here and there, but is still a little nervous about walking. I'm sure if we give it a month he will be walking all over. He has taken some big spills so I don't really blame him for being a little worried.

He continues to look just like his "da" and everyone always exclaims that fact when they see him after a few month's absence.

He is loud but doesn't really have many words yet. He says "da" when he sees Brian's picture but that's about it. He knows what a lot of words mean though. Particularly the words "no-no Henry". We found out he also knows what "all gone", "last bite" and "say 'night-night' Henry" means because he starts crying immediately when we say these.

His favorite toy lately is our wok and the lid that goes with it. He loves to pound the lid into the wok and he really loves it when I sit him in it and pull him around the house by the handle.

I have been trying to empty out the pictures from my phone so now a lot of them are on my computer. They are camera phone quality(poor), but I can't let them go.

My favorite outfit for him (10/7/09)


Snuggling (10/2/09)


Reading the ads (12/4/09)


With Da (12/09)Love my boys in plaid!


Peek a boo! (12/29/09)


High Chair Play (1/13/10)


I.M.

The Mart

I've been wanting to attend a trade show for some time now. At first I thought it wasn't really necessary for our store, but wanted to go look at all the pretty new things anyway. I was reading one of my favorite retail blogs and they quoted the Wall Street Journal: "participating in trade shows is one of the smartest things a business-owner can do.” I knew I had the Chicago Market on my calendar, so I opened it up...this weekend! Very short notice. But I discussed it with Brian the next day, signed up and booked a hotel room. So I guess, BAM I'm going! (Hotel rooms in Chicago are not cheap so last minute before Market, sign up early!) Brian and Henry are going to come with and explore downtown a bit together while I go to the Beckmans Handmade Show as well as a breakfast seminar by the Executive Director of the Fair Trade Federation. I'm excited to listen to her and see all the Fair Trade and handmade goodies and meet some of our suppliers in person.

I am a little intimidated though. It's my first market, and I'm going alone. And this is the building:

It has it's own zip code! (Seriously, it does.)

I've been trying to figure out whether or not I can take pictures, but I'll be sure to post some if they allow it. Wish me luck!

Buy Local: Twigs Market

When I first walked up to Twigs Market last weekend I was so impressed by how Jani Davis had transformed a barn into a cozy weekend shop.

She carries a variety of plants, veggies, herbs, fresh and dried flowers, handmade and vintage pieces, and the cutest little bunnies and birds. This weekend she also had the sweetest little black kitten.

All throughout she has created a simple/non-cluttered country charm atmosphere.


Bunnies with bunny feed for sale.

Fresh Basil and Parsley




Vintage Aprons

Henry loves it too.

"Hiding"

If you want to stop by Twigs and see it for yourself, (and support local artists and/or buy some yummy produce) it is on the corner of Fourth and Allentown. A very quick drive from Morton. Every Saturday until the fall from 8a-12p.

Looking Forward To...

January! When I...

...can start the journey back to a (new) 'normal' for myself. A normal appetite for my favorite foods. With Henry's pregnancy I craved Indian food, now I don't even like driving by one of our fav restaurants. Plus I can stop eating what I now affectionately call 'second breakfast'. Today second breakfast was a turkey (meatless) and cranberry sandwich, at 9am.
...will stop feeling so lightheaded everytime I stand up.
...will meet our new bundle! I haven't been able to think as much about our second because Henry has been occupying my "child section" of my brain and heart. But when I do think about him/her, it is so different from what I thought about with Henry. It is much more blissful and hopeful. Maybe because I know a little more of what we are getting into. Henry has brought us more happiness than we ever imagined, so the fact that we are going to have another is mind boggling amazing to me.

Here is Henry on his second day of life.

Amazing how a year has flown by.


I am also looking forward to the next couple of months. We have made some big decisions and have some big changes (and a move) coming up in the next year or so. More on that later.

I.M.

Birthday Fun

Henry got to hear his Happy Birthday song three times for his first birthday. His final time was in our backyard for a small Illinois celebration of our favorite foods, bags, and family and a couple friends. Henry loved it. I felt like he really knew that the evening was for him.

Uncle Aaron fed him dinner.

He got a lot of smiles from everyone, including his daddy of course.

We all indulged in his "horn" honking, and honked as he squeezed our noses.

Even Grandpa.

We decided that he wasn't going to join us in eating cake this time. (Since our experience on his actual birthday resulted in a very grouchy baby.)
This was my first time making and using Fondant on a cake. It might be my last since it took me hours, which compared to buying a $1.50 can of frosting and slapping some on in 5 minutes is a huge difference. But I was really happy with the way it turned out. I used this recipe. This may be the only picture I have of the cake, if I find another I'll post it.

Thanks for sharing in Henry's first birthday celebrations! Next year we'll have a 6 month old sibling for him to help us celebrate!

I.M.

More Camping Goodness

As promised here are more pictures from our camping trip in the Sierra Nevada's a couple weeks ago.

This is my mom with Henry. She loves him to pieces of course. She has always loved camping. She camped in this same area as a child, took us there as children, and loved having a grandchild there to continue the tradition.

One of my favorite camping traditions, Kerns! Stawberry of course, is there any other kind? Henry got his first taste of Kerns, and since he hasn't quite mastered his drinking skills, his shirt got to do most of the tasting.

Father's Day happened while we were camping as well. I am ashamed to say that I totally forgot that is was Father's Day. I felt so horrible that I forgot Brian's first holiday with Henry. I should have remembered it...it was the day I went into labor last year! Henry loooves his daddy. Only his daddy can make him laugh as hard as he does with him.

Of course, since I was in labor on Father's Day, a few days later was Henry's birthday. This is of course post-cake/pre-two hour nighttime routine and screaming from sugar high.

My uncle brought his four-wheeler up for everyone to enjoy. I think Adam and Brian enjoyed it the most, but we all took a turn. Brian and I are about to go out for a ride, and Brian looks very excited!

Tina and I at a spot where many-a-memory was made, "The Falls". You can't see it but behind us there is a fairly small rock waterfall where kids (and adults!) jump and slide down into some pools below. It was a "treturous" hike to get there as children, but it's funny how when you go back and do something as an adult you realize it's a five minute easy walk that we had begged to be carried through.

And lastly, Henry eating a cracker with Brian. He is a child that thinks he is an adult, wanting to eat what everyone else has. Just a plain cracker will not do. He insisted with tears and pointing that he wanted cream cheese and orange fig jam spread on his cracker before he could eat it. He must be mine.

I.M.