Fair Trade Open House

It was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who came, I really appreciate your encouragement and commitment to Fair Trade.






I love doing this! Brian watched Henry all day long. And is there anything better than hearing your husband say, "I'm so proud of you"?

Boy Oh Boy

I turned 27 yesterday. Last year was so great because my twin sis was here to celebrate with me and Henry was just a new wee one. I always worry when Tina and I have to spend a birthday apart because I always end up crying and just wishing I was in California with her or she was here with me. She's pretty much awesome and I really miss her.

Thankfully I was able to fill up my schedule this year and having a one year old doesn't give me much time to think about it. I went for a walk with my daily walking buddy Carli and on our way back home we stopped by a friends house and ended up staying for a while. Which was so fun but left me with a half hour to shower and get out the door to a fun pool party a friend put together for me. I ended up being a half hour late, I would have gotten there even sooner if I hadn't stopped to snap this picture of my really big boy in his new big boy car seat for the first time!



I also would have gotten there much sooner if I hadn't looked all over for my sunglasses only to find them on top of my head once I was halfway to the party. It was at a friend's in-laws' absolutely gorgeous house. All my girlfriends brought their kids and yummy food and we swam in the heated saltwater pool and it was perfect.



I wish that I had gotten more pictures, but Henry is a handful! After the party I rushed home, put Henry down for a nap, did a quick change and Brian and I drove to our gender sonogram while Brian's mom watched Henry.

About to leave for the sono! So excited!



At our sono.




Just found out the gender! He's all boy! My reaction...



Brian's happy about it!



It was a great visit, everything looked just as it was supposed to and we even got to see a 3D picture of our little guy. He's perfect. So we went to celebrate at one of our favorite spots, Waterstreet Cafe. The weather was so great and if you know me well you know that I love to eat outside.



Still elated!



Brian happy and texting friends and family the news.



Good celebration food. Red pepper gouda soup for me and veggie wrap for Brian.




Then back home for a couple presents from the inlaws and on to our church's missions board meeting.



I feel very blessed. Someone reminded me this might be my last birthday in Illinois. Exciting and a little sad at the same time!

I.M.

Momma Recommends {Engage Green}

A while back I carried Engage Green in my shop when we had a brick and mortar store. I sold one of my last bags to a friend, which was a beautiful organic cotton/hemp blend with cork accents. When I saw her a couple months later I was mortified to see her carrying around the bag with the cork completely chipped off. I asked her if she used it all the time and it saw a lot of wear and tear and she said no, that it has started to do that right away. I emailed them right away with this issue and it seemed to be isolated to that bag so I asked for another. They were sold out. This may have been almost a year ago.

So I was really pleasantly surprised when they got new materials and let me know that they would make her another last week! It came in the mail on Wednesday beautiful as ever.



I really appreciate their customer service and commitment to sustainability. I'm going to love delivering this to my friend!

I.M.

Teenage Years

We live two blocks from the town's high school. Since it has been so nice outside we have our windows open often. On Wednesday I was sitting in our living room doing some reading for our Wycliffe trainings when school got out for the day. A lot of kids walk home. The girls talk loud and fast. But my observations from the boys make me a little nervous about raising a teen boy 12 years from now.

- One boy is walking alone, another comes up behind him on an electric scooter yelling "I'm going to hit youuu!!" And he was right. He did, sending him into our trashcans. So the fallen boy got up and threw a rock at the one that hit him. He got a very belated "Sorry!"

- Another group of boys sat across the street for quite some time. I'm not really sure what happened. But one is teasing "you're such a girl!" as the other one moans (over-dramatically) "oooowww, call 911!" I think they were picking something out of his leg.

Behold. Our future (?)

Bed Head

The other day I had to wake Henry up and quickly feed him lunch so we could make it somewhere on time. He was a little dazed while I shoveled food into his mouth.

Life Feels Full

I've felt myself in long lasting ruts many times in the last couple of years. Having Henry was a huge change for me...a wonderful change, but difficult to adjust to. As I've said in the past, everyday seems to get easier with his independence and fun new findings. I keep telling myself, "Everyone says it goes so quickly, enjoy it while you can!" Am I going to look back and feel like I did just that? Enjoy it? Even when he is dropping one of his naps? ::small voice saying nooooo!::

These past couple of weeks I've felt like I am finally finding some hope that I will look back and say "I enjoyed it!"



I certainly don't feel like I've got it all together. But I finally feel a bit more aware of not only how fleeting life can be, but also that there are things that I can do and choices I can make today that can hopefully have a positive effect on tomorrow and beyond. Time with God, time in the Word, intentional time with family, reaching out to others, resting, working. I struggle with finding a balance on all of these, but I really want to try harder.

What choices do you make on a daily basis that will positively effect tomorrow? I would love to hear your ideas!

Wycliffe and Kumquat

I'm back from my unintended break from the internet. I won't bore you with the details but I've only been able to check my email from my phone for almost a week. I was a little surprised by how difficult it was and how refreshing it was at the same time. I realized I spent way too much time online in the past, so I'm hoping to cut back a little from now on so I can find a little more balance in my life.

Ok. Boring. On to the fun stuff!

As of last week we are officially members of Wycliffe Bible Translators! We have been in the process of applying for quite some time now, so it is nice to have a sense of finality to it. We start our online training this week and will continue for six weeks, then go to Orlando for two weeks for some onsite training.

Then, we fundraise.

Then, we move!

We are praying that we will be able to move in August of 2011. Brian will be doing computer programming at their JAARS facility in Waxhaw North Carolina. I've never even been to North Carolina, but I am very excited to leave the Illinois winters behind us!



I'll keep you all posted with the specifics as we learn more.

We are also very excited about this week because on Thursday afternoon we are going in for our gender sonogram. I haven't let myself think too much about this doctors visit until today, and I am beyond excited to find out!

I.M.

New Date for Open House!

Due to family illness, we need to push the Open House back a week. It will now be on the 28th of August from 9am-3pm. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Baby Smiles

In my pursuit of daily inspiration from the internet in the last couple of days I've gravitated a little towards some other momma blogs. Sometimes I get totally tired of them, which is funny since I write one. But I think I've got babies on the mind since my OB appointment this past Friday. Heartbeat a strong 147 and we go back next week for our gender sono!

So here are some fun things I've seen lately:

How to Make a Baby from Cassidy Curtis on Vimeo.

Photos from Mila's Daydreams

Display Block

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on a display for some upcoming events for the shop. I have been racking my brain and hit a bit of a wall. For a couple of events I only have a 10x10 space, which is pretty typical. Of course I'd really like it to look fantastic. Somehow I have in my mind how it will look, but once it materializes I feel like I am running a yard sale.

So I've looked for some inspiration and found some in the queen of display Anthropologie. Thought I'd share it with you because it's so beautiful.

*Click on picture for the source.







Obviously mine won't be nearly this elaborate. But it's fun to dream! Back to work!

I.M.

Fall Line: Nau

Nau's new fall line is making my heart flutter.

Especially loving the confidant dis-dress.

Last Night's Dinner...

...was great.






Deep-dish, sun dried tomatoes with atichoke hearts on one side for me and pineapple on the other side for my hubbie of five years with the cool new specs.

Here is me thinking "hm..we should do this more often".



Then it was home to put the little guy to bed and watch Date Night. We love Tina Fey!

I.M.

Frump

So yesterday I though I had myself all pulled together, then we went to a neighbor's house for dinner and my fly was down the entire time. Nice.

It's super hot and humid this week, and I am so looking forward to fall. It was difficult to hear Christmas music at market a couple weeks ago and then go back to 90's+. Plus I've been working on our fall layout for the shop so I've been wanting some fall color. Stop messing with me retail world!

I've been in a bit of a funk for a while now. I think I have the "everyone else's life is so much more fabulous than mine because I live in the midwest and I'm still feeling fat not pregnant" blues. Is life more fabulous on the west and east coast?

So we went thrifting in the midst of errands. Then came home and had a dance party to Jack Johnson*correction* Keller Williams singing about love handles while making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (because I figured that would help me not to feel so large of course). Of course I should include some action shots of Henry dancing. So here is a fun sequence:






Yep. That is carpet in our kitchen. Be jealous.



The best part of this recipe is there are no eggs. Which means I can eat the batter. Which means I haven't even tried a cookie yet because I'm full on yummy batter goodness.

The day continues to look up! Tonight is date night to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and we get to go without our sweet little cherub yelling at us and slamming his hands on the table through dinner.

I.M.

Vacation With a Toddler

This past weekend we went on vacation with Brian's parents and his brother and sister-in-law to a resort close to Starved Rock. It's amazing how travelling with children changes what I think a vacation is. Suddenly vacations have turned into a lot of work. Not to mention the ones that include air travel. Thankfully this one was just an hour away. It actually turned out to be really great and there was a lot for Henry to enjoy. Except Brian and I did not enjoy two nights of good vacation sleep. Henry does not seem to sleep well anywhere other than home.

But this is pretty much what Henry did most of the weekend. Point.



Don't judge his soon to be mullet. A hair cut is in order this week. ::sad!::

There was a lot for him to point at. The place where we stayed included an indoor waterpark, and an amusement park. He loved the water park and we spent a couple of hours there. I however had forgotten my medication for morning sickness so I was in sad shape by Sunday and ready to go.

Family Shot


Even though life takes more work with children, I will say that the smiles increase ten fold. If Henry was happy at the water park, Brian and I were happy. We love to see him clap and kick after going down the slide in our lap.

And another even though....even though it's harder, it's getting easier. Less diapers, drinking cows milk from a sippy, eating what we eat, playing independently. Today I took Henry to the grocery store for an epic "stock up on everything" trip, made a dessert, and folded clothes, all while my 13 month old was awake! And I was the only one home! Gasp. I even went to the store with my hair flat ironed, full makeup, and wearing something other than a t-shirt and jeans. Oh and Henry wasn't in his PJ's! Sometimes I tend to feel a bit paralyzed when he is awake in my productivity. Which kinda messes with the rest of my day. But I'm trying to get past that. And it's getting easier.

I.M.

Momma's Kitchen {Pasta with Tomato and Blue Cheese}

So like I said in my first food post, Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is totally inspiring. I love reading her blog. She makes me want to cook more and better (even though her family eats things that moo and mine doesn't, that's ok with me). I saw this recipe for Pasta With Tomato-Blue Cheese Sauce and it looked simple enough. I always like recipes that have all recognizable ingredients. This one took about 20 mins to make so that's a plus!

Let me tell you. Drop what you are doing. Go to the store, and buy some garlic, blue cheese, tomatoes, spinach, cream, and angel hair pasta. Because that's all you need to take a bite of bliss. It was so good I made it two nights in a row. The first night Brian had three servings. The second night we actually had some leftover, which I ate for lunch the following day. Then had seconds...and a late night snack finishing it off.

Go. Shop. Now.



My photo doesn't do it justice. But go check out Ree's photo for my convincing. It's so easy. But heed her advice, don't over cook the spinach! It will shrivel quickly.

I had also picked up a big bag of nectarines at the store for $1.99. So I searched for something sweet and found this great recipe for nectarine pie. Another super easy and fast recipe that yields great results.



If you make this one, listen to the reviewers advice and add the crumble topping to it. So worth it.

I think it is safe to say I am well into my second trimester and my appetite is fully back. Although I do wish I was craving Indian Food again.

I.M.

Five Years

Five years has brought us through a lot. I'm sure that it's only the beginning. Maybe we will look back and say "wow that was easy compared to _(this)_". "Look how young we were." "Look how far we've come." "Remember when we lived in that tiny little house in that tiny little town?" "Now we have a huge mansion over looking the ocean in Hawaii...." Wait, what? My thoughts are going off track, sorry.


A family picture including Henry, who was just a small little kumquat in my belly.

Love you Brian! Happy Anniversary!

Tammy

Summer Ride

My super sweet friend Cali came over to drop something off this evening on her bike. She took Henry for a ride with her 'lil Molly and he loved it!




Arent' they the cutest?

I.M.

Momma's Kitchen {Pizza!}

If you haven't guessed, I am totally hooked on my bread machine. I used it twice today. I think that's started to become an obsession. I promise, cross my heart, that my next post about food will not include the words "bread" or "machine".

But for today...Bread Machine!!

I had everything I needed for a really great pizza. I made the dough from my trusty Betty Crocker Bread Machine book. And they had a suggestion for the fresh veggie mix, and I added my own ingredients.

3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/4 sweet onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 large bella mushroom
1 or 2 T chopped fresh basil

I rolled out the dough on our much loved pizza stone. Put down a thin layer of shredded mozzarella cheese, then the above fresh veggie mix, and another thin layer of mozzarella. (If I had any parm it would have been added too.) Then I put marinated artichoke hearts on my side and diced bell peppers on Brian's side.




Into the oven at 375 for 25 minutes.

Henry waited patiently. Well...he waited loudly, but overall patiently.



It was worth the wait!



I.M.