My father and grandfather handmade these blocks for Blake. We use them everyday for ramp races or city building. I need to sign up for Hot Wheels Anonymous because I can't stop buying them for Blake. They were one of my favorite things to play with as a child and I can remember playing with my tractor in my parent's flower beds like it was just yesterday. I am on the hunt for a decent ambulance (eBay here I come). An eBay search last night taught me that campers from the early 80's are selling for $28! Who knew? While the wind outside is blowing like mad, our inner city within our house is a nice 68 degrees with no wind.
What do you do with 23, white onesies left over from baby #1? You have a dye party of course. I got together with my friend Megana so we could freshen up the look of some of our white onesies from our previous children. Some of the shirts had stains on them so I tried to tye-dye them out. Too bad my dying techniques are kind of sloppy and I end up with big color blotches. Still looks better than spit up stains!
The finished bunch:
23 onesies ready to go:
Megana's daughter George drew this picture for me. This made me very happy because I told her I want a kitty and these are the perfect kitties to take home to Andrew (who is allergic). This made my evening and they are up on my fridge as part of our family.
Friday, January 22, 2010
There is a break in the rain today and for once I am glad to see the sun. We needed the rain badly, but I can't remember when it rained non-stop for days like this. Blake did great and we seemed to keep ourselves entertained despite being forced inside. Enjoy the sunny weekend before the rain comes back on Monday! It is time to put on our rain boots and walk to the mailbox.
I went to Gymboree's website and clicked on a coupon so we could attend a free class. This was exactly what we needed (someone else's toys) during the rain. Here are two videos from our rainy day inside:
When you think of our family I hope you think about words like: toddler, beer brewing, Eurovans, or knitting. I am terrified that people think "dirty carpets" when they think of my home. Teenie and LuLu are not good with carpets (hence why they are never allowed upstairs). So to combat the dirty paws and occasional accidents, I bought the Bissell SpotBot pet. This thing is crazy. So far so good and I am happy to know that my stains will get dealt with right away instead of me rolling my eyes and stepping over them. My video is in no fashion as glamorous as the one you will find on the Home Shopping Network, but no one expects that right?
Here is the first pair of underwear I made for Blake's potty training adventure. I made them during his nap by using this pattern (http://hyenacart.com/FishsticksDesigns/index.php?c=11&p=27850). They were super easy, but my serger gave me some issues. I broke one of the needles and metal pieces went flying at my face and then I jammed the whole machine up. Once I got it under control it was smooth sailing. There was a meltdown associated with the underwear because he wanted to wear them around all day without peeing on the potty. Note to self: don't let kid see underwear until after he has had his snack and is full and happy.
When Ellen and David were in town we drove to Los Gatos to visit a great sewing/beading store. I picked up this pattern because I have been searching for decent skirt patterns with an elastic waist. That way I can stretch the waistband over my pregnant belly. So out came the sewing machine for the first project of 2010:
My finished skirt:
Um, it didn't fit. The waistband under the elastic ended up being too small for my hips. I now know that I need to use a fabric with some stretch to it to fit over my "womanly" hips. Bummer. It will have to wait until baby is born before being worn.
My next project involves fabric for Blake's training underwear. I plan on sewing some today and starting potty training next week. I am hoping that two to three days of constant potty attention will head us in the right direction:
Now for the honest truth. My skirt probably didn't fit because of desserts like these. My friend Martina was in town visiting from Germany (another past Au Pair friend) and wanted to meet Blake for the first time. She graduated college and is now looking to move to California to work. So if any of you are in the market for a great, German international communications major then please let me know!!! She really wanted to go out to Applebee's for a molten lava cake dessert, but all I had to offer her was the Cheescake Factory in downtown Palo Alto. We only ate a third of our desserts, but man was it delicious:
More proof:
Well, I should probably get out of my pajamas and start my day. Blake has been requesting a train ride so we might jump on the Cal Train for a mini day trip somewhere close. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Since January is always the month to start a new exercise routine I thought I would start with aqua aerobics. I loved my aqua aerobics class at the YMCA during my pregnancy with Blake and made many, great connections with people whom I still talk to. Yesterday was my first day in the class and boy did I not realize how long it has been since I have truly exercised (huffing and puffing next to my mother on a treadmill days before I found out I was pregnant). It will take a while to get back into the rhythm of things, but I am sure my birth story will be better because of it.
So go one people, start your 2010 exercise plans. At least you can say you tried even if you stop doing it a month down the road.
2010 has already started off on a great foot. First of all, nothing is better than an even year! We had a great Christmas and enjoyed all of our family gatherings. Instead of working between Christmas and New Years, Andrew decided to take the week off so we could meet up with his parents who were on an RV trip up in Calistoga. Here is a portion of our trip in photos:
Baby Jesus was born so off to wine country:
I was the designated driver (chauffeur as I like to be called) so I fired up the Eurovan and headed to the first winery:
Very sober tasters:
All of the wineries were chock full of dogs and cats so Blake was constantly amused:
Blake and I would head out into nature to explore our surroundings:
Next winery:
On our way up:
Quiet vines, but still they had such a presence:
Blake enjoying the scenery:
Knock, knock:
Ellen scored the fam some wine while they asked about reservations. Too bad most of the places were reservation only and had quite the wait list. We headed down the road in search of more laid back wineries:
I don't remember the name of this winery, but it was much more laid back:
Gulp, gulp, guzzle:
Blake holding his plastic wine glass:
This winery is one of the few that has a mobile bottling business:
With minor, slurred speech we headed off for some more:
Inside:
Blake and I then headed outside (notice Andrew and family in the same spot inside):
They had tractors off in the distance so we had to go check those out:
All heck broke loose at this winery. Everyone else had a blast, but Blake pulled my hair so hard I ended up accidentally scratching him and left two, big gashes in his hand. He still has the marks and I feel terrible, but man can that kid clench his fist around a chunk of my hair. That is why there is only a picture of the sign before we went in:
I regained my cool and we oozed out of the van for one last taste:
Two left standing:
The next day Ellen stayed at the hotel while Blake napped so I could get in on the wine tasting. We visited Castello di Amorosa for some old school Italian flavor:
My knight:
Andrew and David enjoyed tasting tons of wine:
Which one next:
When we weren't wine tasting we were back at the hotel, Dr. Wilkinson's Hot Spring Resort, relaxing in the warm pools or walking around downtown Calistoga. David had to show Blake some important football moves:
Blake loved having a television and watched way too many cartoons (by the way, he would tuck himself in like this):
A video of the family in the hot pool. The pool is filled with mineral water and was so comfy to be in. I mostly stayed up on the steps or on the side of the pool:
The best part about this trip was our impromptu labyrinth walk. Andrew and I walked a labyrinth in San Francisco before Blake was born to encourage a wonderful birth. We couldn't quite figure out how to get back to the SF labyrinth so we were delighted when someone had set one up in the parking lot across from our hotel. This time we said our well wishes for a great second birth. Now I feel relaxed enough to get back to life and prepare for adding another soul into our family unit:
May everyone's 2010 be filled with wonderful, and new experiences. Now is the time to shed those old ones that are holding you back.
