Nursing Necklace

I am in love with my new nursing necklace...and I am not the only one!

i think these are just the greatest ideas! i am so bad with cheap costume jewelry...i am like hoggle from The Labyrinth...seriously - its bad. but after bryson could grab i put it all away until he was around 2 and i wasn't carrying him around so much any more...bodie is already at the grabbing stage so away goes my jewelry again - except for this little necklace.

i bought it at an etsy store - Stones of Healing - and love how bodie now grabs this whenever i hold/wear/nurse him! its made from all natural unfinished birch and they have sanded it super smooth.

i found myself with a headache at the end of the day from his fat little hands grabbing my hair all day long. clumps of hair (i must get better at taking my calmag!) anyway...they are getting better now...still he manages to outsmart me! not just that, but it is so great always having a toy/teething ring/grabber at hand. instead of searching every corner for something to occupy him - i have one around my neck. i wore it last weekend in modesto and several people complimented me on my "necklace" - so who knew i am stylish too?

Garden Update

Someone just asked me "how does your garden grow?" so i thought i would share an update. My first box is all sprouted and almost completely thinned - (those onions are killing me!) i reckon we should have some nice heads of lettuce and spinach in a few short weeks time and then time to replant!
in my second box the beans took off like no one's business and my zuchini is starting to take off as well...my poor watermelon never sprouted...our watermelon last year didn't do so hot either - i am going to have to find out some tricks there - anyone have any helpful hints?

charlie bit me

the magic boots

i had a lovely family reunion in modesto this past weekend. i am hoping to post more about that later, but i told bryson i was going to bring him back a present. the perfect modesto present...red cowboy boots. we had such a great discussion about boys and cowboy boots with the many moms of sons at our reunion as well... i am looking forward to sharing stories of my own one day! when he opened them and put them on the first thing he said was, "Texas here I come"...then he told me we needed to go to the desert because sand won't get in his cowboy boots in the desert...i think i made a perfect match!

4 months old

bodie -you are 4 months old today! it seems like you have all of the sudden woken up this month and are all of the sudden HERE! you respond to everyone and flirt with anyone who gives you attention- much to the delight of check-out ladies everywhere...you are grabbing like crazy - mostly my hair...i find it in your fists constantly. when you nurse you pet my breastbone and it is so sweet. speaking of nursing...you recently have been wanting to do it every hour to hour and a half - maybe a growth spurt? your appetite seems to be very healthy. at night you typically do a nice 6 hour sleep and then continue to nurse every 2 hours after that...you are in bed with us so it isn't that big of a deal, but you waking combined with your brother waking (2-3 times per night this week) is making mommy TIRED! speaking of brother - you love it when brother blows on your stomach and entertains you. he also loves taking care of you and insists on bathing you whenever you need it...which is often since you spit up and drool quite frequently! you rolled over completely from back to stomach for the first time a week ago and we are finding we need to strap you in to wherever you are because you are a squirmy baby!

you are also very strong and prefer to stand on our laps to work your muscles - a linebacker in the making! but don't get any ideas...i won't let you play football ever...sorry...it goes against all my mommy sense! daddy calls you "face" because your face tends to light up a room - it goes from dead serious to an all encompassing grin in the matter of seconds. you are still an easy-going baby...unless you are hungry...then you get mad/sad and even produce tears if you aren't fed within a minute. its a good thing your food is just a heartbeat away because i don't think you would tolerate any delay in feeding! you are such a joy of a baby and i am loving every second of you - i have wished i could stop time on several an occasion! but despite my repeated requests you continue to GROW - you are now in 12 month clothes...with your cloth diapers you can not even be squeezed into 9 month clothes, you kinda skipped the whole 6-9 mo category...

i am not sure if you are teething or just always desire something to be in your mouth every second because when you are in anyone's lap you grab at their hands and put them in your mouth. it is the best when you start talking at this point.

you are typically taking 3 naps a day - if i can time it right you take a good ol' long one around 3 that lasts a couple hours. you wake in the morning so happy and make it so easy to get up and we are all truly blessed that you are around!

PS - you are wearing Happy Heinys diapers here - size large...which i love the fit of...but their liners stink...so i use fuzzi bunz liners and they work amazing!

leonard cohen

we saw the great leonard cohen perform at the nokia theater a couple fridays ago...i am just getting down to journal it. i was first introduced to him during college by our friend joel and quickly leonard cohen became a part of the background music of my college life. he was played during many a studying session...among other sessions...basically his greatest hits were the soundtrack of my college summed up. along the way i somehow turned my dad onto him and we had many a great discussions about his music/lyrics/poems. my dad gave me his book of psalms and a couple of his poetry books and my love for leonard grew and grew. he announced his first tour in 15 years and i wanted more than anything to see him live, but the pricey tickets almost deterred me...thankfully i had turned my father onto his music and generously he and Julie bought tickets for bryan and i.

we had an amazing dinner at Boa's steakhouse (thank you josh for the rec) and then waited in a STUPID long will-call line for the tickets, but once inside and in the presence of him i was immediately in awe. his voice can only get better with age, which is a nice surprise when seeing an artist who had their hey-day 40 years ago. part of what is so sustainable about him is his lyrics/poems - his songs are poems sung. at one point he spoke the lyrics "there is a crack in everything, that is how the light gets in" also he sang: hallelujah, suzanne, bird on a wire, i'm your man, tower of song, who by fire, take this waltz, everybody knows, chelsea hotel...

leonard was amazing. not just in his performance, but also his fashion (he had a bolo tie, which i typically loathe, but must forgive him because he has such genuine fashion sense) and presence. in many of the songs he knelt and sang into the mic like it was his last. he poured love into the mic truly. not just his performance, but his entire band was an amazing collection of artists. click here for the bios on the band - a true honor to watch! you could sense his respect for all the artists as well. at one point he had his back-up singers hum "ah doo dum dum dum ah doo dum dum" about 50 times because it was so angelic - and even though he probably did it every concert, it seemed like they were truly surprised as well that he kept them going.

he was on my list of people/bands i want to see before i die and trust me, it is a short list. i feel honored to be able to have seen him perform. i was inspired to pick up his book, Beautiful Losers, and i am enjoying it and can't help but hear his voice through it all. one of my favorite parts of the night is when he said that the last time he toured (15 years ago) he was a young man of 60 years old - "just a kid at the time with a crazy dream" thankfully someone captured the commentary here.

if he already passed your town hopefully you can somehow hear/see some of the crappy videos taken that i linked...if he has yet to come please do yourself a favor and fork out the money for tickets!

rolling over

bodie did the complete roll over for the first time sunday...but i was lucky to have the camera ready this time!

meet our new pool tech

what? why is Conan O'Brien wearing an LA Pool Guys outfit? Stay tuned (and watch the new Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in June) to find out!

the cutest 1 year old ever...for now

we attended a very special birthday party this past weekend in santa barbara for a very special strapping young man named declan oliver hurley. bryan snapped this shot of him that i think is one of the best photos he has taken - it captures his sweet little spirit so beautifully - not to mention he is the best little model you can hope for...the kid does not take a bad picture! congratulations to the hurleys for making it through the first year and congratulations to declan for being the cutest little thing you possibly can...is this an accomplishment? i would argue yes!

mexican bean soup

the ol' stand-by. the great jessie pee-pie perkins marcus shared this with me during bry and i's first year of marriage and i must have made it 50 times since...after i make it i re-buy all the cans the next time i am at the store so that it is always on hand - all the ingredients can be stored in your cupboard, which makes it my "i didnt make it to the grocery store and all i have is cans of beans soup" but it is always tasty and great a multitude of ways and not to mention healthy! here you go...enjoy!

(and by can i mean the regular sized ones unless noted)

1 can white beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans (i usually use more since we love black beans...that great superfood!)

1 can red beans

2 cups V-8 Picante juice

1 can Green Giant Mexi-Corn (i also like the tomato-less corn chili salsa at TJ's...but it makes it a little too spicy for bryson)

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

i put them all in the crock pot - turn on and forget about it until dinner - minimun time to cook is probably an hour on high heat - or 3 hours or more on low heat...

i also like to add lemon juice, cheese, sour cream, chicken - whatever! its kinda like a chili.

also - PS - this is a great recipe for kids to make - just open and dump!

t-shirt fun

another long bodie nap...close to 3 hours...bryson has NEVER done this before...umm except for once i think...and i probably woke him up because i was too scared at what he would do the rest of the night! anyway - these long naps have been good mommy/bryson alone time...which does make a difference - which is better for everyone :)

around the time i became pregnant with bodie and realized that bryson was more into structured time - i began a craft time with him that i typically do at least 3-4 times a week. most of the time we color or play with play-doh - occassionally we will paint or watercolor or fingerpaint or stamp and now collage, whatever we do i try to make it "structured"...as structured as i am i guess. i also have started a pre-school workbook with him since he told his father that he wants to learn the "numbers" so that he can read the books without us. many evenings he stays up after we say goodnight and "reads" his books...upside down...and makes up the stories...any way - in an effort to build on that excitement and sentiment i started this workbook - it is going really well and he seems to be into it. one of the exercises they like for kids to do is "trace the path" so that they can begin the skills/hand-eye coordination to trace the letters, which is necessary for writing. also great for this is to color between the lines. (oops...hadnt understood that before). on the airplane back from reno/tahoe - i picked up one of those imaginary ink books that only show a picture in the boxes you color and it was the best way to get him to stay in the lines...we do those for crafts too...anyway...what exactly was my point? i guess that our craft time has morphed into a pre-school/alone time that he has come to really look forward to and i as well.

i recently opened an account at american apparal and used it to buy some shirts for Sweet B and also for bryson and bryan...all these plain shirts just bother me so we have used craft time to have some fun with shirts. bryson really wanted to stamp today, so i let him pick out the stamps and colors and this is what he did...i think it turned out quite darling!

this one is his "meema" shirt. he thinks its funny that his meema rides a scooter, so we decided to make him a shirt to remind him of her. i have more ideas for the rest of the shirts, but am enjoying our time creating them together. hopefully he will have memories of this more than the movies i put in for him to watch so i can clean the house :)

craft day

i had a craft frenzy yesterday. it was incredible. bodie took an exceptionally long nap and bryson was busy making collages...i thought it may preoccupy him with his whole obsession with cutting with "sharp scissors"...indeedy i was right! while he was busy cutting away, i made 3 outfits (all for little boys thank you very much and even 1 of them for my own boy, extra bonus points to me!) plus finished a hooter hider that sat unfinished for over a year, plus mended 2 pairs of bryson's pants. i was in the "zone" a fine tuned sewing crazed machine...i have learned to be super efficient with sewing time...


i may unveil the other outfits if i decide to post them in my shop...still have not decided...but this delightful little outfit came from the wonderful japanese fabric i found here. it is sold by the half yard and she is having a closing sale...40% off! i struggled with it for a while. i made this ghetto pants pattern where i turned a pair of pants that bryson had that i liked the look of inside out...traced it onto some newspaper and added a 1/2" seam allowance. i have since made pants from real "patterns" but they were a lot more cutting and work and frankly i didnt think they fit as nicely as the other pants i made from my ghetto pattern...so i made peace with it and made them from my pattern, they are a little long - meant for him to grow into...and the shirt is 12-18 months...i did not expect it to fit, but i should have realized this is BODIE...he skipped 6-9 months clothes...also i struggled with the shirt for a while, but i like the pieced together way it turned out. i think it just may be perfect for a certain birthday party...hmmm....

i also posted a pic of bryson's beautiful collage.
enjoy your weekend!

digging for gold

Dear Man in the Post Office,

While I am sure you believed yourself to be quite funny when you asked my son "Ya diggin for gold?" with his finger jammed up his nose...please note that now my son has his finger consistently in his nose and is now convinced, thanks to you, that there is gold somewhere in his nose...and if he just picks more of the boogers out of the way he will get to it.

Thank you so much and have a crappy day.

Sincerely,
Bryson's Mommy

easter in tahoe

i am still reeling from this last week! bryson had been gone already to bryan's parent's house and bryan and i went to see leonard cohen (amazing...i intend to post more later about that!) and then flew out on saturday morning (amazing that we made our flight...i apparantly shut off my alarm in my sleep and we woke up an hour later than i intended...flew to LAX in 12 minutes, parked the car and checked in. if we would have been 10 minutes later they wouldnt have checked us in!) to tahoe via reno. it was bodie's first plane ride - he did awesome...as suspected!

we stayed in bryan's grandpa's cabin and i finally got to meet Kristie's baby Kassai. what a doll! we had some crazy weather and managed to pack a lot in a short time, as usual! we took family pictures, went to the casinos (i was such a pooper though...so tired...not feeling any good luck mojo at all! i just basically moped around and searched everywhere for a place to lie down). one day bryan went skiing with his mom and sister while i took bryson and bodie on the gondola to look out over tahoe - gorgeous! we watched movies, played games, painted easter eggs, went to an Easter Sunday church service (where Bodie pooped VERY loud during, thank you very much!) had amazing food all week (thank you Bob!). we went sledding and even got to take Bryson fishing for the first time. it happened to be snowing on us as we were fishing, but i had a great time anyway - felt a little nibble on my (probably frozen) powerbait. hmmm...teaching bryson to sit still with the rod is going to be a challenge. when he got home his meema asked how it was and he told her that he didnt catch anything because he wasn't patient...

it definitely gave me the bug to fish some more...plans are definitely in the works...

we had a fabulous time - so full of so much goodness...good to be home though and sleeping (somewhat) better!

i pity the drool

one of the great things to come from this decession (depression/recession) is that i hear more dialogue about consumption and what we consume and how and where and why and....the point is that a lot of people are making conscious choices of where they spend their money because they know it matters. whether it is wanting to keep mom and pop shops in business or not contributing to the amazing amounts of pollution by other companies, people are taking a second to think about how their choices affect a bigger structure. just by going through the process of starting a handmade business with girlfriends, i have tried to give and buy handmade as much as possible. i started also finding other blogs by mamas who do/think the same and it has been so encouraging/empowering to think that i dont have to spend money - i can make it! it has also changed the way i view getting rid of clothes - if there is something that never fit right, i can fix it! if the neckline never worked, i can just cut it out! anyway - brain change has happened here and it is a good thing.

i found this Mr. T felt applique onesie (i also got a shirt for bryson too) on etsy - her shop Bambina Mia and she has the most darling things. so please...next time you are in the market for a baby or bridal shower gift, or birthday present please visit some home-made goodness stores, or make a stop to the local mom and pop gift shop before you head into toys r us or target or walmart...because it does matter!

we weighed bodie today and he is 16lbs 1oz...and by "we" i mean that i did. usually it is bryson and i that weigh him - bryson likes to hold up the scale like he is the one weighing him...but i am without my little helper...he left today to be with his grandparents - his meema flew in last night and flew him to san jose this afternoon. i have mixed emotions about this, but i am overall very excited. although...i just passed his empty room and a wave of sadness came over me. this is the longest we'll have been apart. i think every parent of a "spirited" 3 year old should do this though. in bryan's sage wisdom - i need to miss him. i was talking with some other moms the other day and the other mom also had a 3 year old and was saying how nice it will be for me and how much work i will get done...i mean you still have a baby...she said, but you won't have a 3 YEAR OLD...so true. my days will be quiet, i won't have to spank anyone, i won't pull my hair out at the end of the night when bryson requests something for the 8th time to stall his bedtime just a minute more, i won't have countless toys/weapons to pick up, i won't have meals to make for a picky eater that most likely won't be eaten anyway, i won't have to curtail all my errands because he can't stand to stop one more place...is it wierd that all these things that make my day so much more difficult are the very things i will miss so much? i already miss his enthusiasm - his joy helps get me through this 4-7 slump with his never-ending ideas for crafts and his help with getting dinner ready. by the pictures you would of thought this is about bodie...again that middle child thing. but bodie is learning how to make himself heard. it seems like right around 3 months he started to let us know he is here too and he is hungry darn it!!! always hungry...which explains the 16lbs. the little triangular fabric toy is made by the lovely paige - whom i still owe a thank you card to...which i will be able to get to this week along with the other 10 thank you cards piling up - thank you paige - he loves it...sometimes they make him quite angry though and i have to hide them from him and he calms down - like he wants to do so much more with it and doesn't quite know how...story of my life! anyway - i am looking forward to clearing my email inbox and my literal inbox and getting on top of taxes and finally curing that cancer...oh yeah - and spending some alone time with my precious baby boy...i can finally find out when he is taking naps and hopefully get him to sleep a little better at night (i.e. not waking up every hour) i will keep reminding myself of that whenever i start to get a little sad that my bigger boy is not around to keep my days so interesting!

brothers

Bolsa Chica Wetland

We went running today at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. it is a place we often pass on our way south on the PCH but we have never actually been through. i had always wanted to because it looks so untouched and a little dirty-beautiful. does that make sense? anyway - my brother jake and his wife mandie and my sister and bryan and i all left the kids with my 15 year old niece katlyn and headed otu there. my brother amazingly knew exactly where to go and exactly where to park so taht we would run at least 4 miles. we had so much fun running...seriously fun...i hadnt even realized i ran - it didnt seem like work. maybe it was the company - we have a good time and good laughs running...maybe it was the amazing surroundings...maybe because it was the trail and so much easier on my body so i feel like going longer...maybe/definitely all of those reasons. while we were running we gave each other running names - mandie=bear / sara-britt=horse (she is heavy on her feel while running) / jake=shrek /bryan=kenya and me=ass...because of two reasons - 1. i start and stop and start and stop like a mule and 2. i have a big butt.

Introducing Delia Elise Wade

Welcome to the world sweet baby girl! A lot of people have been anxiously awaiting your arrival...Delia Elise Wade was born safely at home (thank you Sue the midwife diva) on monday March 30th - 7lbs 12oz - 20 inches long.

Mommy and Daddy (otherwise known as Rashelle and Justin) are doing fabulously and Charlotte is loving the baby and trying to get a sense of what exactly is going on. She is going to be such a great big sister!

I personally can not wait to hold this sweet baby...i am drooling a little right now - i'm not going to lie...until i see her i will continue to stare at this picture and pray for the new family of four!

sexy people

i really need to stop this blog-stalking business...i can't help it - i am amazed at what is out there! i just found this blog and it has made my day a little brighter - enjoy!