tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84118159322877466152024-03-19T03:18:25.814-07:00The Happy Half-Baked HomemakerTrying to achieve domestic goddessness while maintaining my sense of humor and sanity!Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-84789801444995930222011-11-09T06:37:00.000-08:002011-11-09T09:21:33.471-08:00Family Road-Trip For Grandma's 85th Birthday!!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5f7zHVUCqx5rBp_Nl4HVDp7E4Iw4QGiD7cXhlVkQG5mwjSgUVE49x5AppZVrYZXgGiPKiuJdQRmA-lQz03fwvefD858l7mAmzX3F_aICpihnR9cvIFi8BU_XsFbILAwy85HdEt3tB9C6/s1600/November+2011+023.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673008086030354162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5f7zHVUCqx5rBp_Nl4HVDp7E4Iw4QGiD7cXhlVkQG5mwjSgUVE49x5AppZVrYZXgGiPKiuJdQRmA-lQz03fwvefD858l7mAmzX3F_aICpihnR9cvIFi8BU_XsFbILAwy85HdEt3tB9C6/s400/November+2011+023.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Great Grandma & Eleanor<br /></strong></span><br /></div><br /><div align="left">Last Friday morning, me and the girls, my parents and brother Andy hopped into a minivan and headed up to Minneapolis for my Grandma's 85th Birthday!! I do love a good road-trip and the ride seemed surprisingly short (especially considering we were travelling with a 3 year old and 9 month old). We made it in seven hours (we had to stop a couple of times to let the kids out to run/move around). I must say I fell in love with the minivan too (love that all of the doors opened with just a click of a button, super helpful when you're trying to corral kids into the car and have your hands full)! </div><br /><br /><div align="left">My sister Jen and my nephew Tug flew in from Cali to join us on Saturday, so it was quite a weekend! Grandma's face was priceless when they came walking in the front door (we had sent Dad and Auntie Lynda to the airport to pick them up, but told her that they were out looking at houses)!!<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1yzpRvSvX7wPiJeyAuvium5RgC8wsYI-exqVo-1pVBd3MDtYj-ocEQl1u49qn4J9P_iRM5PYaiWCuDjBAgxrGKxcUXiFDZg2lt9JoNUdW5VS0esa9jKEEOvIqHYfy65_rP4XFHm3z_QKZ/s1600/November+2011+104.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673045747776740354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1yzpRvSvX7wPiJeyAuvium5RgC8wsYI-exqVo-1pVBd3MDtYj-ocEQl1u49qn4J9P_iRM5PYaiWCuDjBAgxrGKxcUXiFDZg2lt9JoNUdW5VS0esa9jKEEOvIqHYfy65_rP4XFHm3z_QKZ/s400/November+2011+104.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Four Generations<br /></strong></span></div><br /><div align="left">We all took Grandma out to dinner on Saturday night, with cousins Robin, Paige, Caitlin and Uncle Jimmy & Aunt Sharon. Then back to Grandma's for red velvet cake and ice cream. Sunday, me, Jen, Dad and the kids went to the St. Paul Children's Museum (which was an amazing five story complex and just awesome), while everyone else went to the casino.<br /><br />The cousins had a blast playing together! Addie & Tug are both super head-strong, so there was some butting of heads, but I think their relationship mirrored that of siblings. It was nice having all of the grown-ups there to help me with the girls, but I definitely missed my partner in crime E by the end of the weekend! </div><br /><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673008094198814130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTSWSulDynSFxaARlk6jtImUXVh8dVfMRL0kqkBoqdQDVFSSHV7dNG2hOhX7Li3xDsKiAz-Y6mnPwjRVIHIhjshlwhiBVMeAYErRkVnlMKDmWaCQ1uIaxf8HFQAUsMKYepm7S4Q30hd3E/s400/November+2011+026.JPG" /> <span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>My sister Jen with Tug, Addie and Nora<br /></strong></span><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pc2HUHBwmGA-M_ZWhw2o0Qo7S3hapWilobwYOFST-nzqJAA5UgVnaU6TjWvyA3JPC6dul14f7_BKD9qnBdvLT4Kve-qBgO3_aW0RmHdzxD0DB4o5Y2ft3FlhvTwTqFNex18KyhyBxYo0/s1600/November+2011+031.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673008091179622514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pc2HUHBwmGA-M_ZWhw2o0Qo7S3hapWilobwYOFST-nzqJAA5UgVnaU6TjWvyA3JPC6dul14f7_BKD9qnBdvLT4Kve-qBgO3_aW0RmHdzxD0DB4o5Y2ft3FlhvTwTqFNex18KyhyBxYo0/s400/November+2011+031.JPG" /> <br /><p align="center"></a><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Attitude</strong></span></p></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-20489428971342067822011-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:002011-11-03T08:04:24.548-07:00These Aren't Your Mom's Cloth Diapers...<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDaZsPYr1XB6fOoQ3ClMhwxJJgnHAuKpVWUrOQ1hSfb1FpLvnthuLPST6KJzsQh0PP0bYlcPu4dPLC6J-FYLRTZcUCJihiHhpCypu-ko3lXiKOBu6BkTbBfBmNB_NBMhXpBIxh37hUjAQ/s1600/Eleanor+at+1+Month+Wearing+FuzziBunz.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 362px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670779337466278818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDaZsPYr1XB6fOoQ3ClMhwxJJgnHAuKpVWUrOQ1hSfb1FpLvnthuLPST6KJzsQh0PP0bYlcPu4dPLC6J-FYLRTZcUCJihiHhpCypu-ko3lXiKOBu6BkTbBfBmNB_NBMhXpBIxh37hUjAQ/s400/Eleanor+at+1+Month+Wearing+FuzziBunz.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ff0000;"> Eleanor At One Month Wearing Fuzzi-Bunz Perfect Size Small</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><br />Since I began cloth diapering my second child (about a month after she was born), I can't stop telling people about how much I love it! It is super easy, super affordable and truly better for your child and the environment.<br /><br />I had a few cloth diapers that I used here and there with my first daughter, but at the time, I didn't feel that I had the money to purchase an initial cloth diaper inventory (nor did I realize just how easy it was), so we used Seventh Generation chlorine-free disposables for most of her time in diapers. Looking back now, I was spending approximately $50 at Diapers.com every month on disposable diapers and wipes for the first two years. An initial cloth diaper inventory could have easily been bought for $200.00 (saving me at least $1000 over those first two years).<br /><br />I think that when most people think about cloth diapers, you remember the cloth diapers that our moms used, the old Gerber prefolds (which are still used today) with those obnoxiously huge safety pins that you were always sticking yourself (or the baby) with and the big plastic pants that were not only noisy, but in no way could've been comfortable. The cloth diapers of today are not your mom's cloth diapers.<br /><br />Yes, you can still get the Gerber prefolds (the least expensive cloth diapering option) that need to be folded around baby just so, but they are now used with <a href="http://www.snappibaby.com/products/snappidiaperfastener.html">Snappi's</a> (a virtually ouch-free method when trying to fasten the diaper) and a cute fitted Waterproof cover, like a <a href="http://www.thirstiesbaby.com/products/diapers/diaper-cover/">Thirstie's</a> or a <a href="http://www.tweedlebugs.com/sized-diaper-covers.html">Tweedlebug</a> that are neither unsightly nor bulky under clothes.<br /><br />To make it even easier than that, there are pocket diapers and All-in-One's, which are essentially the waterproof cover with a nice soft lined interior, that you stick an absorbent insert in between (before placing on the baby). You can get sized diapers (that will fit babies depending on their weight) or a one-size fits all (that can be used on the baby from newborn to potty-training). The One-Size are obviously your most economical option of pocket diapers or AIO, since you don't have to buy new ones as your baby grows.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxq47_XGSsAScZH44GkWvZX8vpRsv-Qwcx4vnL3WS_Nl4z8ONT3EFKRcmmOWKT4fofKJZWXi0CmJ9AjqtXDvg0T4Qp4aXQUP-yk6nWQyfqb06WEh5ATg7iXhOmYcAG4WdD_0aX48nRmMrf/s1600/Eleanor+In+BumGenius+-+4+Months+Old.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670779346668569490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxq47_XGSsAScZH44GkWvZX8vpRsv-Qwcx4vnL3WS_Nl4z8ONT3EFKRcmmOWKT4fofKJZWXi0CmJ9AjqtXDvg0T4Qp4aXQUP-yk6nWQyfqb06WEh5ATg7iXhOmYcAG4WdD_0aX48nRmMrf/s400/Eleanor+In+BumGenius+-+4+Months+Old.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ff0000;"> Eleanor Wearing BumGenius 4.0 One-Size Diaper</span></p><br /><br /><br /><p align="left">My favorite one-size pocket diaper is the <a href="http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php">BumGenius 4.0</a>. They are super easy to use, are super soft against baby's skin and in my humble opinion, offer the best fit. My favorite pocket diaper used to be FuzziBunz, but after using their <a href="http://www.fuzzibunz.com/perfect_size_diaper.php">Perfect Size diapers</a> (that had been gifted to me), I decided to try their <a href="http://www.fuzzibunz.com/one_size_diaper.php">One-Size diapers</a> and the fit is horrible. I have heard that they had recently switched manufacturers, so I'm not sure if all of their diapers have been affected by this, but I would not recommend their One-Size diapers. To change the size (or fit) on FuzziBunz One-Size, you have to mess with these annoying elastic pieces (just like the elastic/button sitation in adjustable kid's jeans) and I find that they are always leaking pee. In contrast, BumGenius 4.0's are much easier to adjust the size (you simply snap or un-snap the buttons on the front of the diaper).<br /><br />BumGenius are one of the more economical choices as well, as they have great promotional offers every other month or so (where you can Buy 5 One-Size diapers, and get 1 free, for approximately $86.00). So all you would need to have a great starting inventory is to buy 12 diapers for $172.00 (and really, with the exception of probably needing some heavier or doubler inserts as your baby gets older, this could be all you ever needed to buy). You can find this special being run at any good cloth diaper website (<a href="http://www.kellyscloset.com/">Kelly's Closet</a> is one of the best, but there are other options).<br /><br />When I discuss cloth diapers with some people, they are generally disgusted by the idea and they are concerned with having to deal with poop, touch poop, wash poopy diapers in their washing machine, etc. Any mom will tell you that you're going to have to deal with or touch poop on a regular basis anyways, and there will be poopy blow-outs which require you to wash poopy clothes in your washing machine. My first child had blow-outs in her disposable diaper almost on a daily basis, and I can tell you that I have not yet experienced a blow-out with a cloth diaper (and I have been cloth diapering for eight months). Cloth diapers are fitted/snug around the baby's waist, which prevents most blow-outs. Also, if you are a breast-feeding mama, breast-fed poop is water soluble, so there is no need to rinse/swish the poopy diapers before you wash them. Just toss them in your diaper pail, and they can go directly into your washing machine when you're ready to wash. See this article <a href="http://alphamom.com/parenting/baby/the-straight-poop-on-cloth-diapers/">here</a> for related information.<br /><br />Now, that my daughter is eating solids, the poop needs to be shaken off/swished in the toilet, but for those of you that really can't fathom doing this, you can buy a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Generic-Cloth-Diaper-Sprayer-white/dp/B002BS1NPK">sprayer</a> that attaches to the toilet to "spray" the poop off (I had bought one but then quickly returned it when I realized that once my three year old got wind of it, she would be hosing down my bathroom). There are also flushable liners that you can use once they get to solids that you would just drop into the toilet.<br /><br />I wish I had known just how easy it would be to cloth diaper the first time around. There are so many different options/types out there to fit any budget or lifestyle. It feels really good now knowing that I'm making a choice that is best for my child and also for the environment. There are no harmful <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/111348-chemicals-disposable-diapers/">chemicals</a> touching their skin; there has been some research indicating that the chemicals in disposables might contribute to male infertility. I truly feel that cloth is more comfortable for them, as there is nothing but super soft fabric touching their skin and the instances of diaper rash are few and far between. And I like the fact that I'm not dumping thousands of dirty diapers into a landfill that could take up to 500 years to decompose. If you want to try to make a change, but are unsure if you're ready to be fully committed to cloth, just try it out. Just using <a href="https://www.facebook.com/changethreethings?sk=info">three cloth diapers a day</a>, can make a huge difference to the environment and just might get you hooked...<br /><br />For more cloth diapering facts, see <a href="http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcs7gey8Nggss3njPC4dHPgiDWttcY5koHPTRux-wu1HayQgXX_pZ-kQ8zi_AOuH1ekkb7LUha3tJ6HkWRhhTycT8Qqkehnzon7uGkQ7oHcTm2wi41182j5G51VftX5RJoOKLPFgLtZqp/s1600/Eleanor+-+BumGenius+4+Months+Old.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670779349892095650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcs7gey8Nggss3njPC4dHPgiDWttcY5koHPTRux-wu1HayQgXX_pZ-kQ8zi_AOuH1ekkb7LUha3tJ6HkWRhhTycT8Qqkehnzon7uGkQ7oHcTm2wi41182j5G51VftX5RJoOKLPFgLtZqp/s400/Eleanor+-+BumGenius+4+Months+Old.JPG" /></a> </p>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-30717278411999831282011-10-26T08:17:00.000-07:002011-10-26T09:39:31.842-07:00Pum'kins & SuchBoy, does time fly! Can't believe it's already the end of October. We've been enjoying some ridiculously warm 60-70 degree weather this Fall, so it's hard to believe that Winter is almost upon us.<br /><br />Eleanor is 9 months old this month and well on her way to walking. She has three teeth and a fourth is not far behind...She enjoys eating just about anything (acorn squash, butternut squash, apples, pears, zucchini, sweet potato) and I'm slowly trying to incorporate finger food she can eat herself. She can now "sign" for "momma milk" when she's hungry, which is awesome! She also loves playing Peek-A-Boo.<br /><br />Addie recently started 3 year old preschool and of course, loves being at school! Her newest love seems to be singing/performing for others and I am amazed at how well she memorizes lyrics to songs. This kid is anything but shy!! Her current favorite to perform is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZNDy1lOe4w">The Blue Mermaid</a> (Jordin Sparks/Team Umi Zoomi). She is very imaginative and loves to tell stories about her little brother JoJo and her big sister Susan (LOL). She is as sassy as ever these days (sometimes I feel like I'm dealing with a teenager already) and is constantly pushing boundaries.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">The Girls And Our Carved/Painted Pumpkins<br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK_Hh7lGjjAr-wgUWkXQjDT-WWUkzp5mhPTKx_Gub-QQN-50GyENeYHkbKZ52i9wAUrb46DPriNyWB70Dvrj6LyuaUDxHpuCYlbbXkZ-gOcN5nAXFyrKeINLYN_J-aFHHzfFHQEOIeEMY/s1600/October+2011+026.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667839744452769170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHK_Hh7lGjjAr-wgUWkXQjDT-WWUkzp5mhPTKx_Gub-QQN-50GyENeYHkbKZ52i9wAUrb46DPriNyWB70Dvrj6LyuaUDxHpuCYlbbXkZ-gOcN5nAXFyrKeINLYN_J-aFHHzfFHQEOIeEMY/s400/October+2011+026.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4NwPTbCsEHDOy91T6xCsfNjs9yJBTYrXyZjEalZWwevKQhufqZv11erWTpQiLtMQh88Jc2tRIc6NDKt1awi81bLMfzASaWWePXCc-EHbfEXRZvRdugZxa08j9TJ-TIEHwwJaA86lNmPj/s1600/October+2011+048.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667839730454393650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4NwPTbCsEHDOy91T6xCsfNjs9yJBTYrXyZjEalZWwevKQhufqZv11erWTpQiLtMQh88Jc2tRIc6NDKt1awi81bLMfzASaWWePXCc-EHbfEXRZvRdugZxa08j9TJ-TIEHwwJaA86lNmPj/s400/October+2011+048.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyYm0Qpc6bXq8p5P71kFvItJNfnRfpILaJfM4S_aAppfSuS5f_P2Zo3DSxPsxXzYt-09dq315buUyU3PcSkx2lpVjWPnm52S5fWlA3Hfomnu3uVXjD7Chup_tr0u3vYCsK1Emj0qiAAci/s1600/October+2011+036.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667839732068536962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyYm0Qpc6bXq8p5P71kFvItJNfnRfpILaJfM4S_aAppfSuS5f_P2Zo3DSxPsxXzYt-09dq315buUyU3PcSkx2lpVjWPnm52S5fWlA3Hfomnu3uVXjD7Chup_tr0u3vYCsK1Emj0qiAAci/s400/October+2011+036.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed47OdwfxYrfjJNOEvunIo1PKVrliYDutWzFW9N4CXlcFOD0F_4SDJtjfD7E4iUYwDz5H3tvAW58o-Ieo5pGRFndWT4nrZgXTPjkGGeSI_lkGtap26mA9gFjSwuo1MeIBDe65sYohc0lq/s1600/October+2011+031.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667839725706962194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed47OdwfxYrfjJNOEvunIo1PKVrliYDutWzFW9N4CXlcFOD0F_4SDJtjfD7E4iUYwDz5H3tvAW58o-Ieo5pGRFndWT4nrZgXTPjkGGeSI_lkGtap26mA9gFjSwuo1MeIBDe65sYohc0lq/s400/October+2011+031.JPG" /></a>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-68719612478094614912011-09-08T12:11:00.001-07:002011-09-08T13:16:00.302-07:00Review and Giveaway: My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking SoftwarePlease visit the Review I did on My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software at <a href="http://www.littlelakecounty.com/2011/09/my-memories-suite-digital-scrapbooking.html">Little Lake County </a>. You can enter to win a copy of the software at this link and also receive an online code to receive $10 off the cost of the software and also $10 to use at their online store.Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-74889368565445621312010-09-23T11:03:00.001-07:002010-09-25T14:15:19.751-07:00Addie's First Day Of Preschool<div align="center"><span style="color:#ff9966;">Addie's First Day of Preschool - She doesn't look it, but she's excited!</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl45II0ZX6_jbTvefwWRnnK5I7E0PwuhPxZjZFaRVjlXTh8IxihzknLY7Kbi7Dg-BStOK0RQGYTac-Qnras0kkF1s5lolax20cwBkZHFNv01KVAnKxvJFKr-of_uEmvh3CLr5lhLR6z-9U/s1600/Addie's+First+Day+of+Preschool+2010+002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520179942351128786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl45II0ZX6_jbTvefwWRnnK5I7E0PwuhPxZjZFaRVjlXTh8IxihzknLY7Kbi7Dg-BStOK0RQGYTac-Qnras0kkF1s5lolax20cwBkZHFNv01KVAnKxvJFKr-of_uEmvh3CLr5lhLR6z-9U/s400/Addie's+First+Day+of+Preschool+2010+002.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1w9_w-5fff_By5xhoPsWOxZzHqmxBUgsJAVmikEDIdS5sisG5mxWSF88Yswu44RhL2ShT6gLfH0mJYJYgWG_xUAaAXk9VO8Yx3eRp849koSkIqdaBZx90XUqXzWtZVJG71dIKHyLImAnH/s1600/Addie's+First+Day+of+Preschool+2010+003.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5520179952437548338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1w9_w-5fff_By5xhoPsWOxZzHqmxBUgsJAVmikEDIdS5sisG5mxWSF88Yswu44RhL2ShT6gLfH0mJYJYgWG_xUAaAXk9VO8Yx3eRp849koSkIqdaBZx90XUqXzWtZVJG71dIKHyLImAnH/s400/Addie's+First+Day+of+Preschool+2010+003.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#ff9900;">Addie's New Bumble Bee Backpack</span><br /><br /><br />Addie's first day of preschool was on Tuesday. At drop-off, they had the parents sit down with the kids on the circle rug to sing a few songs together before we left. They sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and then moved on to two other songs that I am not yet familiar with. My funny lil girl insisted upon dancing to the other songs rather than sit in mommy's lap and sing. I was a little embarrassed at first, thinking that people were going to look at my daughter like the "hyper one" who can't sit still...but I soon got over it. She definitely marches to the tune of her own drummer and I don't think I ever want to hinder that behavior. Another lil girl stood up to follow suit and her mom kept trying to get her to sit back down - futile in my opinion, they are 2 after all!!<br /><br />Once the songs were over, the kids all leapt up to go play with toys and the parents were told to give a quick goodbye and leave the room. Me & Grandma said goodbye to Addie and started to walk out of the room. I was shocked when I turned around to see her face start to scrunch up and she actually started to cry. Addie has always been super independent; when we go to parties or playdates or open gyms, she always runs off to play with things and rarely looks to see where I am or what I am doing. I imagined that she would be the one child who didn't cry when she was dropped off at preschool. I quickly left, as the cries of several other children started up as well, and I didn't want to prolong any sadness.<br /><br />Today, they had the parents just drop the kids off, hang up their backpacks, and quickly say goodbye. They had playdoh set out at the table, so Addie was quickly interested in that and I don't know if she was one of the few that shed tears today. She told me on the way home though that she wants to go to school everyday, so I'm thinking she likes it a lot! Trust me, if I could afford it, I'd send her everyday - working in peace and quiet is a beautiful thing!!<br /></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-47889660076887192852010-09-16T09:18:00.000-07:002010-09-16T13:49:53.861-07:00Addie's New Room<span style="color:#000000;">So, last weekend, we "officially" moved Addie into her new room. I was very happy that I didn't need to take apart her entire twin bed, the hubby and I were able to slide the base on its side, from one room to the other.</span><br /><p>I put up these great decals that I bought with her bedding at Target, they're very cute and add some much needed life to the room. The only problem with them is that they're repositional and Addie has learned that she can peel them off and put them wherever she likes (which of course, drives me nuts, but I can see how they would appeal to a toddler!). I'm not sure how long they will last at this rate, but we're trying to explain to her that if they're taken off too many times, they won't stick anymore.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLep09ve8ucHkw__oxnEgbgWA2bQ74u8pCkVLcTSVONOKmDeb8pzhXxYC6dP3C5et23qD7LAFNXKnaV8kcC_ENgwuyeOHeL4pFItsp-hpRVx1BbLz6l8l7Mz9JuMn3JpIDYWmI4rFonSQf/s1600/September+2010+056.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517582986729393154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLep09ve8ucHkw__oxnEgbgWA2bQ74u8pCkVLcTSVONOKmDeb8pzhXxYC6dP3C5et23qD7LAFNXKnaV8kcC_ENgwuyeOHeL4pFItsp-hpRVx1BbLz6l8l7Mz9JuMn3JpIDYWmI4rFonSQf/s400/September+2010+056.JPG" /></a><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmuswcZ15EJ06lOWzbQtoFNf-CtwdFKe16CJsvLtWWkW_1DqAzOnbrcNDRjQRJh78FInHMfG3j7372vV-1yreD86PwgLVJyeDeQ-6nBWCeF-Mc7qvl10hdSuGTPyTzBgVN7ijiRra8bQH/s1600/September+2010+054.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517582973116639106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBmuswcZ15EJ06lOWzbQtoFNf-CtwdFKe16CJsvLtWWkW_1DqAzOnbrcNDRjQRJh78FInHMfG3j7372vV-1yreD86PwgLVJyeDeQ-6nBWCeF-Mc7qvl10hdSuGTPyTzBgVN7ijiRra8bQH/s400/September+2010+054.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2i_iBLp7jLTR0zBVsZRHl-vNnxeYJ9ZtQJr3x_nbVlw3ajslrDZNmEGjehVXkl2cgbYVOG_dFqTb9e5R3n1uYhpwjz-cutZBvEw87IiUSI4XIJX-dgrt1_FsNggMkd145vEakfvDoTOB/s1600/September+2010+055.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517596827694720210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2i_iBLp7jLTR0zBVsZRHl-vNnxeYJ9ZtQJr3x_nbVlw3ajslrDZNmEGjehVXkl2cgbYVOG_dFqTb9e5R3n1uYhpwjz-cutZBvEw87IiUSI4XIJX-dgrt1_FsNggMkd145vEakfvDoTOB/s400/September+2010+055.JPG" /></a><br /><br />I came across a cute project at <a href="http://kindredspiritmommy.com/sweet-fabric-hairflowers-bow-holder/">The Kindred Spirit Mommy</a> for a hair barrette/ponytail ribbon holder which Addie so desperately needs, as I'm tired of finding her barrettes all over my house. So, I bought some coordinating Owl fabric and finished it last night (while watching the Big Brother finale, was a little bummed Lane didn't win the grand prize!). I didn't take any step by step photos, but it is super easy. You just buy a stretched canvas, I went with an 11" x 14" one, and get some fabric to cover it. Most people would use a staple gun for this project, but I don't currently own one, so I used my trusty glue gun.<br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2gwZozPYQ1SQvPhErCoPnWzrkcLgkO1Fl46pCbvZJKeMD63ontddop63QTCWzV2BvLTCmT_9bRrEonGEKyUCEsjZney5xsyVvNniZ0_AhT_-j3cC8S0CNLbxhB78ad7CFrbyJrGCcejP/s1600/Addie's+ribbon+board+001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517582939403431154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO2gwZozPYQ1SQvPhErCoPnWzrkcLgkO1Fl46pCbvZJKeMD63ontddop63QTCWzV2BvLTCmT_9bRrEonGEKyUCEsjZney5xsyVvNniZ0_AhT_-j3cC8S0CNLbxhB78ad7CFrbyJrGCcejP/s400/Addie's+ribbon+board+001.JPG" /></a> The finished project.<br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypnBZHWmp6rnlL7XJTIYkLrkl7hzlq9IOxaZvLL2-90aIwy50PGJshOh-oGFx7IMrJln4uqTO99NUnPqk03sunZldyoF8ucwxbdZdm39Hu_KlYPyjGKAsEsaBj9hIzCCyaxFpmKnyYdeR/s1600/Addie's+ribbon+board+005.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517582956845824706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypnBZHWmp6rnlL7XJTIYkLrkl7hzlq9IOxaZvLL2-90aIwy50PGJshOh-oGFx7IMrJln4uqTO99NUnPqk03sunZldyoF8ucwxbdZdm39Hu_KlYPyjGKAsEsaBj9hIzCCyaxFpmKnyYdeR/s400/Addie's+ribbon+board+005.JPG" /></a> Close up of the fabric (which I love!)<br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtq4gxlk9orPkvTkMQ3F2DQ2hcPh023zYu7ykDqP5gOd6BZAzzk4zewkbyGdVk1hPYd2Oe6mW7AZKr1EMkq9zLqYcU0YNrcwgg3OZVeAECnaqDXuFKlROSqIFBCgCjxe3SX_-FFOJMssK/s1600/Addie's+ribbon+board+003.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517582951218640050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtq4gxlk9orPkvTkMQ3F2DQ2hcPh023zYu7ykDqP5gOd6BZAzzk4zewkbyGdVk1hPYd2Oe6mW7AZKr1EMkq9zLqYcU0YNrcwgg3OZVeAECnaqDXuFKlROSqIFBCgCjxe3SX_-FFOJMssK/s400/Addie's+ribbon+board+003.JPG" /></a> Back of the frame. <p></p>I simply glued the fabric to the back of my stretched canvas, starting with one side first, then the other, then the bottom/top and finishing up the corners last (after trimming off any excess fabric). You just want to make sure after you glue/staple down your first side, that you're pulling the fabric to make it as tight as possible before you tack down the next side. Then, I glued various sized coordinating ribbon to the back, starting with the top first, and then the bottom. I purposefully did not glue the bottom of two of the ribbons (the thin Hot Pink ones) to the frame to be able to use as ponytail holders. I sealed the end of those ribbons with a lighter to prevent them from fraying. This project literally took me 15 minutes and I think it will be a really decorative, yet functional addition to Addie's room.</div><br /><br /><br />I also plan on adding "Adeline" in wooden letters to the wall that her bed is against at some point, I just have to find letters that I like and figure out how I'm going to paint or decoupage them to match the rest of her room.<br /><br /><br /><br />I'm working on organizing the baby's room still, I've gotten all of Addie's clothes bins from her first year out the basement and am working on washing and hanging them all in the baby's closet.<br /><br /><br /><br />In addition to starting preschool next week (which I know Addie is super excited about), I've signed her up for swimming lessons with Daddy and gymnastics/tumbling class with me starting in November. I figure it's good for her to get out and about and be active in the winter months, especially since she doesn't really have the luxury of leaving the house during the week, while I'm working. </div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-87848559523553261192010-08-31T14:23:00.001-07:002010-08-31T14:59:43.824-07:00It's a Girl!!!!I cannot even express how happy I am that the baby is another girl! I think both me and my husband were fully expecting it to be a boy, so it was a nice surprise when the tech said it was a girl! Being able to re-use all of my baby stuff is huge, and I love that Addie will have a sister to play with. We also don't need to re-decorate Addie's bedroom (phew!). I spent part of the weekend cleaning out the "sewing/craft" room to make space for Addie's stuff. I think she is a little hesitant to change rooms, but I keep pointing out to her that she has so much more space to play in. I'm hoping the owl/forest decals I have for her new room will help get her excited as well. We've already decided to name the baby Eleanor - I think it goes beautifully with Adeline, and we'll call her "Nora" for short. I'm pretty sure her middle name will be Stacy, after Elliott's sister. It might seem a bit soon for some people, but I plan on having the nursey back together in the next couple of weeks (including having all the clothes washed/hung, everything organized and put in its place). The baby won't even be here until mid-late January, but I feel like I'll have less to worry about later.<br /><br />We're going camping this weekend for Labor Day (with Grandma, Grandpa and our two nephews) and I'm really looking forward to it! Been busy the past two days organizing all our camping gear and making lists of everything we need to buy/bring.Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-31194645188278583822010-08-16T14:48:00.000-07:002010-08-25T09:17:54.113-07:00Updates<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfm28ofsu2AelInEHlzNBWKpDsVPMB-CSzBiCe30KW7uUFMSMPJJXSedB7BbRUNXGWa3IN5jdlH4FoNKVQkLmSvMWX0iMjIS9bvuO_rPP-63RqGeGRE2r1L1JXNOqhQA9B_0XRprVsYZvA/s1600/Addie+on+her+new+bike+036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfm28ofsu2AelInEHlzNBWKpDsVPMB-CSzBiCe30KW7uUFMSMPJJXSedB7BbRUNXGWa3IN5jdlH4FoNKVQkLmSvMWX0iMjIS9bvuO_rPP-63RqGeGRE2r1L1JXNOqhQA9B_0XRprVsYZvA/s400/Addie+on+her+new+bike+036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509379967512938994" /></a><br />So, I haven't been around in awhile, life has a way of catching up with you I guess. I started working full-time from home in January. I have found it extremely overwhelming at times to manage my workload and my daughter at the same time, and also struggled with the fact that I can no longer really leave the house during the day, except for the occasional drs visit or quick errand.<br /><br />And I also have that problem where I dive whole-heartedly into something and do it so much and so often that eventually I tire of it and have to move on to something else. I find it difficult to keep up with more than a few things at a time, for example, if I'm doing an awesome job managing our budget/meal-planning/coupon clipping/etc., I'll spend so much time and energy on these things that than all of a sudden, I'm not sewing or scrapbooking or blogging, and vice versa...<br /><br />Unfortunately, with the arrival of a second child in January, I feel like I have to become more organized/more focused to do all that needs to be done and all that I love to do. We are very excited, I miss having a baby around! We'll find out the sex in five days!! I'm actually getting really excited/anxious to move Addie into the big bedroom and fix up the lil bedroom for the baby. That of course, means moving my sewing/crafting stuff to the basement.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij472IYnbqMvl0d-A0bXGwzGsGEMwMmW1G3WkkdRikzuE6VCWo4pltmel6lQLnlQkUVeAhEDcCx3WewbL3gltrdMq2VwLaL5aw2Yz5-pz1IhLP2fICVBdQWY3HsZ9zpuIj-I6Tu591cCAm/s1600/037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij472IYnbqMvl0d-A0bXGwzGsGEMwMmW1G3WkkdRikzuE6VCWo4pltmel6lQLnlQkUVeAhEDcCx3WewbL3gltrdMq2VwLaL5aw2Yz5-pz1IhLP2fICVBdQWY3HsZ9zpuIj-I6Tu591cCAm/s400/037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509381926466697410" /></a><br /><br /><br />We're in the full throes of potty-training right now and it's actually going fairly well. Addie expressed interest in going on the potty several months ago, so we let her do it when she wanted, but she lost interest after a week or two, so I didn't push it. She is now wearing big girl training pants all day (except at naptime and bedtime) and doesn't have any accidents involving P.P., after a week or so. Still working on #2 though. I bought her a bunch of "Potty Presents" to try and incent her to remember to get to the potty beforehand. We'll see how that goes. She actually starts preschool in mid-Sept, so I'd like her to be almost completely potty-trained by then, even though it's only a two hour class.<br /><br />Elliott is going back to school to finish his degree, so he started a class this week, and while it's not a subject he's thrilled about (ART), I'm happy that he's starting to work on something that I know he will be super happy about when completed.Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-28035135632750731702009-08-09T18:16:00.000-07:002009-08-09T18:44:58.614-07:00All SettledSo, we've been all moved in our new home now for almost a month! There are still a few things that need to be organized (namely, the basement and my linen closet), but most everything is unpacked and put away where it belongs. I've settled into a great groove of cooking, cleaning, laundering, crafting, and entertaining the doodlebug since we moved (which is strange because my much smaller 2 bedroom apartment always looked like a tornado had hit it and I could never seem to keep up with all that needed to be done). Part of this, I will blame on inadequate appliances. I cannot express how much I LOVE my new washer and dryer - they are super quiet, super efficient, and can hold several loads compared to my old 70's stackable washer/dryer that would take ALL day to complete about three small loads from start to finish. <br /><br />I also now live near several of those Fresh Produce Stores (there are three within a two block radius), an Aldi's, and a Jewel Osco (before my only real close option for groceries was Dominicks' - which we all know is expensive) - so I'm really enjoying being able to stay on a grocery budget, buy tons of fresh/cheap produce, and come up with new creative food to make for dinner. <br /><br />My sewing has taken a hiatus this past week or so as I've been busy with my daughter (on days that we have plans to go out somewhere, she never seems to nap, and on the days that we're stuck at home, it's generally because I'm working and therefore can't stop to sew when she falls asleep). But I'm happy to say that I shipped all of my burp cloths/bibs out to Catalina Island and have sold most of them at my sister's friend's store Golden State...they are waiting for me to send more, but I haven't gotten around to actually finishing anything lately. I am going to visit my sister over Labor Day weekend so I'm hoping to have a stockpile of burp cloths, baby sundresses and possibly some tote bags/purses made up to bring with. I'm super excited to be going on our first family vacation - I've missed the Island so much!!!Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-85682463697282815222009-07-08T07:07:00.000-07:002009-07-08T07:25:12.027-07:00PaintingPics of the Master Bedroom Before and After:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_DUyUpB6IgWQgzmPFcKeCF9Rbn1piBqGx5J3HdhB7odmwjQodqwIxVdWBcsLFqpWwAANEw_nBPY0EzzSZiKjnGeD86u4vo8E18I1d7sXszgjdmlbh_5mbPkNVdGGgMh5cSs_hd92mZAa/s1600-h/New+House+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356094048566615922" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_DUyUpB6IgWQgzmPFcKeCF9Rbn1piBqGx5J3HdhB7odmwjQodqwIxVdWBcsLFqpWwAANEw_nBPY0EzzSZiKjnGeD86u4vo8E18I1d7sXszgjdmlbh_5mbPkNVdGGgMh5cSs_hd92mZAa/s400/New+House+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGZQS6VrsKdFPbFzOvkBhE68_CAIPxlRGdn0TAY_l5sl8K3gzD2L2xxrhtKFDCeuzC-5HzdXpUKoc6J68EbLNNMA5bpM2SY7YHYouAZZtWYeeiOEwpi1mL2806Sm7Yj3GNmr3KAwS75AC/s1600-h/New+House+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356094050275660578" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGZQS6VrsKdFPbFzOvkBhE68_CAIPxlRGdn0TAY_l5sl8K3gzD2L2xxrhtKFDCeuzC-5HzdXpUKoc6J68EbLNNMA5bpM2SY7YHYouAZZtWYeeiOEwpi1mL2806Sm7Yj3GNmr3KAwS75AC/s400/New+House+006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPX01BLCt8AwCRdGCHS4uM3I2yBsHF58bvRo1JC6lWuU_7AjRzyNicAlot93u-hq5mwX5RPCzLZ5qdL61qURLc6_iIXDD56n51IKV1Tfsd8IvPOvzzNcy5OLSHvtbrCiyncm2ujouoICcX/s1600-h/New+House+045.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356094055020692802" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPX01BLCt8AwCRdGCHS4uM3I2yBsHF58bvRo1JC6lWuU_7AjRzyNicAlot93u-hq5mwX5RPCzLZ5qdL61qURLc6_iIXDD56n51IKV1Tfsd8IvPOvzzNcy5OLSHvtbrCiyncm2ujouoICcX/s400/New+House+045.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf_IeAtOeafp5JBfdQ-BebD9wJISG4JbhjZh63599X3KHzC_mWNRjuIa91YCs48b713c9oY1xLvOyN8B6MTWfBGVuxn1Nv0XoOl0iN9yNQ6XBf0czDnXt15E0Cf32MG9zpRDUt8pn4UEA/s1600-h/New+House+064.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356094058712170546" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXf_IeAtOeafp5JBfdQ-BebD9wJISG4JbhjZh63599X3KHzC_mWNRjuIa91YCs48b713c9oY1xLvOyN8B6MTWfBGVuxn1Nv0XoOl0iN9yNQ6XBf0czDnXt15E0Cf32MG9zpRDUt8pn4UEA/s400/New+House+064.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicX6Ifn0VIY3_KXTAWDmjVAT1lfm7P6yWrG96ZRbhXEBhM9nwACAZkvwG9uuLMaHyBbY5AtfGjbLpe-axK7Um_ZY-vXUoSCwy2SZymQed_YdGtq-Yg-5Y7XFqist1zlZbDzSLhUqIl5-V/s1600-h/New+House+062.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356094067191261346" style="WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhicX6Ifn0VIY3_KXTAWDmjVAT1lfm7P6yWrG96ZRbhXEBhM9nwACAZkvwG9uuLMaHyBbY5AtfGjbLpe-axK7Um_ZY-vXUoSCwy2SZymQed_YdGtq-Yg-5Y7XFqist1zlZbDzSLhUqIl5-V/s400/New+House+062.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /> We were able to finish painting last weekend, thanks largely due to my family helping out (my dad and both of my brothers were able to help two days and my mom helped out by whisking the baby off to have fun) - it was a lot of hard work and I have to admit that after the first day, it was no longer fun and we were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. <div><div><div><div></div><br /><div>But now that it's finished I think it looks so nice and it's made the home more "Ours". We've been making trips over to the house every night with some boxes and spending what seems like countless hours at Home Depot every other day.<br /></div><div>Tomorrow we're having the upstairs carpeting cleaned, and hopefully it will get rid of the animal smell (having new carpet installed was too great an expense at this point). My new washer/dryer and living room set are also being delivered tomorrow. I can't wait to see them!</div><br /><div></div><div>This Saturday is our official move-in date and we'll be up early picking up our truck to move all of our furniture and larger items. I can't wait to have my dining room table back (it's been sitting in my mother-in-law's basement for the past year as we had no room for it in this apartment) - it will be so nice to be able to sit down and eat as a family in one spot. And I just can't wait to be living in our new home.</div><div></div><br /><div>Elliott's friend who is a carpenter is going to come out on Sunday to look at the backyard and give us an estimate on the deck, so I'm hoping our tax credit arrives soon so we can actually afford to put the deck on.</div><br /><div></div><div> </div></div></div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-81811070008953124152009-07-01T20:31:00.001-07:002009-07-01T20:44:46.106-07:00The HouseWe close tomorrow on our new house! I'm so excited, I'm sure it will be hard to sleep tonight. We did our final walk-through last night and were a little disappointed in the shape of things - honestly when a house is full of furniture, it covers a lot of "blemishes"...so we have a lot of work to do! We're very fortunate that we have almost three weeks before we have to be out of our apartment so we can allow time to work on the house before we move everything over.<br /><br />We're painting the master bedroom and the kitchen/dining room/family room on Friday (with the help of a couple of friends) and picked out the paint tonight (which was only about a 1 1/2 hour trip to Home Depot with our very impatient and curious toddler - fun!). We also bought a washer and dryer (as the previous owners took theirs with) - we picked out something large (so to be able to wash king size bedding and such) yet affordable. I can't wait to finally have a washing machine that can hold more than four towels at a time and a dryer that doesn't need two cycles to get the job done.<br /><br />We have Empire and Luna both coming out to the house tomorrow for in-home estimates; unfortunately even though the previous owner's cat is now gone, the smell is not! Since only the upstairs is carpeted, we figure it won't be too big an expense, and we didn't want to shell out an arm-and-a-leg to have the carpets cleaned when there is no guarantee that it would help the smell.<br /><br />I bought some fun polka-dot wall decals for Addie (I also have her wooden block letters that I never hung at the apartment) so I hope those arrive sometime this weekend so we can decorate her room. It will be so wonderful for her to have her own room...and I can't wait to get her sleeping in her crib again.<br /><br />So, I'll try and post pics of this weekends efforts later, as I'm sure there will be some huliarity involved (seeing as me nor Elliott have ever really decorated a house before).Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-74938346511854497652009-06-27T08:50:00.000-07:002009-06-27T08:55:45.826-07:00Check Out My Etsy StoreWell, I did it. Last night, I posted six sets of items to my Etsy store (exactly one week after I made a goal of posting items before the end of July). I have more stuff currently in the works and will hopefully be adding more items in the next week or so (unfortunately, we are moving, so packing will take up a good deal of my time I'm sure).<br /><br />I got my new business cards yesterday from Vista Print and they are too too cute! I think I'm going to make some homemade "happy new baby" cards that I can also sell in my Etsy store (for an additional couple bucks) when people buy a burp cloth or burp cloth & bib set. I'm really excited to get this venture going and am hoping that it does well! <br /><br /><a href="http://www.whitneyellen77.etsy.com/">www.whitneyellen77.etsy.com</a>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-51431668482388284082009-06-19T20:29:00.000-07:002009-06-19T20:47:11.340-07:00Burp Cloths Galore<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQOQJ6dqg7434kb9zOh2RXpqWrKU4Iyt6HdslEnLq86DOXjJh-A3arKAQ23mJjFExTrGaBAEYiS7rBjf5e7zIA0lsTZK-4g06f3EQ45Qx0HfMuq5VvSZnr1EDoK-OfKf0HhPufGEqvnBS/s1600-h/Sewing+project+086.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349250471082929842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQOQJ6dqg7434kb9zOh2RXpqWrKU4Iyt6HdslEnLq86DOXjJh-A3arKAQ23mJjFExTrGaBAEYiS7rBjf5e7zIA0lsTZK-4g06f3EQ45Qx0HfMuq5VvSZnr1EDoK-OfKf0HhPufGEqvnBS/s200/Sewing+project+086.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>So, I started cutting fabric and sewing today while my darling daughter was taking her nap and am working again now that she's asleep for the night. After much trial and error, I'm finally creating a good enough product to sell, in my opinion, and I'm very excited! I promised myself that I would have at least five separate items for sale in my Etsy store by the end of July, and I think I will be able to have this goal accomplished by the end of June.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I have finished three of the best burp cloths I have ever sewn today and can't wait to post them in my Etsy store - but I am going to wait until I have more of them done so I can have more than one listing in my store. I am also working on smaller baby bibs (than the ones I had originally sewn and posted pics of) in the matching fabrics - I want to create little gift sets (2 burp cloths, 1 burp cloth & matching bib, 2 bibs, etc, etc, etc) that will be perfect for baby shower gifts or just new moms in general in fabrics that aren't typically "baby" fabrics. </div><br /><div></div>So, tomorrow during my "Alone" time, I plan on returning to the fabric store to get a Snaps Plier, as I'm really tired of sewing on snaps to the bibs and want to just be able to pop them on with this handy gadget. I also am running to Old Navy to get some $2 ribbed tank tops (seriously, one of my favorite products that they carry)!!!<br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-4056480159598313052009-06-18T10:37:00.000-07:002009-06-18T10:57:05.491-07:002009 GoalsSo back in January I believe, I posted a list of goals that I want to achieve in 2009...here's the list:<br /><br />Keep up my daily blog<br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Devote some time each week (or possibly day) to my crafts</span><br />Start up my own business so that I can make money doing something I love!!!<br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Buy our first home</span><br />Spend more alone time with my husband<br />Get pregnant (this can only happen once the above two goals have been accomplished)!!<br />Take a cake decorating class<br />Go back to school for a medical billing or coding certificate<br /><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Get more organized</span><br />Exercise more, make healthier meals<br />Be the best person (mom, wife, friend, fellow human being) I can possibly be in all arenas of my life!!!<br /><br />Looking over this list, I haven't really accomplished much YET! I've highlighted in yellow the things that I have completed. I have definitely kept up with sewing/crafting, and generally work on it at least one day a week, if not more.<br /><br />I am a lot more organized than I was at the beginning of the year, I was actually able to get Addie on a normal routine everyday and have pretty much kept up with it! Yay me!<br /><br />And we are in the process of buying our first home - we close July 2nd and man, is it coming up soon! I can't wait! I already find myself making a large laundry list of all the things I'll want to buy for said new home.<br /><br />So, here's an updated goals list:<br /><br /><ul><li>Write in my blog at least twice a week (I'm finding that trying to write daily is just not happening)</li><li>Not to run my family into debt buying new home purchases (this will take tremendous willpower on both mine and my husbands part)!!</li><li>Read more (I'd like to make a goal of reading at least one book a week)</li><li>Get more time alone (my husband and I are currently taking turns every Saturday for a few hours with the baby, to ensure that each of us is getting time alone to do the things we want to)</li><li>Open up my Etsy store with at least 5 items for sale by the end of July (I just bought a handful of fabrics in which to start up an inventory, now I just need to sit down and sew!!!)</li><li>Start a Garden </li><li>Take a cake decorating class</li><li>Exercise more, eat healthier (this still stands and is even more important now that I'm not breastfeeding as much and thus burning less calories every day).</li><li>Get pregnant (probably sometime after the new year, as I feel that I've finally adjusted to being a stay-at-home mom and I want a little more time to just enjoy being Addie's mom)</li><li>Get a puppy (after we're settled, maybe around Christmastime)</li><li>Go on a family vacation to California</li></ul><p>I think that about sums it up right now, I'll keep you posted on my progress!</p>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-6255594811592686142009-06-10T20:42:00.000-07:002009-06-10T20:59:05.095-07:001001 Books to ReadSo my friend Robyn over at <a href="http://craftivist.typepad.com/craftivist/2009/06/1001-books-to-read-a-list.html">Craftivist</a> posted a list of 1001 books to read. I'm not sure from where the list originated, but it has definitely inspired me to want to get back to reading. As I looked over the list, I only found about 50 titles that I had previously read (some for pure pleasure and others for school assignments - for those that don't know me, I majored in English in college). Shocking!<br /><br /><br />Reading has dropped off the radar for me since I've had my baby (except of course, for parenting articles) and looking over this list reminded me just how much I love reading and that I do miss it. So, my goal is to start reading the books on this list and see many I can actually get through. As long as my daughter is sleeping, I know I will have the privacy (and quiet), and I know that I spend several hours every night watching tv, so I must have the time!<br /><br /><br />I do find that for me watching tv is usually a backdrop to doing something else, and being a busy mom, I feel the need to always be multi-tasking. Now that it's summer and most of the tv shows are reruns or just stupid, I think it's a great time to do some relaxing with a book in hand. I'll keep you posted on how well it goes.Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-65717502079651871092009-06-07T16:26:00.000-07:002009-06-07T19:12:03.400-07:00Road-Tripping with the Heeters<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZczbfU4UMI1GjWXZGlSfzzPM2HAv27O_4t2JOGuSfCI7yVjK_2N2k42mZiKOfnrvHCyRU-UOB4XQYs4wv4uIIbgLxuMM8U0DgrRdUJuAr4ORA870NLCZTYfIV3R-jFz-iiWDXbVf6z2KD/s1600-h/Adeline+-+15+Months+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344755299080189362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZczbfU4UMI1GjWXZGlSfzzPM2HAv27O_4t2JOGuSfCI7yVjK_2N2k42mZiKOfnrvHCyRU-UOB4XQYs4wv4uIIbgLxuMM8U0DgrRdUJuAr4ORA870NLCZTYfIV3R-jFz-iiWDXbVf6z2KD/s200/Adeline+-+15+Months+039.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>We got back from our whirlwind of a roadtrip Friday evening and I'm still trying to recover I think. Here's the recap: My sister and her hubby and my nephew Tug (who is 3 months older than Addie) flew in Tuesday night from Cali, so we all met at my parent's house for dinner and of course, drinks. Wednesday morning, The Heeters, along with my hungover younger brother Jon (who for all intensive purposes was tricked into going to visit his Grandma while under the influence), came and picked up me and Addie and off we went. Our first stop, Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis, only a little over 400 miles away where my Grandma and Aunt (and most of my dad's relations) live. </div><br /><div>Thankfully, they had rented a Kia Sorrento that was large enough to not only accommodate four adults, and two carseats, but also all of the luggage, toys, snacks, and accessories that travelling with toddlers entails. The first day went well, due largely in part to the portable DVD player and Muppet Show DVD's that put the kids in a hypnotic state for much of the ride. We got to Grandma's around 7:15 pm, had a late dinner, and then stayed up playing 5 card draw and shit on your neighbor with nickles after the kids fell asleep. </div><br /><div>We left Minneapolis the following morning around 11:00 am and headed down south to Davenport, Iowa (again, over 400 miles away) to visit Tony's Grandma and Uncle. We made good time though (or maybe stopped less) and were there before dinnertime. We got a suite (so my poor brother didn't have to share a bed again with me & Addie), went swimming, and ordered a feast of pizza/pasta/salad/chicken and of course beers and just chilled in the hotel room. Liquor is key to keeping your sanity when travelling with two tired displaced toddlers!</div><br /><div>The following morning we went to the Niabi zoo in Rock Island, IL, which was a really great small zoo and the kids had a blast! After the zoo, we went to a beautiful park in Davenport, that reminded me of a mini-Central Park - unfortunately, the kids didn't understand that they couldn't just run into the pond and go for a swim...Addie finally crapped out in my lap and got in a nice little thirty minute nap before we headed off to Famous Dave's with all of Tony's family for a delicious dinner!!! Afterwards, it was time to drive back to Chi-town, and honestly, I thought the shortest drive (probably like 2 and a half hours tops) would have been the easiest...but after no long naps that day and probably being tired of sitting the car, the kids were cracking (Addie in particular). About 40 minutes from home, she started to carry on and worked herself up so much that her face was puffy from all the crying and she was choking on all of her saliva - we had to pull over and try and calm her down. She was fine sitting with me but she wanted absolutely nothing more to do with her car seat...we ended up moving Tug's car seat up a row, and I sat in the way back with Addie to attempt to make her more comfortable, but she didn't stop crying or fall asleep until about fifteen minutes from my parent's house.</div><br /><div>It was a great time though overall, it was nice for my Grandma and Aunt to finally meet both of the babies, and I loved spending all of the extra time with my sister and her family. I've always loved roadtrips! It was nice to be off of work for three days too! hehe</div><div> </div><div>Yesterday, after visiting one last time with my sister and her family, Elliott & I had an open house to attend. My friend's from college just bought their first home, so we spent a couple hours there last night eating, drinking, and chasing after Addie (to make sure she wasn't breaking any of their valuables)!!! Needless to say, I was extremely tired today and not really motivated to do much - I watched a Marathon of Crap Reality TV on MTV all afternoon and finally mustered up some energy to sew a new outfit for Addie when she & Elliott took a nap!</div><br /><div>Here are some pics from our roadtrip!</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344755306047178354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sbq6lXESNi5ldLEQb1oQFAvg3qEkG_j4XW9ycR0Xzr_UNk82UYujDdFCCfXwjzupc-GxivpUBRQZFLrz3I3bBOpq1ajqNDSXmPtCCt9XhHVmQ-m81oEdaLqcNwYEWHwfxvu7VV4Iv6Rv/s200/Adeline+-+15+Months+052.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344755312276338114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5eZDpP056wqtVtWS3svjVEeVKspNRi5EujrMUf_ZuBUXCpol3FbCTzFUk9zjLiHJpvXOS8VYwcQm1N1lSQZuKFc4pm5ZQ3NIhZsn1Tlj4_JldwyF7bGCy9QYZ5gf7E7vF0omY_zqkTjy/s200/Adeline+-+15+Months+063.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344772594243485138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimT2YYsxMzzjqFUP_I-PM54LCjH9arqck6quRlTfIo1uMOsqkZRiAjgnmpxe63gV9QzfiGmNztn0aeNljnDpCxkdC2pVTUhj9a8ujwIMMGdGDraIvHCjsVjZiL6wqMxlTfoO7r3oyeBLDr/s200/Grandma+Olson%27s+house+4.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344755326441527666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh87TCfqEc4X32_h2jBmOH92Y0XAQTYo0souLvbX0yw4MScUHTqTm1n20lWLbXOg_R-iHqS7RiH5U6KKYX5sp1BK09OfEJ0kuljXB4we7F7jspYkGTUwJRAqpJUjUtw5Xt7tyO6GV9RPg-C/s200/Adeline+-+15+Months+096.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344772591475070498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoAuZeBI_Qhsyu_neURRippiTaituamKhjANG0bo0O7cx7COPkKfsHtMuEH8n1fbaQabWCISnqyOmti70QyZAkAQDjddil6BtxJ34FnDIiFkJGz-5tjfTsGvwNBLHMhGqUdnvu-4CAQElf/s200/Adeline+-+15+Months+124.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344773111287865682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw7CNrOvny3dXKwWJcrfDHntEiHxVlTsf2vBgAppwJSHY7NzElViws4Ll6UFOCokLcgF_ZV2ZvYMcPkLBB5eI6LfgTPM81LTgZIPKOhP52PZlbiqyJqhxBcQ6U9uve-H-vHDwf50SNVAz/s200/Adeline+-+15+Months+102.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-81451562161562379482009-05-31T09:00:00.000-07:002009-05-31T09:22:08.464-07:00Forever and a Day<div><div><div><div>So, it's been awhile since I've checked in...I keep making myself promises that blogging is something I need to make a committment to (at least twice a week) and then I keep breaking said promises. Things have been super busy lately, so that is my excuse (albeit a lame one)!<br /></div><div>We will close on our duplex on July 2nd and I'm so excited! I cannot wait to have all the space and am just hoping that I will be able to keep up with all the extra cleaning having a bigger living space will entail (I must confess that cleaning is NOT one of my strong points, which my husband will attest to). But I think there comes a certain pride in owning something and wanting to keep it nice, so hopefully I will be more invested in my home than I have been in my apartments! </div><div></div><br /><div>I've been busy sewing a sundress with matching bloomers and a hat for Addie - my mom spent two days with me giving me "lessons" and helping me piece together this outfit. I seem to have a natural talent for sewing, but am not so great at deciphering sewing lingo or following patterns. Pics below on the finished product (it seems a little long on her, so it might actually fit for two summers instead of one)...I also have more fabric to make another one, so will get started on that this week too. The more sewing skills I acquire, the more I become motivated to make it a career. And I'll have a spare room at the new house to use as a sewing/craft room, so I'm getting closer to being able to actually make that happen!</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342023667562735186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXAiHb6Y6fOoYKe1ekxjWFg2BCWS6HUYH2UEm6wFKSYaaVjgQWZS2tLkZ9ccHMAz8zkDTlaG8QaVcW6naurW3t6qGPkddl6eoUovrCsJDEmysKgG_ZIBK7i96naGE9gzS9vL3K5X0WNKi/s200/Sewing+project+076.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342023668446181714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_oZshJTsIey6Dl7jMMBoc5y1D5yQUbdhLLW5vM1gMgjPAB_8oqBVYUunqArep7PEOq7ewpZjyBeeHISUUSy-S3ZE0C-V98x5ikTN7CO8w7H_R7WRfWPlDs4Lpk5Yd02z_1qXggIU90byU/s200/Sewing+project+078.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342023675374839586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizDDkEB_31VRAq2cfp0rduUGvLcRCAhMflLymo_Ah35cfZ2zGw23rfRaonAbz8KFfIYc68yrp41r3CBcDk8SA2x3D6QH5bB8dAuKiyhMgplv9PIKsY2iC4ct4oH5L-vULOhlxy2uadR8oE/s200/Sewing+project+082.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342023683228992946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjjutx_miL6YBw_IpJsUDscUI7Ck_XgK9BMJAJ3DbgKAQs9j2eaKkltNwX_iBrFlneDfwRDIMtDP2aVLp-BL2LNAsZaPsTdwCWqGaPdjwmXvRadC60smIecKjqISD-scmyQvl2TdMbP4AM/s200/Sewing+project+080.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>My sister & her family are coming into town on Tuesday, and me & Addie are going to join them on a mini-roadtrip up to Minnesota to visit my Grandma and Aunt (whom have never met either of our babies) and then on to Iowa to visit Tony's Grandma and Uncle, and I'm very excited to be able to spend more time with her while they're here. There are always so many people for them to see when they come in, that I feel like we never have enough time together, so this will be nice!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-84377317275232362642009-04-14T12:46:00.000-07:002009-04-14T13:01:25.893-07:00Sweet & Sassy Pork Tenderloin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97INCVeKQubIYudJU5xW0U4NmeDi-AKpaXzCwmPWtLwoReFqMVVAEw2JHxCuIZW6wHbDvDKuoASOduVrOnh9VDxirsoP-uZUPG4oCSiPFAVad5RbgjL2_2JpyrWdfTfmnchjYJXMIPhHr/s1600-h/Grilled+Pork+Tenderloin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324639504290589442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj97INCVeKQubIYudJU5xW0U4NmeDi-AKpaXzCwmPWtLwoReFqMVVAEw2JHxCuIZW6wHbDvDKuoASOduVrOnh9VDxirsoP-uZUPG4oCSiPFAVad5RbgjL2_2JpyrWdfTfmnchjYJXMIPhHr/s200/Grilled+Pork+Tenderloin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Here is a recipe I tried out last week with the help of my grill master hubby!</div><div><a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Sassy-Pork-Tenderloin/Detail.aspx">http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Sassy-Pork-Tenderloin/Detail.aspx</a></div><br /><div>We had never grilled pork tenderloin before and it took us a few minutes to decide how we would cut up the tenderloin (as when we opened the package, it was in two long "logs", and it had deceptively looked like one "log" in the plastic)...I simply cut the tenderloin "logs" in half and then cut them again lengthwise so that we had eight "filets" for Elliott to grill. </div><br /><div>I brushed some olive oil on to the filets and seasoned with pepper, and Elliott grilled them!<br /></div><div>I put together the sauce (minus the horseradish, which I didn't have on hand) and when he was done we simply poured it on top of each filet. It was delicious! Perfect combination of spicy and sweet! And the tenderloin was so juicy! This was such a great recipe, I wanted to share it, along with a pic, I served it with Herb & Butter Rice (am a huge fan of Knorr side dishes, as they're super easy to prepare) and sweet peas!</div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-36821390349808356032009-04-12T13:34:00.001-07:002009-04-12T13:46:06.177-07:00Happy Easter<div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#ffccff;">Can you find the hidden eggs?</span></strong></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwri_JGXcbURGN57j8d3NEaH70vTIlC9ZiUVEjBq5fLR6p4A2uAswkdnl3KsSGtb4a8qH7QY81n_ow3XSndL1GSQ2JG6P13AYX_26rooPRqrDFS0Ht1ruywI75kDSt31rYLEknihnc9XQg/s1600-h/Find+the+hidden+eggs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323907892503339170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwri_JGXcbURGN57j8d3NEaH70vTIlC9ZiUVEjBq5fLR6p4A2uAswkdnl3KsSGtb4a8qH7QY81n_ow3XSndL1GSQ2JG6P13AYX_26rooPRqrDFS0Ht1ruywI75kDSt31rYLEknihnc9XQg/s320/Find+the+hidden+eggs.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#66ffff;"><strong>Addie found her first egg!</strong><br /></span></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpc3_NQFjH07Y5EnFAy_pJTmcvZtgoUoq347wK2y4bK0jFkIBG574ZAQICOLceUi00WoSQC8MpjtsLqiH7m51xVH1ZlGbJ9IttBrsDfoh2jeZQRT1NSWzDObK2KyVNi2evexmfs7RoNjfF/s1600-h/Addie+found+her+first+egg.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323907590121619554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpc3_NQFjH07Y5EnFAy_pJTmcvZtgoUoq347wK2y4bK0jFkIBG574ZAQICOLceUi00WoSQC8MpjtsLqiH7m51xVH1ZlGbJ9IttBrsDfoh2jeZQRT1NSWzDObK2KyVNi2evexmfs7RoNjfF/s320/Addie+found+her+first+egg.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#66ff99;">Yum, Cheerios!!</span><br /></span></strong><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KtQkufGsv5ItPAmX5CqUZX4SYzZ8X3o1TGquL7t6phJn_VikSw8P2DwfD7dEyIFvRO3vweSq8QqePB67805k59smdyznBdnwRiw2uYmwUp8UDPVWa48-TMpe_eXse1jbk9ZA-M3Ec25I/s1600-h/Eating+some+cheerios.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323907582434949058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KtQkufGsv5ItPAmX5CqUZX4SYzZ8X3o1TGquL7t6phJn_VikSw8P2DwfD7dEyIFvRO3vweSq8QqePB67805k59smdyznBdnwRiw2uYmwUp8UDPVWa48-TMpe_eXse1jbk9ZA-M3Ec25I/s320/Eating+some+cheerios.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#ccccff;">Here's another one!</span><br /></span></strong><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecvv72Urh7BspmDshVd_m7s0jkAVkGX3O1TwdtfoXMXQZ0IOpWCQqFk4D50xVYOeQPFiLlir3kcVg4h637EG4kPTuQmBgGRDLjaHIt1RPP6sIUTcdIlamrM6J0gCGcvwMz0vCutikpH1J/s1600-h/Found+another+one.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323907580792009522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecvv72Urh7BspmDshVd_m7s0jkAVkGX3O1TwdtfoXMXQZ0IOpWCQqFk4D50xVYOeQPFiLlir3kcVg4h637EG4kPTuQmBgGRDLjaHIt1RPP6sIUTcdIlamrM6J0gCGcvwMz0vCutikpH1J/s320/Found+another+one.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#99ffff;">Daddy, can you hold these please?<br /></span></strong><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqAu6WnmQSDA90BExJecw0SonEN8lcuOhNDfoeEHJesJP99gPIfE5IYGoE_Zff7fO1IiFqqrlS6MLAJzCt94NH4r4eaLNKj1IEY6BLGNzhIpkCBPLBXY-xuXR1cr0OlxaA5iqv47xDGpO/s1600-h/Addie+and+Daddy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323907575581024722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPqAu6WnmQSDA90BExJecw0SonEN8lcuOhNDfoeEHJesJP99gPIfE5IYGoE_Zff7fO1IiFqqrlS6MLAJzCt94NH4r4eaLNKj1IEY6BLGNzhIpkCBPLBXY-xuXR1cr0OlxaA5iqv47xDGpO/s320/Addie+and+Daddy.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ffccff;"><strong>A Whole Basket!!!<br /></strong></span><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Bl6D3ObGa22BgukDLcGI7iTJhQxo_GEYKi-nMyLSts23Qc__5G7fMtZRi4mvq0FyFACTpmGl7i6S13pKFfoUOnuH1LIenX6K1F-k4xlZLbqKh1azo2DOLCWa7_mZn9PeLEmNZnVuO3z_/s1600-h/A+whole+basket.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323907568462980386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Bl6D3ObGa22BgukDLcGI7iTJhQxo_GEYKi-nMyLSts23Qc__5G7fMtZRi4mvq0FyFACTpmGl7i6S13pKFfoUOnuH1LIenX6K1F-k4xlZLbqKh1azo2DOLCWa7_mZn9PeLEmNZnVuO3z_/s320/A+whole+basket.jpg" border="0" /></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#99ff99;">Mommy and me</span><br /></span></strong><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323908870034224706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEjXWFS2U0llzWsj5q511_3bKuEGU4H2H0wqFJll2iqR0_yEDJurj7blXVyzHDF7-63_s-CniRtwzLVr3J8dx6MZeMAD3udkH9Ttlqd7PCopWs7W5KUsFnFC_9JIJN40m5TXm2T6xCnX7/s320/Mommy+%26+Addie+on+Easter+2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Here are some pics from this morning...we hid a few eggs (in plain sight) and her basket and helped Addie to find them. I can't wait until Addie is a little older so that we can actually hide the eggs. Growing up, my parents always did some elaborate egg hunt, with puzzles and clues to help us find more eggs and in the end, our baskets. It was always fun, and slightly educational too.</div><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-7275450745045088662009-04-08T07:47:00.001-07:002009-04-08T07:53:30.006-07:00Looking for a houseSo, we finally talked to the mortgage broker yesterday and got prequalified for a home loan! We're so excited! We were worried we weren't going to be offered as much as we wanted/needed because we only have my husband's income (and the raise that he was promised in March hasn't come through yet!), but we were! So, the next step will be to hook up with the realtor and start looking at houses. I've been looking at houses online now for the past year, so to actually be able to go and see them in person is going to be so much fun. We have three months to find the house of our dreams (before our lease is up), so hopefully, we'll be able to do it!Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-91778431353251262452009-03-27T19:31:00.001-07:002009-03-27T19:37:48.919-07:00Off to Winona!!So, tomorrow morning we leave for Winona, Minnesota - it's our first road trip with Addie!! I'm excited and scared at the same time, she does like to sleep in the car sometimes, but other times is just miserable, so hopefully it will go well. The trip is only about four and a half hours, we plan to stop for lunch, and will allow enough time to stop here and there to let her out to run around if need be (and weather permitting). The good news is here in Chicago we are supposed to have a windy, rainy, snowy weekend, so we'll be missing that, and the snow is not intended to hit Winona until Monday, so hopefully we'll miss out on these crazy spring storms alltogether.<br /><br />I'll write more later, the doodle has just awoken and I must go comfort her!!Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-9850753508342216192009-03-25T12:55:00.000-07:002009-03-25T13:05:23.063-07:00Elephant Flannel & Terry Cloth Bib<div><div><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbGukc2AV67xRzfoXiafio4G8mU4hYKS9V0i__WX8OcP6i9lex4TzhUg_PEQLxd0ZDas3FwyHWA-yVuQZmKxC_HfBm0IVIVvN3w4qPAeUWzgB16PQORyXA76vDnTlejWSK4VcqXGW0hPU/s1600-h/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317218277600022610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbGukc2AV67xRzfoXiafio4G8mU4hYKS9V0i__WX8OcP6i9lex4TzhUg_PEQLxd0ZDas3FwyHWA-yVuQZmKxC_HfBm0IVIVvN3w4qPAeUWzgB16PQORyXA76vDnTlejWSK4VcqXGW0hPU/s320/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+2.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317218288887393842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutdxpdl4WballbuGaRAKzFsAVASVncY_70GakqpYo5gApZ_E3tHp8j78aYUXE5SV85lUOFuLEgKoKP2ArHwqgi60X3fJp2_FUveBxkRHPk96zQRfsXFnEJJLYLBbvTyIDxqr2MErj8CcL/s320/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+3.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317218289124563378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUayBsTu5k1cAhT4ijkt1ld3Ew0wCfXrX3a_s5yeXOh__drep1wIR-iEP9JMBjh6isa-fP1GxGC3hrPaZ7eTPJ0vRWBhE11uFHkagEFbb75ldnVn72G7w72rfPjWAtRLYKLDdAsUGWp-I/s320/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+4.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317218286563432002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KzqhdV4FSI07gvpB8-TmkbU34UakHgISlMzVVLW2Qfn72jJKGmrGcsSnfve207SDS12mfWBLMIBRPfzd9Hx7zh8iY4aaEhwxnY6zsrHAT8wAmEA136DQfJuYNy-UA3RLQZIf_CqXGN5l/s320/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+7.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>Here's the newest bib I've finished. I'm giving it to an old girlfriend for her newest son's baptism this weekend. I'm planning on making her two burp cloths too (but probably out of a different material/fabric). I know it's not a religious gift, but I'm sure she'll be getting plenty of those from the other attendees, so I wanted to give her something that was functional and cute!</div><br /><br /><div>The elephant fabric is flannel, and I've backed it with a brown/greenish colored terry cloth (perfect for wiping up extra mess afterwards), and I just binded it with white binding...Not sure if I'll do another bib in this fashion, just depends on whether or not I can get better at sewing the binding on.</div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317218295515666738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqREFgr7Af9hAwlKJigk5nq1eTQTZkSaVVSjvpUGFcCfOvMpwPE2x2Iky8yV_LNJf4A5HzBEF2qTLAiSGBPMlIxOtlDX7U5qX6vxGRD7A-eCSdCeJ4rBjhCnq9CAzBTEUmuZvMwRsov8U/s320/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+9.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317218838436458258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9UllK-gVEphli4QBGMSY7snMmzIxbaFN43fmDI_M4iXRzgvXpTYgcdPdKDBU7b_9q9TemFf9QveSolv5jczYzwbb7vW7sKFcJkO8XgOV8uTFCqwJ2PkKP2WJfGFtvNkR93IhwIe4br2k5/s320/Elephant+Terry+%26+Flannel+Bib+10.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-62209165299263549522009-03-21T19:11:00.000-07:002009-03-21T19:50:18.385-07:00I Won!!!Whoo-hoo, I just won a <a href="http://sproutshell.com/">Sprout Shell</a> from <a href="http://preciouspeas.blogspot.com/">Jamie's Precious Peas </a>blog and I'm so excited! It's a really great product that covers your infant car seat and shields your baby from the elements and I would've loved to have had one with Adeline. I picked a gender neutral fabric, in case our second baby isn't another girl. But I just had to share because I love to win things (who doesn't?). Thanks so much to Jamie & Sprout Shell for the opportunity to win this awesome product!!<br /><br /><br /><br />This is the third blog giveaway I've won since February (although one of the items I "forfeited" cuz I didn't get back to the blog owner in the specified timeframe), and I'm totally addicted to entering bloggy giveaways now. There are so many great products out there for children & babies that I would never had heard of had it not been for starting my blog and seeking out other blogs by moms...and to be able to win some of these products is just awesome!!! It takes about a half hour every day to go through all of the bloggy giveaways (that I frequent) and enter the giveaways I'm interested in, and I think it's well worth the time spent! So, I highly recommend checking it out, because you CAN actually win stuff!Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-75543414281505050882009-03-19T08:47:00.001-07:002009-03-19T09:53:45.724-07:00Baby Bib & Burp Cloth Set<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlw9U2RaXRT2jCqjnI3jbd0_GV_N2He8DKD5Mp4XFOnD9c6aJJyiGc8w0JMsVBZDL8vIrLjWoXVkok0-Lj9XIC08DBQZ0oZnQYlSjlX6WlDphiW7r9QrOvTgV_3nOcIogN7xywFlVt2HDW/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+6.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOLnfbuXyRGyYwsByh0VWHVMnT0d5Wp_0UymNKPBwdZQHNmxSo_vly7jqHCYsJ0Pvf2uXSWvr3wna094hbhac33rYHdF6N4T5ZdEFT_0pBKlIjV2eRB4l76XEyjr8UyRPunxJU9swL2t7/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314940828461615250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOLnfbuXyRGyYwsByh0VWHVMnT0d5Wp_0UymNKPBwdZQHNmxSo_vly7jqHCYsJ0Pvf2uXSWvr3wna094hbhac33rYHdF6N4T5ZdEFT_0pBKlIjV2eRB4l76XEyjr8UyRPunxJU9swL2t7/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jUbVw5v2Z6IRzJ1b0DGufTSQHzX8LjG4BkKvmg9BAF5Fa_B-SAD0CkMAIYBtWOm7Gk4RkxrLlDME8VLSvdXBwLMWVX2EhzeFY6hsyvqlGuTQAECMR7i5C0lrRQU9AgPJCt34LBWrhm3L/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314939972555427090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 230px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jUbVw5v2Z6IRzJ1b0DGufTSQHzX8LjG4BkKvmg9BAF5Fa_B-SAD0CkMAIYBtWOm7Gk4RkxrLlDME8VLSvdXBwLMWVX2EhzeFY6hsyvqlGuTQAECMR7i5C0lrRQU9AgPJCt34LBWrhm3L/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05n7hPoN3b_cd39nXPn5g2hJeNFotBkuT_gSa8bwEWoumP3eGK9wHcDPQwkWdwVwfvo7hETSpYeO1ILz_D4ZSuhfJ1z4p1y6BbmtYv5XjYvNujEIsQVjwb4wsvXJD9ndip7EYeeB3kxlI/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314939965433311282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05n7hPoN3b_cd39nXPn5g2hJeNFotBkuT_gSa8bwEWoumP3eGK9wHcDPQwkWdwVwfvo7hETSpYeO1ILz_D4ZSuhfJ1z4p1y6BbmtYv5XjYvNujEIsQVjwb4wsvXJD9ndip7EYeeB3kxlI/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+6.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEqnEKNX0qvVd9zcoEo55zMWvKlyfC9pZy380Cqehn5ZmpT5lBvHKi7ESvhU3zhSbIIGGKbj2OwVrrmiI85GGRflSKD6n5BKWyJIQek83rgprID6ozKAQ7sypCq3M5LWSjsILCk8hlrQCz/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314939963245034546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEqnEKNX0qvVd9zcoEo55zMWvKlyfC9pZy380Cqehn5ZmpT5lBvHKi7ESvhU3zhSbIIGGKbj2OwVrrmiI85GGRflSKD6n5BKWyJIQek83rgprID6ozKAQ7sypCq3M5LWSjsILCk8hlrQCz/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+8.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9VGwnEBP2gatF0EBJu0y-6jcGO24RRhcjkqN2wiynnEUWILbeo-AOa0WjYi7uvmKTF-AUbXMJDRfb9WYodhvhdtlXVC22v4nL1HewT7YH20JdIijXjK6KJ4uXKZQq8zncojWbjmDQuFv/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314939430622114994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9VGwnEBP2gatF0EBJu0y-6jcGO24RRhcjkqN2wiynnEUWILbeo-AOa0WjYi7uvmKTF-AUbXMJDRfb9WYodhvhdtlXVC22v4nL1HewT7YH20JdIijXjK6KJ4uXKZQq8zncojWbjmDQuFv/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUo4Lp9K_oRKgIPDkFXNoRKTRV841ihCgrayRcNrXMjOpCb80ioScLiNI3lF2gkGBmOCeiLR5cC9yDXvalh4qjHXFKZbrQajJ6kbwMG2Jj6GylSGD6TW7VckEMSLasMbpZ6hMJcfh49MBU/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314939424840387346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUo4Lp9K_oRKgIPDkFXNoRKTRV841ihCgrayRcNrXMjOpCb80ioScLiNI3lF2gkGBmOCeiLR5cC9yDXvalh4qjHXFKZbrQajJ6kbwMG2Jj6GylSGD6TW7VckEMSLasMbpZ6hMJcfh49MBU/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rChOMr6jdUnKBYdnwWfRcRBRGM6wBy43nfX7xyKWQhHEKjB3ZsqVRkqTjRj_zFVqD4UwC9B9JejA-4stYMTH3k5VX0rg6S25YjOP-8dW5jA-0-yncghTcJyf7FsBECQWNGioubayJfoK/s1600-h/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314939420249967778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rChOMr6jdUnKBYdnwWfRcRBRGM6wBy43nfX7xyKWQhHEKjB3ZsqVRkqTjRj_zFVqD4UwC9B9JejA-4stYMTH3k5VX0rg6S25YjOP-8dW5jA-0-yncghTcJyf7FsBECQWNGioubayJfoK/s320/Burp+cloth+(birdy)+4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div>Ok, so I finished the burp cloth to go with the baby bib I made the other day to send to my friend who recently had a baby girl. There was definitely some trial and error, as in my tired state last night, I sewed the burp cloth pieces together backwards and had to completely unstitch it and start over...and there were a couple other minor boo-boos as well, but overall I think they're cute!! Not sure why a couple of the pics are not posting landscape...</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8411815932287746615.post-36416463090523723882009-03-18T08:32:00.001-07:002009-03-18T08:56:58.928-07:00Pics of the Baby Bib<div align="left">Ok, here are the pics of the baby bib I made yesterday. So, I need a little practice with my top-stitching, but other than that, I think it turned out really nice. The neck hole might need to be made a little smaller (as it looks huge on Addie) for any future bibs as well, but I love the soft flannel material, and the bib is reversible and can be worn on either side (the pics of the finished product on Addie are the proper color, it's a cream fabric which is hard to see in the first few pics I took). I can't wait to work up a couple of matching burp cloths, which I will post pics of as well. I plan on working on those today (since I'm not working, yah!!).</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Before Top Stitching</span></strong></div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554042369146802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBivuJMHm9WUF_2oUjdTvQeC04ugyBW4K9TiY3hnMXy9R2z_VMBub0GWDxE9YLDZuJScKxfydaCzb3AggIPHNNQRWLG1VzXmg2Zh_FNfPPWXTRZ7x3fh0c_9a9hdLgxOFkMUsghDGm2bt/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+before+top+stitch+1.jpg" border="0" /> <div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554046313188498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodJ2Vz1BlMBlq0m00v4qSIstVjI7g3CILvamphf9o2dYTC5ZQtLIydQqVlf2PUBkTF7kAU4JIkwqoHOngXZi-G1icgGsdzP-HiPFWkeQ0kqM2J7-ni9isrkJRJBauo0aGWUb8qRRbjC_p/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+before+top+stitch+2.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><span style="color:#ffcc00;"><strong>The Reverse Side</strong><br /></span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554050538220018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmHW-iMtvK2DrzYdr1Vqq6x7E3njpJIjQCr0Q_Q7ovcA1zh8BHnvBup1_yJSqOMox8cEjF9DVP7NV9qN7XOuDiBkEvBadFgynijk9_pojYpzLwiYpHavEn0r1z1LLi4lfYOW951e7zkdT/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+before+top+stitch+3.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc00;">After Top Stitching</span></strong><br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554064723357026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1C8Lgop4HY81VY7cusViEZAE-yk6aDYmyH7CYETRMG7qFvfZseoM8SB4AOdKmDrVFsmMhbEvuBbgrITdZCUHuaWs542gFVxacVM_ChX9oXf_lermFgclKdkgcvp5z18NWm_5KAtMp_u8/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+after+top+stitch+2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554056729953762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFywg-nIkMr9Ap65DJtTxiX1Hv7gHAe3pUx4f5NQspzCLuSKNEjS9dPESyXgq7EcePiFn7GkY3Xm4k3HEH2G9iZZD-9m6IcaV7XVPKQ2CcD4lRo0_BOCpEnClOhGlMqHIVKsLH1Nd11wb/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+after+top+stitch+1.jpg" border="0" /> <br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc00;">Handsewn Snaps</span></strong></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554466700218770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJlByGTVufbmDnQDTbaJQUvav80y7LMNWJJ9DpXQBwHAMHWJv5QOHDVZOD4XL3aipRU5nU1UuG02zgLCO2wRzhO_cL1dP1CB76FxHBKIZnq3WmNeKw2RwTSl0W68lcSYfnegeKjxU_l2N/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+snaps.jpg" border="0" /><strong><span style="color:#ffcc00;">The Finished Bib on My Baby Model Adeline (Whom I couldn't get to sit/stand still)</span></strong><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554446450291154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIs0kcXDBJ6hr_fOjbd7qR4rJc4GAjiy6TgEY8ejppIMLRjky2sn81IBHBoZyUSLWiofr2syAK-d4rPw0ardMwXcMEw1bikon2qjw8ebaDP7zwGPwUchAqMRWnStujW9talNNXoQ8C2hA/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+on+my+model+1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554449828078466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9io03K0_C0q2KJ9ICdQas6MtBI7tJ-o_2XJxcQy48c0uIgVuyloliqKZ5ejIvLecI1V6GQDPcfj3gQbggd3SpGxUTwwk1uw5BNpI-sOs2TYzN9WaLKfkBMjfnw2cQokFqWjLQ3-_npoT/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+on+my+model+2.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314554461208580114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTaE2CvjWcjCamwu9IRKZlvLtuB73ToLwSCUA5zjB9j8Zt5QlPqv-79P5IyQyDnCdT5_b1vOOdqqGF7a29XATsqhtBYLdcKU0hdlDOvRWNOychF4zOBOKbSXORH_nk2_yUkEZMes5Bb6gW/s320/Baby+bib+(birdy)+on+my+model+4.jpg" border="0" />Whitney Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12613180854051506841noreply@blogger.com0