Promised Pictures

Today was my first day with Joel. Paisley and Joel and pretty much glued at the hip. They follow the other and are never more than a foot apart. It's funny.

Within 2 minutes of Joel arriving, he figured out how to eject, and put the movie back in the VCR. IT was very amusing for him. Within 5 minutes of that, he figured out ejecting the dvd player, and the wii. He didn't quite figure out the x-box.







Some more pictures of our day:






This is right after I submitted my earlier post. I got swarmed. They sent all sorts of funky messages to my friend Heather!


Today was a lot better than I thought it would be. I put them down for a nap at 9, Pais was asleep by 9:15, and Joel was up there talking and playing for almost an hour before he got quiet. Then they slept til 10:45. Then we had lunch (spaghetti). Then at 1, I put them down for a nap again, and they both were out within 10 minutes, and slept til 3. We had a quick snack, then Joel's mom was here. Not too exciting of a day... but it was successful! :)

Busy

It's been really busy around here lately.

Today is my first day with Joel... and i've been busy getting ready to have two busy bodies. Our living room is looking a little scarce.

ALso been busy finishing up the taxes, and prepping the house to sell. I have a friend coming early next week to help me stage, then the real estate agent late in the week. Gives me some deadlines to get things done.

I will post some pictures later this afternoon.

Onesie

Perfect for Paisley:




Made by loveseptember.

I'm home

and it looks very different:



New laminate flooring/baseboards









Painted guest room:



New Fibre Floor in bathroom:





Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder for all your hard work! It looks great!

Sooooo close to being done!

Saturday Slice - Purses

This weeks slice is a favorite of mine. Purses! I have a weakness... but am really good at resisting. Here's a few that I'm just drooling over (I have dozens more.... but I had to cut myself off ;) )

The Sweet Dee by Little Ellie



Handbag by SherryBags:



Shell Bag by Lireca:



NIGELLA BEAUTY by Purseona:



Tutorials/ Free Patterns:
Pleated Purse Tutorial by My Spare Time:


Bamboo Handle Purse by Little Birdie Secrets:


Reversible Purse by Martha Stewart:


Margaret Sling Bag by Oh Fransson:

It's Etsy Day! Have you got your Etsy on yet?

Today is the first Etsy day! It's been put together by shop owners, in order to raise Etsy awareness! You will hopefully see some Etsy car signs, t-shirts and the like today where you live! Keep your eye out for people dressed in orange!

Take some time and explore Etsy a little. Even if you just browse, you will have a better idea of what else is available there. Maybe that next baby/wedding shower gift.

Take some time to explore Etsy today!

www.ETSY.com

My favorite way to explore is the POUNCE feature. You can pounce Just Sold listing... or Undiscovered shops. :)

A few projects this week:

A Gnome:



A Doll:



Convinced Mom to make a doll as well:



Some Caploomers... which are full size pants on Paisley (need to work on the sizing)



Also made Paisley a skirt.... which was too small.

Today I have to work on a quilt. Hopefully will finish it today.

I didn't get done near as many projects as I'd hoped too, but with sicknesses, and just being so tired, I haven't really focused. I started a dress for Paisley, as well as cut and pinned a dress to sell, but that's about it.

Here's just SOME of the fabric I brought along:



I have a goal of using up what fabric I have (get it down to just one rubbermaid tote) before allowing myself to buy anymore.

Grandma's

Paisley is finally starting to feel comfortable here... and with Grandma and Grandpa. At this age, she doesn't remember them too well between visits, so we have to start over each time. This time she also has her momma separation anxiety at it's peak. So it's been a double whammy of clinginess. Thankfully, she's loosening up her grip a little.

Here's Grandma and Paisley playing:

Something to add

Saw this cartoon on another blog this morning (Re-purposing Life). Sums up why today is so important to raise awareness (and hopefully create new habits in individuals).

Mmmm

Mmmm Chili



That's some good stuff:



Have a Happy Earth Day everyone!! :) Be sure to bring your own shopping bags and coffee mug (you should be doing that everyday anyway!).


Pais will be wearing one of her "Earth Friendly" shirts today :)

Canadian Girl

That's my girl.....



Small Inukshuk in Golden, BC

Lunch

I have recently discovered that i really enjoy going for lunch with Paisley. Just the two of us. :) She really seems to like restaurant high chairs, the new friends she makes, and she always seems to score herself freebies (free milk, free side dish, free toy). It also gives us a more leisurely lunch, as she's absolutely well behaved. :)

We've discovered a few things that are a must though.



This placemat is FANTASTIC! I bought it at Toys R Us, it's a Kiddopotomus Tidy Diner. It has suction cups on the bottom, a little trough to catch all the droppings, and it just folds and rolls up to a little tube to keep in my purse. Less mess on the restaurant floor (meaning only a normal tip required (mess=bigger tip required)). It saves me from having to put finger food on a table that could be really gross. Plus, she loves to point at the characters (Hey Diddle Diddle) and try to name them.

Wet wipes.... wipe down the highchair, and for clean up after the meal.

A few snacks from home (just to keep her happy until the food comes).

A big enough table, that all drinks, cutlery and dishes can be out of reach from her go-go gadget arms.

We have only gone for lunch a couple times, but I think it will be planned for once a month. She's just all smiles and generally eats really well (actually eats a good chunk of my meal for me).

Traveling

Yesterday Paisley and I made the drive out to Revelstoke (leaving Daddy behind). Paisley was a good traveler (as she usually is), and slept or played in the back seat most of the way. There was some singing as well.

My view :



I actually just recently (last month or so) bought a mirror for the back seat, so I can see her better. Allows me to assess if she's asleep, or just being quiet. Plus I can make faces at her :). Some people have asked me why I would purchase this now... since she was 9 months at the time, and at 12 months she can be forward facing. The reason I decided to do this, is because I plan to keep her rear-facing as long as her carseat allows her to (which is 35 pounds in Paisley's car seat).

The law states that a child must be rear-facing until they reach 20 lbs AND 12 months old. But in researching this issue, it is highly recommended that a child be rear-facing until they reach the rear-facing weight limits of their seat. In a crash, this protects your child the best, as it spread the force of a crash over a larger portion of the body. Makes sense to me. I would like to reduce Paisley's injuries best I can if we did happen to crash. Here's an article about this issue, with links to crash test video: Article on Rear-Facing Carseats It states that it is 5 times safer for your child to remain rear-facing until the age of 2.

Something for people to consider as they approach that 1st birthday.

Saturday Slice - Birds

A little late today because of traveling. In honour of spring, we're doing a Birds theme! They're so hip right now.

This cute card set is made by Lindy, a fellow Alberta Team member. You HAVE to check out her other cards, so adorable!



Adorable bird onesie by valeriya:



Beautiful bird pillow by Joom:



A stunning cake by The Sugar Syndicate, based in Chicago:



What a fantastic idea! A bird mobile. Tutorial by Spool Sewing:

Cutie Patootie

I finally had Paisley model some of my items tonight. She wouldn't stay though. SHe just kept coming up to me. So this is what some of the shots looked like. That dress sure makes her eyes shine though.

Too big, too small

Children's clothing is so funny. This is an outfit that my mom bought for Paisley. It's Mexx and sized 12-18 months. And it doesn't remotely fit her. Meanwhile, she seems to fit most size 12's right now... and still fits some 6 month, and 18 month (with rolled up legs and sleeves 18 month). I thought it was interesting, since she has another piece of Mexx clothing that was 6-9 month, and she couldn't fit it past 6/7 months.

This one was just too big, even with rolling. Oh well.. it'll be great for the fall :)

I went through the clothes of hers that were in the guest room closet (larger sizes) and pulled out everything that was 18 month or smaller for her (left about 3 or 4 outfits behind). Now that I'm finally taking all the 6 month, and 6-12 month (some of it), out of her closet.

In other news, Paisley now has 4 teeth. Yes, it was a long hiatus (she got her first two at about 4 months old). The top two have now broken through this week. She was first to get teeth of her friends, but they quickly all got more than her. Joel has now even started cutting molars!! I think Amanda said he was getting his 8th tooth right now. Crazy considering his due date was only 2 weeks before Paisley's.

Yesterday Paisley turned 10 months old~ :) 2 more months til her birthday! I need to get busy on those invitations.

Sleepy Head

Paisley loves her naps. She has 2 naps every day. They usually are about 2 hours.... but can go for 3 (and even 4 hours once this week). But more often than not, I plan for a 2 hour nap, and need to go wake her up so we can head out the door.

Yesterday was one of those days in which I needed to wake her. We went swimming in the morning, then back home and straight to bed.

I went in after 2 hours to get her up for a play date... and she just didn't want to wake up. I went in and talked to her, called her name... just a grunt and a roll and back to sleep.

So I grabbed the camera:

Sound asleep:



Still Asleep:







Eyes opened:



Rolled over:



Sits up (look of confusion: "Why is mom taking pictures?"):



Still more confusion:





And finally "I'M AWAKE... GET ME OUT OF HERE!"







She had some crazy hair yesterday! After the pool she still had wet hair while she laid down with her bottle, allowing me to get dressed.