Sweet Creative Relief

On July 26, 2009, in Arty Crafty, Kid, Kitties, Nursery, by Wendy

Since Izzy started pulling herself up in her crib, she’s been gnawing on it in an attempt to relieve herself of teething pain. I’m really bummed because we paid a pretty penny for this set and plan to use it for quite some time. The crib converts to a toddler bed and then to a full sized bed. I expect it to get us through to college. Now, it looks like the termites have gotten to it.

Gnaw Marks

I’ve been thinking of a way to sew some kind of protector for a while and I finally measured the crib and made some sketches this weekend. I used some fabric that I bought at Ikea and lined it with a cotton batting to provide an added layer of protection. I attached some snaps at the bottom to secure it on the crib. It’s easy to take of for laundering.

Gnaw Guard

I also made a crib blanket that has matching fabric on one side and animals in the same colors on the other side.

Blankie

It felt good to plan, design, and create the vision I had in my head and to see it executed as perfectly as I had hoped even though Murky occasionally thwarted the creative process.

Thwarter

On a side note, Izzy and I spent the afternoon in San Anselmo at a friend’s baby shower. Isn’t she simply adorable in her little garden party dress?

Garden Party

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Camouflage and silliness

On July 20, 2009, in Kid, Kitties, by Wendy

Camoflauge

I wonder if Kirby really thought she wouldn’t spot him in here.

silliness

I don’t know why, but I am compelled to cover her with little foam sea creatures whenever she stands up in the bath.

 

Creative Reuse

On July 20, 2009, in Arty Crafty, Kid, by Wendy

I went to the Renegade Craft Fair yesterday and was inspired by all of the awesome work out there. I have so many projects I’d like to do, but so little time. It takes a while to plan out a project, pull out all of my supplies from the craft closet, make the item and then clean up.

Last night was different though. I thought of a project to reuse the cat litter buckets we’ve been getting lately. I needed more toy storage, but didn’t want to buy anything, so I figured we could just use the cat litter buckets. I couldn’t figure out how to get the brand label off, so I just got some Mod Podge, colorful paper and images cut from some fabric I bought at Ikea.

Forty-five minutes later and…

Viola!

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bucket

I keep this bucket in the kitchen filled with child sized spatulas, mixing bowls, rolling pin and cookie cutters. I also tossed in some empty, clean and colorful food packaging–jelly bottle, Yo Baby smoothie bottle, puffs containers and a coffee can. Isadora never took to binkies, but we have a ton of them. I put them inside the containers for her and she tries to get them out. It’s been a ton of fun so far!

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I want to sew. I really, really want to sew. I have ideas. I have other peoples ideas. I have patterns that my mom used to use to make doll clothes for me when I was little. I just need a few hours, and I can probably sew some really cool things. I need to make a list of all the things I want to sew, and then sketch them out so that when I do have a few spare moments, I can knock out an easy project.

A few things I want to make include:

Doll clothes (I still need to find a non-creepy doll. Any suggestions?)
Pillows for Izzy’s room
Draft guard for Izzy’s room (more to block out the light and sound from under the pocket door, then the drafts)
Crib ledge liner (she’s been gnawing on her very expensive crib and I need to protect it)
Table Tent

What is a Table Tent you ask? It is probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. (Well, maybe not the most amazing thing. Have you met my daughter? She’s pretty amazing.) A Table Tent one of those “why didn’t I think of that” projects. Ladies and gentlemen. Behold, the table tent from Colorique:

Table Tent

It looks easy enough to make. I love that the table would still be usable with the tent tied onto it. I bet Isadora and Anneke would have so much fun crawling around and in and out of the table tent. I need to bump this up in project priority.

(Image: Flickr Member otrasventanas licensed for use under Creative Commons)

via ohdeedoh

 

Sleeping In

On July 5, 2009, in Family, Kid, by Wendy

Isadora has had a rough couple of days. She’s had an intermittent fever and is in an unfamiliar place. We are at my parents house this weekend, and we’re sharing a room and a bed. It’s usually not a problem for us to share, but she didn’t sleep much the night before last due to her fever and her father’s frequent trips to the bathroom (he had a bit of food poisoning). She also wouldn’t nap yesterday. Finally, around 6:00 p.m. she fell asleep in her stroller when I took her for a walk. I had to keep walking otherwise she would wake. Afte about an hour of pacing up and down my parents street, I finally gave in and sat down. She was awake immediately.

We ate dinner on the back patio and then gave Izzy a bath. Finally exhausted and feeling some relief from a combo of homeopathic and pharmacuetical remedies, she fell asleep. We missed the fireworks. Thankfully, she slept through all of the noise.

I woke around 8:30 this morning, and read in bed while Mitch and Izzy continued to sleep. I heard Mitch mumble something so I turned to look at him. He was talking in his sleep. Izzy, lying next to him, must have heard his voice because the corners if her lips curled up into a smile. I wonder if they were in the same dream.

 

Even Better Baked Chicken Strips

On July 1, 2009, in Yummy Goodness, by Wendy

1 cup buttermilk
Sriracha Sauce
Salt
Pepper
Panko
Cornmeal
Grated parmesean
Thyme
1 pound skinless boneless chicken tenders

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add Sriracha to buttermilk. Stir in salt and pepper and submerge chicken. Mix equal parts panko and cornmeal. Add some grated parmesean cheese and thyme to taste.

Remove chicken from buttermilk and let drain. Dredge in panko mixure. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes.