Nakita Grinie

You guys know that I very rarely ask you to donate money towards any specific causes on this blog, right? In fact, I think the only time I've done that was when my good friend Keri was going through breast cancer (now she is doing great six years later!). Today I'm posting because two wonderful people died in a horrible car accident last week. Their story has moved me to tears many times and it made me feel ill when I first heard the news Friday morning. I constantly think, 'that could have been us, or any other young parents that we know.' This could have happened to anyone. So much can change in an instant...it's just so unfair.



I did not know Shari and Bram personally, but they were dear friends of my friends, Kelly and Dizzy. When Dizzy asked me to post about them on my blog to ask for prayers and donations, I jumped at the chance. You can read their story from Dizzy below, check out the news link for more information, and then I hope you feel moved enough to donate money towards their two small children. At ages 2 years and 2 months, I just cannot stop thinking about these kids who will never remember their parents. I feel like this is one of my worst nightmares and it seems unimaginable as reality. If anything ever happened to Nate and myself, I know I'd want our kids to be supported by everyone and anyone.

We are into the fourth week of the Savvy Sassy Moms Holiday Blog Hop, and I'm a host along with these lovelies:

Amy Gene at O'Leary Love
Angela at Playing with Words
Carrie Beth and Jen at Magnolia Mamas
Sara at Running from the Law

The topic for this week? Holiday Crafts for Kids. RIGHT UP MY ALLEY, so let's get to it and be sure to link up at the end of this post with your own ideas.



One of the easiest crafts I've done with my kids is the 'thumbprints as Christmas lights' idea you'll see all over Pinterest. I have done many-a-thumbprint crafts each year for grandparent gifts and let's just say that some of them have not turned out as great as this one. I think simple is better, and my little Picassos always need some guidance with these if I want them to resemble anything like the original Pinterest inspiration.

So here you go, a string of lights composed of those cherished little finger prints:

We've made these a few times, but my best pictures are from our first round a few years ago. I have a lot of extra 4x6" photo paper laying around, so I decided to use that for this project (easy to make it fit in a frame!). We used acrylic paints that you can find in any craft store (my favorite is Michaels!)


I let Truman dip his fingers into the paints and spread out four photo papers for him to use. We got a little wild at first, quite 'abstract' if you will.


I found that we had the best luck if I helped guide his finger down into a specific path, like a wavy line of lights. Then I drew the actual string and the little bases of the lights, added his name and the date, and voila! The grandparents can set this out with their holiday decor for a festive and personalized gift. I should have made myself a copy, perhaps I will this year!

Christmas Wreaths: just glued the photo paper onto Christmas scrapbooking paper.


Christmas Scene (warning, this was quite involved. I used actual ink pads and got decent results but meh).


Thumbprint 'love from afar': I love this one! I cut out little states that I found online for free, then used the remaining paper as my actual template. So the kids were fingerprinting right up against the border of the paper from my state cut out (does this make sense?). I had the kids each use two colors and created a little key below the states to show whose adorable finger print is whose. The hearts are paper punches and our long-distance brothers love these in a frame for a gift.



I need some fresh ideas for our 'crafty' gifts this year, and Pinterest is showing me a lot of the same old stuff so far. So now it's your turn to share your ideas with our link up, and I can't wait to see your posts!

• Link up their favorite holiday craft for kids by putting the URL and name of their blog post into the InLinkz widget below.
• Visit 3-5 other blogs in the Holiday Blog Hop and leave a comment on their posts.
• Share this Holiday Blog Hop with your friends and readers on social media using the #SavvySassyHoliday hashtag.
• Come back next week for the Holiday Drinks theme!
  
  

Wednesday, August 1 | Truman is 29 months today, and Cecelia is 2 months (9 weeks) old.

{Wednesdays are my longest day home with both kids on maternity leave, and therefore my most challenging. Let the games begin! I'm going to make this very detailed because I love reading back over these in time, so beware.}

5:25 am | Nate's alarm goes off. Wonderful. It usually sounds at 6 am but apparently he wants to run before work today, and this automatically makes me irritated. I always complain that Nate's alarm wakes up the whole house and now we'll see if I'm right today. Cecelia wakes up immediately since she is in our bed, and I wait to hear Truman wake up in his room, too. CC starts fussing for the boob so I offer her leftie in the sidelying position. But crap! I just nursed on the left at 3 am and haven't done the right side since 12:30, so I notice that rightie is turning into a hardened grapefruit. After a quick few minutes on left I prop up in bed to properly attend to rightie, and Cecelia nurses like a champ to help me out. And really? Waking twice to nurse before Nate's alarm just went off? Pretty darn good night!

5:35 am | Done nursing. Nate's downstairs working out and I'm still waiting for Truman to wake up and then I'll have both kids BRIGHT and early. But instead I drift off to sleep with Cecelia in our bed again. Much needed.

6:30 | Now the toddler dictator is awake and yelling for mommy. I'm so tired I can't quite make myself get up, even though he did technically sleep in 30 minutes longer than his norm. Luckily Nate is done working out and comes up to get Truman without me even asking. I guess he could sense my annoyance at him this morning already and is now redeeming himself. On the three days I take Truman to daycare, I would already have to be up and about getting him and me and CC ready. But today? I'll take this extra little snooze time, no problem. It takes a bit of convincing but I get Cecelia to nurse a bit on the right which has the desired effect---baby goes back to sleep, too! Compared to our days when we are all four up at 5:30 (and 6 at the latest), this morning is turning out to be a winner. Yay for 'sleeping in.'

7:15 | Nate comes up to say goodbye as he leaves for work. I was sleeping hard just now and really don't feel like getting up, but now I have no choice as Truman is downstairs waiting for me. I decide to leave CC in my bed with the monitor on because she is shockingly still asleep. I figure she will wake as soon as I get up but it's worth a shot. Love that she is still asleep right now, since this is a world record for her. Why do I breed early-risers?

7:20 | Downstairs to say good morning to my buddy. He's happily watching Sesame Street. So I go back upstairs to gather his clothes, Cecelia's clothes and get myself dressed. Stare at my sleepy baby in our bed in wonder. She's really too adorable sometimes.

(look who I found downstairs!)


(decisions, decisions. A highlight of my morning every day)

(snoozer)


7:30 | Back down to check on T as it's way too quiet on the main level. Cannot locate my boy and slightly panic before finding him in the basement, with Henry, feeding the doggie some dog food. Whew. Convince Truman to come back up with me as I brush my teeth for the day--can't risk having Tru downstairs alone anymore after my first panic attack of the day, imagining him walking out of the house into the street or something. In the bathroom, Truman first asks where Cecelia is and then he proceeds to run into my bedroom, screaming, 'Hi, baby!!'. So much for her sleeping in.

(I don't believe in makeup while on maternity leave, so brushing my teeth and pulling my hair back is about all I need to do in here)


7:40 | She's up and happy! Play time with big brother in bed. Bath toy trains involved. I notice that our sheets are freaking filthy as I stare at the giant drool/spit up/boob juice stain next to her head. Decide it's time to wash our sheets and also Truman's sheets.

(good morning!)


(hopefully the cute kids will distract your eye from the drool stain)


7:45 | Truman helps me with this sheet change process by throwing down the dirties into the laundry chute. CeCe is in the co-sleeper observing her brother sing and talk a mile a minute already. I think she is excited he is at home with us today instead of going to Lori's, and I am, too--otherwise we'd be on the road to her house already.

(did I mention that I love our new canvases in our bedroom?)


8:00 | All done with the great-sheet-exchange and Andrea texts me, wanting to go to the zoo today. Take 2 seconds to agree, a little nervous about this first 'mom only' trip to the zoo with four kids. But we can do it and we have nothing planned for today, so I'm just going to go for it!



8:05 | Downstairs with the crew, pumping while CC plays on her activity mat and Truman watches Curious George and munches on his remaining breakfast. My goal is to get 10 minutes of pump time before we have a meltdown. Checking email on my phone and computer.



8:15 | Got my 10 minutes! And got 7 ounces which is a lot more than my typical 4-5 oz. Holla. But when I go to transfer the milk into freezer bags I spill an ounce. Not cool. Baby starts crying so I pick her up and begin to make my coffee and toast my bagel one handed. I'm freaking starving and HAVE to eat or this whole morning is going to be brutal. Since I usually eat breakfast around 6:30 my body is not too happy with me, I guess.

(I love my coffee French pressed!)


8:20 | Truman says, 'Mommy, Truman has poo-poo but no change me yet. Still pushing it out.' Great. I give him a few seconds and then he says, 'Okay, all done. Change me!'. Note to self that we MUST consider potty training in the near future. Put my breakfast on hold, place baby in the pack-n-play and change Truman's diaper and put on his clothes for the day. Get CC's bath set up in the dining room. Finish putting my peanut butter and honey on my toasted bagel---because that is one step I just can't do one handed while holding a baby. Get CC stripped down for her bath. She is starting to get that crazy look in her eyes like she might melt down at any moment. Yep, it's been about 45 minutes since she woke up and her standard is one hour of awake time in the morning before already needing a nap. Me too, sister. Me too.

8:30 | Quickest bath for baby ever. Melting down. I'm sweating and Truman is yelling for me to fix his train tracks.

8:40 | My friend from work comes over to visit briefly and I'm in the middle of getting CC dressed while she screams at me. Henry freaks out over the doorbell and is barking/yodeling like a rabid dog. Note to self that we must contact our dog trainer again for him. This barking is getting ridiculous! Visit with Sarah after dressing CC, then I nurse while eating my now cold bagel. Show her the house quickly before she leaves to see her patients. Note to self that I'm really glad to be on maternity leave right now, not seeing patients. :)



9:05 | Friend leaves, baby is asleep, and Truman content with trains. Get the email that the Thomas set I wanted on Craigslist is ours! We have a deal and I cannot WAIT to see Truman's face when we give him this giant set for Christmas! Chug some cold coffee and start packing for our zoo trip.

(could you die? Jackpot!)


(packing for two kids is quite the task, but I'm getting better with practice)


9:25 | Leave for the zoo. Here goes nothing! Have to wake CC up to get her into car seat. I hate that.

(note giant stroller in my trunk, threatening to swallow my children)


9:35 | Arrive at the zoo. Arranging the giant bag, snacks, drinks, baby carrier, baby and toddler into the double BOB is no small feat.


9:45 | Not even 5 minutes into walking with Andrea and her kids and Cecelia freaks out. She is probably hungry and also tired and annoyed by her car seat (ie the Trifecta for Freak Outs). So we make a pit stop at the playground while I nurse CC on a bench and Andrea tends to the boys playing on the equipment, holding Gabby. It takes a village sometimes, right?



10:00 | Off to enjoy the zoo with Cecelia in the Bjorn, me pushing the double BOB. Totally loving this beautiful day although it's rather hot and we are all sweating. Have some great mommy talks, see a bunch of animals, and ride the train with a now-awake CC who happily watches the big boys feed the goats, too.



(whee! train!)




(Our brood. I am a giant compared to miss petite Andrea)


(me and the baby girls watching the rest of the crew with the goats)






(omg, train is coming!!)


11:30 | Say goodbye to Andrea and get the kids into the car. Truman is looking mighty tired and C has been handling her car seat well---but I figure I should change her diaper in the front seat to give her a little break before we drive home. Crazy eyes emerges. She is going to lose it on me, I just know it.



11:35 | Yep, she loses it as we drive home. Truman still manages to zone out and nearly falls asleep. Five more minutes on the road and he would have been a goner for sure. His sister screams in defiance.

11:45 | Home! Truman just requested to take his nap and wait on lunch. Um, okay? Cecelia is hungry, so I take her upstairs and lay her on T's bed as I change Truman's diaper, then sing a song to him in bed. I have to nurse CC while standing up and walking all around Truman's room because she still isn't happy but Truman still deserves some structure at nap time. This is one of those moments when having two kids ain't easy.

(tot clock is blue, meaning nap time! And this is us walking around and nursing.)


12:00 | Nurse CC in an actual seated position, then she falls asleep. Pull her off me and place in swing where she wakes right up. And Truman is still awake, singing songs into his monitor for me. Go up to check on him when he starts calling my name. Just a wild boy, fighting a nap, throwing all of his blankets on the floor. Sigh.

12:10 | Make myself some lunch while listening to Truman on his monitor (not sleeping) and watching Cecelia in her swing (not sleeping). It could go either way with these two and I'm hoping they both drift off as I eat my amazing 'bacon encrusted turkey' and cheese sandwich.

(note Nate's awesome frat glass I'm using)


12:25 | CC is looking at me and I feel like she needs a bit of help falling asleep. Swaddle, walk around the house with her, while grabbing a few bites of my lunch on the move. Cannot believe Truman is still awake, either. He never fights naps like this!



12:30 | Both asleep! Scared to put C back into the swing but I need to tackle a few things on my to-do list. Begin with returning a ton of emails to friends and family. It seems I owe everyone a response today! I love keeping in contact this way, though, and look forward to these connections via the web with my girls. I'd say email time is one of my 'must haves' in a given day.



1:45 | Kids are still sleeping and I finally finished my emails. Would love to check Google Reader, my blog for comments, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest but I feel the need to do something other than computer time. Dual naps from the kids mean I'd love to whip out the following to feel satisfied: workout, shower, nap, housework, internetting. But I have a feeling I won't get all of this done with my remaining 'me time' so I have to prioritize. I unload the dishwasher, clean pump parts, and go to start laundry. Since I did all of our regular clothes and all of our cloth diapers yesterday, I figured I'd only have one load of sheets to do today. But WRONG--three loads total, with two loads of bedding. It just never ends!

(beautiful sight = a dishwasher! Can't believe we lived without for so long. And drying pump parts)


(laundry chute PACKED and our new awesome washer--touch screen, baby!)


2:05 | Um, need to figure out dinner, too. Search around then settle on defrosting some beef to make a meat sauce with pasta. So boring but whatever. We didn't meal plan this week because Nate's brother is in town and we knew we'd eat with my in-laws a few nights. But tonight we are on our own and therefore I have to scramble. Too bad this pretty menu board is from last week:)

(just a regular picture frame, scrapbook paper, and a dry-erase marker!)


2:15 | Still unsure how to use the rest of this nap time. Settle on more computer time, figuring I'll skip my nap, run with the kids when they wake, and shower at night. Start to upload the pictures I've taken with my phone from this day onto Flickr. Takes forever. Also start to type up this post while it's fresh in my memory.

3:15 | Cecelia wakes up and is hungry. Almost a three hour nap from little lady! Time to nurse.

3:35 | Spits up while nursing and simultaneously fills her diaper. Sweet! Diaper change, take dog out to pee, change laundry. Then smiling time between me and little lady. I grab the 'real' camera and take a few shots since she is wearing a new outfit and is super happy. Love cooing at my girl after naps.

3:50 | Hear that Truman is also up now, which means he clocked 3 hours 20 minutes. Go up to get him and he's dropped 'Kevin's' box into the radiator behind his bed. Takes me entirely too long to retrieve said magnetic box because it's stuck inside the freaking radiator. Not happy about this and T knows I'm irritated. Luckily CC is still happy downstairs on her blanket.



4:00 | All downstairs now, make T a belated lunch-slash-snack. He takes some coaxing to eat instead of diving right into playing with trains. Tummy time with CC!





4:10 | She's over tummy time and Tru is over his lunch, onto trains. Nurse CC on the other side just to fill her up before our run. Eat a banana myself, too, to do the same.



4:30 | Done nursing, change her diaper then change Truman's diaper. Assembly line, what? Convince Truman to come on the run by bribing him with my phone. Watching You Tube train videos while riding in the BOB? He can't turn it down and I'm surprised I never thought of this genius idea before. I mention maybe stopping by Starbucks but he doesn't seem too intrigued. Pack up for the jog. Man it's hot out.

4:45 | And we are off!





5:10 | Home sooner than planned because CC fought a nap the whole time and got cranky half-way through. Plus she was spitting up a lot because she always hates running after eating, go figure:) Truman realizes we never made it to Starbucks and gets mad. I honestly didn't think he would care either way since he was so entranced by my phone.

(look, more new canvases! And a sweaty face pic)


5:15 | Inside Cecelia is tweaking out now. Doesn't want to nurse and seriously, a pacifier would be SO key right now. Truman playing with trains but then gets upset all over again about dumb Starbucks. Is really freaking out right along with his sister. This is one of those moments as a mom with two that really, thoroughly sucks. Give Truman a snack and pray it takes the place of a cake pop from Starbucks somehow. He tells me his belly hurts because of 'the doggie' and I have no clue what this means, but I can just picture him getting seriously ill with the flu, projectile vomiting all over the place. Very level-headed right now, yes. Swaddle CC and turn on DMB, bopping around the room with her. This day is starting to seem really long all of a sudden.

(life is hard without cake pops, apparently)


(we are all pretty cranky now)


5:30 | C is asleep in my arms and there is no way I'm risking putting her down. Place her in the Bjorn and start dinner while Truman entertains himself with trains and toys. I feel sort of bad that I haven't really actively played with the child all day but we've been so busy today.

(hate cooking over a hot stove with her on my chest)


6:00 | Dinner is done and CC wakes up right on cue. Sigh. I sit down with Truman to eat and CC gets progressively more ticked off. Truman eats a great dinner while I attempt to soothe little lady. I fail, even with a diaper change, walking around the house, try nursing but she won't have it, and laying her in the swing and the PNP. Nothing is working. She is mad again and I'm hungry.

(pasta with beef in a vodka marinara sauce, then cheese to make it fancy. So hard to pick from our many spices to flavor the meat!)


(one happy toddler is the highlight of dinner. The angry baby is not shown)


6:15 | Truman is done and wants to watch a Sesame Street episode. I set it all up because he is adamant that he doesn't want to come outside with me and the baby. The girls go out to do laps in the driveway and it works! She is calm. Have to sneak a peek at Truman through the windows every now and then. Take a break from the heat to check on the laundry in the basement. CC doesn't approve of this idea and also, I realize that I never started the dryer earlier when I came down. Great job, bone-head. Back outside. Dreaming of my pasta.

6:30 | T decides to join us outside and plays in the water a bit. Nate calls and is on his way home just a little early. Thank God!



6:40 | Get Truman ready for his bath, which he is loving lately. CC is crying again as soon as we come back inside. Man, this is the fussiest evening (and whole day?) we've had in a while. Ever since my darn run she hasn't been pleased. Both kids have been a little bit off since then, actually. That will teach me!

6:50 | Bath time for Truman as CC looks on from her bouncy seat. And she is somewhat calm as I play music from my phone, wash Truman, cut his dagger finger nails, and remember to breathe. Nice little moment of the evening.





7:00 | Change Cecelia on bathroom floor getting her ready for bed. This starts the crankiness again. Pleasant moment gone.

(but they have cute jammies! And matching disposable diapers for night time!)


7:05 | Nate is home, hallelujah. My 12 hours alone with both kids has ended. I swaddle the crying baby, nurse her while walking around between the nursery and the bathroom, watching Tru in the tub. Nate seems tired from work, too, but I really need his help right now with bed time.

(walking around and nursing, for about the 100th time today)


7:10 | I sit in nursery and...nurse. Nate takes over the bath, getting Truman out of tub, putting on jammies, brushing his teeth. Then time for books. The boys are so cute together and I'm feeling good about our new 'early' bedtime routine. Truman was staying up until 9:30 recently and we were all too exhausted to function---so now our goal is 8 pm. So far so good!

7:20 | Cecelia asleep at the breast. Since she woke up from her awesome long nap 4 hours ago, she has only been asleep for a total of 30 minutes with one short nap. No wonder she is a crank pot tonight. And I'm too tired to get up from the glider so I sit and stare at my sleeping baby, listening to my boys in the other room.

7:35 | Hold my breath and put CC into her actual crib! Maybe this will be the night she stays in the nursery for the first time? Go downstairs to change laundry, feed Henry, pick up toys, put away dirty dishes from dinner, and eat the rest of my cold pasta.

7:45 | My turn with Truman and I get to sing and say prayers with the boy. Tell him I love him and say goodnight. Walk by Cecelia's room and see that she is awake and on the verge of a major fit. Eh, a full 20 minute nap in her crib is a start I guess!

7:55 | Bring her downstairs and nurse the other side as Nate eats dinner. Listen to Truman talk on the monitor and Nate has to go up one time to reiterate that it's bedtime. Cecelia falls asleep nursing.

(over it)


8:15 | Pull her off the boob and put her in the swing. I know I should put her in the crib again or at least the co-sleeper in our room but I just don't have the energy. Don't even check to make sure she stays asleep because I'm really looking forward to my shower. Upstairs to enjoy it and I notice that Truman is now asleep. Score! Only 20 minutes of talking to himself in bed means this new bedtime is working!

8:30 | Out of shower. It was amazing. Put on jammies.

(obsessed with this fancy nursing gown from Pea in the Pod---got it to wear at the hospital and am still loving it for night time marathon nursing sessions)


8:35 | Get laundry, get beer, enjoy said beer as I fold the clothes with Nate (who is also enjoying an adult beverage). Nate sneezed and briefly woke CC up from her swing. I almost killed him and then realized I was exhausted and irritable, obviously. CC did fall back to sleep so I didn't have to murder my husband.

(the best)


8:45 | Lay on couch with laptop and work on this post while watching Olympics, then catch up on Google Reader and comment on blogs. Discuss with Nate that we could both go to sleep right this second. He also thanks me for all that I've done today. I thank him for working so hard at his job today. Life is really good even when it's exhausting.

10:15 | Why am I still awake right now? Get off computer, go upstairs and brush teeth. Come back and get CC from the swing and put her in co-sleeper. Nate went to be about 30 minutes ago and I should have done the same. Silly computer. Always sucks me in! Have trouble falling asleep tonight even though I'm beyond tired. It's been a long day, folks.

11:45 | Uh-oh, Cecelia wakes up already? First wake up from her co-sleeper, so I pull her into bed and nurse sidelying.

1:15 am | Second wake up. Nurse in sidelying on the other side.

2:15 am | OMG, third wake up. Prop up in bed to nurse properly, maybe she isn't getting enough milk laying down? Put her back in the co-sleeper, hoping that somehow helps this horrible night. She does fall asleep in there eventually....after being awake for a freaking hour. Sigh. This is why I hate putting her back in there. It's so much harder than just falling back to sleep with her in our bed.

4:00 am | Okay this is just ridiculous. She's awake and fussy again. Bring her back into bed, nurse in sidelying and pass out. Four wake ups and one of them lasted a full hour? The worst.

5:30 am | Nate's alarm goes off and we begin it all again. Definitely planning to nap today.


And that is a day in our lives, Summer 2012. I want to do these regularly if I can muster the energy!