Fab Pick of Far Too Long Agof

Look super stylish while snapping photos with a fabulous camera strap cover by *Shey*[B]. Of course there are a load of easy to follow tutorials online for you to follow if you want to make your own cover but the designs in the *Shey*[B] shop are uber cute and the price is right.

4 Months Already? Nope: 5 going on 6.

Yep it's true: my little teeny tiny peanut is turning into a big boy. The Rockstar turned four months old when I started this post at the end of October. October was a big month for the Rockstar , he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first and (until earlier this week) only time, started swimming lessons and became the Jolly Jumper extraordinaire.

Oh and we can't forget Halloween! The he Great White shark terrified everyone who came to the door trick-or-treating.

Scary, huh?

November was a blur but a fabulous blur. The Rockstar turned five months old two days before his Daddy turned thirty four. The boys celebrate their special days in style: in MEXICO!!

We had an awesome trip! The weather was fantastic and the Rockstar was the best behaved baby on the resort: he loved all of the sunshine, swimming and attention from his Mexican peeps but of course his favourite part of the trip was having so much time with his daddy.

Spending my boys' special days drinking pina colodas next to the pool was heavenly.

Our week in the Mayan Riviera was amazing. The Rockstar and I miss having Mike with us all day every day like we did in the summer so it was a treat to have him all to ourselves for an entire week.

Happy belated Birthday to the most amazing husband and daddy on earth!! I love you, Baby!

31 Days

Not shot manually but a recent fav of our Rockstar

I've been planning to get to know my Digital SLR better since we purchased it six years ago. It's ridiculous really. Instead of taking the time to play with the manual settings I've taken the easy route time and time again: set the dial to automatic and snap snap snap. I've been happy with my photographs most of the time but I know I can take them to the next level by using the manual settings. So why haven't I done so? Good question. I don't have an answer to it but I will share my snapshot background with you.

In high school I took two photography courses and fell in love with the challenge of taking a perfect (for me) photo. I spent hours in the darkroom at school developing film and my parents being the amazing people they are set up a darkroom in the basement for me. I applied to attend college to become a professional photographer, was accepted and then the night before my acceptance was due I changed my mind. I don't regret the decision one little bit: I wasn't entirely convinced that photography was what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing and I wasn't ready to move away from home just yet (needed another year). Eventually I came to the realization that spending time behind a camera photographing people and things was a perfect hobby for me but wouldn't make me happy in the grand scheme of things, I needed to work with and care for children to feel fulfilled.

Unfortunately after I made the decision not to pursue photography professionally I sort of set it aside for a number of years. I always had a simple point and shoot camera in my backpack in my early 20s and took a zillion shots of friends and family but rarely did I take the time to compose an excellent shot. In the last few years I've spent a little more time shooting random bits, landscapes etc but more often than not I catch myself thinking *I wish I had my camera with me*. Now that the Rockstar is here I'm pulling the camera out almost daily and trying to take it with us when we head out and about. I'm in the habit of wearing the camera so now I need to get back into the habit of using the manual settings.

It hit me this morning that it has been nearly 15 years since I took that the advanced (high school) photography course so I really shouldn't beat myself up for not remembering the details, of course I learned on an old school SLR but let's not go there, I'm dating myself. Side note: the fact that I am able to use the words "dating myself" is a little bit depressing. Rather than dwelling on what I don't remember and don't know I've decided now is the time to start from square one to relearn how to use manual settings and refresh my composition skills as well.

While searching for something completely unrelated (moments after making the decision to stop talking about it and to start learning to use the camera properly) I found this 31 Days to a Better Photo Series over at life with my 3 boybarians. This series is going to deliver the kick in the ass I need to get started.

Expect some upcoming posts focusing on my mission to improve my photographs! Hopefully I'll have some cool pics to share with you.

Fab Pick of Last Week

Check out the sweet pieces in Whitney Smith's shop. These cupcake stands are absolutely adorable and the cake stands are to die for!

Pineapple Salsa? Mikey Likes It!

You remember the Life cereal commercials with Mikey, right? If not here's a refresher:



Whenever I find something new that my "selective eater" husband Mike likes to eat I can't help but think of this commercial. His repertoire of fond foods has grown substantially over the ten years we have been together but it is still exciting for me (the lover of all things edible) when we find a new dish that he really likes.

Ridiculously small image courtesy of Homemade Simple

I admit I was a bit surprised when he said he wanted to try out the recipe I'm sharing here today. I was watching Homemade Simple and they made a pineapple salsa served over pork chops; it looked super yummy to me and Mike said he thought it looked good too (crunchy foods are his friend). We made it the next evening and WOW.

This recipe has definitely made the cut and will be added to the weeknight dinner rotation. It's super easy to make, healthy and over the top yummy.

The recipe link isn't opening up for me so I'll go from memory and tell you what quantities I used to serve two people heaping servings of the salsa and a fair amount left over for a fabulous crunchy snack (good on its own or scooped onto tortilla chips).

What you need:
1/2 green apple (I only used half)
1/3 red onion (I would use less next time but go with what looks good to you)
1/2 a red pepper
1 can of pineapple (only used about a quarter of a can it)
1 lime
fresh cilantro (appx 2 tbsp)

What you do:
Chop up the apple, onion, red pepper and pineapple into tiny salsa-ish chunks. Finely chop the cilantro. Mix this all together and then squeeze the lime over the mixture. I also added a few spoonfuls of pineapple juice to the mix and in the end I tossed in a bit of salt just because.

The original recipe has you broil porkchops in the oven after you spoon a bunch of pineapple juice over them and toss on some salt and pepper. I went with this and the end result was great but I think it would be even better served with pork tenderloin cooked with apple slices and the pineapple juice.

Once the pork is cooked spoon a mountain of salsa onto it and proceed to fill your face. Be sure to make extra salsa because you'll want more than your one serving once you taste it.

I will definitely be making more of the quick 20 minutes or less recipes featured over at Homemade Simple. Yum!!

Buy One Superhero Get One Free

Photo from Sewing in No Mans Land

Kian's still too little to fully appreciate the awesomeness of this tutorial but one day he will. Whipping up a superhero cape is a pretty simple task but Kelly from Sewing In No Mans Land took it up a notch by creating a two-in-one reversible cape: brilliant!

Fab Pick of Last Week

I'm planning to create a girlie creative space for myself this fall and I'm certain at least one of these funky memo boards by Ekoh Design will be on display in my lair. I have a thing for magnets and have been on the hunt for the perfect magnetic board: mission accomplished! there are a pile of sweet designs to choose from over at Ekoh Design's etsy shop so hop over and check them out.

Even Better with Age

Every day I fall more in love with my SON which should be impossible considering how I feel about him. I'm amazed at just how much love we are capable of feeling - I thought I knew and then I became a mom.


Mike and I put the Rockstar to bed on Thursday and then spent two hours talking about the million and one cute things he does. Not only am I madly in love with the Rockstar but since he arrived I've fallen even deeper in love with Mike (another thing I didn't think was possible considering I'm already head over heels). Seeing my husband as a dad is incredible. There's nothing better than seeing the Rockstar's face light up when he spots his daddy. I think they have an extra special bond thanks to the awful foot surgery which allowed Mike to spend the Rockstar's first two months at home with us. We're also super lucky that Mike works less than five minutes from our house so he is able to come see us every lunch hour for some cuddles with the Rockstar.

During the past month our Rockstar found his volume increase knob. He still doesn't cry often but when he does the entire street knows it. He has definitely found his voice and chatters away almost none stop when he's at home with Mike and I. When we're out and about he's usually too busy smiling at people and staring at all the sights to chat.


One of his new sounds is a perfect imitation of The Count from Sesame Street. We killed ourselves laughing the other night after I counted and the Rockstar followed the numbers with "Aaaa Aaaa Aaaa Aaaa".

I truly believe there is no better experience than being a mom. The past three months have easily been the best of my life: thank you baby boy for choosing me to be your mom, I am definitely the luckiest woman alive.

Crunch

A super yummy crunchy salad: the perfect healthy snack to whip up on a Sunday and then stash in the fridge to munch on during the week. Thanks to Jessy for turning me on to this awesome Nicoise Salad. I'm now on the hunt for more recipes like this: yummy, healthy and good for a few days worth of meals. The perfect mommy meal.

Fab Pick of Last Week

I don't do it on purpose but I seem to kill all things that don't make noise. Thankfully my son and the cat are noisy little creatures. Yep, I can admit it: I have a serious brown thumb. These super cute self watering plant pots by QUALY let you know when your plants need to be watered (the squirrel hides when it's time to refill) which means I might actually have a chance of keeping a houseplant alive!! Add this little pot to my Christmas list please and thank you. A big thanks to Made by Petchy for mentioning QUALY on her blog - so many cute products!

Kids on the brain

There are so many well written tutorials out there for kick ass bits for kids. Here are a few I've tagged lately with the hope of whipping up sometime soon.

photo snagged from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar

I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar is such a fantastic blog. I visit daily now to get my fix. One of her recent tutorials that I'm dying to make for the Rockstar is for the Upcycled Boy Hat seen above. Ear flaps are just too cute and I can totally see the Rockstar in a mini version. I think a trip to Value Village is in order - I need to snag some t-shirts to shred.

photo borrowed from homemadebyjill.blogspot.com

ADORABLE baby jean skirt from Homemade by Jill (love love love this blog) featured on a new for me blog Kojo Designs which is run by two very creative sisters. Too bad Mike won't let me put a skirt on the Rockstar: no sense of adventure. Kim, I'm sending girl vibes your way so that I have an excuse to make one of these teeny tiny skirts.

photo borrowed from Living with Punks

I was hunting for a tutorial for floor cushions and came across another fabulous blog that I have added to my list of places to visit often. Living with Punks: awesome blog with fantabulous tutorials. This kid size floor cushion has been added to my ever growing list of things to make: might whip up a couple for Christmas presents and am definitely going to make a few larger sized cushions for the deck.

photo borrowed from Thimble

Maybe I'm behind the times but I didn't know that wannabe chalkboard fabric existed! If you're out of the loop too yes it is fabric you can draw on with chalk. Genius! Love this little travel roll-up chalk mat found on Thimble. Such a simple project. Hmm, a potential Christmas gift for a couple little ladies I know.

Move over 'Pimp My Ride'

The Rockstar's toy repertoire is slowly expanding and his bouncy chair is a heavenly easy-to-move item that he now tolerates and borders on enjoying BUT I managed to register for the most boring chair imaginable. So boring in fact that I didn't take a photo of it before I tore it apart so here's an image borrowed from the Bright Starts website:

Adorable baby, cute fabric on the chair and fun looking animals for the baby to whack, right? That's what I thought when I chose it but I picked it based off of the photo and didn't have a chance to actually play with it. The rattle in the middle is decent and it is removable - thanks to a bit of velcro on the hanger thingo - therefore it's easy enough to swap with other toys if baby gets bored BUT the other two soft toys hanging on either side of the rattle are B.O.R.I.N.G. They don't do anything, no jingle, no rattle, no squeak: NOTHING. Not only do they not do anything but you can't remove them, they are permanently attached to the bar.

Permanence was what the company had in mind anyways. Yesterday I armed myself with a pair of scissors, a needle, thread and velcro and set off on a mission to Pimp the Rockstar's Chair. The finished result:
Yep, he's winking at me saying "That's my kick ass mom!" Thanks, Baby Boy.

Lessons learned from this experience:
1. the less expensive (aka cheap) toys are often priced that way for a reason *insert husband telling me "You get what you pay for." here*
2. you can fix a boring bouncy chair without spending a cent (the toys I hung on there are some of the Rockstar's favs that usually hang in his play gym)
3. I need to learn how to hand sew, if this picture was sharp you would see the hideous job I did sewing the velcro on, hence the not so sharp image: embroidery 101 here I come
4. thimbles were invented for a reason and I should probably purchase one

Next issue to deal with is the control panel that was installed in the perfect place for a kicking baby to whack their little heels on. Booooo!

Until I fix a bit of foam to cover that sucker, the Rockstar will be wearing his dino slippers for protection. I didn't think of covering the panel until I watched him whack it today so that's next on my to do list.

My second mission yesterday was to improve the Fischer Price Little Lamb Swing (a big ticket baby item worth every penny) that the Rockstar spends a lot of time in. I had big plans for this puppy, I was going to make colourful felt stuffies to hang down to replace the boring muted lambs you see here:

But then I had a thought: why not recycle the 'don't d0 anything' toys from the bouncy chair since these little buddies are just for admiring anyways? And why not jazz up one of the pastel lambs with a bit of ribbon?

I wish I had armed myself with the video camera when I put the Rockstar in his swing after the upgrades, his reaction was priceless. Clearly he thought the lambs were boring too, his face lit up like a Christmas tree when he looked up and noticed the new bits, While grinning from ear to ear he cooed and gurgled at the rotating toys. It certainly doesn't take much to make our munchkin happy. Mission accomplished!

The kids is a...

Yes ladies and gentlemen the 9 week old Rockstar slept from 9pm until 6:15am, woke up smiling, ate and then went right back to sleep. I am sipping a coffee and enjoying the silence while my two boys sleep. A full night of sleep for the first time in I don't remember how long is the perfect start to what is bound to be a fabulous weekend.

Boing Boing

If you have never visited the blog Boing Boing you should. There are loads of interesting articles/photographs/videos submitted by people and of course there are a tonne that will get you giggling.

Two of the posts that had me laughing on my most recent visit included this photograph
that definitely needs to be made into a t-shirt:

HOW TRUE!

And this one titled Women: ask for a Raise, you douche! The title alone kills me, it's perfect for the article pictured below.

Seriously, who gave the thumbs up for this ad to print?! Ridiculous but funny.

Fab Pick of Last Week (or the week before??)

Dicky Bird was featured over at Bloesem (a beautiful blog that makes me swoon on a daily basis) and I immediately fell in love with the sweet designs of these greeting cards. Simple yet sweet!

Blog Love

I dare you to visit Mila's Daydreams and not crack a smile. I'm betting you'll also giggle while you're there. Brilliant!

Time Flies...

We love you, Little Man!

Dynamic Duo

I'm amazed at how fast the days fly by since our boy entered our world, it's kind of scary. I'm going to try to post a little more regularly now that we are getting into a routine around here and now that the swing is the Rockstar's friend. All should bow to the creator of the little lamb baby swing.

NOTE: HA! I wrote that paragraph a week ago, our daytime 'routine' seems to change every day which I guess means it's not really a routine yet. We'll get there eventually!

Today marks the first day of the second week my little man and I are a duo for the day!


It has been such a busy couple of months that I haven't even taken the time to explain that Mike has been home with us since the day the Rockstar was born. He took two weeks off to stare at our boy, went back to work for one day and then had the surgery that he has been waiting 10 months for. It has been a crazy homebound summer with a new baby and a barely mobile husband but it has been fantastic having Mike around so much. He is now working from home until he gets the okay to return to the office. Fingers crossed that his appt goes well tomorrow, assuming it does then he'll move into a walking boot and begin his mobility recovery.

I'm now getting a taste of the reality of weekday mommyhood: so far so good! I've managed to shower most days and slapped three coats of oil on our new deck last week while the Rockstar practiced kickboxing (another shout out, this one to Baby Einstein and their playgym/mat thingo). The little man LOVES being outside and spent the entire time smiling and 'talking' to his toys and me. Yes we FINALLY have a full deck out back (five years after moving in) and it looks amazing - I'll post pics once it is all done..

I'm going to post this puppy now or it may never happen and then maybe, just maybe I'll get to cutting some fabric for one of a million projects I'd like to get going on. Christmas isn't too far away and I would REALLY like to make a pile of prezzies and for the remaining gifts I'm hoping to buy mostly homemade: gotta love Etsy!

Fantastic Firsts

July was a big month! The Rockstar turned 5 weeks old last Thursday and he's so advanced (definitely a genius in the making) he's already had a bunch of 'firsts'.



Boo hoo! My baby is growing so quickly.

Fab Pick of Ages Ago

InkTree Press has beautiful art "inspired by the wonder of childhood." We chose the Cosmic ABCs and Animal 123s designs for Kian's space and had the colours customized to match perfectly: they look fabulous on his walls! The designs are crisp and the colours are bright, they are perfect for a nursery or children's playroom. Pop over to InkTree Press to check out all of the sweet designs.

3 Weeks!!

Something tells me this is going to turn into a place to post a million pictures of the cutest boy on the face of the earth.

Happy Three Week Birthday to the king of our castle!

p.s. I thought Picnik was fantabulous before but I upgraded to a premium account and it just got a WHOLE lot better. Definitely worth considering for those who like to use this awesome site.

No Longer Just a Smidge

I've been absent for a good reason...

We went from giving 'Smidge' kisses like this:


To giving baby Rockstar kisses like this:Our Rockstar was born on June 24th at 1:49 a.m. Our son (I LOVE saying that) weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long on his birthday. We have fallen head over heels hard and fast. I knew being a mom would be incredible but I had no idea just how incredible "incredible" could be.

As you can see the Rockstar was born with a ridiculous amount of black hair! It hangs over his shirt collar and so far it's staying put and not thinning too much. He's our little werewolf: born on a full moon with a full head of hair and a little patch of fuzz above his bum which sort of looks like a tiny tail. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to read that one day.

In a few hours it will be three weeks since the Rockstar entered our lives but it seems like he has been part of our family forever. Mike is the most amazing dad and seeing him doting on the Rockstar makes me love him in a whole new way.

The Rockstar smiled on his birthday and it wasn't because of gas, it's just one of his sweet expressions. Smiles and his "O" face were the most common expressions for the first week but now he has a whole array of faces that amuse us. He loves kisses, being outside and bath time but doesn't particularly like having his face washed. Being cuddled, carried and swinging in his swing are all good times while laying in his stroller's bassinet is pretty much torture (he obviously has no idea what it took to find that stupid bassinet!! Here's hoping it becomes less of a torture device in the next couple weeks).

Our birth story is a positive one so I'll definitely share it with you in the not so distant future - I think more women need to tell their happy, positive labour stories since women tend to scare the hell out of first time pregnant mamas by telling them their horror stories or by focusing on all the negative parts of their not so terrible experiences.

Welcome to the world Rockstar: Mommy and Daddy love you more than you could ever fathom.

Two Days Past Due

Well the wee man's due date has come and gone... I was hoping he might make an appearance today as a Father's Day prezzie for his daddy but it's not looking or feeling like that's going to happen. Tomorrow is the 21st which is the date that Mike has been 'forecasting' since the beginning so fingers crossed! I see my OB tomorrow anyways and he agreed that he will help the little guy along if I make it in to the appointment.

We just found out that Mike will be having surgery FINALLY on his very broken foot (it has been 10 months now) on July 12th so we would like the baby to be here a few weeks to give us a chance to become somewhat comfortable with this whole new parenting thang before Mike is knocked off his feet for a couple months. Thankfully my OB agreed that this would be a good thing.

Everyone says that nesting kicks in just before the baby arrives and I have definitely had a sudden burst of energy. I'm not a big fan of cleaning but the house has been vacuumed more in the last week than it ever has and the floors have been mopped, the freezers are stocked and laundry is done... I could clean cupboards but I'd rather poke my eyes out so instead I've been sewing.

I finally made a minky blankie for our boy using this super sweet alien fabric. I whipped up a peanut burp cloth and bib to match. I'm hoping to snag some more of this print for future baby gifts - it's so cute! A pile of other little bibs and burp cloths have been sewn this week, a few for our little man and a bunch for gifts.

Oh and I made a mini wet bag for our cloth diapers to tuck in our diaper bag! I'm really happy with the bag: it's lined with white PUL and the exterior is an awesome birdie print (as you can see). I love this print and the sprinkle of pink birds and the bright pink zipper are a girlie addition for Mommy's sake.

Now everyone repeat after me: COME OUT AND PLAY, LITTLE BABY!!!!!!!

The Shoe Collecting Has Started Already!!

Daddy loves shoes and it looks like our little man is going to be competing with with him to see who can own the most pairs. The little bum has yet to arrive and his collection is larger than mine!

I started planning and cutting bits out to make a hanging shoe organizer for the wee man a few months back and let me tell you this was the most frustrating sewing project I've taken on yet. Sewing with this plastic was a royal pain in the butt - my teflon foot worked wonders but the plastic kept sticking to itself and to the plastic casing of my machine: annoying!!

Frustration aside I'm SUPER happy with the finished project and stoked that I completed it before the baby's birthday! I love the map print fabric I found at a local fabric store: our little boy is going to stomp all over the world with his sweet little feet.

Now I'm off to make a baby blanket, hopefully I can finish it before the big arrival!

Belly Pics!

We had belly shots taken a couple weeks ago: I was almost 37 weeks on the day of the shoot. Lorie from Emilly Grayce Photography did a FANTASTIC job, she came to our home and made us completely comfortable during the session. It was fun working with Lorie, we can't wait to see the rest of the photos and look forward to having her take our wee man's newborn photos after he arrives.

Here are a few of the shots she has shared with us so far.



I'll share some more pics once we get our paws on them but if you want to check out a few more pop over HERE.