Good stuff in five minutes or less

The Hunger Site is a fun way to give to others, completely painlessly (and they always have cute things to buy!).

http://thehungersite.com/

The Animal Rescue Site, Breast Cancer Site, etc. also have buttons off the site to give to those organizations. It's probably not giving an astounding amount per click, but it's better than looking at another photo of a cat.

No good deed goes unpunished

I just finished wiping down my newly-washed dog, who got out as I was putting out some birdseed for the first time this winter.  She took the opportunity to roll her fresh new coat around in the neighbor's mulch. Luckily, she's not got the fur for this weather and came back on her own. That, and I think she knows that, since we got Bitty, we no longer have the proclivity to chase her for hours. 

Happy Little Clouds

My sister-in-law introduced me to the PBS Digital Video "Happy Little Clouds" by Melodysheep.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2260534667/

Needless to say, although I'm not nearly as talented as Bob Ross, I wanted to paint! (If that doesn't make you want to paint, nothing will.) So I've found my target:

Cue the ominous music.

He's a Goodwill find, and I touched him up and stained him way back before we had Bitty. But he had some white paint splotches on him that I couldn't get off or successfully incorporate into a design. I really like his eyes, though; they are a great 80's style. I also think his scrollwork is unique. I wasn't ready to put him back in the attic yet, anyway.

I've finished another project that started at Goodwill, too! A $2.00 two-foot long wooden duck with a yellow country-style bow became this guy:

I call him "Petsmart's $0.27 Fish Tank on a Wood Duck." 

New Year, new size

I fished Little Bit's size 2 clothing out of the closets and drawers today- such a tough thing to do! For a weeks I've convinced myself he was between sizes and that he could still fit into some of the clothes, but he's been stuffed into the 2T's like a bodybuilder long enough.

It is always so amazing and bittersweet to see a visible reminder of Bitty's growth. It would be so much harder if great organizations like Goodwill didn't exist, but I can at least imagine that other parents will be as tickled to find the clothes for their cuties as I was. And will be - may have to go shopping!

Creatures are stirring

Christmas magic is a lot harder than it looked when I was a child. Didn't all this stuff just happen back then? Many thanks to my parents and the other adults in my life who kept it going many, many years until I could pick up some of the slack.

Bitty has already had a visit from Santa; I email him our itinerary for his convenience and act as volunteer elf when necessary. A favorite has been a little Playskool baseball set that he can hit with a little hollow bat. He, my husband, and I have all been swinging for the fences, taking turns smacking that baseball's smiling face. Odd.

Much happiness and love in the house- need to get back to it.

Tough Crowd

It's been a tough week trying to get everything ready for Christmas. Little Bit is usually pretty supportive of our parenting efforts, but lately, he's been a critic! When his aunt, uncle, and cousin came for dinner and we began a rousing version of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," he started howling for us to stop. Same when I danced to "Yo, Gabba Gabba." I told him he doesn't own "Yo, Gabba Gabba" and kept dancing; he tackled me at the knees!

I did have one success in the bath yesterday. He has a Fisher Price toy boat that has a sieve attachment. After singing and pouring it over him for awhile, I wore it as a hat. Bitty then took it from me, took it through the water, and wore it himself. He wasn't satisfied with his balancing ability, however, and gave it back to me. Unthinking, I put it straight back on my head. Water poured down my face. He thought that was pretty funny. 

Sharsh!

Earlier this month, Little Bit started yelling, "Sharsh!" at us, his grandparents, and his aunts and uncles. It sounded like he wanted us to be quiet, but I hesitated to correct him, because he'd also yell it when no one was talking. So we just kept an eye out for context, and we soon found it in a book one night.

In an alphabet book, he pointed to a fish and yelled, "Sharsh!" It dawned on me then that he meant "shark," as I yell and tickle him when I'm reading an undersea book that he has. I was so glad not only to figure out his meaning but also that I didn't punish him for shushing us.

It inspired me to paint on a canvas I'd been studying on!

Sharsh!

But he was unimpressed.

Great recipes for non-cooks

I have two personally-tested recipes that, despite my lack of skill, turn out great time after time. It's the holidays, and I hate cooking, so I would love more to add to my repertoire  It's great to find a dessert or main dish that is easy, tastes great, and looks impressive.

This one is from a coworker, and I actually spread the Nutella along the crescent roll, but this recipe is otherwise spot-on: 

http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dessert/chocolate/nutella-croissants.html

And this white chicken chili is perfect for this time of year:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cha-chas-white-chicken-chili

It is as spicy as you want it to be! I've never made it with jalapenos, but be bold!

Good stuff in 20 minutes or less

Several weeks before Thanksgiving, I finished a craft that I was really looking forward to sending out. With Little Bit's help, I made some cards for recipients of the Elderly Nutrition Program, which I'd found on Volunteer Match. com.

He scribbled on the cards and the puppies, I filled them in, and we mailed them out, not expecting to hear anything else about it. However, the organization recently mailed a thank you card back, letting us know they had delivered the cards to their seniors. I was so excited!

So now, another batch of cards is ready:

I am equal opportunity when it comes to species.

And I wanted to provide the link, because it was so nice to find an opportunity to volunteer that I could do after work, at night, and with my toddler.

http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp696419.jsp

Cards can be mailed to:

Elderly Nutrition Program
40 N. East St., Suite C
Woodland, CA 95776

Keep on keeping on

I got these pictures of Little Bit recently as he played with his trains and cars with his Mega Blocks:

I must say, that is  a well-constructed bridge. 

So intense! He's even more so when he does his puzzles, and has several that he works on from morning until night. Some are missing letter pieces from being dragged everywhere, and some are covered in peanut butter and oatmeal from being worked during meals. 

My husband and I have a puzzle, too: how can we get him in his crib by ten o'clock? Lately, there have been a lot of ill-timed naps on the couch and many tears as we try to move him to his room. 

Beading frenzy

As Bitty was at his grandparents' house last night, I got into the mood to finish a beaded flower I'd begun as a Christmas present. I haven't done a flower in awhile, and at times I found myself holding my breath so that the little beads would stay on the wire. Not the most relaxing hobby for me, but one that turns out some impressive -looking crafts.

The pink azalea came from my Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts. I made ten petals and five stamens, taking the 28 gauge wire back through the rows of beads. 

Next, I twisted the wire strands together and wrapped them in layers of floral tape. I wrapped the finished flower onto a pin backing with some wire, then wrapped the whole thing in floral tape again to make it wearable. 

The instructions can be found here, on Martha's website, if you don't have the Encyclopedia (!): http://www.marthastewart.com/268845/beaded-flowers

Santa's Nice List, self-promotion

Whatever my status before, I think I should be on the nice list after yesterday. I brought out Little Bit's finger paints first thing and got goo all over my hands (which admittedly is much better than paint- I love Crayola).

The few times the television was on, it was on Thomas the Train. And the kicker- we took a trip to Phillips Toy Mart. It is lots of fun, even just seeing what's new. It should have been risky, taking a toddler into the store, but one look at the toy trains set up in the middle, and he wasn't moving.

Thomas was set up in the center, eyes shifting from one side to the other, but in a cute, non-sinister way. Every once in awhile Little Bit would point at Thomas and look at us to make sure we saw him. Buttons along the side of the tracks controlled the windmill at the top, the gate at the road, and two children on the swings, who would begin swaying clumsily.

He didn't cry as we were leaving; he just put his head on my shoulder. It was a good trip.

Santa's Nice List, continued

Here's the pic we got Thursday night:

Both my husband and Little Bit have been good this year. My husband made us patty melts for lunch and cleaned and rearranged furniture during the cloudy day today. No complaints!

At least one police officer in NYC was also good this year, having bought a shoeless man some Sketchers (one of my favorite brands) on a cold night on Times Square.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/03/homeless-man-gifted-boots-by-nypd-officer-shoeless-once-again/

OK, so it turns out that the man isn't homeless, he's not wearing his new shoes, and he's wondering if there is money to be gained from the experience. I still wouldn't mind if Little Bit grew up to have the same generous spirit and feel the same call to action.

Santa's Nice List

We made our harrowing annual journey last night to see Santa at the Green Hills Mall. We were doomed.

My husband coordinated a fantastic outfit with a blue snowflake sweater and grey cords. The outfit picked up his red hair and blue eyes, and it wouldn't blend with Santa's red suit. Sure, Bitty shrieked and tousled his hair within fifteen seconds of my arranging it, but we had snacks and toys and water. We couldn't have been more prepared.

We came in by the Panera Bread, avoiding (for now) the escalator question. Around the corner, on his overstuffed chair with its back to us, was Santa. And there was no line! Upon further survey, there was just one tiny baby ahead of us, barely squeaking in Santa's lap. He might even have been asleep. No one to get Bitty riled up. We couldn't have gotten a better setup.

We stood at the ropes as the parents and grandma ahead of us scoured their proofs for the perfect photo; they had their pick of great shots, I'm sure. Little Bit tried to run into the Santa scene, a move I believed meant that all the music, photos, and talk of Santa had paid off. I was wrong. When he finally was able to advance, he ran full-speed across, not even acknowledging Santa, to the exit rope.

I grabbed him and brought him to be introduced to Santa. He was having none of this. The child stops people in grocery stores and Office Max to babble and chat, and here he was avoiding Santa. He barrel rolled from Santa. He army crawled from Santa. I sat with him and stood him beside Santa, but he had no faith in my ability to keep Santa at bay. Thomas the Train, which Santa demonstrated great knowledge of, could not placate Bitty. Only when daddy sat by Santa did we get one good shot of him looking at the camera.

We moved over to look at the shots. We decided against another copy of him crying and chose the one of him, my husband and Santa. Once Bitty decided that the ordeal over, and Santa gave him a coloring book, he started playing with Santa.

I hope Santa leaves me something nice this year.

Fancy Vents

When we were looking at products for our renovation we encountered Fancy Vents. But why get those when we have the fanciest vent in town?

The green crayon is a favorite on the Homey Cream.

I finally got tired of looking at this and the hallway wall on Sunday night; both appeared quite suddenly last week. So I got out the Magic Eraser and started scrubbing after trying to get Bitty to clean with a cloth. (He should at least have to watch!) 

After I finished the hallway, however, Little Bit rushed past his daddy with the green crayon and, jabbering at the clean surface, started to create again! We stopped him this time, but apparently a mural is needed in this particular part of the home, and he'll soon catch us with our guard down.

Frosted windowpanes

My husband put up our pre-lit Christmas tree yesterday evening. Little Bit was excited to see it going up and loved its lights. There are just a few ornaments on it so far, so Bitty added his socks out of the laundry to the branches instead of taking them to his drawer.

Decorating is a bit slow this year because of our bathroom renovation; our house is already in disarray and we've been loathe to keep shifting things around. But I have gotten out my new window crayons and decorated. I have another Christmas tree by our fireplace and some snowflakes for Little Bit while he eats his breakfast. Our advent calendar, still in the attic, is being supplanted by a green and red daily countdown on the door on our way out. The Crayola crayons are so neat to play with, and they'll also force me to clean the windows in January.

Birthday 2.3: Trains, Trucks, and ABCs

Little Bit's birthday season ended this weekend with a trip to his grandparents' house for a party. He enjoyed grabbing the gum-paste letters on his ABC themed birthday cake and forcing everyone to dance to my parents' musical Christmas tree ornaments.

He also received plenty of trucks and trains, which have been well-used ever since. Our hardwood floors allow for some serious velocity. I love it; his new vehicles have kept him and his green crayon away from the hallway wall since we got back to town. Sure, it's only one evening, but I consider that a victory.

Warm and Furry

How much do I love my knitting loom?

This much!

Since this picture was taken, I've finished another hat. My husband asked me if hats were the only thing the loom could make. I think he was worried he'd have a series of seven knit hats of the day. How much does my cat, Nacho, love the knitting loom?

She is stalking me far more than usual- but at least she hasn't hit me with her laser-eyes.

Meow Mix enhances their deadly accuracy.