Thursday, May 27, 2010

One More Knit

Not much time to type these days, sorry! If you haven't added me on Facebook and are a regular reader, I'd be happy to add you! Just easier to jot a sentence at a time than several.

I finished up a pair of capri pants for Ella a week or so ago. I think I'm going to shy away from anymore pants for her as she seems like she will potty learn sooner than later. I've been collecting pretty sweater & dress patterns for her instead. She looks stinkin cute in her little pants, though!

First Day of Summer Vacaton

so we had our first dip in the new blow up pool. Last year, Ella was afraid to get in, so far this year I can't keep her out!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Mother's Day and a Knit

My computer had a mean case of internet germs so I was without my best girl for awhile. I was demoted to sharing computers with Doug and Aidan while mine was gone. The good part of that was that I got to kick butt on my knitting projects!

In less than a month, I was able to knit a size 2T dress for Eleanor. I'm in love with the results! The pattern is by Alligator Knits and is called The Elizabeth Tunic. I used hand-dyed yarn from Mosaic Moon in their Spring Sunrise colorway. I was so excited when I finished it that I had Ella try it on after her bath that night, before I even washed it. What a relief that it fits! My plan is for her to be able to wear it through the fall with a long sleeve shirt under it and jeans when she's taller. Hopefully we get a lot of wear out of it.





She wore it to church the weekend after Mother's Day since we missed church on Mother's Day thanks to me being sick. I've tried to have Doug take a photo of me with the kids each year on Mother's Day. We missed it last year but it is fun to look back on the ones we have.

2010


2008, very pregnant with Ella.


2007, little stinkers!


2006, first one at our current house.


2005, We went to ride an antique carousel in Burlington, CO. We are all three in this one, but can't really see Sean and me.


Better one of us!


2004, pregnant with Sean! We went to a park to play.


2003, We got confirmed in the Episcopal Church that day.


In 2002, I was just a few months along with Aidan and my Mother's Day celebrations were just beginning!

Wordless Wednesday: Preschool Graduate!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

A Trial Run with the Goodbyn Lunchboxes

After researching ideas for helping Sean eat at school when he gets in Kindergarten, I decided to invest in a Goodbyn Lunchbox for him to use. I was looking for something that would be easy for him to manipulate, that wouldn't produce trash like disposable packaging, and that would be very kid-attractive. The other option I had considered was Laptop Lunches, which I've eyed for years but hadn't purchased. The pro's to Goodbyn is that it is a single unit piece so we don't need to keep track of lots of lids and boxes, plus Sean doesn't have the fine motor skills yet to open that type of packaging.

I wanted to get our Goodbyn's now so that we can work on using them over the summer and encouraging Sean to eat what we pack in them. I also bought one for Aidan to use on the occasional days he'd like a cold lunch so that he can serve as our peer role model. Siblings are nice that way. ;)

The order arrived very quickly and the boys were eager to start decorating their Goodbyn's. The only guidance I gave them was the suggestion to spell out their names on them, just in case anyone else happens to use a Goodbyn. Other than that, they both just had a blast designing their own boxes.






We went on a field trip with Sean's class to the zoo shortly after getting our Goodbyn's, so the night before the trip I decided we should take their lunches for a Goodbyn test drive. I put together lunches based on what we had in the fridge.

Here's Aidan's (top row: teddy grahams, pears & spoon, dried cranberries. middle row: ranch dressing, water bottle/napkin. bottom row: cheerio snack mix, ham & cheese "man" sandwich, carrot sticks.)


And Sean's (top row: yogurt, applesauce. middle row: water bottle/napkin. bottom row: ranch dressing, sliced bread, carrots.)


If I would of planned it earlier, I would of filled the drink boxes with water and put them in the fridge the night before to use as a cooling element. Luckily the weather wasn't that hot and everything was a good temp when we ate. I did learn that I need to make sure each cubby section is snapped down tightly all the way around, because there was a gap by Aidan's ranch dressing and it spilled over a bit. I also should put a straw in for Sean to use because he thought it was more fun to tip the water into his bread section than it was to drink it. I hope to gradually change him from yogurt cups to just eating yogurt/applesauce directly out of the box so he doesn't have to have help opening those.

The verdict: Goodbyn's hold a lot of food! The boys enjoyed picking things out to eat. Sean did pretty good for a first run: he ate several bites of carrot dipped in ranch, a couple bites of bread, a bite of applesauce, and half the yogurt. He was pretty distracted by all his classmates and the setting so he didn't venture into the meal too excited to eat. Aidan ate most of his food, we packed a bit much for him.

I've found a couple of Goodbyn blogs to follow and gleam ideas from: Goodbyn Lunch Ideas, a British working woman's blog, Leslie's Bento Blog, and Fun with Lunch.