something shiny, something new

are you familiar with TOMS? you should be.
for every one pair of shoes you buy– they donate one pair to a child in need.



i had been considering getting a pair for myself for a while now but just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. finally the other day i was browsing their website and biting my nails and noticed that they had tiny toddler versions.

DONE! SOLD! ORDERED! DELIVERED!

that pushed me over the edge, i just couldn't hold out any longer.

oh yeah baby, unnghhhhh, i went there. saffron yellow corderoy, perfect for fall.

*bloggers note: this is not a sponsored post. i just really liked my shoes when they got here and wanted to spread the word about a good company doing a good thing.  in fact, i tweeted about my order to @TOMSshoes several times and they totally ignored me.  awesome.

–but, squeeeeee!! the cute tiny shoes. amen.

learn more about TOMS and their one for one program

how to sew a mei-tai baby carrier

On the jude's first birthday I debuted my brand-new mei-tai– except I didn't run out and get it at a store or buy it on amazon– I made it myself. Some may call me crafty, I'd just call myself cheap. There are some pretty significant savings in making one yourself and we've been field testing my pattern all over town with no trouble. Project mei-tai is officially a GO!

A word of warning:  This is an advanced sewing project. Sewing is as easy as following directions but be aware that this one is kind of intense. Be patient, take your time, amen.

What you'll need:
•  2 yards of canvas, duck, denim, or twill fabric
This thick sturdy fabric will be for the straps and the mei-tai's base. It's important to choose something in one of these fabric families because of their durability and resistance to tearing. For mine I used a twill.
•  1/2 yard of "pretty" fabric
This will be your display side, so go for something nice to look at that matches/contrasts your sturdy fabric.
•  1 spool of matching thread
I opted to buy the more expensive Gutterman thread. Pricier, but also extremely strong.
•  1 small package of 1/2 inch batting
Used for padding in the straps and headrest. Whatever you can find will work.

You'll also need:
an iron
scissors
a sewing machine (I do not suggest sewing this by hand)
a yard stick
sewing pins
a pencil / chalk
4 rubberbands or hair ties

Alright, are we ready? Let's get down to business.

the jude | thirteen months

my arms, my heart

the first months of his life we carried the jude in slings and wraps and carriers, close to our hearts and up in our arms.  a year later we continue to do so almost daily.  it's been one of my most pleasant parenting experiences– and not just because it's comforting to be close together.  it's simple, it's easy, it's convenient, and to me it is love.



when we're out and about people often notice our carriers and jude's happy attitude and comment about it.  they ask us questions and i love to spread the good word about our perspective.  however, more often than not lately those questions are from people asking, "is that safe?!"



because of recent recalls on poorly made pseudo-carriers babywearing has had a touch of bad press.  we're here to say you cannot recall my arms: babywearing is safe.  i feel strongly about being a good ambassador for babywearing because it has truly been a blessing for our family and here in the midwest it's not as common as you might think; car-seats still rule the roost with the vast majority of parents.

From the BCIA:  "Truly, babywearing does not require special skill. There is no "if done properly." We are working to ensure that babies are kept safe all the time, and babies in slings are safe. They are in the safest space besides a mother's (parent's) arms.



That said, we will continue to educate the public about best practice -- correct positioning, and also keeping the baby's face visible to mother or caregiver in the first three months of life."

get a sling, wrap, mai tei, or carrier and use it! 

use it safely, use it properly, use it daily.

i hope it brings your family as much joy as it's brought to us.

i encourage you to participate in steph at adventures in babywearing's call to action posting photos and reflections on babywearing with your family this week, and to visit the babycarrier industry alliance facebook page.

update:  the Consumer Product Safety Commission is attempting to push through a huge recall on several large-name baby carriers.  "Company was told by the CPSC to issue a recall of every product back more than ten years, and to discontinue sales, while admitting that there is no product flaw."  from thebabywearer.com:  "The CPSC has overstepped their bounds, and are bullying small, family businesses who make safe products.  This is only the beginning, according to the CPSC’s own words they want to eradicate the whole class of product!"

parents, it has never been more important that we share our babywearing experiences.  spread the message: babywearing is safe.

past our due date

9 months ago, jon and i set out on an epic challenge, the movie closet challenge, to be precise.  no, it wasn't a challenge to see who can eat the most donuts in a year, though i'm TOTALLY winning that one.  {for those of you who weren't here 9 months ago or don't remember... we have a very magical closet full of movies that we've collected over the years.  we had our television disconnected and we're watching every movie, in alphabetical movie by genre.  we began last february.}  well, here we are.  if the MCC was a baby i would be hoping to give birth to a mass of confused actors any day now, but it's not, so i won't.  instead, i'm hoping to give birth to my donut baby, with a side of coffee.  maybe it's twins!

i had originally estimated our completion date to be... september 17th.

guess what! it's fucking october!  and here's where we are:

so... looks like we'll be at it for a few more... months?  months.

imagine, this could drag out over a complete year.

(you know, after looking at that picture, those totally aren't in the final order we're using now.  plus over the past nine months we've added more than 32 movies.  do you need a new picture?  yes/no?  the where we are isn't even particularly accurate because of that.)

–ok, i counted.  we have 100+ movies still to go.

at this point the MCC has become a way of life.  no arguing about what to watch, what's on tonight– just pop in the next movie.  or don't, and have some quiet time.  the most surprising thing about this has been how much i don't miss the television.  it was quite shocking at first and i was in serious withdrawal.  there are a few shows we still keep up with but we just watch them online.  we recently got an antenna so that jon can watch football and every time it's on i beg him to turn it off, it hurts my brain.  it seems so noisy.  and full of commercials.  i really hate it.  as a former emphatic tv-lover this is a strange turn of events.

last night we finished up love actually, the final movie in the romance section, which comprises all of five movies.  ...yeah, we're not so big on the romance around here.  so tonight we debut the very anticipated comedy section, beginning with airplane!  i'm psyched about the comedies, though i think it may be our largest section of all (disregarding the james bonds).

i haven't updated you in a while on our progress so... thoughts... thoughts...  watching christmas movies out of season feels strange, it removes their warm-fuzzy-wintery charm.  life or something like it is terrible.  we need to own far more westerns because they set my heart on fire.  there's just nothing i love more than an epic story, preferably with gun violence and gritty cowboy dialog.  we recently watched tombstone, which may be my favorite movie.  ever.  there's nothing like it, it makes my blood turn into lava and i want to run around shouting ridiculous things like, "you tell 'em the law's coming! you tell 'em i'm coming, and hell's coming with me!"  oh, the pure unashamed badassery.  on the horizon is the other movie fighting for number one status in my heart– clue.  tim curry's finest moment.  i'm waiting with bated breath in a state of suspenseful anticipation.  i'm sure you are too.

 xoxo