Happy Halloween 2009!

Our 2009 Costume Report:

Medusa.
Found a thick knit ski cap at the thrift store. Found different-sized snakes at toy stores in the area and wove them through the cap. Love how the headpiece turned out, but didn't love the rest of the costume — I want a redo on this one. Oscar went back and forth on this costume for weeks. He was pretty sure he was actually going to be able to turn people to stone once he had the costume on — and that was stressing him out. Also. He had no issues that Medusa is a girl. In fact, for awhile he was trying to talk Ralph and Maude into being the Gorgon Sisters with him. (His current favorite book is Greece! Rome! Monsters!)



Raggedy Anne.
Found the dress at a thrift store and added the apron. Made the wig by attaching red yard to a red knit snow cap. This was my first attempt at making a wig. Not bad. Tights from the costume store. Ordered bloomers from Amazon, but when they arrived they were too silky and looked like lingerie. So we skipped them. I love classic costumes like this.



Oompa Loompa.
Found brown turtleneck at the thrift store. Gathered some white karate pants from our dressup box at the knee for the knickers. Ordered the wig, suspenders and socks from Amazon. The wig had to be trimmed and styled a bit, but it works. Ralph has performed the Thriller dance twice in this costume (at the school dance and at the church party) — I'm glad he can move easily in it.



Mary Poppins.
Made adjustments to a skirt and blazer found at a thrift shop. Attached bird to shoulder with a safety pin. The more I stared at the details in photos of Mary Poppins, the more I felt like we were missing the mark here. But. Olive loved this costume. And. She won best costume at the Trunk-or-Treat parade — so who knows?



Witch.
Bought a leotard at Target and recycled witch and tutu accessories from past years. It was very important to Betty that everyone was informed she was a nice witch. Also. Sometimes she'd call herself a princess witch. She loves this costume, but I bet she'd love it even more if it was pink.

Mom, you can find a million more photos of this year's (and last year's) costumes here. Oh! And don't miss my sister's spooky ghost photos here.

Happy Halloween-y Weekend!

Images from Martha's Pumpkin Gallery. Definitely worth a peek. So inspiring!

Friends. I have good news! I am officially in my second trimester. This is how I know:

1) I did throw-up today, but I didn't feel nauseous. (It's not perfect, but I'll take it!)

2) Food has been my enemy for weeks and weeks, but the last few days I've had a growing appetite. I think of it as a tender mercy that will help me make sure my kids' Halloween candy doesn't go to waste.

3) I checked the calendar.

But honestly, it's hard to focus on this exciting news because we've got a jam-packed schedule of Halloween for the next two days. On my to-do list:

1) Take $5 and some refreshments to the middle school so Ralph can get into the Halloween Dance. (It's his first dance. I am dying to get a report.) I wish I had time to make these rice-krispie mummy heads for the refreshments. They are fabulous.

2) Buy candy for Trunk-or-Treat tonight (will they really still do Trunk-or-Treat when there is two feet of snow on the ground? We'll find out tonight how truly hard-core Coloradoans are.)


3) Decorate the trunk of the car. The kids are thinking a "mad science lab" with dry ice smoke and Martha's specimen jars. But I confess, I'm trying to talk them out of it altogether because the snow is a total Halloween buzzkill.


Specimen jar images from Martha Stewart.

4) Make chili for tonight's cook-off.

5) Finish Oscar's Medusa costume. The headpiece is done, but the shirt still needs some work. I'll try to post pics of all my kids-in-costume this weekend. Halloween is the best.

6) Tomorrow, we'll carve the jack-o-lanterns and buy more candy for the trick-or-treaters.

Have a fantastic, spooky weekend. And please send spider-webby thoughts my way, because with so much snow outside it is taking every bit of self-restraint I've got not to pull out the Christmas cds.

P.S. — Don't miss the huge Trifle Shoppe Giveaway! Over $1000 worth of gorgeous goodies. Scroll down or click here to find it.

P.P.S. — Have you registered for Alt Design Summit yet? Early bird registration ends October 31st. $100 off!

All About a Character — By Guest Mom Kristy Glass

The younger me as Little Orphan Annie.

If you feel a little self-conscious about becoming someone else for the night, here are a few tips to help you shed the jitters, and have a good time.

Karaoke.
My husband was Billy Ray Cyrus last year, and he became Billy as soon as Achy Breaky Heart came over the speakers.

Phrases!
If you are playing someone from a book or movie, skim-read it for dialogue or re-watch the movie. IMDB is also a good source of quotes from movies. Or call that one friend that knows quotes from everything. This year my Judy Jetson has been practicing: “Outer-galactic!” and “Far-Out!” For the cowboys, check out cowboy sayings. For the pirates out there, pre-plan your phrases on this site.

Theme-dress.
If you and a buddy or your family all dress as a theme, you can take that to an extreme. You can speak in like dialect/accent/language!, act out a scene, improvise a scene, the sky's the limit.

Dance!
If your costume comes from an era like the 20’s, 50’s or 70’s....brush up on your moves and dance in character when the music starts at your Halloween party.

Hide.
If you are too shy, get a mask so that nobody knows it’s you.

Dressing up and getting into character for the night is fun for someone like me who enjoys playing a role, but I know it’s not for everyone. Maybe a few of these tips will help you loosen up and get into Halloween this year.

Thanks for having me! ~Kristy

Find more from Kristy at her blog Glass Posse.

Trifle Shoppe Giveaway

I've got a crazy huge giveaway for you today from one of the most stylish baby stores around: New Zealand's very own Trifle Shoppe. I'm not kidding when I say it's a big giveaway. It's so big I have to describe it in list form so that I don't forget anything. Take a look at what the winner will receive (just imagine the giant box waiting on her doorstep):

-Organic Merino Set by Natural Star — booties, beanie and mittens.
-Feeding Pillow and Skincare Pack by Babybaby.
-Merino Newborn Set by Three Bags Full — top, pants and hat.
-Nudey!Rudey! Trial Pack — including a pocket cloth nappy, a triple layer microfiber insert, one reuseable liner and six biodegradable liners.
-A Treasure Hand-stamped Customized Necklace by Lovestamp.
-Whimsical Giraffes Fabric Wall Decals by Sticky Tiki.
-Baby Hair clips with Matching Display Box and Kimono Frame by Mini Lala.
-A Babywedge.
-Millicent Mouse Toy by ATLDL.
-Unido Baby Sling.
-Blanket with Cocolatte Trim by Babyjo Bamboo.
-Baby Pack by Ramalama — bamboo bodysuit, baby wrap and bib.
-Nesting Kit by Westcoast Baby — Infant Kimono Wrap, Infant Beanie Hat and Cocoon Swaddling Blankets.
-Newborn gift pack by Green Bean Kids Ltd — baby gown and baby swaddle wrap.



Friends. That's one very big Giveaway. With a prize totaling over $1000 in goodies. ($1000!!)

You'd be crazy not to enter. If you're having a baby you'll be totally set up. If you're not having a baby, your gift closet will be totally set up. Just leave a comment and you're entered to win. I'll post a winner on Monday, November 2nd.

By the way, while you're browsing the Trifle website, which features over 60 designers hand-picked from around the globe, you should take a minute to sign up for their newsletter — then you'll be the first to know when the diligent buyers from Trifle have spotted a fantastic new line.

How's that for a Halloween treat?

________________

Update: Congratulations to Becky L! You are the lucky winner. I hope this package is as fun to receive as it was to write about.

All about Halloween Eve — by Guest Mom Kristy Glass

It crept up on you right? Your kids look at you disappointedly when they realize you have not planned a Halloween costume for yourself (or maybe even for them! whoops!). A few last-minute winners that I have seen over the years:

Be a color:
Dress solo or as a group — green-earth theme, orange/white/yellow=candycorns, a rainbow, a flag, school colors! If I were pink, I’d wear this beard. Grab every piece of clothing you have in one color, this is educational for young ones too! While you're at it, sort your closet by color...it looks pretty!

Crayons:
Kristie made these crayon costumes (seen above) for her family with paper. Gotta love paper crafts that you can do the night before!

Subway Train Sign:
Natasha did not make this last minute (also see above), but if you have a piece of felt, a magic marker and a glue gun, you could make a less-than-perfect version of this costume. For a full list of the subway lines, click here.

Get Literal:
Plastic spiders are plentiful this time of year. I witnessed a couple glue a ton of them to t-shirts and proclaim themselves Spider Man and Spider Woman. Another fun use for plastic spiders is to stick them in your hair or ears or other creative places.

My friend Helen velcroed a babydoll to her butt to become a Babysitter. Brilliant!

Blacked-eyed P's — You guessed it, a letter P on a t-shirt and a black eye, you have to do this as a pair to be peaZ.

Find more from Kristy at her blog Glass Posse.

A Pregnancy Trial from Brenna

I was 25 when my husband and I got pregnant with our first child. Several of my friends were pregnant too, and I was delighted that I would get to share this experience with them. I was so lucky at the beginning, because I didn't get sick at all. It was easy!

That was good because I was an incredibly busy kindergarten teacher and felt like I had something to prove since I was young. The first trimester passed with relatively few troubles. The only thing out of the ordinary was a small bump we had found near my collarbone. Probably lymph tissue, but no one seemed to concerned so I tried not to be. After 3 weeks on antibiotics, it was still there and starting to cause more worry. But I was busy, so it just got pushed to the back burner.

A few months later I was visiting a doctor for my eyes. His brother happened to be an ENT and when he saw my lump, he told me that I should go and get it checked out by a specialist, so I did. The specialist did a fine needle biopsy which had inconclusive results; we followed up with a full biopsy and the results were devastating. At 24 weeks along, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Cancer! I was too young for that!

Those first few weeks of diagnosis were incredibly difficult. Lots and lots of testing; some of it was quite painful. Each day we hoped for the best and we kept pushing through, but the fear consumed us in our quiet moments. No mother-to-be should ever have to wonder if she's going to be around to watch her baby grow up. As days passed we learned that the cancer had already advanced to "Stage 3." It was everywhere but my bone marrow. We had to make a choice. Start chemo right away or deliver early and start as soon as possible. We listened, we prayed, we cried some more. We decided that we would wait until I was 34 weeks to deliver and then start chemo.

The hardest part was watching all my friends — the same friends I had been delighted to share pregnancy with. It seemed things were perfect for them. I remember visiting my best friend the day she had her baby. I was so happy for her, but I was incredibly jealous of how easy things seemed. I cried myself to sleep that night, and I can still feel that hurt in my heart to this day.

But blessings came to me too, although I was still working through the trials. At 34 weeks I delivered a healthy baby boy, who we named Caleb Roy. In fact, though he was 6 weeks early he weighed 6 lbs at birth! He spent 2 weeks in the NICU, but came home as normal as can be. I started chemo the same week I had Caleb. Caleb was the most mellow, easy baby I could imagine. Though I was sick quite a bit, we managed.



Six months later I finished chemo with a perfectly clean bill of health. I've been cancer free over a year now and I am grateful for each moment I have with my husband and son. Life is a beautiful blessing.

From Brenna.

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Note from Design Mom: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

A Dramatic Delivery Story from Danika Gunn

Note: Fair warning — it's a long story. Also. Times are estimated because I wasn't really looking at the clock. I just know I woke up around 2:30 AM and Lia was born at 3:15 AM.

September 15th, 2004, 2:30 AM- I woke up with really bad cramps. I thought they were just diarrhea cramps from the castor oil I'd taken to try and get labor started.

2:45 AM- I realize they are not diarrhea cramps. They are contractions. And they have now turned into super, incredible amazingly hard contractions. I had my first child without any medication and remembered that the contractions hurt pretty bad at 5 cm, so I think I am about 5 cm and go get in bed to do my hypnobirthing (a deep relaxation technique to help reduce the pain of labor). I told Matt (my husband) I was in labor and for him to start timing the contractions for me. I would tap his arm once when they started and once when it ended. Every time I tapped him it would wake him up and he would say "Oh it wasn't even a minute long" and fall asleep again. (Later he told me that he was just trying to count to 60 in his head.)

Finally the contractions are so hard I can actually feel and see my belly jerking or crunching as the muscles contract. I tell Matt, "I am in so much pain. Call the hospital and tell them to have that epidural at the door. I don't know how I can even get to the car it hurts so bad." He says "You're okay," and kinda rubs my arm a little and falls asleep again. In his defense I have to say that when I was talking it was in a very calm quiet voice, because in hypnobirthing you try not to tense up at all. Not even your eyebrows. I knew that if I lost concentration I would be in way more pain. I looked and sounded very calm, almost sleepy. So he thought I was just fine.

2:50 AM- I am ticked at Matt for not listening to me. Plus I am super scared because of this intense pain and I think I still have 6 more hours of it. I ask Matt to help me get ready to go. He doesn't move (I had false labor a couple times the week before and he just thought this was another one of those).

3:00 AM- I get so ticked off and can't control myself any longer and I say, "Fine I don't need any help! I'm only in labor and dying and I can do it myself!" and I rip the covers off and start moving as fast as I can for the bathroom. That got his attention! Again I told him to, "Call the hospital and tell them we're coming," and "I don't know how I can get to the car in this pain." I get to the bathroom and think I should go to the bathroom before I go to the hospital. I sit down and start another contraction and it is so intense that my legs shot straight out in front of me. I still think I have a couple more hours of this.

3:01 AM- I hear Matt talking on the phone saying our address and how old I am. I'm wondering, “Why he is even telling the hospital those things?” (Later I find out he was talking to a 911 operator, not someone at the hospital) “All he needs to do is to tell them to tell the doctor we are coming in.” But before I can yell at him to just get to the point, my body is overcome with this super intense pressure and I can't talk or breathe. I grabbed the side of the sink terrified. My body had never done that with Abe (my first baby). I didn't know what was going on. But then I felt "the burn." Most of the ladies should know what I'm talking about here. I realized that I did not have any hours left. The baby was coming now!

3:05 AM- I tried to tell Matt but I couldn't get my breath. He is still talking on the phone. I finally get a little voice back and tell Matt, "She's coming. She's coming out." The phone is not cordless so I hear him trying to make it over to me and telling the operator, "She says the baby is coming, but I don't think she is." Then he turns on the bathroom light and sees Lia's head starting to come through. He tells the operator that she is indeed coming and the operator says, "stay on the phone."

He can't reach me and stay on the phone at the same time. He chucks the phone and gets to me just as Lia's full head comes out. At this point I remember everything calming down a bit. I wasn't in pain anymore. So we were just sitting there trying to gather our thoughts. I asked Matt if the cord was around her neck. He said no, but then he checked a little harder and found that it was wrapped around her neck. Later he told me that due to all the pressure the cord was so, so hard to get off from around her neck that he was just pulling on that thing! He got the cord off her neck.

3:15 AM- Lia is born! And she is breathing! Hurray!

3:16 AM- I am sitting on the toilet looking at this beautiful baby in my arms, wondering what just happened. Matt gets back on the phone and tells the operator the baby is okay. We wrap her in a towel and try to figure out what the heck is going on. And just oohing and aahing over her. She was so sweet. We found out later that she was 8 lbs 10 oz. So beautiful!

3:19 AM- I am buck naked so Matt tries to put some grey sweat pants on me but the placenta hasn't come through yet so we decide no pants.

3:20 AM- The paramedics arrive. There are ambulance dudes and fireman there. Three of them cram into our tiny little apartment bathroom and stare at me. Naked and holding a baby on the toilet. They ask me if I'm bleeding. Duh. They just stare. I am still holding Lia and I am shaking. I feel like I should say something to them so I tell them, "I was just sitting here and I had a baby. Will you please take her? I'm afraid I might drop her from all this shaking." So they let Matt cut the cord and take her away.

Matt called the only friends we had, The Sanchez family, to see if Sarilu could come over and pick up Abe so we could go to the hospital. Sarilu had been an ER nurse for a long time so when she saw the baby was still not dried off and wrapped up warm she told them, "Get that baby wrapped in a space blanket," and then she had to leave. They didn't wrap her in a space blanket. I remember one of them saying "She looks kinda blue," and the next one answering, "Don't worry she'll pink up at the hospital when they dry her off and rub her a bit." I wish I could have been thinking clearly, because I would have just taken the baby from them and done it myself.

(No more time line because I have no concept of time or much else at this point).

I still have not delivered the placenta but one dude says "Well, let's get you to the hospital." I'm still buck naked and I am trying to stand up. Finally one of them notices I need a little help and grabs my arm to help me up. Then he waits for me to start walking out the bathroom door. (Sorry this gets a little gross). Problem. My umbilical cord is just dangling there dripping blood on the tile and I don't want to get blood on my carpet. So I tell the paramedics this. One of them glances around and then pulls one of my towels off the rack and says "Straddle this". I do. "Let's go," he says again.

Problem. I'm still naked. There are all kinds of lights flashing outside. "I don't want my neighbors to see me naked." One of them leaves to go find me something to wear. He returns with this dark green, really short, satin robe that I have not even seen for a long time. I put it on just happy not to be naked. And then out the door we go. No help. Just me waddling out into the cold, September Colorado night with no shoes or socks, a nighty, and a towel between my legs trying to make it down the flight of stairs to the ambulance.

If I had been able to think clearly I would have done things a lot differently. I think my husband and I were in a bit of shock and we were just doing what the guys in uniform told us to do. I had to stop 2 times on the stairs to have 2 more contractions. I was just shaking and gripping the rail. Matt was busy with the baby or else he would have been taking really good care of me. These paramedics had no idea what they were doing.

When I get to the bottom of the stairs I start to cross the sidewalk to get in the ambulance which is 10 feet away. However, the paramedics then decide it is too dangerous for me to walk that 10 feet, put me on a stretcher and then put me in the ambulance to go one block away. Ladies, you know how after you have a baby the nurse rubs your belly. Well these paramedics do that to me and they each take a turn learning how to do it. I kept telling them that it really hurt and that I needed a break. They just told me to take another breath. I wanted to hit them. I arrived at the hospital in my sexy little green robe and immediately the nurses ask why the baby is not in a space blanket and whisk her away.

I was taken to a super small room past the broom closet and was left alone there for a long time. I was covered in blood and really, really, really thirsty. Finally someone came in, and I asked for water, but couldn't have any because they were putting me on pitocin to try and get me to deliver the placenta. My doctor came in with crazy hair and I thought I woke him up so I say, "Sorry I woke you up," and he says in a dazed voice, "You didn't. This is like the 15th baby I delivered tonight." After his work is done, placenta and all, he leaves. The nurse says she'll get me some water but then leaves.

I was alone, and had patches of blood on me for a long time. Wondering how my baby is doing and what the heck just happened. Matt was with Lia and she was having a hard time. She was only around 95 degrees when she got to the hospital and was low on oxygen. She had to go to the NICU and Matt stayed with her until she was settled. I am so grateful that he would stay with her when I couldn't.



In hindsight we wish we had never called the paramedics. Matt could have done a better job, and drove us one block for free. But happily (so happily!) at the end of the story we had a healthy baby and a healthy me. Plus a really great story to tell. : )

(For those who are curious, I had my next two daughters at home with a midwife attending. With Hazel, labor started when my water suddenly broke and thirty five minutes later I held her in my arms. Olive's birth was very similar. It started with my water breaking and thirty minutes later I held her in my arms. I am so glad I was at home and not out in public!)

From Danika Gunn of LoGunns.

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Note from Design Mom: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

All in the Alternatives — By Guest Mom Kristy Glass

Haunted house image here.

My Dad is a dentist, so when we gathered our treats for Halloween to give away to the neighborhood kids, not only did we have the sweets, we also gave out toothbrushes with my Dad’s business address and phone number. A tiny part of me thought it was lame that my Dad did this, but most of me thought it was a pretty great idea. I had never gotten a toothbrush on Halloween before, I thought it was original.

When we got home, we would sort through our findings, trade with our siblings, your favorite for mine....until everyone was super satisfied. My faves: Kit Kats, Peanut M & Ms, Snickers and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Those are still my faves, but I developed a peanut allergy after I finished my pregnancy with my second child, so now I am just mad when I see all of my faves in my kids pumpkins.

This year my daughter’s school is sponsoring Healthy Halloween. Without knowing all the details, I have been thinking about alternatives to sugar treats, and junky plasticky stuff. Ideas....GO!:

-MEMORY game-using classmates photos or halloween images on back of cards
-Slap bracelets (they’re back!) I’ve spotted them at Oriental Trading Co. and Claire’s Accessories
-Homemade Halloween Bookmarks
-Homemade Necklaces
-Instruments...we have a beloved maraca made out of a witches head.
-My favorite idea (probably for a small group of children as opposed to handing it out to the neighborhood): Halloween Music CD

My fave halloween tracks:

Justin Roberts:
Maybe the Monster (Meltdown!)
Thought it was a Monster (Yellowbus)

Harry Connick, Jr. Songs I Heard Album:
Spoonful of Sugar, Jitterbug, Land of Oz, Candy Man

Oingo Boingo:
Who do you want to be?
Weird Science
When the Lights Go Out

Barbra Streisand:
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
Ding-Dong, the witch is dead

Laurie Berkner:
Chock-o-lot in my Pock-o-lot

What are your favorite candy alternatives?

Find more from Kristy at her blog Glass Posse.

Better Late Than Never

Creepy pancake photo from Not Martha (lots more photos and instructions here).

It's Wednesday night. And I'm just sitting at my computer for the first time today. We have at least 12 inches of snow in our yard (wha?). Which ended up giving us a crazy schedule of ever-changing is it canceled? is it delayed? is it early out? for 3 different schools. And a Halloween parade.

But we made it through. We baked a batch of Rebecca's Sugar Cookies and cut them into Halloween shapes. Green, orange and yellow frosting. And Ben Blair made a huge pot of (award-winning) chili for dinner. So all is well.

Everyone is settling into bed now. And if you still happen to be checking in tonight, I have a treat for you. Actually 3 treats: a great Halloween post from Guest Mom Kristy Glass. Plus. Two more pregnancy stories. I'll get them all posted as soon as I hit publish on this.

P.S. - You can see a glimpse of my snowy backyard here.

More Halloween-y Links

-Don't miss Trick-or-Eat. Nine of your favorite food bloggers got together for a delightfully frightful Halloween blog collaboration. So fun! Find links to all the participating blogs here.

-See Robert Mahar, of the always fabulous Mahar Drygoods, demonstrate how to make a darling Sock Skeleton on the Martha Stewart Show. You can get your own sock skeleton kits here.

-Need last-minute party activities for your Spooky Shindig? Marie has created a downloadable book on Monster crafts.

-You Can Make This is offering free downloadable patterns for tutus and vests through Halloween. Find them here. Need ideas on what costumes to make with the free patterns? Watch this.

Not Halloween-y, but it's spooking me (or at least making me sad) — my friend Lindsey of Cafe Johnsonia has decided to take down her blog. : (

Image of Trick-or-Eat from Tongue-n-Cheeky.

MJ

If you've stopped into a Halloween store this month, then you've seen the 50,000 Michael Jackson costumes available. Totally understandable. We've had him on constant play at our house for the last few months. And Ralph has now memorized the Thriller choreography (just in time for his first school dance this coming Friday).

If you're looking for your own MJ tribute, but would prefer something more subtle than a sequined glove, I like this sweater from Toobydoo. It was designed well before Michael's untimely death, but it hits just the right note.

All About the Makeup — by Guest Mom Kristy Glass

This is me as the "Book Witch" and as Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. I did the makeup myself(!).

A few years ago, my daughter’s kindergarten teacher and I planned a Halloween Surprise for her class. I was to come in as the Book Witch and read some Halloween stories to the children. I love surprises so much, so I did not tell my daughter anything about this, and I wanted to be unrecognizable to her and her classmates.

My mind immediately turned to the Broadway production of Wicked and the green makeup that Elphaba wears. I emailed a makeup artist friend of mine to see if she could give me some tips on how to transform my face into a witch. She suggested I visit Alcone, a makeup company in Manhattan. I zipped over there and waited in line for the makeup artist of The Little Mermaid to plow through her very long list of needs, and felt quite sheepish when all I asked for was Elphaba Green. Unfortunately they did not have that green, so I settled for more of an emerald color of Kryolan’s Aqua.

I also wanted to have a prosthetic nose, but I am allergic to latex, and could not find any noses that were latex-free. Instead I picked up some wax and glued some warts onto my face. The other important element of the Book Witch Makeup was Mac’s Pigment in “Push the Edge”, which is a purple color. I used it to accent my cheeks, lips and eyes. I had purple going on with the hat I bought at Ricky’s and the purple gloves. As for the costume itself...I just threw on all the black clothes in my closet and sprayed a little black in my hair.

I brought my books along in a vintage Samsonite, bright pink train case, as opposed to a cauldron or black basket or jack-o-lantern. I wanted to be less witchy and more booky because some parents had expressed concerns about Witch Lore and I didn’t want to give the wrong message to the impressionable young children. The teacher is convinced that my daughter didn’t recognize me, and I am pretty sure none of the other children recognized me until little sister landed on the scene, suddenly it was pretty obvious who was under all that makeup. My daughter insists she was never fooled. She’s been known to lie.

My Top 5 Halloween Book Witch Read-Alouds:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Room on the Broom Book by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
In the Haunted House by Eve Bunting
The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz
The Halloween Play by Felicia Bond

Last year my daughter wanted me to be Maleficent to her Princess Aurora. I purchased the costume and staff and was disappointed with the quality of the frock. I spruced it up by stuffing the foam-shaped Antlers with poly-fil and putting a back on them, then twirling some purple cord around each point, but I knew what would really sell the costume would be my face.

I studied graphics from the film, but mostly studied a Golden Book Version of Sleeping Beauty that we already had on our bookshelf. I ordered the Aqua color that was closest to Maleficent’s turquoise hue and then I was all set. I had the purple pigment from Book Witch the year before and the black paint from my Mrs. Incredible costume already in my stores, so I didn’t need to buy anything else. The photo at top was taken after my third try at applying this makeup, and I think it turned out really well: red lips, yellow around the eyes, purple eyeshadow, exaggerated eyebrows, and that sallow, turquoise skin. Spooky.

Great makeup can make a costume go from good to great, or can be the costume itself. Just looking at those aqua colors I had a few ideas come to mind right away: silver-ghoul, dark blue-blue man group, Violet — that girl from charlie and the chocolate factory who turns into a blueberry, yellow-banana...use your imagination and make sure you practice before the night of Halloween!

Find more from Kristy at her blog Glass Posse.

Parent Child Dance Shoes

Did you see these? Seems like the sweetest toddler gift ever.

spotted on kirtsy via Handmade Charlotte

All In The Details — by Guest Mom Kristy Glass

When the store-bought costume is not doing it for you, you gotta take things into your own hands. When I decided; “I am going to be Mrs. Incredible,” and I found Disney’s Mrs. Incredible costume online to be UNcredible, I needed to take matters into my own hands.

I pulled up an image of Mrs. Incredible from the Pixar film and compared the two side by side: What? Horror! I was amazed at how lame Disney’s offering was.



The boots were not tall enough, neck too thin, and where are the gloves? I started staring at this cartoon picture and trying to figure out how my non-seamstress self could make my own costume.

I ordered black gloves, black briefs, black tall boots and a full-body red unitard. I stopped by the fabric store to get some orange and black stretch fabric to add to the waistband and neck of the unitard. I also picked up some felt and glitter to create the “i” graphic on the chest.

My sewer friend whipped that orange waistband on the briefs and the black on the outside of the neck. I spent an evening burning my fingers (literally) glueing that incredible logo together. The last thing I needed to do was order the black makeup from Ben Nye, and voila! I had a much more incredible costume then the store-bought, and for around the same price.

As an added bonus, I already had a short sassy hairdo similar to Mrs. I, and the big booty to boot!



I know this is a good costume because 4 other friends have borrowed it. I have also worn it for school appearances at my daughter’s schools and sometimes the prospect of wearing that costume again someday in the future, is all the motivation I need to do my morning workout.

This year I have used the Mrs. Incredible Model to put together 2 costumes that I am pleased-as-punch about.

My daughter will be Olivia Pig, from the Olivia books by Ian Falconer. Her outfit is modeled after the illustration on the cover of Olivia Counts. Each piece (striped tights, striped shirt, white blouse, jumper) will be worn the rest of the year as separates and together for upcoming holidays (Christmas, Valentine’s Day). I had no guilt purchasing these items as they will be worn again! (Unlike the Judy Jetson store-bought catastrophe that looks cute but wears MEH, that my other daughter insisted upon purchasing!)

I had to make the ears and for fun I made a duct-tape purse to go with it. I enjoy having a little hand-made bit of the costume, preferably one that does not involve me sewing.



Also this year I have used the Mrs. Incredible Model for my own costume. I chose to be Cruella Deville, circa 1960’s. I bought each piece off ebay: red boots, red gloves, black vintage dress, white furry coat, wig. After studying the cartoon drawings of Ms. Deville, I decided to get some green jewelry as well. My good friend etsy helped me find just the right set of earrings and a ring.

So, there you have it! Incredible Costumes, to make your Halloween the most memorable!

Find more from Kristy at her blog Glass Posse.

Welcome Kristy Glass!

Photo by Rachel Gundersen

I'm so delighted to have Kristy Glass with us this week! I have only briefly met her in real life (and under odd circumstances, where we had to whisper quick hellos), but I've been exchanging emails with her since I started blogging and feel like she's an old friend. Here's Kristy's introduction in her own words:

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In a recent audition, I was interviewed to see how much I knew about entertainment, celebrities and pop culture. I was asked if I read US Weekly or “the blogs”. Sadly I could not answer in the affirmative. “Then, what is your favorite blog?”

“DESIGN MOM!”

Thanks for having me.

I’m an urban mom of two daughters, thanks to my husband of 11 years, who pushed me to finish college even though I was being lured away by that intoxicating world of the theatre. After graduating in 3 jam-packed years, I pursued my dream of ACTING in Washington DC. There I had a lot of great success, including doing 2 different shows while I was pregnant with my first baby! 5 weeks after her birth, I was back in the theatre one last time in DC before picking up and moving to Queens, NY in 2002.

I am a working mother and I strive to spend as much time with my children as possible. I do not have a nanny. My career has now expanded beyond theatre to singing, recording, modeling, baby wrangling and tv, which basically means, I am a professional job-seeker. I have dragged my babies (now children) to 90% of my auditions and they have even accompanied me on a few jobs.

My interests include blogging, writing, photography, makeup, working out, church service, journaling, networking, reading, online grocery shopping, MACing, and knitting for the lovescarf project. I spend hours a day riding the subway to make sure my children are dropped off and picked up at their respective schools on the upper west side and lower east side (remember, I live in Queens). I attend suzuki violin lessons twice a week with my daughter and practice with her for an hour most days. I have recently discovered the iphone, jogging and Raisenets made with Cranberries (not in combination).


As an actor, one of my favorite holidays is Halloween. I pretty much know who I am going to be for Halloween by January of every year, and enjoy spending the rest of the year finding just the right details to make my costume complete. It’s contagious, my whole family is into it. I hope I can add to your holiday this year, and if not, maybe you can start planning Halloween 2010 in a few months!

Halloween Week!

Can you believe it is the last week of October? So exciting! I counted up, and between the 3 different schools my children attend, plus church parties and friend parties, we have 8 events plus trick-or-treating to keep track of. I am crossing my fingers our costumes are sturdy enough to withstand the week. : ) To help us celebrate, I have invited Kristy Glass to be a Guest Mom this week. She is awesome. And really into Halloween. I will tell you more about her in the next post.


Images from past Halloweens. See more Blair costumes here and here.

Creepy Food

October is humming along. I love every bit of it. Including this idea for tomato soup with eyeballs that I spotted on kirtsy. More spooky food ideas here.

Running for Office — 5th Grade Edition

Maude, our 5th grader, recently ran for student council. Our school in New York didn't offer student council, so this was our first opportunity to try something like this.

Maude was allowed to make 1 poster-board size poster. And give one speech. Here's our report on both. These ideas worked well (she was elected!) and would be a good fit for 4th, 5th or 6th grade. Feel free to use the ideas if you have the need.



The Poster
I was out of full sheets of poster board, but I had a stack of orange poster board sections from a previous project (bonus point for using up what we had), so we pieced those together with lengths of ribbon to make a full-size poster. The sections broke up the space nicely and ultimately inspired the poster content.

We started with Maude writing her name in her regular handwriting. Then we thickened that up to make it something we could use as a template and cut out. We cut out 3 "maudes" from additional posterboard scrap, sprayed them with a light coat of spraymount and completely covered them with glitter (from the Martha Stewart collection — my all-time favorite glitter). We attached the names to the sections with double-sided tape.

On the 3rd-panel, in her own handwriting, Maude wrote little slogans about herself. Some rhymed with Maude (Maude is not flawed). Some didn't.



The Speech
Before we started working on this, we assessed the situation. What had Maude heard? What kind of speeches were typical? From what we could gather, the legendary speech that her classmates still talked about was given by a boy who showed up with a bunch of helium balloons. He started by popping a balloon and saying: Now that I've got your attention... and continued to pop balloons throughout his speech. Knowing this was the pinnacle, we aimed to hit somewhere between balloon popping and reading the speech straight off a paper.

Here's the transcript Maude ended up with:

I'd love to promise you, that if I get elected, homework will be abolished for the rest of the year! I'd love to promise that your favorite celebrities will visit our class. Like Taylor Swift and Carmelo Anthony!! I'd love to promise that each of you will get a million dollars!!!

But I can't.

What I can promise, is that I'll work hard, attend my meetings and give my best ideas.

To show you how dedicated I'll be as your student council rep, I'm going to put 26 marshmellows in my mouth — one for each of you. Please count with me.

[Maude then proceeds to put full-size marshmallows in her mouth. She can only fit 3. At which point she puts her hand up in a stop motion and spits the marshmallows in a paper bag.]

Let's try this again.

[Maude then pulls out a bag of mini-marshmallows, and the class counts with her as she stuffs her mouth with 26 mini-marshmallows. When she reaches 26, she spits them into the same paper bag.]

Thanks, everybody! Vote for Maude!!

Initials

So the question has come up: how'd we transport all the goodies from Broad Summit? A good question. Which leads nicely into my final summit report (no really, this is my last post about it, I promise). There are two answers to the question: Totebags. And Toyotas.

Each attendee was given a personalized totebag from Lands' End so they could haul their lovely gifties home. The bags are ginormous. And I totally have a thing for ginormous totebags — you know, roomy enough for beach towels or blankets, plus food, plus a camera bag, plus all the things your children are likely to collect on any given outing. So I lurve my new bag. I used mine as my carry-on during the flight home. I was wearing navy and stripes and the red looked totally awesome with my outfit. (Because red + navy is yummy.)

To haul the peoples around, Toyota lent us a fleet of their prettiest cars. I did most of my driving in a Highlander and a Sienna (with Laurie and Jordan and Megan and Dorothy). Both cars are very roomy. And extra-nice for me, I was able to see some of the friends I'd made at the Toyota Studio Tour last year — including Jean Aw of NotCot. Whom I adore. At one point, Jean, who attends far more techy-ish events (and far fewer girly events like the summit) said something like: Geez. I can't believe all the camera equipment attendees brought to the summit — the tech companies should be targeting this crowd...



Question inspired by the initials on my totebag: How many of you weren't given a middle name when you were born? And related question: How many of you have not given middle names to your own children?

I'm so curious. I didn't have a middle name while growing up. I was Gabrielle Stanley. And then when I married, I (conveniently) took Stanley as my middle name. I didn't think not having a middle name was that unusual, but at the summit, the topic came up and I was the only one out of 30 that didn't have a middle name as a child.

Have you heard about ALT?

Big announcement! Have you heard about Alt? It's short for Altitude Design Summit. And it's awesome x 10.

The basics:

-It's the first conference geared specifically to design & lifestyle bloggers, trend & shopping sites — and the companies that want to connect with them. All the social media/new media people who want to get together, talk shop and love on design for a weekend. Great info for design peeps and great info for companies with design-minded products or design-minded clients that want to connect with the design-blog-world.

-It's happening January 21-23, in Salt Lake City, during the first weekend of the Sundance Film Festival. (Celebrity spotting! World-class skiing!)



Doesn't that sound perfect? I'm especially excited because Kirtsy is in charge of putting together the conference programming. The speakers. The topics. The keynotes. The break-out sessions. Which is basically the funnest assignment ever. We made the formal announcement about Alt in the Kirtsy newsletter this morning and the response has been tremendous. My inbox is filling up with speaker suggestions and great ideas for topics. (Speaking of which, a lot of it is still hush-hush, but the speaker list so far is out-of-sight-fantastic.)

If you have thoughts/ideas/suggestions about Alt, I'd love to hear them. Please send me an email at: gabrielle@kirtsy.com

Listography

A few weeks ago, in her great post about journals, Guest Mom Carrie Lundell introduced us to Listography. And then. Happy coincidence. I received a copy from Chronicle Books in my gift bag from Broad Summit.

Um. Brillant! So many great topics I can't pick a favorite. List the people you love the most. List the things you like to do on your day off. List the times you've had an audience. List the bad things you did as a kid. List your favorite books. And on and on. Plus, each list is accompanied by a funky illustration.

It would be fun for a teenager and his/her grandparent to work on this together. Or a husband and wife. Or a parent and child.

Get a few copies for your gift stash and you'll be good to go for those holiday gift emergencies. (I know exactly who I'm going to gift my copy to.)

Leap Design

Such a funny snowy day her in Colorado. The kids had a delayed school start so it was a lazy morning. I heart lazy mornings. But they'll be home any minute — it's time for me to get the fire started and warm up some hot cocoa to greet them. In the meantime, here's something pretty:




My dear friend and business partner, Laurie Smithwick owns a graphic design company with her husband Bob, called Leap Design. They recently re-designed their website and it is freaking awesome. If you are looking for a design team for print or web (Laurie does design, Bob does programming), you should for sure give them a whistle. You will love working with them.

The photos are of Laurie & Bob's wedding invitations. The wedding took place at a summer camp. So fabulous! Lots more pics in the portfolio section of their website.

Oh. And don't miss: I just posted more stories about pregnancy and growing families below.

Pregnancy Story from Aimee Giese

Learning to Love Your Stomach

Whenever someone asks me about pregnancy, I just tell them it was the time I learned to love my gut. I loved people to touch it, loved that it was hard and round. Love loved loved my stomach.

Because the rest of it was weird.

I got pregnant on vacation, a business trip that we both happened to be on in Vancouver if you want to get technical, which makes Declan half-Canadian if you want to get more technical, and if you want to get really really really technical - there is only one time in one day where he could have been conceived. February 8th, 2002. Around 3pm in the afternoon. IF you want to get technical.

Have you ever told your co-workers you may have become pregnant the day before? It's weird.

Flash forward three months and we're tra-la-la-laing through the pregnancy like it we're running through a sunny meadow and the doctor suddenly puzzles over my urine. Have you ever had anyone puzzle over your urine? It's weird.

Come to find out, I was spilling sugars like crazy, so they move up my glucose test. Which I abjectly fail. Fail so badly I had to lay down after drinking the un-fizzy orange drink. Lime they had to FIND a place for me to lay down because that had never happened before. Have YOU ever had to lay down during a glucose test? It's weird.

The test results come back and my doctor is yelling at me so loud I have to hold the phone about 10 feet from my ear, then was rushed on to insulin shots THAT NIGHT and once wave after shocking wave of realization washed over me that, yes, I have been diabetic for what could have been years before this pregnancy, I thought, "this is really weird."

So, I get over my fear of needles, I get the blood sugars under control and I am back on the merry happy path that was my pregnancy. Except for Declan had other plans. He decided he wanted to come two months early in a very spectacular fashion. Not even anything related to the diabetes even. I will spare you all the details, but let's just say it involved more yelling from my doctor and some knives. Oh, and me on my hands and knees on a gurney with my booty in the air.

THAT. WAS. WEIRD.

But it all worked out. Declan was fine, I was fine. My husband? Maybe not so fine, but he could deal.

So, maybe in the end, I didn't get all huge and puffy and wobbly like some ladies who go the full nine months - which is why I loved my stomach so much.

But that's OK. It's what came out of it that matters.

From Aimee of Greeblemonkey.

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Note: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

Pregnancy Memory from Sarah Lemoine

At the hospital the day Abe was born.

A Bittersweet Year

Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing. Creating life — then helping to mold that life into a decent little person — is perhaps the most elevated of all callings. Sometimes the job seems ordinary. Even mundane. But in light of the bigger picture, each seemingly insignificant moment is nothing less than extraordinary.

My third pregnancy was bittersweet, as my husband, Seth, was deployed to Iraq for most of it. As a National Guard soldier, he was a weekend warrior with a different full time job. I never really expected him to go. I had a three-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son... And I was 8 weeks pregnant! Unfortunately, the military didn't deem my plight as sufficient cause to discharge my soldier. Before the end of my first trimester, I watched my dearly beloved board the plane that would take him away for my bittersweet year.


At the airport — Seth was saying goodbye to our son, Jack.

knew this pregnancy would be challenging. I didn't realize it would also be my saving grace. Determined to keep living, I vowed to create fond memories with my children and my unborn baby. Instead of counting the seemingly endless days until Seth's return, the baby gave us mini-milestones to celebrate each week... 17 weeks- it has tastebuds! 20 weeks- it's a boy! 23 weeks- he can feel me dancing! 36 weeks- full term!!! Each doctor visit was exciting and the children were intimately involved in every step of the pregnancy. The magical process of growing a baby created a pleasant backdrop during a tumultuous time. Between tears, we played a lot. We took adventure walks. We cooked. We did crafts. We webcammed with Daddy. We put furniture together and painted 2 bedrooms. We wrote letters, drew pictures, talked, and took tons of photos. The pregnancy gave us a beautiful distraction that kept us moving forward.

Early on, I decided that I didn't want Seth to come home for the birth. He was allowed 2 weeks of leave, but I knew if he came home for the delivery, I would be stuck in bed most of the time and his departure would surely send me into a postpartum depression! Because I was so afraid that labor would start unexpectedly in the middle of the night (with no one there to watch my other kids or take me to the hospital), each tiny tightening and twinge in my belly sent me into a panic. About a month before my due date, I had a false alarm. I remember praying all night that God would just let the show begin in the morning. I texted all of my neighbors and out-of-town family at two am to let them know it may be time. In the morning my phone was abuzz with calls from friends and family, worried that my 3-year-old delivered my baby and angry that I had not called to wake them. The next day my mother-in-law drove in to stay with me until I gave birth.

One week later, I awoke at about four AM with mild, but steady contractions. This time I knew it was real. By eight AM, I was in a good bit of pain, so we loaded the kids in the car and I asked my mother-in-law to drop me off at the hospital before she took the kids to mothers-day-out. Looking back, I imagine how sad it must have looked: me, walking into the hospital alone- with my overnight bag and in the throes of real labor. (On the up side, I was wearing make-up and looked prettier than I had for any other delivery, knowing my husband would only have the photos to document the occasion.)

By the time I was admitted and situated, I was eight cm dilated! And by 11:30 AM, my mother was cutting the umbilical cord. Seth called (literally) two minutes after Abe was born. Because I was 2 weeks early, he didn't even know I was in labor- and suddenly he was the proud Dad of three. That was exactly one year ago from this Saturday. Seth has been home for five months and the memory of his year away is already clouded by a nostalgic haze. I remember laughter, fear, joy and longing... but mostly, I remember love. Love for my country, my husband, my beautiful children & my blessed life.

Whatever the circumstance surrounding your pregnancy, remember the magic- the miraculous journey- is just beginning. Embrace your situation and enjoy the ride.


At the airport on the day Seth left.

Best wishes!! Enjoy the vacation at the hospital... lots of magazines, trashy television shows and sweet, sweet sleep.

From Sarah Lemoine of CocoBlu Studio.

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Note: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

Harvey Faircloth

Good friends (and sometime bloggers) Abby Clawson Low, Mara Papa and Katie Hatch debuted the Fall '09 Collection of their new clothing line, Harvey Faircloth, in the spring at NYC's D&A with great response.

Great response? That's no surprise. Don't you want to purchase every single outfit? And don't you love how it's all very wearable? And isn't that cute model with the red lipstick fantastic? Yes. Yes she is.

You can shop Harvey Faircloth here. You can see their inspiration here.

A Week of Dinners

Too busy working on Halloween costumes to think about proper meals? Here's some help. Frenchie & Flea have a link to a week's worth of meal plans. Don't you just love knowing organized people?

image from Real Simple

Smitty Baby

Cute imagery, great colors and smart products at Smitty Baby. I love the aprons.

Halloween Books

I feel like we haven't added Halloween books to our stash in ages, so this year I ordered a few. (As I've described in years past, during the month of October, we like to light candles each night and ready Halloween books or spooky stories. This year we even have a fireplace (woot!). It totally heightens the drama.) The books we added this year:

Bone Soup.
A Halloween themed retelling of Stone Soup. Instead of carrots and potatoes, the townspeople eventually share their stewed eyeballs and jars of batwings. The illustrations are the best part. My kids love this.

By the Light of the Halloween Moon.
A rebus by Caroline Stutson. Simple and repetitive. My preschoolers especially like this.

Once Upon a Halloween Night.
This is a chapter book. I was looking for something the older kids would like. We're still not done with it yet, but so far so good.

You can find links to some of our other favorites here. What are your favorite Halloween books?

Spooky Scarecrow

Look what we made this weekend! It's a spooky scarecrow. Isn't it fantastic? The project took less than an hour and looks terrific in our yard. We still need to carve a menacing face into the pumpkin head, but for now, it still looks decent uncarved.

Inspiration:
Part of celebrating Halloween in New York is making a trek to (the real live!) Sleepy Hollow to see Legends Night. It's super cool. Creepy and spooky without being horror-movie-like or a typical gory haunted house. We loved it. Old lanterns line the pathways. There are ghosts in a boat paddling on a pond. Storytellers recounting local legends. The Headless Horseman riding by. Fresh apple cider and donuts. Just wonderfully done through and through.

Around one of the bonfires at Legends Night, they had 3 simple scarecrows standing guard. Basically, they were a wood cross hung with old rags and topped with a pumpkin head. And they looked so dramatic all lit up by the fire. I've been wanting to recreate one (or three) for ages and this year was the year. It was so easy, I wish I had done it earlier.



How-to:
1) Use 2x4s to build a simple cross. We used scrap wood found in our garage and nailed two pieces together. Make sure the vertical piece overlaps the crossbar by a few inches so that you can attach the pumpkin to it later.

2) Age the wood a bit by rubbing paint or shoe polish or stain into it. We used brown water-based craft paint for easy cleanup. We just dripped some paint onto the wood and the kids rubbed it in with wet rags.

3) Attach two metal rebar clips to the back of the cross with screws (click on photo to enlarge to see details).

4) Use some old or fallen branches and wire them to the crossbar to act as arms/hands.

5) Take some scraps of cloth (we used burlap scraps from our fabric stash). Rip them up and roughen the edges. Nail the pieces to the top of the cross. The fabric will continue to weather by being outdoors.

6) Cut a hole in the bottom of a pumpkin the same size as the end of the vertical 2x4. Slip the pumpkin onto the top of the cross. We used a funkin so it wouldn't rot between now and Halloween and we can reuse it next year.

7) Hammer a piece of rebar into the lawn and slip the metal clips over the rebar. Our rebar went into the lawn at a slight angle — and it makes the scarecrow tilt a bit, which we like.



And that's it. You can carve the pumpkin or leave it plain. It looks great either way. During the day the scarecrow looks fall and festive. During the night, ours is lit up by a nearby streetlamp. You could also use an outdoor spotlight to mimic the firelight from the bonfire.

$175 Cinnamon Sticks Giveaway

Last week's Giveaway was especially for the wee babes. This week it's all about the grownups. One lucky reader will win a $175 gift certificate to Cinnamon Sticks Etsy shop! Generous, right? And Cinnamon Sticks prices are so reasonable, that $175 means something pretty for you, for your sister, for your bff, for your favorite aunt, and for your mom too. Your Christmas shopping will be done and done.

Go take a look at the offerings (7 pages worth!). Everything you see is customizable with your name, your initials, your favorite phrase. You can pick the typeface. You can pick the color of the charms. Basically, you can play jewelry designer for a minute. And I promise, it's as fun as it sounds.

Leave a comment to enter. The winner will be announced on Monday, October 19th. Extra fun: Design Mom readers get 10% off their Cinnamon Sticks purchases. Just let Cinnamon Sticks know you are a Design Mom reader at check out and they will issue a refund for the 10% or send an adjusted invoice, which ever you prefer.

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10/19 Edit: Congratulations to chinamomxtwo! You are the lucky winner of the Cinnamon Sticks Giveaway. Happy shopping.

Old & New Friends

I have a couple more Broad Summit posts before I've absolutely exhausted the topic. Today I'm thinking about friends I've spent time with before — like Melissa Summers and Chris Jordan. And friends I was excited to meet for the first time in real life — like Asha Dornfest, Kelly Wilkinson (who was my first Guest Aunt once upon a time), Mimi Smartypants and Zan McQuade.

This was true of sponsors too. Some were companies I've been a fan of for ages — like Flickr. And some I'm excited to get to know — like Typekit. I thought Typekit's presentation was especially cool. They offered all attendees a year long subscription to their font service (I'm really looking forward to trying this out). And because it's hard to wrap up something like an internet service subscription, they attached the card to rustic metal letters. G is for Gabrielle.

Pumpkin Cookies

Made a batch of pumpkin cookies last night and ate them by the fire. Doesn't get much better than that. (I like mine sans chocolate chips. So I usually make half the batch with and half without.)

Edit: My apologies for not including the recipe when I first published the post. Here it is. I hope you love it.

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Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies
I found the recipe years ago at verybestbaking.com

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
1 cup 100% pumpkin (you can find cans of this in the pie-filling section of the grocery store)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Glaze (see below)
Optional: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or nuts.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside. Beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle glaze over cookies.

For Glaze:
Combine 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla in small bowl until smooth.

Zicam Yoga Session at Boon

Outside of the constant stream of wine during Broad Summit, there was an underlying health and wellness theme happening — due in large part to Boon Hotel & Spa, and due in other large part to Zicam (one of the biggest sponsors), and due in other large part to Kristin Darzugas who woke up early to run each morning and has the abs and arms and legs to prove it. (Side note: before the very positive Kristin even made it home from the weekend, she posted this troubling note. Fingers crossed that her week has improved.)





I gave you a little pre-glimpse of Boon here, and must say it was even more charming and inviting in person. Just a delightful place to stay. Good food. Good location. Each room it's own little modern cabin. Hip orange accents in just the right places. A steamy hot tub. Massages for all. Great food prepared by the Boon Restaurant. Sleek refillable toiletry bottles instead of wasteful plastic samples.



Sponsors weren't allowed to make any formal presentations about their products, so I wondered how they would participate. I loved Zicam's solutions (future event sponsors: take note!). 1) They left a thoughtful hangover kit (remember the packed schedule of wine + wine + more wine) on each attendee's bed — filled with soothing little products to ease dehydrated bodies. 2) They hosted a morning yoga session taught by Gwen Bell. I confess, I did not participate (I opted for extra sleep. I always opt for extra sleep.), but doesn't it look inviting? And visually pleasing?

Zicam, if you're unsure whether your tasteful marketing had any affect, be assured that it did. For the entire drive back to the city, Mai was a walking, talking advertisement of the healing effects of your products. I'm (almost) excited to catch my first winter cold so I can fight it with Zicam. Just saying.

Orange & Pear

Online gift shop, Orange & Pear, just introduced a line of baby goods. Love that puppet!

Pregnancy Dream from Calli Taylor

When I was barely pregnant with my twin daughters, my mother in law, phoned my husband early in the morning. She had just had a dream that she needed to tell us about.

In her dream, she was in a hen house. She was standing over an egg, and although she knows you are not supposed to help a chick break out of it’s shell, she felt she compelled to help this one. She peeled away the shell. When she was done, she was horrified… there was not one, but two chicks in the shell. But the birds weren’t ready to be hatched… they looked limp, gray and lifeless. And she was filled with shock and remorse. She turned away. But after a moment, she heard a chirping sound and looked back at the shell. Inside were two yellow, healthy, darling, little chicks.

After she finished telling my husband about the dream she said, “I think it means you are going to have twins.” He had a good chuckle and hung up the phone. He told me the story of the dream and I ran to the bathroom to throw up. When I was done, I came back and told my husband “Oh no, I am not having twins… I am not the twin mom type… I don’t even like any two names that rhyme and I hate matching outfits!”

As time unfolded her dream became incredibly prescient, because I was indeed having twins. And they came early… way too early. They weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. and 1 lb. 3 oz. at birth and they looked limp and gray and lifeless. They actually looked like unfeathered baby birds with thin translucent skin and incredibly tiny limbs.

Thankfully, Kit’s dream continued to be right. My little chicks eventually fattened up, turned pink and healthy… and although I didn’t name them matching names and rarely buy matching outfits (though I love to sometimes…) I especially love having my twins.

Gabrielle, I wish you all the best with your pregnancy! I won't wish twins on you... but they are pretty wonderful.

From Calli of Make it Do.

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Note: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

Pregnancy Thoughts by Laura B

Carrying Andrew, my biggest baby, at 9 pounds.

Pregnancy is amazing. Truly amazing.

I’m amazed that my belly can stretch this much. And then (almost) shrink back down.

I'm amazed that I've gone through three pregnancies. That I have three beautiful children, grown in my own womb. I'm amazed that it's been over two years since I was pregnant. Time flies. And yet, when I talk to friends who are expecting, I can recall with clarity the feelings I had when I was pregnant with each of my three children. I really love being pregnant.

I love the first flutters of movement I feel when my baby starts to make his/her presence known.

I love the rolls across my belly when my baby gets bigger and stronger.

I love noticing little hands and feet punching and kicking as my baby stretches.

It’s amazing how much I endure in order to give life to a new baby: nausea, exhaustion, stretch marks, sciatic nerve pain, varicose veins, carpal tunnel, broken tailbone, peeing all the time, not sleeping well, heartburn, etc. And a new ailment or two comes along with each subsequent pregnancy.

It’s amazing that most of that can be “forgotten” so that I’m willing to do it again.

Then there’s labor and delivery. Amazing pain. Truly amazing, unbelievable pain.

But the miracle of birth follows the pain and makes it all okay. (Not forgotten, but okay.)

Me and my first baby, Connor, bonding in the hospital.

I love the first glimpse of my baby, so fresh and new and perfect. So full of trust and potential.

I love the first snuggle as my baby is laid upon my waiting breast.

I love the two days in the hospital, just me and my baby, getting acquainted. I guess it’s not really getting acquainted since we already knew each other pretty well after nine months of constant companionship. Still, I cherish those two days to love my baby, to sleep holding my baby, to teach my baby to nurse, and to just be a new mother again.

Alan, Connor, and Andrew.

The most amazing part of bringing a baby into this world is the amount of love that I can feel for another person.

The love between my husband and me as we celebrate the new life we created, with our Heavenly Father's help.

The way the love in our family multiplies, not divides, as another person joins our team.

And the amazing amount of love I feel for a little person so new to this earth-life. I know we knew each other before we came here and that our spirits were destined to help each other through our earthly journeys.

Amazing. Quite amazing.

From Laura of My Dream Job.

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Note: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

Embellished Tees

Dudes. My sister-in-law Liz is rocking it with the DIY lately. Check out her ruffle tee how-to here. And her ruffle v-neck how-to here.

Feisty Elle Earrings

These super-hot earrings were spotted throughout Broad Summit weekend. Every attendee received a pair and they were an instant hit. They're made of laser-cut virgin merino wool. So you get a big look with almost no weight. Which is unusual for big earrings. You can find them at Feisty Elle. (I think Eden Kennedy wore them best. She has fantastic cropped hair that looks great with oversize earrings.)

The earrings weren't the only fashion highlight of the summit. I couldn't help but love the festive tights featured by Mai Le, Rebecca Woolf and Maggie Mason. And I studied fashionistas Susan Wagner, Sarah James and Holly Burns all weekend in hopes of picking up some of their classic style.

A Day of Wine Smelling

Saturday at Broad Summit was all about wine tasting, wine pairings and wineries. For the pregnant people (there were 3 of us) and the Mormon people (there were 2 of us), it was all about wine smelling. And being the designated drivers.

Regardless, the day could not have been more gorgeous. The grape harvest was at its peak and the landscape was idyllic. I've been missing the New York fall this year — the apple picking, the pumpkin patches, the fall leaves — and this trip went a long way in filling my autumn-nature-well.




We started with a wine education session by Leslie Sbrocco. We learned how and why we should swirl our wine. How to recognize clarity. What we should be sniffing for. And why a wine taster might spit vs. swallow. Plates of salty and spicy snacks were brought out so we could try different food and wine pairings. I asked a question about how long an open bottle of wine will last before going bad and the answer turned into a discussion about how to make your own vinegar, which I would totally love to try. (Holiday neighbor gifts, anyone?)





Then it was off to the Moshin Vineyards. Which is apparently a major wine processing center. Tons of huge, shiny equipment. Big stacks of barrels. Lots of contrast between old tradition, and new processes. And we ate lunch right there in the stacks of barrels. How cool is that?



During our wine class, we learned that corks are going out of style. It made me a little sad. Because aren't they so pretty?



Our hosts brought out special snacks and interesting non-alcoholic beverages for the designated drivers throughout the day. I loved this Juniper Berry soda by Dry.

At lunch I sat next to Evany Thomas. She is really funny and wore a fantastic braided updo. And I want to buy her book, The Secret Language of Sleep. Other people that were really entertaining to sit next to: Alice Bradley and Jenny Lawson, who are both hilarious. Plus also Maggie because she tells great stories.




After lunch there was another winery visit to Arista. This one much less industrial and more picturesque. While there I traded camera lenses with Heather Champ. She didn't even make fun of me when I didn't know how to take my lens off.



Our last visit was to the Hop Kiln Winery. It looked very old school. The perfect picturesque place for our cheese tasting which was presented by Cheesewhizzes — a self organized group of cheese-tasting women. I think you should totally start a branch in your area.

When I saw the schedule, I wasn't sure what to think of a day of wine tasting that I couldn't really participate in, but I needn't have worried. There was plenty for me to learn and see and do. What a beautiful day.

Sidenote: At the end of the trip, I was feeling really good about how I'd kept my nausea at bay during the whole summit — I hadn't even thrown up once! But within seconds of Ben picking me up at the airport I was retching into an empty cup and within minutes of making it home I had a full-on puke session (surprise!) at the kitchen sink. Basically, as soon as I was home, and could fully relax, there was my trusty nausea.

I've concluded that I must have had a hefty portion my mental energy focused on keeping myself together till the end of the trip. I really didn't want to get sick in front of this lovely group of ladies. And I think I did pretty well — although occasionally someone would look at me like I was a bit green in the face and I would wonder if I was fooling anyone. Ah well. What's done is done.

DDF Skincare

DDF Skincare sponsored Broad Summit and offered the Broads complimentary skin consultations. I've never had a skin consultation and found the whole thing very helpful. I really know very little about proper skin care.

After a brief evaluation/survey about my skin, the DDF consultants walked me through a basic skin care regimen — what products I should use at night, what products are appropriate for day. And then I grilled them with questions: If my skin is sometimes dry and sometimes oily does that mean I have combination skin? What are the difference between age spots and freckles? What are crows feet and do I have them? How small can my pores actually get? Am I still young enough to be thinking prevention? Or are we beyond prevention into treatment stages now?




Turns out I was asking the right questions. Every time I opened my mouth, the DDF girls would deliver great information plus a tube, container or box full of product into my hands. Age spots? Here's the perfect thing. Tired eyes? Try this. Why is the sky blue? Apply this morning and night.

Having just unpacked, I have yet to try my new skincare regimen, but tonight's the night. I'll let you know how it goes.

You may also notice a pair of large-framed sunglasses in one of the photos. Laura Mayes permanently loaned these to me when I realized I hadn't packed any. She said they were her ironic sunglasses. I wore them with compliments all weekend. Leading me to believe ironic is a good look for me.

Broad Summit 2009

Hello! I'm back from Broad Summit. Feeling lucky I was a part of it. I've been mentally debating between one-big-brain-dump-about-the-weekend-post and and a collection of shorter posts over the next week or so and I've decided to go with the collection. So expect to hear bits and pieces — about the attendees, the agenda and the sponsors of Broad Summit — over the next little while.

Starting with this: the retreat was very thoughtfully put together. Every detail attended to. For example, each night when we'd head back to our rooms, attendees would find a little gift on their pillows. The second night it was the hand-colored, signed print featured above. Created by Eric Rewitzer of 3 Fish Studios. Isn't it lovely?

My sincerest thanks to Maggie Mason, Helen Jane Hearn, Aubrey Sabala and Laura Mayes for putting it together.

If you're impatient/curious to know more about the weekend right. this. minute., I've got photos on my Flickr page.

Preserving Children's Artwork — by Guest Mom Carrie Lundell

Who doesn't love their child's drawings? Many children express themselves through art far better than the written or even spoken word, so the attachment is understandable. Yet who among us hasn't thought about chucking every last piece of art when the pile coming home from school, added to what is created at home, threatens to take over every inch of the refrigerator door and fill every drawer in the house?

Here's the million-dollar question: what is worth keeping and what gets tossed (during the night and placed in the outside garbage under mounds of food scraps so there is no evidence of the cruel mommy who doesn't think every piece of her child's art is beautiful and worth saving)? Here's what I do:



1. Display the Art
Even for just a day. If your child is proud of their artwork, show it off. Right now, we use simple magnet clips on the side of the fridge. For a cleaner presentation, this company produces frames that open on hinges, allowing you to swap out your child's art easily and often. Just last week I came upon this ingenious DIY frame with the same purpose and I like it even more. A cute little clothesline like this works famously too.

2. You Save, I Save
Each of my children gets their own "treasure box." They are allowed to keep anything they want in their box, but it must fit in the box. New art often replaces old art in their boxes as they constantly work to make sure the lid stays on the box. I also have my own acid-free "treasure box" for each of them and hold myself to the same rule — I can't save more than what will fit in the box. I save only the most special drawings. They are usually the ones with good stories attached, or where it's obvious my child has spent more than her usual attention span, and I always save "firsts". Like the first time my child drew a circle with arms growing out of the sides and called it "mom" instead of the typical scribbles.



3. Preserve with a (re)Purpose
Preserving your child's art in an acid-free box is one thing, but using it as inspiration to create something else takes preservation to a whole new level. My children love seeing their art come to life as "softies", handkerchief embroidery, carved pumpkins, personalized neckties, t-shirt transfers, and Christmas ornaments. I will admit the time I spend creating with their art might partly be my way of making up for the fact that I throw the majority of their artwork in the trash. If sewing is not your thing, this company creates sterling silver pins out of your child's art and this shop will turn their art into a sweet little pendant, both perfect for gifting.



Whatever you decide to save, make sure to write the child’s name and date on it.Also, remember to record and attach “the story” if it has one. It's all going to be vital information down the road. You always think you’ll remember, but you won’t.

Thanks to Gabrielle for having me here this week. I’ve had a great time sharing with all of you! I hope you’ll take the time to create, preserve and share your family heirlooms.

Fall & Winter Ornaments

I think these are the prettiest things I've seen this week. Apparently, they are supposed to be ornaments (you can even have them engraved), but I think they'd make really extravagant gift tags as well. Or lovely bookmarks. Smart gifts to have on stock through Fall and Winter. Available at Prismera Design.

Hey! Don't forget the Little Alouette Giveaway. The winner will be announced on Monday. Scroll down or click here to find it.

Boon Hotel

I'm on my way to Broad Summit this morning. It's a relatively small gathering (I believe 28 women altogether) of some of my favorite people in the world — including some I have yet to meet. It's in the California wine country and I'm very much looking forward to it. We're staying at the Boon Hotel & Spa. Doesn't it look charming?

Attendees are sharing rooms. And friends, I really hope they paired me with my sister, because I'm telling you right now, you do not want to share a room with this morning sick mamma. If I share with Jordan, she sort of has to endure/forgive me.

Little Alouette Giveaway

Fantastic Giveaway today! Really lovely. You can win a Wee Wood of the Month Subscription, worth $150.00, from Little Alouette.



What in the world is a Wee Wood of the Month Subscription? Good question. Here's the deal: for three months the winner will receive a goodie box of Wee Wood — teething rings, teethers, animal shapes blocks, rattles. Each product is made by hand (made by hand!). And they're gorgeous.

Imagine the Wee Wood coming to be while surrounded by cups of tea, laughing children, and disco music — this is a family company that infuses each product with love and bliss. Doesn't that sound fabulous?



If you've moved beyond teethers and other Wee Wood, I'm certain you should enter anyway. You know this would make a gorgeous gift for your pregnant bff-sister-cousin-neighbor.

Enter by leaving a comment. I'll post a winner on Monday, October 12th.

You find the Little Alouette shop here, with additional goodies at their etsy shop. Get to know this great company at the Little Alouette Blog.

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Congratulations to Lisa R. Lewis. You are the lucky winner of the Wee Wood Subscription from Little Alouette. Hooray!

Putting Heirlooms to Good Use — by Guest Mom Carrie Lundell

Family heirlooms wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and stored safely away from sticky fingers in a cedar chest will easily last for the next 100 years, but the joy and meaning that comes from pulling treasured items out of storage and repurposing them for greater use in our lives is sometimes worth the risk of a slightly shorter heirloom "shelf-life". Hopefully none of you think my ideas are akin to the horrors of painting a piano (which I love, BTW).

-Turn a piece of Grandma's old china into a dessert stand to use at family special occasions.

-Can't bear to part with a concert T full of memories from your youth? Let it live on in all it's glory as a newborn baby gown.

-Grandma's sweet, old linens can be turned into beautiful Easter dresses.



-Think about splitting up Great Grandma's unfinished quilt tops and turning them into numerous baby blankets, children's clothes and even throw pillows.

-If you are lucky enough to have a hanky collector in your family, baby bonnets, curtains, and wall hangings are all great options for putting them to good use in a place besides your runny nose.

-Favorite childhood toys can become decor for your child's room and stay protected when displayed in a shadow box.



-Avid crocheters will usually leave behind stacks of beautiful doilies that no one knows what to do with. Use them to accessorize clothing or integrate them into your home decor.

If you are not lucky enough to have these types of family heirlooms lying around (I have to supplement) but still have a hankering for a "family heirloom-esque" project, items from garage sales, estate sales and thrift stores can easily be substituted for any of the above. Not quite as meaningful, but fun nonetheless.



Find more of Carrie at This Momma Makes Stuff.

Yellow Birthday Party

How cute is this 3-year-old yellow birthday party? I love how the little logo was used throughout. You just can't go wrong with a color theme. See more details at BirdDog Press.

photos by Julie Afflerbaugh

Adrienne Berry's Pregnancy Memory

Last year my husband Brian and I felt it was time to start trying for number 3. Knowing that I am on bed rest for the first half of my pregnancy made it one that I had to gear up to (and my husband, as he became Mr. Mom during that time). Soon after we started trying, we were successful in getting pregnant and I was in bed from week 6 (first of October) through December. From the beginning I knew baby #3 would be a boy. I could feel him fluttering around so early on, it was like a constant reminder that he was letting me know it was all going to turn out fine. I often had thoughts of how blessed we were to be bringing another little boy into our family as I lay there in bed and let my man do all the work.

As I was sick, I started to notice my 4 year old son David was not getting better from a fall cold. It went from cold, to flu, to cold, to flu, to strep. Many days we lay in bed together feeling rotten, but giving lots of snuggles. Then one day he started wetting the bed again. Rancid bad breath ensued and I couldn't put the energy into this change in angry 4 year old behavior. David became aggressive and lethargic. ER visits provided no comfort. Pediatrician visits seemed fruitless. After months of both of us being sick, I told my husband we needed to start having blood tests done on David. At this phase, baby #3 was all but a growing bump in my belly.

On December 1st, I was laying on our front couch making an appointment with our Pediatrician again, requesting blood work to be done and urine tests as well. My other line beeped in and I ignored it. Then as my husband's cell phone rang I was transported into a de ja vous. I knew my dad was calling. He was telling my husband that my mother had suffered a severe stroke. I knew she was near death. As he hung up the phone, I said "She had a stroke didn't she?" This dream had happened all throughout my pregnancy, you know those weird dreams that you have that you just ignore?

Within hours I was in the car driving to visit my mom in the neuro ICU 300 miles away. Brian was to take David to the pediatrician for the blood work.

I thought about my mom, possibly not being able to hold baby #3 or comfort my other two children like grandma's always do.

As I arrived to my mom's bedside, I received a call that David was being rushed to the ER: prognosis Type 1 Diabetes, DKA: Diabetic ketoacidosis is a complication of diabetes that occurs when sugar (glucose) is not available as a fuel source by the body and fat is used instead. David was about 24 hours away from death.

Suddenly anger and fears of caring for another child stemmed and I wasn't sure why I had the crazy idea to grow our family. How could we care for a diabetic child, a toddler and a new baby?

With the prospect of burying my mother and son in the same week, I had to make a decision. Thankfully my mother stabilized after about 12 hours and I was able to turn around to drive back home to David.

As I got to the hospital where he was admitted I was blown away with the information that I had missed out on. IVs, insulin therapy, injections, and my sick little boy - in a yellow hospital nightie. As soon as I saw him, I snuggled up to him on his bed with my now protruding belly. He then rested his hand on my tummy and told me, "Mom, I'm going to be the best big brother when I get feeling better."

There in a hospital bed, I felt two little boy spirits — one so close to death, the other so close to life — and I couldn't help but regret my feelings of anger and inadequacy. No love lacking, my sons taught me a valuable lesson that day.

Sometimes our biggest trials are a blessing in disguise.


4 Generations of boys, 4 generations of girls!

We have learned to live happily with Type 1 Diabetes. Pregnancy gave us something to look forward to, and not dwell on the past few traumatic months. My mother miraculously recovered and since Charlie was born he's been our little ray of sunshine for 2009. Happy and cheerful, he reminds us that, "When life gets you down, Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming swimming swimming!"

From Adrienne of Dingbat Press.

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Note: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

An Adoption Story by Jenny Newcomer

Seven years ago ovarian cancer and its treatment left me, left us, without any reproductive options. So we — my husband Will and I — opened our hearts, our minds, and adoption’s heavy door.

Whether it was our heart, our mind, fate, or a combination of all three, we adopted our daughter four years ago in what most would consider an ideal open adoption. We thank God for Sam, for her wonderful birth family, and, believe it or not, for the cancer that lead us to her.

Fear, however, did not abandon ideal. An emotional rollercoaster pulled up a chair and made itself comfortably uncomfortable in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the delivery: what if the birthmom changed her mind? Could we do this? How do we know? What if something, anything, goes wrong?

She didn’t change her mind — and the adoption went as smoothly as one could reasonably expect an arrangement that involves one woman handing a baby over to another woman to go. The emotions were many and multiple — and I vowed to cherish every moment — quiet, loud, overwhelming, and miraculous — with our little girl because I knew many of those I experienced waiting for her weren’t ones I would experience again.

Until now. We decide to try to adopt a child again.

The tearful exchange of a precious little miracle from woman to woman those four years ago isn’t as vivid as it once was. But the swell of love from and because of that little miracle certainly is. Nothing compares to that swell—and the space for love that Sam has carved out in us is boundless. More love makes more love.



In the six months since Will grinned at my mention of baby number two, it’s the social worker at the door, not the UPS man; pages and pages of application and verification documents stand in piles on the desk not ultrasound imagess; fingerprints and background checks are complete; and we are number 37 on the adoption agency waitlist. After a year & half wait, little Henry arrived into the world destined for us.

From Jenny Newcomer of LobotoME.

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Note: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'll be posting stories about pregnancy, childbirth and growing a family on Wednesdays. You can find them all by clicking here.

Journal Roundup — by Guest Mom Carrie Lundell

It's pretty safe to say blogging has become a new type of journaling. Count me among the people who have tried to ditch the traditional pen to paper, hoping my blog posts will include enough personal history to leave an impact on my posterity. As much as a blog (even printed in book form) helps preserve precious memories, nothing beats the soul of a handwritten, personal journal. But that doesn't mean your handwritten journal needs to be traditional.

Check out these options:

1) Struggle with your personal narrative? Record your life in lists.

2) Are you a bibliophile? Sure, you can share what you've read on GoodReads, but keep a handwritten list too.

3) Do you have vivid dreams? Record them in a dream journal along with interpretations.

4) Don't forget to include the kids! We lament how they "grow up too fast" and struggle to perfectly capture their childhood personality. A child's handwritten journal will not only become a priceless keepsake, but the act of journaling develops a child's verbal and writing skills, releases fear, frustration and anxiety as well as promotes self-awareness and increased self-esteem. Starting them young can also help create a habit of journaling that can last well into their adult years. I created the "This is Me" kid's journal as an easy way for parents to help their children record memories through writing and drawings from as young as 3 years old.

5) With this great, little kids travel journal, your family vacation can be recorded from a whole new perspective.

6) Useful Books upcycled cereal box journals are as unique as your tween — even making pre-teenage "angst" look cute.

Pick a book, grab a pen and join me in some old school journaling. Your kids will thank you for it.

Find more of Carrie at This Momma Makes Stuff.

J Caroline Home Giveaway - EXTENDED

NOTE FROM DESIGN MOM: This Giveaway was supposed to end yesterday (10/5), but my site was super-wonky over the weekend and yesterday too. So I'm extending it for another day. I'll announce the winner tomorrow. I promise. I've moved this to the top so you can find it easily. But there's NEW CONTENT just below. I hope you'll scroll down. : )

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Are you loving this week of pregnancy-related posts? Me too. So much fun, right? And here's some more fun. For today's giveaway I've got a collection of beautiful items from J. Caroline Home up for grab. Pillows and ottomans and chair covers — and YOU get to pick the fabrics! Which is custom. And custom is awesome. Also. Did I tell you this collection is worth over $200?!



One lucky winner will receive:
-Ikea Child's Poang Chair
-Chair Cover in fabric of your choice
-Small Cylinder Ottoman in fabric of your choice
-Small Cube Ottoman in fabric of your choice
-One small personalized pillow in fabric of your choice

So many happy patterns and colors — what a treat to browse the collections. Leave a comment to enter. I'll pick a winner on Monday, October 5th (Extended! The winner will be announced on Wednesday, October 7th). BONUS: get an awesome 20% discount on your J Caroline Home purchases by using the code DESIGNMOM at checkout. Sweet!



Yay for J Caroline Home and yay for giveaways!

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Update: Congratulations to Suzanna H! You are the lucky winner. Have fun picking out your favorite J. Caroline Home fabrics.

Hands On Small Business in Denver

So. The first two (of 100) Hands On Small Business Sessions were held last night. One in Charlotte. One in Atlanta. Both sold out. Awesome! Although maybe "sold out" isn't the right term. Because the classes are free (free!).

There are more classes happening this week. And throughout the next 5 weeks. There are still some dates and locations being finalized. But for most cities, you can already register. Find all the info you need at Hands On Small Business.

For those of you in the Denver area (hey local peeps!), the first class will be held this Thursday. Taught by the fabulous Aimee Greeblemonkey. You'll learn about some great tips for organizing your business and building a website by Office Live. You'll also learn about some tools for communicating with your customers and promoting your business. Here are the deets:

Thursday, October 8th
6:30pm - 8:30pm
at Klein Buendel
1667 Cole Blvd. Suite No. 225
Golden, Colorado 80401
(303) 565-4321

I'll be there. With bells on. And I hope you're coming too. Because I can't wait to see you. You can register here.

One last thing: a little birdie told me the event may be getting some news coverage. So you might want to put on some lip gloss. Just saying.

Bambako

Ooooh. Look at the pretty headbands made by Bambako. Time to channel your inner Blair Waldorf.

The Birth of A Family Heirloom — by Guest Mom Carrie Lundell

During these past few years, instead of hoarding her cedar chest full of family heirlooms, my mother has started giving them as Christmas gifts. It has made for some pretty intense White Elephant gift exchange games with alliances to match any Survivor season. That's how I won the gorgeous bowl you see above.

It's THE popcorn bowl. The one my family used every Sunday night when we gathered together to watch "That's Incredible", the "Disney Movie of the week", or "Ripley's Believe it or Not". It's has no real monetary value, but the Christmas it came into my possession might have been one of the best Christmases ever. Now, it's OUR popcorn bowl, the one my kids eat out of every time we watch a movie together. I couldn't be happier.

So what makes something become a family heirloom anyway? The old beat up popcorn bowl has taught me expense has nothing to do with it, and for all you non-crafters out there, it also doesn't need to be homemade. What I think family heirlooms must have are:

1. A personal/time factor. This can either be time a person spent making the item, or time a person spent using the item. The popcorn bowl is a perfect example. It played (and is still playing) a huge part in our family movie tradition.

2. A story. Without a story, an heirloom loses its value to a family very quickly.

When my father left to join the Air Force, he told his girlfriend to date around. She did, but quickly realized she wanted to wait for him to come back home. As soon as he got the letter stating as much, he mailed her an engagement ring. During those years my father was stationed overseas, he wrote his fiance many letters as she waited for him to return. And when he got home, she was still waiting and they got married. You can't imagine the joy I felt after hearing this story as a teenager and then finding the old stack of letters in our cedar chest addressed to my mom. I made my mom promise those love letters would be mine someday.



Remember the stories. Share the stories. Record the stories. They are almost as valuable as the family heirlooms themselves. And remember, family heirlooms always have a beginning. Be aware of the heirlooms that are being born in your own family right now.

I would love to hear about everyone else's treasured, yet unusual family heirlooms. Please share!

Find more of Carrie at This Momma Makes Stuff.

Welcome Carrie Lundell!

photo credit: James Carson Photography

Note from Design Mom: How happy am I that I get to introduce a new Guest Mom? So super happy. Meet Carrie Lundell. Beautiful. Smart. Creative. You're going to love everything she has to offer. Here's a quick intro straight from our guest:

I'm so delighted to be a guest mom here at Design Mom this week. Not sure how I am supposed to follow the fantastic news and beautiful posts from last week! What I can say, as someone who has always loved being part of a large family, is that I couldn't be more happy for Gabrielle and the new addition to the Blair family.

Now, a little about me. First, I've been married to a great guy for just over 13 years (any other teenage brides in the house?) and together we make really cute kids (three so far). Before the mini-van, I graduated with a degree in Fashion Design and worked designing little girls clothing for a few different companies, the most well-known being Old Navy in NYC (if you want to tell me their little girls stuff was cuter back then, you totally can). While designing for money has become a thing of the past for me, designing for pleasure will always continue on. And honestly? I get to live a way more creative life now than I did back then.

When it comes to all things creative, however, I tend to be a little ADD, never sticking to one medium or project for very long (as evidenced by the range of projects recorded on my personal blog,This Mama Makes Stuff. Beyond my creative side, my interests span from mountain biking & garage sale-ing to public school advocacy and karaoke. Two years ago, I added business ownership on top of it all when I decided to create and independently publish a kid's journal. With interests, responsibilities and loves constantly pulling me in all directions, I have been trying to shed the self-given, "attention deficit" label and try on the more beautiful label of "renaissance woman". Sounds better, right?

This week, on Design Mom, I'll be posting about a few of my biggest loves: family heirlooms, histories, and keepsakes. Don't worry, no scrapbooking or geneology required (just maybe a little rummaging, sewing, and reflecting). Hope you get a chance to read, share, and get inspired!

Happy Tuesday, Friends!

So I've got a few little notes to share:

1) Sorry for the site wonky-ness over the weekend and yesterday. In preparation for a site update (it's about time don't you think), we were messing with the server. My apologies if you couldn't access the blog. It should be good to go today.

2) It was so much fun to host all those lovely stories last week about women growing their families. So much fun in fact, that I think we should make it a tradition. My plan: for the duration of my pregnancy, I'm going to post more stories every Wednesday of every week. Starting tomorrow. For reals.

Many of you have already sent in your thoughts on pregnancy, childbirth and adoption. I look forward to posting some of those stories and inviting others to join in as well. Now we can all look forward to Wednesdays together.

By the way, to find all the growing families stories in one place, you can go here.

3) Because of the wonky-ness, I've decided to extend the J Caroline Home Giveaway for one more day. I'll republish it at the top so it doesn't get lost.

4) I've got a great Guest Mom this week that you'll love to meet. Watch for her introduction and first post in the next little bit.



5) I could not be more excited to get the house ready for Halloween! The kids pulled out the Halloween box yesterday. Remember those awesome plates (find instructions here)? The spooky branches? I can't wait to see how everything looks in our new dwelling. Fun!! What are you guys doing for Halloween decorations? Anything especially rad?

Donna McEvoy's Pregnancy Thoughts

My mom and baby me.

Navajos believe that those closest to the Spirit World are new babies, pregnant women, and the very old. That's because babies are newly arrived from the Spirit World, the expecting mother is in contact with the SW, and the old person will soon depart for the SW. (Navajo friends, correct me if necessary).

It fits. As a lady-in-waiting, you feel a Spirit close, and the new babies, well, we all arrive as Wordsworth says: "...trailing clouds of glory do we come...from God who is our home."

PS: In later years a hysterectomy gave me a new realization. The surgery made me feel cut off from the Eternities. As a women capable of bearing children, I had felt that privileged connection.

From my Mother, Donna McEvoy (who is on a mission in Russia, by the way).


Stanley Christmas card photo from 1976. Jake, Rachel, Sara, Joshua and me.

Note from Design Mom: My parents worked as teachers among the Navajo Nation for years. In fact, my oldest brother Jake, is a member of the Navajo tribe.

Julia Blair's Pregnancy Thoughts

Robert and Julia Blair with their oldest 3 kids, Margaret, Dell and Bobby.

I'm honored and delighted to remember my child-bearing days.

I'll soon be 77 and I find myself wondering how I could ever have complained about the joy and thrill of having a new baby. Of course I remember the queasiness, the awkwardness, the ordered bed-rest, etc. But mostly I am consumed with wonder and gratitude and nostalgia for the soft, helpless, beautiful babies that came through me.

I marvel how I treasure the memory and the joy of holding and nursing a new-born babe. Thinking now as a great-grandma, about the responsibility and trust placed on us naive, new and young parents, I stand all amazed! The miracle through it all is love, love, love along with faith and trust and knowing that we follow long lines of mothers, mothers, mothers! Families! Families! Families!

From my Mother-in-law, Julia Blair.

Liz Gumbinner's Pregnancy Advice

Most books have it all wrong.

Enduring pregnancy isn’t a matter of getting enough sleep, sucking on ginger candies, or kegel marathons.

Really, it all comes down to storing up a repetoire of snappy comebacks to stupid questions.

Mostly the ones I received were about my size — I was too small, too big, way too big, and should I really be eating so many chocolate chip pancakes?

In Gabby’s case, no doubt it will be about the size of her beautiful family. And while she’s far too gracious to use any of these, I would have some stock answers ready to go. Just in case.

-Yes we planned it. It seemed a shame for that last seat in the minivan to go to waste.

-Yes we planned it. I hear we get a free toaster with every sixth baby.

-Yes we planned it. Now only 12 more to go!

Those forty weeks may seem long but really, they’re a small price to pay.

After all, look what we have to show for it.



From Liz of Mom 101 and Cool Mom Picks.

Laura Mayes' Thoughts on Being Two People

Thoughts on Being Two People

I feel that I need to start by saying, it's basically insane that I'm on Gabby's blog talking about pregnancy or having children. Because, G is the first person I'd call if I had ever a question about either. In other words, you should not ask me. And if you do, I'll just ask her anyway.

But here are two things I know about being pregnant:

1. Wear a bathing suit whenever possible. Seriously. Wear it around the house. Wear it to church. Whatever. I mean, you're probably hot (temperature wise) anyway, especially as you get further along, so it helps with that. And, also, you're totally looking hot (smokin' hot wise) because a.) you're glowing, everyone is telling you this and b.) your giant stomach makes your backside look smaller. Think about it. You've really never looked better, so wear that tankini to Target. Trust me on this one.

2. Enter as many strength competitions as possible. Now's your time. Because you're not just a giant person, you're two giant people. And two giant people can kick one giant person's arse (is it okay to say arse on here?) every time. You will win every wrestling match you enter. I guarantee it. Because besides your gargantuan-ness, no one wants to say they beat the pregnant chick. Bad form. They'll totally make you feel like you won. And really, you have.



Thoughts on Being a Mother

This part gets a little more serious, because face it, there's nothing more serious than sleep loss. And here's a little preview of something that's included in the upcoming Kirtsy Takes a Bow book that's coming out late this month. Watch for it. It includes essays, photographs, tweets, ideas, and input on all of the nine Kirtsy categories (Arts & Entertainment; Design & Crafts; Family & Parenting; Fashion & Style; Food & Home; Internet & Technology; Mind, Body & Spirit; Travel & Leisure; Politics, World & Business) from more than 100 bloggers, including Mrs. Blair, here. But here's the one I submitted. You saw it on Design Mom first:


What Makes A Mother?

Someone recently asked me, "What Makes You a Mother?" And here I am coming up on my second Mother's Day as a mom, and I have no idea how to answer this question.

Because obviously there isn't an answer.

At least if there is, I don't completely understand it.

After all, it's not about being pregnant and having a baby. Because of course, you don't need to do these two things to be a mother. That said, I've been pregnant three times. I have one beautiful son. And even as I type this, I'm literally shedding tears for the other two babies I lost. Because I was their mother. And I celebrate them too this weekend.

It's also not about doing anything. Because there are a million ways to do everything, and I'm guessing at least 96% of the options are completely valid, good, and right.

So I guess being a mother is mainly about the being. And, as they say, being is mainly about being present in any given moment. But in this moment, as I sit here two days before my second Mother's Day, my precious little boy is spending two days with his grandmother and grandfather, and my husband and I are having our first-ever childless vacation at home. Which means I'm not presently being in any moment with my child. It also means I slept in past 7:30 a.m. for the first time in 19 months. I woke up on my own, without my Hurricane alarm clock. And I made coffee before I changed a diaper. It's been an incredibly lazy morning, just the kind I like.



However, as I sit here drinking that coffee (and typing), I swear I keep thinking I hear the little whimpers my beautiful little son makes when he wakes from a sleepy nap. And then, I realize he's not here right now, and I have that oh darn feeling, like when you wake up from a great dream and realize you aren't really George Clooney's girlfriend. That's what I'm experiencing.

See, even though I can do whatever I want today, I keep thinking about what he's doing. In fact, I'm seriously resisting the urge to call my mom and see what they're doing right now. And I can't wait to see him tomorrow.

Because my thoughts are always with him. And even though my life doesn't revolve around and through him (because that's pressure he doesn't need), his is a very cherished room in our incredibly way full busy, beloved, and blessed house.

And even though on any given day, I would and will daydream for a day like this and remember my open-schedule days of yesteryear with blissful longing and a rose-colored sigh...here I am.

Enjoying the eye of the storm, but really missing the Hurricane.

Because I'm no longer that person of yesteryear. My heart has added an extra room.

And whether I completely understand it or not, I'm changed.

And that's what makes me a mother.


From Laura of Blog con Queso and Kirtsy.

Isabel Kallman's Birth Day Advice

See this picture? What do you see? You probably notice me nuzzling my newly–born son. Aww. Me? Yes, I see that too. But what I remember about this photo is my awful hair stuck in a rubberbanded bun. I admit I’m vain.

Remember your wedding? Remember the painstaking decisions over photographers, make-up and hair? Why? Because that stuff is being recorded forEVER in photographs and video and then being shared with friends all over the internet and shown to generations of family thereafter.

Well, same thing with the requisite new baby pictures. That’s right. Those photos get a lot of play too. The baby may be the center of attraction, but everyone loves to get a shot of the mom.

During childbirth (whether you’re medicated or not), there will be physical exertion. You will be laboring and pushing. And sweaty blown-out hair is still much better than sweaty non-blown-out hair.

If you’re pregnant for the first-time, you’re probably wondering exactly when you will have the time. A first-time mom will labor for approximately 24 hours. Even if you plan on requesting pain medication, like an epidural, a substantial part of your laboring will NOT take place at your birth facility, but at home. If that laboring takes place during the day, distraction is your best technique for easing contractions in the early phase. And thus this is the perfect time to get a hair blow-out. Also, I hate to break it to you, it may be the last time you’ll get one for a while.



If you can’t get your hair looking all purty for the main event, then I suggest you at least look in the mirror before the bulbs start flashing. You can thank me later.

From Isabel Kallman of Alphamom.

Pregnancy Thoughts by Irene from Bloesem

Irene, 30 weeks pregnant and her son, Lode.

Congratulations Gabrielle with this very good news. Of course I wish you a wonderful pregnancy. Not too long ago I was pregnant myself and I remember clearly how thankful (and relieved) I was every time I came back from my gynocologist knowing the baby was doing great — although I kept worrying even though he had told me everything was fine.

Yes, I'm the kind of mom who worries (and is in a panicky state) the entire 9 months. Caught between this amazing feeling of carrying a child inside of me and fear of the worst things that could happen to my baby. So basically for better or for worse I spend most of these 9 months in a sort of twilight zone. Very happy and very scared. I mean BIG time scared — will everything be okay? is it normal to feel like this? is my belly too small? — people asking me in week 30 whether I'm in my first trimester certainly doesn't help : ) And having had 3 miscarriages before didn't help either.

But I guess I am rather persistent and my wish to have a family is much bigger than my fear. So a new healthy baby boy arrived in our family. (Our second son. Men rule the house now — or at least that is what they think. 1:3 ratio. A walk in the park for any mom. And all 3 of them worship me (smile).) Looking back now I can only think of the special feeling I had knowing life was growing inside of me. It truly is the most spectacular feeling and I'm utterly amazed how this is even possible. Yeah, us women know how to create life (with a little help) and we should be so proud of this!

Living in Malaysia made my pregnancy much easier compared to living in the Netherlands, this might seem strange to you, because the Dutch healthcare system is pretty sophisticated, but when it comes down to pregnancies the Dutch tend to be behind the curve it seems. I admit, pregnancy is a natural thing, but to do away with regular check-ups, ultrasounds, painkillers and the almost enforced home deliveries (that is, if you don't deliver at home there must be something wrong with your attitude) — just not my cup of tea I think. Nope. I'd rather be in a safe environment and oh boy was I right.

My second boy was born via a c-section because on one of the ultrasounds the doctor noticed the cord was strangled around his neck and didn't want to take any risks, so at 36 weeks + 4 days the c-section was planned and when he was born we discovered the little Houdini had wrapped the cord around his neck 7 times. Seven times! With no regular ultrasounds after 20 weeks in the Netherlands I don't think anyone would have noticed and if they had I sincerely doubt whether they would never have delivered him so early.

I can't even begin to think of the possible consequences, so here's my big thank you for the fantastic doctors in Malaysia!! And for all of you who are pregnant I can only say ENJOY, enjoy. And for all of you who would like to get pregnant and have difficulties, don't give up. It took me and my husband 8 years as well and the wait was definitely worth it. No fear!

From Irene of BloesemKids.