All the Sun For You

A mom, two boys, a husband, and a whole lot of adventure!


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New Milestone!

It’s been a long time since I posted more than once in a day – but I have a milestone to record!

Matthew has been walking a lot this week just holding one of our hands.  He used to insist on holding both hands, but this all changed this past week.  I think he’s realized he can move faster if he holds just one hand.  At baby gym yesterday, he would stand unsupported on the mats for at least 5 seconds, over and over again (he does the same thing in the tub, surprisingly).  Everyone at baby gym insisted he’d be walking early.  I insisted that he’s way too cautious for that.

He made me eat my words today!

We were at my friend’s daughter’s soccer practice and Matthew was hanging onto my pant leg with one hand – and then he suddenly let go and took off.  He only took two steps – but he did it again and again!  I was told by the other mothers that this counts as his first steps (I still won’t say he’s walking, because he isn’t).  I cannot believe it.  Where did my cautious little boy go?

He won’t do it now that we’re home.  It took a puppy and a bunch of girls on a soccer field who he desperately wanted to play with to entice him to try.  We’ll take him to a busy park tomorrow (one with a dog park!) to see if he’ll do it for Daddy!  (B missed it – he’s out of town for the night for a much deserved beer-making class!)

Of course he did this just 3 hours after I bought him a little push toy so he can walk around the house without being limited to only places he can get to by cruising the furniture.  😉


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Fool Me Twice

Sleep – it’s the topic that dominated my blog for a couple of weeks and now?  Now we don’t really even think about it.  I nurse Matthew to sleep at bedtime and before each nap and then I put him down.  Instead of worry about when he’ll wake up again, I move onto other things, fun things, MY things.

Sure, I always wonder when he’ll wake up, because he’s still not a 10-12 hour sleeper.  But I don’t let it consume me like I used to.  I used to sit up until midnight or 1:00 AM just KNOWING that he’d be up again soon (so why bother going to sleep?).  I’m now going to bed around 11:00, and it’s wonderful!

We still have our struggles.  Matthew used to get up any time between 6 and 7 (and that was perfect!), but now after a pretty rotten cold, he is getting up in the 5:00 hour and this morning, he was up at 4:20 (GASP!).  I didn’t even try to get him to go back to sleep today – I just picked him up and brought him to our bed.  Problem solved!  I have hope and confidence that tomorrow will be back to normal – or close to it.  In the old days, I’d be stressing about this ONE morning possibly wrecking everything.  HA!

Naps are way better than they were.  I’ve worked in story time before each nap and that seems to help.  When he pushes the book away, I know he’s ready to settle in so that’s what we do.  I’m transferring him to the crib after just 10-20 minutes now (if it’s up to 20 minutes, it’s because I’m reading blogs on my phone and am comfy with my baby) and he’ll usually sleep for at least another hour.

I just cannot believe that we went from the disaster we were living to this very predictable sleeping and napping schedule.  We get two solid naps in each day and they’re usually 1-2 hours in length each.  Matthew is also waking up from his naps so well.  He woke up today and I didn’t even know it.  I turned on the video monitor just to check on him because it had been almost 2 hours and there he was, sitting up in his crib, playing with his Boo and babbling to himself.  No crying.  No freak-out.  He woke up happy and entertained himself.  Now – if we could only get him to wake up in the mornings this way!

We are the furthest thing from being the poster children for the Ferber method or sleep training in general, but I’m pleased with what we’ve accomplished.  I know that the crux of our problem was age and stage.  We waited too long to start helping him sleep, and Matthew was able to stand up in the crib (but couldn’t get down) and protest for as long as his legs would hold him (and that was proven to be more than 70 minutes one night).  Given the whole standing up issue – we should have helped him sleep earlier, or put it off until he could get himself back down.  Oh, the lessons we learn!

The next baby will be introduced to sleep training starting at 4 months.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice?  No – it isn’t going to happen!

The Many Ways That Matthew Gets His Sleep:

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One More Time

I was inspired by Allison to visit my grandpa today.  I love my grandpa – he’s very special to me and is my final living grandparent.  No matter what family drama was going on at the time during my childhood (and there was always at least one going on at all times), my grandma and grandpa were always very good to me.  My grandma passed away this past winter and that was hard on me – very, very hard.  I think of her at least once a day – and always when I see something that’s purple.  She loved purple!  I spoke at my grandma’s funeral on behalf of the family and cried through the whole thing.  I was a wreck.  When I got done, I told my family that there is no way that I can do the same for my grandpa, because it would be even harder to get through.  But – when the time comes – I’m sure I’ll speak again on behalf of the family because I’ll want to send him off with warm, spoken words all about him and his influence on my life.

Grandpa is doing well – too well, or so he says.  He told me today that he’s doing too well and that he just wants to go be with my grandma.  I get that.  It breaks my heart a little because I will miss him terribly when he does go to be with her, but it also warms my heart.  Theirs was a love affair like no other – and I’m sure he just aches for her.

Grandpa loves babies and little kids.  Nothing makes him happier than seeing and talking to a baby.  He can be in the worst of health or moods, but the entrance of a baby turns his entire day around. I didn’t tell him that I was coming today.  B had a work meeting in Omaha (right across the river from my home town) so I tagged along.  I called my parents on my way back and they were tied up with doctor appointments, but visiting them was not my priority.  When I got to my folks’ house, I called my grandpa over and over again to let him know I was on my way to see him, but he never answered.  So – I loaded Matthew up in the car and just headed up there.

We found Grandpa in the dining hall – all by himself.  The sight of him alone hurt my heart.  He gets up late so he eats breakfast around 11:00, after everyone else is long gone.  He couldn’t see who was approaching him, but he saw a baby and lit up like a Christmas tree.  When he finally realized that we were there to see HIM, and that it was his favorite grandchild (truly – I know that I am – it’s no secret!) – he teared up.  My heart hurt again.

We had a wonderful visit – a truly wonderful visit!  We watched Matthew crawl and cruise around the open area and laughed as he found new things to explore.  Grandpa told me again how he met my grandma and how they dated while he was in law school.  I felt bad because I had to interrupt the conversation a couple times to tell Matthew to be safe, but he understood.  Grandpa would stop whatever he was saying, and say, “oh, Honey – oh, Honey.  He is just the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen!  Aren’t you so happy?”  Yes, Grandpa, I am!

We went back to his “apartment” to visit because it was now time for the other folks to use the dining hall for lunch.  Matthew was ALL about climbing in Grandpa’s lap.  Had my dad been there, he would have said that it wasn’t a good idea to let Grandpa hold him without help, but I was comfortable with it and I stayed close.  Matthew and Grandpa had a nice chat, and I had a wonderful time watching them.  There was so much laughter and noise – and I know that it made my grandpa’s week (it made mine as well!).

As we left, Matthew waved “bye bye” and I got to tell Grandpa one more time that I love him.  I never know if it’s the last time – so I say it many, many times before I leave.  Grandpa likes to say, “God bless,” as you walk out the door.  I’m not the most religious gal, but for Grandpa, I always say it back to him.

Memories were made today – and pictures were taken.  Thank God for camera phones!

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My Drivel

Someone is having a birthday at this very moment in our house – my DH!  I am sitting right next to him (he’s doing some prep work for work tomorrow) and just looked at the clock and realized that it’s officially his birthday right now!  We aren’t doing anything too crazy for his birthday due to this paleo/primal lifestyle we’re living.  I’m not even allowed to make him a cake!  He would rather cook here at home than eat out so that’s what we’ll do.  We are going to get a smoker for his birthday present – goes well with this new lifestyle we’re living.

Speaking of the lifestyle, it is going great!  I continue to shed weight.  I’ve lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks.  Not bad!  We have found that eating the way we do, that we rarely feel hungry and never feel too full.  I mean – NEVER.  I have not felt bloated in over three weeks now.  That is remarkable to me!  I was constantly bloated prior to this change.  For the record, I have cheated a couple of times, but that’s because I had good reasons.  No it’s not.  I did not have good reasons!  HA!  I went to Wend-y’s once with the intention to get the grilled chicken sandwich and not eat the bun.  It was too slippery that way, so I ate the bun.  I then proceeded to D-Q for a blizzard since I’d already ruined the day.  See how I think?!  HA!  It was the best damned blizzard I’ve ever had!  I did notice a slight decrease in my milk supply when we went to this lifestyle, so I do eat dairy (cheese, sour cream) a couple of times a week as I’ve found that that helps.  Don’t ask me why – there is no legitimate reason.  I did not use the milk supply excuse for the blizzard.  I used the, “Matthew is sleeping in the back seat and he really needs his sleep and I need to keep the car moving so I’ll go to D-Q for an unnecessary blizzard,” excuse.

Big things happened over the weekend!

WE BOOKED A TRIP!  I am a homebody – I don’t have to travel.  I like to travel, but I want it planned out for me and you’ll rarely hear me say, “let’s take a huge trip to such-and-such a place.”  Unless it’s Lake Tahoe or Utah (which are both at the top of my list), you’re just not going to hear me say that.  I think it’s because trips were always so stressful when we were kids – my parents just did not make it easy to get to places.  Once there, we had a ball – but getting there put both of my parents on edge and now I’m like that too.  It’s really too bad.  Anyway – so where are we going?  B works for a big company based out in the Seattle area and he goes out every July for annual technical briefing.  We are going to go the week before his briefing and travel around the Seattle, Redmond, San Juan Islands area.  I am so excited!  We booked a really neat hotel in Willows and we did it without even thinking – just called them up, asked what the corporate rate is for B’s company, and booked it!  I now need to buy plane tickets.  I am not at all stressed about this trip.

Matthew put on his swim trunks for the first time and played in my friend’s sprinkler.  He loved it!  She also filled a storage tub up with water for him to make a tiny little “Matthew pool” and he thought that was just too much fun!  I have TONS of photos but not on my computer.  I’ll try to post them for”Almost Wordless Wednesday.”  There were four little girls there between 7 and 11 who could not get enough of him, so he put on quite the show for them!  He continues to be a very social, happy baby.  We are so lucky!

We saw both B’s and my parents this past weekend.  That was nice!  The visit from my parents was planned, but our visit to B’s parents was not planned and I think that makes it fun!  We were driving up their direction and decided to see if they wanted to get together.  We did go to the Farmer’s Market before seeing his folks but that was sort of a bust.  The only food available to eat was pastries and sandwiches, and the produce was not that great – it’s just not the right time for fresh produce in Iowa yet.  So – we walked around and got some vitamin D before heading over to my IL’s house for lunch.  Matthew played with a super fun train set while we were there and we now think we need to get him one for his birthday  😉

My younger sister asked me to join her Etsy business this past weekend!  SO EXCITED!  I, of course, asked B his thoughts first but was so thrilled when he was on board!  We are working out the kinks and I’m going to pitch her/our product to a local store here.  We’ve also come up with lots of other ideas and directions for the business – so we’re in full-on creative mode right now.  We are renaming her store and are trying to think of catchy names.  This little business won’t be a major income, but it could provide the monthly college fund savings we’ve committed to and that would be nice!    More to come on this.  I’m joining her slowly so that we make a smooth transition.  I’ve already found a local partner to help pitch the product(s) to her own clients and I’m really excited about (and grateful for) that!

Matthew’s banner is coming along so well, you guys!  I am so pleased with it!  I connected it together tonight and hung extra, decorative ribbons on it as well.  I took a photo but B is in it and even though I’m not anonymous here, we try to keep him anonymous.  HA!  The banner is stored away now until show-time.  I did not attach the letters/animals yet for storage reasons.  I will put it fully together a couple of days before Matthew’s birthday and I’ll post photos then.  I am now moving onto his other party items which include the cake topper/decorations (I changed gears on the cake), cupcake toppers, the mobile/chandelier (the base is made and it worked out great after a few trials and errors!), centerpiece animals (hard to explain), party hats (I will buy the plain hats and simply stick on a couple of things), felt animal weights for the balloons, and possibly a tag for the party favors.  Which brings me to a question:  party favors or not?  I hate them – but thought of a cute idea.  I do think it’s stupid though to have to do party favors.  What do you guys think?  I’ve already gotten one vote and she’s in my corner (don’t do them).  The only reason I may do them is if I have time to make the custom tags for them.

What else?  Oh – this.  I’ve read a TON of wonderful blogs over the weekend.  I think Friday was a very profound day for so many bloggers!  I read so many meaningful things and it made me question my own “fluffy” blogging.  I wondered, “why does anyone read my drivel when there’s all of this good, thought-provoking stuff out there?”  That thought lasted just a split second, but I thought it nonetheless.  I still need to read a particular “non bucket list” but have been wanting to save some good down-time for it.  I read the intro and have already decided that I’m going to do one too (as challenged by the author) but that I really want to put some thought into it.

We go to “the cabin” in less than two weeks now!  No – it’s not our cabin, but it’s a nice one that we rented a month ago and we’re going to treat it like “our cabin” and try to get there a few times a year.  I cannot wait!

(side note – I just spell-checked this post and it appears that I like to use, “a couple of times,” quite often, lending itself well to my description of my posts as drivel!)


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I Do Love My Crafts (and the Parties that Go With Them!)

B has been out of town for three nights, which means I’ve had time each night to work on Matthew’s birthday banner!  What a load of work this thing is!  I’m still not done, but it’s really close now.  All the detail work is done and I just need to string it together (not sure how I’m going to do that just yet) and then glue the letters on.  I probably won’t do those things until just before his birthday because storing it fully constructed would likely ruin it.  When I set out to do this, I didn’t think it would take too terribly long.  I forgot that I’m a perfectionist when it comes to crafts and parties.   I have re-done many of the letters because they weren’t perfect.  Some still aren’t – but I’m going to let them go!

Next up?  I’ve decided to make a mobile for my friend’s baby shower with all of the advice cards that people fill out.  I am very pleased to say that I came up with this idea on my own!  I am not an original crafter – oh no!  I’m a WONDERFUL copier of great craft ideas, but this one came to me with no prompting from Etsy or Pinterest.  I AM SHOCKED BY THIS.  I’ve gone to lots of showers (even my own) where people write very heart-felt notes and advice on some cutesy form or die-cut, and then you never look at them again.  I loved what people wrote to me, but they’re now sitting in a box in Matthew’s cupboard.  So what I’m going to do is make die-cuts of bees and honey combs (her theme is bees) and have people write advice on those.  I will then take them all and make a mobile out of them.

I’ve never made a mobile in my life.  I did scour Etsy and Pinterest for instructions or examples and found several – so I bought my supplies today.  I am going to make a practice mobile to see if I’m even any good at it – I’d hate to ruin her advice cards on an ugly mobile.  S0… I will make one that matches Matthew’s birthday theme and hang it above the table where we set up the food.  Then – it will go into his bedroom after the party.

I don’t know where this crafting desire came from all of a sudden.  I’ve always loved, loved, LOVED making invitations (can’t wait to make the shower invitations for my friend!!!) but beyond that, I usually start projects and never finish them.  I’ve got to finish these projects – I don’t have a choice.

After the mobile – I will practice his birthday cake!  The friend whose shower I’m hosting is a FABULOUS cake decorator – especially with fondant – so she is going to help me.  She even reminded me last night that we have to do that soon – like within a couple weeks.  I will post photos.

Here is the banner so far… it is different from what I posted last night because each card now has ribbon around the edges (in case you were wondering!).


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My First (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I can’t promise that every Wednesday will be so wordless!

Matthew has a rotten cold, and we did not sleep much last night (I was up until 2 working on his birthday banner – he woke up coughing at 3 and was up until 5 – and back up at 7), but we salvaged the day and had a super fun day together!

I love this boy more and more every day – he is just SO MUCH FUN!!!!

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The Difference a Lightbulb (or 10!) Makes

Seriously – we had 10 burned out light bulbs in our house.  We have this chandelier in our entry that is just a tad too high for B or me to reach to replace the bulbs (I’m 5’7, he’s 5’8) – and we didn’t have a stable enough ladder to get to them.  Our step stool is not tall enough because the light is mounted on a vaulted ceiling.  We would con my dad into replacing a bulb or two whenever he’d be in town (he is tall enough to use the step-ladder).  The bulbs that came with the house were total and complete crap, so they were burning out left and right.  We would just get done having my dad replace a couple, and then another one or two would burn out.  It was driving us nuts – but not nuts enough to go buy an expensive extension ladder to replace them ourselves.  This morning, there were 5 bulbs burned out in that thing – and only 4 remained lit!

Then there are the recessed canned lights in the kitchen.  Over a year ago, I decided to replace a bulb while B was out of town.  We have one of those super long extension rods with special light bulb attachments.  I used the nifty spring-loaded one and when doing it, I ripped the can right out of the ceiling.  Our ceiling is 16 feet high, so you can imagine how easy that was to fix.  We didn’t even try to con anyone to come over to fix that for us.  We were going to have a handy man come out to fix it, but never got around to it.  Of course, every time my dad was in town, he’d mention it and tell us to fix it.  (Why do dads always feel compelled to tell us what we need to do, according to them?) Another canned light burned out in the kitchen last week – so we had two to replace and one can to fix.

Then there is the light at the bottom of the stairs in the basement that burned out last week, that B didn’t even know existed!

And finally, there are a couple canned lights in the basement that were burned out that neither of us noticed.  I only noticed them when the previously mentioned light burned out.  Neither of us spends too much time in the basement (cat-related) so they truly went unnoticed by us both.

Today, we bought that super fancy, expensive extension/step ladder.  You know the one – it’s like the Little Giant but cheaper.  What’s really stupid about this story is that the ladder isn’t that expensive – it was just expensive enough that we’d rather spend the money on a new suit, or clothes for Matthew, or eating out.

In a matter of 60 minutes, the ceiling canned light was FIXED, all bulbs were replaced with CFL’s (so they should last longer but we’ll see – they also advertise that they’ll each save us $44 a year in energy bills – yeah right!), and my mood was completely elevated.  I HATE burned out light bulbs.  I cannot stand them.  I am one of those people who will get depressed when it’s dreary outside, so you can only imagine what I’m like when my house is dimly lit ALL THE TIME.

I walk around the house in complete awe of how beautifully bright it is.  I am so happy!  I honestly think that the bulbs being burned out can explain about 90% of my rotten mood when I’m irritable.

There are still 3 bulbs to replace in the bedroom, but we got the wrong size.  We didn’t even know that there were 3 lights in that fixture until the last one burned out this past week.  I wonder if the two bulbs have been burned out since we bought the house.  I can’t wait to see how bright the room is tomorrow when I get those replaced!


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What He’s Eating

It’s time to do a food update!  As B and I get further and further down the paleo/primal road, we’ve been trying to introduce Matthew to more and more of our foods.  We are not in agreement as to how big a piece of food is too big 😉 but we are in agreement on what Matthew needs to be trying.  For instance, we went to Texas Road.house today and both of us were feeding him our ribs, broccoli, and green beans.  Matthew and I went to Chick Fil A (how do you really spell that place?) very impromptu on Thursday after his gymnastics class.  I had no food for him.  Not a problem.  He ate grilled nuggets, applesauce (a little too sugary for our taste, but what are you going to do?), and yogurt.  Success!  It’s nice that it’s gotten to the point where we can make unplanned stops for food and still be able to feed the boy!

This list is the same as before, but with updates in bold.  New foods are at the bottom:

Carrots -STILL loves, loves, LOVES carrots!

Sweet pea puree – took 3 tries but now loves it! (Why, then, does he not love my split pea stew?!)

Spaghetti squash – no, no, no (I didn’t make him try it more than once because I tried it and thought it was awful)

Butternut squash – LOVES it!

Sweet potato puree – This is his comfort food – it is his favorite veggie.  If he’s having a rough day (few and far between), he gets sweet potatoes

Pear puree – LOVES pears of all varieties – and I love them because they fix his constipation in no time flat!

Apple puree (applesauce) – LOVES it, but we limit it because it can be binding.  I use 4 different apples in one recipe and it’s so good that I also make it for B and me

Asparagus puree – Likes it an awful lot – I dare say he loves it.  We do not love the diapers afterwards because it’s hard to tell from smell if it’s #1 or #2

Green beans with mint – Just so-so, which is too bad because we have a lot of it  He is eating this just fine.  It’s not his favorite, but he’s past being so-so on it

Baby’s turkey – We don’t know yet  Likes this mixed with stew

Whipped cauliflower – Loves this now that he’s used to it.  We treat it as mashed potatoes because of the texture (we are limiting potatoes)

Whipped broccoli – Just so-so

Blueberry sauce – Meh.  We need to mix it with pears to get him to eat it (which is just fine).  I used frozen blueberries and will try again but with with fresh berries I made this again with frozen berries, but drained them.  Much better!  We mix this in with his plain amaranth for breakfast

Cherry puree – Meh.  Again – we mix it with pears to get him to eat it and I made it from frozen cherries which I wouldn’t do again.  I made this again with frozen cherries, but drained them.  Much better!  We mix this in with his plain amaranth for breakfast

Peach puree – Loves this if I don’t overcook it!  We are now using frozen peaches because fresh are hard to find right now.  GREAT for puree.  We mix this with his plain amaranth for breakfast

Nectarine puree – Loves this if I don’t overcook it!

Plum puree – LOVES IT!

Avocado – Did not like it, but we’ll try it again because I really want him to like it (I don’t like avocados and I know I’m missing out!)  LOVES avocados now – especially when I spice it up with lots of cumin!

Potato and butternut squash stew – This is his favorite food that isn’t a pure fruit.  B and I love it as well – it is awesome!  STILL is his very favorite.  We will make this as long as he wants to eat it.  We’re not pureeing it as much though as we used to and switched the potato to a sweet potato to be more in line with pale/primal living

Split pea stew – HATED it (and I don’t like the word, ‘hate,’ but that’s the only way to describe his reaction)!  We will try it again later in the week  I am happy to report that he gobbles this up plain or mixed with apples or any meat.  YAY!

Amaranth and plum swirl – No idea because I just made this tonight.  I’m not crazy about it  LOVES this.  I now make just plain amaranth and then mix it each morning with a frozen cube of peaches, blueberries, or cherries.  I like this very much as well and have been caught stealing it from him  😉

Squash and quinoa pilaf – No idea because I just made it tonight.  I thought it was awesome!  He hated this at first – HATED IT!  He now tolerates it.  I still love it

Baby’s stock – We don’t serve this to him.  It’s used to make his stews and other things.  It smells really good!

Everything below this point is new since my first food post:

Chicken – I bake it and then chop it up in the food processor.  He likes it mixed with his stew of split pea soup.  He doesn’t like it too much on its own

Beef – We use 100% grass fed beef and it’s a little greasier (but full of omegas!).  I will drain it better next time.  He likes it in stew and split pea soup – or mixed with any veggies, really

Guacamole – He loved this at Cheese.cake Fac.tory which made me think that maybe he is ready to like avocados.  He has not met a guacamole that he doesn’t like

Goat cheese – He would eat this all day long if we’d let him

Gorgonzola – He doesn’t like this as much as goad cheese, but he likes it plenty

Roasted red pepper and goat cheese puree – The first time I made this – both B and I were so jealous that we devised our own adult version of it for us.  We all love this!

BBQ ribs – He liked these just fine!

Green beans – These are different from the puree – these are whole green beans.  He loved these (of course – they were cooked with bacon!)

Broccoli – Not pureed.  He prefers this over the pureed broccoli

Yo Baby yogurt (all flavors) – We all love this (HA!).  Why?  It’s made from whole milk.  I’ve been caught stealing this from him too 😉

Baked squash (dusted with olive oil and nutmeg) – He loved this and is now just so-so

Raw pears – if ripe enough, he loves them!

Raw peaches – love them

I am pleased to say that Matthew has still never had a “puff” or cheer.ios.  He is now entirely gluten-free since eliminating oatmeal from his diet.