Custom Shelving Unit

Being second born, Devon will probably “get the shaft” a few times in his life.  For instance, he has the smaller bedroom. I knew we’d be more limited with furniture and arrangements than we were with Chloe’s room.  We knew we still wanted to have a rocking chair/recliner combo and knew there was a smaller version that the big chair we have in Chloe’s room.  Then I found a crib/changing table/dresser combo piece, so we were getting it figured out. The unknown was some sort of bookshelf and place for toys, extra clothes, etc…  Now’s the part where I brag on my wonderful, amazing husband!! 

Per my request, and to my specifications, DaddyMort made shelves to go in Devon’s room.  It fits perfectly in the space available, it’s open on the side so it doesn’t cover the vent and there are cubbies just the right size for some of our bins.

This is just one of the many times I’m thankful to have such a handy husband!!

Build Your Own Bars

In Hy-Vee’s most recent Seasons magazine, they have a ‘recipe’ for making granola-type bars.  Aaron and I each made a version within the last couple days and thought they were delicious.  Mine were pretty soft, but that might be my own fault, because I added 1 cup of the sweetener instead of 3/4 – I added some extra oats to try to make up for it and cut back on my peanut butter slightly…but I have no idea if my alterations made up for the extra 1/4 cup of gooey-ness.  Regardless, they were good 🙂

Here’s the idea so you can make some too.  Pick one ingredient from each of the following categories, mix together with a food processor or Kitchen-Aid and press into an 8×8 pan (we lined ours with plastic wrap so it’s easy to remove and cut.)  Refrigerate until firm and cut into 16 squares.

• Grain (2 cups)
  -Old-fashioned oats
  -Quick Oats
  -Crisp Brown Rice Cereal
  -Granola
• Sweetener (3/4 cup)
  -Honey
  -Agave Nectar
  -Brown Rice Syrup
  -Pure Maple Syrup
• Nut Butter (1 cup)
  -Peanut Butter
  -Almond Butter
  -Cashew Butter
  -Sunflower Nut Butter
• Seeds or Wheat Product (1 cup, except Chia seeds – 1/4 cup)
  -Ground Flaxseed
  -Whole Sesame Seeds
  -Unprocessed Wheat Bran
  -Wheat Germ
  -Pumpkin Seeds
  -Chia Seeds
• Powdered Protein (1 cup)
  -Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
  -Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
• Nuts or Chips (1 cup)
  -Chopped Walnuts
  -Almonds
  -Cashews
  -Sunflower Nuts
  -Dark Chocolate Chips
  -Carob Chips
• Dried Fruit (1 cup)
  -Raisins
  -Dried Cherries
  -Dried Cranberries
  -Dried Goji Berries
  -Chopped Dried Apricots
  -Chopped Dates
  -Chopped Prunes
  -Chopped Figs

Bath Time

At dinner about a week ago, we were talking about how it was bath night.  Chloe said she wanted to take the first bath, but then she dilly-dallyed and it was getting late.  Devon was going to need to go to bed soon, so I suggested that they take a bath together.  I rolled up my pant legs, sat on the side of the tub and held Devon while DaddyMort soaped him up.  Anyone who has bathed a baby before knows that they’re slippery when wet, and even slippery-er when lathered up, but we made it through.

Turns out, the world’s best big sister loved having her brother in the tub with her and wanted him to join her on her next bath.  So we tried putting his little tub in the big tub.  We thought that if the little tub had more water than the big tub, combined with his weight, that it would stay put.  Not so much.  So – I rolled up my pants again to help hold his tub in place during the bath.

The next bath night, we tried the Bumbo.  It still floats, but has been the best option by far.

Here’s the very happy big sister, with the leary little brother.  You can tell by the look on his face that he’s worried about being squirted by Chloe’s unicorn…

We’re thinking about getting one of these to make bath time easier.  Has anyone ever used one before??  Or have any other ideas about bathing a little one with an older sibling??

Our Little Sick-o

Chloe had a fever of over 103 with a sore throat and was feeling generally miserable for a couple days.  Here’s a few excerpts from our house during those few days:

-Chloe was playing with her Little People carnival, then laid down on the floor and said, “I’m feeling kinda crumbly…”  That’s right folks – not crummy – crumbly!!

-While getting dressed to take her to the doctor, DaddyMort said, “Thank goodness Chloe’s sick.  I almost washed these jeans with a chapstick in the pocket.”

-Chloe was having trouble sleeping during her nap on Tuesday.  After going in a few times to try to comfort her, DaddyMort said, “Try to get some good rest.”  Chloe replied in her saddest voice, with tears in her eyes, “I’m trying, daddy.  I’m trying.”

-When Devon and I walked in the door Tuesday night, Chloe informed me that she needed to take a bath that night to “wash the germs off me” so she could touch Devon’s hands again.  For a little girl who loves her little brother, and loves to love on him, she’s had a lot of trouble with limits on touching him while sick.

Her fever seemed to break yesterday afternoon and she started eating something other than yogurt at dinnertime.  Although she was a bit cranky this morning, I’m hoping she’s back to her sassy little self soon.