Mama's All Access Unlimited Ride Pass on the Hormone Roller Coaster...

Lil Chick and I ended a special relationship a week ago.

She was down to one nursing session a day, the 'going to bed' feeding. The last month had been more my encouraging than her asking as I was too stubborn to have to start her on formula after making it 11 months. So I finally stopped encouraging. And that was that.

And now, Mama's going CRAZY.

I just need to know this...did anyone else feel like they were riding the hormone roller coaster after weaning? Ya know, the hormone roller coaster that doesn't feature an END to the ride? The All Access Unlimited Ride Pass that doesn't let you get OFF?

Not only do I have an All Access Unlimited Ride Pass for the hormone roller coaster (and the crazy train too, but whatever), but that pass happens to be triple laminated and hangs from a nerdy lanyard around my neck. Which means that the conductor of the hormone roller coaster won't LET ME OFF THE RIDE.

(Not that I am in general referred to as a stable person, but whatever.)

Dear readers, I need your help, your advice, your commiseration, your sympathy and some hope. Especially those of you who have never left a comment...I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Seriously. Because this Mama needs some sort of pamphlet or brochure from the World Wide Mama "We've all been there, honey" support group...

A

*** Have a question you would like to see answered? Make my day and become a fan on the Vintage Dutch Girl Facebook Fan page HERE and throw your questions at me.

The BIRTHDAY PLAN of 2009...

I've been busy up in the bonus room. Just a quick smattering of projects. I've felt super inspired (yes, AGAIN.) and ready to do some major sewing and creating. Why why WHY do I have to be all inspired on the busiest week and month of the YEAR?

OK, it may not be THAT busy for you. What's on your plate this week? Maybe an office Christmas party, online shopping for those last 3 gifts you can't find and a quick trip to the mall?

This week we have TWO birthday parties. And I'm throwing them. Yep, Bubbalu and Lil Chick both have December birthdays....4 days apart....two weeks before Christmas. In DECEMBER. FOUR days apart. TWO birthdays. TWO weeks before Christmas.

IN DECEMBER.

OK, I'm officially done whining.

Truth is, I love throwing a party. I don't like to keep it simple and blah. When things are simple and blah I feel a bit sad. I LIKE to make parties special and create something unique for them. I also want to make sure my kids don't get the "oh, your birthday is so close to Christmas let's just lump the parties together" and have their birthday overlooked altogether. Problem is, throw two parties that I'd LOVE to have fun with together in one week (*ahem* 4 days apart) and there just isn't enough time to do it all.

Unless, that is, I plan ahead and maybe even create an excel spreadsheet detailing (insert booming loudspeaker echo voice) THE BIRTHDAY PLAN of 2009 complete with scheduled crafting, cake baking, decorating and even a rest time or two thrown in to keep Mama's sanity intact.

Good thing I plan ahead.

Lil Chick turned ONE yesterday. She makes me smile. She makes other people smile. She has dimples when she smiles.

We had a lovely, yet subdued (for me) party. Stay tuned, pictures coming soon.

There will be cake, there will be a tutu, and there will be dimples...

A

Reasonable, Understanding and Rule-Following Child...

My husband and I had a great, Christmasy time wrapping all the kiddos Christmas (and birthday) presents yesterday afternoon. We listened to Christmas music and talked about how the kids would love their presents.

We had a strict talk with Bubbalu about the presents needing to stay under the tree and that they were strictly off limits.

I'm just SO glad he has recently developed into a reasonable, understanding and rule-following child:



It will be a miracle if the presents remain intact until the 25th. I'll keep you posted...

A

Letter To My Uber Cute Boots...

Dear Uber Cute New Boots In Transit,

If possible, could you please get here quicker than the stated delivery time? We are in desperate need of you. It just so happens to be the coldest day TODAY and when temps are below freezing we like to be warm...AND cute. You would certainly help to rectify this situation of uncute coldness.

Also, if you don't mind, could you please inform your prior home (store) that we need your sister that comes in the color black. Please tell them to restock your lovely sister in our size (9) so we can order her to come and live here at home too. Tell them we'd treat her nicely.

Thanks,

Amanda's Toes

NEW Christmas Flower Pins in the Shop...and There's A SALE Going On...

You need some Festive Christmas sassyness. I just KNOW it.

So, how bout these?

Festive Christmas Plaid:



Candy Cane sugary yummyness!:



OK, it's not REALLY made out of candy canes and, ya know, SUGAR. Please don't try to eat your flower pin. I'm sure it tastes horrible.

But guess what? They look super cute on a black fleece coat over a red t-shirt and white cami with jeans and cute black flats. I know this because I wore it two days in a row. AND went to the post office yesterday AND today. Forgot that I wore the SAME OUTFIT until I got home. Doh!

I'm sure the nice post office lady noticed my outfit encore. Who WOULDN'T remember that pin?

Yay for Christmas Festivity! Pins are in the shop, ready for you to purchase. OR.... if you happen to live local, they are now at Grandiflora! Go on in and take a look-see...

A

(And yes I totally realize that my posts are starting to get BORING and SIMILAR. Just finished up a huge flower pin makin' project and I'll soon get back to writing about my obsession with creamer, my precocious almost 3 yr old and sweet almost 1 yr old and my penchant for choosing to do sewing projects over housework. Thanks for reading!)

Jingle Bell Christmas Etsy Shop Sale!! Buy Two Get One Free!

The Jingle Bell Christmas sale is now on in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy shop found HERE.



*** Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!!!****

Christmas sale!!! I bet you still need some stocking stuffers or a gift for your girlfriends, Grandmother, Aunt, Daughter, Mother or Sister, dontcha? How about a flower pin that is versatile and can be used year-round?



FROM NOW UNTIL DEC. 15TH ALL FLOWER PINS BUY TWO GET ONE FREE!!! JUST PURCHASE THE TWO OF YOUR CHOICE AND CONVO ME WITH YOUR THIRD CHOICE. THREE FOR THE PRICE OF TWO!

DON'T SEE THE COLOR YOU ARE LOOKING FOR? CONVO ME!
*****

Happy shopping!

A

Will The Super Mom With Boundless Energy Please Stand Up...

My friend Rachel asked me:

I'd like to know how you do all your creative projects with 2 little kids around. I can't get any of my sewing projects and I only have one right now. Although I do work 2-1/2 days and I'm pregnant so I'm pooped by the end of the day. But you seem to have so much energy.

Oh girl. If you only knew. I hope I haven't insinuated that I am a super Mom with boundless energy and productiveness who completes every task with a smile plastered on her face. No no no. I get all my creative projects done by shirking my housekeeping, playing during naptime and giving up other things. I don't watch much TV anymore, but I've conveniently replaced the my TV screen time for computer screen time.

I am blessed to be a SAHM. I am NOT blessed with excellent time management skills. Besides, being a SAHM automatically means you have issues with completing tasks and actually feeling productive. At least in our house that's what it means. Tasks (and fun crafty projects) are often thwarted by poopy diapers (or poop ON THE FLOOR), children injuring each other, errands to run, sick children to nurse back to health, laundry and...hmmm, what else?.... oh yeah, everybody needs to be fed once in a while.

This bouncing back and forth between projects and housework and childcare is often frustrating for me. I often have to remind myself that being a Mama to Bubbalu and Lil Chick is THE most important task that I have. Sure, I know it in my head, but sometimes my head needs to be reminded.

Yes, more important than completing that super uber cute shirt pattern that I've had mulling around in my brain. Sometimes that means putting my latest project down and not returning to it for a few days (*ahem* WEEKS).

Bottom line: I'm NOT super Mama. I get VERY tired (and cranky!) and exhausted. I often choose to be crafty instead of doing housework. I blog, craft, sew and create things for therapy. IT WORKS FOR ME. It is my passion and I choose to pursue it unless my family is suffering because of it.

Still don't believe my claim? Ok Rachel, here's a photo I snapped just minutes after reading your question:



There, feel better now?

And mind you, superimpose five bins of random Christmas decor scattered about the room and you can see what it looks like right this very moment.

However, my Christmas tree looks quite spectacular, if I do say so myself...

A

***Have a question you would like to see answered? Make my day and become a fan on the Vintage Dutch Girl Facebook Fan page HERE and throw your questions at me.

Destructo Boy...

I am renaming Bubbalu as Destructo Boy. I will applique his new initials "DB" onto his superhero cape as well as spray paint his initials and logo onto his trike.

A small sampling of Destructo Boy's recent accomplishments:

- got into my toiletries and sprayed an entire small bottle of perfume all over my walk in closet, our clothes and Lil Chick. Husband will be thrilled to find he now smells like a woman. Discovery of crime due to Lil chick screaming in protest. Apparently she thought she was sufficiently fragrant.

- broke 8 candy canes into thousands of tiny pieces. Not such a huge tragedy as I can now make white chocolate peppermint bark.

- unwinding an almost full bobbin of elastic thread and stringing all about the living room. Discovery of crime due to Lil Chick screaming in protest. Apparently she didn't like having elastic thread woven around her NECK and cutting into her skin.

- dumped the newly reorganized, size appropriate, freshly washed and laundered (like ONE hour ago) top drawer of clothes of Lil Chick's dresser. ONTO Lil Chick. Once again, discovery of crime due to Lil Chick screaming in protest. Apparently she didn't like having a drawer on her foot.

- discovered an unattended container of itty bitty black beads and proceeded to unscrew lid and dump them all over the carpet. "They have holes in dem Mommy, little holes in dem!" Turns out that was too boring so he sat at my sewing desk and proceeded to unwind and tangle as many different bobbins he could in a limited amount of time. And let me tell you, that boy is efficient.

- picked out itty bitty black beads off of the carpet one by one and put them back into their container (punishment).

- but that was boring so he dumped the entire refilled container of itty bitty black beads into an empty, open bottomed sewing machine case sitting on the carpet.

- picked out itty bitty black beads off of the carpet one by one and put them back into their container (punishment WITH supervision).

- reset the thermostat. One again, that boy is efficient when time constrained. I'm hoping he'll give me a tutorial of the thing.

- discovered unattended new container of Soft Scrub on kitchen counter. Discovered how to climb ONTO kitchen counter. Discovery of crime due to appearance of soft scrub container sitting in a puddle of squeezed out product.

- attempted to pry metal labels off my Father's legal office file cabinets. Fortunately was unsuccessful.

- also attempted to push every button, turn every knob and try every handle in the interior of aforementioned legal office. ( I fled the office after 5 minutes fearing Destructo Boy's Rate of Destruction was going to multiply exponentially.)

- decided that his nap chart in his room was a stupid place to have stickers. During nap time (where's that sarcastic font???) stickers were relocated to finished wood closet doors. Why not?

All this along with eleven hundred ninety seven near misses and Mama interventions.

And I wonder why I'm exhausted at 7:42 PM?

A

*** ALSO: Vintage Dutch Girl has a fan page on Facebook! If you are on Facebook, do check it out HERE and make my day by becoming a fan.

A Beautiful Court Date...

I was in court today.

For an INCREDIBLE reason.

No no, I wasn't contesting a traffic ticket (never even been pulled over - holla!)

It was for a much more beautiful reason.

Remember my awesome sister Rebecca? Yaknow, the one who had a precious baby girl only three weeks before her newly adopted 6 month old son was brought home from Ethiopia by her husband Dusty?

( psst! You want to see some grown folk cry the Boo Mama coined "ugly cry"? Force them to witness a newly adopted child be brought home and placed into his exuberant and loving new Mamas' arms. Yep, ugly cry. But a GOOD ugly cry.)

Today, I witnessed my Father in court (haven't seen that since I was probably ten), who represented my Sister and Brother in law, as they finalized/re-adopted their sweet baby boy...my nephew!

It was an awesome day.

Except when Bubbalu bonked the JUDGE on the nose with the balloon airplane toy he was given right before entering the courtroom.

This Mother? Mortified.

The Judge was cool about it. After all, he's worked with my Dad for many years and has a heart for children. He was wiping away tears with the rest of us.

(Besides, I don't think you can hold a 2 year old in contempt of court.)

Welcome to the family Isaiah! We love you and are honored to be your family.

(psst! And your Auntie Amanda ALWAYS has cookies for you. ALWAYS!)

A

Praying For Olive Hope...

I have someone I'd like you to meet.

Meet Olive Hope:



Sweet Olive Hope was born at 28.5 weeks in Chiang Rai, Thailand where her missionary parents, Rusty and Lynette, are spreading the word of Christ Jesus. Rusty was one of my youth group leaders and our church supports Rusty and his wife, Lynette, as missionaries in Thailand. People around the world are praying for this little one as she fights to live.

Psalm 52:8-9 'But I am like an OLIVE tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will HOPE, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.'

You can follow Rusty and Lynette's blog HERE as they chronicle Olive's struggle to live and the challenges they are all facing by being in such a far away country.

I ask that you join me in praying for little Olive Hope as she fights for her life. Grab the HTML code under the button and paste it into an "html code/javascript gadget on your sidebar to spread the news about this precious baby girl.

<a href="http://www.rustylynette.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/tt148/VintageDutchGirl/PrayingOlivecorrectsize.jpg" /></a>

Want to know more ways you can help?

An auction has been set up to help offset the enormous medical bills Rusty and Lynette are facing. You can:

- DONATE an item/service for the auction. What ever you have to give would be appreciated. What are you talents? Where has God blessed you abundantly? Be creative. Be generous. (information on how to donate on sidebar of link.)

- BID on an item/service from the auction. Bidding starts on November 22! That's in three days! Bidding will run until November 28th. To enter a bid, starting November 22 all you have to do is leave a comment with the amount of your bid. You'll have to check back to see if others have outbid you and submit another bid to win. ( * Hint, there may be a shirt refashion/sassification up for grabs * )

Need more ideas?

- You can make a DONATION to the Olive Hope Care Fund.

- You can leave a NOTE OF ENCOURAGEMENT and SUPPORT for Rusty and Lynette on their blog HERE.

- You can JOIN the Praying for Olive Hope group on Facebook. Updates on Olive's condition are often posted, allowing you to direct your prayers accordingly.

- Pray fervently. We serve an AWESOME and ALL-POWERFUL God who holds Olive Hope in His hand...

A

I Need a Vomit Roomba...

Yes, it IS disgusting.

No, you would never CHOOSE to be a vomit cleaner-upper.

However, if you are a mother, chances are at some point you WILL have to clean up vomit. (I've heard of Mom's who REFUSE to clean up vomit. UH, what do you do if they puke at 9 AM and you're the only one home for the rest of the day? Do you just LEAVE IT? Nasty!)

OR, you had SO MUCH practice cleaning up your own vomit while afflicted with morning sickness it doesn't even phase you. (*Or so I've heard, not learned through personal experience.*)

I hates me some vomit.

"BUT WAIT!?", you say. "AREN'T YOU A NURSE!?"

Um. Yep. An OB nurse.

And didja know? Blowing chunks is a GREAT sign of labor! Yippee!

So, aside from the food poisoning I had when one week postpartum with Lil Chick (and that is a JOY let me tell you), I haven't done much spewing myself.

Sunday night Bubbalu came down with some lovely croup. Bark bark bark! And while he is now much better, he still has a cough.

Today Bubbalu came sauntering down the stairs when he was supposed to be napping and said he needed to talk with me. ( Polite, no? )

Apparently he had coughed so hard he vomited.

How to clean up VOMIT:

1. Forget about trying to isolate the puke-pile to only things you can see are hit. Assume EVERYTHING is tainted.

2. Assume you will touch vomit. Right when you think you've got it all your hand will land in a huge slop o' puke.

3. Wash EVERYTHING. Throw all bedding, towels, clothing etc. into the washing machine.

4. Sanitize EVERYTHING. Those handy dandy sanitizing wipes containers? Keep one in the kids bathroom. Use to wipe down floor, toilet, sink, door handles, door (don't ask), stair railings, bed frame...um, I could go on but I think you get the general idea.

5. Give kid a shower and make em brush their teeth. I combined these today and he happily scrubbed his pearly whites in the shower for at least 15 minutes. If child is old enough, that gives you time to strip the bedroom. ( I'm now wondering if he used the bar soap as toothpaste to scrub other things. Mental note to self: sanitize or replace Bubbalu's toothbrush!)

6. Set kid up on the couch with a beverage and a movie.

7. Blog about it for therapy ;)

A

*** ALSO: Vintage Dutch Girl now has a fan page on Facebook. So, if you are on Facebook, do check it out HERE and make my day by becoming a fan.

Clearing Out The Draft Folder...

A smattering of often pointless but nevertheless hopefully entertaining shorts in the draft folder:

***

My almost 11 month old daughter gained four pounds in less than a month. This daughter, who is currently lying prostrate on the ground so as to teeth on the piano pedals, is a CARB-AHOLIC.

Wonder where she got THAT from?

***

Would you rather change EIGHT medium sized poopy diapers per day or ONE insanely impressive ginormo poopy diaper per day?

YES, you have to pick one.

We are currently on the EIGHT medium sized poopy diapers per day plan. And by "we" I do mean Lil Chick. She is going through more diapers now than when she was a newborn. If I had a nickel for every poopy diaper I've changed...well, I could buy these:



I'd call them my poop boots. Nice ring to it, no?

However I am now completely disgustipated. They are actually Girls boots, not Womens boots. What does it say about me that I prefer Girls boots over Womens? Is it just me or are those seriously cute? Please, someone justify my thought processes here.

***

And going WAY back to summer:

My take on the annual, held-in-my-small-town Fair:

I detest crowds. I get crabby at people who walk slowly and then stop in the middle of a walkway forcing everyone to walk around them. However, since I am now one of Those Mom's who push a gargantuan double-wide Bob stroller around I fully realize I am now part of the crowd problem. My penchant for speed walking and whipping around people with the double-wide Bob doesn't help. I'm pretty sure I startled eighteen or so peoples, whom surely though that there was an emergency or a Poffertjes stand that I was rushing towards.

(hint: it was the Poffertjes. Surprised? Didn't think so.)

***

ALSO: Vintage Dutch Girl now has a fan page on Facebook. So, if you are on Facebook, do check it out HERE and become a fan.

A

White Baby Doll T Shirt Gets Some Sass...

Yes, I do realize this t-shirt sassifying thingy is getting a tad monotonous. But guess what? I LURVE it.

So, here we go again.

My adorable cake-baking sister, Brown Eyed Girl, commissioned me to sassify a few of her blah shirts. She has a cutely cut, white baby doll t-shirt that needed some oomph and detail.

We decided tone on tone would look fab. Here's what happened, before and after:



Three separate flowers, frayed to perfection and stitched down to be machine washable and hang to dry.



Add some trim to the neckline and VOILA!

A basic, nothing special t shirt is now a signature piece.



Throw on some rockin' jeans, cute wintry boots with poms on the ends of the laces (am I the only one who thinks those are adorable?!) and this shirt, and you are good to go:



A

Flower Creatin' Obsession...

Uh, I've been kinda busy. And NO, not because my house is now all shiny and sparkly. I wish.

I may have a flower creatin' obsession. It's quite the invasive disease. Not that I'm looking for a cure. It's fun and I'm loving what I can come up with.

Brace yourself.

Flower overload heading your way if you scroll down. Just to break the trend is something a little different at the end. It has ruffles people. RUFFLES. Ruffles make me happy.

Everything (including MORE photos, if that's even possible) is now up for grabs in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy Shop:













PHEW! Still with me? I'm impressed!

OK, here you go, some happy smiley RUFFLES:



Need a closer shot? Mkay:



*(insert sigh of contentment)*

RUFFLE quota of the day has just been met...

A

The Sassifying Continues...

At the rate I'm going I soon won't have any normal shirts left:



I say that as if it's a BAD thing.



It's SO not a bad thing.

A