A House Full of Babywearers

Matt and I have been wearing the girls since they were days old. Our girls have benefited from that closeness and I must say I have too. I love them being near me. Here is a ring sling that I made for Piper b/c she wanted to wear one of mine all the time. Gosh, she wasn't even 2 here. You might recognize that she is wearing "Naked Baby". I actually had to ask Violet who Piper was wearing. I guess this taken before "Naked Baby" was naked? lol :)

and this week with Violet and Bolt lol :)



There hasn't been many days since having Piper over 5 years ago that I haven't worn one of my babes. Sometimes it is to comfort them, let them nap, or if I just need an extra hand and they need some extra mommy time. They immediately are in a calm place when they are worn. Many people have commented on how content they are to ride along with me. I can't imagine my life without babywearing.

Over 100 people have already linked up at Adventures in Babywearing. If babywearing is important to you share your story and link up as well! Also check out the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance (BCIA) Facebook page and share your story with them.

More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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Some Violet Time

Even though it isn't under the best of circumstances I am trying to find the positive of hubs being home for awhile. I have written before about Piper LOVING her Daddy. How cool is it for that little girl to have him bring her to preschool these past 2x? This gives me a little extra Violet time which I love myself. Yesterday after a game of swimming ducks (don't really know the real name) she pretended to go to the store. Where else would Taylor Swift be but on her back? Just like where Ruby rides :) I love raising babywearers :)

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A beautiful weekend

On Saturday the girls and I went over to play with some friends b/c the weather was gorgeous! Piper got to play with her first t-ball set and baby V got to run around like a crazy kid kicking the balls in the backyard. The lighting was weird and the photos didn't turn out as well as I had hoped but for me that happens all the time. I did manage to get a good one of baby Cole that is a keeper - and my Best Shot Monday. There is a reflection theme this week, before even knowing that I looked into his eyes to see what I saw and it ended up being his feet in the Bumbo he was sitting in :)

What is your Best Shot Monday? Don't have one? Well get out there and take some pictures then!

After a long 2 weeks of Matt being gone minus a few we got him home and now our schedule will ease up a bit (hopefully!). Sunday morning Piper and I went and bought her her very own t-ball set b/c she couldn't stop talking about it. Thankfully it comes with 2 balls b/c Violet wanted to get in on the action too :) The weather couldn't have been better for a day outside! After their naps my wonderful sweet husband brought me to my favorite thrift store so that I could browse with just Violet on my back in our Freehand and he took Piper to wander around - we actually found some good stuff, now what to do with it!

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Monkey See Monkey Do

I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard Piper in the living room say

"It's ok baby, it's ok"

Well, Violet was in with me so who was she talking too? Her doll. She had her shirt just slightly raised and the doll against her belly, when I asked her what she was doing she said "Nursing baby" - AWWW!!! Now, this photo was taken during our morning tv time so she was in a trance and wasn't moving which was how I was able to get a quick picture.

There are so many times that I beat myself up as a mother, I don't know if I am doing things right or wrong. Am I yelling too much or not enough? Will my daughter fall horribly behind b/c I am not sending her to preschool when she is 3? Will our decision of a family bed bite us in the butt when they are all still in there at 10 and we have 2 king sized beds shoved together so everyone can fit? Who knows the answers but then in 1 moment of sweetness I see my 2 year old nursing her baby doll (she also nurses her duck) and I just feel like we are doing OK. I will also see Piper in her playroom putting one of her stuffed friends in the ring sling that I made for her and love that her father and I (hopefully) have taught our girl to be a future babywearer. We have seen Violet screaming and all Piper has to do is go over to her and pet her head whispering "Shhhh baby" and the baby's mood lightens, she just has that soothing effect on her sister. Those are the times when I figure that we must be doing something right :) On the funny side the other day when we were pulling out of our driveway a car was coming and we had to wait for them to pass and out of the backseat I hear "Move it people" - darn it they do listen to everything :)

This last picture is just b/c it CRACKS ME UP when Piper tells you to "Just listen" and puts her hand IN FRONT of her ear :) She makes me smile a million times a day.

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Wordless Wednesday - Just Us Girls

It was 80 yesterday in the Carolina's and the babes and I decided it would be fun to make it a zoo day. This shot was taken by a kind woman (with a really big camera) near the Siamang's. They were so vocal and active in the morning when we got there that they had quite a group watching their antics - Piper and Violet loved it. I am wearing Violet in my Beco Carrier - I just love the print on it and it is so easy to get her on my back with it. We can't say enough good things about the Beco right now :) So much for wordless....

For more Wordless Wednesday fun check out 5 Minutes for Mom and join in!

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The Blizzard of 2008

Yep, I believe that is what the news was calling it yesterday. Milk and bread were no where to be found at the local supermarkets. Kiddos were excited with the idea that there might not be any school today and they were not let down b/c it SNOWED last night! Both girls had rough nights, Violet b/c she is teething (yes again) and I am not sure why Piper was but she got up at 4 am for some reason. Her crying made Violet wake up (again) so Matt brought Piper in the living room while I got Violet back to sleep. Piper got to see snow for the first time, well not the first time but the first time that she knew what it was. NC (our area anyway) got like 2" of the white stuff last night - woo hoo!

Matt came home to have lunch with us and we headed out afterwards to build a snowman - a southern snowman doesn't look much like the ones that we created back home in WI but Piper had a ball doing it! Violet was warm and snug on my back in my BEAUTIFUL red Nino Didy. Good thing for pictures b/c with all the rain we are having I am afraid all evidence of snow will be gone by tomorrow.

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Blah

That is how I have been feeling - winter blues I guess. I don't feel like doing much of anything, that includes blogging. Right now I guess that I don't have a whole bunch to say, ever have times like that?

Matt brought us home a playset tonight, it was on clearance at BJ's warehouse. I have no clue what the ground is like or if we could even get it set up right now, it would be nice though b/c our home is pretty far from a park and this winter has been really mellow weather wise so we would probably still use the heck out of it. Piper is going to be so excited, we haven't told her but wait until she sees it!

I don't think that I have mentioned our new Beco Carrier that I got right after Christmas. It is beautiful! Not only is the print SWEET but it is comfortable too! I can get V on my back in less than 15 seconds with this baby! Why did I resist SSC carriers for so long? My go to is still my gorgeous wraps but I have been reaching like crazy for this beauty - I even went out to to the car to get it when V was being fussy instead of using something that I had in the house, now that is love :)

After going back and forth in my head on what to do about preschool for the 2008-09 school year I think that we have decided to hold off sending Piper until she turns 4. We want Piper to socialize with other kids and learn but on the other hand I just want to have her be home with me too. I am going to go to 1 orientation and *maybe* see if I get lucky with their lottery but after discussing this with Matt I think that our minds are made up.

Our closet is a mess, no mess is putting it nicely. Our closet is totally trashed! When we created the playroom we also took away the kids bedroom and with doing that had to combine their things with ours in our closet. The girls don't really let me get to projects like that and it got so out of control that I shut the door and ignored it for like a month or so. Today I started to tackle it and set aside a bunch of good clothes that my kids probably never wore for consignment. I am vowing right here and now that even if an item is only $1 at a consignment store our kids don't need it (be strong Jessie). When the bedroom is complete I am tackling the play room which is ANOTHER nightmare! You would never know that there are only 2 little girls living in our home - wish me luck!

That is it for now I guess, I can't believe that I didn't even get out the camera last week but to snap a diaper shot (however fabulous the diaper is) so no Best Shot Monday but go check everyone else's BSM - I have added the new button in my sidebar.

Happy Monday!

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Rockin Baby Ring Sling Giveaway!!

This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE ring sling and Mamanista is giving away a beautiful "Suffragette City" to one lucky reader (please oh please let it be me). I don't really own many girlie slings so this would be our first. Perhaps if I was wearing Violet in a gorgeous sage and pink butterfly sling they might stop asking me what my BOY'S name was. If you have not seen a Rockin Baby Sling check out their yummy fabrics - they are so vibrant in real life. This contest ends on November 13 so why wait - enter now!

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Sesame Street Live and Trader Joes - all in 1 day!

Too much excitement around the house when that is the highlight of our day huh? While trying to decide what to do with the familia on Saturday (Matt had a RARE Saturday off) we tossed around a few ideas and Sesame Street Live won. Some friends had gone on Friday and talked about how much fun their kiddos had so we said let's do it! We weren't sure that we were going to make it on time because of the ever present backed up traffic on Hwy 77 that we didn't think would be there on a Saturday morning but was. We got there (barely) on time and I had to quick nurse Violet so that she would make it through the show so we walked in, found our seats, and an announcement said the show would begin in 3 minutes - perfect! I had asked to bring a camera to the show but Matt said they weren't allowed, seriously we were the only family without one there. Now, I guess that I am glad that he will teach the girls to listen to the rules but I really wanted a picture! Piper had a ball dancing with the characters and even Violet was enjoying herself. I had her in our Rockin Baby ring sling because I wasn't sure what she would think of dancing furry creatures. By intermission though both girls had enough. We got them up and walked around a bit, then decided to look for the cool Elmo lightchaser that all of the kiddos were playing with during the show and they were $15 - needless to say that didn't come home with us. We stayed until the final number but left while it was still being sung. Piper had taken to standing on the chairs, trying to suck on the rails, eating snacks, drinking water - you know everything BUT watching the show. I can't say that we were alone though, some kids were at this time having complete meltdowns so boredom was ok with me. Will I try again? Maybe next year if The Wiggles come because even Mommy likes them :)

After we left there we grabbed some lunch and headed to Trader Joes. It just opened in our area (actually almost an hour from our house but we were in the area so...) and I hadn't been to one since we lived in SoCal. I used to shop there quite a bit for normal groceries and still would if I were closer but after going through the entire (packed with people) store I can't really remember why I thought it was so awesome back in CA. I, of course, picked up some wine and got the girls some bars but will I travel the hour back there soon - probably not unless after drinking this wine I find that I love it more than my Barefoot that I have been getting at BJ's. If you remember the draw and decide to comment PLEASE refresh my memory as it has been over 8 years since I last stepped foot in one. It was SOOO crowded and Piper was REALLY ready for a nap so I didn't get to browse so maybe I am missing something.

No pictures today (hee hee LOVE YOU BABY) but maybe I will later as I think today is the day we are going to pick up our pumpkins - woohoo PUMPKIN SEEDS tonight!

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Vacation - By the Numbers

Well we are home from our week at the beach - oh the fun the family had!

1 - cozy cottage set on top of a dune on the ocean. The house we stayed at was perfect for the kiddos, we don't have to worry about them breaking fancy items and the view...what can you say about waking up and seeing the beautiful sun rise every morning and set every night. Sitting on the back porch lazily swaying back and forth on the swing watching the porpoises swimming in the surf. I LOVE the beach!

2 - little girls who played like crazy on the beach. Piper helped us pick up shells and had to have her own treasure bag by the end of the week. I plan on planting a paperwhite in a hurricane vase and having our collection on display inside for the holidays. Everytime a wave would wash up on Violet she would giggle and splash - so darn cute! We didn't do many sand castles though because Piper lost interest too quickly. Just before low tide there was a wade pool near the house that Piper enjoyed "swimming" in. She also wanted to take a bath immediately upon returning to the house and "swim" in there too.

3 - fun filled hours that our family played like crazy at the Children's Museum of Wilmington. We had never gone to one before and although we had to lead Piper a bit she had a ball! We spent an entire hour just in the campfire room reading books and putting on puppet shows. Piper made a bunch of sandwiches for us at the diner and both girls crawled and climbed in the matted toddler room. If you are ever in the area you should check this place out. After we were done we ate supper at The Reel Cafe with our friends that moved to the area, Lisa and Barry. A walk on the Wilmington boardwalk to see the sights followed and there was some snacking on ice cream and fudge. Such a fabulous day!

4 - cockroaches that we found at the house (eewww!!) - R.I.P. One of them was like 2 inches long - yuck, yuck, yuck!!! We have dogs and cats that kill all sorts of things but something about a cockroach makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

5 - pairs of shoes (excessive I know) that I brought to the beach for Piper and she only wore 1, that is right - her rain boots. I have given up trying to get her to wear anything else, to her relief I am sure. This morning when I went to find a site that sells them for when the day comes that they are outgrown I found that there is highway robbery out there when it comes to a 2 YEAR OLDS rain boots, they are asking $24 a pair. Maybe I am cheap, ok I am cheap, but I got these boots at a consignment sale for $4. Hopefully Mother Nature might see Piper sporting her boots and give us some MUCH needed rain then our oldest will be able to splash around in them 1 time before they are too small.

6 - teeth in the mouth of our baby. Violet left with 5 but now has another one poking through. She is also working on 2 more bottom teeth that should be here anytime now. Thankfully she learned very quickly not to bite Mommy with those toothers, it only has happened twice and I am knocking on wood like crazy over here that it doesn't happen again - OUCH!

7AM - that would be the glorious time that the girls slept in until. Some mornings it was even 7:30! They were both so worn out that they went to bed each night between 7 and 7:30 and slept until morning, well except for Violet who has yet to sleep through the night but that is another story. If only we could keep them as busy and worn out when not on vacation when our days are filled with fun and excitement.

8 - diaper changes (at least) per baby per day using gDiapers. We only had 6 covers for both girls and I would strongly suggest if diapering with this system full time to have at least 6 per child. I would wash the cover and the liner each morning because they were in them for so long and I didn't want stinky dipes so then I was left with only 4 covers to diaper with the entire day. The refills do bunch up a little bit between the legs but with frequent changes doesn't present a problem, at least to us it didn't. The covers do take a very long time to dry and I didn't want to risk putting them in the dryer and having them shrink on us because we had nothing else to fall back on. I won't use them on a daily basis because I love my stash of cloth diapers but will use them again when we go to Ohio for the holidays. All in all - g diapers are really great and it makes me feel better to use a *sposie* like them that will decompose in less than 150 days than clog our landfills with regular disposibles.

9 - times per hour some days that Piper would ask "What's this?". "Oh Oh" has been replaced with an even more fun "What's this?". I am guessing this is a prelude to "Why?". To say the least our daughter is very informed about her surroundings after this past week.

10 - well it is actually over 10 feet (15 feet) of Didy yumminess that came to the beach with us. Tobi was the perfect wrap in our stash to bring to the beach with his beautiful blues and yellows. Violet slept most of her morning naps in a rucksack while Piper ran along the water splashing and Matt and I combed the beach for sharks teeth.

That is our vacaton in a conch shell (hee hee), pictures will filter in as the week goes on- off to work on my mounds of laundry, Happy Monday!

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Babywearing Daddy

Last night we took the girls to go and walk 2 22 acre tracts of land in the county next to ours. We still don't know if we want to stay on the lake or get some land so that the girls can have room to roam. There are pros and cons of each but until we finally decide we are always looking at different things. Well, after my last experience walking land and all of the ticks that I got on me from doing it there was no way I was going to let out oldest walk. She has only been worn a few times since the baby was born just about 9 months ago and that is because she wants to walk. I had to help Matt get her on his back but look how comfy she looks in Tobi, she kept putting her arms in and snuggling with Daddy.

While checking out the 2nd 22 acres we came across this...


poor cow. One tract was all pasture and the other all wooded but they sat next to each other with a pretty big stream running between them. Of course with the drought that us in the Southeast are experiencing there wasn't much water in that stream but it has the potential. Good news for us today though, WE GOT RAIN!! It isn't going to cure our drought but it rained nice and steady last night and it is supposed to continue off and on today. With good sometimes comes bad and I hate what Humberto did to those in Texas, my thoughts and prayers are with those families. If we get some chores done around the house today we may head to the Auto Fair at the speedway this afternoon. Fun day for the Zoo girls huh?? Got to give Daddy a little bit of fun once in awhile since he does so much for the family and he seldom gets a day off.
Have a great Friday everyone!

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Very, Very Cool Contest

Steph over at Adventures in Babywearing is having a fabulous contest giving away a Rocking Baby Sling. OH MY, this is truly one of my favorite slings so we would LOVE to win! They have such great color combos and being a ring sling lover find that the shoulder is very comfortable even for longer trips. Funny story, last May or June (2006) I saw one sell on TBW and was so bummed out that I missed buying it that I emailed the mama that sold it and told her to send my info to the buyer and to tell her if she ever wanted to sell to please let me know. Less than a month later that beautiful sling was in my home getting a ton of love and compliments from everyone that saw it (still is). Check out Stepanie's contest before September 10th!

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They do watch don't they

Matt is a little under the weather today and slept in a bit before he left for work. In the morning I have my morning coffee while Piper watches The Wiggles and then Higgly Town then we try to start our day. We have been waving goodbye to Daddy every morning since she was an infant, of course it was me back then doing the waving. This morning I picked up Violet to wave goodbye too and Piper picked up her baby doll and sat in the window waving her baby's hand the same way that I was waving Violet's, it was so sweet! The other day I just about cried when I saw my daughter pick up her ring sling, put her baby in it (I have to help a little with this) and then pat the baby's bum while kissing it's forehead. I guess it is what I do with Violet and she has been watching closely. Now I also have a story about my oldest in the back seat saying "D*** it!" which I am having to work on and hope that it doesn't stick in her brain the same way. It is so cool to me that my child has picked up babywearing though, I made her the ring sling and some day will make her a mei tai but she can't tie the ties yet and it would just be a mess taking it off and on right now. One thing that we don't have though is a pouch sling but The Crunchy Domestic Goddess is giving a reversible one away so maybe we will have one in the near future if we win! Here is my little baby wearing mama to be...

Oh, another thing that she has picked up is putting a diaper on her baby. None of her diapers fit that little baby so I found a free pattern to make her some out of some scrap material that I have laying around. The other night she took some of my cloth wipes and a (too big) diaper and cleaned her doll up and then diapered her. Crazy stuff because I keep thinking "She just turned 2!" Children amaze me constantly - I just love being a mom!

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Oh those darn teeth

My poor youngest daughter is having such a hard time with those 2 front teeth and as for me I am saying "Come in ALREADY!" I never really could tell when Piper was teething because she never really showed any of the signs besides maybe getting up more at night but Violet is a whole other story. She is waking up all night, has a fever, runny nose, and is more clingy than Saran Wrap. She is napping in our Didy right now because she won't even let me put her down in the bed - poor thing. I gave her a frozen bagel this morning to knaw on for awhile and that seemed to help her. I don't know, call me a freaky mama, but I won't give her those frozen teethers after there were some that were recalled when Piper was a baby. We got rid of the ones that we had back then and have never bought them again. When we got up I did however put some water in old nipples and they are in the freezer right now so hopefully they will be done soon. If you don't know about that what you do then is put them in a bottle and the babes can chew on the nipple which has ice in it. I learned that trick from my Super Baby Food Book. Today would be the day that we could really use a Teething Key Ring from Playskool. Maybe we will win that contest before she starts cutting any more.

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Whew

Well, as I have blogged about before we have a new addition to the zoo. Megan, Matt's cousin moved in this weekend in our basement. No matter who it is company is company even if it is family. I read on another mama's blog that and agree with her that you are still cooking, cleaning, and serving so it isn't relaxing. I am tired, as if I am not tired enough with my youngest not sleeping. Ah well, family is gone now and Meg will try and find her place in with our crew.

Saturday I received a much anticipated piece of fluffy mail. It is my, da da da dummm, Panel Kozy Mei Tai! This beauty was made by Kelly over at Kozy and at one time there was a "special" list you had to be on to get one of these and as far as I know that is done. I never thought that I would ever be lucky enough to be online when one became available (over at TBW) nor did I think that I would ever be in a position to be able to afford one. Well, my sweet sweet husband told me that I could get it as my push present since he hadn't gotten me anything yet and V was born over 7 months ago. So without further ado...

I love the rich maroon velveteen fabric and the straps by my shoulders have some padding so that was an added surprise. The panel is so pretty and will match so many of my clothes. This is not going to be one of those carriers that I hide in the closet so that I can say I own one, heck no (!!), this is going to be worn like crazy! I am now blessed with what I believe is a perfect stash of carriers for my girls (until I find something else that I have.to.have *wink*)

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