Fuzzy Cadillac

Check out the fuzzy dash at Silver Creek.
Years ago we lived in a shotgun with a parking lot next door. A young man's Cadillac had broken down and he was fixing it in the parking lot. He dropped out the gas tank (yes, in the parking lot), but couldn't finish that night. Shortly after leaving, the car caught on fire. Why is this pertinent to the fuzzy bug?
This Cadillac was covered dash, steering wheel, head liner, seats, doors-everywhere-in white fuzz. Including white fuzzy dice and it all turned into little, black clumps. I felt sorry for the guy, but that was some seriously funny looking melted fuzz!

Diaper Hunt

The Great Diaper Hunt begins!
WHAT?!?
Yes, there is an internet scavenger hunt amongst cloth diapering businesses called the Great Diaper Hunt (think of some booming voice). You sign up, get a list of participating businesses, search their sites, find cool cloth and sewing accessories, locate the owl icon, submit your find and hopefully win BIG!
It is a promotion for cloth diapering. Here is my promotion: I love my cloth diapers. I still need a few more accessories to go 100% cloth as I put a disposable on her when we are out and about (go ahead, wag your finger). Mainly, some killer bamboo or hemp terry. I hear the stuff absorbs!
So, good luck in your hunt. Hey, if you don't have a child in cloth diapers, you can still win! There are always little artichokes that need 'em.

Renée Sticking Out Her Tongue

I stuck my tongue out at Renée and she stuck her's right back at me!
Boy, children these days get attitude early, huh? ;-P

get your glass straw

I sent my email. Get yours by April 30th!

Glass Dharma

Welding month

Look at that! Strange in San Antonio found a banner for welding month just in time for our MIG welder purchase. We haven't found the right machine yet, but when we do-WATCH OUT! We got plans.

Oh no! Finding her thumb

So, here I am wondering if I should continue to encourage Renée's use of a pacifier or give in when she uses her thumb. My sister sucked her thumb and revealed her inner grossness that she ever did that. You know, the whole thing about how "you don't know where that's been!" She learns mostly with her mouth, isn't it okay for her to know her thumb personally?

She is developing rapidly in some areas and so slowly in others. Her little reflux issue has somewhat resolved, but it is like we are back to square one with tummy time! Physical development is slow-she could care less to even attempt to roll over. It is all groovy since each day is something a little new, but I am finding it difficult to keep up! Seriously! She is only 4-1/2 months old and I get plum tuckered out! What is going to happen when she walks?

Okay, there is some exaggeration there, but also some truth. With all the EC, teach your baby to read, interact and sing, introduce music, tummy time, colors, shapes, PBS, belly sugar, if I don't utilize every second to expand her sponge-brain, am I a bad mother? Visions of her graduating from Harvard Magna Cum Laude, yelling at me that she could've gone Summa if only I had taught her more words by the time she was 5 months old haunt me! Oh, the horror!

Puh-leeze! I am getting over it. I have so much time with her and don't want to miss any of it. What do I do? Create drama so I capitalize on every second. I am entitled. Phoebe is 8 and those years have gone by in a whirlwind of pink, purple, and now blue as she learns to ride her bike. It is all good.

lotion making secret

For Christmas, I received kiwi scented lotion from Brooke and Micah and Jr. It smells awesome! I have wanted to capture the smell so I could have it longer that just that one bottle. It is one of those consumables that I don't use because as soon as I begin to use it, it is gone. But, I end up never enjoying it because I know the enjoyment will dissipate too quickly. It is a personal conundrum and I am getting over it.
The feeling reminds me of traveling. I would hate the beginning of a trip because I knew it would be over before I was ready for it to end. Sitting in our family van, leaving the driveway, knowing all too clearly that I would see that driveway again before I was ready to see it. I would almost ruin my adventure in the anticipation that it was going to end. So, I would tell myself, "Obviously, it will end! Why not enjoy it?" Then, in vain attempts at enjoyment in trying to experience everything, I would overdo it and forget to actually enjoy myself! Again, I repeat, I am getting over it!
Back to lotion, I decided to make the lotion recipe from my mom and use the kiwi lotion instead of baby lotion. WOW! It totally worked! The vitamin e skin care cream behaves like an unscented base (knowing that, I am going to try small amounts of essential oils next). Now, I have triple the amount of the good scent and even got to add a few extra ingredients.
I added 1 tablespoon each of vitamin e oil, castor oil, and solid cocoa butter and broke out the stick blender. (I mean, come on! A stick blender is just so fun to use and there isn't enough cooking reasons to use it.) After whipping it up to a nice, thick fluff, I began packing it back into the cream pots. What a messy situation; hands all covered in lotion as I scooped it in the containers. While doing this, I felt bits of solid cocoa throughout the mixture. That was not going to work! Argh, put all the lotion back into one of my many plastic, arthritis approved Folgers container and think of a solution. Ah ha!
It was so easy, and I was so glad to be using that coffee container! I got my big craft-use stainless steel stock pot and heated some water. Into that went the lotion in its container. Best part, the plastic container floated on the water perfectly and the depth of the stock pot kept it upright. I could stick blend up the mixture as it approached body temp.
Once the cocoa butter bits were melted, I prepped to pack the final pots. Even better: the temperature made it just thin enough to easily pour, plus it didn't stick to the container! The Folgers container and stick blender cleaned each other with a bit of dish detergent and water.
I love it when a problem turns into a new, better way of doing future projects.
All future lotion projects will now be done with my Folgers bain marie!