{emery's first time meeting cooper!}

this has been quite the blogging hiatus! for those that don't know me personally, our little peanut, that was due May 17th, decided to come April 4th! I've been in and out of the hospital since the end of Feburary, when i started having contractions. my math oriented husband just realized last night that either cooper or I have been in the hospital a total of 54 days. 

my water broke at 32 weeks, so i was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks until he came naturally {he came the day before they planned to induce me}

{easter sunday!}

after 3 attempts to go home, cooper finally decided he was ready after 5 weeks in the NICU. we decided to come home on an apnea monitor, which is bitter sweet. i love the security of knowing when he needs help, but man oh man, i'll be glad when i don't have to lug the thing around everywhere and make sure i'm near an outlet to plug it in while i hold him. 

{explaining the monitor to emery}

and, not gonna lie, i do not miss having to drive 15 minutes, ride an elevator, sign in to the NICU, and scrub my hands for 3 minutes every time i want to feed my baby!

the day we got home we had a super small ice cream birthday party for emery! she was just as giddy about her party as she was for cooper to be home :-)

emery and andrew are ice cream addicts. my parents got me an ice cream
maker for christmas and i'm so excited to be making
healthier dessert for my sweet tooth family!

emery and cooper picked out presents for each other {;-)} ahead of time and exchanged them on sunday.

cooper got emery a stroller for her baby dolls!

and emery got cooper a toy for his car seat and an elephant rattle!

monday was her actual birthday - since we'd been dying for months to have some fun family outings, we decided to brave Deanna Rose Farmstead and were thankful both kiddos did great! emery was most excited about the chickens, because she was hoping to see baby chicks, but sadly there weren't any :-/

we let her push her baby doll around the farmstead
and she loved it! cooper knew just what she wanted ;-)

i was super impressed that she wasn't scared!

we're loving being under the same roof! emery smothers cooper with hugs and kisses, constantly saying "hold you? hold you?" can't wait for them to play and interact together as he gets older! 

anyways, hoping to get back into a routine with blogging! now you know why i've been MIA

love and 4 pound babies, 
amber

garlic oil for ear infections.

as i slowly get off the mainstream path, i'm constantly fascinated by the gobs of information on natural remedies. i used to often think about how lucky i was to be alive in the current era with all the modern science of care. not to say that doctors aren't a huge blessing when truly needed, but i'm surprised it never occurred to me that all the generations before us "somehow" survived. it seems the only things you hear about are the bubonic plague and how no pioneer ever showered or washed their hands and come to the conclusion that society as a whole was completely ignorant before modern care came around. at least that's what i thought.

one of the most basic and common remedies i've found is homemade garlic oil for ear infections. i've found several websites and blog posts about it, but all were a little different. if i'm going to attempt to heal my family naturally, i want to read everything i can! this is a collection of my findings.

 

1. heat 4 TB olive or coconut oil on low. once warm, add 2 cloves minced garlic and remove from heat. let sit for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. i read different places that it can be stored in fridge for 4 - 14 days {range from 3 different sources}. just to be on the safe side, i opted for the smaller number {i only needed it for 3 days anyway}. either way, when you apply it to the ear, this article warns that if done while oil is cold, can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and pain. heating in the microwave can cause hot spots, which would also be awful. i warmed my oil the same way you would warm a baby bottle - in a container of warm water, to bring it to room temp.
3. you don't want to get garlic chunks in the ear! strain your oil through a cheese cloth or clean, fine mesh towel and squeeze all the excess into a bowl.
4. now you're ready to go. i used a dropper from Whole Foods that cost about $2. {but i kept the oil stored in the glass bowl out of personal preference. i wanted to be able to feel that all the oil was the right temp, which i didn't feel like i could do if i stored and warmed the oil in a dropper bottle.} Apply 3-4 drops of oil per ear, about 20 minutes apart. this was not the easiest thing to do with a toddler, but she also had RSV so she was super lethargic and fell asleep in daddy's arms while he read her books. Andrew would hold her while she laid on one side, i'd add the drops, and they would read books or watch a movie until it was time to switch to the next ear.
5. this is something i haven't come across on a blog, but that a friend {who's been doing this for years with her 4 boys} recommended - she slices a piece of garlic, sticks it over  the ear {large enough that it wont go in the canal},covers it with a bandaid, and leaves it for the day. While i'm sure it helped, i probably wont do this with a female toddler again. she was squirmy enough that i caught her hair in the bandaid which made her even more miserable during naps {she couldn't move her head without it pulling her hair}. If she was a boy with short hair or old enough to understand what was going on and hold still, i wouldn't have had the same problems and would do it again.

Misc. Notes:

• our chiropractor told me a few days ago that a simple adjustment will often heal an ear infection. He explained that in young children, their ear canal is horizontal and often has a hard time draining properly. He said eventually, the canal forms a slant that enables easier drainage {which is why younger people tend to get infections more often.} He said that if a certain disk in the neck is slightly out of place, it can also effect the drainage. He said it's one of the most common reason he sees kids for adjustments and that it's simple and effective. We'll definitely be trying this next time!
• garlic oil is the most basic way i've read to treat an infection on your own. it worked great for emery and i didn't have any concerns. if you feel like you need to do more, or that things aren't getting better, check out Creative Christian Mama's post on healing ear infections naturally. She did several things above and beyond the garlic oil that helped achieve a speedy recovery. She also notes several warning signs to look out for that might indicate the need for doctor's care.
• i've considered buying an otoscope for personal use and reading up on what a healthy and infected ear look like for the times i can't tell and my kids can't communicate it to me. If we hadn't gone to the ER for emery's RSV, i would have had no idea she had the infection. She never tugged on her ears or acted like they were bothering her. i think i would be more comfortable being able to check her ears when she's acting differently just to make sure i'm not missing the signs!
• if you're looking for natural remedies for other things, check out my pinterest collection! i've been gathering all sorts of information on treating different illnesses and have pinned them under several boards labeled "body care". If i have need for them in the future, i plan to post about my experiences with each of them.

what natural remedies have you tried? have they worked? i'd love to hear your experiences!

love and healthy toddlers,

amber.

color & shape theme for toddlers: valentine matching.

i've never been into decorating for valentine's day, but for some reason {probably thanks to pinterest} i can't stop planning valentine projects!

painting, gluing, and coloring valentines!

a little photo shoot!

{left - i couldn't throw away the hearts from the
photoshoot so i made a giant heart above our desk!
right - a simple burlap banner hanging from our mantel}

but, the real reason for this post: another color learning activity!

• i just did another search for clip art, this time for hearts.
• printed one of the hearts on card stock as a stencil and traced 8 hearts {2 of each color}. 
• i taped one of each color to card stock {i plan to laminate this next time i'm at mardel}
• and then put the rest in a pile.

she did really well, other than one mistake. She gets the concept of one-to-one correspondence, so she could match them without knowing what color was what. To make sure she was learning as she played, i told her what color to pick up next. She knows purple, but this was great practice for white, pink, and red. 

like i said in the circle bath post, i like keeping the color options small to keep it from being overwhelming and i like to play the game several times a day for reinforcement.

i also love taking advantage of the holidays to learn specific colors and shapes!

you can't tell by her face,
but she was excited when she
looked down and realized she had
hearts on her jammies!

what valentine fun are you up to this month?

love and hearts,
amber.

burlap bean bag door stop tutorial.

my door was driving me crazy. 

 

i love to have it open when we're expecting guests, so they can just come right in, but i always had to move our ottoman to prop it open.

i wanted a small, simple door stop but didn't feel like shelling out much cash. i searched on pinterest {like always} for different ideas and came across a few super cute burlap ones on etsy. they had basic silhouettes painted on them, but were $10 plus shipping and handling. i have burlap (only a dollar or 2 per yard, with coupon), i have black paint, i have a bag of beans, and i have a hot glue gun. how hard can this be?

crazy easy.

first, i found the images i wanted through a google image search for clip art silhouettes {i did 2 different pictures, one on each side.}

second, i cut out and traced the images on the burlap.

third, i filled in the images with black paint, 3 times because it was hard to fill in all the holes.

fourth, i cut out the images in a square shape {i wish i had left more room around the edges :-( allow space for glue!!}

fifth, i layed the burlap pieces on top of each other with the pictures facing each other. then i hot glued 3 of the 4 sides together IN BETWEEN the burlap pieces. {sry, i was so focused i forgot to take pics}

sixth, once cooled off, turn the burlap right side out, fill with beans half way. fold the edges of the opening and hot glue HALF of the last side.

seventh, fill bag rest of the way. finish gluing  {if you try to fill it all the way with beans and then glue the whole thing all at once, the beans pull the sides too far away from each other to glue easily. and if you, on step 5, glue 3 and a half sides, when you flip it right side out, the burlap rips apart because the hole is too small. trust me, i speak from experience.}

love and a welcoming door, 

amber.

color & shape theme for toddlers: circle color bath.

i feel like it's been forever since i've been able to create intentional learning opportunities for emery, but we're finally back to a normal schedule, so we're focusing on colors and shapes!

i plan to post each activity we do separately and then organize the links on the "kids" page for easy reference.

the first thing we've done so far was a primary colored polka dot bath. i found the themed bath idea on pinterest from Play Create Explore and kept it in the back of my mind. the other day while shopping at target, i stumbled upon foam polka dots in the dollar section! score.

there were 2 colors that had one extra polka dot, so i used a punch to cut a few small ones for fun.i was blown away by how much emery's loved this!

on the Play Create Explore blog, her child sorted the circles by color on the wall - totally over emery's head right now. 

• we play a basic game where i ask her for a specific colored circle and she hands it to me. 
• when i have all of them in my hand, i give them back to her and she hangs them all back up, begging to play again! the more we play the better she gets!

i like that there are only 4 colors in the set - i don't want overwhelm her. i feel like only having 4 to choose from helps her learn these 4 really well. for different activities, i'll also keep it limited, but with different colors :-) 

looking for more basic color toddler games? here's a post with a valentine theme!

what are your favorite color toddler activities??

more to come soon :-)

love and learning,

amber.

tea stained gift tags.

i'm a little obsessed with antiquing paper. i've done it for ornaments, framed art, a cowboy wanted poster,

 and now gift tags for christmas.

i love it because it's easy, cheap, and has such a stunning effect.

in the past i've always used coffee, but i'm not a coffee drinker. i'm a tea girl. i was always under the impression that  tea wouldn't work as well - not the case.

first, i typed up the label in word, changing up fonts and text size for fun. i printed them on card stock and punched them out with my mom's "stampin' up" gift tag punch. 

then i laid them out on my super gross cookie sheet (we switched to stoneware cookie sheets awhile ago, so i pretty much only use this for staining paper. incase you were worried i actually cooked on that greasy thing.)

i boiled about 3 cups of water with a tea bag (the darkest tea i had was a chai. something like sleepytime might not work as well.) for about 15 minutes to get it concentrated. i attempted the same method i used when antiquing with coffee (pouring it all over the paper on the cookie sheet), but the stain was so dark i couldn't read the tag.

i tried to water down the tea, thinking i had boiled it to long, but it still came out too dark.  3rd time's a charm - i dipped the tags in the tea and laid them out on the cookie sheet. perfecto.

you know they're done when the tags start to pull away from the cookie sheet. click here for a visual.

sorry this is a little blurry.

i absolutely love adding personal touches to homemade gifts! i also contemplated gluing the paper to fabric after i stained it to add a layer of texture, but didn't have any fabric on hand that looked right. these would also look neat with torn edges! the possibilities are endless!

love and personalized presents,
amber.

fridge magnet christmas tree.

i'm back in the land of the living! first trimester is over and i'm pretty much functioning like a normal person again :-) SUCH a good feeling! for anyone interested, the accupuncture and magnesium pills saved me - for anyone that deals with Hyperemesis Gravidarum {aka extreme, extreme "morning" sickness}, i beg you to try these 2 things out! i was better several weeks sooner this time than last time!

ok, now onto my reason for posting!

i'm having a blast making emery a part of christmas this year - she's been having so much fun with all the decorating and DiY projects going on at our house right now! this fridge magnet christmas tree is right up her toddler alley...

if you missed it, the tutorial is pretty much the same as the fall magnet tree. 

• i taped green paper on the fridge, free-handed the tree shape, and cut it out. 
• printed off ornament and star clipart on cardstock and cut them out.
• and laminated it all for 25 cents a foot at Mardel. easy peasy.

{while i was sick on the couch,
emery developed an obsession with being naked.
i hear this is normal, but i don't how she
isn't freezing!}

this is perfect for her to play with while i'm cooking dinner or cleaning the kitchen, especially because the ornaments on our real tree are no-nos :-)

what are some fun ways you make christmas decor kid-friendly??


love and happy toddlers,
amber.