I have a lot to say but very little time (I'm guessing- Kisa is currently napping) to blog, so I will try to keep it short.

First, I had a great mother's day yesterday (and kind of on Saturday too). Matt cooked me breakfast and then we went downtown and had a picnic at Waterfront Park. The weather was beautiful and Kisa got to crawl around on the grass for the first time in her little life. She was well-behaved the whole day (not that she often isn't), and overall it was just a fun adventure with the fam.

Second, I made a ton of sales this week. Mostly to family members, but that is okay with me. I am trying to do some research on ways to promote my business because I think my problem with online sales is not getting enough traffic to my site. I've been watching my page views and I've only had a few new ones this week.

Third, I've created a new product! I made my first reusable grocery bag (thanks Ashby for the suggestion). I think it is pretty cute... in fact, I'll probably be making myself one in the near future. The thing that I am most excited about is actually the lining fabric, which I screen-printed with my own custom design featuring my logo. It came out exactly the way I wanted it to look. I told Matt that even if I had gotten it custom printed it could not have looked better-- I like the handmade/imperfection feel of it. Anyway, this one has already been sold but I'll be making more and I'll post pics of that and of the general screenprinting process (turned out to be much easier than I had imagined).

Fourth(ly)... I gave myself a great Mother's Day gift in honor of my daughter's ninth month of life, and that was seeing my pre-pregnancy weight on the scale this past week! Unfortunately I promptly gained some back due to the multiple Mother's Day Feasts, but I have not yet given up on my diet and plan to lose a few more pounds in the coming weeks. This is the second goal I have attained in my weight-loss/fitness journey. The goals help me stay motivated and track my progress. These are the ones I have set (some reached, some still to be attained):
1. Get weight back into the 120's/comfortably wear a size 4 (reached that one a while ago)
2. Back to pre-pregnancy weight by Ashley's wedding/fit into my bridesmaids' dress (whoops-I ordered a size too small. Anyway, my dress now fits, thank God!)
3. Wedding weight by my 2nd anniversary (121lbs by June 28th- I made this promise to Matt last year for our anniversary and would really like to reach this goal as a gift to both of us by this year. Shouldn't be a problem)
4. 117lbs/swimsuit body by my birthday. This is more of a fitness goal than a weight loss one. I have been working on my problem areas (basically the abs are the main offenders). This number represents the ideal weight for my height. I'm not tied to the number itself but rather the concept of peak physical condition, so that's really the goal, regardless of the # I end up with on the scale.

Anyway, I know to a lot of people this whole journey may sound a bit shallow, but to me it is about taking care of myself and being the best ME I can be. I have blogged about this before but I believe very strongly that maintaining your health is an important part of life AND an important part of marriage. Matt and I had a serious conversation about this before we got married, and made a commitment to each other to take care of our health and our bodies.

I have been considering this whole thing carefully in the last few weeks, trying to think very intentionally about what I communicate to my daughter about body image, diet and exercise. Now that I am responsible for parenting a girl (who will someday grow up to be a woman with body image issues of her own) I have to be very careful about what I teach her, either by my words or by my actions. I hope to model a lifetime of healthy eating habits and exercise, but not constant diets or insecurities. I want her to know that if she takes care of her body the best that she can then her shape isn't what's important. This is hard to do since we all struggle... and obviously there are some times when diets are necessary (like after you have a baby). But I hope to get to a healthy place for me, and then stay there. And hopefully by doing that I will be a good role model for my daughter.

Anyway... I had more to write but I have already spent too much of nap time blogging and now I will likely not have time to clean my kitchen. :) whoops.

Quick Poll:

Which is more annoying?:

A) Accounting programs that make life more difficult instead of easier OR
B) People who owe you money and refuse to pay you/communicate with you/acknowledge your existence OR
C) Taking your cat who has panic attacks in the car on a 45 minute (round trip) ride to the vet?

I am not feeling particularly cheerful today.

I think I am going to start some amateur screen-printing. It seems like that would really streamline my production process, and would be easier to pull off than creating my own stamp...

I kind of want to create my own textile, but I've been looking around and that is going to be way too expensive at this point.

Website

My website is up and running and I just (this morning) finished listing all of my merchandise, so you can browse my purses and shop for me online!

eccobase.etsy.com

Also, just as I was getting ready to post this link, I got an email from someone in Taiwan who'd like to buy purses in bulk and sell them overseas! Crazy! We'll see what happens...

I went through my facebook "friends" list and "hid" status updates from people who do the following:

1) Post constantly about what they are drinking, how much they are drinking, and/or how cool they are for drinking

2) Whine constantly about their failing relationships/friendship drama

3) Consistently use vague, emo-sounding song lyrics and/or poetry quotes as status updates

4) Post complaints of any kind more than five times per week


The end result being that I am now following about five people, and I don't really need to be following these people on Facebook because I actually see them in real life.

I feel bad for my family members... Matt commented to me last night that he felt "like death" and Kisa's eyes/nose/mouth look like Niagara Falls. :( Thank God for Nyquil and Baby Tylenol/Orajel, respectively.

I pretty much had to hold Kisa all night last night to get her to sleep. I can't tell if it is her tooth or her cold that is bothering her... but she was one unhappy little girl, and that is unlike her. Once she fell asleep she snored all night, which was kind of cute but also kind of annoying.

I feel pretty tired and sore this morning. I'm not sure if it's because I'm sick too or just because trying to sleep while holding an infant will yield such results.

Looking forward to nap time today.

Choke

I made the following baby foods today:

-Peas
-Mango
-Cantaloupe
-Blueberries
-Cherries
-Yellow Squash
-Potato
-White Grapes
-Lentils

Plus, I learned how to make my own blueberry juice.

It is really an exhausting process, but I prefer to do it all at once, and I think this may be the last time I have to do it... Kisa is getting to the age where she will start eating Real People Food very soon.

She would probably already be eating less pureed food if it weren't for the alarming number of choking incidents. On Sunday she choked on her dinner and after securing her safety I had a complete mental breakdown and sobbed in the bedroom for about 5 minutes. I realize that choking occasionally is a common and inevitable part of childhood, but it is REALLY disturbing watching your child struggle for air. I would go to extreme lengths to prevent this from happening again (for example, I spent over an hour today peeling a bunch of grapes because they are a common choking hazard and I just didn't want to take the chance... extremely tedious!).

I know that regardless of my best efforts to protect her, this stuff will STILL happen... which is the absolute WORST part of being a parent. :(



P.S. I know the heimlich, baby heimlich, and infant CPR. Should I ever need it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA:



It's so pathetic. If there were a thought bubble over her head, it would probably say, "Mommy, why am I in this cage?"

I had an amazing night of sleep last night. Definitely the best night I've had in 8 months... probably the best night in over a year (you kind of forget about third-trimester insomnia). Kisa is sleeping better every night, and I only had to get up once last night (and it was just a quick trip in and out of her room- less than two minutes). Soooo amazing. Also, she has started sleeping in later and later. When I weaned her off her early morning feeding, she had started rising at 5:30 or 6, which was pretty annoying. Today she slept in until 8! I haven't slept that late in months! It was so nice.

As for myself, I have had a very busy week celebrating two family birthdays and attempting to put 8 hrs/day into my business (Matt will testify that I have almost undoubtedly accomplished this). I have no less than seven bags that are just waiting on final stitches and paint/appliques, as well as two custom orders to get working on. I am making a goal for myself to get my etsy up and functioning by Wednesday (sorry Kristin.. there is just nothing to look at yet. I will give you the URL later this week!).

This past week was an experiment in streamlining my production process. I cut a pattern and fine-tuned a few methods, which made a huge difference in terms of quality, consistency and efficiency. It's also helped me to know exactly how much fabric I need for each piece, which means very little waste, also a huge plus.

I made almost $70 in sales this past week, a very energizing accomplishment for what was really my first week. It's very motivating- even $70 represents a good deal of material I can buy!

I am having a great week.

First of all, I have put a TON of time into my new business over the last few days, and I am starting to get some finished pieces. I sold my first piece over the weekend (to my mom... but still! It was exciting!) and I've finished two more since then, and will probably finish two or three more today. I've had a few people say they would buy from me already. I signed up for an etsy/paypal account this morning and pretty soon I will be able to snap some pics and actually list some merchandise! That will be incredible. :)

Secondly, over the past few days Kisa has made some great strides toward sleeping through the night. She is now officially night-weaned, which means no more 4 am feedings, and there is a potential for her to sleep all night long. She has not gotten there quite yet (our next step will be to transition away from swaddling), but I have been sleeping a bit better and I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yesterday Matt and I were able to complete our taxes (I know it was really late, but it is not my fault that it was last minute-- we had to wait on forms from RezDex for several months). I am excited about getting a "payday" from the government. We have talked about potentially paying off one of our mini-debts, which would be fantastic... we'll see what happens there.

And finally, as noted in my previous post, my diet has so far been very successful. Last night I saw a number 2 as the second number on the scale, yay!

So there is a lot to be happy about today. :)

diet update

5 lbs lost so far.

My goal for this week is to get back into the upper 120's (I am very very close), which will be a first since December '08. :)

My new favorite children's book

(Thanks Grandma Fortune)


On the Night You Were Born
by Nancy Tillman

On the night you were born, the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you and the night wind whispered, "Life will never be the same."

Because there had never been anyone like you... ever in the world.

So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain that they whispered the sound of your wonderful name.

You are the one and only ever you.

It sailed through the farmland high on the breeze...

Who in the world is exactly like you?

Over the ocean...

You are a miracle!

And through the trees...

Until everyone heard it and everyone knew of the one and only ever you.

Not once had there been such eyes, such a nose, such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.

When the polar bears heard, they danced until dawn.

From faraway places, the geese flew home.

The moon stayed up until morning next day.

And none of the ladybugs flew away.

So whenever you doubt just how special you are and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far, listen for geese honking high in the sky (They're singing a song to remember you by). Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo. (It's because they've been dancing all night for you!) Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind. (Listen closely... it's whispering your name again!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day, or a ladybug lands and decides to stay, or a little bird sits at your window awhile, it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in story or rhyme (not even once upon a time) has the world ever known a you, my friend, and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born.

---
"For you are fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139
---

Babyproof!

In the last couple of weeks, as Kisa has started to crawl, I have felt a growing urgency to remove every single object from our living room as I have caught her getting into (among other things) catnip, video games, power cords, and chunks of old baby food stuck to our kitchen floor.

When it comes to the subject of babyproofing, I have received all kinds of advice, from "remove all items but toys from your living room" to "don't change a thing, they need to learn how to live in the world". While I appreciate all the advice, I find both "camps" to be a little too extreme for my liking. While I have no immediate desire to turn my home into an Ode to Baby, I also think it is rather unfair to expect Kisa to immediately adapt to all of our desires. After all, there are three people living in this home, and my feeling is that we all have a right to live in a space that we find comfortable, beautiful and most of all: safe. Our bedrooms should be a place just for us, but the common rooms should be a compromise. Which means, at least temporarily, some minor changes need to be made to accommodate our curious (and surprisingly mobile) 8-month-old.


I spent the better part of today crawling around our living and dining room trying to assess possible dangers (Kisa has already done a GREAT job of finding most of them for me). I have a few items on my to-do list, but in general I think I have identified and solved most of the immediate concerns in our main living space.

The biggest thing for me is going to be trying to keep our floors as clean as possible. In a relatively short period of time Kisa went from sitting happily on her blanket to rolling/crawling all over the place, and it has been a reminder of my failure to clean as well as I should. Matt and I are pretty neat people, and we like to keep our place tidy, but as far as cleanliness goes, it has taken a real nosedive since Kisa was born. Soooo I'm going to have to add sweeping, mopping and vacuuming back to my list of regular tasks. I'm no germophobe (my parents are laughing right now if they are reading this), but I can't describe to you how disgusting it is to see your baby trying to lick up old, dried food that has been stuck under the high chair from the night before.

Anyway, one of my current goals as a parent is to try to let Kisa explore her world as completely as possible. I don't want to always be telling her no, or taking things from her, or taking her away from an object she is exploring. As long as she is safe, I want to be able to support her learning about the world she lives in. Which is why I have decided to (at least partially) do some babyproofing- so that I can be confident that our house is an okay place for her to explore without, you know, contracting some sick disease from her leftover squash.

I think I love Helen Mirren. When I grow up I would like to be some sort of Helen Mirren/Meryl Streep/Martha Stewart combo. Which, in my mind, means classy and sophisticated, old-lady chic, plus I'd be able to bake a killer cake and host a flawless Thanksgiving feast. And I'd be funny too.

I'm so glad it's finally Easter! I love Easter. Matt is playing in Vancouver this morning, so Kisa and I are biding our time until he comes home for brunch. I am thinking about how different this holiday will be next year- Kisa will be 20 months and we can have our first ever Easter egg hunt!

Also, hooray for Stations of the Cross being over. Phew. Now I can get back to working on those purses, and in general just not wake up with a full checklist of items every morning. :)

Wow, so, as much as I am a fan of Weight Watchers I have become uber broke after becoming a mommy and weight loss programs were one of the luxuries Matt and I cut from our budget.

I was pretty bummed, because I love Weight Watchers. I believe in their program, have seen it work for dozens of people, and have made it work myself. It has taught me how to make good decisions about what I eat, and I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for that whole having-a-baby thing I would probably still be at my goal weight. Alas, the sacrifices we make for our kiddos (whether voluntary or forced). Sigh.

Anyway, I decided I would do my best to use what I know to follow the program on my own, which isn't ideal, but I figured I could make it work. And you would not BELIEVE the plethora of weight watchers stuff that is just out there on the web free for the taking! I found the formula they use to calculate your points allotment (I already knew mine), I found the formula used to calculate points from a food... there are websites devoted to points values in restaurants and so forth. I still have some of my materials from when I did the program before my wedding, so I've been using that (which you can probably buy on ebay).

One feature I really did like about Weight Watchers online was that they had an app that let you calculate the points values in your recipes. Well, I just found a free website that does the same thing! It calculates all the nutritional info and then I can convert it to points values. http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

If I had the money, I really would pay to go the meetings. Their system is such that they give you the tools to continue the program on your own (once you reach your goal weight you can use everything for free as long as you stay within 5lbs of your goal) and over the years, I have probably put a few hundred bucks in their pocket... so I don't feel guilty for doing it on my own... I just wish I could have the community aspect of it.

Oh well. I am really motivated to lose my baby weight, and I have extra motivation to lose it by Ashley's wedding. Matt and I are both in the wedding, and I want to take advantage of having some nice family photos where we are all color-coordinated and pretty. Not to mention Ashley has been doing the Zone and she looks FAN-freaking-TASTIC, which just makes me extra excited and motivated to look my best too. There is something about seeing someone else succeed at something that is just so encouraging!

Bikini Body

Is it possible for a mommy? I guess we'll find out.

Starting up a more aggressive WW diet today so I can shed that STUBBORN baby weight.

(But I won't really ever wear a bikini, no matter how skinny I get)

Matt worked all day today and part of the day yesterday fixing up some stuff in our bedroom and bathroom. Mostly he was just finishing up the trim. There is now only one room in our house that is without trim: the main bathroom. We made a goal to remodel that bathroom this year, but who knows. We made that goal when we were a dual-income family. I hope we can get to it this year, but I can be content without the shiny new bathroom in 2010.

I love being a homeowner, but the state of our house is a constant reminder to me of how life did not go according to our plan. When we bought this place, we had planned to put a ton of time and money into doing all the remodeling we needed to do, then we could sell it for a profit and have enough money to buy a family home. Ha! All of our money instead went to pay for Kisa being born, and it will likely be a long time before we can finish all of the projects that we'd like to do.

It would surprise you (well, those of you who are not remodeling your own homes, which are very few of you) how quickly you can adjust to living in an unfinished space. For the most part, this doesn't really bother me, which I think is a necessity if you're going to be a DIY kind of person.

The problem I have run into, however, is that my work style is that of a sprint: I like to tackle projects fast and in rapid succession. So when we are able to do a little remodeling, my brain immediately wants to jump to the next project. Which means that when we're putting in a new window casing in our bedroom I can't help but think of the wall I want to knock out, the tile I want in my new bathroom, the vanity I want to build, etc. I have to learn to be patient about this, because this remodel is more like a marathon than a sprint.

Anyway, I digress. Matt put in the rest of the trim and installed a new blind in our bedroom, ripped out the glass shower doors in our master bathroom, and painted. I am having a really REALLY hard time trying to prevent myself from slipping into daydreams about the lovely slate tile I picked out for that particular room... but I am really happy with the work that we (and by we I mean he... I did absolutely nothing) did this weekend.

:)

Meanwhile, I took Kisa to the grandparents' house while I ran some errands (funny how errands seem less like a chore and more like free time when you are suddenly sans baby). I intentionally drove to a distant store so that I could enjoy the weather, the music, the solitude and the Mazda on the way. So nice.

Pearls of Wisdom

Below I have compiled some of my favorite tips amassed from my extremely wise friends and family:

Most headaches are a result of dehydration and can be cured with a large glass of water. (Dad)

When you are traveling, always wear your bulkiest clothing items, that way you don't have to check your baggage. (Dad)

You can create your own moisturizing scent by combining massage oil and essential oil. It is way cheaper and will last longer on your skin. (Grandma F.)

Sour candies are a good remedy for morning sickness. (Natalie Mulkey)

In lieu of a rolling pin, you can use a bottle of wine or a can of food. (Sarah Glathar)

If you purchase foundation or concealer and it turns out to be too dark for your skin tone, you can lighten it by adding sunscreen. (Tyra Banks)

You can get rid of grease stains on your clothing by adding dish soap directly to the stain (Real Simple)

You can extend the life of your dryer's heating unit by regularly scrubbing out the lint trap with soap and water. (My mother-in-law)

Frozen washcloths can provide relief for teething babies (Sarah Glathar)

If you pin your socks together before washing them, you will never end up with a loner (Real Simple)

You can use vaseline to moisturize dry skin, prevent puffy eyes and protect your lips from getting chapped. You can put it on your teeth to shine up your smile for pictures, and before drinking to prevent coffee/red wine stains. (Tyra Banks)

If you leave the avocado pit in with your guacamole when you store it, it will keep longer without getting brown (Sarah Glathar)

Along the same lines, lemon juice will prevent cut bananas, pears and apples from browning. (Mama)

A glass of milk will cure your heartburn (Jenn Miller)

I'm sad that District 9 didn't win last night. I don't know anything about The Hurt Locker, so I guess I need to watch it before I declare injustice. As excited as I am about the first female director to win an Oscar, I really thought District 9 was one of the best movies I have seen in years... and it deserved some recognition. I guess the nomination was enough.

Also, I have been itching to read the book "Push" ever since I saw the first trailer for Precious, and after last night, I am totally hitting up Powell's today to get a copy because I can't wait any longer...

In other news, I spent this weekend with my daughter, mom, cousin, grandma, and all my aunts in Seaside. It was an awesome trip. There was good food, chocolate, coffee, and my aunt taught me how to make mosaics out of old Starbucks cards.

She took up this hobby about a year ago (I think?) and it has earned her an "in" with the corporate artists up in Seattle (where she lives). She even got to tour their roasting plant and meet all the bigwigs. I have always wanted to learn to mosaic, but I've never had the tools/opportunity to do so... so it was a fun time for me. Not to mention having the opportunity to 100% focus on a craft for more than 20 min at a time, because there were plenty of people willing to take care of my baby.

I think Matt enjoyed having a weekend to himself as well, playing video games and sleeping without interruption.

Anyway. Time for breakfast.