The Crafts

I believe I implemented operation sleep a few months ago.  It worked...for like a day.  So here is round two of operation sleep because I just can't take it anymore. CJ and I have slept only one single solitary night in the last five months.  Today CJ is five months and one day old.  That means we haven't slept for five entire, very long, eye drooping, feet dragging, yawn filled nights. Here is the mission:  SLEEP! Here is how I will accomplish it:  I am moving into the guest room.  Matt will keep the bedroom and will have a super charged loud fan so he can sleep.  I am going to use the ferberizing method.  That is where you put the kid to bed sleepy but awake.  Let them cry for five minutes and then go in and reassure them.  Then cry for 10 minutes and another love pat.  Then 15 minutes.  I think you get the pattern.  Supposedly the Ferber sleep method works in seven-ish days.  So what is one week of torture if CJ and I have already gone through five months, right.

Hate is a strong word. So I feel confident when I say I hate it when someone calls me ma'am.  I'm only 32 years old.  No one should call anyone ma'am unless you need help carrying your cane or help pulling up your girdle.  In fact, I've made it my policy that I DO NOT call anyone ma'am, not even 'old ladies.'  If you have to call me something then call me miss or hot stuff or queen of the world.  But NOT ma'am. What about you?  Ma'am or miss? On a much different note, below is a project Kate and I recently worked on.  We transformed an old, terracotta pot into a super fun planter.  I'm really digging it.  This poor house plant.  It is sure to see the light sometime soon.  I somehow kill all houseplants.  But at least it gets to die in a pretty pot. 

Kate had her 3 year check-up this morning.  She weighed in at 40 pounds and 41 1/2 inches.  She is a tall girl!!  We knew she was going to need shots.  I didn't beat around the bush.  I told her, you have to get shots today.  I signed myself up for an H1N1 vaccination, as did Grandma Craft.  We thought that might make her feel better.  I came up with an idea to help get Kate through her shots.  We did several trial runs at home to prepare.  She smiled in practice, but not during the actual doctor visit. To distract her I gave her sunglasses and headphones to listen to her favorite song...Boom Boom Pow by The Black Eyed Peas.  It worked...sorta. Kate is very gentle with CJ so I almost always feel comfortable letting CJ spend time playing on a blanket.  The other day she rolled herself up like a hot dog and I had to snap some photos. Of course, CJ can't get her pic taken without her big sister joining in.  This picture makes me laugh out loud.  It looks like CJ is po

Kate went up another rung on the big girl ladder.  We recently removed her bed rails and she is doing awesome.  Not one fall yet...and boy, I hope that isn't a jinx.  CJ in Kate's bed celebrating Kate's big girl status. Kate and CJ in their matching heart jammies.  What cuties!!

Kate's large collection of art supplies has begun to take over the dining room.  The dining room is one of the central rooms in our house.  We spend a lot of time in there drawing, eating, playing and occasionally reading.  And because I want us to continue to use the dining room for things other than simply coloring, I had to come up with an organizational system.  Previously Kate had her own drawer in the buffet for paper and crayons.  Then we had to add a storage container for the art supplies and the drawer for paper only.  Then both the container and the drawer were overflowing.  So here is our new system... This drawer is for crayons, pens, markers, glue, paints and stickers.  I used box tops as dividers. And this drawer is for paper, coloring books, notebooks and another paint set.  Again I used box tops to separate everything. A wide angle view of Kate's drawers. And Kate in her jammies taking advantage of the new system.  The egg carton holds sequins and

I intended to post this back in late December.  So now that it is almost the end of January...well I thought it was about time I get around to it. My life has changed by leaps and bounds this past decade.  Although I suppose the same is true for most people. 2000 :  Graduated from UNI with my BA in Economics.  Was accepted into grad school at Iowa. 2001 :  Became great friends with Jen Fletcher (now Jen Smith) and never would have expected it.  We swam together at UNI but we were never close.  We ended up living a few blocks away from each other in graduate school and ran together every day.  This was also the start of my love for running.  Also in 2001 I received an intership in Fort Myers, FL and had a super fun summer! 2002 :  Graduated from Iowa with my masters.  Met my future husband two weeks before graduating and accepted my first professional job in Des Moines. 2003 :  Left my first professional job because my boss was a nut job and moved to Waterloo for a much, much bet

Don't you want to just gobble her up.  She is so cute and smiley!! Notice the princess sticker on CJ's leg.  That gift is courtesy of big sister Kate.  This pic was snapped at Kate's 3rd birthday party. Kate gave away at least one "welcome to my birthday party" sticker to each guest. We were all covered in stickers. But that is how most days go.  Kate loves her stickers.

I'm feeling a little like this guy today.  Hoping for a more rewarding day tomorrow.

After her 250th WHY question for the hour, Kate sighs and says, "I have a lot of words in my mouth."  Yep, I couldn't agree more. After randoms bouts of crying from Kate over the course of 2+ hours from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and our many attempts to console her...unsuccessfully, the next day Kate asks me, "Mom, why you come in my room last night and wake me up 2 times!?"  "Hmmm...I think it is the other way around sweetie." "NO, you wake ME up!" Above is Kate's attempt at playing Scrabble. She at least spelled her name and CJ's name right.  Oh, and I just noticed the word Dr. too.  And Read, Son and Tag....but that was my doing.

Seeing your kids smile...real, genuine, I love you smiles!! Of course, CJ may have been smiling about her toy and Kate was pleased she was eating pudding with whipped cream for snack...but I choose to believe they smiled because they love me.  :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATE! 3 years ago our world flipped upside down. We haven't been the same since. We love you and we are so proud of what you have done in 3 short years of life. You know:  the alphabet, how to spell Mom, Dad, Kate and CJ, how to count to 40 (sometimes), color, paint, use scissors (half the time), cook (kinda), sort laundry, zip your coat, dress yourself, perform a somersault and so much more! Mermaid dress Kate's birthday cake It required A LOT of dishes I LOVE the vivid colors...so fun!! It also left very vivid colors on my hands The cake before frosting...yeah, the blue layer had an accident This cake got a lot of oohs and aahs What a happy cake!  It may have taken me 3 hours of work but it was totally worth the time.

Well, I've been slaving away trying to figure out internet code and java scripts all in the name of improving my blog. It is not completely finished but it is getting close. Here are some things that are new in case you have not noticed. Most noticeable is the header which is a collage of cute pics. Second, I have discovered a hidden way to enlarge my photos in the individual blog posts. Third, on the right hand side you will see a heading that reads 'Happy Things.' Below this heading is a list of links to cool things I have found online that I would like to share with you. Finally, the picture of my family and the picture of our house are now links that when clicked on will lead you to any and all posts relating to my family or the house. I still have some work to do on these but the links now exist. I hope you will check it all out and PLEASE give me your feedback. You can share your feedback by posting a comment on this post or emailing me at craft@netins.net .

My blog is under construction and funny little things may appear and disappear at times. I'm hoping the end result will be super cool...but give me some time. Thanks!!

Last week we 'celebrated' CJ turning 4 months old! She has changed so much in 4 months and has made great strides in the last week and a half. In the past several days she has learned to roll over, grab toys and just today she discovered she has feet. She therefore makes several attempts to grab and slobber all over every toe. Too bad her socks keep getting in the way. Below is Kate at 4 months. Pretty similar!

What a day! Today was both horrific and glorious...if that is even possible. The day started ugly. After several days of poor sleep, Kate stumbled into our room around 6 a.m. and asked to sleep in our bed. It was the very first time she went to Matt's side of the bed. I think he was genuinely touched. About half an hour later we awoke to Kate throwing up all over the bed. Matt suddenly was less touched she chose his side of the bed. For the next couple of hours both girls were crying, I was covered in yuck and I had cleaned the bed, the couch and the floor...in several locations. Ugh! But as the day moved forward Kate became more and more healthy. Matt was somewhat sick on Sunday and this bug has moved through Kate. Now let's hope CJ and I avoid it! PLEASE! So the glorious part... CJ finally, miraculously drank a bottle! HALLELUJAH!! A whole new world has opened up for me!! And hopefully a whole new world for CJ as well. You see, CJ hasn't been sleeping well at all. And tod