Trouble with a Capital "T"

OK folks, remember my post from yesterday about my custom-designed infant car seat carrier cover for Ella? Well look what kind of trouble you can get in to when you just start randomly searching www.etsy.com for "diaper" + "bag":


Yes, that's right: it's a match for my new car seat cover.


And it is gorgeous. And roomy. And has lots of pockets for bottles.


And it is $50 from Gypsy Rose Handbags.

OK Allison, step away from your wallet . . . .

A Fresh & Easy Sandwich and Other Stuff on My Mind

It has been just too hot to cook. Meaning, I REFUSE to grill when it is 112 degrees outside and why bother turning on the grill when I could just slap a piece of meat on my patio floor and accomplish the same thing? I am also hugely pregnant, and get hot very easily, so that means that using my oven or a stove top burner on high is out of the question.

Also, the thought of any nice, cool egg or tuna salad has a problem--the mere THOUGHT or WHIFF of hard boiled eggs or tuna from a can makes me want to toss my cookies. (Sorry for the crude visual.)

I was reading The Pioneer Woman Cook's blog and found this FABULOUS alternative: The Crispy Veggie and Cheese Bagel Sandwich. Below is her fabulous photo:



Here is mine: (yes, the bagel is upside down which I did not notice until I turned one half over to assemble the sandwich.)


Let's just say that I am in Crispy Veggie and Cheese Bagel Sandwich HEAVEN. And, all of the ingredients came from Fresh and Easy. What gets better than that? (Oh yeah--eating it!) Ree politely points out that 1/2 of this sandwich is plenty. I beg to differ. I ate the whole thing, and the extra avocado and cheese I had left over. (James ate my grapes before I could wolf them down too.) Let's just say that my treadmill will be getting a serious daily workout about six weeks after Ella's arrival!!!!

OK, next topic--an infant car seat for Ella. If you have been reading my posts since the beginning, you know that I always had a problem with my Peg Perego infant car seat and stroller. So, after going through several strollers (you can read about that misery here) I ended up LOVING the Chicco Keyfit Stroller. The only problem is, I got it in orange, which is not suitable for a girl. And, not wanting to get a whole new travel system, this is the car seat I am registered for:

RIGHT--it is orange to match the stroller. (Sigh). So what's a Mommy to do? Well, on my friend Katie's blog I saw that she had an infant car seat cover (I didn't know such a thing even EXISTED) and I immediately went searching on Etsy to see what I could find. Lo and behold, I found an Etsy shop called Sassy Stork and fell in love with her covers. Here's one:



What is so great is that she makes custom covers, you just need to pick out the fabric. That's when I found these great fabrics (to go with the orange stroller) that would still be hip and girly:


The designer is Amy Butler and the line is called Lotus. If you are bored and want to spend some of the free time that you don't have gazing at gorgeous fabric, click here.

Anyhoo--I am VERY EXCITED about this car seat cover. It will be gorgeous, I am supporting handmade artisans AND Ella will be beautiful in her ORIGINAL car seat!

Ok, that's enough for now--I am off to make a bagel sandwich!

Tickle Me Tuesday

Sometimes working at home and caring for a toddler can be difficult--especially when he comes into my office and says "Mommy working?" and I need to send him out to play while I finish a project.

I have had to work hard to find a balance between creating a loving and fun environment with some structured learning activities and little reliance on the boob tube to keep him happy. Every now and then, though, you just have to stop and play. Like today. He asked me for the "Tickle Monster" and so we had some fun!!

Ella Will be One Lucky Girl!

Gini threw me a baby shower last night and it was JUST GREAT!! The crowd gathered at Bucca de Beppo, an Italian restaurant that we have come to know and love.

Here are a few shots from the event:

The yummy cake:

A neat baby quilt that a friend of my Mom's from Maine made (the theme is The Wizard of Oz, my all time FAVORITE movie. Sorry Ella, you'll be lucky if you get to have this, as I LOVE IT.)

And yet another baby quilt that Kathryn made, this one also Wizard of Oz themed with little Totos and red sequined shoes all over it (OK Ella, MAYBE you can have this one.) She actually made me three, count 'em THREE quilts, all by hand and exquisite in every detail. She is amazing.

Mom and Dad sent me some vintage baby items, like this 1940s laundry bag for baby things:

And these beautiful little shower cards that were vintage and teeny-tiny:


Gini went OVER THE TOP with a diaper bag STUFFED with baby clothes! Every conceivable cute outfit you could imagine was in here, I just kept pulling one out after another. Why can't they make this stuff in adult sizes???


OK, and the tear jerker of the whole party (what, me? CRY at the drop of a hat? Why what on EARTH could you mean???) This is a little book from Kimmy and Dennis for Ella--I guess there is a whole series of books about this character and I will want EVERY ONE OF THEM. There is just something so precious about seeing your baby's name in print for the very first time.


Ella also got great outfits from Hannah, Connor and Garrin that were all very rockstar girly-girl and they are just fantastic.


Gini also made this beautiful arrangement for me--it smells heavenly.


Here GET CLOSER . . . now can you smell it???


Anyhow, thanks to everyone who came and or sent us gifts, and thanks to Gini for making such a special day happen. It was so much fun to see all of these little things for our baby girl.

I spent a couple of hours at home afterwards going through clothes, blankets, bibs and toys, sorting everything out and getting it ready. And believe me--we didn't have anything ready for her, and thanks to you, she will be the best-dressed little girl around!

And hey, I just might, MIGHT be starting to like pink. (I know--its a shock for me too.)

Ugh . . . .

Only one thought for today:

MY CANKLES HURT!!!!!

26 days and counting.

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

It's official!

A year ago today I began to keep a blog about my family. Sharing stories, photos and thoughts with my family and friends has been a great experience.

Let's take a look back at the year.

In my very first post, James had his one year photos taken. How stinking adorable was he at 1?


Little did I know how fast the year would fly by . . .


And how quickly my baby boy would grow.


There were lots of fun outings, like this trip to Lake Tahoe,


And to Tulsa, OK to see the great-grandparents . . .


And back home to New England . . .

And tons and tons of kisses . . .


And smiles showing off new teeth . . .


And visits with cousins . . .


And more kisses . . .


And about a million trips to Jimmy John's for sandwiches . . .


Oh yeah . . . and the announcement of the impending arrival of a little sister!


The emotional ups and downs of pregnancy . . .


And some really short haircuts!


Plus, looking back, there was an awful lot of homemade food-related blogging. Remember:

• Muffeleta
• Pasta sauce
• Easter bunny cake
• Brown sugar cookies
• Tomato, basil and mozzarella salad
• Carrot cake

My obsessions with:

• shopping at Fresh and Easy
• Reducing, reusing and recycling
• button rings & bracelets
• growing tomatoes
• hair cuts (mine and James)
• blog layout and design
  

There were also many new family and friends and their blogs, including:

• Tao of Gini
• The Magpie Files
• Say La Vee
  
• Redhead in Vegas
• Streaming Egans
• Built to Last
  
• Endless Possibilities
  
• Stacker Stories

Two new babies came into the world:

• Matthew Francis Egan
• Claire Hayes Kennedy

What a great year of blogging! And for all of you who have been reading, thanks for being a part of my blogging world, and for leaving great comments, and for sharing in the laughter, the tears, the hopes, the frustrations, the humor and the dreams that I have been writing about.


Many thanks to Jerolyn and Katie for inspiring me to jump into the blogosphere. You ladies are the BEST!

Here's to another great year of blogging ahead!

Books, Books and More Books!

James is a very lucky boy because every couple of weeks he gets a nice box of books from his grandparents!
He knows exactly what he will find inside when he sees the box, and he gets very excited!


This was a great box, because it inculded a story about Donald Duck, one of James' new favorite characters.


He always spreads them out to take a look at them.


He definitely loves his book shipment. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Snacks and Pancakes

Just a few pics--way too much going on around here to be properly blogging . . .

James says that the best place to have a snack is flat on your back with your best bud:


And every morning he asks for either cupcakes "pupcakes" or pancakes "cancakes" for breakfast. Needless to say we have been quickly working our way down to the bottom of a giant bag of Krusteaz pancake mix!

And hey, my blogoversary is in 2 days!!!
I'll have to whip up something special for it. Stay tuned . . .