You know that with my li’l guy turning 1 this past week, I have a lot of pictures to share. :) So I’ll put my “best shot” first, then the rest will follow if you are interested in taking a look. You may notice that I had to use my flash for the majority of the pictures. Generally speaking, I prefer to go with natural light whenever possible, but I’ve learned that sometimes I need to get over myself and use my flash to avoid grainy as heck (see the pic of Julian and his cake for an example) and often blurry pics, especially on special occasions like birthdays.

(You can mouse over each pic for the caption.)

Best shot – I just love this shot of the two kiddos rolling around the bed together.:

And the rest of the birthday fun:

See more best shots over at Picture This (click the button):

Stumble it!

NaBloPoMo – Day 25

That is the question.

Later this week I’m heading into the mountains to Estes Park to spend a few days with my parents (as well as Jody, Ava and Julian, of course) at a resort. This is really the closest thing I will have had to a vacation in quite some time.

The resort has WiFi, but I’m questioning whether or not I want to worry about getting online at all (using Jody’s laptop) while I’m there.

WWYD (what would you do)??

Would you schedule some posts in advance to fulfill your NaBloPoMo commitment and enjoy the break from the computer and the Internets? Or, knowing you will probably want to at least check your email while there, would you plan to go ahead and continue blogging while on vacation? ‘Tis quite the dilemma.

Mayhaps* I will schedule some posts ahead of time and then reserve the right to change my mind and get online to post other things while I’m there. Spending a couple of nights away from home with two kids is bound to make for some interesting blog material. ;) Let’s just hope it’s not too interesting. I don’t need that much excitement.

Thanks in advance for your bloggy opinions. :)

*Like that word? Jody and I made it up years ago. We’ve got quite a few made-up words that have become part of our repertoire. :)

Stumble it!

NaBloPoMo – Day 24

Because we have officially entered into the holiday season, a season traditionally filled with a lot of waste, I’m going to list more than one green tip today.

• Every year, there are 2.65 billion holiday cards sold in the U.S. That’s enough to fill a football stadium field 10 stories high! Please look for cards that contain recycled content or are actually recycled materials. You can make your own cards out of scrap paper found around the house. You could use old cards as name tags for presents or for colorful artwork to decorate your house. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• If you send holiday cards, look for ones made of recycled paper. Avoid cards with glossy, shiny or gold foil coatings since these cannot be recycled. Save the cards that you get in the mail, cut off the front pictures, and reuse as “postcards” next year. This saves on postage too. Or, send ”electronic cards” or make a phone call instead! Crunchy tip from Amy: Or, send a picture of the kids or a family picture instead of a card. Friends and family are often very happy to get new pictures of the kids, and these won’t be thrown into the trash.
• If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
• If you go out shopping, bring your own tote bags and avoid coming home with an armload of plastic bags holding just one item.

Tips found at Green holiday tips and recycling

Have any green tips you’ve recently learned? Please email them to me and I may include your tip with a link to your site or blog in a future post. :)

Stumble it!

5 Minutes for Mom recently wrote a review (and such a wonderful review it was!) of the Big Brother and Little Sister shirts that I sell and they are giving away one infant onesie or toddler t-shirt of the winner’s choice from my store Cute As A Bug! Head on over there to enter for a chance to win!

If you haven’t checked out 5 Minutes for Mom yet, you should. They are giving away all kinds of great stuff this holiday season. :)

Stumble it!

NaBloPoMo – Day 23

It was at this exact time 2:14 p.m. on Nov. 23, one year ago today that my sweet baby boy Julian was born at home.

I never did post his home birth story on my blog but I have plans to do that in the coming days. His birth was a little bit out of the ordinary so it my hope that by having it “out there” on the ‘net, it might be useful and encouraging to someone else.

I’m in the process of writing Julian a letter recapping his first year that I will keep for him until he is older. I did the same thing on Ava’s first and second birthdays, though I admit I flaked out on her third.

What a difference a year makes!

Happy birthday, Julian! We are so happy and thankful to have you in our lives. May your second year of life be a wonderful as your first. :)

As much as I appreciated Rachel‘s suggestion for a birthday cake with breast milk frosting (from her comment on the previous post) LOL, I’ve decided instead to go with a vegan chocolate birthday cake, which I will be making along with big sister Ava’s help. Yum!

Stumble it!

NaBloPoMo – Day 22

One year ago on Thanksgiving Day I was not busy cooking a turkey, but I was busy giving birth to my 9 1/2 pound little butterball. ;) Julian’s 1st birthday is tomorrow on Nov. 23, but Thanksgiving Day each year will always hold a special place in my heart since that is the day he came into the world. :)

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

– W.T. Purkiser

Happy Thanksgiving to all. :)

Stumble it!