Yeah for the blanket sleeper!

Tara and Anna 1108
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

Kept the stripper in her clothes so no midnight baths and sheet changes! Yeah!

If she figures out how to work the zipper I guess the next step is duct tape til she is ready for night training.

Joy, we've reached the stripping phase.

Earlier this week Tara decided she would inform us when she needed a diaper change by removing all her clothes. This was taken to a new level tonight when I went to try and convince her to go to sleep and stop jumping in her crib to discover a soaked pillow and sheet with a happy but naked toddler. Fun!

Sooooo, I guess we are ready to explore potty training, but it seems she didn't get the memo. We can't start til after we get back from her grandparents house for Thanksgiving. I don't know about you but a 13hr one way drive is not where I want to explore this new experience with her.

So lets hope I can keep her clothes on her without anymore accidents til after the holiday and then we if she is willing we can work towards saying goodbye to diapers.

Holiday items coming to my Etsy shop

Holly Berry Ponytail Holders
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

Find this holly berry ponytail holder and other holiday themed items made from Polymer Clay at Polymer Posies on Etsy. I'll be added more in the coming weeks.

Today is election day in the US.

Democratic or Republican, if you are registered to vote go out and make your voice heard.

Lollishops coming soon.....

I'm very excited about a new venue I will be selling through later this month/beginning of December. Lollishops is all things girly and frilly, victorian and primitive. A juried site that will sell a variety of goods from dolls, jewelry and accessories to vintage and supplies. To find out more information please check out the Lollishops blog!

If you are and artisan or vintage seller who thinks Lollishop would be a good fit for your business, you can pre-apply here! When you apply if you could mention my name as a referal I would appreciate it. Just put Blue Lady Studios down on the application. :)

Lollishops has a soft/beta opening scheduled for November 15th! You can find Blue Lady Studios making her grand opening appearance on or around December 1st! Hope to see you there!

Kimberly

Happy Halloween!

Ghostly images!
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

Hope all you ghosts and goblins had a great Halloween.

Our house was home to a vampire/witch, a butterfly fairy princess, a good old fashioned princess, and a That 70's Dude.

It only took Tara a couple houses to get the drill, door, candy, thank you, door, candy, thank you. She was even saying Trick r' Treat by the end of the evening. The girls had a blast and came away with a nice big pile of candy. Even Tara got around a dozen or so items that are safe for her to eat which combined with the skittles I bought her will keep her in candy for quite awhile.

Another Halloween down and the start of the Holiday season is upon us as we prepare of Thanksgiving then Christmas!

Ok, I think I am done with cold weather,

Granted it hasn't gotten too terribly cold yet, and today was the first day I went out to frost on my car, but still I'm over it. It's going to be a long winter.

Rice Krispy Disaster.

So the plan was to make rice krispy treats for Anna's Pre-K class. No problem. Being the crafty Mom I try to be at times I planned to make them in a fun shape. I already did pumpkins for Katy so I was going to do something diffent. Witche's Hats. Black is near impossible to get from food coloring so I was going to do purple hats with green trim in the form of yogo strips.

Well, I don't know if it was the generic rice krispies or the stuff not wanting to cooperate but I couldn't get the stuff to stick together for the life of me. I tried for a good 20 minutes before giving up on the hats and thought, I'll make little purple snakes, but that fell apart too. So after 40 minutes of wrestling with the rice krispies I surrendered and pressed them into a cookie sheet.

So Crafty Mom failed tonight. They are sweet and tasty and that is all the kids will care about, but I still wish the cute little hats I had pictured in my head had been able to materialize.

Relieved to report that Zoe only has a kidney infection!

Three weeks of antibiotics and she should be fine. We were worried about out girl.

Naptime. I miss you already......

Tara is slowly giving up her naps. She has been down to just one nap for a very long time now, but she has always loved her after lunch nap. That is changing. More times then not in the last two weeks she has simply talked to herself and her plush companions for two hours rather then sleep. She is still in a crib and while capable, has shown no desire to get out for now. I am sure she will soon seek freedom from the boredom of her room as she is no longer snoozing.

I'll miss you naptime. You were a good friend.

The waiting is the hardest part.

The Vet feels there is something going on with our Zoe girl's kidneys. He think either a kidney infection or kidney disease based on what he knows so far. The kidney infection is preferable as it is easily treated. The other.......

Well, we really don't want to think too much on the other.

So we wait for a phone call and hope for good news. I hate waiting.

Costume shopping is finally done! Sort of.

Tara was so easy. I picked up two cute costumes at Target. Showed them to her, she grabbed one, hugged it, said thank you and put it next to her. Done!

Her sisters are another story. Anna wanted to be whatever Katy wanted to be. Katy didn't want Anna to be like her. Then Katy couldn't decide what to be, but she was certain it was not at Target. So we were left to this weekend, the weekend before Halloween and if they didn't find anything at the Party Store they just were out of luck.

So we were steeled for another, there is nothing here I want to be or worse a case of I want to be this, that and this all at once(one idea batted around was a spider-bird-fairy-princess) and having to try and talk them down as with various things going on we are not in a position to spend $40+ per kid for a cheaply made costume.

So with grandparents in tow we entered the store and were pleasantly surprised as each daughter rapidly selected what they wanted and the good clerk behind us, picked right up and requested the sizes we needed before we had to ask.

Anna happily received hers and this is where the kink came in. They were out of Katy's. So back to the wall o' costumes. After much discussion, an agreement to still buy vampire teeth and to add a broom to the list we selected a second choice and made our way to check out. This should be the end. But two broken brooms and no vampire teeth suitable for a 6yr old who will want to take them out fifty times a hour we left with me knowing I'd be looking for these items later this week.

To top it off though. I discovered after we were home with our non-returnable costumes that Anna's was not the right size. She fits, but barely. I'll be waffling tonight on wether to leave it since it does fit if a bit snug, or bite the bullet and hope the store has a larger size that I'll need to take in.

Decisions, decisions.

Eggless Pumpkin Pancakes

Tonight, I just didn't want to make what I planned for dinner. So I decided to experiment a bit.

It turned out better then planned and the older girls had not only seconds but thirds.

I took the basic bisquick recipe and went from there. I am not the best when it comes to measuring so you are forewarned.

2 cups of bisquick
1 cup of milk
around 4 tbs of pumpkin puree
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice(I just kind of shook the container til satisfied but 1 tsp sounds about right.)
1 tbs of sugar
1 tbs of brown sugar

Mix and make as normal. This makes a thick pancake batter due to the puree, but ours turned out nice and moist.

Anna has declared these the best pancakes ever (at least til the next pancake meal), and wants to eat them every night. Not so sure about that, may get a bit tired of pumpkin after awhile. :)

Ok, well that didn't go quite as planned....

As has been mentioned Tara has a variety of food allergies. Besides the big ones, she had a few mild reaction allergens(rice, chicken, turkey). We had been given the go ahead to reintroduce these items this past winter but decided to hold off.

Now Mike's latest visit to the Dr included a request that despite his daughter's meat restrictions that he needed to look at added more fish and chicken to his diet and to cut out ground meat/pork and stick to lean red meat. Ok, so we made the decision to add chicken back hoping to avoid separate meals for Mike and/or Tara.

Test night was last night. She devoured her chicken and quickly asked for more. This was supposed to be one of her allergens that causes some itching at worse case. So it was quite a surprise when her face turned bright red moments after getting her second helping so around ten minutes after her first helping. A quick dose of benedryl and taking away her plate she was fine, but confused why she couldn't have more of the yummy chicken.

Guess we'll give it a week or two and try rice which shouldn't be a problem as she has had a few things with rice flour.

Looks like turkey is still off the menu for Thanksgiving.

Happy 'Happy Day' Baby Girl!

Tara's Second Birthday!
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

My baby turned two today! A happy but bittersweet occasion as my final baby gets a wee bit older.

Quotables from Anna......

Katy is reciting nursery rhymes. Current one on her play list, Hey Diddle Diddle. She had just got to the end with the fork running off with the spoon and went in search of a fork and spoon. When she found one of the many tea party forks she turned towards where her sisters were playing and we hear:

Anna: 'I can be a spoon, my head is kind of shaped like one.'

And so it begins..............

The second day of school and we have our first birthday party invite. May the festivities begin!

:D

One more baby leaves for school.....

My middle girl Anna had her first full day of school today. She started Pre-K yesterday and so now I am the mom of two school age kids.

The house is really quiet without Anna. Unless pulled into playing with Anna, Katy all in all is a pretty quiet child. Turns out Tara is much the same, content to look at books, watch her shows and play dollhouse without much fuss.

Tara is missing her sisters though, she has called out to them several times today. Wondering where they are and asking if they are hiding, then wanting me to help her find them.

I should be reveling in the quiet and the ability to get a bit more work done during the day, but am finding myself with a lack of motivation. Guess Tara isn't the only one who will have to adjust to the new status quo.

As for the big school girls, they are loving it so far. For Anna its a big new world and she is enjoying having others to play with and getting to try new things. Katy just loves to learn and so school is one of her very favorite places to be, though she was disappointed they didn't get to do any math on the first day. She hopes they will do some today. She must get that from her Dad! :)

Just your friendly neighborhood glass inspector,

Praying Mantis 3
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

Literally moments after the glass repairman moved my van back into place after fixing the windshield this little lady/gent popped up onto of the car and proceeded to climb all over the new glass. We joked that s/he was inspecting his work.

Katy and Anna were positively fascinated and wanted to bring it inside. The girls who freak out if a fly is within 10 yds wanted to take the pretty green bug for a pet.

What a nice surprise...........uh, yeah.......

Bad day for the car
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

So Monday night Mike goes out to retrieve our IKEA purchase from a couple days prior and as I'm looking at the car, I think it looks just a wee bit off. A couple, no, couldn't be, must just be the dark playing tricks, I open the door to confirm that yes, my rear view mirror has fallen off taking a large chunk of glass with it. Joy!

Today, the very nice glass repairman came out and installed my new windshield so she's all fixed. Which leads me to my next blog post.

National Zoo on Caffeine and Sheer Will Power

National Zoo
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

Two recommendations, do not try to do the Zoo in the middle of July or after a night of little to no sleep. Little would be me, no would be Mike. As often happens with our little family, nothing goes quite as planned. After arranging to have last Thursday off to make up for working that previous weekend we were going to get the girls out of the house and take them to the Zoo. The plan, to get up around 6:30 and try to be at the Zoo when it opened at 8am. Simple, easy, I had snacks packed, breakfast was to be on the go, we'd be there early enough that we'd eat lunch on the way home.

Then a simple fix at work turned into a 24hr haul at work as Mike got home Thursday around 5am, about 24hrs after he left for work the previous morning. He collapses on the couch that I am not occupying and we try to catch a bit more sleep. Apparently the girls internal clock knew about our original time frame because they awoke us at 6:30am ready to get going.

Two sluggish parents attempt to get up, get people dressed and ready to go. We end up not getting on the road after gas and caffeine for the adults til around the time we had hoped to be at the zoo.

Add in a few wrong turns even with GPS Navigation, we get to the Zoo a bit after 10am. Not realizing there were two more parking areas we sought out street parking and ending up adding an extra mile round trip walk to our journey. This is where the recommendation to not head out to the zoo in July comes in. It was hot, very hot, and while the zoo had cooling stations every tenth of a mile, the streets leading away and to did not. Also, if you are tired and overheated, don't go into the Amazonian exhibit. When they say its muggy and hot, they mean it. :)

The girls though, were happy, excited and enjoyed themselves immensely. Well worth the trip in the end. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueladystudios/sets/72157606276848876/

I wonder how I'd do with actual caffeine in my system?

Created by OnePlusYou

Eggless Cookie Experiments

So I've been testing out eggless cookie ideas/recipes.

When Tara was first diagnosed with her allergies we mostly stuck with the expensive boxes of mix. Those often contained rice though and the taste was a bit granular.

So I looked at my alternatives. Ener-G egg replacement was out, the stuff works but leaves a chemical taste. Ground flax see was another option but no, not for cookies.

So I went for the bananas.

If you love the taste of bananas this is the option for you.

Take your normal, well loved chocolate chip recipe and instead of eggs mash up 1.5 to 2 small/med bananas. A little banana gets you a dense cake like cookie, larger amount gets you a thin batter that makes a crisp but chewy cookie.

These are a big hit, but I decided to try out pumpkin as I was a little burnt out on the banana.

2-3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree for the egg worked really well. I threw in a dash of cinnamon for the hell of it. Mike says he could definitely taste the pumpkin but I didn't really notice it. They tasted like typical chocolate chip cookies to me. The girls love them so they passed the big test.

This fall I may skip the chocolate chips, up the pumpkin and throw in some more cinnamon and ground cloves for a really nice spice cookie.

On the list for future testing: applesauce!

PCAGOE May Floral Challenge

PCAGOE May Challenge Entries
Originally uploaded by divadea

Vote for your favorite floral entry at pcagoe.com from May 1 to midnight on May 3. All voters will be entered in a random drawing to win a prize!

Working, working, working

working, working, working
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

The purpose of posting a picture of my wall. To keep me motivated, hopefully to get these projects done while working on Blue Lady stuff and taking care of the girls. I've finally gotten the front room(aka Mom's Art Room) painted. Now I need to finish it up by painting the stairwell and hallway. We're going from a mocha color to Navajo white. Not pure white, a bit of color, but it lightens that room up nicely and since I spend a great deal of time working in that room its a good thing. As you might have noted, my girls have been using the hallway as an art gallery. Featured in this show is Katy's Picaso inspired painting.

Yes, the artwork will go back after the paint dries!

So this weekend's task: To paint the hallway. (Yes, Mike, this means I've decided to postpone the bathroom.)

Such a cute face, such a pity she's a toddler....

Tara
Originally uploaded by blue lady studios

Slipping away are the days when I referred to my youngest as the good one. Sadly, I must report that at one and half years of age she is turning into a toddler.

Yesterday my middle girl, Anna comes to me as I'm working online and tells me there is a funny smell downstairs. I'm assuming some little one needs a change. Turns out there isn't anything funny about the smell as I'm greeted to this awful acrid burnt smell, I think it must be the furnace and turn it off, verify that the house is not in fact on fire and settle in to air out the house and call the heating company to check it out. An hour or so later the smell is still there, seems to be getting stronger, I'm about to call the gas company or the fire department when I decide to check the thermostat one last time before we leave. Its off, but the dial on the box next to it is set to 70.

The old baseboard heating sytem is on. The baseboard that my couch is sitting against, is on. A quick visual check shows nothing burnt, so the smell was most likely a couple decades worth of dust inside the unit burning off.

So I had two suspects, Anna knows better then to mess with it, Tara on the other hand is delighting in her new found height and abilities to get into things she should not so it is over. I must face the fact that my baby, my youngest is a toddler.