birthday

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    Babies Don’t Keep

    ByHeather Bailey

    My giveaway plans were derailed today by a very important little person and his very own 2nd birthday. Little Evan
    is two years old today! When I giddily plucked him from his crib this
    morning, we snuggled up on Charlotte's bed while I sang him a Happy
    Birthday song. At the end of every phrase, Evan chimed in with "cake!" 

    Happy Birthday to you…cake!…Happy Birthday to you…cake!… Happy Birthday dear Evan…cake!…Happy Birthday to you…cake!

    He knows what's important.

    EvanCake_2yearsold_470bT

    It took us till eveningtime to finally make good on the promise of
    cake with a small family birthday party. Boisterous cousins followed
    Evan about, patting his head and picking him up in turn. By the time
    cake was served, Evan couldn't care less about the stir of children
    throughout our home. Cake, at last—what a birthday is all about.

    I wanted to write Evan a little love note today to enumerate his
    sweet particularities at this age, count the many ways in which I love
    him. But, Sundays are my busiest days—even without a birthday to
    celebrate. As such, the love note didn't happen. And today's giveaway
    post didn't happen either. When it came down to it, I had to choose
    between photographing and writing a giveaway post and giving my little
    son his birthday dues—time, attention and cake. I chose the baby.

    I could prep and post today's giveaway
    now, but it's getting too late in the night to do our awesome Day 25
    prize justice. Instead, I'm going to go for a double header tomorrow and
    put up two separate giveaways in two separate posts. Hang tight and
    watch for those tomorrow. I'll make sure the deadlines are generous so
    you won't miss your chance.

    Happy, Happy Birthday to my darling boy. From our early morning
    cake-song to my late-night blog update, today, I'm reminded of this
    lovely poem by Ruth Hulbert Hamilton—though it could use a new stanza about the internet, the computer and the smart phone:

    Song for a Fifth Child

    Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
    Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
    Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
    Sew on a button and make up a bed.
    Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
    She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

    Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
    (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
    Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
    (Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
    The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
    And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
    But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
    Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
    (Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

    The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
    For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
    So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
    I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

  • Baking in the Heat

    ByHeather Bailey

    PeanutButterChocolateCheesecake
    Elijah's friend, Clint, had shoulder surgery last week, a few days before his 16th birthday. He dove through a waterfall and the force of the water did the damage. Isn't that crazy?

    PeanutButterChocolateCheesecake2TElijah decided to bake him a cheesecake—yes, my teenage son—I must be doing SOMETHING right.

    My car was at the mechanic's, so I rode my bike to the store for his supplies. It took some clever stacking to fit everything into the basket, with the cold cream cheese packed neatly around the chocolate to keep it from melting in the intense Arizona heat.

    As the old saying goes, "If you're going to spend the day baking cheesecake, make two." So I doubled the shopping list.

    Okay. There's no old saying. But there should be.

    Elijah's first time baking cheesecake was tied to the bullying incident I posted about last April. He has since baked a lot of pies, but not many cheesecakes. In fact, I regret not designing a little Summer of Pie keepsake book for him, cataloging the various pies he baked last summer. Truth was, his pies were always finished in the evenings, then decimated by morning. Attack of the pie people. Not ideal for photography.

    This time he went for layered Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecakes with Oreo crusts. And he pulled them off perfectly. One cake went to Clint's birthday party and the other has been slowly disappearing from our fridge, one sliver at a time—it might be more fattening than bacon.

    DishesSq250flThen! Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, Elijah cleaned up the entire cheese-and-peanut-butter-coated kitchen. I had to snap a commemorative picture.

    Clint is one lucky kid—though perhaps not when it comes to waterfalls.

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    Blah, Blah, Boom!

    ByHeather Bailey

    Is it seriously my birthday today? The day might come and go without this sinking in – at – all. There is so much going on around here. Not only are we adjusting to the back-to-school schedule (yesterday, between us, Isaac and I made 6 trips total to and from the kids’ schools — 30-45 mins each trip!), but Elijah chipped a major chunk off his front tooth Wednesday night (emergency dental appointment), all of my licensing partners are asking for new artwork by the end of the month, and I still haven’t figured out where we are going to put this baby — who could come at any time — but will be here by the end of the month no matter what.

    HeatherBaileyCupcake

    We have two kids’ rooms, one office, one open office, a loft, a turret-like play room… a closet. Do you bunk a newborn boy up with his 14-year-old brother who sleeps like a log, or with his 6-year old sister who doesn’t? Neither is the obvious choice. Or do you turn the teensy turret into an adorable nursery — that may only fit a crib and a nightstand. Nevermind the room is right over the front door (doorbell, barking dogs), it’s insanely bright in there, and there’s no sound barrier (such as a door). Or do you move the teenager into the office and the baby into the teenager’s room? Isaac is convinced no teenage boy should have a downstairs room by himself — much more a reflection of Isaac’s teenage years than a concern over Elijah as a mischief-maker. Besides, we kind of need the office. 

    PocketPosh_PeoniesI don’t know. I’ve been telling myself that we’ll just set up a bunk for the baby in our room for a while till we know what he’s like and see how he does with sleeping & such. This is still ‘the plan.’ But, what I realize now is that his STUFF still needs a place. So, where do we put the clothes, the diapers, the blankets, the toys? My room, C’s room, E’s room, the loft, the office — same contenders.

    These are things a mother should probably address in the 2nd trimester before her energy is thoroughly drained. Alas, I spent all of my nesting energy on meeting deadlines and getting my business obligations squared away so I could focus on the baby when he gets here. Not a bad plan, really. But his baby stuff? I have to wash things and put them away — well, somewhere.

    So, here I am. Tick, tick, tick, tick… the timer is about to chime. He’s coming out of the oven.

    I should probably forget all of this for one more day and just go do something fun, huh? Antique-shopping would fit the bill.

    Before I do, I have a birthday obligation to meet — my annual birthday giveaway! I have four new Pocket Posh books out with Andrews McMeel Publishing that – are – stinking – fabulous. I’ve got two prizes for the guy or gal who can cheer me up / calm me down / get me jazzed / sooth my swollen legs with a funny birth or baby story, a great joke, amazing advice, etc.** Your call.

    HeatherBailey_TravelMugsHeatherBailey_PocketPosh

    Each winner can have his or her pick of one of my new travel mugs and one of our new Pocket Posh books. (Which I have learned are the PERFECT things to keep in the car for school-pick-up-line boredom. PERFECT.) They don’t just have clinical definitions and such — they have history, and interesting facts, and smart stuff. They’re really cool.

    • 120 Words To Make You Sound Intelligent
    • 120 Words You Should Know
    • 120 Words That are Fun to Say
    • 120 Job Interview Words You Should Know

    ** I reserve the right to be completely befuddled by all of your fabulous comments and to resort to the Random Number Generator for help if picking a winner is too stressful for my rotund self.

    And, before I forget, can I say it is FAR easier to shave swollen ankles!? This fascinates me.


  • Legendary

    ByHeather Bailey

    Pinata

    What a party!  We must have had forty people there — mostly little kids, including a ninja, a pirate, a wizard, a knight, and several princesses.

    Pinata_Kill_Shot Isaac's pinata was a hit.  He spent two hours the night before making a "legendary" dragon out of a common dinosaur.  With an impromptu blindfold made out of tinfoil, we had to keep the turns quick as it was a warm, sunny day.  (January!?)

    Isaac let each kid decide if he was to fight a fierce dragon or a friendly one. Choose fierce and the dragon roars and moans as he swings around.  Choose friendly and he says things like, "Why are you hitting me?  I thought we were friends.  Ouch.  That wasn't very nice."  This kept all of the kids in giggles, and happy to wait in that long ol' batting line.

    Dragon Tag was a soup of at least twenty kids running in an arena, pulling tails.  It's a miracle we didn't have any major crashes.  We handed out 24 tails to the "dragons" and all remaining kids became the "knights."  The knights chased the dragons, and as each dragon's tail was pulled, he joined the knights on their hunt.  The last dragon standing was the winner.  It was hilarious.  I believe we wore them all out. 

    We definitely wore ourselves out.  Happy 6th Birthday, Charlotte!

    DragonTag

  • Dab, Dab

    ByHeather Bailey

    ClothNapkins

    Whether you are prepping for the holidays, or getting ready for a birthday or baby shower, cloth napkins are a great way to personalize your table decor.  Expand your decorating options by sewing the napkins yourself — from your favorite fabrics.

    They are super easy to make, so why not?

    Deck the halls!  Deck the tables!  Get started with this simple, illustrated tutorial.  Fancy-up and save some dollars at the same time.  Happy Holidays, everyone!


    Read More “Dab, Dab”

  • Three Parties and a Pop-In

    ByHeather Bailey

    So, I'm logging into Typepad to post a hello just now, before heading out
    to my brother's surprise birthday party (with my sister's birthday party last night & Easter
    tomorrow, this weekend is just plain crazy), and look what greets me:

    100403_Typepad

    Gulp — goodness.

    So, hello!

    Last night my sisters-in-law, mom, & I
    whipped up a surprise party for Julia. Julia is just stubborn enough to
    not happily go-with-the-flow, especially on her birthday.  She fought
    the fake plan each step of the way, but never caught on.  Miracle! 
    There was even a mild tug-of-war over the newspaper movie-listings. Her
    body language growled, "It's my birthday and I want to see
    something else."

    We had dinner at a great Italian restaurant (she
    didn't know her friends would be there), then after presents and fake
    goodbyes, we all met back up at my studio for an All-Night Craft-Bash
    (big "Surprise!" there). We feasted like a swarm of piranhas on a buffet
    of fabric, beads, yarn, felt, and more.  It was awesome.  And here,
    Julia thought no one gave a hoot that she was facing the big 4-0.  We've
    got your back, Juju.

    Now for the next surprise party, Rock Band
    for Rybee. Ryan's turning 33. I've got 30 minutes to get there. Should I
    shred up a tee shirt, get out the black eyeliner, and rat my hair out
    like crazy?  I think so.

  • Spackled

    ByHeather Bailey

    Hey all.  It's a good day.  I'm getting a ton done.  And there's a
    tower of amazing chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen, keeping me
    company.

    WallBefore300 Miss
    Charlotte's birthday is tomorrow.  But, last night,
    when I tucked her in, I told her that her birthday was today — big
    oops.  In fact, we told her all weekend that her birthday would be on
    Monday.  I didn't realize the mistake till late last night.  Shoot.  We
    did
    consider just rolling with it, but then we would have needed to include
    her preschool teacher, her brother, and her extended family in the plan
    — and that's just too much.

    I confessed this morning.  She took it well.

    Tell me I'm not the only one who has done this?!

    It's a busy time, I guess.  Charlotte's at
    a childcare place three afternoons a week for the next two weeks while
    I prep and move into my new space.  (I'm sure this has something to do with my
    improved productivity.)  I miss her little self hanging all over me and
    monkeying with my projects.  Ah well.  Two weeks, six afternoons.  I can take it.

    Check out my new wall.  It even has lights.  Oh yeah.

  • Laura No Peeky

    ByHeather Bailey

    LauraNecklaceA

    I love to collect funky jewelry — the more colorful the
    better.  And I have gathered some beautiful and weird pieces over the
    years.  My friend and sister-in-law, Laura, has similar taste.  We often make or buy each
    other quirky jewelry for birthday presents — a tradition of
    sorts.  (17 years now!?!)


    BaggieW Amidst my bold tangle of jewelry, I don't have very many basics
    though.  I often wish I had an all-black necklace to wear with a black
    dress or a bright blouse.

    Assuming Laura runs into the same
    predicament, I made her a simple, black necklace for her birthday this
    year.  Hopefully, the blackbird carved into the pendant adds just
    enough chirp. 

    Charlotte then hopped-to & made a necklace for her cousin Lily — C's specialty 'candy-wrapper' design. Both trinkets are wrapped up and on their way to Laura's. Shh.

    Now to make the same one for me.  We'll be necklace twins.