vrm: one year

**Short rant -- Let me just say for the record that I actually put this post together earlier this week, only to find out after an hour of putting this "ode to Vance" together that blogger was down and I wouldn't be able to post it. And even though I just found out today that my husband has already posted these photos on his blog, I don't care. I'm posting this damn thing anyway. OK, done ranting. On to better things...



On Sunday, Master Vance turned 1! When I take a moment to stop and think about it, I get a little choked up to realize the first year of his life is already over. Even though I'm home with him and Margot most days, I still don't know where this past year has gone. I'm not sure if it's because I have two kids, or because I'm a small business owner. I'm sure it's some combination of the two.

You always hear about how things are different with the second child. "Oh, they're the second child...," then fill in the blank. With the first child you don't know what you're doing so you hem and haw over every little thing; with the second child you are more laid back and don't have time to hem and haw. With the first child you take advantage of every moment to talk with them, stimulate them with new toys, and observe every (small) thing they do; with the second child you do your best to keep the first one from making their life miserable, and you're lucky if you notice the first time they roll over, crawl, say "mama", or walk. With the first child you record every milestone (and, well just every day) in their baby book with notes AND photos; with the second child you can't find the baby book and even if you could you won't remember what day they actually did start crawling.



I'm sure a year ago I thought most of those things wouldn't be true for me, but the reality is they are. During Vance's first months, I would regularly catch myself wondering when was the last time I took a few moments to just look at him. Or, I'd feel bad that I didn't have any time with just him -- to play with him, talk to him, and just watch him -- like I did when Margot was a baby. As the months passed by, when he achieved some milestone, I kept saying to myself, "I need to write that down so I can record it in his baby book later." But somehow, I couldn't even find (make) the time to stop what I was doing, find a pen, and get it written on the calendar. (Truthfully, I never did with Margot either, so at least Vance isn't getting the short end of the stick there. Neither one of my kids will know when important milestones happened in their life.)

As the months rolled on, I began to adjust to life with two little ones, lightened up on myself a little bit, and just tried to take a step back every once and awhile and take it all in. There are many days I feel like I'm just trying to hold it all together while I try to get all the responsibilities of the day done. But there are also days when I don't feel buried by all the responsibilities and can enjoy Margot and Vance for who they are, and how our lives have been shaped by them.

Vance's personality is starting to come out and I'm really excited to see who he is going to be. How he's going to be different from (and similar to) his sister, and what characteristics of John and I he will have. One thing I know right now: he is SWEET. His face, his demeanor, his hugs. Complete sweetness. One thing I'm afraid of: he's going to use that sweetness (and those eyes...OH MY GOODNESS, those eyes) to his advantage the rest of his life to get into -- and out of -- trouble.



Vance, you're dad was convinced when we found out Margot was a girl that we were destined to have all girls (however many that would be). I'm glad he was wrong because I can't imagine life without you. You cause my heart to melt when you flash that smile of yours. Your giggle makes life seem easy. Keep the smiles and giggles coming.

in the nick of time

Two blog posts in one day? What is the catalyst for such an event?

I finally figured out how to post a photo to my blog header. See above for proof.

It doesn't matter that the title looks lame. It doesn't matter that I don't have any photoshop skills to speak of to make a better looking header. It doesn't even matter that I don't like this picture any more. All that matters is I finally figured out how to do it. Thank you to random blogger, Ryanne, for making a screencast that was easy to follow.

And it's just in the nick of time because yesterday I was discussing with my husband how I was considering moving over to wordpress.com, just so I could upload a photo to my header easily. I may still move, but I can put it off for a little longer now.

the pelvic educator

A friend called me up this afternoon and said she needed a "kid fix" and wanted to know if I'd like to go to a coffee shop and have some time to myself tonight. What? Are you kidding? Are you sure? Um...YES. So while John went for his weekly pummeling on the basketball court, I had the pleasure of sitting at a Barnes & Noble for ONE WHOLE HOUR. BY MYSELF. Just me and my chai from LatteLand (I like their chai better...and I like to support a locally-owned coffee shop. Yes, I support locally-owned bookstores too, but none of them are open this late on a weeknight). This happens so rarely in my life that I almost suffered from decision paralysis of how to spend my hour. Do I take the new book I recently started? Do I peruse the shelves for a new book that peaks my interest? Do I search out a comfy chair in which to take a nap? I finally decided to pick up a copy of my new favorite magazine and just enjoy reading from cover to cover. It was awesome.

While at B&N, I noticed two things that I thought were slightly ridiculous:
1. A magazine entitled Girlfriend Getaways. Now, I'm all for getaways with your girlfriends. In fact, one of my dearest friends and I have talked frequently about trying to get a trip planned for sometime this year for several of our close girlfriends. However, I am not convinced there needs to be an entire magazine devoted to this endeavor. My prediction: it folds after 3 issues.

2. 2008 planners and calendars are already for sale. In case the folks at B&N didn't notice, we haven't even reached the halfway point of 2007 yet. Seriously, who already needs to know what day June 12th falls on? I can barely get my act together to make plans for next week, much less next year. Although maybe if John and I actually put a vacation on the calendar that far in advance, we might actually take one.

On the way to and from the bookstore, I began listening to a book on tape. I'm pretty sure I've listened to a book on tape one other time in my life. I think it was on a road trip with John to Oklahoma and I'm pretty sure we turned it off after 15 minutes. Too much concentrating for me. However, when I saw Stiff the other day in the library, I quickly nabbed it. It's a book about cadavers, which I have been terribly fascinated with since my days on the cadaver team during my sophomore year in college. I saw this title in the Dusty Bookshelf (my favorite used bookshop) several years ago and immediately wanted to read it. I can't remember why I didn't purchase it that day, but I'm sure it had something to do with promising myself (or my husband) that I would not buy any more books until I read the pile of unread books that was growing taller than my nightstand. Anyway, it doesn't matter because I think I'm enjoying the book so much more listening to it.

For example, the author was talking about the history of physicians practicing surgical techniques and medical examinations on cadavers when she mentioned the pelvic educator. It used to be that residents had to practice pelvic examinations on patients that were under anesthesia for other reasons (i.e. surgery), but now they have women who volunteer to receive examinations and then provide feedback. The author comments that she thinks this qualifies them for sainthood. I trust that they are not volunteers, but get paid a damn fine wage.

two shoes for two minutes of your time

The super-fun and hip folks at farylrobin are giving away 5 pairs of shoes to five lucky women who complete their survey. So, stop what you're doing right now and go try to win yourself a new pair of shoes.

If you're wondering whether you want to take TWO WHOLE MINUTES to try and win a pair of shoes -- YOU DO. Who doesn't want to win a new pair of shoes? Any shoes for that matter, but DEFINITELY a pair of Farylrobins. They are easily my favorite brand of womens shoes we sell at Habitat Shoe Store, and that's saying a lot because I love all our brands. So if the opinion of a shoe store owner is not enough to convince you then check out their new spring/summer collection at the link above. I trust you will find several pairs of shoes you wouldn't mind receiving for free...or might even be willing to buy. If that's the case, I know where you can get a pair or two (or three, or four, or five or six).

Hurry though, you must respond by June 15th.

first attempt

Here's Margot in my first attempt at sewing clothing with a pattern (or sewing clothing without a pattern). I was inspired by Amy; she's made two outfits and a skirt from this pattern. After finding out it was a Sewing Patterns for Dummies pattern, I decided it might be a good place to start since I would definitely fall into the sewing dummy category. The pattern is Simplicity 4206. It was fairly easy, but I did feel like the directions left out a few important details. Here are some things I learned or would suggest:

- Definitely make the shirt longer; probably 1-1.5 inches longer. Amy mentioned this too, but I didn't feel comfortable just making it longer since I'd never sewn from a pattern before. This would be a fairly simple change that I will make if I try this pattern again. I will probably also take an inch or two off each side of the shirt as it seems pretty wide to me. This might be a little more difficult as I'm not sure how taking in the shirt would affect attaching the sleeves.

- I thought the most difficult part was the pockets, which I would not have guessed when I began. Pockets seem easy enough -- it's just a square you sew on, right? Well, it's not that simple. With all that folding over of fabric to get the finished look, the fabric starts to get thick at the corners, which then makes it difficult to sew on without looking all wonky. After attaching the first one, I looked up how to attach pockets in this trusty companion (a book I picked up because so many different craft bloggers recommended it) and it talked about the need to miter corners to reduce bulk. Funny that the Sewing Patterns for Dummies directions didn't mention anything about the need to reduce bulk or mitering corners. I think they decided to conveniently skip that stuff because mitering doesn't sound like something that falls into the dummy category. They don't tell you though that by following their over-simplified directions, it will be close to impossible to make your finished pocket look good.

- My next least favorite part was the casings for the elastic for the neckline, sleeves and waistline. All that folding over, and ironing, and pinning (sometimes) of 1/4" of fabric. Man, that stuff is for the birds. I can't believe I don't have more burn marks on my fingers.

- Linen is harder to work with than cotton. It doesn't iron up as easily (which makes all those casings and hemming that much harder) and it's more stretchy (which can mean problems if you pull your fabric too taught b/c it gets all out-of-shape).

- Making this outfit gave me a much greater appreciation for clothes in general and how much work goes into sewing something together. I realize the folks that sew clothing in factories have amazing machinery and can sew a lot faster than I can, but I still couldn't help but wonder at the details on most of my clothing that is much more difficult than the casings for elastic that were giving me fits at times.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the finished product (especially at the fact that I finished this in 1 week!). I love the fabric -- an Amy Butler print from her newest line and some linen that I thought matched perfectly. I would definitely recommend this pattern to even the most novice sewer. Up next: the super-simple smock dress (says Hannah). We'll see.

great "weekend"...finally

Let's just get it out of the way...it's been nearly 4 months since my last post. Not a surprise to anyone, least of all myself. Moving on...

Memorial Day weekend was most assuredly my favorite weekend in a long time. Why? Because John and I (and the kids of course) had an actual WEEKEND. For the past year-and-a-half, we haven't known what a weekend is. That's what happens when you own a small business that's open six days a week. So, while the rest of the country was lavishly enjoying their 3-day weekend, we were just excited for two days off. In a row. Together.

Sunday we decided to do something different and took the kids to Science City at Union Station. I'm not sure if Margot's favorite part was watching a turtle swim back and forth in a tank or getting her hand stamped when we entered. She was so excited to have a stamp ON HER HAND. I turned to John and said, "We could probably turn around and go home right now and she'd be good for the rest of the day."

We found out that Science City is really for older kids, but it was good to get out and do something different. That night we went back to Union Station to hear the KC Symphony play an outdoor concert and watch an amazing fireworks show. Margot wasn't a big fan of the fireworks, which could be a problem since her birthday is on the Fourth of July.



Monday evening we got to hang with some friends at the park. Two words: BUBBLE GUN. (More photos when flickr stops getting a massage.)


Thanks Huffmans. We got to get ourselves one of those. Maybe if we use it every night before bedtime, our daughter will actually fall asleep before 11pm.


Another highlight of the weekend: time in front of the sewing machine. I got inspired by Amy and decided to try my hand at an outfit for Margot. I've never followed a pattern for clothing before, so this was a big step for me. I finished the top tonight and hope to get the pants done in the next few days. Although honestly, that would be shocking.

And the main reason I celebrated this weekend: MARGOT WENT POTTY IN THE POTTY CHAIR. FOUR TIMES. BY HERSELF. HALLELUJAH. I got one word for ya...CHOCOLATE. Prior to Monday, there was much sitting and reading and singing and talking while Margot sat on the potty chair (and I sat next to her). There was very little peeing though. None to be exact. But the moment she heard that she could have a piece of chocolate if she went in the potty chair, she found a reason to make it happen.

All in all, not a bad weekend. A great one, actually. Now we just need to get someone hired so we can have weekends more often than the three or four times a year a national holiday falls on a Monday.

vegas, part 1

So last week was the first of two trips to Vegas this month for John and I to shop for shoes for Fall/Winter 07. Although the current winter has really just gotten fully underway here in beautiful Kansas (let's be real - we're FREEZING OUR ARSES OFF here), it's already time to shop for shoes for next winter. The trip was challenging to say the least. It was our first time to have one of our children with us, which we knew would make things more difficult...and would make things take longer than usual...and would make us more tired than we usually are. All of that I was prepared for. What I wasn't prepared for was to be greeted by this on the 7th floor of the Venetian Hotel (the WSA trade show is in several locations, one of them being the Venetian):

"I'm sorry Ma'am. No kids allowed."

"We called before we came and got approval to bring him because he's a nursing infant under the age of one. They told us we just needed to sign a release of liability form."

"Can I see your form?"

"Well, I don't have one. When we checked in at registration no one said anything to us about needing a form."

"Then I'll need you to go to the 34th floor and get a signed form before I can admit you on this floor."

So Vance and I trekked up to the 34th floor while John went to an appointment with Camper. When I got there, I received some disturbing news from the woman in charge of this particular section of the show.

The long and short of it -- I was told that no children under 16 were allowed in the show and that the rule was printed on all the promotional material for the show. She didn't seem to care that I'd talked with someone at the 1-800 number who told me all I had to do was sign a release of liability form. She said there was no release of liability form, that whoever we talked with was mistaken and that she would lose her job if she allowed me to take my child into the show.

I asked her (nicely, of course) if she and the people in charge of the WSA show cared about small businesses. She responded, "Of course we do, small businesses are the backbone of this show." I proceeded to tell her that my husband and I owned a small shoe store, that we were the only buyers, and that we didn't travel all the way to Vegas with our 5-month-old son to be told that we weren't going to be able to attend the show. After about 10 minutes of going back-and-forth, I think she realized that I was not going to just quietly leave and that we were going to need to find a solution to our "problem." In the end, her staff found out that one of the exhibitors didn't show up, so they offered to give us a key to the room to use as a homebase: one of us could stay with our child while the other went to appointments with vendors and then we could switch off. It was far from ideal, but it appeared it was the only option they were going to give us. It pretty much defeated the entire purpose of our coming together -- to view the lines together, to get feedback from one another, to bounce ideas off one another and to be able to make decisions TOGETHER -- but we realized if we were going to get anything done on this trip we were going to have to make the best of it. The upside: Vance got to take naps on a bed instead of in a baby carrier on my back, which did make for a more peaceful trip under the circumstances.

Other things we learned from mishaps on this trip:
1. Waking up at 4:15am is not early enough for a 6:20am flight out of KCI. John and I have already flown twice recently with Vance and have thoroughly enjoyed the preboarding luxury given to parents of small children. Not this morning though as I think we were the last people on the plane. The upside: the flight was only half full, so even though we had to squeeze Vance and his car seat down the teeny-tiny aisle of the plane, we all got to sit together.

2. Going through airport security with young children -- specifically a baby -- is REALLY fun. I'm talking serious fun people. Not only do you get to perform all the typical exercises of airport security routine: making sure you remembered to remove the nail file from your purse, observing the 3-1-1 rule for liquids (for those of you who have not recently flown and are not up-to-speed on airline regulations all your liquids that are carried on board must now be 3 ounces or less in 1 bag that is 1 quart or less in size, and removing your shoes, but you also get the privilege of removing your adorable, sleeping (remember it's 6am) babe from it's car seat and sending both seat and stroller through the tiny X-ray machine while at the same time trying to perform the aforementioned rituals all in under 1 minute so as to KEEP THE LINE MOVING PLEASE. After getting Vance snuggled back in his car seat, I was feeling pretty good about how smoothly the airport screening had gone. While putting my shoes back on, I was jolted out of my smug reverie by a slight crash. I spun around to find that my son's car seat had fallen off the stroller WITH HIM IN IT. The upside: he wasn't hurt, only slightly disoriented. We hadn't even boarded the plane and this trip was already off to an exciting start.

3. Use caution when getting into an unfamiliar shower in a hotel or you could slip and fall on your arse. The upside: it made for some much-needed laughter after the day we'd had..."I'm sorry sir, you won't be able to bring that wheelchair into the show. No children under 16 are allowed and no adults under the age of 30 in a wheelchair."

4. When nursing your son, don't stand up too quickly to answer the door of the hotel room or you might pop a button off your dress that would make it difficult to walk around the rest of the day and people not to stare at parts of your body you don't want them staring at. The upside: suites in the Venetian Hotel come equipped with several amenities. My particular favorite this day: a sewing kit.

I'll share the trends for fall/winter 2007 in another post. Stay tuned for Vegas, Part 2 next week.