Friday, June 18, 2010

Thank You Teacher

Two quick gifts I made for Hannah's teachers. The first is a book documenting some of her answers to questions I asked her about school and her teacher.
























This one is simply a pillow box, wrapped in some paper. I stuffed a gift card inside. Super simple!

Monday, June 14, 2010

"Our Baby" album

I had so much fun making this baby album. Sadly, I didn't get to watch the mommy open it, but I am sure she loved it. It features the paper line "Garden Party" by My Mind's Eye. Once again, my handy dandy Silhouette helped me out.

Here's the cover:

Here's a look at the open book from above:

The inside cover:

Each page is an envelope I cut out using my Silhouette. I am not sure of the exact measurement here, but I would say the envelope dimensions are around 3.5"x8". Smaller and longer than what I usually do:

I designed the book so there's a place for a photo of the baby at each month in the first year:

In between a couple of the envelope pages, I tucked odd shaped pieces. This is a chipboard scalloped square cut down to fit the book:

And the other side of the piece (toes are another Silhouette shape):



Not the greatest shot of the flower, but it's actually several Silhouette flowers layered together and topped with a button:





This is my most favorite piece of the album! It's another odd shaped piece tucked in between two of the pages. You know how penant banners are all the rage in scrapbooking? Well I couldn't resist doing a similar thing only with the baby clothes on a clothesline. These shapes are all QuicKutz shapes:

The backside of that piece:









And a final odd shaped piece. This time using acetate. The little monkey is a Silhouette shape. Sorry the picture is so dark:

The back side:







The last page ... a place to quickly record those important milestones:

The inside of the back cover:

And because I had to put something INside those envelopes ... little journaling cards to document what the little one is up to:

A peek at what they look like inside the envelope:

The ribbon on the binding rings:

Another view of the whole thing:

Friday, June 11, 2010

It's a jungle out there

Just a couple of things I recently finished up. Going to a double, co-ed baby shower this weekend. One mommy has done the room in jungle theme (gender unknown). The other mommy just monkeys and giraffes. I have had these wooden door hangers for years now. Same for the animals -- got them at Michael's. Fortunately a couple of weeks ago I was digging through some boxes that had moved over from our old house (a year and a half ago) and came across all of them. I hope they'll be used and enjoyed.




Thursday, June 3, 2010

I just have to say ...

... that Disneyland rocks! Or to be more exact, CA Adventure rocks! And not because they offer good rides, eateries, a clean and safe place to take your kids. But because their First Aid station is amazing. I took both girls there today in the hopes of having a wonderful time. We were meeting good friends there too. On the way there, Hannah complained of her throat hurting. Hmmm ... I thought perhaps a cold was coming on. Both girls have seemed a little sniffly and/or slightly congested lately, though I thought that was behind us. So on we went. After being there a couple of hours, she complained of a headache. Uh oh! She does this very rarely and yet because of past experiences, I know she knows what they are enough to be telling me an accurate truth. I felt her forehead and fortunately she was not warm. But I needed to get her something to alleviate the discomfort if we were going to be there until closing time (the plan was to stay in CA Adventure until it closed and then head into Disneyland for a few hours). I asked one of the wonderful employees if any of the stores sold a children's Tylenol. He wasn't positive but recommended going to First Aid first. I guess I knew somewhere in my brain that these type of parks have to have a First Aid, but hadn't ever given it much of a thought. So off we went. I walked in with poor little Hannah who was quietly sobbing and explained the problem. Two of the nicest doctors quickly said I had come to the right place because it was cheaper than buying something. They gave her the appropriate amount of Junior's Tylenol Meltaways (because apparently the Children's ones have been recalled). They gave her a Nurse Minnie sticker and 3 more for her sister and two friends, offered up a cot if I felt the need to have her rest, and told me to come back in 4 hours if she was experiencing another headache. It was so wonderful to be treated with compassion and friendly smiles. Three cheers for CA Adventure's First Aid!!!! I am sure they can be of assistance for Tylenol if a grownup is in need as well. Because we all know, it sucks to get older due to body aches and pains. And Lord knows trucking around a theme park is not always easy on the body.

And another AMAZING part of CA Adventure that I discovered today was that they have a Baby Care Center. I had no idea such a thing existed. BUT, if you are looking for a clean and peaceful place to change a baby's diaper, need a place to breast feed with comfort, a place to feed your child with the convenience of a clean high chair, a place to microwave some water or food for the baby, or need an emergency supply of formula (liquid or powder) or baby food, this is the place to go! I couldn't believe it when I walked in there. I should have taken pictures! I'll have to go back and ask if I can for my blog. The breastfeeding area has a nice rocking recliner with ottoman and a curtain you can draw around the whole thing so no one can see. The changing center has 3 very nice changing tables with soft pads and a nice thick sheet of paper you can place on top to protect baby. There's also a small, child sized, low to the ground potty for toddlers and a low sink so they can wash their hands. In another room, there's 3 nice wooden highchairs set up with a counter equipped with a sink and microwave. In the cabinets above are formula and baby food. I assume this is at a cost though because they were locked and I did spy a cash register. But hey, when emergencies call, you'll pay right? I hear Disneyland has one of these as well so look for the pacifier symbol on your map or ask one of the friendly employees where the Baby Care Center is. Almost makes me want to have a 3rd, just so I can take advantage of this convenience. I said almost! This gal also shares her experiences with it.

And another hopefully useful thing to provide you with is this. The Children's Tylenol recall. Honestly, I had no idea about this. I am not sure which rock I have been hiding under, but I will confess my bad mommy moment. Had the First Aid doctors not mentioned anything about it being recalled, I would have had no idea. Of course I mention this to my friend who knows all about it and proceeded to tell me that they had to throw all of theirs out and request coupons for new stuff. Yikes! So she tells me I can look it up online. So when I got home, I pulled out all of my Infant Tylenol, Infant Motrin, Children's Tylenol, and Children's Motrin bottles. I Googled "Children's Tylenol Recall 2010" and sure enough ... there was one. So onto my helpfulness regarding this issue. Here are two websites you can go to that will allow you to input the LOT NUMBER, entered directly on your label to determine if your stuff was recalled.

Children's Tylenol
Children's Motrin

Fortunately, none of my bottles were recalled and I was able to give my Hannah some before bedtime.

So there you go. I hope this helps someone. Did I mention that Hannah threw up immediately after getting her strapped into her car seat? And once on the way home, in the midst of traffic? {sigh} So needless to say, I am pulling a late night washing car seat coverings. Joy! I feel bad for making her stay the whole time. She's such a little trooper.