Viv & Michael's World

Thursday, April 28, 2011

handmade goodies

As promised here are a few of the things that have been keeping me busy lately, besides the boys of course

Scalloped edge baby blanket

don't mind the fact that its so wrinkly, G loves to cuddle with it. My next step is to embroider his initial on one corner but for now baby steps.

I was feeling particularly adventurous one afternoon and decided to tackle a button down shirt. if you look closely you will see many imperfections but overall i'm happy with how it turned out. I have to admit the collar was a bitch and half to make!
i used this pattern and one of his shirts to help me along the way

then i figured "hey I want something for me" i had been perusing catalog for dresses for D's communion and came across this Lace-Stripe Tissue Tee from J.Crew

i love how the lace gives this simple tshirt a romantic detail, what i didn't love? the price tag $58!!!! for a tshirt
I grabbed a plain white tshirt from H&M and placed 4 strips of lace where i thought i would want them and pinned in place about a hand width apart

CAREFULLY, try it on to see if the lace is where you want it.
use liquid stitch to hold the lace in place then sew.
I also stitched the lace down the side of the shirt so it wouldn't pull up and so it would be more secure.

cut the excess lace from the side and enjoy!

Monday, April 25, 2011

A different child

A different child, people notice

There's a special glow around you.

You grow surrounded by love

Never doubting you are wanted;

Only look at the pride and joy

In your mother and father's eyes.

And if sometimes between the smiles

There's a trace of tears,

One day you'll understand.

You'll understand there was once another child.

A different child.

Who was in their hopes and dreams.

That child will never outgrow the baby clothes.

That child will never keep them up at night.

In fact, that child will never be any trouble at all...

Except sometimes, in a silent moment,

When mother and father miss so much

That different child.

May hope and love wrap you warmly

And may you learn the lesson forever:

How infinitely precious,

How infinitely fragile is this life on earth.

One day, as a young man or woman

You may see another mother's tears

Another father's silent grief

Then you, and you alone will understand

And offer the greatest comfort.

When all hope seems lost

you will tell them with great compassion:

"I know how you feel.

I'm only here because my parents tried again."

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

BPA and baby food

I try to feed Gabriel and of course the rest of my family as much organic food as i can, specifically any fruit/veggie which skin is edible. Milk, eggs, and cheese. So it was a given that baby food for on the go or when i'm running low on homemade kind was to be the same standard.
my favorites and Gabriel's are earth's best, ella's kitchen, happy baby, plum organics and sprout. Love them all.
My MIL tends to give him what i tell her or she cooks pastina (pasta stars that are minuscule) in chicken broth with veggies.
She did get recently the Gerber toddler meals, which i though was and easy option. Fast forward to last night and when everyone was asleep i was reading May's Glamour magazine which happened to have an article about plastics in general and how they can be dangerous.
It had a part that said BPA has been linked to infertility and went on to mention that most dangerous are plastics with the #7 on the bottom. You can google and will get lots of info on this.subject.
Now back to Gerber:
from green and clean mom

"Now there’s the BPA issue and most of what I used from Gerber was in plastic. Just wonderful, another reason why making your own food probably is the best. So I called the company and wanted to hear what they had to say about BPA and their food in the plastic. The lady on the phone was just darling but uninformed and tried to explain which plastic was safe and which wasn’t and what the FDA says is safe and how Gerber’s priority is safety. A scripted answer and when I pushed for more details on exactly what number plastic was the baby food containers and the juice in, she said she couldn’t find the documents. Hmmmm? I was then asked for my address and she politely said she’d send me coupons. Thanks.
A letter arrived in the mail, nearly two weeks later but the coupons came in two days. A nice letter explained how I can be assured that all Gerber products are safe and meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for safety. They explain that the FDA sets regulations for food and plastic interaction and they are well within the federal limits. The Gerber® Graduates® plastic food containers are not made from polycarbonate. Gerber chose the multi-layer #7 plastic to keep food fresh and safe, that’s their reasoning.Their final statement to me was this, “Gerber believes that when used as intended by FDA, these products are safe.”
I drove to the store and looked at all the Gerber plastic and all of the juice containers say #7 and all of the plastic baby food containers are #7. If the plastic is multi-layered then why have a #7 on them? What is the point of parents using BPA free bottles, sippys, teethers and toys when the food they are giving their children is packaged in BPA plastic? I’ve written enough posts on BPA, started a project to help daycare convert to BPA Free products but the big wigs are hiding behind an approved limit. Gerber has been in business for 80 years and they clearly state they have helped family raise happy, healthy babies. Moms decided for yourself if you feel that Gerber is a company you can trust. I, however, believe that Gerber is hiding behind the FDA and needs to make a change, fast! It isn’t enough to just offer me a handful of coupons and discounts to forget about the BPA!
If you feel the same as I do, call or write the company and tell them your feelings (1-800-4-Gerber). We have to start demanding that large companies make these changes and stop accepting what the FDA deems as safe limits. Enough is enough! Safe Mama has also composed a great post that might be worth reading. Safe Mama mentions Gerber claiming all of their products were BPA Free but in my formal letter, there is no statement such as this. I guess we were on the same wave length! Moms Rising started a petition for you to sign that lets the CEO’s know, we want change. For now, maybe begin making your own baby food, choose foods in glass jars rather than plastic (be sure to recycle them) and maybe consider buying from a company that makes organic baby food in safe containers."

Here is some more info from the Glamour article:
3 chemicals to know and AVOID

Bisphenol A (BPA) - linked to infertility problems & heart disease. Don't microwave food in plastic containers and choose glass over canned goods.

Phthalates - found in some cosmetics, air fresheners & cleaning products especially ones with fragrance. Contributes to weight gain, may interfere with male-type hormones. Go fragrance free.

Tributylin - in some shower curtains, TBT may turn stem cells into fat cells. Buy PVC-free plastics.

HOW TO STAY SAFE
1. eat well and exercise
2. buy fresh produce if possible(no packaging)and choose food foods in glass containers instead of metal cans.
3. no plastics in the microwave
4. always try to buy organic version of foods with edible skins
5. check the safety of your cosmetics - database.com enter 5 items you use the most and it will rank its potential health hazards. josie maran cosmetics is a great "green" healthy choice
6. don't use cleaning products with fragrance or air fresheners - I've been using method or just plain vinegar to clean, safer for baby, us and mother earth. Search the blog i have a post for homemade home cleaners that are baby friendly and easy to make.
7. filter your tap water - we use PUR attachment and it works amazing.
8. take off your shoes before entering your home - don't track in outdoor stuff like pesticides and other cancer-causing substances, plus it keeps your floors cleaner!

Just wanted to share some info and food for though. I'm not getting anything for mentioning any of the above brands, just sharing what has worked for us
And like glamour says " Be Proactive, don't wait for the goverment to tell you not to eat something or use something because bv the time they do and IF they do, too many people will have suffered"

in the meantime i'll probably use up whats left of the gerber food just not heat them up in said container, Then i guess i'll have to keep up with my homemade food for our little monkey.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Busy

This once a month blogging thing has got to stop and it will i promise...BUT i do have a legitimate reason, we have been house hunting and it looks VERY promising (fingers crossed) and i have been putting my birthday gift

to very good use and i will be showing you some of my "creations"

oh yeah besides that i also have a communion to plan and put together and my little monkey who is exhausting but so much fun to watch his antics every day.
He currently has 2 molars and 1 incisor cutting through at the same time and my arms can prove that with lots of black and blues.
stay tuned!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Praying

i was getting ready to finally (yet again) update my blog and had a long post with pics all set to go, but for now and in light of the events in Japan today, my only request is please pray for all of those people. My heart goes out to them for i know how fast an earthquake can be devastating but a tsunami on top?
God Bless them all and give them strength.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Yes we still exist...finally updates

I know i know i have been a craptastic blogger, but we were away in costa rica and with the boy's party, well lets just say i was lucky i was bale to wash my hair as often as i did.
so without blabbing too much, i wanted to share some pics from Gabriel's 1st Bday and Darren's 10th! (holy crap that makes me feel old)
I had been brainstorming for the longest time about how to "them" the party and since they are both HUGE milestones it seemed unfair to have to throw 2 different parties or our friends and family to have to travel to, so for this year we decided to combine them. i think its the only time this will ever work due to the huge age difference. elmo and transformers don't quite go together. so along with Darren we came up with Seuss and his thing 1 and thing 2.
it worked out perfectly for us.
so i scoured the interwebz for inspiration and quickly found lots of ideas for baby showers not so much birthdays of such an age gap so i got creative with the ideas.
i'll post the link to the inspirations down below, make sure you check them out these ladies have mad skills and i couldn't have come up with many things without their creativeness.

THE DETAILS
I made both of these banners

Then i used the same template to make them each a personalized poem, and below are the 12 months of pics of my little monkey

The gift table, its hard to see but i bough the birthday book from seuss and put a note telling guests to please leave a message in the book. it will make for a nice keepsake

I couldn't decide on centerpieces and on a christmas shopping trip to khols i found these guys for $5 each. add balloons and voila perfect centerpiece

Found the ice bucket at the $ section in target and it was the perfect place to hold our personalized silverware, or plasticware as Darren would say

The menu, there is one for the dessert table as well.

These evntually became crayon rolls that were part of the goodie bags, which i totally forgot to take pics of but do have extra so i have to find it to show you guys.
They had a crayon roll, a bottle of bubbles (personalized of course) a mini coloring book and a baggie of goldfish..
I got the squares from ebay and this was not its intended initial use but they worked perfectly.

THE FOOD

red velvet and cream cheese thing cupcakes...yes the cotton candy "hair" would have looked better but i had no time to find it let alone put it one.

chocolate dipped marshmellows, again i wanted to do cake pops but time was an issue

chocolate dipped/drizzled pretzels and oreo truffles (yum and super easy to make, look here for the recipie)

sugar cookies with royal icing with a D or G

vanilla cupcake with orange tinted buttercream frosting and a wocket on top

green deviled eggs, we also had hams and swiss sliders but somehow do not have a pic of them.

salads

spinach dip (thanks jules)

The amazing cakes our beloved baker made for us, it was beyond perfect and delicious

THE GUESTS OF HONOR

my big boy

and my little monkey

let them eat cake

in case you are wondering i got his customized shirt from SewMuch2Sew over at etsy. she was super helpful and even though it was a last minute thing she was able to get it to us on time for the big day. Its hard to see but its got his name under the 1.