TattooedMama's House

Low Standards

2009-11-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

The highlight of my day today was finding 3 dollars in the wet clothes in the washing machine. I know, low standards huh?

Pumpkins

2009-10-27T09:43:00.001-07:00

Fall Fun

2009-10-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

2 brothers. Peas in a pod. Adorable when they aren't trying to beat each other up or steal toys.

Playing in the leaves. We have found it's best really if they wear helmets for most of their activities.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh the pumpkin patch. I'm sure that's what everybody with a blog is blogging about this month. But we went to the DISNEY WORLD of pumpkin patches yesterday. Seriously, these people have it down to a whole operation. It was like being at Adventureland. The kids had so much fun, it was totally worth it. It does cost an admission fee to do the farm activities and stuff, and I think it would have been cheaper to buy pumpkins from HyVee, but if you want the whole experience........worth it. It's called Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge.

The corn maze was huge and we actually did get lost. We finally just walked out the side of it and then back around to where the tractor pulled hayrack ride picked us up. We were there for about 3+ hours and could easily have stayed longer. I would highly recommend it!

In case you're thinking every day at our house is a day at the beach, or pumpkin patch......it's NOT. That's just when I get caught up on blogging. Because our real life isn't that interesting anymore. =) It's one big homework assignment, trip to pick-up/drop-off kids, making a dinner that kids don't want to eat, going to a meeting that I'm trying to find a babysitter for, getting up at4:45 to go get my butt kicked at Farrell's, seeing my husband for less than an hour most days while we go our separate ways and schedules. That's the stuff a reality show could be based on. Nah, we would wear the camera crew out probably.

Afternoon at the Beach

2009-09-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

We have had such a lovely weekend. Date night on Friday night where we got to watch the season premiere of Heroes, DogTown Fest on Sat. and on Sunday I went with Quinn and my Mom to see Wicked! To top it off on the last day of break before fall term, we headed to the beach late Sunday afternoon. The boys ran and played and splashed....here they are enjoying some Iowa apples on our towel.

Built and destroyed some sand castles.

And we put together our new kite--- Luke Skywalker's X-Wing Fighter. It was really fun to fly, until I had an emergency water landing. Oooops. Beautiful end to a great weekend.

DogTown Fest

2009-09-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood was host to a street festival on Saturday. It's called DogTown Fest in honor of the newly reclaimed moniker for the area surrounding Drake University. We had a booth there for Central Iowa Music Lab (CIML) but more importantly for Milo....there was face painting. He got a basilisk.

I think Chad was only rubbing his face here....or maybe he was watching Quinn climb into the sumo suit.

Quinn had so much fun doing this, he wrestled a few different times. And by wrestled I mean rolled around on the ground like the mean girl Veruca in Willy Wonka, after she was blown up like a blueberry.

This is Quinn and a classmate.

The highlight for Jonas was probably a toss up between this Tootsie Pop and clapping for Dad when he played guitar at Mars Cafe. We had a lot of fun and were really glad that home was just around the corner when it was time to head there.

Pretty Party Things

2009-09-21T05:27:00.001-07:00

Well, better late than never. This was from a week or two ago when I hosted a Toy Swap & Cocktail Party.

And it was so much fun. I think I should have a party once a year just so I get to use my giant Pampered Chef serving platter. And eat fancy cheese with toothpicks.

I bought these super awesome napkins the last time I was at IKEA. just so I could throw a party to use them.

We stayed up too late, drank a lot of wine.... Jonas did his first Tarot reading. Not a lot of toys got swapped....but oh well.

Sock Knitting

2009-09-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that I *do* have a wee bit of time occasionally to knit. I feel guilty usually, but there are some times that knitting while parenting children works better than trying to fight for the level of quiet and concentration needed for me to read textbooks or write papers. Hello stockinette stitch. Although there have been several afternoons where you will find me parked in Windsor Heights an hour before school pickup, reading a book while Jonas is asleep. It works for now......having the windows down is nice. Having bees fly in the car is not.....

http://adailydoseoffiber.blogspot.com/2009/09/ha-im-still-alive.html

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

Farmer's Market

2009-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Breakfast pizza at the Farmer's Market. The one and only time we've been this year. Also the only time we've been as family in about 4 or so years. It was nice!

Silent Auction

2009-09-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

The Friends of Iowa Midwives Silent Auction is coming up on Monday at our Labor Day event at Raccooon River Park. Check out the FOIM blog for a list of donated items. I'll see you there with my German Potato Salad.

http://friendsofiowamidwives.blogspot.com/2009/09/amazing-supporters-come-through-for-us.html

Jonas the Boo-Boo

2009-09-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Born To Be W-I-L-D..... come on sing it with me now..... Jonas and his "pack-pack" were about to head out on an extended ride.

Jonas and his betrothed are being beautiful butterflies. His nickname (OK one of them, he's the baby of the family!) at our house, is Boo-Boo. It has morphed through many incarnations since he was a baby. I asked him the other day if he was *my* Boo-Boo and he told me, "No. I Autumn's Boo-Boo." So I think we'll just start collecting cows for her dowry....

Beauty

2009-09-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

I sure do love a good CSA. This week was the most beautiful bounty! It was like a little bit of everything across the growing spectrum. This is the scene on my front porch once a week. Big box of produce and a watermelon and 2 dozen eggs per family.

This is Milo. Milo has a new Pokemon bike helmet that came with elbow and knee pads. Milo does not particularly like to ride his big bike with training wheels. he prefers to run. But this does not stop Milo from getting all tricked out in the necessary gear, and honestly if you've ever hung out with my kids.....this is not a bad idea. They should probably sleep in helmets. Or swim goggles. (Which Milo has done before....) he's a fan of costumes over activities.

Montessori Mess

2009-09-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Some people would see this as messy water on the kitchen floor. I see it as spontaneous Montessori transfer work. ;-)

The yellows and the oranges....

2009-08-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

My favorite colors of tomatoes are the more "unusual" ones I didn't grow up seeing. I get almost giddy seeing heirloom zebras, stripey's, green, yellow and orange tomatoes all together. They make the prettiest salsa, and maybe even taste better.... I think other than Romas, they might be the only varieties I'll ever grow consistently.

Wet Bags

2009-08-29T05:49:00.000-07:00

So I was trying to clear out all of our cloth diapering paraphenalia a few months back since we were done using diapers. I didn't think we would have any use for a wetbag or two anymore, but I was wrong! I have been using it this summer to throw everyone's wet towels and swimsuits in after we are done at the pool and heading home. Perfect! I just took it on our vacation too for all of the dirty laundry. It wa so nice when we got home to be able to throw the bag of dirty clothes directly in the laundry room instead of having to upack them. Yay!

Vacation at Honey Creek

2009-08-25T06:49:00.001-07:00

So, we went on a little right-before-school-starts-2-day-vacation and stayed in a luxury cabin at Honey Creek Resort by Lake Rathbun. I follow the Iowa DNR on Twitter and found a later in the season deal on our cabin. Upon arriving the children were delighted to discover we had cable TV--can you say Avatar???? I was delighted to find out that the wireless did in fact work in our cabin, they had offered no promises of whether it would work all the time or not. Very handy when a classmate texted me and alerted me to the fact that I still needed to register for fall classes at Frontier. Doh! We do love our technology. All of these photos were taken with my Palm Pre.

The first night, getting ready to grill dinner.

The bicycle built for two! They had a much bigger selection of rental bikes than I thought they would. Even a few tandems and many sizes of kid's bikes. Though I wish they would have had helmets too.

This was our favorite, by far! We have toyed with the idea of getting a bike trailer for a while. James needed a little convincing that a Burley was worth the money. I think he's convinced now. Let us know if you see one on Craigs.

Quinn has conquered the Nemo fish at the Buccaneer Bay water park.

This is the Lazy River. Quinn wished that the overall water depth at the park was a little deeper, but that's what made it so great to bring littler kids to-- it was no deeper than 3"6. So Milo could go everywhere, except the water slide where you had to be 48" tall. Bummer.

Another view.

Dinner our last night here. I brought all the food with us we would need, to stay in the cabin and use the full kitchen. We had grilled zuchinni and summer squash, brown rice, watermelon, and kabobs with chicken, shrimp, peppers, and onions. Everthing I brought for produce came from this week's CSA. Yum! I also made French Toast Casserole, a favorite of Quinn's. We also did the requisite campfire with S'Mores, but it was too dark to get a picture. We are going on a morning bike ride and packing up, then we'll be on our way back to the city! We can't wait to come back next year!

Another Great Giveaway- A New Breast Pump

2009-08-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a contest where you can win an innovative new double electric breastpump:
http://www.makesmomhappy.com/2009/08/you-can-enjoye-pumping.html

I definitely entered even though my pumping days might be behind me for now, the Hygeia sounds like something that is worth a try.

SIGG's Bpa Confession

2009-08-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/siggs-bpa-confession-you-arent-going-to-like-it-any-more-than-we-do

What will you be doing? Keeping or tossing your SIGG bottles?

Another Groovy Mama.....

2009-08-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

No I'm not the groovy mama..... Erykah Badu is. Read her interview where she talks about homebirth, homeschooling, and Tweeting during labor....

http://babble.com/Erykah-BaduI-twitter-birth-contractions/

Back to School...Or Not.....

2009-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.breastfeedingmomsunite.com/2009/08/seven-reasons-im-sending-my-child-to-public-school-and-the-three-big-reasons-i-wish-i-wasnt/

I enjoyed this blog post very much. I identify and can appreciate the very balanced and well spoken thoughts of this author. I think it does a disservice to constantly be so black and white about issues. My life is definitely better served through growth and change by acknowledging that I don't have all the answers, and maybe I can learn from other people's wisdom and opinions.
The decision whether to homeschool or to send your child to a public or private institution, seems to draw some harsh battle lines in certain circles. There are hashtags flying all over Twitter about #notbacktoschool and #unschool. Which I love! But it's not what we are doing., and frankly a few have been outright offensive. But c'est la vie....
FYI, I am celebrating back to school day with a Parents Coffee Morning Out at Mars Cafe on 8.31.09, so feel free to join me!
Just as breastfeeding should be promoted as normal and healthy, formula feeding should not be vilified to the extent that it is in some activist circles. There are so many choices that have to be made as a parent, and schooling options seems to be one that is also hard to sit on the fence about.
I absolutely love the idea of homeschooling, and know that it is right for a number of families that I know personally. And as the years roll by I also see some of those families modifying and making different choices than they maybe did when they first started homeschooling. Some have children who are dual-enrolled in public school and homeschool programs. Some have one child in their house now attending public school time while homeschooling the rest. Does that mean that they suddenly identify less with the "homeschool movement?" I think not. I commend them for being sensitive to their child's (AND their own!) needs and exploring the best options for them. Just as I also have friends that are doing that same thing by looking at homeschooling instead of continuing to have their children attend public school. Those kids are lucky to have such committed parents wanting to do what they feel is best for them as well.
I am glad that the homeschool movement is really gaining momentum particularly among the secular crowd, and I too love the vast amount of home learning resources that proliferate each year. I can shop at The Learning Post with the best of them! =) I would enjoy hearing your thoughts about the divide between the public school/homeschool crowd...... I have seen some comments on Twitter that really made me pause and consider whether I was going to blog about this topic or not. Some of them are very firm and devisive thoughts about the evils of sending your child to school that I found childish and offensive. I feel getting into those conversations is a slippery slope I care not to go down. I would prefer to embrace the individuality and choice of both my friends and their schooling options. Love live learning! (Please comment with a link if you feel moved to continue this discussion on your own blog.)

Straw Bale Building

2009-08-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

I am interested in learning more about building with renewable resources, but won't be able to make it this time. I can't wait to see it finished! Please make time if you are able!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Straw Bale Building Call for Volunteers to Learn a Unique Natural Building Technique Through a Hands on Work Party
Sponsoring Organization: Gaia Center Inc. A Non-Profit Environmental Education Center
When:Any Day Thursday, August 20 through Sunday, August 23, 2009orWednesday, August 26 through Friday August 28, 2009
Where:Gaia Center12297 North 4th Avenue WestColfax, IA50054
Jasper County About 20 minutes east of Des Moines
What:Please come help us build the administration building for our new environmental education center. This is an opportunity to learn about straw bale building by doing hands on bale stacking and plastering.Straw bales are a totally renewable resource and an excellent insulation provider. This is a natural building method that anyone can do. You'll want to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty and have on sturdy shoes. It is a construction site in the country on a gravel road.
Requested Time Commitment: Any day or partial day would be helpful and appreciated.
Other Comments:Straw bale building is a unique natural building technique that involves stacking straw bales to make walls. Plaster is then applied to the inside and outside of the bales to make the outer shell of the wall. This is an extremely energy efficient building method that is totally renewable. Please come help us create a new environmental education center just east of Des Moines. Gaia Center will focus on natural building methods, permaculture and organic gardening, managed intensive grazing, habitat restoration, renewable energy generation and many more sustainable conservation techniques. Be part of a new group to help balance nature and the needs of people. Thank you for considering volunteering your precious time.
Event Contact: Tizzy Hyatt, Development Director, Gaia CenterPhone: 515-681-6781e-mail: tizzyhyatt@yahoo.comPlease RSVP to Tizzy Hyatt

I really really really want a VitaMix!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

And if you don't already have a VitaMix you should enter to win one too!! But don't enter too much, you'll lower my odds, dude. =)

http://jessiehawkins.com/?p=89

And if you aren't already doing The Green Smoothie Challenge..... you probably should be. Especially if you had any chocolate covered bacon or anything on a stick while at the fair....

No Sleep 'til Brooklyn

2009-08-16T16:46:00.001-07:00

So we're stuck in that dreaded No Man's Land of Trying-to-Give-Up-Naps-Before-We-Are Really-Ready-To. I have to admit that it seems that Jonas is NOT napping on more days than he is at this point. This is unwise for a number of reasons.
1.) Mom doesn't like this.
2.) Deep down inside Jonas doesn't like this either, he just can't EXPRESS it coherently.
3.) See # 1

He's fighting naps and been crashing when he can't hold out any longer between 4 and 5 P.M. for a while now, and then staying up to party W-A-Y later than Mom and Dad want to. The summertime is hard for us and schedules. There is so much going on at home with his brothers that he doesn't want to miss. Now, if we could just S-T-R-E-T-C-H that late nap a little later....like say 6:30.... then maybe we would stand a chance of doing books/bath and bed at 7P.M. Wish us luck. Cause that's him crashed on the couch at 6:38 P.M.

Reason # 127 to have a good breastpump....

2009-08-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

.... because there is a chance that the power cord for the breastpump might fit the Spiderman Pinball machine that is languishing in the attic......... Ka-ching!!! Perfect fit! We lost the power cord for the pinball game several years and a few residences ago, but I couldn't bear to get rid of it. I was hoping that someday we would get another cord for it. Very fun....but it's going to stay in the attic.......