Giveaway Time!!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***


In honor of Eloise turning 13 months old (yesterday)....

I am having a
GIVEAWAY!!

She just learned to say "Cheese!" and this
was the picture I snapped when she said it!!

Anyway... you are probably wondering what the giveaway is for, right?

Well... if you read a few posts ago... you would know that I have
started sewing baby shoes.
(thanks to the awesome Shauna for selling her tutorial and patterns!)

It has been a great creative outlet for me while Eloise naps.
I've made about 10 pairs so far... but have given most away as gifts!

So, here is your chance to nab a pair!

The winner will have their choice of either the Froggies..


or... the sweet Blue Flowers...


The shoes only come in size 0-6 Months.
(may not be exactly the shoes pictured)

Here is how you can win!!

Leave a comment on this post.

That's it.
No special hoops to jump through or links to follow.

Just leave a comment!
Make sure I have a way to get a hold of you in case you are chosen!

If you would like an EXTRA entry...
you can mention this Giveaway in a post on your own blog.
Come back here and leave a (separate) comment
with the link to your post.

Giveaway ends Friday, March 2nd at 11:59PM.
I will select a winner randomly and post the results (and email the winner) on Saturday, March 3rd!!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED***

Daily Life

It's been over a week since my last post... and really, that's OK... I don't really have anything exciting to post about. Each day comes and goes... there's lots of playing and reading, feeding "Baby Jenna" 10 million times a day, running, laughing, learning... cooking, baking, sewing, laundry, dishes - and the list goes on.


So, I hope you are doing well... and don't give up on me.
I WILL keep posting!

And soon... I will be posting about a giveaway... so stay tuned for that!

Nap Time

Nap time for Eloise means "Free" time for Mama... well, sometimes.
So... instead of blogging... I've been sewing.



I just KNEW I'd find a use for that Muppet Fabric!
Eloise has been wearing these puppies for the past few days.
FUN!!!

Perhaps I'll be having a Giveaway one of these days soon....
(Don't worry, it won't be Muppet Fabric)

Here is a very short video of our little Ham!
Enjoy!

"Healthy" Carrot Cake Recipe

For the few of you who had asked for the recipe for the Whole Wheat Maple Syrup Carrot Cake we gave Eloise for her birthday... HERE is the link from my original recipe post.
(Saves me from typing it all out)

I was NOT thrilled with the icing recipe I have in that post...
so if anyone can find or come up with a healthy cream cheese recipe
(meaning, no sugar or processed crap)...
please, email me or comment so I can try it out myself!

Also--make sure you grate your carrots on a small grater or a food processor.
Bigger pieces of grated carrots give it a weird texture, in my opinion!
(We also stored it in the fridge because it's so good chilled!)

And let me know how you like the cake!
We made Eloise's without the nuts...
but MMMmmm... I love it with nuts!

None for this girl...

Well, it happened.
Our first trip to the E.R. with Eloise.
This is probably new news to you.
But it's old news to us...
since it happened back on Jan. 25th.
I never made time to post about it.
So here I am now.

Let's just say...
I had a dumb-o mama moment...

But in all reality...
it was inevitable...

Let me start at the beginning.

At Eloise's 1 yr appointment we got the OK to
try cow's milk and cheese and eggs.

In my mind I am doing the happy dance for 2 reasons:

1.) Though I am doing "baby led weaning"
(I don't think you should force your child to wean until they are completely ready)...
there is a sliver of hope that once we start on cow's milk,
Eloise will want to wean sooner rather than later.
Come on, now. Any of you nursing mama's can relate
with wanting to wear a NORMAL bra again!

and

2.) I was excited that Eloise and I could have the same breakfast!
Scrambled eggs and toast! YUMMO!

So, the morning of the 25th, I do the unthinkable.
Because... really.. I knew better...
I just wasn't thinking.

I gave Eloise a mix of 1/2 mama milk and 1/2 cow's milk.
She took a big swig and tossed it on the floor.
Typical.

I also gave her scrambled eggs and toast.

Can you see where this is going?
You should never introduce more than one food
at a time. And I did TWO of the worst
allergy culprits at the same time!

What WAS I thinking?

So... laa dee daa.. the morning goes on...
when about an hour and a half later I notice
Eloise getting kind of sluggish.

She will drape herself on me when she is tired...
and she started doing that...
but it wasn't nap time.

So I decided to take her temperature.
98.2*

Ok... hmmm...
She coughed a few times...
no biggie.

But I get online to look up milk and egg allergies anyway.

Eloise is playing near me...
and when she gets up and comes to my side,
I look down at her and notice that her face is pink...
(like she'd rubbed it).

I looked back at the computer...
30 seconds later, I look back and El...
and she is super red and puffy with hives!

Commence silent panic.
I didn't want to freak her out...
and I was trying to stay calm but
I have never dealt with allergies before, so
I admit... I was a little scared!

I called Cory (who flew home) and the Pediatrician's office.
Of course I couldn't get a hold of anyone at the Ped's
office, so we went straight to the E.R.
where it took forever to get signed in.
Seriously... EMERGENCY means URGENCY.
But what can you do?

A nurse came about 5 minutes later...
we went through the whole checking the vitals thing.
Eloise did NOT like that.
At one point, her pink puffy face went white and she
went limp in my arms. It was only for a brief moment...
but it was scary! I think perhaps she had worked herself
up so much into an overheated tizzy that she almost passed out.

The nurse gave her a kitty cat (pic above)
which entertained Eloise for about 30 seconds...
and then we were off to another room.

20 mins later... a doctor came to check her out.
He didn't seem overly concerned, though I am sure he didn't
want to make us panic any more than we already were!

20 mins after that... Eloise was given Benadryl... went home
to nap for an hour and the hives were pretty much gone.
PHEW!

The next day was a follow up appt at the Ped's office.
"No Milk or Eggs until 15 months."
(So much for weaning)

But a few days later the office called and wanted to set up
an appointment with an Allergist at a place over an hour away.
We gladly accepted the appointment!
Of course we want to find out what was causing the reaction!

Fast forward to yesterday...
We made it to our appointment.
Eloise got tested...


... and she is officially allergic to...

EGGS.

So. We have to avoid them altogether...
she can't even touch an egg in it's shell!!

There is hope that she will grow out of it since I eat
eggs all of the time and it hasn't bothered her system via
my milk... but we have to wait a year to have
another test!

In the meantime, I have to carry an Epipen
in case she has a severe reaction by accident...
and also Benadryl in case she has a mild reaction.

On the bright side...
she didn't cry at her appointment!
We figured she would FREAK!
...AND...
We get to try cow's milk again!
(Weaning... here we come!?)
Yea!

Do any of your kids have allergies?
What a trip, huh?

Baby, It's [not] Cold Outside!

What in the world is going on?

I am not a believer in the whole Global Warming thing...
I mean, Ok, maybe if I had time to research it and
really give it a good go with the brain cells...
But, let's face it... I don't.
So therefore, I'm just not fanatical about GW and the cause/effects of it.

HOWEVER... 58* in January.
In little old Central PA.
Well, that's just plain FREAKY!

Eloise, Boo and I took advantage of it though!
Oddly enough, I forgot to take any pictures of Boo!
Oh well!


Since it was kind of mucky out, Eloise donned her moon boots...
I mean, SNOW boots.


Boy, does she love clompin' around in those things!
And I have to admit, they are kind of cute!


We didn't stay out too long.
It was kind of windy....
But it was nice to get out for a little bit anyway!
I'll take 58* over 15* any day!!