Cole Henry Gillebo

I can't believe the day is finally here. We've waited so long to meet our second little boy and he finally came! Even after all of the fears about not feeling attached or ever being able to pick a name, we've come to that sweet place where we've met him and love him even more than we could have imagined.

His due date was April 4th, my mother's birthday, but we had hoped to have him during Justin's spring break, which is this week. It made him 38 weeks, which my midwife said she would be okay with delivering him at that point if he came. We never intended to do anything to induce labor artificially, so we prayed a lot that God would bring our baby at the best time and did what we could to bring on labor naturally. Wednesday came and went with promising contractions, but no labor. Then Thursday I was so disappointed when there was nothing. Maybe 5 contractions all day. I went to bed that night thinking he would not come over spring break. Then, at 3:00 am on the dot, I woke up with a super-painful contraction. I sat in bed timing them because I'd never been woken up by contractions before. At 3:15 Justin asked me if this was real labor, because he had to leave for his 4am shift by 3:30. I kept saying that I didn't know and needed more time to wait them out, so I dismissed him to work under the guise that I thought they weren't real. I tried walking and then a bath to see if I could get the contractions to go away, and by 3:40 I was fairly convinced that I was in labor. However, I didn't want to cry wolf, so I called my midwife, Charlotte, with skepticism in my voice, just to ask how long I should wait to know if this was real labor. She picked up on my doubt and told me to wait until the contractions got more regular, since they had changed from being close and short to further apart and longer. But praise God for her wisdom and intuition, because she heard my voice as I tried to get off the phone quickly because another contraction was coming on, and she decided that I was probably actually in labor. Just two more intolerable contractions later I couldn't emotionally handle being alone--and that's when I knew it was all for real. Just moments after Justin started his shift I called him and told him with certainty that he needed to get home--NOW! He said he flew back to Bothell so fast that he just kept praying that he wouldn't get pulled over. I do remember hearing the car pull in to the garage and thinking that he got home really fast. My mother-in-love was ready to pick up James in a moment's notice, and had him to her house just minutes later. Justin also texted our dear friend, Jarica, to let her know that I was in labor. She had graciously offered to prepare food for everyone, and within minutes she was busy making snacks and tea for everyone involved. It was a huge blessing to me because I knew Justin was hungry at that hour and I was glad that Charlotte and her assistants were cared for as well. When it was all over she even had foods I requested ready for me to eat and be nourished.

I felt so relieved when Justin came home--I just didn't want to labor by myself. I don't know how long it was before Charlotte and her assistants arrived, but at that point I felt like labor could begin--nothing was missing. We were prepared and there was nothing left to wait for. We chose a home birth after having such a great home birth by Charlotte with our first baby, James. Charlotte has so many years of experience and a really successful history; a sweet, gentle, calming personality; and she's a Christian, so she prays during labors and trusts God to direct her with wisdom. I remember with my labor with James feeling really out-of-control because I'd never experienced my body doing these things on its own before. But because Charlotte was so calm, and being in my own home felt so protective and safe, that I made it through labor without panicking. When it was all done and cleaned up I was back in my cozy bed with my husband and baby, and we were already home--in the place where I felt most safe, comfortable, and ready to start a new phase of life. I knew I wanted that for our second baby too.

Cole's labor was short and intense, much like James'. With James it was 5 hours (crazy-short for a first baby), and with Cole it was only 3 1/2 hours. But I must say--it didn't make it easier. It still felt as horribly intolerable as I remembered. Poor little guy was posterior, meaning he was face-up (they're supposed to be face-down) so his little head had to straighten out my tailbone in order to get out. That caused me a lot of back pain, and I'm just as bruised internally as Cole is externally. The poor little man has a bruise covering the entirety of the northern hemisphere of his cranium. They said it should heal within two weeks, but you can tell it's pretty tender. Here's where I have to say I'm incredibly grateful to Charlotte for her wisdom and guidance. In two labor instances her knowledge and assistance helped me progress through labor more quickly than if my body had not been helped. We didn't want to do anything invasive to the birthing process; simply, a change of position and relieving of some pressure helped me avoid potentially hours of low-progress laboring. I am also grateful that I was still able to have a complication-free home birth with a posterior baby. I don't have enough medical knowledge to say that she saved me from a potential c-section, but we never had to consider the option--which was something I really wanted to avoid.

He was born at 6:25am, Friday March 23. Due on one grandma's birthday, and born on the other grandma's birthday. It was perfect timing. Justin got through finals and even got a few days to recover before Cole was born. My mother-in-love has Friday off from work, so she could keep James all day (actually, through Sunday because Jamie got sick). And now we have all week together as a family before Justin starts the next quarter of school next week. I am sure grateful for my husband's help, and Daddy's constant presence is helping James through this difficult transition time.

I remember the moment when he was first born, crying out as loud as he could. I couldn't believe he was real. Throughout this pregnancy it was hard to feel like I was more than just pregnant--that we were actually having another baby. But suddenly he was there, in my arms. He had such an adorable little face and smelled so sweet. We still didn't have a name for the little love, and that was really bothering Justin; but he also needed to wait until he saw the baby to feel certain about the name. Justin looked at me and in a whisper asked what I thought of 'Cole.' It was a name we had agreed upon last weekend during our anniversary weekend "stay-away" (like a getaway, but we stayed home and sent James to Papa's and Grandma's house). I still loved it, and he did too. It just seemed to fit. And as a middle name we wanted to continue the tradition of giving our boys middle names of great leaders in the Christian faith. I love the name Henry and the life of Matthew Henry is amazing and admirable, so Cole Henry he was named.

Today he's four days old we're settling into our new rhythms. It's sure not easy, even though this is our second time with a newborn. But I learned many things from my time with James that is making these days less stressful. I don't time feedings like I did or worry about how much sleep time he's getting. He nurses when he wants, sleeps all the time, and I'm so much more trusting that the baby will tell me what he needs without my micromanagement. This has freed me up to just enjoy these days more. I feel like I get to experience the sweet cuddles and nurses so much more and I'm really loving it. Just three days ago I was saying I could never, ever do labor again. But...I can't say no to these sweet newborn days...and labor wasn't that bad, was it?

19 Things

I love my little boy. And sometimes hard days--or hard seasons--cause me to forget that.

We're in one of those seasons. Terrible twos? Yeah, starts at 16 months. Everything is "NO!" Frustration comes out in hitting, especially hitting me. Whining is a nearly-ceasless unresolvable 10-hours-a-day noise. Desperately-needed nap #2 of the day is often preceded with 45 minutes of "...ya ya ya ya ya ya ya Mama! Daddy! Truck! Car! Ya ya ya ya ya stuck!"

But this season will pass, and I don't want to dwell on just what is hard. He's a joy too. Nineteen months ago I was wondering who he would be, what he would be like, and what he would love. Now, everyday I get to see a little bit more of those parts of him and they're so sweet and Jamie-specific. Here are nineteen things I love about him:

1. He gives the sweetest kisses. He closes his eyes and puts his whole face to your cheek. Sometimes asking for a kiss will get you a hug too.
2. He loves cars. LOVES them. Riding in the car means listening to a never-ending chorus of, "A car! A car! Truck. Vrooom! Beep beep."
3. He loves learning new words for everything. He's got a nice little vocabulary going (although, Justin and I are about the only people who can translate). Current favorites: Car, truck, book, food, wa-wa (water), stuck, daddy, mama, shoe, sock, doggy, fuddy (funny), up, no, and please.
4. 'Please' sounds like 'pea.' Just 'pea.' We ask him to say please for everything because he makes the sweetest little 'pea' sound and it makes us melt every time.
5. He loves to make us laugh, and he knows when he's funny. He often puts random things on his head and runs over to us saying, "fuddy!" (funny!). He's also quite fond of peak-a-boo with a new twist--pulling the blanket off his head super-s...l...o...w...l...y. It's like he knows that he's building up the drama.
6. He loves putting on clothes, but is not fond of wearing clothes. Yes, only in the world of a 19-month-old is this possible. He brings us socks, shoes, coats, and sometimes even our own clothes for us to put on him. He often ends up wearing socks over his footie-pajamas or a vest over his winter coat indoors because he found it and wanted to put it on. However, about an hour later he's pointing to his pants and shirt declaring, "stuck!" which means he wants to take it off.
7. He says, "bye bye car" every time we leave the car or he hears a car drive away. And he waves too.
8. He loves to read books. Favorite books are ones with cars, trucks, or dogs in them. Though we check out several books from the library each week, we often only read one or two all week over and over and over again. Current favorite: Roadwork. It's full of construction vehicles, and he loves the page that ends with the word "vroom!" He'll repeat it several times and bounce up and down on your lap. Sometimes we read that book two or three times consecutively. I'm trying to get him to sit all the way through "No Jumping On The Bed" because I'd like to know how it ends. So far, kid falls through three floors of his apartment building...and we never know what happens after he smashes through the stamp-collector's apartment.
9. He LOVES Curious George and Elmo. This past week he's been sick (really, really sick) and the only thing that would console him was back-to-back episodes of Curious George. Elmo is also a favorite character (though he doesn't seem too interested in Sesame Street), but if Elmo is depicted on anything, James finds it. He'll suddenly declare, "MOMO!" (Elmo) and we have to stop and look until I find what he's seeing so that he can touch it. I'm often surprised at how readily he finds Elmo. Yesterday he saw Elmo in the bread aisle of QFC on the 6-inch-wide side of a specialty display rack. It took me over a minute of concerted effort to find it.
10. He has a very soft heart towards discipline and being in trouble. Often times, simply the reminder that touching something will incur a spanking is enough for him to burst into tears. And just the lightest swat on the leg makes him cry. It seems that he is more upset that he got disciplined than he is about the actual discipline. I understand--I'm the exact same way.
11. He just started to jump off the bed into daddy's arms. It's so sweet to see him stand at the edge of the bed and jump beyond his fear of falling because he trusts that his daddy will catch him. He barely catches any air; he basically just steps off the edge. But Justin catches him and wooshes him up into the air and then puts Jamie down. Jamie laughs and immediately gets up on the bed again.
12. The boy is a pacifier-addict. We're trying to lessen the addiction, but his love for these things is intense. He calls it 'ba-ba,' though we have no idea why, and he always has one in-hand or in-mouth.
13. He is super tidy. When he finds garbage in the house he picks it up and puts it in the trash. I have no idea how he learned what things are garbage, and he can barely get his hand into the trash because of the cabinet's baby lock, but he does it all the time. On occasion I have found the errant book or shoe in the garbage--but hey, maybe he's trying to tell us something. He also tries really hard to keep things in their proper bags. He puts spilled crackers back in the bag, or helps me put away legos when he sees me picking them up. Apparently, Justin was the same way as a child. And to be honest, I was pretty tidy too. Guess I know where he gets it from.
14. He loves to push us around the house until we crash. Basically, you'll be standing somewhere doing something when suddenly you'll feel these two tiny hands push on the back of your legs. He has very little strength, but we play along and scoot until we "crash" into the nearest object, yelling, "CRASH!" He thinks it is SOOO funny.
15. He loves collecting treasures and putting his booty in a little treasure-collecting spot. Two current favorite locations: in the "trunk" of his ride-on toy car and behind the second shelf of books on the corner bookshelf in the living room. Missing anything? It's probably there. About a month ago our TV remote went missing for over a week, and we might not have discovered it for years if we hadn't caught Jamie trying to hide a Redbox DVD case behind those books. Thinking that it might be hard for us to remember to look there when it came time to return the DVD, Justin got up and fished it out...and also came up with the remote, a sippy cup, a toddler book, a plastic sheep, and a toddler sock. 
16. Friday is his favorite day of the week because it's garbage day--and the big noisy garbage truck comes to our house about an hour after he wakes up. He knows the sound of the engine and the reversing 'beep.' As soon as he hears it he goes running through the house yelling, "Truck! Truck!" and presses up against the sliding glass door. Even if it's 35˚ outside I have to let him out on the deck so that he can see the garbage truck. He stands there and watches in amazement. The garbage men know he's there every week so they've learned to always wave at him. He simply will not come back inside until the truck has driven so far away that he can no longer hear it.
17. He LOVES his daddy. Any time daddy comes home, he's SO excited. He loves to wrestle with daddy and play catch with daddy...and he's only brave if daddy is with him. Jamesy hates water, and is a cat in the bathtub. But if daddy holds him close, he'll take a shower. He totally recognizes that his daddy is the strong, safe one of the family. He knows that daddy is the protecter and that his daddy is trustworthy. He fusses a lot less for daddy than mama and obeys much quicker. He loves his dad.
18. He loves his mama. He's learned that I'm the one with whom he must be 'gentle' so he gives me a lot of gentle face pats and snuggles. He often comes to me when he wants help getting dressed or reading a book. When he's really hurting, he wants me. He's always asking that I pick him up, and loves to sit on the kitchen or bathroom counter next to me and watch whatever I am doing. 
19. He's teaching me about Jesus. Especially in this season, where I'm so prone to getting frustrated and irritated with James, I'm learning about who my God is. I am irritated and impatient with James everyday because he's disobedient and defiant everyday; but my God is patient and loving with me though I'm disobedient everyday. I'm so frustrated that my child is "by nature [a child] of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3), meaning that his nature is inclined to disobedience and folly and he needs a heart change; but my God patiently pursued me until I conceded to my need for my own heart and nature change. I'm so tired of hearing Jamie whine because I told him to stop playing in the trash--he could get hurt, and at the very least, it's trash, and he's convinced I'm taking away his joy; but I ask God for things that are trash all the time, and whine incessantly when I don't get them, and my God is loving enough to not just give in to get me to shut up and to keep me away from those things because he knows that it is better for me. Being Jamie's mama is showing me what an AMAZING Father I have--I could never be like Him through my own efforts. And I pray every day that Jamesy knows the Father the way I do. 

Procrastination; or, Why I'm Starting My New Year's Resolution January 21

I'm not a big new year's resolution maker, but I just so happened to decide to keep our home running more smoothly about the same time that the new year started. I was reading the book Houseworks by Cynthia Townley Ewer and I discovered that the source of my home maintenance headaches is that I am a deferrer--I put off to tomorrow what should be done today. In order to reduce the stress and chaos in my life I need to become more diligent in completing housework in a timely manner. 

In light of this conviction, I saw this poster on Pinterest and it made me laugh. 

I want to fully credit the creator and promote his listing on Etsy, where this was first found. Glen, of 'Posterguy' shop on Etsy is selling this print for $17, and can be found here.

I visit this mystical land all the time. I'm always telling myself that I will finish the dishes, fold the laundry in the dryer, pick up our clothes off the floor, or put away the toys and books scattered in the living room tomorrow.

But if I don't finish the dishes, fold the laundry, pick up our clothes, and put away our books and toys by the end of the day, then I spend the whole next day just trying to recover from yesterday. That then leaves me less of today to do what should be done today, which will eventually end with me feeling stressed, continually behind on chores, and missing out on time with James and Justin. I hate that feeling! However, if I finish today's tasks then I can start tomorrow prepared, and I often find extra time in my day to do things I enjoy and have the opportunity to just play with my child. It seems so simple, but I'm terrible at it. I don't want to wash dishes...and laundry folding just never seems to get done...and I rationalize that I can do it tomorrow. But here's a piece of wisdom that I just discovered:

I know, crazy--right? But that's just the thing; I'm always lying to myself about how much better house cleaning will be tomorrow rather than today. And yet, I'm never right. No, not once. I have never woken up so glad that I didn't plan dinner or put away yesterday's clothes. And I've never felt more at rest having done dishes for a week instead of just today's. To change this about me, I've realized I need three things:

It's not rocket science, but it is hard. It's hard to change how you think. Here's my daily logic: At night I always feel too tired to pick up the living room before bed, so it seems more logical that I should just go to sleep and pick up our stuff tomorrow when I have more energy and could actually sort and organize while I'm at it. See? Not only am I getting out of having to do something I don't want to do right now, but I'm also promoting (to myself) the benefits of how it would be better deferred to tomorrow: I will have more energy so I will also sort and organize the living room, which is something I've been wanting to do anyway. But, as you can imagine, I don't feel more energized or motivated the next day. And I might get around to picking up the living room; but I certainly don't sort and organize, and I definitely feel frustrated that I had to pick up yesterday's things. Truly, I wasn't too tired last night. I need to redefine 'too tired.' It's not: 10pm and I'm sleepy. 'Too tired' is falling asleep while standing up. I'm never that tired. And putting things away really only takes a few minutes. So in those moments I'm learning to recognize my mind's rationalization and repent of my desire for comfort--which includes telling God that I'm sorry that I wanted to choose myself over my family and ask for Him to change my desires; and, complete my homemaker duties. 

Daily repentance might seem extreme for house cleaning. Isn't repentance something you do when you've done something extremely destructive, like slandered a friend's character or lied about doping through seven Tour de France victories? Sure. But it's also appropriate for "little things." In short, God made us to have perfect relationship with Him, every day enjoying Him and all that He's made and never even desiring to put ourselves first. But we broke that relationship by believing the lie that life would be better if we served ourselves instead of God. Now we're stuck, unable to reclaim that joyful relationship, and we're always trying to recreate that joy by putting ourselves and our desires before others'. But it's never actually good; a self-serving attitude is joyless. But God the Father, in His great mercy, offered us a way to reclaim that relationship. He sent Jesus to live a whole earthly life in that perfect relationship with the Father, so that He could then offer it to us again. As Christians, we have confessed that we've broken that relationship and need Jesus' reconciliation to have it back. And though God changes our hearts so that we're more like Him and get to experience more of that relationship again with Him on earth, we often still try to put ourselves first. Any time we put ourselves before God or others, we're re-believing that lie that life is better if we put ourselves first. We do it all the time, like Lance Armstrong, who thought life would be better if he cheated and won the Tour de France, putting himself before his competitors; or like me, not cleaning up at night, putting my comfort before the blessing of my family in giving them my full time and energy the next day. Honestly, confessing to God my sinful heart desires when I don't want to do my tasks is actually quite freeing. It takes the drudgery out of the chore by helping to remind me that washing dishes isn't really that bad--it's that I want my own comfort, and the hard part is actually changing my heart. And then I'm reminded that God loved me so much that He didn't leave me in a life of foolishly trying to serve myself, but instead rescued me so that I would actually experience joy. And I do! I wake up with so much more joy when my kitchen is clean, my husband has plenty of clean clothes, and I'm not stepping on legos.

So then what do my new habits look like? I must thank Bernice Wood of 'The Stressed Mom' blog and her post, '10 Habits for a Well-Run Home' for inspiring my daily list of helpful habits. These are the habits that work best for me:

Waking up to a messy living room not only puts me in a bad mood, but it also puts me behind on tasks for the day because I'm still finishing tasks from yesterday. Everything gets put back, even blankets get folded and the coffee table is cleared.

Much like the living room, a kitchen full of dishes is a morning mood killer. And while a smoothie takes a minute to rinse out when it's fresh, it takes an hour of soaking to get it off the glass the next day. Before we go to bed I load the dishwasher, start it, and hand wash anything that can't go in there. The only things that stay in the sink for the next day are things that must soak (and 'must soak' means I can't get it off with will power--not, I just don't want to wash them).

It's amazing how much easier it is to find spare diapers and a change of clothes at night than in the morning when we're trying to rush out the door. I try to think about the next day's tasks and what we might need (shoes, snack, coat, toy car, etc.). This really helps make the morning smooth and stress-free.

I essentially had a 9pm bedtime all the way through high school. My parent's didn't enforce it hard-core, but the whole house shut down and it was just kinda assumed that you'd go to bed. I never really realized how practical that is. If I go to bed late I'm irritable when I wake up...and that's the worst way to start the day. Plus, if I get to bed by 10, I'm more likely to wake up by 6 which gives me plenty of time to start my day before my little munchkin gets up. I reward myself for getting in bed before 10 by spending that time reading--the earlier I'm in, the more reading time I get.

Again, the earlier I'm up the better my day goes. And the truth is, I'm more productive in the morning when I'm freshly rested as opposed to late at night after a tiring day. Years ago I could have sworn I was a night owl, but I now see that I was really just avoiding the discipline of going to bed. I've also learned that if I get up before James gets up (at 7:30), I feel more calm than if I'm awoken by a shouting toddler.

I love having a meal plan. It puts me at ease each night when my family is starting to get hungry because I'm guaranteed that all the ingredients for a meal are in my kitchen. If I don't have a meal plan, I find myself getting frustrated that my family keeps asking for food. It's amazing how a plan can make such a difference.

I let James pull out whatever toys he wants throughout the day. The key to keeping the house from feeling overwhelming is to put away that with which he has stopped playing. Periodically I'll survey the house and see things that have lived their life for the day and should be put away. He's just getting to the age where I can ask him to help me (putting blocks in the bag is something he can do), which is good practice for him and stress relieving for me. I've also found that he is more inclined to play with things that are organized and put away, and more likely to avoid the mess of scattered toys already on the floor; so, if we put the blocks away when he's done, he's more likely to play with them again in the afternoon than if they just sit out sprayed across the floor, hiding under other toys.

If there's any chore I cannot bend my will for, it's laundry. I'm not sure why that is. Was it the years spent in retail that burned me out from folding clothes? Do I even have an excuse? My husband has progressed through the years from being really frustrated about my lack of laundry completion to just laughing about it. He challenges me to just get the laundry out of the dryer and into the basket--not even fold it or put it away. :) However, I know I can do better. This chore grates on me, but it's not impossible. If I put the rule on myself that anything put in the washing machine in the morning has to be dried, folded, and put away before bedtime, I find myself completing a whole load of laundry before the next one even gets started a few days later--which is amazing for me.

This rule really is the key to keeping clutter at bay. If the remote doesn't have a designated home, then it will float around the living room until it meets it's weekly doom of being lost. Or if I don't have a place for my paintbrushes, then they end up shoved into my desk drawer or left next to the sink where they dried after being washed a month ago. If you don't have a place to put it away, then how can you ever put it away? Things that don't have homes get piled up around the house in a semi-logical spot, but eventually just accumulate into misplaced clutter. My husband's work boots lived in the hallway where I would irritatingly step on them all the time until I found them a permanent home. My husband is quite good about putting things away--but they have to have a spot first before he has the ability to put them away.

I didn't learn this until I lived with my in-laws over the summer. I was super helpful about always unloading the dishwasher if I was the first to open it after the dishes were cleaned because I wanted to be a helpful house guest. But I also realized how useful this practice is. If I don't unload the dishwasher immediately, then all the day's used dishes end up in the sink. By the end of the day my sink is full and I have no room to rinse off dinner plates (which, if those get left until the next day, are so crusty that I've increased my workload ten-fold). Then the next day I have a sink full of dishes and a dishwasher to unload. :( Truly, the dishwasher only takes 60 seconds to unload, and it saves me from a dishes pile-up in the sink. 

These are the daily habits that help keep my house in order. Yours will definitely look different than mine. You may not struggle to get laundry folded, but vacuuming...well, that's another story. Look at the chores in your life that seem to pile up and suck away your day when you do finally do them. Find a way to keep on top of them, doing a little at a time, so that they don't become monumental tasks. And remember that you're not going to change every bad habit overnight. I have not consistently woken up before 7am since I resolved to do this. However, I am still trying (eventually not being 3rd trimester-pregnant will probably help). Give yourself grace for when you forget, and challenge yourself to not be lazy when you do remember. Know that such little habits are part of growing up into being a disciplined adult, which is something we want to be able to teach our kids too. And ultimately, having a house that is well-maintained with little amounts of effort allows us more time to relax, have deep conversations, spend the day outside, read, cook, or do whatever you enjoy most.

Make Room in Your Refrigerator

{Beloved blog readers: Thank you for your patience with my down blog. Two days became a month...and I'm realizing how long restoring this blog will take. I will start restoring it post by post, hopefully one a day--but no promises.}

I love Pinterest. You know that.

I see things all the time that seem so novel, but so amazing. Parts of the home organized that you would have never thought to organize, but once they are it's so amazing. The refrigerator is one of those things. They come with organization built in, right? Two vegetable drawers, a few shelves, a third drawer if you're lucky, and some door shelves too big to secure salad dressing bottles and too small to store mayonnaise. But this happens too easily:

I felt like I had no room left in my refrigerator this day. But I had once seen on Pinterest people use plastic bins to organize their refrigerators and freezers, so I got to Target immediately and bought 5 shoebox-sized plastic bins at a $1.08 each. For $5.40+tax I organized it into this:

It's amazingly the same amount of food. And now, I even have a whole open space for leftovers! (sorry for the huge light glare--I'm not skilled in taking photos of refrigerator interiors). There's three bins on the top shelf (currently labeled: 'breakfast,' 'etcetera,' and 'to be used soon.' The second shelf has two bins ('meat,' and 'cheese') and the drawer below I've labeled 'fats,' it's where I keep my butter, lard, duck fat and others (yes, it's so instrumental in my cooking that it gets its own space). I used a whiteboard marker to label each bin and the two crisper drawers ('vegetables' and 'fruit and herbs'). If when I change my mind or refrigerator contents the whiteboard marker washes off with water.  I can't believe how much space I now have! 

Try this. I't s the best $5 I've spent in a while!

Blog is Temporarily Down :(

I'm so sorry, all you faithful blog followers. Due to some user error, all of the blog photos are not uploading properly. I will be working on fixing this shortly. Unfortunately, Google Picasa is also experiencing some technical difficulties (that I cannot control), and my technical error resolutions are dependent upon their technical error resolutions. I just wanted to let you know that the issues that you are experiencing are not because of your browser. I hope to have the blog up again in the next two days, and will let you all know when I do!

-Allie

Blueberry Muffin Recipe {just like your grandmother's!}

Do you have a treasured family recipe? Or a memory of a baked good that only your grandmother could make just right? I don't, but I wish I did. Those tried-and-true recipes that melt in your mouth are such a treasure. I love blueberry muffins. I wish my grandmother had a family blueberry muffin recipe. But since I don't, I've been trying out recipes for a long time. With many adjustments, this is the best one I've ever made. I'll share it with you and we can be like our own family, passing on favorite recipes.

This morning I was craving some to go with my coffee and whipped up a batch. The little one snagged my muffin before I could protest.

He loved them too.
In a split second, it was gone.

The recipe has family approval.

Allow me to share this recipe under the disclaimer that I'm not claiming these to be good for you. There's no whole grains and plenty of sugar. I tried to cut the sugar once, just to end up with bland muffins. Hey--if you're going to have cake designated as a breakfast food, have it be sweet as cake.

But they are soooo good! They have a perfect crumb texture and rise really well. They always come out of the oven looking like professional bakery muffins. The key to that over-the-top muffin top is to fully fill the muffin tins, so that when they rise they expand over the tray and create the infamous muffin top.

Sometimes, when I'm lazy, I don't want to make the crumble. Don't be like me. They're much better with the crumble on top!

Preheat the oven to 400º F. Grease the muffin cups or line with muffin liners. (I love using a pastry brush to coat the cups and tray with melted butter or some other liquid fat because you can make sure that not one muffin edge sticks when they bake!) In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk until thoroughly mixed. Add the oil, eggs, and milk. Stir by hand with a mixing spoon until all dry ingredients are moistened, about 30 stirs. Add the blueberries, fresh or frozen--if they're frozen, do not defrost. I like the way frozen blueberries turn out in muffins because they don't have the blue juice oozing out and turning my muffins purple, but it's up to you. Pour or scoop the batter into your muffin tray. I prefer to fill my tins all the way up so that they expand and make a muffin top (you'll get 12 this way); or, fill 2/3 full for a more standard muffin (you'll get 16 this way). 

To make the crumble, in a small bowl or in a food processor, combine the sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Pulse the processor or mash by hand with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbles. Generously sprinkle the crumble on top of the muffin batter before baking. Bake for 20 minutes (or until a toothpick plunged into a muffin center comes out clean). Letting them cool before removing them from the muffin tray will help them to not stick and to stay together--but if you can't resist, then enjoy the hot crumbly goodness!

Summer Thrifting, Junking, and Treasure-Hunting

One of my favorite magazines is Flea Market Style. If you're a lover of flea markets, repurposed and upcycled treasures, junking, homes full of character, or collecting of any kind, this magazine will delight you. (I find it at Barnes&Noble; also at their website). I love that every page is practical and creative--the style is (flea-market) up-to-date, and the projects and ideas are affordable and inspiring. The only problem I have with the magazine is that it only comes out quarterly. Bleh. #firstworldproblems.

Issue after issue has inspired me to find my specific style of decorating. I often see items that I love, like old globes and typewriters. The thing about decorating from flea markets is that you have to wait until you see that elusive item--and then snatch it up! This summer was a wonderful time to be perusing thrift stores, church sales, garage sales, and even a true flea market. Here's a roundup of the items I collected.

I couldn't believe it when I found this globe. I'd been hunting through Goodwill every few weeks, hoping someone would discard a globe at some point...but no luck. My original hope was to paint it black and outline the continents in white, an idea I stole from Pinterest. However, when I saw the colors and history of this globe, I couldn't think of painting it.

It has the Soviet Union! Better yet, the Russian Soviet Federated Socailist Republic...fancy. I scoured every inch of the globe looking for a date, but there is none to be had. It's got Tanganyika, Dahomey, Yugoslavia, Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Bechuanaland, and a United Arab Republic. Wow! Some of these of which I've never even heard. Russia and Africa are good places to help date a globe, so from what I can surmise, my globe is from 1960. 

The ladies from our apartment building and a few beloved friends all joined together one day to peruse a local nursing home's rummage sale. Awesome! There was quite a bit of good stuff and the prices were better than I've seen anywhere else. We speculated that these 80+ year old people are still pricing things in 1950's dollars.

Case in point: my beloved typewriter.  I found this in the outdoor section of the sale, sitting in a corner. This is an item I've been hunting for forever. Goodwill knows these things are wanted, and they always mark them up and put them in their valuables section. I know Goodwill money goes to good things, but I didn't want to spend $50. The moment I spotted this one I checked for the price. $5. It was one of those moments when you can't seem to grab something fast enough. In a split second you can just imagine someone swooping in and grabbing it from you or someone yelling out their claim to it. When I went to purchase the typewriter, I was still skeptical it was only $5. When it was really, truly, I felt like I was stealing it...like I needed to tell them what they had. The cashier, though, seemed surprised that someone would want an old broken typewriter. The thing weighs a ton, like oh my gosh.  Since I was pushing a stroller, one of the elderly gentlemen working at the sale offered to carry it for me, but it was almost more than he could lift. I knew that I could carry it better--and with less risk of rupturing something--but I decided to let this man have his dignity and cringed the whole time, praying that he wouldn't hurt himself. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a day with Jarica if she wasn't sporting some ridiculous find just to make us all laugh!

I love old dishware. Jadeite is my favorite (happens to be a favorite color too...or is that a coincidence?), but collecting it can be pricey! I decided to expand my love to similar but less-expensive items, like milk glass. It was mass-produced, and though some manufacturers made high-quality items that are considered quite valuable, most pieces are rather inexpensive and can be found on Goodwill shelves between NASCAR commemorative plates and 1992 high school prom party favor pilsner glasses. (No joke, I actually found one of these one time. I had to wonder--whose idea was it to give minors alcohol glasses as a party favor? I know kids drink on prom night, but to encourage it? )

This lovely piece is a candy dish. I use it as a bracelet holder.

I'm getting better at using my husband's dSLR camera that he received as a very special birthday gift. It's awesome, and I'm only starting to do it justice. You'll have to bear with me as I demonstrate my budding skills. (And kudos to everyone who leaned aperture and ISO and everything else on film...when you had to wait until you got it developed to see how your settings affected your shots!)

This vase holds my makeup.

I learned to keep my makeup and jewelry nicely displayed though Flea Market Style magazine. It makes getting ready in the morning feel so much more luxurious...like being transported back in time to a 1940's movie star's dressing room (or at least what I imagine one to be). 

I love Pyrex too. And it also, not coincidentally, can be found everywhere for cheap. Like this bowl, one of the more beat-up piece in my collection. But I loved the color. And this stuff is nearly indestructible (though I treat it like china). I found this, too, at Goodwill for, like, $3. It's my go-to mixing bowl.

Trying out my depth-of-field shot here.
Also, the other pieces already in my Pyrex collection.

Garage sales were also high on the list this summer. My sweet husband stopped for every one he saw--even if we were planning on going somewhere else. {Thanks, Love! }

This was an item that I did not know existed until a year ago. Every pastry recipe tells you to "cut in the butter," sometimes adding, "with two knives." Has anyone ever tried this? Why does anyone still suggest it? It doesn't work. But a year ago I watched my mother-in-love make pie crust and use this tried-and-true item, a 'pastry cutter.' It's genius. I know, you can use a food processor. Bah--I like doing what I can by hand...(and no, I cannot whip cream into whipped cream, hence the stand mixer). But I can cut in butter, thanks to this beloved item I found while out one weekend with my husband. He always tells me to buy what I love (knowing that I'm exceptionally picky and rarely buy anything). But when I found this I was so overjoyed--and, it's old with a really cool chipped-patina wooden handle and intact metal wires. Gosh I love this thing. It's got to be at least 50 years old, and sure makes me think I should start referencing 1950's cookbooks when they actually suggested helpful things...unlike two knives.

And this had to be the highlight of the summer. An actual flea market. I know--in Washington! Apparently, there's a ton of flea markets on the East Coast where everything is old and has accumulated in vast quantities. But out here on the West Coast, everything's fairly new, like within 100 years. I basically live in the worst place to find flea markets (well, minus Alaska or, like, Madagascar). Somehow California has a lot of flea markets, but they're a West Coast anomaly. Maybe it's all shipped in from the east or there's more because of the gold rush era. Anyway, I was thrilled when my mother invited me to join her and my family on a trip to an actual flea market. From reading Flea Market Style magazine and seeing all of these chronicled flea market excursions and treasures, getting to go was like a trip to Mecca. 

It's called the Island Chicks Flea Market/Antique and Vintage Show. Find them on Facebook here. They have two markets every year, and the next one's coming up in April. Let me know if you want to go!

It's $5/person ($3/person if you donate food to their food bank), which might have deterred you...but I waited until you saw this, which I know just convinced you. It's 30+ vendors all packed with cool items. Most everything seemed very traditional flea-market: quality, quirky, old, repurposed. It wasn't just an upscale garage sale (which is what I often have found masquerading around the Pacific Northwest). And prices were generally fair--not a steal, but you could certainly take home a few treasures.

My mother and sister trying to decide on something (or eating lemon heads, so it appears).

And here's the treasure I found at the market: a locker basket. These things are in hot demand. It's not uncommon to find them for $15-$40 a piece (though you should never pay more than $18 unless you're desperate). I saw a cool Pinterest pin one time of cookbooks stored in a basket on the kitchen counter, so that's how I repurposed mine. What once held smelly gym clothes now sits next to my cutting board. Dinner, anyone?

My mother also treated me to the two baskets that she's holding in the picture. I thought they were really cool so I took them home. I know I want to use one to hold logs to go in our fireplace (which we will never burn--but it looks cool, thanks to Pottery Barn), and I don't know what I'll do with the other. I'm not sure what they originally held, but I was relieved to discover that they are not deep-fry baskets, as I once feared (just seemed less cool that way). 

And my friend, Jarica, has taught me, the best way to end a long day of treasure hunting, junking, and market-shopping is with tea and biscuits!

Happy treasure-hunting!