Kristi and Callie’s Creative Collaboration
Yes, I wanted the name of this post to sound like a Fiesta Day Team from the days of Brush Ranch (read #1 from this post if you’re not sure what I’m talking about).
I do my best to stay in touch with a few people from the Brush Ranch days, and every once in a while I’m completely surprised by the stories that people share with me about connections they’ve made outside of Brush Ranch that are still completely linked to Brush Ranch. Here’s what I’m talking about:
Kristi and Callie both came to camp multiple summers in the mid 1990s. Their paths never crossed as campers because one of them ALWAYS came first term and the other ALWAYS came second term. Later on, each one spent some time as a counselor. Surprisingly, their paths never crossed during that time either. They must have missed each other by only a year or two at the very most. Both of these lovely ladies ended up living in the Dallas area. Callie opened an amazing fabric and sewing shop called City Craft, and Kristi was a graphic designer who dabbled in (very well designed) sewing projects.
There’s Callie at the bottom in the middle as a camper. Callie, you’re welcome, this is really an amazing pic of all parties involved.
And also, this is a fantastic photo. There’s Kristi in the middle as a counselor.
So the story goes…one day, Kristi went into City Craft and her photo was taken (Callie does a great job of documenting classes and projects). Another former camper saw the photo of Kristi in City Craft and asked Kristi if she knew Callie, the owner, and former Brush Ranch camper/counselor. At this point, she did not…and finally, the connection was made! Now the two are great friends and have begun to collaborate on projects.
Look, besties!!
Kristi recently moved out of the corporate world and into the world of designing beautiful modern quilts. I mean, they are really beautiful. You should visit her website for sure: www.initialkstudio.com . All of her quilts are one of a kind and her shop has some pretty incredible things in it at the moment. Her most recent project was a collaboration with Callie at City Craft. You see, Callie ordered some fabric from her store and she wanted Kristi to make it amazing. And she did. Check out this quilt!!!
So, there you go…the reach of Brush Ranch is still far and wide! Anyone else have any crazy stories of meeting old Brush Ranch folks way after the fact?
To All the Moms Before Me
I’m not a huge fan of those “open letter to XXX” blog posts, but I feel like it’s appropriate for this sort of confession, so here goes, an open letter to all the moms before me:
To all the moms before me,
I judged you. All the time. I thought the little things you did to keep your kid quiet or happy or fed were silly and that being a parent had to be way easier than some people made it look.
I saw you at the farmers market with your 3 year old in a stroller and thought, “Why doesn’t that lady make her kid walk?”
I went to your house and thought, “Why do they have a baby jail set up in their living room, it looks terrible and how hard can it really be to contain a baby who can hardly crawl.”
I saw you at Target with your kid who looked “way too old” to be wearing a diaper and thought, “Wow, if I ever have kids, they’ll for sure be potty trained by that age.”
I watched you let your kid that looked “way too young” climb to the top of the jungle gym at the playground.
I gasped when I saw you feed your toddler McDonald’s french fries. I gasped even louder when I saw you give him a sip of your coke.
I was horrified when you told me you let your kid sleep in bed with you still, and he’s 7 years old.
I was also horrified when you told me you let your kid cry it out for 2 hours and then did the same thing the next night.
The list goes on and on but I’ll spare you…
So again, I say, I’m sorry, those things you did were to protect your own sanity, something that is way more important to the long term health of you and your child than any stroller or diaper or pacifier will ever be.
I would love to say that I won’t ever pass judgement again, but that’s just a lie. So…keep doing your best and I’ll do mine and I’ll keep my judgements to myself and some part of me will understand why you parent the way you do and I’ll stick to my (equally “terrible,” “crazy,” or “unorthodox”) parenting methods!
And one more thing: mom, you did a great job with us!
Look! Our very own baby jail!!
Buying Time
A few weeks ago I read a blog post about keeping a marriage together through residency. There were a few things that really struck me as good ideas: taking a yearly vacation, and “buying time.” I don’t think that I need to explain what taking a yearly vacation means, but the concept of “buying time” was one I found interesting and one that needed a bit of explanation.
The way this blog post explained it was that many of us just don’t have the time to deal with some of the things that life throws our way and that it’s absolutely worth it to spend a little extra money to make the day to day stuff run a little smoother. As the mom of twins with a husband who works over 12 hours 6 days a week, I need anything that will make my life even a tiny bit easier. And so, I’d like to share with you the things I spend a little extra money on to make our lives run smoother.
I’ve also shared some links…if you feel so inclined to try some of the services we use, click the provided link and I’ll get credit and on most of them you’ll get a discount on your first purchase.
Amazon Prime/Amazon Mom
I buy a ton of stuff on Amazon and really love the subscription service. Who knew you could have a subscription for toilet paper (also toothpaste, hand soap, shampoo…)! We never run out because it gets delivered to our door every so often. You can set the time between deliveries to work for you, and there are recommended or most common times listed in case you’re not sure. If you add a certain number of items to your subscription, you get a discount. I find the Amazon Prime or Amazon Mom price completely worth it for the free shipping. Also, with Amazon Mom you get 20% off diaper subscriptions, plus other exclusive deals. If you’re a mom, you should do this, click here to get started: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/info?ie=UTF8&refcust=IP57LHPRK7N7LKFV34PC2WIIGI&ref_type=generic
Honest Diapers
I actually chose not to use my Amazon Mom subscription for diapers because I really love Honest Diapers. Honest is a company started by Jessica Alba that touts products that are non-toxic and high performance. They’ve gotten a bit of bad PR about the manufacturing of their wipes (some is done in China), but all in all, I really love their products. We receive a diaper bundle (4 packages of wipes and 6 packages of diapers) every couple of weeks. We can set the frequency to work for us. I LOVE having these things delivered to my doorstep. And, the diapers are super cute and you can choose the patterns you’d like. Try it out! http://www.honest.com/accept_invitation/439563
That’s pretty cute, right?
eMeals
I love to cook, but finding the time to plan meals and shopping lists is darn near impossible these days. Before residency and before twins (can I use B.R. or B.T.?!), I would plan a few meals a week and make my grocery list and voila, meal planning. But…I don’t have time to do that anymore, which is why we use eMeals. We pay a fee (I think it’s $30 for 3 months) and they email you a meal plan with shopping list every week. You can choose what kind of meal plan you’d like, for example, there is a gourmet meal plan, a vegetarian meal plan, a paleo meal plan, and the one we use is the “clean eating” plan. Along with the email, you have access to their awesome app. I use it while I’m in the store and check items off as I go. It’s also really easy to add items that may not be a part of the plan (like infant formula) so you have your whole list in the palm of your hand. You can also choose to skip meals if you know you’re going to be out one night, and the ingredients for that meal are automatically removed from the shopping list in the app. It’s awesome. The recipes are really pretty good and very simple (on the clean eating plan), and it’s so great knowing when I’m ready to make dinner that I have everything I need! You should try it: http://emeals.com/?utm_source=refer-a-friend-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=refer-a-friend
ThredUp
Shopping is not my thing. I don’t like spending money and I don’t like actually going to a store and browsing. Also, it’s very difficult to shop when you have twins in tow. And so, I’ve started shopping on ThredUp. It’s basically an online thrift store. They have tons of clothes, and everything I’ve ordered so far has been in great condition. Free shipping on orders over $50 and free returns. The app is also great and allows you to create filters based on category (shorts, cocktail dresses, etc.), size, color, you name it! They also send you a “clean out” bag with every order so that you can clean out your own closet. You send them the bag, they give you credit for whatever they think they can sell online and they donate (or send back) the rest! They carry lots of name brands and I’ve scored with some great stuff from places like Banana Republic and the Gap. Here’s a link that will give you $10 off your first order: http://www.thredup.com/r/DUYCWM
Kidizen
Same idea as above, an online thrift shop, but they focus on kids clothes and it’s individuals selling. All pricing includes shipping. It’s super easy to use the app and it’s also really easy to become a seller. I’ve ordered a few things for the kids and was very happy with the results. Two of the items I ordered were actually new with tags and cost under $7.00 for an entire outfit! You can also create filters with this app and search by brand, etc. Here’s a link to the website, though you can only shop via the app: https://www.kidizen.com/
Dollar Shave Club
Yep, we get razors delivered too. It’s pretty handy. We each have a handle (you can order an extra one) and we share the razors. Luckily, I don’t have time to shave my legs all that often so 4 razors for the two of us for the month is plenty! Try it: http://www.dollarshaveclub.com/aldengilligan
So there you have it! A few ways I “buy time” to save a little sanity and to be able to spend a little more quality time with my family! Enjoy!
Neonatal Nurse Day
I know I’ve written several posts about how awesome the nurses were who took care of our little ones right after they were born, but there just aren’t enough ways to say thank you and to express how much I (and the rest of our family) appreciates the nurses who cared for our twins when they were in the hospital for those long 11 weeks.
Though I try not to, I often think about what might have happened if I’d been somewhere else when I needed to deliver, what if I was in a different place or a different time? What if I had disregarded all the signs that my body was telling me that it was time (“time” was 9 weeks early)? The twins turned 9 months old last week and I can’t help but think on a daily basis what a miracle they are. I know deep down that our kids are alive today because of modern medicine and because of a select group of amazing nurses and doctors. I’m eternally grateful for the dedication, care, compassion, and exceptional work ethic demonstrated by our nurses in the NICU and ICN at the Univeristy of New Mexico Children’s Hospital. Our children are alive (and quite well too!) because of them.
We celebrated 9 months by having lunch with one of our favorite nurses!
Read my post somewhere else…
I was recently asked to be a contributor to the Preemies 101 blog, a blog for parents of preemies, by parents of preemies. Read my first post here: http://www.preemiebabies101.com/2014/09/extra-step-made-nicu-stay-bearable/
I’ve enjoyed reading the Preemies 101 blog and am so happy to be a part of such an amazing group of parents coming together to support and inform other parents in similar situations. Having a preemie (or two) is no walk in the park some days and knowing there are others out there going through the same thing is so helpful!
Here’s a little NICU flashback pic from February.
And, tomorrow our munchkins will be 9 months old! I can’t believe how fast the time has passed and all the milestones they’ve met. Next up: crawling! They’re both only days away from taking off on hands and knees!
Labor Day Weekend Re-cap
I’m not typically a big fan of recap posts, but this past weekend was just too good not share. Here’s a brief (ha!) rundown of how things went: Thursday morning I woke up bright and early…or dark and early, as the case may be at 4:30. We fed the kiddos as usual and then I planned to pack up to head out for the weekend while they were sleeping between the 4:30 and 7:30 feedings. Lucky for me, they were awake the whole time and screaming at me for part of that time. Yay. But, I successfully packed all our stuff for 5 days (4 nights), including two dogs and the Chariot stroller into our new (to us) Ford Flex. There were a few people who read my last post and really wanted to know what the new car was, so…there you go, a Ford Flex. I left about 9:00 and was absolutely exhausted and thank goodness we didn’t have much planned for Thursday.
Friday was a big day. We walked about 3 miles (round trip) to get some coffee and a scone in the morning with my mother-in-law. Unfortunately, I wasn’t all that prepared for the chilly Santa Fe morning, so we had to piece a few things together to make sure the kids were warm enough.
Yes those are socks on her hands.
We’re Green Bay fans, what can I say? Also, the hat Rylan is wearing is an “adult” size?? 
He looks like a little jailbird, but a jailbird probably wouldn’t have argyle socks/mittens.
After our walk we had lunch with some old friends, the ones who got married in Philly back in May. (Read about that trip here, here, and here.) Then we prepared for the evening’s activities: party at a friends house and then watch a 50 foot paper puppet burn with 30,000 other people standing in the dark on a baseball field. Fun, right? Yes, so fun! In Santa Fe, there is a very pagan feeling tradition of burning a huge paper puppet called Zozobra. He’s stuffed with bits of paper that have notes on them about things that people want to burn away: worries, regrets, bad memories, etc. He goes up in a ball of smoke and fireworks, all the while groaning and waving his arms. The crowd goes absolutely nuts yelling things like, “Burn Him!!!” and if you’re with our group of friends, just to go against the grain, “Fire hurts, free Zozobra!” Our group of friends has been attending this celebration in various states of inebriation for as long as I can remember. You can read more about it on the official Zozobra website.
Patrick was even able to joins us for Zozobra! He left the hospital and drove straight to Santa Fe and made it just in time. Unfortunately, he hadn’t eaten dinner so after the burning we went to get some food. Sadly, we chose to go to the worlds slowest Sonic (you would think with a name like Sonic there would be no such thing as worlds slowest). We were there for…wait for it…drumroll…AN HOUR AND A HALF!!! Then we went to bed. And it was late, like really late…and the babies didn’t sleep. It was fun. Saturday we took turns napping and feeding babies. And feeding babies and napping.
Obligatory twin pic. They melt my heart.
And then we mobilized and went to a great rehearsal dinner for our dear friends. I may have had a margarita or two, and everyone else certainly did. When we were finally asked to leave, we headed to a bar at a hotel where some other wedding guests were staying. Our friends Andy and Mike (later nicknamed Miggity Piggity, you’re welcome Mike), had a tamborine, guitar, and banjo-lele (mini banjo that looks like a ukulele) with them and as the night got later, they began to play. We were the only people left in the bar and shut the place down singing Wagon Wheel and Feliz Navidid (yes, Merry Christmas at the end of August). It was awesome. I’m sure not everyone is super excited to see/hear how it went, so I won’t force you to watch the (very poor quality) video, but if you want to, here they are: Wagon Wheel & Feliz Navidad.
This is how much fun we had shutting down the bar (one advantage to being driver is that I remember all the details!).
Sunday we did more napping and feeding babies and feeding babies and napping. And then we went to a wedding!! I’m sure I’ve said this before, but LOVE weddings. It’s so fun to get dressed up and feel like an adult. But, my favorite thing about this wedding was getting to see some of my very best friends in the whole world. I am so lucky to still be good friends with the people I grew up with. We all shared adolescence in Santa Fe, a place meant for old people and rich people (sorry, it’s true), and we made it fun. Though we probably participated in some activities some might find unsavory, or even illegal, we certain formed close friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime. Our group of friends is so goofy and fun, and really, really smart too! I think I’m the only one of about 10 of us who doesn’t have some sort of higher degree! But man, we know how to have fun. I mean, how many people can say they have friends who can convince the mother of the bride to dance the “unicorn” during her daughter’s wedding? (Here, you can try too: Open a beer in a bottle. Turn on some jams. Put bottom of beer up to forehead, like a unicorn horn. Dance. You’re welcome.)
The food was incredible. Yum, I love food.
Somebody at our table decided that the butter was for dipping the bread into. I’m not sure it was suppose to be a fondue party, but oh well.
Yay for the bride and groom and our crazy friends!
As with all great weddings, when it was time to leave the wedding venue, no one was ready to go home. The plan was to head to Evangelo’s, a local dive bar. So, we marched up the street, again singing Wagon Wheel and Feliz Navidad and headed for the bar (there seems to be a theme here…). When we got there, it was discovered that the poor bride had left her ID in her hotel room and they WOULD NOT let her in. And so, the singing on the street continued. Andy on the banjo-lele, Miggity Piggity on the guitar, and my lovely husband on the washboard. Yup, the wahsboard, in a suit and tie. It was amazing. We gathered quite a crowd full of all sorts of people, like the guy who looked about 12 years old and was wearing sweatpants, or the guy wearing some sort of jersey that looked like a cop uniform, or the two ladies who were wearing next to nothing and kept proclaiming that they were moms out for the first time in months. There was also the guy who was so excited to dance that he set his cigarette in the crack in the sidewalk, danced a song, and then picked up his cancer stick and went on his merry way. It was really incredible and I hope, a fun way for the bride and groom to end their wedding evening.
So that was my weekend, maybe more fun for me to re-live than for you to read, but it’s out there now! Also, it was SUPER amazing that Patrick had three whole days off in a row!!! I do want to give a shout out (that’s a special Santa Fe way of saying thank you) to my mother in law who watched our kids 3 nights in a row, a friend of hers who helped and a friend of ours who helped.
I also want you all to know that we were gifted an amazing scarf and tie (that Patrick wore to the wedding) that was hand woven by a good friend. It was absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend patronizing her online shop, shopsixandseven.com , before the holidays.
