etsy finds

Etsy is one of my favorite websites. I check for new stuff almost daily.
I plan to do a regular series on cool things I find there. Maybe you'll buy something and I can live vicariously through you!?

I found these items while browsing the baby section:

soft baby shoes:


cute kimono set:


incredibly cute hat:

san marzano!

This summer I planted 4 san marzano tomato plants. Up until a week ago, it appeared that I was not going to be able to yield a single ripe tomato from these plants - I'm guessing that it never got warm enough to really yield a bumper crop.

Anyway this weekend I finally found some ripe fruit! I picked everything that was ripe, blanched it, pureed it and put it in the freezer. Hello delicious pasta sauce!

Freshly picked:


Blanching:


Ready for peeling and pureeing:

i love the thrift store

Check out the changing table that J found at the thrift store for $20.


On Saturday I spent about 2 hours sanding off the top layer of finish with our little power sander.
I still have some detail sanding to do... around the spindles and some of the other areas that I couldn't reach with the power sander. Once I'm done with sanding I plan to paint it in a semi-gloss black and do some nice distressed details on the edges.

Then all we'll need is a changing pad to go on top and several nice baskets to hold things on the shelves underneath.

I'll post another pic when it's done.

water births

I guess I always thought that the option of whether or not to have a water birth in a birthing center was just a forgone conclusion, like the option of whether or not to accept pain medications during labor. I thought I'd just get to say 'yes I want to do that, and so it would be done'.

Turns out I was mistaken. Water birth is not something that just any care giver or facility will allow. The midwives in the practice that I go to, do not perform water births. It is not clear to me if it is not allowed by the birthing center facility (owned by Group health) or if it is simply something that this practice does not do. Either way, it's not an option for me. I can labor in the tub in the birthing room all I want but I need to get out once that baby is really on it's way down the birth canal.

But maybe you have more options than I do. Or maybe you are not a chicken (like me) and you are having a home birth. Cue the aquadoula:


You can rent or purchase one of these to use in your own home for a water birth or even just so that you can labor in a nice spacious tub. How very cool that someone started this business.

Click here to learn more.

seattleites! come buy our stuff!

Next weekend marks the 2nd annual yard boutique. I am lucky to have a group of fashionable, crafty and resourceful friends so last year we decided to do an upscale yard sale of sorts. We pledged to sell only our nicest used clothing and accessories that we didn't need/want anymore. The sale was a success. We had beautiful weather, lots of customers and there were refreshments - lemonade (spiked and virgin), wine, water and PBR as well as homemade fresh baked goods for sale (first drink was free!)

Well we are doing it again this year. New location, more cool stuff, same cool chicks running the show. Hope to see you there!

Here's the info:

for lauren's friend

I made another hat per the request of my friend Lauren.
Her friend had a little baby girl. This is for her:

social networking, the next generation

Genius idea for a new web startup:
Hotornot.com meets linkedin.com.... Assess your coworkers and provide references/recommendations based on personal appearance.

Hot = Hire them at once!
Not Hot = Keep looking.

Ok besides the fact that this is mean, unethical and totally illegal, it is pretty funny. Timm gets half the credit for coming up with that one.

coming to the web www.rateyourcoworker.com

LOL...

metagestaion != pregnancy

I decided awhile ago that metagestation meant more than just pregnancy. It's about birth and change (yes I'm about get all sentimental on ya). I feel like my life has changed so much in the last four years. I got out of a very very unhealthy long term relationship. I met the best dude in the whole world. We moved to Seattle. We got married. We bought a house.

Now my life is about to change once again and it's all so intense. I want to write about more than just this baby or the aches and pains of pregnancy. I want you to see the world how I see it.

what does one do with a mei tai?

In case it wasn't clear in my post about the mei tai below, it's a device used to carry an infant.... Similar to a sling or a baby bjorn but sans the hardware.

Here's how it looks when a baby is in it:

baby wearing 101

Woot!
I found a brand new, still in the box, super cute black and white mei tai baby carrier at goodwill yesterday for the low low price of $4.00. To purchase a new one it would cost you about $80!

I am so thrilled. But now that I have been looking at how it's made it appears that a person with some simple sewing skills could make their own mei tai carrier.

I'm off to find patterns!

Here's what my new mei tai kinda looks like:

on diapers....

I bought a starter pack of G diapers a couple of weeks ago. Been meaning to write about them because they appear to be pretty awesome. You get one orange and one cream colored wrap.

G diapers are basically a cloth diaper wrap with a waterproof liner and then a disposable (flushable, compostable and biodegradable) soft insert.

Here's a pic of a baby wearing a g diaper"


They are sold at Fred Meyer, Whole Foods and a few other places. You can also order a starter kit and more inserts and wraps online from their website.

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced that there isn't one right choice for us for diapering. When the time comes I am probably going to use a combination of g diapers and cloth diapers.

Click for the g diapers web site.

sedona, we love you

It's been awhile since I've posted anything and for that I am truly sorry.
Work has been crazy (annoying) to say the least and we just got back from a glorious vacation in Sedona, AZ. It was a birthday/1st anniversary/babymoon kinda thing. Apparently I am totally in love with the desert because after this trip I'm totally convinced that I want to live there.

Some noteworthy things that happened while we were away:
- We visited west fork which has a lovely ~3.5 mile trail that winds thru the red rocks and across streams. Sometimes you have to wade in beautiful knee deep stream water to continue along the trail.
- The vortexes are real! We only went to one (see comments about west fork above) but it was intense. I was moved to intense sobbing about 5 mins down the trail and I have no idea why. This was followed by an exhilirating burst of energy and excitement. It was the coolest thing.
- Fenix likes the desert too. He kicked and punched and flipped the whole time we were away. You could see my belly jump when he moved which is a new big milestone for us.
- I had my very first 2 hour massage and frankly now an hour just won't do anymore.

Here are some pics from the trip:




...and for the whole set.

pregnant in america

I had to do another xpost from a pregnancy forum that I frequent.
It seems that there is this movie coming soon called "Pregnant in America". It explores how certain medical interventions during pregnancy and childbirth are being overused to generate revenue... at the expense of mother and baby. I wholeheartedly believe this to be true and absolutely cannot wait to see this film.

I am shocked by the amount of people that don't know what a midwife is or more importantly how many are opposed to using one. Even more still there are those that are opposed to the idea of a non hospital birth and furthermore many women don't even have any other options besides a hospital birth. I feel fortunate that I live in a forward thinking city where I have tons of natural and holistic care options.

It makes me sad that we have gotten so far away from how things used to be. Yes, mother's dying during childbirth is now a rarity and that is a great thing. And we are able to find out about dangerous problems that affect the fetus well before a mother delivers, also fantastic. But there has to be a middle ground where people don't feel that they have to accept a ceasarean, submit to tests or take pain management drugs out of fear rather than for a really good reason.

Anyway click here to see the trailer for the movie.

mistakes

I just read this interesting article on CNN about 5 mistakes that parents make with their newborns.

Link to the article.

Some of it sounds like common sense but other things were a surprise. I think the average person would be elated if their newborn slept thru the night and perish the thought of having to wake them up every 2 hours (hello sleep deprivation!).

But if they need to eat every 2 hours during the day, it stands to reason that they would need to do the same at night.

Gosh, I have so much to learn....

earth mother, nature baby

I just learned about this site on a pregnancy forum that I frequently visit:

Jomamaco

Non toxic toys, rasta type tams for your baby, hemp sling carriers... I'm in heaven.

How cute is this:


The hat is crocheted but now I need to find a knitting pattern for something similar.

mommy wants

This diaper bag from Fleurville (as seen on Design Mom)



I told you I was obsessed with handbags!

Click here to buy your own.