diy(WYM): a baby tie

I was having trouble finding a baby tie for Ivar to wear on Easter. So I found a do-it-yourself tutorial on how to turn a grown man's tie into a baby tie. Now I love a good diy project, but I love a diy(WYM) project even more: Do-It-Yourself With Your Mom. Especially if the instructions include any sort of sewing steps. So yesterday my mom, who can do anything, got crafty with Ivar.

I have been hanging onto a tie of my Grandpa Harrington's since he passed away. Not sure what my plans were for the tie, but when I found this tutorial I thought there could be nothing sweeter than my baby boy wearing his great grandpa's tie, whom he never met, for his very first Easter. The symbolism is rich for me. Easter is a day that celebrates new life and resurrection and the eternal home where Ivar will get to meet his Great Grandpa John one day all because of Jesus' victory over death and the grave. Ivar is going to rock this tie. I'll post some pictures next week of the whole outfit.

The tie tutorial is found here. The hardest part was tying the tie backwards...and on the wrong end of the tie. Thanks to our family friend's Betsy and Daron for figuring that one out for us!

you have to admit...

...it is really pretty. I just took these at my next door neighbor's house. So lovely, Alison!

I've got gadgets and gizmos a plenty...

...I've got whosits and whatsits galore.

I love a good kitchen gadget. I am a sucker for a good infomercial. I love watching the vendors at the State Fair make their pitch as to why my life isn't complete until I own their product (Note: That claim was actually true. My life wasn't complete until I got my state fair knives.)

Turns out my love for kitchen choppers and blenders and citrus squeezers is actually genetic. I get it from my Great Grandpa Anderson. The french fry cutter above is from him. And so is the Food Glamorizer below. What does it do, you ask? It galmorizes.

When I was growing up, my grandparents gave all of their grandkids $25 for Christmas. We would get our check in the mail around Thanksgiving and then it was our job to pick something out, wrap it up and bring it to the family Christmas. We would sit in a circle and open our present in front of Grandma and Grandpa so that they could see what we purchased with their money.

In seventh grade I spent my $25 on a Braun hand blender. And guess what? I still have it, and I still use it. Best $25 bucks I spent in 7th grade.

So you can only imagine how excited I was when I got a gift card to Williams Sonoma from my brother-in-law Troy for Christmas. Talk about kid in a candy shop. I took my time with the card. I spent a whole lot of time on their website looking through all of my purchase options. As I worked in my own kitchen I wondered what would be the ultimate kitchen gadget to assist in my daily meal prep. I decided that the one thing I hate most in all of food prep is chopping onions. And so there, in the fruit and vegetable tools section I found it. It is the Professional Multi-Chopper. It slices. It dices. It is dishwasher safe. It is compact for storing. The only tears you will shed while chopping your onions are tears of joy. It is a bit loud as you slam through your produce, and you have to be a bit aggressive to get your potatoes through, but honestly the time this baby saves is awesome. And I know Great Grandpa Anderson would approve.

is there anything better?

...than a hand-written letter?I got this letter in the mail last week and I was so excited. I kept it on the coffee table this week and picked it up a few different times to read it all over again, because it is just so rare to get a hand-written, stream-of-consciousness thoughtful piece of mail. My goal for the weekend is to write a letter back to my friend Leslie in Nebraska. And to try to contribute a bit more often to the world of snail mail.

recent reads

A few recent favorites, from bottom to top:

When Elephant Goes to a Party Oh my word, I adore this book. It's all about manners and how to behave at another friend's house. I have a girlfriend who recently told me that she uses the Berenstain Bears all the time to reinforce to her kids how they are to behave/keep their room/tell the truth etc... This book is along those same lines and a great teaching book.

The Crafter's Devotional Delightful and so inspirational. My friend Shannon got me this book for my birthday and it fits me like a glove. Each day is a different creative prompt. Some days it has me writing, others making a simple craft... I will for sure have a bigger blog post about this one in the future.

The Pastor I am a fan of Eugene Peterson as a storyteller and this book showcases his gift through memoir. I loved reading about his childhood and all of the lily pads that led to him becoming a pastor.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child Lately this has been my baby help book of choice. I like how the book is so easy to use as a resource for each age and stage of Ivar's sleep schedule.

The Power of a Praying Parent Confession: I had judged this book by its 80's looking cover. But a few weeks ago Rory and I opened it up and prayed one of the prayers over Ivar and it was a really beautiful moment. The book covers all sorts of topics to pray over your kids, things that I wouldn't necessarily think of to pray without a bit of prompting. Topics like: attracting Godly friends and role models, following Truth and rejecting lies, developing a hunger for the things of God. It's good stuff.

How about you? Read any good books lately?