Happy 2014!

I have to say, 2013 was one of our better years and 2014 has some big shoes to fill. I'm usually not one to make resolutions, but I will admit that I have made few (we'll call them goals) for this year. I'm ready to see what this year brings!

PKU-Friendly Christmas Treats

Even though Hadley can't have the "traditional" Christmas food that most people look forward to, I want her to be able to have some special treats to enjoy around the holidays. Here is a look at some of the low-protein treats she was able to enjoy this year. 

The weekend before Christmas, we made a PKU-friendly (and less messy!) alternative to a gingerbread house--waffle cone Christmas trees! The waffle cones themselves were not PKU approved, but I knew she wouldn't be interested in eating them anyway. I had a feeling she would only want to lick the icing and the skittles--and I was right. 

On Christmas Eve we made low-protein cookies for Santa and Hadley got to help cut them out and decorate them with sprinkles. Poor Santa didn't get to eat his cookie though, because Hadley assumed they were all for her. :)

On Christmas morning she got an extra special breakfast treat. She was very excited about her strawberry and banana candy cane!

She also got some phe-free cotton candy in her stocking. Overall, I think Hadley had a wonderful Christmas and I hope that I can continue to find fun ideas for her to do during the holidays so she never feels left out just because of her dietary restrictions.

DIY Car Play Mat

Hadley is VERY into cars right now so I thought she would enjoy a play mat where she could drive the cars on the roads. After looking at the prices of some play mats, I thought surely I could make her one for much less! I also needed one that I could roll up and put away instead of leaving it out on the floor all the time. 

Once again, Pinterest to the rescue! I found this one at While He Was Napping (http://www.whilehewasnapping.com/2011/03/felt-play-mat.html) and decided these instructions were the clearest that I had come across. Plus I really liked her layout of the buildings. 

Then it was off to Hobby Lobby for the supplies! I spent around $10 for all of the felt, which included a pack of green and a pack of black that come in roughly 3x3 foot squares. I already had plenty of hot glue sticks at home. 

The first step was to lay out the big black square which would be the road. I used pieces of paper to mark roughly where I wanted to put the various buildings.

Then I used a piece of white chalk to draw out my roads around the buildings. I drew very lightly with the chalk so that I could rub out any mistakes that I made. 

Then it was time to cut out the road. 

I flipped the cut out road over so that the chalk lines weren't visible. This meant all of my buildings needed to be flipped as well so it was a mirror image of how I first laid it out.

Then came the fun (but oh so time-consuming) part of cutting out the buildings. 

And more cutting...

I glued all of the roads and buildings to the large green piece of felt with hot glue. Lots and lots of hot glue. 

All total, it took me about 7 hours to complete this project, so it was more time-consuming than I anticipated. Hadley absolutely loves it though, so it was worth it. It probably wouldn't have taken as much time if I hadn't wanted to fill in with the little details like flowers, but I think it makes it much more colorful and fun. 

There are a couple of downsides to this mat. Felt attracts cat hair and little fuzzies which is annoying, but I figure I can just go over it with a lint roller periodically. Also, the durability factor is questionable, but only time will tell if it's able to withstand a toddler. I can touch up with more glue as needed. 

Here's a look at the finished product!

Surviving the Time Change: Babywise Style

I love fall. I love the cooler weather, the leaves changing and falling, and of course football! 

What don't I love? The time change! 

B.C. (Before Child), "falling back" meant an extra hour of sleep, and who doesn't love that? Once Hadley was born, it took on a whole new meaning! I think y'all know by now that I am a huge fan of having a schedule, and I don't like anything that messes with that! 

In order to minimize the effects of the time change, I start 1-2 weeks before it actually happens. I slowly move everything later so that when the time change happens, it's only about a 15-30 minute change instead of a full hour. Being older means that Hadley is a little more flexible about waketimes/naptimes than she was last year, so I just started this the week before the time change by gradually moving things later through the week. By Wednesday we were at a 20 minute delay in schedule. By Saturday, we were at a 30 minute delay. When the time change happened, she woke up at her regular time (so technically she just slept late Sunday morning--lucky us!) and we were able to jump the rest of the 30 minute change on Sunday. 

I realize that this is not an option for kids that are in school or for parents that work. It's just one of many reasons why I am so thankful to have the opportunity to stay home. We have a lot more flexibility! I hope this is helpful for those of you who might be looking for a better solution to surviving the time change. Springing forward is always easier because it's easier to wake your child up a little early but you can't make them sleep later! 

DIY Toddler Girl Ghost Costume

I saw this idea on Pinterest last year and knew I wanted to do it for Hadley's costume this year. This will be her third Halloween and the third time I've made her costume. I prefer to make them instead of buy them because I can make it to actually fit her, and there are way more DIY costume options than there are store-bought costumes. Plus, it usually ends up being WAY cheaper to just buy the supplies to make it! I think I spent a total of less than $15 to make her entire costume this year. Can't beat that!

How to make a tutu:

The first thing you'll want to do is measure your child's waist. Hadley's is about 18.5 inches. Using 3/4 inch elastic, cut a piece that is about 2 inches smaller than the waist size (so 16.5 inches, in my case). This is because the elastic will stretch out as you tie on the strips of tulle. Sew the ends of the elastic together. It doesn't have to be pretty because no one will see it.

The next thing you will want to do is cut 20 inch long strips of tulle from a roll. Rolls of tulle can be found in the wedding section at Hobby Lobby. With a 40% off coupon I think I paid around $5 for a 100 foot roll. Don't worry if the ends are cut perfectly straight. You won't be able to tell when it's all finished. 

Fold the strip in half and slip it under the elastic. It's better to do the non-folded end pointing toward the inside of the circle. This keeps the elastic from getting too twisted. 

Loop the tulle over the elastic to form a knot. Then pull to tighten the knot. 

You will continue to knot strips of tulle around the elastic until the entire elastic is covered. 

How to make a ghost shirt:

I bought a plain white shirt for around $5 and some black iron-on transfer paper for around $2. 

Decide what shapes you want to use for the eyes and mouth. There are tons of examples on Pinterest and Etsy. I decided to stick with simple shapes just because they would be easier to cut out. I traced my shapes onto the paper side of the transfer paper.

Decide where you want to place the shapes on the shirt and then just follow the directions on the package.

All finished! I plan to put Hadley in some white leggings and a white hair bow. I think it's going to be adorable on her!

Long time, no blog...

The past couple of weeks have been both chaotic and uneventful. Crazy busy for me, but nothing earth shattering. 

1. Taking care of my furry child. Rocky has been to the vet 4 times in the past month but I think we finally have things under control (hopefully). He's already lost a pound and a half on his new diet (he was 22.6 pounds, now 21.1). I'm hoping the weight loss takes care of some of his other issues.

2. Taking care of human child. It all started with side effects from her flu shot, which got better, but then the temperature outside dropped about 40 degrees in 1 day, so her allergies are all messed up. Runny nose, coughing, not sleeping well (I'm reminded why we did Babywise...this getting up 3 times a night thing is for the birds). My main concern is of course her levels, since being sick can cause them to go up. She is still eating well and drinking her formula so I'm hoping the effects of the sickness won't be too terrible. 

3. Enjoying the cooler weather (minus the allergies that accompany it) and lots of yummy crockpot soups! Tonight is chili night. Yummmm.

4. Making some fun Halloween crafts with Hadley! I'm glad she's to the age where she actually kind of enjoys this stuff now. 

5. Making Hadley's Halloween costume. Here's a sneak peek. I am going to attempt to do a full tutorial so stay tuned.

6. The hubby got another promotion at work! I am super proud of him and all of his hard work. 

So that just about sums it up! I can't believe October is almost over. It'll be Christmas before we know it. 

Today

Today I am angry.

Today I am emotionally exhausted.

Today I hate PKU.

The vast majority of the time, I am positive about our PKU journey. I am so thankful that I have a perfect, healthy, intelligent, happy child. Things could be SO MUCH WORSE.

This morning I watched my happy girl shake with terror as 4 people tried to hold her down so we could get blood. I watched the tech stick her twice, DIGGING around in the vein both times. Still, she would not bleed. This means we waited an hour in a germy lab and my husband missed half a day of work for NOTHING. This also means we have to drive to a different lab almost an hour away again next week to do the process all over again.

What we go through is minor in comparison to what a lot of other kids and parents go through every single day. I recognize this. I feel for those families. Right now, though, I hurt for us. I hurt for my child. I hate this.