Monday, January 31, 2011

(What?) I won!

A few weeks ago (or way more - where does the time go?) I entered a giveaway on The Homemade Baby Food Recipes Blog (an excellent resource on feeding your baby, even if you're not making all your own food, FYI).  The giveaway prize was a knee cushion from Cute and Comfy CushionKnee.  I very rarely win anything, so I did my typical enter-giveaway-then-immediately-x-out-and-never-look-back thing.  (Hmmm, maybe I DO win more often, but I don't know, since I never look back?  I mean, why do I expect that the person sending the winning gift would try to search me down? I sure wouldn't spend more than 5 minutes trying to search down a winner for one of my giveaways!  Haha this reminds me of last summer when I won my friend Callie's giveaway on her blog and had no idea because, surprise, I had never looked back to check...and viola, all of a sudden there was an exciting package on my front porch for me!  Thank you Callie for sending it my way even though I never replied to the winner post!!)

Anyways, I digress.  Back to my CushionKnee story.

So as I said, I had entered the giveaway and then x-ed out and had placed it in my not-gonna-happen brain archives.

Then, to my surprise, I got an email a few days later informing me that yes, the seemingly impossible had indeed become reality.  I was a WINNER.

Whoo hooo!

I of course excitedly provided my home address and eagerly awaited the arrival of my prize.

My package arrived at my house just a few days later, all bundled up in pretty cellophane with a bow.


And can I just say that I LOVE my new cushion?  I use it all the time.  It saves my knees while I'm bathing Krew, and also functions excellently as a butt cushion when I'm sitting on the bathroom floor, fiddling on my computer or reading while he's playing the tub.  Krew also likes to play with it occasionally when he's crawling around in the bathroom while Dave and I are getting ready.

SO, if you're looking for an original gift to get a mommy-to-be, I really love the knee cushions from http://www.cuteandcomfycushionknee.com/.  Check them out. :)


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Update:  Jan from www.cuteandcomfycushionknee.com left the following comment:

"For those of you visiting http://www.cuteandcomfycushionknee - I am offering you $4 off your first purchase just by registering. You will receive an email with a coupon code. The cushions are not too big either.. just 8" x 18" and You can pick your own Fabric! Thanks again for everything!"

$4 off sounds pretty nice to me!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Babyhood: Weeks 45 through 47

Babyhood through the eyes of Krewson...

Alright, here is my last catch-up post!  I'm going to fill you in on weeks 45, 46, and 47 so you're all caught up with my life. :)  That means this post will be a little long, so please bear with me... :)

Week 45 (January 7th through January 13th)

* I had my third Christmas this week!  Boy I get lots of love.  It's just great.  Grammie and Grandpa Todd came to visit and brought me lots of presents from them and other relatives who love me.  So there was lots of unwrapping and playing with new toys...and cuddles and reading of books, too. :)  I love all my family!
* This week I signed "all done" for the first time.  Holy cow did Mommy get excited.  She had looked at me and said, "All done?" and did her little shake-the-hands gesture.  I was really sick of the food on my tray and wanted to get down and play with the doggies, so I decided to flop my hands around a bit to tell her that yes, I was all done.  You would have thought I'd actually spoken the words the way she reacted.  It was like she'd won the lottery.  Needless to say, she let me down.
* By this week I'd started getting very good at figuring things out.  Now I can turn on toys, open little drawers, change the TV channels with the remote, all kinds of stuff.  Which of course means I can get into lots more trouble.  Daddy and Mommy started taking the baby-proofing to a whole nother level.
* I climbed all the way up stairs for the first time!  Boy was I proud.  I liked to stop a lot along the way to turn around and look back at the ground and marvel at my distance. Of course this made the climb take longer than necessary, but Mommy was patient.  And sure enough, I made it to the top.  Go me!!

My giant pile of presents!

Reading with Grammie.

Naptime

Reading with Grandpa.

Riding on my new Radio Flyer bumper car!!

Playing piano with Uncle Danny.



Week 46 (January 14th through January 20th)

* I love to dance to my music now!  I love pushing all the buttons on my toys that play songs, over and over and over.  Then I sit or stand there and bounce or sway.  Sometimes Mommy and Daddy join in and we have a dance party.  It's so much fun.
* I started pointing a lot this week.  It's my new way to talk.  And since I know how to point, I've decided I don't need any other way to communicate. (Yeah, that "all done" sign I learned last week?  Forget it...)    So I point all over the room and Daddy carries me wherever I point and then tells me the name of the item I'm pointing at.  It's so fun.
* I loooove the dishwasher.  I especially like the silverware rack.  I like to pull all the silverware out and let it clank to the floor.  Daddy and Mommy have to watch me closely because sometimes I grab the forks and they don't like me playing with forks very much.  Luckily they don't put sharp knives in their dishwasher (they handwash all of those), so forks are their biggest concern.
* I got my first ear infection this week. :(  I was sounding really congested and was coughing and wheezing a ton, so Mommy took me to the doctor because she was worried about my breathing.  The doc said my lungs sounded fine, and that the coughing and wheezing was from the congestion.  Then she also told Mommy that my right ear was hurting me really bad because it had got infected, also from the congestion.  So for the rest of the week I got to take lots of yummy medicines every night.  I got amoxicillin (twice a day!), motrin, and benedryl. I like taking medicines out of syringes...it tastes yummy.  So this was like a great treat. :)

Playing with Mommy's curtains.





Week 47 (January 21st through January 27th)

* I discovered Mommy's q-tip container in the bathroom this week.  And I think q-tips are like the best.thing.ever.  One morning I stood there while she was in the shower and I pulled out every single one, one by one.  A few of them I tried to stick in my mouth until Mommy exclaimed, "Not for your mouth, Krew!", and then I dropped them on the floor with the others.  (She's like a spy.  She always knows what I'm doing, even when I think she can't see me.)
* I'm super good at pointing now.  I point at the food I want, the drink I want, the toy I want.  If I want out of my high chair, I point at Mommy (translated: pick me up now, Mommy!).  It's such a handy thing to know!  In fact, I'm so good at pointing, that sometimes it's the first thing I do when I wake up from a nap.  I just stick my little arm out and point, even while my eyes are still half shut.  I am that skilled.
* I'm getting pretty good at standing on my own now, as long as I'm not thinking about it.  (If I think about it, I always start giggling and then I fall. I don't know why, but I just can't help it.)  I also cruise on the furniture to get where I want to go a lot of times.  Mommy and Daddy have had to do even more baby-proofing to keep things out of my reach.  I broke some of their marble coasters this week.  Oops.


That's all till next week!
God bless!
Love,
Krew

Friday, January 28, 2011

Babyhood: Week 44

Babyhood through the eyes of Krewson...

Wow I am so far behind on my weekly updates.  Eeek!!  Ok here's babyhood catch-up post #3.  (And now since I've waited so long, I have to do catch-up posts #4 and #5, too!  But those will probably come tomorrow or the next day.)  So here ya go...

Week 44 (December 31st through January 6th)

* This week I started doing the Indian noise with my hands.  I make an "aahhhh" noise and slap my hand to my face.  Usually I hit my mouth, but sometimes I hit myself in the nose or eye instead and then Daddy and Mommy laugh.  And sometimes I let them slap their hands over my mouth and I just make the "aahhhh" noise.  It's lots of fun.
* We stopped in Columbus for two nights on the way home from Indiana so Mommy could visit with her college friends.  While we were there, I got really sick.  My eyes were all red-rimmed, my nose was running everywhere, I had a fever, and I was super whiney and cryey.  Mommy and Daddy didn't know what to do.  I looked so bad that Mommy thought about taking me to urgent care, but then right after that my fever broke and I started acting better.  Daddy and Mommy were super relieved.
* My fits and temper tantrums continued into this week, until Mommy and Daddy laid the smack down.  (Translated: they quit giving me what I wanted all the time.)  It took a few days, but I eventually gave up and returned to acting like a somewhat decent human being.  I started sleeping through the night again, and I quit screaming over every little thing.  I think Mommy and Daddy were grateful to have the old Krewson back.
* I started LOVING the piano this week.  It became my new favorite toy.  Every time Daddy or Mommy put me on the floor, I'd crawl as fast as my little limbs would take me, straight into the piano room.  Then I'd pull myself up and go "clink! clink! clink!" on the keys with my fingers.  Sometimes Mommy or Uncle Danny will sit with me on the piano bench and play music, and I think it's pretty much the best thing ever.
* And since I kept crawling into the piano room, that meant I was also crawling into the Christmas tree room. With all the pretty ornaments.  And one time I pulled off an ornament and squeezed it and it broke and cut my hand a little.  I didn't really care, it didn't hurt that bad, but it upset Daddy and he even had to pull off pieces that were stuck to my hand.  He told Mommy afterwards, and she made sure to wash my hand real good with soapy water.  But like I said, it didn't hurt or bother me at all.  Mommy and Daddy just got all worried.  Silly overprotective parents.
* I've really slowed down on how much milk I drink now.  I like solid foods best.  Especially hot grown-up foods like pasta and mashed potatoes.  Mmmm mmm.  So now Mommy has to work at it to make sure I drink enough milk for my growing body.  I like to give her a challenge.
* Daddy and Mommy started getting excited about how smart (i.e. like a real person) I'm becoming.  Like that I will throw cars in my toy that spins, or unplug Daddy's computer and laugh.  I like to do lots of things on purpose now and it makes them happy.  (I guess I am pretty entertaining.)
* I figured out how to climb the stairs this week!  Man was I proud.  So now Mommy and Daddy have to be super careful to always put the baby gate up.  Because after the piano, the stairs are probably my favoritest thing.  (Have YOU tried climbing up the stairs lately?? Holy cow it's fun!)
* I turned 10 months old this week! Yay!  You can see my 10-month picture here.

They strapped me in my high chair seat at the piano so I could play without them holding me.


I like to play on Daddy's laptop with him.

Menu Time 1.28.11

Week #3 of menu planning!  I'm on a streak!

For this coming week:
*Broiled Parmesan Tilapia (still remaining from last week's menu)
*Spinach-Ricotta Skillet Lasagna (also remaining from last week's menu)
*Beef Stroganoff (new recipe from a slow cooker book)
*Homemade chicken nuggets (recipe selected from the book Deceptively Delicious) with a side of mac n' cheese and a veggie

As for my thoughts on last week's meals, we actually only tried two of them plus the Samoas.  Qdoba had a B1G1 deal on Tuesday, so we did that instead of cooking, then last night Dan (Dave's brother) decided to grill for us (knocking out the need for another recipe).  But here is my rating of the two recipes we did try and my thoughts on the homemade Samoas:

*Spinach and Rice Casserole - it was ok, but would have worked better as a side item than a main dish
*Red Bean Jambalaya - again, it was ok, but I think I'm going to try a new jambalaya recipe next time
*Homemade Samoas - possibly the most exhausting recipe ever.  I wanted to give up halfway through, but Kristin was over and encouraged me to press on.  The end result?  Yummy, messy cookies that tasted nothing like actual Samoas, a lot of leftover bland cookie dough (it goes in the middle of all the caramel/coconut/chocolate gooey goodness), and about 500 dishes caked in rock-hard caramel.  My recommendation?  Just splurge and buy the real thing.  The few bucks is worth your sanity.  As for me, I'm going to spend half of today attempting to use a butcher knife to chip away at the caramel that has chosen my dishes as its new BFF.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

I made the switch...

Well, I officially made the switch.  After lots of thinking and consulting with my hubby and friends, I selected a new name for the blog...

Just 1 Step

The meaning behind this name?

Because that's how I work my way toward being the woman God wants me to be.  By taking just one step.  Then one more.  Again and again and again.  If I look at the end goal, it's too overwhelming and I feel lost.  But if I look right in front of me, at that next step I need to make, then I can keep going.

No worries.  If you go to www.thekssblog.blogspot.com, you'll still be directed straight to this blog.  But my new address will soon be www.just1step.com.  I just have to switch a few things over.

Yay for a new name.

And now on to revamping my header and layout and font and signature and comments box and...

New name?

So I'm thinking of purchasing my own domain so that I can remove the ".blogspot" from my blog address.  It's only 10 bucks per year through Google, and the whole ".blogspot" thing annoys me sometimes.  But now comes the super tricky question...what address to purchase???  I wanted kss.com, but it's already registered.  I also thought about 16hours.com or 16hrs.com, because that's the number of hours we *should* have in a day to bring glory to God.   Both taken.  Tried koke.com (KarasnOKE) (and because Dave says Coke is addicting...at least to me...) but it's also taken.  Karabou.com (one of Dave's pet names for me).  Taken.  Thekssblog.com is available, but I'm wondering if that's too generic and boring??

My other rambling thoughts have covered something about "one step at a time", or something else about 16 hours, or something else using my name or initials...although I don't really want my name to be blatantly broadcast as my web address, ya know?

Thoughts, anyone??

Monday, January 24, 2011

Be My Everything

Just a song to share.  We sang it in church yesterday and it expressed so well the current cry of my heart.

Everything - Tim Hughes



God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

Friday, January 21, 2011

Menu Time 1.21.11

My planned meals for the next however-many days.  (I just like having all the ingredients for meals ready.  We tend to decide on a day-by-day basis which ones we'll eat, if any.  Some days leftovers are just easier.)  

*Spinach and Rice Casserole (new recipe) (still remaining from last week's menu)
*Red Bean Jambalaya (new recipe) - supposed to be veggie version, but I'm adding kielbasa (Which, btw, I just learned is the same thing as Polish sausage.  My family always called it Polish sausage growing up, so when Dave started saying "kielbasa" I had no stinkin' idea what he was talking about.  In fact, I thought he was saying "quiabasca" until today, when I used Wikipedia to confirm my suspicions that quiabasca and Polish sausage were the same thing.)
*Broiled Parmesan Tilapia (one of Dave's absolute favorites) with sides of veggie and rice/potato
*Spinach-Ricotta Skillet Lasagna (new recipe) - with ground turkey or venison added in (Yes, we eat venison in our house.  I never ever ever ever in my whole entire life thought I would eat venison.  However, Dave's step-dad hunts and we get oodles of it for free.  Which is awesome and saves us oh so much money.  I still have a hard time eating the non-ground-up venison, but I can eat the ground venison as a sub for ground beef or ground turkey in just about anything.)

Dessert:
*Homemade Samoas - Oh yes people, that's right.  I found a recipe for homemade Samoas.  If these turn out right, I may have found a bit of heaven on earth.  The link to the recipe has been provided.

So week two of menu planning begins.  I have now doubled my previous record for longest streak of menu planning. Whoo hoo.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I am not enough.

Over the last week, there have been several things that have challenged me emotionally.

You know how sometimes you choose to sweep something under the rug and pretend it's not there, hoping time will fix it, and then it comes out from under the rug and has grown much larger than it was initially?  And all of a sudden you're facing this massive, damaging problem that you thought was just itty bitty and inconsequential?

Or how sometimes you say something such as "oh, that won't bother me", trying to be strong and selfless, and then when it happens, it really does bother you and you find yourself thinking "how selfish am I?"

Or how about when you know you're going to be facing an awkward situation...a situation that you yourself agreed to, probably because once again you were trying to be strong and selfless...and as the awkward situation gets closer and closer you can feel your stomach twisting into knots?

Or maybe there's been something digging at you inside for a long, long time, and you finally have the chance to reconcile it, and so you try...and while you're waiting for the other person's response, you're a mess wondering if your attempt to reach out will be accepted?

I've felt very broken inside over the last several days.  I have shed many tears.  (I am a weepy person anyways.)  Yet...I am grateful for it all.  Because it has reminded me that I am not enough.  If I try to do things on my own, problems grow and anxiety builds.  I just cannot...no matter how hard I try...know what to do and say to fix or prevent every problem or awkward situation.

It's been a great reminder that I am not turning to God near enough.  I have not been putting my thoughts, actions, and words in His hands.  I have not been asking Him to point out my sins.  I have not been asking Him for grace and strength for each day.  I've been trying to handle it all on my own, and I've been living under the illusion that I was succeeding.  Then all of a sudden, something cracked, and I realized once again how truly broken I am.  I am not enough, and I cannot do it on my own.

Thank you, God, that I know I am Yours and that You are ready with open arms whenever I come running back to You.

I listened to the song below this morning, and it helped me to express what's burning within me.  Maybe it will move something within you, too.

From the Inside Out

Monday, January 17, 2011

Master Bedroom Inspiration

POTTERY BARN
How to Design Your Dream Bedroom
What's Happening at Your Local Store

• Setting Up Your New Home 1/23 at 10am
• Accessorizing Your New Home 2/6 at 10am
• Gift Registry Workshop Tuesday Evenings

Yesterday I attended a free Pottery Barn class (pictured above) with my friend Sam, which focused on decorating your master bedroom.  Here are some of the instructions and tips that were given:

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* The layers they use on their Pottery Barn beds (and how they look so fluffy and inviting):  mattress, then feather bed, then fitted sheet, then flat sheet, then blanket or quilt, then duvet cover with two duvet comforters inside.  They also cover their beds with three or four different types (rows) of giant pillows.  (Seems a bit overboard for me - have you ever seen Along Came Polly?? I concur with Polly on decorative pillows - but to each his own.)

* The top of your bedside table should fall approximately in line with the top of your mattress.  It is recommended that all bedside tables have at least one drawer for hiding unmentionables (the instructor's example was eye cream).

* If you have a room with a low ceiling, a low bed with a smaller headboard or a platform bed is best.  If you have a room with a tall ceiling, a bed with a large, high headboard is best.  (This makes intuitive sense once you think about it.  But I'd never thought about it.)

* There should be at least 2 feet of clearance on both sides and the end of your bed for optimum comfort and ease in getting in/out of bed.

* Pottery Barn recommends using white or ivory sheets for all your bedding, so you can simply and easily change the pillow shams and duvet cover to completely alter the look of a room.  (We have black.  And I like black.  Oh well.)

* It's ok to mix white and ivory in your bedding sets. (Who woulda known.)

* When decorating pillows with shams, if the shams tie together on an end of the pillow, that end should face out.

* When choosing sheets, consider both thread count and the type of cotton.  The higher the thread count, the thinner the cotton threads have to be.  If your sheets have a high count but are made from cheap cotton, then the threads will be too weak and your sheets will quickly become damaged.  (She didn't offer much advice on what cottons are cheap and which are expensive.  Although she did say that Egyptian cotton is a great cotton and it's what all the Pottery Barn sheets are made from.  Of course.)  She did say that she would not go below a 200 count.

* When placing objects (mirrors, pictures) on the wall above the bed or dresser, allow at least 6 inches of space on the wall between the two.

* When choosing bedside lamps, consider whether you want a mini lamp or a larger lamp based on what you'll be using it for.  If you plan on reading in bed, you would probably rather the light come from up high than down low.

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That's about all I can think of off the top of my head without going through a bedroom.

At the end of the class, we all got a coupon for 10% off the purchase of anything that had been mentioned in the class (minus furniture).  We were also asked to fill out a survey, at the bottom of which was a box you could check to sign up for a complimentary in-store personal design consultation.  (After a little deliberation I checked 'yes.'  I wouldn't mind at least hearing their advice.)

And then I had a Pottery Barn giftcard burning a hole in my purse, so I decided to purchase (from the clearance rack) the giantest candle in a glass vase you ever did see. (Ok, I lied.  There was actually a larger one.  I bought the medium size.  But the larger one would have required me to go more than $5 over the amount of my giftcard, and I didn't think my hubby wanted me spending our hard-earned cash on humongous candle.  As it was, he thought the one I brought home was unnecessarily large.)

So did I enjoy the class? Yes.  Would I pay for it? No.  (Which is probably why it's free.)  Would I attend another class?  Yes.  They offer them on different topics all throughout the year.  Only problem is, they are on Sunday mornings.  Which means I have to miss church, which isn't cool.  So it will probably only be an occasional thing for me.  But all in all, it was a fun experience. :)

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Babyhood: Week 43

Here's babyhood catch-up post #2. (For catch-up post #1 look here.)

From the eyes of Krewson Lee...

Week 43 (December 24th through December 30th)

* This week I celebrated Christmas with Mommy's side of the family.  They do celebrations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so that's what I did, too. (Especially since I got presents on both days.  Otherwise I may have tried to opt out.  Just kidding.)  Boy I got some good stuff!  Christmas is so fun!  (Although Mommy and Daddy say I need to remember that Christmas is about Baby Jesus, not about getting presents.  Presents are just the cherry on the sundae.)
* This week I got really good at pointing.  I like to point a LOT.  I use my little pointer to tell Mommy and Daddy when I want a certain food, or when I want a certain person to hold me, or when I want a certain toy.  It's really handy.
* Sadly, on Sunday morning, I woke up and my eye was all puffy.  Mommy and Daddy weren't sure what was going on, so Mommy talked to her pediatrician friend Ashley, who diagnosed me with pink eye over the phone.  Luckily Ashley called me in some eye drops to help de-pink my eye.  (Although it didn't prevent me from giving it to both Mommy and Daddy...but that's a story for catch-up post #3.)
* I also got a fever for four days straight this week.  It was around 101.  I had two teeth breaking through my gums and I got sick.  Mommy kept me doped with infant ibuprofen, but that didn't keep me from being super crabby.  (Contrary to Mommy's beliefs, ibuprofen does not cure all.)  So because I really didn't feel good, I started getting VERY clingy to Mommy and Daddy.  I wanted them to hold me all the time.  Them, and no one else.  And if they didn't hold me when I wanted them to, I whined and cried and begged with my eyes and pointed at them with my little finger to make them feel really really guilty.  Sometimes it worked, and sometimes they turned their eyes and ran and escaped.
* I got to meet my Great Papa, Great Auntie Jean, and Great Aunt Cathie this week!  Mommy, Daddy, and I drove to Valporaiso, IN to meet them (halfway between Leo and Chicago).  We had lunch together at Applebee's and they gave me some neat clothes and fun books as Christmas presents.  I was so glad I got to spend time with them!
* Another thing I started this week was not going down for bed very well.  Or staying down very well.  I cried a lot.  I also started throwing lots of fits and temper tantrums, whenever I didn't get my way.  That included being told "no," having a toy taken away, being moved from my current location on the floor, and anything else that had any possible reason for disappointing me.  I think it was all because I felt so icky and sick.  I didn't feel good, and so anything that added to my not-goodness just sent me over the edge!

In my Christmas hat!


With Great Aunt Sandy.

Sharing my new toy with cousin Brady.


Having fun with my great grandmas.


These are most of Mommy's siblings.

Me with Great Papa.

Me with Great Aunt Cathie.

Me with Great Auntie Jean.

I was winning.

Napping with Grandma Nancy.

Uncle Evan teaching me how to play the piano.

Yep, I knew what I was doing.

Me and Uncle Shawn.

Grandpa Gordie makes me laugh.