Suzi Homemaker

Yep! That's me.. Suzi Homemaker... well not really, I won't respond to the name Suzi (ok. fine. I would, but begrudgingly...) and I wish I were a homemaker as in a SAHM... but I do think a play a role in making our house a home... especially with these new curtains! Yep, I made this beauty all by myself!  (Can you tell I'm very proud of this accomplishment?) 

Of course it wouldn't be me if there wasn't a ridic story attached... So allow me to set the stage... Dan was working nights and Charlie was spending the night at Grandma Russell's (I had a dentist appt and she was watching her the next day it was easier this way...) I had the night husband and baby free! Sounds like a vacation, right? So early in the morning I was envisioning myself sitting in front of the TV with a glass of wine (read: bottle) in hand catching up on my absurd list of shows that I never have time to watch. As the day progressed, this vision morphed into something dark... I decided I was going to paint the kitchen. Bonus: I would surprise Dan! This is the only room that hasn't been graced with a fresh coat of paint since we moved in... it was long overdue. There was a spackled area next to the stove that would taunt me as I walked up the stairs... u-g-l-y. I went to the store by my work and picked out a perfect greige (gray/beige) shade. (I am the most indecisive person, so this was a very difficult task for me!) I loaded up on all of the supplies and I was good. to. go. After my dentist appt. I putzed around at my mom's with my sister. I mean, I was baby AND husband free... I just went where the wind took me.. well not really, she had food and I was hungry. So! after that I went home and decided to start this project at 10:00 pm. I mean how long could it take?? There isn't a lot of surface area to paint... I just have to tape. Yea, taping took me almost 2 hours. Then I needed to do two coats... of both the edging and rolling... yikes! 3:00 am I finally finished :) I set it up all HGTV style.. minus the things on the wall. I could hardly sleep I was so excited for Dan to see it! I swear it felt like Christmas Eve!! I call Dan on my way to work... we talk as he is driving home. He tells me he is home and that he'll call me later! I was giddy with excitement!! After about 10 mins... still no call! Hmmm.. I called Dan this is how the convo went:

Me: Hey!

Dan: Hey! I was just going to call you... 

Me: Oh?

Dan: Yea, the kitchen looks great!

Me: Oh thanks! You like the color??

Dan: You painted?

Me: (sigh)

No, Dan didn't not notice that I changed the paint from an off white to a gray (or smell it for that matter), there was nothing on the walls, no light switch covers were on and the spackled area was now gone. He did, however, notice that I cleaned off the butcher block (which is usually covered with junk mail and random baby paraphernalia) Folks, this is the person that I am trusting to protect me from the bad guys... I'm scared, very scared. 

October Round Up!

Some how October got away from me... Here is a recap of what went down at Casa de Russell...We had pics with ACP (We're down with ACP, yea you know me.. sorry, I had to..) Charlie was in one her moods.. and that mood did not consist of sitting still.. I was actually SHOCKED how many cute pics Anne captured... never ceases to amaze :) Here are a few of my favs!

I could pick a bazillion more... but this post is already going to be too long!

Charlie has fallen deeply in love with Eska... she likes Finn, but LURVES her Eska-bear... I think the feeling is mutual. Eska seems to be in heaven as Charlie rips out her fur (which btw, she learned from her dad... that is how Dan 'pets' her. Oi vey!)

My friend Heather got Charlie this for her 1st bday. Her name is Rody. (which is an odd coincidence because Dan had a Grandpa Rody (sp?) I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but his legacy lives on ;) One prob with this though... Charlie thinks Eska can be like Rody sometimes (bouncy)... Eska is not fond of this confusion...



And last but not least... here is a video of Charlie walkin around with her tentacles!! haha This costume cracks me up!!



I hope you had a great October!

Got-2-Be Smarter Than The Baby

This is what runs through my head whenever Charlie comes close to outsmarting me. I have to share my latest conquer... I have all of these adorable beenie type winter hats for Charlie adorned with cutesy ribbons and bows that I couldn't wait to put on her as last year her head was too small (which is a shock considering we've already established she has a bobble head see here). Alas! It is freezing! I can now break out these little beauties!! I put one on her head and as I was about to swoon and ooh and ahh... she rips it off so violently that I can almost hear the methodical, evil laugh that would complement her actions so nicely. The nerve!!! Needless to say, she refuses to wear hats... between you and me I think she is doing it out of spite...what's that you say? A 14 month old doesn't have the ability to know... you must come take visit to the Russell home soon.. you will not believe your eyes! Anyway, back to me winning... although I am still hopeful she will wear the other hats, I worked up a cute substitute for the time being... here's a shot of her modeling my creation. It ties at the chin, so try as she might, this sucker isn't coming off!! Mommy -1 Charlie- 0

Funny side note... The pattern said it fit 'most toddlers'. Since Charlie has the same size head as a 2 year old, I had to tweak it a bit!! haha I also embellished it with a flower ;)

My Favorite Halloween Treat!

If you would have asked me 5 years ago what my favorite Halloween treat would be in 2010 I would have responded with absolute certainty and conviction... SNICKERS! Hands down best candy bar ever.  Despite that fact, there is no way you could have convinced the 2005-Susan that in five years my answer would be Octopus... but I must say my Chachi looks scrudiliumptious! Here are a few pics :)

Daddy brain?

I think most people have heard of the saying 'mommy brain', right? Urban dictionary defines it as Mommy brain: The phenomenon known to mothers where their brains become useless piles of goo after being around their children for too long. I will be the first to admit that I suffer from this condition... in a BAD way! I think it started as pregnancy brain that kindly evolved into the next phase. Well folks, it appears that it is contagious!!  Last night I made lasagna for dinner and since Dan is on a diet this week, he requested that I make it low fat. I substituted half of the ricotta cheese for cottage cheese (surprisingly delish!), used turkey instead of beef and was going to use whole wheat pasta. The itty bitty sorry excuse for a Shoprite by my work didn't have whole wheat noodles so I went with one that was lower on the glycemic index. After making dinner and waiting for Dan to get home at 8:30, both Char and I were starved... As I'm cutting it up for Charlie, Dan is inspecting the box of pasta.  The convo went something like this...

Dan: I thought you were going to get whole wheat!?!?!
Me: They didn't have it...
Dan: Well this doesn't look healthy
Me: IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT! DON'T EAT IT! (my hunger got the best of me...)
Dan: I'm not saying for me, I mean for Charlie.... Susan! the first ingredient is salmonella!!
Me: (thought to myself)  you have got to be kidding me
Dan: Seriously Susan it says it right here!!!
Me: Um, do you mean semolina?
Dan: Yea! That sounds bad!!!
Me: Really? It sounds delicious to me...Have you ever had italian bread?

Yikes! I used to say I hope Charlie gets my 'book smarts' and Dan's 'street smarts'... her future is looking grim these days!

Girly-Girl.MP4

Charlie discovered a basket that I had filled with necklaces... I'm sure she was thinking "JACKPOT"! Here is a video of my girly-girl looking beautious as always... ok so I know she looks like a ragamuffin again but I think the necklaces really jazz up her halloween jam's!

The Dirties on Diapering

Ok get ready for another crunchy granola post...
I often get asked why we cloth diaper Charlie. There are SO many reasons most of which I learned after we decided to move in the hippie direction! haha In the first few days of Charlie's life, she developed this TERRIBLE diaper rash. We are talking blisters and all. It was so sad. I lubed her up with every diaper cream sold on the shelves at Babies R Us. Nothing seemed to help. The only thing that seemed to help was not putting a diaper on her... obvi this was a messy non-realistic option! After changing her diaper one time, I noticed these little crystals on her cheeks. No, she wasn't peeing diamonds, which btw would have been AWESOME! After doing some research, I learned with these pseudo-diamond crystals thingys were SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer or Sodium Polyacrylate) I also learned that this chemical was banned from tampons because it was linked to TSS.. Wait! back up the train! So a chemical that is not safe for me to absorb into my body for a week once a month is ok for my 7 lb baby to wear for the next 3 years?? I also think this chemical was the root of Charlie's reaction... the poor babe got my sensitive skin (and my huge gap in her front teeth.. another time, another post!) So with just this fact, I began my quest into the cloth diapering world... I learned a TON of other things along the way and I think this video that I randomly stumbled upon sums it up best. One thing that I learned that they didn't cover is the link between males and infertility. My generation is the 1st in disposable diapers (sposies to cloth diapering peeps!) and new research has found a huge increase in infertility in males... some research shows that the plastic of diapers don't allow the testes to breath and they reach a high temp resulting in fertility issues down the road... yikes! Now, diapers when I was a babe have drastically changed. As I am told, my sposies were made of chunky cotton... today's pampers have black magic in them that absorb 3x a babies weight... ok I'm getting a little crazy but what I'm getting at is if those chunky virtually chemical free sposies caused issues, what will we learn 20 years from now when data is released on these relatively new to the market 'dry max' diapers? Scary stuff.


*disclaimer* we opted for the cadillac of cloth diapers so we spent roughly $1600. It can be done MUCH cheaper, but it is still cheaper than sposies and wipes.

Top reasons people don't cloth diaper (myself included before learning about them)
* GROSS! I have to touch poo! --seriously this was my biggest concern. You don't, I swear! I actually got way messier with sposies as Charlie ALWAYS had blowouts.. never had one with the cloth to date :)

* You have to carry around dirty diapers when you are out. This was a huge consideration. We thought maybe we would only cloth diaper at home and do sposies when we go out.... after all limiting her exposure to these chemicals was def a step in the right direction. It really isn't bad. U bring a wet bag which has a little patch to put some essential oil on it to cover up any potential odor. When I change her diaper people have complimented me on the smell :)


* Are the diapers ever really clean? Yes, shockingly! I remember thinking how will my standard washer really clean these diapers, but honestly they come out clean! We have a front loader and thanks to its water saving nature creates a process to wash the diapers, BUT they do come out sparkling!


* All that folding and pinning is too much work? This was my favorite thing I learned! Welcome to the 21st century ladies and gents! Cloth diapers are super easy with snaps and/or velcro. The come in super cute colors and patterns (we use thirsties). 


Ignorance is bliss, which is one of the main reasons why my response to the question 'why would you cloth diaper?' is usually 'Charlie has sensitive skin' which although this is true, it's not the WHOLE truth. As parents we all naturally want to do what's absolutely best for our kiddos, and sometimes that means venturing out of our comfort zone. Cloth diapering is certainly not for everyone, but I will say I have no doubt it would be the majority and not the minority if parents knew #1 the harmful chemicals they are laying their babes precious bums in and #2 how easy it is. Anyone who has watched Charlie (ahem, my dear friend Heather) can attest to the fact that #2 is accurate. Just tryin to get the word out on the Strizeet in a not so 'in yo face!' kinda way.

Sincerely your very crunchy, tree-hugging, granola livin, wannabe hippie friend,
Susan