Lucas has two afghans…one grandma made and one I made.  He loves them both.
Drags them EVERYWHERE and they instantly calm him down if he is upset.
They are magic…I swear it.
Every child should have one.
I get the question alot on how to get a child attached to a blanky and it is actually pretty easy…
Every time we fed them from the time they were born they were swaddled in it….or lightly placed on them as we fed them.
Before long it was just part of the comfort routine.
Bedtime feeding while cuddling a blanket…cuddling on a couch with us covered with his blanky.
You name it the blanky was just always there and before you know it….the blanky is always there
This really isn’t a bad thing for us at all.
It really isn’t hard to have these things that give him comfort as part of our life.  As they get older we start to gradually take the use of these items down to sleeptimes and car rides and they are fine with that.

This week I finished my latest lovey creation for my friends new niece.
Finally had the chance to make a girlie blanket!  So fun!!!

The frills!  I love the frills!!

and texture…babies LOVE texture!

I can’t wait to get started on my next one!
I think I am going to make Lucas a “Summer version” of his current blanket
I still have a few more in the Etsy shop that need a home if you have a little one in need of a lovey!
I swear I just love making them and have to support my addiction…hahhaaha!

Bubble blanket

Granny Square Blanket

The post Every baby should have a “lovey”… appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

But alas…..we went to Outback Steakhouse.
Lucas didn’t agree with the idea of sitting at a table as his idea of a “good time”…
So began the daddy/mommy eat and play with baby game.
Anyone with a baby knows this game.
It requires taking turns with the baby outside so everyone else can eat in peace without a screaming baby.

Lucky for Lucas…we aren’t those parents that keep a baby… at his “witching hour” time by the way…
At a restaurant screaming his lungs out and making dinner no fun for the other customers as well.
Dessert time came and Lucas and I found “our park”.
At the top of a man made hill that Walmart made a decade ago when they put the monster store in…

Now sadly…as we all know.  This beautiful field was loaded with trash from the monster store…
As is always the case anywhere a Walmart goes (this always makes me sad)
If they would just get rid of the plastic bags half this trash wouldn’t exist.
But they know that.

But…we had a lovely little adventure and surprise sunset anyway…he and I.
I sure do love this little fella…even if he can’t sit still at a dinner table

The post Surprise sunsets… appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

I am sitting outside of Starbucks right now…aka “my office”…finally getting a chance to blog….in the sunshine.
I have missed having the time to write lately.  Jill has a new boss at her full time job and her hours have been all jumbled up at work (so childcare has been spotty) and then the kids have had Spring break….and then I have been living outside.
I highly recommend “outside”.  Unplugged.
Something about the sunshine on my face and children laughing in the warmth…mud pies and fresh new growth everywhere.
Just makes my heart sing and I swear I am in this never ending good mood.  My moods always reflect the weather.  I know I can’t be alone in that?

Sometimes when I am outside just letting Lucas go wild and free in the yard I can’t help but think of all the kiddos who aren’t allowed that time outside to explore and discover the natural world around them.  Not the T.V or computer.  Lucas sees me in the mornings and the first thing he does is bang on the door to go outside and play…”mommy equals outside and dirt” I was meant to be a mom of boys I suppose.

There are kids who have never made it hiking or to a park.  This always makes me sad.  The disconnection this upcoming generation has with the natural world.  The fear of dirt… the worship of the “stuff”…who has the latest this or that.
I tease the older kids that their generation is going to be called the “Look at me!” generation.  They live for their cell phones and pictures of everything from their shoes to their meals is up for being posted online in one form or another all day everyday.  This generation screams for online attention…who has the most Youttube hits…the most Instagram “likes”….the most Twitter followers.

I watch their friends online and often wonder if this generation will be the loneliest generation to ever exist?
They seem to have no clue how to really interact with real people.  Instead everything is done electronically.  Will they know what to do if they lose their cell phone?  I sound old don’t I?!!?
Of course Adam and Haley have a mom who forces equal parts outside/unplugged with tech time.  Adam loves the tech stuff…Haley loves the cell phone.
I let them have it but I temper it with showing them, by example, how to put it away and leave that darn phone in the car sometimes or at home.
Do they whine about that?  Yep but 5 minutes into a hike or field trip they have forgotten it and have engaged in the activity.
One day I hope they carry on this tradition.   Still remembering how to sit on a rock and watch the world…not saying a word.
Peaceful.
Maybe that is what I worry about for this next generation.  Will they find “peace” in a world where they are always plugged in?
I suppose only time will tell.  They will make there way the same way my own “generation X” did.
We all survived in the end…

Enough rambling…updates!
We have FINALLY been able to get the tiller into the big garden over at the grandparents house.  IT has been a swamp until this week!

Lucas of course was very helpful pulling up the flags that showed daddy where he needed to till a row…

Yah…Daryl really appreciated that….lol

I managed to get some potatoes in…I am very fancy when it comes to planting potatoes.  It goes something like “Hey Tisha there is another bag of potatoes in the pantry that has gone bad!”  Me: “Just throw them on the back porch and I will cut them/plant them.”
Then I just drop the bags beside the garden…

I drop them out of the bag and start cutting them into pieces based on the little sprouts…

Drop them in a row and call it a day.  Very fancy and I am sure there may be a better way but this is the way I have been doing it for years.  It works just fine for us.

Onions…gotta have the onions…white, yellow and red.

Lots of seeds…collards, swiss chard, turnips, Asters, carrots, beets, lettuce…etc…
The hustle and the bustle is swinging into full gear.

My favorite part of the gardening?  It always brings neighbors out to gab and catch up.  Love that!  Lucas loves it too as you can see!

As always I have about a million little projects filling the calendar.  Everything from shooting and second shooting weddings to design work.  Never a dull moment over here. I prefer it that way.
Finishing up the most beautiful afghan for Kelly this week!  Can’t wait to share the pictures of this gorgeous creation!  Finishing up the trim work tonight on it and was so happy to finally get to create a girl blanket!!
Well back to into Starbucks to get their leftover coffee grounds the barrista promised me for the garden!
Now get out there and enjoy some nature!  Get off your computer!

The post SPRING SPRING SPRING!!! appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

I have always said my animals are better friends than many humans I may know.
Perhaps that is why I get so attached to them?
They ask very little of us…and are totally odd little creatures.
I prefer odd creatures over mean so its all good.
They love us and we love them….its a mutual thing.

The post Friends are the people who listen… appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

“hmmm…I don’t get it?”

The post “How does she do this thing again?” appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

The kids and I had just finished watching Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest yesterday.  A fantastic look at what archaeologist do, how they do it and why.
I knew that with their interest all peeked about archeologist that going to Jamestown, an active dig site, would be a fantastic addition to learning.
Off we went…and since I am behind on my “one photo a week for 52 weeks of each kiddo” we are double purposing this post…
Sometimes a mama just has to do such things!

First things first.
Disclaimer: Babies on field trips…oh so much fun.  It’s like a roller coaster ride…fun fun fun one minute and screaming the next.
But really we did have fun with him…he is a trip….even when we are on one!
He is in that “independent toddler” stage…aka PITA.

The bottle.  He took full advantage of the fact that he smelled our weakness.
He hasn’t been getting it during the day the last few days, a sippy instead, but since we knew we would need “the big guns” to keep him happy for the trip….the bottle made it into the bag.
And oh how happy he was about this fact…

So we journeyed on…

Little baby in a old church…so darn cute.
I love watching the big kids helping him out…melts a mama’s heart.

and just cause I think these are pretty…

and of course the digs…well they weren’t digging today.
Brrrrr.
I want someone to push me in a stroller and pop wheelies!  Apparently it is big fun!

Museums with a toddler?
Well it looks, or should I say sounds, something like this…

but he had big fun having us try and keep up with him…

Oh a bottle and skeletons?  Got that.

Run! Adam is home base apparently…

But then wait a minute…

He forgot something

and off again…

But soon it was back to “independence”…

And sweet girl…I had to get her with her beloved wolf hat…

Then we ventured off to Yorktown Battlefield…

and then I took this last picture…

and it was over..
Baby was DONE…full on…hands and feet a thrashing…screaming like a possessed child.
“I WANT A NAP NOW!”
And back home we went…
All in all a lovely day with me and my babies.
I do love homeschooling so much. Something about it just fits us so well.

The post Baby+Homeschooling = a baby loose in history…. appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

You may have heard that little Mr. Lucas is in the midst of potty training.  I am a big believer in starting potty training the moment they show interest in the potty.  Lucas started about a month ago crawling in there and putting his little potty seat on there and throwing those little arms in the air asking to be put on it.  Ready.
Oh the joy of the next 6-12 months.
The mess and laundry are sure to be fun.
He outgrew his clothe diapers a few months ago and I didn’t want to spend the money on a new set that fit him.
I wanted to move onto potty training…
I was ready….he was ready…it’s time to get the party started.
He can consistently go potty on the potty 2-4 times a day now.  Not bad for just turning 16 months.
But the options this early on are Pull Ups or training pants/rubber pant cover.
He needs to “feel wet” so disposable diapers are really out since they will keep him super dry and comfy.

He is allergic to Pull Ups…nice red rashes.  Not an option.  What in the world do they put in those things?
True toddler pants would be wet for sure through out the day and would require rubber pants to protect clothes and furniture.
I am not opposed to that…actually I have them all here ready to go.
Used them with the first two kiddos.
But I knew there had to be a better option now.  I figured if anywhere had the answers it would be my favorite baby store Franklin Goose.
I have loved those gals since that very first trip in there when Lucas was 2 weeks old.
Love them.  They “my peeps”…they complete me (mainly because they are very nice folks and locally owned….my favorite combo)

In I walk (this time dragging bff Beckey along for the ride…such a good sport!) and find my girls and beg them once again to show me the latest in cool potty training pants.
Oh did they have some great options!
We ended up with the Blueberry Training pants!

Good Lord these are sent straight from heaven.
You mean I can have a training pant blended with rubber pants all in a adorable little package?  Something that is basically the “next step” in clothe diapering?  Which I loved doing…
Sold!
I am selling off my stash of clothe diapers now and going to trade up for a stash of these.
He will be able to wear them even after he is potty trained and if he has an occasional accident it won’t be that big of a deal.
Anyone who has ever trained with rubber pants knows the joy of changing not just one layer of yuck…but two.
I am happy to only have one!  Plus at the point we are at with training I can add in the bioliners and any accidents can go straight in the potty!  Fantastic…(Yes I know…totally boring to anyone not potty training…lol!)
But…it is where we are right now in life and I would have loved these options when we had the first two!

So what does Lucas think?
He loves it when I bring home a Franklin Goose bag….

He loved them so much he cried when the bag was all empty and there were no toys this time…
I am pretty sure he said something like…
“She went to Franklin Goose and all she got me were stinking underpants!  Where are the toys?”

Poor buddy…he really has his eye on their wooden tractor set!
LOL!  Maybe next time fella

The post The cutest bum in town…. appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

When Adam came along I had no idea really what to feed a toddler….I was basically just sitting on the clueless couch.
I knew what we fed them at the preschool I worked in at the time…lots of crap food.
I picked up those little crappy finger foods you can get in the baby food isle.
They were in the baby food isle so my 20 something self thought that must be what I am supposed to be feeding him….right?
I let him eat crap food because I simply didn’t know better.  I thought that you had to feed them baby food until…I don’t know…maybe they were like 3?
Lucky for Adam, Haley came along and she taught us that by 6 months a baby can eat anything on YOUR plate for the most part.
She refused to eat anything but breastmilk and the food that came off of my plate.  She could eat a granola bar with two teeth.
I think she was the one who actually taught Adam how to feed him self better than we did.
Granted we were exhausted from having two babies in the house at the time so by the time she was 6 months old we were in “survival mode”.

We survived and by the time they were 6-7 years old I finally figured out just how badly we had really messed up this feeding thing.
I started learning more about real food and nutrition.
Adam and Haley will actually laugh now and joke “Mom why did you ever let us eat that crap?”
I just didn’t know better at the time.
My big modo around here these days is “If you know better you do better” and nothing can be closer to the truth when you are talking about food.
If you know better and still do it…well that is something completely different.
I figured I would share a few of the things I wish someone had told me when Adam came along.
He survived but if I had it to “do over”….well I actually kindof got my “do over” with Lucas!
And I have been doing things alot differently when it comes to Lucas and how/what we feed him.

I have to say one of the questions I get regularly, besides “is he from a second marriage” (since there is a decade between him and the first two),
is “I can’t get my toddler to eat!  Any ideas?”
Why yes…I have lots of ideas on feeding babes.
Let them feed themselves being the biggest “thought”.
Gasp!

Yes I said it…let the baby make a full blown disaster of your kitchen, themselves, possibly your walls and anything else they can fling some food at.
Learning to feed yourself is huge!  The textures alone will keep them busy for an hour.
No one will tell you a child learning to feed them self is clean…

As a matter of fact I highly recommend a dog to clean up the mess…
I can’t imagine life with a toddler without these two.
The best vacuum cleaners in town.

We love these placemats!
I didn’t have it yesterday when I snapped the pics because it was getting cleaned but they are fantastic!  We had them with the first two as well.
They stick to the table and can even go in the dishwasher…easy!

What we feed him?

Whole foods…often raw.  Very little processed food.
The boy hates meat.  He is a vegetarian by default.  Actually border line vegan since he can’t drink cow’s milk without getting sick.
He drinks unsweetened almond milk as his “milk” and I make him 1-2 sippy cups of fresh juice from the juicer each day.
He screams for the juice “MawMAW MAWWWWW!”  And will throw a cup at you demanding it.
The best part of juicing for your baby is the crazy amount of produce they get in that little cup!
One sippy cup can contain a ton of greens, fruit and anything else you may want to throw in there!

Ever wonder how to get a baby/toddler to eat a salad or a bowl of kale?
Wonder no more…Lucas “drinks a salad” at least 1-2 times a day!
Screams for it!
FYI~ If you have a baby/child dealing with constipation I highly recommend juicing for them!

I will be growing a huge row of kale in the next month…the kids are rolling through it!

What does a typical lunch look like around here?
Basically lots of foods he can eat with his fingers OR practice using a spoon or fork with.

I love these frozen bags of rice and beans!  I often mix them with bite sized frozen veggies.
Don’t forget you can make whole grain rice and freeze it yourself!
Beans and babies?  YES!  Lucas LOVES beans.  The kid can eat a whole can of black beans by himself  if you let him.
There are no ill effects from feeding a baby beans, chili etc… seriously.
When you have a baby that won’t eat meat you have to add the beans!

Snacks…toddlers are grazers by nature.
They are busy you know.  They have places to go and people to see.
Eating happens “on the go” very often.
Instead of those crappy, corn syrup filled junk food they push off as “toddler snacks” in the baby food isle I tend to lean towards organic cereal.
I typically mix together his three favorites in a tupperware container.
Puffins Honey Rice (gluten free), Leapin Lemurs Peanut Butter and Chocolate and a organic rice cheerio brand…all typically GMO free as well.

He loves nothing more than to be given something in a bowl…the cereal mix normally fits the best since he will carry it all over the house.
Easy to clean up and the dogs love picking up the crumbs

Last note…frozen berries.
This boy loves a frozen berry and he knows I keep them in the freezer…
If that freezer gets open he will grab them and bring them to you begging for a few.
I buy any berry that is ever on sale…wash them and freeze them.
I know we will use them.

Alot of times with the berries and fruit they can be slippery and hard to grasp we put it in one of the food pouches.
Keeps his frustration down…especially with slippery cantaloupe!

I often hear parents say the eating organic and healthy is just “to expensive” and really it is cheaper all around.
It’s all about making it from scratch, using your freezer and growing it or finding a local source.
These things make it completely affordable!
What they really mean to say is “That’s more work than grabbing a processed box of crap.”  and I won’t lie….somedays that may be true.
I will share some in another post next week how to prepare ahead of time to make your families food less processed and still fast and economical.

Well that about sums up where we are at this moment.
Would love to hear anyone else’s suggestions for healthy toddler snacks and meals! There are so many options now!
While I will forever feel terrible that I fed those first two some really crappy food all those years ago they did survive!
I could have done better but I did the best I knew at the time.
Lucas will probably get very little with corn syrup, GMO’s, MSG, food dyes or any of the like if I can help it.
I will say…he is the healthiest baby we have had to date.
I can count how many times he has been sick on one hand.
One hand.

That is amazing and there has to be something to it…food for thought.
Food and what we feed these littlest people does matter.
Know better, do better.

The post How we feed “the wild thing” appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

My hands down “can’t live without” product with all three of my babies has been a sling.
Seriously.  I don’t think I have used the stroller with Lucas out in the world more than 5 times.
They are a pain in my butt.
I hate lugging them around.
I hate the space they hog in the van.
I hate how cumbersome they are to maneuver in a store.
And most of all…every time I use them my babies always end up in my arms anyway and then I have to push the cart AND carry the baby.
What’s the point?

This sling folds up and fits in a purse (although I do carry some big old purses)….it goes ANYWHERE.
Easy peazy.  And my babies are always so content in them.
Lucas is STILL using his!  Granted he is a skinny dude and only weighs a whopping 23lbs.
We also use the backpack when we hike and Ergo (in the beginning).

Diapers…It took us awhile to figure out which ones we loved most.
Grovia were great when he was little and Thirsties won as he got bigger.
I learned much from that journey..
I miss them.  He outgrew the ones we had and we don’t have the money for a new set and frankly…he will be potty trained soon enough.
We will be buying the toddler clothe trainers though!

Haba toys… impossible to have too many of these great little wooden teethers.
They are still played with in the car on a regular basis!

Sophie…oh Sophie. The most expensive giraffe I have ever purchased.
Yet so worth every dime.
Oh how Lucas loved her!

Booster seat.…we gave up on the high chair after about a month.
We just have never had the space for that big old chair so as soon as Lucas was sitting up like a pro we moved him on over to the booster. He loves it…we love it.
Everyone is happy.

In the perfect world we would never have needed these but we were far from perfect and Lucas was a lazy little baby who stunk at nursing.
So we ended up with these bottles.
LOVED them! No discoloring in a dishwasher. No worrying about plastics and the toxins…
Just good old glass.
And yes we definitely tested the “but can’t they break easily?”. The answer is a bigtime “maybe if you drove over them with a car?”
We dropped them a ton and never had one break. We did move over to the plastic version once he was to the age where he wanted to hold them himself.
They are a bit heavy and I didn’t want him dropping it on his face..lol.

Holy crap this stuff is amazing! Clears up baby acne within days! I suggest it to all of my newborn mommy clients before they have their new babies sessions.

Cleared Lucas right up. Did I mention I now use this product everyday as my own moisturizer?
I used to have terrible psoriasis but between going gluten free and using this lotion it has disappeared. My first Winter in years without itching myself to death. It’s fantastic!

I am always sad the day the babies get to big for “the swing”…
Nothing bought us some “arms free” time in those early months as much as the baby swing.
It’s a must have!

Using one of these doesn’t make you a paranoid mama…
This time of year it makes you a brillant one. A mom who knows that a teething baby in a grocery cart is a recipe for flu disaster.
How did I learn that? Let’s just say it started with a trip to Walmart 12 years ago with a teething baby and ended with the rotovirus.
Until my babies stop teething on carts we used this.
No shame.

Birdies…Oh how we love birdies…and fishies and whatever other kindof projection crib toy we have ever been able to find.
Nothing makes our babies happier than an image on their ceiling or something to watch while drifting off to dreamland.

Let’s talk “excersaucers” because after they outgrow that swing it is onto the next thing to keep them busy for a few minutes so you can get something accomplished in a day.
The regular ones bored the heck out of Lucas…he wanted to bounce.
We ended up selling his traditional one and buying this version and he LOVED it. He would get to bouncing like a crazy man.

I have THREE of these and I am getting ready to buy another. I just can’t get enough of them.
They make the best diaper bag. They can hold a ton of toys/food/diapers etc… and it’s easy to get to what I need when I am driving down the road. I can just reach into a pocket for a sippy/bottle or into the bag for a toy!
Love it!

Source: thirtyonegifts.com via Tisha Mccuiston { on Pinterest

Pacifiers…
I will never forget Adam being wheeled into our hospital room with a pacifier in his mouth and being so mad at the nurse and saying something like “He can’t have a pacifier!! I am nursing!” to which she promptly said “Honey…babies need to suck. This fella is a sucker and a half. Trust me…he will be fine.” and he was.
All three babes have had a love affair with their pacifiers. They give them to the “paci fairy” when they hit about 2 1/2 or 3. Their 3rd birthday being the cut off.
We heart pacifiers.

Source: amazon.com via Tisha Mccuiston { on Pinterest

Then there was sweet “raffie” that Maggie gave Lucas…boy did he love that sound machine those first few months.
He moved onto the “puppy sings” as we like to call puppy.
Each night I say “Lay down! It’s time for “Puppy Sings” in my best mommy voice and he gets his blanky and pacy…curls up and listens for the music as he watches his birdies.
It’s his happy place.

Source: amazon.com via Tisha Mccuiston { on Pinterest

 

Last but not least the most invaluable of all.
A blankie.
One of a kind…actually he has two.
One made by me and one by grandma. He curls up surrounded by love.
What could be better? All three babes had “blankies”….they are kindof a right of passage in this house.
Nothing makes a baby feel safer than a lovey.
Every baby should have one or two

Well that about sums up that first year. I can’t get over how many of these things we still use daily…
But I suppose that is why they “made the list”…we loved them!
I also have loved reminiscing and going back to old posts and remembering how amazing, hard and fast that first year was.
I suppose that is what always makes the “hard days” ok.  You just remind yourself that by tomorrow it will all change.

The post Products I couldn’t live without that first year with baby. appeared first on On Bramble Hill.

See I have been dealing with my hairy children for over a decade now.  My babies come out with a head full and both Adam and Lucas had to have their first “hair cut” well before 6 months just so they:

1. Didn’t look absolutely ridiculous.
2. Could actually see.

Now granted with Lucas he did loose most of his dark brown/black hair within the first 3-4 months…
Which left him looking a bit confused for a bit.
We figured it would just grow back in dark again like it did when Haley lost hers the same way but this kid….he must do everything his way.
He went blonde.
I have been working with babies/children for over 20 years now.  Whether teaching or as a newborn photographer….
Blonde babies don’t really “get hair” until they are almost 2!  Lucas being Lucas has this thick mane of blonde hair and we were getting a bit tired of the “Oh your sweet baby girl is so adorable!”
Yes…it was time for the “baby mullet” to be officially taken away before I was just to tempted to put it in pigtails.
Robin  was kind enough to cut his bangs for us once when he was around 10 months after a hilarious haircutting adventure with Aunt Jill and my friend  Paige when we gave him a little “shape up” around 5 months old.  Actually Paige just laughed and pointed but it was quite hilarious!
I think we may have used little kid scissors even?  I was still in that “new baby delirium” state at that point.
Poor baby.

Unforgettable.  Definitely swore that the next time we should take him in for the “real deal”.

16 months, to the day, old.
How does one work the kindof magic needed to get a baby to sit long enough to give him a haircut?
Here is our method…

One sweet beautician who will not disown you once they have been brave enough to cut your toddlers hair…(we love you Robin!)

SUCKERS…never. ever. ever. forget the suckers.
At least 3 because at least 2 are going to drop into the “fur” on the floor…eweeeeee

A best friend along for support and reinforcements…
And to make sure the baby doesn’t fall while I am clicking of course!  Duh.

Did I mention suckers?  Cause they truly are like some magical “keep the kid zen” type of thing.
At least for 3-5 minutes…

And then when he was all finished I took the cake as the world’s “craziest mom” and let the baby lay on the floor watching his brother get his shaggy mop cut as well…He survived..
I survived…
And it turns out he DID have ears under all that hair after all!
He looks so “old” now.  Haircuts will do that.

The post How to cut a toddlers hair appeared first on On Bramble Hill.