currently is "calling in sick" this week...

Hey guys, it turns out 4 out of the 6 Harvesting Kale/Ot & Et kids and moms are down for the count right now. We're going to skip a week... We love you. We'll be back, all well rested and hydrated, with nasal passages all irrigated and weird amounts of cinnamon in our systems. xo

currently - Otto & Stitch - link up

The deal: Use our themes or use your own - just let us know what is 'currently' going on with you! Be sure to stop by and say hello to the other bloggers linking up - especially to my amazing co-host at Harvesting Kale.

This week's themes: appreciating, feeling, looking, regretting, playing

I have been Appreciating my children's strengths and weaknesses. Loretta is so resilient and such a force of nature. She face planted into rocks (of course she did) at school last week and got the worst nose scrape and lip cut combo I've ever seen, plus gauged her forehead so badly she needed a stitch. My heart hasn't stood so still since she spent her initial days on this planet in NICU (scariest days of my life). One of our parent friends from school posted this on my FB:

H- has told me (more than once I might add) that "Etta fell down on the sidewalk and landed on her face and she didn't even cry and she is a really tough girl even though she's a little kid."

Meanwhile fail to give this girl a pee pee treat after using the toilet and she falls to pieces.

Otto has been Feeling very cool lately, round-the-clock wearing nerd glasses his Nana and Papa brought him. You guys, I can't. Where did Otto come from? He's like bio-engineered or something. He asked us what a "nerd" was and we were like, "someone who's really smart and so into being smart that it makes them cool." I love that nerd chic is a thing and my five year old is its poster child.

I have been Looking at the calendar and being like what in the what? How is it freaking mid-October already? Is nuts.

I am stumped on Regretting this week. I'm a little bit regretting that I didn't spend all summer visiting the gym and working on my skincare routine. Not regretting those things enough to wash my face before bed most nights or do sit-ups, mind you.

Image via Busted Tees. So! This past weekend we started Playing Settlers of Catan with Otto. On Sunday, we actually taught Otto, my mom, and my dad how to play and Otto hung in there as a team with Rob. Hurray Settlers! Otto rolls so many sevens! I'm tardy to the Settlers party, it's been a favorite of Rob's for years and years. But dudes, this game! I should say that it's still pretty involved for Ot. It's recommended for ages 10+. But playing on Rob's team he did super awesome and I'm such a board game geek it's like actually thrilling to me that this is something we do now. Settlers, Yes We Catan!

We have an open "CALL FOR THEMES" going on so please submit theme suggestions.
Next week's themes were submitted by the wonderful Caz who blogs over at Water Under It:
anticipating, contributing, discussing, listening, deciding 

not our finest hour

There was a time, not crazy long ago, when being forced to take a day to stay home with a sick kiddo would have been a "rise to the occasion" kind of occasion. Instead I started out the day pissed. Not at Loretta, but just at all of it. I didn't want to stay home, I was already dressed and ready for work when we decided someone needed to stay home and because Rob's in a crunch time at school that someone needed to be me.

Loretta is a piss pot. Like she is awesome and amazing and hilarious and sweet sweet sweet. But she is also a pain in the ass. And when she doesn't feel well, she is just awful to be around. She recently discovered "Elmo" (Sesame Street) and stood at the TV screaming, "Elmo!" for exactly 1/2 of a second yesterday morning before I caved in... ordered up every episode of Sesame Street they have, got myself dressed as a pigeon lady, and curled up scowling, next to my scowling girl.

Let's all cross fingers that today > yesterday. xo

currently... spray Lysol in our wake

An untired mommy would come up with a really charming caption for this picture. Something about how cute she is; ain't she a stinker? And when she's sick how that cute face lets her get away with... being a dick? Whatever I'm a tired mommy. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Currently is a weekly link-up that I happily co-host with the fabulous and amazing ♥ Randalin ♥ of Harvesting Kale. We hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using our themes or your own) and please join us by linking up.

psst. Randalin is taking a few weeks off from regularly scheduled programming in order to snuggle a newborn (coming soon) and do lovely nesting things while wearing sweat pants and eating pickle flavored potato chips. While she's away, we'll have two new co-hosts for Currently.

This week our co-host is Kate of Just Pirouette & Carry On. I adore Kate and you will too! She is the funnest, funniest, most earnest and honest and awesome mama of 2 adorable little lasses. They farm a plot and make their own elderberry liquor. I dream of one day sailing an ocean, just so I can hug her!

So! What have you been owning, wearing, thinking, drinking, dancing this week? Over here, we have been...

Otto has been Owning me when it comes to his hair. I can only say so many things about this. This is one of those pick your battles moments. A big part of my heart loves that he has made a decision based on his own personal taste (he's the only boy among his friends with a Rapunzel thing going on) and I'm happy to let him have control over his hair. I mean it's hair for crap's sake, who really cares? Another part of me, a part that really wants the hair out of his freaking eyes, wants to chop-a-lop that shag! Oh well. I kick his ass at charades. So I guess we are even.

Etta has just started Wearing hand-me-downs of Otto's that he was wearing when she was a baby. So it's like she's entered into the stage of hand-me-downs that overlap her own life. This is a crazy milestone that is freaking me out probably more than it should. It's just trippy, that's all.

I've been Thinking that Spring can spring already. Winter be gone! I hate you, Winter! 

and Drinking the tea from Aveda. Do we all know about this magical organic blend of sweet magic magicness? I'm a straight up coffee lover, no mistake, but this tea is amazing. And with all the coughing happening in my house this week, a little tea has been in order, and I just seriously love that stuff.

We've been Dancing to the Star Wars score channel on Pandora. It's super majestic and we're all super majestic battle dancers, so there are awesome kitchen ballets with wooden spoon light sabers happening over here nonstop. Um... It's cooler than it sounds.

That was this week and here are next week's themes:
watching, saying, losing, admiring, making 

currently... feeling much better now

Currently is a weekly link-up that I happily co-host with the fabulous and amazing ♥ Randalin ♥ of Harvesting Kale each week. We hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using our themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. What have you been missing, reading, drinking, eating, planning this week? Over here, we have been...

Missing my hard-soled house slippers. This is what it comes to, you guys. You wake up one day and your beloved house slippers pop a sole and you realize you have become someone who cares a little bit too much about your house slippers. It's funny business, blogging, because I can tell you pretty much the exact day I bought those slips and then just the other day I unknowingly marked the occasion of enjoying them for the last time as I flopped around my house in a virus-induced delirium. Anyways, rather than linger in my sadness I spent wayyyyy too long browsing house slippers on Amazon this weekend and ordered up some new ones. Check it, because these are good stuff.

Who's handing out the Sexy Awards? Because clearly... I get one.  

Speaking of sexy, cool things I spend my time on. I have been Reading multiple online resources on Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease (which is not a disease, it's a virus) because it turns out Loretta had a case of that and it brought our whole family to our knees. We were pretty lucky that Loretta's case involved a couple of face bumps, a few finger bumps, a little diaper rash, and a bump on each heel. She never got a fever and I think the sore throat lasted about two days before we even realized she was sick (just thought our darling grouch was being extra grouchy). I'm pretty sure my 24 hour "episode" over the weekend was probably the same thing and let's just say it: HELLO SKEEVED. We have officially gone Velveteen Rabbit on quite a few toys, boiled everything else we own, brought out the big guns and by that I mean Lysol even though I think Lysol is weird and scary. I think we are on the flip side of this business now and good riddance, plague. 

Drinking Pedialyte for the kids, along with blanket piles, movies, and ice cream with dinner. Whatever it takes to make being sick feel like a good time. I think I tricked them.

Eating candy. Just me, I am hoarding candy and hiding it from my children, so that I can have all the candy! This is the season when all the white chocolate candies crunch up candy canes and have candy cane love child versions of themselves and I have zero impulse control when it comes to THAT. Bring it candy cane white chocolate hybrid candies, bring IT!

Planning to be way more productive next weekend than I was this past weekend. All errands and to-dos are handled on Saturday and Sunday and me getting sick means I'm officially behind on life. Yipes.
     

That was this week. Here are next week's themes: 

watching, reminding, searching, waiting, regretting

currently link up | we only talk about colds, ever

If you have been reading this blog lately and you are back then I need to call you out for having a weird "reading about boring people with colds" fetish. You are odd! And in luck! Because the saga continues. This week: healthy again, but for how long??? Dun, dun, dunnnnnn...

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the amazing, adorable, and crafty! super mom ♥ Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super happy to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Eating mashed potatoes. We have a ridiculous box of mashed potato flake packages from CostCo and with a house full of "off" stomachs it's one food that we all seem a-ok with. Bread and potatoes and apples and pears, I feel like I should write a diet book because somehow even though we're all carbing out we (at least Rob and I) are both about 4 pounds lighter than we were last week. Getting stomach bugs pretty much equals the Hollywood Diet. Cool? Nope.

Drinking fountain soda! I don't give an eff if it's just a mix of delicious carcinogen chemicals and fizzy water it's the only thing I wants when I'm not feeling good. I love that shit.

Listening to the slowwww jammmm station again this week (Sade, Al Green, Whitney, Lionel, oh yeahhhh). It's Loretta's favorite and she loves to cuddle and dance together, especially when she's feeling edgy like she was on Tuesday. That's OK because smooth grooves are pretty alright sometimes and cuddle-dancing with that girl is one of my favorite things.

Reading about super heroes and also making up our own stories with Otto. At bedtime lately he's been wanting to make up our stories about the Ninja Turtles...

Sooooo... Otto just came out of his room and threw up on me :( so here we go again. Can't make this stuff up. 

Update: Otto is fine. He seems to have gotten this flu-like super vom headache party 24 hour thing that Rob had, then I had, then Et had... so he's staying home with Rob today. And then hopefully we're all done with "catching things!" this year because oh emmm geeeee.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:

watching, craving, looking, loving, planning

we're not dead yet

But this flu and cold season is trying really hard to do us all in. Just when we thought we were over the hump... our stomachs turned. We thought Rob had food poisoning last week and that I had overdone candy over the weekend (yup, since I don't have a gallbladder that can make me really sick if I overdo it, so lame getting old eh?) until last night when poor Loretta lost her lunch. So now we are thinking this must be a thing that is working its way through our poor family. I cannot remember a time before one of us had a cold or other condition. I'm ready for general health again. Do you hear me, Health, you SOB!?!? I'm ready for you to come knocking! Knock already. Ugh.

She was feeling pretty great as my shopping date last week. Can you believe this little sprite will be 1 year old on Saturday? Because I cannot believe it.

a miracle elixir

In the past few weeks my small headcold has turned into an endless throat tickle and irritating little sinus drip. This seems to have settled in for the winter and has me fighting a cough throughout the day and sipping hot water in between ricola drops. No fun. My new boss, Caroline, suggested this miracle remedy which doesn't taste as bad as it sounds and already has my throat soothed. If you wanted to try it, the ingredients are simply 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 squeeze of lemon, and 1 cup of water at any temperature.

currently {link up} do-over needed, stat

Can I get a do-over for this week? Please?

Currently is a weekly link-up hosted by the lovely (and currently sick, go send her virtual vegan chicken soup) Randalin of Harvesting Kale and I am super happy to be co-hosting the series with her. I hope that you can participate by writing your own Currently post (using the provided themes or your own) and please join us by linking up. This week, around these parts, we have been...

Loving the little handful of things that are going right. Because everything is going haywire. I started a new position on Monday as the director of public relations for a large software firm, an amazing opportunity that I'm super excited about! PR is the kind of job where your job is literally your ability to make a great impression... And then Loretta came down with her first ever real "sickness" on Monday. So I had to leave work early on my very first day to get Loretta. There is a lot more to go on about... like I need to make friendship bracelets for the staff at Urgent Care because we are like *this* now... but the end of my fun rant is just to say that it's now Thursday and this week can eat it. Also I know some of you amazing moms who are dealing with actual crises right now, living through weather emergencies and actually struggling, and it kind of puts my own stress in perspective and makes me feel like an asshole for complaining. Still, a do-over please? I wish a better week for all of us!

Wishing a thousand wishes for really boring things like a healthy baby and the ability to stick to my meal plan next week. Wishing for a pair of brown boots. Wishing for a backrub from George Clooney.

Craving fountain soda. My one work indulgence and most unhealthy thing I "eat" is I usually get a diet fountain soda almost every day but this week has been a hot mess and I'm suffering withdrawals. Need ice, straw, coke zero!

Missing having family nearby who can help you through rough times. I know that's selfish but I miss them all the time for their awesomeness and great company. This week I miss that I know they would have come to the rescue and helped us out. It's hard living so far away from family. When things go wrong you're really on your own and it's sobering. I'm a big drag this week, right?! Sorry. Let's all stand in the dark holding hands and crying! Or, better, let's talk again next Thursday.

Worrying take a guess :) I'm worried that I've made the impression that I'm a drama person at my new job. The fact is that I would judge someone who came in and then took a day+ off their first week. I'm relatively judgey about this stuff and I know I'd be side-eyeing like a pro! It makes me want to cry. Ugh. I'm so not a drama person! I am boring! Dull as dirt. I shall prove it to them.

That was this week. Here are next week's themes:

wondering, loathing, cooking, reaading, listening

it's not the flu

Loretta is sick. I started a new job. Because of all this, Otto is super needy. Rob's trying not to explode. Actually that amazing guy is taking a very inconvenient day off of work today to watch Loretta so I don't have to miss my second day at my new work. Ten gold doubloons for that guy!

Anyways, Otto made this card for his sick sister last night while I had her at Urgent Care. Poor baby is rocking a fever, chills, shakes, and raspy breathing. The prognosis is that it's a virus and should pass relatively quickly. Fingers crossed on that. What a sweet brother. He is being rewarded with glasses of Pedialyte (the closest thing to Kool-aid he's ever tasted).

Hope your weeks (how is it only Tuesday?) are far less exciting than ours. xo

Inspiration, Embroidery

Embroidery is my LIFE! Well, no.... But I do know how to cross a mean stitch and I've found myself in some kind of embroidery orbit of late, or I'm an embroidery magnet or something, that's got me all inspired (yes, colored floss dancing in my head) so I thought I'd share here...

First, my neighbors (parents to a sweet little sugar munchkin who just turned one) found this giant ABCs embroidery sampler, matted and kinda framed for $2 ($2!) at the swap meet. Can you believe? Is cool, no?

I just love it. Even if the lazy embroiderer did try to hide X down in the corner. Like we wouldn't notice.

Then, because Ot has had cooties the past few days and ended up sleeping in my bed a lot (which I love love loved BUT) I wasn't able to host a one-man Gossip Girl marathon in bed (as I'd excitedly planned) so instead, all inspired by the above sampler like I was, I quietly stitched while he slept and made this lil name label -->

When I showed it to him he hugged it and said, "I love it."

Awwww! Then he tried to get me to stick it to his lego box. I politely declined. Still need to figure out where this is going but it turned out way sweet.

Finally, I am freaking out on Pinterest lately looking up decor ideas for our new home! Even though I still have no idea if we're moving into a sweet little house in Eugene or a whatever-we-can-afford in Seattle. But seriously, I AM doing this in the new place...

There are hundreds of pics of installations like these on Pinterest but I love this wall the most of all I've seen. It's from the Wise Craft blog which is all kinds of crafty amazingness. You just use embroidery hoops as frames of wonderful, different fabrics you find. Genius.

I also love this idea from Country Home magazine for either the craft area or maybe the kitchen?

What do you think? Inspired to get out your messy bag of DMC floss and start stitchin? I totally still have the bug! The embroidery bug, that is, not cooties.

xo,
Lindsey

My Lil Sickie (boo)

Ugh, you guys, Otto is sick! He came home from school yesterday with a runny nose, just a lil warm (and a lot crabbypants) but by bedtime it was pretty clear we had a sickwad on our hands. And when I say "we" I mean me and my dog, because Rob's still in Oregon until late tonight. Playing single mama with a sick little bear is a huge bummer.

Hey, I made soup today...

And I took Ot to Target super early this morning to get sickie supplies (and a couple of Lindt candybars for mommy cause you know I wants the wine right now but with Rob away chocolate therapy will have to do).

A few of you know I'm doing this "Nothing New" thing this year. But with a sad, sick little man in tow at Target I felt like I needed to get him a little pick-me-up. I've been cheating on the Nothing New (in my mind at least) by hoarding gift cards (like the $5 Target gift cards that you get when you buy like 5,000 bottles of the same shampoo) so that if/when I am tempted to cheat (like I realllly want some new bobby pins like stat) I won't technically be cheating with real money. Whatever, it's my challenge, I can tweak the rules. Anyways, so I gave a $5 Target card to Ot and we headed to the activity/craft section to find a lowkey/mellow "sick day" kinda pick me up. 

You know your sweet little wild thing really isn't feeling too good when 2 minutes after starting his giant Toy Story 3 coloring pages, at 10am, he tells you he needs a nap. *sad face*

Oh, and remember last Saturday when I got all gussied up for a brunch date? Well this Saturday is like the opposite of that. I present to you "Not Steppin Out" Saturday, aka "Who Am I Trying to Impress at Target Anyway?"

In related news, I selfishly enjoyed that Ot wanted to sleep in my bed every other hour last night. Even though it meant waking up every hour to switch him from bed to crib. I miss co-sleeping a LOT and having him near me through the night brought back memories of his first nine months. My goodness, he is growing up so fast. 

So now I'm looking forward to a pretty chill rest of the day. Lots of book reading, snuggling, coloring, and maybe even letting him watch a video before bed.

Hope you all are having more exciting, less germ-ridden weekends than we are over here.

xo,

Lindsey


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