The Escandon's Family Blog

Autumn!

Projected forecast today is 65 and maybe some rain tomorrow!

I hope it sticks. Autumn is my favorite season.

Halloween photos coming soon!

Labels: rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

The paper mache type of course!

This is a little late but so what? You can always apply this to many different themes! Get creative!

Clare loves crafts. On Tuesday I set out to do something fun that wouldn't include her ripping though our home destructing everything in her path. I found this post on making paper mache Jack 'O Lanterns. The only thing I did differently is instead of using pieces of black paper for the face I thought it would be fun to do "Crazy Face Jack 'O Lanterns" by using pieces cut from magazines. This later turned out to be my biggest mistake.


Kind of creepy; he looks kind of like someone I know but I can't put my finger on it. After he was finished drying off Clare wanted to see him so I handed him over. She turned it around to see the face, took one look, screamed, dropped it, then she cried. I laughed. The rest of the evening he hung out on our counter and Clare would yell "No hold paper" every time she passed.

Labels: crafts, Family Life, halloween, holiday, pictures, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Saturday morning we all got out of bed and decided at the very last minute possible to go to mass and then to the pumpkin farm to pick out pumpkins and take a family photo. Actually, we were planning on going to mass in the morning and had planned to take the family photos the week before but got busy working on the back yard. So, we got all dolled up and scurried out of the house just in time to make it to mass.

After mass was over at about 9:45 we headed to the pumpkin farm in Wine Country. We quickly found a nice spot to take our photo. Paul took some test shots...

I have no idea what was so interesting over there.


Or what was so disgusting down there.


Whatever it was both girls got a look and didn't like it either.


This is typical. Clare's mischivious grin and Lucy's "What 'cha looking at face". I love test shots, don't you?


This is what we finally came up with.


I am very pleased with the way the photo turned out. I just love the bright blue sky and green grapevines in the background. The colors go well with the brightness of the pumpkins. I had the girls wearing coordinating outfits and they looked adorable. Clare had a great time checking out all the pumpkins and rolling around in the hay. This was her first time to the pumpkin farm. Last year we were out of state visiting friends so we didn't do the whole pumpkin thing. The "farm" also had pig races, a corn maze, petting zoo, pony rides, and a train ride. We decided to forgo all the paid attractions and we were better off. Clare had enough fun watching the pigs and running around the farm and through the corn maze.






Notice the hay on her bum.


She's looking for just the right pumpkin...

Are you in there???


Found it!


Truth be told this isn't the pumpkin she picked out. In fact, she didn't pick out any pumpkins. I had our pumpkins all pick out and ready to go in our wagon. It was already 11:00am and the sun was blazing hot (it was nearly 100 degrees that day). I was ready to GO HOME.

Tonight we got around to carving said pumpkins.



And ta-da! Paul's is on the far left, mine is to the right, Clare's is in the middle with Lucy's righ next to hers.

Labels: clare, Family Life, halloween, holiday, Lucy Rose, paul, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

I made these deliciously adorable burp cloths for my cousin who is due in December. I had seen some with some really hip and trendy designs at a boutique a few months ago at a ridiculous price. I contemplating buying them for Paul's co-worker but there was no way I was paying 30 bucks for a couple of diapers with fabric sewing on them. So, I decided to make them myself.


I have to say they turned out great and I wish I had me a set! Please excuse the poor quality of the photos. Clare broke our camera so these were taken with our video camera and I am still trying to figure out how to use the darned thing.- flash or no flash, white balance, no white balance... etc.

To make your own you will need cloth diapers and fabric. You need as many diapers as you want to make (here I made 6) and enough fabric to cover the center of the diapers (about 1/2 a yard). I recommend using a diaper service quality diaper.


I used some that I already had but they can be purchased online at various diaper retailers. Go with the regular size 4x6x4 thickness. If you go with the 4x8x4 it will have blue stitching and that just ain't pretty. I suppose you could use the popular baby brand "diaper" but they are smaller and not as thick and absorbant as the DSQ diapers. You want these to be soft and fluffy-not cheap-especially if they are a gift.

If your diapers are brand new you want to wash them with HOT water at least 3 times. They will soften and get fluffier every time you wash and dry. You will also want to pre-wash your fabric. Cotton works well for absorbancy but I have seen them with silky satins as well. Choose something cute and funky! Here I chose a boyish dinosaur camo print.




















I love this machine. Its a simple machine but it was owned by a wonderful woman before me. I have always had bad experiences with cheap machines. I inherited this one from my late mother in law when she passed. Its great being able to sew with out having to fight with the machine half the time. Bad machines are the exact reason why I have 352 unfinished sewing projects in a Rubbermaid bin in the back of my closet.

Sorry. Back to my wanna-be tutorial.

Sew all 4 sides down. You will want to get as close to the edge as possible. Repeat, repeat, repeat with all your burp cloths.


I really liked the way they turned out and they are re-e-e-a-a-lly easy! Perfect homemade gift for a beginner! Your gift-ee will have a wonderful homemade (with love), personalized, and practical item. I have a 3 month old. Trust me. One can never have too many burp cloths (aka spit up rags)! They are also very cute and fashionable!

These only took me about 5 hours to complete. But unless you also have a hungry husband, screaming toddler, and fussy/sleepy newborn, and dinner burning on the stove... I am sure you'll finish yours in record time!

Labels: household hints, How to., rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Paul and I celebrated 3 years of marriage last week! Its amazing how fast the time goes. 3 years and we have two lovely beautiful daughters. Thank you sweet husband for being my very best friend. I don't know where I would be without you.


For your amusement... a few photos of us before we got married and our lives were forever changed. Not to mention before I got pregnant and gained 30 lbs, but that's another story.

Labels: Announcements, paul, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

I woke up bright and early this morning to have a garage sale. I've been trying really hard to purge some things that we don't need or use anymore. I don't know what it is but garage sale season is slow this year. We got 3 little rushes of people and the rest kind of trickled here and there. But I am still exhausted. In fact, I am sitting in a chair looking at all this junk stuff we have for sale and I really don't want to pack it up and take it to the Salvation Army. When things started winding down (THREE HOURS AGO) I decided I was going to post what I have left that is sellable on craigslist and my local buy and sell yahoo group. Everything else? Freecycle. Gotta love it. You post your well loved goodies and people just come and get it. Sort of. When you are lucky enough to get someone to actually show up that is. So far, I have been lucky. I had 2 people come haul stuff away and I am waiting on one more right this minute. Its funny how the same stuff even if for sale for $1 just doesn't sell... offer it for free and you can't blink before its taken.

Case in point: Remember this hideous thing? Well, I was inside with my feet proped up on the ottoman taking a much needed break when I saw some people in the driveway. They didn't look like Freecyclers. I immediately thought... "ugh, break time over". They bought .25 worth of pants and I told them everything piled in front of the car was FREE! Soon enough the husband noticed the ugly stackable unit. Sweet. I told him to take it. Just get it out of my garage. And you know what? He did! Along with the washer, they took TWO boxes of stuff I had fro free laid out. Who knows, maybe they took more than that. I don't care. I just know I don't have to take this stuff anywhere or call anyone to come pick it up.

Hopefully I can get rid of the rest of the junk just as easy. I have some things I am still trying to sell and I am praying that Craigslist does the job.

Labels: Announcements, Family Life, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Nothing makes a Mama more proud than to open the refrigerator door and have your toddler begging you for carrots.

Labels: clare, Family Life, Proud Mama Moments, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am really trying to use up what's left in our freezer before buying more groceries. Recently I bought some yummy "Panko Breaded Tilapia Fish Fillets" at Costco. I never realized that Paul doesn't really like breaded fish. So what to do with these fillets? Fish tacos of course! We love Rubios (even Paul) and the tacos average about $2 each. I'm not too sure how much my homemade version costs but it makes great use out of stuff I already have on hand and we don't have to eat with the crowds!

I am serving these with homemade pinto (or charro) beans, and some steamed white rice flavored with parsley.

Check out my previous post on fish tacos I did sometime last year. And, if you haven't tried them, nows the time! :o)

Labels: Family Life, rachael, Recipes

Posted by MamaEscandon at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

I have been trying to get rid of our old stackable washer and dryer for a while now. We bought it when we lived in our last apartment. I paid way to much for it in the first place, replaced the motor in the washer, and the timer. I sold it late last year but it was returned because the dryer broke. I felt bad for the guy since I didn't mean to sell it to him that way...

Anyway, I got really lazy about the whole thing and its been taking up space in our garage for nearly a year. The past month or so I have tried to sell it, freecycle it, throw it away, give it away and recycle it... all with no success.

I tried selling it, but it broke en route to its new home. Then, I was an idiot and had a repair man come take a look so I could sell it but tell the buyer what was wrong. Boy was that a mistake. Cost me 50 bucks and the repair man said it was going to cost just... oh another $350 to get it fixed. So I put it on craigslist to see if someone would at least pay me $50 for what I paid to have the guy come look at it. I was thinking it was a sweet deal because they were at least getting a washer. So someone came to buy it. He was an appliance repair man. Go figure. He opened up the washer and said the transmission was leaking. Long story short, he didn't buy it.

I got on the phone with waste management to schedule a pick up for the following Friday. I just wanted this thing out of my garage (I'm sure our house mate does too)! I was supposed to have it out on the driveway by 6am that morning. Well, Thursdays Paul teaches his class in San Diego and he was dropping us off at my mom's work so we could go to a birthday celebration for my grandmother. Long story short, we got home so late I forgot to put it out.

Too embarassed to call waste management, I tried to freecyel the darn thing. No takers. I put it for free on good 'ole trusty craigslist. I had not 1, not 2, but THREE people offering to pick it up- ASAP. They all said they would come "tomorrow". Long story short: when I reply via email my info, I never hear back.

A kind freecyler told me about a local family owned recyling company that will come pick up your waste free of charge. I know now why they offer it for free. Because no one in their right mind would pay for the type of service they have given me. I called 3 times to schedule a pick up for the appliance and some random e-waste. Each time they have taken my name and number, promising to call me back with a date. Three weeks later, I still don't get a call. I emailed the company with a complaint last week... they never responded. I called again and asked to speak to a supervisor. I finally got a pick up scheduled but they couldn't give me a date. So I sit here and I wait... and wait... and hope that I can get rid of this piece of crap ASAP. Doubt it.

Long story short: I may have to actually pay someone to haul this junk away.

Lesson learned? Never, never purchase a 15 year old appliance. I am not going to embarrass myself any further by actually disclosing how much I paid for this thing.

Labels: Family Life, pictures, rachael, Rants

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments

OK, the hand washing of clothes is a little much... so are the hand powered appliances. I am not so sure I could go that far (although I did grow up watching/helping my grandmother hand wash their clothes). But think of all the money saved! I suppose when I have my little army of children it wouldn't be so bad. I already hang dry my clothes. I would love for all of our produce come from our own yard. However, I do enjoy the convenience of having certain fruits out of season. I can't wait to get my garden going next spring. I just wish we didn't have the HOA telling us what to do with our yard and not allowing us to be self sustaining!

Labels: Family Life, garden, rachael, video

Posted by MamaEscandon at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tonight while was getting Clare ready for bed I received a phone call from an unknown number. FYI, for our home purchase, my mom is handling the FHA loan we are going with. The conversation went a little something like this:

Me: "Hello"

Mom: "Hey, its Mom. We need to talk. We have a problem".

Me: "What is it?"

Mom:"Well, we are going to have to figure out what we are going to do. We aren't going to be able to do the loan on the house".

Me: "What?! Why not"?

Mom: "Well, FHA has some really strict guidelines."

Me: "Uh huh".

Mom: "And apparently Paul has a warrant out for his arrest".

Me: "WHAAAT?! For what? That's not possible". All I can think is "Great, now I have to call my Dad".

Mom: "I know, I thought he was so innocent."

Me: "What for"?

Mom: "I don't know you are going to have to talk to him".

My heart is pounding. At this point I am starting to freak out and I am pretty sure pre-term labor is starting.

Then, Paul comes in the room screaming:

"APRIL FOOLS!"

Yes, it was all his idea.

Labels: Family Life, Nonsense, paul, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know its been quite a while. Not sure if anyone missed us. With my first trimester behind me, I have been spending a lot of time trying to catch up on the housework and chores that have been neglected lately. I plan on taking another hiatus from the computer starting Wednesday of next week and I won't be back until after Easter. So, I wanted to update and what's been going on around here.

Christmas was great. We spent Christmas Eve at my maternal Grandmothers with my side of the family. We had a delicious meal of pozole and tamales. Christmas morning we got up and went to Mass at The Mission, then went to my dad's for the early afternoon. We came home and all crashed for a family nap. Unfortunately, we do not have many photos. We were too busy enjoying our time. Plus, we didn't do any family gifts on Christmas. Both Paul and myself gave in and gave our presents over a week early. I bought him a rain coat he can use when he is filming in the rain, along with some fleece pajama bottoms. And I got an awesome HP laptop! We figure Clare was still to little to get the whole Christmas thing and we haven't decided on what traditions we are going to be celebrating so we just skipped buying her a present (read on... we make up for it). So we didn't have a Christmas morning at the tree. I will share the few photos we do have.





Paul went to the Rose Bowl with his father. Second year in a row, by the way.






The second week in January we took a mini-vacation to Big Bear Mountain. It was Clare's first time in the snow. Sadly, we forgot our camera so we didn't get the best photos. But I got two from my camera phone and a cute video of Clare and Paul sledding. I did try sledding but it was a little bouncy so I didn't want to do it again. I got a couple cute shots of her checking out the snow in her snow suit. She was really cute, she hated being inside the room in the lodge and wanted to be outside the whole time!



Clare is getting so stinkin' big! I can't believe it. She is no longer my baby but my big walking, running, toddler. She helps me all around the house and wants to do everything on her own. Her vocabulary is growing. She can now say baby, uh ooh, & mama (in addition to the words she was saying at Christmas time). She loves stuffed animals and loves to cuddle with them and take the small ones with her everywhere. Funny thing is that I don't care much for them. They are mere dust collectors. But hey, they make her happy and that makes me happy. I love watching her cuddle and kiss the animals. She is such a lover girl. She sees my belly and says "baby" and puts her lips out to kiss it! She loves other children also and wants to give them all love! I know she is just going to be a loving big sister. I can't wait! Here she is helping me rake the leaves in the front yard.



As I said, we made up for Christmas. I had been eying the Radio Flyer walker wagon for a while now... and I fell in love when Clare and I went to visit our friends in Washington (who happen to have one). So one Saturday afternoon we got in the car and drove down to Escondido to my favorite store. I am hooked to that store and we buy every gift for children there. They have a wonderful collection of wooden and classic toys. Just my style. They also carry organic baby and children's clothes, soft shoes, cloth diapers & accessories, baby slings, and so much other awesome stuff! Ok, commercial over. Clare loves her walker wagon. She plays with it more than her other walking toys. She loves to sit in it-even when playing by herself and loves to put her toys and stuffed animals in it and push them around. We took it with us one day when we went to mass so she could play with it afterwards. She and another boy from church had a good time. I blocked out his face because I did not get permission from his mother to post his photo on the internet.

And now there is me. I am currently about 14 weeks pregnant. Now that I am in the second trimester, I have a lot more energy to keep up on my wifely and motherly duties. The house is slowly starting to come together... although all it takes is a blink and Clare destroys or annihilates something. :o) She certainly is keeping me busy. I am being confirmed this Easter and that is exciting for me. I am attending RCIA with other converts to the Faith. So, my Lenten preparation for Easter I will be taking a hiatus from the computer and will be trying to immerse myself in prayer, spiritual reading, and my vocation. I hope to return with a new attitude on life and my Faith.

That's pretty much it for now... Paul's going to Las Vegas this weekend with work so Clare and I will spend the next 5 days or so trying to keep busy. I think a trip to the Wild Animal Park is in order!

Labels: clare, Family Life, holiday, paul, pictures, rachael, The Three Of Us, Thoughts, video

Posted by MamaEscandon at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments

Make a photobook - it's easy!

Please excuse our daughter's unruly hair! She won't let me near it with the brush. I tried putting something in it to hold it back and she pulled it out along with a chunk of hair! We had a great Christmas, I just wish we got some more/better photos. We were too busy enjoying ourselves! We went to my Grandmother's for Christmas Eve, went to a beautiful mass at the Mission, then to my Dad's for Christmas day. On Christmas night Paul's Dad came over to exchange gifts. We spent the rest of the time relaxing. Thursday night my sister in law and her bunch came over to hang out and exchange gifts. It was so much fun watching Clare have a good time playing with her cousins! She got to bed really late (almost 11pm) but she had a blast running around with them! Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures. Maybe next time!

Enjoy the picture book!

Labels: clare, Family Life, holiday, paul, pictures, rachael, The Three Of Us

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

We are really, really late getting our Christmas letter out. They won't even go out until Christmas Eve. Its a good thing that Christmas is actually from December 25th to Epiphany on January 6th!

Christmas Greetings from The Escandons!

Click the link and a PDF will open.

Labels: Announcements, Family Life, holiday, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

My mom came over today to watch Clare for me. They went out for a walk and the house is quiet. To top it off, I am laying in my bed at 10am in my pjs playing with the awesome laptop Paul got me for Christmas.

I think I will now take a nap.

Labels: Family Life, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

If you recall when I wrote this, the whole Cry-it-Out thing just wasn't working. But I couldn't go back. So I decided to try something different.

When I put Clare to sleep I gently forced her onto her tummy. Well, I didn't really force her, just guided her. I stood there with her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep. She went down beautifully! No tears at all! She even stayed laying down. She goes down now so easy and even points to her crib. She doesn't fuss but some nights she takes longer and she likes to chat with me. She babbles and will stand up, kiss me, and lay back down on her stomach. Nights like that I will stay with her for 10 minutes or so then kiss her and walk out. She has yet to object. She also has a new friend. He is a huge elephant that Paul bought for her before she was born. It is as big as she is! She loves to cuddle and snuggle him and usually falls asleep clenching him. We were still having a hard time with naps and I didn't press the issue... but it is starting to be painful for me to nurse so I thought I had to do something since nursing at naps isn't working anymore. I nursed her for a few minutes today and then put her in the crib. She fell asleep in minutes. I am so relieved. I can hear her through the monitor; she is snoring!

Now we just have to work on the weaning thing...

Labels: Announcements, clare, Family Life, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Paul's been very busy all week long and is gone this weekend on a shoot/edit job. We only have 1 car and it rained all day yesterday. Cabin fever anyone? So this morning I packed Clare up and we got on the bike and rose down about 2 miles (very hilly miles) to the farmer's market in old town. I bout some Gouda cheese... from the dairy down the street...and some deliciously sweet Fuji apples. About halfway home Clare decided to take a snooze... you would think she was the one cycling up and down those hills! She just loves to ride on the bike. I can't take her in the garage anymore unless I am prepared to take her on a little ride, even if it is just up the street and back. I feel sorry for her... in about 5 or 6 months I may not be able to get on it!

Labels: clare, Family Life, pictures, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments

We picked up the rest of my mother in laws china last night. Sad to say that we are missing a piece. Even sadder that the cup we are missing runs about $50-$60 (the entire pattern is discontinued). Maybe we'll get one for Christmas. :o)

Labels: Family Life, rachael, Wish List

Posted by MamaEscandon at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

It's been a rough couple of nights for Clare with our new sleep routine. For some reason (as well as it was going) we are going completely backwards. She is crying for longer times as if she is dying. She is fed, warm, clean, and pain free. I am at a total loss. She is trying to sleep. But the thing is she has been trying to sleep standing up for the past two nights. Her head lays on the edge of the crib and she tries to nod off. If she would just cry laying down and fall asleep that way it would be just fine and I am sure she would get some decent sleep. I don't think she is sleeping well while standing up. She is VERY noisy. She whimpers and lets out a cry about every 90 seconds or so. I just know she is trying to sleep comfortably while standing. Which, isn't going to happen. I don't know what to do anymore. I went to check on her tonight about an hour after she stopped crying and I caught her standing again with her head on the end of the crib and eyes closed. She woke up immediately. I picked her up and nursed her. I sat in my rocker and cried... I am upset that we have these problems, that I have to put her through crying it out, and that nothing we have tried (even the most gentle of approaches) has worked. I feel like there is no end in sight, and wonder why it hasn't gotten easier like everyone said it is supposed to! I am fearful at the possibility of having to go back to the way things were and trying to lay still for 12 hours a night to nurse her while being 6,7, or 8 months pregnant. I like having free time at night to catch up on housework, spend time with Paul, and just surf the net if I want (something that is near impossible with her around).

I feel hopeless... I suppose the next thing we can try is weaning. I was hoping to have at least 3 months of nursing left in us. But how can I wean her when all she wants to do is nurse all night long and won't get any sleep unless she does?

Arrrg. I wish there was an easy answer.

....

Oh, and I don't mean that I just love to surf the net and ignore my daughter. I do have legitimate things I have to do online. For example: pay my bills, keep track of our budget (which I am behind a good 4 months), and things of similar nature. These are the things that are most important... but I will admit, I do love catching up with friends online via email or catching up on my favorite blogs.

Labels: clare, Family Life, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

I am frustrated and exhausted today. Clare was doing so well sleeping in the crib. I started earlier in the week putting her in the crib at nap times. I figure with the new baby coming we really have to get a handle on her sleep and I just don't have the time to sleep with her for 2 hours every day for a nap (as much as I really would love to). Today is Saturday and I left Clare with Paul so I could go to the "gym". Well, I got in the car and realized that alone, with no baby in tow, I could get a lot more done errand wise. So I went to Targ*et to buy some diapers, then to Tj*Maxx to get some awesome dinnerware I saw earlier in the week (more on that later), went by Time Warner to return a modem from our first apartment (nearly 2 years ago), then to the dry cleaners to pick up Paul's suit coat and a sweater that I dropped off to have cleaned in July. It was on their "inventory"rack. By the time I was done with all of the running around town, it was lunch time and I had to get home to make sure Paul had enough time to get ready for a wedding he is doing tonight and I had to get Clare down for her nap. I realize our routine was waaaay off this morning me being gone. We got through lunch and tried to get Clare down for a nap. Three times. The first time she started screaming as if her arm fell off or something so I went to check on her. She was fine, but I remembered I didn't changer her diaper. So I got her all cleaned up, nursed again, and back in the crib she went. I decided I was just going to let her cry because I didn't want to confuse her. She cried, and cried, and cried. For almost an hour and a half (towards the end it was intermittent). I gave in. I swooped her up and we laid down in the bed and nursed. She was out in less than 30 seconds. So there I lay for hours for her to nap watching the only movie on TV (which happened to be one of the worst J-Lo movies EVER). I snoozed off for about 20 mins. I woke Clare up at 5 and she has been a cranky baby all evening. We played and I made some dinner, we ate, played some more, and it was time for bed. She's not going down easy. Not at all. We nurse in the rocker and she starts falling asleep. I stand up and hold her. She squeezes me tight with her arms around my body, puts her head on my shoulder "Don't leave me mama". I can feel her begging. It makes me sad. I start to pull away and she looks at me and kisses me twice right on the lips and gives me one more squeeze. Brakes my heart. But I can't go back. If I go back to the way it was we are going to have to start at day 1 all over again. I am also beginning to enjoy my evenings alone and free. It is now 7:47pm. I laid her down in her crib 15 minutes ago and she is still fussing. This is the longest she has cried since our first night. I feel like a horrible mother and as if my daughter is giving up on me. This is for the best though. I know she is OK up there. She is clean, fed, and I am pretty sure she isn't in any pain (I can only imagine it would be teething but I did give her some pain meds earlier today and it didn't help with her nap). I plus, she can sleep just fine with me. We only have 9 more months to get her sleeping at least a little more independently. I know a lot can happen in 9 months but sometimes I fear I will still be dealing with Clare and her sleep issues along with a newborn. I'd be a walking zombie! Oye... she's screaming again.

Labels: clare, Family Life, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yes, Clare will be a big sister soon! We are all very excited and can't wait to have another little baby running around this house. I don't have an exact due date as of yet but I should be due sometime at the end of July. Clare will be just shy of her 2nd birthday. I am about 4 or 5 weeks along and I feel good (except for the typical exhaustion in the first trimester). I am a little heavier this time around so I hope not to gain another 50lbs like I did with Clare! We also have a gym membership now and so I hope to be going at least 3 times a week at night when Clare is sleeping. We'll be consulting with a number of midwives until we find one we like. We plan on having the baby here at home!

Labels: Announcements, Baby Escandon #2, Family Life, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

Labels: Announcements, Baby Escandon #2, Family Life, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

I thought I'd catch up a little here with what you missed this summer. I have been told recently that we actually have a number of readers! Yipppeeeeeee!

We went camping at a local campground this summer with my cousin Lisa, her boyfriend Greg, and friend Mary Carmen. We had a lot of fun... even though we were one of the few groups at the campground. We went camping at the La Jolla Indian Reservation. My cousin and I grew up camping there almost every year of our childhood. I remember it being a real "party" campground. It is owned & operated by the Native Americans on the La Jolla Reservation. The San Louis Rey river runs right through it and you can camp right on the water. The campground has inner tube rentals and you can start at the top and ride down the river on the tubes. Its a blast! Well, our trip was a little late in the season (after labor day even) so the water district closed off the water which left the river bone dry. We didn't know until the week of our planned trip but decided to go anyway. We had a great time. Although the tent we borrowed from my parents was missing some pieces so Mary Carmen kindly gave up her tent and bunked with Lisa and Greg. She is a brave women... after all we did have baked beans for dinner! Clare did really well sleeping in the tent and hanging round the campground. She just loved playing in the dirt! We played card games and sat around the campfire making smores. It was actually really nice having some piece and quiet.

Sadly, the recent fires here (Poomocha Fire) ravaged the La Jolla Reservation and I am unsure whether or not the campground was destroyed. There is no information on the website. If the campground survived, we plan on camping next summer a little earlier in the season to enjoy the water!

Labels: clare, Family Life, paul, pictures, rachael, The Three Of Us

Posted by MamaEscandon at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments

Sunday night I was itching to get out of the house. Paul had a good idea of taking Clare to one of those pottery places where you paint the pottery they have in house. When you're finished painting they fire it in the kiln for you. It takes about a week so we won't get ours back until Sunday. I wanted to share our photos. Clare had a good time eating the paint! We made two mugs. One for Paul and one for Grandpa (who just had a birthday).

Labels: clare, Family Life, pictures, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

The past couple of days I have noticed a couple of ants here and there wandering about near Clare's play area. I moved her toy box away from the wall and there was a horde of ants! I wasn't sure what they were after (believe it or not I clean our floors regularly). Then I couldn't figure out how to get rid of them. So I searched the net high and low (ok not really... I googled then took the first site that came up) for a recipe to make my own ant repellent. I was really hesitant to use anything that was going to leave toxic fumes permeating my living room and my baby's toys. I found this recipe:

In a small sauce pan measure and heat up on the stove...
2 tbsp powdered borax
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups water

Stir to dissolve, and bring slowly to the boil. Take it off the heat and cool. Place in shallow jar lids under plants where ants are a pest.

Although, with babe in tow it was hard not to spill so my solution ended up all over the floor. I let it sit for a couple hours and the ants have left the building! I hope they take that poison and share it with their buddies and never come back! The borax can still be toxic for babe so I kept her away all day (not like she plays with her toys anyway). After she was asleep I cleaned the area with some s*imple green and a wet paper towel! Simple as that and my living room doesn't stink!

Labels: Family Life, household hints, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yes, to all our readers... We are back! After taking a couple months to think about it (and an inspiring trip to Washington State) we finally decided to put Clare in the crib to cry it out. It was time and I have been "feeling" like it was the right time. 2 or 3 months ago I wasn't ready. This time I was. Call it mother's intuition, or the fact that I was going to bed at 8pm with my daughter while on a visit with a friend... but I'd like to think it was The Holy Spirit guiding me and telling me it was time to let it go and let my daughter sleep in her crib with out me.

I simply copied what my friend Ellie practices with her children. I like it because it lets the babe know its time for bed and I can still co-sleep. It was so easy (more confirmation for me that it was the right time). I nursed her in the rocker and just put her in the crib. She cried for only 15 minutes the first night, 20 seconds the second night, stopped before I got down my stairs the 3rd night and tonight I didn't even get a chance to close the door. She is in our room so she has been waking up when we come to bed. So we just grab her and bring her in with us and so far it hasn't had any affect on the next night.

I miss her at night but I am also relieved a little because I have some free time to do laundry, clean up, work on special projects, and spend time with Paul.

That said, I am going to have some more opportunity to post photos and updates with our family. Stay tuned!

Labels: Announcements, clare, Family Life, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

The answer is no. We had a run of some good nights of 3 hours of sleep at a time but it didn't last long. The first night when I went upstairs to check on Paul and Clare she was alseep in his arms. He laid her down and she slept for 2 or 3 hours or so. I think once this week she went back asleep with out needing to be picked up. I just rubbed her tummy and hummed her back to sleep. We decided that putting her to sleep in the crib drowsy or semi-asleep after holding her would be more gentle than just laying her in there wide awake. The combination of anticipating her first birthday and her party and the transition really was exhausting me. I didn't sleep much Wednesday-Saturday. I kept thinking about her alone in the crib and I was missing her. You see, it isn't the co-sleeping that bothers us. We really enjoy co-sleeping... its the having no life and going to bed at 7:30pm that is bothersome. Even though Clare is an all night nurser, I never awaken from it anymore. She can easily find the breast, latch on, and just fall back asleep with out me ever waking up. I haven't felt as sleep deprived as I did last week since she was a newborn. So in a desperate attempt for some sleep... I just would bring her to bed with me once I was ready and she woke up. It worked OK. Until last night. I just threw in the towel. I put her in the bed drowsy and she looked as if she was going to sleep, which lasted maybe 60 seconds, then she woke up, rolled on her belly, got on all fours, and then on her knees and started bouncing. So, I picked her up and tried to lull her to sleep again. Then I put her back in the bed. I did this a total of 3 times. Paul tried to put her to sleep also and that didn't work either. So, I just brought her into the bed.

Tonight Paul got her to sleep. She has been asleep for maybe 20 mins. We'll see how it lasts. I am still a little conflicted about this whole thing, but I know in the long run its the best thing to do. I am slightly concerned about how it is effecting her. Since we have began this last week she has become more clingy to me and won't let me out of her sight. She won't even let me put her on the floor in the morning when I am trying to get out of bed and make it. I can't sit on the couch, I have to sit on the floor with her. She used to be a very friendly baby and wouldn't mind being held by just about anyone. Now she doesn't even want my mom to hold her! The only change that I can think of is this sleep thing. It was making me feel really bad last night. But I think if we are just really persistent about this is the way things are going to be and she knows she is taken care of just fine during the day, then things will just work themselves out. Eventually she will quit waking up... right? Maybe when she stops nursing all together? As long as she knows she needs to go in for the first chunk of the night. I would love also for her to be able to just lay in my bed in the morning for at least an hour or so... as it is, she is still nursing a lot once she comes to the bed. I can't get up with out her waking up even if she hasn't had enough sleep.

For now, I guess I will just go with the flow... see how this works out and pray that she gets the point! If any of you moms have any advice, I am sure happy to take it!

Labels: Announcements, clare, Family Life, rachael, Thoughts

Posted by MamaEscandon at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

For Clare to be in her own bed. We have been co-sleeping since she came home from the hospital. I have really enjoyed it and I will definitely miss our midnight cuddles. But, it is just become too draining for our family and after 12 months we are ready for some change. Its not easy. She isn't happy about it at all. I guess I wouldn't be either. She has had the best seat in the house. Her favorite food and comfort has been available to her all night and she has a warm cuddly body to lay next to. Now, she has a cold cage to sleep in. Tonight is night one of trying to get her in the crib. We have carefully decided that this is the right time and we, I mean she no longer needs our all night nursing marathons. She does fall asleep with out nursing and doesn't need to nurse to sleep, given the right situation of course.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be able to continue to co-sleep. Maybe we will go back once Clare is sleeping through the night and night-weaned. I hope so anyway. This is probably just as hard for me as it is for her. But, I need to reclaim my life back and my marriage! Night after night I go into our bedroom with Clare and zone out in front of the boob tube until I fall sleep. Usually Paul is in a different room in the other side of the house. Sometimes we go 3 hours or more with out even seeing each other. Sad really, our couple time has really diminished. I really look forward to being able to just sit and watch an entire movie together again. Or maybe.. gasp... so out to see a late night flick! I also can't wait to get some exercise back into my routine.

So we started off our night routine with a bath, pjs, story time, a lullaby, and nursing. Then we put her in the crib. Paul and I took breaks laying our hands on her and trying to comfort her and let her know we were there. So, thats where I left them. He is upstairs with her and I told him I would be back in 15 mins... its been more like 25.

I'll let you know how it goes. Afterall, I should have plenty of time to blog!

Labels: Announcements, clare, Family Life, rachael, The Three Of Us

Posted by MamaEscandon at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

I just hauled in TWO more bags of peaches from our tree!

Labels: Family Life, Nonsense, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments

Our lovely peach tree is bearing delicious fruit! The tree is covered in ripe peaches. They are perfectly soft and sweet. I picked these peaches off of the tree and left plenty more to finish riping up. The only problem is that some of the branches got too heavy with the weight of the peaches and are hanging very low. One even broke and is hanging over the other side of the fence (not sure how good the photo is):
I'm going to be canning some of these (i think), but I will definately be making some fruit crisps and cobblers. mmmm. I have some strawberries and blueberries that need to be used up soon, so I think I will even throw those in the mix!

Labels: Family Life, garden, pictures, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

I've been really trying hard to get some good-for-you-foods into our diet lately. I take some of our favorite foods and put a healthy twist to them. For breakfast I cooked up some homemade waffles with strawberry topping. I also had some PURE maple syrup to top it all off. None of that high fructose corn syrup junk for us, thankyouverymuch! Here's how they turned out:

Here is my recipe. It is a varriation of a recipe I got from allrecipes.com. I just tweaked it a bit and doubled it. I thought I would save me some time and give us some of this yummy good-ness to eat during the week.... with out bringing out the waffle iron. I cooked up all my batter and let them cool. Then I put them in plastic freezer bag and popped them in the freezer. Easy as pie. I had some for breakfast this morning with peanut butter and honey... mmm. The cinnamon adds a nice aroma to the house.

Wheat Germ & Cinnamon Waffles

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
8 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons white sugar
4 eggs
3 cups warm milk
2/3 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 tablespoons wheat germ

In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients, set aside. In separate bowl, beat eggs, stir in milk, butter, & vanilla. Pour mixture into dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Spoon into waffle iron, serve hot with fresh fruit topping.

Next time I think I am going to add some flax seed meal into the mix and see how that turns out! For the strawberry topping I sliced them up, put them into a bowl and added about 1 tablespoon of sugar, just to get the juices flowing. Blueberries can be prepared by putting fresh (or frozen) blueberries into a small saucepan with a little water and cooking on the stove until the berries pop. They create a wonderful juice of their own. Hope you try these! Let me know how you liked them!

Here is Clare enjoying some fresh blueberries for breakfast and a mango seed for lunch! She love both of these fruits and its hard to pry that mango from her... and she doesn't like to share! Daddy tries to get some of the mango love, with no luck!

Labels: Family Life, pictures, rachael, Recipes, The Three Of Us

Posted by MamaEscandon at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments

For some serious blogging! I finally got my own computer up and running. I also got a USB cord for my camera so I can easily get pictures and post them here right away! I used to have to wait for Paul to unload them onto our external hard drives from the MAC and it was just a mess... So, here I am and I am ready.

Labels: Announcements, Nonsense, rachael

Posted by MamaEscandon at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments