Walkabout

We just returned home from a week in Seaside, OR. It was nice, the weather was really 50/50. The first few days it went from fog to rain to sun and back again in the span of mere moments. The latter part of the trip was full of sunshine, blue skies and lots of ice cream breaks!

The best parts of the week were (1) when West started walking all over the place! He was really enjoying his week of freedom from baby jail, and is great on his feet. He has a wonderful ability to fall with grace and he only had one hard fall. Unfortunately that fall was in the crosswalk and he got a wee scrape and bump along the eye brow. After some cuddles and kisses he was up and going again and kept on throughout the trip. And (2) when West went in a swimming pool for the first time. He took to the water like a fish and was really enjoying himself after getting used to it. Christian is hoping West will take after him and be a strong swimmer. He's already got a great dolphin kick!

While in the area we enjoyed the beach, family game night, the Seaside Aquarium, a great bonfire complete with wienie roasting and s'mores, we came home with enough saltwater taffy to feed an army, and best of all we got a break from our noisy, yucky apartment.

I was deeply saddened to leave since I had my own room and bathroom for an entire week. West slept in his new Kidco Peapod Plus travel bed and it made a great barricade and fort during the day. The travel bed wouldn't fit in the room with the big bed and the rooms we're too far apart to have West all alone in one and us in another so Christian, being a kind and generous husband, granted me my own space for the week minus snoring and alarms and everything! It was glorious...

The trip was a welcome change from the everyday, and West really had a great time being the center of the universe with a bigger audience, but it's good to be home, sort of.

Time to walk!

Were you a preemie? Do you have any relatives who had
premature babies or were born prematurely themselves?
There's a good chance the March of Dimes played a small
part in healing and saving those you love!

Please consider donating to the March of Dimes for the walk we're doing tomorrow. My page will stay up for a while after the walk, but any pre-walk donations can still be made today (5/03/08).Please take a look at my personal page and think about donating any possible amount!
Just imagine if everyone you know donated 5$, just 5 little dollars...how quickly it all adds up!
The more we donate, the more people will receive help. Here's a breakdown of the benefits of raising the most money possible. You could help give someone a brand new car seat, provide diapers or prenatal vitamins to new and expectant parents, and most of all with any amount you choose to contribute, you will be helping to ensure that premature and newborn babies are getting the best possible start in life.

$500 - One year supply of prenatal vitamins for two women
$1000 - One month supply of diapers
$3000 - Car seat
$5000 - Newborn clothing for ten families
$10000 - Car seat, one month supply of diapers/clothing
$20000 - Crib, car seat, one month supply diapers/clothing

www.marchforbabies.org/mcknittles

!!!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Coming home...

It is my great pleasure to announce the homecoming of
Mr. Scott B. Randall!
After living in Los Angeles and pursuing a career in the entertainment industry as a make-up artist, Scott made the decision to return to where most of his family and friends, and more importantly, his heart, reside.


Scott has been an incredible friend to me for more than 12 years and I am so thankful to have him in my life, and to have him home so all of us who know him best can share the light, and especially the laughter, he brings to every day.
Welcome home, Scotty!

And now for your viewing pleasure, a couple of little video clips I took with the digital camera.
They are a little dark but the sentiment is definitely there...

Eat at Joe's!

Christian and I cherish the rare occasion when we get to take West and go out for a nice sit-down dinner so we had some high expectations for a restaurant we have heard wonderful things about. It's known for being family friendly, have great food and a nice eclectic menu to please almost any appetite. Endolyne Joe's here in West Seattle in a little hidden corner of a quiet neighborhood is a well known establishment owned by Chow Foods who also owns other restaurants we love like Hi-Life in Ballard and Atlas at University Village. We decided to try Joe's, and upon arrival we were seated promptly among many other diners in the form of individuals, families, young children, and couples alike. The atmosphere is very playful with homemade crafts and art adorning the walls and a very relaxed vibe.

As usual, when dining with a 15 month old, we took a minute getting set-up with the highchair, the mat, the goldfish crackers, and the water cup. After some fussing from a tired, hungry West and getting our beverages fairly quickly, were decided on our entrees. Flat Iron Steak for me, a treat! Fried Chicken for Christian and Mac-n-Cheese for West. We asked if there was any way to add some sort of tomato product to the macaroni since West loves him some tomato sauce in anything. We were told this would be an easy addition and the chef would be happy to oblige, which we were very thankful for.

Well...after a long while of sitting and waiting we got our food. Christian's chicken was a little spicy and the breading was a bit thin and moist, but he said it was good, My steak was alright in terms of flavor, seasoning, etc., but pretty under-done. Medium-well was what I'd asked for and I think I may have gotten medium, if not medium rare. Westley's mac-n-cheese however, was missing the cheese sauce! The server, who I've come to find was almost brand new to the place, was confused about adding the tomato sauce instead of replacing any cheese sauce with it. We got a side of cheese sauce after a bit, which we were charged extra for. West ate some of the pasta and it was pretty tasty, but he mostly munched on some of daddy's chicken. After getting some great sundaes for dessert and paying our sizeable bill (more than we intended to spend for a casual evening out), we headed home and I decided to write an email to the company and let them know about our experience, the good and bad of it.

I was pleased to receive an response very shortly the next day. One of the owners wrote me back and let me know he was very sorry about the not-so-great parts of the experience and said he'd be forwarding our comments on to the GM of Joe's. This morning I got an email from him, and he was genuinely thankful for all of our input positive and negative. It was a wonderful response and and incredibly professional way to handle a customer inquiry. He was grateful for the heads up about the mix-up in the kitchen and about Erin, our server that night. She was very sweet and I'm certain most of us can relate having done some time in a restaurant environment how crazy a first night serving solo can be. It didn't help that we had an odd request, but she was pleasant, very willing to help, and did her best for being a newbie.

After hearing such appreciation from the manager for our feedback and getting such excellent customer service form everyone we've been in touch with, I'm afraid Endolyne Joe's hasn't seen the last of the Calki!

Walking and talking

I am sad to report I was not a winner, or even a finalist, in the Bunny cake decoration contest. It was a little frustrating to find out people could enter more than one cake only after the contest ended. Some people entered 3 or 4 different designs, and I'm not saying I would have had time to do the same. It would have been nice to know, though.
So that's that.

In Westley's world, there is a ton of walking going on. He's finally going solo every now and then, and yesterday he was doing a great little sideways number. Hilarious as usual! His molars have all come in and it looks like the canines are well on their way to cutting through so that's sure to make for some long nights coming up. He's eating well, still loving anything with tomato sauce, but is finally branching out a bit. Every once in a great while we give him a taste of something delectable like ice cream or chocolate, but it's rare, and he usually doesn't want much. Juice is still out of the picture, which we are fine with, and he loves his Goldfish crackers, and his Winnie-the-Pooh organic cookies once in a while.
We're guessing his stats are about 31 lbs weight, and 35" height.

Our family vacation is coming up and while we're gone we'll be celebrating Mother's day as well as Christian's parents 35th Wedding Anniversary. It will be wonderful to have both our mom's there to share the day, and for the anniversary, we're thinking Surf and Turf for dinner and Creme Brulee made by yours truly for dessert. We're hoping the PNW weather has become a little more pleasant by the time we go so we can enjoy the beach and get some pool time in. We've got a great little swimming out fit for West with the UV protection swim trunks and surf top. He's going to be our little beach bum. It will be wonderful to catch up with my parents, see how my niece, Emily and nephew, Alex have grown, and to see Kaijsa, Christian's sis, too! It's been too long since we've all had a good, relaxing visit.

Before we go out of town we'll be participating in the 1st Annual March for Babies (previously known as Walk-America)here in Seattle at Qwest Field. There's still plenty of time for you to donate and share some love! Think about the fact that if everyone gave just 5$, maybe skipped a latte for the day, or passed on the daily snack run, how quickly that would add up. It's such a wonderful cause to support and so many of us have been affected by premature births and/or defects. Do you know anyone born prematurely or with a birth defect? It may very well have been research funded by the March of Dimes that saved a life of someone you know.

You may have noticed I've added a list of favorite places on the web here to the right. You'll find my March for Babies sponsorship page, Christian's website that displays a great sampling of his work, my Uncle Chris' website for all your promotional business needs, and some other fun things to explore!

And now a personal plea for those of you living here in the Seattle area. I would like to ask you to help send a message to a local business who was incredibly humiliating and disrespectful to a fellow mom in one of my meet-up groups. The owners of Alki Cafe (not to be confused with Alki Bakery) here in West Seattle were horrible to this mom and a group of her friends who were there to begin a day of pampering after she and her family suffered the most terrible loss, that of a child. This mom and friends showed up in the morning with a large group, which they tried to make reservations for and were told they didn't take reservations, and it was not necessary at that time of day (9am). When a few more showed up making their group size about 15 people, the owner proceeded to throw a fit screaming and yelling in the mom's face because the server moved a table for them. He was told why they were there, what had happened in the mom's family, and said in so many words that he didn't care why they were there and went on with the tantrum. Luckily the group was able to put this awful experience aside for the day and get on with the pampering. I hope by sharing this story those of you who have eaten there in the past will consider avoiding this establishment and instead giving your hard earned money to a business who treats it's customers with kindness, respect and the human courtesies everyone deserves no matter what is happening in their lives, good or bad.

We enjoyed a great meal at the Pepperdock Cafe, also on Alki, the other night. The food was fantastic, the atmopshere is a very beachy/diner/pick up your food at the counter place. The dining area is fun/kitschy, the cuisine is inexpensive and has the best fish and chips I've tasted in a very long time. Crispy, Panko-breaded buttery fish fillets served with homemade fries were beyond my expectations of this little hole-in-the-wall place with mismatched wood tables and chairs, outdoor summer seating and a pretty extensive menu showing everything from egg-rolls to salmon burgers. We'll be going back to the Pepperdock Cafe.

Life

April is "National Donate Life Month".
If you are a registered organ donor, you have already taken the first step to save a life.
Now, it's time to tell your family and friends your plan. Please make sure people know how you feel and what your choices are in regards to organ/tissue donation so that your wishes are followed through. Organ and tissue donation are vital to the survival of hundreds of people and to have the chance to prolong someone's life though donation is the greatest gift any of us possess.
Please, consider registering if you haven't already.

http://www.organdonor.gov/
By going to this website you can
register to be a donor,
learn the facts about donation,
and print or order donor cards for you and your family!

Go Big Green!

Lately, I’ve been doing my best to attempt to create a green household like so many others. It’s not an easy thing, but it isn’t something completely out of reach either. As I sit here staring at all of Westley’s toys made in who-knows-where, and think about all the disposable diapers we use on a daily basis that will be in the landfills for literally centuries, I wonder why I don’t try harder. Is it laziness? Is it cost? Yes, on both counts, to a point. It certainly is more cost related then laziness related. That’s one thing I wish there were more help with, the creation/implementation of green/eco-friendly products that are more budget friendly. Granted, some of the ways we "go green" are more cost effective, but when it comes to kid stuff, it’s tough. We’d love to use cloth diapers, but since we don’t have and washer/dryer nor the space to hang-dry clean diapers, it’s not feasible at the present time.

Next time around, things will be done a little differently, hopefully, since we plan to be in a better position financially and more able to accommodate a more healthy environmental lifestyle. We’ll be using cloth diapers, glass baby bottles if we bottle feed again, and more wood and organic toys, organic clothing and bedding, and locally grown/organic foods (making more of my own baby foods, etc.). I don’t know that it will necessarily be a "better" start for the next baby we have, but it will be different and better for all of us in the long run. Even while it’s just the three of us we’ll be doing our best to make safer, healthier choices for ourselves and the world around us. in my opinion, we can leave our children with nothing more important than strong values, skills to make good decisions, and compassion for life in every form.

The biggest plans we have are to build a green home when we can afford to have a house built someday (Solar panels, sustainable roof, all energy efficient appliances, growing our own vegetables, planting fruit trees, composting, etc.) and when we get a new car (hopefully in the next 6 months- 1 year) it will be a hybrid.

Here are somethings we’re already doing that are within everyone’s budget, and some even help us save money, which is always a huge bonus.

-Use canvas grocery bags (No plastic bags in months!) (Many cities have banned the use of plastic bags, as well as Styrofoam and non-recyclable containers, opting instead to use papers, corn/soy based take-out containers and selling canvas/nylon bags for grocery stores, even some department stores)
-Recycle everything we can
-Use energy efficient light-bulbs
-Use plastic reusable containers for lunches and snacks instead of throw away baggies
-Use eco-friendly "Method" brand cleaning products (really good products, available at Target, and there are many brands now going green for more choices in purchasing) and dye/fragrance free, eco-friendly laundry products and cosmetic/personal care products
-Use post-consumer recycled material products when possible
-We don’t drive much (Great considering gas cost right now!)
-Avoid eating at restaurants that utilize Styrofoam containers.
-purchase less individually wrapped food product to lessen our trash output (though lately I’ve become a bit lax with this one :(
-Turn water off while brushing teeth
-Only run dishwasher if it's full, same with washer/dryer use
-Take shorter showers. Mine are about 7 minutes on average and I feel like that's a little on the long side.

While I know we do more than some, and much less than others, I can't help but feel a tinge of guilt anytime I opt to purchase a plastic bottle of water even knowing I'll recycle it after it's empty. The disposable diapers are what really give me the guilt of religious proportions. If only it were possible to potty train a 1 year old...

(Amended to say that according to some new sources, it is possible, and apparently it isn't uncommon to potty train an infant. Most Americans potty train later than most other cultures, starting at around age 2 in the US versus no later than age 6 months in many other countries! From the small bit of reading I've done on the subject, the "infant potty training" wouldn't work for us and our family schedules, and I have to agree with most of the experts, and say we'll wait until he's a little older.)

The journey of a thousand miles...

March 26th at 8pm Westley took his first solo steps! Oh, sure, he's been cruising around for months now. Hanging on to baby jail walls, clasping hands with mom and dad, but finally he walked to his daddy last night. It was amazing. The best part of it all was how nonchalant he was and how, as we proceeded to "freak out" clapping and exclaiming with delight, he turned with his big blue eyes eyes half opened and looked at me as if to say...

"What is all the ruckus? You had to know this was coming. Relax, huh?"

He is also cutting tooth #10 (lower right molar), and we have finished with bottles. No more formula! We've never put him to bed with a bottle, and we stopped using pacifiers at about 4 months. We do put him to sleep before he goes in his crib. While some may say he needs to be getting to sleep on his own, we don't really feel right letting him "cry it out" only because we don't want to subject our neighbors to his sobbing, and I really enjoy having that time to snuggle and sing him to sleep. It's our Mommy and West bonding time.

In other news:

• It's snowing...March 28th, and it's snowing. Wet, cold, slushy snow. Sucko.
• We had a nice Easter with family and a great dinner with close friends who are more like our second family!
• Got the stitches removed from my "frankenfinger"!
• We are planning a family vacation in May with Christian's parents and sis, and my parents, niece and nephew for a portion of the trip! Finally, my Dad and the kids can meet West!
• We've been thinking about moving North (Everett area) in the next few months
• We'll be celebrating Christian's 31st Birthday this weekend with a bowling party!
• We're looking into 1-2 day(s)-a-week care for West in a co-op preschool or the like
• I'm still wondering why no one has knocked on our door with a big check for millions...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy Spring! We are enjoying some beautiful but nippy weather here in Seattle. It's nice to wake up to sunshine, blue skies and dry ground again!Nothing very exciting to report around here aside from my most recent trip to the ER. I was wrapping a package at work, cutting ribbon and snipped the end of my finger. Luckily, I didn't take it off! So now I have a franken-finger, stitches, throbbing pain and all. Sadly, it's not the first time I've taken a little trip to the ER for a stupidity-related work injury.

West is doing well. He's dancing, loving books, getting another molar, eating lots of new things, giving kisses left and right, and working on the walking thing. Anytime we are walking with him, one parent on each side,
he looks up curiously at each of us as if
he's really being put out and is wondering where the hell his ride is!

In the working world, as part of a company wide contest to promote our "Bunny with Basket" cake pan, I created my edible version of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. He has a few "props" from different aspects of the story like the pocket watch, a white rose painted red, the door mouse, etc. First prize for the best cake is a trip to San Francisco
so keep your fingers crossed for us.
We need a vacation in the worst way.
Here's my bunny!
St. Patrick's Day is coming and we'll be having some yummy Corned Beef and Cabbage and wearing our green proudly. And for Easter, we'll be spending the morning with Christian's folks and exchanging baskets, which I'm sure I will never grow out of. Then it's off to a Birthday/Easter celebration for a friend. It should be a great day on a local farm, and will be West's first exposure to large animals, aside from his parents!

In May, we will be walking in the March of Dimes local fund-raising walk like we do every year for the Aids Walk. We have a few friends whose lives and those of their children have been affected by premature births so it's a very important cause for us.
Please take a look at my page, http://www.marchforbabies.org/Mcknittles
and make a donation if you are able.
Any amount is so greatly appreciated, and will benefit thousands. Thank you in advance!