adelynSTONE: March 2011

Thursday, March 31, 2011

UBP 2011

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A GOOD PARTY!?

And what’s better than being able to join the party in your ~~PJ’s~~ Red High Heels and a glass of ~~coke~~ wine (ok… I wish I had a glass of wine… I’m breastfeeding, so I’m settling for a glass of coke… wishing there was some rum in it! hah)

I am so excited to be participating in this years Ultimate Blog Party with the girls over at 5 Minutes for Mom! This is my second year joining the party, my first year as adelynSTONE tho. Last year I met some fantastic bloggers, and I can not wait to make some new blogging friends!

A little bit about yours truly:

My name is Kristan Lynn
I have been with my significant other (Craig) for a little over 4 years.

we have 2 children together

one was an “oops” the other was planned

we are not married.

my engagement ring is sitting on top of our stove… starring at me like a bad joke.

he has asked… but never on his knee or with the ring… so I tell him I’m not answering until he does both of the above mentioned.

I’m a SAHM mom to a TWO year old little girl named Adelyn Grace and an almost FOUR month old boy named Stone Liam
I love anything crafty! Craig often jokes that I’m cheating on him with my sewing machine. And that the sewing machine gets more action than he does! hah.
My latest obsession: magnets!
We live in Middle TN, are both originally from South East MI and are hoping to be new residents of Southern FL by the end of this year!

I thrive in warm weather, and told him that he can get that motorcycle I have forbidden, when we move to FL.

bribes work!

I like to tell stories with pictures… as you will notice while looking at previous posts!

I’m hoping you’ll click around and stay awhile. You can also find me on Facebook here. or Twitter here.

There are TONS of prizes you can win for participating in the UPB ‘11!

# I am proud to announce that I will be a part of the Giveaway’s in the UPB ‘11. The ladies will be choosing one lucky reader to receive a handmade clutch from my shop: check it out here.

There are some AWESOME other prizes to be won also!
Here are a few of my favorites that I would LOVE to win:

A full blog design Provided by: Creative5 Designs
$100.00 American Express Gift Card Provided by: MomStart
Complete blog makeover Provided by: Simply fabulous Blogger Templates
$100 gift card to Target and a copy of Totally Desperate Mom Provided by: Wendy Hagen, author of Totally Desperate Mom
$100 Amazon gift card Provided by: Mommy To Bed By 8
3 Months of Free Advertising Provided by: Mom Fuse
A complete blog makeover Provided by: Crafty Hippo Designs
$25 Visa gift certificate Provided by: Life with 5 monkies

WOW.. those are some GREAT prizes! And there are TONS more I’m sure I’ll be adding to my wishlist.

Make sure you check out the Ultimate Blog Party 2011 post to find some GREAT blogs to follow! You’ll find everything from couponing, to crafting to ranting! and much much more!

What are you waiting for? Hop on the UBP Train and start tooting your own horn!

Lets get to know each other a little better:

Where is your home on the web? (web url)
What are you drinking while partying at the UBP?

Sum up yourself with one word.

CHEERS!

# kristanlynn

Treasuries

Check out these awesome Treasury Lists on Etsy And look at these beautiful ones that featured my shop:

adelynSTONE .

Remember to buy HANDMADE this Easter and Mother's Day

Good Morning

+ So this is what unconditional love looks like:

I laid in bed, snuggled under heaps of blankets, Stone at my side suckling ever so gently, my eyes had not opened yet. Contentment. I was just nodding back to sleep when I heard Adelyn start stirring in her bed. I opened one eye to look at the clock on the dresser. 5 AM. You’ve got to be kidding me, was my first thought. Then I heard Craig go into her room and get her up. Second thought, Thank God! She crawled into bed with me and we snuggled. My big girl at one side, and my little man at the other. I heard her get up, but I was still half asleep. Stone started wiggling, looking for more milk and I peeked at the clock again. 7 AM. Time to get up. I switched Stone to the other side to nurse. I did not want to start my day just yet. When I closed my eyes, I could picture the pile of dishes left in the sink, the toys strewn throughout the house, a kitchen floor with crumbs every where. My family is heading in today, and I did not feel up to cleaning. Then I heard the sound of music, a vacuum. When I finally made my way out from underneath the covers, I scooped up Stone and we headed out of the bedroom. Imagine how delighted I was when I realized the house was SPOTLESS. No dishes in the sink (they were even already drying in the dishwasher!), floors swept AND mopped, countertops and tables cleaned and sanitized, toys put away and carpet with fresh vacuum streaks. This morning was perfection! Thank you, Craig! #

Sometimes, when I look at her, I don’t see my little baby anymore:

How can you resist those lips and cheeks? It takes everything in me to not just squeeze and kiss all over him while he’s sleeping!

# kristanlynn

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A Breastfeeding Baby Doll?!

Just a little food for thought:

The World Health Organization recommends

exclusive breastfeeding (only breast milk) for the first six months
gradually introducing other nutritious foods at six months ALONG with continued breastfeeding for TWO years and BEYOND!

The reason for this post:

I’ve heard outlandish comments regarding this doll. The most ludicrous of which was a comparison of this doll to having kids practice sex?!

I realize we live in a culture where breasts are sexual objects. But comparing a breastfeeding infant to a sexual behavior is preposterous!

Or what about this foolish comment left in a thread: “this doll will make girls have sex at an early age”?!

YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?! Pretending to nurse a baby promotes early sex but bottle-feeding the baby dolls doesn’t? (laughable!)

So, according to the above statement, my daughter is going to have sex at an early age? Because, while she doesn’t have this doll… she does pretend to nurse her baby dolls:

The above pictures were taken a month ago… but she has been “nursing” her dolls for much longer. I never showed her how to do this with her baby dolls. One day she took off her shirt, sat down with her baby and when I asked her what she was doing she replied “babyis hungwy”.

This post started out very lengthy, with lots of info… but then I realized.. I would lose most readers… so I’ll just link some of my favorite articles that clear up a lot of mis-conceptions about breastfeeding!

If you have any questions about breastfeeding… please e-mail me, I love talking about the benefits to exclusively breastfeeding!

What you NEED to know before formula feeding. By Dr. Sears
Let’s Hear it for the Human Breast!
Your baby IS getting enough breast milk!!!- an important one if your teetering on supplementing!
101 Reasons to Breastfeed
14 risks for Formula Fed infants
Formula Feeding. Risks for Mom AND Baby

I understand that there are plenty of amazing moms out there that choose to formula/bottle feed, I know a few personally $. I’ve never said that you have to breastfeed to be a great mom. Nor do I feel that mothers that formula feed should feel guilty about doing so, or feel the need to explain why you chose to formula feed. It’s a choice we make as mothers, as long as you are proud of your decision and at peace with it, you should not feel the need to explain yourself to anyone.

YET, I do believe that every woman needs to make an informed decision on this topic. Most women that choose to formula feed are un-educated on the topic of breastfeeding (that is not my opinion… but a fact.. take it up with the polls, not me!)

Hopefully you found some useful info… or atleast enjoyed my pictures of Adelyn doing the most natural thing in the world +

# kristanlynn

Monday, March 28, 2011

DIY Journals- A TUTORIAL

I love jotting down random thoughts and ideas. Getting only a few hours of sleep per night plus chasing after a toddler and cranky baby means I forget…. A LOT!

I love notepads… especially pretty notepads. So here we go:

Materials I used:
◦ 4- 12x12 patterned cardstock (I got 8 journals out of this, you could also ust 8x11 or any other size depending on what size you want your journals)
◦ 48- sheets white paper
◦ 4- 8x11 White cardstock
◦ sewing machine and thread
◦ a little elbow-grease $

Let’s get started:

◦ Start by cutting out all the paper. (I measured my journals to 8x6. This left me with 8 journal tops and some extra scraps.)
◦ Take your scrap piece and measure it about 2 inces by the height of your journal (mine measured 2x8).
◦ Stack your paper as follows: White carstock, 12 pieces of plain paper, fancy cardstock. Then fold your 2 inch piece in half, this will be the “binding”:

◦ Place the fold against your stack of paper:

◦ Set your stitch length to the longest your machine allows (if you don’t, the paper could get too perforated and tear out more easily)

◦ And sew:

◦ Here is where the “elbow grease” comes in, I had to manually turn my side handle to sew. The foot pedal just wasn’t getting the job done like I wanted. It takes time, a few wigglies of your arm and maybe a bad word or two. BUT it looks much better manually turning your side handle than using your foot pedal.

And VOILA you’re done!

◦ Add any embellishments you see fit, I hand stamped the back of the journals and the lower right corner of each page:

Wrap with some twine (or in my case yellow yarn), and you’ve got a great, unique gift for anyone who loves to write, doodle or is just plain forgetful!