Halloween 2008

This year I decided to make the kids their Halloween costumes. Merrick being in the pirate phase that he's in we thought a pirate costume would be just right for him so here he is in his one of a kind pirate costume. We had a Harvest Festival for MOMS club last Friday and it was a pretty hot day so we opted to leave his white shirt off.

Someone said he looked like a Gypsy :0( One negative point for my home making skills, huh?

And then of course we couldn't have our pirate attend the party without his faithful parrot, could we? So, needless to say Memphis was Merrick's parrot this year. Sorry for these blurry pictures but Memphis is still pretty wobbly and I got a bit nervous with him on the bench.

Memphis won first place in the costume contest. One positive point for my home making skills, ha!

Brotherly love

I have to post these pictures too because they are so typical around here. Merrick has to be wherever Memphis is even in the crib (Merrick climbs in himself).

When I need some time to get ready in the mornings I put Memphis in the crib to sort of "protect" him I guess (whatever that means right) but of course Merrick has to get into the crib with him. Sometimes Memphis doesn't mind, he enjoys Merrick's attention, but sometimes Merrick turns all boy and I have to separate them. It's usually around the time that Memphis starts giving me the look that he's giving me in these pictures.

Here Memphis is reaching his breaking point, can you tell? Look at those eyes.

Merrick is all over him; rolling, squishing, bumping, pushing and of course kissing.

When Memphis gives me the sign that he's had enough I take him out of the crib and put him on the bed but Merrick follows him (and he's fast getting out of that crib) so I play musical beds like at least 10 times where I'll put Memphis in the crib and then take him out and put him on the bed and then put him in the crib and then take him out all the while trying to keep him safe from Merrick and get ready.Merrick thinks its a game so as soon as Memphis goes out Merrick goes out and as soon as Memphis goes back into the crib Merrick goes back into the crib. So in conclusion I pretty much look like a slob every day because when you mix this type of brotherly love into your morning routine let me tell you it gets old fast and as long as my main body parts are clean and my clothes don't smell I'm good to go.

These last two pictures are classic. The top one is of Memphis back in April at about a month old and the bottom one is at 6 months. That HELP ME look hasn't changed very much in the past 6 months has it?

Lunch

I had to put some of these on the blog. These are of Memphis eating lunch. I gave him one of those bitter biscuits and it got all over the place. I always feel like I need to give him a bath after one of these sessions.

He always, always takes the spoon away from me when I'm feeding him so now I give him his own and hope that he'll let me feed him at least 3 spoonfuls before he takes the second spoon away from me.

And this last one is of Merrick when he was 4-6 months. This was his very first feeding but as you can tell he was not very thrilled with what was on the menu (super diluted rice cereal) yuk who can blame him.

A day in the life...of Memphis

What Merrick's loving RIGHT now

He loves, loves these face paints my mom bought him a few weeks ago.

He especially loves the pictures that came with the face paints their his inspiration.

Look at him deciding what character to be next, the bunny or the butterfly and let me tell you h totally looks at the picture as he's drawing on his face to make sure he's doing it right. Oh I love him soo much.

Such focus and determination. Down below is his version of the butterfly.

Oh and he's also loving his new best friend, Christopher Ramirez. A super cute family just moved in next door to us from New Mexico and they have a little boy who's almost 2 that Merrick just adores. We hang out with them every day.

Vote 2008

VOTE!Oh it's coming...and if you're not ready it'll pass you up and you won't have a say on who you'd rather have.

NOVEMBER 4th

is Election Day- McCain vs. Obama who's it going to be???

But before you can vote you have to make sure your registered. The deadline to register in California is Oct. 20th but to find out the registration deadline in your state click here.

Bum Genius Cloth Diapers

Extra, Extra read all about it!!!

Bum Genius Cloth Diapers are on sale at Amazon found here for $12 plus free shipping. Just a week ago they were $15 so if you've ever wanted to do cloth diapers here is a very inexpensive way to try it out. These are the best cloth diapers and I've got Memphis in full cloth diaper mode. And you know, it's really not that bad. I'm planning to lay it all out in another post but for now I just wanted to show that they're on sale.

Raspberry Jam

Okay as promised here is the tutorial for the Raspberry Jam. We got the recipe from the Ball Blue Book for Preserving. I made this batch with my good friend Johanna and you can find this recipe as well as others at her website found here.

Homemade Raspberry Jam

what you'll need:

1 quart (4 cups) mashed Raspberries

6 1/2 cups sugar

1 pouch liquid Pectin

7-8 (1/2 Pint) Mason Jars with lids

Wash the lids in hot soapy water. Let dry. Place the 1/2 pint jars and rings in a pot. Do not allow the water to boil. Simmer until ready to fill (this will help clean and disinfect the lids and jars).

In a sauce pan add 1 quart mashed raspberries. When the berries begin to bubble add 6 1/2 cups sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved add one pouch of liquid pectin. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil hard for one minute. Remove from heat. Scrape the foam off the top.

Remove jars from the water bath. Using a funnel ladle the jam into the jars. Fill to the first line from the bottom. As the jam cools it will expand. Wipe the rims clean. Top with the lids then screw on the ring.

Place the filled jars back into the water bath, making sure the jars do not touch. Add enough water to cover 1-2 inches.

Bring water to a rolling boil. Boil covered for 10 minutes. Remove from bath and let sit at least 24 hours. To determine if the lids are properly sealed, press down in the center of the lid. If it clicks or caves in under the pressure it is not sealed. You can repeat the water bath or store the jam in the refrigerator. Let me know if anyone tries this yummy jam.

Oh yeah and a super cute way to top off this great jam or any jam for that matter is to add a little bit of fabric on top. This is a special vintagy collection that I pickd up from my favorite quilting store in Carpinteria, California- The Treasure Hunt.