Babies Documentary

Last night we decided to watch the documentary "Babies".  It's about 90 minutes and follows 4 babies from around the world, US, Mongolia, Namibia and Japan, and shows their stages from a little after birth to about one.  It's been on my radar for a few years and randomly while shopping through Target I stumbled across it.

There isn't a lot of talking and at first Chris didn't think he would be able to sit through it all, but it actually was quite charming.  Here is the trailer.

The most amazing thing was to watch the third world babies with their families in contrast with first world babies.  They showed an example of where the Japan and US babies went to a type of Mommy and me Class, and then they switched to the African baby who was chewing on a random bone and when he got thirsty just crawled over and sucked out of a puddle.  All first world mothers right now are cringing and thinking Giardia.  And the Mongolian baby crawled on top of a metal drum and then his families herd of cows came over and surrounded him and he just sat and had a jolly good time.

Our kids loved it.  I have never seen them so focused on a movie before and it was actually the first movie that the babies didn't get up and wander around because they had lost interest.  Even Truitt loved it and if they got in someone else's way they would just reach up and try to push them out of their viewing. 

I think we will be replaying this one with some frequency.  

$5 at Target, we bought ours on Monday

Things I'm Wanting

Ran with the kidlets to Ikea on Monday, I am so proud of myself.  And they have free breakfasts on Monday until 11, score!  I didn't even know about it, but am now permanently putting that on my Monday list of things-to-do-with the kidlets.  Our school district doesn't have class on Mondays so all kids are home with me.  Every.single.Monday.  If Ikea wasn't an hour away from my house I bet we would be there every single Monday for the free breakfast.  Ikea regulars.  They would all know our names and the kitchen staff would run away when they saw the Nelson's coming to eat all of their food!  They gave every kid plus me a free breakfast, 6 in one fell swoop!

While there I was checking out the bench I chatted about that morning.  And after seeing it I decided that it really wasn't worth the $69 and I am going to try and build one myself.  I will keep you posted on that.  Seeing as I am going hunting this weekend for the first time in my life it probably won't be made any time soon.  But I kind of need to do it quick, lest I want Truitt to keep trying to escape and fall on his head.

Anyway, while at Ikea I saw this botanical chart

Okay, so we all know my obsessions with these.  This puppy was huge, and only $20.  I wanted so badly to buy it, but after staring at it for around 10 minutes and racking my brain like crazy for a spot to put it, even asking Ava and Owen if they could think of a spot for it, sadly, I left the store without it.

Then I came home and I had gotten a West Elm catalog in the mail and so I hopped online to browse their bedding, and when I couldn't find anything exciting, hopped over to Zgallerie where I found this comforter

Normally it isn't something that I would quickly gravitate to, but I have had a thing for geometric shapes lately.  But it's $169 and I change my mind too frequently on colors to spend that kind of money on a duvet cover, even if I really love its graphic nature, and the dark color.  I think I am fixated on dark, moody rooms.  To go along with my dark reading of Russian Literature.  I swear I am not depressed.

Back at the West Elm site I saw this light fixture

I think it would match beautifully with the above bedspread and botanical print.  Maybe I should just show this picture to Chris and tell him for a mere $338 plus S&H, it could all be ours.  He would probably tell  me I am insane and why am I so fixated on black things?

To round out the room I would also get this dresser

I love the beat up nature of this, but not crazy about the bottom, it looks like it could easily tip if it was on carpet or something uneven.  And at almost $1100, this is a big no way.  I bet someone could build this much cheaper though.  I think the light wood would be a nice play on the dark of the other stuff though.  

I am contemplating painting my bedroom dark.  Remember this swatch from the living room?

I ended up picking the bottom starred color for the hallway and living room, and if the kitchen is black, then I am looking at the second to last shade for our bedroom.  Nice and cozy and mysterious.  Love.  Would Chris like it?  Probably not so much, but I am trying to get him in the mode of "Jess' home is her hobby".  We'll see how far he'll let me take it.  

I have also started to paint the hallway and the living room the gray that I picked.  and I have to admit I am not super crazy with how it is turning out.  The biggest problem is our doors are that ugly, stained orangey color that so many people have in their homes and next to the gray they clash horribly.  I know it will look way better once I start doing the trim but it is hard to imagine at this point in time.  Especially since I am trying to paint during the day with three babies, which I do not recommend, but I don't know how else I will get it done.  And the fact that I will need two coats on every wall.  Trim will make me cry because I will have to degloss then prime and then paint.  Maybe I can convince some crazy person to take my entire family for a weekend away and I will stay here, crank the music and paint until the fumes make me go crazy!

I probably shouldn't even be mentioning the fact that I am a little unhappy with how it looks since Chris told me the other day that he read my blog.  What?  He probably has looked at my blog all of 5 times since I have been doing it way back from when it was about our adoption.  And then he just happens to pop on this week and take a gander.  Good thing I didn't list what I was getting him for Christmas.  Of course, that would be due to the fact that I have no idea since it's only October.   Although now would be a good time to mention to him that yes, Christmas does fall on December 25th again this year, so you better get crackin' honey. (It somehow manages to sneak up on him every year and I get gifts like a train conductor hat...)  Now he'll see all of my mad ideas and try to stop me before I just do them first without telling him.  Which has been my standard practice.

Oh, and the Peppermint Mochas are back at McDonalds.  I die.  Especially since I just started a Biggest Loser Competition with 8 other lady friends starting tomorrow.  But I can get in a large today.

Anna Karenina 2012

Somehow along the way in my crazy life, I just learned that Anna Karenina was made into a movie.  And it comes out mid-November.  Apparently, I live under a rock for most of my life.

Keira Knightley is the star (I am pretty sure I misspelled her name), and while that seems so cliche, I am so excited for it.  So excited that I am "quick" trying to reread the book (my copy is 853 pages) so I can remember what it is all about for the movie.  And then if they depart from the book I can be irritated and grumble and things of that nature.  (Remember Great Expectations with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke?  Yeah, the book totally didn't end that way.)  People, this book is way more than just the story about the Russian woman who threw herself under a train for love.  Although I did hear that the movie is actually a play of Anna Karenina, which should be an interesting thing to watch- a movie about a play about a book.  I have to admit hearing it that way gives me a few doubts, but it is my understanding that is has gotten rave reviews.

Look at that picture.  You just know it is going to be filled with beautiful images.  

I will be going to the movie by myself.  This is for several reasons.  One, Chris could care less about Russian books/movies, especially ones that are centered around an affair, and two, I want to be able to blithely look at all of the beautiful things, for lack of a better world, that will be portrayed in the movie given that it is about Russia's elite. People actually lived like that.  I cannot even imagine living in such elegance.  Especially when I scrape meals out of the rug and chase my kids around the house trying to prevent them from eating markers.  Where is my exotic nanny from a different country?  Oh yes, that's me when I use an accent.

Watch the trailer, it is amazing.

Basically, Russian writers like Tolstoy (who wrote this book), and Dostoevsky, coupled with the unbelievably fascinating Czarist history are why I became so interested in Russia in general, even taking Russian in college.  Man I wish I would have kept that up.  I have tried countless times to get Chris to take me to Russia.  Yeah, that's a no go.  Not like we have the money or anything, but theoretically....

In trying to cram this book in as short a time as possible, I am reminded at how completely astounded I am that a man was able to grasp so many views that women have during some highly emotional scenes.  It really amazes me that someone would be able to express things so eloquently and they aren't even of the same sex.

I challenge you to read it.  It will take a long time, and there is a lot of interesting philosophical debate that happens among characters in the book.  You can either be annoyed by it because it takes longer to get through the story or embrace it and think about what they are saying.  That seems to be something that most Russian writers that I am familiar with do- expound upon moral questions for their characters.  I am talking pages and pages of moral reasoning.  You don't see that anymore in novels.  Especially modern ones. 

Assuming the movie doesn't come out in limited release, and I imagine there is a good chance of that happening, because how many people do you know that would go to a movie like that?  I will be lining up for opening weekend.  Even if it means driving far away to see it at a more "cultured" theater.  My little podunk town probably won't be carrying it, seeing that I could probably count all of the people I know on one hand who would go!

Cramming 7 people around the table

Well, I think it's official.  After Truitt managed to undo his highchair tray and stand up in his seat I have decided that he must be moved to the table in a regular booster seat.  This creates a mondo problem for us as we only have room around our table for 6 chairs.  6 chairs, 7 people.  Houston we have a problem.

I think I have solved this problem by getting a bench from Ikea that spans the whole length of the table and upon which I am hoping to deposit three little bottoms at every meal.

It's the cheapest one I could find coming in at $69.  Probably I could make it for a whole lot cheaper then that, only I don't have the time or the patience to do so.  

Ava has already requested that she not sit by Owen.  I don't know how to break the news to her that not only will she still be in the vicinity of him, but on the same piece of wood.  I am sure she will love that.  And because we still have the whole too many kids, not enough space problem, now there is going to be a child in between her and Owen who isn't in a booster seat.  

I am not exactly looking forward to this situation because that means that whatever child is between the two oldest will not be tied down at dinner times and free to try and get down and roam if they so choose, but I don't know how else to get everyone at the table.  A bigger table isn't an option because our space can't accommodate a bigger table.  I can't wait until they are all teenagers and we try to fit 5 hulking kids up to the table.  Let alone feed them.  I hope they like rice and beans because that's about all we'll be able to afford!

The upside to all of this is that hopefully Truitt will feel more like he belongs to the pack instead of in the high chair a fair distance away from the table (again because of the space thing).  The downside is that now my table will be abused by 5 kids instead of 4 and Truitt has zero self control.  I can only imagine him trying to reach everyone's food and the pots and everything within the reach of his grubby little hands.  

Why we don't do Halloween

I loved Halloween as a kid.  I was mostly a gypsy or a princess.  Except for one year when all of my brothers and I had to be hockey players because the outfits were warm and there was a blizzard.  And I naturally assumed that my kids would do it too.  And they did.  Ava was a cute little lady bug her first year, and Owen a cute little spider.  (What's up with me and bugs and babies?)

We did it every year until Owen was 3, that was the year that he freaked out.

He freaked out because of costumes like this:

Yuck, it makes me feel gross just to put this picture in, but I think it helps drive home the point.  Owen would see stuff like this and literally go spastic.  We even tried taking the kids exclusively to a church that did a Halloween/Harvest festival and people would show up dressed in things like the above picture.  And we decided that it simply didn't make sense to take our kids out and expose them to gross things like this.  

Some people think as Christians that we shouldn't participate in holidays that once had a pagan association with them, but I don't necessarily feel that way.  We still do Christmas (although we don't do Santa Claus), even though we know that Jesus wasn't born in December, and I don't feel bad about that.  But I do feel bad about a holiday that had it's focus on demons, etc. and people still like to use it to dress disgusting and glorify murder and nastiness and other things of that nature.  We have had people say that it's not about that anymore, and I would agree that for most people it isn't, but that doesn't change the way my kids feel about the things that they see and the fact that I feel convicted to not do it.

Don't get me wrong, not every person feels the way that I do about it, and I am honestly okay with that.  But we are definitely sensitive to what our kids can handle, and they can't handle this.  And that is totally fine by us.  I would rather not see the stuff above either.  To this day at this time of year anywhere we go where they have scary stuff for displays Owen will tell me to look away because of the yucky stuff and either cover his own eyes or turn his head away.

If halloween were up to me people would be dressed in costumes like this

.

I would be all over Halloween if this was how people dressed to have fun and go get candy.  But as long as it remains centered around gross and scary things, we will sit it out.  And since that is kind of a major part of Halloween for many, we probably will always sit it out.

So each Halloween we let the kids pick a big bag of whatever candy they want and watch fun movies and play Yahtzee in the basement with all the upstairs lights out so people don't come knocking at our door.  

And my kids don't miss going around at all.  

Winter and Clothing 5 Kids

I have already had nightmares about taking my tribe out in the winter time.  5 kids in snowpants and boots, jackets, hats, gloves and scarves.  I think as a good alternative we just won't go anywhere unless we absolutely have to.  It's already frozen here twice.  I want a winter like last year where we only had 22 inches of snow the entire time.  The year before that we had 86.  Seven freakin' feet of snow.  That is a lot of shoveling.  I don't want to repeat that scenario, but given we live in the in North, we probably will.  Maybe instead of all the separate stuff you need we'll just do this to all of our kids.

And since we live in a cold climate, we have to get a jump on getting these items because we might need them early, and they might sell out.  Which is what happened last year.  Owen busted his waterproof gloves and we couldn't find any in any of the stores around us and it was still January.  I am sorry, we had cold weather for at least 2 months after that but Owen didn't have any gloves, just those wimpy ones intended to wear when it is windy out and you need to only keep the cold off, not the wetness.

Chris' life saying aside from "never cut your budget in the food department", is probably "don't buy crappy boots".

We spend a lot of time outdoors and my children have inherited my cold feet- one of the very few things that they got from me.  So we try to buy good boots and only buy the type where you can take the liners out to dry them.  This amounts to a considerable amount of money being spent on them.

First we looked at Target, but they had zero boots where you could take the liners out.  We looked at Walmart and same thing.  So we had to up our search to some of the fancier places.

We went to Gander Mountain and found a nice pair.

This pair was $50.  I hardly ever spend $50 on anything for myself, let alone a pair of snowboots for a kid that will outgrow them in one, maybe two years if we buy them bigger.

Hopped on Amazon and it only got worse.  This nice Sorel was $60.  We are huge Sorel fans because they are ranked to zero or below and do a great job at keeping the toes toasty.  But not huge fans of the price, and it was even worse in the stores.

Finally after more than an hour of searching online we found the first pair pictured above on clearance at REI, of all places, for $30.  And because there is a store close to where Chris works he can pick it up for free.  We did get it a couple of sizes big, one because we found in reviews that they are made small, and two, we wanted to stretch out the wear for two years.  So we bought a 3 for Owen who is basically just in 1 for shoes.  

And this year I am buying a couple pairs of waterproof gloves for each kid at the beginning just in case they lose one, and lets face it, they almost always do.  Problem is, it's just so darn expensive.  Those gloves are usually $10 a piece, times 5, times 2 if they each have two pairs.  Yikes, $100 just on gloves.

It's going to take us forever to gear up and head out anywhere.  I am seriously dreading it.  Even a simple trip to the grocery store becomes an hour event by the time you dress up, go there, come home and hang it all up to dry.  Yuck.  

Being a hermit for yet another winter sounds better and better....   Last year it was out of necessity because the kids couldn't handle being out in places with large groups of people and we still were probably all a little shell-shocked from everything.  This year it is purely out of sanity for me because I will go crazy taking them with all their stuff everywhere.

Although I guess the flip side is going crazy in the house because of the lack of going anywhere.  I guess I am pretty much guaranteed to go crazy this winter.  Not a great outlook.

Gilded World Map DIY

Okay, you already know my obsession with maps, look at this baby I found while going through my daily design blogs.  It's from The Ugly Duckling House.




If it wasn't for the fact of my own beautiful map in my kitchen I would be all over this.  In a major way- as in run straight to the store right.this.minute to get what I need and get it done.


I actually think I am going to do the one that inspired her on wood.




Seriously, look at this thing, it is so amazing I want to cry.


But since I have one, I am thinking that I am going to do this for Chris' office since he has a major blank wall right behind his head begging for artwork. It's been blank for a few years now and slowly driving me crazy.  Artwork is low on his totem pole though, so nothing has been done.  But I totally see this in his future.

If you want to give it a go yourself here is the link for the gilded map:  Awesome Map

And here is the link for the wood map:  Awesome wood map

I'm also working on a new background for the blog.  I got sick of the old one, so it is quite possible you will click to this page and everyday there may be something new.  Or not.  I kind of like the clean look of just white, but we'll see.