30 Before 30 Update: October 2013 Edition

It's been a busy month!! This month, I was able to meet my 30 Before 30 goal of reading 2 books (see below for synopsis and recommendations). 

Also, I did some researching and have added a cool new feature to the blog.  You'll notice that 3 related posts show up at the bottom of each blog post now.  My hope is that when new readers check out a page on mason|raye (they come here as a result of a pinterest pin or Google search, etc.) that they'll read the post they came here for, then see a related post that may be interesting to them and click over there to read that post....  Then, if they like what they see, they may come back again or decide to "follow" or subscribe to the blog.  This way, I hope to enlarge the maison|raye readership.  Of course, I'm always excited to have my regular readers - thank you for your loyalty!  This gets me one step closer to my blog goals.  Gotta have an established readership before I can expand the blog, get my own domain name, etc.

I signed up for an online photography class. It's not as in depth as I'd like; it focuses on just photographing people.  I'm sure that some of the information will be applicable to food photography... something I'm always working to improve. 

Now on to the books:

My fun book this month was The Perfect Baby Handbook:  A Guide for Excessively Motivated Parents by Dale Hrabi.  I have to admit, it was a pretty funny book.  I literally laughed out loud, more than once. Hrabi has mastered sarcasm in this book.  He has this way of taking popular baby advice out there and putting his own witty spin on it, with hilarious results.  I personally think that the illustrations make the book even more humorous. The section on baby names is probably my favorite part ("How many letters should a perfect name contain?  Ideally, nine.  Some popular options include Sebastian, Elizabeth and Chloeeeee"). 

I enjoyed reading this book for the most part.  The only reason I'm not able to recommend it is that it contains some profanity, which I find unnecessary.

My educational book choice this month was A Family of Value by Dr. John Rosemond. Dr. Rosemond is a psychologist, newspaper columnist, and radio talk show host.  He had a lot of practical, common sense advice for discipline and childrearing that I found beneficial.  His approach may come across as "old fashioned" to those parents looking for a more progressive, pop-culture approach, but I agreed with his philosophy that children must be taught limits, resourcefulness, respect and responsibility, so when they grow up they will be an asset to society instead of a burden.  There's a lot of controversy out on the web about Dr.  Rosemond's work.  Many people feel he's too conservative (God forbid he exercise his freedom of speech and "praise Rush Limbaugh while villainizing Hilary Clinton"  as one reviewer posted on Amazon)... but don't get me started on that train.   I'm not here to debate the conservative vs. liberal issue, just to tell you that I read the book and agreed with much of Dr. Rosemond's advice.  I do recommend A Family of Value to parents, especially conservative parents trying to establish their childrearing philosophy or looking for practical advice.

The Ry Guy Report: 4 Months

 

Weight Not sure, my scale is dead... I estimate 17 lbs.

Length  24.5 inches

Milestones 

• Reaches for and grasps objects  (especially Mommy's hair)
• Hands work together to hold and shake toys, rattles, etc.
• Rolls halfway over (from back to side, but can't quite make it all the way over yet)
• Puts EVERYTHING in his mouth
• Has great head control when he sits up with support; only bobbles a little bit!
• Prefers to sit up instead of recline
• Loves to look around; can see across the room

Likes  His froggy toy and noisy book

Dislikes  Sleeping... sigh... still gets up twice a night to eat most nights and has trouble falling asleep on his own

The Quotable Ry Guy  "Gurgle, squeal, laugh"

Pumpkin Season Returns

Pumpkin Season has returned!  I am in love with fall.  I cannot put into words how much I missed the fiery yellow, orange and red leaves, the crisp fall air with just a hint of woodsmoke, harvesting root vegetables from the garden, and picking apples.

But nothing says, "FALL" to me like pumpkin.  There's something incredibly comforting about pumpkin (especially when combined with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove). 

Pumpkin was created to compliment a mug of hot cider or coffee, a flannel shirt, and cozy wool socks. Throw in a good book and a wood stove and I'm in heaven.

Maple leaf, woodsmoke, 42 degree, cinnamon-scented heaven.

30 Before 30 Update: September 2013 Edition

As you might imagine, my days as of late have been chock full of baby stuff... but I did manage to wake up long enough to read a couple of books and overhaul a few recipes in my recipe file.  If you're just joining us and are thinking, "What's 30 Before 30?", check out my original post here.

So, this month my fun book was Jacob's Way by Gilbert Morris.  I've been reading Gilbert Morris books since I was in 8th grade, so this was a re-read for me.  All the same, I enjoyed myself.  Basically, the story is about a Jewish girl and her grandfather who emigrate from Russia to the US shortly after the civil war.  They become peddlers, meet some very interesting characters and search for the truth... is Jesus truly the Messiah the Jews are waiting for? I enjoyed the story and found the details about the Orthodox Jewish traditions interesting.  There's some great dialogue between Jacob (the elderly Jewish man) and Sam (the middle aged civil war vet) throughout the last half of the book that you won't want to miss.  And of course, what would any Gilbert Morris novel be without a love story woven through it.  This one doesn't disappoint and there is a happy ending for everyone.  I figured there would be a happy ending, but getting there is all the fun - there's plenty of twists and turns along the way.  Recommend this one for sure.

My educational/devotional book this month was The New Dare to Discipline by Dr. James Dobson.  I read this book back in college as part of a child development class, but M and I borrowed this book from my parents a while back and have been re-reading it together.  I don't necessarily agree with every single thing in the book, but I do respect Dobson's years of experience (both as a psychologist and a father) and advice.  The man does know what he's talking about... This is not a book you can just fly through.  It requires a lot of thought, and it inspired many discussions as M and I agree together on the discipline measures that will help us accomplish our goal of raising a happy, healthy, responsible, godly, independent, hard-working person.  A daunting task, really, and I'm very overwhelmed at the prospect at times, but Dobson's work was a great place to start the discussion. We'll be implementing some of his techniques as Ry Guy gets older, too. 

There are so many things I'd like to be doing (like quilting, or scrapbook, or continuing with my great Recipe File Makeover), but let's face it... sleep is my primary leisure activity right now.  I hope to get back into those things again soon and will keep you updated on the progress. 

The search is on for some new books to read.  Any suggestions?   What's the latest thing you've read?

DIY: Baby Shower Beverage Carrier Gift

A friend of mine had a baby and I gave her this gift at her shower.  I got the idea on Pinterest (where else!?) and just adapted it to fit.

You start with a beverage carrier - I used a six pack of IBC root beer.  I decided to make the carrier dual purpose - 1 side for baby bath stuff and the other side for mommy spa stuff.

It was a huge hit at the shower... here's how you can make your own version!

Materials:

• 1 beverage carrier (could use any 6-pack soda carrier or Starbucks frap 4-pack)
• 4 + sheets coordinating scrapbook paper (I used 12x12)
• stencil or die cut machine and another sheet of paper, or sticker letters
• ribbon (I used 1 [12-in] piece of ribbon, mainly just to attach the tag, since it was for a baby boy. If it were for a girl, I would have used a lot more ribbon to make it girlie)
• Glue, photo sticker squares, or double sided tape
• pencil
• paper cutter or scissors

What's Inside:

For Mom...

• 3 pairs colorful socks (you could also do slipper socks or exfoliating gloves)
• nail polish
• good smelling foot scrub
• soothing foot lotion
• lip gloss (shimmery!)
• lip balm
• buttermilk bath soak
• pummice stone

For Baby...

• 4 washcloths
• baby comb
• baby bath wash/shampoo
• baby oil
• baby lotion
• 3 pairs cute baby socks
• baby buttermilk bath soak
• diaper ointment

The Ry Guy Report: 3 Months

Smiley little guy!

Weight  15 lbs

Length 24 inches

Milestones

• Bats at and touches toys dangled above his head... his favorite is the blue monkey that came with his vibrating infant seat (thanks, Grandma and Poppa!). 
• Holds his head up without support.
• Follows people with his eyes (and turns his head to watch them). 
• Knows when Mom is (or isn't) nearby.

Likes to play with Daddy.

Dislikes wet diapers and being away from Mom.

The Quotable Ry Guy  [Giggle], hummmm (makes humming noises when he's eating or happy).

30 Before 30 Update: August 2013 Edition

Looking for something to read?  Here's my latest reads and recommendations.  Once we get settled into our new place, I'll be able to get back into checking some more things off my 30 Before 30 list.

Anyhoo!

The Widow of Larkspur Inn by Lawana Blackwell.  This was a re-read for me, but I enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time around as I did when I originally read it in college.  I love historical fiction!  Blackwell crafts a great story about betrayal, love, loss and even a little intrigue.  The story sucked me in and I felt like I grew along with the characters.  Highly recommend this one!

The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears. I learned so much by reading this book.  I'm big on doing my research...I've found that some physicians tend to give you the "party line" and expect you to just accept what they say without doing your research.  I believe that the doctor-patient relationship should be 2-way; you're working together to find the best solution for the your (or your family's) health and well being.  And I DON'T think that the best solution for my family's health and well being always comes from a prescription bottle or CDC mandate.  Mainstream medicine has its place, but so does alternative medicine, homeopathic medicine, herbal remedies and chiropractic care. 

What I like about this book is that Dr. Sears has his opinion about the CDC recommendations (ahem, more like "regulations" according to some pediatricians, as I'm finding out) for children's vaccinations and feels it's important for parents to be well informed about the vaccines. In the first part of the book, he details each vaccine - the disease, the ingredients in the vaccine, possible side effects, how it's manufactured, and how it's administered.  He also includes how rare and how serious each disease is.  The end of the book contains research studies and articles about vaccine reactions and controversies.  Dr. Sears includes his alternate vaccine schedule at the very end of the book.  Again, VALUABLE information for parents.  I had no idea how many controversial ingredients were in most of the vaccines - monkey brains? Aborted fetal tissue? Formaldehyde? Mercury? Aluminum?  Yep, all this stuff and more. M and I are trying to make the best decision we can on vaccines for Ry Guy and this book has been a huge help. Definitely recommend this book to parents.