Gifts and Thank Yous

Yesterday, I posted about the Baby Party and shared all the decor and games, but today I'd like to post a thank you to everyone who got us things we needed, and to share what some of those items are and why I'm so excited for them. We got almost everything we asked for on OurganicWishlist.blogspot.com!!

Pile-O-Gifts
I told people "no gifts necessary"- however, very few people listened...


Quilt from Gretch.
Handmade by her grandfather's girlfriend.
I love home made and hand made items more than you'll understand. I appreciate the love and effort that goes into every moment of creating something. I love it even more when it's something useful and the most when it's also beautiful.


Duck, Duck, Moose; Homage to Alaska from Brandy.
Super cute clothing for baby, from one of the best places in the world.


All of the wonderful cards from people.
Some of these contained heartfelt notes, some had gift cards and money, we needed all three.


Chlorine Free Disposable Diapers (Purchased with gift money)
We only plan on using these the first few days of life- when that tar like poop stains everything.


Bummis from Wayne and Gretchen, and other Diaper Covers and from gift money.
Those bright colored ones are
gPants (which I think I'll invest in some more of later)


Clothes (we only had 2 onesies before the shower!)
I was planning on waiting until baby got here to buy more clothes, everywhere I go it's divided up into boy or girls- since we're not finding out, it makes it hard to buy lots of items. Thankfully, lots of people were able to find gender neutral outfits for Baby!


Basket of reused stuffed animals from my nephews.
The black sheep is from Wayne from etsy
The Quadrapus is from JP and Danielle also from etsy
The quilted lion is from Beth and Jordan and baby Thompson


Cupcake bib from Ian and Anna
Baby's nickname is cupcake, I LOVE cupcakes, but there's an actual story behind the name...


Accessories Drawer.
Organic Swaddle Cloth from Beth and Jordan.
Kashmir sweater from Brianna.
Hats and booties from various friends.


Booties from Alex (handmade by her friend's mother)
How CUTE are they?!


Books from Janay and Danny, and Cameron and family.
The organic baby one is soo interesting and has tons of references on why organic and natural life choices are so important. Love that I have something to cite when people ask why our family makes the choices we do.
Also, the cookbook is super cute and simple, I can't wait to cook for my little one!


Cute bag from Cameron (the company uses scrap fabric from their clothes to make miscellaneous matching bags - so their process is waste less)


Mommy hook; funny, but maybe also functional? :) from Josh


Thank again to everyone who was able to contribute to the baby inventory. Also, thanks to those of you who offered to simply help out by running errands, cooking dinner and cleaning my house once baby gets here. I love you all and am so grateful each of you took time from your busy Saturday to spend it with me and my little family. Husband is grateful too. We really do have the best family and friends.

Happy Thanking!

Momma Monday no. 3

For my weekly Momma Monday update, I'm going to reflect on this weekends awesomeness! We are at 35 or 36 weeks (midwife vs. ultrasound) and as most of you mothers out there know; that's prime baby shower time. It's an amazing feeling to have this baby so loved by so many people before he or she even gets here. This was one of my happiest experiences during this pregnancy.

I wanted to have as many friends and family as possible at our home for the baby party. So, we had a co-ed shower with lots of great food (thanks mom for splurging at that's a wrap) and good drinks. We also kept the games to a minimum (you'll see them in the photos). I used the baby's room as the game room, so boys wouldn't feel obligated to play. And we had crafts outside- which my husband got interestingly excited for. I didn't want people to feel obligated to buy toys and gifts we didn't need, so although I told them "no gifts necessary", I did create a website listing of everything we NEEDED for the baby and thankfully most people got us stuff we'll actually use (again, see photos)!

Something this great doesn't just happen on a whim, it took a lot of prep work- like, 2 or 3 months worth. Most of the planning and decoration designing was done by me, with my mother as the patron. I also got SO MUCH help from my older sister who flew out a day early to help me clean my house! And, one of my best friends who just happened to be passing through Phoenix at the last minute. She folded all my laundry so I could focus on decorating and micro-managing the set up for the event. My younger sister also helped run errands in the morning, along with my mother who picked up (and payed for) all the cupcakes, wraps and goodies for the event. Husband spent the morning avoiding the stress-induced-rage I've been known to get before events, by beautifying our backyard. There were so many helpful people, I hope I remembered to thank them all.

Now for photos;

Labels and Decor:

I may have gone label crazy...



Take Home Candy - this was my mother's touch, I told her the boxes should be shaped like boobies since we're avoiding bottles for the real thing. She did not appreciate my humor.


Games, Crafts and Prizes:

Guess Who is Who! (Family Members as babies)


Make Baby a scrapbook page!


Guess How Many?! (Diaper Pins)


Make Baby a Onesie!


Prize Bags

Food Table and Details:

Desserts and Drinks:

The Craving Table; Vegan Cupcakes {on the right}, Regular Cupcakes, and Coffee. The only Cravings I get are the ones I had before the pregnancy :)


Giant Potted Cupcake by Candi here's here email: candice.caraveo@wellsfargo.com


Izzy Soda & Water Table, with Paper Fans


No Party is complete without a Virgil's Rootbeer Keg


Lemonade Cart


Here are a few photos of moments during the event from one of my guests:





Staying hydrated while baby kicked people.

Happy Motherhood Monday!

Functional Friday No. 4

Hooks.

These bad boys are functional.

Here is an example of the many ways I use these hooks around my home.


My favorite is for flip flops on the back patio.




You know when you go outside to take out the trash, water the yard, things like that? and you have to get your shoes out of your closet, walk the dirty shoes through your home and out the door? well, I was getting really frustrated with moping and sweeping only to have people walk through the house with their shoes on, so new rule; No Shoes inside. We keep a pair of flip flops on the patio for each member of our household, and hang them on these "robe" racks.

I also added these to my closet, office and even guest room.

They are like $2 and I'm sure you could find some around at garage sales, or goodwill. But, seriously? I use them all over my home!

Happy Hanging :)

More Maternity Photos!

As I mentioned in my Momma Monday Post featuring my Yoga Momma Photography Series, I was also lucky enough to have another photo-shoot with the ladies at Creative Motion Photography.

Here are some samples of their work:



Check them out!! They do Weddings, Baby Photos, Artsy Photos and much more!!

Happy Photo Documenting!

Old Family Photographs

I've always been a sucker for family history.

I love looking at the old black and whites of my family and learning about the lives they lived. So often we forget that our parents and grandparents were cool. They had Friends, Parties, and Stories. When we look at old photos it all comes to life.

I recently asked my parents (and Husband asked his) for old family photos. I wanted to put something together for the baby that showed him or her where S/He came from. I got all teary eyed looking at the collection from my Grandpa (which is so unlike me), seeing my Grandma and Dad as a baby. It's a crazy thought, that one day my future grandchildren could be looking at photos of me and my child, with the anticipation of sharing those photos with their children.

Unfortunately, my grandmother past away when I was only 4 years old. It's through these old photographs that I'm able to get to know her, the way I wish I could have in real life.

Here are some of my favorites from the images we have gathered so far:

My Grandmother in Westwood, England


My Grandfather in Westwood, England - where he was stationed in the Air Force.


My Grandfather at 17


My Great Grandmother (my Father's Mother's Mother) in England


My Great Grandfather (my Father's Mother's Father) in England


Husband's Great Grandfather playing dress up in a French Uniform (during WWI)


Husband's Great Grandfather's Brother in Italy


Husband's Great Grandfather on the Ferry he worked on in NYC

Husband's Family Member in Italy

I have more from my mom's side of the family that I'm still working on scanning and collecting. Expect those in a future post.

I hope these images inspire you to do a little family history research as well. Recently, my husband found out that although the photos suggest his history is Italian his family is actually Albanian and they immigrated to Italy in the early 1900s. Really interesting stuff out there about who you are and where you come from.

Happy Family Researching!