30 x 30

Happy November, all! I LOVE fall, and not just for the reasons you think I love it. I mean, yes, I love all the basic white girl things: crunchy leaves, pumpkin decor, sweater weather...and I've actually never had a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but it sounds good, so I don't hate.

Me Made May 2018

Hello, all! I'm jumping back into the blogosphere today because I'm excited. Today is the last day of April, which means tomorrow starts MAY!!! Specifically, Me Made May 2018 starts tomorrow! (If you're not familiar with Me Made May, this post explains it all.) I wish I could remember how or where I first heard about Me Made May, because I owe a lot...

His strength in my weakness

"The choice to become parents is a choice to be burden-bearers. Motherhood can change a giddy girl into a sober woman very quickly. 

It means being willing to give up a good many hobbies and pastimes, the guarantee of an unbroken night's sleep, the ease of coming and going when you please. 

It means a willingness to change a diaper, take out the garbage, read a bedtime story, lug the potty chair and the playpen and the car seat all over the place. It means using a whole lot of skills you haven't got, and not using the ones you know you've got." 

-Elisabeth Elliot

A year or two ago, I came across the Facebook status of an acquaintance in which she explained why she wouldn't be having children, one of her reasons being that she considered it, in every way, a selfish pursuit. It amazed me...never in my life had parenthood struck me as selfish, not before or after having kids. Selfish. Selfish?

Goals, the '17 Edition

Can I tell you a little love story? Once upon a time, there was a wandering, chronically-tardy, vaguely-inspired, sporadically-passionate, type-B girl who used lots of adjectives energy to do very little. She liked to claim a fondness for her laid-back approach to life, but in the back of her mind she was discouraged by her constantly jumbled mind and merry-go-round relationship with productivity. At the precipice of adulthood, and the verge of jumping into a lifelong cycle of "two steps forward, one step back," fate stepped in. A favorite author of hers wrote a book, "Start," which focused on goals...specifically, on how you should start them. Now, being as Type-B as she is, she didn't actually read the whole book, but she was fortunate enough to fall into an online community with a number of people who did. She was inspired and touched by the way they came together and encouraged each other to move forward with their goals.  She gleaned helpful tips and practices to put into place in order to achieve her goals. She formed a few goals herself, and, for the first time in her life, even met one or two. And thus, a love of goal-setting was born.

I mean, let's be honest. I'm still type-B, and I still do a quite a bit of merry-go-rounding, and I still haven't finished the book five years later. So that's why it's a love story, and not a rags-to-riches kind of thing...I'm the same person. However, I can say that I've made intentional forward motion! Actual things that I meant to accomplish were accomplished! Do you know how big a deal that is?! Most of my forward motion in the past, if there was any, was accidental at best. Now, I'm a goal-lover! I am sooooo pleased that I'm not just sort of pin-balling around the world of productivity anymore. Now I'm kind of like...a cue ball. Moving in a purposeful direction, and possibly even hitting my mark in such a way that a few balls land in the pocket. I know that's a lot of game-riddled analogy to be throwing around, but I'm happy. All that to say, if you're intimidated by/anxious about forming and setting goals, you can't be worse than I was, and there's hope. Give it a shot!

One of my biggest takeaways from Acuff has been that goals can start whenever; waiting til the New Year or Monday isn't necessary or helpful. I wrote about that in my goals post last year, and I still find a lot of freedom in it. In fact, I intentionally delayed my goal-setting  this year so that I could have time to think about them. I didn't want to get caught up in the, let's say "trendiness," of New Year's resolutions, so I thought I'd give it til the end of the month to really consider what I wanted to commit to and work toward. And that leaves us here. (This post was supposed to go out yesterday...but the Hig kids are sick. So sick. It's like house arrest. Rough.)

So, without further ado, these are the goals I've concluded on for 2017:

Health-related:
-exercise 3x/week
-lose 1.5 lbs/week, to 30lbs
-limit to three treats/week

Hygmalion:
-3 instagram posts/week
-1 new listing/week
-2 blog posts/month
-establish work hours

Home:
-continue with reset days
-1 to-do-to-done/month
-30 minutes chores/day

Personal:
-quiet time at breakfast
-earn 6 boxes at WOL
-30min intentional time with kids/day
-sew from stash, #make9
-3 scrapbook pages/month


So that's the gist, that's the list. I didn't figure they required excruciating detail, but if you have any questions about any of my goals, please ask! One of the reasons I post these publicly is for accountability. (Another is because if I wrote them on my phone or a piece of paper, they'd be lost before the end of the year. Truth.)

Looking at them all typed out...I kind of wonder if I'm over-stepping my abilities. Think so? You don't have to answer that. But do answer this: Did you set goals in January? Are you keeping up with them? Did you meet your goals from last year? Want to be accountabilibuddies? SO many questions!

I'm happy. Have a great night!

2016 Wrap Up

I can feel the new year creeping up on me, so of course I was thinking about my resolutions post from this past January. I plan to make a few new goals for this coming new year, so I thought a little review of how I did this past year was in order. That way, I can see where my goal-planning needs improvement. I love goals. I'm not great at meeting them, but I have definitely found that setting them helps me be more productive than not setting them. I'm a big believer in setting a high bar, and enthusiastically accepting the marks that will not quite meet that bar. Sort of like the "Shoot for the moon, land among the stars," mentality.

So, a basic recap of my goals, and whether I met them:

1.) Get Physical! 

          - 3 rounds of 21 Day Fix by March 28:: not met
          - Not stated in January, but I have gone through two health challenges that I've enjoyed, so yay!
2.) Be Housewife-y!
          - I wanted to develop routines for keeping my house :: met

          - Dan and I established "reset Saturdays" :: we halfway stuck to this
          - Unpacking a box a week :: NOT met. not even close. 

3.) Sew Myself Silly
          - I wanted to participate in MeMadeMay:: met!
          - I wanted to be a better seamstress:: met!

4.) Hygmalion!
          - I wanted to add at least one item per month:: not met

          - I wanted to double my profits :: met!

Overall, I can see where some of my goals lacked specificity (one of my favorite words to say aloud!) and how I can improve on goal setting, and thereafter on goal keeping! I definitely need some kind of visual reminder of my goals...because once we get into the year I get distracted. I'll be drafting up some of my goals, and will probably post them within a few weeks.

How did you do on your goals? Do you have a record of what your 2016 resolutions were? Are you thinking about goals for 2017 yet? Is seeing "2017" stressing you out? 

Perfect City Living

*Written in Spring of 2016. Published in December, same year.*

I have enjoyed our stay in San Antonio far more than I could have expected. My heart was fixated on basking in sunshine by the hotel's pool, but a few cloudy days sent me out and about, and I was touched by the city's life, diversity, and history. Nearly every minute was wonderful.

People love cities...they feel connected with "their town," receiving a certain sense of identity in light of the places they love. There are a handful of cities, now with the addition of San Antonio, that add to my sense of nostalgic identity. To misuse a quote from Jon Mayer: "I got a city love."

A few weeks ago at BSF (that's Bible Study Fellowship), we were discussing the new Jerusalem...a city that stands as an extension of the heart of God. Our teacher made such an impact on my heart by pointing out that a city is a good thing—full of culture, diversity, life, music, art, creativity, community. As far as housing arrangements go, city living is as close to constant relationship as you can get. And yet, we all know that there is risk, even danger, in city living. Unfortunately, when you put a bunch of people in the same place, it means you get the worst of mankind along with the best. 

But God's city is different.

God's city is city as it was meant to be: constant relationship and inter-dependency on one another, constant exposure and access to the lives of our neighbors, and all of it in perfection, without any harm or danger. All of the good, none of the bad. All ofthat culture, diversity, life, music, art, creativity, and community working in perfect harmony to execute their ordained purpose of glorifying God. Can you imagine?

Thinking of such a place, and knowing that there will be one to come, expands my heart with intense longing. Thank God. I don't know that I've longed for His presence and His perfection ever before in my life like I have these past few years.  It is coming. He will make everything right. He will bring unity, and in Him there will be purposeful peace. It is everything. He is everything.

On the other side of the same coin, I find myself challenged by the prospect of that constant relationship. I think back to what dorm life and roommates were like, having little to no personal space, being challenged with the opportunity to live uprightly in my relationships all the time, not having the chance to withdraw when I was over it. Ahhh, those days...full of challenge, full of growth. Do I live right now in a way that reflects my longing for God's design for relationships? Am I pursuing upright living in my interactions with others, seeking to show grace and striving for restoration and unity, despite the fact that I can easily withdraw? I don't believe that God has called us, called me, to withdraw...at least, not for the purpose of escaping relationship. He is a God of relationships. I can't settle for spacious, indirect, selfishly-protective suburban living in my heart. My desire is that God would work out that dorm-room heart in me, that I would be driven to live in open, full unity with His body.

A lot of thoughts for a post-trip wrap up. I'm so thankful to know a God that is in everything, that uses all of His glorious creation, to call and pull me closer to Him.

What about you? Are you settling for suburban living in your heart? Or are you ready to work toward all the good in dorm-room relationships, in preparation for His city living?

Coffee on the Riverwalk

Hello friends! Sorry I missed you in April, but it's so good to be in May! There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to this month: getting our container garden going, putting some plants in the ground, more and more and more bike rides with the kids, and sharing all of my #MeMadeMay clothes with you! I'll post here a few times with a wrap up of some of my favorite #MeMadeMay items, but if you want to see all of them, just find me on Instagram! @jmariehig

"Drinks" at Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk -- opened in 1946. 

Right now, I'm [really, really, really] enjoying a visit to San Antonio, TX, as I tagged along on a business trip with Dan. If you are looking for a really fun getaway, you should think about coming here! The main attraction in the city is the Riverwalk, which is around 3 miles long and has a number of restaurants and shops all around, as well as ferry boat tours with a lot of fascinating information about the city's history. The Alamo is within walking distance, too. Dan and I visited yesterday and I had a rather emotional and educating time taking in all the history. Add to all of that the shopping and theatre close by...I can't recommend it enough. Probably not a great trip for little kids (I am pretty sure both of our kids would have fallen in the river by now), but families with teenagers or couples that are reading this: get thee and thine to San Antonio!

In front of the Alamo. 

I can't help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude...and that's been a fairly constant state of my heart for quite a few months. For the past several weeks, Hig2Point0 has been sleeping through the night, and as a cherry on top she and BabyHig have been napping at the same time...for at least two hours a day! That, my friends, is a good good thing. Sweet rest for them, sweet freedom for me. And although our weather in Michigan has been a little, well, sporadic (and very typically Michigan-y!), I have been so blessed and strengthened by the days of sunshine that we've seen.

How can she look so mad when she's barefoot in the sunshine? Silly Hig2Point0...

I have also thoroughly enjoyed being involved in a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) study of Revelation throughout this past school year, and my heart feels as if it is close to erupting with praise and wonder at the glory of God. I, admittedly, live a life of ease and luxury, compared to most of the world, but if God should take it all away, He would be every bit as worthy of my praise. I am so thankful to have experienced a growth in my love of Him. Our study will break for the summer, but I am looking forward to starting again in the fall; this time we will be in the book of John. Bible Study Fellowship is an international ministry, with study groups all over the states, so if you are looking for a solid place to study the word, I strongly suggest that you visit their website by clicking right HERE and search for a study group close to you!

This has been sort of a catch-up-over-coffee kind of post, and I'm alright with that...as long as I get to hear from you, too! How is your spring coming along? What are you looking forward to in May? What has God been teaching you? And who else is getting their #homemade clothes on for #MeMadeMay!?

Love you all!

Mid-March Goals Check In

I love March. Love it love. Lambs, lions, rain -- THE FIRST REAL SUNSHINE IN WHAT SEEMS LIKE YEEEEAAAARS!

I am loving this March. Loving today. Currently:

• the sun is shining
• the kids are napping
• my sink is empty
• my Cricut is whirring along on a new project
• there is another adult in my house (yay Kim!)

Those things are all such tank-fillers for me! Especially the sunshine. When the sun is shining, I am like super-productive-mother-extraordinaire. March is when we in the Midwest start to really see the sunshine again after the winter...it's a time of the year where I feel motivated to accomplish some things.

So it's probably a great time to check back in with the goals I set for myself in January. Accountability, checking-in, keeping tabs--whatever you want to call it--is a crucial tool for me in

Mom's On A Diet :: New Recipe Box

*Note: I have no applicable pictures for this post, so the following are pictures of the somewhat-less-than-impressive-but-still-cute transformation of a recipe box that I picked up in the "See Spot" section of Target, using DearLizzy "Thickers." Ta-daaaaa.

I totally got sucked in the last time I went to Target...but I'm not mad. 

I really like food. 

I feel a little weird saying that...like I can almost hear people dropping their dumbbells and turning to stare...but it's true. I like food. I like the flavor, the color, the texture, the nostalgia...food is a good part of life! Can we agree on that? Food is good!

I know it's not a big deal for some people. I know that there are beings in the universe that live by the "food is fuel" mantra, and they really only regard it as something to power their bodies. While I find that outlook fascinating and respectable, I have no desire to embrace it for myself. Beyond that...I have no desire for my kids to embrace it for themselves.

Sweet & Small & Pink -- Valentine Minis!

Valentine's Day get's such a bad rap, which is a bit perplexing for a holiday whose main celebratory food is chocolate. Thanks to having a birthday that falls within two days of the 14th, plus a mom and grandma who almost always surprised my brothers and I with little Valentine treats (seriously, I was always surprised...you'd think I would have been expecting it after awhile...), the day of love doesn't bum me out at all. I mean, come on! Don't you remember having class parties for Valentine's day? Remember decorating your little shoebox so it would be ready to receive all the sweets and little notes from your classmates? Remember picking out the funniest/cutest/subtlesthintoflove Valentine for your crush? Remember that feeling of horror and dread that he would figure out that you liked him the instant you lost it forever to the slot in his exquisitely decorated shoebox?

*Sigh.* Nostalgia.

Down to the Wire

The most challenging thing I ever heard regarding New Year's resolutions was that it makes no sense to wait til New Year's to make them...if you really have a new goal you want to accomplish, why not start it the day you decide on it?

I don't know exactly where that leaves me -- blogging about my goals almost a full month after the New Year -- except that I like knowing that my success isn't hinged on when I start. It's just hinged on me actually starting. (Shout out to all the Acuff "Start" fans.)

I've made mistakes before regarding New Year's resolutions -- they were too plentiful, too vague, and too lacking in passion. I'm trying to be a bit choosier this year, with the hopes that I'll actually remember them and therefore attain them. I've also made the mistake of not recording them. I actually found myself at the beginning this just-past Christmas season scouring the internet for any record of last year's promises to myself. Couldn't find them. So now I'm here, writing them down, hoping that it will help both you and me keep me accountable.

(Don't worry, I wrote that correctly...and you can trust me. I was an English major.) 

So, drumroll please...my goals for 2016!

November 13, 2015

Lately, I have found it difficult to post on this blog. That is due in part to the fact that I have a two-year-old and a six-month-old…but it also has largely to do with the fact that for the past year my heart has been a constant state of confused brokenness. So much has happened. So much keeps happening. The events in Paris last night, not to mention the bombings that happened elsewhere, were  devastating.

Honey Lemon Purse

I am finally getting to the point in my crafty-life that I feel, dare I say it? Confident. I feel confident.

I feel so confident, in fact, that I volunteered to make a Honey Lemon purse for my friend's daughter when she expressed the need on Facebook. Her young daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, and we have been praying for her as she has battled it. It was a blessing to me to be able to do something hands-on for this sweet girl and her mom, and I'm thankful that I didn't receive a scoff or dismissal when I raised my hand at the opportunity to create this little purse.

I'm Getting a Yak

Holy fly-by summer, Batman! Is it really July thirty-first? Is this month really coming to a close already?

That was so fast. Too fast! The Hig house residents will miss July. We've gotten in a fair amount of ice cream and boat rides. Babyhig got in the lake for the first time ever!! I've even gotten to sit in the sun just for the sake of sitting in the sun...

Big Hig Happenings

Hello interwebs. (Why does "interwebs" make me laugh?)

I'm a little excited and a little nervous to share with you today. There's big happenings here.

#hig2point0

My world has changed again. We're a whole new "Brand New 'We.'" This is my squirmy, pink, chubby-cheeked daughter.

around 3am on 3.28.15, after we had gotten in some good skin to skin time

Guess Who's Back?! [[...not the original Slim Shady]]

Hi everyone! Or should I maybe say, "Hi...anyone?" If there's no one out there with me, I can't say it would be much of a surprise. It has been way WAY too long since I've posted regularly. With the exception of last month's post about my grandma, it's been over a year!

NO bueno. 

I love blogging. I love sharing projects and updates on our life...both for your sake and for mine! I love the idea that I can look back at Brand New We over the years and see snippets of our life. I definitely don't want to lose that. 

And speaking of snippets, last year is seriously lacking!! Considering that 2014 was Babyhig's first full year, that's another no bueno. So here are a couple of highlights to catch us up. 

Mary Evanyo

It's almost one in the morning, and I'm blogging for the first time in over a year. I haven't blogged, not really, since Babyhig came into the picture. 

I'm a mother. 

It's almost one in the morning. We (being the whole Hig family) just got home from a whirlwind trip to Colorado. We  are just getting out of travel mode for the first time in twelve hours. Long day. Feels even longer than twelve hours...maybe traveling time when you're pregnant is measured differently than when you aren't. Like how dog years aren't the same as human years. That's just a theory, though, so don't quote me. It just feels longer than twelve hours. 

I'm 36 weeks pregnant (that's nine months, for those of you keeping track at home), and I just flew across the country. I'm 36 weeks pregnant and I just flew across the country with a toddler.

No, I'm not the type to seek out chaos. I don't think so, anyway. 

My grandmother, Mary Evanyo, passed away on Valentine's Day...her funeral was yesterday. Well, it was on Monday, so I guess it was two days ago. 

My grandmother was a lot of things. She was smart. She was so incredibly smart, really, and the wonder of it is that she wasn't showy about it. That's a mark of something genuine in my book...if you don't have to talk about it, don't have to prove it...it's probably the real thing. She was beautiful. She  was tiny. She was patient. She was talented...I got to sleep in her sewing room when we went to visit every year at Christmas, and I would really love to be just a fraction of the seamstress that she was. 

She had six kids. Siiiiiix. Six kids. 

Six.

At her funeral, her priest gave a really lovely...I guess it's called a eulogy. He gave a really lovely eulogy, and emphasized the incredible wonder that was my grandmother's mothering. She was a mother, six times over. She was pregnant six times. She gave birth six times. She mothered six lives. 

Incredibly selfless, incredibly patient, incredibly loving...all part of the eulogy. All so very true. 

Babyhig got sick on the plane tonight. He had been a total champion during the whole flight, about two and a half hours, plus the two and a half hours we had waited in the airport for our delayed flight, plus the hour drive to the airport, plus the whole weekend. Total champion. And then, after we landed, stuck on the runway because another plane was using our gate, babyhig got sick. All over Dan. 

He was then pretty much a champion for the three hour drive back to our home from the airport. And then, as soon as I pulled him out of the car and started up the walkway with him, he got sick again. All over me. Then again, and then again, before we made it into the shower. 

I know this all probably seems very strung out and disconnected, but I'm so thankful to be a mother. I'm so thankful that babyhig got sick again when we got home, because I knew he needed to. It had to come out. I was thankful to be holding and comforting him when he was sick. 

I'm so thankful to be a mother...and so much the more so, I'm thankful to have a legacy of mothers to look back at and be grateful for, to aspire to emulate. 

The rest of my mom's family all lives in the Denver area...they all live near my grandparent's house. We never did. I never had a close, day to day relationship with my grandmother like so many of my cousins...sometimes I felt disconnected. Like I was missing something. 

However, as this little girl in my belly rollicked around during the eulogy, I felt connected to my grandma like I never have before. And as I wiped up puke tonight and washed it out of my hair, I thought of her again, and her six kids. That is so much sickness. So much mothering. 

I'm really thankful. I'm thankful for my grandma. 

It's kind of a cruel trick with grandparents...you lose them right when you start to realize how much you want to know them. I wish that weren't the case. 

I'm glad though, that my grandmother was a mother, and that I know that. 

I'm glad I'm a mother. 

I'm so glad I got to go. 

Goodnight. 

Phone Challenge 2014

I'm going to describe two situations that occur in my life - more regularly than I'd like to admit - and I want you to consider them. 

(Before we get going, I'll just say that no, this post is not about Jack Johnson, despite my fondness for his beachy tunes.) 

Situation #1 - I forget a lot of things a lot of the time, so I regularly give myself the pat-down. Pat the coat pockets, jeans pockets, purse pockets...I only disrupt what I'm doing to retrieve what I've forgotten for two things: my keys - because I literally have to go back for them - and my phone...because...why?

Situation #2 - I need to contact my mom/brother/dad/husband, so I call/text them...but they don't answer.  I deal with this by calling/texting them over and over and over and over and over and over and over again until I reach them or give up hope. 

So what do you think?

I'll tell you what I think.  I think I have a problem.  

My name is Jessica Higginbotham, and I'm addicted to my phone. Even worse than that, I live in a culture that promotes phone addiction, and I expect everyone to be able to be contacted all the time. I need to be able to reach you, and you need to be reachable. Right. Now. 

I have been aware of the exhausting tether that is a cell phone ever since I got one at sixteen.  Before then, I had been free as a bird.  I had conversations when I was with people, or when I was pleased to have them over the house phone.  Beautiful.  Blissful freedom.  Of course, I thought myself incredibly lame for not having one...you never know what you've got til it's gone, right? Right.  Once I had a cell phone, I was caged.  I had to be reachable.  I had the ability, and therefore the responsibility. It was nothing but accusation if I missed a call. Once upon a time, if you couldn't reach me...hey, that's life! But no more. 

No more. 

Yeah, I know.  I totally wanted to have my cake and eat it too. At sixteen, I just wanted freedom without resonsibility, not understanding yet that that is simply not how it works.  Yet, while I've become considerably less selfish and immature, I can't help but know that there was a certain amount of truth in those moments of loathing the tether that was my dull gray, free, not-smart flip phone.  There's a goodness in being disconnected, or at least in learning how to handle connectivity.  

What's the first thing you reach for in the morning? Your glasses? Your spouse? 

I reach for my phone. 

Sure, sure, it starts with turning off my alarm (which is my phone)...but then it grows. Suddenly I need to see if I missed any calls or texts overnight, and then it's emails, and then how about Facebook messages? And then I'm lost. 

I think it comes down to being a bit self-obsessed...at least it does for me. Does anybody want to talk to me? Am I important? Have I been validated, needed, wanted in the last eight hours of slumber? Girl. Get over yourself.  

And let's not even talk about the self-obsession that is social media. Oh boy. 

And I expect everyone else to be this way.  Let me tell you, nothing ticks me off like not being able to get one of my family members on the phone, which is really not good, since my family is sort of notorious for not answering. Hence the calling over and over and over and over again. Seriously? Call once! Chill out! Nothing in my life has been SO important that I needed to talk to them RIGHT THEN.  Sure, sometimes it comes down to whether or not I'm supposed to bring an extra side for Sunday lunch at my mom's house but...is it really that big a deal if we don't have it because we couldn't connect to communicate?

Nope. 

I'm really really really not the first person to consider this. In fact I was inspired to write this post and start this challenge because of something my brother posted. There are studies on it, and articles, and great videos, like this one - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nfUD0WhE264&autoplay=1&desktop_uri=%252Fwatch%253Fv%253DnfUD0WhE264%2526autoplay%253D1 - and this one - https://m.youtube.com/watch?autoplay=1&v=OINa46HeWg8&desktop_uri=%252Fwatch%253Fv%253DOINa46HeWg8%2526autoplay%253D1 - which you should watch!

So I'm not having a revelation. 

I'm posting a resolution. 

BAM! Wordplay. 

You saw it coming. It's the last day of 2013, and we're all thinking it over, and considering how to do 2014. For me, I want to go phone free in 2014. Do you want to join me?

I searched some hashtags, and found a few people on Twitter that commented on a #phonefree movement, but it was more of a feeling, nothing specific on HOW they were going phone free.  Knowing that the best way to achieve an idea is to be intentional and specific, I'm committing to a couple of different ways to going phone free in 2014:

1. I'm taking one day a week and going completely phone free. I know. It's bold. (The font, and the idea.)  I'm going to turn off my phone, possibly even give it to my husband to take away, for a full 24-hour period one day a week. What if I there is an emergency? What if I have to be reached? What if I'm in a car accident? It will be fine. I will use someone else's phone if need be. I am conceding to the fact that I am not so incredibly important that anybody HAS to reach me immediately for anything. And let's be honest, we're all probably safer and less prone to accidents without phones in the car. 

2. I'm not going to be on my phone when I'm in a social setting. There were several times over the holidays where I felt rather hurt and a little stumped when someone shut out everything by getting into their phone.  It was especially apparent on car rides...everyone else's company and conversation couldn't be tolerated for even 15 minutes? Whoa. I suddenly understood why my husband is constantly asking, "Whatcha looking at?" when I have my phone out while he's driving. Let me in! Talk to me! Let's play! I don't want to make other people feel that way anymore. If we're at dinner, the movies, bowling, playing games, in the car...I'm going to be there.  If I have to take or make a call, I'll step away from the group.  I think we can leave an exception for maybe one or two pictures...but of the group, not the food. 

3. I'm going to have a specific time for phone cruising. Time management...oh baby. Talk about difficult and important. My phone ruins time management.  Or rather, my habits with my phone ruin time management.  Pausing quickly to check my email or Instagram or Facebook in between the laundry and dishes sometimes turns into the dishes not even getting done. I am so lame.  So I'm thinking for 2014, I will get my phone-cruising in between 4pm & 8pm, and otherwise use my phone like a regular phone. For calls and texts...not for browsing Facebook stati for two hours. Blech. 

That's it.  Three things.  I think I can handle it...I certainly hope I can, anyway.  I know I'm going to blow it, and I will have *exceptions* and whatnot...but this is something important that I want to address.  I don't want Babyhig growing up with an addict for a mother, satire aside.  I used to think he would reach for my phone because it was glowing and hey, who wouldn't? It glows! But what if he's reaching for my phone because he's imitating me, and I'm always reaching for my phone? I stick out my tongue, he sticks out his tongue. Monkey see, monkey do?

I would like to invite you...hmmm, no, I'll challenge you to join me. New habits are helped along by accountability; I need you! If you see me violating one of my commitments, please (gently) help me get back on track! I don't want to be tethered.  I want to take advantage of the technology and connectivity that's available to me without having it rule me. Don't you? I want that for you. 

If you decide to join, please let me know.  And write it down! Comment with some specific ways that you are going to go phone free in 2014! Maybe you can't do a phone free day a week, but how about once a month? Try it!!!

And, yes, I realize the irony in this, but i'm going to use the hashtag #phonefree14 to keep track of my efforts on this front. 

So. Challenge extended. Will you accept?

Fleece Carrier Cover - Made It!

So, obviously, a lot of my little diy projects are going to be baby-oriented now. I mean we're still in the grind of a remodel, but that has slowed down a lot since Babyhig was born.  It kind of had to since we were screaming through some major renovations, rushing madly to make our house comfortably livable so that waking up for 2am feedings wouldn't end up in our tripping through our makeshift bedroom or impaling ourselves on 2x4s and power tools.

:/

So anyway, I'm excited to be able to continue sharing our renovation progress (and I will!), but believe you me, I am also excited about the baby projects. That is especially true in the case of this fleece cover that I made to go over our carrier. It's probably the only time in my life when something has turned out exactly as I envisioned and I haven't had to make two, three, twelve attempts, AND it came out of my little head only! No pattern or tutorial to follow, and it wasn't a complete mess!

Let me hear you say it: Hallelujah!

Thanks. Now we can move on. 

If you ask me, having a baby-carrier or two on your preggo-registry is completely necessary.  There are certain times when baby just needs to be with you, and those times seem to regularly coincide with when you need to use your hands. Enter the carrier.