DIY Blocks

Growing up, my family attended Salem Baptist Church in Orland Park, IL. The building is still there but the church is under a different name now. In it's heyday, our church boasted of it's family programming. Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and Pioneer Clubs made Salem a popular place with the youth. My earliest memory of SBC was when I was 4. My grandparents started going to Salem before my parents did because we had not yet moved to Orland Park. One weekend my sister, Laura and I had slept over at my grandparents house and Sunday morning we all went to church. While Laura and I each held on to my grandpa's index fingers, he walked us down the green-carpeted hallway to the Beginners Class. Laura was too young for that class but because it was our first time there and she didn't want to be separated from me, the teachers let her join too. My grandpa gently hung up our little pink coats on the wooden pegs outside our class and told us he would be back to pick us up after the service. That memory is my most favorite of all my memories at Salem. I will never forget holding my Pepa's finger and looking way up at the face of that tall man as we walked down the hall. I am sure it was a sweet sight to see with two little girls in dresses quickly moving their little legs to keep up with my handsome grandpa.

The Beginners Class was a cheerful room with lots of activities, songs, games and smiling teachers. I also have one random memory of an older man who didn't have a thumb nail. I remember sitting on his lap during the story time and wondering if I should touch the thumb or not. I guess I didn't get a lot out of that Bible lesson. But I digress. There were quite a few kiddoes who trampled through that classroom and I would be willing to bet that those people have fond memories of a few or all of the following:

The fabulous felt board. I always loved it when I was able to put one of the Bible characters (or heck even the basket of fish and bread!) up on the felt board. It was like magic how they stayed up there!

Doris Bell's Barbie Shoes. One of our teachers was named Doris Bell and she dressed like a classy Dolly Parton. Every Sunday she wore peep-toe heels with no back so they moved like flip flops. I didn't even know they made shoes like that for anyone who wasn't manufactured at Mattel.

Eunice Utt's smile. Mrs. Utt was another one of our teachers. Every memory I have of her shows her wearing pearls and a long sleeved, lilac colored, belted dress, though I am sure her closet had more of a variety. She was always smiling. I am also fairly certain that she had a crush on my grandpa ever since that first day he dropped Laura and I off at Sunday School.

Mr. Berg's Bass Voice. One of the songs we sang was called 'Deep and Wide.' Mr. Berg was the dad of my friend Dale, who was also in the class with me. Mr. Berg sang 'Deep and Wide' the best because his voice was so low. I remember the first time I heard him sing I thought, how in the world does he get his voice to sound like that?! I am including this fantastic video of the song for those of you who are unfamiliar or for those of you who want to relive our Sunday School days.

The Cardboard Blocks. Man-oh-man. These blocks were the BEST and my most favorite thing to play with in the Beginners Class by a landslide. They were kept in a big cabinet with two large sliding doors which were usually locked. (I know because I loved those blocks so much, I always tried to open the doors to get them out.) The blocks had a red brick pattern on them and each block was about the size of a small shoe box.

Those cardboard blocks have always stuck with me. I thought it would be great for Zachary to have memories of building towers with such great blocks. Unfortunately, the mark up for sweet children's toys is crazy, so I decided to make my own and document it so you can make them too!

First you'll need a bunch of boxes and the sturdier your box, the longer it will last. I had quite a few boxes of diapers from when Zachary was a newborn and didn't yet fit into his cloth diapers. We also buy our baby wipes a CostCo where you can get seven huge bags of wipes in one giant box so we had a lot of those empty boxes. Then, you'll need scissors, tape, Con-Tact paper and some kind of wrapping paper so that your kids aren't really playing with empty diaper boxes. I went to Michael's and found bulletin board paper that looked like bricks. They had other selections too, but I wanted the brick pattern for nostalgia purposes.

Size 1 and 2 Diapers! I can't believe Z's tush fit in those!

Take a box and lay it out on top of your paper, like you are going to wrap it as a present, but you aren't going to cut the amount of paper that you normally would to wrap a present. I didn't want the sides to have folded angles because it would make the box look more like a present and less like a brick. Pull the paper so there is about two inches on each side of the box then cut the paper from the roll. Fold the paper around the box and tape down. There should be about two inches of excess paper one the two faces of the box that are not completely covered by paper. Fold in the corners on the sides of the box and tape down. You should have four sides that are completely covered in paper and two sides that are not. The next step will cover everything. Unroll your tube of paper and put box on top like you did in the beginning as though you were going to wrap it, but this time, put the unfinished part length-wise. Leave about two inches in each side of the box and cut the paper from the roll.

The unfinished part is length-wise to the paper.

Fold down each side so that the paper that you just cut is now the exact width of the length of the box. Tape down one side of the paper and then continue to wrap your box around the paper. As you are wrapping, you may find that you need to refold the paper to make sure that it doesn't stick out past your box.

When you are ready to complete wrapping your box, make three tape rolls and put them on the wrong side of the paper and press the paper down onto the box. This way you won't be able to see tape. It is okay it if doesn't lay perfectly flat; the next step is to put Con-Tact paper over the box which will flatten everything out and make a nice finished look.

The tape rolls (not on the wrong side of the paper, but this way you can see them.)

Roll out your Con-Tact paper in the same way you rolled out your bulletin board paper. Hopefully the width of the Con-Tact paper is larger than your box otherwise you will have to repeat this step twice by overlapping the Con-Tact paper. While the wax paper is still on the Con-Tact paper make sure that it will completely cover the four sides of your box and then cut it from the roll. Slowly peel the wax paper off of the adhesive part. Honestly, this part is the biggest pain. The first box I covered in Con-Tact paper was my downfall. I pulled the paper too quickly and ripped the paper in a ton of parts which meant then that I had to scrape off little bits of wax paper. Ugh! So learn from my hastiness; go slowly. The next trick I figured out was that it was easier to pull the wax paper off if there was a little weight on the end of the adhesive part. Since using my arm meant peeling it off later, I would put the box down and then hold onto the box as I peeled the rest of the wax paper off. Then slowly roll your box down the Con-Tact paper until all four sides are covered.

Torture yourself long enough to have enough space to put the box down.

 "But rectangular prisms have six sides, not four!" Yes, you are right, my little geometry experts! So let's take care of the remaining two naked sides. After you have rolled the Con-Tact paper around your box, you will have left over parts on the edges. Cut a triangle in each of the corners and then fold down the tabs.

Triangle cut into the corners.

Next you will cut out a piece of Con-Tact paper that it will cover the remaining exposed paper. You can make this a little smaller than the surface area of the two remaining sides because you already folded over some of the Con-Tact paper in the previous step. You will find that peeling the wax paper off of these small pieces of Con-Tact paper is SOOOO much easier than the large sheet you did previously. I found that the easiest way to make sure that you put the Con-Tact on without any air bubbles was to press down the top part of the adhesive to the box and then pull the paper down to make sure it is straight.

Repeat this step for the remaining naked side and then sit back and marvel at your amazing work! Your kids will love them! If you have good sturdy boxes, they will last a long time thanks to the droll-barrier of the Con-Tact paper AND they were super cheap. Let's break down my costs. I bought the bulletin board paper at Michael's for $8.99 (bonus points if you use a coupon!) I bought the Con-Tact paper for $5.79 at Target. For about $15, I was able to make four large boxes at $3.75 per block and they are a great size and they have a droll-proof cover. I win. I really do win, I can't wait to build with them. Oh wait . . . I already have.

Bam! My DIY blocks rock!

 

Just Wait . . .

This may be a little personal here, but since we're all friends, I'll tell you that I just came out of the bathroom. I was taking care of business when I saw a hole in the top layer of the toilet paper. Earlier in the day, I needed to "take care of business" and doing so while Zachary is awake is rather tricky. He crawls at rapid speeds now and has also developed a new fascination with toilet paper. He loves to pull on it so it unrolls all over the floor, and he loves to pick pieces off and . . . eat them. I know, it's so gross, but this kid puts everything in his mouth and most of the time he is too fast for me, which means that I have to go "fishing" in his mouth. I have found all sorts of non-eatable things; dirt clumps, small wood chips, grass, paper, dried up cheese from his last meal which he threw on the ground and somehow Bruce missed, etc. 

Discovering the kitchen cabinets

This kid is definitely all boy. His new favorite game is climbing up on his chair in his room and then flinging himself off so that I will catch him. He doesn't really understand that I need to be aware that we are playing this game. I have - thankfully - caught him each time, but sometimes it is with more fragile body parts . . . like my nose. Ouch! I may or may not have cried after his big head nailed me in the schnoz . . . okay, I did cry and do you know how hard it is to cry and still sympathetically tell your son that Mommy is okay? He didn't know what to think!

It is amazing how quickly these little babies grow in their first year. A few months ago, Zachary was content just sitting up and a few months before that he was just rolling over and a few months before that he didn't move at all! (I should have reveled in "taking care of business" without an audience then.) I have loved each stage of Zachary's development because it is revealing more of his personality. I love watching him internalize everything because he gets that from Troy and I love watching him adjust objects with precision because he gets that from me. 

That being said, this afternoon, when I saw that hole in the toilet paper, in my head I could hear mothers who have gone before me say "Just wait until he starts moving, he will get into EVERYTHING!" Are they right, well yes, but honestly, I don't hear that voice with cheerfulness. These are the mothers who are trying to devalue the difficultly of the developmental stage of your child. Clearly, they have a more strenuous stage, ergo they are the better mother. What bologna! (By the way, did you just read that the way it is spelled? I always do!) Even if you're not a mom, you have heard these people too. Your voice may sound like, "Just wait until you get married...." or "Just wait until you buy a house..." or "Just wait until you get in the 'real world'..." These are people who see you enjoying your life and want to rain on your parade. These people are . . . butt-heads. Yes, I just said "butt-heads" mostly because it is true and also I dare you to read that word without smiling.

As I was looking at that hole in the toilet paper, I decided to hush up that gross, condescending, voice and focus instead on the cute, chubby little fingers that tore that hole and those fantastic cheeks that accompanies the smile of the face that sees the door to the bathroom is open so that he can wreck havoc on the roll of toilet paper. I don't care what those moms say. I can wait until the next stage because I am so much enjoying the current stage. When Zachary moves onto the next stage, I will love that too. So essentially, I guess I am taking their advice. I will "just wait."

Mall Elves

Christmas can make you do funny things when you're a parent. No other time during the year will people drive to the mall, put their beloved children on a stranger's lap and take a picture of their kiddos with a man who hasn't shaved since 1975 and wears his red, fuzzy pajamas all day.  Parents love to see the reactions of their kids when they meet Santa and Troy and I were no exception. We knew we had to document Zachary's first Christmas with a trip to see ole' St. Nick. We decided to wait until we went home to Chicago and take him to Orland Square Mall where we had gone as kids to see Santa. We dressed him up all cute, bundled him up against the cold and headed to the retail mecca of my hometown. We looked on the lower level  of the mall where Santa had always been in years past but we couldn't find him. Troy thought we should look upstairs and lo and behold, there he was in all his wonder. I was relieved because by this point, I am sweating up a storm since I was wearing my Ugg boots, my winter coat, I was holding a 6 month old who was as equally bundled up and then hoofing it all over the mall. I breathed a sigh of relief as I commented that the line was short. We would be able to get in and get out and then go grab some lunch. That's when I had my movie moment.

Remember in the movie The Christmas Story, when Ralphie and his brother go and visit Santa and the "little helpers" are anything but helpful? They grab kids by their arms, shove them on Santa and then heave them down the slide. Or how about in the movie Elf when Zoey Deschanel's character acts like Ben Stein in a green mini dress? Look, I understand that these mall jobs are not exactly what these people probably had in mind for their lives. I don't know of anyone who dreams of being a mall elf. I am sure they are just trying to pick up some odd jobs to pay for school or rent, but can't they be a little more cheerful? While this may not be their dream job, they are interacting with children who are excited to see Santa.

My movie moment was somewhat similar to what I have described although this mall Santa didn't push Zachary down a slide with his boot. After seeing the short line and mentioning to Troy my great relief while pitting out from heat exhaustion, Santa's little helper turned to me. With a pimply straight face and a monotone voice she said, "Actually this is the last family that Santa is going to see right now. In 15 minutes he is going to take an hour break to go feed his reindeer."

She actually said that to us.

I was so hot and hungry and Zachary's window of opportunity was quickly closing. If we waited an hour and 15 minutes for Santa to "feed his reindeer" we would have a meltdown on our hands, and Zachary would probably pitch a fit too. So, we opted to come back the following day, Christmas Eve.

After thinking about the mall elf, I figured there were two ways I could have approached this young woman. My first thought was to ask her to talk to me like an adult and just tell me that Santa was going to go out by the Sears entrance and have his ciggy break and hit of whiskey off his flask. The second option was suggested by our friend Tim, who said I should have played along and gotten really excited about the reindeer and asked if I could help feed them. Oh man, how I loved that idea. I wish I had the guts to do that. There is no way I could get through that without laughing, but if I could it would have been glorious.

As it turned out, we did get pictures with Santa. We thought Zachary would cry because he is going through an I-only-want-my-mommy-and-daddy phase, but he was so mesmerized by Kris Kringle's beard that it turned out great. He eventually smiled for the camera and Troy and I were suckered into buying the cheapest photo package they had - which we accidentally left at my parents house. Then 30 seconds after we got Zachary off Santa's lap, he spit up all down his outfit.

So, all in all, it would say it was a big success even with the grumpy mall elves.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

Welp, we did it. Troy and I became parents. Zachary Troy was born at 3:33PM on May 30, 2013 and he shares a birthday with his Grandpa Paul who turned 60 that same day. I will be using this post to shamefully share pictures of our handsome little boy. This week, he had his three month birthday and I feel like I have learned so much since pre-parenting days and I thought I would bestow some of that wisdom onto you.

There are so many things that I thought I knew going into this whole child-rearing thing that turned out to be utterly wrong. When my mom came to stay with us to help Troy and me, we laughed about all the things I told my mom while I was pregnant. She said she would get off the phone after hearing how I was going to do things, and tell my dad about how I was just going to have to figure it out the hard way. What a nice mom for doing it that way and not laughing in my face! Seriously, she totally deserves a gold sticker for everything she did for Troy, Zachary and I while she was here. Which brings me to my first lesson learned:

1. I needed my mommy. Before Zachary was born, Troy and I decided that my mom would only come for a week. After all, babies are small. All they do is eat, poop and sleep. We can handle it. My mom thought that we would need her for two weeks, but we knew better. So we made the arrangements with my parents for my mom to stay with us for a week and that was the plan. As that week started to come to an end, my mom called my dad to figure out when he would come to pick her up and I started to get panic attacks. Finally in a fit of tears, I asked - nay, begged - Troy to allow my mom to stay another week, to which of course, he said yes. My mom was very gracious and glad to stay another week. There were still plenty of tears when we had to part though and I continued to call her with questions.

 

This sweet boy loved to sleep during the day, not the night.

2. The first night home is like pulling an all-nighter in college, but the test date never comes. When we were in the hospital, Troy and I took advantage of the nursery. Every three hours, the nurse would wheel in our beautiful baby to eat and then I would ring the call button and the nurse would bring the baby back to the nursery and I would sleep until the next feeding. When we got home, we spent our first night alone. Both of our parents were still in hotels for the weekend and Troy and I figured we could handle things for a night. WRONG. That sweet, adorable, little baby didn't want to have anything to do with sleeping while it was dark. He wanted to cry and fed and be held - all-night-long. We ignorantly thought he was blissfully sleeping while in the nursery at the hospital (HA! HA! HA!). We were such fools.

I am super embarrassed by this photo, but I post it for you.

3. I will still look 8 months pregnant when I leave the hospital. This one was a real downer folks. I spit out an 8 pound, 5 ounce baby, and because I was induced and pumped full of liquid, I was actually MORE swollen when I left the hospital than when I got there - which is saying a lot because my feet resembled that of Fat Bastard's from Austin Powers before I even delivered. I have included a picture just so you get the idea. I look at pictures of myself when we brought home Zachary and it's gross. Now some ladies, leave the hospital gracefully with a mild post-preggo-pooch, like Kate Middleton. Some ladies leave the hospital looking how they did in college, like my friend Krista (Krista, I am sure you'll protest, but you looked smokin' hot after giving birth and you should embrace it.) I however, was not in that small group . . . there was nothing small about me.

4. "Exhausted Mom" jokes have a new meaning and will suddenly become cruelly hilarious. I have never experienced true exhaustion before. Let me tell you, it turns you into a crazy person. Straight up, cra-cra. I would sit on the couch and be fine one minute and start bawling for no reason the next. A lot of that has to do with the insane hormones that are raging through your body and the fact that you just performed something short of a miracle - birth, but a lot of that comes from lack of sleep. I would wake up in the middle of the night for feedings and I would hate everyone I knew who was sleeping. My only friend was my sister who works the night shift at her dispatch job at the airport. When I would hear people without children say they are tired, I wanted to punch them in the face. Not figuratively either, but I would literally clench my fist and get a solid foot stance ready.

5. I will inevitably parent in such a way that makes me look like a monster to "someone" "somewhere." Every Thursday night I have a weekly Skype date with my dear friend Becca. Not only is she one of my closest friends, I consider her an emotional and spiritual mentor. She and I are very similar and so I often ask for her advice because most of the time, what she has done is a great option for me. When Zachary was two months old, he was still feeding and sleeping whenever he wanted to, which made scheduling anything impossible. I was Skyping with Becca then and just broke down in tears due to my #4 lesson. She basically gave me a prescription on what I should do to get Zachary on a sleeping schedule, which was very similar to Baby Wise. You know what, it worked like a charm and Zachary slept all night long! Of course, that first night Troy and I were half asleep all night, just waiting to hear an explosion of cries that never came. Baby Wise is controversial because for some parents, they believe that "crying it out" is cruel, but other parents (like myself and Troy) can see the benefits of babies learning how to soothe themselves back to sleep. Regardless of which camp you're in, you will always get flack from someone on the other side, which is unfortunate because let's be honest, if you're a parent, you need all the support you can get, so why can't we all just get along? :)

Reading Z his Baby Bible before bedtime.

6. I needed the Lord . . . more.  I would be leaving out a HUGE lesson if I didn't mention this. When Zachary was born, I became so much more aware of mortality, which is morbid, I know, but it's true. At every feeding I would pray that the Lord would watch over my sweet, little boy and that he would grow up to be happy and healthy, but more importantly, that he would grow up to love the Lord too. I would also pray for myself that I would have the strength to get through the day with my lack of sleep and that my husband would know how much I loved him even though I wasn't able to give him much attention. Some nights, Zachary and I would cry together, not knowing what was wrong with the other person and I would look to the Lord for comfort. Having a baby has proven to be the most challenging thing Troy and I have ever done and together, we have turned to prayer for guidance and support. It gave us peace that cannot be matched. Here are some of my favorite verses that I recited during this time:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

"Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."" Mark 6:31

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest in your souls." Matthew 11:28-29

7. My baby is obviously the cutest baby on the planet. When I first saw Zachary for the first time, I loved him immediately and thought he was so cute. Not in the all-babies-are-cute kind of way, but I thought Zachary was so cute that it was obvious to everyone who ever laid eyes on him. People would comment on his cuteness and I wouldn't even be gracious about it, I would just say, "I know!" My mom warned me about this. She said that after I had kids, I would wonder how I ever thought any one else kids were "the cutest." She was right. Zachary is the cutest and I am going to throw down the gauntlet and challenge anyone to show me a cuter baby. I will of course judge Zachary's cuteness with his competitor. I will probably be biased. You will probably lose.

Love this.

Love this, too.

 8. I love my husband more than I thought I could. Here's were it gets a little mushy, friends. I have known Troy forever and if you would have told Little High School Pammy Kohler that she was going to get to marry Troy Carlson, she probably would have done an awkward giggle and started sweating profusely but she definitely wouldn't have believed you. Troy is my very best friend and I am so blessed to be married to him, but after having our son, it has been even more fun to see him in his new role. When I was pregnant, he was very protective of me. I remember getting a lecture on the importance of being careful going up and down our rickety basement steps. After Zachary was born, he would have a glass of water ready for me at every feeding, do all kinds of housework and hug me when I was having a moment of the "baby blues." Since acts of service is my love language, I felt very loved. When I see him with Zachary, it just melts my heart. The other night he read Zachary his bedtime story, and I as I watched my favorite men snuggling close to each other, my eyes started to water. Every night, we take turns praying over Zachary and when it is his turn to pray, my heart gets a little warmer. Basically, what I am trying to say is that Troy was smokin' hot before he was a dad, now he is pretty much exuding a nuclear-like heat. Ow! Ow!

9. What to Expect When You're Expecting should not be used as a syllabus. I read that book like it was the childbirth Bible everyone claims it to be. Each milestone month during my pregnancy, I would bone up on how my baby was growing, what I can expect from my body and doctor's appointments and how to make my husband feel like he is more involved in the process. Then the last chapter was about what I can expect once the baby is born and what the first week will look like. Let me tell you . . . they left A LOT of stuff out. Like how the week after you give birth, you could be one of the lucky ones who is in so much pain that getting in and out of chairs makes tears spring from your eyes. Or how sometimes circumcisions don't "work" and your child will be one of the lucky ones who will have to have his REDONE when he is one. Or how that gross line that runs up your belly will take FOREVER to lose, along with your baby weight. Who am I kidding? When I am pregnant with baby #2, I will read it again.

10. I am still a neat freak, OCD and an A-type personality. This can be seen by the fact that I needed to have an even number of lessons learned in this blog and 10 seemed like a good number. When I was pregnant, people would always tell me that I would change when I became a mother and that I couldn't be as "rigid" as I was before. You could call these people the messy, B-Type personalities who don't understand me anyway. To a certain extent, this is true, however, I am still me and I still like schedules, plans and things in order. Look at it this way, if you were standing at a riverbank and wanted to change the flow of the river, all you would have to do would be to throw a pebble in the river. It would change the flow because where the pebble is now, water once was able to flow freely. The river is still flowing in the same direction, the pebble just made a slight change in the flow. That is how I feel about motherhood. Zachary is my sweet little pebble. He has changed some things, obviously, but the river doesn't suddenly start flowing in the reverse direction, and I haven't changed who I am at my core, which is a neat freak, who has OCD and an A-type personality, I'm just a mom now too.

Even though being a parent is the hardest thing I have ever done. It is the best. That little boy melts my heart multiple times a day, every day. I love how he has truly made us a family. I know there will be many more lessons to learn as we go.