After some major hustling, we were finally able to leave Portland.  On their own, things around the house and business just started speeding up exponentially with sales & emails. More than anything, I did NOT want to push back our leaving date, so last night I just decided to stay up til 5am to make sure all our emails and orders were taken care of.

Kitty Baby Love Shipping USPS Priority Mail

USPS home pickup is my friend

 

This is like shipping 3/4 of what I thought we’d sell our month in San Diego in 1 night! The only thing left is a custom order of boo boo kitties (sorry Jane!), which I will finish during the car ride and drop it at a post office before leaving Oregon.

In the morning, the whole family pitched in and also did a blitz spring cleaning of the house. We needed the house cleared for temporary tenants who will also be caring for the kitties while we’re out. We walked out the door 1.5 later than scheduled, but with a HUGE sigh of relief.

Adventure mode: ON

Where The Wild Things Are Globe by ImagineNations

Where The Wild Things Are Globe by ImagineNations

 

It looks like the original road trip plan won’t work out for Oregon stops, but we don’t mind. It’s just nice to finally get moving. Mikah started snoozing immediately after we left (he helped clean the house too, very tiring!), so it’s been a peaceful ride so far.

Good bye house, good bye kitties… We’ll see you again soon!

Happy Saturday

March 3rd, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in About Baby | Family Life - (1 Comments)

Happy Saturday, love Mikah by Kitty Baby Love

Happy Saturday, love Mikah

Mikah's first scapbook page

Mikah's first scapbook page

It works in theory! This is Mikah’s first ever scrap book page. He took photos (we took some too), picked out a few, got some tape, and organized it on a page. I encouraged him to doodle on the page, but he refused.

Items gathered

  • Blank notebook with hard covers- nice and large with thicker pages
  • Washi tape
  • Marking objects; to draw, write, and color with
  • Poloroid camera; for photo snapshots that print right away!

Accessories for the road trip

  • Sheet of baseball card protectors; to store items that won’t stick with tape or that have 2 sides to admire
  • Sunprint paper; hello roadside art projects!
  • Stickers!!!!
Washi Tape Organizer by 464Handmade

Washi Tape Organizer by 464Handmade

Well I thought the poloroid was a good idea at first. I officially handed down down to Mikah my old series 600 Poloroid camera ($5 find in SF Goodwill) along with a fresh pack of old film I had kept. We showed him how to use it and shot away on it, though half of them came out bad because the film had decayed. ‘No biggie’, we thought. Oh boy, were we wrong!

Kodak EK6 Instant Camera / Vintage Camera by sinkorswimtreasures

Kodak EK6 Instant Camera / Vintage Camera by sinkorswimtreasures

Poloroid films cost about $2+ per photo now- both online and at local shops! I’m sad because I wanted Mikah to be able to take his own photos at will, with the immediate gratification you get seeing a poloroid shoot out and slowly develop. But now I think we’ll just reserve the photos for major photo opportunities- in front of a town sign, etc.

We haven’t given up yet and will still look around for camera options. I saw that they have a new digital version of the poloroid- but somehow waiting for a little square object buzz for 60 seconds while slowly births a crisp print just doesn’t have the same pizazz as the vintage poloroids.

Thankfully i’ve run into the Impossible Project, which is a revamp of the poloroid films after they discontinued manufacturing. It’s still pricey for a toddler’s toy, but the best option for now.

Any other thoughts or camera suggestions welcomed!

Doodles

February 23rd, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in Family Activities | Family Life - (0 Comments)

Family activity #153 – Doodling. Mikah is able to do little scribbles (in black). He likes to make special requests, so all the drawings by Ben (pink hi-liter) was specific to Mikah’s requests.

Such as, “Bunny watching tv and wearing ear protection…..”

This is on our kitchen fridge right now <3

Doodle by daddy & baby

Doodle by daddy & baby

Everything Counts

February 9th, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in Family Life - (0 Comments)

I missed yesterday (shucks!) but here is today’s post- an awesome family of musicians. This is what I imagine Ben & Mikah to be when M gets a little older. The best part is the end.

 

Valentines Crush

February 6th, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in Family Life | For Mommy - (0 Comments)
Polka Dot and Floral Short Kimono Robe by Eva Eiz

Polka Dot and Floral Short Kimono Robe by Eva Eiz - $75

 

All Natural & Organic Cinnamon Chocolate Bark (8 oz.)

All Natural & Organic Cinnamon Chocolate Bark by Esther Aguirre - $7.50

 

Red floral bow bandeau set by Eva Eiz

Red floral bow bandeau set by Eva Eiz - $90

 

Full Steam Ahead

February 5th, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in Business | Family Life - (0 Comments)

Sometimes when I get tired of music (did I just say that?) I’ll listen to radio shows. And if you guys don’t already know about This American Life, check them out (here are their archives). Ira Glass, the host of the show and crush of every nerdy literary chick, said some things on the beginning steps of a creative life that rings Oh So Very True.

It’s been my ray of inspiration. No matter what your creative pursuits are this year, I hope this video can do the same for you as it has me!

http://vimeo.com/24715531

Whats that awful sound?

February 4th, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in Family Life - (1 Comments)
It's a cat drumming a drum that says "Rad" by Deth P. Sun

It's a cat drumming a drum that says "Rad" by Deth P. Sun

Yesterday Mikah kept asking us “What’s that awful sound?” And then Ben & I would giggle. It’s our inside joke.

Mikah enjoys helping Ben make Kitty Egg Crayons, and one part of the process is using a metal palette knife to scrape off the spilled crayon waxes from the work table. Mikah is a pro at this, though scraping a metal palette knife against dry wood at high speeds can make sounds similar to nails scratching a plate.

Ben, not wanting to just rip the palette knife away from Mikah’s hands, will scrunch up his face and say, “What’s that awful sound?”

My funny boys.

There aren’t a lot of sounds that personally bother me, though I managed to make a list:

  • cotton balls rubbing together
  • high frequency whirring sounds of appliances (like bathroom fans or old tv’s)
  • fork scratching on a plate
  • AC/DC

New Years Resolution

February 3rd, 2012 | Posted by Kitty Baby Love in Family Life - (0 Comments)
Crochet Dragon by Olga Farberova

Crochet Dragon by Olga Farberova

I didn’t actually figure out this resolution til 10 minutes ago- but here it is. I’m going to do 1 post a day on the blog.

I’ve been looking for more writers to collaborate on our blog to share great resources for you guys- but it’s always better to lead by example. So please look forward to seeing great posts on tutorials, recipes, and shopping guides. I’ll be including my daily ‘love notes’ in between.

For now, Happy New Years! 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon. Dragons are passionate and hard-working, but can fizzle out quickly. However 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon, as such……

Water Dragons – Years 1952 and 2012

Water calms the Dragon’s fire. Water Dragons are able to see things from other points of view. They don’t have the need to always be right. Their decisions, if well-researched, are usually better since they allow other’s to become involved. (source)

 

In our house, Ben is our dragon, born in the year of 1976, making him a FIRE dragon- which means he is extra firey and passionate…. a definite ‘doer’ of things. If you don’t have your own dragon in your family, consider getting one from Olga Farberova, who I found just searching on etsy for a dragon. I love that it’s a papa dragon with his baby- how adorable!

 

This is how we feel. From the amazingly awesome family movie, My Neighbor Totoro

Thank you to everyone who helped make this project a success and for all of your positive comments and words of encouragement. We really would not be doing this if it weren’t for your support.

Since the project ended we’ve been busy getting all our scores settled. Of course monkey wrenches pop in when you least expect it- though I feel like that’s the spice of life.

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