Family: Precious/Ali | myMCMlife.com

Two Long, Simultaneous Processes … Complete.

05/02/2013

It’s no coincidence that we started the process of building a new home and adopting Alianna at the same time. She arrived at our lovely little ranch home in September 2011 and we learned pretty quickly that she was going to need to be adopted. Although we anticipated we’d be fostering for a while before adopting any child, we were thrilled to move in that direction with the precious little girl we rapidly fell in love with.

But, we still hoped and planned to continue fostering kids who need a home and substitute parents for short or long term and we realized we were going to be limited on bedroom space and options for kids. We would have only been able to accept a placement of a girl who could share a small bedroom with Ali. So that’s why we began the process of moving to a bigger home. Originally we were going to buy an old fixer-upper so we could stay in our already established, historic neighborhood. When a rare piece of property came available (due to a house fire and then demolition of the previous home), my dad convinced us to consider building a custom house. The land was 7 houses down from my parents’.

We put an offer on the property before knowing for sure that we’d be adopting Ali. In November 2011, we got custody of Ali (through a dramatic turn of events that you’re well familiar with if you’ve been around here long), purchased the property for our future home, put our current hom on the market and started talking to architect Ryan Thewes to plan our new house. Eighteen months later both processes finally wrapped up. How about that?! If you’re a nerd for dates and timelines, here’s a breakdown of both of these processes that ended up running side by side.

I feel an unexpected amount of closure. Two major, life-changing process have just completely wrapped up.

Now what? Seems like time to start a new adventure…

1 Comment | Art, Art: new home build, Family, Family: Adoption, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: adoption, home build, processes | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Bubbles

04/22/2013

Have you ever made your own bubble solution? It’s cheap, very easy and makes awesome bubbles! I’ve seen a lot of pins on Pinterest with homemade bubble recipes but this is the one I tried. I cut the recipe in half and used Dawn dish soap and light corn syrup. I found it to be too thick so I added more water.

With one breath and a simple little 1″ bubble wand, I can make 20-40 bubbles! Ali is thrilled. We’ll never be wasting our money on the “miracle” watery bubble solution at the store again. I’m hoping to try this out with a bigger bubble wand soon. Even with my little wand, I can get a bubble about 4″ in diameter.

Usually we do bubbles outside but sometimes if Ali is well behaved in the tub (in other words, not soaking me with splashing…) I’ll reward her with bubbles in the tub.

Dog photo bomb! (By the way, Ali is not crying in the background, she’s gasping/laughing because of the bubbles popping around her face. No children were harmed in the making of these photos. 😉 However… Warning: it’s soapy and it will sting the eyes. She tends to get it on her hands from exuberant bubble decimation and then sometimes rubs her eyes.)

4 Comments | Art, Art: crafts, Family, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: bubbles, child, crafts, DIY, homemade, kids, parenting | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

My Little Water Lover

04/18/2013

I’ve got a little water lover on my hands and I’m so glad! We just recently got her a plastic wading pool but here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

We start swimming lessons this Saturday and I can’t wait!

Leave a Comment » | Family, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: Ali, bath, googles, pool, precious, swimming, water, water baby | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Eating Outside: Toddler Solutions

04/17/2013

As soon as it was warm though, I enthusiastically moved Ali’s high chair outside. Food throwing is one of my biggest pet peeves with her lately. (The other is splashing in the bath tub and soaking the mama, in case you were wondering.) Eating outside provided a temporary reprieve. I didn’t change the rules but it allowed me to stay more relaxed while correcting her, rather than getting stressed out about a strawberry smacking the white wall or a green bean getting smashed onto the wood floors. And getting stressed out makes me more likely to lose my temper with my sweet little girl. I’m a work in progress, as is she.

We’ve also been spending a lot of time outdoors in general. My favorites (during Ali’s nap time) are lounging in the hammock, occasionally joined by a dog…

Walking around our property and picking up shards of glass (we started a jar for our collection about a month ago)…

and spotting beautiful creations while I’m picking up glass…

Ali likes to climb up the steps of the hot tub…

swing and spin in her swing…

And play in her giant sandbox…

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: God's creation, Family, Family: Me, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: eating outside, food fights, food throwing, outdoors, spring, toddler | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Ali Mae: Fashionista

04/15/2013

OK, the title is a little bit of an exaggeration. I have, however, started encouraging Ali to help pick out her outfits and I’m beyond excited about it! She doesn’t really care all that much. It’s mostly just fun to pull things out of the drawers and throw them. This is the first outfit she pulled…and truthfully, it was just based on whatever whatever she grabbed first.

I added the rainbow socks in an attempt to pull together the pink, green and purple. Later that day, we had a hair accessory party. She pulled out what she wanted and I put it on her head. I think she was up to 9 headbands at one point.

Then I discovered that she’s OK with hair clips now! Finally! I have so many cute ones made by kind friends and she’s always immediately pulled them out before. Maybe it’s because her hair is getting so long now. Or maybe it’s because she likes how they look. Regardless, I’m excited about all the new hair possibilities.

Here’s Ali’s second self-selected outfit. I’m really proud of this one. She chose the jeans and the black tee shirt. I suggested the pink furry vest since it was a cool day, and she enthusiastically said “Yeah!” When I opened her sock drawer, she went straight for the leg warmers. And they happen to match with pink and black stripes! Good one, Ali. And she chose her hot pink Dora socks and the green and purple hair clip. Oh my heart. When Jason saw this picture, he said, “She’s so cool!”

This outfit was all my doing. (We were in a hurry that morning so I picked it.) I love that she understands the concept of posing for pictures now. Right after I snap it, she runs over and says “Ali?” so she can see how it turned out.

Jason has a hoodie that shrank. It was too small for me, even, so we let Ali try it out.

Cuteness overload!

Oh, and girl loves some eyewear! She’s always after my glasses, which she calls “See” because I have to keep reminding her that I need them to see. (In other words, give them back!)

She can rock some sunglasses while we’re shopping, too.

And one time she even found Daddy’s glasses and gave them a try.

Oh, little girls are so much fun! I can’t wait until Ali starts dressing herself.

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Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: fashion, Family, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: accessories, clothes, dressing, fashion, glasses, little girl, toddler | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Before & After: Bookshelf

04/11/2013

From ugly, cheap bookshelf to cute, cheap bookshelf!

While on the hunt for a dresser for the next kids’ room, I came across this little piece of junk bookshelf. It’s pressboard with a wood patterned laminate and it was dirty and wobbly. BUT… it was only $6.99 and I couldn’t resist! I’m on the lookout for bookshelves for the kids bedrooms, the den, my office…basically, I could use a lot of bookshelves in a lot of places.

My dear husband is the perfectionist when it comes to home projects. When I was in elementary school my mom bought me a poster of a kitten covered in paint that said “I’m not messy; I’m creative!” That pretty much sums up the way I do projects, which Jason can surely confirm. He also calls me the Swedish Chef as he’s cleaning up after me in the kitchen. All that to say, I painted the heck out of this thing. I was experimenting as I went. First I tried gray primer spray paint but it ran out. Then I tried flat black spray paint. (I’m a horrible spray painter, by the way.) That ran out too so I changed tactics and went with white ceiling paint for primer because we have a 5-gallon bucket of it in the garage. That worked. Then I painted it with the same quart of Glidden wall paint that I’ve used for the little nightstand dresser in Ali’s room and the recently purchased dresser. I figure maybe one day they’ll all end up in the same room. It took me 3 coats to cover this thing! Even after all my “primer” coats.

Before painting, I had added a few screws into the sides to try to stabilize it. They helped but I realized that it originally had a panel on the back, which would have helped the corners stay square. I came up with the idea of adding a piece of stained plywood to the back. We had the stain on hand. I used a rag to rub it onto the face and the edges of the plywood. When it was fairly dry (OK, not really…I was impatient…) I tacked it onto the back of the shelves with finishing nails. I really love how it turned out with the Granny Apple green and the American Walnut (color) wood. Oh, and the only thing I had to purchase was the plywood, which was around $10 and I had cut to size (from a 2’x4′ sheet) at the store. So this whole deal cost about $17.

For now, it’s residing in the den. I needed a spot to put the DVD player so this room could start feeling more like a den and less like a playroom. I was also excited to have a spot to set up some of the awesome Barbie furniture my Granny made me. I could only fit about 1/4 of it on the shelf but that’s fine for now.

Ali immediately said “House!” when she saw it and she’s pretty excited about these two mutilated “Darbies” from my childhood.

The blonde has a broken neck and Ali is quite concerned about her head popping off. She brings it to me every time and says, “Oh no, Mama!” They’re both naked, missing one limb (from a dog attack) and have butchered haircuts. Based on how rough Ali plays with them, though, I think I’ll wait a year or two before buying her any new Darbies.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: before & after, Art: crafts, Art: interior design, Family, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: barbies, before and after, bookshelf, den, DIY, playroom | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Junior Landscaping Apprentice

04/09/2013

When Jason and I are doing yard work, Ali is either sleeping or helping. And by helping, I mean “helping.” Bless her heart, she wants so badly to be useful.

I was planning on getting Ali a sandbox this summer and then I realized, hello! We have a whole courtyard full of crushed rocks. Welcome to the giant sandbox, darling.

Look how she follows Jason around with her tiny shovel, trying to do exactly what he’s doing.

Such a beautiful picture of parenting and discipline, isn’t it? She learns how to act by watching and imitating us. We lead by example and it’s her instinct to follow.

It’s not forced. She could have been just playing in the rocks and that would have been fine. But she wanted to help Daddy. She wanted to do what Daddy was doing. She wants to be like Daddy.

1 Comment | Art, Art: gardening, Faith, Family, Family: Jason, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: child, daddy, daughter, discipline, father, helping, imitating, parenting, teaching | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Random Ali-ness

04/03/2013

At 20.5 months, Ali is making us laugh with her silly antics everyday. She knows what she wants and how to express it. One morning while I was on a long and important phone call, I managed to get her diaper changed, get her dressed and prepare her a breakfast of toast, fruit and yogurt. When I put her in the high chair and offered her each of those 3 things, she said no to each. When I finally got off the call I said, “You don’t want any of these things? What do you want?” And she answered very clearly, “Eggs.” Duh, Mama. She loves eggs. She also loves to try on Jason’s and my glasses. She called them “See!” because I always tell her I need them to see.

Everyday Ali asks to go “outside!” She loves playing outdoors, regardless of the weather. When it’s nice I try to get her out to the playground so she can burn off some energy. I’m really looking forward to warmer weather so we can spend more time outside everyday. Spring has been noncommittal this year; we’ve had gorgeous days and then chilly, dreary days.

We were scheduled to start swimming lessons last month but because of some issues with the pool at the community center, they had to cancel our class. I’m bummed. I plan to spend a lot of time with Ali at my parents’ pool this summer working on the basics. She’s fearless and adventurous so we are taking water safety and survival skills very seriously.

Ali has always been very social but lately phrases have been coming out more clearly. The other morning she enthusiastically said “Hi, Daddy!” to Jason, followed by “You’re cute!” Some other phrases she’s said: I’m ready, I want Daddy/Mama, Where’s Ali/Daddy/Mama/Lucy/Gramma?, There she is, Where are you?, I love you, Let’s see… (when we open the fridge).

Ali still says “boops” instead of books, even though she can say “duck.” She also has been informing us when she needs a tissue but saying she has “boobers” which is super cute. She said “uh ho” instead of uh oh and “no no!” instead of “oh no!” I know I’ll miss those words when they’re gone. She still can’t really say Grandma and Grandpa; they sound like “Ma’ama” and “Mampa” but it works and I know they love to hear it. Some other random words she says: hi, yes, yeah, hello, no, bye-bye, goodnight, amen, ball, up, help, see, elbow, knee, eye, hair, owl, Ali, baby, tea, toffee (coffee), picko (pickle), cheese, toast, yogurt, saysu (raisin), Sucy/Ucy (Lucy), sauce, shoes, shocks (socks), stinky, poopoo, potty, bass/baff (bath), aldi (all done), tan to (thank you), peesh (please), dis (this), dintz/ditz (drink… took us a while to recognize this one!), taco, owives (olives), cookie, cacka (cracker), cheese, milk, baba (bottle), cup, diapu (diaper), outside, side (slide), swing, chalk, dubbus (bubbles), duck, doddy (doggy…it sounds a lot like “daddy” which has led to a few embarrassing situations for whatever man is standing near a dog), mama/mommy, daddy, I-is (Iris), Eyza (Eliza), Jeejee (Jaron), Nana (banana), Ninny (Nana), Papa, E-ey (Eli), Awi/Ali, Jesus, Doda (Dora), Gabba (Yo Gabba Gabba), Elmo, fowwa (flower), stickoos (stickers), cuwu (color), nap, musis/deedeedeebababa (music/turn on the music please)… and I’m sure there are more I’m not remembering. Ali will repeat the whole alphabet letter by letter but hasn’t mastered g, r, n, l yet. She’s very good at communicating in general

Ali tries to imitate everything we do which is awesome for teaching her things like putting away toys, wiping up spills, putting on pants/socks/shoes and trying new foods. It’s also super cute when she tries to help us with yard work, walking Lucy and in this case playing the guitar like Daddy.

Along with all of the fun and cuteness, the challenges also increase, but I think that’s just the way it goes with the toddler years. She keeps us on our toes and constantly learning and trying new parenting techniques. Jason and I often comment to each other that she gets more beautiful everyday. We are blessed and thankful to get to be her parents. I’m savoring this time when she has us all to herself as an only child.

1 Comment | Family, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: 20 months, Ali, alianna, daughter, parenting, precious, toddler | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Easter Sunday 2013

03/31/2013

We started off our Easter Sunday early since Jason was playing in the band at church.

We enjoyed hearing the choir warm up.

Ali got the whole nursery to herself for a while. She loves the slide, of course.

Mmm…

Later, my parents and in-laws came over for Easter dinner. Grandpa let Ali decorate his face with stickers. What a good sport!

Oh, these two melt me!

Hey look, a good family photo! Thanks for taking this Mom! And thanks for putting shoes on, Jason!

And one outtake: Uh oh…someone has learned how to cheese for the camera.

Leave a Comment » | Faith, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason, Family: Me, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: church, easter, Family, holiday, resurrection sunday | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

The Egg Hunt

03/27/2013

On Saturday, one of our neighborhood MOMS clubs put on an Easter egg hunt at a park. It started at 10am on a cold, dreary morning when we all slept in. We pretty much missed the hunt. When we arrived at the field, the last group was scrambling for the last set of colorful eggs. I quickly grabbed one and tossed it at Ali’s feet. She was not getting the concept so she had no sense of urgency. And thankfully, because she had no idea what an Easter egg hunt is, she wasn’t disappointed that she only got 1 measly butterfly eraser.