to continue yesterday’s topic of ways to keep babies cool in the summertime (if you aren’t blessed/privileged/lucky enough to have AC), here’s another thing i do with the kiddos to make the heat a little more bearable. after sunscreening them up we go out to the front yard where i have an old mid-century modern teak planter. i had high hopes of a little succulent garden in this thing but i have no green thumb. so it stood on the porch and faded terribly. until jp told me i should fill it with water and let the babes splash around. have i told you my hubby is a genius?
so we turn the hose on, fill the water table up, put toys in the water table, and let the kids get soaked. everyone is happy.
i advise, if possible, putting hats on your little one(s) to protect their adorable faces from the sun. i know what you’re thinking: max and ramona don’t have hats on. i know. i can’t. these little ones won’t let me. but i still advise it.
it’s been hot out. really hot. and this little brick house has no AC. (except for the bedroom but it’s really hard to hang out with two little kiddos in a teeny tiny room that’s not baby proof). so it warms up by the afternoon. a lot. and so we’re sticky and grumpy and tired. to top it off, between the two babes, someone is always teething. which makes them even more grumpy. i was at my wit’s end.
but then i made a lovely discovery: babies (at least max and ramona) LOVE ice cubes. and with careful supervision, overheating and achy teeth can be relieved when babies get to suck and chew on ice. jp and i have the tovolo king cube silicone ice tray (also the tovolo perfect cube silicon trays) and these make the perfect size (LARGE!) cube for babies to play with. they grab them with their hands, glide them across the floor, suck on them, try to bite them, get soaked by them. and they relax and chill out and get very very happy and content. and then i can take a breath and chill out too.
try it! but please please please make sure you are watching baby carefully. especially if your ice cubes are not big like these ones (the disc shape ones seem especially dangerous to me).
and the winner of the mountain vs plains giveaway is nikki kelly of the ambitious procrastinator, who, if having to decide what to do if 20ft hamsters took over the city of denver, said [she] would have to head to Park Meadows and buy one of those terrible pan flute cd’s to play as loudly from my car as possible. (south park anyone?) hamsters and guinea pigs are pretty closely related right?! congratulations! please email me to claim your prize. (prizes not claimed within one week of announcement will be given to next person selected by random.org as the winner).
to see more of our week, follow me on instagram: eopower.
denver stuffs:
- shame on you for not entering the mountain vs plains giveaway yet. don’t worry. there’s still time! check out this post to enter.
- jp, bean, max, and i were invited to eat lunch at the soft opening of ace in denver. it’s asian street food meets ping pong bar. slated to open early august. check it out and order the golden child, a most delicious and simple cocktail.
- my new favorite pinterest pinner (and a denver local!): cate anderson of the KIN collective.
- have i not told you yet that i am a treasure hunter? buy unique baby clothes at my etsy shop, ollie’s vintage, or unique items for your home on my blog! updated weekly.
other stuffs:
- ina may gaskin and her article about our country’s disproportionate obsession with home births.
- this dance video gave me goosebumps. i may have even teared up a little bit.
- a three-year-old teaches us how to pick up a chicken.
- i plan to utilize some ideas from this blog for playing with ramona and max.
- and finally, the lookbook for the new PS collection at ikea. due out august 2012. swoon.
saturday morning, for the first time since before ramona was born, i went estate sale shopping with my friend amanda, from the petrichor.
oh my. i used to do this every weekend but it’s rather hard to do when loading and unloading a baby at every stop. also, try lugging a baby around while searching for treasures in a house filled with other scavengers. impossible. so ramona spent the morning with jp’s parents and amanda and i followed the route we had mapped out the day before.
my loot was good. i was pleased. it felt good to get back out but, still, i was a bit rusty. my plan is to make this an at-least-once-a-month event. which means i may be revamping my etsy shop. again. or starting another one. bc, for me, it’s the hunt that is so much fun. my little house does not have enough room or wall space for all the treasures i bring back. so take a look around. let me know if there’s something you have your eye on. make me a deal. buy my stuff! (email me if you have more questions about any specific item).
the loot. twas a successful thrifting saturday morning.
clockwise from left: nude drawing $40, mexican print $20, oil on canvas $30
mexican rag dolls, $10 each ($5 for the little one); dhurri/kilim rug, $40
clockwise starting at top: woven purse, $30; woven bag, $15; woven basket, $8
here are some estate sale-ing tips:
- use websites like estatesales.net to find out about local estate sales going on. craigslist can be good too, esp for estate sales not run by third parties.
- map out a route beforehand. maximize your time and miles by sticking to one or two neighborhoods. if it’s yard sale season, sometimes you can squeeze these in between stops. just look for neon signs on the corner.
- don’t be afraid to do the slow drive-by for yard sales. don’t waste your time getting out if the yard sale is really just a bunch of junk that should’ve been donated or junked years ago.
- always carry cash. in many denominations.
- when you enter the house, quickly familiarize yourself with the organizers’ rules. do they take only cash? can you bargain? it helps to know how they like to run the show.
- do a quick walk through when you get inside the house. stop only for the goods that immediately catch your attention.
- then after this, go through more meticulously only if the house seems to hold promise for what you are looking for.
- always check the basement for hidden goodies. and the garage. some of my favorite finds come from these places usually overrun by weird men looking for tools.
- don’t be afraid to bargain. most people are down for knocking some bucks off, esp if you’ve got a lot of goodies. besides, the worse they can say is no.
- know what price you are willing to pay for something and walk away if you can’t get it. if you don’t follow this rule, you will end up with a lot of junk and spend too much money.
my sweet ramona,
you come from two lines of great families. we’re not political families, nor socialites, nor is there old money (or new money for that matter!). but between the powers and the drivers, your history starts w quite a legacy. there are teachers and counselors and coordinators and developers. there are students and doctors and entrepreneurs and artists. there are lovers and fighters and seekers and explainers. i list (and brag about!) these livelihoods and traits to illustrate to you that you can be whatever you want to be within this family. you will be supported and you will, unconditionally as much as humanly possible, be loved.
we are family people. we are tight knit. we like tradition and game nights. we love family dinners. we make fun of one another and we support one another. there are daily phone calls and texted photos showing off our little ones or projects. we do, of course, get sick of each other.
your family believes in marriage and God and hard work and silliness and creativity. we are not perfect. sometimes we fight. always we find a way to constructively make-up. family –and the history of a family– can be messy and complicated. we are not free from this. we are all so different. it is good to have this in your history bc it can help you figure out better who you are. and where you fit into the scheme of things.
this letter does little to fully explain to you where and who you come from or what your history is. ask questions. expect real answers. listen to the stories of your mother and father, your grandparents, your aunt and uncles. get to know us. as you get older you will piece together your own idea of your history and what came before you. this patchwork of the past will explain some things about who you are or why your parents do the things they do. it will probably frustrate you and sometimes, i regret to say, disappoint you. but my prayer is that you mostly discover the pride and joy that i have coming from –or marrying into– these families. i feel incredibly blessed and i hope you grow up feeling the same.
i love you, minka. love, mama.
read other letters to ramona bean over here, here, here, here, and here.
this post is done in collaboration with sakura bloom. the sling i am wearing is the simple linen in wheat. the beautiful photos are by megan newton of megan newton photography who graciously did a portrait shoot for the power side of the family. they were taken at the populist, jp’s new restaurant slated to open in denver at the end of august 2012.
welcome
