rachaelk's Profile

I've seen this map before while searching for map ideas on the web and absolutely love it in all of it's gorgeousness and educational value!! I wish I had the patience to make one for my classroom, but I just made some finger puppets for my daughter that took too long and there were only five!! I guess I will just drool. :)

I too like old lady names, which my husband points out. But as someone noted many old-fashioned names made a comeback. Since I was a Rachael born in the 1980s I wanted more "unique" old-fashioned names for my children. I actually had planned on Emma or Eva because those were my grandma's names...but I just didn't want her to have three other girls in her class with the same name like I did. So we named our daughter Esther. I love it. I've only heard one other child Esther in a store and everyone knows how to say it (although more people than I thought misspell it). And double bonus it was my great-grandma's name, so it still has family history. If we ever have other children we will probably continue the old-fashion route, but not use the newly popular ones like Hazel or Pearl (though I personally love both names I'm concerned how popular they will be when our kids are in school!) My husband says I worry too much about this, but I really didn't like having two other repeats in my graduating class. On the other end of the spectrum I also don't planning on naming any of my children after any of the names on this list...it's not my style to have that unique of a name! :D

This one is my favorite I think!

Love everything about your kitchen! I want to decorate my apartment like this one day!

I too think it looks amazing and would love to see more pictures!

We've also taken our daughter camping several times and she loves it! The first time was when she was about 18 months, we took her pack and play, but it was too cold in there for her to sleep well (we camp in Texas over Thanksgiving so nights can be cool and she always kicks off the covers) so she ended up sleeping with us in our sleeping bags (we always zip our two bags together because I get so cold at night without my husbands body heat!) If you are planning on backpacking and camping it would be more challenging because you would want to pack as light as possible, so maybe try out just sleeping in tents, etc. first if possible?

I agree with the plenty of extra clothes and diapers suggestion and would recommend lots of different types of clothing and layers. You never know if it's going to start raining or an unseasonable cold front will pass through (or higher than normal temps for that matter.) If you make your own baby food you could freeze some in ice cube trays then transfer to baggies for the cooler, then you don't have to worry about baby food jars (or you could just transfer the jar stuff to baggies maybe?)

Great stories and pictures; Love them! My daughter has never really fallen asleep in an unusual spot, but we were surprised by the fact that she once fell asleep during one of her movies while I was cooking dinner. Usually if the tv is on, she is up!

Wow I'm surprised there are homes like this in Dallas! Neato.

I love this room as well! Also love your daughter's name, it's my daughter's middle name and was my great-great grandma's name.

Not a huge fan of the wooden panels at the bottom. I think I'd prefer a color or just white instead, but love the concept and seems really simple to do.