Pfarfigknittin

First Snowman Ever

2012-01-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

We had a real cold snap last week that prevented us from spending much time outside. I'm sure Benjamin could have handled it, but I worried for Miriam since she's been gasping for air on the quick in-out dashes from the car/house when we run errands. Also, I'm a complete chicken when it comes to cold. I was not meant to live in Wisconsin. Anything less than 50ºF mandates that I wear long underwear when spending any time out side, and, unfortunately, Wisconsin weather usually falls into that category 75% of the year.

Sunday, it started to warm up. We went to church, ran our errands, and made it home around 3:30pm. Since we have until about 5:00pm before it gets dark, I asked Benjamin if he wanted to go out and play. I gave him the choice of going out with Chris or going out with me (secretly wishing he'd go out with Chris), and he chose Daddy.

I bundled Benjamin up, for which Chris chided me. I didn't think that a t-shirt, sweatshirt, coat, mittens, hat, snowpants, scarf, and boots was too much for 34ºF, but Chris didn't think he needed the sweatshirt or scarf. I wonder if Chris spent much time in his childhood playing in the snow. It's not just the cold, it's the wet that gets you!

Once I ensured no skin was showing (okay, maybe that was a little much...but I would be a terrible mother if I sent him out with any less!), I sent them out of the house and charged them with making a snowman. With the weather warming a bit (from 10ºF), the snow was starting to melt and made for perfect packing snow.

Once the snowman was done, Benjamin didn't want to come in yet, so Chris took him sledding in the park next door. And when they were done, I met them inside with hot chocolate.

And that's when Chris told me he thinks that's the first snowman he's ever built. Thirty-one years old and his first snowman was built with his son. I suppose there's no better time!

Meeting Goals

2012-01-23T10:55:00.001-06:00

photo credit

So, last week didn't quite go as planned, but such is life! When making my goals for last week, I really overestimated my ability to get anything done with two toddlers. In my attempts to unpack, they just undid everything I accomplished! I would put something in the kitchen cabinet, turn my back to pick something else out of the box, and my two little "helpers" would have emptied the entire cabinet!

I quickly gave up hopes of actually getting unpacked (I mean, what's the point? We're moving in August again anyway, God willing.), and turned my attentions to other things. It was freezing here last week, so I did some knitting on my scarf. I didn't get all 20 repeats done, but I did get 16 of them knit! I didn't take the kids out to play in the snow, but Chris did. I didn't do laundry every day, but the laundry all got done.

I reworked our budget this past week. (I'm not sure I publicly stated, but I've been out of a job since early December.) By the grace of God, we're not even wanting for anything! Yet, I thought it would be even better if I renewed my focus on finding a job. We do have some debt, and if I brought in a paycheck, we could pay it off even faster. I also decided to do a very detailed menu plan to ensure we don't cave and go out to eat because we weren't prepared. Because of this, I was able to increase our grocery budget but a little. (I have only recently discovered just how much my children eat now that I'm feeding them only out of my pantry. I hate to see what they're going to be like as teenagers!)

So, my goals for this week are going to be much less lofty than last week.

Home
1. Do one load of laundry everyday. (I'm going to keep working on this one until it's a habit.)
2. Finish putting the kitchen away. (It's getting seriously annoying with the boxes in the way.)
3. Stick to the menu plan.

Kids
4. Take them to a library story-time. (It's time we meet some new friends in our new town!)

Husband/Marriage
5. Plan something we can do after the kids have gone to bed. (Didn't do this last week.)

Knitting
6. Knit 15 rows on my Spectra scarf. (I want to finish it this winter yet!)

10 Goals For This Week

2012-01-16T12:10:00.000-06:00

photo credit

Well, it seems this blog has become a catch all, now hasn't it?! It was supposed to be a knitting blog, but I'll tell you something. Not a whole lot of knitting happens with young toddlers! And now, we just moved, so all my yarn is packed in boxes and bags. So, you all will have to bear with me as I get my life back in order.

I'm going to try to keep myself more organized this year. I'm going to simplify my life so it doesn't become too overwhelming. A lot of big changes are going to happen to our family (fingers crossed) in the next few years, so it'll be of the utmost importance to stay on top of things!

Because of this, I've decided to share weekly with you 10 goals I have for my week. They may not be lofty goals, and in the beginning, they may be goals I know I'll obtain, just to keep myself motivated. Still, they will be challenging for me to meet them all!

Home
1. Finish unpacking kitchen
2. Finish unpacking living room
3. Do one load of laundry per day
4. Donate/give away what we don't need for the next 6 months

Kids
5. Take them outside to play in the snow
6. Mail out Benjamin's birthday invitations

Husband/Marriage
7. Plan something he and I can do together after the kids have gone to bed
8. Make sure he knows I'm appreciative of everything he does for us.

Knitting
9. Work 20 repeats on my Spectra scarf
10. Find a stranded colorwork mitten pattern that I like

Does anyone else set weekly goals to motivate themselves?

The Family Bedroom

2012-01-07T23:27:00.001-06:00

I don't think it's any secret that I raise my children in a gentle and natural manner. While there are a lot of things that I wish I could be more natural with (their diet, for example), one of the most simple and easiest things has been to create a natural sleep environment for them.

Babies are not meant to sleep alone.

There, I said it. I don't think that anyone who puts their baby in a room all by themselves does anyone any favors. First of all, your baby doesn't understand that she was not born in a cave surrounded by hungry Tyrannosaurus Rexes. It is your job to teach her that she was born in a nice comfy, artificially heated, and triple insulated home. However, dumping said baby into a cold bed all by themselves doesn't teach them this. That would be like me handing you a Calculus book and telling you to teach yourself math. In fact, more and more research is proving this to be a really bad idea. A recent article in Psychology Today laid out the dangers of allowing your child to Cry It Out.

Even more so, humans are not meant to sleep alone.

Now, there's one our society doesn't seem to have a firm grasp on. Our biological needs drive us into the beds of other humans, regardless of our age. I sleep better knowing that my husband is next to me. He makes me feel safe and loved. Before I was married, I slept better knowing that my sister was in the bottom bunk. Surely, any scary monsters would have to eat her first, thus alerting me to their presence and keeping me safe.

There's safety in numbers. There's safety in biological reflexes. There's safety in doing what comes instinctually. This is why my family decided to create a Family Bedroom.

Our Family Bedroom

There are four of us, and now that the kids have reached full fledge toddler age (Miriam is now 15 months old), we added more sleeping spaces to our room. Previously, we bedshared, which had Miriam on one side of me and Benjamin on the other. It was getting a little cramped! So, we side-carred the crib and shoved a twin sized captain's bed at the bottom of our Olympic Queen bed (which is 6" wider and 5" taller than an average Queen sized bed). Now each person has their own sleeping space while remaining in the proximity of their protectors.

It's been going very well with this new set-up. After the 1st night, which was the transition night, Benjamin has spent the whole night in his space. This has freed up SO MUCH space in our bed that I'm actually feeling a little alone! Miriam is still getting used to going back into the crib after she nurses (yes, we are still night-nursing), but it's not an entirely foreign concept to her. She has always needed a little more space to sleep than Benjamin. It's feeling so great to be able to lay them down and walk away now! Because they're in their own safe sleep environments and they each know how to climb down from the bed on their own, I no longer need to remain in the bed with them to supervise sleep. That has cut down on my internet and knitting time, but my household chores are getting the attention they deserve!

For further information:

How to bedshare safely

Why babies should never sleep alone

Cosleeping and biological imperatives

Cyber Monday

2011-11-27T23:28:00.001-06:00

Are you done with your Christmas shopping? Maybe you're just starting to think about Christmas knitting. Maybe you're just a sucker for good deals. :-)

I've decided to gift a little Christmas knitters cheer to you all. On Cyber Monday (that's November 28, 2011, this year), I'm activating a coupon code that will get you all 30% off the Striped Earflap Hat pattern.

Go to Ravelry and to the pattern page and enter in code "cybermonday30" for your 30% off.

Or go to Etsy and to my shop and enter in code "cybermonday30" for 30% off there as well.

Merry (early) Christmas!

Experimenting with food

2011-11-14T23:30:00.001-06:00

I discovered a handy little tip on Pinterest the other day that sent me running straight for the grocery store to buy a bunch of green onions. They had been marked down to $0.50 a bunch! They sat in the fridge for nearly a week before I cut them up and threw the greens in the crock pot in lieu of a yellow onion. I quickly sunk the white tips (with a bit of green left on them) in a baby food jar and covered them in water.

Two days later, and they're sprouting! It works!

You'll notice that I've left off on my 30 Day Photo Challenge. I'll come back to it. I've learned a lot about taking pictures, but I've learned even more that I'm incredibly busy between the kids, the house, and work, and even moreso that I dislike my point and shoot camera very much.

Taking a break

2011-11-09T22:00:00.000-06:00

I'm took a quick break from the 30 Day Photo Challenge. My husband is leaving in the dead of tonight to drive to Bloomington, Indiana, in order to meet with a trombone professor and scout out a potential DMA (Doctor of Music) program. We have friends from college who live in that area, so he contacted them to determine if they would like to get together. That's when we learned that our friends are expecting their second baby to be born any day now!

Of course, that meant I had some emergency baby knitting to be done. I couldn't send my husband to their home, potentially a home with a newborn, without a gift in hand for the little one. As I have no such newborn in my house anymore (big sad!!), I requested that one of Miriam's dolls be the model. The hat is made to fit a 14" newborn head, whereas the doll only has a 12.5" head, so it looks a bit too large for her.

The hat is yet another version, knit from my Striped Earflap Hat pattern.

The yarn is leftovers from a sweater that I knit for Miriam. It is Sirdar's Snuggly Baby Crofter DK and is a "fake" fair isle striping yarn. It is SO soft! There's a good amount of acrylic in it (no wool at all), but it doesn't feel like acrylic at all. I still struggle with the "perfect number" for this yarn to make all the stripes and fair isle effect line up exactly, but I would definitely use it again, just to find this number!

Day 7: Something New

2011-11-07T22:19:00.002-06:00

I don't do much for myself, as I really don't need much. The kids are growing and learning and experiencing; it's much easier and nicer to do things for them. But, for Miriam's birthday in September, a wonderful yarnie friend from Ravelry gifted me a handspun skein of yarn that she created herself. I instantly knew what I wanted it to become. A hat. For me. There was only 90 yards, but it is a gorgeous 90 yards. I found a simple hat pattern, but as I was knitting, I realized that no way was 90 yards enough for a hat on my head. I started contemplating finding a coordinating yarn to add stripes to the hat, give it a little interest and extend the use of the special yarn.

Then, this past weekend, my mother took me to a small Llama farm/fiber studio that was having a great sale. I found this amazingly soft, cuddly, and perfect Merino and Mulberry Silk blended top in a perfect white color to go with the pops of white bamboo spun in the special yarn. I cannot wait to spin this up so I can finish my hat!!

Taken on the Manual setting (F/2.8 and 1/6 shutter speed) and edited in Picasa with Saturation.

Day 6: Childhood Memory

2011-11-06T22:00:00.000-06:00

So many things happened today that could have fallen under the "childhood memory" category. It's amazing to see my children play and learn like I did! This picture, taken earlier in the day, captures Miriam wearing a hard hat and reading stories. I used to go to work with my father when I was a bit older than her (maybe just a bit older than Benjamin, actually). He worked in a factory at the time, and my brother and I would ride our tricycles around the large open spaces not too far from the machines. I can't remember if I had to wear a hard hat. Likely not, as there wasn't a problem with toddlers being in a factory "back in the day," but I remember wanting so much to be like my father. Alas, I turned out much more like my mother, and I never could put down a good book!

Photo taken on the Auto setting with flash. Edited in Picasa with Saturation, then further edited in Picnik with Lomo-ish and Vignette effects.

Day 5: Someone I Love

2011-11-05T23:06:00.000-05:00

I almost thought it would be cheating to pick my kids as subject matters today. (Plus, I didn't want to have to pick a favorite.) I decided to showcase my husband, Chris, but there was never a moment to get him alone. And this photo says a lot about that. Chris is an amazing father who our children adore. So today, instead of getting "someone," you get to see the "someones" I love, namely, my favorite boys!

Taken on Auto setting with no flash. Edited in Picnik using "1960's Effect."

Day 4: Favorite Color

2011-11-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

This is a closeup of a sweater that I knit. Not only do I love the color green, but the texture really speaks to me too.

This was SO HARD! I have a little point and shoot (Samsung L200 10.2 MegaPixel), so truing colors in the original photo was very difficult.

Photo was taken on the Manual Setting (F2.8, Exposure time 1/15 seconds), and edited in Picasa using Saturation.

Day 3: Clouds

2011-11-03T13:38:00.000-05:00

It's been grey and cloudy lately. It was raining this morning, but it cleared up enough for me to run outside and snap this photo.

Taken on the Scene setting, with flash. No editing done.

Day 2: What I wore

2011-11-02T21:34:00.000-05:00

Nothing too special about what I wore. It was a chilly and rainy day, so I had on my favorite jeans, a t-shirt, and my husband's high school track sweatshirt. The kids were also very cuddly, and this photo was taken while Benjamin was falling asleep for his nap.

Taken on the portrait setting with a 10 second timer. Edited in Picasa using Black & White and Warmify effects.

Day 1: Self- Portrait

2011-11-01T21:47:00.000-05:00

Portrait taken with 10 second timer on the "portrait" setting using flash and facial detection. Edited in Picasa using Soft Focus and Warmify.

Gathered inspiration from this blog post.

30 Day Photo Challenge

2011-10-31T21:00:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to improve my photography skills. I've been long lamenting that my pictures suck because of my camera. That may be true to a point, but perhaps I need to learn more about how to use my camera. So, I'm going to do a study on it, and to encourage me along, I'm doing a 30 Day Photo Challenge done by many bloggers before me.

Benjamin's Pumpkin

2011-10-28T20:38:00.003-05:00

Benjamin took great care in picking out this pumpkin. He wanted to be sure to get a small pumpkin, "just my size." And he picked up nearly 2 dozen pumpkins to determine if they were the right size.

This morning, we carved his pumpkin. I scooped out the guts last night, so it was all ready to go for him. I gave him a crayon and he colored on the face for me to cut out. I did the cutting, he did the poking out of the pieces.

I placed a lit candle inside for him to see it all "spooky, spooky!" He immediately blew it out and said, "Now we can have birthday cake!!"

Tonight, he made us sing "Happy Birthday" to the pumpkin before he blew out the candle. :-)

Wordless Wednesday: Hat in Progress

2011-10-26T10:29:00.001-05:00

Are you mightier than your child?

2011-10-25T23:47:00.000-05:00

I have a few friends who have children the same ages as Benjamin and Miriam, and we keep in touch via Facebook. As is common in parenting toddlers, behavior and discipline are frequently visited topics. Sometimes, I'm really appalled by what I read from them! Spanking and washing out of mouths and expected sleep training!

I think some people believe I am a permissive parent. I don't believe I am. We have discipline in the house. However, we use discipline by this definition: "training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character", whereas it is commonly used by this definition: "control gained by enforcing obedience or order."

Are you mightier than your child?

Benjamin and Miriam are little people. They have thoughts and needs and wants and wishes. They have goals they want and need to attain, goals that I did not give them. Of course, I may view these things as unimportant, but to my 2 year old, making a teetering tower of blocks stand tall on the edge of a soft couch is the most important task he will take on today. He will fail, and he will get upset. It will be childish. But he is a child and I cannot expect him to behave as anything else. Instead, I will respond to him with compassion, empathizing that it is really frustrating when things don't work out as planned. That is an adult concept that he can learn. And he will learn it. He will respond to me, "Yes, mama, it makes me mad." I immediately give him the words he can use to express how he feels so that he doesn't need to throw the blocks across the room, and I won't have to suffer through a tantrum that tries my patience and "requires" punishment.

I want to teach my children what it is like to live in an adult world. Isn't that the goal of parenting, to foster these babies into functioning members of society? What does spanking teach your child? That might is right? I'm bigger than you, so do as I say?

My one year old is learning to put things away. She has her own idea of what this means though. After she placed a kitchen towel in the frying pan cabinet, I took it back out and asked her to hang it back on the stove handle. She told me an emphatic, "No!" I let her walk away. She has the right to refuse my requests, just as I have the right to refuse your requests. Eventually, she will learn that telling me, or anyone, "no" will have natural consequences. She'll learn that if she doesn't put her shoes away when I ask her to, she won't be able to find them on her way out the door. She'll learn that other children won't want to play with her if she doesn't do as they ask sometimes. As an adult, she'll learn that she won't keep a job for very long if she only does things that she likes to do. But I let her make her own decisions, without fear of disappointing me.

I'm a gentle parent. I don't stress about my children's behavior. I believe in natural consequences helping them learn the order of our society. My children respect me because I respect them.

"Children aren't to be molded; they are little people to be unfolded."

Striped Earflap Hats

2011-10-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

I have a goal to knit my kids their winter hats every year. This year, they got matching hats!

Benjamin loves the pom-pom. It's his "favorite."

Miriam likes to play dress-up, so she adores wearing hats because they make her feel pretty!

This is a great hat. It's so fun to knit, and apparently fun to wear! I would have knit enough hats for the whole family if I thought my husband would wear a hat. :-)

You can knit one too! The Striped Earflap Hat pattern fully explains how to do jogless stripes and how to add the crochet edging to the hat. A garter stitch edging is also included as an alternative option. Details for how to make the ties and pom-pom are also included. The pattern includes instructions for knitting sizes from newborn (14" head) all the way to large adult (24" head) using a DK weight yarn.

Fall is definitely here

2011-10-21T22:31:00.000-05:00

It is fall here in Wisconsin. For awhile there, we had a really beautiful Indian summer with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. But, last weekend came and with it a wind that brought rain and 40s and 50s. It felt like the right time to take our kids to the pumpkin farm.

Chris and Miriam were checking out the apples in the store because it was almost too windy to be outside.

In the meantime, Benjamin stole an apple! The shop keeper was nice enough to let him keep it, especially since we bought a 1/2 bushel of apples to take home.

We have an annual tradition of using the "How Big Am I" board at the farm to photograph the kids.

Miriam got trapped by pumpkins nearly as big as her!

And Benjamin picked the perfect pumpkin.

Split Pea and Bacon Soup

2011-10-20T20:42:00.000-05:00

When it comes to kitchen utensils, machines, and gadgets, there is nothing I love more than my crockpot. It's the traditional 1950's housewife, residing in the kitchen, allowing you to ignore it all day and still churning out magical yumminess at dinnertime. I have this crockpot (but in white and 10 years old), and I love that it has 4 cook settings plus a "warm" feature to keep your food hot in the event the cooking stops before you have a chance to attend to it. The only thing I could wish for is that it would have the ability to choose the warm feature without first having to go through the 4-10 hours of cooking.

There are a few staples in my crockpot that I have not branched far from: pot roast, pork and sauerkraut, rotisserie-style chicken, chicken soup, taco soup, and chili. However, I'm trying to expand our family's diet horizons, introduce new foods to my toddlers (holy cow! I have 2 of them!!), and still keep it nice and easy. I have been returning to the foods I ate while living in Germany: simple, inexpensive, mostly vegetarian, but extremely delicious foods! This means a return to legumes.

Split Pea and Bacon Soup

1 pound dried split peas
1 pound bacon
1 medium yellow onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth (I used Swanson 14.5oz cans)
enough water to make 5 cups liquid when combined with broth (I needed 1 3/8 cup - or 11 ounces)

Dump the split peas into the crockpot and pick through to find any rocks, stones, or withered and discolored peas. There's no need to presoak your peas if you're cooking in the crockpot. Slice your bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. I slice it while frozen and the fat is firmed up. Don't worry about thawing it after slicing. Just break it up and toss it on top of your peas. It'll thaw before you turn the crockpot on. Chop your onion and toss in the crockpot on top of the bacon and peas. Sprinkle your salt and pepper on top. Pour your broth and water over everything. No need to stir anything.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

When it's all done cooking, you can either use a potato masher and mash the peas into oblivion or use a stick blender (my preference) to get a nice smooth soup.

Ideally, I'd like to serve this soup with deep fried croutons, but I didn't have any bread to make them from. Why deep fried? It keeps the croutons from getting soggy in your soup. A nice crusty bread is just as good, however!

And I won't pretend this doesn't have a lot of fat. It uses a whole pound of bacon, in case you hadn't noticed. I suppose, if you're scared of a little bacon, you'll just have to use the tried and true ham. But, bacon will win you brownie points with your husband. Just saying.

'Tis the Season to Knit

2011-10-19T09:08:00.003-05:00

The weather is cooling down, the winds are picking up, the leaves are changing colors, and pumpkins are the latest in decor. For me, this means it's a more comfortable time to pick up the wool and needles and create loving pieces of yarnie goodness for my family and friends!

I joined a 1st Birthday Swap on Ravelry for Miriam's birth group, and I knit up a few things for a special little girl and her mommy. (Check out Lin's parenting blog at This Tiny Spark. She's just starting, but she's a wonderful writer and an even better mommy!)

Little Miss Maya is having a cupcake birthday, so I wanted to stay on that theme. Another mom made Maya a cupcake birthday skirt, so I made her a cupcake onesie to go with.

And to completely go cupcake overboard, I knit a pair of Duffers. This slipper pattern is fabulous! Here's my Ravelry project page.

And a little something for momma: A pair of French Press Slippers. Details on my Ravelry project page.

How much money have I saved by breastfeeding?

2011-08-26T21:41:00.004-05:00

I came across a post on Twitter where a mom claimed to have saved just over $2000 by breastfeeding instead of formula feeding. It got me to thinking...how much money have I saved by breastfeeding?

Let's start counting costs I've incurred while breastfeeding at the beginning, when I started nursing Benjamin. I worked out of the home for 6 months, and then have been home to feed him and Miriam ever since. I do not offer bottles when I am available to nurse, so Miriam has had a bottle offered only 1 time and she refused it. There's been no point in bottle-training her since I am a stay at home mom now, so I didn't push it:

Breastfeeding Introduction Class: offered for free by my birthing center = $0
Breastpump for returning to work: got a second-hand Medela PIS = $50
New tubing and flanges for pump: bought on clearance = $5 for tubing, $8 for flanges
Bottles: bought a 3 pack of Dr. Brown's bottles = $16
Bottlebrush: $5
Breastmilk storage bags: I used Lanisoh's Breastmilk Bags, an average of 1 pack per month for the 6 months I pumped = $60
Reuseable nursing pads: I made these myself or received them as promotional gifts = $0
Disposable nursing pads: These were thinner under my work clothes, used Lanisoh's brand, an average of 1 box/month for 2 years = $118
Nursing shawl: I purchased a fancy custom-made shawl I rarely use because I am comfortable nursing without a cover in public, but I didn't start out that way = $40

Benjamin did get a good amount of formula in those 6 months that I worked, to supplement what I couldn't pump. So if I factor in the 8 cans of Target brand Gentile Formula we used, it would add $118 to our feeding costs.

My total cost in breastfeeding my 2 children (with the small amount of formula supplementation) = $420

Morning nursing session in bed on a lazy Saturday

Now, if we had exclusively formula fed Benjamin, our formula costs would be much higher. I found an online chart that broke down the average amount of formula drunk per day, but it only accounted for up to 6 months of age. Because babies can begin to be offered solid foods at 6 months of age, I would assume that the average amount of formula consumed would stay constant from 6-12 months, with the additional calories needed ingested in the form of solid foods. According to this chart (which, when compared to other online charts, falls right in the middle of the low vs high amounts of formula per day), a child will consume roughly 11,490 ounces of formula in 1 year. The Up & Up brand of Gentle Formula (which was what Benjamin tolerated), costs $14.80 for 80 ounces. 11,490/80=143.625x$14.80 = $2,125.65 for a one year supply of powdered formula.

Miriam has a casein allergy, so she cannot have dairy products. She also likely has a soy allergy (very common in babies that have a CSM allergy) So, formula feeding her would require an elemental formula. These formulas are available to us by prescription only, but would not be covered by insurance. Each can retails at $32.98 and makes 80fl oz. Keeping with the same averages that we used in calculating Benjamin's formula cost, we would assume that Miriam would also take in roughly 11,490 ounces in one year. That's a total cost of $4,738.75 for a years worth of formula!

Add in cost of bottles = $16 (assuming we're cool with lots of washing and can work with 3 bottles in our cabinets)
Bottle brush = $5
Formula travel dispenser = $7

Total cost for formula feeding my 2 children for only one year each = $6,892.40

Nursing my daughter while formula feeding a nanny charge on yet another lazy Saturday morning

WOW! Look at that! I saved $6,472.40 by choosing to feed my child naturally by breastfeeding!! Of course, this doesn't take into account any of the potential medical savings for either my kids or myself (that's right, breastfeeding lowers my risk of common cancers!) over our lifetime.

These simple calculations mean a lot to me, considering that I initially chose to breastfeed purely for the monetary savings. Since then, the act of breastfeeding has developed to hold so much more meaning to me than frugality. As science attempts to create substitutes to rival Mother's Milk, it only furthers my education in how wonderful God made my body and how he designed it to nurture my children. No amount of money saved will ever compare to that!

Getting my hair did

2011-07-08T13:10:00.008-05:00

I have LOTS of stick straight fine hair. It's a serious torture device in the summer. The one summer that I spend all day everyday outside, the summer I worked at a camp for the mentally and physically disabled, I actually went so far as to shave my head. Maybe not the smartest choice as I was a bit regretting it come fall and my freshman year of college, but, Man! It was awesome for the summer! No more sweat rolling down my forehead and no more heat rashes on my neck. Every summer, I wish I could do that again, but then I am reminded of the pain in the butt inbetween styles I had to put up with, and I just don't want to deal with that again.

(The Before)

Also, please add in the fact that I have 2 young children and nanny for an additonal 3 young children. I have no time (or will) to take a shower most days, much less spend 5 minutes drying my hair. I had one very awesome stylist that was able to thin my hair out enough that it was manageable for me, but then she went and got married and then moved away. Geez! Why wasn't she thinking about me! Since then, I have suffered through 9 stylists who much up my hair everytime. Seriously, I've paid anywhere from $7 to $45 for a haircut and spent anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours in a stylist's chair with no one being able to replicate the results of this favorite stylist. So, I've decided to stop hating my hair and to stop making these poor girls try to fit in someone else's shoes. I'm going to do something totally different.

My requirements:
1) My hair must not hang on my neck
2) My hair must look good after 3 days of no showers
3) My hair maintenance must take less than 5 minutes a day and preferrably not require product of any sort
4) My hair must be versatile and be both a "mommy cut" and "smoking hot wife cut"

Idea: A permed bob. A cut that will create some volume so that my unwashed hair is not limp on my scalp. A style that won't require me to do anything to it but tossle dry on days that I don't have time, but allows for some more detailed styling on days that I really want to play with my hair.

So I brought these four pictures to my new stylist. Yeah, a big leap to hand over a more delicate process to someone brand new to me, but I haven't fallen in love with any of the other ladies that I've visited, so why not? I'm aware that one of these is not actually a perm or naturally curly hair, but rather a curled style, but these pictures were brought as a "please don't make me curlier than this" guide.

Okay, my stylist turned out to be super awesome at my hair! He wasn't much of a talker...as in didn't say two words to me at all, other than, "So you want a perm?" And it was kind of nice to sit in peace and quiet for once! I love the final result, and I think it's a super easy style. I told him I wanted "beachy," and I think that just about describes the tightness of the curl! In fact, you can actually see my (months old) highlights much better now.

(The After)

Do you love it too?

Day 6, Tour de Fleece

2011-07-07T23:12:00.001-05:00

Miriam had a hard time falling asleep tonight, so I only got my 15 minutes in. It seemed to take forever though!

Day 5, Tour de Fleece

2011-07-06T22:01:00.000-05:00

Things are slowing down! I spun for an hour today, but it was broken up into lots of 5 minute chunks throughout the day.

Day 4, Tour de Fleece

2011-07-05T23:04:00.002-05:00

Day 4 finds me back at work. I nanny for 3 small children, in addition to watching my 2 babies, so spinning during the day has become impossible. That is the reason I set my goal for spinning 15 minutes a day! Today was a lot more thick and thin spinning than yesterday, but I was sort of rushing my drafting because I'm exhausted!

I was able to finish up what I couldn't spin yesterday. I take my roving length and split it into 4 strands. I had been spinning from all four strands the first 2 days, but yesterday and today, I only spun from two of them.

And to give you an idea of how fine my thread is, I've included this picture. When plied (twisting 2 spun threads onto each other to create a stable yarn), I should have a fingering weight yarn.

I'm getting sick of looking at all this turquoise. Are you? I better start thinking about what I want to knit from this yarn so that I'm motivated to keep spinning from this roving!

Day 3, Tour de Fleece

2011-07-04T21:55:00.003-05:00

Day 3! I only got 1/2 as much done as I had the past two days, but I did spin twice my goal time. (For a reminder, my goal time is 15 minutes a day.) I'm so excited that I'm feeling more in control of my drafting! I'm still doing "park and draft" but at least it's becoming a consistent amount of fiber in each draft. Now, I need to work on being consistent in the timing of my draft. That will allow me to let go of the "park" and spin on a spindle like the pros!

Day 2, Tour de Fleece

2011-07-03T23:56:00.004-05:00

I actually got an hour to spin tonight! Well, I usually have that hour on a regular basis, it's just that I chose to use it for spinning instead of something else. I just about doubled the amount of fiber on the Trindle, and I am getting a more even and thin single. I bet by the end of this tour, my singles should look pretty passable!!

Tour de Fleece

2011-07-02T22:44:00.005-05:00

Well, the Tour de France has started today! However, in even more exciting news, the Tour de Fleece has started as well!! What? You've never heard of the Tour de Fleece? But it's only the most grueling and demanding spinning competition ever!

Okay, it's not grueling or demanding, unless you want it to be. You set your own goal, be it yardage, finished product, or time invested. You join teams based on your personal interests, your talent level, or your spinning instrument of choice. There's a huge group of spinners on Ravelry who are participating in the Tour de Fleece, like over 4300 huge!

I've joined Team Rookie (because I've been actively spinning for less than 1 year) and Team Trindle (because that's the type of spindle I've chosen to spin on). My goal is to spin a minimum of 15 minutes a day, with letting go of my "park and draft" method when we get to the mountain stages (same day the Tour de France does!). I'm hoping that by the end of this TdF, I'll be a more confident and even spinner, perhaps enough to justify more fiber purchases at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in September!

I am spinning from a turquoise 6oz Corriedale roving on a 13 gram Trindle.

The Ice Cream Incident

2011-07-01T21:58:00.000-05:00

What do you do when it's 90 degrees outside? You eat ice cream, of course!!

The Leftover Skirt

2011-06-25T18:29:00.003-05:00

A bit ago, I picked up the most gorgeous 2 yards of linen I have every touched. It was mostly due to color, being a fabric woven with a light yellow-orange thread in one direction and a bright fuschia thread in the other. I had purchased it, meaning for it to become a linen ring sling. I washed the fabric, which turned gave a luxuriously soft hand and now made it a very easy to care for fabric! I made my sling by cutting the fabric in half lengthwise, leaving me with a piece of leftover linen that was 29" wide by 2 feet long. I thought about making a second sling from it to gift to someone else, but 2 yards makes for a really short sling and not many people are as small as I am to appreciate that. So I set it aside for some further thought.

Then, it came to me. A Skirt! I need a skirt. I'm not a woman who likes to wear shorts. I wear a lot of jeans and capris, and before becoming a breastfeeding momma, I wore a lot of dresses in the summer. (Needing to breastfeed at a moments notice, I no longer wish to wear one piece dresses as I prefer to lift my shirt from the bottom to nurse.) But, if the skirt is comfortable enough, casual enough, and long enough, I can chase kids in it!

So I made my skirt, making it a more casual option by pairing it with a pair of jean shorts that didn't fit well in the crotch area anymore. I've gotten some good comments on it, as well as other moms wishing for the pattern, so I thought I'd put it out there for anyone interested!

Step one: Cut the legs and crotch off the pants or shorts in a straight line from hip to hip. If you want to keep the back pockets on, you might want to turn the jeans over to make sure you're cutting below the pocket line.

Step two: Measure the width of your jeans along the cut edge and add 1/2". As you can see, my jeans measured 18.5", so my number for this step is 19".

Step three: Draft your pattern. It's going to look like a trapezoid. Along the top, draw a line that equals your final number from step two (my line is 19" long). Measure 15" down from the line you just drew. Draw another line, perpendicular, that is 7" longer than your first line (so my bottom line is 26" long). Connect the two lines to create the trapezoid. Now, how did I come up with the 15" length? I put on my jean top and hung a measuring tape down from the cut edge to determine the length I wanted. I added 1" for seams.

Step four: Cut your fabric using the pattern. Make sure you cut two pieces. I made my pattern on freezer paper. Did you know that you can iron the freezer paper onto your fabric so you can cut without needing pins or having your fabric shift? I just learned that on this project!

Step five: Sew your skirt side seams. With right sides together, stitch along the trapezoid sides with a 1/4" seam. Finish off the seam so the fabric doesn't unravel. I did a zigzag, but you could do an overcasting stitch.

Step six: With right sides together, sew your fabric to your jeans along the short side, using a 1/2" seam. (Ummm...why yes, I did put right side to wrong side...and then I had to unpick the seam and do it again.)

Step seven: Hem your skirt with a 1/2" folded hem. (Fold up 1/4" inch, press, and then fold up another 1/4" inch and press.)

Step eight: You need to finish the raw edge of the fabric where it meets the jeans, to avoid the seams unraveling. I chose to do a decorative top stitch, catching the jeans and the fabric in the stitching. I also did it along the bottom hem.

(Detail of the decorative embroidery stitch)

Ta-da! All done!

And I wore it, paired with the sling made of the same fabric. Unfortanately, I was standing funny and didn't think to check the side seams of the skirt in this picture!

Kitty Foster Family Needed

2011-05-30T21:42:00.003-05:00

We're preparing to sell our condo, and we're being realistic about it. In this market, it is not going to be snatched up based on location and potential (which is why we bought it). We are prepared for it to take a good long time to sell. Of course, all you need is that one special person to see what you see in your home! We're hoping to have it listed by the end of the summer.

However, we've got some work to do in the meantime. There's the cosmetic work, and the training of children (and ourselves) to be neat and clean for those impromptu visits from potential buyers, and generally making our place more appealing than the other units for sale in our building. That means, we actually have to follow the bylaws of our association. One of those bylaws says "no pets." Heavy hearted, we have decided it would be best for our family if we found foster parents for our cats until we are able to sell the house, or until August 2012 when we will be moving regardless of the home being sold.

Would anyone be willing to take one or both cats for a maximum time of one year? The cats will have a clean bill of health from the veterinarian before coming to your home, and all food, litter, vet bills, and other supplies will be paid for by us.

Carmina

Carmina is a 8 year old female American Shorthair. She has claws on all four feet, and is an indoor-only cat. Carmina has gotten a bad rap as being a mean cat, as she has swiped at those who have not respected her space in the past. However, she has mellowed out with age, learning that if she wants any attention at all, she had better be a well-behaved, cuddly kitty. She will often crawl into your lap, not really for petting, but just as a comfy warm spot to sleep. Carmina is a pretty laid back cat in her adult age, not needing much interaction or play. She will let you know when she's lonely by "forcing" you to pet her! She does well with children of all ages, but please don't force kids on her as she likes her space. She mostly copes by staying completely out of their way, though she is tolerant of Miriam occasionally chewing on her tail. Carmina's favorite place to sleep is at your feet in the bed. She is tolerant of dogs, though she has never lived with one. She has no problems with litter box usage or hairballs.

Loki

Loki is a 5 year old male Maine Coon, but he's on the smaller side of the breed at about 14 pounds. He also has claws on all four feet and is indoor-only. Loki is a lover. Like most Maine Coons, he has a strong desire to be with you at all times. He loves to be pet and cuddled, though he won't sit still and chill with you until it's bedtime. Loki is a talker! He is very vocal and is perfect for when you need a conversation above a 2 year old level. :-) He also is pretty laid back and will entertain himself for the most part. He does have long hair, but doesn't need extensive grooming. He gets mats in his hindquarters and we rake through them once a month for him so they don't get too bad. Loki also does great with kids of any age, but does choose to stay out of their way. You'll find Loki's favorite place to sleep is next to your head by your pillow in bed. Loki does not tolerate dogs and finds them very scary and stress inducing, even the ones that are smaller than he is. He also has no problems with the litter box or hairballs.

These cats are our furry children. If you agree to foster them, we will do whatever we can to make it an easy experience for you, including coming to clip their nails and grooming if you're not comfortable with that. All we ask is that you treat them with the same respect we would expect you to treat our children with!

One smart little cookie:

2011-05-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

My son is a pretty smart little 2 year old, if I say so myself. I'm amazed that we don't have more tantrums because our inability to always clearly communicate with each other. Every day he has a new way to express what he's thinking and I'm just wowed by how his brain works. I'll let you in to a little conversation we had tonight.

Benjamin wants me to read him a story.
Me: "Honey, I will read you a story in 5 minutes. It's time to give Miriam some medicine." (Miriam has an ear infection.)
Benjamin: "Yeah, Momma. Miriam's tummy hurts." (He's remembering from when he last got medicine because his tummy hurt when he had rotavirus last month.)
Me: "Yeah, something like that. Her head hurts."
Benjamin: "It's okay. Momma make it better."
Me: "Yes, Momma will make it better."
Benjamin: "Yup, Momma's good. Momma fix it."

About a half hour later, when Miriam was finally succumbing to the affects of the pain medication and had stopped fussing so badly, Benjamin goes up to her and pats her on the head.
Benjamin: "All better Miriam? All better?"
Me: "Yep, Miriam feels better now."
Benjamin: "Oh, good. Now go asleep, Baby. It's time for popcorn!" (We've been having popcorn as a snack after Miriam goes to bed.)

See, isn't his mind just amazing?!

My Kefir overrunneth

2011-05-10T11:30:00.003-05:00

My mother first introduced me to Kefir and it's probiotic qualities when Benjamin was a year old. At that time, he already had 5 ear infections and was trying to beat a really stubborn one. She brought over some store bought Kefir, and Benjamin went crazy for it! Because you have to shake the bottle before serving, he started calling them his "shake, shake, shake." Within a few days, his ear infection was gone, and he's never had another one come back. Was it because of the Kefir? Who knows?! But I can tell you that Benjamin drinks one every day for breakfast, and if he stops drinking it, he gets sick. I believe it strengthens his immunity. Also, I'm really prone to colds and respiratory infections, so when the Chris came home with a cold, I started drinking Kefir too. I had a slight sore throat, but it never progressed into anything more. Now, this could all be coincidence, but why tempt fate?!

The downside? Store bought kefir is expensive. We typically get it from Costco, where it comes in a box of 12 single serving bottles and is priced at about $0.84 a serving. However, Costco routinely stops carrying it for a month or two and then we need to purchase it from the grocery store where they have 32oz bottles (4 servings) and it comes out to $0.92 a serving, and even then we might not find it every week.

My mother decided to try making her own kefir, after I innocently asked if one could even make it. She purchased her grains, and started the brewing process. Before long, she had more than enough grains that she sent them to me. Here's how you brew your own kefir.

Here are my grains. They are translucent and cauliflower-like in appearance. These are milky because they were just pulled out of a milk brew.

Put your grains (about 1TB in size) in a clean glass jar. I'm using a tall quart canning jar.

Add one cup of milk over your grains. You can use any cow's milk, goat or sheep milk, or soy or almond milk you want. I have 1% cow's milk in the fridge, so that's what I used.

Cover your grains in order to keep dust out, but you do need to allow air circulation. I covered mine with a coffee filter. Leave it sit on the counter, out of sunlight, for up to 24 hours.

When the kefir is done brewing, it'll be a bit thick (like a runny version of yogurt) and have a tangy taste reminiscent of plain yogurt. The milk may have separated and formed curds. Strain your grains out. Do not use any metal strainers or utensils because the metal will kill the grains, and do not store it in plastic as the grains will eat that. I use a plastic strainer and a plastic baby spoon to do the straining, but I store it in a tall pint mason jar with a plastic freezer canning lid. Now you keep it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it. (This is two brewings. You're still left with 1 cup of liquid each time.)

This Kefir is the exact same stuff in the store bought bottle. The only difference is that I haven't turned it into a smoothie. I could blend some strawberries or blueberries or other fruit with it and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But, today, I thought I'd make a Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana smoothie. You can use Kefir for anything that you would use milk, yogurt, or sour cream for. This recipe originally called for skim milk. With the Kefir instead, it really brings the taste of the banana to the forefront! I gave Chris a drink and didn't tell him there was Kefir in it (he has up until this point refused to drink Kefir on principle), and he thought it was good! Be forewarned, this is a very rich drink though.

Ingredients:
1 cup kefir
1 cup ice
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 TB chocolate syrup
1 banana

Blend all the ingredients together. Makes 2 servings.

Making playdough

2011-04-15T11:59:00.004-05:00

Benjamin wanted something fun to do today, and since we're no longer visiting family in California, we couldn't go to the park like he asked. It's a bit chilly (ummm...37 degrees compared to the 70s we left behind) and a little wet and soggy still. So I promised we would make some playdough. The kid loves to help in the kitchen, so I knew he'd have fun making it with me, and he's had fun playing with the commercial stuff in the past. I can't bring myself to actually purchase the containers from the store because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and get really disappointed when the colors are mixed together by toddlers and can't be undone. Homemade dough, however, is extremely inexpensive and doesn't seem to bother me to have to throw it in the trash when it dries out.

Ingredients
1 cup flour (I used unbleached white flour)
1 cup salt (I used Kosher salt)
1/2 tablespoon Cream of Tartar
1TB vegetable oil
1 cup water
food coloring

In a stockpot, place your flour:

Add your salt:

Then, your cream of tartar. This adds elasticity to the dough. It can be skipped, but you'll end up with a more crumbly dough:

Pour in your vegetable oil. I will try substituting baby oil next time as I hear that will keep the playdough for longer since vegetable oil can go rancid:

I mixed my food coloring into the water before adding to the pot. I found that 8 drops total gave a bright, true color. Turns out, Benjamin is an excellent mixer of colors! I think he's going to take after his Aunt Sarah in art abilities. I have Neon Food/Egg dye drops (McCormick brand), and I added 6 blue drops, and Benjamin insisted in adding 2 purple drops. Those 2 purple drops made the blue much more exact!

Cook this mixture on medium-low heat. You'll need to constantly stir in order to prevent the flour from burning. It shouldn't come to a boil, and the mixture won't get very hot. In a few minutes, it'll become very difficult to stir and the mixture will loose the liquid quality. Dump it out on a piece of wax paper:

When the mixture is cool enough for you to handle (I was able to hold it immediately after dumping because it really doesn't get too hot), knead the dough. This will ensure that all the flour is mixed in and break up any color dye flakes that became concentrated. Afterwards, I patted the dough out flat to cool down faster.

All done! I made pink and blue, upon request from Benjamin. Pink = 6 drops pink + 2 drops purple. Blue = 6 drops blue + 2 drops purple.

Once the dough is completely cooled, it should be stored in airtight containers. I keep mine in zip top bags with all the air squeezed out.

Benjamin got right down to work making "dinner" with his dough!

We had playdough hamburgers and pancakes for supper. :-)

I think this would be a great gift for Easter or birthday favor. Package smaller chunks in the plastic baby food containers or wrapped in cling wrap. Can you think of more novel ways to package it?

And finally, some knitting

2011-03-23T16:25:00.004-05:00

This is, technically, a knitting blog. Not only do I have very little time to actually compose a thought of my own, sitting at the computer or not, I haven't had much time for actual knitting. And then, I realized, knitting is a very important thing for me. Outside of being a mother (and wife), I'm a crafter. If I could do college all over again, I'd choose to major in Art with a focus on Fiber, since, well, I'm not really doing anything with the degree I have now! (And, for anyone who would ever judge a person for not "using" their college degree, I use everything I learned in college in some aspect or another, and I wouldn't trade the experience of college for anything.)

Now that Miss Miriam is learning to nap and sleep without being held, I have a little bit of baby-hands-free time every day. I've taken advantage of that to focus on me, instead of the huge amount of housework that should probably be attended to at some point. When you're a mother to two high-needs children (make sure you read that right, that's not special-needs, that's "high" needs) and a nanny to three more young children, and you have a husband who typically works from sun up to past sun down, I've determined that it's okay to let housework be pushed aside until the weekend. It's important for mothers to take a break and focus on themselves. As such, I've returned to my knitting needles. And, to help me along in my quest to have actual finished products, I've volunteered to test knit new patterns.

This is the VTT men's sock pattern. Chris likes hand knit socks for the comfort and warmth factor, and I like knitting socks for the convenience factor. This is a very manly patterned sock, but knowing my husband, I still knit it in black so it couldn't possibly be thought that these are "feminine." However, black does not make for good photographing in the grey, rainy (/snowy/sleeting/hailing) Wisconsin spring. One sock is done and the other will be knit (maybe) on my trip to California. The pattern is now published and available for purchase on Ravelry.

There's more, but I'll do another post on that another day. :-)

Birth Highs

2011-02-23T16:02:00.006-06:00

Did you have a Birth High? I did. It was the most amazing feeling. I remember thinking, "If I could do that, I can do anything!" Scientists tell me that's oxytocin rushing through my veins. If that's what it was, hook me up for some more! (Though, only the natural stuff please, Pitocin certainly didn't make me feel this way.)

I've been watching a lot of documentaries on Netflix recently, the latest of which have been The Business of Being Born and Pregnant in America. Both movies deal with the medical communities growing disregard for the exerience of birth and their emphasis on convenience. I highly recommend that everyone watch these, but I feel they'll have special meaning to expectant and current mothers. I know that they only solidified my resolve to have only natural births, but they've gotten me to thinking about births in general and how much do we really know?

In asking several of my friends, acquaintences, and family, I was horrified to learn that many of these people considered a Natural Birth to be a vaginal birth, with or without the use of drugs. They thought there's only two kinds: Natural or Cesarean. It made me sad to think that they didn't join in my joy of having a Natural (Unmedicated) Birth! No wonder they all just sort of said, "Yeah, and?"

Now, I'll be honest with you guys. I was pretty naive going into my pregnancy with Benjamin. I never considered a midwife, and I actually didn't think midwives practiced anymore in this day and age. I knew that I didn't want an epidural, but it was mostly because my mother had birthed all 4 of her children without one (so I could too) and not because of the potential risks. I didn't research doctors, I just went to the OB that I had my annual gynological appointments with. I didn't research hospitals (or birth centers for that matter), I just chose the one that was closest to my home. I did absolutely no research on possible complications or drugs used in "aiding" labor. My eyes glazed over in the birth class when they went over these things because "I had an uncomplicated pregnancy, why would I have a complicated labor?"

My OB didn't educate me on anything unless I asked about a particular subject. But how was I supposed to know what to ask if I didn't know my options?! I just went with the flow. I learned the hospital I chose had Doulas available for birthing mothers and after meeting the group of them, I knew that I wanted one of them to be with me, though if the hospital had not made it such an affordable option, I probably would have gone without.

Benjamin's labor was full of interventions, even though it started spontaneously. Around noon of the day he was born (10 hours of active labor at that point), my OB came in and wanted to start Pitocin. When I asked why, he said, "You're not progressing fast enough." I should have asked why I had a deadline (my waters had not broken yet), but I have a better understanding now that he wanted it all done before he was off shift for the day. When I refused, he told me that he'd give me 2 hours but then he had to start it. Again, why did he have to? Baby was in no danger. But, I had only progressed one centimeter and wasn't to the pushing stage that apparently my OB was after, so he started the Pitocin. Not long after that, I thought I was going to die, so I got the epidural. Then they had to up the pitocin because my labor slowed down. And then my doctor was done for the day and came to say he'd see me tomorrow, "hopefully with a baby." By the time I was ready to push, I had no idea what I was doing. I couldn't feel a damned thing wtih that epidural. But both my and baby's heartrate were dropping so I was told I had to get that baby out fast. I ended up with a 4th degree tear that took 9 weeks to heal because I pushed him out so fast he didn't have time to turn his body.

Because of my experience in Benjamin's labor, I was so much more prepared for Miriam's birth. I "reserved" the same doula that was there for Benjamin's birth. She was awesome. I wrote a detailed (super detailed) birth plan and hand delivered it to the birth center (they lost the one from Benjamin's birth when I had mailed it in). I was prepared to say No Way to any and all drugs pushed at me. Whenever threatened "Baby's in danger" at me, I was going to ask what exactly would happen if I waited 30 minutes to make a decision. I was not going to let someone strong-arm me into what they wanted to do. I was more comfortable for her birth. I moaned, as loudly as I wanted, without caring who heard me. I only had Chris and the doula in my room, and I declined all vaginal checks from the nurses. I never felt like I was going to die of pain in her labor. I won't lie, I got really really uncomfortable, but the pain felt like it was doing something progressive and positive. Sooner than I was ready for, Miriam was crowning. I do remember yelling at one of the nurses when she told me to push. I wanted to do this on my own. I wanted Miriam to come on her own, slowly, and safely. I delivered Miriam without a doctor present. A wonderful, and surprised, nurse caught her. Then, in rushed the doctor, arms flailing about that no one called to tell him I was close, and "what if she needed Pitocin" and "what if there was something wrong with the baby". I shrug at it. I was in a hospital afterall. There were 16 doctors present on the grounds, plus another 32 doctors on call if something did go wrong. I would have said no to the pitocin anyway, so I didn't care.

Miriam's birth empowered me. I wish that all women could have such empowering births. I wish that the birthing system in the United States educated women more on their choices of birth than on their choices of birth control. I didn't care for my experiences with doctors, though I loved the caring hands of my doula and the quiet support of my husband. From here on out, any babies being born in my family won't be happening with a doctor. All I felt was love for me, for my husband, for my children through the entire labor, and I don't want it taken away by the presence of anyone else.

I'm still on my Birth High and it empowers me to be a great mother. What did your birth do for you?

Soft Baby Shoes

2011-01-24T13:30:00.003-06:00

How feaking adorable are these??!!

A few of the girls that I commiserate with over on Ravelry have been sewing some adorable soft baby shoes. Of course, that meant I had to grab some fat quarters at JoAnns and try for myself! However, I didn't really read the instructions of the pattern they were using before purchasing my fabric, so I didn't get the bonded fleece it called for. A little craft site searching led me to a different pattern that a lot of people liked. I liked the looks of it, too, so I started cutting fabric, a little scared that it may be just a bit more fussy than I was hoping for.

Heck, no! These are super easy to do! If you can sew in a curved line, you can do this. I didn't make buttonholes for the elastic threading because I've never made them before. This seems like a perfect project to try them out though since they would be on the inside of the garment and no one would ever see the mistakes. One adjustment I did do was to the sole of the shoe. I wanted it to be a little thicker than just 2 pieces of cotton quilting fabric, so I cut up a flannel receiving blanket (those things are too small to be useful anyway) and laid it inbetween the two pieces of fabric. It's the perfect thickness now! The top and inside sole are of the funky dot fabric, while the heel and bottom sole are of the pink fabric.

I see a lot more of these being made. Shoes like these are being sold on Etsy for $18. My cost was $1.50 in materials and an hour of labor (say, $10/hr?), so it's a pretty good deal!

Dressing the Little Man

2011-01-21T23:21:00.002-06:00

I love vests on little boys. Seriously love vests. There's no better way to turn a rough and tumble toddler into a stunning charmer than to slip on a sweater vest.

I wanted to knit something special for Benjamin since I had been doing so much knitting for Miriam before she was born. My little man was the object of many hats, mittens, socks, and sweaters while he was an unopinionated infant, but once he reached toddlerhood, his opinions became very strongly against handknits. But, there is one word that fixes all that: Special. Special mittens, Special hat, Special socks. Adding Special as a descriptor equals instant excited doning of the newly knit object.

Introducing Benjamin's Special Vest

Pattern: Toddler T-Shirt Vest
Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver in Earth & Sky
Needles: US8
details at Ravelry here

Nutella sandwich cookies

2011-01-18T19:48:00.004-06:00

Ummm...so I'm totally not updating everyday, now am I? My computer's broken though, so now I have to share the desktop with Chris, and since we each only get computer time when the other has the baby, it's a juggling act and I'm trying not to hog it. You people out there are the only adult socialization I get nowadays!

Benjamin's becoming a little cook. He loves to "stir" things, though it's more like flinging things out of the bowl! I enjoy having him help because it means he's more likely to get excited over dinner if he helped make it. Last Friday, Daddy had Bake Club at work. Normally, I would tell him, "You signed up for it, you bake for it," but I usually do come up with an idea for him. I have 14 pounds of sugar cookie mix, and I started thinking about what can be made that's a little more exciting than just plain sugar cookies. I also cleaned up our pantry and discovered that I like to hoard Nutella. So...

Nutella Sandwich Cookies!

Bake your favorite roll-out sugar cookie dough in whatever shape you desire.

Drop a good sized dollop of Nutella right in the middle of one cookie.

Place a second cookie on top of it and give a little squeeze.

Repeat until you have used all 7.5 dozen cookies. Yeah, I made 7.5 dozen cookies (which only translates to 45 sandwich cookies).

Super easy, super yummy! Apparently some people at Chris's work had never had Nutella before. If you haven't had it, you are seriously missing out!!

Miriam's new hat

2011-01-13T16:32:00.003-06:00

I had some leftover yarn (well, actually nearly half the skein!) from my Tympany hat. Miriam also has outgrown all of her newborn hats. Those two facts meant that it was time to knit Miriam a new hat, and why not a hat that matches Mommy's?

This is Miriam's Modified Jewel Hat
Pattern: Jewel Baby Hat with my own twist
Yarn: Dream in Color Starry, colorway Pansy Go Lightly
Needles were a US 3
More details on Ravelry here.

Art on the wall

2011-01-11T09:19:00.001-06:00

We just had our living room walls repaired from drywall damage so a nice new paint job was in order. The lovely blue really did make the room more finished and cozy. However, when all the painting was done, the pictures came off the wall and I decided to do a little moving around of things. I chose to move the picture that was previously above our couch to a different area of the room which left a big gaping space above the seating area. I had an idea of art work that I wanted over the couch, but I couldn't find anything that fit the specifications I was looking for. So, in my general "I can do it myself!" attitude, I got myself and the kids to Lowes and picked up supplies.

I bought 3 pine wood boards measuring 3/4"x12"x4'. I also got some large picture-hanging D-rings and heavy duty anchors for the wall. The paint is all leftover sample paint colors that are in my home.

First, I put on three coats of the base color (Olympic's White Smoke) using a small 3" roller. I could have probably gotten by with just one coat if I had taken the time to lay down some primer, but it really didn't use much paint for this project (I still have 1/2 the quart left) and it didn't take much time at all for this step. I let the base color dry overnight.

The next morning, I took my trusty 2" paint brush and got to work. The design is created by brushing, dabbing, dripping, and splattering paint from the brush. I didn't allow the colors to dry in between each application of a new color. It didn't make much of a difference since my house is pretty dry and everything set quickly. (Colors are all Olympic paint. Green = Quaking Grass, Red = Bonfire, Blue = Kaleidoscope, and Yellow = Toffee Crunch)

At the end of the day, when everything was dry, I flipped the boards over and installed some picture-hanging D-rings at the tops.

Then, with the help of my husband who is much taller than I am and can actually see that close to the ceiling, we hung the pictures on the wall with a 6" space between each board.

I think it looks pretty nice! I like that there's still plenty of white visible on the boards since it helps to reflect more light and brighten up the space. The blue on my walls (Sherwin William's Storm Cloud) makes the room pretty dark at night.

Silent Sundays

2011-01-09T21:57:00.001-06:00

I've had a very busy day filled with lots of family togetherness. So, from here on out, Sundays will be dedicated as always to my family and the blog will be silent. See you tomorrow!

My new obsession

2011-01-08T20:12:00.002-06:00

I've been a bit obsessed with babywearing recently. I was first fully introduced the proper method of babywearing when my sister showed me how to use her Moby wrap. I had been telling her how much I hated the old Evenflo Snugli carrier that I found at Goodwill (tip #1: good baby carriers will not be found in thrift stores!). I felt like Benjamin wasn't secure it in, and I couldn't lean over because he wasn't tightly held to my body. I wasn't sure how it was actually helpful! I learned that it was actually a very poor structure for babywearing. I deem it of the crotch carrying variety (like the Baby Bjorn). It provides no ergonomic hip or spinal support for baby and when you use it as a front facing carrier, it throws off the wearer's balance so you must arch your back a little to correct it. Learning that explained a lot about why Benjamin was unhappy to sit in it and why I was unhappy to wear it. And away we went into our babywearing adventure!

Miriam was being very kind in helping me show off my different carriers today. She loves them! She can be quite fussy when I put her down, but as I'm getting her wrapped (or strapped) up, she starts smiling or sighing. She knows what it means!

Well, first there was the Moby Wrap. I used this for a very long time with Benjamin. He was already four months old when I started wrapping him in this. I've done pretty much every hold one can think of, except for a back carry because that's not advised with a stretchy wrap, and it is by far my favorite wrap for small babies. Miriam has pretty much outgrown this one now. I find it starts to loose it's support once the baby reaches 15 pounds. However, it's an invaluable tool when working with newborns who just love to be held, cuddled, and carried right next to your heart!!

Moby Wrap - Hug Hold

When I found out I was pregnant with Miriam, I started to loose my hips. Benjamin was too big for the Moby Wrap, but he still wanted to be held and carried a lot. But, he was entering his toddler exploration phase and wanted to be up and down quite often. This is when I purchased my Hotsling. It's sized to my pregnant body, so it's not my go-to choice unless I'm wearing my winter coat or lots of layers. I keep it in my car now for shopping trips. If Miriam is asleep in her carseat, I'll put Benjamin in the Hotsling to keep him from grabbing everything off the shelf. If she's awake, she goes in the sling and he sits in the cart. (And NO! This sling is not one of the recalled versions. A sling like this is safe. A bag sling like those are not. It is important that your baby's chin never touch their chest when babywearing, as they did in the bag slings and caused aspirations.)

Hotsling - Hip Carry

After my Hotsling, came my Maya Wrap. This is actual a handmade ring sling using the brand's sewing instructions. Because I used fabric from the remnants bin, just to see if I would like it (didn't want to use really nice fabric and hate it!!), I made it a double layered sling so that the wrong sides of the fabric wouldn't show. This is a great, versatile sling. It's the first time I tried back carries and worked well enough so that I could continue to play handbells while holding Benjamin, carefully avoiding the rings, of course. It's a quick on-off sling, but I do prefer to use it when I can expect the child to remain in the sling for at least an hour because it's not as easy on-off as the Hotsling.

Maya Wrap - modified Kangaroo Carry

It wasn't too long after Miriam was born that I realized that I was going to need to learn a backcarry. I was desperate! I couldn't do much with her in a front carry in my Moby or Maya wraps because her body got in the way. As she got older, she started to use those little feet to push up on whatever fabric she could get a foothold on and since she has a very long body, she was constantly in my face. I nanny, and part of my job duties are feeding the kids their lunches and dinners, so I want to use the oven and I felt I couldn't do that with her in a front carry. Miriam struggled with colic and the only way to soothe her was to carry her. I obliged because who really wants to hear a baby cry?! I started searching for ways to do back carries, and the most versatile way is to use a woven wrap. Well, I didn't have the money to purchase a good German woven wrap, so I cut up a old curtain that resembled the cotton gauze wraps. It has a slight stretch to it, so it's easy to make a comfortable wrap, but it's not my favorite. I like it a lot for front or hips carries. I can do a back wrap in it, but my arms are not flexible enough to make it a quick venture. I am told that if I invested the money in a good woven wrap that I'll change my mind, and I bet I would! Maybe I will if I have more kids. :-)

Cotton Gauze Wrap - Secure High Back Carry

While I was doing my search on options for back carries, a wonderful fellow knitter offered me her Beco Butterfly II. She picked the pattern on this carrier because she liked it, but her husband had beefs with her wearing their son in a pink carrier. She bought it second-hand at half price and offered it to me at 30% off that. Now, that I can certainly afford!! This is a seriously awesome carrier. It is also the only carrier that I can get Chris to use (though he still refuses to use it in public becuase it's pink) It's super easy to get Miriam in and on my back. I wear it a lot on my front too, and in this carrier is primarily where she takes her naps now. I can go from a front to back carry without taking her out or pass her off to Chris in the same manner. I've used it as a back carry for Benjamin when he's asked, but he's still too up and down, go go go, for something like this. He does better in the slings. I am in love with my Beco and I think everyone around me knows it!

Beco Butterfly II - Back Carry

So, those are my carriers. Besides a good German woven wrap (I think I'd like a Storchenwiege), I also don't have a mei tai in my collection. I've been looking at wrap conversion mei tais, specifically one by this Etsy seller!

If you are interested in babywearing or in the market for an affordable secondhand carrier, get over to The Babywearer and check out their forums!!

Friday Faces

2011-01-07T23:23:00.002-06:00

Benjamin says "Cheese" with a face full of cheese.

New hat

2011-01-06T21:39:00.004-06:00

I have a new hat!

Please forgive the no make-up and the indoor picture. It's very cold outside, hence the need for a hat.

I'm in love with the pom-pom. :-)

The pattern is Tympany
Yarn is Dream in Color Starry, colorway Pansy Go Lightly (see the sparkles? That's actual silver)
Needles were a US size 2.
More details on Ravelry here.

I have just enough yarn left to make Miriam a matching hat!

BabyLegs

2011-01-05T13:12:00.003-06:00

Well, guess who found some time?! I got a new babycarrier in the mail, so I plopped Miriam in and was able to get some handsfree time as long as I kept moving. A little dancing around the sewing machine, and I created some DIY BabyLegs!!

I took a pair of $2.00 knee socks from the women's department at Target.

Cut off the toes and heels

Folded the foot portion in half, wrong sides together to create a cuff

Slipped the leg portion into the cuff so that all three raw edges matched

Sewed a zigzag (tension set at length = 2.0, width = 3.0, slightly stretching the fabric as I sewed) at a 1/4 inch seam along the raw edges and flipped the cuff down so the seam was inside

And put them on my baby with her onsie that Aunt Sarah decorated for her!

Super super easy to do. Perfect for babywearing since their pants get hiked up so far in a carrier!

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

2011-01-04T22:04:00.004-06:00

I have loads of ideas. I have no time to implement them. This makes me sad. :-(

Sewing:
BabyLegs
a dupioni silk ring sling
several bloomers for Miriam
make a Duck Tape Dress Form for myself

Knitting
finish my Central Park Hoodie
make Chris a reinforced pair of socks since he already wore a hole in the pair of socks I gave him for Christmas last year. :-)
both the kids need new hats. Wish their heads would take a break on growing so fast!
I need 3 or 4 more pairs of socks for myself in order to be able to wear handknit socks everyday. :-)
Miriam needs her own Christmas stocking!

Other Crafting
I want to create a trio of modern paintings to hang over our couch in the living room.
I need some form of keepsakes for Benjamin's and Miriam's current sizes. Ideas?
I want to create a mirror window in our dining room to help bring more light in.
need to hang the picture wall...as soon as I decide which wall that will be!

And of course, the house
the wallpaper needs to finish coming off.
the kitchen ceiling needs to be redone...as soon as the lighting can be rearranged (take down the chandelier, turn the fan into one that contains a light, take down the flourescent lights and turn them into recessed lighting)
then the kitchen cabinets need to be repainted and the walls too
the carpet needs to be taken up and new flooring laid down.

That seems like it should be enough work, doesn't it? Now, where to find the time?!

Green Eggs and Ham...and Cauliflower

2011-01-03T22:20:00.004-06:00

Benjamin's favorite bedtime story of late has been Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. He helps by reading the "Sam-I-Am" parts. However, it wasn't until today that I realized I could use this book to my advantage.

Benjamin isn't really a picky eater. He'll eat just about every type of food out there, but he will only eat them in specific forms. Such as, he loves chicken, but only in the form of a nugget. You may trick him into eating a broasted or rotissie chicken, but never a baked one. He'll eat his fruit in any which way it comes, often getting histerically upset because I threw the orange peels away and he thought he could eat those too. He won't eat eggs unless they happen to be in the form of an omelette and on my plate, not his and not Daddy's plates.

But vegetables. Vegetables seem to be the nemisis of all small children. Not my son though! And, well, not for any children I feed. See, I don't cook my vegetables. I don't often purchase fresh ones either because of the expense. I feed children frozen vegetables,frozen. I grew up eating frozen vegetables, and I still occassionally grab a handful of frozen corn or peas or a few frozen green beans from the bags in our freezer as a quick snack. Frozen vegetables are much sweeter than the cooked version and the cold is wonderfully refreshing, and likely relieving to the teething children. However, today, I decided to cook some cauliflower...

I don't require Benjamin to finish his plate. I do ask him to please take a bite of everything on it though. Tonight was the battle of cauliflower. After 15 minutes of me trying to slip in just a tiny piece of the white stuff past his lips, I began to recite Green Eggs and Ham in my mind. Ahah!

"You do not like them so you say. Try them! Try them, and you may! Try them and you may, I say!"

And my son ate cooked cauliflower. :-)

Picture day!

2011-01-02T19:07:00.004-06:00

Miriam turned 3 months on December 30th. Such a big strong girl! I thought the over-worrying would not be present with a second child, but I suffer from it just as strongly as I did with Benjamin. The only difference is that I now react differently. I worry that she's not gaining weight appropriately. I worry about her acid reflux. I worry that I'm just plain doing something wrong. Only now, I just don't run to the pediatrician right away. (Actually, I think I'm going to take her in this week just to ease my mind on all my worries. She hasn't been in for just over a month and isn't scheduled for another well-baby visit until the end of February. If, just if, one of my worries substantiates into something real, I'd rather catch it sooner than later.)

We went and had Miriam's 3 month pictures taken and had a family photo taken for good measure. She's such a camera ham! She was laughing and giggling and doing great for the photographer...until she wasn't. She's definitely a hot or cold baby, there's no warm. She's awake or she's asleep, no drowsy state. She's screaming bloody murder or she's calm, there's no warning fussing. Now, taking pictures with a toddler is a different story. He hasn't been the focus of the pictures for almost a year. We'll go back in February for his 2 year portraits so we'll see how he does then.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T10:12:00.000-06:00

I'm not one for making resolutions on a new year. Most of the time, it just feels as if you make a light-hearted statement that's forgotten within a few days, if not, within the month. However, I do take a few moments to think about what I would like to be different in the new year. This year, I'll share that with you, since what I would like to be different is more blogging!

I can't guarantee that this is going to interesting. I won't always have a picture to redeem the posts. I won't always have a crafting something or other to post about. It may be a lot of posts about my kids. But I will attempt to post on the blog once a day.

Happy New Year!

Baby Amnesia

2010-12-10T21:47:00.002-06:00

My husband claims to be done having children. One boy, one girl, two kids = no more babies! I, on the other hand, haven't decided. I'm thinking three children would be nice, especially since I birth such beautiful babies, but I'm also terrified to go through another newborn phase. Yet, even now, as Miriam is only 10 weeks old, I look back and say to myself, "Yes, it was hard. It was agonizing. I remember thinking I was going to die. But it really wasn't that bad, was it?!"

Miriam is starting to come into her own. She's awake quite a bit during the day now, and for the most part manages to sleep at night. (Don't ever ask a mother how her baby sleeps. Do you really want us to start crying?!) She wakes for two feedings in the night. Usually she falls right back asleep after the first one, and I usually fall asleep while she's nursing so if you ever thought to walk into my house in the middle of the night, you might get a pretty indecent show! The second feeding is mostly a hit or miss if she'll fall back into a deep sleep. Every other night, she might be grunting and groaning and straining against her swaddle. She's not fully awake, and heaven forbid if you take her out of the swaddle, but she's not restful and so I don't fall back asleep. During the day, when she's awake, she is more able to be set down and be played with. I'm no longer standing with her, constantly walking and jiggling her, or crying right along with her. When she's napping though, she does prefer to be cuddled right up on my chest. I'll give her that; it's my time to sit and relax too!

Have I mentioned that she was diagnosed with GERD at 8 weeks? I asked the pediatrician about it on a whim. Prior to that appointment, she wasn't sleeping if she wasn't being held in an upright position. She needed to be in constant motion and was searching to nurse every 20 minutes or so. I actually figured out how to nurse her in the Saddle hold so that I could jiggle my leg and keep her from crying while eating. So I asked if there could be a reason that she would not lay down, maybe acid reflux?

Here's how my pediatrician explained it: All babies have a degree of acid reflux. The muscles at the top of their stomach just aren't strong enough yet to keep everything in, so the fluid just sort of sloshes back and forth. This is why babies are prone to spit. There isn't much acid in the stomach at birth because breastmilk really doesn't need much to be digested (formula does need more, but alas, babies were designed to drink Momma's Milk and that's partly why formula fed babies have thicker poops than breastfed babies...more undigested product coming out!). However, some babies are extremely sensitive to even just a little bit of acid, and then they show signs of colic and GERD. The medication used to treat it is a very gentle version of Zantac, and it works as quickly as adults eating some Tums. It's taken some trial and error to get the right doses for Miriam, and we're still not at a perfect dose for her, but she is growing very fast and it's hard to keep up. She is now comfortable most of the day though, and it is expected that she will outgrow this as her stomach muscles mature around the 3 month growth spurt.

Yet, there is a possibility that she could have a dairy protein intollerance. That and GERD often go hand in hand. I have noticed that a day after I eat more dairy than usual (say anything more than the milk on my cereal in the morning), she is more fussy and more spitty. I've been hesitant to cut dairy completely out of my diet though because it is in everything from the obvious ice cream, cheese, and yogurt, to bread, potato chips, and soda. I've promised her though that if this doesn't clear up for her by the time she's finished the 3 month growth spurt, I will cut dairy out of my diet to see if it helps her. The dairy allergy (also known as a casein allergy) is usually outgrown by 3 years, so I probably don't have to worry about packing school lunches yet.

Benjamin loves his little sister. He enjoys playing with her, tickling her, showing her his trains and cars, and tries to pick her up so she'll sit in his lap. Careful what you show a toddler because they'll want to do it over and over and over again! I still don't get to do as much playing with my little man as I'd like, and I never get any one on one time with him anymore. I know he's hurting for the attention because he's getting more frustrated with his days. The two little boys that I nanny for have gone to Australia for a vacation, and Benjamin misses them very much. He's been running up to every child we encounter and asking them to come play. Poor little boy! He needs more friends! I think it's time that I try to find some real playdates for him.

Me? I'm still dragging along. I'm getting more sleep now, so that helps me feel more human now, but I still do occassionally trade in my daily opportunity to have a shower in peace for an extra half hour of sleep in the morning. I can't always keep up with my housework, but now it's leaning more towards the "I don't want to be bothered with it" category than the "it's an impossible feat for me at this moment" category. I have, however, been doing much better at cooking meals for my family. I just bought myself a griddle and it's the most awesome thing ever! If it can't be cooked on the griddle, it won't be cooked in this house! I am, however, really missing my opportunities to have a bit of freedom. I miss being able to run to the store without a ton of effort and planning. I miss being able to go out with friends on a Friday night. I miss having a phone call that doesn't leave the other person saying, "Should I let you go? I hear your kids crying in the background." Chris is doing his best to support our family, but it means he's not around to help me very much or give me the breaks I feel I need. I look forward to the summer when he will be home in the evenings again. Frankly, I look forward to the week between Christmas and New Year's when all music goes on a short vacation!

The kids got to go see Santa Claus at the mall today. Once again, I had to sit in the picture with Benjamin. He wasn't exactly scared of Santa. He just didn't want to sit and have his picture taken. There were much more interesting things behind the camera counter! I wish Chris could have been in the picture too, but he was the one behind the camera this time.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Working WITH Mothers

2010-11-11T11:36:00.004-06:00

Have you ever had a day that made you wish you had not made any of the choices in your life that brought you to that moment? Yesterday was just such a day for me.

Becoming a parent to a toddler and a newborn has not been an easy feat for me to manage. I'm not nearly as patient or as giving as I had envisioned myself to be. I also find myself with less dedication to the parenting principles I had set forth in the beginning of my motherhood with Benjamin. I tell myself that if I could just put myself back on track with those, everything would be so much easier. Maybe, maybe not.

Miriam has been struggling with colic, and there are days that it is manageable and days that it is much, much worse. I've done all that I can for her and it's not enough. It's so heartbreaking to see and hear her scream. The only thing that brings her comfort is being held. However, her definition of "being held" changes hourly. Sometimes being scrunched up on my chest is enough, other times it must be high up on the shoulder, and yet others it must be some position that we have yet to determine.

Benjamin is a toddler. He's beginning to assert his independence but doesn't yet know the dangerous situations in which he must follow Mommy's directions. Temper tantrums are a daily norm. Unfortunately, they are getting out of control because I'm often not able to get on the floor with him to diffuse the situation. I feel very bad that I'm not able to have my hands free to cuddle and play with him like I did 6 weeks ago.

Besides the half hour quick dash to the store last weekend to purchase Benjamin a winter snowsuit, I have not left the house for anything but work and church and doctor appointments. It's been too difficult to go out in public with a toddler that runs away from me and a newborn that can't just chill out in the stroller or carrier. I often use the Moby wrap around the house, but it's not a great option for going out because we live in Wisconsin and it's starting to get cold outside, too cold for taking out of the carseat without a jacket on (which we've been told not to put one on a baby in a carseat because the seatbelt won't be tight enough). But, I might just go crazy if I don't get some time out of this house for fun!

So, please, when you see a mother who looks ready to cry as her toddler runs away down the street screaming, "No!" and as her newborn is crying because she's not being held the right way, please offer her help! Do not just shake your head and keep walking. I really need a village to get through this.

2 Weeks

2010-10-15T08:41:00.004-05:00

It's amazing to me how much my kids look alike, yet so different!

Here's Miriam at 2 weeks:

Here's Benjamin at 2 weeks:

She's here!!

2010-10-02T21:47:00.006-05:00

Miriam Elizabeth made her grand entrance into this world on Thursday, September 30, 2010, at 5:04am! She weighed 8lbs, 5oz, and is 20.5" long. She looks exactly like her older brother, Benjamin, but definitely more "girly" in her features.

I had been sitting at 5cm dilated for two weeks, and being at risk for a placental abruption, my OB decided to do a membrane sweep at my 9:00am appointment to see if we couldn’t get labor jump-started. About an hour after the appointment, I started a dull back pain. At 6:00pm, I started to have contractions. They didn’t hurt, but they were felt first in my underbelly and then spread to my entire lower back. They were very regular, starting at 8 minutes apart, but never got stronger and never got closer together. By 8:30pm, they were pretty much gone, or maybe I had just become accustomed to them and didn’t notice anymore! I had been sitting on an exercise ball, and it had done a great job at relieving the back pressure because I could roll back, stretch my hips, and sink into the ball. So, at 9:30pm, I decided to just go to bed.

I woke at 10:55pm, feeling a strong contraction in my lower back. After two of those, I woke my husband, Chris, and told him that I needed his help to get through the contractions. He applied counter-pressure (pressing both in and down on my hips to give a “spreading” feeling), and the warmth of his hands made the contractions seem like nothing at all. These were very irregular contractions, first at 6 minutes apart, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, then back to 5 minutes. I laid in bed for another hour, then decided that they weren’t going away and we should call my father to come stay the rest of the night with Benjamin. I told him that the contractions weren’t regular, but it was going to happen tonight, and asked if he wanted to come now or should we call him when we were certain we were going to the hospital? He opted to come right away as it takes him 45 minutes to get to our house. I decided to take a shower to bide the time, but by the time I was done, my contractions were so strong that I was having difficulty breathing through them on my own. So as soon as my father arrived to babysit Benjamin, we left for the hospital, even though my contractions were still irregular.

When I arrived at 1:30am, I was 7cm dilated. I chose to sit on the birthing ball since that’s what worked for me at home. My doula, Vanessa, showed up shortly afterwards and sat in front of me to help control my breathing, while Chris continued to sit behind me and applied counter-pressure to my back. My contractions remained irregular, both in timing and in strength. It felt like I would have one really strong contraction, then a small one, and then a large one again. I had a few contractions that were so hard and so long that I vomited immediately afterwards. Everyone assured me that vomiting is good because it acts as 10 contractions since I’m pushing downward with each vomit. Though, I wished I hadn’t chosen to eat Sloppy Joes for dinner! At about 4:00am, I moved into transition and I changed my breathing to a moaning. I felt like I had a better control over the release of the pressure by using words like “okay, okay, okay,” and that actually made me smile and calmer because that’s what Benjamin says when you ask him to do something, “okay, okay, okay.” I moved to the bed on my knees and hung my upper body over a support bar when the contractions became really intense. The support bar was a little high for me, so I turned around on my hands and knees and buried my face into a pillow. I did a lot of physical shaking with the transitional contractions.

At 4:55am, my contractions made a sudden change to strong, regular, smooth contractions. With two of these, my water broke, and the very next contraction had me pushing the baby’s head out! The nurses tried to encourage me to lay on my back, but I didn’t want to move from my hands and knees, so that’s where I stayed for the pushing. At first, the nurses were telling me to push, but I told them, “Stop telling me to push! Don’t tell me to push! I can do this on my own!” I’m afraid I embarrassed Chris because of how vocal and loud I was being. I don’t feel that I actively pushed, but that I let the contractions do the work. To be absolutely honest, as the head was crowning, I got very scared and I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t. It was okay though, because 6 minutes later, Miriam was fully delivered!!

The on-call doctor showed up 15 minutes later, and the only thing she did was deliver the placenta which was being very stubborn. She administered pitocin for that, and I’ve had it one additional time because I’m having a hard time with getting the post-partum clotting to stick.

I’m feeling pretty good!! I had a tiny little tearing, not even enough to consider a 1st degree, which is wonderful compared to the 4th degree one I had with Benjamin. It’s amazing how wonderful and proud I feel after a non-medicated birth!

Benjamin is enjoying being a big brother, if only because it means that the grandparents and Daddy are at home everyday. He hasn't quite figured out exactly how this new baby relates to him. As a toddler, it's still all about Benjamin!

Sweet Dreams Baby Hat

2010-07-14T20:15:00.013-05:00

This hat pattern is a very special one for me. When Benjamin was born, the hospital staff gave him a handknit hat. It fit him so perfectly, not nearly as tight as all the hats I had knit him, plus the ribbing was long enough to cover his ears. That's an extremely important feature to have in Wisconsin when you're born in February!!

So when I joined a Hat Swap for other babies due to be born in October, right around the time I'm due, I knew right away that I wanted to share this wonderful hat. I searched high and low for a pattern that would create a similar hat, but I could not find one. Finally, I reverse-engineered Benjamin's hat to create a hat for my swap partner's baby. Although Benjamin's hat had a pom-pom on top, I opted not to put one on this hat. I'm always a little wary of removeable items on baby clothes, and a pom-pom on top makes it a bit difficult to use a head support when in a carseat because of the added height to the hat, so no pom-pom for us! (It is a really cute feature though, so go ahead and make one if you'd like!)

Materials
Yarn A: Variagated sport weight yarn
Yarn B: Matching solid color sport weight yarn
Size US 4 (3.5mm) double pointed needles

Guage: 6sts/9rows = 1" in stockinette stitch

Directions
In yarn A, cast on 72 sts using the long-tail cast-on.
Join to work in the round.
Work K2,P2 rib for 3".
Purl next round.
Switch to yarn B, knit in stockinette stitch for 2 inches.
Switch back to yarn A, knit one round.
Purl one round.
K one round
*K6, K2tog, repeat from * 9 times.
K one round
*K5, K2tog, repeat from * 9 times
K one round
*K4, K2tog, repeat from * 9 times
K one round
*K3, K2tog, repeat from * 9 times
K one round
*K2, K2tog, repeat from * 9 times
K one round
*K1, K2tog, repeat from * 9 times
K one round
*K2tog, repeat from * 9 times
Cut yarn and thread through remaining 9 stitches. Weave in ends.

Infant/Toddler Pillowcase Dress

2010-07-04T22:48:00.009-05:00

Materials:
2 pieces of 18” x 16.5” cotton fabric (I used two fat quarters for this dress)
14” of 1/2” knit elastic
1 package of 1/2” double fold bias tape (great tutorial here!!)
matching thread

Normally, one would use a pretty patterned, embroidered, or vintage pillowcase to make this dress. However, I wanted to make my daughter a dress that would match Mommy's dress, and I certainly couldn't fit into a pillowcase! You can still use a pillowcase if you would like, but just ignore steps 2-3 since the pillowcase will already have that completed for you. (When measuring the 18” on your pillowcase, use the opening as the bottom of your dress. Then you won't need to hem!) This dress should fit from 6 months – 18 months (finished length is 16.25”).

Step 1:

(click on each picture for a bigger view.)
Lay the two pieces of fabric on top of each other, right sides together, and cut edges matched (or turn your pillowcase inside out). Fold the fabric in half lengthwise. Lay the armscye (armhole) template on the upper right-hand corner of the fabric, and cut along the j-shape to create armholes. Below is the template. It can also be found here on my Flickr page. Download and print the Medium(640) size. (I added 1" to the top and 5/8" to the side of my template after printing but before cutting so that I didn't have to measure once placed on my fabric.)

Step 2:

Unfold the fabric. With right sides together, pin along the side edges (from the bottom of the “J” down). Sew a 5/8” straight seam. Go back and sew another straight seam in the seam allowance, 1/4” from the first one. Trim your fabric close to the second seam. Do this for each side. Press seams flat towards the back (which side is the back is completely up to you).

Step 3:

Hem your dress. Fold your fabric up 3/4” inch and press. Fold the raw edge down towards the pressed seam, hiding the raw edge on the inside, and press again. Stitch a straight seam 1/4” from the bottom of the dress. Stitch a second straight seam 1/8” above the first.

Step 4:

Create your top casing. Along the top of the dress, fold down 1/4” of the fabric and press. Fold down an additional 3/4” of the fabric and press. Sew a straight seam 1/8” from the edge of bottom press (leaving a tube-like hole above it). Do this for both the front and back pieces.

Step 5:

Cut your elastic in half so you have two 7” pieces. Using a safety pin for help, guide one piece of elastic through each casing. Leave 1/4” of elastic hanging out each side, and pin. Sew down the side of the casing, tacking in the elastic. To remove extra bulk, stretch the elastic ends and clip near the fabric.

Step 6:

Cut two 26” strips of bias tape. Find the midpoint of each piece and pin to the dress armscyes at the seam under the armpit. Place as many pins as you need to in order to attach the bias tape smoothly to the armholes. There will be around 10” or so of bias tape hanging from the top of the dress. This extra bias tape will become the shoulder ties. Starting at one end of the bias tape, stitch along the open edge, continuing through the armscye and up the other side. Repeat this on the other armhole. (I found an invaluable video tutorial on how to sew bias tape. Without it, there may have been lots of swearing. Not good for toddler ears.)

Step 7:

Put this nifty little dress on your favorite little girl! Tada! Beautifully (and safely) made!

Sometimes, you just have to give in...

2010-07-04T22:41:00.003-05:00

I finished a summer (maternity) dress for myself this morning. I haven't sewn any clothing for myself while using a pattern since I hit puberty, so I'm still learning how to fit for me. I should have added at least 2" to the bust area because my boobs pull the back so far forward that the armholes cut a bit into the back of my arms, and the boobs are a bit squished in there. Pattern is McCalls m6074.

(Yes, this is me at 28 weeks pregnant! I'm in the home stretch!)

Then, because I had about 2 feet of fabric left, I decided to make my gestating daughter a matching dress. I made a pillowcase style dress, but without the drawstring. I didn't want her to get a shoulder strap caught on something and end up choking herself! So I put some 1/2" elastic in the casing instead. I've got to run to the store and pick up some bias tape binding, which I'm going to put around the armholes and use that for the shoulder ties. I hope to find some matching fabric to make bloomers out of too! This dress is suggested to fit 6 months to 18 months (though likely as a shirt by 18 months).

(Tutorial to follow when the dress is all finished!)

My little girl

2010-06-27T21:09:00.003-05:00

We had our anatomy ultrasound just over a month ago (May 21st), and much like Benjamin's ultrasound, it's taken me this long to having more than just "a baby" growing inside my belly. If you couldn't guess from the post title, we're expecting to give birth to a little girl! See, she's already a drama queen! (That's her arm she's throwing over her face.)

So far, this pregnancy has been so different from what I experienced with Benjamin. His was a pretty easy pregnancy, nothing too special to report. I had mild pregnancy-induced anemia with him, and I spent my entire second trimester sick with bronchitis. However, the bronchitis isn't really unique to the pregnancy, as I get it every time I have a cold, but it took much longer to treat because I didn't want to be aggressive in the antibiotics during pregnancy. I had some swelling in my legs, ankles, and feet, but I did stand for about 10 hours a day at work, and the swelling went away overnight. I had no nausea, and no heartburn...until I was in labor (and then I couldn't stop vomiting, but I'm told this is a good thing, and I had my first heartburn 16 hours into the labor when I munched on an ice cube). Labor was hard, 18 hours of active labor, even though contractions started 2 days before I decided it was time to go to the hospital. It was all back labor, and I finished with a 4th degree tear when his head and shoulders came out in one push (I only had to push for 30 minutes...pretty excellent for a first timer!!).

This pregnancy started so differently. I had horrible nausea and morning sickness for the first 12 weeks. I gained no weight in that time (with Benjamin, I had already gained 7 pounds), but I was lucky that I didn't loose any weight either. I had to make a trip to the Urgent Care clinic on the day of Benjamin's 1st birthday party to request IV fluids because I was so dehydrated that I couldn't stop the vomiting. As I started filling out the pregnancy body, the weight is distributed more on my hips and less in front. After gaining no weight for the first 12 weeks, in the following 8 weeks, I have gained 17 pounds! I was freaking out just a little that I might gain more than the 30 pounds I gained with Benjamin (but I have full confidence in my body for loosing the extra weight - I lost 35 pounds in 12 weeks post-partum.), but I think it all makes sense now. Now, I have the Never-Ending Heartburn. Yes, I have given it it's very own title. Everything gives me heartburn: milk, water, toothpaste (which I don't even swallow...),Tums, sitting down, lieing down, standing up and stretching. I have pretty severe pregnancy anemia this time, so I'm not supposed to take any Tums at all because the calcium can block iron absorption, but I do sneak some in with the hope that it will do something for just a little bit. I'm getting used to it though, but it does mean I don't eat nearly as much as I was between Morning Sickness and the Never-Ending Heartburn. I don't think I'll put on the 50 pounds I was scared of. :-) So, with the major differences in pregnancy symptoms, I have guessed from the beginning that the baby would be a girl!

Here's another picture of my little girl, whom we have decided to name Miriam Elizabeth.

Answers to the questions I hate the most:
1. When exactly is your due date?
We are only telling people "October." This is for several reasons. We have not been able to determine an exact due date as we weren't quite expecting to become pregnant and the ultrasounds have been "inconclusive" for dating. All we have is a 2 week possible range. My OB will also not be inducing me, except in the case of danger to the baby, because of this, and because both he and I believe if the baby is not preparing to leave my body, it's because she's not ready. Also, Benjamin was 10 days late from the due date and I was sick and tired of the harrassment of "Any baby yet? Why are you still here at work? Are you still pregnant?" I don't want to hear that this time. So while there is an arbitrary "date" set in my doctor's file, I'm not sharing it.

2. Aren't you glad you're having a girl?
Why, yes, I am glad...to be having a healthy baby! It makes absolutely no difference to me if this baby is a girl or a boy. I was not hoping or planning for one or the other. Frankly, things may have start out easier if this baby was another boy. I already have all the clothes I need for a boy. I wouldn't have to be worrying about how long I can keep the two children in the same bedroom before we have to move to a 3 bedroom home. And I love my little boy so much! I would never wish him to be anything but what he is!

3. Are you done having kids now?
Actually, most people state this question as a matter of fact. "Oh, the perfect family! Now you can be done having kids." It's very nice they all think this way, but it was not my goal to have one boy and one girl child. My family was perfect with just Chris, Benjamin, and I. It is even more perfect with Chris, Benjamin, Miriam, and I. And should we decide we would like another child added to the family, it will only become even more perfect and special! The only factors that play into our decision of how many children to have are, "Can we financially support our family?" and "Can we emotionally support our family?" There is no ideal number of family members in our minds.

As you can see, I've been remiss at being regular to update this blog. I may not post anything until near labor or post-birth. For more regular and current updates in my life, feel free to friend me on Facebook! (search for pfarfigknittin(at)yahoo(dot)com and write me a little message to explain who you are if I don't know you in real life!)

How to Make a Shirred Sundress: The Instructions

2010-05-17T22:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, you've done your measuring. You've done your fabric shopping. You've even prepared your fabric. So...what are you waiting for?!?!

Lay your fabric out on the table or other hard surface, and drag out your measuring tape. (You'll notice that I am using a cutting mat for guiding my cuts. If you are using a patterned fabric, you probably won't need to use one for your cuts as you can use your pattern to guide you.)

Step 1: Start by cutting off the top salvage end. The salvage is the place where the fabric threads were strapped onto the loom. Unless it's a very pretty salvage (most aren't), you'll want to cut them off.

Step 2: Measure from the top of your fabric to the length you want your dress to be. For me this is 44" + 1" for seam allowances. Make your second cut along the bottom of the fabric.

Step 3: Lining up your first two cuts, square off one end of the fabric to make it start looking like a rectangle.

Step 4: Measure from your last cut across the fabric to the width you need for your dress. (Bust measurement x 2. This is 56" for me.) Make your final cut at this measurement to turn your fabric into a rectangle with right angles.

All your cutting is done! Set aside any fabric scraps you have for making the straps. Now break out that iron, and let's create the skeleton of our dress!

Do these Steps 1-5 for both the top and bottom edges of your fabric.
Step 1: Lay the fabric wrong side up. Using your Seam Guide, fold up the edge of the fabric 1/2" and pin into place. Do this the entire length of the fabric.

Step 2: Using the appropriate setting on your iron, press your fabric to make a nice crease along the fold line.

Step 3: Removing pins along the way, fold up the pressed edge of the fabric another 1/2" and pin back into place. This will hide the "raw" edges of your fabric so that it doesn't fray.

Step 4: Go back to your iron and press this new fold into a nice crease.

Step 5: Start up your sewing machine. Using fabric matching thread in both the top spool and the bobbin, sew a straight stitch 1/4" along the edge of your fabric (this stitch should fall right in the middle of your creased hem fold.). Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and ending of your seam so that the thread doesn't pull out.

Step 6: With right sides together, fold your fabric in half, matching the two remaining raw edges, and pin together.

Step 7: Seam 1/2" from the raw edges.

Step 8: Head back to your iron and press the seam open.

Now you have 2 hemmed edges; this is the top and the bottom of the dress. And your dress will also now be a tube. Step back and admire the beautiful seams that you have created. Make your husband admire. Dance around the living room with your toddler. Be so rediculously proud of your half-done creation that your family thinks you've jumped off the deep end. :-)

Now, let's work on shirring. Shirring is the technique of using elastic thread to create a stretchy gathered fabric. Each machine is a little fussy with elastic thread, so if these instructions don't work for you, do a little Google search on "name of sewing machine - elastic thread." Chances are someone has tried it with your machine. If you can't find any instructions, leave a comment with the type of machine you have and I'll see if I can guide you. I've used both an old machine with a bobbin case and this new computerized, drop-in bobbin machine that has a specific elastic stitch. Practice these next steps on some scrap fabrics until it looks the way you want it to!

Step 1: Wind the elastic thread into your bobbin. You will want to do this by hand. Make sure that the thread isn't pulled tight that it's stretched out, but isn't so loose so that it's falling off the bobbin. Plop the bobbin into place, and, if you have a drop-in bobbin like me, make sure the elastic thread is running through the bobbin tension disks. Continue to use the fabric matching thread on your top spool.

Step 2: Lengthen your straight stitch to 3.5-4mm. Also, if you don't have automatic tension, set it to 4. (REMEMBER: Practice, practice, practice!! You certainly want to make sure this looks right before you go ahead and sew on your dress. Remember you will loose approximately 1/2 your fabric width because of the elastic. Also, your elastic thread should be smoothly sewn along the back. Adjust the bobbin tension if you don't think it looks right.)

Step 3: Putting your needle down in the middle of your side seam, sew your first shirred line 1/4" from the top of your fabric edge. (This is right on top of your hem seam. Because of this, you may choose to seam your hem with the elastic thread right from the beginning.) You may, or may not, choose to backstitch your elastic stitch. If not, leave at least 1" of elastic thread, and knot the ends together so that it does not slip through your stitching and become loose. I chose to backstitch 3 stitches.

Step 4: Stretching the fabric out so it lays flat (which is really stretching the elastic thread, not pulling the fabric out of shape), sew your next line of elastic stitching 1/4" from the first line of stitching.

Step 5: Continue sewing lines of elastic stitching, each 1/4" apart, until you have enough to cover your bust length (Measurement B). I have stitched until I reached 9" from the top hem.

Yay!! You have shirred!! You will notice that with each additional line of elastic stitching, your fabric gathers more and more. It should remain stretchy, enough so to go around your bust. Now, for the last and final step...

Step 1: With your dress on, measure from the top in the front to the top in the back. This tells you how long your straps need to be.

Step 2: Cut your fabric to double your strap width plus 1". For me, I wanted 2" straps, so I would cut it 3" wide. And cut it to the length you want, plus 2". I wanted 10" long, so I cut a 12" long strip. Cut 2 strips, one for each strap.

Step 3: With right sides facing, pin the raw edges together along the long edge and one short edge.

Step 4: Seam 1/2" from the edge, along the long side and one short side, leaving the other short side open.

Step 5: Turn the strap right side out. Head back to your iron and press the seams flat.

Step 6: Turn in the raw edge of the unfinished short end and press 1/2" of the raw edge to the inside of the strap.

Step 7: Slip stitch the open end closed.

Step 8: Attach the strap to the top of the dress in both the front and the back. Sew a 1/4" seam, placing stitches in the hem of the dress. (That's 1/4" from the edge of the strap and 1/4" from the edge of the dress top.)

TaDa!! Try your dress on!

Now you are absolutely all done. I'm not sure I'm actually put on the staps. I don't know if the style really fits large chested women like me. It does fit nicely as a maternity skirt (you can do the same technique, but with less rows of shirring, just enough to create a waist). Tell me what you think!

Here are few sites that I found that helped me figure out the shirring and elastic thread thing. Review them if you're having trouble!
Pretty Ditty Shirring Tutorial
ThreadBanger Shirred Summer Dress

How to Make a Shirred Sundress: The Fabric

2010-05-16T22:52:00.000-05:00

I love to feel fabric. My mother used to take us along to the fabric store, and my brothers and I would look through the pattern books and run up and down the aisles, hands out and feeling the fabrics. When I pick a fabric, I pick first based on feel, second on color, and third on washing care. Of course, most times you do also have to pay attention to the fiber content and weave of the fabric, but you will find that even a 100% cotton fabric has varying feels and textures within that grouping.

For this project, if you are a brand new, novice sewer, please stick to a 100% cotton fabric with little to no stretch (pull both vertically and horizontally...every fabric has a little stretch diagonally). If you are more comfortable with different types of fabric, you can venture over to the cotton knits and jersey knits, maybe with a little spandex woven in. Because I am pregnant, and unable to predict just how large I will get, I have chosen a jersey knit with 10% spandex added.

When looking at colors and patterns, keep in mind that you will not be laying a pattern piece over your fabric. For newer sewers, you'll probably find it handy to choose something with a pattern that you can use as your cutting guide. Or, if you choose a solid color or difficult to follow pattern, you might use a cutting mat and rotary knife to help you cut a straight line.

So now you know what type of fabric you want. Let's look at dimensions and how much to purchase.

Fabric bolts have a sticker on their top telling you all about the fabric. It tells you fabric content (i.e. 100% cotton), how much total fabric is on the bolt (i.e. 8 yards), how to care for the fabric (i.e. machine wash warm, tumble dry low), and the fabric width (i.e 45 inches). When you pick a fabric to purchase, always take note of how to care for your fabric. Write it down or take a picture. You don't want to ruin a new project with the first wash!!

Let's go back to your dimensions. What is your Measurement C? This is how long you wanted your dress to be. If you want a 36" long dress, you certainly don't want to purchase a fabric that is only 28" wide. You would, at most, get a 27" long dress. So, now look for a fabric bolt that has at least 3" more in width than you want the length of your dress.

Now take your bust measurement (Measurement A) and multiply it by 2. This is how much fabric you will need to purchase from the bolt. For me, A x 2 = 56", or just over 1.5 yards, so I just asked the saleswoman to cut 2 yards. You also will need to realize that when the fabric is folded on the bolt, it very often isn't exactly equal. You may want to purchase at least 6" extra in order to square off your fabric. Otherwise you may find that at the top of the fabric, you have 60", while at the bottom you have 64" and you need 62".

For this project, I bought 2 yards of 60" wide jersey knit fabric. I want an ankle length dress. I also bought what was left of a patterned jersey knit bolt to make my scrawny, can-never-find-anything-appropriate-in-the-stores niece. That was about 1.38 yards of 42" wide fabric.

Also, purchase some elastic thread. Each of the spools shown contains 30 yards of elastic thread. I used up nearly a whole spool just in my practice, so I do recommend getting two right away. You'll also need thread in a color to match your fabric.

Bring your fabric home, and give it a good wash and dry. This will loosen the fibers and they will fall into their place. If you don't wash your fabric prior to cutting and sewing, cotton especially, your first wash will shrink your finished project and likely pull on the grain of the fabric, leaving you a mess that you'll probably never wear again! Then, iron your fabric according to the instructions on the bolt. If your fabric is wrinkly, your cuts won't be straight.

Next: Cutting the Fabric and Sewing the Dress!

Time Out

2010-04-20T23:44:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted the next in the Sundress Tutorial. I had this wonderful LONG post on fabric, and it took me quite a long time to write it, as I have 3 toddler boys running around. However, the laptop battery died just before I came to "publish post," and there must have been a glitch with Blogger because it only saved half the post. So...you'll have to wait a bit for me to stop being mad at Blogger and rewrite it. :-D

Also, the sewing has halted. My machine is a VERY old machine, and it just doesn't work well anymore. So I'm getting a new machine!! I'm very excited!!! It's an early early Christmas present from my parents. It's a beautiful Brother 110-stitch Computerized Sewing Machine. And now I must await for it to be delivered. It really is like Christmas!!

How to make a Shirred Sundress: Measuring

2010-04-17T17:48:00.012-05:00

I stopped at a not-so-local JoAnn Fabrics today. I wasn't planning on it, but I walked past the window and saw a lot of 50% off signs over their fabric bolts. I figured it couldn't hurt to go look! My local JoAnn's doesn't have much in the way of clothing fabrics, just a lot of quilting cottons. This one was quite split down the middle: half quilting cottons, half clothing fabrics (knits, silks, shirtings, fleeces). I'm sure I bored my husband to death, but Benjamin was quite helpful rearranging all the thread spools in the display. :-) I was able to pick up 2 jersey knit fabrics for 1/2 off. After I grabbed the threads I needed, my total price for what I need to make 2 shirred dresses was less than $16! This is when my husband commented, "Why don't you shop here more often?" He may get his wish!!

Let's make some Shirred Sundresses!

(photo courtesty of TangerineSamurai)

So, while I found many tutorials online on how to create shirring, most of the available free patterns are designed for little girls, and this creates a problem for most adult women since we have boobs and hips that aren't necessarily proportionate to each other. The few patterns that I came across for women didn't go into enough detail for my liking. I'm a intermediate sewer. I have a good knowledge of fabrics and which one to use to get drape or structure. I know how to press a hem and tack down seams. I can do buttonholes, but I have to look up a refresher first, and zippers are off limits for me. I truly believe that this pattern, however, will work for absolute beginners. Just as long as you know how to use an iron and stitch a straight stitch, you can do this. I'll walk you through everything else!

First, we'll get our measurements. This is a "no-pattern" pattern, so it is very important that you get accurate measures with this. Get someone to help you, or stand in front of a mirror.

Bust Measurements:
A: This is your smallest bust circumference. It is the measurement used to determine your bra band size. Measure under your bra line. (I measured at 28")
B: This is your bust length. Determine where you would like the top of the dress to lay. Then measure from that point, over the fullest part of your breast, to the bottom of your bra. This number is the amount of shirring you will need to give a great umpire waist look. (I measured at 9")

Length:
C: Determine if you would like a short mid-thigh dress, or a knee length dress, or even an ankle length dress. This is important to know before you head to the fabric store. Start from your under-the-bra measurement (My measurement B was 9", so I put the 9" mark at the bottom of my bra.), then let the tape measure hang. Make note of where you want the dress to end. (I measured 49" for ankle length and 34" for just-below-the-knee length.)

Straps:
D: How wide of straps would you like? Straps are totally optional, but I cannot live without a bra, and frankly, I don't like my not-so-pretty bra straps showing. I chose a 2" width for my straps because that will give me 0.5" coverage on each side of my bra strap. I think length of straps is better determined after you have the body of the dress made and on. This way you give yourself a little room for error.

(You know, while you're doing all this measuring, measure yourself to make sure you're wearing the correct size bra. If you're built anything like me, you're likely to have been wearing a majorly wrong bra size for a long time. You'll be surprised at how great a good-fitting bra feels! Stay away from those online calculators. They're 90% wrong. Measure yourself around your bust at the widest point. Keep the measuring tape level with the floor. Take your fullest bust measurement minus Measurement A. Each inch equals one cup size. Your Measurement A is your band size, the result of your math is your cup size. So for me: fullest bust = 35", Measurement A = 28". I wear a 28G. Since you don't typically find that size in your local store, I had been wearing a 36DD for way too long!)

Next: Head to the fabric store!

Guess what?!

2010-04-14T10:45:00.005-05:00

I'm pregnant with Baby #2!! I'm sorry I have been absent from the new blog, but can I make excuses? We found out about the pregnancy in January. It was kind of unexpected as we were planning on getting pregnant again in October 2010, not having the baby in October! Alas, it happened, and we're happy and excited. I had a miserable 1st trimester with lots of morning sickness, and since I have chosen to do extended breastfeeding with Benjamin, I found myself extremely dehydrated between supporting the two of them (Benjamin and baby). Once I reached the dehydration stage, I just couldn't keep anything in my system and needed the help of a few bags of IV saline solution to better myself. I can't say if I'm as exhausted with this pregnancy as I was with Benjamin, mostly because I'm generally exhausted from chasing him and the 2 toddler boys that I nanny around! However, I didn't have any morning sickness with Benjamin, so could this mean "girl?" We'll have to wait at least another month to find that out, so stay tuned!

Well, now that I'm heading into my 16th week, I'm feeling much better and the nesting bug has hit me hard. I don't really feel the need to prepare specifically for the baby though. Perhaps this is because I have the basics of everything we'll need for a new little one. If this is a girl, we will have to purchase some "girl" clothes to fill out the wardrobe that's filled with clearly "boy" clothes. There are some additional things we're looking at, such as a duo/tandem stroller, an additional convertible carseat, a highchair (right now we use a convertible booster chair that Benjamin will get to continue using), and of course, a minivan.

So what does a girl like me do when the need to nest is so strong but there's no need to actually prepare for the baby? She crafts! I'm looking forward to attempting to sew a few of my own maternity sundresses like the one below. I haven't been able to find "modern" maternity sewing patterns, so I believe that this style will allow for some extra belly room. Stay tuned while I search for my inspiration!

photo courtesy of Knittingand

2010-01-30T22:14:00.003-06:00

When we bought our condo in July 2008, we had these grand plans of remodeling. Or perhaps I should say I had grand plans of remodeling! My husband will instigate nothing of the sort.

The condo unit was staged beautifully. The previous owners, both of whom had passed away prior to the sale, had bought into the association as the units were being built in 1981. They were able to be right in the midst of the contractors, working with the designers to make it their own space. Because of this, we have a few amenities that no other unit has, such as a window in our dining room and an outlet in the main closet (they had placed a deep freeze there). They also picked out the carpet, fixtures, appliances, and wallpaper as the unit was built.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

As you can see, there's a tremendous amount of wallpaper and wall to wall carpeting. We had an assessor come take a look and with no structural damage, I thought it would be easy peasy to redecorate!

Unfortunately, as we tackled the kitchen and the main bath, we realized that there was no priming done behind the wallpaper. It was laid directly on the drywall. It didn't take long before our energy to continue burnt out. It also didn't help that I was getting more and more pregnant with Benjamin and couldn't handle all the fumes of wallpaper remover and paint. We left the kitchen half done with the wallpaper removed, a shody wall painting job, and cabinet faces repainted, and the main bath has half the wallpaper down.

This was supposed to be the year for finishing the remodel. However, we have had water damage to our unit seep down from the attic. This has damaged our walls and ceilings. I'm not going to be able to move forward with any cosmetic work until the structural work has been taken care of. Unfortunately, the condo association doesn't think that this work is a priority because they've taken care of the attic damage and "it won't get any worse" in my unit. It may be a year or two before they deem it worth fixing.

I wish I could say my condo looks as nice and clean as the seller's staging, but alas, I have 3 cats, a baby, and a husband. It will never look that good!

What to say?

2010-01-23T22:34:00.003-06:00

A friend teased me when I started up this blog, saying, "Oh, another blog that you'll never have the time to update." Well, she got me! To be honest, I don't know what I wanted to write about. I have my son, who is now 11 months old, and I could go on and on bragging about him. I have my family. I did host Christmas Eve for my husband's family, as is our new tradition since buying our condo, and there are a lot of changes with my siblings. I have our condo. There's a lot of renovation in the works. I have my knitting. Now that Benjamin can entertain himself a little bit more, I've actually found some time!

So, tell me, what do you want to hear about??

Peppermint Bark

2009-12-19T21:05:00.005-06:00

We were walking through Costco the other day, when Chris stopped at a table laiden with holiday treats. My husband is the exact reason stores set up these tables. He picked up a half pound tub of peppermint bark priced around $8.00. He gave me the sad puppy eyes, and I said, "No way! I can make that for cheaper." Chris said, "But can you do it with both kinds of chocolate?" Oh, you bet I can!

This turned out way easier than I even thought, and in less than an hour, we had peppermint bark! I made two and a half pounds for less than $7.00. My husband is well pleased.

Ingredients:
roughly 1 pound milk chocolate
roughly 1 pound white chocolate
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
12 candy canes
butter

Directions:
Place the candy canes into a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin or metal frying pan to crush into tiny little bits. Set aside in a bowl for later.
Line a jelly roll pan with a sheet of wax paper, and use the butter to grease the paper. This will help free the chocolate later.
In a double boiler (or a heat safe mixing bowl situated over a pot), melt the milk chocolate. Pour onto wax paper and spread evenly. Shaking the pan a little will help spread everything out. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Pull the milk chocolate out of fridge. Using the double boiler, melt the white chocolate and mix in the peppermint extract. Pour over the milk chocolate and spread evenly. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top and gently press into the chocolate. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes, or until hardened.
Remove bark from fridge and let sit for 15 minutes. Flip upside down onto another sheet of wax paper, and peel the paper off the bottom. Break the bark into bite size pieces.

Monkeys need to eat, too

2009-11-27T15:18:00.004-06:00

I enjoy baking for my family. Pies, cookies, and cakes are packed full of love, then shoveled into their faces to go where love really belongs: their bellies! One of my favorite items is banana bread. I keep a freezer stocked of bananas that have ripened beyond the casual eater's likening. Every now and then, I'll pull out 3 or 4 bananas and make a loaf of bread. There's nothing quite like a warm slice slathered in butter!

Benjamin now enjoys eating with us. Correction: Benjamin stalks us for food. The kid is a bottomless pit! I much prefer to offer him homemade solid foods rather than the store bought prepackaged kinds. I know exactly what goes into it, and it certainly saves us money. So when I opened my freezer today and saw a shelf of bananas, I knew that I had to make him a treat. Afterall, our fridge is full of pumpkin cheesecakes! I thought about trying to turn my bread into a biscuit for him to eat. He is teething, and it helps ease the pain.

Monkey Cookies!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup softened butter

3 eggs

3 mashed bananas (you can use frozen or overripe bananas; they provide a more intense flavor)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Comine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.

Cut in the butter. The dough should be crumbly.

Add remaining ingredients, and mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen. These cookies can be frozen.

These are very cakelike cookies, rather than hard biscuits, but as you can see, Benjamin enjoys them!

Cleaning Up

2009-11-15T22:05:00.002-06:00

There is something so luxurious about using handknit items while doing household chores. There's also nothing quite so satisfying as actually completing a project!

I have about one hour of dedicated time to myself everyday while the boys take their afternoon naps. It doesn't leave me much time to get everything accomplished that I used to get done pre-baby, but it does help me to feel as if I can breathe on my own again. I pulled out my knitting bag, and emptied it of all complicated projects: my sweater will have to wait until I have the time to count cables and rows and stitches; my socks will have to wait until the pregnancy short-term memory loss is cured (when does that go away?!) and I can remember what kind of heel I was turning; and my shawl will remain in the design stages. Instead, I stuffed it with cotton yarn and the intention of making several 8" squares to use as dishcloths.

Garterlac Dishcloth in Sugar 'n Cream (Rosewood)
Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth in Sugar 'n Cream (cream)
Pawprint Dishcloth in Sugar 'n Cream (yellow)
4 Corners Dishcloth in Peaches 'n Cream (shades of green) in progress

My husband says we don't need anymore dishcloths. I beg to differ.

Laundry Closet Update

2009-11-09T22:47:00.010-06:00

This is going to be the most tricked out Laundry Closet when I'm done!!

I decided on a wall paint color, and it just happened to be the same color that I used on my kitchen cabinets: Lima Bean green from the Martha Stewart collection. I had a whole gallon left, so I had plenty to do this small space. I ended up needing only one coat, which was a real treat when compared with the rest of the house!

It was a bit of a pain to pull the washer and dryer out because of the unmodern (and newly discovered, not up to code) hook-ups. We were a little too scared to completely disconnect everything, so I had to work around them in the very small space. As long as the laundry closet always remains a laundry closet, I don't think anyone will ever notice!

I picked up this 36" wire shelf from Target for around $10, and it's just large enough to fit all of our laundry detergents on, plus a little garbage can for dryer lint.

There are a few more things I want to add to this closet to make the most of it:

I need someplace pretty to dry my diaper covers. Right now, they're clipped onto the cabinet door handles with clothespins. I found this drying rack on Ballard Designs, but I don't think Chris would allow me $90 for such a small space! I have lots of ideas as to how to create one, but I'm still working out logistics.

I would love to be able to fit in a fold-out ironing board too, but the wall that has the outlets is the same wall that has the lightswitch. I don't know where I would position the board. The total length of the closet is 6 feet, so would it be too far of a stretch for the cord to place it on the opposite wall from the outlet?

Also, I want to hang a shower curtain rod right behind the bifold doors. This will give a place to hang coat hangers when the doors are open.

Now...if only updates to a laundry room would add $10k to our home value! :-)

The Sick Bay

2009-11-07T22:54:00.004-06:00

Last weekend, we were all exposed to the H1N1/Swine Flu. I've been carefully monitoring my family for signs of the Sick, but nothing showed up. Phew!

...until Friday afternoon. At about 2pm, Benjamin and I were hit with the Bovine Express semi-truck, and quickly developed fevers and aches and pains. I seem to be the only one with the cough and sneezing though. My throat is killing me and I can find no relief. Benjamin seems to be doing well with the help of some Tylenol and extra, extra, extra cuddles from Mommy. Chris, though, appears to be unhuman and has yet again escaped any form of discomfort. It's not fair.

There's no testing though around these parts unless you're admitted to the hospital and I don't even think we warrant doctor visits. After all, this could just be a cold. It's often so hard to tell the difference between colds and flus. Well, here's hoping no one gets worse!

Forward with a plan...

2009-11-05T11:24:00.004-06:00

Although I no longer work at the Bank, I still do work outside my home. In order to help make up for the loss of my salary, I now take care of 2 young toddlers, as well as my son, at their house. I know the boys' mother through my employment at the Bank, but her husband works second shift and there is a good 6 hours of overlap when they're each at their respective jobs. This means that I get to spend my mornings at home, cuddling with my baby, and doing my housework.

I used to wonder at the people with piles and piles of dirty laundry, asking myself why they didn't just set a day each week and get it done. When it was just my husband and I, we sat aside Sunday afternoons for our "house time." We went to church, then to the grocery store, then did 2 loads of laundry, and finished any other errands we had for the week. Add a baby into our mix, whom we have chosen to cloth diaper, and we just added another 3 loads of laundry per week! We don't have a very efficient washer or dryer, so clothes take 2 hours to complete and diapers take 3 hours to complete the wash cycles. We didn't really have 12 hours to set aside for laundry on any given day. We've slowly been adding to the pile of "someday I'll get to that" dirty laundry.

There's something about babies that inspires one to be a better person, to lead a better life, to bring the focus back to the home. I have been trying to persuade myself to do a gigantic sweep of my house and fix everything I don't like. This has proved too daunting of a task for me. I need to start small and concentrate on the small victories. I will be prideful of what I accomplish and not focus on how much I have yet to do.

My prideful moment? I set a schedule for doing laundry. This is the only addition to my morning routine in a VERY long time, and I'm excited at how smoothly it fits in! It also frees up some of our weekend time.

Monday: wash diapers

Tuesday: wash my clothes

Wednesday: wash Benjamin's clothes

Thursday: wash diapers

Friday: wash Chris's clothes

Now, to continue on my YAY! LAUNDRY! moment, I want to clean up and decorate my laundry closet. Really, that's all it is: a closet. The washer and dryer take up all the floor space, and I have 2 hanging cabinets, only 1 1/2 of which are useable as they conceal heating duct work. There used to be a shelf attached to the wall, but it fell down and I've never replaced it.

Here's what it looks like now (obviously it's diaper day!):

So what should I do with it?

I love the canvases that my friend Jenny painted here.

I'm totally going to paint the walls (and the cabinets????) like they did here.

Any other ideas for me? Colors?

Welcome!

2009-11-01T16:12:00.003-06:00

A friend told me I needed to be a grown-up and get a blog like the rest of them.

I've had this blog set up for awhile, but never posted anything to it. Why? Because I have an 8 month old son, and that's a pretty darn good reason! However, this week he came down with an ear infection, and I'm giving him the luxury to sleep as long as he pleases. Just so happens he's taking a 3 hour nap today!

I recently left my promising career at a national bank in order to be able to spend more time with my family. I never thought I would want to do this, but one can never foretell how they'll feel about being a mother until they actually are one. Obviously, this is going to create a gaping hole in our finances where my paycheck used to be, but I am confident that everything will work out for the best.

I will be a happier, more fulfilled person with this path in my life. Please join me as I enter this new dimension!

High as a Cat

2008-11-03T21:52:00.003-06:00

This weekend we stopped by the pet store because we had to replace Loki's CatDancer. He pretty much destroyed the old one. I also wanted to find something catnip related since I know the other two will go crazy for it, and it sure is fun to watch! But what they offered in toys just didn't seem worth the money spent on them. Some were hard wooden toys that you stuffed with the catnip, and others were far too flimsy to stand up to my cats. Miss Tea prefers to sleep on her nip toys to get high threw osmosis, Carmina prefers to chew on it until it's sopping wet, and Loki will try to rip it to shreds. So we decided to just pick up some loose catnip, and I'd figure out some cat-proof way to give it to them.

Enter the simple Felted Catnip Bag. It combines the two things my cats love the most: my yarn and catnip. The only thing to make this the coolest thing ever in their little kitty worlds would be my lap, but it's hard to stuff that into this little bag!

Materials:
-- US 8 straight needles
-- small amount of worsted weight 100% pure wool (I used Cascade 220)

Gauge: 5 sts/7 rows per inch

Pattern:
Cast on 30 sts using the long tail cast-on.
Knit in stockinette until piece reaches 5 inches, ending with a WS row.
Loosely bind off.

Finished flat knit piece: 5 inches tall, 6.25 inches wide

Fold piece lengthwise. Seam edge together, and seam bottom together. Weave in ends.

Felt and let dry completely.

Stuff lightly with cotton balls or batting and sprinkle in catnip. Seam top together. Give to cats to enjoy!

See others' Felted Catnip Bags on Ravelry:

Bangle Wristlet Purse

2008-01-21T22:17:00.004-06:00

So as I get ready to head off to Germany, I realized I will be there for the 2nd half of Fasching (or Karneval, depending on where you live). With all the crazies welcomed out into the streets, I decided it might not be the best choice to carry my purse around. Since I will need to carry my passport around with me, I need something that will stay close to my body and not be so easy to rip off. Plus, it needs to be cute enough for the clubs. (Go back to Germany and be there for Fasching, and not go to the clubs? I am no hypocrite!!) I think this cute wristlet will do just fine.

Materials
~ Knit Picks Andean Silk [55% superfine Alpaca, 23% silk, 22% Merino wool; 96yd per 50g skein]; color: #23778 Cornflower; 1 skein
~ US 8 straight needles
~ cable needle
~ US G crochet hook
~ 2 bangle bracelets (or 4 depending on quality of bracelets)
~ tapestry needle
~ (optional) fabric for lining

Gauge
5 sts = 1"

Bag Body
With kniting needles, CO 40 sts loosely.
Rows 1, 3, 7, & 9: K3, P4, K8, P4, K2, P4, K8, P4, K3
Rows 2, 4, 6, 8, & 10: P3, K4, P8, K4, P2, K4, P8, K4, P3
Row 5: K3, P4, C8F, P4, K2, P4, C8B, P4, K3
Repeat these 10 rows 6 times more, then Repeat Rows 1-8 once (a total of 8 cables have been created)
BO loosely in pattern.
Block knitted rectangle.
(optional): If you would like to add a lining to your bag, make your measurements now. It will be much easier than after it has been seamed up.
Fold the rectangle in half width-wise, and seam up sides of bag.
(optional): Sew in lining of bag.

Handle Flaps
With crochet hook, attach yarn & sc2tog 38 times around top of bag.
* sc1, sc2tog, sc13, sc2tog, sc1, turn (17 sts total)
ch2, skip first st in row, dc 16, turn
ch2, skip first st in row, dc 16, fasten off *
Join yarn for other side of bag and rep from * to * for second handle flap.
Attach bangles as the handes.
Weave in ends.
(note: I do crochet, and as such used crochet handle flaps. However, not every knitter is also a crocheter. You can pick up the middle 34 stitches on each side of the bag and knit in seed stitch for 5-6 rows depending on thickness of bangles.)

See others' Bangle Wristlet Purses at Ravelry: