In the works...

These past few weeks, I haven't done much sewing or anything really creative. Just getting through the days. The snow is beautiful outside today, but I am looking forward to going out more. Kj and I got a taste of spring on Tuesday and were outside most of the day. We went to the park for walking and swinging. I actually had sore feet that night from all the walking.

I also went to Hobby Lobby that day and found some clearance bits of fabric for a couple of Kj dresses. Still figuring out what kind, not wanting to cut into any of them without a plan. Maybe, just maybe if there is extra fabric, I could make a bonnet for spring!

Kj is playing contentedly with her TOYS! The last couple of days I took the toy basket out from the corner and she has been investigating. Shaking, chewing, throwing the toys and then when the basket is mostly empty, she climbs on in. It looks like she is sailing. If I catch her in the act again, I will definitely take a picture and post it for you all.

Language development idea for you new moms: Find a book you want to read. Then while your child is playing...read aloud to them. I sometimes run out of ideas of what to do with Kj and picked up a book at the library. It was a very good book and I didn't want to ignore Kj. So, for a while yesterday that is what we did.

Fleece Book

 

When I first got the idea for this book, I was going to use all different textures of fabrics to make it. Well, I ended up just using fleece so that the project wouldn't just sit around for months and months. I used a couple of cookie cutters to trace out some of the shapes, and used my really cool quilting toy... the rotary cutter for the triangles and quadrilaterals.

As a math major in college, I really wanted to use this book to teach shapes. Therefore, one set of pages has all kinds of triangles and another set of pages has all types of quadrilaterals (four-sided figures as my 2nd grade teacher relation says!).

Unfortunately, Kj is not too thrilled with this book and as you know, she is very interested in books! If I had it to do again, I would go back to my original idea and use some satin and some corduroy, and other texture fabrics. My sister-in-law added a little pizazz to one of the pages for me. She sewed on various sizes of circular buttons. As I come across more items to add, I may enhance this book further.

Smock Bib

This is Round 1 of the smock-bib. I have friends with similar things and they work so much more nicely than bibs. Kj is loving pulling off her bibs now. I am thinking about putting snaps on all of them so she can't do that. Anyways...this item...

+
~ cute
~ looks like a dressy shirt
~ fabric has a pattern so food bits blend...can't tell that it is dirty
~ she can't get it off herself
~ long, so her belly doesn't get dirty
~ waterproof front panel

-
~ front neckline is too low
~ food gets on collar
~ tie in back is a little low

Fixes
~ make neckline higher
~ adjust ties in back

...Someday you will see Round 2. I have started to work on it, but it is still in the works.

Experiment

My husband and I decided to experiment on our daughter today. She doesn't seem to play much with her "toys" but plays for hours and hours with her books, looking through them and "reading" them etc. For those of you who don't know, our daughter is currently 10.5 months old. She loves her board books, especially Dr. Suess' ABCs.

Ok, so our experiment. We took all the books out of the living room last night after she had gone to bed. She usually stays in the living room when I am in there during the day (and since I am having a few couch-days, I'm here a lot). We just wanted to see how long she would be happy with her toys.

7.35 AM...Breakfast is done and it is time to play.
7.45 AM...She finds HyVee ads and pages through those. It looks like a book, just isn't as hard as her board books. Loves it until she rips off the cover.
7.50 AM...Kevin leaves for work.
8.00 AM...She starts to leave the room she is "so bored"!
8.01 AM...I bring out the blocks to see how long that will last for her.
8.11 AM...She is done with the blocks. I think they make her mad. She shoves the box aside and tries to find something else of interest. She finds some books on a shelf and stands by a chair and claps while eying them. She sits on my lap and we look at 1 book...not her favorite, time to move on. She finds her "Mr. Giraffe" stuffed animal and cuddles with him and sucks her thumb..."is this torture ever going to end?"
8.30 AM...Finds a little more to play with...
8.35 AM...Nothing more of interest in here..."I'm leaving for good this time"...Kj heads toward her room...where her books are "hidden". I don't know if she actually knew they were there??
9.00 AM...Kj is still looking at the top 3 favorite books in her bin. "Hop on Pop", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", "Dr. Suess ABCs". Paging through, rereading...

The next experiment. Remove all the toys from the room and see if she gets bored..."Ask me tomorrow and not today." ~Dr. Suess.

Ooh, 9.00 1/2 AM...Kj moved beyond her box of books and is playing with a toy...

9.10 AM...Back to the books!

Couch-day

Ha, I figured out what sick-days have become. Couch-days! I sit/lay on the couch while watching Kj around me. It works quite well. Also, since Kj is still learning boundaries in our house and I wasn't up to following around and keeping her away from some of these things...I re-barricaded. It worked quite well and to her it just meant some new things to explore! Yeah! I am feeling much better today, but am still getting worn out when I try to do too much. But, I cannot fall asleep today. Another sign that I must be doing much better!!! Yesterday I slept every possible moment.

Well, that is all, I just wanted to give you my follow-up on "Sick-days..."

Sick-day...

...what's that. As a mom, they are no more. The fortunate thing about today is it is Sunday and my husband has been home most of the day to take care of our daughter. And she is pretty self-entertaining at times, so I can watch from a lounging position on the couch.

I think we have been passing something around amongst the three of us. Kj, though, has had it the duration of the time, while my husband and I have taken turns...poor girl. It is amazing how much energy I can muster up when no one is around to be on little girl duty. Before going out to a friend's today, my husband tried to put Kj to bed for a nap. It was the right time, it just wasn't working for him, so he brought her out into the living room with me. After he left, I got her a bottle and we cuddled, then I put her in bed again. It worked, and now instead of taking a nap...what am I doing...blogging. Before he left, I didn't think I had enough energy to do even that. I am trying to make it up to him though. I folded the clothes on the bed!

Ok, so really, you didn't want to hear all that. Haha, thanks for visiting anyways! haha.

The Wise One

I had decided to buy some things online one day. I needed a few more dollars of products to get free shipping so I looked up buttons. One of the books had an owl on it. It was so cute and I figured I could make it. I kind of figured out the proportions (height to width) by measuring with a scrap of paper. Then just took it from there. I also looked up online what color owl eyes are. And well after all my online searching to buy something...I never did buy whatever it was that I thought that I needed.



If you have any ideas for my next "Palligator", please let me know. Thanks!

The serious side of the blog...

A friend called last night and asked what she could do to reach out to a friend who had just lost her third child through miscarriage. We looked online and found a "HOPE" bracelet for her. I also recommended the books, "Born to Fly: An Infant's Journey to God", and "Silent Grief". Also, my husband bought me a precious feet pendant as my gift of remembrance. As I layed in bed last night though, I couldn't get her out of my mind. I wanted to write to her and encourage her in some way. I don't even know her name, so I kept the letter anonymous (me and her). If any of you ever have need of this note...feel free to use it as well.

Some verses that I have thought of too...Psalm 113:9, Psalm 30:5 (last half)...there were a couple more, but they are not as "pertinent"...they would have to be used with great sensitivity and at the right time from the right person...or they would not be encouraging. So, be very sensitive about this subject. Pray, pray, pray about your words. Me. I guess I was pretty willing to just talk about it. Others, they're not as ready to spill their heart. Si, anyways, the letter:

2.3.09 11PM
Dear One~

My heart goes out to you. I have been in your place and God has brought much healing in to my life. Part of my healing was through the tenderheartedness of those around me. Some were people I barely knew. They shared with me the stories of their babies and how others had helped them through the mourning.

You are not alone. I lost my Jacob at nearly 12 weeks. that Friday, my husband and I went garage-saling. We found a Kutless CD to buy. After we got in the car and decided to listen to it we realized that while it was still a Kutless CD it was not the one that matched the case. It had the song, "You are my strong tower. Shelter over me. Beautiful and mighty. Everlasting King..." I'm not sure if we even got far enough into the CD to listen to that particular song, but that night as I was miscarrying God brought that song to mind. The song played over and over in my mind. I even had my husband go and get it from the car. I knew God had a plan, how else would I have that song in my mind? I didn't like the plan, but I knew He was there with the plan. That is a bit of my story. When the time is right--you too may feel the need/desire/prodding to share your story. It may help in your healing and the healing of those around you.

It is OK to mourn. Maybe you do sometimes and then don't even think of your babies at other times. That's OK too. My mourning resided as the weeks went by, but six months later when Jacob's due date was coming up and I was still going to work, I had another period of mourning. Everyone around me seemed to have forgotten that my dream of motherhood was supposed to come true that particular month. Those around you may not realize that you need an ear or a shoulder. Be brave, seek out a trusted friend, your husband, the person who gave you this letter, GOD! They love you!! They want to be there for you, they just don't always know how.

Everybody's different. You may read this and think, "That's not how I feel." "What is this lady talking about?" If that is the case, that's OK too. These are just some of the things that helped me.

I pray that someday soon you too will be able to dance again. I pray that you will be able to experience the joy of motherhood.

God Bless You, Dear One!
~a

Dreaming of summer...

Last summer I bought this material for about $1. I only needed 1 yard and I had enough for a friend to make a dress as well. Her's is not done yet, but I wanted to finish mine so I could make sure I was teaching her the right way to do it. Kj will hopefully fit in it this summer. The ribbon was from a baby gift that we had received upon Kj's arrival. The thread also was a freebie item. So, I really only spent $0.50 on the whole project. Time wise, maybe about an hour...if I put all the time together.

Every time I make something new, someone comments that I should start selling my wares. Really, I probably won't make a second one of any of these items. So, whoever receives them, will have a one of a kind gift. I really should find some labels though. Maybe I will look those up..."Paligators etc. by Anna"...haha

Kj is now able to play a while on her own while I do some sewing or other things. Cleaning is still hard to do while she is awake, because I don't want her crawling into the area I am using chemicals on. So, it leaves naptime or when Kevin gets home. Speaking of cleaning, I have a bit to do in the kitchen...

Fish

So, I guess I don't really know what to write about this item. I made it as a Christmas present for Kj's friend. I don't have any patterns, and I probably will never make another one like it. I am not really a pattern person. I would rather make a crazy quilt then a patterned quilt that you have to make the same combination/pattern a dozen or more times.