Nesting: Ramblings from a stay at home mom

On letting go..

2011-07-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

No, nothing bad has happened... I realize now that the title of the post sounds like it did. But I have been overly stressed, grabbing at straws and trying to figure out how to make things happen, which I saw this quote on someone's Facebook feed. I added some texture and a nice font and thought I would share. Maybe it will help someone else too.

Ivy turned 1!

2011-06-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

We had a fun cake smash with Ivy when she turned 1! Actually we did it with her little buddy Maddie because they are only a few weeks apart, one baby at a time.

She had a great time exploring the messy cake, and an even better time when we let her sister jump in and help.

Happy late Birthday to my beautiful tiny girl!

Anti-procrastination month follow-up

2011-06-01T23:50:00.003-05:00

I'm setting this to auto post on the 1st of June, so I can't cheat and not follow up. Hah! Tricking myself even!

Here's my list, with notes of what I've done (and links to blog posts if I blogged them)

Craftiness:
~~Finish the stuffed bunnies I am making as baby shower gifts (all three of these babies have been born now!)~~ finished 2 bunnies, planning to sew a (simpler) tiger or elephant for #3. 5/3
Add straps and applique to Lorelei's sun dress I started last year added applique-- having problems with the straps
Make pillowcases for Lorelei
Make a pillowcase and mattress for the doll bed
Make the "sunshine" pillow I bought supplies for
Paint Lorelei's Letters for her room
~~Dye "festival dress"~~
~~Dye the experiment underwear~~
List the dyed stuff I have sitting around on Etsy!
Finish Lorelei's birthday silks having some problems with the colors. First attempt has been made

Photography:
Fully edit my personal bluebonnet sessions
~~Get friend's maternity session booked and shot~~ Done! And edited too! 5/6
~~Get John's newborn session at least booked~~ Shot and edited! 5/30
Schedule C and A's toddler pictures

House Work:
Finish sanding bench
Varnish bench
Finish digging new flower bed
~~Buy pots for tomatoes~~
~~Plant tomatoes~~
Put mulch and path gravel down
Start on the second bench

Stuff not on the list that took over some time:
*Finished our porch ceiling that has been messed up for a few years now! I'm so glad that is done...
*Went on a 9 day trip to Virginia--- shot a wedding (mostly edited!) a set of graduation photos (done!) a set of portraits for a friend (done!) ad a whole bunch of family photos (about half done)

Tomato Planting

2011-05-31T19:20:00.000-05:00

From a few weeks ago.. so behind on my blogging, but at least I got them planted before I went on vacation!
I bought pots and even planted my tomatoes (given to me by a neighbor) the same day.

Notice that mound around the pepper plant? Ivy's been digging

Dirt around her face...

Yep... gross tasting.

Lorelei loving the rainbow-ness of the new pots. They were a bit more expensive than the plain ones, but solid plastic (not hollow walls) and hopefully will last quite a few years. Plus, they make me smile.

I put them in front of our big drive in gate, because we rarely open it and that expanse was just dying grass in the Texas sun. We can't put permanent beds there obviously because we do use the gate sometimes, but it sure is nice to see something growing there!

Stocking bunnies

2011-05-05T14:56:00.001-05:00

For my first completed project... I made two stuffed bunnies for baby shower gifts. My girls got a pair of these bunnies for Christmas this year and since I had the pattern I decided to use it for the gifts.

... and broke my first (but surely not my last) sewing machine needle.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you remove pins instead of sewing over them.

I used a pattern from Minelolly on Etsy.

Here are the bunnies I made this week:

So about this pattern.... it's a great pattern, with clear instructions but this project does NOT go fast. It also might be hard on your sewing machine if you have a $88 Walmart special Brother like I do. I like it, I'm glad I got it, but I don't think I'd attempt to make three bunnies at once for presents again (notice I stopped at 2!).

I also completed my maternity photo shoot, but she gets to see her pictures first! I may include a shot or two from that in a post later this month.

.. back to work for me!

May is Anti-Procrastination Month

2011-05-02T11:22:00.000-05:00

AKA Finish what I started month.

I have enough partially finished projects that I can NOT start anything new. It's got me in a creative RUT. SO this month I am pledging not to start anything new, but rather to work on finishing what I have started. Oh my, this list is long. Not all of it will get done, but some of it will, and that will feel freeing, I am sure.

Craftiness:
Finish the stuffed bunnies I am making as baby shower gifts (all three of these babies have been born now!)
Add straps and applique to Lorelei's sun dress I started last year
Make pillowcases for Lorelei
Make a pillowcase and mattress for the doll bed
Make the "sunshine" pillow I bought supplies for
Paint Lorelei's Letters for her room
Dye "festival dress"
Dye the experiment underwear
List the dyed stuff I have sitting around on Etsy!
Finish Lorelei's birthday silks

Photography:
Fully edit my personal bluebonnet sessions
Get friend's maternity session booked and shot
Get John's newborn session at least booked
Schedule C and A's toddler pictures

House Work:
Finish sanding bench
Varnish bench
Finish digging new flower bed
Buy pots for tomatoes
Plant tomatoes
Put mulch and path gravel down
Start on the second bench

I'll keep the progress updated on here. Wish me luck!

X, Y and Z!

2011-04-30T22:45:00.000-05:00

OK, the last three! All together I know.. crazy week.

X is for.. well, X. Like the shape. A little acro yoga for you. I went for the first time last night. Believe it or not, this is the very FIRST pose you learn.

Y is for Yellow

yeah yeah.. I kinda fail at this sort of picture. I'll try again some time. But not tonight.

Z
Zebra
zero
zorro
zimbabwe

zzzz... man I'm tired. This challenge is definitely going out with a whimper. But I have enjoyed following new blogs, having new commenter and in general being part of this craziness. See you next month!

W is for Wet Mess

2011-04-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

Nono.. not like THAT.

We bought a fixer-upper so we could get a bigger house that we otherwise could afford... but the fixing has been at a crawl. First I had a baby. Then right as I got to where I felt like I could handle working on the house more again, ops.. pregnant again. Ok, not oops, we planned to have them close together but didn't exactly expect it to happen that fast. Now second baby is one and we're back to really working on the house again.

Today was "try to match the ceiling texture where we took off the fake beams" day. Wow was it a wet mess.

The strip furthest away is the wet mud where we were trying to match the texture-- it dries white.

Our handy dandy friendly handyman friend surveying his work

Tomorrow, more of the same trying some more to match and get them all looking right.

V is for Vice

2011-04-27T23:11:00.000-05:00

I'll let you interpret it however you want...

All images copyright Cindy Chapter 2011

.. and yes, I know I'm a day behind.... See you tomorrow!

U is for Umbrella

2011-04-25T07:41:00.000-05:00

Kids LOVE umbrellas. I don't know what it is about them.. Here in Austin it hasn't rained in what seems like months, so my pictures will have to be umbrellas in the sun.

The "keep the babies from frying" umbrella fort

My favorite from this park trip

T is for Texture

2011-04-24T22:39:00.000-05:00

Texture is one of those things I haven't really messed with in my photography. In my graphic design, yes, because I like a little texture on blank spaces but usually I like my photography to stand alone. For T though, I challenged myself to try to apply texture to an image or two effectively.

Here is my original:

Here it is with a vignetted vintage paper

A weathered painted metal

and peeling paint (super transparent because it made the skin look really weird otherwise)

Just because I was having fun, here's me and the younger critter also with the vignetted paper. It does make an interesting vintage effect.

What do you think? Do you like photos with added texture? Do you find it gimmicky? Do you like it but just not what I do with it? (that's ok! Be honest!)

That's it for "T".. see you tomorrow with "U"

S is for...

2011-04-23T22:38:00.000-05:00

swim
sink
sank
sunk
swami
silver...

Did you know that some people think taking collodial silver can keep you from getting sick and heal any number of diseases? It can also turn you permanently grey! I have bad enough luck with medical side effects, I don't think I'll ever try it!

snow
silly
sign
spin
sustain
splash
sushi--- mmmm sushi.... had sushi last night. It was nom-erriffic.

Sweep

Sweet potato Sprouts

Sweet potatoes are super easy to sprout, and one potato can make enough sprouts to grow a bunch of plants.

Here's how I did these

1. Find a sweet potato that has been neglected a bit too long in the pantry. Make sure it has a few sprouts already.
2. Chop it up into about 6 pieces
3. Let the pieces dry out for a few days (depends on the humidity level... make sure they aren't wet to the touch before planting them)
4. Plant them in a shallow container of potting soil until the sprouts are big with roots coming off of them

5. Twist the sprouts off and plant! I got almost a dozen plants out of mine.

I planted mine in some pots on my patio because I was feeling cheap this year but wanted lots of green growing things. Obviously I won't get any harvest-able potatoes out of these small pots, but the foliage looks nice, and it's a lot cheaper than commercially grown sweet potato vines at over a buck a plant.

Egg hunt fun!

2011-04-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

We hosted an Easter Egg hunt this morning for a group of kids. I had each parent bring 2 eggs per kid and asked that they be labeled. In hindsight the labeling was a bad idea for mostly two year olds.. but I wanted to make sure each kid got one of the little egg crafts I made.

I made some tree-hanging eggs-- with little "leaf" labels... though these would be more recommended for either younger kids with moms helping, or older kids who can remove them without ripping off the leaves.

...and I made flower eggs. I love these, and they were fairly fast and fun to make
I wouldn't have wanted to make more than one per kid though because they did take a bit of time.

A bit off topic for the A-Z challenge, but I wanted to share the idea before Saturday's easter egg hunts.... and this is supposed to be a craft blog after all!

R is for...

2011-04-21T01:19:00.010-05:00

Rabbit, ribbit, roll, right, rivet, river, ride, really, read, rhyme...

Red, Ripe Raspberries!

Yummy luscious tasty juicy berries.

Do you like raspberries?
My memories of berries, both raspberries and blackberries involve picking them at my Aunt's house on the eastern shore of Maryland... staining my fingers with the juices and knocking Japanese beetles off of the bushes.

Q is for

2011-04-20T18:40:00.001-05:00

Quiet
Quilt
Quit
Query
Quarry

.. just outside of Austin in Cedar Park there is going to be a new water park that sounds awesome, made in an old quarry. I cannot wait to take my girls there. They will have the spouts hidden in the natural looking rocks.

Quarrel
Quest
QWERTY
Quark

Questions

Time to be random and irrelevant
I found one of those old Myspace surveys and filled it out:

1. If you were to attend a costume party tonight, what or whom would you go as?

A fairy or a wench ;) sinc ei already have those costumes

2. What are your choice of toppings on a hamburger? And do you prefer gas or charcoal grilling?

Charcoal grilled with cheese and a little steak sauce

3. You are chosen to have lunch with the President. The condition is you only get to ask one question. What do you ask?

Something completely random I'm sure... I'm not very political

4. It's your first day of vacation, what are you doing?

Taking a long walk through the area to see what there is to explore

5. What is your concession stand must-have at the movies?

Gummi Bears

6. Which do you dislike most: pop-up ads or spam email?

Popups

7. What do you think Captain Hook's name was before he had a hook for a hand?

James

8. Rock, paper, or scissors?

Rock

9. How long was it from 'the first date' until the proposal of marriage? How long until the wedding?

There was never a real proposal... we decided to get married for insurance reasons

10. Which is worse, being in a place that is too loud, or too quiet?

Too loud

11. What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person?

Thoughtfulness

12. At the good old general store, what particular kind of candy would you expect to be in the big jar at the counter?

Jawbreakers

13. What is the most distinguishing landmark in your city?

The Texas state capital building

14. Everyone hears discussions that they consider boring. What topic can put you to sleep quicker than any other?

Economics

15. How many times did it take you to pass your drivers test?

Once

16. If you had to have the same topping on your vanilla ice cream for the rest of your life, what topping would you choose?

caramel

17. What food item would need to be removed from the market altogether in order for you to live a healthier, longer life?

Red Bull O.O

18. You are offered an envelope that you know contains $50. You are then told that you may either keep it or exchange it for another envelope that may contain $500 or may be empty. Do you keep the first envelope, or do you take your chances with the second?

Take my chances

19. If you had to choose, which would you give up: cable TV, or DSL/cable internet?

We've already given up cable TV

20. What is your highest level of education? Bachelor's Degree

21. How much is a gallon of gas in your city? What was the highest it's been?

Something like $3.57. Yikes! Makes me glad I drive a little Protege 5

22. What kind of lunch box did you have as a kid?

Smurfs!

23. What would you rather have, a nanny, a housekeeper, a cook, or a chauffeur?

Easy--- a housekeeper! I'd rather have someone else clean up than someone else take care of the girls.

24. Would you rather be trapped in an elevator, or stuck in traffic?

Stuck in traffic

25. Lets say a brick fell on your foot, and your kid is standing right next to you, what is your 'cleaned up' swear word?

MRRFFFUUUOOOWWWWWWW-- yeowch. (yes really)

Was that enlightening? No? I didn't think so. Sorry guys... busy week isn't allowing as much photography exploration as I wanted.

P is for...

2011-04-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy and Poverty

Falling off my thread of happy for one post.

I read a lot of blogs about BIRTH. The options, and how the US system is doing it wrong. There's finger pointing everywhere.

How dare you have a hospital/home/birth center birth! Don't you know the baby is going to be stressed/induced/tortured/given unnecessary exams/shots/homeopathic remedies! You might need stitches/be induced/have a C section/tear/hemorrhage/be given a vaginal exam/be looked at by more people that you'd like/only have one person there!

All over the world though, women have NO choice. No choice, and no education.

This video really touched me this morning.
In fact, it made me cry (I'm not a crying type). All with words and music. There are no photos at all in it.

O is for...

2011-04-18T22:51:00.000-05:00

Orchid.

Is it just me that thinks orchids close up look a little creepy sometimes?

See those incisors?

What do you think?

N is for...

2011-04-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

Nothing to see here. Nil. Nada.

oh....

except that...

M is for

2011-04-15T19:46:00.000-05:00

Mommy.

That's all I've been today is a mommy. Mommy is losing her marbles, with two crazy kids.

The toddler has been telling me she has to climb on her baby sister "Because I'm a dolphin, mommy."

The baby hasn't been sleeping well, I'm blaming it on teething like I usually do.

In high school a friend handed me a marble and said to be careful with it, because it was her last one. I promised I would. I think I still have that marble. I think I should go try to find it. I'll be needing it.

L is for...

2011-04-14T21:57:00.000-05:00

Lorelei!

My beautiful firstborn daughter. A very abbreviated trip through the last few years.

This is a very picture heavy post. Also, if you're curious about how I did my kaleidoscope pics from yesterday's post, the info on that is at the bottom of the page so if you're interested in that and don't care about pictures of my daughter.. just scroll on down.

Here she is, fresh and brand new-- taken with my camera phone while I was still stuck in bed postpartum.

Two or three months old--- we think the kitten is the same age as she is.

(the first two are pre-dSLR purchase)

Just scooting---

At the park, loving the swing

threatening other kids with sticks -- ok not really, she just loves sticks (13 months)

Digging in our neighbor's garden

Refusing to wear her swimsuit

and goofing off with dandelions

And as a follow up to yesterday's post-----

Since I've been asked how I did the kaleidoscope pictures... I used photoshop and this tutorial here: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/how-to-create-kaleidoscope-patterns-from-your-photos

Then, for the first one, I made three of the patterns and shrank one and put it in the middle (there was a ton of empty space in the middle) and blew one up to 200% and put it behind the middle one (to get the square shape)

The second one I blew a layer up to 200% and liked it enough that I left it at that

The third and fourth ones I did the layer at 200% behind the main image.

Let me know if you have any questions about that.

K is for...

2011-04-13T16:58:00.001-05:00

Kaleidescope

I've seen pictures manipulated to get that kaleidescope look about them before.. so the challenge seemed like a good excuse to play a little.

Here's my first attempt.
Sort of neat, but I can do better.

Here are the other two

The last one is a double whammy of K's.. Kids and Kaleidescope.

Oh no, these are addictive! I added this one tonight

J is for...

2011-04-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

Jewelry

June

James

Juggalo (hahahaha... if you don't know, don't ask...)

Jellybeans

Jeans

Junk

hey.. maybe I'll

Jump

So, one of my big reasons for doing the challenge was to motivate myself to try some things I have been meaning to try for a while. Fun jumping pictures was one of them. Turns out that I tend to look completely doofy when I jump though, and have trouble not having a look of extreme concentration on my face at all times. Hah.

But hey, I jumped. Here's the evidence.

Fun times!

I is for...

2011-04-11T10:44:00.001-05:00

Ivy!

My beautiful second daughter.

She just turned one recently

She was a month early and only 5 pounds when newborn

... and at 6 months.
Oh, that thing on her face? That looks like a huge blood blister? That's called a Hemangioma, or strawberry mark. Thanks to much internet research and hunting down the proper doctor, it's almost gone now. A recent treatment option was discovered a few years ago, when a doctor realized children treated with Propanolol (a beta blocker) had their hemangiomas shrink and in some cases disappear. For some children they go away by age 3, but with where that one is I wanted to do what I could in the least invasive way possible.

I never photoshop them out of my images of her, because it is a part of her. Honesty in photography is important to me.

About 8 months old (helping me with my Halloween costume)

My goofy cutie.

H is for...

2011-04-09T07:36:00.001-05:00

Home... hot...heat (I'm melting today... maybe it's time for the AC)

head, hair, hand, heart, hips, heel

hamster

holly, honey, honeybee

Happy!

The older I get the more I am convinced that one of the meanings of life is to just plain be HAPPY. What is the point in being otherwise, once you have met your basic needs?

Food, shelter, basic medical care, transportation.. check, all taken care of. Now stop working harder for the next thing to buy, that you don't really need, and focus on being happy! Pure and simple.

Kids know how it works!

(yes yes, I know I am over simplifying, but I am sure Happiness is a good goal anyways)

G is for...

2011-04-08T03:41:00.003-05:00

Gold, giraffe, gelfling, goats, gummi bears,
green, grass, grey, grape

Garden
(This post is rather picture heavy... sorry if you have a slow connection)

I grew up gardening...
My mom always had flower gardens
My grandma and uncle always kept up a vegetable garden (my uncle still does)

It just doesn't seem "right" to me not to be growing something.
Last year at this time I had a 2 week old baby, so nothing really happened around planting time. The previous years I did a tiny bit... a tomato plant here, a pepper plant there, but not great effort. This year we are trying to finally get to whipping this property into shape.

Nothing too impressive so far, but I'm enjoying it, and my toddler is amused. OK well, the toddler is a bit irritated that she is no longer allowed to dig big holes in the garden like last year, but she does enjoy the plants at least.

Lorelei at about 18 months

enjoying her free reign over the unmaintained garden

The baby could care less, and just requests that I keep her supplied with toys.

Today we pulled some weeds, planted some basil and thyme, watered the bed good and then put down a little mulch. Turns out we need one more bag of mulch, but this should help for now.

Lorelei even picked out this adorable bluebird at the garden store today. I was set to say no but then looked at the price and it was only $9.99. I can handle that! I was sure they were going to be pricey at the little local nursery we were at. Locals to ATX, Shoal Creek Garden Center is pretty nice.

Oh and that rose bush? Well... this was yesterday, before I started weeding.

And this was today. Hopefully it recovers. It probably will for next year, but I think it's done this year. I pulled out what I guess was its main root thinking it was one of the ivy vines snaking through my garden when weeding yesterday. I had no idea roses had vine like roots!

I look forward to seeing other's Gs, Fellow A-Zers!

F is for...

2011-04-07T06:31:00.004-05:00

Fairy, fruit, funny, foofy, fluffy. feet, first, fink, fiddle,

Fringe, feathers

Flying floating falling

Which are these?

Excuse the sloppiness please, and lack of Focus. I've had a migraine all day and was getting frustrated. I do think they turned out alright considering I couldn't coerce my husband to help out.

Here's one more I worked on this morning

E is for...

2011-04-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

elephant, excellent, email, empty, Ellery, enter, equal, evil, elevator, escalator, enchiladas, elf, either, excited, echinacea, elevation, eskimo

Eye?

Nah, kinda boring...

Egg!

Oh... eggs are more boring than eyes, you say?

What about when they are broken? Kind of an interesting pattern...

Speaking of patterns... it's almost Easter isn't it.
I saw this blog post by Alisa Burk today and felt inspired

I got about half way done when I realized she used regular sharpies instead of my usual super fine sharpies. I like the way mine turned out, but they would have been bolder, and faster, and easier if it was a regular one.

How do you like to decorate your Easter eggs?

D is for

2011-04-05T16:54:00.000-05:00

Dog..Daffodil..Dairy Queen! Dry...Dremel... Dots ... Ditto... Dump... Dip... Ditti... Dress... Dark ... Devilish ... Dreamy ... daisy ... drip, drop

Day!

As in a Divine Day!

We had dancing children

A trip through downtown

I am so happy to live in a city that has a vibrant beautiful downtown. A trip to or through downtown is often a treat (except maybe the traffic) with plenty to see and do.

Diapers drying on the line in the sun

Not so exciting I know, but the diaper laundry is done now which makes me happy. There's also something cheerful about brightly colored diapers drying on the line in the sun.

A hard earned drink after some hard work in the garden

Shiner Hefeweizen. One of my favorite Texas beers. De-stressing after accidentally pulling up the rose bush (yes really. I'm not sure if it's going to survive)

Divine day despite pulling up the rose bush, dealing with littles all day and doing laundry? Yes! I'm thankful for my life and love it even when things aren't going according to plan.

C is for...

2011-04-04T03:19:00.000-05:00

Color, cat, children, crazy, curious, cantankerous, cool, chilly, caterpillar, catnip, cookie, casserole, cactus, carrot, calm, charming, collection, chicken, camera, coffee, clothes, camera, circle

Cindy!

That's me!

Well really, my name is Lucinda, but I have always been called Cindy, except for one year of college when I decided it was time to go by my "grown up" name. That didn't really stick.

Some things about me---
I've been into photography since I was a kid, but didn't get a dSLR until I had my first girl--- before that it was all film for my "good" photos, and a little Cannon Powershot for the "snapshots."

My hobbies change so much--- I have a whole room full of supplies for my different hobbies. Some of them are jewelry fabrication, fabric dying, sewing, painting, drafting, hoop dancing, belly dance, costuming and computer gaming. Photography is the only thing I consistently stick with.

I have cats. I'd like a dog but cats are very lot maintenance compared to dogs-- they can easily be left overnight as long as a big bowl of food is put out.

I have two beautiful little girls, Lorelei and Ivy. Lorelei is 2-1/2 and Ivy just turned 1.

In another life, I fully planned on being a hard working interior designer. Then I got pregnant with Lorelei and changed directions. I want to be here for the girls as much as I can and don't want the 60 hour weeks that come with breaking into the ID profession. Luckily my husband is able to support us on his salary so I can be home with them.

I have an insatiable appetite for new and unusual things. Right now I am exploring hoop dance and circus arts. I've been eyeing aerial silks classes as my possible next thing to try, along with continuing my exploration of movement in the hoop.

Almost every photo of me in the last 3 years has one or both of my girls in it.

Anyone have any questions? I'm not sure what else to share...

B is for...

2011-04-02T01:18:00.000-05:00

Berries?

Bugs? Beetles?

Booboo?

Bubbles! Who doesn't like bubbles?

Ok, maybe me. I get sick of them after a while of my toddler insisting "more more more more!" and making me blow them over and over... but in general, I love bubbles when not forced to blow them until I am hyperventilating.

... and yes, all these bubbles were captured by yours truly.

A is for...

2011-04-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

Artist! Little Artist to be more exact.

My two year old loves anything crafty, arty, messy. Her new favorite is painting with a watercolor set.

This is my first post for the Blogging from A-Z April 2011 Challenge. More letters to come, and check out the other participation by following the link!

Coming soon!

2011-03-27T16:28:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a project now so I will be back daily in April!

I'm going to participate in the A-Z in April blog challenge. I'm not much of a writer so my posts will be mostly photography, with maybe a tiny bit of prose each day but that's ok, right?

What else has been happening you may wonder?

I've gotten really into hoop dance
Ivy just turned ONE last week (!?!?!!!)
My husband has a job he loves again
My camera died a strange shutter failure death so I took it as a sign to upgrade
and so much more
... life keeps on going!

Resolutions and self reflection

2011-01-13T23:26:00.000-06:00

Last year was a bit crazy.

I....

got married the last day of 2009 so 2010 was the first year of our marriage
"officially" opened my photography business
Flew to Pensylvania for family reunion
I had a baby-- a month early
The house was robbed--insurance deemed it totally over $10k. Too bad we had a high deductable.
Flew to virginia to visit the rest of the family with an infant and a toddler
My husband got laid off
My husband got a new job

Really all in all, a crazy year, and I'm sure I even forgot a few "big" things.

When I started thinking about my goals for this year, I realized too much of it was things to do that had nothing to do with my family. Do more photo sessions? Sell more on Etsy? Blog more? Make more stuff to sell on Etsy?

Then I thought about the build up of mess, the amount of remodeling we need to accomplish in our house, and how quickly Ivy is growing up and realized that what I really need to do is slow down.

We can make it fine on one income, but the girls aren't going to be young forever. There is going to be time in the future to build businesses, continue my art, push myself, but now is not the time for it. Blogging, crafting, and even *gasp* my photography have to come firmly after my family for now.

I'm not saying that I'm stopping completely any of the hobbies I have, just that I am placing them way lower on my scale of priorities.

Aahh... that feels better.

Moravian Stars

2010-12-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

We had a few tiny white moravian star ornaments when I was a kid. I loved staring at them and trying to figure out how they were made. Of course at that point the internet was not well known, and while my dad had a modem I was only allowed to occasionally play MathBlaster and other similar games on his Apple IIE. Besides, it is highly unlikely that anyone had an instruction page anywhere on how to make them.

Last month I was looking at some blogs and saw a beautiful moravian star ornament and realized-- I can find instructions on how to make almost anything on here!

I've been making them like crazy, and am going to give some away in my neighborhood ornament swap. Use up some old paper, make some pretty stuff, participate in an ornament swap without spending any money? Check!

Here is the link that first caught my eye. Her stars are so lovely. At some point I am going to try wax dipping some of mine. I have to go to the thrift store and get a pot for wax melting first.

Anyone else make these little stars? Have you done the wax dipping?

Crying..

2010-11-30T22:46:00.000-06:00

After weeks, nay months, of fractured sleep and non restful evenings I decided to start sleep training the baby yesterday. See, she will nurse to sleep in the evenings, but the second I put her down she will cry so I was spending hours every evening with her in bed instead of spending a few precious hours with my husband. I was getting cranky and running out of books to read. And she was sleeping very poorly, waking up 5 times in a night sometimes.

She cried for an hour last night, and then fell asleep. Woke up a few times to nurse and slept 12 hours.

Tonight I laid her down and she protested for maybe 5 minutes and fell asleep. Ah, peace. I hope she enjoys the rest as much as I do.

Sentimental

2010-11-29T15:22:00.000-06:00

A friend posted this little ditty as her Facebook status, and it made me tear up a little.

It needs to be hung on a wall, with a picture of a new baby bring cradled by their parents

I hope that my children looking back on today

will remember a mother who had time to play.

Because children grow up while you're not looking.

There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.

So, quiet now cobwebs, dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

<3

25 Things I am thankful for -- part 4

2010-11-25T17:17:00.000-06:00

9.Computers. Wow, the world would be a totally different place without them.

8. Gardens-- this morning I took the toddler out and let her pick tomatos
and chew on mint leaves, and it was a lovely time. My neighbor's garden is especially nice... we
can check it out, and they kindly share and maintain it... with the two kids I think my own garden would have been long dead this year.

7. Baby bouncer thingamajigs. Lifesavers, they are!

6. Trees. I like them, and they are good. They provide shade, make oxygen, and even look pretty.

5. My best friend "Uncle Matt"... we don't see each other much recently, but that's ok. Now if Lorelei would just stop asking me incessantly to see him (he's out of town for a few weeks)

4. My mom's group. They are pretty awesome, even though my current kid situation (they nap on opposite schedules right now) means I don't get to see anyone as often as I would like. But when my kid raisin' calms down, I know they will still be there!

3. My mother

2. My husband

1. My beautiful girls

25 Things I am thankful for -- part 3

2010-11-24T21:47:00.000-06:00

14. Coffee!

13. Soft snuggly blankets

12. Sewing machines

11. Cameras

See... there's my camera!

10. Ultra Fine point sharpies-- my drawing and writing pen of choice

Nope.. that's not a sharpie. But it should be!

25 Things I am thankful for -- part 2

2010-11-24T11:25:00.000-06:00

19. A nice back yard -- the toddler can get her fill of nature in a secure, friendly place
where I don't even have to get out of jammies to take her. If she wants to frolic naked, it's not a big deal.

18. Cat litter boxes. To have cats without these would be unpleasant indeed

17. Thrift stores. I may not always find what I'm looking for, but a few trips and I will for sure be able to add to my basic wardrobe
As a plus, the clothes are preshrunk, AND I'm being "green" by not buying new.

16. Tissues. It's cold and allergy season in Toddlerville.

15. My car. It's little, it's old, it's got a ton of miles on it, but it's still running
fine and gets me out on the days I can't stand another moment in the house with the girls.
Sometimes it even takes me out all by my lonesome! Score!

Toddlers say the darndest things-- fish edition

2010-11-23T14:02:00.000-06:00

My toddler loves when we get Drs Foster and Smith catalogues. We get the cat and fish editions, both of which she loves to carry around and look at until they fall apart. Lorelei is flipping through the fish catalogue and says she wants to buy some fish.

I tell her that maybe next year, when she is three, we can get some fish.

She thinks about it for a while and then says "Yes. Cats will like them"

"You want to get them for the cats?" I inquire. "Cats eat fish, Lorelei."

She thinks about it for a minute and says, "Yes. Cats will like them. Yes. A lot."

I guess that's sweet of her, wanting to keep "her" cats well fed.

25 Things I am thankful for -- part 1

2010-11-23T13:41:00.000-06:00

Ye olde obligatory Thankfulness post,

Part one of 5!

25. Washers and driers (I cloth diaper and have 2 kids under age three. Enough said here....)

24. Vacuume Cleaners (see number 23)

23. Snuggly cats

22. The internet. It's pretty darn great, itsn't it?

21. Doors- They keep the out, out and the in, in. They also keep toddlers playing in their rooms until mommy
is really good and ready to get them in the morning. *bliss*

20. Modern kitchens- I'm so glad I don't have to maintain a cookfire in a room detached from the main house
because it is so likely to burn down. And the cold food is right there next to the stove in such a convenient
little box. No root cellars for me, baby.

Yes, mine is outdated.

The appliances aren't the best. The counters are a
weird orange (it's not even longhorn burnt orange... just, dark dirty looking orange)

But my toddler can take baths in the kitchen sink

while the baby hangs out in her high chair

and I cook meals, and it's overall a pretty good arrangement.

Closet cleaning time! Cloth Diapers for sale!

2010-11-22T14:38:00.003-06:00

I've been decluttering while I'm not feeling well (because that's what I do when seasonal allergy type sicks hit... I clear out STUFF)

Here are some diapers that need homes (I will edit as I find homes for the items):

I will add pictures if anyone is interested-- or as time permits.

(ALL DIAPERS ARE GONE!)

~~Pocket Diapers:~~

~~Large Fuzzi Bunz, old style~~

~~5 in great condition, one with minor staining on the fleece~~

~~stained one is black, others are black, light yellow, orange, light green, and white~~

~~$10 each for the unstained, $8 for the one with the light stain~~

~~Large Swaddlebees with inserts~~

~~8 swaddlebees "boys colors" though I got them for my girl~~

~~2light blue~~

~~2 dark blue~~

~~1 dark green~~

~~1 light green~~

~~1 bright yellow~~

~~1 primary red~~

~~$8 each, all for $60~~

All in one:

Bum genius One Size in butternut. I think it is a 3.0, organiccotton. This is not a pocket but instead has several layers of organic cotton sewn inside of it, the ends are sewn down and the middle is left free so that it washes and dries better. $5

Prefolds:

~~2 dozen yellow edge prefolds from green mountain, I didn't see any stains on them, but I could have missed one. $24~~

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/prefolds.htm

Wool Covers:::

~~Make me an offer!~~

~~Little Beetle covers sell for $29.95 and up new!~~

~~http://www.betterforbabies.com/product-p/lbowc.htm~~

Little Beetle size 1 (felted)Snaps

~~Tiny cover, fits newborns better than most wool covers will~~

Little Beetle size 2 Snaps

~~Unused by me but bought used at Austin Baby.~~

~~I was sunning it to get out an old stain and left it a bit long in the pollen last spring so it is a bit brown.~~

~~I tihnk this will come out, but I havne't really tried~~

~~since washing wool is more complicated than a toss in the washing machine~~

Little Beetle size 2-1/2 Snaps

~~Unused by me (because of how tiny my daughter is), but I did buy it used from Austin Baby~~

~~It looks in perfect condition.~~

Stacinator Size Small, Natural color, Snaps

~~Some minor pilling on the outside of the cover~~

~~Sells for $26.95 New~~

~~http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/happyheinys.htm~~

~~Stacinator seems to have been bought by Happy Heineys recently.~~

Imse Vimse Small cover- MAchine Washable!Velcro

~~This one is awesome, but it is pretty high rise, which is sort of a strange fit.~~

~~It got the most use since it is machine washable, looks the prettiest still because it could be better scrubbed~~

~~(no worry about felting with this one!)~~

~~Sells for $25.95 New (on amazon)~~

~~LlamaJama size Small, wool knit soaker~~

~~Natural brown with natural white contrast~~

~~Super cute!~~

~~Sells for $34 New~~

~~http://www.llamajama.com/item_3/Tan-Alpaca-Wool-Soaker.htm~~

~~If you get all of the wool items, I'll throw in a bottle of liquid lanolin~~

Other Covers:

~~2 Diaperaps for Hempers Size small. Natural color hemp and cotton. They look like the natural cotton on on the webpage. $5 each~~

~~http://www.sagediaper.com/home/dp1/page_2/diaperaps174_covers.html~~

Bummis super whisper wrap size small, cream colored. $5

~~This colorway may be discontinued.~~

~~http://www.bummis.com/ca/en/super-whisper-wrap.php~~

Bummis Super Brite size small, white $5

~~http://www.bummis.com/ca/en/super-brite.php~~

Blue Penguin POSO size small, minky yellow $10

~~I don't think they make the minky ones anymore for some reason.~~

~~I also have blue and lavender and an extra small blue if you are really interested. I almost don't want to part with them but what am I gonna do, cuddle with them??~~

~~http://www.bluepenguin.biz/POSO_s/32.htm~~

Blue Penguin Wrap-n-snap, size small $5

~~This runs very small~~

~~http://www.bluepenguin.biz/product_p/dci.htm~~

Mother Ease Air Flow Small, cream colored, $5

~~http://www.mother-ease.com/default.aspx/123~~

Mommy's touch One Size, white $7

~~One of the best one size diaper covers I found! It fit my young baby well, and would probably still fit my toddler if we hadn't switched to pocket diapers.~~

~~http://www.mommystouch.com/en/features.html~~

~~Fitted Diaper::~~

Super soft fitted diaper with snap in doubler from "Drool Bucket Baby" $5

~~This is a fitted diaper, not an all in one-- it must be worn with a cover!~~

Sunday Sick Again

2010-11-21T17:00:00.000-06:00

I've been sick since, oh, Halloween. A lot of things have been slipping including this blog...

I have a ton to share, just... not... right... now.

One tiny tidbit--- My seven month old finally cut her first tooth! Hopefully she will start sleeping better than she has the past week, now!

Time to get another nap and try to sleep off the sick.

Costumes, Part 2

2010-10-26T18:17:00.000-05:00

I finally got my dress and Lorelei's outfit completed.

A black tshirt with ladybug wings

A rather unflattering stripey bee dress

Now on to the details... just need some antennae, and to figure out what Ivy will wear under her monster dress.

Fall Fun :: Sweet Berry Farm

2010-10-19T01:03:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year again, I started making costumes and realized it was time to check out the pumpkin patch. The last two years we went to the Elgin christmas tree farm, but this year I wanted to go somewhere different, because I've heard good things about Sweet Berry Farm, and the Elgin patch isn't really that fun to me.

So last Friday, almost on a whim, we bundled up the kids and some snacks and headed for Marble Falls, about an hour away from our house.

The drive was lovely, lots of wildflowers and an overall nice trip. When we got there we were pleasantly surprised by no parking charges! There are no parking charges and there is no entrance fee, just pay for what you do. And there was a lot to do! For free you could take a mini hay ride, wander around the pumpkins, take pictures, head over and check out the goats, and wander around the wildflowers.

For charge was stuff like paint your own pumpkin, picking zinnias, stuffing scarecrows, cornfield mazes, and of course buying a pumpkin (cheap compared to the stores in Austin!). There was more to do but I didn't feel like typing it all.

First thing we did was take some pictures, making sure to get at least one family photo.

OK, this wasn't the family photo. But it IS a bit amusing, no?

Then we wandered around all the pumpkins a bit (there were displays set up with many varieties of pumpkins heaped in all sorts of vessels from bathtubs to old speedboats).

We headed over and said hi to the goats, and then waited for the tractor to take us over to the tunnel

The Toddler's version of waiting for the tractor. I think she was tired.

The tunnel would have been creepy if it hadn't been so short.

You go through the tunnel and there are zinnias, basil and marigold planted for picking your own flowers, so we got a cup to fill ($2) and let the Toddler lead the way through the flowers and point out some to pick.

At the place where you fill the cups with water, we met a friendly farm cat

Then we headed back to the other side of the tunnel and picked out some pumpkins. By this time I was getting sunburned and cranky so we were ready to head out. Three big pumpkins, plus a tiny pumpkin the Toddler picked out came out to be only slightly over $20 ($21.49 to be exact)

There was some lounging while the kiddo ran around too.

Then we headed into Marble Falls for a late lunch, deciding on River City Grille (not bad, but nothing I'd make a special trip for).

All in all, I really liked Sweet Berry Farms and recommend it. It was reasonably prices for all the activities, and there was also enough to do for a while even if you didn't want to do much in the way of activities. I think we will head there in the spring for strawberry picking too!

Costumes... in progress

2010-10-09T16:12:00.005-05:00

I worked for a while yesterday on Lorelei's ladybug costume but was getting irritated trying to make the wings work the way I want them, so started on my from-a-pattern costume today. I often do this when I'm working on projects-- let the problem kinda stew in my mind for a while and do something else that it "easier" or at least different while I work the problem out.

Today my husband took the toddler out sailing, so it's just me and the baby.
She REALLY likes the fabric I'm making my dress out of--- check it out!

"Hi Mom!"

"Oh.. I wasn't supposed to have it?"

"Yay! you didn't take it away!!"

Ah, the relative peace of crafting with a non-crawling baby around...

Costumes, Part 1

2010-10-07T19:37:00.004-05:00

I've finished the main part of one of the three costumes I'm making this year. Baby Ivy is going to be a monster, at her big sister's request. This turned out completely different than I originally had in mind, but I'm pretty sure it is better than my original plan.

The basic gist of how I did this was:

1. I traced a jumper of Ivy's for the general shape.
2. Cut two of each side out of this great lime fleece
3. Cut tentacles
4. Sewed the pieces together, wrong sides together with a hole left for turning it right side out. I left the hole in an area where I could easily hand stitch the pieces together since I didn't plan on topstitching them
5. Turned them right side out, using a wooden skewer to help with the tentacles
6. Hand sewed the tops of the front and back together, sewing in the straps
7. Hand appliqued the eye on-- this was easier than a standard applique because I used fleece and felt so I didn't have to worry about it unraveling
8. Hand sewed the front and back together.
9. Tried it on the baby

All in all, it took about 4 hours, not including the scrapped original plan that I started and gave up on. Not bad I don't think.

There are sure to be more finishing touches, but the main part is DONE and FITS. Now on to the main part of Lorelei's.

Made it Monday:: Minky and Flannel baby blanket

2010-10-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

For a friend's baby shower, I made her this minky and flannel blanket. The nice thing about making stuff like this is first of all it's pretty easy, and second of all it saves a lot of money.

I made this by simply turning and topstitching. For those who don't know what that means, this is how it works:

Cut two pieces of fabric to the same size
Place them inside out against each other-- meaning the "good" sides are touching each other and the back sides are facing out
Pin around the edges and then sew around the edges leaving a small opening for turning it right side out
Turn right side out
Sew along the outside again to make a nice edge, making extra sure to catch the edges that were left open when turning it

Then you're done!

There are a lot of different things some people do for each step-- like some people press the fabric after turning it right side out (I only do this with cotton) and some people pin after turning right side out (I only do this with really shifty fabric like satin) but the general concept remains the same for any of it. This technique can be used for so any different things, from blankies to fabric "high chairs." If anyone wants better instructions than this I found this link for you at Prudent Baby

A blanket like this can cost easily $40 with nice fabric if you bought it from a boutique, but you can make it for the cost of only 2 yards of fabric (of course the price varies depending on what fabric what you choose)

Besides the money savings, and complete control over the fabric selection, I also love that it is a simple enough project that little "helpers" can't do too much harm. Lorelei spent as much time as she could petting the minky while I was sewing this, which is the main reason I didn't pin this blanket when top stitching it-- didn't want my helper to get an owie.

Fixed!

2010-09-30T23:52:00.002-05:00

I think I managed to fix the comment weirdness on this blog finally! Unfortunately it meant all my comments that were in that system are gone now. Pretty sad, but half the time I couldn't tell I had comments to respond to anyways so .. at least now I can reply to comments!

I also finally got my new laptop! Back up and running, and working on a TON of backlog. In the works are "made it mondays" again. There's one scheduled to post this monday, and hopefully I will get some others up as well. Without a computer I was crafting a lot, so I have a lot to share.

Still no laptop

2010-09-13T16:44:00.004-05:00

But I cancelled that order and ordered a new one through a different company. Hopefully 2 weeks and it'll be here. I still can't believe how long Dell was taking-- a month and a half delay when I gave up on it, with no actual explanation.

I have a TON of projects to share that I have been working on since I've had minimal computer access, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here's a toddler in a sprinkler, a bowl of ice cream, and a goofy baby on a table.

on the homefront...

2010-08-27T09:17:00.002-05:00

I've been having technology nightmares recently, so haven't been online much in a way I can post much.

A while back my house was broken into. Then a great friend lent me a laptop. She hadn't used it much because she never really liked it, and it turns out it was a lemon, and past warranty and it died. I went out of town for a while and as soon as I got home I ordered a new laptop (hoping insurance money will exist soon) and the delivery estimate keeps getting pushed back.

I now have more than a few pictures to edit (numbering in the thousands!), sessions to get put up, a laid off husband at home, and only one laptop between us! As he has said... "I'd rather have only one bathroom than only one laptop"

Here (on my photo blog) are a few vacation pics if you wanna see some pretties... otherwise... I'll be back soon, I hope! I have a baby birthmark treatment story to share..and vacation stories.... and growing baby stories and pictures.

2 year horrors!

2010-07-06T12:45:00.003-05:00

I had to take Lorelei to get her two year shots today. I anticipated tears and screaming and fits. I tried to get someone else to watch Ivy so I wasn't dealing with upset toddler and possibly a cranky baby too. But in the end I was there hauling in a carseat with a three month old, leading in a two year old to a doctors appointment-- her first one where she is old enough to really coherently tell me she doesn't want to do this.

She was a dream all through the appointment, and aside from the little girl who ran up to her and scared her when we first came in, she was a little bubble of happy right up until the shots, going along with everything she was supposed to and even opening her mouth for the nurse practitioner without problem. When time for shots came, I told her we'd get apple pie afterwords. Laid her back and she got the shots and screamed, but only for maybe 10 seconds! It startled Ivy too but she calmed down with only a to rocking her high chair. Moments later we were ready to leave, Lorelei following me down the hallway announcing "apple pie!" to everyone in sight!

I love it when I've braced myself for a bad time but then everything goes so well!

And where do you store YOUR diaper cream?

2010-06-30T10:38:00.004-05:00

Lorelei's 2nd birthday party was yesterday so her room was a mess. She looked around for a moment after I set her down this morning and said "Cream." Not a usual morning word I just stared at her for a moment until she said "diaper cream"... then she went to the fridge of her laugh and learn kitchen and pulled out a tube of Desitin and gave it to me.

One of the kids that was at the party is quite a climber and her mom had found her on top of the changing table throwing stuff on the floor from the shelves above it. I guess Lorelei rescued and hid the cream from the other kids, which I am grateful for.... but the play fridge? hah...

scale is everything

2010-06-27T11:45:00.001-05:00

2010-06-25 22.17.47, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

I made a late night Walmart run the other night to replace a Rubbermaid tote that was used when people robbed my house .. hard to clean up when there's fabric scattered far and near.

I needed a bit of a pick me up, so I decided to take Ivy through the toy section and discovered this "Newborn" doll. Notice that it is twice the size of my three month old? I'm not convinced of it's newbornness at all.

I couldn't resist taking a picture, which oddly resulted in a bunch of people oohing and ahhing over Ivy.

Now if I could just figure out for what use they took the box that held my portable drafting table (but not the table) Did they take something long and skinny I haven't noticed yet, or did they just stick a bunch of little stuff in it? Pretty weird no matter what they did with it.

Lorelei-isms

2010-06-10T11:07:00.003-05:00

At 23 months my older girl, Lorelei, has just started stringing some multiple word sentances together. The results are sometimes quite giggle-worthy. For example (taken from my Facebook staus updates, so I don't lose them forever)...

This is when I first realized she was trying to string words together more.

Lorelei comes up to me and grabs my socked foot... "socks? off? pully honey pully push pull sock off honey honey push pull off" I help her get my sock off and...... "toes! toes!!"

then a few days later...

lorelei just took a new pair of shoes out of my hands and said "shoes." Then she followed me into her room where I was going to put them on her and corrected herself... "Actually, boots honey... actually, boots."

I guess they were kind of boots. They were these things: http://myskidders.com/styles.html Which if you've seen them at Target the answer is "Yes, they ARE awesome." They can be thrown in the washer! Lorelei loves them. Right now she has a black skull and crossbones pair. Before, she had the white mary janes with black soles. I recommend darker colors if at all possible because though they are washable, the details kinda ravel funny when washed too many times. But I digress. On with the sillyness.

Matt's looking at the Dinosaur comic (qwantz.com) and tells Lorelei one of the dinosaurs is a dromiceiomimus. Then he asks her if she can say it. "uh huh" she replies. "Say it", he says.... her reply--- "draaaaa-gon!"

It can only get sillier from here!

swimsuit, rejected!

2010-06-01T14:37:00.001-05:00

swimsuit, rejected!, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

Summer is here!

This one didn't think she needed her swimsuit in the backyard. Being a private place I decided not to fight the issue.

Cheerful Rainbows

2010-05-28T11:22:00.001-05:00

Cheerful Rainbows, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

Today has, bluntly, sucked so far. Hardly got any sleep last night due to a cranky Ivy, had her 2 month appointment at 7:45 am (the girls usually get up around 9), car wouldn't start, the battery is dead... took Matt's truck, screaming baby shots, projectile vomiting baby after her Rotateq....

But rainbows make anything a bit better, don't you think?

coffee anyone?

2010-04-29T13:31:00.004-05:00

I lean over the bassinet trying to calm Ivy when I smell coffee.

"Ooh, I can't wait to drink some of that," I thought but then came to the sudden realization that I didn't make any coffee today.

One look into the kitchen confirms what I feared-- Lorelei at the kitchen table liberally sprinkled with ground coffee, an empty bag discarded on the floor.

Angry she was caught..

and back to the fun once she realized I wasn't going to take it away.

observations

2010-04-24T22:48:00.002-05:00

My baby smells sort of like cheese. I guess she needs a bath soon.

That is all...

A little too literal

2010-04-22T12:07:00.002-05:00

My toddler is starting to actually understand what the TV is saying. Today she was watching Yo Gabba Gabba and drinking from a bottle of water when a song came on about flowers needing water. She ran over to her pitcher of big fake fabric flowers (one of her favorite toys sent to her by her grandmother) and was about to pour some of her water in it when I realized what she was doing.

Wow.. comprehending toddler. Need to watch what I say and what she sees on TV more!

Dementia Sucks

2010-04-11T14:27:00.003-05:00

My dad has dementia. He has for years, but now, there is no denying it. He isn't just "a bit wierd".. he is blatantly and obviously ill.

He's had 2 brain surgeries, many many knee surgeries, surgery for colon cancer, and surgery to have more than half his liver removed.

What did it to him? I don't know. But the brain and liver surgeries are the most likely culprits.

The liver filters poisons from the body. He has less than half of his now. Ammonia builds up in the body when the liver can't remove it.
He drinks over a 6 pack of coca cola a day. Eats packs and packs of cookies. More sugar than I can ever imagine eating. I'm betting that makes it a lot worse. He could probably keep it partially at bay by eating a veggie heavy diet with a lot of whole grains but I've never seen more than a few veggies ever leave his plate to anywhere except the trash can. I keep looking at reasearch about ways to help this particular brand of dementia but all of the things that could help it are things he would never do.

Right now my parents are visiting ostensibly to help take care of my kiddos while I get used to having a toddler and a newborn. But my dad is like another toddler himself in attitude and maintenance.

He has developed all the common hallmarks of dementia. The wandering. The paranoia. Loosing things. Sundowners.

Sundowners is particularly strange. For some reason people with dementia almost always get worse when the sun goes down. He can seem just a little slow most the day, but when the sun goes down that's when we get to see how truly sick he is.

I don't know why I'm posting all this here, except out of pure frustration. There's no one else to talk to it about so I'm letting it out to float around the interwebs. For anyone who made it this far, thanks for "listening." Time to go check on the newborn.

Now Presenting

2010-03-30T11:50:00.004-05:00

Little Miss Ivy Adelia

That's right, we finally decided on a name!

Nesting, derailed

2010-03-26T09:57:00.007-05:00

I had so much planned to do, as my energy level permitted, in the next month. So I'm still kind of reeling because my little bean decided to come rather early. At first possible chance to be born at home, really. She was born at 36 weeks, but the gestational age worksheet my midwife filled out put her at 35 weeks. She was 5 pounds 6 oz, 17 inches long, and her head was only 12 inches around!

She had a little trouble breathing at first, but luckily we got it cleared up without having to take her to the hospital. Now, she's tiny but doing just perfect.

Now if her dad and I could just agree on a name for her!

edited to add: a few more portraits I took, more "professional" style are here at my photo blog.

New room for the big sister

2010-03-11T16:12:00.005-06:00

Here's a rather picture heavy post for you, about the state of some of our baby preparations (possibly better called Big Sister preparations really)

We've decided with the new baby to give her Lorelei's current room and move Lorelei into a room that is slightly further from our bedroom. Her current room shares a wall with our bedroom so I don't need to use a baby monitor. Also the changing table and crib are already in there so it makes more sense to move her out as she progresses to the big girl bed (or at least we HOPE she progresses to using it soon.) Right now she and the cats use it as a play place

In the works, painting the little room, adding a larger area rug (the room has big white tiles), changing out the light fixture and in general dolling it up in a way that Lorelei will hopefully love it.

The color I chose to use for her room is sort of a robins egg blue. Yes, blue for a little girl's room-- because so many accessories and toys and such are pink. Her current room is a nice limey green for similar reasons.

I'm trying to figure out what shade of blue I want to use. I'm leaning towards the darker one, because I want to paint a white tree mural, and I don't think it will show up well in the lighter blue.

She already has this stripey rug which she loves, so I got her some polka dotted sheets in the same colors.
As you can tell the room is already being used as a play room.

That's all we have for now though. I'll be getting a solid colored fitted sheet to cover the box spring, and at some point she will get a dresser, blinds (there are already white curtains) and a cleaned out closet.

I have a lot to do...
including convincing the cats that it's not "their" room...

Marble Magnet tutorial

2010-02-13T16:57:00.012-06:00

A simple tutorial for a cute little craft.

I've seen these things everywhere (here are some other peoples tutorials for them), and I decided to use my old business cards to make some of my own as a promotional item I'm giving away at the WonderCraft's grand opening. I'll be there doing a free photo booth for people who feel like goofing off or showing off their newly embellished neckties. The first 25 people in the door will get gift bags filled with little goodies from local artists.

Enough talking about that, and on to the tutorial. There are other tutorials all over the blogs, but this is what worked the best for me.

Materials:
Old Moo business cards with pretty pictures (or other pictures on thick-ish paper)
1/2" round magnets
small clear flat marbles (found in the floral section of Joannes)
glue-- I used Elmer's Craft Bond Ultra Stix All

A pencil
Scissors
and of course a table to make a bit of a mess on. It's really an easy to clean up mess though. I love low fuss low stress projects. They are so satisfying.

1. Use the marble to find parts of the image pleasing in small format. I found that many of my favorite pictures wouldn't work well for this project because it would just have part of a kid's face or some other odd unidentifiable subject that didn't look right through the magnifying effect of the marble. Of course if you are already using abstract images this won't be a probem, but don't expect photos of people to work too well.

2. Trace around the magnet over those areas you have found work well, and then cut out those little circles. I found this worked better for me than tracing around the marbles, because of the tapered shape of the marbles. Too big of circles that show much on the back look a bit sloppy.

3. Smear a thin layer of glue on the magnet, and then stick the back of the image to the magnet

4. Put a slightly thicker layer of glue on the back of the marble, then place the marble on the image and press until there is no air space between the image and the marble. If you can still see some slightly foggier areas, lift it off, add a little more glue and try again. You'll see what i mean when you go to do it, I'm pretty sure. You do NOT need much glue at all, but it will take more than it did to stick the image to the magnet.

5. Once you have it how you want it, set it aside. Don't set the magnets too close to each other to dry or one will either push the other away or they will stick together and knock the images askew. Once you have them set aside don't touch them for a while. It's harder to fix them once they have started setting up than if the glue is fresh.

6. Enjoy your new magnets!

It's that easy!

A few notes about how I did things, if you still have questions about it:

1. The thick moo cards keep the glue from seeping through. I have not tried this with thin craft papers or magazine pictures so I don't know if this glue would work well or if it would do odd things to the paper. I chose the glue because it is strong, dries clear, and has no odor. I'm pregnant, so the no odor part was a kind of big deal to me.

2. Some people recommend hot gluing the magnets to the back. I don't recommend that if you want them to hold up. Hot glue really isn't that great for high use items. Now if you are just going to stick your magnets somewhere once and never moving them, go for it. Also, the idea of using two different glues for the project doesn't appeal to my desire for simplicity.

A year??

2010-01-13T15:19:00.004-06:00

Has it really been that long since I had this baby (and long hair??)?

This was her third day of trying solid foods!

Today she was pilfering ginger candies outta the pantry and running around with a bottle of juice at a coffee shop saying "no" when I asked for it back. Brattish? yes. Cute? I'l admit it... yes it was.

Hermit-ness

2010-01-07T22:11:00.001-06:00

Two of me, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

I've been feeling fairly non social recently, and oddly, feeling down because I haven't seen any friends in several weeks.

If I'm remembering right I felt that way during parts of when I was pregnant with Lorelei too. I want to focus all my energy on making things or relaxing, or cuddling with my little girl. There's some sadness there too, like I'm mourning for Lorelei's only child-ness.

Some extreme fatigue has set in too, after a few high energy weeks. Hoping that it's just a touch of anemia I've gotten some Flordix liquid iron supplement finally (my midwife recommended it a few weeks ago because my levels were a tad low) but I'm sure it takes a few days for it to work assuming that is it.

Oddly, with my exhaustion, I have had some creative flashes with my photography. I really want to do more with this technique

This picture was just a quicky I did in maybe 30 minutes for both photo taking and editing. Obviously I didn't really set anything up or even pick up trash in the "under renovations" living room. I've been told I look grouchy in the picture. Probably because I kind of was.

Merry late Christmas

2009-12-28T16:02:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had as good a Christmas as this little girl did!

Felt orchids

2009-12-18T12:41:00.003-06:00

My newest crafty project... felt orchids. I bought the tutorial... first time ever buying a tutorial, but I think it was a good buy.

Since no one I'm planning on gifting with these little guys follow my blog I can post some pictures. If I was to make more, I think I'd need to order some more natural looking felt greens. The leaves are a bit glaring.

Obviously, I'm still working on the red one.

Busy busy

2009-12-08T00:00:00.005-06:00

I've been sick and busy and strangely without things to say recently.

I'm a bit disappointed too, because I found out a good friend form back home is pregnant, and I'd love love love to give her a gift of maternity and newborn portraits but... my new little one will only be about a month old when she has hers so I don't know that I can make it work. I can't travel in the last month of pregnancy, and I don't know that I want to fly with a one month old.

I've been taking a lot of studio type portraits recently. I got this great candid of my daughter earlier today.

So how's everyone else doing this December?

A little setback...

2009-11-24T08:59:00.002-06:00

Why oh why would my child, who has been leaving the cat's water bowl alone for months now, suddenly decide it is an ideal and allowable place to play?

For a while, about once a month would come the time when she got re-curious about it. Then she'd be set for another month. The last week it has been daily. Come to think of it, she has also started banging on my laptop again, and won't leave the remote controls alone. I hope this isn't a permanent regression, but I'm not holding my breath!

Trouble

2009-11-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

I've been busily messing around with my new light setup and trying to make a go out of photography. Since I've gotten some great ones of some of the kids in my moms group I was thinking "I can do our family photo no problem."

First day I tried, I got so mad at trying to work with the timer I gave up.

Today I went and got my neighbor and asked her to snap a few for us. I had to assure her that everything was set up and all she had to do was click. She got comfortable with it pretty quickly. Then Lorelei decided she was completely against the idea of portraits.

We finally got a passable one of the card, but it definitely was NOT what I was going for.

At least it made for a good photo montage...

By "good" I do mean ridiculously silly.

Halloween Costumes anyone?

2009-11-01T21:06:00.000-06:00

I got them done, and I think they turned out pretty well. Unfortunately there's no full picture of my dress, which I think was the most impressive thing, plus I never got a good full body shot of Lorelei because she wouldn't cooperate for me. I got at least good looking pictures of her dad and I both though. (sadly, no family picture)

My boyfriend, the garden gnome. A neighbor kid actually told him to watch out for boots.

Lorelei's costume had a headband with flowers and flower appliques but she wouldn't leave them alone. Oh well, still a mighty cute fairy, if I do say so myself!

Growing up so fast

2009-10-28T09:09:00.000-05:00

This morning my little girl just actually said "Good Bye" clear as day.

Her daddy was getting ready to leave for work and she insisted on being picked up and gave him a big hug. I gave him a hug too and she pushed me away, hugged him tighter and said "good bye" in the saddest tone ever.

It brought tears to my eyes... but it's probably just the pregnancy hormones. Hah.

Vaccine information...

2009-10-27T09:16:00.000-05:00

It's rare that I post about anything that could be controversial but articles about the skyrocketing rate of people not vaccinating their children often stun me with their misinformation. While I do vaccinate I have a healthy skepticism about vaccines, and choose not to get the flu vaccine for a myriad of reasons I am not going into right now.

Here's an example of the misinformation:

From Wired magazine http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_waronscience/2/
"...while nonprofit health care provider Kaiser Permanente reported that unvaccinated children were 23 times more likely to get pertussis, a highly contagious bacterial disease that causes violent coughing and is potentially lethal to infants. In the June issue of the journal Pediatrics, Jason Glanz, an epidemiologist at Kaiser’s Institute for Health Research, revealed that the number of reported pertussis cases jumped from 1,000 in 1976 to 26,000 in 2004. A disease that vaccines made rare, in other words, is making a comeback."

What they do NOT mention is that part of the reason for the comeback is the vaccine itself. You see a few years back my college health center informed me that I probably had pertussis (aka whooping cough) when I said "No, that can't be right, I had the vaccine like every other kid my age" they informed me that I was wrong. Not that I didn't get the vaccine but that it didn't protect me. The outbreaks had been happening as a result of people travelling and picking up whooping cough in countries that do not vaccinate as much. The reason that travelers are picking it up? Because the vaccine "wears off." They are finding that many vaccines do NOT confer lifelong immunities and actually need boosters throughout adulthood. Not enough research has been done to find out how often people need boosters but the best guess is every 5-10 years.

This article is from the American Academy of Family Medicine, but there are many more like it http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/media/releases/newsreleases-statements-2009/whoopingcoug-adults.html

Just what is my point here?

Arguments for vaccines need to be written without this kind of misleading information. You want people to get vaccinated, leaving this sort of things in there will make some people discount the whole article. Why aren't the editors catching this sort of stuff?
Argue away about the necessity of vaccines, but please pick your arguments wisely people.

Technical Difficulties

2009-10-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

I'm still working on Lorelei's costume.. slowly but surely. Bodysuit and tights dyed, silk for her skirt dyed, some little flowers for embellishments made, wings made...

I'm having a bit of trouble with the wings though. The trial run revealed a droopy problem.

I didn't think about the fact they wouldn't stay up as well on a onesie as they would on a dress, or maybe they are heavier than they are supposed to be? Who knows.... I think I will be sewing some ribbon on them and tying them on that way along with the velcro.

She still looks awful cute though even with the droopiness!

Ready for Halloween?

2009-10-16T23:03:00.001-05:00

I'm not! Ive been working on Lorelei's costume, but I may be overestimating my abilities and time... because I also need to make my own costume, and my boyfriend's too. His will be simple, but I have big plans for mine.

Luckily I also have the tights and onesie dyed for the toddler costume, and have everything for her skirt I just need to assemble it :)

Here's my progress as of this afternoon...
Can you tell what she's gonna be?

She already loves the practice skirt I made up ... she brings it to me and then lifts a foot up for me to put it on her, and prances around the room in it. I don't know if it's the bright colors or the softness of the silk, but hopefully she will like the not-just-for-practice one too.

Caturday, on a BOAT!

2009-10-10T10:30:00.000-05:00

We seem to have some new strays, and at least one of them likes our (OMG when are we ever going to find time to work on it) boat.

Handsome guy

Blog blips

2009-10-07T19:45:00.000-05:00

So I went to schedule a Caturday post and somehow I can't figure out how to schedule posts anymore... which makes no sense because I've done it more than once and ever had a problem before.

And theres some issue with the comments too.

Argh...

Pardon the delay...

2009-09-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

I've had the flu and now my parents are in town so I'm on a bit of a hiatus.

Not that anyone cares ;)

Hopefully Caturday and Made It Monday will resume next week.

Bye, you few who read this!

They aren't joking when they say teething is difficult

2009-09-22T11:04:00.000-05:00

My poor little girl is getting between two and four molars in at once.
She is miserable and refuses to let me forget it. And she's become a biter.

I have the sinus headache of doom from the rainy weather I guess, and can only take Tylenol for it because I am (surprise!) 9 weeks pregnant.

The pregnancy has given me a raging case of hypoglycemia that is being rather hard to handle... I have to eat constantly but I have no appetite because of the sinus headache.

To top it all off my parents will be here for ten days starting tomorrow and my boyfriend will be out of town for a week with work leaving me alone with them starting Monday.

Oh Happy Days.....

I'll have to make up for this post with some happy cheery baby pictures soon.

Bugggs!

2009-09-20T03:37:00.001-05:00

I changed my layout and somehow lost all my comments. I didn't even actually mean to change it, I thought I hit cancel after previewing :( It's very sad.

O hai!-- it's caturday again!

2009-09-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

Black cats are notoriously difficult to take good pictures of, and Baku is no exception!

Squidhat anyone?

2009-09-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

This is one of the funniest hats I've ever seen, made by ObeyMyBrain on Etsy.
http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.80802613.jpg

Just thought I'd share :)

Tie dye panties! For Made It Monday!

2009-09-14T19:55:00.000-05:00

Fun tie dyed panties! I dyed all my old white undies first and got annoyed at how the waist band didn't pick up the dye right, so I got these where the waistband is cotton covered elastic. I love how they turned out.

Happy Caturday!

2009-09-12T17:32:00.000-05:00

In an effort to blog more I'm adding some weekly "themed" posts to my blog. The first two I'm trying are "Made it Monday" where I blog about things I made. The second one is this... Caturday!

What is Caturday? Why, gratuitous pictures of cats of course!

This is my kitten Curie cuddling with my baby last November. They were both about four months old.

Made it Monday! Baby tutus!

2009-09-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

About a week ago I decided to finally try my hand at making a baby tutu, and I was amazed at how simple it was. I had glanced at several tutorials but really this doesn't need a tutorial.

Materials are simply 2+ yards of soft tulle (or a few spools of tulle, but I'm cheap and it's less expensive to get it by the yard), scissors, some elastic long enough to go around their waist and a needle and thread or sewing machine to join the ends of the elastic.

You simply take the elastic and sew the ends together at the right size to go around the baby's waist, take strips of tulle, double it up and knot it around the eleastic, and keep doing this until you have a full fluffy tutu.

Then you let your baby loose in the yard to frolic like a little fairy in your garden. ... or not.

Lorelei seemed to love her tutu. She kept running her hands through it and fluffing it up. Hooray for happy babies!

There are tons of tutorials online for tied tutu making. One decent one is here: http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2009/05/midsummer-nights-dream-tutu-tutorial.html

Reorganization

2009-08-27T12:06:00.000-05:00

So for the past few weeks I've been thinking I really want to get back to blogging, but in a more organized way... so I was to pick a few "themes" for a few days of the week and keep up with them.

I know I'm going to to "Caturday" of course... but I'm not sure what else. I'd love to participate in one of the ones that lots of people do and they all share the links to, but I can't seem to find much out there. I know there's illustration Fridays but I get the feeling I wouldn't get to it often (Lorelei doesn't let me draw much)

Maybe I could do "Treasure Thursdays" where I point out some art or craft I really like... or Made it mondays where I outline a project I've done recently. Hmm.... Who knows. Just know that Change is Coming!

Regrets?

2009-08-10T21:49:00.001-05:00

Just today I saw that a girl who asked me to teach her how to shoot in manual has started her own photography business. The pictures are nice but it started me wondering why haven't I taken that plunge.

The only reasons I can come up with are, lack of confidence, lack of someone to watch the baby while I do sessions, and ... really that's about it.

I guess I have some soul searching to do, because every time I see that another person I have spoken to about photography has started a business in it and done well, I get a bit jealous, and that's not a good way to be.

Dry docked

2009-08-06T14:31:00.001-05:00

IMG_7413, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

There's now a big boat in my back yard, and it will probably be there for a few years.

A vintage 1958 31' Chris Craft Constellation

Restoration is going to be... fun.
I will probably start a dedicated blog following that progress. Don't quote me on that though.

It's been a while

2009-07-30T13:10:00.000-05:00

I hate to admit it but it seems that the wind has gone out of my sails when it comes to blogging. I don't really have that much to say unless I talk about my baby girl, cleaning, or my ridiculous amounts of projects. Also, Facebook flash gaming is eating my brain.

So here's a little list of new things going on, in whatever order I think of them:

I had a tie dye party that was a huge success! Much fun tie dye was made, people went home with adorable outfits and another one is tentatively scheduled for September, when hopefully it will be cooler

My little girl turned one! Wow!

My little girl started walking yesterday!

I've been dying tons of stuff and putting some of it for sale up on Etsy. No bites though on selling any. I'm thinking about getting a booth at some local craft shows though and seeing what happens there.. a viable hobby type job or just a pipe dream? we shall see.

We are getting a BOAT! A 31' 1958 Chris Craft to be exact. It will be living in our back yard for a few years while we restore it (or at least make it usable)

There's more, but I have stuff to get done :)
I hope this post finds everyone doing well.

A good day to Dye

2009-06-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

The week has finally come where I made enough money selling vintage finds on Etsy, ordered my supplies and started fabric dying!

Here's a look at some of my first experiments while still in their dyebath.

I was going to take pictures of the finished product this morning but my camera battery died right as I was about to snap the pictures.... so that's for next time.

This is way too fun and I can't imagine that I'll be able to find enough stuff to do with all the stuff I want to dye. I may have to get more clothing blanks so i can have fun with it and possibly sell some. Otherwise I'll drown in my crations and my boyfriend will kick me and my mess out of the house *grin*

Kittens need a home!

2009-06-03T23:26:00.001-05:00

IMG_5240, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

These two little black kittens need to go! Right now they are about 6 weeks old and the perfect age to go to a new home.

Why do I have them? Well they were accidentally brought to Austin by a friend who bought a boat there because their mom seems to have though it made a good nest spot. He called the Humane society but they are not taking any more cats.

With these little guys that brings my cat count up to 6 in the house, 7 total from the outdoor porch cat who has adopted me. While I wasn't willing to leave them to starve or be put down, that's entirely too many cats at my house!

Let me know if you are interested, or know anyone who might be, or know of a place that would take them!

For a few more pictures, click on the picture here and it will take you to my Flickr photostream where you can see more of them.

San Antonio

2009-05-21T11:52:00.001-05:00

IMG_5393, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

I visited an old friend who had a conference to go to in San Antonio yesterday and it was great. I can't believe I hadn't been there before! The river walk was beautiful and her hotel was directly on the river walk.

The only bad things were, there is NO free parking anywhere near the river walk and the baby didn't nap more than 20 minutes all day. But it was a beautiful day and it was so nice to catch up with a friend from Virginia.

Lorelei eats a lemon

2009-05-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

Lorelei eats a lemon 5, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

If I knew how to post all the pictures through Flickr I would. But seriously, she kept going back for more... making that strange little face after each lick. Then she got too much on her hands and rubbed it on her chapped cheeks and cried. That part was sad. The rest of it? Classic baby moments.

If you click on the picture you can check out all 6 pictures in order on Flickr

Srsly?

2009-05-13T12:10:00.001-05:00

Srsly?, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

I just logged into Flickr to upload some pictures and was greeted by this.

I think the LOLcat movement has gotten out of hand

Lorelei likes nests

2009-04-28T15:12:00.001-05:00

IMG_4580, originally uploaded by Bakiomau.

Ok I'll admit I'm just having fun now that I figured out I can blog directly from my Flickr photostream. This will much simplify my other blog (365 days in pictures) that I have been slacking on.

Where'd that come from?

2009-04-28T14:53:00.001-05:00

IMG_4582
Originally uploaded by Bakiomau

I was just going through some photos and realized that in this picture, it really looks like Lorelei is looking up in the tree to see where the nest on the blanket came from. Hah. The nest was actually a part of a set of things I was using as photo props on Easter.

Busy busy busy

2009-04-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

Busy doing what, you may ask? Keeping up with this....

One of these days I'll catch my breath and be back....

Mission Cat Tree, Accomplished

2009-04-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

We've been working on some remodeling-- ripping out a wall and just leaving two columns and a knee wall, removing carpet, redoing the flooring, trying to remove the texture from the wall... and took the opportunity of leftover carpet, padding and wood to make a cat tree from the remnants. I think it turned out pretty cool... and I hate to say it but I was hesitant to do it before because of the sick kitty peeing on everything. Now, the random pee incidents are in our past, and hopefully will stay that way.

There's still a tiny bit more to be done-- I'm planning on wrapping the posts with sisal, and doing some sort of finish on the bottom board to make clean up easier when some cat inevitably decides to hairball on it, but they are happy with it how it is, and I will get to "finishing" it eventually.

And the kitten loves it.
The others like it too, but they don't show off for the camera as much