One of those days

I am super tired and was feeling like I hadn’t done anything today– like it was one of those wasted days– but now that I’m sitting down and thinking back over our day I realize it wasn’t half bad. School didn’t go quite how I had hoped. Laundry is clean, but not folded. The kids were bored, so I let them all have extra computer time, but didn’t get around to helping anyone make their first blog entry. There are dirty dishes in the sink because I couldn’t fit them all in the dishwasher…

But I came downstairs this morning to find this:

a table set with a table cloth and real dishes and spread with hot pancakes and scrambled eggs. They made them ALL BY THEMSELVES. There was cheese in the eggs. The pancakes were made from scratch from a recipe in a cook book. All the dishes they used were stacked neatly by the sink. There wasn’t a trace of egg shells on the counters. Amazing. (That, and poor Brenna has broken out in an itchy rash from head to toe–a reaction the Amoxacillin she’s taking for strep throat. )

I think they were feeling bad for their poor, humongous mother who couldn’t even walk by the end of the day yesterday. I ran errands all day and I guess all that being up on my feet helped the baby sink even deeper into my pelvis and pinch a nerve in my left hip. Even this morning I wasn’t able to put much weight on my left leg without it hurting really bad or just giving out all together. I need crutches or something. It’s ridiculous! There have been stretches of time when it was all just fine, but then I feel the baby move and I’m a cripple again. Geesh.

So, there was a lot of sitting on the couch for me. I knit and got a little further on my doll.

Now she’s a head with arms.

So what I hung out in my jammies all day and nearly everything on my list of things to get done went out the window? I have an 8, 6, and 4 year old self sufficient enough to make a real breakfast. I got to snuggle and enjoy my little baby, who won’t be a baby much longer, and watch him coo over and hug and kiss and feed his Boy and his Baby (an old doll he found over the weekend that Brenna never played with, but he has grown completely attached to). I got to sit on the couch and watch my kids draw and play legos while I sewed and knit.

It’s all okay. It wasn’t a wasted day after all.

sunny winter

Last week brought us lots of sun and near 70 degree weather, so on Saturday we took a trip to the park for lots of running (with your tongue hanging out if you happen to be Ellie), jumping, tree climbing, whacking things with sticks, and a fair amount of waddling by the mama.

Hope you had a good weekend too.

This week, keep an eye on the kids’ new blog. They’re going to take turns telling you all about the books they’re reading, the things they’re making, and what they think about it. It should be fun!

knits for the new guy

I’ve been knitting along with all the sewing I’ve been doing. Knitting for a baby is so satisfying because it’s almost instant gratification– well, as far as knitting goes.

This little sweater was knit before Christmas, before the toy making flurry was in full force. It’s from the Easy Peasy pattern from Little Turtle Knits, and it was definitely easy peasy. It’s knit flat in garter stitch and all in one piece– a very satisfying instant gratification kind of project.

I also knit up these little bum sweaters (from the free Curly Purly pattern). I’ve been cloth diapering my boys since Jonah was born and have often read about the benefits of using wool diaper covers. Wool is breathable, natural, nearly waterproof, and can absorb a ton of water before feeling wet. It’s naturally antimicrobial too. So, since I was feeling the need to knit baby things, I bought some Cascade 220 Superwash wool to give wool diaper covers a try. After I got one done and had only gone through about 1/3 of a ball of yarn I decided to do another, but wanted to spice it up a bit. I took the rest of my yarn and Kool-Aid dyed it with lime and blue rapsberry lemonade (I think). Kool-Aid dying is so easy and so fun! My kids got in on the action too, but that will have to be another post. What I really want are some little hand-knit wooly pants– and this picture of Jessica’s new little guy has got knitting some longies on my must-get-done-before-the-baby-comes-list. If anyone has suggestions for a good pattern (preferably free) and the perfect diaper cover knitting non-itchy wool yarn please let me know!

acting on impulse

Yesterday I impulsively signed up for this handmade toy swap. Like I need to add a time consuming toy to my list of getting-ready-for-baby crafting that I want to get done in the next few weeks. I decided to get right on it because, really, I wanted an excuse to make another doll. It is so fun to see them come to life. Here’s today’s play by play.

First, there’s the head form. This isn’t a totally kosher Waldorf doll because the materials aren’t completely natural– I’m using panty hose instead of cotton tubular stockinette because that’s what I’ve got laying around here. It’s stuffed with wool, though!

Gotta cover that crazy looking lump with skin.

and give it a face…

Ahh, there she is!

Also, February 10th the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act goes into affect. You can read all about it here, but in a nutshell congress passed a law to protect our kids from toxic chemicals in massed produced toys from China and didn’t think of all the ramifications of their new regulation. Now ANY product marketed for use by children must undergo third party testing, which is fine for huge mega companies, but for moms sewing cloth diapers in their homes, or artists selling clothing or toys on etsy, this will essentially put them out of business. Hopefully the powers that be will see the light and make some exemptions for small businesses. It will be a sad day when the ONLY options we have for buying toys are those mass produced, lifeless plastic things…