I've moved!

Come and check me out at my new blog.... www.berritt.wordpress.com

Luckily, I was able to move every single last entry without losing anything.

I've moved!

Come and check me out at my new blog.... www.berritt.wordpress.com

By Popular Request!

Columbian Potato Stew

I've made this so many times, pretty much every time we have company, this is what we make. It sounds soooo simple but it is the BEST soup ever.

It's NOT low fat.

Ingredients:


1 whole chicken cut up. (wings, breasts, legs, thighs) with skin and bone!!
1 whole white onion chopped
1/2 lb russet potato, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb each red and yellow potatoes(not peeled) and sweet potato (peeled) chopped into bites
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c heavy cream
a pinch fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 ears corn, or about a cup of frozen corn. It looks fancier with the ears of corn cut in slices, but I don't like eating corn off the cob.

Season chicken with salt and pepper, roast in oven for an hour or so. (Get the chicken skins really nice and crispy.... YUMMY!)
While the chicken is cooking, make the soup.

sautee onion in your pan in oil until it starts to brown, no longer. Add broth. Add peeled chopped russets and cook those down (that's the thickener)
Add the other 3 types of potatoes, the oregano when the russets are soft. Add corn when the other potatoes are almost done.




This is the most important part.....
1 c diced white onion
2 jalepenos chopped (take out the seeds and ribs if you're a weenie)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 3 limes

mix that together and set aside.


Add the cream and sour cream to the stew, and it's ready to serve.


Ladle the soup into a huge bowl. Top with a piece of chicken or 2, and a big spoonful of the salsa.



It is SO good. Everyone I have made this for has begged for the recipe.
It is so simple but impresses everyone.

Quick update....

We got the house! I'm almost done unpacking. I need to finish because then I can do my sewing room! I am SO excited to do my sewing room. I have awesome ideas.... I just need to make time.

The girls are all doing wonderful. I just love every single inch of them all.

That's all for now. :) I'm still around. Suuuuper busy, that's all.

Has it really been 4 months?

I guess it has. It has been so busy. From a 3 week vacation mid summer, Alex coming and going again, buying a HOUSE!!, school, a flu and a cold (HOW did we get sick?? We never get sick?) it's been insane and I don't seem to get a minute of free time.

We are supposed to be closing on the house this week, I think. I am in LOVE with this house, or.... maybe the idea of what this house can become. It's a 3 level craftsman with a great yard, and, well.... poptential? It's gorgeous outside. Inside it looks like the seventies came and vomited up an interior. It needs a new fireplace, a wall and a kitchen knocked out of the top floor, french doors replacing a sliding door to the top floor balcony. It needs a kitchen remodel, wood paneling demolition, 3 bathroom remodels, a sunroom replacement... and 342,876 gallons of paint, but it WILL be great. Don't get me wrong. We could live there comfortably and do nothing. But we (I) can't live in ugly!! I will be posting progress. As long as we get the house ;)

The Good Sheep is opening!!

CLICK The Good Sheep!

I'll be selling fibers, yarns, and spinning/knitting supplies! I'm excited to be able to fund my craft habit by crafting.

Spinalong!

Once upon a time, a girl got a drum carder. She joined a spinalong challenge with other super cool fiber friendly girls. They all voted on a picture to draw inspiration from... and although the girl didn't vote for the picture chosen, she gleefully carded up some fibers and spun a skein of shimmery magical yarn. :)

The picture:


The fiber:


The batt:


The handspun yarn:



The spinalong was SO much fun!! I want to do another!

My neck hurts!

I think I did something to it. I don't know what.... all the sudden it just started to hurt. I *think* it was maybe getting the infant carseat in and out of the minivan. (I still shudder a little when I say that word.... minivan.... *{{shudder}}*
....minivan.... *{{shudder}}*)
It's getting better, but it's like a headache that won't let up. It's keeping my shoulders really tense, up to my ears. I don't deal well with tension.

Plus, I have a TON of things to do around the house. I need to clean. Not that Alex believes that when he comes back to a clean house that it was clean the whole time he was gone. He knows better. He knows ME. So maybe I don't have to clean very well. Heehee.

I'm just too tired, and my neck hurts.

I've been busy!!

I can turn this:


Into this:


I find it amazing that I can do this!! I can take fiber from an animal, add my own dyes, spin it into a wonderful yarn and knit something for one of my babies. If I had to give up all of my hobbies except one, I'd keep spinning :)

From the mouths of babes.

"Mom, I like your boobs! They make milk! I'll make milk too when I'm big and (rubbing tummy) have a baby in my tummy."
-Sofia, age 4

The girls.

They are all getting so big, so fast.

A DIY mei tai. I LOVE making things!

It took 4 babies to discover the mei tai baby carrier, and can I just say it is the MOST COMFORTABLE carrier ever?? This is scandi styly, padded and reinforced with an extra sturdy hidden canvas layer in the body. Marisol sleeps in it as soon as she goes in! I'll definitely be making many more!!

My little "midlifes"

Sofia says she wants to be a "midlife" when she grows up. Looks like Carmen also wants to jump on the baby catching wagon.... starting with taking good care of their own newborn baby sister. Sweet, isn't it?

Sofia is 4!

I can't believe my little Moochie is 4! Time flies. My babies are growing up so fast. Too fast. How can we slow time?
Happy birthday, Sofia May. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. You are an amazing little person and I love you so much!

This high will last forever, I think....

I still can't believe what an amazing thing I did.

I'm still floating on air. I want to tell everyone I see what I did. I restrain myself for the most part... but some people still get an earfull. Everytime I see one of the recieving blankets, or crisp white towels that we bought for the birth I smile to myself and think again of what an amazing thing I did. When I look to the empty place in the corner of the dining room where the pool was set up, I can see it all happening. I can still feel the energy of birth in the air. I don't ever want this feeling to go away. I don't ever want these memories to fade. It's kind of bittersweet... that it's over. But our new life with Marisol in it has just begun, and that's even more amazing.

Hopefully I'll be lucky enough to experience another homebirth someday. I'd love to do it again.

Marisol Isabella is here!!

Born January 18th 2008 at 4:56am. 8lbs 10oz.

It all started around bedtime Wednesday night. I was having contractions every 15 minutes or so while we were watching TV. They didn't hurt... and although I *thought* I was going into labor, I was still unsure. We ended up going to bed at 2am and I had fitful sleep until 4am or so, when i woke Alex up and told him that I wanted him to take the girls to my moms house. He told me to try and relax.... it was too early and he was right. I left him in bed to sleep a bit longer and got up. I tried to watch a movie. I couldn't concentrate because I was just excited! I came downstairs to surf the internet and timed contractions which were now 5-8 minutes apart. They were definitely starting to bite a bit. I woke Olivia up at 7am for school and told her she'd probably have a baby sister when she got home from school. The squirrels heard us talking and they woke up. As soon as they started talking, my contractions slowed down to about 20 minutes apart. We took them over to my moms house at about 10am and then went to pick up some food at the grocery store. I walked around the store feeling like I was keeping the BEST secret! We picked up fruit, muffins, cheese, and sandwich ingredients.

I called the midwife and told her what was going on. I had an appointment with her at noon anyway and we decided to keep that appointment. We dropped the groceries off and headed in to her office. She checked my cervix there and told me I was 3 cm dilated. She told me to go home, take a nap and to call her when we needed her. I did plan to try and sleep. We picked up some burgers and brought them over to my moms house. Alex and the girls ate and then Alex and I headed home.

I'm not sure when the birth pool was filled. I think Alex filled it after we got home... but everything is kind of hazy. I remember that by now, it was 2pm or so, and the contractions were back to about 8 minutes apart. We really started timing them about 4pm and they were close. 3-4-5 minutes apart and they hurt a bit. We called the midwife after about an hour of closer contractions and she wanted to come over. She was finishing up at work but she said she'd be over in a half hour or so. She arrived at about 6pm. Maybe it was earlier. Maybe it was later. While I was waiting I told Alex that I wanted to get into the pool. I didn't know how far along I'd be, and I had wanted to wait until I was 6cm to get in because we didn't want it to stall labor, but it was getting painful. I lifted the lid of the pool and stuck my hand in. It was so warm and inviting. I took my clothes off and got in. It was bliss. The pain disappeared. The contractions started coming faster but they hurt less. I will never labor without a birthing pool. EVER.

The midwife arrived and I got out of the tub so she could take my vital signs and check my progress. Everything looked great and I was 6 cm dilated. I was amazed that I had made it to 6! With my hospital births, I was begging for the epidural at 4cm.
The contractions were coming about every 3 minutes and hurt a lot worse out of the tub. I wanted nothing more but to get back in. I did labor in the bathroom for a while before I got back in... but it didn't last long. Dawn called her assistant Erin and told her she should head down from Seattle. She arrived about 45 minutes later. Time is such a blur. In fact, the whole experience is a blur. I could be leaving a lot out. I remember that we were talking and laughing for what seemed a really long time. Alex was telling the midwives stories about how we met and other stories behind pictures on the walls that the midwives asked about. He was charming and funny. And he was making us all laugh. I remember feeling proud that he was my husband. My contractions hurt and I had to breathe through them. I got out of the tub in that time and labored in the bathroom for a good while. I sat down between contractions and then I held onto Alex during them. I remember I really had to vocalize through them in this position. I was checked at 9pm and I was 8cm. Alex joked that our baby WOULD be born on an even numbered day like all the rest of us. I was not amused. Not one bit. There was nothing funny about laboring for another 3 hours. I labored a bit more on the toilet and then got back into the tub. The contractions at this point were hard to deal with. But I was doing it. I could still talk between contractions, but had to focus and breathe through them. I was often having to vocalize through them. That is the last that I really remember fully.The rest is seen through a haze. I remember the contractions becoming more painful. I'm not aware what time it is, but I do remember at one point Alex saying that it was an even numbered day by then. I remember being checked and the midwife telling me the my cervix had a swollen part and that I needed to really focus and relax so the swelling could go down. I fell apart a few times. I asked to go to the hospital and Dawn said that we could try an IV of LR (electrolytes and glucose) for energy and hydration and some herbs. The only one I remember the name of is skullcap. She also said that she could break my water and there was a good possibility that it would help melt away the rest of cervix that was left. Alex reminded me how disappointed I would be if I went to the hospital. I was exhausted with only 2 hours of restless sleep in the last 48 hours. I went between thinking I could make it to sobbing and back again. The crying felt really good, though. It felt like the release that I needed and I cried until I didn't have any crying left in me. He asked if I trusted him and he said that I would be fine. I agreed to try the IV and herbs. I labored in the bed and tried to relax. They wrapped me in warm towels and a heating pad. Dawn easily broke my water without a hook. I was really scared that after my water was broken the contractions would be worse. They were more painful... but I think that the herbs and IV fluids, plus the reassurance from the midwives and my wonderful husband I was dealing with them a little better. I labored and rested for about an hour and I was checked again. I told the midwife that if the swelling hadn't gone down that I wanted to go to the hospital. She said ok.... but I think they'd have convinced me to stay home anyway. My cervix was a bit more dilated to maybe 9cm and the swelling was less but still there. I was told to keep trying to relax and I tried.
I remember Alex, Dawn and Erin rubbing my back and speaking to me gently. I remember Alex didn't leave my side. I remember the tremendous love I felt for my husband during those moments. I wanted to get back into the tub because being in bed was too much for me to handle. As soon as I was in, the contractions became unbearable. I don't know how long I was in the tub or what time it was. I was starting to panic with some of the contractions. Then I'd have a milder contraction. Then a harder one and I'd start panicking again. I said NO, no no no no. I wanted to give up and thought that maybe I'd made a mistake wanting to have my baby at home. I tried to feel for myself where the baby was and I could feel her head a couple inches inside me. It was what I needed to get through this! I told Erin and she came to check. I wasn't fully dilated yet and I felt panicky again. I felt like a scared, caged animal in pain. I screamed through the contractions and cried in between them. I remember that I called out for Dawn and she came over. I felt a little bit like pushing and was trying to gently push. I could feel my baby lower and lower with each contraction. I was floating on my back and I asked Dawn if I could push harder and she said yes so I did. I screamed with each push. I felt as if my back would break in half and I pushed through it. I felt powerless floating and got to my hands and knees. I screamed with another contraction and push and felt her crown. I screamed another push and I felt her head slide out. Dawn checked for a cord around her neck and Alex watched the rest of his baby come into the world. He said she swam up to me like a dolphin. The next thing I remember was holding her on my chest, and touching her face and saying Hi, baby. You're finally here!
I delivered the placenta in the pool. Alex cut the cord and held her while I was helped out of the pool. I wanted to snuggle with my baby, but I desperately wanted a shower so I was helped to the bathroom for the quickest shower EVER. I got in bed with my beautiful baby girl and nursed her.
The midwife left a couple hours later and we fell asleep together at home in our bed.
I fell in love with my husband a thousand times over again during Marisol's birth.
It's a hard feeling to explain, but I feel like a completely different woman. My home birth captured the strength a woman has but that I didn't even know existed in me. It was primal and beautiful. Somehow, now... I feel like I touched something of all the generations before me. And I KNOW when my babies have their babies I'll tell them how this experience changed me.

Oficially pregnant longer than with my last 2!

Sofia and Carmen were both 3 days early.

Olivia was a week late. I was just ignoring her statistics and I was SURE I'd have a baby by now. Mostly, everything is ready. The birth pool is here, the birth supplies are ready and organized. I have meals in the freezer. The house still needs daily scrubbing, because the tornadoes don't stop!! I'm sewing up a few white diapers today... I never did have any plain white diapers for pictures with the others, and that's what I made these for. Not sure what else.... but things do pop up!

My tummy feels icky today, and I feel super lazy so I have a feeling I'll be pregnant a little while longer. I haven't had a nesting urge at all!! Yesterday I scrubbed my bathroom, but I had to force myself.... it was definitely NOT nesting.

38 weeks......

No signs of labor.
No names.

But I am READY! Not that I think we'll go early. Never have before. But a girl can dream. Dream of breathing easier. Dream of not having to pee every 20 minutes. Dream of enjoying a full meal without feeling like it's coming up into my throat. Dream of no more rib pain.

Still waiting. Not so patiently.

I AM...

THAT much of a nerd, that I photograph everything I sew to share online. As I was arranging diapers on the floor for their photo sessions, I said it out loud to Olivia.....

"OMG, I'm a nerd!! Who does this??" And Olivia replied "You're JUST now figuring that out??"




Oh, but aren't they squishy looking?? And aren't they pretty??

Sofia's birdiful hat!!

I decided to let my little Sofia help me by dyeing corriedale top with wiltons. She picked the colors, helped me paint and squirt and roll the roving into saran wrap. I put it in the microwave to some beautiful results! In return for her wonderful favor, I spun it *just for her* and made her a hat!!!

She says it's birdiful!! That makes it so worth the frustrations!! And I absolutely had a blast watching it come out. This is my first time with color, and my first time plying. I'm so hooked. now I wish I had more energy to do more... I am way pregnant and tired and am feeling very lazy lately!

Carmen is 2!!

My sweet Carmen is 2 years old today. Time sure flies. It seems like yesterday she was just a tiny little thing... and now she's 2.

From this:


To this:

Oh, puke.

Today while I was making lunch, Sofia decided to somehow open and dump a can of wet cat food on the couch. It's microfiber, so it's not stained. I cleaned it up very well, then febreezed it.... but it still stinks like shitty gross cat food.

To top that off.... I dyed some roving today. So my house smells like catfood and wet wool.

So not a good thing when you're pregnant.


The good news.... I'm still adorable.... in a chubby pregnant glowing sort of way. ;)

Sewing clothes for the girls!!

Never thought I'd make matching outfits for the girls.... But I did. and I LOVELOVELOVE them!!!
Does that make me a nerdy mom?

For Sofia...


And for Carmen...

Baby names, baby names.... where are you??

I'm lost this time. Alex is shooting down names left and right. Yet.... he doesn't have a single suggestion. Nice, right?
We never really decide until we see the baby anyway, but we do go in with ideas. This time, we have no ideas. Well, I do. But they've been shot down.
Audrey, Isabel, Estella, Evelyn, Imogen, Scarlett, Oh, I need to go through the baby name books again. I have a zillion names highlighted in my color from our last pregnancy. I think alex may have highlighted about 2 in his color.
It'll remain a mystery for a while longer.

Ta-DA!!!

I made Sofia some socks! Not bad for a sock noob, huh??

My second yarn!

I think it could have been worse. I am taking a class on Wednesday. I'm really excited about it.

Adventures in *Not Really* Spinning

She's together.... I still haven't came up with a name. How about &^$^*%$^*%)*&^&^$% ?? Beautiful, though...



Look how happy and naive I am.... (was)



I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking.... well, actually I was thinking that I'd sit down and spin a nice perfect yarn my first time and then knit a hat. All in a night..... so I know WHAT I was thinking, but I'm now wondering WHY I was thinking that.

Ummmmm.... spinning yarn is NOT easy. It did not come naturally to me. I came out with some yarn, if you can call it yarn. Probably not technically yarn. More like "horrid unspunsuperspun". It was either super kinky and overtwisted, or not twisted at all and kind of falling apart.

OK, yes, there were random areas throughout that looked ok. Good, even. But mostly not. And when you're doing something that you don't know how to do... something you suck at... it isn't much fun.

Please tell me it gets easier!! Tell me that I won't suck at this forever! Tell me I won't suck for a whole month until the LYS offers the beginners spinning class!! Because i do not want to suck for a month!

You can't even really see the yarn in the picture, but I've got to show it anyway. There's this on the bobbin and a pile of discarded kinky fuzzy stringy yarny stuff on my dining room floor.

LOOK who is coming to live with me!!!

It's an ashford traveller spinning wheel. I need to name her, don't I?

I looked at wheels the other day at the local LYS and narrowed it down to 2... I liked them equally in most aspects, but this one was MUCH prettier.

I'm sooooooo excited! SO excited. I can't wait to spin some yarn!

Can I just swoon over Alex??

Do you ever wonder how it's possible to love a man SO much that it can literally make your heart beat faster? I LOVE this man! I love everything about him. I love how he loves me. I LOVE him!

I have so many reasons. More reasons than I could ever list.

But today, he told me he was proud of me for knitting!! He's proud when I do little things... like teaching myself to knit. He's proud when I sell a diaper, or when someone comments on something that I made. Honestly, with the way he gets, you'd think HE made it/did it himself. He loves me like that.

I am so incredibly lucky!

I did it!!!!! I DID IT!!!

I taught myself to KNIT!
My first project was a scarf.... it turned out better than I thought it would.


Scarves aren't fun knitting. It's repetitive. And kind of boring. But I think it's a learning to knit right of passage. I'll do another when I try out cables. Cabled scarves are pretty.

With the scarf finished, and me hooked already, I had to dive right into something else. Something that would give me pretty quick gratification, meaning something small. Small..... what could I make that was small? Why, a newborn baby kimono sweater, that's what!! Knitted with merino wool yarn hand dyed by yours truly. It still needs ties but I can't find the only crochet hook I own, so that will have to wait.


I am pretty sure that a hoodie sweater for my Sofia in heathered pink wool is next. :)

I'm dyeing yarn!!

I don't know how to knit... YET. But I had to dye some yarn to knit up before I could learn. Makes sense, right?? Well... I could have bought already dyed yarn. But alot of the reson that I wanted to learn to knit is so that I could dye the yarn my very own self. And I love it already. LOVE it.

Is it possible to have too many hobbies? If it is, I am probably on the brink.

I am pretty impressed with myself. The first one... the pink and turquoise is hand painted. It was an adventure to get there, but I got there. I though it was ugly before I would it into a skein (is that actaully a skein?) but I found I quite like it!
The second is space dyed on the stovetop. It's pretty bright. But it will make a nice wool scarf for a little girl!

FOUR girls.

That's how many we'll have come January.
It's definitely not what I expected the ultrasound tech to tell me. I mean, seriously. What are the chances of 4 girls in a row? For me.... apparently very good. I wouldn't have thought so. But here we are. We'll have another little baby girls!! A baby sister for 3 girls and another daughter for us!
I am happy. I can't wait to meet her. I'd love to figure out a few names, but my man muffin isn't being helpful. He keeps throwing out boys names. Maybe next time, honey.

Unmotivated.

I have so much on my list.
Yet... I can't seem to get anything done. I'm just feeling so tired, and a bit sick all the time. I get little spurts of energy, but all those are good for are the normal daily chores that must be done anyway.... none of the extras on my list.

I'm not sure, but I *think* I may have felt the baby move a couple of times. I mean... it could have been digestion, but I swear it felt like baby!! And if anyone else would have told me that they felt a baby move around 11 weeks, I'd say "Pfft, you're crazy and imagining things." which I very well could be. But it feels real. And if I feel my belly, I can feel my uterus (TMI?) and that's exactly where the feelings are coming from. I'm probably crazy. But it sure is a nice thought.

I heard the heartbeat on a doppler!!

What a wonderful sound. The bean is thriving in there. I'm pleased. :)
I'm 8 weeks 2 days, still nauseated, so tired.....

I really hope alex gets his son. I'll be happy either way, but a boy would be such happy news for Alex. He LOVES the girls. But men want sons. Sons who will grow up to be just like their daddies. And if we have a son who grows up to be like his daddy, he'll make some woman very happy some day. And I'll be a very proud mama. Maybe my husband will get his Christian Alexander this time?

Did I mention that my husband is the most amazing man in the world? Now, I know you are all thinking... "No... sorry. MY husband is the most amazing." But I'll argue that. Mine is. He's wonderful. First of all.... he's HOT. Second of all, he's sensitive (honey... don't worry. I mean sensitive in a manly way) He's never mean. He writes amazing love letters. He spoils me. He does anything he can to make us happy. There's more. Much more.

In our wedding album, we have a letter printed, written by Victor Hugo, that was perfect for us:

My dearest,
When two souls, which have sought each other for,
however long in the throng, have finally found each other ...a union, fiery and pure as they themselves are... begins on earth and continues forever in heaven.

This union is love, true love, ... a religion, which deifies the loved one, whose life comes from devotion and passion, and for which the greatest sacrifices are the sweetest delights.

This is the love which you inspire in me... Your soul is made to love with the purity and passion of angels; but perhaps it can only love another angel, in which case I must tremble with apprehension.

Yours forever,
Victor Hugo (1821)

A death, a positive pregnancy test (or 20) and more....

It's been a while, hasn't it?
I'm going to try and update more often.

Here's what's going on with our family at the moment. It's not good. It's really sad.
My brothers perfect little 3 week old baby passed away in his sleep on May 6th. It was ruled a SIDS death. I wish there was a reason, something to blame but there isn't. He was beautiful and perfect and will live in our hearts forever. It has been a very hard time for all of us. I'm not sure why things happen sometimes. Maybe he was too perfect for earth. I'd like to think healing can start now... but it doesn't feel like it has.

I'm pregnant again. Yes... number 4!
I'm 5 weeks, 1 day today. I try and keep my hopes low for the first 12 weeks, but it's hard to not get excited even though I know it's super early and anything can still happen. I'm a bit of a pessimist. Always have been. I don't like to admit it. But there you go. I can't rest assured until a baby pops out. Even then.... another set of worries.

The girls are so big now. I need to get more pictures taken. They are just beautiful!!
Alex is as wonderful as ever. He's overseas. I miss him so much. Lucky him.... he gets to miss morning sickness. Lucky me.... I get to take care of 3 girls and a Great Dane who is impossible to train with the amount of free time I have, all while trying not to throw up. it should be an adventure.
Alex will pay.
Not sure how. But he will.

I have been taking a break from sewing Fattycakes diapers with all the craziness of life lately. I hope to be back to sewing soon. Just a few more things I need to get done.

I'm a blogging slacker!

We had to get a new computer, and I couldn't remember how to log in to my posting page. Obviously, I found it.
I'm up way past my bedtime...
I'm usually up way past my bedtime. It's a nasty habit. I get some *me* time after the girls are in bed and I take it a little too far. Tomorrow is a snow day so we will get to sleep in a little later, but I know I'll still have to drag my butt out of bed.
The girls are sometimes known to sleep LATE. 10am occasionally. I hope tomorrow is one of those days. Usually those days are mornings I get up early because I actually DID go to bed on time. They get up early when I stay up late. How do kids know? Because I really think they do it on purpose. In fact, I KNOW they do. Because my children are lovely like that. ;)

I made new waldorf dolls!!

And although they aren't perfect, I'm pretty darn proud!
The button jointed doll is much easier to sew than the traditional doll. But I really like the traditional dolls better.
The girl is for Miss Sofia. The boy is for a friend that has the most adorable little boy who Sofia is going to marry someday.
My sewing machine is in the shop until tomorrow... so they're naked for now :)tomorrow, I'll get started on that.

I'm sick....

I think it's a stomach virus. I woke up throwing up. At 4 in the morning.
I was angry that Alex wasn't there. I was dreading getting up to take O to school. (We made it, but I stayed in my jammies. You can always throw on some Uggs over jammies and still look cute. I swear, it's the shoes that does it. Plus.. no need to find socks.)
I did let her skip band, though.
What do you do when a kid doesn't want to stick with something like band? She wanted to do it at the beginning of the year, and now she wants to quit. Do you let them quit? Do you make them stick to it? I just don't know.
My sewing machine should be back from the shop tomorrow. I don't know yet if it will cost me anything or not. If it's a computer problem like they think it is... then it's covered under warranty. If it's mechanical.... well, I'll be screwed. I want it back. I have diapers to sew!
Carmen turned 1. She is crazy walking around talking. She kicks Sofia's ass all the time. She just charges her and knocks her down. Isn't that backwards? Isn't the big kid supposed to beat on the littler kid? Not in this house, I guess. My poor little Sofia!! Little Curly Sue. Little Mo-beef!
She can hold her own, she just needs to realize it.
Alex comes home Saturday!! I'm so excited. I can't wait for this job to be over for good. I want my husband home all the time!

My husband said......

That the doll looks like a teletubby.
She does NOT.
Does she???

I made Sofia a waldorf doll.

She LOVES her. I have never seen her like this with any toy. Ever. This doll is magical.
Waldorf dolls are very special. They are made of all natural materials...cotton knit skin, wool yarns for hair, and are stuffed with pure carded wool. It may have been the most difficult thing that I've ever made. She is NOT perfect but I've been told I did very well for my first try.


Here she is before I sewed up the jammies and hat...

I AM working on the hair... but it's hard and time consuming.

Minimizing Christmas...

Or not really Christmas... But the excess in gifts, toys, materialism.
I'm trying to explain it to Olivia now. We've always gotten her everything on her list. And I don't want to do that anymore. I want to get/make the girls each a few special things. I don't want to rush out to the store, list in hand, and buy everything on a piece of paper.
I explained to Olivia that it's better this way.
We'll celebrate the season wholeheartedly, listening to music. Baking cookies. Cutting down and decorating a tree. Crafts and projects. Stories by the fire.
Olivia asked... "Why? Are we poor now?" I told her: "No, I just want Christmas to be about Christmas and not just about getting 'stuff'."
I'm not sure she understands but I want to make this Christmas the best Christmas ever without the excess. And then maybe she'll understand.

I *can* and *do* suck at something!

Painting furniture. I suck at it. I just figured... well... this may sound bad, but I have done well in everything I've tried to do so far.
My first cake ever:

Carving pumpkins...


photography:

sewing:

I mean.... I try something and I just do pretty well. But I painted a bookshelf and chair for Miss Sofia and it doesn't look so hot. I don't have a picture yet, but let me tell ya. This baby needs some touch ups. It *is* cute. And from far away it looks pretty darn good. But I really thought I'd have done a better job.
So much for my dreams of buying cool old furniture pieces and refinishing them.

I think it's mostly because I didn't sand. I painted stripes and the blue tape pulled paint AND primer off in chunks. That isn't supposed to happen, right? Damn. I knew I should have rough sanded. But I have so many things on my to do list that I thought that i'd just skip that step and it'd be just fine.
Hmph!