Knitting Zeal

iron on

I have been meaning to create some iron-on transfers to decorate onesies.  I had seen some really funny ones on Etsy, but since I'm so darn crafty, I wanted to try to make my own.  The pack of iron-on transfer pages I bought was relatively cheap, so I'm not sure if that is why the color was a bit faded, or it could be my printer.  (Although the printer is brand new with new ink.)  I also had bought the baby face iron on when I was still pregnant and was just trying to find a baby tee for it.  I can't believe how hard it is to find baby tees that are not onesie-styled.  I finally found the blue tee at Marshall's for $2 because it was irregular.

 

Andrew (read:  Mommy) loves Yo Gabba Gabba, so hence the Muno and group designs.  Daddy loves the Simpson's, so the Homer Scream one is for him.  Andrew already likes the Simpson's when it is on, which is good considering we have so  much Simpson's paraphernalia in the house.

sniffles

The baby has his first cold, which I think started on Saturday, but was much more noticeable on Sunday.  He hates having his drippy nose wiped and has a cough that freaked me out at first, but since it hasn't gotten worse we didn't run to the ER.  (Kidding, although I studied the handouts in the manual from the pediatrician's office to determine if I should call them.  Not yet, at least.)  Since he made it seven months without any colds, I suppose we are lucky.  He had some trouble sleeping Sunday night, like deciding to wake up at midnight and be cranky until he fell back asleep at 2:30am, but last night he slept better.  When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he starts talking and humming to himself.  It gradually becomes softer talking until he falls back asleep.  If it becomes crying, then he's wide awake!  Funny little boy...

So, due to the cough and drippy nose, we are not going to the Babies and Books group today at the library.  I hate for him to miss it since there is only one more session left after today, but I don't want to infect any of the other kids.  Thankfully, Andrew's mood has been cheery and normal, despite little coughing fits.  He just hates it when I wipe his nose!

Speaking of books, I stayed up way too late last night trying to finish a library book that I thought I might be returning today.  It isn't due yet, so I guess I still have time to finish it this week.  The Girl in Hyacinth Blue is a series of eight short stories that are interconnected telling the story of a Vermeer painting and it's prior owners.  While it is a novel, it reads almost like a history book through various centuries. 

I started knitting a pink baby hat last night for twin niece to-be-born.  Someone suggested to my sister that she put a pink and blue hat on the twins so that people can tell who is who in photos.  Since the twins' blankets are taking so long, I figure at least I can crank out two tiny hats for them before they are born! I'll post photos when I'm finished!

Off to take care of sneezy! 

Food, glorious baby food

So since I am an official SAHM now, I've been trying to take advantage of the time to do things for Andrew that I wouldn't necessarily have done if I worked full time outside of our home.  The biggest thing being making his baby food.  At this point, I am making approximately 70% of his food.  I use some jarred foods, such as organic green beans, carrots and peaches, but only because I haven't gotten around to making those foods.  I also use jarred bananas when the fresh ones I have are too green to mash.  I have been having fun making some very basic veggies and fruit purees for the babe, included baked sweet potatoes, green peas, gingered pears, applesauce, and avocado.  The avocado did not go over well, so it is on hold for a month or so until I re-introduce it.  Andrew prefers the jarred peas and brown rice over my organic puree, which I find amusing, since my puree is actually bright green, not gray-green.  Today I steamed and pureed a mango and he seemed to enjoy a bit after his breakfast.  I have been using two books for my "recipes" both which offer great advice.  Super Baby Foods is so into making baby food, it even gives recipes for making cereal blends (I find the store bought oatmeal and rices just fine.  No need to grind rice here!) The Petite Appetite is the first book I started using and it is my favorite.  It is simply to follow and to read quickly in rare spare moments.  I am only using the basic recipes at this point, but as Andrew's palate expands, I am looking forward to the more involved recipes.  I don't know if there really is a nutritional advantage to making my own food for him, but my hope is that he won't be a real picky eater as he grows up and enjoys a wide variety of foods.  When I was a nanny eons ago, the kids ate an extremely diverse menu of foods, including many ethnic things.  I hope Andrew follows that path too. 

Also on my reading list of late, related to food, is Julie & Julia, by Julie Powell.  I just started the first chapter of this book and am already hooked.  I also am perusing Rocco's Real Life Recipes, which I borrowed from the library.  I haven't used any of his recipes yet, but I did find one for a gnocchi pie that looks interesting.

Chris is off to New Orleans this weekend for a five day business trip.  He has been talking about the jambalaya he had the last time he was there.  I'm sure he will be experiencing some different recipes, especially since one of the planned dinners is at one of Emeril's restaurants.  Jealous, am I???  :-)  He doesn't necessarily have as gourmet of a palate as I do and he doesn't always seem to enjoy the "fancy" business dinners he gets to experience, but I try to live vicariously through his stories! 

Happy Weekend!

Mother's Day

For Andrew's first Mother's Day he celebrated by taking me to brunch at Justin's in Skippack Village with our in-laws.  Andrew was not overly fond of the high chair there, so he spent most of the time being passed around and amusing his grandma and aunt Donna, while also making silly faces at uncle Lou.  He flirted with the waitress as well. 

Andrew, with the help of his daddy, got me a new Vera bag to hold all of our stuff on outings.  It is very roomy and will hold diapers, toys, and my crap as well! I also got a book about motherhood and a sweet DVD of Andrew and me since he was tiny to now.  He has grown so much! 

In knitting, I had a coupon for my favorite yarn shop for mother's day, so Andrew and I went shopping there.  I bought some yarn to knit him some new hats (a bigger pumpkin hat for this fall and an apple hat) and some cascade fixation to knit him some socks.  I wanted just plain blue, but they did not have any solid colors.  Andrew enjoyed chewing/teething on the ball of fixation, since it was wrapped in plastic.  The child has many toys but prefers plastic or paper to chew on instead.

I did knit a small chewing toy for Andrew the other night.  I used some leftover Colinette chenille yarn and basically knit three i-cords and connected them.  I was smart enough to soak it in some wool wash and discovered that the color bled.  I used a bit of vinegar in the final rinse to fix the color.

Happy Mother's Day!

My little man

At seven months, the little man is wishing he could walk, is working on learning to crawl, and loves his monkey.  He sits and plays by himself for a while now, although he much prefers to be with a friend or two to play with him.  He flirts with anyone who chats with him.  He hasn't figured out how to use his sippy cups yet or how to feed himself cheerios, but he's getting there. 

hello goodbye

The power of advertising has its influence on me.  A while back when Andrew was flipping out crying and I was struggling to remember a song to sing to him besides Twinkle Twinkle the only thing that popped into my sleep deprived head was the song from the Target commercial, Hello-Goodbuy.  It is a catchy little tune that has only a few words and I can remember it despite the time of day/night or lack of energy.  So, that is what I sang to Andrew, repeatedly, until he stopped crying.  It is now the same song I sing to him almost always when he is upset and sure enough, he settles down.  He even pays attention to the Target commercials now when they come on when the TV is on.  I thought Target was genius with such a catchy little tune.  Then in a conversation with friends I learned that it was not a tune invented by Target...no, it was a Beatles/Paul McCartney song.  So, I bought it from itunes and now Andrew has his official version to hear.  Silly mommy. Goodbye.

Seven months, five teeth

So my little baby is actually seven months old now and celebrated yesterday with the arrival of his fifth tooth--the top left front tooth.  For a while I was concerned because he had a vampire grin, with two top teeth, but not the front ones.  It was looking funny!  This arrival explains the increased drool and sleeplessness of recent days.  We have been trying to teach the vampire baby how to brush his teeth with his chunky blue baby tooth brush.  He likes to chew on it, as it must feel good on those sore gummies.

In my need for solitude I spent an hour alone at the local bookstore on Sunday while the boys bonded.  I had two gift cards that were burning a hole in my wallet that I had to use.  I have been very frustrated with knitting lately.  Besides my hands hurting, the acrylic baby yarn eating up my already dry skin, and not having the time or concentration available to complete anything, I just keep looking at the piles of started projects with disgust.  I found two books that may help cure my malaise.  Stitch Graffiti is an updated cross stitch pattern book--not the traditional type.  It has a number of great patterns, many smaller, that I want to try. In checking for it on amazon.com, I realize it would have been much cheaper there than Barnes and Noble, but I did have gift cards.  I also picked up the Sublime Stitching Craft pad, which has many iron on transfer patterns for embroidery.  I have always enjoyed needlework and find it much quicker to finish than knitting, so hopefully a few imediate gratification projects will help my knitting frustrations!

Gotta make dinner for the vampire.  I hope he likes avocado and sweet potatoes!

Vote for me

Yesterday was the primaries in Pennsylvania, where I live.  It was all over the news for the past six weeks and it turned out to be a bit of an ugly fight by the end.  I thought it was rather unusual that Obama left the state before the results were even in.  Guess he really didn't believe he had a chance here.  Hillary won with a surprising (to me) ten point lead.  Andrew and I went to vote yesterday morning at our local HS.  He enjoyed participating in his civic duty.  Somehow we lucked out and did not receive a single campaign call.  Others I know received multiple calls daily.  I guess that do not call list really works!

I have not been knitting much lately.  Instead I have finished two novels in the past week. Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline was a fun to read book, as it is set in Philadelphia and used many local references.  The Philly Inquirer--the newspaper--was plugged a few times in the book.  Funny, the author is also a columnist there.  I once had the opportunity to go to a book reading by Scottoline, but it interfered with my knitting group, so I skipped it.  :-)

I also read James Patterson's 7th Heaven.  It was one of those quick read mysteries.  Both books would be great beach reads.  Lately all I can handle are fast paced, quick reads.  I have been reading while waiting for Andrew to cry it out at night.  He goes through phases where he will go to sleep easily at night for about a week, then fight and cry for up to two hours.  Now he is in a phase where he discovered that he can flip himself over to sleep, but wakes up at 2:30 am to play.  Guess who doesn't feel like playing then??

We found a new park nearby and have been enjoying the fantastic weather of late and going for walks daily.  While my allergies are bothersome, this hasn't been too bad of a year so far. 

Yesterday was Earth Day.  I picked up a few more cloth shopping bags at Whole Foods.  They have the best sized ones there that also have a long enough handle that I can throw the bag over my shoulder.  For a buck, they can't be beat!  I was at another super market the other day buying some groceries and had brought my two cloth bags with me.  I really needed one more bag, so the bagger and cashier used plastic for the remainder of my order.  For a pack of chicken (sealed in plastic, not leaking), two cards, and a box of crackers, they used three plastic bags!  I didn't realize it until I got out of the store. No wonder I have so many plastic bags floating around my house.

Happy Earth Day from Andrew!

I love gerberas

What These Daisies Say About You

You have a spirt of pure optimism. Your view of the world is eternally cheerful. You are bold and vibrant. Incredibly striking, you always stand out in a crowd. You are adaptable and flexible. You can thrive in almost any situation.

What Do The Flowers You Pick Say About You?

Cool moms

Andrew's fourth tooth made it's appearance this weekend.  He now has the two central bottom teeth and two uppers, although they do not appear to be his two front teeth, as there is a huge gap between them.  He also can roll over by himself now, which still surprises him.  Since these two mini-milestones, he has slept better and hasn't been screaming/crying himself to sleep.  That was driving me crazy--it breaks my heart to listen to it.  Andrew figured out how to creep backwards last Wednesday night while I had to change his bed linens due to a puking incident.  Chris was away on a business trip, so on the floor with a toy was the only place to safely put the baby.  Before we both knew it, he had scampered to the rocker/glider and was playing with it.  I'm not sure if he could have pinched his fingers, because I put an end to that fast.  He really is just growing too fast now.  He has been enjoying food now and just started carrots tonight. 

This is the baby in his first little sweater that I knit for him.  I can't believe how small it is on him now.  Needless to say, this one will be retired.  This photo shows him at about a month old in the same sweater!

Anyone ever participate in a playgroup?  I went to one with a friend and was put off by the moms behaving much different than myself.  They were wholesome and conservative, I suppose.  Sort of like tv moms--very much acting perfect.  They were worried about a blood test for lead.  I've heard the controversy about vaccines, but never over a blood test.  I can't really explain how the group felt, but it just wasn't comfortable.  Anyway, my friend and I decided we needed a more realistic group for "cool" moms (ha ha.)  She dubbed the group the "Real Housewives of Montgomery County."  We had our first play date last week.  The babies had fun and the moms were realistic with their complaints.  I realize parenting is much easier for some people and everyone has their own issues.  We just feel better having other moms who also feel like screaming every once in a while!

So I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow for the first time in five and a half months.  It's about time!  I had to figure out a way to coordinate with Chris' schedule and my stylist's schedule.  Chris has a vacation day tomorrow and my stylist works on Mondays--thankfully it works.  I am really sick of the pony tail every day look, although I'm not sure what I'll have her do.  My favorite part is the head massage from the shampoo person.

My hands have been hurting a lot lately, so knitting is not getting accomplished.  Between carpal tunnel issues and dry skin, my hands are a mess.  It's not like I have a lot of time to knit anyway...

Andrew received a mickey hat from friends.  I'll leave this post with him modeling it.