seedling of knowledge

Happy 3rd Birthday...plus 21 days

2009-12-19T23:05:00.002-05:00

Taking a break from slacking, err....being otherwise busy, to finally share some pics from the Tot's 3rd birthday. Aside from him coming down with an illness about half way through the day, it was a good day. The cake baking and decorating was less stressful, the gift opening and candle blowing out was actually performed by the Tot, and the mess at the end was slightly less messy. Oh, yeah - there was the one glitch where I discovered that the reason the chocolate cake tasted just a little off was because apparently the oil that I used (at my mom's house) was oil that she had already used to make french fries. Oops. She really should keep that in a separate place - or in something other than the original bottle. While I am all for reusing, I do not recommend this particular application. Although nobody said they had an odd craving for ketchup with their cake, so it was all good.

This was the happy child during his birthday lunch of chocolate milk and toast with jelly, still wearing his jammies. If I let him, he would probably indulge in this behavior every day.

The cake - he wanted a train and rather than do any of the actual train cake designs out there, I created the scene with tracks and used a vintage wooden train candle holder that my mom pulled out of her endless supply of vintage goodies.

And, yes, he did receive a hand knit sweater which I will have to blog at a future date as he has thus far refused to model it for proper photographing.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Ah, Fall!

2009-09-19T19:19:00.002-05:00

Thanks to some cool weather and blogless Erin's request for some pumpkin colored yarn...I came out of my knitting slump! When I turned to my stash I found that I had lots of pumpkin colored yarn, as well as some green and brown (although not the right gauge for Erin). I found a simple pumpkin pattern on ravelry and now I have my first Autumn decoration of the year.

Finn holding it to give you an idea of size...

I only got one quick shot of the lone pumpkin before my assistant lay claim to the squash and would not allow me to continue, so I guess he likes it despite the look he's giving me in the photo. My yarn was bulky, which worked just fine for the chunky pumpkin, though the pattern did call for worsted. If I make more of these for myself, I'll probably do them in different sizes and try some light green and/or cream to make them more Fall and less Halloween-y. Now...I just may cast on my gray yarn and have another go at that sweater.

knitting?

2009-08-21T17:19:00.004-05:00

I think I know what that is...something about using needles with yarn to make loops. Oh, yes - I did some of that a few months ago and was well on my way to a soft and beautiful, knit cardigan for myself to wear this fall. I had even made a gauge swatch or two for the project (that's a big deal, here). And then I realized it was not going to be for me to wear at all unless frumpy is "in" or I gained lots of weight. I DO love doughnuts and ice cream, but I wasn't gonna go there. So after ignoring it and all other yarn in my bag for a long while, I got up the courage to deconstruct.

And this is where I am now. Unraveled, having second thoughts about continuing the project (darn you, new, enticing patterns attempting to steer me from my path). And I'm afraid it will take some cool weather to bring back the knitting mojo. Which means it probably won't be finished in time for me to wear this Fall.

New Favorite Jammies

2009-08-05T20:14:00.003-05:00

I know we all like to hang out in our jammies every now and then, but I think my latest sewing project has put the Tot over the edge with his own desire to lounge. Well...he'd actually like to wear them in the sand box and all over town, but I've drawn the line.

These whipped up rather quickly using only supplies I had in my stash. I sort of winged it on the top and the result is a rather large neck opening, but he doesn't seem to mind. I was going to make the bottoms short, but kept them long because the try-on for size revealed how cute they are full length. The light fabric makes these the perfect summer jammies. (Albeit flammable for any safety freaks out there.)

I must say...it makes me so happy that he seems to love these over the store-bought jammies with the toddler-enticing, drum-playing dinosaurs on them.

Oh...and the vintage child's hanger in he first photo was my father's.

Are we gonna die?

2009-07-20T08:39:00.003-05:00

Wow! Just shy of having a two month lapse here on the blog. Sometimes life just gets in the way. And this is going to be photo-less (!!!).

A few weeks back, Cara shared this recipe she had come across for Brown Butter Ice Cream. She was hoping someone with an ice cream maker would make some for her. I love to make and eat ice cream and am no stranger to butter, browned or otherwise, so I jumped at the idea. Okay, I initially jumped and then after several occasions of having all the ingredients but never having the time or forethought to do the cooking part, I finally got my act together and made it last Friday. I figured I would make it first for myself to test and then again for Cara.

The results: A good custard recipe with the nutty aroma and flavor of brown butter. It turned out nice and thick. R and I each had a small bowl and after a couple spoonfuls, the words "Are we gonna die?" were uttered in all seriousness. Sadly, it was not, "Are we gonna die from eating a whole batch of butter ice cream in one sitting because it is so good?" It was, "Are we gonna die because I can already feel a 1/4" layer of butter on the roof of my mouth and can only imagine how my arteries are going to look if I take one more bite."

If you like to eat butter by the spoonful, this recipe is for you! Otherwise, I caution against getting your hopes up for this one. We just couldn't stomach the grease. Maybe I did it wrong since the author of that article seems pretty confident in it's yumminess.

Afterthoughts: I'm wondering if you could get the brown butter flavor without the greasy mouth by pouring off most of the melted butter before adding it to the mix and just using primarily the browned bits. Seems a bit wasteful, but so is contaminating an otherwise good batch of ice cream.

Also, I initially thought that the 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe was a reasonable amount, but in the end this seemed to make much less than your average homemade ice cream recipe and so turned out to be a lot of butter per serving (provided you can actually eat a normal size serving, which I doubt).

I considered using the remaining ice cream on top of waffles on Sunday morning, but we just couldn't do it. I would offer up the remaining ice cream to anyone who wants to try it, but we both dumped our half eaten bowlfuls back into the main batch. If you don't mind our saliva, come on over.

Since I'm not sure I can bring myself to make this again, I'm willing to lend you my ice cream maker, Cara. I think I'm going to keep my brown butter far away from my ice cream for now.

the model

2009-05-22T12:32:00.003-05:00

Ask and you shall receive...

And I was so pleased to get these vintage shoes from my mom's stash. These would have been one of my brother's from the 60's...well worn, but so much nicer than the crap they sell today. I even got another, less worn pair in a larger size for future use.

Now, I'm going to try not to stare at these photos all day because I'm supposed to be packing, but darn, isn't he cute!?

Dapper Dan

2009-05-20T21:22:00.003-05:00

Well, he's not a Dan, but I must say that Finn looked quite dapper when I stuck this on him for his cousin's wedding last month. However, he does share his middle name with his great grandfather who was named Dan and he ALWAYS wore bow-ties. Still no sewing machine (getting it back in working order this weekend!), so I stitched this up by hand.

Yep, that's the seersucker from the fabric fair extravaganza. Just the touch needed to finish off his linen suit.

Pop the cork...

2009-04-19T18:06:00.005-05:00

my Bubbly is done! Started over a year ago, but neglected for the majority of that time...now I don't know why I didn't just finish it sooner. Once you get past the first half of the pattern it becomes much easier since it is much less random.

Here it is blocking...

There are two problems with the final product.
1) I ran out of yarn about 80% of the way through. I ordered more and while it's barely noticeably while hanging on my door, there is definitely a color shift that became apparent when I blocked it. I'm really not concerned with this.

2) The entire curtain used 8 balls of yarn, which means lots of ends to weave in. Since this is a rather sheer knit being held up to the light, that means that the woven in ends become visible when light streams through from behind. Ooops. So, if you're going to attempt a curtain that will be sheer, either get a large enough skein or cone of yarn with no ends, or perhaps switch balls at the end of a row and weave in ends up and down the edges. Since it is already starched, I think I'm going to let it go, but if I ever wash it again, I'll consider trying to weave them in less noticeably.

Despite these little issues...I LOVE it! The photo is a little sucky...it looks awesome live. I starched it like mad and it does hang pretty flat, but there is a little drape and I probably should have made it just a tad wider to accommodate that. Still deciding on the rod to hang it...the makeshift rod in my photos is actually a plant support - that's how eager I was to get it up on the door.

Okay, Erin...your turn! ;)

Yay, Fabric!

2009-04-06T00:35:00.006-05:00

Nothing like a little (or lots of) fabric to bring the blog out of hibernation. I'd been looking forward to making my inaugural trip to an annual, thrifty fabric fair for a long time and was lucky enough to attend with some like-minded friends. Indeed, the fair did not disappoint and we were happy to hand over a little money for a lot of fiber. While there were a lot of people, we were definitely outnumbered by the goods being offered and it was a polite crowd, so making your way through the yardages was not an unpleasant task. Alright, onto the goods...

Some basic cotton with a little seersucker thrown in (I see blue summer jammies in the tot's future)...

a few cotton canvas pieces...

some lovely florals (yum!)

a few small bits (perhaps with a future as doll dresses?)...

some yarn thrown in for good measure...

and this lovely quilt top that pulled me in with its crisp white and bright colors...

Are you noticing a trend with the blue, green, and purple? I've always been purple and green's biggest fan, but the blue is a bit of a surprise to me. Perhaps a little influence from the tot who is rather blue-obsessed?

I also picked up some great fabrics for baby-wrapping (business expense, right?), a bit of wool, and several packs of bias tape. Sadly, I somehow missed the buttons - I'm thinking there was a crowd around them when I was in the area and so I just never got a peek. Grand total...34.90.

Now...there's just that little issue of my sewing machine having decided to give up on me last month. Where there are good friends, there are loaner sewing machines (did you all know how cool Michelle is? Very cool.), but I'm determined to resolve my machine issues for good later this month. Until then...I'll either be knitting that yarn or planning some fun new sewing projects. I'm looking forward to having the fabric determine the projects as opposed to the project driving the fabric selection as is usually the case.

A lesson for you

2009-02-06T01:03:00.005-05:00

The tot cannot stress enough the importance of keeping moisturized during the winter - the heat can be so drying, not only to your skin, but to your hair as well. A few squirts of Aveeno should do the trick.

Later the same day he managed to completely soak himself with water and then in his third outfit of the day, he ended up covered in flour from head to foot. This is how we stay busy in winter.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2009-01-30T13:40:00.003-05:00

as read by the Tot

Egg.
Leaf.
Pop.
Food, food, food, food, food, food.
Cocoon.
Butterfly.

The End

Isn't that beautiful? He often insists on reading his books to us after we've read them to him. Sometimes it's the same series of mumbled sounds repeated page after page, sometimes it's a few choice words or a single one, and sometimes it's a lovely poem. Almost always, it ends with "The End."

week 2

2009-01-17T18:24:00.004-05:00

When it's zero degrees outside...

And a self-portrait by Finn...with some friends.

Holiday Recap

2009-01-10T14:46:00.005-05:00

A few quick tidbits:

The holidays were lovely. Finn was definitely into Christmas more this year, but was still a little overwhelmed, I think. Understandable, considering the magnitude of Christmas morning in our family can be overwhelming for an adult. We do "our" Christmas morning at my parents separately, before everyone converges for the big family Christmas morning . We set up at one of the smaller trees that my mom decorates. This year Santa brought Finn a new tricycle. He doesn't quite have the hang of it, but some of his older cousins gave him a demonstration.

He's sporting his Christmas jammies that I made.

Additional handmade gifts included two scarflets. One for my mom...

and one for my sister-in-law...

details on ravelry, folks.

I also made some lovely ornaments for the girls, details and photos to come.

And, I haven't forgotten the "share your treasured ornament" request from the Spice lady. I didn't do a full size tree this year, so I didn't have all of my ornaments out. There is one from my childhood, a Paddington Bear glass ball, that was always special because it made me feel special. Most of the ornaments on our tree growing up were my mom's, but this one was mine and none of my siblings had a similar ornament to claim as their own. It needed to be hung at the top of the tree so that it wouldn't get broken and this required my dad to hold me up so that I could hang it. I felt sooo honored to have my ornament displayed at the top near the star. I guess when you're the baby of 8 kids, it's these little things that make you feel special.

As an adult, I think some of my favorite ornaments are the ones that have been made by my sisters or mom. Here are a few from recent years:

this one made by my sister from an artwork postcard...

this one received from another sister this Christmas, made from a vintage paper spoon that came from the grocery store that my grandparents used to own...

and here's a little birdhouse made by my sister-in-law a few years back...
and the first of what I'm sure will become great memories, a puzzle ball ornament that I made for Finn this year.

It was made using the fabric from last year's Christmas pajamas and this year's Christmas pajamas. I plan to make one each year using his pajama fabric and he'll have ornaments on our tree that he can play with as well as a set of balls to take with him when he sets out on his own... a long, long, long, long time from now : ).

Week 1

2009-01-08T19:40:00.006-05:00

I have loads of catching up to do and I hope that it will happen soon, but until then I just wanted to put this out there in the hopes that maybe I can recruit some others to play along.

If you're a flickrite, you've likely heard of this or other similar groups. 52 weeks - my kid(s) and me. The goal is to take a photo of you with your child(ren) every week for one year. I've thought about doing this for a while and now I'm going to attempt to make it a reality. So here's my first week...two pics, but whatever.

I got a remote for my camera for Christmas and you can just barely see in the second photo that the tot is the one holding it, so he actually took both shots.

If you've got a child, I invite you to give it go, share it on flickr, share it on your blog, share it wherever it is that you do your sharing. It doesn't have to be fancy and you can have someone else take the pic if you need to. No pressure, just encouragement to capture some of the daily moments that you share with your little ones. Hey, my first week is no make-up, straggly haired me and the tot in jammies - anything goes.

Bye, Bye, Baby

2008-12-12T19:19:00.005-05:00

Two weeks ago the tot turned 2. I consider that the official end to babyhood and it is soooo clear that he has in fact made the transition from baby to boy. And I have to say...I love it! As much as I love babies and as much as I long for a little girl, I love this little boy running around.

As for the celebration, we had the festivities at my parents' house again. It was a fish theme. Yes, his name is Finn and the theme was fish. The cake, which looks sooo amateurish to me in pics right now, was a goldfish bowl.

Whatever...I blame the icing, but it was cute nonetheless. A marble pound cake for stability, chocolate rocks on the bottom, green fruit roll-ups made into seaweed, a couple gummy sea creatures not quite visible here, and of course goldfish (and starfish) crackers. I've decided that for future birthdays, the cake will be made the night before and decorated the morning of. Need more time to perfect it and to actually SEE it before the party starts. He tried to blow out the candle, but couldn't quite get it.

I know, it looks like I am pushing him down while I steal the show here, but I assure you I was just keeping him from landing face first in the fish bowl. Although, now that I think about it, I didn't get to blow out any candles on my birthday this year - probably the first time in my whole life - I was owed one (or thirty one).

You may recall the lovely birthday garland that I made for his first birthday. Well, I updated it with fish to replace the birds and then left it on my dining room table as I left town. :( I was sooo sad about this, but there wasn't much I could do but get over it.

We also had swedish fish to snack on and I made this fishing game for the little ones to play and take home as a favor. The game was a HUGE hit with the 4 year old in attendance. The tot wasn't really into it, but his 2.25yo cousin did enjoy cheating at it. I will say though that the magnets in this project were a total failure - not strong enough and couldn't be drilled through, even with a drill press, so I ended up using velcro with the addition of a large button on the end of the fishing line as a weight and surface for the velcro - worked like a charm.

One of his gifts was this apron and oven mitts that I made for him along with a chef's hat that was purchased.

I love them (the boy and the accessories) and I think he does too.

So, that's the birthday wrap-up and now we're less than two weeks from Christmas. We've got stockings, berry garland, and the advent calendar. Cards arriving from printer sometime next week. Tree arriving....?

Me too, me too!

2008-11-19T22:57:00.003-05:00

Well, it would seem there is a post explosion amidst some of my blogging friends today, so I feel obligated to say something. Not to mention it's been for-ev-er.

The tot and I are sick and it sucks, but at least it's happening now rather than next week during Thanksgiving and the tot's 2nd birthday. He was sick for his first. I am rather unprepared for the event. Well, I am mentally prepared, just not physically prepared, so I guess I'm half way there.

Here are some tot tidbits:

- He says "yarn" and "knitting" and likes to select knitting needles from my case to use as drumsticks. He's most fond of the long, metal, pointy ones - good 'cause I rarely use those inherited suckers and bad 'cause they're long, metal, and pointy. Despite his interest in yarn while I'm knitting, if he sees a piece of yarn or thread or anything similar on the floor or couch...he says "Eeew!" and has even resorted to getting a tissue to pick it up and dispose of it. Must work on fiber friendliness.

- I think one of his favorite words is "nice". It's really nice when he says it when we are snuggled up on the couch or in bed.

- He is in LOVE with Olivia...as in the porcine heroine in Ian Falconer's children's books. He cannot get enough. He can even say "Olivia". We only have two Olivia books, so I'm pretty sure that he will be getting more for his birthday and/or Christmas so that we don't go too insane with Olivia and her band which seems to be his favorite.

- This is more about me, but I've come to the conclusion that his haircut is really bad. I've been cutting it myself and I think it gets worse with each cut. Part of me thinks I should just take him to a pro so he doesn't look like a dork and part of me is reluctant 'cause I'm just a DIY kind of gal/mom. Hmmm...where would I even take him? Thoughts? I don't know if I can do it. Maybe I'll just get some real haircutting tools and keep at it.

That's all she wrote. Taking the rest of the night offline for once. Sorry, no pics - it feels wrong, but I think we'll all get over it. :)

Don't miss it!

2008-10-23T22:44:00.006-05:00

So, I think most of you know I'm now responsible for two blogs. And since the "other" blog allows me to post pics bigger and better than this one...you'll have to go take a look to see what the Tot and the Boss have been up to. I think Ms. Spice Rack and I both about peed our pants when we saw this development. I'm told there was also some hugging going on between the two this week and I think we know what's next.

Finn does chalk

2008-10-12T14:38:00.002-05:00

Still here...

2008-09-22T23:37:00.007-05:00

still driving cars...

and learning how to get dressed...

Summer Sweetie

2008-08-25T12:34:00.005-05:00

Today most of the local kidlets are off to start the new school year and it has me thinking about summer coming to an end. I'm completely looking forward to Autumn, but trying to savor the remains of summer for the next month or so. I shared some shots of this little girlie on the photo blog, but thought I'd share more here. They make me completely jealous of those of you with little girls and I hope you had the chance to let yours run around barefoot in the grass in light summer dresses.

I love this shot with the bubble perfectly poised above her head.

She looks sad, but I think she's just plotting to catch the next bubble because this next shot was seconds later.

The dress in these last shots is a continuation of my vintage children's clothing obsession. My 18 years older sister had some really darling dresses when she was little and now about 50 years later my niece can wear them. You have to check out the full size photo for the detail, but it is a light pink sheer cotton dress with embroidered tulips on it. More little girl jealousy from me right there! At least I get to photograph her prancing around in them.

Baby gifties

2008-08-12T17:31:00.004-05:00

My latest knitting endeavor involved making my very first pair of baby booties. I am not exactly a fan of dpns (although I have a feeling I'd like bamboo better than my slippery, little, metal skewers) and that is part of the reason I shy away from tiny little knits. The Saartje bootees, however...totally addicting. After running out of the leftover yarn I was using on the initial pair, I started this second pair.

These went to my friend's new baby along with this receiving blanket that I made.

I know one other person expecting a baby this year (a boy), so I think I'll be adapting the pattern to make some boy friendly booties (have you browsed through these things on ravelry?!). And I have no doubt that any future babe of mine will be lucky enough to wear handknit booties. Sorry, Tot - I hope your baby feet weren't chilly in their store bought, ill-fitting socks.

I miss you!

2008-08-05T12:59:00.004-05:00

I'm talking to you, blog. I have good intentions, I even take photos of things to decorate your pages and hopefully make you enticing to our readers, yet I haven't taken the time to put it all together. And I miss that. Sooo...here I am and I pulled out one photo of one project to try to get back into the swing of things.

I made these coasters to warm a friend's new home... about a year ago. (The stitching doesn't really contrast with the fabric quite as much as it seems to in the photo.) These are from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted gifts. I've since made one other set for myself, yet un-photographed, but being well-used in the next room. I also have at least three more pieces of fabric intended for coasters that haven't met with the sewing machine. Actually, I blame this all on my ancient machine and lack of a walking foot which is the suggested method for quilting these babies. The first set I used the standard presser foot and it, well, pressed them and made things a little difficult in a bunching up sort of way. For the second set, I tried a darning foot that I found on ebay. This method probably yielded worse results as it didn't hold the fabric AT ALL. Not to mention I did them with the Tot grabbing my arm every so often, thereby yanking the fabric off course. Sooo....if you come across a walking foot for an old Elna sewing machine....I will love you! I'll even make you some coasters!

A few of my favorite things

2008-07-07T19:03:00.002-05:00

I've been tagged by...well, Amanda and Cara. 5 things I cannot live without.

"Name five things that you can't live without. It can't be a person, it has to be something material that actually makes your life easier. It can't be something in general, it must be exact. Also, it can't be the obvious like a cell phone or computer."

1. Chapstick. If I leave the house without it, especially if I'm going to be eating while I'm out, I would go mad without Chapstick. If I ever think about participating in something like Survivor where you can't take anything with you...I know that I just wouldn't be able to do it because I don't think I could survive without it.

2. Dairy. It plays such a crucial role in so many wonderful things that I love to eat... I just can't imagine going without.

3. Fabric. And if I had to choose a single fiber, I think it would be cotton. I love fabric and I use it every day, all day, in so many different ways.

4. My glasses or contact lenses. Seriously blind without them and I occasionally wonder what life would be like if I weren't able to see clearly. (This is assuming that laser surgery to correct my vision were not an option. Boy we have it good in 2008.)

5. At first it took me a while to think of a fifth necessity, and now I have two similar items: stroller and shopping cart. I think both are invaluable in managing to be out and about with a baby, yet both have their own limitations, so I couldn't decide between the two.

I'm gonna tag DrDrama.

Unfaithful

2008-06-16T07:24:00.003-05:00

So....despite my recent post about not being able to have much time to blog, I've committed some time to writing a new blog. I've started a photo blog for Seedlings Photography to share the latest in my photo world. Please visit me there and feel free to comment... I could really use some blog love to get things going!

fever sleep

2008-06-12T11:48:00.004-05:00

Well, it turns out my big boy wanted to show me just how much he still needs me. We've begun day three of a fever here, day three of me basically holding the tot all day long. Tuesday night his fever spiked to 104 and after getting it down, we were able to put him to bed. But, I first had to take the opportunity for a photo session that otherwise would have never occurred. When Finn was a newborn, I never quite got the wonderful photos of him that I had hoped for. So, this sort of makes up for it. It was of course unplanned, so the shots are not perfect and it was at 10:00 at night, but I'm sure I will treasure them for a long time. Here's one of my sweet baby.

I hope this ends soon and he's back to running and laughing. It's so sad to not hear him talk for such a long period of time. I did actually witness a laugh and smile in his dreams on Tuesday night which was such a nice relief. Hope all your babes stay well.

Big boy - 18 months

2008-06-09T11:22:00.005-05:00

Not too long ago, this baby of mine turned 18 months old. Sigh... I love the little boy he's becoming, but I'm gonna miss the little baby he's leaving behind.
The stats:
24 pounds and 33 1/4" tall - sooo tall, and handsome, too!

He walks up and down the steps like a big boy. He's adding new words all the time...sticky, dirty, juice (which he doesn't even drink), bib, bowl, book, duckling, quack, night-night (LOVE it), car, go, no. And that last one... for now he is using it completely appropriately when I ask him a question, but hasn't started using it to rebel - I'll try to enjoy it while it lasts.

Our only hurdle in making this progression into boyhood is that we CANNOT get the child to drink milk, unless it's coming directly from me or sometimes a sip from one of our glasses. We've tried chocolate milk, soy milk, various milk concoctions. Reminds me of this post, oh so long ago when we were trying to get little Finn to take a bottle, which never happened. This makes the whole weaning thing a bit of a difficulty. I may have to just feed him cheese, yogurt and ice cream at every meal.

The Overdue Update or: What We Did on Our Memorial Day Vacation

2008-06-03T22:08:00.008-05:00

We made our regular trip to the Lehigh Valley to visit Jen's family for Memorial Day. We set out on Saturday, and Finn slept for most of the first half of the drive, but woke up around lunchtime. We thought that he might be close to a Cranky Freak-out, so we pulled off at the nearest rest stop to eat. Unfortunately, it happened to be a supremely weak rest stop, with only a Sbarro and a Nathan's Hot Dogs. (And probably a Starbucks; they all have a Starbucks, right?) This has caused me to take a vow to Never Eat at Sbarro Again, Unless Snowbound and Out of All Other Possible Options (and I'm keeping this vow too, unlike my I Will Never Watch Forrest Gump vow which I broke and now regret). It's fairly crappy pizza and certainly not worth the jacked-up Turnpike prices. Basically I dropped my iPhone fund on four cheese slices and a root beer.

The rest of the trip out was pretty uneventful, and we arrived to some really beautiful weather. I think that this was Finn's first warm weather visit since achieving bipedalism, and he appreciated having a large, honest-to-goodness country yard to run around in:

Actually, he looks like he's power walking. He'll be doing 20 laps around the mall in no time.

Meanwhile, Jen made an interesting discovery in the upstairs bathroom:

Some of the family was gathered for a strudel dinner (referred to as Strudel Fest '08 or Strudelpalooza). The main course menu included chicken & spinach with cheese, onion, and cabbage, which is better than you might think. For dessert there was apple, cherry, cheese, and apple & sour cream. Jen went up to change Finn and when she came down, she announced that there was a bat in the bathroom. I went up with her to investigate and sure enough there he was, roosting in window. He had apparently squeezed in through a slit in the screen. I thought that he looked a bit dry and said that he might be dead, but Jen wasn't so sure. That made Jen's youngest brother Jon, and Nate, one of the nephews, go check it out as well. They agreed with my assessment. However nobody was willing to open the window until Jen's father went up. He opened the window and the bat fell to the sill, confirming that he was either dead or at the very least, really tired.

The next day was very busy for Finn. In addition to running around all over the yard, he checked out his cousins' sliding board:

and went for a tractor ride with PopPop:

and Daddy, too:

and, um... danced?

I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure that he's doing a move from the video for "The Right Stuff" by New Kids on the Block:

Check out the dude on the left (Joey?); replace him with Finn and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

We also had our picnic that day, with tons of great food, more desserts than you could hope to eat (I thought I was finished when I realized that I hadn't had any spice cake; with Finn's assistance I muscled through a large piece), and a growler of Guinness from Jen's brother Russ, a fellow beer lover. Russ has a kegerator, so he always has a growler of something yummy.

Finally, on Monday Jen had a shoot with niece Annie:

On our way back, we again stopped at a rest stop to eat, but this time it was the rebuilt stop at Sidling Hill. It was pretty swanky. Jen had a headache, so I went over to the convenience store area to get one of those single-dose packets of some sort of pain killer. Well, right next to that stuff was a surprisingly impressive selection of condoms. There were probably twice as many kinds of condoms as there were pain killers. I found this a bit odd; is there that much Turnpike lovin' going on out there? Am I missing out on something?

That's all for now. I didn't even get to everything, like Jen's dad switching to a Mac at nearly 70 years old, but I don't want to over do it on my first post (if I haven't already).

Who's that blogger?

2008-05-29T08:13:00.003-05:00

Things in these parts have been a little bit hectic. Busy with work, I struggle to get to bed before 1am, the tot keeps waking up earlier (5:15 this am) and then he's so tired during the day (not to mention Mama and Dada). He's already back in bed at 9:00 this morning. This too shall pass, right? In the meantime, I'm not sure how to get out in the world without having Major Crankypants as my companion and the 12:30 playdate is not very popular - thank goodness the weather is finally decent.

Needless to say, posting here has gotten pushed to the back burner despite all the things I have to share. In an effort to prevent this seedling of knowledge from whithering away, I will be employing a guest blogger, none other than the aforementioned sleepy Dada. So, please welcome him - this will be his blogland premiere!

Children at Play

2008-05-20T20:47:00.002-05:00

A little peek:

a little bit serious.

a little bit silly.

I'm back and miserable.

2008-05-05T15:00:00.002-05:00

We spent several days in the Phoenix area where I attended a photography workshop and got to photograph lots of cuties such as this little lady (yay!)...

We went to the Wildlife World Zoo where we got to feed a giraffe (YAY!!!).

The tot tripped and slammed his face into the coffee table in the hotel room, cutting his lip in two places, his chin in two places (requiring his first ever band-aid aside from immunizations), and getting a small bruise on his forehead (boo!).

We drove to Sedona...lovely!

This is my lame tourist snapshot...

Then the day we flew home... the tot woke up with a fever. Boo! for him, Yay! for me and everyone else on the plane since it meant he slept the entire long flight home without a peep.

Now, the whole family is miserably sick (boo!).

And back to work (that's actually a yay! for me since I had a cool maternity session this weekend that I was glad I did even though I still had a slight fever. My client wasn't scared off by my illness). No photos to share from this one just yet - remember...miserably sick.

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T16:43:00.003-05:00

Want to do something for the environment and look stylish doing it? Check out the just launched Gracen Designer reusable shopping bags. They're durable canvas, washable, collapsible...and eco-chic. I just may reduce the mountain of plastic baggage that continues to build in my kitchen. Good luck limiting your use of these to just groceries!

The latest in knitting...

2008-04-20T14:42:00.003-05:00

is this set of toys for Baby Andrew.

A little rattle and ball. Both quick knits, luckily for me since it seems I have noooo time for this activity lately. The ball pattern is something free I found online - a simple pattern but I had to improvise to do the three colors since their instructions didn't make sense to me. I found the rattle pattern on ravelry...you can get it here. I thought I made the large size, but it doesn't seem as large as the one shown in the author's photo. Both ball and rattle were done in KnitPicks Shine. I personally adore the rattle, though if I don't have much time for knitting, I guess I don't have time to sit around shaking a rattle either.

Tot update

2008-04-16T15:17:00.004-05:00

I've had so many blog entries in my head which I haven't had the chance to create and now they seem to be either forgotten or irreleveant. But I have a moment so I'll try to remember some content and do a Finn update at the very least. In list form, the latest changes in the tot's life:

- Just one nap a day. Every day. Finally.

- Boy that he is, he's totally into boobs and trucks. Boobs for the milk, all...the...time...and trucks everywhere we go. All of you mothers of girls will have to let me know if they have a crazy obsession with vehicles at 16mos.

- His first molar. That was fun. How many more do we have to go through?

- His first words. He had already covered Mama, Dada, and uh-oh (not in my Webster's but whatever). Now he has added tickle (usually said at least 3 times in succession), ball, and kaboom (as in our tower of blocks went kaboom or, just as often, Finn went kaboom)

- His first haircut. For whatever reason, I was hesitant to go ahead with this, but he was looking shaggy more often than not and so one day I just did it. I'll share some pics. He could actually use more of a trim already, because I was fearful of cutting away too much of my baby.

This is him just before the big event.

The cut was the day before Easter, so since I slacked on Easter blogging, here he is with the new do in his fancy pants on Easter Sunday.

And because I think he's stinkin' cute, some more photos for your enjoyment.

The darling outfit is actually parts of two outfits. The sailor suit was made by my mom for my older brother and has matching blue shorts. However, the suit was too small for him, so I pulled out these lovely white shorts that happen to match in style and function. These too large vintage shorts were my father's and I'm told there is a matching white jacket somewhere. Really, we're not so poor that we can't buy him new clothes (or in this case, clothes that really fit). I just have a fascination with putting him in my dad's vintage duds and lovely little things that my mom made years ago. (Plus, it helps validate the pack rat nature that I share with Mom.)

He's very interested in reading up on The Beatles.

And because I can, here is what he looked like last year at Easter in another outfit made by mom for my brother, sitting in the same chair as above.

The Guatemalan Irish Twins Session

2008-04-03T11:05:00.003-05:00

Yep. And cute too. My last photo session was with Annie's boys who are about 8 months apart. So I had a two energetic toddlers on my hands, although each with his own unique personality. Oh, and a nice doggy, too. Seriously, these boys were a lot of fun (and I think they liked me too). Although, I did a little too much yelling with them and lost my voice for the next 24 hours. All part of the biz.

Hello, Neighbor!

2008-03-20T15:18:00.004-05:00

Finn in his cardigan in honor of Mister Rogers' birthday.

All of his new sweaters are pullovers, so we went vintage with this little cardigan. I love when he sports vintage clothes...it somehow makes me feel like we're suddenly transported into a more carefree time, if only for a moment.

(Don't mind his hair - he awoke from his nap with a bit of side flip. Also, I can't quite bring myself to cut his hair just yet.)

a day at the museum

2008-03-16T19:15:00.005-05:00

I took this family photo at the Children's Museum, where we recently spent an afternoon with some visiting out of town family. Things started off nice and easy. Among other things, Finn enjoyed the bubble-making see saw with some of his cousins.

But things got really interesting once we made our way up to the third floor water play area. He had no notion of the joy he was about to experience.

Fish anyone?

Finn loves to splash in the tub, so I knew he would delight in this "exhibit". He splished...

and splashed...

and even dunked his face in a few times. He was thoroughly soaked to his toes.

I knew in advance that I should have a change of clothes if we planned on letting him play in the water, but I wasn't thinking about the shoes. He should have been wearing the provided sandals like his cousin Annie.

She wore the shoes, but refused to put on a raincoat.

Once he was done splashing in the pool, he went on to do some hydro engineering with the big kids.

By this point I think his hands were probably numb, but he did not want to leave the free flowing water.

However, the place was closing so we had to do our best to wring him out. He even got his first blowdry.

Our party included 7 kids ages ranging in age from 14 months to 13 years and I think all of them had fun. Actually, we didn't even get to enter the hands on art area on the first floor (which I love). It closed earlier than the rest of the museum, so I'd plan on going there first if you're interested.

Overcome...

2008-03-14T12:28:00.004-05:00

So, I've been noticing signs (or so I thought) that my babe is ready to move from his two nap a day schedule to a one nap a day schedule. Yesterday we had a morning playdate that served well as a trial run. Just as I suspected, he fell asleep in the car on the way home, had lunch and then went down for a nap...not too reluctantly, but he didn't sleep all that long either. Today was the first "regular" day of trying the schedule and this is what happened...

The little guy couldn't even finish his lunch before he was overcome with sleep. I kind of wanted to just leave him there, but figured he would end up waking too soon and be really cranky. So to bed he went and without much trouble. He's still out, so we'll see how this goes.

Mmmm....doughnuts

2008-03-11T14:06:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I'm late. I'm asking you to just play along and pretend this was posted a month ago. For the second year in a row, Finn and I happened to be visiting Nana and PopPop in time for Fastnacht Day - aka Doughnut Day, Fat Tuesday, whatever you like to call it. We always make homemade doughnuts and lots of them.

Who doesn't love deep fried dough?

Even the little ones lent a hand or two.

A little girl after my own heart. Yes, I had an affinity for eating raw dough.

I said "had". Honest. Oh, you ask where is my kid? My kid was in the next room dumping toys on his face.

He does this all the time. Legos, puzzles, you name it. What can I say?

Soooo...now you want to see pictures of the finished product. Ha, are you nuts?! I like to take photos, but I like engorging myself on fresh from the grease doughnuts even more, so the camera had to be put down. Turns out Finn's alright after all. He made an eager appearance in the kitchen in time to chow on doughnuts just like the rest of us.

Who's that girl?

2008-02-13T15:33:00.006-05:00

I'm sure most of you will recognize this darling little lady known elsewhere as The Boss. She just turned one year old and I had the pleasure of photographing her cuteness to commemorate the occasion. She was soooo much fun!

Isn't she a doll?! No offense to any of the other little cuties out there, but I'm having my lawyer look into arranged marriages as I type. I may never have a girl of my own, so I gotta be prepared.

This next one is especially for her mommy. The Boss wants to let you know that she misses her spiky hair sometimes, too.

And despite her growing up, that picture still says baby to me, so Happy Birthday Baby A!!!

Wrap up....

2008-01-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

Alright, here we go. I'm going to get '07 wrapped up right now. In the interest of time, I'm just going to share some highlights of the holidays...
We spent Christmas with my family. Santa received special instructions to visit us there. Finn got some very nice things and luckily he did receive some much needed toys (as much as anyone really 'needs' toys, anyway). I also made him some nice new jammies which he received on Christmas Eve so that he could wear them for the next day's festivities.

He was referred to as "Peppermint Pants" pretty much the whole day. My family has a "come in your jammies" Christmas tradition, so even those who live elsewhere drive to my parents' house Christmas morning in their jammies and most of us never make it out of our jammies the whole day. Here is Peppermint Pants chilling after the excitement has died down.

I will also share a gift that Finn got from my sister....knitted fruits and vegetables! These will be an awesome addition to his (my) play kitchen once it is moved to my house from my parents'.

I taught my sister how to knit last year and over Thanksgiving I mentioned knitted produce as an awesome thing to knit for kids, but had no idea that she had jumped on it and got busy with the knitting, so I was surprised. She is the last of the four daughters in my family to learn how to knit, so we now have three active knitters in the family and one who is too busy raising six kids to even think about knitting.

And here are some magnets that I made using paper and clear gems. A few sets were xmas themed and the rest just pretty prints cut from Paper Source catalogs.

These were gifts for the women in the family. An easy project, albeit smelly due to the super strong glue I used. R kept saying that the house smelled like asparagus - I don't know about that, but it did have an odor. My only regret is that the magnets aren't as strong as I would have liked and I didn't bother to test them before I made about 50 of these suckers. I also made a couple with a photo of Finn that he gave to his grandmothers.

Alright...I think that does it. Now I can move on. Happy New Year!!!

Baby Gifts :: Part Two

2008-01-06T21:19:00.000-05:00

Geez, I'm getting really behind with the blogging. So, I'm going to try to start off the new year by catching up.

During my last week at home before the big holiday travel week, I visited the Kline household and got to meet the newest resident, William - on his first birthday, actually. As a gift for the new baby, I decided to make a project from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, the Birthday Pillow. But instead I made it an adoption pillow commemorating the joyous day that Will officially joined his new family. Aside from early technical difficulties related to the printable cotton fabric, this was a fun and easy project. The text is printed and then embroidered in matching thread. Here is the finished result:

Will really was as happy and smiley as Annie always says he is. I think the boys will have lots of fun together in the year to come!

Baby Gifts :: Part One

2007-12-19T14:33:00.000-05:00

I finally got to meet Amanda's newest family member, Eleni, earlier this week, which means that I can finally share what I made for her. (Eleni was darling, of course! I can never get over how small newborns are, no matter how often I see them, which is fairly often these days.)

My mom traditionally makes a quilt for all of the new babies in our family and then another family member uses leftover fabric to make what we call a grab ball for the baby. I also have one from my babyhood. As soon as I heard of Amanda making a crib skirt for Eleni's nursery, I had the idea to use those fabrics to make her a ball. Turns out, Cara had similar thoughts and happened to make a baby blanket for Amanda with those same fabrics. (Great minds, I tell ya!). So...here is my contribution to this running theme. I sure hope Amanda is not getting sick of her fabric choices!

I also made this soft block with ribbon tags, since all mothers know how much babies love tags.

As it turns out, a pattern for the ball can be found in Joelle Hoverson's recently published, Last Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts. She calls it a puzzle ball. It was kind of neat to see that she had this in her book, but I have to admit that I'm also a little bummed that this will likely become a more common item as a result. So much for my unique go to baby gift...

And the award goes to....

2007-12-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

Now, I realize there is probably a lot of competition in this category, but I kind of feel like I should get the bad blogger award.
So much to say, so little time...that's my excuse.

Since I haven't taken the time to open up Finn's baby book in a while either, I'm going to note some things here as a record and hopefully others will find some enjoyment in reading about them.

1. He's a walker! He started walking one week after his first birthday and he's getting better and better every day. The first day was so much fun (for me)...every time I'd see him go I just got really excited, because it was happening so fast.

2. He finally has his third tooth, top left (I don't know tooth names). It made it's appearance last Monday, Dec. 10th. And I think that teething period explains some occasional unwelcome chomping he had been doing when nursing. Which brings me to...

3. We've made it to the one year mark and still nursing. I did let him try some cow's milk, and he drank about an ounce, but in place of nursing...he's not interested. I tried that once and he cried his eyes out. I honestly don't know what the weaning approach is going to be, or when it will be. I can certainly think of personal reasons to stop, but as far as his health it's still a good thing so we're gonna keep going for now.

4. Finn recently had his first little accident that led to a cracked lip and tiny bit of blood. Just before bedtime, R set him down on the floor and he sort of threw his head forward to the ground and managed to hit his mouth on the metal railing on the floor for our pocket doors. He cried. He got over it.

5. We've also made it to the one year mark on cloth diapers and homemade food. I have yet to buy a disposable diaper (yay!), although there was a time or two when forgotten laundry almost had me running to the store. And there were times when the thought of just going to buy a jar of baby food came up, but that hasn't happened and now Finn is mostly eating with the big kids (that's R and I). I do buy baby cereal, so don't think I'm a total nutcase.

6. He finally says Mama with some definite meaning to it. It's nice. I'm going to enjoy it now because I'm sure the days of being nagged with it are not far off. Aside from Dada, I don't think he says much else. I think he's trying to say kittykat, but it sounds like di-da which is very much like dada.

Aside from baby, I've had a lot of projects going on and I do hope to share them here soon. That's the idea anyway. My last knitting project was a sweater for Finn that he got for his birthday. He has not been interested at all in posing for a photo in the sweater, so I'll share this one from the party.

Please note the big thumbs up that Finn is giving the sweater. And I do believe he was saying, "Oooooooh!!!!"

Happy Birthday, Baby!

2007-11-28T11:18:00.001-05:00

Today my baby turns one. A year ago I had this prescious little bundle...

...and now I have a curious, brown-eyed, trouble-making, armful of cuteness.

We had a birthday party for him over the weekend at my parents' house. It was a bird theme - I made a birdhouse cake and little bird's nest cupcakes.

The cake was...well, troublesome. In hindsight, I should have ditched the cream cheese frosting (it was a carrot cake) for something more solid, and I should have chosen a light color for the birdhouse. It was supposed to be burgundy and after many rounds of adding coloring, I finally gave in to what was a pinkish house because it was taking waaaay too long. (Enter guilt for making my son's first birthday cake pink.) I think the bird's nests, however, were absolutely adorable. The whole thing probably would have been a failure if it weren't for the help of my sister who has been doing her kids' birthday cakes for 13 years now.

Finn absolutely enjoyed his cupcake, including the little nest bits.

He ate every bit that wasn't lost in his highchair.

I also got these warbling bird whistles as favors for the kids at the party. I just loved these when I was little.

And here is the birthday garlard that I made:

A crappy picture...I know. If I get a chance I'll do some more in a follow-up. Anyway, this is something I will use over and over again. I can't take credit for the idea - I saw it here at Mahar Drygoods some time ago and have been planning to make one ever since. I just added the birds to the ends for this year. I think the supplies cost me less than $6, so definitely worth it and fun to make.

My, how time flies...

2007-11-20T16:40:00.000-05:00

Since this blog hasn't existed for even a year, there are some big things that were never shared here. Today, I'm going to fill a small void.

This was me last year at this time:

Well...the photo was taken by my wonderful husband on October 29th of '06. But on today's date (November 20th) last year I was 40 weeks pregnant and waiting. Part of me doesn't even remember what it was like being pregnant. If I try to remember, I can recall all the little things, but overall it was pretty much just like being...not pregnant. Now, the being a parent and not being a parent...those are two very different lives, but that's another topic. As it turned out I was to wait another week before I would begin the transition from pregnant to not pregnant and non-parent to parent.

Craft Event Alert

2007-11-09T12:36:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for something to do this weekend, check out the 4th Annual Handmade Arcade, taking place at Construction Junction in Point Breeze. The event features the crafty goods of some of our area's most creative minds. If you've never been to the arcade before, it's a fun place to find unique gifts as well as inspiration for your own projects.

ETA: Since many of my readers are knitters, perhaps I should highlight that Stacey from Knit One will be doing a yarn dyeing demo on Saturday at 1:30. Check the site for a full schedule of crafty demos.

Sneak peak...

2007-11-09T10:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share this shot from a recent photo session with a beautiful mama-to-be...

Does she have a great figure or what!?

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T09:41:00.000-05:00

I love Halloween and all the fun characters and decorations that go along with it (and the candy), but this year I didn't quite manage to get all of the usual pumpkin-y decorating done around the house. I did put up my wonderful Halloween tree and spooky village.

The tree started on our honeymoon when I saw some great ornaments that I had to have. It wasn't until our first anniversary spent in Chicago when I got the tree on which to hang them. Here are some of my favorite ornaments.

On the table beneath the tree is a Halloween tea towel, one of two woven for me by none other than my big sis earlier this year. Aren't they nice?

Porch progress

2007-10-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

So, here's where we stand with the porch. All the construction is done. Oh, no it's not...we have to put some trim below the outside edge of the floor and above the top step on both sets of steps. We need to do another coat of paint on the floor and steps and I need to paint some accent color on the railings and the quarter round on the columns. The colors are smoky olive and some kind of deep plum. Lovely battleship gray on the floor, of course.

The top rail was completely constructed by my dad to meet my needs. Finn can just see over the top if he gets up on his tippy toes.

Hello, gorgeous...

Finn was so thrilled with crawling all over the newly painted floor...like a whole new room for him to play in.

And, please excuse the photo faux pas in this last shot...I didn't mean to spear my baby in the head with a broom handle!

Another tag...

2007-10-24T10:32:00.000-05:00

courtesy of Cara.

Jobs I've Had
1. receptionist/secretary for a hardware/building supply store
2. magazine bindery worker
3. student worker in film school equipment office
4. telemarketer - ha!
5. Security guard - ha ha!
6. Intern at the Pittsburgh Film Office
7. Community Media internship - made movies and ran films in the parks series
8. Executive Assistant
9. System Administrator
10. Now...mama, photographer/business owner, maid

I'll give you one guess as to which one is both the most demanding and the most rewarding.

Places I've Lived
1. Zionsville, PA
2. Pittsburgh, PA - Oakland, Shadyside
3. Dormont, PA
4. Crafton, PA

Foods I Love
1. Ice cream
2. doughnuts
3. chocolate
4. pizza
5. cheese
...I could go on and on. I love food. Maybe I should do foods I hate.

Places I Would Rather Be
1. bed...oh how I love thee
2. outside, enjoying some crisp Fall weather, but it's rainy and I have inside work to do anyway
3. visiting my family

TV Shows I Watch
1. the office
2. Lost
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Heroes...for now
5. Battlestar Gallactica
6. Scrubs
7. Bionic Woman...for now

Books I Love
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Memoirs of a Geisha
3. children's books by Mo Willems

okay, Amy, if you haven't already been tagged, you're it

Centennial House

2007-10-13T10:22:00.000-05:00

No, this is not a post about a PBS historical reality program. This is about my house, Centennial House, built in...you guessed it, 1876. Somewhere along the way it was given the appropriate name. This month (September - took me a while to actually publish this post) marks five years since we moved in. After three years of third floor apartment life I was going insane and needed to be able to walk out my door in bare feet to feel the ground and a little more privacy in order to be my introverted self.

This house is an antique that was not always treated as valuable. In other words, I could afford it and see it's beauty through the rotted wood and layers upon layers of failing paint. R was not as confident about stepping into such an endeavor, but we did it. Inside, the only unpainted woodwork is one stairway and a set of enormous pocket doors. Everything else...everything... was painted white, by some cheap laborer it would seem. We initially had visions of stripping the baseboards and window moldings. Eventually, we decided to pick our battles and that has not been one of them. I remember one of the first things I did uncover was a tiny decorative latch on a pantry door. It started with a little bit of the white paint chipping off and out of the blue, in the middle of an ordinary day I had to reveal it that instant.

My first planned project was stripping our window shutters. There are 26 of them, about half of them louvered. Yeah. After some frustration with chemicals in the back yard, I ended up handing some over to my Dad who took them to be dip-stripped. The guy told him he had to do them multiple times because they were so caked with paint. (As of today, less than half of the shutters have been completed). So, over the last five years we've managed to do stuff here and there. This year, post baby-havin', our task was to fix the failing front porch. My photos from when we moved in are pre-digital days, so I'll have to settle for a more recent one.

There, that should give you an idea of the crappiness.
The railing was rotted at one end. One column was rotted at the bottom. The wood floor had paint chipping off more and more every day and it was beginning to rot in some places. We had planned to tackle this project since before we bought the house, but repairing or replacing a porch column was not a task that I was super confident in tackling myself. Finally, after designing a new railing to match the original on the back porch, and enlisting the help of my experienced father...things are coming together. Hopefully, it will be completely done before the Great Pumpkin arrives.

Here are some pics of things going on...

A new column, railing gone, and a cleaned up floor and columns. You can also see windows that I previously stripped, puttied, and painted.

Me, enjoying priming the floor. It takes a really long time to brush paint a surface this size, but I refuse to use a roller.

This is where we stood at about 10:30pm on the last night of our "vacation" week. This portion of railing ended up coming down and we started over after renting a nailer over the following weekend. Yay!

A week later, while my parents were visiting for my birthday, Rich began to rebuild the steps which we found were really starting to rot.

Sigh...it's looking beautiful and I can't wait until it is done. Heck, it only took me about three weeks to finish and publish this post! It's so darn long, I feel like Annie ; )

It's official...

2007-10-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

I'm old. Saturday was the big 30 for me. I can see the gray hairs trying to take over, and I'm not pleased. I really don't obsess about my age, but I didn't realize until Friday that my twenties were coming to an end and I suddenly felt like I should have acknowledged their last days a little bit more. But then, who am I kidding? I spent those last days being who I am. Like my description says... woman, mama, photographer, knitter, collector. Maybe I should change 'knitter' to 'creator' to encompass my other endeavors. I've held a paintbrush a heck of a lot more than knitting needles lately, and on my trip to the lumberyard on Friday, I was identified as a house remodeler. In any case, I guess the age doesn't make much difference in the end.

Call for help...

2007-10-01T08:58:00.000-05:00

I know a few couples who are currently awaiting approval of their adoption of babies from Guatemala. Sadly, the Guatemalan president is now planning to put an end to US adoption from Guatemala at the end of this year, including those already in progress. This would be a terrible tragedy for the families involved and for the thousands of babies left without permanant homes. If you could, please take a moment and sign this petition to help my friends complete their families.

Guatemalan Adoptions and DOS Accountability

You can also read more about this issue here.

Catch up - Part 2: Nine and a half months

2007-09-20T07:21:00.000-05:00

Last wednesday Finn learned how to clap his hands. I would often clap them for him, but then just out of the blue he clapped them together, completely unprovoked. It started out pretty awkward, but he quickly got the hang of it. I think this is the first skill he's learned that he is truly aware of and it makes him so happy. He'll just do it every now and then and get this great big smile on his face. Awesome.

Last Thursday began R's week off from work. We didn't have a major vacation planned, but wanted to have time to both work on our major house project (more on that later) and to do some fun little outings as a family. On Sunday, we went to the Midwife Center family picnic and talked to one of the midwives who has an 8 1/2 month old about our babies' lack of teeth. Well, it was later that day that I discovered something sharp poking up through Finn's lower gums. The only real sign that I saw was a runny nose, but that also coincided with the sudden fall weather and my reluctance to turn the heat on in September. His naps, however, have been pretty short, which makes getting things (major house project) done during a nap very difficult and frustrating. I am grateful that he hasn't been too crabby otherwise.

Along with the sprouting tooth, he's started sticking out his tongue. In a couple years I may not be a fan of this behavior, but right now it's cute.

His other new activity is what I will call "The Marcus", named after Annie's son who has an amazing talent for launching himself into the air from a sitting position. Finn has started to do this, only he get's so out of control that he usually ends up falling backward or on his face. And he's never gone completely airborne, so maybe Marcus should give him some pointers.

No time for a photo...maybe next time, along with more on the so-called vacation week.

Catch up - Part 1

2007-09-19T09:56:00.000-05:00

I know I've been MIA for a while, so I thought I'd try to get in a little catch up post if Finn will allow it. I've been busy working and playing and working. Two weekends ago we spent some time in Morgantown visiting some friends and their son, Eli. We weren't able to make it to Eli's first birthday party the week before, so it was nice to see how he's grown and see him and Finn interact. Finn got to know their two large dogs, Sasha and Buckley. It's been a little while since he's been around a dog, so it was like a new thing to him again. He was frightened when we first arrived as they were very excited to check him out, but soon the tables were turned and Finn wanted to check them out. While we were there I was lucky enough to take Eli's 1 year photos. Here he is, with one of his favorite items...

Now it is back to work...stay tuned for part deux.

Baby update

2007-09-04T13:05:00.000-05:00

Finn turned 9 months last week. He is almost 20 pounds and is 29 inches long. We visited family over Labor Day and he has officially outgrown his 13.5 month old cousin, Annie. His hair is also growing. Here's a recent picture of him upon waking from a nap with an exceptionally cool hairstyle, no product needed.

Cute, huh?

His new favorite thing to do is crawl up the stairs. He tries to do it when I'm not looking and then as I approach, he tries to go faster to get away.

Still no teeth. I think they start to come through and then those little chompers recede back into his gums. Is that possible? Probably not.

I'm finding it hard to believe that his first summer is coming to an end. We've been so busy, yet it seems that there are lots of things that we didn't get to do. Luckily we'll have many more summers to come.

My Turn - show and tell

2007-08-20T15:11:00.000-05:00

Amanda, of AJKnitting fame, had to show off her fancy, new sewing machine here, so those of us with...hmmm...well-loved machines are sharing as well. So here mine is:

It's served me well and I don't have any major problems with it, so I doubt I'll be getting a new one anytime soon. I'll just dream about serging and automatic button holes for now. Although there was just a coupon for a brother machine at Costco - I think it expires today actually. That's okay.

Oh, Annie, I would love to see your machine! I don't know why Cara neglected to make such a request.

3

2007-08-10T12:02:00.000-05:00

That is the number of seconds that Finn can stand on his own...no hands. Impressive, I think. He just wants to stand and climb everything, even when he's nursing. Picture this...his mouth latched at the appropriate place (you don't really have to picture that, not in detail anyway), his feet on my lap and his butt way up in the air. That describes our last feeding session with him trying to climb up me while still eating. He's a maniac.

3 is also the number of naps that Finn continues to take. I tried at about 7 months to get him into the 2-3-4 schedule, but he was always cranky after 2 hours awake, so we stuck with what was more like 2-2-2-4. Now, he's dealing well with being up 3 hours after the morning nap, but his naps are ending up being so short that he needs a third one. One hour naps, so the schedule is now more like 2-3-2-4. Ughhh. How is this supposed to work? I think I was better off before. Now his feeding schedule is getting thrown off as well. What to do? Is there something I don't know?

my lover, Sean

2007-07-20T16:16:00.000-05:00

This is going to be pretty photo-intensive...just 'cause.
Here is the giant sock, all knitted up:

I was trying to get a shot of the babe with the stocking as a size comparison. This was last week, pre-crawling, but he kept getting away from me, even when I stuck him inside it.

Is that baby bottom in handknit not the cutest thing? I really should have him in wool soakers all the time.

Now for the detail. The loop that I added:

The heal:

The toe:

And the end result after felting:

Most importantly, it's big enough to hold all the loot I expect Santa to drag down the chimney. Happy, happy!

We've got mobility!

2007-07-20T15:40:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy chasing baby that I feel like I am way overdue in posting about this momentous occasion! Last weekend, Finn started crawling...and at the same time...pulling up to stand wherever he can. Here he is trying to get his new stocking!

The babe's already got a fondness for the handknits! And I must say that I am very happy for BabyLegs - his poor little legs get all red without them.

So, we're pretty unprepared for this mobile creature. There really should be some kind of warning. It didn't take too long before I decided to put up a baby gate, which we just happened to have gotten on Saturday morning, pre-mobility. Maybe that's it...buy a gate and the kid starts to move. In any case, he loves being a caged animal:

Still kicking...

2007-07-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

Yeah...I know. I've been slacking on the blogging. Just been too busy otherwise to publish a proper post. So... here's a quick rundown of recent developments.

Fourth of July was fairly uneventful...stayed home and watched fireworks through the front window from the couch. Finn slept through the big display, but was a little bothered by the neighbor kids and their shenanigans.

The Sean stocking is a hanging loop away from being completed and I will be sharing it soon.

Finn's new talent is clicking his tongue, which I find to be so, so adorable.

No crawling...he just rolls all the way across the room. Then he gets peeved when he reaches a wall or closed door and can't go any further.

7.5 months and no teeth.

In the kitchen...last week was birthday cake for R, but since then the kitchen has entered a state of redo. It is finally getting some updates in the hopes that it will become much more user friendly. This makes me infinitely happy and a tiny bit sad that it wasn't done earlier.

I don't have any relevant photos prepared, so I just picked one of the babe to share here.

This is Finn reaching out to say, "Don't leave, loyal readers! Mama promises to keep posting."

How do I love thee?

2007-06-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

Let me count the ways...

I love your delicious green colors...

I love your fuzzy, soft alpaca yarn...

I love you because you're for my baby...

I love that you are big enough to encompass my baby...

I love that you are going to be worthy of hanging from my 19th century mantle...

I love that you are giving me confidence to take on larger projects like I've never knitted before...

I love that I can work on you while baby is attempting to make mischief of one kind and another...

I love that you are really just a gigantic sock and probably the only size sock I will ever be found knitting.

This is how I love my current knitting project...the hopefully soon to be completed and felted Sean stocking.

Fresh Donuts

2007-06-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

Whenever we head in and out of town via the West End, we see this house-turned-doughnut shop. It looks like a business that functioned years ago and has sat untouched. It looks like a dump. Except that this place is still going and receives plenty of rush hour business as people head to town for work. What attracts me (actual doughnuts aside) is the crappy cool homemade sign on the pink sided exterior.

The paint is cracked and peeling, the building is dirty, yet there is something about the lingering vibrance of this sign's design, simple as it may be. It called to me. One weekend morning we decided to finally check this place out. Behind the failing paint, dirt, and rust, we found a thriving family business with friendly service and a variety of fresh donuts. Hooray for homemade.

updates, updates...

2007-06-19T07:15:00.001-05:00

...because I know you've been wondering. There are a few past blog items on which I wanted to provide some updates, in no particular order.

- I discovered that the giraffes at the Pittsburgh zoo died, I believe earlier this year, from old age. Very sad, but they lived long lives. Two yearlings will be joining the zoo this summer. Wondering what happens to zoo animals when they die? I was. After picturing a giraffe-sized grave being dug into the ground in Highland Park, I googled and found that the animals are most commonly cremated, sometimes after tissue and/or blood samples have been taken. Guess that makes more sense, huh?

- I shared a photo a while back showing storm drain markings popping up around my neighborhood. I've since learned that they are the Eagle Scout project for a local teen. I think his name is Josh and he'll be stenciling all of our drains. Way to go, Josh...I dig the fish.

- I also had a little vent relating to finding non-super low-rise jeans. I'm happy to report that I was able to end my search at Eddie Bauer where I found well-fitting jeans at a reasonable price and...the best ever handicapped/stroller accessible fitting room. Finn does not like to hang out in little rooms while I play dress-up, but he does like to look into mirrors with me. This fitting room was huge and had a full wall mirror, so I could park the stroller next to me facing the mirror and had plenty of room to move around. Perfect. I don't frequent the mall, but this is a huge plus if ever I have to goes clothes shopping with the tot in tow.

And...I must now edit this to add that I just ate the lone berry. Mmmm.

Dad's Day at the zoo

2007-06-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

We went to the zoo yesterday for R's first Father's Day. Finn and I had gone earlier in the year, but this was the first time for the whole family. It was hot, but not too hot, and crowded, but bearable. What I was not happy about was the lack of giraffes. The giraffe is my favorite animal and we didn't see them on either visit this year. This really bummed me out. Actually, it made me a little mad, to tell you the truth. But then I thought that maybe the giraffes are just tired of being on display and decided to roam out of sight. If that's the case...good for them. Gorillas were present, but definitely avoiding the gawking humans - they're too smart for my viewing pleasure. Also, not a single orangutan. It was an exhausting day, not seeing animals.

If only we all could have taken a nap in the stroller.

Lone Berry

2007-06-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe it is Friday already. Finn and I are planning to head down to the arts festival this afternoon - I almost missed it because these past two weeks have been somewhat busy. I didn't realize until this week that a relative of mine has a booth at the artists' market this year, so we'll have to stop by to say hello. I haven't seen this relative in a number of years, despite the fact that he's the only relative of mine that actually lives in the area. In any case, it will be nice to see him and see how his family is doing.

We did slow down this morning to take a stroll outside. This is one of the things we spotted:

This image makes me both happy and sad. Happy because I have a bright red berry on my raspberry bush and sad because there is only one. My hopes for a large harvest are...non-existent. I don't think I have enough sunlight for them to really do well, but I really love black raspberries and have many fond childhood memories involving them, so I had to at least try to grow them. I think this is year three. Last year I had only a small handful of ripe berries. That means no new pie or jelly memories will be grown at my house, but at least I get some "eating fresh from the berry bush" memories. Finn is too young to eat berries this summer, but maybe by next year there will be enough for me to share... maybe.

over the lips, past the gums, look out stomach...

2007-06-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

Finn has been eating purees for about two and a half weeks now. He's usually pretty eager to eat.

So far, I've made all of the food. We've done carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, and butternut squash. All cooked and pureed and then frozen in ice cube trays for easy use. Finn tolerates carrots, loves sweet potatoes, gags and pukes on peas and enjoys squash. Last night I mixed some peas in with his sweet potatoes and he gobbled it down, so it's nice to know that I have a way to get him to eat the less appetizing veggies. R also gave him some mashed banana the other day and said he really liked it. In a day or two I'll start giving him more fruits - his reward for eating all his veggies. I have a decent freezer stash of food that didn't take much work, so I don't think the homemade thing is too difficult at this point. My strategy has been to pick a veggie to make every few days and that provides enough to last quite a while. I used www.wholesomebabyfood.com and The Baby Bistro Cookbook as guidance for what to give him when and how to prepare it. I think I'll actually have more trouble when it's time for table foods since Finn probably eats better than R and I do at this point. I'm not so good about making sure our meals are well rounded.

Things I've learned: I had trouble with organic carrots from Costco - they were super hard, even after cooking for... a looong time and I ended up having to throw them out because I couldn't get them to puree in my blender. Use decent ice cube trays. Initially I used a set that was cheaper and the cubes were round (so, not exactly cubes). It was more difficult to get the not-cubes out of the tray and I don't think the thinner plastic would have lasted very long.

Random Post of Firsts

2007-06-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

First baby injury involving blood.

Now before you get all concerned for little Finn, he was the cause and not the victim here. We were just hanging out on the bed and he was grabbing at my face, the way he loves to do. Well, he grabbed at my nose with one finger inside and squeezed as hard as he could. It really hurt, so after pulling his hand away I put my hand up to my nose and held back some cuss words. When I took my hand away a few seconds later, there were several drops of blood. I narrowly escaped getting blood on my new bedding. (And I had assumed I only had to fear getting baby puke on it.) Which brings me to my next first.

First photo showing the inside of my home.

You haven't seen inside my home thus far because, quite frankly, it's messy. And who wants to see that? I don't even know that you want to see this but, too bad. This new bedding just arrived yesterday and I was pleased to find that the color perfectly matches the linen curtains in our bedroom. I ordered this online and it was a major closeout steal...as in a King size coverlet and shams for about 30 bucks. It's reversible, too, so I could switch it up a bit if I get bored. If this were a proper post, I'd have some detail photos of more of the decor in the room, but it's not. For example, I could show you the bedside lamp and shade, an IKEA find that I totally stole from Amy. But I think the lamp complements the bed and now the shade goes quite nicely with the bedding. So, sorry for biting your style, but I had to. I'm sure you understand.

I've been tagged...

2007-06-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

So here it is.

7 oh-so-interesting things about yours truly.

1. I know plenty of people think they're cute, but I think squirrels are creepy. They are rodents after all. The only thing that I can think of that I might actually say I'm afraid of is rats and squirrels are pretty similar. With those long nailed feet and beady eyes. We've had them become really interested in trying to get into the house by climbing onto window sills and scraping at the windows and jumping against the siding. Repeatedly. That's creepy. I think part of what makes them creepy to me is that they don't really seem to be afraid of me - if I try to scare them off of the porch, they just look at me. I wonder if anyone has ever made a documentary called "When Squirrels Attack" ? I will make an exception for cartoon squirrels which I wouldn't necessarily call cute, but I wouldn't say they're creepy either.

2. I have a degree in Film Studies and Philosophy. I never once took a single computer course, but after college I worked for 6 years in IT as a Systems Administrator. Although my degree had nothing to do with the job I held, I know I never would have been given the position (which was initially executive assistant with a quick promotion) without the degree because most people still see it as a sign of capability. I wouldn't trade my college experience, as I know it helped me grow in various ways and has made me who I am today, but I do wish I had been encouraged (or outgoing enough) to consider other paths after high school.

3. I was too shy as a kid to ask for things that I wanted. From cool clothes to lessons to permission to join in activities or sports. Just a sampling of things that I wanted to do at some point, but didn't bother to ask my parents about: music lessons (saxophone would've been my choice, although I tried to teach myself piano and guitar because I had access to those instruments), joining the school's champion field hockey team, taking tap lessons (inspired by an episode of The Cosby Show - I still love the Cos). I did, however, have no hesitation in deciding to go to college over 300 miles from home to study philosophy in the interest of proceeding on to law school and one day becoming a judge. I kept the philosophy portion, but when I got a job at Pittsburgh Filmmakers freshman year, I decided I wanted to be happy more than I wanted to be wealthy and the road to a career in justice was too long to take when I couldn't be sure I would even like it.

4. I love to bake. Oh wait, you knew that. Here's why. Not just 'cause home baked goods are delicious... I think it's also a cultural thing, Pennsylvania Dutch. I'm from a family that makes funnel cakes for breakfast, has ice cream and homemade waffles for lunch, and strawberry shortcake for dinner (real shortcake, not that spongey crap you get at the grocery store). And I don't feel a need to justify any of those meal choices. We also make doughnuts every Fastnacht Day (Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, call it what you will), eating the product all day long, and have multiple homemade ice cream parties throughout the year. As they say in PA Dutch country, "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much." (Although, I can't personally use the word "ain't" in actual speech.) I really am lucky that I don't weigh over 200 pounds since I also don't really exercise.

5. One summer in college, I worked as a security guard. I went wherever they needed me, all over town. My locations included the Catholic Diocese, a PNC loan center, Montefiore, a couple office buildings, and the parking garage of West Penn hospital directing traffic. While it was interesting to be in on the security of various places, I hated it because it was most often what I call a sitting duck job. I sat in one place and every kook and creep could come up to and talk to me about whatever and I had no way of getting rid of them. This included older men asking me out, which I found more ridiculous than usual because I had to wear an awful uniform involving polyester pants and jacket and I didn't exactly try to look pretty for this job.

6. I have brown eyes while neither of my parents does. I'm no biologist, but from what I learned in junior high bio, that's not supposed to be genetically possibly. At least out of my parents 8 kids, I'm not the only brown-eyed one. My mom assures me we were neither adopted nor extra-maritally conceived. I believe her.

7. Despite my Film degree and corresponding interest in film and television, I haven't had cable or satellite TV in almost two years. Only recently have we been receiving over the air HDTV signal which allows us to watch a few channels. I had gotten to a point where I started to hate what the TV was doing to my household and felt stupid paying for that disservice; the fact that it was on when nobody was even watching it and the tendency to waste time watching stupid shows unintentionally was bringing me down. I'm happy to say, that hatred has been abated and I don't feel a huge void in my life without live television as I do still watch previously recorded shows or DVDs - on my own terms.

I hope those tidbits aren't lame. I've nobody to tag since Amy went and tagged just about everyone. Well, unless Eli Gregory would like to share interesting tidbits about his illustrious 9 months in this world?

zesty cake

2007-06-05T16:40:00.000-05:00

In the kitchen this week, I baked up an Orange Zest Cake, as recently blogged about by the angry chicken. (Sad, but I'm not positive I know how to make a nice link and am too lazy to mess around with it right now so you'll have to go look for her May birthday post if you want the recipe.)

I made it with red raspberry jam in the center rather than lemon curd. Tasty but a bit on the sweet side. If you're not so into the sweet, it would be tasty with no filling at all. I may have to mess around with other fillings in the future - it sure was simple to make.

Jenny: designer, baker, third-grader

2007-06-04T12:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I totally flaked on a Foto last Friday. What was I doing? I was putting in some time cleaning out our office. Well, it's supposed to be an office, but it's mostly full of boxes of junk. And once those boxes of junk are gone, or at least decreased in number, the room will also be my sewing/craft room, since a little baby took over my previous sewing area. Anyway, I came across my school memories book from my elementary days and had to look through it. Remember a while back I posted about wanting to make a quilt? How could I forget that not only have I made a quilt, but I had also entered it in the local fair and won third prize.

It was a quilt and matching pillow, in pink and blue, as I recall. It must be somewhere at my parents' house. Little 8 year old me, who, according to the book, was 131 centimeters tall (is that really how third graders are measured?) and wanted to be a designer, as in fashion designer. I also won first prize in baking both that year and the previous year for golden nut tassies - my mom's tried and true recipe, but I assure you I did all the work and the prize was no doubt owed to the love and care I put into my baking. No wonder I love to bake - real cash prizes for baking at 7 and 8 years old! I did go on to design some fashions for my own wardrobe over the years, but alas, the quilt-making has yet to be revisited. For now.

Finished Object

2007-05-31T17:24:00.000-05:00

Yeah...so these weren't finished when I wanted them to be, but that's okay. They got to the intended recipient soon enough. The pattern was as simple as suggested, so I'm sure I'll do more at some point. I do like the idea of ballband bibs, so maybe I'll try that. I ended up just using size 8 needles because it turns out I don't have sevens. The second one came out tighter than the first, I think because I was consciously keeping it tight. Not bad, but I do think the sevens would have led to a neater looking finished product.

Back from the Valley

2007-05-30T09:10:00.000-05:00

We spent the holiday weekend visiting my family and have returned with a six month old. Finn's latest stats, as of yesterday, are 16 pounds 12 ounces and 27 inches. That's average weight and just greater than average height for a boy his age. I'm just hoping he doesn't outgrow his infant carseat too soon. It looks like Finn is about the same size as his 10 1/2 month old cousin Annie, although she has one more leg roll than he has.

We spent most of Finn's half birthday in the car, but we did get back in time to do some hanging out at home.

What you see in the background of that photo is this:

...some oversized debris in the back yard that was there to welcome us home. It's actually larger than the photo makes it seem, taking up almost the whole yard. Now we're just wondering how long before the next limb falls from that tree. The one that is likely to actually hit the house before it hits the ground. Guess it's time to call in some professionals.

Foto Friday - Little Gold Digger

2007-05-25T08:24:00.000-05:00

Here it is Friday already and I had more to post about this week, but just didn't have the time. Since I was photo-less last Friday (due to no fault of my own), I am quite prepared today.

This little slice of cuteness is my youngest nephew, Ethan, who happens to be wearing the suit that his older brother wore as ring bearer in my wedding a couple years ago. Of course I had to capture this display. It's totally innocent... he's just doing a little personal grooming.

Mixing it up

2007-05-23T11:51:00.000-05:00

I must admit I'm a minor snob when it comes to baking, because I almost always pass on any recipe that calls for a mix, let alone make something that is straight from a box. The most I've used cake or brownie mixes has been in an Easy Bake Oven. Don't get me wrong, if somebody else makes something from a mix, that's fine and I'll gladly partake. I guess I just like the baking process and have an appreciation for home-baked goodness. However, a little while back I came across this recipe that I thought sounded interesting so I finally gave it a try yesterday.

These are Cookie Dough Cupcakes and amongst the ingredients are cake mix, pudding mix, and prepared cookie dough. That's a whole bunch of pre-prep. Surprisingly, it did not call for ready made icing. I will admit, that it was an easy bake and considering I got them made while crankypants (the baby who decided that a day of half-hour naps was a good idea) sat in his highchair, I appreciated the simplicity. The result is pretty typical yellow cake mix cupcakes, with cookie in the center. Yummy, but not earth shattering. More exciting is the fact that, despite eating three cupcakes in the last...12 hours..., this morning my scale finally registered my pre-pregnancy weight. Just shy of the six month mark. At long last.

For the non-snobby, here's the recipe which was a blog find but comes from Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
makes 24 cupcakes

1 package plain yellow cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 package frozen cookie dough ( I used dough from the dairy section then threw them in the freezer)

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare the cupcake tins with paper liners. Dump the cake mix, pudding mix, whole milk, veggie oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat a few minutes until well blended. Scoop batter into cupcake tins ( I used an ice cream scoop) to about 2/3 full. Cut the frozen cookie dough to make 24 pieces. Place a piece on top of each cupcake. Place pans in oven.

Bake 23-27 minutes, or unti lthe cupcakes spring back when lightly prodded. Cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes then remove from the pans and continue to cool for about 15 minutes before frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (or not)
3-5 tablespoons milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend butter and cocoa powder in a large bowl using an electric mixer on low. When the mixture is combined, add the powdered sugar, about 3 tablespooons milk, and the vanilla. Blend on low for about a minute then increase the speed and beat until light and fluffy.

Big Sis Goodies

2007-05-22T10:34:00.000-05:00

My eldest sister creates something for all of the girls in the family at both Easter and Christmas. Since I didn't see her for Easter this year, I received my goodie a bit later, but it was well worth the wait.

This is a pin cushion created from a spoon, a crocheted doily, wool felt and wool roving. I adore it and have yet to stick it with pins, but we'll see. Lucky me to be a regular recipient of her creations!

Hello Blogger

2007-05-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

It is Foto Friday and blogger will not allow me to post a photo. Something to do with the new auto save feature, perhaps? I'll keep trying.

Cake Follow-up

2007-05-17T14:41:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake
Topping: 10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
2/3 c. sugar

Cake: 3/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c. sour cream
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 10-inch tube pan.

In small bowl, combine topping ingredients: set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, sour cream and vanilla until well mixed. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in bowl. On low speed, add flour mixture to batter, beating until smooth. Spoon 1/3 (about 2 cups) of the batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the topping (scant 1 cup). Repeat layering 2 more times.
Bake 55 to 65 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan. Makes 12 servings.
It is also recommended to have all ingredients at room temperature.

Now, for the Funny Cake. This is one of the much-loved treats from my Pennsylvania Dutch background. It is similar in form to Shoo-Fly pie, which is probably much better known (I think, although I don't think R really knew about shoo-fly pie until he had my mom's, so maybe not). Funny cake is actually a pie crust containing a layer of gooey chocolate beneath a dense, moist cake. It's Funny because it is traditionally made by pouring the chocolate over top of the cake filling, but in baking, the chocolate settles to the bottom. Perhaps I will have to make it soon and share the goodness with my lucky readers. Perhaps I'll have to feature shoo-fly pie as well. Mmmmm....good things to come!

Sleep, Cake, Insects, and Babies

2007-05-17T09:45:00.000-05:00

Last night, we started sleep training for Finn. It's not that he is a terrible sleeper, but he was continuing to wake up multiple times a night to eat and he just doesn't need that any longer. I realize this is as much my fault as it is his 'cause, let's be honest here...if he woke up and my choices were to be up with a crying baby or feed him and go back to sleep, I was going with the latter option. Hopefully this training will also help him stick to more of a schedule, at least for night time. Sooooo last night... to bed at 7:30, 11:00 dream feeding, woke at 2:00am to eat. I didn't feed him and instead just comforted him... for an hour and 45 minutes until he went back to sleep. Then he woke at 6:45, nursed, back to sleep without much fuss and woke at 8. Despite the nearly two hour awake time in there, I think it went really well. He wasn't crying that whole time, and I wasn't holding him, so I wouldn't call it difficult. We're following the Sleep Lady's methods which require that I stay in the same position (in a chair by his crib for the first three nights) until he is asleep. What I learned that wasn't in her book is that I need to have a glass of water and some tissues nearby. I was looking for something to throw at R, asleep in the next room, so that he could get me what I needed. The reward came in the morning when I fed Finn and he looked up at me with the most wonderful look on his face...like I am the absolute love of his life, which I guess I pretty much am at this point. He wasn't even all that interested in eating, but was just completely obsessed with me. I guess that shows that he didn't really need to eat at night but just liked to use me as his security blanket. His new security item is that little stuffed elephant from his cousin, Laura (one of many elephant lovers I know). Yes, I am a jerk who busted in on his nap today to take that photo and, No, I did not pose the elephant - either he got up on his own, or Finn stood him up like that. Seriously. He was lying down when I put him in there.

In the kitchen this week, I baked up some delicious Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake. It had been on my to bake list for a while, just a simple recipe from the back of the Domino sugar bag. I made two large loaves instead of using a single tube pan, used dark rather than semi-sweet chocolate, and omitted the nuts. It reminds me a bit of Funny Cake (I'd be surprised if any of my readers knows what that is).

Earlier this month it was a bird's nest on the back porch. This week, it is a hornet's nest on the front porch. This is what spring is bringing me. Again, we were lucky to find it early and it has already been sprayed and will likely be removed tonight.
However, it also seems like 'tis the season for babies. This month I learned that two friends are each expecting their first baby and I am so excited. Ever since I had Finn, I've been wanting someone I know to go through it. I mean, I was happy for other women before I was a mother, but now there's just an extra element there that makes me even happier. Also, I want to make baby things for them, but that's nothing new.

Foto Friday - Mom

2007-05-11T08:46:00.000-05:00

Since Mother's Day is this weekend, I thought I'd pull out a photo of Mom for today's post. This one is about 10 years old and the scan may not look too great, but I thought of this shot earlier in the week when I was posting about quilting. These days she looks a bit different and the curtains in the room may have changed, but you can still find her here working on the latest quilt. I'm anxious to see what's in the frame when I visit this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers, mas, moms, mommies, and mamas!

The Ballbandwagon

2007-05-09T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm on it. Yesterday I picked up some cotton, cast on last night and knitted just enough to see the first band. I can tell these are going to be fun. I started with size 8s and it does look a bit loosey goosey, so I think I'll probably start over with 7s.

I'm using hot pink and hot green, quite wild, but I hope to include them with a wedding gift on Saturday and I think the bride will appreciate the colors...if I get them done.

New Endeavors

2007-05-08T08:18:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I got this wonderful book at the local library's book sale.

(R actually found it for me!) This comes at a wonderful time. Lately I've gotten the idea in my head that I would like to make a quilt. My mom is a quilter, so I know the amount of work involved (I'm talking all hand quilting here) and my sister, who recently finished her first quilt - a queen size with no piecing, reminded me that it took her seven years to make it. Seven YEARS. So I'm thinking I'll probably start with something small like a doll quilt just to get a taste. What really interests me is the design part, not so much the hand quilting which actually horrifies me a little bit. I think the urge must have started because I got to design a baby quilt that my mom made for Finn and that made me all giddy inside.
I also have the inkling to do some embroidery, which I've done before but with no real knowledge of proper stitches. This book has got it all, so I'm ready to go. As you can see, the book also has more wonderful things, like applique which I'd love to incorporate into quilting and other sewing projects. It will be a great additional resource for knitting, should I need it, and crochet, should I want to add that to my repertoire. I think I'll skip the macrame. And...rug-making. Which is my reminder that I must finish my hooked rug in progress before I start dreaming up some quilt.

Foto Friday

2007-05-04T08:12:00.000-05:00

Admittedly, last week's pic wasn't really pretty and was perhaps even stupid (as R suggested in not so many words). Soooo...here is something nice to look at.

My quince is in bloom and it is lovely.

Double Tall Cafe Latte

2007-05-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

Today, I'd just like to vent for a moment. While I am very happy to be wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothes without issue, I have a problem. The boobs. It seems that the increase in chest size, due to breastfeeding, is just enough to cause most of my shirts to be really short and either show my stomach or at the very least make me look stupid. I've always had a long torso and now this has just put me over the edge. Add to this the fact that you can hardly find a stylish pair of jeans these days that are not low-rise and I've got a problem. And I can't spend $100 on jeans...I just can't. I just want to wear my clothes without flashing flesh! This is the only crack that I think is cute...

and even that I keep under wraps most of the time.

Now that that's off my chest (ha) I feel I need to mention that, despite the title of this post, I don't even drink coffee and if I did, I wouldn't buy it at Starbucks (no offense to you devotees, but they're kind of like Sprawlmart to me...Sprawlbucks?). I don't even know what a double tall cafe latte is, exactly.

In the Kitchen

2007-05-01T08:36:00.000-05:00

My Easter project this year was naturally dyed and blown eggs and it has finally come to a close. However, it was only partially successful and will be revisited next year. Here is what has resulted:

You'll notice that I am missing the ends of the rainbow in my color scheme. I had used beets for a pink dye (I followed Martha's recipes) which worked nicely, except that the color washed right off, so when I went to blow and then wash out the eggs...no more pink. I also tried doing lavendar, but that again involved the beet dye so it, too, was a failed color. Next year I am going to try a blueberry dye. My other issue with the process was inferior eggs. Notice the unsightly stripes on my eggs.

Grrr. I'm attributing this to some part of the commercial egg processing. I sought out a different brand of egg, but the only other options at my local grocer were brown eggs or fancy eggs that have stamps on the shells (don't know if those stamps wash off, but wasn't interested in finding out at the time). I need to get eggs straight from the coop. I did actually have a source for that, but no longer. On top of my dying troubles, I've seen enough raw egg up close and personal to last me a little while. There is just something about it gloppily squeezing out of a little hole that's a little gross. Sorry. (And yes, gloppily is so a word.)

Just outside the kitchen, I made a startling discovery. As I was coming into the house through the back door, baby on hip, there was a loud fluttering and a brush across the top of my head just as I opened the door. I froze for a second, not knowing what it was or from where it came. Then I looked to my left and saw this...

...right at eye level. I promptly let out a little scream and ran inside. I guess I knew it was a bird without seeing a nest, but seeing it inches from my face just made it sink in. The strangest thing is that Finn didn't seem to be bothered by it - the bird nor my screaming and jumping. Good to know he can remain calm if we're ever fleeing from something scary. So, the nest is empty and although it would be cool to see eggs and babies (with awesome access for photos), we're going to move the nest before that happens. 'Cause I'd like to have access to my back porch without being attacked.

Absorba!

2007-04-30T08:47:00.000-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that I have completed Absorba the Great Bathmat! I used 4 strands of worsted weight cotton, 2 each in cream and ecru. The cream is actually a buttery color.

Overall, I am pleased with the result, particularly its squishiness. I wasn't expecting that before I started. The final shape is a bit wonky, as you can see below - not sure if it's something I did or just the nature of it.

I have quite a bit of yarn left and am wondering if it will be enough to make a second, square Absorba, leaving off the last two strips. That will be a project for a later date.

Foto Friday - Save the Fishies!

2007-04-27T08:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! It's been a fairly good week. The weather turned out to be quite nice...only one day that we didn't go out for a walk. I've started to incorporate a nice sized hill in my walk (with Finn in the stroller) to balance out all of my dietary indulgences. It's fine for now, but I'm not sure if I'll be so willing to do it when it's 80 plus degrees out.

I saw this painted a couple places along my neighborhood walk. It reads "Dump No Waste Drains To River." I don't think I've ever noticed them before, but who knows, maybe they've been there all along. Maybe some of my readers who have lived near the three rivers all their lives can tell me if this is standard and I'm still just a newbie around here. Amanda...this is your old 'hood...have you seen these? In any case, I think they're cool. Whose idea was it to make it so cute with the fish? I imagine when Finn is older, it can be an opener to a childhood environmental discussion. That would be after we ditch the SUV for a Prius. Ooh, this parenting stuff is going to be tricky.

Have a nice weekend, folks!

Work perks

2007-04-25T08:32:00.000-05:00

I miss cake. I really do. When I made the decision earlier this year to make my maternity leave permanent, there was no telling what I would come to miss most about working, if anything. Now I know. I grew accustomed to those regular cakes for coworkers' birthdays. Even the crappy ones are a treat when you're at work. I love to bake, but the fact that the average cake is large and doesn't keep well and we are only two plus baby, a cake in the house can be a bit much. But, I missed cake. Last night I made my first ever carrot cake and this was my breakfast this morning.

Yummy, yum. And I'm pretty sure it counts as a serving of vegetables. Now, as I said, this was my first carrot cake. The cake is super moist and very good, but I think a little lacking in the flavor area...like a spice is missing or something. It only called for a little cinnamon, should there be something else? The cream cheese frosting is great, but maybe a little too sweet? R thinks it's fine. I had baby carrots, so I just threw them in my blender chopper thingy so they were chopped rather than shredded, which worked. And boy did I have carrots...I had bought a five pound bag at Costco. FIVE pounds! What was I thinking? Maybe I can make baby food to freeze for when Finn is a bit older. Anyway, now I feel like I must find or create the perfect carrot cake recipe, but I expect it could take a long time because we just can't eat that much carrot cake. Can we?

Foto Friday

2007-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

I've decided to institure Foto Fridays. Each Friday I will feature...you guessed it... a photograph! Just any photograph that I've taken that I'd like to share.

I love this picture because Finn is working his little tongue, which he did all the time during his first few months of life. And he looks so innocent, which is how babies should look, right?

Confession of a Desperate Mama

2007-04-13T13:13:00.000-05:00

I listen to ABBA multiple times a day...every day...for the last week or two. I think my favorite song is "Lay All Your Love On Me." It's got a great beat. How did this come about, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Finn has always liked music. One day he was tired, but having trouble falling asleep. He usually hates when you go near the computer while you're holding him, but I wanted to put some music on to help quiet him. So, trying to be quick about it, I open iTunes and pick something, anything, from the top of the list...ABBA...Greatest Hits. Two seconds of Dancing Queen and I had a quiet baby on my hands. Turns out...it wasn't a fluke...he LOVES ABBA. Usually, he's out with the first line of DQ, but if he's really fussy, we'll keep it playing and he is content. R was against the idea of our ABBA-lovin' baby boy...until he was a desperate Papa one night and now he, too, is a believer in the powers of Swedish 70's pop music. His favorite is "Take a Chance On Me." Go figure.

Easter goodies

2007-04-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

We spent a quiet Easter at home this year. The Easter Bunny brought a couple books for Finn and lots of candy for R and me. I decided on Saturday that I am going to have an annual Easter project. Being so last minute, this year's is not done, but I thought I had better post about it as motivation to complete it, sooner rather than later. However, this will actually be the second annual Easter project. Last year I made these lovely (I think) felted eggs...

I made more, but they were given away as gifts. At the time I didn't have felting needles which would have made the decorative part much easier, so I may have to try them again at some point.

In knitting land, I've mostly been working on my Absorba bathmat - I'm about half finished. It's going pretty well as my TV watching project. I do want to start Finn's stocking, but have not gotten around to winding balls - I need a ball winder!

Hooray for 10 inch thighs!!!

2007-03-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

Not mine, of course. I'm talking chubby little baby thighs. "Hooray" because this means that Finn is getting big enough to wear his fancy schmancy FuzziBunz diapers. Yes, I am one of the Few. The Proud. The Cloth-diapering Mamas of the world. Up until now it's been all old-school cloth diapers, but today brought new fun in the world of diapering, and let's face it - there really is little fun to be had in that world. So, here are the Bunz in action...

Turns out, they're still a little loose around the thighs. Guess I have to fatten him up some more!

So long, Flat Stanley!

2007-03-26T15:08:00.000-05:00

When I was in elementary school and was read the Flat Stanley book...I loved it! Well, twentysome years later, I received Flat Stanley as a houseguest. He came via United States Postal Service, of course, courtesy of my kindergarten nephew, Caleb. Stanley, Finn, and I had some adventures over the last few weeks and now it is time for him to return. I am to send him back with a new set of clothes representative of the city he visited. Now, I am no football fan, but the first thing that came to mind was a Steelers jersey. I went with Hines Ward...seems like a nice enough guy and well...he is half Korean. Mother in law would approve. Yes, I had fun coloring. Here is Flat Steeler Stanley, football and all!

The Pink Prancer?

2007-03-23T08:25:00.000-05:00

I've said "So long" to the Blue Bouncer, my trusty (or not) car for the past 6 years. I did not get to take it for one last spin...and I'm not really sad about that. I actually sold the car to my neighbor right across the street, so it hasn't gone far. And I'm told that the new owner will no doubt be painting the car hot pink. I can't wait to see that...haha. So, a new moniker...Magenta Mobile, Fuschia Fetcher...?

Mmmmm....alpaca

2007-03-19T16:45:00.000-05:00

First things first. The Sophie Bag. The simplest knitting project, yet I started it over a year ago and just recently finished it. Here is the pre-felt bag...

and post felting...

The pink color is actually mulled wine, not so pinky pink. I think my shaping is a bit off, but it's still cute. And I'm still considering some sort of closure. Maybe this time next year?

In other felting news...I just received a package of luscious Ultra Alpaca to make Finn's Christmas stocking...the Sean Stocking from Berroco. I love the colors of this yarn and I can't wait to start this project! But...must finish a belated knitted gift for R first.

Mother's milk

2007-03-16T15:51:00.000-05:00

Okay, okay...so I'm off to a slow start with the blog action. I was holding off until I had photos to share of my latest completed project. So where are they? Photoshop is being pissy and not functioning AT ALL. Boo.

A couple weeks ago, I left Finn home with Daddy for a few hours, along with a bottle of EBM. While out, I received a call for help with a screaming baby in the background. Finn wanted the real deal and was, as Daddy put it, "freaking out." Home I went. Yes, we had given him a bottle before and he gobbled it down, but we didn't make a habit of it - big mistake. We spent the next week trying to get him to take a bottle. He did. He didn't. He did. He didn't. I was getting a little annoyed at all the pumping and dumping when he refused and it seemed that no real progress was being made. That brings us to the following Saturday, when I had a photo shoot scheduled and would have to leave again for a few hours. The plan was to give Finn a milky snack before he was really hungry. Luckily, the snacking worked and Finn ended up sleeping during most of my time away. We've been continuing the bottle snacking and he's still trying to hold out for the fresh stuff. This kid's some sort of breastmilk connoisseur. No plastic tainting his liquid gold.

On a happier parenting note, the recent spring time change brought my longest stretch of sleep in months. Finn slept through the night for the first time. I got to sleep for almost six straight hours. Good Baby! That was 5 nights ago. How many times has he done it since, you ask? Zero. I'll take what I can get.

So you want to start a blog....?

2007-03-08T16:11:00.000-05:00

Uh huh.
So here we go...

Baby, it's cold outside...

Baby is sleeping...stirring.

Listening to a little Shins.

Baby's awake making those little cooing sounds that I so much prefer over the crying sounds. Earlier this afternoon I discovered that he loves for me to sing to him. And, let me tell you, the singing is not pretty to ears other than his. But it was nice... made him laugh and smile. Then when I could no longer come up with nonsense lyrics to nonsense tunes... I put on the Shins. And here we are.

Coos turn to cries.