Girls Skirt upcycle

I made matching girls skirts! It started with the white fabric I had that just begged to be made into a summer skirt! I realized I had some left over so I worked on one for Marlow as well. Once she saw it she told daddy that I should make one for Aowyn too. Aowyns turned out a little to small in the waist because I measured her a month ago and she must have grown (a lot) since then. Only bad thing about sewing at night, the kids aren't up for you to measure anything! So I will remake it soon. Before the trip. Riiiiiighttt...

Home school conference here we come!

I used a pair of maternity "daisy dukes" that were so cute but too short. I really like the wash and was hoping to salvage more denim but that's were it lay flat to sew on so I had to cut it there. 

Toddler diaper

I thought I would make Drakeford a cool big kid diaper for night times. Here is what I whipped up!

First: Rita's rump, no pocket, sewn in prefold, from t shirt. Touch tape

Update: I only sewed the inner soaker down across the top and bottom so it would still be loose in the middle and could wash/dry better. But after a wash routine it seems to get bunched up in the middle. So I think I will see it down the middle and sides next time or leave it on the out side. 

It absorbed great though!

Second: Katrina's soaker pattern from a wool sweater. This came out just how I hoped it would! It's a little big but he is only wearing it at night and we haven't had any problems. 

Sorry about the lint. I don't remember that being there!

Update: it works great! No stink and no wet. Wool it my favorite! And I didn't lanolize it all the way, I just sprayed it with lanolin and it has been great!

Cool ride

Grandpa and Grammy snagged this from a neighbor who was getting rid of it and brought it over to share. What a fun time! Marlow got her first driving lesson! Let's just say they both need a lot more steering practice. It's a good thing I wasn't in the car or I would have been so car sick. Stop, go, stop, go, grass. Marlow enjoyed turning on the radio to go cruising. 

My own little table

So Aowyn begs to get down from the dinner table only to then crawl into the kitchen to sit at her own little table :)

(Focus on cute baby. Ignore the sewing table pig sty)

Thanks, Nani, for the Pringles stix!

Getting ready

I have been trying to plan, pack, and order everything we need for our big trip to Houston, San Antonio, and Nashville! 

The last trip I did disposables for aowyn I made the mistake of not testing them before we left and she had a rash the whole weekend! So this time I went for the "green diapers". This will be simple, just price compare on amazon and done...right? 

Well apparently the two top brands I was looking at were very highly rate until recently when they "reformulated" and now have leak issues. Long car rides + leaks = unhappy baby and mommy. So which one do I choose? After a couple hours of amazon reviews (really? It's a diaper!) it was down to Earths Best and another brand I have never heard of, Andy Pandy. I decided to go with Andy Pandy, even though they were more expensive, because they had such great reviews and people said they feel like cotton underwear! Now that's a comfy 16 hour car ride. Hopefully they will not give any rash problems being free from most bad chemicals and very breathable. 

Is it weird to be excited about diapers? Because I am!! They should be here any day!! 

Don't judge

As we were playing in the snow this morning there was a lot of popping and sparks coming from a near by telephone pole. Turned out a branch had fallen on it and caught fire. Then *boom* our power went out. A crowd of teen boys gathered around to see the excitement when one of them discovered their power was out. "Oh no!" They thought, "no video games!! No Internet!! What will I do?"

I just chortled to myself about how silly they were. After all, there is a winter wonderland outside that should satisfy a boys yearn for adventure all day! Not to mention books by candle light, hot chocolate. Sheesh, no imagination. What is wrong with kids these days? Do they just play video games all day long?

As I walked Marlow inside to go potty she asked why we couldn't turn the light switch on - power is out - what about Maria "sound of music" - power is out - what about tea - electric kettle, power is out. No big deal, this will be fun! Then a panic set in...my sewing machine won't work either!!! My plans to snuggle up in some good material tonight and sew were dashed!! What ever will I do?? I can't play in the snow ALL day. What am I supposed to do, just go to sleep at a decent hour?

Then I remembered the boys out side with their sudden panic over their machines while feeling the same panic over my machine.....

 .....Humbling.

 It's not the end of the world. I just had to lecture myself with the same words I thought towards the boy just minutes before :)

And oh look! The power is back on!

Snow day veggie soup

The best thing after a long cold day in the snow is a bowl of soup! 

So grab what you have in your fridge and start the simmer....mmmm. 

Here is what ours looked like tonight:

LO = left over

1 sweet onion, chopped

Garlic powder (was out of fresh garlic)

Sauté in olive oil till translucent

Then add

1 small bag baby carrots, sliced

4 cups celery

1/2 cup chicken (LO)

1 1/2 cartons free range chicken stock

2 palm-fulls Italian seasoning

About a teaspoon sea salt

Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 min until carrots are soft. Then add

2 cups Mexican rice (LO)

1/4 cup small new peas (LO)

1 can tomato paste

It seriously tasted like Campbell's soup, only a lot better of course :) Kevin said "this is like opening night at a restaurant!! Don't expect any left overs." My man knows the right things to say!

Darling diapers - Newborn fitted

This is my first attempt at a newborn fitted diaper. It is so cute in person! So tiny!! 

I used the free darling diapers newborn fitted pattern (the yellow one for bigger newborns). And used this tutorial to help me since it doesn't come with instructions. 

I used some tshirts as the outer and micro fiber towels as the sewn in soaker. Then I added Velcro and a snap for the umbilical cord. It was fun but a lot of work! This was only the first one I have made and I felt like I was cooking something new and had to keep looking at the recipe. But it is soo cute!! It may go quicker next time. 

Kevin likes the idea of saving up and buying a stash of fitted diapers from greenmountaindiapers.com in all sizes since they are his favorite. Cool! 

But wait...didn't I ask you this BEFORE I got snap pliers and printed out 5 diaper patterns and spent endless hours researching diaper sewing reviews in an attempt to make a stash for myself??? 

Oh well, it's been educational! He's probably right though, I don't think I can get 24 of these cuties done before the baby comes. Plus 24 size 2! That's 48 dipes!! We'll take it slow and enjoy the sewing. He said he thinks I COULD get it done but that he wants me to sew something more fun and things we can't buy as easily. How sweet! 

I'm still not letting myself totally of the diaper making hook just yet, since this all hinges on "saving up", you know, money. But I feel a little more freedom to switch to a fun project in between making a few diapers here and there. 

So here it is, number 1!

Snap pliers

I got to practice with my kamsnap pliers tonight. After carefully planning out the positioning and color I began. I have a mix of colors that came with the pliers so I couldn't decide on contrasting or picking colors as close in shade as possible, I went with the latter. I also used one of my fitted diapers as a guide. The tabs on the Rita Rump Pocket Diaper that I made are much longer so I added some snaps. If they seem in a weird place, they are! They needed to cross over really far so the last snap on the tab is not totally straight. It was fun to use and fairly easy. I learned a lot. How to put snaps on....how to take snaps off when I mess up despite meticulous planning. You win some you lose some. That's the reason for the not quite matching green, it was plotted perfectly until I put studs instead of (the other one). Oops! Guess the lime green will have to work!

I also put a snap down rise. I think it came out great and can't wait to try it on aowyn!

Small setting

Me and Berni

Long story really short:

Got a Brother 9500 sewing machine

After a month and a couple projects it started sounding like it was laboring. 

Trouble shooted. It broke. Took it to repair. 

In the mean time...

My mom lends me her Bernina 801 Sport (who knew mom had the top brand sewing machine?? Well I did, but I never knew how nice it was...just old and heavy) now I know, heavy is good! My Brother bounced all over the place!

So Brother is back from repair with all its bells and whistles but Bernina sews like butter and doesn't bounce. What's a girl to do? Keep the Brother for its auto thread, button hole, embroidery? Or return it and save for my own Bernina?

As of right now I am still test driving so it's me and Berni sewing the night away :)

Thanks mom!

Workout skirt

It was time to take some hand me down workout pants, and turn them into something good...but what? I ordered a great swim skirt that I was using as a work out skirt before pregnancy but it did not accommodate my growing belly at all! Despite the fact that it is elastic, it is fairly tight in order for it to stay up when soaked. So I was going for this skirt from L. L. Bean $34.99:

With these:

And got this $FREE!

Let me just say I was honestly surprised. I had watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to do some jeans into skirts but they all involved another pair of pants. I just used this one pair and it still came out great!

These sewed up really quick. If you would like a tutorial on this DIY project let me know! It was fun!

Now back to the park for some workouts! Once I can walk again...haha

Exercise?

I'm a little pregnant, a little tired, a little busy with toddlers/babies...

But I can just tell my body is so out of shape. The pregnancies have gotten progressively more strenuous as each one passes. Yes I do have young children now which explains part of the story, but that's all the more reason to be in shape! I need to be able to keep up and enjoy days with them! 

I feel the biggest difference in my leg strength. Muscles are being strained that are having to take the brunt of the work because my thighs are not as strong as they used to be. Ballet class did wonders for my lower body strength! But I haven't had a moment to jump back in in 3 years. 

A little while back I thought the idea of play ground work outs was fun and doable because the kids could play and I could work out at the same time! I didn't have time for another event in my day so the thought of combining two was great!

Then first trimester hit. What work out? Did you mean getting off the couch??

Ok. Life goes on! Here I am, antsy to get in shape again. So we hit the park! 

We had a great time running laps, doing pull ups/chin ups, and leg stretches. It felt so good just to know I could! 

It was 36 degrees so aowyn slept snuggled in her blankets. 

Don't forget to tone the sides!

Now excuse me while I crawl home and rest inside for a day or two. 

EC upcycled wrap skirt

I saw this adorable wool wrap skirt online and got an itch to upcycle one of the wool sweaters I bought at goodwill months ago. I thought I would use them from diaper soakers but I haven't had a need just yet.  

Click the link and scroll down to see the online version I am copying. http://www.nooneewilga.com/EC/clothing.html

Here is my version!

I ordered some adjustable elastic since this is supposed to fit from birth to 5 years old! When it comes in, I can post a tutorial if you want to make one yourself! They are great as a diaper cover over a fitted diaper or as is and the cross over makes potty trips easy. And since its 100% wool it can be aired out and washed monthly or as needed. I used to  think wool was high maintenance, but now I see it is very low maintenance! Just use fitteds and it won't get soiled as often :)

Note to Mom

Note to mom:

Do yourself a favor and take the babies socks off BEFORE you change the mega poopy diaper. 

Cloth diapers - Newborn

Disclaimer: This is a cloth diaper lingo heavy post. If you just want cute pics of aowyn, scroll down to see :)

 The cloth diaper journey has certainly taken its twists and turns through three children. Through wool+flats to pockets to AIO then covers+prefolds now back to wool with fitteds and EC. Don't forget the occasional disposable bout usually occurring on road trips or first trimesters. All have been educational and thanks to the amazing resale value of cloth, switching systems hasn't been very costly, especially when I buy from Craigslist to start with!

 But here I am - baby #4 and we are about to take yet another road. It's one thing when I started I said yeah right. Probably never. I'm not THAT big of an enthusiast. I really don't have that much time or skill or need. I'm not an expert! Yet this new sewing kick has naturally led where I least expected to be four children down the line. Sewing has become so therapeutic and releasing. It gives me a sense of productivity when my body is less than willing to get up and work. My hands are willing to let my mind go free and create! 

For aowyn we did a newborn cloth diaper rental program from itsybitsybums.com which I absolutely LOVED! I highly recommend it! So easy to handle and very soft and absorbent for baby. 

But my stash is still hodge podge. It goes from one system in one size then a totally new system in another size. When I ran across mamakatdiapers.com and her extensive homemade newborn cloth diaper reviews, I had to try. I started book marking and printing out all the free patterns I could get my hands on! I even whipped up a sample RRP diaper just to see if I could manage. With a few modifications. It came out great! And is very absorbent with a hemp doubler for night time. It is supposed to fit babies from 9lbs-toddler! Just fold the rise down and stuff accordingly. I put back elastic in mine and a "tongue" soaker on the outside to make it easier to wash. No pocket (I am not in the mood to stuff pockets right now). The diaper is made with two layers of flannel and the soaker is the middle portion of an old prefold, overlock stitched on the sides.

Then...my sewing machine broke (another story for another time). 

Not wanting to lose momentum, I got to work reading through all of mama kat diapers reviews and printing and assembling more patterns. I wanted just to focus on newborn to hon my time right now since that is one size I don't own anything for and the thought of making 20 fitted diapers in nb/sm/m/l was a little overwhelming. But I saw one diaper she reviewed was a Size 1 baa baa baby fitted diaper that she put a snap down rise to make it newborn as well as a size small giving it more wear. So I got to thinking about a bigger more complete plan, and this is what I have so far. 

I will make a stash of 15 size 1/nb snap down rise diapers and 15 size 2. That way I can make some that will fit aowyn now for her to test and when she is bigger she already has large fitteds from green mountain diapers that will be great into potty training. All of this will be made with recycled fabrics and as cheaply as possible. The only things I will need to purchase is elastic, touch tape, and kamsnaps. I am so excited to start on this road and learn some more!

More pictures and links to where I am camped out at to time. Youtube can be used for so much good in the world of sewing! Thanks for reading!

SCPP

I made a pair of split croch pants for aowyn out of a sweater. That way she can go easily without taking undies on/off and she isn't cold! Here is the blog and tutorial where you can get the free pattern: http://doityourselfec.blogspot.com/2008/01/three-seam-split-crotch-pants.html?m=1

You can also use the elastic band to hold a prefold to catch accidents. 

I have never used these before so I will update when we determine how they work!

Prenatal #2

Went to my second prenatal and the kids always enjoy weighing themselves with me :)

Who is this monkey??

Drakeford weighs 40 lbs! 

Look at this stylin' cutie!

Marlow weighs 27 lbs. 

And Aowyn was asleep so she didn't get weighed. Next time!

Park day!

We joined daddy on one of his photo shoots at the park on Saturday. It was so fun to be out with the kids and BOB. Visions of this summer filled my head. I think bob is beginning to see its time to blossom! 

The kids had so much fun! Drakeford and Marlow loved just running in the big fields. Drakeford would come up to me and say "mom, come here. You see this big ladder? I climbed up it all by myself." He is very good and careful on the play ground :)

Marlow would say "I cannot do that, so I am just a little girl."  

Aowyn had a great time in the swing!

She swung next to Marlow which made it even more special!

On our way home we passed a field of huge horses. So we stopped and pet them - well sort of. They had to be 10 feet tall! They came right up to the gate but made it clear they only really wanted food. Sadly we already ate all our snacks so they didn't care for us touching their noses. It's a little intimidating petting a horse that big, and there were tons of them! But we got some good photos that daddy with have to post later. 

Happy aowyn

Chia seeds

And what, you might ask, am I proposing to do with this??

When in a pinch, meaning no breakfast items but hungry children, one resorts to whatever is on hand. Pancakes were on the menu and I only needed one egg but discovered it had been used! Hmm. Something about chia seeds came to mind. Yes chia seeds can be used as an egg substitute and has very good omega-3 content. 

Ratio for one egg substitute:

1 tablespoon chia seeds

3 tables spoons water 

Crush up chia seeds in a food processor or a morter (like me). Mix with water and let sit for 5 min. 

It was great! Kevin even said they were my best pancakes ever. Although he didn't like the little specs much, he got over it :)

Drakeford had fun helping me by singing our skip counting by three song. Two batches on the griddle makes 18! What a smarty. How old are you again??

Yum...

Yes yes, I do cook on a Teflon griddle (gasp!). All other cookware is cast iron or stainless steel, but this is the difference between making pancakes and not wanting to fight with them sticking to the pan. Amazing pancakes every time! And such small clean up! I know I know. Convenience over health... If it makes you feel any better, we only have pancakes twice a month!