Thrift 2014: Score 1

Hubby was able to get out of work a little early this past Wednesday so I gave him a heads up that we would potentially head to the thrift shop, since I haven't been since November. Unfortunately, or maybe rather fortunately if you talk to my wallet, my father also had to go grocery shopping so he came with us. While neither he nor Hubby rushed me, I felt guilty walking through every single aisle like I enjoy doing so instead of getting a couple pairs of jeans (I am still in an odd shape from baby...how much longer can I use that?), I ended up browsing pretty quickly and was happy with the few things that I did manage to grab. 

Gap trench coat $6.99

D-signed size 7-8 girls jeans 3.99/ half price 1.99

D-signed I have only seen at Target so far, and these are in great condition, a request was made to widen the bottoms of the super skinny jean though

All in all, I spent a little over $11. I was proud of my little shopping trip (I am pretty sure that I did it in under 15 minutes but don't ask my Hubby), I got great clothes in great condition for less than half of retail price. I am in love with my trench coat already and I can't wait to pair it with skirts when it warms up!

Dropkick Murphys tee for G, he doesn't know who they are but Hubby and I are both big fans so it works 1.99

Upcycled Flannel Sheet

My latest sewing project was supposed to be done for Christmas presents, but alas life distracted me. On a thrifting trip in November I picked up this super soft and warm flannel flat sheet with a plaid (Tartan?) pattern. It was subdued and would be fine for a boy or a girl. I had planned on making pajama pants that all three kids could wear for Christmas pictures, then when that didn't happen I figured that I could also use it for a Celtic inspired Renfaire costume. Thankfully, I buckled and found my pajama pant pattern. Last year I had cut out each size into muslin so I could keep using them and that plan worked out well since I didn't have to play with the tissue paper pattern again.  I love being able to reuse things that I find at the thrift store. This sheet cost me all of $2 and I made 2.5 pajama bottoms from it. I used a McCall's pattern as the base and ended up cutting out a couple other pairs for the rest of the year, some in flannel for the cold and some in cotton for the summer. The hardest part of pajama pants is threading the elastic through the top hem, other than that, in total I spent two hours making all three. The kids were happy to get new pajamas since last year's were already two or three inches too short! 

On to the next project! 

After making three pairs of pajamas, this was all that was left! Well used piece of fabric to me

to help keep track of which pants are whose, I used fabric paint that I had and white fabric to make tags that I then ironed onto the back seam

Here is the label that was on the sheet. Twin sized, 100% cotton and made in Portugal!

Here are the three pairs of pajama pants. The two bigger sizes, I used the existing hems from the top and the bottom of the sheet. The infant pants were without a pattern and were not as successful, but next time!

Cap and E getting ready for pictures. E loves being a big sister and Cap loves the attention!

Prepping for the group photo that I had to have!

Our group photo of matching pajama pants and lots of Rogers' bellies! Hubby and I love this photo, it is too cute. 

Why the Grammy's Won me over

Hubby and I spent Sunday night watching the Grammy's and forcing him through Downton Abbey. By the way, I love sassy Carson and I am still unsure of the Anna storyline. But on to the point. I liked more than one of the performances last night on the Grammy's. Katy Perry impressed me with a neat theatrical performance of Dark Horse and Beyonce never disappoints me. Hubby and I are both fans of Jay-Z so of course we were happy about that. Throw in some Pharrel, Daft Punk, JT, Stevie Wonder and it was a great night musically. I might even watch more awards shows after this one (as long as I can still break in the middle to watch Downton Abbey, nothing will come between me and a great period piece). 

But the moment that got me the most, down to my core was Macklemore's "Same Love." I have heard the song numerous times and each time I tear a little, but last night the live performance and the simultaneous weddings brought me to actual, honest-to-goodness tears. I am impressed when celebrities use their power (because they do have power, don't ever think otherwise) to make the world a better place. Whether is it fighting hunger, racism, democratic rights or something so socially polarizing as an equal right to marry, when a celebrity makes a stand, I respect them more. 

What is the point to all the fame, the 24 hour media coverage, the tabloids, the rumours and the gossip if you don't use that power for the betterment of humanity? That is exactly what Macklemore, with Queen Latifah and Madonna, has done. From what I can see, he seems a good person. A person that sees other people no matter the money he makes or the fame he gets. He hasn't lost that spark of humanity that connects him to people. While "Thrift Shop" may not have been the humanitarian anthem that "Same Love" is, I think that we can forgive him that. ;) 

Thank you, Macklemore and company for taking this awards show, making a statement, and supporting every single individual's right to love and be loved. 

What we did this Weekend!

We have been trying to unplug as a family, and do activities that are separate from the television or electronics, mostly. It is an attempt, not a perfect system.  But for an hour this weekend, we succeeded and went for a gorgeous hike. It was still bitter cold but beautiful with the new snow, the frozen stream and the pups coming along for the trek. 

Hubby's motion picture of Juniata jumping over our little creek

a neat ice cavern/bridge that was created over the water

a neat tree that my little brother used to call a dragon/rhinoceros tree

while out hiking, we didn't see much wildlife but we did see what was left of this dead crow hanging from a branch. Our guess is that a hawk left him there after lunch but we had fun guessing the story and talking about how life works

The kids, the dogs and I looking at seeds to collect for the new Hamsters to snack on

Hubby's art photo through the seed pods

Me pulling down a milkweed pod for Cap to touch and feel the soft down on the seeds. Even he seems to like to take little hikes in our woods and giggle at the dogs (and fall asleep from the rhythm of walking)

Happy Birthday! Cap at 6 Months

I guess it is becoming a habit, hopefully one that I am going to beat this new year, but Baby Cap's six month birthday was over a week ago but I missed it in the midst of my disconnect from the interwebs. So here we go:

 Dear Baby Cap, 

Happy Six month birthday, baby boy. You have grown so much in six month, it is crazy to me to think that you were born at 8 pounds and you are 17 already. You and I spent an hour the other day switching out your clothes again, packing up the 3-6 month sizes and busting out the 9 month sized clothing. We kept some of the old clothing in hopes that we will have at least one more sibling for you in the future. You are so curious about everything, as long as you can see me from where you are. You aren't crawling yet, or walking but you try. I am still leaning towards you learning how to walk and skipping crawling all together but we will see. The dogs and cat encourage you to try to crawl because you want to touch them all the time. Jack, our cat, is your greatest motivation. He does not really want you to touch him so he will lay right out of your reach while you giggle and wiggle to try and get him. 

The other night you woke up and stayed awake for an hour in the middle of the night and giggled ridiculously every time I whispered "kitty kitty kitty." No other words and not just talking. It was adorable. Things like that make me so insanely happy to have you in our lives. Brother and Sister love making you laugh and sometimes your silly little laugh throws us all into a fit of giggles.

We are really trying to get you on a loose schedule to give me time to keep up the house and to give Daddy and I some time together but I am not trying very hard and you aren't helping either! We almost have nap times down, but bedtime is a complete toss up whether is goes well or not. You are eating homemade blended foods at least three times a day and still nursing twice that many times. You are spending more time amusing yourself, at least in waves, so that makes it easier for me to do chores. Outside of that, you are pretty happy in your new high chair while I cook or hanging in our new sling while I fold laundry . 

Your eyes have stayed blue still I am pretty positive they will stay that way. Your hair has not really grown in any more, you still have cradle cap that I oil regularly and the tiniest birthmark on the back of your head that I love. You are so tall, at least to me. We already may have to take out the insert in the playpen because you are starting to pull yourself up and Daddy is worried that you will lean too far over the side. If we do take it out, I am so short that it will be so weird to try and lay you down to sleep but we will manage. 

You are growing so big and so fast that I am terrified that I might be missing it so I do spend so much time just staring at you or watching infomercials with you on my hip. Don't tell Daddy! We love you tons and are looking forward to your first steps, your first words and to see the new person that you will become!

Teething Biscuits Trial and Error

   First, a resolution update: 

Obviously, from my lack of posts, my resolution to unplug has been relatively successful. When it came down to it, I really think that I wanted to separate myself from social media and the somewhat petty emotions and obsession that results from it. The first week of the new year I had no internet access other than updates from my Etsy store. My biggest vice was checking Facebook continuously. While I was nursing, I always felt like I had to be doing other things, up until January, that was Facebook and Pinterest. Since the New Year started, I have finished a book that I have been sitting on for two months and am halfway through another. At this rate, I will finally finish this Salvatore series that James bought for me two years ago (in my defense, there are over 20 books in this series). 

Cap' enjoying new teething biscuits

This most recent week, I have buckled and scoped out Pinterest a few times. Mostly because I can't stay away and I was looking up recipes. Hubby had a bake sale at work to help a coworker pay for a relative's funeral (his job matches all funds raised by associates for things like that) so I looked up an amazing recipe for pumpkin bars that was so successful that there weren't any left by the end of day! So on top of doing something wonderful for someone else, I found a great new recipe that already has made it onto a hard copy recipe card in my vintage recipe box. 

Last week, Hubby had jury duty all week, thankfully putting away a bad person but it meant that he also had to go to his normal job after jury duty. It made for a couple long days and at least one burnt-out mommy day where I cried and we fought. But I got some sleep and we had a talk so it's all good now. (until the next sleepless night with teething coming!)

Speaking of teething...
I haven't seen or felt actual evidence of teething, and Baby Cap' has been drooling excessively since he was two months old, so I am not sure if we have started teething officially or not. We received gel teethers as a holiday present that he doesn't really like when they are cold, but enjoys just fine at room temperature. We found out over the holidays, while making chocolate covered pretzels (that we called Sonic Screwdrivers) that Baby really likes hard pretzel rods. Not really meant for babies, he was under very careful supervision when eating them but still went through almost an entire package in the past month. We then tried Nilla wafers. Warning, do not do this until chewing is a habit. They are too soft and again, not meant for babies.

I figured that we would have to buy some teething biscuits next time we went grocery shopping but then I remembered that I know how to cook and I have Pinterest. I looked up three different recipes and Cap helped me bake and test them out. All three recipes were so easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. All in all, I spent about an hour (once I take out all the nursing breaks, diapers breaks and other random intrusions) mixing and baking all of them. All I did was type in "teething biscuits" into Pinterest and pick out a random three to test.

Recipe #1

The first one seemed easy, I just didn't have any baby cereal on hand and was hoping that oatmeal would suffice as a substitute. Don't do that! I would definitely cook them longer if I did it again and I would use the blender on the oatmeal to make it more of a fine powder. I found the recipe here at Ashley Thunder Events. It was an easy recipe to follow...as long as you actually follow it. I ended up not giving Cap any because they were too soft but Hubby and my younger brother both really enjoyed them!

Recipe #2

The second recipe was the one I was originally most excited about but I think that I overcooked them a bit and was heavy handed on the molasses. I am a chronic anti-measurer, it's an issue. The dough was really great and I loved that I could make them into neat shapes and finally use my dinosaur shaped cookie cutter for something. I also used a dog bone shaped cutter and then cut some of them into long rectangle shapes. Cap seemed to like them just fine, the adults in the house, notsomuch. I found this recipe here at Lil Sugar. 

Recipe #3

This third recipe ended up being my favorite so far. A couple things that I would change? I would make a double batch and a larger loaf. I would cook it longer to make them harder and I would potentially flavor it. I would also use whole wheat flour and a healthier sugar option. I didn't want to buy special ingredients in case I ended up not liking how they turned out. I found this recipe here (via Pinterest) at Spilling the Beans. This one was the winner as far as I am concerned, they ended up being the right size for Cap's little hands, they were easy and all the adults liked them as well so while all the recipes will end up in the recipe box, these are the ones that I am going to make more of this weekend with the older kids to help!

Happy New Year: Resolution? Unplug

          

Happy New Year to everyone! From my family to yours, we wish the happiest and healthiest of years. As for us, we will be spending a quiet evening watching the Texas A&M football game against Duke, a spaghetti dinner and sparkling black currant juice at midnight, potentially some homemade apple pie vodka. 

Since it is New Year's, I do feel like I have to share the obligatory resolutions that I have decided to work on. On the top of my list (besides being the best Momma that I can be!) is to unplug. I know coming from a blog where I am obviously connected, this may sound hypocritical but I have set up guidelines to make my life less about being always available and always finding the answer and more about living in the moment. I will (try to) write all my posts on Sundays, my one day where I am free to have my own time with the internet. The rest of the week I want to be available to my kids and to myself. I read articles like this at Click Orlando, this at PsychCentral, and this on the Huffington Post website. 

I sometimes look around and see all four of us attached to electronics and wonder what each of us are thinking that makes it so that whatever is going on in the screen is better than the conversation that we could be having together. Not that it is always as drastic as that but I want to know how everyone's day was either at work or at school, I want the kids to tell me about a book they are reading or to tell me all about the origins of Thanksgiving, or how long division bores G because he knows how to do exponents and square roots, how E loves dolphins and if they are the smartest animals in the world or not. I want to have conversations with my family. I do not want my face glued to the phone screen, scrolling through Pinterest while I am at their concerts, checking Facebook at breakfast, or checking emails at bedtime. That's not what I want the kids to see and that's not who I want to be either. 

Without being connected all the time, I want to find time to finish sewing projects, to paint more, to read tons, to keep the house kept up, and find ways to show Hubby and the kids how much they mean to me. 

To unplug, this is my main goal, but not to just unplug but to reconnect and stay connected to my friends and family in a deeper, more realistic way. 

My 2014 Resolutions:

1. Unplug

2. Read more (reading list to follow)

3. Focus more energy on my Etsy store, KikiGrace

4. Halve my craft stash (destashing crafts are great posts)

5. Exercise 5x week (get back to pregnancy jean size, I am already at pre-baby weight)

6. Pare down my clothing

7. Finally sell/donate/rehome piles that I have been sitting on

8. write more letters

9. more family time

10. Buy a house!!!