Handmade Holidays: Five Months old!

While I know this may not be part of a "Handmade Holiday," I did make him and it is the holidays, so here ya go my Little Captain America: 

Dear Baby Boy,

Happy Birthday Steven! I know you actually turned 5 months last Wednesday but Momma has been super busy getting ready for the holidays. I am so happy that you came into our lives, however unexpected you were. You make me smile every morning and exhausted every night but I wouldn't change it for the world. You let us sleep for at least three hours every night before you wake up hungry, then you spend the rest of the night cuddled into my arms, keeping me warm when Daddy steals all the blankets. You used to wake up crying because you were unsure of life, now you wake up smiling and the first hour you are awake, nothing could make you angry. 

Almost every morning we wake up, you spend a little time in bed with Daddy while I take out the dogs and make coffee. Then Daddy gets ready for work while we make his lunch and we wave to him from the front window when he leaves. Then we have breakfast. You have oatmeal, strawberries, bananas, pears and/or applesauce while I have my coffee and yogurt. Then we fill the day with various chores, playing with the dogs, playing piano, practicing crawling, sewing and watching Doctor Who. You were taking a three hour nap everyday for a week but you seem to have given up on naps all together at this point. You will take two or three twenty minute sleeps, just long enough for me to use the bathroom or switch laundry, barely. 

I am astounded every day how big you have grown. Seventeen pounds already! Over twice your birth weight! You are eating tons of baby food, handmade by your loving momma, with no known allergies, high five! You like to help me sew but want to touch the needle, so you don't help too often. You might be starting to teeth since you put everything in you mouth now but I have thought that since you were 3 months old. You love eating paper and your socks. You like it when the dogs lick your feet and face and hands and legs and arms and hair. You laugh when I nibble on your baby fat neck and chubby little thighs. You prefer when Daddy changes your diaper because he made up the Diaper Song that I can never remember and when I try, it sounds lame with no rhythm at all. 

Thank you Steven, for helping me find a life that makes me the happiest, for being happy even though I have no idea what I am doing and for helping Daddy and I continue building our family together. We love you a googolplex!!!

- Momma

using our newly found arm muscles, but mostly getting angry at being on our belly!

Wearing a tux to Brother's winter concert!

the happiest baby and the best thing to wake up to every morning (sorry Hubby but it's true)

Handmade Holidays: Holiday Party #1

Hubby had a company holiday party this past Sunday so there was minimal crafting done, with all the pumping and prepping and showering that I had to do prior to leaving Steven with his grandfather. This was really the first time that I have left him alone. I have left him once before, for an hour for a drink with friends but he stayed home with his Dadda. This time, Hubby and I were both out from 6:45pm until 11:21pm. Not that I kept track of the time or anything.  

It was tons of fun, James even bought me a new outfit and I got to wear shoes that we bought two winters ago for the first time. I absolutely love the top that we bought (thank you Target), it was light and airy, glittery and just drapey enough to cover the baby belly without being frumpy. James insisted on wearing my Van Gogh- Doctor Who skirt from Hot Topic, very cute and not something that I would have bought without him, but it turned out to be really comfortable. 

The food was awesome, the people he worked with (he just transferred to another store so we have another party next week!) are awesome and fun, we danced and other then a sore on my toe the night was awesome. Halfway through, my best friend (since fifth grade) went over to the house and dressed the baby up for bed and she finally put him to sleep, after my dad tried twice! They both said that it wasn't too bad so I am hopeful for next week. On the other side of that, Steven might have been horrible and they are nicely lying to me. James' mom told me when she was over that James was four before she left him with anyone else. They left James with his grandmother and she swore that he was happy and perfect the whole time, while his aunt tattled and told his mother how he wailed the entire time they were gone. I imagine that it was somewhere in between. My friend also bought Steven two new pajama sets and she sent me a picture of him in it, which made me cry in front of a table of James' coworkers, embarrassing but I missed him!!!

very blurry because of the poor lighting, but yey us!

Terrified face on my little reindeer baby!

One of my favorite ever pictures of us

Handmade Holidays: Project 4: Soap and Candles

Another super easy project that I wanted to do this year was to make soap and candles. I do not make soap or candles completely from scratch, at least not yet, but the craft stores have easy and pretty kits that are great for beginners, or for those of us that are making them with an infant attached to the hip. I was going to try and make these with the kids, but at this point in the game, if I have the time, energy, supplies and infant cooperation, I do it. I had made soap last year to presents (and made way too many of them) so I had some left over for this year, which was good considering the 24 people that will be at dinner, plus presents for those that won't be at the meal. I also wanted to de-stash some of my crafting supplies, so I ended up using up all of my candle and soap making supplies, all I have left are some wicks which I am going to hold onto and maybe make crayon candles with the kids this winter. 

I started with herbal soaps, making oatmeal, patchouli and lavender bars for a grown up option. I still had more soap left, as well as coloring and scents that came in the kits that I had bought last year. I made super-saturated colored ones for the teens on my list, in my heart shaped silicone mold. I most definitely recommend using silicone molds for soap and candle making, they say that you can use metal pans but, in my experience, the ease of the silicone molds is incomparable. I let the soaps sit for maybe an hour, in the fridge, and they were completely set and ready for wrapping up. I just wrapped them in cling-wrap, since that is what I had in the house and we never use it for food (I couldn't even figure out why we had bought it in the first place, although I may make sugar cookies later this month and I may use it then). 

my messy workspace, aka my kitchen counter

After making all the soap, which really consists of just melting the soap in the microwave, adding color, scent and pouring it into the mold, I started on the candles. This I had never done before so it was a little bit of trial and error but I think that they turned out nicely.  I didn't use the molds for these because they were all filled with soap, instead I reused jars and glasses from spent candles. I bought white wax, no coloring and no scents. For the first bunch, I coloured them with three green crayons and scented them with the leftover bits of pine scented candles, they smell slightly but not as over-powering as the originals, which I actually ended up liking. I had enough of that to make five of the green and still have a fair amount of wax left. I crushed up dried lavendar and grabbed two purple crayons to color the wax, hoping that they purple overpowered the green, which it did. The second batch made a large candle, a tiny jar candle and three tiny jarred candles from the scents I had used in the soap. I don't know how well any of these will burn, but they look really pretty and I will probably test them out soon. I managed to do this entire project with Steven in his bouncy seat or on my hip, so it wasn't difficult at all and I really enjoyed it. The smells were amazing!

I used chopsticks to keep the wicks centered and upright

My five pine tree scented candles sitting while the lavender wax melted on the stove

this was the final result. 50 soaps and 10 candles (notice the adorable R2D2 soaps? I have a huge Star Wars fan on my list)

My little Holiday Helper! Thanks Granmichelle for the owl pillow!!

Handmade Holidays: Project 3: Birdseed Ornaments

I have been looking for a couple of presents that I can include the kids on so I have been stalking Pinterest (again!) for a couple ideas. I found one, here , but of course I decided that this was the exact project that I wanted to do and then realized that I did not have all the ingredients. So we had to improvise a little and they did not come out as beautiful as the ones in the pictures. But the kids had fun making them, although next time I will use two separate bowls and separate molds so they each can have their own space, sharing became a little bit of a problem. Maybe even invited their cousins over and make a little buffet of different kinds of seeds and mixtures that they can add. We could also collect seeds throughout next summer and fall, throw them in the freezer and use them as well.  

We ended up using raspberry gelatin which turned it red and I have since found a few other recipes that may be a little easier to use. Overall it was fun, it took about forty minutes to make but we let them dry for a whole 24 hours. We may end up making more after the holidays since we have tons of bird seed, lots of hungry birds, and cold weather activities will be in demand. It was fun and will make a cute little present for family and their feathered friends on Christmas day. 

 

bits of bird treats and one to hang on the tree in a little tin foil cookie package 

while Brother and Sister were making bird treats (and let's be honest, squirrel and deer treats) Steven ate some sweet potatoes 

Handmade Holidays: Project 1: Baby Quilt

My first project for Christmas ended up being a complete by chance sort of thing. I have a problem. A problem that I have heard many crafters have, and that there may be support groups for. I collect craft things, tons of craft things. Even before I was working in a craft store, I had tons of bits and bobbles. Then I worked in a fabric chain store for a year and goodness did the collection grow and spawn. It was/is a problem. Hubby gives me the "look" when he glances towards my corner/closet/room/pile of things that will become other things one day. With that look in mind, I am making in a serious focus this month to make as many presents as I can manage, thus eliminating a fair amount out of my stash and saving us money on shopping (kind of, considering I have already spent the money). 

I was in the middle of sewing super hero themed curtains for my nephew (there will be no photos because they were a ton of fabric and by the time I was done sewing, I was soooo done looking at them. Plus, they are wrapped already), and I found a pile of handkerchiefs that I had bought from evil WalMart, probably five years ago. They are the white fabric with gray owls and little stars on them. I imagine, when I bought them that I had a plan. What it was? I have no clue. But they were adorable, I have a thing for owls and considering Baby had a loosely Potter themed nursery, the print was actually kind of perfect. I had matching gray fabric left over from RenFaire costumes, yellow scraps from a box of my mother's fabric, white flannel that I had bought for burpcloths (before realizing that I never use them) and a package of crib sized batting that had been on clearance for 3.97. So I had everything except for binding. Hubby suggested an orange colour to match the little owl beaks, and I agreed.

When I made the two older children blankets last year, I just used sating ribbon folded over as binding so I figured that I would do that again for this blanket. Foolishly, I thought when I couldn't find sating ribbon, that acetate ribbon would work just as well. I was wrong. Very wrong. Don't ever do that! I washed it and it fell apart so horribly that I was very tempted to toss the entire blanket in the garbage. But I had already stitched in Steven's name and the date. So out came the seam ripper and two evenings wasted, then out to buy actual blanket binding and a night to sew that on correctly. Note to self: do it correct the first time, you cheapskate! We also went to the secondhand bookstore to pick up a copy of Harry Potter to go with the blanket for his first reading book. I can't wait to start reading my favorite series to him. I am secretly hoping that the older two kids cuddle up and listen too. So, after using four or five yards of fabric that I had laying about and a slightly stressful binding experience, Steven's first Momma-made blanket is all finished, folded and waiting to be wrapped. 

Piecing together the squares

Finished top

Hand stitched little message for Steven's first baby quilt. Hopefully, we will have many, many nights snuggled underneath, reading together

I also finished a handful of burpcloths, mostly I just use these when feeding Steven to wipe his face and hands. The fabric was a flannel flat sheet from the thrift store for $2 and it made 9 burpcloths. 

Holiday Season Starts!

     This past month I have not been a great blogger, but I have definitely been working on being a great momma. Steven and I spend every day together, lots of one on one time just hanging out with each other. I am trying to figure out how to put a baby on a schedule when I have no real schedule and no real solid reasons to stick to a schedule. But it is a work in progress. Here's hoping that I can figure it out in a reasonable amount of time *fingers crossed*
     So as of this past Sunday, December is finally here and the Christmas season really starts. We had 11 people for Thanksgiving dinner and are now planning a dinner for potentially 27 people on Christmas day. It is a very good thing that I enjoy hosting and prepping and decorating and setting a cute table! Tomorrow I will start the hand made holiday presents countdown and I am debating doing a Doctor Who month in January, with crafts, episode reviews, lots of pictures and maybe a cosplay or two.

I hope every one had a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving with loved ones and is looking forward to a love filled holiday season! 

The Thankful Project: Day 2

Again thanks to Chasing Happy for hosting this thankful linkup. 

Today's prompt, "A role that you've played," was a little more difficult for me then yesterday's prompt. I am thankful for being able to be a partner to my wonderful fiance, thankful for being the "favorite" granddaughter to my Pappy and Nana, thankful for being the only sister to six brothers and mother to my wonderful baby, Steven. But I think the role that I am most thankful for is that of stepmother.

I met James' two children when they were two and four year of age, so I wasn't there when they were babies but I have seen them grow over the past five years. It is the hardest thing that I have done, almost harder then being a birth mother, is carefully treading the water of being a stepmother, especially when their own mother is very loving and very involved. I had a really hard time coming to terms with being the stepmother for the first two years that James and I were together, I loved being the fun person but I am a strong believer that children need schedules and routines, which turns me into the strict, mean one (according to Hubby). I have my own Type A, obsessive personality that does not coincide well with children to begin with, but I have grown so much as a person, become so much more patient (I had none to begin with), understanding and I listen so much better then I did when we first met. 

James' daughter, (my stepdaughter or my soul-daughter, as James calls her) was the easier fit when we first met. I was fun, with crazy coloured hair, cool clothes, danced in public and I wore a cat collar as a necklace so for a two year old girl who wore tutus and pink cowboy boots regularly, it wasn't hard to get along. As she has gotten older and started acting like much more of a teenage, we have conflicted a little more. James says that I am harder on her, more strict and hold her to high standards, which may be true. I worry about the culture of lowered expectations for girls, that it is okay to just be cute or pretty, but I want her to know that it is just as important to be kind and to be smart. I am thankful that she has taught me how important it is for girls to have positive role models, she has taught me to see the world through the eyes of a little girl (I hated pink, glitter, and dresses as a girl) and I hope that she has the patience in the future to help me learn more patience and to breathe before acting. 

Hubby's son, on the other hand, was a much harder sell. I was scared to push too hard, he was quiet, a little angry and very set on being with his father, understandably so. I have six brothers, so I always figured that I would sync so well with a son, but it was so much harder than I had expected. It wasn't until recently that he and I have started to have our own inside jokes, our own conversations, our own little system and agreement on how our relationship should be. It started with him learning how to spell and we would play the spelling game. Hubby or I would give him a word and he would try spelling it. He wanted harder and harder words, to the point where I was just reading words out of the dictionary to challenge him more. Since then, we have settled that we are both good spellers, so we have that in common. He and I both get ready quickly when we have somewhere to do, while James and Eve take their time. Griffin and I call them the Delinquents now, because of their shared lackadaisical attitude sometimes. Grif and I both tend to be a little more serious and introverted naturally so I know where he is coming from. As I have gotten older, I am trying to become more of an extrovert, but naturally I just need quiet me-time. I am thankful that Grif has taught me that boys come with their own basket of problems, but none are insolvable. He has taught me how much fun video games can be, that sometimes it is okay to just wear sweatpants and no socks every single day (it is no reason to increase blood pressure over) and that being a stepmother can just be as simple as being companion souls sharing life's journey together and not overbearing, anal retentive craziness, at least most of the time. 

So thank you, Eve and Griffin, for helping me to learn how hard and how easy it can be to be a stepmother, that we aren't all evil, and that there is always enough room in my heart to love our happily blended family. 

Week in Review: Mother in Law Visit: Statue of Liberty

With the government shutdown, Liberty Island is now closed so I was so happy that my first visit to the Statue wasn't put on hold. We were able to visit the island the Friday before the shutdown and kept saying how lucky we were that we didn't plan the visit for the following week. MIL, kids and I had never been to the Statue before, Hubby had gone when he used to live in NYC in his younger years (Before Kendra). My family had gone when I was in the first grade but I refused to miss school to go see the statue, because I was that much of a nerd, even at six. We bought tickets in advance (they were more expensive then I really thought they would be) for 11am time slot but arrived there early and there was no problem getting on the ferry early. We decided to park on the New Jersey side instead of going into NYC, figuring it would make it easier getting home with minimal traffic. That plan would have worked except that we were so hungry when we left that we stopped at the first restaurant we could all agree on and then hit some traffic on the way home, but still ended up getting home early enough to have a normal bedtime. 

We took the ferry over to the island (which I am pretty sure is the only way to get there), they had a bunch of different ferries with names like: Miss Liberty, Miss New Jersey, Miss New York, Miss Ellis Island. We pointed out to the kids where all boats have their names and how each boat has a unique name. Ellis Island is still closed since they are repairing damage from Hurricane Sandy, but as the boat went by, we gave little history recaps on the island and Ellis Island. 

ferry at the dock before we left for the island

The weather was absolutely awesome, I wish I had packed a great lunch because the grounds were perfect for a family lunch. I had only packed some snacks so we wouldn't be starving while we there, but we could have spent another hour there just enjoying the view. I definitely would recommend bringing at least a sweater because the water makes it a little bit more chilly then the mainland, I took my sweater off on the island but I was also carrying around the baby and he is a little hot furnace. We even could have ate at the park from where the ferry left from and where we left the car. There was the old railway station there, built in 1913 that is super creepy but awesomely cool to take some pictures. The trip was awesome, easy to get to and other then the crowds (which you can't avoid at a huge touristy hotspot) and Steven sleeping through the climb to the pedestal, it was a perfect day trip. I was so happy to finally get to see this hugely important monument to our country. 

Week in Review: Mother-in-Law Visit: Walkway over the Hudson

The past two weeks were stressfully spent preparing for a visit from Mother-in-Law so blog posts have been falling to the wayside, although I have plenty of pictures so recap the week. After spending Monday in a hurried mess to try and get everything neat and organized, we drove almost two hours to Kennedy airport to pick up MIL. MIL and I have met before but it was very early in the relationship with Hubbs. Since there is a decent time difference between Ireland and New York, we spent the afternoon just relaxing. Tuesday we also had a late start, just trying to get MIL used to the time difference and then took an afternoon trip to the Walkway over the Hudson in Highland, NY. The bridge used to be the railroad bridge and is now part of the local rail trail in addition to being a park. It is very high off the water, but in no way feels unsafe ( I have a fear of heights so these things are important to me!). We parked the car on the Highland side of the bridge (west side) and only walked to the halfway point since it was getting late and the bridge closes at dusk. There was a spacious parking lot, a snack/drink cart and very clean bathroom facilities. We saw tons of kids on the bridge, walking and biking and the bridge is very pet friendly (they even had a water dish at the halfway point just for pups!) so if you bring the kids, be prepare to spend a fair chunk of time just petting dogs. If you wanted to make a day trip of it with the kids, you could go to the Children's Museum for the day, picnic at either end of the park and walk the bridge during sunset. Overall the outings rating would be a 6/10. It is very weather dependent, but we had a great time and it was an easy walk to just enjoy the view. 

looking south towards the Mid-Hudson Bridge

looking west towards Highland

Later we had bathtime!!! Once he realizes that it's a bath and not liquid death, Steven enjoys it a ton

Monday Morning: Autumn Day!!!

      This past Thursday marked Steven's 8 week birthday. I am unsure exactly when you stop counting weeks and start counting the day as his birth anniversary, either way on Wednesday he will be two months by the calendar. So, Happy Two Months, Steven! I truly do not remember what life was like before you, and I mean that in the best possible way. My days are completely filled with spending time with you, while you nap I creepily stare at you, amazed by how wonderful you are. I was not sure that I was made for this job of being your Momma, but I can not imagine doing anything else with my life. I love looking at you and feeling how much I love and how much I love your Dadda. I love that you have a little attitude, that you know what you want and if we let you cry a little, you give us angry faces when we do pick you up, just to let us know that you are upset with us. I love how you are now starting to talk, we spend a couple hours every day just chit-chatting with each other. I am bent on making your first word "moon," since your Zodiac sign is Cancer so your ruling planet is the Moon. I love how much you love baths and getting your diaper changed. I love how much you smile, even when I am not sure if it is our of happiness or a gassy belly. I love how much your older siblings love you and want to take care of you. I love how you spend every night asleep in my arms, even if it has put our love life on hold a bit (we will make up for it when we retire *wink wink*). But I love how you are becoming your own little person with your own personality and how much our family has grown since Dadda and I first met five years ago. Thank you, Steven, for bringing me the joy of motherhood and absolute love each and every day.

Attachment Parenting: Independent or Entitled Children, Or is there a happy medium?

what I wake up to every morning

     James and I have been arguing the difference between healthy attachment parenting and Steven just training us to do what he wants through unhealthy attachment. Arguing is probably a strong word, James tells me to let Steven cry for a bit if we know that nothing is wrong and I give him puppy-dog eyes because I hate hearing the baby cry. But he has a point, does self soothing at his age (6 weeks) really help his independence as a growing child and later as an adult?
     James worries that we are creating an adult that cannot survive on their own, that complains until they get their way, an entitled individual that perpetuates the entitled generations that we have now. Children, and adults that do not understand hard work or earning their keep or living within their means or having to wait on something. I understand that, and I have seen children grow up who are like that, but I have seen children who seemed very spoiled grow into very independent, individualist adults as well.
     My thoughts are based purely on my childhood. We were not a family that hugged or touched or coddled. My parents divorced when I was seven and while some siblings grow closer during a divorce, my brother and I just pulled into ourselves. Not to say we were freakish and not socialized or had complete inability to carry on social interactions, but we had (and still have) plenty of issues. Even now, I have the hardest time hugging my parents, it generally feels awkward, the same with hugging my brothers. My grandparents, James and the kids are about the only ones that it isn't too weird. I am a one arm hugger for everyone else, to me that is showing the proper social interaction with little commitment. Because of that and knowing how hard it is even now for me to connect to people, I argue that it is more important at this stage of his life to know that we will always be there, that he can trust us to never leave him and if he needs us that we will come. I figure that independence is achieved in a healthy way by children slowly reaching out to try new things on their own with the complete awareness that a parent will always be there to come back to, if needed. I want the kids to know that he can always come back. When they are learning how to walk or swim or ride a bike, they can go as far as they want, but as soon as it is too much, we will be there. When they are older and start driving or dating, if the situation is too much, that we will be there to talk to and sit with. When they are adults, I will cook them dinner on their birthday, we will help them look for interview clothes or a first house or explain the different settings on a drill (I am still figuring it out). But I definitely think that that trust in your parents is built at this age.
     I wish that there was a way to figure out exactly what style of parenting has the best chance of creating a functional adult out of your child, but each child is different let alone never knowing how each will react. In the end, I will completely agree with James on this point, our job is purely and simply to create happy adults.

This was sent to me on Facebook and it is a perfect thing to share:
Promise to My Daughter by Lisa-Jo Baker
    This absolute pulled on my heart strings. A friend from college (who just announced that baby #2 is on the way) shared this on Facebook and I almost didn't even read it. I am so glad that I did. Even though this is to her daughter, the thought is universal no matter the gender of your child. I loved this so much, I loved how it is almost exactly what I tell Steven. He is just realizing that he can fall, so when we put him down he reaches out really quickly. Every time he does that, I tell him that I will always catch him, no matter what. That I will always be there for him when he thinks he is falling or when he is unsure of himself.

Tuesday Recap: Lazy Day and Curtain Progress

I stalk this kid so much when he sleeps

     Yesterday was James' kind of day off, he started the new job on Monday and then texted me half way through the day telling me that he would be working an overnight shift Tuesday into Wednesday. When Steven first came home, James had to work a few overnights and I stressed thoroughly about being home alone with him at night. Last night went so well, that it definitely was no different then when James has a day shift.

milk coma face

     We spent most of the day just hanging out, I try not to create too much of a crazy honey-do list for his days off, although it does happen and as soon as he wakes up from his nap, he will be on today's list. It was nice that he and Steven were able to spend some not-crying time together. There are days where I start to worry because James only sees Steven during his nightly temper tantrum about falling asleep. We then ran out to the post office before they closed where there was junk mail and a lovely letter from James' mom thanking us for mailing her pictures of the baby and telling us that she will be coming over towards the end of September (soooo much pressure!!!). We then went to the dollar store too look for more stationary, I am surprisingly running out, stopped at McDonald's so I could get a caramel frappe and then came back home in time to eat dinner and watch a few episodes of How I met Your Mother before James had to start getting ready for work.

where I sew now, thank you dining room!

naptime! Video games are hard work

     Steven had fallen asleep on him and when James got in the shower, I nursed him and he went back to sleep. My younger brother then took him while he was watching tv so I could get some sewing in, but he complained that Steven was too sweaty so I laid the baby down in bed and finished hemming one of the panels. I kept checking on Steven because he usually wakes up to eat and then freak out that he is too tired to fall back asleep, but he was quietly sleeping away. I ran into a stumbling block trying to design the curtains so instead I crawled into bed with him and fell asleep watching Alphas. Steven slept from 7pm until 5am, he woke up nursed, I changed his diaper and we stayed up for two hours, playing and talking. I made my morning coffee (almost four hours earlier then usual) so when he fell back asleep at seven thirty, I had a really hard time and ended up zoning out to BBC's Robin Hood show. Steven woke back up around 930, ate, diaper change and I cleaned up a bit, walked around aimlessly (because I can't do anything too involved or loud and because I can't remember what I am doing all of the time) and then James finally came home around 11am. Steven and I met him outside, still in our pajamas where we stared at our pumpkins for awhile and then we came in to make hamburgers for breakfast and spent some of Steven's awake time playing Capcom vs Marvel on the 360, which was pretty fun. They both then fell asleep, when I stealthily took many pictures of them, posted them here and on Facebook to ensure that as many people as possible saw how cute the two of them are together. Since they fell asleep, I took out a turkey to defrost, caught up on my blogs to read, checked up on Pinterest, found a perfect pattern for a RenFaire chemise and drank more coffee.
     Hopefully, they will wake up soon to take a walk and pack up some things to go into storage before we watch Supernatural tonight and I can get some more sewing in. Tomorrow, Baby and I both have doctor appointments so we will update about that and see how much of an argument I get into with the doctor over not vaccinating the baby.

This is why younger brothers should not be trusted with small babies, I asked him to hold Steve during our yardsale and turned around to see my sleeping infant cuddled up in a old copy paper box. *sigh* I did leave him there until he woke up, I wouldn't have done that a month ago!

Monday Recap: Couplehood and the Perfect Mate

     Yesterday was James' first day at his new store, while he had been in the store over a year ago, a lot of things have changed including the entire management team that he would be part of now. It was a little stressful and while he is trying to figure out where he will fit in, I am attempting, probably unsuccessfully, to keep the stress that I cause him to a minimum. 
     Yesterday, I tried to be loving and caring but we are trying to get over a bump in our relationship. The way we socialize with other people is so very different that it can sometimes lead to confusion and a complete miscommunication. I am a rather introverted person, so when he spends a lot of time talking to other people, I feel abandoned. He is very much an extrovert, an amazing personality, and great charisma, all things that I find so very attractive, unfortunately so do a lot of other people. As far as his work is concerned, it has made his job so much easier, but socially I am the one with the problem generally. I am happy keeping my social group to five or so people and never really branching out, it is something that I am working on. I was making some headway while I went back to school, but since staying home getting ready for baby and now with baby all day, my socializing has shrunk considerably. Since James tries very hard to make me happy, I think he has been subduing his extrovert nature to try and meld more to my introverted ways but it tends to make neither one of us happy. 
     So we did end up having a conversation when he came home because he noticed me acting odd. But we talked and came to a bit of an understanding. We then talked about his work and his new coworkers, moving (yes it is still in the plan book), the kids (I am too strict and he is too lax), cooking and television. We made up and went to relax and watch television for a few hours, while I am not a huge television person and if we never had tv when we have our own house, I will not miss anything, I do understand how watching something that your partner enjoys can be a bonding activity. He watches True Blood with me (omg the season finale on Sunday was crazy) and last night we watched Monday Night Raw together. I like watching the characters and talking about the storyline with him, while I would rather watch Property Brothers reruns (they are so very lumberjack sexy) or back episodes of Doctor Who, once in a while I can handle wrestling if it means connecting with him about something that he enjoys. We went to bed relatively at the same time, which hasn't been happening lately-another point in the earlier conversation- and spent a quiet night, all three of us cuddled up in bed. Although, James supposedly was less comfortable because Steven and I tend to be bed hogs. James woke up today with his entire back side hanging off the bed, me snuggled as close to him as possible and Steven with an entire half of a queen size bed. 
     When we laugh about silly things like that, all still together in bed, I have such deep seeded love for this man who has given me a family to be proud of, encouraged me to grow in every aspect of my life and loves me for the person that I am, even when I don't know who that is. He is so strong so much of the time and I hate when he needs me to be strong and I get too worried about overcooking the pasta, or finishing a load of laundry to let him vent to me from time to time. I am so much of a better person than when he and I met, but I love that he needs me and that makes me want to be an even better person for him, every single day of our lives together. I am grateful down to my core for him. 

Garden Update: Waiting on Cinderella!

     Our peas are finally all gone and the vines are starting to dry up. In between sales at our yard sale in the morning, I'll see if I can get the Hubbs and kids to help me weed the garden and pull out the pea plants to give our new stars a bit more room to grow: the Pumpkins!!! The vines have grown to reach about ten foot from end to end and in a few more days the Jack-Be-Little pumpkin vines will meet the Jack o'Lanterns and we will have twenty feet length of just pumpkins. The carrot plants never came back and while the tomato plants have grown, they haven't flowered at all so I am not sure if they will fruit this year at all. Other than one small moonflower vine that somehow made it through our late frost. The leaves of our plants are so large, three times the size of my hand, although my petite little hand is not a fair judge of size. They are easily fourteen inches across. 

This was a pumpkin at the beginning of the week

This was the same pumpkin today!

 I counted at least a dozen pumpkins started and twice that many flowers still blooming. So I think we will be okay for carving this year. Plenty of roasted pumpkin seeds for everyone and maybe a few to sell farm-stand style. I hope they get huge and beautiful because they are the most exciting thing going on in that garden!

two more peaking through the weeds

I hopefully will have an equally exciting garden update next week and a great update on how our yardsale went. For now here is a picture of Handsome taking a nap in our bed, it is by far is favorite place to sleep, curled up in my arm, preferably right after a cuddly nursing session. Enjoy the weekend!!!

Thrifting: Clothes and Books

     I did get to do a little thrift shopping this week, it tends to be a little more difficult since I only like to go when the Salvation has their half price day and the secondhand bookstore is open. Timing that with when Hubby has the day off can be a bit of a task, especially with the newborn in tow. It is so very odd when in one week, Steven was inside of me and I could drop anything to go out and the next day, we needs tons of accouterments to go anywhere. Anyways, my 16 year old twin cousins were spending the week and I convinced them to go shopping with me. Having another person in the back next to the baby relaxes some of my driving alone stress, I have driven alone with baby once since he was born and I told Hubby that I will not do it again unless it is an emergency or baby can talk. I just can not handle not knowing what is going on back there. 

     We piled up into the car after driving Hubbs to work and getting him there on time and then made the trek into the Salvation Army. Since it was Family day, the place was a little busy. I was hoping that Baby would sleep for most of that trip but instead he had me figure out how to walk and nurse only ten minutes into the trip and then need to be carried for the last ten minutes of the trip. I could literally spend hours in there if I have a sympathetic companion and a sleepy baby. 

I have talked before about how James and I are both on the geeky side and Doctor Who has become a fast favorite in our house, even with the two older kids. My younger brother also loves it and one of the visiting cousins as well, so we have spent a fair six hours straight watching the Doctor. We are still in limbo about attending NY Comic Con this year since I have a wedding (my first as an adult!) so we will have to see if we can organize that crazy weekend. But if we do go, we have talked about having matching costumes (because we are so those kinds of people) and what to do with baby and the older children if they want to dress up. On the off chance that I ever need the outfit, I figured that I would start looking for pieces for a female version of the Eleventh Doctor outfit. Matt Smith has a few different variations on the same outfit based around a tweed jacket, workboots and bowtie. With that in mind and after stalking Pinterest for other people's interpretation of a female Doctor, I have started picking up pieces. Now if only I can get Hubby to dress as a male version of Amy Pond (we honestly debated naming the baby Amelia after her, instead of the Impossible Girl we have Captain America). 

So I found a great light and soft tweed, woman's cut jacket in the right color, maybe a little too light, but I am a girl so it still needs to be feminine and adorable. I initially was going to go with a white oxford shirt, but I like the pink and the contrast that a red bowtie will have with it. The brown heeled oxfords are a maybe with the outfit, I am still on the lookout for boots, maybe an old pair of Doc Martens. But they are too cute and seem to be a relative staple for a trendy fall closet, so for $3 I was willing to risk it.

     Not that I have a little girl in these sizes but... The black and white houndstooth jacket may be too small for Eve, but it will not go bad and since I am packing up baby girl clothes now, if it doesn't fit, I can pack it up for that eventuality. The leopard print one was too cute. I have a friend with a baby girl only two weeks older than Steven and if she doesn't want it then it will go in the box as well. They were just too good of deals to pass on, especially knowing that no one else is thinking about winter jackets quite yet.

     Since I had the extra set of hands to carry the baby, we headed over to the bookstore. Since Baby decided that he needed to be fed while we were there, he cut short how many books I could legitimately look through but I still was able to grab a couple. I was able to grab two vintage hardcover copies of Shakespeare plays: As you like it and Troilus and Cressida, to help flesh out my insane Shakespeare hoarding fetish. I have also been obsessed with recollecting all of my favorite books from childhood. I picked up a copy of Amelia Bedelia, mostly to show her to Hubby who had never heard of her. Those books were the main reason that I did not want to use Amelia as a potential baby name, although it is still an option for future offspring. This trip I grabbed A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and the Gypsy Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Snyder also wrote the Egypt Game which dictated how I spent at least two summers of my life, dressing in old sheets, writing secret notes in hieroglyphs and mummifying dolls. I haven't read the Gypsy Game, but I assume that it is a similar story and that I will enjoy it equally. I also got The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting Projects, but after looking through it, it seems a little outdated and I have used easier tutorials from Ravelry and such. That one might go back to the store. I also got Good Things from Tag Sales and Flea Markets by Martha Stewart, which I am psyched about, Hubby hates her but I am fascinated by a billion dollar empire built around setting tables properly and spray painting old furniture. I love it. Lastly, I picked up 365 Things to Do and Make, it is a little young for the older kids and obviously too old for my youngest but he will grow into it. All in all, the book haul cost me $5. So I was an extensively happy camper!


     In even happier news, today was Steven's one month birthday (weeks wise, not by date) so last night we made cupcakes and ate them at midnight and wished him a happy birthday for all he cared about it. So far he has gained almost three pounds, weighing 11 pounds. He has his own schedule completely and loves sleeping with us in bed at night. He rarely spends time more then ten feet away from me. He is a messy eater but makes the best faces when he is hungry, unless its crying. Every night he gives us two hours of hellish crying and then sleeps for nine hours, waking up twice to eat and once for a diaper change. Everyday when we are cuddling, I am amazed by this little person and all the things that I wanted to get accomplished are nothing near as important as staring at him while he sleeps and making sure that I am there when his eyes open. I was reading to him tonight and as he fell asleep, I was in tears about all the nights that I have to look forward to, all the nights I will be able to hold him, all the books that we will read together. And in contrast, how few nights out of his life I have to hold him, that soon he will be too old for that, and then he will be too old to read to, too old to hug me, then he will be out of the house and on his own and one day he will have the same exact thoughts about his child and I hope he calls me to let me know that I did a good job. It is by far the most important thing that has ever happened in my life and I hope that I can be the mother that he needs as he grows. I sent a picture of him to Hubbs while he was at work just to thank him for giving me a beautiful baby. Happy One Month Birthday Steven!