Friday Crafternoon v.2

Hi there! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday so far and has plans for a great weekend! Here, we're celebrating Kevin's first Father's Day by going out to eat. We also have a lot of things we're working on around the house.

Of course, I plan to craft a little bit, and thought I'd share some creative inspiration for your weekend. I started this feature last Friday and hope that you ooh and ahh over what I've found across the web this week! Happy weekend!

These glow in the dark star jars would be so pretty lined up on the porch railing at night!

What a cute, quick embroidery project!

Have you seen the movie Up? Well, National Geographic did it for real!

Millions of french knots make for a pretty piece of art!

My mom used to live in Alaska. These icebergs are in Alaska, so they made me think of her!

These pretzels would be a yummy father's day treat for Kevin!

This season of my life (on becoming a working mother).

Monday Adelaide and I went to the end of year luncheon at my school. I was nervous beforehand because it was the first time I'd see the whole staff all together at the same time since I left on maternity leave, back in November. And I was worried about how Adelaide would handle so many people all at once. But she handled it like a champ, garnering aww's and lots of kisses on her little toes from other moms who miss having a little baby around.

It was loud and very busy in the library. People were walking around, getting their lunches, talking excitedly about summer plans and the last little bit of stuff they had to take care of before summer could really begin (those last couple of workdays are always so bittersweet). Smells of pickles and the sound of crinkly chip bags in the air.

I walked in to my community of teachers and was hit with mixed emotions.

On one hand, I can't wait to go back to work. I have so many ideas for fun and new projects to do with the kids. I still read all the art blogs and have bookmarked so many things I want to try, and that I'm excited to try. I love knowing that kids like coming to art, that they enjoy seeing me and hearing what we're doing each week. I love hearing from my fellow teachers that the kids miss me and can't wait until I'm back. I love hearing from my fellow teachers that they can't wait until I'm back. I like being in the know, and I have felt very out of touch with the goings-on of my school while I've been out (and oh, my, there have been a LOT of goings-on going on!).

And of course, there's the stability of a paycheck and benefits, though the amount of both are pretty pathetic right now for teachers in North Carolina.

But on the other hand, HOW am I supposed to leave this precious little one in the hands of a stranger for 8 hours every. single. day? I am tearing up thinking about it even now, four months out. I know she will adjust. Everyone always says that. And everyone also says that it's harder on the mom than it is on the baby, especially for your first child.



But I can't help but picture her little cry. The one where she's done crying so hard because it has worn her out, and now she's just calling for mama. She does that cry with Kevin often, when she wants mama. And I try to wait it out hoping that she will realize she is fine and safe and everything is okay, but it breaks my heart. So I go in and scoop her up and she stops crying immediately, though she is still incredibly snotty and raspy and very, very splotchy (just like her mama when she cries). And she looks at her dad and smiles because she wanted me, needed me, and here I am.

HOW am I supposed to ignore that and go to work? Knowing that I can't possibly go in and scoop her up? How am I supposed to go into an empty room and hook myself up to a breastpump twice a day, when I would so much rather be cuddling my baby while she nurses, looking up at me and playing with my shirt or running her hand over my mouth?

I admit, selfishly, that I just want her all to myself. I want to be the one to teach her the ABCs, the one to see her walk (oh god, what if she walks for the first time at daycare and I miss it?), the one to help her make friends.



I am just going to miss her. so. bad. Like my chest aches with the thought of it. Like my eyes are overflowing because this love is so much more than I ever, ever thought it would be. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but damn this is hard. Having to make this decision, or rather, not having the choice but to go back to work is so very difficult. But the fact is, we need the money, and so much of it that this is the only option right now.

I know this is just a season of my life that will pass, and before I know it I will be the lucky one who gets to drive my daughter to school every day, see her at lunch, have her come to my art class every week, be able to volunteer in her classroom when I can, have her hang out in my room after school and get that darn homework out of the way so we can drive home together to dad and have wonderful family time, making memories together that will greatly outweigh the sadness that consumes me now. I know that time will come. I know this will pass. I know once we get the routine down and I figure out how to cope with not being with my daughter 24/7 that I will enjoy being at work, she will make friends and she'll begin to love her teachers.

And I will look forward to that summer vacation and buzz around with all my fellow colleagues during those last couple of workdays, talking about summer plans I have for my family, those two months alive with possibilities and endless snuggles with my daughter.

(Mamas, feel free to share any thoughts you have about being a working mom. I would love to hear any and all you have to say on the matter.)

This is a drumming family, for sure.

A few weeks ago there was a local festival called DrumStrong. I think this is the fifth year (?) that it's been going on and it's a pretty awesome event and cause. Scott Swimmer, the founder of DrumStrong and his son are both cancer survivors and he started this cause to raise money and awareness about cancer.

It's a two day event, where people get together to drum. There's a huge ongoing drum circle during the event, and each year it's a little bit longer than the year before so they can stay current in the Guiness Book of World Records (side note: as a present from my teacher in the fourth grade, she bought each of her students a Guiness Book of World Records... I had that thing for the longest time and vividly remember the picture of the lady with creepy long fingernails.).

There's also lots of yummy food (like the quickly-becoming-famous Veggie Thing. A delicious grilled pita full of greens, broccoli, salsa, and cheese. I ate like three of them in one day last year when I was pregnant. This year, I limited myself to one, but am already dreaming of next year's Veggie Thing.). And there are tons of vendors. Including Kevin, who uses the event to make a lot of contacts as people don't typically bring $300+ in cash to buy a drum.

And it was really freakin' hot this year. SO hot. Adelaide and I joined Kevin Saturday in the afternoon, and she charmed the pants off of all the people stopping by Kevin's tent. And we went down to the drum circle and she LOVED it. And fell asleep in the carrier even with all that loud, loud, loudness.

Next year, I see a dancing baby :). I can't wait.

[so hot after her nap in my carrier. kicking back.]




[so beautiful.]










[shot of the drum circle saturday night.]




["say whaaa?"]


[drum baby.]

Here's a video of Adelaide enjoying some of Daddy's drumming when she was a mere 3 months old. Half her age now, almost. I can't believe how time flies. So, so, so fast.

Nap Update.

Naps are still tough, definitely. Mostly it's the getting-her-to-sleep part. We are very anti-cry-it-out, but it's exhausting getting her down for a nap sometimes. I know we set her up for "bad habits" in the sleep department, and we're working on fixing them.

Right now, it takes a lot of swaying, holding, rocking, bouncing on the exercise ball, nursing, etc. to get her down. Sometimes only one of those things, sometimes all. She yawns, and I start the process because you're supposed to get them down before they become re-wired, but it still takes a while. Sometimes she's up for another whole hour. And if I hadn't made the decision that it was naptime, I wouldn't care that she'd be awake for another hour. But after deciding that hey, this is naptime now, why won't you sleep? it becomes a lot more tiring for me.

BUT! She is sleeping longer! After reading the No-Cry Sleep Solution (still reading but highly recommend for anyone who thinks crying it out doesn't feel right for you), I've been able to get her to sleep for longer than 30 minutes. Elizabeth Pantley, the author, suggests that you go into your baby's room right before that normal wake up time, which for us was pretty much 30 minutes on the dot. When your baby stirs - NOT wakes up, just stirs like she's going to wake up - do what you need to do to put her back to sleep. This could be offering the pacifier, rocking her, patting her, or even nursing her. I just go in and pat her bottom, kind of rocking her at the same time. Pantley says that after a week or so of this, your baby will be able to sleep longer stretches on her own.

We saw a difference after just a couple of days. !!! She's now sleeping at least 45 minutes before stirring, and yesterday she slept a whole hour and fifteen minutes! Did you hear me? That is over double her normal nap time! Exciting news, to say the least.

And when she wakes up, she'll usually play in her crib for at least 10-15 minutes before she starts fussing. It's like she says "Hey! I'm awake! Where ARE you???"

Any advice for getting her to sleep without so much help?

I feel positively giddy about this. Yay for long naps!

Friday Crafternoon.

If you're anything like me, you find creative inspiration everywhere. I save literally hundreds of links to my bookmarks folders, and leave lots of windows open on my laptop so that I don't forget to try something out. It drives my husband crazy, but I can't help it!

So I've decided to share all those wonderful tutorials, beautiful pictures, yummy recipes, and general awesomeness that I find on the web every Friday afternoon. Give you a little weekend inspiration! I hope you enjoy!

[via]

Here's our first roundup!

I'm not a huge fan of lace, but scroll down and look at that cake! It's gorgeous!

This totally makes me want to experiment with knit on knit applique! I've been playing around with knit fabric lately, and this is just a new thing to do with it :)

I don't know if I could bring myself to cut up a vintage receipt, but this little birdie would make it all worth it!

Personalized buttons? Yep, this tutorial is going in my to-do pile.

These strawberry jam tarts would be great for a Sunday brunch, don't you think? And they look easy to make!

There are so many things I love about this birthday party! The cute monster cake, the utensil boxes, the bright colors! Will file in my "birthday party" folder.

***

Have a fabulous weekend!

Lucy, you've got some major catching up to do!

Except my name isn't Lucy, but still.

Yikes, it's been a while. And so much as happened. I kept thinking "I should blog about this. And now about this. Definitely about this." But it just didn't happen. It was like a snowball rolling down the hill... getting to be too much to blog about so I didn't know where to start. And still don't, so this post may be really random.

Or maybe I'll break it up and give myself a few posts out of this whole catching up thing. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Let's talk about little Miss Adelaide for now. She's amazing. Ah. Maze. Ing. Really! I am so blown away with the fact that I made her. I will hold that little nugget of pride forEVER. And any other mama out there who has grown a PERSON in her BELLY should feel the same. Double up on that pride if you made twins, and keep priding on the more you made. (I don't mean to leave anyone out: adoptive parents, people trying to conceive, dads, etc. Everyone's got their own horn to toot, and this may well be the only horn I've got right now.)

[This group of pictures taken May 23rd, in the front yard.]

She's totally on her way to crawling. I can see it in the way that she pushes herself up when she's on her stomach. She's really strong now, starting to lift up her butt sometimes when she's laying there. I wonder how long it'll be? I can't wait! I want to babyproof and put all my collectibles (that ceramic bowl I made in college full of whiskers, for instance) up high. She's also pivoting herself. Like, she'll roll onto her tummy and be facing one way, and then one arm over the other for a while and she'll be facing a whole new direction in just minutes. So cool.

She's blowing raspberries! I've yet to capture it on camera, but it's so cute. A friend of mine from the Bradley class we went to said this is called "blowing their teeth out." I'd never heard that before and it sounds like a totally strange saying, and googling "blowing teeth out" just confirms the oddness of it. Regardless, she loves doing it. Especially so when her mouth is loaded with spit. It's really adorable.

And, though not developmentally, really, we've had a few firsts lately. First time in a baby pool (pics coming). First time in a big pool (again, you'll have to wait).

But here! First time in a swing!

[Swinging pictures taken June 1st. How is it already June?]

This swing was handed down to us a while back and we just chucked it into our attic until last week. It used to be my nephew's, but he's a kindergartner now (what???) and of course hasn't fit into this little swing for some time now. We strung it up in the back yard, and she loves it. She just kicks back and lets us do all the work, which is exactly how it should be. Unfortunately, our back yard is riddled with mosquitos (any advice on getting rid of them the natural way?), and she's already gotten a few bites. But let's face it: we live in the south, and mosquito bites are a part of life here when it gets hot and humid.

And lastly, for now, we've been trying to introduce a bottle. We're very inconsistent with it so far, only offering it once every couple of weeks. She'll drink out of it, but more often will play with it. She's used to nuzzling up to me and playing with my necklace or shirt, but here's a new thing in her face. And although that thing is giving her mama's milk, it's also new and big and right there.

Also, we've (or rather, I've) been thinking of starting to introduce sippy cups soon. She'll be 9.5 months old when she goes to day care, so that's only a couple months of bottle time, and I don't want to purchase more bottles if she won't be using them long. I know a 7.5 month old who can drink from a straw, so I know it's possible for her to learn. Don't know if she will, but maybe? Just trying to think of costs here, as we have, like, NO extra cash.

[First semi-successful feeding with daddy! May 29th.]

So! There you go. Lots more to come. For now though, to wrap it up: Did your baby "blow his/her teeth out"? As in, did you see a connection between beginning to blow raspberries and getting new teeth? Any natural mosquito repelling ideas? Ideas about the bottle vs. sippy cup at a young age? How old should she be? Comments muchly appreciated! Stay tuned for lots more catching up, pictures, and maybe even a video or two!

Just popping in to say...

... that I really hope to start posting again soon. Naptimes aren't going so well and I don't have much "me" time lately. But there are definitely things I want to share, so maybe I will just have to use some of my precious minutes after she goes to bed to blog! Life is a balancing act, and I'm new to it (still). I only wonder what the heck I'm going to do when I start working full time!!!

I hope everyone's well!