Coming Up Rosemary!

{this moment}

2012-01-27T13:44:00.003-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Photo taken by the lovely Sarah.

New Outfit & Pin Favorites

2012-01-26T19:11:00.000-06:00

Hi there! If you read this through a reader, I'd like to suggest you click on through today. I've been dreaming about giving my blog a new outfit and it got one. It's all simple and sparkly.

I needed a little motivation. Something to help me write a little more here and a little less on Facebook. I put so much on Facebook and trick myself into thinking it's a good record, when in reality I'm afraid it's going to get lost on the Internet void.

Also, in honor of Coming Up Rosemary's new look, I finally jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. I am on there a little tentatively, afraid and confused about what it all means. So if you're a Twitter-er, say hi to me, and then feel free to tell me what you mean @Idon'tunderstand #WhatThisMeans.

As another piece of motivation, I have decided to complete and post about at least 1 craft/project/activity/thing a week. And I think I can do it. I also want to regularly do a small post about my favorite recent pins.

So without further ado, here are some of my playtime favorites:

Source: grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: momincdaily.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: homebunch.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: prettylittlethings.typepad.com via Kate on Pinterest

Pretty.

2012-01-23T16:01:00.000-06:00

Raise your hand if you love The Purl Bee!

I could just browse through that website all day. When a friend of mine pointed out these hand warmers, I had to make them. They are so pretty and I love hand warmers ... I will say I gave these away as a gift, but I may selfishly make myself an identical pair.

Maybe it's time for me to stop looking at myself as a beginner, but when I look at myself that is what I see. And so I'm definitely looking for some advice on this. I did knit a gauge. As much as I hate doing a gauge, I did! I promise. Regardless, these ended up being about a 1/2 inch wider than I think they should have.

So what do you experienced knitters do when that happens to you? Could I shrink them? I can tell you this much, I'm definitely not ripping them out and doing them over ... I live in Minnesota - er, Wisconsin - and we can just use them as an extra layer.

{this moment}

2012-01-20T13:02:00.001-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

PinFavorites

2012-01-18T08:41:00.000-06:00

I am a happy renter, and I'm dealing with the moving, moving, moving ... but I find it therapeutic to dream about my someday permanent.

Source: dyingofcute.tumblr.com via Kate on Pinterest

, Source: kikareichert.com.br via Kate on Pinterest, Source: iammommahearmeroar.net via Kate on Pinterest ,
Source: mypetchicken.com via Kate on Pinterest, Source: littlethingsbringsmiles.com via Kate on Pinterest,
Source: bellemaison23.com via Kate on Pinterest

Patience + Persistence

2012-01-11T10:03:00.001-06:00

From Pinterest

I have a friend who picks two words as sort of a goal or mantra for each new year. And I've always liked this idea. Despite my many explanations that copying is a very high form of flattery, Rosemary hates being copied; let's hope this friend of mine sees it as flattery.

First, let me say that because I am not the most persistent person in the world, I didn't really set out to pick these words - it feels more like they picked me. Patience is a word I repeat over and over as I'm trying to get the Little One out the door to school each morning. And patience is something I lose many times throughout each day. Somehow I just Know that patience is something I'm going to need a lot of this year; and somehow I Know that it's going to show up in definitions I never could have imagined.

Persistence, well, I doubt that needs much explanation. All you have to do is look at the infrequency of blog postings, the dusty sewing machine, the paperwork that isn't filled out, the lists that go on. I don't feel bad about these things - we all go through seasons of productivity and rest. We've been in a big period of adjustment, and what I've been up to, I guess I just haven't felt like writing about.

I look back on 2011 as a good year. I don't even remember if it was 2008 or 2009, but whichever year it was, I slammed the door on it. I mean that I literally opened a door and slammed it, and said goodbye and good riddance. I am not a person who likes to put a sugar coating on things, and I do not like to say things are good when they are not. You can trust that I'll be honest and real with you, and these last couple years, well, really, they just keep getting better.

So while I do not have big regrets for 2011, I do have big hopes for 2012. I do want the future to be different than the past, and I'd like to say I have a little more follow-through this year, a little more drive - a little more patience and a good dose of persistence.

Quest for a Man hat

2012-01-04T07:50:00.000-06:00

I made this hat as a fairly last minute Christmas present for my little brother. I found the pattern through Ravelry, and liked the looks of it. Berocco Vintage may very well be my favorite yarn, and I had an extra skein leftover from a sweater that I recently finished (more on that in the future).

All of the feedback on the hat was good. My husband (pictured) seemed a little disappointed that he didn't get to keep it. I remain a little undecided on whether or not it's a little too busy/bumpy. Regardless, it was fun to make and this was a good yarn for it. I tried it on myself and it didn't feel at all itchy, but felt like it was going to be nice and warm, with no need for a lining.

This is one of the first hats I've ever made, other than a cute little elf-like hat for a newborn baby. Do any of you other knitters out there have a favorite go-to hat?

Merry, Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T11:01:00.000-06:00

I hope all of you realized as many blessings as I have over the past couple of months. My blogging has been pretty minimal as of late, but my desire has not disappeared. So to get back in the swing of things, I'm going to post about what I've been up to - one project/one day at a time.

This capelet is from the book One More Skein, by Leigh Radford. This book came highly recommended to me and it has not disappointed. I have made a number of things out of this book, and am pleased by the quality of the instructions. This was my first experience in cabling and it was a good introduction.

I made it for the cutiest cutie, little Dottie Layne. I'm pretty sure she's telling the camera that she thinks I'm the coolest. Wouldn't you agree? Oh, what? This picture isn't about me at all, is it?

What are your favorite patterns for babies? I am expecting a new niece pretty soon and am looking for some good ideas.

A Threaded Basil Giveaway

2011-11-15T12:40:00.001-06:00

Click on over to Threaded Basil's blog for a chance to win one of these lovely dolls.

Good luck to you! Even though I'm hoping it's me who wins ...

The Long-Awaited, Highly Anticipated Knitting Weekend

2011-11-08T09:59:00.003-06:00

Sometime last July, the lovely lady on the left of the photo below had the incredible idea of hosting a knitting retreat at her cabin, which is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for a knitting retreat. Ever since the first mention of this, our fabulous knitting group has been counting down the days and minutes. I'm afraid it ended up being a ton of work for her, but boy-oh-boy was it a perfect weekend!

It was personally therapeutic for me to know that even though I moved, I know I'll stay in good touch with the amazing friends that I made during my short time in Central Minnesota. I cannot say enough that we met some really great people while we lived there.

Needless to say that before the move I didn't have a clue how to make something out of needles and yarn. Thanks to this group, I am currently knitting myself a sweater! The green yarn below is the sweater and the pink yarn is an experiment in cabling, and if it turns out okay, it will be a Christmas present.

It was such a good time getting things done, taking naps, visiting, eating. We seriously ate like kings and queens. There were baked goods, homemade floutas, homemade enchiladas, a venison stew, dips, espressos, desserts. I cannot believe I didn't photograph any of the food! It was too good, I guess, to pause for a picture.

This knitting fool, below, made crepes that - I'm not kidding - gave me goosebumps when I ate them! I'm planning to ask her for the recipe and am thinking I need to repeat the amazing crepes experience for Christmas brunch.

I almost forgot to mention my beautiful yoga instructor friend (on the left) who led us all in a relaxing Sunday morning carpal-tunning improving time of exercise.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have a weekend like this. I suppose doing this every weekend would be too much?

Mermaid Halloween

2011-11-04T09:38:00.003-05:00

Every year Rosemary asks me if she can be a mermaid for Halloween, and every year except this year, I have said no. It's not the most practical costume around when you live at the north end of the midwest ... You can guarantee at least a chill in the air, and you can't be too surprised if you end up with a blizzard. So a mermaid costume has always seemed cold and uncomfortable. I was inspired, however, by seven thirty three's tutorial, and much to Rosemary's delight, she got to be a mermaid this year.

Once again, I am compelled to apologize for the photo quality. A new camera is simply not in our budget and so I am limited to the camera on my phone - which is actually a decent camera when you have time to worry about the lighting, and are trying to photograph somebody other than a squirrelly 5-year-old who would rather be trick-or-treating.

You can see we took some creative license with the tutorial, but basically the tail and the water skirt are exactly the same. I also did make the cloak, but it was a warm enough night and Rosemary preferred to go without.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I made these whole wheat pumpkin pancakes on Tuesday and they are "OMG yum." OMG is not a phrase I use lightly. Or ever. I made them with homemade pumpkin puree, following Alton Brown's instructions, and in about an hour I'm going to use the leftover puree to make Smitten Kitchen's pumpkin muffins. I'll let you know how they turn out. I'm going to a knitting retreat (woooohooooo!) this weekend and I don't want to show up empty handed.

Randomness

2011-10-28T09:27:00.000-05:00

Do you ever just get so overwhelmed with life that you can't bring yourself to do much of anything? I have so much that I want to do right now and so much that I should do right now, that I find sometimes it's easier to just do nothing at all. I think it's okay to go through stages like this in life, but I worry that if I don't get out of this funk it is going to be a long, hard Minnesota winter (except I live in Wisconsin now, don't I?).

I have a lot of things I would like to sew, but my sewing machine just hasn't been calling my name. I got it all set up and managed to make a mermaid costume for R to wear for Halloween (a la 733's tutorial), but as soon as the costume was maid, the sewing machine went back under the cover.

I have this pattern and all the fabric (except I am not exactly sure where all of my fabric is at the moment ... I am sure it would take me less than 10 minutes to find it, but the fact that I don't know where it is keeps me in procrastination mode) for this skirt:

And I definitely want to make some of these for Christmas:

(found at Retro Mama)

I have been so inspired by all the cross-stitching projects that I see on pinterest. In elementary and high school, I was a cross-stitching fool and I'd love to relearn the craft.

(found here)

I have been knitting. I'm making the Tea Leaves Cardigan for myself. Last spring I made one for Rosemary, and now I'd like to be her twin.

I'm also knitting some baby presents, but I won't post those yet. Next week I'm going to a very long awaited knitting retreat.

And cooking. I finally found an apple pie recipe that I can trust and love. The Lovely Sarah gave it to me and it can be found here. I also made Smitten Kitchen's Honey Apple Challah and Apple Cake like I said I would.

So I guess I have been doing more than nothing. I've been reading like crazy as well, visiting old and older friends. Why do I feel so stinking lazy? It must be because I have still have so much I want to do and so much I should do.

I'd really love to get my blog looking awesome. I'd love to start substitute teaching again. I'd love to make some friends and have some dinner parties. I'd love to make this totally-not-our-style rental feel more like a real home.

Maybe all I need is a Vitamin D supplement and then I wouldn't feel so lazy anymore? And maybe I'd be better able to get my thoughts in order and write a post that wouldn't be quite so random ...

xoxo

Let's go to the apple orchard!

2011-10-04T18:37:00.001-05:00

(walking the aisles)

Apple picking is high on my list of favorite things to do. For the past few years, we have not lived anywhere close to an apple orchard (horror of horrors!), and because we were preoccupied with moving this summer, we were not able to go strawberry, raspberry, or blueberry picking this year. So you could possibly say that I was jonesing.

Our dear friends from our previous locale came to visit this past weekend. It was great timing because the fall leaves are amazing this year, and we live in a gorgeous river valley. The view looked like fall, the weather felt like summer, and we all had a great time together.

(our family)

I now have a couple large bags full of apples and so many things that I want to do with them (I may actually have to go back to the orchard for more ...). First on my list is Smitten Kitchen's Apple and Honey Challah. It looks so delicious that I have to contain myself from licking the computer screen.

We also have a lot of October birthdays in our family and I'd love to try out Smitten Kitchen's apple cake.

Other than that, I'd really like to find a good apple jam recipe. Last year we made so much strawberry jam that it lasted the whole year for us. We were also able to give some jars away for Christmas. With no strawberry jam this year, I'm feeling a little desperate. I haven't found many recipes for apple jam, but am thinking of trying this Honey Lemon Apple Jam recipe. Do any of you out there have any foolproof suggestions? I'm also interested in favorite apple sauce recipes.

Thanks!

(photos courtesy of my good friend Melissa)

Please allow a little soap-box standing.

2011-09-30T09:53:00.001-05:00

I have officially decided that it *is* possible to let a topic stew in your brain for too long. Today's post has been swimming around in my head for so long that I now have so much to say and so much that seems like it's already been said. But it comes down to this: Parenthood is a fickle job.

Let me preface this by saying that I am a 33-year-old college educated gal. I worked and studied hard while I was in college, spent a lot of Friday and Saturday nights with my nose in a textbook, and took my education very seriously. When my husband and I started talking about having kids, I knew that I wanted to stay at home with them and my husband was supportive. Life took over and I was not able to quit my professional job until Rosemary was 2-years-old. Those two years were among the most stressful and exhausting years of my life.

My friends and family have been incredibly supportive of our decisions. I have worked here and there to earn extra money, but for the last few years, my number 1 priority has been my family, and as a result I feel our family is significantly healthier and happier. Money has been tight - at times dangerously tight - but it always works out and it has been so good for us, and so unbelievably worth the sacrifice. Despite some really hard times and tough lessons learned, I can say that through it all, we have been amazingly blessed.

The way things have worked out, we are parents to 1 child, and now that she's in school full-time, random people on the street (again, I stress - not friends and family) seem to want to know what I'm going to do now. And, yes, I do have things going on. I have been and will continue to freelance write, substitute teach (with the intention of - someday - teaching my own classroom again), and take up whatever else miscellaneous projects come my way - as long as it's in the best interest of my family.

But this last month has been the time that I have been the MOST thankful and grateful that I am blessed to be able to call myself a stay-at-home mom. The stigma that my education is going to waste as a stay-at-home mom is infuriating; and I sincerely believe that people who call themselves feminists should be insulted by this ever-present philosophy.

While my first day of Kindergarten post was all happy-happy, a few days into it, things took a turn for the worst. It's not a fear of separation she's facing - it's a fear that has been ever-present in her life so far (all be it, irrational) and something she's going to have to face and conquer. Every day things seem to get a little better, and some days it feels like 1-step forward/2-steps back. Our days and nights have since been filled with worries, there were a few morning drop-offs where Rosemary wasn't the only one crying, and I have been so thankful that my focus has been able to be entirely on my child; letting her know that I believe she can do this on her own, but that I will also help her and support her through it. Thankfully, picking her up lately has been a joyful experience, but there was definitely a time when she would burst into tears the moment she saw me. And I feel like the luckiest mom in the world that I was able to pick her up, hug her, and take her home.

Please don't get me wrong, this isn't a post criticizing those of you who choose to work. It's a post saying that we need to stop judging those who do the best they can for their families, even though it looks different than our own choices. All of a sudden, this college-educated girl has about 6 extra hours in the day to do laundry, clean the house, knit, sew, and read. But I'm also able to invest as much time and love into my husband and daughter as they need. I've chosen to have lunch with my daughter a couple of times and attend her first field trip with her. Those visits made a gigantic positive impact in her attitude toward school and what I hope will become a lifelong love for learning.

So let's all turn off our judgy attitudes and agree that raising silly, smart, happy, well-rounded kids is an excellent use of a college education.

Exciting Contest at oohmoon.com

2011-09-04T08:18:00.001-05:00

I just entered this contest, and you should too. Today is the last chance you have to win a custom illustration of a custom subject of your choice.

Good luck!

The First Day of Kindergarten

2011-09-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

Here we are in this strange new place and everything, it seems, has been geared toward this moment:

The first day of Kindergarten.

This moment is so full of happy and sad. It's hard to believe there was a time that little girl would cry so hard she would vomit when she was separated from us. Like she does with most things these days, she approached kindergarten with gusto. She barely even paused to say goodbye and I think I might be the one with separation anxiety now. At least I managed to hold my tears off until I was almost - almost into my car.

There has been so much transition in the last month, and I'm proud of the way we handled it. My focus has been on family and togetherness. Summer is fleeting, and all these boxes we need to unpack are not going anywhere. This blog has been patiently waiting for me. The weather is still incredibly warm, but the leaves have started to change a bit and it's time to make this new place our home.

I'm thankful for the routine that kindergarten will bring, looking forward to a fall crisp in the air, anticipating school functions, and apple harvest, and Halloween. We've been canning tomatoes, we made an attempt at crab-apple jelly, and I still hope to make strawberry jam if I can find some fall strawberries.

I can't let myself worry about all the fleeting moments, I'm having too much fun enjoying them.

Tiny Tea Leaves Sweater

2011-08-23T09:12:00.004-05:00

So I struggled with this sweater, made a million mistakes, considered throwing it in the garbage disposal at one point ... and now I'm making one for me.

It's supposed to be 3/4 sleeved, but the aforementioned mistakes (and the incredible July heat) convinced me to cap them off there. The sweater for me will have 3/4 sleeves, and I even bought enough yarn to make another one for R.

Go ahead. Call me crazy.

A Day in the Life

2011-07-25T07:29:00.027-05:00

Well, hello to you all! Today I'm going to post a day in my life - yesterday to be more specific. I have been wanting to do this since we've lived where we do and now that we're moving within the week, I figured I better get on it. I'm having camera trouble, so most of these pictures are taken with my camera phone and some with the Hipstamatic app. I really wish all of the pictures could have been taken with my expensive camera that was supposed to work ... Alas.

I am also resisting the urge to format and edit all of them, because I just don't have that much time these days. All right, enough with the disclaimers! Here is a day in my life.

~Rosemary started the day playing the Princess and the Pea. She likes to take all the couch cushions and stack them. Somehow it's much easier for her to take them off than to put them on!

Sunday was the nicest day of the weekend and we had so much we needed to do outside. Before we move, we need to rip up the raised beds we made for the vegetable garden (cry). We decided to buy some big whiskey barrels and we're going to save some of the dirt. In our new location, we likely won't be able to place raised beds (or any beds for that matter), so we're hoping to do some patio gardening. This is a picture of Joel looking out the window and pondering the day's plan of action.

Every morning, Joel takes the dog for a walk. It was so nice and we had nothing but time, so we all went. Rosemary is a pro on her new bike.

She always asks if we can go on the "tree-with-the-face-walk." On this particular route, we pass 3 trees with faces. This is a picture of her pointing to one.

We decided to stop and let the dog run around the park, and Rosemary romp around the playground. We are really going to miss this great climbing tree!

As we were leaving the park, Rosemary fell on her bike and needed a distraction, so we let her run around in the fountain. This fountain was created, many years ago, for the purpose of being a wading fountain. Now there is a sign that says, "No swimming or wading" ... but that sign is ignored by many.

The church in the background is where we usually spend our Sunday mornings, we played hooky this morning and felt a little busted as people were walking out just as we were playing in the fountain.

Joel snapped this picture as we were really leaving. For really real.

We headed home, grabbed what we needed and headed out to run some errands. I had hoped Ace would be our only stopped, but we also ended up at Fleet Farm and Home Depot - And we forgot to get a specific light bulb that we could have gotten at any of those stores!

By the time we got home, we were all starving and I was getting a little crabby. Joel and Rosemary picked some beans out of the garden and I got started on turkey burgers.

Rosemary, of course, was eating before we even sat down. Notice all the boxes in the background. Our house is FULL of boxes.

This is the extent of our dog's begging. He sits and stares, but at least he doesn't whimper and whine.

Finally, Rosemary had a quiet time and we got to work outside.

She makes such a mess when she has a quiet time in her room, this is her sort of picking up.

She laid out a blanket and packed a picnic lunch for us. In this picture, we are sharing a felt eggplant.

In the afternoon, Joel and I were working hard packing up some boxes. Rosemary pulled out her piggy bank and decided to count her money. Pretty soon she was feeding the pig and he was pooping gold. It kept her entertained for nearly an hour.
We got cleaned up and went to our friends Eric & Kara's house for dinner. I asked Rosemary to take some pictures of Joel and me, and while she did actually get a good one, I liked this better.
She wanted a picture taken of herself. She's wearing a sweater that I knit for her (the Tiny Tea Leaves one) ... I blocked it and it was finally dry and ready to wear today. She was so excited to wear it and show it off; which was quite rewarding.

Rosemary and Cooper had a yellow picnic consisting of macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob - Rosemary's 2 favorite things. Kara had the genius idea of feeding them first and then they were busy playing while we got to eat in peace.

This is the lovely couple who fed and entertained us. They are a beautiful family and they have the most amazing home!

We also enjoyed some dilly bars. Mmmmm.

We stayed MUCH longer than I anticipated. You know what they say about time flying when you're having fun. After this picture we went home and went straight to bed. Actually, Joel and I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother, then went straight to bed.

So, there you have it! A day in my life. And now ... How about a day in your life?

Acceptance and Red Fences

2011-07-11T10:47:00.017-05:00

It's official. All signs are pointing toward go. It's time to say goodbye, pack things up, and move on to our next adventure. And while I don't feel ready, and wasn't exactly asking for this ... I know it will be good.

I moved to this place kicking and screaming, but promised myself I would embrace it ... not knowing just how hard it would be to leave. This time away has been so good for us and our family.

We've healed, we've played, we've started growing into the family we were meant to be.

We've made really good friends who are making it so hard to leave. There's such a great community up here. Such good people. So it's with a heavy heart that we are going to start packing up our boxes, but with a joyful heart that we are moving on to the next thing.

But first, we are going to have a party.

Then we'll give our hugs, say our see-you-laters, plan visits and girls' weekends away, and of course, lament that we can't take our red fence along with us.

{these moments}

2011-07-08T10:58:00.005-05:00

Eating

Playing

Trying new things

Crashing

To see the Summer Sky Is Poetry ~ Emily Dickinson

2011-06-22T13:47:00.004-05:00

I wouldn't say, exactly, that I'm taking a summer hiatus ... however, my priorities this summer have been far away from the computer. As much as I love and value all my fellow bloggers, I've felt a push away from blogging and into playing with friends and neighbors, and trying to enjoy summertime as much as we can.

Regardless of the fact that it hardly seems real that summer has started - the high today is going to be 57. I'm definitely not giving up on this blog and I think I'll still post some pictures of the crafty things I'm working on; I just need a little break. I need to go for bike rides, eat ice cream, go to the park with friends and neighbors.

The second half of this summer promises to be busy and a little uncertain. So, for now, if you're wondering where I am, just picture me sipping Black Tea with Lemonade, playing hopscotch, and swimming in the lake (assuming it warms up).

I hope all of you are doing some of the same!

{this moment}

2011-06-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual (better late than never). A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.

inspired by soule mama.

{this moment}

2011-05-27T09:49:00.002-05:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor,
and remember.

inspired by soule mama.

favorite t-shirt dress.

2011-05-26T19:08:00.007-05:00

Today was my little girl's last full day of preschool. It's not completely over - she still goes one day next week, but so do the parents for a picnic and a program. What this means is that today was also my last full day to myself. I figured that I had better use the day wisely and there have been two big things on my To-Do list for awhile. The first is to reorganize the kitchen cabinets and the second is to make a dress out of upcycled t-shirts.

Can you guess which option won? Never fear ... I didn't spend the ENTIRE day on this dress. I also managed to clean the dining room, organize all the papers, catch up on a little daytime TV, and make a lasagna. But I didn't reorganize the kitchen cabinets. I wonder if I will ever reorganize the kitchen cabinets?

Anyway, I'm really happy with this dress. I've been wanting to make it since I first saw it on I Am Momma, Hear Me Roar. A couple of friends have even beat me to the punch. I worried when it was time to sew the front and back together because Rosemary was at preschool and I didn't want it to be too tight. However, I was too impatient to wait, so I went ahead with it. Turns out it fits just fine.

In a couple of days, this kid is going to be a bona fide kindergartner. I've been signing her up for summer activities, and she no longer fits into the preschool category. She is excited, ambitious, and full of joy. Watch out world, Rosemary's coming.

This-n-that

2011-05-24T08:47:00.004-05:00

In the last couple of weeks I have learned many important things. Among the highlights are do NOT leave a hospital after abdominal surgery without REALLY going pee. As stupid as you feel having a bunch of doctors and nurses tell you you're fine and all you have to do is pee ... just be honest with yourself. A trickle is not enough and the embarrassment is not worth later going to the ER with more than 2 liters of urine being held captive in your bladder. Honestly, a girl doesn't appreciate peeing until she can't for awhile.

However, on the occasion when my husband would have to stop what we were doing for a bathroom break, it was moderately amusing to look at my Foley Bag and yell, "Peeing is for wusses!"

Only moderately amusing.

Another thing: Just go shopping. They may tell you it's a really easy recovery and you may believe it ... but just make sure there is food in the refrigerator before you have surgery. I had a busy week pre-surgery and cleaning the house and shopping for groceries took second fiddle. Big mistake. It resulted in a week of fast food and a general feeling of slovenly-ness. I go in for a weigh-in today, but I feel pretty certain I have gained back 5 of the pounds I worked so hard to lose. Not to mention how easy it was to justify that I DESERVE that DQ blizzard.

That said, I am back to relatively normal. Thank you all for your encouragement and well-wishes. The last time I posted, I was hoping to have the catheter out that day and I ended up having to have it in for almost another week. Fortunately that is all said and done now. A thing of the past.

And while I was "out," summery weather came in. I didn't feel like crawling, bending, or digging, so I decided to give this Simple Skirt Tutorial a try. I worried it was going to look better on a kid than it does on me ... and it does. The one in the picture below is longer and I'm pretty happy with it. I decided to make another one that went above my knee and I think I'm going to rip it out to try making it a layered simple skirt. This kind of dress just needs more length on an adult.

Anyway, it truly was a simple skirt. It didn't take much more than an hour to make, and it held up last Friday when we all drove to Wisconsin for some exploration and research. I'm pretty sure it will be a warm summer day staple.

Oh, and the picture above was directed by Rosemary. She suggested we stand next to the tree and peek out. She placed me and then herself like she knew what she was doing. My little girl is turning into such a little girl, and I couldn't be more proud.

That Crazy Bag Lady

2011-05-09T08:41:00.006-05:00

I wasn't entirely sure if I was going to tell the Internet World about the events of my last week, but the better I'm feeling, the more I feel like sharing. There's something therapeutic in sharing mistakes and mishaps. I think that it's easy to feel down after spending an hour reading your favorite blogs. Life can also seem so good on the Internet - and rightly so; these posts are often read and proofread. A hundred photos may have been taken, but only the best one is selected. And I'm okay with being known as the girl who rarely finishes a knitting project without ripping it out at least once; who spends as much time dazed and confused by her sewing machine as she does successfully completing a project. So if I come to be known as the girl who had to spend a weekend peeing into a bag, so be it. Some people don't get to have that bag removed once the weekend is over - so I consider this a major blessing.

If you've been following this blog for any length, you know that Joel and I have been somewhat unsuccessfully trying to have another child for a number of years. We've done this test and that test, tried this thing and that, and it's all boiled down to us being healthy individuals with nothing really wrong.

A few months ago, we finally decided to meet with a fertility specialist just to get another opinion and see what exactly our options were. This meeting was so helpful and clarifying. The specialist felt that one of my tests was wrong and that I may have a blocked fallopian tube, and he also felt that it was very likely that I had endometriosis. My past doctor thought there was no chance I had endometriosis, so this left me with my head spinning. The only way to diagnose this is with a surgical procedure called a Laparoscopy. It's an incredibly expensive procedure, and my insurance does not cover anything if it has to do with infertility.

I went home and did my research on endometriosis, became convinced I had it, and decided to make a new appointment with a new doctor to discuss my options. This new doctor was also convinced I had endometriosis and based on my history, she decided the best option was a Laparoscopy. Endometriosis is not just an infertility thing ... and get this ... my insurance covered the procedure 100%.

So last Wednesday, I had the procedure and as the doctor put it, I had "lots and lots and lots" of endometriosis. They were able to clean it all out, put me back together, and send me home. The recovery was supposed to be quick and easy, but for me it wasn't so great. From the moment I got home, I had to pee every 5-10 minutes. Each time I let out very little, and stood back up feeling like I still had to go. This continued through the night and the next afternoon I called the doctor.

I live right across the street from a hospital, but it wasn't the hospital I had my procedure at. That hospital is a good distance away. So, the doctor decided to diagnose me with a bladder infection over the phone and I went ahead and started treating it. The treatment helped a little ... I was now able to go a half hour to 45-minute stretch without running to the bathroom. But in the middle of the next night, the vomiting began.

Miserable. That's the best way to describe me. I was basically a peeing, vomiting machine, and early the next morning, Joel took me to the ER. At the ER, they did an ultrasound and told me I was retaining a HUGE amount of urine, so in went the catheter.

This is where it all got a little crazy and pre-historic feeling (okay, that's being a little dramatic). I was in the room all alone, with no nurse call button, and my bladder started having extremely - EXTREMELY - painful spasms. At first I tried to suck it up, then I texted Joel asking him what I was supposed do (he didn't get the text). When I couldn't take it any more, I started banging on the wall yelling "HELP!" Eventually, somebody came in. A little bit later the doctor came in with a shot of morphine, and the rest was just fine.

When I was about ready to go home, I had filled up the catheter bag with TWO LITERS of urine (if you, like me, don't think in liters - think of a 2 liter bottle of soda at the grocery store). As a result of the anesthesia, I got to be one of the lucky few for whom a side effect is a lazy bladder. After the spasms were over, I felt immediate relief. I just wanted to go to sleep, as I had barely slept a wink in the past three days.

They decided I needed to bring the catheter home, so since Friday morning, I've had a bag of pee attached to my leg with velcro. Good times, I tell you. Looking on the bright side, I've learned two things:

1. I am so blessed to live without a catheter, and
2. I really, really, really, really like sitting down to pee.

Hopefully today is the day that I get to go back to being normal. It was a very calm, sitting on the couch kind of weekend. My amazing mommy came up Friday night to help out since Joel absolutely had to go out of town for the night. And while typing this, the office called to schedule my appointment. I nearly burst into tears when I found out I couldn't get in until 3. I'll keep you posted ... and I'd definitely appreciate a couple of prayers sent my way.

Happy Birthday, 5 years old

2011-04-29T15:54:00.003-05:00

For my baby girl on your 5th birthday. What a year it has been.

I’ve been remembering in wonder and awe that I actually gave birth to you and it’s now been exactly five years. From the moment people began visiting you in the hospital, I started hearing two statements over and over so many times that I felt it was going to drive me crazy. The first was “She is so little; I can’t even believe my kids were once that little!” The second, “Treasure this time because it goes by so fast.” Adjusting to a newborn was so mind-boggling that it was hard to believe it could ever be a distant memory. But it is.

It is hard to believe you were ever a tiny baby. I look at pictures of you back then and look at you now – how much you’ve grown, how much you’ve learned (not to mention how much I’ve learned), and it is enough to stop me in my tracks. This past year has probably been the most eventful yet. You can read a little, write a lot, you seem to know so much about so many things, and you have finally started to understand a little bit of logic.

You are full of joy, confidence, and pride. In fact you often ask me if you are the smartest/prettiest/best at something. As your mother, I totally think you are, but I’ve been working to teach you a modicum of humility. We’re still working on it.

Your personality has developed so much in the last year – mostly good, but I’ll admit that some of it’s frustrating. The drama that everybody told us we would experience with a girl has shown its face, if only a little. You definitely will start to cry at some of the most seemingly bizarre things and we’ve finally seen you have a temper tantrum or two (or three or four …). You’ve managed to say “ugh!” in a way that I don’t think I perfected until the ninth grade. You’ve also developed all sorts of fears that we are eager for you to overcome. Let’s see, there are tornadoes and other natural disasters. Shadows. Sharks. Bugs. Crabs with pinchers … and don’t even get me started on deer heads.

We’ve noticed that you are extremely sensitive to loud noises and while this isn’t new, it’s amazing to watch you learn to cope and deal with it. You don’t like the sound of the tornado siren, so if you hear it you just run inside. Fireworks used to be too loud for you, but now you’re okay if you’re wearing ear plugs. If a baby starts crying, you cover your ears. You used to scream when we turned on the vacuum cleaner, now you cover your ears. Actually, you cover your ears a lot … but it’s certainly nice that it keeps you calm.

If I’m being completely honest, one of my favorite things about you is that whenever the teapot starts to whistle, you yell, “TEAPOT!” as if you think you’re the only one who hears the it.

So in the blink of an eye you went from four to five. You are still a princess through and through. You love to wear dresses and jewelry, play with dolls and barbies. You are all girl, but you’re the coolest girl I know. You genuinely make me laugh. You love to cross your eyes and love it when your Nana calls you, “Gladly the cross-eyed bear.” You are funny and silly, and so very happy. As pretty as you like to be, you love to run and play, and you do it with gusto.

I would really like you to slow down, but I feel so honored that I get to be with you as you grow. Happy Birthday.

Love, Mommy

{this moment}

2011-04-29T15:53:00.002-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor,
and remember.

inspired by soule mama.

Admitting Defeat

2011-04-28T13:59:00.003-05:00

I am just going to come out and say it ... I did not enjoy this project one bit. It seemed the perfect project. Rosemary absolutely LOVES mermaids and I love to sew. The moment I saw this was one of the projects in the Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love book, I wanted to get it. Then I was lucky enough to realize she was offering the Mermaiden pattern for free. I anticipated loving the little mermaid and then asking for the book for my birthday ... but I'm sad to say I don't even want to try it again.

It could very well be me. I have never made a doll before, so this is completely new territory. I had so much trouble sewing the body in a way that it didn't look like an alien, that I decided to enlarge it significantly. That helped, but I still wasn't thrilled with it.

Honestly if Rosemary hadn't been begging for birthday present hints and I hadn't told her I was making something, I would have given up. Time is running short (her birthday is tomorrow) and I just didn't know what else to do. I spent a lot more time on this than I intended, and sadly it was really frustrating and I'm not confident it will hold up.

I'd love to know if any of you have tried any patterns from this book and how you felt about it? I have long been dreaming about sewing toys and I am now wondering if my toy making days are over as quickly as they started.

In any case, my soon-to-be 5-year-old will have her own homemade mermaid doll tomorrow. And I can only hope it will hold up long enough for her to grow tired of it. I think I'll go take a shower now.

The makings of an Anglophile.

2011-04-26T08:17:00.004-05:00

I have very few memories of life before kindergarten. Every once in awhile, a memory will pop up and I'll piece together the who/what/where/and why - mostly, were my parents married at the time? And if they were, it's a memory for the pre-kindergarten file. That file is pretty bare.

This is why I was so surprised to realize that Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in 1981 ... when I was only three years old. I remember so much about that wedding. The young princess, the nervous prince (now I realize he was more troubled than nervous), the cathedral that had a history and beauty like nothing I had ever seen before, the bagpipes, the music, the lucky flower girls and bridesmaids, and of course that dress. That train.

As a small female and a princess lover, I believed I loved Diana with the patriotism of any Englander. I followed her growth, celebrated her children, and mourned her death. I learned of her death when my alarm went off, in the comfort of my bedroom in my mom's house, and went to sleep that night as a freshman in college dorms. It was a somber day for many reasons.

I was blessed to go to England once in college, and again Joel and I were able to spend nearly 20 days traipsing along the Northumberland Coast of Scotland and England, riding the train through Alnwick, and spending nearly a week in London. Our train into Kings Cross Station, in London, was the first train in after the tragic terroristic bombings in July, 2005. We wept with England on that day, and only days later we rejoiced with England when they won the bid for the 2012 Olympics.

We submerged ourselves in a history older than anything we'd ever see back home, and left in love.

In the last six years, we've had more dreams and conversations about how on earth we can work it out that we can live for a time in England. There are lots of maybes and hopes, far into the future if this and that and one more thing were to ever happen. A pipe dream, some might say.

And then the light bulb went off. I have a daughter who is nearly 5. She is not only a princess lover, but loves - LOVES - a British accent. She is on her way toward loving England as much as I do, maybe even more. For as long as I can remember, we've played 'Princess Diana and her daughter Rosemary.' I've spent more 2 hour drives in the car where I've been forced to speak with a [horrible] British accent than I care to remember.

So with eager anticipation that perhaps someday our daughter will, say, study abroad (and of course we'll follow!), we've submerged ourselves in the news and documentaries surrounding William and Kate. The best part? Their wedding is on her 5th birthday. As if turning 5 isn't a big enough deal, Rosemary feels all this pageantry definitely has something to do with her.

And who am I to argue with that?

{this moment}

2011-04-22T08:28:00.003-05:00

Hippity Hoppity.

2011-04-21T15:27:00.008-05:00

We had a busy day at our house, full of little kidlets. I decided to look for a fun Easter craft and Kristie at one of my favorite blogs - obsessive crafting disorder - made it easy.

This morning she posted some great pictures and a link for hello clementine's Etsy store, where I was able to purchase a variety of PDF patterns for some great paper doll bunnies. I printed out a few stacks of these and it kept the kids busy for quite some time. I have some more that I'm planning to do with Rosemary tomorrow, and we can decorate the house with fun Easter bunny garlands before the Easter bunny makes his way to our house.

Here is a sample of their creations.

Also, thanks to Kristie, I knew to request the already dressed "bonus bunnies" for free with my order.

Productivity: Otherwise Titled 'This Girl Finally Covered Her Sewing Machine.'

2011-04-19T14:08:00.005-05:00

Ever since I started storing my sewing machine out in the open (in the dining room, in fact), I haven't been able to bear covering it with the cheap, white, plastic cover it came with. I realize it's been a year and a half since moving, and my sewing machine has been out for almost as long, but this is a project that I just kept pushing to the bottom of the list.

There are a lot of tutorials out there for this sort of thing, but I chose the one at Chez Larsson for it's simplicity. While I worked on this over a few days, I would say it didn't take much more than an hour to complete. However, as far as tutorials go, it's incredibly bare-bones and I truly had no idea how I was supposed to match the top piece, which is rounded, to the side pieces, which were rectangular.

I scratched my head a few times and then decided to just go for it and let it cinch up as I went around. In hindsight, if I had spent a little more time folding and turning, it might have worked out better. Regardless, it does the job, looks perfectly fine, and matches my mail sorter -- yep, that's in the dining room as well.

{this moment}

2011-04-15T17:35:00.002-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor,
and remember.

{this moment}

2011-04-08T08:46:00.003-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor,
and remember.

inspired by soule mama.

Keeping Secrets

2011-04-06T10:12:00.004-05:00

Dear Internet,

I have a confession to make; I've been keeping secrets from you. Apparently with age comes discretion and I am learning how to keep my blabby mouth closed. There was a time when you would have told me a secret and I would have found -- someone -- to tell. I mostly managed (emphasis on the word mostly) to keep secrets from anyone who was directly involved, so there's probably a stranger out there who knows a 10-year-old secret about another stranger. Definitely. Most likely. Sorry friends. I'm better now.

Anyhow, life has kept us busy with, well, things that probably shouldn't be advertised on the internet. We've been up-and-down and back-and-forth dealing with this-and-that. And I'm happy to say that we pulled off a large, surprise 25th anniversary party for my dad and step-mom without a hitch.

I'm sad to say that all the pictures I took were ~~terrible~~ horrible. Being that we now live 2.5 hours away from all events like this, I nearly always forget my camera. I'm too busy remembering toothbrushes, lovies, and the like. My camera phone failed me and hipstamatic (my favorite app) failed me even more. This is about the best picture I have. At least you can see the guests of honor, the excited grandkids, and some element of surprise. Right?

The party was in The Firehouse Room at The Happy Gnome and I just can't resist saying that I have never in my life had better service. I wish I was getting paid to say that (because I want to go back), but I am not. The food was great, the location was great, the service was amazing. Let's just say there was a misunderstanding (our fault) and the party started an hour earlier than they thought it was going to start. We walked about a half-hour earlier than the party was supposed to start and they didn't even crack a frown when we all figured out the problem.

It was fantastic to see friends and family I haven't seen in years, and to meet people who knew a lot more about me than I knew about them (that's what happens when you meet people when you're two). My big brother worked his tail off getting this thing together and my sister-in-law put together the most spectacular video collage. It was the hit of the evening.

I can hardly wait to celebrate their 5oth!

Baby Blanket

2011-03-26T20:34:00.005-05:00

An old high school and college BFF, Summer (who is becoming slightly famous on this blog), had a baby shower today. These days she lives clear across the country from me, so it was a rare opportunity to see her and rub her gorgeous little pregnant belly .

I've been thinking about what I was going to give her for her baby shower since the day she told me she was pregnant. Of course the right answer was probably something practical, but at the same time, I make things.

So I bought her a baby sling and made her a blanket. Back when Rosemary was small enough, Summer would make fun of me for always carrying my little girl in a "hippy" sling. She will soon learn what a lifesaver a sling can be and how wonderful it is to carry your child close to you, rather than plopping them in a bucket. And then I made her this blanket.

I think the fabric is Amy Butler, but I'm not sure. I bought it last summer and didn't pay too much attention to anything but that I liked it a lot. Never in a million years did I think it would turn into a baby blanket, but when I was trying to figure out the colors, I kept coming back to it. Summer knows she is having a girl and sometimes I think it's nice when little girls have things that aren't pink. The yellow fabric is Minkee, which is so soft I defy you not to love it.

I followed this tutorial on the juicy bits blog. It's not the first time I've used one of her tutorials and she writes them really well. In the past I have struggled with bias, and these instructions were pretty easy to follow.

Of course there are mistakes (my husband always tells me not to mention them, but I feel like it's nice to know that not everyone on the internet does everything to perfection), but I was really pleased with how it turned out.

I think some more of my friends should have babies so I can practice this blanket and perfect my skills with bias. Any takers?

Love My Lunch Box!

2011-03-23T19:29:00.004-05:00

Next year, my little girl will be starting kindergarten and in preparation, I have had her on a waiting list to switch from two 1/2 days of preschool to two full days of preschool. Well, a spot opened up for her, and it seems I need the preparation as much as she does because I did not sleep a wink the night after I signed her up.

As I knew she would, she absolutely loves it. She says eating lunch in the cafeteria is the most perfect way to eat lunch ever. And during her quiet time, she got to watch part of The Little Mermaid. If they keep playing that movie, I'll have a hard time bringing her home ...

Today I whipped up this lunch box, from the Love Your Lunch Box pattern I found on Etsy. Rosemary proceeded to play "snack time" with it for the rest of the day, and it warms my heart just how excited she is to bring it to school tomorrow.

The main fabric is a Hello Kitty fabric that my friend Summer brought to me from Korea. The rest of the fabric is scraps from other projects. Now I think I need to make one for myself!

Pink kitchen

2011-03-11T12:29:00.001-06:00

I never knew how much I wanted a pink kitchen. Actually, I never knew I even wanted a pink kitchen. But, one link led to another, which led me to a blog called Small Place Style, and I suddenly feel like my life won't be complete until ... some day ... I get to have pink cupboards in my kitchen.

Don't you absolutely agree? I'm not sure how I'll ever convince my husband what a necessity pink cupboards are. Guess I'll just have to paint them when he's not home. And, of course, when we have cupboards of our own to paint.

A girl can dream, can't she?

P.S. It sure would be nice if my small place included a kitchen so BIG!

The Long Winter

2011-03-10T12:36:00.002-06:00

We've all been dealing with The Sick at our house. I mentioned that February hit us hard and it seems March isn't letting go. I feel on the constant edge of a sinus infection and the Small Child has the fever that comes and goes, chills, aches, and pains to go along with it.

No big deal, it's March and nobody wants to do anything but watch T.V. and lounge around anyway. Every once in awhile, Rosemary gets a spurt of energy and decides she needs to dress up. Then she basically meanders over to the radiator, where she sits and plays lethargically. After that she finds herself overcome with chills and needs me to help her get into warm clothes, QUICK!

Good times.

Fortunately I have had a burst of energy today. I've managed to wash a mountain of dishes, have 3 loaves of bread rising, and am hoping to make some progress on a lunch box I've been sewing. And I have a knitting date tonight! As it is, I think I need to stop procrastinating and finish up that freelance project that's sitting in my inbox.

Hope all of you are healthier than all of us!

And the days go marching on.

2011-03-03T13:00:00.003-06:00

January, February, March. I'm still alive, but it would seem I've taken an unintentional hiatus from the blogosphere. I've been doing lots of knitting, but don't really have anything to show for it yet. In my mind I have a million sewing projects I want to start (and even a belated December birthday present, gasp!), but just haven't gotten around to yet.

February hit us hard with ear infections, sinus infections, and the like. I've also started substitute teaching, which I truly am loving ... but I have yet to figure out how to work and get the laundry done. To be honest, I'm impressed that we haven't eaten out more than we have.

And that's another thing to brag about - I weighed in today at Weight Watchers and I have lost 11.2 pounds, woot! woot! It's been a slow, but sure loss and I think losing 9 more pounds before summer is attainable.

That would explain the picture above where I actually baked my own salmon. Like most children, I grew up hating salmon. However, here and there over the past few years I've tasted and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd branch out. It was good, really good actually ... but my body begged to differ and (violently) rejected it later in the evening. Honestly, the smell of the leftovers made me feel sick this morning and I'm truly not sure I'll ever eat salmon again.

In other news, we're making it through this dark and dull winter. Sarah, at threaded basil is celebrating a month of citrus, in order to help her through the month that most Minnesotans dread. I think blogging away the month is not a bad idea - so keep tuned for some knitting and sewing projects coming up soon.

The baffling concept of time and furniture.

2011-02-08T12:15:00.003-06:00

Sometimes the whole concept of "time" baffles me. There are the obvious things, like I can't believe my little baby is 4.5. Soon she'll be 5 and ready for Kindergarten. There are the crazy things, like the fact that I am the person who hires a babysitter, while I still feel like I relate so much more to actually being a babysitter.

And then there are the baffling things, like why is my couch so stinking uncomfortable and ragged? Why are there stains all over it and tears at the seems? I got this couch when I first lived on my own, sans roommates; I paid a lot of money for it, bought it at a fancy place, and it should last me at least 10 years.

Realization strikes. That couch is more than 12 years old. Am I truly old enough to have a couch that old? Yowsa.

Buying new furniture is a pipe dream for us at this point, but that doesn't mean I don't spend my free time browsing all the modern furniture on the internet. It's not the thing for us to spend money on right now and even if it was, our apartment is temporary and it's smartest to wait until we are someplace more permanent. Regardless, I have this apartment planned and mapped out in my mind. If we moved this, bought this couch and that bookshelf, etc. we could probably live here forever.

This is a tangent, but lately I've been thinking about how it's so much more fun to creatively organize a small space than to have a large space that needs filling up. When we moved into this apartment, I was dumbfounded and Joel was more than a little concerned about how we'd fit. But we've made it work - and not only that, but we've made this a cozy and comfortable home that seems a lot bigger than it is.

Anyhow, it will be interesting to see how long life keeps us in this place. Maybe long enough that we'll need to put a new couch in here. And, one day, that new couch will be that old ragged thing. Crazy to believe that I'll some day be old enough to have replacement furniture that's incredibly old.

First project just for me

2011-02-06T16:21:00.004-06:00

This is the second time I knit this scarf. The first knitting was a disaster. It was twisted, it was too big, it was too small ... really the list could go on. I began calling it The Great Scarf Disaster of 2011 ... mainly because I so anticipated being able to wear this scarf that it was such a let-down to have to rip it out and start all over.

It was worth redoing, however. Not only has it been keeping me warm all day, but it is the very first thing I have ever knit and kept just for myself. I think this makes me a true knitter.

And she keeps on knitting

2011-01-31T19:22:00.005-06:00

In order to fit into this Central Minnesotan town, and so that I can be part of the randomly scheduled Stitch-n-Bitch group where all the cool people hang out, I have to keep on knitting. I have a lot of sewing projects that I'm interested in, but the knitting projects are interesting too. Decisions, decisions.

Well, knitting wins over for now.

The local yarn store, Among the Pines, sometimes gives out free patterns and I was lucky enough to get a free pattern for this beautiful lacy 'Neck Ring Thing.'

Pictured is The Lovely Summer, a very dear friend of mine who recently turned 32 and needed a present. It's made out of Vintage Chunky yarn, which is so soft and feels so appealing on my fingers that I'd marry it, if I swung that way.

The LeLe Baby Hat

2011-01-19T13:47:00.002-06:00

There were no available babies to model this hat, so Monkey had to do. I found the free pattern here, and for my first hat, first i-cord, and first tassle, it was pretty easy. I did misunderstand the directions a little, and on the first go-around I knit too many rows. This was realized half-way through, so I just compensated with fewer rows later on ... it turned out fine, but this one does look a bit better. The yarn I used isn't as chunky and instead of size 11 needles, I used 10.5 ... because it's what I had. I really like the look of the hat with chunkier yarn, but this is nice too. I also made the tassle shorter so the recipient of this baby hat wouldn't chew and/or choke on it.

Waking up from my slumber.

2011-01-13T16:41:00.002-06:00

Well, hello there! After Christmas, I fell into a deep hybernation-like sleep, and considered staying there until the snow melts and the sun shines hot on my skin. Then the last couple of days I realized I was in danger of falling into a dangerous mid-winter slump, so I've been shaking myself awake.

On the days leading up to Christmas, I had a bit of a sweatshop going on in my ~~dining room~~ craft room. I made a bzillion pinafores - some for birthday presents and some for Christmas. I made a decent, but somewhat sorry, attempt at hot pads, whipped up another mail sorter, sewed a purse for my mom, and tackled a handful of knitting projects. Not to mention, I started to get my first substitute teaching calls, made many more trips down to the cities (2.5 hour drives, each way) than I intended, and hosted a raucous New Year's Eve party at our house.

So, when the new year actually began, I was finished. I needed a break from responsibility. I've still been substitute teaching, a little. I decided to - for the first time - knit something for myself. I'm now referring to that project as the Great Scarf Disaster of 2011. Soon I'll be ripping that thing out and starting over. :-) I read a book, watched some TV, and then I decided I was going to start relearning photo shop.

First project: An attempt at a Christmas collage, featuring some of our activities and some of the things I made in the month of December.

Once I got to it, I realized I wasn't very active with my camera. Oh well, here is my beginner's attempt. The background is the best tree ever. It's tall. It's skinny. It's very Charlie-brownish and I loved it. As a matter of fact, I thought this ornament was definitely for me when I saw it. Turns out, Kristie at obsessive crafting disorder seemed to [wrongly] think her tree was the best ever. I'm sure her tree was a close second, but hopefully she can find comfort in knowing she made the best ornament ever. I meant to make on myself, but there just wasn't time.

So there you have it, blogosphere. I've missed you and I'm looking forward to connecting with you again.

Countdown to Christmas

2010-12-22T08:49:00.002-06:00

I have been avoiding the blogosphere for the last couple of weeks. I made some pretty large crafting commitments and have been hunkered down in our kitchen.slash.crafting room. I drastically reduced our Christmas spending this year ... and hopefully increased the thought and individually of each gift. However, as a natural procrastinator, I can't say I haven't lately asked myself (many times) what on earth was I thinking?

I knew that if I took a minute to post some pictures or ideas, I'd then take many more minutes to read all of yours. Then, I'd probably get inspired to do something else new and last minute, and that would just add to the stress. I already have a list of things I'd love to do if I find the time ... we'll see if I get to them.

And with that, I see that I've stepped out of my bubble long enough. Time to get to work on some pot holders.

Hello and goodbye.

My first homemade Christmas Dress.

2010-12-08T20:23:00.008-06:00

Rosemary had her Christmas program last night. It was confusion of the loveliest kind. Most of the little preschoolers stood on the stage like dears in headlights, while a couple of them jumped up and down on the bleachers and frolicked around - not a part of the program, but it definitely stole the show.

She currently attends a Christian school, so the program was definitely about the story of Christmas. There were angels fluttering around the stage, wise men and shepherds, King Herod made a special appearance, and Mary/Joseph/and Baby Jesus even made an appearance (Rosemary asked me if it was the real Mary and Joseph!).

Next year she'll be attending public school, so that will probably be the last of all that, which makes me feel sad and nostalgic ... and terrified that I have to send my child off to kindergarten next year. I can't even think about it.

Anyhow, the Christmas program was earlier than I anticipated it would be and we got very little notice. So, once I did get notice, I knew I had to get to work, because I intended to make her a Christmas dress this year. I decided to go with another version of the Oliver + S dress I made awhile ago. For awhile, I was planning on doing a more difficult looking dress with a zipper and then I decided I had enough irons in the fire, and I'm glad I did because I love her dress.

I don't know if you've noticed this yet, but this is basically the 'Rosemary sees a camera pose.' It could be worse, I suppose.

So I made this dress, sewed some rick-rack over the top seem, which made me love the dress so much more. The one I made earlier didn't look too incredible on the top seem, and neither did this one. The rick-rack fixed it up, though.

It's a pretty billowy dress, and I was hoping that making it the right size, exactly to the measurements would fix it. I lengthened the first dress by a couple inches and thought that was the problem, but no, it's the dress.

I brought the dress up to our local fabric store to see if they had any thoughts on the matter, and putting a tie in the back was wisely suggested.

This is where I have to say that I am so stinkin' proud of myself. First, I made up a dress and it looked pretty good. Second, I wasn't totally happy with it, so I ripped the seams and used some of the extra fabric to make a tie. And it looks great! Not to toot my own horn or anything ...

I love me some free art. Especially when it's good.

2010-12-01T19:26:00.003-06:00

You're going to want to put OohMoon.com on your daily blog list. It's a brand new blog in which the artist/blogger is intending to create and share (for free!) a new print every day.

The prints she shares will each only be available for one day ... so you won't be able to go into the archives and pick your favorites. But you will be able to buy them at any time.

I already have the above print hanging in Rosemary's room, and it looks lovely.

Hooty Holidays (hardy har)

2010-11-30T15:54:00.002-06:00

I whipped up some ornaments for an ornament exchange that an old high school friend is organizing. I had much grander ideas than this, but the holiday whirlwind seems to have begun and I ran out of time. They're cute ... but definitely not as cute as the ones I saw on Juicy Bits, where I got the idea.

However, once I got a groove, they started looking nicer and they were pretty easy. So, who knows, maybe I'll whip up some more.

First I need to make a Christmas dress for Rosemary. The goal was to have it done in time for her preschool Christmas program and we just found out it's next Tuesday ... so, the real question is, how have I found time to be on the computer?

Tis the Season.

2010-11-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Our front door needed a little sprucing up. The ground is covered with snow and the yellow/green butterfly that's been hanging up since June has grown increasingly out of place. Thanks to Kristy at The Diary of Dave's Wife, I made just the right thing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T07:30:00.000-06:00

Here's to wishing all of you a Happy Turkey Day! May you eat too much delicious food, celebrate merrily, and appreciate the inevitable drama that ensues when friends and family come together.

I pray that we would all grow increasingly thankful with each day for the many ways we are blessed, even though those blessings are sometimes hidden.

I am thankful for my husband, who works so hard to keep this family going and does a great job. For my daughter who makes me laugh every day. And for the rest of my family who manages to love me even though I make so many mistakes.

God bless you all.

Winter

2010-11-23T09:13:00.002-06:00

Whether I like it or not, winter is upon us. There is snow on the ground, covering a layer of ice. Hats and mittens are now a necessary accessory, and this morning I pulled over to help push a car (with absolutely NO tread on its tires) up a very small hill. My knitting needles have seen lots of action - first, leg warmers for Rosemary, then a scarf for my mom, and now mittens for Rosemary.

The mittens are the most intricate items I have ever knitted and I have this to say: for a first pair of mittens, they're pretty good; but they definitely look like a first pair of mittens.

Christmas carols are ringing, my feet are happy in slippers, the tea kettle whistles often. I seem to be embracing a season I have dreaded since the end of last winter. I love the change of seasons, but last winter seemed marked an end to a season of my life that I was happy to say goodbye to, and I wasted a good amount of time worrying it would come back.

I’m beginning to realize that even though financial woes continue, infertility issues remain, there’s a light at the end of a very long tunnel and I don’t anticipate that light growing dark. I think I could be hit with a lot at this point in my life (though I’d really prefer not to) and it wouldn’t hurt as hard as it did a couple of years ago. I have less, I think I know less, I need less, I want less, and at the core of my being I feel so … happy.

There are moments like tonight where nothing particular is happening, but I feel butterflies in my stomach and tears well up in my eyes. I am learning to accept the little pleasures and appreciate the fleeting moments, and I truly believe it’s the greatest lesson one can learn. I still forget sometimes. But on days like this, when I remember, I feel like I am the most blessed in the world.

Peanut Soup. For really real.

2010-10-28T08:05:00.000-05:00

I had the luxury of being a barista at a quality small town, family run coffee house while I was a college student. Not only was it a blessing to me because of the amazing memories - washing dishes, causing (reasonable) trouble, sweeping, mopping, doing homework, and having philosophical conversations (during the slow nights); but because I learned to appreciate well made coffee and quality cooking. I also, thankfully, learned that scones are not supposed to be dry and crumbly.

The owners of the Blue Heron Coffee House were (and still are, I presume) some of the most talented chefs and bakers I have ever met. They were well-known in the town and often coerced (willingly, I'm sure) into catering events other than the daily meals at the coffee house. That, and they were incredible people whom I feel honored to have shared so much of my college life with.

My favorite of their daily soups was Peanut Soup. I never, EVER would have thought such a thing would be a favorite of mine (especially because prior to working there, my meals pretty much consisted of cereal, and macaroni and cheese). And, if I had known that Peanut Soup actually included peanut butter as a main ingredient, I would likely have never let the soup touch my lips. I love peanut butter ... but in soup??

I was lucky enough to get the recipe, and I'm being a bit presumptuous in assuming this, but I'm sure they won't mind if I share.

Super Yummy, Absolutely Tasty, Peanut Soup

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Cup sliced onion
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt

4 Cups vegetable broth
2 Cups sliced carrots
1/2 Cup smooth, all-natural peanut butter
1/2 Cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 Cup milk

Heat oil in a saucepan over med/high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the first 6 ingredients. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and cook for 30 minutes or until soft.

Using a blender fitted with a steal blade (our Magic Bullet worked fine), blend the soup and peanut butter until pureed.

Return the ingredients to the pot and add the milks. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy.

MultiGrain Bread Deliciousness

2010-10-26T10:25:00.000-05:00

As you may have noticed by now, I get many of my recipes from the Lovely Sarah. As the former baker for this delicious coffee house, who learned from the best at the Blue Heron Coffee House in Winona, MN, I trust her implicitly.

I believe she and I both started our bread-making journey around the same time - it's hard for me to believe it was more than a year ago - and Sarah found the best Multigrain bread, hands down. It's a recipe from America's Test Kitchen, which manages to get nearly everything right.

I've made a couple minor changes to the recipe, and now cook this bread up 2 or 3 times a month. It is light, fluffy, and oh-so-delicious. I especially like it because it seems a little healthier than this bread, which is also a favorite in our house.

MultiGrain Bread Deliciousness
(slightly modified from the America's Test Kitchen recipe, which you can find for free on their website)

Makes two 9 by 5-inch loaves

Don't confuse 7-grain hot cereal mix with boxed, cold breakfast cereals that may also be labeled "7-grain." Our favorite brands of 7-grain mix are Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills. Leftover bread can be wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for 3 days; wrap with an additional layer of aluminum foil and the bread can be frozen for up to one month.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups 7-grain hot cereal mix (see note above)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting work surface
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon table salt
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, (unsalted)*
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

Instructions

1. Place cereal mix in bowl of standing mixer and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about 1 hour. Whisk flours in medium bowl.

2. Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, melted butter, and yeast and stir to combine. Attach bowl to standing mixer fitted with dough hook. With mixer running on low speed, add flours, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until dough forms ball, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes; cover bowl with plastic and let dough rest 20 minutes. Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3 to 4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2 to 3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and continue mixing); continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Slowly add seeds and knead for until fully mixed. If necessary, transfer dough to floured work surface and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and dough forms smooth, taut ball. Place dough into greased container with 4-quart capacity; cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

3. Spray two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and pat into 12 by 9-inch rectangle; cut dough in half crosswise with knife or bench scraper. Follow illustrations 1 through 3 below to shape loaves and coat with oats; cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. (Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckle.)

4. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake until internal temperature registers 200 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and cool on wire rack before slicing, about 3 hours.

Technique

Getting the Loaf into Shape
1. With short side facing you, starting at farthest end, roll dough piece into log. Keep roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go.
2. To seal loaf, pinch seam gently with thumb and forefinger. Spray loaves lightly with water or nonstick cooking spray.
3. Roll each dough log in oats to coat evenly. Place loaf seam-side down in greased loaf pan, pressing gently into corners.

*I prefer sunflower seeds. Something about the pumpkin seeds gives it a more unusual taste, which I like for a fancy dinner or special occasion - but for every day PB&Js, sunflower seeds hit the spot.

It is time to knit.

2010-10-24T14:40:00.000-05:00

It is no longer possible to hold on to summer. Parting is bittersweet as there are few things as delightful as a Minnesota fall, and yet it's difficult to ignore the nagging return to winter. The leaves turned and peaked quickly. They are now covering the ground, and those who aren't renters are mulching, raking, and bagging. The sky is a more persistent shade of gray and for the last couple of days, a steady rain has fallen from the sky.

It is time to knit.

I truly thought I would continue this newly learned practice through the summer; but once the weather turned warm and my thoughts were on sidewalk chalk, bike rides, ice cream, and sprinklers, my knitting needles snuggled up in the basket not to come out for the rest of the season.

First on my list was a pair of leg warmers for Rosemary. I didn't have a pattern, but whipped these up with some help from the owner of the nearby yarn shop and some friends from my new Stitch-n-Bitch group (we do lots of stitching and very little, if any, of that other thing).

I am pretty sure that sweet girl had no clue what leg warmers were when I started this project, but she could not wait to see them completed and put them on her legs. I wonder how much longer I have before she's completely unexcited about what I have to make for her? As it is, she wears them so proudly and loves to announce to the world that her mommy made them just for her.

There's enough leftover yarn that I am thinking of making a matching pair, perhaps with wider stripes, and wondering if I would ever wear them. Or perhaps I should knit a pair of hand warmers. Or a hat.

Well, whatever it becomes, I'll keep you posted.

'Seven Minutes in Heaven' would be so much more fun if it was about peanut butter cookies.

2010-10-23T22:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of Christmas's ago, the lovely Sarah presented me with the most delicious peanut butter cookies that exist. On the planet.

Not being a fan of chocolate and being a huge fan of peanut butter, Sarah gave me just the right thing. She later confided in me that she considered naming the cookie after me, calling it something like the "Peanut Butter Kate" (or probably the "Peanut Butter Katie" because she knows me from those days), but she worried I would think that was silly. Oh no I wouldn't! These cookies have since carried that title in my world.

As you may have deduced from the title, these cookies do not last long in my house - they were gone before I took a picture. Luckily, I was smart enough to snap a shot while the cookies were still dough.

Fortunately you can find a photo - and more importantly, the recipe - right here.

2010-10-10T15:17:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd take a minute to post some pictures of what I've been up to. There was a bit of a time crunch between the time I finished the pictures and the time I had to give them away ... so once again, pictures are pretty low quality.

Here's another purse I made for the Lovely Sarah. It's such a great pattern. If you know me, you might want to mention if you don't like the style of this purse ... because it just might turn into a present for you.

Her son somehow went from being a brand new baby to his 1st birthday. I have no clue where that year went! I can hardly believe it. Anyway, Rosemary and I made him a little monster toy.

So, there you have it.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

$55 Giveaway for CSN Stores

2010-10-06T11:22:00.001-05:00

***
The winner is Caffeinated Mom! Congrats.
***

CSN Stores recently contacted me to ask if I would like to do a giveaway for my readers, and after looking over all of their stores, I feel it would simply be wrong for me to say no. What a great opportunity it is for me to bless the lot of you with a little something extra.

In their over 200 online stores, they sell so many things, from bed sets to roasting pans. And they've got some high quality items. I think if I had a little more money to my name right now, I'd put the winning gift certificate toward a loft bed for Rosemary ... because a loft bed in her room would not only solve space issues in her bedroom, but also in the rest of our house (the child has a lot of toys).

However, since we have decided to get out of debt at all costs, we'll simply make do with being a little cramped in our house. Therefore, I think I'd spend the gift certificate on these chalkboard decals, which allow for both creativity and organization, and they're cheaper than a whole bedroom set. How can you beat that?

Or maybe something like this ...
... which serves a similar purpose, but is a little more artsy.

Now, this isn't about me - it's about you! Today I'm partnering with CSN stores to offer a giveaway for a $55 gift certificate to any one of their online stores. The gift certificate is only good for merchandise and cannot be applied toward shipping costs. The giveaway will be open until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13.

You have three chances to enter:
1. Visit CSNstores.com and leave a comment telling me how you think you'll spend the gift certificate.
2. Post a link to this giveaway on your blog or facebook page, and leave a comment with the link.
3. Become a follower of my blog or let me know if you are already a follower.

Remember to leave one comment for each entry. Also, make sure you leave an email address or have one connected to your Blogger profile!

Enjoy!

May I take a moment to brag?

2010-09-25T08:42:00.000-05:00

The Kids Clothing Week Challenge began this Monday and when I sat down to my sewing machine, I decided to sew ... myself a purse.

You see, many months ago I saved a purse tutorial from Oh, Fransson! and immediately bought all the fabric. It was so long ago that when I went to find the tutorial off of her website, it was gone. Fortunately, Elizabeth responded to my begging and generously sent me a copy.

So, while I know I should have been sewing kids clothing; I need a purse, I had the fabric and the pattern, and decided to give it a go.

Here it is.

It has been rainy and gloomy here for weeks and I don't have the patience to wait for good light, especially because I am so stinkin' proud of this project. It's the first semi-complicated project I have ever made without a major goof. My only complaint is that it's pretty summery, considering we're headed into winter (remember, I bought the fabric long ago).

That's no big deal, I consider it my ray of sun in all the gloom.

I am so impressed with the ease of the tutorial that I will definitely be spending some more time over at Oh, Fransson!

Here are a couple other pictures, for good measure.

Also, if you're looking for some great sewing ideas for your little boys and girls, I highly recommend you follow the KCWC link above. I've saved up some great ideas, and even though I won't be making them during the challenge, I'll definitely be making them.

Birthday Presents are Fun to Make

2010-09-22T19:39:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to make this bike bucket all summer. Rosemary's bike already has a basket, and she's pretty attached to it, so I didn't have much reason to ... until we got invited to another birthday party.

It's kind of fun now that Rosemary is of the age to go to friends' birthday parties, because I get to test out all the crafty things that I've been looking for a reason to make. On the other hand, Rosemary's friends get some of my sloppy things - but they're young enough yet not to care too much (or at least somebody else will have a better present that overshadows mine).

So this particular friend, whose mom happens to keep a fun little blog over here, has a daughter who likes to ride a bike. And I noticed her bike didn't have a basket, so my plan was in motion.

Her party was a dragon party; she loves dragons. Being a procrastinator and living in a small town, I could not find any dragon fabric. So I just went with a mix of fabrics with no particular theme.

And, well, here it is. It DEFINITELY looks hand-made. But, it's a basket and it will fit on a bike. I filled it up with a scarf, a pair of funky tights, and some homemade headbands. I hope she likes it!

kids clothes week challenge

2010-09-15T12:40:00.000-05:00

Are any of you planning to participate in the kids clothes week challenge over at Elsie Marley? I have no clue what I'm going to make, but I'm hoping to participate. At the very least, I'll hopefully get some good ideas. The weather is quickly getting colder, R's clothes are suddenly all too small, and I'd like to make her some new things ... but I find it's a lot easier to find summer clothes ideas than winter clothes.

Right now there is a giveaway at Grosgrain that I'd love to win! It includes 4 PDF patterns, and I'd definitely sew them up during the challenge next week. Let's hope I win!

We're headed to a Pirate Party!

2010-09-08T16:50:00.000-05:00

And so I made ... monsters.

First, I made this wallet. It's definitely a little on the big side; I hope it's not too girly. Making things for a boy is not my expertise! There is a website out there that gives instructions for this. I didn't save it and don't have time to look it up. It's pretty easy ... I don't think the instructions are really necessary.

Next, I made this monster doll. Are 5-year-old boys too old for monster dolls?

Turning it into a pirate was not my original intention. I started thinking it was maybe a little babyish, then I remembered it was a pirate party ... so hopefully the bandana and eye patch age it up a bit?

Here he is with the eye patch flipped up.

It was SUPER easy to make, and a good use of the TONS of felt that I have on-hand. I will definitely be making more monster gifts in the future. But, be honest ... is 5 a little too old for this?

I almost forgot

2010-09-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've also been turning a lot of these:
into a lot of these:

Yet another summer recap.

2010-09-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

With summer coming to an end, we have been very busy. I am a little sad that the super hot days are coming to an end, beach trips may be out of the question for the next three seasons, winter is impending. But I'm looking forward to the start of preschool, wearing sweaters and pants, being less tempted to eat ice cream, and snuggling under blankets.

This is what we've been up to for the last few weeks.

We've been camping and fishing.

Playing with goats at the fair.

Visiting local fairs, including one where Joel got to be in the dunk tank (and we got to dunk him)!

Making this shirt.

To wear to this game.

Target Field is awesome.

Spending time with Nana (and Papa, and Mooey, and Grandpa, and Babba, and all the 'rents/in-laws).

And, just trying to enjoy some family time.

Now ... bring on the down time!

The Finished Product, Finally

2010-08-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

It's been nothing but rain here, so I haven't been able to get a decent picture of the dress, that I finally finished. I am starting to get impatient, so you are all going to get a poor-ish quality photo. Them's the berries, as they say.

The hem was the biggest struggle of the dress for me, and after I finished it ... I had to rip the seams out and sew it all over again. I suppose I didn't *have* to, but I wanted it to look better than it did.

Otherwise, I'm pretty excited about it. I feel confident in reading patterns now, and will try not to let them scare me any more.

Pizza, pizza

2010-08-12T12:15:00.001-05:00

Thanks to a recipe from the lovely Sarah, and a little bit of advice from Alton Brown, we've been consuming quite a bit of homemade pizza at our house.

It's one of the best dough recipes that I've tried, and I especially love that it doesn't need to sit overnight in the fridge. Now, Alton Brown says that dough that doesn't rest in the fridge is sub-par, but I say he's wrong. This recipe makes a great dough and you don't have to plan to make it so far in advance. Personally, I'm much less likely to make a pizza if I have to start it the day before. That is more forethought than I have.

The pizza you are looking at is especially exciting because it had fresh onions, tomatoes, and basil from our garden. And it had a fresh Ancho Pepper from a very generous neighbor's garden. It was delicious.

Here is the recipe:

4 1/4 cups bread flour*
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 cups warm water

Put 4 cups of flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Whisk together. Pour in the oil and water, and using a dough hook, knead together until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. If dough is still very sticky, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured counter and knead by hand, adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour* as needed to prevent dough from sticking to the counter top. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter, cut it into three even pieces, and cover with plastic wrap. Working with one piece of dough at a time, shape into a smooth, round ball, cover again with the plastic wrap, and let rest 20-30 minutes.

Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position, place a baking stone on the rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Let the baking stone heat for at least 30 minutes.

Uncover each ball of dough** and stretch and shape the dough into a 12 inch round on a piece of parchment paper. Allow the dough to rise for another 20-30 minutes. (If you prefer a thinner crust, skip this rise. I find that this creates the perfect dough right between thick and thin crust, and just the right level of chewy.) Spread one cup of pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch edge of dough uncovered. Place toppings on, and sprinkle with 4 oz [1 cup] of cheese. Lightly brush the edge of the dough with oil.

Slide the parchment paper and pizza onto a rimless [or inverted] baking sheet, then slide it onto the hot baking stone. Bake until the crust edges brown and the cheese is golden in spots, 8-13 minutes.

Transfer the pizza to a cutting board or other surface. Sprinkle with fresh, chopped basil and cut the pizza into 6-8 wedges. Let stone reheat 5 minutes before baking the next pizza.

If you can stand the wait, let the pizza cool for 5 minutes or so before slicing. If you cut the pizza while it's too hot, the cheese will ooze down to the middle.

Enjoy!

*It's been incredibly humid this summer and I have been using about 5 cups of flour, total.
**For a family of 3, 2 pizzas is more than enough for dinner and leftovers. I usually freeze 1 ball of dough and make lunch with it at some point later in the week.

Another reason I love to sew

2010-08-11T12:34:00.001-05:00

Rosemary has taken quite an interest in this thing called sewing. She often wants to help me run the fabric through the machine, and she almost daily asks me if I can make something for her.

I feel like it's only a matter of time before she starts screaming for things that aren't homemade, so I'm doing my best to make it fun and not force it all upon her.

One of her favorite things to do is move the pins around the pin cushion. She pretends it is a game called Block the Farmer, and has a very systematic way of moving the pins around. She always wins, of course.

I needed a day to wallow

2010-08-06T08:42:00.000-05:00

You may remember this post, where I shared a bit of the story of Joel and I trying to get pregnant for a second time. I am not sure why I haven't mentioned it since, other than I just haven't known what else to say.

Well, yesterday was the tough day. I've been using Clomid for 3 months and I had a level of faith that 3 months would be the charm. When it became plainly obvious that it wasn't going to work, I was pretty down about it. Last month was the last chance I had to get pregnant before I turn another year older, and also the last chance I had to have a due date before my daughter's fifth birthday. Usually, the signs that I am not pregnant don't get me so down; but yesterday I needed a day to wallow. I cried and I prayed and I, well, I watched a lot of TV.

The hardest part about this whole thing is the cost of everything and how every decision is based around how much it's going to cost. We can't afford to see any specialists. We've taken all the main tests, including 1 bigger test (HSG, if you know what that is), and there is nothing noticeably wrong with either of us. There really is no known reason I haven't gotten pregnant in the last 2 years.

My doctor's main advice is that I just have patience, and so any sort of "treatment" that I want to pursue has pretty much been on my own. I've been using a progesterone cream for the last year and a half (which I think I'm about to stop using), and then I've been trying the Clomid. But I'm nervous about even doing that, because I don't feel like it's on the right kind of "program." It's incredibly difficult and stressful to make most of my own decisions about this when I am not even remotely an expert.

Since Joel and I are trying to get out of debt, it's pretty difficult to justify getting into more debt (not to mention, the magical pot at the end of the rainbow that the money would have to come from), and so I think what I have to do is ... nothing. I think I need to stop all the rigmarole and just wait. It's a hard decision to come to (I'm not even sure I'm fully there), and so, I really needed a day to wallow.

Ice Cream Socialing Along

2010-07-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

This sew-along is going surprisingly well. I really love learning in this type of environment. At home, at my own pace, and at the cost of the fabric and pattern. It seriously would not be going quite as well as it is if I wasn't getting wonderful tips from Amy. (As a side note, I just realized she already has tomorrow's post up and I'm seriously resisting the urge to get started ... No, Kate, it's not worth staying up all night! Right?)

Anyhow, all that's left is the hem. It will match the yoke of the dress (yep, I actually know what that means now) (for those of you who don't, it's the green part at the top).

I was hoping it would be big enough to put long sleeves underneath it. I'm thinking of this more as a fall dress - perhaps 1st day of preschool. However, every time I mention that to Rosemary, she says, "but I can wear it now, too, right?" It is definitely a perfect fit - not a little big, like I was hoping it would be (I did add 1.5 inches or so to the middle of the dress and boy am I glad I did!).

Now I'm just going to have to learn how to knit a brown button-up sweater ... or perhaps one of you would like to take on this task for me? I know there are some knitters out there. Cough, cough ... she's currently a size 5, cough, a little bigger would probably be better. Cough, cough.

Bread, bread, fabulous bread.

2010-07-23T09:49:00.001-05:00

A little over a year ago, I decided that I was going to try to go at least a year without buying a loaf of bread. Having never made bread before in my life (save for a failed bread maker attempt), I suppose that was a pretty hefty goal. I am, however, happy to say that with maybe one or two necessary exceptions, it's been more than a year without a store-bought loaf.

I left the bread machine in storage, and decided to give my beloved Kitchen Aid a go. That thing is a wonder. I have mild carpal tunnel and was not about to become an expert at kneading, but it's mostly unnecessary with a Kitchen Aid and a bread hook.

I have two favorite recipes, one which I've posted about before, and then another, heartier and healthier recipe. The bread I posted about last time is more of a white bread, and I'm going to share that recipe with you again. After sending my Kitchen Aid to the shop for nearly $100 worth of repairs, I decided it was necessary to cut the previous recipe in half. I have also learned a couple other tricks and techniques, and since I don't have the whole recipe that I like to use in one place, I will after making this post.

Fabulous Homemade Bread

1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/8 cup bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4-5 cups bread flour

1. In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 1/4 cups warm water, 1 3/4 teaspoons sugar, 1/8 cup bread flour, and yeast. Let grow for about 5 minutes. It will bubble almost immediately.

2. Measure oats, 2 1/4 cups warm water, whole wheat flour, salt, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup oil into the mixing bowl and mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add 4 cups of bread flour and continue mixing on low speed. Slowly add the remaining cup of flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away (if it is particularly humid, you may need to add more). It is normal for the dough to be sticky.

3. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover with saran wrap and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Divide the dough into 3 even pieces. Shape loaves,* and place into 8x4 inch pans. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rims of pan, usually 1 hour.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.

*I was a newbie at shaping loaves, so here's a quick photo tutorial, if you're interested:

I have found the best way to evenly divide the loaves is to shape the bread into a large log and then cut into thirds, like so:

Pound each loaf into a rectangular shape:

And then roll into roughly a 9x12 inch rectangle:

Fold the dough over 3 times:

You can see with that last piece I took my hands on both sides and pressed the dough down, then fold that dough underneath. The bottom of your loaf should look like this:
Enjoy!

The Ice Cream Social Dress Sew-Along

2010-07-20T20:46:00.000-05:00

In an effort to never actually get my Etsy store up and running, I've decided to join the Sew Along for the Ice Cream Social Dress by Oliver + S.

I didn't get the pattern until late in the afternoon on Monday, so I'm definitely a little behind. All I was able to do today was wash, dry, and press the fabric and then cut all the pattern pieces. I decided to go with a size 5, even though most of what Rosemary wears now is a 5 and I want this to fit her in the fall. According to the measurements, she might have fit in a 4. So I'm interested to see how this will turn out. I added about 1.5 inches to the middle piece of the dress.

I really had no clue what I was doing when adding length, so we'll see how it turns out!

I'm pretty excited about this, they're using all sorts of terms I am unfamiliar with like "yoke" and well, the list could go on. I'm hopeful Rosemary will have a nice dress when this is all done and I'll feel like I've gained some experience.

Here's what I have so far:

Basically ... it's the giveaway of the century

2010-07-13T12:17:00.000-05:00

Don't click here because I want to win. :-)

(kidding, kidding ... go ahead and click.)

To Market, for me.

2010-07-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

Made myself this skirt from this tutorial over at Made. It's such a cute, easy skirt ... I highly recommend it if you need something else to wear this summer.

I apparently do not know how to measure myself for an elastic waist, because the skirt is way too big. I'm going to have to do some seam ripping and tighten it up. That's a bummer, but I wore it to church on Sunday, and I'll definitely fix it up and wear it again. I also think I'll add a pocket. Probably just one pocket on the side, and I'll have to look for some cute buttons. I was thinking a bright blue flower would be cute.

If you don't recall the version I made for Rosemary awhile back, click here.

By the way, if you decide to make this skirt for yourself, don't forget to add in seam allowances for the length!

The Great Swiss Chard Disaster of 2010

2010-07-07T10:30:00.000-05:00

You may or may not remember my first experience with Swiss Chard, in which I fell in love, sweet love with the vegetable. We planted a very limited supply of the heavenly leaf and I spent the rest of the summer trying to chase some down. I always seemed to arrive at the farmers market minutes too late.

So this summer we quadrupled our supply and then, when it was finally time to harvest it ... we ruined it. I have spent a year pining for the taste of a large nest of Swiss Chard with a poached egg inside. When it was finally ready, I found last year's post (see link above), and went to work.

The final product looked okay; but let's just say it wasn't so easy to gag down. If this had been my first experience with Swiss Chard, I would not ever have tried it again. Needless to say, I lost my membership in the clean plate club the night we ate this.

I went back to the original In My Kitchen Garden post and reread the comments to see if there was anything I did wrong. I was definitely too vague in my previous description because I didn't cover the swiss chard, I stood over it and stirred it. Also, Joel convinced me to turn the heat down because he didn't want the butter to burn.

So, as disgusting as this was, I will not give up on Swiss Chard. We used nearly our entire harvest of the vegetable on this disaster, but I am determined to hit the farmers markets early for the next few weeks and perfect this meal ... as well as some others, like this Swiss Chard and Artichoke Pizza.

I'll keep you posted.

Where I've been, part 2

2010-07-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

Having grown up in White Bear Lake, I have many times said I will never live there again. Last week I could almost have been convinced otherwise.

On Friday morning, I met my very good friend, Lisa, and her three daughters at the Cobblestone Cafe in downtown White Bear Lake. Friday mornings are the farmers market and we were able to eat on the patio, in the middle of the farmers market. It was an absolutely beautiful day and White Bear Lake seemed so alive and magical.

It never ceases to amaze me all the vegetables these local farmers have grown by the middle of June. The power of greenhouses is something I sometimes can't wrap my head around (remember all you lucky people who live in places where vegetables have been blooming for months ... this is Minnesota).

We walked up and down the market, looked at all the beautiful fresh flowers, purchased some veggies, visited, played in the fountain, and all that fun stuff.

And I remember, for a moment, all the charm of White Bear Lake.

Where I've been, part 1

2010-06-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

For a few months, I had been planning a little vacation to my mom's house. I signed Rosemary up for what sounded like a very exciting summer day camp at the nearby nature center, and figured I would have a fun and relaxing week away.

And it was. Rosemary loved the day camp and I foresee this being the kind of trip we make every year. I complained a lot about how expensive it was, but in talking with others who have put their kids through similar-type programs, I think this one was well worth it. Rosemary was outdoors, active, spent a lot of time in the different gardens, and came home filthy. Absolutely filthy.

We also got to spend a day at the Como Zoo. It's a free zoo that I think St. Paul is lucky to have. It definitely leaves a little to be desired, compared to the Minnesota Zoo (you just can't help but think the animals are a little happier at the MN Zoo), but it's a nice time, has a butterfly garden, an amazing conservatory, and a pretty happening amusement park.

We went there with some of our favorite people, my mom, sister-in-law, and two nephews. We always joke that it's too bad these kids don't like each other, but the truth is, they love each other to pieces.

In other exciting news, my mom has been building a play house (with quite a bit of help from a friend), and the kids played happily in that structure. She says she's building it for the grand-kids, but I think she's excited to have another little house to decorate in her very fairy-garden-like back yard. I'll definitely show pictures when it's done.

By the light of day it's an elusive feeling.

2010-06-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

Rosemary and I are enjoying a week at my mom's house. I had intended for this week to go by very slow, but that just hasn't been the case. I thought about bringing my sewing machine and trying my hand at sewing a dress, but I'm glad I decided to leave it at home. It's been nice to just blow where the wind takes us.

This morning the wind has taken me to vegging in front of the computer. Today is Rosemary's last day attending a day camp at a nearby nature center, and tomorrow we head back home. Then, be ready for blog overload, because I have some exciting things in store.

Lovely leafy earrings

2010-06-13T17:39:00.000-05:00

I also received these lovely leaf earrings from the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway. At first I didn't know if I'd be keeping them or giving them away, since I'm not a big wearer of the dangly earrings. But, I managed to wear these all day without going insane and I like them, so ... it's decided. They'll be staying with me, me, me (you know, in the spirit of selflessness).

This giveaway was hosted by life as i know it, but mady by whimZy. I recommend you try them both out ... the blog has a lot of good recipes and will make you hungry. The etsy shop has a lot of beautiful jewelry and will make you want to shop.

Who said winning isn't everything?

2010-06-05T10:01:00.000-05:00

Miri over at Make It, Give it made these stinkin' adorable felt brooches. I was the lucky one who won them.

I've been putting the little birdy one on my t-shirts and tank tops, and I sort of feel like it's now my little pet. He's a good pet. I haven't taken any pictures of it on me because, to be honest, I'm extremely frustrated with my hair and just don't want to be in any pictures right now.

Fortunately for you, Rosemary had the excellent idea of wearing the other one on her dress today.

I think I have a little fashionista on my hands.

p.s. Check out Miri's blog! She has a ton of great ideas. I wish she was on blogger so I could "follow" her.

Green Apple Dress

2010-06-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

I have the luxury of an amazing little fabric store called Crafty Planet. Now that we moved to the "up north," it's no longer "local" for me. However, it's still a place I try to visit when the opportunity presents itself. In April, I got really motivated and took a class on the Amy Butler Sun Surf Halter pattern.

I thought the halter looked like a good summer addition to my wardrobe, but more importantly, I just wanted professional advice on how to read a pattern. I have this bad habit of not trusting my instincts, and I learned that pattern reading is much easier than it looks!

With much appreciated professional guidance, I made a lovely halter for myself. It was cute and fun, but even after following the instructors advice and making it a size smaller than I measured, it was still way too big. So, I did the next best thing and gave it away (without taking any pictures, tsk tsk!). One of these days I'd like to make another one for myself. I would make it the same size, but cut the elastic in the back by at least an inch.

The smallest size the pattern makes is a girls 7. I wanted to make one for Rosemary and also wanted to use up this scrumptious apple fabric, so I decided to go with the girls 7 and see if it would fit as a dress. Learning a lesson from my previous attempt at this pattern, I cut the length of elastic by more than an inch, but I otherwise left it the same.

It's a little short and a little baggy in the front, but I'm satisfied with it. Rosemary is ecstatic to have a dress where "her back hangs out." Who knew that would be such a selling point?

I wish it didn't bother me that it's so short. I keep reminding myself that back in the 40's and 50's little girls wore super short dresses all the time. I actually think the length is adorable, but knowing my little girl, she'll be showing off her Princess Ariel underwear every chance she can get. So, I think I may try my hand at a pair of cute little bloomers.

Have any of you tried this pattern? I find it a little disheartening that my first every attempt at pattern reading has such off measurements ...

I'm a winner, baby!

2010-06-03T08:59:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you know this about me, but I tend to win things. I've won all sorts of jewelry, including a very pretty diamond necklace, an iPod shuffle, and, well, the list could go on and on. If there's a large giveaway and I don't win something, I am usually surprised (not to say it doesn't happen, but it's unlikely). Something about randomness and me get along. I should probably start buying lottery tickets (but I won't, because even though I tend to win things, I can't justify spending money to win them).

That said, I actually feel a little guilty about just how many things I won during the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway. I am sure I entered hundreds of giveaways, as did thousands of other handmade craft lovers out there, and I won ... FOUR of them. In the scheme of hundreds, four doesn't seem like that many. But knowing that many of you didn't win anything at all, I feel a little bad.

But not so bad as to not keep the awesome stuff I got.

I'll share them with you in the order I received them. The first, amazing, giveaway I won was from Rochelle at Three Turns to Home. She has a really cute blog and I'm incredibly impressed with her idea (or I guess it was her mom's idea) to embroider ants on some napkins. Truth be told, I'm impressed that she made her own napkins and then embroidered ants on them. I have been intending to make a stash of cloth napkins since, well, since I began cloth diapering.

Her giveaway? It was even more impressive. I decided to use a picture from her website since I just wasn't getting a good enough shot:

This is about the most generous giveaway that I saw on Giveaway Day. Not only did she make and give away a nice and sturdy tote bag, but also a makeup bag (that she embroidered Rosemary's name onto), a chapstick holder keychain (so perfect for me), and a towel monogrammed with any letter we like. The towel pictured above is not the one she made for us. But you get the idea.

I have already used and loved every one of these items. And the bag is impressive - it's been to the Y, to the beach, and to the corner produce stand where I bought 12 ears of corn and then walked home carrying them in her bag.

Thanks, Rochelle!

Happy Memorial Day

2010-05-31T14:25:00.000-05:00

It's very easy to take Memorial Day and its true meaning for granted. I am so thankful for this life I live and I know it's largely in part to many who have made a huge sacrifice for us. I absolutely hate war, but I'm very thankful to those who have done what they have felt called to do.

I'm also incredibly thankful for the extra day to celebrate summer. I have a pretty good life.

Clothes on the Line

2010-05-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize how wonderful it is to hang clothes on the line until this summer. I have always thought it would be wonderful, but I've never had the opportunity to do such a thing before.

While lots of people might balk at such a thing, the clothesline in the back yard was one of the many selling points of our current duplex. Imagine my delight at the springlike weather we started having in early April! Our clothes line has gotten a lot of use. Not only are we saving energy and money (I've read you can save up to $25/month, so we'll see), we're keeping our house cooler by running less major appliances and I don't have to listen to the steady hum of the dryer all day.

Life is good.

A lion? A bear? An Orca Whale? No ... it's just Rosemary.

2010-05-26T08:44:00.000-05:00

As I am writing this post, my daughter is in her bedroom crying a noise that is incredibly reminiscent of an Orca Whale. Awhile ago, I decided to ween little R off of naps, and now I am just completely confused. But this is when the Orca Whale cry began.

She was not going to bed well, at all. I was putting her to bed around 8:30 and she would still be whining and stalling at 10:30. Then one day I decided to keep her up at nap time, and what-d0-you-know, she went to bed without a hitch.

That went swimmingly for awhile, but then she started to ... are you ready for this? She started to ask for a nap on a regular basis. What's a mom to do? Tell a tired 4-year-old she may not sleep? So I've been letting her take naps and I've been experimenting with how long is too long. She'd sleep for 3 hours if I let her. 2 hours seems too long as well. 1 hour makes bedtime easier, but not perfect.

The kicker? With only an hour-long nap, that little girl is a bear. She is whining ALL.THE.TIME. It leaves me counting the seconds until she can go to sleep. Is it naptime yet? Is it bedtime? For the first time in her life, I sent her back to bed this morning. She woke up at 7:30 and more than an hour later, when the whining hadn't stopped, I marched her right back into her room.

With the tone of our house the past few days, it's hard to remember that this incredibly happy girl is behind the whiny facade.

But there she is, the girl who is so completely worth the crankiness. Today there is crankiness on both ends because my husband drank the last of the coffee, and left me alone with a bit of a monster on my hands and ... green tea.

Anyhow, the tutu she is wearing in the above picture is one I made. It simply involves a little bit of elastic and a lot of tulle tied in knots. It is really cute, but I'm not sure she could actually dance or do much in it. It always wants to bunch up in the front. I ended up cutting the length of the tulle by about half of what you see in that picture, but it didn't make a difference.

Is that simply the price I pay for going the no-sew route?

And the winner is ...

2010-05-21T09:30:00.000-05:00

I picked my winner using the number generator at random.org, and the winner is Amanda Pedro at By Hook and Thread. Congratulations, Amanda!

Amanda has a very creative blog, and was also hosting one of my favorite giveaways. I recommend you check it out.

Giveaway - The Princess and the Pea

2010-05-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

The giveaway day at Sew, Mama, Sew took me by surprise, even though I've been wanting to participate (this is my first time). Yesterday, after a very relaxing-summer-kind-of-day, I learned the giveaway was going on and scrounged up the following picture:

The above picture is the first one I ever made and has already been given away. Today I got things together and now I have an *exact* picture of what I will be giving away. Here it is:

A Princess and the Pea toy for your little princess. It will include 12 mattresses (the filling is recycled wool sweaters), 1 princess, and 1 pea. I think the princess in the orange dress is the real princess, but 4-year-old Rosemary disagrees. She says this is the princess who tells the Most Shocking Lies.

I say that this princess can be any princess you want it to be, because she'll live in your home.

All you need to do is leave a comment to win, but I'd love to know what your favorite fairy tale is and why. The winner will randomly be picked at the end of the week. Enjoy!

***
p.s. If you'd like a little more information about the toy, click here. I'm also in the process of opening an Etsy store, so stay tuned!

p.s.s. I will ship internationally. I must have been put in the other category by mistake.

The giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much for the response!

And so it begins.

2010-05-14T13:15:00.001-05:00

Went to the farmers' market today. We weren't planning on doing much vegetable gardening this year, but our land lord proves himself to be more and more awesome every time we talk with him. So now we're planning a vegetable garden.

It's a little early in Central Minnesota. Spring likes to tease us. First we get weather in the 70's and then we get snow. We want to plan early, sometimes we do. Usually we regret it.

So I bought some marigolds and chives (I've heard they keep the bunnies away, so we'll find out if it's true), broccoli, and candy onions. We've already planted some peas and carrots ... and we've got strawberries in a pot inside. I really want to plant more swiss chard this summer, more green beans, and more sugarsnap peas than last year. Perhaps I'll even try canning this year.

I sure wish you could freeze tomatoes ... otherwise I don't think I'd be interested in canning.

Party for a Super Girl.

2010-05-04T18:44:00.000-05:00

Rosemary is a big fan of Word Girl, and so when we were talking about a theme for her birthday party, I suggested superheroes. She was all for it. We had big plans for an outdoor BBQ complete with superhero games and villain vaporizing, but as the days grew closer, poor weather seemed imminent. Thus, the hotel pool party was born.

We were incredibly fortunate to find a hotel that rented out a room and allowed use of their pool for very little money (we're talking cheaper than renting a pavilion at a park), and Rosemary had no problem switching from superhero games to superhero swimming. In fact, I think she was thrilled.

In preparation for the party, we decided to make capes for each of the kids who would be there. With this easy no-sew cape tutorial, and a coupon for JoAnn Fabrics, I was able to make the capes for less money than we would have spent on grab bags. I also bought some of that foam paper and made superhero masks.

I thought that the birthday girl needed an extra special cape, so I followed this tutorial and made a pink sparkle cape that Rosemary loved. It was especially cute how she acted like the cape actually made her fly. Here she is wearing it a few days earlier.

I did want to do some sort of superhero party game, so I rigged up a homemade 'pin-the-star-on-Word-girl' game. It was fun, after Rosemary learned to stop peaking ...

Finally (if you ask me, it was the highlight of the night), the birthday girl chose donuts instead of cake. Donuts instead of cake is genius. It is a cake donut after all, and they taste SO MUCH BETTER than cake with frosting. We had them dolled up with pink frosting and sprinkles.

All in all, it was such a fun time! I'm so glad Rosemary has so many wonderful people to celebrate her birthday with.

If any of you are actually interested in throwing a superhero birthday party; if we had been able to have it outside, we would have done some of the games from this kid's party.

Happy Birthday Letter, 4-years-old.

2010-04-29T07:27:00.003-05:00

Little girl. You are now 4-years-old. Happy Birthday.

Today is your day, and it’s finally here. It seems like you’ve been waiting for your 4th birthday since the moment your 3rd birthday was over. Cake, candles, friends, family, and presents … of course you can hardly wait for the next one. Not only that, but it presents more opportunity to tease, “You don’t want me to get older, mom? I’m getting older!” you love to say in your incredibly happy, singsong voice.

For me, your 4th birthday has brought on an abundance of emotions that I can’t quite wrap my head around. Why the number 4 nearly brings me to tears is a mystery. It’s certainly not like I long for the endless, sleepless days of you as a baby. Perhaps it seems like a marker of finality. You are no longer an infant. You are no longer a toddler. You are a full-blown, amazing, exciting kid. We can only go forward and we can’t stop time.

Fortunately, it keeps getting better. As a baby you cried. You cried, you cried, you cried, and cried. And then you laughed. You are eager to tell a joke, eager to make a funny face, eager to be silly in any way.

I sincerely admire the joy in you; it’s something I hope stays with you throughout your life.

This past year you have grown more confident in asserting your individualism and personality over me. I used to be better able to sway you toward, say, the more unique toy vs. the Disney Princess toy. The swimsuit you insisted on getting at Target the other day was the last one I would have picked. You were very excited about a ring that bore a picture of Hannah Montana. When I asked you who she was, you looked at me with sheer, embarrassed disgust, and said in a very, ‘Duh, Mom,’ kind of voice, “it’s Hannah Ontana.”

I took comfort in knowing you actually had no idea who Hannah “Ontana” was, but it occurred to me that you truly may grow up to have very different tastes than me. You just may choose something like cheerleading over Art Club. And I’m going to have to be okay with it. (Note to self: consider that 4-years-old may not be too young to read The Catcher in the Rye.)

The thing of it is that as similar or different as you may be from me, you are my child through and through, and I love you with tenacity. I did not realize what it would be like to watch someone like you grow through my own fierce emotions. You surprise me, amaze me, frustrate me, and love me back.

I think you love everything, really. You kiss like there’s no tomorrow. Everyone and everything that you can kiss, you do. Any people, dogs, cats, friends, even fish if you can get your hands on one, will get a kiss from you. I probably get 100 kisses a day, and I hold onto every one because I know that someday it will probably stop.

You suddenly ride your bike like you know what you’re doing, and it takes serious self-control to not stand over you at every moment. I want to hold my arms around you to protect you from the possibility of getting hurt. While you certainly have a cautiousness about you, you face your life with gusto. You are outgoing, excited, and brave. Gone are the days that you would prefer to stay with me vs. playing with friends at preschool or the playground.

I’m proud of you, Rosemary June. Amazed, really. I pray every day that my efforts as your mother will nurture you and help you grow into the fantastic girl who I see you are becoming. I think you have it in you to be great without any help from me, and I really want to make sure I don’t hold you back.

I love you to the moon and back, kid; and I hope your life is full of many happy birthdays.

Love, Mommy.

A Frock By Friday

2010-04-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

Grosgrain is doing a tutorial in which, if you choose to follow, you will start making a dress next Monday and finish by Friday. You can find out more about it here: A Frock By Friday
and here and here. The next couple weeks are incredibly busy for me, but I'm going to try to do it and if I do, I should have a new dress in time for Rosemary's birthday party!

Here is a collage of the dresses, it looks like it would fit many body styles. Anyone else in with me?

Conception: Perhaps the Ultimate Craft

2010-04-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

So I have been thinking for awhile now about blogging about our [unsuccessful] attempts at creating Baby #2. And I don't have any reason for not writing about it publicly, other than that there's a stigma about it ... somewhere in the universe, somebody decided this is the thing you're supposed to keep incredibly private.

I get it. But I don't like it. This feeling that I'm supposed to keep quiet about such a huge part of my life. The fact that so few people ask me about it, what we've been trying, how I'm feeling. The hesitation before telling me that a new friend is expecting a baby. All of that makes me more sad than the fact that we've been trying to get pregnant for so long and so far, I am not.

There was an etiquette question in one of the latest Real Simple magazines about this very topic, and I was glad to see it in there. It's actually what inspired me to write about this here. The question was about a woman who learned she was pregnant and wasn't sure how to tell her good friend, who had been unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant for a long time. The answer was good: don't hide your good news and don't apologize for it either. Tell her your good news and be there for her if she needs a shoulder to cry on, or understand if she needs some time to herself.

It breaks my heart to think that people are scared to tell me their good news. I want another baby so much, how can I not be happy for you? Yes, I have my human moments and it may remind me of what I don't have. But if I'm any kind of a friend, those human moments don't last long and they certainly don't define me. If I want to have a second child so badly, I know how you feel and I am genuinely happy for you.

This world is so big and has so much good in it, and I want to think that I don't have to feel alone and isolated in this struggle. There are times when I am completely at peace, times when I'm extremely distraught, and times when I just don't know how to feel or what to think. I realize it can be an intensely personal issue, but I don't think it has to be so taboo.

I think there is something beautiful about a sense of community in the world. A place where it can be okay to say, hey, this is what sucks in my life and this is what's beautiful. I am not scared to talk about it and I don't want you to be scared to ask.

For all the little princesses

2010-04-12T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to say that the last two gift-giving events of my life have had me giving home-made gifts. Gifts that I actually made myself. Finally, I'm starting to be more than "all talk."

First, a pinafore for a friend's baby shower. They are due very soon and I whipped this up. I won't give too many details since you've seen the pinafore before.

Next, I'm excited to share this toy that I made, which was inspired by this post on Soule Mama. Rosemary received The Princess and the Pea from her grandma last Christmas and has been absolutely enamored by the story.

I've been wanting to make her a toy to go with it for quite awhile, and her cousin Lily's birthday party was good inspiration (I made one for each). Rosemary helped me pick out the fabric and we sewed up the mattresses. I just followed a tutorial for fabric coasters and made the dimensions larger and rectangular.

Then, we went to the nearest craft store to pick out all the materials necessary for clothespin dolls ... which were so fun to make, I'm glad I had to buy everything in bulk!

The last step was to run over to the local bead store to pick out the bead that looked most like a pea. It was so fun to look at all the different green beads and compare them to a pea. In the end, I think Rosemary did a good job finding the best one.

We also knew that Lily didn't have The Princess and the Pea story, so we searched far and wide for this version, which I had been told is amazing. I have to agree. I will be giving it to my little princess for her upcoming birthday, and I believe it will be my go-to little girl birthday present. I highly recommend it. It's adorable and such a great telling of the story.

Hippity Hop

2010-04-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

Rosemary has been so excited to wear The Market Skirt that I made for her. It's a project I've wanted to undertake for nearly a year. One of the perks of finally being settled and content in a home is that lately I've been much better at actually doing instead of just wanting to do.

Rosemary was so excited for this skirt that she sat next to me the entire time I made it, "helping" me cut the fabric and even helping feed some of the fabric through the sewing machine. She picked out the blue umbrella buttons and waited patiently (who am I kidding, it wasn't with great patience) to wear this skirt on Easter.

For a novice like me, it was a pretty simple skirt to put together. You can find the tutorial here. I am planning to make another one soon. I made a couple of mistakes and am looking forward to fixing them. I may even make one for myself!

Chicken Breast

2010-04-02T09:16:00.000-05:00

I have to highly recommend this recipe for chicken breast. It's what was on the menu for dinner last night and before cooking, I decided to test the google to see if it gave me any recipes that actually kept the chicken moist ... and this one succeeded.

In other news, I've been fairly busy sewing and creating in March. It's been fun and I'm excited to share a few things ... so stay tuned.

Every once in awhile, this girl cooks.

2010-03-04T13:48:00.001-06:00

March fourth, being the only day of the year that is a command, also happens to be Parade Day (not an official holiday) and more importantly, Joel's birthday. It's a busy day for us today, so I decided we were going to have to celebrate with breakfast.

After doing some searching on the google, I decided that we were going to have these breakfast pita pockets. I actually searched "birthday breakfast for husband," but not before accidentally typing "husband" - and, hoo boy, did that get some bizarre results. They were pretty delicious, and unfortunately I did not take any pictures because I am too impatient to take pictures of all my food before I eat it.

The most exciting thing about this is that I made a new recipe, a larger meal, without any SNAFUs. This is huge. I did not grow up cooking and I am still learning, and I almost always forget some major ingredient. Not this time.

Along with the pita pockets, we had fresh fruit, orange juice, and coldpress. After the healthier portion of our meal, we had some homemade cinnamon swirl sticky buns.

These things were absolutely, knock-your-socks-off delicious (again, notice the picture was taken afterward). I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, a website I feel I can always trust.

I did make a couple variations: instead of whole milk I used unsweetened almond milk, and since I didn't want to wake up at 4 in the morning, I put the rolls in the refrigerator after the second rise. In the morning, I took them out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter for about an hour ... I really don't know if that made a difference or not? But, they were good and I liked the really slight almond taste to them. Mmmmm, I'm almost regretting forcing Joel to take them to work and share them. But I did that because I knew I would not have any self control ...

So, that's that.

Happy birthday to my favorite guy! There's nobody else I'd rather be stuck in Brainerd with. :P

slumpy, slump, slump, slump

2010-03-02T17:56:00.000-06:00

February was sort of a bust as far as meeting my resolutions. The month of February, in and of itself, was a phenomenon to me. I fell and fell hard into the Minnesota winter slump; all varieties of hope and excitement for the world left me and I felt I was headed into endless despair. And, yet, dear God, where on earth did February go? How can it already be over?

We are now inching into March and the weather is beautiful. Snow is melting, the sun is shining, it's nearly 40 degrees and it feels warm. And yet, I'm reluctant to let myself relish the feeling of spring because ... I live in Minnesota. It is not spring. This is just a teaser, and boy-oh-boy will this teaser make the rest of the winter feel extremely long.

So, where was I? Oh yes, I did not successfully achieve my resolutions. One might think that all this being holed up into my Brainerd, MN lower level of a duplex would be an incredibly good reason to be crafty. However, I would argue that it is also an incredibly good reason to read The Twilight Series. That's right, friends, I fell hook, line, and sinker for these books.

I am a Twimom. I was pretty much the last person to jump onto that bandwagon, but when I finally fell, I fell hard. I read all 4 books in about 2 weeks, and then I fell into a withdrawal, rented the movie, and read the pdf posted on Stefenie Meyer's website that is written from Edward's perspective. I resisted the urge to start rereading them, and I am now past it. I feel I can move on.

So on February 27, when Rosemary wore a hole into her jeans, I thought, this is it. This is my chance to at least meet ONE of my February resolutions. That's right, friends, I sewed a patch on Rosemary's jeans. Hey, it's something, right?

hodge podge

2010-02-23T13:44:00.000-06:00

A little birdie told me about this giveaway over at oh my! handmade goodness. You'll definitely want to check it out.

But, I hope I am the winner. :-)

I've been loving this Jack Johnson/Ben Harper song. I know I heard it a few years ago, but I heard it again recently and have been loving it.

I think I'm going to make a picture montage to this song for Rosemary's upcoming 4th birthday. Yes, somehow, this little girl is going to turn 4.

Her favorite movie these days is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's such a nice variation from Disney Princesses.

because the world is so fast and so small

2010-02-12T19:32:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with Rosemary, I came upon this beautiful poem, which is now framed and sitting at my desk:

because the world is so fast and so small
by kathleen paul-flanagan

i teach them lemonade comes from lemons
rolled on the kitchen counter
to bring up the juice,
not from yellow powder
in a tiny barrel
sold on supermarket shelves

and about glittery, gold valentines
on paper doilies
handmade and hand-delivered
and how to string popcorn
for the christmas tree

because the world is so fast and so small
i pass on my love
of windy music in leaves,
the dribbling poetry in rain
and the beauty of total silence.

i pray they can turn in circles,
admiring the small miracles
of each day

***

And so, with this poem in mind, I determined that Rosemary and I would make, and enjoy making, the valentine's that she would hand out at her preschool Valentine's Day party.

Rosemary was completely on board, having just learned how to cut out heart shapes, by laying on the floor. You see, with her elbows firmly planted on the carpet, she is much more capable of following a line with her scissors.

She had so much fun cutting out those hearts, that we took a little detour and she decided to decorate her bedroom door.

She wanted, specifically to put the pink heart near the fire detector, so it wouldn't be lonely.

Eventually we got to the business of making valentines for her classmates. I got the idea of flowers with dum-dums in the center from good 'ol Martha Stewart.

I had to do all the cutting and the gluing for these. But I didn't mind.

Rosemary was able to practice writing her name and the names of her classmates. We had a lot of fun and I was happy I made this decision as opposed to some sort of store bought what-have-you.

Because the world is so fast and so small.

small resolutions

2010-02-02T20:45:00.000-06:00

I did pretty good with my small resolutions in January.

With a snag or two in the road, I ate pretty healthy. I definitely still need to eat healthy and lose some weight, so I signed up for a free account at SparkPeople. For the past few years, my diet of choice has been the Weight Watchers Core Program, but it's just not working for me anymore. I used to like being able to eat until I was full, while focusing on healthier, core foods. But these days I feel like I just need more flexibility. I haven't been able to maintain my goal weight and the lack of variety was consistently causing me to stray off my "diet." So I decided to learn how to count calories, and I have found it's surprisingly easy to stay off track. It probably helps that I don't need to lose a ton.

I also managed to create clean surfaces in my house. This is a big one for me! I don't know how or why it is, but the less clutter there is in my life, the happier my disposition is. Joel and I spent a couple of days narrowing down our files (we took all that junk that we are supposed to keep for 6+ years and put it in a cardboard file box, and shoved it into storage). I threw away what we didn't need and found permanent homes for the rest. This is not to say that clutter never happens, but there is less clutter and it's much easier to maintain.

In comes February. Honestly, how did it even happen? It seems like just yesterday that I was suffering from the despair of a Minnesota January, and here it is, over already. I've been mulling over my February resolutions and here they are:

1. Sew at least two items that I have been wanting to sew. The first will be this sewing machine cover. The second I have yet to decide on.

2. Finish at least one knitting project.

Also, my good friend Sarah has challenged her readers to participate in the Be Kind Challenge for February. I determined to participate and then forgot all about it. Fortunately, without even meaning to, Rosemary and I did do something kind today. We may or may not have drafted some letters that somebody's grandparents may or may not receive in the mail in the next day or so. I didn't take pictures, but it was a lot of fun and will hopefully be a surprise to said grandparents. I'm not really sure whose grandparents they were sent to, probably not Rosemary's.

Anywho, being that I started late - it's not too late for any of you either. Sarah provided a great list of ideas here.

Coming Up Rosemary!

{this moment}

New Outfit & Pin Favorites

Pretty.

{this moment}

PinFavorites

Patience + Persistence

Quest for a Man hat

Merry, Happy New Year!

A Threaded Basil Giveaway

The Long-Awaited, Highly Anticipated Knitting Weekend

Mermaid Halloween

Randomness

Let's go to the apple orchard!

Please allow a little soap-box standing.

Exciting Contest at oohmoon.com

The First Day of Kindergarten

Tiny Tea Leaves Sweater

A Day in the Life

Acceptance and Red Fences

{these moments}

To see the Summer Sky Is Poetry ~ Emily Dickinson

{this moment}

{this moment}

favorite t-shirt dress.

This-n-that

That Crazy Bag Lady

Happy Birthday, 5 years old

{this moment}

Admitting Defeat

The makings of an Anglophile.

{this moment}

Hippity Hoppity.

Productivity: Otherwise Titled 'This Girl Finally Covered Her Sewing Machine.'

{this moment}

{this moment}

Keeping Secrets

Baby Blanket

Love My Lunch Box!

Pink kitchen

The Long Winter

And the days go marching on.

The baffling concept of time and furniture.

First project just for me

And she keeps on knitting

The LeLe Baby Hat

Waking up from my slumber.

Countdown to Christmas

My first homemade Christmas Dress.

I love me some free art. Especially when it's good.

Hooty Holidays (hardy har)

Tis the Season.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*Winter*

Peanut Soup. For really real.

MultiGrain Bread Deliciousness

Ingredients

Instructions

Getting the Loaf into Shape

It is time to knit.

'Seven Minutes in Heaven' would be so much more fun if it was about peanut butter cookies.

$55 Giveaway for CSN Stores

May I take a moment to brag?

Birthday Presents are Fun to Make

kids clothes week challenge

We're headed to a Pirate Party!

I almost forgot

Yet another summer recap.

The Finished Product, Finally

Pizza, pizza

Another reason I love to sew

I needed a day to wallow

Ice Cream Socialing Along

Bread, bread, fabulous bread.

The Ice Cream Social Dress Sew-Along

Basically ... it's the giveaway of the century

To Market, for me.

The Great Swiss Chard Disaster of 2010

Where I've been, part 2

Where I've been, part 1

Winter