A WHOLE FREAKIN YEAR!

ZOMG!!!19= I cannot believe its been a year. (officially, our anniversary is April 1st [yes, April Fool’s Day], but we had to celebrate early due to babysitter restrictions, aka. Grandma’s schedule.) Last night we had a terrific meal. I think I pretty much made my filet mignon with cabernet/sauvignon reduction sauce as good as its going to get. It didn't hurt that we had a nice bottle of champagne while I was cooking, the rest of the cabernet/sauvignon while we were dinning and then a really yummy Muscat Vin de Glacier with the cake I bought for Ben at theButtery. Originally we were going to take the opportunity to go out, but I’m way happier that we stayed in.

So when we got home this afternoon (we picked up Tyler and then took grandma and grandpa out for lunch as a thank you for watching the boy overnight), Ben was playing with Tyler. By playing I mean he was hanging him upside down making him giggle and squeal. As he was doing this Ben noticed something new. I reported a few days ago that Tyler’s left lower lateral incisor was finally peaking out, well, now, BOTH of his upper lateral incisors are showing. That kid is going to be all teeth.

I have a bunch of projects in my “current projects” box. I wanted to sew last night since we were sans baby, but it just didn’t work out that way. I did quilt/sew some new covers for the straps on tyler’s everyday stroller. They're ROCKIN'! (i'll do another picture update later on) I’m working on a stroller/lightweight blanket for him too using the Alexander Henry “apples and pears” as a border. It will make a good functional summer weight blanket for the boy. Plus I find it attractive too. First I’m going to finish sewing Toby’s baking towels. I got 3 of them done and 2 more to go. Bigger projects I have on my plate are two sling and tote bag sets for Nicole, gifts for Grandma Joan and Kelly and Mother’s Day stuff. I should go and get a couple of cups of coffee and get working. Actually, it seems like I need one or two small but necessary bits for each of those larger projects to get them really going, which reminds me that I need to get some info from Kelly before I can sew that. Well, I will do that now and maybe update more later if I can think of stuff and things to ramble about.

another day

Today we went to the pediatrician to have another look at an ongoing rash that we’ve been battling. The first time our pediatrician looked at the rash he suspected a moderate diaper rash on the butt and ringworm (ok, if you say so) on his back. He prescribed a steroid cream and an anti-fungal cream. I’ve been putting them on twice a day for a bit over two weeks and, guess what, his rash got worse. Ugh. The second look at Tyler’s rash gave the pediatrician a clearer view (the first time we went the rash was quite faint) and he believes Tyler has eczema. So it’s a stronger steroid cream and a completely hypoallergenic skincare/bathing/wash regiment. I hope this new steroid cream and all of the hippy baby/laundry products I purchased make a difference. If nothing else, at least the eczema doesn’t seem to bother/itch him.

OH, and he got ANOTHER tooth. It’s the bottom left lateral incisor. That brings us up to SIX TOOFERS!!!

SO, after we left the pediatrician, I had the need to make a Whole Foods run. I’ve been working on transitioning all of our cleansing & diapering products to the hypoallergenic types for the past couple days and I couldn’t find the exact ones I wanted (products from: California Baby and Avalon Organics ), so over the hill and into San Jose it is. I also, out of politeness, returned a phone call to my BIL’s gf. She expressed interest in going, so she tagged along. OMG! Her and that BIL of mine have ISSUES. The way it was expressed to me today, she has her prerogatives and nevermind what he needs/wants. I hope they resolve things one way or another. Geez. It made me appreciate Ben and our relationship so much that I had to call him and tell him I love him and I appreciate him.

As I was catching up on my blogs today I was reading Toby’s Daily Bread and saw he used one of the baking towels that I made for him! YAY! The fabric I used for them isn’t the trendiest, but its functional and they claim to like them! Yay!

Tomorrow I plan to visit the MIL and go to the farmer’s market. Tonight, tonight I sew.

Project/Photo Update

First, an image of the AmyButler bag. Like i said before, i didn't use the intended fabric, but it ended up being a smart move since i'm not in love with the bag but i do like the original fabrics (exterior & lining).

the other projects i'm working on are for mother's day. for my husband's grandmother i am doing a set of hand embroidered tea napkins and tea towels. for my MIL i'm doing some embroidered bamboo and putting them in frame. last, but not least, i'm quilting a scrapbook cover for my grandmother and putting in pictures of the quilts she's done. when i give it to her, i'm also planning on giving her some disposable cameras so she can keep taking pictures of the quilts that go in and out of her quilting frame when i'm not around. here are a few pictures of the quilts she had laying around when i was there last week. i really need to snap some photos of the quilts i have here at home too!



there are more, but those will have to wait until a later post. its BED TIME!

one of THOSE days

Tyler is teething. Or he’s sick. Every 30 minutes last night, he woke up SCREAMING for no apparent reason. His nose is really runny and that’s the only symptom of anything. Grr. I feel sorry for the little guy but there is absolutely nothing I can do other than dispense the BabyTylenol and be as patient as possible.

So, Tyler is poopie, I’m exhausted, its raining and yucky outside so we cant even escape the house, I smushed my finger in the car door yesterday and its owie, and I have a serious craving for some yummy chocolateyness . I can’t wait for Ben to get home.

its good to be home.

WE’RE FINALLY HOME!!! and things are getting back in order. I’m glad I got to go to Houston when my mom needed me the most, but its not where my life is anymore. I don’t plan on going back there for a while. Like maybe not until September for one of my cousin’s wedding. I have a lot of things I want to do around the house and I have tons of ideas that I want to put onto cloth, so to speak. I actually started some of those projects yesterday. Katie wants some small purses and we did a rough model of it last night. If we didn’t use such ugly fabric (scraps that were given to me), that purse could have been a keeper. I’ll take photos tomorrow, the light is already bad tonight. I also went to Hart's Fabric yesterday. That place is FABULOUS. It all I could ask for in a fabric store. It’s in Santa Cruz (so really close by) and it is the ONLY fabric store I’ve visited since my fabric store search started that carries the designers I like/want. They also have some super neat import fabrics. Yum, yum.

So, Tyler is napping (yea its kinda late, but oh well), the kitchen is clean, the laundry is going, and I’m going to work out. Ugh. Its good to be home.

Blogging from Blackout

Well, first of all, I’m in Houston. I’ve been here since Sunday (3.10). It was a very last minute decision made last Saturday (3.9) and I’m here. Last Saturday(3.9), Katie (my SIL) and I found an awesome fabric outlet that I heard about in San Francisco. On the way there, my mom called me in tears begging me to come home ASAP. Long story short, she’s in the middle of some kind of break down that I will explain later in this post. Anywho, I can’t wait to get back home and check out that fabric store again!!! When we were in there, I think I was too overwhelmed by the selection and prices (CHEAP! CHEAP! CHEAP! ) and the shock of having to head to Houston THE NEXT DAY that I lost my fabric mojo. Sunday I spent packing and traveling. I was so tired. Monday (3.11) I spent at my grandma’s going through and organizing her old notions and I hit the jackpot. She’s sending me home with tons of thread (I tested it to make sure it wasn’t too old and decayed), ribbons, snaps, vintage BUTTONS, etc… Yay! That evening I went to visit my dad and step-mom who just happen to be in town. That went well. I actually was kinda feeling bad that they weren’t more involved in tyler’s life, but then I asked my dad if he had any other grandkids. (I have 2 half siblings that I’ve never met. They are both approx. 15-20 years older than me) He apparently does have 2 other grandkids by his own bloodline. Two girls that he’s never met. I don’t feel quite so bad anymore. I at least call them, send them pictures, and they have seen him a couple times. Not that its any consolation, but my step-brother actually has two boys (13 and 15) and they’re very close to my dad. He has a family.

THE BREAKDOWN
So, my mom is nuts. Really. But, its ok. It’s a result of her loosing control of things in her life that she doesn’t feel she should loose control over, i.e. me, her classroom, her weight, etc… everything added together has resulted in some nasty depression and the shit finally hit the fan last Wednesday (3.7). There was an incident with her at school that resulted in her having to take a couple days of administrative leave (with her spring break to follow) and a few mandatory therapy sessions (yay! You have no idea how long I’ve tried to get this woman to go to a therapist). She was kinda handling this ok until Saturday when she was in wal-mart and on of her students came up to here and said “Mrs. Macha, I heard you got fired”. She lost it. There is a lot more to the story, but it will all come out in due time. Right now, that’s all that’s important about the story. ATM she’s ok, but I think her nerves are getting the best of her.

THE BAG!
Tuesday (3.12) Moomoo and I started to cut out and piece the Amy Butler patternthat I got, but not out of the fabric I originally bought for it. Instead we used some random fabric that was bought for some random project at least 10 years ago that never got made. It was dispensable. We did not trust this pattern. It was by far the most complicated instruction for a very simple bag that I’ve ever encountered. But, then again, I haven’t exactly followed too many patterns that closely lately. Wednesday (3.13) was more of the same. I made a JoAnn’s and Hancock’s run for the rest of the materials we needed for the purse. I was very tempted by some shiny metallic fabric (Ooooooh, shiny….) that they had on sale, but I was a good girl and left it there. Poop. Thursday (3.14) I finished the bag!!! I’m pleased with it. I almost even like the tacky fabric. It is much larger than I envisioned and I already have tons of things I want to change when I start the 2nd one. (yes, I do plan on attempting this thing again. And soon at that.) I think I’m going to make a whole new bag but LOOSELY based on this pattern. Straight sides and more (smaller) pockets. This bag has something called “portfolio” pockets, which were confusing as hell to visualize when reading the instructions, but they turned out to be giant pockets on both sides of the lining of the bag. Not a bad idea, I just think MORE and SMALLER pockets are more practical. Regardless, I’m proud of the result of me following instructions. Yay me!!! [PICTURES WILL BE INSERTED HERE LATER]

So, now its after 2am (3.16) and I’m sitting in my old bedroom in my parents’ house watching “earth girls are easy”. (I love that movie! The food scene and makeover parts are the BEST!) I’m tired and so tempted by every lunista commercial I see. I was finally getting back into a good sleep routine at home. I contribute most of that to the daily workouts I was actually doing on that dumb machine of which I am NOT doing here. Oh well, I’ll be back next Wednesday. I’m not really sure what I will do until then. I think I’m gong to visit my godmother at some point. My mom’s cousin/best friend and her girls wanted to do dinner. Saturday (3.17) we were planning on having lunch with my aunt. Saturday night is Jen’s PROM THEMED birthday party that I am SOOOO STOKED that I get to attend. I always seem to miss her parties. I also just happen to have left my bridesmaid dress from Erican’s wedding
here, so I even have something to wear.

PS> more updates:
Mom went back to school Monday (3.19); everything is fine.

LUNCH WITH KELLY (3.20)
I got an hour away from that baby to do lunch with Kelly. Its always nice to have some grown-up time with not only a grown-up in a similar station in life as you, but with one who shares a lot of the same view points as you. ALSO, I got her little boy a cranky the crane toy which HE DIDN’T HAVE!!! I love picking that perfect gift!

So I’m going home tomorrow (3.21). YAY! I miss home. I miss Ben. I’m ready to head back. I’m sure I will update this ASAP when I get back into the land of technology, aka. Home w/ and internet connection.

cranky baby and a retro kitty

We did a whole lot of nothing today. Julie came over with little Laurel this afternoon. She’s still so tiny, 8months and about 8lbs. TINY. Tyler was bigger than that at birth. After they left, Tyler got it into his head that he wanted his daddy and he cried about it. He cried about it from 4 until after 8 when Ben FINALLY made it home. Grrr. Tyler seems to be becoming a daddy’s boy lately. (Yes, that is a pink and purple sucky thing in my son's mouth. He's a real man. And, no, my husband isn't high. He's "tired.") For the past 3 or 4 weeks now Tyler seems to “want” one of us. Let me tell you, it’s a very gratifying feeling. On the other hand, seeing laurel the blob today (and I mean that in the nicest way), I kinda miss that. Tyler is a little maniac now (and I’ve been told that it only gets worse, WTF?!!??!) and him having an opinion about what he wants is actually quite tough on good old mom here.

So I did work on some hand embroidery today (and tonight). I was thinking about using them as appliqués on the simpler things I sew. I think this one will be going into a frame and given to Mary (my MIL) for mother’s day or something. Maybe not. Who knows.

Well, this weekend I plan on getting Tyler’s room put together at last, so I can take stock of what I need to make it a complete room. I know I will still need some wall hangings, but I was holding off on finding those until I knew exactly what I needed. I was thinking something along the lines of
nifty, vintage western movie posters or something along those lines.

My night has been all messed up thanks to Ben coming home so late. I’m just a little off schedule. It’s almost 1am and I’m feeling like its only 10pm. Grrr. I should shower and force myself to sleep. I’m going to be so worthless tomorrow. Oh well, at least Ben watch what baby while I catch up on some Zs.

talk about laaazzzzy!

Today I made Ben play hooky. I’ve been really tired lately. (No, I’m not pregnant. For the TMI of the day, I did a urine test last week at my gyno’s when I went to get my depo shot. It was negative as suspected.) So I got to sleep in, Ben watched that baby and I woke up a better person. Then we ran a ton of errands. It all started with an innocent fry’s run. Then it turned into buying baby gates, diapers and BUTTONS!!! Hancock’s started their new sale today and I needed zippers for the pouches I’m working on (the zippers weren’t on sale. Poop.). I just happen to have a flyer and noticed buttons were 50% off. I love buttons. Not so much for practical use, but more for random decoration. So I got some really random buttons. Don’t be surprised when they start popping up on my projects. This afternoon I didn’t really feel like doing much. The dog food and stairs are too exciting for him to leave alone, so I installed one of the
baby gates so Tyler can’t get out of the living room. It actually isn’t too ugly and was relatively simple to mount. I win. Other than that, dinner, dishes, and typical baby stuff, I didn’t do crap. Yay!

to pump or not to pump, that is the question.

So, I’m torn. I’ve been breast pumping for the past seven and a half months. For those of you who don’t know my story, my son never latched on. In fact, he never wanted anything to do with my boob, at all. I wanted so badly to breastfeed, it seemed so easy and convenient. Well, not for mister tyler. I started pumping thanks to extremely painful engorgement and continued trying to get him to latch on for 6 weeks. In hopes Tyler would actually latch on, I didn’t think investing in a better pump was worth it. I was using an Avent manual pump. That was my first mistake. After the stress of traveling to Houston and back, my milk supply was well on its way to hardly anything. By the time Tyler was 2 months old, we were supplementing with formula. By the time he was 6 months old, he was mostly formula fed. So now that Tyler is getting close to 8 months old, I’m wondering if its worth the effort to squeeze out a bottle’s worth of BM a day, if I’m lucky. I’ve tried every way, shape, and form of tincture, tea, or routine to increase my supply and it wont budge. So, is it worth it? I don’t know. I was hoping to keep supplying some form of breast milk for a year until he can hopefully move onto cow’s milk. I want to do what is best for the little man. Being formula fed doesn’t seem to have affected his growth or intelligence. Oh well, I’ll keep pumping for today.

In other news, I’m working on my own pattern for a pouch to include in my “mama bag”. My original plan was for a 3 zippered pouch that kinda looked mod. Now, its turning out a little more funky. I need to go by different length zippers though. I thought I would have 3 compartments all the same length with the height being different, now they’re all different sizes. I’m liking where its going so far. I am also working on a felt photo album cover for my grandmother for mother’s day. I wanted her to photograph her quilts. I think it will be a super keepsake for me when she * gasp * is no longer on this planet. So I’m going to buy her some disposable cameras and make her a cute album. My plan so far is quilt some very simple felt blocks together and maybe scrap a front page honoring her masterpieces that will be documented inside. I’m excited. I feel quite creative lately.

Speaking of sewing, my patterns and fabric from fabric.com are coming tomorrow. I’m so excited!!!! Hum. Go figure. I get excited about fabric now. That’s interesting. Oh well, from scrapbooking to painting, I’ve always enjoyed “crafting”. This is just my newest obsession. I finally got to a place in my other hobbies where I can put them on the back burner and dedicate my spare (HA!) time to sewing. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Experiencing as Wisely as I Know How.

This weekend was productive, but not as productive as I intended. Katie and I didn’t get Tyler’s room completely finished as I would have liked, but I did get most of the decorations done and I finished distressing the bookshelves for that room. I know what goes where, so now it’s a matter of getting Ben’s computer out of there. Ugh. I also hung 4 of the 6 shelves that were part of operation baby proofing thus getting the dvds out of tornado tyler’s destruction path. The living room looks so finished compared to before. Its amazing how such a little change can make such a big difference.

Tyler is crawling with expertise now, his 2 top toofers are taking their sweet a$$ time, but coming in, he’s eating well and is a happy little guy as usual, BUT he’s so mean. Mean as a baby can be. He’s such a boy already. I wonder if its nature or if we’ve nurtured him into it this early on? Speaking of doing things early on, its time, its past time to get him sleeping on his own. I think tomorrow I’m going to set up his bed down here again and just suffer through it. I would put him in his crib upstairs, but Moomoo and Erican are coming to visit in the next couple months and I don’t want to confuse him just as he’s getting used to the new sleeping arrangement. Aw, but as I look at him right now, sleeping curled up to Ben, I just love having him right here. But, on the other hand, I don’t want a two year old still sleeping curled up next to Ben, that’s my job!



This week should be a good week. Tuesday evening I think Katie and I are going to go over the hill into San Jose to go to a JoAnn’s so she can pick up a pattern or two and some fabric. Saturday we’re doing a sewing day. This week I have a couple patterns and some super rad fabrics that I ordered last week coming in. I cant wait to get started on those projects. One’s an adorable appliquéd ABC book. Its kinda old lady-esq. but I found some appliqué templates that are a bit more modern and I started printing those out already. I looked into the local quilting shop’s class offerings. There are quite a few options, I think there are a couple I’m interested in, but not until April. In June, they’re part of a thing called Shop Hop where you hop around bay area quilt shops. I think that will be a good way to check out the local and not so local shops. I’ve always been one to go out of my way if I find a really cool shop. I already talked Katie and Mary into doing it with me. YAY! I’ve also been poking around a new forum called sewing mamas. Those ladies there are great. Some are on the crunchy side, but not too bad. Certainly nothing compared to some of the mama’s I’ve encountered here. eep.

Speaking of meeting new mommies, I meet one of Katie’s friends this weekend, Sam, and her new little boy (2 ½ weeks new to be exact), Hayden. I really liked her. She seems like the kind of gal I could get along with. We’re going to try to get together this week and do some scrapbooking. Its been right at a year since I’ve moved up here and I feel like I’m really starting to find my place and not feel so lonely. I keep in relatively close contact with the girls back home, but its just not the same as having friends you can hang out with. My MIL and SIL are awesome, but I can’t count on them or Ben for all of my adult contact. When I was pregnant I was so bummed out by the pregnant lady classes offered and more so by the attitudes of the other preggers that I didn’t get involved and the mommy and me classes are the same way. I have definitely changed from the person I was, but I’m still not a Santa Cruz native and those way crunchy mamas just aren’t my crowd. BUT, now I have Julie (who just had laurel on Feb. 8th) and Sam seems to be right up my alley to do play dates with. Its taken longer for me to adjust to life up here that it has anywhere else I’ve lived, but, then again, this has been the biggest change. I don’t feel so isolated anymore.

On a down note, I don’t think I’m going to pursue one of the relationships presented to me. I thought my BIL’s girlfriend, Nicole, was in a similar station in life as me. She has a son, Lundon (yes, it is spelled with a U), who is 2 months younger than Tyler and she’s a part-time SAHM. When we get together at family events, she is very gung-ho doing things together, stating that she would love the company and that none of her friends are around when she’s off of work or that they don’t have kids. So it seems perfect. I thought, from what she says of herself, she’s a lot like me. I think I was wrong. At least 75% of the plans we have made have been cancelled by her, when we do get together and talk about life and things, she says a lot of things that make me think she’s not the person she says she is and also about her commitment to our family. For example, according to my MIL, Nicole and Nate (my BIL) have been fighting lately. Last time Nicole and I sat down for a chat she said something about how if her and Nate didn’t work out she couldn’t be part of our family. Ummm… ok. That’s not how a family works in my eyes. I don’t want to get close to Nicole knowing that she can just bail on us because its too difficult for her to continue relationships with her ex’s family. I can see where she is coming from. If Lundon wasn’t involved, would almost understand. But, when a person becomes friends with another and they spend time on a relationship, I just don’t think it should be thought of so lightly that you can toss it out like used Kleenex. So, for the time being, I’m just going to leave that alone. I hope, for her sake, she isn’t really the person I think she is.

I’m also working on changes for this blog. I never really thought I would like having my own blog, but I do. It’s turning out to be more than what I thought it would be. As I look back on this post, I see more than just mindless chatter. I see myself experiencing my life and I think I know where this blog will go.

Well, here’s to a good week!

today was a good day

I feel so much better today. Whatever I was afflicted with yesterday has ceased to plague me. Tyler was in good spirits so we adventured out today. It’s been so rainy lately, we’ve been stuck inside. T9o;'oday I went to a sewing shop right next to our house. The ladies there were super nice and very helpful. I got a calendar of their classes. I haven't looked at it yet, but it looks very promising for out-of-the-house, adult activity. I got the shelves painted yellow or brown for their designated rooms. I hung the yellow shelves. AND I spent my 45minutes on the eliptical machine. Today I didn't even have to use my A.K. I got to say today was a good day.