Another One Down

Sophia's shrug is finished! One day there will be photos of her in it, but since she's sleeping the rabbit will just have to do.

P.S. This is the rabbit that needs a dress.

One Stack Down

Yesterday, during one of those moments when the stars aligned (i.e. baby napped while Levi entertained himself), I tackled the pile of socks waiting to be transformed into baby leg warmers.

I feel better already.

That's one less pile. 

And, since no matter how many foods I drop, the eczema on one of Sophia's legs never seems to fully heal, these are likely to be worn well into summer. They make excellent scratch guards.

The List

So, I went through the stacks. {At least, I think I found them all. Am I the only one who tucks projects away in every nook and cranny?} In all honesty, some things just aren't worth finishing. Those will either be tucked back into the stash or sent to Goodwill where, maybe, just maybe, some crafty gal (or guy) will know exactly what to do with them. As for the rest of it, here it goes....

Sewing:
X~ Sophia's baptism dress and accessories....kind of top priority around here since I've finally gotten around to scheduling her baptism in May.
~ Curtains for Sophia's room...that project has been sitting around for months. Does anyone else hate sewing curtains? Why are 4 hems that daunting?
X~ Recover red chair cushions...the current covering is popping open, and the fabric for the job is just sitting around waiting for me...has been for 2 years now.
~ Pillows for the living room.
~ Sophia's quilt...well, we know how quilts go around here.
X~ Legging's for Sophia...there's a whole pile of knee high socks waiting next to the sewing machine.
~ Dress for Sophia's bunny

Crocheting:
~ There's a largish pile of miscellaneous stuff needing it's ends tucked in.
X Diaper cover...a cute pink one that's halfway done.
~ Scarves...there's more than one...they seem to be ongoing around here.
~ Pillow cover for Sophia's room....it matches a runner that I finished forever ago and forgot to blog about.

Knitting:
X A hat for Sophia
X~ A shrug for Sophia.
X~ A sweater for Sophia....I'm really finished knitting the shrug and sweater. I'm down to the tucking in of loose ends and stitching up of sleeves...There's a chance she might be grown before I finish.
~ I'm fairly certain there's more, I just can't find them right now...same goes for the crocheting category.

Miscellaneous:
~ Yarn wreath...I finished one awhile back but have another one in the works.
~ Matching game for Levi

And, then there's the ongoing stuff:
~ Like the pile of wool sweaters waiting to be turned into soakers (as needed)
~ And, the pile of old shirts, etc waiting to be turned into diapers (as needed)

I'm not even counting all of the half done house projects. That would just be a little much don't you think? 

So, has anyone noticed the amount of crafty goodness headed Sophia's way. Yeah, I think my little man is getting jiped. That's reason enough to start a new project, buuuuuut I'm holding back.....sticking to my guns.....for now.

Becoming a Finisher

Pin cushion ladies inherited from my grandmother.

I'm setting a new goal for myself. One that I'm not even sure I can keep, so I probably shouldn't announce it to the universe. But, hey, what have I got to lose? Right? . . . . Ready for it? . . . .

 

I'm not going to start any new craft projects until I've finished the stacks of them already piled up waiting for me. 

I can already see problems with this, but I'm plowing forward anyway. Seriously, y'all, I have STACKS of unfinished endeavors. It's getting ridiculous. Something ought to be done, and it turns out that I'm the only one who can do it. Deep breath. 

I am leaving myself one teeny tiny loophole. If I finish all of the projects in one category (knitting, crocheting, sewing) then I can start a new project in that category. And, yes, I did indeed just put knitting and crocheting in two different categories. I know my limitations. Yarn calls out to me. I'm weak. What can I say?  

Any guesses on how long I'll last? 

Weekend Loves

Favorites from this week...

: : First off, have you seen Corinne's new shop. Such pretty things made by such a lovely lady.

: : Also, I am crazy about this gal's diapers. They work so well and are the perfect price! Ordered one, tried it, ordered three more and a wool soaker (love the soaker too).

: : Earlier this week I linked to the 10 Points of Joyful Parenting. The same author just posted the 10+ Helps for Really Busy Moms. It's good stuff.

: : The Toymaker is one of my favorite rainy/dull day resources. This week we made a garland out of the Rainbow Birds (at the bottom of the page). It was a fun little lacing activity with pretty results.

: : When I grow up I want to be like these ladies. (via Leigh)

What are you loving this week?

She Wears Small Dresses

When I was pregnant with Levi, I hoped he would be a boy. When I got pregnant with Sophia, I was hoping for a boy again. It sounds terrible, but it's true. Raising a girl...being a girl's mom...that intimidated me beyond words. The weight of raising a girl to become a woman felt like too much. I wasn't sure how to teach someone to be a thing that I was still striving to be "good" at.
I tried to push all of these thoughts back and just be happy with whatever God gave me. But, the thoughts persisted right up to her birth.
.
.
.
And, then she was here. Those thoughts were quickly forgotten as my heart wrapped tight around her. Now I look at her and all I can think is what a blessing it is to have a girl...my girl!
I get to raise a girl and do girly things and teach her how to be a girl and eventually a woman.
I'm surprised by what a joy that is.

As I wrote this, I was reminded of something Levi said about her a few months ago:

"Mama, I wuv her. She wears small dwesses."
Translation: "Mama, I love her. She wears small dresses."

One Man's Trash

Two Sundays ago we were coming home from church, and this was on our neighbor's curb....

We couldn't believe they were chunking it, so Stephan knocked on their door.  Sure enough, they really-o-truly-o didn't want it. It's flawed for sure, but still very pretty and very usable. And, considering most of our furniture came from the storage sheds of kind friends and family and...ahem...the curb, it fits right in.
Found any good trash lately?

P.S. Please ignore the crazy munchkin trying to make his sister wear one of his creations.

Joyful Parenting

The 10 points of Joyful Parenting is possibly the best parenting advice I've ever read. I even printed it out and put it on my fridge...which is saying a lot.  I'm sort of a fridge minimalist.

#5 and #7 are especially good...well, really, they are all especially good.

One More Thing To Check Off The To Do List

I finished it....FINALLY...Levi's baby quilt is done. Maybe, since he's only three, it won't be too late for him to think it's always been around...you know kind of like baby quilts are supposed to be.

It is admittedly wompy and so very far from perfect, but I'm learning to accept these things and keep moving. After all, it is my very first largish quilt, so I should probably give myself a little grace.

Wonder how long it will take me to finish Fi's quilt. Hmmm....you'll just have to stick around to see.

Weekend Loves

What I'm loving this week...

: : This book.

: : These letters.

: : Dreaming of something to make for Levi with this.

: : This...because I can never remember the words to songs.

: : And, Pintrist...I'm barefootmama.

Hope y'all had a super happy weekend!

Fire Chief Levi

Tuesday the fellas (Stephan, Levi, and my dad) got to go on a special tour of a local fire station.  Levi was beyond thrilled. He spent the morning before telling us that he was the fire chief.

Stephan was sent with strict instructions to take photos. Unfortunately, I failed to impress upon Levi the importance of these photos. There was a lot of this...

And, even some of this...

But, thankfully Stephan took his mission seriously and was able to sneak a few super cute pics...

Next time I think I should mention that Stephan should actually be in some of the photos...not just as a reflection.  Oh. well. Beggars can't be choosers. Right? ;)

I will admit to being a tinge sad over missing my little boy's first trip to the fire department, but my mom and I took Sophia on a little girl bonding trip of our own.  We went shopping....of course. And, boy does my wardrobe thank me. At 6 months postpartum the maternity tops really had to go back into storage.

Weekend Loves

A few favorites...

 : : Some simple entertainment...here and here.

: : Super cute paper dolls.

: : Yarn dying...for some day when I have two free hands.

: : This baby shrug will soon be off my needles.

: : And, then I'm considering casting on for this...
in matching yarn...passion fruit colorway. :-)

Happy Weekend, Y'all!

A Little Pout For Your Monday

Weekend Loves

Spring is coming! This alone is enough to make me squeal.

A few of this weeks favorites...

: : This makes me smile.

: : This makes Levi smile.

: : Love the sunny frames.

: : Levi is a gizmo kind of guy. I think he'd like this.

: : Some pretty wrist warmers for that last bit of winter chill.

: : And if you really want to know where I've been spending too much time lately...instagram...Love it!
I'm Barefootgal. Wanna be my friend? :)

A New 'Do For The Little Man

Levi hates haircuts....passionately. Since the beginning Nanno has been the primary hair cutter around here. I don't envy her. I tried cutting his hair. You may remember that little mishap.

A couple of months ago we started prepping him for a "real" haircut. He came with us to our appointments. He sat in the chair. Just to sit, mind you, no scissors involved. He got lollipops for his heroic efforts....believe me in his world sitting anywhere near the scissors counts as heroic effort. And, then we did it. We scheduled his appointment.  Mind you we fully expected that he would run away screaming, and we would come away with a lopsided do and the desire to never ever repeat that mistake. But, we thought it worth a try.

And, as it turns out, it was totally worth it.

He was hesitant but better than he's ever been before.

He even got two whole lolipops.

I guess this means he's officially a big boy. Sigh.

Oh, The Things A Mama Does

If this gal ever questions my love, I'm pointing her back here to the part of her life where she sleeps (mostly) perfectly, smiles all the time, and is in general the best, sweetest baby I've ever encountered......buuuut her eczema has me on a diet so restrictive that I sometimes want to just curl up in a ball and cry.

We had to take Sophia back to the doctor 2 weeks ago because the antibiotic she was on caused yet another rash. Thankfully she had been on it long enough to knock the staph back, so she didn't have to switch to a new antibiotic. While we were there her doctor (who is so wonderful) told us the way Sophia's eczema has spread makes her fairly sure it's caused by something she is ingesting (i.e. mama's milk). She gave me a long list of do not eats and lent us a book on reflexology to help us naturally control the itching. An afternoon trip to the yarn shop landed me in a conversation with an eczema sufferer who added even more things to my do not eat list. It ended up as follows:

No eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, chocolate, coconut, tree nuts, and peanuts.

(I feel like I'm forgetting something.)

It's the no eggs, wheat, tomatoes, chocolate, and tree nuts that are killing me. Those were staples of my previous diet. I've been on this for two weeks, and I'm still trying to figure out how to eat around these things. On the bright side, her eczema is clearing up, so maybe my efforts won't be in vain. The real kicker is that I still have a few more weeks to go on this diet before I can start the slow process of adding food back in. Hopefully this will give us a better idea of what foods she's sensitive to before we start her on solids which won't be until she's closer to the year mark...if not all the way too it. In the meantime, I'll just be kickin' back here in miserable food land.

6 Months!

Before I let the day escape unmarked, here's to 6 months!

This girl lights up our world.
We're so happy she's ours.
Happy 1/2 trip round the sun little lady.