The Crafting Hobbit

Nightgown

2012-02-16T09:26:00.000-06:00

I've been meaning to make myself a new nightgown. I have one made of cotton that I got for $6 on clearance at the GAP.
I came across a simple nightgown pattern the other day. I didn't have enough of one fabric for the pattern so I used 2 fabrics with the same color scheme.
It's nice and loose which will be really comfy in the summer months. This pattern would also make a cute top if you shortened it.

Kid tested

Not only is the pattern easy but even with my doing fabric strips I finished it in an afternoon (with interruptions).

Doxie approved

Don't throw away those ripped pants

2012-02-13T10:12:00.001-06:00

For some reason Ben wears through his clothes faster than our toddler. One of his pairs of khakis got a rip in the knee.
"They're not ripped, they're worn through."
"What exactly are you doing at work that you are wearing through the knees on your pants?"
*crickets*

He was going throw them out when it occurred to me that Ben doesn't have any shorts. I know he can't wear them to work but he'll want them for weekends since it will get pretty damned warm here in Memphis.

After a quick modification the pants are now shorts. I cut off the excess fabric and hemmed them. Instead of tossing the excess fabric away I saved it for the next time he rips any of his khaki pants.
It only took a few minutes for me to do and it saved us from spending a lot more money.

Ben says he looks like he's going golfing

Please consider donating just a few dollars to help fund the FORCE Memphis Chapter.

Almost to our goal.

2012-02-11T12:42:00.000-06:00

My FORCE Fundraising page went up a week ago and already I've reached 84% of my goal. I am so inspired by the generosity of my friends and family in helping me get a FORCE chapter started in Memphis.

Michelle and I are so excited to get this chapter going.

Let's give them something to talk about

2012-02-06T20:49:00.001-06:00

Last Tuesday while at CMOM (Children's Museum of Memphis) Garrett (2.5 years old) ran up behind me, hugged me and said "Hi MumMum". The only time he usually says anything like Mama is when he is upset and wants me. He's said it twice today. I keep crying every time.
When Ben walked in the door he gets a "Hi DaDa" so it's amazing for me to get Garrett to look at me and say MumMum without being upset.

As an added bonus last Thursday in Mommy and Me class he smelled the toy flower and then held it to my nose so I would smell the flower too. He then took my hand, put the flower in it and wrapped my hand around the flower. Looked at me and smiled (yay eye contact). I was so excited, he even went and picked up another toy flower and did the same thing with another mom.

At the end of the class he walked up to me and put his arms up (a big step on it's own) and then said "up". I just about cried. The teacher in the class knows Garrett is autistic and she was so excited for both of us.I had to share because I'm sitting here blubbering because I've waited 2.5 years for him to call me by my "name"

Tonight I was doing "Up and Down" and then pausing to get him to say "up". I heard him say "dow". So I looked at him and said "Up and ...." "DOW" While I was folding the laundry he looked in the mirror and I said "who is that boy in the mirror?" and I heard "boy, boy, boy".
He saw his ABA therapist today and I told her about last week. Now I'm already excited to see her next Monday and tell her the new things he's been doing.

We've come so far recently and I just love hearing his little voice.

fundraising for FORCE Memphis

2012-02-03T20:30:00.000-06:00

Those who have been reading my blog are aware that I have the BRCA2 mutation. They also know I've been working with Michelle over at http://tatatothegirls.blogspot.com/ to start a Memphis chapter for FORCE- Facing Our Risk Of Cancer Empowered

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/irenerodda/ireneroddasfundraisingpage
We need to start off by raising some funds for our chapter. I hope you will help or at least share this message. FORCE offers amazing resources and support for women and men who are at risk for breast cancer.

This is a cause close to my heart. My mother had breast cancer in 2008 and her birth mother died from breast cancer in 1954. I want to make sure I am here for Garrett and able to watch him grow up. Knowing my resources has helped me feel confident that I will have many years with my son.
Being aware and having the knowledge to help with early detection (and in some cases prevention) is important. Please help us share this knowledge and support with others in Memphis.

Yes, I do charge my husband for alterations

2012-02-03T09:38:00.001-06:00

This topic came up in discussion with some of my friends. Half of them thought this was brilliant and the other half were rather confused.
Those who know me in real life know I'm saving up for a tablet computer. They also know I complain about how Ben wears through clothing like a rabid monkey. I got a bit tired of constantly sewing up holes in his clothing, especially things he had only had a few months and abused.
After sewing up some holes in the wrist of his 2 month old jacket I said "that will be $3". Ben laughed but agreed to pay. It works for us. I jsut remind him of a few things:

1: I really really really want that tablet.
2: It would be more to go to the tailor or to replace the clothing
3: It will teach him to take better care of his clothing if he doesn't want to pay me for constant repairs.

He's on board with it. I also decided that I'll charge him $5 for every time I shave his head (which isn't that often). It's still cheaper than a barber, I am providing a service and he learns to appreciate all the roles I fill around the house.

Don't throw away that plastic bottle

2012-02-01T10:25:00.000-06:00

I love reusing things. I love Mod Podge. So when I found a tutorial that allowed me to put those 2 things together I was excited.
Turn your lotion bottle in to a cell phone holder. What a nifty idea.
I had to make one for visiting guests who always charge their cell phones in our kitchen plugs. None of my lotion or baby wash bottles were empty so I used a baby powder bottle.

It worked well and provided me with space for my camera and charger. It makes those plugs on the kitchen counter so much more useful. Now I can use the plug in the corner and still reach my camera. As an added bonus I don't have to worry if the counter gets wet because my electronics are charger in their holder.

Fits perfectly above my vitamins

These would make great gifts and are easy to personalize. I used glow in the dark Mod Podge on mine for something extra fun.

How fun is that?

Thomas the Tank Engine Drinking Game

2012-01-27T09:22:00.001-06:00

Since my last drinking game to a children's show post was so popular I decided to try my hand at another one.
This time I used Thomas the Tank Engine.

Drink when:
Sir Topham Hatt says a train has caused "confusion and delay"
You hear "really useful engine"
One of the engines does something they shouldn't
You hear "Bust my bumper"
You hear "Cinders and ashes"
Bertie the Bus or Harold the Helicopter make an appearance
Emily tells the other engines what to do
One of the "troublesome trucks" knocks a train off the rails
When Steamies and Diesels insult each other

no I don't condone getting plastered while taking care of your children. But after the 47th time of watching the show even I need a shot of something.

Scrappy

2012-01-24T09:05:00.002-06:00

I love projects that get me using scraps. I found this project a while back. My first attempt was a massive failure and the project disintegrated in my hands.

After having some nifty fabric bits left over from making a top I decided to try it again. I made a few changes.
1: Instead of wetting the entire "stabilizer sandwich" I used a spray bottle with warm water. I placed my circle over a bowl and sprayed and shaped it. It gave me much more control and I didn't have to worry about it falling apart.
2: I used extra stabilizer pieces and added them as I wet the bowl. I even added some extra fabric and thread to cover up any bare spots I saw.

It ended up taking more than overnight to dry but it didn't fall apart this time.

Looks like a cute little bird's nest. Now to figure out what to use it for.

Sewing machine covers

2012-01-20T08:37:00.001-06:00

I've had a little more time to sew lately. Mostly because I'm a klutz and hurt my MCL earlier this month. It gave me some time to look through all the projects I had wanted to do but never did. One of them was sewing machine covers.

I can see a bunch of my other posted projects here

The plastic covers are great for when I need to take my machine somewhere because they are plastic and will keep water out but for home I wanted something a little nicer to look at.

I had to buy this fabric, it was just too perfect

I found the perfect fabric to make the covers with and it's been sitting in my stash for about 6 months.
I measured my machines and made my own basic pattern. To make a cover you'll need 3 measurements: width, height and depth of your machine.
I chose to make the pattern in 3 pieces. Front, back and gusset. The front and back are width by height. The gusset is depth by x (x is height + height + width)
The measurements for my Singer machine are:
12" high
16" wide
6" deep
The machine is actually a tad smaller but I wanted to account for my seams.
My front and back pieces are: 12" by 18"
The gusset is: 6" by 40" (16+12+12)

You can see the post it notes I made myself to use as guides.

Visualizing always helped me

Pin your gusset to one side (right sides together) making sure to account for the curves. Sew and repeat for other side. If you're using a patterned that has right side up make sure you don't sew it the wrong way. Hem the bottom and you're done.

I love the way they look.

I'm tempted to embroider them with the machine names. Yes, my machines have names (I can't be the only one). I like how much nicer they look in my crafting area now. My embroidery machine is now fully covered from dust too.

Top of the mornin' to you.

2012-01-17T09:05:00.000-06:00

Things have been crazy busy down here in Memphis, but in a good way. I've been sewing and knitting up a storm but haven't had much time to post.
In making a lot of pillow case dresses for little girls I decided I wanted a pillow case top for myself. It's been fairly warm here (even for Memphis winter). I found a pattern that outlined the same basics.
Instead of a stretch knit I went with a woven Chanel-esque fabric I had on hand. The adult pattern I had on hand just used 2 large squares of fabric. In the future I'll make it more shapely like the children's pattern I have.

It's still pretty cute. I'm giving it another good wash before I wear it but I may take in the side seams and make it a bit more fitted.

Facebook Breast Cancer Meme

2012-01-06T20:07:00.000-06:00

It's back. And while I could post until I'm blue in the face I'll let the lovely Michelle explain it all.
http://tatatothegirls.blogspot.com/2012/01/oh-games-we-play.html?spref=fb

Michelle and I are both excited to be starting the FORCE Memphis chapter. Still working on getting everything together. Breast Cancer hits close to home for both of us. Awareness is the first step to prevention.

Crafter down

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

Yesterday I had a large reminder that I am indeed a hobbit. And by that I mean I am short.
I recently got a free stability ball (we know my love for free stuff) and it's been a source of lots of fun for Garrett and some good exercise for myself.
Well...yesterday I got up and instead of kicking the ball out of the way I decided to step over it. I'm not sure exactly why I thought this would be a good idea with my stubby legs. You see where this is going. I fell and hurt myself pretty badly. Besides general bruising of my right knee I busted up the big toe on my right foot. Which means my balance is off. Worse than that I really badly torqued my left knee.

At least Ben is home to help out with the little guy, who doesn't seem to understand why mommy is now a gimp.
The good news in all of this is I have more time to work on the shawl I have been knitting for the past 2 years. It's not a particularly difficult pattern, it just isn't easy to do with a toddler.

The nose knows

2011-12-26T09:26:00.000-06:00

When I was 7 I had my ears pierced. It looked cute and I had a few pairs of earrings. Within about 6 months I started to get horrid cysts in my ears, I had to let the holes close up. 10 years later I got them pierced again, same problem.
I've always thought about getting my nose or eyebrow pierced. I didn't think tweezing or threading would work too well with a piercing. This past Friday while looking at a webpage for a threading place I noticed they did piercing (place full of Indian women).
I took the plunge and got a nose stud. I chose the left side for traditional reasons.
"In India the outside of the left is the preferred position of the piercing as this is supposed to make childbirth easier. This is because Ayurvedic medicine associates this location with the female reproductive organs.""

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Chanukkah!

2011-12-21T07:48:00.000-06:00

Therapy/ABA

2011-12-19T12:06:00.000-06:00

Today was Garrett's first day of ABA (Advanced Behavioral Analysis). In talking to his therapist I realized how far he's come in just under a year.
He spent the session pointing up a storm and even responding to my "commands". He looked at me when I said his name and interacted with me and his therapist.

Wednesday he has another evaluation. I'm so glad he's getting services down here. Garrett is making such strides.

Wordless Wednesday - What a difference a year makes.

2011-11-30T09:05:00.002-06:00

Aug 27 2010

Nov 25, 2011

What should I craft?

2011-11-27T21:15:00.000-06:00

Lately I'm at a loss for what I should craft.
I was hoping to get some commissions and that would give me things to post...

so my readers, suggest something to me.
Things have been so busy here I know my blog hasn't been getting as much attention. That isn't always bad because I've been doing so much stuff. I should start taking pictures of what I'm making for dinner.

Tuesday night I have an Autism support group and I'll post about that. Garrett hasn't started with EI services here yet. He's been doing a lot better lately with pointing and letting us know what he wants.

Dreaming of an iPad

2011-11-21T09:22:00.000-06:00

A friend showed me her iPad the other day and I'm in love. With all the cooking I've been doing lately it would be so much easier to have an iPad in the kitchen rather than my laptop.
It would also save so much in paper when it comes to sewing patterns. No more printing out patterns because I can just bring the iPad to the sewing machine. Or even with me when it comes to knitting projects.

Sadly with the move and all our expenses $500 is just too much. I'm doing my best to save money, I'm trying to take some commissions whenever I can get them. I'm also asking family members to just give me money for the holidays.
For any of you who haven't joined Swagbucks yet if you click my link on the right hand side I get a referral bonus which I can use to get myself some Amazon.com giftcards.

Working on lots of projects for the holidays so I'm hoping to have some more crafting things up.

Writer's Workshop - Love Letter to my Keurig

2011-11-17T08:04:00.000-06:00

Dear Keurig,
I pass you during the day, but I don't say anything to you. You don't even notice me. Why would you with your sleek and sexy curves. The alluring aroma you produce. I so drawn to you. I can't bear to see anyone else touch you.
I mean it when I say I would leave my husband for you and have your little coffee babies. You require so little clean up and only ask for water every now and then.

I know what you want, I know what you need. And I need you. We could be great together.
I mean it when I say I would leave my husband for you and have your little coffee babies. You require so little clean up and only ask for water every now and then.

Love,
teawithfrodo

PS: I'm considering changing my name to coffeewithfrodo just for you.

Check out Mama's Losin' It for other awesome writing prompts.

Sometimes I just want a little girl to dress

2011-11-14T10:22:00.001-06:00

When I see all the cute fabrics for girls and the great dress patterns it makes me wonder if I want a little girl (no, I'm fine with one child).
Because I get to make little girly dresses for friends and family. I've been wanting to try my hand at a simple pillow case dress. A friend asked if any of her crafty friends would be willing to donate items for a giveaway she was doing for families of people serving overseas.
I jumped at the chance to sew AND do a good deed. She even brought me some fabric, it was a wonderful pink, orange and yellow sarong. It wanted to be a dress for a little girl.

It was simple, easy and when they outgrow the dress they can wear it as a top. Now I'm tempted to go make one for myself.

Baby needs some new clothes

2011-11-07T08:37:00.000-06:00

Garrett has a mini-Cabbage Patch Kid that he calls "baby". (One of these days we will get him to call her by the name she came with, Julia Honor.)
She came with this adorable little nightgown. She also came with normal looking hair.
Garrett loves her and will drag her around by her hair. Last week he decided to dunk her in the toilet which meant we had to throw her in the machine to wash her.

I had been meaning to make her some clothing but this was the kick in the pants I needed. I had to throw away the disposable diaper she came in because I couldn't get it back on her after she had been washed.
I found a really simple tutorial. I made some adjustments because "baby" is a fairly small CPK.

I could barely get her away from Garrett long enough to get her dressed and take a picture. It's such a cute little outfit. I know Garrett wouldn't care if she was naked but I enjoy the little project.

Chair cushions

2011-11-03T09:46:00.000-05:00

What was I making all that bias tape for?
Cushions!

I love our new set, but alas, no cushions

Our new dining room chairs have a hard seat and it made my butt hurt. The solution was easy, find a pattern and make some cushions. I couldn't decide which fabric I wanted to use so I decided to make mine double sided so I could switch them over if I wanted a change. I used a third fabric for the piping and ties that matched the 2 main fabrics I chose.

The green and yellow are the 2 main fabrics. I used the raspberry as an accent

They're super stuffed and you can tell which chair I've been sitting on. I need to swap out my chairs to squish down the other cushions.

My butt is comfy now.

I'm really happy with the way they came out. They're comfy and completely washable.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T11:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween from the Crafting Hobbit.

Wordless Wednesday - Drop something...please!

2011-10-26T14:37:00.000-05:00

Yeah, we had McDonald's. We had just gotten home from our Autism support group meeting

What is she making?

2011-10-24T09:23:00.001-05:00

My social calendar has been pretty full down here. The good thing is I've been busy, the bad is that I haven't had much time for crafting.
This weekend was spent making bias tape and piping. I'm still not sure I have enough.

The bias tape maker certainly makes it easier

I'm hoping to get this project done before the end of the week. It's a simple project, the piping is just time consuming to make. But it looks much better and more interesting than store bought.


so much piping

Cotton!

2011-10-19T16:22:00.000-05:00

Recently Ben was asked by his co-workers if he had done any "stupid Northern tricks". Ben remarked that he got all excited when he saw the cotton fields.
Me, I hadn't done anything at that point that could have been considered a Northern thing. Until this weekend (and I still say it was more of a crafting thing that a Northern thing). We drove by fields upon fields of cotton and we noticed that there was a lot of cotton on the side of the road. It had blown off the plants and was just sitting there. I wondered what completely natural cotton felt like so Ben slowed the car down and I leaned out and grabbed a piece.

The touch, the feel of cotton.

It was really soft and cotton dust went in to the air when I pulled it apart. I removed a couple seeds (and realized why they had slaves do it...ouch!). We later found out that they don't care if you pick it up off the side of the road as long as you don't pick it off the plant itself.

If I had space to spin (and learned to do so) I'd go with a bag and pick it up and spin it in to yarn. It would be amazing to dye. Maybe in the future when we own our home again I'll have more space.

An upcoming craft

2011-10-17T16:56:00.000-05:00

yes, there will be a craft soon. I promise.
Our new place is finally unpacked and set up.

I admit I'm liking it down here more than I thought I would. Garrett and I have had quite a busy social calendar. Friday he has his evaluation with Early Intervention and I'm looking forward to getting him back into his therapy.

So. many. boxes.

2011-10-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Last night I had a nightmare that I was being chased by rabid moving boxes that were trying to eat me. Taking a look at the living room you can see why.

That black thing on the wall is actually right above a fireplace so you can get an idea of just how much is in the living room right now.

The craft room is even worse. It is floor to ceiling with boxes and I can't even get in the door to take a picture.

I can't wait until we are all unpacked and can eat at home again.

The waiting game

2011-09-30T20:38:00.000-05:00

we made it down to Memphis. We got our internet hooked up today...

Now we're waiting for the rest of our things to arrive. We've been told they'll be here Tuesday which isn't bad because they said 7-14 days for the truck to get down here. I guess tipping the guys well made them want to get to us first :)

It will be nice once all our stuff is here an unpacked. Until then it's really hard to type with a laptop balanced on my feet.

Wordless Wednesday - All packed up

2011-09-21T08:59:00.001-05:00

What every sewing room needs

2011-09-20T09:31:00.002-05:00

A pressing table!
Space is limited in my sewing area. I don't even have a full sized ironing board. When I want to iron I take my mini board and put it on the dining room table, while the condo isn't huge it was still a pain in the butt to drag my sewing out to the table and plug in the iron.

I found a a website where a woman had used a TV tray to make a pressing table. I needed this for my sewing room. I found a TV tray at Target for under $10, the fabric and batting I already had. It took less than 30 minutes and I had my own collapsing pressing table.

My own pressing table right by my sewing table

I love it, it fits perfectly by my sewing table when I need it and folds up when I don't. I'm thinking of maybe getting a pain pen and adding some designs to the legs just to make it a little more funky and personalized. Even without the extra touch it's perfect for my space.

it's a small space but it's mine

Of course I wrote this before I knew I was moving to Memphis. I'm looking forwards to having a larger craft space and many new projects

A little bit of Memphis

2011-09-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

I was bad and didn't really take many pictures in Memphis. We drove by Graceland, and yes, it really is in the ghetto.
Most of the time was spent looking at apartment complexes. We luckily found one we love only 5 miles from where Ben will be working. Instead of getting another car we decided to get a scooter.

Honda nhx110

I already told Ben that I plan to borrow it for short trips to the store. I'm also planning on Mod Podging my helmet. There will be a ton of crafting and home decor posts once we start to get settled in and I'm really excited about that.

Here's the most out of place thing in Memphis. This pyramid looks like it belongs in Vegas.

This is the town square that is right by Ben's workplace. I'm in love with with old fashioned service station and gas pumps.

Fresh Sushi and Deli...this was at the BP. And I thought the Dunking Donuts/Sushi place in Boston was odd.

We're looking forward to being back down in Memphis.

Back from Memphis

2011-09-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

we did indeed make it back from Memphis safely. Our last 2 weeks in Boston are going to be a blur.
I plan to post a bit about Memphis when I have a few spare moments.

I'm still looking for guest blogs to help me out while all this is going on. If you'd like to write a guest blog let me know.

Guest Post - DIY Sugar Scrub by @miriyap

2011-09-09T08:50:00.016-05:00

Hello, I’m @miriyap on twitter and I’m here to help@teawithfrodo out by doing a guest blog post while she is spelunking the wildsof TN! I’ve recently discovered the joyof DIY, from homemade laundry detergent to sewing my own cloth grocery totebags for shopping (better than paper or plastic, right?). Not only does it save money in thesedifficult economic times, but there is a certain sense of satisfaction to be derivedin using something you made yourself (a least for me)!

Today I will be sharing an easy peasy DIY facial sugar scrubrecipe with you. The recipe is courtesyof @58andGrace (who runs a lovely etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/58andGrace)and she swears by it! So here we go!

Easy Peasy DIY SugarScrub Recipe

Ingredients:

--1/3cup of oil (extra virgin olive oil, or combine natural oils easily found inlocal health food stores to 1/3 cup)

In a mixing bowl, combine the following:

--1 cup light brown sugar
--1 cup dark brown sugar
--1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw (Cane Sugar)
--2 tbs vanilla extract
--1 tbs cinnamon
--1 tsp Pumpkin Spice

Pour in the oil.

Mix well and voila!

Done! I divided the mix equally into half-pint canning jars, and you can decoratewith your own label or tie a pretty ribbon around the jar (I didn’t beribbon my jars because I’mcrap at tying bows).

They make great gifts!

--------------------------------------------------------------

@miriyap is a freelance graphic designer who spends way too much time on twitter. She has a Hubby & two kids. She loves to read, sew and shout filthy invectives at her friends.

No, he's not shy. He just doesn't talk.

2011-09-07T08:27:00.000-05:00

I'm not really worried that Garrett doesn't say much. I'm more worried about his general communication. We're working on getting him to point at things he wants and make eye contact when he wants something.

I guess this is too much for some people. We were at a store the other day and I was holding Garrett. He didn't want to wave at the cashier and wanted to be put down to run around. I said he doesn't talk much. Her response was "oh, does he not talk because he's shy?" At this point I trying not to laugh because my kid is so far from shy it's hilarious. "No" I said "He doesn't talk much because he's Autistic and has delayed speech."

She got very quiet at that point. I wasn't snarky in my answer but I guess people aren't expecting to hear that. He's Autistic, so what? Does that make him less adorable? Does it make him less amazing? Not at all. I wonder why people ask if they don't want to hear the answer. If it bothered me I wouldn't have said anything but it isn't something I think we should be ashamed of.

Some people say "oh, I know someone with Autism" while others get very uncomfortable. The truth is that for us we don't feel a need to keep it a secret. I find it more annoying for some stranger to try and force a "hi" out of Garrett when he isn't interested in them.

Garrett is getting a ton of help and has been making huge strides. I swear I cried last month when he pointed at a banana he wanted to eat. He puts his toys away and even has a few words. Last week he started to do the hand movements for the itsy bitsy spider.

He's our little guy and we love him to pieces.

And he sure can rock out on those drums!

Memphis here we come! - Looking for guest bloggers

2011-09-05T14:34:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we fly to Memphis to look at places to live. I have never been to Memphis before so our scouting trip will be my first one.
I'm sure I'll take a ton of pictures while we are there.

I'm also looking for some guest bloggers since the move has been taking most of my brain power from me. If you have a blog idea feel free to send me an email with what you'd like to write about. Crafts, cancer, parenting, you name it I've probably discussed it here.

I want to try and write a bit about the move once we get back from our trip this week. It's never easy to move, let alone several states away where we don't know anyone. Plus we're doing it with a toddler and a dog.

Check out my guest post

2011-09-01T07:08:00.000-05:00

Since we just found out that we don't have to pack anything (the moving company does it all for us) I thought it might be a good idea to write a guest post.

I'm guest posting over at The Angel Forever talking a little but about my BRCA 2 mutation.
Go check it out.

Because you ottoman

2011-08-30T07:08:00.000-05:00

It was ugly and poop brown, but it was free on Freecycle. It had potential and I knew I could make something really cute out of it.

I started by taking it apart. I took all the staples out of fabric and found the foam was still in good shape.

The drawer was out of alignment so I popped it back in place and added some glue to keep it there.

Once the glue was dry I took everything out to the yard and spray painted it white. I used an all in one spray and did 2 coats. Since both the boys were sleeping when I did this I didn't get any pictures of this step.

Next I took the brown fabric and laid it out on top of my new fabric. The brown fabric had 3 pieces but my fabric was wide enough to just cut the shape in one piece.

I sewed up the corners and put it on top of the foam piece. Then I stapled the underside of the fabric to the ottoman. This was a 2 person job, I held the fabric while Ben did the staples so again I have no pictures of this step.

I took the top and glued it back on the base so it didn't slide around. Gorilla glue is great for this.

I love how it looks now. Fun and bright. I also love the fabric. It's perfectly tacky but ads the right amount of color.

If I knew I could sell these things I'd keep refinishing furniture, but we're running out of room for things. Which really sucks because I saw a great gossip bench at Goodwill that I really wanted to fix up.

Holy Cow!

2011-08-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

Forgive me if I don't post as much for a while. Ben got a job in Memphis, Tennessee so we will be moving.
It's exciting and scary at the same time. This is a good thing for us. It's a company Ben can stay with for a long time and Memphis is a lovely place to set down some roots.

The next month will be filled with all sorts of moving things.

Going Green saves you Green!

2011-08-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle has become my mommy mantra.
About 4 months in to my pregnancy I decided I wanted to cloth diaper. I had never really liked the smell of disposables (and those who know me know of my insanely strong sense of smell) and cloth came in so many cute colors. Ben wasn't quite on board until I showed him how much money we'd save by using cloth. Since we're using One Size diapers we've never had to buy more and have saved about $100 a month for 2 years (after the initial $500 investment).

Not everyone can cloth diaper, if we didn't have a washer/dryer in our home I don't think we would have done it either. Never fear, there are so many other ways to go green and save yourself money.

Just do one thing, just this one thing and you will save a ton of money and make less waste. Swap out disposable for reusable.
Instead of disposable cups and utensils for the family use ones you can wash and reuse again. You pay a little more for the permanent items (and sometimes there isn't a huge price difference) but it lasts much longer and you don't have to keep buying new items.

Ziploc bags are useful but I hate having to toss them. I started making my own snack bags with fabric and PUL, they're easily cleaned and I can chose the fabric.

simple PUL snack bag

If you don't want a soft snack bag you can find snack containers just about anywhere, Target usually sells them in their $1 spot (I could live in that section alone) and they are very sturdy.
If you can't get around using a Ziploc bag don't assume you need to throw it away when you are done. You can wash and reuse them over and over again.

With the rising cost of everything these days it makes sense to go green. Not just for the environment but for your wallet.

An Official Diagnosis

2011-08-18T12:15:00.000-05:00

We've known for some time now that Garrett was on the spectrum. It's been so evident to those who spend time with him. While he's a bright and sweet kid he's got delays.
It's hard to get an official diagnosis, it takes time and you have to get it through a behavioral therapist. However Ben is interviewing in Memphis next week and we decided that we need to speed up the process. Since we don't know where we are going and what programs there will be we wanted to get his official diagnosis so he would qualify for services anywhere.

Yesterday we answered a ton of questions. I was in tears by the time we were done because while I know he's made so much progress these last 6 months I still had to go through all the ways he was lacking.
Today she evaluated Garrett. He said a new word (Baby) but really didn't communicate with her very well. He received a diagnosis of PDD-NOS(Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not otherwise specified).
While he shows signs of it being Aspergers children can't be diagnosed that way until they are at least 4.

We do hope by that point we can reverse his diagnosis. He already had 6 hours of therapies a week and we're hoping to add another 8 to that.

Garrett is still our amazing little guy and we love him no matter what.

Stencil me in...for AWESOME!

2011-08-15T08:23:00.000-05:00

My newest love is doing freezer paper stencils. They are super simple and you don't need lots of tools to do it. Who knew freezer paper was this useful?

Can you tell what this is?

I've made Garrett several stencil shirts so far and I'm always looking for more stencil pictures and ideas. You can make the pattern as simple or complex as you want.
They're great for gifts and so easy to personalize. How cute would it be as an accent on jeans? Am I crazy over stencils? Yes, yes I am. And being so easy to do you'll go crazy over freezer paper stencils too.

it's a Death Star!

Thoughts after watching Toddlers and Tiaras

2011-08-12T08:27:00.000-05:00

Oh man I am glad I have a boy!
What the hell is wrong with these parents, what are they trying to compensate for?

And then I wondered, there are so many of these girls who just don't want to be doing those pageants, one in particular wanted to be an Olympic gymnast but her mother wanted her to be in pageants. But why would the parents really want to force the children to do this. If they're having fun that's great, but the cost of the outfits, fake tanning your child, the fake teeth, it just doesn't set a good example. The fierce tantrums these girls have is rather disturbing. Then there was the mother who said she keeps her daughter motivated with Cheetos and sugar cubes. Wait, really? Didn't you just tell her she was getting too fat? It's a child not a horse. Food as motivation just generally disturbs me.

One of the girls won 1st runner up out of about 15 girls (this was the one who wanted to be an Olympic gymnast) and she was happy with how well she did. Her mother on the other hand was not too happy with her.

In the long run how much damage are they really doing to these children? Every time I watch the show I think about "Little Miss Sunshine" (great movie) and how much pressure we put on children.
Before I do things for Garrett I remind myself that I'm doing them for him and not me. I worry that some of these parents forget that. Ben and I have discussed at length that if he is involved with something and turns around and tells us he doesn't like it anymore we aren't going to force him to stick with it (I'm talking extra curricular things and not something like not doing homework).

I guess this is why we rarely watch the show. Garrett likes watching shows with other children. He seems more interested in the girls at the beginning than the ones who are all "glitzed" up.

Super simple fabric business card case

2011-08-10T12:05:00.002-05:00

Try saying that 5 times fast. Go ahead, I'll wait.
I love projects that use up my scraps and remnants I have left over from other projects. It took less than 10 minutes.

What you'll need:
Fabric. My piece was 10 1/2 inches x 5 inches and fits standard business cards.
An iron (optional but it makes it easier)
Thread, coordinating or contrasting depending on the look you are going for.
Velcro or snaps (optional)
If your fabric isn't already the right size start by cutting a piece 10 1/2 inches wide by 5 inches high.

I did my best to center the pattern

Next I ironed creases in to my fabric. You don't have to do this part but it made it easier.

Short sides

fold the short sides in 1/8 inch and press. Then fold an additional 2 inches in and press.

Folded in again

On the long side you'll fold the fabric 1/8 inch and press.

Long sides

Now you're up to the sewing part. Unfold the short sides leaving the 1/8 inch piece still folded in and stitch.

Fold the short sides at the 2 inch crease. Making sure the long sides are still folded down, sew along the long edges. This will secure both of the pockets.

Make sure to keep everything folded in

All done! Yes, it's that simple.

My cards fit in here nicely

It has plenty of space for my cards as well as the cards I get from other people.
If you want to add some extra flair you can do some applique, embroidery or a decorative stitch around the edges.
You can always add some Velcro or snaps to keep it closed but I loved the way it felt without a bulky snap. It fits in my bag or slides neatly in to my pocket without looking bumpy. Since it's cute you always want to give out business cards just to show off the case.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

2011-08-07T18:06:00.000-05:00

they go awry. I was planning to have a nice post today about how we had a lovely weekend and Garrett really enjoyed the family reunion on Sunday.
Saturday morning Garrett woke up with other plans, he was wheezing. We took him to the local ER (we were visiting with family) to find out he had a case of viral Croup.
Poor little guy is on some steroids for a few days but we left early Sunday to come home and skipped the family reunion. Garrett is doing well and doesn't seem to be bothered by any of it. In his eyes he came out on top because the ER doctor gave him a popsicle.

He's on the mend while I work on some stencils.

Bowling Bunnies

2011-08-02T08:50:00.000-05:00

Last year I bought a 2011 sewing calendar that has 2 projects per week. I've been wanting to make the bowling bunnies (the ones pictured) but have been putting it off because of Garrett's stacking and lining up habits.

It may not seem like a big deal to some people but Garrett feels the need to almost obsessively line things up. We know it's part of his autism and make sure that he doesn't do it for long periods anymore. At one point we watched him line up empty soda bottles for 30 minutes. If they got knocked down he would get annoyed and line them up again, that was the point when I shelved the bowling bunnies project.

At Garrett's last home visit I brought it up with his case worker who told me that it would be a good thing to make them because we could turn it in to a game. It's ok for him to line things up if there is a purpose to it (like playing a game) and it would be good for him to make a game out of it.

Our hallway doubles as a great bowling alley

I decided to make them without faces, there is still a front and back, but the lack of faces makes him less likely to line things up exactly.

Lining up the bunnies

Breast Cancer Awareness is so much more than a Facebook Status

2011-07-30T14:36:00.000-05:00

This morning my husband's cousin sent me (and 67) of her closest female friends a message on Facebook stating that there was a new Breast Cancer awareness meme going around.
I'm all for Breast Cancer awareness, as someone with the BRCA 2 mutation I have an 84% chance of developing Breast Cancer by the time I'm 70. However the message I got made me want to burn my bra. Women are supposed to put the number of their shoe size, followed by the word inches and a frowny face. Truthfully I was about to roll my eyes and ignore it until I saw the next part "don't tell the men", yeah, I have some big issues with this practice.

1: Saying you are raising awareness by NOT ACTUALLY saying anything about Breast Cancer isn't raising awareness. Especially when you leave out a key section of the population. Despite what people think men can get Breast Cancer, they also have mothers, daughters, sisters and friends who are affected by breast cancer. Men shouldn't be kept in the dark about breast cancer anymore than women should be kept in the dark about testicular cancer. Awareness leads to support.

2: Why does it have to be something sexual. My shoe size is 7, so my post would be "7 inches :("
Even Ben said that comes off as a little insulting of your significant other. My bigger issue is how often we sexual breasts. Don't get me wrong, Ben is a breast man, but it's still hard when thinking about the mastectomy I plan to have. They are part of our bodies and there are many women (my mother's birth mother) who would rather ignore the problem instead of lose their breasts. Breast Cancer is NOT sexual and shouldn't be made in to something sexual.

3: what the hell does your shoe size have to do with cancer? How does writing that help with awareness? I hate the false sense that people are helping when they could have easily done so much more. Post information on where to get more information about Breast Cancer and where you can donate either money or even time helping people out. When was their last breast exam? Wouldn't it be better to let people know the importance of getting checked early.

4: Early detection is key for treating any type of cancer. Support of friends and family is so important to those battling cancer. So why would you make a post that excludes so many people from being able to properly get information?

Cancer awareness is of any type is important. I hope everyone will retweet, reblog and generally share this message with everyone they know and love.
If you want to raise Breast Cancer Awareness here are some sites to check out:
Susan G Komen for the Cure
Breast Cancer.org
National Breast Cancer Foundation

For more information on the BRCA 1 and 2 mutation check out:
Bright Pink
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE)

Something for me

2011-07-27T17:59:00.000-05:00

Forgive the bad photo, a photographer my spouse is not. Plus he was using my cell phone to take the picture.

A couple weeks ago I decided I needed a few dresses for business purposes I didn't think this would be that hard. I know I'm not a skinny girl, I also know I have some rather large...tracts of land. I did find a lovely dress from Lane Bryant.
I figured "hey, I can make something like this" and that's just what I did. I had already seen a tutorial for a tank dress with pockets and decided to make myself a dress.
I got the belt on clearance so the entire dress only cost $20 (I splurged on some really high end fabric).

I can wear this with or without the belt and unlike the dress I bought it has pocket for me to fidget with. I plan on making another one which will probably be better because I know what mistakes not to make. I don't normally craft clothing for myself and I'm loving this dress. It will look great in the fall with a cardigan and even in the winter with dark pantyhose.

Klout, social media and why they aren't going to make it work for them

2011-07-25T14:03:00.001-05:00

For those of you who follow me on twitter you know I've been having issues with Klout for the last month. Klout.com was a nifty page that allowed you to see your overall influence online. Depending on what you tweeted, blogged about and put on Facebook they would give you influences. You could then give 5 +Ks to people each day who you felt influenced you in certain areas.

I started using Klout a few months ago and realized just how many people I interacted with on a regular basis. I also got to see how I influenced others. After a week or so I ended up with an influence, parenting. Now people could give me a +K on that topic while I worked on getting more influences. It was at the point several people told me that they were surprised sewing and crafting weren't on my list of influences.

I started asking questions about new influences and finally got a canned response that told me they added new ones every week and to just keep tweeting and posting away. (amusingly I checked my page and this is what it said "You are currently influential about 0 topics:Last Klout topics refresh: Never", wait, didn't you just tell me the topics were refreshed every week?)
The next week my influence was gone. This was 3.5 weeks ago.

For the last 3.5 weeks I've been emailing them and tweeting them almost constantly with no answer. Today I finally got a response in the form of 2 separate emails and a tweet. They all said they same canned answer, which didn't answer my question. I told them this and both emails gave me another canned response telling me that no one had given +Ks to my influence. Again I told them this was untrue and wanted to know exactly how they decided influences but no one could tell me.

Again they stopped responding. This is a company that pretty well depends on social media to work and yet they refuse to answer questions or work with their users. They were generally rude and unhelpful. Since people are going to them to try Spotify the service has gone downhill.

At this point what I'm wondering is why you would not only be so nasty to your user, but to the people who spread the word on the internet. I've seen all sort of people on Facebook and Twitter expressing that they are having the same problem and many who have left Klout because of it.

Well, I'm a blogging mom and I'm going to make my voice heard.

Fun without power

2011-07-24T16:41:00.001-05:00

As I said in my last entry we had a black out on Friday. It was in the evening so we had to figure out what we could do.
We are lucky enough to have a gas stove and dinner was mostly cooked when the power was out. After dinner we had to figure out what to do. Garrett has plenty of toys but the lack of light made it difficult to play with some of them.

We decided to go visit the upstairs neighbors and their kids. Garrett had fun playing with them.

It got pretty hot up there so after a while we came back downstairs and got our few flashlights out since it was getting darker out.

We lit a candle. Just so we had some basic light just in case our batteries died. And grabbed our emergency radio and battery powered light bulb.

Garrett was having fun listening to music and dancing.

While Ben double checks to make sure all power switches are in the "OFF" position.

We went out on the front porch and chatted with neighbors while "the boys" played about and giggled.

We come inside and Ben checks his cell phone while Garrett snuggles and Aloysius looks a little confused.

The boys sat and watched us as we danced for them.

Garrett and I took a bath to help us cool down.

After about 4 hours our power came back on. But by that point Garrett was tuckered out and asleep. Our place managed to stay fairly cool until the power came back on.

Black Out

2011-07-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

Friday our temperature was 108. It was really hot, so if course we had a black out that evening in my area. We managed to blow an entire substation. Power was out for 4 hours.
I managed to get a few pictures before the camera battery went dead (whoops, it's charging now) so I'll be posting that soon.

I was in the middle of sewing when we lost power so I'm a bit behind on projects. Tomorrow will include pictures and the full story of our black out adventure.

Mini things are always cute

2011-07-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

I'm in love with the look of these floor cushions. I really want to make one for the house but there just isn't room right now. And then I thought "wouldn't those be adorable if they were tiny?" and then "What the hell would I do with a tiny one because we don't have a doll house."

PINCUSHIONS! They would make the most adorable pin cushions. They'd stand on their own and be large enough so needles wouldn't go through the other side. For an added bonus I purchased some loose emery powder to use to help keep my needles sharp. Emery powder is what is in the little strawberry that dangles from the tomato pincushion.

What you'll need:
Fabric. Any weight will work. This project is great for scraps.
Thread
Piping. Around 18" should do the trick. This is a great use for all those smaller piping pieces.
Loose Emery powder or Polyfil
Muslin (if you are using Emery)

I used the exact same pattern for the floor cushions but just scaled down. Choose a glass that is a little larger (seams will end up being around 1/2" because of the piping) than the size you want your pincushion.

For the rectangular piece measure the circumference of your circle and cut a rectangle that is an inch longer. The width of the rectangle depends on how high you want your cushion. My pins are medium length so I went with 2 1/2" wide.

If you are using Emery Powder cut another 2 circles and rectangle out of your Muslin. You'll sew those together and put the Emery inside the Muslin. This will prevent the powder from coming out when you put your pins in your pincushion.

Stitch as per the floor cushion instructions.
Leave half the circle open so you can get your Muslin bag in before you hand stitch it shut. I pretty much hand sewed the entire thing because it's so tiny.

It's fun and I love the way it looks on my sewing table. Especially with the bonus of it helping sharpen my needles.

Making strides!

2011-07-19T08:02:00.000-05:00

In the past 5 months since Garrett started Early Intervention he's come a long way. It's exciting to see him learning and growing.
I'll admit, it's been hard to watch sometimes because I see his delays. Garrett has also started to do more things like stacking and lining up items of the same type. But then again he's doing so well with all the help he's been getting.

When we started with EI Garrett didn't really have any words, he didn't like being transitioned from one activity to another and didn't play with other children.
Now he has a handful of words but also seem to understand us better. He transitions easily with the use of a song, even from his favorite activities, without a tantrum. And now he not only plays around other children, he plays WITH them.

These may not seem like much to most parents but to us they are big. Things like imitating our faces or hand movements show that he is catching up in his development. It's exciting for us when he does something as simple as stick his tongue out at us if we've made the face at him.

Imitating silly faces

He even danced in IKEA.

Now we've added music therapy to the mix and he loves it. I can't wait to see what new things he does next. He really surprises us every day and we're very lucky to have such wonderful resources to help him out.

I've done it again

2011-07-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

dyed my hair that is. As much as I loved the blonde the upkeep was too much so now I'm back to brown.

It looks good and I'm happy with the change in the cut as well.

A Very Fun Day out with Thomas

2011-07-15T12:04:00.000-05:00

Last Friday we drove all the way to Conway, NH (3 hours away) to see Thomas the Tank Engine "in the metal", as Ben says.
The day started off gloomy and rainy in Boston but turned into a gorgeous day.
I took so many pictures it seems to have turned into a DITL post.

We pre-ordered our tickets 2 weeks early so we brought the pamphlet with directions.

It was a dreary day when we started out.

Since we left while Garrett was still sleeping we had to stop somewhere in NH for breakfast. The only thing we found was Burger King.

Finally we got to the event grounds.

And there was Thomas in all his glory.

I splurged and bought Garrett a shirt. Once he outgrows it I can always make it in to a bag or something else for him.

He loved watching the new Thomas DVD (while chewing on his new Percy train)

Stealing some of our lemonade.

Watching the trains on the track come in

And going through the misting tent with daddy to cool down because....

Now we got on Thomas to take our ride.

I had to check my email. I guess Garrett gets the lip thing from me.

Snuggling with Daddy

Then with Mommy

And playing with some of the toys they had. He shared very well.

Off to meet Sir Topham Hattand give him a big hug.

Time to go. We had a full day.

And now we have full bellies.

What a fun day!

A special place for my new machine.

2011-07-14T08:27:00.001-05:00

Since we originally thought we were moving so much of our home has been in boxes. It was only recently I let Ben convince me to take my sewing machine out of the box so I could craft and not go nuts. We don't know if we're going to move so we're both reluctant to unpack but I got tired of look at my embroidery machine on the floor in its box.

Such a cool table

It was taking up space in between my fabric and our printer so I figure why not get a table for it and actually be able to use it. We went to Savers (great store) and I found a vintage telephone table.

Can't beat the price

It was missing the drawers, the price was certainly right, but the color was all wrong. The dark wood just didn't have the look I wanted and made the room more dingy.

Lucky me, I've got a ton of paint. Every time I see an offer for a free pint I snap it up. I have about 6 small cans just waiting for projects like this.

I was looking for an excuse to use this color

Before I painted I sanded down some of the rougher spots and gouges that were in the wood. Ben helped paint and then seal the table. He used a clear spray sealer.

Ben is a faster painter than I am so he helped out

I found some clear contact paper in the closet and Ben put that on the top so I wouldn't scratch up the table.

Gratuitous butt shot

But since we had put a clear coating on the table the contact paper wouldn't stick. I decided to coat the top with Mod Podge to help protect again scrapes.

I bought a basket at the craft store that came with a pattern to make your own basket liner.

I love things that come with patterns

I used one of the fabrics I bought recently at the Portsmouth Fabric company to make a liner that matched the table.

Fabric went perfectly with the paint color I chose

I found a simple basket pattern so I can utilize the spaces for the drawers (I hate wasting space). I matched the fabric to the lining I made for the large basket and used some solid blue for the inside of the basket. The batting I used didn't provide enough stiffness for the baskets so I took a box top, cut it to size and put it on the inside of the baskets. I added some Velcro spots to make sure the box stayed put. It doesn't show from the outside and provides the stiffness the basket needs so it doesn't collapse.

Oh man I've had this box for a while

It provides a great spot for all my piping, bias tape and other notions.

It's all done and I love it. What a big change! Now I'm itching to do more furniture finishing projects.

Finding the time

2011-07-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

We've been so busy lately. Today we're meeting with the local economic development group to get a loan for Granola Strolla. Ben and I are both pretty much exhausted from working non-stop on the company.

And while I have gotten some crafting in I haven't taken too many pictures. I do have plans to refinish furniture to use in our office (we're already looking for commercial space) as well as making myself some new dresses.

So I hope everyone out there will forgive me for letting the blog fall by the wayside. I'll do my best to post a couple times a week but it's the last thing on my mind right now. Once we secure some funding we'll have a break and I will have more crafting time.

Tonight I should be able to upload our pictures from the Day Out With Thomas even we went to on Friday.

The Yo Gabba Gabba drinking game

2011-07-07T09:59:00.001-05:00

Don't get me wrong, it's a great show. But after having to watch it so many times it does get a bit tedious. Ben and I have often joked about making a Yo Gabba Gabba drinking game for after Garrett has gone to bed.

Here it is, the Yo Gabba Gabba Drinking Game. Take a drink when:

DJ Lance says "Awesome"
Plex beams someone up or down.
Brobee changes from a smile to a frown or vice versa
Muno does something clumsy
Toodee does something mean
Foofa says she loves something
Someone doesn't want to try something new "Try it, you'll like it"
Gooble shows up.
An animated character is in Gabba Land.
They do a dancey dance or cool trick.

It doesn't sound like much but I swear you'll be toasted within 10 minutes.

Guest Blog- Laura Jane helps keep us focused on finishing our projects

2011-07-04T10:00:00.001-05:00

I met Laura at an Entrepreneur Meetup a few weeks ago and fell in love with her crafts. I'm a crafter who can start and finish a ton of projects but I realized that not everyone can multitask the way I do. So I asked Laura to do a guest post about how she keeps herself focused.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love a good challenge. I'm always looking for new crafting projects, new skills I can learn. But that's the thing: I'm always looking. The next great project is always somewhere up ahead, never right in front of me.

Hi. My name is Laura, and I have a commitment problem. I start a project, but once I have a handle on how it works, I’m no longer interested. The thrill of the chase is gone and I set it aside, finished or not (usually not). It was like that when I was taught myself to knit cables. I went with a small project, thinking it would be easier for me to get through: one of those headband-type ear warmers. I had a stray ball of earthy orange yarn from a remnant bin -- cashmerino, I think -- that was perfect.
So I started. I got 3 or 4 repeats into the cable pattern, and the concept of cables finally clicked. All of a sudden I was bored with the project. The mystery was gone. Next! Meanwhile, I was stuck with something only big enough to warm one of my ears...maybe...as long as I held it in place. (I guess I could have pretended it was a cool new knitted spy phone?!)

Sound familiar? How many of us are afraid to let anyone else know how many UFOs (UnFinished Objects) are lying around our houses? I can justify mine by saying that I prefer the learning process, the discovery of how something works. I want to discover, then move on to discovering the next thing, whether that is a new knitting technique or a completely different craft, like crochet, origami, sewing or woodworking. Switching it up also keeps me from getting bored. It keeps my leisure time fun, and isn't that the point? Never mind that finishing a project provides a sense of accomplishment and clears up space in the closet. It is often easier in the short term to put something aside than to work toward finishing it, especially when the shiny new project that you Just Have to Make flashes across your computer screen. (It’s like they know, isn’t it?!)

There’s one thing I find at the crux of my inability to finish what I’ve started: choices. The overabundance of them, to be specific. Don’t get me wrong -- I like being able to choose, but when the options are seemingly unlimited, it’s scary to choose just one to the exclusion of all the others. Even choosing a few still means there are a bazillion others you’ll never be able to do. So for me, I start -- but don't finish -- as many as possible, to get a taste for them, figuring I’ll go back to those I really like. At least that's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.

What to do? Here are some ideas:

1. Find a reason to finish. Does one of your projects have a firm deadline (birthday, wedding, holiday, commission)? If so, work on that one. Is someone depending on you to finish a specific project? Or maybe it’s enough to simply realize how good it will feel to finally get something done.

2. Cross off (or postpone) projects that are not practical. Do you have the right tools? Enough space? Is it the right time of year? (If you’ve ever knitted a wool afghan when it’s 90 degrees and humid out, you know about that last one!)
3. Start small, or break large projects into smaller tasks. Sometimes we abandon a project not because we’re bored, but because the project is just too overwhelming for us to imagine finishing. Want to make an entire coordinated outfit? Irene’s headband tutorial is a great place to start. Then move on to the next item.

4. Take breaks. Don’t be afraid to set it aside if you’re not enjoying it. Sometimes it's the right project, but not for right now, and you need to find something else to work on. If it’s a gift, find something else to make in its place. If it’s not time sensitive, put it away for a few months (or years!) until you’re ready to face it again. But don’t beat yourself up about it. Remember: You are NOT a failure just because you didn’t finish something. (Would you rather be miserable while you slog your way through it?) If it’s a project you come to realize you’ll never finish, find a new home for it. A recent yarn swap I participated in included projects in progress.

5. Find an accountability partner, someone you check in with periodically to keep you on track. My friend and I have done this for each other, and while I originally told her she’d have to be on my back constantly, I found that just knowing I needed to report in to her gave me the motivation to get started (and once I got started, I could often work for long stretches, ultimately completing what I needed to). Alternatively, starting a blog can be helpful for some because you need to be accountable to your readers.

6. Choose not to choose. There’s a reason the quote “Variety is the spice of life” has stuck around for so long. Doing too much of one thing gets monotonous. So pick a whole pile of projects and work on one project one day and another the next. You may find that you’re more likely to get things done (and feel better moving on to the next project as a result) if you keep yourself from getting bored.
Ultimately you need to find a process that fits your style. I envy people who can work single-mindedly on a task, but I find that I function better if I let one project percolate while I work on something else, so I always have several projects in progress. That said, it does feel really good to reach the finish line! When I finally finished the ear warmer (yes, really!), I had one less thing hanging over my head. (I mean, I wanted it on my head, just not....oh, you get it!)

So keep stretching your mind by trying new things, and don't feel bad about setting things aside periodically. Instead of committing to a specific project, commit to committing in general. This will help you to keep moving forward on something, anything, and eventually it’ll all get done.

Laura works with her hands to get herself out of her head. Three years after starting to replace the baseboard in her bedroom, she's finally getting better at finishing what she starts. (Thank goodness for helpful, encouraging friends!) Check her out at www.laurajanehandmade.com, like her page on Facebook and follow her on twitter (@laurajanehm).

Enjoy the holiday weekend

2011-07-01T07:35:00.000-05:00

The Crafting Hobbit is off to see family. But don't worry, we'll start the week with a guest post.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend.

It's Alive!

2011-06-30T09:57:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to announce that the Granola Strolla website is finally live.
Check it out and let us know what you think. It's still a work in progress as we get our prototypes made.

5 things I can't believe people spend money on

2011-06-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

Ever see something and go "why do people buy that crap?" Yeah, me too.

5: Shake weights. Now lifting weights is too much, we need them to shake for us. Not to mention it looks like your jerking off your man. Hell, why not just jerk off your man. He'll be happy and it's a great time to ask him for anything you want.

4: BowFlex. Just because Chuck Norris endorses it doesn't mean you need to use it. Oh god...now Chuck Norris is going to come to my house and punch me with his third fist.

3: Snuggies. I don't want to use a blanket, what can I use that has arms and keeps me warm? Oh yeah, a sweater. Maybe I'm old fashioned because I love the feeling of snuggling in to a cozy knit blanket.

2: Hummers. Those damned monstrosities that some people feel the need to drive. Hey, if you're in the military and need to drive a car through a war zone they're great, but they aren't needed for driving around to show off your complete lack of genitalia. Nothing says "I have compensation issues" quiet like driving a vehicle that gets no gas mileage and can barely stay in one lane.

1: Car Testicles. Do you really need giant blue balls hanging off the back of your truck? Who thinks that's cool or sends a message other than "hey, I don't have testicles so check out the giant blue ones on my truck"?

A WIC coupon is not a license to treat people like crap!

2011-06-26T17:59:00.000-05:00

I'm not normally profane by any means (at least not on this blog), so you'll understand just how upset I am when I say:
FUCK YOU STOP AND SHOP! My using WIC does not mean you can treat me like I'm some idiot or a worthless piece of shit.

It's hard enough to be on WIC. It hurts our pride, but we know it's the best thing for Garrett. We do our best to make sure we get the items that are WIC approved (most stores have WIC written on the code on the displays so it's easy to figure out what is covered). I section everything on conveyor belt by what WIC coupon I'm using so everything is together.

Sometimes things get mislabeled or even misshelved, but instead of an apology I get this look like I must be a piece of shit and I've made their job a pain in the ass (although most of them have that "I hate my life" look).

Today it was milk. A fucking quart of milk. They had 3 milk brands and all were WIC approved. We've checked with the WIC office before and they told us if it is labeled as WIC approved we can get it. If something is labeled and they don't honor it we have to lodge a complaint with them. So I grab the milk. The woman at the register gives me this look and huff and says "You can only get the store brand. The other brand is WIC approved but you can't get it."
"If it's WIC approved then I CAN get it."
"Um, No"
"Get me the manager"

She huffs at me again and rolls her eyes like I'm being the biggest bitch in the world. The manger comes up and I explain it to him. They've already taken the milk I was going to get and put it back. Ben had run to get another one but grabbed the wrong size (the milk section was a mess). So the manager sends back the bagger to get the milk this time. A quart...remember we're getting a quart.
I take the pen and write down the names of the people I'm dealing with. Suddenly the manager gets this tone with me...
"I didn't do anything."
"Excuse me?"
"I didn't do anything why are you writing my name down?" Oh guy...prepare for a new asshole...
"Really, first off I was writing down the names so when I call and they ask me who I dealt with I can give them names. Second off, now I will call corporate to lodge a complaint because at no point did you apologize to me or my husband when we both said your employee made us feel like crap. No, you continue to stand here and give me that look of annoyance like somehow I am worth less than you because I'm on WIC."

The manager was silent. So bagging lady comes back...with a fucking GALLON of milk. The manager looks horrified and sends her back. Still no apology to me or Ben for the way we've been treated.

So we finish with the WIC and proceed to get our other groceries. We got 4 boxes of cereal because there is a sale where you get a free coupon for milk. I reminded Ben about it and he asked the woman at the register...
She gave him such a dirty look and said "it prints on its own". And then practically ignored him.

Now really, did we deserve to be treated like crap because we are on WIC? Would it have been hard for the manager to apologize because the cashier made us feel shitty?
Tomorrow we call WIC and the Stop and Shop corporate office to lodge complaints. Using WIC is hard enough for people. It doesn't give anyone the right to treat you like you are less of a person for it.

My sleeping beauties.

2011-06-24T18:34:00.000-05:00

I love my guys, but it seems that I love taking pictures of the two of them sleeping. Must be something about them snuggled together. It's pretty cool to see how Garrett has grown. I had a bunch more but convinced myself I didn't need a ton of pictures of my boys sleeping and deleted them.

Always crafting

2011-06-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

I'm working on an awesome project involving a vintage telephone table. I had some fabric left over so I made myself a headband.

Headbands are great for those foggy Boston days when I've had no sleep and need my hair to not look like Medusa.

What happened to the small fabric store? A find in Portsmouth

2011-06-22T07:31:00.000-05:00

I admit it, I get most of my fabrics at Jo-Ann's. They carry a great selection at great prices and send me a ton of coupons. But I honestly miss a good local store.
I've gone from looking for designers named Michael Kors and Elie Tahari to designers named Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry.
There are some amazing fabrics out there that you just can't find at your big box store. Enter The Portsmouth Fabric Company (hey, they're just as old as I am). Nestled in an alley off the main road I almost missed them but I keyed in on the sign that had FABRIC in large letters. Sure enough I wasn't disappointed. While the store is small the selection isn't. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the prices are very reasonable for some very high end fabrics (plus there is no sales tax in NH).

Can't wait to use all these nifty fabrics

I came away with a small haul of over half a dozen various fabrics (each in about a yard). I know it's a bit of a drive for Boston but I'm a very tactile person and I love feeling my fabrics before I use them for a project. They even have an online store and ship all over the world.
I can't wait to use the fabrics I purchased there. I just wish I could find a shop like this closer to Boston.

Why buy when you can make it?

2011-06-21T07:49:00.001-05:00

One of the other moms at Early Intervention showed me a blanket she had purchased for her daughter. They run $25 and her daughter loves her blanket, I had some left over minky fabric from another blanket so I decided to make one.

Forgive the quick cell phone picture

What you'll need:
patterned fabric
softer plush fabric (I used minky)
contrasting thread
a piece of ribbon (optional)

Figure out how large you want to make the blanket and how large you would like the tabs to be. I made my blanket 16" x 16" and the tabs 1" wide x 5" long. Cut 1 set out of your patterned fabric and 1 set out of your soft fabric. I made 12 tabs, 3 for each side. I used a 1/8" seam allowance but you can do whatever you are comfortable with. Just make sure you account for your seam allowance when you cut your fabric.

A ruler and rotary cutter make this part easier

This is the tedious part, sewing together those little tabs. Place a patterned strip and a soft strip right sides facing and sew 1 short side and 2 long sides together.

Now turn it right side out.

Ben helped turn them while I sewed

You can leave the top seam unfinished because that will be hidden in the finished blanket. I started tying all my knots in the tabs. You can do it later but if your tabs are shorter it may be rough.

Pin the tabs to the blanket the the unfinished ends together.

I did 3 on each side.

I wanted my minky side to be showing on the tabs when it shows on the back so I pinned them with patterned sides together. Just remember, the side you pin face down against your pattern will be the side that shows when the blanket is facing up.

The left one shows how I sewed, the right is how it will lay when finished

Sew the tabs in place with a 1/8" seam allowance. You only need to go over them once because we'll be securing them more later.
I added a piece of ribbon in a loop to one corner just like the original blanket. You don't have to do it, but it makes it easier to clip it on to something.

a fun contrasting color, left over ribbon is easy to find

Now place the minky on top of your patterned fabric right sides together. Make sure all of the tabs are laying flat against the patterned fabric.

make sure the tabs are inside like this

Now sew with a 1/4" seam allowance so you get the ends of all those tabs again. Leave 1 1/2" open for turning.

Turn your blanket right side out. Instead of doing a plain topstich I used the zig zag stitch. You could always use a more decorative stitch because it will show with a contrasting thread.

All done, much cheaper than buying it and much more personal to give as a gift.

Lila approves of her new blanket.

Here's to 7 years!

2011-06-20T07:19:00.000-05:00

7 years ago Ben and I got married in a small (very small) ceremony held by the Parent's Fountain on the SUNY Albany campus.

Our family

Our witnesses

Yup, only 6 people besides. 9 if you count me, Ben and the Justice of the Peace.

The wig looked even worse in person

We had lunch at Outback Steakhouse afterwards. Ben smooshed the ice cream sundae into my face. But I got him back.

I did have a lovely bouquet, put together for me by Ali over at The Craning Gap. Who also took all the photos on our wedding day.

To the man I love, here's to the next 7 years together.

Customer Service where I least expected it, a paper company

2011-06-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Did you know to submit trademark paperwork to the government you need to use a very specific paper?
25% cotton, white and bonded. What the hell is bonded? Which paper did I need?

Ben and I were standing in Staples thinking "the last thing we need to do is send in the paperwork on the wrong paper". So we asked the people who worked their who said "it would be with resume paper" and offered no other help.
There were so many types of paper, all by the same company, Southworth. I picked up a package to read the back for more information and noticed a phone number. So I called. The phone tree was simple and I didn't have to press a ton of buttons before Carol came on the line. "Carol, I'm standing in Staples and I need some help." She was wonderful and patient with me as she walked me through just what the hell bonded actually meant (it's a finish on the paper). Carol not only told me which products would fit my needs, but she knew which ones Staples didn't carry.

Ben was wondering who I had called who answered so quickly and gave me such amazing help. I was pleasantly surprised that I got such great customer service from the number on the back of a box. It also reminded me that when in doubt look for a customer service number.

5 things I love

2011-06-16T08:22:00.000-05:00

Or just 5 things I can't live without. (I am not affiliated with any of these companies, I'm just telling you guys what I love)

5: Band-Aid Blister blocker. It looks like a strange mini deodorant stick and rolls on the same way. But damn it, it works and I use it all the time. Especially in the summer when I'm prone to blisters. While the stick is small it lasts a long time.

4: My Camelbak filtered water bottle. I grew up in NYC and I'm spoiled by the amazingly good tap water there. I always carry a reusable water bottle but sometimes water from a bubbler can taste strange and you really don't know how clean it is. This bottle eliminates that because it has the filter built right in to the bottle. I also love the convenience of the Camelbak straw. It won't spill if dropped and I don't need to tip my head back to get a drink.

3: Spray sunblock. I have my favorite brands, but I love spray sunblock in general. I was always one of those kids who hated the feeling of sunblock on their hands. Now I can spray it on and be covered. I can cover my own back without help and do it all in a fraction of the time. It's also a lot easier to spray Garrett than to try and get him to sit still while I glop stuff on. With the locking caps we can easily carry one in the diaper bag so we're never without sunblock. There is a type for everyone.

2: My smartphone. yes, I'm addicted but I love being connected. I'm constantly online between Twitter, Facebook, all my emails and the business, I need to be connected even when I'm out and about. There are even great apps like Toddler Lock that can help keep Garrett occupied.

1: I admit it, I'm in love with my Old Navy skinny jeans. At first I thought anyone over a size 6 shouldn't be wearing skinny jeans but I soon learned.
I love that Old Navy sells Short, Regular and Long options for their sizes, it means I don't have to hem every pair of jeans because I'm only 5 feet tall.

I'm guest blogging today

2011-06-15T09:44:00.000-05:00

Check out my guest blog over at Tales of an Unlikely Mother where I talk about making grommeted headbands. You can even make them without sewing.

Easy ice pops

2011-06-13T07:49:00.000-05:00

I love ice pops in the summer but hate the overly sugared and fake flavored ones at the store. It isn't just that I have to think about Garrett and what he eats, I'm diabetic and need to watch my sugar intake.
We've got a bunch of ice pop molds, I know some people use ice cube trays but I prefer a more substantial pop.

I started with plain juices. I prefer using all natural juices with no sugar added. I went with Simply Orange with Pineapple. Even Garrett loved the ice pops, he's also a big fruit eater so I decided to blend some raspberries, blackberries and strawberries with a little milk. It would have been good just as a smoothie but now it's in the fridge. My next ice pop flavor will be watermelon.

Very refreshing

Making you own ice pops is really easy. It's just 3 basic steps.

1: Choose the fruit (or fruits) you want to use. Or skip this step and go to #2

2: Put in the blender with water, juice (for added flavor) or milk.

3: Blend and put in molds.

I like to let everything freeze overnight so I know it's frozen all the way through.

A freezer door full of ice pops

Fast, simple, delicious and even good for you.

Yum!

Busy bees

2011-06-11T18:48:00.000-05:00

Ben and I are very busy around here. I'm working on tons of sewing projects and tutorials. Together we're working on Granola Strolla. It's been a while since we've had time to work on that project, now we're back on track.
I'm hoping to have a summer full of new tutorials, projects and even a new product.

Labels aren't always a bad thing

2011-06-10T07:08:00.000-05:00

"You don't want to label your child, it will follow them through their life." This was said to me in regards to Garrett having Autism. I've been thinking about it for a while wondering why the statement really irritated me and I've finally figured it out.

I just don't see what's wrong with "labeling" him with Asperger's. Having the delays he does has helped us get him in to some great programs. All the parents in Early Intervention are more than happy to tell you what label their child has been given because they know that once they get that label they get help. I'm labeled as having asthma and anxiety, but it also means I can get treatment for both those conditions.

My labels don't define me, they help explain me a bit and have even helped other people identify with me. A friend of mine said "these same parents would be more than happy to label their child as gifted". It's true that people only want the "positive" labels and not the ones they see as negative. But that Autism label gets Garrett help so I can't see it as a negative.

I look at this this way: having this label now will help him later in life. To the point where people may never even know or at least where it will help him function better within society.

Maybe people need to stop with not wanting to label their children (no disabilities or special needs and even no gender) and just let things happen naturally.

A little video

2011-06-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

Headband tutorial revisited

2011-06-04T12:21:00.000-05:00

Last year I made myself some cute headbands. I realized that I had some silk ties I used as headbands but I hated the big bump they made when I knotted them in the back. Wait, I have a sewing machine, so I figured I could adjust my own tutorial to make these silk ties more wearable.

Ties after the ends were snipped

The biggest problem I had was that layer of foam in the tie to make it thicker. I found I could keep the shape of the tie but still sew an elastic in if I snipped some of the foam off the ends.

folding under the edges

The I folded in the unfinished edges and sewed the elastic in with a zig zag stitch.

A simple zig zag stitch

In a few minutes I had a handful of better fitting headbands. Just in time for the hot weather.

yay headband

Pillows Galore

2011-06-03T08:33:00.001-05:00

No, I haven't lost my pillow stuffing mind. This plethora of pillows started with a floor cushion. Yes, the floor cushion from this post. I have been dying to make one and decided to do it for his Early Intervention group. Since Garrett has done so well (that will be another post) I wanted to make something for the people at Bay Cove.

A fun little floor cushion for Garrett's group to share

When I brought the floor cushion in everyone was practically in tears. The director told me that their pillows were in such bad condition it was a perfect gift. So I decided to sew some pillows (twist my arm, right?) for all the classrooms/play groups.

helping separate the poly fill

Every fabric I bought was either in the remnants pile or red tag clearance fabric. I found some great combos with some help from Ben. Garrett even helped with the stuffing.

Ben was stuffing the pillows while I sewed them shut

19 pillows later I'm finished. I'm sure all the kids at Bay Cove will have tons of fun with them.

19 pillows, stuffed and sewn shut

5 things that annoy me when I go to read pages online

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

We all have them. Things that we hate to come across when go to a webpage. I use Stumble Upon a great deal (as you can see by the Stumble Button at the top of the page) and find some great websites that way. I like to check out all sorts of different blogs and look for crafts and recipes but these are the 5 things that will make me navigate away from your page faster than you can say Firefox.

5: Popups, those damned little boxes are so annoying. Whether they open another window completely or I have to find the damned microscopic X before I close the page it already tells me that you're page is going to frustrate me to no end. There is something to be said for people who force you to read something.

4: A 404 page with surfer speak. I get it, sometimes we look for pages that no longer exist or have been moved on the server. 404 errors themselves don't bother me, just the ones that look and sound this dumb. I don't need my internet to sound like Bill and Ted's Excellent Internet Adventure. I wish I had grabbed a screenshot when I saw it because it was on someone's business site.

3: No blog content. I like giveaways and coupons a ton, but I also like content. I love to read pages that aren't just reviews, giveaways, coupons and people begging for votes. I want to see what you have to say.

2: My son. It's like he knows when I need to take a few minutes on the computer to look at things or relax. It's at that moment he doesn't want daddy and has a need to be attached to my elbows while molesting them. If I stop using the computer and go to play with him he runs off to do something else without me. Seriously...it's a good thing I love this kid because he's molesting my elbows right now.

1: Music or video that automatically plays when I go to your site. IT'S ANNOYING! I will assume you are in the 90s and using some crappy midi file because you don't give me the option to play it myself. I like to surf the web while my son naps, often snuggled up next to me and having your music or video suddenly come blasting on (and I keep my speakers at 20%) startles me and everyone else in the damned house.

I'm not bias, but my tape is.

2011-06-01T08:27:00.000-05:00

I like gadgets, but I'm not the kind of girl who has to go get every single nifty thing on the market. After coming across a pattern for a bias tape bag and seeing their tutorial for making bias tape I figured I'd give it a shot. Except I didn't want to use store bought bias tape, I wanted something cuter.
Ben had given me a Jo-Ann's gift card for Mother's Day and I figured this was the perfect time to use it. I bought myself this little beauty and some extra heads so I can change the size of my bias tape.

Forgive the rest of the mess

I ended up with my own custom bias tape. I cut up a box to make little cards to wind the bias tape on. This stuff is cuter and cheaper than what you get at the store. I have so many other projects lined up (as you can see by the fabric in the first picture) I can't wait to make more bias tape.

Home made bias tape

The bag is adorable and the first new bag I've gotten in a while. I mainly use the diaper bag for my things so it's neat to not only have a new bag but one that is reversible as well.

Ben is very good at capturing my dopey face

A secret project

2011-05-31T08:26:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a special project. It may take me a while to finish it since we aren't sure if we have the space to complete it. But I'm stupidly excited because IKEA had a $1 hardware bin where you could fill a small ziploc bag up with as much as you want for $1.

Only partially full

I ended up with a ton of things to use on my project that would have run me about $30 otherwise.

A towel bag

2011-05-29T15:07:00.001-05:00

It's been in the 80s for the past few days so we've fished the beach towels out of the closet. Garrett is a big lover of all things water so we decided it made sense to keep a spare swim suit and towel in the car for him. I have this great Paul Frank towel that came in a matching back pack tote made from the same fabric. The bag had a draw string at the top that helps to keep things contained. It was perfect for the beach because I could toss my sunscreen, flip flops, water bottle and a book and head out to sit on the beach and read.

Similar to this, but with Julius on it

I decided I wanted to make my own towel messenger bag for taking to the beach or pool this summer.

I started by picking out a fun towel that was fun but not a dark color (so it wouldn't make everything in the bag hot). Make sure your towel is large enough for what you want to make. If you just want to make a small bag you could always use and old bath towel. I used a large beach towel and was able to make 2 bags.

I love the bright colors

I cut out my pieces. One bag I use the already sewn edge for my cord. On the other I cut by the fold so I didn't have to seam the bottom. I also cut 2 strips to use for handles.

A rotary cutter makes this much faster

For the bag with the hem already done on top you just need to sew the 3 sides together. Lay the pieces wrong side together, pin and sew.
If you used the fold of the bag for the bottom sew up both sides and then turn down the top and hem. Make sure the hem is wide enough to accommodate the draw string you'll be adding.

hem all the way around

Chose a cord. I have a bunch to choose from because I saw them from old pants, shirts and pajamas.

Just a few of my choices

Thread through the bag. I used a safety pin to help guide everything through. Tie the ends in a knot.

Just pull the cord to tighten everything up

All that's left to do it sew the handle. Lay the piece flat with the right side up, fold the strip in half width wise (keeping right side to right side) and sew up the long edge leaving a little open at the top. Turn the strip right side out and pin to the bag. I turned the unfinished edges under and then sewed.

Pin the straps where ever you want them to go.

Now you have a great beach tote. You can adjust the shape of the bags and length of the strap to make a bag that suits you.

Can you take a picture hun? "Only if I don't have to get off the couch"

It's been 13 years..

2011-05-27T09:02:00.000-05:00

On May 27, 1998 at 4:25pm my father passed away from Acute Myeloid Leukemia 9 months after he was diagnosed. I know, I was there. I can tell you the death certificate is 5 minutes off because the nurses couldn't get the EKG to stick to his skin it was so dry. I can tell you that eyes don't close so easily once someone dies, nor does the light instantly go out of them. You can see the pain and the heart break etched in to them. I can even tell you that to this day I feel guilty that I could not utter "I love you" one more time because I was embarrassed (which explains why I say things...good or bad...because I'd rather deal with the consequences than be haunted by not saying what I feel).

I got the call in the afternoon and my Aunt and Uncle (my father's identical twin) drove me to the hospital. When I got there my mother leaned in to him and said "She's here, you can fly away now." Within a few minutes he was gone. I was the last person he saw.

There was a file left on the computer at home (a Macintosh LC2) that my father had written before he went into the hospital for his last round of treatments. He wasn't a religious man but he said that if there was a god he hoped that he judged not by if a person prayed enough to the "right" god, but rather by the good things they have done in their life. It was at that point I lost a lot of my religion.

Garrett, my amazing little son. His name was chosen shortly after my father's death, any man I had married wouldn't have had a choice of names for our first child. Garret is another word for an attic, my father spent a great deal of time in the attic grading his school papers. So much so that the story goes: when I went to my grandmother's house and realized she had an attic I exclaimed "Oh, does grandma have a daddy too?" So Garrett it was.

Some days are easier than others. There isn't a day when I don't miss him. He touched the lives of so many people during his 30+ years as a biology teacher. There is even an award named after him "The Gordon R Gilbert Award for excellence in Environmental Sciences".
I wonder how he'd feel about my cloth diapering. I wonder what things he would have done with Garrett. I wonder if he'd like Ben. I wonder why my father and not his brother (who has no children). While that may seem horrible I think he wonders sometimes himself.

But most of all I wonder what I would have been like if he was alive. Would I have Garrett? Would I be as strong as I am now? Would he have been proud of me? That last one kills me...I would give anything to hear my father tell me he's proud of me just one more time.

1932-1998

I miss you dad. And I can't ever say enough how much I love you.

5 Things I Wish I Had Space to Craft

2011-05-26T10:00:00.013-05:00

Something fun for Nice to Tweet you Thursday!

Ever see some great crafts and say "man, I wish I had a place to put something like that"? I do all the time. Here are my 5 favorites that I wish I had the space for:

5: Making my own chalkboard paint to make a chalkboard wall. How cool would this be in a play area?

4: A nifty rug. I'd love to make my own personalized rug for each room to match the personality of each room. There just isn't space for it. But they sure are cute.

3: Painted upholstery furnitire. It sounds weird but looks really cool. What a great conversation piece.

2: Floor cushions. I swear I would cover the floor in these. They would also be perfect for a play area because they are good for sitting, climbing and jumping on.

1: Re-purposed play kitchen. This is so amazingly awesome and I really want to make one for Garrett.
From this:

To this:

A humbling experience

2011-05-25T08:22:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to burst in to tears in the WIC office and I'm positive I won't be the last. The past 2 months have been hard on us and June holds a new hurdle for us, paying completely out of pocket for our health insurance. If we use COBRA we'll be paying $1600 a month. If we go through BCBS we could save $400. It's still expensive and not easy to do when you have a mortgage and other bills to pay. Especially in Massachusetts where we are required to have health insurance.

Last week we broke down and applied for SNAP (food stamps). Today we applied for (and received) WIC and well as sent off our Mass Health applications. The woman at the WIC office assured me it was ok to be on WIC and need assistance. I just kept apologizing. For Ben and I it's very hard to get to this point. Ben was laid off during my pregnancy and despite having to declare bankruptcy we managed to make sure there was enough money (with some help from the family). Now it's different, we have Garrett and his needs have to be met.

The reason we do this

And we sit there and look at our little guy, our reason for everything and we know we are doing this for him. Because it's hard for anyone to be on these programs. I'm not saying anyone should be ashamed, there is no way in hell I would be ashamed of doing the best for my child. But again it's hard because we want to give him the best without relying on programs to help us.

Edited to add: We went to the grocery store to use the prorated checks (our period starts on the 28th of each month because of Garrett's DOB). We got $26 worth of groceries and only ended up spending 45cents. It's going to take us some time to get used to our guidelines and weigh all our produce because we have to stick to our allotted amount. Ben and I both felt a little mortified going through the store and checking our WIC checks to see what was covered. But the truth is we got a lot of food that will make sure that Garrett has a full tummy and in the end that's the most important thing.

Best teething toy ever

2011-05-24T07:27:00.003-05:00

And it's not really a teething toy.

Garrett is getting his second molars and suddenly wants to chew on everything. It's not so bad when he chews on his toys but a big problem when I pull things like my Zombie Tiki USB drive out of his mouth.

Do NOT anger the Zombie Tiki!

I also had to tell him that Adipose is for squishing and not for chewing.

"I'm waving at fat"

We were going to give him a freezer pack to chew on when Ben realized we have a bag full of reusable ice cubes shaped like citrus wedges. Garrett took to them right away. They were the perfect size for him and the cold has really helped his gums.

Reusable ice cubes

And he looks hysterical.

mmm...cold

and the perfect size for his little mouth

20 minute toddler pants

2011-05-23T16:22:00.000-05:00

Or in this case shorts. I've already made Garrett a pair of pants but I wanted to make him some shorts. I found a great cotton print and didn't really want to line them. There's a super simple pattern for making pants/shorts that I found. Even easier if you make them from an old shirt.

Check out those abs

Since I didn't want to use an old shirt I had to hem the bottoms as well as the waist. They look adorable on him and Ben calls them his "golf shorts". Now if only it would stop raining here so he can wear them.

Playing with daddy

A new bag for an old bag.

2011-05-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

And I swear my mom is going to kill me for that title. But at least she has a spiffy new bag. I found a great home decor fabric in the remnant bin, I couldn't pass it up and had an idea for a bag. When my mom visited for Mother's Day I showed her what I wanted to make her and she loved the idea. The pattern is from One Yard Wonders, a great book that has given me tons of projects.

Finished bag wrapped around the chair

The catch was that mom wanted a different fabric for the interior which meant a trip to the fabric store (twist my arm) for the remaining items needed for the bag. I'm glad I was able to go with mom to get everything else we needed so she could pick out the zipper and the webbing. This way I knew she'd really love everything on the bag.

The lining fabric and pocket

The pattern was really simple and didn't take a long time. I'll admit that I hope mom gets lots of compliments so she can reply "My daughter made it for me."

A blog hop to kick off the weekend

2011-05-20T18:03:00.001-05:00

Hoping everyone is having a lovely weekend.

The winner of our magazine giveaway!

2011-05-20T17:39:00.002-05:00

I know this was supposed to be posted earlier but we got caught up in crafting stuff. With no further adieu here is the winner:

Corey Bartlett! Congratulations Corey you really worked for your entries. I've contacted you on Twitter as well. Make sure to email me so I know which subscription you'd like and your info.

We'll be doing another giveaway when we reach 100 blog followers.

Everyone else is using the potty so why can't we?

2011-05-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

I'm seeing it now, all the parents of children in the same age group as Garrett are posting about how their children are using the potty.
Here I am still trying to get my son to communicate to me that he wants a drink or food and other kids his age are on the potty?

Sometimes it does get to me, I have that moment that I'm doing something wrong. Garrett used to follow us in to the bathroom when we went. He has a potty in there and we'd sit him on it while he was in with us and tell him what we were doing (which meant poor Ben had to sit down every time Garrett joined him in the bathroom).

Garrett's lonely red potty

Then I remember Garrett is different. He'll get it when he's ready because he's a smart kid. Heck, I'll take a happy, good in restaurants, self sufficient toddler who doesn't have huge issues when mommy and daddy aren't there over a child using the potty before 3. I remind myself that Garrett is just now learning how to communicate with us and expecting him to use the potty is just unfair. I am learning to be more realistic of my expectations of him. He already does things like brush his own teeth.

Brusha, brusha. brusha

And we never know, he could decide he's interested in it but with everything else we're working on we don't feel the need to push it. For Garrett that's the best choice.

Marriage and Autism

2011-05-19T08:43:00.003-05:00

"Hun, how do you think your autism affects our marriage?"
"It doesn't, we have issues like any other married couple."
"You don't think that most of our issues stem from the autism?"
"No"
"What about your inability to ask for help, or your lack of communication? Or even the tone you use without realizing it?"
"Ok, I get it, I didn't think we were that different."

And the truth is we aren't that different. I spent the first few years of our marriage not knowing about Ben's Asperger's. It came out just before Garrett was born when we were at counseling. Yes, we did marriage counseling and it was the best damned thing we did. We aren't ashamed of it and it has really helped us.

Before Ben told me I didn't really know what autism was. (It also wasn't a diagnosis when he was a child so he wasn't diagnosed until his 20s) Like many people I thought autism meant I was stupid and unable to interact with society on any level. (It also didn't help that as a child my brother used to chase me around the house calling me autistic just to upset me.)

A lot of changes have been mine. I had to learn how to communicate with Ben differently than I communicate with others. I made to make sure to tell him that it's ok if he needs time to himself or help and give him lots of opportunities to ask for help and basically reminding him that he can ask for help. With Asperger's it just doesn't occur to him to ask for help so I've learned to plant the suggestion.

Ben does have a problem with tone. Using in or distinguishing it in others. He'll often respond to people in the tone he perceived they were using. This has caused a few problems, especially online. He also gets defensive very easily but I find that reminding him that I was just asking him a question and he was not under and sort of attack seems to help.

It really isn't the different. Like any other marriage it will only really work if both parties are willing to put the effort in to it. Since Ben and I both want to be together we both work on this.

I just remind myself that Ben needs a little more patience because it's harder for him to completely change the way he thinks.

Don't forget to enter our magazine giveaway. A winner will be chosen this Friday 5/20 at noon.

A blogworthy request

2011-05-18T13:30:00.002-05:00

Thursday I was supposed to get together with Ali over at The Craning Gap. Sadly she had a migraine and had to cancel, as one who suffers from migraines I completely understood.
This was what she tweeted me:
"please do something fun so i don't feel sad. something blogworthy so i can read about it. "

So here you go Ali, we had some simple fun on Thursday. I just didn't have a chance to get the pictures off the camera sooner.

Old school wagon

The weather was lovely and Nana (Ben's mom) said she had a surprise for Garrett. We went out in the yard to find an old fashioned wagon. The bottom was a bit rusty so we cleaned it and put a blanket down for him to sit on. Garrett then made sure that I got lots of exercise running him around their yard.

Run, Mommy, Run!

Then Nana pulled him for a bit.

Chillin' with Nana

And of course he had to push the wagon himself.

Garrett's turn

After that I decided to leave Garrett with his grandparents and take some time to myself. I haven't really done this and usually don't know what to do with myself but I figured I need to get used to doing things without Garrett. Especially since if we move out to Pittsfield we'll have several available baby sitters.
So I get in the car, start driving. Garrett is playing with Nana and doesn't seem to care that I left. Ben was at his interview so it was just Garrett and his grandparents.

I get about 15 minutes down the road, realized I had forgotten my wallet and had to turn around to go get it. I guess it's going to take time to get used to going out without a diaper bag.

Don't forget to enter our magazine giveaway. A winner will be chosen this Friday 5/20 at noon.

Wordless Wednesdays - Last Year's Halloween Costume

2011-05-18T07:49:00.002-05:00

Can you guess who he went as?

Don't forget to enter our magazine giveaway. A winner will be chosen this Friday 5/20 at noon.

Blog it Forward Tuesday

2011-05-17T07:49:00.001-05:00

Introducing Blog It Forward Tuesday! A blog hop and giveaway linky hosted by Just Married with Coupons and Sweep Tight.
The concept of this blog hop is the same as any other – to meet new bloggers and gain more followers. But, what if we took it a step further?
The idea of the Blog It Forward theme is to not only gain more followers, but also do something a little extra for each other (pay it forward).
Instead of just following each blog, take an extra minute to do a little more. Some examples could be…referring them to your facebook friends, tweet about them, stumble a post, add their giveaway to a linky…get creative. We all know how busy us bloggers can be, so little things like this are really appreciated! Here are the simple rules:

Follow both hosts – Just Married with Coupons and Sweep Tight – via Google Friend Connect. Make sure you leave a comment and we will follow back.
We would love it if you could grab our button to spread the word! The more people who know, the more fun!
Follow any other blogs that may interest you.
Blog it forward! Just one random act of niceness to another blogger can go a long way. If you get a second, give it a try!
Don't forget to add your giveaways to the second linky, too!

The linkys will open every Monday at 7:00pm CST. You only need to add your link to one linky for it to show up on all participating blogs.

Enter Your Giveaway Links Here:
Don't forget to enter our magazine giveaway. A winner will be chosen this Friday 5/20 at noon.

It just isn't the same Sesame Street.

2011-05-16T10:04:00.009-05:00

I was watching "Play with me Sesame" with Garrett and he seems so enthralled. Burt and Ernie came on. Burt was the same but Burt was...happy. I remember the days when Burt was grumpy and Oscar really was a grouch.
What happened? Did they pass out Prozac on Sesame Street? Was it so bad that children were exposed to characters that weren't always the happiest? I was always taught that Oscar was a grouch because he was so dirty and Burt was frustrated because Ernie was a little bit of a pain. And adults still couldn't see Snuffalupagus so I felt special that I could see him because may parents would play along and leave the room before he came on.
Does it really make it better for children to show only happy characters? I end up worrying that it's because parents don't want the responsibility of teaching their children so now Cookie Monster is in danger of becoming Veggie Monster. We watch TV together here so we can interact with Garrett while he watches. I'm sure when he's a little older he may watch on his own but we still plan to talk to him about what he sees on TV.

I guess it's time to buy the DVDs of the original Sesame Street. Maybe even some Shalom Sesame.

Magazine Giveaway

2011-05-16T08:34:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to enter our magazine giveaway. A winner will be chosen this Friday at noon.

I never get my own bubble bath...but it's ok.

2011-05-15T17:05:00.000-05:00

I decided to take a relaxing bubble bath but I made too many bubbles. I called Ben in to the bathroom to ask him how I could get rid of some when Garrett followed him in. He's never seen so many bubbles and smiled so widely that I couldn't make him leave. Hilarity ensued as you can see.

These things are nifty.

They stick to my hands

And my head

At this point Garrett decided he wanted to climb in and join me

So daddy stripped him down and he got in the tub

Bam! right in the kisser

We all had a good laugh

And Garrett gave me a snuggle because he didn't want to get out

Wazzup! I'm taking a bubble bath

The (very clean) End!

Sunday Funday Blog Hop

2011-05-15T08:31:00.000-05:00

It's a rainy Sunday here so why not participate in a blog hop.

Saturday Blog Hop with the Mom Pledge Blog

2011-05-14T07:52:00.000-05:00

Every Saturday on The Mom Pledge Blog (beginning in April), they host a blog hop for their members. Participants must be:

Displaying the Pledge button prominently on their blog
Linked up on The Mom Pledge Community page
Following The Mom Pledge Blog

"It's a great way for our members to get to know each other better! We are a community, after all."