Checking In

We're still buried in snow, but the sun is shining and there is hope of spring. That also means that spring break is coming! Although, that makes a financial dent in our lives, I'm sooooo thankful that we get to have my David home for a whole week! We hope to take a little day trip to go scope out some property for some of my family, I have my (hopefully last) road test booked and we plan to spend some great family adventure times together. Let's get to what's been going on:

• Micah is 9 months! I can hardly believe it. He's cruising (slowly) around my furniture these days and he's so proud of himself when he pulls himself up that he gives a little giggle. So cute.

• Remember when I told you that one of my favourite teas had been discontinued? Well, apparently it isn't in the states, so a friend of mine recently brought me home two boxes! *sigh* It's been lovely!

Honey Vanilla White Chai Tea - Celestial Seasonings

• I won another blog giveaway! Thanks, Heather for providing the pattern and thanks Make IT Snappy for hosting the giveaway. I am looking forward to giving it a try. Interested in your own? You can find the pattern here.

• We filed our income tax on Monday and we'll be getting a decent refund. Some of our plans include to replace our printer (it will be here tomorrow - yippee!), build a triple bunk bed for the littles, cover financial baby step one and begin our snowball! It's pretty exciting!
• My blanket is on pause. I purchased yarn on sale (BOGO), but I don't like the colours with the ones I've already used. No yarn budget right now, so it might be awhile. It thrilled me to bits, though, when my Malachi "demanded" a snuggle with the blanket. He was so cute, playing with his toes in the holes and saying things like "hey, green! Hey, purple!" etc.

• I have 9 small all in one diapers that I didn't need. Two were finished, but seven have two more steps to be finished. I've decided to finish them up and sell them. I'm just waiting for my supplies to come in. It would be nice to make a little cash and to actually have them used instead of sitting with my fabric (taking up valuable real estate). 

• I have another mei tai on my sewing desk, no, not to replace my lost one, but for a new baby.
• Abby goes downstairs most weekdays after lunch to play. My friend and neighbour looks after two boys after kindergarten for a couple of hours and invited Abigail to join them. Every time she hears a sound from downstairs she blurts out "Is that the boys?" Abby has grown to really look forward to her times with "the boys". Here they all are sitting on their snowmen.

• Abby picked out a card for me last time she ran errands with her Papa. It had to be a musical card! It was so sweet of her, she insisted on the card for the song and didn't realize that she got me a baby congratulations card. Abby, by the way, wants another brother and a sister. No comment.

It's Been a Busy 3 weeks!

Wow! Where do I begin? Here's the I-may-only-get-a-few-minutes-to-write blog post:

Malachi is now 24 days old... unbelievable!

My Mom had 2 weeks to visit and it's already over (insert sad face here)

 (Malachi as Baby Jesus in Bethlehem LIVE!)

Our church's production of Bethlehem LIVE! had 5,347 visitors this year  - Malachi was baby Jesus for 7.5 hrs in total and only missed 2 tours because he needed to eat... he did great! There's a great radio broadcast featuring this Winnipeg treasure here.

CLOTH DIAPERS (started over 2 years ago) ARE FINISHED!!!! This was a huge team effort. David cut, measured, purchased materials and got up early in the morning with Abigail so I could sleep. Mom spent many many hours sewing (including a couple of all-nighters!), also watched Abigail and Malachi so I could rest and even stitch ripped out my I'm-so-tired-I've-made-the-same-mistake-twice mishaps. Mom also purchased mis-measured (the few measurements I made) supplies and late night snacks. What started over 2 years ago is finally done and I don't see myself sewing any more diapers... ever!!!

(Late night sewing with my little helper)

My serger that David found at a garage sale for me last summer was serviced as a Christmas present and is up and running!! Now I just need to learn more than the basic function of it.

Malachi's birth story still coming, and might happen soon (now that things are slowing down... a bit)

• We are hoping to move in the new year... hoping we can get into these apartments in February... in suite laundry - hello!
• With all that's gone on this past month, I feel like I've already had Christmas - full of many many blessings!

I'll leave you with a family picture outtake...

... FAIL! (Twila, we need you!)

Nesting... a new concept to me!

Photo credit

Well, we are just over a week away from our baby's due date (Nov 21st) and I've been nesting like crazy. This concept was completely lost on me until recently. I had heard people talk about the phenomenon before and I always thought that it was just for people with lots of energy. Oh no! Apparently you can nest out of exhaustion, too. I am tired and I can't stop!

This week, David rearranged our bedroom to make room for the nursing chair and a bassinet. I finally sorted and put away the few boy clothes that we have (I haven't done any shopping for Malachi yet, as I want to make sure I don't buy too small etc). Last night with David's mathematical genius, we cut out all the size large diaper blanks (yes, I am still not finished, but Mom is coming to help me out - hooray!). I have a bit more diaper flannel to buy for soakers, but thanks to David's math genius, I even have leftovers from the batch I bought for mediums. Details here.

Today, David helped me to cut up recycled clothing into usable panels of cloth. I also whipped up a little hat for Malachi and a cloth bag for the baby shower gift I shared a few posts ago. Sorry no pics :( About the cloth bag... have you heard about the "Green Grocery Bag Challenge"? A simple and effective challenge that I'm very excited about.

The challenge is this:

Wrap your holiday gifts in reusable cloth grocery bags.

That’s it! By doing this simple thing this holiday season you will cut down on the amount of wrapping paper entering the waste stream, while also getting multi-use bags into circulation. Not to mention the fact that your gift recipients get a bonus gift that they can use all year long! It’s win/win for earthand your loved ones!

I love this idea. It's super fun to sew bags to give, but if you don't sew, skip the gift bag from the dollar store and go down their household aisle and purchase a cloth bag instead. Every store I know of sells some form of cloth bag at the checkouts and most of them are around $1. If you sew, but don't want to take the time to sew the whole bag, why not embellish a store bought one instead. I whipped up this little card to attach to each bag in explanation. (Feel free to use it if you want to).

More details and links to free tutorials here.

Tonight I made three Mexican Lasagna Casseroles (from this cookbook) to freeze and I hope to finish this post and get back to my sewing machine. I have a rare evening to myself (I stayed home from our bible study group - trying to avoid the cold bug before I go into labour). Abby's in bed and I have plans to make a pair of these.

Phew, I'm glad Malachi's almost due, because all this nesting is exhausting (even if it's a little fun!)

Summer Sewing

So, another baby was born in our church. I love these little shoes because they make such a nice welcome gift and they're fairly quick and easy to do. If I sew sleepy then I find myself stitch ripping, but if I am alert and paying attention then they're a quick sew. I used this tutorial again. I should mention that I use fusible fleece sandwiched between fabric for the sole and it makes a nice solid but soft bottom. I also like these shoes because they stay on Abigail's feet - a feat which not all shoes or slippers can say.

I have sewn 4 other things in the last month. 1 is a bag for my umbrella stroller. I have to remake it as I didn't give myself enough seam allowance and it's too tight. The other 2 things - a ring sling and a non diaper bag tote bag for my friend who has a baby on the way. In my excitement to give these gifts, I forgot to take pictures first *sniff* *sniff*. I fell in love with the bag and will be making one for myself and will show you pictures of it then. In the meantime, see what arrived...



...yup, more diaper sewing - the drama continues! On the diaper front: I sold the diapers that I ordered and decided to bite the bullet and make more. I love these diapers too much to balk at the work of making them. Really, these are as easy as disposables, so much better for the environment and there's something satisfying about your baby wearing something you (with the help of Mom) made! I did the math and it's half the cost to make my own and that's just too big of a price difference not to give it another go. I've decided to make 16 medium sized diapers. I've been working with 17 smalls and it's been plenty. I ordered all orange fabric - no guessing which is which size and the last time I ordered a gender neutral fabric kit, I ended up getting pink and blue in the kit. I'm still deciding what color to do large diapers in, maybe red or green - we'll see. Now that I know what I'm up against, I'm just gonna grit my teeth and get 'er done. Wish me luck. Oh, and side note - I'm looking to borrow a serger for a week or so - any ideas? UPDATED TO ADD: My friend, Jenni and her mom are lending me their serger - hooray!

cloth diapering

Okay, so I've been cloth diapering Abigail for about 2 months now. I am a part time cloth diapering mom, as I use disposables when we go out, but I am loving it. Okay, so I thought I'd write a post with some thoughts for anyone who might have questions. First off, I'm going to send you to Simple Mom's blog, because there was a great series of posts on cloth diapering with great FAQs and reviews, so check it out!

I sewed my own cloth diapers (or more accurately, my mom and I sewed them - thanks, Mom). I used this pattern and got fabric from here. We have been working off of 17 size small all in one diapers. In my opinion, these are as easy as disposables with the exception of doing an extra load of laundry every other day. I do find that Abby soaks through at night and so I use a diaper cover at night, though I might try a doubler in the future. As much as I love these diapers, I didn't want to sew more (I'm a creative sewer, not one of necessity). I did some research a found a WAHM business and ordered 20 one size pocket diapers. Much drama later (I won't go into it all here) I finally got them. My first impressions? I should've sewn my own. Not all home businesses are good or good quality. I also don't like the sagginess of the one size sized down to Abigail's size. Grrr! If I could do things over again (and maybe I will for our next baby) I would stick to sized all in one diapers. Now I have 20 diapers that I need to make work for the duration of Abigail's need of diapers. My beef with one size pocket diapers - they are saggy in the crotch area, the insert shifts and leaves her vulnerable to leaks - yuck! There are many good arguments for pocket diapers... less drying time, re-use the cover and just change the insert, less diapers mean less cost, but I just don't like them. I am hoping that I get used to them and don't forever regret this purchase.

I am still really happy with my diaper pail liner in my diaper genie. I just sewed a simple bag with an elastic opening that I slip over the old refill ring for the genie. It works great, though I am thinking of putting a zipper in the bottom for easy emptying.

Moral of the story: Cloth diapering is great, but you need to find the system that works best for you and not everyone else - ask lots of questions and maybe try something like the "test the best" program.