Cocktails and Crafts - Owl Baby Bib

This week we decided to take on crocheting. I "learned" to crochet when I was about eight years old with my Grandma but it wasn't until I was on bed rest with Gianna that I really got into it. That being said I know the basics but wouldn't want an expert looking to closely at my work.

My poor friend Jayna got her first lesson from me and even under my guidance she did amazingly well - even going for the hdc2tog on her first project.

I tried to find a beginner pattern and found the Owl Bib from Lion Brand. Owls seem to be everywhere right now. Jayna had great taste in colors - fuchsia and navy (also the same colors I picked).


The intended cocktail was called a Howlin' Owl - yes, the theme was intentional. The original recipe goes like this:
1.5 oz Coconut rum (off to a good start)
6 oz Sprite
1 splash of grenadine syrup

We didn't have grenadine so I substituted blueberry juice and diet 7 up. Prepare yourself - you may never hear this from me again... it was a little too sweet for me! Next glass I ditched the blueberry juice and 7 up and went for good ole coconut rum and orange juice. I guess they can't all be winners.

I think it is adorable but think it would make a cuter wash cloth. By repeating the body pattern you could seam the front body to back and make a cute little pocket wash cloth.

Poor Gigi - she has a fever but still was a patient little model for me.

Children's Literature Wish List

When I was pregnant someone told me that I wouldn't have time to read anymore. Luckily, they were wrong. I still get to read, just not as long as I like and I read A LOT of children's literature.

My kids love books which makes me very happy (even when I have read the same one over and over and over again).

Some of my favorites include:

• We're Going On A Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury
• Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
  Karma Wilson (Author)

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  (Author), Jane Chapman (Illustrator)
• Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Bill Martin Jr. (Author), Eric Carle
  Eric Carle (Illustrator)

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  (Illustrator)
• The whole How Do Dinosaurs... series by Jane Yolen
• The whole Dr. Seuss collection
  
• and Max's personal favorite - Truckery Rhymes by Jon Scieszka

I have to admit though - I am looking forward to reading them chapter books. Last night I started to make a mental list of everything I wanted to read to them and came up with the following list:

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• The complete Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum
• The complete Ramona series by Beverly Cleary (I really really want the original covers!)
  
• Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
  
• Hollow Tree in the Deep Woods by Albert Bigelow Paine (which my dad used to read to us)
  
• The Indian in the Cupboard Trilogy by Lynne Reid Banks
• Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

I feel like I just wrote out my Christmas wish list! What am I missing?? What would be on your list?

Beading

Last week's Cocktails and Craft was inspired by one of my favorite craft blogs - LollyChops. Since we already had most of the materials thanks to the previous week's embroidery project, we thought we would give beading a try.

The cocktail - Malibu Bay Breeze
Shot of coconut rum
Cranberry juice
Pineapple juice
It is like summer in a glass!!

The materials for the beading project:
Fabric
Hoop
Size 11 beads
Nylon thread
Beading needles - not as easy to find as we thought, hard to thread and easy for me to break (so get extras)
Pattern

Once again I moved the pattern and got a double image on this 12 month tank for Gigi.

I found it very slow going and hard to make a straight line when I wanted it straight and hard to make a curve when I wanted a curve.

Here is Jayna rockin' out a great butterfly - haven't seen the finished project yet...

Here is my finished tank. It took me ALL DAY to get that little thing done. I don't see a lot of beading in my future but think it will be nice to be able to embellish embroidery projects with some beads if I so choose (makes me laugh to think about embellishing an embellish)

Embroidery

I am a bit behind on get these posts up but since they are related we will just pretend that it was all highly thought out...

For this Cocktails and Craft session we decided to tackle embroidery! It seemed like an inexpensive craft that could be easily put down to chase little ones. I found this great book called Sublime Stitching by Jenny Hart and also got the Craft Pad by the same author. I love these books because they offer simple instructions and Mexican wrestling masks and tattoo inspired iron on patterns. I don't think I would have been nearly as interested in trying embroidery if all I could choose from were flowers and the days of the week.

The drink this week - the classic mimosa. I think this drink is so yummy but also makes you feel not so bad about consuming alcohol before noon since it is considered an acceptable breakfast drink.

Ingredients:
Champagne
Orange juice

Combine in whatever combination you feel good about and enjoy. You are supposed to serve in champagne flutes to make the bubbles last longer but I don't own said flutes so juice cups it was!

We all picked these cute little birds to start off with.

Simply cut out. Warm up fabric with iron, apply transfer to fabric and hit with the iron again.
NOTE TO SELF: Do not move iron around a lot because it will create a double image as you will see on my finished project.

The image after being ironed on correctly...

Here is my friend Jayna's finished project. She worked on a knit which was a little more difficult but the finished project is really adorable.

Here is my first attempt. (Notice the double image) I also had to watch a couple YouTube videos to figure out how to make a french knot but in the end victory was mine.

After learning how to embroider I then started to search my closet for things to embellish - this could get dangerous. I foresee some Mexican wrestling masks on my husbands underwear in the near future.

My "First" Birth

When I was laid off from my job in marketing communications I took that as a swift kick in the pants to start a career doing something I love. I knew I wanted to be able to stay at home and raise my son but I also knew that would need something else to make me feel complete.

Giving birth truly transformed me as a person. I read everything I could get my hands on about birth and knew that this was the road for me. I often have to stop myself from inundating pregnant women with information because I just want them to know.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009 and I was sponsoring a toLabor Labor Doula training in Boulder, CO. Through the training I realized that I had found my place and made the right decision with this career path. But because I was about 31 weeks pregnant with my daughter at the time of the training I knew all I would be up for in the near future would be completing the testing and required reading and the necessary six births would have to wait.

Fast forward again to May 11, 2010 and I feel like I have come full circle with my training and hopes for my new path as a Doula. I attended my first birth! It was a homebirth, her fourth child and it was so amazing to be part of. Humbling really. I hope that I was able to offer that family the support and love they needed because they definitely filled my heart and spirit with the knowledge that I had made the right decision.

I don't want to get too mushy but for a while I felt like I was floundering out there wondering how I was supposed to live my life. Thank you to that wonderful family for letting me have a place at their birth. I look forward to watching that little girl grow.

One down and five more until I am completely certified!!

Baby on a Dirt Bike

I know, I know... baby on a dirt bike - "How dangerous!, Where's the helmet?, Are you nuts?"

Now that we got that out of the way, check out Gigi with her daddy on the dirt bike. If it makes you feel any better I could walk faster than their top speed and she LOVED it. You can't see it in these pictures but she actually had on a KTM onesie under her orange outfit - totally not planned but kinda pointless since you can't see it in any of the pictures.

Do dirt bikes come in pink?

I dunno mom...

Proud poppa, happy baby

weeeee