Cute, Easy, Cheap = Awesome crafty gift!

Okay, so my friend turned 30 recently and it was supposed to be a big suprise party.  Well, since money has been tight lately, not knowing what to get him/bring to the party for him (what do you get a 30-year-old, anyway?) I remembered a cute little crafty/edible gift I saw on one of the many crafter's blogs I follow.  Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures as I went along in the making, but I will explain it.

You will need:

Shoebox
Curling ribbon
Wrapping paper
# of suckers per age
(would be handy to have a cricut or other letter cutting machine)
Foam blocks
Tissue paper
Hot glue and tape

Wrap the shoebox in the wrapping paper.  Cut the foam blocks (I used the green floral foamy stuff) to fit snuggly inside the box.  Glue foam pieces together and wrap the top of the foam with the wrapping paper also using the hot glue.  Using the curling ribbon, tie a small tie on the stick of each sucker and curl each one.  Then place them randomly in the box, poking the foam.  If you have a cricut, cut out the words as you'd like and tape them on.  Adorne with tissue paper to suit.  Voila!  Done.  Easy peasy, rice and cheesy.

Feet!

What do you do when you have eight newly clean little feet, a camera, and Adobe Photoshop Elements?

Take a picture, of course!

Here's what I took this morning before church since all of the kids just took showers/baths.  Why not take advantage of that?  Then late tonight I decided to play around with it a bit, only took me ten minutes...woohoo!  I'm getting the hang of this!

Not a professional job, I know, but I love how it turned out =]

Hair Accessory Holder Thingy

Okay, so today I had two dilemas.  One, something crafty to do.  I was just itching for it.  Two, to organize ALLLLL the hair ties that my two daughters collectively have.  Then BINGO!  I remembered a blog some time ago that my husbands super uber crafty cousin made and thought hard...do I have all I need for it?  YES!

I started searching her archives for a tutorial on how to do it (unsure if she even made a tutorial or just simply blogged about it).  I was unable to find it so I had to kind of come up with it on my own, with a little tweak.  I remember that all of the holders I've seen only cater to the hair ties that clip on.  None of them had anything for pony tail holders, headbands, etc.  So I came up with a solution and took pictures step by step along the way in case any of ya'll were interested in doing it for yourself.  It would also make a super cute baby girl shower gift or birthday girl gift too!

The dimensions of mine is quite large 24" X 30" because I have two daugthers with different hair needs.  I also thought it would look super cute if it had a distressed frame around it, but I don't have an extra at the moment.  I may add it later.  So anyways, here's the tips!

- 24" X 30" pegboard
- 1 package of 7/8" cup hooks (my package had 100, I think I ended up using about 34 or so)
- Scissors
- Sewing machine
- Hotglue gun and sticks
- Ribbons of all sizes and colors long enough to run over the height of your board you choose
- 1 yd. felt
- 1 yd. fabric for background

Cut felt and fabric around the perimeter of the board leaving an excess of about 1 1/2" all around.

If you're using masonite pegboard like I did, you'll need to sand what will be the backside of your board around the perimeter so the hotglue will adhere to it nicely and not "pop" off sometime in the future.  Make sure to clean it well after sanding.

What I chose to do was sew a diamond pattern with my fleece and fabric.  This step can be entirely eliminated if you choose.  I just chose it because I felt like it.

Next I sewed all my ribbons on with an approximate equal spacing between them all.  I sewed both ends and trimed the rest off.

Then I had my older daughter help me hotglue it onto the backside.  Super easy and quick part.  I would approximate about 3 small sticks worth.  I used 1 1/2 long sticks of glue.

This was my alteration and solution I made for the other miscelaneous hair accessories that everyone else seemd to leave out.  I added the hooks to hang all kinds of things on.  Of course, for the masonite, I had to pre-drill the holes then find them again after hotgluing the fabric on.  LOADS of fun.  But it worked out in the end.  Maybe somebody out there would have a better solution to the hole issue.

Finished project!  Now I don't have to search and search for "just the right thing" anymore =]

Nappys! (a.k.a. Cloth Diapers) . . . Tutorial

Okay, so a few months ago I was having a pleasant conversation with a friend of mine while visiting in Oregon and she mentioned looking for cloth diapers to use for her first child.  I must admit, I was very wary about the term "cloth diapers".  But recently, out of necessity, I found my mind wandering back to that conversation.  I then soon found myself vigorously trying to find some on FreeCycle.org.  But no luck; nobody wanted to give away their $17+ each diapers (yes, they really do retail for that much per diaper).  However, considering what you would pay total per child for disposables, the upfront cost in the long run really is a good steal.  BUT, after getting no response on FreeCycle, I decided I would make my own.

It will probably run you about $200 to make 24 nappys and 24 soaker pads.  HOWEVER, if you are coupon savvy and wait for sales you can do it for half that cost.  If I had started with my first child I would have saved around $5,000.  Plus, it's easier than it used to be.  They sell adjustable high pressured sprayers that connect right to your toilet plumbing and hang on your wall so no icky messes!  Get a good, wide standard diaper pail with a lid, fill it with a water/vineagar solution and you're good to go!  Oh...no drying these diapers in the dryer though because of the all-in-one feature.

A kind sister started me out with some folded diapers by Gerber, 2 packs, 48 diapers total.  I took half of those diapers to make 24 diapers and have 24 inserts (for when baby gets older and need extra soakers).  This tutorial includes the Nappys that are all-in-one (meaning, the vinyl is included inside the diapers rather than using rubber pants) and not the inserts which are pretty simple and self explainatory.  Nappy should fit up to about 25 pounds or so depending on the individual body shape of the child.  Naomi is petite so I have no worries about her.  Mind you, this tutorial is no where near professional as I was figuring this out as I went along.  Plus I don't have a fancy shmancy camera, but I like what I got!  So anyways...to those that are interested in doing the same thing OR just interested in how I did it...here you go!

Items Needed:

2 Gerber 24 Pk. Cloth Fold Diapers
12 Linear yards Iron-on thin Vinyl (found at JoAnn's)
24 Fabric Quarters (or 6 yards of fabric if you want all one style)
LOTS of thread!
13.5 Yards of thin elastic (approx. 1/8" wide but not wider than 1/4")
3.5 Yards wide Velcro

Take this pattern here and cut liberally around it on the vinyl.

Next you need to follow the directions of the vinyl for attaching it to the backside of the outer shell of your diaper fabric.

Once ironing is done use the pattern to cut out the fabric pieces.

Take your store bought folding diapers and use the pattern to alter them.  *side note* I had to use excess from the soakers I made from the other 24 fold diapers to attach to make the tabs wide enough for the pattern.

Take the two pieces (outer shell and fold diapers) and attach them sandwiching the vinyl side between the outer shell and diaper.

Cut the velcro into 5" sections and alter anyway you like (I rounded mine) and attach.

Serge around edges of nappy.  (if you know how to do something fancier, go right on ahead!)

Okay, these next two steps I did my way because I'm totally NOT a savvy sewer and this is what worked for me.  Using the dots indication on the pattern for reference, sew some channels for your elastic to go in.

Cut small holes where dots indicate being careful NOT to cut into the outer shell.  Use a safety pin on one end of your elastic, push it in on one end, sew the end down then push the pin the rest of the way gathering the edges and pull it taught.  Sew the other end and snip excess elastic.  Make sure to stitch the cut holes closed.

You're DONE!!

All 23 done.  (yes, 23 and not 24, I totally destroyed the first one I did).

And the model shows off her stylin' nappy  =] 

A Date with the Pediatric Neurologist

So today was Naomi's appointment with the neurologist. Since early on, we have noticed that she was exhibiting some weakness in her muscle tone. Not holding her head up, not rolling over, not anchoring down her arms when picked up, not standing when holding her up on your lap, etc. The pediatrician had requested lab work on her and also set up an appointment with the pediatric neurologist.

As you can imagine, we had been anxiously awaiting her appointment today for the last couple of months since it was first set up. I am happy to say that I'm glad the waiting game is over and we can now go on with our lives the best we can.

Today, Naomi was finally properly diagnosed as having Benign Congenital Hypotonia. Essentially, muscle weakness. You can find out more about it here . We have a follow-up appointment for October to monitor her to make sure it doesn't worsen. By all counts, she seems to be just fine. Her lab work came back clean too. But if it does worsen, they said they want to watch it to make sure it isn't a sign of Muscular Dystrophy or Cerebral Palsy. However, we are hopeful (and feel pretty sure) that her Hypotonia is isolated.

So...yay for prayers and well wishes =] Thank you everyone for all you have done in your own way to help us out. We REALLY appreciate it.

Splash Pad!

Today we went to a splash pad not too far from where we live.  I want to try out the other one on the other side of the town later this week.  They are pretty cool.  I like how I don't have to worry about anyone drowning and it's easy to keep an eye on them.  Plus there's playgrounds right near them too so it makes for fun picnicing as well.  Here's some pictures and a couple of real short funny videos of the evening we had.

Be Still

You'll have to pause the music player I have on this blog page to hear the song on this video.  I hope you all like it and it can bring you peace, should you need it.  It's something I felt inspired to put together last night.

Through Stormy Days

I don't know about you, but there are days when I'm just ready to quit.  I've had enough.  I can't take it anymore.  There are days when I'm just so tired of having to deal with what I've been handed out and I think to myself, why can't I just skip this part we call the earthly experience and go right on to eternity?  But then I sing songs like "Be Still My Soul", or I ponder art work aimed at Christ, or I read poems such as the one I have posted in this blog.

Some years ago I complained to a friend of mine that there must be something wrong with me, because the Lord hadn't really given me any difficult trials to overcome.  I kid you not, shortly after that, trial after trial started snowballing and hasn't stopped.  Be careful what you ask for!  But honestly, these trials, I am (in the end) grateful to have for two reasons.  One, because I know that the Lord must have tremendous faith in me and my abilities and what I can handle.  And Two, because they make me who I am.  They shape me.  They get me ready for the hereafter.  This poem is a help to me when I feel the need of words of comfort in especially down times.

What God Hath Promised

God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through;
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

by: Annie Johnson Flint

Goodbye Pluto

Today our family said goodbye to a canine companion we've had for several years now.  Because of circumstances beyond our control, we had to give Pluto up for adoption.  He will be missed by everyone in our family and even some friends.  We chose what we believe to be a great home for him with plenty of acreage to run and play.

Goodbye Pluto!  Thank you for being a loyal and fun-loving part of our family.  No dog will ever replace you.

Dishwasher War

So today (after having had a mentally and physically exhausting day) I was doing dishes before cooking dinner.  The dishwasher was just emptied and I was getting ready to load it.  One second, I'm surveying the dishes on the counter and the next second I hear a scream next to me.  Emery decided to take out the bottom rack, set it on the floor then, for reasons unknown, did a face plant onto the rack poking his right eye near his nose.  I quickly look down to see a little boy bent over, face in the rack.  It took a second for my brain to register just what had happened and then another second to register the possible outcomes.  I quickly grabbed him and examined his eye.

He had a big hole cut and was starting to bleed quite a bit.  I held him for a minute and he stopped crying.  Then I notice about two minutes later that blood was starting to come out of his nose.  I called my neighbor to get a second opinion on what I should do because Emery was no longer crying and his eye movement was normal.  So were his pupils.  She was gracious enough to volunteer to take me to insta-care to get him checked out.  My fear was that he had puncured all the way through and damaged something, especially since I had no idea how far he was poked.  I was also worried because he had already been experiencing his R.A.D. symptoms lately and anytime something big happens with him like teething or R.S.V. or Pneumonia or something it gets worse.  His osats today were 89/90.  About what I figured.  So looks like we get to battle with the nebulizer tonight (Emery loathes that thing).

Long story short, there is no lasting damage done.  It did not go all the way through the second layer of eyelid, just the first (didn't know there was more than one).  They were able to glue it shut instead of having to use stitches.  Thank goodness!!  A couple hours after getting home I started noticing bruises on his left side...poor thing!  Some people would say the dishwasher won.  I say Emery did.  He was a trooper!!  I hope tonight goes smoothly for him...and me.

Little Miss Naomi Update

So a few weeks ago Naomi had her two-month check-up (although she really was three months old at the time, we were in Oregon when she turned two months).  During that check-up I brought to my pediatrician's attention that Naomi wasn't lifting her head up on her own nor using her shoulder muscles.  She also hadn't turned yet.  I still have to support her head and I can't pick her up under her arms yet or she will slip through if I don't have a good grip.  The pediatrician explained that since Naomi was about a month early she has a corrective age.  So really, even though she was three months old, her corrective age was two months.  The pediatrician didn't seem overly concerned about it at time but did say to keep watch and gave me some tips on how to help Naomi out.  She did refer me to early intervention to have physical therapy come to the house and work with the baby.

Well, today she had a follow-up appointment.  She is now four months old (3 months corrected) and 12 lbs.  Having noticed that she's done a "little" better, she still has a long ways to go to catch up.  While she did show off for the pediatrician today, it wasn't what we had hoped all around.  So we have an appointment set up with the neurologist down by Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake.  The pediatrician wants to rule out thyroid issues or other things.  Still waiting on an appointment with early intervention too.  So it's a waiting game for now.  I'm a worry wort.  What can I say?  I hope it's nothing and that she is just a little behind and will catch up.  Socially, Naomi's doing wonderfully and even a hair ahead of what she should be, but physically, I can't help but fear it's something that is lurking inside her.  I'm sure I'm overreacting and I sure hope I am.  But prayers would be appreciated for the next month as we await our appointment downtown.

Other than that, she's such a doll.  Always smiling and cooing and even laughs at times if I'm "really" funny.  Her hair is still spazzy but we love it!  She's my little petite babydoll.