June Sewing...

So one of my goals before going back to work is to sew stuff.  I had a home economics class in 8th grade where we made a pillow and I made a few things for barbie dolls when I was a kid.  However, that's about all the sewing that I've done.  I enjoyed learning how to sew better with the projects that I did this month.  

At the associate store, they have had this fabric for several months.  It was only $5 for 10 yards.  That's a pretty good deal since usually that's how much it probably would have cost for about one yard.  I'm happy it was good fabric.  I've bought a few things there where the design pretty much all faded after I washed it.  :(

So... what did I make?

 ironing board cover

I can't find the original tutorial that I used for it, but there's a lot of them.  It was simple to make and it works.  We don't have a standard size ironing board, so I'm glad I could make it.

more car seat cover straps .  

I made two sets of these.  I ironed a set and the velcro melted!  Not cool.

 1/2 inch wide double fold bias tape

I've never used it before, but looked like it would be fun to make.  I have a project that I plan on using this for.  

A new pillowcase for David.  I didn't use any tutorial for this since it was pretty simple to figure out. 

 a reversible toddler boy apron 

I adjusted the measurements to make it toddler size based on this tutorial.

There's all kinds of cute stuff for girls, but not much stuff for boys.  David liked it and I think he'll be able to use it for a few years.  

Potatoes from our garden

Yummy potatoes...


Now what should we plant where the potatoes were?


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Puzzles

David loves wooden puzzles. I bought 3 at a thrift store for 75 cents and thought they might be too hard for him. However, he is able to do them all on his own. They are great prizes for going potty. Although he doesn't ask for prizes anymore. Lately he has been doing great with his potty training and the only time he gets a diaper is when he goes to sleep at night. He has even woken up dry a few mornings.




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Friday Photos

I bought some Tovolo Ice-Cream Pop Molds, Set of 4 and made some yogurt popsicles.  I randomly blended plain yogurt, bananas, orange juice, frozen strawberries, and frozen pineapples.  David liked it a lot.  I thought these were a lot of fun and look cool.  They were easy to use and weren't very messy either.  :)

Kayla enjoyed bouncing in her jumper.  We're so glad Kayla jumps in it.  We thought it had problems because we never saw David jump in it much.  

David has been wanting to get in Kayla's crib and play with everything for a while.  I decided to let him today.  He was excited and stared at the mobile for a while and pushed every button there was to push. 

Here they are playing with the Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Crib-to-Floor Activity Piano.  

8 Months Old

 Kayla weighs 15 lbs 14 oz today.  

 Stuff she does:

• rolls everywhere
• turns on her tummy
• started growling .. haha. I need to video of this.
• wears size 6 months or bigger.  Baby clothes are odd.  Depending on the brand she can still wear 3-6 months, but some 6-9 months are too tight.  She's short and chubby.
• size 3 diaper
• 3-4 naps a day that are around 40-60 minutes.  
• still nursing 5-6 times a day.
• Eats solids twice a day.  I usually give her rice cereal with some fruit for lunch.  At dinner she gets veggies.  She's not a very picky eater and likes pretty much everything.
• We've given her banana and watermelon in a this little feeder. 
• Sleeps from 8pm-6am.  Sometimes she wakes around 5am to nurse then sleeps till 7.  Or she'll wake up at 6 to nurse and be up.  
• She's getting teeth.  The 2 bottom front teeth are coming in.
• teething...reaches for everything and tries to eat it.
• She watches everyone and everything.  She has problems napping if there is anything going on around. 

Thanks to Jennifer Hood for the cute dress!  :)

Why?? ... Why?? ... Why??

David has started asking Why? after everything.  I knew it was going to come, I was hoping it would be later.  It's a little annoying.  I guess I should just be thankful that he doesn't say huh? all the time anymore.  

David fell on his face at preschool yesterday.  Ouch!  It looks worse today than it did yesterday.

 Kayla has been breathing heavily lately.  She's also been making a weird gasping noise a lot.  So, we took her to the cardiologist today.  The doctor says this is all normal for a baby in her condition.  We got to see our regular cardiologist this time who always has a very positive attitude about everything.  He said we didn't need to worry about anything.  If you look at her, she looks normal.  The only thing we'll start to notice is that she'll start turning bluer around age 3-6.  Then, she'll need another surgery.

Her pulse ox was 83 and blood pressure was in the 90s.   

Making Organic Baby Food

Since I'm staying at home, I figured I should make baby food for Kayla.  I attempted to do this when David started eating baby foods, but he was picky and sensitive to certain foods.  I was also working which discouraged me from using up my free time to make baby food that he wasn't going to eat.  Kayla hasn't had any problems eating the stuff I make, so I get some satisfaction out of making it for her.

Since I bought a variety of organic vegetables and fruits, I save no money.  It might even be more expensive than buying the organic jarred baby food.  I buy some frozen bags like corn, green beans, sweet peas, and butternut squash.  Other things like apples, pears, mangos, sweet potato, and carrots are bought fresh.    

I have the book Blender Baby Food: Over 125 Recipes for Healthy Homemade Meals which I recommend if you're going to make baby food.  It has simple instructions and stuff that is easy to make.  I have other books, but this one seemed to be the best.

This is what I did for the apples today.

1.  Peel and chop 8 apples.

2.  Over medium-low heat, bring apples and 1 cup water to simmer, covered, stirring occassionally, until apples are very tender.  I did this for about 30 minutes.

3.  Transfer to blender and puree until smooth.

 4.  Transfer to ice cube trays.  Let cool.  Place clear plastic wrap over them and put in freezer.  It filled 2 ice cube trays and a small 2 oz container.  Each cube is about 1 oz.

When they are frozen, place in a ziploc bag.  Be sure to label and date it, so you know what it is.  Here's some of my frozen goodies.

I have some baby food containers like Baby Cubes 2 Oz. Baby Food Storage Contains no Phthalates, Bisphenol-A, PVC (2 Pack) and Fresh N Freeze 2 oz. Reusable Baby Food Containers 12-Pack, but I have found that the ice cube trays work the best.  This way I can mix the cubes together to make different recipes when I microwave later.  They are easy to store, and I also don't have to keep up with a bunch of lids and containers afterwards.  I've had a couple containers get eaten by the garbage disposal because they're so small.  :(

Goals Before Going Back to Work

So I've decided to return back to work in late September.  There are several things I want to get done before I go back.

Lose 15 pounds.  
I haven't gotten back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  I gained a lot more when I had Kayla than when I had David.

The numbers...

160.  This is the heaviest weight that I was when I was pregnant with David.  It is also the weight that I was when I came home after giving birth to Kayla.  I was around 170 when I gave birth to her...I stop keeping track after 168 because I didn't want to know anymore.

135.  Current weight.  I told myself before I had ever been pregnant that I never wanted to be over 130, so I at least need to lose 5 lbs.

120.  Goal weight.  This is what I was at when I was in college and when I feel the healthiest.

112.  The lowest weight that I was after I gave birth to David.  It was easy to drop the pounds with David.  I was in the best shape before I got pregnant with him.  I exercised 4-6 times a week for over a year.  Breastfeeding helped me lose the baby weight.  Then when I couldn't eat dairy products, it was like I was on a diet.

I figured if I put the numbers out here for everybody to see maybe I'll be more motivated.  I plan on eating less sugar...no ice cream for me.  :(  and exercising.  I want to be able to wear some of my old clothes for work.  I hate shopping when I feel fat.

Get rid of stuff in the house.
Kids accumulate a lot of stuff.  They already have more than I had when I was growing up.  The kids keep growing, so I keep buying books, toys, clothes and needing to get rid of the old ones.  I plan on consigning at Rhea Lana's, making boxes for ThredUP, maybe having a garage sale, craigslist, and then donating everything else away to Goodwill.

Sew stuff.  Be crafty.  Maybe even decorate or paint a room.
Lately, I've been following some crafty blogs.  It's amazing how much stuff is out there.  It started when I saw a pillowcase dress that looked simple and looked for some tutorials.  There are so many blogs and tutorials to make just about anything.  So by the time I go back to work, I want to have made Kayla a cute pillowcase dress.  I might even make a sunhat, but those look really difficult.

While looking at tutorials, I came across this Kid shorts pattern and made David 2 pairs of shorts out of some old shorts that his daddy had.

Here he is wearing the shorts.  He even picked out a shirt today that goes with it.

I guess another goal would be to not let the plants die.  The tomato plant might be on its way.  I think losing weight might be easier than keeping some of them alive.  Ha!

I also found a reversible car seat strap covers tutorial that doesn't require bias tape.  They were super easy to make.  The hardest part was choosing the fabric.  I adjusted the fabric to be 6" x 5" for our chicco infant car seat.  I might make more for the other car seats.

Kayla likes them.  The old ones weren't very easy to take off.  Almost immediately after I washed them, Kayla always seemed to spit up on them.  These are much prettier and have velcro on them so they are easier to put on and I can reverse them if I get bored with that pattern.

brown with pink polka dots on the other side.  

I also hope that I might get around to painting or decorating one or both of the kids' rooms.  Their walls are quite plain.  I did manage to make some letters to hang above Kayla's crib.