Your Baby Can Read: 5 Weeks In

Eden loves the second video! And by loves, I mean she gets upset when I try to sneak in the first video instead, but she still gets very distracted throughout and really only pays attention during the songs.
I AM concerned about two things she's being exposed to through these videos: a girl who sthpeaksth with a listhp, and really bad poetry. Dr. Titzer, the creator of the YBCR program used his daughter Aleeka for many of the voice-overs and video demonstrations. That's all good and well, except that "The seal is sleeping." becomes "The stheal isth sthleeping." The second version is not really how I would like Eden to say it.
There are both songs and poems on the videos. Songs are fine (Eensy, Weensy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know it, and the like), but the poems... ew. Why didn't they just do some nursery rhymes or something actually written by a poet. Instead it's "Lauren is reaching for a toy, and Brendan drinks from his bottle with joy." With joy? Ok. i understand they want to incorporate the words they are learning into the poem, but I would think they could have done better. I could have done better. There, I said it.

My Business Venture

I'm proud to announce the beginning of Creative Co-Motion: Movement Classes for Kids!
Check out the blog here and tell me what you think.

The Craft Bug Bites Again

Here's a close-up of the belt I made this morning. I nominated a little-used belt from my closet to donate it's rings for this belt. At least the rings can have a better life now and I may be able to find a use for the previous belt as trim of some kind. The fabric I used is extra from my laptop sleeve project. Yes, I'm attempting to make a laptop sleeve for my MacBook. I don't guarantee I will actually succeed, but I'm going to try. Hopefully, i will think that project out a little better than this one. You'd think a belt would be simple, but noooooo, not for Miss Ultra-Novice Sewer here.
I knew enough to know that I needed to sew the right sides of the fabric together in a tube and then turn the tube right-side out, but I found out that it's a little difficult to turn it right-side out when you've sewn both ends shut.
There was another mishap that would be too hard to explain without pictures (I should probably document with pictures next time, so that everyone can share in the painful process with me). After I remedied that issue, I discovered that, because of my idea to use the two rings as my closure method, when I tried the belt, the wrong side of the belt showed on the end I pulled through the rings. So, I had the seam showing that I had so cleverly hidden. *sigh* I'm sure it's not that big of a deal and no one will notice, but I was just reminded of the fact that I shouldn't aspire to sell my work any time soon. Man, that would be way too much pressure. I can live with all my little mistakes, but I would want others to have to.

Next, I have for your viewing pleasure an almost completed project for baby Arielle. Once again, this is actually an attempt at a slightly different project gone wrong, but I'm a good salvager.



I was trying to make pants for Eden from the other fabric also leftover from my laptop sleeve. I made them plenty long enough, but the waist and hips are so tiny, I couldn't even pull them up past her thighs. Suddenly, they became Arielle's instead of Eden's and since I had to cut off the bottom of each leg to make it shorter, I thought I would just complicate things and try to add a little accent fabric at the bottom. There was only one issue with adding the fabric at the bottom, but I fixed it so you can't tell from the outside of the pants. (Once again, totally unsellable.) The only thing left to do is add the butterfly fabric as an applique to a 3 month onesie I pulled from Eden's stash. The question is; do I attempt the applique myself, or pay one of my friends who has done it before $5 to do it?

Easy as Pie

A random gift to my husband. He loves peanut butter flavored desserts. I never bake... and still didn't to produce this. It was so easy, I had to share. (Although, I realize I've probably stumbled on this recipe long after everyone else has already seen it, but just in case...)
Here it is.

N.M.M.

I didn't re-gift a clothing item at a baby shower yesterday. I never re-gift anything. Not me.

I don't forget or almost forget my own mother's birthday every year. I didn't forget to send her a card this year and I most certainly didn't forget to call her until it was past my parent's bedtime on the night of her birthday because Chuck happened to remind me what day it was. No sirree, that's not like me at all.

AND I also didn't forget my parents' anniversary this year (which was last month) and only find out when I called my mom to wish her a belated happy birthday. sigh. Not me.

Spend Thrift

Chuck mentioned today that although we didn't eat out this week as much as we did last week, I may have spent the money we saved on crafts.
Oopsy.
But crafting things SAVES you money right? Because everything I'm making, or plan to make are necessities and we would have had to buy them anyway... well, not exactly. It's more like I'm making things that I want to buy, but are frivolous costs and I can do them cheaply myself. Things like a new dress for Eden. ($3 shirt from Goodwill + 50 cent bit of trim) Or a new purse for myself. ($1.50 fat quarter + $2 pack of buttons + embellishment using leftover fabric from Goodwill shirt) Or another hairbow. (using another scrap of leftover fabric from the same Goodwill shirt + glue and hairclip I already had) I just saved, like $50! and gained sewing knowledge and pride for my handmade items. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

The New Do

I've been really frustrated with my hair ever since the last cut I got.  The hairdresser used the thinning shears all over and the razor on parts and I ended up with damaged looking thin hair (in my opinion).  I was flirting with the idea of cutting it shoulder length to re-grow it thicker, but put it off because I didn't want to do anything on a whim, especially while pregnant.  Well, it's been several weeks now and I was due for a trim.  I'm still frustrated almost every day at how thin the ends are and it bothers me that it doesn't look thick and full.  It just disappears to nothingness when I run my fingers through it.  I've made do by letting it go wavy/curly, but that means I have to put a curling product in it and that makes it ineligible for my husband to play with.  Although it is very easy to do it that way, and I do like the way it looks, I'd grown used to the option of straightening it and I felt I didn't have that option any more.

Without further ado, here is what my NEW hairdresser and I decided to try today.  Chuck was shocked and feigned a faint when I got home, but it'll always grow and I know whenever it does get long again that I'll be happy with it.  As for now, I can enjoy my fun, sassy summer cut and have the option to go straight or curly.