mending

Two weeks ago, my (one and only) fitting pair of maternity jeans started to slowly rip right next to the back pocket. It looked totally fine when they were off me, but the rip was pretty obvious when they were on me. I had hoped to make it to capri-pants season without having to purchase another pair of jeans, but in this case - with my unmentionables peeking through - I went and bought a new pair.

Once again properly attired, I started to think about what I'd do with the old pair. I remembered seeing a tutorial on messy jean-patching on some blog somewhere (of course I can't find the link now) and figured I'd give it a try. Basically, you sew a patch behind the rip and sew some crazy zig-zags to attach it. Messy and fun.

inside

outside

on my backside

It was quick and easy AND it gave my pants new life! I'm pretty pleased with myself. I now sort of wish I had used a differently-colored thread so the mending would be more visible. Maybe next time...

crafties

I've been doing some knitting. This cap (still needs to have the ends woven in and ties added, but let's call it finished just for now) was one of those troubled projects... first, I had to do all sorts of fancy math to get the gauge right. Then, I made a mistake and decided to start over (but that happened all of 15 rows into it, so it wasn't such a grave loss). Then I made another mistake later that required some really focused thinking to figure out how to repair. Then I took the whole project to San Diego with me, only to discover that one of my double-pointed needles was missing. Once I found that needle (after some semi-desperate searching and frantic emailing pleading with people to look for my needle at their houses), I finished the rest of the hat without incident. Yay!
Except - that's supposed to be sized for a 6-months-old and it's almost big enough for my 3-year-old to wear.
I like the pattern so much, however, that I've decided to keep trying to recreate it smaller. Knitting goes well with watching Downton Abbey, so I've been rather productive on that front - I think the one I started this weekend will be a good newborn size.

A friend of mine is having a second baby - a baby doctors told her she would probably never have, which... yay! For her baby shower, I decided to get a little something off the registry and add in a few little handmade things. I always have the compulsion to give something I made, but I always doubt that it's "good enough." It's kind of silly - people are usually impressed (or pretend really well that they are) when I give them something I made... I should really get over it.
So - I made a cute little owl onesie (the shower had an owl theme, and there were tons of owly items on the registry, so I decided to go with it). I couldn't find cute owl fabric to sew something from, so I bought an iron-on transfer instead and ironed it onto a onesie. To go with that, I made a cute little pair of shorts out of some knit fabric I had in my stash. To top it off, I added a teeny pilot cap I knitted a while ago. It's mercerized cotton yarn (fair trade organic, blah blah blah), so it should be just right for a California spring baby - not too hot. Cute, no?!

This is crafting-unrelated, but cute. My most recent photo trick is to tell Noah that he CANNOT be in the photo. "NO!" I tell him. "Go over there! You can't be in this picture! What... NOAH! Get out of my way!" I get the best photos of mischievous giggles this way.

tour de San Diego

Last week, Noah and I loaded up the car and drove (and drove and drove) to San Diego. It was one of those days when California went way overboard with The Pretty. I found myself tempted to adjust the rear view mirror so I could gawk at the mountains as I was leaving home. It had rained the day before, but now sky was bright blue, and dramatic little clouds were clinging to the peaks of the snow-covered mountains. Then, when we got to the ocean, there was more Pretty (this time, I pulled over to take photos):

vulture

windy self-portrait

Our next stop was the Wannabe Hippie Estate. Noah was extremely excited about feeding the chickens:

all photos stolen from Elaine's flickr stream - thank you

After we fed the chickens and visited with the humans for a while, we headed out toward Crowderland, where our kids gleefully celebrated their reunion with the traditional Screaming And Running Around.
The next morning started with bacon and pancakes...

 ... and continued with a hike at Torrey Pines State Reserve, where California dazzled us with The Pretty once again.

more windy self-portraiture

 After our hike, we hid in the trunks of our cars to eat lunch (it was windier than we'd expected), and then headed down to the beach.

Twenty-eight weeks, you guys! Time is going by fast.

The boys had to climb.

And because that hadn't been enough fun yet, our next stop was a sunny playground where we met up with Elaine and her girls.

And then we pretty much fell into bed exhausted. Except for the part where Bonnie and I accidentally stayed up past midnight talking and giggling. We made up for that by staying in our PJs until 11 the next morning, lingering over breakfast/coffee and doing more talking and giggling.

I made Bonnie a TARDIS pillowcase as a hostess gift. And because I'm not the only nerdy crafter between the two of us, she had made me a TARDIS pottery ornament. It was an unintentional TARDIS-exchange. <3

It took us all weekend (and beyond) to sleep off all the fun we had, but it was so worth it. Thank you for having us, friends!

mood lifter

The last couple of days have been Not So Easy. Jetlag, heartburn, laundry piles, jetlag, a new tendency to whine (not all mine), hormones, jetlag, jetlag, dealing with a jetlagged child, hormones...

Venting is good, but dwelling on The Not-Good Stuff makes it worse, so here's a list of things (in no particular order) that are good:

1. Friends. Who listen and sympathize and share their own struggles.

2. A child who says the funniest things. (The other day, we were walking along and he stopped, lifted up his right leg, and twisted his foot. "Mama? This foot... it didn't get any food at breakfast!")

3. A husband who doesn't take it personally when baby hormones combine with jet lag to make you cranky.

4. Sunshine. Trees and leaves and flowers and clouds. Things that are blooming.

5. Making things. Learning (again) how to knit a heel on a sock.

this one reminds me of Shaun the Sheep

6. Driving with the windows rolled down, with sing-along-able music on the radio.

7. The vanilla-roibos tea I bought at Mountain Rose Herbs.

8. Newly organized kitchen storage. (On Sunday, I accidentally pushed a jar of pepper out of the crowded spice cabinet, which inspired me to clean and reorganize the whole shelf. And then that streak continued with the pantry and The Scary Drawer on Tuesday.)

9. Realizing that I feel completely comfortable ignoring the unfolded laundry. It'll eventually get folded - until then, it blends right into the visual fabric of my house.

10. Being mostly over the jetlag and back in our own time zone. Nine hours are a big difference, and jetlag-tiredness is like a drug.

You? What is chasing the shadows from your life?

(Even though this doesn't follow the {phfr} format, it is all about contentment, so I'm linking up at Like Mother, Like Daughter.)

7 Sachen

(Not quite every) Sunday, 7 photos of things I used my hands for that day.
Today, last week's 7 things that I haven't gotten around to posting because I was traveling.

chopped a bunch of veggies

cuddled and played

played a fishy game

had cake with home-grown cherries

gave Noah a bath

did some clicking on the iPod

read a good book

Secret Agent Josephine Gg print winner

Forgive me, blog people - I completely dropped the ball on telling you who won the print give-away during Brenda's book tour!

Random.org chose comment number 6, which came from Christy at Jinxyisms.

Christy, I'll be emailing you to find out your mailing address, and then you should get your print in the mail very soon! Congratulations!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Pretty:

One of my Christmas presents - a quilt that was made by my mother-in-law's mom and grandma. Click on the picture to read the full story behind the gift.

Happy:

Noah at the airport, watching our plane being loaded up with luggage and food.

Noah and I are in Germany, visiting family! We've recovered from our jet lag(s) (which took a bit longer for me this time because I managed to catch a cold when I was really sleep-deprived) and are having fun with Omi and Opa, Aunt Inka, and other assorted family members and friends.

Funny:


Inka gave Noah a camera for Christmas, and he's been taking photos of everything. He captures things from an angle we adults have never even really considered, so it's been fun to see his photos. He's got a few blur issues because he lacks practice in pushing the buttons without moving his camera-holding hand, but he's taking really interesting - and sometimes funny - pictures. The self-portrait you see above is one of many. Seems like he's been paying attention during 7days!

Real:

you can read more about this photo on flickr - just give it a click

After some elaborate calculations (and a bit of quick googling), I realized the other day that I'm in my sixth month of pregnancy! As in, five months are completely DONE!
I'm sure that by the end of April, I'll be singing a different tune, but for now I'm ready for time to slow down just a tad. I have diaper elastic to replace and a quilt (for Noah, ahem) to finish, among other things!


Pretty, happy, funny, real is the brainchild of these ladies here, who are encouraging their reader to find contentment in the everyday perfection and imperfection of life.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Pretty:

pyramid in motion

window star

oranges with cloves for smelling good

There's been quite some decorating and crafting around here! The pyramid is imported from Germany - my parents brought it when they spent Christmas with us here two years ago. The best part of the pyramid was the look of wide-eyed wonder and happiness on Noah's face when he saw it in action for the first time.
The window star is just something I whipped up the other night (she said smugly). My grandfather made these stars with great precision (or so I perceived it as a little girl). Each point is folded individually and they are overlapped and glued together to make a star that you can use and re-use during Advent and Christmas season for years. (As long as the sun lets you - they can get pretty bleached out.)
Noah and I made those oranges together. The cloves were a lot pointier than I remembered, so I was actually surprised how long Noah stuck with it. He's got a lot of determination.

Happy:

my hand looks fairly mutant-ish here

Gingerbread was made last Sunday afternoon. I've not had much luck with gingerbread in the past, but this turned out really well. So well, in fact, that it's almost time to make more! It goes without saying that Noah was an enthusiastic little helper. I'm hoping that he'll soon grasp the concept of not cutting one cookie out of the center of the rolled-out dough... but I'm not holding my breath. He's three, after all.

Funny:

leaves!

Real:

There are a few things that are too real for me this week, but photos don't exist of any of them.
Perhaps you can help me with this: I'm taking a water aerobics class two nights a week now. I really enjoy it, but the pool is very chlorinated. I'm usually in the water up to my chin (because the air is kind of chilly), so I end up breathing in the chlorine fumes for an hour while I exercise, and it's burning the mucous membranes in my nose and throat, which is surprisingly painful. Do you have any ideas what I can do to protect myself or at least stop the pain more quickly? I lay awake in bed at night after class because my throat burns. Not good.

Pretty, happy, funny, real is the brainchild of these ladies here, who are encouraging their reader to find contentment in the everyday perfection and imperfection of life.

tree

7 Sachen

I'm jumping on the 7 Sachen* bandwagon - an idea from the lovely Frau Liebe. Every Sunday (or sometimes Monday), 7 photos of things I used my hands for that day.
Unfortunately, I didn't remember the project until late this afternoon, so more than half the day went undocumented.

 Baked gingerbread boys with my human boy. (Turned out delicious if a little spicy. Hello, Cardamom!)

Rinsed a lot of dishes, which makes me grateful for my dishwasher - at least it does most of the work!

Stroked my growing belly.

Tried on every sweater I own, found out that not a single one is long enough for me AND baby to wear it.

Played some Christmas music on the piano.

Harvested one of the little mandarins from our little mandarin tree. My tasters tell me it was delicious.

Lit the second candle on the advent wreath. Christmas is going to be here and gone before we know it!

* 7 Sachen is German for "7 things."