It’s ridiculously hot over here. The kind of hot that you wake up in the morning with big plans and can’t accomplish anything that might take you away from your refrigerated air. I love how mild El Paso’s weather is most of the year but the Summer months are torture. Seriously, who can function in 100+ degree weather?! Not me, that’s for sure. I’m tempted to try my hand at The Small Object’s Neck Chill. Who cares about looking good when you’re melting?!

Hope everyone has a cool weekend!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Zak the Robot Quilt, June 2009, Cannon Rebel XT

Finally uploaded the “Zak the Robot” Quilt tutorial! Jump on over to my other blog to check it out. I must warn you though, I’m a total beginner when it comes to quilting and even more a virgin at quilting tutorials!

So crafters beware…you’ve been warned.

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

My herbs arrived yesterday! They made my mailbox and entire house smell so beautiful. I bought them from Jen’s Enchanted Garden on Etsy which made things so easy. I just messaged her a list of the herbs I needed as well as quantities and she sent me back a quote on how much it would cost. It was all so reasonable, I threw in the necessary items for an herbal bug repellent as well!

As soon as I get some Sweet Almond Oil, I’ll get started with this recipe for Calendula Diaper Cream. Which also makes an amazing hand cream I’ve heard!

Last year I got an email on how to make an Herbal Bug Repellent while I was on some sort of natural pregnancy email list. I’ve had the email saved in my in-box for more then a year now. I tried to find the same recipe online but couldn’t find any sources so I’ll just post it here so that I can finally delete that email!

Herbal Bug Repellent
What you’ll need:
2 cups catnip, stemmed
1 cup dried peppermint
1 cup rosemary, cut into 6-inch sprigs
2 cups grape seed oil or almond oil

Directions:
Place herbs on a cutting board or counter, and lightly crush them with a rolling pin. Place them into a clean glass jar with a screw-on lid. Pour in the oil, seal the jar and place in a cool, dark cupboard for two weeks. Lightly shake the jar once a day for two weeks. Strain into a clean jar, seal and refrigerate (it will keep for up to 8 months). To use, rub on exposed skin.

I think there’s a crockpot infusion method that speeds up the time from 2 weeks to something like a few hours. I think I’ll give the crockpot a go, the mosquitos are killing us over here!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Well, that’s it. Can’t turn back now. Jackson is officially on solids.

Granted, his “solids” looked and tasted like horchata (you were right, Eliza!) but they definitely did something funky to his poop so it counts. I really wanted to wait until six months even though he was showing all the signs that he was ready at four and a half. Turns out he was just going through a growth spurt and all we had to do was wait it out.

I’m kinda excited about putting all the information about making baby food to good use. I’ll be freezing and storing some of his food but we’ll mostly just give him fruits and veggies from our plates. Good for him and good for us! It’ll definitely help us get a variety of veggies in our diet.

Here are a few of the websites I’ve found for making baby food:
- Wholesome Baby Food
- Baby Food 101
- Homemade Baby Food Recipes
- Nurture Baby

What are some of your favorites?

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Well, Jack Jack, you’re officially six months old and it’s time for Mama to do the obligatory sappy, “Letter to Her Son” blog post. My hope is that years from now you’ll read this blog, see just how madly in love your parents were (and still are!) and how that love created this magical little being…you.

(Oh and if along your journey through this blog you should come across any posts that hint at large amounts of alcohol being consumed just be warned, alcohol will rot your brain and make your hair fall out…you want proof? Just look at your father.)

Dear Jackson,
Six months ago you came into this world quite in a rush. Five hours at home and fifteen minutes in the hospital…you were so over this whole labor thing and ready to get your life started. You, of course, were a seasoned pro right from the get go. It unfortunately took your parents just a little bit longer to get the hang of things.

I’m not going to lie. That first month was rough. Between breastfeeding pains, complete exhaustion and mourning the life we use to love, your mother and father wondered on more then one occasion if they were capable of being the parents this dear baby boy deserved to have. It’s hard to see the end of the tunnel when an 18-wheeler is about to run you down, you know?

But, as they say, everything passes and that terrible first month gave way to the most amazingly large gummy smile ever! And that was it. I was lost. Head over heels madly in love with you. Sure, I was still in a huge amount of pain and you really didn’t start sleeping well until 3 and a half months but you smiled and my world lit up.

Everything after that is so much more a blur. Days are made up of smile and giggles, giggles and smiles. Some cries here and there, of course. But we made it, Little One. The five of us (Zefram and Clover included!) are a great team. Now instead of wondering if you’re ever going to sit up on your own, I’m dreading the day you learn to stand up and walk away.

Ah, the paradox that is motherhood: wanting to give your child all the tools to grow and yet wishing he would always stay your sweet baby boy.

I know you came into this world in such a hurry, dear Jack, but don’t do it too fast. Mama’s trying hard to remember every single precious moment with you.

Love,
Mama

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Tutorial: How to Sew Your Own Produce Bags, Craftystylish

I’ve been wanting to sew some produce bags for a while now but between throwing Jackson’s naming ceremony party and being in the wedding of some good friends, well…sewing was definitely on the back burner. I finally had a few minutes of spare time last week and I thought some quick and easy produce bags would be the perfect 10 minute craft. I was sadly mistaken.

The trouble all started at the craft store where I got a yard of green tulle. The tutorial didn’t really mention what type of mesh fabric to get so I figured tulle would work. Wrong. I sewed up the entire bag and was happily showing it off to Jim when the two onions I was shaking around in the bag promptly ripped right through the bottom. Crap. And then, the more I opened and closed the top, the more the unhemmed edges started to fray. I should have tried harder to find the fabric used in the original tutorial. I probably wouldn’t have had these problems!

Ok, so my 10 minute project eventually turned into a two hour project but at least I have produce bags finally and I’m pretty sure my onions will stay right where I put them!

Amended Produce Bag Tutorial
(follow instructions found here with just a few little adjustments!)

     
1. Cut a .25 inch slit on both sides, about 2 inches from top and bottom of fabric.
2. Fold inward.
3. Fold edge over (making sure that folded side stays put) and sew in place. Repeat to other side.
4. Right sides facing, sewing sides together. Flip right side out and sew sides again (enveloping the previously sewn raw seam). I think this is called a French seam…just in case you want to impress your friends.

And there you have it! You now have a double reinforced produce bag that will hopefully last you many grocery trips!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Father’s Day in Albuquerque, Cannon Rebel XT

In an effort to remember all the really special things we love about each other, Jim, Jackson and I took off for a long weekend in Albuquerque (”Albu Que R Que” - the only way I can remember how to spell it correctly!). Considering it’s less then four hours away, it really is a shame we’d never been there before.

Brief wrap up of our weekend:

Friday
- arrived to Albq. around 2:00 and went directly to the Rio Grande Zoo
- was pleasantly surprised with how nice the zoo was
- saw a giraffe just minutes after she was born
- geeked out at a comic book store when we saw some of Jim’s toys!
- ate bad mexican food
- exhausted Jackson with a swim at the hotel

Saturday
- had yummy veggie omelet with red chile, mmm!
- arrived early to The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History.
- bought robot stuff at the museum!
- bummed we couldn’t go hiking since it was raining. :(
- walked around Nob Hill. Love, love, love.
- geeked out again when we saw Jim’s toys at another comic book store!
- Ate at Kelly’s while Jackson flirted with all the pretty ladies.
- Walked around the fancy shops in Uptown. Oh Anthropologie…if only.
- Mmm, Which Wich!

Sunday
- slept in
- picked up a few goodies at Trader Joe’s (c’mon Trader Joe’s! El Paso isn’t much further!!)
- got home around 3 PM with a very tired little boy.

All in all, it was a fabulous get away! Jim and I both agreed that we’d have to go back at some point to try and do the things we missed. We had hoped to try out our hiking backpack with Jackson but the weather didn’t cooperate!

I think Jim had a great Father’s Day Weekend. I know I did!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Here’s a quick peak of the quilt I made in honor of Jackson’s Naming Ceremony! I hope he finds many warm snuggles in it. Tutorial to follow soon…gotta go take a nap with a certain little boy!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Tutorial: Easy Pants, Balancing Everything
             Applique Onesie, Angry Chicken

One of the questions I was frequently asked while pregnant (other then the standard “When are you due?” and “Should you be doing yoga still?!”) was if I was planning on sewing clothes for him. Absolutely not was my cookie cutter reply. Since Jackson wouldn’t be wearing cute dresses or bloomers, I just figured I wouldn’t want to sew anything for him. Wrong. I have some ridiculously cute fabric that would be perfect as overalls! Since I’ve never really sewed clothes before, I figured I would start easy and just do some pull up pants.

The Balancing Everything tutorial was great. Not only was it super easy to understand but it also gave additional instructions for making the bum a little bit larger for cloth diapers! Unfortunately, I used pants that no longer fit Jackson as the template so instead, I’ll be shipping these up to Pennsylvania to my dear friend who just had a little boy. The outfit was easy to complete with the simple applique onesie tutorial from Angry Chicken. WonderUnder is definitely a wonder!

I will definitely be making more baby boy clothes in the future!

(Jackson’s Naming Ceremony is this weekend so I’ll be back with lots of fun decorating projects!)

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

That’s it…it’s official…we have become those crazy goofball parents that will do anything to make their dear baby boy laugh. Any shred of modesty or sophistication I may have had before Jackson has been eaten up and pooped out. I don’t think there’s a single person in El Paso who hasn’t seen my boob and I’ve taken to talking to Jackson with silly voices while shopping.

I would do a million more embarrassing things if it meant Jackson would giggle. After seeing that video, can you blame me?

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Jack at 4 months, Canon Rebel XT

Proof that we’re working on getting Jackson better at tummy time! Slowly but surely I think he’s improving. Just a few weeks ago he was crying the second we put him face down and now there’s not a full blown breakdown until at least a few minutes. C’mon Jackson…your pediatric occupational therapist Aunt Gelica is coming down in a few weeks! You better get working!!

Jackson is doing great, he’s a sweet little baby. If you look closely you can see the kind man I fell in love with 10 years ago in his eyes. That is of course as long as he’s not showing you the “If I don’t eat soon, I’m going to punch someone” look. He’s giggling tons when mama or papa chew on his belly chub and starting reaching out to stroke our faces a few weeks ago. As if we weren’t crazy about this kid already!

We’ve got our 4 month well baby exam and immunizations today. Poor baby, he is not going to be happy. Pretty sure we’re going to see the “If I knew words I would be cussing you out” look.

Hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day! Jim took Jackson grocery shopping while I went fun shopping with my Mom. Perfect gift!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

So, over the years I’ve done my fair share of crafting. Soapmaking, candles, sewing, decoupage, scrapbooking, embroidery, you get the idea. I’m not an expert in any one particular field but I picked up most of the techniques with very little assistance or instruction and without inflicting too much bodily harm (except for that one unfortunate exploding hot wax incident…sorry Jessica!).

The one miserable exception in my crafting life has been knitting. I’ve tried to learn how to knit at least a handful of times and each time has ended, quite tragically, in pain and frustration…not to mention a few damn ugly scarves.

Well not anymore! I found some poor sucker a lovely lady at The Baby Cafe to help me learn how to knit, woohoo! So in honor of my recent plunge back into the knitting deep end, I present my latest tutorial:

Knitting Needles Travel Case

Materials:
- fabric (outer and lining)
- accents (ric rac, ribbon, etc)
- elastic
- button
- sewing machine
- sewing needle

Instructions:

1. Gather supplies and cut two rectangular pieces from both the outer fabric and lining. I made mine 24″x2.5″ but you can make your case to fit any size needles you want. Just make sure to account for seam allowance and add a bit to the length so that you can fold the opening over to close.

2. Add any of the accent pieces you want to the front of the case. Sew the button where you would like the top flap to fold to. Mine is approx. 2.5″ down.

3. Use random household device to mark a curved bottom. Stitch around the edges and curved bottom with your sewing machine (right sides of the fabric facing inward). Repeat with lining.

4. Trim excess fabric and cut small notches along the curved edge. Turn outer fabric section right side out (knitting needle helps!) and press.

*sorry there aren’t any pictures for the following instructions. Jackson got hungry and I had to finish the case while feeding him. Welcome to my world.*

5. Place the outer section (right sides out) inside of the lining (right sides in). Stitch together along the top edge(I had to do this by hand), making sure to add a small loop of elastic to the back edge. (oops, turns out I had one more picture to show!)

6. Cut opening in side of lining and carefully pull out the out outer section. Turn lining right side out and sew opening closed. Using knitting needle again, push the lining inside of the outer section and press all seams.

7. You’re done! Now go grab your knitting needles and get yourself a-knitting!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Finally a post on some fun thriftiness!!!

I found this cute fondue pot at my favorite thrift store a month or so ago and while I didn’t need another fondue set, I’m always in the market for nice mid-century modern pieces! It just so happens that I had been looking for something to raise my living room planter off the ground. Score!

Actually, I hope to get around to doing something better with it. The original planter is just a wee bit too large for it. I’m thinking succulents. Some nice and fluffy succulents, not cactus. Not that anything is wrong with cactus, it’s just that I’ve already killed my fair share of cactus gardens and I wouldn’t want to be playing favorites or anything.

It’ll probably be just the way it is for quite a while…come back in about a year and we’ll see what I can do with it then!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

I just realized that I never showed you pictures of Jackson’s room. Too many people worked too hard on this room not to brag about it a little on my blog!

We knew we wanted to have a vintage robot theme to the room but didn’t really want the room to look too “theme-y.” Does that make any sense?! We had been brainstorming for months on what we should paint on the walls and then my genius little sister suggested gears. Goes with the whole industrial robot idea without losing the simplicity that I love about modern design.

I wish I could say we had a nice clean palette to work off of but unfortunately, the room was quite decorated when we moved in last year. I had to remove the border from the ceiling (not an easy task when you’re 9 months pregnant), prime the walls to cover the multitude of colors and paint every inch of trim in the entire room. With the help of my little sister and mother (thanks also to Pati who spent a couple hours covering the window panes with newspaper!), the room got repainted in a weekend!

The last phase of construction, the painting of the gears, was completed the week before Christmas while Angelica and Tracy were down here. Jim, Tracy and Angelica pretty much did all the work while I elevated my poor swollen ankles. I like to think I contributed as an AD (Artistic Director)…unfortunately, I’m pretty sure everyone else has an arsenal of other “A” words they think describe me (annoying, asshole, anal)!

Finally the room was coming together and thank goodness because Jackson made his grand entrance only a few days after the paint had been put away! Last but definitely not least, my Dad surprised us by installing the floating shelves on the day we came home from the hospital. They’re exactly what I wanted!

I love the idea that a little bit of all the people I love most in this world went into Jackson’s room. Sometimes, while I’m nursing little Jack Jack in the glider, I look around and I’m reminded just how loved we are.

Jackson, I hope you realize just how lucky you are. Don’t even think of asking me to paint Power Rangers on your walls in a few years!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Well, it’s happened again. I’m sitting here nursing Jackson and still haven’t taken pictures of the “other things” I mentioned in my last post. Someday soon I’m going to devote some time to taking pictures of some of the crafty and thrifty things I have going on. It’ll be like a explosion of non-baby information over here!

But until then…more baby talk.

I thought I would introduce you all to one of my favorite places in El Paso, The Baby Cafe, a drop in center for the support of breastfeeding mothers. At the beginning of our nursing adventure it was an absolute bi-weekly necessity and it’s very possibly that we wouldn’t be as successful with breastfeeding without it. Some of you may remember that I had a breast reduction five years ago so after I got pregnant, the possibility of breastfeeding was very much up in the air. After Jackson was born and the terrible engorgement set it, what began as a temperamental latch soon turned into a non-existant latch and I desperately needed help. In stepped Libby and the wonderful ladies over at the Baby Cafe.

We’ve had quite a few issues with feeding (including some pretty terrible nipple damage as a result of the stupid shield that we’re still working out) but it was always so comforting to know that when things got their worst, I could always stop by The Baby Cafe for help and support. And not just from the staff and volunteers. It’s great hanging out with other mothers who are going through similar trials and tribulations.

It’s been three months since we’ve started this lactation adventure and I’m super proud of Jackson and I. I wish our road to success had been as easy as some other mothers but considering that I’m not even suppose to be making enough milk to sustain my son, we’ll take what we can get! All the endless nights of feeding and then staying up for an additional half an hour to pump (the shield can decrease your supply if you don’t pump) and enduring the frustrated wails of a new baby who grew dependant on a silicone nipple…it’s all worth it in the end.

We’ve still got many issues to overcome (seriously, is there anything worse sounding than a bleeding nipple?!) and since my breast tissue has been altered we don’t know what will happen in the future but we’ve come this far and we’re not stopping anytime soon!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Guess who figured out how to move his hands and feet the other day?! He still doesn’t know they belong to him but they fascinate him none the less. It’s hilarious when after much flailing, his hand ends up in his mouth. The look of surprise and pure joy is too funny.

Hmm, let’s see what else is Jackson doing…

- making tons of little sounds
- drooling bucketfuls
- smiles so big sometimes it looks like he’s going to stroke out
- growing these long beautiful eyelashes
- sitting up with some assistance
- holding his favorite toy Freddy McFrogster

He’s still not sleeping through the night but we didn’t really expect him to so it’s not bad. Jim gives him his only bottle of the day at the 1 AM feeding so that I only have to do the 4 AM feeding. We usually just snuggle and fall asleep on the couch while feeding. I try to remind myself that someday in the future I’ll look back fondly on these sleep deprived days!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.

Originally published at Indie Shopper. You can comment here or there.