Thursday, October 28, 2010

peeks at my next craft...


Many balls of yarn! Lots of it. My desk is a disaster again. I guess its pointless to clean it unless I have company coming over.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

4 Stories: Childhood Games




Scary Pillow: Don't ask me how we came up with this game, but Aria and I thought up this game at home while we were bored. We would take turns curling up into a little ball, and the other would pretend to sleep on this curled up "pillow". The "pillow" would start making growling noises and we would scare each other silly with not knowing when the pillow would wake up. It was one of those really crazy weird games we did by ourselves.

Dressup: Ohhhh I think everyone who came to our house played with our dressup clothes. Our Aunty Laura gave us the most glittery shiny clothes from probably value village. We had a black sequin covered mini dress, (could have been a shirt), a gold dress, a red metallic dress, postman shirt (every guy wanted to wear it when they played dress up or house with us) and a bunch of other clothes.  Playing house was so fun. There was a white nightie house coat lingerie thing which served as an awesome princess dress or a wedding dress.

Hide and Seek: Living on a farm for 3 years gave me the best childhood memories. There was a long driveway lined with big bushes. Some of those bushes had been removed before we moved in. This made it so we could climb into the bushes, and kinda creep underneath them to hide. It was one of my favourite hiding places. I don't think it ever occurred to me that there were big bugs everywhere in there. Other favorite hiding spots were the linen cupboard. It was almost like a tiny room. I could curl into a ball in one of the shelves and just pile blankets in front of me. We had wicked awesome games there also because inside the house there were lots of rooms. Little mini bedrooms were downstairs (they were so small they were used for storage) as well as if we played outside, there was a big barn and trees and bushes everywhere. Hide and seek was epic there.

Fort: Using couch cushions, pillows, blanket, chairs and furniture I would make the most incredible forts. I loved making elaborate forts to hang out in, to play in with my sister. Sometimes the books used to hold the blankets up would fall and sometimes it would hurt, especially if they fell on my head. I have instilled fort making in my baby already. She plays fort in her play gym thing on the floor. She gets so excited being in there.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Baby Physiotherapy

Today we had our first appointment of physiotherapy today for Sadie. This is probably news to many of you as I haven't talked about it to a lot of people. It was partly due to feeling tremendously guilty about her having to even do it (even though its nothing we could have prevented). So I shall explain whats wrong and everything.

When Sadie was little, we noticed that she favored looking to the right. I read about it and all the books were saying it was normal, so when I mentioned it to the doctor when she was little, the doctor said it was normal and to stack her toys on the left side. I did that and got her to feed facing the left, but a few more months went by and she still favored her right side. So much so that her head was a little flat on that side. At her 4 month appointment, I brought it up again and told the doctor her head was flat on one side and when she looked at her, she realized that Sadie also tilts her head when shes resting on her back. We got referred to Childrens Hospital for Physiotherapy.

We got up bright and early for our group appointment today (3 other families were there). Every baby was assessed individually and then we learned about the neck muscles and how her one side is weak and she can only turn to face the left 50% - 70% of what is normal. Her condition is called Torticollis. So we sat and learned about how to hold her so that she corrects her neck issues. Sadie was so good the entire time, she was smiling at the physiotherapists and making cute noises. Thankfully we don't have to do any stretching. They did some stretching to show how far the neck is supposed to go to the side, and while its not painful to see it done, its the creepiest thing to watch. Babies necks are amazing. Sadie was not impressed as she was not in control. She screamed louder than all the other babies. It also didn't help that she was up earlier than usual and was super tired.

The other thing we talked about with the physiotherapist was her flat head spot. Our doctor didn't refer us to the specialist on that, but she mentioned that if we wanted to see a specialist about it just in case, its best to do it now while the window of opportunity to correct it is open. This window is pretty small. We got an appointment for January for her pending a referral from our doctor. This would be to see if she needs any type of corrective helmet thing. (helmets are only covered by extended health. We gotta now see if Sadie is covered by Tony's student extended health as a dependent. The physiotherapist starting saying the price of the helmets cause we were curious and said "3.." I was thinking, ok 300 isn't bad, "$3000"...my jaw dropped.

Sooo that was our morning. Sadie was good all day. Her smiles put all the other babies to shame in my opinion. She also didn't cry at the strange lady like the other ones, she smiled and made cute noises. I was proud of how well she did. We have a monthly appointment to see how shes doing after that.

So all in all, it was an interesting day. We were told that its generally caused by babys position in birth and whether it was a complicated birth or they had to use things like forceps or vacuums to get them out. Our baby was stuck for a long time and that, or how they got her out could have caused this issue. Poor gal. So even though I shouldn't feel guilty, the feeling still lingers.

I got home and Tony went to study (he has 2 mid terms and homework this week) and I freaked out at him for leaving his coat on the couch. It was soaking wet on the couch. I shouldn't have freaked out that bad. I cried. I felt horrible. I am feeling a bit better now. Cuddling the small girl helped.



Sticking out her tongue at me. Mostly because her teeth were bugging her that day. So far there is one bottom tooth peaking now and another one at the top coming down.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Stuff I Love [etsy]


 Silver Pretty Tape. I have ordered me some red and green stuff for Christmas. So excited for it to come.

Antique Silver Spoon Ring . Cool idea for a ring.

Totally cute Cupcake Stand. I love the little bird on top


Vintage Owl Bank. I love owls like him.

 

Beards! Gotta love a beard. What an awesome dress up thing.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

no pictures yet, just pickles

I have attempted to make fridgerator sweet pickles today. Back at the extended family thanksgiving in september, my Aunty Dar brought the pickles. Not just any pickles, sweet pickles. I have for forever hated sweet pickles. Thought they were so gross. I have always preferred dill ones. Mmm crunchy garlicy dill pickles, maybe even a little spicy. "Well" I told myself, "its been a long time since I've tried sweet ones, and these are not the typical store bought ones".

Skeptically, I popped one in my mouth...It was like "AHHH, what have I been missing?!" Throughout the evening, I was eating those pickles. More like devouring them.

Since that dinner, I've been thinking about those pickles. I wont get the store ones, I just dont like them. All I've wanted was Aunty Dar's Pickles. Since she has the internet now (yay!) I sent a request for her recipe and was pleased to try it out today.

These are not the canning ones (canning by myself scares me), they sit in the fridge and cure there. Stirring once every day for 5 days before they are ready. I don't know how they will turn out. They tease me sitting there, in their huge container. I will let you know how they turned out in 5 days.

What else did I do today? Well, I did lots of dishes, got groceries, made more crafts. I cant find my button wreath, so sad :( I know its somewhere under a mountain of craft crap, but its hiding. Baby practiced sitting today. I used the nursing pillow as a support for her and she sat and played all nicely while I did the dishes until I heard a "waaaaaa" whine. Turns out she was not as steady in that pillow and tipped over on her face. Shes a tough girl, didn't cry, just whined until I up-righted her.

I promise there will be Sadie pictures tomorrow momma. My momma is dying to see us, its been a few weeks since our last visit.

Christmas Ornament #4 [Yarn Trees]



A couple days ago the baby and I went to Salvation Army to see what they had. Our store isnt the greatest, but a while back it supplied me with most of my dishes when I was selling hand drawn plates and mugs. Anyways, I was kinda disappointed with what they had, and as we were about to leave I spotted a small out of place wrack with bags and bags of yarn. Its all mismatched and such, but I am not using it to crochet or knit, so it was perfect for me. $3 bag of assorted yarns for me!

Today I have made Yarn Trees for Christmas Decorations. They would look pretty as a center piece or on a shelf. I am going to dust them sparingly with glitter and put them on my craft dresser.

You will need:

Scissors
Cereal box or sturdy card paper
Yarn
Hot Glue Gun

Steps:
-Then curve it into a cone.
-Glue it together with the hot glue gun.

-Starting at the top, I put a dab of hot glue at the tip of the cone and then put attached the yarn.
-I wound it all the way down and then a few dabs of glue at the bottom to hold the yarn there.

-Then to make my tree look a little more tree like, I wound the yarn back up not as tight, just to give it some volume.

-One more dab of glue at the top and then I cut the yarn.

The end!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Christmas Ornament #3 [Norwegian Woven Paper Heart]


Norwegian Woven Paper Heart.

I used:

-Scissors
-Glue
-Sheet Music
-Christmas Scrapbook paper from last year
-Red Ribbon

I used this tutorial to make mine. The sheet music is beautiful (thank you again Laura).

I am going to be making a bunch more. The sheet music looks so nice with it. Gotta dig up more of my Christmas papers. I also like them because you can put treats or things inside them. They would be great for Valentines day. Maybe I'll make 25 of these and make them kinda like an advent calendar, each pocket can hold a treat and part of the Christmas Story in it.

These are my felt roses that I was making today. Dead easy to make and you could do it with tissue paper as well. They are part of something bigger. Maybe a bouquet or on a wreath. Gotta make a wreath this year, its one of my crafty goals.  I used this tutorial to make them. 

baby and the bird

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

fall



The girl and I had a photo shoot at the park today. She was quite excited, what with the fresh air and chance to eat leaves. mmm leaves. New things to eat that mommy doesn't want you to eat. I got it away from her right after this was taken. Eventually she will eat worse things, but if I can prevent it I will.

Lately I've been sorting the photos that I want printed. I have a wack of them on the computer, but its just a matter of adjusting the lighting or cropping and I haven't been bothered to do it. Last night I spent a couple hours getting things ready. I hope to have stuff printed out this weekend. Digital is awesome but at the same time I never take stuff to get printed.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Fort!


Instilling it in her early that forts are awesome. She loves it when I make her a fort. I foresee us making many forts in the future.

Monday, October 18, 2010

She approves




A whole mini ice cube of squash was downed with some rice cereal mixed in. It may have taken a while though. She mulled over her food, eating it slowly. She's always taken her time. The girl likes her veggies.

baby food [squash]


I had some free time on my hands and a squash that needed to be used. I thought this ice cube tray was fitting for my little one (I did have to use a real ice cube tray for the rest of it, but she gets pretty food too).


They are ready for her now. I am just waiting for her to wake up to taste it.

Friday, October 15, 2010

todays happenings


Its been another day of peaceful reading while someone had an extra long nap. I enjoy reading time so much. I am on the third book of this series. These books keep me on the edge of my seat, and Tony constantly asks "whats wrong" when I gasp, or say "NOOO!" Don't worry though, I don't do this in public. I've only cried because of a book once on the bus. It was while reading "My Sisters Keeper". Oh man. I cant read that one again for a while. Don't go and think you can watch the movie for that one either, its different than the book at the most crucial part, so just read it. 

So the first lovely picture was lunch. It was my favorite lunch while the toaster oven worked. Baguette, pesto, sun dried tomatoes and mozzarella. The twist this time is that I used the fresh mozzarella. Oh man, that stuff is good.  Nice and gooey and perfect with my tomatoes.


These were the many faces I saw this evening. She had pink cheeks and would gnaw on her lips. She's ok for now, and its early to bed for her :(

Off for more reading. Its been so nice without tv.

smiley girl


I don't know where she gets it from, but this girl is the most smiley girl I know.  I don't just take pictures of her not smiling. She smiles all the time. I was never this smiley apparently.


Shes my happy girl. Happy 5 months Sadiepie! Hard to believe that you are almost half a year old. 


I love you!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

What I'm Reading...


I'm reading the series called "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. I had no idea what it was about. I've seen them in the book store and I head from a few people now that they are really good. So Beth lent the series to me. I'm finished the first one and on to "Catching Fire" now. I am going to be very sad when they are done. I've watched almost no tv (except half a show last night) and it feels really good. I am going to hunt for more books this week to feed this need. 

Hello, my name is Miranda, and I have an addiction to reading.

Seriously though, I do get addicted once I get going. When I was younger, I would hole myself up in my room and read from after school till dinner and then afterward. Sometimes when everyone was sleeping I would wake up and read with a small light. I would read ahead on books that were meant for class reading. I would finish book reports before they were due.

Unlike Aria, I love books that have been "loved". Dogeared, a little old maybe and have "lost" their dust covers. (I hate dust covers and all my books have had them removed and thrown out). Dust covers just get in the way of good reading in my opinion. 

Going to check out amazon as well to see what is new and good out there.

Baby pics for momma


She now does raspberries with her bottom lip out and the top sucked in. I love it. 



I got some new film/lens for the hipstamatic app and had to try them out. Tamara was right, it is so awesome. I need to get me an iphone stat so I can take more pictures when I am out and about than just using Tony's phone. 


I love waking up when shes playing in the crib so nicely beside me. Its a nice little alarm clock to hear her talking to her toys. 


She was investigating her new blanket from Mikaela yesterday on the big girl bed. She and I love to hang out there. I read, she plays. Its nice and quiet usually. Sometimes we go there if she doesn't want a nap. She will nap there when all else fails.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

lazy dinner

Even though I threw out my cheese wiz today, (trying to get away from overly processed foods) I still used made sidekicks cheese broccoli rice and green beans (I am a cheater). At least the green beans are good for me. Tomorrow is a day for making chili full of beans and things. I am really on a beans kick lately. Tony may not appreciate them, especially cause he has to cuddle up to me and deal with the aftermath, but whatevs. Beans are good.

what we've been up to


This thanksgiving weekend we went to Pentiction for Tony's Great Aunt's 80th Birthday Party. Packed up the baby and we went in a van for a couple days up there. I've never been down town Pentiction really. It looks super nice. I saw the Pentiction Vineyard. I wish we had more time to explore, but it was a quick trip.

On the way down, Sadie was unhappy. Super unhappy. Maybe it was her ears, or maybe she was hungry. I think it was mostly that she was trapped in her seat for way too long. Shes not accustomed to being in there. She thrashed around and screamed. Then there was traffic. We stopped in Chilliwack to feed her and let her roll around on my parents living room floor. She wouldn't eat until she had played a bit. She has her priorities. My smiley girl was back for a bit.


Thank you Mikaela and everyone else for the pretty new clothes. She looks so cute in her fall sweater and jeans. The jeans fit her too!

Recently, she has tried rice cereal mixed with formula. Shes not quite ready yet, but I'm getting her used to it by giving her a tiny bit every couple days. She got real excited about the spoon. She wanted to hold it, and gnaw on it, but not eat from it as much.


 It was a lot of fun feeding her. Watching her facial expressions. She did eat some of it.


This last one she had just gagged on a tiny lump and this was right afterward. She gave me the stink eye.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Stuff I love [Fall edition]


Crunchy leaves under my feet. 


Fresh pumpkin pie that Aria bakes. 


Being wrapped up in blankets all day long. 


Hot chocolate with tons and tons of marshmallows.

I think fall is my new favorite season. I cant wait to make more marshmallows this year. Today I am spending the day at a birthday party. Hopefully I will have pictures to show when I am back.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

This halloween, Sadie is a....


DRAGON!

Friday, October 08, 2010

self tucked



I always put her to bed with her arms outside the blankets. She usually likes to be free. When she called us to come get her from her nap, we found her all tucked in.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Giant Lemon Cupcakes

I whipped out my "Tony" sized cupcake tins today to make lemon cupcakes. I've never used it before. They turned out to be the size of mini cakes.


I had fun decorating while little girl watched in her high chair.  I prefer the ones with coconut, Tony likes plain ones. 


These are the regular tins on the left, and the GINORMOUS ones on the right. 


 This is how I eat them. Its the best icing to cake ratio. Otherwise you end up eating a big bite of icing and its no fun.

something vintage for the little girl


This will be perfect for spring / her birthday. I love it and I love how she looks so good in yellow. Got it from etsy.

I should start hunting for stuff like this at the thrift stores.