Current Words

A current list of words Seth is working on:
Mama
Dada
Na (no)
Bapple (apple)
Maow (meow/cat)
Moh (more)
Ba ba (ball/ball ball)

Signs:
Thank you
Please (also means yes, please)
More
All done
Diaper (still looks like please)
Shoes
Bird (also refers to flies)
Eat
Milk (often just means hungry)
Where?

Animal sounds:
Oo Oo (monkey)
Grunt (pig)
Grunt (duck)
A(r)h (dog)
(lip trill) elephant
Maow (cat)
Rahr (lion)
Rahr (bear)
Mmm (cow)
Bah bah bah (kangaroo, boingy boingy)

(lip trill) car!

Favorite instructions to follow:
Kiss it! (especially an animal, even on a book)
Throw it in the garbage!
Time to go change your diaper! (goes to his bedroom)
Where is...?
Time to go out! (of a room)
Let's go bye-bye in the car!
Put it on your head!
Brush your hair!

One year olds are so much fun. :)

This was a fun little test. If you do it, make sure you pay attention, because they test your reading comprehension at the end!

Source: Staples eReader Department

I was having a hard time concentrating (I felt under pressure!!), but thought this was fun!

I keep having all sorts of ideas for posts to write, but keep doing things instead of writing about what I've done. Who knew?

Latest Project & a Giveaway Link!

I know, I should be updating this blog more often! I have all sorts of ideas in my head!

Yesterday I made handsoap for the first time. I used a bar of Irish Spring (aloe) soap (Adam's request), added 10 c. water & 1 TBSP Glycerin. It was really, really watery, so I did the whole bar instead of just 1 cup, and added a couple more squirts of glycerin. By the end of the day it had thickened up much better. I am storing it in an old bulk-sized oil bottle (1 gallon), so I can fill up our small pump bottle. I'm hoping this will be awesome, because hubby is a chronic soap-over-user ("soap makes things clean!!").
The original recipe can be found here: http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/how-to-turn-a-bar-of-soap-into-liquid-hand-soap/

BIG NEWS!!!

I just entered a giveaway from my favorite MakeIt-LoveIt blogger. We can BOTH win an SLR camera! She & some other bloggers are giving away TWO cameras, one for the winner & one for a friend. So I think you should enter to win & if you win, share the extra camera with me. ;)
Enter here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2012/05/10147.html

Singer Sewing Machine

On Facebook, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores posted that they are celebrating Singer's 160th anniversary. They said, "how old is your Singer sewing machine?"

Well!
A few weeks ago, I inherited an old one! A treadle machine.

It is housed in a beautiful table.

The booklet with it says it's from 1915. My aunt said at some point an updated machine was put in the original table - or something like that. But the machine I have matches the pictures in the booklet.


My craft area is so much more amazing now with this sewing machine in it!

Homemade Veg-All

I am a little behind in updating some posts...March was National Crafting Month, so I was busy, busy, busy! I'll try to start posting some of my backed up posts for you!

Here is one I started a while back:

Seth has been eating canned Veg-all for a while now as his main source of veggies. My friend Angie told me about it, "I could feed my kid off of one can for a week."
My family doesn't do canned veggies, so I was skeptical, but even the can looks different, fresher. The few I've tasted don't have the same canned taste I usually taste, either...although they do taste different than fresh or frozen.

Veg all includes lots of carrots, some peas, corn, Lima beans (the only thing Seth doesn't get...I don't like how hard they are), a few green beans and celery.

I realized I could probably make my own version and include anything I want!

I used fresh potatoes and carrots, but frozen peas, corn and beans. Maybe next time I'll get more adventurous. :)

I peeled and diced up 3 each of carrots and potatoes and boiled them til they were soft for a baby with 8 or less teeth. ;)

Then I did the same for green beans, peas and corn - somewhere between one and two cups of each.

I mixed everything together and then stored it in tupperware containers to freeze. Fun: I got a bunch of the small rubbermaid containers that hold about a half cup. To be able to thaw less at a time. It's so fun and colorful!

Note: I've learned about the healthier way to cook veggies by steaming, but I still don't have a steamer, so I just boiled them.

"Anywhere Chair"

Thanks to Pinterest, I've been EXTRA crafty lately (if that's even possible!).
I've been doing more than just knitting. :)

Yesterday, I thought to myself Oh no! What are we going to use for Seth's high chair?? I really don't want to have him eat on my lap for every meal for 4 days!


Then I remembered the Anywhere Chair I had pinned a few days ago. I quickly looked it up. I wish we had a fabric store in town! I thought (and posted on Facebook). But I looked at the instructions and noticed there was only 1/2 yard of two fabrics (and quilt batting) needed. So I checked my box o' fabric downstairs and voila! There were two coordinating colors! The instructions seemed easy enough. I figured I could mostly finish it during Seth's morning nap!

Here's the fabric I found

I'll post the instructions from the blog as well as my pictures & comments that go with it. It was so simple to make!

Supplies:

• 1/2 yard outer fabric
• 1/2 yard inner fabric
• 1/2 yard thin batting
• 5 inches velcro
• Thread & pins

How To:
First cut the long strap piece. It should measure 36 x7 inches. The seat should measure 19 by 11 inches. The connecting tab will be 4 inches by 5 1/2 inches.

To cut the fabric, I used my quilting supplies:

Line up your selvage edges together.

I also folded the fold side to the selvages to cut 4 layers at once so it would fit on my mat.

Use your straight edge to cut a smooth edge.

Use your rotary blade to cut the fabrics to the specified sizes. Remember, if you have them folded in half, to cut half the length -- and don't cut the fold off!

Right sides together, batting on the bottom.

We’ll sew the connecting tab first. Put right sides together, then batting. Sew the longs sides of the tab using a 5/8 seam. Leave the short sides open. Turn right side out.

Use a 5/8" seam

Turn the fabric right side out

The middle of the fabric would be 5 1/2".
Make sure the middle of the connecting tab is also lined up!

Layer the seat pieces with batting on bottom and right sides of fabrics together. Now we’ll measure the opening for the connecting tab, which will go in the middle of a short side of the seat piece. Then pin around the perimeter of the fabric to hold it together while sewing.

I put the pins the opposite way of the rest of my pins, so I would know where to start and stop.

You could eye ball it, or find something round, like this plate,
to trace!

Round off one of the corners. Then, fold your fabric and use the rounded corner as a template for the other corners so they’ll match. Now sew the fabrics together, beginning at one pin and sewing until you reach the other pin.

Match up your first rounded corner to the others, so they match.

When ironing, you may want to pull at the seams
as you go, in order to get them flush.
Slip the connecting tab in the opening one inch.

Remove the pins and turn seat right side out, then iron the seat and connecting tab. Insert one end of the connecting tab an inch into the opening on the seat. Sew the tab in place using a quarter inch seam, and continue topstitching around the perimeter of the seat.

Hint: you will have 4 1/2" remaining!

I reinforced the stitches at the opening.

Layer the batting and fabrics for the strap piece. On a long side, place a pin 4 inches in from the edge to mark an opening for the tab. The other pin is placed 6 and a half inches in from the edge. Pin the fabrics together. Round off the corners as you did with the seat piece.

I measured 4 & 6 1/2" from the top left of the outer fabric - but if you are not picky about which direction it wraps or  which side is outer/inner, it does not matter.

Begin sewing at one pin, and continue sewing until you reach the other pin. Remove the pins and turn right side out, then iron.

All done, except for the velcro!

Insert the loose end of the connecting tab into the opening on the strap piece. Sew in place using a quarter inch seam, and continue topstitching around the perimeter of the strap.









Now we’ll add the velcro. Sew three inches of rough velcro in the middle, on the long end of the interior fabric. Sew around the edge of the velcro.


Now cut five inches of the fuzzy velcro. This will go in the middle of the short end, on the exterior fabric. Sew in place.


To use, weave the straps around the slats of a chair. Loop the strap around to velcro in back. The seat piece goes inside of the loop and creates a flap over the strap piece.


Always use adult supervision. As with all handmade baby products, use common sense.

I did not have any velcro - or time to get it - but fortunately, my wonderful friend Sallie had some and let me have it. I sewed it on tonight (I actually stitched around it twice to reinforce it), but didn't take pictures.

I'll let you know after this weekend how well it works, but I am very excited for it!

Cost of project: $0

Lent

Usually I do not share what I give up for Lent, if I even give up anything.

This year, I am being pretty ambitious. Adam and I decided to both give up pop. That's our #1, no compromises (the one we probably feel most confident in keeping). We also want to try to limit extra-spending/eating out. That one is so much harder to qualify!

I also am trying to get back on track with life...eating well, exercising, sleeping, chores, yup - the whole gamut. See? Ambitious.
But, I feel like, 6 weeks is doable, right?

So, now I need to get off my tush & practice this, or before I know it, it will be Easter!

and Seth will have turned 1!!


So I'll be needing to plan his birthday stuff this Lent, too. ;)

For myself:
No Soda!
No caffeine!
We'll pick out a couple times to eat out & decide what goods we'll need to buy & not do anything else!
Use Be Well Serve Well to help track & eat fruits & veggies, also exercise. Carrying Seth around helps a lot, but try to Zumba or 80s video 3x/week.
Keep up with Chore Cards in order to:

• keep on top of papers
• keep house Seth-friendly
• help Adam with dishes, etc.

Essentially, I want to feel good about how I'm living my life. ;)

And, OF COURSE, T.A.W.G. (Time Alone With God)