A Handmade Holiday for Children

I have visions and dreams of a completely, or mostly handmade holiday. Every year I spend months gathering ideas... and give myself 2 weeks to do EVERYTHING on my list. Well the good news is, there are 2 weeks until Christmas to finish those projects... or if like me, you don't have time, there is still a bit of time to purchase through most Etsy shops!! I personally think the above Fairy and Snow Fairy playset above would make an adorably perfect stocking stuffer! (I am only slightly biased!) Right now they come packaged in a little organza bag, ready for play or display! :)

Or how about some homemade snack sacks? My good friend Wendy makes these darling little treat bags and sells them in her brand new Etsy shop, Momma's Little Lunch Bunch!! I ordered my own custom set with a different fabric for each of my wee ones! And I have to say they are very well made and so, so, so much cuter in person. They will most likely find their way into some stockings... and be filled with treats and candy! Oh how I love Christmas morning!! And how perfect they will be for filling with snacks for trips in the van. The trick to 3 kids is to be organized! This is just one more step in that direction. Or if you are handy, make your own!

On my list of things to make are some Hudson Hats for the kiddos! I haven't even started and am hoping to have time this week, with bulky yarn, to do so! Ugh. But I have a hat for Nick and a pair of longies on the knitting needles... which haven't been picked up in a while. If you can't knit, my friend and neighbor Sharon makes ADORABLE gnome hats (seen above). Made from really soft, wool yarn!! How sweet are those? Can you imagine a little family of children running around so sweetly in those on Christmas morning?

Another goal for me is to make an apron and chef hat for each of the girls. I love the above one from Mon Petit Poppet's Etsy shop. I am hoping to use the pattern from the Sew Liberated book, and find a place for a couple of apron hooks in the kitchen. And it would be perfect to pair it with a sweet, child-size set of cooking tools, wooden spoon, mini-whisk, etc. I know it would be loved to pieces. If you are a seamstress, there is also a tutorial online here. Other ideas for the girls include the wooden castle Nick is "supposed" to be building and I want to buy an unfinished stool from Michaels to paint like a mushroom. Obviously. It would be perfectly paired with some small round pillows with a big flower appliqued on it. If you can't picture it... I MUST make it, and will share pictures when I finish. It will be perfectly adorable set up under the Christmas tree with a tray of wooden food!! Now all I need for Christmas is MORE TIME. My plan is, if this all doesn't work out, I will just make little or big handmade gifts for the 12 days of Christmas... that is my creative way to make up for my year of procrastination!

And Kieran really wants one of these mushroom teethers. He didn't ask, I just read his mind. I do that a lot. But really, have you seen a cuter baby toy? And it isn't made in China so I don't have to worry about him eating lead... it was handmade and in the lovely shop Maya Bella. And it will match his mama-made onesies perfectly! Oh, Santa, please bring one to my little boy. Its all he really, really wants. And some socks too.

Of course I hope to make some fairies, furniture, and princess bendy dolls for Anastasia and Isabel to go with my last mushroom stacker that didn't turn out so hot. There is a wellspring of patterns at Wee Folk Art, most of which require a few basic skills and many, many toys on Etsy. I still have a slot or 2 open for custom orders that can ship via Priority by next Friday if you are in need of a last minute stocking stuffer or gift. :)

So what are you making for Christmas?

About a Boy

They don't tell you how different baby boys are. No one tells you how they eat more and pee more and pee completely OUTSIDE of the diapers. They also don't tell you how to respond to your baby boy peeing across the room on their big sister. Ha. And there was a lady who worked at the hospital who after we told her we had a boy, said, "aw, well maybe you will get a girl next time." WHAT? We told her we had 2 at home... but who says that? Boys are great. No one mentions how cuddly and sweet baby boys are and how much he already loves his sisters and of course his mama. Mama's boys are so ANNOYING... unless you are the mama. :) And no one tells you how even at 2 1/2 weeks they are far less emotional and dramatic than their sisters. And let me also say, in all my life no one prepared me for this: Can you just see the sugar plums dancing in their heads? *sigh* So I have learned a few things these past 2 weeks or so. And my girls have had a brief 2 and 3-year-old appropriate anatomy lesson about the difference between princes and princesses. And a very exciting thing was discovered when Kieran's umbilical cord fell off last week, he in fact now has a belly button. Anastasia went ahead and let EVERYONE know that. "I have a baby brother now! And HE HAS A BELLY BUTTON NOW!!" Oh, the things that are wonderful to know when you are a couple months short of turning 4. So, something else I learned about boys... when they grow up, sometimes they are right about things. Things that seem scary and overwhelming when you are a mom of 3... things like completely re-arranging the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. This is half of our little woodsy kitchen. Nick moved the fridge which was just beside the counter with the kitchen aid... and our little kitchen seems 10x bigger and I have lots of counter space for holiday baking! It was a great idea... but I was quite grumpy that Nick was rearranging things when we should have been decorating our Christmas tree. I am glad he had the vision. I couldn't see it...

So I can't believe how slowly time is quickly passing! Every day seems quite long yet weeks go by unnoticed. Today I pulled out the Playmobil Advent calenders... and I have a long list of holiday crafts and handmades to make before Christmas... 24 days left! Yikes! Hope you are all having a lovely time of preparing and enjoying this "most wonderful time of the year!"

Three is a crowd!

Our friends brought us dinner on Sunday. Not only did they drive over an hour to bring us delicious food and cookies, but my friend Andrea Read took these amazing pictures of my children! She said she is still getting established, but I think she has such an artistic eye that she really doesn't need much establishing! And she just so happens to be Kieran's God-mother (or will be when we get him baptised here soon...)

And so I am thankful for my three little children. After Anastasia I could never imagine any more children or loving them half as much as her, but now I can't imagine my life any other way... and it seems my heart grows bigger and has more love to give each and every one of them. I was told by my friend Regina who also brought us food and has 8 children, that when you have 3, your life really slows down. This seems to be very true. Everything must be carefully planned and not crammed and suddenly I have time to really focus on the little people in my life. For that I am thankful.

And I am thankful for this little red head... her beautiful locks and smile... even when she drinks out of the toilet and turns simple hand-print turkeys into a paint your entire naked body project. Speaking of hand-print turkeys... it is very hard to do with a newborn. Actually, impossible would be a better way to describe it... and its very messy.

Now off to finish a custom order so I can take the kids outside and tend to the animals... Maybe I will put diapers on the line... maybe we will get the laundry put away... maybe we will do some Thanksgiving crafts... and make our pies as a family of 5... Maybe. But I am not counting on doing everything and that is just the reality of life with 3 children. No more super-mom. I just have to get by and do all things with love and that will be enough. I am thankful for that too.

Kieran Nicholas

Our new little baby boy has arrived! He came early Sunday morning, November 14th at 6:09am. He is our biggest baby yet weighing 8lbs 6oz. He is oh, so sweet.

Kieran made his debut after I had had irregular contractions for about 4 days (starting on Nov. 10th, his "Due Date"). I would get fairly regular contractions for a few hours everynight, only to have them stop suddenly. I tried every trick in the book to get them and keep them going. Black and blue cohash, long walks every day, pineapple, kiwi, pizza, spicy food, and lastly nipple stimulation. Not sure if any or all of those worked, or he was just meant to come on the 14th. Either way I was getting really frustrated as each day the contractions gained intensity and I started fearing I would be at the hospital, or feeling really large while having contractions on Thanksgiving. Thankfully after a few hours of really irregular contractions on Saturday night, they evened out and were intense at 3-4 minutes apart. I woke Nick and we arrived at the hospital around 3am, where my parents took the girls to their house. I have to say, after 2 pictocin-induced babies, the contractions really didn't seem all that bad, so when I went in, it was so exciting to find out I was 8cm!!! 3 hours later we met our first baby boy! :)

I have to say my first natural birth was by far the most peaceful and the most exciting! And quite a bit more painful, but the recovery has been way smoother. And little Kieran is a very peaceful, healthy baby and has two very adoring sisters. So all is well over here and it feels good to not be waiting anymore. I am already working on gnomes and things... because I can only sit still so long! Be prepared for more baby pictures than you can stand! :) Hope your week is going as well as mine!

Falling Leaves

Fall is such a colorful season. We have had a very long autumn this year it seems, and with bouts of 60 degree days, one can hardly complain. I have been trying to take walks everyday, with hopes of inspiring a little one to make his way into this world. These contractions are getting REALLY old. Thank goodness for the beauty of fall colors, and local gardens to enjoy.

Is there anything more magical to children than water? It attracts them, inspires them and I really just can't keep them out of it. It keeps us alive. It is a part of us. We have been enjoying the last warm days where we can play in the water.

And there are leaves or fairy boats, or blankets for bugs, or a small piece of a big pile for jumping in. Leaves are the best part of fall. And pumpkin pie.

It is somewhat amusing that we had to wait until fall, and cooler weather to spend adequate time outdoors after a terribly hot summer. I am usually a spring and summer person, but I have never been so happy to see fall.

And lucky for a little boy who will have his little birthday when the leaves are in their full glory! Now if only he could have that birthday sooner, rather than later. ;)

Nesting!

I have been nesting like crazy over here. Really, really crazy. I don't hardly recognize myself! I cleaned under all the couches, beds, cribs, and was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor last week. I have been organizing baby clothes, finishing up projects I never imagined I could finish before the baby came, and knitting baby pants in my spare moments. Oh, and did I mention of have 2 kids and an Etsy shop that has a lovely flow of holiday shoppers now? So even though I don't blog much now, I haven't stopped being, and making and crafting and doing fun things with my kids. Instead I have been packing bags for the big night, finishing up the last baby projects, preparing the moses basket, and placing all the little gifts he has recieved (the above burp cloths and little boy doll) in special spots.

I have also been bitten by the cloth diaper bug. I am addicted to buying soft, natural little nappies to swaddle my newborn's behind... I might have too much as Isabel is well on her way to being potty trained (she only uses diapers when we go out now!). But at least I won't run out! I have some Sunbaby Pockets (cheap ebay diapers that work really well), Tiny Tush one-size cotton and hemp fitteds and quite a few prefolds. I am in the process of knitting and making some wool covers as well. Who knew diapers could be so much fun!

After reading this article about "Mother Roasting" on Rhythm of the Home, I decided to make and buy a few luxury items for those lovely post-partum resting days. I decided to buy a scarf to use as a belly wrap and made the bath tea. I bought some of my favorite soap (the Mama Bar) and my friend Marie gave me one of her homemade lavender candles as a shower gift. I also bought a 1/2 lb tub of Shea butter from ebay. If you haven't used Shea butter, you are in for a treat! It is so thick and moisturizing and supposedly helps with stretch marks... not sure if thats true or not... but just so you know. And I made this quilt:
Well, it isn't the best picture, but I picked up a charm pack of "Wee Woodland" by Keiko for Moda. I love how cute and foresty it is. Not sure about the flowers and the pink thrown in there, but I am sure my little boy will be secure enough in his masculinity to handle it. Overall it looks very boyish to me. And this is why my old Moses basket didn't last:

These things make the best boats! I have to hide it in my closet until the baby comes... and then it will be his sacred little nest of blankets and a sheepskin. And a beautiful, blurry moment from my life:

We moved the girls into the same bed! We really don't use the crib around here and Isabel had to get out of our bed! She was keeping me up at night, and I was so uncomfortable and there is NO ROOM for another baby! So I had read that sometimes kids sleep better in a bed together, and since it is almost winter, the timing was perfect! They are so cute all cuddled up in there each night and they rarely wake up and come into bed with us (which was really becoming insane!). So now we all sleep, and the kids look really cute.

So yeah, that has been my life in a nutshell... in between bouts of contractions that never seem to amount to anything, and all this nesting I finally have a moment to blog! Hope you are all having a nice Monday. Hopefully next time I post I will have baby pictures to show... but I am not counting on it as all my predictions have been wrong! I am starting to feel like a time bomb...

Halloween 2010

Halloween was so much fun! I finally finished the costumes on Saturday. We had a bit of an adventure friday night after a couple hours of pretty intense contractions. They went from 10 minutes apart, to 7 minutes apart and once we hit 6 minutes apart, we loaded in the car for the 40 minute drive to the hospital. WELL. Once inside the hospital, the contractions just stopped. I had maybe 3 the entire time we were there... and well, after being monitored for nothing, calling my Dr, and atleast meeting some nice nurses... we were sent home. We were home in bed around 1am, and exhausted. My mom had the kids, and so at least on Saturday I had several hours of quiet and peace (and a bit of soreness and tiredness) and I finished the costumes. Maybe the little guy knew that I hadn't finished the costumes, and how much I wanted to take the girls trick-or-treating. Maybe he was not coming into this world yet because I had forgotten to pack the camera, and there would be no first pictures of the little guy. Maybe he knew how long last week was and how tired we were. I don't know what the false labor was all about, all I know is that it wasn't meant to be... and we are going to have a November baby for sure! :)

Isabel didn't understand the whole halloween thing, but she had so much fun filling her bag with candy! I wasn't sure she would keep her costume on as she kept ripping it off beforehand when we were *trying* to get pictures. No matter. She was perfect at trick or treating, even though her hood fell off and everyone mistook her for a princess.

Everyone knew who Anastasia was. She wore her gown with such royal pride. Also note her lovely trick-or-treat bag that I came up with a couple hours beforehand. Hooray for craftyness when you never got the halloween buckets out of the attic! Anastasia was going to be Snow White. I bought the Snow White pattern... and she changed her mind. Oh well. I didn't really use a pattern, so I am really happy it came out as well as it did! I did use a peasant dress pattern for the top, a little less risque than Belle's shoulder-less dress, don't you think? lol. I would have prefered a more generic princess, something NOT Disney or cartoonish, but I want my kids to feel free to be who they want to be. I am glad I have another year before another round of costume planning. BUT I do know little baby boy will be a gnome.

So now that I rambled on, and also just cleaned my house, I am going to head to bed. I hope you all had a lovely Halloween! And if you haven't become a fan, I now have a Little Red Whimsy Fan Page so please check it out!! Hope you are all having a lovely November, and don't forget to vote!