Yeah, I hardly have the time to take photos, much less post some long-winded blog entry just to justify putting up a bunch of new ones. So lucky you, you get the photos without the long-winded blog entry!

These photos of baby Seth were taken at around 3 weeks of age:

A big yawn (just in case it looks like he's screaming his face off)



About to sneeze
 


6yo took this one! :-)

These three I took today. Seth is now 4 weeks and 3 days old.
Goof ball!!!

No gas here! He's smiling at his mama!!

Awww! He's oh-so-charming!

I don't make this stuff up, I just report it.

Sorry if anyone has been waiting on this news ;-) but our newest little one finally made his arrival, 11 days late, on April 11, 2008. His name is Seth Walter, and he was 8lb 7oz at birth. We are both doing very well now, although I had a few rough days there. To be expected, I suppose.

Seth is so far a sweet, calm, placid little man and he loves being cuddled and held. He sleeps most of the day and night away still, but is starting to be a bit more active and aware of the world around him.

Here are a few photos. :-)

A few minutes after his birth.

Seth's first bath, one day old.

Dressed and ready to go home.

Seth at 9 days old.

Unbelievably, I managed to start and finish this strawberry tea pot cosy BEFORE baby's birth. I am now NINE days overdue and amazingly on the prowl for yet another project to keep my mind occupied while I wait for my little man to arrive.

I could understand the baby wanting to wait for his quilt but I have to wonder, what on earth could he want with a strawberry tea cosy? Perhaps he would like to wear it as a hat? And what do you think he'd like me to make next??

This tea cosy was made from a pattern that, sadly, is no longer available online as far as I can tell. I originally got it from magknits.com and it appears that they have taken down the site since I printed this pattern off just two days ago. :-( However, a google search for "strawberry tea cosy" may yield some alternative patterns.


Ah, it's so cheerful and happy-looking. :-) I am glad I happened to catch the pattern before it was gone and had the baby arrived I may never have been able to make this. Silver lining. :-)

Yup, I am a week overdue...I think baby really wanted his quilt to be finished! Hopefully, now that it is, he will decide he's ready to come out.

Incidentally, I think this is the best quilt I've ever made. I love the quilting on it -- and love even more that I actually had the patience to do it all by hand. It is an old-fashioned, traditional quilt and I am really happy with the way it turned out.


Now on to the next project -- I am either going to produce a baby, or a tea cozy.  One of the two.

• Benjamin (also answers to Ben, Benny, Bo-bo, Bo-bo-head, Puppy, Potato, Fuppy, Fuppy Potato, Fups and Hey You)
• 18 months old
• Enjoys eating, smiling, talking, running around, climbing, being cute, pulling hair, occasional nursing, drawing, making messes, tormenting siblings, laughing at mama's huge belly, and being so cute that it hurts!
• Is set to become a big brother ANY TIME NOW!!!

After much deliberation and some sadness, we decided a couple weeks ago that it would be best for our family if we put our oldest two children in public school. This was by no means an easy decision to come to, but I felt I was cheating them of many good experiences and worthwhile opportunities at home. As a pregnant mama very near to the birth of a new child, I just didn't have it in me to improve our homeschooling situation. Really, I just had to let go of it, for my sanity as well as for the good of the kids.

I don't think that public schooling is the ideal, but I don't think that poorly-done homeschooling is, either. Public schooling with full parental involvement, interest and encouragement is what we are now aiming for. I still love the idea of homeschooling, and we are still open to it in the future -- we have always said that we will do what we need to do for the sake of our children and our family. I just don't think that homeschooling is right for us right now, though, as much as it pains me to admit it.

So, our kids have been attending a local public primary school for about 2 weeks now, and they are loving it!! Jonathan is in first grade. He is really enjoying having some new buddies, and he loves the variety of experiences he has in school. Mae is in kindy, and as a social butterfly, she is thriving. They both have lovely teachers that welcome our questions and concerns and value our involvement. Both children are doing extremely well! All in all, I am very happy with our decision at this point. I miss them though, so so much! :-( They are still, as they always will be, my babies.

Oh, I am so pregnant. Not that it isn't fun, but I am ready for it to be over. Now.

On the other hand, baby's quilt isn't finished yet. Ask me if that will stop me. Answer? NO. If this baby wants out now, I am not going to try and talk him into staying so I can finish his quilt. A couple kids ago, I might have. But not this time. We do have other blankets, after all, but I only have one pelvis, and it's ready to be in significantly less pain. At least I got it this far. I seem to be suffering from motivation deficit disorder, so having done this much is quite an achievement.

Sometimes I just get sick of looking at something and I need to replace it. Probably doesn't happen to me as often as it happens to most normal people -- but it does happen. So, I finally got sick of the sight of my old pot-holders, which I have had for many years now. I mean, just all of the sudden I really needed to get those stinkin' things out of my house!!!

I also happened to be needing a quick project to keep up my creative morale, so really the timing was good. The last few weeks of pregnancy are hard for this crafty gal because, on the one hand, my nesting/creative drive is huge, while on the other hand, my energy and stamina are not. Well, a quick and easy project is a great way to feel like you've accomplished something without it becoming overly burdensome or bearing much risk of winding up in the (growing) pile of UFOs.

Thus, I give you:


My new potholders. :-) The print I used to bind them is a lovely strawberry design and, as some may guess, I have a bit of a thing for strawberries.

Now, the not-so-small thing I am working on is this:


Believe me when I say, this belly is even bigger in person. Its inhabitant is no tiny thing, either, and will not allow his presence to be ignored.

Five weeks to go!

It has been quite a while since my last post and while I would like to be able to say that was because my sewing machine was in the shop, that would not be strictly true. I have basically just been a lazy blogger. My apologies.

Having said the above, I have not however been a lazy crafter. Yes, my machine has been out of order for a while. Turns out it was just about long enough for me to whip through this little afghan for my baby-boy-on-the-way (6 weeks to go -- WOO HOO!!!!). No machine necessary!! It was a fun little project and the pattern is available by clicking on the link in my previous post.


And I did finally get my machine back in more-or-less working order about a week ago. Last night I created this diaper bag (which we desperately needed):


It has elasticated pockets on the sides as well as two larger elasticated pockets on the inside.


Of course a diaper bag would not be complete without one of these:


I pretty much winged it on this project, so unfortunately there is no pattern. It was fun, though, and not difficult to figure out. It also only took a few hours to put together (from start to finish, including designing it as I went along).

What's next? I am looking for a suitable pattern for a cot quilt. I have something fairly specific in mind so hopefully I can find what I'm looking for, and have it made...very soon. Six weeks, huh? Gee whiz.

My sister, Moey, left this afghan for me to finish when she left for the USA. I bet she didn't think I'd ever actually finish it, but I did! I don't have a lot to say about it, except that it is a gift for our Mom, and I am sure she will like it! The colors will be a good fit for her decor and I know she will love having a cuddly blanket to snuggle up in once the weather starts cooling down.


Of course, we had to test it...all blankets for Mam-mam must be grandkid approved. Apparently, they approve.

So with that out of the way, I have started a blankie for our new baby Seth, due in just ten short weeks!! I am using this pattern:



in a different colorway -- greens, blues, and white. I'll post about it when I get it done, promise!

I recently came up with a craving I couldn't quite ignore. Remember back in, oh, 1980-something, there was a Peanut Butter Twix in the USA? Oh yeah. The Twix we knew and loved, only the caramel had been replaced with PB....so good. I used to get them all the time at the summer camp snack kiosk, one of my fondest food memories from childhood.

So, I googled "peanut butter Twix" on the night of this massive, unshakable craving and much to my excitement, I found out that the PB Twix had made a comeback! Oh joy and happiness, I even found somewhere I could order a box on eBay (which was necessary, since I live in Australia now and PB Twix are only found in the States. What this country's aversion to peanut butter is, I will never understand). For no more than it would have cost me to buy 24 regular Twix bars in my local Aussie shopping center, I could import from the USA 24 of the much longed-for PB Twix! And order I did.

My friendly eBay seller did mention in his item description that PB Twix now have chocolate cookie instead of the butter cookie I had fallen in love with as a girl. I thought to myself that surely Mars, Inc. must know what they are doing changing the flavor and went ahead and bought them. After all, chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven, right? Of course!

What my eBay seller failed to tell me was that modern-day PB Twixes actually taste more like a stale, cremeless Oreo cookie, topped with a layer of I Can't Believe It's Not Peanut Butter, and a coating of smooth, chocolate-flavored Bonne Bell Lipsmacker, than the delectable delight I remembered from Bible camp days!

Oh, what bitter disappointment. But, come to think of it, this isn't the first time I've had reason to feel this way. You see, desperate people have ways of getting the things they desperately need. When I am in need of an American candy fix, I know where to get one. Over the past few years, though, I have noticed that American candy just isn't living up to my memories of it. The chocolate has become waxier, greasier, less like real chocolate. The peanut butter has become just a shadow of it's former self -- as if it is now just a clone of a clone of a clone (ala Homer Simpson, if anyone recalls that episode...or that movie, Multiplicity, with Michael Keaton) . It retains enough of its texture and flavor that perhaps those who eat this stuff frequently haven't even noticed the difference. But I do, and I feel, when eating one of these candy bars, as if I might be on an alternate universe somewhere eating an evil parallel version of the PB Twix I so fondly remember.

It's not just candy, either, that is taking a turn for the worse. Why does it seem that so much of the real food that I know you all once ate is being replaced with these [...prepackaged, washed-out salads; precooked, cut, seasoned, (chemically) marinated meats; casseroles made with two cans of (fill in the blank), a can of cream of (fill in the blank) soup, some instant (fill in the blank) and diced process American cheese product...] well, lets just call them food alternatives? What exactly is happening to the food over there, guys? Are you noticing it too?

For what it's worth, I'm not the only one who feels this way. My sister posted something on a similar topic a few months ago, and she should know. She recently moved from Australia, where food is still food (for the most part) and junk food is still just a treat (rather than, say, breakfast, as in Poptarts), back to the USA. I daresay it must have been pretty noticeable. [You can read that post here.]

Now, I don't pretend to know what y'all should do about this situation, if anything. What do you do? Does anyone think the decline in food quality has anything to do with the increase in health problems? Or am I just nuts? Open to and interested in conversation on this topic. :-)

I generally like to create at least one hand-made gift for each of my children at Christmas. This year, I started a little too late to do that -- but I did make these two rag-dolls. Both of these are hand-stitched from start to finish (thanks to my presently useless sewing machine) and were a pleasure to make. The best thing is, my girls love them. In fact, my younger daughter has already loved the shoes right off her dolly. :-)


They are wearing their underwear. A pair of bloomers and a petticoat is all I could seem to find time to make. Fortunately, the girls think the petticoats are rather pretty little dresses and they don't seem to miss the blouses and pinafores that I was planning on making. Maybe I will yet, anyway...maybe...



Creating the faces was a little intimidating, but it ended up being the most fun and rewarding part of the process. I used paint, embroidery and a little blush. :-)



I know I didn't finish all I had set out to do, but I am very happy (and more importantly, the girls are very happy) with what I did achieve! :-) I hope they will love these dollies for a long while.

I have been meaning to post some Christmas-related stuff but I have been quite busy! Anyway, no harm...I bet everyone else is too busy right now to be reading many blogs, anyway.

My oldest child, Jonathan, and I put together one of those gingerbread house kits and decorated it. We had great fun. He enjoyed the "big boy privileges"  of staying up late, and of course sampling some of the decorations. :-) He also made some very clever creative decisions, like using smarties to form wreaths on the side of the house, complete with a red smartie at the top of each, to look like a bow!


The little house sat quite proudly and happily on our dining room table for about two weeks. This morning, though, it met its sad demise. :-( A little indoor humidity caused by having our evaporative air conditioner on all night, with most of the windows closed (oops -- don't try that at your house) caused it to become soggy and collapse. I can't complain, at least it made it through Christmas, and it smelled good and cheered up the table the whole time. :-)


Ya done good, house, ya done good.

There just hasn't been too much going on that I felt was really blog-worthy. My husband has finished school, and so we have just been taking it easy and enjoying each other's company. It is a really nice change of pace from the frantic, stressful schedule of assignments and exams and classes to which we had all become accustomed (because when a single man studies, he may study alone, but when a married father of four-and-a-half studies, it is a team effort).

For a little while, we are able to be at home, together, as a family. We have no deadlines to meet and very few obligations. One benefit of this is the ability to pick up, at just about any time, and go do something fun. Because we are on a tight budget, this is also usually something free. Recently Daddy took all four children to the park near where we live. He documented the fun with photos. :-)

Benjamin is becoming a little man. He really is. Here's proof:






He even thinks he's big 'nuff to get away for a while.


Grace is mostly grown up, but she is still about 25% baby. :-) Don't tell her I told you that, though.



Mae and Grace obviously traded dresses this day.


Jonathan. :-) Not too old to have fun!




Hmm, what are they trying to say about Benjamin??


This looks like trouble...


Picking on the little guy:


"Mae, I want my dress back now!!"


Well, guys, time to go home!


There ya go, Moey. You complain that your blog posts are boring -- TAKE THAT!!!

Thanksgiving is a holiday not traditionally celebrated here in Australia. However, with my American parents and American husband, it still plays some role in my family's annual holiday traditions. This year, it seems most members of the extended family were going in separate directions and thus a Thanksgiving get-together wasn't really practical.

My husband seems to have been missing the Thanksgiving festivities lately, so I decided (this morning) to put together a Thanksgiving dinner for him, our four children, and me. It was to be relatively simple and easy, without much of the richness and tummy-ache potential typical of Thanksgiving fare. I settled on the following menu:

Roast turkey breast
Mashed potatoes
Gravy (didn't happen, but we didn't miss it anyway)
Maple carrots
Corn and green bean bake
Dinner rolls
Apple pie (husband's favorite)
Cranberry gelatin salad (didn't set on time, is still in the fridge firming up)

I started cooking at about 2pm, I think. Everything was done...by 8pm. LOL! That's okay, my family is accustomed to the occasional late dinner. And this one was special!!

I set the table using some beautiful linens passed on to me from my Grandmother, along with the small table runner I made a couple of months ago. We are not much for formalities around here, so it was a very noticeable change and I really enjoyed it.


We have so much to be thankful for here in this household. Our family is wonderful, we are loved by the Lord, and we have many friends and loved ones all over the world. We are very blessed.


We also had apple pie, as I mentioned. That, too, was something to be thankful for.


And I think that if little Benjamin was capable, he would tell you that he is very...


...very thankful for...


...mashed potatoes.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Perhaps the first time something like this happens in a day, you are only slightly annoyed. Maybe, even, mildly amused. You are, after all, generally quite able to see the lighter side of things. Perhaps you consider that a positive character trait of yours. You certainly don't take yourself too seriously. Yes, you can be proud of that.


Wait. Who are you kidding? These things keep on happening to you and it's JUST NOT FAIR! Never mind the fact that you (quite obviously) get yourself into these messes. Never mind the fact that if you would stop doing silly and foolish things, you could avoid all this hassle!



Oh, and never mind the fact that if you had a mommy who didn't relish these unfortunate moments in your life, you would find yourself out of these pickles a little faster. "Oh BOTHER! Why must she keep taking pictures?" you say.

One day you will understand.

I have never seen a spider quite like this one before. I didn't actually see this one, either, but my husband kindly photographed it and left the photo on the camera for me to find (against my will, but that's another matter). Does anyone know what kind of creature this is? I was so impressed (that being a relative term, especially in regards to spiders) by its interesting coloring. I guess, though, that I was more impressed that it was outside, rather than inside. Seeing as how it was directly outside of my bedroom window and all.

Incidentally, while the critter may appear to be huge, it wasn't really that big. The perspective of the photo is a little strange.