back in the game

so to speak...

today was pretty productive and good for the most part! 3 cheers!!!

we got up and went with our friends loren and milja to get some yarn at my new favorite local place(some koigu kersti hand painted camo-colored merino for some boy leg warmers!) and then we were home to prepare the "wellness" packs. also called heat/cold therapy bags. whatever...they are awesome. and beautiful, if i can say so myself! i am going to borrow a camera tomorrow to take some photos for y'all. thank you to sewmamasew's kristin for the great tutorial and ideas!

so...got 3 big lavendar scented rice bags done. i did the main bag out of cream colored cotton flannel. the covers are strip pieced out of cotton and linen with some great japanese prints thrown in! yeah! i love them! i also did 3 peppermint scented barley "boo boo" bags for the freezer (same process with sewing) and 3 eucalyptus scented flaxseed bags for eyes/sinuses! i'm now a little too into this and want to make more!!!

but i need to take a moment to make a couple of these great hooded towels for stella. the poor girl still loves her baby towels, but she is just too darn big! so i'm off to tjmaxx to grab some great towels to alter.

so...i'm gonna get some sleep now and hope for another productive day tomorrow. hoping to have those twirly skirts done! i need a check list...

couldn't you have guessed?

yep...

You Are a Fruitcake!

You taste like nothing else in this world. And get ready, you're about to get tossed!

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

wellness

wellness, yes. that's what we're wanting right now. it seems like the moment a stressful situation is over, i get overwhelmed with sickness. when we got home from eli's endoscopy, i was SO tired. (but understandably so...) so i napped. woke up feeling achy and tired. hmmmm. stella has had this sinusitis thing for 3 weeks. on nasal spray, antibiotics, etc etc etc. coughing all night long, yada yada. so...i wake up tuesday morning SO stuffy, headachy, tired...the works. eli gets diarrhea.

we rest. i knit more. we watch tv. (merry christmas, charlie brown) i'm pumping the vitamin c, echinacea, tea, water...take alkaseltzer cold. that stuff is gross.

wednesday. still not feelin' it. call out of work. more resting. more tving. (shrek the halls...the grinch)

today. a little better. ran errands, decided to cancel stella's violin lesson. just not 100%...restful night. now i'm thinking, more alkaseltzer? not sure. it's on it's way out. hoping for a cough free night with some REAL rest. (an hour into it and so far so good)

tomorrow? making the wellness bags featured on sewmamasew's handmade holiday's blog. got all the supplies lined up and ready to go. first one i'm making? the eye pillow with flaxseed filling and eucalyptus oil for the sinuses. and it's gonna be mine.

we're home

the endoscopy is done.

relief.

tired.

eli did great, and everything looks fine. dr. tung took biopsies to make sure of everything, but the pics look "normal". while we have copies of the photos: esophagus, stomach, intestines, i think i'll spare the weak tummied.

thanks for your prayers and thoughts. results in 2 weeks.

now, to take a nap.

gift making

er, um...yeah. exactly...well, a gift for me, that is! how stinkin' selfish is this...i spent the whole weekend working on this!



(knit in blue sky alpaca's sport weight in a nice, deep green (almost brown)mmmmm, cushy!)

well, i'm blaming it on the need to relax, sit still, and not stress. the testing for eli begins monday morning, 7am. he's not to eat or drink anything after midnight, which will stink, taking that he still nurses and typically right around 4am. i've been fighting the tears and the worry (for i know it adds nothing to your life!), but man is it hard! so...cute sweater in tow, i will set off to the surgical center at 6:30am with chris and eli. stella will stay with grammy and boppa for the night. can't wait for monday to be over!!!

so back to that holiday gift making (the real kind...you know, for others!)

handmade friday...

I HEART HANDMADE HOLIDAYS!!!

as you know, i have taken a pledge to give the gift of handmade this christmas. now, i do have a couple little exceptions, like books, and a couple good quality toys for the kiddos. (stella LOVES her american girl doll...and well, i love that she loves that!) but anyway, in response to my pledge, i am furthermore VOWING to NOT shop today, black friday. instead...i will spend my day creating some of those said gifts (and possibly ordering books online!) i wanted to participate in sewmamasew's handcrafter's holiday blog meme...so here goes. some of what i'm up to:



For starters:

Gifts I'm Giving...

i am so excited for stella on christmas morning! i already have a couple skirts in the works from The Merry Church Mouse's charm pack skirt tutorial, and the house on hill roads twirly skirt tutorial, these barrettes from angry chicken (which we've made before, but i am going to MASTER this time!)
(i will take photos next week when they are all done! check back!)

i think lots of kids on my list will be getting the crayon roll-ups from skip to my lou's tutorial...how great are they? perfect for taking along (no crushed boxes!) i am thinking of adding my own coloring pages to that (my own drawings made into a simple book...maybe).
i also plan on making some "cozy friends" pillows. simple creatures sewn out of soft cotton fabrics...either prints or maybe plain for them to draw on themselves???? hmmm...

some grown-ups will get some stocking stuffers of tissue holder's and key chains.
there are also plans and supplies purchased for a very nice scarf, lovely placemats, and more!

that's it for a start. check back for more info for the blog meme...i'll be posting more photos, projects, some details about traditions our family celebrates and more.

for now...hoping you enjoy a restful friday and somehow avoid the madness!

happy thanksgiving

hoping you all enjoy a day of rest, good food, loving friends and family, and gratitude...

the menu:
martha's maple glazed turkey with riesling gravy
basic cornbread stuffing casserole
cranberry stuffing (inside the bird)
basic smashed potatoes (the way stella likes them!)
candied sweet potatoes (yes, with the mini marshmallows!)
roasted asparagus
my mom's sauteed mushrooms (a holiday meal is not complete without them!)
cranberry sauce (you know, the real kind)
cranberry jelly (you can't deny the canned stuff...mmmmmmm!)
crescent rolls
sparkling grape juice (by request of stella!)

dessert:
REAL pumpkin pie. yep...a real pumpkin, really roasted, pureed, spiced and baked into the PERFECT pie crust. can't wait to bite into it! (loren and i adapted from this recipe)
i think chris' mom will bring another dessert, plus ice cream for the kiddies (and the spice wafers!)

enjoy your day!

pay it forward

have you been seeing this out there in blogland??? i have, and it got me. you know how things do that...you see it, you think, wow...nice...then you can't stop thinking about it and it sounds nice and fun...so you sign up.

well here is your chance to join the many...


here is what happens:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

easy enough...
now sign up...

pray for eli

tummy boy
Originally uploaded by picking.up.purls.

well...another trip to the pediatrician results in more failure to thrive. this time, eli fell off the growth chart for weight all together. we saw his GI doctor yesterday who prescribed a battery of tests: urine ph, pancreatic elastase, IgA level, and Celiac Panel, along with an upper endoscopy to be done on the 26th. i've called the nutritionist again, but can't see her until december 17th (!) but asked her to call me...as i need this to get moving a.s.a.p.

he weighs 20 lbs. 15 oz.
he's 18 months old.
he is 31 inches long.
he is developmentally at a 2+ year old level....what the heck???

he doesn't eat much at all.....
he's so sweet and smart.

please pray for him (and us).

thanks.

a whole new kind of christmas...

here are some sites that i am finding informational, inspiring, and downright scary...

a list of ALL the toy recalls...YIKES!

an inspiring blog post by my favorite, soulemama, on why to go wooden.

another favorite and inspiring post on not made in china by angry chicken.

so...check 'em out...and let me know what you think!!!

get ready!

photos are here (finally)...i'll post some here but be sure to check my flickr page for tons more!

but first!!! i received my fall swap package in the mail this weekend! it is so nice to get fun mail! alison sent me a hand quilted scarf! (she said she never quilted!!!) it's pieced on one side with great cotton prints and the back is this lovely velvet/fleece piecework. so cozy! and lovely!!! i also received 2 appliqued tea towels with fall leaves and a GREAT pincushion. i LOVE this pincushion so much!
how much joy can a pincushion bring??? lots i tell you, lots. THANK YOU, ALISON!!! and thanks to chara for hosting this swap. i really enjoyed it. i'll post photos of my goodies when i get THOSE developed. i'm slow on that part, really.

onto the photos! first:

stella's party...

the flower fairies we made...


what we do at "school"...some of the time!
write...

play...

build...


and some recent crafting for lilly's 8th birthday gift. i made her an embroidery kit. check it out...
the gift bag (why it is sideways...i can't figure...) i embroidered a little mousey tea party on it from wee wonderfuls stitchette's.

a peeky inside...the nicely lined bag (wink wink) and another wee wonderfuls transfer for lilly to embroider herself!

the goods...the bag, the transfer on linen in a hoop, floss, needles, and handwritten instructions (not shown)...


well...hop on over to flickr now to see the rest. eli did not get proper attention here, but i can't figure out the flipping of the photos. nor how to upload straight from flickr...so whatevs.

thanks for hanging in there folks. you keep me going! i'm gonna try to keep on looking up...needing some inspiration, hope, change...
big sigh...

so embarrassed...

i just noticed that i haven't posted for 24 days. not good. yeah, i've been "busy" or "stressed" or just plain uninspired (and still waiting for those photos...pickin' em up tomorrow). but here are some things that have been spinning in my head:

i finished my fall swap package and mailed off to canada on friday. i am so excited to share whhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifat was in it but can't until alison receives it! everything was so fun to make and put together. i'll post photos when (1) she receives it and (2) when they are developed.

halloween...oh it was fine. i worked so missed out on trick or treating. stella was a spooky cat (black cat costume made by elin for lilly a couple years ago...SCORE!), eli was a mouse (by elin for ida!!! hooray!!! no work for me!) even thought october's project of the month was to make a costume, i will count the 7 fairy skirts, pairs of wings and face painting i did at stella's birthday party...think that's ok???

i took the pledge, did you??? (see the button???) i am really gonna try. i hate mass produced junk...but i know some people prefer it to be "returnable" or ...well, just mass produced. oh well...we'll see what i do with them.

for handmade gift ideas you should check out:
sew mama sew
creature comfort's holiday gift guide
indie collective's gift guide
and, of course, etsy
there's gotta be something for everyone in those lists!

i am thinking of hosting a swap for december...kinda like a big pollyanna...for project of the month. you'd send me email, name, address, i'd match you up w/ someone, you'd send a handmade gift of some sort. any takers? i'll decide if it's for reals later on.

for november, i want to collect thanksgiving recipes....i was thinking of posting them all together for a reference of sorts. so if you have a favorite, please send it my way!!!

alright...check out the poll i have and answer honestly...

i hope to post photos tomorrow...for now, check out chris' flickr page...he's hooked!

i'm gonna hit the hay...eli has a fever and who knows what the night will hold!!! (if it's like stella's from saturday...it'll last 8 hours, end up with yuck in the trashcan, if you know what i mean, and then fine and dandy...we'll see.)

alrighty...thanks for hanging in there...this was a rambler!