Crafty Night

Vince had a football night a week or so ago with some friends and I sat home and enjoyed some quiet time sewing and watching figure skating on TV. I had actually already seen the competition they were showing (Grand Prix in Paris) but I decided to watch again since a) you can never watch too much figure skating, b) there were some exciting things happening (Trent and Vise landing the first throw triple salchow in competition!) and c) the music was a nice background for sewing.

So, I made a baby blanket for Henry. Not actually a blanket, per se, but a little lovey that he can use to comfort himself so that I don't have to be up all night with him! Eleanor's blankie is a small knit square (thanks Barb P.) that she has dragged all over creation -- so much so that it hardly resembles anything other than a rag. But she loves it. And, it is conveniently small. I thought Henry might like something similar but since I am not a knitter, I put together a white textured cotton fabric and a blue cotton flannel that he can hold on to. I also appliqued his name on top, just because I thought it would be cute. All of my time with the Kuna, watching them sew with such patience and precision, really gave me an appreciation for the art of applique and reverse applique. It is fun to be able to put a bit of that same type of love into something for my son.





I've got a couple of other little projects going and some other ideas rolling around but I'm going to save those for another post since some of them are birthday and baby gifts -- I don't want to ruin the surprises before they go out. Though I might as well, I am embarassingly far behind with all of this. Ahh, well.

Favorite (Baby) Things - Teether

This favorite has the official two kid seal of approval. The Combi 4 Month Teether is an enormous hit with Henry just as it was (and frankly still is) with Eleanor. The Combi 4 Month Teether is an agreeable green piece of soft plastic with a yellow, pacifier-looking nub, which, I am sure, is the reason Eleanor still finds this particular baby item so appealing. It also has a light, tinkly sounding rattle incorporated into the design, just perfect for calling the attention of a fussy baby. Eleanor enjoyed this teether so much that I purchased the Combi 8 Month Teether but that was probably money wasted since it held her interest for all of 5 seconds.

The Slow Cooker and Turkey Chili

I got Vince a slow cooker for our anniversary. He had been mentioning how much he liked my mom's turkey chili cooked in the slow cooker and how it would be great to have that kind of food on a regular basis. My initial instinct was, "We cannot fit another single kitchen appliance into our tiny kitchen." The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that I, too, LOVE my mom's turkey chili. And, I began imagining other similar sorts of dishes that could be left to cook all day and ready for dinner. Who doesn't like having dinner ready without having to scramble around right as everyone is melting down from a hunger tantrum?

I have to admit, I love having it around. The one we got is a Rival 5.5 quart Crock Pot and it is working great. Very easy to use. I also thought that I would share the amazing turkey chili recipe that my mom uses but I was nervous since it was from a magazine -- I didn't want to infringe on any laws I might not have been aware of -- but thanks to the wonder of the Internet, I can happily link to the recipe for "Ginny's All-American Chili Chowder". It is very good with chips, rice, and/or cheddar cheese. Happy (slow) cooking!

Zoom, Zoom Ridin' in the Car...

Music Together class started up again today. I do love music class -- Linda is a great teacher, the songs are always lively and fun, and watching the kids dance about is so sweet. I do, however, get sick of listening to the same song over and over. Not songs, plural -- I quite like the songs. It is the song that Eleanor chooses to LOVE that I get sick of. I can tell this class it is going to be "Ridin' in the Car". As some of you may remember, Eleanor fixated on "Sandpiper" in the last class and cried frantically when the song would end. There was one day in particular where we listened to that song for about 8 hours straight. We did eventually move past the hysterics but she still asks for that song more than any other.

When we got home today and put the CD on, "Ridin' in the Car" happened to be the first song after the standard "Hello Song" and we were unable to get past it. I think she really enjoyed pretending to drive a car at class today, which I suppose is understandable. I mean who doesn't like leaning to one side as if driving at top speed around a hairpin turn? The funny thing is, "Ridin' in the Car" has many of the same components as "Sandpiper" does: a lively upbeat tune, several engaging but easy to remember verses, and a final verse that involves sleeping (sleeping by the sea in the case of the sandpiper, sleeping in the car in the case of this new song). We'll see if it sticks as her new favorite.

Holiday in Michigan

We had a lovely time in the Great Lakes State over the holidays. Here are some of the highlights in no particular order...


Henry's Baptism:


Finishing a really hard puzzle -- the one on the right. (I know, it doesn't look that hard!):


Christmas dinner:


A walk at the farm:


Trains at Henry Ford Museum:


Nine inches of snow:


Jackson the dog:


A tea party:


And, of course, hanging out with family: