Adelaide's Cat

Christmas Stockings

I got creative and took some shots of our Christmas stockings that I made. The pattern comes from the book Alterknits Felt. First I knit the stocking using wool that will felt - and then put it in the washing machine with hot water and some soap...and wa-lah - you have these beautiful stockings! I stitched the bottom of Myles blue one to keep the curl really tight, and think I will probably do that with the other two as well. I think they are quiet Seussey - and even though I have them hanging from the tree here - they also look great hanging near the tree at Christmas time.

I read this sentence today and liked it

This is the only life there is.


Comments....anyone....anyone......
Nobody ever leaves me comments. Will YOU tell me what you think of this sentence?

I am adding to this post because maybe that sentence alone doesn't get across what I really read. It was talking about how if we knew the date we would die, we would understand that there is a finite number of days ahead, and we might make more of each day. If we knew how many days we had, we would be less likely to waste days on being angry, upset or lazy. It was also talking about how THIS life that we each live is up to us, and we don't get to be somebody else, born to a different family, or with different abilities or gifts. We have what we have, and can do with it what we want. I guess the THIS should be emphasized more than the ONLY -
It's also about living in the present. It's so easy to get stuck in the past or only live for the future, but as we do that, the present time and life we are living right now is passing us by...we are living it and not even realizing it.

These are all things I know we have all heard before, but for some reason it's just really interesting to me right now. I think I'm on a new spiritual journey ever since Adelaide's birth. Maybe I got too close to God that day, or too close to Death - I have no idea, but I don't mind trying to figure out what things are all about - it's fun to try and guess!

New Sweater

I just finished this new sweater for Adelaide. It's so cozy on her - I just love it!

Photo update

I hate being so behind on this blog -but lately it seems like there is just no time! Here are some pictures I've been meaning to post for a while.

1/10/10 Punkie on her new bike that she got for Christmas. Apparently already thinks it's okay to be on it with no hands????




1/14/10 - The Children's Museum. We met up with Lara and Damian for a fun time!


A new adorable outfit from Granny, AND Punkie got her first pair of shades (actually her second! Crystal got her first pair when she was born)A pair of Elton's - just like mommy!



This usually happens at least once a day =)

Some of us are so Lucky

I don't even know where to start this blog. It's about the earthquake in Haiti. It's about us being so lucky. The part that breaks my heart the most are the little ones who are new orphans - babies and kids whose mommies, daddies, grannys, families died in the quakes, and they are left all alone, so scared with nobody there to hug and kiss them and tell them things will be okay. It just makes me so sad to think about them, and what will become. Nothing makes me sadder than to think of my baby all alone, scared and sad and wanting me or her daddy and us never coming back to her. So what do we do? I wish I could adopt hundreds of them, but of course that's not possible. So how much money can we send? Where will it go? Is Twenty enough, or $60, or $100? How much is enough? How much am I willing to go without and if I do, will it really help? What if we only eat the food that we already have in our house for the next two weeks? And what if I don't buy another toy or piece of clothing for Adelaide for 3 months...what if I sold my bike or even my car.....even that wouldn't be enough to help all of them, or even a few.

And what about the orphans in Darfur? What about the Lost boys of Sudan? What about all of the hungry little kids begging for money in Costa Rica, Panama or Mexico? This world seems so sad sometimes. I'm so lucky that I have such happiness and peace in my life.

I just went upstairs to nurse my sweet girl. She has her cozy warm jammies on, and her fuzzy blankie, and is sound asleep in our warm, clean bedroom, without a worry in this world. She doesn't know about the earthquake in Haiti, and I don't want to tell her about it right now. I just hope that if the day ever comes where she is faced with tragedy such as this, that she is strong, and also that she carries my love in her heart. I want her to know how much I love her, and that is impossible. I hope she understands that I don't ever want her to be alone. I understand that life can be hard, sometimes harder than we ever thought possible, but you can't give up. I just love her so much and these things really make me think about it even more than normal. Who would have ever thought that having a baby would have turned me into such mush? I'm so smitten with her, with Myles, I'm so lucky. I'm so thankful.

Words and her NAME

Today Adelaide said her own name! First she was saying Oliver - "Ollleeee" it was so cute. She really pronounces the L's in her words lately. Then I told her to say "Adelaide" and she did perfectly!! I just can't believe it! She also has said 'Elmo' a few times perfectly. Here are some of her other words right now - Up, Judy, book, Eyes, Socks, Baby, Toys, Dog, she tries to say Broccoli. She also sings to herself in her baby babble or hums, and is doing amazing with her sign language. It's so amazing to see how smart she is. She knows where her ears are, and knows how to make the sound for Dog, Sheep, Turkey, Chicken, Monkey, Lion, Cow, and probably a lot more that I can't remember right now. I need to be sure I keep teaching her stuff because at this rate she seems to be learning faster than I can keep up!

She is also so close to walking on her own and all she wants to do is practice. She was walking through Home Depot today with me holding one hand and Myles the other, it was so precious. She will stand up on her own for a second and then fall on her butt, I think she is practicing the falling part as much as the standing part. She will be running circles around us in no time I am sure.

Dear Yoga, I am back.

I recently took a short hiatus from yoga - not because I meant to,it was an accident. I went tonight and am so happy to be in love with it again. Let me try and make this short.
I have been doing yoga with my same teacher Amy for about 4 or 5 years now. I love her. She has taught me so much, opened my eyes to a spiritual side I didn't know I had, and made my body so much stronger. Her classes got me through the death of my grandfather, my aunts, my pregnancy, and even Adelaide's birth. I don't know how many times I sat in the dark candle light of her class and cried while she spoke words that seems so amazing from ancient texts. I was able to release some of my sadness from life, from The birth of A etc. I feel like I belong there in her class. One of the problems is that I have to drive about 25 minutes to get to her classes. They couldn't really be more across town from where we live. The other thing is that I KNOW her classes, I know what poses to expect most of the time. I know the flow, I love the music she plays, I know a lot of people in the class and that is fun. I just feel like I haven't been growing as much as I had previously in her classes, not as much progression (although she still kicks my butt and makes me cry!) Anyway, I have been wanting to find a new place closer to home. My class card had run out at her studio, so instead of buying another 12 classes I have decided to try a new studio that is literally about 10 blocks from our house.

I went to a class there about 2 months ago, and liked the space, but the teacher wasn't Amy....and I just didn't feel the "flow" that I like about yoga. I know there are many other teachers at that studio, and I really feel the teacher is at least 76%of the experience, so I tried again tonight. Tonight I met Renee.

Class was good. I feel good now. I feel like I got a good work out. But the part I liked the most about tonight's class was the reading that she did. I wish I knew who's words she was speaking so I could put the name here, and be sure to quote correctly, but I really have no idea. I just know it moved me. Here are the things she talked about that I liked the best.

"Our body is our only real home in this universe". I love this because if you really think about it, you realize that you can always go "home". You can always feel like you are "home" when you really need to, if you know your body. And this is why we need to cherish our bodies, and keep them strong and healthy. We live in our bodies all of the time, that is what being 'alive' IS.

The other thing I liked is she said, instead of picturing your soul inside of your body, filling up the cracks and crevices inside, imagine it the other way around. That your soul is bigger, and it holds your body inside of it, with it's edges glowing out all around.
For some reason I really liked this idea. It makes me feel like my body is partially protected by my soul, and makes me want to take care of my soul too, to cherish it and keep it healthy and happy so that it keeps my body well.

I know I don't get very deep on this blog much, and it really is all about Adelaide, but it makes me feel good to share the things that make me feel good. I'm going to keep up my yoga practice, and am so excited about the places it will take me. I will still go see Amy on a Sunday every now and then (it's like "church" of yoga =)but I am going to let myself wander to these new places as well, and know that what ever happens, I can always find peace, happiness, and 'home' inside me, because I carry it with me as we all do, sometimes it's just kinda hard to find.

The Amazing Cucumber

The Amazing Cucumber

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area. (WOW)

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!! (DOUBLE WOW)

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber sliced rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams..

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Empowerment

"'How does one become a butterfly?' she asked pensively. 'You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.'"
-Trina Paulus

Big Eyes my LOVE

Baby it's COLD outside!

Tillie

I have been working at getting my little photography business together and had the great idea that I should get more experience shooting dogs. This city is full of dog lovers and it might be a good niche for me to get into. I learned quickly that dogs do not hold still the way people do (grown up people at least!). It was really fun to get to practice with Tillie, and her cuteness makes it hard to take a bad picture of her. Hopefully I'll get more dog practice soon. For now, I present - Tillie!

More Knitting

It's so amazing how winter comes, and suddenly there seems to be so much more time for knitting! Not that I really have any extra time, but I get so motivated. I have finished our 3 Christmas Stockings and promise to post photo's soon - they turned out beautiful. I also finished one more baby boy hat for Waylon- and I also had to make Adelaide a little hat as well!

Sleepyhead in her Bed

I have been reading books about discipline and all of that and now I feel like Adelaide should be able to fall asleep on her own. I have never believed that a child should cry themselves to sleep - that is no way to find rest. But now that Adelaide is a bit older, and I know that we have a very secure attachment, and I can tell the difference in her cries, Myles and I have decided to see how it will work. We actually got the idea when we were at the coast, because we were miraculously able to lay Adelaide down in the playpen where we made her a bed, and she would put herself to sleep! It was unbelievable, and we figured if she could do it there, she could do it at home too - not the case. For some reason when we are in our room (where she has always gone to bed) Adelaide fights it. She wants us to be there with her to rock or bounce her to sleep. This usually takes up around an hour to accomplish.
We are going to give it about a week to see how she does on her own. So far she has been pretty good at nap time. She will fuss and yell for 30 seconds to a minute, then she plays for a while, and then goes to sleep. It's pretty amazing.
The other huge transiton is that she is only taking one nap a day now. Most of the other babies we know will sleep for a few hours, but not Punkie. She naps for 45 minutes to an hour at the most. But the fact that she only takes one nap means that she is much more tired when we put her to sleep. She seems to nurse to sleep most of the time so far so we will see how it goes. No matter what, we are not going to leave her in there crying for more than a few minutes, and if it doesn't work we are not going to keep it up, because more than anything we want her to be happy and have a secure attachment.