Thankful

Ah, Thanksgiving. Time to see family and eat yummy food. But this year, more than most, being thankful has been on my mind. I am so very grateful for:

Our home and this stunning piece of property on which we live. John for loving me and for being a good Dad. Mary and Ellie for being my daughters, and for teaching me more about love and life than I imagined possible. John's job which allows me to stay home with the girls. Our health. Food in our stomachs and plenty more in the freezer. Free firewood. And last but not least all of our friends and family who love and support us in big ways and small--you are each very special to me.

Smelly Ellie

Yes, that's right, after MONTHS of agonizing over what to name Eleanor, the day she was born I looked down at her in the wee hours of the morning and said "Oh, hello, Smelly Ellie." And here she is, modeling a new diaper that came in the mail today. So there, the secret is out. I call my child "Smelly."

I'm crafty!

I've been busy this week with Christmas stuff and a few other small projects. Ellie had her 2 month check up, and Mary's been busy building tents for her friends. We have a block tent and a tent made out of a table cloth draped over two dining room chairs. Ellie's up to 12 pounds! We tried to squeeze her into a 3-6 month one piece outfit yesterday to go to the store and realized she needs bigger stuff.

So, what did I make this week? I worked on bags mainly. The first one didn't come out very well. I just wanted to see how big of a pocket I needed so I could have one on the outside of the bag that would hold the bag folded into itself. The next bag never made it to the sewing machine (didn't put the pattern on the fold right, even though the pattern says FOLD in huge letters). I am still going to try to salvage the material for a later project though. The third bag came out pretty nice.
The outer is vintage Holly Hobby fabric from Grandma Mary and the brown inner is vintage fabric from Mamaw Judy's stash. We'll be using this bag for library books:).

Folded into the pocket:

So that bag was also practice for the one(s) I'll be giving away for Christmas. I've started on the pocket of the first gift. When it's folded up, you'll see this little guy (he still needs an eye, I've tried 3 or 4 things but haven't been happy with them).

When the bag is open and in use, this little guy will be on the pocket:

I also had time to work on the felted handbag I'm making for the Christmas exchange. It's almost done. I just need to weave in the ends, make the handles and then felt it.

I also sold some of Ellie's small/newborn diapers this week and got some new (to us) ones for her to grow into.The two on the bottom are so soft inside. The inner part is made of bamboo velour. That just has to be more comfortable than disposable diapers! I can't wait for Ellie to grow into these.

Speaking of Ellie, gotta go!

done!

If I never see or make another wrist warmer again, that will be fine with me! The cream ones are for Mom, and she's giving the other two pair as gifts.

Next up, sewing bags for Christmas. And for myself if I have time. And I'm making a felted handbag for the Christmas exchange. I need to get started on it, but I don't have the pattern. I need to borrow the book from the library and haven't gotten around to it. I can knit while Mary watches cartoons, and then sew at night after she's in bed. Ellie goes to sleep around 9pm so that gives me a good hour a night to sew before I have to go to bed.


The weather was really nice here this week, but now it's cold. We did enjoy a few afternoons outside.



Mary loves her little sister! I think Mary sort of finally understands that Ellie is a person. Ellie is getting a lot more vocal and can roll over now, so Mary can "play" with her a bit. Mary loves to hold Ellie's hands and helps me with her baths. I really hope they are great friends growing up.

Flying solo

John's out of town for a few days for work. I could have gone with him, but all of us in the car for 5 hours didn't sound like that much fun. So here I am with the girls. It's the first time he's been gone for work since Ellie was born. Speaking of Ellie--she was two months old yesterday! Time flies!

Yesterday went okay. The afternoon got pretty long and after dinner was sort of crazy, but I got through it. Mary and I were trying to wash dishes, but Ellie was in a bad mood. Have you ever tried to nurse a mad, tired baby and wash dishes with one hand? I'm sure it was comical. I finally got Ellie calmed down, and she let me put her in the ring sling. I washed a few more things, then put her down half asleep and quickly finished the last few items. She started fussing as soon as I let the water out of the sink. I was worried about bedtime, but it went fine. Ellie slept at the foot of Mary's bed while I nursed Mary to sleep. The good thing is that now that Mary no longer naps, she falls asleep in about 10 minutes at night. I hope things go as smoothly tonight (for bedtime at least, last night itself is a different story. I did enjoy sleeping with both girls, although "sleep" might not be the right word for it.).

Mary was up bright and early thanks to the time change! Ugh. Ellie was up too, so we just got up. We have a lot to do today anyway. I've already made breakfast, fed the cats, cleaned the litter boxes, and started the washer to do the diapers. After cartoons, I need to shower, get both girls dressed and then go into town for a bit. Tonight we are going to dinner down at John's Dad's house. Hopefully today will be busy enough that it moves a little quicker for me.

I need to knit! I got two pair of Mom's wrist warmers done, but I'm not very excited about the third pair. I am going to try to start it tonight while I watch election coverage. That is, if Ellie will behave while I knit, and if Mary stays asleep after I put her to bed. Even if I don't start tonight, I think I can start as late as Thursday morning and still be done when she gets here Saturday to pick them up.

Off to get more coffee!! Although I think I might actually need something a bit stronger to get through this day........


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