In the mail, finally...She is a month old already?!

Reverse applique using polar fleece, very stretchy polar fleece, for all its non-piling advantages.  An IKEA pillowcase gave some stability (without it I made a puckered up mess of stretchy wrinkly awfulness.  This quilt is brought to you by UN-SEWER's united!  Love my seam ripper and an afternoon of unsewing quietly in the sunny window seat...) Silky rose Barbizon background and other side, so this is more a wrap or blankie, than a true old-fashioned quilt, no batting.  Find the fox!

I am thankful for colorful, fun fabric.  Love the visual and tactile blessings of our bodies, being able to touch, caress, admire, luxuriate in color and enjoy.

Fox found on a cute tea towel from TJ Maxx that I originally was sending to my brother for his birthday, with his great middle family-history name!

Baby Flower Sandals

Hard to tell what these are from this picture, but think cute little baby girl toes peeking out from the bottom of the flowers, like this:

In the tutorial she warns that they are addicting to make...

I needed a fast shower gift, and was able to use materials on hand, things in my sewing studio...Made 3 pairs in less than 45 minutes.

Double Baby Shower (FLOUR BABY)

 We had a baby shower for our 12-almost-13 year old's baby boy.  And for another newborn baby boy of a 13 year old father.  Mahonri and Leo, each held by their single parents below.

When I invited her brother Max, out of context, his eyes widened...

(Roxie with GREAT GRANDPA John!)

And I had to quickly explain it is an English class assignment, to carry and care for a 5 lbs sack of flour, dressed up in baby clothes, swaddled.  Be a parent for a week and a half, 24 hours every day.  Unless you contract a babysitter, which you have to pay in chores.  Not a class on human development (carry an egg) but a writing assignment, similar to the experiment that takes place in the book, Flour Babies, by Anne Fine.

Roxie says Mahonri is getting heavier.  He goes everywhere in her arms.  No stroller or baby carrier allowed (although a health teacher is doing project as well, and he has baby carrier).  No babies in backpacks or grocery sacks.  Forbidden to keep in your locker or home alone.  Protect your baby from the weather (we had a crazy storm yesterday and it was tough to keep him dry!) She has been very faithful and sweet with him, and says, delightedly, that he takes lots of naps, so she can read.

Grandma & Grandpa brought presents:

One of my favorite games we played:  guess the correct popular baby names by decade according to Census information.  (I only used the top 20 names, for years 2000, 1990, 1960, 1940, 1910, 1880, put them out of order on sheet and let them circle correct decade).  Grandma Sandy and Laura both got them all correct. 

Smell/taste/guess 10 bottles of unlabeled baby food. GROSS!  The Texas Tacos and cupcakes made up for it!

Make as many words as you can from the baby's name.

NOT say "baby" "boy" or "son" or your corsage (tissue paper glued to clothes pin) gets taken away by whomever caught you saying the word.

Carry/waddle with a ping pong ball between your legs and drop it successfully into a cup.  Balloons under shirt makes it so you can't see your knees or the cup--we didn't do that detail with a mixed gender guest crowd.

Blindfolded undress (baby doll, not REAL flour babies!) and change baby's diaper!

Write down wishes/blessings for baby.

So far Roxie has been a great mom!

And this gives us a good chance to pass on what we learned as parents:

(Yes, that is a MAM pacifier, hot glued in place & GRANDPA John showing off his burping skills!)

I am a grandma of a flour baby, and we have had fun with outfits, trying not to give too much advice. I am surprisingly protective and fiercely loyal to this little guy, and it is comforting holding him, rocking him with that dance/rhythm that comes back with a baby in your arms.  There is power in role play.  I look forward to reading Roxie's project at the end of the week and a half.

She has already told me she would like to find Sunday clothes for him for Church, maybe a bow tie or something...

Recent Projects

Crocheted-edge 2 flannel receiving blanket gift, in a toy bag with clear pocket changeable label.

Burp cloths, for all the new baby boys of girlfriends in our Church congregation!

Zig-zags on other side of kitchen to match.  Contact paper, so easy to put up.

If you stand back far enough, you can see the big picture...

Never before seen photo, pixelated for a quilt pattern.

Thanks to sister Luanna, for sending the sweet photo from many years ago, our trip to Statue of Liberty when she was a young teenager living with us one summer...

Working Thoughts

Painted crib railing by 3 older siblings of Sam. Black marker words by me. Ikea Christmas heart decorations with family history names markered on.
We survived the first week of no school. Suzu had young women's camp, Max was gone at Maryland State Boychoir camp, so I only had two of my children home.

Add two cousins. And a younger sibling of a young woman who's mom was at camp. And a neighbor across the alley who likes to come play. And Hazel and little brother on Tuesday, and baby Tommy with teeth (!) on Friday...How did my mom ever survive 9 children?

Geri nursed her baby and listened to lunch one day, complimenting how organized it all sounded. HA! It is hard not to laugh and make fun of myself. It didn't feel organized! Crazy chaos! With joyful, good moments. And I knew it wasn't permanent, only a short-time of caring for this household of super young children.

I really do like playing with babies, and toddlers, and with all my teenagers gone, some of the stress was missing...

Quote from Church today: "Looking at the big picture relieves stress" (from Elder Neil Anderson to his daughter in our stake to her high council husband to our stake president councillor who spoke briefly in our meeting today).

The big picture is forever families. Children grow up and have their own children. I look forward to grand parenthood, when my children will raise their own children. I am glad to help other young mothers ease their demanding burden--that will disappear so quickly for them, too. Others helped me when I needed childcare support. I graduated from BYU because of babysitting help my mom gave us (Emma and Stewart did go to lots of classes with us, too). We traded nights with other couples so we could still afford a date without paying a babysitter.

With my busy week I couldn't go clean John's grandma's condo during the day--had to sneak over there at night. Didn't make it to my finance 6 hour a week job. Didn't do any painting. I am thankful again and again for John's full-time super job and the extra things he is still doing to support our family. It makes it easier to relax and do some nurturing!

I can concentrate on being a mom. Being available. Being here in our home. Feeding. Playing. Organizing (grand attempts at turning sewing studio back into guest room for college daughter home in 12 days!). Refereeing. Teaching Sam how to put on band aids for younger children. Insisting on manners. Encouraging reading. Correcting false doctrines. Gently reminding. Serving as mercy and law-maker. Channeling entertainment and organizing work parties (have you ever had a Sock Party? Match the many homeless socks!).

Update on Mom-ing

Suzanna dressed as Evita for a one-pager presentation at school. The black umbrella is Max, behind her, who gentlemanly carried the umbrella stretched over her head and fancy dress all the way home from school. Wish I had been 20 seconds faster with the camera, and you would have seen her with skirts raised to her knees, tip-toe-ing barefoot with heels in her hands across the muddy lacrosse/soccer field.

I am sobered by the responsibilities of parenting. We don't always say the right thing, or react with the calmness and serenity required in a stressful situation. I wish it were easier to explain to our children that the way they feel NOW, the feelings, frustrations, thoughts don't suddenly change once you turn 16 or 21 or 40. Yes, their teenage brains are still developing, but the habits they have, the way they communicate (or don't) continues, unless they make conscious, painstaking efforts to change. If hearing raised voices freaks you out, or if you feel like you have disappointed someone and you want to run away, being a 45 year old mom doesn't guarantee mature behavior...We aren't so different. I remember my Grandma Carlson explaining that she still felt like a 14 year old girl inside of her wrinkly grandma body. Same feelings, same youngness and self-identity. This is the photo we sent in to "Locks of Love."

My mornings are full of a niece, nephew, and Roxie. This is the sweet crossing guard, Mr. Al, who helps keep us safe walking to school! Grandma Billie printed out the photo I had sent to her, gave it to me, and we made a thank you card for Mr. Al. He was touched, thanked us, and I gave Roxie a hug, telling her how important it is to thank people, how good it makes them feel, and I was impressed with how kind she is and how brave to tell people she is grateful for them.

Is it enough? Maybe I am asking the Mother's Day Angst questions a little early this year. Stewart comes home from college in 5 days and then leaves 3 weeks later to be gone for 24 months of missionary service. How can I cram into these 3 weeks the survival skills I should have already passed on?

When can I thank my children for helping me grow up and learn how to be human? It is so hard. Harder than the early mothering days, when needs were simple, the big mystery of hungry/tired/poopy/gassy my only challenges to making them happy.

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

I know we baby her--because she is our baby!

This is Roxie cuddling her new Lone Wolfe (named for her love of "Julie of the Wolves" books NOT Twilight!) build-a-bear choice, her birthday adventure with Grandma Sandy, pre-accident.This is Roxie swallowing Motrin for the pain. Those are her crutches. She fell on the slick garage floor and hit her ankle. (Emma broke her ankle at Grandpa's house, when she was a year older than Roxie).
Swollen, tender, and the x-ray was hard to read through the growth plates and many foot/ankle bones-we are waiting on a call tonight from the doctor to see if she gets a permanent cast...which puts summer swimming off the list. She is brave and patient and very matter-of-fact about this.

I remember how easy her birth was compared to her siblings. She was the first baby that I didn't have my water broken by the OB or midwife. She was a couple of days late, but it was nice having the labor move along on its own, no pitocin. Roxie's birth was the first time I used the huge exercise ball to ease through transition--I gently rocked back and forth on it with my arms on the bed and leaning over and I didn't want to get off, even when she started to descend. My personal theory is that it helped speed things up, opening up my pelvis, helping me relax and dilate. I remember John being there. Holding my hand, telling me it was okay to push.

It is good to be parents. It is good to have all my kids here. It is good that baby Hazel comes over to play so I can still love babies and Roxie can have the experience of having a baby in the house.

Babies are blessings. Being a parent is a blessing.

Watching our babies grow up and get ready to be parents is sobering.

Babysitting COMMA Giraffe

No, we didn't babysit a giraffe. Commas matter. Favorite example:

Panda "EATS SHOOTS & LEAVES" by Lynne Truss

Babysitting! (This is PEACH PIT--her blog is over on my sidebar of other blogs I read... Her mom cuts/styles hair (did Emma's short one) close to us so we will be buddies on most Mondays!)

...and finished up Grandma Sandy's Giraffe mural earlier this morning. This is not a China Mieville giraffe, but a kind, tall blond.