The Train To Crazy

Elephanting around

I made my first stuffed animals. I decided on the elephant. I'm glad.

I learned some things. For instance, after you sew up the shell, don't just hand it to your husband with a bag of stuffing and expect him to just "figure it out." 

I also learned that I hate hand sewing. I'm not very good at it. It takes too much time and concentration. If I was going to make these elephants again I would cut some more corners and avoid some more hand sewing.

 

The pattern is from the book Sew Everything Workshop. I love the book. It is a great book, especially for beginners. I did make a few changes, in case you plan to make this little buddy yourself. He does take a bit longer than I expected. I can't say exactly how long it takes to make but I would say plan on 2 to 3+ hours, depending on your level of experience sewing, and the amount of distractions you have!

1. Add a layer of fusible interfacing on each of the ears. Fuse the interfacing to one of the outer fabrics before stitching right sides together. This makes the ears a bit sturdier so they'll stand out from the elephant's head.
2. Instead of hand sewing the opening in the ear closed after turning it I topstitched the whole ear. I don't think it detracts from the ear. If anything, it gives it more character.
3. If I had it to do over, I might leave the opening in the elephant on the underside rather than the top of the elephant. This way is a bit more forgiving for your hand stitching.
4. The pattern tells you to stitch the button eyes on after you stuff the elephant. I would recommend sewing them on before sewing the little guy together. Much easier. I also used a piece of round felt for eyes for the baby's elephant. She sleeps with it and I don't have to worry about her choking on an eye. 

There, now go make yourself some cute little elephants.

Time for change

As the new year approaches I've been reconsidering the multiple personalities of my blog. I just haven't been that into it lately, to be honest. I'm bored with it. So, things are a changin'. You'll notice less of some stuff, more of other stuff. I guess you'll just have to wait and see... Mostly I just want it to have a clearer purpose. I hope that will be evident. If you only stop by to read about my kids and find out about our zoo trip you may be disappointed. If you want to know how to get your kids to go to sleep, you'll be disappointed as well. I still don't know how to do that. 

My new banner is up. If you are reading this in your blog reader you can just click on through and see it. I like it. 

You'll also notice that my full disclosure statement is up. Left hand column, under the paid advertising. Not that you care to read it, but it is there, thanks to the FTC.

And speaking of the disclosure statement and the paid advertising, feel free to frequent any of the advertising in my side bar. It is much appreciated. If you would like to advertise your shop or site just let me know. Bargain basement prices here.

Okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I know how to get my kids to sleep. I just don't know how to get them to sleep in their beds all night. There, I said it.

Be forewarned that I'm still tinkering with the blog and you may stop by to have it look rather wonky from time to time. Just stay with me, I'm indecisive. 

And there you have it.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom has always loved the birthday shirts I make my girls so I made her one for her special day. I hope she doesn't kill me.

Happy birthday Mom. I'm sad that I can't be with you today! I hope you have a wonderful day. You're the best!

A Mei Tai winner!

I'm pleased to announce that MaryAnne of Mama Smiles (a GREAT blog) will be the proud new owner of a Big Sisters Design cute Mei Tai baby carrier! 

Thanks to all of you who entered! If you didn't win, head on over and buy yourself a carrier now!

Calling all 25 Days of Giving participants!

Today is day 23! Wow! I know many of you have participated in at least a few days of the 25 Days of Giving. I've read your blogs and your comments and I know there were so many great ideas and lessons learned. I have been taken aback by how many people are participating!

How has your journey been? To be honest, we have completed only about 75% of what we set out to, and that is okay. I'm pretty happy with that. I took a step back around day 6 or 7 and decided it was getting more stressful than it should and cut out some of the bigger activities. I think we'll try to accomplish them in January and February. Because really, giving isn't a once a year thing, so that works out well.

I'm looking for stories about your 25 Days. Successes, failures, unintended consequences, funny stories, etc. I'd also love to know HOW you introduced it to your family and tied it to Christmas. I'm already looking toward next year and there may be something a bit bigger in the works. More on that another time. So, if you participated or your friends participated, do you mind spending 10 minutes telling me about your experience? You can leave a comment or send me an email at thetraintocrazy@gmail.com

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

(Don't forget to enter to win the Mei Tai baby carrier! Contest is open to all world citizens and closes at 9 p.m. EST)

There was blood everywhere

The girls and I made some treats and delivered some to the neighbors after dinner. We got all bundled up for our 10 foot journey outside. Did you know that even if you are walking 10 feet it still takes 10 minutes to bundle up? Incredible. I decided to knock a couple minutes off our time and told the older girls they didn't need to wear hats.

I opened our front door to head out. This is the sight we saw.

Did I mention that the "treats" were peppermint bark? Oh, how I love peppermint bark. Too much. That is why we were taking half to the neighbors. I was a bit afraid I'd finish off the rest by myself. It is good. Oh so good. I'll share the recipe at some point. I wasn't really sure if a picture of peppermint bark would still look tasty next to this one.

Have I mentioned how great our neighbors are? There are 3 boys living there. A 5 year old, a 13 year old and I think the other is 11. The boys shoveled our front walk and sidewalk for us on Sunday. All 11 inches of snow! Well, when we got outside Arthur helped out, but how sweet are they. Truth be told, I think they were having fun shoveling. I'll let you know if they are still enjoying it in February. At any rate, I thought they deserved a treat. So I shared my beloved bark.

Oh, and leaving the hats off the girls was a bad move. They complained for 10 feet there and 10 feet back. Of course.

So, the door. Can you believe that?? I was in shock. There I was, standing with my girls and our glass door was absolutely disgusting. Do I clean it up before we go? How do I keep Maggie out of it. After all, she has wanted to be held all afternoon. There wasn't much of a chance she'd just hang out while I cleaned up the mess. 

I opened the door and saw the mess had dripped onto our welcome mat. Well, now I'm angry. I'm not sure that will come out. I decided that I couldn't get them all across the mess without them stepping in it so I cleaned up a bit. Thankfully Maggie stayed out of it.

We took the candy next door and I helped everyone step over "the red" so it didn't get on anyone's boots. Phew. Their boots have bunny faces on them. How bad would that look with red streaks? 

I finally was able to clean up most of it (the part that wasn't frozen to the door) after they went to bed. I'm upset though. I had really liked this.

Well what did you think it was? The truth is, a window above our entry door was leaking all day (and the landlord still hasn't come by to check it out). I hadn't thought to move the wreath. Once it was wet it froze to the glass. It came off the front door and just stuck to the glass door. Nice.

Don't forget to enter to win a Mei Tai baby carrier! 

Big Sister Designs Giveaway!!

This week I have a giveaway I am very excited about! There is a new Etsy shop called Big Sister Designs and it has the cutest stuff! Look at these cute Mei Tai style baby carriers! They might just make a few of you want to have a baby.

Check out these upcycled, lined pillow case skirts! So cute.

 

One of you lucky readers will win a Mei Tai! Perfect for your baby or toddler or to take to the next baby shower! 

There are THREE ways to win (and a bonus entry)!

1. Go visit Big Sister Design's etsy shop and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite item is.

2. Become a friend of Big Sister Design's on Facebook. Leave me a separate comment letting me know.

3. Spread the word! Post about this on your blog, tweet about it or post it on facebook. Leave a separate comment with the link to where you shared!

Bonus: A bonus entry for all of you who have left a comment this month letting me know you are participating in the 25 Days of Christmas.

This contest is closed! 

Christmas memories

I love Christmas. I know that isn't always the case with people. I know quite a few people who really don't like it. Some that dread it and some that are a bit indifferent. And then there are the people that LOVE it. Most people fall into one of those categories. 

I happen to love it. I have great memories as a child of Christmas. I loved everything about it. I've been trying to recall what my favorite part of Christmas was. It is hard to choose! I loved waking up early, debating with our parents about what time we could wake them up, opening stockings, spending time with my family, seeing my cousins and grandparents, playing with new toys. I loved it all (except the food, but that's a different story). 

But I think if I'm really honest, my favorite memories are of the night before Christmas. Not Christmas Eve, but the actual night before Christmas. I could never sleep. Never. And fortunately for me, my brothers could never sleep either. I loved staying up all night with them. I'm sure it wasn't really all night, but it felt like it. A few years my youngest brother would sleep in my room, or maybe I'd sleep in his, and we'd hang out. I don't remember what we did. Maybe we played Super Mario Brothers. Maybe we talked, maybe we didn't. I'm not sure, but I remember I loved it. Every minute of it. 

I think it surprised me to think of that as my favorite memory of Christmas because I loved presents. I really loved opening them and playing with them and anticipating them. Like I said, I couldn't sleep. But if THAT was my favorite memory, how easy is it to parent a kid through special holidays? Is it possible that it really is the interaction and special moments that is important? 

What is your favorite memory from Christmas?

Relaxing and reading

Christmas brings out so many emotions from people. People usually love it, or dread it. Well, I love it. I've been making a conscious effort to focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas and to keep it simple. And, I think we've been doing a pretty good job of that! It helps when we have no parties to attend, no family events, no traveling, nothing! 

There have been some great, thought provoking reads out there lately that I urge you to read, if you haven't already.

Missy at It's Almost Naptime challenges your mental picture of what the birth of Jesus was like. She is so right! If you've had a baby, you'll probably want to read this.

Know someone who grieves during this season? Life as Mom lets you know how to be there for them.

And, because I love to get your blood pumping, Just Mothering Through takes on the animal rights celebrities.

One week to go. Make it a good one.

Signing...

This post was first published August 5, 2008. Since we are back in the signing stage I thought I'd publish it again! 

So, if you have met me, or my kids, you know that we sign. Not fluently, mind you, but we do sign. I am a big believer in teaching your kids to sign. Not just because it comes in handy when they can sign "more" and "all done" but because it is a HUGE confidence builder and frustration deflector. I know this is somewhat controversial, but in my opinion, you should use ASL and not made up baby signs. Of course this is my opinion and I have no studies and scientific data to show you but in our experience it has been awesome. How many people who teach baby signs can say that their kids can communicate with people who are deaf? Not many. Here is our story and how we did it. 

When Naomi was about 14 months old she still wasn't saying any words. Nothing to be too alarmed about but she wasn't even doing baby talk so I started looking into how to teach her some signs to help with her frustration. I checked out a few books and videos and then stumbled upon Signing Time, The best baby sign language videos!. We watched a couple from the library and realized that Naomi was able to watch the 20 minute video through a couple times and was able to remember nearly all of the signs on the show. Most of the shows have about 30 signs in them. They were engaging and she loved watching them. This was great considering it was really her first TV watching experience. 

  I did a little websurfing to find more out about Signing Times and was so impressed with how the videos came about. You can read about it at Signing Time: Our Story. The great news is that they are at the library, and on PBS in most areas. Having a DVR we went the PBS route and recorded all of them. There are now about 26 videos you can get I believe. Give or take a couple. (Updated: There are more videos now!)

By the time Naomi was 18 months old she was saying about 5 words consistently but signing nearly 300 words, and Signing ABC's and Numbers. Impressive? Yes, but I think any kid can learn to sign. You do need to learn the signs too so sit down and watch the shows with your kids.  

You don't have to start them as babies either. My niece, who is autistic, started watching the videos when she was 3 or 4 years old and caught on very quickly. I think most ages up to even late elementary school will enjoy these shows. Daphne started watching them a bit younger than Naomi but didn't catch on as fast. She was our very verbal baby and spoke nearly 300 words at 18 months but only maybe 50-100 signs. She is really getting into it now though. And it does take kids quite some time to figure out how their fingers work. I think signing really helps with fine motor skills. When Naomi was around 18 months old she had a "conversation" on the ferry with a woman who is deaf. The woman was so thrilled that this little baby could talk with her. Granted she was a baby so the conversation was more like "boat, water, bird...." When Naomi was around 2.5 we ran across a man who is deaf in Costco's parking lot and her conversation was a bit more mature, "nice to meet you, what is your name? my name is Naomi..." 

Both of our girls learned their alphabet, colors and numbers by signing. I think there really is something to learning with more of your senses other than just sight and hearing. Not that kids need to be pushed to learn their letters... We are hoping they will keep all these signs in use and in their memory vaults until they are old enough to take some classes. It could be very valuable as a second language. So, this is why I think you should stick with ASL over made up signs... I wholeheartedly recommend Signing Times as a way to teach your kids signs. Yes, it is TV so if you have a problem with that then just get over it because this show is awesome. The ONLY drawback to the show is that you'll have the songs stuck in your head, forever. 

How has your experience with signing been?

Updated: We don't have Signing Times on our PBS station here so we've invested in some of the DVDs and are really happy we have! 

Give yourself a little

Christmas is all about Jesus. We celebrate Jesus' birth. Do you know why Jesus was born? He came to earth to bridge the divide between God and people. He essentially became the footbridge. The WAY to God is through Jesus. Jesus came to forgive us for not being perfect, because people aren't. And we can't be with God unless we are, so I guess he is the footbridge of Grace. 

While we are celebrating this gift we could never repay, this grace, don't forget to give yourself a little. The season is often stressful. Those of you who write lists probably have many lists going. Things to do, things to buy, people to write, places to go, traditions to uphold, etc. etc. The problem is that we get bogged down in all the things we need to do and forget why we are doing these things in the first place.

I have intentionally not mentioned the 25 Days of Giving since the beginning of December. The last thing any giving activity should be is a chore, or something you think you SHOULD be doing and feel overwhelmed or guilty about. So if you set out to try the 25 Days of Giving and you find there are days when it is too stressful, you are too busy, or you are losing focus of why you do it then give yourself some grace. There is no tradition, even those rooted in the best intentions, that needs to be upheld if you can't focus on why you do it.

So if the kids each spill their milk, paint the walls and poop on the floor before 7 a.m., maybe give yourself some grace and focus on God by resting.

How to make a notepad

Making a notepad at home is easy. Here is how.

Gather your supplies.

• Paper. Reuse paper or print out some cute to-do list or coloring pages. 
• 2 rulers. You can use 2 wood blocks or shingles as well.
• 2 or 3 binder clips. You can also use clamps if you are using wood blocks.
• Paintbrush.
• Padding compound, also known as notebook adhesive. Professional padding compound makes great notepads with the perfect binding and cleans up easily.
• Cardboard. You can buy it or use an old cereal box.

Make a notepad!

1. Now, cut your paper to the same size, along with your cardboard. 
2. Straighten the paper along the edge you are going to bind. 
3. Put a ruler on either side and secure with binder clips to hold paper in place. Use a small paintbrush or foam brush and paint a thin layer or padding compound on the edge of the paper. 
4. Secure with another binder clip if necessary.
5. Let dry.

That's it!

The little issue of Santa

Do your kids believe in Santa? Check out why we never told Naomi that Santa sneaks into our house on Christmas Eve.

2007

 

2008

(If you could see Daphne's face you'd know she was freaked out too) 

2009

Even though she is nearly 5 she is still terrified of Santa. She really held it together. I know she tried really hard. I love the contrast of Daphne's face. Priceless. And check out Maggie!

 

Christmas from the heart

A friend posted on facebook the other day about her dilemma between trying to live simply and also trying to support the local small businesses in this economy. It is an interesting dilemma. If nobody spends any money then the economy gets worse and less people have jobs and the economy gets worse and the third world gets poorer and on and on. Yes, I realize this is a simplistic version of reality.

My take on it is to not give up buying or giving entirely. Make a Christmas budget. Give the first portion to organizations that feed, clothe and take care of people's medical needs. Then, because we have to spend some money, buy intentionally. Meaning, don't just go out to the local Stuffmart and blow your budget in the dollar aisle (though it is SO tempting). Here is my take:

• Buy supplies and make gifts. 
• Buy handmade or gifts that support a cause. (that's right, go ahead and click through each of those links and do a bit of Christmas shopping) I guess you could also throw local shops in here as well. After that,
• Support Amazon.com. Okay, that's a bit of a joke, kind of. 

I've read some good stuff about christmas shopping lately.

Jude at Pajamas are Clothes gets on her soapbox. It's a great soapbox. 

Donald Miller's Amazon wish list is one of the funniest things I've read recently. Please read it.

And, completely unrelated to Christmas, have you read Katie Davis' latest post? Challenging, for sure. I'm not sure I entirely agree with her but maybe I should.

What do you think? What is your take on how and where we should buy gifts for Christmas?