The Train To Crazy

Sooooo big!

Well, I finally got Daphne to the doctor for her two year check up. Only 2 months late, no big deal. She was so amazing! She sat so still and cooperated very well. No tears with her shot! The big news is that she was 37" tall. That is taller than Naomi was at her 3 year check up. Takes after me! (that is a big joke for those of you who don't know me)

We weighed Maggie while we were there and she has already gained 3 lbs. Good girl. The biggest news, and probably the most surprising, is that she rolls! She rolled once at 13 days and I figured it was just a fluke, and it pretty much was. By 5 weeks though she rolls every time you put her on her tummy. She wastes no time either.

Other fun things about Maggie:

She is NOT a cuddler! She prefers to lay down or face out.
She is starting to "talk".
She loves listening to her sisters sing.
She loves being "held" by her sister.
She looks just like my baby pictures!!! Poor girl.

Getting our ducks in a row

Our two little ducks are 5 week old Maggie and Daphne. Can you tell who is who?

This is Naomi at about 7 weeks. She is laying next to a picture of herself at 1 week. Lots of changing!

Free trip to Africa!

I know I link to Brandi's blog a lot. You should just subscribe to it. This time I want to call you attention to her work with Children's Hope Chest. If you are a pastor and interested in a scholarship to go to Africa, let her know! Let your pastor know! If you aren't a pastor, win a trip here.

Learning with our hands

Things you never knew about me that you still don't want to know

I have some catching up to do! I was nominated for a blog award last week (still haven't forgotten that!) and now I've been tagged by Brandi to do a list of 15 things about me you might not know that I'm not too scared to admit. Hmm... not too scared to admit huh? Here goes!

1. Jamie was totally right about what your stomach does after your third baby. What am I supposed to do with all this extra skin?!?

2. I wake up in the morning with Backyardigans songs in my head. They are so darn catchy!

3. I used to have hair like this.

ahhh, memories. Don't laugh! I have pictures of some of your hair styles from the 80's and 90's! Daphne just saw this picture and said "you look like a boy mommy." What was I thinking?!?

4. I have stacks and stacks of uncompleted projects. Next to those stacks are stacks of books I've been meaning to read. Next to those? Lists telling me to do these things.

5. I have the worst memory. I am pretty sure I can thank my grandmother for that. Whenever Arthur mentions a movie I have to ask him if I've seen it and then if I have seen it he basically has to tell me exactly what it was about before I remember seeing it.

6. I almost always type the wrong "word verification" when logging in to websites or leaving blog comments. I can't read those!! I hate them.

7. I love baking, and eating all things baked. This, of course, is no surprise. I also love to cook but have no time for it these days.

8. I played the trombone in the school band. This isn't news to those of you I went to school with but I'm sure it surprises those of you I've met since! Can you imagine?

9. I am the worst artist in the world. My artwork could probably confused for Naomi's and she is 3.

10. I've been meaning to start writing for many years now and haven't gotten around to it for many reasons. I have stacks of stories I wrote as a kid and I always remember my dad telling me what a good writer I was. I've read that stuff and it really isn't that good Dad.

11. I only knew Arthur for 9 months before marrying him. You have to snatch up the good ones you know.

12. I still feel guilty about telling a girl in the 2nd grade that I didn't like her socks.

13. I rarely do my hair. I wish I had hair that looked good when you don't do it.

14. I'm a dreamer. I have lots of ideas but never do anything about them. Not right now, that is. Right now I just point to the people acting out their dreams.

15. I grew up in the country, on a farm. I only feel safe in a city. Weird?

I'm going to nominate Heather D (the commenter I've known the longest, except for my family), MaryAnn (one of my newest commenters), and Sarah (one of my most frequent commenters on my blog who needs to write more on hers)!

Aawww...

Need gift ideas!

My brother and his family are leaving in January to live in Liberia, west Africa. They aren't taking much with them. What would you get their 9,11 & 13 year old boys for Christmas?

Baby Wearing

International Babywearing week started Wednesday. Is it usual for a "week" to start on a Wednesday? Adventures in Babywearing is having a contest to give away a new baby wrap or sling. This got me thinking about the babywearing apparati that I have.

They all serve their special purpose and come in handy at different times. I have a Moby Wrap, a Kangaroo Adjustable Pouch, a Baby Bjorn, and the Ergo Baby Carrier. Here are my personal pros and cons for each.

Moby Wrap
Pros: Very comfortable. Baby's weight does not hurt my back or shoulders. The baby likes the wrap.
Cons: It is a LOT of fabric and can be tricky to figure out at first. It is also not something you can quickly just throw on, though it doesn't take too much time.

Kangaroo Pouch
Pros: Easy to get on, easy to use. Comfortable for baby.
Cons: I had to see a chiropractor for a month after using this a lot when Daphne was a newborn. Too much pressure is put on one shoulder.

Baby Bjorn:
Pros: Baby's weight is evenly distributed. Men don't mind using it.
Cons: Can only be used for baby's first year. Baby hangs by the crotch which isn't good for baby for long periods. Can only be used for front carry.

Ergo Baby Carrier:
Pros: Easy to put on. Very comfortably. Comfortable for baby. Can be used with older children. Can be worn on front or back.
Cons: Difficult to first get baby on your back though it gets easier with practice.

I definitely prefer the Ergo out of all of these because of its usability over the lifespan of the baby/toddler. Some people use the wrap or pouch with older kids but I haven't. The Bjorn is my least favorite.

I've never tried a Mei Tai or o sling but I'd like to. What is your favorite baby carrier?

8 Things

1. Naomi put Aidie was in time out yesterday.  I hope she doesn't try that with her real friends.
2. I finally have a baby that likes to sleep in bed with me.  This isn't my first choice but she actually falls asleep on her own if she is laying in my bed so YIPEE!  
3. The Starburst in our Halloween candy bowl ran out so I bought more today. 
4. I broke down and bought a pair of pants in my size.  I'm not planning to be this size for long so I went to Goodwill.  They aren't pretty, stylish or anything close but I'm hoping they don't fit in a couple weeks. 
5. We've had so many great meals made for us by family and friends since Maggie was born.  Thank you to all of you! I promise to get your dishes back to you this year at some point.  
6. Emily I still have your dish you left here during the Summer.  I promise to return it as well! 
7. A 3.5 year old and a 2 year old take a LONG time to fall asleep when sharing a bed. 
8. Three little girls in the bathtub together is a super cute sight!  

Naomi's FAVORITE smoothie

We all enjoy getting our kids to eat healthily. With some kids it is easier said than done. Making smoothies is a great way to add a few servings of fruits and vegetables to their daily diet. Vegetables you say? YES! Here is the recipe for Naomi's favorite smoothie, that she sometimes mistakenly calls a milkshake ;) Well, there is no real recipe, but this is what we add;

5 types of frozen fruit- peaches, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, & melon (you might recognize this combo as a bag you can find at Costco)
A few mini carrots
a cup or two of spinach
apple juice

When I first started making these smoothies I would distract the kids while I put in the spinach and carrots. My girls are usually not a fan of either, in any form. Now the girls help me put them in the blender and only occasionally comment about the "salad".

Now I don't feel so bad about feeding them a steady diet of carbs and cheese.

What is your favorite smoothie recipe?

Tutorial: Elastic waist A-line skirt

Thanks for visiting my skirt tutorial. You might also be interested in the simple skirt, the drop waist skirt or the ruffle skirt. If you make one of these please let me know how it turned out! Thanks.

This skirt is simple and should take you about an hour to complete.

Here's what you need:
Fabric of your choice
Cutting mat, rotary cutter & straight edge
thread
3/4 inch elastic: waist measurement plus 1 inch
ribbon or other embellishments are optional

Make your pattern:
First: Top width of pattern
Measure hips (widest part). Add (at least) 1 inch then divide total number by 4.

Example: hips= 25 inches

25 + 1= 26
27 DIV 4 = 6.5 inches

Second: Length of pattern
Measure waist to bottom of skirt, however long you would like. Add 1 inch for bottom hem and 1 1/4 inch for elastic casing at waist.

Example: Finished skirt length = 12 inches

12 + 1 + 1.25 = 14.25 inches

Third: Create pattern
You can do this on a large piece of paper or right on your fabric with a water soluble marker. In this example I did it right on the fabric. You will make 2 identical pieces. Each piece will be cut on the fold. Fold right sides together. Make sure the pattern goes with the nap or grain if there is one. With this example I was able to fold the fabric like this so I used less than half a yard.

Mark dot A (see picture). Use straight edge ruler mark dot B directly horizontal to dot A. Draw line 1 between dot A and B. For our example it is 6.5 inches long.

Mark dot D 14.25 inches below dot A. Draw horizontal line 2 from dot D.

Connect dot B to line 2 with a diagonal line (line 3). The angle of the line is up to you. The greater the angle, the fuller the skirt. The point where this diagonal line connects with the horizontal line you drew is dot C on our example picture.

Cut out on the lines. Create a second piece the same size using the first piece as a guide.

Sew it together
1. Lay pieces on top of each other, right sides together. Sew up each side with a 1/2 inch seem allowance.

2. Finish seems by trimming with pinking sheers. Iron seems open.

3. Make elastic casing by folding down top edge 1/4 inch and iron. Turn 1 inch and iron. Stitch casing closed by sewing close to the edge, leaving plenty of space for the elastic. (sorry this pic is from a different skirt casing!) Leave a 2 inch opening to insert elastic.

4. Cut elastic 1 inch longer than waist measurement. Feed elastic through casing of skirt by pinning a safety pin to one end. Be careful not to lose the other end of the elastic into the casing.

5. Once elastic is fed all the way through the casing, sew elastic together securely.

6. Sew casing closed. Be careful not to sew on elastic.

7. Sew bottom hem by folding bottom 1/2 inch and iron. Fold 1/2 inch again and iron. Sew hem. You're done!

Our New Imaginary Friend

Aidie has come to live with us! Aidie rhymes with shady and, actually, Shady comes around occasionally as well. I was wondering if we'd get an imaginary friend up in here and the time has finally come. So far Naomi just talks with her on the phone, a lot. They make plans to go places and do things and talk about what is going on in daily life. Naomi always gives her directions on how to get where they are going. It usually involves taking the freeway past Costco and turning right or left. I kinda like Aidie.

Any imaginary friends in your house?

Teaching Faith to Kids

Wow, this is a big topic! We discussed this in my moms' group today. Thanks Minhee! This could be a whole series of books but I'll just mention briefly what jumped out at me.

Number 1: Loving your kids models God's love for us. Taking care of their needs and showing them love and compassion is helping them to build a positive model of their relationship with God.

Number 2: You must have your own active faith before you can teach others.

Number 3: Model! Don't tell your kids about situations they should pray about or how to have faith, show them! Pray with them, read with them, live it out in your life and explain it to them.

Number 4: Be intentional about your parenting and your actions. Think about what you want to teach your kids and then figure out how to go about that. If you want your kids to learn to pray before meals, think about WHY you would do that. Why do you do some of the rituals you do?

I've been thinking about different family traditions and rituals people have to help teach faith, thankfulness, generosity, etc. While my kids are fairly young for much of it, it is exciting to think of the things we can incorporate in our family soon. I'm always looking for great ideas. I've loved some of the Thanksgiving ideas I've read on various blogs lately about teaching kids to be thankful and teaching them about giving. What do you do in your family to teach faith or thankfulness?

My three year old reads!

A while back I mentioned that I started teaching Naomi to read. Yes she is three years old. Yes she is learning to read! Our reading lessons have come to a halt. We got to lesson 76 in our book and then Maggie was born. Naomi has been asking me to do a lesson every day but I just haven't had the undivided attention that I need to give her for the lessons.

Just because we haven't hit lesson 100 doesn't mean that she can't read! She blows me away by how much she can read. For example, she can read Go Dog Go and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I love it! She loves it. Every time we sit down with a book she tries to read some of it. Most books that we read are a bit over her head but there are always words she can read in every book.

So, yes, you can teach a three year old to read! Some of the unexpected side effects of her learning to read have included her learning to write and in turn becoming better at drawing and controlling her pencil and crayons. Though, maybe someone can tell me, is it normal for kids to sometimes write things backward or is that something I should be concerned about? Today she wrote Daphne's name backward, mirror image backward. Odd? It seems like it could be normal to me but I don't really know anything about the brain in this matter.

Some of you had mentioned that you were going to start using this book to teach your kids to read. Have you started? What do you think?

Update: For those of you who have asked, I use Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and I highly recommend it. The biggest requirement your child needs before you start this book is the ability to pay attention for a while. Naomi isn't very good at that so it made our lessons a bit more difficult but we still had great results. The book claims you can teach advanced 3.5 year olds and all average 4 and 5 year olds to read. We started before Naomi was 3.5 and she did fine. See my full review here.

On having three...

Everyone asks what it is like having three kids now. I think it all depends on the babies. If my third was as difficult as my second my answer might be completely different. As it stands, I think going from 1 to 2 kids is harder than going from 2 to 3. It probably has to do with the fact that I already know how to take care of more than one at a time. It doesn't hurt that number 1 and 2 can play together and entertain one another.

We are fairly organized around here. Organized in our parenting that is. We have the same routines every day. We eat at the same times, nap at the same times, go to bed at the same times (early). We are a well oiled machine. Of course, some days we feel a bit rusty lately but for the most part we stick to our routine and that helps us a lot. The kids know what to expect, there are no surprises.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get a shower every day. I firmly believe that showers are completely necessary for my daily sanity. That and a clean kitchen. These things are not a given right now so I'll let you know if I figure out how to get all this done. The baby is three weeks old tomorrow so I'm sure we have a lot of learning left to do. I am a firm believer in saying that the only thing certain about babies is that everything changes so we'll see what the next few weeks and months have in store for us.

Anyone else have 3? Any tips or tricks? Anyone have 3 under 4 years old? How do you do it?

Skirt Tutorials

EDITOR'S NOTE: I am now writing a tutorial to add shorts under any of these skirts so your active little girl can swing on the monkey bars to her delight. Subscribe so you don't miss it!

I've been so excited to make little girl clothes lately. My girls now have a closet full of skirts and dresses that I've made them. I started with this one and then this one. From there I went on to create my own skirts. These are all designed to fit into my lifestyle, which is to say if I can't complete it in an hour or two it won't get done. With a newborn, a two year old and a three year old my time is precious!

If you make a skirt from any of these tutorials please let me know! Also, I host a weekly blog party for people to show off clothes they've made to be worn so link up what you've made on Thursdays for Make It Wear It .

The Simple Skirt

The Ruffle Skirt

The Drop Waist Skirt

The Elastic Waist A-Line Skirt

If you enjoy these you might also enjoy my flat front pants tutorial
Enjoy!

Skirts! Drop Waist Edition

This drop waist skirt tutorial is perfect for beginners! With some fabric, elastic and a little time you'll be sewing an adorable skirt you can be proud of! This was one of the first tutorials I ever wrote and it is still very popular! I hope you enjoy!

Gather Supplies
A rotary cutter and mat are helpful for cutting fabric but not completely necessary. You will need pinking sheers and thread to match (or contrast) your fabric. You can use whatever kind of fabric you choose. I've found lightweight cottons and corduroy to turn out very well. This pattern also calls for 3/4 inch elastic for the waist band. Ribbon or other embellishments are optional.

1. Cut top, "band", piece of fabric about 2 inches larger than the child's hip measurement by 5 inches. If your child is taller, you may want to make this piece 6 or 7 inches long. For example, if your child's hips are 25 inches, cut the fabric 27 inches by 5 inches. As always, this skirt can be customized further by adjusting the lengths. Feel free to experiment.

2. Body of skirt piece can be any width but will look best if it is at least 10 inches wider than the top band. I usually cut mine 44 inches wide.

To determine the length to cut, take the length you want the skirt to be and subtract 1 1/2 inches. This assumes your top band is 5 inches wide. For example, if you want the skirt to be a total of 12 inches long, cut the body of the fabric 10 1/2 inches long by the width you've chosen.

3. Cut one piece of 3/4 inch elastic 1 inch longer than child's waist measurement.

Putting it together:
1. Sew the body of skirt together by folding fabric, right sides together, and sewing a 1/2" seem allowance.

2. Use pinking sheers to trim the edge of the new seem and iron seem open.

3. Sew top band together in the same manor, iron seem open.

4. Lengthen your straight stitch (to about 5 or 6 on most machines) then "baste" the top of the body piece 1/2" away from the edge. For more info on how to make a ruffle check here.

5. Pin the body piece to the top band, right sides together, matching seems. The body piece is larger than the top band piece so try to pin it evenly all the way around, matching the seems from both pieces.

6. Gently pull on the bobbin strings of your basted stitches and carefully pull the ruffle evenly around.

7. Sew the ruffle onto the body of the skirt. Remember to return your stitch to a regular length!

8. At top of skirt, iron seem at 1/4". Then fold over again at 1". Stitch close to the edge leaving a "casing" for the elastic. Leave a 2" opening to insert elastic.

9. Measure elastic to fit child's waste comfortably, add 1" and cut.

10. Insert elastic into casing. It is easiest to do this by attaching a safety pin to one end of the elastic and inserting that end into the casing. You can then work it around the casing, making sure not to lose the other end.

11. Sew elastic together securly.

12. Finish sewing casing closed. Be careful not to sew on the elastic.

13. Finish bottom hem by folding 1/4", press, then folding 1/4" again.

14. Sew hem. You're done!

Using ribbon to embellish the skirt is one of my current favorite things to do. If you want to sew on a ribbon, I'd recommend doing that BEFORE the first step. I gave instructions for how to do this in the Simple Skirt tutorial.

The dangerous games of farm children

If you grew up on a farm you know that life is a bit different there. I can't imagine letting my kids do half the stuff we did as kids. For starters, I was Naomi's age when I first started driving a 3 wheeler. Yes, those vehicles that are illegal now. Not to worry though, I had a hockey helmet on always. My feet couldn't reach the peddles, which is how you shifted ours so I'd start it in second and just hit the throttle. I remember riding it so much that my thumb would be really sore from pushing in the gas for so long.

Yes, three wheelers are dangerous. You probably should never let your three year old drive one. My brothers were in accidents and ended up with broken bones or concussions. My cousin Jeff drove over his sister with theirs. Bad things happen with three wheelers. I was a champion though. I was never in an accident, never rolled it, never ran into things. I've been a good driver from the beginning.

Were you allowed to do things that you would never let your kids do now?