Life in snapshots

Douglas surprised me with an iPhone in March. Before he handed it over, I barely knew what a smart phone was. I hadn't carried a personal cell phone in years. But oh my, it's a handy little thing! One feature I especially love is the ability to capture photos and video so easily. I'm a little bit lazy about recording things about my children as they grow, so this is a boon to me. Now I have a video of Edmund saying, "You're my sweet love, Mama" that I can watch over and over when I'm 99 years old. And when I'm too busy to haul out my "real" camera, I can still take snapshots of life. Here are a few from Instagram that I've taken over the past two months...

[from top to bottom, left to right:]

1) I made a huge double batch of Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple, and Red Lentil Soup while I was pregnant -- half to eat right away and half to freeze for post-baby. I added 1 teaspoon of garam masala to the linked recipe, which turned a good soup into greatness. Curry powder would also be a yummy option.
2) Douglas asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, and I told him a bouquet of peonies. He delivered! And the smell of these beauties made my last week of pregnancy a little more bearable.
3) A newborn babe with the most beautiful little profile. That nose definitely comes through my husband's genes!
4) A border-print cotton poplin that is waiting to be turned into a vintage-style dirndl skirt... as soon as my waist loses a few more inches. ;-)
5) We took a break from packing on the evening of my birthday to enjoy dinner at my favorite local restaurant. I ordered their delectable sticky toffee pudding one last time!
6) The last view out our apartment balcony before moving. Goodbye, soybean field!
7) My curmudgeonly old cat, who continues to reside with my parents, was here to greet us in Nebraska. Well, maybe "greet" isn't the right word. How about "tolerate."
8) Now that I'm awakened several times in the night by a certain little lady, my morning cuppa has become a necessity again. It's like a beacon light in a great fog.
9) My mom's David Austin rosebush is still producing a few blooms for us to enjoy, though all the other roses have come and gone. What's not to love about this plant -- they look gorgeous, smell heavenly, and bloom often!
10) My toes are sporting Revlon's "Minted" nail polish right now.

"The freshest flower of May..."

Our beautiful daughter, Lavinia May, was born Saturday, May 19, at 2:35 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs., 1 oz. and was 20-1/2 inches long. We praise God for the many answered prayers surrounding her birth!

Lavinia was born at home after a short labor of only 8-1/2 hours. I had been praying that my labor would start in the morning so that I would have more energy. The first sign that labor was beginning occurred at 6AM Saturday morning! I was about to head out the door to go to the grocery store, but I woke Douglas and he went instead.

[purple bellflowers that Douglas bought
on the morning of Lavinia's birthday]
My due date wasn't for another week, but honestly, I thought she might come anytime in May, so by her actual birthday I was thoroughly tired of waiting! We were all so excited to realize that Saturday was the day. This was another answer to prayer - in previous weeks, I had struggled with the thought of going through labor again, but by the time Lavinia arrived, God had prepared my heart to endure the trial with fortitude and joy.

As I said before, my labor was pretty short, which was another blessing. When Lavinia was born in the early afternoon, I was a bit shocked as I had thought it wouldn't be until dinner time or later! Good thing my midwife made the decision of when to arrive at our apartment instead of me; I was a bit clueless.

We're thankful for a healthy baby and a recovering mama. I'm a little slower to get back on my feet again this time, but my mom arrived on Monday to help and that is another huge blessing. I'm grateful to be a mother of two - my arms are full of God's goodness to me!

Springtime beauty

We have been having the most beautiful spring here in Indiana that we've ever experienced since moving here three and a half years ago! It feels like a gift from God as this will be our last spring to enjoy here.

God has opened a small door for us after we have been praying and waiting for one for the past three years. We'll be moving back to Nebraska shortly after our baby is born. At first we will likely have to live with my parents for a short while, but then we'll be moving to a house only a few blocks away once it is ready for us.

I'm excited to have some of the things I've been missing the past three years of apartment-living -- a yard for Edmund and the baby to play in, a place to take walks with the kids without having to drive anywhere, space for some gardening, and less cramped living quarters! Not to mention ready-and-willing babysitters just a few blocks away. ;-)

Meanwhile, Douglas will have the opportunity to work on some entrepeneurial endeavors. There's no knowing where the next few years will take us, so it is especially a time to trust God for provision, care, and guidance.

[Dutchman's Breeches -- a favorite springtime flower from my Illinois girlhood that does not grow wild in Nebraska as it does here in the eastern Midwest.]
Of course, we will miss our Indiana church and friends. We're trying to savor the things we enjoy about living here these last few months. Douglas likes the taller trees that you find in the eastern part of the Midwest. It seems silly, but I'll miss the grocery stores I frequent. :) (Though it will be fun to coordinate shopping trips with my mom or grandma, to have an extra hand with wrasslin' two babes and a shopping cart.)

"Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you
wherever you go."
--Joshua 1:9

"Depression Quilt" pillow

Here's a small pillow that I made for Edmund recently, using a square recycled from a beat-up, vintage 1930s(?) quilt. This blue square happened to be the only one that was not mangled or ripped in some way. Using a seam ripper, I removed it from its neighboring squares, ironed a lightweight piece of interfacing to the back for stability to the old fabrics, and created a backing for the pillow out of plain white cotton in my stash. I made my own pillow form to stuff inside and this quick project was finished!

Edmund was very happy that I made it for him, but so far he does not want to sleep with it... so it's residing on his rocking chair instead.

Simple, delicious veggie wrap

Spread a large tortilla (I like the flavored kind, like Tomato Basil or Spinach) with a thin layer of Neufchâtel cheese. Pile some spring greens and alfalfa sprouts down the center. Grate 1/2 of a medium carrot over that. Take a handful of grape tomatoes, cut them in halves, and scatter over the carrots. Cut up a small broccoli floret into bite-size pieces and scatter on top. Roll up the tortilla and enjoy!

(I have made this for lunch [or breakfast] several times lately and it's very yummy and filling!)

Cloth diapers

Lately, I've gotten renewed incentive to try to kick the disposable diaper habit once and for all. We've been dabbling with cloth diapers off-and-on for about a year. I am certainly not an expert on the topic; in fact, I find it rather overwhelming. There are so many choices these days that I hardly knew where to start! Eventually I just picked Econobum covers after my blogging friend Shannon alerted her readers to a "Buy One, Get One Free" sale at Cotton Babies. I purchased five so we now have 10 diaper covers and cotton prefolds.

I have no complaints with their functionality (no leaks or blow-outs in our limited experience), but they do have their drawbacks. Edmund is more prone to diaper rash when wearing cloth. Also, the cotton prefolds are pretty bulky and I have my doubts that they would work well on an infant as they are simply too big. And last but not least, they develop a strong odor when soiled -- I do realize this is probably due to build-up or laundry abuse on my part, I'm just still in the process of trying different things to see what will work to get rid of the smell.

So, I decided to take a look around and see what might solve some of my problems. Thankfully, Shannon is a fount of cloth-diaper information. I went back and reviewed her helpful posts on cloth-diapering (Adventures in Cloth Diapering, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) and decided to try my hand at the free Rita's Rump pocket diaper pattern, taking Shannon's suggestion of using Alova suede as the liner in an effort to keep moisture away from tender skin.

Serendipitously, Jo-Ann Fabrics had their flannels on sale for $1.99/yard and with a 50% off coupon, I was able to get a good price on the Alova suede, too. I planned to make just a few to make sure I liked the style and fit before going crazy making tons of diapers. I also bought some microfiber auto towels at Target for about $1 each to use as "soakers" in the diaper pockets. Here are two of my first efforts, made up in nice gender-neutral fabrics.

[You can see I added a seam at the crotch of the froggy diaper, just so the frogs would be right-side-up on both the front and back of the diaper!]
These diapers are not waterproof so I still use the Econobum covers over them. They do not have any fastenings, which is supposed to make them more versatile in fitting infants all the way to toddlers (the diapers do fit Edmund, who is almost 28 months and around 35 lbs., although the back wings barely meet in the front on him). Shannon said she is able to use them without pins by keeping them in place with the waterproof cover -- I tried this and it is a little tricky on a big, active toddler. I will pick up some diaper pins next time I see any at a store (I'm assuming these are still sold in stores, right?!) and try that route.

As far as reducing bulk, they certainly do that, and are doubtless more comfy for Edmund to wear than the prefolds. It remains to be seen whether they'll help with the diaper rash issue -- never a huge problem with him anyway, but one that just crops up from time to time when he is wearing a lot of cloth. It's certainly an economical option as the materials can be had pretty cheaply if you use Jo-Ann coupons, and the pattern sews up very quickly. It's a little hard for me to judge how functional they are because Edmund is in the process of potty-training and isn't giving them the full workout that a newborn infant will. So stay tuned for an update in a couple of months! :)

[Baby bump at 30 weeks!]

Regency Roses

Before the month slips away from me, I'll share about this Regency gown that I made for a friend this past month. She and her husband were invited to an English Country Dance, so she wanted a pretty Regency gown to wear to the event. Julie chose the fabric and the style, and I did the stitching!

I used the Elegant Ladies' Closet pattern from Sense & Sensibility Patterns, with a few modifications. I raised the neckline 1.5" and added a total of 4" of extra width to the front of the dress for potential maternity/nursing wear. I custom-fitted the length of the bodice on Julie so that she could wear the dress without needing period undergarments. Julie wanted a little extra something to add interest and definition, so she requested that I use a coordinating bias binding on the outside of the dress for the drawstring casing. I also added detachable long sleeves, from the same fabric, which I basted in after this photo was taken. I also made a chemise from cotton muslin for her to wear under the dress (no pictures of that, as it is pretty basic, but the interesting challenges of that pattern are flat-felled seams and inserting gussets under the arms).

Sewing this dress in the middle of winter was like getting a whiff of summertime and roses!