Quilted travel jewelery case

I did a similar case a few months ago for a camera. I used the leftover fabric for this case, making it a little larger, adding a ribbon for easier carrying, and dividing the case so there were two pockets.

 

 

This is a quick and fun project. Visit my previous entry on making the case to see some links to a tutorial and some helpful tips.

Update on Gabe

Today we took Gabe to Primary Children's Hospital to see a craniofacial specialist, and good news: we were reassured that the ridge on his head will not get any worse, his brain development will not be poorly affected, and the ridge may even disappear as Gabe grows. We were pretty much expecting that, but wanted to hear it from someone who could tell us confidently that that was the case. So now we have our peace of mind and are able to lay our anxieties to rest. Yay!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

I would certainly be remiss if I did not mention that BJ and I just celebrated our 5th Anniversary. At the risk of sounding a little mushy, these past five years have been the happiest of my life, and I consider myself blessed to be married to such a fun, kind, witty, patient, cool, talented, smart guy. We have had so many wonderful times, and I still get excited thinking about what our future holds.
So last week we headed out to Oregon to stay with my family for a while. We went swimming (one of Gabe's favorite things to do), hiking to Multnomah Falls, BJ took Cara's senior pictures, and we went to the Portland LDS Temple where we were married. On our Anniversary, BJ and I left Gabe with my family and we drove out to the coast. We honeymooned at Cannon Beach after we were married, and decided we would go back on our 5th anniversary. This time we stayed at a cute, oddly-shaped Bed and Breakfast right on the Oceanfront in Seaside. We had a really nice time, eating at Camp 18 (a really cool restaurant on Highway 26) like we did on our first trip to the beach together, right before we got engaged. We enjoyed walking on the boardwalk and down the beach. It was kind of cool and stormy, just like it was on our honeymoon. We went into a couple of really cool toy shops and bought some fun games- Mancala, Pass the Pigs, and Banana Grams, which is like the game Syzygy, which I love. My family drove out to the beach the next day, bringing Gabe of course, and we headed to Indian Beach. Love that beach. The Oregon Coast is so picturesque! The weather warmed up quite a bit. Anyway, Gabe LOVED the ocean. He is definitely a water baby. We walked him down to the waves (the tiny ones) and jumped him over each one. He loved it. He didn't care that his legs were all cold he was just enthralled the whole time. He was not happy with us when we decided that he had had enough and it was time to go warm up. We ate at Camp 18 again (my family wanted to go)on our way back and had fun playing games at the table and watching Gabe's antics.
We had a great time in Oregon, and it was kind of hard to come back and get back in to work and more work.

Here is another web album from my dad with a few more pictures.

Man's Shirt to Woman's Shirt Tutorial

Here is my own take on the man's shirt to woman's shirt refashion that has been going around the online sewing/ crafting community lately. There are quite a few different styles out there. Clothing refashioning really appeals to me, especially pattern-less refashioning.
After some hesitation, I decided to share pictures I took along the way with commentary, tutorial- style. I am a little nervous to share; this is the first tutorial I have ever written for something that I made up. If there is anything that is unclear, please let me know and I will try to clarify.
Click on the album below if you would like to be able to see the instructions. They were too long to include in the slideshow here, but you can see them in the album itself. I appreciate any feedback on whether this format is useful for a tutorial, if anyone tries it.

Brief update

It's been another interesting week so far. We got news on Saturday that my dad had been in an ATV accident and was in the hospital, fortunately, he was discharged only a few hours later, with painful but minor injuries that will heal in time. To read his account of what happened, see this post. We are so grateful that he is alright.
Today Gabe went to the pediatrician to get his ears checked to see if he would need tubes. One ear had some fluid in it but neither ear was infected. Yay! We have not had any sickness or infection for a few weeks. (Knock on wood.)
We are looking forward to seeing my family in the near future, and celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. More on that to come.

Photos, photos, and more photos

Rochelle has asked me to post some of my favorite photos from recent activities, and so here it goes. Moving in chronological order, we'll start with Charles and Annette who graciously allowed me to take their pictures for their engagement and their bridals. It was a lot of fun... and they make a great couple. Here's a few of my favorites from those photo shoots.



This next slide show may be a little long, so you may just want to skim through it if you are short on time. Rochelle's mom asked me to take photos of their production "The Music Man". She was vocal music director for the show. The slide show is up for the benefit of the people who were in the show, and therefore every picture that turned out is posted here.



And last, but not least, are some pics I took of Gabe today while he was playing. It is getting much more difficult to take his picture since he is so mobile now. He doesn't stay put. When I get the camera out, he immediately starts crawling towards me, and climbing on me. And so many of these pictures are taken an arms length away. All the same, I really like how some of these turned out. Some of these really make me laugh.



Well, that's the end of the slide shows. Hope you enjoyed them.

What a week

It's been another busy/ good week. We went to the Orem Owlz baseball game on Monday with some friends of ours in our ward. I hadn't been to a baseball game since high school. We really enjoyed it and Gabe did really well too.

I made my first ever zucchini bread this week as well, from a great recipe I got from BJ's mom. YUM. (Thanks, Suzanne!) We even used some zucchini that we picked from our garden. I froze the rest of the zucchini we had for easy zucchini bread- making in the future. Oh, I got a bunch of flowers (Zinnias) from my garden too, which I love!

Another "highlight" of the week was taking our old white car in for what we hoped was a minor repair, and ending up having to pay nearly $700 to get it fixed. Boo. That was not news we were happy to receive.
On to more important things:
Gabe is 13 months old today. He started standing up by himself with no support several weeks ago, for just a few seconds at a time, and now he is able to stand for quite a bit longer. Last night he took three steps by himself toward me. It is so funny to watch him as he does this. He laughs and gasps, as if he is just thrilled that he is doing it by himself, but also a little scared. Besides walking, he is very mobile, crawling all over the place. He still frequently crawls with one knee down, and his other foot on the floor, if that makes sense. He loves to play roll the ball with us, and crawls after his ball as fast as he can to roll it back to us. One of his favorite toys is still the push cart/ walker thingy. He loves to push it down the hall at a run! When he runs into something and can't go forward anymore, he gets really upset and will sometimes scream until I come turn him around. I guess we will have to work on teaching him to turn himself around. Haha.

Last week he started teething again. He popped three teeth through all about at the same time, and one more is about to cut through. All on the bottom- 2 canines, and 2 molars. He has been remarkably cheerful.
Gabe has also finally consented to holding his own sippy cup while he drinks. For the longest time he would throw his arms behind him and make us hold the cup while he drank, but now he's got it all figured out, and he has even branched out to a couple of new kinds of sippy cups too, although the ones with the straws are his favorites.
One of the sweetest things Gabe does right now is if you tell him you love him or ask for a kiss, he will start smacking his lips, lean forward, and kiss you- sometimes with a smack, sometimes open- mouthed. Then he says "tiss, tiss, tiss." That is pretty much his only word that he says consistently that we understand the meaning for. He understands lots of words and responds to them, but he doesn't use much verbal language himself yet.
This seems to be an age of curiosity. He is in to anything and everything. It is stressful to me at times, as I am realizing I have some more baby- proofing to do, but I am loving watching him develop and learn. Like most babies, he is doing an in- depth, independent study of gravity. Haha.
I love this kid!


Thanks for letting me record this here- I know not everybody likes to read this kind of stuff, but for me, at least right now, it is how I am journaling Gabriel's growth and so it is important to me.

Baby Alert!

Someone should invent some sort of alarm that goes off when your child is about to get into something they shouldn't. I would buy one.
Gabe is only a year old, but he's at the stage where he is very curious, fairly mobile, and loves to put things in his mouth. Dangerous combination! It means that he needs fairly constant supervision. I am learning not to be lulled into a false sense of security when Gabe is quiet. A few times today I have looked up or around the corner after noticing that Gabe was being quieter than usual, only to find him getting into something he shouldn't. He knows it too, because he jumps when he sees me and puts the thing (whatever it is) down. Usually the "thing" I find is a piece of lint, carpet, kleenex (or what's left of it) or nasty old piece of food or dirt. How does he even find that stuff? Sometimes, though, I find him getting into my purse (why did I leave it on the floor again?), trying to chew on the power cord to BJ's computer or the vertical blinds on our sliding glass door, or reaching into the bathroom garbage. Why do these things hold such attraction to babies? I understand that they are curious and trying to learn about the world around them. I don't want to stifle that. Yet I want to keep Gabe safe and not let him get into things that are going to hurt him or make him sick.
Going outside is a whole different ballgame. Most kids love to be outside, but there isn't much out there that I am thrilled to see him put in his mouth. I've seen parents go to both extremes on this; some almost wont put their kids (babies/ toddlers) down when they go outside, others let their kids pick up, play with, and taste anything that isn't poop or poison.
My questions for you all are:
1. What are the strangest, funniest, icky-est things that your kids, siblings, nieces/ nephews etc. have tried to eat?
2. Did those kids eventually learn on their own not to put nasty things in their mouths, or did it take constant vigilance on the parent's part for the first several years of their lives?
3. Should babies be allowed to pick up, play with, and lick/chew anything that doesn't pose a threat to their safety, whether inside or outside?
Feel free to answer one or all of the questions!
Thanks in advance!

BJ and Rochelle in the 1980's

 

>Laughing<

 

Funny, funny, funny!
If you want to waste time, make your own at yearbookyourself.com I'm still laughing! I may have to post more of the pictures I did at a later date.

Back in the thick of things

We are back from a fun but quick trip to Oregon. My parents were kind enough to fly us out to see The Music Man performance which my mom directed the music for and my siblings at home performed in. While this musical is not necessarily my favorite musical, I enjoyed watching it immensely. The cast did a great job with their acting, singing, and dancing, and watching it in the outdoor theater was really enjoyable, despite the heat and humidity. (Man, I thought I would be enjoying 70-80* F weather in Oregon, not the 100+ damp degrees we suffered through if we walked outside!) Anyway, BJ took some photos that turned out really well. I am going to ask him to post them. He actually needs to post several sets of pictures he has taken recently.
Gabe did really well on the airplane both times, and he warmed right up to his grandparents, aunts and uncle. We enjoyed celebrating Gabe's and my birthdays, and visiting in general. We look forward to going back next month!
Now we are back in the middle of work. Luckily, we have been able to fit some fun things in this week. Last night we had a couple in our ward over to play games. Tonight after Gabe is in bed I will go to my yoga class at the church (fun for me, not so much for BJ). Tomorrow night is BJ's company party/BBQ up at the reservoir.
Next week promises to be just as exciting as I kick it off at a defensive driving class! (Just kidding. I'm not too excited about that. It is a requirement for all the county employees.) Anyway, pictures to come soon. Promise.

Baby Hooded Towels

If I have ever come to your baby shower, there is a good chance you received a hooded towel along with other baby goodies from me (Ok, I didn't do this every time, but several times I have). My mom showed me how to make these several years ago, and I've enjoyed making them ever since.

 

The above picture shows a hooded towel the way I was taught to make it- using a bath towel and a specially folded washrag. This is great for newborns. If you have a big headed baby (like me) who outgrows their hooded towel, you may want to try a different method, like the one shown next!

 

^This is one of my more recent hooded towels, made with half a hand towel instead of a washrag. You just cut the hand towel in half, fold and sew that raw edge to itself, match the seam you just sewed to the center of the long edge of the bath towel, pin, and sew. You can probably figure it out from the picture. You can see in the picture that I like to fold the decorative edge of the hand towel up before I sew it. This cuff is a nice detail, and also keeps the towel from flopping over baby's eyes. There is plenty of room for baby and toddler heads. There are other methods out there for hooded towels for older kids.

 

The ties that you see in some of the pictures is a recent idea I got from Martha Stewart- make the towel into a bath apron for yourself- handy when you don't want to be nearly as wet as the baby by the end of the bath! It also gets the towel into position so you can quickly lift baby out, onto your lap, and cover with the towel to keep as warm and toasty as possible.

 

My cute little guy after a bath!

A cute way to package the hooded towel that my mom taught me. Roll the sides of the towel in to the center, fold up, and tie. This creates a nice little pouch you can fill with bath goodies. Draw a face on a disposable diaper if you want, and put under the hood.

Another cute idea for packaging. This is just a washrag folded in half to be a triangle, then tightly rolled from the corner to the folded edge, then the roll is folded twice and tied with a ribbon. I think it is cute as it is to be a bath scrubber (it is washable as is, but you could undo it to wash it to be a little more sanitary, then redo it), but some people add all sorts of decoration, googly eyes etc. and use it as an ice holder for bumps and bruises- a "boo-boo bunny". You can google that if you want to see way more detailed tutorials on how to make.
My cutie again. I added ric rac as an easy embellishment on the hood.

Happy Birthday Rochelle

It's time for my monthly post here on the blog, and I would just like to devote this particular blog to my wonderful wife. Rochelle has been a blessing to me ever since I've first met her. Rochelle's birthday has special significance to us as well because it was also the day on which we became engaged. And I can honestly say that every year has been my happiest year yet. As this time of year comes around, and as we celebrate Rochelle's birthday, our engagement, and our anniversary, I think back to our first summer together. I say "together" but really, we didn't spend much time physically together that summer, but rather we spent a lot of time talking to each other on the phone, and sending emails back and forth. We got to know each other from a distance that summer. I remember that I had a hard time saying goodbye as we talked on the phone. At times I knew that it was time to go, but I just couldn't bring myself to saying goodbye or hanging up the phone until I was certain I had heard the "click" on the other end. That feeling has never gone away for me. Even now, as I leave work at the end of the day, I will often call Rochelle just to talk to her for the 15 minutes until I get home. Rochelle has always had a way of making me feel at home in her presence. She is a peace loving person, with a desire to please and help those around her. I am very grateful for Rochelle, and I love her more every day.

It's never easy for me to find voice for my feelings for those who are close to me, but it is especially so for Rochelle. Let me just say that I am grateful that God has sent this angel to be with me.

Happy Birthday Rochelle.

Results

Gabe's CT scan happened yesterday. They sedated him, which made him really loopy for a while afterwards, and did the scan which only took 5-7 minutes or so. He was also given versed, which is a drug which not only causes relaxation, but retrograde amnesia. So Gabe won't remember the 2-3 minutes before he got it (i.e. the IV insertion, which he was understandably not happy about) or anything about the scan or waking up. So that's good. The whole procedure happened very smoothly, and the pediatric sedation team along with the other personnel, child life specialist etc. were all very helpful and pleasant. The pediatric radiologist wasn't there during the scan so we were told that we would have to wait a few hours before our pediatrician could obtain the results.
I called the pediatrician late in the afternoon to remind him that the results would be available, and he called me back fairly promptly. He didn't give too much interpretation of the results, just what the radiologist found. His metopic suture is fused, which you actually could expect as early as 6-8 months of age (although There seems to be some conflicting information about that). However, you would not expect the craniostenosis (ridging) on that suture. The rest of Gabe's sutures are all normal, as is his brain- no squeezing, pinching, or anything concerning.
Thank goodness.
Because the ridging is still abnormal, the pediatrician wants to refer us to craniofacial specialists up in Salt Lake City.
My thoughts: Obviously the metopic suture closed a little bit prematurely, or it fused abnormally, causing the fairly mild ridging Gabe now has. It seems to me that at this point, it probably isn't going to get any worse, and any treatment would be mainly cosmetic. Part of me doesn't want to go to the specialist, perhaps for fear that we would find out that something really is wrong and he needs some sort of invasive, risky treatment. The other part of me needs to know exactly what is going on, and if there is anything we need to do, at least for peace of mind if nothing else. Of course we will take him in to get checked by the specialist. I don't know when that will be yet, but we will continue to give updates as we learn more information.
On a somewhat humorous note, all the stress of this week (from Gabe and otherwise) must be subconsciously affecting BJ and I (of course!) because this morning we each woke up from stressful but hilarious dreams. I dreamed that we had bought a large house, which had an area for a bonfire in the backyard. Lots of people came over and they lit a big bonfire, which started spewing coals and sparks everywhere, until the ground was covered in burning embers. I was the only one in my dream bothered by this. BJ woke up from a dream in which I had persuaded him that it would be really fun and exciting to participate in venomous snake racing (whatever that is- haha). In the dream BJ was holding the snake by its head to keep it from biting him as we were waiting for the race to start, and was using all his might to control it, but it kept wiggling, opening its mouth and baring its teeth, and trying to bite his hand. In the dream, I was not concerned about the snakes, apparently because I worked with snakes and other reptiles during my time at the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum (PS- none of those snakes were venomous).
BJ, you'll have to correct me if I got any of the details wrong.
Anyone an expert at dream interpretation?

This Week=

A busy week. Has been and will be.
Not that I mind terribly, it is just going to take some planning.
BJ and I work as usual, he full time, me part time (currently I am working 3 half- days each week for a grand total of 12 hours). Add in the usual stuff- taking care of Gabe, running errands, going visiting teaching, FHE with a couple in the ward, yoga class, seeing family, work inservice, doing laundry, chores, etc. Now add in the wedding of a close friend, with the reception and luncheon, BJ helping to plan the bachelor party, and having taken bridal pictures (a few days ago). That stuff is all pretty fun, pretty exciting, but it's not all. Later this week we are taking Gabe in to have a head CT scan. That's the part I'm not super excited for. I have been told the pediatric sedation team is supposed to take part, but I can't imagine that he would need more than a mild sedative to help him hold still. Still, a CT scan is a series of several X-ray images that give a cross- sectional view of whatever it is that needs to be examined. In Gabriel's case, his head. The concern is that there is a ridge on top of his skull that has become a bit larger. The top of his head should feel smooth, but there is a definite ridge. You can't see it because his hair covers it, but it is obvious when you feel it. It may be caused by the sutures (which allowed his skull to mold when he was born) closing prematurely- called craniosynostosis. Our thought (as well as the pediatrician's) is that while this is not normal, it is pretty mild as of yet. The purpose of the CT scan will be to determine if it is really craniosynostosis, and if any action needs to be taken. We are optimistic that everything will turn out all right. All the same, thinking about it is giving me a little bit of anxiety! Anyway, we will post an update on that when we have more information. Until then, we are just keeping on as usual, and maybe it's a good thing this week is so busy- maybe it will keep us from worrying too much.

Crocheted Dish Rags and Hand Towel

 

This was a simple if not quick project for me. It is a nice project to work on when you want to have your hands busy while doing something else that requires attention. I only picked up my crocheting while I was doing something else too, like watching movies, riding in the car (as a passenger!), watching my son play etc. Thus it took me quite some time to finish a little project. I used a half double crochet stitch, with a size F crochet hook, and just started with a chain as long as I thought I would like my dish rags. The hand towel I did the same, just twice as long. I added stripes or a border on some of them. The yarn is 100% cotton. The rags match my kitchen and I am excited to use them!