Reusable Gift Wrap

For the first time, we will have reusable gift wrap under our Christmas tree! My mother has been doing this for years (I can't even remember a time when we had paper gift wrap!), and I decided I wanted to do it for my own family, so I made my own gift bags. These are all made from Christmas-themed cotton fabric. I started with 6 yards of cute printed cotton fabric, and cute each yard in half. I sewed the bags using a french seam, and they have a drawstring closure (sewed with a button hole and seams on each side of the button hole). To finish, the ties were made using sparkly silver and gold cording. So simple!

Now I will be able to cut the time I would normally spend wrapping Christmas presents by a fraction! Using these bags (and handmade gift tags that I made and will be able to use year after year as well), I could probably get all the Christmas wrapping done in about a half hour. And another great feature of the reusable bags is that odd-shaped presents are no longer a problem. You just stuff the bags, tie, and go!

Being A Parent

I realized something the other day, as I watched Danny and William dancing in the living room last night for over a half an hour. Our main purpose, Danny and I, is to be good parents to William and Violet.

Danny comes home from work every day, and literally the minute he gets home from work until Violet and William go to bed for the night, he spends it playing with William or holding Violet. Danny and William take hour-long baths together just about every night, playing with toys and splashing each other. Since Violet is 2 months old right now and not sleeping through the night, sometimes Danny will keep her with him until nearly 1am while he's watching tv or on the computer, so I can get a bit of extra sleep.

I think the most important thing a parent can do for their child is just to listen to them. Sometimes kids just want to be acknowledged. William talks to me all day long, and he does actually have things to say. Everything he observes, he wants to tell me what he is seeing. Whether it is an airplane out the car window, or a squirrel on the tree when we are taking a walk. If I am busy when he is trying to tell me something, I do my best to explain to him what I am doing at the moment, and that I will help him with what he needs or what he has to say, when I get the chance. It's funny, because a lot of the time when he says something, maybe a new word, he waits for me to repeat it and confirm to him that he was correct. Sometimes I don't understand what he's said right away, but if I listen a couple more times, usually I can pick it up (he is usually right, it's just that his pronunciation isn't always 100% for being a toddler!).

And even though she is so little, Violet looks so smart and inquisitive. The sleepless nights get easier as she responds more to my face during the day; she looks, laughs, and I bet she will be trying to say things or make little sounds any day now. At the beginning I was always having a hard time figuring out what she needed when she cried; but now I am doing my best to take the time and whenever I don't know what to do, I just hold her and that usually does the trick. Sometimes she just needs to relax before she goes to sleep.

It's great being a parent. Some days are a challenge, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Japanese Fabric Fat Quarter Swap

I am hosting a swap on Swap-bot.com (if you aren't already a member and love to trade, you've GOT to check this out!) for Japanese import fabrics. If you love this fabric and would like to participate in my swap, please visit this link for more information:

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/24702

And, you can also convo me if you have any questions or need any help with the site.

Thanks and hope to see you there!

Happy Halloween!

This year, William was Spider-man during the day, and when we went trick-or-treating, he was a dragon. Violet was a princess in the pea (costume). I love Halloween!

I Voted

I participated in Early Voting on Friday. I voted for Barack Obama/Joe Biden. I did vote for Hillary in the primaries, since health care is a major issue for me (as it is for most people), but I was happy to cast my vote for Obama. I think early voting is a great idea, as there was no line and I was at the polling place probably all of 10 minutes. Anyone who is registered to vote should feel obligated to vote in this election...if I can manage to make it out with a newborn (who cried in my arms the whole time I was voting) and toddler, then anyone should be able to. ;-)

Pumpkin Farm

We went to Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm yesterday in Hampshire, Illinois. It was over 80 degrees and really hot and sunny, so of course it was crowded. William and Violet got in for free, but Danny and I had to pay.

Besides all the pumpkins and gords for sale, there were a lot of animals in different areas for petting or feeding (chickens, ducks, llamas, rabbits, sheep, goats), pony rides, even a camel to ride. There were also several obstacles made out of wood for the kids to play on, such as a pirate ship, fire truck, and cars. William liked these the best. I was sort of surprised as when we got to the play area, I had to stay with Violet while Danny went to get something to drink, and William went and played by himself! Normally he would wait for me, or try to pull me in; never go in by himself. I guess it's good that he gets a bit independent and less shy around other kids.

We stayed for about an hour, and it was fun. I know it will be more fun next year, too, when Violet is just about old enough to walk and she can enjoy everything too (she slept in the stroller the whole time).

Bumgenius Cloth Diapers

I bought a ton of these cloth diapers, new and used, a few weeks ago, and...wow! We love using them. I'm not sure if you're familiar with cloth diapers, but we used to use prefolds with Snappis and Bummis diaper covers. They worked fine, but when you use an all-in-one pocket diaper like the Bumgenius 3.0, it's hard to go back to prefolds. :-)

These diapers make it real easy to go cloth. And they dry so quickly in the dryer, especially with wool dryer balls. There's actually no more "rock-paper-scissors" discussion after William's bath about who is going to put his diaper on and get him dressed...now Danny and I save that competition for the #2 diapers. ;-)