Homebase

Better late than never

2012-01-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

Maybe I should rename the blog 'better late than never' since that seems to be a theme here. Anyway, some belated pictures from December which was (as always) a really really busy month. The girls both played their flutes in 2 performances (and I use the word 'played' in the loosest sense) and had their ballet recitals (no pictures of Claudia for some reason, but damn she looked cute). Diego turned 8 (8!) and I sewed and sold a bunch of dolls. I decided to be a little more official on the business end of things and now have a website and a business card (and a little notebook with lists of ideas and orders!--I love a little notebook). The website is philadelphiadollco.blospot.com but there's nothing on it yet.

I also sewed the dresses for the girls' flute recital. I did Penelope's well ahead of time with the beautiful Anna Maria Horner striped fabric and the black flowers. I used this pattern (obscure) which I had used before. I like the pinafore portion much better than the underdress. Claudia's dress I sewed up super quick the morning of the recital and it is a Simplicity pattern (don't have the number handy) which I have made about 5 times before and LOVE. So simple and easy. The pattern calls for bias binding at the armholes and neck, which I have done in the past for summer dresses, but since this was a warmer corduroy dress, I opted to just line it instead.

P and I have been reading Hitty and really want to buy this kit but I'm trying to hold back and be reasonable, since I'm really working a lot on the other dolls lately (3 orders for January!).

I got an iphone--more on that soon.

Better late than never

2011-12-24T13:19:00.000-08:00

Too late to give to the kids' teachers or friends at work, but just in time for Santa Clause

I also made a pillowcase

2011-12-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

All of our couch cushions were looking a little ratty. And we inherited a bunch of kilim pillow cases from my dad which are beautiful to look at but way too scratchy to lean against (let alone rest your head on). So I thought I would make some. I finished the one and then moved on to other things (it is Christmas ya know) and now I have a big pile of fabric slated for pillow cases and a bunch of still-ratty looking couch pillows. Oh well.

And one small gripe: I am finding it very hard to get into the holiday spirit when it is 60 degrees and rainy.

I sold some dolls...

2011-12-05T19:17:00.000-08:00

At a craft show in my hood.
So I think I'll make some more...

The baby sleeps for hours in the jogger

2011-11-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

Running makes me feel great, be healthier and have more energy. Why oh why is it so hard to make myself do it when it is so obviously the answer to almost all my problems? Anyone?

Halloween and Claudia turned 3

2011-11-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

A pirate, a vampire bat and a cat set out with their grandmother to go trick or treating.

Who doesn't love a marching band?

The trading--"Claudia that's really good. It's chocolate with rice crispies in it. You'll want to keep that." Thank goodness for big brothers.

My my where does the time go?

Mammals learn

2011-09-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

Al is fond of telling me this on occasions when I repeat the same stupid thing I've done before (usually involves late night sewing and broken sewing machine needles). This is the result of another high-stakes baking episode. I don't know why I keep doing this to myself, except that perhaps this mammal is hoping to learn to bake rather than learning to go to Metropolitan Bakery to buy cupcakes for Penelope's birthday party that is really the labor day block party in our alley ('Look how many people came to wish you happy birthday honey--people you don't even know!').

Suffice it to say that the 'Boston Cream Pie' Cupcakes in Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook looked a little different...

Tuesday morning

2011-09-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

3 kids dressed, fed, brushed and dropped off in 3 different locations (check).
2 lunches made and delivered with correct children to correct location (check)
1 emergency lunch made and delivered late to 1 child (check)
1 baby neither brushed nor fed nor dressed until 10:30, after all of the above had occurred (thank you mellow Adrian)
1 cat found (thank you to all the friends, neighbors and strangers who helped us find him)
2 hours until kid pick-ups start...
School year '11-'12...bring it on!

Have you seen this cat?

2011-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

If you have seen him around West Philly, please let me know via the comments. His name is Hickory and Diego is really missing him

Upstate

2011-07-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

A much-needed break from Philadelphia summer weather. An hour spent in the Lincoln tunnel on the way up, and it was still worth the trip.

2011-07-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

I was just introduced to this website
www.unhappyhipsters.com. Midcentury modern is definitely not my thing and I feel sort of the same way about Dwell magazine as I did about the popular kids in high school--so a little spoofing at their expense pleases me.

Heard the first cicadas today. Their rattling and buzzing is the perfect soundtrack to these sweaty summer in Philadelphia days. 90 degrees with less humidity felt positively comfortable today...

40 days

2011-07-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

In a lot of traditional cultures (so I've heard), new moms and babes are given 40 days during which they are protected and sheltered, excused from participation in day-to-day activities, fed special foods, and generally expected to just rest, recuperate and get to know each other.

Of course this tradition is not part of our/my modern culture, but I have kept it in my mind these past few weeks. Each time I decided to lay down in bed to watch the fan wave Adrian's hair in the breeze, or took a cool bath with him in the middle of the day, or gave the kids cheese and crackers for dinner, I though of this tradition. 'We're still in our 40 days" I would tell myself as the laundry piled up and giant dust bunnies blew across the floor like tumbleweeds.

But now our 40 days are up. And just on cue, Adrian has woken up. His baby acne went away over night. He holds his head up and looks around, eyes big and dark. He fusses when left alone and smiles when someone comes to rescue him. So, it's time to take up some of my responsibilities again--I'm going to the grocery store today. I still have a few precious weeks of maternity leave left, but soon that will be over and Adrian will have to learn to take a bottle and be comforted by others besides me. So bittersweet...

My friends are crazy-talented

2011-06-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

And also incredibly kind and generous. I am so amazed that people would think of making and sending so many wonderful things for a 4th baby. Not that I don't think he's worthy of it, of course. More that I sort of expected people to have a kind of "oh, how many kids do they have already" attitude about him. But instead we've been literally showered with beautiful and handmade gifts and delicious home-cooked meals. How lucky are we?

Catching up

2011-06-25T13:47:00.000-07:00

On some crafty stuff I had going on before the baby came. Above is my haul from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival that we attended two weeks before the birth. I did manage to finish the little sweater for Adrian before he was born. Every year I get seduced by the amazing hand-painted yarns at the festival and this year was no exception, as you can see. In the past, I've been somewhat perplexed as to what to do with hand-painted yarn like this--it doesn't really look good with cables or lace or anything else that is interesting to knit. But this year I went with a plan and got the yarn for 3 projects--one for each kid except Claudia (I'm not knitting for her since she tried on the beautiful Noro cardigan I knitted for her and said "I hate this."). I'm already on the 2nd sleeve of Diego's project and will start P's next with the pink yarn above.
Flowers from our garden.
Placemats I made for the family inspired by the 'Aunt Millie's hot pads" project in The Handmade Home. I used an old moth-eaten wool blanket that had been my grandmothers for the back. It occurred to me belatedly that I probably ought to have pre-washed the blanket so it doesn't shrink in the wash (since they are placemats after all). They have stayed remarkably clean thus far, but a recent frozen blueberry episode has made a wash necessary, so we'll see they hold up... I made a bunch of small hot pads and a mug rug too. The hot pads have been great because they are the perfect size for lots of things I do a lot--holding the handle of a hot tea pot, taking an overheated mug of tea out of the microwave, serving as a coaster for a mug of tea (are we sensing a theme here?).

An old wool cloak of my grandmother's became the wall pocket from the same book for my reading boy. He requires a lot of stuff next to his bed: books, chap stick, tissues, water bottle. You wouldn't believe all the accoutrements. Since his bed is a top bunk, he can't put it on the floor, hence the wall pocket. I made it in his favorite colors--dark blue, turquoise and yellow. In the book, it is mounted on a beautiful unfinished wooden branch, but those are hard to come by here in West Philly, so I used a left-over curtain rod instead.

As you can see, I had quite a love affair with this book in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I also made a bath mat and baby sling from it. It was weird because I'd had the book for years and had never really been inspired by anything in it, then all of a sudden, I wanted to make almost everything in it.

These are my favorite kind of projects, fast, fun, almost no rules and basically impossible to screw up...

2011-06-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

This picture provides the answer to 2 questions I have been asked a lot recently: 'why is that baby so dark?' and 'How do you have time for knitting?'

My question is this: why aren't more people knitting at the playground???

Growing things...garden and kids

2011-06-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

I took the girls and Adrian to Bartram's Gardens with my friend Kathleen the other day. We have been so lucky this spring with generally mild weather--cool evenings, pleasant in the shade, warm in the sun. Living in Philadelphia, it is essential to enjoy nice weather while it lasts so we have been trying to get out as much as possible. Bartram's Gardens is the oldest active botanical garden in the country, and it is right smack in Wes Philly, just about 2 miles from my house. It is a perfect West Philly type of place--a little weedy, staffed mostly with earnest volunteers, but absolutely lovely and with lots of amazing native plants and cool activities for kids. We had already gone to a few things this spring, so the girls are getting used to being there.

I think some of my pregnancy 'nesting' this time went into the garden. I'm thinking maybe that's why I didn't get even half the stuff done I had planned before Adrian was born. But our garden is looking pretty awesome with sunflowers taller than me (no blooms yet), tons of basil, parsley and crazy out of control bean vines. I've been loving checking out what's going on each morning, weeding, picking the suckers of the tomatoes. We'll see how I'm feeling when the hot weather arrives in earnest, but for now, it's a pleasure. We've been eating raspberries, lettuce, cucumbers and snow peas. Kathleen made us practically a year's supply of pesto already and our babysitter Jax who is a pretty awesome gardener herself claims she had garden envy.

First car ride

2011-06-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Two boys. You can tell who is who by the clothes. Also because Al and I have relaxed our standards a lot in the seven years between these two pictures, hence the pacifier...

Heat wave

2011-06-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's hot here in Philadelphia. But the pool is open and for those of us who aren't ready for the pool yet, there's plenty of fans in our house...

In gratitide

2011-05-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Lots to be grateful for today of course. But I'm thinking in particular of the midwives who I was privileged to have care for me in each of my pregnancies and births. Having a new baby always makes me want to be a better person. New babies really bring out the best in people and with each new baby we have been showered with kindness from friends and neighbors and acquaintances and strangers in such a way that I always feel inspired and hpeful that I will be able to reciprocate in some way in the future.

Because having a baby is so tied up with my career, it particularly makes me want to be a better midwife. Looking back on my four (four!) pregnancies and births, I am so incredibly grateful to the midwives who helped to make each experience for me so empowering and beautiful, and who helped to provide my children with a safe and peaceful entrance into this world.

Thank you.

Him

2011-05-27T06:55:00.001-07:00

Rapture Baby

2011-05-25T06:54:00.001-07:00

Adrian Madrid. Born at home, May 21st at 1219 AM. We think maybe we've been raptured...

2011-05-15T17:32:00.000-07:00

Last fall when we told Diego that we were having another baby, he cried. He told us that another baby would be too much work for him. I believe he may have been thinking of moments like this.

Some garden pictures

2011-05-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how much better this looks in person (to me anyway). It's such an improvement over what had been there...and it has so much potential.

Help

2011-05-11T03:27:00.000-07:00

I need to make curtains for the dining room. The dining room faces west and becomes a greenhouse (not in a pleasant, vegetal way) in the summer. I can't decide on fabric. Please weigh in.

The color of the room is most like the picture above--kind of a yellowish green.

2011-05-03T03:26:00.000-07:00

I made a table runner with leftover squares from a quilt I made for Claudia's bed back at the old house. I used thick flannel as the lining because when I've made table runners and place mats in the past, even the thickest quilt batting makes them too poofy .
We also planted a berry patch! I am so excited about this. We pulled out a huge, old lilac in order to do it ( I was afraid to show my face around the alley afterwards). But then our neighbors (whom we share this little patch of dirt with) got into the act and pulled up some privet and put down grass seed and laid the path. How nice is that! We have two neighbors whose beautiful lilacs we can actually see and enjoy from our new berry patch, so pulling it up didn't seem like too much of a loss to me. Hopefully we will have enough berries to share in the future, so folks may forgive us.

Now that's what I call a smorgasbord!

2011-05-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am so done with cooking. But the children still seem to need to eat. The smorgasbord was a big hit. Better than smoothies for dinner--they didn't seem to go for that quite so much...

2011-04-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

We went to a fancy plant place on the way to Longwood Gardens on Easter Sunday. Everyone found things to like.
Including a really expensive Easter brunch...
I have been busy lately, outfitting P with appropriately old-fashioned clothes. She is Laura Ingalls after all.
And I made a baby carrier for the new baby. Claudia and Al were kind enough to model it for me. It is the mei tai carrier from Sew Liberated. The pattern was really easy--so easy in fact that I was half kicking myself for buying it. But with so little time for crafting these days, it is nice to skip the test runs and just know something will turn out well the first time. Which this one did.
Lots more stuff to show. Nothing says end of pregnancy to me like manic frenzied crafting, and I've been doing plenty of it!

Off the deep end

2011-03-24T12:18:00.001-07:00

I can admit that I may have lost my mind a little bit. Lately, when I've had to fill in my address (requesting a lot of flower catalogues here), if there is a line for 'business name' I've been putting "The Pine Street Doll Factory." I sure do love making dolls, and I think it is a reasonable hobby, especially for someone with 2 doll-loving daughters. But I realize that not allowing said daughters to play with the dolls because they're um...too special is, perhaps, a little bit crazy.

Anyway, I'm thinking I might take this crew down to Vix when they're all done and let Emily sell them for me. The truth is that my girls really do have plenty of dolls. And it is nice to get a little money to cover some of the costs of my hobby (ahem). Plus I like the idea of other little girls having these sweet, simple rag dolls to play with. And I really wouldn't be able to stand seeing P and Claudia mess up their hair...

By the way

2011-03-18T03:38:00.000-07:00

Did you know that I live with two princesses?

Imperfect Blogging

2011-03-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

I don't mean, of course, that the blog isn't perfect. That is obvious. Instead, I'm thinking of blogging about things that aren't perfect. I seem to read a lot of a particular genre of blog that can be summarized briefly as "aren't we happy and aren't my kids beautiful and precocious, look at how beautiful and original and handmade my house is, look at this beautiful dinner I made/quilt I sewed/sweater I knitted.

Don't get me wrong. Nobody makes me read these blogs, and on the whole I really enjoy them. For the most part, they make me feel sort of optimistic. Inspired. Motivated. And although I am constitutionally incapable of ever even implying that I am happy all the time or coping really really well for long periods of time, I think this blog has mostly been sort of that type. I generally post only when I have something to share that I'm sort of proud of etc.

But sometimes, when everyone in the house and the babysitter have had the barfing flu for a week, and the house is trashed, and all I want to do is sleep, there's just not a lot that belongs on that kind of a blog.

I took some pictures of the house as it's been lately. I was thinking of them as the pre-nesting pictures (optimistically, perhaps--on the assumption that eventually I will have some sort of hormonally-driven urge to whip this place into shape). I know there is nothing particularly edifying about pictures of other people's messy homes, and I only post them now in pursuit of some honesty in blogging. This is not one of 'those' blogs...

A late morning nap

2011-02-14T09:19:00.000-08:00

The February Funk

2011-02-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm doing my best to ward it off. In spite of the ice that is still piled in heaps at every intersection in my neighborhood. In spite of the fact that even if I bundle myself and the kids up and haul all of us out to the park, nobody is ever there. In spite of our $1000 dollar heat bill last month (and no, we haven't been keeping the house at 72 degrees. If you are planning a visit to our place, please bring slippers and a sweater.

But Claudia and I made bread today and we're having broccoli soup for dinner. We turned a wall in the kitchen into an art gallery. I have craft day this Saturday. I have many patterns for spring dresses for the girls... And of course, the new baby to start knitting and sewing for.

Yup, that's our news--which most people in real life know by now. One more Schwarz-Madrid is en route and due this spring.

Hope you are warm and managing to keep the February funk away however you can too...

2011-01-03T18:15:00.003-08:00

There was some chat on a craft web site I frequent about how well Waldorf dolls hold up over time. I thought I'd share some pictures of the kids' dolls. I rudely stripped them naked for the purpose of the picture.

They are arranged from oldest on the left to youngest on the right. The one on the far left has shared raspberries with Penelope (hence the stains). It was originally a boy doll that I made for Diego, but he never played with him much and it has been appropriated by Penelope. He (now she) and the next doll to the right are now the twins, Vanilla and Canilla.

The dark skinned doll 2nd from the right is Claudia's most beloved and is definitely showing it--she's lost her mouth and her hair needs some attention. She was originally a fairy that I attempted to make for the daughter of a co-worker. She had awesome sparkly hair, but I could never get the wings figured out, so I kept her and Thorin eventually chewed her sparkly hair off. Claudia calls her "Nati-butt" which is also what she calls her best friend in real life (a little boy whose name is Nati).

The doll in green is featured (tragically) in a previous post.

And the doll on the far right I originally made to sell at the local craft shop, but I became too attached to her so she has sat on my sewing desk for the last few months. The girls kept taking her to play with so I finally gave her to Claudia and now she is "Jared." This is complicated: Diego and P and I are reading the Spiderwick Chronciles (totally awesome) and there are three kids in those books: Mallory, Simon and Jared. Penelope plays endless games where she is big sister Mallory and Claudia is younger brother Jared and together they befriend fairies and fight goblins. So...Jared.

Anyway, even though they are somewhat shabby, they are still much loved and much played with.
Having an assortment of nice clothes for them helps because everyone look better in nice clothes.

2011-01-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

I had an actual complaint in real life from an actual person that I haven't been updating the blog enough.

I know. I am still feeling overwhelmed: job, kids, house, holidays, haven't bought a 2011 calendar yet (that's on the agenda for today). Guess where the blog falls in this list of responsibilities/pleasures/privileges....Somewhere after walking the dog but before vacuming the upstairs rugs (and now you know how my rugs must look!).

Anyway, like everyone, we've had a busy month. We had a flute recital--complete with 2 parents crying like loons for every child who played. See the flute player in the center below.
a ballet recital,

a birthday party for a now 7-year old boy who happens to be obsessed with Egypt.

And Christmas of course.

I made a princess doll for P and was very pleased with her. I used the tutorial from Wee Wonderfuls to make ringlets--which took about 2 weeks of wrapping, glueing and sewing. P had asked for a "cradle that wocks" (can you hear the way she says R's?" We had this little black cradle in the basement from when I was little. It had been broken by Diego attempting to climb into it when he was a toddler. Al repaired it and I made a little mattress, pillow and quilt for it. The princess also received an everyday dress, a nightgown and appropriate underpants (petticoat and panties--lace trimmed of course).

By the end of the day, we had lost a shoe and the crown, Penelope had brushed the ringlets (which required an emergency repair) and she had put lip balm on the doll's face. To me, that means the doll was a success.

I didn't do a whole lot of crafting for the other kids this year for Christmas (see 'overwhelmed' above). But I am 95% finished with a sweater for Claudia. When my mom caught me knitting on the toilet on Christmas eve, I decided that it was important to know when to let things go.

We also had a snow-storm adventure (terrifying at the time, but exciting in retrospect) and an awesome reunion with the L.A. Schwarz's, including a chance to meet the newest Schwarz, baby Rowan (but I forgot my camera). And we have some exciting news to share which will be forthcoming soon.

Happy New Year,
Jessi

I read an article

2010-12-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this article on the internet.

Obviously, we are not 'kid-free' but having struggled with the stay-home/work outside the home question for years myself, I have a few thoughts about it.

First is, you have to be able to clean (including clean up after other people) and cook (including for other people) and do laundry (including other people's laundry) without feeling angry, really really angry. If you are a stay-at-home homemaker, and identify yourself as such, then you will be doing a lot (and I mean a lot) of cooking, cleaning and cleaning. And did I mention cleaning? I am not able to do this without anger--at least not for more than a few months at a time.

Second, if keeping home becomes your occupation, then it really helps of the person or people who share your home really really really appreciates it. Otherwise problems with step one (see above) may arise. I think it is almost inevitable that the working outside the home partner will start to take certain things for granted. He or she may come home one day and leave his or her muddy shoes right on the carpet that you just vacuumed, put his or her feet up on the table that you just wiped off and tell you that he or she is not hungry for the labor-intensive meal that you just set on the table with pre-warmed plates and candles ready for lighting. Of course, you can eat by yourself in that situation, enjoying the meal and the nice clean kitchen alone, but again, there is the potential for anger. Great anger.

That's basically it. If it weren't for those two issues (plus the loneliness issue, which I think may have more to do with being outnumbered by little kids in my family so perhaps not applicable to the kidless homemaking issue), I could be a happy stay-at-home homemaker. I like cooking. I don't mind cleaning (occasionally). I like making spaces cozy and beautiful. Lord knows I like crafting. But somehow, doing it all for myself isn't enough. I think I would need a team of deeply admiring appreciators standing by at all times. I haven't been able to find such a team...

Halloween and house update

2010-11-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Diego was a vampire bat. Penelope--well I'm not sure what she was but it involved both wings and a cape as well as a tutu. Claudia followed suit but omitted the wings and wore rain boots in stead of sneakers...
And, a finished room. I believe that Penelope's room is the only one in the house that is actually 'done' as in I don't have plans to move any furniture or hang any more pictures or anything.
The color of the walls is "bed of roses by Benjamin Moore and it is PINK. I had read that pink, more than other colors, appears much stronger on the wall than on the chip, and in this case, that was true. But the princess likes it, so that's okay with me.
The curtains were in Claudia's room at the old house and matched the pink walls nicely as well as P's new birthday quilt. The bed and bedside table, Al and I got at an antique shop in Chester County--the bed is one of a pair and the other is in Claudia's room (she calls it Daddy's bed because that's where Al lies while putting her to bed and usually falls asleep himself).
The art work is a combination of old stuff that my dad and I have picked up at various flea markets over the years as well as paintings by my grandmother and friend Sarah (like almost all the art in our house). The hooks on the wall are from Anthropologie and hold some tutu's and her nightgowns and robe (homemade polar fleece from our awesome friend Christine). The rug is from Ikea and the chair my mom got at a kid's store in NY.

The whole room is about 8x10 (which probably explains why it's the only rooms that's done!).

Giving Thanks

2010-10-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

I know it's a little early in the season, but I was inspired by this post to start trying to be more conscious of all the blessings in my life.

As anyone whose been around me recently knows, I've been in a funk. I assume it was precipitated by Al's injury and subsequent (ongoing) convalescence, just when I was starting to think that we would be able to emerge from the fog and chaos of moving/construction (torn achilles tendon, in case you missed it). It's weird for me to be in a funk this time of year though as they usually correspond with the worst weather in Philly (February and August).

The fall is my favorite time of year though, and the colder weather brings with it new energy for my craft projects (we need mittens damnit!), cooking (soups and pies) and spending time together.

A certain someone turned 2 yesterday. I've left the laundry to pile up and the sink full of dishes in order to spend time with dear friends--both close by and further away.

My kids love books as much as I do.

What I love...

2010-09-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well this girl of course, with her new home-cut hair-do.
The light in our new house. After 8 years of living in row houses, I'm enchanted. Morning light...afternoon light...What a wonder.

The kitchen, all cleaned up at the end of the day and ready for everybody tomorrow morning...

2010-09-14T03:24:00.000-07:00

Diego on the first day of school---above in the school yard with what seemed like a thousand other kids (see the nervous smile), and below hiding behind the stroller and not letting me take his picture.

The girls and I went with my mom to the New Jersey Sheep and Wool festival last weekend.

Belated pictures of Penelope's birthday party--which mostly consisted of P and her friends huddled in this tent playing 'sleeping baby animals'--her current favorite game.

And some belated house pictures....

Finally some pictures

2010-07-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

What can I say. It's been a busy few months.

That girl

2010-04-15T17:45:00.001-07:00

Claudia on her way to music class (she's taking a Music Together class). Even though she looks confident, striding down the street in her hippy-chic ensemble, she spent the whole class pulling on my shirt saying "Mo" (ie milk) and saying "Nah" to the teacher and hitting me if things weren't going generally how she wanted them too...

Some crafty goodness and the house...

2010-04-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the refinished floors in the new house--we used English Chestnut by minwax which looks beautiful here in one of the bedrooms, but a little darker and redder than I had expected on the stairs. Also, you totally can''t tell from this picture, but the water-based polyurethane that he used on top had a very matte finish that you could easily scratch with a fingernail (uh--not gonna work for this crew). Wesley (our awesome painter/handyman extraordinaire) is going to put a final coat on with a more durable finish when all the wall painting is finished.

Speaking of painting, can I just say that I'm in color selection hell and totally overwhelmed and carry approximately 300 paint chips with me everywhere I go. If you have any strategies for narrowing down paint colors/creating a cohesive palate thoughout the house/stopping the madness, well let's just say, I'm taking suggestions. Whoever is reading this, when you come to see us at the new house when it's all painted--just tell me you like the colors, okay?

Since I was just praising the glory of spring, a picture to illustrate. Although the tulips have mostly come and gone (apparently 90 degrees really doesn't suit them), lots of spring loveliness still to be enjoyed around here.
Here is P in the new Oliver and S Music Class skirt and blouse. This is actually a sample that I sewed for Cloth and Bobbin. These Oliver and S patterns are uniformly awesome. Even though it's probably not the best way to follow a sewing pattern (or any patter/instructions for that matter), I can totally turn my brain off when sewing from these. Just follow the instructions blindly and methodically, step by step, without thinking too hard about what she (Liesl the pattern designer) is getting at, and voila, a perfect, perfectly finished garment.

This was my first time sewing a sample and I'm glad I did with this particular garment as it turns out that P is way taller and skinnier than the patterns are sized for, so I didn't mind giving it up so much.. Above is a size 5 and while the skirt fits fine, the blouse wouldn't last more than a few months--and the pattern doesn't allow any extra in the hem for letting down (which I didn't figure out until I was done since I was blindly following the pattern...).

Finally, a new quilt I've been working on for P. (Why all the crafting for her, I don't know. New stuff for Diego to follow soon). I didn't buy a single piece of fabric for this quilt--it's all scraps from my stash. I'm pretty happy about that. What's scary is that I could make this entire quilt again with the exact same fabrics and STILL not have to buy anything. Yes, I hoard fabric. So sue me. Pleasingly (to me) the outer border is a "shabby chic" shower curtain (from Target) that I picked up at a thrift store a few years ago thinking it was beautiful fabric. Although its white is way whiter than the creamy off-whites in the rest of the quilt, I still like it.

I'm hand quilting it while Al and I watch Heroes at night (crazy weird show--very entertaining). This project has totally reaffirmed my preference for handquilting over machine. I really enjoy the process more (wrestling Claudia's monster of a quilt through my cheap-o sewing machine with no walking foot in August while 9 months pregnant may have killed the joy of machine quilting for me once and for all). But really, I think the main thing is I like hand-quilted quilts so much more--I think they drape much more nicely and that the handquilting creates a softness that you don't see with machine.

So that's that.

2010-04-02T17:43:00.001-07:00

Diego, on Claudia: "First comes the crying, then comes the screaming, then comes the head-banging." He pretty much has her nailed.

The girls and I did some gardening over at the new house today: pruning an enormous rhododendron, chopping away at a massive rose of sharon, yanking out about 5 miles of ivy and dumping 40 pounds of leaf compost all over everything. The work on the house is coming along, although it seems slower now. The walls have lost all of their faux-wood paneling and are nice and smooth. The ceilings and trim (or 'trims' as our painter calls them) have all been painted. The floors on the 2nd and 3rd floor have all been sanded, stained and coated with water-based polyurethane. I think colors have been chosen for our bedroom, Claudia's room, the guest/sewing room, the living room and the dining room. The big kids' room is still in process, although my talented friend Sarah has agreed to paint a tree and some pink flowers on the wall, as per their requests. Al and I found a vintage Chambers stove on craigslist and snatched it up for the kitchen. The kitchen cabinets have been ordered. Things are definitely moving along.

I'm feeling less and less settled here at our old house. Somehow, once I get my mind around the idea of moving, all of a sudden our existing space, which has worked fine for the past 5 years, seems intolerable--too small, too cluttered, too wide open...I don't feel like doing any work in the garden here, which is a mess. Luckily, since the weather turned this week to beautiful ephemeral Philadelphia spring, we are spending as much time as possible out: where cherry blossoms and daffodils and forsythia are blooming, and Clark Park soccer has started again, and little vincas and buttercups are everywhere at Woodland Cemetery. It's like the most perfect reward for surviving the long, snowy winter this year.

2010-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Argh the torture of waiting for the new Oliver and S patterns. It is wrong of them to make me wait so long!

Because I really don't have enough to do to fill my days...ha ha.

A little catch up

2010-03-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

So first of all, does everyone know that Penelope is taking flute lessons? And Diego is taking piano? Below is a picture that P's teacher took for her classroom bulletin board. The dress, I got at a flea market in Clark Park. It had belonged to a woman my age when she was a little girl...it's showing it's age a little, but my girl loves it. I don't have any pictures of Diego at the piano, but he's doing really well with it--much better than I might have expected. We have a fairly complex incentive system for practicing, but he actually seems to be getting a little bit of reinforcement just out of seeing his improvement himself.

And here are some before pictures of the new house:

The second floor landing:
The 'sunroom'--not so sunny because of the dark paneling and the windows that have been 'smallened' and (in one case) bricked over...
The dining room, looking towards the kitchen.
The kitchen. Ahem.

Some in progress pictures:

third floor bedroom, formerly paneled in dark faux wood.

Leaded glass in one of the bathrooms...
Windows and french doors in the living room...
Oh, Penelope is taking ballet too...

So,

2010-02-12T03:45:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I find out that more people than I expect actually read my blog, and then I feel bad for these long absences where I totally give up the blog (often along with exercise, home-cooked meals and some basic hygiene) when I get overwhelmed with something or other that is going on in my life.

As usual, Al and I have veered from a long period of normal every day humdrum to a million things happening all at once. I've started my new job at CHOP (did I mention I walk to work every day--how awesome is that!), our house is for sale, we're buying the big monster of a project house down the street (closing on the 19th) and we're buried under 2 feet of snow with no likelihood of getting plowed out or the kids going back to school ever in the near future.

Hence my lack of blogging.

Sorry for the loyal few readers...

Hopefully I'll be back soon with pictures, house renovation news, gossip, crafts, etc.

Holiday tidings

2009-12-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

It's been nothing but Winter wonderland and holiday cheer around these parts. Not much to say, but lots of pictures. Happy holidays friends.

Tra lalalala

2009-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

The big birthday blow-out is behind us, and holiday preparations are in full swing. So no time for blogging, just some pictures. The bike was Diego's main b-day present. Al and I were more excited than he was (the banana seat! the chopper handlebars!). The dolls are some of the group that are for sale over at Vix. Two have already sold! That's it for now.

Birthday a day late...

2009-12-18T14:55:00.001-08:00

Six seems really old to me...

But then, it also seems like a really long time ago that he was this small...

The family dinner

2009-11-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing everybody seems to agree on, it's that families ought to sit down together to eat a family meal most nights. It's healthier to cook at home; it's a good time to catch up on your days; children whose families eat dinner together are smarter, less likely to do drugs and more likely to graduate from college, right? You must have all heard this.

Easier said than done. We have several barriers to the family meal. My kids go to bed at 7pm at the latest. This means we need to sit down for dinner by 5:30, at the latest. Al usually walks in the door at around 6:30, so already we have problem #1 with 'the family meal.' Also, he walks in the door and wants to change clothes, have a beer, tidy the kitchen (God I love that man), and the put the kids to bed. Notice I didn't say that he wants to sit down and eat at any point there. If I eat dinner at 5:30, then my metabolic demands require that I eat second dinner around 9 pm (Al kindly reminds me that this is a technique sumo wrestlers use to put one weight). Also, Al and I share a deep and (for me, slightly shameful) love of eating dinner in front of the television. Really. I love nothing more than sitting down with a giant plate of something (preferably chinese take-out) and watching trashy tv or movies while drinking white wine and spending quality time with my man. I've never read anywhere that the family meal in front of the tv is wholesome or beneficial...

We have tried several variations of the family meal. I've tried cooking food that everyone will like (this basically limits us to burritos). I've tried bullying Al to sit down to dinner the instant he walks in the door (which means holding the kids off with endless snacks and usually television). I've tried eating a nice meal with the kids and pretending that I'm a single mom. Let Al fend for himself...

Lately we've gone to a 2 step meal plan. This means the kids sit down to a nice, home-cooked meal almost every night, at about 5 o'clock. Shortly after dinner, the bedtime machine is activated and they are usually in the bath or pyjamas by the time Al comes home. He then helps me with stories and bedtime or cleans the kitchen from dinner #1 while I finish putting them to bed. Then he and I sit down to a nice home cooked meal while watching Lost or Mad Men or even Nova or Frontline.

This has provided me with a good opportunity to practice letting go. Letting go of what I think we 'ought' to be doing, letting go of what other people say we should be doing, letting go of an ideal of family life, and just embracing what works right now.

Now I have to go watch 'Star Trek' (the latest movie) and eat dinner...

Also, just because this used to be a craft blog, and not just a place for me to rant about parenting issues, I've been in a doll-making frenzy and I will have pictures soon...

The real reason I want Diego to play soccer...

2009-11-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

No, it's not Penelope dressed in her new poncho and Jane Eyre bonnet (although I like that).

And it's not Claudia cheering them on in her own handknits (though I like that too).
It's not all the cute little rugrats running around after the ball and eating the healthy snack we provided either...
It's this:

Honest Tom's taco truck. Yummm.

I think I have potential as a soccer mom. I really like it all...

A wizard, a giraffe and a...

2009-11-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

fairy leopard?

Ahh, Halloween in West Philadelphia.

2009-10-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

My question is this: are other moms of young children able to accomplish anything when their children are around? Everything that I want to do and many things that I don't want to do but ought to are crammed into the 1-2 hours when Claudia naps and the big kids are at school, and the hours after they are asleep.

The rest of the time I seem to spend feeding and cleaning up from feeding the kids. Not to mention preparing to feed them.

I am aware of quite a few other moms who seem to get quite a lot done and they must either need a lot less sleep than me or (and this is what I fear) they sew quilts and bake cookies while their children play quietly and independently (and then quietly and independently clean up any messes that they have made).

Anyone care to enlighten me?

One year ago today...

2009-10-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Claudia was born. It seems like she's been with us forever. I can hardly remember our family before she was with us.

Other News

2009-09-30T05:24:00.001-07:00

The day that Claudia killed a mouse in the front room, we knew it was time to get some cats. (Yes, she really did kill a mouse--I try not to cross her, who knows what she could do to me!). Anyway, here they are: Hickory and Polly Honey Cat.

Kittens are fun and a lot less work than puppies. Where have they been all my life?

2009-09-29T17:13:00.000-07:00

Can it really be over 2 months since my last blog post? To be perfectly honest, the summer was pretty rough. Having all 3 kids home all day with almost no planned activities was really really hard. It felt like a constant cycle of cooking, feeding, cleaning up and breaking up fights. Obviously I'm not a home schooler type and my experience this summer makes me even more curious how folks like SouleMama manage to do what they do. And her kids don't watch tv!

Anyway, now that the kids are back in school, I am feeling more human and less like a sow with a litter of piglets, and more able to perform tasks that require higher brain functioning (like blogging).

Last month I sold (or rather offered for sale), some crafty items at the newly established Satellite Craft Fair. I must say, 50th and Baltimore is a slightly dicey location for a craft fair of all things. I mean West Philadelphia has come a long way, but I'm not sure it has come that far (Vix and Dock Street notwithstanding). I did sell a few things and I had a lot of fun, sitting at a table, knitting and chatting with the other vendors. I'm going to participate again in October. This is how my booth looked:

Other happenings: we had a great birthday party at the lake in NJ for Penelope, back in August. Can you believe she's 3? It seems like a long time ago that she was a newborn, so I guess I can believe it. Her party was wonderful, made especially so by the addition of our much missed friends Christine and Silas who came all the way from California to celebrate with us. Plus Christine made the oh-so-delicious and important 'butterfly cupcakes' that P had requested.

I've started teaching undergrad ob nursing students and am enjoying my 12 hours a week of getting out of the house.

I have more to catch up on but Al just arrived home with our Chinese take out and the next dvd of 'Lost', which means I must go. Hopefully I will be in this space more in the weeks and months to come.

Best dog ever

2009-07-19T18:18:00.001-07:00

Sweet, funny, quiet and good-lookin'.

More than one person has stopped me on the street to compliment me on his posture.

Getting and spending...

2009-07-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I really enjoy the internet. But I think I am much more susceptible to the advertising on the internet than I am in any other format. I guess because it's such perfect niche marketing. All the websites I frequent are like one big advertisement for my hobbies and interests and lifestyle (and fantasy lifestyle--much more insidous). Mothering.com with the natural toys, cloth diapers and slings, ravelry with the yarn and patterns, flickr with, well, just about everything. All the blogs that I read make a point of sharing their 'amazing finds' on the internet and usually justify the blatant consumerism and marketing on their personal blogs by making it about supporting craftspeople or worthy causes. Which I can totally get suckered by--even when it really is just about getting and spending, just like Wal-Mart and the mall.

I'm reading this book called 'Born to Buy' (recommended by my very insightful friends Christine and Kevin) which is about the effects of consumer culture on children (can you guess--not good). So I've been a little more aware of my own relationship to acquiring and have noticed that the internet is really the most dangerous place for me (followed closely by any children's book store, fabric store, yarn store or Target). I'm trying to focus more on our experiences this summer, than on acquisitions. And I think I might ask Al to move the computer to the basement, because I am weak. Very weak.

To wit: look where I spent most of yesterday:

http://www.virtualyarns.com/colour/default.asp

And here

It's a sickness I tell you. And yes, I did make some purchases-because they will enhance our experiences this summer...(or so I tell myself). Here's the biggest covet of all

It looks better in person than in the pictures...

Oh, and if you try to feed Claudia, she takes the food out of her mouth and puts it down on the table, then feeds it to herself. So there.

2009-07-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

I finally tidied up Claudia's room and took some pictures of her new (not so new anymore) set-up. The curtains turned out well, though not as light-blocking as I had hoped. If it looks as though I wouldn't be able to open the closets on either side of the crib, well, you're right. I can't.

2009-06-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Dontcha just love facebook? I got 'friended' by a woman whose home birth I attended about 3 years ago. At the time, I was taken with her old house which was full to bursting with all kinds of hand-made goodies--knitted cupcakes for her daughter, felted gnomes, red Le Creuset pots (obviously not hand-made, but just contributing to the overall homey-artiness of the place). We stayed in touch for a while after the birth, discussed getting together, never did, then gradually lost contact.

Anyway, I was thrilled to see that she has started selling her amazing felted creations. They are so beautiful I had to share:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=25570

2009-06-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

This is what Diego does while painting: takes a color on his brush (say yellow, for example), and smears it around the page while singing (to the tune of 'The Farmer in the Dell') "yellow takes over white. Yellow takes over white hi ho the dairyo, yellow takes over white." Then the next color: "Blue takes over yellow, blue takes over yellow" and so on. I think it goes without saying that his paintings are not yet 'figurative.'

I'm sorry to be sexist, but I think this is a y chromosome thing...

Just some pictures

2009-06-16T17:56:00.001-07:00

Just some recent pictures of my kiddos. I can't seem to manage to get any pictures of any of the stuff I've been making, but at least I've caught a few of the kids...and I did make Penelope's dress...

Summer vacation

2009-06-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my library-savvy friend Nikki, we have the original "Annie" for a week. We watched the whole thing on Monday and Diego and I have both been a little obsessed ever since: he prancing around the house singing "It's a knock-hard life" complete with jazz hands and fancy feet, me, imagining a whole store just full of clothes that look like what the orphans wore before they were rescued. A store called "Smocks and knickers." I've been searching through my fabric stash for drab blues and browns. Off to craft...

Before photos...

2009-06-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

What? Your dining room doesn't look like this?

This is one of my projects for the next few weeks: relocating my crafting to the basement. Actually, we're shuffling a lot of stuff around in the house these days. Claudia sleeping in the back room means we're down a guest room. Although we never seem to have friends over anymore, we do have family visiting often enough that we need to have a comfortable place for folks to sleep. This means moving the television (and a whole lot of other crap) up from the basement. I'm going to try to contain my crafting stuff in the back corner of the basement so that we can have a dining table again.

Also in the works: moving a large bookcase from Claudia's bedroom to ours, moving Claudia's clothes out of the bathroom and into her room, moving the cradle out of the dining room and into the garage, reorganizing the kid's art stuff and setting up an art table for them.

Every now and then I feel sort of hopeless about the state of this house, the size, the amount of stuff contained therein. But today I'm feeling optimistic--like a little rearranging might just make it work.

2009-06-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

We had another weekend of travel: up to the country this time, for the alpaca shearing and a party at Eric's afterwards. The drive there and back was uneventful, which is about as good as we can hope for. We've finally figured out that on a Friday, we have to either leave early, or leave late. I think we knew this before, but somehow wanting to leave early, but not being able to actually get it together to do it was a hard cycle to break. After the last time (with an emergency change of plans that landed us at my mom's in the city for the night) we've finally learned.

We left at 7:30 on Friday night, with the kids all fed their dinner and in their jammies. I even went for a run before we left (I call it a desperation run, because it was in the middle of a thunder storm, but a run just the same). Driving up at night, ,with the kids all asleep in the back, reminded me of going out to Fire Island during the winter as a kid. I loved being carried into the house so much that even if I was awake, I'd pretend to be asleep so I could get a ride.

As the parent now (notice I don't say grown-up), I am continually amazed at how much planning and work goes into even a weekend trip. Packing just the essentials for 5 people and one dog, even for just a few days is really challenging for me. Plus, now with Claudia being a crib baby, we also schlepped up a port-a-crib (except we don't have a port-a-crib because I don't believe in cribs and never owned one, so we actually schelpped the co-sleeper which is twice as heavy and more difficult to assemble). Plus, I've been bringing the jogger so that we can take longer walks with the big kids. Loading up the car takes a really long time.

The cabin, much as I love it, is definitely feeling a little too small for our clan these days. After working so hard to get Claudia on a schedule, I sure do suffer when she isn't able to take her two long naps in a quiet darkened room. And somehow, Diego and Penelope just don't really care enough to either play outside without setting foot inside, or sit silently for 2 hours as I would like them too. Go figure. I'll be really happy when the house is done, although the finishing work is much slower-going than the earlier building stages.

Today in Philly is sticky and warm. The house is a mess (this is what happens when you go away every weekend) and the kids are in their last week of school (which means I must begin my neurotic and ineffectual search for appropriate end-of-year gifts for their teachers). I'm actually looking forward to having them both home for a bit. I know it will be an adjustment, but with Claudia settling down and sleeping so much more, I think the big kids and I will have some fun.

2009-05-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

Last night I taught Diego about rating things on a number scale. So on a scale of 0-10, if 10 was the best thing he ever ate in his life, and 0 was the worst, he ranked the oatmeal scones we made but forgot to put sugar in as a 10. Dinner was a 1. The artichoke we shared after dinner was a 10. I'm wondering if this is a 5-year old thing or a Diego thing: nothing is just ok. After dinner, the big kids were in the bath and I was holding Claudia while she clapped her hands and bounced on my lap. I said "On a scale of 0 to 10, how much do you love her?" And Diego said: "I love her google." Me too.

2009-05-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Don't you want to be friends with this girl?

The computer is back in the kitchen, so I have no excuse for my absence from the blog world. Except that I have continued to be slightly to very overwhelmed at all times, and also feeling like I don't have that much to share as a result. I mean the kids are cute, but it's hard to make a blog post about "my house is a mess, I yelled at my kids all day and the dog pooped in the basement." Ha. There it is.

After all those weeks of menu planning and cooking, boy did I get burned out. I just don't feel like cooking anything. I'm remembering last year at this time: I was in a total flurry of chicken soup and rhubarb crumble-making. I think it was a pregnancy thing. I am working on some crafty projects for Claudia's room. That's right, it's not a misprint. Claudia has her own room. After 5 years of total commitment to the family bed, co-sleeping, nursing on demand, etc, we have made the switch to a crib at the other end of the house. And it is actually working very well with an amount of crying I'm okay with and an amount of sleep I'm thrilled with. Plus, it provides a major crafting opportunity: curtains, quilts, pillowcases, mobile, etc. I'm enjoying it all and will post some pictures next time.

Finally, pictures

2009-04-08T07:22:00.000-07:00

My girls on the "shaggy blanket" which we received in the mail from one of my talented former co-workers at Chestnut Hill. A belated and wonderfully welcome baby present for Claudia. It has been totally co-opted by P, but that's okay since Claudia has 2 mama-made quilts and P has none (shh).

We've been spending more time up in the country, where the kids can do what Penelope calls "Mud work". The house is coming along amazingly well. I am working on my fear of trees and spend 2 nights at the cabin alone with the kids. We're hoping the house will be done in time for us to spend some time up there this summer.

Behold our newest family member, Thorin Oakenshield. He is adjusting well to life with the Schwarz-Madrids.

Diego got to visit with some backyard chickens in our neighborhood. We read the Murray McMurray chicken catalogue that night instead of stories.
Claudia has been perfecting her rolling technique.

It's not easy.

This is the quilt I made for the school auction. I ended up buying it myself because I couldn't stand to see it sold for only $60. Only one person bid on it. Not good for the old ego. Anyway, now we have another quilt. Actually we have 2 quilts, unexpectedly. A wedding quilt for some friends which had been a very long time in the making is not going to it's intended recipients as they are (sadly) no longer married. Perhaps 6 years is a little too long for a wedding present. On the other hand, maybe it was a good test. I feel a little funny about keeping the quilt though...

Sunday morning brunch...

Two knitters in the making.

More menus and hopefully the split pea soup recipe soon.

Blogging is really hard with the computer still on my dresser in the bedroom. We originally put it there right after Claude was born so we could watch some TV in the evenings while I lay around and nursed her. Somehow 5 months has flown right by, and I still like to watch tv in the evenings while I lay around and nurse her. I suppose some day I will be ready to watch tv somewhere other than my bed, with my big fat girl sleeping beside me, and then I will be able to blog more regularly. But that day hasn't yet come...

Meal plans

2009-03-16T11:02:00.001-07:00

Here are my meal plans for last week and this week:
Monday: split pea soup and homemade bread
Tuesday: pasta with sauteed mushrooms and homemade bread
Wednesday: chicken sausage with rice and brocolli
Thursday: slow-cooker chicken nachos
Friday: dinner out
Saturday: tortellini, leftover chicken sausage and brocolli (for the kids). Olive chicken and rice for me and Al (chicken was in the freezer).
Sunday: ate on the road

Monday: Italian wedding soup (from the freezer from Mom's last visit)
Tuesday: More olive chicken and rice, cut up veggies & spinach dip
Wednesday: Indonesian rice salad
Thursday: Baked ziti with veggies and homemade bread (maybe bread, we'll see how the day goes)
Friday: Twice baked potatoes with spinach
Saturday: Al is feeding the kids
Sunday: Homemade pizza

I can't seem to find my cable to connect the camera with the computer, so no pix for now.

Laundry et al

2009-03-09T16:48:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry to perseverate about the laundry situation here, but it is really disturbing how much of my time is spent on the laundry. I've really been careful about inspecting clothes to make sure they really need to be washed before they go in the hamper, but it just continues to pile up and pile up. I'm reluctant to hang out with my friends during the week because I might fall behind in the laundry. Just when I start to get on top of it...it's time to change the sheets. Or wash the diapers. Or Penelope comes down with a stomach bug featuring diaper-busting you-know-what. It's really depressing.

Meal Planning

2009-03-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

One positive thing that came of having no car during the week was some serious meal planning that came from only being able to shop once a week. I'm going to try to stick with this as it as cut our grocery bill almost in half, and has solved the "what's for dinner" problem which used to be the bane of my existence.

Anyway, I was telling all this to my friend Talisyn who shares the "what's for dinner" problem and she asked me to post our menu plans. So here they are, for the past 3 weeks. I'm lucky that my mom has been coming down every other week and bringing a ton of food, so that is planned in. I haven't included the weekends for some weeks if we were socializing or traveling, etc.

Monday: spaghetti with parsley, garlic and parm, salad.
Tuesday: olive chicken (from mom)
Wednesday: soup (mom brought) and homemade bread
Thursday: veggie lasagna. More bread
Friday: fish sticks, pasta, frozen veggies
Saturday: Roast chicken and veggies, mashed potatoes (we had friends over).
Sunday: didn't cook

Monday: Veggie stgir fry with soba noodles, chicken potstickers (from Trader Joe's)
Tuesday: Chili mac
Wednesday: Quesadillas with spinach and refried beans
Thursday: chicken soup (in the freezer from mom's visit last week)
Friday/Saturday/Sunday: we were traveling

Monday: kale enchiladas, spanish beans and rice
Tuesday: shepherd's pie and roast veggies (mom brought)
Wednesday: Italian wedding soup (mom brought)
Thursday: Spinach/bean burritos
Friday: Meatball parm hoagies
Saturday: homemade pizza

So that's this week and the 2 weeks prior. My actual menu plan is more detailed as I have the recipe source and plans for cooking (ie when to defrost stuff) written out as well. It's nice to have it all figured out, so I can just stare dumbly at the page when I'm overwhelmed during the week. I'm happy to post recipes etc if anyone is interested.

2009-03-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

I've got wheels! I am now the proud owner of a 2004 Ford Windstar, bought from another midwife in the neighborhood and a former teacher of mine from Penn. This is so great. I think this must be the biggest car in the world. Everyone else is going for efficiency and gas mileage and I am driving the biggest car in the world and all I am is thrilled because I don't have to bend over to get the carseat into it, and I can put my jogger in the back, and I've already outfitted it with a huge supply of diapers, wipes, paper towels, spare clothes, snacks and water bottles. And the only place I ever go in it is to and from the kids school (3 miles each way).

I'm glad the days of dragging the kids home on the trolley are over.

Snow day

2009-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

Three kids plus no school, plus slushy rainy weather, plus no car equals: one strung out mama! Just parked my big kids with the neighbors to make an emergency diet coke run. In the pouring rain.

I did engage in the time-honored rainy day activity of bread-making so that we can have garlic bread with dinner tonight. Plus I dug a tiny container of pesto out of the freezer, so Diego (a true pesto lover) will be happy at dinner. Also engaged in the time-honored rainy day activity of yelling at the kids and then parking them in front of the television. So be it.

Diego and I have been stalking this website lately.

Tomorrow I have coffee with Penelope's teacher, so I'll be able to hear what kind of hell-raising she's been up to.

3 Months of 3

2009-01-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

Seems like a milestone worth noting.

Things seem to be appropriately challenging, but I think I'm getting the hang of having 3 little ones to keep track of. I can even do it on the trolley. The kids and I are settling into our routine of me picking them up at school and giving them dinner. Al is getting used to working in the suburbs and getting home late, usually just in time to kiss the kiddos goodnight. We're making our way through season 3 of the Sopranos and season 5 of the Wire. My new double jogger arrived today.

All is good.

Get your Barack on!

2009-01-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

Ugh, has it really been over a month since I've posted? What can I say, 3 kids is a bit of an adjustment, apparently.

Have been doing almost no crafting. I bought some fabric about 3 weeks ago and washed and dried it per my usual routine. 3 weeks later, ironing it is still my major activity. That and reading the Folkwear catalogue. I also own the Folkwear Book of Ethnic Clothes but that is apparently a little too challenging. So I'm sticking to the catalogue for now. Not sewing anything, mind you. Just perusing.

Actually Al and I did manage to wrangle all 3 kids to and from a foreign country without misplacing anyone. And (as Al pointed out) for the first time we all returned from a vacation no more sick than when we left.

We were in Mexico for a week with my brother and his lovely little family. My mom was there for a few days as well. Plenty of family bonding and beach time. Unfortunately not very good Mexican food (we didn't get off the beaten track enough and at the fancy resort they apparently think gringoes want 'fusion' cuisine more that actual Mexican food...

Anyway the trip was great and what a treat to come home to some real winter weather and the inauguration of our new president. Did everyone see the video of Obama doing 'the bump' at one of the balls? I love that man.

Five!

2008-12-17T13:38:00.001-08:00

Five years of Diego Madrid. Unbelievable.

Warning

2008-12-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

When baking in a mason jar, do not fill jar more than halfway. (Also do not knock over your conventional loaf pan when you put your macaroni in the oven).

I know: baking in a mason jar--why a mason jar? Because angry chicken did it? Giving gifts to the kids' teachers at the holidays is apparently the thing to do. Al and I totally failed to realized this last year. Now (of course) I've been in a total lather for weeks about what is an appropriate gift for a teacher. (Giving gifts to teachers was not done at Bank Street so this is all new to me). I thought contributing cash to the Visa gift card fund seemed tacky and unoriginal. But baking a holiday bread in a mason jar? Classy and unique. Well, unique anyway.

Of course I'm not a baker and never have been. But it's on my list of goals for this winter (along with learning to make good soup and learning to sew with knits). My friend Holly laughs at my anxiety over baking, but let me tell you I've had one disaster after another. The picture above is only one small example. Omitting sugar. Tripling the required amount of butter. Everything has been edible but hardly worthy of Paige (Penelope's teacher who everyone by now knows I think is really really cool. Like really cool. And funny. With a great accent. I'll stop now). So anyway, I keep trying with the baking. Today Diego and I made cranberry nut bread in the small mason jars I got to gift the teachers. If you put the lids on when they first come out of the oven they seal. And then you have canned cranberry nut bread (or whatever). It just seems cool to me. (This is one of those things that you either get or you don't. Anyway, the cranberry nut bread looks every so slightly like barf in a jar. It might not be the right one for gifting. I guess I could try a banana bread, but it doesn't seem very seasonal.

Enough about the baking. Last week Claudia and I took a trip to NYC to welcome my dear friend Emily's new boy Kieran.

Seeing them together was crazy because Claudia looked like this giant kid next to tiny new Kieran. Emily was appreciative but really what could be better than hanging out with a brand new baby and mama? We sat around and admired the babies and munched and nursed and that was pretty much it (somehow I munched a lot more than Em did, but that's okay).

Emily is my one really really sane friend and hearing her birth experience and seeing her so calm and relaxed with her new babe really reminded me that people are apt to birth and parent much like they live. It is such a treat to see an old friend become a mom. Emily and Andrew have probably been married for about 3 years now. Of course their wedding quilt is still under my sewing table in the 'needs to be quilted pile.' Sigh. So of course I had to at least bring them a baby quilt. Because I'm still in a deep love affair with the Heather Ross fabrics I bought over the summer, I used them to make Kieran's quilt. The goldfish fabric was particularly suitable because of Emily and my Fire Island history.

Last but not least, see below Miss Smiley in the shirt made for her by my friend Nikki (now sadly living far far away in Madison Wisconsin. Also came with handmade booties and gifts for the big kids. Unbelievable!

Fire Island Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

Some images from our Thanksgiving. How Martha Stewart is my mother? Check out that Thanksgiving table? How about the birthday table runner? (mom's b-day was 11/19).

2008-11-24T19:39:00.001-08:00

She has enough hair to host a clip. Hallelujah.

She has been sleeping some longer stretches during the day so I've been able to engage in some more involved crafty projects. Just in time for the holidays which in the Schwarz-Madrid household is also birthday season as there are 5 birthdays between November 19 and January 4th. Because it is holiday/birthday crafting, I can't actually show some of the stuff as some of the intended recipients actually read this blog. But below is the preparations for Penelope's Thanksgiving dress, which turned out really cute.
My friend Vicky finally succeeded in dragging me out to the suburbs (gasp) to her favorite fabric store Cloth and Bobbins. I have to admit that it is definately worth the painless 15-minute drive. I did find rick-rack in the perfect burnt orange color to trim the dress.

Here is Claudia providing a size reference for Penelope's new sweater. It's 'Helena' from knitty.com. I knit it in some Nature wool that I had bought when Holly was pregnant to make something for her baby. So much for good intentions. However, the knitting goddesses punished my for my selfishness and I ran out of yarn with half a sleeve and the trim to go. I filled in the sleeve with another red I had lying about and it almost matches. I did the trim with a beautiful hand-dyed yarn I got the first year we went to the NY sheep and wool festival. I'm going to make myself a hat with the rest of the skein. Anyway, the sweater turned out nice and Penelope is a very appreciative recipient of the stuff I make for her (as is Diego, actually).

Almost Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday. I probably won't be blogging over the holiday, so Happy Thanksgiving to all. I think our whole country can be thankful this year in spite of the economy.

Can this be normal?

2008-11-13T12:45:00.001-08:00

Look at how hairy she is! Guess she won't be wearing a strapless dress to the prom.

laundry laundry everywhere...

2008-11-08T06:01:00.001-08:00

I think I'm being punished for bragging about my new laundry room. Because all we do now is laundry. 3 loads a day. I kid you not.

2008-11-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Surfacing briefly from the world of laundry, milk and delicious baby to share some pictures and an update.

Baby Claudia is growing quickly into a wonderfully plump little thing. She weighed 9.5 pounds at the doctors on Tuesday and I have no doubt she's put on a few more ounces since then. She seems to be emerging from the 'content newborn' stage and has been fussing and crying a bit more the past few days. (She stayed up fussing until 2:30 Am the night of Obama's victory. She may be a Republican).

The older kids are holding up well, especially since they are now over their various illnesses of last week.

Chestnut Hill's ob department closed the night before the election. I took Claudia up to say hello and goodbye to some of the folks I worked with up there. It was very sad to see everyone on their 2nd to final night there. Although I am personally looking forward to doing something different for a while, I know how lucky i was to have had the opportunity to learn from all the wise nurses, midwives and doctors there, as well as from the patients, and I will definately miss the place. I hope everyone has a soft landing as they settle into their new jobs.

The night of the election, people in my neighborhood were dancing in the streets all night. Seems like an auspicious start to the winter.

Best wishes

Jessi

Introducing...

2008-10-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

Claudia Madrid
Born 10/20 at 2:51 in the morning. She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces. She is absolutely perfect and we are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.

And after 2 days of snuggling under the king-sized baby quilt with my new girl, I'm rethinking the suitability of it. Perhaps all baby quilts should be big enough for the whole family.

Thanks for all the well-wishes. We feel really blessed.

P is famous!

2008-10-18T15:33:00.001-07:00

Okay 3 posts in one day is a little much, but Penelope is famous! Check her out...

Picture post

2008-10-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Some pictures I intended to put into the last post but got interrupted. What I suspect will be the last outdoor, shirtless day of the year. Below was a pizza-making extravaganza. We tried (fairly successfully, I think) to reproduce a 'hamburger pizza' Diego ate with one of his friends after school one day. The crust recipe was from the same cookbook as the challah mentioned a few posts back. I highly recommend this book.

And I never showed off this quilt I made for the couch which the kids love to snuggle under. It was made to be a vehicle for my very special russian nesting doll fabric which is in the border. Okay, that's it for now.

Baby quilt take 2

2008-10-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, here is the more appropriately sized baby quilt. It has flannel on the back and puffy, light polyester batting. I have run out of beds, cradles etc for putting this quilts on, so this one lives on the back of this chair in the front room for now (where it can be exposed to full sun at for at least 3 hours a day).

On the subject of "being past your due date can be fun if you make it fun" here is a dress I made for Penelope. The pattern is from Oliver and S which is a company that makes fabulous, easy to follow patterns for kids clothes. The fabric is from Heather Ross's new Mendocino line. Can you see that they are mermaids? Fuschia mermaids. What could be better? The dress actually looks even cuter on.
Because it's been chilly and I want her to be able to wear the dress to the school picnic today, I made a pair of flannel-lined pants to wear underneath. They are also fuschia. With cabbages and roses. Fuschia cabbages and orange roses. Again, remember the theme is "being past your due date can be fun if you make it fun."

Past due

2008-10-16T13:40:00.001-07:00

I can sense all you wondering folks out there (kind-hearted and well meaning, of course). So I'll put you all out of your misery: no baby yet. No sign of any baby (other than my enormous and growing belly).

If I haven't had the baby by Saturday I will be able to go to the kids' school picnic which I have missed in the past because of work. While there I might have the opportunity to schmooze with Penelope's teacher (on whom I have a small crush--you would too, she's so cool). So that would be okay and I think I'll be able to be patient until then. Especially as I am making P a special beautiful dress to wear to said picnic (need a conversation-starter dontcha know).

Pix of the ongoing crafting/nesting to follow.

2008-10-04T16:17:00.000-07:00

Still struggling with the mac. I originally uploaded some of the pix for this post Oct 4th, but today is actually the 11th. I don't know how to make the date change on the post.

No baby yet, so I have time for an update. We went apple picking last weekend and picked a ton. We've already made an apple pie (see above) and two batches of applesauce. Al also made an (unrelated) challah (see above). How gorgeous is that.

Below is Penelope with her new doll. Her name is Posy. I actually really made her for me to play with but Penelope has taken her over. She is made from the 'Kit Chloe and Louise" pattern from www.weewonderfuls.com. She was a breeze to make and she's a nice size for playing with. Not too sure about the blonde hair, but otherwise I'm happy with her.

Anyone who has spoken to me recently knows that we had a washer and dryer installed on the bedroom floor of our house. This has continued to be the best renovation decision ever. Behold my new laundry room:
This works so well for us. I fold laundry while the kids are in the bath tub. I start laundry first thing in the morning, at night, whenever I find myself in the bathroom (which is all the time, now that I am 17 months pregnant). I even thought about switching a load at 2 in the morning the other night when I couldn't sleep. Decided that might be excessive.

Below is the baby's changing table which we have also set up in the bathroom/laundry room. I mad the cover for the changing table from a pattern in Amy Butler's new book "Little Stitches for Little Ones." I love this book and also made the monkey laundry bag below from the same book. For the changing table pad, I didn't follow the pattern exactly, because we already had a changing table and pad that were different dimensions than specified in the book.

Below is a close-up of one of the squares on the baby's huge quilt. I also just finished a 'normal' sized quilt for the baby--just sewing the binding on.
Holly and I collaborated on another oversized baby project--a bird mobile inspired by the one that had been on display at our local fabric store (www.spoolsewing.com). The birds were really fun to sew and I just kept sewing and sewing them. Unfortunately when Holly put the mobile together, it was way too big to hang where I had intended it--over the co-sleeper in our room. In fact, even without the co-sleeper set up it was too big. We couldn't get out of the bed on that side. It has since been turned into three smaller mobiles and I have an excuse to make a few more birds--to fill out the smaller mobiles a bit. More pictures to follow of the smaller baby quilt and mobiles. I hope all these huge baby projects don't reflect any kind of maternal intuition about the size of the actual baby...especially since I'm apparently going to be pregnant forever.

Finally, belatedly a picture of the kids with my beautiful niece Dylan. She was here with her doting parents in mid-September and we all enjoyed soaking up her delicious fatness and incredible thatch of hair.

2008-10-01T11:43:00.001-07:00

My lovely doula friend Jessica tells me that there has been research that shows that women's IQ's actually go up during pregnancy and that they learn faster than at any other time in their lives.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this hasn't been the case for me. At least not recently.

Exhibit A: the most unsuitable baby quilt ever:

Yes. There it is. Covering my KING sized bed. Somehow I just didn't see that coming. Plus, what you may not be able to appreciate from the photo is that I screwed up the batting too. I really wanted a quilt that would be light but puffy--like a comforter. They make batting for just this purpose. It's called 'high-loft' batting and it's polyester and it's both cheap and readily available. And it only has to be quilted about every 12 inches making it perfect for tying which is what I planned to do. But I had to have a natural fiber for the batting. So instead I used to layers of a wool-cotton blend. Which is the opposite of light and puffy. It is heavy and dense. Like so heavy that when I tossed the quilt down the stairs to Al, he staggered backwards. And it has to be quilted every 2-4 inches. And it smells like a wet sheep.

I machine quilted around the log-cabin blocks, and hand-tyed each embroidered square. But the borders are about 15 inches (and yet I didn't anticipate the finished size being slightly larger than co-sleeper sized, huh) and they do not lie flat at all (guess that's what happens when you decide to be 'spontaneous' and make each square as big as you feel like in the moment, and then pull and wrestle to get the borders to fit around four uneven sides of the quilt). So I can't figure out whether to attempt to machine quilt the borders or tie them in some way or what. Plus, let me tell you that wrestling 15-pounds of wet-sheep-smelling quilt through my little sewing machine was... well lets just say it wasn't pretty. Maybe all the exertion will put me into labor.

Update

2008-09-26T16:40:00.001-07:00

It has been cloudy and overcast the past few days, so no pictures to show of the baby quilt, mobile or other finished items. The quilt top is done, and I'm hoping to get it basted and at least partly quilted tonight. Hopefully pictures to follow soon.

We're going to a pig roast tomorrow. Diego and Al are very excited. I'm a little grossed out. Plus I've been joking around about not being in any condition to be seen in public, but it's not really a joke at this point. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror at the kids' pediatrician's office today and... well lets just say it's not pretty.

Penelope pinched a binky from her friend Rosie's house last week. Who knew a 2-year old could develop an attachment to a binky so late in life. She asks for it all the time. So far we are trying to enforce a 'bedtime only' rule for the thing. She also wakes up in the middle of the night because she can't find it. And she holds it in her mouth and mumbles and drools around it. All the reasons I don't like binkies and never gave either kid one to begin with. Guess it's just another lesson in "I'm not in control."

Oh, and I found a small turd on the dining room table last night. So far no one is taking credit for it, but I have my suspicions.

Pregnancy brain

2008-09-16T08:09:00.003-07:00

Okay, turn the camera on. That helps get the pictures on to the computer... Still can't figure out how to get the pix arranged as I want, so they're not in order. Oh well.

Mom and I all dolled up for my birthday brunch at the 4 seasons. Miss P thought she might be coming along. Not in that outfit she's not!

Taking her new baby for a walk in its new pram in her new tutu. Aren't birthdays great.
Note the beautiful birthday dress. Ahem. Homemade.
Happy birthday P! She had her first cake from Rachel's and it was absolutely beautiful and delicious. Hopefully the first of many.

Diego and Grandpa driving us back across the bay.

Did I mention we had a great time on Fire Island?
This is the baby doll I made her for her b-day. Complete with diaper and real baby socks. She said "I dike dis baby."

Even more exciting pictures of crafts to follow.

So there's good news and bad news...

2008-09-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

The bad news is I'm out of a job. Chestnut Hill Hospital is closing its ob department November 4th. Of course I'll be leaving before then as this baby is due sooner than that. The bad news is also that Chestnut Hill was the last community hospital providing ob care in the city. It was also the only hospital where CNM's providing homebirth could get back up and admitting privileges. And one of only a few that still offered VBAC's. The hospital is owned by a for- profit organization, and of course, ob isn't profitable. Why should the health of mothers and babies matter enough to be profitable. Bitter much? Yeah. I heard they're going to be replacing us with a bariatric surgery department.

The hospital is giving everyone an incredibly crappy severance package. Unfortunately neither the nurses nor the midwives have ever had employment contracts so no basis for negotiation. A lot of the nurses have worked at CHH for 10 15 or 20 years and are now facing having to find employment elsewhere.

Anyway, on a personal level the timing couldn't really be better. I'm not going to have to deal with the question of when to go back to work. I will get my crappy little severance package which will help cover my maternity leave. And hopefully Al will have a full time job by the time our benefits run out (at the end of November--generous of them, wasn't it). I'm looking forward to being home with the kids for a while. At least a year, I'm thinking. Even though it might seem like indecision to work for a year, stay home for a year, work for a year as I have been doing since D was born, I think it has more to do with the reality of having young kids and also being committed to having a career. Different stages in my life and the kids' lives and our family seem to dictate different job arrangements. I feel really fortunate to have a career that doesn't punish me for taking time to be home with my family--unlike so many other professions.

The kids are doing well. I locked Penelope in the car last Saturday, but she weathered it well. Lucky for her I turned the car and the a/c on before locking and shutting all the doors (hello pregnancy brain). The police came and called a nice man from a tow company who was able to break into the car without doing any damage.

The kids are both back at school. Diego is thrilled to be back with his little pack of wild boys (I pity their teacher). Penelope had been doing well--happy to go in etc, but this week she has cried both days during the drop-off. My poor girl.

I am way behind on posting pictures. I have a bunch from our Fire Island trip, Penelope's birthday and the kids' first week of school to post. Plus I've been doing a lot of crafty baby-preparations. Do you believe me when I say a lot? I mean it. Unfortunately I am still getting the hang of this computer and I'm not sure how to get the pictures off my camera and onto here...

More soon, hopefully.

Jessi

Hello again

2008-08-15T18:07:00.001-07:00

So it's been awhile.

My old computer bit the dust and I have been protesting Al's lap top (I hate a track pad). Anyway, now I have a lovely new Imac (thanks dad) which I am slowly learning how to use.

Here's what I've been up to in the mean time.

Making quilts for the kids room (and pillows and pillowcases).

Baking with blueberries.

Bento!

Teaching the children horseback riding (just kidding).

More soon.

2008-02-12T06:32:00.000-08:00

Diego sleeping in his laundry basket as a baby. There was a

discussion on my favorite parenting website about how to make one of these so I thought I'd post a picture.

2008-01-24T17:17:00.000-08:00

This was my last week of working full time nights. Starting this Sunday, I will be working only 2 regularly scheduled nights, with office hours and extra nights added in at my discretion. I think this will be a good change as I have been really tired at work lately and not always being as nice to the patients as I should be as a result. Being a midwife and a mother of young children means being profoundly sleep deprived, and I am feeling it.

With more free time, I'm hoping to do more cooking, see my few remaining local friends more, and blog more. And while I don't want to jinx myself, I'm hoping to get back into running again, possibly thinking about the Broad Street run this spring (awfully optimistic of me, as I can't even run around the block without a rest...). Al is starting to get ready to go back to work--the venue is not yet decided, but I assume something will present itself before we become totally destitute.

I've also posted a few things in an on-line shop at etsy (beware craft-lovers, if you have never been to etsy before...have someone you trust lock up your wallet before browsing). Here's my shop.

I'm hoping I'll have time to improve the shop and post more items soon.

Here's some kidlet love: Walking has released Penelope's inner toddler and we've had a lot more shrieking around here lately. A girl can't be all sweetness and light all the time, can she? (just ask her mother.

She walks!

2008-01-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

Sniff.

Welcome 2008

2008-01-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

This is my 3rd take on a New Years post. I believe a naughty little boy deleted the first one before I could upload it. So here is an abreviated version. We're grateful for all the changes in 2007 and are looking forward to what the new year brings. Nothing like having kids to make the time fly: behold.

Why 2 kids are better than 1

2007-12-31T06:15:00.000-08:00

This was going on for about 45 minutes while I was making dinner the other night. Sorry for my terrible video skills.

It's a new camera.

The best laid plans of mice and men

2007-12-28T06:59:00.001-08:00

Here is the doll that I spent several weeks making for Penelope's main Christmas present. I know she's not perfect, with her extremely weak chin (in her case, I really don't believe it's indicative of a character flaw though). And her body is made of the softest most squishable cotton velour stuffed with organic wool. She has a lovely feel to her.

The day before we celebrated (we exchanged gifts on the 24th since I was working the day of the 25th) we took the kids to the Forum Diner which is a divey kind of place that Al takes the kis about twice a month. He and Diego are friendly with one of the waitresses there whose name is Pepper (I know, truth is better than fiction sometimes). Anyway, she is so kind, she had Christmas presents for the kids. Big ones actually. Diego got a truck that has flashing lights and sirens and carries about 20 matchbox cars. And Penelope got this doll. Now, I must back up for a moment and say that, because of my line of work, I have witnessed quite a few women in the throes of enchantment with a brand new baby. Usually they hold the baby lightly and stare with wonder at it's face, maybe reaching with a finger to gently trace it's features, then unwrapping it slightly to inspect each delicate finger or toe. When I say that Penelope went through this process, I am not exagerating in the least. And when I say that this is the most horrible doll I have ever seen, I am not exagerating about that either. The skin is a clammy-feeling vinyl. The clothing is a polyester that makes your skin crawl. And the body is actually inflated with air so it has a weird pillowy feel. And it has a strong vanilla scent--like a candle.

When I saw how much she loved this doll, I knew that the prospects for an attachment to the homemade doll were poor. But even I couldn't have predicted how strongly she rejected the doll I made her. She dropped it. She hit it. She would clutch her vinyl doll protectively to her chest while pushing away the green doll. Because I am a grown up, and because I actually enjoy sewing dolls, I was able to tolerate this rejection. But it really weas pretty sad.

Christmas was much better than last year (of course anything that didn't involve Penelope crying for 5 straight hours would have been an improvement), but I still don't quite feel as though we have figured out what our family traditions will be.

Anyway here is Diego opening his "big" present, which was a great scooter from Uncle Jason and Aunt Jessica.

He loves it!

More soon.

Jessi

2007-12-08T07:13:00.000-08:00

Apparently someone (Penelope!) gave our fancy new camera a bonk and so it can't focus at certain distances. So I brought it back to the wonderful family-owned shop where I bought it (Chestnut Hill Camera Shop) and they sent the lens back to Nikon. So, it will get fixed and it will be covered under the warranty, but now in this incredibly scenic time of year, I have no camera and therefore no pictures to show you.

So a question instead: does anyone know how to make a link appear on the blog without actually typing out the whole url? (Kevin, I know you know how to do this because I've seen it on your blog). If I could do this, I could improve this blog tremendously!

I had an unexpected week off from work (just 4 hours in the office in the middle of a week of no call). It was so GREAT and has cemented my desire to try to cut back to 24 hours of work per week. Then I went back this week and my last night (of 3 in a row) was one of those nights where I got report on the SIX labor patients who were all confusingly similar (about 4 cms along, GBS positive, ugly strip) and just kind of stood there at a loss and finally said to the nurses "What room should I go into first and what should I do?" So much for my triage skills. Anyway, it quickly progressed (deteriorated?) into a situation where I felt that I was running from one disaster to the next. At 2:30 in the morning, the doc and I looked at each other and she said "Well the board is clear," and I said (with the whites of my eyes still showing, I'm sure), "But at what cost?" She's new too (even newer than me as she is just out of her residency). Anyway, I kind of fell into my bed and lay there twitching for about an hour before I could sleep. I kept thinking of the effects of adrenaline on the immune system and how long term, chronic exposure to adrenaline is quite to the human organism and how way back when I decided I wanted to be a midwife this was not really my vision of how my life would be. Somehow more tye-dye and friendship and belief in birth and less abject terror and fewer std's and less adrenaline.

So, this weekend I'm going to work on handmades for the holidays, Christmas cookies and hanging a pretty quilt in my dining room. I am also going to try to conquer my fear of the post office and get some packages mailed finally (sorry Christine).

Also, blogworthy news: I'm going to be an aunt...to a Niece! (Gosh that word looks weird--is that how it's really spelled?). I'm going to solicit name suggestions for the benefit of my brother and sister-in law (who haven't asked for help), just because I'm excited. So please feel free to post your girl Schwarz name in the comments section.

Off to take my beasts (the canine ones) for a romp.

Jessi