FINISHED!!!

So Mushie Face's Blushing Violets longies are DONE!!! I wove in the ends tonight, now they just need to be washed and dried to soften them up a little. I really like the way these knit up. And just to keep with my plain 'ole boring self, I did a seed stitch cuff on them. Maybe I need to try something different next time.... hmmmm... off to find some cool cuff patterns.....

BTW~ my best friend E has been embracing her craftiness lately and creating some of her own goodies for herself. Love this bag, I hope she makes another soon *wink, wink*

Summer's Last Grasps

Here in Virginia, we're still feeling summer grasping on for dear life. The kids and I visited my mom today and we were greeted by her hastas, still alive, kicking, and blooming. Summer will just not let go, yet. The hastas bloomed late this year and so now, when they should be starting to disappear like all the other late summer flowers, they're still greeting visitors in my mom's front woodland garden.
There are very few signs of autumn around. Some trees have begun to darken a little, but there are no tell tale golden and red leaves, yet. I canNOT wait. I LOVE autumn. I love the crispness in the air. I love long pants, especially jeans, that are impossible to wear in hot and humid Virginia summer air. I love wearing sweaters. And boots, let us not forget the boots. I love all the apparel that comes with the fall air. I wish it would last for a LONG time. I'm not much of an extreme weather girl, to be honest. My ideal environment would be 2 weeks of summer, autumn, 2 weeks of wcrisp air, winter with maybe a snow or two thrown in there for some white fun, and then spring. I'm more of a moderate temp kinda gal.
So, go hastas. Let the autumn season fall upon us. We welcome the crisp air and crunchy leaves with open arms.

New shoes and some DELICIOUS chicken :)

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We've been on the hunt for some shoes for Mushie now that she's taking an interest in walking and being on the ground. But everywhere I looked, the shoes were EXPENSIVE. Yes, I've been through this before with Little Man, yes I know how costly these little shoes can be, but right now, fundage was low and well, to be honest, she's not going to be walking a whole lot on the ground because it's getting colder. So we found these little soft soled shoes at the Disney Store. They were on sale for $7.99 and I had a gift card with some money still on it. These shoes cost us a total of $2 when it was all said and done "YAY" frugality. Not to mention, I have a pattern for soft soled shoes and just need to get to the thrift store or fabric store for some suede.

This was the main part of our dinner tonight. Roast chicken in the crockpot with potatoes, carrots, and celery over whole wheat egg noodles, YUM. It was so moist, the meat basically fell off the bone. Poor M had the job of taking the chicken out of the crock pot and carving it, he had such a difficult time. As soon as he picked it up with the forks, the legs and wings separated and fell off. The carcass is now back in the crock pot with another carcass I saved and veggie trimmings being cooked down for soup stock. MMMM.... it smells good in my house :)

Lists.... and more lists

I admit it, I'm a lister. I make a list for EVERYTHING. I list out my menus each week, I enjoy making grocery lists, listing clothes to pack for trips, and so on and so on. So no suprise, I've listed the projects I NEED to get done for this year, at least the knitting and sewing projects for now *giggle*

This year for Christmas, we are doing a homemade Christmas. The majority of gifts will be handmade, by either me or the kids (M will help some too), so I need to start planning, like last week. So far (without revealing who's getting what) here are my lists of projects to complete.

Knitting
5 pairs Little Turtle Knits Stripey Slippers
1 Scarf
1 Janet lace shawl
3 Washcloths (all of different designs and patterns)
1 Washmitts
1 Felted purse
Variety of fruits and veggies

Sewing
13 pairs flannel pj bottoms/ lounge pants
3 pairs Mini Mocs
5 Eye Pillows
8 Bean Bags
2 Smocks in Holiday/ winter prints

Blushing Violets Longies Progress

Here is the progress I'm making on the Blushing Violets longies for Miss Mushie. I should be further along, except that well, after almost completing the increases, I noticed that on one side, they were a stitch off. So I frogged them back 6 rows and started over again. *sigh* Only a few more inches in the legs, then the seed stitch cuff and I'll be done.

Corners of My Home

Inspired by a blog post by SouleMama, I've decided to try and incorporate some "Corners of my Home" on here. This is a special place to me because it's where my son, Little Man sleeps. We're a co-sleeping family, 100% of the time. When he was about 8mo, Little Man started taking up MOST of the queen size bed that he, M, and I shared. So after some research, I discovered a site on how to sidecar our crib. We got the crib as a baby shower gift (in my ignorance as a preggie mama, I swore I'd need it for the baby, only to discover my baby did NOT want to sleep alone ;) EVER!) So sidecarred it we did. Thank goodness too. He is EVERYWHERE in his sleep and now with Mushie in the picture, we still have enough room for the 4 of us to sleep comfy at night.... sort of ;)

Works In Progress

Here are my current knitting projects. I only have 2 things on the needles at the moment, but there are so many more projects swimming around in my head..... I really should make a list.
These are another pair of Wonderpants for Miss Mushie Face. The body is Peace Fleece, hand-dyed by Brad at Wooly Wonders by Nada in Blushing Violets. The trim is Peace Fleece in Samantha/ Katya Pink.



This is M's scarf in progress. For his birthday in November, he wanted a plain garter stitch scarf for the colder weather. It's done in (you guessed it) PEACE FLEECE!! It's in Father's Grey and it will have 3 stripes done in Ukranian Red. The stripes are supposed to be representative of Little Man, Miss Mushie Face, and me :) My sentimental husband ;)

Wonders Abound

Every once in a while, I have the oppurtunity to actually stop and look at the world around me and to see the glorious blessings the Lord has given us. As M, the kids, and I were leaving for our walk last night, we were greeted with this spectacular view...




"And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord..." Psalm 89:5

Exciting News

Hear ye, hear ye, Miss Mushie Face took her first steps on Monday, September 18, 2006!!!

Yes, my little baby girl is growing up so quickly. Those little feet I loving posted about are beginning to do big things. For the last few days, Mushie has been practicing her pull-up and let go standing. She would stand for a few seconds then "plop" down to her thick diapered bottom. Yesterday she began letting go and standing for 10- 20 seconds. She even bounced her knees a few times. It was so thrilling to watch as she experimented with her abilities. M got home a little after 6pm and I excitedly told him of her accomplishment and stood Mushie up to show him. As she stood there, screaming in delight, shaking her arms, M told her jokingly, "Walk to Mommy" With that Miss Mushie picked up her foot and took 2 steps to me!! We whooped and clapped and Mushie Face laughed and screamed. We practiced steps a few more times last night, each time clapping as she became braver and braver taking more steps.

It's a bittersweet accomplishment. First steps are amazing to watch but at the same time, my heart is sad that Mushie is no longer my "baby". She's moving closer and closer to toddlerhood with each passing day and soon she will be moving towards independance. Not to mention all the running after her I'm going to have to do now ;)

Biker Rally

What many may not know about M and me is we're into motorcycles. My dad owns one and rides with my mom, M's step-dad LOVES Harleys and is saving up for one, M has a few family members with bikes, and so on it goes. We like to watch the bikes riding down the highway and we share our dream of one day owning a few and riding together. So it was quite exciting for us to come upon this on Sunday on our way down the NJ Parkway to visit M's dad.

It was Ride For Freedom IX put on by Rolling Thunder, Inc NJ Chapter-2. Little Man watched over 2000 motorcycles parade down the Parkway to the NJ Vietnem Veterans Memorial where they gathered for a wreath laying ceremony and guest speakers. It was fun to watch all these bikes and the different people riding them. People gathered on the overpasses to wave to the riders and there was even a firetruck with a banner proclaiming "We Will Never Forget". Having family who are Vietnam Vets, it gave me a sense of pride to see all these people gathering to remember those who are or were POWs and MIA.

Short trip

M, the kids, and I will be leaving tonight for a weekend trip to NJ, where we both grew up, and where Little Man was born. We're off to visit Grammy Tomorrow (yes, this is what my son calls his Grandma, LOL) and Pop-pop and many more family members and friends that we don't get to see often. I'm not looking forward to the drive, the kids will need to sleep in the car, and lately, Mushie has NOT been sleeping all to well. Not to mention, it will be late when we get to our destination. But I am looking forward to the visit. Why?

Well, I get to see my very best friend, E, and her 2 boys, R and MJ. E's boys are both around the same age as my 2, as a matter of fact, R is just 2 days older than Little Man, and MJ is 5 weeks younger than Miss Mushie. So you see, they should all have a ball playing together. But the best part of all, visiting with E, of course. I look forward to our visits for weeks, months even. We are so alike on so many different levels, and we respect each other's differences. Visiting with E renews my spirit and my sometimes dwindling love of motherhood. She makes me laugh and smile and is always such a wonderful support for me. I am truly blessed to have a friend like E.

So you will not be hearing from me for a few days. I will be back on Monday with much news from my travels. Have a fun and safe weekend to all those who happen upon this post.

Watch your children, please!!! (sorry about the length)

Today the kids and I took a much needed trip to the mall with my mom, my 17yr old sis, A, and my 1.5yr old brother, G. It wasn't that we needed to go to the mall, we just needed to get OUT. Out of the house, out of the neighborhood, a whole new change of scenery kind of OUT.

We were really enjoying our walk around the mall. It was cute seeing my side-by-side double stroller with Little Man and Miss Mushie and G in his stroller. They interacted together, babbled back and forth, y'know, baby stuff. We decided after some window shopping, some returns we needed to take care of, and some lunch, that the kids needed some time to stretch their legs and play. So we headed to the kids play court.

The kids playcourt at this mall is really great. It's a sunken "lounge" area, complete with a bouncy type of floor, climbing stuff in the shapes of breakfast food, and seating all around the edge for parents to sit and watch their children play, if they choose not to partake in the play themselves ;)

Let me say that when M and I bring our kids somewhere that may have a lot of other kids or somewhere that they can climb and there's the potential for injuries, we hover over them "like white on rice" as the saying goes. Yes, we let Little Man run his heart out, but we keep up with him. Mushie crawls all over the place, and we are right there next to her, crawling and climbing. My eyes are CONSTANTLY in motion, watching my kids, watching the other adults in the area, making myself aware of who and what is around me. So what I saw in the play area today REALLY disturbed me.

There was a little girl, she couldn't have been any more than 2, and she was crying in the middle of the play area. None of the adults were "laying claim" to this little girl. After a few minutes, she stopped crying and went back to playing. About 10 minutes later, I see her. Again, laying on the floor, crying. This time, my mom goes over to her and asks if she's okay and the little girl starts crying out "Mama, mama, mama>" My mom proceeds to take her by the hand and walk around the entire play area, looking for this little one's parent or responsible adult. NADA. No one spoke up and said "Oh, she's with me" or "Here I am". After about 5 minutes of my mom walking around with this little girl, we start to consider calling security, when I notice a man, outside of the play area, completely engrossed in cooing over a baby in an infant bucket that's sitting in a cart. He was the only person left in the vicinity that we hadn't asked.

I walked over to the man, asked him if he had a child in the play area, to which he answers, "Yes." I ask him if it's a little girl and he says "Yes." I motion to my mom who is now holding the hysterical little girl and he says, "Oh, yes, yes. She's crying??". He puts his arms out to the little one and she lunges back, shaking her head forcefully, saying "Noo... mama, mama, mama" To which the man proceeds to tell me that her mother is shopping and he is watching the little girl and the 10 day old baby. A few seconds later, another man appears and the little girl lunges into this other mans arms and the man walks off with her. The first man says, "Her parents are shopping and I am watching their children." Hmmm..... good watching skills, wouldn't you agree?? (note the heavy sarcasm). Mind you, the whole time we were looking around for an adult to match up with this poor child, I was aware of this man watching the baby. He didn't look at the play area once, his eyes stayed focused on the baby bucket. I almost didn't ask him because he was so engrossed in the baby, I thought for sure he couldn't have another child playing in the kids area without supervision. Boy was I wrong.

Now, if my mom or I had been dangerous child kidnappers, we could have walked off with this little girl in the blink of an eye, and NO ONE would have noticed for quite a while. Why was no one WATCHING this little girl?? What is so difficult about making sure she is SAFE??

I am a passionate person. I am passionate about breastfeeding, and cloth diapering, and attatchment parenting, and many other things that I try to talk to people about. But I recognize that others parent differently and may not agree with the choices I've made with my children. But this chaps my hide and is an area that I feel EVERY parent needs to take special care in, regardless of the other parenting choices you make. WATCH YOUR CHILDREN, PLEASE!!! Make sure you know where they are, who they are with, what is going on around them. BE AWARE of your surroundings. It only takes a moment for the worst to happen.

Smocks, smocks, and more smocks

I LOVE sewing for my babes. I learned to sew as a child, but I HATED it. My mother is an outstanding seamstress and made all my clothes as a baby and many dresses for me as a little girl. When I became a mom, I wanted to sew things for my son, but I had no sewing machine. Then I had my daughter and the urge to sew her some sweet dresses really set in. For my birthday, my mom gave me her old sewing machine that she had serviced and made sure was in tip-top shape. It's a Singer Diana from 1975. I love this vintage machine. It's basic, yet so sturdy and reliable.




My new obsession is sewing smock tops for Miss Mushie. The pattern is from Fern and Faerie and quite frankly, they're adorable. Right now she's in the small, but this size will take her til she's in a 3T when they'll fit like a shirt. The smocks are a little long on her and she gets stuck crawling so I only put them on her when we're going out and I know she's going to be held the whole time. Paired with her knit longies, this is going to be her uniform for the fall and winter. When the real cold weather rolls in, long sleeve wool undershirts will warm her up under the smocks :) These are the four I've worked on so far.

Little Feet

I just want to eat these up :P These little feet (which are BARELY out of 0-6mo shoes) carry my 21lb, 10 month old around the apartment. They can't quite balance themselves on their own yet, and they can't hold up all the weight of the chunka munk that relies on them, but they're trying with all their might. These feet have webbed toes, just like her daddy. The 2 toes next to the big toe are webbed to halfway up, on both feet. You can't really notice it if you're not looking for it, but it's there. It makes her feet even more special.

I love these little feet. I kiss them, and nibble them, and smell them all day long. They belong to my baby who is quickly growing up and becoming more and more "toddlerish" everyday.

Thank you Jesus for perfect little feet on babies.

A few Finished Projects

Here are some of my finished projects that have been done in the last few weeks. These Wonderpants are done in Peace Fleece dyed by Brad of Wooly Wonders by Nada in a colorway similar to Dashing Dachs "Caramel Apple". The trim is Peace Fleece in "Ukranian Red". These are my favorite pants and go w/ a few smocks I've sewn up for Miss Mushie. She looks absolutely ADORABLE in them and they're so nice and soft on her little cloth diapered tush :)





Love me some Peace Fleece :) These pants are done in "Father's Grey" with Antarctica White trim. They're our "neutral" pair to go with almost anything. That way, I can rotate pants throughout the day and not have to worry about matching "outfits". Both pants have Curly Purly waistbands to hold them up without a drawstring and seed stitch cuffs that need to be folded up right now (but we'll get longer wear out of them).

Moms For Modesty

I stumbled upon this in my blog searching. As a mother of a baby girl, this is something dear to my heart. Something my parents instilled in me at a young age that I never truly grasped til I was a parent. Over the last few years, M and I have noticed that little girls don't LOOK like little girls anymore. They walk around in their mini-skirts or booty shorts with words plastered across their tushes coupled with shirts that expose their bellies and boots that come up to their knees. Dare I say, our "little girls" are becoming "little strippers"??
Why?? Why do we feel the need to expose our children in ways that even WE, as adults, should not be exposing ourselves?? Why do we think it is "cute" for our little girls to walk around half-naked?? Why do we think it's "cute" to let our little girls wear clothing that encourages unvirtuous behavior??
Mamas, it's time to take a stand. It's time to say enough is enough. We want our little girls to be just that, LITTLE GIRLS!! NOT mini-women, NOT little strippers, NOT bikini models, LITTLE GIRLS!!

Moms for Modesty Mission Statement

* As a Mom for Modesty I believe in common-sense modesty for girls and young women.
* I believe in refraining from sexualizing our girls and young women.
* I believe that it is unwise and unfair to taunt boys and young men by permitting my daughter(s) to dress in an immodest manner.
* I believe that true beauty comes from within and I strive to teach my daughter(s) this truth.
* I will loyally shop at retailers that provide girls' and young womens clothing that is modest, affordable and stylish.

What kind of knitter....

So what kind of knitter are you?? I'd say this is pretty accurate, although, I wouldn't consider knitting for a little over a year to be a long time. I am a purist at heart though. I hate acrylic and those "novelty" yarns, there's nothing novel about them, blech.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Purist. You are an accomplished knitter producing beautiful pieces with a classic feel. You sometimes lament losing half of your local yarn shop to garish novelty yarns. Perhaps you consider fun fur scarves the bane of knitting society and prefer to steer new knitters towards the wool and cotton blends. Some might call you a bit of an elitist but you know that you've been doing this craft long enough to respect the history behind it and honor it with beautiful piece that can last a lifetime. http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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How crunchy are you??

As I previously mentioned, I am a natural mama. Actually, I'm a "crunchy" mama. Y'know the ones, they breastfeed til their kid's in college, hug trees, birth their kids at home, and talk about how evil pesticides and chemicals are, LOL. Well, that's me. It's a journey I started a few years ago, and with each passing day, I find more ways to become more "crunchy".

Here's a quiz I found when I first began my natural journey.
Granola Factor Quiz

Back then, I was scoring in the 105– 119 Mmm! Love that whole-grain crunch! range. Now, I score a 147. 120 – 205 Super Nutty, Ultra-Crunchy Granola Earth Mama

I find it amazing how far I have come in just a few short years. The more I learn (thanks to the mamas at MDC), the more I change. My home has become a place where my children can open the "cleaning cabinet" and I don't have to worry about what chemicals they may ingest, there are no chemicals, there's vinegar and baking soda. I don't have to run to the store because we're out of paper towels because we use cloth towels for messes. No middle of the night diaper runs to the supermarket, just toss the cloth diapers in the washing machine and all is well.

My daughter was born at home, surrounded by a beautiful support team, my husband, midwife, my mom, and my younger sister. My son played in the birth pool with me while I labored and I was relaxed and smiling. I greeted Mushie with a smile and a warm breast for her to nurse while she adjusted to being outside of my womb.

My children nurse at my breast for nourishment and comfort and I worry not about what allergies they may have to particular formulas. Little Man tandem nurses with his sister and they enjoy a bond like no other I have seen.

When I look outside at the earth that our Almighty God has blessed us with, I find comfort knowing I am doing my best to take care of her. I strive to teach my children these principles and pray that one day, they too may respect and be good stewards of our environment and resources. What have you done today to care for our planet??

And so here I am

Well, I knew it would be soon. I knew that soon I would just suck it up and join the ranks of all the other bloggers across the globe. And so here I am..... blogging.

What do I hope to accomplish with my blog? I'm still trying to figure that out myself. I'm looking at this as an outlet. An outlet for me to talk about my knitting, my sewing, my children, my everyday life of being a mama. It will be an evolution. And so here we go....

I'm Jenn, in my late twenties, married to M for the past 4 years. I'm a stay-at-home-mama to the 2 lights of my life, Little Man (2.5yo) and Miss Mushie Face (10mo). We rent an apartment in a rural area of Virginia where the small town is built around a strip mall and trees are starting to become a thing of the past (but I'll delve more into that at a later time).

I'm a natural mama, striving to leave as small a footprint as I can while I'm here on this earth, trying to teach my children to respect what the Lord has given to us and to be good stewards of it so that others may enjoy it, too. As one of the books on my booklist calls it, I'm a crunchy con: a birkenstocked burkean, gun-loving organic gardener, evangelical free-range farmer, hip homeschooling mama, right-wing nature lover, countercultural conservative. How's that for a decription?? BTW, the book is: Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher. I haven't actually read it yet, it's on hold at the library ;) It looks promising, though.

My children are my life, next to my husband, and I will talk about them often, but you will never see them. (M doesn't like the idea of having pics of the kids up, and quite frankly, I don't blame him. I worry about who would see them and try to exploit them, so I'm sorry, you will just have to close your eyes and imagine my family.) We are a funny group, the four of us. We keep each other smiling and laughing and we work hard to cultivate a strong family bond. Family is important to us and the steps we have taken to simplify our lives (or I should say the steps M and I have taken) have been done to appreciate the time we have on this earth with our children.

So now that I have introduced myself, what's on the agenda?? Sleep, for now at least. And maybe more tomorrow. Hope you have enjoyed me thus far.