Trying out Picassa...

Just checking out Picassa, to see how I like it! So far...

LIKE: Works easily with Blogger to import photos.
DISLIKE: Haven't found a way to resize the photos through Picassa yet

I've been using Flock with Photobucket, can easily edit, resize and upload photos, but then I have to manually go an import them into the blog... If Picassa had an easy way to resize photos, it'd be perfect!

Is March over yet...?

Dear Weatherman,

It has recently come to my attention that you've been the root of a rather cruel joke. You've been a wonderful man to us all winter, giving us mild temperatures and sparing us from blizzards. Earlier this month, someone must have really pissed you off... We were frozen stiff with record cold temperatures, colder even than we'd seen all winter. It was very cruel, and unappreciated!

Thankfully, you relaxed and warmed us back up. Things were a typical March here, until this week. Did someone bribe you for us to receive such nice weather? I've been loving the near 60 temperatures, and the rapidly disappearing snow. I was all set to deliver an amazing gift of chocolates and a new weather pointer stick to your office.

Then I saw the forecast... Why oh WHY are you being so cruel? SNOW? A FOOT of snow?! You do realize it's almost April, right? I can only hope you're seeking the proper medical help. Perhaps they've diagnosed you with multiple personality disorder? I really do think medication is in order, or perhaps a public flogging. In the meantime, I'll be here, waiting for your next mood swing and some warm weather.

Signed...
Anxiously Awaiting April!

My "other" stash...

I recently posted pics of my diaper stash, so I say, only fair to show off the "other" stash as well! My yarn stash! Exciting, no? It's not terribly huge, and as much as I'd love it, it's not filled with all sorts of luxury yarns either. A good portion of it came from a local craft store that closed. Sales rock! Not shown are 5 skeins of Zen String, since they aren't ready to be shipped yet.



These are all my cotton yarns. There are 3 skeins of Lion Cotton, 8 skeins of Sugar N Cream, and 4 skeins of Araucania Patagonia.










Acrylic yarn. Not my favorite yarn to work with, most of this was given to me. The Bernat Softee Chunky is SOO very soft though! It's what I used to make Sam her babyshower gift. Shown are Red Heart super saver, and Caron Simply Soft.






Acrylic or wool blends - Shown are Paton's Divine, Bernat Haven, Patons SWS, Patons CiCi, Patons Pooch, Lion brand Landscapes, Lion Watercolors, and Mondial Merino Plus.







Various Wool yarns... Noro Kureyon, Debbie Bliss SoHo, Andes, Araucania Atacama (alpaca yarn, not wool),Plymouth Galway Highland Heather, and Laines Du Nord Baby Cover.





The Patons Merino stash... Colors shown are Paprika, Bright Red, Retro, Winter White, Dark Grey Mix, Burgundy, Harvest, Forest, Leaf Green, and Chestnut Brown.







Last but not least, my Peace Fleece! Shown are Galooboy Blue, Siberian Midnight, Soyuz Apollo Teal, Baltic Blue, Sheplova Mushroom, Sakhalin Salmon, Glastnost Gold, Shaba Green, Hemlock, Grassroots, and Antarctic White.

My newest DIY project...

I was finally in a sewing mood again the other day! Saturday night I started sewing this, and finished it up Sunday. It's another homemade Mei Tai. This time I used the Beth's Mei Tai pattern, and made it reversible. Best of all... It only cost around $15 to make! You just gotta love those sale racks at Joanns! The straps and two layers of the body are made of a bottom-weight black cotton, and the other layer is just a lighter cotton that I really liked.

It is incredibly comfortable too! Kaiden is a little over 20 pounds, and it felt like nothing! The wide straps help disperse the weight evenly over your shoulders and back - it's very comfortable. I wish I'd made the straps a little longer, but aside from that, it is excellent!

In the middle is the pleated pocket. Adds a nice splash of contrast, and is a great place to store a wallet, phone or whatever when you're out.

The hooks/clips you see are for the sleeping hood. If Kaiden falls asleep when being worn, I just flip up the hood and clip it in place. Keeps his head from falling back uncomfortably, and provides some shade if we're in the sun.

Action shots will have to come later - Nate took some pics, but apparently doesn't know how to focus a camera. ;) They're very, very blurry!

Got milk?

For those that don't know, I've been teaching Kaiden some baby signs. Ok, so I've been teaching him ONE sign, but, I plan on doing more... He knows up, and has been doing that for a while now. Today, he signed "milk"! Not once, not twice, but almost all day when he wanted to eat!! I'm so proud!

An additional bonus tonight, some recent pics of Mr. K!




Showing off his cool new duds! An amber teething necklace from a recent co-op, a bumGenius bamboo fitted diaper in twilight, and a pair of Babylegs I received as a gift!


(Below) Playing with Auntie Tori.














(Left) Kaiden playing with his best bud "Kitty", aka Oliver.


(Below) Demonstrating proper dental hygiene.

Last but not least... Enjoying a snow day!

Talk about a big stash...

I decided to take stock of all my diapers the other day. I won't say out loud how many I have, but you're free to count them up if you dare. ;) What I have, with the exception of a few he'll be outgrowing soon, are all dipes that should fit him right through potty training. Even with a stash this big, I've still saved several hundred dollars compared to just a year of using disposables! Go cloth!

First up, all my fitted diapers. These are diapers that require some sort of cover over them, either wool, fleece or other form of waterproof cover. My personal favorite with fitted dipes is a wool cover. Breathable, low maintenance, and best of all, cute!



Left: Four large OC Dream-Eze, marigold and grass colors

Middle: Eight natural colored large OC Dream-Eze

Right: (back) Two tie-dyed XL older style OC Dream-Eze; (front) Two large tie-dyed OV Dream-Eze


Left: Ten bumGenius bamboo fitted diapers (4 butternut, 3 twilight, 3 grasshopper)

Middle: (back to front) Medium Sweet Dreams, Medium sherpa side-snapping Very Baby, one-size OV Muttaqin, Medium First Class Baby, Medium OV Hidden Pearl Creations

Right: (back to front) Large Happy Hempy, five semi-fitted Green Acre Designs, 4 large, 1 medium.




Next up is my prefold stash. Some find these diapers too much work, but they're an awesome choice, and great to have on hand even if you don't plan on using them. I have a dozen each in premium, regular, and preemie size indian prefolds, and eight infant size chinese prefolds. Also shown are a dozen birdseye flats.



Left: Six GAD pockets, 4 medium 2 large. (black, green, orange, green fleece, construction & frog prints)

Middle-left: Six Happy Heinys pockets, 4 medium, 2 large (cow & football prints, forest, black, light blue, celery)

Right: Two Haute Pockets (glass and grass), three Pocket Change (lapice, grass, red)

Far-right: (top to bottom) OS Muttaqin AIO, Grinch print Bumkins AIO, fleece Robin's Fanny Fluff AIO



Next are the non-wool covers. I mostly use these with the prefolds.

Left: Four Bummis Super Whisper Wraps (2 jungle, 1 froggy, 1 star baby)

Right: (top to bottom) butter Swaddlebees fleece wrap, two WonderWraps (grass and marigold)





These are all the wool covers. Not shown is the recently finished pair of Picky Pants.

Left: (top to bottom) Diamond in the Fluff soaker, BJM/Kozy Designs soaker, New Life Woolens soaker

Middle: homemade recycled wool longies and soaker

Right: Aristocrat soaker, Babyology soaker and longies

Finally, longies are done...

I finished my first pair of Picky Pants tonight! All I had left to do was kitchener stitch the crotch closed, bind off the second leg cuff, and create an I-cord for the drawstring waistband. It's now been finished, washed, and dried. I made them a size larger, so they've got a TON of growing room! The legs are way too long, but they're still cute rolled up. Considering it's my first pair, I don't think I did too bad! Now I just need to remember to work from two skeins at a time when I use Paton's again - talk about long color repeats!




For those wondering specifics, I knit these in Paton's Merino, using Forest for the body, and Leaf Green for the trim. For the pattern, I used LTK Picky Pants, size large with a 1x1 ribbed waistband, backside increases, and the ribbed leg cuff options. Now I finally have another pair of longies I can use!



Here's the crotch with the kitchener grafting. Look Ma, no holes!

It's a... Booga bag!

Another FO for you all! This time, it's a Booga Bag! It's made of Noro Kureyon, color #154. There's an area craft store going out of business, so I managed to get a whole slew of yarn on the cheap! I needed a new bag, so this was another late night creation. It still needs to be shaved, but it's otherwise complete. Perfect size too, room for my wallet, phone, keys, etc plus I can throw in a diaper or two if I'm out with K and don't want the whole diaper bag!