Making a Tote Bag

The Christmas season is upon us. I'm all for gifts that come from the heart but that are also practical. I decided to make this tote bag as a gift for someone based off of this blog. I was going for a Vera Bradley look at a fraction of the price.

If you want to make it with two coordinating fabrics, like I did, it will cost a bit more but look very polished! I bought way too much fabric and I still only spent $15. I have plenty more to make another 2 bags at least.

You Need:
2 yd fabric (1 of each design)
1 piece of single faced quilting fabric (optional, I used to reinforce the handles) 
sewing machine

My rough sketch--my bag is bigger than the blog's version

I'm not going to list step by step, because you can find that on the blog I linked to above. Here are a couple pictures of my progress.

The worst part--cutting everything out!

 

Finished bag!

 Phew! Done in about 1.5 hrs, and that's because of my pokey beginner self. I'm sure someone more experienced could move really quick on this project.

Why I subscribed to Pewdiepie

If someone asked me what are the typical YouTube channels would appeal to someone of my demographic, Pewdiepie would not be in the top 10. Or 1000 more likely. But let’s start at the beginning.

 

I have had mixed feelings about YouTube for several years. I would begrudgingly play the links friends or Facebook posts would send my way. Some videos were wonderfully amusing, cute and charming. Others made me so livid I wanted to hurl my monitor out the window. But in the end, I would shake my head and think, ‘who can sit there and film themselves with the presumption that the world wants to hear their thoughts?’ (don’t get me started on the irony of a blog—I’m well aware). So I really am behind the times when it comes to YouTube. JennaMarbles? Sxephil? Whaa?? I don’t know who these people are and why everyone else seems to know them. For example, I had no idea what the What Does the Fox Say video was until it had been out for 3 months. And only then because I clicked on the light show video (it was trending on my phone).

I’m under 30, and as a stay at home mom, logic says I should be way more interested in what other moms out there might have vlog about, than say, a 24 year old Swedish gamer/reviewer. Which, for the most part, is true. No one would ever pin me as someone interested in games, and really, I’m not. I haven’t touched our beloved PS3 system for gaming since before our daughter was born, and even then, my game use was really limited. 

What I do have, though, is a really long attention span and the love of a good story. Some of these games have a wonderful cinematic story line, which is interesting to me. I have no problem watching walkthroughs as a result. Why spend $60 on a game, die a bunch of times for 15 hrs when I can watch someone else play though it and reveal the great story cuts? Enter Pewdiepie.

The first I ever heard of him was via Finebros “Teens React to ” video. At the time, I found him a bit annoying. A little amusing too, but mostly annoying (though the strange horror game he was playing had a lot to do with it). Sometime later, my husband asked me about the game The Last of Us. We ran across the Pewdiepie playthrough of it, and it actually became our entertainment at night for a few days. Pewdie’s commentary was funny, honest and entertaining. The game was great on its own, but his video in video setup/commentary just made it a little better.

More recently, Beyond Two Souls came out. I remember the previews from TV and I remember thinking that it looked like a beautifully rendered, serious game, but forgot about it until a few days ago when I happened upon Pewdie’s playthough of it.  I got the satisfaction of seeing and experiencing the game story without having to cough up the cash or time to play it. 

In honor of this, I subscribed to Pewdiepie’s channel, only to find out that I’m one of 15 million people to do so. It doesn’t hurt that he’s not too hard on the eyes either.

 

Just don’t call me a Bro. Seriously. 

Italian Soup (soooo yummy!)

Imagine it's a bit cooler out, the season for comfort food. You're short on time, really don't want to go out to the store, and need to throw together something for the family that just hits the spot. I found this soup recipe ages ago and have since modified a bit to fit our family's preferences. It has been such a hit I routinely have it when we have company over! We almost always have the ingredients sitting around. I use 3 burners of the stove simultaneously to get this meal done as fast as possible (30 min).

Ingredients

garlic, basil, oregano, ground pepper 
2 cups pasta (spaghetti, elbow macaroni, you name it--it works!)
Italian sausage (this can be substituted with ground turkey)
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
olive oil
1 onion
Parmesan cheese

On burner 1: Cook the Italian sausage with some olive oil. If your using ground turkey, cook it with a healthy amount of garlic, oregano and pepper to flavor it. Drain the fat. (Cooks in 5-10 minutes)

On burner 2: Meanwhile, dice your onion (I use a food processor to spare my eyes), throw it in the soup pot with some olive oil and saute it until the onion is clear. Then add spices (I always throw in a ton, but add your preference). 

On burner 3: Cook your pasta.

Add the tomato paste into your soup pot and cook for another few minutes until it turns into a rusty color. Add in your cooked Italian sausage, can of tomatoes, and the chicken broth. Feel free to add another dash of oregano or garlic.

Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes or so (this will give you time to heat up some garlic bread!). Your pasta should be done now. I DO NOT add the pasta into the soup pot because pasta absorbs so much liquid it become gross from sitting in soup when we have leftovers. Therefore, I ladle the soup over the pasta when serving only, and store the pasta separate.

Get a bowl, scoop in some pasta, ladle soup over the top, and throw some Parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread, if you want. Enjoy!

Coupons rock

Some time ago I happened upon the TLC show Extreme Couponing and watched a few episodes with a mixture of awe and disgust. These people were often obnoxious, rude, borderline hoarders, and always taking advantage of store policies that simply don't exist in my area (in that sense, I was quite jealous). Still, it piqued my interest enough to wonder if I could save the kind of money that those people did, on a more conservative, practical level. Absolutely no bedrooms, closets or basements full of stashed supplies--only what can fit in my pantry.

As luck would have it, an acquaintance of mine knew the ways of couponing and gave me a brief tutorial of buying newspapers, clipping coupons, (ugh, hate that part), and using online resources to gauge where the best deals are at. Truth be told, I still rarely buy newspapers, and when I do, it's only one, not dozens.

I should mention that up until recently, the language of coupons baffled me. "One per purchase" made me feel like there was a sole coupon I could use, and then what was the point? Savings of 50 cents? But then I learned  the language means an item you buy is deemed a purchase. So if you buy 5 bottles of coke, you have 5 purchases. If your coupon has a limit of 1 item per purchase, you can use one coupon on each item. 5 coupons. Got it.

I've done well couponing within my boundaries. Really well. My least savings days still average 30-50%. It's like free money offered online or in a $1.99 paper (see this popular site.) Who wouldn't want to buy the things they normally get, but for less? My favorite store is CVS, because they often have great diaper deals where you get CVS extrabucks back for spending x amount of dollars. Usually, it's $10 extrabucks back for a $30. Extrabucks work like real cash, applied to anything in the store. So, I buy 3 Huggies diapers for $9.99, and I have 3 $2.50 off Huggies coupons. My total is approximately $24 ($30-$7.50) and I get $10 extrabucks back. So it's like 3 packs of diapers for $14. That's a 54% savings. Not bad. That puts a name brand diapers on par with generics prices, and as moms know, the brand named diapers ARE better. 

Today, I bought a cardigan from Target. Originally $19.99, it was marked down to $15 on sale. I had the Target Cartwheel promotion selected for another 15% off, plus a Target coupon for $3 off $15 woman's clothing purchase. So I paid $9.75 for a normally $19.99 clothing item, savings of 52%. Nice.

Things to know:

1) have multiple computers. Each coupon can be printed from each computer twice.
2) Be organized. Binders, excel sheets, whatever works for you
3) Do your homework before you go into the store and it will save you SO much time and money. (I actually make an excel list of items, regular price, coupons, and rewards (like extrabucks) so I know exactly what I am spending or getting out of my purchase).

Happy savings! 

Making A Crib Rail Guard

My little girl has since decided to chew her convertible crib rails to bits (I'll be laughing when she's a teenager looking on to those little toothmarks emblazoned on the wood). I was disappointed with the guards available online (both quality and price), and my humble attempts to wrap the rails with swaddling blankets didn't look aesthetically pleasing or remain functional.

I decided that I would like to sew a rail guard. A custom design work better anyway since my crib rails are unique and my daughter likes to chew on multiple parts. A family member recently gave me an old sewing machine. It lacked a few essential parts and emitted a foul odor every time it was on, but after viewing several hours worth of "how to sew" videos on Youtube, I got it working. 

I followed the pattern outlined on this blog, although as I said before, I had to customize based on the uniqueness of the crib design and Baby's propensity to chew. But overall, my process went as follows:

Buy: 
3 yd fabric
1 yd single faced quilted fabric
~20 ft ribbon for ties

It cost me about $20, which was cheaper than buying the low quality plastic things I found online. You have to make 3 parts--2 shorter side rail pieces and 1 long front rail piece.

I measured the rails added two inches to the dimensions on both sides to the decorative fabric, then cut the single faced quilted fabric (SFQF) exact. Iron the edges, pin on the SFQF, pin on the ribbons and sew. Backstitch over the ribbons to secure them. And...

Ta da! Functional, customized, and if I may say so, pretty as well. Really talented sewers can attack this project with multiple contrasting fabrics. I didn't want to pay for more fabric, nor did I feel like doing more math and sewing, so I stuck with one. 

I did run into the hitch of not having enough ribbon, and I didn't want to go out to the store again to buy more, so I made my ties from spare fabric. While cost effective, this was really time consuming, so I don't recommend it. Several hours later, I ended up with...

You don't need to be an expert at sewing. This is the first project I've ever done, and while it doesn't look perfect close up, it's sturdy and does the job. I'm really happy with it, and even had a friend ask me to sew her one!

    

Favorite Things

If my baby could answer a questionnaire about her favorite things, I’m pretty sure she would answer as such:

Favorite toy— gravity

Favorite food— not what’s in the spoon

Favorite pastime— chewing on crib rails

Favorite game— eat what’s on the floor before mom can take it away

Favorite nap time— uh, what?

Favorite noise— farts

Favorite skill— alligator roll off the changing table

Favorite face to look at— Daddy! I mean Mommy!

Favorite pet— undecided. Cat and dog fur tastes the same.

Hot Mama

Here’s a confession that will alienate me from the rest of the civilized world—I hate hot, sunny weather. Everything about it is miserable to me--the sweat that trickles down my back after literally standing outside only a moment, the nasty feeling and smell of sunscreen coated on my skin, having to keep the windows shut to keep the house cool, the misery of cooking over a stovetop because we can’t grill or have salads every day, and the fact that everything I love to do outside—long walks, taking the dog/baby out, shopping—all becomes a monumental chore when the mercury climbs. Unfortunately, I live in an area that can get very cold and very hot, so there is no escaping the extremes. We deal the best we can within our budget, and my husband patiently puts up with my griping every year when June, July, August, September hits. 

With this said, I am more than a little cranky this time of year. I rush to get inside to the welcoming AC, and grumble when I feel gross from walking to the car to my destination and back carrying Baby in her carseat/carrier. I’m conscious of what Baby must be feeling in this weather, and dress (or not dress) her accordingly, but mostly, it has always been about me.

Until day. I got a wakeup call that literally had me in tears.

It’s pushing 90 degrees on the thermostat with high humidity, but since that’s every day at the moment, I can’t always maintain my hermit status indoors. My mom doesn’t live far away and thought it would be a nice treat for the girls to have a shopping outing. We had a nice time (loving the store’s AC every minute), and finally decided it was time to get lunch, about a 15 drive away. 

I had been holding my daughter in the store and now, back at the car, tossed my keys in the car and proceeded to strap her back into her carseat as quickly as I could. It was hot outside. Even hotter in the car. I felt the sticky heat radiating across my skin. Once Baby was situated and buckled in, I slammed the door and marched over to the driver side to get in and blast the cool air on the both of us. 

Except the door was locked, and my keys were lying on the seat where I had foolishly thrown them.

I wish I could fully describe the horror that went through me at that moment. It was well over 110 degrees in that car, maybe more. Baby was strapped into a hot carseat. And she was trapped inside, while her selfish, preoccupied mother stood helplessly outside. I had no spare keys, and cops (in this area at least), do not respond to keys locked in car situations anyway for liability reasons. To top it off, the clock was ticking. My precious little girl was in there. I didn’t have the luxury of waiting. 

I was lucky. My husband was a 15 minute drive away, and while he was furious at being woken up (he works nights), and even more furious at me and the situation, he had a spare set of keys. He was coming to us within 30 seconds into my panicked phone call, and yet it was the longest wait of my life. I pounded on the window, called Baby’s name to make sure she was responding to me. Baby kept closing her eyes. Her breathing was more labored than normal.  I hated myself.

Meanwhile, my mom had turned on her car with the AC blasting. She had a bottle of water in there too. When my husband arrived a few minutes later and Baby was freed from her hot prison, I ripped her clothes off and sat in my mom’s cool car, bathing Baby’s skin with the water. She was flushed and sweaty, but otherwise she seemed like herself.

This situation could have turned out horribly. There are so many reports in the news of children dying in hot cars. My daughter would never have been among them—I would have smashed in the windows before that happened, but this proved an ominous warning.

Slow down. Deal with it. Think before doing. These phrases circulated my mind and I drove back home, Baby safe and sound. This was never the wakeup call I wanted, but it was the one I needed. Lesson learned.

What a Let Down...When Breastfeeding Ends

Everything is a first for me this time around. First time learning to change diapers. Learning to interpret cries. Learning to change outfits--quickly. Learning to dodge spit up, pack only the bare essentials on outings, and cope with less sleep. Realizing that this terrifying new thing--motherhood--is the most trying and rewarding experience of my life thus far.

And then there's breastfeeding. I will endeavor to sidestep the violent polarizing opinions out there on the subject and just say that it was something I always wanted to do, so I did. It was miserable, at first. No book or sage advice could prepare me for the agony of a hungry little mouth on chapped and bleeding nipples, the surprising burning sensation when the milk flows out, or the emotional sense of failure when I (temporarily), switched over to bottles to give my battered breasts a chance to heal.  

But I did heal, and nursing resumed. I loved it. Baby loved it. I nursed her for the recommended time, and then some. That wonderful oxytocin rush accompanying the let down reflex was a drug for us both. But it was not to last.

It was a solemn day when I realized that I had to start the weaning process. Baby was confused, I was traumatized. Nursing had been masquerading as this small event repeated throughout the day--a necessity for survival--but was really an intimate act that only I could share with her. Without it, I felt bereft, as if losing one of my key footholds of motherhood. I found so many resources out there to educate and support a new mother on starting to breastfeed, but very little for those concluding it.

My dedication toward weaning ebbed and flowed with the current mood of the day. Sometimes I stayed firm. Mostly, I just gave in. Baby's little eyes would close in contentment as she latched and gulped away, cementing my tumultuous  internal conflict.

Several weeks elapsed with my quasi weaning commitment until at last, I accepted the inevitability and endeavored to suppress my emotional torment. My little girl was still mine. She was healthy and beautiful. I did what I set out to do, and with the same resolve, it needed to end. Thus began the true weaning--so I nursed three times a day, then twice, then once, then once every two days.... and so on.

I knew breast engorgement would be an issue, no matter how plodding the weaning process, and it was. I hurt. I still hurt. And all the while, every time I passed Baby the bottle, (which she quite enjoyed now), I wished it was still me in which she derived that intense satisfaction.

As much as the first nursing session between Baby and I is engrained in my memory, so I knew the last would be too. I pictured this quiet, perfect moment in the rocker with the both of us content. It was not to be.

This was largely due to my own stupidity. We were meeting a family member we only saw rarely at a distant Starbucks early in the morning, and in our rush to get out the door, I left Baby's bottle in the fridge. Of course we didn't realize this until almost reaching our destination, but I hoped Baby's exceptional good nature would prevail over hunger pains. It did...for most of the visit. But she was getting fidgety after while and I knew exactly why. My husband sent me a desperate glance. We had no nursing cover-up with us, so I scooped Baby up and locked myself in the bathroom. There, sans fanfare, I stood and cradled her, and she nursed for the last time.

I'm finally getting past the physical ramifications of stopping breastfeeding, though I admit to feeling the pesky longing to see Baby latch and close her eyes in contentment. I'm still a bit bitter that a public restroom (eww) is forever memorialized as the final place I concluded a huge part of my experience of motherhood. But Baby's fine. I'm going to be fine. And God willing, I will get to feel that rush of nursing again someday. That's something to look forward to.