A sweet little sandwich

Whenever I see or hear the word sandwich, I always think about how David told me sandwich is the word that made him lose his 2nd grade spelling bee. He put an 'e' on the end of it. So sad. Everyone ALWAYS remembers the spelling bee word they lost on, right? What word did you lose on? Strangely, we never had a spelling bee at my elementary school, but I love learning what words other people lost on.

Anyway, that sandwich up there, I made it this week. I started it Sunday and finished it this morning, before heading off to work. And that, my friends, is my first completed object since returning to work in August. It is hard for me to believe it really took me that long and also that I started and finished something and am blogging it even. Wow...

I've actually been pretty crafty this week. I probably shouldn't jinx it by typing that on my blog, but I think I may have found a way to be at least a little creative during the week. The answer was to move my sewing machine downstairs and into David's "office." It took a little convincing my husband, but he ended up with a bigger table for his computer out of the deal and it is honestly working out quite nice to be in there together. It seems like we are getting more time together.

This felt sandwich was fun to make...it was a nice mix of machine and hand sewing. I got the pattern (which included the felt) from Lilly Bean. I can definitely see myself making Eliza more felt goodies (I also have the hot dog pattern). Making the sandwich got me thinking it would be kind of fun to have a felt food making party at my house...maybe in the spring? Does this sound fun to anyone else? Or is it just me?

A BYOF (Bring Your Own Felt) Party. Yeah!

Eliza loved the idea. Let me know what you think...

Come on Get Happy!

I've been tagged by friend and fellow blogger, Katie, to list 10 things that make me happy. I am having a lot of trouble keeping up with my blog these days, so I really needed this motivation to write something here. Reflecting on what makes me happy is also something I needed to do. I feel like I've been a bit of a downer these days. I blame it on the weather, but it can be tough to be happy sometimes, especially in winter. Writing down some happy thoughts made me realize I need to take a more proactive approach to happiness. I may need to print this list and carry it with me wherever go.

So here you go, 10 Things that make me Happy:

1. Lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe -It may be weird that I listed this first, but I have found that a quick fix for a crap day is to eat at Nordstroms, so I decided to list it first...Crab bisque, Caesar salad, bistro fries or the Black Forest Ham Sandwich. These are my happy foods, guaranteed to make a down and out day a little brighter. I haven't eaten there in a couple months...looks like I need to schedule myself a lunch date!

2. Family time -I really treasure being a family now and I think my favorite thing in the world is to just be at home with David and Eliza, doing nothing at all, just being the goofy bunch that we are. I also love when David and I balance each other out and when one of us cracks the other patches things up.

3. Date nights -As much as I love family time, I also miss the alone time which I now realize David and I completely took for granted for eight years. I am giddy on date nights. It occurs to me sometimes that it will be a LONG time before David and I will be alone like we used to be. By that time, when it finally happens, we will be a heck of a lot older and we will likely miss family time the way we miss our one-on-one time now.

4. Sewing -I love love love to sew and I miss it fiercely. I am not sewing nearly enough these days, but I've made a few changes this weekend and I am hoping it will result in more sewing and hopefully more crafty blog posts.

5. Remembering -I tend to romanticize the past. I can't help it! I love talking about people in my life that have touched me or made me laugh. I often repeat and retell the same old stories, again and again.

6. Reading out loud -I read out loud a lot for my job and I am thankful for that. There are days when sharing a story with a group of children can stop an unhappy day in its tracks. I love to read a great story, but nothing tops sharing a great story out loud with others.

7. Being Outside -I think one of the reasons I have such a tough time being happy during winter is because it is my least favorite time to be outside. I spent a good deal of time outside growing up and spent a lot of summers in the state of Washington. I am sure that impacted me a great deal. Sometimes a good walk can clear my head better than anything else.

8. Clothes -It's true, when I am wearing a kick ass outfit, I'm usually feeling pretty darn happy. I used to spend a lot more time shopping for clothes, but there isn't much time for that anymore, but maybe, in the name of my own happiness, I need to take myself on a shopping date?!

9. Writing -I've always been a writer. I don't write nearly enough these days...and I need to.

10. Antique/Thrift Stores -I like weird old crap. I've been known to wander antique stores when I am having a bad day and I love the thought of finding treasure among so much randomness.

So there you have it, ten happy things. I think I am going to use this as my guide, to help me get through the winter. I am smiling just thinking of some of these things. So what makes YOU happy? I'd like to know...that is, if you are still out there reading this long neglected blog of mine!

Consider yourself tagged if you are reading this.

DIY Baby Food

We started solid foods with Eliza a few weeks ago. I thought this would be great fun...I absolutely hated it. I had no idea how messy feeding a baby was. It gets everywhere. Eliza gets food in her hair, on her eyes, behind her ears. Everywhere. I'm sure this isn't news to any veteran mamas out there, but I honestly thought the food would just go straight from the spoon to her mouth. Silly first time parent! I also naively thought that Eliza would instantly like solid food, after all, she seemed interested enough in David and I's food, but again: Wrong.

A month later, however, and things are swell. We have our routine down: we feed Eliza when we eat, at the dinner table. Before we even started solids we would sit her at the table with us and give her something to chew on, usually a baby spoon, already making her part of our meal. Now, David and I feed her bites of sweet potatoes in between our own dinner. I've decided to try and make her baby food and I honestly think this has been so easy, which has shocked me. When we started rice cereal (which I did not make) I was sort of panicked that I wouldn't be able to find time to make her food, but I checked out the book, Feeding the Whole Family, which I think I saw over on Soule Mama at some point. The one thing I really took to heart from this book is for each of the recipes, it has an adaptation for 6 month olds or 10 month olds, which is really just telling you to set aside this or that and puree it for your infant. This got me thinking about how I can do this with any meal. So now if we are having pasta and salad for dinner, I am already chopping up carrots so I'll just set some chopped carrots aside, boil them and then puree them alongside all the other cooking we are already doing. In a snap there are five baby meals. Incorporating baby food making into the normal meal preparation has made baby food making much easier. I have done some baby food making (i.e. pureeing) at night too, but not anything painstaking. Very little effort, trust me. And I've pretty much decided to ditch all the baby food cook book recipes, except for the basics. Who has time to make gourmet food for your baby? Not me! I'm sticking to one or two ingredients, no more. Another thing that has saved time is I bought organic frozen vegetables to cook and puree. Since these are already washed and chopped, it saves me some steps and seems more appealing than jars of baby food to me (and is actually still cheaper than jarred food).

I think as Eliza's tastes evolve, I may need to invest in a food mill too, but I haven't yet researched how these work. Have any of you used one? The other thing I am not all to clear on is when I am supposed to increase Eliza's meals to more than one per day. We are still trying new foods, but lately it seems as if I could feed her at breakfast too, at least some of the time, but I've also heard you shouldn't rush things.  So far she has tried only rice cereal, apples, bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots. Are you supposed to be out of the tasting phase before adding a meal? What did some of you all do?

It's about time

Wow, it's been a while.

Coincidentally, my lack of blog posts, began at almost the same time Eliza stopped sleeping through the night.  And since this became a regular thing, I have been so exhausted at the end of each day, it is all I can do to watch Mad Men before going to bed.  Yeah, too tired to even watch TV.  Sad.

I have to be honest, being a full time working mama is the hardest thing I've done in my life.  Ever.  Couple that with a full time working papa who is also in school and that I usually work two nights per week, it's just hard.  And we do not have it all figured out just yet.  Things just feel hectic all the time.  I've been a little too snappy.  And as I am sure many mamas know, the work is never done.  I sometimes hate that feeling after I put Eliza down for bed, that the work is only just beginning.  The house needs picked up, dinner needs cleaned up and the dishwasher needs run, the diapers and bottles need washed and packed up. There isn't room for slacking off.  I think we are doing a good job though, I really do.  Eliza does rejuvenate me with her smiles and giggles and milestones. When it is all said and done, I love being a mom like I've loved nothing else before.  Eliza has no idea her parents are so beat.

I had a revelation this morning that part of my problem is that I haven't had my coming-of-age moment where I accept the fact that Eliza is simply not going to sleep well at night for the time being.  I keep hoping that she will go back to being the champion sleeper she was at three months...but we are going on two months of crap sleep and although I hope to God this won't last forever, it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.  I think if I could accept that, it might just make my days a little easier. 

I haven't really done anything crafty.  I've had a few small moments of this or that, but nothing finished.  I am still holding on to the hope that I can still make at least some Christmas gifts this year, but we'll see.  It might just not be doable this year.

The picture up top is one of my works in progress.  It's a Poppy doll from the pattern by the lovely toy maker hop skip jump.  I've been working on that doll here and there for two months!  I am not quite working at the in-time-for-a-Christmas-gift pace, I tell ya!

I also have the hop skip jump jack rabbit pattern which I am dying to make. It will happen someday...someday...

Baby scraps

Eliza and I got some crafty time in this weekend. Turns out she excels at eating fabric. She is just starting to grab and reach for things, so I spread some of my fabric scraps around her so she could grasp and feel them. Such a simple thing really, but a perfect 'crafty' activity for a baby.

What more do you need when mama's got a bucket of scraps? I did a little crafting too, about five minutes worth in thirty, but it wasn't really about how much I accomplished. I am hoping this is only the beginning of many, many crafting adventures together. There is not much I look forward to more than making things with my daughter someday!

One Year

Today, one whole year has passed since my dad died. I've been thinking about a lot of things...about who my dad was, about how he influenced so much in my life, about that horrible day spent at the hospital one year ago yesterday and I really just don't know where to start or if I should write anything at all. How can I even sum him up in a few paragraphs on my blog? It is impossible. There is too much to say, yet I can't help but try to describe him and remember him.

Here are a few facts: He still carried his keys on a 25 year old key chain which said "Dad's Keys." One of my favorite times with him was when he tried to haggle at the thrift store for a $5.00 suit case. He used the term "twofers." If you haven't guessed from his love of the term twofers or the haggling at a thrift store, he was cheap. He always took advantage of senior discounts once he was eligible. He once tried to fill up two cars with his Fuel Perks discount at Giant Eagle and tried to use me as his accomplice. He got busted by a very sassy attendant. He drank a lot of coffee and he always drank it black. He didn't like to waste. After he died I found about 20 (I'm not exaggerating) Styrofoam coffee cups in the kitchen which he was 'reusing.' He was genuine and kind and patient and he really listened and I mean really. He was hilarious. He had a magnificent hearty laugh. He couldn't stand George W Bush. He had a mustache for most of my life. Two of his favorite shows were Scrubs and that Funniest Home Video Show. He remembered things about you most people forgot. One of my favorite things in the world was having lunch with him. I miss his voice and I wish words could properly describe the sound of it. I wish I had a recording of him saying something, even if it were just a voicemail message. I loved his handwriting. He loved Ohio State Football, but he wasn't one of those annoying fans that goes overboard. Two days before he died he took my 10 yr old nephew to his very first Ohio State game. He always bought his cars used. He loved cookies and ate too many of them, especially after he quit smoking. He smoked for 40 years. He was humble and even though he accomplished much in his career, he would still describe himself simply as a social worker. Anyone who knew him knew he was so much more than that. If Carl Brauner was the one helping you pick yourself up off your feet...you had landed in the right place. He was more selfless than anyone else I have ever known. He died way too soon.

I know I have blogged a lot about my dad this past year...and I appreciate that you have stuck around as I wander through and make sense out of grief. It helps me to write here. I can't help but write about him and I doubt this will be the last time. He is a part of what makes up this blog now and what makes up me.

This morning I went to the cemetery for the very first time. I decided to take snickerdoodles instead of flowers to set at dad's grave. At the grocery store, the sign above the cookies read: "Life's Short. Eat Cookies." I couldn't have said it any better.

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday we headed down to my old stomping grounds, the Short North. I grew up there, and as I've mentioned on this blog a while ago, my mom is selling the house I grew up in. I wanted to walk through the house one last time, even though it is empty now, to just take it all in, remember and say goodbye. Perhaps it is weird to say goodbye to a house, but I needed to do it...and I am glad I did. Despite the fact that I cried immediately upon unlocking the front door, it was a lovely day with my family. The only agenda was to walk around the house, talk and take pictures.

Growing up we always took pictures in front of the tree out front. My parents planted it when they moved in...I think it might have started out as their Christmas tree one year...but I'd have to check my sources on that one. Here is a picture of me in front of the tree at age 5:


And here I am at age 32, with my little family. Many, many family photos have been taken in front of this tree.

I wanted to take at least one family photo in front of it. It struck me how much this tree has grown in my lifetime...it was once big enough to see over, but not anymore:
Here are a few more highlights from our day...oh how I am going to miss that old woodwork!



A few years ago, my dad taped this note on the storm door...this note is so dad. These are the types of things I miss most about him. I smiled seeing it there yesterday.

When we got home, we noticed one picture of Eliza and I is strangely similar to a picture of me and my mom almost exactly 32 years ago...We are even wearing similar style shirts that we both made ourselves.
I think I like how some things can be the same, thirty years later. More pictures of our day are here.