Friday, May 30, 2008

Wipes?


I finally finished these cloth wipes. I had started them before the baby came but when she showed up a week early, a lot of projects got put on hold.

They are soft flannel on one side and super thick cotton sherpa on the other. They are about 8" square so that they would be big enough for Aaron's hands too. I pre-washed and dried all the fabric before I sewed them so they could be washed with the diapers.

I really enjoyed sewing something for me and the baby. I spend so much time at my machine making stuff for Lemon Cadet that I forgot how much I just enjoy the process of pinning and turning and cutting and stitching. Of course I love my applique, but I like construction as well.

I'm thinking of putting some in my Etsy shop when I get that back in order. I'd love some feedback. What do you think of a baby gear section?

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Our kitchen is famous


Ali over at Mad About Martha, a super cool blog about all things Martha Stewart, posted about our retro-ish kitchen.

I made a flickr set with all the kitchen photos and will probably add some more soon.

I'm a huge Martha fan and subscribe to a couple of Martha-related blogs (r.i.p. Blueprint Magazine). I'll be adding this one to my list. Thanks.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

If you're dreaming, you're sleeping, right?


So I feel like I haven't slept at all in the last 3 weeks except for a random nap here and there. But I had this dream and Marky Mark was in it.

He was like my brother or my brother's friend -- we had that kind of relationship. I wasn't hot for him in the dream like I am in real life. We had been out late drinking the night before and were getting ready together in the bathroom of some house. I was brushing my teeth, combing my hair, that sort of thing.

When I left the bathroom I realized that no one had put away the food from the big dinner we'd had and it was all going to go bad. That was weird.

Then I went to wake up my mother-in-law who was sleeping on the couch. Why she wasn't up yet and why she was sleeping on the ugly plaid couch are beyond me. But that's about it. Lots of brown paneling.

Happy Birthday Zadie. Three weeks old today.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Yummy Vegan Cheeseball


Because of my pregnancy-induced soy allergy, this recipe has been a long time in coming. I certainly couldn't post my until-now secret formula for party success without an additional trial of the final ingredient list.

But today is my sister-in-law's baby shower and she requested that I make this delicious dip so Mr. Lemon agreed to the taste test.

Success. So here it is:

You'll need:

2 8 oz. tubs of vegan cream cheese (we like the Tofutti brand)

1 TBLS of vegan Worcestershire sauce (the non-vegan kind has anchovies in it; gross)

1 clove garlic

1/8 tsp. paprika (and another sprinkle for good looks when it's finished if you prefer)

1/8 tsp. garlic and red pepper blend (see photo above)

1/4 tsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. lemon juice (we use the stuff that comes in the plastic lemon but you can use fresh if you want)

Let the cream cheese come to room temperature and put it into a bowl.
Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix up really good with a fork.

Put it in the fridge overnight (this gets the flavors in there).

Shape it into a ball (I'm far too lazy for this step and tend to leave it in the bowl as is).

Sprinkle a touch of paprika on it for good looks.

Serve on Fiestaware with slices of fresh baguette from your local bakery.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Dear Dairy,


I loved you while it lasted. Ben, Jerry, Haagen, and Dazs, we were so right for each other for those short nine months.

Now back to a lifetime of lactose intolerance.

Farewell little pints of joy, farewell.





+If you would like to wear this fabulous ice cream cone suit, buy it here.

Friday, May 16, 2008

My Baby Story



So I promise not to make this blog all about my baby. But...

(and you don't have to read it if you don't want to)

People say I had a pretty crappy pregnancy. I'm not so sure but it never hurts to accept a bit of sympathy now and then. I feel lucky really. I was nauseous for a few weeks and exhausted but I never threw up (I hate throwing up more than anything).

I got my energy back just in time for all the holiday stuff (Bust Craftacular, Handmade Arcade, selling a whole bunch of screenprinted yeti tees between Thanksgiving and Christmas, buying and wrapping presents, and decorating the house, that sort of thing).

Then all of a sudden I started to get itchy. The itchy turned to hives -- big, fat, welty hives all over my torso. Since I was pregnant, there was little I could take. They said Benadryl would dry up the amniotic sea. The Zyrtec knocked me out. This lasted for weeks. My midwife said it was PUPPPS. My dermatologist called it something else. Aaron and I somehow figured out it was a soy allergy. So what does a vegetarian eat when she's allergic to soy? Time for the first learning curve.

After getting the rash to go away, I failed the Glucose Tolerance Test and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Since I weighed about 108 lbs. before getting pregnant and was pretty active, this came as a big shock. It's all in the genes, they say. So what does a vegetarian with gestational diabetes and a soy allergy eat? Time for the second learning curve.

So anyway. I got all that under control. I kept my glucose levels low and started walking tons. Everything seemed manageable. Despite the fact that I was retaining water like the Hoover Dam and stuffed like a sausage, pregnancy wasn't all that bad.

We had an ultrasound at 36 weeks and learned the baby was measuring small and the fluid level in the amniotic sea was normal (the two big problems associated with the diabetes are big babies and high fluid levels). But we were still told that if this kid didn't come on her own by our appointment at 39 weeks, they would induce.

That meant some nasty drugs I wasn't comfortable putting in my body. First some pitocin cocktail surely followed by an epidural and then who knows what complications would arise because of all of this. Yuck. I know people do this all the time. I'm not judging those who do. But we're pretty chemical free around here: few medicines, few processed foods, mostly organic and non-GMO when we can afford it.

Luckily, Zadie shares our beliefs and popped herself out at exactly 39 weeks. (I'd also like to thank Claire of Atlas Chiropractic for her adjustments and acupuncture.)

My water broke around 12:45 a.m. and the contractions started some time later. When they were about 5 minutes apart, we headed for the hospital, car seat and suitcase in hand. We got to the hospital and were in our room by around 4:30 a.m. My midwife, Betsy, wasn't due in for another 3 hours so aside from the steady stream of nurses testing me for this and that and asking a million questions (mostly the same ones), Aaron and I were alone in the room. Most of the time I worked through the contractions by holding on to him and sort of hanging there and swaying from side to side. We also spent a lot of time in the shower.

Finally the midwife showed up at 7:30 and checked us out. At 8:30 she said I was at 6 cm. That meant about an hour of work to do until we got to 7 cm then after that it would be really fast. She went and told my mom we had about 4 hours left to go.

Again, Zadie had other plans. We were in the shower around 9 and I felt the need to push. For some reason mom was in the room so she went to get Betsy for us. I started pushing in the shower and decided I did not want to have the baby in the bathroom so we dried off and got checked again. No one seemed to believe us that the baby was ready! Betsy was shocked. She told me to reach down and feel my baby.

The nurses were taking their time getting all the equipment like the cool transparent bassinet and the warmer ready. Betsy told them, "We are having this baby now!" and everything stepped into high gear. No one expected it to happen so fast. At 9:37 it was all over (or, better said, it all began).

Our baby weighed 6 lbs. 13 oz. and is 21 inches long. She is beautiful and I love her and I love my husband who is the best dad ever.

We got the birth we wanted -- quick, with no pain meds and no pitocin. I got to hold her bloody gooey body immediately and Aaron cut the cord after a few minutes. I didn't think it was possible for this to happen. I read too many books and had too many people tell me to expect things might not go smoothly. So I did what I could to counteract that -- with only a few stitches to show for it.

And now that it's all said and done I have to say that if it had happened any other way I'd be just as fine with it. All you really need is a healthy baby.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

A daughter