And then she sewed..and sewed, and sewed, and sewed

When I was growing up my mother always had a sewing machine. She also had an iron. Neither were used much. Throughout my adult life, I’ve always felt like I ‘could’ sew (or should–and iron for that matter), but always had a fear (of both really, I mean, hot things that can burn you and your clothes, and a machine with a sharp needle that can hurt you–loose-loose if you ask me!)

Fast forward to grown-up adulthood (or probably the closest I’ll ever get), and I’ve been feeling the need to sew (ironing, not so much!). Like it’s something I really should do. So last year when we made the big move back to Canada, as part of our electronic purchases, I got a sewing machine. Nearly a year later, I finally broke the sucker out of the box, read the instructions and went at it. I made 16 little gift bags for my kids’ Halloween party and have just completed my latest and greatest,

a soothie baby blanket for a baby shower I”m going to tomorrow.

 

Yeah me!

Maybe one day I’ll have the same transformation with ironing…nah!

How did I create such a masterpiece you ask?

It was really super simple. I bought half a meter of flannel fabric and the same of a complimentary                        satin colour and a couple of packages of Bias Tape (2.75 m) Ivory, double fold extra wide. My original intention was to make 2 of these cute little blankies. If the baby really liked it then the Mom could give him one while the other was being washed, and it’s always good to have a spare in case one gets lost (speaking from experience). Unfortunately for me and the baby, I cut out one piece that was way too small and as it was my first attempt it didn’t work out too well. That left me with about a half of the original 50 cm that I was working with to make a blanket. No pressure.

One thing I did not do was draw lines on the fabric to make sure it was straight. In retrospect, I think this is a very important step and I highly recommend it.

Before continuing, I snuck into Little Miss’ room and stole her little blankie that one of my friend’s made to get a better idea of how it was done. With a model to follow I had better success. I still think this is where my instructions ought to end, but if you’re really in the dark and have no idea read on.

I sewed both pieces together using a zig zag stitch. I rounded the corners (not sure if there is a right way of doing this, and if there is, I’m sure I didnt’ do it) but feeding the fabric in a curved manner so as not to get straight-edged corner. Once both pieces were sewed together, I cut the excess fabric as close to the stitching as possible.

Next, I folded the bias tape over the edge and sewed using the zig zag stitch, trying to stay as close to the bottom of the bias as possible. The only tricky part was the curved edges, and I’m sure there’s a right way of doing this. Like I said, my way isn’t. I will Google it to find out, but haven’t had the time. Writing this ever so helpful post seemed much more important!

And that’s it!

Oh, wait, let’s not forget the ever important label to give it that ‘personal touch’–like the crooked sewing and uneven lines weren’t enough of a personal touch

And now that’s it.

If you actually know how to sew, I’d love your thoughts on my attempts and this wonderful craft. And if you don’t, don’t worry, if I can make something that I’m actually going to give as a gift, you can too!!

 

And you think your drawers are a mess?!

what’s more embarrassing is that these aren’t even “junk” drawers! These are supposed to be my “utensil” drawers! No wonder it takes me so long to cook, I can never find anything!!!

Grumpy working mom rant

Daily my inbox is filled with helpful emails telling me of all the wonderful things going in my city. Now that it’s Halloween, the emails seem to be coming in more frequently.
“Oh great!” I think, “more things I can feel guilty about not having the time to bring my kids to”, as I hit the delete button in my email.

Please tell me, who has the time to get out there and do all those amazing activities, from pumpkin patches, mazes, halloween trains, plays, pumpkin carvings, oh my!!

Oh sure, I could bring my kids to these activities, if only I got paid for sick days or didn’t have to clean my house, grocery shop, make dinners for the week, do laundry, put laundry away, take kids to the activities I’ve actually paid for (swimming, gymnastics, etc), maybe find five minutes for myself to write this rant/blog post, maybe 2 minutes with DH!!

Really, who are these people who make it to all these awesome activities, and when they’re done with their chef/cleaning person/nanny can they please send them my way?!

Happy Halloween

The humble balloon

We have a house full of toys. There are toys in the bathroom, the kids room, the master bedroom, the kitchen, in the backyard. There are even toys in the laundry room. There is not a place in my house that there is not a toy. And these are good toys too. You know, the kind that promise hours and hours of fun and enjoyment.

What do my kids choose to play with? Certainly not the toys. Of late, the favorite ‘toy’ is the balloon. Yep, $0.99 at the dollar store for a bag full and my kids are amused for hours. I’m serious.

Balloon Races: You blow up a balloon, don’t tie it up, toss it in the air and watch it flitter and flutter until the air is out.

Balloon Farts: Similar to Balloon Races, but instead of tossing it up in the air, hold on to end of balloon and let air out slowly so it sounds like a fart

Balloon Popping: blow balloon up until it pops.

Balloon Soccer/Volleyball: Blow up balloon, tie knot in end and kick/toss like a ball.

Now excuse me while I go and have balloon races with Mr. 4.

A Happy House is a Messy House – 7 Tips to Help Manage the Mess & Stay Happy

Every time I look up from my laptop I see another toy or dust-monster (same as dust bunnies, but larger). Martha Stewart, I am not (even though I do I have her handy-dandy “Housekeeping Handbook”, shame I don’t open it more often!), but like most people, I do like being in a clean & clutter free house. But who has the time?!

No one wants to spend the weekend cleaning and by the time the kids are in bed, I’m heading there myself. Here are a few tips I’ve collected along and the way. Some are tried and tested, others, well they’re still waiting to be tried but including them just the same. Maybe one day I’ll get to it!

1. Make the bed. A made bed gives the appearance of neat and tidy and really doesn’t take too much time. To be honest, I’ve NEVER been a bed maker, however it is something my husband likes and to be fair, it really does help make the room look tidy. And it also gets your day started on the right foot.

2. Bathrooms. Clean em when you’re in em. I don’t know about you, but with two small children, I spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom. Washing hands, helping kids go potty, giving them baths, brushing teeth, brushing hair, never mind the times I actually need to use it! Now, here I have to admit that I have caved and taken a less-than-environmentally-friendly approach, but it’s what works for me. In each bathroom (we have 2), I have those cleaning wipes (Lysol makes them, so does the Costco brand, and there are some environmentally friendly options, such as Method), so each time I’m in there and I notice the sink isn’t as shiny as it should be or Mr. 4 has been having trouble with his aim, I grab a wipe and clean. Takes less than 5 minutes to make the bathroom look clean. An extra minute or two and you can even have most of the hair cleaned up from the floor and the dust off the baseboards. I must admit that no matter how messy I’ve been in the past, I’ve always enjoyed cleaning the bathroom. The shine is rewarding

Kids helping clean up the kitchen

3. Kitchen.  Like the bathroom, I’ve never minded cleaning the kitchen. Again, it
shines when you’re done! Like my mother, I don’t like dirty dishes in the sink. It takes less than a minute to put your dirty dishes straight in the dishwasher rather than leaving them in the sink or *shudder* the counter. Another minute and the sink is wiped. My kids also like helping out, so they are often enlisted to put the things away that they can reach.

4. Toys. Toys are a never-ending struggle for me. Once again, I enlist the help of my kids. Since they were able to play with toys, I started teaching them to clean up after themselves. Of course, they don’t always want to but with a with a bit of coaxing bribing the job gets done. Now toys are often put away in random baskets and tend to get disorganized, so I do like to go through and organize them. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen as often as I would like, but I could tackle one basket or box a day for a week and by the weekend it would all be done. I could do that….

5. Clutter. This is where I fail miserably (well, here and the floors are my biggest weakness, oh and dusting)…The “experts” offer all types of handy tips – you know the ones: pick up things in each room that doesn’t belong and move it to where it does. Or pick up things in each room that don’t belong and put in a basket, and when you go to another room, bring said basket with you and put things that belong in there away. Easy Peasy.

I’ve also read that it’s OK to designate one place a ‘clutter zone’, like a drawer or a basket. Sadly, this is the one tip I tend to follow, but rather than one clutter zone, I seem to have many. Experts also say to go through these zones and cull often.

The experts also say to cull your clutter. Big pile of paper? Take 5 minutes and go through it. Recycle what you no longer need, file or put away what you do. Again, in theory, this is easier said than done.

6. Sweeping, Washing & Vacuuming.  My broom is just outside the kitchen. After meals I do a quick sweep in the kitchen and dining room. I don’t like crunchy floors.

I don’t know about you, but it is near impossible to wash floors with people around. Never fails, as soon as you’ve washed a floor, someone goes traipsing along with muddy feet. As much as I don’t like it, I try to wash the floors at night once the house is quiet. I would like to do this Sunday nights, you know that way I can start the week off with clean floors…In reality it does happen, usually at night and most often on a Sunday. I am ashamed to say how few Sundays this happens on though. Instead of whole floors getting washed at once, I tend to do a lot of ‘spot’ washing, again enlisting kid power. Thankfully both my kids like ‘washing’ the floor, so when they spill something they don’t mind cleaning up their mess.

Thankfully DH likes to vacuum. OK, he doesn’t ‘like’ it, but he doesn’t mind it. He will often do this job. The kids kind of like the vacuum as well, so if DH hasn’t had a chance, then I get it done with extra helping hands.

7. Dusting. We have big windows in the living room. Wonderful you say? Not so much. Our furniture is also dark. Nothing like the sun shinning brightly on said furniture highlighting the dust. So, I tend to dust more on sunny days. SInce my living room is also the playroom I’ll often get the dusting done when the kids are playing. I also find that using Endust actually keeps the dust at bay for a little longer. Seriously.

I dust in the bedrooms when I change the sheets. I do a wipe down of the bed and nightstand with the pillow case. No Pledge here but it gets done.

If I have learned one thing over the last four years it’s this: a happy house is often a bit of a messy house. Floors you can eat off of I may not have, but it doesn’t seem to stop my kids from doing just that

Wordless Wednesday – Goin’ berry picking

Heading down the path to the strawberry fields

Wordless Wednesdays – Tree Climbing