{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by: Soulemama

Blessings

Don't laugh, but I can't tell you how much of a blessing our screensaver has been lately. Uh...that sounds so weird. Anyway. The hubs set the screensaver on our PC so that it just plays a random slide show of all the pictures we have on our hard drive. I just love glancing over at the computer and seeing an unexpected newborn picture of Ziva, or a sweet moment captured between daddy and daughter just recently. It makes me smile.

Ziva is using her words so much more lately and I love her curious nature and watching her connect things.

I love walking into a room and hearing her sweet voice say, "Hi, Mum."

I love it when she brings me my iPod and says, "Mu-ZIK! Mu-ZIK!"

I love our little conversations.

::Ziva hears my cousin mowing our lawn::

Z: Whodat?

Me: Zack

Z: Yak?

::Everytime he mows close to the window:: "Yak?"

I'm just loving the little things that make our life so sweet.

WIP Wednesday

We are officially on our first week of potty training. I kind of just woke up Monday and decided to do it. We had 3 pairs of Gerber trainers in the hand-me-downs that are actually way too big for her. We also had 7 diapers cut out but not sewn in my fabric bag. It seems dumb to sew diapers now, so, with a little trial and error I was able to make her a cute pair of undies that (mostly) fit. (They're a little snug around the legs.) I'm hoping to bang out a few more pairs during naptime so she can have a full supply of adorable undies that aren't plastered in Dora or something. Oh yeah and the fact that I already had the fabric in my stash doesn't hurt either. ;]

Sponge

This is what I see when I look at my child.

I just wanted to share a little about the joy I'm experiencing as Ziva is growing from a baby into a kid. Of course it's bittersweet but it's oh so fun.

While reading the Montessori book I mentioned here I've learned so so much about the development of children and especially Ziva at this age. The more I understand how her brain is working, the less frustration I feel when she does something that I didn't get before.

I've started to incorporate her into my day's work rather than try to shoo her away while I do it. It takes longer, but we're both happier. She is willing and able to learn. I moved her little table and chairs into the kitchen and we eat at it when it's just the two of us. She's learned to push her chair in and put her dishes in the sink. (Sometimes she has to be prompted.) She likes to throw things in the trash. And she's surprisingly good at discerning what is, indeed, trash. Last night she cleaned out Ben's lunchbox and out of everything in there put the crumpled plastic wrap in the trash.

It's amazing to watch her "get it." The other day I poured her some dry cereal in a bowl and passed it to her, then walked into the living room expecting her to follow and eat her snack in there. I turned around to see her seated at her table happily eating her snack.

Little by little she is growing into a real human. ;]

Oh yeah and she's started wearing undies. Too. Cute.

Repurposed

So I've been organizing lately... as you now. Trying to just clear out things that I don't need or want. This week I went through my clothes AGAIN and really honestly got rid of things I don't wear. Part of the reason I may have held onto things was that a lot of the clothes I had were really nice, I just didn't like the way they fit me so I never really wore them. So I decided to bring some of my nicer clothes that I didn't wear to a consignment shop in town and get some money for those clothes that are just sitting in my drawer.

This one tshirt I bought from Gap a few months after Ziva was born and I was in this like, "Oh man I'm not pregnant anymore I want new clothes" phase, didn't make it to the consignment shop. I liked the design, I just didn't like the way it fit me and it had armpit stains (am I really posting this on the internet??) so no one would want it.

I decided to make it into something I would wear. No before picture, just think v-neck tshirt with screen printed necklace and you'll see it. ;]


I basically just cut the arms off, then cut the back so it was a sort of halter. I then took another tshirt I don't wear and cut six strips from it. I sewed 3 red strips to each "strap" from the white tshirt and braided them. When I got to where they come together I did a 5-strand braid (I just held 2 together because I had 6 strands). I really enjoy this tank now! It's awesome for layering for a casual, cool, summer look.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by: Soulemama

WIP(ish) Wednesday

I have been slacking in the knitting area lately. Totally slacking. I haven't really sewed much either. BUT - I've been reading in my free time. READING. Wow. I haven't read for myself in such a long time. It's not fiction, but I still chose to read it on my own free will. ;]

The book is Montessori from the Start. I haven't finished the whole thing, and I also skipped the newborn/infant chapters for now because we're not in that stage. I'm learning a lot about the development of children and the way their minds work. I'm taking bits and pieces of Maria Montessori's method to work into our lives. I don't think every little aspect is going to work for our family, but there are some things that just seem like common sense and are put so plainly that I'm like, "Why didn't I think of that?" I'll try to come back and update once I finish the whole book (with or without reading the baby chapters?? lol)

I have a few other books I checked out from the library that are sitting in a stack waiting for me to dive into them. One on waldorf education, sourdough bread, Amanda Soule's Creative Family, and a companion book to Food Inc (not as excited about that one so we'll see if I crack it open before it's due back.)

Here's a little sewing love.

Sometimes I just need a small project, something quick to do for myself. It's nice to just sit at my sewing machine for a few minutes and create mid-day.

Anyway this is an incredibly random post and it doesn't really even qualify as a "work in progress" but I'm here. =]

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by: Soulemama

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by: Soulemama

(Please excuse my phone pic!)