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By Joanne, on August 31st, 2009
So, where to start with the food allergy stuff?
Baby D has always been a picky eater. He was completely uninterested in solids until well after his first birthday. And then he did not really start eating food until he was about 15 months old. At that point he would eat a smidge here and a smooge there and nurse nurse nurse until the cows came home. Last fall we found out he was gluten intolerant, likely a celiac. And me too. I got very sad and railed against the universe for the unfairness of it all. I mean, Baby D would never get to eat a croissant!!!!
Now I wish the gluten was all we had to worry about. If we could go back to those days of JUST gluten intolerance I would embrace gluten-free living and knit it a sweater. I mean, gluten intolerance is annoying and not good. It can drastically affect your health if you keep eating gluten. BUT it cannot KILL YOU IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. You know?
Oh I am getting ahead of myself.
So this past March Baby D was occasionally trying little mouthfuls of our food at dinner. One night I gave him a tiny amount of hummus. I mean tiny. Like a fingernail sized blob on the end of my fork. He ate it. Came back for more. I gave him another mouthful. He ate it and promptly vomited. A huge vomit. I thought he had gagged on the hummus. Or maybe the garlic was too strong. We stripped him down to his diaper and he started nursing. A few minutes later he broke out in hives around his mouth. And he was acting upset. Walking around aimlessly and crying. This is when Hone and I got scared. I managed to get a little Benadryl in him and paged our doctor. While waiting for her call he had another huge vomit and it trailed down his little chest onto his diaper and leg. Everywhere the vomit touched he broke out in hives. Our doctor called right then and as I told her what was happening, holding Baby D on my lap, the hives started to vanish. And he stopped crying and started running around laughing. Our doctor said the worst had passed and that she thought he probably reacted to the garlic. I asked about chickpeas and she said maybe try feeding him plain chickpeas in a few days and seeing what happened.
I must interrupt my own story here to say: AWFUL ADVICE!!!!!! If you think your child is having a violent reaction to any food DO NOT FEED IT TO THEM! GO TO AN ALLERGIST!! I have since found out that Baby D’s reaction to the hummus was a stage one anaphalactic reaction and we were very very (VERY VERY VERY) lucky that he did not progress to a later stage. Should he ever have a reaction like that again we are to jab him with an EpiPen immediately and call 911. Seriously. What was our doctor thinking??
But she downplayed it and we did not know any better at the time. And Baby D was fine the rest of the evening.
Still, for the next few days I was unsettled and finally called our doc and asked for a allergist referral. I told her the intensity of his reaction worried me. She gave me a referral and we set up an appointment for April. That appointment was cancelled when Baby D wound up in the hospital with breathing problems. He was rescheduled for May.
Finally we got to our appointment. The allergist said his reaction was definitely an allergic one and she ran skin prick test. Here’s a photo of Baby D’s results:
The two large welts in the center are sesame and peanut. The medium one on his left shoulder blade is dogs. He also had a positive reaction to cats and two kinds of dust mites (you can’t see them very clearly in this photo). He came up negative for garlic, lentils, peas and pine nuts. They do not have a skin prick test for chickpeas at this allergist so we were not able to run that one. But the allergist said most of the time a reaction to hummus is a reaction to sesame.
So sesame and peanut. The allergist also said to stay away from tree nuts and next year we’ll run blood tests to see where his numbers are at for all the allergens. She gave us a prescription for an EpiPen Junior and a bunch of pamphlets. I left the office feeling shocked and nervous. I got home, read up more on food allergies, and got very scared.
Like the gluten stuff, it’s not as easy as it seems. It’s not just about avoiding a particular food in its most basic form. If we just had to stay away from peanuts and sesame seeds it would be okay. But the biggest danger is in cross contamination. And let me tell you, sesame sucks in this respect. Sesame is not considered one of the top 8 allergens so no one has to label for it. It is actually as potent an allergen as peanut, meaning a miniscule amount can cause a reaction. So Baby D could eat something with a spice in it that was manufactured on equipment that also processes sesame and he could have a reaction. A single sesame seed could jump plates at a restaurant, wind up in his food and he could have a reaction. His next reaction could be the same or worse. We must carry his EpiPens at all times and be prepared to use them.
Lame. Terrifying! And Lame.
I have been so depressed about it. But I am finally coming out of it. I am determined to stop letting the fear make me crazy and to stop feeling so helpless and sad about it all. I mean, this is his path so we are on it. And I have hope. He has a tiny chance of outgrowing these allergies. There could be a cure. If not, we can learn to live with them. I have to show him how to be brave and take care of himself and that his life is still full of limitless possibilties.
Oh, and I so need to learn how to cook.
By Joanne, on August 29th, 2009
Okay. Okay! So I have been the worst blogger ever.
I have not posted in ages. In trying to tweak my blog I wound up deleting it (for months) and so on and so on.
I do have a good reason for my absence, though. Sort of. I mean, it’s been a really rough few months here. Lots of difficult things going on with Baby D. Health stuff. It started with my last post back in May about our bad virus/possible asthma/hospital debacle and the rough stuff has not let up.
There have been lots of wonderful things too, of course. He is doing well despite all the issues and everyday is full of amazing developments.
Here is a quick catch-up of the last few months. I will elaborate on each bit in separate longer posts soon.
1) After a scary reaction to hummus and a trip to an allergist we found out that Baby D has some life-threatening food allergies (on top of his gluten-intolerance/probable celiac disease). He also has some environmental allergies which could exacerbate his possible asthma.
2) Baby D has a wicked speech delay (as in not talking at all yet).
3) We sent our dogs to live with my parents (see #2).
4) Baby D turned 2 in June!!!
5) My little brother and his wife had their first baby in July!!
6) I have been a bitter, negative basketcase BUT am starting to rally and look for the silver lining and even have some crafty plans.
SO, here I go again!
By Joanne, on May 6th, 2009
Well, last week was rough. I had many plans to get Bebellyboo all sorted out but then Baby D got quite sick. He had a little virus that got nasty and he started having trouble breathing. It was a crazy week of ER vists and hospital stays and even a swine flu test!
Here’s how it went:
Last Monday: Day 10 of Baby D’s minor runny nose. No worries.
Last Tuesday: Baby D wakes up with a wickedly croupy cough. Where did that come from? Steaming ensues and he is good spirits otherwise. By afternoon his cough is all loose and productive.
Last Wednesday morning: All night I notice he seems to be working at breathing but there are no danger signs yet. He wakes up and then it’s all shoulders moving up and down, little spot in his neck sucking in, and his chest looks like it is caving in with each breath. He is trying to play but upset. It’s 6 am. We take him to the ER.
Wednesday afternoon: 8 hours, one steroid dose, two hour-long abuterol nebulizer treatments and 8 puffs on an abuterol inhaler later, we are sent home.
Wedenday later afternoon: Baby D wakes up from his nap with some breathing problems again and right after we give him an inhaler treatment he vomits. Twice. We pack him in the car and head back to the ER. He vomits twice in the car. And once in the ER lobby.
Wednesday evening: A really awesome ER doc is totally awesome with us and finally admits Baby D after 6 hours.
Wednesday Night: Long night of interruptions every two hours for inhaler puffs. Baby D sleeps well. I do not.
Thursday Morning: Baby D is doing very well. The docs start weaning down his abuterol to home treatment levels.
Thursday Evening: We are sent home. Baby D is in great spirits. He races around (a side effect of more steroids) until about 11 pm. He falls asleep and breathes easefully. We anticipate an even better tomorrow.
Friday morning: Head to our regular doc for breathing check. Baby D sounds okay, still wheezy. We make a plan to wean down the abuterol even more. We leave the doc and I drop Hone off at work. I get home and Baby D is not doing well. He is flushed. His breathing is very fast. His feet are cold and his toenails are purple. I freak and call the doc. She can hear him over the phone and we count his breaths together. Not good. She says give him some more abuterol and take him back to the ER. I drive there rather hysterically as I am by myself and Baby D is in his carseat, in the back, and I cannot see or hear him very well. But we get there and he is doing okay. He has a fever of almost 102.
Friday afternoon: More steroids. More nebulizer. A swine flu test (on account of the coughing and the fever). He is admitted and we are put in strict isolation pending the flu test. We get a gluten free meal sent to us. It is nice but boring (chicken and carrots).
Friday evening: No swine flu. We are put in a different room. Baby D gets puffs every two hours all night. Plan is to wean him down on the abuterol much more slowly. He gets more steroids too.
Saturday: Baby D does great all day. I am nervous but we are sent home. He does great all evening.
Sunday: He is on the mend.
Monday: Still doing well.
Tuesday: Still doing well.
Today: We’ve been bringing down his abuterol doses and he is doing very well.
Phew!
Maybe next week I’ll get to Bebellyboo . . .
By Joanne, on February 8th, 2009
I feel like my blog is becoming as scattered as my own little brain. I cannot focus these days. Part of it is my little guy taking up so much time and attention and causing much of my sleep deprivation. But a lot of it is just me. I have always been scattered in my creative pursuits. I am easily bored. I always want to be doing a million things at once and with great passion. I want to write a book! No wait, design creatures to sew! No! I want to be a photographer! Wait! Drawing! I want to learn to draw way better! Oh yeah! I want to write a comic! Wait, writing . . .
It is never ending.
I have felt frustrated and exhausted by this endless search for “my thing”.
But then today I thought, what if my thing is having many things? What if I need many things because of the aforementioned boredom? What if the only way I can keep inspired is to keep rotating through things? Maybe?
I don’t know. But I really need to start doing creative things soon or my head may explode.
Sigh.
By Joanne, on January 26th, 2009
I have some goals. Some crafty creative goals. Here they are:
1. Sew some clothes for Baby D BY HAND. I know! But it is actually easier to sew stuff by hand. See, my sewing machine requires set up time and clean up time. I can never be guaranteed more than 20 baby-free minutes at a time so that makes it pretty impossible. By hand is good then. Well, except I AM wondering if the clothes will fall apart in the wash . . .
2. Sew some crafty stuff by hand and then make patterns for it. Put the patterns in my empty Etsy shop. Check my shop obsessively. Sigh sadly when nothing sells.
3. TRY to do Illustration Friday at least a couple times a month.
4. TRY to do Photo Friday at least a couple times a month.
5. Write and write and write my story and delete and delete and delete. Wonder why I keep ending up with blank pages. Hmmmmm . . .
6. Try to learn from Baby D: Making art without an inner critic is way more fun.
By Joanne, on January 15th, 2009
So, when I do not blog, I do not do anything crafty. It’s like blogging keeps me motivated or holds me accountable or something.
BUT it also stresses me out because I start to feel pressured to do crafty things so I will have things to blog about.
So what’s a girl to do? Blog and actually do crafty things but be stressed out? Or not blog and not be crafty and end up an old, crotchety, uncrafty lady?
Sigh.
The last few months have been hectic. Baby D is a toddler now and a very intense and sensitive toddler. He got one molar a month July, August, Sept and Oct and ALL FOUR eye teeth in November. That was a fun month. We also found out he is gluten intolerant. He may have Celiac (an auto-immune disorder that would require him to remain thoroughly gluten-free for his entire life) or just be gluten sensitive (good to avoid the stuff but no real harm done if he ingests it now and then or by accident). If it is Celiac then it is hereditary and I may also have it (Hone and I were both tested for gluten sensitivity and I came out postitive while he was negative so if Baby D got it from someone, it’s me). Whether I have an issue with gluten or not is rather moot at present since I am gluten-free for Baby D (for the breastfeeding). It will be a while before we figure out how gluten sensitive Baby D is. The only real way to know if it is Celiac is with an intestinal biopsy and we are not onboard for something that invasive. The current plan is to keep him gluten-free for a year then reintroduce and see how he tolerates it. We’ll run blood tests, see if he is building up antibodies and all that (we’ll do it for me too at that point). If he builds up the antibodies and starts to do poorly then we’ll assume Celiac and go gluten-free again.
Crap. Like I need ANOTHER thing to worry about in the land of toddler tantrums. (But really, his tantrums are so cute sometimes I could just eat them.) And this whole gluten-free thing has solved one problem. I no longer need to wonder whether I should become a baking genius. Well, I guess I could become a gluten-free baking genius, but really, I am not quite there yet with the whole embracing and finding the positive. I am just sad for Baby D. There are lots of delicious gluten-free alternatives but it’s just inconvenient and you have to be vigilant for cross contamination issues. Do you know coffee can have gluten in it because factories will throw flour on the lines to keep the beans from sticking? Crap I say!
ANYWAY, this blog is not about the sad, is it? No! Let’s move on.
What do I want to do with my creative self? Oh, I have no idea. Here is what I HAVE figured out:
1. I want to write a novel.
2. OR make my novel idea into a comic!
3. But then I would have to learn to draw.
4. I need to learn to draw.
5. I like sewing but I do not want to make kid oriented toy-like things to sell (too time consuming) and anyway, the whole CPSIA thing would put a serious crimp in any plans to do that (see here).
6. So I am revisiting the idea of making patterns to sell. Then I only have to make one or two of an item (good because I get bored with stuff quick) and perfect it and then hope other people will want to make it too.
7. I LOVE photography and want to get better and maybe open a portrait business someday and photograph babies and pregnant women and families and puppies and kittens and hearts and flowers.
8. Or I might just take cool photos and make them all arty and sell them as prints.
9. I am unable to give up on any of my many creative interests in favor of the best one or easiest one because I cannot!
10. I need to revamp this blog.
By Joanne, on September 4th, 2008
Oh sigh.
I need a blogging break.
I am having a creativity crisis of sorts. Don’t know what I really want to do with my creative self.
Sew & sell creatures? Get more into photography? Become a baking genius?
Actually, I am lying. I do know what I want to do. I want to be a writer. Always have.
But I never write. Not really the best strategy.
And right now, blogging is doing a fabulous job of helping me procrastinate (on the writing of stuff) and I really need to stop (with the procrastinating).
So I need a break. I do not know how long of a break. Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Forever?
Probably not forever (I did just renew my domain). But a little while. Little.
By Joanne, on August 26th, 2008
You are on my list!
Making Baby D all miserable. I shake my fist at you! My Fist!
Today he needed a distraction from the misery so we went to the beach. Water! Walking! Birds! Planes! Trucks!
It worked. Phew!
(But you are still on my list, molars.)
By Joanne, on August 24th, 2008
I did some baking today.
Pretzels! Soft. Chewy. Salty. Yay! I used our new standing mixer and it was awesome. It kneaded the dough perfectly. It was satiny smooth! And I boiled the pretzels briefly before baking. I thought it would be all annoying and hard and pretzels would be getting lost in the water and I would be all, “Hone, the pretzels were a disaster”. But it was super fun and easy. For me the consistancy was perfect for a bagel, though I am no bagel expert so maybe others would disagree. They were chewy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I am not a dense bagel fan so I liked the fluffy. Next week I may try making the pretzel dough bagel-shaped and see what happens.
Pretzels:
Fluffy inside:
Then I made banana bread. Banana. Bread. In the mixer. It was like having kitchen help or something. The mixer did all the work. While it mixed I was able to wash dishes and grease a loaf pan. All the tasks in half the time. Awesome.
Finally, many many moons ago (or maybe just a month) I made a little pig for Baby D’s friendy Baby G. Her birthday was in early August but due to illness and grandparent visits and general schedule incompatibility, Baby G’s mom and I were unable to hang out until just last week. Thus, her giftie was given way late. AND I did not want to post pics until she had gotten it. So, here it is:
It’s a way different shape than the last pigs. Doesn’t it look like a bean?
Stripey material was a repurposed pajama top and the main body was a repurposed shirt of Baby D. All repurposed! Woo!
With the other pigs. Suddenly the original pigs look like they are alien pigs or something.
OMG! I almost forgot there are babies everywhere! One of my oldest friends (D) just had her second baby boy. He was a little early at 32 weeks but is doing great. AND one of Hone’s oldest friends (T) just had a baby boy too! Awwwwwwwwwww! Babies!
By Joanne, on August 9th, 2008
Today I baked my first loaf of homemade bread. Oh yes I did!
Okay, it wasn’t actually a loaf. It was three small baguettes but you know. French bread. The simplest recipe for bread.
So I did the whole preparing the starter dough last night and then mixing the rest in this morning and then letting it rise, kneading it (by hand!), letting it rise again, folding it, letting it rise again, shaping it, letting it rise again and finally, baking it. It sounds all involved and crazy time consuming and I know you are all like, “What about Baby D? Where was he all this time?”
But really, bread doesn’t take that long to work on. I mean, it takes all day to make but the actual work time adds up to about 20 minutes. Most of the time it is just sitting in a bowl being all risey and stuff.
ANYWAY, I really thought, by the end, that it was going to be a disaster. I mean, the kneading part was a mess (sticky dough everywhere) and nothing seemed to be happening quite right and I didn’t really know what it was supposed to look like at each stage (what the hell does “bread will become supple and elastic” really mean?). At the last rise, the baguettes nowhere near doubled in size and I was all, “Oh this bread is going to be awful.”
But it totally worked. Like, we totally had baguettes that tasted like bread and everything. The flavor was stronger than store bought baguettes but very yummy.
The baguettes (there were three but the third one was scrawny and eaten fresh out of the oven):
Slices:
Buttered:
With lasagna for dinner (mmmmmmmm):
It was neat. I will do it again. But I won’t be kneading by hand next time (yucko!). We just got us a standing mixer. Woo!
Edited to add: We made French Toast with the third baguette this morning. OMG.
By Joanne, on August 3rd, 2008
While Baby D and I have been battling the virus that would not die (and it’s sidekick, secondary bacterial infections) I have been chipping away at my latest sewing thing.
It’s a dragon.
I am sorta “meh” on it. I don’t hate it or love it. I don’t think it’s that my standards are too high or that I am too hard on myself. It’s just, the stuff I keep making is . . . is . . . just not “it” yet.
Sigh.
Oh, but I did figure out my stuffed toy regulations issue. It’s actually very simple. I did not start out intending to make toys. I wanted to make cute little stuffed things but not necessarily toys. Then I naturally let Baby D play with stuff when it was done and somehow this morphed (in my mind) into making toys. But no, no toys. I am much too paranoid a person to ever feel comfortable with making toys that other people would buy and give to their babies. I mean, could I ever be sure they were totally safe? What about felt eyes falling off and choking babies? What if they ripped open and babies ate the stuffing? What if a babies poked their eyes on the beautiful tags? What if they came to life at night and ohhhhhhhhh the horrrrooooorrrrr!
Where was I?
Oh yeah, so I never meant to go down the toy route and I will not be making toys. I will be making fun stuffed thingies. I guess people call it soft sculpture art. Babies and kids can appreciate them but they are not toys and should never be played with unattended AND they should only be played with gently since hand stitiching = not very sturdy. And no washing machines.
Baby D is never very interested in what I make anyway. For the first few minutes maybe. But yeah, not really for babies . . .
By Joanne, on July 29th, 2008
Well, they had everyone fooled. Even our doc thought it would be the asthma and the lungs with the bronchitis or the pneumonia or something.
But no, my quiet and unassuming sinuses decided to go ahead and throw an infection party.
Shortly after posting yesterday I spiked another fever.
Now I am on the antibiotics.
Sigh.
Srsly, I need to figure out a way to improve my immune system because this? Sucks.
By Joanne, on July 28th, 2008
Ug. I am sick. Baby D is sick. Ug.
I think we have the same bug but it hit us different ways. Mine started as a chest cold last Sunday and then I got a fever last Wednesday which hung around until this past Saturday. I am still pretty congested in my chest. Apparently, as this is my fourth chest cold since January, I am on my asthma’s list. And now I am all snotty in my sinuses. They are much more good natured and are like, “Bring on the snot, we’ve got plenty of room!”
Ug.
Baby D appeared to be escaping the wrath of the bug until Friday when he got a fever. His was much higher than mine but he had no other symptoms. He is also working on a mean little tooth which made him super cranky.
I am so glad our awesome doctor team does Saturday visits. Baby D was not. He cried and cried and cried, huge wet tears with hiccups and full body stiffening. He was making such a fuss our doc said, “Usually I send babies off to the hospital for blood draws when they are this irritable.” I said, “We’ll go if you think we should but he is always like this at the doctor’s office.” She felt better once I took him out of the exam room and he calmed right down and started shredding a tissue and pointing at planes out the window. He had inflamed and buldging ear drums. Not quite an ear infection but getting there. We went home to administer ear drops and immune support. His fever broke on Sunday. He’s better today but still more fussy and tired than usual.
I am a walking zombie as between sick baby and my endless nose blowing and uncontrollable coughing, I am getting even less sleep than usual (which I think is actually physically impossible but there you go).
Oh! I got my wonderful second PiF gift but haven’t been able to take photos yet. I hope to in the next day or two AND THEN run my next PiF contest which will have TWO WINNERS (since I won two contests). Woo!
Okay, I have to go blow my nose AGAIN. Ug.
UG.
By Joanne, on July 19th, 2008
So, whoops! I did not post my monthly CED activities for May or June.
(Bad, Joanne, bad!)
Here they are:
-made baby pants
-started brainstorming on my top secret sewing project
-designed labels for my stuff
-made a baby blankee/lovey thingie
-bought cool fabric pens and pastels (which I have not used yet but I have had tons of ideas)
-looked at old clay sculptures I made a few years ago
-looked at some doodles I made a few years ago
-thought about drawing again
-doodled some sewing ideas in my notebook
-made a big pillow for Baby D’s playroom
-made a stuffed rat softie thing
-came up with new ideas for sewing projects and doodled them
-surfed around some of my old favorite drawing sites
-thought about drawing again and doodled some doodles in my notebook
-thought about my big story idea (that I have had for years) and wondered about picking it up again
-thought about making my story a comic (for the five bazillionth time) - went back and forth while imagining it both ways (prose or comic)
-made some stuffed pig softies out of pajamas
-sang a lot in the car while driving to keep Baby D calm
-reorganized my fabric shelves (ahhhhhhhhh)
By Joanne, on July 11th, 2008
Oh man!
Stuffed Toy Regulations and General Textile Labeling Requirements.
I mean, it’s good. There should be regulations for kids toys and the materials in kids toys. It’s just . . . more stuff to figure out for my planned Etsy shop.
Sigh.
I guess I just don’t have enough energy to try to wade through this. And if all my stuff has different fiber content than each label needs to be different. So do I get millions of different labels with every combination possible? Or limit my sewing to only a particular kind of fiber (say cotton with polyester stuffing)? And this registration thing, I bet it costs money.
SIGH.
Maybe I should revisit the pattern thing. I could just make patterns of my stuff to sell . . .
By Joanne, on July 8th, 2008
Oh the Memes! The Memes!
First up, I was tagged by Mary for this Random Questions Meme:
1. Last movie you saw in a theatre?
Hot Fuzz, while I was pregnant.
2. What book are you reading?
Mr Brown can Moo! Can you? by Dr Seuss.
3. Favourite board game?
Buffy the board game. Just kidding! Or am I? I am. Or am I? No really, I am. What’s that game where you have to make lists of things that begin with a certain letter?
4. Favourite magazine?
Teen People. No, I’m totally kidding. In Touch. No, kidding again. Sigh, I don’t really have time for magazines right now so I don’t know what is my favorite. Hmmmmmm . . . .
5. Favourite smells?
Lemon. Vanilla. Chocolate
6. Favourite sounds?
Baby laughing. Gusts of wind.
7. Worst feeling in the world?
That sinking feeling when you first wake up and realize you did/said something stupid the day before.
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Nooooooooooooooooooooo, more sleep! More sleep!
9. Favourite fast food place?
Kidd Valley. Mmmmm, meat. Mmmmmmm, shakes.
10. Future child’s name?
Oh, we know, we know, but we’re not telling you, you internety name stealers!
11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d…”
Buy some stuff, give some away, make origami animals.
12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
I did for years but now I have a baby.
13. Storms- cool or scary?
Cool!
14. Favourite drink?
Water.
15. Finish this statement. “If I had the time I would…”
Write, sew, sleep.
16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Of course, it’s where my magical powers come from.
17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Blue.
18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
No no no, you internety nosy people! I’ve lived on the East coast, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest.
19. Favourite sports to watch?
What? (Stamping foot) I don’t like sports! Oh wait! Figure skating is cool. Go Michelle Kwan!
20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Mary is an excellent writer and is working on self-publishing a book. Woo!
21. What’s under your bed?
The floor.
22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Uh, what? Like a clone? That could be awkward.
23. Morning person or night owl?
Night owl.
24. Over easy or sunny side up?
Scrambled.
25. Favourite place to relax?
By big water.
26. Favourite pie?
Cherry.
27. Favourite ice cream flavor?
Mint Chocolate Chip.
Second is this meme, from one of the blogs I found through the Group PiF. I had to do it because it is so cool and I love finding cool photos AND making mosaics.
The rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
Here’s what I got:
And finally, my very own meme, inspired by the above photo meme. I just like the whole finding cool photos thing sooooooooooooo, here it is:
The Favorite Book/Author Photo Meme.
Rules:
1. Type your favorite books and/or authors into Flickr search
2. Pick your favorite photo
3. Plug it into fd’s mosaic maker.
4. Post your mosaic when you are done (you can make it as big or small as you want).
5. List the books/authors that inspired your mosaic.
6. Tag people!
Here is mine (it makes me want to read, write and take photos more):
List:
1. Ursula Le Guin
2. Tad Williams
3. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
4. Anne McCaffrey
5. Jane Austen
6. Anne of Green Gables
7. Harry Potter series
8. The Monkey King
9. Madeline L’Engle
And I tag Mary and Kim and anyone else who thinks it might be fun.
By Joanne, on July 5th, 2008
I finished the Pajama Pigs!
I may have to make more and even put some on Etsy or something. All different shapes and sizes. And all made out of repurposed pajamas. Hee!
ANYWAY, the current pigs are wonky and I love them. Imagine that! It was refreshing not to try and make a pattern. I just started cutting and piecing together as I went. Maybe that is why I like them, they are so far from perfect I don’t even expect them to be.
Baby D loves them too, especially the pink one. He kept grabbing the blue one and throwing it farther away but he hugged the pink one and carried it around for a bit. The pink one has a better nose and ears. But the blue one has a cuter face overall, I think. The tails are very different but I think both work.
The Pair
Baby D Investigates
Blue Tail
Pink Tail (again)
By Joanne, on July 4th, 2008
Okay, this has nothing to do with crafts or babies or contests but I had to share it because what use is blogging if you cannot share gross stories.
So, I hate spiders. Oh, I hate them. I deal with them this way: ”Hone! HONE! Spider! SPIDER! Spiderspiderspiderspiderspider!”
Okay, so you know when you have lint in your pocket? And you reach in and it’s in a little ball and you roll it around in your fingers or something?
You know where this is going, don’t you? YOU KNOW!
Yesterday I reached into my pocket and found a “piece of lint” (YOU KNOW!) and I proceeded to roll it around when it squished.
Squished!
I looked at my hand and spider guts everywhere!
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
(shudder)
ew.
By Joanne, on June 29th, 2008
I am about halfway through my piggy side project. I have made much progress because I am hand sewing.
What? Hand sewing? But you have a new sewing machine that, like, sews fast and stuff! Why the sewing with the hands?
I know, I know. But see, sigh, the machine requires I be sans baby and that is a state I am not in much these days and when I am I have to do things like floss and find my pajamas and stare and stare at this stuff called “foaming face wash” because I know I must have bought it once long ago for some reason.
But hand sewing can be done in the playroom whenever baby gets all engaged in his toys. A little stitch here, a little stitch there and poof! Progress!
I must admit that my hand sewing is as wonky as my machine sewing. Maybe more so. But it looks more charmingly wonky if that makes sense.
Anyhoo, here are some sneaky peeky pics:
Hope to finish it soon!
By Joanne, on June 24th, 2008
So, I have not done much on my new top secret project. I have thought about it a lot but I’ve been busy. And when I have not been busy I have been planning my next procrastination project. Whee!
Have you ever bought pajamas that look promising but then when you get them home they are horrid? I do it all the time.
My latest disaster was these shorts:
Oh, they are totally cute provided you have zero body fat. After blinding myself with the horridness of trying them on (I do not have zero body fat) I decided to use them for some sort of project. And I’ve got it! Little pigs!
Pigs?
Pigs!!
Here are my piggy brainstorms:
It’s more Chinese Zodiac stuff. Baby D was born in the year of the pig, so he is a pig and have been wanting to make him a little pig of some sort for ages.
Here is my final idea:
Close-up:
I think it is totally cute! And I am sure once I make it (which I hope will be soon), I will hate it! Heh!
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