She’s here!
:::said in the style of Liz Lemon impersonating Oprah:::
My dress form is here!
I have christened her Lady Sybil, but I’ll save proper introductions for a later post.
I’ve got a good 12 months worth of garment sewing to share with you that has never been shared because:
a. my personal photographer spends all his time flying helicopters and having light saber battles with army brats; and
b. I loathebeing in front of the camera.
{this stems largely from a deeply rooted instinct to make goofy faces and pose like asian tourists anytime a camera is placed before me…which does not a hip fashion photo make}
So starting with the oldest, here is McCall’s 6553!
I ♥ this dress something fierce.
I actually saw this dress on Fashion Star and likely audibly gasped when I saw it.
image {saks 5th ave}
And then it won, and I was stoked that I could purchase said audible gasp dress only to discover it was $345!!!
The audible gasp quickly transitioned to the sound of a deflating balloon.
You can imagine my glee when McCall’s released the pattern as part of their Fashion Star line.
There was more audible gasping.
I bought the pattern with the intention of sewing it as a maternity dress while I was pregnant with The Peanut.
{hahaha…sewing while pregnant. i crack myself up}
Fast forward a year and it became the perfect postpartum dress!
Fast forward another year and I’m still wearing and loving this dress to bits.
The pattern includes a belt which I sewed up but never actually wear.
I tend to wear it with a cute little colored belt to jazz up my grey/navy/black wardrobe.
Not sure what’s going on with the front there.
I sewed it from some suspect polyester suiting that actually is crazy comfortable and drapes beautifully.
There is some 14″ of ease built into this pattern, which even with a big drapey style 14″ of ease is ridiculous, so I cute the smallest size and it’s still roomy.
Here’s with the belt from the side
There are slits for the belt to slide through, which leaves it draped free in the back.
The belt slits, if you sew as directed leaves a good 2″ of my midriff showing so I sewed that much narrower than directed.
It’s a super easy dress to sew, and I’m excited to sew another version.
I’m not really sure I’ve ever plugged anything on this tiny space of mine on the interwebs.
{other than jesus, books and caffeine}
I’m not sure there has been anything worth plugging, at least nothing that has garnered so much excitement from me.
But gee wiz am I excited about this one.
Deeply Rooted is a gospel-centered magazine, geared towards wives and mothers, challenging them to embrace and grow in the roles God has put them in.
All of this wrapped in a beautiful publication filled with exquisite imagery, authentic words and the ever present challenge to be ever more deeply rooted in Christ.
{crazy refreshing, right?}
Seriously, I stumbled upon it via someone’s Instagram feed {p.s. i might need a come-to-jesus-talk regarding my instagram addiction very shortly}, I then dropped whatever the virtual version is of everything, and clicked my way to their sample issue.
(links to google docs for download)
There was some serious tear-inducing, hallelujah chorus singing, toddler high-fiving with some bonus fist-pumping because these women get it.
They absolutely get it.
They get the full spectrum of this season of life I am in and the roles I am called to.
There were articles that challenged me to the core to examine my heart in relation to my kids but there were also articles about food and photography.
Deeply Rooted has what I wanted to find in Kinfolk and Seeing the Everyday, but never could.
And for some reason the blogosphere seems to believe you can only exist in tiny nuanced sections of your vast callings.
You’ve got the uber serious blogs that kick your sinful heart the curb day-in and day-out, you’ve got the crafty blogs, and the food blogs, then there’s the homeschool blogs, and the army wife blogs…and they’re all great!
{ok, maybe the uber serious blog isn’t as great on day 6 when you haven’t dealt with the issues from days 1-5}
But I don’t just reside in any one of those specifics areas.
It’s part of the reason I don’t like identifying myself as an Army wife because it is too easy for people to box me up as such.
I am a wife, a mother, a homemaker, a seamstress, a bibliophile, a cook, and an Army wife, but all of those roles exist and function because the Gospel drives me and Christ is my Lord.
So just as one or all of those roles might come up in a conversation with a good friend, I feel like Deeply Rooted Magazine is one long page turning conversation.
And just like a conversation with a good friend is best enjoyed over a cup of coffee, you should probably read Deeply Rooted with a fresh cup as well.
image source {deeply rooted magazine}
So since this plugging thing is a first (and since I’ve not been asked to or paid to do so) I want all 6 of you to take this very seriously, {like heart attack serious} and then do a URL sprint over to their campaign and order your first issue.
Thankfully the campaign is already funded, so the magazine will go to print, but you have 4ish days left to order your first issue and support this amazing ministry.
Hello friends!
I’m currently smack in the middle of my less-than-Pinterest-worthy couch watching the last 2 runs of women’s luge.
{i know nothing about luging but the olympics bring out the mediocre sports fan in me}
While watching a sport I know nothing about I am actively planning our big trip to Disney World next week, which I am giddy excited about.
Although I have nothing riviting to say {do i ever?} I did want to tell you about 2 purchases I am CRAZY excited about.
The first is that I finally bit the bullet and bought a dress form.
A really nice, straight off the screen of Project Runway dress form.
{ok it’s actually straight off of my amazon wishlist but it looks identical to the forms used on project runway}
She’s not here yet, she also has not been given a Christian name, but hopefully when my Disney hangover lifts I can share both.
I realize that a dress form is not a need, not in the way that I need Jesus, my family and caffeine, but oh how I’ve wanted one for years and we finally, finally, had the cash to buy one.
I am so excited to speed up my sewing by using her to make initial fitting adjustments and to drape on.
It’s about keeping a home, something I am terribleat.
I realize that a ton of the info in this book (which is larger than some of my accounting texts from college) is totally ingrained and second nature to some. Which is awesome!
I’m not in that Type-A/Suzy Homemaker/Home Economics Major camp.
I wish I was…but I’m not.
I’m a crazy creative, project driven, chaos thriving, clutter-tolerant, haphazard homemaker who is prone to choosing my kindle over my laundry…daily.
I actually feel like I have a lot going for me though; I’m a good cook, I love to entertain, and I love all the things involved in the makingportion of homemaking.
But keepinga home, that’s where I fall flat on my face.
So I will study it.
I figure now is the best time to start this project since I’m about to embark on 2-3 months in a hotel without my home, and then I will be blessed to start fresh, in a new home, hopefully with new habits to establish.
“Seen from the outside, housework can look like a Sisyphean task that gives you no sense of reward or completion. Yet housekeeping actually offers more opportunities for savoring achievement than almost any other work I can think of. Each of its regular routines brings satisfaction when completed. These routines echo the rhythm of life, and the housekeeping rhythm is the rhythm of the body. You get satisfaction not only from the sense of order, cleanliness, freshness, peace and plenty restored, but from the knowledge that you yourself and those you care about are going to enjoy these benefits.” ~Cheryl Mendelson,
Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House
Happy Wednesday citizens of the blogosphere!
I just realized it’s February.
{am i the only one who stumbles from month to month and only realizes the transition a week in?}
It’s February, The Peanut turned 19 months today, and I haven’t washed my hair in 3 days.
But my taxes are done which surely counts for something.
We’re gearing up for this giant move, so there is much purging of all the things.
In the midst of the chaos and planning the Army Brats and I are abandoning My Solider with his helicopter and skipping off to a week at Disney World with my family.
{he’s got hardknock life on mental repeat, poor guy}
My kids don’t know yet, and won’t probably until we get there.
Our policy of setting ZERO expectations for life’s little (and gianormous) treats makes for happy parental/child relations leading up to said events.
{this is also why we don’t bribe or reward for normal expected everyday behavior}
We plunged through the Snowpacalypse last week which was crazy pathetic this far south but no less crippling to our area.
The weather has kind of sucked since then {thanks Punxsutawney Phil} which has thwarted my plans to photograph all the clothing items I have recently {and not-so-recently} sewn for My Helper and me.
{the not washing of the hair isn’t helping either}
Also, the Blue Team one the Super Bowl this weekend.
(The Cadet has called the Seahawks the Blue Team since he figured out that football was a thing)
This Seattle girl was pretty stoked.
It also gave me an excuse to cook yummy foods and fry things which I do about twice a year.
A few awesome things from around the interwebs:
I want to live here.
Everything about this home forces me to repent of coveting.
If you have a recovering black thumb, like me, this plant watering trick will blow your mind.
Check out the cabinets in this post, they are painted in Avocado Peel by Martha Stewart and I suddenly want to paint every item of furniture I have in that exact color.
{i’m calling it, avocado peel is the new black}
If you’re not in your forever home, {not sure that even computes in my army world} than this tip from my friend (and neighbor) Heather to use wrapping paper as wallpaper will tickle your fancy {and make your walls pretty}.
And since I love every word Annie puts to paper (or is it bandwidth?) you should read her post on her One Little Word for 2014.
Her capacity to think at deeper levels than I {english major vs. business major} means she will likely pull more from this exercise than I will.
I’m already enjoying what God is teaching me through yielding, and let’s be honest when I picked the word I thought we’d be moving somewhere I deem horrific and that yielding would have some obvious difficulties, heading back to Hawaii is veering this down a new path and I’m curious {and a bit terrified} as to what it might hold.
I hope your week has been spectacular and that February hasn’t sneaked up on you the way it sneaked up on me.
{oh how i wish snuck was an actual word, stupid slang}
On the 11th of January, The Cadet celebrated his first Diaversary!
(which is cheesy Type 1 Diabetes code for the anniversary of diagnosis)
We’re not the type of people to make big brouhahas about most things in life, so where other T1D parents throw parties and celebrations, we spontaneouly went to have frozen yogurt.
{seriously though, we don’t do birthday parties, anniversaries are tame, and we think high fives are legit accolades}
Regardless of the lack of fanfare, there was an internal quiet celebration that The Cadet made it through his first year, that wemade it through his first year.
There may not have been any Pinterest worthy decor or themed foods, but honestly the fact that The Cadet is still here, healthy and thriving is the biggest gift imaginable.
{thank you, thank you, thank you jesus}
It’s weird to look back at pictures of my brave little boy before he got the illness that was the catalyst for his pancreas quitting. It seems like another world.
So distant in fact I don’t know how to even long for it.
It’s very painful to look at pictures of him in the ICU just a year ago, so sick and thin, and miserable.
I remember that week in the hospital studying up on all the things related to diabetes care.
He was in such dire straights when he was admitted that failure seemed certain and costly.
People always joke that when you take home a newborn they just hand them over with minimal instructions and trust that you’ll somehow know how to keep them alive.
It’s laughable to be thrust into that situation 4 years into parenting a child, with equally minimal instructions, literally teetering on the line of life and death.
We totally used to joke with babysitters that our only requirement was that they kept the kids alive, very few people can make that promise to us now.
{and thus ended the expectation of going out with your spouse ever}
I posted this photo to Instagram the day before he was released, and it was honestly how I was feeling.
The Peanut was months old at the time so I was minimally involved in The Cadet’s diabetes care while he was in the hospital.
My Soldier was at the helm of that ship and by no means had we entered into calm or friendly waters when he was released.
A year later it’s hard to imagine our lives without the constant mental dialogue of carb counts and glucose levels. It’s just life, specifically his, but completely dictated by My Soldier and me.
Type 1 Diabetes is a beast manged 50% by medical science and 50% by The Force.
{we take star wars references very seriously in this household}
There are times when we have zeroclue why his blood sugar is doing what it is doing.
Some time we feel like we’re floundering.
Thankfully his endocrinology team at Children’s Hospital at University of Alabama Birmingham is AMAZING. They’ve got our backs {in the true thug life sense} and have reassured us time and time again that we are doing really well in our care of The Cadet. Awesome.
Good to know.
{still crazy frustrating at times}
the cadet is a jediabetic
I am thankful that The Cadet is thriving.
Diabetes doesn’t seem to phase the kid.
Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it’s not.
He is asymptomatic when he is hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic…so sometimes we get some surprises.
He spent a week in October where his blood sugar regularly dropped into levels that should have landed him unconscious.
Every book I had read said he should have shown one or more signs that his glucose levels where dangerously low, but no, he was procrastinating on folding his laundry and he was arguing with me that by making him finish his chore before lunch that his pizza would get cold.
{no joke, i nearly had a heart attack but remembered to siphon juice into him first}
There are moments where T1D frustrates me to no end. But I’m not bitter. Neither is My Soldier.
This is God’s will for The Cadet and for us by proxy {and law as his parents}.
I’m not sure we’ve got enough of that wonderful hindsight perspective at this point to declare his diagnosis as a blessing sent from God.
We might be on the border of thinking it’s been good for him and us as we’ve seen growth and diligence and change in our family.
But we aren’t angry, bitter, upset or even questioning as to why he was given this affliction.
I feel like that’s a major accomplishment deserving of a high-five and frozen yogurt.
So here’s to another year of praising God that my children are still alive.
Here’s to the continued hope of a cure.
Here’s to another year of shots, glucose testing, carb counts and light-saber training.
We have sovery much to be thankful for in relation to T1D, so here’s to another year.
embarrassing photo of myself doing a plank during a barre3 online workout
If you had told me 2 years ago that I would be singing the praises of a fitness routine I would have {silently} mocked you.
But here I am, telling every mama I can find that they should try Barre3 online workouts.
And here is why…
There have been 2 {and only 2!} positives to come from my horrific pregnancies.
Obviously, I get a baby {to keep!} and in a much much diminished second place I lose a bunch of weight.
I’m not great at numbers, but I’ve lost 10-20lbs as compared to my start weight with each pregnancy.
{9ish months of involuntary daily vomiting will do that to ya}
It’s not my preferred method of weight-loss, not that I’ve tried any other methods, but it has worked.
This last time around, I pretty much knew that The Peanut’s pregnancy would be the last.
Previously I had not put much consideration towards my weight, because I wasn’t seriously overweight, I like food, I don’t like exercise, and I knew there would be another pregnancy.
I decided that once my post baby weight-loss tapered out, I would try and maintain my new weight, whatever it may be.
{read, there was never a goal weight} It was never a vanity thing, it’s always been a health thing.
{i’ve actually been waaaay more self-concious at my current weight than I ever had been 20lbs ago}
Since we already eat pretty healthy, {and i am unwilling to give up pie} adding some element of exercise was the only change I was willing make.
So the search was on, and the criteria was rough. I don’t like to sweat. I don’t like to feel like I am exercising. Going to a gym wasn’t an option {read i have 3 kids and hardly see my soldier as is} It must not involve running or vigorous cardio.
I tried Zumba DVDs which were a failure.
I like to dance, a lot, but pausing a cardio dance workout to find a pacifier or check The Cadet’s blood sugar totally killed all momentum and flow.
Then I discovered Barre3.
{and there was a collective sigh}
I loved it.
It’s a blend of barre method (like ballet barre), pilates, and yoga.
It’s a serious workout but you’re not left dripping in sweat.
I spend $15 a month for access to their entire video library which I can access on my iPad.
The workouts are splint into sections based on how much time you have available for a workout.
I rarely have more than 30 minutes and often can only squeeze in a 10 minute workout here and there.
And it works.
I’ve kept my weight stable.
I just feel like my health overall is in a better place.
By no means am I toned, I don’t put enough consistent effort in to be toned.
{i’m still pretty squishy around the middle which i can totally blame on my crazy cute babes}
I don’t workout daily, it’s probably a few times a week, but considering I did nearly nothing in the workout department for like 6 years, I figured I’m totally winning.
If you have any questions totally shoot me a line.
I’m not an expert but I’ve been using their workouts for 9ish months now and I LOVE it.
:::FYI Barre3 doesn’t know I exist {other than the fact that they charge me $15 on the 1st of every month}, so the opinions, praise, and self-flagellation are uniquely my own:::
We have this pervasive saying in our household, “Third kid.”
Always applied to The Peanut when we acknowledge that he is getting the shaft in ways his older siblings never experienced.
Pretty sure I only spoon fed The Peanut for about a month.
I gave up that pursuit the day he figured out how to suck baby food out of those organic baby food pouches.
We pretend it’s more efficient, but really he’s just the… Third Kid.
{also known as lazy parenting}
Case in point, The Helper’s baby quilt was finished 3 months before she arrived.
The Cadet’s quilt fell a bit by the wayside and wasn’t completed till he was 4 months old.
And poor Peanut, I didn’t finish his quilt till he was 16 months old!
{wahh, wahh} Third Kid.
I used Cluck Cluck Sew’s Raw Edge Circle Quilt pattern and fabric from Parson Gray’s Curious Nature line.
I really loved that the raw edges create such great texture to the quilt top.
It’s been washed several times by now, and the top is so crazy soft.
It’s backed with black polka dot minky fabric {which I despise sewing with} but it is oh so very soft.
The Cadet’s quilt is also backed with minky and he calls his quilt his ‘soft blankie,’ which makes me gush, so of course I backed The Peanut’s quilt with minky!
{i mean, how could i not?}
I stitched in the ditch for the quilting because it was quick and easy, and the dang thing had already taken me 25 months to produce.
(in case you’re not tracking that math, I had 9 months of growing the peanut in addition to his 16 months of his life outside the womb)
I actually managed to sew 9 quilts for children whom I did not personally gestate in the time frame when I should have been showing my love to my own child via meticulous handicrafts. Third Kid.
So while we hang our heads in shame for our pathetic parenting neglect of our dear Third Kid, we take solace in the fact that 16 years from now that “neglect” will likely look like much later curfews than his siblings, and hopefully he will rise up and rejoice that he is in fact the Third Kid!
:::disclaimer, all of his real needs are actually met, but the natural progression from uptight first time parents to relaxed third time parents has resulted in some sad comparisons on non-essential issues like quilt production and the presence of plastic toys in the home:::
So here we are, half-way through the school year and totally resigned to the fact that we are now that family.
The one who homeschools their kids, and they might turn out totally awkward as a result.
{le sigh}
I don’t think I love it, I don’t love sending My Helper to the primary school either, but I don’t hate it, nor do I dislike it, and it doesn’t wear me out.
{that’s considered winning, right?}
If the opinion of the interwebs rings true {haha…truth on the internet} then I’m supposed to be totally burned out on homeschooling right now, wanting to pull my hair out and ship my kid off to boarding school.
But I’m not, thank the Lord, and I don’t know that it’s in my personality to get burnt out.
We trudge forward because The Cadet needs an education, I put effort in because he needs a great education, and I give myself a lot of grace because that is what Jesus would do.
{please tell me you just had a late 90′s christian culture flashback}
We haven’t had any curriculum changes.
We’re using Math U See, Explode the Code, Bob Readers, Handwriting Without Tears, and The Jesus Storybook Bible.
(and a ton of iPad apps for Mama’s sanity)
It’s kindergarten, not his senior year of high school, so our goals are minimal and the structure has a nice rhythm and flow.
Could I do more? Sure thing.
Will I do more? Next year…and the year after.
Can he read, write and do math? Yup.
So I’m calling this year a success and everything we do from this point until we PCS is icing.
Moving back to Hawaii, we’ve decided that homeschooling will be the best option for My Helper and The Cadet.
So I’ll have a 1st grader and a 2nd grader and so we’re making some serious curriculum changes for next year.
Thankfully I have 7ish months to nail it down, and I’m already pretty resolved on the direction we’ll be going in.
I do know that I’m a crazy classical education lady which means our curriculum will likely look ridiculous and overzealous to the rest of the world.
{and to them i say, who cares?}
Hope that is helpful to any other less-than-zealous-but-resolute-about-homeschooling parents out there!
In God’s infinite kindness, the Army let us know (very early) that we will {ok might, in the army it’s always might} be moving back to Hawaii come May.
Being the realist that I am, the excitement will come when I am settling us into and decorating The Island House part deux.
Thankfully everyone I know has outwardly expressed the joy that will come to me when we’re finally on the other side of months of hotel and suitcase living.
Being the planner that I am, right now all I see is the endless To Do list, which currently is 4 pages long and taking up it’s own section of my planner.
The move back to Hawaii also has me a little cautious {it’s all too good to be true}, we’re definitely challenging some Army statistics and certainly stereotypes and norms, because it feels like we are going home. Home, that elusive word that doesn’t really exist for Army families.
There’s an element of stability being offered to us that is not supposed to be there, and my honest response to everyone who asks is, ‘It’s a God thing.’
Something we didn’t even think to ask for and certainly weren’t anticipating.
{makes me wonder what yielding might look like or require}
Like everything God places before us (good and bad) we’ll embrace our second season in Hawaii, and allow it to grow and mold us.
And just like every season’s end, we’ll look back, see God’s perfect provision with that uncanny 20/20 aspect of hindsight and give praise where praise is due.
For now I’ll continue to purge our vast amount of stuff, and ready our home for pack out, in a way that I have twice now been hindered from doing.
We’ll buy furniture and antiques, and other oddities that either aren’t available or are cost prohibitive on a tiny Pacific island, and eat LOTS of Mexican food!
We’ll also seek to remain present here in Alabama when it would be easier to check out.
So I’m HUGE on meal planning.
{huge i tell you!}
I wrote about it back in 2011 and most of that still rings true, but my methods have tweaked a bit in the last 2 years.
I was having a group text conversation with 2 dear (nameless) friends a few weeks ago regarding what to cook for a last minute dinner guest, this turned into a Friends-worthy exchange involving said hostess and a flaming beer and bacon meatloaf.
In the midst of us laughing, guiding the hostess to a Ron Swanson worthy meatloaf, and worrying about grease fires, the conversation turned to how I plan my meals.
I have about 30 meals in my rotation, and that is about it.
I rarely try new recipes, and when I do, I cook them repeatedly, making changes each time, until I’ve got them perfected.
If I try a meal and it’s a total failure, has no promise, or I’m the only person willing to consume it, it gets scrapped.
So here is where the methods have changed since this post: I no longer write the menu on the fridge, mostly because I was the only one who referenced the list and keeping it in my planner made much more sense than having it somewhere separate.
My planner {which i affectionately refer to as my life} houses my 2 week meal plan, the 30ish meals currently in rotation, and any promising meals I want to try in the near future (read next 6 months).
I created a couple of planner pages specifically for this purpose.
I have each meal written on Post-It page markers and loosely {very, very loosely} categorized by color (blue is poultry, yellow is meat, pink is fish and green is vegetarian).
When I make my menu plan I just rotate the post-it notes to the Menu Plan page.
I plan for 2 weeks now because it makes grocery shopping easier.
Since moving to Ft. Rucker I joined an organic produce co-op {which i love and geek out over regularly} so I get fresh produce weekly without hitting up the Commissary.
When I do grocery shop, I still plug the meals into MealBoard because it automatically generates my shopping list based on the ingredients for each meal.
My little clan doesn’t need a ton of variety in the menu, and we tend to eat Mexican food 2-3 nights a week and some knock-off Asian cuisine at least 1 night a week.
Everyone loves it, the meals are well balanced, and I try to base the menu off of similar ingredients to keep the cost low.
There are several meals in the rotation of 30 that I really only cook for special occasions or if we have company over.
As much as I love cooking {and eating} my lasagna with fontina cheese sauce, it isn’t exactly economical for the pocket book or the waist line.
So there it is, meal planning 2.0!
I hope it’s helpful!
She’s here!
