mobi wrap

A mobi wrap is a long piece of fabric that you tie your baby onto your front with.   My Cousin showed me, there are other ways to do it but this is what I know.

You'll need 6 yards of fabric.   It should be slightly stretchy, not a lot, just a little.   You need it to give enough that you can tuck the baby in and pull it over the little guy but it needs to come back and conform, not just stretch and stay stretched.    It also needs to not fray.   You won't be sewing it and you will be washing it, a lot.   It should be light weight or you'll broil, no matter what the weather.

Picking the fabric is the hard part, the rest is easy.

The middle yard is about 30" wide, the last 18 or so inches on either end is about 10" wide.   Everything in between is tapered from the 30" to the 10".   Simple.

Now, to get it on takes practice.   Put the middle across your belly, wrap it around your back and into the front again..   Now throw each end over the opposite shoulder.   cross in the back and tie on the side.   tuck baby into the first wide part across your belly and bring the crossing parts up around.

mommy flowers

mommy flowers are one of the many perks of mommyhood.   we get the most beautiful flowers picked with the most love.   they are presented in the best ways and for the best reasons too.   

some don't have stems. like my bowl of daisies here.  its amazing what you can float in a bowl of water when your child is watching with anticipation.  irises need rocks to hold them up though.  not the floaty-est of flowers.

some last about an hour, like dandelions.

some come to you in handfuls all crunched in a toddlers fist, like the big bunch i got today.

some are special picked just for you from your very own garden.   some are picked from the neighbors, hope they don't mind.

all of them need to be fussed over.

all of them need to be put in a vase, even if that vase is a jar.  

all of them need to be the best bouquet ever, even if the last bouquet was five seconds ago.

all of them need to be smelled, and they all need to smell great.

all of them need a special place.   some of them need to have their special place on the porch.









either way, flowers mean love whether delivered by flower shop or humble hand.   enjoy the love in your flower bouquets.  

would craft wood

i found this in a second hand store and it inspired me.   now i have to put it somewhere so i don't lose it before i can do something with it.   lucky you, i'm sharing.

braid buns

this is after school and sport so they held up really well.   just braids that i curled up and laced through the braids.   i  like the little ends sticking out .  

thankful for goals

i'm really late . . as in i haven't done a thankful thursday in a while.   i stopped doing anything when blogger told me one day that it wasn't accepting any more pictures.   i just took a break for a while.   when i came back to it, i finally figured it out and started posting again.   after a few weeks, i realized that i hadn't done a thankful thursday.   things were still really crazy, so i let it go for a while.   i'm getting things back together again so i thought i should get back in my gratituding habit.   i can feel the difference of not coming up with something every week actually.   i thought i was still pretty grateful but this looney blog seems to keep me thinking or something.

i started out thinking i wanted to do goals this week because of something that came up in a conversation the other day.   someone was saying that they didn't know anyone in church and had few friends with the same moral and spiritual values.   she was frustrated but found some comfort in groups and blogs on-line.    i happened on her comment and encouraged her to try again to make friends at church.   i told a quick version of something that i did several years ago.

i am naturally a very shy person.   i don't trust my social instincts.   i am very adept at shutting down a conversation with some strange observation that makes sense to me but everyone else finds, well, strange.   i recognize this in myself.   unfortunately, i see it in my son as well.   hoping i can help him though it.   anyway, i try to keep a conscience reign on my thought processes.   i have learned to recognize the feeling i have when i am going off into my own strange regions of my head and can usually hold myself off or just drop out of the conversation and listen until i can bring myself back.   don't worry, i don't go wandering off into anything totally disturbing or anything like that.   in fact,  i know several people that have the same strange places and we happily go wandering off into our weirdness all the time.   not a problem.   but i can't always just hang out with the people that understand all of me.   sometimes, i have to interact with people that are more "normal". that is just part of being social, making contacts, interacting with other parents, teachers, co-workers, etc.   been a long road of realizing and controlling.   i still had to overcome the shy thing.  

i did some praying about it.   i felt like i needed to just jump in.   i set a goal to say hello and intro myself to someone else very week.   a small goal.   simple, doable. . .terrifying but doable.

i did this for quite a while.  soon there were not any women left for me to intro myself to.   i didn't think going around intro-ing myself to the men was a good idea, but by that time, i was not nearly so shy.   i talked to new people every week.   it had become a habit for me to not only introduce myself but have a conversation with people i had not yet met.   i was no longer trying to overcome my shyness but hoping to make people feel welcome.   i went out of my way to speak to people new to church.   i had become more comfortable with other people in general.   over time, it was easier for me to speak with people outside church and in any situation.   still terrifying if i thought about it, but then, i didn't have to think about it so much.   it was more habit than anything.    no one believes me now when i tell them that i am shy.   i am still very shy, but no one believes me.

it's a good thing i followed that impression to go outside of my comfort zone.    i ended up making friends when i had to go to work.   then, God threw me into a new country.   new language, new culture, new people, new ways of communicating and dealing with a new kind of normal.   this would have been totally debilitating for me before.   i would have never been able to go and do and try with so many things working against me.   for the record, no one here believes that i am shy here either.    all because of a simple goal.

as i started writing this weeks edition, i realized that my goal to share my gratitude has really helped me.  it kept me looking up and lifted my attitude and the attitudes of those around me.

i realized something else as well.     i was ok with taking a step back when things got tough.   letting myself re-group.   allowing myself to set priorities and put some things down for a while without guilt or worry.      i still have goals in progress.   i am still struggling, working, setting and revising goals.   i realized that one goal can and probably should lead to another.   i realized how much one person can change themselves and the world around them, with the setting one simple goal.

free form crochet bracelet

i've been playing with this for a couple of months now.   one of those things i worked on here and there between other projects.  

 i was actually inspired by amber kane.  ( http://fabricatedends.blogspot.de/ )  she makes gorgeous scarves!   i love her work.   my favorites are her free form crocheted scarves.   i figured i'd try it out on a smaller scale.   like a size 15 hook and a separated string into a single thread smaller scale.   what can i say?   i love my tiny little hooks.

i love crocheting but i'm not great at it.   this was a complete experiment, as is most of what i do.   it isn't as flat or as even as i wanted, more ruffle than i wanted,  but what in life turns out exactly as you first envision it?

   

 i ended up with a bracelet that can be worn a couple of different ways.   you can have a loose look with the ball in the loop.    or a play it a bit closer with the ball into a loop in the bracelet itself.   i like bringing it in from the back so it flips the side up and gives it more depth.

next, i must make a ring to match it . . .and probably a necklace of some sort as well.   wheeee!

sidewinder braids

i'm kind of getting back into the swing of things now.   i have been such a slacker lately but i think i'm making a come back.   

here's what we ended up with this morning.   

brush all the hair over to one side.   split sections across the head, all ending as close to one spot as possible.   

from front to back, start braiding across the head.   then, start with the second from the bottom, and tuck the braid into the one below it.   the next one up, go under the one below and over the bottom.   the top goes under over under.

 at the bottom, braid all of the braids together.   i just tucked the braid from the top in with one of the other braids because it wasn't long enough to make it to the bottom.   it laid flat at first but because it's braided braids, and i do it tightly, it curls up as you can see in the top picture.   you can tuck the end of the braided braid into itself underneath but i didn't think about it until we were heading out and it curled up.  oh well.   turned out cute anyway.

potatoes au gratin aka chessy taters

this is my comfort food!

my mom makes them and has made them my whole life.   she makes them for a dinner to take to someone for a bring in meal quite a bit.   they are super simple, really good for winter because they are warm and great the next day as well.  

get out your butter, onions, salt pepper, oregano, parsley, and cheese.
shred cheese, lots of it!   i use a lighter cheese here in germany.   in the states we used cheddar, but you can use how ever many different kind you would like.   just cheese it up!
chop onions, about 3 medium ones.
wash and start slicing potatoes.   i throw them into water to rinse some of the starch off and keep them from getting black.

we set up an assembly line.   the kids help and it helps me remember what i have to do in each layer
a bit of butter on the bottom of the pan, it also goes a lot quicker that way.

layer of taters
dots of butter
salt, pepper, parsley, oregano.   don't skimp on this step, taters don't have a lot of flavor on their own.
onion
cheese

repeat, and repeat, and repeat. . . . when your almost to the top, press down a bit to pack it some.   you can get a few more layers in now . . . repeat, repeat, repeat . . .

bake at about 350* until the taters are not boney.   40 min to an hour.   i slice my taters thin so it doesn't take as long.   and i cover them the whole time so it doesn't burn the cheese.

enjoy.

pull over braidey locks

 one side braided

 then 3 small braids straight across the head.

 then braid those into the other side.

  i was going  to braid all the way down but ran out of time so i just got the top 3 in and pulled the rest in as best as possible.  

kept it out of her face and from getting loose during her crazy days at school.   and that just the whole point of it.  

this is the dual sided version of pulling it over.   i sectioned off the sides first so they stayed separate.   then, starting at the top, section and braid.   i didn't have time to braid all the way to the bottom so i just banded it off at the bottom of where the row ended and left the ends unbraided since it was going to be braided into the main braid anyway.

cool crochet

i snagged these photos from the link at the bottom.   i couldn't pin them so i just posted them here so i could find them again for my crochet inspiration

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/lanvin-cufflinks

heinzelmännchen

i think i wrote before about how i am trying to promote service in our house this year.   we are off to a slow start this far but it has been crazy these first 15 days of 2013.    i'm not discouraged and i am renewing my push for service.   i did intro our little heinzelmännchen in family home evening last week.    we started with a few rules.  
there is no arguing that something was not a service.
appreciate the thought and the effort.   (you may not have wanted your backpack taken back upstairs but no one knew that you had plans for it.   just appreciate that someone did something for you)
next we talked about some service that could be done in our family.   this was harder than i had thought it would be.   we only came up with a few.   i hope we can expand our list a little more as we turn our minds in that direction.
do your chores without being asked
put someone's things in their room for them
hang up someone's coat for them

here's a wiki about the heinzelmännchen.    they are a legend from the city of colonge.   little elves that helped out at night until a tailor's wife fouled things all up.   the basis for the cobbler elves in english some say.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinzelm%C3%A4nnchen
the idea came from the elf on the shelf craze and a friend that gave each member of the family a little felt heart to place when they served a family member.  

it is, of course, up to mom to keep them moving.   i am such a trend starter!   that's the point, start a service fad in our house.     it will catch on, it's always mom at first.   that's just part of the job.  

i'm going to post some of the things our little heinzelmännchen are doing and some of the ways they manifest themselves    i hope the creativity of placing them will get the kids moving with service.   that's the plan anyway.  
 i ended up with 7 little heinzelmännchen.   actually the are knee huggers.   funny enough, we have a grumpy, and a sleepy, the kids can't decide which one is dopey

.

this is our grumpy that hung up my towering teen's coat.

 one of our little guys brought the towering teen's homework, wallet, and backpack up to his room where they belong.

 we have a fireplace for heat and are trying to keep the heaters turned off as much as possible to save on our power bill.   but that means that the doors have to stay open so the heat can move around.   my tomboy princess closed her door this morning and this little red bearded guy opened it back up for her so her room wouldn't be cold when she gets home.

the towering teen's huge shoes were dragged upstairs by our sleepy heinzelmännchen.  it was so much work that he just had to take a nap in this roomie shoe.

turkey day

this is totally late . . or seriously early.   we're going to go with early.

every year, my family gathers at my grandmother's house for each holiday.   it is a huge feast!   lots of people and lots of laughing.   i grew up helping out in the kitchen.   my grandma taught me how to prep and stuff "the bird".   my papa taught me how to sew it up and carve it when it was done.   i can't tell you how much i loved being there with my family.   even though i spent every Christmas and thanksgiving in the kitchen with them, i was terrified to do it on my own.   the first year we were in germany, no turkeys for us.   ok, there were other circumstances in play as well, but whatever.

   this last Christmas, a friend gave us a turkey.    i called my grandmother and decided i could take a stab at it.   i didn't do all the trimming like she always does.   no yams with mini mallows, no table full of everything on earth.   but we managed some stuffed celery, preiselberry sauce (which is close to cranberry sauce), mashed taters, gravy, and jello of course.   the main thing i was afraid of doing, of course, was the stuffing.   my grandmother makes awesome stuffing.   i love it!   we eat half of it before it's cooked.   yeah, yeah, raw eggs, my mom and i and uncle can't keep out  of it.   i discovered that it super easy and totally doable.   here we go -

take out that neck and innards from the bird.   throw the neck in a medium -small pot with a quart or so of water.   add some salt and pepper, and cut in some celery and carrots and onions.  let it just boil for a while. there is celery to stuff with cream cheese or peanut butter, jello to get mixed with your fruit cocktail, a variety of things to busy yourself while your neck boils.

chop up some more celery and onions.   get out your sage and poultry seasoning.   

now, dump your dry bread cubes in your nice big bowl.   

add just enough juice from your boiling neck to wet the outside of your bread.   you don't want it to soak and get soggy.   a nice hard bread cube is best so it doesn't fall apart.   just add a bit at a time and fold it in.  don't stir your stuffing.   just bring the bottom up, just fold it in.   

once you have your stuffing just damp on the outside, add the veggies that have been soaking and boiling with it.   no reason to let them go to waste.

keep gently folding, no stirring.

add your salt and pepper, sage and poultry season to taste.  add some more veggies, just because i like lots of veggies.  
lastly, add an egg or two.  my grandmother uses two eggs for a huge tupperware bowl.   so i used only one egg.   whip it up and fold it in a little at a time.   it just helps to hold it together.  
now, you can stuff your bird and bake it in there and bake the rest for a half hour, 45 min in a covered dish.

bird prep time!

your bird needs to have some salt inside.  just dump some in your hand and rub it all over inside.   both ends, whee!

stuff that stuffing in there.  you can pack it a bit but not really tight.   pull the skin together and stitch it up.   pull the tail up and stitch it in with the skin as well.   it depends on how well or not the bird was butchered as to what you have to work with.   

tie up the legs, the drum sticks.   then stitch through the ends of the wings and pull them up together nice and tight over the breast of your beautiful dinner.

now, just butter it all up.  extra butter on the stitches and knees, and all the places you might see a bird getting sun burned.   

 my grandmother has a big beautiful roaster with a seriously handy rack.   i, however, do not.   i have a nice little covered clay roaster but it needs to be off of the bottom.   i happen to be used to not having what i need , necessity is the mother of invention and all that.   so i just used forks.   4 forks.  2 with tines together at one end and 2 facing the opposite direction.   worked out great.  

i used the clay top to my roaster.   it got brown fine, but would have been too brown by the time it was done if it had been bigger.  i just had one close to 10 pounds.   my grandmother does a 28+ pounder.   she  covers it with foil til the last 15 minutes - half hour or so.   you can always cover it back up if it isn't done yet but brown enough.   ya know, just tuck it back under it's umbrella before it gets a sunburn.   make sure you baste it often to keep it moist.  i don't have  baster either.   that really stunk!   so i used a tablespoon instead. it worked.

our first turkey away from home, my first attempt at it alone, turned out great!   my grandmother's isn't perfect every time.  who can pull that off?!   but i am really encouraged by the first results.   nothing fancy, but this is home to me so our family loved it!   

mom isn't a real job #10

it is such a let down when i make a great dinner and think, "wow, that was great . . .wait, now what am i going to make tomorrow?!"   but i still try . .most of the time . . .and i wouldn't trade it for anything

neu jahr glück schwein - new year's lucky pig

in germany, the new year has several lucky things you can pass around or hang up in your house.   those little red and white mushrooms, chimney sweeps, dice, and pigs, sometimes pigs with wings.   i spent this new year in the hospital, not so lucky.   better than spending Christmas there though which was my other choice.   nothing major.   had to have my nose fixed so i could breath and stop being sick all the time.   i am grateful for that.

anyway, while i was in, i thought it might be nice to do something for the nurses that had to work over the holiday.   i took my crocheting yarn and hooks with me for something to do.   my roomies thought i was funny because i took 20 or so balls and almost that many hooks.   i was prepared for any crochet emergency!   i did get a patch done for my pants as well.   fairly productive hospital stay.

back to the pigs.   i had seen this super simple pig on e-bay and figured i could figure it out.   i did.   the nurses loved them!  it's like giving a person luck for the new year.   most put them on their keys.   maybe it will keep them from losing the keys this year?

  chain 4, then several, 17 -20, triples until you circle back to where you started and can join them together to make this circle.  sorry about the bright pics.   my flash is serious about letting it's light shine.

after you join the circle together, chain 2.   your going to make the snout now.

then reach into the same stitch and yarn over, bring it though, yarn over and pull through both.   i think this is a half double.   i am still learning.   do the half double twice in the same stitch and chain 2.   attach your chain 2 in the same stitch

see that cute little nose?   now chain inside the stitches so you can travel around the circle to make the rest of the pig.

 for the ear - chain 4, do a half double in the second stitch from your hook and in the third stitch from your hook.   

then attach it in the next stitch after where you started.

stitch one in the circle after your ear and chain 10 to make the little hanger.   the one i saw didn't have a hanger.   you could sew it on something or pin it guess, but i like the hanger.   leave it off if you don't.   after your chain 10, attach it back in the same stitch.

  stitch around until you are across from your snout to make the tail.   i love this curly little tail.   the one i saw didn't have this curly tail.    it's just so dang cute.

chain 6, in the stitch next to the end stitch, pull a loop through the stitch and through the loop on your hook, chain one and repeat the same again in the same stitch - pull through the stitch and your loop and chain 1 x 2.   do this in every stitch all the way back to the base and attach in the same stitch you started in.

 now stitch inside your circle down about 3 or 4.   you need enough room for 2 legs on the bottom.   otherwise you have a legless pig, and that's just sad.
i chained 3 and did a half double, (pulled one through, yarn over and pull through both), then chain 2 and attach all in the same stitch.   put a couple of stitches between and make the other leg the same.

then i just pulled it up, cut it off and weave in the ends

 i didn't feel the need to tie tiny knots for eyes.    mine are so tiny, that i did'n have buttons or google eyes small enough either.   i just used a marker.   if you used larger yarn and hook, (i separated off half of my cotton string and used a tiny 7 hook) or just did another round of triples to make the circle bigger, you could do that.    buttons would be really cute..

that is my version of lucky pigs.   i am so using this basic circle to make other animals now!   imagine the possibilities!