Yummy, warm, and knit from the heart mitts...

I wanted to make my sister something for Christmas. She has asked me before for a pair of mitts. I struggled to find the right yarn for them (and the right amount of time) and finally inspiration struck. This yarn was some that I had won in an auction type lottery on Hyenacart. I thought if I had a girl that I might keep it to make a soaker or some shorties. Once I knew that G was a boy I decided to sell this yarn. Now I am glad that it did not sell. It is STUNNING knit up!

I found this mitt pattern on Ravelry and was linked to this blog for the pattern. http://creativeyarn.blogspot.com/2008/01/emerald-greenhandwarmer.html
What a great pattern and fun blog!!!

I haven't seen my sister in months and when I saw her this time she was such a changed person appearance-wise. With short, pixie-styled hair, a piercing in her lip, and a tattoo on her hand, it was like a Nesa that I had been waiting for. I knew that she would be my inked, pierced and rugged (yet feminine) beauty of a sis. She told me that she wants to be a tattoo artist. (Do what you want Nesa...but you should be a model too!) She has the most breathtaking eyes and gorgeous lips (that I hate her for ;)). Anyway, here she is modeling her yummy, warm, and knit from the heart mitts that get lost in comparison to her beautiful face!

Turning 25 makes me nauseous!

I can't believe it. I am turning 25 at 12:01 tomorrow! It's such a horrible age to turn. No longer can I check that little box for the 18-24 age range when asked. I now have to check the 25-32 group! Sigh! :( This descent into the other half of the 20's makes my stomach knot up and makes me sweat. I am so not ready to get old. Where did the years go? I guess I should focus on making the next 5 years something to remember because I am sure I will return to this awful feeling when I get ready to turn 30...gulp!

Rockin Robin... tweet, tweet!!

So, I have seen these cute little jewelry pendants of bird's nests with little "eggs" in them. I had to try it out for myself and see what I could come up with on my own. I sat around and wound wire for what seemed like an hour or two when I finally came up with something that I liked. It is thick copper wire wound with a thinner gauge of copper wire and three freshwater pearls. I strung it on a piece of leather cording but I think the cording takes away from it. I will have to make a simple copper chain to match it. I am still working on it to make a perfect pattern for these but I kinda dig this one quite a bit! Oh and by the way...I KNOW that Robin's lay blue-ish colored eggs. I made another one with blue eggs but decided to showcase this one and not change my post title! ;)

Vaccinations: Friend or Foe? I am still figuring it out!

I stood there. I just stood there. I held his tiny hands and kissed his red, screaming face. I kept telling him over and over that I was sorry, that I didn't know a better way. I smelled that sinister alcohol pad and before I could kiss G's forehead once more she stuck him with that damned needle. At that very moment I realized that I wanted to throw up. I wanted to suck the "venom" right out of his bloodstream and run away with him.

The nurse came in with half blonde -half black Cruella Deville styled hair tied up in pigtails and sparkly bubblegum colored lip gloss. She choked him with oral Rotavirus and then during the calm before the storm plainly said "Aww, isn't that cute. He thinks it's over." GASP! Who in there right MIND would ever say that!?!? It takes a horrible, no good, very BAD person to actually enjoy sticking babies with needles all day long. The New Yorker in me wanted to punch her right then...the mother in me knew that G deserved my attention more.

Honestly, he took it like a champ. I think I ended up crying more than he did. I grabbed him and looked at his tiny legs with those huge, obnoxious children's bandaids and that only made me cry more. I scooped him up and ran from the office. I carefully tucked him into his carseat and drove home with tears in my eyes and guilt in my heart. Did I do the right thing? I thought. How does anyone ever know? As parents we are bombarded with tons of conflicting information. Supposedly vaccinations have saved millions of people. What about those children that have become victims of SIDS, autism, rhett's and many other horrible diseases following a vaccination!?!?!?

The hardest part of my visit was that the doctor I met is a twit. There I said it (and I mean it). She is flighty to say the least and leaves me wondering how she ever became a doctor without people laughing at her. I asked her opinion on the vaccinations and tried to voice my concerns in hopes of getting some good information from her. Instead I got a regurgitated speech that was obviously word for word from a pamphlet she read in medical school. There are other things that I would like to say but I would also like my blog to stay as close to g-rated as possible.

So now I wait. I listen to his every breath. I touch his head and neck to make sure that he does not have a fever. I have also asked my hubby to sleep on the couch so that G and I could have the bed to ourselves. I usually don't co-sleep but I felt that it was important for me to be able to feel him breathing all night long.

Did I do the right thing? I don't know. Will he get his next shots? I don't know. Are vaccinations our friend or our foe? Honestly, I just don't know.

Grand Re-opening of Lexsomnia

Well ladies and gents, here I go again. With two young kiddos and a full plate of other things already many wonder why I would re-open my store. Honestly, I miss selling my things. It gives me huge amounts of satisfaction to know that people wear, use, and like my things. My cheeks are getting flushed just thinking about it. In the picture are some of the things that I am offering. I made these this year and I want to clear them out for the new stuff in 2009. I will have quite a bit of jewelry, tutus, and maybe some other stuff like hand-dyed yarn and soap. No telling what could show up. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled because I may offer some items free for shipping. Can it get any better? YES! I plan to post everything for under 20 bucks. I figured that everyone could use a break this year in the pocket area and wanted to give people a chance to get some cute holiday gifts. Woot! Well, I am working on the nitty gritty as we speak and Lexsomnia should officially be up tomorrow morning! Enjoy!!!

Eight weeks already...

Where did the time go? I can't believe that my little G man is already eight weeks old. It's wonderful and sad at the same time. I love watching him grow into this beautiful, smiling, happy, little person but to see it happen so fast is almost too much for a mother's heart.

I am happy to say that we are still breastfeeding and I am loving every single minute. I feel so lucky to have this chance with him.

K is in love with his little brother and tells him so every day. The funniest thing is that he comes into our room to wake us every morning and always says "Hello" and " I love you" to G before he will say anything to me. Ah, I love coming in second string. ;)

Something for my mom!

I have been working hard at getting some things done for my mother. She was always the queen of crafts but with her intense job and her love of having a house full of animals she doesnt quite have the time for crafting much. So I made her a grandma bracelet. It has her nickname "Gammi" in the middle with her birthstone color in crystals and then has the kids' birthstone colors in crystals surrounding their first initial. I think it came out really pretty since she is a huge fan of gold. I am not much for gold so I snuck in some sterling silver to not only match the letter beads but to also quench my lust for all things silver and shiny. I hope she loves it.

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet, Give me something good to eat!

Mr. K had the best time Trick or Treating last night! Last year he was almost a year old and I don't think he quite understood the fun of Halloween. This year was a totally different story! The minute he came home his first words were " Ma! MMMMMMMMM." In other words, "MOM, YUM!" LOL! We dressed him as a dragon which is hard to see from the picture but he had the cutest wings and a horn on the top of his head! Teehee!

I stayed home with G(who I called Mr. Bones all night due to his "bones" onesie) since it was freaking cold here. The little G man is only 4 weeks old so far (can you believe it? Time FLIES!!!) and I decided that he was far too young for the cold weather we have been getting.

What a fun night! I can't wait until next year to do it again! Now I am looking forward to Thanksgiving!

The Big Election!!!

I dont have much to say except...GO Obama! :)

Slow Rolling...

So I realize that my posts have been reeeeaaaalllllyyyy slow lately. That is what happens when you have two kids. LOL! Anyway, I finally decided to make something that was solely for ME and something I wanted. I made a mommy bracelet with my boys' names on it. Yes, I am revealing their names...I know, I know...it IS quite bold but I figured that most who read this blog know me and the kids anyway. I used hematite gemstone beads, swarovski crystals (in their birthstone colors) and sterling silver letter beads and clasp. It fits perfectly and I was already asked to make one for this really nice lady who works at my local Michaels! WOOT!

"For all practical purposes..."

This was the beginning of a sentence recently said to me. This certain sentence gave me goosebumps, made me cry, and has been the most profound thing said to me in a long time.

Here is the backstory: When I was pregnant with my oldest I knew that I wanted to breastfeed more than anything in the world. My mother had breastfed my siblings and I and I assumed that it would be a piece of cake for me. Women were made to do this, I thought. K came into the world and latched on without issue. Life was good! We continued this perfect dance for almost 3 days before my new "hobby" came to a screeching halt. My milk came in and suddenly he refused the breast. I became inadequate overnight and lost this bond with my new baby. I tried everything known to man to try and make it work. No gadget, no technology, not even the tons of praying that I did was enough to fix it.

I drug myself into the lactation consultant's office daily. She taught me different holds, different techniques and finally said the words that I had feared most. "You might have a milk imbalance. That might be the reason for his fussiness at the breast. Try pumping milk and bottle feeding him and then try breastfeeding in between." I was scared, nervous, and unsure so I followed every word she said. Only that first bottle between his lips had sealed our fate. He never came back to the breast. He was content being bottlefed and I felt like a failure. I continued to exclusively pump breastmilk for him for seven months before I lost my milk completely to a bad case of mastitis.

As I sit here writing this the tears are welling in my eyes. I remember the anger of knowing other mothers were lovingly breastfeeding their newborns and here I was attached to this plastic invader. Instead of being able to bond with my child I had to sit there "bonding" to the cold, dead plastic. I remember trying to sing to him while he screamed in his swing as I pumped. I remember the depression from having to feed him formula once my milk ran out.

I bet you are wondering how the title sentence fits into this story. Well I have tried to forgive myself for all 20 months of my toddlers life. I have tried to tell myself that I did the best that I could and that I couldn't have done anything better or different.

With the birth of my newest son I felt that lump of guilt rising in my throat once again. I prayed that I would be able to truly breastfeed him without issue. He latched after birth and continued to latch easily for days. And then my worst nightmare was put on repeat again. Once my milk came in; he refused me. This horrible feeling of terror sat in my stomach like a heavy stone and I went back to the lactation consultant. I haden't seen her for almost 2 years and yet she knew my face as soon as she walked into the room. I told her about my new son and then told her about our trouble breastfeeding. She helped me with different latches, taught me some newer techniques and we did some talking. This was the beginning of the conversation that has since changed my life. "How did the breastfeeding go with K?", she asked. "I was unsuccessful." I said. "I exclusively pumped for seven months before losing my milk altogether." I felt sad again suddenly and felt pressure in my cheeks. I wanted to cry but I didn't want to cry in front of her. I pushed back my tears, lowered my head, and waited for her response. She smiled at me and said "Well, for all practical purposes you DID breastfeed successfully. He received breastmilk for seven months and it's hard to maintain your supply with a pump only. Great job" I swallowed hard and felt my throat tighten. I couldn't believe it. I realized that I had technically breastfed my son. It may not have been the way that I had always imagined but he had survived solely on my milk for the first seven months of his life and I had worked hard to make that happen. Suddenly, all of the hard feelings, guilt, and pain that I had associated with breastfeeding was taken away. I was able to appreciate what I had done for my son and knew that I could push harder and make this work with my new boy. I am happy to report that we are on day number eight and the breastfeeding is going well! How lucky am I? :)

G IS HERE!!!!!

He has arrived. To be completely honest, he was born 5 days ago. (I have been busy) It all started with a gush. I wanted my water to break so badly. I told everyone that I wanted it to break somewhere unusual...like in a restaurant or store. I WANTED to be able to scream "Oh...my water just BROKE..." It ended up being much less theatrical though. It was more like "Uh oh, should I start wearing Depends?" Luckily, it turned out that my water did break and the little man was coming. 12 hours almost to the minute later he was in my arms. 5 fingers, 5 toes....perfection. He is sweet, gorgeous, loving, snuggly and simply....perfect. I know, I know, I am biased but that is because I am the mommy! :)

"I'm green, I'm green, I'm green, ya know what I mean..."

If you have ever seen the Popeye movie with Robin Williams then you have probably heard that song before. It is actually..." I'm mean, I'm mean, I'm mean, ya know what I mean..." and sung by Bluto but its a cute song. This soap reminded me of Popeye since it looks like some type of spinach stew made into a yummy soap. :) It is actually nettle soap. I used dried nettle leaves to color the soap and it came out quite neat! It smells very herbal and is creamy to wash with so I am happy with the results. Next on my list...purple or blue soap!!!

Another reason to leave disposable stuff in the dust...

Three words...Organic Bamboo Velour. Saying the word makes me happy and just typing it out brought an eerily wicked smile to my face. It just sounds SOOO indulgent and decadent. I made these breastpads because the disposable ones stuck to me and hurt when I had to tear them off. Ouch! These are organic bamboo velour on the inside, bamboo fleece in the middle, and wool interlock on the back. I dyed the wool interlock myself because I wanted colored breastpads. I know what you are thinking...'can't they be seen through your bra???' Nope! I checked! :) Oh, by the way, I cannot take credit for the pattern for these or anything...I found the tutorial here... http://www.pamperedcheeks.com/nursing_pads_pattern.htm . It really is a great way to use up any extra scraps you have of expensive material and the tutorial was VERY easy to follow! I highly recommend it. I haven't tried the pads yet as G is still not here but I will keep everyone informed!

Cover-up bag...

Well, I mentioned in the last post that I forgot the pocket that I wanted to put on my cover up. I figured out where to put it and that perfect place ended up being on the outside of the bag for the cover-up that I made. Who really NEEDS a cover-up bag...I do! As clumsy as I am I can see myself dropping my cover-up all over the place. When its in the bag then the worst thing that can happen is the bag gets dirty! Perfection! I had hubby put the snaps on for me last night so everything can come apart to be cleaned. Again, I apologize for the awful pics!

A cover up for the Queen of Clumsy!!!

"Just use a blanket," everyone said. "It's cheaper that way." I could have used a blanket as a nursing cover but if they truly knew how clumsy I am, they would NEVER say that! I have nightmares of nursing G (when he finally shows) in public and of the wind blowing my blanket off and exposing me to the world. NO thanks! There is nothing wrong with nursing in public, in fact, I think its beautiful to watch a baby nurse but not everyone feels that way. Not only that but I would rather keep my chest to myself, my hubby, and my babies. So I made a nursing cover. I used a bottom-weight fabric in a fun print and lined it with anti pill baby flannel. I put a bit of boning in the neck so that it would bow a bit and I could watch G nurse. Then I added some straps for my neck so that it can't blow off or be pulled off. HA! Take THAT wind! I made a mistake on it though! I realized that I should have put a pocket on the inside to hold my breastpads or a burp cloth and totally forgot. The wheels are turning though to figure out how I can still do that without sewing through both layers...Hmmmmmmm!

Dyeing for baby's arrival...

Honestly, this dyeing is for me. I have a ton more that I did and its for mama cloth BUT I have been pushing myself to do it to keep my mind off the fact that I am STILL pregnant. Yes, my due date was yesterday and it came and went like nothing. No baby to show for it. Arrivederche 40 weeks...welcome 40 weeks and 1 day. Sigh! Anyway, I have LOTS of dyeing to show off but the pictures take FOREVER to upload and my teething toddler is furious! Sigh again! Anyway, enjoy this one lonely picture of luscious hand dyed organic bamboo velour! YUM!

Craziness...

I am sorry that I haven't been properly blogging over the last few weeks. I had to rush to New York to visit my mom and spend some time with her. Things have been tough for her and she needed me. (I won't go into specifics since just thinking about what she has gone through makes me cry everytime.) What made the trip good though was that I realized that I needed her just as much. I learned quite a few things on that trip not only about myself and my family but also learned lots about being a mom and about my son. I just wish that money wasn't so tight that I could see her more often and not limit my trips to see her for emergencies. Sigh!

Also, just in case anyone remembered, I am 39 +weeks already. G will be here SOON although I feel daily like he couldn't come fast enough. I am exhausted from sharing my body. My mother asked me the other day if I have "split" yet, lol! I can't wait to finally "split" and become two people. How nice for me! I am sure it won't be so fab for him for a while though! LOL! With a screaming, wild toddler in the house, I wonder sometimes how G will even get a chance to sleep! Poor baby!

So, lastly, I have been crafting like crazy. My brain never stops running although my body keeps telling me to stop. I can't though and I felt like I needed to send some snacks. I sent out some soap, toddler crayons, scarfs, jewelry and some other things that will be going out soon. I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone that might be reading this. With that, the craziness doesn't stop. I keep thinking that things will slow a bit once G gets here but I do believe that ADDING a child to the household is actually going to speed things up...yikes! Am I ready for it??? Only time will tell. I am pretty good with handling craziness by now!

Soapy Goodness...

A few weeks ago I was able to meet with an online friend. She was sweet, funny, and exactly how I thought she would be. I get tongue-tied around new people and although she wasn't a stranger per se I still couldn't find my voice. Luckily, I think she liked me anyway because we still chat. ;) Anyway, the day that I went to meet her I brought her and my other buddy some soap that I had made. One was a Grapefruit Shea soap with the most yummy ingredients although it smells more like lemon than grapefruit. Darn unrefined shea! I wasn't prepared for the message I recieved the next day...She LOVED my soap and wanted more. How lucky was I to get that chance!!! So I quickly packaged the first bunch that I had and made another batch later that week. Here are a few of the last ones that I made. Dressed in tulle with raffia bows...can they get any cuter? They smell SUPER yummy too! I made her some other goodies to go in the box but I can't talk about them since she hasn't recieved the box yet! Pics to come! :)

For another friend...

Yet another snack! These were extra special because this friend has never received a snack. I was happy and excited to be her first snacker!

For a friend...

These are just a few stitch markers that I made for a friend. She knits and didn't have nice stitch markers for knitting...so I made her these! She was using some little plastic stitch markers so I made her some knitting "jewelry"! :)

Blessed!

I feel so lucky!

My husband and I have been struggling financially for the last couple of months since he had lost his job. We have both been doing some odd and end things to help make some extra money to keep our heads above water. There is always food on the table and we all have warm beds so I have been thankful regardless. We have been lucky. I know there are tons of people that have it worse than me.

A bit more luck rained on me this week though. A bunch of my friends came together and bought me some skirts. There was a fabulous co-op going on for the skirts which I was unhappily unable to partake in. A week or so ago, my friend B said that she had a snack for me. ( I bet you are wondering what a snack is? Well it is code for a secret gift. It is usually just a bit of love in the mail to let another mother know you care.)

Eagerly, I waited for my snack. It arrived and as I tore open the package I realized what it was. FOUR skirts. Oh my gosh! My mother had been going through a very rough time as well and two of the skirts were for her. I couldn't help it...I sobbed like a baby! How lucky am I to have such caring people in my life. I couldn't even describe to them how thankful I am. I am truly blessed!

If you girls are reading this...I love you and thank you!

And the tale begins...

With a new name and a new blog, I am starting over. I had two other blogs before this one but neither of them really made sense. One was completely personal, totally about my family and the other was completely business, all about my "working at home mommy" ventures. Like a pair of skinny jeans that just don't fit my expanding butt, neither one fit quite right.

So here I am , starting over. I have already done the about me section but I wanted to explain a teensy bit further. I am Alexis, lovingly called Lexi by my friends. I prefer Lexi since it makes me feel young. I am facing 25 this year and the closer I get to 30, the harder I quiver. I am not ready for 30.

I am a mother and wife to my family before anything else in my life. My son K is a wild 17 month old and I am growing another little man in my tummy. We will call him G. :)

I am a creative butterfly (and slave) to almost all things crafty. I LOVE to create things with my hands. There is no better enjoyment then to know that my fingers, my joints, my muscles, my eyes, and all sorts of other equipment (needles, hooks, yarn, beads, etc) helped me to create something beautiful, useful, and hopefully something that can be kept as an heirloom.

I am a perfectionist and spend countless hours researching new techniques. Google and I are good friends. I also spend lots of time working and reworking projects until they come out just right.

Lastly, I suffer from a horrible disease called "Lexsomnia." It's an awful sickness which keeps my mind running at all hours of the day, forces me to stay awake finishing yet another project, holds my eyes open to finish reading about some new technique, and causes me to never get a good night's sleep. My son is still not totally sleeping through the night so the Lexsomnia does give me something to do while I wait for his next fuss fit but living in a constant state of delirium is hard work.